The passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II this week was a truly historic event. I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that it has had a profound effect and impact upon peoples far beyond the shores of Great Britain. And speaking today as a proud Briton, and sometimes people find that a bit strange, especially here in America, we didn't always understand the dynamics. How could someone who comes from Ireland count himself as British? Well, there was a time, actually for over 800 years, when the United Kingdom was composed of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1921, by an act which was lodged with the League of Nations, about two-thirds of Ireland seceded from Great Britain, to form what became known as the Irish Free State, later to be known as the Republic of Ireland. But Northern Ireland, the six counties of Ulster that remained with Great Britain, continued to be British. So I was born in the British state as a proud Briton in Northern Ireland. And those who heard Prince Charles, now King Charles III, give his first speech after his mother's death will have heard him refer to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and when I heard that I punched the air because there are many who don't accept that, who don't believe that, who don't want that but that's tough. I am a proud Briton And as a proud Briton from that part of her sovereign kingdom known as Northern Ireland, the death of Her Majesty's had a profound effect upon me personally. Like many of my fellow countrymen, throughout the span of my entire life, I have known no other head of state in the United Kingdom but Queen Elizabeth II. Her Majesty was a constant in all of our lives. She appeared timeless. It seemed as if she would always be there fulfilling her royal duties and remaining the focus of media coverage and attention on an almost daily basis. The Queen looked like someone who would go on forever. But of course we know that people in this life do not go on forever. And so her life came to a close on Thursday afternoon, September 8th. As it was with the events of 9-11-2001, that was 21 years ago today. I will always remember where I was when I heard the news that Our Sovereign, my Queen, had passed away. And I'm not ashamed to say that I shed tears at the news, and so did my very American wife. It's hard to explain to non-Britishers what the monarchy means to us. It's really hard. In fact, I think it's impossible to put into words. I've been speaking with other Britons, even in this country, since Thursday, and they all say the same thing. They know what I mean. It's hard to put into words. There is just something about our connection to the sovereign that makes us uniquely British. And that is not to attack your republican system of government or to try to make any statement about the merits of one as opposed to the other. But I do just remark that my Bible still says honour the King. In all parts of the United Kingdom there's a very profound sorrow today felt by ordinary people at the death of one we're now calling Elizabeth the Great. She was, in a sense, all of our mothers and grandmothers. We shall miss her. However, something that happened immediately upon the announcement of the Queen's death really underscored for me what it means to be part of a constitutional monarchy. When the Sovereign passes, the royal standard, that flag, that flies over the residence of the monarch remains at full staff, at full mast. The Union flag, the Union Jack as it's often called, our national flag, is lowered to half staff, or half mast as the British say, on every public building during ten days of national mourning. But the royal standard is the only flag not to be so lowered. It remains at full staff. Why? Because quite simply, though the Queen has died, the position of sovereign has not ceased to exist. The throne is not vacated. I'm sure you've heard the cry, the king is dead, long live the king. That's where this comes from. This is the case now in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Queen is dead, long live the King. That was the case as soon as Her Majesty drew her last breath in Balmoral in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. She left the throne but her son immediately took the throne even though he's not officially been invested They haven't had that coronation ceremony yet. He took the throne immediately as King Charles III. I hope he will be better than King Charles I and II. There was a service of reflection and prayer and remembrance held at St Paul's Cathedral, London on Friday. I watched that event live. And as is customary, the service closed with our national anthem. And I appreciated our brother playing it first thing this morning, even though I didn't tell him to do that. But for the first time at any official occasion in over 70 years, our nation's anthem was sung using these words. God save our gracious King. Long live our noble King. Long live the King. send him victorious, happy and glorious, long to reign over us. God save the King. And for the very first time in my life I sang along using those words before it was always God save our gracious Queen. And it was very emotional and for me historic. I think of the implications of this. All of our coins in the United Kingdom, all of our