mh_parser/vol_split/23 - Isaiah/Chapter 37.xml

<div2 id="Is.xxxviii" n="xxxviii" next="Is.xxxix" prev="Is.xxxvii" progress="13.71%" title="Chapter XXXVII">
<h2 id="Is.xxxviii-p0.1">I S A I A H.</h2>
<h3 id="Is.xxxviii-p0.2">CHAP. XXXVII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Is.xxxviii-p1" shownumber="no">In this chapter we have a further repetition of
the story which we had before in the book of Kings concerning
Sennacherib. In the foregoing chapter we had him conquering and
threatening to conquer. In this chapter we have him falling, and at
last fallen, in answer to prayer, and in fulfillment of many of the
prophecies which we have met with in the foregoing chapters. Here
we have, I. Hezekiah's pious reception of Rabshakeh's impious
discourse, <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.1" parsed="|Isa|37|1|0|0" passage="Isa 37:1">ver. 1</scripRef>. II. The
gracious message he sent to Isaiah to desire his prayers, <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.2-Isa.37.5" parsed="|Isa|37|2|37|5" passage="Isa 37:2-5">ver. 2-5</scripRef>. III. The encouraging
answer which Isaiah sent to him from God, assuring him that God
would plead his cause against the king of Assyria, <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.6-Isa.37.7" parsed="|Isa|37|6|37|7" passage="Isa 37:6,7">ver. 6, 7</scripRef>. IV. An abusive letter
which the king of Assyria sent to Hezekiah, to the same purport
with Rabshakeh's speech, <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.8-Isa.37.13" parsed="|Isa|37|8|37|13" passage="Isa 37:8-13">ver.
8-13</scripRef>. V. Hezekiah's humble prayer to God upon the
receipt of this letter, <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.14-Isa.37.20" parsed="|Isa|37|14|37|20" passage="Isa 37:14-20">ver.
14-20</scripRef>. VI. The further full answer which God sent him by
Isaiah, promising him that his affairs should shortly take a happy
turn, that the storm should blow over and every thing should appear
bright and serene, <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.21-Isa.37.35" parsed="|Isa|37|21|37|35" passage="Isa 37:21-35">ver.
21-35</scripRef>. VII. The immediate accomplishment of this
prophecy in the ruin of his army (<scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.36" parsed="|Isa|37|36|0|0" passage="Isa 37:36">ver. 36</scripRef>) and the murder of himself,
<scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.37-Isa.37.38" parsed="|Isa|37|37|37|38" passage="Isa 37:37,38">ver. 37, 38</scripRef>. All this
was largely opened, <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.19.1-2Kgs.19.37" parsed="|2Kgs|19|1|19|37" passage="2Ki 19:1-37">2 Kings
xix.</scripRef></p>
<scripCom id="Is.xxxviii-p1.10" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37" parsed="|Isa|37|0|0|0" passage="Isa 37" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Is.xxxviii-p1.11" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.1-Isa.37.7" parsed="|Isa|37|1|37|7" passage="Isa 37:1-7" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xxxviii-p1.12">
<h4 id="Is.xxxviii-p1.13">Hezekiah's Message to
Isaiah. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p1.14">b. c.</span> 710.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xxxviii-p2" shownumber="no">1 And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard
<i>it,</i> that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with
sackcloth, and went into the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p2.1">Lord</span>.   2 And he sent Eliakim, who
<i>was</i> over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the
elders of the priests covered with sackcloth, unto Isaiah the
prophet the son of Amoz.   3 And they said unto him, Thus
saith Hezekiah, This day <i>is</i> a day of trouble, and of rebuke,
and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and
<i>there is</i> not strength to bring forth.   4 It may be the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p2.2">Lord</span> thy God will hear the words of
Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to
reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p2.3">Lord</span> thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up
<i>thy</i> prayer for the remnant that is left.   5 So the
servants of king Hezekiah came to <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p2.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.6" parsed="|Isa|6|0|0|0" passage="Isaiah. 6">Isaiah.   6</scripRef> And Isaiah said
unto them, Thus shall ye say unto your master, Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p2.5">Lord</span>, Be not afraid of the words that thou
hast heard, wherewith 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 return to his own land; and I will
cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xxxviii-p3" shownumber="no">We may observe here, 1. That the best way
to baffle the malicious designs of our enemies against us is to be
driven by them to God and to our duty and so to fetch meat out of
the eater. Rabshakeh intended to frighten Hezekiah from the Lord,
but it proves that he frightens him to the Lord. The wind, instead
of forcing the traveller's coat from him, makes him wrap it the
closer about him. The more Rabshakeh reproaches God the more
Hezekiah studies to honour him, by rending his clothes for the
dishonour done to him and attending in his sanctuary to know his
mind. 2. That it well becomes great men to desire the prayers of
good men and good ministers. Hezekiah sent messengers, and
honourable ones, those of the first rank, to Isaiah, to desire his
prayers, remembering how much his prophecies of late had plainly
looked towards the events of the present day, in dependence upon
which, it is probable, he doubted not but that the issue would be
comfortable, yet he would have it to be so in answer to prayer:
<i>This is a day of trouble,</i> therefore let it be a day of
prayer. 3. When we are most at a plunge we should be most earnest
in prayer: Now that the <i>children are brought to the birth,</i>
but <i>there is not strength to bring forth,</i> now let prayer
come, and help at a dead lift. When pains are most strong let
prayers be most lively; and, when we meet with the greatest
difficulties, then is a time to stir up not ourselves only, but
others also, to take hold on God. Prayer is the midwife of mercy,
that helps to bring it forth. 4. It is an encouragement to pray
though we have but some hopes of mercy (<scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.4" parsed="|Isa|37|4|0|0" passage="Isa 37:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): <i>It may be the Lord thy God
will hear; who knows but he will return and repent?</i> The <i>it
may be</i> of the prospect of the haven of blessings should quicken
us with double diligence to ply the oar of prayer. 5. When there is
a remnant left, and but a remnant, it concerns us to lift up a
prayer for that remnant, <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.4" parsed="|Isa|37|4|0|0" passage="Isa 37:4"><i>v.</i>
4</scripRef>. The prayer that reaches heaven must be lifted up by a
strong faith, earnest desires, and a direct intention to the glory
of God, all which should be quickened when we come to the last
stake. 6. Those that have made God their enemy we have no reason to
be afraid of, for they are marked for ruin; and, though they may
hiss, they cannot hurt. Rabshakeh has blasphemed God, and therefore
let not Hezekiah be afraid of him, <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.6" parsed="|Isa|37|6|0|0" passage="Isa 37:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>. He has made God a party to the
cause by his invectives, and therefore judgment will certainly be
given against him. God will certainly plead his own cause. 7.
Sinners' fears are but prefaces to their falls. He shall <i>hear
the rumour</i> of the slaughter of his army, which shall oblige him
to retire to his own land, and there he shall be slain, <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.7" parsed="|Isa|37|7|0|0" passage="Isa 37:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. The terrors that pursue
him shall bring him at last to the <i>king of terrors,</i>
<scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p3.5" osisRef="Bible:Job.18.11 Bible:Job.18.14" parsed="|Job|18|11|0|0;|Job|18|14|0|0" passage="Job 18:11,14">Job xviii. 11, 14</scripRef>. The
curses that come upon sinners shall overtake them.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.xxxviii-p3.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.8-Isa.37.20" parsed="|Isa|37|8|37|20" passage="Isa 37:8-20" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xxxviii-p3.7">
<h4 id="Is.xxxviii-p3.8">Prayer of Hezekiah. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p3.9">b. c.</span> 710.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xxxviii-p4" shownumber="no">8 So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of
Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was
departed from Lachish.   9 And he heard say concerning
Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee.
And when he heard <i>it,</i> he sent messengers to 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 given 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, <i>as</i> Gozan,
and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which <i>were</i>
in Telassar?   13 Where <i>is</i> the king of Hamath, and the
king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and
Ivah?   14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of
the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p4.1">Lord</span>, and spread it before the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p4.2">Lord</span>.   15 And Hezekiah prayed
unto the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p4.3">Lord</span>, saying,   16
<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p4.4">O Lord</span> of hosts, God of Israel, that
dwellest <i>between</i> the cherubims, thou <i>art</i> the God,
<i>even</i> thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast
made heaven and earth.   17 Incline thine ear, <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p4.5">O Lord</span>, and hear; open thine eyes, O <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p4.6">Lord</span>, and see: and hear all the words of
Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the living God.   18
Of a truth, <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p4.7">Lord</span>, the kings of
Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries,
  19 And have cast their gods into the fire: for they
<i>were</i> no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone:
therefore they have destroyed them.   20 Now therefore, <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p4.8">O Lord</span> our God, save us from his hand,
that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou <i>art</i>
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p4.9">Lord</span>, <i>even</i> thou only.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xxxviii-p5" shownumber="no">We may observe here, 1. That, if God give
us inward satisfaction in his promise, this may confirm us in our
silently bearing reproaches. God answered Hezekiah, but it does not
appear that he, after deliberation, sent any answer to Rabshakeh;
but, God having taken the work into his own hands, he quietly left
the matter with him. <i>So Rabshakeh returned</i> to the king his
master for fresh instructions. 2. Those that delight in war shall
have enough of it. Sennacherib, without provocation given to him or
warning given by him, went forth to war against Judah; and now with
as little ceremony the king of Ethiopia goes forth to war against
him, <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.9" parsed="|Isa|37|9|0|0" passage="Isa 37:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. Those
that are quarrelsome may expect to be quarrelled with; and God
sometimes checks the rage of his enemies by giving it a powerful
diversion. 3. It is bad to talk proudly and profanely, but it is
worse to write so, for this argues more deliberation and design,
and what is written spreads further, lasts longer, and does the
more mischief. Atheism and irreligion, written, will certainly be
reckoned for another day. 4. Great successes often harden sinners'
hearts in their sinful ways and make them the more daring. Because
the kings of Assyria have destroyed all lands (though, in fact,
they were but a few that fell within their reach), therefore they
doubt not but to destroy God's land; because the gods of the
nations were unable to help they conclude the God of Israel is so;
because the idolatrous kings of Hamath and Arphad became an easy
prey to them therefore they doubt not but to destroy God's land;
because the idolatrous kings of Hamath and Arphad became an easy
prey to them therefore the religious reforming king of Judah must
needs be so too. Thus is this proud man ripened for ruin by the
sunshine of prosperity. 5. Liberty of access to the throne of
grace, and liberty of speech there, are the unspeakable privilege
of the Lord's people at all times, especially in times of distress
and danger. Hezekiah took Sennacherib's letter, and spread it
before the Lord, not designing to make any complaints against him
but those grounded upon his own handwriting. Let the thing speak
itself; here it is in black and white: <i>Open thy eyes, O Lord!
and see.</i> God allows his praying people to be humbly free with
him, to utter all their words, as Jephthah did, before him, to
spread the letter, whether of a friend or an enemy, before him, and
leave the contents, the concern of it, with him. 6. The great and
fundamental principles of our religion, applied by faith and
improved in prayer, will be of sovereign use to us in our
particular exigencies and distresses, whatever they are; to them
therefore we must have recourse, and abide by them; so Hezekiah did
here. He encouraged himself with this, that the God of Israel is
<i>the Lord of hosts,</i> of all hosts, of the hosts of Israel, to
animate him, of the hosts of their enemies, to dispirit and
restrain them,—that he is God <i>alone,</i> and there is none that
can stand in competition with him,—that he is the <i>God of all
the kingdoms of the earth,</i> and disposes of them all as he
pleases; for he made heaven and earth, and therefore both can do
any thing and does every thing. 7. When we are afraid of men that
are great destroyers we may with humble boldness appeal to God as
the great Saviour. They have indeed destroyed the nations, who had
thrown themselves out of the protection of the true God by
worshipping false gods, but the Lord, the God alone, is our God,
our King, our lawgiver, and he will save us, who is <i>the Saviour
of those that believe.</i> 8. We have enough to take hold of, in
our wrestling with God by prayer, if we can but plead that his
glory is interested in our case, that his name will be profaned if
we are run down and glorified if we are relieved. Thence therefore
will our most prevailing pleas be drawn: "Do it for thy glory's
sake."</p>
</div><scripCom id="Is.xxxviii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.21-Isa.37.38" parsed="|Isa|37|21|37|38" passage="Isa 37:21-38" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Is.xxxviii-p5.3">
<h4 id="Is.xxxviii-p5.4">Sennacherib Threatened; Sennacherib
Destroyed. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p5.5">b. c.</span> 710.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Is.xxxviii-p6" shownumber="no">21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto
Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p6.1">Lord</span> God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to
me against Sennacherib king of Assyria:   22 This <i>is</i>
the word which the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p6.2">Lord</span> hath spoken
concerning him; The virgin, the daughter of Zion, hath despised
thee, <i>and</i> laughed thee to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem
hath shaken her head at thee.   23 Whom hast thou reproached
and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted <i>thy</i>
voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? <i>even</i> against the
Holy One of Israel.   24 By thy servants hast thou reproached
the Lord, and hast said, By the multitude of my chariots am I come
up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I
will cut down the tall cedars thereof, <i>and</i> the choice fir
trees thereof: and I will enter into the height of his border,
<i>and</i> the forest of his Carmel.   25 I have digged, and
drunk water; and with the sole of my feet have I dried up all the
rivers of the besieged places.   26 Hast thou not heard long
ago, <i>how</i> I have done it; <i>and</i> of ancient times, that I
have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest
be to lay waste defenced cities <i>into</i> ruinous heaps.  
