Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 38:15
What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done [it]: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.
15, 16. Two extremely difficult verses. As commonly explained, Isa 38:15 introduces the second half of the song with an exclamation of amazement at the wonderful deliverance experienced. Literally it reads:
“What shall I say? And He said to me and He (emphatic) did it;
I shall walk with leisurely pace all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.”
The words he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it would refer to the promise of recovery through the prophet, and the fulfilment of it. This whole conception of the verse is vigorously criticised by Duhm, who renders thus:
“What shall I speak and say to Him since He has done it?
I toss to and fro all my sleeping time because of the bitterness of my soul.”
The Hebr. word rendered “toss to and fro” is found again only in Psa 42:4, where it means “to walk in festal procession.” Duhm in this passage is disposed to connect it with a noun found in Job 7:4 (“tossings to and fro”).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
What shall I say? – This language seems to denote surprise and gratitude at unexpected deliverance. It is the language of a heart that is overflowing, and that wants words to express its deep emotions. In the previous verse he had described his pain, anguish, and despair. In this he records the sudden and surprising deliverance which God had granted; which was so great that no words could express his sense of it. Nothing could be more natural than this language; nothing would more appropriately express the feelings of a man who had been suddenly restored to health from dangerous sickness, and brought from the borders of the grave.
He hath both spoken unto me – That is, he has promised. So the word is often used Deu 26:17; Jer 3:19. He had made the promise by the instrumentality of Isaiah Isa 38:5-6. The promise related to his recovery, to the length of his days, and to his entire deliverance from the hands of the Assyrians.
And himself hath done it – He himself has restored me according to his promise, when no one else could have done it.
I shall go softly – Lowth renders this, in accordance with the Vulgate, Will I reflect. But the Hebrew will not bear this construction. The word used here ( dadah) occurs in but one other place in the Bible Psa 42:4 : I went with them to the house of God; that is, I went with them in a sacred procession to the house of God; I went with a solemn, calm, slow pace. The idea here is, I will go humbly, submissively, all my life; I will walk in a serious manner, remembering that I am traveling to the grave; I will avoid pride, pomp, and display; I will suffer the remembrance of my sickness, and of Gods mercy to produce a calm, serious, thoughtful demeanour all my life. This is the proper effect of sickness on a pious mind, and it is its usual effect. And probably, one design of God was to keep Hezekiah from the ostentatious parade usually attendant on his lofty station; from being elated with his deliverance from the Assyrian; from improper celebrations of that deliverance by revelry and pomp; and to keep him in remembrance, that though he was a monarch, yet he was a mortal man, and that he held his life at the disposal of God.
In the bitterness of my soul – I will remember the deep distress, the bitter sorrows of my sickness, and my surprising recovery; and will allow the remembrance of that to diffuse seriousness and gratitude over all my life.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Isa 38:15
What shall I say?
—
A bewildered soul
Such an exclamation escaped from the lips of Joshua, and it was the language of bitter disappointment, for Israel fled before their enemies (Jos 7:8). The same words were uttered by our adorable Lord when His soul was overwhelmed with grief in the prospect of His agonies and bloody sweat, His cross and sacrificial death (Joh 12:27). Here it is the language of one who was filled with perplexity by the dispensations of Divine Providence. Such is the case with us sometimes; our circumstances are so painful, so different from what we anticipated, that in bewilderment we exclaim, What shall I say? We must say–
1. That Gods dealings are very mysterious.
2. That the words of Jesus are still true, In the world ye shall have tribulation.
3. That some of Gods promises require strong faith to believe them.
4. That God will do just as He pleases with His own children.
5. That the trial of faith is often very severe, exceedingly painful.
6. That patience and perseverance are required under our trials.
7. That when Satan hinders, none but God can effectually help; therefore we must look to Him.
8. That however rough the road, the end will more than make up for its toils and trials, for the end shall be blessed. (James Smith.)
I shall go softly all my years
Past troubles remembered
The Revised Version has it: I shall go softly all my years, because of the bitterness of my soul. The marginal reading of the Revised Version is: I shall go in solemn procession all my years because of the bitterness of my soul. That because of means–since I hold in memory the bitterness of my soul. So that we may state the significance of our Scripture thus: I will walk henceforth in solemn, subdued, reverent way, remembering always and thankfully the bitterness out of which my soul has been delivered. (W. Hoyt, D. D.)
Escape from death gives a new meaning, to life
Hereafter he should walk with the step and the mien of a conqueror; or with the carefulness of a worshipper who sees at the end of his course the throne of the Most High God, and makes all his life an ascent thither. (Prof. G. A. Smith, D. D.)
Outlook in affliction
I. A wise RESOLVE. Reckless ambition is folly. Our stage of action is polluted, insecure, and vanishing. We are weak and dying. To walk in humility, self-distrust, and holy fear is wisdom.
II. ITS CAUSE. Afflictions change our views of life. They change us. Wisdom is often born out of soul-bitterness. A severe affliction should be an epoch in a mans life. It should pluck out his follies, and make his future a more tender, gentle, lovable thing. (W. O. Lilley.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 15. I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul – “Through the rest of my years will I reflect on this bitterness of my soul”] eddaddeh; recogitabo, Vulg., reputabo, Hieron. in loc.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
What shall I say I want words sufficient to express my deep sense of Gods dealings with me.
He hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it; he did foretell it by his word, and effect it by his hand. This clause and verse is either,
1. A continuance of his complaint hitherto described: God hath passed this sentence upon me, and hath also put it in execution, and to him I must submit myself. Or,
2. A transition or entrance into the thanksgiving, which is undoubtedly contained in the following verses. So the sense is, God hath sent a gracious message to me by his prophet, concerning the prolongation of my life; and he, I doubt not, will make good his word therein. And this sense seems the more probable,
1. Because here is mention of his years to come, whereas in his sickness he expected not to live to the end of a day.
2. Because the Chaldee paraphrast, and the LXX., and Syriac, and Arabic interpreters expound it so in their versions.
3. Because this suits best with the context and coherence of this verse, both with the former and with the following verse. For as he endeth the foregoing verse with a prayer to God for longer life, so in this verse he relates Gods gracious answer to his prayer. And if this verse be thus understood, the next verse hath a very convenient connexion with this; whereas it seems to be very abrupt and incoherent, if the thanksgiving begin there.
I shall go softly; I shall walk in the course of my life, either,
1. Humbly, with all humble thankfulness to God for conferring so great a favour upon so unworthy a person; or,
2. Easily and peaceably, with leisure, not like one affrighted, or running away from his enemy; or,
3. By slow and gentle paces, as men commonly spin out their days by degrees unto a just length, which is not unfitly opposed to his former state and time of sickness, wherein his days were swifter than a weavers shuttle, and than a post, as Job complained upon the same occasion, Job 7:6; 9:25, and were cut off like a weavers web, as he complained, Isa 38:12.
In the bitterness of my soul; arising from the remembrance of that desperate condition from which God had delivered me; for great dangers, though past, are ofttimes very terrible to those that reflect upon them. But the words may be rendered, upon or after (as this particle is rendered, Isa 18:4) the bitterness of my soul; after the deliverance from this bitter and dangerous disease; which may be compared with Isa 38:17, where he saith, for or after peace I had great bitterness, as here he presageth and assureth himself of the contrary, that he should have peace after his great bitterness. The Chaldee paraphrast renders the words, because of my deliverance from bitterness of soul; bitterness being put for deliverance from bitterness, as five is put for lack of five, as we render it, Gen 18:28, and fat for want of fat, Psa 109:24, and fruits for want of fruits, Lam 4:9. And other such-like defects there are in the Hebrew, which is a very concise language.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15-20. The second part of thesong passes from prayer to thanksgiving at the prayer being heard.
What shall I say?thelanguage of one at a loss for words to express his sense of theunexpected deliverance.
both spoken . . . and . . .done it (Nu 23:19). Bothpromised and performed (1Th 5:24;Heb 10:23).
himselfNo one elsecould have done it (Ps 98:1).
go softly . . . in thebitternessrather, “on account of the bitterness”;I will behave myself humbly in remembrance of my past sorrow andsickness from which I have been delivered by God’s mercy (see 1Ki 21:27;1Ki 21:29). In Ps42:4, the same Hebrew verb expresses the slow and solemngait of one going up to the house of God; it is found nowhere else,hence ROSENMULLER explainsit, “I will reverently attend the sacred festivals in thetemple”; but this ellipsis would be harsh; rather metaphoricallythe word is transferred to a calm, solemn, and submissivewalk of life.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
What shall I say?…. In a way of praise and thankfulness, for the mercies promised and received; I know not what to say; I want words to express the gratitude of my heart for the kindness bestowed. What shall I render to God for all his benefits? So the Targum,
“what praise shall I utter, and I will say it before him?”
for here begins the account of his recovery, and his thanksgiving for it:
he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it; the Lord had sent him a message by the prophet, and assured him that he should recover, and on the third day go up to the temple; and now he had performed what he had promised, he was restored, and was come to the house of God with his thank offering; whatever the Lord says, he does; what he promises, he brings to pass:
I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul; before he did not reckon of a day to live, now he speaks of his years, having fifteen added to his days, during which time he should “go softly”, in a thoughtful “meditating” frame of mind r; frequently calling to remembrance, and revolving in his mind, his bitter affliction, and recovery out of it, acknowledging the goodness and kindness of God unto him: or leisurely,
step by step, without fear of any enemies, dangers, or death, having a promise of such a length of time to live: or go pleasantly and
cheerfully, after the bitterness of my soul s, as it may be rendered; that is, after it is over, or because of deliverance from it. So the Targum,
“with what shall I serve him, and render to him for all the years he hath added to my life, and hath delivered me from the bitterness of my soul?”
r “motitando meditabor”, Tigurine version; “leniter, vel pedetentim incedam” Vatablus; “alacriter incedam”, Piscator, Vitringa. s “post amaritudinem”, Piscator.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In strophe 3 he now describes how Jehovah promised him help, how this promise put new life into him, and how it was fulfilled, and turned his sufferings into salvation.
“What shall I say, that He promised me, and He hath carried it out:
I should walk quietly all my years, on the trouble of my soul?!
‘O Lord, by such things men revive, and the life of my spirit is always therein:
And so wilt Thou restore me, and make me to live!’
Behold, bitterness became salvation to me, bitterness;
And Thou, Thou hast delivered my soul in love out of the pit of destruction
For Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back.”
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
15. What shall I say? This is generally supposed to be an exclamation, such as frequently bursts forth in a season of joy, as if he congratulated himself on having already obtained his wish. But I think differently. Hezekiah appears to proceed in his complaints; for he speaks as men commonly do when they are overcome by grief; “What shall I say? for he who said it hath also done it;” that is, “life and death are in his hand; it is useless for me to argue or contend with him; it is useless for me to complain.” In the book of Job also words and sayings of this sort are often found. (Job 7:4.) I think that this is the true meaning; for Hezekiah previously looked around on all sides to see if any assistance appeared, and now, when he sees that he is about to die, and that God has threatened it, he concludes that he ought no longer to resist but to obey.
