CHRISTIAN CHURCH >> Mission of the church
SDAH 358
Far and near the fields are teeming
with the sheaves of ripened grain;
Far and near their gold is gleaming
O’er the sunny slope and plain.
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For Worship Leaders
Make each hymn more meaningful with these helpful tools: Short, ready-to-use hymn introductions for church bulletins, multiple ways to introduce a hymn based on your worship theme and in-depth history and insights to enrich your song service.
Hymn Spotlight: Far and Near the Fields Are Teeming
Inspired by Jesus’ words in Matthew 9:37–38, this hymn is a call to both prayer and action. “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few…”—a truth still relevant today. Written in 1885 by J. O. Thompson with music by J. B. O. Clemm, this hymn stirs the church to respond to the world’s deep spiritual need with willing hearts and ready feet. Wherever God has placed us—near or far—we are called to sow, labor, and pray for reapers in His great harvest field.
📖 Reference: Feel free to share but please cite hymnsforworship.org when reproducing.
Introductions for Sabbath School Song Service (based on specific lesson quarterlies):
When Jesus was on earth and saw the great needs of the people, He told His disciples to make the sending out of workers a matter of prayer. This is the theme of the refrain of this hymn “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest” Matt. 9:37,38).
The words were written in 1885 by J.O Thompson, and the tune HARVEST, so named because of the words, by J.B.O Clemm in 1895. Nothing is known regarding either of these men. Titled “The Call for Reapers,” the first publication of the song was in the Methodist book The Epworth Hymnal, 1885. The song first appeared in SDA hymnals in Christ in Song, 1908, and again in Church Hymnal, 1941.
📖 Reference: Companion to the Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal by Wayne Hooper and Edward E. White. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1988.
Text
1
Far and near the fields are teeming
with the sheaves of ripened grain;
Far and near their gold is gleaming
O’er the sunny slope and plain.
Refrain
Lord of harvest, send forth reapers!
Hear us Lord,to Thee we cry;
Send them now the sheaves to gather,
Ere the harvest-time pass by.
2
Send them forth with morn’s first beaming,
Send them in the noon-tides’s glare;
When the sun’s last rays are streaming,
bid them gather everywhere.
3
O thou, whom thy Lord is sending,
gather now the sheaves of gold;
Heavenward then at evening wending
Thou shalt come with joy untold.
Hymn Info
Biblical Reference
(a) John 4:35 (b) Eccl 11:6 (c) Ps 126:5 (r) Matt 9:38
Author
J.O. Thompson
Year Published
1885
Hymn Tune
HARVEST
Metrical Number
8.7.8.7.Ref.
Composer
J.B.O. Clemm
Year Composed
1895
