OCTOBER 1, 2024
“Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.” (Isaiah 38:17)
Here is the case of a man who, as far as mortal help was concerned, was a dead man, and yet prayer prevailed for his recovery and the lengthening of his life. He recorded the experience for the glory of God. God Himself preserved the record for our encouragement. In our times of deep depression, we have the same loving God to help us.
Hezekiah sets before us in this verse his great bitterness of soul. The margin reads, “For peace I had bitter bitterness.” He had enjoyed wonderful peace, but he underwent a great change. The change apparently came very suddenly. “Behold!” The sudden change from health to deadly sickness must have occurred because of sin, since he adds, “…for Thou has cast all my sins behind Thy back.” Probably his peace had brought with it a dangerous state in which he became carnally secure, self-centered, careless, and worldly.
We all look for peace, but we are more likely to forget the Lord when we seem to be free from troubles. Dr. Watts throughout his life scarcely ever knew what good health was. However surprisingly it may seem, he looked upon his affliction as the greatest blessing of his life. He often mentioned to his dear friend, Sir Thomas Abney, in whose home he lived many years, that being naturally of an ambitious disposition, these visitations of Divine providence weaned his affection from this world and brought every passion into subjection to Christ.
Hezekiah noted in verse 20, “The LORD was ready to save me.” His exchange of peace for bitterness had, blessed of God, led him to repentance for past sins, as the last line of the text implies. It brought him to his knees in prayer; it revealed to him his inward decline; it made him put away his defilements; it renewed and deepened his faith in God. “The LORD was ready to save me.”
Notice, his happy confession: “Thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit.” We see here recovery from sickness, but it intends much more: benefit to his soul is evident. Notice, as the margin reads: “Thou hast loved my soul from the pit.” The Lord delivers the soul from the pit of hell, of sin, of despair. The psalmist said, “He brought me up also out of the horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock.” He is speaking of the prison house of sin. In Scripture, some prisons were referred to as pits. These had no openings except a hole at the top, which served as both door and window. The bottoms of these pits were necessarily in a filthy and revolting and miry state. The text speaks of the “pit of corruption.” Such is the prison house of sin from which Christ delivers. He was sent to open the prison house and set the captive free. This is the great need of all whose “peace” has been turned to bitterness because of sin. The Lord delivers the soul from the pit of sin and despair, from the pit of death and hell.
Hezekiah could now rejoice in absolute pardon of sin. “Thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.” This was the cause of his restored peace. There can be no real peace without the pardon of sin. He was burdened while sin remained, but when that was gone, peace returned.
This removed the whole burden. “All my sins.” This was a Divine work. “Thou hast cast.” This is wonderfully described. “Thou hast cast all my sins behind Thy back.” This is the place of desertion. God has cast the sins of penitent sinners behind His back where He will never see them nor remember them. This is the place of nonentity: nothing is behind the back of God.
Therefore, let us do as Hezekiah did, and tell our story to others. Let us lift up our voice of gratitude.“The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs…all the days of our life in the house of the LORD.” (Vs. 20)
Speak Your Mind