vii. 12. _But Ahaz said, I will not ask, &c._
In studying what the commentators have to say about this chapter, I
met with a sentence that set me thinking. It was this: "In that very
hour, in which Isaiah was standing before Ahaz, the fate of Jerusalem
was decided for more than two thousand years" (_Delitzsch_). +I. How
true is this declaration!+ Ahaz was called upon to choose between the
alliance with Assyria and alliance with God. His choice was announced
in these four words, "I will not ask;" then he decided against God,
and all the disasters which have come upon Jerusalem since that day
have been in a very real sense the result of that fatal decision.
+II. How typical is this incident!+ How often men, like Ahaz, arrive
at decisions which are irrevocable, and unspeakably momentous! 1. To
have to make decisions that may be solemn in both these senses is one
of the things that make the position of a ruler or statesman so
serious. Not to be coveted are the positions in which a man's
resolves and utterances become fateful for whole peoples. But Pharaoh
was in such a position, and like Ahaz he made a fatal mistake (Exod.
x. 28). 2. Few are called to fill positions of such responsibility,
but every man is at some juncture called to make a decision the
results of which to him individually will be of unspeakable
importance. The Young Ruler arrived at such a juncture, and made such
a decision. Every one of you will at some moment be called upon to
decide for or against Christ, and the decision will be final and
irreversible. The fact that it is so will probably not be suspected
by you; you will decide against Christ, in the expectation of
reversing the decision on some other occasion, _which will never come
to you._ This decision you _may_ make now; it is the undeniable
possibility which makes the preaching and hearing of the Gospel so
solemn a thing. This supreme decision may be made by you in another
manner. The test may come to you in another form--in the shape of a
temptation appealing to some passion of the mind or lust of the
flesh, and your eternal destiny may be determined by the manner in
which you deal with that _one_ temptation (H. E. I. 4737, 4738,
4636). 3. Like a railway train, we are continually arriving at
"points," and the manner in which we "take" them affects our whole
after career. This is true in regard to many things, unspeakably
inferior in importance to the questions of surrender or non-surrender
to Christ, or of loyalty or disloyalty to Him, but yet of marvellous
influence in determining whether our after life is to be happy or
miserable: business, social and domestic relations.
In view of these facts--that so much may depend upon any decision we
make, and that it is absolutely concealed from us _which_ decisions
are final and irrevocable--what is it that, as wise men, it becomes
us to do? +1. Let us settle each question that is put before us in
the spirit of righteousness.+ Always let us ask only, What is
_right?_ (1.) This is the only path of _safety._ (2.) By this path
_heroism_ is reached, and _world-wide influence_ may be reached. We
think of Moses (Heb. xi. 24-27), of the Apostles (Acts iv. 19, 20),
and of Luther before the Diet of Worms, as heroes; but _they_ had no
such thought--their only thought was that of fidelity to duty; and it
is thus only that true heroism can be reached (P. D. 1189). +2. Let
us day by day commit ourselves to the guidance of God,+ praying Him
to strengthen our conscience, to sanctify our desires, and so to
"work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure."