According to this exposition, complacency as a moral quality is the result, for the most part, of benevolence reacting upon itself, lo\'e making the object beloved become worthy of aii'ection. What one loved at first out of mere benevolence becomes an object morally beautiful, worthy of love, and thus an object of complacency. Scripture illustra- tions of the Divine love as benevolence and as com- placency naturally suggest themselves, and enable us to understand how the latter is often the fruit of the former. The work of Creation is a typical instance of the benevolence of God, tlie Almighty forming the world out of nothing, bringing light out of darkness, beauty out of chaos, life out of death. When, at the completion of His work, God beheld the product of His benevolence, and pro-
nounced all very good. He showed complacency. So also with regard to the work of Redemption, God's love to the ruined world (Jn 3"*) was the love of benevolence. His love to sinners as re- deemed, made a new creation by that love, is the love of complacency (Mt 3").
Keeping this distinction in view, we find in the Gospels not a few instances in which the expression ' complacency ' may be fitly applied to describe that particular aspect of the love of God, or of the love of Jesus Christ, or even that feeling of grate- ful afl'ection and devotion which the Divine love kindles in the hearts of true believers, to which the Evangelists direct our attention. If com- placency means pleasure in the contemplation of beauty, or pleasure in the results of benevolence, (1) the expression may with all propriety be in these respects used to describe the love of God the Father to God the Son, or again the love witli which the Father contemplates the fruits of the Divine work of redemption in the hearts and lives of the redeemed. (2) It may be ajiplied also to the witness of Jesus to His own character, life, and work, and to His "racious acceptance of the faitli and devotion of His disciples. (3) Lastly, it is appropriate as a description of the joy and peace with wliich believers realize the love of God and
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the grace of Christ, and of their satisfaction with the all-sufficiency of the Redeemer's work.
1. The love of God the Father to God the Son, especially xvith regard to His life and ministry. — The inetfable love, with which from all eternity the Father has regarded tlie Son, is referred to in those passages which speak of the glory which Christ had with the P'ather before the world was (Jn IT"- ^), or which describe Christ as ' the only- laegotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father ' (1'*). But the Divine complacency, in the aspect of delight in the contemplation of the beauty of Christ's character and work, is that upon which special emphasis is laid in the Gospels, in which our attention is carefully directed to the Father's interest in the ministry of His Son, and to His sympathy and satisfaction with Christ's perfect submission to His will, in connexion with His voluntary humiliation and suffering for the sake of man. And, it is worthy of special note, it is in this connexion that we find the expression ' be well pleased,' ' take pleasure in ' (eiSoKelv iv), where text and context plainly indicate that the thought of complacency is intended, as distinguished from the other sense in which the words (v5ok€'w, eiSoKla occur in the NT, that of the Divine election, the will or purpose of God, 'His mere good pleasure.' The Gospels mention two occasions on which the words, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,' were uttered by the voice of God Himself.
At the Baptism, God spoke thus (Mt 3" 1| Mk 1" II Lk 3--). liy these words He testified the peculiar pleasure w itli which He regarded His Son at the moment of His consecration to His mission ; His satisfaction with the spirit of submission to the Father's will which had characterized Jesus throughout the years of obscurity during which He prepared Himself for His ministry, and the lowli- ness with which He submitted to the baptism of John — because thus it became Him 'to fulfil all righteousness ' ; and His gracious acceptance of the voluntary oH'ering which the Son now niade to the Father. It was the moment of consecration to that ministry of Immiliation to fulfil which Christ had come into the world. Therefore, in token of His ac- ceptance of that act of submission, which spoke thus, ' Lo, I come to do thy will, O God,' the Father spoke thus from heaven in the audience of men and angels, ' This is ray beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' We may not, indeed, here or in the other ease in wliieh this voice from heaven was heard, leave out of sight the additional thought suggested by the tense of the last word, evS6KT)(ya, the Greek aorist— the thought, that is, of the complacency with which from all eternity the Father had regarded the Son. But this is the central thought of the passage, tlie peculiar plea- sure with which the Father contemplated the Son's voluntary humiliation. His submission to tlie Law, and His resolve to fulfil all righteousness by a life of lowliest service.