Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

Often the hymns that stand the test of time are those that relate the great stories of God's salvation to our experience. "Come, Ye Thankful People, Come" accomplishes this by recalling the Old Testament feasts and festivals that celebrated the harvest.

This hymn by Henry Alford recalls the blessings God has showered on us and points to the great harvest feast we will celebrate someday in heaven. Praise God today for the many gifts he has given us.

Come, ye thankful people, come; raise the song of harvest home.

All is safely gathered in ere the winter storms begin.

God, our maker, does 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 sorrows 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,

Give his 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 to your final harvest home,

Gather all your people in, free from sorrow, free from sin,

There, forever purified, in your presence to abide.

Come, with all your angels, come, raise the glorious harvest home.

(from the Praise and Worship Study Bible by Tyndale House)

Christ's Superiority

"To the Son, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of Thy kingdom is a scepter of absolute fairness" (Hebrews 1:8)

Christ's Superiority to Created Beings and Things

Hebrews 1:4-14 informs us that Jesus Christ is a higher Being than any other created being or thing. He Himself is uncreated and the Creator of all.

His name is superior (1:4). Observe what Jesus is called in this first chapter: 1. Son of God--v. 5 twice, 2. God--v.8, 3. Lord--v. 10. Men have eagerly grasped for the backing of angels (i.e., the angel Moroni in Mormonism), but angels are simply messengers (1:7,14) and ministers who worship Jesus and from His presence go to minister to the heirs of salvation. Of course, the evil angels are not in view in this passage. The greatest evil angel, the Devil, wants to be called "god" (Matt. 4:8-11) and in fact plays "god" (2 Cor. 4:4) to the unbelieving world. But there is only One who can rightly bear the name of "God," and Jesus is that One,

His nature is superior. This follows from what has been revealed above: (1) Jesus was brought into the world from somewhere else (i.e., heaven)--1:6;  (2) Beside His eternal pre-existence already set forth, is His eternal future existence--1:8;  (3) He receives worship from angels--1:6;  (4) He is a King with eternal authority--1:8;  (5) He is perfectly fair in exercising authoritative judgment--1:8;  (6) He was able to create the universe--1:10-12;  (7) He is able to sit in eternity's highest seat--1:13. None of the angels have the capacity (nature) for these things. The God of all things wants to be actively the God of all your things--your personal God who is eminently fair in the exercise of His authority. "He is thy Lord, and worship thou Him" (Psalm 45:11).

"Isn't He wonderful, wonderful, wonderful;

Isn't Jesus my Lord, wonderful?"

by Dr. Douglas B. MacCorkle