1 and those who are brought down into the pit will not look for your
FOURTH SERMON
Isaiah 38
1 8. For the grave will not sing to you, and the dead will not praise you,
and those who are brought down into the pit will not look for your
truth. 19. The living, the living shall sing of you, as I do today: the father
shall make known your truth to his children. 20. The Lord is here to save
me: and we shall sing, all the days of our life, a song in the Temple of the
Lord. 21. Isaiah said, Let them take a mass of figs, and make a plaster of it
upon the wound, and he shall be healed. 22. Now Hezekiah had said, What
sign shall I have that I am to go up to the house of the Lord?
It is quite certain that if our life were ordered as it should be, we would
always have this as our chief aim, while we are in the world, to honour
God. And indeed, it is only right to devote all our study to this, since
without end and without ceasing we experience so many graces from him.
For this reason, Hezekiah, having now recognised that God had prolonged
his life, and had shown him such singular love, says that with all the greater
courage he will magnify the name of God, to render thanks for such a
benefit. And he adds specifically that it will not be only while he himself is
in the world that he will strive to have God blessed, but that for his
successors too he will make sure it is always known how God has dealt
with him. And finally, in conclusion, he says that God alone is our Saviour,
and that if we rest in him, our salvation will be certain and infallible. But
meanwhile one might find it strange that he says the dead will not praise
God in the grave—for it seems he values and recognises no other goodness
of God except when God sustains men in this frail life.
Now if we look only to what is here below, our faith will indeed be weak,
and we know that we live under no other condition than to taste, in part, the
goodness of God, so as to be drawn higher, and even to be wholly caught up
into the heavenly life. It might seem, then, that Hezekiah is too attached to
the world, and has no apprehension at all of the spiritual kingdom of God.
For in saying that the grave cannot praise God, nor those who have died, it
seems he has regard for nothing but this present life. And we know it is
said, first, that God wishes to be glorified in our death just as much as in
our life. And Saint Paul, for this reason, says that it matters not to him
whether he lives or dies, provided the glory of God is always advanced by
it. It might seem there is great difference between Saint Paul and Hezekiah
—for the one flees death and holds it in horror, arguing that the dead will
not praise God, while the other says, "It is all one to me whether I live or
die, for God will always be glorified in me." And if we consider the state of
the dead, as they are withdrawn from the world and drawn near to God, it
might seem they are even better disposed and more eager to bless his Name.
For while we are here weighed down in this prison of our body, we can
scarcely open our mouths, so to speak, to praise God; we do not go about it
with such free courage or such vehement zeal as would be required. Now
the dead are not so hindered; they are not, as we are, absent from God (as
Saint Paul speaks of it in Second Corinthians)—they can therefore all the
better join in this melody with the choirs of paradise. And we know what is
said of the Angels (as we also saw in the sixth chapter) that ceaselessly they
cry, "Blessed be the Lord of hosts, Holy, Holy, Holy." So, as far as we can
judge, those whom God has withdrawn from this frail life ought to be better
prepared to praise his Name.
But let us note first of all that Hezekiah here considered why God has
placed us in the world, and why he sustains us in it. God asks no
recompense from us: he is not like a man who places servants in his
household in order to work his lands and profit from them. Nor is he like a
great prince who wants many subjects, so as to be maintained by them and
have their help when needed. But God expects no advantage from us, just as
he has no need of us; he asks only that we render him homage for the many
benefits he bestows on us. For our whole life ought to relate, as we have
already touched on, to this end: that we bless God, and bear witness that his
benefits have not been wasted on us, as they would be if we were, as it
were, mute.
