Cast thy bread upon the waters

Cast thy bread upon the waters. Phebe Ann Hanaford* (1829-1921). Dated 1852, and therefore very early in Hanaford’s writing career, this hymn is based on Ecclesiastes 11.1: ‘Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.’ It had four stanzas: Cast thy bread upon the waters,   Thinking not ’tis thrown away; God himself saith, thou shalt gather   It again some future day. Cast thy bread upon the waters;   Wildly though the billows roll, They but aid thee as thou toilest   Truth to spread from pole to pole. As the seed, by billows floated,   To some distant island lone, So to human souls benighted,   That thou flingest may be borne. Cast thy bread upon the waters,...