Scripture Verse

Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Ecclesiastes 11:1

Introduction

portrait
A. Robert Edgar (1850–1914)

Words: Ro­bert Ed­gar, in Songs of the Bi­ble, by Will­iam Og­den & Alon­zo J. Ab­bey (Phi­la­del­phia, Penn­syl­van­ia: Per­kin­pine & Hig­gins, 1873), page 60.

Music: Yoz­gat Will­iam A. Og­den, 1873 (🔊 pdf nwc).

Alternate Tunes:

portrait
William A. Ogden (1841–1897)

Lyrics

Cast thy bread upon the wa­ters,
You will find it by and by;
Let not faith a mo­ment fal­ter,
God will bring the bless­ing nigh;
Many days may pass in dark­ness,
Many nights in clouds and tears,
Hope may al­most die in sad­ness,
Life be length­ened many years.

Refrain

Time will tell the joy­ful sto­ry,
Good deeds done can­not be lost,
Here in time or there in glo­ry,
They shall far out­weigh the cost.

Sow the seed in life’s young morn­ing,
Ere the ris­ing sun is high,
Let good fruits be still adorn­ing,
Willing hearts and hands that try.
Work for God will ne­ver per­ish,
Work for souls should ne­ver end,
Prayer for sin­ners God will cher­ish,
And a hap­py an­swer send.

Refrain

Tell the sick, there still is heal­ing,
Tho’ they turn a list­less eye;
Tell the lost that Christ has feel­ing,
And will hear their ear­nest cry.
Scatter crumbs of life around you,
Let them float on ev­ery wave;
Let this mu­sic still sur­round you:
Jesus, Je­sus died to save.

Refrain