This, then, is what we must observe: that Hezekiah, in saying that the
living will praise God, meant to note that men pervert the order of nature
when they do not apply themselves to praising God, and that their
ingratitude is in no way excusable when they bury God's graces and forget
them. Since, then, our Lord seeks nothing from us except that his Name be
glorified in this world, it should not astonish us that Hezekiah says, "The
living, the living shall praise God." And we must also note the difference
between the condition of the living and of the dead. Even if the dead do
praise God, we cannot judge or imagine that they are gathered together in
our manner, to show forth an outward accord of their faith. Each of them
may well praise God individually, but this is not to say they are gathered
into one body as we are now, for Scripture says nothing of that. We must
not forge fantasies in our own heads as seems good to us. For we know that
God reserves for the last day this perfection—that we shall all be united, so
joined to our God that his glory shines fully in us. Since, then, the dead do
not have such a way of exercising themselves in praising God as we do, that
is why it is said that this properly belongs to us the living.
But there is more still, for Hezekiah does not here speak simply of death
in general, as we have already noted, but he qualifies it—as if he had been
cut off from the Church of God and from all hope of salvation, had that
judgment come to be carried out; or as if he had stood before his Judge.
Hezekiah, then, was not merely preparing to die, as by nature none of us
can escape that necessity, but he had this testimony of God's wrath, by
which he was as terrified as if all were lost for him. Now we know that no
one can sing the praises of God unless he has occasion and matter for it—
for when our Lord shows us a terrible countenance, our mouths are closed,
we are seized with such anguish that it is impossible for us to bless him;
rather, on the contrary, there will be nothing but gnashing of teeth when the
wrath of God has so astonished us. Such, then, was Hezekiah's state.
By contrast, when God shows himself favourable toward us, and gives us
some sign of his favour, he opens our mouths, as is said in Psalm fifty-one:
"Lord, you have opened my mouth, and so I will sing your praises"; and in
other passages, "Lord, you have put a new song in my mouth." By this the
prophets signify that when God has gladdened them by delivering them
from some evil, he has by that very means exhorted them to sing his praises
and bless his Name, and to remember his graces. Thus, then, when we
apprehend nothing but sheer terror in God, we are as if stunned, and the
door is shut, so that we cannot praise God at all. So, Hezekiah, in this
passage, saying that the dead will not praise God, does not mean in general
all those who depart this transitory life, but those who are as it were cut off
from God, overwhelmed by his wrath, no longer tasting anything of his
goodness, and stripped and estranged from all hope of salvation. It is
impossible, then, for such people to praise God.
There is yet another point to note. For when the faithful are held and
oppressed by some distress, they can scarcely see anything except their own
suffering, and each of us experiences this all too well in ourselves. When
some affliction has utterly cast us down, we cannot apply our minds to
anything else, for we are held there as in a narrow prison. So it was with
Hezekiah. As also when it is said in Psalm eighty-eight, that the state of the
dead is a land of forgetting, where nothing is known of God—it might well
seem a blasphemy. But such ways of speaking arise from the roughness and
weakness of men, in that they cannot compose themselves to judge with a
settled mind, and to have a clear and well-considered understanding; rather,
their suffering presses and carries them away so that they speak, as it were,
at random and in confusion. So Job says that men, once withdrawn from
this world, have no more care, that each is at rest as if there were a confused
mingling, that servant and master are all one, and that tyrants no longer
cause fear. He speaks of the state of the dead as if death abolished
everything. Yet this was not truly his considered judgment—rather, his
sorrow did not allow him to speak like a man at peace, for he had been so
agitated by distress that his words wandered.
We may think the same of Hezekiah. He does not speak of the state and
condition of the dead as Scripture teaches us. And why? His sorrow and the
horror he felt so dominated him that he did not know where he stood. It is
true this is not to be excused—and that is also why our Lord gives us
mirrors of our own frailty, when we see even the holiest and most perfect
men speak this way. But meanwhile God bore with Hezekiah, because the
main thing remained true in him—as we have already seen, his aim was
directed to this: to glorify the name of God. For he would rather have died a
hundred times than live a single minute in this world profaning, through
ingratitude, the good things God did for him. Here, then, is Hezekiah
holding to this rule: that men ought not to desire even a single day of life
except so that God may be glorified by it. But meanwhile, the fact that he
was so agitated by such great troubles that he could not speak distinctly as
he ought—this comes from his weakness, which God excuses and bears
with; for it is not disobedience, since there are many extravagant things in
our prayers. It is true we must always conform to the rule given us, so that
no one prays to God however he pleases, according to his own whim. But
be that as it may, we will have regrets and complaints in us that exceed
proper measure, and God must have pity on us in this regard.
