October, 1939
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5, 6). Our young religionist Isaiah ‘‘saw . . . the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up.” He noticed that the very seraphim— ever in the presence of this Glory and themselves the agents of di vine cleansing—were unable to endure the radiant holiness of His presence and covered their faces with one pair of wings and their feet with another, using the third pair only for flying. He heard their cries of “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” He beheld the posts quake and the smoke (the figure of divine jealousy and the symbol of di vine holiness) descend. We see then that these mighty men, called of God to be His tes timony, men in different ages, were all vouchsafed a vision of the Glory of God in some mani festation or other. And we note that the invariable effect was to bring these men to their knees in deep conviction of their own sinfulness and impurity when brought under the searching rays of divine holiness. It would seem that Isaiah in later years was reminded of his temple experience when he exclaimed, “Who among us shall dwell with the devour ing fire ? , who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” (Isa. 33:14). Malachi, contemplat ing the coming of the Lord to His temple, asks, “But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appear- eth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver” (Mai. 3:2, 3). God’s standard of judgment is absolute, and man’s standard is- only ap proximate. God’s judgment of man is never based on his char acter as compared with that of other men, but upon what man is in the scorching rays of divine holiness and in the light of that “uncreated beam.” The correct young Hebrew Is aiah in the light of this consuming radiance sobs out his own con demnation. He is convicted of his own utter impurity and that of all who are about him. “Woe is me! . . . I am undone . . . I am a man of unclean lips . . . for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” The effect •is traced directly to the cause. His conviction of his condem nation, his lostness, his uncleanness, rests squarely upon the fact of having seen the King. Deep'Conviction of Sin I wonder whether you who read these words have ever beheld a soul gazing
into the very jaws of death and hell. We are hot, for the moment, referring to that unspeakable horror and an guish that overtake a lost soul on his deathbed as the very fiends of hell gloat over their victim. We have reference to that work of the Spirit of God which gives a living soul, n o t immediately approaching death, such a conviction of the awful ness of his own sin and of its just pun ishment in the fires of hell, that it seems the soul itself is about to enter that awful place of torment. As a general principle, we seriously doubt whether any one has ever really come to a saving faith in Christ, who has not first seen himself as lost! After conviction comes cleansing. God is ever ready to use His own means of cleansing in behalf of any who cry unto Him for mercy. Cleansing by the Blood But let us note that in the case of Isaiah as in the case of every other soul, the source of cleansing is the altar of sacrifice. “Without shedding of blood is no remission” of sins (Heb. 9:22); so the coal which was brought in the hand of one of the seraphim (Isa. 6:6) was taken from off the altar where the blood had been shed. The altar, fore shadowing the cross on which the Lamb of God was offered up, must in every age be the source, the ground, the means of cleansing. A Remarkable Commission We now move on to the climax of the drama. Our young prophet has beheld the vision of the glory, he has suf fered conviction, he has been .divinely cleansed, and he has received assurance to that effect. Then he goes on to say, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” It is important for us to note that it is only after Isaiah has passed through the various stages outlined above that he enters into or is ready for the reve lation that God is pleased to use men in carrying out His earthly testimony. And it is only after he has arrived at this stage that he is willing to be com missioned or that God is willing to com mission him. He responds with alacrity to the Lord’s suggestion of need, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Let us note the plural of the second pro noun. One person of the Trinity may give the commission, but it is for the purpose of carrying out the united pur pose of the three. What a dangerous thing to run w i t h o u t being sent, or without having a clear understanding of the purpose of the Trinity of the Godhead! It is after Isaiah volunteers “Here am I; send me” that he receives his or ders: “Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; ana see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the [Continued on page 379]
The invariable effect of a vision of the glory of God is to bring men to their knees in deep con viction of their own sinfulness and impurity when brought un der the searching rays of divine holiness. brighter than the. noonday sun. And the traveler fell to the ground, with his pride, his religion smashed to bits (Acts 9:3-6). Even away back in the beginnings of things that righteous man, self-righteous withal, Job of Uz, comes through the crucible of testing crying, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee: Wherefore I abhor myself,
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