The Whole Earth is Full of His Glory
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Isaiah 6:1-4
1. In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. 2. 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. 3. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." 4. And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.
Revelation 4:8-12
8. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all round and within, and day and night they never cease to sing, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" 9. And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, 10. the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing, 11. "Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou didst create all things, and by thy will they existed and were created."
The twenty four elders in Revelation may refer to the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles, according to my bible notes. Holy, holy, holy – repeating the word three times emphasizes the importance of what is said, drives home the point intended. The similarities of these two scripture passages just fascinates me! They were written hundreds of years apart. Yet both of these men saw into the future – and caught a glimpse of heaven – and lived to tell about it!
Even the kings in heaven lay their crowns at God’s feet! These exalted saints in heaven prostrate themselves in the presence of the Holy One. And the seraphim. . . can you imagine a better reason for existing than to praise God!? Could there be any greater sense of fulfillment than to know you were created for the sole purpose of declaring God’s glory to all of creation – forever – before eternity began and on into eternity to come?!
Two of the wings of these creatures covered their faces. Even the heavenly beings are not worthy to look into the face of God. Is his face glowing so brightly that it would hurt their eyes? Or is he so mighty, so wonderful, so far beyond perfection that they will never feel worthy to have the honor of looking into those eyes? Is he so full of life-giving power and might that they tremble at the thought of gazing upon that face?!
During this holiday season it’s just too easy to get caught up in the secular hype. Retailers spend all year hoping for a good Christmas season. Merchandisers are constantly challenged to come up with the next best favorite gadget or toy or tool that will propel their profit margin to new heights. And we are under so much pressure to buy enough gifts to place under the tree so that no one will feel unloved or not valued.
But what if . . . just this one year . . . I don’t know – what if we all decided that this year we were going to give the money we normally spend to the Salvation Army, or to the Red Cross or to a mission project, or the local food bank. What if we celebrated Christmas in a way that gives God the honor He deserves – because of the gift he gave us 2000 years ago?!
It sounds good in theory doesn’t it? Maybe I’m crazy or unrealistic. Maybe I’m out of touch! But I’ll tell you this: I have never felt more loved and valued than the day we dropped our daughter off at college for the first time and on the way home my husband told me, “You did a wonderful job raising her.” That’s a gift I could not have purchased at any price! And it is still the best gift I ever received!
I hope that as your rushing from store to store and picking out the perfect theme for your Christmas decorations, and deciding upon which credit card to charge that latest, greatest invention, you’ll take some time out to declare to God, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of [your] glory."
Mary
