Henry Alford – Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

Every Thanksgiving, many of us Americans take time to visit family, thankful for everything God has given us.  Despite its flaws (I’ll get to that later), I chose to review Henry Alford’s Come, Ye Thankful People.  Given its reach to people during the harvest season, it seemed appropriate to cross-breed Washington’s proclamation and our current retelling of the Pilgrims’ meal with the Native Americans that parallels themes presented in this song.

English theologian Henry Alford was a scholar, textual critic, and author.  His works include:

• The School of the Heart (1835)
• The Abbot of Muchelnaye (1841)
• The Four Gospels (1849)
• The Riviera (1870)

He also wrote several hymns, including Forward! be our watchword. Come, Ye Thankful People, Come, and Ten Thousand Times Ten Thousand.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.

1. What message does the song communicate?

This song is about inviting people who are grateful for the yearly harvest to enter God’s temple of protection.  The rest of the song borrows from Jesus’ parable of the Wheat and the Tares, praying that we’re among the wheat.  We look forward to the day that we’re harvested into eternal life with Him.

The only issue with this song’s message is that it claims God provides for our wants, an incorrect statement.

Score: 8/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

This song is mostly biblical except in Verse 1, lines 5 and 6.  God supplies our needs, not wants.

This song is public domain.

[Verse 1]

Come, ye thankful people, come,
raise the song of harvest home;
all is safely gathered in,
ere the winter storms begin.

An invitation to those who are grateful for the harvest to enter God’s refuge (Ruth 2:12, 2 Samuel 22:3-4, Psalm 3:3, Psalm 5:11, Psalm 18:30, Psalm 27:1, Psalm 32:7, Psalm 34:22, Psalm 41:2, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 57:1, Psalm 59:1, Psalm 61:3, Psalm 91:1-16, Psalm 118:8, Psalm 121:7-8, Psalm 138:7, Proverbs 18:10, Proverbs 30:5, Nahum 1:7, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, and 1 John 5:18).

God our Maker doth provide
for our wants to be supplied;

This is incorrect.  Scripture says God supplies for our needs, not all wants (Philippians 4:19).  God doesn’t respond affirmatively to everything we desire.

come to God’s own temple, come,
raise the song of harvest home.

See lines 1-4.

[Verse 2]

All the world is God’s own field,
fruit as praise to God we yield;
wheat and tares together sown
are to joy or sorrow grown;
first the blade and then the ear,
then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest, grant that we
wholesome grain and pure may be.

References the Parable of the Wheat and Tares, found in Matthew 13:24-30 and explained in Matthew 13:36-43.  Alford prays that we are wheat harvested for eternal life and not weeds to eternal damnation.

[Verse 3]

For the Lord our God shall come,
and shall take the harvest home;
from the field shall in that day
all offenses purge away,
giving angels charge at last
in the fire the tares to cast;
but the fruitful ears to store
in the garner evermore.

See commentary on Verse 2.

[Verse 4]

Even so, Lord, quickly come,
bring thy final harvest home;
gather thou thy people in,
free from sorrow, free from sin,
there, forever purified,
in thy presence to abide;
come, with all thine angels, come,
raise the glorious harvest home.

Alford asks God to gather us quickly lest we continue to sin in this world, where we will be free from pain and suffering (Revelation 21:4).

Score: 8/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Those who do not yet know Christ should see this as Christian, given its references to God, Lord, sin, and angels.  Despite this song’s heavy reliance on Christianese language, the Parable of the Wheat and Tares is explained in Verse 3 in plain English, that Christians are wheat and they are tares.  They also might misunderstand sin as “mistakes” instead of “lawbreaking”.  The rest of the song will likely be interpreted as I’ve explained in section 1, though perhaps not identifying its error on need vs. want.

Score: 7/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God that this song invites us to join Christians, entering into God’s fold.  However, its error on want veils His glory.

Score: 8/10

Closing Comments

Henry Alford’s Come, Ye Thankful People, Come is a good Thanksgiving song, though with a fixable error.  It borrows from Jesus’ Parable of the Tares to plead for people grateful for the harvest, that they would follow Jesus and avoid eternal hellfire.  Though it erroneously claims God provides for wants, unbelievers should arrive at similar conclusions, though perhaps not understanding the Christian view of sin.

Considering that most of us aren’t farmers, it seems the original context is only applicable to a small portion of the population that thinks about the harvest, much less shows gratitude.  This, alongside the aforementioned error, makes it difficult to recommend for corporate worship.  Yet, it’s a perfect song to reflect on our gratitude for the things God has done for us, provided that we change “want” for “need” in Verse 1.

Final Score: 8/10

Artist Info

Track: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come (listen to OCP Session Choir’s version of this song)

Artist: Henry Alford

Album: N/A

Genre: Hymn

Release Year: 1844

Duration: N/A

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.