27 Therefore their inhabitants <i>were</i> of small power, they
were dismayed and confounded: they were <i>as</i> the grass of the
field, and <i>as</i> the green herb, <i>as</i> the grass on the
housetops, and <i>as corn</i> blasted before it be grown up.  
28 But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and
thy rage against me.   29 Because thy rage against me, and thy
tumult, is come up into mine ears, therefore will I 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.   30 And this <i>shall be</i> a
sign unto thee, Ye shall eat <i>this</i> year such as groweth of
itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same: and
in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat
the fruit thereof.   31 And the remnant that is escaped of the
house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit
upward:   32 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant,
and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p6.3">Lord</span> of hosts shall do this.   33
Therefore thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p6.4">Lord</span>
concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city,
nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shields, nor cast
a bank against it.   34 By the way that he came, by the same
shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p6.5">Lord</span>.   35 For I will defend this
city to save it for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
  36 Then the angel of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Is.xxxviii-p6.6">Lord</span>
went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and
fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the
morning, behold, they <i>were</i> all dead corpses.   37 So
Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and
dwelt at Nineveh.   38 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 Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his
stead.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Is.xxxviii-p7" shownumber="no">We may here observe, 1. That those who
receive messages of terror from men with patience, and send
messages of faith to God by prayer, may expect messages of grace
and peace from God for their comfort, even when they are most cast
down. Isaiah sent a long answer to Hezekiah's prayer in God's name,
sent it in writing (for it was too long to be sent by word of
mouth), and sent it by way of return to his prayer, relation being
thereunto had: "<i>Whereas thou hast prayed to me,</i> know, for
thy comfort, that thy prayer is heard." Isaiah might have referred
him to the prophecies he had delivered (particularly that <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Isa.10.1-Isa.10.34" parsed="|Isa|10|1|10|34" passage="Isa 10:1-34"><i>ch.</i> x.</scripRef>) and bid him pick
out an answer from thence; but, that he might have abundant
consolation, a message is sent him on purpose. The correspondence
between earth and heaven is never let fall on God's side. 2. Those
who magnify themselves, especially who magnify themselves against
God and his people, do really vilify themselves, and made
themselves contemptible, in the eyes of all wise men: <i>"The
virgin, the daughter of Zion, has despised</i> Sennacherib, and all
his impotent malice and menaces; she knows that, while she
preserves her integrity, she is sure of the divine protection, and
that though the enemy may bark he cannot bite. All his threats are
a jest; it is all but <i>brutum fulmen—a mere flash,</i>" 3. Those
who abuse the people of God affront God himself; and he takes what
is said and done against them as said and done against himself:
"<i>Whom hast thou reproached?</i> Even <i>the Holy One of
Israel,</i> whom thou hast <i>therefore</i> reproached because he
is a Holy One." And it aggravated the indignity Sennacherib did to
God that he not only reproached him himself, but set his servants
on to do the same: <i>By thy servants,</i> the abjects, <i>thou
hast reproached me.</i> 4. Those who boast of themselves and their
own achievements reflect upon God and his providence: "<i>Thou hast
said, I have digged, and drunk water;</i> I have done mighty feats,
and will do more; and wilt not own that <i>I have done it,</i>"
<scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.24-Isa.37.26" parsed="|Isa|37|24|37|26" passage="Isa 37:24-26"><i>v.</i> 24-26</scripRef>. The
most active men are no more than God makes them, and God makes them
no more than of old he designed to make them: "<i>What I have
formed of ancient times,</i> in an eternal counsel, <i>now have I
brought to pass</i>" (for God does all according to the counsel of
his will), "<i>that thou shouldst be to lay waste defenced
cities;</i> it is therefore intolerable arrogance to make it thy
own doing." 5. All the malice, and all the motions and projects, of
the church's enemies, are under the cognizance and check of the
church's God. Sennacherib was active and quick, here, and there,
and every where, but God knew his going out and coming in, and had
always an eye upon him, <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.28" parsed="|Isa|37|28|0|0" passage="Isa 37:28"><i>v.</i>
28</scripRef>. And that was not all; he had a hand upon him too, a
strict hand, a strong hand, <i>a hook in his nose and a bridle in
his lips,</i> with which, though he was very headstrong and unruly,
he could and would <i>turn him back by the way which he came,</i>
<scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.29" parsed="|Isa|37|29|0|0" passage="Isa 37:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>. <i>Hitherto
he shall come and no further.</i> God had signed Sennacherib's
commission against Judah (<scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p7.5" osisRef="Bible:Isa.10.6" parsed="|Isa|10|6|0|0" passage="Isa 10:6"><i>ch.</i>
x. 6</scripRef>); here he supersedes it. He has frightened them,
but he must not hurt them, and therefore is discharged from going
any further; nay, his commitment is here signed, by which he is
clapped up, to answer for what he had done beyond his commission.
