Meditation

Today's passage is no less dramatic than yesterday's. Setting the majesty and awe of the appearance of God against Isaiah's immediate realization of his lowliness and sinfulness, his salvation and immediate call to service.

Held up to the light of God's holiness, we are literally ruined.

But holiness doesn't only reveal our unworthiness. It is also gracious. For no sooner does Isaiah understand his condition than God provides salvation from it.

David Guzik's commentary on this passage titled "Isaiah's Conviction, Cleansing and Call" shows us how God's holiness is not only His essential attribute but is an active force in our lives as well.

God's Holiness is not hidden. It is alive and at work in the world.

Today's text is Isaiah 6:5-8. Today's verses are in black, and yesterday's verses are in grey for context. Enjoy copying them out today. These are some of the richest and most dynamic verses in our Bible. As John Piper would say, "Don't rush through the rose garden!"

Isaiah’s Commission

6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

² Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. ³ And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

⁴ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

⁵ “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Encouragement

"The clearest sensation that a human being has when he experiences the holy is an overpowering and overwhelming sense of creatureliness. That is, when we are aware of the presence of God, we become most aware of ourselves as creatures."
— R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God

As a companion to this week's series, I can't recommend Sproul's masterclass on the "Holiness Of God" enough. Available free on YouTube.