Lord of the Living Harvest

Lord of the living harvest
That whitens o’er the plain,
Where angels soon shall gather
Their sheaves of golden grain,
Accept these hands to labour,
These hearts to trust and love,
And deign with them to hasten
Thy kingdom from above.

As labourers in Thy vineyard,
Lord, send them out to be
Content to bear the burden
Of weary days for Thee.
To ask no other wages
When Thou shalt call them home
But to have shared the travail
Which makes Thy kingdom come.

Be with them, God the Father;
Be with them, God the Son;
And God the Holy Spirit,
Most blessèd Three in One.
Make them Thy faithful servants
Thee rightly to adore
And fill them with Thy fullness
Both now and evermore.

John Samuel Bewley Monsell 1866

It is one of the great privileges to have worked directly with many hundreds (thousands?)  of men and women in student contexts in Scotland, South Africa, England, Estonia, Lithuania, Germany, Ireland, Wales and now New Zealand.  Many have been greatly talented, attractive in looks and character, intellectually gifted, eloquent and theologically astute.  Many have also struggled to see and know their strengths, lacking confidence, were the least and the lowly: neither gifted intellectually or able to express themselves well in basic conversations let alone theological engagement.

It is a challenge and an encouragement that the Lord Jesus is open to all who will have faith in Him.  He does not require looks, prospects, income and respectability before men and women can come to Him: there is no need for a good CV, a decent background or good looks in order to be counted as His.

This hymn reflects on the riches of knowing Christ in the now as we anticipate the “Living Harvest” that is to come.  When we are gathered to Him, whether we are awoken from the sleep of death or caught up whilst we still have breath – all of the external things that seem so important will pass and then we will see the true weight of God’s glory in Jesus our Lord and King.  He will be the reward and the recompense.  His glory will be the succour for our sorrows, the silencing of our complaints and the salvation of our lives.

The fields are still white for the harvest and the labourers are still few. Whether you know yourself to be rich in the privileges and opportunities that this world has to offer or if you are full of weakness and fears and doubts bout your suitability for the task at hand – the task is still at hand! If you are in Christ Jesus, The Lord of the Harvest has called you to Himself.  He can, and will and does, use you as you are and as you will become: live for Him now.  Live for the Harvest now.  Pray God might send you and many others into the Harvest fields of homes and offices and hospitals and factories and churches to continue the work of gathering in His people.

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.” Matthew 9":36-38

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’  I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.” John 4:35-40