bills, the pounds, have the Queen's image upon them. They will soon be printing notes and minting coins with the image of the new Sovereign. And instead of facing to the right, he will be facing to the left. And the reason for that is that with every sovereign that comes to the throne, it alternates. So when the Queen came to power after her father the King, if you've got old coins with the King, he's facing the other way. It's just one of those things. So many implications of what has happened. There are lawyers in our country known as Queen's Council. They're no longer Queen's Council. They're not QCs anymore, they're KCs. They're King's Council. amazing. The stamps that we put on our envelopes and correspondence, those stamps will no longer have the image of the Queen, they'll have the new Sovereign. But I've been reflecting much upon our late Queen and those two occasions in my life when I saw her in the flesh, once as a child and another as a grown man. The second of those occasions was July 1990, the 12th of July, which is a very important event in our nation. I was witness that day to a really special event in our home city at the time, East Kilbride, Scotland, when Her Royal Highness, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, came for a royal visit. She came to open what was known as the Olympia Centre. And of course there were multitudes of people there, men and women and children, all standing around, waiting patiently for the arrival of the Royal Party, as they would do. And there was a tremendous sense of anticipation, I remember it well, a real air of excitement. And everybody, as you would expect, tried to find what they thought would be a good vantage point from which to get the best view of the Queen as she passed by. After waiting for what seemed a really long time, that moment arrived when the stately limousine threw up with the royal standard on it and the Queen emerged and all to the delight of the cheering and clapping crowds. It was very exciting to be there and to see it all. Sadly my wife and girls were in the Republic here, visiting with her parents in Iowa. But I enjoyed that day. I remember seeing people stretching their necks and folks standing on their tiptoes to try to get a better view, and children begging their parents to lift them up on their shoulders because they wanted to see her. And everybody not only wanted a clear view of the royal visitor, but they were hoping that she would stop near them on her walkabout. And they can't stop at every point because they'd be there for days, so they have to choose. And I remember standing at this particular point. There's a parking lot that has railings. She was on the other side of those railings walking around and she was greeting people as she would stop. And I remember distinctly she stopped right in front of us. Just about as close as that camera is for me right now. She looked through that barrier and there were several elderly ladies standing right with me and she said to them, are you on the outside or the inside? Well, you would have thought somebody had given those ladies a million bucks each. They were just in raptures as she moved on. It was very exciting. It was a very memorable day, experience of a lifetime for many, but for me it was the second time that I had seen the Queen in the flesh. The first time had been decades before when I was a child in my native city of Belfast. As Her Majesty the Queen came to open the new Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. We've driven over it many times since, but I remember that day standing with my parents and all the other multitudes with my little flag waving as she went by. I always used to think she must have an electric arm that keeps it going like this, but she was waving at the people. Then we made our way round to our city hall, beautiful building. and she was there as well doing some special event and believe it or not it was on July 4th 1966 and those experiences memorable as they were for a British citizen and some people have far greater stories than that to tell I know people who have met the Queen in person and spoken with her But when you think about it, there is actually nothing special at all in light of what we just read this morning in Isaiah chapter 6. The reason I say that is because there it speaks to us of an infinitely greater sovereign. A king of a far more exalted kingdom And it speaks also of someone who had the experience of a lifetime and many lifetimes in looking upon that sovereign. And I'm speaking about the prophet Isaiah. It was truly an unforgettable event in the ministry and in the life of a man of God when he actually saw the King The Lord of Hosts. That's how he is described in that chapter. In verse 5, at the end of the verse he says, For mine eyes have seen The King, The Lord of Hosts. Isn't that an interesting thing to observe? And it was a scripture that came to my mind immediately when I heard of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Is it not amazing to think of this verse, Isaiah chapter 6 verse 1, in the year that King Uzziah died. If you read your scriptures carefully you'll find that Uzziah, he's called Azariah in another place, he reigned for 52 years. Our Queen beat him by 18 years. Well, That's an aside. But you have to say that it was a very long time