May it please Almighty God to
bless us together as we meditate in his word this morning. Let
us turn to the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 28, and we'll read verse
16. The prophecy of Isaiah, chapter
28, and reading verse 16. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried
stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth
shall not make haste. Well, let's just make the point
at the beginning, of course, the Prophet here is speaking
about none other than the glorious Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who indeed is a foundation, who is a tridestone, is a precious
cornerstone, a sure foundation. What a mercy it is, and how wonderful
it is, really, As we read Isaiah, and as we read perhaps the verses
that we read in this 28th chapter, we see how ancient Israel and
Judah walked contrary to God. They had many, many blessings. They had a wonderful history.
And yet they turned their back upon God. To such an extent as
we know they were carried away to Babylon. Jerusalem was destroyed,
the temple was destroyed. Yes, you see, they didn't appreciate
the blessings that God had given them. And really that's not dissimilar
to the situation we have today. We live in a favoured position,
a favoured country, and yet for the most part men, women, boys
and girls ignore the truth of God, ignore the Bible, don't
believe. the truth of God, want to do
their own thing, are pleased to do their own thing. And as
we read together how true it is, the prophet says, woe to
the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim. whose glorious beauty
is a fading flower. It was just disappearing. That
which had been so glorious and wonderful was a fading flower. And so it is in our nation today. We turned our back upon God and
well we read together a little description of the sadness of
the situation that existed in Israel and Judah at that time. And as we come down towards here,
16th verse, in verse 14, the prophet says, Wherefore, hear
the word of the Lord, ye scornful men that rule this people which
is in Jerusalem. How typical that is of our position
today. Scornful men who rule our nation
to a large extent have no desire after the things of God, and
a scornful of those who do believe the truth of God. And yet the
great wonderful truth is, as Isaiah tells them, therefore,
you see they were walking contrary to God, but then he comes and
says, therefore, thus saith the Lord God. And that's as true
today as it was when Isaiah wrote this so many years ago. Therefore, thus saith the Lord
God. God doesn't change. His word
doesn't change. His views do not change. What
he said does not change. And what a blessing it is. And
may we be encouraged by it and to not turn away from it. And indeed, to think that these
people, then we read, because you have said, we have made a
covenant with death and with hell are we at agreement. When the overflowing scourge
shall pass through, it shall not come unto us, but we have
made lies our refuge. and under falsehood have we hid
ourselves. Well, that was the exceedingly
sad state and condition of Israel. And my friends, it's no different
really today. You see, men are relying on what
they want to. They've sinned. They've turned
their back upon God. They've disobeyed the word of
God, the truth of God. And therefore, they really made
this covenant with death and with hell are in agreement. They don't believe, therefore,
that God will come in solemn judgment. And yet his word is
true. And what a blessing it is, therefore,
if the Holy Spirit should descend upon our nation, descend upon
individuals, and convinced of their sin against a holy God. Convinced that they have turned
their back upon God. And that's not only to those
who are outwardly enemies, but those who perhaps pretend to
be Christians. In actual fact, are described
as hypocrites in Zion. They pretend to be what they're
not. Well, it's a very sad day and
age in which we live. And what a great blessing it
is when we still see and observe, which we do from time to time,
God's gracious and glorious work of convincing men and women,
boys and girls, of their need of a saviour, realising that
they have offended God. They've sinned against God and
they need salvation and they need to be forgiven. Well, I wonder whether we come
into that category today, whether we have come to that place where
we recognize that we have offended God. We have sinned against God. We deserve endless punishment
for our sin. and have been found amongst those
who cry for mercy have cried for mercy have been found looking
to God not to anyone else perhaps we've looked to ourselves perhaps
we've tried to improve ourselves perhaps we've tried to change
our life perhaps we've tried to do that which is good and
right Nothing wrong in those things. But you see, we need
the Spirit of God to convict. We need the Spirit of God to
direct. And we need the Spirit of God
to lead us to none other than the blessed and glorious Saviour,
