The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1911-05-04

ishsSSpN IEsAE-thsn hetnory
GOLDEN TExT-.I heard the voice OF
the Lord, saying, Whom shall send. and
who will go for us7 Then said I. here
am I send me."--Isa. SIS
TIME-The year when King Uzzah
dled. which was tBeecher) Il. c. rs. or
PLAcELThe Temple IN Jerusalem.
KINGs-In Israel, Menahemi In AZ
syria, Asshur-daan III.
This Is q home-missionary lesson.
We are asked to read Isaiah "a. What
home-missionary thoughts are to be
found there? Those glowing sentences
are In many particulars faithful pic
lures OF our wealthy modern nations.
There are the unexampled movement
Of immigration, the aping Of evil Gus
toms from other lands, the vast wealth.
the mammon.worship, the pride. the
social wrongs and expressions. the
misgovernment, the devotion TO fash
ion and luxury, and in II all n nucleus
Of nobility tina; will bring about the
utmost triumph CT godliness. Tiers
is az great need that we should work
for our country as that Isaiah should
work for his; and, though we are so
much inferior to Isaiah. yet God calls
us IN essentially the same way to the
same great service.
Tho literary qualities most conspic-
uoJs in Isaiah is the wealth and bril-
liancy Of his Imagination. No other
Old Testament writer has the same
power Of picturesque and graphic de-
| scrip;ion. There is no other Hebrew
| .uthor who furnishes the reader with
% many quotable sentences. One can
imagine the people of Jerusalem stop
ping one another on the street, to tell
and hear the latest from the prophet.
| This. Of course, was precisely what he
| desired and intended Isaiah was n
\ humo.ist and satirist In the truest
sense OF the word This is evident
from his vivid, quaint description of
the strange manufactured idols and
images Of worship. from his curious
and vivid picture of female luxury and
fashion in HIS day.
The events OF his time may be
! summed up in two momentous occur
rencos. The frst vas the advance Of
the Assyrisns upon the small states Of
Syria and Palestine, paralyzlng their
national consciousness. and with this
also their national religions. Judah
was not destroyed like Samaria, but
| It's independence was lost, and II was
the prophets chief political task to
| enable his country to adjust itself to
the new conditions. AS a politician
| Isaiah's maxim was mo politics" He
strongly dissuaded Ahaz from entan.
Cling himself with Assyris. but when
his advice was disregarded and Judah
become subject to Assyria he resist.
ed with equal strenuousness all at
tempts TO throw OF the Assyrian
| yoke
The second occurrence was the fall
| Of Samaria. by which the mission OF
| united Israel became the heritage of
| Judah alone. During all these troub-
lous times Isaiah was the leading
statesmen Of his country.
Isaiah was flied with fear OF
vision because 81 was a vision of God.
and the Hebrews believed that no one
could see God and live. Isaiah loved
God, and instinctively be prepared to
Join his voice 10 the se-aphs' chant.
but ere the harmony could pass his
lips he caught his breath and was
! dumb. horrible sense of unclean-
Uess seized him.
One OF the bright scraphs. glowing
as with FIRE. and with wings like tho
lightning fash" took hot stone with
tongs from the altar and touched lsa-
iah's lips with 1t In token Of puriiica-
ton. The hot stone is a stone kept
in all ancient Oriental households as
a means OF applying heat to household
purposes. .
Why does Jehovah seek "a man TO
go on his errands. when he has the
winged seraphs? Because men can
reach men better than angels can.
Only once did God choose a completely
sinless preacher. Always, but that
once, COD has chosen sinful men: and,
not seldom. the most sinful OF men he
could get TO speak TO their fellow-Een
about sin and salvation. Isaiah was
quick to offer himself as the mesen.
btAdk1t Ht ltAA win liz
sin removed. both III and able for
service. and wanted 10 show his graf
itude fer what had been done for
him.
How does this marvellous chapter ap-
ply 10 our nation and 10 home mis-
sions? II contains a message OF doom
and a message Of hope and promise.
Which shah IL be for our nation? The
former. If Christians are needless OF
the great work before them. 70 evan.
gel!ze the masses OF our fellow -coun-
trymen that do not know Christ The
latter. II home missions are earnestly
promoted, in the spirit and power OF
our Lord.
One " the chief problems OF homo
missions is the large number OF for.
C.gn immigrants. When the United
States Is prosperous more than a mil
non OF these come TO our shores every
year. and about ttfee1fousths OF them
remain.
Home missionaries meet the inImL
grsnt at Ellis island and give hin a
Bible and a word OF kindly advice.
The American Bible society sends It's
>olporteurs into the most neglected re-
yions. The American sunday School