Jesus Christ, the Only Foundation 2
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All this looks well in the sight of man. But tell them that all this is no sufficient ground for their hopes of the divine acceptance; nay, that they must renounce all this in point of dependence, as having no merit at all; and that they must, as helpless, guilty, self-condemned sinners, place their trust only in Jesus Christ; and they then begin to show their pride! Then their hearts rise against this soul-mortifying doctrine, and perhaps against him who teaches it. They cannot bear that all their imaginary merit—should have such contempt cast upon it! They will own indeed, as others around them do, that Christ is the only Saviour; but their real dependence is at bottom, upon some supposed goodness in themselves. And thus they reveal that all their righteousness is but the proud self-righteousness of a Pharisee, or the self-confident virtue of a stoic philosopher; and not the humble religion or genuine sterling virtue of a true Christian!
Thus the reception which men give to Jesus Christ is the grand criterion of their character before God. And this is agreeable to the prophecy of good old Simeon concerning him: "Behold this child," says he, "is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed!" Luke 2:34, 35. The secret thoughts, reasoning's, and dispositions of many hearts, which were before unsuspected, are revealed by this trial! And I wish that it may not make very damning discoveries among you.
As this is a trying stone with regard to men's present characters, so it will be also as to their final doom and everlasting state. All who are built upon this foundation, however frail and tottering in themselves, shall grow up into a glorious impregnable temple, and stand firm when the earth and everything in it will be burned up! But all who are not built upon this foundation, however strong or well established in their own conceit, or however high they raise the fabric of their hopes—shall be demolished and laid in ruins forever!
The one may be likened, says Christ, unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: "The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall—because it had its foundation on the rock." And the other may be likened unto "a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house—and it fell with a great crash!" Matthew 7:25-27. What a confounding fall will this be to those that have built a towering Babel of hopes that reaches to heaven! But,
3. This is a PRECIOUS stone. Says one, "More precious than rubies—is the pearl of great price, and the desire of all nations!" Precious with regard to the divine dignity of his person, and the unequalled excellency of his mediatorial offices. In these and in all respects—chief among ten thousand; and, to the awakened sinner, or enlightened believer, "He is altogether lovely!"
He is precious in himself, as possessing all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, the sum total of all divine excellencies, and as clothed with all the virtues of a perfect man. In short, all moral excellency, divine and human, created and untreated, centre in him, and render him infinitely precious and valuable!
He is precious to his Father; his beloved Son, in whom he is well pleased; his elect one, in whom his soul delights.
He is precious to angels: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain!" is their eternal song.
He is precious to all godly men in all ages. "Unto you, therefore, who believe—He is precious!" says Peter, 1 Peter 2:7.
How precious are his atoning blood and meritorious righteousness to the guilty, self-condemned soul! How precious is hissanctifying grace to the soul heavy-laden with sin, and groaning under that body of death! How precious the assistance of his almighty arm to his poor soldiers in the spiritual warfare! How precious the light of his instructions to the benighted, wandering mind! How sweet are the words of his mouth; sweeter than honey from the honey-comb! How precious the light of his smiling countenance, and the sensations of his love—to the desponding, sinking soul! How precious is that eternal salvation which he imparts! And how precious the price he paid for it! "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect!" says Peter.
In short, he is altogether lovely, altogether precious. Diamonds and pearls, and all the precious stones in the universe, cannot represent his worth. Oh that a thoughtless world did but know how precious he is! Surely they would then say to his friends, "Where is your beloved gone, that we may seek him with you?"
I enlarge upon this article with the more pleasure, as I doubt not but the experience of several among you can affix your 'Amen' to what I say, and to much more.
I am now but complying with the request of one of my friends, at the distance of near four thousand miles, who writes to me thus: "Dear sir, recommend him to poor sinners, recommend him to poor believers, as a most wonderful Saviour and Redeemer; abundantly able to deliver them—from all that hell and sin can do to destroy them. Oh that his divine excellencies and worth could be set forth! Surely the most abandoned sinners would fall before him with ravishment and wonder." These are British sterling thoughts concerning this precious stone, my brethren, and I hope the same thoughts are to be found among you. Oh that they were universal among us, and among all the sons of men!
