HAVING THE ASSEMBLY IN OUR AFFECTIONS

D.C.Brown

Jeremiah 51:50; Daniel 6:10; Ezekiel 48:18,19; Isaiah 66:10-14

We have referred in the reading to the assembly in the figure of Jerusalem, the city (Rev.21). I would ask every one of you, Is the assembly, as typified in Jerusalem as the place of divine administration, before your heart and before your mind constantly? There is a reference in Ecclesiastes, “The labour of fools wearieth them, because they know not how to go to the city”, Ecc.10:15. I would ask you, Do you know how to go to the city? Do you know how to come into contact with what there is that Jerusalem represents, what relates to the assembly today? Have you linked yourself with that, or are you one of those who are wearying themselves because they do not know the way to the city?

We began in Jeremiah with persons who have escaped the sword. That is the first thing I would like to draw your attention to. They are persons who have found mercy. Has mercy reached you? Do you know that in your heart? Mercy would reach you, so that you should come into blessing, into the knowledge of the divine heart and divine thought. God does not have in mind in the gospel that you should only escape the sword. Thank God if you have escaped the sword of judgment because of the glory of the work of the Lord Jesus and its completion, because He is there at God’s right hand. But God does not have in mind only that you should be enjoying that blessing. He desires that He Himself should be before you, “remember Jehovah from afar”. Remember Him, have Him in your heart, have Him in your thoughts, but then too, “let Jerusalem come into your mind”. That is a test for you and for me. As you do your work, or your schooling, or your domestic duties, whatever they are, how often does Jerusalem come into your mind? How often are you thinking of the assembly? You have to do your work, you have to study; you cannot exactly be thinking about the assembly all the time because you have responsibilities that you have to fulfil; but what happens to you when you are released from your responsibilities for a time? Does Jerusalem come into your mind? Is your mind towards God’s thoughts, God’s city, God’s assembly?

Jerusalem is a particularly beautiful thought in the mind of God. A perfect administration of blessing according to Him will be seen in the world to come. What a great day it will be when that glorious city will come down in “her shining”, Rev.21:11. Then the whole earth will be under the benign influence of the assembly, and her glory will shine out for the benefit of mankind. Israel will be there; there will be a literal city of Jerusalem on the earth to which these scriptures actually refer, but God has in mind the heavenly Jerusalem. It exists in the assembly now, and the blessing of it is shining. It will come out publicly in the world to come, but there is blessing now through spiritual administration in the assembly. Has it come into your mind? Many things can occupy our minds, they can occupy our thoughts. How much there is according to this world, and this earth. We have responsibilities, but when you are released from them, does Jerusalem come into your mind? There were those who were released in the Acts and what did they do? “They came to their own company”, Acts 4:23. I think that is an early suggestion of the assembly; they came to their own. What was in their minds and hearts? The light had not been announced fully, nobody had set out the truth of the assembly at that stage, but it was a reality to their hearts. As soon as they were free, that was where their mind was. Does Jerusalem come into your mind?

Daniel was a person who was characterised in his heart and mind by that thought of Jerusalem. We have to bear in mind a very interesting fact about Daniel; when it speaks of him in his house, it says, “his windows being open in his upper chamber toward Jerusalem”. What was Jerusalem like at that time? There are very fine scriptural references to it in the Psalms, where it speaks of it as “Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King”, Ps.48:2. It is very fine to have that view. But if you had gone to Jerusalem in Daniel’s day, what would you have seen? The walls broken, the place ruined, the persons taken away to Babylon. If you look at the church, at the assembly as a public entity, you will see it in ruins. You will see the church of Rome, the church of Scotland, the church of England, or whatever; a public ruin, and it will remain a public ruin. What did Daniel have in his heart when he had his windows in his upper chamber opened, “his windows being open”? What was his whole outlook and view in the midst of that time of desolation and ruin? It was towards God’s whole thought of Jerusalem. It was towards what God had in mind, God’s view of Jerusalem, “Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth”.

It is right at times to look at the ruin and understand that we are part of it, that we have a responsibility in it. But my desire is for all of us to have in our hearts, God’s whole thought. So we can rightly speak about the assembly this afternoon, despite the fact that in practice there are many who belong to the assembly with whom we could not enjoy full fellowship. Yet we have to keep the whole thought in view; God has the whole thought in His view. Keep it in view. Have your windows open. Daniel was going to pray, but he always had an outlook towards God’s whole thought of Jerusalem. He could see the view of a city beautiful in elevation, he could see the bulwarks, he could see the towers and he could see all that was in glory and dignity before God. Is that your view? We sometimes become so occupied by failure, so occupied by different churches, different divisions. These things would rightly humble us. Why were the people in Babylon? It was because of unfaithfulness. Why is there ruin and division today? Because of unfaithfulness. I have had a part in that unfaithfulness. Yet it is not to occupy your mind. Occupy your heart and your mind with the whole thought in its reality, with what God has in His heart and in His mind. Then you will do what you can to maintain what is faithful and right and true, and what is according to the level of that beauty in elevation. Is that what you are doing? You cannot rebuild Jerusalem, the assembly publicly, but you can enjoy its streets along with the people of God. You can enjoy perfect administration in love, because God has a whole thought in view. That is the divine heart and mind.

And then I go on to this interesting reference in Ezekiel to persons who serve the city. I would ask you, Are you serving the city? I cannot say I was familiar with this scripture. I did not know that it existed until I found myself reading Ezekiel recently, and this struck me as I was thinking of this subject – serving the city. Are we serving the city? Are you acting, are you walking, are you committed in your actions and walk to serve what is of God in the light of the assembly here at the present time? Men would desire to serve their fellow men, and you can give thanks to God for those who serve the welfare of others. Some are concerned about the environment, what is of creation. You would have some respect for persons like that, but that is not God’s mind and thought now. His thought for us is that we should serve the assembly. Are you acting that way? Have you committed yourself in that way to serve the city?

