The title that I have assigned to our study is Loving the Place Where God Dwells. Loving the Place Where God Dwells. In the immediate assessment of the psalmist's words here in Psalm 87, we find that the psalmist has a particular affection for Mount Zion, which we know to be Jerusalem. because God has a particular affection for that city. If you're taking notes this evening, the first truth that I want you to notice from the psalm is God's unique dwelling place in Jerusalem. God's unique dwelling place in Jerusalem. And this is the overall theme of the entire psalm. The overall theme of the psalm is the Lord's exclusive affection for Jerusalem. Look at it once again and notice the particular statements that are expressed by way of affirming God's unique love for this city. The psalmist begins by declaring that the foundation for the place where God established His holy city, which is the place where others gathered to worship Him with an eye specifically toward the Messiah, is in the holy mountains of Zion and Moriah. Verse two, the Lord loves the gates of Zion or Jerusalem more than any of the places in the world and even among Israel. Though there were at the time that this psalm was written other great cities and foreign places which boasted great power and great prestige in a human sense. Though there were other places among the nation of Israel where God's people dwelt in peace and prosperity and in order in their quiet dwelling place. It was the city of God, which we know to be Jerusalem, that God specifically chose for His worshipers to encounter His glory. It was in Jerusalem where God's people came to worship Him both in a individual sense and a collective sense. It was in Jerusalem where God revealed Himself to others through the declaration of His word and the foreshadowing of the sacrifice that is to come. Though God demonstrated His love, mercy, and grace to other places throughout the world, though God established other cities throughout Israel, the expressive theme of this particular psalm of praise is that the Lord has a unique love for the place where those who love Him worship Him. The Lord has a special regard for the place where God, through Christ, will offer himself as a sacrifice for the sins of his people. It is the place where Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, will be slain in the place of his sheep. Just as Abraham was directed by God to offer his son as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah, and God provided a ram in the place of Isaac, so from the psalmist's perspective, in time he knows that God will provide his only son as a sacrifice for those whom God will redeem. This is important to understand. The psalmist's affection for Jerusalem is not physical or political in nature, it is spiritual in nature. The psalmist does not express his affection for Jerusalem because of its outward beauty or its military strength. The psalmist expresses his affection for Jerusalem because it is the place where Jesus Christ the Messiah is magnified and adored. Jerusalem is the place where the person and work of Jesus Christ is depicted. Just as Mount Moriah in Abraham's day pointed to the place where the temple would be built during the days of Solomon, so in the writing of this psalm, Mount Zion is pointing to Mount Calvary. just as King David and King Solomon ruled and reigned in Jerusalem as great kings. So the psalmist is anticipating the coming of the King of kings and Lord of lords who is greater than King David and King Solomon. Do you see? The psalmist does not love Jerusalem for Jerusalem's sake. The psalmist loves Jerusalem for Jesus's sake. His affection is not focused on a particular geographical location. His affection is not focused on a particular building and the buildings that surround that building around the city. His affection is not focused on the historical significant and military conquests that have taken place in the past. The psalmist's affection for Jerusalem centers around his relationship with Jesus Christ. The psalmist has a particular affection for Jerusalem because God loves Jesus Christ. and others who know Jesus Christ in a saving way come to Jerusalem to worship Him in spirit and in truth through the person and work of Jesus Christ. You see, the psalmist has a love for this city because, verses four through six, It will be the place where non-Jewish worshipers who were once deemed as the enemies of God will come to know the Lord through a new birth. Notice the mentioning of birth in verse four, verse five, and verse six. Likewise, the psalmist has a particular affection for Jerusalem because verse seven, it will be the place where the springs of salvation will flow from Jerusalem to the uttermost parts of the earth. It is the well that will provide the world with grace. This is the first truth. I want us to understand in the examination of this psalm, while it is true that God is omnipresent, that is, He dwells in every place at once, it is also true that God uniquely manifests His presence to His people as they come to worship Him in Jerusalem. While it is true that God has a general love for all people in all places, and God can easily hear the prayers of others in their private dwelling places outside of Jerusalem, It is also true that God has established this holy city as a unique public place of worship where the person and work of Jesus Christ is adored. The psalmist has a particular love for Jerusalem. Why? Because God has a particular love for Jerusalem. The first truth