SERMON XXVIII. JESUS CHRIST THE ONLY FOUNDATION. ISAIAH XXviii. 16, 17. Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a ftone, a tried stone, a precious corner-ftone, a fure foundation; he that believeth fhall not make hafte. Judgment alfo will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail fhall fweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters fhall overflow the hiding-place. THE * HE context, like many other paffages of the prophetical fcriptures, feems to have a double fenfe. The primary fenfe may be thus reprefented. The judgments of God were ready to break in upon and overwhelm the impenitent nation of the Jews, like a tempeft of hail, and a destroying form, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, and bearing all before it. (ver. 2.) The prophet had repeatedly given them timely warning of these approaching judgments; but they still continued fecure and impenitent, and unapprehenfive of danger. They flattered themselves they had artifice enough to keep themselves fafe. They thought themselves impregnably intrenched and fortified in their riches, their ftrong holds, and the fanctity of their temple and nation. They might also think their arts of negotiation would fecure them from the invafion of the neighbouring powers, particularly the Affyrians, to whom they were moft expofed. These were the lies which they made their refuge, and the falfhood under which they hid themfelves. Thefe, they imagined, like moles or ditches, who keep off the deluge of wrath, fo that it should *This Sermon is dated Hanover, Feb. 13, 1757. not not come to them, much less overwhelm them; and they were as fecure as if they had made a covenant with death, and entered into an agreement with hell, or the grave, not to hurt them. Therefore the prophet represents them as faying, We have made a covenant with death; and with hell are we at agreement: when the overflowing fcourge fhall pass through, it fhall not come unto us; for we have made lies (that is what the prophet calls lies) our refuge; and under what he calls falfhood have we hid ourselves. (ver. 15.) It is in this connection my text is introduced; and it points out a folid ground of hope, in oppofition to the refuge of lies in which these finners trufted; as if he had faid, 'Since the refuge to which you flee is not safe, and since my people need another,' Therefore thus faith the Lord, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a ftone, a tried ftone, a precious corner-ftone, a fure foundation; that is, My promifes, my providential care, the fupporting influences of my grace, and the various means I fhall take for the comfort and fafety of my people in this national diftress, shall as effectually bear them up as a firm foundation of stone does a building erected upon it. They that build their hopes upon this foundation, fhall ftand unfhaken amidft all the ftorms and tempefts of national calamity that may beat upon our guilty land.' He that believeth fhall not make hafte; that is, he that trufts in this refuge fhall not be struck into a distracted hurry and confternation upon the fudden appearance of these calamities. He fhall not, like perfons furprised with unexpected danger, fly in a wild hafte to improper means for his fafety, and thus throw himself into deftruction by his ill-advifed precipitant attempts to keep out of it; but he fhall be calm and ferene, and have prefence of mind to take the most proper meafures for his deliverance.' Or the meaning may be, 'He that believeth, fhall not make fuch hafte to be delivered as to fly to unlawful means for that purpofe; but will patiently wait God's time to deliver him in a lawful way.' The prophet proceeds, Judgment alfo will I lay to the line, and righteoufnefs to the plummet; that is, God will try the Jews with strict juftice, as an architect examines a building with a line and plummet. Such of them who have built their hopes upon the foundation above described, fhall ftand firm and unfhaken, whatever tempefts fall upon them, like a regular and ftately building, founded upon a folid rock. But as to others, they fhall be overwhelmed in the public calamity! the hail fhall fweep away the refuge of lies in which they trufted; and the waters fhall overflow the hiding-place. And then your covenant with death fhall be difannulled, and your agreement with hell fhall not ftand: when the overflowing Scourge fhall pass through, then fhall they be trodden down by it. (ver. 18.) This feems to be a primary fenfe of the context; and thus, it is probable, the Jews understood it, who did not enjoy that additional light which the gospel fheds upon it. In this view it is very applicable to us, in the present state of our country and nation, when the enemy is like to break in like a flood upon us. But I must add, that it is very likely that, even in this primary fenfe of the context, the text refers to Jefus Chrift. There feems to be an unnatural force put upon the words when they are applied to any other; and the connexion will admit of their application to him, even in this fenfe, thus: Since the refuge of finners is a refuge of lies, behold I will provide one that will effectually fecure all that fly to it from all the judgments to which they were expofed.' I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried ftone, &c. 