Search
Scripture Reading: Psa. 50:2; 51:18-19; 52:8; 53:6a; 55:14; 61:4; 63:1-2; 65:1, 4; 66:13
In Book One of the Psalms Christ is emphasized, and the house of God is then sweetly presented. Many dear Christians who love the Psalms have failed to see this. A few have seen Christ, but hardly one has really seen the house of God. Book One of the Psalms has both Christ Himself and the house of God. Book Two presents Christ and the house again, but it brings us on in a marvelous way to see the strengthened, enlarged, and built-up house, the city. In Psalms 46, 47, and 48, we are brought to the climax of the city. These psalms describe the city to the uttermost. Following these three psalms, we still have many wonderful and precious verses concerning the house and the city. Such verses as these are not found in the first book and especially not before Psalm 22.
Psalms 49 through 67 tell us how the saints enjoy the house and the city of God through Christ. First, we must indicate the various verses in this section which speak further concerning Christ. (1) He suffered the plot of men (Psa. 56:6; cf. Luke 11:54; John 11:57). (2) He was betrayed by His friend (Psa. 55:13; cf. Matt. 26:50). (3) He was falsely accused by the people (Psa. 55:3; cf. Matt. 26:59-68; John 18:30; 19:7). (4) He was assailed by the assembly of the adversaries (Psa. 62:3-4; cf. Matt. 26:3-4, 57, 59).
Second, we come to the saints’ enjoyment of the house and the city of God. We have to spend some time to consider these verses. First, we see that the church, the dwelling place of God, is the perfection of beauty out of which God shines. “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, / God shines forth” (Psa. 50:2). Zion in typology is the church. It does not say that the church is the perfect beauty, but the perfection of beauty. It is very meaningful. In the eyes of God the most beautiful object in the entire universe is the church. On the first day of God’s recovery of creation, as recorded in Genesis 1, God saw that the light was good (v. 4). On the second day God made the expanse, which separated the waters above from the waters beneath. However, on that day there is no reference to good (v. 8), because in the waters beneath there were the demons, and in the air above there was the subtle one, Satan. Even though the expanse was good, God did not speak of the work of that day as being good. But on the third, fourth, and fifth days, God saw that it was good (vv. 10, 12, 18, 21). Then on the sixth day, when man was created, God saw that it was very good (v. 31). In God’s eyes nothing in all His creation is so beautiful as man. But today, in all God’s creation plus His redemption, nothing is so beautiful as the church. The church is the perfection of beauty.
Have you ever looked at the New Jerusalem? Oh, the New Jerusalem! Look at it! Is that not the perfection of beauty? Is there anything in the universe more beautiful than the New Jerusalem? The entire city is of gold, transparent gold, with nothing opaque. There are twelve gates, and each gate is one tremendous pearl. The foundation is made of precious stones, layer upon layer, and the wall is also built up of precious stones. God is within the city as the shining light, and the entire city radiates the glory of God. Could anything be more beautiful than this? It is the perfection of beauty. One day, when we are all there in the New Jerusalem, we will exclaim, “O Lord, now we are really in the perfection of beauty!” It is not only beautiful; it is the perfection of beauty. Nothing could be more perfect; nothing could be more beautiful. This is the church!
While we are still in this old age, while we are still on this old earth, in my realization, the church is even now the perfection of beauty. You may say that it is not so perfect. In a sense, it is not, but in another sense, I would ask if you can find anything better. Never! I have passed through all kinds of human societies: I have been with the poor; I have been with the rich; I have been with the low class as well as the high class; I have been with the educated and with the uneducated. According to my experience, I must testify that in my entire life on this earth I have never found anything better than the local churches. To me this is the perfection of beauty, out from which God shines. “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, / God shines forth.” Praise the Lord!
