vi. 5-8. _Then said I, Woe is me, &c._
Whilst holiness is the normal, depravity is the actual state of man.
A restoration to that spiritual condition is his profoundest
necessity, his want of wants. The recovery of holiness involves the
recovery of all other good. There seem to be, in the nature of the
case, _five states through which the soul must pass in this
all-important and glorious transit._
I. A VISION OF THE GREAT RULER AS THE HOLIEST OF BEINGS. Isaiah had
this: "Mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." Three facts
will show that a spiritual vision of God is the first step of the
soul towards holiness. 1. _There can be no excitement of the moral
sensibilities and powers without a vision of God._ Show me a soul
that has never had an inner vision of God, and you show me a soul
whose conscience, whose moral powers, are entirely dormant. The
passions, the intellect, the imagination may move, but the
conscience, the heart, the moral essence, the _self_ of the man,
moves not--is dead. 2. _The means which God has ever employed to
restore men are visions of Himself._ What is the Bible but a record
of Divine visions and manifestations to man? What is the
Gospel--"God's power unto salvation"--but the manifestation of the
Eternal in Christ? Here He appears to man in the "face of Jesus
Christ." 3. _The history of all restored souls shows that the
improvement commences at this stage._ The explanation which Paul
gives of the first upward movement would generally be true of all:
"When it pleased God to reveal His Son in me," &c. What the sun is to
the plant, God is to the soul.
II. A PROFOUND CONSCIOUSNESS OF OUR FALLEN STATE. "Then, said I, Woe
is me," &c. His consciousness included four things--1. _A deep sense
of his personality._ "_I_ am undone." He feels himself singled out
from the millions. When conscience is touched, she breaks the bond,
individualises the man, and makes him feel as if he stood alone
before the Eternal Judge. 2. _A sense of personal ruin._ "Woe is me,
for I am undone." My prospects are blighted, my hopes are gone. 3. _A
sense of personal ruin arising from a sense of personal sin._ "I am a
man of unclean lips;" I am a sinner, and therefore "undone." 4. _A
sense of personal sin, heightened by the remembrance of his
neighbour's sins._ "I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips." So long as conscience is torpid, men often make the sinful
conduct of others an apology for their own; but when conscience
awakes, such sophistries depart.
III. A REMOVAL OF THE CRUSHING SENSE OF GUILT. "Then flew one of the
seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand," &c. Three thoughts
are suggested by this--1. _There are Divine means for the removal of
sin._ This "live coal," this altar, and seraphim in the vision,
symbolise this truth. 2. _The means are something in connection with
sacrifice._ Fire is a purifying element, and is regarded as the
emblem of purity. This "live coal" was taken from the altar of
burnt-offering. The fire of that altar as at first kindled by the
Lord, and ever afterward kept burning. What is the power that takes
away sin? The Divine Word in connection with Christ's sacrifice--the
doctrine of the Cross. This, like "fire," has a purifying power.
3. _The means are employed by a Divinely-appointed ministry._ Let
that seraph stand as the emblem of a true minister, and we see that
his work is to take the purifying elements from the altar and apply
them to men.
IV. AN EVER-OPEN AND SENSITIVE EAR TO THE VOICE OF GOD. "I heard the
voice of the Lord, saying," &c. Three thoughts will develop the
general and practical meaning of these words--1. _God has deep
thoughts about our race._ The Bible reveals some of these thoughts,
and so does Nature. 2. _Just as the soul is cleared of sin does it
become conscious of these thoughts._ Let the conscience be thoroughly
cleared of sin, and it will hear the voice of God in every sound and
see His glory in every form. The universe to a holy being is the
tongue of God (P. D. 2545, 2552, 2560, 2563, 2564). 3. _This
consciousness of the Divine thoughts about our race is a necessary
stage in the moral progress of the soul._ It is only thus we walk
with God, as Enoch did of old.
V. A HEARTY READINESS TO DO WHAT THE SUPREME WILL COMMANDS. "Here am
I; send me." I am ready to do whatever Thou commandest. Send me
anywhere, at any time, to do any work; I am ready to catch the
slightest whisper of duty; my soul stands with plumed
pinions.--_David Thomas, D.D.: The Homilist,_ vol. v. pp. 411-418.