All the world is God’s own field
Fruit unto His praise to yield
Wheat and tares together sown
Unto 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
Come, Ye Thankful People Come 1844
By: Henry Alford (1810-1871)
Listen to this modern version of this seasonal hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.
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Please enjoy this video and the transcript below.
Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.
As we continue our journey through this seasonal prepare yourself to come and praise. Prepare yourself but also be ready to issue to eh call to others to join you. What better time than this season of Thanksgiving? Let’s tune our hearts.
Harvest Field
This stanza creates a powerful illustration of spiritual life using the imagery of the harvest. The first part of that illustration is the world which represents the field where the harvest grows. That field encompasses not just part of the world, but all of it.
Everything we see has the potential to be fertile soil where God accomplishes His Divine purposes. At times it may seem as though God’s purposes are no where to be seen, but truthfully every square inch of the globe has the capacity to be a part of God’s ever growing harvest.
All the world is God’s own field
Fruit unto His praise to yield
And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land. And they shall know that I am the Lord…Ezekiel 34:27a ESV
Part of how God reveals His glory to us is through the bounty of the earth. That fruit should prompt praise from us as much as it is praise itself. That bounty is at the same time an illustration of God’s work in our spiritual lives as He grows us up for the praise of His grace.
What an amazing thought that God is producing fruit that will bring Him praise across the entire world! You are an example of that and so are millions of others all across the globe. The Lord of the Harvest is busy cultivating His praise in the lives of many. Thank Him for being one of them.
RESONATE!
Take a few moments and think about the world. It can be a very hard and at times hopeless place, but that is not the intent of our God. Ask the Spirit to help you see the potential all around you, then make this your simple prayer today “God, thank You for cultivating the fruit of praise in me.”
Good and Bad
Having established the setting for our illustration the attention turns to our main characters. Every good story has a protagonist and an antagonist. This is a telling of the best story ever told so it has those key elements of course.
It is not uncommon for good and bad to co-exist, and this illustration is not exception. Actually that co-existence is a crucial element of the story itself and creates an incredible tension that will not be resolved the end. Good and evil, joy and sorrow building to an unmistakable climax at the end of the ages.
The world is the place where this wonderful drama takes place. God is growing a harvest for His glory. That harvest which He will eventually gather to Himself is the sons of the kingdom.
Wheat and tares together sown
Unto joy or sorrow grown
The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, Matthew 13:38 ESV
But we are not the only things growing in this good field. There are bad things growing as well, the sons of the evil one and their deeds. We are grown to inherit the joy of the Lord, they the sorrow of His judgment. In His wisdom God allows both simultaneously in His harvest field.
But not all that is growing is good. God allows weeds to grow among the fruit. Why He allows bad things to grow even among the good is something that is difficult for us to understand. Ask God for the wisdom to tell the difference and the grace to grow toward joy.
RESONATE!
Take a few moments and reflect on the players in this great drama. Realizing what is happening around provides us a context for understanding why there can be so much tension in life. Good and evil are co-existing in this age and being aware of that can help us deal with it much better. Pray a simple prayer like this one, “Spirit, give me wisdom and grace.”
God, thank You for the illustration of the harvest. It teaches me lessons about spiritual life that help me to make sense of the tensions I feel at times. Help me to keep these truths ever before me. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
Illustrative Tuning!
Keep coming back, and we will work to help you remove the things that may hinder your longing for His return by cultivating an awareness of God’s presence. We will help you tune your heart to live out your worship by providing resources like this to help you acknowledge the greatness of God as you become more Resonant, 7 days a week.
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Video 34.2 Transcript
Welcome to Tuesday Tunings at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s tune our hearts.
All the world is God’s own field
Fruit unto His praise to yield
Wheat and tares together sown
Unto 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
What an amazing thought that God is producing fruit that will bring Him praise across the entire world! You are an example of that and so are millions of others all across the globe. The Lord of the Harvest is busy cultivating His praise in the lives of many. Thank Him for being one of them.
God, thank You for cultivating the fruit of praise in me.
But not all that is growing is good. God allows weeds to grow among the fruit. Why He allows bad things to grow even among the good is something that is difficult for us to understand. Ask God for the wisdom to tell the difference and the grace to grow toward joy.
Spirit, give me wisdom and grace.
Growth is a gradual process. It happens little by little. Though there are likely some weeds around you, how are you growing to yield the mature fruit God has in mind for you? Ask Him to show you the incremental steps you can take to become that fruit.
Jesus, show me how to grow.
Wholesome and pure grain. That is what the Lord of the Harvest has in mind for each of us to become. Free of spot or blemish. What imperfections in your life do you need the Lord of the Harvest to heal so you can become that grain? Ask for His help in surrendering those?
Lord, help me surrender my imperfections.
Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more.
Sing
Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond. Until next time, Be Resonant.
The post Harvest: An Illustration of All Things Spiritual appeared first on Resonant 7.
Image Attributions
All the world is God’s own field Fruit unto His praise to yield – https://pixabay.com/photos/earth-globe-planet-world-space-11015/
Wheat and tares together sown Unto joy or sorrow grown – https://pixabay.com/photos/wheat-close-up-weed-wheat-ear-1526696/
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