Ⅲ
The overcomers enjoy Christ as the incarnated Triune God, the God-man, and are those in whose heart are the highways to Zion—“Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, ⁄ In whose heart are the highways to Zion. ⁄ Passing through the valley of Baca, ⁄ They make it a spring; ⁄ Indeed the early rain covers it with blessings. ⁄ They go from strength to strength; ⁄ Each appears before God in Zion”—84:5-7:
A
The strippings and weepings result in the enjoyment of the loveliness and sweetness of God’s house—vv. 1, 6 and footnotes 12 and 61; cf. 73:26 and footnote 1.
B
While we are weeping, we are being filled with the Spirit, and the Spirit becomes a spring and the early rain to us; the highways to Zion signify our intention to enter into the church as the house of God with the two altars, which signify the leading consummations of the work of the incarnated Triune God, who is Christ as the embodiment of God for His increase—84:3-6.
C
Psalm 84:11 reveals that the blessings of our dwelling in the house of God are our enjoyment of the incarnated and consummated Triune God as our sun to supply us with life (John 1:4; 8:12), as our shield to protect us from God’s enemy (Eph. 6:11-17), as grace for our enjoyment (John 1:14, 17), and as glory for the manifestation of God in splendor (Rev. 21:11, 23).
Ⅳ
“His foundation is in the holy mountains. ⁄ Jehovah loves the gates of Zion”—Psa. 87:1-2a:
A
Zion, as a type of the overcomers in the church, is built on the highest peak of the “holy mountains,” which typify the local churches, whose foundation is Christ (v. 1); the heavenly Zion, of which glorious things are spoken (v. 3), will be the final place of rest for the overcomers (Rev. 14:1).
B
The gates of Zion are for coming in and going out, signifying fellowship; the fact that the New Jerusalem will have twelve gates (21:12, 21) indicates that God’s holy city will be full of fellowship.
C
“Of Zion it will be said, ⁄ This one and that one were born in her, ⁄ And the Most High Himself will establish her. ⁄ Jehovah will count ⁄ When He records the peoples: ⁄ This One was born there” (Psa. 87:5-6); the unique One, Christ, who is the totality of all the saints (“this one” and “that one”), is the One who is all the saints and in all the saints (Col. 3:11).
D
“All my springs are in you” (Psa. 87:7); let Egypt boast of the Nile, and let Babylon boast of the Euphrates; they do not have the springs, but we in Zion have them.
Morning Nourishment
Psa. 84:5-7 Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. Passing through the valley of Baca, they make it a spring; indeed the early rain covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength; each appears before God in Zion.Psalm 84, concerning the psalmist’s love for the house of God with Christ, follows the psalms on the stripping of God’s seekers and the desolation of God’s house, beginning with Psalm 73. In the recovery and restoration (Psa. 80) the loveliness and sweetness of God’s house are intensified. (Psa. 84:1, footnote 1)
On the one hand, those on the highways to Zion are strengthened in God (Psa. 84:5); on the other hand, they are opposed by Satan, who causes them to suffer persecution. The trouble and persecution caused by Satan can make the highway a valley of weeping. This special term indicates that the psalmist had been disciplined by God and had been stripped by Him. (Psa. 84:6, footnote 1) When we pass through the valley of Baca, [meaning “weeping”], God makes this valley a spring (cf. Col. 1:24; Heb. 10:34). This spring is the Spirit (John 4:14; 7:38-39)... While we are weeping, we are being filled with the Spirit, and the Spirit becomes our spring. (Psa. 84:6, footnote 2) Those who come into the church life by passing through the valley of weeping find that this weeping eventually becomes a great blessing to them. This blessing is the Spirit (Gal. 3:14). The tears they shed are their own, but these tears issue in a spring, which becomes the early rain, the Spirit as the blessing. (Psa. 84:6, footnote 3)
Today’s Reading
The blessings of our dwelling in the house of God are our enjoyment of the incarnated and consummated Triune God as our sun to supply us with life (John 1:4; 8:12), as our shield to protect us from God’s enemy (Eph. 6:11-17), as grace for our enjoyment (John 1:14, 17), and as glory for the manifestation of God in splendor (Rev. 21:11, 23). (Psa. 84:11, footnote 1)Psalm 87 first refers to Zion’s foundation, which is called “His [God’s] foundation” (v. 1). This divine foundation, typifying Christ as God’s unique foundation for the building up of His house, the church (1 Cor. 3:11), is built in the “holy mountains,” which typify the local churches. Jerusalem was built on these holy mountains, and among these mountains the highest peak is the one on which Zion was built, which typifies the church.
The gates [of Zion in Psalm 87:2] are for coming in and going out, signifying fellowship. The fact that the New Jerusalem will have twelve gates indicates that God’s holy city will be full of fellowship... Zion has many gates for fellowship.
Psalm 87 unveils Christ with all the saints to be God’s house for God’s city and for God to gain the whole earth. Verses 5 and 6 say, “Of Zion it will be said, / This one and that one were born in her, / And the Most High Himself will establish her. / Jehovah will count / When He records the peoples: / This One was born there.” The word about “this one” and “that one” being born in Zion indicates that Zion is full of saints. Verse 6 tells us that “this One”—Christ, the unique One—was born there. Christ Himself and all the saints were born in Zion. Moses, Joshua, David, Elijah, Peter, Paul, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, Zinzendorf, Darby, Watchman Nee, and so many others were born in Zion. Eventually, even the unique One, Christ, who is the totality of all the saints as the One who is all the saints and in all the saints (Col. 3:11), was born there. This is God’s counting, God’s record, regarding Zion. Not all the saints born in Zion are famous ones. Rather, among the singers and the dancers (Psa. 87:7), there are many unknown ones. We today may be the unknown ones, but we can sing and praise the Lord, saying of Zion, the city of God, “All my springs are in you.” (Life-study of the Psalms, pp. 391-393)
Further Reading: Life-study of the Psalms, msgs. 11, 32-34; CWWL, 1969, vol. 3, “Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms,” chs. 14-15