Thanks for being a Hymnary.org user. You are one of more than 10 million people from 200-plus countries around the world who have benefitted from the Hymnary website in 2024! If you feel moved to support our work today with a gift of any amount and a word of encouragement, we would be grateful.

You can donate online at our secure giving site.

Or, if you'd like to make a gift by check, please make it out to CCEL and mail it to:
Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 3201 Burton Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546
And may the promise of Advent be yours this day and always.

Come, Labor On

View this hymn using FlexPresent: Hymnary.org's free tool provides this hymn's music notationand lyrics synchronized with its audio

Come, labor on, Who dares stand idle on the harvest plain

Author: Jane Borthwick (1859, 1863)
Published in 70 hymnals

Printable scores: PDF, MusicXML
Playable presentation: Lyrics only, lyrics + music
Audio files: MIDI, Recording

Song available on My.Hymnary

Representative Text

1 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."

2 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.

3 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.

4 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!"

Source: Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #719

Author: Jane Borthwick

Miss Jane Borthwick, the translator of this hymn and many others, is of Scottish family. Her sister (Mrs. Eric Findlater) and herself edited "Hymns from the Land of Luther" (1854). She also wrote "Thoughts for Thoughtful Hours (1859), and has contributed numerous poetical pieces to the "Family Treasury," under the signature "H.L.L." --Annotations of the Hymnal, Charles Hutchins, M.A. 1872.… Go to person page >

Text Information

First Line: Come, labor on, Who dares stand idle on the harvest plain
Title: Come, Labor On
Author: Jane Borthwick (1859, 1863)
Meter: 4.10.10.10.4
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain

Notes

Scripture References:
st. 1 = Matt. 20:6-7
st. 2 = Matt. 13:24-26, Ps.121:3-4
st. 3 = John 4:34
st. 4 = Eph. 5:16
st. 5 = Matt. 25:21

Jane L. Borthwick (b. Edinburgh, Scotland, 1813; d. Edinburgh, 1897) wrote this text and published it in her Thoughts for Thoughtful Hours (1859) in seven, six-line stanzas. Borthwick revised the text into its present five-line form and published that version in her Thoughts for Thoughtful Hours of 1863. The Psalter Hymnal includes stanzas 1, 2, 4, and 6 from her revised version.

Inspired by the gospel parables that liken the coming of God's kingdom to the sowing of seed and harvesting of grain (see Matt. 9:37-38; Matt. 13; John 4:35-38), the text calls us to work for God's cause even in the face of Satan's opposition. Because our earthly time is limited, we must use our resources wisely and be diligent in our kingdom tasks until we hear the final “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:21).

Borthwick was a member of the Presbyterian Free Church of Scotland and had a strong interest in the church's mission work. She also supported Moravian missions in Labrador, Canada, and was involved in social service work in Edinburgh. Both Jane and her younger sister Sarah Findlater Borthwick (PHH 333) are well-known translators of German chorales.

Liturgical Use:
Ordination for church offices and for missionaries (although this text applies to all of God's people, not only to church workers); many occasions of worship that focus on our task in the world and in missions; profession of faith; at the beginning of a church season.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook
=============================
Come, labour on! Who dares, &c. Jane Borthwick. [Labour for Christ.] This hymn was given in Miss Borthwick's Thoughts for Thoughtful Hours, 1859, in 7 stanzas of 5 lines, but in the new edition of 1863, p. 48, it was re-arranged as 7 stanzas of 5 lines, and in this form it has come into common use in many hymnals, including Thring, the Hymnal Companion, Snepp, &c, and a few American collections.

--John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Tune

ORA LABORA (Noble)

T. (Thomas) Tertius Noble (b. Bath, England, 1867; d. Rockport, MA, 1953) composed ORA LABORA for Borthwick's text when it was accepted in 1916 for inclusion in the Episcopal hymnal, on whose commission Noble served. ORA LABORA, which means "pray and work," was also published in The New Hymnal of 19…

Go to tune page >


ORA, LABORA (Stewart)


Timeline

Media

You have access to this FlexScore.
Download:
Are parts of this score outside of your desired range? Try transposing this FlexScore.
General Settings
Stanza Selection
Voice Selection
Text size:
Music size:
Transpose (Half Steps):
Capo:
Contacting server...
Contacting server...
Questions? Check out the FAQ

A separate copy of this score must be purchased for each choir member. If this score will be projected or included in a bulletin, usage must be reported to a licensing agent (e.g. CCLI, OneLicense, etc).