Furthermore, in Psalm 51:18 the psalmist says, “Do good in Your good pleasure unto Zion.” Can you explain what it means for God to “do good” unto Zion? Sometimes we just read over these verses without at all realizing their intent. I believe that according to the context of all these psalms the “good” mentioned here includes many things. It includes the building up of the wall of the city, as mentioned in the last part of the verse. The building up of the walls of Jerusalem is indeed one item of the “good.” Following that, the city must have the glory of God. God must fill it with His glory. Then the presence of God must be continually with the city, and God’s very presence supplies the peace, the joy, the light, the life, the security, and all the blessings of the city. The “good” here includes all these things. We also need to pray in this way: “Do good in Your good pleasure unto the church,” and when we pray, we must have faith to believe that the Lord is going to do good. The Lord will build up the church, He will fill it with His glory, His very presence will be with the church, and His presence will bring joy, peace, life, light, security, and all kinds of blessings. In all the years that I have been in this country for the Lord’s testimony, I have had the assurance that the Lord is going to do good in His good pleasure to the church. He is going to build up the church, fill it with His glory, and grant the church His presence with abundant spiritual blessing. Praise the Lord! Many of us can testify how wonderfully the Lord has already done good in His good pleasure unto His church in this land.
Psalm 52:8 goes on to tell how the saints grow in the house of God and trust in His lovingkindness: “I, like a flourishing olive tree / In the house of God, / Trust in God’s lovingkindness / Forever and ever.” Nearly all the verses in the Psalms concerning the house of God include the meaning of the house being a place not only for God but also for us to dwell. From the very first mention of the house in the Psalms, “I will dwell in the house of Jehovah / For the length of my days” (23:6), the house is not only God’s dwelling place; it is our dwelling place. Praise the Lord! But in Psalm 52:8 the meaning implied is even deeper and stronger than dwelling in the house. The psalmist compares himself to a flourishing olive tree planted in the house of God. If you are only dwelling in the house, you may easily move out, but if you are planted in the house of God, it is extremely difficult for you to leave. Let me ask you, brothers and sisters, are you dwelling in the house of God, or are you planted in the house of God? Before we can grow in the house, we must be planted there. The psalmist says that he is like a flourishing olive tree — he is not withered, but green and growing. The house of God is not only a place to dwell but a place to grow, and the olive tree is a tree which produces oil, the type of the Spirit. It is so meaningful. May we all be flourishing olive trees in the house of God.
The psalmist continues: “Trust in God’s lovingkindness forever and ever.” Many times people say that they trust in God. But if you are not in God’s house, it is rather difficult for you to put your trust in God. In a strict sense God is in His house; hence, if you are not in His house, how can you put your trust in Him? You may endeavor, you may struggle, and you may do many things to trust in God; but when you come into the local church, God’s house, it is extremely easy. To trust in God means to be in God’s house.
Furthermore, the salvation of God’s people comes out of the local churches. Psalm 53:6 says, “Oh that the salvation of Israel might come forth from Zion!” It is in the local churches that we are saved from so many things. We are saved from our worldliness, from our temper, from ourselves, from our old background, from religion, from empty teachings and dead letters, and from so many other things.
Then in Psalm 55:14 the psalmist said, “We were in sweet counsel together; / We walked with the throng in the house of God.” The Psalms have been in my hands for years, but not until recently did I notice this verse. To be in the house of God is really too good; so whenever we talk about it, it is a kind of sweet counsel. Hallelujah! Brothers, let us be in sweet counsel together; then let us walk with the throng in the house of God. The house of God is so sweet to us.
Moreover, the saints long to sojourn in God’s tent forever and enjoy the shelter of God’s wings (61:4). When we sojourn in the tent of God, we are sheltered beneath God’s wings. What an enjoyment this is! God is like a great hen, and we are like little chicks abiding under His wings. We are sheltered by His wings, and we are also sheltered by His tent. We are doubly sheltered. How safe it is! How sweet it is! I believe many of you have this feeling when you are in the local church.
