Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
Ver. 2. Above it stood the seraphims.] Those heavenly salamanders that are all on a light fire with love to God and zeal of his glory. Num 21:6 Isa 30:6 Fiery serpents, full of deadly poison, are also called seraphims, πρηστηρας the Greeks call them. That old serpent the devil can transform himself into an angel of light, At bonum erat tibi si ignifer magis esses quam lucifer, saith Bernard, in his third sermon upon this vision of Isaiah.
Each one had six wings.] So had those four beasts or living wights; Rev 4:8 See Trapp on " Rev 4:8 " and observe that in the Revelation the Holy Ghost borroweth most of the elegancies and flowers found in the Old Testament to set out the story of the New in succeeding ages.
With twain he covered his face.] As with a double scarf, before God's surpassing brightness, that would put out their eyes else. When the lightning flasheth in men's eyes they clap their hands on their faces, so here do the angels. The moon never casteth less light than when she is nearest the sun. Sol reliqua sidera occultat, quibus et lumen suum faenerat; a sic et Deus gloriae Act 7:2 Neither are any so humble as they who are nearest to God. Angels make their addresses with greatest self-abasements; what then should vile men do? worms and not men!
And with twain he covered his feet.] As conscious to themselves of a kind of comparative impurity, Job 4:18 ; Job 15:15 and unworthiness so to stand before God - i.e., to minister unto him.
And with twain he did fly.] That is, he was ready to fly; velabant, et volabant; as Gabriel came to Daniel with weariness of flight Dan 9:21 - that is, with incredible swiftness. Their six wings, say some, b might set forth a six fold motion, upward, downward, forward, backward, to the right hand or to the left - any way were they ready to fly where God would, ita ut celeritate superent ventos, falmina, solem, coelosque omnes, swifter than the wind, thunderbolt, sun, or any of the celestial orbs.
a Plin., lib. ii. cap. 6.
b A Lapide. - Perer.