Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1923-05-24
IMPROVED UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL
Sll1ndaySchool
' Lesson '
By REV. P. b. FITzwATER. d. D..
Teacher Of English Bible in the Moody
Bible Institute of Chicago)
Copyright. 1923. Western Newspaper Union
LESSON FOR MAY II
ISAIAH, THE STATESMAN AND
PROPHET

FhOFHE
LESSON TEXT-Isaiah GLIB.
GOLDEN TEXT-Here am l. send me-
Isaiah 6:S
REFERENCE MATERIAL-II chron-
icles 2622, 1920; Isaiah 10; Till; STA;
PRIMARY ToPIc-1saiah who Was
Ready.
JUNIOR ToPIc-Isaiah's Call to serv-
ice
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC
--Isaiah's Work for His People
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
--lsaiah3 the Statesman and Prophet
!. Isaah's Vision of the Lord (vv.
1-4).
NO ones ministry will ever be fruit
ful until he has had vision of Jeho-
yah. The scope Of his tasks and the
power to perform services will be lack
Ing until he sees God.
/. He Saw the Lord on His Throne
". -. The prophets gaze penetrated
to the very throne of the eternal. We
need not. so much know things con-
corning God as to have vision of
Him, even to see Him on His throne.
Surely now, as perhaps never before,
with the awful darkness settling down
upon the world and the foundations of
culture and civilization, Institutions
and governments are lettering, we
need vision Of the enthroned Lord.
z. He Saw the Seraphim Above. wv.
z, %. Whatever form or rank these
things have, they clearly are ministers
of the Most High. Their standing in
dicates that they were in readiness to
Go His bidding Their equipment with
six wings show the celebrity with which
they executed His will. In the Divine
presence they find different uses for
wings. One pair was needed to veil the
seraph's head from the 'fntolerable eff
fulgence" of the glory One pair yelled
the feet, which had been soiled in the
execution of the commission. The third
pair was suspended in midair while
waiting to depart on any errand which
the Lord willed. All ceaselessly cried,
Holy, holy, holy" The supreme at
tribute of Jehovah is holiness 1t is
for this that His creatures worship and
adore Him. The treble repetition
doubtless refers to the triune God.
Holy is the One who created us, holy
is the One who redeemed US and holy
is the One who sanctifies and keeps
US. From the position of Gods throne
they see the whole earth filed with
His glory.
8. He Saw Manifestations of Males
ty ". A.. AS the holy ones cried the
very door posts moved and the temple
was filled with smoke. Smoke indi-
Gates the Divine presence in anger
eek. 10 -; 29:1S). This indicated that
the selfishness, idolatry and ingrati-
tude of Israel provoked Gods anger.
II. lsaiah's Conviction of Sin ". 81.
When the prophet got vision of
the holy God he was smitten with a
sense of sin. This is always true The
reason that men think well of them
selves is that they have never seen
God. Face to face with the Lord
Isaiah saw himself as wholly vile. He
realized that he had sinned in speech
and, if in speech, then in heart, there
fore the cry of despair. He was not
only guilty himself, but was living in
the midst of an unclean people.
III. Isaiah cleansed From Sin wv.
6, y.
Having been convicted of sin and
having made confession of it, burn
ing coal was taken from the altar to
purge away his sin. His penitential
guilt was forgiven and removed. Those
unclean lips were refined by fire ard,
with pure speech, he expressed the
holy thoughts of God Only fire from
Gods altar can purge us from our sins.
Nv. Isaiah's Call.
God did not call the prophet until
after he was cleansed. The purged
soul is the soul ready for the Lords
service. Indeed, the unconvicted, I'M
forgiven and uncleansed soul cannot
even hear the Divine call for service.
v. Isaiah's Dedication ". 81.
Following the cleansing from sin
there was the quick response for serv-
ice. The one purged and sanctified
and made meet for the Masters use
readily responds to the call Of God.
They did not inquire as to the issue,
did not desire to see the end from the
beginning, but with freedom came for
ward to serve.
vi. Isaiah's Commission wv. 9-13).
The previous outlook was not prom
Using. He shrank back from the re-
sponsibility and instantly cried, How
long. Lord?' The people were stepped
in selfishness and the Lord assured
him that their blindness and sin,
though long, would not continue for
ever. The people would go on in sin.
to be taken captive and the land be
made desolate.