Praise and Worship Music! JOIN US!!
Practice is on Thursday evenings at 7:30pm and Sunday mornings at 9:15am before the 10:30 service.
September 4th is Labor Day. According to the US Labor Dept, the annual holiday "constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country." The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City , in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union.
Now, of course, my focus is on music. The first thought I had was about the old hymn tune by T. Tertius Noble don't you just love that name! "Come labor On" with the lyrics penned by Jane Borthwick. What the hymn would have us do, rather than rest, is to Come, labor on, no time for rest. This, of course is about our need to serve God as Christians and never shirk or rest. The old words put it plainly and succinctly with no shame or hesitation about our Christian responsibility. It further explains that the good outcome, of course, will be hearing from our Lord at the end of our days "Servant, well done." After all of the tough talk, the final verse reminds us that The toil is pleasant, the reward is sure. It ends on the uplifting thought that we will have deep rest with our Lord. Our sermons at Holy Comforter of late have been particularly focused on our Christian lives, including Christian fellowship, living a life that will witness to others, bringing in non-Christians or the unchurched, and mentoring new Christians. Many times the lyrics of hymns and praise songs, remind us of our Christian responsibility to those we encounter. Somehow the lyrics, while blended with the music, print memories in our brains which cause us to sing that little "ditty" over and over for periods of minutes, hours or days! As I approached this article, I could not get that first line out of my head. Come labor on. Who dares stand idle... (Better, much better, to have that "ditty" come to mind rather than The Oscar Mayer Wiener Song!) If you cannot recall the tune to this hymn, and have a computer and internet access, you will find the tune playing at http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/c/c225.html.
The lyrics follow:
Come Labor On
Come, labor on.
Who dares stand idle on the harvest plain,
while all around us waves the golden grain?
And to each servant does the Master say,
"Go work today."
Come, labor on.
The enemy is watching night and day,
to sow the tares, to snatch the seed away;
while we in sleep our duty have forgot,
he slumbered not.
Come, labor on.
Away with gloomy doubts and faithless fear!
No arm so weak but may do service here:
by feeblest agents may our God fulfill
his righteous will.
Come, labor on.
Claim the high calling angels cannot share--
to young and old the Gospel gladness bear;
redeem the time; its hours too swiftly fly.
The night draws nigh.
Come, labor on.
No time for rest, till glows the western sky,
till the long shadows o'er our pathway lie,
and a glad sound comes with the setting sun.
"Servants, well done."
Come, labor on.
The toil is pleasant, the reward is sure,
blessed are those who to the end endure;
how full their joy, how deep their rest shall be,
O Lord, with thee.
Words: Jane Borthwick, 1813-1897
God Be With Each of You, and, of course, as I leave you here, I'm hearing in my head, Come, labor on, who dares stand. Sigh!
Kathy Aldridge, Music Director
