Now Join We to Praise the Creator

for times of Thanksgiving and Harvest, while crying for the plight of the hungry

Music by Ron Klusmeier
Words by Fred Kaan
Tune Name: PRINCE RUPERT

Lyrics as Poetry

Now join we, to praise the Creator,
our voices in worship and song;
we stand to recall with thanksgiving
that to God all seasons belong:We thank you, O Source of all goodness,
for the joy and abundance of crops,
for food that is stored in our cupboards,
for all we can buy in the shops.But also of need and starvation
we sing with concern and despair,
of skills that are used for destruction,
of land that is burnt and laid bare.We cry for the plight of the hungry
while harvests are left on the field,
for orchards neglected and wasting,
for produce from markets withheld.The song grows in depth and in wideness;
the earth and its people are one.
There can be no thanks without giving,
no word without deeds that are done.Then teach us, O God of the harvest,
to be humble in all that we claim,
to share what we have with the nations,
to care for the world in your name.


Words by
Fred KaanCopyright © 1968 by Hope Publishing Company
(Carol Stream, Illinois) for USA and CanadaCopyright © 1968 by Stainer & Bell Limited
(London, England) for all other territories

Comments About Song

Author Fred Kaan, from his book
THE ONLY EARTH WE KNOW (page 67):

“One of the dangers inherent in harvest festivals is that they are so easily romanticized.
Peter Cutts, one of today’s foremost hymn composers, once hailed this text for its
‘…welcome recognition in a harvest hymn that abundance of crops is not universal’. [It was] written for the Pilgrim Church in Plymouth,
and first publicly introduced in the 1973 Westminster Abbey ‘Come and Sing’ series.”


The Only Earth We Know
(Hymn Texts by Fred Kaan)
is co-published by:Hope Publishing Company
Carol Stream, IL USA
(for USA and Canada)Stainer & Bell, Limited
London, England
(for all other countries)

Season, Theme
or Subject

  • Agriculture
  • Autumn (season)
  • Challenge
  • Creation∶ care of
  • Earth, Earth Day
  • Ecology
  • Environment (care of)
  • Farming
  • Feeding of multitudes
  • Food
  • Gratitude
  • Harvest
  • Hunger
  • Justice, Human Rights
  • Love∶ love for others
  • Nature
  • Neighbour
  • Outreach
  • Peace
  • Rogation
  • Sustenance
  • Thanksgiving∶  harvest season
  • Violence
  • War
  • World
  • World Food Day

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