the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's who Isaiah was directed
to write to the people about. And in this 16th verse, we therefore
have this statement. Therefore, thus saith the Lord. They were sinners. They had offended
God. They turned against God. And
yet there was this mercy and grace of God. Therefore, thus
saith the Lord God. Behold. Behold. That's an important word. We
are to take notice We are to understand the truth of God. We are to behold what God says. We are not to ignore it. We're
not to think it's irrelevant. The devil will tell us it's irrelevant. In any case, all these things
are not true. What a blessing it is when the
Holy Spirit convinces us of the truth of God. And therefore the
prophet says here, and indeed the Lord says here to us today,
behold, what does he tell us? He says, I lay in Zion for a
foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone,
a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make
haste. Well, what a mercy it is for
us to know that God has indeed laid that glorious foundation,
that glorious cornerstone, indeed a precious cornerstone. And to think, therefore, that
the spiritual building of God is erected on this precious cornerstone. It's good sometimes to just pause
and think of this spiritual building and we can recognize the analogy
of a natural building. You may have observed that when
a building commences, if it's in brickwork or stonework, what
happens is they They commence with the corner. The corner. They build the corner up. And
if it's a straight wall with two corners, they build the two
corners up. And then they will fill in between. The corners
are the important part. If the corners are not vertical,
if they're not straight, if the courses are not level, then everything
else. It goes out of line. It's important, therefore, that
the corner is right. And also it's important that
that corner is founded on a good foundation. It doesn't want to
be a foundation which is unstable. It needs to be a foundation which
is firm and strong. And we have the illustration
of that when the Lord Jesus Christ speaks about the man that built
his house. upon a rock and a man that built
his house upon a sand. And the interesting picture is
there that both seem to be good and a good foundation. It wasn't
until the storms and the rain and the wind came that the building
built upon the sand fell down. But that which was on a rock
stood firm. Therefore we surely see how important
it is to have a good foundation. There is only one true foundation
spiritually and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. And what a blessing
if you and I have therefore a right view of the Lord Jesus Christ
as the foundation and as indeed our foundation upon which we
are building And I hope we are building. I hope we're still
not ignoring the need for a good foundation and the need to know
that there is a good cornerstone and to realize that is none less
than the Lord Jesus Christ. How important it is. The Apostle
Peter, when he wrote his first epistle, he tells us, about this. He gives us a direction with
regard to what it is. And he tells us, he tells us,
ye also as lively stones. That means spiritually alive. That means healthy in the things
of God. It doesn't mean that we're just
dead. It means that we're spiritual. It means that we've been born
again by the Spirit. And what a great important thing
it is that we are. born again that we are therefore
lively stones and if we are lively stones then to be built up a
spiritual house not a natural house not a carnal house not
a house built on the things of time not a house that we rely
upon all the things around us but to realize that there is
a need for a spiritual building and a spiritual building does
grow as the Lord graciously builds and instructs us and guides us
and directs us into all truth as it is in Jesus. And it really brings us back
to that statement that we've read about here in earlier verses
in this 28th chapter where the prophet tells us Precept must
be upon precept. Precept upon precept. Line upon
line. Line upon line. Here a little
and there a little. There is a gradual building in
our spiritual life. We don't want to stagnate. We
don't want there to be no growth. But we want to grow. in grace
and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And what a wonderful blessing
it is, therefore, if there is this spiritual growth. Well,
sometimes it's good, is it not, to just examine our spiritual
life and to see whether there is any spiritual growth. And that spiritual growth, of
course, is really in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. That spiritual understanding
to realize that the Lord Jesus Christ is indeed the chief cornerstone. And that's the foundation. And
that's the foundation. The Apostle tells us, disallowed
indeed are men. People don't want the Lord Jesus
Christ in their life. They don't want to bow down and
worship the Lord Jesus Christ. They want to live their own life.
