This chapter contains a vision of the future extermination of the synagogue. For the prophet is very rich in words, therefore he has often presented one and the same thing with changed words; as if he wanted to say: I have predicted the future disaster by a prophecy, likewise also by a song. Now I want to add a face of this very thing, whether perhaps some would like to be corrected and set right again.
Furthermore, the whole first part of the face is set against the Pharisaic righteousness and the presumption of the Jews. p) For they were wonderfully presumptuous about their righteousness, worship, kingdom and priesthood, Rom. 9, 4. ff. They were so blinded by this glory that they would not listen to any prophet who threatened them.
p) From here to the words in i?3: "I have seen the HCrrn sitting", the edition of 1532 has only the following: For because they trusted in the temple and worship which they had, the prophet therefore terrifieth them, saying, Your temple is nothing.
spoke. Thus they also made the objection to Christ in the Gospel [Matth. 3, 9]: We have God as our Father, we are children of Abraham 2c. Hardened by this presumption, they did nothing with fear, but despised all the threats of the prophets, trusting in the temple and in the service of God that they had.
(3) Therefore, the prophet frightens them and wants to instruct them to seek a higher service, against that fleshly presumption. For the temple was not built by Solomon in such a way that he meant that God could be enclosed in it, but that the service instituted by God should last until Christ, for the sake of outward discipline and instruction, not so that they should think they were righteous because of the temple and safe from all the misfortune their sins deserved. What then, saith he, do ye boast of the temple? Your temple is nothing. I have seen the Lord sitting over the temple, and he is not in the temple.
For your temple, on which you are so presumptuous, can hardly contain the hem of its garment; that is, your very highest righteousness is barely the outermost surface of true righteousness. And you have no cause to boast of being God's servants because of it.
4. for he has others than you are, who are "seraphim", burning with love for God, who are not hypocrites like you are. They have "six wings", so that they also surpass in number of wings those cherubim of Moses, who have only two wings (Mos. 25, 20.). But their reverence for God is so great that they "cover their faces" and out of reverence for Him they do not dare to look at Him. They are not puffed up with any confidence of righteousness and presumption, as you who walk uprightly, without fear of GOD, in your righteousness. "They also cover their feet," they boast none either of their works or merits; indeed, they do not want to be seen and appear before GOD. (For "walk" means the walk of life and works.) "With two wings they fly," and serve GOD, not with their works, but with their voice alone. Therefore, your holiness is not something of which you presume. God alone is holy, and the truest worship is a pure and simple confession. The rest of what we have are gifts given to us, which must be covered 2c. so that we are not presumptuous of them. Thus he secretly punishes the Jews. This is the short epitome of this face.
V. 1-4. All the earth is full of his glory.
(5) "All the earth," not your temple alone, as you measure yourselves. For everything is aimed at beating down their presumption on their worship of God. But this too must be noted in passing, that the prophet says he has seen the Lord, while he has seen him only in the face. And yet he calls that which he has seen in the face the Lord. And this is what we also say about the sacrament, that whoever sees this bread has seen the true body of Christ, contrary to the error of the sacramentists. For one often speaks of a part, like
of the whole, which is composed of parts, and the form of the Lord, likewise the Lord, are rightly taken in figurative speech for one and the same. Thus the body of the Lord and the bread of the Lord are taken for one, so that he who ate this bread is said to have eaten the body of Christ; just as Isaiah says that he saw the Lord when he saw the form of the Lord. For in this way both are signified, that which a thing contains, and that which is contained in it. The same way of speaking is this [Matth. 3, 17.]: "This is my dear Son"; likewise, [V. 16.]: "He saw the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove" 2c.
V. 5 Then I said, Woe is me, I perish (quia tacui).
This is the other piece of the face. The verbum, which the Latin translator has given by tacui (I have been silent), is translated: "I perish", that is, I am swallowed up in eternal death, because I have seen the Lord, according to the word: "No man shall live who sees God" (Ex. 33, 20.).
