Built on the Rock

Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain (Psalm 127:1).

Off the southwestern tip of Great Britain, on a great boulder some distance from the shore, stands a tall and massive column of solid masonry known as the Eddystone Lighthouse. After several previous failures by others, John Smeaton, a pioneer civil engineer, built the present lighthouse, laying the foundation deep into the rocky core of the foundation boulder. His faith moved him to engrave the following words of scripture onto the side of his lighthouse: "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it." Unshaken by howling wind or crashing wave, this lighthouse has stood for two hundred years, a tribute to the skill of a man who, in humble faith, built on the solid bedrock of Eddystone.

Eddystone Rock typifies Jesus Christ, the solid Rock upon which wise people build their lives. Jesus is our Rock of Ages—the solid foundation that time cannot destroy. He is the Rock of our Salvation, where we can find security when the storms of life threaten to drown us in trouble; David wrote, the LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer (Psalm 18:2). He is the cornerstone of the Church; Paul says in him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord (Ephesians 2:21).

All too often, we are disappointed when someone we have depended upon fails us in our hour of need; we say that such a person has "feet of clay." Our God is a trustworthy foundation stone because there is no impurity within Him, no flaws that weaken Him; Psalm 92 verse 15 says the LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him. And God is the only Rock where we can find everlasting protection; in Isaiah 44:8 our Lord says is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one. This is why Jesus says, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash (Matthew 7:24-27). So let us join our voices with King David, who urges us: Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation (Psalm 95:1).