Ho! Reapers of Life's Harvest

Words by I. B. Woodbury . Music by I. B. Woodbury

"Ho! reapers of life's harvest,
Why stand with rusted blade?”

President Garfield was fond of this hymn, and it was sung at his funeral. In addressing an audience of young people on one occasion, Garfield said, in substance, regarding his own conversion:

"Make the most of the present moment. No occasion is unworthy of our best efforts. God often uses humble occasions and little things to shape the course of a man's life. I might say that the wearing of a certain pair of stockings led to a complete change in my life. I had made a trip as a boy on a canal boat and was expecting to leave home for another trip; but I accidentally injured my foot in chopping wood. The blue dye in my home-made socks poisoned the wound and I was kept at home. A revival broke out meanwhile in the neighborhood, and I was thus kept within its influence and was converted. New desires and new purposes then took possession of me, and I was determined to seek an education in order that I might live more usefully for Christ."

It is said that this hymn has been the means of the conversion of thousands of souls in Australia and Great Britain.