This, then, in sum, is what we must retain: that above all, in living, we
should always aim at this end, that God be honoured. For this is also why he
has placed us in this world, this is why he has chosen us to be of his flock—
namely, so that we might be gathered together to sing his praises in one
accord. We see this even more clearly in Psalm one hundred fifteen, where
there is a similar statement. And indeed it is not just one man speaking
there, but the whole body of the Church of the faithful, who say that God
will not be praised in death—but that we the living, they say, until the end,
will confess that God has preserved us. There it is signified to us that God
will always preserve his Church until the end of the world, and that there
will always be some remnant of a people. Why? Because he wishes to be
known as Father and Savior among men, and though it be not the greatest
multitude, he still wishes to have some company to bless him.
Let us learn, then, to exercise ourselves in blessing the name of God,
while he keeps us here below, and while we are nourished by his generosity,
and—what is more—since he has called us to himself, always tending
toward the hope of the eternal inheritance. Since this is so, let us devote all
our effort to this, indeed for the whole of our life. For if we do otherwise, it
would be better that our mothers had miscarried us, or that the earth had
opened to swallow us up, than to be here gorging ourselves like brute
beasts, remaining ungrateful for so many benefits God bestows on us, and
letting his praise be buried by our silence. This for one point.
And further, let us always be ready, following the example of Saint Paul,
to glorify God whether by life or by death. If we are sometimes troubled, as
good King Hezekiah was, let us recognise that all our regrets, complaints,
and groanings ought to be suspect to us, because we cannot keep proper
measure in them, on account of the frailty in us. Thus, what is said here—
that the dead will not praise God—must not be drawn by us into a general
principle, so as to argue our case when it pleases God to call us to himself;
let us not make this excuse under the pretext of Hezekiah, or of David who
spoke similarly in Psalm six, or of the whole people, as we have just cited.
For there was excess in it—since both David and Hezekiah, and in general
the whole Church, at a time of horrible devastation, were tempted to think
that God wished to reject them, disown them, and have no more dealings
with them. Since they had thus, in their own minds, withdrawn from God,
they were confounded, and this is not to be wondered at. But let us not draw
a rule from this, as if we could do the same, but let it rather teach us to
recognise our own weakness. And further, even though God bears with us,
let us not indulge ourselves in such a fault. This, then, is what we must
retain.
Now, meanwhile, we are admonished that, insofar as God makes us feel
his graces, our hearts should be enlarged and our mouths opened to bless his
Name. And conversely, that we shall never be able to utter a single word to
his praise proceeding from good and free affection unless we are persuaded
that God is favourable to us, and that we make good use of the good things
we receive from his hand. As to the first point, let each of us learn to stir
himself up according to the tally he makes of God's graces, for their number
is infinite. There is not one of us who, if he thought duly of himself, would
not be overwhelmed—as it is said in Psalm forty, that if we wished to
number the testimonies God gives us of his fatherly care and mercy, there
are more of them than hairs on our head, and we would be left utterly
astonished. But whatever the measure in which God displays the riches of
his goodness toward each of us, let us be moved all the more to bless his
Name, and let each of us strive and be diligent in this. This, in sum, is what
we must observe on this passage.
Now, on the other hand, let us recognise that our life is cursed if we gorge
ourselves on the good things God gives us without contemplating his
goodness in them. For we profane everything that was dedicated to our use
and to our salvation, unless we are brought to this conclusion—namely, to
recognise that God truly shows himself a Father toward us, drawing us to
himself by every gentleness, so that we do not doubt that he holds us as his
children. And in this we also see how miserable the condition of the Papists
is—for they will not even allow themselves assurance of God's goodness,
but say that we must always remain in doubt. And thus, all their prayers,
and all the thanksgiving they render to God, is nothing but hypocrisy and
pretence. For we cannot call upon God except in confidence, nor can we
praise his Name except by knowing him to be favourable toward us. Now
they are entirely excluded from this. Let us learn, then, that we shall never
be able to offer God a sacrifice of praise that he esteems and values, nor
ever aim at the true purpose of our life, unless we are persuaded of his
goodness. And so, whenever we think of all the graces and benefits of God,
let this come to mind: that God confirms and ratifies our adoption, so that
we do not doubt that he holds us as his children, and so that we may freely
call upon him as our Father. This, in sum, is what we must retain from this
passage.
