7815. Ye Sons of Earth, Prepare the Plough

1. Ye sons of earth, prepare the plough,
Break up your fallow ground!
The Sower is gone forth to sow,
And scatter blessings round.

2. The seed that finds a stony soil
Shoots forth a hasty blade;
But ill repays the sower’s toil,
Soon withered, scorched, and dead.

3. The thorny ground is sure to balk
All hopes of harvest there;
We find a tall and sickly stalk,
But not the fruitful ear.

4. The beaten path and highway side
Receive the trust in vain;
The watchful birds the spoil divide,
And pick up all the grain.

5. But where the Lord of grace and power
Has blessed the happy field,
How plenteous is the golden store
The deep wrought furrows yield!

6. Father of mercies, we have need
Of Thy preparing grace;
Let the same hand that gives me seed
Provide a fruitful place!

Text Information
First Line: Ye sons of earth, prepare the plough
Title: Ye Sons of Earth, Prepare the Plough
Author: William Cowper (1779)
Meter: CM
Language: English
Source: Olney Hymns (London: W. Oliver, 1779)
Copyright: Public Domain
Tune Information
Name: ST. JAMES
Composer: Ralph Courteville (1696)
Meter: CM
Incipit: 51231 24336 71652
Key: A Major
Source: Se­lect Psalms and Hymns for the Use of the Par­ish Church and Ta­ber­na­cle of St. James’, West­min­ster, 1696
Copyright: Public Domain



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