less salubrious. No : we should stand forth and say, " Here am I ; send me." O that we all felt this holy zeal, and that we did not so lamentably "confer with flesh and blood," when, if called to it, we should leave even the vision of God himself, to execute his will towards sinful man ! ^
But, in whatever line of life we move, we should be actuated by the same spirit ; and so feel the constraining influence of Christ's love, as to live no longer to ourselves, but altogether unto Him who died for us, and rose again y.]
^ This is a fit subject for Missions. y 2 Cor. v. 14, 15.
Isai. vi. 8. / heard the voice of the Lord, saying, }Vho7a shall I send? and ivho ivillgoforus? Then said I, Here am I ; send me.
IN former ages, God was well pleased to reveal his will to men, sometimes in dreams, and sometimes in visions, and sometimes by an audible voice, like that of a man conversing with his friend : and these methods were more especially vouchsafed when he was about to devolve on them any particular ofHce, or to employ them on any extraordinary service. It was God's intention to send the Prophet Isaiah on a painful errand ; such as, if he consulted his own feel- ings only, he would be very averse to execute. But to prepare him for it, God vouchsafed to him a vision of the glory and felicity of the heavenly world. The scene of the vision was, the temple, in which Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, was worshipped. An assurance, at the same time, was given him of qualifi- cation for his work, and of acceptance in it : and by this he was brought to such a state, that, at the very first proposal from God to send a messenger to his people, he offered himself for the service, willing and desirous to undertake any thing whereby his God might be honoured, and his Saviour glorified.
Respecting the vision itself, I forbear to speak. The points to which I shall call your attention, are,
I. The proposal made -