An Address to Sunday-school Workers.
IT is taught dearly enough in the verses that we have read (Isa. 6:1-91In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5Then said I, Woe is me! 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. 6Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. 9And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. (Isaiah 6:1‑9)) that before we can rightly do anything for the Lord, there must be a divine work in our own souls.
Now this is too often forgotten. If we went through the Sunday-schools of the land and had some talk with those who teach, we should find that scores had put their hand to the plough who know nothing of this preliminary work of God.
How can we speak to others of the love of Jesus, if we do not know that love ourselves? how invite them to come to the Saviour, if we have not come? how call on them to flee from impending wrath, if we have not fled? how speak to them of the precious blood of Christ if we are not under its shelter and cleansing power?
There must be, therefore, a work of God in our own souls before we can rightly set heart or hand to the service of the Lord. In the personal experience which the prophet narrates in the opening of this chapter, we notice two points.
First, he realizes by divine teaching his unfitness for the presence of God. “Woe is me! for I am undone.” He comes to the conclusion, so to speak, that there is no room in the same place for God and for him.
Having made this heartfelt acknowledgement, he is brought into contact with the altar. The live coal touches his lips, and he learns that his iniquity is taken away and his sin purged.
Is it not evident, then, that before we can serve the Lord we should ourselves know the power of the precious blood of Christ and thus be at home in the presence of God? But are we perfectly at home there? Have we known, first of all, what it is to be unsuitable so as to exclaim with the prophet, “Woe is me!”? Do we so know the cleansing power of the precious blood that we can stand before God’s holy throne, where all His glory shines, without misgiving?
No one can serve the Lord with freedom unless there be first that blessed work of God in heart and conscience. I am persuaded that there are not a few who wear smiling faces in the company of their fellow-Christians, whose conscience needs to know the value of the precious blood of Christ which perfects the believer forever, and gives him boldness to enter into the holiest.
An of us here have set our hand to the work of the Lord. Our spheres of service may be different, but all are surely interested even if not actively engaged in this happy work among the young.
There are certain things so necessary to be borne in mind in connection with this and anything that we may seek to do for the Lord.
First, ere we can run, we must get His command to go. As the eyes of the Lord took down on the vast wastes of humanity to whom He would have His salvation sent, lie says, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And the ready answer is, “Send me.” The emphasis is on the “send,” not on the “me.” He is the Lord’s willing servant, ready to take his Master’s message at his Master’s word. But he must be sent.
Secondly, we need to remember what the Lord says in the early part of John 15. “Without Me ye can do nothing.” He was speaking to His own immediate disciples who were about to be entrusted with the most important commission that had ever been committed to men. But ere they went forth the Lord pointed out that no matter what the power they would receive, they were absolutely and entirely dependent upon Him, as the vine branches upon the vine. So with us; we may labor and toil, we may talk and teach, but without Him we can do nothing — nothing that will last. That is the lesson we have to learn. Oh! that God would grant us an adequate sense of our absolute dependence upon the Lord Jesus Christ, so that we might never forget those words, “Without Me ye can do nothing.”
Another point, in John 7, we shall do well to bear in mind is that, if living waters are to flow from us on the right hand and on the left, we must go to the Lord Jesus and drink. We must go to Him, not to fill our empty pitchers to satisfy the thirst of others, but for ourselves. What a poor thing it is to search our Bibles simply for other people! We need to read His Word for our own souls’ blessing, and to get it woven into the very texture of our spiritual being. Do you thirst to know more of His love, and of His great salvation? Do you thirst to know more of Jesus in the various offices He fills? Do you thirst so to have the Holy Ghost revealing more of His beauty that out of an overflowing heart you may be able to say, “He is the chiefest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely”? Then do not neglect to come to Him and drink.
Again, “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Gal. 6:99And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. (Galatians 6:9)). What a word of encouragement! Surely if anything can be called well doing, it is to gather the young together and speak to them of a Saviour who is so dear to our own hearts.
But we are apt to grow weary. We sow the seed; we pray and watch for it to shoot up. But the earth that covers it is hard, and we see no springing blade. Then perhaps we say, “I have sown the good seed and would water it with tears if I could but I see little or no result.” Dear discouraged worker, be not weary in well doing, for in due season you shall reap, if you faint not. Oh, that your faith may lay hold of that faithful and encouraging word!
Once more, “Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters” (Isa. 32:2020Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass. (Isaiah 32:20)). Not simply, blessed is the man that sows beside Sunday-school waters, but beside all waters. How many opportunities of blessed service for Christ do we miss! I often feel sorry to find myself in a railway carriage without some gospel books to give away. “Oh!” says some one, “nothing comes of that.” Don’t be too sure! Only ten days ago I received a letter from an unknown correspondent telling me something of his spiritual history. He had been converted in childhood and made a public profession of religion in his youth. But as years rolled on he wandered far away from God into paths of worldliness and sin. Traveling by train, not so very long ago, there sat in the same compartment a man, evidently in the humbler ranks of life, who was not ashamed of Christ nor afraid to distribute the gospel books he had. That man’s example and fearless consistent ways were instrumental in the restoration of this backslider. Precious fruit for God! What an incentive to sow beside all waters!
Lastly, let us be careful how we live. The apostle Paul, writing to the Philippians, said. “Only let your conversation be as becometh the gospel of Christ.” What did he mean? Did he mean that since the gospel of Christ had been made a blessing to their souls and had brought them the knowledge of salvation, they had to walk according to it? Although that is true, it is not quite what the verse means. The apostle speaks of himself as having been set for the defense of the gospel. But not the apostle alone. The Philippians stood for its defense likewise. If the apostle was one of the captains in the army of the Lord, they were private soldiers; but whether it was captain or prate soldiers, they all alike stood for the defense and confirmation of the gospel. Now, says the apostle, if you are identified with this glorious testimony which God is sending through the world, see that it receives no damage by an inconsistent life. Oh! let us be careful if we have set our hand to the gospel plough that our individual life shall commend that testimony and cast no blot upon it.
Only a day or two ago I received a letter from someone living miles from here. Words of anguish are in that letter, and the spiritual sky of the writer is black with clouds. How did it come about? Here is the story briefly told. Converted young, brought to know God as his Father, the heart was filled with the joys of God’s salvation. Christian companionships were formed and confidence given to Christian persons. But the individuals in whom this confidence was placed broke down; their life was not as it should have been. Then the devil succeeded in occupying the writer with the failings of other people. Darkness came in between the soul and God. The lips became sealed against prayer and there was no reading of the Bible. Then the devil said, “Give it all up.” “But if I give it up, what will the other dear members of my family say, and what will Jesus think? I cannot do that, but how can I get back? How can the joys of God’s salvation be restored to me?” Do you see, all this began by the inconsistency in the life of another? We have to be watchful over ourselves, that no inconsistency on our part be used by the evil one to the damage of souls and of the testimony of God.
To this exhortation all believers will assuredly do well to give heed. But it applies in a very special way to us who seek to serve the Lord. Many eyes are upon us. God grant that in all our ways we may bring glory to His Name, and Honor to the gospel which we proclaim.
W. B.