Now we must also note what Hezekiah says: "The living, the living shall
confess you; indeed, the father shall declare your truth to his children." He
had said above that the dead will no longer look for the truth of God—that
is, they will have no more hope in it. And in this we see what I have already
touched on: that Hezekiah does not speak indifferently of all those God has
withdrawn from this world—for it is certain that the faithful do look for the
truth of God. When Jacob, breathing his last, said, "I will wait for the
salvation of the Lord," he did not say this for a mere moment, but declared
and affirmed that he had this certainty imprinted in his heart, one that would
never be extinguished, such that though he pass through a hundred deaths,
this treasure would always be kept for him. So, then, the saints and the
faithful, even when God has called them out of the world, do not cease to
nourish the hope of the resurrection and of that happiness promised to them.
But Hezekiah speaks of the dead as those who are as it were banished and
entirely estranged from the Kingdom of God, whom he renounces. Now he
himself was in that state, according to his own apprehension, until God
consoled him through his prophet. For the message sent to him was to show
that God was against him, and coming as his adversary, armed against him.
Hezekiah, then, had to remain confounded in that state. Thus, it is not
without cause that he says the dead do not look for the truth of God—that
is, they are entirely shut out from his promises, no longer numbered among
his children. But now he says that the living, who taste the goodness of
God, will make his truth known to their children.
Now here again we see how God is duly praised and esteemed among us
—namely, when it is known that he is faithful to all his own, that he never
abandons them, but that his help is ready for them in their need, and that
they will never be disappointed in leaning upon him. This, then, is the true
substance of the praises of God. Thus, in sum, we see that there is nothing
but falsehood and lies when men pray to God, or pretend to give him
thanks, while at the same time not being taught the love he bears them, not
being assured of their salvation, and knowing no promise. When this is
lacking, it is certain that all the praises of God that may resound in men's
mouths are nothing but wind and smoke. Do we, then, wish to praise God as
we ought, so that he approves the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving we
offer him? Let us profit from his Word, let us know what it means to trust in
him—which we cannot do until he has declared his good will to us, assured
us that he receives us, that we have access to him, and that we shall never
be abandoned so long as we have recourse to him. If we lack such
instruction, we shall never be able to utter a single word of praise to God as
is required. This, then, is what Hezekiah's statement here relates to—that
the father will make known to his children the truth of God. And further,
just as he said the dead cannot look for it or find their support in it, let us
recognise that when God declares himself gracious and generous toward us,
it is so as always to confirm our hope the better, so that we may take all the
greater courage to have recourse to him, never doubting that his hand is
always ready to help us in our need.
How, then, shall we make right use of the graces of God? It is when we
are always more and more confirmed in faith, when we can defy every
temptation, when we can resolve that in calling upon God, we need never
fear to waste our effort, because our hope will never be put to shame.
When, then, we are well resolved in this, so that we can do battle against
Satan and repel every temptation, then we shall know how to wisely apply
the benefits of God to our own use, and how to make them profitable. This,
in sum, is what we must retain here.
Further, when it is spoken of how fathers ought to conduct themselves
toward their children, we must gather in general (as has already been treated
above) that it is not enough if we ensure that God is glorified during our
own lifetime—we ought also to desire that, as his name is immortal, so
from age to age it be celebrated, that those who come after us keep the pure
religion, that the service of God never falls into decline but continues and
advances always, and that the goodness of God be magnified everywhere.
