By “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.” (Isaiah 61:10 ESV)
Believe it or not, I am still going through the verses that folks like you sent us in cards, emails and the like during the loss of our daughter Mercy. I am most definitely not a scholar on the book of Isaiah. I glance over at the study notes in my ESV Study Bible and it says that the speaker of this verse is either “the Messiah, the prophet Isaiah, or Zion herself.” So…okay then…but, in either case, all would be true of the redeemed children of God as well. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord (Romans 5:11) because he has clothed me with the garments of salvation and covered me with the robe of righteousness (Philippians 3:9) as a bridegroom decks himself or a bride adorns herself (Ezekiel 16:8; Revelation 19:7, 21:2, 21:9). So in a devotional such as this, I think it is appropriate to apply it as if the speaker was Isaiah who is equally a redeemed child of God just like you and me.
During the moments of my day to day life, I do not rejoice in the Lord the way I shall. Someday my soul shall exult so deeply in my God because he has clothed me with Christ, the ultimate garment of my salvation. Surely he has clothed me now, and will grant me the capacity to glorify him more when I am free from this wretched body of flesh. The picture of the bridegroom decking himself with a headdress and the bride adorning herself with jewels is a picture of beauty. God is the ultimate designer of all beauty. He is the aesthetic King of the universe. And this King will adorn his bride in splendor and glory.
You may not look in the mirror this morning and see beauty. Chances are if you do, it is probably a sinful vanity. Yet one day you will stand before your King clothed in wedding garments of such a kind that you will have no equal. You will not be autonomously beautiful in and of yourself. Your beauty will be one of unity with your fellow redeemed brothers and sisters in Christ. Your beauty will be given to you by King Jesus! He has robed you with the garments of salvation, and one day you and I will see ourselves clothed in these garments. You will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and your soul shall exult in your God. You will be beautiful!
Leading Family Devotions 