Foundation Work
DELIVERED ON LORD'S DAY MORNING, JULY 7, 1889,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.
"And the king commanded and they brought great stones, costly stones
and hewed atones, to lay the foundation of the house." 1 Kings 5:17.
"THE king commanded"–that is the beginning of all. Holy zeal waits for
the king's orders. But as soon as the command was given there was
neither pause nor hesitation–"the king commanded and they brought."
Oh, that it were always so in the Church of God. That the King's
command were at once followed by His people's obedience! That obedience
was true to every detail–"The king commanded and they brought great
stones, costly stones, and hewed stones." They did not omit one
particular, or deviate in the least degree. The advice of the Blessed
Virgin to the servants at the marriage feast is our advice to all
workers–"Whatsoever He says unto you, do it."
Work done without the Lord's command may be nothing more than mere
will-worship, unacceptable with the Lord. Where the word of a king is,
there is power. And you may expect that power to go forth with you when
you go forth under the guidance and authority of the Divine command.
Solomon began to build the temple at the foundation. You smile and
wonder how he could have begun anywhere else. Ah, dear Friends! I wish
common sense ruled people in religion as well as in building temples.
For many Brethren begin their building at the top.
To baptize an unbeliever on the ground of a faith which does not yet
exist is laying the topstone before the foundation. To gather into
Church fellowship those who are not gathered to Christ is attempting to
pile on the roof before there are any walls. For any of you to make a
profession of religion without being born again is building the third
story before there is any basement. How much we have in this world of
hanging up houses in the air!–I mean making professions without having
anything upon which to base them. Begin with the foundation.
The foundation, in this case, had to be carried to a great height,
because the area upon which the temple stood was high above the valley.
As there was not space enough on the mount, it was necessary to build
up from the depth of the valley scores of feet in perpendicular height,
to form a foundation upon which there would be sufficient space for the
temple and its surroundings. Portions of the massive masonry which
formed the foundation of the enlarged area remain, to be wondered at by
all who gaze upon them. Solomon paid special care to the foundation.
Very much of foundation work is out of sight and the temptation is to
pay but small attention to its finish. It was not so with Solomon.
Although it was very much out of sight, the king took care that the
underground portion of the temple should be worthy of the rest of the
edifice–it was to be made of "great stones, costly stones and hewed
stones." Builders in these days would think it absurd to spend time and
labor in the hewing of stones which would never be seen. Foundations
may call for something firm and solid but certainly for nothing costly
and hewn with care. Out of sight, out of mind. And therefore none will
spend time and trouble upon it.
Not so the wise king engaged in the service of God. He paid great
attention to underground work. And "great stones, costly stones and
hewed stones," were brought at his command to form the foundation of
the temple. He designed to make it all of a piece–it was to be as
truly "magnificent" in its foundation as in its roof. There was to be
no poverty of material, no skimping of any portion of the work. It was
for God and it was to be built by the king of Israel. And it would
neither honor God nor the king to have a bad foundation.
I want, dear Friends, to urge that all our work for God should be done
thoroughly and especially that part of it which lies lowest and is
least observed of men. I shall first say this is God's method–He
builds all His works with good foundations. Secondly, this should be
our method in all work for God. And, thirdly, this is a wise method.
Briefly upon each, as the Holy Spirit shall help me.
I. First, THIS IS GOD'S METHOD. Wherever you turn your eyes upon the
work of God, it is perfect. It will bear the keenest inspection. You
may look at it from a distance with a telescope, or you may search it
with a microscope. But you shall find no imperfection. The Lord's work
is perfect, not merely on the surface but to its center. If you cut
deep, or if you pull it to pieces, dividing atom from atom, you shall
see the wisdom of God in the minutest particle.
Observe the work of creation. God took care that even in the material
universe there should be a grand foundation for His noble edifice. We
have the story of the fitting up of the world, during the seven days,
for the habitation of man. But we have not the history of the creation
of the earth before that time. To prepare for the seven days' rapid
furnishing of the earth for man, millions of years may have elapsed.
The foundation was laid with great care. No limit can be set to the
period preceding the making of man, if you only follow the Word of God
in Genesis.
"In the beginning"–that was a long, long while ago–"God created the
Heaven and the earth." And during that process of creation it went
through a great many stages. For God was determined that the house in
which man should dwell should be thoroughly furnished for him. I cannot
conduct you to the foundations of the earth. But I do ask you to go
down with me into the cellar. Consider that vast deposit of salt for
our comfort and health. And the mines of iron and other metals which
lay the cornerstones of trade and commerce. Look at the store of coal
laid up in the deep places for us.