Yet we ought to mark the emphatic statement, that God hath actually fulfilled what he had threatened by his word. They who explain it to mean simply, “what God said to me by the Prophet he hath fulfilled,” express a part of the truth, but. not the whole; for Hezekiah does not coldly relate that he has perceived the effect of the word, but, by bringing forward the power of God, he cuts off every occasion to murmur or complain. Thus also David says, “I am dumb, because thou hast done it.” (Psa 39:9.) We never cease to complain until we are restrained by the fear of the power of God. Thus also Job, considering that he has to deal with God, says, “I will lay my finger on my mouth,” (Job 40:4,) and “I will humbly make supplication to my judge.” (Job 9:15.) Hezekiah, therefore, enjoins silence on himself on this ground, that it is useless to contend with God.
At the same time, he means that he has no hope of life, because the Lord gives actual demonstration that it was a serious threatening; and hence he infers that he gains nothing, because there are no means of evasion. This sentiment, it is true, proceeds from despair; because in this manner, thinking that God is his enemy, he shuts the door against his prayers. But that in very severe distresses words of this kind should escape our lips, which deter us from confidence in prayer, is neither new nor strange, provided that, on the other hand, we rely on that calling upon God which the views of the flesh pronounce to be of no avail. There is reason to believe that the pious king labored under such perplexity that he fainted through weakness; but that he chiefly considered what I have said, that there was nothing preferable to silence, because that it would serve no purpose to dispute with God, will appear more clearly from what immediately follows.
I shall walk trembling (89) all my life. Hence we may infer that he now holds out to his view the dreadful power of God, in order to dispose himself to true humility. As דדה (dadah) sometimes signifies “to move,” and sometimes “to walk softly,” אדדה (eddaddeh) is translated by some commentators, “I shall be moved,” or “I shall be troubled,” and by others, “I shall walk softly.” For my own part, I have no doubt that it denotes a trembling and feeble step; for Hezekiah had been reduced to so great weakness that he despaired of ever afterwards recovering his former strength. This trembling must be attributed to fear, for it immediately follows, in bitterness; which means, that the sorrow which he had endured was so deeply rooted in his heart, that it could never be removed. Hence arose that weakness which he mentioned.
אדדה (eddaddeh) is translated by the Vulgate, “I will call to remembrance,” on which account this passage has been tortured by Papists to support auricular confession, but so absurdly that even old wives can laugh at it. But the plain meaning is, that Hezekiah does not speak of calling to remembrance, but of that agitation and trembling with which he says that he will be struck during the whole period of his life.
(89) I shall go softly. — Eng. Ver.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
HEZEKIAHS RESOLUTION
(A New-Year Motto.)
Isa. 38:15-20. I shall go softly all my years, &c.
This resolution grows out of that singular experience of sickness and recovery recorded in the preceding verses. It furnishes an excellent motto for the year. Our translation is somewhat defective, but if we substitute on for in the correct sense will be clear. The meaning is that the recovered king would walk through the fifteen years that were added to his life in salutary remembrance of his dangerous illness, and of the goodness of God in prolonging his days on earth. The memory of that trouble and of the mercy that rescued him would put a staff in his hand to make his walk more devoted, circumspect, and consistent. Understood thus, the words are applicable to all. Some of you may be able to trace a close resemblance between your experience and that of Hezekiah. Like him, you may have escaped from a well-nigh fatal illness. But all of us can look back on similar periodson mercies received and dangers avertedand in recollection of them we may say, I shall go softly all my years on the bitterness of my soul.
I do not know any better commentary on these words than the opening stanza of Tennysons In Memoriam:
Men may rise on stepping-stones
Of their dead selves to higher things.
A good New Years motto, which harmonises so sweetly with it. Our past experiences, our dead selves, may be made stepping-stones on which we may climb to a clearer vision and a loftier devotion. What, then, was the nature of that pathway of life which this good king engaged to pursue? What was the prospect which opened up before him?
1. A walk of humble dependence on God. This element in the resolution is distinctly expressed. In Isa. 38:15-16, Gods Word and acts are viewed as the real supports of life. Looking above all secondary causes and natural agencies, the king acknowledges God as the source and giver of life. This is a great lesson, and one which an experience like that of Hezekiah can teach. It seems to us a natural thing to live on; we count on continued health and long life till some sickness lays us low, and we are brought to feel as we never felt before that our times are in Gods hand. But whether we have passed through a dangerous illness or not, the resolution befits us all. Let us remember that God sustains and orders our lives.
It was, indeed, a singular position in which Hezekiah was placed. He knew precisely how long he would live. The duration of our pilgrimage is just as fixed as his was, only we do not know it (P. D. 2252). The thread of our life is in Gods hand. Thus was Hezekiah taught to go softly. His soul had passed through great bitterness, and he shall bear it in mind, and his rescue from it deepen his dependence on God.
2. A walk of usefulness. It was on this plea that he had prayed for the prolongation of his life (Isa. 38:3). He had rendered valuable service and had borne a consistent testimony. The convalescent king saw a prospect of further work for God on earth. He who a short time before this seemed about to leave his kingdom in confusion without an heir to the throne is now able to say, The father of the children shall make known thy truth. Does it not become us to ask, Why is my life prolonged? Why have I been permitted to enter on a new year? Is it not for this reason, among others, that we may become increasingly serviceable in advancing the cause of truth? Better far that life should terminate than that we should live to no purpose, for every year adds to our responsibilities. Advance, then, into this year resolved that, God sparing you, you will live more useful lives (H. E. I. 32283251; P. D. 2269).