Let those who have children recognise that God has entrusted them into
their care, and that they will have to render account of them, unless they
take every pain to teach them to serve God. For when it is said that the
father will proclaim God's truth to his children, we must always come back
to this end: that the children may trust in him, call upon him, attribute to
him the praise for every good thing, and dedicate and consecrate themselves
entirely to him and to his obedience. If, then, fathers wish to discharge their
duty, let them recognise that this is the chief inheritance they owe to leave
their children. For if they amass goods for them, but meanwhile give them
free rein once they see them becoming dissolute, wicked, profane, and
contemptuous of God—woe upon all the effort they put into advancing
them in worldly terms, for they only raise them up high in order to make
them break their necks all the harder. Their fall will be all the more fatal
when they have great wealth, and yet despise God in his doctrine—their
confusion will be all the more horrible, because their ingratitude will be all
the less excusable. Let fathers, then, think more carefully about this than
they are accustomed to: that when God gives them children, he obliges
them to this duty, that they strive all the more to have them instructed in his
truth for the whole of their lives—just as we see the example given us in
Abraham, who is the father of the faithful. For when God wishes to show
that he will govern his household as he ought, "Shall I hide from my servant
Abraham," he says, "what I am about to do? No"—here God makes himself
familiar with him. "For," he says, "he will teach his children in my statutes,
my laws, and my ordinances." This is the mark by which the faithful are
distinguished from those who despise God. If, then, we wish to be counted
among the Church, let us follow this zeal and this affection of Abraham—
namely, that each of us, according to the household he has, should take
pains that God be honoured in it, and that his truth always be known there
until the end.
Now, in conclusion, Hezekiah says: "The Lord is here to save me." This
phrase implies that he rejects and casts aside every other salvation, as if he
said, "There is only God." He could have said, "The Lord has saved me";
he could have said, "I hold my life from him and from his pure grace"—but
he goes further, as if he wished here to uphold the honour of God, and cast
down all the confidences men conceive in their own imaginations. For we
are accustomed, when we want to secure ourselves and seek assurance, to
say, "I will take this means, or that means." But Hezekiah renounces all of
that, and declares that there is only God, and that it is to him alone we must
come. It is true that God does permit us to make use of all the means he
offers us, and which he has ordained for such use—but even so, he does not
want his glory obscured by it, and rightly so. Yet men are so wicked and
perverse that they always take occasion to diminish the glory of God, under
the pretext that he helps them through his creatures. If God is not content
merely to make us feel his power, but applies all his creatures to our use, we
ought to be all the more moved to praise him. But instead, we do just the
opposite: we strip him of his rightful due, we forsake him, and attach our
trust here and there, imagining that our salvation comes from this source or
that. This is how God is defrauded of what is rightly his.
All the more, then, must we carefully observe what Hezekiah says here:
"The Lord is here to save us"—that is, that although God stretches out his
hand to us, and gives us the means to sustain ourselves, we should
nevertheless confess that he is the fountain, and that the stream which flows
down to us does not prevent us from knowing where the water comes from.
Let us always look, then, to this source—namely, that God be glorified, and
that he remains undiminished in what is properly his. And when we are
stripped of every means, let us say, "The Lord alone will suffice." And this
is also why David says, "The mercy of God is better than lives." Not that
the life of men is not itself part of God's mercy—but he shows that men
ought not to be attached to the things of this world, and that they act like
brutes when they imagine they can preserve, sustain, and protect themselves
by this means or that; rather, they ought to prefer, above all else, the sole
goodness of God, and rest content in it. This, then, is a saying of great
teaching, provided we know how to profit from it.
Let us, then, follow the example of Hezekiah, and when God has helped
us in our need, let us attribute to him the praise for our life, confessing that
he alone can save.
He then adds further: "And we shall sing our songs all the days of our life
in the house of the Lord." Here he repeats what he had said before—
namely, that he would spend whatever remained of the life God had given
him in giving God thanks for it, so as not to be ungrateful. For, as I have
already said, it would be better that we had never been born than to enjoy
the good things God does for us while keeping our mouths shut and never
thinking of him. Let us note well, then, that this repetition is not
superfluous, when Hezekiah says so many times that, since his life has been
prolonged, he will be all the more moved to praise God. This for one point.