that he reigned. But there came that point in his life when he died. But in that very year that King Uzziah died, it says, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne. See, there's another king. But here's a king who doesn't die. Here's a king who is very much alive. who is very much upon his throne, described in verse 5 as the King, Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord of Hosts. And this wonderful event that's recorded here, which reminds me of that statement often used, long live the King. It is to this wonderful event that I want to draw your attention for a time this morning. Notice what happened when the prophet saw the king. We begin with this vision of the prophet. He says in the first verse, I saw also the Lord. His eyes were open to see something that others at the time would not have seen. He had this really special vision, if you like, in which he saw the person of the king. identified as the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, the King, the Great King, one who is described in the New Testament and the book of Revelation as the King of Kings and the Lord of Hosts. And this was a vision that this prophet needed to have if he was going to be properly prepared for his ministry. He needed to see the Lord. And he did see the Lord. And I want you to know when you turn to the New Testament, to John chapter 12, that this one that he saw on the throne is identified as the Lord Jesus Christ. Look carefully at this. John chapter 12, and from verse 37, It's speaking of Christ and His ministry. But though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him. Doesn't that do away with the notion that people have today that if they could just see miracles happening, see wonderful events taking place, that would make them come to Christ and believe? No, it wouldn't. In fact, the Lord Jesus said in Luke chapter 16, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead. Even a resurrection wouldn't be enough to convince them. That certainly was true. When Lazarus was raised, and when Jairus' daughter was raised, and when the widow of Nain's son was raised, did that cause people to flock to Christ and believe on Him? No. Though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him. that the saying of Esaias, and that's Isaiah that we're looking at, the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord who hath believed our report, unto whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed. That's from Isaiah 53 verse 1. Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, and of course now the reference is not Isaiah 53, but Isaiah chapter 6, Look at these words of verse 40. He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. Now mark this. These things said Esaias when he saw His glory, and spake of Him. Who? Christ. The one that he saw on the throne, the king's person, was Christ exalted and glorified. And you will note carefully that he saw him and then he spake of him. And isn't that the necessary and proper order of things? Even as a minister, I can't really speak about the king truthfully and properly if I've not seen him by the eye of faith. You as a believer can't be speaking to others of Jesus with any conviction if you have not met him yourself. That would be like a thief lecturing people about honesty. You don't know anything about it. How can you talk of Christ when you don't know Christ? You'll never point others to Jesus if you have no experience of seeing him by faith yourself. The Christian's life is to be lived looking on to Jesus. And that really refers to maintaining communion and fellowship with Him, looking on to Jesus. And as a preacher of God's Word, I need to see the Lord in private if I am to properly present Him to the view of others in public. That's what every preacher needs. This vision of the prophet was of the King's person. I think it also is Very important to note that he saw the king's position. Where was he? Verse 1 of Isaiah 6 tells us, On a throne. And he was exalted on that throne. High and lifted up. This was a very exalted view of the Lord. Let me say we must always entertain the very highest views of Christ. He's the Sovereign Lord. He's not, as many almost semi-blasphemously say, the man upstairs. I hate that. People talk about the Lord as if He was their buddy or the guy down the street. He's the Lord Jesus Christ. And we must never allow in our minds for a minute any belief that brings the Lord down to the level of the ordinary and the mundane. The Lord here was seen by Isaiah as exalted and on a throne of glory, high and lifted up in a high position. Yes, we can draw near to the Lord. Yes, we can have fellowship with the Lord and speak with Him like Moses, face to face as a friend speaking with his friend. But for all of that great friendship and communion, it's not an inappropriate familiarity. We remember who He is. He's the Lord of Glory. He's the Sovereign Lord. Now, I want to emphasize this because that's really the point of the message today. You compare the opening words of this chapter and note that the earthly sovereign was dead. Why does the Lord by His Spirit draw attention to this? Why does He say this in the year that King Uzziah died? I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne. I think he's emphasizing, is he not, that earthly