One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!”
Parallel Translations
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One called to another, and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Armies! The whole earth is full of his glory!”
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And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
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And one called unto another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.
Cross-references (16)
Passages linked to Isaiah 6:3 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Revelation 4:8-9 The four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within. They have no rest day and night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come!” When the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to him who sits on the throne, to him who lives forever and ever,
- Psalms 72:19 Blessed be his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and amen.
- Exodus 15:11 Who is like you, Yahweh, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
- Numbers 14:21 but in very deed—as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with Yahweh’s glory—
- Ezra 3:11 They sang to one another in praising and giving thanks to Yahweh, “For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever toward Israel.” All the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised Yahweh, because the foundation of Yahweh’s house had been laid.
- Exodus 15:20-21 Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dances. Miriam answered them, “Sing to Yahweh, for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”
- Psalms 57:11 Be exalted, God, above the heavens. Let your glory be over all the earth.
- Isaiah 11:9-10 They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea. It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will be glorious.
- Isaiah 40:5 Yahweh’s glory shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it.”
- Psalms 24:7-10 Lift up your heads, you gates! Be lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in. Who is the King of glory? Yahweh strong and mighty, Yahweh mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates; yes, lift them up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory will come in. Who is this King of glory? Yahweh of Armies is the King of glory!
- Isaiah 24:16 From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs. Glory to the righteous! But I said, “I pine away! I pine away! woe is me!” The treacherous have dealt treacherously. Yes, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously.
- Habakkuk 2:14 For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Yahweh’s glory, as the waters cover the sea.
- Zechariah 14:9 Yahweh will be King over all the earth. In that day Yahweh will be one, and his name one.
- Psalms 19:1-3 The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork. Day after day they pour out speech, and night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
- Revelation 15:3-4 They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God, the Almighty! Righteous and true are your ways, you King of the nations. Who wouldn’t fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you only are holy. For all the nations will come and worship before you. For your righteous acts have been revealed.”
- Ephesians 1:18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (18 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain His glory doth not only appear in the heavens,…
His glory doth not only appear in the heavens, but through all the world, and therefore all creatures are bound, to praise him.
This oft repetition signifieth, that the Holy Angels cannot satisfy themselves in praising God, to teach us that in all our lives we should give ourselves to the continual praise of God.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said,…
Isa 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, [is] the LORD of hosts: the whole earth [is] full of his glory.
Ver. 3. And one cried to another.] Hymnum cantant τρισαγιον, and that, as it may seem, by way of antiphony, as those did. {Exo 15:1; Exo 15:21}
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And said, Holy, holy, holy.] Hereby showing their earnestness and insatiability in praising God. {as Jer 22:20 Mat 23:39} The ingemination importeth strong affection. Infinitis vicibus iterant, saith Procopius; the holy angels "have no rest," and yet they have no unrest either, "day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty which was, and is, and is to come." {Rev 4:8} The ancient Rabbis, as R, Simeon Ben Joai, proved the trinity of persons from this text, saith Galatin, {a} appointing their posterity to repeat these words twice a day at least - viz., at the rising and setting of the sun, which also they do to this day, and when they do it they leap three times.
The whole earth is full of his glory.] Not the land of Judea only, but the wide world, {as Psa 97:6; Psa 97:8 Isa 40:5} shall be full of God’s glory, when the gospel shall be preached to all nations. This was for comfort to our prophet, that although his countrymen were cast off for their contumacy, yet he should not lose the fruit of his labours when once that "great mystery of godliness" was revealed; "God" - whom he had now seen upon the throne, and that purposely for his confirmation - "manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." {1Ti 3:16}
{a} Lib. ii. cap. 1.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain One cried unto another; singing in consort the praises…
One cried unto another; singing in consort the praises of their Lord.
Holy, holy, holy: this is repeated thrice, either,
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1. To intimate the Trinity of persons united in the Divine essence; or,
2. That he was most eminently and unquestionably holy in his present work of judgment, and in all his ways; such repetitions being very frequent in Scripture, for the greater assurance of the thing, as Jer 7:4; Eze 21:9.
The whole earth; not only Canaan, to which the Jews did vainly and arrogantly confine the presence of God, but all the world; which seems to have a respect to the conversion of the Gentiles, which did accompany the plenary and last execution of this judgment here threatened against the Jewish nation, Isa 6:10, as is evident by comparing this with Mat 13:14,15; Ac 28:26,27, and other places of the New Testament.
Full of his glory; of the effects and demonstrations of his glorious holiness, as well as of his power, and wisdom, and goodness.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And one cried unto another,.... This denotes the publicness…
And one cried unto another,.... This denotes the publicness of their ministry, and their harmony and unity in it; they answered to one another, and agreed in what they said; their preaching was not yea and nay, Co2 1:19,
and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; this expresses the subject matter of the Gospel ministry, respecting the holiness of God; all the doctrines of the Gospel are pure and holy, and have a tendency to promote holiness of heart and life, and are agreeable to the holiness of God, and in them the holiness of God in each of the divine Persons is declared; particularly the Gospel ministry affirms that there is one God, who is the Lord of hosts, of armies above and below, of angels and men; that there are three Persons in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Spirit; and that each of these three are glorious in holiness; there is the Holy Father, and the Holy Son, and the Holy Ghost, and the holiness of them is displayed in each of the doctrines of grace: the holiness of the Father appears in the choice of persons to eternal life, through sanctification of the Spirit; in the covenant of grace, which provides for the holiness of covenant ones; and in the justification of his people through Christ, and redemption by him, whereby the honour of his justice and holiness is secured: the holiness of the Son appears in his incarnation and life; in redemption from sin by him, and in satisfying for it, and justifying from it: and the holiness of the Spirit is seen in the doctrines of regeneration and sanctification, ascribed unto him.
