how lovely is the church, God’s dwelling place! We love being in God’s house, enjoying His presence!

The book of Psalms starts with the psalmists appreciating and uplifting the law(see Psa. 1), but God turns them again and again towards Christ – God’s heart’s desire, the precious One, the most lovely One, and the One anointed by God(see Psa. 2, 8, 16, 23, and 24). What a wonderful Christ! But after Psalm 24 we see that there’s even a higher enjoyment of God – the enjoyment of God in the house of God! Even our tasting and seeing that the Lord is good(Psa. 34:8) takes place in the house of God. God wants to turn our eyes from the law to Christ, and even more, for us to enjoy Christ in the house of God! What a lovely place this is – the house of God, the tabernacle of God, the dwelling place of God! The church is the house of God – it is God’s retreat, where He comes to find rest, a cool place for Him to relax and enjoy… There are so many aspects of God’s house revealed in the book of the Psalms which are enjoyed by us – here we find rest, peace, enjoyment, satisfaction, protection, supply, joy, etc…. When we were without the Lord and we didn’t know Him, we were in a dark place and the life we lived was miserable; but when we met the Lord and received Him, life divine came into us! Even more now, when the Lord brought us in the church life in the Lord’s recovery – life is so enjoyable! How lovely and pleasant the church life is! Here both God and man is happy, and man can enjoy God while God enjoys being with man and in man…

How lovely is God’s dwelling place – even the little birds find their home here(Psa. 84). Here we as little birds find our home, between the two altars! Jehovah God dwells among His people in the house of God(Psa. 68) – the church life is “the heaven”, where God dwells, and where we enjoy peace and rest. It is here in the house of God that we enjoy the fatness of God’s house and we drink the river of God’s pleasures(Psa. 36). In His house, God is the fountain of life and we see light in His light. We see God’s glory in His sanctuary – God is awesome in His sanctuaries(Psa. 68). Even the ground, the site, where the house is – Mount Zion – is beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth! According to Psa. 43, 68:16, 76:2, we see that God’s dwelling place is in Zion - God can be located today, He dwells in Zion, with man! The church is the most beautiful resort / retreat in the world! The main characteristic in the house of God is that this is where is God’s presence. We love the church and we gladly gather and meet with the saints in the church life not because of the music, the meeting hall, or even the speaker there – no, we are in the church meetings because we can touch God’s presence, and it is here that His glory abides. Just like the psalmists, we pray that we may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of our life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in His temple! It is here that we get revelation from God – when we see how the evil men flourish and the righteous men suffer, when we see unrighteousness and suffering in the world, and whenever we have problems and questions, we can come to God in the house of God – and we see something of God’s plan and His economy!

There is so much more to say and enjoy about and in the house of God! This is the saints’ desire – how lovely is Your tabernacle; my soul longs and pants for the courts of Jehovah(Psa. 84:2). A day in the courts of God – in the church life – is better than one thousand elsewhere(Psa. 84:10)! In this lovely place we may be planted, we can flourish, and we can bear fruit – the church is the best place to live on earth, to have our family, to raise our children, and to live our daily life! The best place to live on earth is the house of God! This is a place of worship – on the holy mountain, in God’s house. It is HERE that we worship God – in the spirit and in reality(John 4:24): this is where the church on the proper ground is! In the house of God, God is our portion! Who do I have in heaven but You – and there’s nothing on earth that I desire but You(Psa. 73:25)! When we are in God’s sanctuary, in His house, in the church, our veils are taken away and we see and declare that we have nothing in heaven or on earth besides God! We want only God in the house of God, and we are mingled with God in His house! “Mingled with fresh oil”(Psa. 92:10) – in the church life, where God dwells, we are mingled with God in Christ as the Spirit, the fresh oil! When God becomes our dwelling place and we are in His house, we are annointed and mingled with fresh oil. What a lovely place! Here we want to be, live, have our being, and remain – for the rest of our lives! [sharing inspired from the life-study of the Psalms(by Witness Lee) as quoted in the Morning Revival on the Crystallization Study of the Psalms - become a fan on Facebook for more updates, or read more portions on the Crystallization of Psalms; and from the message 2 in the first message in the Cryst. Psalms training. Picture: Flickr. Intro: Enjoying God in the house of God]

How lovely is Your dwelling place! Lord, we love You and we love being in Your house. Uplift our appreciation and our view of the church and the church life. It is here that we have Your presence – and we love to be in Your presence! Lord, the half cannot be fancied of such a treasure store – and every day You’re dearer, nearer, and richer than You ever were before – in God’s house! Keep us in Your courts, in Your tabernacle, between the altars! We love being here, enjoying God here, and being mingled with God in the house of God!