we believe, in a universal or catholic church. And whether we speak of the spiritual church in this general signification, or of the visible churches of Christ upon earth, either individually or collectively, it is true that as the foundation of the church, "God hath laid in Zion a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone," and that "other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

But it is time that we proceed to consider the epithets that are figuratively applied to Christ in our text, as the foundation which God hath laid in Zion.

Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone," or a rock. The general idea included in this figure is undoubtedly that of stability, firmness, or strength. If Christ is indeed that rock upon which the church is built, then is it established upon a foundation strong, immovable, secure-and then may we with confidence believe, that even "the gates of hell shall never prevail against it."

There are some, however, who maintain that, not the Lord Jesus Christ, but the fallible mortal Peter is that "rock" upon which the church of Christ is built; and this belief they profess to derive from the conversation between our blessed Lord and Peter, recorded by Matthew, (chap. xvi. 15, etc.) Jesus said to his disciples, "Whom say ye that I am? and Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The interpretations which Roman Catholic writers put upon this passage, viz., that Peter is the rock or foundation upon which the church is built, evidently conflicts with the declaration of the apostle Paul, already quoted, "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid-which is Jesus Christ" this interpretation also is comparatively modern in its origin, and is adopted in flagrant violation of the creed of the Romish church itself. In that creed, called the creed of pope Pius IV., they solemnly profess to receive no interpretations of Scripture, "except according to the unanimous consent of the fathers,' (nisi juxta unanimem consensum patrum.) Among the most eminent of the "fathers" here referred to, I will quote from only two, in order to prove my assertion, that, in their interpretations of Christ's words to Peter, they violate their own acknowledged principles. In a sermon of Augustine, the celebrated bishop of Hippo, that most eminent of all the fathers comments upon the words as follows: "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock which thou hast confessed—that is, upon myself, the Son of the living God, I will build my church." The opinion of Hilary, another of the most celebrated fathers, differs slightly from that of Augustine, and most entirely from that of the modern Romanists. "This one founda

tion," says Hilary, "is immovable, that is, that one blessed rock of faith, confessed by the mouth of Peter, 'thou art the Son of the living God," and again "the building of the church is upon this rock of confession.'

I do not quote from these early fathers, because I imagine that their authority upon this or any other subject should settle the question-their opinions are to be judged, in precisely the same way as those of other fallible men,-but merely to show that, in this instance at least, Romanists have violated their own rule, to receive no interpretations except according to the unanimous consent of the fathers."-It is evident, moreover, whatever may be the degree of weight attached to these writers, that if the promise referred to Peter, it failed of accomplishment; for when Peter, with oaths and curses, denied his Lord, certainly the gates of hell did prevail against him; and if the church had rested upon him, when he fell, the church would have fallen with him. Still more evidently is this true of the long line of corrupt and vicious men, so different in life and spirit from the apostle Peter, who for ten or twelve centuries at least, have claimed to be successors of the apostle, and vicegerents of God upon earth. No, no, brethren! Christ-and not a fallible, erring mortal-is the rock, the tried, the sure foundation; and "their rock is not as our rock, our enemies themselves being judges."

This foundation is, moreover, designated a tried stone. "Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone." Let us examine the application of this epithet to our Lord Jesus Christ.

1. Yes, my brethren, Christ is a tried stone! For in the first place, I remark, he was tried, when enduring the attacks of the serpent in his conflict on behalf of his people on earth. No sooner had Satan succeeded in introducing sin, and consequent misery into our world, than the bow of promise appeared in the cloud, and God declared to the serpent, "I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it (that is, the promised seed), shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." For four thousand years had Satan been in awful expectancy of this formidable adversary, and been preparing himself for the conflict. At length the promised conqueror appears in our world; and it is a fine conception of our great English poet, Milton, that on the day of Christ's public baptism, when he was solemnly anointed to his work, Satan" with envy fraught and rage" hovered near the sacred scene, listened to the attestation from Heaven, "this is my beloved Son," then flew to the regions of darkness, to bear the alarming news to his compeers and associates in rebellion.

XXIV.

"And them amidst,

With looks aghast and sad, he thus bespake;-
Alas! too soon for us, the circling hours

This dreaded time have compassed, wherein we
Must bide the stroke of that long threatened wound

8

And now the arch adversary nerves himself for the conflict, in which he knows he must engage. He had already sought, in vain, to destroy the wondrous babe at Bethlehem by inciting his willing servant Herod, to a deed of terrible cruelty and blood. Again he attempts to overcome this wondrous being, by the temptation in the wilderness, but Jesus comes forth victorious from the trial, and the enemy is again defeated. Ah, how vain the attempts of Satan to put out this glorious light which had come into the world, and to parry the dreadful blow which he knew must ere long fall upon his own head! Yet, although he may not destroy, he still may bruise, for so it had been promised, even to him, "and thou shalt bruise his heel." He cannot touch the head, the kingdom of Christ, though his own head must be crushed, his own kingdom be destroyed; yet he may bruise the heel, the inferior part, the human nature of Christ, and he prepares to do his worst. Let us then, in imagination, follow our blessed Lord and Saviour to his cross of agony, and there contemplate the desperate conflict between the serpent and the seed. Christ had already contended with the cruel adversary in the garden of Gethsemane, in bitter agony (ayan, a contention, contest for victory) and bloody strife-but he had stood the trial, and had come off victorious. At length the enemy beholds the suffering Son of God, hanging in unutterable anguish upon the torturing cross. Hark, that cry! "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Satan hears it, and perhaps for a moment, imagines that he has won the victory. "Ah, God, the Father, hath forsaken him," thinks the great adversary. But is it so then? Hath Jesus been tried in this furnace, and hath he failed to stand the trial? No, no! for, hark, another cry! and now all nature attests that it is the shout of victory. "It is finished!" the glorious triumph is achieved, the glorious work is done. At this cry, the whole fabric of nature trembles to its centre. The vail of the temple is rent in twain. The solid rocks are shattered and rent. The earth is shaken to its deep foundation; and not earth only, but also Hell. Satan heard it, and trembled, and tottered beneath the blow, and all the domains of darkness resounded with that shout of victory, while all the fallen inhabitants of that dark abyss, heard it as the sentence which pronounced their doom. Yes, my brethren then was the promise fulfilled, "the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." Then was the kingdom of darkness shaken from centre to circumference. Then, the domains of death were invaded, and "the graves were opened, and many bodies of saints which slept arose." Then, the dart of death was blunted and deprived forever of its sting. Blunted! did I say? Nay, more than that. In the words of John Ryland,

