At church today we sang one of my favorite hymns, How Great Thou Art. What a glorious list of blessings from the Lord is contained in that hymn! Music is so intertwined in our lives. I am certain one reason is because when we are filled with gratitude to God we cannot be kept from singing. It is part of our nature, whether we can carry a tune or not, to break out in songs of praise. It is also a commandment.
“Be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” — Ephesians 5:18–20
“If thou art merry, praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving.” — Doctrine and Covenants 136:28
Throughout the scriptures we read of God’s people singing psalms of gratitude. When ancient Israel was delivered from Egypt, “then sang Moses and the children of Israel [a] song unto the Lord” (Exodus 15:1). As the Jaredites crossed the ocean, “they did sing praises unto the Lord” (Ether 6:9). In the dark days of Winter Quarters, the Lord revealed His will to Brigham Young that the camp of Israel should “praise the Lord with singing, with music, with dancing, and with a prayer of praise and thanksgiving” (Doctrine and Covenants 136:28). At that time the Saints were suffering the greatest of hardships, but the Lord was commanding them to be full of praise and thanksgiving. Why? Because the Lord knew that members of the Church would be weary and discouraged and that this counsel would lift their spirits and help them overcome discouragement along the way.
I believe singing praises is another way the Lord provided for His children to turn to Him: in times of need, in times of gratitude, in times of sorrow, in times of joy. The words of hymns combined with the melody reach to our very souls, touching us deeply, teaching us the truths that God does care, that He is there.
“We get nearer to the Lord through music than perhaps through any other thing except prayer.” — President J. Reuben Clark Jr.
At a time when we feel to skip straight to the Christmas music (many of it also expressing some form of gratitude for the gift of the Savior) try to pause and sing or listen to songs of Thanksgiving. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.
A Thanksgiving of American Folk Hymns
Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
Tiffany at An Ensign, Waving has created a playlist on spotify titled “Give Thanks.” With about 80 songs there are over five hours of pure listening joy. Find her playlist songs here at her blog.
What songs are your favorite to sing this time of year in praise and gratitude to God?
This post is a part of the Grateful Hearts, Giving Hands series.
Did you know How Great Thou Art is Guelita’s favorite hymn? I always cry when I hear it because it makes me think of her and all that she has taught us. Music is a huge part of our lives. I don’t know how I would chose a favorite.
Definitely Because I have been given much…
Well, you know me– it’s hard to pick just one. 🙂
Of the hymns, “For the Beauty of the Earth,” & “How Great Thou Art” are my favorites this time of year, if I had to choose. From contemporary music, I really love Rend Collective Experiment’s version of “10,000 Reasons” & Bethel Music’s “One Thing Remains” right now. And as far as full albums go, I also love that BYU album you mentioned above as well as both “Hymn Revival” albums by The Lower Lights.
Thanks for keeping the spirit of eucharisteo alive in the hearts of so many! ♥
How Great Thou Art is my favorite hymn too! More than once I remember being so thrilled by a beautiful vista as I was hiking that I couldn’t help but break out in that song. It’s the song my heart sings every time I am enjoying the beauties of nature, or when I remember what Christ has done for all of us. (Although, I have to admit I don’t like it when they take it too slow in Church -it can really drag). Of course, All Creatures of Our God and King as well as For the Beauty of the Earth are both a close second in my thankful-feeling songs.
When we lived in Rexburg Idaho they used to have a Thanksgiving tradition of what was called “Turkey Choir.” Anyone could participate, and we would practice for weeks and have a free concert Thanksgiving morning in the old Tabernacle for everyone. The songs ranged from hymns to patriotic anthems to Broadway showstoppers and of course several silly folk-songs, along with a few special small ensemble or instrumental pieces by locally renowned musicians. I loved it! It was apparent that giving thanks could be expressed in so many ways and for so many things. It was a wonderful community event to gather everyone in thanks-giving and made the day much more special than the traditional food or Macey’s parades or backyard football games or pre-black Friday preparations (gag me) or even commercial-free movies on TV could ever do. Sadly though, I’m not sure if they do it anymore since the main organizers moved out of town, as did we. I’d be curious to know if the tradition continues though, it was a good one.
Oh, and as an afterthought, my sister used to nanny for a small Christian family, and at family meals instead of saying a blessing on the food they’d have the little boy lead them in singing the song from Disney’s Johnny Appleseed “The Lord is Good to Me…” At least the first stanza. I think that is so cute!
You even titled the post with a song! I’m so proud that I’ve rubbed off on you….
Just last week, our Woman’s Bible Study topic was thanksgiving. My assigned task each week is to pick a song for the group to sing and open up the meeting. I had to choose For The Beauty Of The Earth! I just love the first that first stanza:
For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies:
Lord of all, to you we raise
This our gift of grateful praise.
My absolute favorite song/hymn of all time is “How Can I Keep From Singing!”
I sing around the house all the time with my kids, but my try love is in dancing, which I hope our church learns to incorporate more somehow. When I hear music, I create choreography in my head. 🙂 and I wish we knew how to dance waltzes and other refined types of dancing, like they do in the Jane Austen period films. To be able to see your partner and communicate with them and not just go in a circle sounds marvelous to me.
Any song talking about our beautiful earth and gratitude for its Creator gets my vote. 🙂
Thank you for these! I love the idea of nurturing gratitude through a playlist of songs that act like “Thanksgiving carols.”