Isaiah 37:35

For I will defend this city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake. I WILL DEFEND THIS CITY. Notwithstanding Hezekiah's measures of defense (2 Chronicles 32:3), Yahweh was its true defender. FOR MINE OWN SAKE - since Yahweh's name was blasphemed by Sennacherib (). FOR MY SERVANT DAVID'S SAKE - on account of His promise to David (Psalms 132:17), and to Messiah, the heir of David's throne (; )....

35._And I will be a protector. _This is the reason of the preceding statement, why Sennacherib should not enter into the city; because the Lord will protect it. The Prophet therefore bids Hezekiah and the whole nation turn their eyes towards God, because the sight of that tyrant was so alarming that they might tremble at it. In like manner, if we now contemplate the power of our enemies, we shall be overpowered by fear, and there will scarcely be any room for hope; but we ought to look directly to God, and embrace his promises, by which we are defended as by a shield; and since God is sufficiently powerful to restrain a mortal man, to him ought we to turn our eyes; for this promise must not be limited to that time, but ought to be extended to all times. Yet the expression used by the Prophet is more extensive, and conveys fuller meaning; for God affirms that he will be the guardian and p...

FOR I WILL DEFEND THIS CITY - Notwithstanding all that Hezekiah had done to put it in a posture of defense (2 Chronicles 32:1, following) still it was Yahweh alone who could preserve it. FOR MINE OWN SAKE - God had been reproached and blasphemed by Sennacherib. As his name and power had been thus blasphemed, he says that he would vindicate himself, and for the honor of his own insulted majesty would save the city. AND FOR MY SERVANT DAVID’S SAKE - On account of the promise which he had made to him that there should not fail a man to sit on his throne, and that the city and nation should not be destroyed until the Messiah should appear (see Psalms 132:10)....

EXPOSITION This chapter is the sequel of the preceding, and is so closely connected with it that the two really constitute but one narrative. Isaiah 37:22 of Isaiah 36:1. is more closely connected with Isaiah 37:1, than with the position of the narrative to which it is attached. ISAIAH 37:1 WHEN KING HEZEKIAH HEARD IT; rather, _heard them_;_ i.e._ the "words of Rabshakeh," which his officials reported to him. HE RENT HIS CLOTHES. He did as they had done (Isaiah 36:22

FOR I WILL DEFEND THIS CITY TO SAVE IT,.... Or, "shield it"; and if God will be the shield and protection of any place or people, they must needs be safe; who can hurt them? FOR MY OWN SAKE, AND FOR MY SERVANT DAVID'S SAKE; not for the merits of the inhabitants of it, but for the sake of his own name and glory, who had been blasphemed by the Assyrian monarch, and his general; and for the sake of his servant David, in whose seed he had promised the kingdom should be established; see 2 Samuel 7:12 and chiefly for the sake of the Messiah, David's son, and the Lord's servant, who was to spring from Hezekiah's race, and therefore must not be cut off....

CHAPTER 37 Hezekiah in the House of the Lord and Sennacherib's Second Attempt 1. _Hezekiah's humiliation and Isaiah sent for (Isaiah 37:1)_ 2. _The message from the prophet (Isaiah 37:6)_ 3. _Rabshakeh's letter (Isaiah 37:8)_ 4. _Hezekiah's prayer (Isaiah 37:14)_ 5. _The prayer answered (Isaiah 37:21)_ 6. _The army of Sennacherib judged (Isaiah 37:36)_ 7. The judgment upon Sennacherib ...

ISAIAH 36-39. This section has been extracted from 2 Kings 18:13 to 2 Kings 20:19, and the Song of Hezekiah has been added. For an exposition see the notes on 2 K.; here we have simply to deal with the Song of Hezekiah. ISAIAH 38:10. THANKSGIVING FOR DELIVERANCE FROM IMMINENT DEATH. This is now generally regarded as a post-exilic psalm. Its absence in the parallel narratine in Kings is significant. Apparently it was inserted here by an editor who thought it suitable to Hezekiah's circumstances. If, as seems likely, it has been influenced by the Book of Job, it must be post-exilic. The title cannot, any more than the Psalm titles, weigh against internal evidence. Hezekiah's writing after his recov

DEFEND. shield. See note on Isaiah 31:5. MY SERVANT. Three are so called in this book: David (here); Israel or Jacob (the nation) (Isaiah 41:8; Isaiah 42:19; Isaiah 43:10; Isaiah 44:1; Isaiah 45:4; Isaiah 48:20; Isaiah 49:3 and whole chapter); and Messiah ...

The answer to the prayer comes in the form of a message from Isaiah. The message as here given really consists of two distinct oracles: (1) a poem, on the pride and the approaching humiliation of Sennacherib (Isaiah 37:22); to which is appended a short passage in a different rhythm addressed to Hezekiah (Isaiah 37:30); (2) a definite prediction, in a less elevated style, of the deliverance of Jerusalem (Isaiah 37:33). The lyrical passage (Isaiah 37:22) appears to have been inserted in the narrative from some independent source. Although probably a genuine work of Isaiah, the recitation of a somewhat elaborate poem is hardly a natural form for a

FOR MY SERVANT DAVID'S SAKE— All the promises made to David were made to him in Christ; he and his kingdom were types of the kingdom of Christ. It is to this, and not to the personal merits of David, that the sacred writer here alludes....