The house of God and the Church of Jesus Christ.
The "house of God" (Psalms 122:1 and Psalms 122:9) may stand for the Christian sanctuary, and the "Jerusalem," of which this psalm is full, may stand for the Church of Jesus Christ. Thus regarded, we have—
I. THE HOUSE OF GOD.
1. The Divine Presence. God's house is the place where he dwells; where, in the fullest sense, he is. And though the Omnipresent cannot be said to be in one place more truly than in another, yet is there a sense in which he is especially present in his own "house."
2. United worship. "Let us go into the house of the Lord." It is not enough for a man to say that he can pray and sing and read at home. Nothing will compensate for united worship. There is a fervor in prayer, and a heartiness in praise when many souls are outpoured in the one, and many voices are united in the other, which solitary worship does not know; there is an influence in uttered truth, spoken in the sympathetic hearing of a hundred hearts, which no book can communicate in the silent chamber. There is a sacred joy which gladdens the pure heart (Psalms 122:1) in the anticipation and in the act of public worship, of which it is a serious mistake to deprive ourselves.
3. The duty of encouragement. "Let us go;" "Let him that heareth say, Come" Those who are not able to enforce Divine claims or human obligations can graciously and effectually invite their neighbors to go where these great spiritual realities will be enforced by others. Andrew rendered his brother Simon, and the Church of Christ, an invaluable service when "he brought him to Jesus ' to hear his word and to become his disciple.
II. THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST. Jerusalem was "the city of God." The "New Jerusalem" will be composed of the glorified spirits of men of every age and from every land. The spiritual Jerusalem today is the multitude of unrecognized men, but beloved of Christ, that, under every sky, are loving and serving him.
1. We must not be satisfied till we have been enrolled in this company; till we can say, "Our feet are standing within thy walls."
2. To belong to this Church is our most sacred duty; it was "a testimony" or ordinance "in Israel" to go up to Jerusalem (Psalms 122:4). It is the clear, decisive will of Christ—and that is our "testimony" that constitutes our obligation—that we should become members of his Church on earth.
3. The strength of the Church is in the close association of its members; it must be compact together (Psalms 122:3); its forces not scattered, dissipated, lost, but united, well-ordered for defense and for aggression. Where there is unity of spirit, aim, and action, there is strength to withstand and to achieve.
4. A wise regard for our own welfare and a true concern for others' good will make us love and serve the Church of Christ.
5. Christ calls for believing prayer and faithful labor. Pray for the peace, and for the prosperity, of Jerusalem (Psalms 122:6, Psalms 122:7). It is a poor thing to pray for it if we do not strive for it, if we do not contribute to it. "I will seek thy good;" and it is a very imperfect method of seeking good if we do not bring our personal contribution to it. To do that for the peace and prosperity of the Church, we must command ourselves, be gracious and genial in word as well as in spirit, take our part in earnest work, labor till the Master himself takes the weapon from our hands.
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY