Have You Seen the King?

I cannot think of any­thing more fitting for us to do at this opening devotional meeting than to meditate on the call of God to His people and the leaders of His work in the days of Isaiah. So let us turn to Isaiah, one of the most thrilling books in the Bible. There are many things about this prophet that are unusually interesting. He wrote in a way that gives the impression to some that there were two Isaiahs—the one who wrote the first thirty-nine chapters and the one who wrote the last twenty-seven. As you know there are sixty-six chapters in this book, and in that sense it becomes a symbol of the Bible itself with its sixty-six books. There are thirty-nine in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New, and as we are all aware there is a very sharp break between the Old and the New Testaments. And in this book of Isaiah we find a very sharp break between the first thirty-nine chapters, which relate largely to Israel and the surrounding nations, and the Messianic and eschatological prophecies of the last twenty-seven chapters, which, by the way, are actually three great poems, each of which closes with the same tragic thought, "There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked."

The last chapter and the last verse, you remember, gives us a terrible picture of those outside of the Lord. These can never know the blessing of rest and peace. But we are not dealing so much with the analysis of the book itself as to note the purpose of the book. Notice the opening verses of the first chapter. Speaking through His prophet, the Lord laments the tragedy of a nation that once knew God and now has turned from Him, albeit they diligently conform to the ceremonial pattern of their religion but know little or nothing of the power of God. "Hear, 0 heavens," God says, "and give ear, 0 earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider." The dumb animals have more regard for their masters than the professed people of God for the One who redeemed them. A tragic picture indeed! And yet in verse 18 we have one of the most wonderful promises in all the Word of God. "Come now, and let us reason together . . . : though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." We often preach from that text, the setting in which God makes His im­passioned appeal to His ancient people.

The second chapter gives us an interest­ing picture of man's attempt to find peace by organization, through social and politi­cal affiliations. In the last days a great proclamation of peace is to be heard among the nations. But this cannot bring real peace, for the Lord says He is going to destroy the pride of men and bring their glory to ashes. "Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust" is God's moving appeal. Yes, the second chapter gives a dramatic picture of desolation.

Archeologist Finds Isalah's House

The next chapter is, of all portions of the Bible, one of the most unusual. Why did this prophet say so much about women's fashions? How changing they are! There was a time when I wondered how that chapter ever got into this great book. I wondered, I say, until a few years ago when I was taking a course in archeology in one of our universities. An archeologist from the Middle East visited us. He was the one who had located the city of 1VIizpah where Isaiah lived, and he brought some very interesting trophies with him to the lecture that day, and among other things he said, "You know, we actually found the house where Isaiah lived. The evidence was too clear to permit any doubt. It was a two-story house. And another important thing is that the old prophet's room was on the upper floor—there was the evidence of that. In fact, we found some of the articles that he used to use." And with a smile he said, "Would you believe it, this old prophet lived right opposite a beauty parlor! just imagine that old man going into his room day after day, and when he gazed out of his window he would see a train of women going into the beauty parlor!" How empty in the face of coming disaster! Enough to sear any prophet's soul, wasn't it? Well, I had my answer. I knew then why this third chapter was included. As Isaiah looked down into the near future he saw what was about to be tragically fulfilled in the history of that nation. Not long after he wrote his message, the flower of Israel's young manhood lay stark and bleeding on the bloodsoaked battlefields of northern Palestine, and the nation's womanhood had lapsed into this tragic state.

The fourth chapter becomes also an im­pressive prophecy for our own day. We have often applied the statement in this fourth chapter to modern Babylon.

Israel—A Planted Vineyard

The fifth chapter comes as both an ap­peal and a lament. The Lord likened His people to a vineyard planted in a very fruitful hill. It was as if He said: "I have done my best. I fenced you in, have given you everything that heart could desire. But when I looked for fruit, all I got was worth­less wild grapes! Now I tell you what I will do. I will break down the wall and will lay it waste." And that is exactly what happened. Once God's protection was re­moved, the invading armies of Assyria swept in and destroyed that fair land.

These five chapters all lead up to the experience recorded in chapter 6. Up till this time Isaiah has not told us who he is and what his credentials are, except that he is the son of Amos. But the sixth chapter reveals his special commission of God. It was the year that King Uzziah died that Isaiah was called. Let us turn to the sixth chapter and read. Isaiah remembers so well what happened because it made such an impression upon him. "I saw also the Lord," he says. Last evening Elder Cleve­land used that expression as he related some things that he had witnessed in evan­gelism. "I saw God shake a city"; "I saw God shake a palace," said the evangelist. Isaiah says, "I saw. . . the Lord." Not only what He was doing, but he saw the Lord Himself, "high and lifted up," on a throne of glory.