kings and queens come and go, and they'll be replaced by another, and another, and another. There's that succession that goes on. But there's one King of glory. There's only one King of glory, and He is alive forevermore. The earthly king of the time, Uzziah, Azariah, as he's called elsewhere, was dead. I know they could say even then, the king is dead. Long live the king, because another took his place. The king or the sovereign never actually dies. That position always exists, even though the person passes on. But you could say, that King Uzziah vacated the throne by death. He left the throne. But the prophet saw a king who never leaves the throne. Let me tell you, he has not vacated his throne. No matter how bad things are in this world, no matter how wicked things appear to be, it might appear to us as though the Lord has lost control, the devil's in charge. That's what he would have us to think. This is not true. There's a hymn that we always used to sing as children and as adults. God is still on the throne and He will remember His own. Though trials may press us and burdens distress us, He never will leave us alone. God is still on the throne. And he will remember his own. His promise is true. He will not forget you. God is still on the throne. That's true today as it was in the days of the prophet. He's ruling in power and in might and in majesty. You know the Lord is described in the Bible as the governor among the nations. Oh, how encouraging that is when we see the awful things decided by our legislatures and presidents and other state leaders make pronouncements that are blasphemous. And sometimes we're caused to think, where's the Lord? If I was the Lord, I'd burn them up right away. Just as well, we're not the Lord. But He is upon the throne. And that was a lesson that was learned by a despot, a king who was a horrible man called Nebuchadnezzar. You can read about him in Daniel chapter 4. The Bible actually tells us that such was the despotic nature of this king, whom he wooed he slew, whom he wooed he kept alive. He did whatever he liked. Nobody said anything to him. Nobody could, as it were, stay his hand or say to him, what are you doing? But the Lord humbled him. God brought him down to where he was crawling on the ground like an animal. The nails of his fingers grew like bird's claws. And he was scratching around like a beast. And God taught him a lesson. A lesson that he learned very well because in his own words, he said of the Lord, he ruleth. not only in the armies of heaven, but among the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay his hand or say unto him, What doest thou? Oh, he acknowledged that there's one king over all who ruled over even him, Nebuchadnezzar the despot. If you examine the ministry of Isaiah, you'll find that he lived in a difficult time. It was a hard ministry that he had in many ways. But this view of the Lord that he had in chapter 6 was going to be something that would give him great courage and great strength to press on. There's a sovereign on his throne and he will have his will and his way. And folks, that's the vision that we need today. We look around us at the mess that is this world. And this view of the Lord will enable us to endure any hardship and pass through any crisis, real or imagined. God is still in the throne. He's carrying out His purpose. His cause will prevail. It will triumph. For as my Bible tells me, the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. That's not just something that's future. That's something that's true today. The Lord is the King. Read the second psalm. Obviously there is a prophetic application of that where even in the book of Acts they applied those words to the despotic rulers of the time, Herod and Pilate and so on. The kings of the earth that set themselves against the Lord and against His anointed, against His Christ. But do you notice how Psalm 2 puts it? The Lord that sitteth in the heavens, he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. It goes on to speak in that second Psalm in this way. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree. The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my son this day. Have I begotten thee? Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." I think this is really apropos here. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings, Be instructed, ye judges of the earth. You high, you high people, you people in the nobility, those of you who are in positions of power, listen to this. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way when his wrath is kindled. But a little blessed are all they that put their trust in him. Who's in charge? The Lord is in charge. The Lord is on the throne. This also causes us to think about the vision of Isaiah and the king's place. See there it mentions his train filling the temple. Sometimes when we read the Bible as children we don't always appreciate what it's talking about. I heard of a little boy who said that he was looking forward to going to heaven to see the train that filled the temple. We didn't realise that it's not talking about a locomotive. It's talking about his flowing robes, his train. You know how when a bride has her wedding dress and there's often that big long piece, the train? This is what it's talking about. train, the flowing