Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “Yahweh’s word which you have spoken is good.” He said moreover, “For there will be peace and truth in my days.”
Parallel Translations
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Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “Yahweh’s word which you have spoken is good.” He said moreover, “For there will be peace and truth in my days.”
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Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days.
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Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah: 'Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken.' He said moreover: 'If but there shall be peace and truth in my days.'
Cross-references (12)
Passages linked to Isaiah 39:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Chronicles 32:26 Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that Yahweh’s wrath didn’t come on them in the days of Hezekiah.
- 2 Chronicles 34:28 “Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes won’t see all the evil that I will bring on this place and on its inhabitants.” ’ ” They brought back word to the king.
- 1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time,
- Leviticus 10:3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what Yahweh spoke of, saying, ‘I will show myself holy to those who come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.’ ” Aaron held his peace.
- 1 Samuel 3:18 Samuel told him every bit, and hid nothing from him. He said, “It is Yahweh. Let him do what seems good to him.”
- Job 1:21 He said, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked will I return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be Yahweh’s name.”
- Psalms 39:9 I was mute. I didn’t open my mouth, because you did it.
- Lamentations 3:39 Why does a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?
- Zechariah 8:16 These are the things that you shall do: speak every man the truth with his neighbor. Execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates,
- Zechariah 8:19 Yahweh of Armies says: “The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months shall be for the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.”
- 2 Samuel 15:26 but if he says, ‘I have no delight in you;’ behold, here I am. Let him do to me as seems good to him.”
- Lamentations 3:22 It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Read 2 Kings 20:19.
Read 2 Kings 20:19.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The history contained in this chapter is related in…
The history contained in this chapter is related in the same words, 2Ki 20:12, &c., only he who here is called Merodach is there called Berodach, merely by the change of one letter, which is very usual in the Hebrew language, especially in proper names, as Dimon is put for Dibon, Isa 15:9, and the same man is called Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadrezzar. This king is called Merodach from the idol so called, Jer 1:2, and Baladan from his father’s name. But whether this man was an Assyrian, or a Mede, or a Babylonian, it is not easy to determine, nor worth while to inquire. But this is certain, that about this time there were wars between the Assyrians and the Babylonians, the issue whereof was, that the latter subdued the former.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, good is the word…
Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken,.... Hezekiah was at once convinced of his sin, acknowledged it and repented of it, and owned that the sentence pronounced was but just and right; and that there was a mixture of mercy and goodness in it, in that time was given, and it was not immediately executed:
he said moreover, for there shall be peace and truth in my days; or a confirmed peace, lasting prosperity, peace in the state, and truth in the church, plenty of temporal mercies, and the truth of doctrine and worship, which he understood by the prophet would continue in his days, and for which he was thankful; not that he was unconcerned about posterity, but inasmuch as it must be, what was foretold, and which he could not object to as unjust, he looked upon it as a mercy to him that there was a delay of it to future times; or it may be considered as a wish, "O that there were peace" (g), &c.
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(g) , Sept.; so the V. L. Syriac and Arabic versions; "O si fieret pax", Forerius; "precor ut sit pax", Vatablus; which is preferred by Noldius Ebr. Cocord. Part. p. 407. No. 1153.
Next: Isaiah Chapter 40
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 8. Then said Hezekiah] The nature of Hezekiah's…
Verse 8. Then said Hezekiah] The nature of Hezekiah's crime, and his humiliation on the message of God to him by the prophet, is more expressly declared by the author of the book of the Chronicles: "But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up; therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem. Notwithstanding, Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. Howbeit, in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart." 2Ch 32:25-26; 2Ch 32:30-31.
There shall be peace and truth in my days.] I rather think these words should be understood as an humble inquiry of the king, addressed to the prophet. "Shall there be prosperity, שלום shalom, and truth in MY days? - Shall I escape the evil which thou predictest?" Understood otherwise, they manifest a pitiful unconcern both for his own family and for the nation. "So I be well, I care not how it may go with others." This is the view I have taken of the passage in 2Kg 21:19. Let the reader judge whether this, or the former, should be preferred. 2Kg 20:20.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Good is the word of the Lord - The…
Good is the word of the Lord - The sense of this is, ‘I acquiesce in this; I perceive that it is right; I see in it evidence of benevolence and goodness.’ The grounds of his acquiescence seem to have been:
1. The fact that he saw that it was just. He felt that he had sinned, and that he had made an improper display of his treasures, and deserved to be punished.
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2. He felt that the sentence was mild and merciful. It was less than he deserved, and less than he had reason to expect.
