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!

Refrain

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.

Refrain

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.

Refrain

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.

Refrain