Psalm 132 reads as follows. A song of degrees. Lord remember
David and all his afflictions. he swore unto the Lord and vowed
unto the mighty God of Jacob. Surely I will not come into the
tabernacle of my house nor go up into my bed. I will not give
sleep to mine eyes or slumber to mine eyelids until I find
out a place for the Lord and habitation for the mighty God
of Jacob. Lo we heard of it at Ephratah.
We found it in the fields of the wood. We will go into his
tabernacles we will worship at his footstool. Arise, O Lord,
into thy rest, thou and the ark of thy strength. Let thy priests
be clothed with righteousness, and let thy saints shout for
joy. For thy servant David's sake, turn not away the face
of thine anointed. The Lord hath sworn in truth
unto David, he will not turn from it. Of the fruit of thy
body will I set upon thy throne. If thy children will keep my
covenant, and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children
shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore. For the Lord hath
chosen Zion. He hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest forever. Here
will I dwell, for I have desired it. I will abundantly bless her
provision. I will satisfy her poor with
bread. I will also clothe her priests
with salvation. And her saints shall shout aloud
for joy. There will I make the horn of
David to bud. I have ordained a lamp for mine
anointed. His enemies will I clothe with
shame, but upon himself shall his crown flourish. Lord remember David and all his
afflictions. David here in this psalm will
not rest until he finds out a place for the Lord and habitation for
the mighty God of Jacob. He will not rest until he knows
where the Lord will dwell. Until he finds a resting place,
a habitation, a house for his Lord. That's his great desire. And the people of God The Israelites,
in coming to this psalm, approach unto the summit of their journey.
Here they are, having come up to Jerusalem, to Zion, to the
temple, to come and to worship at the feet of God, to come into
his presence, into his habitation. into his house, unto the temple,
as one company gathered at the feet of their God. This is where
the people of God are heading, they're coming to God, they're
coming into his presence, they're coming to his habitation. But
where is it? Where is he? In that day, They
took a physical journey to a physical city upon a hill. They came to
a physical temple and offered physical sacrifices upon a physical
altar. In that day they came to a place
upon this earth where God promised to meet with them. But where
is he today? Where does he dwell and how can
we find him? Is he there in the temple in
Jerusalem? If we travel there will we come
and find God? Will we know his presence? Will
we come under his habitation? Does God dwell in the temple? Does he dwell in the steeple
houses, the churches up and down the land, these grand cathedrals? Does he dwell in Rome? No. He's
not there. You can go into these churches,
into these cathedrals and you will have a sense of quiet and
calm and escape from the hustle and bustle of the world around
you. You will be filled with a certain
aura and emotion as though you've come out from this world and
come into the presence of God. But in reality that's just emotion,
that's just feeling. You're just in another building. There's no reason for God to
be there just because of where it is. or because of the stained
glass windows or the altar that men build? Does God dwell in the chapels,
the churches, the meeting houses? Are the simple meeting places
of the non-conformists the house of God? Are these buildings where
you will find him? No, not even there. not because
of the place, not because of the building. God does not dwell in buildings
made of stone at all. Paul in Romans speaks of calling
upon the Lord in chapter 10. He speaks of coming unto him,
and knowing him and he speaks of the folly of man in how man
in his religion thinks that he can discover him. Men seek to
bring God down to where they are. They seek to put him in
their buildings and make a place where they say God dwells in
their idolatry. Men carve idols before which
they bow down and worship. But they do the same with their
buildings and say this is where God is as though they can encapsulate
him and bring him down because they've declared here he will
dwell. Romans 10 Paul says Moses described
with the righteousness which is of the law that the man which
do if those things shall live by them but the righteousness
which is of faith speaketh on this wise say not in thine heart
who shall ascend into heaven that is to bring Christ down
from above or who shall descend into the deep that is to bring
up Christ again from the dead but what sayeth it The word is
neither even in thy mouth and in thy heart. That is the word