3. A walk of thankfulness (Isa. 38:19-20). How thankful this convalescent was for his restoration to health, and all the more so because to him, as to other saints of his age, the grave seemed dark and gloomy (Isa. 38:18). It needed the Gospel of Christs resurrection to dispel the darkness and the gloom. This psalm is itself a proof of Hezekiahs thankful spirit, and perhaps the 118th Psalm is another production of his pen, containing as it does words of hope suitable to this period of his history (Psa. 118:17-18). Are we too resolved that our remaining years shall be years of thanksgiving, our lives a psalm of praise?
4. This fifteen years walk was to be a walk of peace (Isa. 38:17). The meaning here is that the affliction was sent with a view to his obtaining a more settled and abiding peace; it teaches us, as nothing else can, the secret of inward peace. What are the sources of dispeace? One of them is found
(1.) In our earthly strivings and ambitions. There is no peace to the wicked. He is constantly on the rack of avaricious struggles, unsatisfied longings, sensual desires. Affliction can show us the utter vanity of earthly things. How poor the world looks as seen from within the curtains of a dying bed! The sufferer who has come back from the gates of death is able to estimate earthly things at their right value. He ceases from the low ambitions and carnal desires that once raged within him.
2. Bodily pain and weakness is another cause of unrest. An experience of this bitterness brings peace when the patient is restored to health. We set greater value on a blessing which we have lost and regained. One of our poets describes a convalescent gathering strength, and coming forth after long confinement to look upon the scenes of Nature
The common earth and air and skies
To him are opening paradise!
To have such feelings we must have known affliction. For the enjoyment of this peace we must have tasted great bitterness.
3. But the greatest source of dispeace is unpardoned sin (Isa. 38:17). How complete is the forgiveness of sin as thus expressed! What a peace is enjoyed when guilt is removed and Gods love shed abroad in our hearts! (H. E. I. 1893, 1894; P. D. 2675, 2677).
What more do we need to make this year a happy one than to set forward with this resolution? We cannot break away from the past. We are now what it has made us. Our dead selves make our living present selves. From our trials and sorrows we may gain supports for nobler endeavour. I shall go softly, meekly, submissively, prayerfully, on the bitterness of my soul. Do you wish some spring, some impulse to send you forward thus in lifes pathway? Think of some bitterness in your past experience, some Marah which the Lord sweetened for you, some trouble from which He rescued you when you lay on the brink of death, or under the feeling of Divine desertion, or under the accusations of a troubled conscience, and make that dead self a support for the path before you.William Guthrie, M.A.
THE RESTORATION OF BELIEF
Isa. 38:15. I shall go softly all my years, &c.
In the case of Hezekiah, belief was restored by a great shock which brought him into contact with reality. He had been living, as many of us live, a pleasant, prosperous life, till he had really grown to believe that this world and its interests were the only things worth caring for. His treasures, his art collections, the beauty of his palace, made him love his life and dream that it was not a dream. God appeared to him not as to Adam, in the cool of the day, but as He came to Job, in the whirlwind and the eclipse, and Hezekiah knew that he had been living in a vain show. The answer of his soul was quick and sad, By these things men live, O Lord; these are the blows which teach men what life really is.
Many are prosperous, happy, and at ease. It will be wise for these to remember that thoughtless prosperity weakens the fibre of the soul (H. E. I. 39974014).
The blow which sobered Hezekiah was a common one. It did nothing more than bring him face to face with death. The process whereby his dependence on God was restored was uncomplicated. But there are far worse shocks than this, and recovery from them into a godlike life is long and dreadful.
1. One of these is the advent of irrecoverable diseaseprotracted weakness or protracted pain. Then we ask what we have done: we curse our day. But our misfortune brings round us the ministering of human tenderness: slowly the soul becomes alive to love; and through the benign influence of human love the first step towards the restoration of belief has been made, the soil is prepared for the work of the Spirit of God. Then the Gospel story attracts and softens the sufferers heart. Afterwards he reads that Christs suffering brought redemption unto man, and begins to realise how he can fill up what is behindhand of the sufferings of Christ. This is not only the restoration of beliefit is the victory of life.
2. More dreadful than protracted disease is that shipwreck which comes of dishonoured love
When all desire at last, and all regret,
Go hand in hand to death, and all is vain,
What shall assuage the unforgotten pain,
And teach the unforgetful to forget?
For some there is no remedy but death. Others live on in a devouring memory. And the memory poisons all belief in God. But there are many who recover, and emerge into peace and joy. Can we at all trace how this may be? Lapse of time does part of the work. It does not touch the memory of love. The pain of having a gift thrown aside has passed; the sweetness of having given remains. When we thought ourselves farthest from God, we were unconsciously nearest to Him. And so we are saved, faith is restored. Like Christ, we can say, Father, forgive them, for they knew not what they did.
3. Many are conscious, in later life, that their early faith has passed away. It was unquestioning, enthusiastic. It depended much on those we loved. Religious feelings which had been without us and not within, slowly and necessarily died away. Becoming more and more liberal, we also became more and more unbelieving, and at last realised that our soul was empty. Are we to settle down into that? It is suicide, not sacrifice, which abjures immortality and prefers annihilation. Our past belief was borrowed too much from others. Resolve to accept of no direction which will free you from the invigorating pain of effort. Free yourself from the cant of infidelity. It boasts of love, it boasts of liberality. Its church is narrower than our strictest sect. Bring yourself into the relation of a child to a father. We need to come to our second self, which is a childto possess a childhood of feeling in the midst of manhood.Stopford A. Brooke: Christ in Modern Life, pp. 380392.
A GREAT DELIVERANCE
Isa. 38:17. Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back.
The text forms part of a kings song on recovering from a severe illness. When we are raised from deep distress, our God deserves a song. But it points beyond temporal deliverance to salvation from the power and punishment of sin.
