Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Isaiah 63:1-6.

“Who is this who comes from Edom,
With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah,
This One who is majestic in His apparel,
Marching in the greatness of His strength?
“It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”
² Why is Your apparel red,
And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press?
³ “I have trodden the wine trough alone,
And from the peoples there was no man with Me.
I also trod them in My anger
And trampled them in My wrath;
And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments,
And I stained all My raiment.
⁴ “For the day of vengeance was in My heart,
And My year of redemption has come.
⁵ “I looked, and there was no one to help,
And I was astonished and there was no one to uphold;
So My own arm brought salvation to Me,
And My wrath upheld Me.
⁶ “I trod down the peoples in My anger
And made them drunk in My wrath,
And I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”   Isaiah 63:1-6.

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These shocking images force us to consider Who we think God is.

Is our god some type of Santa Claus who only shows lovingkindness?

Or, is our God “a victorious warrior”, the God of Scriptures, Who shows justice as well as lovingkindness? 

God exercises both lovingknindness and justice on earth and delights in both.

“Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;  but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth;  for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.”  Jeremiah 9:23-24.

Lovingkindness and justice go hand in hand.

We live in a world full of enemies.  God could not show us lovingkindness and save us without first destroying our enemies and obtaining justice.

Also, consider that God also demonstrated His justice by sending His precious only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer and die on the cross, because through His Father’s will, Christ took on Himself the sins of God’s Elect.  If ever there was a time for God to refrain from justice, it was this time.  But, God perfectly demonstrated His justice by even sending Christ to the cross, because justice required punishment for those sins.

Consider how today’s Scripture and other Scripture speak both of vengeance and recompense (justice) and redemption and salvation (lovingkindness).

“⁴ “For the day of vengeance was in My heart,
And My year of redemption has come.
⁵ “I looked, and there was no one to help,
And I was astonished and there was no one to uphold;
So My own arm brought salvation to Me,
And My wrath upheld Me.”  Verses 4-5.

“¹⁵ Yes, truth is lacking;
And he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey.
Now the Lord saw,
And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice.
¹⁶ And He saw that there was no man,
And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
Then His own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.
¹⁷ He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.
¹⁸ According to their deeds, so He will repay,
Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies;
To the coastlands He will make recompense.
¹⁹ So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west
And His glory from the rising of the sun,
For He will come like a rushing stream
Which the wind of the Lord drives.
²⁰ “A Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the Lord.”  Isaiah 59:15-20.

“The Lord your God is in your midst,
A victorious warrior.
He will exult over you with joy,
He will be quiet in His love,
He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”  Zephaniah 3:17.

Today’s devotion comes from Isaiah chapter 62.

“For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent,
And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,
Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness,
And her salvation like a torch that is burning.
² The nations will see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory;
And you will be called by a new name
Which the mouth of the Lord will designate.
³ You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
And a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
⁴ It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,”
Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”;
But you will be called, “My delight is in her,”
And your land, “Married”;
For the Lord delights in you,
And to Him your land will be married.
⁵ For as a young man marries a virgin,
So your sons will marry you;
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
So your God will rejoice over you.

Today’s devotion comes from Isaiah 61:4-11.

“4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins,
They will raise up the former devastations;
And they will repair the ruined cities,
The desolations of many generations.
5 Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks,
And foreigners will be your farmers and your vinedressers.
6 But you will be called the priests of the Lord;
You will be spoken of as ministers of our God.
You will eat the wealth of nations,
And in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your shame you will have a double portion,
And instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion.
Therefore they will possess a double portion in their land,
Everlasting joy will be theirs.
8 For I, the Lord, love justice,
I hate robbery in the burnt offering;
And I will faithfully give them their recompense
And make an everlasting covenant with them.
9 Then their offspring will be known among the nations,
And their descendants in the midst of the peoples.
All who see them will recognize them
Because they are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed.

10 I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will exult in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,
And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up,
So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
To spring up before all the nations.”  Isaiah 61:4-11.

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“I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,
My soul will exult in my God;
For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,
He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”  Verse 10.

Here are a few things in Scripture that may help us understand these “garments of salvation”.

Scripture tells us what they are not and what they are.

These “garments of salvation” are not our works.

“For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;
And all of us wither like a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”  Isaiah 64:6.

These “garments of salvation” are also not anything else that we can provide.

The Parable of the Marriage Feast in Matthew 22:1-4 makes that clear.  The “garments of salvation” are only those clothes that God provides to His chosen ones.

“But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he *said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’  And the man was speechless.  Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness;  in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  For many are called, but few are chosen.”  Matthew 22:11-14.

Specifically, these “garments of salvation” include a “robe of righteousness” which “He” provides as in “He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness”.  Verse 10.

And, “He has clothed me with garments of salvation”.  Verse 10.

Today’s devotion comes from Isaiah 61:1-3.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
² To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
³ To grant those who mourn in Zion,
Giving them a garland instead of ashes,
The oil of gladness instead of mourning,
The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.
So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”  Isaiah 61:1-3.

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The description of the righteous as trees is in today’s Scripture and elsewhere in Scripture.

God is at work!  God plants good trees!  God is glorified!

“…  So they will be called oaks of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”  Verse 4. 

“Then all your people will be righteous;
They will possess the land forever,
The branch of My planting,
The work of My hands,
That I may be glorified.”  Isaiah 60:21.

“⁸ But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.
⁹ I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it,
And I will wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.”  Psalm 52:8-9.

