CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
Isaiah 33:20. Look upon Zion, &c.
It is probable that when this prophecy was delivered the city of Jerusalem was threatened with an immediate siege; but Jehovah engages to defend it from the attacks of its enemies, the Assyrians, and to render it at once quiet and secure. But yet the text appears to have a direct reference to the privileges and stability of the Gospel Church, for Jerusalem, after this period, was never long preserved from hostile invasions; therefore our attention is turned from it to that glorious city against which the gates of hell shall never prevail. (See pp. 228, 229.)
I. The Church of Christ is “the city of our solemnities.” Jerusalem was thus described because of the solemn assemblies that were there held, the solemn feasts that were there celebrated, and the solemn sacrifices which were there offered. And it is in the Church that individual believers come together, and unite in the enjoyment of divine grace, and in the presentation of “sacrifices” with which “God is well pleased” (Hebrews 13:15-16) [1228]
[1228] As the earth’s loftiest peaks rise not in their snows on some isolated hill that stands like a lonely pyramid on a level plain, but where the mountains, as in the Alps, or Andes, or Himalayan range, are grouped and massed together, so the saint’s most heavenly happiness is not attained in solitude, nor even amid domestic scenes, but where religious life exists in its social character.—Guthrie.
II. The Church of Christ is “a quiet habitation” [1231] All genuine believers dwell in it, and peace is at once the bequest of Christ (John 14:27) and the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).
[1231] See THE PEACEABLE HABITATION, chap. Isaiah 32:18, page 368.
III. The Church of Christ is “a tabernacle that shall not be taken down.” “A tabernacle” in contrast with the superior glories of the New Jerusalem in heaven. A tabernacle, because it may often change its place, as in fact it has already done. But it shall never be “taken down” in the sense of being destroyed (H. E. I. 1246–1251).
IV. Such a contemplation of Zion as our text calls for will awaken—
1. In angels complacency and delight;
2. In sinners astonishment at its wondrous preservation, in spite of all their efforts to destroy it, and desire to share in its privileges; and
3. In Christians wonder, love, and praise.—Thomas Spencer: Twenty-one Sermons, pp. 196–206.