Isaiah 6

"Woe to me!" I cried, "I am ruined! 

For I am a man of unclean lips, 

and I live among a people of unclean lips,

and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." (6.5)

What follows is from Barry Webb's commentary on ch 6 (The Message of Isaiah; BST):

It is remarkable to see the prophet identify himself so completely with those whose sins he has been denouncing [ch 1-5]...But in the presence of God degrees of sin become irrelevant. It is the holiness of God which reveals to us our true condition, not comparison with others.

Who was Isaiah?

He was a man with:

 a big vision of God:

I saw the LORD, high and exalted, seated on a throne;

and the train of his robe filled the temple. (6.1)

a deep awareness of his own sinfulness:

"Woe to me!" I cried, "I am ruined! 

For I am a man of unclean lips, 

and I live among a people of unclean lips,

and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." (6.5)

a profound experience of the grace of God:

See, this has touched your lips; 

your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for. (6.7)

a willingness to spend and be spent in God's service whatever the cost:

Here am I. Send me! (6.8)

May God help us to be more like him.