Evening star., 1923-05-26
BY REV. HUGH r. STEVENSON

Death compelS all men to stop ana
think when they stand in it's mute
presence. Such an hour came to
young Isaiah ''in the year that King
Uzziah died." when he was in the con-
secrated temple Of worship that had
also been the place of punishment for
Uzziah, the brilliant statesman. Under
the leadership of the late king, Judah
had attained position among the
nations that was never surpassed dur
ing the days of the divided kingdom.
Brooding over the tragic end of the
king he loved. Isaiah had entered the
temple. The young patriot recalling
how Uzziah, who represented in his
person the nation, had died a leper
under the condemnation of Jehovah,
| evidently feared that God had turned
against Judah.
Suddenly against that dark back
ground the prophet caught a vision
of God that changed his whole career
Isaiah saw the Lord on the throne
ernment. on the throne of His grace
He heard the voice of the Seraphim
speak of Jehovah's holiness While
| there are many other attributes of
| Gods being, like love. light. good
ness and mercy. yet the crowning at
L
| the Bible holiness stands for un-
/ sullled, unswerving, unending moral
| perfection. 1t is holiness that gives
! absolute justice to Gods government
and saves His grace from the charge
OF lndlference to moral principles
Ihe vision of Jehovah reacted upon
| the seer. 1t compelled him to stop
and consider his own life. Accord
! ing to the standards of men and
society Isaiah was very good man.
but in the white light of Gods holi-
ness the prophet realized his own un-
| between Gods character and his own
| nlied him with fear so that he cried
! out Woe is me for l am undone. .
Every soul that has stood in the pres
ence or God has had a similar ex-
perience. Peter standing in the
| presence of the Christ realized that
ne was sinful man, just as Isaiah
ala that day in the temple when he
became a new man.
II lsaiahs vision had stopped at
snls point the world would never
have heard of the greatest of all the
prophets of the Old Testament. The
Seraph drew near to him with a live
coal from the altar and as he touched
the prophets lips declared, Thy sin
IS purged. The glowing stone was
but 1t belonged to the home. In the
union OF the teachings of the temnle
| ana the home the penitent youth
round the lesson of religion. The
value of 1saiah's vision was that il
revealed to him his duty. 1t was no,
an inspiring task to which the bril-.
llant young scholar was called. His
! framing in Jerusalem, where he was
born and educated, had been in the
oinc1ai circles. The prophet faced the
uiLicultles and trials of a ministry
| which covered nearly ffty wears with
confidence. The vision of service tha
| God gave to him contained a nrone,
! perspective of the mission of Judah
and his duty. Isaiah understood afteI
ms vision of service that his success
| was not 10 be measured by the stand
ards OF men. who demanded immedi.
| ate results. but by the eternal values
/ put upon his mission by the Lord.
! AS soon as the prophets lips had
| been cleansed and the sin that was
Deeper than the lips been removed
| for service. The condition of society
! and the needs of the state had
weighed heavy upon Isaiah 1t was
| because he saw the nations need thai
the patriot had responded Immediately
| 10 Gods call for volunteers Quickened
by his spiritual fellowship in the
| temple. the prophet looked at his
country in the spirit of the God OF
holiness. 1t is doubtful If Isaiah
knew exactly where God wanted him
10. 10 preach ga TO the people whose heart
| was 1at. ears heavy and eyes closed
! 10 their actual condition. It was
enough for the seer to know that God
wanted some one to go somewhere.
God never called better fitted man
Ior His service than Isaiah, who COM
menced his mission when his nation
was imperiled. Judah's position as a
,, buffer state brought international
problems to the front in Jerusalem
International intrigue. treachery and
ahta COUSIN were prevalent. The
prophet saw that the princes priests
and people of his day were controlled
| by corruption. He noted the aliena-
tion that existed between the classes