Bringing In The Sheaves

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;
Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Chorus
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,

Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,
Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze;
By and by the harvest, and the labor ended,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,
Though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves;
When our weeping’s over, He will bid us welcome,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Written by Knowles Shaw in the late 1800’s, “Bringing in the Sheaves” is a specific reference to Psalm 126:6 KJV which reads “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”  Eugene Peterson in “The Message” paraphrases all of Psalm 126 as follows:

It seemed like a dream, too good to be true,
when God returned Zion’s exiles.
We laughed, we sang,
we couldn’t believe our good fortune.
We were the talk of the nations—
“God was wonderful to them!”
God was wonderful to us;
we are one happy people.

And now, God, do it again—
bring rains to our drought-stricken lives
So those who planted their crops in despair
will shout hurrahs at the harvest,
So those who went off with heavy hearts
will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.

I really like this paraphrase.  It starts out with a testimony of God’s deliverance.  We were once slaves to sin.  We were in captivity, but He has set us free.  Now, we can laugh.  We can sing.  We can celebrate.  But the Psalmist goes from words of testimony in verses 1-3 to an earnest prayer request in verses 4-6.  Isn’t this the story of America?  The Lord blessed our nation in the past.  We sang.  We prospered.  We rejoiced in His goodness as a nation.  But oh how we need Him to deliver our nation once again!  We are praying for a harvest of souls.  Many have sown in tears over the last 50 years.  Parents praying for their lost children.  Grandparents praying for their lost grandchildren.  Oh Lord, please reward the faithfulness of those who have faithfully planted with a harvest of souls!!  As one who returns from the fields with “armloads of blessing.”  Let us be them that come rejoicing bringing in the sheaves.

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “Sowing seeds of kindness” – Isn’t this really where grace and love start?  With a kind word.  A kind action.  An act of forgiveness that opens the door to share the good news of Jesus.  Chris Tomlin has a contemporary worship song that I really enjoy.  It says “It’s your kindness Lord that leads us to repentance.”  The Lord is merciful and compassionate and kind.  Psalm 117:2 says “For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD.”  Galatians 5:22-23 says “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”  We ought to be a people that are known by our acts of kindness in this world.

• “Sowing in the shadows” – I get the mental image of the farmer that rises early in the morning and sows in the shadows, and who continues to work into the shadows of the dusk of evening .  He has an urgency about him. He has little time.  He can’t wait for perfect weather.  He can’t spread the planting over several months.  He must get the seed in the ground.  Yes, it is hard work.  Yes, it may bring grief and pain.  But oh what reward there is come harvest time.  To see the fruit of one’s labor.  To know that every drop of blood, sweat, and tears has not brought an abundant harvest.  We, too, must be like this farmer.  We must sow in the shadows.  We must be willing to do the hard work required to get the seed in the ground.  The harvest is coming.

The author of this hymn had a rather unusual name – Knowles.  Not sure of the origin of that name, but his name did make me think.  Are we a nation that “knows-less” about God?  Have we forgotten how God’s hand was upon our nations founding?  In many ways, we do know “know-less” today about God as a nation than we did 100 or 200 years ago.  But that should not give us cause for despair.  It doesn’t mean we should stop planting.  No, we should, with all urgency, be a people that are sowing.  Sowing in the morning, the noontime, and evening.  Spreading the good news in the buckle of the Bible Belt.  There will be a harvest one day, and I pray that each of us can be one of the ones who comes rejoicing “bringing in the sheaves.”