almost unnecessary to begin preaching it was so good. But tonight it is a real joy to be here again. And take the precious word of God looking in the book of Zechariah. Next to the last book in the Old Testament, the book of Zechariah chapter ten. One of the great joys that I'm sure we've already been having during this conference is the joy of seeing some of the excellent glories and the values of the person of our Lord Jesus Christ from the precious Word of God. Tonight we turn to the tenth chapter of Zechariah to see more of the glories and excellencies of our Saviour. Chapter ten, reading verse one through verse four. God writing through his servant Zechariah saying, Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain. So the Lord shall make bright clouds and give them showers of rain to every one grass in the field. For the idols have spoken vanity and the diviners have seen a lie and have told false dreams. They comfort in vain. Therefore they went their way as a flock. They were troubled because there was no shepherd. Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats. For the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock of the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in battle. Out of him, that is, out of the house of Judah, came forth the corner, or the corner stone. Out of him the nail. Out of him the battle bone. Out of him every oppressor together, better literally translated, out of him the absolute ruler or monarch. May the Lord bless the reading of this portion from his word. And may the Spirit direct our hearts to four precious titles that are found in the fourth verse in relation to the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. They are some of the most unique but glorious names that have been attributed to the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Some in a sense, and I'm sure that it is true, and even more so, you could find a different name given to the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God in the Word of God you could find a different name that would give you one at least for every day in the year and I believe some have proved that there even are more but here we have in this word of Zechariah chapter ten verse four four precious titles that are given to Christ He is called the cornerstone. He is called the nail. He is called the battle bow. He is called the absolute moniker ruler. These are four precious titles of our Lord and Savior. There is a verse that is found in the ninth Psalm and the tenth verse that opens with these words. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee. Every name that you will find in the word of God given to the Lord Jesus has a definite meaning interpreting his character and his person. Those names have a definite revelation as to who he is and also what he is. For they convey the character of our blessed Savior. How multiple are the names belonging to him and how multiplied is the glorious character of our Lord Jesus who has so many names. Here are but four of them. the cornerstone, the nail, the battle bow, and the absolute ruler. They that know thy name will put their trust in thee. May I ask, by the way of introduction to our message, can every one of us here in this audience say, I know those four names, personally in my own soul, He is my cornerstone. He is my nail. He is my battle bow. He is my absolute ruler. Now the names were given primarily to the people of Israel in this great prophecy of Zechariah. One of the most appropriate prophecies in the word of God today for study is the prophecy of Zechariah. It has much to do with the last times that you and I are living in on the threshold of our Lord's return and in relation to the restoration of Jerusalem and the remnant of the people of Israel when our Savior comes to set up his earthly kingdom. The prophecy certainly covers the purposes of God in relation to Jerusalem, in relation to his people Israel, as well as in relation to the nations of the earth. Study the prophecy through, and it will give you much blessing to see the purposes of God as they are about to be fulfilled in a very soon coming day. But here are four precious names. given by the prophet as belonging to the one who was to come out of the house of Judah, even Israel's Messiah. He came to be the cornerstone for Israel. And he was the foundation stone upon which the glory and the greatness of Israel must and will yet be built. Israel cannot stand and never will stand. unless Christ the Messiah becomes and is acknowledged their cornerstone that he came to be when he came to the earth. He presented his credentials. He proved his credentials. And he came to be the foundation stone upon which his earthly people could build for the glory of their kingdom according to the promises of God. But unfortunately they rejected the cornerstone. The one upon whom they would build, they crucified. And to this very day they have been blinded to the person of their Messiah, as well as to the purpose for which he came to be their foundation stone. But my beloved, though that be true in relation to Israel, How precious to recognize while Israel has been laid aside temporarily in the purposes of God, our Lord Jesus Christ has become the cornerstone for the church. How precious to hear the Lord Jesus say in Matthew sixteen, Upon Peter's confession, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Blessed art thou Simon bar Jonah. For flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven. And I say unto thee, thou art Peter. And upon this rock, not Peter, but the Lord Jesus himself, I will build my church. And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against them. Christ alone is the foundation stone. for the church my beloved may I suggest he is the foundation stone for every individual who would build his soul and her soul for eternity to be an eternal blessing with Christ and God Paul writing to the Corinthians said these words in first Corinthians three eleven no other foundation can any man lay than that is laid Which