The Local Churches Typified in the Book of Psalms

Additional Quotes about the Local Church by Witness Lee and Watchman Nee

Christ’s glory is not only in Himself, but also in the church. If we would see Christ’s glory in Himself, we must read the four Gospels. If we would see the glory and beauty of Christ in the church with so many saints, we must read the Epistles. It is the church “with” so many saints, not the church “and” so many saints (II Cor. 1:1). It is the queen with so many virgins, the queen with the King’s daughters, the queen with the honorable women. We must also see Christ’s beauty in His children, in His princes. In the book of Revelation, we have the local churches, and we also have the princes, those who will reign with Christ (Rev. 20). We see there the Lord’s beauty in His sons, the overcomers.

(Witness Lee, Christ and the Church, 72)

We have seen in the Psalms how God turned the saints’ concept from the law to Christ. We have also seen that out of Christ we have the church, the house. In the Psalms, Christ and the church are put together. Christ is here as the King and the church is here as the queen, the husband and the wife. The two are one; they are no more two, but one.

In verse 8 the church is mentioned as the ivory palaces; then in verse 9 the church is pictured as the queen. The palaces are the building, and the queen is the wife. In the entire Bible, God always uses these two figures to signify the church—the building and the bride. Even in Genesis 2 we have these two figures: firstly, the materials for the building, and secondly, a bride, Eve. Then, when we come to the end of the Bible, we have a building, a city, which is the Bride. The church on one hand is a palace to Christ, and on the other hand it is His queen. On one hand it is the house of God, and on the other hand it is the Bride of Christ.

(Witness Lee, Christ and the Church, 72)

Now let us go on to verse 13: “The king’s daughter is all glorious within the inner part of the palaces: her clothing is of wrought gold.” Here we have not the daughters, but the daughter. In verse 9 we read that the queen was arrayed in gold, but here the clothing is of wrought gold. Gold, as we have seen, signifies the nature of God. Wrought gold, however, signifies Christ. Christ is not only gold, but wrought gold. He, with His divine nature, has undergone so many sufferings and has been dealt with in so many ways that the gold in Him has become wrought gold. Now this wrought gold, this Christ, has become our clothing, our righteousness, that we may stand justified in the presence of God. In the eyes of God, we are clothed with Christ as the acceptable righteousness. Christ is our righteousness before God.

Then verse 14: “She (the queen) shall be brought unto the king.” It does not say that she will be brought unto God, but unto the King. Wrought gold is sufficient for us to abide in the presence of God, but an added factor is necessary that we may stand in the presence of the King. “She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of broidered work.” This raiment of embroidered work is the pure and white linen mentioned as the righteousness of the saints in Revelation 19. What is this? The clothing of wrought gold, as we have seen, is Christ. The raiment of embroidered work here is also Christ. But the first is the objective Christ; the second is the subjective Christ. The objective Christ is our righteousness that we may stand in the presence of God; the subjective Christ is Christ Himself woven into our character, embroidered into our being, that we may stand before the King. The latter is not merely a garment that we put on, but one that is worked into us, stitch by stitch. Christ as the wrought gold is the righteousness put upon us—that is our justification. But following that, the Holy Spirit is working day by day to embroider Christ into us stitch after stitch. Thus, we will have another raiment. We will have two robes: the first is for the Father’s satisfaction; the second is for Christ’s satisfaction. It is by the second that we will be brought unto Christ. All these are definitions and descriptions of the church, but praises unto Christ.

(Witness Lee, Christ and the Church, 75-76)

All the brothers and sisters in the church life are indeed precious, and we praise the Lord for them. But in another sense everyone is a little needle. In the local churches we need many needles to do the embroidery work that Christ may be wrought into our being. Then we will have a raiment of embroidered work to satisfy Christ. In Revelation 19 we see that it is by this garment the bride is made ready for the wedding. This is the garment of broidered work mentioned in Psalm 45. Praise the Lord, we have the first robe, but we need the second that we may not only praise Christ, but be a praise to Christ.

(Witness Lee, Christ and the Church, 76)

[In Psalm 45:9] [t]he queen is seen in gold of Ophir. Gold in typology signifies the divine nature. The church’s beauty is not in anything but the divine nature. She is royal and she is divine; she is in gold of Ophir, the best gold.

Then the Psalmist immediately turns to the queen and says, “Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father’s house.” Instead of praises here we have an instruction to the queen which is exceedingly meaningful. Sometimes even the instructions given to the local churches are the same as praises in the ears of Christ. Why? Because the proper instructions given to the church make the church more really the church; therefore these too are praises. These are the instructions: Hearken and forget. All the local churches must learn how to hear and how to forget, how to hear the Spirit’s living, up-to-date speaking, and how to forget the past—the old relationships, the old ways, the old background. We must forget our people and our father’s house—”so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty.” The more we forget the past, the more beautiful we become in His eyes. Whenever I hear some people speak of their past, I have the sense of ugliness. If we would leave all the past and go on with the Lord in a new way, we would obtain beauty in the King’s eyes.

(Witness Lee, Christ and the Church, 74)

Main

God’s House

Zion

City of God

Bride

Practical Salvation

Built Up

Victory

Bibliography

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