Praise by C. E. P.

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, Cal. · Nov 14, 1878

Praise.

By C. E. P.

Praise costs thee nothing; yet to say "well done" To him who hath well done indeed is meet; Such words of praise make life itself more sweet To every faithful worker who hath won The right to thine approval. Grudge not praise Lest thou defraud thy brother of his dues; Yet do not seek mere honeyed words to use To gain him for thy purposes or ways Not for his benefit. Keep on thy mind The Golden Rule of Christ, and thou wilt find Thou canst approve of e'en the humblest deed That seeks to satisfy some human need With generous intent. O, strive to be Ready with kind, appreciative word, To every one whose sympathies are stirred To sweet activities, and thou wilt see Good everywhere abounds, and grow more bold To speak that praise thy lips cannot withhold, With eloquence of love that doth not wait For prejudice of caste, profession, creed, But weighs the man by honest worth of deed, And to speak truth dares never hesitate. Perhaps some word of thine, like good seeds cast Into the soil of life, may at the last Bear glorious fruit in some achievement vast. —C. E. P., in Christian Register.