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Scripture Reading: Psa. 84:1-12
In Book Two we have reached the highest peak, with the house and the city as the steppingstone for the Lord to regain the earth. But we still need more, for by the end of Book Two we have only seen the positive side. There is also the negative aspect. Following the day, we have the night; therefore, after Book Two we have Book Three, revealing the possibility of losing the enjoyment of the house and city of God.
How wonderful it is to be in the house and in the city, but we must realize that it is possible for this sweet enjoyment to be lost. There is even something which will affect us in a more personal way than this: at a certain point God will take away even all our material blessings; we will be stripped. According to our past experiences, this is exactly what has happened. After we have come to the local church and enjoyed it greatly, the stripping hand of God has come to take away many things. How contrary this experience is to our religious concept! In religion we are told that if we love the Lord, we will be healthy and prosper in every way. We have taught others and have even taught our children in this way. I would not say that this concept is either wrong or right, but that it is wholly religious. If it is right, it is religiously right. According to our experience, however, we can testify that, when we love the Lord, He begins gradually to strip us of many things. I myself have gone through the very experience of the psalmist in Psalm 73. While I was suffering and being stripped, I looked at others in the world with their prosperity, and I asked the Lord, “What is this?” Sooner or later, perhaps not today, but someday the Lord will begin to take away, even from the young brothers and sisters who love Him, all the good things. The Lord will strip you. Not until you go into the sanctuary will you understand. He strips us that we may enjoy Himself in an absolute way. This is the first aspect of the psalms in Book Three. When we learn to say with the psalmist, “Whom do I have in heaven but You? / And besides You there is nothing I desire on earth,” we have made a real improvement.
The second aspect of Book Three is that among the Lord’s children we must continually give Christ the preeminence. If the man at the right hand of God is not given His rightful position, we will have a problem with the house of God and lose the enjoyment of the local church. The right hand of God is the first place in the entire universe, and that is the position we must give Christ in the church life. This brings in the restoration, which swallows up all the desolation in the local churches.
Now we come to Psalm 84, which depicts how the saints love the house of God and desire to dwell therein. Surely by now we can say with the psalmist in verse 1, “How lovely are Your tabernacles!” There is not only one tabernacle but many tabernacles. No doubt these tabernacles signify the local churches. The local churches can be so lovely to us; we can even be homesick for them. Many of you have been in the local churches for only a short time, perhaps not more than a year or two. This is a honeymoon. The honeymoon will not last too long. But after all the desolation and negative experiences are past, you will sense that the house of God is much more lovely than it ever was when you first came into it.
I can never forget my first five years in the local church — it was a real honeymoon. I felt that every day was so wonderful. Indeed, it seemed that my honeymoon with the local church would never end. But one day the trial came: it was a real problem, and the entire church was nearly swept away by it. Then, for almost ten years, one trial after another came upon the local churches. But, praise the Lord, after all these difficult experiences, the local church became sweeter and more lovable to me than ever before.
Psalm 84 does not precede the stripping and the desolation of God’s house, but follows it. After the stripping and desolation, in the recovery and restoration, the house of God is sweeter than ever before. How lovely are the tabernacles of God! Young brothers and sisters, keep this in mind: if the Lord delays, you will see ten years from now how much sweeter the local churches are to you than they are today. I cannot tell you how lovely they are to me. In John 2 we read about the best wine. But, I tell you, in my experience the local churches are better and sweeter than the very best wine.
If I could check with the sisters concerning the love they have for their husbands, I believe many would testify that the love they now have, after going through many trials and experiences together, is stronger, deeper, and sweeter than the love of their honeymoon. Over the years and through many trials they have built up a love so strong that nothing can break it.
The love in Psalm 84 is not a honeymoon love; it is a love which follows many trials. It is not the love of Psalm 26:8, “O Jehovah, I love the habitation of Your house, / And the place where Your glory abides,” nor is it the love of Psalm 27:4, “One thing I have asked from Jehovah; / That do I seek: / To dwell in the house of Jehovah / All the days of my life, / To behold the beauty of Jehovah, / And to inquire in His temple.” In the church life there is a honeymoon period, and there is a period following many experiences and trials. In Psalm 84 we have a hint of the trials: “Passing through the valley of Baca [which means “weeping”], / They make it a spring” (v. 6). This is not initial love; this is love matured through many trials. It requires some years to come to this point. Keep in mind that Psalm 84 is not in the first book of the Psalms but in the third book. It is long after the honeymoon and even follows an extended time of “married life.” After a certain period of trials, we can testify how lovely the local churches are.
