The Church — Ministry and Missions

Go, labor on, while yet 'tis day

No. 1036
Metre L. M.
Tune OAKLAND.
Words Horatius Bonar.
Music F. E. Belden.
Key A-flat major
Singing key A♭ major
Time 3/2
4 stanzas

Words

Go, labor on, while yet 'tis 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 your sideWithout 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.

Go, labor on: your hands are weak,Your knees are faint, your soul cast down;Yet falter not; the prize you seekIs near,—a kingdom and a crown!

About this hymn

As printed As printed: running head «THE CHURCH—MINISTRY AND MISSIONS.»; hymn number «1036» (large), tune name «OAKLAND. L. M.» centred over the music (condensed capitals), «F. E. BELDEN.» at the right (capitals and small capitals; in this copy the end of the name is overwritten by a pen scribble); in the left margin, printed vertically (reading bottom to top), «by F. E. Belden.» beside system 1 and «Copyrighted 1886» beside system 2 (= «Copyrighted 1886 by F. E. Belden.»). Stanza 1 is interlinear, between the staves, one line per system, with «1.» before «Go,»; there «hastening» is set as one word under two notes. Stanzas 2–4 are printed as text in the left column below the music, under the italic reference line «212, 301, 536.» (= the same words may also be sung to the tunes of hymns 212, 301 or 536), numbered «2»–«4» without a full stop (numbered «2.»–«4.» here like stanza 1), with «Horatius Bonar.» in italics after stanza 4. Lines 2 and 4 of each stanza are indented in the print. The last line of stanza 2 runs over in the narrow column («The torch that lights time's thickest / gloom.»); it is one verse line here. The printer's thin space before «;» and «!» («day ;», «on ;», «a-way !», «pray !», «not ;», «crown !») is closed up here; apostrophes are written straight. Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's.