In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. glorious visions from God, and wrote the greatest poetry ever written, and who in that dark age wrote prophecies which to-day after twenty-five centuries are coming true, should be entirely forgotten. The other remark is that whichever view of the book is taken, there is no question of its inspiration or of its truth. II. ISAIAH'S VISION OF GOD, vs. 1-4. "There are few things more impressive in literature than this account of the inaugural vision of Isaiah. In few and simple words he leads us into the august presence of the Lord whose glory fills the whole earth, he lets us hear the music of the choir of the Seraphim, he carries us, so far as human words may, into the secret of his call and consecration, and the mysterious atmosphere of the supernatural lies about the whole wonderful scene." — Prof. McFadyen, in the Bible for Home and School. The Time, v. I. In the year that king Uzziah died (B.C. 755). This vision was several years after Isaiah became a prophet, and now he was looking back upon the experience he reports. Uzziah reigned 52 years. The first 38 years of his reign was the most glorious of any reign since Solomon. The Kingdom was enlarged. National pride stood high. Riches flowed in. "God helped him and made him to prosper, and his name spread abroad, and he was marvellously helped till he was strong." Then suddenly as an earthquake, his glory was eclipsed. A lazar-house became his prison. For he openly in his pride disobeyed God, " and the Lord smote the king so that he was a leper unto the day of his death.” "The white spot stood out unmistakably from his forehead." The Scene. I saw (also) the Lord sitting upon a throne high, and lifted up. According to Prof. George Adam Smith the vision was not in the Temple, but Isaiah saw the vision from the Temple, for the Temple was too narrow for all the vision contained. The prophet looks to no house built with hands, but Jehovah's own heavenly palace. The royal presence is everywhere. Isaiah describes no face, only a Presence and a Session: the Lord sitting on a throne, . . . and his train filled the Temple. 2. Above (or around) were ranged the hovering courtiers, of what shape and appearance we know not, except that they veiled their faces and their feet before the awful Holiness, all wings and voice, perfect readiness of praise and service. prophet heard them chant like the Temple choirs. One choir of Seraphim sang, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of Hosts. (Am. R.) 99.66 The The seraphim, "flame bearers,' burning ones," some one of the orders of beings, in the unseen world, not winged serpents, as some regard them, for they have feet. Bp. Phillips Brooks regarded them as the expressions of the forces of the universe waiting there beside the throne of God; they are titanic beings in whom is embodied everything of strength and obedience which anywhere in any of the worlds of God is doing His will. . These majestic beings stand in the presence of the Divine Being and reverently cover their faces with a pair of wings, for they are neither able nor worthy to look upon His resplendent brightness; and humbly they cover their feet with another pair of wings, for in that sacred presence they are overwhelmed with the sense of their unworthiness, and eagerly and willingly they use the third pair of wings to fly." The first pair indicate reverence, hiding from their eyes the vision of Jehovah. The second pair, covering not only the feet but the loins also (so Cheyne translates it accurately), signify self-forgetfulness. The third pair, upon which the seraph was poised, signify active service. The LORD of hosts. Of the whole universe, organized as into nations, workers, armies, and choirs; all angels, all stars and worlds, all forces, all principalities and powers. Jehovah is Lord of lords, and King of kings. 3. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. God's Glory. The whole earth is full of his glory, the expression of his wonderful wisdom and love and power. The margin of the Am. R. reads, "The fulness of the whole earth is his glory." The Bible is the record of what God has done for man's life and spirit, and most of all his sending of his Son Jesus Christ when the angels sang, Glory to God in the highest ; and the wonders of his redeeming love have been shining down the ages ever since. Then the physical earth has been revealing more and more of the glory of God. Within the last half century more of the glory of God in nature has been revealed than for several centuries previous. And yet we have received but a few drops of the vast ocean of blessings God has in waiting for us to be fitted to receive. God's Holiness. The Hebrew word for holiness springs from a root which means to set apart, put a distance from, the utmost ideal moral purity as far as possible from the sinfulness of man. It impresses man from the beginning with the awful sublimity of the contrast of moral purity and intolerance of sin, with the sin that has brought so much ruin upon man. The Holy One is not only the Sinless and Sinabhorring, but the Sublime and the Absolute too. - Condensed from G. A. Smith. 4. And the posts of the door (Am. R., foundations of the threshold) of the Temple moved at the voice of him, "i.e. of each one who cried," so mighty was the sound of the chorus of the seraphim. And the house was filled with smoke. Doubtless the smoke of incense, the symbol of prayer and praise. Compare this vision with the vision of Christ, Rev. 1:13-17. What Isaiah's vision may mean to us. "That sight of God the living, holy, loving God - made Isaiah a prophet. Preachers and teachers of to-day, if we are to be prophets, we need just such a sight of God."