The Meetings and Spiritual Exercise of the Local Church

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

3. Singing

Writing on Psalms, Witness Lee applies to the New Testament believers the enjoyment of God through singing in the local churches:

Now let us come to the most strategic point, the house and the city, and see how the saints experience and enjoy God there. Firstly, they love God’s house as the habitation where God’s glory dwells: “Lord, I love the habitation of thy house, and the place where thy glory dwelleth” (Ps. 26:8). Secondly, they desire to dwell in the house of God to behold His beauty, inquire in His temple, be hidden and protected in it, offer sacrifices of joy, and sing praises to Him: “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of shouts of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord” (Ps. 27:4-6). This is a prediction of the church life. We all must desire to dwell in the local churches to behold God’s beauty. We should offer sacrifices of shouts of joy (J. N. Darby’s translation).

…Praise the Lord, we must shout for joy forever! Where? In the local churches, in the house of God.

(Witness Lee, Christ and the Church, 61)

Witness Lee explains that the foundation of God’s house was laid by singing:

The oneness, the priesthood, the kingship, and the altar are the preparation for laying the foundation. According to typology, this foundation is nothing but Christ. They laid Christ as their foundation.

…How do we lay the foundation? The foundation is laid by praising and shouting. “And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because He is good, for His mercy endureth forever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

(Witness Lee, Recovery of God’s House, 27-28)

Main

Meetings

Lord’s Table

Prayer

Prophesying

Small Group

Gospel

Children’s

OT Type

Spiritual Exercise

Reading

Praying

Singing

Speaking

Thanksgiving

Praising

Serving

Calling

Pray-Reading

Bibliography

Links