A Handful of Leaves

What! sit­ting at ease when there’s work to be done!

The best of the day half its cir­cuit has run;

Yon orb to its ze­nith rides forth in the sky;

What! sit­ting at ease and the har­vest so nigh!

Oh

look on the fields

that al­rea­dy are white;

The Lord hath com­mand­ed to work in the light;

Beware lest

in­stead of the bright

gold­en sheaves

We bring to Him on­ly a hand­ful of leaves.

What! sit­ting at ease

leav­ing oth­ers the toil

Of train­ing the vine­yard and till­ing the soil;

This truth in our mind let us con­stant­ly keep

From seed what we scat­ter the fruit we shall reap.

What! sit­ting at ease

when a bur­den of care

Our bro­ther has borne we might help him to bear;

Oh

let us be ear­nest

and work while we may

The Mas­ter is call­ing

arise and away.

No long­er at ease we are fold­ing our hands

But

will­ing to do what the Sav­ior com­mands

We’ll work till the har­vest

then ga­ther the sheaves

And bring to Him more than a hand­ful of leaves.