="Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings
from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well;
seek judgment; relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless,
plead for the widow....=

="I will turn my hand upon thee, and will thoroughly purge
away thy dross, and will take away all thy tin: and I will
restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at
the beginning: afterward thou shalt be called the city of
righteousness, the faithful city."=

=Isaiah's originality.=--The prophets and leaders who came before
Isaiah had not fully grasped the idea of a God of all nations instead
of one. Amos and Hosea had only caught glimpses of it. Before their
time, even the greatest of the leaders of Israel had thought of
Jehovah as for the most part the God of Israel only. But now in the
midst of the terror of cruel armies and ruined cities and smoking
fields, when no one knew what to believe or where to look for comfort
and protection, this great Isaiah was able to realize that Jehovah,
the God of righteousness and justice and love, was _the God of all
humanity_. There were no limits to his realm. All tribes and kingdoms
and races were subject to his holy law. The Assyrians are but "the axe
that he hews with." His providence rules over all. Whatever wicked men
may say or do, his will is done in the end. His plans are brought to
pass.

=Isaiah's faith.=--With such a God as this in whom to trust, Isaiah
was able to show himself to his countrymen as a wonderful example of
the power of faith. When they were panic-stricken he was calm. "Thus
saith the Lord God, ... In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in
quietness and confidence shall be your strength." Do not rush off to
other nations and other gods. They will fail you. Most likely they
will selfishly betray you. Only do the will of the just God, who rules
the nations, and quietly trust him. Do that and no evil can befall
you. He is all-wise and all-powerful, and he is good.

So at last, the religion of the one All-Father, which we call
_monotheism_, was born in the mind and heart of a man, and began to be
clearly proclaimed by human lips.

STUDY TOPICS

1. Look up "Isaiah" in the Bible dictionary.

2. Read Isaiah 6. 1-8 for his own story of the experience which led
him to be a prophet.

3. What parts of this story in Isaiah 6. 1-8 express the idea of one
great God of all nations? Look up "Monotheism