Richard Knill's Call
R. Knill. Isaiah 6:8 Also 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. I was studying for the ministry, with a view to labour in England; it happened that there was a missionary meeting in the neighbourhood, and one of the ministers said to me, Come to me over, and bring "the students with you, it will do them good," — and as one inducement he said, "There is an eminent Scotch minister in town, Dr. Waugh, who is to preach." We went — and, I have no doubt, we went praying to receive a blessing. Dr. Waugh took for his text that beautiful verse in Isaiah, "It shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come who were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem." In the first part of his subject he spoke of the perishing condition of the man who was ignorant of the Gospel, and he said, "It is a fact, there are four hundred millions of our fellow creatures in this deplorable condition, without God, and without hope." After he had dwelt on this, he spoke of the infinite wisdom and goodness of God, which had provided a remedy for perishing sinners. After speaking on this for some time he stopped, and looking around on the congregation, he said, "This trump cannot blow of itself, we must have men to blow it, — pardoned sinners — redeemed men — those who have tasted the love of Christ, and who feel for their fellow creatures — those who know what a precious Saviour Christ is, from sweet experience. We want such men — the heathen are perishing, and will perish, unless God's remedy is sent to them — that remedy is in your possession." He then paused again, and looking around, as if wanting to fix his eyes on some object, he said in a moving manner, "Is there one disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ who has love enough for his Divine Master in his heart to say, Here am I; send me?" Oh, when he said that, I felt it thrill through my soul, and I silently said to Him who searcheth my heart, "Lord, I will go." It was a memorable day to me, I can never forget it. The sermon was soon ended; the congregation was broken up; my friends went to dine; I was invited to dine with my fellow students; I had no appetite for food, my heart was full — and I said to a friend, Can you procure me a garret, where I can spend the remainder of the day in fasting and prayer? He procured it for me; and in that garret I spent some of the happiest and most solemn moments of my life; and seeing the agony of Him whose blood was shed a sacrifice for my sins, I said, "Lord, I will go." (R. Knill.) Parallel Verses KJV: Also 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. WEB: I heard the Lord's voice, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am. Send me!"