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Scripture Reading: Deut. 12:5-7, 13-14, 17-18; 1 Tim. 3:15b-16a; Heb. 10:25; Psa. 23:6; 27:4; 36:8-9; 42:4; 43:3-4; 66:13, 15; 84:1-8, 10-12; 92:10, 13-14; 133:1-3
Deuteronomy 12 is a rich chapter. According to verses 2 and 3, the children of Israel were to destroy the worship centers, the idols and images, and the names. Idols are found not only in the centers of pagan worship; they are also found in Catholicism, in Protestantism, and in the independent Christian groups. If we are enlightened by this portion of the Word, spiritually speaking we will destroy all the places, idols, and names.
Often the pagan centers of worship were located on mountains or hills or under flourishing trees (v. 2). The mountains and hills signify the exaltation of something other than Christ, and the flourishing trees signify things that are beautiful and attractive. The various worship centers in today’s Christianity lift up something other than Christ. In principle, these centers of worship are on a mountain or hill, the high places. However, God’s people were to come to Mount Zion, the unique place chosen by God for corporate worship. The worship at the high places was a factor in the dispersion of the children of Israel.
In principle, we must destroy all the places, idols, and names. To do this is to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord. But if we insist on our own choice, we are doing what is right in our own eyes. We must fear the Lord and go to the place He has chosen.
Christianity has followed the world by taking the way of division. From the time of Babel, the people of the world have been divisive. The reason for this divisiveness is that people insist on their own choice or preference. For this reason human society today is altogether divisive. The church should be different. As the unique place chosen by God, the church should have no division. This means that the church should not follow the customs of the nations or the pagan practices of human society. Nevertheless, from the time of the second century, the church has been divided over such things as opinions concerning the person of Christ. The different schools of Christology, the study of the Person of Christ, became “mountains” and “hills.” Thus, the church was divided not mainly by evil things but mainly by good things, even by opinions about Christ.
As we all know, in the centuries following the Reformation, Christianity has had hundreds of divisions. After World War II the independent groups began to flourish in the United States. In 1963 I was told that in Southern California alone there were more than a thousand such groups. The history of Christianity proves that the most striking aspect in which it has followed the world is the matter of division. The pagan practice of division, of following our own choice, taste, or preference, is found throughout Christianity. Even to entertain the thought of division is to take the way of the pagan system, the divisive practice of the custom of the nations.
When the children of Israel entered the good land, pagan centers of worship could be found everywhere. In some places there were altars, in other places there were dedicated pillars or wooden symbols, and in still other places there were graven images of heathen gods. The land of Canaan was filled with idols. Therefore, God charged the children of Israel to destroy all these things and to come to the unique place chosen by God. In principle, we must do the same thing today.
Today many Christians look for a so-called church in the same way that people shop for a pair of shoes. They may go from one shoe store to another until they find something to match their preference. Some Christians spend years going from one place of worship to another, continually looking for a place that suits their taste or satisfies their desire. Such Christians are church travelers. Before I came into the church life, I also did a certain amount of this kind of traveling. But when I came into the church in the Lord’s recovery, my traveling ended. I knew I had come to the place of God’s choice.
Deuteronomy 12:5 says, “To the place which Jehovah your God will choose out of all your tribes to put His name, to His habitation, shall you seek, and there shall you go.” When the children of Israel entered into the good land, they were not to follow the practice of the nations. They were not to choose places according to their own preference; rather, they were to go to the unique place chosen by God. As revealed in other books of the Old Testament, this unique place was Mount Zion in Jerusalem where the temple, the house of God, was built.
In the place God had chosen, the children of Israel were to eat before the Lord and rejoice (v. 7). Nowhere in the book of Deuteronomy were God’s people told that they should go to the unique place to engage in mere “worship.” Of course, they were expected to worship the Lord in the place He had chosen but not to worship according to their concept of what worship is. Instead, they were to worship according to God’s thought, concept, of worship. According to the natural, human concept, to worship is to kneel, to bow down, or to prostrate ourselves before God. Even Muslims worship in such a way in their mosques. Once I visited a Muslim mosque at the time of worship. I noticed that among the worshippers there was no sense of enjoyment. On the contrary, due to the lack of enjoyment, many of those worshippers looked older than their years. The worship indicated in Deuteronomy 12 is not a matter of kneeling, bowing, or prostrating ourselves. According to this chapter, to worship is to eat before the Lord. When they came to the place God had chosen, God’s people were to eat the top portion of the offerings and sacrifices before God.
