Isaiah had never seen anything like it. Before him was the Lord seated in all majesty and might, surrounded by angels who had to cover their faces (they could not look directly at God’s glory) and feet (acknowledging their lowliness) as they hovered around the throne. Here’s what Isaiah saw.

Isaiah 6:1-5
In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for 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!”

These heavenly creatures in Isaiah’s vision were calling back and forth, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” This three-fold repetition of God’s holiness indicates the strongest superlative. But what do we mean when we say that God is holy?

God’s holiness places him separate from and independent from us. He does not conform to a holy standard; he is the standard. “He is absolutely holy with an infinite, incomprehensible fullness of purity that is incapable of being other than it is” (Tozer, Knowledge of the Holy). While our best action is tainted by sin, all God thinks and does is perfect and completely pure. When we begin to grasp God’s perfection, like Isaiah, we come to a sudden realization of our personal sinfulness and proclaim, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips….”

That’s the realization that prompts our need for a Savior. Standing before the holy God, there is no place to run or hide. So, as Tozer says, “We must take refuge from God in God.” We are only safe and secure in Jesus, whose perfect and holy sacrifice on the cross covers and eternally protects every believer. Jesus turns our cry of despair—I am lost!—to the glorious proclamation—I am redeemed!

Father, it is easy on this unholy earth to view unholiness as natural and normal—even in ourselves. Today, give us just a glimpse of what Isaiah saw. Help us see ourselves as you see us. Help us to be disturbed by our sin. Thank you for Jesus. May we find forgiveness and protection… and friendship with him. In his name, we pray. Amen.