English poem
Active Piety
by Lydia Howard Sigourney (1791–1865)
1 LABORERS of Christ, arise, And gird you for the toil; The dew of promise from the skies Already cheers the soil.
2 Go where the sick recline, Where mourning hearts deplore; And, where the sons of sorrow pine, Dispense your hallowed lore.
3 Urge, with a tender zeal, The erring child along, Where peaceful congregations kneel, And pious teachers throng.
4 Be faith, which looks above, With prayer, your constant guest, And wrap the Saviour's changeless love A mantle round your breast.
5 So shall you share the wealth, That earth may ne'er despoil, And the blest gospel's saving health.