God would not send his child here in winter time and put no coal in the
cellar for him. But He took long ages to provide the world with that
fuel which is necessary for a thousand useful purposes. Those metals
which are the best treasures of the soil are usually placed lowest by
God. "In His hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the
hills is His, also." If ever science shall be able to investigate below
the crust of the globe into its fiery caldron, they will discover fresh
wonders of God's power and wisdom.
What benefit may be bestowed upon us even by the secret fires which
burn and rage within the world's innermost heart, or what may be the
blessing derived by us from these underlying fountains of water
gathered in the deeps, we cannot estimate. Suffice it to say that God's
creation is not only full of glory in its loftiest pinnacles but also
in its utmost depths. God is the Master Builder and He lays the
foundation well.
The same is true of God's work called Providence. No event happens but
He has planned it and ordained that a multitude of other events should
precede or follow it. The doings of Providence are threaded together,
like pearls upon a string. There is a relation of this to that and of
that to another. God does not allow events to blow about like scattered
leaves in autumn–neither are they the inventions of a trying
moment–when He is driven to fresh expedients that His end may not be
frustrated. Events dovetail the one into the other. Every fact is
fitted and adapted to take its place in the design of the great
Architect.
Certain great principles underlie all history. One who had but little
spiritual knowledge, yet confessed that "there is a power abroad which
makes for righteousness"–he could not help seeing that. And he might
have seen more had he opened his eyes. There is, in the affairs of man,
many a touch of God's own hand. History looks like tangled yarn. But
when you and I shall see it disentangled, we shall wonder at the
infinite wisdom, kindness and goodness of God. Behold, in all things
everything is of Him and by Him and through Him, to the praise of His
Glory. In God's government of the universe He makes sure of His
foundation.
But we come into clearer light when we look at the Lord's greatest work
of redemption. You and I are not saved haphazardly. It is not as though
God had saved us on the spur of the moment, as an afterthought which
was not in His first intent. No, redemption plays an essential part in
the purposes of the Lord. I delight to look back upon the Lord's
redeeming thoughts before all time and say of them, "These are ancient
things." Long before the stars flew like sparks from the anvil of
omnipotence, God had contrived the way for the redemption of His own.
In the covenant council chamber, the Divine Persons of the sacred Unity
arranged the procedure of all-glorious Grace.
And today all things are worked according to the purpose of His eternal
will. The foundation of redemption was securely laid in the Covenant of
Grace, of which the Lord Jesus is the foundation. Infinite love,
infallible wisdom, immutable faithfulness–all these combined to lay a
foundation which can never be moved.
Go a little further, dear Friends, and come to the day in which the
Lord provided an atonement for us and thus laid an immovable
foundation. It has been suggested that He might have saved us, if He
willed, without a sacrifice, letting Law and Justice stand on one side.
This is after the manner of the men of the day–the jerry-building of
the hour scorns so mean a thing as a foundation. But God does not build
in this vile fashion. God will have no flaw in the salvation of His
people. And that there never might arise a question as to the justice
of the Divine act by which their iniquity is passed over, He has
exacted a penalty at the hand of their Surety.
Now the Lord justly forgives their transgression. Justice, vindicated
by a glorious sacrifice, brings for a foundation "great stones, costly
stones and hewed stones." All the angels of God might search all Heaven
in vain to find a fit foundation stone for the Temple of Grace. But
when the Only-Begotten of the Father offered Himself without spot unto
God, it was seen that He was in all respects fit to be the foundation
of man's redemption. He is a chief Cornerstone, elect, precious, able
to bear all that can be laid upon Him.
What a wonder it was that God would yield Him up to die, to be the
basis of our hope! Talk of the great stones and costly stones of
Solomon's Temple–they are not worthy to be mentioned in the same day
as this Chief Cornerstone, on which all the hopes of His elect are
laid. For they behold in Him the sacrifice for sin, the destroyer of
evil and the reconciler of the lost. Glory be to God! In resting upon
Jesus we do not build on the sand but on a rock. He is the foundation
of God, which stands sure. The whole temple of the Church is sustained
by Him.
