The Whole Earth is full of His Glory

The opening of the sixth chapter of the book of Isaiah is one of the most intriguing passages in all of the Bible. The first three verses read as follows:

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory!”

First, we find from reading John 12:37-41 that the one who Isaiah sees seated on the throne is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

Second, we see that in this vision given to Isaiah, he hears angels in heaven worshipping God. Yet, consider what they are saying; They refer to Him three times in succession as holy. Such repetition in Hebrew serves the same purpose as saying in English that the Lord is holy, holier, holiest.

What I would like to draw your attention to is what is said after this. Angels in heaven, worshipping God conclude their brief and repeated chorus of praise by saying that "the whole earth is full of his glory."

In God's sight, linking Earth with Heaven is important. But note what is said of the Earth: It is full of the glory of God.

If we reflect on this, I think that we will come to the conclusion that the world around us doesn't simply have bits and shreds of God's glory. Rather, it is filled with that glory. That has implications for us. We need to recognize God's glory all around us. We can see it in nature. I think that we can even see that glory in our everyday circumstances. There are so many cases in which humanity's sins have marred the evidence of God's glory in this world. Yet, according to Scripture, that glory is present.

What I have concluded from all this is that I need to take up the joyful task of looking and seeking out God's glory in my environment and in the circumstances of this life. While history awaits a new Heaven and new Earth at some point of time in the future, God has not left this present-day Earth without the mark of His glory. It may be hard to recognize in the humdrum circumstances of everyday life. Yet, it is there.

God has not left this Earth as a spiritual wasteland, devoid of His glory. 

I suspect that looking for that glory will be like looking for a hidden treasure. We might not see it at first, but it is there. Look for it in how God guides His church here on Earth. Look for what He does for His people and in our individual lives. Remember that the sovereign Lord guides and directs the path of human history so that His purposes will prevail.(Proverbs 19:21)  Such a direction of our lives, on the planetary and the individual scale, so much reflects His glory.

Pray to be given eyes to recognize and see this glory in the world around us.