Deuteronomy 12:6 describes this: “There you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices and your tithes and the heave offering of your hand and your vows and your freewill offerings and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock.” The best portion of the produce of the good land was to be eaten before the Lord in the place He had chosen. The children of Israel were required to set aside the tithe, the top tenth, of the produce of the land and bring it to the place of God’s choice. Moreover, they were to set aside the firstlings of their herds and flocks. Three times a year — at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles — they brought the tithes and the produce to the house of God in Jerusalem. During these feasts they could enjoy all these riches in the presence of the Lord. They were forbidden, however, to enjoy these particular portions at home. They could enjoy them only at the times of the feasts and only in the place designated by God. Their eating of the offerings was their worship of God. After bringing the tithes and sacrifices to the proper place, they offered them on the altar. Then they ate of the very things they had offered. There was a portion for God, a portion for the priests, and a portion for the one who presented the offering. Therefore, God’s people enjoyed the rich produce of the good land before God and with God. This was the genuine worship of God.
Have you ever thought that this is the kind of worship God desires? In Deuteronomy 12 there is no mention of singing or even of praying. According to this portion of the Word, proper worship is a matter of eating before God the rich produce of the good land. The good land is a type of Christ, and the rich produce of the land is a type of the riches of Christ. Hence, the worship God desires from us is that we eat and enjoy the riches of Christ in His presence. Spiritually speaking, we all need to gain more weight by eating more of Christ. The focal point of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy is the eating of Christ. If we do not eat of Christ, we cannot worship God. The worship God is seeking is related to the enjoyment of Christ. The various offerings and sacrifices in Deuteronomy 12:6 all typify aspects of Christ for our enjoyment. May we all be impressed with the fact that proper worship is a matter of eating the produce of the good land, that is, of enjoying with God and before God the riches of Christ in the unique place chosen by God.
Throughout the history of Christianity, this kind of worship has been lost. But I have the full assurance that the Lord is in the process of recovering it. In the church He is bringing us back to genuine worship, back to the enjoyment of Christ in the unique place of God’s choice. Before God and with God, we enjoy Christ on the ground of oneness. Praise Him for the eating, the enjoyment, of the riches of Christ!
Deuteronomy 12:7 also says, “You and your households shall rejoice in all your undertakings, in which Jehovah your God has blessed you.” This indicates that the children of Israel not only ate before the Lord; they also rejoiced before Him. Eating and rejoicing go together. As the children of Israel enjoyed the produce of the good land in the presence of God, they rejoiced. Apart from the riches of the land of Canaan, they had nothing to eat and therefore no reason to rejoice. Both the eating and the rejoicing were dependent upon the riches. Often when we are invited to a dinner or to a feast, we rejoice when the food is set on the table. In the same principle, the riches of Christ are the factor, the cause, of our rejoicing in the place of God’s choice.
In the foregoing chapter we pointed out four characteristics of the proper church life: the name, the habitation, the enjoyment, and the rejoicing. The fact that the church is God’s habitation, God’s dwelling place, indicates that His presence is in the church. God does not simply visit the church or dwell there temporarily, as if it were a motel. As the house of the living God, the church is God’s home, God’s habitation. Therefore, God’s presence is in the church. In the church we enjoy the riches of Christ and we rejoice in the Lord. This is the proper, genuine, and normal church life. Here we have the Lord’s name and presence. We come to the church to meet Him, to see Him, and to enjoy His presence. Here we enjoy the riches of Christ with God. As we enjoy these riches, we rejoice in the Lord.
Many of us can testify that in other places we did not have the reality or actuality of the Lord’s name and presence. Furthermore, we did not have the enjoyment of the riches of Christ or the rejoicing. For the most part, these four characteristics cannot be found in today’s centers of Christian worship. Outwardly, the name of Christ may be there; but in reality the Lord’s name is not to be found there. Furthermore, the presence of the Lord is not in such places. A. W. Tozer makes this point emphatically in an article entitled “The Waning Authority of Christ in the Churches.” According to our experience, we can also testify that in the various Christian centers of worship there is no enjoyment of Christ and no rejoicing that comes from this enjoyment. However, in the place chosen by God, the church, we have the Lord’s name, His presence, the enjoyment of the riches of Christ, and the rejoicing in the Lord.
