I suppose Isaiah thought he was as good as most men in his day, and perhaps he was a good deal better than most, but when he saw the Lord he cried, 'Woe is me, for I am undone; I am a man of unclean lips." When he saw the Lord he saw his own deformity, and fell in the dust before the Lord. And that is the proper place for a sinner.
As I have said, until men realize their uncleanness they talk of their own righteousness, but the moment they catch a sight of Him their mouth is stopped. If we hear a man talking about himself we may be sure that he has not seen God. Look at Daniel—not a thing could be found against him, but when he came within sight of God he found that his goodness was worthless.
Look at Job. One would have thought that he was all right. He was good to the poor, generous to all charities-not a better man within a thousand miles. If they wanted to get a thousand dollars to endow a university, a thousand dollars to build a synagogue, if they wanted a thousand dollars for any charitable object, why, he was the man. You would have liked to get him into your Presbyterian or Methodist, or Baptist Churches and if you wanted a chairman of a benevolent society you couldn't have found a better man. Yet look at him when God came near him.
It is altogether different when God comes within our sight. It is one thing to hear Him and another thing to see Him. Job learned a lesson. No-one can come into God's kingdom till he knows that he is vile, till he sees God. We must realize that.