All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn back to the book of Isaiah chapter 6. Isaiah chapter
6. I've entitled this message, What
Isaiah Saw. What he saw. In the year that King Uzziah
died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon the throne, high and lifted
up, and his train filled the temple. And above it stood the
seraphims. Each one had six wings. With twain he covered his face,
with twain he covered his feet, With twain he did fly. And one
cried unto another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord
of hosts. The whole earth is full of his
glory. And the post of the door moved
at the voice of him that cried. And the house was filled with
smoke. considering that which Isaiah
saw. The scripture says, in the year
that King Uzziah died, I saw also. That means that he saw
Uzziah die. He loved Uzziah. Uzziah was a
king and his reign was second only to one other reign. I want us to consider, just for
a moment, the life and the death of Uzziah. Now mark your place
right here and turn with me to 2 Chronicles 26. 2 Chronicles 26, I'm going to
look at a few verses here. The Scriptures declare 2 Chronicles
chapter 26 concerning the reign of Uzziah. The Scripture says
in verse 1, that all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was
16 years old, made him king in the room of his father, Amaziah. Verse 3 tells us how long he
reigned. Scripture says 16 years old was
Isaiah when he began to reign. He reigned 52 years in Jerusalem. So he had a long reign. And the Scripture says in verse
4, he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according
to all that his father Amaziah did. I'm going to prove from the Scriptures
why I believe what I believe. And I say that, and if I do err,
I pray the Lord forgive me, but I'll tell you why I'm about to
say this. I don't believe that Uzziah was
a believer. And we're going to read some
things about what happened, what was said, but I want to prove
from the Scriptures. Now here, the reason I want to
say that is because when I do read some of these Scriptures,
you'll say, well, I don't know. And if He was again the Lord,
but I'm saying this for a reason, to show what Isaiah saw. The Scripture says concerning
Uzziah, well it said in verse 4, he did that which was right
in the sight of the Lord. You know, we see that quite often. And quite a few of the commentaries,
which they felt the same way, but I didn't want to take somebody's
word just because they said it. You know, again, I mean, everybody
can have an opinion, but what does the scriptures say? So I'm
going to tell you what they said, and then while I'm saying what
I say, then I'm going to prove what it is. What he was doing,
when he says he did that which was right inside of the Lord,
he kept up a form of religion in the land. In opposition to
the open worship of idols. He did, like his dad Amaziah,
that's what his dad Amaziah did, there was a form of religion. There was a form of worship that
was according to the scriptures. It says in verse 5, he sought
God in the days of Zachariah, the prophet, who had, Zachariah
had, understanding in the visions of God. And as long as he sought
the Lord, that is, Uzziah, God made him to prosper. He was as
one seeking God in the days of Zachariah the prophet. He studied
the things of God and he had some knowledge. Some things that
he learned. He picked up a few things. He had some understanding in
his mind. And as long as he sought the
Lord, as long as he did that, As long as he inquired, and when
it says sought, here's what it means. As long as he inquired,
as long as he frequented, and as long as he consulted God as
the prophet was putting forth. As long as he did that, the Lord
made him prosper. Now, he prospered. God blessed him for the sake
of the people. He warred against the Lord's
enemies. He built towers, the scripture says, in Jerusalem.
This is all in chapter 26, for the sake of time. He had a lot
of wells that were dug and he cultivated the mountains because
he loved husbandry. He loved the ground. That's what
it means. He liked to do it. He liked to work. work the flowers,
things like that. And he had a mighty army, verse
15. He had a mighty army and he made
sure that whatever they needed, you know, verse 14, he prepared
them, threw out all the hosts, shields, spears, helmets, barjans,
bows, slings to cast stone, made in Jerusalem engines. invented
by cunning men, beyond the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot
arrows and great stones withal. His name spread far and abroad. God blessed, for the sake of
His people, this king, Isaiah. He was a mighty man, humanly
speaking. In His name, the Scripture says.
Now here's where it all begins to come into place. He made,
in verse 15, in Jerusalem engines, invented by cunning men, to be
on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones
withal. And His name spread far and abroad, and He was marvelously
helped What's the next word? Till. A very, very revealing word.
