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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Isaiah 38:9-22

We have here Hezekiah's thanksgiving-song, which he penned, by divine direction, after his recovery. He might have taken some of the psalms of his father David, and made use of them for his purpose; he might have found many very pertinent ones. He appointed the Levites to praise the Lord with the words of David, 2 Chron. 29:30. But the occasion here was extraordinary, and, his heart being full of devout affections, he would not confine himself to the compositions he had, though of divine... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 38:10

I said, in the cutting off of my days ,.... When he was told that he should die, and he believed he should; this he calls a "cutting off" in allusion to the weaver's web, Isaiah 38:12 and a cutting off "his days", he being now in the prime of his age, about thirty nine or forty years of age, and not arrived to the common period of life, and to which, according to his constitution, and the course of nature, he might have attained. The Jews call such a death a cutting off, that is, by the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 38:11

I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living ,.... Not any more, in this world, though in the other, and that more clearly, even face to face: his meaning is, that he should no more see him in the glass of the word; no more praise him in his house; worship him in his temple; enjoy him in his ordinances; and see his beauty, power, and glory, in the sanctuary; and confess unto him, and praise his name F7 Ben Melech observes, that seeing or appearing before the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Isaiah 38:11

The Lord "Jehovah" - יה Yah , יה Yah , seems to be יהוה Yehovah , in MS. Bodl., and it was so at first written in another. So the Syriac. See Houbigant. I believe יהוה Yehovah was the original reading. See the note on Isaiah 12:2 ; (note). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Isaiah 38:1-22

SECTION II .— HEZEKIAH 'S ILLNESS , AND THE EMBASSY OF MERODACH - BALADAN ( Isaiah 38:1-22 ; Isaiah 39:1-8 .). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

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

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