To God Be The Glory
Last Sunday, 11/23/08, we had a wonderful service. Staff Sergeant P.J. Wakeman, one of the soldiers we sent a box to in Iraq last year said a few words of thanks to the congregation. We, of course, thank him for his service to our country. Below are the speech by SSGT Wakeman and the special song “My Tribute” sung by Mrs. Karen Foltz. For access to the mp3 message click on the “Sermons” page above.
P.J. Wakeman
SSGT P.J. Wakeman
My Tribute
“My Tribute”
The Freemans had a visitor on Thanksgiving
The Freemans (our missionaries to South Texas) came home to this visitor. How would you like him as a houseguest? You may check up on the entire story and the latest news by clicking here.
Can you say a big bug?
Christina Hope Rice
Shane & Kathy Rice, our missionaries to Peru, happily announce the birth of Christina Hope Rice, born at 8:46 PM on Tuesday, November 25, 2008. Mom and baby are doing fine, but Brother Shane says he needs some rest.
Click on the picture for a larger view & more info:
Our newest missionary
Thanksgiving Videos
The above video gives a “child’s-eye” view of Thanksgiving at their houses.
This video is thought-provoking and clever.
Come, Ye Thankful People, Come
This is the first song we sang in our worship service this past Lord’s Day. I thought you might like to read about the history of this hymn.
Come, ye thankful people, come, raise the song of harvest home;
All is safely gathered in, ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied;
Come to God’s own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home.
All the world is God’s own field, fruit unto His praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown unto 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.
For the Lord our God shall come, and shall take His harvest home;
From His 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 His garner evermore.
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 garner to abide;
Come, with all Thine angels come, raise the glorious harvest home.
“Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” is considered to be one of the most choice Thanksgiving hymns in all of hymnody. It was written or the English harvest festivals, a movable feast varying with the harvest time in the various villages. Its author, Henry “Dean” Alford, is generally regarded as one of the most gifted, Christian leaders of the nineteenth century, distinguishing himself as a theologian, scholar, writer, poet, artist, and musician.
Henry Alford was born in Bloomsbury, October 7, 1810. His father, as well as his ancestors in several previous generations, were respected clergymen in the Anglican Church, and early in life, young Alford decided to follow their examples. At the age of sixteen, he wrote in the fly-leaf of his Bible these words which characterized his life: “I do this day, in the presence of God and my own soul, renew my covenant with God, and solemnly determine henceforth to become His, and to do His work as far as in me lies.”
At Trinity College, Cambridge, Alford distinguished himself as a student and writer, and, upon graduation in 1832, be began his public ministry in London. He rose rapidly from one position to another, until he was named Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, the ”mother-church” of all England, at the age of forty-seven, where he remained, until his death in 1871. Even in this prestigious position, Alford maintained strong relations with evangelicals and other non-conformist groups and did all he could to resist the high church movement within the Anglican Church. It was as a Greek scholar that he attained his greatest distinction. His four-volume edition of the Greek Testament, on which he labored for twenty years, became the standard critical commentary of the later nineteenth century. As a member of the new Testament Revision Committee, he made a notable contribution to biblical knowledge on both sides of the Atlantic.
Hymnology was one of Henry Alford’s major interests, and he translated and composed numerous hymns, which he published in hi Psalms and Hymns (1844), The Year of Praise (1867), and Poetical Works (1852 and 1868). Of these many works, only “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” is still in general use in most evangelical hymnals.
The hymn first appeared in Alford’s Psalms and Hymns, in 1844. It was originally titled “After Harvest” and was accompanied by the text “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:6). The hymn originally contained seven stanzas, but only four have remained in common usage.
The first stanza of this thanksgiving hymn is an invitation and a exhortation to give thanks to God in the earthly temple–His Church–for the heavenly care and provision of our earthly needs. The following two stanzas are an interesting commentary on the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares as recorded in Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43. The final stanza is a prayer for the Lord’s return–”the final harvest home”– the culminating event that Henry Alford sees as the ultimate demonstration of God’s goodness in His eternal purpose of man’s Redemption.
It is said that at the end of a hard day’s work, as well as after every meal, it was customary practice for “Dean” Alford to stand to his feet and give thanks to God for the blessings just relieved or enjoyed during the day. This spirit of perpetual gratitude is clearly evidenced throughout this hymn.
Because of Alford’s strenuous efforts and unlimited activities in the Christian ministry, he suffered a physical breakdown in 1870, and died on January 12, 1871. His passing was mourned throughout the entire Christian world. During his lifetime one of the “Dean’s” unfulfilled, cherished dreams was to visit the Holy Land. Although this dream was never realized, it was said of him that is eyes were fixed upon the Heavenly Jerusalem toward
which he journeyed. On his tombstone the following appropriate inscription is found: The Inn of a Pilgrim Traveling to Jerusalem.”
The composer of this tune, “St. George’s, Windsor”, was George J. Elvey, who served as the organist for forty-seven years at the historic, royal chapel at Windsor Castle in England. He originally composed the music for James Montgomery’s text “Hark! the Song of Jubilee,” published in E. H. Throne’s Selection of Psalms and Hymn Tunes in 1858. In 1861, this tune first appeared wedded to Henry Alford’s text in the well-known Anglican Church hymnal, Hymns Ancient and Modern. It has found a place in nearly every published hymnal to the present time.
George Elvey was knighted by Queen Victoria, in 1871, for his many years of faithful service to the royal family as well as for his various musical publications, including several oratorios, anthems, and collections of service music. Elvey is also the composer of the familiar hymn tune “Diademata,” generally used with such hymn texts as “Crown Him With Many Crowns” and “Soldiers of Chris Arise.”
101 More Hymn Stories by Kenneth W. Osbeck
-
How Do You Balance?
UNIFORMITARIANISM AND A BURNING CANDLE
10 Indicatiors of a Spirit-filled Leader
The Calvary Quartet
2010-02-25 Aaron Freeman Update
2010-02-25 Evan Williams Update