Now let us consider the various aspects of the psalmist’s experience concerning the house. The first aspect of his enjoyment, poetically speaking, is the two altars. “At Your two altars even the sparrow has found a home; / And the swallow, a nest for herself, / Where she may lay her young, / O Jehovah of hosts, my King and my God” (v. 3). Undoubtedly we are the sparrows, we are the swallows, we are the little creatures, so small and so frail. Yet we may find a home. We have already mentioned that in the Psalms, whenever the house of God is mentioned, it is presented not only as a place in which God may dwell but as the place where we also may find our home. This is the sweet feeling of the psalmist concerning the house of God. It is a place for the little sparrows to abide. It is a place for the swallow to build a nest for herself, where she may lay her young. We find a home in the house of God, and this home is at the two altars.
In ancient times, both in the tabernacle and in the temple, there were two altars: one was in the outer court, and the other was in the Holy Place; one was without, and the other was within. The altar in the outer court was the place for the offerings, which dealt with all negative things, which cleansed, redeemed, and delivered from all problems. The altar in the Holy Place was the altar of incense, which signifies the resurrected Christ as our acceptance to God. Hence, these two altars signify the crucifixion of Christ and Christ in resurrection. Together, they embody in type all that Christ is with all that He has accomplished and attained. It is here that we find our home; it is here that we find our rest in the house of God. All the little ones in the local churches must realize and apprehend the significance of the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ, with all that He has accomplished and attained for us. I say again, the Psalms are poetry, and we must understand them in a poetic way.
We need to care for the little ones in the local churches by helping them realize the value and meaning of the first altar and the significance and worth of the second altar. We must cause them to apprehend how Christ is the crucified One at the offering altar and the resurrected One at the incense altar that they may enjoy all the goodness of the crucified Christ and the resurrected Christ. It is here at the altars that we have a real resting place, a true nest for the little ones. This is the first item of all the enjoyment in the local churches.
The second item is the praising: “Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; / They will yet be praising You. Selah” (v. 4). Henceforth, whenever we meet together, we must spend much time in praising. The praising should occupy more of the time in our meetings than the teachings. “They will yet be praising You.” Learn to praise Him.
The third aspect of the enjoyment is that in the local church we have the very God to trust in: “O Jehovah of hosts, blessed is the man / Who trusts in You” (v. 12). Indeed, we may all trust in God outside of the local church, but it is rather difficult. In the local church, we can testify, it is so easy to trust in God. If you have not tasted, you do not know. Even the young ones can bear witness to this fact. Come into the local church and stay here for just two months, and you will see how easy it is to trust in God when you are in the meetings. At home it is rather arduous, but in the meetings it is spontaneous. In the local churches we have the very God to trust in.
There are other blessings issuing from the house of God in this psalm, but I mention just these three: the altars, where we may rest; the continual praise (it is praise to the Lord, but it is our enjoyment); and the place where we have the very God, in whom we may trust. These are the main blessings of making our home in God’s house.
Psalm 84 also shows us the way to Zion. We go to Zion, first, by trusting in God. “Blessed is the man / Who trusts in You” (v. 12). Second, the highways of Zion must be in our heart: “Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, / In whose heart are the highways to Zion” (v. 5). This is indeed interesting. Whenever we take a way to reach a certain goal, the way is always outside of us. But the highways to Zion are within us.
Do you take the way of the church externally or internally? Is the way of the church within you or without? If it is outside of you, it will not last long. The highway to Zion must be within us. The only way to walk in the church life is not outwardly but inwardly. It is not an external matter but an internal one.
Sometimes people speak of the ground of the church and the practice of the church as merely external matters. I do not agree. They may, in a sense, be external things, but all these external things must be within us. If they are merely external to you, sooner or later you will drift away. You may be in the way today, but tomorrow you will go astray. Praise the Lord, the highways to Zion are in our heart. We take the Lord’s way, we go the church way, not from without but from within. It is absolutely not something external but something which is very subjective to us.
Sometimes we have the concept that the matter of the church ground and the church practice are not matters of life. Sometimes we hear others say, “Let’s talk about life; don’t talk about the church ground.” In earlier days I had the same concept, but I have gradually been delivered from this kind of deceit. Never say that the church ground has nothing to do with life. It is absolutely a matter of life. I am fully assured that if any one of you is wrong in life, you will be distracted from the way of the church. In other words, when you are out of the church way, you are erring, at least to some extent, in the way of spiritual life. The matter of the church ground and the way of the church practice has very much to do with the inner life. When we are deeply in the inner life, we will certainly be in the way of the church; the highways to Zion will be within us.
If we adopt the church life in a cheap way, it means that the life within us is extremely poor. But I do believe that many of us have taken the way of the church at a certain cost. It did not cost me so much to take the Lord Jesus as my Savior as it did to take the church way. To receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior cost me almost nothing, but I can testify that it was very costly for me to take the church way. Do not imagine that the highway to Zion is external, superficial, and cheap. It is quite the opposite. It is at a price that we take the church way and forever remain on the highway to Zion.
