A Sure Foundation
Our Bible passage, introduction to Sunday 20th August service and hymns are below. You may listen to an audio recording by clicking above or there is a video link to our YouTube channel at the bottom of this page.
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Our principal verses are:
Isa 28:14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
Isa 28:15 Because ye 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: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
Isa 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
Isa 28:17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
Isa 28:18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
Isa 28:19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
Isa 28:20 For the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it.
A Sure Foundation
Today we have a passage announcing judgment on Israel and Judah and some beautiful pictures of the Lord Jesus to bless the hearts of believers then and now. The apostles drew on these verses to encourage their own generation and their testimony still stands sure and firm. Our God has laid in Zion a chief corner stone ‘and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded’.
A crown of pride
Drunkenness is frequently denounced in scripture as a source of shame and a cause for judgment, so, too, is man’s sinful pride. Isaiah declares that Ephraim, used for the ten tribes of Israel, is guilty of both drunkenness and pride; sensual indulgence and abusing God’s kindness. The Lord is about to use Assyria, a mighty and strong enemy, to tread the nation down. Ephraim means fruitfulness but for its sin Israel had become a fading flower and a fruit ripe to be eaten.
A crown of glory
Isaiah contrasts Israel’s ‘crown of pride’ with the ‘crown of glory’ which the Lord is to His remnant people. ‘In that day’ again points us beyond immediate historical events and partial fulfilment to the full crown of glory manifested in the gospel age and the blessings of Jesus Christ. Judah, as distinct from Israel, would remain independent under the reign of Hezekiah and others for a hundred years after Israel fell to Assyria. However, spiritually speaking the ‘crown of glory’ and ‘diadem of beauty’ more fully direct us to Christ’s kingly and priestly offices.
Swallowed up by wine
Despite the Lord’s temporal blessings on Judah it, too, stumbled under drunkenness. After the reign of Hezekiah and with the exception of Josiah its national and particularly it religious leaders failed the people and became shameful in their ignorance and also for the disgusting filthiness that followed excess intoxication. Strong drink prevented the leaders from judging rightly and disqualified them from useful service before God. The people largely followed the example of their leaders.
Broken, snared and taken
When the Lord sent faithful prophets to speak gently to the nation telling them, ‘This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing’ Judah would not listen even when taught with great simplicity, a little at a time, as children might be taught, instruction by instruction. But as with Israel, the Lord sent judgment on Judah, too. He would speak in a severe, rough manner by His providences and bring a people against them who spoke a strange language and with whom they could not make peace.
Babylon and Rome
These prophecies were partially fulfilled when Babylon conquered Judah and perhaps more fully point to the later destruction by Rome. By this time it is clear the Jewish religious leaders were no longer listening to God’s message at all or serving God’s people. By the time of Christ’s ministry they had become a self-serving elite who assumed they could strike a deal with the devil and lie and deceive their way to survival. Isaiah calls this making ‘a covenant with death’, and confessing ‘with hell are we at agreement’.
A better covenant
Despite rejection by the Jews Christ the Messiah has been laid as a durable foundation and chief corner stone by God Himself according to the eternal purpose of grace and salvation. Christ was the tried stone in whom Old Testament saints trusted. He is a stone of great value; precious to His Father and all who rest on Him for mercy and life. He is a sure foundation for personal faith and everlasting comfort and will endure for ever granting peace and joy to all who build upon Him. Judgment for the wicked and mercy for the elect unites and coalesces in Jesus Christ (Matthew 21:42-44).
Too big for your bed!
Isaiah mocks God’s enemies with a telling metaphor against those who seek comfort and rest outside of Christ. A short bed and a small blanket give little comfort and must prove inadequate for real rest. In closing the chapter the prophet indicates that the Lord manages the needs of His church with personal attention and individual care. A good farmer manages his land. A good husbandman protects his crops. Our Lord ‘is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working’ for the wellbeing of His church.
Amen
Our hymns are below.
Hymn 1
Gadsby selection 141
Christ the Foundation of the Church. Ps. 118. 22, 23
I. Watts C.M.
1
Behold the sure foundation stone
Which God in Zion lays,
To build our heavenly hopes upon,
And his eternal praise.
2
Chosen of God, to sinners dear,
And saints adore the name;
They trust their whole salvation here,
Nor shall they suffer shame.
3
The foolish builders, scribe and priest,
Reject it with disdain;
Yet on this rock the church shall rest,
And envy rage in vain.
4
What though the gates of hell withstood?
Yet must this building rise;
’Tis thy own work almighty God,
And wondrous in our eyes.
Hymn 2
Gadsby selection 188
Evangelical Obedience. Rom. 7. 9; Phil. 2. 13
W. Cowper C.M.
1
No strength of nature can suffice
To serve the Lord aright;
And what she has she misapplies,
For want of clearer light.
2
How long beneath the law I lay,
In bondage and distress!
I toiled the precept to obey,
But toiled without success.
3
Then to abstain from outward sin
Was more than I could do;
Now, if I feel its power within,
I feel I hate it too.
4
Then, all my servile works were done
A righteousness to raise;
Now, freely chosen in the Son,
I freely choose his ways.
5
What shall I do, was then the word,
That I may worthier grow?
What shall I render to the Lord?
Is my inquiry now.
6
To see the law by Christ fulfilled,
And hear his pardoning voice,
Changes a slave into a child,
And duty into choice.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is The Sure Foundation upon whom His people are safe and secure for all eternity. He is our Tried Stone, always dependable and trustworthy. He is our Precious Corner Stone upon whom His church stands and His people rest secure.
20 August 2023