“¹² The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree,
He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
¹³ Planted in the house of the Lord,
They will flourish in the courts of our God.
¹⁴ They will still yield fruit in old age;
They shall be full of sap and very green,
¹⁵ To declare that the Lord is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”  Psalm 92:12-15.

“He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.”  Psalm 1:3.

“So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.”  Matthew 7:17. 

Today’s devotion comes from Isaiah 60:10-22.

“¹⁰ “Foreigners will build up your walls,
And their kings will minister to you;
For in My wrath I struck you,
And in My favor I have had compassion on you.
¹¹ “Your gates will be open continually;
They will not be closed day or night,
So that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations,
With their kings led in procession.
¹² “For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish,
And the nations will be utterly ruined.
¹³ “The glory of Lebanon will come to you,
The juniper, the box tree and the cypress together,
To beautify the place of My sanctuary;
And I shall make the place of My feet glorious.
¹⁴ “The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you,
And all those who despised you will bow themselves at the soles of your feet;
And they will call you the city of the Lord,
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

Today’s devotion comes from Isaiah 60:1-9.

“Arise, shine;  for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
² “For behold, darkness will cover the earth
And deep darkness the peoples;
But the Lord will rise upon you
And His glory will appear upon you.
³ “Nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.

Today’s devotion comes from Isaiah 59:15-21.

“¹⁵ Yes, truth is lacking;
And he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey.
Now the Lord saw,
And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice.
¹⁶ And He saw that there was no man,
And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
Then His own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.
¹⁷ He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.
¹⁸ According to their deeds, so He will repay,
Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies;
To the coastlands He will make recompense.
¹⁹ So they will fear the name of the Lord from the west
And His glory from the rising of the sun,
For He will come like a rushing stream
Which the wind of the Lord drives.
²⁰ “A Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the Lord.

²¹ “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the Lord:  “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from now and forever.”    Isaiah 59:15-21.

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There is only one Hero.  There is only One Who is Awesome.

“And He saw that there was no man,
And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
Then His own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.”  Verse 16.

When we understand man’s natural condition of “Total Depravity” as taught by Reformed Doctrine, namely that man is dead in sin and unable to save himself and even unable to contribute anything for salvation, then we better understand and appreciate that in order for us to be saved the LORD needed to do everything necessary for our salvation.

Likewise, we read:

“I looked, and there was no one to help,
And I was astonished and there was no one to uphold;
So My own arm brought salvation to Me,
And My wrath upheld Me.”  Isaiah 63:5.

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will hardly die for a righteous man;  though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  Romans 5:6-8.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith;  and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Ephesians 2:4-9. 

“But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:30-31.

“The LORD has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God.”  Isaiah 52:10.

“Salvation belongs to the Lord;
Your blessing be upon Your people!  Selah.”  Psalm 3:8.

Today’s devotion comes from Isaiah chapter 58.

“Cry loudly, do not hold back;
Raise your voice like a trumpet,
And declare to My people their transgression
And to the house of Jacob their sins.
² “Yet they seek Me day by day and delight to know My ways,
As a nation that has done righteousness
And has not forsaken the ordinance of their God.
They ask Me for just decisions,
They delight in the nearness of God.
³ ‘Why have we fasted and You do not see?
Why have we humbled ourselves and You do not notice?’
Behold, on the day of your fast you find your desire,
And drive hard all your workers.
⁴ “Behold, you fast for contention and strife and to strike with a wicked fist.
You do not fast like you do today to make your voice heard on high.
⁵ “Is it a fast like this which I choose, a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it for bowing one’s head like a reed
And for spreading out sackcloth and ashes as a bed?
Will you call this a fast, even an acceptable day to the Lord?
⁶ “Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
⁷ “Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
⁸ “Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
⁹ “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you remove the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
¹⁰ And if you give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.
¹¹ “And the Lord will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
¹² “Those from among you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You will raise up the age-old foundations;
And you will be called the repairer of the breach,
The restorer of the streets in which to dwell.

Today’s devotion comes from Isaiah chapter 57.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+57&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“The righteous man perishes, and no man takes it to heart;
And devout men are taken away, while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken away from evil,
² He enters into peace;
They rest in their beds,
Each one who walked in his upright way.
³ “But come here, you sons of a sorceress,
Offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute.
⁴ “Against whom do you jest?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
And stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of rebellion,
Offspring of deceit,
⁵ Who inflame yourselves among the oaks,
Under every luxuriant tree,
Who slaughter the children in the ravines,
Under the clefts of the crags?

…

¹¹ “Of whom were you worried and fearful
When you lied, and did not remember Me
Nor give Me a thought?
Was I not silent even for a long time
So you do not fear Me?
¹² “I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
But they will not profit you.
¹³ “When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will carry all of them up,
And a breath will take them away.
But he who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land
And will possess My holy mountain.”

…

²⁰ But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.
²¹ “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”  Isaiah 57:1-5 and 11-13 and 20-21.

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“God is a righteous judge,
And a God who has indignation every day.”  Psalm 7:11.

“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”  Verse 21.  See also Isaiah 48:22.

“⁴ For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;
No evil dwells with You.
⁵ The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes;
You hate all who do iniquity.
⁶ You destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.”  Psalm 5:4-6.

“That when the wicked sprouted up like grass
And all who did iniquity flourished,
It was only that they might be destroyed forevermore.”  Psalm 92:7.

“He has brought back their wickedness upon them
And will destroy them in their evil;
The Lord our God will destroy them.”  Psalm 94:23.