I.　The enjoyment of Christ leads us to the enjoyment of God in the house of God—Psa. 26:8; 27:4; 34:8a; 36:8-9; 50:2:

A.　God is universal and omnipresent, yet He is a located God; God is located in His house, His dwelling place —23:6; 27:4:

1.　Christ is God's location; Christ is the tabernacle of God and the temple of God— Col. 2:9; John 1:14; 2:21.

2.　Christ has been enlarged, and the enlarged Christ is the church as God's enlarged temple, His dwelling place—1 Cor. 3:16; Eph. 2:21-22; 1 Tim. 3:15.

B.　"O Jehovah, I love the habitation of Your house, / And the place where Your glory abides"—Psa. 26:8:

1.　We should love the habitation of God's house and the place where His glory abides, remains, to be manifested—84:1; 29:9b.

2.　Today the church is the place where God's glory abides to be manifested—Eph. 3:21.

C.　"One thing I have asked from Jehovah; / That do I seek: / To dwell in the house of Jehovah / All the days of my life, / To behold the beauty of Jehovah, / And to inquire in His temple"— Psa. 27:4:

1.　Our God is a lovable person with a lovely dwelling place; God Himself is enjoyable, and His dwelling place is also enjoyable.

2.　The Hebrew word for beauty implies loveliness, pleasantness, and delightfulness; when we behold God's beauty, we are in a very pleasant atmosphere —Exo. 24:9-11; 2 Cor. 3:18.

D.　"Taste and see that Jehovah is good"—Psa. 34:8a:

1.　This tasting and seeing must be in God's house, His dwelling place.

2.　We taste and see that God is good in His house—in Christ, in the church, and, ultimately, in the New Jerusalem.

E.　"They are saturated with the fatness of Your house, / And You cause them to drink of the river of Your pleasures. / For with You is the fountain of life; / In Your light we see light"—36:8-9:

1.　We can be saturated with the fatness, the abundance, the riches, the fullness, within God's house —v. 8a.

2.　In God's house we can drink of the river of God's pleasures—v. 8b.

3.　In God's house we can share of the fountain of the life of God—v. 9a.

4.　In God's house we can see light in God's divine light—v. 9b.

5.　In God's house we can enjoy the river of life, the tree of life, the fountain of life, and the light of life:

a.　In Christ and in the church, we enjoy the located God as the fatness to saturate us, the river of life to quench our thirst, the tree of life to feed us, and the light of life to enlighten us.

b.　In the New Jerusalem we will be saturated with the fruit of the tree of life, drink of the river of water of life, share of the fountain of God's life, and see light in God's divine light; this will be the consummate enjoyment of God in the house of God — Rev. 22:1-2, 5.

F.　"Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, / God shines forth"—Psa. 50:2:

1.　The shining forth of God out of His house is the dispensing of His goodness.

2.　Under such a shining, we enjoy God in Christ— cf. Num. 6:25.

II.　When the church is enlarged, strengthened, and built up, the house of God becomes the city of God as the kingdom for the God-King to rule and reign—Matt. 16:18-19:

A.　As the King unveiled in Psalm 45, Christ needs a city in which to rule and reign— 46:4:

1.　In Psalm 45 Christ, typified by Solomon, is unveiled and praised as the King.

2.　Immediately afterward, Psalm 46 speaks of the city—a kingdom for ruling.

B.　As the house, the church is God's home, the place of His dwelling; as the city, the church is God's kingdom, the place of His ruling—Eph. 2:21-22, 19:

1.　The church is for the kingdom; that is, the house is for the city; eventually, the house of God becomes the holy city, the New Jerusalem—Rev. 21:2-3.

2.　The church is Christ's increase in life, and the kingdom is Christ's increase in administration— John 3:29a, 30a; Dan. 2:34-35.

3.　The church as the house of God must be enlarged to become the church as the city of God—1 Tim. 3:15; Rev. 5:9-10:

a.　The first step of the enlargement of Christ is the church as the house of God—Eph. 2:21-22; 1 Tim. 3:15.

b.　The second step of the enlargement of Christ is the church as the kingdom of God—Rom. 14:17.

4.　The house is mainly with Christ as life, and the city is mainly with Christ as the Head— Col. 3:4; 1:18; 2:19:

a.　When we realize that Christ is not only our life but also our Head, the church will be not only the house but also the city—Eph. 1:22-23; 4:15.

b.　The real building of the city is to help all the saints to realize the headship of Christ—vv. 15-16.

C.　Psalms 46— 48 are on the church as the city of God; here the church has become the city over which God rules and from which God reigns:

1.　Psalm 46 is an unveiling of the God who meets our needs in the city:

a.　In the city God is our refuge, strength, and help in distress; He is most readily found—v. 1.

b.　In the city, the ruling center of God in His kingdom, there is "a river whose streams gladden the city of God"— v. 4a: 1) This river signifies the flowing of the Triune God as life to us, as mentioned in Revelation 22:1-2a. 2) In the city—the enlarged, strengthened, and built-up church—we have the flow of living water; therefore, we are the most joyful people.

c.　This city, which cannot be moved, is the unshakable kingdom—Psa. 46:5a; Heb. 12:28: 1) The kingdom is unshakable in its substance, which is God—Psa. 46:5a. 2) The kingdom is unshakable in its foundation, which is Christ—Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:20; 1 Cor. 3:11. 3) The kingdom is unshakable in its structure, which is the church—Matt. 16:18-19; 18:18-20; Rom. 14:17. 4) The kingdom is unshakable in its constituents, which are the riches of the processed and consummated Triune God—2 Cor. 13:14. 5) The kingdom is unshakable in its expression, which is the glory of the Triune God, God expressed in His glory—Rev. 21:10-11.

2.　In Psalm 47 we have the God-King ruling over the earth through the city:

a.　In Psalm 46 God is our enjoyment and meets our needs; in Psalm 47 God in Christ is the great King over all the earth through the city—vv. 2, 6-8.

b.　When the church becomes the city, God will subdue the peoples through the city and rule over all the earth in Christ as the King.

c.　The church as the city will bring the entire earth under God's authority and kingship in Christ— 46:10; Matt. 6:9-10; Rev. 11:15.

3.　Psalm 48 is about the city of the great King; here we have God in the climactic experience of the city:

a.　When we are built up as a city, God's greatness will be expressed, and God will be greatly praised—v. 1.

b.　When the church is enlarged, strengthened, and built up, the church is elevated, and that elevation is Mount Zion—v. 2.

c.　The built-up church causes the enemies to be dismayed and to hurry off in alarm—vv. 4-5.