31 Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, 15 16 Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his " cistern:

32 Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The LORD will deliver us.

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33 Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

34 Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand?

35 Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand?

36 But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.

37 Then came Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes rent, and told him the words of Rab-shakeh.

A CHARACTER of a very different description meets our attention in this chapter. The spirit, conduct, prosperity, and trials of good Hezekiah require some remarks and improvement.

His character. He was young; but he evidently had the grace of God. He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done (v. 1-3). Pray observe this commendation. There is no drawback, no qualification to the testimony given of his piety. He loved the Lord sincerely. He followed the Lord fully. He trusted in the Lord heartily. Among all the kings of Judah there was none like him either before or after him. He clave to the Lord: he

departed not from following him he kept his commandments; and the Lord was with him. He prospered whithersoever he went; and cast off the yoke of the king of Assyria. What a delightful character is here! How few are like Hezekiah! (v. 4-8.)

More than this, he was, also, a great reformer. He removed the high places; brake the images; cut down the groves; and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made, because they burned incense unto it (v. 4). Thus it was manifest that he was not a mere professor; but that he was a truly practical and devoted servant of the Lord; and he proved the reality of his godliness by the course he pursued. And will not this always be the case, where the grace of God in the faith of Jesus Christ, exists in deed and in truth? Will not every such person follow the Lord fully? Will he not cast off, and put aside, every thing that is displeasing to the Lord; and aim to do so entirely? But what made this difference in him from others? Humanly speaking, there was every thing in his case to have produced the opposite character. He had a most wicked and ungodly father. He was brought up in the midst of the greatest abominations. He had every bad example constantly set before his eyes. Yet he proved to be such a holy and devoted man. How so? Clearly he was "born not of blood; nor of the will of the flesh; nor of the will of man; but of God." God, by his rich grace, made him to differ. That grace can make you and others to differ also; and enable you to follow the Lord as he did. (John i. 12, 13.)

But he had many trials. Some of his greatest difficulties arose from the proud and victorious king of Assyria, whose yoke he had cast off. Because that haughty prince had conquered other nations, he thought he could subdue Judah also. Because he had carried away Israel captive for their sins, he imagined he might crush Hezekiah, though he trusted in the Lord. Being a blind, besotted idolater himself, he thought all gods were much alike; and that even the Lord, in whom Hezekiah confided, was inferior to his own dumb stocks of stone. This will account for the proud, arrogant, insulting, and blasphemous language made

But God

use of by his servants on this occasion. boasters are not always right, nor safe. would soon teach this haughty worm that while his enemies shall surely be confounded, he will as surely bless them that trust in him. This we shall soon see. In the meantime, let us learn from Hezekiah how to bear with the insulting language of railers and opposers. "Answer them not." Leave it with God to assert his right, and vindicate your cause. Let us also learn, what we must expect if we follow the Lord fully. As wicked men can never love the righteous; so bad men can never love that which is good. The experience of all ages has proved, that idolaters are some of the bitterest foes of the truth; and the more so, in proportion as their false religion has been upheld by the conquering arm, or the ruling power. This proud Assyrian was a mighty conqueror; but his end would come. Let us pray, then, that the truth of Christ may more largely be extended; then will all false religion be done away; and love and harmony will reign.

CHAPTER XIX.

1 Hezekiah mourning sendeth to Isaiah to pray for them. 6 Isaiah comforteth them. 8 Sennacherib, going to encounter Tirhakah, sendeth a blasphemous letter to Hezekiah. 14 Hezekiah's prayer. 20 Isaiah's prophecy of the pride and destruction of Sennacherib, and the good of Zion. 35 An angel slayeth the Assyrians. 36 Sennacherib is slain at Nineveh by his own sons.

AND it came to pass, when king Hezekiah

heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the LORD.

2 And he sent Eliakim, which was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.

3 And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and 'blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

4 It may be the LORD thy God will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the LORD thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.

5 So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah.

6 And Isaiah said unto them, Thus shall

ye say to your master, Thus saith the LORD, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

7 Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.

8 ¶ So Rab-shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish.

9 And when he heard say of Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, Behold, he is come out to fight against thee: he sent messengers again unto Hezekiah, saying,

10 Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

11 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?

12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed; as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Thelasar?

13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivah?

14 T And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD.

15 And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.

16 LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.

17 Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands,

18 And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.

19 Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only.

20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.

21 This is the word that the LORD hath spoken concerning him; The virgin the daughter of Zion hath despised thee, and laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem hath shaken her head at thee.

22 Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.

23 By thy messengers thou hast reproached the LORD, and hast said, With the multitude of my chariots I am come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedar trees thereof, and the choice fir trees thereof: and I will enter into the lodgings of his borders, and into the forest of his Carmel.

24 I have digged and drunk strange waters, and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the rivers of 'besieged places.

25 Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps.

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26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the house tops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up.

27 But I know thy 10 abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me. 28 Because thy rage against me and thy tumult is come up into mine ears, therefore I will put my hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.

29 And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof.

30 And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward.

34 For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

35¶ And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

37 And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of 13 Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.

He

You are here told what Hezekiah did, when he heard of the wicked and insulting language which had been spoken against him. was greatly alarmed and humbled. He went up to the house of the Lord. He sent word to the prophet Isaiah to engage him on his behalf; to lift up his prayer for the remnant that was left (v. 1—3).

