The Greatness of God (Isaiah 6) - Part 2 — Paul Washer

The Seraphim Reflect God’s Holiness

A passage in the scriptures where a reference to the Seraphim is found. Now the word Seraphim literally means the burning ones. The burning ones. Now Stanley Horton says this, and I think it's absolutely wonderful.

Their purity was indicated as they reflected the dazzling brilliance of the glory of God to such a high degree that they seemed to be on fire. Now, there's something about this statement that you must, when you hear it, you must go back and understand a few things that are so very important.

Now just listen to this one part. Their purity was indicated as they reflected the dazzling brilliance of the glory of God. Now notice this. They are the burning ones. But it is not a fire that flows from them.

They are not the source of this light. They are not the source of the heat. They are not the source of the burning. They only seem to be burning in that they are mere reflections of the glory and the holiness of God.

Now just imagine this. They are burning with holiness. But it is only a derived holiness, or a dimly reflected holiness. If these Seraphim are so splendid in holiness that they literally seem to be on fire, you must understand that they in themselves are still just a dim reflection of the true holiness of God.

If you cannot behold them, and you cannot, then you most certainly cannot behold Him. And if they are holy, and their holiness and purity is such that it's almost terrifying, then realize that their holiness and their glory is only a dim reflection of the One seated upon the throne.

And the One seated upon the throne is the One who became incarnate and died on Calvary for you. Now, I want you to think about something before we start talking about the response or the reaction of these Seraphim.

I want you to think about this. It's my opinion from Scripture that they are the greatest created beings. The absolute greatest. And other ancient theologians would agree with me on this. And how do we know that they are the greatest and the most holy?

Because of their proximity to the throne of God. There is no creature, it seems, closer in this vision to the throne of God than these Seraphim. And so when we come to understand their reaction of covering their faces and covering their feet, we must understand then something of the splendor, the majesty, and the power of the One seated upon the throne.

And then we look at these Seraphim and we can gain a lot of lessons from them. About the proper way to present ourselves in the throne room of God. About, again, recognizing that we are children but not being so nonchalant and being very careful how you use the name Jesus.

Paul Spurgeon says something that I just love. And I want to read it to you. He said, You ask me to tell you something about these Seraphim. How can I? They've covered their faces and covered their feet.

He says, Since nothing is to be seen, what can I tell you? Neither would it be right for us to speak concerning them, for manifestly it is their desire to be hidden. They are the ones that have covered their faces.

They are the ones that are covering their feet. For their own purpose, for their own reason. Who will violate their wish to be concealed? They cover their faces, they cover their feet, and therein they did as good as say to us, Look not on us, but look on Him who sits upon the throne, whose attendance we are.

Now notice the proper attitude of one who is seated upon the throne. If you have any reason at all in you, turn your eyes away from our dimly reflected glory, and turn your eyes upon the one seated upon the throne.

There is a sense in which all men should see our good works and glorify the Father who is in heaven. Jesus teaches us that in the Sermon on the Mount. There is another sense in which our attitude ought to be, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thee be the glory.

We minister before Him. But we are nothing to look at. Not in His presence. Not in His presence. Now let me just stop here for a moment because there is a lot of youngsters in the crowd. There is a sense I suppose in which we could say a certain individual was a great man of God.

That statement though should always be in past tense. We should always wait until they die. Because you don't know what's going to happen to them before they die. They might show themselves as unconverted.

The man who wrote, I believe, In His Steps, which is a wonderful book, returned to the world after he wrote it. So there is another sense in which we should never say he was a great man of God, or he is a great man of God, or she was a great woman of God, or she is a great woman of God.

There are no great men or women of God. There are only pitiful, weak, sinful people. And a merciful way we should always look at it. I am always fond of saying, if someone comes up to me and says, Boy that was an insider, that was a wonderful sermon.

I just always say, rocks and donkeys, rocks and donkeys. God still speaks through rocks and donkeys. Because that's the way it is. Now for some of you young people, you need to realize that you need to set your sights on sanctification.

You need to seek to be holy as He is holy. But also realize this. So many young people get it into their mind when they see someone preaching. A pastor or someone preaching in a conference. They think to themselves, yep, that guy, he has reached some level of spirituality.

And because of his spirituality, God is using him. That is not true. I'm sorry, it is simply not true. Do I hope in my own life to be sincere in my following after the holiness of God? Yes. Do I desire to pray as I ought and read the word as I ought?

Absolutely. Do I desire to love as I ought? Yes. Am I broken over my failure? Yes, and hopefully more as I grow. But have I, or this pastor, or even men such as John Piper and John MacArthur and the Charles Spurgeons, have they reached such a level that now God is able to really kick it in force and use them?

Absolutely not. Men are always struggling men. As a matter of fact, I always say salvation is the only thing I ever qualified for. After reading 1 Corinthians chapter 1, you'd come to understand. You see someone being used of God, you'd say, well that's rather an ignoble man, because that's the only type of men God uses.

So we learn a lot from these attendants that don't look at us. As a matter of fact, young man, one day when you preach, and God moves in a congregation, and let's say that many people are converted on that day.

If you have a proper attitude about it, you will be as Peter was in that boat. He saw the miraculous. He was privy to see Christ bring in a great catch, a miraculous catch. He falls down and he says, depart from me, I'm a sinful man.

And what he's almost saying is, this isn't right, I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be the one who saw this. Someone else should have seen this, but not me. I'm not worthy. And when you preach and God begins to move, you want to go hide somewhere afterwards.

You want to crawl up in a fetal position in a corner and say, away from me Lord. You should not have used me to do this. Understanding of the Lord and who you are. That you will always and forever be only one thing, a recipient.

And you should be forever pointing unto Him. But then again, there's great power in that. If the devil were to walk in here, right now. I mean just walk in where everyone could see you. And he were to begin to accuse me.

He could falsely accuse me, but he could also point out many failures in my life. He could. Now where would be my defense? I would have to say, devil, many of the things you've said are true. But since you're a non-omniscient, you don't even know the half of it.

So where is my defense? Where is my power to stand? It is on this. It has never been about me. It has never been about my virtue. It has never been about my merit. I stand upon the virtue and the merit of Jesus Christ.

My elder brother. It has never been about my power. It has never been about anything. It has all been about His perfect work. And if you do not leave, I will call Him. And with Him you do not want to deal.

So see, there's great strength in the midst of our frailty, if it is all of grace. And if it is all based upon the perfect finished work of Jesus Christ our Lord. Now you say for a moment, but brother Paul, if it's that way, then people will just sin.

Take salvation nonchalantly and they won't care about holiness. If it's that way, they'll say, let us sin that grace may abound. No, unconverted church members will say that. But true Christians, when they hear that it is all of grace, they go, then I want to follow Him.

Then I want to be more like Him. Then I want to please Him. They stood above Him. And for some translators, this poses a problem. I mean, here is God in the throne room, and the seraphim are above Him.

The Sovereignty and Majesty of the One on the Throne

Now another possible translation is this. That the seraphim, as Dalich says in his Old Testament commentary, he writes, the seraphim should not indeed tower above the head of Him that sat upon the throne.

But they hovered above the robe belonging to Him of which the hall was filled. So it's also another possible translation that what it's saying here is not that they stood above Him, but they stood above it.

Now, but I want us to look at two different things here. First of all, there is a possibility that it is saying that they stood above it. They hovered above the throne. And not above the head of the Son of God seated upon the throne.

That is a possibility. But it's an unnecessary concern of ours. Why? Remember what I said. His throne is lofty and high. Petition. You see, these little kings and these little princes of our world, they made rules like, never turn your back on a king.

Death penalty if you did that. You never stand higher than the king. And that's really a problem if you have a real short king. You never set anything above the king. In some countries, as of our own, we never bow our flag lower than anybody else's flag.

When you know who you are, when you know there's no competitor, when you are completely secure in your settled sovereignty, it doesn't matter. Not at all. And I think that's a more appropriate truth. Who cares if the seraphim are hovering above Him?

They hover above Him, covering their faces and their feet. They know, importantly, He knows. And in the same way, the kings of this earth can come together and build another tower of Babel. They can set their thrones as high as they want to set them, and the Son of God will strike them.

He has no competitors. Now, we go on. It says they have six wings. Six wings. And I want us to learn a great deal from this. Rawlison writes this,. The general idea of six wings was probably rapid flight, the carrying out of God's request with speed and swiftly.

But in the divine presence, now listen to this, very important, the wings were applied to a different use. One pair veiled the seraph's head from the intolerable effulgence of divine glory. Another concealed the feet, soiled with various ministrations, and unmet for the all-pure presence.

