We read in Isaiah 6:1-7: In the year that king Uzziah died I also saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and elevated, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim. Each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory.” And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him who cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then I said, “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 my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. And he laid it upon my mouth and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips, and your iniquity is taken away and your sin purged.”
Wouldn’t we also, if we found ourselves standing in the presence of the Lord God, like Isaiah, say, “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 my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts”?
The truth is, though we may not see Him with our earthly eyes, we do stand in the presence of the LORD of hosts – He is everywhere and the whole earth is filled with His glory! His angels are around us, not only watching over us and all believers but also uttering the praises of the Almighty.
And in our humble church building, the crucified, risen and exalted Christ comes to us offering us His Word of forgiveness, as well as giving us to eat and to drink of His body and blood shed for the remission of all our sins. And, of course, lest we forget, our bodies are His temple. He dwells in us by His Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19).
The words translated from the ancient Greek text by Gerard Moultrie say it so well:
Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and with fear and trembling stand;
Ponder nothing earthly-minded, for with blessing in His hand,
Christ our God to earth descending, comes with homage to demand.
King of kings, yet born of Mary, as of old on earth He stood,
Lord of lords, in human vesture, in the body and the blood,
He will give to all the faithful His own self for heavenly food.
Rank on rank the host of heaven spreads its vanguard on the way
As the Light of light descending from the realms of endless day,
Comes the powers of hell to vanquish as the darkness clears away.
At His feet the six-winged seraph, cherubim with sleepless eye,
Veil their faces to the presence, as with ceaseless voice they cry:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Lord Most High!
The theme of this ancient hymn is based on the words of Habakkuk 2:20: “But the LORD is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him.” It is echoed in Zechariah 2:13: “Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.”
As we ponder God’s majesty and holiness, the words of Isaiah come to our lips as well: “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 my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts”
How unworthy we are – and deserving of God’s wrath and judgment – to stand in His very presence! In fact, the more we see His glory, majesty and holiness from His revelation of Himself in the pages of our Bibles, the more we are struck with our unworthiness to stand in His presence. Even our best worship of Him is from unclean lips and comes so far short – it is filthiness in His eyes (cf. Isaiah 64:6). And the people around us – even in our congregation – have unclean lips too!
But, as one of the seraphim took a live coal from the altar – where sacrifices were offered up that sinners trusting in God’s promise of a better Sacrifice for all sin might be forgiven and walk in God’s presence – so Christ Himself, the almighty and everlasting God in human flesh, our redeeming Sacrifice, comes to us with His word of forgiveness and His body and blood given and shed for us on the cross for the remission of all sins. He touches our lips and our hearts, cleanses away all our sins, and opens our mouths to worship Him and sing His praises.
“If you, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with you so that you may be feared” (Psalm 130:3-4). In Christ Jesus and His cross, God has redeemed us from all our “iniquities” and provided for us “plenteous redemption” (Psalm 130:7,8). Look to Him in faith!
Alleluia, Alleluia
Alleluia, Lord Most High!
[Scripture is quoted from the Revised Common Version of the Bible.]