The Vision Of The King

by T.M. Hyland | Category: General | Jan 1962

(Isaiah chapter 6)

The Scriptures are replete with examples of men and women whose faith in God shone brightly in days of darkness and declension. From a spiritual point of view our surroundings today are calculated to chill our hearts and depress our spirits. "The godly man ceaseth, and the faithful fail from among the children of men." Two dangers which beset God's people in such circumstances are despair and apathy. The difficulties seem insuperable, and we slip easily from discouragement to despair. Then comes a paralysing apathy. We go through the motions of our spiritual activities, but gradually settle into a lifeless

formalism, unsatisfying to ourselves, odious to our God, and withering to our testimony. And yet, if God's people are to be preserved, if they are to be sustained in their God-given responsibilities, then there will be needed men and women of vision and faith, who can discern above the discord and declension of our times the true vocation of a people together for God in divine testimony.

The prophecy of Isaiah covers a period in which the spiritual climate in Israel was rapidly deteriorating. A certain year in the prophet's life was fixed in his memory by the tragic event which occurred in it. He refers at the beginning of chapter 6 to " the year that king Uzziah died." That year marked the ignominious end of an otherwise illustrious reign. Isaiah had learned from this calamity that Divine Holiness is no respector of persons. Uzziah's pride and presumption had brought the judgement of God upon him, and the loathsome disease of leprosy had driven him to humiliating isolation and untimely death (2 Chronicles 26.16-21). It was in that year, and under the impact of that disastrous event, that Isaiah was given the vision of a greater King - a vision of the splendour and glory of Christ the King.

Is not this, beloved, just what you and I need in our superficial environment today? We need a vision of the splendour and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. This, and this alone, will sustain us, and it will be enough. "Show me Thy glory," pleaded Moses. Let us echo that prayer importunately, until the vision comes. Then despair and apathy will vanish. Then the light of divine glory will be in our countenances and the beauty of the Lord our God will be upon us. Then, and then only, shall we tread the world beneath our feet, and count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord."

What did Isaiah see, and what was the effect of the vision upon him? He saw terrifying holiness in the realm of absolute power. He saw the King of Glory. His train filled the temple, and above His throne six-winged seraphim, concealing their faces and their feet in self-effacing adoration, waited the word of command to send them speeding on the King's business. Suddenly, the voice of one of the seraphim reverberated with awesome power through the temple and shook the very foundations of its threshold as he cried, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory." Clouds of smoke filled the place and the whole scene brought to the prophet an overwhelming sense of divine holiness and power. Standing there, Isaiah saw himself as never before. Whatever pretentions he had of personal worth they vanished in a moment in the light of divine glory. For the first time he realized his own utter worthlessness. Although surrounded by a people who were departing from the God of Israel, nevertheless, it was in his own consciousness that he felt the first impact of this vision of the King. " Woe is me " he cried, "I am undone." Those burning seraphim were worthy servants of the King, but he was undone-a man of unclean lips. His eyes had seen the King but he was utterly unfit to serve Him.

This, too, will be the first impact of divine glory upon ourselves. In a day of divine disclosure, Job, a man who feared God greatly, saw himself as never before, and cried "I had heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth Thee, wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes." For Moses, too, came a day of self-discovery, when, hiding his face, he stood barefooted at the burning Bush; for Peter also, who exclaimed "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, 0 Lord"; and for Saul of Tarsus, as blinded by "the glory of that Light" he lay in the dust on the Damascus road. We need, today, in the arrogance and self-assertion of our times, a similar reassessment of ourselves in the light of His throne. The vision of the King will bring to us a true estimation of ourselves and this is an imperative requirement for the highest of all service - the service of the King of Glory.

It would have been a sad story indeed had Isaiah been left merely to mourn his own unworthiness. But the vision did not end there. His uncleanness had been exposed, but it was to be removed. He was soon to learn how those unclean lips. of his could be purified and enlisted in the service of the King. Before the throne was an altar. Isaiah saw one of the seraphim with a live coal in his hand which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. Flying to him, the seraph touched his mouth with the live coal saying, "Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." Sacred moment of destiny for the prophet! The searing heat which burned into his lips affected his speech henceforward. It not only consumed their impurity, but also imparted to him the facility to speak words which would burn with the same holy fire which glowed from those burning seraphim. Solemn lesson indeed! The service of the throne was preceded by contact with the altar fire. We need the vision; we need, too, lips touched with holy fire. We may have some knowledge of the King's business, but that in itself is insufficient. Before our lips can be used in His service they will need to feel the touch of the cleansing fire. And now, as then, the King requires human lips in His service for work which even seraphim are not available to do.

Now Isaiah is ready to serve. He stands and waits. The Voice from the throne reaches him with compelling power, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? ". Unhesitating he responds, "Here am I; send me." Before the task is disclosed he commits himself without reserve to the King's service. This is the procedure of Heaven's court and here is the mark of the true servant of God. He does not question, he does not bargain or lay down conditions. He does not choose his mission or his place of service. The privilege of service is sufficient; the King commands, the servant obeys. Notice the nature of Isaiah's commitment. He did not say "I will go," but "Send me." "How shall they preach, except they be sent?" Heaven's ambassadors require credentials from Heaven's court, from whom God sends is sustained by limitless resources. Isaiah's recognition of this fact with all its implications is bound up in the terms of his response to the divine call. The lesson is clear and should be borne in mind as we consider the sequel.

And, so, Isaiah, having seen the King, having had his lips touched with holy fire, and having placed himself unreservedly at the King's disposal, gives wrapt attention to the instructions which now proceed from the throne. In solemn measured words the mission is disclosed to him "Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes ; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn again, and be healed."

This was now to be the prophet's daily burden. A heart-rending task indeed! Who but a man sent by God could undertake it? A committal such as Isaiah's means that the servant of God must be prepared betimes for distasteful tasks. Sometimes he must stand alone for God against popular opinion. But whatever the task, the resources of heaven are at his disposal.

As we ponder the experience of this great prophet, and equate it with the immutable ways of God, the question presents itself, Where can I see the vision, and how can my lips receive the holy fire? There is one answer. The Christ Isaiah saw is disclosed by the Spirit of God in the inspired words of Holy Scripture-and nowhere else. Here I must view Him. What a glorious vision awaits the mind enlightened by the Holy Spirit, the great Revealer of Christ! The histories, types and prophecies of the Old Testament all point to one glorious Person. He is everywhere present. This vast treasure house is ours to explore. And then the New Testament writings are available to us. Here we can view the King that Isaiah saw, leaving His throne, emptying Himself, and taking a servant's form. In the four Gospel records we can contemplate the Christ of history, in the Epistles the Christ of earthly experience and in the Revelation the Christ of the glory. We can go to Bethlehem and to Nazareth, to the Jordan and to the wilderness. We can follow the steps by which the Son of God manifested the glory of His Father-" Love and healing mercy spreading, everywhere His footsteps go." We can listen to the words of grace He spoke and view His tear-stained face as He wept at the grave of Lazarus. His miracles and signs can engage our minds. And then we can pass on to the Holy Mount, to the Upper Room, to Gethsemane, to Gabbatha and to Golgotha. Standing near the Cross we may gaze on the marred visage and form of the King of Glory-the very same King as Isaiah saw high and lifted up upon the throne of Heaven. Vision of all visions, sight of all sights, on the cross, I gaze, And there behold its sad yet healing rays ; Beacon of hope which lifted up on high, Illumes with heavenly light the tear-dimmed eye!

And we may visit the empty tomb and listen to the glad words of resurrection triumph. Gazing up to heaven we may view Him ascending to His Father and taking His place once more upon the throne. Glorious sight! There He now sits, far above all, the God-Man, the Man of Calvary, bearing in His glorified body the marks of His passion.

All this is there for us to see, and yet we may miss it. Isaiah saw the vision for himself, so did Moses, so did Paul, so must I and so must you. Without it we are unfit to be servants of the King. The vision is necessary to wither up our pride and bring us to His feet. There only will the fire of the Spirit of God touch our lips and vitalize our service. But let us not imagine that the King's servants are always in the public eye. Sometimes He sends them to the forefront of the battle and sometimes to the back room. Let Him choose, let Him place us where He will, He knows best. No matter how lowly the task may seem, it is the King's service - go to it ! Miss Waring's hymn expresses very beautifully the attitude of dependence and contentment which is the hall-mark of the true servant of Christ:

I would not have the restless will

That hurries to and fro,

That seeks for some great thing to do,

Or secret thing to know

I would be treated as a child,

And guided where to go.

Wherever in the world I am,

In whatsoe'er estate,

I have a fellowship with hearts

To keep and cultivate;

A work of lowly love to do

For Him on whom I wait.