Sin Purged

Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it and said: Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.

Isaiah 6:6-7

A clear sight of Christ, high and lifted up brings us to humility, repentance, and confession. God responds to confession. As soon as Isaiah saw Christ high and lifted up, he became powerfully aware of his own sinfulness. He repented and confessed his particular sin, speaking of himself as, ‘a man of unclean lips.’ In response to his confession, God sends one of the seraphim with a glowing coal from the altar. He touches Isaiah’s mouth and declares, ‘Behold this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.’ Cleansing from sin is both necessary and important. The psalmist wrote, ‘If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who can stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.’ We all sin, by nature and by choice. We have gone astray like sheep, both collectively and individually. We need the cleansing from sin that Christ provides. It is worth noting that the angel touched the cleansing coal to the portion of Isaiah about which he had confessed specifically. We all have our peculiar sins. God addresses them specifically. This is the result of a clear sight of Christ. It is perfectly in order for us to desire and request that we may have a clearer sight of Him. It will only lead to our spiritual benefit and we will grow in grace.

 Our Great God and our Savior,
we rejoice that You know us thoroughly.
We praise You that You lead us to
confession and cleansing.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning