July 11

O afflicted city, lashed by storms, without solace, surely I will set your stones in antimony and lay your foundations with sapphires. — Isa 54:11 BSB

By these “stones,” which the Lord has promised to “lay with fair colors,” I believe we can understand the blessed truths of the gospel that God lays into the soul. These “fair colors” are deeply ingrained and embedded in the very essence of the stone, not simply painted on the surface. They are like beautiful marbles, with every vibrant hue and vein penetrating to the core. Such are the truths of God, beautiful in their entirety, filled with grace and glory down to their inmost depths.

Yet, these colors remain hidden until God himself brings them forth and embeds them into the soul. While God’s Word may be beautiful in itself, it only becomes truly beautiful to us when the Lord lays it into our hearts. That’s when we see its fair colors. How often do we read the Word without seeing its beauty? But when the very same passage comes with sweetness and power to our hearts, it suddenly reveals an indescribable beauty—it becomes “a stone of fair colors.” Salvation full and free, the pardoning love of God, the precious blood of the Lamb, justification by Christ’s imputed righteousness, grace overflowing, eternal mercy, everlasting life—these are just a few of the precious stones of fair colors that God the Spirit engraves upon our consciences.