LOVE AND LOVABLENESS
[p. 495] LOVE AND LOVABLENESS
1 Thessalonians 1:4; 1 Samuel 16:11 - 13; Daniel 9:20 - 24
It is in my mind at this time, dear brethren, to speak about love; that is, divine love, and lovableness. God is working to prepare us for our eternal portion. Love will be that; the great prevailing feature of that scene will be love divinely expressed and intelligently reciprocated by its objects. So that we are to become conversant with the realm of love. As converted to God, we have been taken out of the realm of hatred in this world that we may be lovable and love one another.
I have thought well to begin with this verse in the first letter to the Thessalonians and to base what I have to say on it. These believers at Thessalonica are addressed as beloved of God, as elected; they became lovable, and hence beloved. For the apostle to say that they were beloved of God would mean that they were so characteristically, not momentarily, or in given circumstances, but characteristically. Jude, the brother of James, uses a similar expression in addressing the saints of God, as called ones, as “beloved in God the Father”; so that the idea is made general, for Jude’s epistle is general. The epistle to the Thessalonians is local, but the thought of being beloved is made general by Jude, so that we are entitled, through grace, and in a humble way, to accept that place. It is now a question of our responsibility to answer to what this beautiful expression, “beloved”, implies. It is used, perhaps more than elsewhere in Scripture, in the book of the Song of Songs, the great love song of Solomon; but its use there is not [p. 496] exactly what is in mind now. There it is a question mainly, of our regard for Christ. The loved one is challenged to give an account of why she so regards her beloved. But I am not speaking of lovableness as set out in that book, or in servants speaking of one another, as Peter could speak of Paul, but of lovableness under God’s eye, because it is a matter of what God loves, what He addresses as beloved. And how great a victory it is for God that in the world today there is that which He can regard as lovely. Surely it is attractive. How can any Christian fail to see the attractiveness of being beloved of God? It says in Psalm 14:2, “Jehovah looked down from the heavens upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God”. I am speaking of what is lovely under God’s eye, and hence lovable, and so beloved.
Now I go on to 1 Samuel, to speak of David, not to bring him out as a type of Christ, exactly, but as a type of any of us as coming under the eye of God in loveliness. At first, perhaps, others may not know it; perhaps we do not know it ourselves, but then it becomes an open matter, God honouring us by some way that He has planned, so that His mind about us is unmistakable. But before touching David, I must say something about the Lord Jesus in this respect. I have referred to how the saints regard Him, and I think what should be noted particularly are the reasons for His lovableness that are given by the lover of Christ, typified in the Song of Songs — how intelligently her thoughts of His personal glories are expressed. But then there is the Lord Himself, as under God’s eye in all His lovableness, as seen in the gospels. So that before speaking of what is lovable, it would hardly be right not first to speak of Jesus; not only as we see Him, but as God saw Him in manhood here. What history has been made in heaven! Perhaps some of us have not thought that [p. 497] history is made in heaven. It is being made every day! Heaven is most active, spiritually. It is not unbecoming to direct our minds to heaven. We are, indeed, enjoined to set our minds on things above; and one of the things above that attracts me very much is that history is made in heaven. What history proceeded as the incarnation took place! What intentness there must have been with all the great beings there! Think of the Father’s own intentness! Heaven was intensely interested in what took place when Jesus was born; when, as it says, He was “seen of angels”. What history marked that day! Much that had been mystery now became clear. The multitude of the heavenly host praises — what interest they had in it as the tidings of great joy were presented to the shepherds! The angel of the Lord acquainted them with what had happened, but a multitude celebrated it. We have thus an inkling of what goes on up there; that heavenly beings are affected by what transpires in God’s ways down here. And then, later, the Lord Jesus says to His parents, “Did ye not know that I ought to be occupied in my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49). How delightful that would be to heaven! Yet heaven was silent, as far as Scripture goes; the time had not come for an open announcement. But when He became thirty years old, and was baptised, and was praying, the heaven was opened, as if to suggest the possibility of looking in, that we should get an insight, and “a voice came out of heaven, Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight” (Luke 3:22). Stephen said he saw the heavens opened; he saw in. It has been said that the epistle to the Hebrews is the epistle of the opened heavens. That is a good word, to be kept in mind in reading that epistle, for we are addressed there as holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling. We are partakers of other things too, for we are partakers of the Holy Spirit. Our place is in [p. 498] heaven, and surely it is right to think of looking in there. One who had tasted something of it said:
‘And see! the Spirit’s power
Has ope’d the heav’nly door,
Has brought us to that favoured hour ...’ (74:5)
It is within our reach, dear brethren. But as I was saying, the heavens were opened upon Jesus and the Holy Spirit descended; not as of old when the Spirit came upon certain persons for special service, but now, in the form of a dove, a divine Person comes down from heaven. It is not yet Pentecost, but the Spirit descended in bodily form as a dove and abode upon the Lord Jesus. And then the voice is heard: “Thou art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight”(Luke 3:22). That delight had been experienced all those years; heaven had noticed it. You may be sure there were good times in heaven. Heaven is a created sphere; God has come into it, but it is our sphere, though not in the same fulness and unlimited character as it belongs to divine Persons. I suppose that the third heaven is the limit to which creatures can go, but the very idea of third gives a sense of the fulness of the realm in which we have part. But what days were in those thirty years for heaven We may be sure, basing our thoughts on other passages, that angels observe all this, for there is joy in the presence of the angels over one repenting sinner. How much more, then, in relation to the delight the Father found in Jesus here below! So that each day was marked by untold joy there.
