イザヤ書 38:13-19 JC

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:14

Life a burden. "Jehovah, I am hard pressed; be Surety for me" (Cheyne). Life has its shadow as well as its sunshine; and in our depressed times we fancy that the shadow almost blots out the shine. There is a poem which, with the touch of genius, pictures the shadow that, since the failure of our race-parents in Eden, lies close against everything for man. Go where he may, do what he will, man cannot get away from his shadow. It tracks his feet. This side or that it is found, whichever way... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:15

What shall I say? The strain is suddenly changed. Hezekiah's prayer has been answered, and he has received the answer ( Isaiah 38:5-8 ). He is "at a loss to express his wonder and his gratitude" (Cheyne); comp. 2 Samuel 7:20 . God has both spoken unto him— i.e; given him a promise of recovery—and also himself hath done it ; i.e. has performed his promise. Already he feels in himself the beginnings of amendment—he is conscious that the worst is past, and that the malady has taken a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:15-16

Going softly after sickness. We usually notice in persons who have passed through serious illness which has brought them to the "border-land," and made the things of the other and eternal world familiar, a gracious loosening from this world, a maturing of character, a mellowness, a sacred seriousness, which may well gain poetical form in the expression of Hezekiah, "going softly." We ought to regard all life as a gift, a trust, from God; but in a very special sense it comes home to us that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:16

By these things ; i.e. "the things which thou speakest and doest" ( Isaiah 38:15 ). Man does not "live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord" ( Deuteronomy 8:3 ). And in all these things . This rendering is against the laws of grammar. Translate, and wholly in them. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:16

The life of our life. This verse is pregnant with suggestive truth, and finds fulfilment in Christian as well as in Jewish experience. I. THAT THE LIFE OF OUR SPIRIT IS THE VERY LIFE OF OURSELVES . It is no uncommon thing for ungodly men, when they are pressed to give attention to the claims of their spirit, to excuse their negligence by contending that "they must live." By this they mean that the necessities of the body will excuse their want of concern for the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:17

Behold, for peace I had great bitterness ; rather, behold , it was for my peace that I had such bitterness , such bitterness. The pain that I underwent was for the true peace and comfort of my soul (comp. Psalms 94:12 ; Psalms 119:75 ; Proverbs 3:12 ; Hebrews 12:5-11 ). Thou hast in love , etc.; literally, thou hast loved my soul back from the pit of destruction—as if God's love, beaming on the monarch's soul, had drawn it back from the edge of the pit (comp. Hosea 11:4 ,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:17

God's way with sin. "For thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back." To cast behind one's back, in Hebrew and Arabic, is a figure of speech meaning "to forget, to lose sight of, to exclude from view." Roberts, writing of Hindoo life, says, "This metaphor is in common use, and has sometimes a very offensive signification. The expression is used to denote the most complete and contemptuous rejection of a person or thing. 'The king has cast his minister behind his back,' that is, fully removed... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:18

The grave cannot praise thee (cormpare the comment on Isaiah 38:11 ). It is avoiding the plain force of these passages to say that Hezekiah only means that those who go to Hades in a state of condemnation cannot be expected there to praise God (Kay). He speaks broadly and generally of all: "The living, the living, shall praise thee; Sheol cannot praise thee; Death cannot celebrate thee." Manifestly, though he believes in a future state, it is one in which there is either no energy at... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:19

The living . Those who still enjoy the light of day. The repetition is emphatic, and has the force of "the living, and the living only. " The father to the children . Hezekiah may, or may not, have had children himself at the time. Manasseh was not born; but he may have had daughters, or even other sons, who did not survive him. He is not, however, perhaps, thinking of his own ease. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:19

Parental obligation. "The father to the children shall make known thy truth." I. THAT TRUTH IS THE COMMON HERITAGE OF THE RACE . Of all open and common things truth is that to which our right is most indisputable. The air, the light, the sea, the sky, the beauty of the landscape, etc; are open to us all; but truth, above all these things, is common property. II. THAT REVEALED TRUTH IS PECULIARLY PRECIOUS TO MANKIND . All truth may be said to be... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:14

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:15

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:15-16

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:17

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:17

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:18

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:19

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:19

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