Recommended Hymns for Thanksgiving
Posted On November 20, 2024
Written by Drew Pace, resident adjunct professor and director of the Reformation Chorale
Hymns of thanksgiving are songs that praise God for His kindness and provision. Here are four hymn recommendations that reflect themes of gratitude and thankfulness:
1. Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
This hymn is based on Jesus’ parable of the weeds from Matthew chapter 13. I love this hymn because of the duality of its focus. It thanks God for His provision in the here and now, but also has an eye to the future where “the Lord our God shall come, and shall take His harvest home.” The earthly harvest celebrated at Thanksgiving is painted here as a precursor to the heavenly harvest in the last days (Matthew 13:39). As we yield fruit in our Christian walk, we in turn become the very grain that angels will harvest at the end of the age. “Come, with all Thine angels, come, raise the glorious harvest home!”
2. For the Beauty of the Earth
God is the fountainhead of everything that is good, true, and beautiful. Our ultimate source for understanding beauty is found in the character of God, and as this hymn rightly proclaims, all of the beauty we find in creation points us back to Him. When we as Christians engage with beauty, we give praise to the One who gave us eyes to see it. Likewise, when we create with our hands, we glorify the source of all that is excellent, true, and right. The life of the church and its people should be adorned with beauty, acting as a visible expression of our heart’s desire to honor God and steward our gifts for Him.
3. God, in the Gospel of His Son
Benjamin Beddome (1717–1795) is most remembered for a body of poetry and hymns that carried great emotional depth. This hymn is a meditation on the Apostle Paul’s message to the elders of Ephesus in Acts 20, where he states that his only purpose is to finish the course of ministry given to him by God. The progression of each verse takes us through God sending the gospel, sinners tasting grace, prisoners being set free, and faith revealing the light which guides our way. The final verse is a triumphant doxology that returns our mind’s eye to the grace and greatness of God, asking for diligence in our study of the Word and faithfulness in our lives. The tune Germany sets the text so convincingly that it carries the beautiful words to new heights of meaning. May we give thanks to God above all for sending us the gospel of His Son!
4. My Song Is Love Unknown
This lesser-known hymn contextualizes the passion story as a spectator, seeing and wondering as the fickle crowds changed from shouts of praise to “Crucify!” It’s a beautiful and intimate reflection on the wonders of Christ’s purposeful coming, giving voice to keen words of praise, thanksgiving, and righteous sorrow. The hymn proclaims Jesus as both our Savior and our Friend, a Friend who unwaveringly suffered on our behalf and “at my need His life did spend.” The last verse is a rich song of thanksgiving in of itself, proclaiming the goodness and greatness of our Friend, “in whose sweet praise I all my days could gladly spend.” This hymn is my personal favorite for singing, playing, for study, and reflecting, particularly when set to John Ireland’s tune Love Unknown. I commend it to you, and I hope to see it become more widely known.