Poetry · Chapter
The Building explained
The Master commands the building of a house not on shifting sand but with enduring materials like agates, carbuncles, and rubies, designed to stand forever with Christ as the cornerstone.
What happens
The Master commands the building of a house not on shifting sand but with enduring materials like agates, carbuncles, and rubies, designed to stand forever with Christ as the cornerstone. This royal mansion becomes a presence-chamber for the Saviour, bound to heavenly rest by love, offering freedom from sorrow and the eternal peace of God.
Themes in this chapter
Faith and Divine Justice
The house built on Christ as cornerstone symbolizes faith in divine justice and eternal security.
Hope and Redemption
The promise of freedom from sorrow and eternal peace embodies hope and redemption.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Build me a house, said the Master, But not on the shifting sand, Mid the wreck and roar of tempests, A house that will firmly stand.”
The Master instructs to construct a house on solid ground, not on unstable sand, so it withstands storms.
This paraphrases the biblical parable of building on rock versus sand.
“Thou shalt build with fadeless rubies, All fashioned around the throne, A house that shall last forever, With Christ as the cornerstone.”
You will build an eternal house with imperishable rubies around the throne, with Christ as its foundation.
The imagery of rubies and Christ as cornerstone evokes Revelation's description of the New Jerusalem.