that is staring us in the face in Psalm 87 is the truth that God in times past, namely under the Old Covenant, had a unique dwelling place in Jerusalem. The second truth that is staring us in the face in Psalm 87 is the truth that God, since the time of Christ, has a unique dwelling place among His people as they assemble among local churches. In our reading of Psalm 87, it is vital that we read this psalm in its historical grammatical context. Yet at the same time, it is also vital that we read it in its prophetical Christ-centered context. What is said in these seven verses have application for New Testament Christians today. Remember what the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10, 11, and Romans 15, 4. Paul says, that which has been written aforetime, speaking of the Old Testament scriptures, that which has been inspired and preserved through the law, the prophets, the Psalms, and the Proverbs, was written for our admonition and learning. In other words, that which has been said in times past by God was meant to teach all people at all times truths about the gospel. So as we read what has been written about Jerusalem thousands of years ago and understand it from the psalmist's perspective, we also need to read what has been written about Jerusalem and relate it to what has happened from the time of Jesus Christ until now. And in so doing, we ask, in what ways? Does God's unique electing love relate to us? In what ways are glorious things spoken of Him in those places that are known to be places of worship? And what is all this mentioning of Gentiles being born and belonging to the citizenship of Jerusalem? What is this mentioning of singers playing instruments and springs, which symbolize living water, being among the place where God dwells? Well, it's very obvious in the reading of this psalm that the Spirit of God is moving the psalmist to speak of the blessings that are in and among Christ's church. Don't miss the specific prophetical symbols that are just bleeding throughout the text. They're so obvious in their fulfillment with the local New Testament church. In our contemplation of what we read in the gospel, in our contemplation of what we read in the book of Acts, do you know what we find? We find that God sent his son, Jesus Christ, into the world to build his church. Remember, Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. What is this church, a physical building? No, it is a spiritual people. So did Christ keep his word? Did he build his church? Is he building his church? Will he build his church? The answer is an affirmative yes and amen to the glory of God. In the seeking and the saving of his people, through the very purpose for which he came, Matthew 121, as he offered a sacrifice of himself to God upon the Holy Mount, he became the founder of a spiritual house and a more blessed citizenship than Jerusalem of old. Don't miss this now. Following the sacrifice, that was offered unto God on Mount Calvary by Jesus Christ. Do you know where specifically God caused there to be the establishment of a new nation, a new people, a new city filled with Jews and Gentiles? I'll give you a hint. It rhymes with Acts chapter two. In Acts chapter two on the day of Pentecost, in Jerusalem, as others came to the place of worship, God poured out his spirit upon a people from every nation, and he caused such people who heard his word to become citizens of a holy nation, as Peter tells us in 1 Peter two. You see, in a spiritual saving sense, those who've been born again by the Spirit of God, those who truly know Jesus Christ, those who've been made to be citizens of heaven are the Israel of God. They are those who've been circumcised in the heart. They are those who by faith are the children of Abraham. And where is it that such faith is adored, taught about, and defended? Where is it that God has uniquely established His presence to dwell as others come to worship Him? Answer, in and through local churches. Now to be clear, the church is not a replacement of Israel or Jerusalem, but we do find throughout the New Testament scriptures that the church is the established place where God's people are to love, belong to, and worship God. Look at verse one and think about what is said by the psalmist and what is said by the apostles in the New Testament. Think about it. Where is Christ's foundation? Christ's foundation is in his word. Who were the foundational people of his church? The disciples. Where were they sent out of? Jerusalem. God's word is the pillar and the ground of truth for the church. Does the Lord love his sheep more than the goats? Yes, John chapter 10, Jesus Christ came to the world to die for the sheep. Verse two, the Lord loved the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. God has a special, unique, intimate love for those who love him. Does the Lord love his true churches more than the dance clubs, more than the casinos, more than the bars, more than the country clubs, more than the beautiful cathedrals which are full of dead orthodoxy? Without question. Even if that particular body, which we call the church, doesn't look beautiful to the world, in God's sight it is. It's more glorious than any Trump Tower you will ever see. And what do you suppose glorious things are spoken about Jesus Christ in this world? Verse three, glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Where do you suppose people of every nation are joined together in worship? Where do you suppose living water, verse seven, is freely