3 and saith, `I pray thee, O Jehovah, remember, I pray Thee, how I have walked habitually before Thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and that which `is' good in thine eyes I have done;' and Hezekiah weepeth -- a great weeping.
Turn from me all ye workers of iniquity, For Jehovah heard the voice of my weeping,
Be mindful of me, O my God, for this, and do not blot out my kind acts that I have done, for the house of my God, and for its charges.
O the happiness of a man, To whom Jehovah imputeth not iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.
I did place Jehovah before me continually, Because -- at my right hand I am not moved.
Jehovah doth recompense me According to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands, He doth return to me. For I have kept the ways of Jehovah, And have not done wickedly against my God. For all His judgments `are' before me, And His statutes I turn not from me. And I am perfect with him, And I keep myself from mine iniquity. And Jehovah doth return to me, According to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands, Over-against his eyes. With the kind Thou showest Thyself kind, With a perfect man showest Thyself perfect. With the pure Thou showest Thyself pure, And with the perverse showest Thyself a wrestler, For Thou a poor people savest, And the eyes of the high causest to fall.
To the Overseer. -- A Psalm of David. Jehovah doth answer thee, In a day of adversity, The name of the God of Jacob doth set thee on high, He doth send thy help from the sanctuary, And from Zion doth support thee, He doth remember all thy presents, And thy burnt-offering doth reduce to ashes. Selah.
I act wisely in a perfect way, When dost Thou come in unto me? I walk habitually in the integrity of my heart, In the midst of my house.
Because ashes as bread I have eaten, And my drink with weeping have mingled,
Yea, he is a prince unto the Messenger, And he overcometh `by' weeping, And he maketh supplication to Him, At Bethel He doth find him, And there He doth speak with us,
Jesus saw Nathanael coming unto him, and he saith concerning him, `Lo, truly an Israelite, in whom guile is not;'
who in the days of his flesh both prayers and supplications unto Him who was able to save him from death -- with strong crying and tears -- having offered up, and having been heard in respect to that which he feared,
for God is not unrighteous to forget your work, and the labour of the love, that ye shewed to His name, having ministered to the saints and ministering;
for Jehovah -- His eyes go to and fro in all the earth, to show Himself strong `for' a people whose heart `is' perfect towards Him; thou hast been foolish concerning this, because -- henceforth there are with thee wars.'
These `are' births of Noah: Noah `is' a righteous man; perfect he hath been among his generations; with God hath Noah walked habitually.
and thou hast done that which is right and good in the eyes of Jehovah, so that it is well with thee, and thou hast gone in and possessed the good land which Jehovah hath sworn to thy fathers,
And his servants say unto him, `What `is' this thing thou hast done? because of the living lad thou hast fasted and dost weep, and when the lad is dead thou hast risen and dost eat bread.' And he saith, `While the lad is alive I have fasted, and weep, for I said, Who knoweth? -- Jehovah doth pity me, and the lad hath lived;
and the high places have not turned aside; only, the heart of Asa hath been perfect with Jehovah all his days,
In Jehovah, God of Israel, he hath trusted, and after him there hath not been like him among all the kings of Judah, nor `among any' who were before him; and he cleaveth to Jehovah, he hath not turned aside from after Him, and keepeth His commands that Jehovah commanded Moses.
And Enoch walketh habitually with God after his begetting Methuselah three hundred years, and begetteth sons and daughters. And all the days of Enoch are three hundred and sixty and five years.
and he doth that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah -- only, not with a perfect heart.
And Hezekiah doth thus in all Judah, and doth that which is good, and that which is right, and that which is true, before Jehovah his God; and in every work that he hath begun for the service of the house of God, and for the law, and for the command, to seek to his God, with all his heart he hath wrought and prospered.
And at Ezra's praying, and at his making confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there have been gathered unto him out of Israel an assembly very great -- men and women and children -- for the people have wept, multiplying weeping.
And it cometh to pass, at my hearing these words, I have sat down, and I weep and mourn `for' days, and I am fasting and praying before the God of the heavens.
And I say to the Levites, that they be cleansed, and, coming in, keeping the gates, to sanctify the sabbath-day. Also, this, remember for me, O my God, and have pity on me, according to the abundance of Thy kindness.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 38
Commentary on Isaiah 38 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 38
This chapter proceeds in the history of Hezekiah. Here is,
This is a chapter which will entertain the thoughts, direct the devotions, and encourage the faith and hopes of those that are confined by bodily distempers; it visits those that are visited with sickness.
Isa 38:1-8
We may hence observe, among others, these good lessons:-
Isa 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 Chr. 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 inspiration, but would offer up his affections in his own words, which is most natural and genuine. He put this thanksgiving in writing, that he might review it himself afterwards, for the reviving of the good impressions made upon him by the providence, and that it might be recommended to others also for their use upon the like occasion. Note, There are writings which it is proper for us to draw up after we have been sick and have recovered. It is good to write a memorial of the affliction, and of the frame of our hearts under it,-to keep a record of the thoughts we had of things when we were sick, the affections that were then working in us,-to write a memorial of the mercies of a sick bed, and of our release from it, that they may never be forgotten,-to write a thanksgiving to God, write a sure covenant with him, and seal it,-to give it under our hands that we will never return again to folly. It is an excellent writing which Hezekiah here left, upon his recovery; and yet we find (2 Chr. 32:25) that he rendered not again according to the benefit done to him. The impressions, one would think, should never have worn off, and yet, it seems, they did. Thanksgiving is good, but thanksliving is better. Now in this writing he preserves upon record,