"What Shall the Harvest Be?" (1870)
Words by Mrs. Emily S. Oakly, 1850, alt.
Music by Philip Paul Bliss, 1838-1876, 1870

[Source: pages 76-76, No. 79,
from "Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs" (1875)]

1. 
Sowing the seed by the daylight fair, 
Sowing the seed by the noonday glare, 
Sowing the seed by the fading light, 
Sowing the seed in the solemn night;

REFRAIN [sung after each verse]
Oh, what shall the harvest be?
Oh, what shall the harvest be?

CHORUS [sung after each verse]
[overlapping voices]
[Soprano]
Sown in the darkness or sown in the light, 
Sown in our weakness or sown in our might, 
Gathered in time or eternity, 
Sure, ah, sure will the harvest be. 
[Alto, Tenor, Bass]
Sown in the darkness or sown in the light, 
Sown in the darkness or sown in the light, 
Sown in our weakness or sown in our might, 
Sown in our weekness or sown in our might, 
Gathered in time or eternity, 
Sure, ah, sure will the harvest, harvest be.

2. 
Sowing the seed by the wayside high, 
Sowing the seed on the rocks to die, 
Sowing the seed where the thorns will spoil, 
Sowing the seed in the fertile soil; 

3. 
Sowing the seed of a lingering pain, 
Sowing the seed of a maddened brain, 
Sowing the seed of a tarnished name, 
Sowing the seed of eternal shame;