(An Address on Isa. 6)
IN this chapter is described a very remarkable moment in the life of the prophet Isaiah. Three things come out—deep conviction of sin; cleansing from iniquity; and consecration consequent thereon.
CONVICTED, CLEANSED, AND CONSECRATED
are the points of the chapter. Conviction must take place in the history of every human soul if there is to be blessing from God.
1. Convicted.
Now Isaiah tells us the time when this remarkable experience took place. I do not say that it is necessary that everybody must be able to fix the date of their conversion. Isaiah could tell of the moment when he got blessing from God, when he got the sense of relief that the action of the seraphim brought him, and also when he made a downright surrender to God.
He tells us it was “in the year that King Uzziah died” (vs. 1). This Uzziah was a remarkable man. He was a king, but he wanted to be a priest. For his sacrilegious folly God smote him, and he became a leper to the day of his death.
Now what took place in Isaiah’s history is what takes place in the history of a soul that simply hears what God has to say, and believes His word. We are, everyone of us, by nature, spiritual lepers; but it is wonderful, if you are a believer, God makes you a priest, and you are going to be a king. We read, “Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests to God and to His Father; to Him be glory and, dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Rev. 1:5, 65And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:5‑6)).
The believer ought to take up the priestly place now, bring worship to God, and act like a royal priest, that is, carry the love and grace of God to all around. Now the gospel brings you into the happy enjoyment of all that God is, and the heart is led out in worship and thanksgiving. That is Godward. Then, as Peter puts it, “Ye... are a royal priesthood... that ye should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:99But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: (1 Peter 2:9)). That is the position of a Christian down here, and it is a total contrast to what took place with Uzziah. Instead of being outside, as Uzziah was, or continuing to own you are unclean, and undone, as Isaiah does here, the believer is brought inside, cleansed, and gets the place of a worshipper on the one hand, and a worker on the other. He is free to devote himself to the Lord and His interests.
It is more than fifty-three years since the light of the gospel shone into my pool, sinful heart, saved me, and made me a happy man. I may say that the devil gave me a big tossing for about a fortnight, but from that day to this I have never had a shadow of a doubt, because I learned that Christ had done it all. Lots of people think that they have got a little to do, but the work that saves me is all done.
Let us see the way Isaiah got blessing. In the year that King Uzziah died, somehow or other he became suddenly conscious of God’s presence. He said, “I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple.” He got into God’s presence. Have you ever, in your soul’s history, felt something like this? What did you find when you got there? That you were not fit for it. The nearer you got to the Lord, the more you felt you were unfit.
Isaiah was, I do not doubt, a religious man. There are tens of thousands of people as religious as you can make them, but they have never gone through this experience. They have never got before God with the real acknowledgment of what they are as sinners. On this interesting occasion, the prophet finds himself in the light of God’s presence, and he is broken down. We read, “Above the throne stood the seraphim’s; each one had six wings. With twain he covered his face.” What? Those holy beings, who were the executors of God’s, judgment, unfold His nature and character, i.e., that He is holy. He cannot gloss sin over.
Here these seraphs, these holy creatures, felt they even were not fit for God’s presence.
If the Lord “charge His angels with folly” (Job 4:1818Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly: (Job 4:18)), and “the heavens are not clean in His sight” (Job 15:1515Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. (Job 15:15)), how then can a poor defiled sinner like you or I stand before Him? That is a question which none can answer, except they learn the truth that is brought out here in connection with the altar. There is a most striking contrast between the throne and the altar. The throne is expressive of the majesty of God, and that in the incorruptible nature of His being He cannot tolerate sin. If you have thought nothing about your sin, God has thought a great deal about it. Let me tell you this, sin gave Christ hours of agony upon the cross, and unless you learn the value of His atoning sacrifice it will mean for you a hopeless eternity in the depths of hell, where you will have plenty of time for remorse. The remembrance that then will torture you is that you might, have been saved many a time, but missed the blessing through procrastination.
We read of a great white throne in Rev. 20, but there the throne and the lake of fire are seen in juxtaposition; here the throne and the altar are found together. The claims of the throne, which convicted Isaiah of his sin, have been met. The altar taught him a wonderful lesson, and what was it? That he could not only stand before the throne peacefully, but that he could even enter into the service of the One who sat upon that throne. An uncleansed sinner can do nothing but sin. A cleansed sinner becomes a saint and a servant.
We further read of tire seraph that with two of his wings “he covered his feet.” What does that action signify? If a sinless seraph covered his feet, do you think your walk will do for God, my unsaved reader? Dare you dream of heaven? You cannot enter heaven as you are. Why? Because you are unwashed, uncleansed, unpardoned, unsaved.
Nevertheless, God wants your company in heaven forever, and you may go there, in virtue of what His Blessed Son has done. But you will not care for the gospel until the holy light of the throne irradiates the dark recesses of your heart. If I could write just twenty lines of what has been in your heart and life, I know you would not stand the exposure.
Hear what one seraph cries to another, as he flew at the bidding of the throne, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts.” Holy That is what you know you are not. It is the devil who says, “Well, you are not what you ought to be, but you can try to be better.” I have actually heard people say, “I am doing my best.” What a lie! You tell me you are doing your best, when God says, “There is none that doeth GOOD.” It is time all your ideas regarding yourself were absolutely revolutionized. Then you will give up all hope of doing better, and you will say, “I am so bad I cannot be improved,” and that is the moment when Christ will save you.
