“The Call for Reapers”

"THE CALL FOR REAPERS"
"I sent you to reap…" (Jn. 4.38)

     INTRO.: A song which encourages us to be reapers in the Lord’s harvest is "The Call For Reapers" also known as "Far and Near" (#387 in Hymns for Worship Revised and #108 in Sacred Selections for the Church). The text is usually identified as having been written by J. O. Thompson. Early research suggested that a John O. Thompson, who lived from 1782 to 1818, may have been the author, although this would mean that he must have produced the words long before the hymn was first published in 1885. However, later research has determined that the the author was James Oren Thompson, who was born on June 9, 1834, in Waldo, ME. During the American Civil War, he served in Maine’s 17th Infantry Regiment, rising from second lieutenant to captain.

     Thompson’s service record indicates that he was a minister upon entering the army, and after the war he joined the Methodist Episcopal Maine Conference in 1866. From there, he transferred to the Providence, RI, Conference, later renamed the the New England Southern Conference, and retired in 1886, when he moved to Keyser, WV, and edited The Mountain Echo. Afterwards, he went to Charleston, WV, and worked as secretary to the Board of Agriculture. In 1905, he moved to St. Petersburg, FL, where
he served as minister of the First Ave. Methodist Church and died on Sept. 28, 1917.

     The tune (Clemm or Harvesttime) was composed by James Bowman Overton Clem (1855-1927). The son of William D. T. Clem of Keyser, WV, nephew of Methodist Episcopal bishop Thomas Bowman, and cousin to Virginia Clem, wife of writer Edgar Allan Poe, he spent most of his life in Keyser. The first known appearance of the song was in John H. Vincent’s The Epworth Hymnal Containing Standard Hymns, published in 1885 at New York City, NY, by Phillps and Hunt. Among songbooks of the "Restoration Movement," it seems to have first appeared in 1888 in Standard Church Hymns compiled by Christopher Columbus Cline (1848-1920). The copyright was renewed in 1913 by the Methodist Book Concern, but later, at least by 1923, it was owned by Eaton and Main.

     Among hymnbooks published by members of the Lord’s church during the twentieth century for use in churches of Christ, the song appeared in the 1921 Great Songs of the Church (No. 1) and the 1937 Great Songs of the Church No. 2 both edited by E. L. Jorgenson; the 1935 Christian Hymns (No. 1), the 1948 Christian Hymns No. 2, and the 1966 Christian Hymns No. 3 all edited by L. O. Sanderson; the 1963 Abiding Hymns edited by Robert C. Welch; and the 1963 Christian Hymnal edited by J. Nelson Slater. Today it may be found in the 1971 Songs of the Church, the 1990 Songs of the Church 21st C. Ed., and the 1994 Songs of Faith and Praise all edited by Alton H. Howard; the 1978/1983 Church Gospel Songs and Hymns edited by V. E. Howard; the 1986 Great Songs Revised edited by Forrest M. McCann; and the 1992 Praise for the Lord edited by John P. Wiegand; in addition to Hymns for Worship, Sacred Selections, and the 2007 Sacred Songs of the Church edited by William D. Jeffcoat.

     The song suggests that we ask the Lord to send forth reapers into His harvest.

I. Stanza 1 says that we need reapers because the fields are teeming
"Far and near the fields are teeming With the waves of ripened grain;
Far and near their gold is gleaming O’er the sunny slope and plain."
 A. In the parable of the tares, Jesus used the field to represent the world: Matt. 13.36-38
 B. The waves of ripened grain would then represent souls that need to be saved: Acts 18.9-10
 C. Thus, the reapers should go far and near, over slope and plain, into all the world: Mk. 16.15-16

II. Stanza 2 says that we need reapers because there is work for morning, noon, and night
"Send them forth with morn’s first beaming, Send them in the noontide’s glare;
When the sun’s last rays are gleaming, Bid them gather everywhere."
 A. Jesus’ parable of the workers in the vineyard indicates that He wants His laborers to work for Him at all times in their lives: Matt. 20.1-7
 B. The work of these laborers is to gather in the harvest: Lk. 10.2
 C. This gathering should be made everywhere there are lost souls: Lk. 14.21

III. Stanza 3 says that we need reapers because there are sheaves to be gathered
"O thou, whom thy Lord is sending, Gather now the sheaves of gold;
Heavenward then at evening wending, Thou shalt come with joy untold."
 A. The Lord wants to send people to do His work: Isa. 6.8
 B. Some workers plant, some water, and others gather the increase that God gives: 1 Cor. 3.6-8
 C. The Lord has promised that those who continually sow the seed in tears shall reap in joy and bring in the sheaves with them: Ps. 126.5-6

     CONCL.: The choorus emphasizes the need continually to pray for reapers:
"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."
As we ask the Lord to send reapers, let us remember that it may well be that He wishes to use us in this great work. Therefore, we should do everything we can to see that the seed is sown and the harvest gathered as we hear and respond to "The Call For Reapers."