Adventist Pioneer Library

The Christian — Warfare and Pilgrimage

O, it is hard to work for God

  • No. 600
  • Words Frederick W. Faber.
  • 5 stanzas
  • Words only in the original

Words

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1

O, it is hard to work for God,To rise and take his partUpon this battle-field of earth,And not sometimes lose heart!

2

He hides himself so wondrously,As though there were no God;He is least seen when all the powersOf ill are most abroad;

3

Or he deserts us in the hourThe fight is all but lost,And seems to leave us to ourselvesJust when we need him most.

4

It is not so, but so it looks;And we lose courage then;And doubts will come though God hath keptHis promises to men.

5

But right is right, since God is God;And right the day must win;To doubt would be disloyalty,To falter would be sin!

About this hymn

As printed Words only. As printed: hymn number «600» (large) with the reference line «399, 179, 644.» in italics beside it (sing to the tune of hymn 399, 179 or 644); the hymn stands in the right column of p. 195 below hymn 599's «Isaac Watts.» and ends there with «Frederick W. Faber.» in italics. The first words are set «O, IT» — «O,» a full capital, «IT» in small capitals. Stanza 4, line 3 is too long for the column: «kept» is turned over to a line of its own («And doubts will come though God hath / kept»); it is one verse line here. Stanza 5 is printed with a doubled (slurred) impression in this exemplar — «God is God», «must win», «disloyalty», «sin» are blurred but legible. The print sets a thin space before «;» and «!» («God ;», «looks ;», «then ;», «heart !»); it is closed up here. Lines 2 and 4 of each stanza are indented in the print. Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's. No meter is printed (the text is C. M., 8.6.8.6).

Source
The Seventh-day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book (Battle Creek: Review & Herald, 1886/1888)
Where
The Christian — Warfare and Pilgrimage · No. 600 · printed page 195
Checked
lyrics verified (fork reading; parent check pending) · 2026-10-01