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The whole earth is full of his glory; as it was when Christ dwelt in it, wrought his miracles, and manifested forth his glory, and when his Gospel was preached everywhere by his apostles; and as it will be, more especially in the latter day, when it will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord; when the kingdoms of this world will become his, and his kingdom will be everywhere, even from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the earth; and this is what Gospel ministers declare will be: or "the fulness of the whole earth is his glory" (m); the earth is his, and all that is in it, and all declare his glory; see Rev 4:8.
(m) "plenitudo totius terrae gloria ejus", Montanus; "quicquid replet terram est gloria ejus", Piscator.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Cried - Singing in consort. Holy - This is…
Cried - Singing in consort. Holy - This is repeated thrice, to intimate the Trinity of persons united in the Divine essence. Glory - Of the effects and demonstrations of his glorious holiness, as well as of his power, wisdom, and goodness.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 3. Holy, holy, holy] This hymn performed by…
Verse 3. Holy, holy, holy] This hymn performed by the seraphim, divided into two choirs, the one singing responsively to the other, which Gregory Nazian., Carm. 18, very elegantly calls Συμφωνον, αντιφωνον, αγγελων στασιν, is formed upon the practice of alternate singing, which prevailed in the Jewish Church from the time of Moses, whose ode at the Red Sea was thus performed, (see Ex 15:20-21,) to that of Ezra, under whom the priests and Levites sung alternately,
"O praise JEHOVAH, for he is gracious;
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For his mercy endureth for ever;"
Ezr 3:11. See De Sac. Poes. Hebr. Prael. xix., at the beginning.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Isa 6:3. And one cried unto another — Divided…
Isa 6:3. And one cried unto another — Divided into two choirs, they sung responsively one to the other; and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts — “God’s holiness,” says Lowth, “or the superlative purity of his nature, implies in it all the rest of his attributes, especially his justice and mercy, which are dispensed by the most exact rules of rectitude. The Christian Church has always thought the doctrine of the Trinity to be implied in this threefold repetition of holy: as it is also intimated in several other passages of the Old Testament, particularly in that form commanded to be used in blessing the people, Num 6:24-26; and Isa 48:16, of this book;” where see the notes. Thus Jerome observes the design of their hymn was “to show that there is a Trinity in the one Godhead; and to testify, that, not the Jewish temple, as formerly, (for that was to be forsaken of God,) but the whole earth was full of his glory:” namely, of the effects and demonstrations of his glorious holiness, as well as of his power, wisdom, and goodness.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain And one cried to another - Hebrew ‘This cried…
And one cried to another - Hebrew ‘This cried to this.’ That is, they cried to each other in alternate responses. One cried ‘holy;’ the second repeated it; then the third; and then they probably united in the grand chorus, ‘Full is all the earth of his glory.’ This was an ancient mode of singing or recitative among the Hebrews; see Exo 15:20-21, where Miriam is represented as going before in the dance with a timbrel, and the other females as following her, and “answering,” or responding to her, Psa 136:1; compare Lowth, “on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews,” Lect. xix.
Holy, holy, holy - The “repetition” of a name, or of an expression, three times, was quite common among the Jews. Thus, in Jer 7:4, the Jews are represented by the prophet as saying, ‘the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, are these. Thus, Jer 22:29 : ‘O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord;’ Eze 21:27 : ‘I will overturn, overturn, overturn;’ see also 1Sa 18:23 : ‘O my son Absalom! my son, my son;’ see also the repetition of the form of benediction among the Jews, Num 6:24-26 :
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Jehovah bless thee and keep thee;
Jehovah make his face to shine upon thee,
And be gracious unto thee;
Jehovah lift up his countenance upon thee,
And give thee peace.
