Clothed with Majesty

I was reading Psalm 93 this morning. I love verse 1, which says, "The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD has clothed and girded Himself with strength;"

I love the picture of Him being clothed with majesty. That is a done deal. He's already clothed...with majesty! Then, in the 'b' part of the verse, the picture is that of Him in the process of not only clothing Himself, but GIRDING Himself...with strength.

Hmmm...so, does He change clothes, as we do? Is He ever NOT clothed with majesty? I doubt it, yet the Word gives us this picture of Him in the act of clothing Himself with majesty.

Then, there's the act of 'girding.' What does that mean? My 'Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words' says it 'is used (a) literally, of girding oneself for service, for rapidity of movement, (b) figuratively, of the condition for service on the part of the followers of Christ and (c) emblematically, of Christ's Priesthood, indicative of majesty of attitude and action, the Middle Voice suggesting the particular interest taken by Christ in girding Himself thus.' Aha! Since the psalm overall pertains to the majesty of the LORD, it must be definition (c) that applies here!

Isn't that an interesting word? I love it! (But I happen to love words, maybe you don't). Yet, don't you also love the picture this verse gives us of the LORD girding Himself with strength? We may wonder, why would He need to? He is always strong, is He not? Well, I also read this morning from Revelation 19. Verse 2 says, 'He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants' and verse 11 says, 'He judges and wages war.' Verse 14 says, 'And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.' Verse 15 goes on to say, 'From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.' That activity isn't exactly His everyday activity, is it? Or is it?

My mind goes to the passage in which the woman with the issue of blood touched His garment. I've always loved His response: Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me. (Luke 8:46) WOW! That woman, weakened by YEARS of blood loss and financial loss, touched the fringe of His cloak, with which He had clothed Himself that morning, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped! She didn't even touch HIM, just His cloak. Did He, per Psalm 93:1, clothe and gird Himself with strength THAT morning? I'll bet He did, in prayer, then with a simple garment. The garment may have been simple, but not after He donned it. (not to glorify the cloak). That woman was able to touch His cloak with her weakness and receive His strength in exchange. Are we not able to do the same? Would this not (possibly) 'justify' Him girding Himself with strength daily, or at least more often than we might think, upon 'first glance?' I'm not being dogmatic, just musing...but I prayed He'd show me what to write, and I believe He did. I've never thought of this corollary before, but it makes me weep in worship.

May we touch the hem of His garment today, and throughout the new year of 2011. Per verse 4 of Psalm 93, The LORD on high is mighty!