The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1939-08-31

Isaiah 90
Crisis! We have had so many of
them that they have almost become
commonplace. There has been one
war crisis after another. There have
been world crisis and domestic cri-
sis until the word has almost lost
its meaning.
In the life of the individual, how
ever, the times of crisis are very
real and important. In a critical
illness one knows when the crisis
comes, and he who safely passes
that hour is on the road to recov-
cry. More vital than a physical
crisis is a spiritual crisis, when
man meets God face to face and his
future destiny is determined by the
response which he makes to Gods
call. Isaiah had such an experience
when he came to realize Gods glo-
ry, confessed his own unWorthiness,
and sought cleansing of life as a
preparation for commission to serv-
ice.
I. 81 Saw the Lord" wv. 1-4).
King Uzziah, who had begun well
but had forgotten God, was at the
end of his life, a leper because of
his sin, and dying in disgrace Is
rael which had known unprecedent-
ed prosperity under Gods blessing
now hardened its heart nationally
against God and was also about to
go into eclipse. God needed a man
to speak for Him in such an hour,
to bring to His people a message
of judgment and also of blessed in
vitation. To prepare that man, the
great Isaiah, God gave a remarka-
Bile manifestation of His glory and
power.
1t is essential that the man who
speaks for God should first see the
Lord high and lifted up and to hear
of His holiness and glory. The neg
ative tone of the present-day mes
sage, the lack of enthusiasm and
interest III holy things, the low
standards of personal holiness, the
failure to preach bo5ly the truth
regarding Gods holy standards are
to be explained by the fact that
there has been no vision of the
eternal holiness and glory of God.
The need of the people today is the
same as it was in the time of Isaiah.
Where are the men and women who
are ready for vision like his and
for the commission which will fol-
low?
II. "Woe Is Me! for 1 Am IN
done" ". 81.
To see the holiness of God is to
be Immediately conscious of ones
own sin and unWorthiness. The OBJ
vious conclusion which one draws
from that fact is that anyone who
is proud, who is not concerned about
his own sins and the sins of his peo-
pie, is living far from God and has
either never known or has forgot
ten about His divine holiness.
Isaiah spoke of the pollution of
his lips, thereby confessing that his
heart was not right. Whereof the
heart is full, thereof speaketh the
mouth, for we read in Matthew IL:
"a that out of the abundance of the
heart the mouth speaketh. Re
member that even though Isaiah
was a believer he recognized the
need of cleansing.
III. "Then He Touched My
Mouth" wv. 6, 7, R. W..
'Then" what an important
word! When Isaiah called out in
humble confession, then" he was
cleansed. The turning point is right
at that place for any life. Only
when we come to the place of con-
fession and contrition which Isaiah
knew, can we expect the Lord to
send the cleansing fire and the en-
abling power.
None but God can give this cleans
ing. Man is unable to wash him
self clean. For though thou wash
thee with nitre, and take thee much
soap, yet thine iniquity is marked
before me, saith the Lord" (Jer.
2:22. See also Jer. 1929. Reforma-
ton, turning over a new leaf, char
acter development, all commenda-
bic in their place, are not sufficient.
There must be divine cleansing of
the life if there is to be a commits
sion to service.
~. "Here Am I; Send Me" wv.
8-13).
God had a difficult and unpopu-
lar message to be delivered but now
He had a man who was ready to
carry it. Isaiah had to proclaim
to Israel that because they had
turned from the sunshine of Gods
love, which would have melted their
hard hearts, it had for them be-
come the sunshine of His wrath,
which could only progressively hard
en- them and turn them from Him.
The same sunshine that melts the
wax hardens the mud.
The work of God in our day awaits
the man or the woman of vision
the one who has been prepared by
confession and cleansing and who
has then received the divine COM
mission.