When faint and wea­ry toil­ing,
The sweat-drops on my brow,
I long to rest from la­bor,
To drop the bur­den now—
There comes a gen­tle chid­ing,
To quell each mourn­ing sigh:
Work while the day is shin­ing,
There’s rest­ing by and by.

Refrain

Resting by and by,
There’s rest­ing by and by;
We shall not al­ways la­bor,
We shall not al­ways cry;
The end is draw­ing near­er,
The end for which we sigh;
We’ll lay our hea­vy bur­dens down,
There’s rest­ing by and by.

This life to toil is giv­en,
And he im­proves it best
Who seeks by pa­tient labor
To en­ter in­to rest;
Then pil­grim, worn and wea­ry,
Press on, the goal is nigh;
The prize is straight be­fore thee,
There’s rest­ing by and by.

Refrain

Nor ask when ov­er­bur­dened,
You long for friend­ly aid,
Why idle stands my bro­ther,
No yoke up­on him laid?
The Mas­ter bids him tar­ry;
And dare you ask Him why?
Go la­bor in My vine­yard,
There’s rest­ing by and by.

Refrain

Wan reap­er in the har­vest,
Let this thy strength sus­tain,
Each sheaf that fills the gar­ner
Brings you eter­nal gain;
Then bear the cross with pa­tience,
To fields of du­ty hie;
’Tis sweet to work for Je­sus—
There’s rest­ing by and by.

Refrain