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, wast at 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 escape tribulation;
Thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!
Amen

–Traditional Thanksgiving Hymn
(A translation by Theodore Baker: 1851-1934)

“We Gather Together” is considered the finest of these musical expressions. It was first published in Adrian Valerius’s Nederlandtsche Gedenckclanck, in 1626, in Haarleem. Initially, the singing of this hymn was limited to the Dutch people, until more than two centuries ago, in 1877, it was discovered by Edward Kremser, a Viennese musician who published it in his collection Sechs Altniederlanddische Volkslieder. The English translation of the text was done by Theodore Baker and it appeared in Dutch Folk songs compiled by Coenraad V. Bos. In the Public Domain

Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

–Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)