The Testimony of the Church Life in Maturity (2)


	PSALM 134: The Testimony of the Church Life in Maturity (2) In Maturity the Saints Become the Servants of the Lord Psalm 134 is the final psalm in our spiritual ascent up Mount Zion. It begins, "Bless Jehovah now, all you servants of Jehovah who stand by night in the house of Jehovah" (v. 1). After all of the previous experiences the psalmist is full of feeling, because he has come so far in his ascent. He can remember that once he was such a low person, in constant distress and full of deception. But now he has become different. By his growth in life he has entered into maturity, so he says, "Bless Jehovah!" Furthermore, the psalmist's exercise has helped bring the Lord's testimony into maturity. This is the significance of "all you servants of Jehovah." When we enter into the experience of this psalm, it is not only we ourselves who are different, but all of the saints are different. The entire church life is different. By their enjoyment of the divine anointing and the freshness of Christ's resurrection, all of the saints possess a certain degree of maturity. Psalm 134 does not speak of the maturity of one individual but of the entire Body of Christ. The servants of the Lord here are not just the leading ones. When the church life is brought into maturity every saint becomes a servant of the Lord. The Church in Maturity Awaits the Lord's Return Here at the end of the Psalms of Ascent, the church as the Bride has made herself ready and is awaiting the Lord's return. It seems that all of our experiences from the previous Psalms of Ascent are over. The afflictions and difficulties are over. Even the experiences of growth and maturity are over. We are just here in the church life waiting for Him to return. The servants of the Lord "stand by night in the house of Jehovah." The dawn has not yet come and it is still night outside, because the Lord has not yet come back. We have no other hope in this world. The only thing we can look forward to is for the Lord to return. At this stage the reality of the church life has been manifested. The maturity of the church life is displayed in full. Yet in such a wonderful situation our only hope is, "Lord, please come back." Here we see that all the servants of the Lord are standing and waiting for the Lord's return. To "stand" means to have a diligent exercise. Not one of the saints is at rest. All of the saints are diligently standing, watching, and waiting for the Lord to come back. Our cry for His return is a corporate cry. When we reach this stage all of the saints cry out together, "Oh, Lord, You must come back!" The servants here are standing in "the house of Jehovah," which today is the church life. The Lord will not come back because of one individual's maturity. The Lord will only come back when the entire church has entered into maturity and has expressed the desire for Him to return. In Psalm 134 all the saints in the church life display maturity. They are all servants of the Lord. They are all crying out together, "Lord, come back! The night has been too long!" Even after we have entered into the highest enjoyment in the church life we should still seek something more. Even when we are enjoying the divine anointing and the freshness of Christ in resurrection, we should still say, "Lord, come back. Yes, we have the highest enjoyment, but Lord, we are not satisfied. We still expect something even more glorious to come. Oh Lord, we stand and wait for Your return!" By Our Maturity We Become a Blessing to the Lord The psalm continues, "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord" (v. 2). To lift up our hands is to pray. In the church life we should be those who pray and who bless the Lord. This phrase, "Bless the Lord," is precious. When we are immature it seems that we are always asking for the Lord to bless us. But after all of our previous experiences there is now a corporate testimony. There is a display of maturity in the church life in which we lift up our hands, interceding and praying for the Lord to come back. As we pray for the Lord's return we say, "Lord, we bless You." By our maturity we have become a blessing to the Lord. The Lord Blesses Us from the Church Life in Maturity Psalm 134 ends, "May Jehovah, who made heaven and earth, bless you from Zion" (v. 3). This is the conclusion of the Psalms of Ascent. At the beginning of these psalms Jehovah was the Creator. Now at the end of these psalms this very Creator blesses us out of Zion. He blesses us out of a glorious church life where He and His people are one. May we all become such a blessing to the Lord, and may the Lord bless us from the glorious church life in maturity. Praise the Lord! This concludes the messages on the Psalms of Ascent. To purchase the book Journey of Life; the Psalms of Ascent and Song of Songs