Because I am impure lips.
(7) Here the prophet is challenged for the doctrine that he has not done the word aright, and he holds that he must be condemned with the false prophets; as is wont to happen in such terrors and temptations. But here it should be noted that all teachers of the law, however holy they may be, nevertheless have unclean lips, because the law leads no one to perfection, neither the teacher nor the hearers. But this is a true defilement only when one hopes to attain righteousness from the law, which is given for the revelation of unrighteousness. Therefore, Isaiah condemns himself and the people that they are sinners and says that another service must be established than the law and the works of the law, namely the service that the seraphim render to God, in which one takes refuge in the divine mercy and asks for forgiveness because of the sins. This service is the
Fear of God, which works repentance, and faith, which believes in the forgiveness of sins 2c.
V. 6. 7. Then one of the seraphim flew to me.
8) Confession is followed by the forgiveness of sins. In order for the prophet to be certain of this, he receives both a sign and a word.
(9) This passage is also worthy of note because it informs us of the use and benefit of the signs which the Sacramentans say are only outward signs of confession. The word by which the prophet is raised up is this, that he heard from one of the seraphim, "Thy iniquity is taken away from thee"; but the sign that his lips are touched with a burning coal. And this was done so that he would not doubt the word he heard. Thus the signs are rightly used, and serve to confirm faith. And it cannot be said otherwise than that Isaiah truly received forgiveness of sins through the word and the sign at the same time. Therefore one must keep this saying, that also the outward signs are used with the word for the forgiveness of sins. Now follows the third part of this chapter.
V. 8. And I heard the voice of the Lord saying.
(10) This is the effect, power, and sum of this vision, that a part of the people is hardened and cast away, and a part is accepted and enlightened. As if he wanted to say: I teach a different righteousness than you have; but you do not want to suffer this, because nothing clings to you more stubbornly than the opinion of your own righteousness. Thus we see in the Gospel that all the words and deeds of Christ were wonderful; but because he taught against the righteousness of the Jews, they did not receive him, but blasphemed him.
Who should I send?
(11) He has indeed cause to ask. For because of the very great difficulty that is in the ministry of the word, all are with trembling.
and unwillingness to do the same. Thus, Moses could be brought with difficulty to take upon himself the teaching ministry, especially among this people. Therefore, a great courage is required for the ministry of the word, which can despise the ingratitude and wickedness of the world. So nowadays our name is daily weighed down more and more with the hatred and envy of men. They blame us for the murder of the peasants; the new sects and godless opinions of many people, they say, have also arisen because of us. What is needed here is a brave courage that will not let itself be broken by this infinite wickedness of the world, and that will continue steadily in its office; the others succumb and give way to blasphemies.
V. 9. 10. Hear it, and understand it not.
(12) This passage has been interpreted in many ways, and many, although it is not appropriate to the matter, talk about the election of grace and similar works of the Majesty. But we want to keep the simple opinion. As if to say, I teach now a very different righteousness from that which ye have; and ye are indignant at it. But it will happen to you that you will hear the preaching of this divine righteousness, and yet will not hear it, 2c. that he thus punishes the unbelieving Jews for righteousness and obstinacy at the same time. And it should not be that we sharply dispute whether God really blinds people. For that is hardening enough, when he withdraws his spirit and leaves the godless to Satan.
V. 11: Until the cities become desolate.
This is a prophecy of the devastation of the Jewish empire by the Romans. They will not desist, he says, until they are destroyed and perish.
V. 12. [Vulg.] Which was forsaken shall be increased.
The survivors will be saved, and the believers will inhabit the spiritual Jerusalem. It is a promise for the godly.
V. 13. But the tenth part is still to remain inside.
(15) That is, the remnant shall be saved.
[Vulg.] And it will spread like a terebinth tree.
He says the same: The largest part of the people will perish, and from the remaining a new people and a new church will grow. But with this he indicates the power and effect of the gospel, that from a small lump, from a barren grain, a tremendously great multitude will grow up.
