IV. THE ANSWER OF PEA0R. It lu1s come suddenly, swiftly, unexpectedly. A.nd the !estored one i~ at a. loss how to render thanks. His ni~ht !ias been ~urned into morn- mg; and against the dark background of remembered grief, the picture of a serene future ~h!nes.. He looks forward to a "_walk at ease" through all his future years. And not m vain has he suffered, for lastmg lessons have been wrought into his spirit. He has le.arned his need of God and of God's Word. By that Word men really live (Deut. viii. 3). Altogether in them is the life of his spirit. Go,l is the Source of existence and of salvation. He brings to the gates of death ; he recovers and makes a.live. He has been brought near to God by the very experience which seemed to rcmo,·e hirn so far. He ha.s learned that a_ffeiction was for his good. The bitter medi- cine has been swallowed once for all. He has looked death in the face, has trembled at its terrors; but bas 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 t,e,·n taken out. He has learned the secret of the Divine forgiveness, the immense p"ssibilities in the heart of God. His sins have been flung behind the back of God-have been banished into obli,ion. Lastly, he has learned a.new, and in a deeper way, what the blessing ef life is. All is contrast. And the contrast of death and the under-world, its pa.le and cold existence, throws into reli,.f 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 commuuion with God." Lifo, then, should be one 101,.g act of praise. From father to child the pure tradition should go down: "God is good; his mercy eudureth for ever." He is constant, faithful; and that t".onstancy is revealed, not only in the course of nature's l11ws, but in the l:\ws of human nature-the lire of heart and conscience. A.nd the music of ea.eh spirit shall swell into a magnificent harmony in the house of Jehovah. He is "ready to deliver" in the future as he bas actually delil'ered in the past. "Glory to thee for all the grace I have not seen as yet."-J.
Ver. 5.-Heukiah's prayer heard. "Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears." These words were spoken to a heart riven with grief, and a. life seemingly II sick unto death." A.t such times this man wants, above all else, to feel that he has been sincere. He says, not boa.stingly at all, but with real humility, "Remember now, 0 Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight." Words must be judg~d by the circumstances of the life. There is no self- righteousness in them, but simple, guileless heart-speech. I. GoD's SPEEDY CONSOLATION. "Go, and say to Hezekiah." For the Divine heart meets the human hearL according to its moods. .And there was no need to intensify Hezekiah's sorrow or to test its sincerity. Just as our Saviour, remembering Peter'H tears after his denial, and knowing that the memory of his unfaithfulness and false- hood wa.s a burning shame in his heart, said immediately after his resurrection, by the mouth of the angel, "Go your way, tell his disciples, and Peter" (Mark xvi. 7), that Peter might know that the " look" which struck out the fountain of tears, was ~urned into the look of forgiving grace and mercy. So here God would comfort Hezekiah at once in his true-hearted con1rition. II. GoD's TENDER BEHEIIIBRANCE. "Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father." What music is that! '!'hen there is something in a pious ancestry-more than we think of at times. Your father was a man of God, perhaps. Then there a.re prayers treasured up for you in the greater Father's memory. When we think of our Saviour, we remember his own words," For my sake." So God remembers also the sake of others: 11 For Zion'H sake ; " "For J crusalem's sake. n And as concerning Solomon God says," Notwithstanding in thy days I will not rend the kingdom from thee, for Da'f'!d thy fatlier's sake." We read also in Genesis, "'l'he Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake." 'l'his is as touching as it is comforting. "The God of David thy father." llL GoD's GRACIOUS SPEECH, " I haYe heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears." The prayer that is beard is the prayer that is heartfelt. None need be ashamed of tears. They are not unmanly. "Jesus wept." When a man weeps we a.re accustomed io wonder, nav, aometimes to BCOril, The world prefers the sternness of endurance and CH, xx.xvm.1-22.] THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. 45