In like manner, the number “seven” is used by the Hebrews to denote a great, indefinite number; then a full or complete number; and then perfectness, completion. Thus, in Rev 1:4; Rev 3:1; Rev 4:5, the phrase, ‘the seven spirits of God,’ occurs as applicable to the Holy Spirit, denoting his fullness, completeness, perfection. The Hebrews usually expressed the superlative degree by the repetition of a word. Thus, Gen 14:10 : ‘The vale of Siddim, pits, pits of of clay,’ that is, was full of pits; see Nordheimer’s “Heb. Gram.” Section 822-824. The form was used, therefore, among the Jews, to denote “emphasis;” and the expression means in itself no more than ‘thrice holy;’ that is, supremely holy. Most commentators, however, have supposed that there is here a reference to the doctrine of the Trinity. It is not probable that the Jews so understood it; but applying to the expressions the fuller revelations of the New Testament, it cannot be doubted that the words will express that. Assuming that that doctrine is true, it cannot be doubted, think, that the seraphs laid the foundation of their praise in that doctrine. That there was a distinct reference to the second person of the Trinity, is clear from what John says, Joh 12:41. No “argument” can be drawn directly from this in favor of the doctrine of the Trinity, for the repetition of such phrases thrice in other places, is merely “emphatic,” denoting the superlative degree. But when the doctrine is “proved” from other places, it may be presumed that the heavenly beings were apprized of it, and that the foundation of their ascriptions of praise was laid in that. The Chaldee has rendered this, ‘Holy in the highest heavens, the house of his majesty; holy upon the earth, the work of his power; holy forever, and ever, and ever, is the Lord of hosts.’ The whole expression is a most sublime ascription of praise to the living God, and should teach us in what manner to approach him.
The Lord of hosts - see the note at Isa 1:9.
The whole earth - Margin, ‘The earth is the fulness of his glory.’ All things which he has made on the earth express his glory. His wisdom and goodness, his power and holiness, are seen every where. The whole earth, with all its mountains, seas, streams, trees, animals, and people, lay the foundation of his praise. In accordance with this, the Psalmist, in a most beautiful composition, calls upon all things to praise him; see Psa 148:1-14.
Praise the Lord from the earth,
Ye dragons, and all deeps:
Fire and hail; snow and vapors;
Stormy wind fulfilling his word:
Mountains, and all hills;
Fruitful trees, and all cedars;
Beasts, and all cattle;
Creeping things, and flying fowl.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Glory. By no means of the Incarnation. The unity…
Glory. By no means of the Incarnation. The unity and Trinity are insinuated. (St. Jerome; St. Gregory, Mor. xxix. 16.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain (Rev 4:8). The Trinity is implied (on "Lord," see…
(Rev 4:8). The Trinity is implied (on "Lord," see on Isa 6:1). God's holiness is the keynote of Isaiah's whole prophecies.
whole earth--the Hebrew more emphatically, the fulness of the whole earth is His glory (Psa 24:1; Psa 72:19).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 3. Cried unto another — If more than two,…
3. Cried unto another — If more than two, then they stood in opposite rows, each side the throne, and responded each singly to his opposite fellow, after the manner of an antiphonal service.
Holy — The threefold utterance might be supposed simply a repetition for emphasis, but the same threefoldness in Rev_4:8 (where see notes) plainly indicates the trinity.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 3. And one cried unto another] (frequentat. impf.). Cf.…
3. And one cried unto another] (frequentat. impf.). Cf. Rev_4:8.
Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of Hosts:
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That which fills the whole earth is His glory.
The word “holy,” thrice repeated as if it struck the chord to which the whole nature of these pure beings vibrated (the ancient church found here an allusion to the mystery of the Trinity) sums up the meaning of the vision in so far as it is a revelation of God. The general notion of holiness is too complex to be analysed here. The root idea appears to be that of distance or separation. As a predicate of deity it expresses first of all the awful contrast between the divine and the human, and then those positive attributes of God which constitute true divinity, and call for the religious emotions of awe, reverence and adoration. What Isaiah here receives, therefore, is a new and overpowering impression of the Supreme Godhead of Jehovah; the whole impact of the vision on his mind is concentrated in the word which he hears from the lips of the seraphim. Although the idea of holiness in the O.T. is never to be identified with that of moral purity, it is clear from Isaiah’s immediate sense of guilt that ethical perfection is included among the attributes which make up the holiness or Godhead of Jehovah (see Robertson Smith, Prophets, pp. 224 ff.).
The second line of the Trisagion celebrates the “glory” of Jehovah, His manifestation of Himself in nature,—one of the leading thoughts of the second part of this book (ch. 40 ff.). The seraphim contemplate the universal diffusion of this “glory” (sub specie aeternitatis) as a present fact; elsewhere it is an ideal yet to be realised: Num_14:21; Hab_2:14.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (3) And one cried unto another.—So in Psa_29:9, which,…
(3) And one cried unto another.—So in Psa_29:9, which, as describing a thunderstorm, favours the suggestion that the lightnings were thought of as the symbols of the fiery seraphim, we read, “in his temple doth every one say, Glory.” The threefold repetition, familiar as the Trisagion of the Church’s worship, and reproduced in Rev_4:8 (where “Lord God Almighty” appears as the equivalent of Jehovah Sabaoth), may represent either the mode of utterance, first antiphonal, and then in full chorus, or the Hebrew idiom of the emphasis of a three-fold iteration, as in Jer_7:4; Jer_22:29. Viewed from the standpoint of a later revelation, devout thinkers have naturally seen in it an allusive reference to the glory of Jehovah as seen alike in the past, the present, and the future, which seems the leading idea in Rev_4:8, or even a faint foreshadowing of the Trinity of Persons in the Unity of the Godhead. Historically we cannot separate it from the name of the Holy One of Israel, which with “the Lord of hosts” was afterwards so prominent in Isaiah’s teaching.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain One cried; rather, kept crying. (comp. Rev_4:8, "They rest…
One cried; rather, kept crying. (comp. Rev_4:8, "They rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy But the prophet scarcely goes so far; he describes only his vision they did not rest while the vision was vouchsafed him. Holy, holy, holy. The Church on earth has taken pattern by the Church above; and the "Trisagion" is ever being repeated in one part of the earth or another without ceasing: "Thou continuest holy, O thou Worship of Israel." There is no attribute so essential to God as this. It is for his holiness, more than for anything else, that his creatures worship him. The triple repetition has been understood in all ages of the Church as connected with the doctrine of the Trinity. Holy is he who has created us, and bidden us worship him in the beauty of holiness Holy is he who has redeemed us, and washed away our sins, and made us by profession holy! Holy is he who day by day sanctifies us, and makes us in very deed and truth, so far as we will permit him, holy! The whole earth is full of his glory. Even in heaven the seraphic thoughts are turned to earth, and its relation to its Divine Creator is made the subject of angelic utterances. (comp. 1Co_4:9 Heb_12:22) The lesson which they gather from their contemplation, even under all the miserable circumstances of the time, is a cheering one: "The whole earth is full of God"s glory." Men, whether they will it or not, are working out God"s purposes, advancing his designs, accomplishing the ends that he desires (see Homiletics on Isa_5:25-29).