K

Then the dart of death went through the suffering Saviour, and stuck in his cross, and the king of terrors has never been able to draw it thence, to bring it to the death-bed of a believer, ever since." Yes, my brethren, truly our Jesus is a tried stone! Tried in this bitter conflict, and he stood the trial; he came off triumphantly victorious. And O, what a victory! and what a moment that, in which this victory was achieved! The wily adversarylike some serpent trailing his slimy way through the tangled grass-had tracked the path of the Son of God, through all his scenes of sorrow and of suffering, up to the moment when on the cross he uttered his mournful, bitter cry. At that instant, the serpent with his most venomous grip seized upon the heel of the seed of the woman. Then Jesus appeared forsaken both of God and man. Satan is just ready to utter the shout of triumph. But, at that moment, Jesus lifts up that wounded heel, stamps upon and crushes the head of the serpent, and cries, It is finished! the glorious victory's won! Yes, my brethren, Jesus is a tried stone!

2. But in another sense, Jesus is a tried stone-tried, because amid all the attacks of persecution and infidelity, his church, founded upon himself, has not only withstood the shock, but has flourished and increased amid the fury of the storm. Founded upon a rock, the gates of hell have not prevailed against it.

Near the south-western extremity of the island of Great Britain, the traveller may observe a tall and massive column of solid masonry, founded upon an isolated rock at the distance of miles from the shore, rearing its lofty beacon light to warn the mariner of the dangers that lurk beneath, and of the rocky caves where the hardy crew of many a noble vessel have found their ocean graves. That structure is the world-renowned Eddystone light-house. When the architect of that noble column proposed, near a hundred years ago, to erect on that storm-lashed rock a light-house of solid masonry, which might defy the fury of the most terrible tempest, there were those who laughed to scorn the enterprise, and treated it as the dream of a visionary and enthusiast, while the prediction of nearly all was, that such a structure could never stand before the dreadful storms which had dashed many a noble vessel upon the Eddystone rocks. Yet undeterred by the scoffs of enemies, or by the fears of friends, the builder proceeded in his work, and as layer after layer of masonry was added, the predictions of many were loud and frequent, that the first violent storm would sweep it all into the deep. Storm after storm beat upon the yet unfinished structure, driving the workmen from their labor; but as each storm subsided, the work was still uninjured. At length, in about three years, the last top-stone was laid upon the noble column, and in one week afterwards, the saving beacon-light was streaming over the waves from its lofty summit. Still, many predicted its downfall.- Wait,' said they, 'till a storm rises, such as occurs only three or four times in a century-like the great tempest of

1703-and see whether our fears will not be verified.' Three years after the completion of the work, about the beginning of the year 1762, just such another terrible and furious storm arose, and the people on shore trembled for the fate of the keepers of the light-house, and expected that the morning light would show that the whole structure had been scattered to the waves. When the fury of the storm was past, many anxious eyes were directed through telescopes towards the Eddystone rocks, and the expectation was general that no vestiges of the light-house would be seen. How great, then, was the gratitude of its friends, and the astonishment of all, when through the still dark and murky air, the noble column was seen next morning, still rearing its summit to the clouds, perfectly uninjured, and with not a stone displaced! Then, at length, all were forced to confess, that the building was secure. It was a tried light-house, and the rock upon which it was founded was proved to be a "tried stone, a sure foundation." Since that time, this monument of Smeaton's genius and perseverance has stood for near a century, and storm after storm has spent its rage upon it, but still it remains uninjured, holding forth amid the darkness its friendly light to warn the mariner of his dangers, and to direct him in safety to his port. It is founded upon a rock, and the storms and the dangers of a century have proved that rock to be" a tried stone, a sure foundation."

And thus, my brethren, has storm after storm of persecution and hate fallen upon the saints of the Lord Jesus, the church which he purchased with his blood-persecution from Pagan, from Papist, and from Infidel, through her long career of eighteen centuries, yet that church still stands secure and unshaken-with energies unbroken, and numbers largely swelling from century to centurybecause it is founded upon a rock, and that rock is Christ.

"On the Rock of ages founded,

What can shake thy sure repose?
With Salvation's walls surrounded,

Thou may'st smile at all thy foes."

If the foundation upon which the church is built had been less than solid rock, the fierce storms of persecution and hatred, which from age to age have been beating upon it, would long since have laid it prostrate in ruins; but instead of that, they have but demonstrated its strength and added to its dimensions. So true is this, that it has grown into a proverb, "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." And from that blood-whether poured out in the amphitheatres of pagan Rome, the inquisitorial dungeons of papal Rome, or at the auto-da-fés of Seville, of Smithfield, or of Oxford-have sprung up harvests, multiplying a hundred-fold converts to the church on earth, to fill up the places of those, sent by the fires and flames of martyrdom to swell the ranks of the church in Heaven.

Yes, my brethren! in the security and growth of the church, in