They want to please their own selves. And so he's disallowed. Well, it's a blessing for us
if in our life he's not been disallowed. But he is indeed
in our life. He is the chief cornerstone in
our spiritual building. We have that good foundation.
Now, you and I will not need any foundation at all if we haven't been brought to
know that we have a need. You see, many people can say,
well, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, that's right and
good and proper. But we need to know why, why
we should believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, the Apostle
goes on, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be
saved. Saved from what? Saved from falling
into hell. Why? Because of sin. It's a great blessing when the
Holy Spirit convinces us of sin. And we realise then that we need
to be saved from our sin. We need to be delivered from
our sin. And then you see, perhaps we
understand what the Apostle therefore is telling us about the Lord
Jesus Christ. As he says, your livery stones
built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. There won't be any acceptable
sacrifice unless we are blessed with the evidence of our need
of a saviour and we've come to know that saviour as the Lord
Jesus Christ. And what will that spiritual
sacrifice be? it'll be thanksgiving and praise
to our God because he has looked upon an unworthy sinner of the
earth and called them and blessed them and given them the gift
of eternal life and to show them that their foundation is and
must be and cannot be anyone else than the Lord Jesus Christ. I lay in Zion from foundation
a stone. The Lord Jesus Christ. Well,
my friends, where do we stand this morning? Can we come and say on Christ,
the solid rock I stand or another ground is sinking sand has the Holy Spirit brought us
to that place what a wonderful place it is it's a firm place
because then when the storms of life come we won't be moved
and we can rejoice in these blessings and these favours and thankful
for it Therefore, the apostle tells us the Lord lays in Zion
a chief cornerstone, the Lord Jesus Christ elect. Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ elect. What a wonderful statement that
is. Precious. He will be precious
to you and me. He won't just be a name. He will
be a name which is above every name. Because he has saved our
souls. Because he's died to atone for
our souls. And so we have this great statement. Behold, I lay in Zion, a chief
cornerstone, elect, precious. Precious. Well, I wonder again
this morning what you and I think of Christ. Is he precious to
us? Is he something very valuable
to us? Do we realise that without him
we must perish? There's no hope for us unless
we are on this chief cornerstone, the Lord Jesus Christ. Unto you therefore which believe
he is precious, You see, that's a very clear position, isn't
it? If we believe, he is precious. If we don't really believe, then
he's not precious. Many people can say they believe,
but Christ is not precious. But if Christ is precious, then
it is because God has enabled us to believe. Very simple, isn't it? But very
relevant and very important. And so he comes and says, unto
you, therefore, which believe he is precious. There's no doubt
about it. This morning, my friends, is
Christ precious to you? Is he precious to me? Was he
just another person in history? someone who lived a good life
someone who did some wonderful things the great issue is is
he the one who saved our soul indeed the one who's delivered
us from the wrath to come the one who's been gracious to us
unto you therefore which believe he is precious there's no doubt
It's a very clear evidence of the life of God in our soul. Therefore, thus saith the Lord,
behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone. You may say, well, what does
that mean? My friends, you only have to read the New Testament
accounts of the glorious Savior's life. And you will find how he
was tried, how he was tested again and again, much opposition,
much opposition. Therefore, don't be surprised
if you and I, in our spiritual life, have much opposition. The devil never wants us. to
enjoy the preciousness of Christ. He never wants us to know union
with Christ. He never wants us to appreciate
the value of the precious blood of Christ. He will do all he
can to redirect us to other things. He will do all he can to separate
us from the things of God. And be sure of this, he will
never give up this sign of the grave. Sometimes we foolishly
think, oh, well, it'll get easier soon. We're not promised that
in the Word of God. But what a good thing it is to
know that we are more than conquerors through him. Our hope, and I
hope your hope is, and my hope, is built on nothing less than
Jesus' blood and righteousness. Therefore, unto you therefore
which believe, he is precious. But unto them which are disobedient,
the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made,
the head of the corner. Well, I wondered this morning
whether We're amongst those who've disobeyed the Word of God. We've
said, I won't have this man to reign over me. I'm going to enjoy
my life on this earth. I'm not going to deny myself
this or that. I'm going to enjoy myself. Well,
let's just recognize that our life on this earth is but a fleeting
one. Very fast passing away. And so everything that you and
I might enjoy in this life has no lasting value. And if those
of you are able to go to the Bible Study God Willing on Friday,
you will hear about what Solomon's conclusion was with regards to
all the things of this world. It's good if you listen to that
and are able to appreciate the reality of it and come to the
same conclusion that Solomon did. Well, we're thankful today
that we have a wonderful saviour and he tells us this, and this
is a very glorious truth. Ye are a chosen generation. Those are founded upon this good
foundation, the Lord Jesus Christ. You are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood and holy nation, a peculiar people that describes The true believer. The true believer. Yes, to realize that we're chosen. A royal priesthood. A royal priesthood
and part of this holy nation and a peculiar people. People may think you're peculiar. They may think I'm peculiar.
