Harvest, Ministry & Perseverance
Come, Labor On
Come, labor on.
Who dares stand idle on the harvest plain
While all around us waves the golden grain?
And to each servant does the Master say,
“Go work today.”
Come, labor on.
Claim the high calling angels cannot share;
To young and old the gospel gladness bear.
Redeem the time; its hours too swiftly fly.
The night draws nigh.
Come, labor on.
Cast off all gloomy doubt and faithless fear!
No arm so weak but may do service here.
Though feeble agents, may we all fulfill
God’s righteous will.
Come, labor on.
No time for rest, till glows the western sky,
Till the long shadows o’er our pathway lie,
And a glad sound comes with the setting sun,
“Well done, well done!”
Overview Short Summary
Borthwick uses the biblical harvest as an image of urgent Christian service. The poem insists that no person is too weak to contribute and that time should be used faithfully while opportunities remain.
Faith Message Christian Meaning and Reflection
The poem’s urgency should not be read as permission for unhealthy exhaustion. Its central point is that service belongs to every believer, not only to unusually gifted people. Even limited strength may be useful when offered with faith and directed toward a real need.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- The harvest: The field symbolizes people and opportunities requiring faithful attention.
- Shared service: No servant is excluded simply because personal strength feels small.
- Courage: Fear and doubt should not prevent useful action.
- Faithful completion: The closing hope is to hear the Master’s approval.
Scripture and Context Biblical Connection
Matthew 9:37–38 describes a plentiful harvest and few laborers. John 9:4 emphasizes working while it is day, and Matthew 25:21 provides the promise of “Well done” to a faithful servant.
Reading Guide Best Use
Suitable for mission Sundays, volunteer recruitment, ministry teams, or encouragement for people who believe their contribution is too small to matter.
Go, Labor On
Go, labor on; spend, and be spent,
Thy joy to do the Father’s will;
It is the way the Master went;
Should not the servant tread it still?
Go, labor on; ’tis not for naught;
Thine earthly loss is heavenly gain;
Men heed thee, love thee, praise thee not;
The Master praises—what are men?
Go, labor on; enough while here
If He shall praise thee, if He deign
Thy willing heart to mark and cheer;
No toil for Him shall be in vain.
Go, labor on while it is day:
The world’s dark night is hastening on.
Speed, speed thy work, cast sloth away;
It is not thus that souls are won.
Toil on, faint not, keep watch and pray;
Be wise the erring soul to win;
Go forth into the world’s highway,
Compel the wanderer to come in.
Toil on, and in thy toil rejoice;
For toil comes rest, for exile home;
Soon shalt thou hear the Bridegroom’s voice,
The midnight peal, “Behold, I come.”
Overview Short Summary
Bonar calls Christians to serve without depending on human praise. The poem follows Christ’s example of self-giving work and urges perseverance, prayer, and joy even when service appears unnoticed.
Faith Message Christian Meaning and Reflection
The poem values sacrificial service but must be read with wise boundaries. Christian self-giving is not the same as tolerating exploitation or ignoring genuine limits. Its lasting message is that hidden acts of faithfulness still matter when public recognition is absent.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Following Christ’s example: The servant is called to walk the way the Master walked.
- Service without applause: Human approval is treated as less important than faithfulness to God.
- Perseverance: The repeated command to continue gives the poem its driving force.
- Prayerful action: Work is joined with watchfulness and prayer.
Scripture and Context Biblical Connection
2 Corinthians 12:15 contains the language of spending and being spent. Galatians 6:9 encourages believers not to grow weary in doing good, while Colossians 3:23–24 places reward in the Lord rather than human recognition.
Reading Guide Best Use
Useful for pastors, volunteers, caregivers, missionaries, or anyone serving faithfully without much acknowledgment.
Hark! The Voice of Jesus Calling
Hark! the voice of Jesus calling,
“Who will go and work today?
Fields are white, the harvest waiting,
Who will bear the sheaves away?”
Loud and long the Master calls out,
Rich reward He offers free:
Who will answer, gladly saying,
“Here am I, send me, send me.”
If you cannot cross the ocean
And the foreign lands explore,
You can find the needy nearer,
You can help them at your door.
If you cannot give in thousands,
You can give the widow’s mite,
And the least you give for Jesus
Will be precious in His sight.
If you cannot speak like angels,
If you cannot preach like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus,
You can say He died for all.
If you cannot rouse the wicked
With the judgment’s dread alarms,
You may lead the little children
To the Savior’s waiting arms.
Let none hear you idly saying,
“There is nothing I can do,”
While the lost of earth are dying,
And the Master calls for you.
Take the task He gives you gladly;
Let His work your pleasure be.
Answer quickly when He’s calling,
“Here am I, send me, send me.”
Overview Short Summary
March challenges the idea that meaningful service must be distant, large, or public. A person who cannot travel, give a large amount, or preach powerfully can still help a neighbor, offer a small gift, teach a child, or respond to a local need.
Faith Message Christian Meaning and Reflection
This is one of the strongest Christian poems about helping people nearby. It removes common excuses without belittling limited resources. The poem’s practical insight is that faithfulness begins with what is available: one door, one child, one gift, or one task.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Local service: Need may be found close to home rather than only in distant places.
