“Bringing in the Sheaves” is a joyful, lilting tune by George Minor (1880) which has been in use for more than 140 years. The text by Knowles Shaw (1874) evokes a harvest scene, as expressed in the first verse:

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.

Andrew Young (1807-1891) spent his life in Edinburgh, Scotland where he was a school teacher and head master. Many of Mr. Young’s hymns and poems were published in 1876 as The Scottish Highlands and Other Poems, which included “There Is a Happy Land,” which is included in many hymnals to this day. Its theme of eternal life and peace is summed up in the first verse:

There is a happy land, far, far away,
Where saints in Glory stand, bright, bright as day.
O how they sweetly sing: Worthy is our Savior King!
Loud let His praises ring, praise, praise for aye.

Colonel Edward H. Joy (1871-1949) had a long career as a Salvation Army officer who served in several administrative appointments in the United Kingdom, Canada, and South Africa from 1894 to 1938. Throughout his ministry, he wrote the words and music to many well-loved songs, including the melody featured here, “All Your Anxiety.” It is a song of invitation, as stated in the chorus:

All your anxiety, all your care,
Bring to the mercy seat, leave it there,
Never a burden He cannot bear,
Never a friend like Jesus.

Revive Us Again (The Revived Standard Version)