And a third pair alone sustained the seraph in mid-air, that he hovered in readiness to depart on any errand on which Jehovah might send him. Now, the six wings normally represent swiftness and flight of service.

I mean, God merely speaks it and they're going to do it. Which is the way all of us should be. Ready. Attendance of the throne. We are attendants. We are servants. And we are servants above all things to God more than men.

And that is very important when you are in a ministry. Because if you begin to do primarily service to men, then you become pragmatic and no longer biblical. And you begin to do things to please men, supposedly help men, you become humanistic and eventually no longer biblical, no longer bringing glory to God, and no longer helping men.

You don't do things because they work. You don't do things because they supposedly help or meet the felt needs of men. You do things primarily because God commanded them. Well, if we preach this way, no one will come.

Well, then they don't come. Well, if we believe these things, people will become angry. Then let them be angry. If we don't have certain things in our church, then people won't come. Is what you're telling me?

You've got to offer them something other than Jesus so that they'll come? Well, if you have to offer them something other than Jesus so that they'll come, you'll have to keep offering them something other than Jesus so that they stay.

Because when the next big circus for Jesus or Six Flags Over Jesus arrives in town with the big show, they're all going to leave your church anyways. They are attending Him with six wings. Ready at any moment.

And never forget this. Obedience delayed is disobedience. Because it is their joy to do His will. It is their food. It is not just a duty. Because when you see who He is, when you catch more and more of who He really is, then all duty is transformed into privilege.

It is a privilege that I can even know something of Him. It is a privilege that I'm brought into His counsel. It is a privilege that I'm brought into His service. This is not a duty. It is a privilege.

It's not just something demanded. It is something given. It is an honor to do His will. To be a servant of the Most High. Now something you need to understand about the Incarnation that's very, very important that a lot of people misunderstand.

They will say, well, Jesus came not to be served, but to serve. And He was a servant of men. There is a sense in which that is very, very true. But what you need to understand something, is He was primarily, primarily, and especially from the Old Testament prophecies, He was primarily the servant of Yahweh.

Primarily the servant of men. He took on flesh to serve the Lord. As a matter of fact, the Jehovah Witnesses, I prefer to call them the Jehovah-less Witnesses, the Jehovah Witnesses, they claim to be God's Witness.

I want to tell you something. God's only had one Witness. And it's His Son. Only one perfect. We witness of Him. But as John Flavel used to say, I write as one who writes by moonlight. And that is, I do not see clearly.

But He's had one Witness. One final Word. And it's His Son, Jesus Christ. And if we want people to know God, we direct them to Christ. But what I want you to see, is that He was primarily the servant of God.

Christ’s Humiliation and Obedience in Philippians 2

It's not in our text or anything, but let's just rip over there real quick to Philippians. I want to show you something. Philippians chapter 2, verse 5. Have this attitude in yourselves, which is also in Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men.

Now taking the form of a bondservant, the Old Testament idea of the Messiah coming, is not this low office slave, who comes to do the will of the Lord as a man, to fight the battles of the Lord, and to triumph over all things.

Now He humbled Himself and became a man. And He did serve the Lord in the sense of the doing of His Father's will. But it wasn't in a slavish, lowly servant manner. He was primarily the great, and much talked about in the Old Testament, servant of Yahweh, who comes to do His will.

Now, notice something that is very, very important here. It says in verse 8, being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient. Now just listen. He humbled Himself by becoming obedient.

Do you know what that is? That's proof of His deity. That right there alone, by itself, is proof that Jesus Christ, the carpenter of Nazareth, was God in flesh. You say, how does that prove anything? Is it an act of humiliation on the part of an angel to obey God?

No. To humble Himself? To obey God? When God takes on flesh and makes Himself subject to His own will, that is an act of humiliation. That is an act. Also, He became obedient to the point of death. Men are not obedient to the point of death.

Men are supposed to die. They are condemned to death. It's not an act of obedience. Another proof of His deity, He died through obedience, by obedience, for obedience, in obedience. There is another sense in which, do you remember that in the Old Testament, there was a slave, it's the year of Jubilee, or whatever, he has served his years.

But as he's been working as a slave, he has married, and he has children. Now, if he set out free as a slave, he leaves behind his wife and his children. Or, what can he do? He can go to his Lord, his Master.