4. This stone is a SURE FOUNDATION. "Such" says one, "as no pressure can shake; equal, more than equal to every weight; even to sin—the heaviest load in the world. The rock of ages, such as never has failed, never will fail those humble penitents who cast their burden upon the Lord Redeemer; who roll all their guilt, and fix their whole hopes upon this immovable foundation."
The foundation is sure, because it is of divine appointment. "Behold," says the Lord God, who has authority to make the appointment, "behold I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation!"
It is also sure—because of the extent of his power, the perfection of his righteousness, and the eternity of his existence. But these I have already touched upon. Indeed, his excellencies are so sweetly blended and mixed, like the colours of the rainbow—that it is hard to describe one of them, without running into another.
A fine author thinks the words may be otherwise rendered: "A foundation! a foundation!" "There is," says he, "a fine spirit of vehemency in the sentence thus understood; it speaks the language of agreeable surprise and exultation, and expresses an important discovery. That which mankind infinitely need; that which multitudes seek, and find not—it is here! It is here! This, this is the foundation for their pardon, their peace, their eternal felicity."
5. This is a CORNER-stone. "It not only supports—but unites the edifice; incorporating both Jews and Gentiles, believers of various languages and manifold denominations, here, in one harmonious bond of brotherly love; and hereafter, in one common participation of eternal joy." To this purpose, and in this style, speaks the apostle: "He is our peace who has made both, that is, both Jews and Gentiles, one." That is, one uniform, united, magnificent superstructure, "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together, grows unto a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you [Gentiles] also are built together for a habitation of God through the Spirit:" Ephes. 2:14, 20, 22.
Materials for this sacred temple are collected from thrones—and cottages, from slave—and free, from Jews—and Gentiles, from Europe, Asia, Africa, and America! But notwithstanding these distinctions, they are all united in this cornerstone; all harmoniously compacted into one uniform, magnificent temple, where the God of heaven delights to dwell.
Jesus Christ may also be called a corner-stone, to signify his special importance in this spiritual building. Hence he is elsewhere repeatedly called the chief corner stone, and the head of the corner: Psalm 117:22; Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:7; Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7; Ephes. 2:20. We are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, in a subordinate sense; but Jesus Christ himself is the chief corner-stone. He has the most important place in the building! It is Christ—who holds up and connects all. Apostles, prophets, and all, are but sinking sand without him. Their righteousness, their strength—are nothing without him.On him all their doctrines depend, in him they all terminate, and from him "they derive all their efficacy. Take away this cornerstone, and immediately the saints in heaven fall from their throne! Take away this cornerstone, and the saints upon earth, who are gradually rising heavenward, sink forever! Take away this corner-stone, and this glorious living temple, that has been building for so many ages—breaks to pieces, and covers heaven and earth with its ruins!
Having thus illustrated the particular properties of this stone, I shall take notice of this general property of it-that it is aFOUNDATION. So it is repeatedly called in my text, "It is laid in Zion as a foundation." It is a sure foundation. It must be the foundation, and have the principal place in the spiritual building—or none at all. "No other foundation," says Paul, "can any man lay, than that which is already laid, which is Jesus Christ!" And he must lie at the foundation of all—or the superstructure cannot stand. To join our own righteousness with his, in our justification; is to form a foundation of solid stone, and hay, straw, and stubble—all blended together. To make our own merit, the ground of our claim to his righteousness; that is, to hope that God will save us for Christ's sake, because we are so good as to deserve some favour at least for our own sakes, that is to lay a foundation of stone upon a quicksand!
The precious corner-stone would have stood, had it been in its proper place, that is, at the bottom of all; but when it is founded upon the sand—it must give way, and all the superstructure must fall.
This is the grand fundamental mistake of multitudes in the 'Christian world'. They all own Christ is the only Saviour; but then the ground of their expecting salvation through him, is not his righteousness, but their own! Their own worthless works, which their ignorance and vanity call good—lie at the bottom of all their hopes, as the first foundation; and Christ's righteousness is ratherpart of the superstructure, than the entire foundation!
This is the refuge of lies—the delusive hiding-place which multitudes are building all their lives—with a great deal of pains; and, when they think themselves provided with a strong everlasting mansion, suddenly they feel themselves swept away into destruction by the overwhelming torrent of divine indignation!
Here, brethren, let us pause a while, and turn our attention to a question that I hope you have anticipated, "Am I a living stone built upon this foundation? Are all my hopes of acceptance with God and eternal happiness, founded upon this rock?"