In Psalm 63 we see a further aspect of the saints’ enjoyment of the house: They looked upon God in His sanctuary to see His power and His glory. “O God, You are my God; I seek You diligently. / My soul thirsts for You, / My flesh faints in longing for You, / In a dry and weary land without water” (v. 1). This experience is similar to that of a dear brother who has been in the church but who is now out of it. He is in a dry and weary place without water, so he is longing for satisfaction. He is longing for that which is mentioned in verse 2: “I have looked upon You in the sanctuary, / Seeing Your power and Your glory.” Perhaps you are in the local church now, and you sense that it is good, but you do not sense how wonderfully good it is. If, however, you are cut off from the local church and brought to a place where there is no church, at that time you will pray the words of the psalmist in these verses. You will long to be where you have been in the past; you will thirst for God and yearn to see His power and glory as you have looked upon Him in the sanctuary. The sanctuary is not a dry and weary place; the house of God is not a place without water. In the sanctuary there is a river. Once you have looked upon the Lord in the sanctuary, once you have drunk of the river of God in the sanctuary and then are brought away to a dry place, at that time you will realize the difference. How grateful we all should be to be in the local church, where we may enjoy Him in the sanctuary. What enjoyment this is! Both these verses and our experience prove that the local churches are the places with water, places where we may look upon the Lord and see the power and glory of God.
Then we see how the saints in Zion praise and wait for God! “Praise awaits You, O God, in Zion” (65:1). Brothers and sisters, whenever we come together, are we ready to praise? Do we really have some praises waiting for God? From now on, whenever you come to the meeting, do not bring two ears itching for teachings, but two lips ready for praise. In 2 Timothy 4:3 the apostle Paul said, “The time will come when they will...heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.” People pile up teachers because of their itching ears. We need praising lips. Whenever we come to the church meetings, we should be prepared to praise. Even before we come, we must compose something concerning the King. Then when we meet, our praise will be waiting for the Lord, waiting for God in Zion. Praise must be waiting for the Lord in the local churches.
Then Psalm 65:4 says that to dwell in God’s courts and be satisfied with the goodness of His house is blessed by God. “Blessed is he whom You have chosen and bring near / To dwell in Your courts. / We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, / Of Your holy temple.” In Psalm 36:8 we read, “They are saturated with the fatness of Your house,” and here, “We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house.” If you would come to the local church and enjoy the goodness of the house of God, it is a strong proof that you have been chosen and blessed by God. I do not know what kind of wind He causes to blow us into His house, whether it is a wind from the west, the east, the north, or the south. Anyway, we are here. He has not only chosen us but also brought us near to dwell in His courts. Could you ever have dreamed that you would be in the local church? No, but praise the Lord, the Lord who has chosen us has also brought us near to be here. The more we enjoy the fatness and goodness of the house, the stronger our assurance is that we have been chosen and brought near by God to be in such a place. We must all bow before Him and say, “Lord, it is Your doing; it is all of You that we are in Your building today and not outside of it.”
In Psalm 66:13 the psalmist says, “I will come into Your house with burnt offerings; / I will pay my vows to You.” The burnt offerings are the praises of Christ. The Lord has brought us near to dwell in His courts, and now we may come into the house of God with praises of Christ as an offering. We learn to offer these praises as offerings to God. In all the local churches we need to be trained to praise Him so that we may always have praise concerning Christ as an offering to God.
Finally, in Psalm 51:18 we see how the saints pray to God for the building up of the walls of Jerusalem. We all need to beseech God to build the walls of the city so that we may have the full safeguard in the local churches. In God’s recovery, the recovery of the temple is first, and then the recovery of the walls of the city. With the recovery of the walls, the house is fully safeguarded.
I would ask you to pray-read all these verses concerning the saints’ enjoyment of the house and the city of God in Psalms 49 through 67. All their enjoyments are through Christ. The more you pray-read them, the more you will enter into their enjoyment.