Secret interpretation.
16 I have often reminded you that you should follow the historical view everywhere and keep it, since this alone can strengthen the heart with a certain testimony and maintain faith and fear. Secret interpretations are not able to do this, but they are only a kind of ornamentation by which the historical treatment gets some adornment. However, we would like to add the secret interpretation to this passage, so that the students may have an example of which kind of secret interpretation they can follow most safely, if at all some want to show their understanding in this piece.
17 Right at the beginning it says: the Lord sits over the temple. Here Christ sits at the right hand of the Father in the true temple, namely in the congregation of the saints. But he appears in a visible form, because he became true man; for everywhere the visible form of God means the humanity of Christ.
18. next to him are the seraphim, that is, the apostles and preachers.
19) And the wings signify the ministry of the word, which consists wholly in the preaching of the law, or repentance, and of the gospel, or grace.
20. flying means the course of the gospel.
21. but their number is uncertain, because the Lord gives the gospel with great multitudes, Ps. 68:12. but though they are many, they are many.
they all preach Christ unanimously.
They cover their faces and their feet. This means that the life of the Christian is hidden in Christ. The head is faith; but the feet are the outward walk, which cannot be grasped with the hands. For the hypocrites also do works, but they do not want to have them covered or concealed, but they are to be seen by everyone, so that they may have glory and honor among men. But the life of the godly is 1) without glory among men; as they said of Christ [Luc. 11:15] that he casts out devils by the chief of the devils.
The seraphim also stand, that is, they are always ready to preach, and call out to one another: Holy, holy, holy. Similar sayings are also these, Joh. 3, 13: "No one goes to heaven but he who has come down from heaven." 2) Likewise Rom. 3:20: "By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." V. 10. ff.: There is none wise, there is none understanding; they have all sinned 2c. This is the cry of those who punish the world for sin. Consequently, those who boast for saints do not cry: Holy is God, but: Holy are we 2c.
(24) The song sung at mass is only a song for boys, but a good preacher is the right and public singer of it. Thus, since Peter in Acts Cap. 2, 14. ff. this song was sung, it went through the heart of the listeners, and they said: What shall we do? If Christ is preached correctly, the fruit will surely follow, just as the thresholds of the temple tremble at the shouting of the seraphim, that is, even the house, and those who are of the church are moved and struck by the word when they hear that Christ alone is righteous, but that they are sinners.
1) Here is a gap in the Erlangen edition. After the words: "For the hypocrites also do works" the same continues: turn 68t vita soruin etiarn sins slvrin etc. The Wittenberg and Jena editions have our reading.
2) The words: in enklurn and eoelo are missing in the Wittenberg and Erlangen; in the Jena they are placed according to the Vulgate.
(25) Then the house is also filled with smoke. By smoke is understood that faith which believes the preaching of the word that all our works are defiled. And this is truly a smoking faith, in which Christ rises, and reason is killed, and the light of reason becomes smoke. For this is the power of the word, that hearts are terrified thereby. Thus Nicodemus was terrified by one smoke over another in many ways, until the light came, "So God loved the world. "2c. [John 3:16
26 Finally follows this voice: "I am of unclean lips," by which we all confess that we are unclean. And this confession brings forth the smoke, that is, that sensation of the word that we feel we are damned.
Only then comes one of the seraphim, that is, a preacher of the gospel, who proclaims to us forgiveness of sins through Christ.
28. and touch our lips with a burning coal, that is, with the gospel, which is a burning word, ignited by the Holy Spirit, in which forgiveness of sins is offered to those who are killed by the shouting of the seraphim. Then the mouth is touched when the heart is moved by the Word. By this faith we are sent to all good works, and we rejoice to break forth and preach to others. But we are condemned by the world as heretics, yet we are not abandoned, but have the firm hope that some little rice will still remain, which is the holy seed 2c.