May 30, 2021
Pastor John Hering
Isaiah 6:1-8
Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two they covered their faces. With two they covered their feet. With two they flew. 3 One called to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies!
The whole earth is full of his glory! 4 The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of the one who called, and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 Then I said, “I am doomed! I am ruined, because I am a man with unclean lips, and I dwell among a people with unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies!”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, carrying a glowing coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with the coal and said, “Look, this has touched your lips, so your guilt is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.”
8 Then I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”
Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!”
Elizabeth II is the Queen of the United Kingdom and 15 other Commonwealth realms. Elizabeth was born in Mayfair, London, on April 21st, 1926. She was educated privately at home and began to undertake public duties during the Second World War. In 1947, she married Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with whom she had four children. When her father died in February 1952, Elizabeth – then 25 years old – became queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. She has reigned as a constitutional monarch through major political changes, such as Canadian patriation, and the decolonisation of Africa. Between 1956 and 1992, the number of her realms varied as territories gained independence, including South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong, became republics. Her many historic visits and meetings include a state visit to the Republic of Ireland and visits to or from five popes. Significant events have included her coronation in 1953 and the celebrations of her Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilees. In 2017, she became the first British monarch to reach a Sapphire Jubilee. In 2021, after 73 years of marriage, her husband Prince Philip died at the age of 99. I’m sure you’ve seen the pomp and circumstance noted for Queen Elizabeth II with parades, bands, and Royal Navy Flyovers. Nobody does dignity better than the British and nobody but nobody does majesty better than the British monarchy.
All this majesty, and it really doesn’t mean a thing. The Queen has tons of majesty, but she doesn’t have one once of power. The British people know this, but they don’t seem to mind because majesty is a part of their history and culture. But, majesty isn’t a part of our history and certainly isn’t a part of our culture. In America we say, “All people are created equal;” we live in a land where nobody bows to anybody. You might like Queen Elizabeth II, but nobody wants her to be the Queen of the USA! Even when one of our own politicians gets a little too full of himself, America is quick to pull him off his “throne.” Would you agree with me that for Americans, majesty is worthless and even phony.
So, since we are Americans with an aversion to majesty, how is this going to sit on a Sunday when we celebrate the Festival of the Holy Trinity? This Sunday’s reading shows us God’s majesty who made us in his image, but not to be his equal. He is a God who sees us, but we can’t see him; he reads our minds, but does not think our thoughts; he is our friend, but not our buddy. Therefore may the Holy Spirit help us to see and love God’s majesty to the max because it’s the only
Majesty That Matters
Ruling Alone
This is what Isaiah was inspired to write about God’s majesty, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.” Shocking! Because the Bible also records what God said to Moses, “You cannot see my face, for no human may see me and live” (Ex 33:20). Well, God in his essence is invisible, therefore if you and I could actually see God, then we would be like God, at his level to be able to see him. Therefore, in order for human beings to see God, God has to put himself in a form that a human creature can see and fathom. It was a bushing bush, a pillar of fire, cloud over the tent of meeting, or the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted. It was the form the Lord took on in order to show Isaiah his majesty.
When Isaiah saw the Lord on the throne by himself, he saw the King the kingdom, the power and the glory all belonging to him. Compare him to Alexander the Great who ruled simply because he could, but not like Elizabeth II who reigns under the guidance of her government. Isaiah “…saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.” Our God is the absolute ruler with all authority and power to create or destroy, save or condemn without political backing, cabinet of advisors or swayed by an opinion poll. There is no democracy in this vision. The Lord Rules Alone because it is only his Majesty that Matters.
