The church of God is beautiful not only in what is seen, but in what is unseen. Foundations are hidden underground, and so long as they are firm, no one expects them to be valuable. But in Jehovah's work, everything is of a piece—nothing slurred, nothing mean. The deep foundations of the work of grace are as precious as sapphires. No human mind can measure their glory!

We build upon the covenant of grace, which is firmer than adamant and as enduring as jewels upon which age spends itself in vain. Sapphire foundations are eternal! The covenant abides throughout the lifetime of the Almighty.

Another foundation is the person of the Lord Jesus—clear and spotless, everlasting and beautiful as the sapphire, blending in one the deep blue of earth's ever-rolling ocean and the azure of its all-embracing sky. Once our Lord might have been likened to the ruby as he stood covered with his own blood, but now we see him radiant with the soft blue of love—love abounding, deep, eternal.

Our eternal hopes are built upon the justice and the faithfulness of God, which are clear and cloudless as the sapphire. We are not saved by a compromise, by mercy defeating justice, or law suspending its operations. No! We defy the eagle's eye to detect a flaw in the groundwork of our confidence. Our foundation is of sapphire, and will endure the fire.

The Lord himself has laid the foundation of his people's hopes. It is matter for grave inquiry whether our hopes are built upon such a basis. Good works and ceremonies are not a foundation of sapphires, but of wood, hay, and stubble; neither are they laid by God, but by our own conceit.

Foundations will all be tried ere long. Woe unto him whose lofty tower shall come down with a crash, because based on a quicksand! He who is built on sapphires may await storm or fire with equanimity, for he shall abide the test.