"Come Ye Thankful People, Come"

Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. (Ps. 126:6 ESV)

The phrase “Harvest Home” describes the act of gathering grain from the fields into the village for storage and refers a time of celebration and thanksgiving.  Scripture often connects harvest with rejoicing.  In Ps. 126, for example, sowing seed is a mournful deed in comparison to the peals of joy that accompany the reaping of grain.  Men rejoice at harvest, relieved from the summer’s heat, the weeds and pests, and from anxiously praying for rain.

Recalling the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares in Mt. 13, the hymn writer uses the grain harvest as a metaphor for the harvest of the redeemed that shall yet occur in history.  The wholesome wheat and troublesome tares grow up together in the same field, but at the harvest God separates the plants for storage or destruction.  Harvest is a day of rejoicing because the grain is gathered into storage and the weeds have been eradicated for all time.

The hymn’s tune, ST. GEORGE’S, WINDSOR, is a majestic, almost regal melody.  The tune appropriately matches this text of Christian experience: it is at once joyous, thankful, and respectful of hardship that has been long endured.  The name of the tune derives from the London church where George Elvey was employed as organist.  The tune is easy to sing and remember because of recurring rhythmic and melodic elements.  Whereas it would be easy for these motives to become tediously repetitive, Elvey has incorporated enough variation to make the tune at once both memorable and interesting.