The Wise and Foolish Builders.
Hear what great truths in parables of old
Our Saviour told :
“He that shall hear, and do My word,” said he,
“Compared may be
To a wise man, who on a rock doth base
The firm foundations of his house, and there
Builds, with strong mason-work, his dwelling-place;
The rains may fall,
The torrent of the wintry floods may rise,
And raging winds come howling through the skies;
Against them all
His house shall stand secure; he needs not care. “But he that hears my law, and, having heard,
Keeps not my word,
Is likened to a fool, whose house is set
Upon the wet
And treacherous groundwork of the drifting sand;
When the rains fall, and the waters flood the land,
And when winds blow, and beat upon its wall,
It shall not stand,
But it shall fall, and great shall be its fall.” Alike to hear thy word and keep thy way,
Teach us, we pray,
O Lord, that the Rock of Ages founded fast,
May at the last,
In the great day of trial, firmly stand!
—Sel.