Having said these things about the Lord Jesus that we might have the full thought before us, I proceed now to the passage in 1 Samuel, so that we all, young and old, might see how we come into this great thought. For in truth, David’s name, as many of us know, means ‘Beloved’. If the translator had said, ‘The Spirit of Jehovah came upon the beloved from that day forward’, the meaning would have [p. 499] been perfectly evident and right. Of no one else is it said in quite the same way, although it has been said many times that the Spirit came upon men. It was usually to meet some emergency; but the pronouncement as to David, and, of course, more so as to Jesus was not simply to meet an emergency, but to stress the delightfulness of the person. If Jesus had gone to heaven at that moment instead of remaining here and carrying out the will of God the voice out of heaven would have had no less force, for it was a matter of what He was. And it was understood by Him, for He was conscious of it. He could speak of the relations between the Father and the Son from the very outset. These are only rightly known in heaven, for only the substance of them has been brought to us by the Spirit, for these relations go on in holy interchange of thought and feeling, not recorded for us, save touches in the Psalms and elsewhere, and expressions by the Lord Himself. But how heaven delighted in it all!
But I wish to speak of David now as a type of many of us to show how we come into this great matter. God had set His mind on David, and He was very particular that Samuel should not miss the mark, so that He says, in principle, I will be there with you and I will tell you who he is. David was not present, at first, as you know; he was tending the sheep. Any brother or sister may say that he is of little account. Our young people sometimes become depressed and discouraged because of not being sufficiently noticed. But it does not always do to notice the young too much, for they may not be equal to very much notice however much they may like it. David had not been regarded; it was almost as if he did not exist; he was left out in the field. He could readily have said. Nobody cares about me. I do not suppose that he did say that, because he had relations with God in his soul, and he knew that God [p. 500] cared for him. And that is the great point. What greater can come into a young person’s soul than the knowledge that God cares for him? Whatever others may think, God knows you, not only according to what you are actually, but according to what you are potentially. He knows that; nobody else does. And He loves us accordingly, and cares for us accordingly. David was neglected most shamefully, even by his father. Samuel was nonplussed. He asked Jesse, Are these all your sons? Jesse had to admit that there was another. And some here may have been neglected, but the brethren will come to it; God will see to that. Samuel needed adjustment; he had not been looking for a man like David. So you need not be surprised if the leading brethren do not notice you much — though this may not be to their credit. Samuel was at fault. It is sorrowful to have to say that, but it seemed as if the influence of Saul had remained with him; he was still thinking of the height of his stature and such features. But one of the finest things about a spiritual man and especially one whom God is using, is that he can be adjusted readily. And that was the case with Samuel. He says to Jesse, We will not sit down till he comes. Think of Samuel, great man that he was, and those invited, standing and waiting until David came in! One has known of such things; young men who have been forced into the notice of those more prominent: God knows how to do that! They could not have had much of an occasion at Jesse’s house until David came in. And we cannot get very far in our meetings until Christ comes in. David had been looking after the sheep in the field. But now he comes in, and heaven was all aglow, speaking reverently. The word is, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he”. And then we have what the man was, it is not what he was going to be, although the anointing implies that, but what is recorded by the [p. 501] Spirit is what he was. This is the point. “He was ruddy” — the allusion is to life. The ministry of life has had a great place amongst us, thank God, and still has a place. It is something that every young one should pay attention to; what is really life, what gives ruddiness. There are many spiritual anaemics amongst us; that is, persons in whom there is a lack of life. The life is in the blood. Spiritually, it is a question of love; that is what promotes ruddiness. The Lord is spoken of in this way, typically, in Song of Songs 5:10: “My beloved is white and ruddy” — that is supreme beauty — “white and ruddy”. Here David is seen as ruddy; he had developed in life, in the fields, unnoticed. Everyone can do that. You do not need to be noticed; in fact, the lack of being noticed among the brethren is being used of God to turn our minds to what is really life. David is thus seen as “ruddy, and besides of a lovely countenance”. He was full of life! Why had not Jesse seen it before? or the others? But there it was! God saw it, and He saw to it that David was brought in under circumstances that would make much of what He had seen in David. Why could it not be seen before? I suppose Samuel had never seen such a man as this; and they were all brought to it. God saw to it that they should not sit down till he came in. So that it is not what I want to be, but what I am that makes me lovable in the sense in which I am speaking. And then it says, “And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon David from that day forward”. He is the only one, as far as I know, who is spoken of in that way. The Spirit came upon others, but here is a man upon whom the Spirit of Jehovah came “from that day forward”, as if He never left him. Indeed, he says to Jehovah later, in his penitential psalm, “Take not the spirit of thy holiness from me” Psalm 51:11. It would seem that He was never taken from him. That is the thing; the Spirit [p. 502] was there from that day forward — the Holy Spirit having taken possession — and thus what was there was anointed. And so, the time will come when the younger men must fill the ranks. Samuel went back to Ramah; the ground was now to be held by David, a man after God’s own heart. That is a thing that was never said of Samuel, or of anyone else. David was to occupy the ground in testimony.
