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I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations. For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God (Isaiah 61:10-62:3).

In ancient times, the week prior to a wedding was time for celebration, with the men celebrating in one area and the women in another. On the day of the wedding, the bride was led to her groom’s home dressed in a gown he had provided for her. There another round of feasting occurred before the bride and groom went to the wedding chamber.

These ancient wedding customs lie behind the verses of our text. Knowing them is helpful for understanding Isaiah, but even more so to understand how this theme plays in the New Testament. Here are two passages rooted in our text. In Ephesians 5, Paul writes that the church will appear before Christ “without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless” (5:27). Revelation 19:7-8 adds, “For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints).”

he wedding of Jesus and his bride, the church, will be the final act of this age. Rooted in Isaiah’s imagery, the New Testament makes the point that we are currently in the week of wedding preparation. Two things happen in that week: dressing up and celebration. This was already evident in yesterday’s devotion in which God promises to bestow on the grieving “a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair” (Isaiah 61:3).

Praise and thanksgiving are the natural response to grace that has been personally received and experienced. Inspired and gifted poets help us to voice this praise. Hymns such as Amazing Grace and Amazing Love, How Can it Be are classic examples. More recently In Christ Alone and How Deep the Father’s Love help us express our praise for God’s grace which we have experienced in Christ.

Because we live between the two comings of our Lord, the Christian life is characterized by joy. There are times when it gets washed away by the griefs and hardships of life in this sin-stained world. Yet, it keeps rising again, leaking quietly back into our lives, filling us with thanksgiving and with expectation and hope for what is to come.

Celebration marks the Christian life; but also, ‘dressing up.’ Notice how Isaiah phrases things, “For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness” (10). Also take in what John sees, “Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints) (Revelation 19:8).

God does for us what we cannot do for ourselves, that is, to make us like himself, to behave as he does. To Titus Paul wrote, “Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (2:13-14). Forgiveness of sin is not the end; it is only the means. The end is that we should live out the righteousness of God by faith. We cannot live out this righteousness in our own strength. Only as we believe, that through his Spirit, Jesus is giving us cloths of his own righteousness, do we discover God making us holy.

Shall we go to the wedding feast of the Lamb clothed in the rags of our own failures? Surely not! We come to the celebration clothed in a gown of righteous behavior. Jesus has caused this garment to grow through the power of the Holy Spirit. Isaiah invites us to lift our eyes from the horror of our own sin and to see the glory of what Jesus is doing in us. Like the ancients, let’s celebrate as we get ready.