sees the vanity of such miserable dependence, he has no Almighty arm to lean upon.

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Give me grace, O Lord, to renounce from my heart all dependence on any thing but on Thy protecting mercy. Whether I be inclined to say the fine gold, thou art my confidence," or to trust for happiness to the ties of kindred and affection, or to intellectual pleasures, or to a self-righteous conceit; teach me to abhor all such unfaithfulness, and in Thee only, and in Thy mercy, through Jesus Christ, to seek for rest and contentment.

XXXIV. THE TWO BUILDERS.

"Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock : and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the wind blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the wind blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." Matt. vii. 24-27.

I MARKED a house standing on the soft sandy cliff, on which the sea is continually making inroads. Already vast portions of the headlands, with the buildings that were upon them, have been washed away; and it is plain that the remaining mansion, however stately and strongly built, must soon follow. How much labour has been spent in vain! How unwise was the builder who raised so costly a structure on so unsafe a site! How grievous that what is so fair in appearance should be so insecure in reality!

You may have often seen a far poorer structure set upon some rocky crag, that beats back the surges which break themselves upon it, and where it has for

1 Job xxxi. 24.

ages defied "the stormy wind and tempest." The builder knew what he was doing, when he built it on a rock. He wanted it to last for ages, and to stand the utmost violence of the elements; and he chose a foundation which no force of winds or waves could undermine. As years pass by, the building seems only to become more like the rock on which it stands.

By the image of a house built upon the sand, our Lord has set forth to us the case of one" who heareth the word of God and doeth it not ;" that is, who does not fully, heartily, and unreservedly endeavour to fulfil it. He may make a fair profession, and the house which, so to say, he builds, may seem to spectators as strong as other dwellings. They do not know that it is built upon the sand, and that the flood will come, and the waves will wash it away, and its place will nowhere be found. So utterly vain is fession without principle, and the outward appearance of religion without the inward reality. An apostle has told us, "If any man among you seemeth to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain."1 And what is here said of sins of the tongue, is equally true of any other cherished lust or evil practice wilfully continued.

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And by the image of a house that is built upon the rock, and therefore can defy the violent flood and the driving storm, our Lord has shown us the happiness and security of one "who heareth the word of God and doeth it." He may perhaps seem outwardly less forward and zealous than the other, but he has an inward strength, which is not known to those who look only on the outward appearance. His "life is hid with Christ in God." His care is not to seem religious, but to be religious; he hears in order to obey: whether the duty to which he is called be agreeable to his liking or not, whether it exposes him to

1 James i. 26.

2 Col. iii. 3.

loss, or shame, or suffering, he has still one thought and purpose: "Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth;"Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?"? A day is coming, which will assuredly prove on what foundation we have built our house; in other words, whether we have been hearers only, or doers, as well as hearers of the word; whether we have been truly or only seemingly religious. Our deeds are at best imperfect; but if done with a sincere and faithful heart God will accept them, through the mediation of our blessed Saviour; and the flood that will sweep away the hypocrite and the formal professor, will leave us uninjured, and monuments for ever of His saving mercy.

XXXV. THE SURE FOUNDATION.

"According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master-builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every one take heed how he buildeth thereon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is." 1 Cor. iii. 10-13. See also Isa. xxviii. 16. Eph. ii. 20. 1 Pet. ii. 4-6.

IN the last similitude our Lord teaches us, by comparing in time of danger a house built on the sand with one that is founded on the rock, the difference between profession without practice, and a profession that is carried out into holy obedience. But He does not mean that we may build our hopes for eternity on the foundation of our own imperfect obedience, however conscious of sincerely rendering it. The merits of our blessed Lord Himself are the only foundation on which a sinner must build his hopes of pardon and

11 Sam. iii. 9.

? Acts ix. 6.

acceptance. "As a wise master-builder," says the apostle, "I have laid the foundation ;" and "other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." No other foundation but this will bear the weight that is laid upon it--the hopes of forgiveness of all our sins, and of being now made holy, and of being hereafter accepted in the great day of account. Any other foundation would fail to support us with the burden of our sins on that day.

And as the merits of Christ are the foundation on which a Christian builds his hopes, so his works of faith and obedience are the superstructure that is raised upon it. But here also there is a great difference; for the superstructure that is raised by some may be likened to gold, silver, and precious stones; whereas what others build is like wood, hay, stubble. And there will be a trial, "as by fire," to try of what kind has been the work thus raised. Too many, from lukewarmness, or prejudice, or ignorance, produce such works as may be likened to rubbish, rather than precious stones. These will suffer loss in heaven, even if they lose not heaven itself. The fire will consume their works, instead of purifying them. Though perhaps in the main sincere, they will deeply mourn that they were not careful to raise a nobler superstructure to the glory of God their Saviour.

We are taught that God accounts the faithful services of His people as gold and silver and precious stones; and so we read' that the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit is of great price in His sight. These works of faith and labours of love will stand the fire, and will appear to be the genuine ore, or (by another figure) the true fruits of His Holy Spirit.

Our care must be no less to build such a superstructure as may be precious and acceptable in His sight, than to rest our hopes upon the true Foundation. Christ is "the Rock of ages," as well as

1 1 Pet. iii. 4.

66 the

tried stone" and "the sure foundation.' On Him we must indeed rest our hopes, acknowledging the iniquity which cleaves even to our holiest things. But while thus resting singly upon Him, we must labour earnestly that our daily actions may be as gold or precious stones in His sight; and that we ourselves be thus daily less unworthy of the great blessing of being built as living stones in the spiritual temple.

XXXVI.—THE BOUNDLESS SEA.

"The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Isa. xi. 9.-See also Numb. xxiv. 7. Ps. xcvi. 11. Rev. xiv. 2.

As we look forth upon the boundless sea, and listen to the roar of its waves as they break upon the rocky shore, let us reflect on those glorious truths which God has for ever connected with what is thus sublime in nature. The future prevalence of our most holy faith is compared to the boundlessness of the sea; and the united worship that shall ascend to God from His triumphant Church is likened to the sound of its many waters.

How many shores are washed by that undivided ocean! As we watch its distant billows rolling onwards in an endless succession, we imagine to ourselves the coasts from which the ebbing tide has borne them to our own, and then remember that they are parts of one mighty ocean, which, under various names, encircles the round world. The sound also to which we listen is the echo, or rather the continuous utterance of that voice of the great deep which is heard on many a sunny isle far away, and on many an ancient steep. Each way we have ideas suggested to us of unity, vastness, and continuance.

And as the waters thus cover the sea, so shall the