robes filled the temple. In other words, it's telling us that the presence of the Lord filled his sanctuary. The mention of the earthly king in the first verse, this man Uzziah is very, very significant here because you go back in your Bible to the earlier part of the Old Testament to 2nd Chronicles. This is why the mention of the temple and all that is related to it is important. In 2nd Chronicles chapter 26 from verse number 16 it talks about this king in the following terms. But when he was strong his heart was lifted up to his destruction for he transgressed against the Lord his God and went into the temple of the Lord to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And as Uriah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore, eighty priests of the Lord, they were valiant men. And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests, the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for thy has trespassed, neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God. Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer, in his hand to burn incense. And while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord from beside the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest and all his priests looked upon him and said, And behold, he was leprous in his forehead. And they thrust him out from thence. Yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the Lord had smitten him. And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death. and dwelt in a several house being a leper for he was cut off from the house of the Lord and then we have this long live the king and Jotham his son was over the king's house judging the people of the land and why is this significant because in the context of Isaiah chapter 6 it's speaking of the king Uzziah dying prematurely because he presumed to enter the sanctuary of the Lord as a priest, and it was not his place to do so. Uzziah the king was out of his place in that sanctuary. But Isaiah saw another king, and this king was in his rightful place, for he is both our king and our great high priest. And He is exalted and He is glorified and His glory fills that sanctuary. And really in spiritual fulfillment of that we can only refer to the church, the assembly of God's people, because there the Lord our King must have all the glory. The Lord will not permit others to take away His glory. We're not to give His praise to another, His praise even to graven images. We're to worship Him alone. His train filled the temple. But as well as the king's person and his position and his place, Isaiah saw something else in his vision, and that was his purity. Sometimes we sing a hymn, don't we? Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty. Where does that come from? Isaiah chapter 6 verse 3, where these angelic creatures, they're called seraphim, with six wings it says they had two that they flew with they had two that covered their feet the two that covered their faces and one seraphim cried to another one in the lord's presence holy holy holy is the lord of hosts the whole earth is full of his glory a vision of the holiness of the lord we talked a little about this in The book of Deuteronomy. What an important topic this is. Christian, let me tell you that it's really important for us to see the Lord as he really is. The Holy One of Israel. These angelic beings talk about God's holiness and they appeared with suitable reverence in his presence. You see this. I want you to note this carefully. These seraphim were not like us. They were not sinful. These are creatures that have never sinned. They're sinless creatures. And yet the Bible tells us that they still hid their faces in the presence of God. That's how much they regarded the holiness of God. With twain, with two wings, they covered their faces and they cried, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. What kind of a view of the Lord do we have? Scripture says there is none holy as the Lord. The prophet Habakkuk says he is of purer eyes than to behold evil and canst not look on iniquity. Oh what a check it would be to our sinfulness if we realized just how holy the Lord is. The King on the throne who never dies. That brings me to the vexation of the prophet. In verse 5 very quickly note what Isaiah said, the first time he opened his mouth in this context, this is the first thing he said, woe is me. Isn't that remarkable? He's not talking about the experience that he's had, which was unique, different from other people. I don't read of other people seeing the Lord high and lifted up on His throne and so forth. Here's a man, greatly privileged, and the first time he talks, it's not to boast in the experience that he had, or even to glory in that privilege that he has had, but to confess his own utter unworthiness and sinfulness. There's no worthless boasting of his great experiences with God like we hear with some. He wasn't talking about the high degree of sanctification that he had reached, like some. No, he was vexed. He saw the Lord on his throne, and then he saw something else. 