Which Are You Building on?
It fell—with what an awful crash!
The ruin, oh, how great!
The builder perishing as well,
How terrible his fate!
‘Tis true, his house was large and fine,
Its battlements were fair,
Stately its rooms, well furnish’d too,
And all within was rare;
The porticoes were handsome too,
In fact, the house was grand,
But—as the truth must needs be told—
‘Twas built upon the sand!
It happen’d thus:
One day the sky
Grew dull and overcast,
The wind blew high, the storm-clouds rose,
Yea, gather’d thick and fast;
The rain descended, and the waves
Beat high upon the strand;
The whirlwind’s blast then struck that house,
And wreck’d it on the sand!
But lo! hard by on yonder rock,
Far up above the sand,
I see a quiet tenement,
‘Tis anything but grand;
No handsome furniture adorns
Its unpretentious hall,
It rests on a foundation sure
“The rock”—and that is all.
Its owner aims at no display
Inside that house or out;
Wisely he built, works hard each day,
And keeps a good “look out.”
He’s waiting for a coming guest,
With Him to cross the sea,
And, till He comes, he “occupies,”
So cannot idle be.
The storm which wreck’d his neighbor’s house,
The wise man’s house doth mock,
The reason is not far to seek,
‘Twas built upon the rock;
Hence, while the stormy waves destroyed
The house built on the sand,
The one that rested on the rock
Secure and safe did stand.
Poor sinner, thou may’st surely learn
A lesson from my tale;
Yea, take the message from my Lord,
Whose words can never fail;
Whatever thou dost build upon,
Which is not “Christ alone,”
Will prove at last but “sinking sand,”
And launch thee in hell’s tomb.
Fellow believer, thou art wise,
Thy Saviour’s voice hast heard;
Thy building rests on Jesu’s work,
And on God’s faithful word:
This is the Rock that stands for aye,
His blood doth cleanse from sin,
And when the storm of judgment bursts,
With Christ, thou’lt be within.
S. T.