Well, we are peculiar. But we're blessed of God. a peculiar people and the reason
is this that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called
you out of darkness into his marvellous light well that's
something to examine isn't it to realise that we were born
in darkness we remained in darkness until the light of the glorious
gospel shone into our heart. My friends, all of us this morning
are either still in darkness or are walking in the light of
the glorious gospel. And each of us must answer before
God as to where we stand. And you'll only be standing in
the light if you've viewed the light as in the face of the Lord
Jesus Christ and through his great and glorious work and to
realise that you are now following that wonderful example of the
Saviour who was a triad stone. Yes, many times when he was tested
and my friends, you and I will be tested in our religion. I don't think you and I will
sail to heaven on a calm sea. It's a rough journey, it's a
difficult journey, but it's a good ending. And the Lord brings us,
as we read in the 107th Psalm, to their desired haven. And their desired haven is glory
at last, that place of endless peace and eternal happiness with
the Saviour forever and ever. Well, he goes on, a precious
cornerstone and a sure foundation. You see, the things of God, they
don't change. They're sure and certain. And
you and I can rely upon them. What a blessing it is in this
world in which we live. Everything around us changing,
moving, getting worse. And yet the things of God are
sure and certain. They will not change. They cannot
change because God does not change and he cannot change. And what
a mercy it is, a precious cornerstone. And I think, therefore, the preciousness
of Christ reverts to the Savior as he was this chief cornerstone,
the foundation, the first foundation, the first stone. And we see in
him the glorious plan of salvation. what a planet was a planet you
and I would never have been able to visualize but thanks be to
God that's been revealed to his church what a blessing it is
it's been revealed to you and me to realize the Lord Jesus
Christ came into the world to seek and to save that which was
lost and you put your hand up and say that's me what a mercy to know that Jesus has saved
our soul. Now, in order to save our soul,
there was a price that had to be paid. There was a ransom price
on our head, a price that was required to be paid before we
could be forgiven of all our sins. And how are we to pay it? The
reality is we could not pay it. We didn't have the right currency
to pay it. So how was it to be paid? The
Lord Jesus Christ came into this sinful world to pay the price
required in order to save us, in order to redeem us, in order
to free us from that condemnation, the soul that sinneth it shall
die. And the Lord Jesus Christ did not fail. He did not fail. He did all that his Father required
of him. And what was that? To live a
perfect, sinless life and to die a wonderful death
to shed his most precious blood in order that our sin, the pile
of our sin, the mountain of our sin, could be washed away in
the precious blood of the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, my friends, Therefore we
come back, do we not, to the preciousness of Christ and the
preciousness of his blood. The enormous value it was because
it washed away the sins of all the Church of God. All the Church
of God taken away and what a blessing therefore to have the evidence the sure and certain evidence
that we are amongst those for whom Christ died. And therefore
we can believe he came to seek and to save that which was lost.
And as we may have felt like that to realise we're safe. We're safe because of what Christ
has done. and that will never be lost.
