In our Presbyterian church, I grew up singing the hymn, We Gather Together every Thanksgiving. It was as much a part of our Thanksgiving celebration as the huge feast we enjoyed with all our cousins and second cousins every year.

But I never knew the story behind the words of this hymn. And probably it wouldn’t have meant a lot to me until I studied the book of Judges in our church Bible study this fall.

Yikes, there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own eyes! That sad theme travels throughout the entire book. And the third lines of the each stanza could have been written in the time of the Judges,

“The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing:”
“So from the beginning the fight we were winning:”
“Let Thy congregation escape tribulation:”
(These are the original third lines of each stanza.)

The lyrics were originally written in 1597 as a secular Dutch folk song celebrating their victory over the oppression of the Spanish Catholic church. It became a Christian hymn by Dutch Protestants fighting for religious freedom. The theme of God’s providence runs through its words.

Theodore Baker (1851-1934), a 19th-century musicologist brought this hymn to the United States.

As I was growing up and singing it, I was always reminded of thankfulness for the harvest of blessings we know, not freedom from religious oppression.

In studying Judges, over and over, we saw the wicked oppressing; the fights, the tribulation. And the truths of the third verse was more encouraging than ever.

A few years ago, I re-wrote the lyrics of the third line in each stanza (the hymn is now public domain), to speak the truth of the Gospel. Italicized lines are my words.

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing —
He chastens and hastens His will to make known;
He loves us completely, He calls us sons and daughters;
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;
His purpose transcending, our lives without ending;
Thou Lord, was as our side — all glory be thine.

We all do extol Thee, Thou leader triumphant,
And pray that Thou still our defender wilt be;
Let Thy congregation live in great anticipation:
Thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

This year our Thanksgiving table will be quite simple as Bill and I celebrate together. Whatever your Thanksgiving table looks like, may thanksgiving be your reality. 

 

Copyright: Sue Tell, November 2025