Scripture Reading: Psa. 23:1-6; 24:1, 3, 7-10
Ⅰ
The resurrected Christ as the life-giving Spirit shepherds us inwardly in five stages—1 Pet. 2:25:
A
He shepherds us in the initial stage of the enjoyment in green pastures and at waters of rest—Psa. 23:1-2; 1 Tim. 1:4; Phil. 1:19b; John 21:15; 1 Thes. 2:7; 1 Cor. 12:13b.
B
He shepherds us in the second stage of revival and transformation on the paths of righteousness—Psa. 23:3; Rom. 12:2; John 7:38; Rom. 8:4.
C
He shepherds us in the third stage of the experience of the presence of the resurrected pneumatic Christ through the valley of the shadow of death—Psa. 23:4; 2 Tim. 4:22; 2 Cor. 12:7-10.
D
He shepherds us in the fourth stage of the deeper and higher enjoyment of the resurrected Christ—Psa. 23:5:
１
The Lord spreads a table before us in the presence our adversaries—v. 5a; cf. 2 Sam. 4:4; 9:7, 13; Gen. 14:18-20; Neh. 4:17.
２
The Lord anoints our head with oil, and our cup runs over—Psa. 23:5b; Heb. 1:9; 1 Cor. 10:16a, 21.
３
In Psalm 23:5 we have the Triune God—the Son as the feast, the Spirit as the anointing oil, and the Father as the source of blessing.
E
He shepherds us in the fifth stage of the lifelong enjoyment of the divine goodness and lovingkindness in the house of Jehovah—v. 6:
１
Under the organic shepherding of the pneumatic Christ, goodness and lovingkindness will follow us all the days of our life, and we will dwell in the house of Jehovah for the length of our days—v. 6:
ａ
Goodness refers to the grace of Christ, lovingkindness refers to the love of the Father, and follow refers to the fellowship of the Spirit; thus, the grace of the Son, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Spirit are with us—2 Cor. 13:14.
ｂ
The enjoyment of the processed and consummated Triune God ushers us into the enjoyment of God in the house of God (Christ, the church, and the New Jerusalem—John 1:14; 2:21; 1 Tim. 3:15-16; Eph. 2:22; Rev. 21:2-3, 22) for the length of our days (in the present age, in the coming age, and in eternity).
２
We need to seek to dwell in the house of God all the days of our life—27:4-8:
ａ
To behold the beauty (loveliness, pleasantness, delightfulness) of God—vv. 4, 8; 2 Cor. 3:18.
ｂ
To inquire of God, checking with God about everything in our daily life—Psa. 27:4b; cf. Josh. 9:14.
ｃ
To be concealed in God's shelter and to hide ourselves in the hiding place of God's tent—Psa. 27:5; 31:20.
ｄ
To be raised up and have our head lifted up by God—27:5b-6a.
ｅ
To offer sacrifices of shouts of joy with singing and psalming to God for the glory of God—v. 6b; Heb. 13:15; Phil. 2:11.
Ⅱ
The Lord is shepherding His flock for the building up of His Body that He may gain Zion (signifying the overcomers) as the way for Him to come back to regain the entire earth:
A
Christ is the coming King, the King who will regain the entire earth through the people He is shepherding today—cf. John 21:15-17.
B
Through the overcomers, by the overcomers, and with the overcomers, Christ will come back to be the King of glory—Psa. 24:7; Rev. 19:13-14.
C
Jerusalem typifies the church, and Zion typifies the overcomers in the church:
１
Among the Old Testament types, there is God's holy city, Jerusalem, and within this city there is a high peak called Zion, on which the temple was built—Psa. 2:6; 125:1.
２
Zion is the high peak, the center, the uplifting, the strengthening, the enriching, and the reality of the church—20:2; 48:2, 11-12; 53:6a; 87:2.
３
Zion is the highlight of Jerusalem, the beauty of the holy city—48:2; 50:2.
４
The Lord's recovery is to build up Zion, the reality of the Body of Christ—Rev. 14:1; Eph. 4:16; Rev. 21:2.
D
The mountain of Zion is absolutely open to the Lord and is absolutely possessed by Him—Psa. 24:1, 3, 7-10:
１
Although the Lord has the right, the title, to the earth, today the earth is usurped, yet on this usurped earth there is the mountain of Jehovah, the overcomers, as the stepping-stone and the beachhead for Him to return to take the whole earth—vv. 1, 3.
２
We need to be open vessels, those who love and receive the Lord to the uttermost, allowing Him to be everything to us and do everything in us, through us, and for us—2 Cor. 4:7; Rom. 9:21, 23.