Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. The only garment in which
any man has ever been clothed and accepted before God is the
righteousness of Christ. It was in this righteousness
that Enoch stood who walked with God and was not. It was this
garment which was wrapped around Noah as he found grace in the
eyes of the Lord and was seen as righteous in his generation
as the multitude around him perished. It was this garment in which
Abraham was clothed even while yet in Ur of the Chaldees, as
the Lord called him, from darkness to light. And it was while clothed
with this covering that Joshua led the nation of Israel to victory
in the conquest of that land of promise. Not one deed which
any of these men accomplished enhanced their standing with
God. Nor did any failure they might have exhibited along the
way disqualify them in his sight, since he had already made them
perfect in the righteousness of Jesus Christ, who bore their
sin and clothed them in that garment of holiness which belonged
to him alone. They were and are complete in
him, even as every one of his children, both before and after
them. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,
and ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality
and power. In John's vision on the Isle
of Patmos, he describes seeing Christ clothed with a garment.
Now he walked and talked with this man, Christ Jesus, for a
period of about three years. He even described himself as
the disciple whom the Lord loved. Yet this vision of him, high
and lifted up, was overwhelming to him. His head and his hairs
were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were as
a flame of fire, and his feet like into fine brass, as if they
burned in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters.
And he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth
went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was as the
sun shineth in his strength. Rather than running to embrace
him or seeking conversation with him, he says, And when I saw
him, I fell at his feet as dead. While he had seen and talked
with Him for many days, as the Lord walked among men clothed
in the garment of humility, yet now he sees Him as He is, the
Lord of glory, who dwells in the light to which no man can
approach. It is impossible for men to stand in the presence
of His glory apart from His grace. As He told Moses, Thou canst
not see My face, for there shall no man see Me and live. John
would have remained in this state of abject fear, were it not that
he who is the embodiment of grace and mercy reached down his hand,
saying, Fear not, I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth
and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell
and death. John saw him, whom David extolled,
saying, Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art
very great. Thou art clothed with honor and
majesty, who covers thyself with a light as with a garment, who
stretches out the heavens like a curtain. He who could not be
covered or bound with anything clothed himself with humility,
that he might be the light of the world, in order to draw his
children unto himself in his own time. For God, who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. How else could we have known
Him? And so we are brought to consider this garment in which
Christ is clothed, a garment of light and life which belongs
to Him and is representative of that righteousness which is
His possession. No man can be covered by it except
according to his mercy, which he will sovereignly dispense.
At the same time, he has demonstrated his perfect willingness to show
mercy to all who call upon his name. As the psalmist has said,
for as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy
toward them that fear him. Like as a father pitieth his
children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth
our frame, he remembereth that we are dust. It was this abundant
mercy that caused him to reach down his hand and speak words
of comfort and hope to John, saying, Fear not, I am the first
and the last. Even now he does comfort those
who mourn for their sin and who feel their separation from him
by sending the gospel of his free grace to their ears, which
he opens to hear this glorious message. 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 he might be glorified. This is the garment of Christ,
which he is pleased to give to those who tremble in his presence.
Have you heard his glorious word and believed? He is the Savior
of sinners. For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.