My subject tonight is Zion, the Habitation of God. I'm not going to read all of this Psalm, Psalm 87, but I do want to read the first three verses, and as God leads, we'll get through these. His foundation is in the holy mountains. That is the foundation of Zion. Zion being the people of God. Zion being the city of God. Zion being all of those, the church on earth and the church in heaven. Zion which is the habitation of God. And then he says in the second verse, the Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things. of Thee are spoken, O city of God." And then he uses the word Selah. How blessed we are to be assured from the Word of God that our Lord dwells among us. He said, I'll never leave you and I'll never forsake you. Though our mother and father forsake us, though men and women and friends turn their backs on us, God never will. He has loved us from old eternity. He loved us when we were dead in trespasses and sins. He loved us when we had no love for Him. and He will love us forever. He loved us in Christ and therefore He gave us to His Son in covenant love and grace. The Father, He Himself gifted us to one who is mighty. One who is altogether faithful and altogether lovely. One from whose lips grace flowed. One who came into this world and laid down His life to satisfy God's law and God's justice. One who ever lives, who represents us. There is right now at the right hand of God, a glorious advocate. He is our Great High Priest. He is our Mediator. And He sits yonder upon His throne of majesty at the right hand of God. Always, always looking out for the welfare of His people. I speak to some people, perhaps, whose hearts are heavy, whose hearts are broken. I think of the song in our hymn book, Does Jesus Care? Oh, yes, He cares. I know He cares, for His heart is touched with our grief. Others around you may not see the burdens that you bear within you, but He does. He knows every thought that you have. He knows the heaviness that you feel. And He sticks with you closer than a brother would. And He's always for you. And so we read in Romans 8, if God be for us, who can be against us? Our Lord is for Zion. He always has been. Zion is the city of God. Now literally and physically, Zion and the daughter of Zion, these terms are sometimes used to denote the whole city of Jerusalem. Including, especially, a particular mountain. That is Mount Moriah. Mount Moriah. That means, the word Moriah means Jehovah is our instructor. Especially Jehovah is our instructor in doctrine. Never be afraid of the word doctrine. Doctrine is good. The word doctrine just means the teachings of God. That can't be harmful. There are people who foolishly say things like, I just want to hear about Jesus. I don't want to hear of your doctrine. Well, let me tell you something. If you want to hear about Jesus, you'll have to hear of His doctrine. Because that's merely His teachings. He's the great teacher. And that which He teaches, that instruction that He gives us, is His doctrine. and it drops down like the dew of heaven to refresh our souls. Moriah literally means then, Jehovah is our teacher. Take something else, this word Moriah means chosen by Jehovah. Not only is Jehovah our teacher, but Jehovah is the one who chose us. All of Zion, all of Mount Moriah, spiritually now, these are the chosen of God. And then if we go literally and physically, all of Zion, all of the daughter of Zion, that is Jerusalem, all of Israel, they're the chosen of God. Of all the nations of this earth, God chose one nation through whom He would especially deal and reveal Himself. To that nation He gave His Word. To that nation He sent the Law and the Prophets. To that nation He gave the promise of His Son coming into the world. Our Lord Jesus is the seed of Abraham. He's the son of David. Israel was a chosen nation. God, because He would, He chose Israel to be a special people. Now, by that I do not mean, and the Bible doesn't mean, that all of natural Israel were converted. They weren't. They weren't. But there was within Israel a remnant according to the election of grace. But as far as the entire nation, God said, this is My people. And they were typical of a picture of spiritual Israel. God's people. God's nation. A holy nation that God chose before the foundation of the world. And so this word, Moriah, it means that Jehovah is our Teacher. And Jehovah is the one who chose us. We need only go again to the book of Ephesians chapter 1 and read that the Lord is... We're to bless Him. We're to eulogize Him. We're to honor Him. We're to exalt Him because He had from the beginning chosen us unto salvation. He chose us to be a holy people and predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto Himself. So, this word, Moriah, literally means, and also spiritually means, chosen by Jehovah. When you feel down in the dumps, get worrying about yourself, maybe you've got aches and pains, Who doesn't? Especially as you get older. And things go wrong. And you have troubles and trials. Just reflect on this. Jehovah chose you to be one of His children. Now you meditate on that. You dwell on that. You think of others in your family, others that you come in contact with through the week who have no interest in the gospel and perhaps they never will, or maybe they will, it's up to the Lord. But look