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I know we’re not supposed to judge by appearances, but the fact is that we do make quite a few mental assessments by what we see.
I heard about a recently-hired flight attendant who hadn’t received her uniform from the airline before she worked her first flight. Can you imagine what passengers were thinking when someone dressed just like them was giving pre-flight instructions, passing out snacks and beverages, or asking passengers to buckle up? I’m sure they made an assessment about her because of what she wasn’t wearing.
The first mention an article of clothing is when God clothes Adam and Eve to cover the shame of their sin (Genesis 3:21).
(Check out all of the Scriptures I reference in this post by clicking here.)
There is no mention of the garments and accessories that would be worn by kings, but we see how these things had become recognized outward symbols (1 Samuel 18:1-4). And then there were the kingly crowns (2 Samuel 12:29-30). As we saw last week, David knew God had chosen him to lead Israel, and whether it was symbolic or literal, David saw his kingly crown as coming from God (Psalm 21:1-3, 5).
Swords and crowns were mostly symbols of authority, but there are also garments that show intimacy. We first see this with the priests who were to serve before God in the Holy of Holies. They were given special garments to distinguish them from everyone else (Exodus 28:1-3). These robes would also be saturated with the aroma of the unique incense that the priests offered in God’s presence. So both the appearance and aroma spoke of close intimacy with God.
For a period of time, the ark of the covenant of the Lord was housed in a temporary location, but David wanted to bring it to Jerusalem. As he undertook this, notice his clothing choice (1 Chronicles 15:27). David then offered praise to God extolling His glory (16:8-10), His strength (vv. 11-12), and His majesty (vv. 24-29).
Psalm 93 is a royal psalm—taking what people knew about King David and pointing past him to the King of kings. Notice the same themes in this psalm of this eternal King’s glory, strength, and majesty as David mentions in 1 Chronicles 16. God is referred to exclusively as YHWH (5 times) in this psalm.
David recognized his kingly majesty came from his intimacy with the majesty of God.
God’s clothing of Adam and Eve—the covering of the ravages of sin—was a foreshadowing of what Jesus would do for us. Check out this prophecy in Isaiah 61:1-3, 10. Jesus quoted this in His very first recorded sermon.
Jesus has a royal crown and robe that shows both His royalty and His intimacy with His Father’s majesty (Revelation 6:2, 19:13). And Jesus gives this same crown to His saints (2:10, 3:11).
Remember we said earlier that we naturally make an assessment of people by their robes? What do people assess about you? In the middle of the Isaiah 61 prophecy about what Jesus would do for us is this testimony—
Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed (v. 9).
Our soiled robes have been exchanged for the King of king’s robe of pure righteousness (Ephesians 5:25-27). Because He is also our High Priest, our robe of righteousness is saturated with His aroma (2 Corinthians 2:14 NKJV; 1 Peter 2:9).
Revelation 22:14 should be our desire—Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.
But we should also desire what Jesus desires: That no one misses out on this—
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. (John 3:16-17).
So let’s make sure our robes are clean and bright, and that the aroma of our life is a pleasing aroma that points others to our King!
If you would like to check out the other Royal Psalms that we’ve already looked at, you can find those here.
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Craig T. Owens 