(Rev. 5)
There are two words in this scripture, which are blessed words (ver. 2),
“I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon,” and (ver. 5), “Weep not, behold the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof.”
Here we have the fact of worthiness, and the fact of power and ability to do it, and neither of these were answered by any one save Christ. “Who is worthy” and “The Lion of the tribe of Juda hath prevailed” are wonderful words for us, because they relate to the inherent excellency of Christ’s Person. He was worthy, in the glory of who He was, and He made a claim upon God to open the book. No one except Himself in the worthiness of His Person could make a claim upon God; it refers to that, so that He was entitled both in His Person and in the rights which He has secured to open the book; and then the other is a very affecting word, “He hath prevailed.” He prevailed through sorrow, death, the afflictions of the cross, being forsaken of God, despised by men, enduring suffering, and as the words of the hymn have it; “By being trodden down,” “He hath prevailed.” It is a blessed word to think that the ability of Christ, in that sense, consisted in His voluntarily going down and enduring everything, becoming, in that sense weaker than everything, giving Himself up to sorrow and the judgment of God, because of sin, and receiving everything, even that which was connected with man, from the hand of God.
“By weakness and defeat,
He won the meed and crown,
Trod all our foes beneath His feet,
By being trodden down.”
I look at Him there by faith in heaven now, and see Him wearing the crown and sitting for a little while on the Father’s throne, and by-and-by He will give the overcomer to sit with Him on His throne—and how do we overcome? Is it not true that we overcome by what is called defeat; giving up everything, surrendering everything. When I hold to Christ, I am the loser, not in the true sense of the word, but in another sense I am; but what a wonderful thing to look up and see Him there, and hear to-day those notes that are sounding in His ear in heaven, “Worthy,” and to know that God will move every created intelligence to do Him homage; because that is what I understand by Rev. 5, there shall not be a created intelligence that God will not move to do homage to the One who gave Himself up to suffering and death, the object of all heaven’s worship—what a precious thing to think, that the One who gave our hearts to praise Him in time will sustain the combined worship of heaven through all eternity. The Lord give us to dwell upon His personal worthiness to-day, and to remember more unceasingly what He passed through, and that He has a right and claim and title over everything, as in Ephesians 1. He has acquired a right and title over everything, He is Head over all things to the church which is His body; that which He will own by-and-by, as bone of His bone, and flesh of His flesh; as Adam owned Eve fruit of his mysterious sleep, so will Christ own that which was formed out of His sleep of death as bone of His bone, members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.
The Lord keep us waiting for Him, and in our measure delighting and rejoicing in Him now.