5498 7. 8 7
NOW, the sowing and the weeping,
   Working hard, and waiting long;
Afterward, the golden reaping,
    Harvest-home and grateful song.
 
2  Now, the pruning, sharp, unsparing,
    Scattered blossom, bleeding shoot:
Afterward, the plenteous bearing
    Of the Master’s pleasant fruit.
 
3  Now, the long and toilsome duty,
    Stone by stone to carve and bring;
Afterward, the perfect beauty
    Of the palace of the King.
 
4  Now, the spirit conflict-riven,
    Wounded heart, unequal strife;
Afterward, the triumph given,
    And the victor’s crown of life.
 
5  Now, the training, strange and lowly,
    Unexplained and tedious now;
Afterward, the service holy,
    And the Master’s, ‘Enter thou.’
 
Frances Ridley Havergal, 1836-79