He shows further that this will not be for a mere passing moment—for
many can praise God with quite vehement feeling when they have first
experienced his goodness, but this soon fades, the memory of it is lost, and
it seems to them enough to have testified once that they hold their well-
being from God. But Hezekiah shows us that we must continue in this with
true perseverance—for we do not hold from God one day of our life any
more than another. Our whole life, then, must be fully devoted and
dedicated to him. Thus, seeing the laziness and coldness that is in us, let us
learn to stir ourselves up whenever we feel our zeal growing cold, lest it be
extinguished altogether. Let us wake ourselves up. How so? If I have
recognised the grace of God once or twice, what then—must it now be
forgotten? And if for a month I blessed the name of God, and then a year,
and two, and three, and now I no longer think of it at all—what will all that
have gained me, except to leave me all the more convicted of hypocrisy,
showing that there was nothing but a fire of straw, with no constancy or
firmness at all? If, then, we look carefully at the example of this good king,
each of us will be all the more spurred to stop nourishing this laziness,
which is natural in us, and to which we are all too prone.
When he says, "in the house of the Lord," this does not mean that the
praises of God were confined to the Temple (for anyone may, and indeed
should, praise God in his own house)—rather, Hezekiah shows that it is not
enough to praise God privately; he will also stir up others, to have many
companions in it. He speaks, then, here of a solemn sacrifice of praise that
he will render to God in a great assembly. And that is also why our Lord
wished his own people to gather together—for he could well have
instructed us individually, if he had wished, saying, "Let each of you praise
me in his own chamber." But he wants there to be this order: that we be
united as one body, that we call upon him with one voice, and that we make
confession of our faith together in agreement. And why? It is true that, first,
we see that all our faculties must be applied to glorifying him—but there is
also a second reason: that we spur one another on, as we all need. For there
is not one of us so disposed to praise God that he does not need some
further prompting when he sees the company of the faithful and is shown an
example. Since, then, this spurs us on, God wants us to sing his praises
publicly and in common. And that is why Hezekiah specifically says here
that he will come to the temple of the Lord to praise and bless his Name—
as we also see Jonah say the same. He speaks of the house of the Lord. And
why? Not, as I have said, because the praises of God were shut up and
hidden there, but because the people gathered there, and he knew this would
bring greater benefit, since some would be spurred on by his example. This,
then, in sum, is Hezekiah's song.
Now, finally, it is here recorded that the prophet Isaiah orders that a
plaster of figs be made for him upon his wound. From this it seems likely
that what he had was a plague sore. It is then added, further, that Hezekiah
also asked for a sign, which was granted to him, as we have seen when the
sun was made to go backward on the sundial of Ahaz. One might raise a
question here, whether this plaster was a medicine, or some sign the prophet
gave him. And it might seem that if it were a medicine, this would diminish
the glory of God, since Hezekiah's life was meant to be miraculous. Why,
then, did God not heal him without any means at all? But when everything
is well considered, the sign or miracle given to Hezekiah—when the sun
halted its course, and the shadow on the sundial went back by so many
degrees—suffices well enough and removes all doubt. Furthermore, even
though Hezekiah made use of this plaster, this does not mean the healing
was merely natural. For since God had changed the order of the heavens
and had shown so evident a testimony that this came from his hand, and that
it was an extraordinary benefit, we ought to be content with that; and we see
that God has sometimes made use of his creatures in this way, while still
declaring plainly that it was by his power alone. Those who think Hezekiah
had this plaster rather as a kind of sacrament, to confirm him, suppose that
figs would have done more harm than good to such a wound—but one can
make a preparation from them that is fit to bring a wound to a head, and this
is well known.
It is true that God will sometimes give signs that seem entirely contrary to
what is promised—and this is to draw us all the more to himself, so that we
renounce all our own notions, and are content that he has spoken. How so?
God promises that the earth will never again perish by flood. Well then—
what sign does he give of this? A sign that naturally threatens us with rain.