of faith which we preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation. For the Scripture saith, Whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference
between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is
rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Men, in their wisdom, in their
religion, in their works of religion, seek to bring Christ down from
heaven or bring him up from the grave. They seek to bring him
into their meeting places, into their presence. They seek to
summon him there as though something they can do can dictate to Almighty
God where he is and where he should go. They make themselves
God, and they make God their servant. They think that by their
doing, God will respond, as though he's duty-bound to respond to
what they do. So when they choose to follow
him, he must be there. When they choose to come before
him, he must come unto them. And when they choose to ignore
him, he must keep away. man puts himself in the place
of God, he puts himself on the throne of God and he builds up
his temples, his steeple houses, his cathedrals, his churches,
his chapels and says there's the house of God And he thinks
that when he comes into that building on the Sabbath day that
there he is in God's presence as though coming to God, coming
to his presence is to go to a place upon this earth. But God doesn't dwell in buildings
made of stone. Nor is he ruled by man and man's
will or his works. God is God. And he dwells where he dwells. And it's not in the physical
building on the earth. The house of God is not a place
that you can go to in the town and find there it is. And every
day that you go in, you've come into the house of God. What does faith say? The word is neither even in thy
mouth and in thy heart, that is the word of faith which we
preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved. Christ dwells in the hearts of
his people by faith. Where his people are There he
is. And he comes unto them through
the word of faith which we preach, the gospel. Although the children
of Israel ascended up unto Jerusalem, as we've seen in these Psalms,
that ascent and the message of those Psalms is a declaration
of Christ in the gospel. And the only ones amongst that
company who truly came into the presence of God when they ascended
up into Jerusalem, who truly knew what it was to come into
God's presence, were those who heard by faith the gospel, who
saw in these things the types and figures pointing them unto
Christ, whose eyes were opened to behold spiritual things. hid from the wise and prudent.
Yes, they were there as a people marching up. Yes, they came unto
the temple. Yes, they saw the priest and
the sacrifice. But if that's all they saw, they
saw nothing. And if all you see of the gospel
of Christ is a building, is a Bible, are hymns and worship, If all
you can see is that which is out, would you see nothing? But
if God opens your eyes to look through those things, through
the types and the figures of the gospel, to hear the word
of faith, and to see Christ crucified in the midst. to see the priest
going into the Holy of Holies on your behalf with his blood
and sprinkling it upon the mercy seat, to see him coming out when
the darkness is passed and pronouncing peace unto your soul. If God
gives you to see this, then you will know what it is to come
into the presence of God and to say truly this, is the house
of God. This psalm, Psalm 132, is all
about God's habitation. Here we've come, up the mount,
on our journey from this world, from our iniquity, from the gutter
in which we dwelt, from the depths of sin, and we've come by faith
with the people of God up into heaven's glory, up to the feet
of Jesus Christ, up to his habitation. We come by faith to discover
where God dwells, his dwelling place, his house. Surely I will not come into the
tabernacle of my house nor go up into my bed. I will not give
sleep to mine eyes or slumber to mine eyelids until I find
out a place for the Lord and habitation for the mighty. The ascent of these Psalms leaves
us here. Where? To Zion. Not Zion physically. but that
spiritual place in which the Lord truly dwells in that time
a physical people took a physical journey to a physical place but
truly this is a journey of faith a spiritual pathway a journey
into that which is hidden from the natural senses a mystery
to the natural man When we say we come unto Christ, when we
say He's our Lord and Saviour, when we speak of His Gospel,
when we speak of His glory, when we speak of His death, His sacrificial
death, His substitutionary death, the shedding of His blood and
the forgiveness of sins, when we speak of these things, the
natural man is mystified. It's a mystery to him, it's foolishness
to him. When we preach this, it's foolishness. Why do you believe these things?
