Briefly, the significance of a cornerstone. The cornerstone for ancient buildings like the temple was fundamentally important because it had an effect upon the structural integrity of the building. The entire building was dependent upon the cornerstone being right. The cornerstone that we have as a church in this building is different. The significance of our cornerstone is not that it has an effect upon the structural integrity of the sanctuary that we are in. The significance of our cornerstone is found in the words that were chosen to put on it. That's what makes our cornerstone important, so that when we walk into this sanctuary, And as we look to the left of the main entrance on the brick wall, we see a plaque with words on it. So that when we walk into this sanctuary, that's what our minds are directed to. And the words that are on the cornerstone of this new sanctuary are the words of Psalm 119, verse 90. The beginning of the text in which we read, thy faithfulness is unto all generations. For many years, the Lord was faithful to us as a congregation as we worshiped him in our old sanctuary. as his word was proclaimed faithfully from week to week, so that he was pleased from our own midst to gather his church. And now as we begin our life as a congregation in this sanctuary, fitting words those are, that is the hope that the Lord would continue to be faithful to us and our generations as we worship God here And that is our certain hope, exactly because God says what he does in a text like this. God is faithful to all generations. And we have a testimony of that in this morning as we witness the sign and seal of baptism. And we have another evidence of that this evening as we will witness two confessions of faith. I call your attention to Psalm 119, verse 90. Under the theme, Jehovah's faithfulness to all generations. Let's look in the first place at the meaning. In the second place, the testimony. And in the third place, the prophet. Jehovah's faithfulness to all generations. The meaning, the testimony, and the prophet. The text for the sermon comes from Psalm 119. Psalm 119 is the longest psalm, and the main focus, as we well know, of Psalm 119 is upon the word and law of God. Every verse in Psalm 119 has a synonym in it for the word or the law of God. That's not quickly evident in our text, but the synonym in our text is the word faithfulness, which we will get to later in the sermon. Psalm 119 is an acrostic psalm, and what that means is that there are 22 sections to Psalm 119 corresponding to the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Each section is made up of eight verses and the first letter of each of the verses that make up one section begin with the same letter. The first section, they all begin with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The second section, the second letter, and what follows. Our text is found in the twelfth section of Psalm 119. Each of these sections of Psalm 119 have a main idea. Now it's clear that when you read Psalm 119, there is the repeat of phrases and the repeat of ideas. That's obviously the case when the entire Psalm and every verse says something about the Word or Law of God. But though that is the case, you can, when you study Psalm 119, identify particular themes of each section. And that's the case with this twelfth section that we look at this morning. The main theme of Psalm 119 verses 89 through 96 is found in the opening three verses of this section. The main idea of which concerns the nature of the word of God. What is emphasized in the beginning section, verses of this section, is that God's word is abiding. enduring, everlasting. And the way in which the psalmist illustrates that truth is by drawing our attention to that which God has created. I believe that the best way to look at verses 89 and 90 are as a parallel to each other. Verse 89 could be translated this way into two distinct sections. Forever thou art, O Lord, the first part. And then the second part, thy word is settled in heaven. And those two sections of verse 89 correspond to the two main ideas of verse 90. Forever, O Lord, thou art, corresponds to the beginning of verse 90, thy faithfulness is unto all generations. And then the second part, thy word is settled in heaven, corresponds to the end of verse 90, thou hast established the earth and it abideth. And then together, verse 91, they, heaven and earth, Continue this day according to thy ordinances, for all are thy servants. Verse 89 says with respect to the Word of God that it is settled in the heavens. That could mean that it's fixed in the heavens because the heavens are where God dwells. But I believe because it's parallel to verse 90, the basic same idea is being expressed. So that the idea is that the word of God is settled or fixed in the heavens because it is by the word of God that the heavens were established so that they are a clear evidence of God's enduring word as the heavens continue to exist above us, which parallels the main idea of the second part of verse 90, which we will get to in the second point of the sermon. My point right now is simply to say that the main idea of Psalm 190, verses 89 through 96 is that God's word is enduring, abiding, and therefore never fails. Verse 90 elaborates on that idea, and we focus now on what is the main idea of verse 90, and that's the first part of the verse in which we read, Thy faithfulness is unto all generations. As I said already, each of the verses in Psalm 119 have a synonym in it for the word law or God's word. The synonym in our verse is the word faithfulness. That's not readily apparent when we read that word faithfulness. It doesn't quickly come to us and we say, yes, that's a synonym for law or word. But the fact is, in Psalm 119 verse 90, it is. And the evidence of that is on account of the fact that in other places, this same word translated faithfulness is translated as truth. And when we hear the word truth, it becomes apparent readily that that's a synonym for word or law. I won't read the several references that I have before me. I have five of them on my sheet in front of me. I only will read one to illustrate that this word is translated as truth elsewhere. Psalm 100, verse five, what I read before the worship service. For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth endureth to all generations. The word truth in verse five of Psalm 100 is the same word as faithfulness in Psalm 119, verse 90. so that the word faithfulness emphasizes the truth of God, the word of God from the point of view that what God says is right and what God says will come to pass. It fits, therefore, with the main idea of verse 90. God's faithfulness is to all generations. And the idea there is that what God says, his word, is his truth that will be fulfilled. And then it adds, to all generations. When you see the word faithfulness, the natural question that arises is faithfulness to what? What is the word or the truth that God speaks that He is faithful to? It's the promise of God that He makes to His church and to His people as it is rooted and grounded in Jesus Christ. God is faithful to his word of promise. When you consider the promise of God, you go to the heart of it all, which is Genesis 3.15, the mother promise. In which God says that he will put enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. And in which he promises that the seed of the woman will destroy the seed of the serpent. That's the promise of God to his church. that in the seed of the woman who is Jesus Christ there is victory over the seed of the serpent and the kingdom of darkness and therefore life everlasting with God. And out of that root promise springs every other promise of God's word. We read one in Psalm, or rather Genesis 17 as it was quoted in the baptism form that God would establish his covenant with believers and their seed. That's God's promise that he gives to the church of all ages and he is faithful to that promise and therefore it is a promise that arises out of his mercy and his grace. Beloved, I bring that up specifically in light of the word that is used in our text as it is found in other places in Scripture. The Psalms, and even outside of the Psalms, bring together very, very closely the mercy of God, and the faithfulness of God, the word found in our text. Again, I have several references. In fact, the one that I read earlier, Psalm 100, verse 5, does exactly that. For the Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting, and his truth, or faithfulness, endureth to all generations. But I'll read just a couple of more to demonstrate this point. Psalm 89 is an important psalm in this respect, and I'll come back to this later. Psalm 89, verses one and two. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever. With thy mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all. Generations, for I have said, mercy shall be built up forever. Thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. Mercy and faithfulness, side by side. And I'll read one more that's not a psalm. The beautiful and well-known Lamentations chapter three, verses 22 and 23. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. God's mercy, the pity that he has upon us in our sin and misery, and his desire to lift us up out of that sin and misery and bring us into life with himself. In his mercy, he promises to his church and people, I will be your God and you will be my people. And in his faithfulness or truth, he fulfills that promise. The truth of our text is to say that that promise and that faithfulness which I just described is to all generations. Literally, the text says that it is from generation to generation. Or as we have it in our text, all generations. We know what generations are. We have that on display this morning. Here we have two young couples with babies. There are two generations that we witnessed as we saw the sacrament of baptism be administered. Look more broadly at our congregation and those who are present this morning, and there are at least four generations present in this building. But that's not the Word of God in our text. It's not that he is faithful to two generations, or he is faithful to four generations. The Word of God in our text is that he is faithful to all generations. Why? Because the main point of this section God's word of promise is enduring and never fails. This faithfulness of God to all generations arises out of the very character of the God whose word of promise it is. In Psalm 119 verse 89, the verse before our text, the opening statement of the section, we read, forever, O Lord. And as I said earlier, that could be translated, forever art thou, O Lord. Two points there. Forever art thou, O Lord. That is to say, thou art eternal. And therefore the word, which is the focus of the whole psalm and this section, arises out of the God who is eternal. Everything he says is not that which he's coming up with on the spot. That's how we are. We live our lives, we think of something, we say something. It wasn't rooted in us. in the way that the Word of God is rooted in the very character of God. God's Word arises out of his eternal being, and therefore out of his all-encompassing decree, which influences and affects everything in time and history. What he says in time and history comes from what he decrees as the eternal God. And then add to that the second truth that arises specifically out of the name of God used in the text in verse 89. He is the Lord or Jehovah. I am that I am. The one name of God that demonstrates God's unchanging nature. Malachi 3 verse 6, for I am Jehovah. I change not. You put this together then with the Word of God and the promises of God, and what this means is that the Word