House on Rock

Not on the sands of sin I build my house,
instead I want to build it up--on rock,
to build it like a man and not a mouse,
and with, to keep sin out, a sturdy lock.

Your grace and truth are rock, for them I search,
with grace I listen to what tells me true,
and here on earth, Your body is the Church,
You, Lord, are truth, the Church of truth is You.

A house on rock I also build my soul,
not like the rotten soul of Dorian Gray,*
God gives me grace to keep me pure and whole,
repentence wipes the sands of sin away.

With these let’s build, Lord, our community too
on rock--my house, our Church, my soul and You.

* In Oscar Wilde's "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" his
portrait looks more rotten as the soul is more sinful.

                                     by Pete Voelz     9/2/14