Why do you spend your time seeking this God that we cannot see? If He be God, then why doesn't
He do this? And why doesn't He do that? Why
is there so much suffering in this world? Why are there so
many problems? Where is thy God? Why doesn't
He come and help us? It's a mystery to man. He cannot
see God. He cannot comprehend Him. He
wants a sign, he wants some evidence, he wants a miracle. Well when Christ walked upon
this earth, there were many that saw the evidence, they saw him
in person and never saw him. They saw his miracles and were
never convinced by them. There were those who saw him
crucified. who saw the darkness of the sun
taken away at midday for three hours, who heard the sound of
thunder and earthquake at the end, and knew that the veil of
the temple had been rent from top to bottom, and those who
were in the graves came forth. Tremendous things happened when
he died, and when he cried out, it is finished, and when he rose
again, and yet multitudes, could see nothing but the physical
phenomena before their eyes. They were blind to it. And so
today, you may come to this mysterious gospel and say, well, if you,
if God is real, let me see him. If God is real, perform a miracle,
do this, do that. And if he did it all today, you'd
no more believe than those who saw it all in Christ's day. and called out of him, we will
not have this man to reign over us. Away with this man, crucify
him, crucify him. That's what they cried and that's
what your heart and my heart cries out by nature. We hear
of him, we know of him and we put him to death in our hearts. We care not for him. And no amount
of religion, and no amount of going into the temples, the churches,
the cathedrals, the buildings that man make will get you any
nearer to God should you desire to seek Him. Perhaps some circumstance
comes upon your life that your life starts crumbling away, that
everything starts going wrong and you suddenly think, oh I
must seek God. Maybe there is a God. and you
go around trying to find him and you look to the physical
things and you go to the physical places and hear the physical
people but you never see him, you never discover him, you never
hear him because he's not in a physical place. The children of Israel in that
day went to a place which was a picture of that place. in which he dwells. They went
on a journey of faith, a spiritual pathway because Christ dwells,
God dwells in a place that's hidden from the natural eye.
He dwells by faith in the hearts of his people. This journey is
a journey to Zion. As one company united together,
knit together in Christ, they're gathered together as one company
brought by faith, brought by the Spirit, led up on a journey
into Zion. But Zion is a people chosen of
God and gathered of God. Zion is ascended by faith. And it's there in the gospel,
in Christ, by faith, that God meets with his people at a blood-sprinkled
altar. We, the people of God, his chosen
people, his peculiar people, are the temple of the Living
God, chosen by Him as stones, built up upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, built up upon the chief cornerstone
Christ. He builds His people together
as His temple and He comes in their hearts as one people to
dwell with them. They are the temple of the Holy
Spirit. And Christ dwells with them,
they are his bride. And Christ dwells the husband
with his bride, whom he loves, whom he gave himself for, whom
he washed perfect, spotless, without blemish in his own blood. He dwells with his bride and
just as a husband and wife in this world dwell together and
their dwelling place, their habitation is with one another. So Christ
dwells with his own. It does not matter where that
dwelling is. It matters that he is with her
and she is with him. it matters that they're together.
And so God's dwelling place is with his bride and her dwelling
place is with her husband when she comes by the gospel through
faith unto him and wherever she may be. In whatever circumstance,
in whatever trial, in whatever difficulty, no matter how dark
the place she may find herself, no matter how fiery the trial
she may be passing through, no matter how trying the circumstance,
no matter where she is, He is there. But a glance of faith
away. She can close her eyes to all
the enemies gathered around her and all the fiery trial round
about her and then open her eyes by faith and there's her Saviour
right there. The Word is nigh thee. The Word
is nigh thee. The Living Word, Christ, is nigh
thee. He's there, a breath away. a glance of faith away, in the
heart, never leaving nor forsaking that bride for whom he gave his
all. David writes, Lord remember David
and all his afflictions, how he swear unto the Lord and vowed
unto the mighty God of Jacob, surely I will not come into the
tabernacle of my house nor go up into my bed. I will not give
sleep to mine eyes or slumber to mine eyelids until I find
out a place for the Lord and habitation for the mighty God
of Jacob. This is David's great desire.
