Isaiah 62:5b As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God
rejoice over you.

 What is your picture of the Messiah of God?  Believe it or not that is
still a rather relevant question in today's world.  What is it that you
expect from Jesus?  What is it that you have pictured Jesus as doing?
 The Jewish picture of what they expected the Messiah to be was totally
different than what Jesus was.  That's one of the reasons that many of
the Jewish people, the people who were waiting for their promised Savior,
rejected Jesus.  He didn't fit their picture!  They had determined that
the Messiah would be a conquering hero, a great warrior and King who
would with his power destroy the nations and then establish a new world
order with themselves as the co-rulers and big-shots.  When Jesus came
humble, born in a stable, born to poor parents and then he began to
preach about forgiveness and the like, he got rejected.  Rejected because
he didn't fit what they wanted.
 The same problem that plagued the Jewish people is a problem that can
still plague people today.  There are those who picture Jesus as only
loving, patient and kind.  To such people Jesus is only a prophet who
came to show us how to better get to heaven.  Such people are appalled at
the thought of a Savior who condemns sin and righteously judges.  They
are appalled at a Father who would send his Son to die on a cross.  Yet
did not John the Baptist say of Jesus, "His winnowing fork is in his
hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the
barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."  Without their
realizing it, they reject Jesus because he is not what they want him to
be.
 There are those who have the picture of Jesus as a stern shepherd who
demands that his sheep follow and obey his every command.  So these
people work ever so hard at doing the right thing and being the right
person...that is until they realize that they can't really follow and
obey.  Often when they realize this they begin to emphasize those things
they can do and to ignore the things they can't do or don't like.  In the
process they begin to ignore the shepherd.  "I don't drink, don't smoke
and don't do those other wicked things.  I testify to Jesus, have an
active prayer life, give a tithe or more in offerings and I walk the path
of righteousness in Jesus' name," so they say.  But often the forgiveness
of Jesus, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus and the message of the grace of
Jesus is left out.  They are more interested in hearing how to live for
Jesus rather than hearing how Jesus lived for us!  The end result is that
Jesus is left behind.
 Our picture of Jesus is very important.  If your picture does not match
the one that Scripture draws then is it really Jesus that you believe in?
 Does your picture have Jesus as the total subject or is your picture one
where Jesus is really in the background?  If you find out that your
picture is not in accord with God's Word do you work at changing your
picture, adjusting it to reflect the truth or do you just figure it
doesn't matter!  As I continue to grow in knowledge and understanding
concerning God's Word and Jesus I am constantly adjusting my picture of
Jesus and it is getting more and more beautiful every day.  The truth of
God does that.
 Today we have another picture of Jesus before us, a picture laid out in
the prophetic words of Isaiah.  How wonderful these words are.  Yet note
that these words need to be considered carefully for their message.  It
is a message of hope and triumph, joy and deliverance.  It is the message
of what our Savior will do for us.  Let's then consider these words under
the theme: THE JOY OF OUR GOD.  1st.  Jerusalem's Righteousness.  2nd.
The facts of Righteousness.
 As we read these words the first thing we need to do is ask ourselves
who is speaking these words.  Our opening verse says, "For Zion's sake I
will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet."  It
is important to identify the speaker because it is clear that the speaker
is not only excited and filled with joy over what is said here but it is
also clear that the speaker is the one who brings about what is said
here.  In two places in this chapter, verse 6 and verse 11 the speaker's
identity is made clear.  The speaker is none other than the Lord.  The
Lord, the Almighty God is filled with joy and gladness in what is going
on and in what will happen.  But it is exactly at this point that we need
to step back for a moment and see just what the cause of this joy is.
 The cause of the joy is found revealed in verses 1-3.  Those verses say,
For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not
remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her
salvation like a blazing torch.  The nations will see your righteousness,
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."
 It is clear that the Lord's excitement is over the righteousness of
Jerusalem, the splendor of Zion in the hand of the Lord.  You get a sense
of the awe and wonder of this righteousness when you hear terms like
"shines out, blazing, glory, a crown of splendor and royal diadem."  You
also get a sense of the marvel of this righteousness just from hearing
that the Lord can't keep quiet about it.  Clearly this is what has
excited the Lord and clearly this is what we are to be excited about too.