When you are rejoicing in your sonship, your union to Christ, your high
privileges, your eternal glory–do not forget the less visible but
equally essential foundation blessings of eternal personal election,
the Everlasting Covenant, the unchanging purpose and the infallible
oath of God. Sing evermore of the love which from eternity was fixed
upon you and of the purpose settled and established concerning you. For
these lie at the foundation of all the favors you enjoy. Solomon's
foundations astonish beholders on earth. But those of God will fill
angels with amazement throughout eternity.
Once more–while illustrating the truth that God's method is to lay a
good foundation, I must beg you to think of the application of
redemption to the heart of everyone of the redeemed in personal
salvation. Beloved, when God saved us, it was no superficial work–the
building of His Grace in our souls is no wooden shanty but a building
which has foundations. Look back at the early dealings of God with you
before you knew Him–He says, "I girded you, though you have not known
Me." Your experiences in your ungodly state were made to lay a
foundation for the higher work of Divine Grace in your hearts.
This was more fully seen in the operations of Grace when God began to
deal with you effectually. When He worked in you conviction of sin,
what an out-digging there was! With some of us, the throwing out of the
foundation lasted for years. And for myself, I began to think there
never would be a trace of anything built up in my heart. What a trench
was dug in my soul! Out went my supposed merits! What a heap of
rubbish! Out went my knowledge, my good resolves and my
self-sufficiency! By-and-by, out went all my strength. When this
out-digging was completed, the ditch was so deep that, when I went down
into it, it seemed like my grave.
Such a grief it was for me to know my own sinfulness, that it did not
seem possible that this could help my building up in comfort and
salvation. Yet so it is, that if the Lord means to build high, He
always digs deep. And if He means to give great Grace, He gives deep
consciousness of need of it. Our convictions of sin, though painful and
humbling, are a necessary part of edification in righteousness. Since
then we have been the subjects of a great deal of secret, unseen,
underground work. The Lord has spent upon us a world of care. My
Brothers and Sisters, you would not like to unveil those great
searching of heart of which you have been the subject.
You have been honored in public. And, if so, you have had many a
whipping behind the door lest you should glory in your flesh. Whenever
God has filled your boat with fish and you have been more than
ordinarily successful, that boat has begun to sink. Great mercies are
great humblers of sincere souls. You have gone down in proportion as
God has gone up with you. All those chastening, humbling and searching
of heart have been a private laying of foundations for higher things.
Yes, and the Lord has done much more than this in His own unseen but
effectual way. He has given instruction and revelation and sanctified
fellowship and these have been your own and not another's.
No one has seen what the Lord has worked in you. But if it had not been
for this, you could not have been built up in holiness and usefulness.
Thank God He works the greater wonders of His love in the dark, out of
sight. Yet, as the foundation is the most important part of the
building, so the secret, humbling processes of Divine Grace have a
value second to none. Yes, my Brethren, for the building up of a temple
for His indwelling, the Lord "brings great stones, costly stones and
hewed stones to lay the foundation of the house."
II. I want now to see that THIS MUST BE OUR METHOD, TOO. We must build
after this fashion and make sure of our foundations.
First, let it be so in the building up of our own life. Every man and
woman here, but especially those who are young, have a life to build
up. It is a great thing to begin by believing good solid doctrine. Some
people have believed twenty different gospels in as many years–how
many more they will believe before they get to their journey's end it
would be difficult to predict. I thank God I never knew but one Gospel.
And I have been so perfectly satisfied with it that I do not want to
know any other. Constant change of creed is sure loss. If a tree has to
be taken up two or three times a year, you will not need to build a
very large loft in which to store the apples.
When people are always shifting their doctrinal principles, they are
not likely to bring forth much fruit to the Glory of God. It is good to
begin with a firm hold upon those great fundamental doctrines which the
Lord has taught in His Word. Draw into their places in your belief and
in your experience, those "great stones, costly stones and hewed
stones" of sure revelation which lay the doctrinal foundation of the
Temple of Faith.
It is a great blessing to have a deep, solid, inward experience.
Beloved, never think that you have taken hold of a Truth of God till it
has taken hold of you. We do a great deal of flimsy work in religion,
to our cost and injury. If much of our supposed experience were laid on
the wall of our confidence, the first real stone that pressed on it
would crumble it to sand. We want things solid, vital, real–"great
stones, costly stones and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the
house."
