164. Beauty, Joy, Praise
Isaiah 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.
God promises beauty, joy and praise in place of ashes, mourning, and heaviness. All this beauty, joy and praise comes from the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who died and rose to grant forgiveness and life.
Jesus adorns you and me, His bride, with beauty. He says to each of us: “You are beautiful to me.” He picks us up from the ash heap where life is really down in the dumps, dusts us off, and beautifies us. The beauty is not physical and outward, but it is the inner beauty of love and purity, of grace and mercy. 1 Peter 3:4: “Let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” The soul receives beauty from the Spirit and reflects beauty out into the world around it. The ashes symbolize the misery of a burnt out life, dirty, useless, and good-for-nothing, in other words, a life ruined by sin.
Jesus pours out the oil of joy upon our head. “Thou anointedst my head with oil.” The oil of anointing symbolizes the Holy Spirit, who fills and flows and moves through us. He is the spirit of joy. This kind of inner joy drives out sadness, loss and mourning. We live with emptiness, pain, loss, and stress because of sin. When sin is forgiven joy come in and replaces the mourning.
Jesus adorns you with a garment of praise. His love fills you with so much joy the only proper response to the Gospel is praise and thanksgiving. When we exercise praise and utter thanks there is no room for a spirit of heaviness. The spirit naturally lifts when the heaviness disappears. Praise lifts the spirit. We feel better when we praise God for His goodness and mercy. When we praise the Lord our focus is more upon Jesus and less upon us, and that always feels good.