Vision of the Church as God's Testimony

Psalm 122 shows us a vision of the church, the Body of Christ. In this psalm there is a glorious progression. First, we have fellowship, then a stand, then we are built up together, and out of the building God Himself is exalted. We are here coming together as the Lord's testimony. No "self" is here. Only Christ, and the purpose of Christ, are here. This psalm presents such a joyful and prevailing picture of the church life.

Psalm 122 begins with a healthy fellowship: "I rejoiced when they said to me, Let us go to the house of Jehovah" (v. 1). The ones who spoke to the psalmist did not talk about other things. Their fellowship was only concerning the house of Jehovah. Today, the Lord's house is the church life. In our experience, the vision of the church life began with God's grace. By God's grace, out of God's government, we were able to meet a few saints who really loved the Lord and who loved His testimony. When they came to us, their declaration was simply, "Let us go to the house of the Lord!" This fellowship brought us into the church life.

We Are Separated from the World and Are Standing in the Church Life

The psalmist then says, "Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem" (v. 2). Jerusalem is a city that stands for God as His testimony. Formerly we stood outside of this city, meaning we were outside of God's testimony. We may have seen through the world and we may have seen who the Lord was, but we still didn't fully see what the Lord Himself was doing. Neither did we have any experience of His testimony. But then some saints told us to come to a church meeting, or a conference, or a gathering of a few saints. They said to us, "Let us go and enjoy the Lord in His house together!" Then we began to enjoy and experience the church life. Once we enjoyed the church life, a separation occurred. Our feet were not only being kept from the world, as in Psalm 121. Now our feet were in Jerusalem. "Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!"

The Testimony is Built on the Experiences of Christ Compacted Together

The next verse in this psalm says, "Jerusalem has been built as a city that has been compacted together" (v. 3). This verse is hard to understand because it is related to the geography of Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem is built upon five hills. In the church life, in Jerusalem, the hills are compacted together. There are actually many "hills" in the church life. There are many saints with large amounts of Christ and with many experiences of the Lord. Yet all of the hills are compacted together. This means that not one brother exalts himself for his own gain. No one in the church life exalts in his or her own attainment. In the church life all the saints are for one goal, which is God's purpose. The saints only care for God's economy. There are many "hills" in the church life. There are many saints with a lot of experiences, but there is only one reality. Because all of the hills are compacted together, there is no place for anything else to come in.

All of the Saints "Go Up" for the Lord's Testimony

Then the psalm continues, "To which the tribes go up, the tribes of Jehovah - a custom [or testimony] for Israel - to give thanks to the name of Jehovah" (v. 4). All of the tribes go up unto the testimony of Israel. All of the tribes mean all of the saints, from all of the localities. They go up to establish, build up, and display God's testimony. The world only "goes up" for self-gain. Everyone in the world goes up to try to gain something for themselves. But in the church life, all the tribes go up for the sake of the Lord's testimony. They go up to give thanks to the name of the Lord. In the church life, there is nothing else to "go up" for. There is only the Lord Himself. In the church life we don't exalt ourselves. We only exalt Christ. When we all go up and exalt Him, it becomes His testimony.

In The Church Life We Experience the Thrones of Judgment

The psalmist then tells us, "For there thrones are set for judgment, thrones of the house of David" (v. 5). It is easier to enjoy the first four verses of this psalm than verse five, because those verses are so sweet. After declaring that we are in the Lord's testimony to which all the tribes go up, why would the psalmist bring in something of judgment? It seems that the church life is too sweet to have judgment. Yet here it tells us, not only are we built up together to bear the Lord's testimony, but within this testimony there are thrones set for judgment. We should realize that the more we are in the church life then the more we experience judgment. The more we are in the church life then the more the church life judges us.

Those who are in the church life live under judgment. There is not only one throne, there are "thrones set for judgment." There are multiple thrones. It seems that many brothers and sisters in our experience our nothing but judgment to us. This doesn't necessarily mean that they come to us and tell us we are wrong. They themselves are thrones of judgment. When we are with them we sense a shining, and we realize, "Oh Lord Jesus, I am so short." For this reason we should give ourselves to be with those who are spiritually more mature than we are.

Without Judgment There Will Be No Testimony

The more the church life is healthy, the more judgment we will experience. It is when the church life becomes weak that there is little judgment among us. Instead, there are opinions and unnecessary talk. There is self-vindication, complaining, excuses, and many other things. That means there is no judgment. When there is no judgment, then there is no building or testimony among us. In this psalm, we firstly came into the church life and gave ourselves to the church life. After we gave ourselves, we were built up into the church life. By being built up, we became the testimony of the Lord. It is when we are experiencing the church life in such a high way that the judgment comes in. If we are lacking this judgment then we will begin to lose those previous experiences. When there is no judgment eventually there is no separation from the world, no consecration to the church, no being built up with other saints, and no testimony of the Lord. This is why, in our experience, we must allow ourselves to be judged in the church life.

Judgment Issues in Three Positive Items

Usually judgment is related to condemnation. In a court of law, for example, after a judgment there is a sentencing, which is a kind of condemnation. But the judgment described in this psalm does not issue in condemnation. Instead it issues in three precious and positive items. "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Those who love you will prosper" (v. 6). Firstly, this judgment issues in peace. Secondly, it issues in love. Thirdly, it issues in prosperity. All of these precious items come out of judgment.

Individually and Corporately, Peace Comes Out of Judgment

The first item that follows judgment is peace. The more judgment we experience, the more peace we will have. If we don't have any judgment then we will be filled with our own opinions and ways. This is just who we are. All of us are wild. Wherever we go we are filled with opinions, and whenever there are opinions there can be no peace. Peace can only come when judgment is there.

This is true of us individually and corporately. Peace comes out of judgment. If we have struggling, strife, anxiety, and unrest in our personal lives, if we are confronting a lot of hardship and difficult decisions, then we should come to the Lord in the church life for judgment. We should not just come for the enjoyment of the Lord's presence. We should come so that we may let ourselves be judged by the Spirit through the meetings and through the saints. Once judgment comes, peace comes.

Peace is for the Building Up of the Church

When the Lord's grace is applied to us in the church life it is often through judgment. The more we are judged, the more we enjoy His grace. This causes us to be peaceful. Judgment brings in the peace. The more the church is judged, the more the church is peaceful. This is what builds up the Body of Christ. The more the saints are judged, the more they can be built up together. Out of judgment the church has the reality of being built up. Judgment does not bring us under condemnation, but grants us grace and peace that we may be built up together into His testimony.

Judgment Brings in Love and Prosperity

Judgment not only brings in peace, but love and prosperity. Verse six continues, "Those who love you will prosper." In our experience, when we love the Lord we also love the saints. Out of our love we will enjoy prosperity. Prosperity is a matter of life. The more we are flourishing in life, the more we are prosperous. The thrones of judgment in verse five lead to these three precious items. We experience the building in peace, the love for the Lord and for all the saints, and the prosperous riches of life. The psalmist continues, "Peace be within your bulwarks, and prosperity within your citadels" (v. 7). Within the church, there is peace for building. Within Christ, there is prosperity in life for us to grow.

This Vision Causes Us to Seek the Goodness of the Church Life

Psalm 122 concludes, "For my brothers' and companions' sake I will now say, Peace be within you. For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God I will seek your good" (v. 8-9). Once we have seen the church we say, "I will seek your good." "Your good" refers to the goodness of the church. It means that we declare, "Now I see the church. From now on I will be for nothing else but for the church life."

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To purchase the book Journey of Life; the Psalms of Ascent and Song of Songs