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. See, when he saw the Lord, he saw himself. When he saw how holy and how high God really was, he had a view of himself. And in that, he speaks of the filthiness of sin. I'm a man of unclean lips. If I get a proper view of the Lord, you get a proper view of the Lord, you'll get a proper view of your own sins. Even though he did go on to say, I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. Yes, it is true. Others are in the same boat, but I'm starting with me. I'm undone. I'm a man of unclean lips. Old Spurgeon used to say when those rare events, when London would be hit by a massive snowstorm, the best way to clear all the snow from London's streets was for each Londoner to clear the snow away from his own door. And we're good at trying to see what other people should be doing, talking about the snow that they need to remove from their doors, but we need to be concerned with ourselves. Our own sins. Isn't it interesting that in the context it mentions Uzziah's death, but his death took place, as we have noted in 2nd Chronicles, through leprosy. That leprosy was contracted by an act of sin on his part. And furthermore, leprosy in the Bible is typical of sin. You just study it for yourself in Leviticus chapter 13 and 14. You'll see there that the one who contracted leprosy had to stay away from other people, had to be put out of the camp. They would live in a leper colony. like people just like themselves and if they came out into the open they had to cover their upper lip they had to ring a bell or cry out unclean unclean so that people would stay away there was a covering of the lip there was the shouting out unclean notice the mention of these in the words of the prophet I am a man of unclean lips The live coal that was taken with the tongs from off the altar, he said, it was laid on his mouth, verse 7, and he said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Oh, the filthiness of sin, moral leprosy, that's what rendered him unclean before God. That's what renders us unclean before God. Now, we think about our own sins, we also think about others' sins. He talked about dwelling in the midst of a people of unclean lips. And the closer we get to the Lord, the more we're going to view other people's sins the way the Lord does. Like the psalmist said, he had great horror that came upon him because of the wicked that broke the Lord's commandments. We can't be indifferent to human sin when we're in fellowship with the Lord. But of course, God's grace apart, we're no different from others. Yeah, we live in the midst of a people of unclean lips, but I'm a man of unclean lips. Oh, the filthiness of sin. That's what the prophet saw. He also was vexed in his heart by the futility of self. Woe is me, I am undone. In other words, he learned that the flesh profits nothing. That he was unworthy to be used by God. Unworthy. We're no better than anyone else, are we? What have we that we have not received? We are each one, as believers, unworthy of the least of the Lord's mercies. We have nothing of ourselves to glory in. And the prophet knew that he was unworthy to be the spokesman of God. He said, I've got unclean lips. I can't be talking for the Lord. The prophetic office chiefly involved the lips. He spoke for the Lord. He used his mouth for the Lord. But he realized he wasn't worthy to speak for God. He needed to have that sin taken away. And that brings us to The vocation of the prophet, the Lord's call to him. We know that in the Hebrew, a prophet literally signifies one who has been called. It's a bit like an apostle in the New Testament, which means one who has been sent. Isaiah received a call of God to service, but he realized that he couldn't serve properly with unclean lips, and so something had to happen here. He had to be cleansed. And so verses 6 and 7 come into play here. Here's one of these angelic beings, one of the seraphim, these holy creatures. He said, Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand. That is a red-hot coal. And where did he get it? Which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. We know from our studies that the altar here is referring to the altar of burnt offering. which was out there in the outer court of the tabernacle. And the bodies of beasts there would be burned at that altar and the blood would be shed. And one of those coals that was live coals that was burning the bodies of those beasts, it says, he laid it upon my mouth. And he said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Now why would a hot coal from off an altar be used for cleansing? Because the blood would be dripping down from those sacrifices onto those coals. And this is a signification of the cleansing of the blood One of those coals that consumed the sacrifice, it was a symbol of judgment. Fire purifies and cleanses and it judges sin. So figuratively, typically, Isaiah was being brought into fellowship with the altar of sacrifice, with the altar of judgment and of blood. This altar refers to Christ and His cross ultimately. So it is, as it were, the merit of the cross that's being applied to the lips of Isaiah. That's what's happening here. Unclean lips being cleansed on the merits of the atoning blood of the sacrifice. God uses clean vessels in his service. This is why the Bible says, Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. We are to be vessels unto honour, sanctified, set apart, meet for the Master's use, prepared unto every good work. We're not ready to speak of the Lord or for the Lord until we've