Beloved, how much is done in private by every Christian who is really
sanctified, in the matter of the mastering of sin? It is not fit, in
cases of inward conflict, to open the door or the window and bid
everybody come and see. If you have the wild beast of sin to tackle,
shut the door and have it out alone. God helping you, you will never
attain to a holy life unless there are secret conflicts with sin. There
must also be hidden times of communion with God. That Grace which is
artesian, is Grace, indeed. When you have tapped the deep that lies
under, up leaps the stream with an irresistible force, fresh from the
very heart of truth.
I pray God to deliver us from the present superficialities of religion.
Xavier is said to have made innumerable converts in India by going
about with a little pot of water and a brush and sprinkling them as he
went along. If men do not in that way make converts now, I am afraid
the work is not much deeper or more effectual. Unless men have new
hearts and right spirits, it is all in vain that they make new
professions. We need to be baptized into the Grace of God till every
part of our old nature is buried with Christ and the whole of our new
nature is dyed in the color of almighty love. God grant it may be so!
Be thorough. Be real, be intense. In your building up of character,
look well to the foundation.
So it must be, next, in the building up of a Church, that a Church of
God needs be founded on the everlasting Truth of God. There are numbers
of hasty builders with wood, hay and stubble. But these neither attend
to the foundation nor to material laid thereon. Splendid stuff for
rapid construction is good, well-trussed hay! Bring a truss at a time.
What a pile of building we will show in a day! You wanted a house and
we have built you one in an instant. The wall is three feet thick and
wonderfully warm. We have built a house in a day.
In this way new sects and parties have been invented and called
Churches of Christ. Is this worth while? "Thus says the Lord, shall it
prosper?" For my part, although I would be zealous in the service of my
Lord, I had rather, by the Grace of God, "lay great stones, costly
stones and hewed stones" upon the solid, rocky old doctrines of the
Gospel, than gather the greatest crowd, without faith and life. The
stones of the temple were so squared and polished that you could not
get a knife in between them when they were placed side by side. The
stones thus adjusted were like a solid, united mass. So let us build.
"Slow work," you say. Yes, but it will be equally slow in coming down
and that is the thing we must care about–we build for eternity.
To maintain solid truth you need solid people. Vital godliness is
therefore to be aimed at. Twenty thousand people, all merely professing
faith but having no energetic life, may not have Divine Grace enough
among them to make twenty solid Believers. Poor, sickly Believers turn
the Church into an hospital, rather than a camp. Weak Believers are
poor stuff for building a Church with. Alas, much has been done of late
to promote the production of dwarfish Christians. The endeavor has been
to increase breadth at the expense of depth. What would you think of
those who should break the dams of our reservoirs to let the water
spread over the country?
The accident which did this in America has spread ruin throughout a
great district. I fear that nothing but mischief can come of the
present liberal regime which talks of universal fatherhood and
virtually breaks down the separating wall which is meant to guard the
Church of God. If, in order to spread our sea, we make it very shallow
and it spreads a noxious atmosphere and death over the plain, it will
be a sorry exchange for life eternal. Oh, to have a Church built up
with the deep godliness of men who know the Lord in their very hearts
and will seek to follow the Lamb wherever He goes!
I look with great delight, although with much sorrow, upon our
Society's Church building in the Congo. When we think of the many men
who have died there, it has indeed been true already that "great
stones, costly stones and hewed stones" have been laid for a
foundation. If God will enable His Church to make such sacrifices, He
means to build a fair palace for His Glory. When the great demands of a
work call for unusual consecration and unknown donors drop large sums
into the treasury of the Church, then there is hope of a grand building
up. When Christian men, for the Truth of God's sake can part with
friends, lose popularity and involve themselves in loss, then are
"great stones, costly stones and hewed stones" being built into the
foundation of the temple of the Lord.
This morning a large number of friends are present who have been
attending the Sunday school Convention. I welcome them heartily and I
wish to turn my subject towards them, by saying–Dear Friends, in the
building up of character in others, we must mind that we do the
foundation work well. Sunday school teachers are those who do the
foundation work–for they begin first with young hearts, while they are
tender and susceptible. It is a most important thing that we have our
children and young people well instructed in the Divine Truth of God
and soundly converted.
If we tone down the Gospel which we teach, under the notion of making
it more suitable to children, we shall greatly err–we may make it more
childish but we shall not make it more fit for children–nor a more
effective instrument for their salvation. The same Gospel which is
preached in this great Tabernacle to this crowd is preached downstairs
in our Sunday school, to the young. And if I thought it were not so, I
should despair of seeing any conversions. The lads and lasses want just
the same Truths of God as the adults, only it should be stated in
simpler language, with more of parable and illustration.
