The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and had recovered of his sickness.
I said, “In the middle of my life I go into the gates of Sheol. I am deprived of the residue of my years.”
I said, “I won’t see Yah, Yah in the land of the living. I will see man no more with the inhabitants of the world.
My dwelling is removed, and is carried away from me like a shepherd’s tent. I have rolled up my life like a weaver. He will cut me off from the loom. From day even to night you will make an end of me.
I waited patiently until morning. He breaks all my bones like a lion. From day even to night you will make an end of me.
I chattered like a swallow or a crane. I moaned like a dove. My eyes weaken looking upward. Lord, I am oppressed. Be my security.”
What will I say? He has both spoken to me, and himself has done it. I will walk carefully all my years because of the anguish of my soul.
Lord, men live by these things; and my spirit finds life in all of them: you restore me, and cause me to live.
Behold, for peace I had great anguish, but you have in love for my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for you have cast all my sins behind your back.
For Sheol can’t praise you. Death can’t celebrate you. Those who go down into the pit can’t hope for your truth.
The living, the living, he shall praise you, as I do today. The father shall make known your truth to the children.
Yahweh will save me. Therefore we will sing my songs with stringed instruments all the days of our life in Yahweh’s house.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv9–20 He left this song of his lamentation and thanksgiving…
He left this song of his lamentation and thanksgiving to all posterity, as a monument of his own infirmity and thankful heart for God’s benefits, as David did, Ps. 51.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv9–20 Isa 38:9 The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah,…
Isa 38:9 The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness:
Ver. 9. The writing of Hezekiah.] Scriptum confessionis, a song of thanksgiving set forth by Hezekiah, and here inserted by the prophet Isaiah, as a public instrument and lasting monument of God’s great goodness to him in his late recovery; such a thankful man is worth his weight in the gold of Ophir. Heathens in such a case were wont to hang up tables in the temples of their gods. Papists build chapels, erect altars, hang up memories, as they call them, and vow presents to their he saints and she saints. But among us, alas! it is according to the Italian proverb, {a} When the disease is once removed, God is utterly defrauded:
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“ Aegrotus surgit, sed pia vota iacent. ”
We may he wondered at, not without cause, as the Emperor Constantine marvelled at his people that were newly become Christians: I marvel, said he, how it comes to pass that many of my people are worse now than before they were Christians.
{a} Sciapato il morbo, fraudato il sancto.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv9–20 Hezekiah was a good man, and full of the…
Hezekiah was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost, and inspired by him to write this, both as a testimony of his own gratitude to God, and for the instruction of after-ages.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v9 We have here Hezekiah's thanksgiving-song, which he penned, by…
We have here Hezekiah's thanksgiving-song, which he penned, by divine direction, after his recovery. He might have taken some of the psalms of his father David, and made use of them for his purpose; he might have found many very pertinent ones. He appointed the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David, Ch2 29:30. But the occasion here was extraordinary, and, his heart being full of devout affections, he would not confine himself to the compositions he had, though of divine inspiration, but would offer up his affections in his own words, which is most natural and genuine. He put this thanksgiving in writing, that he might review it himself afterwards, for the reviving of the good impressions made upon him by the providence, and that it might be recommended to others also for their use upon the like occasion. Note, There are writings which it is proper for us to draw up after we have been sick and have recovered. It is good to write a memorial of the affliction, and of the frame of our hearts under it, - to keep a record of the thoughts we had of things when we were sick, the affections that were then working in us, - to write a memorial of the mercies of a sick bed, and of our release from it, that they may never be forgotten, - to write a thanksgiving to God, write a sure covenant with him, and seal it, - to give it under our hands that we will never return again to folly. It is an excellent writing which Hezekiah here left, upon his recovery; and yet we find (Ch2 32:25) that he rendered not again according to the benefit done to him. The impressions, one would think, should never have worn off, and yet, it seems, they did. Thanksgiving is good, but thanksliving is better. Now in this writing he preserves upon record,
I. The deplorable condition he was in when his disease prevailed, and his despair of recovery, Isa 38:10-13.
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1. He tells us what his thoughts were of himself when he was at the worst; and these he keeps in remembrance, (1.) As blaming himself for his despondency, and that he gave up himself for gone; whereas while there is life there is hope, and room for our prayer and God's mercy. Though it is good to consider sickness as a summons to the grave, so as thereby to be quickened in our preparations for another world, yet we ought not to make the worse of our case, nor to think that every sick man must needs be a dead man presently. He that brings low can raise up. Or, (2.) As reminding himself of the apprehensions he had of death approaching, that he might always know and consider his own frailty and mortality, and that, though he had a reprieve for fifteen years, it was but a reprieve, and the fatal stroke he had now such a dread of would certainly come at last. Or, (3.) As magnifying the power of God in restoring him when his case was desperate, and his goodness in being so much better to him than his own fears. Thus David sometimes, when he was delivered out of trouble, reflected upon the black and melancholy conclusions he had made upon his own case when he was in trouble, and what he had then said in his haste, as Psa 31:22; Psa 77:7-9.
2. Let us see what Hezekiah's thoughts of himself were.
(1.) He reckoned that the number of his months was cut off in the midst. He was now about thirty-nine or forty years of age, and when he had a fair prospect of many years and happy ones, very happy, very many, before him. This distemper that suddenly seized him he concluded would be the cutting off of his days, that he should now be deprived of the residue of his years, which in a course of nature he might have lived (not which he could command as a debt due to him, but which he had reason to expect, considering the strength of his constitution), and with them he should be deprived not only of the comforts of life, but of all the opportunities he had of serving God and his generation. To the same purport (Isa 38:12), "My age has departed and gone, and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent, out of which I am forcibly dislodged by the pulling of it down in an instant." Our present residence is but like that of a shepherd in his tent, a poor, mean, and cold lodging, where we are upon duty, and with a trust committed to our charge, as the shepherd has, of which we must give an account, and which will easily be taken down by the drawing of one pin or two. But observe, It is not the final period of our age, but only the removal of it to another world, where the tents of Kedar that are taken down, coarse, black, and weather-beaten, shall be set up again in the New Jerusalem, comely as the curtains of Solomon. He adds another similitude: I have cut off, like a weaver, my life. Not that he did by any act of his own cut off the thread of his life; but, being told that he must needs die, he was forced to cut off all his designs and projects, his purposes were broken off, even the thoughts of his heart, as Job's were, Job 17:11. Our days are compared to the weaver's shuttle (Job 7:6), passing and repassing very swiftly, every throw leaving a thread behind it; and, when they are finished, the thread is cut off, and the piece taken out of the loom, and shown to our Master, to be judged of whether it be well woven or no, that we may receive according to the things done in the body. But as the weaver, when he has cut off his thread, has done his work, and the toil is over, so a good man, when his life is cut off, his cares and fatigues are cut off with it, and he rests from his labours. "But did I say, I have cut off my life? No, my times are not in my own hand; they are in God's hand, and it is he that will cut me off from the thrum (so the margin reads it); he has appointed what shall be the length of the piece, and, when it comes to that length, he will cut it off."
