Evening star., 1922-04-29
BY REV. HIGH r.. STEVENSON.
IsAIAH.s SUMMONS AND RE-
Isaiah. 6.1-13.
Golden text--Here am I. send
me.-Isaiah, 6:S.

I Iue.--16atdAs o,os -l-.-
Death compels all men to think. No
one can stand In the mute silence
caused by the departure Of a, loved
one for. the eternal home of the soul
without facing in the agony OF his
soul the problem Of life. This week s
lesson tells US how Isaiah received
light as he was called to walk
through the valley OF the shadow "in
the year that King. .Uzziah died" The
secret. solemn. spiritual experience
through which the prophet passed at
that time proved to be the epoch
making hour of his life. The vision
Of Jehovah that came at that hour to
Isaiah, whose personality was to
dominate the thought~of the nation
for sixty years, was the source and
secret of his spiritual power.
Uzziah's death was q dark hour for
the thoughtful Jew. The king, who
had died leper while under the con-
demnation Of God. The tocsin of Ju-
dahs doom had been sounded, in the
Judgment OF men. Not since the days
of Solomon had the country experienced
such prosperity and power. The splen-
dor and success of UZziah, the brilliant
sta tesman and sovereign, had reached
to the remotest limits. 1t was stag
gering blow to Judah when the king
who had been honored and admired by
the nation died leper. The place
where Uzziah had been punished was
the scene of the remarkable revelation
that changed the destiny Of Isaiah.
1t was against the dark background OF
Uzziah's condemnation. that indicated
to the people that God, who had pros
pered them, had turned against them,
that Jehovah revealed Himself to the
prophet. Isaiah in his darkness and de.
preston over the death Of the king had
the worship OF the Lord. The one who
turns to religion in the hour OF his
suffering, sorrow and struggle Is GER
tain to find the comfort and consola-
tion needed to give him courage In the
hour of trial. The worshiper in the
house Of God will hear messages that
will kindle his aspiration. that will hit
him above this world of tears and give
a new meaning to life. Just as the Lord
gave a revelation of Himself to Isaiah.
so all who seek Him in sincerity and
truth will find Him and see His glory.
There must have been spiritual
capacity in Isaiah. due to his char
under the leadership of the Holy
Spirit, to see high and lifted up the
glorious throne Of Jehovah that rest,
ed upon the Temple area, but lowered
in splendor to the skies. The prophet
has not tried to give US description
Of God; The skirts Of the Lords robes
filled the temple at the hour Of even
ing worship with light and beauty
While he Joined in the worship OF
song and watched the symbols and
service, which the priests taught ano
the people believed furnished them
the means to scale the heavenly
heights, the prophet saw God dwell
rounded by spirits which do His
pleasure, heafkening to the voice OF
His words.
This vision gave to the seer, who
had brooded over the sins of the ma
tion, confidence concerning the fu-
ture: The surprising and majestic
revelation OF the eternal, surrounded by
the seraphim with wings in the atti-
tude of reverence, humility and service,
gave him confidence. He saw that the
source Of Judah's greatness was not In
the mighty monarch who had been
crushed beneath the blow Of a leper's
doom, but in the presence. purpose and
power of God, who abideth forever. His
eyes had seen the everything King.
Isaiah's experience was typical Of that
OF all men who have been given a vision
Of God. Whoever is permitted to see
Him becomes a new man. Loyola, the
founder of the Society OF Jesus, was
transformed by vision. the passion Of
the crucified Jesus, received when he
was shut in and under the doctors care.
Bunyan, the imprisoned Baptist preach
er, has given US his vision by his pen
in a manner that it has become more
powerful than his voice. Wesley, the
pioneer Methodist preacher. and Gen.
Booth, the founder of the Salvation
Army, were changed men as a result
Of the revelations they personally had
of the Lord. Moody. Finney and every
other great evangelist derived their
power with men as result Of their vis-
ion Of the purpose Of the eternal to
eradicate sin and to destroy its power
over men.
When a man receives a vision OF
God there follows a sense of his own
iniQuity. The purity Of the Lord re-
veals the shortcoming and sin Of ones
life. This is the reaction that comes
to all men who secure vision OF
Jehovah. 1t compels men to stop and
notice their own lives in comparison
with the holiness Of the Christ. The
contrast between the propet's life and
Gods filled him with terror. Isaiah
saw himself as a man Of unclean lips.
Possibly, he recalled expressing an
opinion concerning the harshness OF
the Lords punishment of Uzziah.
Whatever the nature Of his short
coming was, 1t was sufficient to warn
us against deflling our lips with
SANDER, smutty stories or profanity
If we wish to do His work. The pfoph-
ct, convicted Of his own sin, cried
out. 'Woe IL me! for I am undone."
Isaiah's sin had found him out when
he saw the Lord. just as Peter recog-
niZed his own shortcomings when he
was brought face to face with our
risen Master on the shores Of Galiee.
Moses. Job and others had similar
experiences in the old dispensation.
In the hour Of his agony there came
a vision from the home that brought
hope to the frightened prophet. The
seer saw a seraph draw near to him
with a coal from the altar, and as he
Htouched the prophets lips declared,
Thy sin Is purged.P The seraph was
not told to go. He knew what was
needed to cleanse convicted con-
science. He brought from the altar
Of sacrifice Nfor without the shedding
of blood there could be no forgiveness)
a red-hot coal. The stone did not be-
long to the equipment of the temple,
but to that Of the home. It was in
dispensable to the household, for the
heated stone was the means used in an
oriental home to bake bread OF roast
meats. In fact. they were the stoves
Of those days in the households Of the
east. The symbolic act of the angel
symbolized to Isaiah the great fact of
redemption by the power of fire. 1t re.
vealed to the prophet the fact that God
had seen the prophets broken and con-
Of repentance had sent him the mes
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