to find a place for the Lord and habitation. His great desire
truly was to find God, to be in his God's presence, to know
God, to dwell with him and to have God dwell with him. He wanted
to be with God every day, he wanted to be at his side, he
wanted to know his Lord was there with him, watching over him,
protecting him, guiding him, feeding him. He wanted to know
the Lord's love and mercy and forgiveness. And likewise every
true believer's great desire is to know God, to find God,
to come into his presence. and to find a place for the Lord
to dwell. Though we hear David's cries
here, through him we hear the Lord Jesus speaking. Lord, remember
me in all my afflictions. The Lord Jesus desired a place
for the Lord and habitation for the mighty God of Jacob. That's
why he came. He came into this world to save
a people, to wash that people in his blood and to gather that
people together as an habitation for his God. He came to build
the temple of his people together that God may come and dwell with
man. Christ Emmanuel, God with us,
came from the heights of heaven's glory into the darkness and depths
of this world to come unto a fallen and lost people, to wash and
cleanse them through his death and through his blood, that he
might make them a dwelling place and habitation for his God. And that habitation came through
his afflictions. David would not rest, he could
not give sleep to his eyes. slumber to his eyelids until
he found out a place for the Lord and habitation for the mighty
God of Jacob. And Christ could not rest, he
could not sleep, he could not find a dwelling place until he
found this place, until he brought this place in. He had no dwelling
place, no rest in this world. Christ God made man. God the Son taken upon himself
humanity, human flesh, a human soul, born of the Holy Ghost,
conceived in Mary, born a man in this world, journeyed through
this world. From the day he was born, he
took a journey heading up, as the Israelites did here, heading
up gradually towards Jerusalem, gradually towards the city, gradually
towards the altar. He went as a sacrifice. He went
as a priest with the sacrifice. Like Abraham with Isaac he took
the son, God took the son to the hill to slay him and Christ
went there to be slain. His whole life was a journey
to that place. But whilst he journeyed through
this world, We read of him in Matthew 8 20 that he said, the
foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests but the
son of man have not where to lay his head. The son of man
have not where to lay his head. He found no rest in place in
this world. He found no rest in place in
the physical world. He found no rest in place in
the religion of this world. He found no rest in place in
the nations of this world. He found no rest in place in
the wisdom of this world. He found no rest in place in
the so-called righteousness of this world. There was nothing
here. There was nowhere he could lay
down his head, spiritually speaking, not just physically. There was
nothing here. There was darkness and death
and sin and depravity. It's all dead. It's all ripe
to be consumed in the fires of God's justice. There's nothing
in man. that God could desire. There's
nothing in the flesh, in the physical realm, that he could
come unto. In the world he had nowhere to
lay his head. No home, no habitation, no house. Not in this world. And nor truly
did David. And nor truly, believer, will
you. You will find no rest for your
soul in anything outside of Christ and his gospel. Christ, like
David, like all God's people, was a stranger and sojourner
here. He was passing through, David
was passing through, and David's great desire was that he would
find a house for his God, where he may dwell with him forevermore. Like Abraham, as we read in Hebrews
11, by faith Abraham sojourned in the land of promise, as in
a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob,
the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a
city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. These all died in faith, not
having received the promises, but having seen them afar off,
and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed
that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they
that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
And surely if they had been mindful of that country from whence they
came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
But now they desire a better country. That is unheavenly. Wherefore God is not ashamed
to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city. Where is your heart? Where is
your home? Where is your habitation? Where
is your desire? Do you love this world and all
that's in it and all that's around you? Do you seek to cling on
to it and all that it can give you? Do you desire a long life
in this world? Will you do what you can to keep
healthy and live as long as you can because you love what this
world can give you? Or has God shown you the brevity
of life and the folly of grasping after what is below because you're
born and in a moment you're old and in a moment you're gone.
