But now in the sixth chapter, and "in the year that king Uzziah died,"
a wondrous vision of the pre-existent Christ, "sitting upon a throne
high and lifted up" and the seraphim crying one to another "Holy, holy,
holy is the Lord of hosts," was vouchsafed to the prophet. And the
first effect of the glorious things which he saw and heard was not to
exalt him and minister to his pride, but to fill him with despair at
his own depravity. He felt just as Peter did at the first miraculous
draught of fishes on the Sea of Galilee, when he exclaimed "Depart from
me for I am a sinful man, O Lord." Ah! beloved, it never fosters
spiritual pride, nor any other kind of pride to get a nearer and
clearer view of Christ than we ever had before. Quite the contrary.
Such a vision turns us towards our inner selves, and enables us to
behold by contrast the darkness and sinfulness and pollution of our own
souls, and in such a view we shall find food for the deepest
humiliation, but nothing to nourish pride.
Accordingly, Isaiah exclaimed in agony of soul "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 mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of
hosts." If we may credit Jewish tradition, it was for the offence of
saying that he had seen the King, the Lord of hosts, that the prophet
was afterwards sawn asunder. But the record of the glorious vision is
still preserved and will, no doubt, be blessed to millions of readers
in the future, as in the past, and until the end of the age.
But the seraph was sent to touch the "unclean lips" of Isaiah--unclean
because of innate depravity, and unclean notwithstanding he had
probably been preaching repentance and amendment of life and
forgiveness for two or three years before this wondrous experience--to
touch them with holy fire. And then he was assured not that his sins of
commission and omission were forgiven--that had been done before--but
that his iniquity was taken away, and his (inbred) sin purged. This was
a second and a definite experience, and strikingly emblematic of the
baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire under the gospel dispensation,
which is also accompanied by "the purifying of the heart by faith," or
entire sanctification.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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