Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Isaiah 6:1 - 6:7

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Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Isaiah 6:1 - 6:7


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Jehovah Revealed in his Glory

v. 1. In the year that King Uzziah died, that is, in the last year of this king's successful reign, 2Ki_15:1-7; 2 Chronicles 26, in the year 758 B. C. I saw also the Lord, the All-powerful, sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, the prophetic vision, beyond the range of the normal ability of human senses, permitting the prophet to see the revelation of God, not face to face, -for God dwells in an inaccessible light,—but in a manner which uncovered the divine glory to his inner mind, and his train filled the Temple, that is, His kingly robe with its majestic train, fitting emblem of the divine glory, covered and filled the heavenly Sanctuary.

v. 2. Above it stood the seraphim,
heavenly spirits of the highest rank, ministers of the Lord serving as guardians of the throne. Each one had six wings, in accordance with their nature as heavenly beings; with twain he covered his face, for even the seraphim cannot endure the sight of the essential holiness of God, and with twain he covered his feet, for even the angels, with a proper feeling of humility and modesty, prefer to keep their forms covered before the eyes of the Most Holy One, and with twain he did fly, floating about the throne of the Lord.

v. 3. And one cried unto another,
in a wonderful antiphonal chorus, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts, thrice holy not only on account of the supreme excellence of His essential holiness, but also on account of the Trinity of persons, each of which is the possessor of the divine holiness in its fullness and glory; the whole earth is full of His glory, literally, "filling the whole earth is His glory"; for all men on earth will see the revelation of His divine majesty, all His works, in creation, redemption, sanctification, will serve to magnify Him as the supreme and only God. Cf Rev_4:8.

v. 4. And the posts of the door,
the foundations of the sills, or thresholds, the heavenly temple with its portals down to the lowest foundation, moved at the voice of him that cried, the powerful sound of the entire chorus, and the house was filled with smoke, as from the incense of all the prayers of the saints, uniting with the angels above to give praise and adoration to the great Lord of heaven, Rev_5:8; Rev_8:3-4.

v. 5. Then said I,
overcome with awe and terror at the tremendous impressiveness of the scene, Woe is me! for I am undone, lost, threatened with death and destruction, because I am a man of unclean lips, the feeling of his own sinfulness coming over him all the more strongly in view of the perfect holiness which he had just seen, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, descendant and member of a generation of sinners; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts, between whom and man is not only the gulf separating the Creator from His creatures, but the greater abyss between the holy God and the world of sinners. Cf Exo_33:20.

v. 6. Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar,
the altar of incense evidently being referred to;

v. 7. and he laid it upon my mouth,
he caused the glowing coal to come into contact with the prophet's lips, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away and thy sin purged, atoned for. The act of the angel evidently had a symbolical meaning, first of all with reference to the atonement made in and through the person of Jesus Christ, the work of redemption carried out in accordance with the Triune God's counsel. Not only, however, is the prophet, sinful man as he was, assured of the grace of God, but the Lord also imparts special strength to him and fits him to be the instrument of His inspiration.