In the Psalms we see how the Old Testament saints enjoyed the Lord in the unique place of God’s choice. Let us now consider a number of verses that testify of this enjoyment. In these verses we see how God’s people worshipped Him through enjoying the riches of the good land in God’s presence. The ancient saints surely enjoyed Christ with God in the unique place of God’s choice. The verses we will consider are the outstanding verses in the Psalms related to the enjoyment of the riches of the good land in the place of God’s choosing.
Psalm 23:6 concludes with the words, “I will dwell in the house of Jehovah / For the length of my days.” Christians love Psalm 23 mainly because it speaks of the Lord as the Shepherd. However, the ultimate goal of the Lord’s shepherding of us is the house of the Lord. According to this psalm, the Lord leads us from one station to another until we are brought to the house of the Lord. He makes us to lie down in green pastures, He leads us beside waters of rest, He guides us on the paths of righteousness, He takes us through the valley of the shadow of death, and then He brings us to the battlefield. Ultimately, however, He causes us to dwell in the house of the Lord. It is in the Lord’s house that goodness and lovingkindness are with us all the days of our life. We should not simply visit in the house of the Lord; we should dwell there for the length of our days, that is, forevermore.
In verse 6 there is a parallel construction. On the one hand, goodness and lovingkindness will follow us all the days of our life. On the other hand, we will dwell in the house of the Lord for the length of our days. There is, therefore, a parallel between the days of my life and the length of my days. This indicates that goodness and lovingkindness will be with us as we dwell in the house of the Lord. If we desire to share in the Lord’s goodness and lovingkindness, we need to be in the house of the Lord. Today the house of the Lord is the church. Outside the church we cannot have the full enjoyment of the Lord’s goodness and lovingkindness. But in the church we enjoy the goodness and lovingkindness of the Lord for the length of our days.
Psalm 27:4 says, “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.” Here we see that the one desire of the psalmist was to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life. The house of the Lord for us today is the church. If we are like the psalmist, we shall desire to dwell in the church all the days of our life. Here in the church we behold the beauty of the Lord. This refers to the Lord’s presence. Furthermore, we inquire in His temple. We do not pray according to our will, but we inquire concerning His will, seeking His desire. If we would behold the beauty of the Lord and inquire in His temple, we need to dwell in the Lord’s house, the church.
Psalm 36:8 says, “They are saturated with the fatness of Your house, / And You cause them to drink of the river of Your pleasures.” In typology the fatness of the Lord’s house refers to the rich produce of the good land. All the riches that were offered to God in the house became the fatness of the Lord’s house. The fulfillment of this type is in Christ; He is the reality of the fatness of the Lord’s house. In Old Testament times God’s people could enjoy this fatness only in the place God had chosen for His habitation. For this reason the psalmist declares that God’s people will be saturated with the fatness of His house.
This verse also says, “You cause them to drink of the river of Your pleasures.” As we enjoy the fatness in the house of God, we drink of the river of the Lord’s pleasures. These pleasures are a river of joy to those who come to the place of God’s choice. Such pleasures come from the enjoyment of the fatness in the house of God. Hence, in the Lord’s house we are full of joy as we drink of the river of God’s pleasures.
Verse 9 goes on to say, “With You is the fountain of life; / In Your light we see light.” In these verses we have the fatness, the pleasures, the life, and the light. We enjoy not only the river but also the fountain. This rich enjoyment is ours in the house of God, the church. In the church we are saturated with the riches of Christ, and we are full of pleasure and joy. There is even a river of pleasures of which we may drink. Furthermore, we have the fountain of life. This life becomes the light in which we see light.
Our experience of all these aspects of Christ’s riches becomes the genuine worship we render to God. This worship is the basic element of the church life. The church life consists of worship that comes from the enjoyment of Christ. This enjoyment fills us with joy and pleasure, pleasure that even becomes a river of which we drink. Eventually, we come to the fountain of life, and in the Lord’s light we see light. Here there is no darkness, death, weakness, or emptiness. On the contrary, we are satisfied and joyful as we drink of the Lord’s pleasures and enjoy life and light. The worship produced by this enjoyment is the worship God desires today. This enjoyment and this worship constitute the proper, normal church life. Although the Christian religion knows nothing of such worship, the Lord is recovering it in the church life today.