He can say, I love you, my wife, and I love my children. I choose to remain a servant. And there he is taken over, to a threshold, or a door post. He stands against it, and an instrument is used, to pierce his ear.

And he makes himself, a servant. The old Puritans said this, of the Son of God, children, that you have given me, Father. I will make myself a servant, to redeem them, and to bring them to me. And then he lives out his life, the will of God.

His food was to do, the will of God. The food of Heaven, is not manna, and the doing of the will of God. Why are Christians, in America, even Christians, real Christians, not just the fake ones. The Christians in America, we are the fullest, most protected, have more stuff, more Bibles, more theology books, more everything, than any Christian ever, in the history of the world.

And yet you go into a Christian bookstore, and almost all the books are written, about how empty we are. Why are we empty? For the same reason, these seraphim are not empty. For the same reason, that Jesus Christ, though persecuted, hungry, tired, and in anguish, was never empty.

He said, because I have food to eat, that you know not of. My food is to do the will, the one who sent me. Why are we often times so empty? Two reasons. Let me put it this way. We are bored, for one reason.

Our eyes are focused on us. To be honest with you, we ain't a whole lot to look at. Instead of focusing, upon the infinite glories of God, and being mesmerized, by His beauty and power. And then we are empty, because we are doing our own will.

We think we will be happy, if we do our own will. If we chase the American dream. If we get the right career. If we find security, and have good insurance, and all these other things. We think that that will fill us.

Once I get all this done, once I get my college behind me, once I get my career established, once I get married, once I get the kids out of the house, once I get this. No. Once you give yourself, holistically, to the will of God.

Once you use all six wings, every part of you, to fly. That was an old word, that's still very, very proper. A lot of times when we think of flying, it's just, well we are going to get an airplane, or a bird that flies.

But the word to fly, also indicates just a rapid movement. We need to fly to the will of God. Fly to Him. Fly to obedience. And that's what we can see here, with these angels. And more so, this is what we can see with Christ.

And that is one of the reasons, in our lives, that we are not as full, as we ought to be. You see, it all begins again in the mind. When you believe lies. When you believe that the world is a certain way.

When you believe that, you need certain things, in order to be happy. Are there certain things, that can really fill you? But all these certain things, are defined by the world, designed by the prince of the power of the air, and not according to the will of God.

You have bought in, to a bill of false goods. A false bill of goods. And it will not fill you. That's why Romans 12, verse 2, is telling us, we must constantly renew our minds. Because if you are not constantly renewing your mind, in what is really true, what reality is all about, and what God's will is, you will get distracted, and when you become distracted, you will get deceived, and when you are deceived, you will be empty.

And there will be no meaning to your life. That is if you are a Christian. Because if you are not a Christian, you will be able to go out there in the world, and enjoy it, until you die. I forget what Puritan it was, but they definitely don't talk like this anymore.

This is what he said, The ungodly prosper in this age, in the same way that the farmer will fatten up his cows before slaughter. So God will prosper the wicked, until the day of destruction, to bring their downfall, and make it that.

No, that's not really contemporary Christian thought. I want to point out a few things, also, here. That they cover their faces, always, in most cultures. That's an idea of honor. It can also be an idea of shame.

That I have nothing to show you, in light of this one, before whom I fly. There's nothing in my face. Hiding his face in honor. Hiding his face, realizing, and demonstrating, don't look at me. Look at him.

There is a real sense as individuals, we need to mimic that. Don't look at me. Look at him. As a church, collectively, we need to mimic that. It's not about us. It's about him. We're pointing men to him.

Another thing, they cover their feet. Very, very important. R .C. Sproul points out, that feet have always been associated with clay, and creatureness. The fact that what they're doing, is that they're acknowledging, is splendid, and is blazing, and is powerful, as they are, that they are not God.

Worship, Ministry, and the Need for Private Communion

Now there's something else that I want to point out, that I think is very important. They have six wings. Six wings to move, in service to God. But there are times, at least two-thirds of those wings, are retracted, purposes of being in the presence of God, and worshiping.

The greatest enemy, is the ministry. It's a tendency to find our worth in doing, because our minds are so messed up in this area. Our worth in doing. We think that busyness, that activity, that success, that going out there, and accomplishing something, is what we ought to be doing always.

