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Scott's Reference Library
Isaiah 6:1 through Isaiah 6:8 (NIV)
1In 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. 2Above him were
seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two
they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3And they were calling
to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple
was filled with smoke.
5“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live
among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD
Almighty.”
6Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had
taken with tongs from the altar. 7With it he touched my mouth and said, “See,
this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go
for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
VERSES 1-8
In this figurative vision, the temple is thrown open to view, even to the most
holy place. The prophet, standing outside the temple, sees the Divine Presence
seated on the mercy-seat, raised over the ark of the covenant, between the
cherubim and seraphim, and the Divine glory filled the whole temple. See God
upon his throne. This vision is explained, John 12:41, that Isaiah now saw
Christ’s glory, and spake of Him, which is a full proof that our Saviour is God.
In Christ Jesus, God is seated on a throne of grace; and through him the way
into the holiest is laid open. See God’s temple, his church on earth, filled
with his glory. His train, the skirts of his robes, filled the temple, the whole
world, for it is all God’s temple. And yet he dwells in every contrite heart.
See the blessed attendants by whom his government is served. Above the throne
stood the holy angels, called seraphim, which means “burners;” they burn in love
to God, and zeal for his glory against sin. The seraphim showing their faces
veiled, declares that they are ready to yield obedience to all God’s commands,
though they do not understand the secret reasons of his counsels, government, or
promises. All vain-glory, ambition, ignorance, and pride, would be done away by
one view of Christ in his glory. This awful vision of the Divine Majesty
overwhelmed the prophet with a sense of his own vileness. We are undone if there
is not a Mediator between us and this holy God. A glimpse of heavenly glory is
enough to convince us that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Nor is
there a man that would dare to speak to the Lord, if he saw the justice,
holiness, and majesty of God, without discerning his glorious mercy and grace in
Jesus Christ. The live coal may denote the assurance given to the prophet, of
pardon, and acceptance in his work, through the atonement of Christ. Nothing is
powerful to cleanse and comfort the soul, but what is taken from Christ’s
satisfaction and intercession. The taking away sin is necessary to our speaking
with confidence and comfort, either to God in prayer, or from God in preaching;
and those shall have their sin taken away who complain of it as a burden, and
see themselves in danger of being undone by it. It is great comfort to those
whom God sends, that they go for God, and may therefore speak in his name,
assured that he will bear them out.