You know there are lots of people today struggling and striving to be a little bit better. Do you think you could be in heaven in your sins? Impossible! If God sent an angel to transport you into heavenly glory, what do you think you would say? “Thank God I am in heaven”? Certainly not. I am certain you would say, “How can I get out?” You would have such a sense of being unfit for the presence of the Lord.
The night I was converted I got such a sense of my own unfitness that if the Lord had taken me up and cast me headlong into hell, I should have said, “Lord, it is quite right. I deserve it.” Blessed be His name, instead of dealing with me that night as I deserved, He dealt with me in the grace of His own heart, on the ground that Christ had endured what I deserved. On the ground of the work that He had accomplished for the glory of God, and for the blessing of everyone who believes in Him, He saved me.
Well, it was in the moment when Isaiah touched the bottom, in real repentance, that he got the blessing. These words, “Holy, holy, holy,” went through him. He was a convicted sinner. Holy you are not. Well, then, you say, “How can I get to heaven?” Not through your works, not through your reformation, not through turning over a new leaf. That much is certain. If you turn over a new leaf, from this moment, it is still the old book. What about the old blots?
We read here, “The posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried.” Alas! the gospel is oft-times preached, and people are unmoved. When the testimony as to the holy nature of God was proclaimed in Isa. 6, the very posts of the door moved. What does that mean? Creation was affected. When Christ died on the cross creation was moved. The sun veiled its face, and when Jesus died the rocks were rent and the graves were opened, creation bearing testimony that something wonderful had taken place.
Alas! you have never been moved. You have never been brought to your knees before God as a ruined, undone sinner. Have you not heard the gospel a thousand times, and what effect has it had upon you? None whatever. May you be impressed as you read this.
Now, first of all, Isaiah was convicted. When the doorposts were moved, something else was moved. Here is a man moved. Here is a self-judged sinner moved intensely. When the Holy Ghost works sinners are always moved. Alas! you may go on unmoved till you pass off this earth, but by and by you will rise again, and you will stand before the throne of God, when there is no atoning sacrifice to meet your need. You will be mightily moved then. You cannot face the throne of God in all its holiness. Do not forget that the One who will fill the throne of God then is the blessed One who now fills the throne of God, and who was once nailed to Calvary’s tree as the Saviour of sinners. He alone can save you. Oh! that you knew the love of Jesus. It would transform you entirely. When the love of Christ gets into a sinner’s heart, and he has the deep sense, as the apostle says, “He loved me, and gave Himself for me,” the good-for-nothing and sin-defiled man becomes absolutely changed. What a transformation takes place!
First of all, see how Isaiah is moved. He says, “Woe is ME!” Today moralists can easily talk about other people’s sins, and pronounce “woe” on them. But this is a very different matter. Did you ever read Isa. 5? You will find that there the prophet says in effect, “Woe to the money-lover; woe to the pleasure-lover; woe to the sin-lover; woe to the lie-lover; woe to the drink-lover.” He brings up six different classes of sinners, and pronounces woe upon each class, but in ch. 6 it is quite a different thing. There he says, “Woe is ME.” The light of God had pierced him through and through. He had got a revelation of the profundity of the moral evil that was in his own heart.
It is a wonderful moment when a sinner is brought to this, “Woe is ME.” This is self-judgment. You see what you are, and you condemn yourself.
“Woe is me!” said the prophet. Why? Because he has to add, “I am undone.” What is that? “I am lost” Did you ever find out you were lost? May God teach you that you are “undone.” You may even have been a preacher, but I ask you, my friend, have you ever gone through, in your soul’s history, an experience like this, “Woe is me, for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips”? (ver. Why was he a man of unclean lips? Because he was a man of an unclean heart. You can tell by the conversation of people where their hearts are. They may be hypocritical, but as a rule the truth always comes out. The lips as a rule tell the tale of where the heart is. Where is your heart? Is it Christ’s yet? If it is, then go on confessing Christ. Isaiah said, “I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.” What does that mean? We are all alike. Do you think God can have what is unclean in His presence? No. Thank God for the Scripture, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from ALL sin” (1 John 1:77But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)).
Next we learn that the prophet’s eyes are opened. He says, “Mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts.” There is a certain character that befits the ‘scene where God is. If He be holy, He must have those that are holy before Him. What a wonderful thing, dear fellow-Christian, to hear Scripture say, “According as He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” (Eph. 1:44According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (Ephesians 1:4)). Well now, that blessed Saviour, who sits on the throne of God today, crowned with glory and honor, once hung upon the tree for unholy sinners like you and me. God has chosen the believer in. Christ. What is the holiness of a Christian? Christ. What is the title for glory of a Christian? Christ. What is the life of a Christian? Christ. And, the righteousness of a Christian? Christ. Everything is in Christ.
The objective side of the truth is what I get in Christ. The subjective is what the Holy Ghost works into my heart. God has found all that He wants in Christ, and I have found all that I want in Christ—Hallelujah! I have found a Saviour. I have found One who has pardoned and blessed me; He has also kept aid carried me, and He will not put me down until He has got me in glory in His own likeness. That is my Saviour. What a Saviour Jesus is I Is He your Saviour yet?
W. T. P. W.
(To be continued.)