Come, Ye Thankful People

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 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.

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.

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.

A few weeks ago I shared the hymn “Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy.”  That great hymn was clear in its description of those who needed to come – the sinner, the poor, the needy.  The weak, the wounded and the sore.  This week’s hymn, however, is an invitation for “thankful people” to come.  Even after reading the great words to this song, I am not convinced it conveys the idea of what a thankful person really looks like.  As we approach Thanksgiving and we pause to give the Lord thanks for all that He has done for us, I wanted to share two illustrations of genuinely thankful people.  One is from the Word, and the other is from a Hero of the faith.

The Ten Lepers – Luke 17 tells us “While He was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him; and they raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they were going, they were cleansed. Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus answered and said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine—where are they? Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?”   I find this story extremely interesting and convicting.  You see the blessings for the ten were the same.  All ten lepers received the same blessing – healing from leprosy.  Jesus did not bless some, and not others.  He didn’t give one an extra-blessing, but all received the same blessing.  However, only one paused, turned around, went back, and gave thanks to the Lord.  I wonder sometimes if I am one of the nine who were ungrateful, or if I am the one who is grateful.  Do I sometimes take for granted what the Lord has blessed me with, but forget to pause, turn back, and praise Him with a loud voice?  This one leper, in my opinion, is a great example of a truly thankful person.

Corrie Ten Boom was a great hero of the faith.  She and her family hid Jews during World War II to keep them from being sent to concentration camps.  Her family was caught one day, and Corrie and her sister, Betsie, were sent to the concentration camps as young girls.  The following is an excerpt from Corrie’s book “The Hiding Place” and really shows a heart of thankfulness.  I apologize for how long it is, but it is well worth the reading.

http://www.broadcaster.org.uk/section2/transcript/hidingplace.html

So can I encourage you today to be the “thankful people” that this world knows nothing about.  To be the thankful one out of ten that says “Thank you, Lord” after each blessing you receive from Him.  Thankfulness that is consistent, repeated, and given with a loud voice.  Can you pause and recognize the blessing, turn back, and return to the Master with a heart of gratefulness? And can you, like Corrie Ten Boom and her sister, find a way to give God thanks in what seemingly is the worst of circumstances?  Can your thankful heart shine bright in a dark world filled with trouble, tribulation, trials, and yes a world filled with fleas?  I will be honest.  I am not there yet.  I am on the outside jealously looking in because I have not reached that thankful place yet.  I am humbled and convicted by the story of Betsie and Corrie.  But, I am grateful today the Lord still says “Come.”  He says “Come” to the sinner, poor and needy. He says “Come” to the “thankful people.”  And yes, He says “Come” to the  ungrateful Christian like me who forgets to tell Him thank you.

Lord, Thank You!!!!