But he that heareth, and doth not
Hears Christ's sayings externally, but does not obey his commands:
is like a man that without a foundation built upon the earth:
that is, without digging for a foundation, built his house upon the surface of the earth; "upon the dust of it", as the Syriac version renders it; or, "upon the sand", as Matthew says: "against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great"; (See Gill on Matthew 7:26). (See Gill on Matthew 7:27).