Valerius

November 20, 2018

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;

He chastens and hastens His will to make known.

The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.

Sing praises to His name; He forgets not His own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,

Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine;

So from the beginning the fight we were winning;

Thou, Lord, were at our side, all glory be Thine!

We all do extol Thee, Thou leader triumphant,

And pray that Thou still our defender will be.

Let Thy congregation escape tribulation;

Thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

From my youth onward, I had always assumed this old hymn to be a Pilgrim hymn to God for his protection and guidance through the trials of persecution that drove them to the New World in search of religious freedom. Turns out it was indeed a celebration of religious freedom, but was of Dutch rather than English origin.

In 1597 the Dutch were engaged in a war of national liberation against the Catholic King Philip II of Spain. "Wilt heden nu treden," "We Gather Together," written that year by Adrian Valerius, resonated because under the Spanish King, Dutch Protestants were forbidden to gather for worship. It first appeared in print in a 1626 collection of Dutch folk and patriotic songs, and made its first appearance in an American hymnal in 1903. It had retained popularity among the Dutch, and when the Dutch Reformed Church in North America decided in 1937 to abandon the policy that they had brought with them to the New World in the 17th century of singing only psalms and add hymns to the church service, "We Gather Together" was chosen as the first hymn in the first hymnal.

The hymn steadily gained popularity, especially in services of Thanksgiving. According to Carl Daw, executive director of the Hymn Society, the "big break" came in 1935 when it was included in the national hymnal of the Methodist-Episcopal Church.

It has since become a seasonal staple, sung traditionally the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I remember it as such from the time I first started attending the Westside Baptist Church in 1961. We sang it last Sunday, along with “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come,” and “Now Thank We All Our God,” a veritable trinity of Thanksgiving hymns that still feed my soul. I love and appreciate contemporary Christian music, but when it comes to praise, it’s hard to top these words that have stood the test of time. We came from various parts of the city, gathering together to thank our God for his many blessings as we lifted our voices in praise.