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Isaiah 61: 10 – 62: 3 (NIV)
10 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.
11 For as the soil makes the young plant come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness
and praise spring up before all nations.
1 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.
2 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.
3 You will be a crown of splendour in the Lord’s hand,
a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
Is it Jerusalem herself speaking in the first two verses of this passage? Has a devastated city been reborn, rebuilt and repopulated? Clothed with garments of salvation and arrayed in a robe of righteousness, the city appears as pristine as a bridegroom and a bride. The Sovereign Lord is credited with this transition, this new creation. This adorned city is evidence before the nations of the Sovereign Lord’s work in bringing about righteousness. This work rightly attracts the nations’ praises.
There is a change of speaker for the next three verses. Is it now the Lord himself speaking, whether to the prophet or through the prophet? The Lord’s love for Jerusalem is evident. He desires that Jerusalem be a crown of splendour in his hand, a city which radiates its vindication to the nations, to the kings of the nations.
The extent of the transition for Jerusalem can be seen as we compare the uses of the two words “salvation” and “righteousness”.
In verse 10, “salvation” is described as being clothed in garments. This perhaps represents the present state of the city. (Was the former state “nakedness”?) The Lord’s longer term intention for the city is that her salvation should shine like a blazing torch (verse 1). Similarly, “righteousness” is described in verse 10 as being arrayed in a robe. The Lord’s ultimate intention for the city is that her vindication (“righteousness” in some earlier NIV translations of verses 1 and 2) should shine out like the dawn. The future state of this redeemed city is going to be so much better than its now-restored state!
Can we hope for similar vindication as we look forward to a time of being welcomed into the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21: 2)? Whatever is our present state, it cannot compare with how we will be on that day when we see our Lord face to face.
These lines beg to be examined closely:
I delight greatly in the Lord;
my soul rejoices in my God
No doubt the Lord chose, as the human mother for the Son of God, a woman who was able to raise Jesus in the knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures. Was Mary reflecting on her familiarity with the words of the prophet Isaiah as she extolled God:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,” (Luke 1: 46-47)?
Let us, too, join with the prophet Isaiah and with Mary to celebrate our Lord’s incarnation with these words, “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.”