“I delight to do Thy will.”
THIS was the language of Him whose proper place was the bosom of the Father. Truly for such an One there could be no repose on earth. “The Son of Man hath not where to lay His head.” “Every man went unto his own house. Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives.” (John 7:5353And every man went unto his own house. (John 7:53).) He enjoyed rest, as the obedient Son, in always doing those things which pleased the Father. This linked Him in unchanging communion with the Father―this called forth ever and anon that expression of infinite delight, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!”
How refreshing to the eye of Him who had so long “looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand and seek God” ―to behold the meek and lowly One doing His will, not seeking His own glory, but with wakened ear accomplishing the work given Him to do. Well might He say, “Hear ye Him!” and well would it be for us, beloved, to hearken, and learn of Him. Sometimes, with cheerful, willing hearts, we take a few steps in obedience to Him, entering upon some service which brings a little return of joy to our souls; but, when the path leads right athwart our own wills, our own testes, our own pre-conceived planning’s, then with grudging hearts we coldly follow; it is not then as with the Lord at all times, “I delight to do Thy will.” Yes, at all times; not only in the house at Bethany, but in the wilderness tempted of Satan; not only when riding amidst surrounding hosannas, but in the garden of Gethsemane, and when enduring the bitterness of the cross.
And of this delight, beloved, surely we have some glimpses in the drink-offering. The burnt-offering may show us the value of His death as towards God; the meat-offering, the perfectness of that walk which fitted Him to be the sacrifice; the peace-offering, the joy and satisfaction of God in Him, into which we enter; and the sin-offering, the entire putting away of sin. But it is in the drink-offering that we learn the joy of His heart in so offering Himself without spot to God.
For wine truly is the emblem of joy. Not only did He say, “Lo, I come:” but, “I delight to do thy will.” In every step of the way―in weariness, in loneliness, in rejection, in sorrow―yea, in death’s agony, there was in the very depth of His soul an unutterable joy, into which the Father alone could enter. Not merely the joy set before Him as to the result of that work, but the settled, calm, individual joy of the obedient One, whose heart ever answered to the expectations of the Father, and spent itself in His service.
And of this the drink-offering was the expression.
It accompanied the other offerings, and was needed to set forth an additional feature of the preciousness of Him whose meat was to do the will of Him that sent Him, and to finish His work.
There may be another thought conveyed in the drink-offering, namely, the entire surrender of His whole being to God. In the burnt-offering―wholly burnt―there was still some small remainder in the ashes. But that which is spilled on the ground cannot be gathered up―all is gone. He hid not His face from shame and spitting; He bowed down His neck; He was the servant with His ear bored; He would not go out free. O blessed Saviour, into Thy delight may we enter! In Thy entire surrender may we have part! May we know Thee as the meek and lowly One, take upon us Thy yoke, and thus, all along our way, find rest to our souls, until Thou comest to fetch us home to Thy bosom, to receive us to Thyself, to know more of the secrets of Thy heart, and to drink, with unchecked delight, of the river of Thy pleasures.