Well it ought to be what we're doing sometimes. But, it is very important, to take the effort, that we would use in ministry, the effort that we would use, in doing the will of God, in service, retract those wings, and use that effort, to glorify God, in private worship.

Most of you, some of you young guys, are thinking about going in the ministry, young girls are thinking about going in the ministry, some of you older people, are already in the ministry, you're doing things in your church, maybe you're in full-time ministry.

You need to retract those wings. You need to stop doing so much. And just sit. You see, one of the most important things, you can ever come to understand, is this, God does not need you. I know it's almost impossible to believe, but He does not need you.

As a matter of fact, if you really want to get biblical about this, you're like a handicap. He actually calls you in the ministry, to make the task harder, so that He gets more glory, when He accomplishes it.

He does not need you. But He has called you to be obedient. And so with all your fluttering around, retract those wings. It is not doing stuff. It is doing the will of God. Now, let me share with you something that will help you later on.

You hear so many people, so many ministers and pastors, will say things like, well you know, I just don't have time to worship. I just don't have time to study. There's just so many needs. Now how wrong is that?

First of all, you're going to go out there and meet needs. In whose strength are you going to do it? You're cutting yourself off from life, from the fountain of life, and power, and wisdom, and everything else, to go out and minister to people with an empty bucket.

That isn't going to help. They don't have time. I saw this cartoon the other day. Not a cartoon, but I guess just a drawing in the newspaper. And it had this guy, and he was at the doctor, and the doctor told him, you need to work out.

And he started working out. And he said, I don't have time to work out. And the doctor said, well, do you have time to die? Because if you don't work out, that's exactly what's going to happen. But it's the same, I don't have time to worship.

I don't have time to sit. Oh really? Christ does. He's seated upon a throne. He's absolutely in control. He sustains everything that is with a word. Not like the mythological Atlas, who's just straining under the weight of the world.

Christ holds up an infinite number of worlds just with a word. You have time to obey God's will. Men who do not have time to worship, men who do not have time to do the little things in Christianity, are building their own kingdom, rather than doing the will of God.

I'll give you another example. I heard my wife on the altar of ministry, I'll hear people say, I don't have time for my family because I'm just giving my things to God. You are a fool. Just an absolute fool.

Because you know what you're saying, you're contradicting Romans chapter 12 verse 2 that says the will of God is perfect. What you're saying is this, the will of God is not perfect, and therefore, I have to disobey God's will with regard to my wife and family in order to fulfill God's will with regard to the ministry.

You are accusing God with statements like that. You have time to do everything He's commanded you to do. But you don't have time to do everything He's commanded you to do and everything you want to do necessarily.

And remember, you do not have to live up to the expectations of other men whose expectations are usually carnal, worldly, sensual, and wrong. But you are required to do the will of God. One of the greatest things I learned actually from John Wesley.

Every time someone asked me to preach, I'd say yes. That's why they don't even let me schedule my own schedule anymore. But John Wesley said this, every time someone asked him to preach, he would say yes, because he believed it was God's will for him to go every time someone asked him to preach.

And then one day, two people asked him to preach in two different places at the same time, and he figured out at least one of them had to be out of God's will. So it's not God's will to preach every time someone asks you to.

Because there are times to worship and to just be with Him. This world does not need a lot of busy Christians who have no understanding of their God and no other worldliness. What do I mean by that? A Christian, in his life, there ought to be something of the supernatural.

There ought to be an other worldliness to his life. You know, you hear the statement that was actually, I think the devil invented this one. You're so heavenly minded, you're no earthly good. Most heavenly minded people that have ever walked this planet have done more good for the earth than all the earthly minded people put together.

George Mueller, who I have read extensively, his diary and things, one of the most heavenly minded men on the face of the earth and cared for 10 ,000 orphans. His sole goal in life, if you ever get a chance to find his diary, it's not published anymore.

You have to find it in an old used bookstore. Frank Lombok had one desire, this was his goal, to spend one entire day without one thought except that of Christ. He said he never achieved it, but that was his goal.

And he taught all the islands of the Philippines to read. You go to the Philippines right now, even the kids still know about Frank Lombok. He taught them to read so that they could read the Bible. He was heavenly minded and he was earthly good.

The problem is, we're so earthly minded, we're no heavenly good. And we run around and doing all sorts of things. Remember this, it's what I tell young preachers, but it also applies to every believer.

