God measures and proportions all his means to their ends. When he calls men to high fervices, he furnishes them with suitable preparations and enablements: Thus here with the prophet, he was to denounce heavy things against his own nation, a proud Stubborn people, to deal boldly and freely with the higheft, yea, with the king himself, chap. vii. and he is prepared by a vifion of God. What can a man fear after that? All regal majefty and pomp looks petty and poor after that fight. Two kings together on their thrones in robes royal, (1 Kings 22.) did no whit astonish him that had feen a greater; I faw (fays Micajah) the Lord fitting on his throne, and all the bofts of heaven ftanding by. Much like this is the vifion of Isaiah, here before us.

Eyes dazzled with the fun, fee not the glittering. of drops of dew on the earth, and thefe are quickly gone with all their faint and fading glory, to a foul taken with the contemplation of God. How meanly do they spend their days, that beftow them on counting money, or courting little earthen idols in ambition or love. From how high a ftand doth he look down on thofe, that looks on God, and admires his greatnefs, wonders at what he fees, and ftill feeks after more; these two are therefore joined together, Beholding the beauty of the Lord, and inquiring in his temple, Pfal. xxvii. 4. One thing have I defired of the Lord, that will I feek after; that I may dwell in the houfe of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.

Ver. 2. Above it flood the feraphims: each one had fix wings; with twain be covered, his face, and with twain be covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.] Thefe glorious courtiers, flaming fpirits, are light and love, whofe very feet are too bright for us, as his face is too bright for them, and they cry, Holy, holy, boly, thrice holy, moft holy three, one God, Lord of bofts, the whole earth is full of his glory. This they

cry

cry one to another, echoing it, and returning it inceffantly; they that praise him moft, come nearest their life. When we are to pray, or offer any worship to the Great God thus on his throne above, and the diffusion of his glory there, in the fanctuary, efpecially in folemn worship there, let us think of his train filling the upper temple, and fo ftoop low and fall down before him, (Holy, holy, holy.) This is the main thing wherein he is glorious, and we are to know and adore him in this view, and abhor ourfelves as in his fight.

Ver. 3. And one cried unto another, and faid, Holy, boly, holy is the Lord of bofts, the whole earth is full of his glory.

The whole earth.] So many creatures and various works and affairs, fruits and plants, and rich commodities, and fo many calamities and miferies, that kingdoms and people are afflicted with, as by turns, and fo many diforders, and fuch wickedness of men in public and private matters; and yet in all these varieties and contrarieties of things, this one is the fum of all, and all taken up in it, the whole earth is full of his glory, in framing and upholding, in ruling and ordering all, what a depth of power and wifdom!

Ver. 4. The posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the houfe was filled with fmoke.

How true muft that be, that at his voice the earth quakes, and the mountains tremble, when, at the voice of an angel, crying or proclaiming his name, the very threshold of the temple (the then holieft part of the earth) moves: This in the vifion was intended to reprefent the dreadfulness of his great name, that vile men dare baffle in vain oaths, and can fpeak thereof without fenfe: But hearts that are indeed his living temples, will find this refentment, when his

name

name is proclaimed, or when they mention or think of it, the post will be moved with an awful trembling.

And the houfe was filled with Smoke.] This was here a fymbol of the prefence and majefty of God, (Pfal. xcvii. 2. Clouds and darkness are round about him, righteoufnefs and judgment are the habitations of his throne), not a fignal of difpleasure, as fome take it. He dwells in light that is inacceffible, and round about is thick darkness, fhutting out the weak eyes of men, that were not able to abide the brightness of his glory Much of our knowledge here lies in this, to know that we know him not, and much of our praise, to confefs that we cannot praise him; filentium tibi laus, as they read, Pfal. lxv. I.

Ver. 5. Then faid I, Wo 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 feen the King, the Lord of hofts.

Then faid I, Wo is me.] He is not lifted up with the dignation, that he fhould be honoured with fuch a vifion of God; but, on the contrary, ftruck with humble holy fear, Oh, I am undone! This is much of the exercise of fouls admitted nearest to God, even this aftonishment and admiration, that such as they should be regarded and raised to that height, and holy fear in a fenfe of their unholinefs. When the bleffed virgin heard a voice very much to her own advantage, (Luke i. 28, 29. And the angel came in unto her, and faid, bail, thou art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And` when he faw him, she was troubled at his saying, and caft in her mind what manner of falutation this should be,) instead of rifing in her own conceit upon it, fhe was troubled, and marvelled what manner of falutation it fhould be, and was ftruck with fear; fo that the angel found it needful to fay, fear not.

Illufions and deceits of spirit of this kind cannot be better differenced from true manifeftations of God,

than

than by this, that they may breed pride and prefumption in the heart, make it vain and haughty, but true fenfes, and joys, and discoveries of love, in what kind foever, do moft powerfully humble. Is eft, qui superbire non poteft, cui Deus oftendit mifericordiam fuam. Aug.

Then faid I, Wo is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips.] The mother and nurse of pride is ignorance of God. A fmall glance of him will make the best of men abhor themselves, and ftill the nearer fight of him, the lower conceit will there be of self, and the deeper sense of impurity and vileness: this tells us, though we hear and speak of God, alas! we know him not.

I am a man of polluted lips.] He mentions this the rather, because he heard that fong which he would have joined with, but durft not, because of polluted lips; thus we must confefs we are polluted all over; but much of our pollution breaks out by the lips, yet commonly we think not on it.

I am undone.] We could not indeed bear much, not fee God and live; therefore he vails himself; but fure we might fee much more than wo do, and live the better for it, the more humbly and holily. Our pollutions hinder and unfit us, as he implies, when he fays, a man of polluted lips: But oh! that we faw fo much of him as to fee this pollution, that makes us fo unworthy and fo unfit to see him.

He first cries, I am a man of polluted lips, and then adds, I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.] This is the true method; there can be no right fenfe of pollutions about us, but that which begins with a fenfe of those within us. Few men reflect much on themfelves, or if they do, they view themselves by a falfe light.

Polluted lips.] This he fays in regard of the voice he heard; and with regard to the much irreverence with which we mention God, both ministers and people, as alfo much of all our heart pollutions, have

their

their vent this way; fo the promise of fanctifying his people runs much on this, Zeph. iii. 8. and 12. They of a pure lip fhall offer; all are of the holy order, a royal priesthood, and through fanctified lips, as the cencer, still they offer incense of prayer and praise. He is a perfect man that offends not in word, James iii. 2. Commonly by much speaking there is much pollution; in many words there wants not fin, Prov. x. 19.; therefore, let your Speech be always feasoned with falt, Col. iv. 6. Now, many speeches need much falt, otherwise some part will be rotten, at least unfavoury; much of the fin of the land confifts in this; there are few companies where God is not dishonoured and provoked by their communication; and till this be laid to heart, judgment will multiply, and grow instead of decreasing. Few, even of these that fear the Lord, speak often one to another, in a ftrain that God delights, not only to hearken to, but to write down, and register for their good.

And dwell amidst a people of unclean lips.] We infect each other when we meet; little converse that a man returns the better by, yea, by the most is the worfe; he brings back often more pollution, more folly and vanity by moft companies and discourses; but we see here, that impurity humbly acknowledged is graciously removed.

LECTURE II.

On Ver. 6-8.

Ver. 6. Then flew one of the Seraphims unto me, baving a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar.

IMP

MPURITY well discovered to a man is half cured; whenfoever God graciously fhews a man his own unfanctifiedness, there he goes on to cleanse and fanc

!