Singing Thanks

Many of our hymns were written in celebration of a victory of some sort. The heart is ready to sing at moments filled with emotion. Like a bird, we begin to sing because that is what we are designed to do. Some people are blessed with the creativity to write lyrics as their expression. Adrianus Valerius penned the words to perhaps the most common Thanksgiving hymn we have. Thousands will stand tonight and tomorrow in church services and sing together these words that were written in 1597 in celebration of a dutch victory in a time filled with war and turmoil.

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;
He chastens and hastens His will to make known.
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.
Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,
Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine;
So from the beginning the fight we were winning;
Thou, Lord, were at our side, all glory be Thine!

We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant,
And pray that Thou still our Defender will be.
Let Thy congregation escape tribulation;
Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

It’s good to know that now 400 plus years later, God still cares for His own and is still our defender. He still chastens and hastens to make His will known. I think as I sing it this year, I will use the pause between verses, however short, to whisper an extra prayer of thanks.
To all my blog readers, Happy Thanksgiving 2007 !