The Meetings and Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church

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

6. Praising

There is the need of the abundance of praise in the local churches. Regarding this, Witness Lee says:

The house is also the place to sing praises unto the Lord. We do need an abundance of singing in God’s house. We may need a few messages and a little listening, but how much more we need the singing of praises! All these things are in the house. I just love the house! I do…love the local churches.

(Witness Lee, Christ and the Church, 62)

From the Psalms Witness Lee tells us the local churches should be filled with praises to Christ:

The Psalmist continues, “Out of the ivory palaces stringed instruments have made thee glad.” Ivory is a kind of bone, and bone in typology signifies the unbroken, resurrection life of Christ. Not one of Christ’s bones was broken (John 19:33, 36); His bones were unbreakable. This signifies that His life can never be broken. Hence, the ivory palaces signify that all the local churches are built up with His resurrection life. Out of these palaces, stringed instruments make Him glad. All these verses are poetic expressions. Therefore, the stringed instruments speak of the sweet, melodious, harmonious praises. Whenever we meet in all the local churches, the first thing, the main thing, the central thing, must be the singing, the praising….In all the local churches praising must be the central feature, because out of the ivory palaces stringed instruments make Him glad.

In Psalms 42, 43, and 44 we have the appreciation of the house. Now in the house the saints experience Christ in a deeper way. Hence, following Psalms 42 to 44, we have Psalm 45. Everything concerning Christ here is deeper in our experience. We do not have adequate utterance; we can only indicate a little.

The first section of Psalm 45 is praise to Christ as the King. He is a King who is so precious to His people, yet One who is so mighty, so awe-inspiring to His enemies. He is riding on, He is riding back, and He is riding into His kingdom. And all of His doings are full of the fragrance of His death and resurrection. He is really worthy of our praise. We must fill all the local churches with praises to Him; then we will make Him glad.

(Witness Lee, Christ and the Church, 70-71)

Witness Lee remarks that the believers should come to the local church meetings with a voice of joy and praise:

Brothers and sisters, let me check with you. Where is it that you sense most deeply that you are in God’s presence? I believe that you must answer that you sense God’s presence the most when you are in the local churches. I cannot tell you how many times, when I was in the meetings of the local churches, I was just before God. When I came with the multitude to the house of God, to the local church, I appeared before Him.

Then we read, “I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise.” Even before we enter the house, there is joy and praise. I believe that this is the best verse to tell us the way to come to the meetings. Firstly, we must come with the multitude—it is better not to come by ourselves. Secondly, we should come with the voice of joy and praise. While we are on the way, either walking or driving, we may start the praising. Come to the meetings with the multitude; come to the meetings with the voice of joy and praise. I hope that one day, when Christians are going to the church meetings, everyone around will realize that they are on their way to the meeting because they are praising. Even in ancient times the Old Testament saints came to the house of God in such a wonderful way. How much more should we!

Psalm 43:3-4: “O send out thy light and thy truth.” For what? For knowledge, for teaching, for doctrines? No. “Let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.” The divine light plus the divine truth, the light and the reality, will bring us to the holy hill. How can we ascend into the hill of His holiness? By being led by the divine light and the divine reality. Hence we should pray today, “O God, send me Thy light and Thy reality; let them lead me; let them bring me unto Thy holy hill and to Thy tabernacles, the local churches.”

(Witness Lee, Christ and the Church, 65-66)

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