I. THE SINNERS CONDITION.
In the pit of corruption. This description suggests
1. Loathsomeness. It is a fit simile of the world in which the unconverted live. It is not a quagmire, but a pit; not a dry pit, but one full of corruptionfilth, death, worms. To God, glorious in holiness, every man in the pit of corruption must be loathsome. He may be educated, loving, philanthropic, and worldly wise, but being dead in trespasses and sins, he is fit only for being buried out of the sight of God and stood men.
2. Helplessness. A man in a pit is helpless, like Joseph. No man ever yet got out of the pit of corruption by his Latin, his logic, or his mother wit. It is not for him to postpone the date of a deliverance once vouchsafed.
3. Increasing danger. Men never mend in the pit.
II. THE SINNERS HELPER.
Thou, &c. In vain does the sinner look within himself or to his fellow-men for help, but God gives it. Every saint praises God for his salvation: Thou, &c. Note,
1. The freeness of Gods redeeming love. There is nothing in a man wallowing in a pit of corruption to draw out love. Where it is shown, it is a free gift.
2. The fulness of that love. Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back. Some wink at our sins, others cast them into our teeth on all occasions. God does neither. He abhors sin, but when He forgives the sinner, He forgets the sin (Jer. 50:20; Rom. 8:33; Psa. 32:2; H. E. I. 23222337).
III. THE SINNERS DUTY.
He is not to lie quiet, but to cry for a deliverer. Wishing, hoping, thinking will not do. The crying, to be effectual, must be made now. Now God says, My arm is not shortened, &c. (Isa. 59:1). When once gone, to all your cries His reply will be, Because called, &c. (Pro. 1:24-26).
Why will you die? Bring forth your strong reasons against salvation.M.: Christian Witness, 18:392393.
FORGIVENESS OF SIN
Isa. 38:17. For Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back.
This is part of the song which Hezekiah wrote when he had recovered from his sickness. He had betaken himself to prayer. The nation, threatened with invasion from the powerful kingdom of Assyria, could ill afford to lose its head. His prayer was heard. The prophet was sent with a new message. The Divine hand was visible, although ordinary means were employed. This the king fully recognised (Isa. 38:20). Gods mercies should not be forgotten when the occasion has passed.
The king sees the connection of his disease with sin, and the removal of disease with the removal of his sins. From the text we observe that the forgiveness of sin is necessary, possible, complete, knowable.
I. Forgiveness of sin is necessary. Scripture traces suffering to sin. The fact of sin is prominent in the history of mankind. Its universality is the groundwork of the revelation of its remedy. It is written on the conscience. However oblivious of the fact in health and prosperity, men in sickness and disaster usually think of their sins as the remote or immediate cause. It is sometimes Gods way of awakening attention (H. E. I. 5689).
Until sin is forgiven, it is before the face of God (Psa. 90:8; Heb. 4:13). The accountability of man would be an unmeaning phrase if it did not involve the idea that an account is taken of his actions. They are all noted, good and bad, and tested by the Divine standard. Every mans are before the face of the Supreme Ruler, and Judge for the purpose of being dealt with. This is his case until it is changed by the exercise of forgiveness. It is useless to ignore the need of forgiveness under the impression that we can, in some way, remove the stain. However much good a man may do, the fact of sin remains; and so long as he is under a law which requires unsinning obedience, the good cannot be set against the bad in the hope that the former will wipe the latter away. Forgiveness of the past is the first necessity.
II. Forgiveness of sin is possible. The Gospel builds on the groundwork laid. It provides and makes known a way by which forgiveness may be obtained. It is not by the enactment of a law obedience to which will have this effect. Law brings the sinfulness into clear relief and renders escape impossible. Nor is it by the declaration of a general amnesty, which would virtually neutralise the law and its penalties. Nor is it by an exercise of the Divine sovereignty in the way of mercy to all men, nor even to the penitent, simply as such. Gods way of forgiveness provides for the exercise of mercy by the satisfaction of the claims of righteousness. For its manifestation He prepared during long ages of teaching. In due time He sent His Son (Gal. 4:4-5). The interposition of Christ renders forgiveness possible. It includes His taking the sinners obligations on Himself (Col. 1:14). This is the Divinely appointed way of forgiveness. It satisfies all the requirements of the case. It provides an adequate Mediator. It provides forgiveness on honourable terms. It is, so far as the sinner is concerned, a free forgiveness. It imposes no impossible condition. It says to the sinner under the burden of sin and guilt, satisfaction of the law, which is impossible to him, is no longer demanded, because it has been rendered by His great Substitute. It simply calls upon him to believe, repenting of his sins. If you see your sinfulness, if your soul is troubled by it, if you are anxious to obtain mercy, the Gospel bids you come to Jesus, and come at once. It assures a present, immediate, free pardon.
III. Forgiveness of sin is complete. Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back. They were previously before the face of God. They are now taken thence and cast behind His back. You do that with a thing you have done with and intend to see no more. It is a most expressive representation of the Divine forgiveness. It attracts attention to its completeness. All his sins, without exception or reservation, have been cast out of sight. They will never be produced against him. This is complete forgiveness. We can realise it better by comparison with the forgiveness exercised by men. Mans forgiveness is often very poor. I can forgive, but I cannot forget. I forgive, but I shall have no more to do with that man. Many do not even pretend to forgive. But God forgives, completely, fully (H. E. I. 23282348).
