All Good Gifts

Heather Allington

Heather writes for Sunday Song Book on behalf of the The Salvation Army Oshawa. As a lifelong member of the Army, she has loved these familiar - and some less familiar - songs for many years, and enjoys researching and writing about their origins. She is a wife, mother, grandmother and retired elementary school teacher who likes trying her hand at watercolour painting and poetry writing.

We plough the fields and scatter
The good seed on the land,
But it is fed and watered
By God’s almighty hand;
He sends the snow in winter,
The warmth to swell the grain,
The breezes and the sunshine,
The soft, refreshing rain.

All good gifts around us
Are sent from Heaven above;
Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord
For all His love!

He only is the maker
Of all things near and far;
He paints the wayside flower;
He lights the evening star;
The winds and waves obey Him;
By Him the birds are fed;
Much more to us, His children,
He gives our daily bread.

We thank Thee then, O Father,
For all things bright and good:
The seed time and the harvest,
Our life, our health, our food.
Accept the gifts we offer
For all Thy love imparts,
And, what Thou most desirest,
Our humble, thankful hearts.

Matthias Claudius, the author of the original German words to this familiar Thanksgiving hymn, was the son of a Lutheran pastor in Germany. He studied theology, law and languages. He became a journalist and newspaper editor, first in Hamburg, in 1768, and then in Wandsbeck, in 177 l. A respected man, he was appointed as a commissioner of Agriculture and Manufacture in 1776. Perhaps his agricultural connection gave rise to his writing of this song! Next, Claudius became editor of the official Hesse-Darmstadt newspaper. He battled serious illness and in 1777 he returned to Wandsbeck, as editor of the Wandsbecker Bote. His final post was as a bank auditor – a seemingly unusual change of career! Claudius moved to live with a daughter in Hamburg shortly before he died.

Jane Montgomery Campbell, the translator, was also the child of a minister. She was a music teacher in England, and translated a number of German hymns into English.