Let us bow in adoration as we meditate on the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, and whose Name is holy, dwelling in the high and holy place, whose “glory is set above the heavens” (Ps. 8:1), even our Lord Jesus Christ, “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light, which no man can approach unto” (1 Tim. 6:14-16).
THE LOFTY ONE (Isa. 57:15)
In the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah “saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim…and one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isa. 6:1-3).
What was the effect of such a manifestation of the Lofty One, who was none other than our Lord? John tells us that Isaiah saw His glory, and spoke of Him (Jn. 12:41). Just as the “place was shaken where they were assembled” (Acts 4:31), so here “the posts of the door moved at the voice of Him that cried,” and the house was filled with smoke, probably incense. Isaiah makes his confession: “Woe is me” (after pronouncing six woes on others in the preceding chapter). Conviction of sin is followed by cleansing and the commissioning of Isaiah.
This was the sequel to a sight of “the King the Lord of hosts” (v. 5). Would it not be well for us to continually behold “the glory of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18), and if we did, what a transformation would take place in our characters.
When the Apostle John turned to see his glorified Lord in the midst of the seven lamps (Rev. 1:13), so wonderful was the sight that he writes: “When I saw Him I fell at His feet as dead” (Rev. 1:17). And Job’s testimony was: “Now mine eye seeth Thee I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5-6).
O for a greater sense of the majesty of Him “who coverest Thyself with light as a garment, who walketh upon the wings of the wind” (Ps. 4:2-3), “who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven with the span and comprehended the dust of the earth in a balance” (Isa. 40:12).
“To whom then will He liken Me, or shall I be equal, saith the Holy One,” and we reply, “There is none Holy as the Lord, for there is none beside Thee” (1 Sam. 2:2), and like Thomas we exclaim, “My Lord and my God” (Jn. 20:28).
THE LOWLY ONE (Mt. 11:29)
The Lofty One became the Lowly One, for He who was “in the form of God took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross” (Phil. 1:6-8). What a stoop from the “form of God” to that of a Man, from the throne of majesty to that of the cross! What a bottomless ocean for wonder, what at a mountainous height for worship.
How does He come into this world? By a village maiden, poor, and yet of the house of David (Lk. 1:27), for “when the fullness of the time was come God sent His Son, made of a woman” (Gal. 4:4), not to be born in a palace. Wonder of wonders, “the Ancient of days” (Dan. 7:9) became the infant of days, was born in a stable and cradled in a manger.
He who hung this material world upon nothing is seen hanging upon his mother’s breast; for “the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14). Such was His lowliness in coming into this scene.
Later we read He “was subject” to His mother and Joseph. His first recorded utterance is, “Know ye not that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Lk. 2:49). His food was to do the will of Him who sent Him, and to finish His work (Jn. 4:34). His ear was opened morning by morning to hear, consequently His words were not His own, “I have not spoken of Myself, but the Father which sent Me He gave Me a commandment what I should say and what I should speak” (Jn. 12:49).
As to His works, He said, “The works which the Father hath given Me to finish, the same work that I do bear witness of Me that the Father hath sent Me” (Jn. 5:36). And again: “I do always those things that please Him.”
Not only do we see God incarnate lying in a cradle, but also the great Commander of the hosts of heaven walking a path of absolute and unswerving obedience until He becomes “obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
Mark those beautiful feet as He wends His way through this world, scattering blessings among the sons of men, “going about doing good,” in the end to be “hated without a cause.”
The culminating point is reached in that lowly, lovely life when we see the Creator upon a cross, where He offered a propitiatory sacrifice, sufficient for the sin of the whole world, because of the infinite personality of the victim: “Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29).
Today He would say to us, “Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Mt. 11:29).
THE LOVELY ONE (Song of Sol. 5:16)
The lofty and lowly One is also the “altogether lovely One” and “the chiefest among ten thousand” (Song of Sol. 5:10). “A root out of a dry ground” (Isa. 53:2) to those “who perceived not” (Isa. 6:9), who “shut their eyes” (v. 10); but a “tender plant” growing up “before Him” (Isa. 53:2) of the most exquisite beauty and yielding perpetual perfume to the “husbandman” (Jn 15:1).
“The Lord God planted a garden” (Gen. 2:8), but no plant in Eden was so beautiful or fragrant. His cheeks were as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers; His lips like lilies dropping sweet smelling myrrh (Song of Sol. 5:13). “Yea, He is altogether lovely.”
“This is my Beloved and this is my Friend,” said the bride (v. 16). “As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my Beloved among the sons. I sat down under His shadow with great delight and His fruit was sweet to my taste” (Song of Sol. 2:3).
The root and the plant became the fruit-bearing tree, and we sit down with great delight in the banqueting house and partake of the fruit of His toil with the Banner of Love over us and “the voice of our Beloved,” saying, “Eat, O friend.” We respond, “My beloved is mine, and I am His” (2:16), waiting for His further word, “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away,” for the winter will soon be past for us, and everlasting flowers in the Summerland of love will be our eternal portion.
The Branch that grew out of the stem and root of Jesse (Isa. 11:1) was the carpenter’s Son of the house and lineage of David, who grew in favor with God and men, and as He grew He manifested the blossom of the most perfect humanity that the world has ever seen, or ever will see, “holy, harmless, undefiled,” without spot or guile.
“What manner of man is this,” exclaimed His disciples. “Never man spake like this Man!” said His enemies. “Thou Holy One of God” was the testimony of demons. “My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” was the proclamation of His Father. We add our voices to the rest: “Thou art fairer than the children of men” (Ps. 45:2).