offered to all who believe? In the church. Glorious things are spoken about God in and among his house through his word. The living water is offered through the invitation of the gospel. Whosoever is a thirst, come to the water and drink. Come buy wine. Come buy milk without money and without price. You see, just as the psalmist had a unique love for Jerusalem because God had a unique love for Jerusalem, so we are to have a unique love for the church because God has a unique love for the church. Ephesians 5, 25, husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and he gave himself for it. Why do we come into this place Sunday by Sunday? Why do we come into this place Wednesday by Wednesday? What is our driving motivation? If we know Christ, the answer ought to be our driving motivation to break away from all the busyness of life, to prepare ourselves to come and meet before the Lord is Him. Our motivation is Him. We do not come to this place because of its beautiful geographical location. We do not come to this place because of the physical buildings that we can ooh and ah over. We do not come for the fun programs that the church offers. We do not come to feed our face through the potlucks. We come because the church is the place that God has ordained to be the means of meeting with him. We come because the church is the place where God's word is spoken about. Glorious things are spoken of Christ in the church, at least they ought to be. We come because Christ is lifted up and he's remembered through the ordinance of the Lord's table and the ordinance of baptism. We come because this is the place where God is drawing, convincing, convicting, and converting those who are without hope and without God in this world. We come because our praise and our prayer or a sweet-smelling savor to God. In Christ, we belong to the spiritual city of the living God, which is the heavenly Jerusalem. In Christ, we are lively stones. build up together as a spiritual house who offers spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable unto God. In Christ, Peter says, we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation of peculiar people who show forth the praises of Him who called us out of darkness and brought us into His marvelous life. In the past, we were not the people of God, but now, because of God's grace, we are the people of God, and the people of God desire to be among the people of God to worship the God that they love. This is the heartbeat of the New Testament Scriptures. From Acts chapter two onward, they were together as one. They were in one accord, worshiping, loving, obeying, and serving their God. The heartbeat of the Old Testament believers was affection for Jerusalem. The heartbeat of New Testament believers is affection for Christ's church, which is the dwelling place of God. Where does Christ uniquely dwell with his people? Answer, in and among his church. Now, can God speak to others outside of his church? Absolutely. Is there something that God does through the church when God's people gather in faith and obedience to his command not to forsake the assembly without question? The Lord loveth the gatherings of his people more than any other dwelling places of the world. The Lord loves his people in a saving and sanctifying way more than any other group of people dwelling upon earth. Why? because they are His children. They are His elect ones. They are His sheep. They are Christ's bride. They are His temple through which the Spirit dwells. In the Old Testament, the Jews assembled to worship in Jerusalem. In the New Covenant, God's people, a symbol for worship among the church. And praise the Lord, there's coming a day where all of God's children will worship their Savior in the unique place where He dwells in all of His glory. And we know such a place to be, the New Jerusalem. This psalm is so lively. This is the third truth that we meet with in this psalm. The first truth we meet with in its historical context is God's unique dwelling place in Jerusalem. The second truth we meet with in the prophetical context is God's unique dwelling place among His church, among His people, among specific bodies of baptized believers. The third truth we meet with is the perfectly fulfilled context of God's unique dwelling place in heaven. What is heaven? Heaven is the greater Zion. It is the city that our spiritual forefathers looked for, Hebrews chapter 11. That city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. There's that word foundations again, going back to verse one of our text. What is heaven? Heaven is the place where glorious things are spoken of about Jesus Christ. Heaven is the place where believers from every tribe, every people, every language, every nation will be gathered together to worship the Lamb that was slain. Heaven is the place, verse 7. where singers will sing praises to the King of kings and Lord of lords. Heaven is the place, verse seven, where we will drink and be perfectly be satisfied with the springs of living water. Do you see the connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament and that which is to come? the future testament, shall we call it, the heavenly testament. The Old Testament is handing the baton to the New Testament, who is handing the baton to John, speaking of Revelation and that which is to come. And likewise, John, in Revelation, is receiving the baton from Jesus Christ and what he taught his disciples, and that was the fulfillment of what the prophets spoke about in the Old Testament. And all of that, Genesis to Revelation, will culminate in the gathering of Christ's perfect church. If you are in Christ now, at this moment, you are a citizen of heaven. You are now on a journey to the celestial city. You are now, as we sing, marching to Zion. So as we gather to worship and praise the God that we love, our affections are set not here on earth, our affections are set on things above. Those who know Christ in a personal saving way like Paul, have a desire to depart and be with Christ. For us to live is Christ, to die is gain. We desire, even though we love this church oh so much, we desire to be in the perfect church with the perfect pastor. It's okay to say amen. All say amen first. Though we've never been to heaven, those of us who know Christ in sincerity and in truth have a special affection for heaven. Why? Because it is the place where our great God dwells. There are the three elements of Psalm 87. That which was in the old covenant, that which is in the new covenant, and that which will be when Christ returns. The love and the longing for the Jews in the Old Testament was physical Israel and physical Jerusalem. The love and longing for Jews and Gentiles in the New Testament is the spiritual union we have in Christ through Christ's church. And the love and longing for those who know Christ, who worship among the church is the heavenly city of God. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The gospel that is interweaves throughout all of time and all of scripture, and it points to the Lord Jesus Christ. It all connects with such unifying beauty. prophecies spoken about, prophecies fulfilled, and prophecies yet to be fulfilled that will be perfectly fulfilled at the coming of Christ. As I conclude, let me apply these truths by asking you, first and foremost, are you a citizen of heaven? That's all that matters in this life. It makes no difference. If you are a citizen of the United States, a citizen of Mexico, a citizen of Guatemala, a citizen of Costa Rica, a citizen of Iran, of Iraq, of Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, South Korea, Canada, it makes no difference. To be received by God, you must be a citizen of heaven. Have you been saved to the uttermost? Has your soul been satisfied with the living waters that Jesus Christ provides? This is John chapter four, the woman at the well focused on physical water. And by the way, who's also focused about physical places and physical worship. Will our fathers worship in this physical location in Jerusalem? No, those who are to worship God must worship him in spirit and in truth. And so she said, as she ran to town believing that this was the Christ, come see a man who told me all things, is not this the Christ? She came for physical water, she found spiritual water for her soul. Have you found spiritual satisfaction for your soul? Has your heart been satisfied with the living waters of the gospel? Do you have the assurance that you know God, and that God through Christ knows you as his child. If not, today is the day of salvation. Now is the accepted time. If you are here unsure that you will be received in the kingdom of God when you die, the invitation is still offered to you. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. that whoso believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And then let me ask those who know Christ in a saving way, where do your affections lie? You've brought your body to church, but where's your heart? It's possible to bring your bodies to church and leave your heart at home. It's possible to do Christian, religious things in the name of Jesus all while your soul is detached. So I'm asking, where do your affections lie? In this world or in the world to come? Do your affections lie in the physical things of this life or in the spiritual realities of the gospel in Jesus Christ? Do you recognize that God loves the gatherings of his people more than anything else on earth? This is Psalm 133. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unison as they worship God. How was your affiliation and attendance? toward the house of God? What is your attitude toward the Sunday services and the midweek prayer meetings? Is it your desirable delight to come and worship Christ with Christ's people, or is it your dull duty to come into God's house and to worship? You need to understand that what takes place among these gatherings, what takes place among the church is only preparation for the church to come. It's only preparation for heaven. Everything from the singing, to the teaching, to the prayers offered to God, to the fellowship with God's people is all about what Jesus Christ has done and what Jesus Christ will do one day. We look at the psalm and we see unquestionably the psalmist had a love for the things that God loves. The question you need to ask yourself tonight is, do you? Do you love the things that God loves or do you hate the things that God loves? Do you despise the things that God loves? This is a proof or evidence of true salvation. The true convert, the true Christian will love the things that God loves. It is the false convert. It's the one with false assurance of faith that says they love God, but in their heart, they do not have a hunger and thirst for righteousness. Do you have a love for the things that God loves? And the proof that you do doesn't rest in what you say. It rests in how you live, how you worship, and how you interact with God's dwelling places. Where do you stand this evening? Let's pray.