Isaiah 64:5 You meet him that rejoices and works righteousness, those that remember you in your ways: behold, you are wroth; for we have sinned… In these ancient words, in very different phraseology indeed, we see a strikingly accurate and full anticipation of the very central teaching of Paul and his brother apostles, as to the way by which God and man come into union with one another. "Thou meetest him that rejoiceth" — that joy is to be manifested by " working righteousness," but the joy which is the parent of righteousness is the child of something else — "those that remember Thee in Thy ways." If we ponder these words, and carefully mark their relation to each other, we may discern, as it were, a great staircase with three flights in it, and at the top God's face. I. WE HAVE TO BEGIN WITH THE LAST CLAUSE OF OUR TEXT. "Thou meetest him... that remembers Thee in Thy ways." The first stage on the road which will bring any man into, and keep any man in, contact with God, and loving fellowship- with Him, is the contemplation of His character, as it is made known to us by His acts. God, like man, is known by His "fruits." You cannot get at a clear conception of God by speculation, or by thinking about Him or about what He is in Himself. Lay hold of the clue of His acts, and it leads you straight into His heart. But the act of acts, in which the whole Godhead concurs, in which all its depths and preciousness are concentrated, like wine in a golden cup, is the incarnation and life and death of Jesus Christ our Lord. But note that word "Remember," for it suggests the warning that such contemplation of the ways of the Lord will not be realized by us without effort. There are so many things within us to draw us away; the duties and joys and sorrows of life so insist upon having a place in our hearts and thoughts, that assuredly, unless by resolute effort, frequently repeated, we clear a space in this crowded and chattering marketplace of life, where we can stand and gaze on the white summits far beyond the bustling crowd, we shall never see them, though they are visible from every place. Unless you try to remember, you will certainly forget. II. THE SECOND FLIGHT OF THIS GREAT STAIRCASE IS POINTED OUT IN THE FIRST CLAUSE OF MY TEXT, "Thou meetest him that rejoiceth." That meditative remembrance of the ways of God will be the parent of holy joy which will bring God near to our heart. Alas, it is too often the very opposite of true that men's joys are such as to bring God to them. The excitement and often the impure elements that mingle with what the world calls "joy" are such as to shut Him out from us. But there is a gladness which comes from the contemplation of Him as He is, and as He is known by His "ways" to be, which brings us very near to God, and God very near to us. I think that we have largely lost the very thought that gladness is a plain Christian duty, to be striven after in the appropriate manner which my text suggests, and certainly to be secured if we seek it in the right way. III. THE THIRD STAGE IS WORKING RIGHTEOUSNESS BECAUSE OF SUCH JOY. "Thou meetest him that rejoiceth, and" — because he does — "worketh righteousness." Every master knows how much more work can be got out of a servant that works with a cheery heart than out of one that is driven reluctantly to his task. You remember our Lord's parable where He traces idleness to fear: "I knew thee that thou wast an austere man, gathering where thou didst not strew, and I was afraid, and I went and hid thy talent." No work was got out of that servant because "there was no joy in him. The opposite state of mind — diligence in righteous work, inspired by gladness which in its turn is inspired by the remembrance of God's ways — is the mark of a true servant of God. And the gladness which is wholesome and blessed, and is "joy in the Lord, will manifest itself by efflorescing into all holiness and all loftiness and largeness of obedience. IV. WE HAVE THE LANDING-PLACE TO WHICH THE STAIR LEADS. God comes to such a man. He meets him indeed at all the stages, for there is a blessed communion with God that springs immediately from remembering Him in His ways, and a still more blessed one that springs from rejoicing in His felt friendship and Fatherhood, and a yet more blessed one that comes from practical righteousness. For if there is anything that breaks our communion with God, it is that there linger in our lives evils which make it impossible for God and us to come close together. Remember if there is the practice of evil there cannot be the sunshine of the presence of God. But remember, too, that the commonest, homeliest, smallest, most secular tasks may become the very highest steps of the staircase that brings us into His presence. Conclusion: There are two kinds of meeting God. "Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness," and that is blessed, as when Christ met the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. There is another kind of meeting with God. "Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness," and that is blessed, as when Christ met the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. There is another kind of meeting with God. "Who, making war, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? (A. Maclaren, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Thou meetest him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, those that remember thee in thy ways: behold, thou art wroth; for we have sinned: in those is continuance, and we shall be saved. |
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