Thoughts in Worship

Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Friday, August 4, 2017

Audio Link: https://www.spreaker.com/user/reachmanyradio/thoughts-in-worship-08-04-2017

This is devotional thought number 42 in our devotional series, “Essentials of Faith.” Our subject is: The New Me

Here’s the question for consideration: If I am righteous, how will I see myself in light of who God is?

“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.” (Isaiah 6:1–5).

The honor was all his for Isaiah to be welcomed to such an awe inspiring encounter with Almighty God (blessed be His name).

Imagine the scene. The young prophet is probably seeking an encounter with God in the temple following the death of king Uzziah who reigned for 52 long years. This was a devastating blow considering the king was at the helm of God’s people during the most prosperous years since the great king Solomon. Unfortunately, Uzziah got the big head, and ventured into strict, hallowed territory. Like many rulers and governmental leaders, even to this day, Uzziah elevated his self perception to the point of taking on God Himself. He decided to perform sacred rites in the temple that YHWH had given clear guidelines that should only be performed by the sons of Aaron. When the high priest and others begged him to turn away from his evil course, he was enraged. He could not understand their nerve to correct the king. They answered to the King of the universe. Uzziah was smitten with leprosy for his narcissistic, inflated view of himself in spite of godly correction, and eventually his presumption got him killed! It’s a fearful thing to take God on. WIth all of this in Isaiah's immediate memory, he appears before God.

Then it happened. The Lord elevated Isaiah’s worship time to the level of full blown heavenly vision. I will not recount it. You can reread the passage. Needless to say, God would not call the prophet into such a wonderful, though somewhat foreboding experience, except He had a blessing in store. God demonstrated His favor by allowing Isaiah to experience the highest order of worship. Even the great, sinless angels worshipped God. Even they gave endless praise. What then must a mere mortal offer? Though somewhat downcast about the state of his people, and bewildered in the presence of the King, Isaiah confessed his unworthiness with a sense of wanting to participate in the blessing so great that even the heavens quaked. God relieved him of his sin burden, and unlike the presumptuous king Uzziah, young Isaiah worshipped God. The prophet made himself available to deliver a most difficult message to God’s people, to get their lives together so they could enter a thriving relationship with God.

Isaiah had such a rich experience in the presence of God and holy angels that he could not even consider lifting himself in pride like Uzziah. The prophet was satisfied by God, and thus had no appetite for pride, self-confidence, or presumption. He knew, first hand, that the closer one comes to the Lord, is the more distant from the heavenly standard that one feels. He also recognized that the Lord knows how to make His people holy, so they can...