vi. 1-12. _In the year that King Uzziah died, &c._
We have here the history of Isaiah's call to his great life-work.
Perhaps in a modern biography this chapter would have been placed
first. But there was wisdom in placing it where it stands; it was
well to give some insight into the real character of the men along
who Isaiah was called to labour, for thus we are enabled more easily
to understand the nature of the mission on which he was sent.[1]
Studying this chapter as a history of the prophet's call, I learn--
+I. That a threefold spiritual preparation is needed for effective
service of God.+[2] It is generally admitted that some kind of
preparation is needed, _e.g.,_ for the ministry of the Gospel; but it
is not generally recognised that a merely professional preparation is
of no avail whatever. A man may pass through the whole routine of
college life, both literary and theological, and yet not be a prophet
of the Lord. Such preparation is not merely not enough, it is not
even essential. "Schools of the prophets" may exist without sending
forth a single prophet, and God calls many prophets who have never
been inside a school door. This is true of every kind and form of
God's service, _e.g.,_ the Sunday-school, the home, Christian
literature. In every case a threefold spiritual preparation is
necessary. Without it we may pretend to be God's servants; but the
disguise will always be imperfect, and we shall always be betraying
what we really are. Even the old blind Isaacs whom we deceive will
not be sure about us: we may have on Esau's garments, but we shall
never perfectly imitate Esau's voice. What, then, is this
preparation? 1. _A vision of God._ Before we can serve God
effectively, we must to some extent see Him as He is. In all
departments of human activity, knowledge of the person served is
essential to perfect service. Those who have never seen an earthly
king cannot serve him as those who are in daily intercourse with him;
their loyalty is at the most a sentiment, not a constraining power.
The biographies of God's most eminent servants in all ages make it
plain that the first and indispensable state in preparation for His
service is a vision of God Himself--a revelation of His majesty and
holiness (vers. 1-4). 2. What a man needs before he can effectively
serve God is _a vision of himself._ The great hindrance of such
service is self-satisfaction and self-sufficiency. But when a man
really sees God as He is, he straightway sees himself as he is (ver.
5). Job's experience (Job xlii. 5, 6) Peter's experience (Luke v. 8).
He sees himself to be utterly unfit and unable to serve God, and so
attains to the second indispensable qualification for such service
(Eph. iii. 8; 1 Cor. xv. 9, &c.) 3. The third thing which a man needs
before he can effectively serve God is _participation in God's
salvation._ This is a rule that needs to be stated with wisdom. As a
matter of fact, God has used the ministry of unconverted men. Such
men may be guide-posts, though not guides. How much better to be a
guide! How much more useful is a guide! But we cannot thus serve our
generation unless we have been made a partaker of God's salvation. By
a sanctifying process,--a process involving in some cases terrible
pain (vers. 6, 7),--we must have been made "separate from sinners."
+II. Those who have undergone this preparation will devote themselves
unreservedly to God's service.+ 1. _There will spring up
spontaneously within them a desire to serve God._ They will not need
to be pressed into this service; they will volunteer (ver. 8).
2. _They will not be deterred by the difficulty or painfulness of the
service to which they are called._ It was a hard and distasteful
service that was demanded of Isaiah--to prophesy to an unbelieving
and scoffing generation (ch. v. 18, 19); to enter upon a ministry
that would leave men worse than it found them (vers. 9, 10). Nor was
this ministry to be brief; it was to be prolonged through many years
(vers. 11, 12). Note: in sending Isaiah on such a ministry there was
nothing inconsistent with the Divine righteousness or goodness. God's
truth must be proclaimed, whether men will heed or reject it; and the
inevitable effect of such proclamation of the truth is to render
those who reject it more stupid and wicked than they were before
(2 Cor. ii. 16; John ix. 39). But, painful as it was, Isaiah did not
shrink from it. Nor do any who have passed through such a preparation
as his. They do not ask concerning a work or duty, "Is it easy?" "Is
it pleasant?" but, "Does God call me to it?" Paul: (Acts xxi. 13).
+III. There is great encouragement for those who have unreservedly
devoted themselves to the service of God.+ 1. _What God demands from
them is not success, but faithfulness._ He did not require Isaiah to
convert his fellow-countrymen, but to prophesy to them faithfully.
There his responsibility began and ended. So is it with preachers,
teachers, and priests to-day. Men measure by success, but God by
faithfulness. What a difference is the result, _e.g.,_ in such a case
as that of Carey, who laboured for years without making one convert!
or in such a case as Isaiah's! 2. _No faithful servant of God will
ever labour without some success._ Isaiah was not to toil altogether
in vain. There was to be a wide-spread apostacy of his countrymen,
but not a universal apostacy; a small remnant would still cleave to
the Lord (ver. 13); and doubtless Isaiah's ministry did much to keep
them in the paths of righteousness. So is it with us; much of our
seed may be wasted, but not all of it (Ps. cxxvi. 6; 1 Cor. xv. 58).