4. For the Christian on his dying bed (H. E. I. 1570-1593).-H. Montagu Villiers, M.A.: Sermons, pp. 194211. Hezekiah's prayer reminds us of man's need of a Divine Helper. We need some one who can undertake to be our guide through life; to sustain us under the sorrows of life; to strengthen us against the temptations of life; to effect reconciliation between us and a justly offended God; to succour us in death; to welcome us to heaven, and to assign us our place in it.-Horace Monod. THE SURETYSHIP OF CHRIST. I That man needs a surety. is evident from several considerations. Man-1. Is an insolvent debtor; 2. a captive; 3. a criminal; 4. helpless and mortal. II. That a surety has been provided (Heb. vii. 22, viii. 6, ix. 15, xii. 24). Christ was constituted a surety; not for God to us, but for us to God. He undertook to do for us, and in us, what we could not do for ourselves. Is man a debtor Christ has paid the debt. Is man a captive? Christ came to set the captive free. Is man a criminal? Christ has endured the curse (Isa. liii. 6; 2 Cor. v. 21). Is man helpless and mortal? Christ has provided everlasting strength (2 Cor. xii. 9). III. That there must be a believing application made to that Surety. We must put in claim for share in the suretyship of Christ-must say in faith, "Lord, undertake for me; be surety for me." IV. The effects of such application. These are many and most important. In case of Hezekiah several are mentioned. God had sent him an alarm ing message. He wept and called upon God. His prayer was answered. A sign was given. During his sickness and after his recovery he had great exercises of soul. He thought of death (ver. 10); was annoyed because he was about to be cut off from the worship of God (ver. 11), and that by a premature death (ver. 12). But was there not a remedy? Yes. What? A believing application to the Lord as surety. "O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me." And what was the consequence? The whole tone of his thoughts was changed. He now recognises God's hand in the dispensation (ver. 15); sees these things to be good for his soul (ver. 16); believes his recovery certain-realises the forgiveness of sin-is enabled to praise God (ver. 19); can now resolve to teach his children about God's truth, and determine with them to bless and magnify God for ever (vers. 19, 20). Thus the realisation of God as surety, and a believing application to Him for help, proved the turning-point for good in Hezekiah's experience. APPLICATION.-1. In the way of warning. (1.) Not to depend on ourselves for salvation. (2.) Not to neglect the means of grace. 2. In the way of encouragement. (1.) Jesus Christ is surety for all who believe in Him. (2.) All who are oppressed in body or soul may and should, by God's grace, believe in Jesus as their surety.-T. Oliver: The Study and the Pulpit, New Series, 1876, pp. 419–421. HEZEKIAH'S RESOLUTION. (A New-Year Motto.) xxxviii. 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. Under stood 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 periods -on mercies received and dangers averted-and 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 Tennyson's In Memoriam: "Men may rise on stepping-stones Of their dead selves to higher things." A good New Year's 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 vers. 15, 16, God's 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. 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 This 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 God's 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 (ver. 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. 3228-3251; P. D. 2269). 3. A walk of thankfulness (vers. 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 (ver. 18). It needed the Gospel of Christ's resurrection to dispel the darkness and the gloom. This psalm is itself a proof of Hezekiah's 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 (Ps. cxviii. 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 (ver. 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 (ver. 17). How complete is the forgiveness of sin as thus expressed! What a peace is enjoyed when guilt is removed and God's 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 life's 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. xxxviii. 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 whirl wind 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. 3997-4014). 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 disease-protracted 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 sufferer's heart. Afterwards he reads that Christ's 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 belief-it 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, 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. 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 child-to possess a childhood of feeling in the midst of manhood. -Stopford A. Brooke: Christ in Modern Life, pp. 380-392. A GREAT DELIVERANCE xxxviii. 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 king's 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 SINNER'S CONDITION. In "the pit of corruption." This description suggests-1. Loathsomeness. It is a fit simile of the world in which It the unconverted live. It is not a quagmire, but a pit; not a dry pit, but one full of corruption-filth, 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 good 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 SINNER'S 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 God's 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 III. THE SINNER'S 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. (lix. 1). When once gone, to all your cries His reply will be, "Because I called," &c. (Prov. i. 24-26). Why will you die? Bring forth your strong reasons against salvation. -M.: Christian Witness, xviii. 392393. FORGIVENESS OF SIN. xxxviii. 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 recog nised (ver. 20). God's 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 God's way of awakening attention (H. E. I. 56-89). Until sin is forgiven, it is before the face of God (Ps. xc. 8; Heb. iv. 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 man's 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 |