Opening Prayer
Holy, merciful God, give us the Light of the Spirit that we may know You in faith, fear You, and become holy like You. Amen.
Text: Isaiah 6:1–7
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe 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 were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, 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 in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.”
Devotion
Holy is the Lord in His heavenly dwelling, high uplifted over all the earth and its misery, – He is pure light and perfect love, in eternal harmony with Himself. Holy is the Lord in His revelation through the Son. Perfectly spotless is He, and there is perfect unity in the will of the divine Persons even during Jesus’ incarnation and His suffering. Holy is the Lord in the work of the Spirit, when He takes residence in our hearts, gives us new birth, and sanctifies us. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! – the whole earth is full of His glory!” The seraphim see this and sing before His throne.
How then shall ungodly sinners stand before Him? Isaiah, who was a holy man, cries out when he sees the glory of the Lord: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips!” And he must be cleansed with a coal from the altar: a symbol of the grace of the Holy Spirit who cleanses us through Christ’s sacrifice. The Spirit must demonstrate to the prophet that his sins are taken away. Only then does he become confident before the face of the holy God and fit to serve Him. If the seraphim, these sinless exalted heavenly spirits, hide their faces and their feet before the Lord and cry “Holy, holy, holy!” to one another so that the doorposts of the threshold shake, how then shall we dare to appear before Him? How shall we cleanse ourselves and cover ourselves before the eyes of the Holy One? Don’t you feel how impossible it is for us to stand in our own righteousness? And don’t you feel how impossible it is for us to stand before God in our natural condition without being born anew? O how necessary it is that we hold on to our heavenly High Priest and take shelter under the wings of His holiness! And how necessary it is to be born of the Spirit to a new holy life in God, and thus in daily renewal to be cleansed unto perfect holiness! Praise to You, Lord Jesus! You came to us both with blood and water, and You give us the Spirit who dresses us with the robe of righteousness! You are my holiness, under Your protection I dare stand with confidence, and You do not let me go before You have completely taken away all my sin! I shall be perfectly holy, and see the Lord of glory, and live!
Closing Prayer
O God, give to all of us who here pray to You such grace by Your Holy Spirit for Jesus’ sake. Give us living fear of God and faith and holiness in our inmost heart. Amen.
Hymn
Thee, God, we praise, Thy name we bless,
Thee, Lord, of all we do confess;
The whole creation worships Thee,
The Father of eternity.
To Thee aloud all angels cry,
The heav’ns and all the pow’rs on high,
The cherubs and the seraphs join,
And thus they hymn Thy praise divine:
O holy, holy, holy Lord,
Thou, God of hosts, by all adored;
Earth and the heav’ns are full of Thee,
Thy light, Thy pow’r, Thy majesty.
Niceta: Te Deum L 10:1-3 ELH 44:1-3 tr. C. Døving;
tune: Old Hundredth