-Professor Elmslie. John declared that Isaiah's vision was a vision of Christ (John 12:41). The vision of a holy Saviour should fill us, as it filled Isaiah, with a longing for a holy people to answer to it, a glorified church and nation. But most of all this vision should help us all, young and old, to realize the presence of God, to live in fellowship with him, to know that his love is as great as his power, and Jesus Christ is his son and our Saviour. Incense Burning. III. ISAIAH'S VISION OF HIMSELF IN THE LIGHT OF HIS VISION OF GOD, vs. 5-7. Then said I, Woe is me ! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips. The consciousness of his imperfection burst out before him in the shining of God's glory upon his past life. It looked black in that light. He realized what the apostle James said many centuries later, "The tongue is a fire: the world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the wheel of nature, and is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beasts and birds, of creeping things and things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed by mankind: but the tongue can no man tame; it is a restless evil, it is full of deadly poison." (Jas. 3:6-8, Am. R.) "A horrible sense of uncleanness had seized him." Professor Elmslie. And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. He partook of the nature and the sins of his people, even when he did not sin by direct act. The slime of the streets in which he lived clung to his garments. For mine eyes have seen the King. His conviction of sin arose (1) from the contrast of his own soul with the thrice holy King. Comparing himself with others around him, he might feel that he was quite good. He now had visions of goodness inconceivable before. He never even dreamed of such possibilities of excellence. (2) The light shone through him, and revealed his own heart, with all its imperfect motives and thoughts. 6. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7. And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. 66 6. Then flew one of the seraphim. God's messenger, as Evangelist to Bunyan's Christian. Having a live coal, or a glowing stone." This coal was taken from the altar of sacrifice, perhaps with a vision of the atoning love of the Great Sacrifice — the altar of forgiveness. 7. He laid it upon my mouth. (Am. R.," he touched my mouth with it.") His unclean lips, on the sin. Thine iniquity is taken away. The assurance of forgiveness from God accompanied the visible expression of forgiveness, not only for himself, but in behalf of the whole people of unclean lips to whom he was to be sent. And thy sin purged. (Am. R., " forgiven.") Cleansed away. Seraphic love consumed his sin, as fire burns up refuse. Illustration. My next-door neighbor is an expert in the use of the X-rays, which reveal hidden diseases and imperfections, by recently discovered methods, which no one before had imagined existed. IV. THE CALL OF GOD TO SERVICE, AND ISAIAH'S RESPONSE, v. 8. And I heard the voice of the Lord. Having been cleansed from his sinful tendencies, and been forgiven, and made new by the regenerating power of God, Isaiah was prepared for his prophetic work better than ever before. He had experienced the evil of sin, its depths, its blackness as of the bottomless pit; and also the blessedness of forgiveness, the joy of God's salvation, when he had been washed whiter than snow. The voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who shall go for us? The Lord and all the saints and angels of heaven. Why does Jehovah seek for a man to go on his errands, when he has the winged seraphs? "Because men can reach men better than angels can. Only once did God choose a completely sinless preacher. Always, but that once, God has chosen sinful men," not usually men who have fallen into the depths of sin, but those who have realized the awful depths of iniquity and experienced the loving kindness of their redemption. Then said I, Here am I : send me. The whole vision not only prepared him to do the work, but inspired him to yield to the call. It was blessed to serve such a God, with the seraphim and angels. It was blessed to impart to others his own sweet experience. It was blessed to show his love and gratitude by making God known. Illustration. "I heard once of a man who dreamed that he was swept into heaven and he was there in the glory world, and oh, he was so delighted to think that he had at last made heaven. And all at once one came and said, 'Come, I want to show you something.' And he took him to the battlements and he said, ' Look down yonder what do you see?' I see a very dark world.' 'Look and see if you know it.' 'Why, yes,' he said, 'that is the world I have come from.' 'What do you see?' 'Why, men are blindfolded there; many of them are going over a precipice.' 'Well, will you stay here and enjoy heaven, or will you go back to earth and spend a little longer time, and tell those men about this world?' He was a worker who had been discouraged. He awoke from his sleep and said, ' I have never wished myself dead since.' Dwight L. Moody. 12. LORD, HERE AM I. SEND ME. "O make me strong, and staff and stay, Speak, for I hear. Make pure in heart "I ask no heaven till earth be thine; Her sins wiped out, her captives free, V. GOD'S MESSAGE OF WARNING TO HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE, vs. 9– And he said, Go and tell this people, Hear ye indeed but understand not. They should hear the words with the outward organs of hearing, but they would not under 9. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. II. Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be uttery desolate, 12. And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. 13. But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten : as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof. stand the real meaning and power of the words. And see ye indeed but perceive not. They shall see the words but not perceive their meaning; shall see the facts, the person, and deeds, but not understand their meaning and power. 