SERMON VIII.

THE FOUNDATION LAID IN ZION.

1 PETER ii. 6.

Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner-stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded.

THIS chapter begins with an exhortation, enforcing the practice of that "holiness without which no man shall see the LORD." St. Peter founds this exhortation upon the doctrines of grace, stated in the first chapter of this Epistle; and then urges it upon the attention of believers, by the consideration of their heart-felt knowledge of the saving truths of the Gospel, and of their spiritual union with CHRIST, "as living stones" in the glorious temple, of which JESUS is the foundation, and in which the praises of Redeeming Love shall resound for ever and ever : "whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed "indeed of men, but chosen of GoD and precious, ye "also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house,

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"To

an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to GOD by JESUS CHRIST." Upon what this spiritual house is founded, and how sacrifices, offered therein, become acceptable unto God, is then

declared in the text. "6

'Behold, I lay in Zion a Chief "Corner-stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth

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on Him shall not be confounded."

These words contain, 1st, A description of CHRIST; and, 2dly, An assurance of safety to the believer.

1st. Consider the DESCRIPTION here given of CHRIST. It is prefaced by a solemn call to attention and reverence. GOD speaks, and man should hear. GOD sets before you and me a great and glorious object, every way deserving of the serious and supreme attention of our minds; and He says to us, "Behold!" consider; reflect; bend your thoughts to investigate, open your hearts to receive, the wondrous discoveries of my covenant-love, my eternal and sovereign purposes of grace and goodness, my abundant provision for the safety, peace, and happiness of immortal souls. May He who thus calls upon us to behold the wonders of His grace in CHRIST JESUS, open the eyes of faith, and influence our hearts; that we may attend to "the things which belong unto our peace," while the day-light of mercy shines, and the door of salvation remains unclosed! Brethren, lift up your hearts in secret prayer to the LORD, now that you are in His house, and beseech Him to make the word spoken, effectual to your instruction, comfort, and final happiness. Oh that I may preach and you may hear, in the deep conviction, that what is

now about to be spoken, must and will become

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a savour of life unto life," or of death unto death" to your souls!

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Behold, I lay in Zion a Chief Corner-stone, elect, precious." This description of CHRIST is found frequently in the Scriptures of Truth. So early as the days of Jacob, the promised SAVIOUR was set forth under the similitude of a Stone; for that Patriarch, in blessing his sons before his death, spake of "the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel!" (Gen. xlix. 24.) The ancient Jewish writers have applied these words of Jacob to the MESSIAH, and with remarkable clearness have said, “Upon this Stone is founded the Holy of Holies; and thereon rests the Shekinah, or manifested glory of God, between the cherubim, above the mercy-seat." The person and work of JESUS were the foundation of all the ceremonial institutions of the Levitical Dispensation, and without CHRIST they are all vain, unmeaning, and unprofitable. This was known and felt by all the pious worshippers in the tabernacle and temple, who (taught by the same HOLY SPIRIT as Christians under the Gospel Dispensation) looked by faith to the LORD JESUS, as the sure Rock, on which alone their hope could be built. This delightful representation of CHRIST, first given by the dying Jacob, is repeated and enlarged upon by Isaiah, by whom the words of the text were originally written (xxviii. 16): "Behold, I lay in Zion, for a

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foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not "make haste."

Good reason was there for this Divine undertaking. The fair and beauteous edifice, which the Creator's hand had placed in Paradise, had been laid low in ruin. Sin had entered deep into the heart of man, and ploughed up and destroyed every ground of confidence, of hope, and of peace. The whole race of mankind was in the condition of a man sinking beneath the waves, without a rock upon which to place his feet, and raise his head above the billows of destruction. Sin, like a deluge, had overwhelmed the world, and swept away every resting-place for the anxious, weary, and fearful spirit of man; which, like the dove of Noah, hovered over the wide-spread ocean of this world's guilt and wretchedness, seeking rest, but finding none. To GOD, who seeth the end from the beginning, this hapless and hopeless condition of our fallen race was known, even before the world was. Then, even from everlasting, did the LORD, in his sovereign purpose and gracious Covenant, lay a “foundation, a SURE foundation," for human hope and happiness. He chose and appointed, in the glorious counsels of the Godhead, the Second Person of the Trinity, even JESUS Our LORD, to become the sure and unmoveable resting-place for the weary and trembling, the guilty and perishing soul of man. Isaiah thus speaks the words of the FATHER Concerning

CHRIST, saying, "Behold my Servant, whom I uphold; mine Elect, in whom my soul delighteth : (xlii. 1.) And in the text, the "Chief Corner-stone" is declared to be "elect," as well as "precious." This is a blessed truth; and it is calculated both to humble and to comfort the people of GOD. Oh, when we reflect upon the glorious purpose of GOD, in the election of the Son to be the Covenant-head of that mystical body, which was then given unto Him-and when we consider, that not only long before our works, but even long before any creature existed, all things pertaining to Salvation were ordered and secured in the mutual stipulations and engagements of FATHER, SON, and HOLY GHOST-we must and shall feel humbled to the very dust, in the consciousness of the entire exclusion of all our doings and deservings from the notice and consideration of GOD. For us men did GOD lay in Zion the Chief Corner-stone; and, while building thereon, we shall derive strong consolation from the belief, that as it was placed from eternal ages past to be the sinner's foundation, so it will remain, during eternal ages yet to come, safely and gloriously sustaining all who flee to it for refuge and redemption.

But how was this foundation laid? First, in the promise made to Adam, immediately after the Fall. This promise of mercy was uttered in the ears of sinful man, before the dread sentence of justice declared the miserable consequences and the just punishment of transgression. Thus the door of hope