A hymnal is one of the books I use almost daily in my devotional routine, and I love Thanksgiving hymns in November. Their tried and true words and melodies call up visions of harvested fields, gatherings around a loaded table, and God’s “countless gifts of love.”
I learned one of my favorite Thanksgiving hymns in college when some ambitious professor arranged a double choir production of “Now Thank We All Our God.” It was an auditioned group, so everyone could sing, but believe me when I say our gifts comprised a wide spectrum, with me on one end, and on the other end were singers like the dear missiology major named Bonnie whose rich and resonant alto literally caused a vibration in my chair. Nonetheless, we filled the auditorium with antiphonal praise as we passed around the call to a full-bodied gratitude to God “with heart and hands and voices.”
Is this a familiar carol of gratitude for you? If not, give it a listen:
“Now thank we all our God
with heart and hands and voices,
who wondrous things has done,
in whom his world rejoices;
who from our mothers’ arms
has blessed us on our way
with countless gifts of love,
and still is ours today.”
Don’t Wait for a “Better” Time
The lyrics call us to remember God’s “countless gifts of love,” and in later verses to lift our voices in praise of “the one eternal God whom earth and heaven adore.” The hymn overflows with weighty trinitarian theology, but on today’s reading, I found my eyes and my mind drawn to the little word now.
The opening line, “Now thank we all our God,” tells me that today’s circumstances are worthy of gratitude. Yes, there is room for improvement. No, I have not achieved all my goals for 2024 or even for this day. Even so, “Now thank we all our God.”
Lord, show us how to be thankful in the now of our lives:
For the unfinished, for the imperfect;
For the almost, and the not quite yet;
For the unrealized and the non-materialized;
For the gifts of the present moment as well as for the longed-for but not yet received;
For the blessings of this particular day on the calendar,
For this moment on the clock,
We will not hold back our thanks until a “better” time.
Now Thank We All Our God!
For the Given
As well as for the Not Given.
Holding you in the light,
“Now thank we all our God,” tells me that today’s circumstances are worthy of gratitude. Yes, there is room for improvement. No, I have not achieved my goals for 2024 or even for this day. Even so “Now thank we all our God.”
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Living Our Days 
Michele each day is enough and there is always something to be grateful for in any and all circumstances no matter what happens! may we always look for the good with a little bit of joy!
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Enough! It’s a refreshing word to reflect upon, isn’t it?
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Thank you for always stirring our hearts to look up to God! The “now” of this moment is the best time for offering my gratitude up to Him, always asking for eyes to see what He has given for this day. Beautiful hymn!
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It really is beautiful and I’m glad to pull it out every year and remember to be grateful NOW!
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Thankfulness each and every day! Sent from my iPhone
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😍
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What a beautiful arrangement of this gorgeous hymn! And a timely reminder to be thankful for the NOW. I’m quite good at living “in the moment” and enjoying the present; however, I am not nearly as good at remembering to express my gratitude to God in these moments.
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I am also prone to taking God’s goodness for granted. That’s why Thanksgiving is so important to me as a reset!
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I love the hymns from around this time of year as well. They seem more simple than the ones we sing at Christmas time.
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I hadn’t thought of that but you are right!
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I love hymns and had not heard of this one. Thank you for sharing. The video itself is encouraging to see so many Christians praising God. I also wrote in my journal your thoughts/prayer on how to be thankful in the now of our lives. I really appreciate that!
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Michele, thank you for sharing this hymn as it is beautiful! The words “bounteous God” so struck me. May we be ever grateful for our generous and giving God, who gives to us so liberally and freely, all that we have and need.
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I especially love the way he gives me things I wouldn’t have had the sense to ask for!
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Amen to the song and your prayer, my friend! This powerful reminder: “No, I have not achieved all my goals for 2024 or even for this day. Even so, “Now thank we all our God.” Thanking God today along with you!
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So glad you could nod along with me as I processed the thoughts that swarmed with the reading of that sweet old hymn!
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Oh my goodness, Michele–Now Thank We All Our God inspired both of our blog posts for this week!! My research took me into the story behind the hymn and the example set for us by the composer. I was even going to post the same YouTube video for those who’ve never heard this hymn! (Can you imagine being in that magnificent hall, singing such a grand hymn with that many people?! What a glorious experience that must have been.) P.S. I’ll see if I can find another for my post! 😁
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I will look forward to reading your thoughts! I knew we were kindred spirits!😍
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This is one of those hymns that comes to me in the night when sleep eludes. It’s majestic music and powerful words are worth an examination and I thank you for going there, friend. I’ll be remembering your emphasis on NOW.
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That’s wonderful, Linda. What a delightful companion in the sleepless dark.
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I too enjoy Thanksgiving hymns and am so thankful I grew up with them. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
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They are so theologically rich, and a true corrective to our acquisitive, take-everything-for-granted culture!
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I love this hymn. It’s too bad we only sing it in November. And I love it when an overlooked word suddenly jumps out at us from a familiar place and enlarges our perspective. I had not thought of the significance of “now” in this hymn until this post. Whatever is or isn’t going on in life, we have much to thank God for.
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I agree! And we don’t seem to have the same tendency to rush into the Thanksgiving music the way we rush into Christmas!
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Michele, this post beautifully captures the heart of gratitude and contentment. It’s such a powerful reminder to thank God for what we have now instead of always longing for what’s next. I love how you tied this truth to our daily lives, encouraging us to shift our focus and trust God’s timing and provision. Your reflections inspire me to pause and truly see the blessings in front of me, even in seasons of waiting or uncertainty. Thank you for sharing this heartfelt encouragement—it’s a timely word for many of us! And, thank you so much for linking up at InstaEncouragements this week!
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You’ve put your finger on the very biggest challenge in a life of gratitude: thankfulness in the waiting. And even when God withholds something I’ve asked for, I want to trust that it was a only a stone that I had mistaken for bread!
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What a wonderful college experience your professor gave you! It sounds like it sowed a proliferating number of good seeds.
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Music has been such a huge part of my formation!
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This song is actually new to me so I clicked your link to hear it. I thought I knew most of the hymns. ha. But like books, songs are far more numerous than we can imagine. 🙂 I love the sentiment to not wait until a “better” time to give thanks. Now is always the right time.
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I don’t think hymns are being sung in church as much as they used to be, and I had only been introduced to this one in college choir. I find words set to music carry my gratitude and my worship best.
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