The Local Churches Typified in the Book of Psalms

The Bride (the Queen) as a Symbol of the Local Church

In Psalm 45, the psalmists not only praised the king, but they also spoke marvelously of the queen. Witness Lee offers a marvelous interpretation of this Psalm. According to Witness Lee, this Psalm embodies not only praise to Christ, but also well-speaking regarding His bride, the church. A believer who is truly spiritual must not only exalt Christ, but he must also love and appreciate the church, His beloved bride, for she is His fullness, the expression of all His riches. Thus, to speak well of the church is to praise Christ indirectly. Psalm 45:9 is a praise of the “queen,” a symbol of the local churches as the corporate bride of Christ. With the following analogy, Witness Lee explains that praising the queen is one way to praise the King, Christ.

Beginning with verse 9, we enter the second section of Psalm 45. It is the praise to the King, but about the queen. In other words, the queen becomes the praise of the King. If you would praise the King, you must say something concerning the queen, because the queen is part of the King….the whole Psalm is praise to the King, but the first section is praise about the King, the second section is praise about the queen, and the third section is praise about the King’s children, the princes.

Psalm 45 in its entirety is written about Christ, yet it is written from the aspect of human relationships. As a human being, you, of course, have yourself; but as a normal human being you also need a wife. Eventually, to be completed and perfected as a human being, you need children. Christ is not a bachelor; He is the King with the queen and all the children. If you would render Him complete praise, you must say something about Himself, something about His queen, and something concerning His children. His glory is not only in Himself; it is also in His queen and His children. The riches and fullness of a man are in his wife and family; likewise, the riches and fullness of Christ are in His church with all His children. Thus there are three sections of this wonderful, marvelous, unique praise of Christ: the praises about the King, about the queen, and about the royal children.

(Witness Lee, Christ and the Church, 71-72)

Witness Lee reiterates below that to praise the queen, who typifies the local church, is to praise Christ, the King.

Verse 9 goes on to say, “Upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.” The kings’ daughters are the saints, and the queen is the church. Individually speaking, we are the saints, but corporately speaking, we are the church. We are all one queen; the queen is a corporate body. She is at His right hand. Brothers, if you have your dear wife standing at your side, and I speak commendably of her, you will feel happy. The praise is about your dear wife, but it goes to you. The praise here is about the queen, but it goes to the King. When we say, “Look, look at the resplendent glory of that golden queen,” the glory goes to Christ. Every time we speak well of the church, Christ in heaven is made glad. When we say, “Praise the Lord for the church in Chicago,” or, “Praise the Lord for the church in Atlanta,” He is well pleased. Whenever we speak well of the local churches, it is a kind of praise to Christ.

The praise about the King should undoubtedly come first, but the praise concerning the queen should follow. Suppose you were the King: what part of the praise would make you happier? If I were the King, I would delight more in the praise about the queen. Christ is deeply gratified when we speak well of the local churches. Our praises must be not only about Christ, but many times about the queen, about the churches….Verse 12: “And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall entreat thy favor.” Here we see that if the local church is in a proper condition, the people of the earth will come to it. Not only the poor and the lowly will come, but the rich and the honorable, on the one hand with a gift, and on the other hand to entreat the church’s favor. All these are praises about the church, but praises to Christ.

(Witness Lee, Christ and the Church, 73-75)

Witness Lee points out to us in this Psalm that those who really know the Lord would not only exalt Christ, but would also indirectly glorify Christ by speaking well of the church, His dear bride. Christ loved the church and died for Her. The degree to which we genuinely know the Lord can be measured, to some extent, by the degree to which we appreciate the church—in particular, the believers in our local church.

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