While the rule of the Lord is solely supreme, he does engage the use of his ministering servants—the angels. “2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings. With two they covered their faces. With two they covered their feet. With two they flew. 3 One called to another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!” What can I tell you about these angels? I can tell you that one is called a seraph and many are called seraphim. There are also cherub and cherubim. The Bible speaks of these angels around the throne of God as messengers of fire and light. We first see their service at the Garden of Eden when God placed cherubim at the entrance of the garden with a flaming sword flashing back and forth. The seraphim had six wings and knew how to use them. They covered their faces in God’s presence—perhaps in awe of God’s majesty. They covered their feet with two—perhaps in humble service to God’s majesty. And with two wings they flew to be about the majestic God’s business. And don’t you just want to hear what they sounded like calling out to each other? Think of our way we read the Psalms back and forth, or like a stadium full of OU fans yelling back and forth, Boomer! Sooner! Their voices were bouncing back and forth, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!” Let’s try it. (Divide the church in two and have them yell back and forth). They were doing more than just praising God. They were doing what every Christian song should do—proclaiming the truth about the Lord. The Lord is the Savior God. The Lord is in control of his heavenly army against which no one has an equal. The Lord is “holy, holy, holy” as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And their enthusiastic song did what? “4 The foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of the one who called, and the temple was filled with smoke.” You get the picture. You can’t see God’s essence face to face or you will die, but you get this picture of his majesty and it is full of life!
So, what message does this send to Americans who aren’t so hyped up on majesty? That is a problem, isn’t it? If you don’t take God’s majesty seriously and think that every other false god is the same and that we’re all created equal to God, then God’s majesty isn’t something much to sweat or fear. For instance, Republicans can’t stand President Biden and Democrats loathe President Trump, but nobody fears either of them. Elizabeth II might be the most powerful women in the world, but nobody is really afraid of her. Sadly, that’s what so many people, and many Christians, too, think about God’s majesty. It would do us some good to respect God’s majesty and realize he should strike us down for our sins. Too many times we make God out to be our equal, or even our servant by demanding action for our troubled lives. We act like God can’t see us or read our minds when abusing alcohol, polluting our minds with disgusting shows and movies, or silently planning how we’re going to get even with that guy at work. God knows it all. We all need to stop, repent, and take God’s majesty to heart! Because it is only his Majesty that Matters.
Ruling From the Throne
God’s majesty certainly mattered to Isaiah. “5 Then I said, “I am doomed! I am ruined, because I am a man with unclean lips, and I dwell among a people with unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies!” When Isaiah saw the Lord ruling all things from his throne and realized his sinful condition, he came face to face with his own mortality. Isaiah was a dead man walking. His life, no, his sinful life passed before his eyes. His little sins and his big sins, and then there was the gut wrenching sickness of sin that was eating away at his soul. He knew the wages of sin is death and that his sins had separated him from the Lord. There was the Lord before his eyes Ruling From the Throne and it was the only Majesty that Matters.
Dear Christian Friends, we need to know it, too. God showed himself to Isaiah 700 years before Jesus was born as the King and Judge Ruling From the Throne with angels singing ear piercing songs that bounced off the walls of heaven. God wants us to see his Ruling from His Throne to be so impressed with God’s Majesty that Matters. He does this for a reason and for a purpose. God wants to bring us to our knees of repentance and empty us of all pride. God showed Isaiah and us this vision because God wants his majesty to scare us to death of dying. Not until Isaiah realized he was ruined could God raise him up. “I am doomed! I am ruined, because I am a man with unclean lips,” spoke volumes in God’s ears. Now it was time to see the key of God’s Majesty that Matters.
“6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, carrying a glowing coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with the coal and said, “Look, this has touched your lips, so your guilt is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.” What purifies water? You boil it with fire. What hardens steel? You forge it with fire. What removes sin from people? The fire of God’s love! In the Old Testament the fires on the great altar burned the sacrifices that the people offered to God as payment for their sins. Then Jesus came and offered his perfect life on the cross to pay the penalty of all your sins. In God’s perfect majesty he sent his one and only Son to raise us up from sin and death to be heirs of heaven’s majesty. And now you can see that it is so true that it is only God’s Majesty That Matters with power.
The world has seen kings and queens come and go. There are parades, great banquets and military flyovers. But, in the long run all this majesty is meaningless. But the majesty we have seen today from the inspired pen of Isaiah is different. This Majesty Matters! The Majesty of our Triune God causes us to come to grips with just who we are and what we deserve. Then the majesty of God removes the punishment and guilt of our sins and lifts us up to God now through faith, and some day when we enter into glory. This majesty matters because it makes a difference in everything we say and do. And God wants others to see his majesty, too. You heard it. “8 Then I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am. Send me!” What a change! One moment Isaiah is ready to die. The next moment he is ready to share God’s majesty with someone. That’s what knowing the Lord God does. It turns fear to faith. It points us to Jesus who rules from the throne alone with the only Majesty that Matters. Amen.