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy,…
Isa_6:3
And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts
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The holiness of God
We consider holiness as essential to the very being of God.
Holiness is originally in God. If angels are holy, God made them so. If believers are holy, God made them so. But the holiness of God is not derived; it was eternally, originally and unchangeably in Him. Let us now produce some evidence of this truth.
1. The holiness of God appears from the positive, uniform, repeated testimony of the sacred writers.
2. We refer to the original state of all rational and immortal beings. When formed by God they were holy.
3. Consider the nature of the law, originally given to man in paradise, and, long after, renewed at Sinai. It is holy and just and good.
4. Let us take a view of the holiness of God as awfully displayed in His anger against sin and sinners.
5. But we must visit Calvary if we would behold at once the most awful and the most engaging display of the Divine holiness. It was because He was infinitely displeased with sin that the Lord was pleased to bruise His Son and put Him to grief.
6. The holiness of God appears in the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers, and in all the means appointed for that purpose.
Practical inferences--
1. Is God so holy? then how base and sinful is the hatred of holiness!
2. Is God so holy? then what cause is there for humiliation!
3. Is God holy? then let us also be holy. (G. Burder.)
The holiness of God
I. THE SUBLIME REPRESENTATION WHICH IS MADE OF THE HOLINESS OF JEHOVAH. Holiness is the glory of Gods nature, and that which entitles Him to the supreme love, confidence, and worship of all His creatures. We may view the holiness of God more particularly--
1. As that which He has Himself declared and made known in the sacred Scriptures.
2. As that which is displayed in the representations given us of the heavenly world.
3. As exhibited in the punishment of rebellious angels and lost spirits in hell.
4. As made known to the inhabitants of earth in the moral law and in the glorious Gospel.
II. THE EFFECTS WHICH THE CONTEMPLATION OF IT SHOULD PRODUCE ON US. It has been revealed for our benefit, and in proportion to its importance and glory should be its influence on our minds and characters. With what feelings of adoring reverence and humility was it beheld by the holy inhabitants of heaven! What was the effect which the vision of it had on the prophet Isaiah? Then said I, Woe is me! etc. A similar impression was made on the mind of Job. (Job_42:5-6) If such impressions were made on the minds of these eminent saints by the discovery of Jehovahs holiness, what effects should it produce on us? It should lead--
1. To the deepest humiliation and contrition of soul.
2. To an immediate application to the blood of sprinkling.
3. Such a believing view of the character of God will produce love to holiness and earnest desire to possess it. The contemplation of the holiness of God should lead--
4. To earnest supplications for the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit.
5. To active efforts for the diffusion of His glory. (Essex Congregational Remembrancer.)
The holiness of God
God has been pleased to declare to mankind His views as to what constitutes a holy or an unholy action; consequently, when we say that God is holy, we mean that He is both by nature and character originally, essentially, and infinitely inclined to the approbation and performance of those actions which He has Himself thus pronounced to be holy; and, by converse, that He is originally, essentially, and infinitely removed from the approbation of any action or disposition which He has declared to be sinful. The holiness of God may be established--
I. BY APPEARING TO THE CONDUCT OF GOD AS IT MAY BE FREQUENTLY OBSERVED IN PROVIDENCE. It is of essential importance to remark that, although Divine providence affords many proofs of the holiness of God, yet there are many reasons why we may presume that the whole displeasure of God against sin is not thus exhibited. The present life, amid other purposes, serves that of a state of trial; it is impossible, therefore, that in it a complete exhibition of His holiness can be made. Notwithstanding these considerations, the providence of God affords the most abundant testimony to His holiness. The proof I allude to is this, that evil and misery invariably, in the common course of things, follow the practice of those actions, and of those actions only, which God has declared to be sinful.
II. BY APPEALING TO THE CONDUCT OF GOD AS IT IS RECORDED IN THE SCRIPTURES.
1. The event which first claims our regard, as being the first in the order of time, is the condemnation of the apostate angels.