at you, interested in the gospel, interested in God's glory, interested in the Word of God. And when you hear of what God in Christ has done for you, your soul just rejoices. There's a joy that wells up within you. Jehovah chose me. And I know sometimes people come to me and say, I don't know why the Lord chose me unto salvation. Well, I don't either. Except... He willed to do it. It just pleased Him to do it. That's the only answer you can come up with. The Lord hides the truth from some and He opens the truth to others. And our Lord Jesus said, even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight. Why did God choose you? It seemed good in His sight. Now there is no other answer. It isn't because of who you are in and of yourself or what God foresaw that you would do or that God foresaw as you looked down through the halls of time that you would believe Him. It's not that at all because if left to yourself, you would never have believed Him. He chose you because He loved you and He loved you because He would. And we thank Him. I tell you, a right view of God's election unto salvation, that we were chosen by Jehovah, it humbles you. It humbles you. You say, Lord, thank you for choosing me. Thank you for the effectual call that came to me. Why was I made to hear Thy voice and enter Father's room when thousands made a wretched choice and rather starved than come? Was it the same love that spread the feast that sweetly forced me in? I like that. Else I had still refused to taste of the grace of God and perished in my sin. Owe it all to the Lord. Our message is just simply salvation is of God. Salvation is of the Lord from beginning to end. So this word that is Moriah, which was literally a hill in Jerusalem, in Zion, it means Jehovah is our instructor. John chapter 6, they shall all be taught of God. That's what it says. All of God's people. And everybody that hath heard and learned of the Father, you know what they do? They come to Christ. Everybody who's heard from God, God speaks to the heart. He speaks through His Word. He speaks by His Spirit. He speaks in a way that we hear Him, not in an audible voice, but He stirs the heart. And He teaches us. And He teaches us because He's Jehovah who chose us unto salvation. And Moriah has another meaning. Thirdly, it means what Jehovah will make one to see. What Jehovah will make one to see. So I'm going into this, and I want you to understand, leaving or forsaking the subject of Zion. But what I want to say to you is that Mount Moriah is Zion. It is Zion. It is the New Jerusalem. It is the city of God. And as you go through the Old Testament, I'll just take some time here to show you some passages of Scripture. Go back to Genesis chapter 22. Now this is the habitation of God. This is where the Lord told Abraham, I'm going to meet you in the land of Moriah. Jehovah is our instructor. Jehovah chose, the one who chooses. Jehovah makes one to see. Nobody else can make you see spiritual things but Jehovah. The great I Am. And that's a name Christ took to Himself. Several times He said, I Am. I Am. You'll recognize this passage of Scripture. This is where Abraham learned that Jehovah will provide the lamb for a sacrifice. And Abraham learned that Jehovah is his teacher, his instructor, and God is such an excellent teacher, He teaches Abraham about the necessity of and the glory of substitution. And He is going to learn this lesson well. Now listen, if Jehovah is going to instruct you, you will be a learner. You say, I'm so hard-headed, nobody can teach me anything. God can teach you. You see, by nature, when it comes to spiritual things, all of us are hard-headed. And I'll throw in this, we're hard-hearted. and our minds and our hearts and our thoughts, we won't pay any attention to the truth of God. Oh, we may give it some shallow consideration, but there won't be any deep meditation and thinking about the things of God. He has to teach us. God's going to teach Abraham. And the Lord says to Abraham, and you know the story, He says, take Isaac up on a mount that I'll show you and offer him there as a burnt offering. Now look at the second verse. He says, God says to Abraham, take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah. Jehovah is the instructor. Jehovah who chooses. Jehovah who provides. for us, the provider, the one who will make us to see. And I won't read all of this. I'll read a couple of other verses as I get further into this. And you know the story, and for the benefit of those of you who don't, this is a great chapter. There's no question about it. This is a magnificent chapter of Holy Scripture, and you need to get well acquainted with Genesis chapter 22. So Abraham, he takes Isaac. They go out three days journey as two servants that go along and then Abraham says to the two servants, now you men wait here while I take Isaac and we're going to go up on the mountain, we're going to worship. And then Abraham said, and come back again. That's faith. He's going there to carry out that deed that God had instructed him to do. Offer his son as a burnt offering to the Lord. Isaac and Abraham walk along. There's the wood strapped on Isaac's back. There's the fire. Abraham has the sacrificial knife. Isaac remembers what his father said to the two servants, "'Abide ye here while I and the lad go yonder