Isai. lxi. 10. — I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God ; for he hath clothed me with the gar- ments of salvation, he hath covered me tvith the robe of right- teousness, as a Bridegroom decketh himself tvith ornaments, and as a Bride adorneth herself tvith her jewels.
THE abruptness of this passage cannot but strike every one who reads it. But this is common in the
prophetic writings. The prophets are wont to pass over hundreds or even thousands of years, as though they were already past ; and to represent as existing before their eyes, the things which shall exist at periods the most remote. It is in this way that they express their confidence in the truth of their own predictions, and encourage us also to look forward to the accomplishment of them with the fullest assurance.
The words are uttered, as it were, by the Jewish Church at the period of their conversion to Christ- ianity. In the three first verses of this chapter the Lord Jesus Christ declares his commission to save the world3. In the three next, the Jews, notwith- standing their desolate condition previous to that time, are assured of their participation in his benefits, being themselves restored to their own country, and converted to the faith of Christ. In the three next verses they are informed, that they shall be pre-emi- mently blessed, far above all that ever their nation experienced in its most favoured seasons ; insomuch, that they shall be objects of admiration and envy through the whole Gentile world. These things being predicted, the Jewish Church is introduced as exult- ing in the actual experience of them : " I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall be joyful in my God." But it is as members of the Christian Church that they use this language : and therefore without confining our attention to them, we shall consider our text as expressing,
I. The believer's boast —
To boast in any thing of our own would be absurd and impious : but to boast in God is highly becom- ing ; as David says, " In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for everV
The mercy vouchsafed to him is exceeding great —
[He is " clothed with the garments of salvation, and covered with a robe of righteousness," that has been formed
a ver. 1—3. with Luke iv. 17—21. »> Ps. xliv. 8.