Isaiah 38:9-20 The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness:… The poem, or psalm, in which Hezekiah describes his experience, may be divided into two parts. I. HOW DEATH LOOKED (vers. 10-15). There is a point in the sun's daily climb of the heavens when it seems to stand still, a pause before descending the western slope. Hezekiah felt he had reached just such a meridian of his life. In the tranquillity, or noontide, of his days, he was to enter the gates of the grave. Loss of God's presence, loss of human companionships and interests — this was what death meant for him. His age, his natural term of life, was to be carried away like a shepherd's tent that had been struck — his life rolled up like a piece of cloth cut from the thrums of the weaver's loom. The dreary night of his pain, when his very bones seemed broken, and he could only moan and mourn like some lonely, crying bird, how well he remembered it, what a bitter experience it was! His eyes failed with looking upward, but he did look upward; weighed down with pain and weakness, his soul still cried,. "Be Thou my surety." He knew not what to say, because God had done it all. Never, through all the respite of years allotted to him, could he forget his bitterness of soul. The memory of it would always chasten him. Some of us have never known what it is to spend hours of pain and weakness, with death apparently near at hand, and, in the absence of this experience, the sick king's account of his dreary night will be hard to understand. But anyone who has been in the shadowed valley will recognise the truthfulness of the picture, and the sincere piety of Hezekiah's looking upward to God. II. HOW RESTORED LIFE LOOKED (vers. 16-20). First of all, he is sensible of the preciousness of his chastisement. He had learned in those dark and terrible hours lessons never learned before. It was in deep experiences of need and of God's present help given him then, that he had found the true life of his spirit. He had discovered God's love to his soul, and obtained an assurance of forgiveness which was a joy unspeakable. Blessed is he who, looking up to God in the face of Jesus Christ, can say, "Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back." Whoever went back of God? Life for him is an opportunity to praise God, to make known His truth, to testify before all the Lord's readiness to save. This story is a chapter out of an ancient biography, a story of a soul in close personal dealing with God. It reminds us that He is a very present help in trouble, and that none who turn to Him in trust and hope will ever be refused. (E. W. Shalders, B. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness:WEB: The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and had recovered of his sickness. |
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