The hour when King Uzziah died, of all tragic hours in the history of Israel, was the time a strong ruler was needed most. Uzziah, or Azariah as he is sometimes called in the book of Kings, was a very

outstanding ruler. He had reigned for more than forty years—a very prosperous reign —and he rebuilt a number of cities. But prosperity is not always the environment in which we develop spiritual virtues. This man became puffed up with pride. One day he came to the Temple to offer his own worship. He didn't need any priestly intervention or help. He came right into the Temple and began to offer incense. The priests were outraged. This was in defiance of the command of God. Eighty of them banded together to resist his maj­esty! You remember the story. There was an altercation right there in the sacred precincts of the Temple, and all at once somebody noticed that leprosy had broken out on the forehead of the king. He fled from the Temple never to return. He was unclean."

Isaiah frequented the royal court. He was a friend of the king at the time when Assyria was threatening to invade Palestine and Israel needed a strong ruler, and the king lay dying. Isaiah, a young man probably not more than twenty-five years old, having completed his seminary work in the school of the prophets was ready to take his place among the messengers of the Lord. It was Sabbath morning, we are told in Prophets and Kings, when some spiritual desire brought this youthful leader into the quiet precinct of the Temple where he stood under the portico, in calm meditation. An impressive silence swept over his soul as he envisioned the priests in their sacred service. In this place where the king had been stricken of God and from which he had fled a leper, Isaiah heard his call. As all roads into his life were cleared of human traffic, God rode quietly into his consciousness. All at once he became dimly, then vividly, aware of the divine Presence. In vision he was lifted far from that earthly Temple. Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up and sitting upon a throne.

Awestruck, he heard the angel choir sing­ing, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory." How different was the King of the universe from the dying king of Israel! Israel's king was unclean. Heaven's King was holy. And more than that, "the whole earth is full of his glory." While the pillar of the people's hope had collapsed, the Pillar of the uni­verse was on His throne. The young prophet, taking it all in, became conscious of something else,—not only the glory of God but his own terrible need. "Woe is me!" he cried, "for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts."

Vision of God Changes the Outlook

Something happens to a man when he sees the King. Everything around him is different. Even the world is different. Isaiah had been witnessing the fear and trembling on the part of the whole nation, not know­ing what moment the Assyrian invader would sweep in and wreck the country. Everywhere were marching men, frustrated women, and crying children. But when a man sees the King, the Lord of hosts, even the earth looks different. When he catches the song of the angels even this sin-cursed earth reflects the glory of the Lord. Stand­ing in the presence of the King, he felt the very vibration of heaven. The posts of the door moved.

I shall never forget an experience I had when I was only a boy. With my father I made my first visit to a cathedral. It was in Melbourne, Australia. I had never been in a cathedral before, for I had been brought up in the Adventist Church. I was born in this faith. My father, however, was familiar with big churches, because at the time this message came to him he was a professional organist in one of the largest churches in Melbourne. This day he took me with him. One of the members of Parliament had died and the funeral service was being conducted in the cathedral. Walking into that splendid Gothic struc­ture, I gazed around in admiration. We took our places just as the music of the organ began to sound through the building. I was sitting right against one of the great pillars. "Nearer, My God, to Thee" was being played on the organ. I had heard pipe organs before, but I had never heard one as big and as full as this. By the use of the quiet bourdon pedal, which I learned to know later, the organist was giving that hymn an interpretation of rich pathos. The whole building seemed to be vibrating, not by the noise but by the sheer power of somber tone. That incident comes to my mind as I think of Isaiah's experience. I was only in an earthly building, but my heart was trembling. I don't remember what the preacher said, I don't remember anything else, but I did sense that I was in the presence of greatness; in the pres­ence of death, to be sure, but even death can become an opportunity for God to reveal Himself.

Isaiah, too, was thinking of death, for this was the year King Uzziah died. But now his mind was turned away from the tragedies of this life, he was looking at the glories of heaven, where death is unknown.

A terrifying sense of personal need hum­bled him to the dust. How welcome was the cleansing coal from the heavenly altar! And more welcome still was the assurance of sins forgiven. Renewed and comforted by this fire of love, his opened ears and quickened understanding made him ready for the call of God. "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" cried the Voice. He waited. "Surely somebody will answer that call!" thought Isaiah. Then he realized he was all alone. He should respond. But how dare he, a man of unclean lips? Ah, but something happened. The angel who had been sent to lay the live coal on his lips brought the assurance that his iniquity was purged. He was now ready to serve.

Purpose of the Live Coal

There are implications in this that we do well to ponder. We sometimes pray one for another—"Lord, touch the speaker's lips today with a live coal from off Thine altar." The suggestion being that this will make the preacher eloquent and we will get a good sermon. But that is not the purpose of the live coal. Heaven's fire is first of all a cleansing fire. "And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." And if the preacher waits until he comes into the pulpit to be cleansed, I am afraid he is too late. Brethren, we all need the live coal. We all must sense the need of personal cleansing that can come only by the com­mission of God.

Isaiah, a cleansed man, heard the call of God, so he offered himself in those familiar words, "Here am I; send me." And then came the commission, "Go, and tell this people."

