February 26

The Exalted Lord

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted; and the train of His robe filled the temple. — Isa 6:1 BSB

We live in troubled times, but throughout human history, when outward events have seemed most distracting and distressing, God’s servants have been drawn into the secret place of the Most High and shown the reassuring vision of God’s overruling Providence and the ordered regularity of His eternal reign. When the land was passing through dark distress and revolution seemed imminent, Isaiah beheld the stability of God’s Throne.

“It was high and lifted up,” far above all other authority, power, or dominion in heaven, on earth, or under the earth. The Throne was crowned with Love—“above it stood the Seraphim.” The word Seraph is derived from fire, symbolizing radiant love. If the Throne stands for stability, judgment, and power, above all these attributes and over-arching the One who sits there is Love. This is the highest conception we can have—Love supreme. The Lamb that was slain is in the midst of the Throne.

Isaiah was the one man chosen out of all Israel to see this vision. In humility, he ascended the Temple steps, jostled by the crowds who went there out of mere religious duty. Many of them appeared to need a vision of God more than he did, yet it was Isaiah who saw the Lord. It was the one saint in all Israel who appeared most in touch with God that was brought into even closer communion. While the others saw only the Temple, the altar, and the ritual, Isaiah saw the “skirts of glory” filling every cranny of the holy place.

Let us not be satisfied with the outward and visible aspects of worship—ritual, however splendid, or sermons, however magnificent. Those who are humble and persistent in their search for God will hear notes others cannot catch, will sense a Presence that escapes ordinary sight, and will enter a spiritual realm hidden from outward observers.

Though the world may be full of tumult and the floods may lift their voices, the Lord on High is mighty and shall overcome, for through His death, resurrection, and ascension, He is Lord of lords and King of kings!

Prayer

We can't understand the meaning of the darkness and chaos around us, but we know that You are Love and that You reign. May we see You exalted above all rulers and authorities, and may all glory, blessing, honor, and power be Yours, O Son of God, the One seated on the sapphire throne. Amen.