I would put it to you that if you are to do that, you will need help, and you will need resource. In relation to serving the city, I would put it to those who are younger; firstly, commit yourself to doing it; and secondly, ask God for a gift. Gifts are set in the assembly. Speak to God about it. It is the will of God that His things should be maintained. The meeting for ministry has to be maintained. We are thankful for everyone who participates, those who bring in a word. We desire that there should be gift. Have you prayed for that? Teaching is needed, prophets, shepherds and teachers. You may say, ‘I can see a need’. Speak to God about what need there may be; ask Him for a gift. If you see there is a need of gift, ask Him for it; be prepared to serve the city. There is a reference in Corinthians to the gift of helps (1 Cor.12:28). You may say, ‘There is help needed to keep things going, to maintain what is for God’s pleasure; I can be a help’. Are you prepared to be a help, to serve in that way? But then, that is a gift. Have you asked for that gift? I would suggest to you; see what the need is, lay it before God. Open your windows toward Jerusalem, have the assembly before you and be prepared and ready to serve the city.

There is resource needed, of course, but there is a very fine reference in verse 18. We have this area of land, “and the increase thereof shall be for the support of them that serve the city”. Think of the resource that there is on the divine side to help you. You need help if you want to do what you can for the brethren. I am not saying what that might be; it is for you to take that up with the Lord. It may be very small or it may be very great. You take it up as from the Lord whatever it is; there is resource for it, there is increase. The Spirit of God is acting here; there is increase. Where is the increase? The increase is in the tillage. There is a footnote here about this work; it says ‘cultivate’ as ‘till’. You will have to work hard if there is to be increase, and there are others who are working hard. You can be thankful for that. It is not only to be your work, but you can be thankful for those who are working together at the tilling. You may say, there is not much, but there is tilling, there is working. It is where the food is, “Much food is in the tillage of the poor”, Prov.13:23. In this company there are no prominent men of the world who are rich according to this world’s values and standards. They are the poor of the flock, but there is much tillage there. Believers can enjoy that; how much we cherish that as we gather. As we read the Scriptures, as in simplicity we seek the word of God, we find there is increase, there is tillage. There are persons working together; there is a supply so that you have what is needed to serve the city. I include the sisters in that. Every one has their part and place to help in serving the city. Go before God, find out what He has for you to do, and work in it with Jerusalem, the assembly, before your mind. Thus there will be worship, and you will be blessed.

What a wonderful end Isaiah comes to after much sorrow, and much burden in all these earlier chapters,. He says, “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye that love her”. Do you love the assembly? Is it something that is in your heart? Who loves the assembly? The Lord Jesus loves the assembly, as no one else loves it. Do you want to grow in grace; do you want to grow in features of Christ? You will grow like Him in love for the assembly. The more you are like Christ, the more you will love His assembly. Are you rejoicing in the richness, the fulness that there is in it? It will be seen gloriously in the world to come, and we look forward to that wonderful time. But we can see some of the glory of it even at the present time. How wonderful it is. “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all ye that love her; rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn”. It goes on to the fulness and the richness of the blessing that is flowing towards those who love Jerusalem, and flowing towards the city. As you have your part and enjoyment in what there is in the assembly. there is greatness, there is glory, and there is abundance in the richness of all that there is for you. There is comfort. Despite the breakdown and the failure and the ruin that exists publicly today, you find there is comfort. Where is the comfort? The comfort is in seeing God’s whole thoughts, in seeing that God has secured His thoughts and they are not going to fail. Why? They are in His hands. He will come in, He will secure it, He will maintain it. “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem”.

We often sing that hymn, “When peace like a river attendeth my way” (Hymn 238). Who will get the peace? Where is there rest and peace? The scripture brings it in here, “I will extend peace to her”, peace to Jerusalem, peace to the assembly. That is where peace is to be seen today distinctly. God gives peace to the hearts of sin-torn souls when He pardons them. How great that is, but the peace is extended. It is flowing out like a river towards those who are in the enjoyment of the truth of the assembly. Are you going to be in the enjoyment and the richness of the peace that He has put in your heart as you have Christ’s chief interest, the assembly, as your chief interest? “And ye shall see this, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like the grass; and the hand of Jehovah shall be known toward his servants”. Are you one of His servants who serve in the city? Take your place there. I would urge you, take your place, be sure you are not just one who is receiving benefits (how good it is to accept what God gives us), but to be one of His servants, so that there will be a flourishing “and the hand of Jehovah shall be known toward his servants”. Do you know that blessing? Do you know what it is to be blessed, not only as someone who is part of the sovereign work of God in mercy, but someone to whom grace has reached out and blessed because you have part as one of His servants?

How attractive divine thoughts are. I cannot speak as well of them as they deserve, but how rich and full and blessed are God’s thoughts for every believer. Have your part in it; let Jerusalem come into your mind. On Monday morning, let Jerusalem come into your mind. As you go about your duties, and there is a break in them, think of the assembly. Have the assembly before you in your outlook. The prayer meeting would be what Daniel enjoyed as far as he could. His outlook was towards Jerusalem; for us it would be the assembly. Have your outlook in that direction, serve the city, be prepared to commit yourself. Serving is not casual. If you are prepared to serve the saints, to serve the city, you will rejoice with Jerusalem, rejoice in the joy that there is in the heart of God as He sees what He has secured in actuality for Himself in the assembly, what is real in the features of the heavenly Jerusalem among the people of God now that will shine eternally.

May the Lord bless His word, for His name’s sake.

Address at Aberdeen, Scotland
24 March 2007