Isaiah 40:10 Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him… His reward is with him. There is a glory to be revealed. There is a day of the manifestation of the sons of God - a day of august solemnity, when the King shall say, "Come, ye blessed." But the Christian dispensation is not fairly represented when its rewards and punishments are declared to be future only. These words speak of a present reward. I. CHRIST JESUS HAD HIS REWARD HERE. SO says the prophet, speaking here of Christ. And the apostle says, "For the joy set before him he endured the cross;" and Jesus gives this legacy to his disciples: "My joy." We are apt to think of Jesus only as the "Man of sorrows." And so our artists have painted him. In their pictures there is often no light of triumph in his eye ] How he went about doing good! What a reward it was, every day to comfort the mourner and to heal the broken-hearted! Think of all that Jesus said in the synagogue of Nazareth - that he came to do, and you will understand that beneath this sorrow and suffering there was a still deeper joy. His reward was with him. So it was, even on the cross, strange as that may appear. Still the prophet says," When thou shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed,... the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied." II. CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE ENDORSES THIS TRUTH. The Christian's reward is with him. True duty is not discharged for the sake of reward. Men in this world never get happiness by seeking for it alone. It must come, not as an end, but as an accompaniment of duty. Besides, we should be open to the criticism that the gospel appealed to selfishness if we invited men and women to become Christians for the sake of heaven. No; we invite them to take up their cross and follow him, and therein they will find their reward. Strange as it may seem, they too will find blessedness where they least expected it in doing the will of God; and then heaven will come as the culmination and perfection of sacrificial and spiritual life. - W.M.S. Parallel Verses KJV: Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. |
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