'I fend my Son into the world as an Almighty Saviour; and all that put themselves under his protection, and build their hopes upon him, shall be so safe, that all the calamities of life fhall not do them a lafting injury; and the vengeance of the eternal world fhall never fall upon them.' But But whether we can find Chrift in the primary fense of these words or not, it is certain we fhall find him in their ultimate principal fenfe. And we have the authority of an inspired apoftle for this application. Saint Peter quotes this paffage according to the LXX, with fome improvements, and applies it exprefly to Chrift. To whom coming, fays he, as unto a living stone, difallowed indeed of men, but chofen of God and precious, ye alfo, as lively ftones, are built up a fpiritual boufe. Wherefore alfo it is contained in the fcripture, Behold I lay in Zion a chief corner-ftone, elect, precious; and he that believeth on him fhall not be confounded. 1 Peter ii. 4, 6. Taking the paffage in this evangelical fenfe, the general meaning is to this purpose :-The Lord Jefus is reprefented as a tried, precious, and fure foundation, laid in Zion; that is, in the church for the fons of men to build their hopes upon. His church thus built on him, is compared to a ftately, regular and impregnable temple, confecrated to the fervice of God, to offer up fpiritual facrifices; and proof against all the ftorms and tempefts that may beat upon it. It fhall ftand firm and immoveable through all eternity, for its foundation is fure. But alas! though Jefus Chrift be the only foundation, yet the fons of men are fo full of themselves, that they venture to build their hopes upon fomething elfe, and promise themselves fafety, though they reject this fure foundation. They think themfelves as fecure as if they had entered into a treaty with death and the grave, and brought them over to their intereft. But lo! the wrath of God will at laft beat upon a guilty world, like a storm of hail, or break in upon it like an overwhelming torrent; then every foul that is not built upon this rock must be fwept away, and all the other refuges and hiding places fhall be laid in ruins for ever. The great God will alfo ftrictly inquire who is founded upon this rock, and who not. He will cri tically tically try the temple of his church, like a workman, with line and plummet; he will discover all irregularities and useless appendages. And in confequence of this examination, the ftorms and torrents of divine indignation fhall fweep away and overwhelm all that are not built upon this foundation, and that are not compacted into this building. Thefe remarks contain the general meaning of our text; but it is neceffary I should be more particular. Brethren, our nature, our circumftances, and the important profpects before us, are fuch, that it is high time for us to look about us for fome fure foundation upon which to build our happiness. The fabric must endure long, for our fouls will exift for ever; and their eagerness for happiness will continue vehement for ever. The fabric must rise high, for the capacities of our fouls will perpetually expand and enlarge; and a low happiness of a vulgar fize will not be equal to them. The fabric must be ftrong and impregnable, proof against all the ftorms that may beat upon it; for many are the ftorms that will rife upon us, upon our country, and upon this guilty world in general. Loffes, bereavements, fickneffes, and a thoufand calamities that I cannot name, may yet try us. The enemy is now breaking in like a flood upon our country, and we and our earthly all are in danger of being overwhelmed. Death will certainly attack us all; and that must be a strong building indeed which the King of Terrors will not be able to demolish.— Besides, when all the purposes of divine love in our world fhall be accomplished, an almighty tempeft of divine indignation fhall break upon it, and fweep away all that it contains; and blend cities, kingdoms, plains and mountains, feas and dry land, kings and beggars, in one vaft heap of promifcuous ruin. Or, to fhift the metaphor according to the emphatical variety in my text, the fiery deluge of divine vengeance, which has been gathering and fwelling for thousands of years, but has been, as it were, reftrained and |