In Psalm 42:4 the psalmist declares, “These things I remember, / And I pour out my soul within me: / That I passed through with the throng; / I led them to the house of God / With the voice of a joyous shout and praise, / The festal multitude.” Here the psalmist recalls the enjoyment of going with the multitude to the house of God. He remembered how they went to God’s house with a voice of a joyous shout and praise. With the multitude he kept the days of feasting. When the psalmist uttered these words, he was in captivity, having lost the enjoyment related to the Lord’s house. But as he remembered this enjoyment, he poured out his soul within him.
This verse is a window through which we can see how the saints enjoyed the produce of the good land in the house of God. They went to the Lord’s house with joy and praise, entering joyfully into the presence of God. There in the Lord’s presence they enjoyed the top portion of the produce of the land. In principle, this is our experience in the church life today. We come together with a multitude to enjoy Christ by keeping the feast. Every time we come to the meetings of the church, we feast on the riches of Christ. Here in the Lord’s house we truly enjoy Christ with God.
Psalm 43:3 says, “Send forth Your light and Your truth; / They will lead me; / They will bring me to Your holy mountain / And to Your tabernacles.” Light and truth are not two separate things; they are two aspects of one thing. As we have pointed out elsewhere, in the Gospel of John we have grace and truth, but in the first Epistle of John we have love and light. Truth is the shining of light. When the light shines upon us, we receive the truth, the reality. However, as we go to God in fellowship, we are in the light. Thus, on our end there is truth, but on God’s end there is light. According to Psalm 43:3, we need both light and truth.
This verse indicates that light and truth lead us and bring us to the Lord’s holy mountain and to His tabernacles, that is, to the house of God. Day by day we are led by the light and the truth that come from the house of God. In 1 Timothy 3:15 and 16 we see that the church, the house of the living God, is the pillar and base of the truth. This indicates that truth is to be found in the church, the house of God. When we have truth, we also have light. Hence, both light and truth are in the church.
As this verse makes clear, light and truth have a specific and definite function: to bring us to the holy mountain and to God’s tabernacles, that is, to lead us to the place of God’s choice and to His habitation. Today many Christians are seeking light and truth, but not many seek them for the purpose of being led to God’s chosen place. However, if our purpose is to be brought to the holy mountain and to God’s dwelling place, light and truth will surely come to us. Many of us can testify that before we came into the church life, we received light and truth simply because we had begun to consider the church. Because we had the thought of coming to the church, light and truth came to us. But when we were hesitant regarding the church, the light and truth seemed to disappear for a period of time. However, when we realized that we must take the way of the church, light began to shine again, and truth appeared more fully than before. Then when we came into the church life, we were in the daylight and received much truth. This testifies that light and truth have led us to God’s holy mountain and have brought us to God’s dwelling place, the church.
Let us go on to Psalm 66. Verse 13 says, “I will come into Your house with burnt offerings; / I will pay my vows to You.” In verse 15 the psalmist goes on to say, “I will offer to You burnt offerings of fatlings / With the smoke of rams; / I will offer cattle with goats.” The psalmist realized that only in God’s house, the temple, could he offer burnt offerings and sacrifices. He knew that only by going to the place of God’s choice could he offer sacrifice to God. According to the type, we today must also go to the place of God’s choice, the church, if we would present our offerings to the Lord. The children of Israel were required to go to the temple in order to present their offerings to God. God did not accept offerings in any other place. If an Israelite living in Dan had expressed the desire to offer something to God in Dan, the Lord would have said, “I cannot accept an offering presented to Me there. I accept offerings only at Mount Zion.” God was not narrow, but He had chosen to make the temple the focal point of His attention. He had chosen Mount Zion as the unique place of worship. Only in that place could His people present their offerings to Him.
This principle applies in the church life today. Many of us can testify that when we attempted to offer something to God outside the church, that offering was not very pleasant. I dare not say that Christians cannot offer anything to God outside the church. But I can testify that to do this apart from the church life is not altogether pleasant. According to the type, our offerings should be presented at the unique place of God’s choice.
We may think that this requirement is ridiculous. God’s thought, however, is higher than ours. By being limited to God’s chosen place, we are kept from abusing God’s grace, and we are subdued with respect to our desires, temperament, and disposition. We all have our particular natural disposition, temperament, and characteristics. But no matter what our peculiarities may be, we all must be subdued. If we remain in our natural life and in our natural disposition with its particular characteristics, it will be impossible for us to have the kind of worship God is seeking. We all must be subdued by coming to the unique place, to the unique ground. This means that we all need to be subdued by the church. If we are not willing to be subdued, we will fight with the elders, with the other brothers and sisters, and even with our husband or wife. Even concerning spiritual things, the things of God, we will have disagreements with others. We may prefer matters to be a certain way, but someone else may prefer another way. How we all must be subdued by taking the way of the church!