(2.) He reckoned that he should go to the gates of the grave - to the grave, the gates of which are always open; for it is still crying, Give, give. The grave is here put not only for the sepulchre of his fathers, in which his body would be deposited with a great deal of pomp and magnificence (for he was buried in the chief of the sepulchres of the kings, and all Judah did him honour at his death, Ch2 32:33), which yet he himself took no care of, nor gave any order about, when he was sick; but for the state of the dead, that is, the sheol, the hades, the invisible world, to which he saw his soul going.
(3.) He reckoned that he was deprived of all the opportunities he might have had of worshipping God and doing good in the world (Isa 38:1): "I said," [1.] "I shall not see the Lord, as he manifests himself in his temple, in his oracles and ordinances, even the Lord here in the land of the living." He hopes to see him on the other side death, but he despairs of seeing him any more on this side death, as he had seen him in the sanctuary, Psa 63:2. He shall no more see (that is, serve) the Lord in the land of the living, the land of conflict between his kingdom and the kingdom of Satan, this seat of war. He dwells much upon this: I shall no more see the Lord, even the Lord; for a good man wishes not to live for any other end than that he may serve God and have communion with him. [2.] "I shall see man no more." He shall see his subjects no more, whom he may protect and administer justice to, shall see no more objects of charity, whom he may relieve, shall see his friends no more, who were often sharpened by his countenance, as iron is by iron. Death puts an end to conversation, and removes our acquaintance into darkness, Psa 88:18.
(4.) He reckoned that the agonies of death would be very sharp and severe: "He will cut me off with pining sickness, which will waste me, and wear me off, quickly." The distemper increased so fast, without intermission or remission, either day or night, morning or evening, that he concluded it would soon come to a crisis and make an end of him - that God, whose servants all diseases are, would by them, as a lion, break all his bones with grinding pain, Isa 38:13. He thought that next morning was the utmost he could expect to live in such pain and misery; when he had outlived the first day's illness the second day he repeated his fears, and concluded that this must needs be his last night: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. When we are sick we are very apt to be thus calculating our time, and, after all, we are still at uncertainty. It should be more our care how we shall get safely to another world than how long we are likely to live in this world.
II. The complaints he made in this condition (Isa 38:14): "Like a crane, or swallow, so did I chatter; I made a noise as those birds do when they are frightened." See what a change sickness makes in a little time; he that, but the other day, spoke with so much freedom and majesty, nor, through the extremity of pain or deficiency of spirits, chatters like a crane or a swallow. Some think he refers to his praying in his affliction; it was so broken and interrupted with groanings which could not be uttered that it was more like the chattering of a crane or a swallow than what it used to be. Such mean thoughts had he of his own prayers, which yet were acceptable to God, and successful. He mourned like a dove, sadly, but silently and patiently. He had found God so ready to answer his prayers at other times that he could not but look upwards, in expectation of some relief now, but in vain: his eyes failed, and he saw no hopeful symptom, nor felt any abatement of his distemper; and therefore he prays, "I am oppressed, quite overpowered and ready to sink; Lord, undertake for me; bail me out of the hands of the serjeant that has arrested me; be surety for thy servant for good, Psa 119:122. Come between me and the gates of the grave, to which I am ready to be hurried." When we recover from sickness, the divine pity does, as it were, beg a day for us, and undertakes we shall be forthcoming another time and answer the debt in full. And, when we receive the sentence of death within ourselves, we are undone if the divine grace do not undertake for us to carry us through the valley of the shadow of death, and to preserve us blameless to the heavenly kingdom on the other side of it - if Christ do not undertake for us, to bring us off in judgment, and present us to his Father, and to do all that for us which we need, and cannot do for ourselves. I am oppressed, ease me (so some read it); for, when we are agitated by a sense of guilt and the fear of wrath, nothing will make us easy but Christ's undertaking for us.
III. The grateful acknowledgment he makes of God's goodness to him in his recovery. He begins this part of the writing as one at a stand how to express himself (Isa 38:15): "What shall I say? Why should I say so much by way of complaint when this is enough to silence all my complaints - He has spoken unto me; he has sent his prophet to tell me that I shall recover and live fifteen years yet; and he himself has done it: it is as sure to be done as if it were done already. What God has spoken he will himself do, for no word of his shall fall to the ground." God having spoken it, he is sure of it (Isa 38:16): "Thou wilt restore me, and make me to live; not only restore me from this illness, but make me to live through the years assigned me." And, having this hope,
1. He promises himself always to retain the impressions of his affliction (Isa 38:15): "I will go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul, as one in sorrow for my sinful distrusts and murmurings under my affliction, as one in care to make suitable returns for God's favour to me and to make it appear that I have got good by the providences I have been under. I will go softly, gravely and considerately, and with thought and deliberation, not as many, who, when they have recovered, live as carelessly and as much at large as ever." Or, "I will go pleasantly" (so some understand it); "when God has delivered me I will walk cheerfully with him in all holy conversation, as having tasted that he is gracious." Or, "I will go softly, even after the bitterness of my soul" (so it may be read); "when the trouble is over I will endeavour to retain the impression of it, and to have the same thoughts of things that I had then."
2. He will encourage himself and others with the experiences he had had of the goodness of God (Isa 38:16): "By these things which thou hast done for me they live, the kingdom lives" (for the life of such a king was the life of the kingdom); "all that hear of it shall live and be comforted; by the same power and goodness that have restored me all men have their souls held in life, and they ought to acknowledge it. In all these things is the life of my spirit, my spiritual life, that is supported and maintained by what God has done for the preservation of my natural life." The more we taste of the loving-kindness of God in every providence the more will our hearts be enlarged to love him and live to him, and that will be the life of our spirit. Thus our souls live, and they shall praise him.
3. He magnifies the mercy of his recovery, on several accounts.
(1.) That he was raised up from great extremity (Isa 38:17): Behold, for peace I had great bitterness. When, upon the defeat of Sennacherib, he expected nothing but an uninterrupted peace to himself and his government, he was suddenly seized with sickness, which embittered all his comforts to him, and went to such a height that it seemed to be the bitterness of death itself - bitterness, bitterness, nothing but gall and wormwood. This was his condition when God sent him seasonable relief.
(2.) That it came from the love of God, from love to his soul. Some are spared and reprieved in wrath, that they may be reserved for some greater judgment when they have filled up the measure of their iniquities; but temporal mercies are sweet indeed to us when we can taste the love of God in them. He delivered me because he delighted in me (Psa 18:19); and the word here signifies a very affectionate love: Thou hast loved my soul from the pit of corruption; so it runs in the original. God's love is sufficient to bring a soul from the pit of corruption. This is applicable to our redemption by Christ; it was in love to our souls, our poor perishing souls, that he delivered them from the bottomless pit, snatched them as brands out of everlasting burnings. In his love and in his pity he redeemed us. And the preservation of our bodies, as well as the provision made for them, is doubly comfortable when it is in love to our souls - when God repairs the house because he has a kindness for the inhabitant.
(3.) That it was the effect of the pardon of sin: "For thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back, and thereby hast delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, in love to it." Note, [1.] When God pardons sin he casts it behind his back, as not designing to look upon it with an eye of justice and jealousy. He remembers it no more, to visit for it. The pardon does not make the sin not to have been, or not to have been sin, but not to be punished as it deserves. When we cast our sins behind our back, and take no care to repent of them, God sets them before his face, and is ready to reckon for them; but when we set them before our face in true repentance, as David did when his sin was ever before him, God casts them behind his back. [2.] When God pardons sins he pardons all, casts them all behind his back, though they have been as scarlet and crimson. [3.] The pardoning of the sin is the delivering of the soul from the pit of corruption. [4.] It is pleasant indeed to think of our recoveries from sickness when we see them flowing from the remission of sin; then the cause is removed, and then it is in love to the soul.