This is a preview of your FlexScore.
The Cyber Hymnal #1037
  • Adobe Acrobat image (PDF)
  • Noteworthy Composer score (NWC)
  • XML score (XML)

Instances

Instances (1 - 70 of 70)

A Church of England Hymn Book #248

Page Scan

A Missionary Hymn Book #45

Page Scan

A Treasury of Hymns #246

Page Scan

An Evening Service Book #104

Christian Science Hymnal (Rev. and enl.) #41

Church Hymnal, Third Edition #259

E. A. C. C. Hymnal #57

Page Scan

Gloria #180

Text InfoTextFlexScoreAudioPage Scan

Glory to God #719

Page Scan

Heavenly Carols #99

Hymnal of the Evangelical Church. Word ed. #d107

Hymnbook for Christian Worship #338

Page Scan

Hymns Ancient and Modern (Standard ed.) #738

Hymns Ancient and Modern, New Edition #538

Hymns Ancient and Modern, Revised #339

Text

Hymns for Youth #149

Page Scan

Hymns of the Centuries #180

Hymns of the Christian Life #474

Hymns of the Christian Life. Rev. ed. #d70

Hymns of the Christian Life. Rev. ed. #474

AudioPage Scan

Hymns of the Kingdom of God #312

Hymns of the Saints #384

Page Scan

Missionary Hymns #83

Text

New English Praise #632

Page Scan

Praise Songs #215

Text InfoTune InfoTextAudio

Psalter Hymnal (Gray) #526

TextPage Scan

Rejoice in the Lord #75

Page Scan

Sabbath-School Hymn-Book #20

Text

Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal #357

Sing to the Lord #180

Songs of Cheer for the Master's Workers #d10

Songs of Praise #219

Songs of Praise #471

Page Scan

Songs of the Cross, for the Sabbath-school #25

Page Scan

Songs of the Kingdom #99

Page Scan

Sunday School Service Book and Hymnal #138

Page Scan

The Book of Common Praise #296

The Book of Praise #499

The Christian Life Hymnal #354

TextPage Scan

The Church Hymnal #501

Page Scan

The Church Hymnary #253

Page Scan

The Church Missionary Hymn Book #5

Page Scan

The Coronation Hymnal #212

TextScoreAudio

The Cyber Hymnal #1037

Page Scan

The Golden Hymn Book #286

TextPage Scan

The Hymnal #366

TextPage Scan

The Hymnal 1982 #541

Page Scan

The Hymnal of Praise #349

Page Scan

The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America 1940 #576

The Hymnal of the United Church of Christ #185

TextPage Scan

The Hymnal #497

TextPage Scan

The Hymnbook #287

TextPage Scan

The New Century Hymnal #532

The New Church Hymnal #d68

The New Hymnal of Praise #d52

Page Scan

The Presbyterian Hymnal #1002

Page Scan

The Presbyterian Hymnal #1002

Text

The Presbyterian Hymnal #415

Page Scan

The Spirit of Praise #194

The Student Hymnary #d53

Page Scan

The Sunday-School Hymnal and Service Book (Ed. A) #290

Page Scan

The Westminster Abbey Hymn-Book #167

Page Scan

The Y.M.C.A. Hymnal #264a

Page Scan

The Y.M.C.A. Hymnal #264b

TextPage Scan

Voices of Praise #120

Worship and Hymns for All Occasions #d41

Page Scan

Worship Song #443

Exclude 58 pre-1979 instances
Suggestions or corrections? Contact us
It looks like you are using an ad-blocker. Ad revenue helps keep us running. Please consider white-listing Hymnary.org or getting Hymnary Pro to eliminate ads entirely and help support Hymnary.org.