IV. Forgiveness of sin is knowable. The text is the language of assurance. Hezekiah inferred it from his recovery. We may be certified
1. By the written Word.
2. By consciousness of the Spirits work in usrepentance, faith, love, surrender.
3. By the moral effects. Put all these together (H. E. I. 309, 310, 324, &c.)
Do you possess assurance? Your experience
1. Illustrates the Divine character: merciful and gracious. Its most attractive light.
2. Produces grateful love. The greatest boon has won the heart.
3. Invites to holy obedience. Appeals to what is best.
4. Suggests evangelic action. Tell others. Seek the salvation of the worst.
Are you not forgiven? Perhaps indifferent. Perhaps desirous, but hesitating. Perhaps procrastinating. Do not trifle. Do not neglect. Do not delay. Be reconciled to God.J. Rawlinson.
THE SONG OF HEZEKIAH
(Sermon to the Young.)
Isa. 38:18-19. For the grave cannot praise Thee, &c.
This is part of Hezekiahs song of praise to God. He was very ill. A good man, yet rather afraid of death; certainly very anxious to live. When we are strong and full of life, it is easy to talk of braving all worldly sorrows; but when the time comes for us to prove our words, many who are now in heaven have said, Spare me a little before I go hence and be no more seen. In what affecting terms did Hezekiah bewail his sickness! I said, in the cutting off my days, I shall not see the Lord, in His holy sanctuary on earth; I shall behold man no more; never again behold the human face divine, never meet again the welcoming smile of child or friend.
God heard Hezekiahs prayer, took pity upon him, turned back the sundial of his life fifteen years. The good king rejoiced in this gift of lengthened life: The grave cannot praise Thee. &c.
Let us follow out this rejoicing of the king, this setting forth the advantages of the living above the dead.
1. The living are in possession of the time which is given to make reconciliation with God and secure an everlasting interest. We are all by nature strangers to God, enemies to Him in our mind and inclination. We are defiled and guilty creatures; this is the hour of cleansing, whilst the fountain stands open in which our sins may be washed away (2Co. 6:2). We are by nature utterly unfit for heaven; this is the day of repentance as well as of pardon. At the summons of death we must go, whether prepared or unprepared, holy or unholy, hoping or despairing. While your hearts were unholy, your death, had it happened, must have been dreadful. Let those who have improved this gift of life to make their reconciliation with God highly value it, and magnify its important advantages with all the gratitude and zeal of the king of Judah.
2. Life is a precious and golden gift, because it affords a field for increasing in good works. We are required to be zealous of good works. Zealous; not to touch a good work as if we were afraid of burning our fingers. Such works are good and profitable to men. The days and years of life should be numbered by the multitude of good works, as by the revolutions of the earth. Lost and wasted time should not come into the account of life. Ah! if we reckoned thus, what a shrinking and contracting would take place! A Roman emperor, a heathen, used to say, I have lost a day, if he had not done any good action in it. How many are there who live to no purpose at all, whom the world will not miss when they are gone! How many live to wicked purposes, and the world is glad to get rid of them! Some are mere cumberers of the ground; they bear the Christian name, but how different from Christ! The night cometh, said He, in which no man can work. Ye are the light of the world, said Christ to His disciples, and how dark would this earth be were there no disciples of Christ upon it! Ye are, said He, the salt of the earth; if the salt were gone, what corruption of manners, what filthy communications, what odious practices would overspread and defile society! One child of God in a family is like the ark in the house of Obed-Edom, of which we read, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obed-Edom, &c.; or like Joseph in Potiphars house, of whom we read, The Lord blessed the Egyptians house for Josephs sake, &c. We may follow up this idea, and say if one child of God is so great a blessing in a family, many may bless and save whole cities and nations. We find this to have actually been the case from what is said of Noah, Daniel, and Job. God said three thousand years ago, Righteousness exalteth a nation, and it is equally certain that wickedness overthroweth it. In all the Old Testament history, we see how He ascribes prosperity to the keeping of His commandments, and ruin to the breaking of them. We cannot suppose that it is in any way different now; that the Ruler of the Universe is in slumber, or, being awake, has altered the rules of His government. Life, and especially youthful life, is the time for good works and good actions; not one can be done in the grave.
CONCLUSION.Let young persons value life. It has been said that we take no note of time save from its loss; let not this be said of you. It is the gift of time that alone places you in a position to profit by all other gifts. Make good use of life; of this its pleasant morning: be obedient, be diligent, love each other, avoid quarrelling and evil words. Live so that the end will conduct you to a world where, though time will be no longer, life will continue for ever.George Clark, M.A.: Sermons, pp. 239246.
PRAISE FOR PRESERVATION
(Last Sunday of the Year.)
Isa. 38:19. The living, the living, he shall praise Thee, as I do this day.
Such was Hezekiahs burst of thankfulness when God heard his prayer, and gave him fifteen years more of life. While the danger lasted, he was surprised into more of alarm than became his place and character; but now, marvellously spared, he calls upon the living everywhere to praise God for His goodness. His case, he feels, was theirs too. All men alike live upon Gods bounty, and are debtors to His patience. He guards them from evil,sends them good things, without which life must be presently extinguished,renews their being, and makes it over to them by a fresh grant, not only when the closing year reminds us of the gift, but at each days working time. Therefore Hezekiah is not satisfied with a solitary strain of thanksgiving. He looks round upon a world teeming with animated, intelligent beings, and in every brother whom God hath made and kept alive he finds one who should bring in his tribute of praise. He wants a chorus of rejoicing worshippers.
1. This season naturally makes us thoughtful. We think of what life has been to us lately, and. what it might have been. We have nearly passed another stage on our journey to the grave, and we miss some who began it with us. We stand, like unwounded soldiers on the battlefield with the dead and the dying all round them. This is all Gods doing. He who gives life sustains it. If to have lived on be deemed a blessing, and praise for the boon be due anywhere, it can only be to Him whose providential government of the world is like an hourly repetition of the creative power which called it out of nothing.
