Quesnel: Moral Reflections on the Gospels Vol 1

108 ST. MATTHEW.
" 25. And the rain descended, and the floods
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house;
and it fell not : for it was founded upon a rock."
It is the practice of God's commandments which
renders our calling and election sure, and which se-
cures our salvation against the divine wrath and the
last judgment. There are three kinds of trials and
temptations:— 1. Those of temporal afflictions, which
come from above, like the rain. 2. Those which
proceed from the lusts and passions of men, which
are like floods. 3. Those which, like impetuous
winds, arise from the devil. It is charity, and not
the light of faith alone, which can enable us to
stand our ground against so many temptations and
trials.
" 26. And every one that heareth these sayings
of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto
a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand ;"
He who knows and does not, builds upon the
sand, and is a fool. How many fools on earth pass
very often he
And for the men of true wisdom !
who pities them, is himself of the number ! It is a
great misfortune not to know the gospel : but it is
a real folly, to be filled with the knowledge of its
truths, and to make no use at all of them. Render
us faithful in this matter, O Eternal Wisdom ! and
give us that wisdom which consists in knowing how
to be saved !
" 27. And the rain descended, and the floods
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house;
and it fell : and great was the fall of it."
This is a lively representation of the case of a
soul, which, at the hour of death, has nothing to