True and False Principles

But the word of the Lord endureth forever. 1 Pet. i. 25.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Matt. xxiv.35.

TRUE AND FALSE PRINCIPLES.

Lo ! where amid the arctic regions, rise,
The Iceberg's turrets glittering in the skies,
Like some cathedral Gothic built, it rides,
Borne by the winds, and ever-shifting tides:
All shapes fantastic soon the phantom wears,
A palace now, and now a ship appears:
At length it drifts towards some southern shore,
When lo I 'tis vanish'd, and is seen no more.
Not so the Rock that rears its ancient head,
Its deep foundation's laid in ocean's bed;
All change resists, unalter'd is its form
Amid the sunshine, and amid the storm.
Unmoved it stands, and still 'twill stand secure.
Long as the moon, and as the sun endure.

      The Iceberg lifts its towering summit to the clouds, sparkling and dazzling, like a group of temples overlaid with silver. Its crystalline magnificence is bewildering; it forms one of the most, splendid objects that the mariner meets with in the northern seas, and at the same time one of the most dangerous. It is a floating mass without foundation; winds, waves, and currents bear it along in all directions. It assumes the most fantastic shapes imaginable : sometimes it looks like mountains piled on mountains; then temples, palaces, and ships are seen by turns; then again, cathedrals of every order of architecture appear to the eye of the wondering beholder. After, awhile it drifts out of the high latitudes into milder climes. It is carried towards the southern shores, the sun pours it's burning  rays upon the mammoth temple, turret after turret, spire after spire disappear, until the whole has dissolved. Its glory has departed.

      How very different is the nature and destiny of the Rock that is seen lifting its time-worn head above the surrounding waves ! It is probably as old as time itself; it retains its ancient position; it's foundations take hold of the world; it is marked in the charts, men always know where to find it, and are therefore not endangered by it. Changing the form of the element that surrounds it, itself unchanged, the summer's sun and winter's storm alike pass harmlessly by it. It is one of the everlasting hills, it must abide forever.

      The engraving is an emblem of True and False Principles. False principles are represented by the Iceberg. Like the iceberg, they are without a foundation; however specious, brilliant, and fascinating  their appearance, they have no solidity. Like it, too, they are ever-changing: their form receives its various impression from the ever-fluetuating speculations of mankind, and from the power and influence of the times. Like it, they are cold and cheerless to the soul, nipping all its budding prospects, cramping all its mighty powers. Like the iceberg, also, false principles will melt away before the burning sun of truth, and pass into oblivion. It will not do to trust them. Who would make a dwelling-house of the transitory iceberg?

      It is not so with true principles; although they may appear somewhat homely at first sight, yet the more they are contemplated the more they will be admired. Like the Rock, their foundations are laid broad and deep. The principles of truth rest on the throne of God, they are as ancient as eternity. Like the Rock, they may always be found. Are they not written in the Holy Bible? Like their Author, they are without variableness or shadow of turning, for,

"Firm as a Rock, God's Truth must stand,

When rolling years shall cease to move."

      Semper idem--"Always the same"--is their motto. Like the Rock of Ages, true principles live when time shall be no more. As are the principles, so are all who trust in them, for "the righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance." (Text)

A Christian hymn composed by Augustus M. Toplady
 in 1775. Sung in the video by the Antrim Mennonite Choir,
from their album 'Amazing Grace.'