Fundamental Truths of God are as much connected with the salvation of a
child as with the salvation of a full-grown man. Christ receives
adults, but He also suffers little children to come to Him. Let us
always take good heed that our Sunday school teaching is as solidly
truthful as our instruction of the Church.
But be it never forgotten that the major part of teaching will lie in
example! And, therefore, the life of the teacher must be of the very
best. It is wonderful how children copy the conduct of a beloved
teacher–for good or for evil–the force of example over the imitative
faculty of youth is very great. When their hearts are tender they are
molded for God and good things as much by what they see in our
character as by what they hear from our lips. Most of you have seen in
the British Museum the Egyptian brick which bears the mark of a dog's
foot upon it. When it was as yet soft mud, a dog, who was wandering
through the brickfield, set his signature upon it and there it
stands–Dog of Nile–his mark.
Any casual word or foolish act may make a mark on a child's character
as indelible as the dog's signature. This may be done when we are not
intending it. How much more when with our heart's intent we write upon
a loving mind! An unhallowed remark, or an ill-advised act, may start a
soul upon the line of destruction. As the Japanese copyist was very
careful to imitate the crack in the plate, and the flaw in the design,
so shall we find young people peculiarly apt to follow our faults and
infirmities. Oh, for holy teachers and preachers! Let us be such that
we may dare to bid our disciples mark us and have us for examples.
How surely are the impressions of our early days retained when later
learning is forgotten! How easily may you who work upon the precious
material of a young mind leave on it an undying record! I remember a
man of God, who has now gone to his reward, who was the means of
producing, under God, a library of useful lives. I do not mean books in
paper but books in boots. Many young men were decided for the Lord by
his means and became preachers, teachers, deacons and other workers.
And no one would wonder that it was so, if he knew the man who trained
them. He was ready for every good word and work.
But he gave special attention to his Bible class, in which he set forth
the Gospel with clearness and zeal. Whenever any of his young men left
the country town in which he lived, he would be sure to have a parting
interview. There was a wide-spreading oak down in the fields. And there
he was likely to keep an early morning appointment with John, or
Thomas, or William–and that appointment very much consisted of earnest
pleadings with the Lord, that in going up to the great city the young
man might be kept from sin and made useful. Under that tree several
decided for the Savior.
It was an impressive act and left its influence. For many men came,
after many years, to see the spot made sacred by their teacher's
prayers. We ought to be ingenious in our methods and spare no pains to
influence young people for their good. "Great stones, costly stones and
hewed stones" may be fitly used in such building as this. If the Lord,
by our means, prepares but one soul for eternal bliss, we shall not
have lived in vain.
But, beloved Friends, one of the most important things about dealing
with children is that we teach them what we have well prepared. Their
mental food must be carefully cooked. If ever a teacher goes to the
class without preparing the lesson, the teaching is sure to be very
poor work. Nobody sees you when you are preparing your lesson–nobody
commends you for your diligent research. It is the public address which
is noted. But the secret study is that to which the commendation really
belongs. If this private preparation is neglected, it is a very serious
omission.
Indeed, bad work in places which are not looked at is a wretched order
of things. Some time ago it fell to me, as executor, to arrange for the
sale of the goods and effects in a house most elegantly furnished.
Certain fine pictures were to go to Christy and Manson's. The drawing
room was expensively adorned and the wall decorations were elaborate
with a pattern in which gold stars were somewhat plentiful. When the
paintings were taken down, I was not a little surprised to see that
behind them the wall was bare of ornament, so that at no time could
those pictures have been shifted without showing how the decoration had
been stinted.
The owner was rich. Yet his tradesman must had practiced such pinching
economy of a little gilding. I am afraid if we were to take down the
pictures in some Sunday school teachers and Christian ministers, there
would be seen ugly patches of neglect. It should not be so, Brethren,
in the work of the Lord. It must not be so! Our power under God will
lie very much in the heartiness of our private work.
Years ago, when I was suffering from gouty rheumatism, a gentleman
sought an interview–he was confident that he could cure me almost
immediately. He was a marvelously positive quack and before long he had
informed me that he had in his exclusive possession a most astounding
medicine. I do not know whether a smell of it would not have cured all
the ills of humanity. No, he could not even hint what the medicine was.
