The Lexington advertiser. [volume] (Lexington, Miss.) 1904-1985, 1949-09-29

shall he choosef
Most young men
would do what
they were sure
God called them
30 do. but what IL
q call7 n. ro-smar
The story Of
isaiah throws some light on thil
problem. 1--WE are beginning THU
week . three months study Of tn,
great prophets Isaiah and Jere
miah.) True. he lived some 270t
years ago. and half way to the
other side Of the world; but human
nature has not changed in 270(
years.
From Man about Town
To Man of God
ISAIAH was a young man about
: town, in the small but wealthy
city of Jerusalem, about 700 years
before Christ. He was a personal
friend Of all the important people,
\ man Of good education, with
wide horizons OF interest, Of indie.
pendent means, eloquent, polished,
ehe sort Of man who makes a good
career diplomat.
He tells In some detail the
story Of how he came to be q
prophet. The story Is in Isaiah
8. Perhaps II we had been
there with o gamers and q wire
recorder we might have been
able to photograph the sera-
phim and take down their
cries, just - Isaiah saw and
heard them: Hss~~
What we DO know IL that that
sxperience Changed lsaiah's life.
Up TO mat time Ton his own show.
20 he had been a IMAM of UNI
sefean lips;" from that time on he
began to be a spokesman for the
Lord. Let us try to say what the
story Of that life-changing vision.
chat cali, means In terms Of our
own experience.
Tho Flame of God / .u.
FIRST there was the overwhelm-
! ing Of Gods reality and
power and holy majesty. No one
can eve experience q call who
does not take God seriously.
A God "afar off," q God
who Is enly q problem, m idea,
hypothesis, lever called any
one. God alone can make him.
self real to man; and only .
man with . read sense Of .
living God Ii going to hear his
call.
Next came Isaiah's realization
q his own unfitness md sin. 4
man who feels equal to q grea
task 10 probably not equal to II
s.Them as knows nawthin' fear
nawthin'." as the Irish say. 1
man who feels good enough 4
serve God. just as he is, is not goot
enough. A man without q sense o
sin Is too full Of II.
Then comes the burning coal
from the altar: Isaiah feels tina
his guilt is gone. No n al full.
do Gods will with an unforgivel
heart. Isaiah was not sinless at on,
stroke. Of course. yet 1t Is possible
to turn from all known sin; 1t il
possible to devote ones loyalty t,
God; and this Isaiah did.
II was only then that he
heard the call: Whom shall I
send? In modern and less pic
turesque language. Isaiah was
conscious Of . need he had not
felt before-that II, Of Gods
need. Of his peoples need.
What those needs were vii
come out in later studies. Tn
point Is that young Isaiah, VIII
hitherto had lived only for himself
now saw the need Of the city an
the people among whom he lived
@Here Am 1;
Send Me-"
THEN the last stage
! Isaiah's willing offer of himself
His great talent a the abilit
to use language. He could max
words march and sing as few me
of any race have done. But up
that time, it seems. his gift 9
eloquence had been used chief
10 telling dirty stories.
Now he has repented, and
been forgiven, and he says to
God: Use me. His voice, his
knowledge, his eIoquence,
which he had been using
against God Tor at best, only
for Isaiah) he was now 10 use
for God and man.
30 there Is a cali: A sense
God, near and commanding an
holy: repentance; forgiveness;
sense OF need; willingness to d,
-~Am III zAog. -;44. a. All 49, -