is Jesus Christ. He is my foundation stone. Upon him I build for eternity. With the poet I sing, my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ, the solid rock, I stand on other ground, its sinking sand. My beloved, is he your cornerstone? Does your soul rest upon him as the foundation upon which you build your eternal hope for the glory of that heaven of which we have sung tonight? He alone is the foundation stone upon which we must build. Can you say, he's my cornerstone? But may I point out, he is not only the foundation stone for his people, he is the cornerstone that holds the building of the church together. Paul writing to the Ephesians in chapter two speaks of that one body and he speaks of it comprising both believing Jew and Gentile and that Christ is the cornerstone that holds the body together and that binds the believing Jew and the believing Gentile in that one body which is the body of Christ the Church. He is the cornerstone that binds his people and holds them together In that spiritual house we see his building. Praise the Lord. Peter also wrote of him as being the chief cornerstone or the topstone of glory. For the day is coming, even now is true, but the day is coming when he shall be manifested as the topstone of glory to the church. And with what joy it will be, the church will acknowledge the glory of her coming Lord in that day when she is exalted with him. For he is the crowning stone of glory. Israel rejected the cornerstone. And the prophet the psalmist has written, The stone which the builders rejected has now become the headstone of the corner. And our blessed Lord Jesus, he is the cornerstone. Both for Israel, but especially in this period for the church, and for every individual who will put his and her trust in the Savior. No other foundation can any man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. May I repeat the premise of Psalm nine and verse ten, and they that know thy name will put their trust in thee. Have you trusted the Lord Jesus for your foundation upon which to build for all eternity? On Christ the solid rock Can you say, I stand and remember what the Irishman said, all of the rocks are shamrocks? And with what joy we acknowledge there is but one. He is my cornerstone. Note the next title, so precious, the most unique I believe in the word of God, the name Now in the Old Testament, a name was used, particularly for two purposes, according to the revelation of God's word. Sometimes in the Hebrew, it was translated by the expression a tent peg, a tent pin, holding down the tent. And then it has also been used in the Old Testament as being embedded in the walls of the Oriental buildings long ago. In the house of the Lord, the treasury of the house of David, there were many nails embedded within the walls of that building. Upon those nails there hung the glorious shields and instruments of gold that Solomon collected and had made. And for the glory of the house of the Lord and the house of David, they were displayed upon those nails and feathered within the walls. And the name was used to hang those things upon. Now strange that such a title should be given to the Lord Jesus. You find it repeated in relation to the Lord Jesus prophetically in Isaiah chapter twenty-five, where the prophet writes concerning Eliachim coming, who would be as a nail in a sure place, and upon him would be hung the treasures of the Father's house. But may I point out to you the significant way the name of the nail is related to the Lord Jesus. First of all, as indicated, the nail is to bear burdens. Upon the nail things are to be hung, upon the nail burdens are to be placed. The nail is to uphold and bear whatever is placed upon it. May I present to you the most precious thought regarding this title belonging to the Lord Jesus. When he was placed upon the cross of Calvary, they nailed him to that tree. But the nails that embedded his feet and pierced his hands were incomparable to the fact he himself was the nail that was upon the tree of Calvary hung. For upon him God laid what has never been laid upon another, what could never be laid upon another. God hath laid upon him the iniquity of his own. Can I quote the words of Isaiah fifty-three fully? Verse six. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way. And Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of his own. It took about fifteen hundred years to write the Old Testament, or at least between the writing of Moses in the Pentateuch and the completion in the day of our Lord Jesus when he came, approximately fifteen hundred years. And if two men could travel, one from Adam, the other from Christ, and go toward each other through history, They would meet in the center of that Old Testament period in Isaiah chapter fifty-three, verse five and six, where we read, but he was wounded for our transgressions, but he was bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Oh, may I take that precious verse and break it down with you? All we like sheep have gone astray. The picture of sheep scattered in every direction, going throughout the world in their own way. And yet God takes and gathers together and brings to one place the iniquities of those wandering sheep. And he gathers their iniquities and he lays them upon one who alone was able to bear the iniquity of a thorn. And the name holds. He bore our sins in his old body on the tree. My beloved, with what gratitude your heart and mind should be filled, Jesus bore them all for you and me. Hallelujah. What a Savior. What a nail. Oh, my beloved. What a strange but a unique and precious idol. Do you know the nail? They that know thy name will put their trust in thee. Oh, the joy of fame, at the cross where I first saw the light, And the burden of my sin rolled away. It was there by faith I received my sight. Now I am happy all the day. He is my nail. He bore my sins in his own body upon the tree. But then he continues to be the nail. The prophet wrote in the book of Psalms, chapter fifty-five, verse twenty-two, these words, Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. For century after century the blessed followers of the Lord Jesus, they have been bringing their burdens to him. They have carried them to the nails. They have hung them upon him. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain me. Peter wrote saying in first Peter five, six and seven, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he might exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him, for we care for you. He not only has borne the burden of my sins, he carries the burden of my cares he is my nail how about you do you place your cares upon him casting all your care upon him for he cares for you hallelujah to have such a nail a nail upon whom you can put everything not something everything What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs are there. What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. Oh, what peace we often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. You have a burden. My dear Christian, he's the nail for you and me. Cast your burden upon him. Hang it upon the nail. And may I remind you, when you hang your burden there, do what the hymn writer says. Take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there. Don't pick them up again and carry them away. But then, you know, Eliakim was told in Isaiah twenty-five, that the glory of the treasury of the house of David should be hung upon him. And in the book of Ezekiel, the Lord Jesus was prophetically told as being a nail that would be in a sure place, and the glory of his father's house would be hung upon him. He is not only the nail for my sins, he is not only the nail for my cares, he is the nail for the glory of my life. I should hang the glory of my life upon him. And all that I live for should be for his glory. And all my life should be showing the honor and glory of which he is worthy for that to be hung on him alone. My beloved, no honor, no blessing, No privilege that may be yours and mine should be kept for ourselves. The glory is his and the glory of your life as you live it upon him. He's the nail. Can you say, he is my nail. He has borne my thing. He bears my burdens. He bears the glory of my life. Note the third title, most unique. He is the battle bow, the battle bow. Oh, my beloved, what is that commentary when we think of Israel? Nailing their Messiah to the tree, rejecting the one who came to deliver them. rejecting their own Messiah and Savior and Lord and rejecting him not only as such but rejecting the one who alone can be and will be yet their deliverer in a coming day he is the Babelmore go with me to the book of Exodus please will you chapter fifteen may I point out these words and there are many contemporary scriptures that could be followed but let me just mention a few the book of Exodus chapter fifteen please following the great deliverance out of Egypt and the destruction of the enemies of Israel as they saw the hosts of Pharaoh dead upon the seashore note verse one two and three as we read Exodus fifteen Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will prepare him in habitation. My Father's God and I will exalt him. And note these next words. The Lord is a man of war. The Lord is his name. The Lord is a man of war. Go with me to the second epistle or the second book, Rahabah of Chronicles. The second book of Chronicles chapter twenty. Note these words in the twentieth chapter of the book of Chronicles. and the preciousness of them as God spoke to Jehoshaphat and the children of Judah. Will you please go with me in chapter twenty of this book? And shall we not read as Azale speaks to the congregation? Go down with me to verse sixteen. May I say, for brethren's sake, The opening of the chapter reveals the outnumbered hosts of the Moabites and the Ammonites coming against Jerusalem and the children of Jerusalem and Judea. And Jehoshaphat seeks the Lord and seeks the faith of the Lord in prayer and asks for deliverance. Now note these words that are given through Jehaziel the son of Zechariah. Verse sixteen and three, verse fifteen, sixteen and seventeen. He said, Arcan ye all Judah, ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, thou king Jehoshaphat, thus saith the Lord unto you, be not afraid, nor dismayed, by reason of this great multitude. For the battle is not yours, but God's. Oh, my beloved, how we fail to realize that. The battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow go ye down against them. Behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziv. Ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jerusalem. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle. Set yourselves. Stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord with you, old Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not, nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord will be with you. And the context reveals, when they came out to where the enemy won, the enemy had been destroyed completely. And they gather the spoils of battle. The Lord is a man of war. Go with me to the prophecy of Zechariah, from which we've been reading. And may I point out to you, that same Jehovah will yet appear as the battle bow for Israel. Go with me to the last chapter of the prophecy, beginning to read, if I may, at verse one. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. And may I state very frankly and fearlessly, The day is coming when Israel as a nation and the godly remnant as a people will be delivered by the battle bow, the coming of their Messiah, who will take up the battle for Israel. And read what follows. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, the houses rightful, the women ravaged, half of the city shall go forth into captivity. The residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. And may I emphasize, my beloved believer, this second verse is yet to be fulfilled. And the day is coming when all nations will be gathered around Jerusalem. And the hatred of the nations will be heaped upon God's earthly people for their evident destruction. And at such a time they face the destruction of the enemy. The city is taken. The women are ravished. Many are taken into captivity. Jerusalem will be the centrality of the world's greatest battle. And a part of it will find the earthly people of God within it. Now read verse three. Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle. Oh, my beloved, he will yet be the battle of over-Israel. And in that coming day deliver them. And he will be the one who has fought their battles in the past. and who will ever be the same for them when He delivers them in that coming day? My beloved, may I say this, no one ever yet has been able to beat that blessed one in battle. I think one of the stupendous and amazing things that faces this godless world is that moment when our Lord Jesus shall come from heaven. with the glory of the angels and the saints attending. And this is the earth with his judgment and deliver his earthly people. And in that day as the prophet writes, his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of olives as he manifests his power, the battle bow. Revelation nineteen tells, out of his mouth goeth a sharp, two-edged sword, and what a day it will be. And oh the joy of knowing, here is the mighty victor, here is the mighty conqueror, he will be Israel's battle bow. But may I drink to your own heart and mind the words of Paul as he wrote them in Romans, verse thirty-seven. That precious chapter of Romans eight, one of the most incomparable chapters in the word of God that delights the people of God today. And in verse thirty-seven you have these words. For we are more than conquerors through him that loveth us. They that know thy name will put their trust in thee. He is my battle bow. He fights my battles. He desires to fight your battles to my fellow believer. And Paul said we are more than conquered through him that loveth us. Henry Pickering of Scotland wrote an interesting story many years ago in one of his writings. telling of a man an ordinary brother in an assembled company of believers who in the prayer meeting one night read those words of Romans eight verse thirty seven for we are more than conquerors through him that loveth us he said brethren and sisters as he commented what does it mean to be more than a conqueror well he said beloved we know what it means to be a conqueror A person who is a conqueror is one who wins by fighting. But a person that is more than a conqueror is one who wins without fighting. Can I ask the question, do you fight your own battles? It's not necessary, believer. And there are many battles facing us. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the darkness of this world, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against wicked spirits in high or heavenly places. But Paul said, Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. He's my battle, though. What a joy to recognize. We thank the world, we thank the flesh, we thank the devil. But every fall we have a battle ball for our gracious help. And that person is the Lord Jesus himself. He is my battle ball. Oh, may I say, my beloved Christian, the battles of life that you and I face. And there are many. And sometimes we feel outnumbered. Won't you let him fight them? If you know he's the battleboat, they that know thy name will put their trust in thee. Lord, I have a great battle facing me. Then say, Lord, you fight it for me I trust you to be my battle bow and may I say he's never lost a battle and again and again he's proved invulnerable and no one could ever indeed defeat him the little book written a little booklet it was a pamphlet published During World War II. And it was called the Lord Rainer. And he gave incidents of many conditions and situations in World War I as well as World War II. Where the Lord overruled the power of the enemy. That little booklet introduced a story at the commencement of it. of the San Francisco earthquake in the early part of this century, when the city of San Francisco was devastated by a mighty earthquake. There was a salesman who came to the city following the earthquake. He had been there many times before, but when he saw the rubble and the ruin, he was unable to find his way around the city. The familiar landmarks had disappeared. He hired a young native boy to take him to the places he desired to find. And as he was walking with the land to the places that he desired to get to, the youngster looked at the man's face and he saw the horror, the amazement written upon his countenance as he looked at the destruction all around of this great city that he had known for many years. And as the boy looked at the man's face, He said, Mr. can't no use, is it, for a fellow to think he can lick God? It isn't. Oh, my beloved, the joy of knowing, here is a name. He belongs to the person who says he is the battleboat. And if he is your battleboat and mine, then it's your responsibility in mind to put our trust in him and say, Lord, you my battle ball. Last of all, the last title given, the absolute ruler, the monarch, the mighty king, for he is the absolute king. There is no other Note Zechariah fourteen again please. I want you to note verse nine for brevity's sake. The prophet writing to say, In that day when he comes to the earth, when Israel shall be delivered, and the Lord shall be king over all the earth. In that day shall there be one Lord and his name one. The Lord shall be king over all the earth. When he descends from heaven upon his vesture will be written, King of kings and Lord of lords. And oh the mighty king, when he comes he'll be the absolute monarch. Oh, would to God he were here? Would to God that the earth was being ruled over by him? That mighty one. knowing that he will be the king over all the earth. May I remind you of some precious Psalms. I just throw this by suggestion to you. If you sometimes will begin reading at Psalm forty-two and read down through Psalm forty-eight, you will find a sequel of Psalms that bring to a climax the great deliverance of Israel in a coming day. you will find in Psalm forty-two and forty-three the very picture of Israel today under oppression, crying for deliverance, calling upon God, and cast down because of their condition as they were once in Egypt. If you read Psalm forty-four, you will find them calling for their king, command deliverance, O God, our king, out of Jacob. You read Psalm forty-five, and you have the lovely description of the king, as we've signed tonight, coming out of the ivory palaces, his garments dipped in cashier, and myrrh and so on. And the king is described, who is coming, girding his thigh upon his thigh, his sword in majesty, to deliver his people? You read Psalm forty-six, And you'll find the nations raging. And in tumour. And the earth in great tumour. And the king comes. And that city Jerusalem is delivered. And he speaks peace. And he tells all the nations. Be still. And know that I am God. And he destroys the ungodly. And you read Psalm forty-seven, and you find Israel rejoicing and saying, He's king over all the earth. The Lord is king over all the earth. And in Psalm forty-eight, you find Israel inviting all the nations to come and see the city of the great king. Jerusalem elevated as Zechariah declares in the fourteen chapter of his prophecy the mound of olives splits into and Jerusalem will be a high elevated city in the kingdom to come and the majesty and glory of the king's palace will be displayed and the nations invited to see the glory of the king and of his palace in that coming hallelujah I'm glad he's coming to be king over all the earth My, I wish he were here. Which is for the king, ah? Amen. Hip of hooray. The joy of knowing he's going to be the king over all this. The absolute monarch. May I point out something to you? Very precious to me in this prophecy. Not often noted, but I want you to notice something. I believe it's in Isaiah chapter thirty-three. If I guess it is. Chapter thirty-three. And verse twenty-two. And I want you to note something. It rejoices and thrills my soul when I know what kind of a king he will be. Note these words. But you know it's a wonderful thing when he comes and sets up his earthly government. Isaiah chapter thirty-three. Verse twenty-two. For the Lord is our judge. The Lord is our lawgiver. The Lord is our king. He will save us. Now I want you to see what we said in Zechariah ten four. He will be the absolute monarch. And here in this verse, note something. The judicial the judicial department of justice will be in his control. The Lord is our judge. Oh, my beloved, justice is in the streets today lying many times, as in past times. But when the Lord is king upon the earth, righteous judgment will be his decree. And the Lord, says the prophet, will be our judge. He will control the justice department. You know, beloved, we have our own different departments of government. But the justice department in the days of our Lord's reign will be under his authority. And the HBI will be in control. Heaven's Bureau of Investigation. For the angels will be used in that day. For the angels will take out of the earth everything that offends I'm telling you when the heavenly hosts come down to the earth, they're going to find every ungodly sinner and get him out of the place. Where man fails in his judicial responsibility, the Lord Jesus will never fail. And the angels will be the instruments of justice to carry out the righteousness of his reign in relation to judging the earth. Hallelujah! Water came. But then no. Not only the judicial department, but the legislative department of the government will be in its control. The Lord is our lawgiver. No Democrats. No Republicans. No nothing. Our politics. The Lord is our lawgiver. And you have only to read Matthew five, six and seven, and you've got the constitution of his law, the constitution of his kingdom. And you can't plead the Fifth Amendment either in that day. For it says in that great section, I say unto you, I say unto you, I say unto you, I say unto you, His authority is final, but it will be righteous. And then the prophet says, not only the judicial department, not only the legislative branch of the government, but even the executive branch, the Lord is our king. King of kings, Lord of lords, reigning over the earth in that day. Hallelujah, we are the kings. But oh my beloved, listen. You and I do not need to wait for that day. Can I quote the poet who has wrote that lovely hymn, King of my life I crown thee now, thine shall the glory be, and oh the precious joy that they that know thy name will put their trust in thee, and they will say he's my king. the absolute ruler of my life the absolute monarch over all that I am and all that I have for in that coming day the Lord will be king over all the earth but in this day they that know thy name will put their trust in thee and they will say he's my king four precious titles my cornerstone, my nail, my battle bow, my absolute ruler and king. Isn't he great? And as we sang tonight, isn't he wonderful? And the joy of knowing these names carry with their meaning the greatness of his character for our blessing and for our benediction. only we pray that everyone can say thank God he's my cornerstone he's my nail he's my battle bow he's my absolute king oh brother and sister let's say it to him and you who may not be saved bless your heart why don't you trust him now shall we pray father we thank thee for the glories of our Lord Jesus. What greatness there is implied in every name belonging to him. And these four precious titles, how blessed they are. May each soul in thy presence bowed, be able to say right now, thank you, Lord, you're my nail. You're my cornerstone. You're my nail. You're my battle bow. And you're my king. And if there's anyone who cannot, Lord, open their mouth and heart to say tonight, Lord Jesus, I'll trust thee as my cornerstone now. I'll trust thee now as my name. I'll trust thee now as my battle bow. I trust thee now and forever to be my King. For we ask it giving thanks in thy precious and worthy name, Lord Jesus. Amen.