2 Kings 20:1-19 In those days was Hezekiah sick to death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, Thus said the LORD… I would like to know that your Christian work is in order, that you would leave things so that others could carry them on. Have I ever told you about the obituary notice — though it was only a sort of passing paragraph in the newspaper — of a fisherman on the New Zealand coast? They told of how his body had been found in the bush; how his boat, drawn up to the shore, was near to him. This significant sentence followed, "His nets were set." I remember the thrill that went through me when I read it first. "His nets were set." He had gone out to his daily duty, put his nets in order — not left them in a tangled heap on the shore, needing washing or mending or both. They were set, and his successor had but to draw them in presently and secure the spoil of the sea. Are your nets set? If you were to pass away during this week, would it be your fault that the work could not be continued? Do your duty to the last. Do it thoroughly, do it patiently, do it perfectly, that it may be said of you, as of Whitefield, Wesley, M'Cheyne, and a thousand others, that you virtually died in harness. All that remains for me Is but to love and sing, And wait until the angels come To bear me to their King.I want your house to be in order, your business to be in order, your church and Christian work to be in order, and I want most of all for all my hearers that their hearts shall be in order. (Thomas Spurgeon.) Parallel Verses KJV: In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. |
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