Adventist Pioneer Library

The Church — Ministry and Missions

If you cannot on the ocean

  • No. 1070
  • Metre 8s & 7s. D.
  • Words Ellen H. Gates.
  • 4 stanzas
  • Words only in the original

Words

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1

If you cannot on the oceanSail among the swiftest fleet,Rocking on the highest billows,Laughing at the storms you meet,You can stand among the sailors,Anchored yet within the bay,You can lend a hand to help them,As they launch their boat away.

2

If you are too weak to journeyUp the mountain steep and high,You can stand within the valley,While the multitude go by;You can chant in happy measure,As they slowly pass along;Though they may forget the singer,They will not forget the song.

3

If you have not gold and silverEver ready to command,If you cannot to'ard the needyReach an ever-open hand,You can visit the afflicted,O'er the erring you can weep,You can be a true discipleSitting at the Saviour's feet.

4

If you cannot in the harvestGarner up the richest sheaves,Many a grain both ripe and goldenOft some careless reaper leaves;Go and glean among the briers,Growing rank against the wall,For it may be that the shadowHides the heaviest wheat of all.

About this hymn

As printed As printed: hymn number «1070» (large) in the left column under hymn 1069, with the reference line «501, 503, 850.» in italic figures beside it (sing to the tunes of hymns 501 AUTUMN, 503 NETTLETON or 850 LOVE DIVINE — all 8s & 7s. D., hence the meter given above, which is not printed with this hymn). No tune of its own and no title. The first word is set in small capitals («IF», large I and small-capital F); it is written «If» here. Stanza 1 is numbered «1» and printed in the left column (lines 1–4: «If you cannot on the ocean … Laughing at the storms you meet,»); its lines 5–8 continue, unnumbered, at the top of the right column («You can stand among the sailors, … As they launch their boat away.»), above stanzas 2–4. The stanza numbers are printed without periods («1», «2», «3», «4»); they are written «1.»–«4.» here, as in the other deliveries of this book. «Ellen H. Gates.» in italics, right-aligned after stanza 4. Lines 2, 4, 6 and 8 of each stanza are indented in the print. The print sets a thin space before «;» («by ;», «along ;», «leaves ;»); it is closed up here. The contraction «to'ard», «O'er» and «Saviour's» are as printed (apostrophes written straight). The ink annotations of this exemplar on and around the hymn (a title, dates, a note on the author) are not printed matter and are not transcribed — see uncertainties.md. Spelling, punctuation and capitals are the print's.

Source
The Seventh-day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book (Battle Creek: Review & Herald, 1886/1888)
Where
The Church — Ministry and Missions · No. 1070 · printed page 367
Checked
lyrics verified (fork reading; parent check pending) · 2026-10-02