Henry Alford was a minister’s son, and the fifth consecutive generation of ministers. After graduating from Trinity College, Cambridge, he entered the Anglican ministry and rose quickly from one position to another until he became the Dean of Canterbury. He was well known as a Greek scholar who spent twenty years writing his four-volume edition of the Greek Testament. He was musically gifted as well and wrote several books of hymns. A devout man, it is said that at the end of every day and every meal, he would stand and thank God for his love care and gifts¹.

Come, ye thankful people, come,
Raise the song of harvest home;
All is safely gathered in,
Ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide
For our wants to be supplied;
Come to God’s own temple, come,
Raise the song of harvest home.

All the world is God’s own field,
Fruit as praise to God we yield;
Wheat and tares together sown
Are to joy or sorrow grown;
First the blade and then the ear,
Then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest, grant that we
Wholesome grain and pure may be.

For the Lord our God shall come,
And shall take the harvest home;
From the field shall in that day
All offenses purge away,
Giving angels charge at last
In the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store
In the garner evermore.

Even so, Lord, quickly come,
Bring thy final harvest home;
Gather thou thy people in,
Free from sorrow, free from sin,
There, forever purified,
In thy presence to abide;
Come, with all thine angels, come,
Raise the glorious harvest home.

¹page 210 – Leeman, D. and Leeman, B., 2022. Our Hymns, Our Heritage: A Student Guide to Songs of the Church

Aar­on R. Wolfe, 1851. Wolfe wrote this hymn just be­fore grad­u­at­ing from Un­ion Sem­in­a­ry. It was first pub­lished in the New York Ev­an­gel­ist in 1851, then in Church Me­lo­dies: A Col­lect­ion of Psalms & Hymns with Ap­pro­pri­ate Tunes, 1859, and below is my favourite version.

Complete in Thee! No work of mine
May take, dear Lord, the place of Thine;
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And I am now complete in Thee!

Complete in Thee! No more shall sin,
Thy grace hath conquered, reign within;
Thy voice shall bid the tempter flee,
And I shall stand complete in Thee!

Refrain
Yea, justified! O blessed thought!
And sanctified! Salvation wrought!
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And glorified, I too, shall be!

Complete in Thee! Each want supplied,
And no good thing to me denied;
Since Thou my portion, Lord, wilt be,
I ask no more, complete in Thee!

Refrain

Dear Saviour, when before Thy bar
All tribes and tongues assembled are,
Among Thy chosen will I be,
At Thy right hand, complete in Thee!

Refrain

Another hymn by a contemporary worship group – Joyful Noise. As a UK collective, their vision is to write songs from the Word, to the heart and for the church, so that God’s people might “come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him” (Psalm 95)¹. This song was born out of the conviction that the cross lies not just at the heart of Christian belief, but also of our Christian lives day by day. The cross teaches us to know God, to humble ourselves, to truly love, and to praise joyfully through all circumstances; “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” – 1 Corinthians 2:2. This song would be a lovely addition to your church’s repertoire!

Your cross, O Lord, taught me to see
That though I fail you every day
Your steadfast love will not fail me
But gladly bears my sin away.
And there I see your holy fire
Consuming sin in mercy’s blood:
What righteousness and love require
To ransom sinners to their God.

Your cross, O Lord, taught me to weep
For there my sin led you away
And e’en the sun did bow in grief
As darkness crowned our darkest day.
And oh, to think that I once stood
Indifferent to your suffering!
And oh, to see your sweat like blood:
Such depths of sorrow borne for me!

Your cross, O Lord, taught me to love
For there I’ve tasted love divine,
It fills my heart with power enough
To make your costly service mine.
No sin too great to meet with grace,
No enemy too foul to bless.
Your love in wounds of sacrifice;
Teach me, O Lord, to love like this.

Your cross, O Lord, taught me to sing
For now my captive soul is free!
No guilt, no fear, no suffering
Can tear away your love from me!
No song can reach such heights of joy!
No tongue can tell such depths of peace!
No power, no time, can e’er destroy
The eternal praise for Calvary!

¹joyful-noise.bandcamp.com/track/your-cross-o-lord-2

This is a song written by Stuart Townend & Keith Getty is one of heartfelt thankfulness, structured into three verses of past, present and future salvation: the first verse reminds us of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross; the second verse of God’s day-today presence and power with us, walking alongside and providing us with all we need; and the third verse looks forward to the sure knowledge that His eternal rule makes our future assured in Him¹.

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who bore my pain;
Who plumbed the depths of my disgrace
And gave me life again.
Who crushed my curse of sinfulness,
And clothed me with His light,
And wrote His law of righteousness
With power upon my heart.

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who walks beside;
Who floods my weaknesses with strength
And causes fears to fly;
Whose every promise is enough
For every step I take,
Sustaining me with arms of love
And crowning me with grace.

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who reigns above;
Whose wisdom is my perfect peace,
Whose every thought is love.
For every day I have on earth
Is given by the King.
So I will give my life, my all,
To love and follow Him.

¹ ‘https://www.stuarttownend.co.uk/song/my-heart-is-filled-with-thankfulness/