December 8, 2013
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Advent Desire: Do you content yourself "with the outside of the unsearchable riches of Christ"?
I Peter 1:10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. (KJV)
The angels look upon what they have seen already fulfilled, with delight and admiration, and what remains, namely, the full accomplishment of this great work in the end of time, they look upon with desire to see it is finished; it is not a slight glance they take of it, but they fix their eyes and look stedfastly on it, vix., that mystery of godliness, God manifested in the flesh; and it is added, seen of angels, 1 Tim. iii. 16.
The Word made flesh, draws the eyes of those glorious spirits, and possesses them with wonder to see the Almighty Godhead joined with the weakness of a man, yea, of an infant; He that stretcheth forth the heavens bound up in swaddling clothes! And to surpass all the wonders of his life, this is beyond all admiration, that the Lord of life was subject to death, and that his love to rebellious mankind moved him both to take on and lay down that life.It is no wonder that angels admire these things, and delight to look upon them; but it is strange that we do not so. They view them stedfastly, and we neglect them: either we consider them not at all, or give them but a transient look, half an eye. That which was the great business of the Prophets and Apostles, both for their own times, and to convey them to us, we regard not; and turn our eyes to foolish wandering thoughts, which angels are ashamed at. They are no so concerned in this great mystery as we are; they are but mere beholders, in comparison of us, yea, they seem rather to be losers some way, in that our nature in itself inferior to theirs, is in Jesus Christ exalted above theirs, Heb. ii. 16. We bow down to the earth, and study, and grovel in it, rake into the very bowels of it, and content ourselves with the outside of the unsearchable riches of Christ, and look not within it; but they, having no will nor desire but for the glory of God, being pure flames of fire burning only in love to him, are no less delighted than amazed with the bottomless wonders of his wisdom and goodness shining in the work of our redemption.
It is our shame and folly, that we lose ourselves and our thoughts in poor childish things, and trifle away our days we know not how, and let these rich mysteries lie unregarded. They look up upon the Deity in itself with continual admiration; but then they look down to this mystery as another wonder. We give them an ear in public, and in a cold, formal way stop conscience's mouth with some religious performances in private, and no more; but to have deep and frequent thoughts, and to be ravished in the mediation of our Lord Jesus, once on the cross, and now in glory,––how few of us are acquainted with this!
~ from Robert Leighton’s “Commentary on First Peter” (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1972), 71-72.
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The word "desire" (as in "which things the angels desire to look into" ~ I Peter 1:12) is the Greek word epithumeo / epithymeo (1937), meaning "to set the heart upon, i.e. long for (rightfully or otherwise):--covet, desire, would fain, lust (after)" (from Strong's Concordance).
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O, LORD our God, it is indeed strange that we do not desire to look into these things as we ought. It is a particularly strange thing that during Advent that we find ourselves looking into and preoccupied with all sorts of activities with the name "Christmas" –– and yet so many of those have little-to-no relation to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the rich mysteries surrounding Him; and, furthermore, so many of those serve to distract us from looking more steadfastly into those rich mysteries and becoming more and more intimately acquainted with You and the great salvation You have so kindly provided for us out of the riches of Your sovereign grace. Grant us grace to take to heart the example of Martha and Mary, that we might choose the good portion and not miss out on the one thing that is necessary! (Luke 10:38-42)
Holy Father, for Jesus' sake, forgive us for our sin of neglect and forgive us for our sin of apathy – we have foolishly and perilously contented ourselves with the outside of the unsearchable riches of Christ! Be merciful to Your people and teach us to number our days, so we might get a heart of wisdom! The testimony of the angels is a great indictment of us. Should not Your own people delight in and admire Jesus Christ to an even greater extent than the angels –– because unlike the angels, we have been made Your sons and daughters – heirs of salvation and joint-heirs with Christ – having been bought with His precious blood and indwelt with Your Holy Spirit? And, are we not partakers of Your divine nature? O, merciful and gracious God, cleanse us from our sin and circumcise our hearts, that they might be whole, undivided, and ardent toward You. Impart to our hearts a holy longing for You and a sanctified lust to press on to know You, so we might not trifle our days away here, particularly these days during the Advent Season. May we be jealous for You with a godly jealousy as You are for us. Heighten our desire for You, our delight in You, and our admiration of You, so we might indeed glorify You by enjoying You!
Psalm 27:4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
Related:
don’t waste your Christmas | exchange this world’s madness for Heaven’s gladness (letter 95 on joy)
Advent Hope: What does Jesus Christ mean to you? ~ Is yours a lively or a dead hope?
consider … our ways, the great cloud of witnesses, Susanna Anthony
“… since thou hast been thus gracious …” ~ Susanna Anthony and grace upon grace
Moderation in pursuing God? An answer from Jonathan Edwards
Moderation in pursuing God? An answer from George Whitefield
blogging to placard Jesus Christ ~ the highest felicity
Linger, linger, linger – so you might know God’s lovePhoto credit: “The Nativity” by Federico Fiori Barocci found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Barocci,_Federico_~_The_Nativity,_1597,_oil_on_canvas,_Museo_del_Prado,_Madrid.jpg / {{PD-Art|PD-old-100}}
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Comments (7)
Very good post and true.
I was thinking of my weakness--of late it is electronic gadgets.
We all have different weaknesses, but the bottom line is that whenever we are drawn away from Christ, it shows we aren't treasuring Him as we ought ~ where our treasure is, there our heart will be. James tells us when we are tempted, we are lured and enticed by our own desire. As we pinpoint the external circumstances that affect us, we still need to remember that the problem is rooted in our hearts, and the solution comes from God alone, for He alone can deal with the heart.
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
'Set heart on' Yes, may we desire our Father's will, desire to follow our Father and simply desire our Father.
"... may we desire our Father’s will, desire to follow our Father and simply desire our Father." ~ Amen, sister! "simply desire our Father" ~ Beautiful! May He grant us that desire!
Psalm 65:4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!
amen and amen!!
So much more than "keeping Christ in Christmas" Christmas is Christ! Thank you for this heavenly reminder of the angels' adoration of the Son! ...and for the beautiful prayer!
Yes, we can come up with our clichés, but they fall so very short of the blessed reality! I love Henry Scougal's words about true religion (see my post here).
Prior to writing this blog, I'd been thinking about how small our desires are for Christ -- in particular, the lukewarmness and malaise that prevails in so much of Christianity today (e.g. - to see believers who are cold and apathetic when Biblical truths are discussed and to witness so many Christians who are so far from being "lost in wonder, love, and praise" as they consider the spiritual realities of the Gospel), and then the example of the angels in I Peter was brought to mind in comparison. May God have mercy upon us and give us eyes to see Him so we might begin to treasure Him and desire Him as we ought!