“THEN THE LORD AWOKE”

J. S. Gray

Mark 4: 35–41; Psalm 78: 56–72; Genesis 2: 21–23

I suggest putting these scriptures together, beloved brethren, in connection with the Lord awaking out of sleep. It may be that some, or many, of us are in measure troubled as to the conditions prevailing among the saints. It says in connection with this violent gust of wind that Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. I would desire for myself, and for my brethren, the ability to keep an eye upon the Lord Jesus in this position, both eyes indeed!

There is no storm in the testimony that the Lord does not know about, and there is no storm or gust of wind either which takes Him by surprise, but one would covet the ability to learn from Jesus in this restful position. Evidently, from what the Lord said, it was a lack of faith which led to the fearfulness; that is, perhaps, there was not a sufficient appropriation of Him and His attitude. But it was real, very real, to have the Lord asleep in the boat and such a violent gust of wind to come down. Yet the Lord would have us, I believe, fix our attention upon Him, His movement, or His waiting without movement for the moment, so far as specific action in the matter is concerned.

Not that I am suggesting that the Lord is ever inactive, but here on this occasion He was asleep. How touching it is to think of the Lord of glory in this position, the One who Himself said, “The Son of man has not where he may lay his head”, Matthew 8: 20.

I suppose the occasion of this crossing was one of the few opportunities that the Lord had for sleep. How touching it is to think of the lowliness of the circumstances, the sacrificial way in which Jesus was here, yet no doubt this scene teaches us that no matter what storm may arise, no matter how Satan’s power in adversity may seem to be about to overwhelm, the Lord is in the position where His own are and a view of Him, beloved, will cause us to be restful. No doubt we shall each, in every experience in the testimony, have to search ourselves as to our faith, and the Lord would raise such a question with us, but the impression that is gained is of the greatness of His Person. How wonderful to be increased in our souls, beloved, in a deep sense of the greatness of the Person of Jesus! He is able for every squall of wind, from whatever direction it comes.

The reference in Psalm 78 is, I realise, not a direct reference to the Lord Jesus waking out of sleep, because it is a simile, “as one out of sleep”, but it does say that “the Lord awoke”, and it is in my mind, beloved brethren, that there may be certain conditions among the saints which cause the Lord grief. There are things in this psalm which are referred to as forsaken or rejected, rejected by God. I think we each need to learn what God will reject and to reject those things ourselves. Then at least one of the references to what is rejected involved the movement of God’s sovereignty in a majestic way, so that we also have to make way for the sovereign actions of God at any time. But there are statements in this psalm which refer to conditions among the children of Israel, and show that the conditions which arose provoked God’s anger and moved Him to jealousy (Psalm 78: 58).

I would like to convey an impression as to the feelings of God about the conditions among His people. There is nothing, however small it may seem to us, as to the conduct of the saints or our part in the assembly, or in our relations with one another, which is not of great interest to God, because God’s dwelling is among His people and the conditions among His people are, therefore, of the greatest interest to Him. One would raise the challenge as to whether there is any tendency with us to forsake the divine standard of the truth as it has been set out for us, any turning away from the heavenly character of our testimony, involving the dignity and glory of sonship being in expression in our walk here; any suggestion of association with the world around us, or the taking on of worldly features and conduct. I think that God feels these things, and if they should in any sense tend to creep in amongst us one would raise the challenge as to God’s claims, because as I say, His dwelling is among His people. It says “God heard” (Psalm 78: 59). I think we could say also, God sees.

So I would speak feelingly as to this reference to “the tent where he had dwelt among men”, because God greatly values suitable conditions among His people for His own dwelling. He says elsewhere, “I went about in a tent and in a tabernacle”, 2 Samuel 7: 6. Beloved brethren, God will have conditions that are suitable to Him, and if there is anything, any feature of the world it may be, which we find we are tending to take on, let us feel with God about it, let us reject it, and let us think about His claims in view of His dwelling-place among His people.

Conditions must be holy, beloved, as we find later in this reference to the building of His sanctuary like the heights. True conditions for the divine dwelling involve elevation, what is morally above this world, and what is holy too, His sanctuary.

As to this reference to the Lord awaking as one out of sleep, I would suggest that the Lord may at any time act in a sudden way. Let us not be found out, beloved brethren, by our links in any direction being not according to His mind. It says that He “awoke as one out of sleep, like a mighty man that shouteth aloud by reason of wine; And he smote his adversaries in the hinder part, and put them to everlasting reproach”. Satan is the source of worldly influences that would draw us away from devotion to Christ and the assembly, and we can count upon the Lord being ready at any time to intervene. I think there is a suggestion of an intervention from an unexpected quarter. He smote them in the hinder part and put them to everlasting reproach, and then there is His choosing the tribe of Judah, “the mount Zion which he loved; And he built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he hath founded for ever”. I had not any more to say about this passage, except to refer to the great importance in God’s sight of the spiritual and heavenly conditions required among the saints for His dwelling.

In the scripture in Genesis, which is well known to the brethren, one simply suggests that we might have a view of what is before the Lord Jesus. This scripture refers to Him typically as having been into death, and we can think of the view that the man would have of the woman as he woke from the deep sleep—“This time it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh: this shall be called Woman, because this was taken out of a man”. Beloved, the Lord Jesus has the assembly before Him. He delivered Himself up for it, as Paul tells us (Ephesians 5: 25), and the thoughts of Jesus were immediately in the direction of the assembly as He was raised from the dead. He refers to Mary as “woman” in John 20, and then uses her personal name also, and one would desire that we might increasingly have before us the greatness of the Lord’s thoughts as to the assembly, what He has before Him. There is nothing second-rate at all in the Lord’s view, beloved brethren, nothing substitute. It is the assembly that He has in mind, and we are to have in view what He desires; we are to have it before us. It is the assembly in its fulness which the Lord Jesus has in view. He had it before Him in going into death, and the distinctiveness of the assembly as a vessel answering to Himself comes out in this scripture. “This time it is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”; there is accord with Himself in the assembly, and that in a formative way; that is, that the woman was formed out of the man.

One would bring this before the saints in simplicity as giving us a view of the ideal that the Lord has before Him, the assembly in its perfection as answering to His own heart. This, I believe, would be the answer to any flagging of devotion on the part of any one of us, as one feels it is often on one’s own part, and no doubt others feel the same. But think of the Lord Jesus having the assembly in its glory continually in His thoughts. He gave Himself for it, and His activity in nourishing and cherishing and the washing of water by the word all has in view that the assembly should be secured as a vessel entirely for Himself, for His enjoyment and pleasure and, beloved brethren, we are to have our part in it. Through grace we have been called to that, and we are to be exercised, I believe, as to the moral features which contribute to the state of conformity to Christ which will answer to Himself, as set forth in this scripture, which typifies the assembly as a vessel for His pleasure. May the Lord graciously put these thoughts together in a way which will be of some value to the saints, but in view of His own pleasure in the assembly, and God’s pleasure as dwelling among His people, for His name’s sake.

Word in meeting for ministry, London
26 December 1978