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.
so 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."
also i heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
"whom shall I send,
and who will go for Us?"
then i said, "here and i! send me."
if only we had that kind of reverence for our King. it is a lost concept, the art of worship. in a me-based society, we have changed the "heart of worship" in a way similar to the song. and we don't even realize it, the fact that it's not about us. we fake it -- one face sunday morning in church and another monday morning on the freeway. and what makes it so pathetic is we honestly have no idea how to even go about true reverence...
i think isaiah said it best: "woe is me!" have you ever thought about the fact that worship is approaching the throne of God? not in some cliche, casting crowns, hillsong united style "worship" song, approaching the throne. that's ridiculous. the fact is that when we truly go to worship God, we are approaching the throne of the Highest, most Powerful, Glorious, Pure, Righteous God, Creator of the Universe. and we, like isaiah should understand all that that implies. this is not a game. and when you approach the throne of God, you definitely shouldn't go with an attitude of , "oh, God loves me. He'll look past what i did at that party last friday...i love this song. it makes me feel so close to God..." we should get the isaiah attitude. it is a privilege to have the honor of approaching the throne of God for nothing more than to praise Him. and we should understand that it is extraordinarily foolish to approach the Most High with some sin hidden behind our back, like a four year old with cookie crumbs all over his face.
so, next sunday, when you're lifting your hands and you're all "into the moment" and getting your worship groove on, consider this: i'm sure none of us would consider isaiah at all unholy and probably far more worthy to approach God than any of us -- i mean, it's isaiah. and yet, when face to face with God, his reaction was one of fear, certain that his sin and unrighteousness would cause God to smite Him right then and there. how much more then should we purge ourselves before approaching God?! we who, on our way to church, let fly a word when someone cuts us off and nearly sends us into the afterlife.
at any rate, next time you sing about bowing before the King of kings, consider the attitude of isaiah and search your heart.
because He is Holy.
and we are unworthy.
i'll leave you with a song that always makes me think...
how deep the Father's love for us,
how vast beyond all measure
that He should give His only Son
to make a wretch His treasure
how great the pain of searing loss,
the Father turns His face away
as wounds which mar the chosen One,
bring many sons to glory
behold the Man upon a cross,
my sin upon His shoulders
ashamed i hear my mocking voice,
call out among the scoffers
it was my sin that held Him there
until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
i know that it is finished
i will not boast in anything
no gifts, no power, no wisdom
but i will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
why should i gain from His reward?
i cannot give an answer
but this i know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom.
why should i gain from His reward?
i cannot give an answer
but this i know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom.
but this i know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom.
"how deep the father's love for us" -- stuart townend
