The Army and Navy Hymnal/Orders of Worship/Thanksgiving
XI. Thanksgiving
Instrumental Prelude
Hymn No. 53 O Beautiful for Spacious Skies (Standing)
Opening Sentences
Leader:
O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness,
And for his wonderful works to the children of men.
Assembly:
The Lord is good to all; and his tender mercies are over all his works.
Leader:
Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel.
Who only doeth wondrous things;
Assembly:
And blessed be his glorious name forever;
And let the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Leader:
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
And into his courts with praise;
Be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
Assembly:
For the Lord is good ; his mercy is everlasting;
And his truth endureth to all generations.
Hymn (Tune 'America,' Key of G)
God bless our native land;
Firm may she ever stand
Through storm and night:
When the wild tempests rave,
Ruler of wind and wave,
Thou who art strong to save,
Be thou her might!
Thanksgiving for Guidance in the Past
Leader
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion;
Sing aloud unto God our strength.
Take a psalm, and blow ye the trumpet,
In the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.
Assmbly:
O remember the days of old, and consider the years,
Consider the years of many generations.
Leader
Ask thy father, and he will show thee;
Ask thy elders, and they will tell thee what works were done in their days, in the times of old.
Assmbly
They wandered in the wilderness, in a solitary way;
They found no city to dwell in.
Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
Leader
Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble,
And he delivered them out of their distresses.
And he led them forth by the right way,
That they might go to a city of habitation.
Assembly
O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness,
For his wonderful works to the children of men. (Seated)
THE FIRST THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION (Plymouth, Dec. n, 1621)
Our corn did prove well; and, God be praised, we had a good increase of Indian corn. Our harvest being gotten in, our Governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might, after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruit of our labors. Many of the Indians came amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king, Massasoit, with some ninety men whom for thtee days we entertained or feasted. Edward Winslow
FIRST THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION
It is ordered yt ye II th day of June throughout this jurisdiction shall be sett apart for a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God for His great and victorious mercyes to or dreare native countrye for ye comfortable and seasonable supplying vs wth moderate showers and His mercy in wth drawing His afflicting hand from vs.
What sought they thus afar?
Bright jewels of the mine?
The wealth of seas, the sports of war?
They sought a faith's pure shrine.
Hymn ('America.' First stanza only)
Thanksgiving for the Abundant Harvest
Leader:
Lord, thou hast been favorable unto thy land.
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
Assmbly:
Thou visitest the earth and waterest it,
Thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water ;
Thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.
Leader:
Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly,
Thou settlest the furrows thereof;
Thou makest it soft with showers,
Thou blessest the springing thereof.
Assmbly:
Thou crownest the year with thy goodness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.
The pastures are clothed with flocks ;
The valleys also are covered oyer with corn;
They shout for joy, they also sing.
All:
A BLESSING FOR THE LOAF
Back of the loaf is the snowy flour,
And back of the flour ; the mill ;
And back of the mill is the wheat and the shower,
And the sun, and the Father's will Maitbie Babcock
AUTUMN
A haze on the fair horizon,
The infinite tender sky,
The ripe, rich tints of the cornfields,
And wild geese sailing high,
And all over upland and lowland
The charm of the golden-rod,
Some of us call it autumn
And others call it God. Carrutb
Hynm (First and second stanzas only. Standing)
| Praise to God and Thanks We Bring | ||||
| (ST.GEORGE'S, WINDSOR 7,7,7,7,D.) | ||||
| William C. Gannet, 1882 | George J. Elvey, 1859 | |||
| ||||
- Praise to God and thanks we bring, Hearts, bow down, and voices, sing!
Praises to the Glorious One, All his year of wonder done!
Praise him for his bud- ding green, April's resurrection scene ;
Praise him for his shining hours, Starring all the land with flowers ! - Praise him for his summer rain, Feeding day and night the grain;
Praise him for his tiny seed, Holding all his world shall need;
Praise him for his garden root, Meadow grass and orchard fruit;
Praise for hills and valleys broad, Each the table of the Lord! - Praise him now for snowy rest, Falling soft on nature's breast ;
Praise for happy dreams of birth, Brooding in the quiet earth :
For his year of won-der done, Praise to the All glorious One
Hearts, bow down, and voices, sing Praise,and love, and thanksgiving ! A-men.
Thanksgiving for Spiritual Blessings
(Seated)
All:
It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Leader:
From oldest times, when shepherds dwelt
In tents of hair outspread,
This art was ordered with the law
That man should live by bread.
By bread, but ' not by bread alone,'
The spirit hath its need,
And on the ministry of truth
Its growing strength must feed, Julia Ward Howe
Assmbly:
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us.
That we should be called the Sons of God.
Leader:
Bless the Lord, my soul;
And all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Assmbly:
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction ; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies.
All:
Thanks be unto god for his unspeakable gift.
Prayer (All unite reverently)
Father of mankind, who givest to thy creatures all things richly to enjoy! What can we render thee for all the abounding blessings that crown our lives! What canst thou do but give, what can we do but receive, since all we can offer is already thine own. Thou hast given the earth to the children of men. We give thanks and praise for the coming and going of day and night, for the march of the seasons, for the ever repeated miracle of growth by which all creatures are fed. We give thanks for the countless common benefits and comforts of every day and night: for the flowers of human kindness that spring along the
path; for the law of commandments which teaches that we are thy servants; for the gospel of love which assures us that we are thy children. Amen.
Hymn Praise to God and Thanks We Bring (Third stanza)
Thanksgiving for Our Country and What She Is to Be
New occasions teach new duties : Tune makes ancient good uncouth ;
They must 'upward still, and onward, who would keep abreast of Truth ;
Lo, before us gleam her camp-fires ; We ourselves must Pilgrims be,
Launch our Mayflower, and steer boldly through the desperate whiter sea,
Nor attempt the Future's portal with the Past's blood-rusted key. James Russell Lowell
Hymn Men Whose Boast It Is (Tune ' St. George's, Windsor.' See p. 33)
| Men whose boast it is that ye Come of fathers brave and free, |
Is true freedom but to break Fetters for our own dear sake, |
James Russell Lowell, 1843