When one sees the rainbow in the sky, what sort of sign is that? It is an
appearance such that it seems we ought to be overwhelmed, and that the
earth will perish. And yet how is it? This sign is given us by God precisely
so that we may know the earth will never again perish by flood—yes, but it
is so that we may learn to rest upon his truth, and to close our eyes to
everything else, to everything we conceive in ourselves, and let the truth of
God be so authoritative to us that we receive it without contradiction. God,
then, may indeed work in such a manner—but as for this passage, we may
rather judge that the prophet, in order to ease Hezekiah's suffering, wished
also to provide this remedy—for there is scarcely any wound as painful as
the plague; it is like a fire that burns the sufferer. And so, when God had
prolonged the life of this good king, he wished, over and above that, to add
this further kindness, that the pain be eased. The prophet, then, gives him
this as a bonus, so that not only does God lengthen his life, but he does not
wish him to suffer so much, or endure the torments he had felt before.
Thus, we see how, in every way and in all things, God showed himself
compassionate toward this good king, and wished to show himself appeased
in every respect, after having used such harshness against him, having
stretched out his arm as if to utterly destroy him. Yet this is not to say that
God acts exactly the same way toward each of his own—so let us not
demand that in a single moment God, after drawing us back from the grave,
should make us rejoice and give us in every way everything to satisfy us.
But if it pleases him to relieve our sufferings little by little, let us be content
with that. And indeed, we may gather that God still worked by degrees even
with Hezekiah—for already this miracle had been performed, that the
shadow of the sun had gone back, and the message of the prolonging of his
life had been given him by the prophet. It might seem, then, that Hezekiah
was entirely delivered—and yet this plaster was still needed. Thus, when
our Lord, after having given us some relief in some affliction, still leaves
some remainder of it, let this not trouble us, and let us not be vexed at
bearing his corrections, until he has fully secured us.
Meanwhile, we have explained why Hezekiah had asked for a sign—for
although this came from weakness, God nevertheless granted him this
request too. And in this we see how humane God is toward us, in that not
only does he grant the requests we make of him with pure and upright
affection, but even when there is some weakness mixed in, and we bring
him passions that are somewhat excessive, God still has pity on us in this
regard. It is certain that had Hezekiah had a perfect faith, he would have
been content simply to have heard the word from the prophet's mouth. So,
when he says, "Alas, shall I not have some sign?" he shows by this that he
does not give full and entire faith to the word of God. But here he confesses
his fault, and in confessing it, he asks for the remedy—and from whom?
From God himself. When, then, we find ourselves so hindered, let us first
recognise our own poverty, and not come to excuse the fault that is in us,
but willingly accept condemnation for it. If, on that basis, we ask God to
remedy it by his goodness, he will bear with us and hear our requests. It is
true that it is not for us to demand a sign or a miracle whenever it pleases us
—for (as was explained where the prophet had already mentioned this sign)
Hezekiah had a special prompting to this, as did Gideon also. But let us
submit ourselves to the good will of God when we recognise our own
frailty, and pray that he bear with us, and then confirm us, so that we may
be well settled in his Word.
This, then, is the manner in which we must proceed; and in doing so we
shall feel that this was not written only for the person of King Hezekiah, but
that God wished to give a teaching common to his whole Church—so that
in our troubles, even when we have come to the very extremity, even to the
depths of hell, we may nevertheless know that we ought to take refuge in
the one who calls and invites us so gently, hoping that he will show forth
his power, even though for a time it seems far removed from us and we see
no sign of it, and that he will thus give us cause to glorify him. And so too
we are taught to devote our whole life to blessing the name of God and
singing his praises, according to the goodness we have experienced from
him.
Now let us prostrate ourselves before the majesty of our good God,
acknowledging our faults, praying that he may more and more make us feel
them, so that we may be wholly cast down and humbled before him, and
that we may do battle against the vices that war against us, knowing that our
Lord has ordained us to this struggle until we are fully renewed and clothed
with his righteousness, and that there be no contradiction hindering us from
obeying his good will. May it please him to grant this grace not only to us,
but to all peoples and nations, etc.