Very revealing. Till he was strong. Just a few
minutes ago, I went back and took Mr. Strong's concordance
and I said, OK, I want to know exactly again what that word
is. I know what I'm getting ready to say and I want to know. He
was helped as long as. He was helped until. Until. He was strong. Now let me tell
you this passage of scripture that comes to my mind concerning
God's people. I will never leave thee. I will never forsake thee. Never. Never. Oh how thankful that I would
not read a verse of scripture concerning me and it says Marvin
was marvelously helped Until. Until. He was helped until he
was strong. Until he thought himself. Until he considered himself. John Trapp made this statement
on this passage of scripture. Hypocrites have God in admiration
for advantage. Only. For advantage only. They are like a deceitful bow. That's from Hosea 7 verse 13
to 16. A deceitful bow. What does that
mean? A warped bow and arrow. One that's warped. You men that
hunt with bow arrows and stuff like that. If that bow is warped,
how accurate is it? Not at all. That bow has got
to be right. He said, they're like deceitful
bows. The scripture says, verse 15,
but when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction. You know the first place that
word destruction is used? Genesis chapter 6, hold your
place right here in 2 Chronicles. Turn to Genesis 6. First place,
Genesis chapter 6, verse 11. Here's the first place of this
word, and this is the meaning of it. Genesis 6, 11. The earth was corrupt before
God. The earth was filled with violence. It was ruined, undone, corruption, fit for destruction,
to destroy. The scripture says, the Lord
marvelously helped him until he saw himself as being strong. When he was strong, his heart
was lifted up to ruin. into corruption, for he transgressed
against the Lord his God and went into the temple of the Lord
to burn incense upon the altar of incense. Uzziah's heart was
lifted up, and let me just say this right here. But for the grace of God, every
believer in here has got an old man with the heart of Uzziah. We've all got one. And if the
debt of that heart, if the wages of sin of that heart has not
been put away by the blood of Christ, if it has not been covered,
if it has not been atoned for, and we have to answer for the
sin that is all in us, I'm telling you we have absolutely no help,
we know hope, and the scripture says when he did that, verse
17 to 23, his heart was lifted up, verse 16, and he went into
the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense. I'm going to tell you exactly
what that was in just a second. But here's what happened. Verse
17, 23, Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore
priests of the Lord that were valiant men, and they withstood
Uzziah the king. They said unto him, It appertaineth
not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to
the priests, the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn
incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for
thou hast transgressed, neither shall it be for thine honor from
the Lord God. Then Uzziah was wroth. He wanted
to kill him. He had a censer in his hand to
burn incense, and while he was wroth with the priest, the leprosy
even rose up in his forehead before the priest in the house
of the Lord and beside the incense altar. And Azariah, the chief
priest, and all the priests looked upon him, and behold, he was
leprous in his forehead. They thrust him out from thence. Yea, he himself hasted also to
go out, because the Lord had smitten him. And Uzziah the king
was a leper. until the day of his death and
dwelt in a several house being a leper, for he was cut off from
the house of the Lord. And Jotham, his son, was over
the king's house judging the people of the land. Now the rest
of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Uzziah, the prophet's
son of Amos, write. So Uzziah slept with his father. They buried him with his father
in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings. For they
said, he's a leper. And Jotham, his son, reigned
in his stead. And here was what Uzziah did. As long as he was in submission
outwardly, God marvelously blessed him. But when he saw himself
strong, he transgressed against the Lord.
And he went in and he was going to take that incense That incense
by those priests that were appointed, that incense going in was a picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ and His intercession before God. His worthiness, His merit to
enter into the very presence of God and make intercession
for the people. And Uzziah took that incense
burner. And the priest told him, he said,
Uzziah, Uzziah, you have way overstepped your bounds. This
appertaineth not unto you. Uzziah, don't do what you're
doing. You don't have the right. This
is the very heart of free will. to say, I have the right to enter
in before God by my ability, by my choice, and make by my
works things right before God by me. And when he did that,
God struck him with leprosy. The scripture says back in Isaiah
chapter 6, in the year that King Uzziah died, He said when King
Uzziah died, he saw that the outward appearance and faithfulness
of a man does not authenticate that that man is a believer unless
the Lord keeps him. He saw that. penalty of God's
wrath upon sin. And he saw that for the prevailing
and preserving grace of God, anybody would fall. That he would
take a censer and go in and think that he had the right to stand
in the place that was only reserved for the Lord Jesus Christ. That
he could by his own merit approach Jehovah and make intercession. He despised the way of salvation
by Christ alone. That's what he did. And God left
him to himself to do it. And Isaiah, he saw the wages
of sin, his death, because the Lord had smitten him. Uzziah's punishment was laid
to his charge and he died a leper. A fit picture of all men. apart
from the Lord Jesus Christ. What He had done, He had trodden
underfoot the Son of God. And He had counted the blood
of the covenant to be an unholy thing, and He had done despite
the Spirit of grace. Do you know what that means?
He insulted. He insulted. Isaiah saw Uzziah died, but he
says, But I saw also the Lord. I saw also the Lord. He saw God's
Christ. He saw man's hope of glory. He saw the only hope for a sinner. He saw the Lord. Where was He? He was sitting
upon a throne and He was high and lifted up. in His rightful
place of majesty and glory. And the Scripture says, in His
train, that which He had done on behalf of His people, according
to His own merit, filled the temple. And the Scripture says
above it in verse 2, stood the seraphims, the burning ones. And the Scripture says each one
had six wings. You know, I always just assumed
there was three. It doesn't say there were three. It just said
the seraphim. I don't know how many there were.
But it says, it stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings with twain. He covered his face with twain.