and promises of God, rerouted in eternal God, never changing because of who He is, and now the powerful God who influences and affects and directs all of history, means very simply this. What He says to His church, and to his people will come to pass. His word abides and it never fails to all generations. This explains everything when you look at church history, when you look at your own history personally. Church history, Old Testament, God was faithful to every generation. Genesis 15, he says to Abraham, for 400 years, your seed is going to be afflicted, but then they're going to be delivered with great substance. God was faithful because that word was accomplished in the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. Jeremiah 29. Seventy years you'll be in Babylon, but after seventy years, I will deliver you and you will come back to where I dwell in Jerusalem. Seventy years are accomplished. God's Word comes to pass to His people and His church. Of all of the illustrations I could use, I use those two because they demonstrate what is the heart of the Word that God is faithful to. the deliverance of his church from the sin and bondage in which we are held. God is faithful to deliver us and to bring us into life with him because he was faithful to the promise that he would send his only begotten son to this earth in our human flesh to die the accursed death of the cross to gloriously be raised from the dead so that in him salvation and victory is accomplished for the church. Every word of promise to his church and to every elect believer will come to pass. That's the nature of God's Word. It abides and never fails. And this morning, as we witness the sacrament of baptism, we have a sign and a seal of that. That's what God is saying to us this morning. I am faithful. I am faithful to the promise to save in Jesus Christ. I am faithful. to every generation. That's a testimony to the truth at the beginning of verse 90. The second point of the sermon is the testimony. But the testimony that we focus on this morning is not the testimony that we have in the sacrament of baptism, but we go to the text. and learn what the text teaches us concerning a testimony to the truth I just explained in the first point of the sermon. And that's found really in all three of the verses, but we focus on verse 90. These words, thou hast established the earth and it abideth. The earth, established by God such that it abides, testifies to the faithfulness of God to His church in all generations. God is saying to us in these opening verses of this section, consider the heavens, consider the earth. And when you consider the heavens and the earth, You learn something about the nature of My Word. The nature of My Word generally, but then specifically, you can be assured all the more that My Word of promise to you as the church will not fail. Very briefly, understand that we're not saying by this There is an elevation of general revelation above special revelation. General revelation is the truth that God reveals Himself in the creation. And special revelation is the truth that God reveals Himself in His Word. We're not saying in the explanation of the second point of the sermon that we are trumping special revelation with general revelation. That's not what we're doing here. What we're doing here is observing the heavens and the earth in light of, and as we often hear, through the spectacles of Scripture. Scripture is our authority. Scripture is where we start. Scripture is through which we see everything else. When we read scripture, God says, I created everything. And I created everything in such a way that when you read, study, and believe the word of God, you will see truth concerning the redemptive work of God in Jesus Christ everywhere. This is just one. of many, many pictures, truths that we learn from that which God has created. So what is God saying here at the end of verse 90? He says that the earth is established and it abides. The first part is that the earth is established. That brings us to Genesis 1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. To use the language of the text, in the beginning God established the earth. But then the point is to build off of that and say that it abides. He established it. He established it in such a way that it doesn't cease to exist, but it continues to abide. So then the question becomes, what does this have to do? With the main point, as it was explained already, God is faithful to all generations. And to get to that, ask the questions. How does God do this? How does God establish the earth? How does God cause that earth to abide? To use the language of Psalm 104 verse 5, how is it the case? That He made the foundations of the earth, laid them in such a way that they should not be removed forever. Or to use the language of Job 38 verses 4 through 6, God says, where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? Or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the cornerstone thereof? Think about that. Verse 6. Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? What is causing the globe on which we live to stay where it is? Such that it continues in its courses and doesn't crash down in some uncontrollable way somewhere. What's the foundation? We read there in Job, upon which this globe that we are on is laid. Beloved, the answer to all of those questions is the same. It's the Word of God. By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, Psalm 33. In Hebrews 1, upholding all things by the power of His Word. In the beginning, God established the earth by His Word. Why does it continue to abide? It continues to abide because God's Word is going forth, and God's Word is powerful, and that which God says is accomplished. And that's the way it's been from day one. And that's the way it's been until now, and that's the way it will be until the Lord returns to make all things new. His word never fails. To know that, to have a testimony of that, look at the earth. Look at the heavens. And don't first think scientifically. Don't first think about the laws of gravity and everything else that go into keeping the earth where it is. Think first about the Word of God. And know that the only reason that this earth was ever created, the only reason that it continues to abide in such a way that it does, is because God speaks his word, and when God speaks his word, that word never fails, but abides, and he is true to it. And then you see how this fits in with the truth of our text. Consider the earth, and see in it the abiding nature of God's word. And just as God, by His Word, establishes and causes the earth to abide, it never fails. Know this, people of God. When God says, in His Word of promise, I love you, I sent Christ for you, for you who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, There is life with God and victory over death. That Word, in the same way that the Word that upholds the heavens and the earth will not, cannot fail. Because it is the Word of the eternal, unchanging, powerful God. It's fitting to think about a truth like this at the occasion of baptism. Because whenever we think about baptism, per the questions that are asked the parents, we think about the raising of our children. This is the importance, for example, of Christian education. That we raise our children the best that we are able in light of and in harmony with the truth of God's word, so that when the world is studied, it's not first the laws of gravity and the laws of science, but it's first this in our schools. God created this, and it testifies so powerfully to who he is as God. And this is why in our everyday life with our children, we are surrounded with opportunities to teach our children about who God is and about his redemptive work and promises in Jesus Christ. This is just one of how many that are found in the Bible. And as parents, let's read And think about the Bible personally from this point of view, always looking for opportunities to, in our everyday life, teach our children about who God is and his promises. I won't read it, but there's an example in Jeremiah. Chapter 31, in which we read about the sun, moon, and stars and the effect that they have upon the oceans and the waves that are caused by all of the forces that be around the oceans. And the idea there is that the waves are always rolling and always crashing. They never stop. You sit at Lake Michigan or you sit at the ocean, and what do you see? Invariably, even when it's a peaceful ocean or lake, you see the waves rolling and the waves crashing upon the shore. And you can envision yourself sitting there with your children and saying, you know what that teaches us? They never stop. It's unchanging. Those waves keep coming and keep coming while God says in his word that that's how he is with his covenant. It's unchanging. And if the waves were to stop, God's promises then would fail. But they won't stop because God's promises never fail. And here we have another example. Look at the earth. Why, my son? Why, my daughter? Does it continue to exist? It's because God speaks. And whenever God says something, it's true and it happens. Well, you know what else he says? He says he loves you and he saves you and he's going to bring you into heaven and you can know that that word will never fail. Use these beautiful truths from the creation that testify to God's faithfulness. as we teach our children. There's a great prophet to the truth of our text. And the great prophet is that God's Word is absolutely trustworthy. You can, no, you must trust the Word of God. Which is to say, trust the God whose word it is. It's abiding. It never fails. He's faithful to it. See the testimony of it in the creation and trust that his word to you is true and will not fail. Don't have time to get into it deeply right now. Only a few minutes left. But the section in which we find our text is part of the middle portion of Psalm 119. And we read the section before it as well. And in these two sections of Psalm 119, we read about the afflictions and the opposition that the psalmist was experiencing. And then he comes to verses 89 through 91, sets firmly this truth concerning God's Word. So that then in light of that, he could do this. Because God's Word is trustworthy. Verse 92, He delights in it. Verse 93, He will not forget it. Verse 94, He seeks God's precepts. Verse 95, He considers His testimonies. His Word is true and never fails. So what do we do in this week? In all of our life? In the face of opposition, in the face of affliction, you delight in God's Word. You seek God's Word. You consider God's Word. You meditate upon God's Word. And the profit of doing that, as you believe the absolute trustworthy Word of God, is that you're delivered from your afflictions. You're quickened. You're saved. And you know that the enemies are destroyed. God works through his word, powerfully, as we believe in the God whose word it is, as we trust that he is faithful to his promises in Jesus Christ, as we know that in all of our life, his word never fails. The prophet is that God works through that such that we are and continue to be saved by him. As we walk into our sanctuary, I know realistically every time we're not going to read the cornerstone. But every so often, stop and read it. Don't forget this text. Think about it. And praise the Lord that he is faithful from generation to generation. Amen. Our Father in heaven, thou art a faithful God, for thou art Jehovah, the unchanging I am that I am, And we pray, keep us from doubting thy word, but may we be convicted this morning that it is abiding, everlasting, and never fails, and therefore thy promises are yea and amen, in Jesus Christ, in his name we pray, amen.