Isaiah 6:1-8 “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and 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 posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, 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 mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”
Text Isaiah 6:1-8 “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord”
In many, if not most cases, the “also” in the text is perceived as detrimental to the character of man; a critical view of a dual nature. Yet, a true understanding of even the best men, reveal the conquest of a dual nature; “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin” (Romans 7:23). The “also” is not a blight, but a blessing of grace! Isaiah was not the only person focused upon the temporal monarch; Elisha’s servant was not the only person conquered by the presence of the Syrian army (II Kings 6:15); and the two on the road to Emmaus were not the only ones that saw the forceful acts of “the chief priests” (Luke 24:20). But, they were among the few that were blessed by the “also”; the glorious privilege of seeing what others could not! It was grace that revealed the “Lord sitting upon a throne” to Isaiah! It was grace that revealed “the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha” (II Kings 6:17) to the servant of Elisha! It was grace that generated the fires of devotion when those on the road to Emmaus experienced having “their eyes . . . opened, and they knew him” (Luke 24:31). Thank God for the blessings of the “also”; when God motivated by His grace chooses to allow us to see what others cannot. It was a glorious day when God graced me with an “also” as He revealed Himself unto me; a glorious experience repeated in cases without number.
The “also” is not a blight, but a blessing of grandeur. It is during these visions of the dual nature that we are permitted the privilege of contrast; a privilege that serves to elevate the superior when contrasted to the inferior! It was the “also” that revealed His splendor; “the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1). It was the “also” that revealed His sufficiency; “And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire” (II Kings 6:17). It was the “also” that revealed His sovereignty and superiority; “The Lord is risen indeed” (Luke 24:34). It is the “also” that permits Him to reveal Himself in the fullness of His glory as He is contrasted to the weak and beggarly elements of the world.
Man is not harmed by the revealing acts of “also”, but rather helped for it is not blight, but a blessing of grace and a blessing of grandeur to aid man’s true assessment of the True and Living God!