2. The fate of our first parents.
3. The destruction of the world by an universal deluge.
4. The sufferings and death of Jesus Christ.
III. BY APPEALING TO THE EXPRESS TESTIMONY OF REVELATION. Everything too that has the slightest relation to Him is said to be holy, as partaking of this essential perfection of His nature: hence, His name is said to be holy. He is said to sit upon the throne of His holiness, to dwell in the most holy place. The hills on which His people meet to worship Him are said to be holy mountains. His promise, His covenant, His commandment, His law, His sabbath, His people, His prophets, His angels, His Son, His Spirit, are all respectively called holy in numerous passages. (J. F.Denham, M. A.)
Gods holiness and Gods glory
Two of the Divine attributes form the theme of the seraphs hymn.
I. GODS HOLINESS AS INHERENT IN HIMSELF. Holiness denotes, fundamentally, a state of freedom from all imperfection, specially from all moral imperfection; a state, moreover, realised with such intensity as to imply not only the absence of evil, but antagonism to it. It is more than goodness, more than purity, more than righteousness; it embraces all these in their ideal completeness, but it expresses besides the recoil from everything which is their opposite.
II. AS IT IS MANIFESTED IN THE MATERIAL WORLD. The fulness of the whole earth is His glory. By glory we mean the outward show or state attendant upon dignity or rank. The glory, then, of which Isaiah speaks, is the outward expression of the Divine nature. Pictured as visible splendour, it may impress the eye of flesh; but any other worthy manifestation of the being of God may be not less truly termed His glory. It is more than the particular attribute of power or wisdom; it is the entire fulness of the Godhead, visible to the eye of faith, if not to the eye of sense, in the concrete works of nature, arresting the spectator and claiming from him the tribute of praise and homage.
1. Wherein does the world so reflect the being of God as to be the expression of His glory? It is visible
(1) in the fact, as such, of creation;
(2) in the means by which an abode has been prepared for the reception of life and intelligence, and the majestic scale upon which the process has been conceived and carried out;
(3) in the rare and subtle mechanism which sustains the world in every part, and the intrinsic adequacy and beauty of the results.
2. Can we trace any evidence of the moral character of God, or is the earth full merely of the tokens of His power? It is difficult to think that we are mistaken in tracing it in the constitution of human nature, in the affections and aspirations which it displays, in the conditions upon which social life is observed to depend. He who has inspired human nature with true impulses of justice and generosity, of sympathy and love, with admiration for the heroic and noble, with scorn for the ignoble and the mean, cannot but be possessed of a kindred character Himself. Though the rays are broken and the image is obscured, the moral glory of the Creator shines in the world; it is reflected in the verdict of the individual conscience; it is latent in the ethical sanctions upon which the permanence and welfare of society depends. (Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D.)
The doctrine of the Trinity
This is a great deep where faith must receive mysteries on the authority of God, and reason be satisfied with the fact that He has revealed it. The objection that it is contrary to reason is weak, for nothing can be contrary to reason except what lies within its boundary. This lies in a region far above it. We can only know so much of God as He reveals. He would not be God if His nature were not mysterious to us. We are mysteries to ourselves. Gods works are often mysteries to us. Can we expect to comprehend Himself!
I. THE DOCTRINE IS INTERWOVEN WITH THE WHOLE TEXTURE OF REVELATION. Indications of plurality in unity meet us in the first chapter of the Bible (Gen_1:26-27), Our image. His image. This becomes more definite as we advance (Num_6:22-27). Threefold mention of Jehovah, yet My name (see Isa_61:1). These Old Testament indications are remarkable because given to a people prone to polytheism. They are inexplicable except on the ground that a mysterious trinity existed in the unity of the Godhead, This mystery was breaking out amidst the shadows of the darker dispensation. A seed of truth only needing fuller light to develop it. It came out most distinctly in the New Testament. Besides many passages which assert the Deity of Christ and of the Spirit take three cardinal passages (Mat_3:16-17; Mat_28:19; 2Co_13:14). At Christs entrance on His ministry this truth shines out not so much as dogma but as fact. The very porch of the church, facing the world, has the name (not names) of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost inscribed on it. Dedication to the Trinity in baptism is dedication to the one God. The apostolic benediction invokes a Divine blessing from each Person; indicates their equality and their unity.
II. THE SCRIPTURES PRESENT THIS MYSTERY IN A PRACTICAL ASPECT. It is interwoven throughout with the living realities of faith; presented to the heart for affectionate embrace, rather than to the head for intellectual apprehension. Explanations of the infinite would be lost on finite minds: so the Bible reveals the Persons of the Trinity, not in their incomprehensible relations to each other, but in their appreciable relation to us. We find the doctrine underlying every truth, every hope of the Gospel. Take as illustrations Rom_8:9; Rom_8:16-17; 2Co_3:3; Ga Eph_2:18; 2Th_2:13-14; Tit_3:4-6; Heb_9:14; Rev_22:1. Thus each person cooperates in our redemption: the Father planning, the Son performing, the Spirit applying the work of redeeming love. If angels bowed and adored, with what reverence and gratitude should we exclaim, Glory be to the Father, etc.
1. How much they reject, who reject the Gospel! A whole Trinity of grace, and love, and power!
2. How much they secure, who embrace the Gospel! What a Father, Saviour, Sanctifier!
3. Not a mere orthodox profession will bless us, but the sanctifying power of this creed in our hearts. Christ found and received by faith, through the Spirit, as the Son of God and our Redeemer, will unlock that mystery to the heart, which is beyond our poor reason to comprehend. (W. P.Walsh, D. D.)
The Holy Trinity
The doctrine of the Trinity teaches us to think of God not in singularity or individuality, but as a harmony of Persons or manifestations. This is best seen when we look at the Divine working in nature, and especially in that human life which is the crown of nature and which He has united with His own. The Jewish Church is often thought to have worshipped God only in His lonely, distant majesty. The word Holy by which He is so constantly described means Separate; and God was to them the Separate One, far removed in His purity from a sinful world. But there is another side to this teaching. Jehovah was separate or withdrawn from the world--not as a material world, but as a sinful world. Where sin is not, there He abides; and His people are a kingdom of saints--a holy nation. They go with Him, so to speak, into the place into which He is withdrawn, that He may abide among them. And, further, the psalmists and prophets never lost sight of the universal hope; they looked forward to the Gospel times, when the Lord of Israel should sustain the same relation to the whole world which He sustained to His chosen people in their time. Thus it is that Isaiah in our text represents the seraphim as saying of the Holy or Separate God that the whole earth is full of His glory. What is the glory of God? It is the glory of Love. We are not to think of God as One resting in the self-complacency of a solitary majesty, but as Love, which goes forth continually to its object. When we read the highest expression of the conscious union of our Lord with His Father, this doctrine of love again and again appears. The glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one. And surely it is a worthy conception of the Divine nature which the doctrine of the Trinity presents to us, when it makes us think of the Godhead not as chiefly glorious because of certain abstract qualities which a lonely individual nature might possess within itself, but rather as a fellowship which was self-involved and self-embraced in mystic, eternal love. This Divine love, I repeat, as being the very nature of God, was felt by the prophets of Israel to be dwelling in them, immanent in their nation. The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. Observe what this teaching or this consciousness implies. It is that the Divine nature of love is the soul of mans social life, that this is the binding power which draws men together. By unity God realises Himself among men, or draws them into Himself, that He may live out His life of love in their relationships. In this sense it is that the whole earth is full of the glory of the Holy One. When, then, we treat of the Christian doctrine of the Church, or social union of men in God, we are guided by the experience of the older dispensation, which in this, as in all things, finds its completion in our Lord. If God was to the Jews Immanuel, God with us, in Jesus Christ He has come yet closer to us. The loving embrace of the heavenly Bridegroom has taken the human nature into God. The twain are one. He abides in us and we in Him. (W. H.Fremantle, M. A.)
The whole earth is full of His glory
God most fully displays His glory on earth
It is certain from the language of these holy beings that they delightfully contemplate the glory of God; and especially in this world, where it is most clearly displayed.
I. THE ANGELS OF HEAVEN HAVE ALWAYS BORN WELL ACQUAINTED WITH THIS WORLD. Though these exalted spirits have always been invisible to mankind except on particular occasions, yet we have abundant evidence from Scripture that they have always been acquainted with the objects and events of this world. When God laid the foundation of the earth, they sang together and shouted for joy. And from that day to this, they have been more or less concerned in executing the purposes of God respecting mankind. They are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. It is natural to conjecture that many of them continually reside here, while others are alternately employed on great and extraordinary occasions. (Psa_68:17; Luk_2:8-14; Mat_26:53; Luk_13:43; Mat_28:2; Act_5:19.)
II. THEY HAVE DISCOVERED MORE OF THE GLORY OF GOD IN THIS WORLD THAN IN ANY OTHER PART OF THE UNIVERSE. It may be presumed that they have explored the whole circle of creation, which, though widely extended, is certainly limited, and capable of being surveyed by finite beings. They have been friendly to God, and taken pleasure in contemplating the displays of His glory. They have always possessed great intellectual powers and capacities, which have enabled them to receive, retain and digest the most extensive and sublime ideas of their Maker and His works. And being spirits, unencumbered by such gross bodies as we have, they have always been capable of passing from world to world, and from one part of the universe to another, with inconceivable ease and rapidity. They say, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; i.e., the Lord of the whole vast number of created beings, in every part of His extensive dominions. They add, The whole earth is full of His glory; by which they intimate that, after surveying heaven and hell and the whole empire of God, they discover greater displays of His glory in this world than in any other.
1. God has established such a connection between one creature and another in this world as He has not, as we know, anywhere else established. Angels were all created at once, and stood independently of each other. And while some maintained their integrity and attachment to God, others renounced their allegiance and rose in rebellion against their supreme Sovereign. But when God made man, He constituted an intimate and important connection between him and all that should proceed from him, to the end of time.
2. The method which God has devised and adopted to save the guilty and perishing children of men from destruction has given a display of His glory which He has not given in any other part of the universe.
