Psalm 132:9, 16 “May your priests be clothed with righteousness;
may your saints sing for joy.”
“I will clothe her priests with salvation,
and her saints will ever sing for joy.”

These two verses are very similar, but they have two differences. First, verse 9 is a prayer, asking God to cause things to be this way, and verse 16 is God’s response as to how things will be. The second difference is that in verse 9, the request is that the priests be clothed in righteousness, while in verse 16 the response is that they will be clothed in salvation. In either case, the saints sing for joy! As a request, verse 9 makes a lot of sense, because there was quite a history of unrighteous priests, going back to the sons of Eli in 1 Samuel 2, and even to Nadab and Abihu, two of Aaron’s sons, in Leviticus 10:1-2. If the believers are to sing for joy, then the religious leaders must be righteous. However, when God responds to this prayer, He doesn’t say righteousness, but rather salvation. This is one of many times the Old Testament foreshadows salvation by grace through faith, which is the central point of the New Testament. (Ephesians 2:8-10) No one is sufficiently righteous in themselves, but God has made perfect righteousness available through the blood of Jesus Christ His Son, and that is salvation indeed. Sadly, there are leaders who call themselves Christian who aren’t clothed in salvation by grace through faith. That’s tragic, and we are to pray for their repentance and faith. One thing to remember when choosing spiritual leaders is that those who are clothed in salvation are indeed going to be living righteously, just as Jesus said that people are known by their fruit. (Matthew 7:15-20) We cannot be saved by our own righteousness, but when we are saved, we will be committed to living out the righteousness of Christ.

Since I am a pastor/spiritual leader, I need to be very careful how I am clothed! I honestly desire that every believer in my care sing for joy in the Lord, but for that to happen I must be clothed in salvation, which will result in righteousness. I must never think that my position exempts me from anything, and most especially from walking in the righteousness of Christ. “What Would Jesus Do” was a fad catch phrase, but the reality behind it is that I must live each day as His representative, and not say or do things that would dishonor Him. I can’t manage that in my own strength and wisdom, but He can do it through me, so that must be my desire and goal. There is no substitute for righteousness.

Father, You know my weaknesses even better than I do. Thank You for how You continue to work on them. These days sins of omission are more frequent than sins of commission, but sin is sin in either case. Thank You for the things You’ve enabled me to take care of the past couple of days that I had been putting off. That’s a big weight off of me. Help me “travel light” all the time, not carrying around anything that isn’t of You, but repenting the moment You show me I’m in the wrong, so that the saints may indeed sing for joy, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!