149. Salvation and Righteousness of God
Isaiah 59:16, 17 And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing and was clad with zeal as a cloke.
The Lord looked over the earth and could find no one who was able to intercede and bring people to God. So He had to do it Himself: God Himself came to earth and became a human being, but without sin. God loved the world in this way: He sent His Son. His arm brought salvation unto him = God’s power saved people. The power of God unto salvation is the Gospel. The Gospel is the arm (power) that forgives, saves, and gives eternal life. Salvation belongs to God: it is His idea, His initiative, His implementation, and His success. God did it; God did it all.
The righteousness of God carried out the salvation needed to bring people to Himself. God could find no righteousness on earth. No one is righteous, no, not one. Therefore, the Lord had to bring His own righteousness to the earth, and through the merits of Jesus Christ He freely gave His own righteousness to those who believe the Gospel. If we had to trust our own righteousness, of course, we would be lost and have no hope of salvation. But we can trust the righteousness of God: it is more than good enough to grant forgiveness and salvation. “His righteousness sustained him.”
The Lord uses the armor metaphor to help us understand what He has done for us. Righteousness is a breastplate: salvation is a helmet; vengeance is clothes; and zeal is a cloak. This armor is given to us to put on every day, according to Ephesians 6. We wear the breastplate of righteousness so that nothing can penetrate into our heart and vital organs; we cannot be wounded or put to death. We wear the helmet of salvation so that the brain is protected from deadly injury; nothing can harm us for the proclamation is sure, “I am saved.” Vengeance is the clothing we wear, meaning that vengeance and punishment of sin, death, and the devil are rendered impotent to do us harm. Vengeance upon the Enemy is our protection. The coat to keep us alive and warm is the zeal, or fire, of the Holy Spirit. We are zealous, even jealous, for the Lord. God loves us with a zealous (fiery) love and a jealous (allowing no rivals) protection.
The promise of righteousness and salvation is abundantly clear in the NT unfolding of the promise in the person of Jesus Christ. We cannot be more safely secure with any other hope of salvation.