3. In this world God has been constantly increasing the number of His moral subjects. There has been no increase of either good or bad angels; but there has been an immense increase of mankind for nearly six thousand years. If the glory of a prince consists in the multitude of His subjects, then the glory of God must be displayed by the vast numbers of rational and immortal beings which He brings into existence in this part of His dominions.
4. God subjects mankind to greater, more numerous and more surprising changes than He does any other of His intelligent creatures. The angels of light have never been subjected to any great or peculiar changes since their creation; and evil angels have experienced but one great and dreadful change. But all mankind, from their birth to their death, are perpetually subject to great, sudden and unexpected changes. Their bodies, their minds, and all their external circumstances are perpetually changing. Still greater changes and revolutions are frequently passing over whole nations and kingdoms. And as all these are ordered and Drought about by God, so He here gives peculiar displays of His glory, which are not to be seen in any other part of the universe.
5. The angels of God behold Him here forming the moral characters of men for eternity. Though the angels of God have seen their fellow angels changed from holiness to sin in heaven, yet they have never seen any of their fellow creatures changed from sin to holiness anywhere but in this world; which is a distinction among equally guilty creatures that eminently displays the awful and glorious sovereignty of God.
6. The angels of God see Him, in this world, continually calling off mankind from the stage of life and from the state of probation into their eternal states.
Improvement--
1. If angels discover more of the glory of God in this world than in any other part of the universe, then we may justly suppose that this world is, on the whole, better than it would have been if neither natural nor moral evil had ever entered into it.
2. If angels discover the brightest displays of the glory of God in this world, then it is certain that He treats all mankind perfectly right, in all His conduct towards them in the dispensations of providence and grace.
3. If angels view this world as the most important and interesting part of the creation, then secure sinners are extremely stupid. They see the same world, the same objects, the same persons, and the same changes, which angels admire; but they take no notice of the glory of God manifested by them, though they are far more deeply concerned in the objects with which they are surrounded, and the scenes through which they are passing.
4. If the angels of heaven discover the brightest displays of the glory of God in this world, then all real Christians have great advantages, while they are passing through the changing scenes of life, to make constant and swift advances in Divine knowledge.
5. If angels see and admire the glory of God in His conduct towards mankind in this world, then there can be no doubt but they will see and admire the glory of God in His conduct towards them, in their eternal state.
6. If God gives brighter displays of His glory here than anywhere else, then all men, in this life, are in the most important stage of their existence. (N. Emmons, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain Isa 6:1 - Isa 6:13.
Isaiah
VISION AND SERVICE
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Isa 6:1 - Isa 6:13.
WE may deal with this text as falling into three parts: the vision, its effect on the prophet, and his commission.
I. The Vision.-’In the year that King Uzziah died’ is more than a date for chronological accuracy. It tells not only when, but why, the vision was given. The throne of David was empty.
God never empties places in our homes and hearts, or in the nation or the Church, without being ready to fill them. He sometimes empties them that He may fill them. Sorrow and loss are meant to prepare us for the vision of God, and their effect should be to purge the inward eye, that it may see Him. When the leaves drop from the forest trees we can see the blue sky which their dense abundance hid. Well for us if the passing of all that can pass drives us to Him who cannot pass, if the unchanging God stands out more clear, more near, more dear, because of change.
As to the substance of this vision, we need not discuss whether, if we had been there, we should have seen anything. It was doubtless related to Isaiah’s thoughts, for God does not send visions which have no point of contact in the recipient. However communicated, it was a divine communication, and a temporary unveiling of an eternal reality. The form was transient, but Isaiah then saw for a moment ‘the things which are’ and always are.
The essential point of the vision is the revelation of Jehovah as king of Judah. That relation guaranteed defence and demanded obedience. It was a sure basis of hope, but also a stringent motive to loyalty, and it had its side of terror as well as of joyfulness. ‘You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.’ The place of vision is the heavenly sanctuary of which the temple was a prophecy. Eminently significant and characteristic of the whole genius of the Old Testament is the absence of any description of the divine appearance. The prophet saw things ‘which it is not lawful for a man to utter,’ and his silence is not only reverent, but more eloquent than any attempt to put the Ineffable into words. Even in this act of manifestation God was veiled, and ‘there was the hiding of His power.’ The train of His robe can be spoken of, but not the form which it concealed even in revealing it. Nature is the robe of God. It hides while it discloses, and discloses while it hides.