3. It was merciful to him, and to his kingdom at that time. God was not coming forth to cut him off, or to involve him in anymore calamity.
4. His own reign and life were to be full of mercy still.
He had abundant cause of gratitude, therefore, that God was dealing with him in so much kindness. It cannot be shown that Hezekiah was regardless of his posterity, or unconcerned at the calamity which would come upon them. All that the passage fairly implies is, that he saw that it was right; and that it was proof of great mercy in God that the punishment was deferred, and was not, as in the case of David (2 Sam. 13-14 ff), to be inflicted in his own time. The nature of the crime of Hezekiah is more fully stated in the parallel passage in 2Ch 32:25-26, 2Ch 32:30-31.
For there shall be peace - My kingdom shall not be disturbed during my reign with a foreign invasion.
And truth - The truth of God shall be maintained; his worship shall be kept up; his name shall be honored.
In my days - During my reign. He inferred this because Isaiah had said Isa 39:7 that his posterity would be carried to Babylon. He was assured, therefore, that these calamities would not come in his own time. We may learn from this:
1. That we should submit to God when he punishes us. If we have right feelings we shall always see that we deserve all that we are called to suffer.
2. In the midst of severest judgments we may find some evidence of mercy. There are some considerations on which the mind may fix that will console it with the evidence of the compassion of God, and that will not only make it submissive, but fill it with gratitude.
3. We should accustom ourselves to such views of the divine dealings, and should desire to find in them the evidence of goodness and mercy, and not the evidence of wrath and severity.
It is of infinite importance that we should cherish right views of God; and should believe that he is holy, good. and merciful. To do this, we should feel that we deserve all that we suffer; we should look at what we might have endured; we should look at the mercies spared to us, as well as at those which are taken away; and we should hold to the belief, as an unwavering principle from which we are never to depart, that God is good, supremely and wholly good. Then our minds will have peace. Then with Hezekiah we may say, ‘Good is the word of Yahweh.’ Then with the suffering Redeemer of the world we may always say, ‘Not my will, but thine be done’ Luk 22:42.
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 Days. He is not unconcerned about his children, but…
Days. He is not unconcerned about his children, but dares not request more. Having given way to immoderate joy and vanity, he was informed that all his treasures should be taken away. (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 peace . . . in my days--The punishment was…
peace . . . in my days--The punishment was not, as in David's case (Sa2 24:13-15), sent in his time. True repentance acquiesces in all God's ways and finds cause of thanksgiving in any mitigation.
The former were local and temporary in their reference. These belong to the distant future, and are world-wide in their interest; the deliverance from Babylon under Cyrus, which he here foretells by prophetic suggestion, carries him on to the greater deliverance under Messiah, the Saviour of Jews and Gentiles in the present eclectic Church, and the restorer of Israel and Head of the world-wide kingdom, literal and spiritual, ultimately. As Assyria was the hostile world power in the former part, which refers to Isaiah's own time, so Babylon is so in the latter part, which refers to a period long subsequent. The connecting link, however, is furnished (Isa 39:6) at the close of the former part. The latter part was written in the old age of Isaiah, as appears from the greater mellowness of style and tone which pervades it; it is less fiery and more tender and gentle than the former part.
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Next: Isaiah Chapter 40
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Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 8. Good is the word of the Lord —…
8. Good is the word of the Lord — Noble submission! Hezekiah was the purest and best royal character since King David, and he had his reward, for his own days were ended in peace.
This chapter is an appropriate historic close, preparatory to the dying song of the great, but now old, prophet of the glorious Messianic times in the far future.
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 8. Good is the word of the Lord] An…
8. Good is the word of the Lord] An expression of pious resignation, including repentance; cf. 1Sa_3:18.
there shall be peace and truth (or steadfastness) in my days] In the Old Testament the postponement of a calamity is always regarded as a mitigation of its severity; see 1Ki_21:28 f.; 1Ki_22:18 ff. Hezekiah’s words probably mean no more than that mercy is mingled with judgment in the sentence pronounced on him.
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 (8) Good is the word of the Lord .…
(8) Good is the word of the Lord . . .—The words have the appearance of a pious resignation, but we feel that they are less true and noble than those of David on a like occasion: “I have sinned and done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let thy hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house” (2Sa_24:17). Hezekiah’s thanksgiving reminds us a little too much of “Après moi ledeluge.”
Peace and truth.—The latter word is used in the sense of “stability” (so Psa_54:5). The two words are used in the same way in Jer_14:13, where we find “assured peace” in the text of the Authorised Version, and “peace of truth” in the margin.
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 Good is the word. While there is resignation, there…
Good is the word. While there is resignation, there is no doubt something also of selfishness, in Hezekiah"s acceptance of the situation. "Apres mot le deluge" is a saying attributed to a modern Frenchman. Hezekiah"s egotism is less pronounced and less cynical. He thinks with gratitude of the "peace and steadfastness" which are to be "in his day;" he does not dwell in thought on the coming "deluge." The "word of the Lord" is "good" to him in more ways than one. It has assured him of coming male offspring of sons to sit upon his throne, and save him from the curse of childlessness. And it has assured him of a rest for his nation a respite, so that the Babylonian struggle shall not follow immediately upon the Assyrian; but there shall be a "breathing-space", (Ezr_9:8) a tranquil time, during which Israel may "dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting-places". (Isa_32:18)
The best blessings.
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"There shall be peace and truth in my days." These are God"s twin blessings. There can be no peace without truth. There is veracity in, God"s universe everywhere. It is only a seeming blessedness which exists apart from these things, for the flowers have no root. The dancing smile is only like phosphorescence on the face of the dead, if we are not at peace with God.
I CHRIST"S LEGACY WAS PEACE. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you." This is not peace of condition, but peace of conscience. The ocean, like Christ"s life, may be troubled outwardly, but there is rest at the heart of it. We cannot judge by the surface-features of life. We must enter within to know if there be really peace. We must see the man in trouble, trial, solitude, and death. Then we shall see how true the acclamation is, "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." Bunyan had peace in Bedford Gaol; so had the confessors and martyrs of olden time.
II CHRIST"S ATONEMENT GIVES PEACE. "Having made peace through the blood of his cross." We may be unable to give a theory of the atonement that can cover all its meaning from the days of Anselm until now men have debated about that; but in depths of agony about sin we feel the need of a Saviour, and rejoice to sing"Nothing in my hands I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling.
III CHRIST GIVES PEACE THROUGH TRUTH. He tells the truth about our moral state and condition. He reveals the truth concerning the nature and purposes of God. He unveils the immortal life, not only as a doctrine, but in himself, in heavenly beauty of the earthly life. "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." How comfortable it is to rest on this gracious promise, and to know that the True One cannot lie! W.M.S.
Our submissions may be selfish.
"He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days." "Hezekiah not only acquiesces in the will of Jehovah. like Eli, (1Sa_3:18) but congratulates himself on his own personal safety. It would, no doubt, have been the nobler course to beg that he alone might bear the punishment, as he alone had sinned. But the principle of the solidarity of the forefather and his posterity, and of the king and his people, prevails almost throughout the Old Testament." Self-delusion is very common in the matter of submission.
I SOME THINK THEY SUBMIT WHEN THEY HAVE ONLY CEASED TO CARE. The two things are quite distinct. A man only truly submits while he keeps his care, and has his personal desire and wish still vigorous. True submission is the voluntary giving up of one"s own wish because we accept the wish of another. The glory of it is that it is hard. It is easy enough when we have ceased to care.
II SOME THINK THEY SUBMIT WREN THEY ONLY LIE DOWN UNDER GOD. As dying people, if asked whether they submit, will often say, "Oh yes; there is nothing else I can do." God is too big for them that is all. If he were not, they would still struggle against him. This is the Mohammedan form of submission. "Allah Akbar! is great!" "Islam must submit to him." The exaggeration of this kind of submission is found in the Eastern doseh. Men lie down on the ground side by side, and let the king ride on horseback over their shoulders. Our God asks for no such submission as that.
III SOME THINK THEY SUBMIT WHEN THE BURDEN IS LIFTED FROM THEM TO REST ON OTHERS. A very comfortable, but very mean, sort of submission. A selfish submission that acquiesces in a will of God that shields ourselves, whatever others may have to suffer. This was Hezekiah"s submission. "Good is the will of the Lord in judgment, for he has shifted it over to make things comfortable for me." It is impossible to give Hezekiah much credit for so poor a submission as that.
IV TRUE HEARTS THINK THEY SUBMIT ONLY WHEN THEY LOVINGLY ACCEPT THE HOLY WILL, WHATEVER THAT WILL MAY INVOLVE. Submission is the expression of confidence, the breath of trust, the sign of perfect love. It is the uttered child-heart. It cannot make any qualifications. Its unceasing refrain is, "My Father knows." The one sublime example of submission is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, though the holy will involved bitterest personal suffering, could sincerely say, "Not as I will, but as thou wilt." After Christ the world"s great figure of submission is the venerable Moses, ascending Nebo to receive the kiss of God and die, "with Canaan"s goodly land in view. R.T.
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 Good is the word of the Lord which thou…
Isa_39:8
Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken.
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Good The word good is here used, neither in the sense of gracious nor in that of just exclusively, but in that of right as comprehending both. (J. A. Alexander.)
Hezekiahs acceptance of his punishment
Hezekiahs reply expressed neither the highest magnanimity nor the mere selfish egotism which some commentators have seen in it; but a mixture of feelings in accordance with all that we know of his character. His appreciation of his position and duties as a king is shown in his restoration of the national worship, and his final resistance to Sennacherib, as well as in his general and successful care for the prosperity of his country. But though a religious sense of duty, or the pressure of necessity, could occasionally stir him to master circumstances by a great effort, we may infer from the domination of Shebna, and from his own demeanour and language when supplicating Sennacheribs pardon, after the receipt of Rab-shakehs message and Sennacheribs letter, in the time of his own sickness, and on the present occasion, that his natural and habitual disposition was rather to submit to the guidance of circumstances, with a gentle and pious confession that this weakness of his character was beyond cure, and to accept the consequences with pious and affectionate resignation to Gods will, and thankful acknowledgment of any mitigation of them. He could enter into the meaning of the Psalmists words, Thou wast God that forgavest them, though Thou tookest vengeance on their inventions. And though he had not, like Moses or Paul, the stern courage which could ask that the punishment might be to himself, and the forgiveness to his people; but on the contrary was thankful to learn that there should be peace and truth in his days; it must not be overlooked that it was peace and truth to his country as well as himself, and not merely selfish security that he was thankful for. (Sir E. Strachey, Bart.)
A contrast: Hezekiah and St. Paul
There is certainly submission here, resignation to the Supreme will, readiness to accept the sentence of chastisement by this will. The sentiment thus far is that of Eli when he heard the doom of his house from the lips of the child-prophet: It is the Lord: let Him do what seemeth Him good. But the reason given by Hezekiah in the text itself is deeply disappointing in two ways--first, the selfishness, and, secondly, the earthliness of the consolation. Enough for him if he is spared the personal experience of the retribution; enough if he may live out his fifteen added years in the peace of an outward tranquillity, and in the truth, or, as it is otherwise given, in the continuance of an accustomed and unbroken prosperity. There shall be peace and truth in my days, would have had no meaning for St. Paul. All days were his days; days of time and days of eternity--all were his. (Dean Vaughan.)
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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 Isa_39:8. Then said Hezekiah, &c.
HEZEKIAH TRIED
Isa_39:8. Then said Hezekiah, &c.
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In the narrative connected with the text we find much in Hezekiah to be avoided and much worthy of imitation.
I. We find Hezekiah in great affliction. He had recently escaped from great public and national calamity; he is speedily involved in private and personal suffering (Isa_38:1). “He was sick,” and Isaiah was sent to prepare him for death. He was greatly alarmed at the approach of death (Isa_38:9-14). How different from St. Paul (Php_1:23). He lived in a dark and imperfect dispensation; few then had clear views of the world to come (2Ti_1:10). Hezekiah’s faith failed him greatly, and he clung to life with pertinacity.
II. In his trouble he sought the Lord (Isa_38:2-3). He made solemn vows of what he would do if spared (Isa_38:15). When partially restored, he renewed his vows (Isa_38:19). Thus believers in every kind of trouble should seek comfort of God in earnest prayer; nor is it improper then solemnly to give ourselves to God, and renew our vows. We are encouraged to do this by the speed with which a gracious answer was sent to Hezekiah (Isa_38:4-5). Isaiah was hardly gone out from pronouncing the judgment when he was sent back with a message of mercy (2Ki_20:4-5). How wonderfully compassionate is God to His feeble people! Their poor, trembling prayers, uttered in fear and doubting, are heard and answered. He not only hears prayer, but answers directly (Dan_9:20-23).
III. We find him speedily forgetful of the mercy he had received. Ambassadors arrive at his court. Whence and for what purpose? (Isa_39:1-2). What an opportunity for him to redeem his vows, and to proclaim the power and goodness of God to these heathens! Alas! he shows them all his riches, &c., but of God and His temple He says nothing. Flattered and betrayed by the world (Isa_39:3-4), what a heart his and ours must be! How could this be? We are told (2Ch_32:31) that such is man when left to himself! We are never in greater danger than after seasons of great mercy and special providences (H. E. I. 4902–4904).
IV. He humbly received the rebuke that was sent to him (text). Here the habit of his mind appeared: he had fallen into the sin of vanity, but humility and resignation to the will of God, especially to His afflictive dispensations, were his usual characteristics. A clear evidence of true godliness, meekly and cheerfully to submit to fatherly correctives. Aaron (Lev_10:1-3), Eli (1Sa_3:18), the bereaved mother (2Ki_4:26), David (Psa_119:75).
LESSONS.—
1. Let us cultivate humility, watchfulness, and jealousy of ourselves (H. E. I. 4883, 4901).
2. Let us not be disconsolate because we are conscious of weakness and unworthiness. The errors and failings of the best of men are left on record, not to extenuate our sins, but to save us from despair. They were men of like passions with ourselves—the same infirmities and corruptions—yet God bore with them, and saved them out of all their distresses. Let us therefore “hope to the end,” and “patiently continue in well-doing,” believing that we shall be “more than conquerors through Him who hath loved us” (H. E. I. 1117, 2376).—F. Close, A.M.: Fifty-two Sketches of Sermons, pp. 52–55.
SUBMISSION UNDER GOD’S REBUKE
Isa_39:8. Then said Hezekiah, &c.
I. THE REBUKE.
The character of Hezekiah is well known. One of the very best of the kings of Judah (2Ki_18:3-7). Nevertheless even in this excellent man there were moral weaknesses which were displayed when his physical malady was removed. The arrival of the Babylonian ambassadors excited within him hopes of political advantages arising from alliance with the idolatrous king whom they represented, and in order to impress the envoys with a sense of his importance, he made an ostentatious display of his wealth (Isa_39:2). This displeased the Lord. Why?
1. Because Hezekiah let slip a favourable opportunity of making known to the heathen the glory and the goodness of the God of Israel [1273]
2. Because his ostentation made it plain that pride was usurping the throne of his heart (2Ch_32:26).
[1273] If, instead of showing them his treasures, he had related to these idolatrous Chaldeans, who were worshippers of the sun, the account of his marvellous cure, and especially the miracle by which the shadow was made to go ten degrees backward on the dial, he might have been the means of bringing them to the knowledge of the true God who made the heavens, and of convincing them that He was master even of that glorious luminary, which they ignorantly adored instead of its Creator.—Bather.
But this was not the habitual frame of Hezekiah’s mind; he was a good man, and therefore God lovingly chastened him. If it had been the wicked Ahab who had done this deed, the Lord might possibly have taken no notice of it; He might have left that idolatrous sinner to have followed his own devices. But seeing this evil spirit begin to show itself in a pious and humble man, the Lord mercifully and savingly interposed to check it in the beginning (Isa_39:3-7).
II. THE MANNER IN WHICH IT WAS RECEIVED.
Sharp as was the rebuke sent him by Isaiah, Hezekiah so received it as to give a rare example of pious and cheerful resignation (text). Both parts of his reply are remarkable.
1. “Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken.” None but a child of God could have used this language in sincerity, under such trying circumstances. But he has such faith in God, that although it is impossible for him to foresee what wickedness his posterity would commit, he knows that the decree will be found to be righteous (1Sa_3:18). But doubtless he meant something more than submission to God’s sovereignty; he meant to acknowledge the goodness of the Lord to himself, of which this very rebuke was a new manifestation (H. E. I. 190–196,162–165).
2. “He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days.” That is, God hath been pleased to inform me that my children are to be carried into captivity and to suffer much affliction; but in my grief for this, I must not forget to thank Him for His tender mercies to myself. He has declared that I shall have peace, and this is far more than I deserve.
APPLICATION.—
1. We may learn what exceeding sinfulness and immense danger there often is in sins which we are apt to pass over as trifles, and hardly to notice in ourselves (H. E. I. 4897, 4898, 4516).
2. Remark an inestimable privilege of the children of God’s love: they may fall into the very same troubles as their ungodly neighbours, but in the one case calamity is the angry lash of the law, in the other it is the faithful rebuke of an anxious Father.
3. From the history of God’s dealings with Hezekiah we may infer what must be the wisest wish for any man to make, viz., that God would take us into His holy keeping and choose our inheritance for us. If we were left to determine for ourselves, some would choose one thing, and some another. Yet “sorrow is better than laughter;” and the history of Hezekiah is a proof of it (H. E. I. 211, 3986, 3998–4001).
4. If sin have brought rebuke upon you, search and try your ways, that you may see what your transgression and weakness is; and then accept the chastening of the Lord as a token of His love (H. H. I. 144–147).
5. Whatsoever may have befallen you, remember always that the mercies which remain are far greater than you deserve; and that in the day of prosperity, no less than in the evil day, there is need for perseverance and watchfulness (H. E. I. 4888–4890).—Archdeacon Bather: Sermons on Old Testament Histories, pp. 275–285.
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.