| Alfred H. Miles, ed. The Sacred Poets of the Nineteenth Century. 1907. | | | | “Lord of the harvest! Thee we hail” | | By John Hampden Gurney (1802–1862) |
| | | LORD of the harvest! Thee we hail: | |
| Thine ancient promise doth not fail; | |
| The varying seasons haste their round, | |
| With goodness all our years are crowned: | |
| Our thanks we pay | 5 |
| This holy day; | |
| O let our hearts in tune be found! | |
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| If Spring doth wake the song of mirth | |
| It Summer warms the fruitful earth; | |
| When Winter sweeps the naked plain, | 10 |
| Or Autumn yields its ripened grain; | |
| Still do we sing | |
| To Thee, our King; | |
| Through all the changes Thou dost reign. | |
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| But chiefly when Thy liberal hand | 15 |
| Scatters new plenty o’er the land, | |
| When sounds of music fill the air, | |
| As homeward all their treasures bear; | |
| We too will raise | |
| Our hymn of praise, | 20 |
| For we Thy common bounties share. | |
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| Lord of the harvest, all is Thine! | |
| The rains that fall, the suns that shine, | |
| The seed once hidden in the ground, | |
| The skill that makes our fruits abound! | 25 |
| New, every year, | |
| Thy gifts appear; | |
| New praises from our lips shall sound! | | | | |
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