(Psalm
122:4)
"Gather my saints together" (Psalm 1:5).
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
Ascents", 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 (2 Chronicles 34:18-19). 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
values 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.
Would to God that all our gatherings were after this
sort!
From "A Witness
and A Testimony" May-June 1968, Vol. 46-3.