“to bestow on them 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”
This is the passage our Lord Jesus claimed for His own in Luke 4 - “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” - He declared to the assembly in the synagogue.
His ministry as prophesied in Isaiah 61 is too wonderful to cover in this blog, but I would like us to consider the three-fold exchange recorded in verse 3.
Ashes, mourning and a spirit of despair are all part of a Christian’s response to sin.
ashes are ugly and shameful, the effects of sin on a Christian’s life makes a Christian ugly
and shameful
and shameful
mourning over sin (not the effect of sin) is the gift of God that leads us to true repentance
the spirit of despair is well known to any Christian who is fighting a besetting sin
for there is always a time of despair when we throw up our hands and wonder; “will I ever be done with this sin- or worse yet- will this sin ever be done with me?”
Oh friend don’t despair - for as we surrender to our Lord Jesus, He does a gracious work in our lives-not a single work but a three-fold work.
a crown of beauty, the oil of joy and a garment of praise are all part of our Lord’s response to a repentant Christian.
a crown of beauty has been made for each of us- the effect of righteousness on a Christian’s life makes a Christian beautiful
the oil of joy is poised to flow into our lives, as the Spirit waits to respond to our repentance and restores the joy of our salvation which takes that soul sick mourning away
a garment of praise – the external sign of an inward righteousness, the external sign of victory over sin thru Christ- replaces that terrible spirit of despair.
Oh Lord you’re beautiful
Your face is all I see
For when your eyes on this child
Your grace abounds to me
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