1 Heavenly Sower, Thou hast scattered
Precious seed upon Thy field,
That a harvest might be gathered,
Rich and fruitful in its yield.
Gracious Lord, thou hast defended,
Nurtured, watered, guarded, tended
This so precious seed of Thine,
Springing up in soil divine.
2 Lo, Thy field its fruits has yielded,
Where Thy kingdom's seed was sown;
gospel rain from drought has shielded,
Pentecostal winds have blown;
Where Thy Sun of Grace in splendor
Shed its warming rays so tender,
There Thy seed has taken root,
There it blossomed into fruit.
3 Guard Thy gospel field, dear Master,
Tares abound upon the soil.
Save Thy harvest from disaster,
Let no foe Thy seed despoil.
When, upon Thy glad returning,
Tares and chaff are doomed to burning,
Then within Thy garner, Lord,
May the precious wheat be stored.
Amen.
Source: The Hymnal and Order of Service #79
Anna Hoppe was born on May 7, 1889 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She left school after the eighth grade and worked as a stenographer. She began writing patriotic verses when she was very young and by the age of 25 she was writing spiritual poetry. After some of her poems appeared in the Northwestern Lutheran, a periodical of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, they came to the attention of Dr. Adolf Hult of Augustana Seminary, Rock Island, Illinois. He influenced her to write her Songs for the Church Year (1928). Several hymnals include her work, which was usually set to traditional chorale melodies, although she also made a number of translations. She died on August 2, 1941 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
NN, from Cyber Hymnal
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