re that took place which altered the whole course of
his life. Whether in the body or out of the body, we cannot tell, he
saw three successive visions, or rather a threefold vision--a vision
of God, a vision of sin, and a vision of grace.

1. It began with a Vision of God. The chapter opens with these sublime
words, "In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord." It is an
astounding statement to come from a prophet of that religion whose
fundamental principle was the spirituality of God, "No man hath seen
God at any time"; and, indeed, there is an old rabbinical tradition,
that King Manasseh, who is said to have caused Isaiah to be sawn
asunder, made the alleged impiety of these words the excuse for his
cruelty. But it was a mere excuse; for the difficulty only serves to
prove the transcendent spiritual tact and literary skill of the
prophet, who manages the scene in such a way as to preserve quite
intact the principle of the Divine spirituality. Though he says that
he saw God, he gives no description of Him; only the sights and sounds
round about Him are so described as in the most vivid way to suggest
the Presence which remains unseen. It is as if a historical scene of
ruin and conflagration were represented on canvas, without showing the
burning materials, by painting the glare of light and the emotions of
terror and dismay on the faces of the spectators.

First, the throne on which God sits is described: it is erected in the
temple, and it is high and lifted up, for He is a great King. But no
description is given of the figure seated on it; only His train--the
billowing folds of His robes--filled the temple. Above the throne, or
rather round it, like the courtiers surrounding the throne of an
Eastern monarch, stand the seraphim. These beings are mentioned only
here in Holy Writ. Their name signifies the shining or fiery ones.
They are attendants of the Divine King, bright and swift as fire in
their intelligence and activity. Each has six wings: with twain he
covers his face, and with twain he covers his feet, evidently to
protect his eyes and person from the consuming glory of the Divine
presence, which is thus indicated again without being described; and
with the remaining two he flies, or rather poises himself in his place
ready for flight at the Divine signal.

Then, amidst these sublime sights break in sounds equally sublime. By
our translation the impression is produced that they come from the
seraphim.