(4.) That it was the lengthening out of his opportunity to glorify God in this world, which he made the business, and pleasure, and end of life. [1.] If this sickness had been his death, it would have put a period to that course of service for the glory of God and the good of the church which he was now pursuing, Isa 38:18. Heaven indeed praises God, and the souls of the faithful, when at death they remove thither, do that work of heaven as the angels, and with the angels, there; but what is this world the better for that? What does that contribute to the support and advancement of God's kingdom among men in this state of struggle? The grave cannot praise God, nor the dead bodies that lie there. Death cannot celebrate him, cannot proclaim his perfections and favours, to invite others into his service. Those who go down to the pit, being no longer in a state of probation, nor living by faith in his promises, cannot give him honour by hoping for his truth. Those that lie rotting in the grave, as they are not capable of receiving any further mercy from God, so neither are they capable of offering any more praises to him, till they shall be raised at the last day, and then they shall both receive and give glory. [2.] Having recovered from it, he resolves not only to proceed, but to abound, in praising and serving God (Isa 38:19): The living, the living, he shall praise thee. They may do it; they have an opportunity of praising God, and that is the main thing that makes life valuable and desirable to a good man. Hezekiah was therefore glad to live, not that he might continue to enjoy his royal dignity and the honour and pleasure of his late successes, but that he might continue to praise God. The living must praise God; they live in vain if they do not. Those that have been dying and yet are living, whose life is from the dead, are in a special manner obliged to praise God, as being most sensibly affected with his goodness. Hezekiah, for his part, having recovered from this sickness, will make it his business to praise God: "I do it this day; let others do it in like manner." Those that give good exhortations should set good examples, and do themselves what they expect from others. "For my part," says Hezekiah, "the Lord was ready to save me; he not only did save me, but he was ready to do it just then when I was in the greatest extremity; his help came in seasonably; he showed himself willing and forward to save me. The Lord was to save me, was at hand to do it, saved me a the first word; and therefore," First, "I will publish and proclaim his praises. I and my family, I and my friends, I and my people, will have a concert of praise to his glory: We will sing my songs to the stringed instruments, that others may attend to them, and be affected with them, when they are in the most devout and serious frame in the house of the Lord." It is for the honour of God, and the edification of his church, that special mercies should be acknowledged in public praises, especially mercies to public persons, Psa 116:18, Psa 116:19. Secondly, "I will proceed and persevere in his praises." We should do so all the days of our life, because every day of our life is itself a fresh mercy and brings many fresh mercies along with it; and, as renewed mercies call for renewed praises, so former eminent mercies call for repeated praises. It is by the mercy of God that we live, and therefore, as long as we live, we must continue to praise him, while we have breath, nay, while we have being. Thirdly, "I will propagate and perpetuate his praises." We should not only praise him all the days of our life, but the father to the children should make known his truth, that the ages to come may give God the glory of his truth by trusting to it. It is the duty of parents to possess their children with a confidence in the truth of God, which will go far towards keeping them close to the ways of God. Hezekiah, doubtless, did this himself, and yet Manasseh his son walked not in his steps. Parents may give their children many good things, good instructions, good examples, good books, but they cannot give them grace.
IV. In the last two verses of this chapter we have two passages relating to this story which were omitted in the narrative of it here, but which we had 2 Kings 20, and therefore shall here only observe two lessons from them: - 1. That God's promises are intended not to supersede, but to quicken and encourage, the use of means. Hezekiah is sure to recover, and yet he must take a lump of figs and lay it on the boil, Isa 38:21. We do not trust God, but tempt him, if, when we pray to him for help, we do not second our prayers with our endeavours. We must not put physicians, or physic, in the place of God, but make use of them in subordination to God and to his providence; help thyself and God will help thee. 2. That the chief end we should aim at, in desiring life and health, is that we may glorify God, and do good, and improve ourselves in knowledge, and grace, and meetness for heaven. Hezekiah, when he meant, What is the sign that I shall recover? asked, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord, there to honour God, to keep up acquaintance and communion with him, and to encourage others to serve him? Isa 38:22. It is taken for granted that if God would restore him to health he would immediately go up to the temple with his thank-offerings. There Christ found the impotent man whom he had healed, Joh 5:14. The exercises of religion are so much the business and delight of a good man that to be restrained from them is the greatest grievance of his afflictions, and to be restored to them is the greatest comfort of his deliverances. Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv9–20 I said, in the cutting off of my days,....…
I said, in the cutting off of my days,.... When he was told that he should die, and he believed he should; this he calls a "cutting off" in allusion to the weaver's web, Isa 38:12 and a cutting off "his days", he being now in the prime of his age, about thirty nine or forty years of age, and not arrived to the common period of life, and to which, according to his constitution, and the course of nature, he might have attained. The Jews call such a death a cutting off, that is, by the hand of God, which is before a man is fifty years of age. The Vulgate Latin version is, "in the midst of my days"; as it was, according to the common term of life, being threescore and ten, and at most eighty, Psa 90:10,
I shall go to the gates of the grave; and enter there into the house appointed for all living, which he saw were open for him, and ready to receive him:
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I am deprived of the residue of my days; the other thirty or forty years which he might expect to have lived, according to the course of nature; of these he was bereaved, according to the sentence of death he now had in him; what if the words were rendered, "I am visited with more of my years (f)?" and so the sense be, when I was apprehensive that I was just going to be cut off, and to be deprived of the days and years I might have lived, and hoped I should, to the glory of God, and the good of my subjects; just when I saw it was all over with me, I had a gracious visit or message from the Lord, assuring me that fifteen years should be added to my life: and so this is mentioned as a singular instance of divine goodness, in the midst of his distress; and to this sense the Targum agrees,
"because he remembered me for good, an addition was made to my years.''
(f) "visitatus sum, eum adhuc superessent anni", Tigurine version.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv13, 16, 18, 20 I reckon - When I could not rest all…
I reckon - When I could not rest all the night even 'till morning, my thoughts were presaging that God would instantly break me to pieces, and the like thoughts followed me from morning 'till evening.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19 Verse 9. The writing of Hezekiah] Here the book…
Verse 9. The writing of Hezekiah] Here the book of Kings deserts us, the song of Hezekiah not being inserted in it. Another copy of this very obscure passage (obscure not only from the concise poetical style, but because it is probably very incorrect) would have been of great service. The MSS. and ancient Versions, especially the latter, will help us to get through some of the many difficulties which we meet with in it.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18 Isa 38:9. Grotius is of opinion that this song…
Isa 38:9. Grotius is of opinion that this song was dictated by Isaiah. But it is more probable, as Hezekiah was a truly pious man, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, that he was moved thereby to write this form of thanksgiving, both as a testimony of his own gratitude to God, and for the instruction of future ages.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv9–20 The writing of Hezekiah - This is the title…
The writing of Hezekiah - This is the title to the following hymn - a record which Hezekiah made to celebrate the goodness of God in restoring him to health. The writing itself is poetry, as is indicated by the parallelism, and by the general structure. It is in many respects quite obscure - an obscurity perhaps arising from the brevity and conciseness which are apparent in the whole piece. It is remarkable that this song or hymn is not found in the parallel passage in the Book of Kings. The reason why it was omitted there, and inserted here, is unknown. It is possible that it was drawn up for Hezekiah by Isaiah, and that it is inserted here as a part of his composition, though adopted by Hezekiah, and declared to be his, that is, as expressing the gratitude of his heart on his recovery from his disease. It was common to compose an ode or hymn of praise on occasion of deliverance from calamity, or any remarkable interposition of God (see the notes at Isa 12:1; Isa 25:1; Isa 26:1). Many of the Psalms of David were composed on such occasions, and were expressive of gratitude to God for deliverance from impending calamity. The hymn or song is composed of two parts. In the first part Isa 38:10-14, Hezekiah describes his feelings and his fears when he was suffering, and especially the apprehension of his mind at the prospect of death; and the second part Isa 38:15-20 expresses praise to God for his goodness.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 14, 18 Ezechias. Sanchez groundlessly thinks it was composed by Isaias.…
Ezechias. Sanchez groundlessly thinks it was composed by Isaias. (Calmet) --- Ezechias was afflicted lest he should give way to dangerous joy. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv9–20 The prayer and thanksgiving song of Hezekiah is only…
The prayer and thanksgiving song of Hezekiah is only given here, not in the parallel passages of Second Kings and Second Chronicles. Isa 38:9 is the heading or inscription.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 9. The writing of Hezekiah — A psalm celebrating…
9. The writing of Hezekiah — A psalm celebrating God’s goodness in restoring him to health. By some it is supposed to be Isaiah’s composition for the king. The latter, however, was a writer of proverbs; (see Pro_25:1;) several psalms also are supposed to be his; he was a most devout man; why should he not, therefore, be accounted most fit in heart and intellect for authorship of a grateful song like this, on a recovery from what was at first pronounced a fatal sickness?
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–20 9. The writing of Hezekiah] According to some commentators…
9. The writing of Hezekiah] According to some commentators we should read “A Michtam of Hezekiah” (changing a letter in the Hebr.).
The word Michtam occurs in the titles of Psalms 16, 56-60; but is of uncertain derivation and meaning.
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9–20. Hezekiah’s thanksgiving for his recovery. This poem, which is not given in the parallel narrative in 2 Kings, must have been inserted here from an independent source. An external mark of the insertion is found in the displacement of Isa_38:21-22 from their proper context. The superscription (Isa_38:9) resembles several of those in the book of Psalms, and was no doubt found in the document from which the poem was transcribed. The song, therefore, was in all probability traditionally ascribed to Hezekiah, but whether this judgment rests on historical authority, or merely on its inherent suitability to his circumstances, it is impossible to say. The linguistic evidence seems to point to a late date. The poem, like many of the Psalms, is a record of individual experience, but adapted for use in the Temple worship (Isa_38:20). The experience is that of a man who has been brought face to face with death, who has prayed for life, and has been “heard in that he feared”; but with the reticence which characterises the Psalmists all details of merely personal interest are suppressed with a view to the liturgical use of the poem.
The psalm may be divided into two parts (both indicated in the superscription, Isa_38:9):—
i. Isa_38:10-14. A description of the writer’s anguish and despair in the near prospect of death.
ii. Isa_38:15-20. His joy and gratitude when assured of his recovery.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv9–20 (9) The writing of Hezekiah . . .—Isa_38:21-22 would…
(9) The writing of Hezekiah . . .—Isa_38:21-22 would seem to have their right place before the elegiac psalm that follows. The culture which the psalm implies is what might have been expected from one whom Isaiah had trained, who had restored and organised the worship of the Temple (2Ch_29:25-30), who spoke to Levites and soldiers as a preacher (2Ch_30:22; 2Ch_32:6), “speaking comfortably” (literally, to their heart), and who had directed the compilation of a fresh set of the proverbs ascribed to Solomon (Pro_25:1). It will be seen, as we go through the hymn, that it presents echoes of the Book of Job as well as of the earlier Psalms.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv9–20 The writing of Hezekiah; rather, a writing. After he…
The writing of Hezekiah; rather, a writing. After he had recovered from his illness, Hezekiah, it would seem, retraced his feelings as he lay upon his sick-bed, and embodied them in this monody. It has been well termed, "a peculiarly sweet and plaintive specimen of Hebrew psalmody" (Cheyne). Four stanzas or strophes of unequal length are thought to be discernible:
(1) from the beginning of ver. 10 to the end of ver. 12;
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(2) from the beginning of ver. 13 to the end of ver. 14;
(3) from the beginning of ver. 15 to the end of ver. 17;
(4) from the beginning of ver. 18 to the end of ver. 20.
In the first two the monarch is looking forward to death, and his strain is mournful; in the last two he has received the promise of recovery, and pours out his thankfulness.
Vers. 9-22. The song of Hezekiah.
It is a song of peculiar sweetness from a literary point of view, characterized by great elegance; from a spiritual point of view, unfolding some deepest elements of Hebrew and of human pathos.
I THE CONTEMPLATION OF DEATH. It was in middle life, in the "noon-tide of his days," that he had to face the dark gates of Sheol. "Midway in life, as to Dante, came his peril of death." It has been said that there is a peculiar melancholy in middle life. Perhaps so; every age has its peculiar melancholy. It is the contrast between the "noon-tide of consciousness," and the sudden sunset which seems at hand, that shocks the imagination. It is the very acme of the lifelong struggle of will and necessity. Here, the glow of intellectual vigour, the full fruit of ripened knowledge, the educated and matured taste for life; yonder, pale nothingness, decay, disappointment. A sense of injustice seems here to shock the mind. The man feels as if he were being robbed of his property, "mulcted of the residue of his days." That life which nature has kindly nourished, which manifold experience has enriched and adorned, around which law has thrown its protection, for which all else has been willingly foregone, must now itself become a sacrifice to stern, unreasoning, unpitying destiny. Death appears to the natural man in the light of a bondage, an imprisonment. He is going down to the gates of Sheol. (Psa_9:13 Psa_108:1-8 Job_38:19) In the lore of ancient nations similar ideas appear: the place of the departed is a strong fortress, a Tartaros, an Acheron, surrounded by strong walls and a moat; or an inaccessible island. In the house and folk lore of the peoples abundance of such ideas arc to be found. Everywhere the like pathos and the like ideas meet us; and death remains the "standing dire discouragement of human nature.
II LIFE INSEPARABLE FROM THE GOODNESS OF GOD. To see Jehovah is to see Jehovah"s goodness it is, in the best and richest sense, to enjoy life. (Psa_27:13) And with this is connected the joy of society the beholding of the face of one"s fellow-man-communion with the inhabitants of the world. To die is to be uprooted from all these sweet associations, to have one"s habitation plucked up, like the tent of the nomad shepherd. (Job_4:21 Psa_52:5 2Co_5:1, 4 2Pe_1:13, 2Pe_1:14) It is to depart into exile. It is to have the life-web cut and left unfinished. It is to be cut off and made an end of. These melancholy strains depict one side of human feeling. They are paralleled in the Psalms (Psa_6:5 Psa_30:9 Psa_88:10-12 Psa_94:17 Psa_115:17) and Job. (Job 14) Nevertheless, the representation of the effect of death, hopeless as it seems, does not exclude those vague hopes, those implicit beliefs, which mingle with such lamentations, in a better side to the future, which found not distinct expression in words. The connection is strong in Hebrew thought between life on the earth and the goodness of Jehovah. But the goodness of God, however lenient, is learned once for all; and it is impossible to believe in it as manifested in the gift of life without the rise of hope in the continuance of life. The belief in the continuance of life is here expressed; only the sensuous imaginations overpower the mind with sadness. Hope cannot conquer it upon its own ground; but hope nevertheless remains what it is an anchor of the soul, and it enters, though gropingly, into that within the veil.
III PRAYER AND HOPE. "The sick man appeals against the fate which threatens him to God to God against himself; to the essential mercy against the apparent cruelty of Jehovah." It is "the characteristic irony of faith." He is in hourly expectation of death. His cries are like the plaintive notes of birds. He looks up with languid and half-despairing expression to the height where Jehovah dwells. He is like a debtor being carried to prison, and prays Jehovah to become Surety for him. But Jehovah is at the same time the Creditor. It is the "irony of the believer" (Cheyne). "The apparent doubt only expresses the more strongly the real faith the protest against injustice and harshness, the sense of absolute goodness and ineffable mercy" (Mozley). Prayer may be, in moments of the sorest agony, nothing but a child"s cry which has "no language but a cry." Yet that cry must "knock against the heart" of the Father of all. It is God himself who wrings the cry from the distressed heart; God himself who loves to be called upon, and to make his children feel their need of him.
IV THE ANSWER OF PEACE. It has come suddenly, swiftly, unexpectedly. And the restored one is at a loss how to render thanks. His night has been turned into morning; and against the dark background of remembered grief, the picture of a serene future shines. He looks forward to a "walk at case" through all his future years. And not in vain has he suffered, for lasting lessons have been wrought into his spirit. He has learned his need of God and of God"s Word. By that Word men really live. (Deu_8:3) Altogether in them is the life of his spirit. God is the Source of existence and of salvation. He brings to the gates of death; he recovers and makes alive. He has been brought near to God by the very experience which seemed to remove him so far. He has learned that affliction was for his good. The bitter medicine has been swallowed once for all. He has looked death in the face, has trembled at its terrors; but has seen that there is a greater fact than death, namely, the life and love of the eternal God. "The sting of death is sin," and this has been taken out. He has learned the secret of the Divine forgiveness, the immense possibilities in the heart of God. His sins have been flung behind the back of God have been banished into oblivion. Lastly, he has learned anew, and in a deeper way, what the blessing of life is. All is contrast. And the contrast of death and the under-world, its pale and cold existence, throws into relief the consciousness of life, in its full conscious richness in body, soul, and spirit. "The dismay with which he contemplates departure from the world is a measure of the value he sets on personal communion with God." Life, then, should be one long act of praise. From father to child the pure tradition should go down: "God is good; his mercy endureth for ever." He is constant, faithful; and that constancy is revealed, not only in the course of nature"s laws, but in the laws of human nature the life of heart and conscience. And the music of each spirit shall swell into a magnificent harmony in the house of Jehovah. He is "ready to deliver" in the future as he has actually delivered in the past. "Glory to thee for all the grace I have not seen as yet. J.
Vers. 9-15. Health and sickness.
This touching psalm of Hezekiah, written in the day of returning strength, when mental effort became possible and perhaps enjoyable to him, may teach us many things.
I THAT OUR HEALTH IS NOT IN OUR OWN HANDS. There is a distinct note of disappointment here. The king had evidently set his heart on a long life, and was hurt in his soul that his days were cut in twain. It seemed an abrupt, unnatural termination. He was deprived of that which he might have expected to enjoy (vers. 10, 12). Though we know well it is not so, yet we harbour the thought that we can measure our days can reckon on a large period of time in which to work out our plans; we are apt to be surprised and even hurt in our heart if our health be removed and our life be threatened. But we ought to learn that God is the length of our days, (Deu_30:20) and that it rests with him to say when our strength shall decline and when our spirit shall return.
II THAT THE TIME MAY COME WHEN LIFE WILL BE WITHOUT VALUE TO US; when we shall be ready to speak in the strain of the king (vers. 14, 17). Instead of song is silence or complaint; for peace is bitterness of soul. Among the living, at any time, there will be found a large proportion of those to whom life is without any value, and who would gladly lay it down.
1. Do we appreciate the value of our health while we have it?
2. Are we laying up resources on which we can draw when the enjoyments of life will be gone, and the season of privation and infirmity has arrived?
III THAT IT IS RIGHT TO ASK GOD FOR RESTORATION FROM SICKNESS. "O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me". (see 2Co_12:8 Jam_5:14) We should do so,
(1) believing that God hears our prayer, and that, if it be to our real and highest interest, he will grant our request;
(2) leaving it with him to determine how much of bodily evil it is good for us to suffer. Distrust of God"s promise and dictation to his will are the two opposite evils we should avoid. A living faith and a filial submission are the two perfectly consistent graces we should exhibit.
IV THAT THE PERIOD OF CONVALESCENCE IS A TIME FOR THANKFULNESS AND CONSECRATION.
1. Thankfulness. "Himself hath done it" (ver. 15). Whatever the number or the nature of the measures we adopt (ver. 21), we trace the happy issue ultimately to the hand of the Lord. All remedial agencies are of him.
2. Consecration. "I shall go softly reverently all my years, remembering the bitterness of my soul." When God gives back his life to any one of his children, it is surely a time when that soul should form a profound and prayerful resolution that, if past days have been godless, future years shall be devout; that, whatever has been the measure of piety in the time that has been spent, there shall be deeper devotedness and more faithful service m the span that may remain. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 The writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah
Isa_38:9-20
The writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah
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Hezekiahs recovery
1.
He was sick, and then he prayed.
2. He is recovered, and now he gives thanks. (R. Harris, D. D.)
Hezekiahs song
I. THE INSCRIPTION acquaints us--
1. With the author of the song.
2. With the nature of it--a poem written.
3. With the argument of it--a song of thanksgiving for the removal of sickness, and restoring of health.
II. THE DESCRIPTION presents unto us the parts of it.
1. An aggravation of Hezekiahs former misery.
2. An amplification of the present mercy. (R. Harris, D. D.)
Hezekiahs experience
In the first part of this psalm, he describes the views and feelings which occupied his mind when he saw himself apparently on the brink of the grave.
1. Though he had been one of the best kings with which God ever blessed a nation, he viewed his sins as great and numerous, and felt that he was, on account of them, justly exposed to the Divine displeasure.
2. Hence death appeared dreadful to him, and his dread of it was increased by the darkness which, at that time, before Christ had brought life and immortality to light, hung over a future state.
3. Hence, too, he was assailed by fearful apprehensions of Gods anger (Isa_38:13).
4. In consequence of these apprehensions he could neither look nor ask for help from God with confidence, as he had been accustomed to do. My eyes, he exclaims, fail upward; that is, I cannot look upward, cannot look to heaven for relief and consolation, as I formerly could.
5. And when he endeavoured to pray, he found that he offered nothing which deserved the name of prayer; for unbelief and despondency prevailed. Like a crane or a swallow, says he, so did I chatter; that is, my prayers were little better than the complaints of a bird entangled in the snare of the fowler.
6. Finally, he gave up all hope, and cried in bitterness of soul, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living.
7. But to the righteous there ariseth light in the darkness. There did in this case. And as soon as it began to dawn, faith revived, and he cried, though still with a feeble voice, O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me; that is, be my help and deliverer, make my cause Thine own, and do all that for me which Thou seest to be necessary. (E. Payson, D. D.)
The prayer of Hezekiah
It is a strain most natural and pathetic. It is the simple expression of one who has found this life beautiful and desirable, and who would fain be permitted to remain till the limit of human existence has been reached. Its very simplicity, the very honesty with which it depicts the clinging to life and the shrinking from death, has been a stumbling-block to many--has been at complete variance with their preconceived notions as to the frame of mind in which a good man would meet such an hour. He appealed to the life which he had led, to the work which he had done, to the integrity of purpose with which he had done it. He also ventured to recall, as it were, to the Hearer of his prayer, that in his removal there would be one worshipper the less. The grave cannot praise Thee, &c. There would be--such is the daring argument which he employs:--loss to God as well as to himself: if Hezekiah lost all that he had prized and hoped for, God would likewise be deprived of praise and honour which would have been His in days to come. It is a method of expostulation which we who have, through Christ, boldness to enter into the holiest, would hardly venture to employ. Then, on the other hand, the unfeigned alarm with which he contemplates the approaching change--the evident superiority which he assigns to the present life compared with what lies beyond the grave--is not in accordance with the language which would be used by one who cherished the glorious hope which Christ has enkindled. But, with all this admitted--it may even be on this very account--we find in this poem the expression of a human heart like our own, brooding over the great mystery of life and of death, uttering, without reserve, its sorrow and complaint; shrinking, yet trusting; resisting, yet submitting; delighting in life, but finding in God its only portion. The poem is but the record of what any human spirit would feel in being confronted with death, and in seeing death again withdraw. (P. M. Muir.)
The fear of death
What are the main elements of this fear in the writing of Hezekiah? Why is his spirit oppressed and overwhelmed as the great change approaches? Some of the reasons are what we all have experienced; others of them may be only too strange to us.
I. One reason is that HE MUST BID FAREWELL TO THE JOYS OF LIFE. He was deprived of the residue of his years. Life had been to him full of interest and of beauty. In this respect there were even elements of weakness in his character. His love of case and of display showed itself in various ways.
II. Another and a nobler reason for the sadness of Hezekiah, is to be found in the fact that HE WAS ABOUT TO BE CUT OFF FROM THE WORK ON WHICH HIS HEART WAS SET. That is a sorrow which is apt to overcloud a lofty mind. The idolatry which he had sought to crush might again lift up its head. The ritual which he had restored might again be suffered to decay. The bondage from which he had kept his country might lay hold upon it. Because, after his day, the hand of the spoiler might seize the wealth which he had amassed for the good of the nation, he might well desire that his day should be prolonged.
III. He shrank from death as AN ENTRANCE ON AN UNKNOWN SPHERE. It is an exaggeration to say that kings and righteous men of the Old Testament had no conception of a future state. There are sayings which infer that the thought of life was not bounded by the grave, that there was a conviction of union with Him who is eternal. But the sayings are comparatively few: there is no greater difference between the Old Testament and the New than the difference of the way in which they speak of the life hereafter. So dim, so fluctuating, so uncertain are the allusions in the Old Testament, that the revelation of the New may well be called the bringing of life and immortality to light. Even with that revelation, our knowledge of that life is small, the eye of faith is dim; but, without it, the horror of a great darkness may naturally oppress the soul.
IV. The reason which, most of all, produced the regret of Hezekiah in the thought of quitting the visible world is to us the strangest of all. It was that HE SHOULD BE MORE DISTANT FROM GOD. I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the living. This is to us a strange contradiction, an evidence of marvellous ignorance. It was exactly in that world, to the confines of which he was drawing near, that he would find God. This is true, and there is ground for our astonishment. But might not Hezekiah, in his turn, be astonished at us? Does his lamentation convey to us no lesson, no reproach? He was mournful at the prospect of seeing God no more in the land of the living, of seeing Him no more in the glories of the world around, of seeing Him no more in the worship of His temple. Were we honest with ourselves and with one another, might we not confess that our talk of seeing God hereafter is all the more voluble because we have not seen Him here? We too much forget that He is here at all. And one element of terror in our imagination of the hereafter consists too often in the reflection that He is there. (P. M. Muir.)
Hezekiahs return to health
If we may learn something from Hezekiah even in his imperfect, hopeless mode of looking on impending death, much more may we learn from him in his joyous mode of welcoming returning health. That he should be glad is no cause for wonder.
1. There is perhaps no keener sense of enjoyment than that which attends convalescence, when simple pleasures, which may once have palled, are felt again in all their freshness, when strength is actually felt to be reanimating the enfeebled frame. For the man who has been tossing and turning in restlessness and pain, the restoration of peace and ease brings a pleasure before unknown
2. But it was not simply this delight in outward things which inspired Hezekiah. It was that the vision of God would again be granted, that the worship which he loved could again be offered, that the work which had been interrupted might again be taken up, that his recovery was a pledge of
Divine favour, of sin forgiven and forgotten, and must awake the gratitude of his heart, the service of his whole life. Whatever has been our past, whatever is to be our future, the present is ours to use, to improve, to spend in the service of God and of man. (P. M. Muir.)
Hezekiahs sickness and recovery
I. THE AFFLICTION AND DANGER OF HEZEKIAH. This writing records his affliction. From his previous character, you perhaps expect to find that he will welcome the message which announces his release from suffering, or at least receive it with calmness and submission. But there are two principles on which we account for this emotion.
1. From that love of life which is the strongest instinct of our nature.
2. Hezekiah was engaged in a great and important work.
II. THE DELIVERANCE WROUGHT ON HIS BEHALF.
1. He traces his recovery to God.
2. He desires to retain the salutary impressions he had received (Isa_38:15).
3. He acknowledges the beneficial influence of affliction (Isa_38:16).
4. He gratefully commemorates the Divine goodness (Isa_38:17). (H. J. Gamble.)
The wisdom of keeping a record of ones life
It is well, for the purpose of frequent review, to keep a record of the principal events of our lives, and of the thoughts which in trying circumstances have most deeply impressed us. This is the way both to multiply and prolong the advantages of experience. Such a record may be of great use also to our successors, and especially to our children. Of all the periods of life pregnant with materials for such an instructive memorial, that of sickness, for the supports attending it, the thoughts that arise out of it, and the influence to be exercised by them upon the subsequent course of our lives, seems to have a pre-eminent claim to notice. It is to a record of this kind, penned by the pious monarch of Judah, and which was probably- of great service to his son Manasseh, that our text refers; and the consideration of which may serve to remind us of what we should aspire after, and what we should cautiously avoid, in a similar situation. (J. Leifchild, D. D.)
Sickness and recovery
I. THE GENERAL CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF BODILY SICKNESS. Man is much more liable to attacks of this nature than the mere animals. The peculiar organisation of the human being, and the wearing effect of mental excitement upon the corporeal system, may m part account for this. But moral causes must also be taken into consideration. Sin is the great parent of our bodily maladies. Though some conditions of human society are more exposed to disease than others, yet no station in life forms any certain security against the interruption of health. Even piety itself, though a preservative against spiritual ills, and a preventive of many bodily ailments, is far from being a shield against the shafts of disease. We have a vivid picture, in Hezekiahs complaints, of the humiliating state both of body and mind to which sickness reduces us. While much importance should not be attached to what persons in sickness think of themselves, yet we may learn the desirableness of avoiding those dispositions and practices, while in health, which would furnish just and solid occasion for uneasiness in our duller hours. We may invite God to our sick chamber with confidence, when we have not driven Him away from us by impiety and neglect in our more joyous and prosperous seasons.
II. THE ANXIETIES OF A PIOUS MIND UNDER SICKNESS, AND THE GOOD EFFECTS OF PRAYER AND SUPPLICATION. The message of Isaiah to Hezekiah was indeed calculated to produce alarm and despondency as to his recovery. In this situation, his desire of life moved him to make the most earnest and passionate entreaties. The good men of that age felt a strong attachment to life, which was far more excusable in their case than in ours.
III. THE SPIRITUAL AND DIVINE MANIFESTATIONS WITH WHICH DELIVERANCE FROM SICKNESS MAY BE ACCOMPANIED IN THE CASE OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD. The removal of the bodily ill was the least part of his deliverance; it was accompanied and followed with a sweet sense of the removal of guilt from his soul, and with the presence of the gladdening beams of the Divine favour. It is sometimes one end of God, in the case of the affliction of His people, to prepare them for such manifestations, and to prove the power of Divine principles in conferring a sublime superiority to all the impressions of the surrounding scene.
IV. THE INFLUENCE WHICH THE VISITATION OF SICKNESS, THE SUPPORTS UNDER IT, AND DELIVERANCE OUT OF IT, IN THE CASE OF GOOD MEN,
SHOULD HAVE UPON THEIR FUTURE CONDUCT. The beneficial effects of such visitation are too often confined to the hours of its endurance, or extended only to a short period after its termination. This arises from the influence of outward scenes and circumstances upon the mind, and the natural tendency of a change in the one to operate a similar change in the other. It is only to be prevented by a due resistance to such tendency, and a careful effort to preserve, by frequent meditation and review, the just discoveries made by us in our affliction, and the proper feelings then entertained, in reference to the character of human life, and the importance of religion. Probably the great cause of sinful relapses is to be found in a forgetfulness of our mercies. Application--
1. The subject may be useful to such as have not yet been afflicted. We see in the sufferings of others how precarious is the continuance of our comforts, and our vigour and health to enjoy them.
2. Such as have been afflicted in vain, may be furnished with a salutary remonstrance. Affliction is often amongst the last resources employed by infinite wisdom and mercy for our benefit.
3. Such as are labouring under the pressure of disease may, especially if Christians, learn how to turn it, while it lasts, to good account, as well as to gain a benefit from it for the future. There are many consoling and reconciling considerations. It is fraught with a benevolent design on the part of Him who permits or causes it. (J. Leifchild, D. D.)
Face to face with death
1. However death is feared and resisted, it is most by those who are in the midst of their days. The reasons for this are worth looking into.
2. Mans most solemn words are uttered when he stands face to face with death; then, if ever, he forms a right estimate of life, and of preparation for dying.
3. Prayer is a real power. (W. Wheeler.)
Hezekiahs poem
The poem, or psalm, in which Hezekiah describes his experience, may be divided into two parts.
I. HOW DEATH LOOKED (Isa_38:10-15). There is a point in the suns 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 Gods 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 shepherds tent that had been struck--his life rolled up like a piece of cloth cut from the thrums of the weavers 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 kings 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 Hezekiahs looking upward to God.
II. HOW RESTORED LIFE LOOKED (Isa_38:16-20). 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 Gods present help given him then, that he had found the true life of his spirit. He had discovered Gods 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 Lords 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.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv10, 14, 15 (A Funeral Sermon.)
THE SHORTENING OF HUMAN LIFE
(A Funeral Sermon.)
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Isa_38:10. I am deprived of the residue of my years.
Briefly narrate the facts of Hezekiah’s illness. The words of the text naturally suggest this general observation, that God deprives many of the human race of the residue of their years.
I. WHEN GOD DEPRIVES ANT OF MANKIND OF THE RESIDUE OF THEIR YEARS.
1. When He calls them out of the world before they have reached the limits of life which are to be found in Scripture (Psa_90:10). Hezekiah undoubtedly numbered his years according to this standard when he spoke (at forty years of age) of being deprived of the residue of his years.
2. When He calls them out of the world before they have reached the bounds of life fixed by Providence. Though the Scriptures limit life to seventy or eighty years, yet Providence often extends it to a longer period, even to a century. Many aged persons enjoy a large measure of health, strength, and activity; should any of these be suddenly cut down by disease or accident, they would be deprived of the residue of their years which they had anticipated, according to the course of Divine providence in fixing the limits of life to the aged.
3. Even those who die before they have reached the bounds of life which are imposed by the laws of Nature, may be said to be deprived of the residue of their days. Nature sets bounds to every kind of life in this world, not excepting human life. What the natural limit of human life is we cannot tell, but from the fact that some have survived for over a century and a half, we may infer that God has deprived the vast majority of the human race of the residue of their years, and has not allowed even one in a million to reach the bounds of life which Nature has set.
II. WHY GOD THUS SHORTENS THE LIVES OF MEN AND CUTS OFF THEIR EXPECTED YEARS.
1. Sometimes it is to teach the living that He is not dependent upon them in the least degree. Though He can and does employ them in His service, yet He can lay them aside whenever He pleases, and carry on His designs without their assistance. Let eminent and useful men like Hezekiah remember this, that they may not yield to the temptation of pride (H. E. I. 2218–2219).
2. In order to teach mankind their constant and absolute dependence upon Himself. This they are extremely inclined to forget, and their forgetfulness arises in a great measure from the consideration of the general bounds of life which Scripture, Providence, and Nature have set. To these well-known periods they naturally extend their views, desires, and expectations. But to make them sensible that they still live, move, and have their being in Himself, God continually deprives one and another, and much the largest portion of mankind, of the residue of their years.
3. To teach the living the necessity of being continually prepared for another life (H. E. I. 1543–1546).
4. To teach the living the importance of faithfully improving life as long as they enjoy it. All men are naturally slothful and strongly inclined to postpone present duties to a more convenient season. The best and most industrious of men need the sharp spur of the possibility of sudden death, and of being called away before their work is complete. When God cuts down the active and useful in the midst of their days, He warns us most solemnly (Ecc_9:10; H. E. I. 1562–1566).
5. God sometimes cuts short the days of the wicked to prevent their doing evil in time to come (Psa_55:23; Pro_10:27; Ecc_7:17).
6. God sometimes shortens the lives of His faithful servants to prevent their seeing and suffering public calamities. It seems to have been in mercy to Hezekiah that God added only fifteen years to his life; had fifty years been added (and then at death he would only have been ninety), he would have been involved in the dreadful evils which were coming upon both his family and his kingdom (Isa_57:1).
APPLICATION.—
1. If God does not always deprive men of the residue of their years, there is a propriety in praying for the lives of the aged as well as for the lives of the young. Even the oldest persons living, though labouring under pains, infirmities, and diseases which seem to indicate the near approach of death, may yet pray for the removal or mitigation of their disorders, and for a longer space of life. Life is a blessing, and to pray for its continuance is a duty.
2. If God so often deprives men of the residue of their years, it is extremely unreasonable and dangerous to flatter ourselves with the hope of living a great while in the world. What ground have we to expect that our days will be greatly prolonged; that we shall escape all the dangers and diseases which have proved so fatal to others, and live as long as man can live according to the course of nature? This expectation is as dangerous as it is absurd. It encourages the wicked to continue in sin. It is the strangest and most fatal error that mankind ever embraced (Jas_4:14; Mat_22:44).
3. Since God deprives so many of the residue of their years, we ought to beware of placing too much dependence upon the lives of others, as well as of our own. Others are as liable to leave us as we are to leave them (Psa_146:3-5).
4. If God so often deprives men of the residue of their years, then long life is a great as well as a distinguishing favour. It is a talent capable of being improved to the highest public and private advantage. We should desire it for the sake of having greater opportunity of getting good, and still more of doing good. Had Hezekiah, Joseph, Joshua, Caleb, and David died in early manhood, how little comparatively they could have done for Israel! Since good men are to be rewarded according to their works, the longer they are permitted to live, the greater opportunity they enjoy of promoting their own future blessedness.
5. If God always has wise and good reasons for depriving men of the residue of their years, then it is as reasonable to submit to His providence in one instance of mortality as another. He knows all the disappointment which a strong man feels in being cut down in the midst of his days, all acute sorrow that is caused by an untimely death, and He sympathises with it all. He never afflicts willingly, nor grieves the children of men; He takes no pleasure in giving anxiety and distress to the dying, nor in desolating the hearts of the living; and when He does either, it is for a reason that is infinitely wise and infinitely kind. It behoves us then to say with Job: (Isa_13:15, or Isa_1:21).—Dr. Emmons: Works, vol. iii. pp. 79–92.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv10, 18 Heb. "Sheol," (See Scofield "Hab 2:5")
grave
Heb. "Sheol," (See Scofield "Hab 2:5")
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v9 Hezekiah’s Hymn of Praise
Hezekiah’s Hymn of Praise
v. 9. The writing of Hezekiah, king of Judah, when he had been sick and was recovered of his sickness, a psalm of thanksgiving composed and written by him:
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v. 10. I said in the cutting off of my days, rather, in the tranquility of my days, at the time of his life and reign when he could look forward to an undisturbed enjoyment of his kingly position, I shall go to the gates of the grave, the kingdom of death had opened before him in his illness; I am deprived of the residue of my years, of the rest of his life according to the natural, average length of life.
v. 11. I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the living, enjoy the gifts of His goodness here on earth, Psa 27:13; I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world, no longer enjoy the companionship of men among the denizens of the realm of death.
v. 12. Mine age is departed, broken off, removed, folded up, and is removed from me as a shepherd’s tent, which is quickly pitched and as quickly taken down; I have cut off, like a weaver, my life, rolling it together as the craftsman folds the finished garment; He will cut me off with pining sickness, as the thread is cut off which tied the loom to the weaver’s beam; from day even to night wilt Thou make an end of me. While Hezekiah, as it were, was rolling up his life, as he lived it, on the weaver’s beam, the Lord threatened, by His cutting off, to interrupt his labor suddenly, and so rapid was the progress of the sickness that it seemed about to do its work in one day.
v. 13. I reckoned till morning, composing himself till the next day, that, as a lion, so will He break all my bones, rather, for He was breaking my bones, and it was only with difficulty that he kept himself from despair; from day even to night wilt Thou make an end of me, it seemed that he could not endure the agony till evening.
v. 14. Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter, I did mourn as a dove, murmuring and groaning with querulous notes, with broken sounds expressive of pain; mine eyes fail with looking upward, with painful longing, and yet lifted up to the Lord. O Lord, I am oppressed, as a debtor hard pressed by his creditors; undertake for me, literally, "be surety for me," so that he would be delivered from this oppression.
v. 15. What shall I say? Hezekiah finds himself at a loss for words adequately to express his appreciation of the deliverance afforded him. He hath both spoken unto me, and Himself hath done it, the Lord’s performance agreeing exactly with his promise; I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul, or: ’Shall I walk along softly all the years of my life after the bitterness of my soul?" The answer is, of course, that God granted him just this, to have such relief after his bitter experience.
v. 16. O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit, namely, by the blessings of God’s goodness and mercy; so wilt Thou recover me and make me to live, preserving his life by His almighty power.
v. 17. Behold, for peace I had great bitterness, that is, unto deliverance was bitterness for me, bitterness, what he considered the bitter distress of death makes his deliverance stand out all the more brightly; but Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption, for Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back, this forgiveness of sins being the reason for God’s gracious deliverance of the king being the ground for His act of mercy.
v. 18. For the grave cannot praise Thee, death cannot celebrate Thee, people in the realm of death have no opportunity to sing His praises; they that go down into the pit cannot hope for Thy truth, place their trust in His faithfulness.
v. 19. The living, the living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day, the great contrast between the mournful past and the joyful present being brought out here; the father to the children shall make known Thy truth, the faithfulness of God in keeping his promises.
v. 20. The Lord was ready to save me, to give him deliverance from the evil which beset him; therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments, with their accompaniment, all the days of our life in the house of the Lord, the hymn probably being used for public worship at stated times, especially on the anniversary of Hezekiah’s recovery. To tarry in the house of the Lord and to bring him the sacrifices of our lips and hands is the only proper way of showing our thankfulness for favors received from him.
v. 21. For Isaiah had said, at the tune when he had promised the king that he would recover from his illness, Let them take a lump of figs, a remedy often used to bring relief in case of swellings, but here merely a secondary feature in the miraculous cure, and lay it for a plaster upon the boil, and he shall recover.
v. 22. Hezekiah also had said, when Isaiah delivered to him the Lord’s promise, What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the Lord? He had been given the sign, and his recovery had taken place. His prayer had been heard, and so his heart overflowed in grateful melody to the God of all good gifts, a fine example for believers of all times.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 that halfway through my life
that halfway through my life
"that before I have grown old." This refers to dying at middle age, before growing old.
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I will go through the gates of Sheol
This speaks of dying as if Sheol were a kingdom that has gates that one enters. AT: "I will die and go to Sheol" (See: Metaphor)
I am sent there for the rest of my years
This can be stated in active form. AT: "before I have lived all of my years I will go to the grave" (See: Active or Passive)
in the land of the living
"The living" refers to people who are alive. AT: "in the land where people are alive" or "in this world where people are alive" (See: Nominal Adjectives)
translationWords
pray
Hezekiah
king
Judah
gate
Hades
Yahweh
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16 38:9-20 Hezekiah’s poem contains both lament (38:9-14) and praise…
38:9-20 Hezekiah’s poem contains both lament (38:9-14) and praise (38:15-20), although the praise is distinctly muted until the final verse.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.