By St. Nikolai Velimirovich
"I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up" (Isaiah 6:1).
Here is the vision of visions! Here is the glory of glories and the majesty above majesties!
God showed great mercy to all of mankind in that He gave them to see this great starry world to see, the work of His hands. Yet, He showed a yet greater mercy to those to whom He gave the eternal and wondrous angelic world to see. However, He showed the greatest mercy to a small number of His chosen ones, to whom He gave Himself to see, the Lord Sabaoth, the Only Uncreated One and Creator of both worlds.
But, how can mortal man see the Immortal God? Did not God Himself say to Moses: "For no man shall see me and live" (Exodus 33:20)? And, does not the Gospel say: "No man has seen God at any time" (John 1:18). Truly, no mortal one can see the face of God, i.e., the essence of God. But, by His condescension and infinite goodness and might, God can reveal to men, to some extent, and in some form, how accessible He is to men. In a particular form and appearance, He appeared to Moses, Elijah, Daniel and to John the Theologian not in His essence but in a particular form and appearance.
Isaiah saw Him on a throne "high and lifted up" i.e., as the Judge raised above all the judges and all the earthly courts. The six-winged Seraphim stood around Him and cried one to another: "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts" (Isaiah 6:3). The Lord, therefore, is not alone but rather He is the King in His Invisible Kingdom surrounded by the most exalted of beings, who were created by His power. Around Him are the foremost orders of the heavenly hierarchy, the chief-commanders of His innumerable immortal hosts, the foremost lampstands of His light and His unendurable radiance.
This is the wondrous vision of Isaiah, the Son of Amos, the prophet of God.
O, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord, Thrice Holy, have mercy on us and save us, impure and sinful. To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.
