We Plow the Fields and Scatter
We plow the fields and scatter the good seed on the land
The hymn expresses Lutheran confidence in divine providence and God's sustaining grace over human labor and creation, emphasizing that all good gifts come from God rather than human achievement alone. It embodies the Lutheran doctrine of vocation, presenting agricultural work as a proper arena for Christian faith and stewardship.
History & Background
Written by German poet Matthias Claudius in 1782 as 'Wir pflügen und wir streuen,' this hymn was published in his periodical Wandsbeker Bote. Jane Montgomery Campbell translated it into English in 1861, becoming one of the most popular harvest and thanksgiving hymns in English-speaking Lutheran churches.
Matthias Claudius (b. Reinfeld, Holstein, Germany, 1740; Scripture References d. Hamburg, Germany, 1815) grew up in the home of a st.l = Ps. 145:16 Lutheran pastor and studied briefly for the ministry at the Ezek. 34:26-27 University ofJena. During his twenties and thirties he seems to st. 2 = Ps. 104 have forsaken the faith, influenced by the rationalistic thought Acts 14:17 of the time. He became seriously ill in 1777, and this crisis was st. 3 = Gen. 8:22 instrumental in returning him to his childhood faith. He worked briefly as commissioner of agriculture and manufacture of Hesse-Darmstadt (1776-1777) and in 1778 was appointed an auditor of the Schleswig-Holstein Bank in Altona. Most of his life was spent as a journalist, editor, and writer on general culture, much of it as editor of Der Wansbecker Bote (The Wansbeck Messenger). Claudius also wrote many devotional poems, of which this is the only one in com mon use as hymn text. Originally a poem in seventeen stanzas with a refrain that began “Im Anfang war’s auf Erden,” the poem was the peasants’ song in Claudius’s sketch “Paul Erdmann’s Feast,” published in Asinus omnia sua secum portans (1782). It was popularized in various nineteenth-century German hymnals where it appeared with fewer stanzas, often beginning with Claudius’s third stanza “Wir pflugen und wir streuen.” The English text is based on Jane Montgomery-Campbell’s free translation of his original stanzas 3,5, 7,9,10, and 13, first published in Charles S. Bere’s A Garland of Songs (1861). Campbell (b. Paddington, London, England, 1817; d. Bovey Tracey, South Devon, England, 1878) was proficient in both music and German. She translated a number of German hymns into English, which were first published in Charles Bere’s Garland of Songs, or an English Liederkranz (1862) and his Childrens ChoraleBook (1869). The writer of A Handbook for Singers (undated), Campbell also taught singing to the children in her parish school, St. James in Paddington, where her father was rector. The text affirms that, while we need to plow the land and sow the seed, it is God who provides the increase; he sends the rain and the sunshine to produce a harvest. God also sustains his creation, for “all good gifts around us are sent from heaven above.” Thus praise bursts from our “humble, thankful hearts.” 621 THE PSALMS, BIBLE SONGS, AND HYMNS
Hymnal Appearances
- Chalice Hymnal — 717
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship — 681
- Glory to God — 714
- The Hymnal 1982 — 291
- Lutheran Book of Worship — 362
- Lutheran Service Book — 894
- Lift Up Your Hearts — 369
- Lutheran Worship — 537
- New Century Hymnal — 180
- Psalter Hymnal — 456
- The Lutheran Hymnal — 276
- United Methodist Hymnal — 708
- Voices Together — 932
Translation
Liturgical Use
Harvest thanksgiving; as a hymn of creation; the final stanza as an offertory hymn.
Bulletin Note
Written by German poet Matthias Claudius in 1782, this harvest hymn anchors Lutheran theology of vocation: honest work is God's calling, yet all provision comes from His hand alone, not human achievement.
Preaching Connection
This hymn powerfully illustrates the Law's conviction that we cannot control outcomes through effort alone, then pivots to the Gospel's assurance that God's grace sustains both our work and our daily bread.
Stanza Arc
The narrative or theological arc traced by this tune's stanzas: Law (human limitation in vv.1-3) → Gospel (God's provision and care) → Response (gratitude and offering in vv.4-5)
Themes
Providence and God's care Thanksgiving and gratitude Stewardship and labor God's blessing and provision