THE NEGLECTED BIBLE by Mrs. M. F. Gould

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Nov 17, 1881

THE NEGLECTED BIBLE.

By Mrs. M. F. Gould

BY MRS. M. F. GOULD.

I SAW the dear old Bible, on the shelf neglected lie, While heedless of its teaching, its possessor passed it by. Mold had gathered on its pages, and on its back the dust, And its clasp, bright, shining once, was eaten well with rust.

Its store of heavenly wisdom, hidden within its fold, Its wealth of precious promises, better than shining gold, Its words of faithful warning, and of unchanging truth, Are not the comfort of his age,—were not his guide in youth.

Where moth and rust corrupteth, and where thieves break through and steal, He had laid up all his treasures, and had sought his only weal; But in the bank of Heaven, he had stored no wealth away, That could give him aught of comfort, when these earthly things decay.

Now this picture, one of thousands, upon every hand we see; Men are building for the present, and not for eternity. And the words of life so precious, that shall judge us by and by, Upon shelf, stand, and table, day by day neglected lie.

Rock, Yolo Co., Cal., Sept. 25, 1881.