6. God is his people's bountiful benefactor, as well as their
powerful protector, both a sun and a shield to those that trust in
him. Jerusalem shall be defended (<scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p7.6" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.35" parsed="|Isa|37|35|0|0" passage="Isa 37:35"><i>v.</i> 35</scripRef>), the besiegers shall not come
into it, no, nor come before it with any regular attack, but they
shall be routed before they begin the siege, <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p7.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.33" parsed="|Isa|37|33|0|0" passage="Isa 37:33"><i>v.</i> 33</scripRef>. But this is not all; God will
return in mercy to his people, and will do them good. Their land
shall be more than ordinarily fruitful, so that their losses shall
be abundantly repaired; they shall not feel any of the ill effects
either of the enemies' wasting the country or of their own being
taken off from husbandry. But the earth, as at first, shall bring
forth of itself, and they shall live and live plentifully upon its
spontaneous productions. The blessing of the Lord can, when he
pleases, make rich without the hand of the diligent. And let them
not think that the desolations of their country would excuse them
from observing the sabbatical year, which happened (as it should
seem) the year after, and when they were not to plough or sow; no,
though they had not now their usual stock beforehand for that year,
yet they must religiously observe it, and depend upon God to
provide for them. God must be trusted in the way of duty. 7. There
is no standing before the judgments of God when they come with
commission. (1.) The greatest numbers cannot stand before them: one
angel shall, in one night, lay a vast army of men dead upon the
spot, when God commissions him so to do, <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p7.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.36" parsed="|Isa|37|36|0|0" passage="Isa 37:36"><i>v.</i> 36</scripRef>. Here are 185,000 brave
soldiers in an instant turned into so many dead corpses. Many think
the <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p7.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.76.1-Ps.76.12" parsed="|Ps|76|1|76|12" passage="Ps 76:1-12">76th Psalm</scripRef> was penned
upon occasion of this defeat, where from <i>the spoiling of the
stout-hearted,</i> and sending them to sleep their long sleep
(<scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p7.10" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.5" parsed="|Isa|37|5|0|0" passage="Isa 37:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>), it is
inferred that God is <i>more glorious and excellent than the
mountains of prey</i> (<scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p7.11" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.4" parsed="|Isa|37|4|0|0" passage="Isa 37:4"><i>v.</i>
4</scripRef>), and that <i>he, even he, is to be feared,</i>
<scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p7.12" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.7" parsed="|Isa|37|7|0|0" passage="Isa 37:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>. Angels are
employed, more than we are aware of, as ministers of God's justice,
to punish the pride and break the power of wicked men. (2.) The
greatest men cannot stand before them: <i>The great king, the king
of Assyria,</i> looks very little when he is forced to return, not
only with shame, because he cannot accomplish what he had projected
with so much assurance, but with terror and fear, lest the angel
that had destroyed his army should destroy him; yet he is made to
look less when his own sons, who should have guarded him,
sacrificed him to his idol, whose protection he sought, <scripRef id="Is.xxxviii-p7.13" osisRef="Bible:Isa.37.37-Isa.37.38" parsed="|Isa|37|37|37|38" passage="Isa 37:37,38"><i>v.</i> 37, 38</scripRef>. God can quickly
stop their breath who <i>breathe out threatenings and slaughter</i>
against his people, and will do it when they have filled up the
measure of their iniquity; and <i>the Lord is known by</i> these
<i>judgments which he executes,</i> known to be a God that resists
the proud. Many prophecies were fulfilled in this providence, which
should encourage us, as far as they look further, and are designed
as common and general assurances of the safety of the church and of
all that trust in God, to depend upon God for the accomplishment of
them. He that has delivered does and will deliver. Lord, forgive
our enemies; but, <i>so let all thy enemies perish, O Lord!</i></p>
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