Uzziah's sin was presuming to be worthy of, Jehovah's presence. • He thrust • aside the. priestly mediator and claimed access to God in his own person. Even kings can have no audience with the King of Kings without a. Mediator, and there is now but One, the Man Christ Jesus. Had Uzzlah owned him- self spiritually a leper he would not have- become one physically. "If we judge our- selves we shall not be judged." III. JOTHAM, first as co-regent and then independent, reigned prosperously. He fol- lowed the good example of his father, but avoided his errors. So lgt every wise son do. But "the people did yet corruptly" (27:2). 14. Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thv God,. which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from thé house of bandage; Few men can stand the test of prospèr- ity. See Amaziah, 2 Chron. 25:18, 19. Nebuchadnezzar, Dan. 4:30-34; Herod, Acts 12:20-23. Spiritual pride is the most detestable of all. The history of the Church is one of lives wrecked on the rocks of pride. Uzziah's prosperity turned his head. Not satisfied with the throne of Judah he spoiled a long and useful life by assuming the prerogative of a priest and God laid him aside with one stroke of leprosy. The sin of pride is to be recognized, hated and for- saken. Many men once the chosen vessels of the Lord have lifted their heads up in- stead of humbling themselves ' under the mighty hand of God and the Lord has laid them aside forever. "Behold : this was the inirmity of thy sister Sodom. Pride, full- ness of bread and abundance of idleness was in her and her daughters. Neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy, and they were haughty and committed abomination before me. Therefore I took' ttiem away as I saw good." Ezek. 16:49, 50. appeared to Abraham (Acts 7:2); at The Burning Bush to Moses (E. 3:1-3); at the Tabernacle to Samuel (1 Sam. 3:3-10); at Anatoth to Jeremiah (Jer. 1:1-4); on the river Chebar to Ezekiel *(Ezek. 1:1-28); on the Hlddekel to Daniel (Dan. 10:4-6); near Damascus to Saul—Paul —(Acts 9:3-6); on the Isle of Patmos to John (Rev. li—); and here at the Temple to Isaiah. When nat- ural "inspiration" is accompanied and im- parted by such supernatural demonstration, but not till then, may we rank the inspira- tion of the Iliad with that of Isaiah. 2. But even then there can be no comparison between this sublime production and any other book in existence. "Even in literary form the world has produced nothing greater than Isaiah." "All kinds of writing appear to be equally easy to him. He is equally at home in pathos and scorn; he can '-paint natural scenery .with ravishiner beautv. or sing an ode of triumph with ravishing power. He is lyrical and dramatic. In depth and breadth of sympathy he. Is un- rivalled." His sublimity, reverence, awe,- terror, tenderness, grace, holiness, denuncia- But the very call of the prophet refutes this. In Mesopotamia the God of Glory
and "engines," invented, and inventoried, not by "the mind of the flesh," but by "the mind of the Spirit." 3. But sad to say, Uz- ziah by one act of sacrilege tarnished all the glory of his reign. One moment of folly discredited fifty-two years of honorable achievement. "Watch and pray lest ye en- ter Into temptation." 4. "When Uzzlah was strong his heart was lifted up" (26:16). When we are strong then we are weak. "When I am weak then am I strong" (2 Cor. 12:10). The favors of Providence should humble us. The higher we are lifted, the more lowly we should be in spirit. Men have no reason to glory. All that they are and have of good they receive (1 Cor. 4:7). Uzziah was one of the best of the kings of Judah. The story pf his ilfe is told in this one chapter and nine verses in 2 Kings 14 and IB. A very few words give us the outline of a remarkable life. "He did that which was right," "He sought God," "God helped him," "Praiseworthy," "He built," "He had much cattle" (prosperity), "His heart was lifted up" (Pride), "He went Into the temple to burn incense" (Presumption), "and Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death" (Punishment). How natural and logical are these words. Read them in the light of God's warning to Israel in Deut. 8:11-14: 11. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his command- ments, and His judgments, and His stat- utes, which I command thee this day; 12. Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; 13. And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multi- ' plied; ISAIAH'S CALL TO SERVICE. Lesson VII.—Isaiah vi. I. THE INTER-RELATION OF THE HIS- TORY AND PROPHECY. 1. As the deeds of Elijah and Ellsha were contemporary with the Kings we have stud- ied, so the words of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezek- iel, etc., were spoken in the course of the history whose records lie before us. The historical and prophetical writings, separat- ed in the records, were concurrent in time and action, and may be, indeed have been, edited into one unbroken, onflowing story. Isaiah tells us (1:1) that he prophesied in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, and Ahaz, whose reigns we are studying. 2. Indeed out of the conditions and events of the times sprung even the predictions of future events for the histories also are prophecies (types). Compare chapter seven with 9:6, for Illus- tration. II. THE CALL OF THE PROPHET. t. Some say, despite the Drophet'» own testimony to the contrary,that Scripture prophecy has no higher source-, than the genius of deep- and far-sighted men.
Pith and Pivot—T.C.H.
Lesson for May 14th
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