We are in a sense, we are not movers and shakers, we are not marketing agents for the gospel. We are prophets. And we are people who stand out there just like Ezekiel in that valley of dead bones. And we must speak as prophets and nothing is going to happen unless the supernatural wind of the Holy Spirit blows upon those bones and raises them from the dead.

There is that element about our life. I have met many different men down through my years of preaching. Men of different sorts of theology. Men who were just wonderful, powerful preachers, sovereign grace men.

Other men, Wesleyan holiness like Leonard Ravenhill and others. And in some things, they were not in common. But in one thing, when you talk to them, there was something in their eyes somewhere you'd never been.

There was an otherworldliness about them. This stuff was real! And it was a little spooky. But you knew that you were talking to someone who knew the one he was talking about. And so these great angelic creatures are there.

They are there. And they worship. Isn't it amazing that God would take the most powerful creatures, that I suppose these guys could preach the gospel a lot better than you or I. I mean, they'd probably have a much more effective ministry on this earth than we would.

I mean, a seraphim come down from heaven, start preaching the gospel. I mean, it's going to make CNN. But notice, he uses the most powerful creatures, most intelligent creatures, the most holy creatures, just for him.

Just for worship. That'll tell you something. And here's another little philosophical ditty that will help you. Especially if your ministry isn't gigantic. Why would God make the most beautiful rose he has ever made, planted, in the middle of a forest, through which no man or angel...

How could God get glory out of the most beautiful thing he ever made, if no one else saw it? Well, in this way. He sees it. He sees it every day. And he glories in what he's made. I would submit to you that we are going to be very surprised when we get to heaven.

Some of the most precious ministers that were truly in the counsel of God, pleasure to him, no one knew. No one knew. That no one knows that lived for hours a day like Anna in the temple, in the presence of God, praying and interceding.

Campbell in the great revival there in the New Hebrides, he attributes to the praying of two elderly women. Don't you concern yourself about being in the limelight. Don't you concern yourself with doing great things.

Concern yourself with being conformed to the image of Christ and dwelling in his presence and having his favor upon you. And to the wind with everything else. Choose the best things, the most excellent things, not just the good things.

Ready and Cheerful Obedience to God’s Will

And with two he flew. The greatest angels in glory were at the beck and call of the Son of God. Are you at the beck and call of the Son of God? If he beckons you, do you come? If he says run, do you run?

If he says walk, do you walk? If he says stand and do not move, are you mature enough to stand and not move? Calvin writes, the two wings with which the angels fly mean nothing else than their ready and cheerful performance of the commandments of God.

Now look what Calvin says. Ready and cheerful performance. Not like the disciples who Jesus is going to Jerusalem and they're all convinced that he's going to go there and the people just want to kill him.

But they say, well, we'll just go with him too and die. That's the way oftentimes I do the will of God. I'm not kidding. I am such a pessimist. I'll obey, but it's like, okay, I'll go and be destroyed.

It'll be fine. It's like my pastor gets so mad at me. He goes, don't you ever think God might just want to be nice to you? It's got to be martyrdom. But even if it is martyrdom, the ready and cheerful obedience to the will of God.

If you ever get a chance, read the love letters. I call them love letters. Between Christopher Love and his wife. I think they're entitled A Spectacle to God. I'm not sure though. It's been a long time.

Before his martyrdom, she writes him in a way that just makes your jaw... She's saying, now listen, your martyrdom is drawing near. He's in prison. She said, don't you back down. And don't you sin against God by worrying about your wife and your children.

Is not God the husband to the widow and the father to the orphan? She writes him, right before his death, the night before, she writes him a letter and she says, husband, they will sever you from your physical head, but they will not sever you from your spiritual head.

And then she goes on and she says, tomorrow morning when thou wakest, when you dress thyself, you are dressing for your wedding day. Rejoice! Talk like that lest you've been in the throne room of God.

That's why you must know Him. Dwell with Him. Let me just read to you something by George Swinock that I really just appreciate. All creatures compared to the sun. He is so excellent that even angels veil their faces in His presence.

The excellent cherubim and seraphim who are spotless in their natures and faultless in their lives, who are the highest and most honored and most ancient house of all of creation, who as His special friends and favorites are allowed to wait on Him continually, to behold Him face to face, and to enjoy Him fully and perfectly.