And I did not press the point, for I could not expect to be favored
with the golden secret. But I was indulged with some insight into the
preparation of the miraculous drug.
The professor said, "These pills are infallible in their effect,
because they are so powerful. Their power does not lie in the mere
ingredients, which are extremely simple, but their efficacy is the
result of the careful preparation of the material by myself." Being a
very healthy man and full of vigor, the professor professed to work up
these pills in such a way that he transferred to them the electric or
biological energies of his own personality! And thus he infused health
into the sick. I have never taken the aforesaid pills. But I have used
their author's assertion as a lesson.
I believe that if preachers and teachers work into their lessons the
life of their souls and the whole power of their minds, their teaching
will be far more effectual for good than if they merely repeat good
things and put no heart into them. See to it that your heart and soul
is worked into your teaching. Next time we are studying the Scripture
lessons, let us think to ourselves, "This is foundation work. No one
will know how I have worked at it. But the Lord, whom I serve, will
take note of all that I do, and He will be pleased with conscientious
foundation work."
Brothers and Sisters, we must put "good stones, costly stones and hewed
stones" into the unseen part of our edifice, that, as a whole, our work
may be meet for the thrice-holy Lord.
III. My time fails me. But under my third head I must carefully, though
briefly, set forth the reasons why this should be done. IT IS A WISE
METHOD.
First, because it is suitable for God. You build your temple for God
and not for men–you should, therefore, make that part of the building
good which will be seen by Him. And as He sees it all, it must be all
of the best. The Lord sees the foundation just as much as He does the
topstone–all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him with whom we
have to do. Even heathens recognized this. A Grecian sculptor had to
prepare an image of a god for one of the temples. He was working away
with all his might at the back of the head and at the hinder garments
of the figure.
One said to him, "Your work is needless, for that part of the figure is
to be built into the wall." "But," said the sculptor, "the gods can see
in the wall. This is for the gods, and not for men." Let us catch the
spirit of the heathen artist and do work for God in a manner fit for
the Omniscient. It is meet that the foundation which is invisible
should be per-
fect, if we expect the Invisible God to accept it. For otherwise, if we
spend our strength on what is seen by men, it will be pretty evident
that we, after all, are working for the praise of man, and not for the
Glory of God.
Next, look well to the foundation that is out of sight, for your own
sake. No builder can afford to be negligent over the unseen part of a
building. For it would involve a serious injury to his character. The
very act of skimping is mean and degrading and lowers a man's tone. I
do not care who he is, if he habitually trifles over that which is not
seen, the habit will defile his sincerity in other respects and lead
him to practical hypocrisy in religious concerns. The bare idea that we
need not do our best if we are not seen, is debasing to the soul.
Today many aim at doing things cheaply, getting through work as fast as
possible and making a great show for the money. Let us avoid this
popular form of lying! Let us do every part of our work as becomes men
who are elect of God, redeemed by precious blood and called into
fellowship with Christ by the Holy Spirit. What if a sham might pass
acceptable with other men, yet it must not be adopted by those who are
of the Heaven-born race and have a quickened conscience within their
bosom.
"Why," says one, "nobody would respect you any the less if you did such
work slightingly, for everybody else would do so." Listen–I should
respect myself less if I skimped my work, and I set a great value upon
my own respect of myself. What if another esteems me? I am still
wretched if I know that he is mistaken and I have not the approbation
of my own conscience. A conscience void of offense, both towards God
and towards men, is of more worth than the applause of nations.
Further, lay the foundation well and look to that part which is out of
sight, because in this way you will secure the superstructure. There
was a bit of a flaw in the foundation but nobody saw it–the builder
covered it up very quickly and ran up the whole concern as quickly as
possible. The walls were built and built well. It seemed clear that the
fault down below was of no consequence whatever. And as it had a little
cheapened the underground construction, was it not so much the better?
How long was this the case? Well, the next year nothing happened–a
longer time passed away and then an ugly crack came down the wall.
Had there been an earthquake? No, there was no earthquake. Perhaps a
cyclone had beaten upon the work? No, there was no cyclone–the weather
was the same as usual. What was the cause of that gaping space which
marred the beauty of the building and threatened to bring it down? It
was that blunder long ago–that underground neglect produced the
terrible mischief above–which t o correct would involve a great
expense and perhaps render it necessary to take the whole building
down. That which was out of sight did not always remain out of mind. It
only needed time to produce a dangerous settlement.
