EXALTED, MINGLED, PLANTED,
AND FLOURISHING
In Psalm 92 we see even more aspects of the enjoyment in the house of God. Verse 10 says, "But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of a wild ox: I shall be anointed with fresh oil" (Heb.). In the church life we can be as strong as a wild ox. Furthermore, we have two horns that are exalted. This is possible only in the house of God. Moreover, in God’s house we are anointed, even mingled (Heb.), with fresh oil. Outwardly we have two exalted horns, and inwardly we are mingled with fresh oil. Every-one in the church life can have horns like a wild ox and be mingled with fresh oil.
Many who have come into the church life have experienced their horn being exalted. Before we came to dwell in the church, we were low and frequently defeated. But when we came into God’s dwelling place, we sensed that our horn was exalted over our enemy. Furthermore, we sensed that we were mingled with fresh oil. In God’s house we daily have the sense of being mingled with fresh oil. Day by day we sense something very fresh—this is the oil that is being mingled with us. The reason we are fresh is that we are mingled with fresh oil.
Verse 13 says, "Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God." We should not simply dwell in the Lord’s house; we should also be planted there. Have you been planted in the church life? Those who leave the church have not been planted in the church. Once you have been planted in the house of the Lord, you cannot leave it.
If we have been planted in the house of the Lord, we shall flourish in the courts of God. This is a very meaningful expression. We are in both the house and the courts. Our root is set in the house, but our branches reach out into the courts. The flourishing is not mainly with the root; it is with the branches.
Verse 14 continues, "They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and green" (Heb.). Although I am an elderly person, I am more fruitful today than I was years ago. As this verse says, I am still bringing forth fruit in old age, and I am full of sap and green. We may flourish to such an extent that even when we are old we bring forth fruit. This is possible only in the church as the house of God. If we are planted in the divine habitation, we shall flourish in the courts of our God, bring forth fruit even in old age, and be full of sap and green. The longer we dwell here, the younger we become. This is the result of dwelling in the house of the Lord.
These verses from Psalm 92 indicate that the unique place of God’s choice is not only the proper place to offer sacrifice and to worship God. It also is the proper place for the growth in life. The proper Christian life is a life that is planted in the church and that flourishes in the courts of the church life. Here in the church life we have the genuine growth in life. As we grow, we are filled with sap and green. As a result, spontaneously we are holy, spiritual, and victorious.
Who is more holy, spiritual, and victorious than those who are planted in the house of God? No one can surpass them in these respects. Those who dwell in the Lord’s house have no need to seek holiness, spirituality, or victory. These attributes spontaneously become theirs because they are planted in the church life and are flourishing in the church life. Because they are full of sap and green, they are automatically holy, spiritual, and victorious. This indicates that the proper way for us to have the Christian life is to be in the normal church life. Apart from the proper church life, we cannot be holy, spiritual, or victorious. These attributes are found in the church life. When we are planted in the church life, we shall flourish with holiness, spirituality, and victory. As a result, we shall worship God not merely in an objective way, but with a subjective, dispensational worship that comes out of the enjoyment of Christ in the presence of God.
(The Genuine Ground of Oneness, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee)