been cleansed. And so the Prophet's lips, if you like, were being prepared for speaking about the Lord. And this is where this idea comes from, that you'll hear sometimes preachers in evangelical circles Praying before they preach, Lord, touch my lips with a life cold from off the altar. Cleanse me, Lord. Make me to have lips that are prepared for the preaching of Christ. The prophet was cleansed. The prophet was called. Verse 8, the Lord said to him, Go. I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? There's the call of God, and he also said in verse 9, go. He was called, but he really didn't hear God's voice calling him until he was purged, did he? We're not ready to hear the Lord speaking to us from the Bible when we've got unconfessed sin. We're not willing to put sin away. Our sin is not repented of. We're not ready to hear what God has to say to us. We need to be cleansed. We need to be listening out for the Lord's call. But as well, you'll notice that he was consecrated for service. He was consecrated. I love these words of verse 8. You'll have heard them many times. Sometimes used in missionary challenges. Whom shall I send and who will go for us? Then said I, here am I, send me. And far too often it has been remarked. Our attitude is, here am I Lord, send him. Here am I send her. When I was a child, I've spoken of this in the past. One of the missionaries that used to come around our churches. She was retired. She had spent many, many years in Africa. Emma Munn. She used to, on occasion, speak to the young people. And she would give her testimony. She would talk about That time when she was sitting in a missionary meeting, and the man who was preaching there gave the challenge. And she said, the Lord couldn't have made it any more personal than he did to me. He said, is there a mill girl here? And Emma Munn was a mill girl. He said, maybe God will call you to the mission field. And Emma Munn responded to that call of God. At the time she was engaged to be married. To a Christian fellow, she told him how the Lord had dealt with her heart. She believed that the Lord wanted her to go to Africa as a missionary. And she pleaded with him, will you go with me and we'll go together to the mission field? He said, I don't feel God calling me to Africa. That's not my calling. That's not what I want to do. And with a broken heart, Emma Munn had to tell him, well, our engagement is off. Because I'm going to Africa. God has called me to go there. Emma used to say to us young people, she said, you know, a lot of you young girls, you'd be saying, but would you not have wanted to be married and have children? You went away out there to Africa. You were the only white woman in that entire place and stayed there for years. She said, I went to Africa. I didn't get married. I didn't have children. But in speaking forth the gospel, the Lord gave me thousands of children. The Lord gave me thousands of children. Here am I. Send me. Lord, I want to go. I want to be sent. That's what he said. That consecration is something that we all need. But it's rare today, folks. It's rare, very rare. Many young folks, you talk to them, they're thinking about their future. And the last thing on their minds, and I mean the last thing on their minds, is to go to the mission field, or to go into some aspect of the Lord's work. That's how it seems. And yet sometimes we sing, don't we, in our hymns, where he may lead me, I will go. For I have learned to trust him so. For I remember t'was for me that he was slain on Calvary. Jesus shall lead me night and day. Jesus shall lead me all the way. He is the dearest friend to me. For I remember Calvary." And it's just words. That's all it is. It's words. Oh, we need Dedication to doing God's will. God doesn't call everybody to the mission field. He doesn't call all young men to the ministry. This is true. But is there a willingness in our hearts to do the will of God? Missionary or not? Here's a man who saw the king, the one who was upon the throne. He could have said in his day, long live the king. Here's a king who hasn't died. He's on the throne and I'm going to serve him. I'm going to go to the nations and I'm going to preach Him to the nations. And God asked the question, whom shall I send? Who will go for us? And then I said, here's the prophet's words, verse 8, here am I, send me. Look Lord, here I am. Send me. I'll go. In verse 9 the word comes, and He said, go and tell this people. He was commissioned. He was commissioned. The Lord said, go. If you look at the word gospel, it begins with the word go. The last thing that Jesus said before he left this earth was, go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Isaiah was a man sent from God. God still sends men forth, not like Old Testament prophets or apostles, but he does send men to preach his word. And their commission and their charge is clear. How shall they hear without a preacher? We all have a task to do for the Lord. The Great Commission is a word to the whole church, for the whole age, to the whole world. Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. May we see the Lord, the one who ever liveth Long live the King. May we see that day by day in communion and fellowship with him at the throne. And may we be willing to serve him every day of our lives as clean vessels.