Revelation 19:7-8; Ready! (2)

Revelation 19:7-8 (KJV)  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 

Three things appear in the notice of this ready-making.

(1) There is self-activity on the part of the Bride to prepare herself.

(2) There is gratuity and bestowment, putting what is requisite at her command.

(3) She is receptive and obedient in making the intended use of what is given her.

The description evidently takes in the whole previous career of those who make up the Bride. The preparation refers not only to something that is done at this time, but also to what has been in the course of doing all along, and now comes to its fruit and reward.

The coming to Christ, the learning of Him, and the espousal to Him in holy confession, and justification by faith in His blood and merit, are unquestionably included. Paul was aiming at this very preparedness and honour of the Bride of the Lamb, and counted all temporal possessions as nothing, and exerted himself every way to be fit for it. But that fitness, he tells us, was his being found not having His own righteousness, which is of the law, – a mere show of human works, but having that righteousness which is through faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith (Philippians 3:8-14).

Philippians 3:8-14 (KJV)  Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 

But the righteous acts and good works of the justified are also included. The word is in the plural “the righteousness of the saints.”

[Joseph A. Seiss, The Apocalypse – An Exposition of the Book of Revelation, Kregel, 1987, 428-429]