Go, Labor On: Spend, and Be Spent

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

The will­ing heart to mark and cheer:

No toil for Him shall be in vain.

Go

la­bor on! Your hands are weak

Your knees are faint

your soul cast down;

Yet fal­ter not; the prize you seek

Is near—a king­dom and a crown.

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.

Men die in dark­ness at thy side

Without a hope to cheer the tomb;

Take up the torch and wave it wide

The torch that lights time’s thick­est gloom.

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!