 But what is this righteousness?  The answer is actually provided in
verse 1.  It says, "till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her
salvation like a blazing torch."  The righteousness spoken of is also
called "her salvation."  In other words, we have here a message of
deliverance.  Jerusalem will be delivered.  She will shine forth with the
glory of perfection and she will have only the best of the best among
her.  So great is this salvation that it is also called "a crown of
splendor" and "a royal diadem in the Lord's hand."  Clearly what is
spoken of here is something godly and great.
 Today we clearly understand what righteousness is.  This righteousness
is the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life provided in
Jesus.  Is it any wonder that throughout the New Testament we hear things
about our royal priesthood and our crown of life?  Those things are found
in Jesus.  Jesus, the son of God,  who came to pay for our sins.  Jesus,
the Savior, who came to be our righteousness and our treasure forever.
These words are a picture of the redemption that we have in Jesus.  How
he makes us pure.  How he causes us to shine with his glory.
 But to help you grasp all the more this truth, then consider for just a
moment the next few lines of Isaiah.  Verses 4-5 say, "No longer will
they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate.  But you will be
called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the Lord will take delight in
you, and your land will be married.  As a young man marries a maiden, so
will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so
will your God rejoice over you."
 The first thing I will tell you is that there is a tremendous play on
words found here.  The reality is that Jerusalem and its people were
called "deserted" and "desolate."  Those are not pleasant terms but
derogatory  terms.  The people of God had deserted his truth and in many
instances God's temple was left desolate of worshippers.  But I want you
to know that it wasn't God who called them this.  It was the world around
them!  The world around the people of Judah saw their lack of faith, saw
their "who cares about God" lives and the people of the world called it
like they saw it.  God knew this fact and God gave a promise to change
it.
 And so a play on words is found.  The deserted would become "the
married."  The desolate would become the delighted.  All of this at the
hand of the Lord.  The Lord would take the reality and change it.  The
Lord would take the poor, deserted, depressed and disparate people of his
holy church and make them a bride, a royal bride, a bride dressed
beautifully, a bride filled with radiance and aglow with love.  The Lord
would joyfully do this.
 There are two things we learn in these words.  First, becoming the
beautiful bride was not something the bride accomplished.  She became the
bride, she became beautiful because of the Bridegroom.  Here is the
picture of sin and grace.  Sin causes and is our downfall.  Grace brings
us the goodness and eternal love of Jesus.  This whole section helps us
to understand what the Lord has done for us.  He has exalted us.  He has
clothed us with his righteousness.  He has made us beautiful, eternally
so, with his forgiveness and love.  It is such a joy to hear of the
wedding plans of the Lord and to realize what he has prepared for us and
how he has prepared us.
 The second thing we learn is how this picture is carried over into the
New Testament.  Think of all those parables of the wedding feasts used by
Jesus.  They were direct links to this promise of eternal life in Him.
That's what this is.  This wedding picture is a promise of eternal life
and salvation with Jesus.
 Consider that great picture in the book of Revelation.  In Revelation
chapter 21 the Lord is revealing what he has prepared for us, the Lord is
showing John a vision of His coming perfect kingdom.  Listen to how that
vision begins.  "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first
heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any
sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven
from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband."
Isn't that amazing.  The same terminology is used in the New Testament to
show us the wonders of what Jesus has done for us.
 That just helps all the more to drive home the facts of righteousness.
Jesus is "The Lord," our Savior.  Jesus has come to win and bring us what
was his, righteousness: the forgiveness of sins because of his love and
grace.  Jesus then takes and purifies us, prepares us for his eternal
kingdom.  It is here that you begin to realize that the prophecy before
us is really not about the church or us, but rather about a gracious
Savior who came to bring us only the best.  We are the bride of Jesus,
adorned and beloved.  We are the recipients of his goodness and mercy and
his forgiveness.  We are the joy and delight of his heart.  Yes, Jesus
came to give us all things, even eternal life.  This was His joy and his
glory.  Amen.