Are you not desirous to make this important discovery? To make it now, while you have time? If you have made a mistake, to correct it, by pulling down the old building, and beginning a new one on the right foundation? Have you no concern about this? If not, I must tell you, you care not for the God who made you, or the Saviour of sinners! Heaven and hell are but trifles to you—and you are indifferent which should be your eternal lot. You have not the sensibility of a man, with regard to pleasure and pain—but the stupidity of a brute, or rather of a senseless stone! And if you continue thus stupidly careless about eternal things—you shall forever be cut off from the rewards of pious diligence, and feel the dreadful doom of the slothful servant!
Friends, can you be indifferent in a matter of such infinite consequence? Let me remind you, that a dreadful hurricane is gathering over this guilty world, which will burst upon you, and sweep you away, unless you are founded upon the Rock of Ages. Think of the last part of my text: "the hail shall sweep away the refuge, or hope of lies, the waters shall overflow the hiding place!" You may be parts of the outward court of this spiritual building; I mean, you may be members of the visible church; but that is only ascaffold to the sacred temple, and when this is finished, that shall be pulled down.
Remember, this building will be critically inspected: the great Architect "will lay judgement to the line, and righteousness to the plummet;" and if you do not stand that test, you will be demolished, as useless appendages or encumbrances, and you never can be built up again; the temple of God will then be complete, and no new stones shall be added to it forever.
Therefore now is the time to discover fundamental errors, and correct them. You will discover them in the eternal world—but oh! it will then be too late to correct them! Would you, then, know whether you are really built upon this sure foundation? If so, I shall willingly assist you to make the trial. And for this purpose I solemnly propose a few QUESTIONS to your consciences in the sight of God:
1. Have you ever seen the utter insufficiency of every other foundation? You will never build upon Christ, while you can build anywhere else with hopes of safety. If you have ever fled to him as your only hiding-place—then you have seen it was your last refuge. And have all your false hopes, all your refuges of lies been swept away? Have you seen that honours, riches, pleasures, and all the world—are but breaking bubbles? Have you been sensible that your own righteousness was a rotten foundation, and that you were just ready to sink every moment under the burden of your sins, and to be swept away by the torrent of divine vengeance? Like a sinking man, you have been ready to catch at every twig or straw for support; but were you obliged at length with Peter to turn to Christ, and cry out, "Help, Lord, I am perishing!" Have you let go every other hold, and taken fast hold of Christ as the only support? Have you given up all other grounds of hope, and as poor, guilty, perishing, helpless creatures, placed your whole dependence upon this sure foundation? If you can honestly give a satisfactory answer to these inquiries, it looks encouraging: but if not, you may be sure that you are building upon some sandy foundation; you are lurking in some refuge of lies—and must be overwhelmed at last in inevitable ruin!
2. Have you ever been sensible of the preciousness, the excellency, and the stability of Christ, this divine foundation? If you have ever built upon Christ, it has been at once an act of the last necessity, and of the most free choice. Oh! how precious did this stone appear to you! like the load stone, it had a strong attraction upon you, and you were effectually drawn to it. You need go no farther than your own hearts to find the truth of what I have said of the preciousness of Christ—the preciousness of hisstrength, his righteousness, and everything in him. "To you who believe—he is precious!" 1 Peter 2:7. This is the assertion of an apostle concerning all believers, without exception. And shall I conclude this is the real sentiment of this assembly concerning Christ? Shall I conclude it, friends? Oh shall I allow myself to be so happy? Does your conscience tell you there is ground for yoursaying, that Christ is precious to you? Alas! is it not quite the reverse with many of you!
3. Where is your habitual dependence? Is it upon Jesus Christ alone? or is it upon something else? Do you not feel the need of strength, of spiritual life, of pardon, and righteousness, and eternal life? Certainly, if you know yourselves, you feel the need of these things. And upon whom do you depend for them? Is it upon Jesus Christ alone? Is it habitual, and, as it were, natural to you, since you first ventured upon this foundation, to rest there, sensible that you have always needed this support, and that every other foundation is but sinking sand? Brethren, what does conscience reply to these questions?
4. Have you been formed into proper stones for this spiritual temple? Has God hewn you, may I so speak, by his Word, and broken off whatever was jagged, irregular, and unfit to be built into the building? Has he shaped and polished your souls, for a place in it? Do you feel this divine Architect daily carrying on this work in you, polishing you more and more into a resemblance to Christ? Or are you still the same rough, jagged unpolished pieces, with human nature unsanctified in its present degenerate state? Then you may be sure you are not built upon this foundation!