In the Life-study of Colossians we pointed out that the peace of Christ must arbitrate in our hearts. However, apart from the church life, it is difficult to experience the arbitrating peace of Christ. Yes, the peace of Christ does arbitrate within our hearts, but it does so in the context of the church life. In a very real sense, it is the church that is the arbitrator. The way of the church is the way of being subdued. Because we are subdued by the ground of the church, we are preserved in oneness. The unique place of God’s choice keeps us from abusing God’s grace, and it also subdues us. Furthermore, this unique way gives us the real enjoyment of Christ. When we have the genuine enjoyment of Christ, we are one. We are one in the enjoyment of Christ, that is, in the eating of the rich produce of the good land. But as we have pointed out, we can present our offerings of this produce only in the place of God’s choice. Like the psalmist, we must bring our offerings to the house of God.
Psalm 66:15 says, “I will offer to You burnt offerings of fatlings / With the smoke of rams; / I will offer cattle with goats.” I am fond of the phrase with the smoke of rams. The Chinese translation speaks of the fragrant offering of rams. When our offering becomes an incense to God, it means that there is fragrance in our offering. When we bring our burnt offerings to the church and offer them to the Lord in the church, there is incense to match our offerings. This incense is fragrant and pleasant to the Lord.
It is possible to present offerings to the Lord outside the church, but with these offerings there is no fragrance. However, when we offer something to the Lord in the church, we sense that we present our offerings “with the smoke of rams.” Oh, the fragrance of the offerings presented to God in the church! Although this fragrance is especially for God, we can sense it also. We cannot experience such incense apart from the church life. Only in the church life can the offerings be presented to God in a proper way, in a way that is fragrant and satisfying to Him.
Psalm 84 is exceedingly rich. Verses 1 and 2 say, “How lovely are Your tabernacles, / O Jehovah of hosts! / My soul longs, indeed even faints, / For the courts of Jehovah; / My heart and my flesh cry out / To the living God.” Verse 1 speaks not only of one tabernacle but of many tabernacles. No doubt these tabernacles signify the local churches. The local churches can be so lovely to us that we are even homesick for them. According to verse 2, the psalmist longs even for the courts of the Lord. In his estimation, not only the inside of God’s dwelling is lovely; the courts also are lovely. The reason God’s tabernacles are lovely is that the living God is there. God’s presence in the local churches makes the churches lovely and lovable.
Verse 3 says, “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.” No doubt, we are the sparrows and the swallows, little creatures who are small and frail. Yet the sparrows have found a home, and the swallows have found a nest where they may lay their young. How sweet is the feeling of the psalmist concerning the house of God! It is a place for little sparrows to abide, a place for the swallow to build a nest for herself, where she may lay her young. In the house of God, we, the sparrows and the swallows, find a home at the Lord’s altars. At the Lord’s altars we find a nest, a place of nourishing and cherishing and a place of rest.
In ancient times, both in the tabernacle and in the temple, there were two altars: one in the outer court and the other in the Holy Place. The altar in the outer court, the bronze altar, was the place for the offerings that dealt with the negative things, cleansed the Lord’s people, and delivered them from all problems. The altar in the Holy Place, the golden altar, was the altar of incense, which signifies the resurrected Christ as our acceptance to God. Hence, these altars signify Christ in crucifixion and in resurrection. It is here that we find our home and our rest in the house of God.
All the little ones, the sparrows and swallows, in the local churches must realize and apprehend the significance of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, with all that He has accomplished and attained for us. We need to apprehend how Christ is the crucified One at the offering altar and the resurrected One at the incense altar. Through such an apprehension, we will enjoy the goodness of the crucified and resurrected Christ. At these altars we find a true resting place, a nest where we are nourished and cherished and where we may be at rest. How marvelous is this enjoyment in God’s dwelling place, the local churches!
In verse 4 the psalmist goes on to say, “Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; / They will be praising You all the day long” (Heb.). We should not simply visit the house of God; we should dwell there all the day long. According to this verse, those who dwell in the Lord’s house are blessed. They even praise the Lord all day long. Whenever we meet together, we should spend much time in praising. Praising should occupy more time in the meetings than teaching. May we all learn to praise the Lord.