2. But is life worth having? Is prolonged life a blessing, and may we fairly require men to be grateful for it? This is assumed by Hezekiah. Life and praise may go well together, because to so great a degree life and happiness go together. Not always. Some are so unhappy that they cry out under their burden, and almost wish, for a moment, for deliverance at any cost. But the settled feeling of mens minds is the other way. To almost all of them life is the hoarded treasure which they will guard at any price. They will put up with the worst they have to bear before they will accept release on the terms of being banished straightway to the unknown world. The reason is, that by the side of this harvest of woe, of which they reap a few ears now and then, there groweth a harvest of blessing, of which they are constant reapers (P. D. 2282, 2256).
3. Remember the common mercies of which through another year we have been partakers. Our very senses are so many curious inlets by which pleasures, more or less vivid, come thronging in from the wide world around us. Continued health. Senses and faculties marvellously kept from injury. The happiness of our homes; specially to be remembered at this season. When we call upon the living to praise God, we have much more to show for the demand than the bare fact that God lets them live. He lets most of them live happily. He causes their cup to run over with blessings. He does all this, in spite of forgetfulness and disobedience on their part that would wear out any other love but His (H. E. I. 23072309). Praise God for the common mercies of another year.
4. While we live we are on mercy ground. That is the special mercy beyond all our common mercies. Life, while it lasts, connects us with all that is blessed and glorious in the scheme of salvation. While we are here, there is but a step between us and death; but while we are here, too, the door stands wide open through which we may pass into the presence-chamber of our King. While you are here, if you will make Christ your friend, sin may be cast out, and the blessed Spirit of truth become your daily Teacher, and your future years be all rich in blessing and bright with hope. Praise God for the prolongation to you of this great opportunity, and embrace it now! Let the new year find you serving Christ.
5. Living saints, as well as spared sinners, should praise God for His preserving mercy. They have had fresh opportunities for serving God and for growth in grace. They have no right eousness of their own wherein to stand before God, and never will have; but talents improved and laid out for God will bring a blessing. He is too bountiful a Master to let any of His servants work for nought. Heaven itself is not alike to all, though it shall be satisfying to the meanest child in Gods family. The disciple whom Jesus specially loved leant on His bosom at the Last Supper; and at the marriage-supper, when all the guests shall be assembled from many lands, they who have attained to the goodliest stature in their days of conflict shall sit nearest to the King, and wear the brightest crowns (H. E. I. 27512753, 3288; P. D. 412, 1752). Every year is a fresh sowing time for a more abundant harvest.
6. Some among you have special reasons for saying with Hezekiah, The living, &c.
(1.) This strain belongs to the aged man or woman, who has already lived beyond the allotted term of human life. In your feebleness, God has carried you through another stage. Beyond your expectation, perhaps, you have seen another Christmas. Many are the mercies of one year, but when they come to be multiplied by near fourscore, what an array we have then! Praise the Lord!
(2.) Some before me, while the year was running out, thought they should never see the end of it. Like Hezekiah, you prayed for life when death seemed to be close upon you. God restored your life to you. What have you done since to show yourself grateful for that mercy? Have a care that your mercies do not make your case worse. If they do not melt, they harden.
7. If the living should praise God, how largely is He defrauded of His due! We are surrounded with living men. Each one of these has a fresh grant of life with each days sun-rising. What a tide of praise should be going up unceasingly to His throne! Do we find the world so full of praise? Alas! no; if praise be the sign of life, we seem to be walking among the tombs. God is forgotten in His own world. While common friends are thanked for trifling favours, the Giver of mercies, repeated with every breath, is to many of us an unheeded stranger.John Hampden Gurney, M.A.: Sermons, chiefly on Old Testament Histories, pp. 297312.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(15) What shall I say?With the same force as in 2Sa. 7:20; Heb. 11:32. Words fail to express the wonder and the gratitude of the sufferer who has thus been rescued for the fulfilment which followed so immediately on the promise.
I shall go softly . . .Better, That I should walk at ease upon (i.e., because of, or, as others take it, in spite of) the trouble of my soul. The verb is used in Psa. 42:4 of a festal procession to the Temple, but here refers simply to the journey of life, and implies that it is to be carried on to the end as with calm and considerate steps. The Authorised Version suggests wrongly the thought of a life-long bitterness.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. And hope grew with each hour.
What shall I say Perhaps the second announcement of Isaiah comes in here. Despair leaves Hezekiah entirely. He turns to praise.
I shall go softly This probably means, I will humbly pass the rest of my life. Submission to God shall mark my days in the future.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Isa 38:15. What shall I say? &c. What say I more? he hath promised me, and he hath performed. The meaning of the verse is, “The suddenness of my deliverance so greatly surprises me, that I want words to express my thankfulness. He hath heard my prayer, and hath performed all my desires; and the remembrance of the misery I endured will excite me more and more to renew my thankfulness for his unbounded mercies.” In the bitterness of my soul, is rendered more strongly by Vitringa, discharged of, or made superior to, the bitterness of my soul.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Isa 38:15 What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done [it]: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.
Ver. 15. What shall I say? ] This he seemeth to speak in a way of wondering at God’s goodness in delivering him from so great a death. The like doth the apostle in Rom 8:31 , “What shall we then say to these things?”
He hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it.
I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.
a Dixit et fecit.
b Scultet.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Isa 38:15-20
15What shall I say?
For He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done it;
I will wander about all my years because of the bitterness of my soul.
16O LORD, by these things men live,
And in all these is the life of my spirit;
O restore me to health and let me live!
