THE HOUSE ON THE SAND.

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never dreaming of evil; and most likely they were very glad to have a roof over their heads on such a fearful night.

Death comes like a thief; for while they were all asleep the rain so loosened the sand around and under the house that it gave way, and the frail shelter fell upon Mick, and his wife and children, and buried them under its ruins. It is likely that poor Mick had some notion of his danger when it was too late, for his body was found sitting up, as if he had meant to try and save himself. Perhaps if he had a moment to think, he blamed himself for not giving heed to those that knew better than he, and wished that he had not built his house upon the sand.

Now, dear reader, doubtless you feel sorry for this poor man, and think that he was very foolish to do as he did; but are you quite sure that you are not acting in the same way yourself? Do you wonder what we mean? We will explain it to you. You must one day die; your body will be laid in the grave, but your soul will then be either happy or miserable. Now which do you wish to be? No doubt you will say that you wish and hope to go to heaven. But what reason have you to expect that you will do so? Have you any good ground for such a hope? for if not you are building your house upon the sand, and at the day of your death when you most want comfort it will fail you, just as Mickey Sloane's foundation failed, and his house fell on the stormy night when he most needed a shelter, and buried him in its ruins.

If Mickey had acted wisely he would have dug deep till he came to some firm ground, or may be to a rock, and then he would have had something solid for his walls to rest on, and his house would have stood so firmly that the rain might have descended and the floods come, and the winds have blown, and it would not have fallen.

Now, we hope you will act wisely about the salvation of your soul: do not build on sand. Remember the words of the apostle Paul: "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ;" and again, "There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Jesus Christ is the rock you are to build on, and if you trust to anything else you will find it deceive you. You may think all looks very fair and right; but mind, you have not yet met with the wind, and the rain, and the floods. Mickey Sloane thought his house looked all right, and because it stood in fair weather he thought it would resist the storm; but it did not. And so you may get on very well as long as you are in health and prosperity; but when the storm comes, that is, sickness and death, will you not find that you have trusted to what will deceive you? Like the sand it will slip away from beneath you, and nothing will be left to rest on. Jesus Christ has plainly told us what we

must do to be saved; he says in effect, "Believe on me, and thou shalt be saved." That is the only way. He came into this world to die for our sins, to the end "that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life." He says, "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." If you feel that you are a great sinner, unable to save yourself, and if you come to the Lord Jesus to save your soul from death, he will do it. He died for this very purpose, that all who come to him should be saved from their sins.

None are too poor to come to Jesus, for he says, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.' If we wait till we have anything to give to Jesus we may wait for ever, for we are poor sinners, and all that we are and all that we have is vile, but Jesus receives us just as we are; he knows we have nothing, and he promises to give us everything.

None are too wicked to come to Jesus, for he says, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." The greatest sinner on this earth, if he does but feel that he needs a Saviour and repents and believes in him, is sure to be forgiven by Jesus. All he asks is, that we come to him penitent and believing.

But you must trust to Jesus alone. You must not fancy that any good works of your own, or of any other person, will save you, or will help to save you. That would be building on sand. Nothing but the rock is a sure foundation, and that rock is Jesus Christ; and he is both able and willing to save you.

Now then, do you see why we have told you this story of Mickey Sloane and his fallen house? It is that you may examine whether your house has a good foundation for eternity; that is, whether you have built your hopes of salvation upon the only rock that will not fail you, Jesus Christ.

But there is yet another lesson to be learned, and it is this: If Mick had known for certain that his house would fall on one particular day, he would have taken care to have been clear of it before that time; but, you see, he did not believe it would fall, and it came down in the night, just when he thought he was most secure. So, friend, do not you think that you will go to Jesus some day or other before you die? How can you tell when that will be? Just go to him now, and pray to him to save you, a great sinner, from your sins, and give you the Holy Spirit to teach, sanctify, and comfort you. Trust only in Christ for salvation; and then whenever your earthly house falls, that is, whenever your body dies, you will have a house in heaven secure and firm.

WARNING AND COUNSEL.

It is no time to dally and trifle, and speak softly, when precious souls are at stake, and their eternal condition is so nearly concerned. "We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." 66 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we

persuade men."

We would, then, give you WARNING.

1. The God with whom we have to do is a holy, righteous, all-seeing God. That which makes sinners feel secure is their mistake concerning the character of God. They think of the Almighty as if he were easily imposed upon, altogether such a one as themselves. Thus they cheat themselves. But be not deceived. Know that God's eye is always upon you. He is acquainted with your secret sins. He hates every sin; and to all who are impenitent, he "is a consuming fire." He knows all things, and cannot be deceived. He is true to his threatenings.

