Additional Quotes about the Local Church
by Witness Lee and Watchman Nee

The Blessing (of Life under the Anointing Oil and the Watering Dew) on the Ground of Oneness—Psalm 133

After such a wonderful Psalm as Psalm 132, we see a wonderful church life, the wonderful life of the brethren living together in unity. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Ps. 133:1). No one can explain how truly wonderful this is. You can only come and experience it yourself. To hear about it is not sufficient; to read and learn of it is not adequate; you simply must “come and see.” I am so very happy that nearly all the dear ones who have come and have seen have been captured. “Behold, how good!” Just behold! If you would like to know what is going on in the church in Los Angeles, you had better come and see. It is marvelous!

“It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments” (v. 2). The unity is like the precious ointment. This ointment is the Spirit, the Spirit which includes all that Christ is and all He has accomplished. It runs down from the Head to the entire Body. Now, praise the Lord, we are under His skirt. Since we are all His members, we are all under His skirt, under His garments. Hence, we all partake of the anointing ointment. This is a picture of the Body.

Another aspect of the unity is that it is like the dew of Hermon which descends upon the mountains of Zion. Hermon, a high mountain, signifies the heavens, the highest place, from which the dew descends. The mountains are the local churches, and the dew is the refreshing Christ. In Psalm 110 we are the dew to Christ, but here in Psalm 133 Christ is the dew to the church. Praise the Lord, we are His refreshment, and He is ours. Day by day He is refreshed by us, and we are refreshed by Him. The refreshing element of Christ comes down upon all the local churches. Sometimes when we are in the meetings late in the evening, we experience the refreshing dew as in the dawn of the morning. Many times we are very tired in body, but tremendously refreshed in spirit. We would like the meetings to continue through the entire night. Such unity is as the dew of Hermon that descends upon the mountains of Zion. It is not only as ointment upon the Body of Christ, but also as heavenly dew upon the local churches for our enjoyment. It is not only a Body life, but also a local church life. Hallelujah for such unity!

It is here, in such a place of unity, that “the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forevermore” (v. 3). Note that it does not say “the Lord gave the blessing,” but “the Lord commanded the blessing.” The blessing is life, fullness of life, for evermore. How glad we are to hear of the local churches being full of life. This is the fulfillment of Psalm 133. Where the brethren are dwelling together in unity, the Lord commands the blessing, even life for evermore. The beauty, the joy, and the blessing of the unity of God's people are with the Body of Christ and in the local churches.

(Witness Lee, Christ and the Church, 202-204)

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