Arizona republican., 1922-04-30

1Sds o. To-
l. In the year that king Uzziah
died / saw the Lord sitting upon a
throne, high and lifted up; and his
train filled the temple.
g. Above him stood the seraphim:
each one had six wings; with twain
he covered his face, and with twain
he covered his feet, and, with twain
he did fly.
8. And one cried unto another, and
said. Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of
hosts: the whole earth is full of his
glory.
A. And the foundations of the
thresholds shook at the voice of him
that cried, and the house was filled
with smoke.
5. Then said I. Woe Is me! for
| am undone; because ! am man
of unclean lips, and / dwell in the
midst Of a people of unclean lips: for
mine eyes have seen the King, Je-
hovah of hosts.
6. Then flew one of the seraphim
unto me, having live coal in his
hand. which he had taken with the
tongs from off the altar:
7. And he touched my mouth with
it. and said. Lo. this hath touched thy
lips; and thine iniquity is taken
away. and thy sin forgiven.
s. And / heard the voice of the
Lord. saying. Whom shall send. and
who will go for us? Then | said,
Here am ]; send me.
Additional material for teachers
Gen. 12-1-4; Exod 3. TO 4 IT: Josh.
/. 1-9; Jer l. 4-10: Eek. 2. 1T;
Matt. 10. $40; 2S. is. 19.
The Social Teaching of the Lesson
Isaiah's prophecy, as the Bible pre-
&C. r1rHssry v.rst lIxr
minded reader might prefer, with q
chronological account OF his call and
his first steps in the ministry. Like
a great work of art or sermon il
plunges straight into the heart of bis
message. Through five chapters of
glowing denunciation, touched here
and there by tender suggestive con-
trasts but returning instantly to the
terrific indictments of monopoly, in
temperance, lasciviousness, pride.
sophistry, and injustice. the prophet
prepares us for his sixth chapter, the
story of his vision, Of his call, his
recognition of his unworthiness. the
touching of his lips with the live coal
from the altar, his answer to the
summons, and the strange message
intrusted to him: that the people
were to hear without understanding;
from bad to worse until the land was
utterly desolate.
The specific evils that Isaiah saw
whom his eyes We're opened and
which he denounced with vigorously
plain speech after the live coal from
the altar had touched his lips. are
persistently recurrent evils. They
are not unsurmountable but they are
formidable. They are epidemic; but
just as sanitary science knows how
to deal with epidemic disease, both
to cure aDd to prevent. so religion
knows hoN to deal with these epi-
demic immoralities both to cure and
to prevent. In the one case there
must be public action based on
knowledge. and in the other case also
there must be action based upon
knowledge The prophets and saints
gain that knowledge of sin which
corresponds to the sanitarian's
knowledge of disease. We may neg
lect either kind of knowledge at our
peril. Physical health Is gained by
observance of the laws of personal
and public hygiene. Moral health is
gained by the observance of the laws
of righteousness and love.
The service to which God calls us
is to learn, to observe. and to teach
these laws. They are not exclusively
laws of inner. personal experience.
although. as in the case of Isaiah and
the apostle Paul, they may assert
their majesty and power in a blind
ing, overwhelming vision. Isaiah
saw the Lord on the high throne
within the temple; but on other days.
as he walked into the country out
side the city, he saw field Joined to
field large farms swallowing up
homesteads. AS he mingled among
his wealthy friends he saw the heavy
drinking of men and the wanton eyes
and mincing steps and nose jewels of
the women. AS he talked with So
called educated men he heard them
perverting their intellectual powers.
They We're proving evil to be good,
and good to be evil. They were just
flying wickedness and confusing
simpler minds so that they could not
tell light from darkness.
The essential thing about Isaiah IS
preaching is that he did not confine
it to what he saw in the temple; but
he put together, as the Lord told him
to, his rapt vision and his hard, ac-
curate. concrete knowledge of current
facts What he said about the habits
and practices of his fellow towns
men was in a way perfectly familiar
--as familiar as the facts about
monopoly, Injustice, luxury, and
waste in American cities today I'M