The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1905-07-06
Hezekiah's Prayer.

reversing the evil pOIIcy OF MS 1ather,
both in foreign and domestic affairs.
He had either witnessed the destruc-
ton of Sennacherib, or else the As
syrian invasion was just then impend-
ing. He was as yet without an heir
to his throne, and being in the heydey
of young manhood thought of pro-
have crossed his mind. At such a
time the sudden announcement of his
immediate demise took the nature of
personal and national disaster. He
was the last man to be spared. How
could reforms proceed without him?
How could the desolating tide of in
yasion be STAYED if ne did not stand
in the fore?
Under the circumstances the mes
sage of Isaiah to Hezekiah seems
curt, if not cruel, Set thine house in
order, for thou shalt die and not
live But the personal relations of
love and confidence which maintain
ed between the two men make it i'm
probable that there was anything
harsh in the manner in which the
message was delivered, or resentful
in the way it was received.
The suffering king turned his face
to the wall of his chamber. He did
not wish to see or be seen. He CON
verified the intervening space iuto an
oratory, in which he was alone with
God. There he gained greater vic
tory than he ever gained in counsel
chamber or on battlefield. He struck
the personal element from the equa-
sion. With the self-obliviop of a lofty
nature he rose above the question of
profit or loss to self. He was the
father of his people, and how should
they do if left fatherless? He could
call God to witness the integrity and
self-denying record of his reign, and
plead the probability that this record
would maintain to the close, to the
glory of God and the welfare of the
people.
The test had been made. In the
hottest crucible the unalloyed gold of
the kings character had been proven
The grief -stricked prophet had not
yet quite crossed the palace court
yard after delivering the dread mes
sage, when he was halted and hidden
to recall it. Space will be given the
lxipo RI oOuSump,o+a l,iC rofor,,e n 81
defend his empire against invasion.
Concession is made to a sign-loving
spirit. From the bed-chamber win
dow the king and the prophet look
down upon the terrace, where the
''step-clock" of Ahaz stands. They
see a marvel. The shadow returns
ten steps on the dial, which it had
covered.
The ransomed king breaks out in a
hymn of praise, lmprovised after. the
manner of the East, which is one of
the jewels of the old Scripture. HE
thought he must needs go hence IN
the noontide of his days. His
abode was plucked from above him
like shepherds tent. He had roll
ed up his life as a weaver cuts the
cloth from the loom. But he found
himself withheld from the bottomless
pit. Death does not praise God. The
living, the living, He praises Him."
The Teachers Lantern.
The Bible delights to picture it's
heroes not in forensic arena nor in
field of battle, but in act and attitude
of prayer-Abel at his altar; Noah on
dripping rocks of Arrat, Moses on the
heights, with Aaron and Hur holding
up his weary arms; Daniel at his win
dow, open toward Jerusalem: Peter
on the house-top; Paul in Straight
Street, and many othors.
\ =
We have two pictures of Hezekiah
at prayer; both VIVID significant. In
one instance it is prayer for the ma
ton; in the other for himself Ia the
latter instance, indirectly at least, it
was prayer for the nation also, and
so, largely disinterested. Probably
this was chiefly the ground on which
it was heard.
4 = =
Hezekiah had an instinct for pray
err. He could pray at a moments
notice, The bird is not always flying:
but it is ready to fly at an instant.
We need not pray literally without
ceasing; but we can be ready to
spread the pinions of the soul and
speed to the mercy seat any instant.
There was, OF course, an unex press
ed condition in the apparently cate
gorical message, Thou shalt die"
\ y 4
1t is an open question whether it is
discreet to let persons know that
death is imminent. Isaiah was sent
to tell Hezekiah. He had no option
in the matter.
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