I think these few questions will be fully decisive of this case. And what discoveries do they now make with you? Where, now, appears to be the foundation of your hope? Have not some of you rejected the chief corner-stone which God has appointed, and built upon a quicksand? If so, even a friendly tongue cannot but denounce some dreadful things to you.
While you are not founded upon Christ, you shall, you must, unavoidably sink forever! You have nothing that can support you! Build your hopes ever so high, the fabric will fall, and bury you in its ruins! Nay, this only foundation of hope and happiness will be to you—a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence, the occasion of your more aggravated guilt, and more dreadful destruction!
There are a few texts of Scripture which I would ring like peals of alarming thunder in your ears!
"The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare!" Isaiah 8:14.
"Unto you who believe," says Peter, "He is precious! But to those who do not believe: The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone, and, A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." 1 Peter 2:7, 8. If this stone is not made by you the foundation of your hopes, it will fall upon you and crush you in pieces!
Remember the declaration of Christ himself, "Whoever shall fall upon this stone shall be broken;" that is, whoever shall reject him while in a humble form in the days of his flesh, shall perish, "but on whoever this stone shall fall—it shall grind him to powder!" That is, whoever shall reject him in his state of exaltation, shall perish in a still more dreadful manner!
And will not all these alarming considerations have any force with you, to persuade you to make Jesus your only foundation?
If you have already made him so, then be assured you are safe and immovable forever. Let storms of private or public calamityrise and beat upon you; let your fears and doubts rise to ever so high a deluge; let temptations make ever so severe attacks upon you—still the foundation on which you stand abides firm and unshaken
Nay, let all nature go to wreck, and seas and land, and heaven and earth, be blended together, still this foundation stands firm, and the living temple built upon it will remain immovable forever!
You who sincerely believe need not make haste, you need not be struck with consternation upon the appearance of danger, nor fly to unlawful means of deliverance. Your ALL is safe, and therefore you may be serene and calm.
Is the burden of guilt intolerable, and are you ready to sink under it? Or are you sinking under a load of sorrow? Whatever is the burden, cast it upon the Lord—and he will sustain you. This foundation is able to bear you up, however great the pressure. Come, you who are weary and heavy-laden, come, and build your hopes, and place your rest here! Oh! what joyful tidings are these! I hope they will prove a word in season to some soul that is weary.
What now remains, but that I should more explicitly point out this precious stone to you all, by illustrating the emphatic word BEHOLD! prefixed to the text.
Behold! you poor sinking souls, behold with wonder and gratitude! Here is a sure foundation for you! Cast your whole weight, venture your eternal all upon it—and it will support you. Say no more, "Alas! I must sink forever under this mountain of guilt;" but turn to Jesus, with sinking Peter, and cry, "Help, Lord, I am perishing!" and he will bear you up! Yes, whatever fierce storms may blow, whatever convulsions may shake the world—you are safe.
Behold, you joyful believers. See here the foundation of all your joys and hopes. Do you not stand firm like Mount Zion? See, here is the ROCK that supports you. Gratefully acknowledge it—and inscribe this precious stone with your praises! Point it out to others—as the only ground of hope for perishing souls.
You wretched, self-righteous Pharisees—behold the only rock on which you must build, if you expect to stand. Your proud, self-confident works, your boasted external morality, is but a loose, tottering foundation of sand! Virtue and morality are necessary to complete and adorn the superstructure; but when they are laid at the bottom of all, they will prove but a quicksand!
Behold, you despisers, and wonder and perish! Perish you must, if you reject this precious stone. To you this only sure foundation will prove a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence. To you the nature of things is inverted: the only true ground of hope will heighten your despair; and the Saviour of men will be your destroyer.
Behold, you glorious angels, behold the firm foundation which divine love has laid for the salvation of guilty worms! Therefore join with us in celebrating the praises of this foundation. This precious stone appears to you in all its splendours; its brilliancy dazzles your admiring eyes. We also admire it as far as we know it; but to us it is like a foundation laid deep under-ground, that supports us, though we see it not. But when we be shall placed in the heights of the heavenly Zion—it will appear fully to our view, and be the object of our delightful contemplation forever and ever!
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