THE LORD FOR GOD'S PLEASURE
THE LORD FOR GOD’S PLEASURE
Psalm 40: 5 - 8; Isaiah 50: 4 - 7; Exodus 21: 1 - 6
CAC I would suggest for our consideration scriptures which bring the Lord before us as the One who is the pleasure of God and who is able to put us in accord with that pleasure as suggested by our brother’s prayer.
In suggesting these scriptures my desire is that the Lord Himself may be before us; that we may get an enlarged spiritual apprehension of Him. That will profoundly affect us — I do not know that anything else will — and thus divine instruction and worship will be brought about, for which we have prayed.
Ques Is there moral order in the scriptures presented?
CAC In Psalm 40 the Lord Himself is taking up conditions in which He could give effect to the pleasure of God for eternity, resulting in there being worshippers. Psalm 40 is the complete result.
Isaiah 50 is the place He took in relation to service and suffering given in detail. Every detail of service is dwelt on and He becomes the Object of adoring delight to those capable of appreciating it. It is the infinite perfection in detail of His life here.
Exodus 21 is His devoted service to God and the saints in relation to that which is infinite, securing for ever the delight of God. It is outside limitations — “for ever”. The capability to secure it all lies in Christ.
Ques Why so in Exodus 21?
CAC Because it is “for ever”. The Lord entered into conditions of service which were finite, that is “six years”. He was Jehovah’s Servant for that period. As He says, “The things concerning me have an end” (Luke 22: 37), and “I have completed the work which thou gavest me that I should do it” (John 17: 4). It was finished in absolute completeness. Then He takes up this present service to render [p. 106] saints competent to enter into the pleasure of God and thus become worshippers. ‘Ears digged’, Psalm 40; ‘ear opened’, Isaiah 50; and ‘ear bored’, Exodus 21 all bring out perfection.
Ears digged is Hebrews 10, “A body hast thou prepared me”; conditions prepared for Him, all involved in His taking a body. All the conditions were divinely formed and prepared. He filled up the whole term with perfection. It suggests the formation of all the conditions. In Him we see love active in obedient Manhood. Innocent and fallen manhood are marked by lawlessness, but here is a manhood marked by perfect obedience. It is the perfect contrast to everything here; every word, every act, profoundly delightful to our souls, detaching us from lawlessness and bringing an enlarged knowledge of God into our souls.
Rem He brought obedience in.
CAC There is no power in thinking, I ought to obey; but there is moral power in coming under the influence of the obedient One — obedience that comes out of, and is carried on to eternity, giving effect to all the pleasure of God.
Ques How were God’s thoughts declared? (Psalm 40: 5).
CAC All come to light in Him who came into the world to do the will of God.
‘Ears digged’ suggests the depths to which the obedience of the Lord would have to go. The climax of all was when He went into death, there removing all that was contrary to the will of God and effectuating all that was pleasurable.
Ques Why, in verse 5, is it “toward us”?
CAC The Lord is identifying Himself with those the Father had given Him. ‘Digged’ suggests a going down; having taken that place and carrying on the service of God, He morally could not have gone back to heaven until His term of service was completed. “Lo, I come ... to do thy will, O my God”. A voice out of eternity had said that, and it involved death, and had in view the setting apart of a worshipping company, capable of appreciating God and all His pleasure. He is never ‘Lord’ to me until I see His supremacy in the service of love, and that He has secured all blessing for [p. 107] me. An exercise of spiritual affection in the power of the Holy Spirit enables you to say ‘Lord’ to Jesus. It bows you in worship as He exercises his powerful influence over you. God has made obedience attractive to us in Christ. I have not a blessing apart from obedience: “This is my body, which is for you” (1 Corinthians 11: 24) — the whole obedience for us; He brings Himself before us thus every Lord’s Day. The whole compass of it, the depths to which He had to go, the results of it all “for you”. We are thus brought under his supremacy in love.
Ques How are we to understand Hebrews 5, “He learned obedience ...”?
CAC I should connect that with Isaiah 50. There was infinite suffering in that path that the pleasure of God might be established.
Ques Why is it the ‘opened ear’?
CAC There is the thought of a completed whole in “This is my body, which is for you”; but in Isaiah 50 what attracts the heart is what is set forth in detail “morning by morning”. It is not looked at as a whole as in Psalm 40, but as in periods. Where did every word come from? From God. As you read the gospels, connect every word and act of His directly with the blessed God as the Source. The Lord spoke every word as an instructed One. What a study for the heart to bend adoringly over the detail of such a path as that. In John 4, Luke 7, etc., we see weary hearts. The word translated “disciples” in Isaiah 8: 16 is the same as that translated “Instructed” in Isaiah 50, the true Disciple. Every morning — what about the detail as to ourselves? Fresh instruction every morning from the Lord. “Unto the obedience ... of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1: 2) is what we are called to. All His service becomes the revelation of God to us; a Man who said every word in obedience. “As I hear, I judge” (John 5: 30). We judge according to the hearing of the ears and seeing of the eyes; but He as He heard from the Father. Into a world of darkness and lawlessness such a person has come. If we want to know God we must come under His service and thus be for [p. 108] the pleasure of God and be worshippers. Suffering tests us. The Lord says, “I was not rebellious”; it refers to the fact that He was to be exposed to every indignity from men. How wonderful! Job was very rebellious. Job’s friends morally smote him and plucked off his hair, and he could not stand it. His friends’ criticisms tested him. Nothing tests us like adverse criticism from our brethren: how few of us could then say, “I was not rebellious” (Isaiah 50: 5). The Lord took everything from the hand of God, gave Himself up, suffered all, as accepting all from His hand; gave Himself up to take whatever he sent, who would in the end righteously judge (see note, Darby translation). He awaited God’s justification. That is the spirit of Christ. We can all accept things that come direct from God, but what comes from the brethren tests us most. Accept it from God and leave Him to justify you. If you justify yourself, you hinder God from justifying you.
In Exodus 21 Christ is the true Ark of the Covenant. The whole divine system will be irradiant with the knowledge of God. We come together Lord’s Day morning as the sanctified company. In Exodus 21 you get outside the term of service. The Lord looked forward all His life to the conclusion. There is absolutely no limit to what you may gain by the present service of Christ. Do you love Him enough to let Him serve you? The Lord is always seeking opportunities for the outlet of His service. The Lord is seeking to draw us to Himself — a person to be continuously believed on. It all moves from His own side. “I love my master, my wife, and my children”. He dedicates Himself to serve them for ever. His place as Great Priest is part of His service. Have we taken character from Christ in this blessed way?
“For the arms of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful according to God to the overthrow of strongholds; overthrowing reasonings and every high thing that lifts itself up against the knowledge of God, and leading captive every thought into the obedience of the Christ” (2 Corinthians 10: 4, 5). Everything that obscures our knowledge of God; every [p. 109] thought led captive by the obedience of love — that is what God would produce. Every thought (that goes to the root of things) led captive. “My assembly”; such a company! — untouched by Satan (Matthew 16) — led in. What is ministered from the Head flows through the joints and bands, that is, every one of us who has a sense of how Christ can serve us; what volumes flow from Him.
Ques And what is the result?
CAC The blessedness of sonship, outside limitations. His lordship is that He is supreme in love, effecting in us that we may be for God (1 Corinthians 8: 6). “We by him”, that is, all effected for God in Christ’s service of love.
Exodus 20: 24 speaks of the burnt-offering, which is the sacrificial side of things, Exodus 21 of the living service of Christ effecting His work in us, and if we are to be worshippers we need that service.