Isaiah 38

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:9-15

Health and sickness. This touching psalm of Hezekiah, written in the day of returning strength, when mental effort became possible and perhaps enjoyable to him, may teach us many things. I. THAT OUR HEALTH IS NOT IN OUR OWN HANDS . There is a distinct note of disappointment here. The king had evidently set his heart on a long life, and was hurt in his soul that his days were cut in twain. It seemed an abrupt, unnatural termination. He was deprived of that which he might... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:9-22

The song of Hezekiah. It is a song of peculiar sweetness—from a literary point of view, characterized by great elegance; from a spiritual point of view, unfolding some deepest elements of Hebrew and of human pathos. I. THE CONTEMPLATION OF DEATH . It was in middle life , in the "noon-tide of his days," that he had to face the dark gates of Sheol. "Midway in life, as to Dante, came his peril of death." It has been said that there is a peculiar melancholy in middle life.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:10

In the cutting off of my days ; literally, in the pausing of my days—which is taken by some to mean "the noon-tide of my life"—when my sun had reached its zenith, and might have been expected to begin to decline; by others to signify "the still tranquillity of my life," when it was gliding quietly and peacefully along without anything to disturb it. Isaiah 38:6 is against this latter view. I shall go to the gates of the grave ; rather, I shall enter in at the gates of hell (or, ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:10-12

Figures of life and death. Some of the Scripture figures of death are full of the sweetest poetry for sensitive souls. Illustrating Hezekiah's figure, an Eastern traveller says, "It was in the bleak season of a cold autumn, by the side of a large moor, that I one day saw a shepherd's tent. It was composed of straw and fern, and secured under the warmer side of a hedge, with a few briars and stakes. Thither for about a week, he took shelter, until the herbage failed his flock, and he... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:11

I shall not see the Lord (comp. Psalms 6:5 , "In death there is no remembrance of thee; in the grave ( Sheol ) who shall give thee thanks?" and see also Psalms 30:9 ; Psalms 88:10-12 ; Psalms 115:17 ). The Jews had not yet attained the conception of a blissful region in Hades, where God manifested himself, and the saints, who were awaiting the resurrection, saw him and praised him. Even the Lord . (For examples of repetition for the sake of emphasis, see Isaiah 29:1 ; Isaiah... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:11-19

The great disclosure. "If a man die, shall he live again?" asks the anxious, hopeful, human spirit. This composition of Hezekiah either indicates or suggests— I. THE LIGHT WHICH THE HEBREW SAINTS POSSESSED . They believed that death did not terminate man's existence; that, after death, he dwelt in Sheol with the spirits of the departed, with "the inhabitants of the land of stillness;" in a region, deep, dark, shut up within impassable gates through which they that have... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:12

Mine age is departed ; rather, my dwelling is plucked up. The body seems to be viewed as the dwelling-place of the soul. Hezekiah's is to be taken from him, and carried far away, like a shepherd's tent, while he, his true self, i.e. his soul, is left bare and naked. I have cut off like a weaver my life ; rather, I have rolled up , like a weaver , my life. The careful weaver rolls up the web, as it advances, to keep it clean and free from dust. Hezekiah had been equally careful of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:13

I reckoned till morning , etc.; i.e. "I lay thinking till the morning, that God would crush me as a lion crushes his prey—I expected him all day long to make an end of me." read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:14

Like a crane or a swallow . The sus , here translated "crane," is probably "the swift," which has a loud, shrill note. The, agur is, perhaps, "the crane;" but this is very uncertain. The two words occur as the names of birds only here and in Jeremiah 8:7 . So did I chatter ; rather, so did I scream (Cheyne). I did mourn ; rather, I did moan. Mine eyes fail with looking upward; rather, mine eyes are weak to look upward ; i.e. I have scarcely the courage or the strength to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

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

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:9-15

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:9-22

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:10

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:10-12

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:11

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:11-19

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:12

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:13

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:14

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:14

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