- Small gifts: The widow’s mite shows that value is not measured only by size.
- Availability: The central response is a willingness to be sent.
- Different forms of service: Giving, teaching, speaking, and helping are all included.
Scripture and Context Biblical Connection
Isaiah 6:8 supplies the response “Here am I; send me.” Mark 12:41–44 provides the widow’s small offering, while Matthew 25:40 connects service to others with service to Christ.
Reading Guide Best Use
Ideal for youth groups, local outreach, children’s ministry, small churches, or anyone who thinks they lack enough money, influence, or talent to help.
Poetic Form Structure and Repetition
Each stanza answers a different excuse: distance, money, speaking ability, or the belief that nothing useful can be done. The repeated call-and-response structure turns the poem into a practical invitation rather than a general statement about service.
To the Work!
To the work! to the work! we are servants of God,
Let us follow the path that our Master has trod;
With the balm of His counsel our strength to renew,
Let us do with our might what our hands find to do.
Toiling on, toiling on,
Toiling on, toiling on:
Let us hope, let us watch,
And labor till the Master comes.
To the work! to the work! let the hungry be fed;
To the fountain of life let the weary be led;
In the cross and its banner our glory shall be,
While we herald the tidings, “Salvation is free!”
Toiling on, toiling on,
Toiling on, toiling on:
Let us hope, let us watch,
And labor till the Master comes.
To the work! to the work! there is labor for all;
For the kingdom of darkness and error shall fall;
And the name of Jehovah exalted shall be,
In the loud-swelling chorus, “Salvation is free!”
Toiling on, toiling on,
Toiling on, toiling on:
Let us hope, let us watch,
And labor till the Master comes.
To the work! to the work! in the strength of the Lord,
And a robe and a crown shall our labor reward;
When the home of the faithful our dwelling shall be,
And we shout with the ransomed, “Salvation is free!”
Toiling on, toiling on,
Toiling on, toiling on:
Let us hope, let us watch,
And labor till the Master comes.
Overview Short Summary
Crosby combines practical care and Christian witness. The hungry should be fed, the weary guided, and every servant invited into useful work rather than leaving ministry to a select group.
Faith Message Christian Meaning and Reflection
The poem’s repeated energy can sound intense, but its strongest principle is shared participation: there is work for everyone. Christian service includes physical care as well as spiritual encouragement, and the strength for both is described as coming from the Lord.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Feeding the hungry: Practical help is named directly as Christian work.
- Shared responsibility: The poem insists that service is available to all.
- Hopeful perseverance: The refrain joins work with hope and watchfulness.
- Strength from God: Service is not presented as self-powered effort.
Scripture and Context Biblical Connection
Ecclesiastes 9:10 encourages wholehearted work. Matthew 25:35 names feeding the hungry as service to Christ, and 1 Corinthians 15:58 calls believers to remain steadfast because labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Reading Guide Best Use
Suitable for food-bank ministries, volunteer campaigns, church service days, or a Christian lesson about joining practical care with spiritual hope.
We Give Thee But Thine Own
We give Thee but Thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be;
All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee.
May we Thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive
And gladly, as Thou blessest us,
To Thee our first-fruits give.
Oh, hearts are bruised and dead,
And homes are bare and cold,
And lambs for whom the Shepherd bled
Are straying from the fold.
To comfort and to bless,
To find a balm for woe,
To tend the lone and fatherless
Is angels’ work below.
The captive to release,
To God the lost to bring,
To teach the way of life and peace,
It is a Christ-like thing.
And we believe Thy Word,
Though dim our faith may be:
Whate’er for Thine we do, O Lord,
We do it unto Thee.
Overview Short Summary
How begins by describing possessions as a trust from God, then turns toward bruised hearts, cold homes, lonely people, captives, and those who have lost their way. Stewardship becomes the use of resources to comfort, restore, and serve.
Faith Message Christian Meaning and Reflection
The hymn refuses to separate giving from human need. Money and possessions matter, but time, care, teaching, advocacy, and companionship are also forms of stewardship. The closing stanza connects every act done for God’s people with service offered to God Himself.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Stewardship: Everything possessed is treated as something entrusted rather than owned absolutely.
- Generosity: Blessing received should lead toward blessing shared.
- Care for vulnerable people: The lonely, fatherless, captive, and wounded are named directly.
- Service to Christ: What is done for those who belong to God is offered to God.
Scripture and Context Biblical Connection
Psalm 24:1 supports the claim that everything belongs to God. James 1:27 names care for orphans and widows, while Matthew 25:40 connects service to vulnerable people with service to Christ.
Reading Guide Best Use
Excellent for stewardship Sundays, charity appeals, church budgets, giving campaigns, orphan-care ministry, or a lesson on using more than money to help others.
Close Reading Structure and Development
The hymn begins with ownership, moves to stewardship, names concrete forms of suffering, and ends with service to Christ. This progression prevents giving from remaining abstract: resources are entrusted so that real wounds may be addressed.
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