Hymn History
Go Work In My Vineyard
Go work in My vineyard, theres plenty to do;
The harvest is great and the labrers are few;
Theres weeding and fencing, and clearing of roots,
And plowing, and sowing, and gathring of fruits.
There are foxes to take, there are wolves to destroy,
All ages and ranks I can fully employ;
Ive sheep to be tended, and lambs to be fed;
The lost must be gathered, the weary ones led.
Go work, go work, go work in My vineyard; theres plenty to do;
Go work, go work, the harvest is great, and the labrers are few.
Go work in My vineyard; I claim thee as Mine;
With blood did I buy thee and all that is thine
Thy time and thy talents, thy loftiest powers,
Thy warmest affections, thy sunniest hours.
I willingly yielded My kingdom for thee,
The song of archangels to hang on the tree,
In pain and temptation, in anguish and shame,
I paid thy full ransom; My purchase I claim
Go work in My vineyard; oh, work while tis day!
The bright hours of sunshine are hastening away,
And nights gloomy shadows are gathering fast;
The time for our labor will ever be past.
Begin in the morning and toil all the day;
Thy strength Ill supply, and thy wages Ill pay;
And blessèd, thrice blessèd, the diligent few,
Who finish the labor Ive givn them to do.
Tullius Clinton OKane
(1830-1912)
Tullius OKane re¬ceived his de¬gree from Ohio Wes¬ley¬an Univer¬si¬ty in 1852. Soon after graduation he began working as a Math tutor at the college. OKane also oversaw the music on a daily basis during the chapel time at the school. He loved music immensely and even headed up several campus organizations and choirs. Eventually he accepted the first mu¬sic¬al in¬struct¬or position in the Ohio Wes¬ley¬an Fe¬male Coll¬ege.
Later he became a school principal in the Cin¬cin¬na¬ti, Ohio area until 1864 when he went to work for the Phillip Phillips pi¬a¬no company. Although OKane held many jobs and positions in his lifetime, his greatest contribution was in the area of music as a teacher and a hymn writer. His most famous hymn was probably, Washed in the Blood of the Lamb, but this one is very popular as well.
