Scripture Reading: Luke 24:44; Psa. 2:6-8; 36:8-9; 46:4; 48:1, 2b; 72:8, 19
Ⅰ
The extract of the Psalms:
A
The spirit, the reality, the characteristic, of the divine revelation in the book of Psalms is Christ as the centrality and universality of the eternal economy of God—Luke 24:44.
B
First, Christ is the embodiment of the Triune God, then the house, the habitation of God (signified by the temple), the kingdom of God (signified by the city of Jerusalem), and the Ruler of the entire earth from the house of God and in the kingdom of God.
C
The consummation of the divine revelation is the city of New Jerusalem as a sign of the habitation, the tabernacle, of God through which the Triune God is manifested and expressed in the all-inclusive Christ—Rev. 21:2.
D
"God desires to have an organic habitation on earth, and this habitation is the aggregate of the living saints gained by God through the terminating death and the germinating resurrection of the all-inclusive Christ. They will be the eternal manifestation and expression of the processed and consummated Triune God, and He will be everything to them in His all-inclusive Christ. The Triune God will reign on the earth through such an organism in the new universe. This is the spirit, the extract, of the book of Psalms" (Life-study of the Psalms, pp. 512-513).
Ⅱ
The crucial turns in the Psalms:
A
The turn from the law to Christ:
１
"His delight is in the law of Jehovah, / And in His law he meditates by day and by night"—1:2.
２
"I have installed My King / Upon Zion, My holy mountain"—2:6.
３
"Kiss the Son"—v. 12a.
B
The turn from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to the tree of life:
１
"Surely God is good to Israel, / To those who are pure in heart"—73:1.
２
"When I considered this in order to understand it, / It was a troublesome task in my sight, / Until I went into the sanctuary of God; / Then I perceived their end"—vv. 16-17.
３
"Whom do I have in heaven but You? / And Besides You there is nothing I desire on earth….God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever"—vv. 25, 26b.
C
The turn from pious expressions uttered out of complex sentiments to the enjoyment of Christ:
１
"Make Your ways known to me, O Jehovah; / Teach me Your paths. / Guide me in Your truth, and teach me; / For You are the God of my salvation; / I wait on You all the day long"—25:4-5.
２
"My heart overflows with a good matter; / I speak what I have composed concerning the King….You are fairer than the sons of men; / Grace is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed You forever"—45:1a, 2.
D
The turn from the individual enjoyment of Christ to the corporate enjoyment of Christ in the house of God:
１
"Jehovah is my Shepherd; I will lack nothing. / He makes me lie down in green pastures; / He leads me beside waters of rest. / He restores my soul; / He guides me on the paths of righteousness / For His name's sake"—23:1-3.
２
"They are saturated with the fatness of Your house, / And You cause them to drink of the river of Your pleasures. / For with You is the fountain of life; / In Your light we see light"—36:8-9.
E
The turn from the house of God to the city of God:
１
"O Jehovah, I love the habitation of Your house, / And the place where Your glory abides"—26:8.
２
"There is a river whose streams gladden the city of God"—46:4.
３
"Great is Jehovah, / And much to be praised / In the city of our God….The city of the great King"—48:1, 2b.
F
The turn from desolation to the exaltation and preeminence of Christ:
１
"O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance; / They have defiled Your holy temple; / They have turned Jerusalem into heaps"—79:1.
２
"Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, / Upon the son of man whom You have strengthened for Yourself"—80:17.
G
The turn from captivity to Zion:
１
"When Jehovah turned again the captivity of Zion, / We were like those who dream….Turn again, O Jehovah, our captivity"—126:1, 4a.
２
"Jehovah has chosen Zion; / He has desired it for His habitation"—132:13.
３
"May Jehovah, who made heaven and earth, / Bless you from Zion"—134:3.
H
The whole earth turning to the Lord through Zion:
１
"Jehovah is great in Zion, / And He is exalted over all the peoples"—99:2.
２
"That the name of Jehovah may be declared in Zion, / And His praise, in Jerusalem, / When the peoples are gathered together, / And the kingdoms, to serve Jehovah"—102: 21-22.
３
"He will have dominion from sea to sea / And from the River unto the ends of the earth"—72:8.
４
"Blessed be His glorious name forever; / And may His glory fill the whole earth"—v. 19.
５
"Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, / From eternity to eternity. / And Let all the people say, Amen. Hallelujah"—106:48.