I proceed now to say a little about Daniel. It is not now a man developing ruddiness caring for the sheep; it is an experienced man, a man who had ruled empires, a man in prominent public influence. And it is said of him that he was in prayer. That is another feature of lovableness. How heaven regards a man who prays properly. It is said that Daniel understood by books. He read the Bible, of course, but he also read books, and he understood by the books that God had in mind seventy years as the duration of the captivity. And he knew the law of Moses; he read the books of Moses, according to his prayer. Well now, dear brethren, if we are to take part rightly in prayer, in the prayer meeting or in private, we must watch these points. As we kneel down, or stand up — for both are right and scriptural — heaven takes account of the beginning of our prayer. Gabriel calls attention to “the beginning of thy supplication”. That is a point to notice. How do we begin our prayers? I am taking advantage of this opportunity to say a little about prayer, because it enters into this important subject so pointedly, and it is so essential to the position today, as always. You can understand that when the disciples saw the Lord praying, they would ask Him, “Teach us to pray”. So that it is not only a matter of what I say, but how I begin, and how I proceed, and how I finish. Solomon prayed the longest recorded prayer in Scripture, but he finished. Sometimes we may wonder when a brother is going to finish. And, very [p. 503] often, the longer we pray the poorer our prayer is, we reduce its quality as we proceed. Solomon’s prayer was long, but it was wonderfully sustained, both in matter and breadth of thought; but it says that he finished. Let us notice that; it was when he “had ended praying” that “the fire came down from the heavens and consumed the burnt-offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of Jehovah filled the house”, (2 Chronicles 7:1). What a time that was for heaven! God said, in principle, I am pleased with that prayer. His glory filled the house; it was entirely delightful to Him and, because of it, the priests could not serve. That is mentioned twice over in 2 Chronicles. What a scene it was! How intent heaven was in listening to every word of Solomon’s prayer! Think of all the years that were taken account of in that mediatorial prayer! It was a wonderful time for heaven, and God signalized it by showing what He thought of it, by filling the house with His glory.
Well now, Daniel is on that line; his prayer in the early part of the chapter is beautifully worded; I would urge every one here to read it. Gabriel told him that “at the beginning of thy supplications the word went forth”. Now what did Daniel have in mind when he prayed? He had something definite in mind, which he had learnt from books — hence the importance of reading, and getting the mind of God. Evidently he wanted to know what the mind of God was as to His people and His holy city; and God sent Gabriel to tell him, and in doing it he says, “Thou art one greatly beloved”. Now that is what I wanted to come to. Daniel was beloved always, I believe, even when he ruled under Nebuchadnezzar and Darius. One of the earliest things said about Daniel is that he “continued unto the first year of king Cyrus” (Daniel 1:21): God saw to that; he must have been an old man, but God was pleased with him from the [p. 504] outset, and he continued till the reign of Cyrus. So that Gabriel says, “Thou art one greatly beloved”. What fame he had in heaven, dear brethren! Think of fame in heaven, a name in heaven, our names written there; they are valued in heaven! But to make it clearer what heaven thinks of prayer, God says of the eunuchs and the sons of the alien who keep His sabbaths, “Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer”, (Isaiah 56:7). So that the meetings for prayer become intensely interesting and blessed. Young people are apt to stay away from them, and the toil on Monday often keeps wives away, and others too. But God would make them attractive; He would give us to see from this instance what He thinks of prayer and of those who pray; those who are intelligent in what they are saying, who read books, books that God supplies for us. Daniel is thus told that he is beloved. The word went forth as soon as he began to pray. He did not have to work himself up to a suited state; he began aright, and proceeded aright, and he was still praying when Gabriel came. And then we get reference made to the seventy weeks of the captivity determined, and a most interesting and concise history of Jehovah’s people right down to the end of the ages. So that we can get impressions at the meeting for prayer. God shows His pleasure in the prayers of His people, as, one after another, they unfold their exercises and burdens in a spiritual way. How blessed God is! And He makes us joyful in His house of prayer!