And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine
Who only externally hears them, but has no understanding of them;
do not believe them, nor like and approve of them, but hates and
despises them; or if not, depends upon his external hearing of
them, and contents himself with a speculative knowledge, without
the practice of them,
and doth them not;
does not yield the obedience of faith to the doctrines of the
Gospel, nor submits to the ordinances of it, but neglects them,
and all other duties of religion: or if he does obey, it is only
outwardly, not from the heart; nor from a principle of love; nor
in faith; nor in the name and strength of Christ; nor for the
glory of God, but in order to obtain life for himself: such
shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house
upon the
sand;
or, as Luke has it, "without a foundation upon the earth"; upon
the surface of the earth, without digging into it for a
foundation: and such may be said to build
without a foundation,
who pretend to make their peace with God by their own works; who
hope for pardon on the foot of the mercy of God, and their own
repentance; seek for justification by their own, and not the
righteousness of Christ; look for acceptance with God, for the
sake of their own worthiness; and who expect salvation in any
other way than by Christ: as in each of these articles, they
leave out Christ, they may be said to build without a foundation
indeed, and to build "upon" the surface of "the earth"; as they
do, who build their hope of salvation upon anything that is
merely external; as, their riches and grandeur, their wisdom and
learning, their natural descent, and religious education, their
civility, courteousness, and what is called good nature, their
liberality and alms deeds, their morality, common justice and
honesty, their legal righteousness, whether moral or ritual, and
a round of religious duties; and such may be said to "build upon
the sand", on that which will bear no weight, but gives way, and
sinks. The salvation of the soul is a weighty thing; and that
which is like sand, as is everything of a man's own, can never
support it: God has therefore laid the salvation of his people on
his own Son; and he must be a "foolish man" that builds on
anything short of him.