10. Lest they see with their eyes, etc. They themselves refused to hear and see, because they were unwilling to make the change in their lives which would be required. If they had seen, they would have had to give up their bad habits, their sinful pleasures, their unjust riches, their selfish living; and convert (Am. R., turn again") and be healed of their dulness, and their sins, "For all their lids an iron wire transpierces, 66 Is done, because it will not quiet stay." — Purgatorio, xiii. 70–72. This condition was not the result of Isaiah's preaching, but in spite of it. He showed the people their danger, but they would not take heed. The Lord sent Isaiah to wake them, to arouse them, to save them. But they would not. They were rushing madly toward a moral Niagara, but they would not believe that the sound of the Falls foretold their ruin. O Lord, how Long? V. II. Isaiah preached and prophesied, and urged in vain. His task seemed hopeless. But the Lord bade him go on. Do everything possible to save the nation. 12. There be a great forsaking (Am. R., " The forsaken places be many "). VI. GOD'S MESSAGE OF HOPE, v. 13. But yet in it shall be a tenth and it shall return, and shall be eaten, etc. Am. R. translates, "And if there be yet a tenth in it, it also shall in turn be eaten up as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stock remaineth, when they are felled; so the holy seed is the stock thereof." God shows Isaiah that, after all, his work is not a failure. There is to be success, though afar off, and in a different form. It shall be a tenth. A tithe, a small portion. The remnant often referred to in Isaiah's prophecies. It shall return. From the exile, as the second part of Isaiah so fully describes. And shall be eaten. Destroyed again as before, referring to successive captivities, and perhaps looking forward to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. Yet this is not the end, for it shall be as a teil tree. Terebinth or turpentine tree. "A common tree of Palestine, having the general appearance of the oak, but not attaining so great size. From it is obtained an aromatic resin called Chio turpentine." "These trees were selected on account of their peculiar facility for springing up again from the root, even when they had been completely felled." Delitzsch. Whose substance is in them when they cast their leaves. They seem to be dead, but they are not, and shall produce leaves again. The Am. R. with modern scholars, translates when they are felled, and nothing left but a stump. The stumps of these trees have life, and they send forth new shoots which often grow larger than the original tree. This is illustrated more fully by the new shoot of Isaiah 11 1. Life, the holy seed, the true children of God, and their true religion, shall spring forth anew from the stock, the stump representing God's chosen nation, as we see in the coming of Jesus. The Jewish nation still exists, because however disciplined, there remained in it some real religious life from which grew the mighty religion of Christianity which is extending its branches, and bestowing its fruits over all the earth. Thus standing in the midst of this darkness, realizing the gloom of the clouds, the blackness of the storm that was raging on every hand, the prophet Isaiah saw ever the Morning Star of hope, the dawning rays of a better day. His face was ever toward the dawn. He saw it more than 700 years before the sunrise, and 2600 years before our day of gospel light. For Our Nation and Ourselves. We are a Christian nation; but there are two kinds or degrees of Christians. 1. There are those who are sincerely striving to follow Jesus, live his life, obey his will, form his character; not always knowing what to do, sometimes seeing only dimly the highest ideals. 2. There are those who live under a Christian government, and amid Christian influences, but who are like those to whom Isaiah was sent to preach, but with little success. There is only one way to save our nation, and that is justice and righteousness, from a new heart. Regenerate. "A great meeting was being held at the Exeter Hall when a workingman asked permission to speak. 'I thank you,' he said, ' for the interest you take in us working-men. One speaker has said Educate, Educate, another has said Agitate, Agitate: I say Regenerate, Regenerate.' Yes, let us educate until the lingering shades of gloom are lost in a radiant dawn. Let us agitate until every oppression lifts its yoke. Let us liberate until every chain is broken and every shackle burst. But let us put the emphasis on Regenerate. For it is regeneration alone that can give us a new manhood, and a new womanhood, and cause the desert to flourish and blossom as the rose." Rev. Thos. Phillips, B.A. The Soul of Improvement. "The cry for a better environment, and for just social conditions, has led many of us to turn aside from the well-worn saying, The Soul of all improvement is the improvement of the Soul.' Yet this is the truth." AHAZ, THE FAITHLESS KING. 2 Chronicles 28. GOLDEN TEXT. Without faith it is - HEB. II: 6. THE TEACHER AND HIS CLASS. A gentleman who was very much interested in good art, is said to have formed a Museum of Bad Taste. It was a good place for an artist to visit briefly, in order to learn what not to do; but it was a very bad place in which to live. It was good as a warning, but fatal as a studio. The 16 years of Ahaz' reign is the story of a bad king, bad morals, bad deeds and terrible punishments. It is a good story for bad men and bad officials to read as a warning, but it is not good for them to dwell in its atmosphere. It is simply an episode and a warning in the downward course of Judah, which cries, STOP, to all bad rulers. But it is not good for children and youth to spend a whole week studying this picture. They should look at it, hate the evil deeds, see the underlying principles, and spend their time in learning how to overcome Evil with Good"; doing exactly the opposite of what King Ahaz did. MEMORIZE vs. 1, 2. impossible to be well-pleasing unto him. |