The Stage of Enlargement


	Psalms 129-131: The Stage of Enlargement Introduction and Review We have seen that the third stage of the Psalms of Ascent, the stage of enjoyment, begins with two different "turns" from captivity. In Psalm 126 we are freed from the world and from Christianity to be brought into the church life. After enjoying the church life we are eventually released from the captivity of our self-life by falling into the ground to die. This leads to the experience of transformation as seen in Psalm 127. In the process of being transformed we become a "mighty man with arrows." As we go through the process of bearing fruit in the church life we became equipped with riches to serve the Lord. This issues in the mature and healthy serving life as described in Psalm 128. We become like an "olive tree" and a "fruitful vine," which means we become a supply of "oil" for the church to grow and a supply of "wine" for the church to be joyful. We no longer labor in vain but are able to produce and minister life to meet the needs of those around us. Once we come to this point in the Psalms of Ascent we may feel, "It is sufficient. There is no need for anything more. This is as high as it can go." However, we still need another "turn" in our experience. We have had two "turns" already, in Psalm 126 - a turn to come into the church life and a deeper turn to be freed from our self-life. Now we need an even greater turn, which we call "the stage of enlargement." The Lord must enlarge us so that we no longer consider ourselves to be special individuals. No matter how mature or spiritual we are, we can only satisfy the Lord by taking care of His testimony. The Lord must work on us and enlarge us so that our desire is not for ourselves, but for the whole church life to be healthy. The Lord enlarges us through three different experiences. Firstly, He arranges difficulties and afflictions in our environment so that we would grow properly (Psalm 129). Secondly, He exposes our sinful condition as we spend time in His presence (Psalm 130). Thirdly, He brings us to a state of lowliness and submission (Psalm 131). By these healthy experiences we are enlarged to properly care for His testimony. To purchase the book Journey of Life; the Psalms of Ascent and Song of Songs