as he's shown you the foolishness of grasping this world's riches
and this world's pleasures and this world's status and all that
it can give you because it's like dust in your hands that
passes through your finger it's sand, it's grains, it's gone
you can't cling on to it and when you're laid in a grave you
go into eternity with nothing all that you labored for, all
your lifetime, all your riches, all the people you knew, all
the friendships you built up, all the acclaim and adulation
you may have built up, whatever you may grasp in this world,
it's all gone. But David, like Abraham, like Isaac,
like Jacob, the strangers and pilgrims on this earth, passing
through, seeking a country, a heavenly country. They could have turned
back to this world if they wanted but God showed them the poverty
of all that is here below, the poverty of man's religion, the
poverty of their own souls, the poverty of their own self-righteousness. He showed them that they had
nothing here and they are nothing, they were nothing. He shows us
those who are brought to believe that we are nothing before holy
god and we have nothing and we can bring no righteousness before
him we have nothing to pay but we seek a country and heavenly
country a better country and all those who do like david and
abraham god calls his children Wherefore
God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared
for them a city. Christ did not come for this
world and the things in this world, but he did come for a
people whom he calls out of this world. He did come for David. He did come for Abraham, for
Isaac, for Jacob. He did lead them out. He did
come to purify a people by the shedding of his own blood, to
form a habitation, to build a temple in which God dwells. The psalm goes on, Lo, we heard
of it at Ephratah, we found it in the fields of the woods, we
will go into his tabernacles, we will worship at his footstool. Where are you heading? Where
are you worshipping? This is where the people here
are heading, to worship at his footstool. to worship at the
feet of Jesus Christ, to behold He whose afflictions, greater
than the afflictions of David, brought in their habitation,
brought in the habitation of God, which they are led into. They come to worship at His footstool
to see the feet which were pierced for them, and the hands which
were pierced for them, to see the blood, to see their saviour,
to see the one who through his suffering and death has brought
them into everlasting life, has brought them into this kingdom,
has brought them into this city, has brought them into this country,
has brought them in to God's house and habitation. They worship
at his footstool. Where do you worship? Do you
worship at your own footstool, glorifying yourself and your
own thinking and your own wisdom and your own understanding? Do
you worship at the footstool of your own self-righteous works
and your own idea of how moral you are and how you're better
than others and how God should have mercy on you because you
deserve it? Do you worship at the footstool
of man's learning of the academics, of the great thinkers and philosophers
of this world. You worship at the footstool
of riches and self-gratification and pleasure. Or have you been
brought to see that all these are nothing? Have you been brought
down to worship at his footstool? Arise, O Lord, into thy rest,
thou and the ark of thy strength. Let thy priests be clothed with
righteousness, and let thy saints shout for joy. For thy servant
David's sake, turn not away the face of thine anointed. Arise, O Lord, into thy rest. Christ's afflictions, his suffering,
his death, his death brought this in. Salvation cost him. There was a price to be paid.
He had to descend from heaven's glory as far as any can descend. He came right down to the depths
of this world. right down into the valley of
darkness, right down into the valley of tears, right down to
a place where men took him and slew him. And upon that cross,
he went down further when God took the sins of his people and
laid them upon him. when he went down into the darkness
of judgment, the darkness of hell, and felt the fires of God's
eternal wrath upon him for what he bore and what he was made
to be. There he was bearing the guilt
of all his elect, all his chosen people, enduring God's wrath. He went down into the valley,
into the darkness, in order to bring his people up. But having
endured, he arose into rest. These verses speak of him entering
his rest. They speak of the arc of his
strength. They speak of his priest clothed
with righteousness. They speak of the saints shouting
for joy. They speak For thy servant's
David's sake, turn not away the face of thine anointed. As they speak of righteousness.