17Lo, for my own welfare I had great bitterness;
It is You who has kept my soul from the pit of nothingness,
For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.
18For Sheol cannot thank You,
Death cannot praise You;
Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
19It is the living who give thanks to You, as I do today;
A father tells his sons about Your faithfulness.
20The LORD will surely save me;
So we will play my songs on stringed instruments
All the days of our life at the house of the LORD.
Isa 38:15-20 This strophe reveals the OT theology of Sheol. The afterlife was not a desirable place.
Isa 38:15 He has spoken. . .He Himself has done it This reflects the sovereignty of the monotheistic God of Israel. He speaks, it happens (cf. Isa 55:11)!
Isa 38:16 The second line is difficult in the MT. The LXX translates it as and you revived my breath; JPSOA translates it as my life-breath is revived.
Isa 38:17
NASBYou who has kept my soul
NKJVYou have lovingly delivered my soul
NRSVYou have held back my life
NJByou have preserved my life
REB,
PESHITTAyou have saved me
The MT has the VERB loved (, BDB 365 I, KB 362, Qal PERFECT), but it does not seem to fit well in this line of poetry, so some scholars assume hold back, , BDB 362, cf. Isa 14:6; Isa 54:2; Isa 58:1.
For You have cast all my sins behind Your back This psalm is related to Hezekiah’s relief that he has been delivered from Sheol. Yet, somehow in Jewish mentality, disaster is always linked to sin. It is not certain how any of Hezekiah’s actions were seen by YHWH to deserve early death. However, it is a wonderful statement that God forgives and forgets. Please compare Psa 103:11-14; Isa 1:18; Isa 43:2-5; Isa 44:22; Jer 31:34; and Mic 7:19.
This is such an important truth-when God forgives, God forgets! Many believers claim God’s forgiveness based on Bible promises, but have not yet experienced the complete joy of God’s forgetfulness!
SPECIAL TOPIC: WORDS FOR FORGIVENESS
Isa 38:20 The LORD will surely save me See Special Topic: SALVATION (OLD TESTAMENT TERM) .
Notice the salvation here involved physical deliverance from death allowing future worship in the temple, cf. Isa 38:22; 2Ki 20:5, much like Psa 23:6.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
softly = slowly. Hebrew. dadah. Only here and in Psa 42:4 (“went”).
soul. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
What: Jos 7:8, Ezr 9:10, Psa 39:9, Psa 39:10, Joh 12:27
I shall: 1Ki 21:27
in the: 1Sa 1:10, 2Ki 4:27, Job 7:11, Job 10:1, Job 21:25
Reciprocal: Isa 46:11 – I have spoken
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
SICKNESS SANCTIFIED
I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.
Isa 38:15
In the text occurs an expression which opens the jubilant portion of Hezekiahs song of thanksgiving for recovery. The King James Version here reads, I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. But our Revised Version gives the meaning correctly, because of the bitterness of my soul.
The new marginal reading gives as a substitute for go softly, as in solemn procession. It is as though Hezekiah saw in grateful vision the long processional of his days and years, in the sight of his people, going up before God, an anthem of praise to his deliverer.
Sickness, sorrow, or suffering of any kind, when sanctified, has this softening effect. In remembrance of what we have felt and learned, we want to go softly, tenderly, gently. This shows itself in three ways:
I. In tenderness of conscience.Having just learned more of our own weakness, we find the need of walking softly, tenderly. As a man would walk over thin ice, looking around him on either side for something strong to rest upon, so will we do, knowing that we must go over hard and trying places, and looking to Christ and the Holy Spirit in all our weakness and insufficiency.
II. He who has been shaken by the hand of God, either physically or morally, must have learned a larger, tenderer charity for the weakness of others, for their doubts and wanderings.Sickness almost always brings something of this softening effect into the heart and life for a time. It chastens and subdues the angles and roughnesses of character.
III. Sanctified sickness will produce softness of spirit before God.Our thoughts of Him will be more loving, more grateful, more personal. We are apt to think of God as an abstraction; to talk of Him as the chemist and the astronomer talk of the principles of science, or of the problem about which they do sums on their slates. But I shall think of Him not as the great Ruler, the general Benefactor, but as my Friend, my Healer, the One Who has lifted me up from the gates of death. My voice as I utter His name will be tremulous with feeling, and soft with intensity and tenderness of love.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Isa 38:15. What shall I say? I want words sufficiently to express my deep sense of Gods dealings with me; he hath spoken, &c. He foretold it by his word, and effected it by his hand. In this verse he seems to make a transition into the thanksgiving, which is undoubtedly contained in the following verses, and so the sense is, He hath sent a gracious message to me, by his prophet, concerning the prolongation of my life, and himself hath made good his word. Thus the words are understood by the Chaldee paraphrast, the LXX., and by the Syriac and Arabic interpreters. To this purpose also Bishop Lowth reads the clause. He hath given me a promise, and he hath performed it. I shall go softly all my years I will conduct myself with humble thankfulness to God for conferring so great a favour upon so unworthy a person, as long as I live. I shall never forget my unworthiness and his loving kindness; in the bitterness of my soul That is, or rather, upon, or after it: or, as the Chaldee paraphrast reads it, because of my deliverance from bitterness of soul.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
38:15 What shall I say? {o} he hath both spoken to me, and himself hath done [it]: I shall go {p} softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.
(o) God has declared by his prophet that I will die and therefore I will yield to him.
(p) I will have no release, but continual sorrows while I live.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The king was amazed at the change of events (cf. Isa 38:5). Nevertheless the bitter disappointment that had come into his heart because of the prophet’s announcement of impending death (Isa 38:1) was something he would never forget.