The Thrice Holy King

Isaiah 6:1-13

The sin of our nation weighs heavy on many of our hearts. We are a people who have descended into the pits of iniquity much like Judah in Isaiah’s day, calling good evil, and evil good. Our champions are those who excel at exalting themselves.

We live in a nation who attempts to change the rules of nature to satisfy our own pleasure. We murder the unborn who we call inconvenient mistakes, and elect leaders who will satisfy our desires through legislation and rulings.

It is right for us to feel the weight of the sin of those around us and like Isaiah call it out. Isaiah spends the first 5 chapters of his book speaking against the sins of his nation and calling them to repentance. But in chapter 6 he himself has an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ and realizes the depths of his own sin.

And it is from this encounter that Isaiah gains a new perspective on his ministry. He doesn’t exist above his nation, but he is a sinner like all the rest. And it is from this encounter that he is called to preach the glories of Christ. Each of us are called to exalt the resurrected Christ, to lift him up before our eyes and before the eyes of those to whom we minister. So that we might see him, and seeing him, see ourselves… and turn from our sin, and worship him.

Turn with me to Isaiah 6 if you are not already there. Chapter 6 is known as Isaiah’s commissioning, but before he is commissioned he has an encounter with the Living God. I want each of us to have this encounter with the Living God, the King, The Lord of Hosts.

Isaiah lets us know some important information here at the start. This vision took place the year that Uzziah died. Uzziah was the king of Judah. Probably the best king Judah had ever had since the split of the nation. Served for 52 years. And for 40 of those years he had served with excellence. You can read about him in 2 Chronicles 26.

Uzziah grew arrogant once the nation had been built strong. And when that happened he grew proud and attempted, as king, to enter the holy places and offer sacrifices as a priest. Now we know under the Old Covenant, especially from Hebrews that a king and a priest cannot serve the same function. That office is an office specifically designed for the Lord Jesus Christ.

And Uzziah was struck with leprosy and spent the remaining 12 years of his ministry in a room secluded as an unclean man.

Now under the Old Covenant someone who is unclean would have to let people know. Someone approaching him would hear Uzziah shout “Unclean! Unclean!” Essentially “stay away from me or you will become unclean like me.”

Isaiah had watched his king transgress the law and become unclean… In the temple. Nations are beginning to move against nation surrounding Judah… they’re in trouble politically, nationally… and the king, the best king they’ve had in a long time is dead.

That’s when Isaiah sees the true king sitting on the true throne. Some of you spend so much time worrying about political and economic climate because you’re too busy to step into the throne room and see that the eternal, unchanging, immortal, only wise, king is still sitting on the throne.

So Isaiah sees the Lord sitting on his throne… and throne in a temple. “The Lord says to my lord sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

The train or the hem of his robe fills the whole temple with glory. And Isaiah sees the Seraphim “the fiery ones” above him. This is probably the only place we see these beings. They are close to God and they are on fire.

S Lewis Johnson says that we never seen ice near God, we never see cold things near God. If you are near God you are on fire. Our God is a consuming fire. Some of you are too cool for your own good, you need to draw near to God and catch on fire.

These angels have 6 wings. They cover their face with 2 of them because even they cannot look upon God in his full glorious majesty. With 2 they cover their feet in humility, and with 2 they fly in service of God. They are designed for God’s service. You are also designed for God’s service, by the way.

And one of the Seraphs calls to another and says: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” This is what we hear the angels singing whenever their mouths are open. And we don’t ever get any inkling that they get bored of this. Calvin says the holiness of God supplies us with inexhaustible reasons for singing his praises. If you grow bored of singing God’s praises you aren’t beholding him.

Notice by the way that the angels are saying this to each other. They have wings designed for service and their mouths designed for praise. Love and good works. The angels day and night meet in God’s presence and stir up one another to love and good works. Meditate on the holiness of God and how the earth is full of his glory and you too will have inexhaustible reasons to stir one another up to love and good works.

Now see here the threshold shakes and the room is filled with smoke. Just imagery for God’s presence permeating everything. Isaiah probably describes the doorposts shaking because he’s laying on his face in the doorway.

And Isaiah when confronted with the Priest-King Lord Jesus Christ in his glory suddenly sees himself. Some of you have never truly seen yourself because you have never truly seen the Lord Jesus Christ. When we see God, we see ourselves. The sense of sin is the product of the vision of God.

How can we test to see if a church has a proper view of God? Do they have a proper view of sin? Many churches don’t have a deep sense of sin because they don’t have a clear vision of God.

Do you seek out the face of Christ when you open the word? Paul says in 2 Cor 3 that’s who’s face we behold in the word. The Spirit of God removes the veil from our hearts and we behold the face of the risen Christ in the text.

What does Isaiah say when he sees Jesus? Woe is me. I am undone. I am eviscerated, I am destroyed.

Why? Because my lips are unclean. Out of the heart the mouth speaks. I’m just like the rest of the people if you are the holy, righteous standard, I’m just as dead as they are.

See sin and holiness isn’t a spectrum. You aren’t closer to God simply because you have not committed as many heinous sins as the person next to you. If you have broken the law in one point you are guilty of the whole thing. In relation to the Holy God we are all unclean.

Uzziah my king who cried unclean for 12 years… Me… we’re the same.

This has been the cry of all of God’s people who have seen him glory. Job in 42:5-6 says “I despise myself.” Peter in Luke 5:8 “Depart from me, Jesus, for I am a sinful man.”

The people in Acts 2 at the preaching of Peter in verse 37 were cut to the heart… Same word Isaiah speaks. “We have seen the glory of the risen Christ, and we are doomed.”

Have you seen his glory this morning? He is risen, and he is coming again to judge the living and the dead.

Isaiah doesn’t say anything else. He doesn’t try to plead his case, he doesn’t try to weasel out of it. There is nothing he can do when confronted with pure glory.

But God comes to him. One of the Seraphs takes a coal from off the altar. This altar is where the sacrifice of the lamb would be made for the sins of the people. Revelation 5 tells us that Lamb represented the Lord Jesus Christ. The one sitting on the throne is also the one who died at the altar.

And the Seraph takes a coal from off that altar and touched Isaiah’s lips and tells him, “Your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

God truly does come to his people and save us. Dead in our trespasses and sins. Dies in our place, is raised, is exalted. Sits as our great high priest, and calls us in to worship him in the very presence of God. Clean, because of Jesus.

And verse 8 tells us that Isaiah is asked “Who is going to go preach?” And Isaiah replies… Would I perhaps do?

Those who have seen Christ, have had his righteous blood applied to our lips, can’t help but serve him in gratitude.

The Holy one of Israel has stood condemned that we might be called righteous in him.