The hovering seraphim were in the attitude of service. They are probably represented as fiery forms, but are spoken of nowhere else in Scripture. The significance of their attitude has been well given by Jewish commentators, who say, ‘with two he covered his face that he might not see, and with two he covered his body that he might not be seen’ and we may add, ‘with two he stood ready for service, by flight whithersoever the King would send.’ Such awe-stricken reverence, such humble hiding of self, such alacrity for swift obedience, such flaming ardours of love and devotion, should be ours. Their song celebrated the holiness and the glory of Jehovah of hosts. We must ever remember that the root-meaning of ‘holiness’ is separation, and that the popular meaning of moral purity is secondary and derivative. What is rapturously sung in the threefold invocation of the seraphs is the infinite exaltation of Jehovah above all creatural conditions, limitations, and, we may add, conceptions. That separation, of course, includes purity, as may be seen from the immediate effect of the vision on the prophet, but the conception is much wider than that. Very beautifully does the second line of the song re-knit the connection between Jehovah and this world, so far beneath Him, which the burst of praise of His holiness seems to sever. The high heaven is a bending arch; its inaccessible heights ray down sunshine and drop down rain, and, as in the physical world, every plant grows by Heaven’s gift, so in the world of humanity all wisdom, goodness, and joy are from the Father of lights. God’s ‘glory’ is the flashing lustre of His manifested holiness, which fills the earth as the train of the robe filled the temple. The vibrations of that mighty hymn shook the ‘foundations of the threshold’ {Rev. Ver.} with its thunderous harmonies. ‘The house was filled with smoke’ which, since it was an effect of the seraph’s praise, is best explained as referring to the fragrant smoke of incense which, as we know, symbolised ‘the prayers of saints.’
II. The effect of the vision on the prophet.-The vision kindled as with a flash Isaiah’s consciousness of sin. He expressed it in regard to his words rather than his works, partly because in one aspect speech is even more accurately than act a cast, as it were, of character, and partly because he could not but feel the difference between the mighty music that burst from these pure and burning lips and the words that flowed from and soiled his own. Not only the consciousness of sin, but the dread of personal evil consequences from the vision of the holy God, oppressed his heart. We see ourselves when we see God. Once flash on a heart the thought of God’s holiness, and, like an electric searchlight, it discloses flaws which pass unnoticed in dimmer light. The easy-going Christianity, which is the apology for religion with so many of us, has no deep sense of sin, because it has no clear vision of God. ‘I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth Thee: wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.’
The next stage in Isaiah’s experience is that sin recognised and confessed is burned away. Cleansing rather than forgiveness is here emphasised. The latter is, of course, included, but the main point is the removal of impurity. It is mediated by one of the seraphim, who is the messenger of God, which is just a symbolical way of saying that God makes penitents ‘partakers of His holiness,’ and that nothing less than a divine communication will make cleansing possible. It is effected by a live coal. Fire is purifying, and the New Testament has taught us that the true cleansing fire is that of the Holy Spirit. But that live coal was taken from the altar. The atoning sacrifice has been offered there, and our cleansing depends on the efficacy of that sacrifice being applied to us.
The third stage in the prophet’s experience is the readiness for service which springs up in his purged heart. God seeks for volunteers. There are no pressed men in His army. The previous experiences made Isaiah quick to hear God’s call, and willing to respond to it by personal consecration. Take the motive-power of redemption from sin out of Christianity, and you break its mainspring, so that the clock will only tick when it is shaken. It is the Christ who died for our sins to whom men say, ‘Command what Thou wilt, and I obey.’
III. The prophet’s commission.-He was not sent on his work with any illusions as to its success, but, on the contrary, he had a clear premonition that its effect would be to deepen the spiritual deafness and blindness of the nation. We must remember that in Scripture the certain effect of divine acts is uniformly regarded as a divine design. Israel was so sunk in spiritual deadness that the issue of the prophet’s work would only be to immerse the mass of ‘this people’ farther in it. To some more susceptible souls his message would be a true divine voice, rousing them like a trumpet, and that effect was what God desired; but to the greater number it would deepen their torpor and increase their condemnation. If men love darkness rather than light, the coming of the light works only judgment.
Isaiah recoils from the dreary prospect, and feels that this dreadful hardening cannot be God’s ultimate purpose for the nation. So he humbly and wistfully asks how long it is to last. The answer is twofold, heavy with a weight of apparently utter ruin in its first part, but disclosing a faint, far-off gleam of hope on its second. Complete destruction, and the casting of Israel out from the land, are to come. But as, though a goodly tree is felled, a stump remains which has vital force {or substance} in it, so, even in the utmost apparent desperateness of Israel’s state, there will be in it ‘the holy seed,’ the ‘remnant,’ the true Israel, from which again the life shall spring, and stem and branches and waving foliage once more grow up.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Isaiah continues to describe his vision.
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Each one called to another and said
"The seraphim called out to one another and said" or "The winged creatures proclaimed to one another"
Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of hosts
Repeating the word "holy" three times indicates God is completely holy. AT: "Yahweh of hosts is holy beyond all else" or "Yahweh of hosts is completely holy"
The whole earth is full of his glory
This speaks of the earth as if it were a container and glory were the contents in the container. AT: "Everything on the earth is evidence of God's glory" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
holy
Yahweh of hosts
glory
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 6:3 The triple usage of the word holy emphasizes…
6:3 The triple usage of the word holy emphasizes the absolute separateness of the Lord. • The whole earth is filled: Because there is no verb in the Hebrew, two slightly different translations of the seraphim’s proclamation are possible. It could be that the earth, though defiled, is currently filled with his glory in creation. Or, it could mean that the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord when he establishes his kingship on the earth in the future. Either way, the Lord’s glorious presence will one day dwell more fully on earth, despite humanity’s sinfulness and the power of wicked nations. God’s glory was further revealed in the incarnation of the Son (John 12:41; 2 Cor 3:18; 4:4-7).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.