He covered his feet with twain. He did fly and one cried unto
another and said concerning him that sat on the throne, Holy,
holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth. is full of His
glory. The Scripture declares these
seraphim, I've dealt with this many times, I'll just touch it
and we'll get away. Many people feel as though that
these are preachers. Every instance that I've seen
of these seraphim, of these burning ones, of the four beasts in Revelation
all speaking of these seraphim, the cherubim, Ezekiel and stuff. They all set forth the glory
of the Lord Jesus Christ and His mediatorial work on the behalf
of His people. That's what they set forth. And
these burning ones, here they were. Now these are creatures,
they're created beings, but they're set forth in a very, very amazingly
wonderful position. That's what they're doing. Here
they are, the Scriptures, it says they stood, but they were
flying. And with twain they covered their
faces. The reason I feel that they're
probably not preachers. I know many people believe they
are, but the reason they don't is I found them when these are
referred to over in Revelation chapter 5, and he's speaking
of the four and twenty elders. You've heard me say this before.
Four and twenty elders, which is the entire church, the host
of angels, and the four beasts. Well if they're preachers, why
are they not in with the four and twenty-eight elders? I believe
that they're gloriously created pictures, beings, real beings,
that set forth the glory of Christ's work as the mediator, face of
a man, face of a lion, an eagle, four faces, setting forth the
glory of Him. And here's what the scripture
says concerning these. It's six wings, two they flew,
two of them they covered their faces, two they covered their
feet. Job, I think, gives a lot of
insight into what they were doing. Covering their faces, covering
their feet with two of them. Hold your place there and turn
to Job chapter 4. Job 4. Job 4. Concerning created things. These are created beings. Job chapter 4 verse 18. Here's
what the Scripture says concerning the Lord. Behold, He put no trust
in His servants. And His angels He charged with
falling. Even these angels that didn't
fall, the holy angels, He charges them with falling. Look at Job
15 verse 15-16. Job 15, verse 15-16. Behold,
he putteth no trust in his saints, yea, the heavens are not clean
in his sight. How much more abominable and
filthy is man which drinketh iniquity like water. Here were
these seraphims, these glorious created beings over the throne
of God. What they were doing, they were
standing there, had six or two of them, they were flying. They
were crying, holy, holy, holy. Charges as angels were falling.
Who are we? Who are we? This is what Isaiah
saw. He said, when I, in the year
the king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord. I saw the Lord. Sitting. The finished work of
Him. Slain from the foundation of
the world. This is in Isaiah. He had not even come physically
yet. He saw Him with finished work. Sitting. And they cried,
verse 3, one unto another, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His
glory. And those seraphims were saying, what glory do we have? What glory do we have? Glory belongs only to Him. And the scripture says in verse
4, in the post of the door, and we'll end with this verse, moved
at the voice of Him that cried. And the house where Isaiah was,
this is where he was, not the post of the door of heaven, but
the post of the door where he was, moved at the voice of him
that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Oh, what an
arresting sight this was. The very foundations of a threshold
of probably the temple where he was, moved, shook, at the
voice. Now whether or not, I can't say. Whether or not that was in his
vision, whether it was literal, I don't know. But nonetheless,
it set forth the instability of everything except Him that
sits on the throne. Except Him and all found in Him. I give unto them eternal life
and they'll never perish. Let me tell you this, everything
that we see right here is fading and failing. And whenever those
seraphims cried, holy, holy, holy, Isaiah said the very foundation
of the place where I was shook at the voice of him that cried. And the scripture says in the
house was filled with smoke It was filled with smoke. I found
where often when the Lord manifested himself in a marvelous way, the
house was filled with smoke. That's how it was when Solomon
dedicated the temple. Remember that? The priest couldn't
even minister because of the smoke. that was in here. Isaiah said, I saw the sinfulness
of man. I saw the justice of God without
a priest, without a substitute. And I saw the Lord. And He was
sitting on the throne. He was high and lifted up. And
I saw God's mercy to sinners. I saw these seraphims and I heard
their continual cry of holy, holy, holy. The cry of the preachers
of God's calling. That's what they say. concerning
the Lord of hosts, the whole earth. And he even witnessed,
he said, the shaking of the very foundation of the place that
I thought was so stable. Even the place where I was, the
threshold was shaken. And everything was just filled
with smoke. What do you mean Isaiah? What do you mean? Everything
that he saw, everything that he saw in that vision, He still
only saw through a glass darkly. He still only saw in part. He
still saw dimly. What can we know, this side of
glory, and maybe even after, of the fullness of Him who sits
on the throne? What can we know? Oh, but thanks
be unto God, we do know. We know. Paul said, I know. whom
I have believed. And I'm persuaded, I'm persuaded
that He's able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against
that day. Oh my, this message makes me
just think, Lord, I never want to stand before God without a
substitute, not without Thee substitute. I never, I cannot,
God forbid that I should stand I pray this day, I know God's
gonna save His elect. I pray this day, if there's one
here that doesn't know Him, I pray God save you. I pray God call
you out of darkness. Reveal Christ to you. Call you
to Himself. If He will, if He will, He can,
if He will. Like that leper, Lord, if you
will, you can make me whole. I pray God bless this message
to our hearts, for Christ's sake.