The Pulpit Commentary — Isaiah — Volume 2 — Section 61

sovereign lord. Hezekiah might have looked for some schemes of his own in this embassy. ]'riendship is always the expression of character and the test of character. The friendship of one who is unprincipled is full of peril. "Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers." III. OFFERED FRIENDSlllP MAY PROPOSE MORE TITAN IT CAN ACCOMPLISH. So we should distinguish between friendship that is self-seeking and friendship that is weakly gushing, yet sincere. Onr friends, in their love, often promise more than they can perform; and we must learn to take the will for the deed, giving credit for good inten• tions. God never disappoints. IV. OFFERED FRIENDSHIP MAY HIDE POSITIVELY MALICIOUS DESIGNS. 'l'bis will lead to references to the offered friendship of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the utter baseness and iniquity of Judas in coming to Jesus as a friend on the night of betra.yal.-R. T. Ver. 2.-The sin of presuming. "And Hezekiah was glad of them, and showed them the house of his precious things." Presumption is tai;ing the ordering of onr lives into our own hands, without consulting God or remembering our dependence on him. It is the sin to which kings and rulers and men of masterful dispositions are specially exposed. Therefore David prayed so earnestly, "Keep back thy servant also from pre- sumptuous sins; let them not have domir.ion over me." The singular thing, and the suggestive thing, in the case of Hezekiah is that he took the insulting Assyrian letter and at once spread it before the Lord. Trouble dro,e him at once to God, but flattery disarmed him, and he acted without consulting God. Not without good rea.sou is it urged that prosperity is a severer test of character than adversity; that" woe is unto us when all men speak well of us;" and that added years after a serious illness are often- times a very doubtful blessing. The writer of the Chronicles (2 Chron. xxxii. 25) helps us to read the heart of Hezekiah. He says that Isaiah was displeased with him becauso "his heart was lifted up." Vauity is indicated in this exhibition of all his treasures. Cheyne finds all the excuse that can be found for Hezekiah. He says, • Was it merely vanity which prompted the king thus to throw open his treasmies? Surely not. It was to satisfy the emissaries of Baladan that Hezekiah had considerable resources, and was worthy of becoming his ally on equal terms. To Isaiah, as a prophet of Jehovah, the king's fault was principally in allowing himself to be courted by a l'orei,!!;u potentate, as if it were not true that 'Jehovah had founded Zion,' and that • the afflicted of hid people could find refuge therein.'" Matthew Henry says of Hezekiah, "He was a wise nnd good man, but when one miracle after another was wrought in his favour, he found it hard to keep his heart from being lifted up, nay, a little thing then drew him into the snare of pride. Blessed Paul himself needed a thorn in the flesh to keep him from being lifted up with the abundance of revelations." 'l'he sin of presumption is a more common, and a more serious, sin than we are wont to consider it. It is one that finds frequent illustration in Holy Scripture. The sin that lost Eden was presumption. Jncob's grasping at the birthright was presumption. Moses' smiting the rock twico was presumption. Saul's forcing himself to sacrifice when Samuel tarried was pre- sumption. David's numbering the people was presumption. Peter striking off the ear or :Maleh us was presumption. 'l'hese are but specimen cases, readily recalled. A care- ful estimate of many sins will reveal presumption at the root of them. Still, if we rea,l our lives aright, we shall find that we are constantly presuming on what God wouhl have us to do, and acting without making due inquiri~s of him. I. TEMPTATIONS TO PRESUMPTION. I. 'l'hese come partly out of natural disposition. 'l'here is an evil of over-meekness; sometimes we find a lack of energy and self-assertion which prevents men from impressing themselves on any sphere uf life which they may bo called to occupy. But there is much more frequently the evil of over-assertion, that belongs to energetic, enterprising natures, that tako life with a strong grip. Many men cannot wait. 'l'hey form their jud:zments quickly, and want them immediately acte,l ou. And such persons are constantly tempted to presume. 1f good men, they act first, and ask of God the approval of their nctions. Oftentimes this strong sclf-willedaess is a hereditary disposition, which the Christian spirit hns to battle with and overcome. Oftentimee it is s11dly fostered by the pcttings of childhood, and the false education of youth; nnd then it is the serious confirmed evil that is hardly overcome even in a Ii fc- lonlli etmggle. 2. The temptations come partly out of circumstances. In the des-  r,4 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH. [oH. xxxix. 1-8,