Such a person passes through the valley of weeping and makes it a spring. It does not say that God makes it a spring, but that we make it such. We are always inclined to think that everything depends on God. But it is not God’s responsibility to make the valley of weeping a spring. Whether the valley of weeping is a place of blessing or not depends wholly on us, not on God. If you take the church way, at a certain point you will encounter many trials and troubles. If you turn away, you will find yourself in a real valley of weeping. But if you are faithful at any cost, if you say, “Lord, even at the cost of my life, I will still go on,” you will make the valley of weeping a spring.
You may consider that a certain brother is a real help to you; you enjoy fellowship with him so much. But I am afraid that one day this very brother will be a real problem and trial to you. You may have a little foretaste of it now, but the full taste will come. More than two-thirds of my human life have been in the church life. Under the covering of the Lord’s precious blood, I can tell you that my sorest trials have been from dear brothers, dear sisters, dear co-workers. Some of the closest ones have become the thorns. You may say that one brother is a trial to you, but one day you will be a thorn to him. If in the day of trial, you turn back, you will make the valley a true valley of weeping. I have seen many in the past who have done this. Once they have turned away from the church, they have turned into the valley of weeping. But I must also confess that I have seen many who, in spite of all the trials, have still gone on in the church. I can testify that their weeping was transformed into blessing. The tears were transformed into springs, into rain which covered the valley with blessings.
Do not suppose that I am passing on some kind of teaching. My burden in sharing all the verses of these psalms is to point out the attitude you must take to go on in the church life. I have no desire to impart some form of knowledge about the church. The highway to Zion passes through the valley. This valley may eventually be a valley of weeping, or a spring, a place of blessing. It depends upon your attitude. When the church is good and everything is fine, we may praise the Lord. In these years here in Los Angeles, the church life has indeed been wonderful. But it is altogether possible that it might not always be so good. Sometimes the brothers may not be so lovable, to put it mildly. In fact, they may seem unbearable as far as you are concerned. Sometimes the co-workers may not be so pleasant to you. Sometimes the meetings may not be so living. Then what will you do? Will you quit, will you turn away? Will you say, “What is the difference between the local church and the denominations?” In fact, sometimes the local church may not seem as good as the denominations. Will you go back? Be careful; it all depends upon you. It is not God’s responsibility. It is yours. It is not God who makes the valley of weeping a place of blessing; it is you.
The more you go on in the local church, the more strength you will gain. “They go from strength to strength; / Each appears before God in Zion” (v. 7). It is not your own strength but the strength of God. Just go on. There is no need for you to consider, to hesitate, to turn away. Even if it is the Red Sea, go through it. Even if it is the Jordan, go through it. It is absolutely a matter of faith. Do not look at the situation. If you do, you will be disappointed. You may see the sea ahead of you, or the river — in either case it is deep water. But go on. Praise the Lord, when you go on, you have the strength. The Lord is ahead of you. If you continue in the church way, you will go from strength to strength, and you will appear before God in Zion.
“A day in Your courts is better than a thousand” (v. 10). In the Bible, one thousand signifies the fullest measure of a complete unit. Ezekiel 47 speaks of the measurement of a thousand cubits, and the millennium covers a period of a thousand years. Hence, the blessing we receive by being in the dwelling place of the Lord is the fullest, the uttermost. Nowhere else can we receive a blessing as full as that which we obtain in the courts of the house of God. If you go to a meeting which you consider poor and feel that you have not gained anything from it, you may think it is better to stay home. All right, stay home. It may be good for a little while, possibly for a few weeks. But I can assure you that after three months of staying home and not attending the meetings, you will be back in the world. I do not care how much you obtain at home; it can never compare with the blessings you receive in the local church. Even if the local church is poor, you just come to it; you will get the blessing. You may in fact get some blessing elsewhere, but not a thousandfold. If you want the fullest blessing, if you would turn one good day into a thousand, you must come to the local churches. “A day in Your courts is better than a thousand; / I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God / Than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” Here in the house of God we enjoy God as a sun and a shield. The sun is for supply, and the shield is for protection. Here in the church life God is our supply, and God is our safeguard. Here we enjoy His grace and His glory. Grace is the inner enjoyment, and glory is the outward expression. In the church life we have the inner enjoyment of grace and the outward expression of glory; we have a supply as the sun, and God Himself as our shield. Oh, how blessed is the church life!
“O Jehovah of hosts, blessed is the man / Who trusts in You” (v. 12). Where? In the house of God. Three times in this psalm it says, “Blessed”: “Blessed are those who dwell in Your house” (v. 4); “Blessed is the man whose strength is in You” (v. 5); “Blessed is the man / Who trusts in You” (v. 12). How absolutely different this is from Psalm 1, which says that the man is blessed who keeps the law. “Blessed are those who dwell in Your house.” They are the ones who go from strength to strength. They are the ones who trust in God. These are the blessings of the church life!