May you not hence learn a very important lesson? Are you not hereby taught what to do do in all your troubles? Should you not cast all your burdens upon the Lord? While, like Hezekiah, you are greatly humbled for your sins, and alarmed at your danger, ought you not, like him, to go to the throne of grace; and ask for grace and mercy to help in time of need? What a precious privilege is prayer! How great is the encouragement to pray! If ye ask any thing in my name, says Christ, the Father will give it you. Ask, then, and receive, that your joy may be full. In every thing, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God; and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (John xiv. 13, 14; xvi. 23, 24; Phil. iv. 6.)

Nor did Hezekiah pray in vain. Soon

was the prophet commissioned to give him an answer of peace. Soon would the Lord defeat the counsel of his foes; and cause them to return, disappointed and in disgrace, to their own land (v. 6, 7). And when the Assyrian prince soon after repeated the attempt, the good king again renewed his supplications, spread all his case before the Lord, and again received such an answer of peace, as assured him both of his own safety, and the utter destruction of his enemies (v. 9-34). Is it not good to call upon the Lord? When you ask the Lord to undertake your cause, you engage omnipotence on your behalf; and when God is on your side, who or what can be against you? (Rom. viii. 31.)

king of Assyria himself, fleeing for safety to his idolatrous temple, was slain by his own sons, while kneeling before the idols he adored! "So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord; but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might!" (Judges v. 31.)

Nor let us fail to observe what recent discoveries have brought to light. In all ages, infidels have been ready to throw discredit upon holy Scripture, as if it were not true. But let them read the relation of this invasion and inglorious defeat, written on the walls of Nineveh, lately brought to light, after the lapse of two thousand years, and learn, that the Word of God is true from the beginning; and will be so for ever; and that even the testimony of his enemies, in record

case, the Lord says, "I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land" (v. 7). There would be no need of Hezekiah's moving a step; no need of mustering his forces, or sending a single soldier against the Assyrians to battle. The victory was gained, and the deliverance was secured, when he sent up that earnest cry to heaven. A blast, a rumour, a report, a noise in the air, at God's bidding, shall do the work; and they, who put their trust in him, shall stand and see the salvation of the Lord. He would fight for them; and they should behold and admire his unutterable goodness and love! Oh, how precious are such testimonies of the Lord's watchful care over all them that

truly confide in him! How many can say, "This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him; and saved him out of all his troubles!" (Ps. xxxiv. 6.)

And, as the Lord can easily disappoint the schemes of his enemies; so can he as easily and effectually overthrow and destroy them. This you may see literally exemplified at the close of this chapter (v. 35-37). What became of all that mighty host which the king of Assyria had sent for the conquest of Jerusalem? Cut off in one night by the sword of an angel of the Lord sent forth for that purpose, one hundred and eighty five thousand men, when the morning arose, were stretched lifeless on the ground. And the

so, shall serve to confirm the truth of that Word, and to shew forth his glory and praise.

CHAPTER XX.

1 Hezekiah, having received a message of death, by prayer hath his life lengthened. 8 The sun goeth ten degrees backward for a sign of that promise. Berodach-baladan sending to visit Hezekiah, because of the wonder, hath notice of his treasures. 14 Isaiah understanding thereof foretelleth the Babylonian captivity. 20 Manasseh succeedeth Hezekiah.

IN

N those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, 'Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.

2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying,

3 I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept 2sore.

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4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the LORD.

6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.

7 And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.

8¶ And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day?

9 And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees?

10 And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees.

11 And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the 'dial of Ahaz.

12¶ At that time 'Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah: for he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick.

14¶Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon.

15 And he said, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them.

16 And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD.

17 Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.

18 And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.

19 Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. And he said, 10 Is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?

20 ¶ And the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and all his might, and how he made a pool,

HEZEKIAH'S history is here carried on to its conclusion. Many useful and very instructive matters are brought before us for observation and improvement.

Let us begin with the first: his sickness unto death. All sickness, properly speaking, is unto death. In its own nature, it has that direct tendency; and it would certainly be unto death, were not the Lord, for a time, pleased to mitigate its violence and arrest its progress; and finally it will assuredly be so unto all. Let us think of this in time. day of sickness will soon come. Our great business is to stand prepared for its arrival; and pray for its working for our good.

The

Let us, next, notice the solemn message the Lord sent him, and the state of his mind at that time. The message was, "Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live" (v. 1). The effect produced thereby was, he was greatly troubled (v. 2, 3). He immediately began to pray; and he soon received an answer of peace. Is not this the way in which the Lord speaks to us in all our sicknesses, and in all our afflictions? Is not this the voice of every visitation : "Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live?" What is the meaning of this address? Consider the state of your soul. Pray for mercy and forgiveness. Ask the Lord to turn your heart. Apply to Jesus for pardon and peace. Beseech the Lord to give you a good hope, through grace; to bow your spirit in humble submission to his heavenly will; to enable you to rejoice in his salvation, and to receive you into his eternal glory.

But what was the state of his mind on hearing this solemn address? Evidently he was greatly troubled. He was much grieved and distressed. He began to weep bitterly, and to pray fervently. How came this to pass? Was not Hezekiah a truly pious man? Un