Oh wow! The Mormon Tabernacle Choir played a rousing rendition of “Prayer of Thanksgiving” today on Music and the Spoken Word, their weekly Sunday program. I hadn’t known before that this folk Hymn was written in the late 1800’s because of the end of a long and dreary war between The Netherlands and Spain in pursuit of religious freedom.

This hymn always reminded me of our own Pilgrim heritage and our Thanksgiving Holiday. Oh well, it still fits, and we should sing it proudly. Here are the words:

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!

It think it still works for one of our own Thanksgiving songs, don’t you?