In verse 5 the psalmist continues, “Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, / In whose heart are the highways to Zion.” In the church we have our strength in God, and our heart is filled with the highways to Zion. If we would experience this, we must be in the house of God.
Verse 6 says, “Passing through the valley of Baca, / They make it a spring; / Indeed the early rain covers it with blessings.” Baca means “weeping.” In the church life we may pass through the valley of weeping, but we can cause this valley to become a place of springs. Furthermore, instead of tears, rain comes to fill the pools. Such an experience is to be found only in the house of God.
Furthermore, in the church life we go from strength to strength and appear before God (v. 7). In the church we realize that “a day in Your courts is better than a thousand.” Those who enjoy the church life can say, “I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God / Than dwell in the tents of the wicked” (v. 10).
Verse 11 indicates that the church life is the place of fullest blessing: “Jehovah God is a sun and a shield; / Jehovah gives grace and glory; / He does not withhold anything good / From those who walk uprightly.” 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 the Lord is our supply and safeguard. Furthermore, here we enjoy His grace and His glory. Grace is the inner enjoyment, whereas glory is the outward expression. In the church life we have the inner enjoyment of grace and the outward expression of glory. Oh how blessed is the church life!
Psalm 84 concludes with the words, “O Jehovah of hosts, blessed is the man / Who trusts in You” (v. 12). We may trust in God outside the local church, but it is rather difficult. We can testify, however, that it is very easy to trust in God in the church. The house of God is the proper place for us to exercise our trust in the Lord.
In Psalm 92 we see even more aspects of the enjoyment in the house of God. Verse 10 says, “You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; / I am anointed with fresh oil.” In the church life we can be as strong as a wild ox. Furthermore, we have two horns that are exalted. This is possible only in the house of God. Moreover, in God’s house we are anointed, even mingled, with fresh oil. Outwardly we have two exalted horns, and inwardly we are mingled with fresh oil. Everyone in the church life can have horns like a wild ox and be mingled with fresh oil.
Many who have come into the church life have experienced their horn being exalted. Before we came to dwell in the church, we were low and frequently defeated. But when we came into God’s dwelling place, we sensed that our horn was exalted over our enemy. Furthermore, we sensed that we were mingled with fresh oil. In God’s house we daily have the sense of being mingled with fresh oil. Day by day we sense something very fresh — this is the oil that is being mingled with us. The reason we are fresh is that we are mingled with fresh oil.
Verse 13 says, “Planted in the house of Jehovah, / They will flourish in the courts of our God.” We should not simply dwell in the Lord’s house; we should also be planted there. Have you been planted in the church life? Those who leave the church have not been planted in the church. Once you have been planted in the house of the Lord, you cannot leave it.
If we have been planted in the house of the Lord, we will flourish in the courts of God. This is a very meaningful expression. We are in both the house and the courts. Our root is set in the house, but our branches reach out into the courts. The flourishing is not mainly with the root; it is with the branches.
Verse 14 continues, “They will still bring forth fruit in old age; / They will be full of sap and green.” Although I am an elderly person, I am more fruitful today than I was years ago. As this verse says, I am still bringing forth fruit in old age, and I am full of sap and green. We may flourish to such an extent that even when we are old we bring forth fruit. This is possible only in the church as the house of God. If we are planted in the divine habitation, we will flourish in the courts of our God, bring forth fruit even in old age, and be full of sap and green. The longer we dwell here, the younger we become. This is the result of dwelling in the house of the Lord.
These verses from Psalm 92 indicate that the unique place of God’s choice is not only the proper place to offer sacrifice and to worship God; it also is the proper place for the growth in life. The proper Christian life is a life that is planted in the church and that flourishes in the courts of the church life. Here in the church life we have the genuine growth in life. As we grow, we are filled with sap and green. As a result, spontaneously we are holy, spiritual, and victorious.
