When through the whirl of wheels, and engines humming,
Patiently powerful for the sons of men,
Peals like a trumpet promise of His coming,
Who in the clouds is pledged to come again.

When through the night the furnace fires aflaring,
Shooting out tongues of flame like leaping blood,
Speak to the heart of love, alive, and daring,
Sing of the boundless energy of God.

When in the depths the patient miner striving
Feels in his arms the vigor of the Lord,
Strikes for a kingdom and his King’s arriving,
Holding his pick more splendid than the sword.

When on the sweat of labor and its sorrow,
Toiling in twilight flickering and dim,
Flames out the sunshine of the great tomorrow,
When all the world looks up because of Him.

Then will He come with meekness for His glory,
God in a workman’s jacket as before,
Living again th’eternal Gospel story,
Sweeping the shavings from His workshop floor.