My whole being
shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with
the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with
the robe of righteousness.
Isaiah 61:10 is a short course in the Gospel. But a big question follows at the end …
- In Romans 3, the Apostle Paul reminds us that “no one is righteous; no not one.” “We all sin and fall short,” continues the chapter. We are not righteous. On our own merits, none of us deserves salvation. That’s step one in comprehending the Gospel – our unworthiness.
- Step two is learning, accepting, believing that Jesus – the Savior – took our sins upon himself when he died for us on the cross. Indeed, when took away our sins, he “covered [us] with the robe of [His] righteousness.” We’re still not righteous on our own, but instead of approaching the Father in beggar’s rags, we are covered by the blood of Christ and can approach the Father “covered … with the robe of [His] righteousness.”
- And if we believe this – step three – that’s when we are “clothed … with the garments of salvation.” Indeed, from the moment we first believe, that’s when our eternal life begins!
- Therefore – step four – “[our] whole being [ought to] exult in [our] God.”
Today’s verse, then, is the Gospel in one sentence!
Quick question, though: Isaiah the prophet was exulting in these robes of righteousness and garments of salvation hundreds of years before Christ was ever born.
How?!?!
Because salvation has always been about God’s grace and our faith. One of the oft repeated lines of Scripture is that “Abraham believed and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Christ came as the eternal guarantee of God’s love and the clear path to our salvation, but salvation for sinners has always been a by-product of our faith clinging to God’s amazing grace – whether that’s for Abraham, Isaiah, Jerusalem [as perhaps is implied in this verse in context], or you and me.
Thus, if you have faith, let us “exult” in the God of our “salvation.”
In Christ’s Love,
a guy who spells “exult”
T-H-A-N-K Y-O-U
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