"Whither the
tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony
of Israel, to give thanks unto the Name of the
Lord." (Psalm 122:4).
"Gather My
saints together." (Psalm 50:5).
It was a beautiful
thought in the mind of God when, in His divine economy,
He prescribed for the periodic convocations of His
people. Away back in the time of Moses, He commanded that
all the males in Israel should journey three times in
every year to some place of His appointment (Deuteronomy
16:16), the details of which are worth noting. It is
clear that David laid great store by such convocations.
Psalm 122 is by its heading attributed to David, as were
other "Songs of Ascent", or pilgrimage. It was
due to division resulting from spiritual decline that
such gatherings ceased for so long, until Josiah had a
great recovery celebration (II Chronicles 35:17-19). It
was therefore a sign of spiritual recovery and strength
when the Lord's people so gathered from near and far.
We can briefly summarize
the values in the Lord's thought for such convocations:
1. They were times when
the universality of God's church, or "Holy
nation," as on the basis of the Passover (the Cross)
was preserved in the hearts of His people. "They
left their cities"; that is, they left exclusively
parochial ground. By the gathering from all areas they
were preserved from all exclusivism, sectarianism, and
the peril of isolation. They were made to realize that
they were not the all and everything, but parts of a
great whole. Thus the ever-present tendency to make God
in Christ smaller than He really is was countered.
2. Thus, they were times
of wonderful fellowship. People who belonged to the same
Lord, but had either never before met, or had been apart
for so long, discovered or rediscovered one another, were
able to share both "their mutual woes, and mutual
burdens bear," or tell of the Lord's goodness and
mercy. Loneliness, with all its temptations and false
imaginations, was carried away by the fresh air of
mutuality. New hope, incentive, and life sent the
pilgrims back to their accustomed spheres with the
consciousness of relatedness.
3. They were times of
consolidation. The Psalm says: "For a testimony unto
Israel." The testimony of the great thing that the
Passover (the Cross) means in the heart of His people. A
testimony to the unifying power of the blood and body of
Christ. The gatherings held a spiritual virtue in the
livingness of the presence of the Lord. If they had been
assailed by doubts, fears, and perplexities, they went
away confirmed, reassured, and established in their
common faith.
4. They were times of
instruction. The Word of God was brought out, read and
expounded. They were taught, and they "spake one to
another." In a word, they were fed. There was
spiritual food. The initiation of these convocations was
connected with three "Feasts" (Deuteronomy 16).
Eating and drinking in the presence of the Lord. They
returned fortified, built up, enlightened, and with
vision renewed.
5. They were times of
intercession. Possibly not every individual was able to
"go up." For various reasons - infirmity, age,
responsibility, or some other form of detention - kept
some from the blessings of joining with the pilgrims. But
God's idea of the gatherings was - as put into later
words - "My house shall be a house of prayer for all
peoples." The New Testament is clear and strong on
this point, that the representation of the "Body of
Christ" in any place can, and should have
real spiritual value for all its members because
"the Body is one."
So, let the lonely,
detained and isolated ones realize that when the Lord's
people are together, they are being supported. And let
those who are not so deprived of the "gathering
together" realize how vital it is, and what a
necessity there is in expressing this Divine thought.
T. Austin-Sparks