p. 1 | Building on the Sand by Eliza Cook

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Jan 4, 1877

Building on the Sand.

By Eliza Cook

'Tis well to save, 'tis well to have A goodly store of gold, And hold enough of shining stuff, For charity is cold. But place not all your hope and trust In what the deep mine brings, We cannot live on yellow dust Unmixed with purer things; And he who piles up wealth alone Will often have to stand Beside the coffer chest, and own 'Tis “built upon the sand.”

'Tis good to speak in kindly guise, And soothe where'er we can; Fair speech should bind the human mind, And love link man to man. But stop not at the gentle words; Let deeds with language dwell; The one who pities starving birds, Should scatter crumbs as well. The mercy that is warm and true, Must lend a helping hand, For those that talk, yet fail to do, But “build upon the sand.”

—Eliza Cook.