Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-31
Christian Endeavor Hour


10, Ephesians, H,fs-a2, Timothy, vi,if-iei
II Timothy, H:f4-1g.
Matthew vita - Therefore whatsoever
heareth these sayings Of mine and doeth
them. / win liken him unto q wise man.
| which built his house upon rock;
25-And the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew and beat
upon that house; and 1t fell not; for Ii was
founded upon rock.
/ Corinthians, Understanding to the
grace of God which Ia given unto me a
wise master builder, have laid the founda-
ton, and another buildeth thereon. But
let every man take heed how he buildeth
thereupon.
I1-For other foundation can no man lay
than that Is laid. which IL Jesus Christ.
12-Now II any man build upon this foun-
dation gold, silver, precious stones WOOD
hay, stubble;
1S-Every mans work shall be made
manifest: for the day shall declare 1t, be-
cause it shall be revealed by fire; and the
fire shall try every mans work OF what
14-f any mans work abide which he
hath built thereupon, he shall receive q
reward.
15-If any mans work shall be burned,
saved yet SO as by fire.
The Lesson.
Is 1t Ruskin who has said that archi-
not felt that subtle sense Of melody, OF
harmony, steal over him as he crossed the
threshold of perfectly proportioned court
or cathedral? All of us have seen at some
time buildings that we felt might be mt
tingly termed poems in stone"
Not many years before Paufs visit to the
Corinthians the Roman army had burned
the city. All that was per1Shable had Deen
swallowed I'D. but the marble temples ana
palaces had resisted the flames Wdth the
txlt, - y1yyror
the ravaaes Of the fire had been repaired
as rapidly as possible. and 1t Is likely that
Paul saw many odd temporary structures
resting upon the site OF some costly struo-
ture whose foundations only had been left
by the fire. AS he passed through Cor1nth
he must have seen many a splendid portaco
of some deserted temple rendered habltabie
by the patchwork of clay and straw. The
sense of the incongruous was startling. The
costly sculptured clabs of marble lay firm
on the rock on which they rested, but the
glory of such foundation was dfsfgured by
the squaIid superstructure. He saw the Cor
inthan Church rising, a strange mixture OF
design and material. The foundation per-
feet, but on 1t rising a vrazy structure
of secondhand and ill-adapted material;
here a wall prcpped up with rotten sup
ports; there hole stopped with straw on
this side a magni1cently decorated gate
way, with gold and silver richly wrought
into its design: on the other side wall or
mud. What a picture of some of our
temple 1t afforded a striking illustration
for Paul's sermon. First, there was the
foundation. They must be sure of that.
Men had tried. and are trying still, to lay
q foundation of their own, but other foun-
Dalton can no man lay that will endure.
Some think that good moral principle Is a
foundation that none need be ashamed Of,
and go on year by year building thereon,
but when 1.-The day cometh when it shall
be tried by fire they will find it will not
stand. Some feel that a noble ancestry will
be basis enough for any character to go be-
fore God with. and some rest their faith IN
riches, while still others trust In intellectual
powers.
On the ocean graveyard OF Sable Island
eighty miles from the American coast, the
government of the United States erected a
lighthouse. 1t was 100 feet high, and many
thousands of pounds were spent in building
It, and all that was possible to the highest
engineering skill was done to make 1t a
permanent work. But the ocean drew a
little nearer to 1t every day and men had
only Just time to take 1t down before the
waves overturned the foundations The
fate of the lighthouse, which has. been built
SINCE Is only a question Of time, for there
is nothing but sand on Sable Island, and
the angry waves will, within a century or
So have swept 1t all away.
So it is with the lives which are not
built on the rock Christ Jesus. The niger
soils, and the Darwins and the Tom
Paines may flourish for a little while with
their intellectual blasphemies, but when the
fire of God shall try them. what will be
left for them to present to their Maker Z
When Hannah Moore was dying one OF her
friends ignorantly endeavored to encourage
her by speaking of all the good she had
done in the world. She replied: Talk not
so vainly, l utterly cast them from me, and
fall low at the foot of the cross" That Is
the way It will seem to us all when we come
face to face with our last hour.
But there those who have named the
name of Jesus, and who have taken the
-Lxtzx ,latf <,, Tho
are not building anything lasting upon 1t.
They may be saved yet so as by fire.
barely escaping, but not by depending upon
the fine character they had thought to
make for themselves.
l Timothy, Willie Charge them that
are rich In this world. that they be not
high-minded nor trust in uncertain riches,
but in the living God, who giveth US richly
all things to enjoy:
1s. That they do good and that they be
rich in good works, ready to distribute, will
ing to communicates;
10. Laying up in store for themselves a
good foundation against the time to come
that they may lay hold on eternal life.
Then the other Scripture selection in II
Timothy. Halo. speaks of another form of
poor building. the striving with vain words
about things that are of no real account
Perhaps we need that adrnonttion almost
more than others lust now when so many
are striving to overthrow the old ways and
bringing stumbling blocks and discussions
about the dear old truths. There is some
thing triumphant in the ring of the words,
Nevertheless the foundation of God
standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord
knoweth them that are His"
And these materials of which we build
have a test. The fiery trials which come
to us all are part of the fire that is to
show US how perishable are some of the
walls We have wrought upon with such
pains. John Newton. writing to his friend
William Bull on the death of his wife said :
For want of eyes / refer you to Matthew
vii :24-2T-How should the house on the rock
be proved to be on a sure foundation If It
was not assaulted by the same transforms
and floods which swept away that which
was built upon the sand?
How to Help the Leader.
Speak of some of the materials with
which we may build character. which
will not stand the test of Gods fire. In
particular speak OF the building we are
doing day by day in our homes and
among those nearest in our family life
of the cross words and unkind actions
which are being set in the walls Of the
structure We build, like ugly blemishes
and which will be most inf1ammable and
perishable of all.
PARALLEL observation-disclosures IL: