hezekiah's appeal to god.
2 Kings XX. 2, 3. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I beseech thee, O Lord, remember nmv how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight.
AS " clouds return after rain," so do troubles follow each other frequently in rapid succession. Great was the affliction of Hezekiah at the time of Sennacherib's invasion : and no sooner was he delivered from that, than he was attacked with a deadly malady, and had a message from the Lord that he must die^ Under this new trouble he betook himself, as he had done also on the former occasion, to fervent prayer: and in this prayer he made a most solemn appeal to God, an appeal which needs to be well considered.
We will notice, I. The occasion of it —
A message had been sent him from the Lord to set his house in order, and to prepare for speedy death.
Now this would be an awful warning to any man —
^ There appears no just reason for transposing these two events ; for they certainly might easily occnr within the space of one year ; and it is not right to take such liberties with Scripture, as that of transposing chapters and events, without strong internal evidence of the necessity of such a change.
[There is in every man an instinctive dread of death ; and more especially to those who regard it in its true light. Who can think of going to the txibunal of a just and holy God, to give an account of all that he has done in the body, whether good or evil, and to receive from God a sentence of ever- lasting happiness or misery, and not tremble at such a pro- spect? This thought is as interesting to the prince as
the peasant and though many persons treat it as fit
only to be regarded by the poor, or by the sick and aged, yet, when the hour of death draws nigh, all feel its importance ; or, if any are hardened enough to disregard it then, their delu- sion ceases the very instant that death has executed on them its commission ]
But it was peculiarly distressing to Hezekiah —
[He had begun a great and glorious reformation, and had fondly hoped to see it completed in the land. Besides, he had many plans for the temporal prosperity of his subjects ; which now he had no prospect of carrying into execution. To relin- quish all these projects was painful in the extreme. It evi- dently was not the mere fear of death that stimulated him to pray : nor does he appear to have entertained any doubt about the safety of his own soul : it was for God, and for the Jewish nation, that he felt concerned : and doubtless, in proj)ortion to his zeal for God, and the love he bore to man, would be his grief at the tidings of such a premature and unseasonable ter- mination of his life : nor do we wonder that under such cir- cumstances he should " make supplication to his God with strong crying and tears."]
Yet, till it is explained, we shall not easily account for, II. The appeal itself —
It does at first sight appear like the Pharisaic boast, " I thank thee, O God, that I am not as other men." But, in truth, it was a plea, with whicli his prayer was enforced ; a plea, like that of David, " Preserve my soul, for I am holy^." In this appeal he humbly declared before God.
1. The use which he had hitherto made of life —
[From the first moment of his coming to the throne, he had set himself to suppress idolatry, and to reform the nation. Of this he had the testimony of his own conscience ; and this gave him much comfort in his soul'', together with confidence in urging his petitions before God*^.