January 9

"Behold I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious; and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded." — 1 Peter 2:6.

THE church may well be compared to a spiritual house, a magnificent building: Christ is the foundation, believers are the living stones, the Holy Spirit is the builder; and notwithstanding all the opposition manifested towards it, it shall rise higher and higher, till the top stone is brought, with shoutings, Grace, grace, unto it. Here we have

THE CHARACTER OF THE SAVIOUR. He is designated a stone, denoting firmness, strength, and durability. This stone is laid for a foundation, not merely to be looked at, but built on. He is the chief corner stone; that which unites and supports the whole building: Jew and Gentile, Barbarian, Scythian, bond and free, are united in him. He is "elect;" chosen of the Father for this glorious design, as being possessed of every requisite. "Precious." Every excellence that can excite our admiration, or attract our love, is centered in him. Whatever view we take of him he is precious — in his person, work, fulness, gifts, and glories. Precious in the hopes he sets before us, the pleasures he imparts, the names he bears, the characters he sustains.

THE WORK OF THE FATHER. On the erection of any building of importance, some person of distinction is selected to lay the foundation stone. Notice here

The Agent. "I lay." That is Jehovah himself—he who laid the foundations of the earth. Behold him laying it in the counsels of peace from eternity, in the promises, in the ceremonies of the Mosaic dispensation, in the visions of ancient prophecy, in the fulness of time.

The place. "In Sion," or the church of the living God. Where else should we look for it? "My kingdom," says the Saviour, "is not of this world." There is such a sacredness connected with religion that it refuses to mingle its glories with the perishing greatness of earthly things.

The attention demanded. "Behold," and wonder, admire, and rejoice.

THE DUTY OF THE SINNER. It is to come to this stone, and build on it, rejecting every other ground of hope. "To whom coming as unto a living stone."

THE SAFETY OF THE BELIEVER. He shall not be confounded by the temptations of Satan, the opposition of the wicked, the approach of death, or the transactions of the judgment day.