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, wast 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!
Anonymous, 1625,
Theodore Baker, translator
Read Psalm 5:11-12
(We Gather Together was originally a Dutch hymn. The author is not known, and the hymn may be the work of several authors over a period of years. Since Holland was a place of asylum for the Pilgrims before they sailed for the New World, my writer’s imagination leads me to wonder if they may have sung this hymn…
The second verse begins, “Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,” and puts me in mind of God with us, that is, Immanuel. What a perfect lead-in to the season of Advent.
Blessings on you, my friends. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Colossians 3:16 )