_In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death_
HEZEKIAH’S SICKNESS: THE HISTORICAL FRAMEWORK
It cannot surprise us now to be carried back to the time when
Jerusalem was still under the despotic sceptre of Assyria, since the
purpose of the concluding piece Isaiah 37:36) was merely in
anticipation to... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall_
HEZEKIAH’S FACE TURNED TO THE WALL
The obvious meaning is the wall of the room, towards which he turned,
not merely to collect his thoughts, or to conceal his tears, but as a
natural expression of strong feeling.
(_J. A. Alexander._)
SELF-RETIREMEN... [ Continue Reading ]
_I have heard thy prayer_
WAS HEZEKIAH’S RECOVERY AN UNMITIGATED BLESSING?
Most of us who have had some experience of life, have seen instances
in which a man who has set his heart too fondly upon one object, has
gained that object, and with it (to use the language of St. Paul to
his shipmates) “mu... [ Continue Reading ]
_And this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord_
THE SHADOW ON THE SUN-DIAL OF AHAZ
We are not to imagine that in this miracle any effect was wrought upon
the motion of the earth round its axis.
A miraculous refraction of the sun’s rays was effected by God on a
particular sun-dial, at the praye... [ Continue Reading ]
_The writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah_
HEZEKIAH’S RECOVERY
1.
He was sick, and then he prayed.
2. He is recovered, and now he gives thanks. (_R. Harris, D. D._)
HEZEKIAH’S SONG
I. THE INSCRIPTION acquaints us--
1. With the author of the song.
2. With the nature of it--a poem written.
3. W... [ Continue Reading ]
_I shall go to the gates of the grave_
VIEWS OF THE GRAVE
1_._
It was doubtless from veneration for the dead, that the practice first
arose of depositing their ashes around the temple where the living
worship. That dust, which once was tenanted by an immortal
spirit,--that dust, through which onc... [ Continue Reading ]
_I said, I shall not see the Lord_
HEZEKIAH’S DISTRESS
I. HEZEKIAH’S DISTRESS AT THE THOUGHT OF NOT SEEING GOD. This
manifested--
1. True affection towards God.
2. Fervent desires for the revelation of God’s glory.
3. Spiritual power to apprehend God.
II. HEZEKIAH’S DISAPPOINTMENT AT THE THOUG... [ Continue Reading ]
_As a shepherd’s tent_
THE INCONSTANCY OF EARTHLY LIFE
He saith “a shepherd’s tent,” because that represents the
inconstancy and uncertainty of our life, more than any other tent.
The soldier’s tent may stand pitched long in a place, as in sieges
and the like; but shepherds change the place of th... [ Continue Reading ]
_I did mourn as a dove_
“I DID MOURN AS A DOVE”
The possessions of the world are often the means of lightening
life’s sorrows, and of increasing its enjoyments.
What experience teaches us in this respect the Word of God allows.
Prosperity is recognised by it as a subject for gratitude. But that
r... [ Continue Reading ]
_What shall I say?_
A BEWILDERED SOUL
Such an exclamation escaped from the lips of Joshua, and it was the
language of bitter disappointment, for Israel fled before their
enemies (Joshua 7:8). The same words were uttered by our adorable Lord
when His soul was overwhelmed with grief in the prospect... [ Continue Reading ]
_O Lord, by these things men live_
AFFLICTION AS RELATED TO LIFE
The conception and quality of life as affected by the discipline of
any form of trial--that is the topic.
I. Take THE CONCEPTION OF LIFE AS A WHOLE, and see how that is
modified or altered by experiences like those through which Heze... [ Continue Reading ]
_Behold, for peace I had great bitterness_
HEZEKIAH’S RETURN OF PRAISE FOR HIS RECOVERY
I. A SAD, HEAVY AFFLICTION. “Behold, for peace,” &c. The
affliction is aggravated--
1. By a description of it in its own nature.
(1) In the quality of it--“bitterness.”
(2) In the quantity of it--“great bitt... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the grave cannot praise Thee_
THE PRAISEFUL LIFE
Bacon says, “Prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testament,
adversity is the blessing of the New.
” He would have been nearer the truth had he said, that temporal
blessings were the promise of the Old Testament, spiritual blessings
the promi... [ Continue Reading ]
_The living, the living, he shall praise Thee_
THE RIGHT LIFE
The right life is a praise-giving life.
Such a life is--
I. THE MOST HONOURABLE.
II. THE MOST BENEFICIAL TO THE MAN HIMSELF.
III. THE MOST BENEFICIAL TO OTHERS. “The father to the children
shall make known Thy truth.”
IV. THE CONSI... [ Continue Reading ]
_He shall recover_
CHRIST IN THE SICK ROOM
I. The Holy Ghost shows us a king and ruler of men, a dweller in
palaces, a possessor of all that money can obtain, a good man, a
friend of God, laid low by disease like the poorest man in the
kingdom.
1. This is the old story. After all there is nothing... [ Continue Reading ]
_What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord?_
SEEKING A SIGN
Real religion is the same in every country and every age. Hence we
have so much of the history and experience of the people of God
recorded in the Scriptures of truth, that we may compare our
experience with theirs. Let... [ Continue Reading ]