p. 206 | THE USEFUL LIFE by H. Bonar

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jun 11, 1872

THE USEFUL LIFE.

By H. Bonar

Go labor on; spend, and be spent, Thy joy to do the Father's will; It is the way the Master went, Should not the servant tread it still?

Go labor on; 'tis not for nought, Thy earthly loss is heavenly gain; Men heed thee, love thee, praise thee not; The Master praises—what are men?

Go labor on; enough while here, If he shall praise thee, if he deign Thy willing heart to mark and cheer; No toil for him shall be in vain.

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

Go labor on; while it is 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 side, Without 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.

Toil on, and in thy toil rejoice; For toil comes rest, for exile home; Soon shalt thou hear the Bridegroom's voice, The midnight peal: “Behold, I come!”

—H. Bonar.