and worship.'" And Isaac, you see, he understood what very few people understand today, and very, very few preachers. There can be no worship of God without the Lamb. You leave the lamb out, you can have some kind of religious service, and you can have some religious excitement, but you're not going to worship God. You can't. That's impossible. All over this world, on this day, People have met together under the guise of religion, and they're saying, we're going to worship God. And they don't even mention the Lamb. Don't even mention His sacrifice. They don't talk about His blood. They don't talk about His death that satisfied justice. They don't even talk about men and women, boys and girls, being sinners and needing a Savior. They leave out those things because they're offensive to the natural man. And they have all but forsaken the Lamb of God. Well, Isaac said, my father, okay, here's the wood, fire, knife, where's the lamb? And Abraham said, my son, God will provide Himself a lamb for the burnt offering. That's satisfied, Isaac. He's satisfied. I'll tell you when you'll be satisfied to come here and listen, or go and listen to Brother Alan preach, or whoever it is. I'll tell you when you'll be satisfied is when you fall in love with the Lamb of God. That's when you'll be satisfied to hear about Him. And He'll thrill your soul. So they go on. Abraham builds an altar. Puts the wood down. Isaac, yes father? Get up on top of that wood. And why, Abraham means business. And he takes that knife out. And he raises that knife to do what God told him to do. And the Lord said, look at verse 11. And the angel of the Lord, this is the Son of God in pre-incarnate form, the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, here am I. And He said, "'Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him. For now I know your faith's been proved, that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy Son, thine only Son,' watch it, "'from Me.'" From Me. This is not a created angel. This is the uncreated angel. This is the angel of the covenant, the surety of the covenant. This is our Lord Jesus. And then watch this. This is a beautiful picture because the Lord is going to be the instructor. He's going to teach Abraham here, and He's going to teach Isaac. He's going to teach them a lesson that they will never ever forget. And let me tell you something, if God ever teaches you the glory and the beauty of substitution, you'll never get over it. Christ took my place. He died my death. He bore the wrath of God for me. If God the Spirit ever teaches you that, you'll rejoice in that forever. Forever. Watch this. When God spoke, that's when Abraham lifted up his eyes. You see, God has to speak before there's going to be faith. Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked. When will a man look to Christ the Substitute? When God speaks. And not until then. when God speaks. And when he looked, behold, be amazed, be startled, a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. When he looked, he saw a substitute, Christ the Lord. And he offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And God taught him substitution. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh. The name of that place is Moriah. This is where Zion will be. This is where the city of God is going to be. This is where Jerusalem is going to be built. And I'll show you that. Abraham said the name of this place is Jehovah Jireh. The Lord will see. He sees our need. He provides the atonement. He provides the righteousness we have, but we can't produce. And the Lord will provide. He will provide all we need. And all we need is Jesus Christ Himself. He's all we need. We are complete in Him. And the Lord will be seen as our great Savior in the provision that He makes. Moriah. That's Zion. That's Zion. And then turn with me to 2 Samuel chapter 24. 2 Samuel chapter 24. Let me show you something else about Zion and Moriah. In 2 Samuel chapter 24, David, in his arrogance and in his desired to manifest the greatness of his kingdom, he conducted a census, he ordered a census taken of all of Israel. God was angry. Because David didn't do it for the glory of God, David did it for the glory of David. So the Lord sent an angel, the angel of the Lord. Again, it's Christ. And He sent some sort of pestilence. Seventy thousand men died in Israel from that pestilence, disease, or whatever it was. And David was sorrowful. He said, I did wrong, don't take it out on the people. And the Lord said to the angel, it's enough. Don't kill anybody else. Issues of life and death belong to the Lord. He said, it's enough. It's enough. And then one of God's faithful preachers, a man by the name of Gad, Gad told David, here's what you need to do. He's sent by the Lord. Go up to a barn, a threshing floor owned by a man by the name of Arona. And you go ahead and buy that land from him, buy that barn, and build an altar there and worship God. offer a sacrifice on that altar. You see, over and over again in the Word of God, we find the remedy to man's sin is the sacrifice. Never anything else. It's always the sacrifice. And so, David goes to this man, the Jebusite, And he says, I want to offer a sacrifice to God. The man said, you're the king. This is a privilege to have you come on my property. I'll give it to you for nothing. It's yours, free. Sign the deed right over to you. David said, no. I'm not going to offer God anything that somebody else has given me. I'm going to buy it." And he did buy it for 40 pieces of silver. And he built an altar. Chapter 24, look at verse 24 and 25. And the king said unto Aronah, Nay, in other words, I don't want you to give it to me. but I will surely buy it of thee at a price. Neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God, of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And so the Lord was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel. Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sins. But wait. You know that ram that was offered up for Isaac? Did that ram put away the sins of Isaac? No. Did the offering up of these burnt offerings, did they do away with David's sins and the sins of all Israel? No. It pictured another sacrifice, the great sacrifice of our Lord Jesus. Well, you say, what's the significance of reading that passage? Well, I'll show you. Go to 2 Chronicles 3. And here, I'm trying to weave these things together. We're talking about Zion, the habitation of God. And Zion literally was Moriah. That's where Abraham offered up Isaac. That's where David bought the threshing floor of the Jebusite, Arona, and then built an altar and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord. Let's go to 2 Chronicles 3 and verse 1. And here, Orona, it's the same man, but he has a different name. And then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah. Now we know that this is the same location where he's going to build the temple where Abraham offered up Isaac. And we get further information here, it says, in Mount Moriah where the Lord appeared unto David his father in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of Ornan, the Jebusite. And then he began to build the temple. So now we know where Abraham offered up Isaac, and where David offered up the sacrifices unto God on the threshing floor of that Jebusite, that's where the temple was built. In Zion. In the city of God, literally. That is, in Moriah. This temple is where God was worshipped. And there is no way that we could even estimate how many thousands and thousands and ten thousands of animals died and were burnt on the altar there at the temple on Moriah. But once again, all of them together didn't put anybody's sins away. was instructive, but it didn't remove anybody's guilt because the blood of bulls and goats can't do that. Now, let's fast forward to the New Testament and our Lord Jesus dying outside of Jerusalem there at Zion on the Mount of Moriah. That's where He died. We call it Calvary. But it's at Zion, there's Jerusalem, and just outside the gates of Jerusalem, there on Mount Moriah, is where He died. But his death was altogether different from the deaths of all of those animals. What the ram couldn't do for Isaac, what the animals of David couldn't do for David or all of Israel, what all the sacrifices couldn't do that were offered at the temple, There was a sacrifice offered at Moriah, at Mount Zion, which fully and finally put away all the sins of God's people and satisfied God's justice. Our Lord Jesus died. How could the death of one man avail so much? How could His death satisfy God? satisfied justice that demanded death for sin because of who He is. He's God in human flesh. He's the God-Man. And by His death, He satisfied God at the same location where that ram died and Isaac's dead. At the same location where David offered those sacrifices on the threshing floor. Same location where the temple was built. Essentially the same location. That's where Christ died. And settled the issue. Settled the issue. I'll tell you something, Zion, that's the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's the habitation of God. O blessed Jehovah, He dwells with His people because His law has been satisfied. That which was a barrier, our sinfulness, our Savior removed it. So God dwells with us. He dwells with you. Say, I'm such a sinful person. Yes, you are. Yes, you are in yourself and so am I. But washed in that fountain filled with blood and robed in the royal garments of the King, you're righteous in God's sight. And the Lord says, you're Zion. You're Zion. You're the city of God. And He's not ashamed to dwell with us either. Sometimes people, even children of God, can kind of get on the outs with one another and be ashamed to even be seen with one another. That's a terrible thing, but it happens. The Lord will never be ashamed to be seen with you. And one day when we get to glory, He will put us all on display before all the worlds, before all of the angels, both good angels and fallen angels, and before all of the ungodly. He'll put us on display. And we won't have trophies. We're not going to have trophies that we've won. We are the trophies. We're the trophies of His grace. And He'll present us unto Himself a spotless people, glorious, beautiful, perfect, righteous. in the Lord Jesus Christ who is Himself the Lord, our righteousness. I didn't get nearly as far in this message as I thought I would, but I've done run out of gas. That's about all I got. So, get your black folders and turn to number 19. I like this song. Though troubles assail me, Look at number 19. We'll stand and sing all these verses. Number 19.