CHRISTIAN CHURCH >> Mission of the church
SDAH 359
Hark! the voice of Jesus calling,
“Who will go and work today?
Fields are white, the harvest waiting,
Who will bear the sheaves away?”
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Text
1
Hark! the voice of Jesus calling,
“Who will go and work today?
Fields are white, the harvest waiting,
Who will bear the sheaves away?”
Loud and long the Master calleth,
Rich reward He offers free;
Who will answer, gladly saying,
“Here am I, O Lord, send me”?
2
If you cannot cross the ocean
And the heathen lands explore,
You can find the heathen nearer,
You can help them at your door;
If you cannot speak like angels,
If you cannot preach like Paul,
You can tell the love of Jesus,
You can say He died for all.
3
If you cannot be the watchman,
Standing high on Zion’s wall,
Pointing out the path to heaven,
Offering life and peace to all;
With your prayers and with your bounties
You can do what Heaven demands,
You can be like faithful Aaron,
Holding up the prophet’s hands.
4
While the souls of men are dying,
And the Master calls for you,
Let none hear you idly saying,
“There is nothing I can do!”
Gladly take the task He gives you,
Let His work your pleasure be;
Answer quickly when He calleth,
“Here am I, O Lord, send me.”
Meditation on the Hymn Text
About the Hymn Writer
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Hymn Info
Biblical Reference
(a) Isa 6:8; John 4:35 (b) 2 Cor 5:15 (c) Eze 3:17; Ex 17:12
Author
Daniel March (1816-1909)
Year Published
1868
Hymn Tune
FILLMORE
Metrical Number
8.7.8.7.D.
Composer
F.E. Belden (1858-1945)
Year Composed
1886
Theme
Mission of the Church
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Get the hymn sheet in other keys here
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In the Shop
Some arrangements and recordings are specially made by Hymns for Worship. For items made by someone else, I get commissions for purchases made through links on this page.
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HARK, THE VOICE OF JESUS CALLING (TTBB, SATB, VOCAL Duet)
This musical setting of this well-known hymn seeks to convey the sense of urgency and insistence found in this beautiful text. A combination of unison and four-part writing is used. Appropriate for mission emphasis or general use.
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PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT FOR SDA HYMNAL NOS. 350-399
Perfect for use at church during congregational singing. All accompaniments are digital and in .wav format. Played according to the number of stanzas of the hymns.
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Hymn TRANSPOSED: D-flat, D, E-Flat, C and B-Flat
PDF copies of the hymn in different keys to suit different ranges of voice.
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Notes
Get to know the hymns a little deeper with the SDA Hymnal Companion. Use our song leader’s notes to engage your congregation in singing with understanding. Even better, involve kids in learning this hymn with our homeschooling materials.
Daniel March was invited to preach to the Christian Association on October 18, 1886, in his own church in Philadelphia. He was greatly interested in foreign missions and chose for his text the missionary theme implied in the Isaiah 6:8 “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me,” He looked for a closing hymn that would reinforce his message, but failed to find one suitable. On the impulse and inspiration of the moment he sat down and wrote this hymn in eight four-line stanzas, using the words of his words to complete both the first and the last stanzas. Notice the reference to lay workers, who may not desire or be capable of leadership, but may nevertheless make a contribution to victory, as did Aaron and Hur when they “stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side, and his hands were ready” (Ex. 17:12). The hymn was sung from manuscript in the church, and published the next year in Bright Jewels for the Sunday School, 1869.
March was born July 12, 1861, in Millbury, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale in 1840 and was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1845. Later he joined the Congregational Church and ministered in Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. He was world traveler and lecturer and wrote several religious books. He was died at Woburn, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1909.
FILLMORE, in honoring the composer of SDAH 539, was composed in 1886 by Franklin Edison Belden (1858-1945; see Biographies). The form is AABA, scores 1, 2, and 4 being almost identical.