6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died a I saw also the Lord
sitting upon a b throne, high and lifted up, and his c
train filled the temple.
(a) God does not show himself to man in his majesty but
according as man's capacity to comprehend him, that is,
by visible signs as John the Baptist saw the Holy Spirit
in the form of a dove.
(b) As a judge ready to give sentence.
(c) Of his garment, or of his throne.
6:2 Above it stood the d seraphims: each one had six wings;
with two he covered his e face, and with two he covered
his f feet, and with two he g flew.
(d) They were angels so called because they were of a fiery
colour, to signify that they burnt in the love of God,
or were light as fire to execute his will.
(e) Signifying that they were not able to endure the
brightness of God's glory.
(f) By which it was declared that man was not able to see
the brightness of God in them.
(g) Which declares the prompt obedience of the angels to
execute God's commandment.
6:3 And one cried to another, and said, h Holy, holy, holy,
[is] the LORD of hosts: the whole i earth [is] full of his
glory.
(h) This often repetition signifies that the 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.
(i) His glory not only appears in the heavens but through
all the world, and therefore all creatures are bound to
praise him.
6:4 And the posts of the door k moved at the voice of him that
cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
(k) Which was to confirm the prophet, that it was not the
voice of man: and by the smoke was signified the
blindness that would come on the Jews.
6:5 Then said I, l 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 my eyes have seen the King, the
LORD of hosts.
(l) He speaks this for two reasons, the one because he who
was a mortal creature and therefore had more need to
glorify God than the angels, did not do it, and the
other because the nearer that man approaches to God, the
more he knows his own sin and corruption.
6:6 Then one of the seraphims flew to me, having a live coal in
his hand, [which] he had taken with the tongs from off the
m altar:
(m) Of the burnt offerings where the fire never went out.
6:7 And he laid [it] upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath
touched thy lips; and thy iniquity is taken away, and thy
n sin purged.
(n) This declares that man cannot render due obedience to
God, till he has purged us.
6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, o Hear ye indeed,
but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
(o) By which is declared that for the malice of man God will
not immediately take away his word, but he will cause it
to be preached to their condemnation, when as they will
not learn by it to obey his will, and be saved: by this
he exhorts the ministers to do their duty, and answers
to the wicked murmurers, that through their own malice
their heart is hardened,
(Mt 13:14, Ac 28:26, Ro 11:8).
6:11 Then said I, Lord, p how long? And he answered, Until the
cities shall be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses
without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
(p) As he was moved with the zeal of God's glory, so was he
touched with a charitable affection toward the people.
6:13 But yet in it [shall be] q a tenth, and [it] shall
return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, r and as an
oak, whose substance [is] in them, when they cast [their
leaves: so] the holy seed [shall be] the substance of it.
(q) Meaning, the tenth part: or as some write, it was
revealed to Isaiah for the confirmation of his prophecy
that ten kings would come before their captivity, as
were from Uzziah to Zedekiah.
(r) For the fewness of them they will seem to be eaten up:
yet they will later flourish as a tree, which in winter
loses leaves, and seems to be dead, yet in summer is
fresh and green.