Who is more holy, spiritual, and victorious than those who are planted in the house of God? No one can surpass them in these respects. Those who dwell in the Lord’s house have no need to seek holiness, spirituality, or victory. These attributes spontaneously become theirs because they are planted in the church life and are flourishing in the church life. Because they are full of sap and green, they are automatically holy, spiritual, and victorious. This indicates that the proper way for us to have the Christian life is to be in the normal church life. Apart from the proper church life we cannot be holy, spiritual, or victorious. These attributes are found in the church life. When we are planted in the church life, we will flourish with holiness, spirituality, and victory. As a result, we will worship God not merely in an objective way but with a subjective, dispensational worship that comes out of the enjoyment of Christ in the presence of God.
The last psalm we will consider here is Psalm 133. Verse 1 says, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is / For brothers to dwell in unity!” This verse speaks of the goodness and pleasantness of dwelling in unity. According to verse 2, such a dwelling in unity “is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments” (KJV). Ointment spreads more slowly than oil does. In the church life the ointment does not run; rather, it spreads slowly, gradually, and gently. The precious ointment spreads from Aaron’s head even to the skirts of his garments. This indicates that it comes down from the Head to the entire Body.
In verse 3 the dwelling in unity is likened to the dew of Hermon and to the dew “that came down upon the mountains of Zion.” Hermon, a high mountain, signifies the heavens, from which the dew descends. The mountains are the local churches, and the dew is the grace of Christ. This dew that descends upon the local churches is very refreshing. We can testify that the refreshing element of Christ descends upon us in the local churches. Praise the Lord for the heavenly dew that descends upon the local churches for our enjoyment!
The ointment and the dew bring in life. Verse 3 says, “There Jehovah commanded the blessing: / Life forever” (v. 3). Note that this verse does not say, “Jehovah gave the blessing”; it says, “Jehovah commanded the blessing.” In the church life as the house of God, we enjoy the commanded blessing of life.
Even in Old Testament times, when God’s people came to a material temple, they enjoyed a wonderful life in the house of God. They gathered together around the temple and offered the top portion of the rich produce of the good land. Then they enjoyed these offerings with God and in the presence of God. This was their life, their living, and their worship. They worshipped the Lord through enjoying the riches of the good land. Because this was their living, they were planted and flourished in the house of the Lord. This is a picture, in typology, of what can happen on the ground of oneness.
The ground of oneness is not simply a matter of one city, one church. The ground of oneness is deeper, richer, higher, and fuller than this. We all must learn that in this universe God has chosen only one place, and that place is the church. God requires us to go to this place He has chosen. Spiritually speaking, we must destroy every place other than the church and every name other than the name of Christ. This means that we must destroy our culture and religious background. You were born in a particular region of this country. You need to destroy the influence of that place. Perhaps you had a religious background in a particular denomination. Now you must destroy that denominational place within you. The places that we must destroy include our disposition, temperament, and habits. We must destroy everything that damages the oneness of the one new man.
According to Colossians 3:11, in the new man “there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all and in all.” The church with Christ is the unique place of God’s choice. In order to fulfill the word of Colossians 3:11, every other place must be utterly destroyed. We must destroy everything that is not the church with Christ. Then we will simply be in the church life enjoying Christ as the riches of the good land. As we enjoy Him with God, we will be planted in the house of the Lord, we will grow, and we will flourish. This is the proper way to have the Christian life and the church life. This is the ground of oneness.
On this ground it is not possible to have division, for the basis of division has been destroyed. Our temperament, disposition, natural characteristics, and preferences have all been eliminated. Our religion, culture, and particular ways have also been destroyed. Having destroyed all the pagan places, we simply go to the place of God’s choice.
The church life has been weakened because of the lack of willingness to destroy the heathen places. Deuteronomy 12 has great spiritual significance for us today. In our human life and culture there are many places that remain to be destroyed. We must destroy them all and then go to the unique place of God’s choice, the church. In the church there cannot be anything other than Christ. Christ must be all and in all. It is easy to say this, but it is not easy to practice it in a definite way. Nevertheless, we have no excuse for not practicing this principle.
In every place that is to be destroyed there is a dedicated pillar, a symbol, or an image. This means that even in our character or disposition there may be such pillars, symbols, or images. Therefore, we must destroy all the places with their pillars, symbols, and images. Do not preserve any place. Rather, destroy them and go to the place of the Lord’s choice. As we have pointed out again and again, this place is the church. Having come to the church, we should have nothing other than the person of Christ and the unique way of the cross. Then we will enjoy Christ in the church as the top portion of the rich produce of the land. As we enjoy Him before God, this enjoyment will become our worship, our church life, and even our Christian daily living. Then we will grow and mature on the ground of oneness.