When Christ suffered upon the cross, he suffered because, and
for, and under righteousness. Why must Christ die in order
to deliver his people from their sins? Why must Christ die in
order to bring that people into a habitation with their God? Because God's just and he can't
look on our sin and just pass it by. He can't turn a blind
eye to it. He can't just say, I forgive
you, as though he pretends he doesn't remember it. He's just. That sin must be dealt with. And God's justice demanded that
the sinner must die. Sin has a price. The wages of
sin is death. The sinner must die. Everyone
who has sinned must die. Judgment must be answered. The
law's penalty must be met. Christ's afflictions, his death,
came upon him out of necessity in order to take away that sin. in order to judge it according
to righteousness, in order to bring in righteousness for his
people. He went to the cross by faith,
looking up unto his Father, looking up unto God, knowing that God
would accomplish all that was promised. It was his faith in
dying, his faith in going to the cross, his faith in steadfastly
like a flint going to Jerusalem and going to the cross and not
turning from it and not turning back to the country from whence
he came, but heading towards that heavenly country, that better
place, heading towards that heavenly city, that temple that God would
bring in for him. determination to go that way,
his faith that led him that way which would not let him turn
to the left hand or the right hand but led him to trust unflinchingly
in his father, his faith led him to that place of execution
upon which God judged him in righteousness. And that faith
is that which brought in the righteousness of God for his
own. God turned not his face from
his anointed because he looked upon Christ and saw in him the
perfect satisfaction of justice. As he laid upon him the sins,
he could not look upon the sin, he could not look upon what Christ
had become. Christ cried out, my God, my
God, why hast thou forsaken me? But in taking away that sin,
in suffering for it, Christ took it away. And God looked upon
his son as he came forth from the grave and said, behold my
son, behold the Lamb of God, behold my son in whom I am well
pleased. Behold the anointed. Oh, how
we see the gospel in all its glory here, brought in by Christ's
death through his affliction. How can God dwell with man? Through Christ, through his death,
through his blood. Arise, O Lord. into thy rest,
and the ark of thy strength. Let thy priests be clothed with
righteousness, and let thy saints shout for joy. Through his death,
his substitutionary death, the work of faith in laying down
his life for his people, it was through that death that Christ
entered into rest. And it was through that death
that the ark was carried in to the Holy of Holies, that Christ
the Ark entered in. And it was through that death
that he clothed his priests, his saints, with righteousness.
He clothed them, he washed them in his blood, he saved them.
And it was through that death that they all, every one of them,
entered into rest with him. Arise, O Lord, into thy rest. The psalmist goes on. The Lord
hath sworn in truth unto David, he will not turn from it. Of
the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne. If thy children
will keep my covenant and my testimony that I shall teach
them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore.
For the Lord hath chosen Zion. He have desired it for his habitation. This is my rest forever. Here
will I dwell, for I have desired it. The Lord have chosen Zion. Not just a place as it was way
back then. Not a physical place in Israel. But Zion his people. His blood-bought
people. They are His habitation. They
are His chosen. They are chosen of God, elected
in particular unto salvation. Chosen from amongst all men. He chose a people in Christ before
any were born. and all who were chosen in Christ,
then born of Adam physically, were chosen unto salvation, chosen
to be cleansed in his blood, chosen to be separated unto him,
chosen to be added to the church, chosen to be built up as his
dwelling place, chosen to be the very dwelling place of God. He has chosen where to dwell,
in Zion. in us, his people, if we're his. This is his rest forever. Here
will he dwell. He has desired it. As David desired
to find a house for the Lord, so the Lord desired to dwell
here. in his chosen Zion, his blood-bought
people. Of the fruit of thy body will
I set upon thy throne. If thy children will keep my
covenant and my testimony that I shall teach them, their children
shall also sit upon thy throne forevermore. How do they keep
his covenant? not through any will of theirs,
not through any works of theirs, but because God has chosen them
in Christ and Christ has fulfilled the covenant in every way for
them. They've kept it in Him. They're
His forever. He has desired it. We read earlier
on Genesis 28 of Jacob And that dream he had, that picture
he had of a ladder into heaven. Of an ascent into heaven. We
read that he went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran and he
lighted upon a certain place and tarried there all night because
the sun was set. And he took up the stones of
that place, and put them for his pillows, and laid down in
that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold, a
ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven.
And behold, the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God
of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac. The land whereon
thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. and thy
seed shall be as the dust of the earth and thou shalt spread
abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to
the south and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families
of the earth be blessed and behold I am with thee and will keep
thee in all places whither thou goest and will bring thee again
into this land for I will not leave thee until I have done
that which I have spoken to thee of And Jacob awaked out of his
sleep and he said, surely the Lord is in this place. And I
knew it not. And he was afraid and said, how
dreadful is this place. This is none other but the house
of God. And this is the gate of heaven. What a place and what a sight. He was nowhere. He was in the darkness. He laid
down his head to sleep upon stones, and God met him there in the
darkness. He saw a ladder into heaven.