If certain men of our acquaintance had been soundly converted at the
first, backsliding and apostasy would not have followed, to our shame
and grief. If certain preachers had done their work in the Church of
God better in years now past, those sad departures from the Truth of
God, which now vex the saints, would not have occurred. If today you do
not teach your children the Gospel fully and clearly, the evil may not
be seen in your present classes, nor possibly even in this
generation–but children's children will bear the impression of the
slight work done at this hour. Years may be needed for the development
of the full result of a false doctrine.
Besides, dear Fiends, to lay a good foundation, on Solomon's part, was
the way to save himself from future fears. Buildings which have to hold
a crowd endure seasons of test and trial. Years ago, I was preaching in
a building which was exceedingly crowded and, to my apprehension, there
was a continuous tremor. I grew so anxious that I said to a friend, who
understood such matters, "Go downstairs and see whether this building
is really safe. For it seems hardly able to bear the weight of this
crowd." When he returned he looked anxious but gave me no answer.
The service ended quietly and then he said, "I am so glad that
everything has gone off safely. I do not think you should ever preach
here again. For it is a very frail affair. But I thought that if I
frightened you there would be more risk in a panic than in letting the
service go on." Solomon had built with "great stones, costly stones and
hewed stones." And therefore, when the vast multitudes came together
around the temple, it never occurred to him to fear that the great
weight of people might cause a subsidence of the foundation. Oh, no! He
stood there and prayed to God with collected mind, altogether
undisturbed by any apprehension of possible disaster.
He that builds well for eternity will escape a thousand fears. Doubts
and fears are often born of a knowledge that something has been left
undone, or has been done poorly in the process of building upon Christ.
Beloved Members of this
Church, you that are often subject to doubts and fears, do you not
think that these might be cured by a more real faith and truer dealings
with God? Are you lax as to your private study of the Word, or
negligent in your secret prayers? If so, I do not wonder that you have
doubts.
Here is a suggestion as to the way of curing and preventing them. Make
your religion solid work–have no more of it in appearance than you
have in reality. Get down to the rock every time. Do nothing with
careless superficiality. If you pray, plead with your whole heart. If
you hear the Word, put your very soul into it. Let your Motto be, "Sure
work for eternity!" Specially look well to the underground and unseen
parts of Godliness and so shall your comfort be constant and joyful.
Beloved, lastly, do look well to the foundation and to the secret parts
of your dealings with God, because there is a fire coming which will
try all things. "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." No matter where we
build, or how we build, the fire will come upon all the works of man.
The wood, hay and stubble builders cry, "Do not bring any fire here!
The proposal is horrible!" But in vain do they protest, for God has
determined that the fire shall be.
Now, even should you build the upper and visible part of your life with
stone, it will not avail if the under portion is of hay. The fire will
bring it all down. What a blaze! What a blaze! Stand far off and see
the smoke go up like that of Sodom and Gomorrah. What is left? Only a
handful of black ashes! Is this the whole remaining result of an entire
life? Is this the substance of a life of notoriety and publicity and
honor? How terrible! Yet if the foundation part of your life is of
consumable material, that must be the bitter end. God be thanked, the
man that builds on the rock, Christ Jesus, and builds on Him gold,
silver and precious stones, has no cause to fear the last
conflagration.
Today he weeps, because he has built so little. "O Lord," says he, "I
wish I could have done a thousand times as much for You!" But after the
fire has gone through it, and what is built remains, how thankful he
will be! See how it shines amid the fire! The flames give it a glow and
burnish never seen before. The rust and the tarnish are gone and the
whole fabric shines like the pure gold which it really is. Its precious
stones are even more brilliant than before, and in nothing has the
structure suffered loss. The Lord be praised!
A life well-grounded in Christ Jesus, made sound throughout by the
power of the Spirit, will bear to be inspected of God and even to be
inspected by the envious eyes of men, who would gladly find fault with
it. And at last it will bear the trial of the Judgment Day and will be
found to the praise and Glory of God forever and ever. Therefore, see
to it that you lay the foundation of all your religion with "great
stones, costly stones and hewed stones," that so it may last forever.
To those of you who are not converted, let this be the final word of my
sermon–build on God's foundation, build on Christ–the Sacrifice
appointed of the Lord for the putting away of sin. And see to it that
with sincere repentance, childlike faith and Gospel holiness you build
thereon "great stones, costly stones and hewed stones," which shall lie
firmly on the One Foundation and never be removed, world without end.
Amen.