That salvation cannot be lost, safe in the arms of Jesus eternally. What a mercy and what a blessing
it is, therefore, to be found there. And so the prophet says,
he says, for a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation, he that believeth
shall not make haste. it's an interesting statement
can also be translated he that believeth shall not be ashamed
well the reality is that as you and I journey on through life
perhaps sometimes we want things to occur a bit quicker I'm thinking
of that in our spiritual life sometimes we want things to happen
we want some wonderful blessing we want it to happen quicker
well God has his time and what we should realise is God has
a perfect time and God has a right time, a time which will be a
blessing for us. What a mercy therefore to be
patient, patient, to wait for the Lord's time to occur and
to realise therefore that this word is so very true, he that
believeth shall not make haste. And if we are therefore a true
believer, we should realize that the Lord has a pace for you and
me, and we shall walk in that pace, perhaps we'll run in that
pace, depends what it is, but nonetheless, we will go at God's
pace and not our pace. And we shall have to realize
godliness with contentment is great gain. For we have brought
nothing into this world and it is certain we shall carry nothing
out. What a mercy therefore to be in the arms of Jesus and to
be satisfied to walk with him and to be united to him. In the last verse in the ninth
chapter to the Romans, It's a very beautiful chapter, speaking about
faith, and it comes down to this. He says, perhaps verse 32, the
second to last, Wherefore, because they sought it not by faith,
but as it were by the works of the law. See, God gives faith
to seek these things, believing the Lord will come and bless. And therefore they stumbled at
that stumbling stone. As it is written, behold, I lay
in Zion, a stumbling stone and a rock of offense. And whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. It's a wonderful truth,
isn't it? To be blessed, to believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ. Men may ridicule us. Women may ridicule us. Children
may ridicule us. But to realise that as we stand
before our Redeemer, we shall not be ashamed. And to bless
God that He is not ashamed of us. We deserve, don't we? for God
to be ashamed of us. But what a mercy to realise,
who so believeth on him shall not be ashamed. No, what a gracious,
kind God we have. Think of the compassion, think
of the glory of the Saviour, all his wonderful work, his salvation
toward us, his saving grace, his infinite love and mercy,
the faith he gives to believe. Well, my friends, surrounded,
aren't we, with blessings? And can we, therefore, not this
morning rejoice in such a truth as this? And bless God for the
foundation. Bless God for Christ, who is
the chief cornerstone. And may our little building be
founded on that. So it does grow and it will be
complete in Christ, not out of Christ, in Christ. Therefore,
thus saith the Lord God. Behold, we are to note this. Behold, I lay in Zion in the
church of God for a foundation, a stone, a trine stone, a precious
cornerstone. a sure foundation, he that believeth
shall not make haste. Blessed be God. Amen. Our closing hymn in worship this
morning, hymn 1,107. 1,107 to the tune 326. Hymn 1,107.
When some sweet promise warms our heart and cheers us under
every care, it is the Spirit's gracious part to take that word
and fix it there. was he that turned our hearts
away from love of sin and hateful strife, his all-creating beams
displayed the dawn of everlasting life. Hymn 1107. There's a song for every heart.
There's a song for every heart. There's a song for every heart. There's a song for every heart.
There's a song for every heart. There's a song for every heart.
There's a song for every heart. There's a song for every heart.
? God's own way ? ? God will forsake
and give no sign ? ? There is a way that can exist now ? of heaven and earth sing aloud.
Today sing our praises loud and proud, where'er ye the world ? All the glory of heaven above
? ? Praises for heaven and all his love ? ? That which thou shalt not make
vain ? ? Then let all things their essence take up ? ? In wondrous days ? ? Days of
heavenly sacrifice ? ? Love is the greatest gift of God's love
? Now may the grace of our Lord
and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and the love of God our Father, and
the fellowship and communion of the Eternal Spirit, rest and
abide with us each, now and for evermore. Amen.