Divine Call Essential

Those few verses in the sixth chapter of Isaiah contain not only the call and the divine commission, but they also set forth the preparation every messenger of God needs. In some ways Isaiah was Israel's greatest prophet. We often speak of him as the gospel prophet. This man who could pen the moving pathos of the fifty-third chapter, this man whose heart had ached for the people who did not know God, this man whose soul was seared as he saw in the foolish fashions of his day that which was a forerunner of destruction, this man —the symbol of God's ministering servants in all ages—experienced a personal cleansing and a heart preparation. Only then was he ready to be sent forth as the messenger of the Lord of hosts. Just as Saul of Tarsus related everything in his ministry to the experience on the Damascus road, so Isaiah related his prophetic call to what happened to him that Sabbath morn­ing at the Temple. This became the focal point of all of his future service for God. With confidence and assurance he could say, "I saw. . . the Lord."

Brethren, we have gathered together as a group of workers. Some of us have been in the cause of God a long time, having been born in this message. Others perhaps have only recently begun their ministry. But whether we are young or old we all need a new sense of the presence of God. We all need to realize that the Lord is calling us individually. In this quiet mo­ment, shut away from much of the noise and confusion of the world, it is a wonder­ful privilege for us to spend these days together in this convention. However, if all we get is a few ideas of how to work, then the convention could hardly be called a success. What we need is not just the how and what to do; we need a vision of the "Lord of hosts," "high and lifted up."

"When these things begin to come to pass," said the King of Israel, "then look up, . . . for your redemption draweth nigh." It is possible to preach sermons on the Second Advent, to emphasize the nearness of the coming of the Lord, to show with certainty that all of these distracting things of the world are evidences of the Saviour's near return, and yet not know the Lord Himself. Our greatest need as a group of ministers is to see God. In the fortieth chapter of Isaiah and the twenty-sixth verse, we read, "Lift up your eyes . . . and behold who hath created these things." He was emphasizing the greatness of the Lord of hosts. By contrast, "all nations . . . are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity." They "are counted as the small dust of the balance." All royalty with its pomp and circumstance is but a vain thing after we catch a vision of the Lord of hosts. The God who flings the constella­tions into space, who knows all the myriad stars by their names, who brings out all their host by number, is the God that calls us to serve Him. And that same King of heaven who knows the stars by name knows us all by name, knows us much better than we know ourselves.

A little boy who lived in Connecticut was saying his evening prayer one night. You know how easy it is for children to get a garbled idea from us when we fail to pro­nounce our words properly. Well, this is what he said: Our Father, who art in New Haven, how did you know my name?" A rather modern version of the Lord's Prayer! But let us not smile too much, for there's a wealth of meaning in that. How does the Lord know our names? With all the millions, the billions, of people in the world, yet He knows our names. He knew Isaiah's name and He knew his need. He knew the need of all the people of Israel. He knows your need. He knows the need of every heart today. If I am able to discern the needs and desires of the minis­try by my contacts with our brethren all over the world, I would say that their great­est need is that we might have a more intimate fellowship with our God. But that fellowship is not the result of struggle. It comes by personal surrender. Our God is here this morning. I feel His presence, and I am conscious that He is going to richly bless us during the two intensive days that we shall be here.

Our Response to God's Call

But, brethren, what is going to be our attitude to His gracious call? Surely there is nothing more important that we could do at this first devotional period than to per­mit the Spirit of God to clear our minds and hearts of all human fanfare and traffic and then in His own quiet way enable us to see the Lord "high and lifted up.

At this time, it seems to me, there is nothing so important as for us to enter into this experience of Isaiah. In the closing verse of the fortieth chapter he says: "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." Well, you know the verse. The margin says "change their strength." We thank God for our organiza­tion, and yet our strength is not in the organization. We thank God for our system of education, but our strength is not in our education. "They that wait upon the Lord shall change their strength." As a ministry, I believe, brethren, we need more intimate fellowship with the King, "high and lifted up." Isn't that your desire? I believe that in this opening meeting we need to wait calmly before the Lord, and let Him speak to our hearts. Perhaps right now, as we come to the close of this little devotional service, we would like to in­dividually respond. How can we do it?

Well, we could have a testimony meeting, and yet it might be better for us to do what Isaiah did. He didn't even talk. He just waited in quietness while the Lord spoke to his inmost soul. When he cried out in his need, "I am unclean!" I am sure that he fell on his knees before the Lord. Is there one here this morning that feels a very real need in his own heart for a new vision of God, a new understanding of personal cleansing and preparation; a de­sire to hear again the commission of God to go and tell the people of His love? If that is what God's Spirit has done in your poor heart these last thirty minutes, then would you like to let God seal that? If you would, then in quietness take your place before Him on your knees and let your silent prayer ascend to God for a new revelation of the King-Priest on His throne, ministering the benefits of His atoning sac­rifice on behalf of His blood-bought heritage. You will find God's presence with you to cleanse and to bless.