This morning during my Bible reading God brought these verses to my attention from Isaiah 61.
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.
(Isa 61:10-11)
Where do I find Joy?
The past year has reinvigorated a focus on true joy in my life so any passage like this deserves some extra attention. The first part of verse ten states “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD!; my soul shall exult (delight) in my God.” Very simply, joy comes from God. But I notice the preposition “in.” This joy does not come from a casual observance of God, nor does it come from being near God or even just liking God a lot. This author rejoices in the LORD. Now before I go further I must mention that this thought comes from a surface reading of the English translation. This is not a deep exegetical thought. But the thought is, in order to be able to rejoice in God, I must be in God…or more specifically have a relationship with God. Which brings us to the next portion of the verse.
How do I find Joy?
The fallen status of man renders a relationship with a holy God impossible. Nothing man can do can please God, and as Isaiah mentions a couple of chapters later, even man’s righteousness’s are as filthy rags in the sight of God. The author of Hebrews rights that it is impossible to please God on our own. So therefore, how can one delight in God if one cannot draw near to God let alone have a relationship with Him? Isaiah beautifully paints the picture, and notice who is doing the action: “for he (God) has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness.” Our righteousness is worthless, but God’s righteousness is priceless. Where does this robe of righteousness come from? The blood of Christ. Isaiah has already prophesied of the suffering servant, the Lamb that would be slain for my transgressions, and now we see the righteousness of the Holy One being given to me as a robe laid upon my shoulders.
How fitting then for Isaiah then to vividly bring the joy of this transaction to the forefront with the illustration of a wedding. I remember two things about my wedding day. First, that both the bride and groom were sick. Second, that it was still one of the happiest days of our lives. What joy! What delight! What a picture of the joy that is ours because of the righteousness of Christ!
The second picture Isaiah draws to illustrate Christ’s righteousness imputed to our account is that of the earth or a garden brimming with
new life. Seeds that were once dead are now filling the earth the color of life due to the life-giving rain they received. Oh and how we brim with new life because of grace rained down us, the righteousness of Christ that gives awakens us from our dead state and gives us joyous life everlasting! The Lord makes righteousness and praise to spring up among all nations! Why should I boast in anything short of Christ alone! Anything less would not bring such wonderful joy and delight!