2. Your precious, immortal soul must shortly appear before God in judgment, to be sentenced by a righteous doom to an unchangeable condition. You have a jewel in your charge of inestimable value. It is your soul, your precious soul! It is not a trifle, or a thing of nought,-but your own soul; and once lost, it is irrecoverably lost. The gain of all the world cannot pay

for it. This soul is in a very hazardous state. It lies at stake. It is in great danger. You are on a trial for your life.

3. If you live and die in a graceless, impenitent, unsanctified state, be assured you will be to all eternity in hell. Though you may make a great profession; though you attain a high reputation among men; though you prophesy in Christ's name; though you excel in gifts; though you abound in usefulness; yet all this, without a living principle of grace in your heart, will never bring you to heaven. And believe it, grace and holiness are quite other things than what the world take them to be. Religion consists in a new and living principle of life and action, a renewed heart; and shows itself in repentance, in faith in Christ, in humility and self-denial, and the reigning love of God and contempt of the world. He is a Christian who is one inwardly.

4. There are thousands in hell who, when alive in the world, thought themselves safe. Multitudes have been deceived with dross for gold-have thought they were rich when they were not so. There is a generation of such. We have reason, then, to be jealous and afraid of a cheat in that in which so many have been cheated before us. This should startle us. Take heed lest while you sleep as others have done, you perish as they have. How secure was the rich man in the midst of his prosperity! But God called him a "fool."

5. The unsanctified heart may have a false peace, while yet it is the devil's palace; and while he, as a strong man armed, keepeth it. It would startle you to think of belonging to the devil, of being under his power, of being led captive by him, of being urged on by him, of having him to work in you. You would be alarmed if the devil were visible to you; but he is as really working in the children of disobedience as if he appeared to them. When you are going on in a sinful way, and yet say you have peace, it is the devil and a deceived heart that tell you so you are in the midst of enemies.

6. While you are asleep in carnal security, your damnation slumbereth not. The Judge standeth before the door. Death is at hand; perhaps within a few days, a few hours of you. You would be startled, though you put far off the evil day, if you could be assured that you would live but one year; and will it not awaken you, that no man can assure you, nor can you assure yourself, that you shall live a single day? The veil of flesh is easily and quickly rent, and then appears the awful scene of eternity-eternity! Have you not seen many, who were as likely to live as yourself, snatched away? How startling was the declaration, "This night thy soul shall be required of thee!" A

WARNING AND COUNsel.

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his mind is filled with the thought whether he be eating, drinking, or sleeping and can we forget the amazing doom, the amazing sight, the amazing gulf, that we are just upon the brink of-just ready to step into ?

7. As the tree falls, so it lies; and as death leaves us, so judgment will find us. The doom is irreversible, the sentence irrevocable, the condition on the other side death unchangeable. A gulf will be fixed. It is too late to repent in the grave; there is no repentance there; only remorse and despair. Up and bestir yourself, for you may have only a little inch of time in which to escape from ruin, and to seek the salvation of your soul.

But let us also DIRECT and COUNSEL you.

When a man asleep is roused a little, he is, in some measure, capable of receiving and profiting by advice. Know then, generally, what you must do. Sleep no longer; be secure no longer.

1. Suspect yourself as to your spiritual state; self-suspicion is the first step towards awakening. What if, after all, my faith should be but fancy, my hope presumption? What reason have I to be so very confident? May I not be deceived? Many who eat bread with Christ, yet lift up the heel against him. The disciples, when our Lord intimated that one of them should betray him, began to say unto him, one by one, "Is it I?" Do not, in a matter of such great importance, always take things for granted.

2. See, and be convinced of, the miserable state you are in while out of Christ. You are not the more safe for feeling secure. Look about you; consider, as men do who are newly awakened, where you are. See yourself wretched and miserable, a child of wrath. Be sensible of the guilt of sin that lies upon you, of the power of sin that rules in you. You are under the power of Satan. You are exposed to the curse of God. There is but a short life between thee and hell. And is this a condition for a man to sleep in?

3. Stir up yourself to a due concern about your soul, and your eternal welfare. "If ye will inquire, inquire ye." Inquire as they did when awake, who are mentioned by the prophet Micah, "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord?" Inquire as those new converts in the Acts of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Inquire as the jailer did, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" There begins to be some hope of people, when they look about them as men concerned. Here I am now, but where must I be to eternity? If I should die to-night, and go to judgment, what would