xxxvii. 15-20. _And Hezekiah prayed, &c._
+I. Hezekiah prayed to Jehovah as the God of his nation.+ "O Lord God
of Israel." 1. The nation bore the name of one of its progenitors,
who "as a prince had prevailed with God." The name Israel had been
more generally applied to the northern kingdom, which had already
been overthrown, but Hezekiah claims it for the remnant that was
left. When he uttered that name, did he wish to remind himself of
Jacob's power in prayer, or of God's special interest in His nation?
Perhaps both. God had chosen, defended, saved it. Names which recall
Divine deliverance may encourage us in prayer. 2. His nation was
Jehovah's peculiar dwelling place: "Which dwelleth between the
cherubim." The Shekinah, symbol of the Divine presence, shone forth
from between those weird figures on either side of the mercy-seat.
Hezekiah"s reference to this peculiar Divine manifestation was
intended to suggest that God would protect His own dwelling-place.
This is true. God's dwelling-place is always safe, whether it be a
nation--a man--a church (H. E. I. 1246-1251).
+II. In his prayer Hezekiah recognises the sole supremacy of
Jehovah.+ "Thou art the God," &c., "and have cast their gods into the
fire," &c. Polytheism prevailed in the nations surrounding Judæa.
Sennacherib had spoken of Jehovah as if He were the God merely of the
Jews, and in his ignorance supposed that Hezekiah had offended Him by
removing the "high places." Hezekiah asserted--1. That Jehovah was
the only true God. 2. That He exercised supreme control over all the
kingdoms of the earth.
+III. He appealed to Jehovah as the Maker of heaven and earth.+ In
the sublime acknowledgement these truths are involved:--1. _That He
is eternal_ (H. E. I. 2253; P. D. 1492, 1518). 2. _That He is
separate from all His works._ He is immanent in them, but independent
of them (P. D. 1519). 3. _That He is omnipotent._ He who made the
universe must be almighty (H. E. I. 2270; P. D. 1509). 4. _That He
has all things under His control_ (H. E. I. 4023). This conception of
God afforded solid ground for Hezekiah's faith. Before the greatness
of Jehovah the might of His enemies sank into nothingness. Large
conceptions of God will ever give large expectations in prayer. The
more we widen our views of God, the more confidence we shall have in
Him in trouble.
+IV. Hezekiah prayed with great earnestness.+ "Lord, bow down Thine
ear," &c. "Now, therefore, O Lord, our God, _I beseech Thee._"
Fervent desires lead invariably to ardent expressions. Cold prayers
are no prayers. Earnestness is needed, not to lead God to observe our
condition, nor to create in Him a disposition to help us,
but--1. That the strength of our desires may be revealed. 2. That we
may be raised from the low condition of formal devotion. 3. That we
may have all the spiritual culture which the outcries of real need
may impart. 4. That we may be prepared to receive deliverances
thankfully (H. E. I. 3831-3838, 3893).
+V. Hezekiah recognised the greatness of the deliverance which he
sought.+ "Of a truth, Lord," &c. Other kingdoms had fallen; why not
his? Only that his hope was in God. No human ingenuity or might could
deliver him. Men must be brought to see that their need of
deliverance is great. Sometimes they are brought to see this by
temporal emergencies. Such crises teach us more of God than years of
ordinary living (H. E. I. 117-121). Spiritual deliverances must come
from God alone. The soul is a besieged city. The forces of Diabolus
are around Mansoul. Its Sennacherib is mighty. The deliverance which
it needs is great. To recognise the greatness of the deliverance we
need will--1. Deepen our sense of our own helplessness. 2. Stimulate
the exercise of great faith. 3. Prepare us for the manifestation of
God's great delivering hand.
+VI. Hezekiah associated the glory of Jehovah with the deliverance
which he sought.+ The reproaches that had been cast upon him had been
cast upon God. The deliverance of Jerusalem would manifest God's sole
supremacy in the earth--"that all the kingdoms," &c. No prayers are
so powerful as those which seek God's glory, for _that_ is the real
and ultimate good of humanity. Many prayers will not bear this test;
they are earthly, narrow, selfish (P. D. 2842).
Hezekiah's prayer prevailed. The besieging army was destroyed;
whether, as Kingsley suggests, "by a stream of poisonous vapours as
often comes forth out of the ground during earthquakes and eruptions
of burning mountains, and kills all men and animals that breathe it,"
or by a pestilence, or by the simoom, we cannot tell. But it was
God's delivering hand put forth in answer to Hezekiah's faith and
prayer--1. That His people might learn to put their trust in Him; and
2. That all the earth might know that none can defy His power and
prosper.--_W. Osborne Lilley: The Homiletic Quarterly,_ vol. i. pp.
521-524.