What ladder did he see but Christ, with the angels ascending and
descending upon him, his people coming and going, all one in
him. Here's his way into God's presence
in the heaven, Christ himself. Here is the house of God. To
be in Christ, and for Him to be in us, is to have this as
sent up into heaven. It's Christ who takes us there. And there Jacob was in the darkness. And God opens his eyes of faith
to see Christ his Saviour, and the house of God. And he says,
surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. Well, what
of you? You're in the darkness. But has
God come unto you in the gospel and shown you a ladder unto heaven? Will he cause you to cry out,
surely the Lord was in this place? The Lord is in this place and
I knew it not. Will he cause you to cry out,
how dreadful is this place? This is none other but the house
of God and this is the gate of heaven. What is? This building where you sit now?
This country in which you dwell? Some chapel you may go? Some
church you may go? Some cathedral into which you
may enter? No! Here, wherever you are, wherever
the gospel comes unto you, wherever Christ meets you, in the darkness
of this world, as you sleep, when he comes unto you in his
gospel and speaks unto you, then you will say, this is none other
but the house of God. And this is the gate of heaven. And this is all seen by faith,
not by sight. The world and its religion is
all outward. It's all that which can be seen,
touched, handled, felt, but not experienced, not hidden from
the natural man. It's all just outwards. It's
all a show to be seen of others of how righteous we are. But
this is all inward. This is of faith. This is hid
from the wise and the prudent, hid from the natural man, hid
from natural wisdom. And it is founded upon a covenant.
founded upon a covenant. All this people, all chosen of
God are chosen unto salvation according to the covenant, the
covenant of grace, the choosing of God, a covenant which is ordered
in all things and sure. David's life was blotted by sin
and failure. God honoured him, God blessed
him, God saved him, but how often he let down his guard, how often
he stumbled and fell, how often he was plunged into iniquity,
and what a chaotic household he had, what trials were brought
upon him, yet he said at his end, although my house be not
so with God, Yet He hath made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things and sure, for this is all my salvation
and all my desire, although we make it not to grow. I want to
know God, David said. I want to find God, I want to
be with Him. Where is He? God came unto him
and found David and made himself known unto him and dwelt with
him and blessed him abundantly. As the psalm closes with a sevenfold
promise of blessing, I will abundantly bless her provision, I will satisfy
her poor with bread, I will also clothe her priests with salvation,
and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. There will I make the
horn of David to bud. I have ordained a lamp for mine
anointed. His enemies will I clothe with
shame, but upon himself shall his crown flourish. Oh, what a promise God makes. and his blood bought child, and
his blood bought people. A sevenfold promise, I will,
I will, I will, will I, I have, will I and shall. Sevenfold,
it's certain, I will bless Zion. I will satisfy her poor with
bread. I will clothe her priests with
salvation. Her saints shall shout aloud
for joy. There will I make the horn of
David the bird. I've ordained a lamp for mine
anointed that they may see in the darkness. His enemies will
I clothe with shame, but upon himself shall his crown flourish. I will save my people, I will
keep them, I will watch over them, I will bring them in certainly
to the end. It's all so certain, so sure. Because God has promised it.
God has spoken. It cannot fail. God has willed
it. God has performed it in His Son,
Jesus Christ. It's sure. It's certain. It is
finished. He has saved His people from
their sins. He's brought them safely into
Zion. He's brought them into rest.
And there they with Him shall dwell forever. Has he come to you in his gospel? Has he answered your questions? Where is God? Where may I go
that I might find him? Has he answered the questions
of Job to your heart? Oh, where is he? How may I find
him? Where is he? Where does he dwell?
Has he come unto you in the darkness? You cannot see. you cannot tell
all that you have done has brought you to despair all that you have
done has brought you into darkness the light's gone out you're at
death's door and God comes when you sleep about to plunge into
hell and he comes unto you and sets before you a ladder a ladder
ascending up to heaven, upon which the angels of God ascend
and descend. And the Lord stood above it,
and he presents unto you Christ, his Son, whose blood was shed
for sinners like you, as he brought you in the gospel in the darkness. to have your eyes opened, to
give you faith, to be able to say with Jacob, surely the Lord
is in this place and I knew it not. How dreadful is this place,
this is none other but the house of God. Amen.