I have often tried to imagine the scene of Isaiah 6 when the prophet is thrust into the throne room of God. Isaiah says “I saw the LORD sitting on a throne . . . and the train of His robe filled the temple.” The vision of God was overwhelming, so much so that all Isaiah could do was fall on his face and declare himself “ruined”. As if seeing God were not enough, he also got to see all of the activity that surrounds God. Isaiah wrote that he saw seraphim, six-winged angels that flew around God’s throne. The part that has always captured my mind is that Isaiah said that these seraphim cried out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” This glimpse into heaven is amazing to me. These powerful created beings that have spent eternity in God’s presence are still so overwhelmed by Him that all they can do is shout to each other of His holiness. They are not shouting it to God, they are not acting out of duty or obligation, this is not their job;, the picture seems to show that they are in the midst of their created purpose but also overwhelmed by not merely what they see in this moment, but what they have seen and known for eternity. God’s holiness has not become the norm for them; it is still overwhelming; He is still overwhelming. The sight of God fills them to the point that they must pour out their awe and reverence and sing a song of amazement, “He is holy!”
For the past year or so I have been overwhelmed each time I have heard the song “How He loves” written by John Mark McMillan. In my mind, the song has great depth, its truth is God-breathed and timeless and it simply strikes a chord in my heart each time I hear it. The chorus is actually very simple:
He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves
A few weeks ago a group from our church went to a worship and prayer conference. There was a point during the first session in which the worship leader began to sing “How He loves”. I stood in my place singing and then I stopped, I didn’t sing anymore I just listened and I heard something amazing. For a few moments I thought I was hearing not the song of heaven that the seraphim sing, but the song of earth sung by the redeemed. As I stood and listened it was as if 1,000 children ransomed by Jesus were telling each other, “He loves us! He loves us! He loves us! He loves us!” The song was for God but it felt as if it was being sung to each other and God was pleased with it. I felt undone for a moment, I know that Jesus loves me, Scripture tells me it is true, His Spirit within me tells me it is true, I even tell myself when doubt creeps in; but that night, for that moment we told each other and it was precious.
At this moment in time and outside of time the seraphim are singing around God’s throne to each other, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” They sing of what they see and what they know, their relationship with God is built on His holiness. My prayer today is that we would sing the song of the redeemed, not merely to God but to each other. In all that we endure, in all that we experience, in all that we receive and in all that we wait for; may we sing to each other what we are sure of, what we have tasted and seen. “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.” Love is not coming, it is not going to be proved later; it is settled, it is secure, it is perfect and it is everlasting. May we sing to God, may we sing to ourselves and most of all, may we sing to each other, “He loves us!”