Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"You will restore me and make me live"
Text: Isaiah 38:16
WHEN GOD GRANTS MERCY
As Hezekiah cried out to the LORD in humility and in tears, he received a favourable response. God would grant mercy to Hezekiah. He would have another 15 years of life. This part of Hezekiah’s prayer reflects his grateful response to God.
“What shall I say?
He has both spoken to me,
And He Himself has done it.
I shall walk carefully all my years
In the bitterness of my soul.
O Lord, by these things men live;
And in all these things is the life of my spirit;
So You will restore me and make me live.”
Isaiah 38:15-16
1. What shall I say?
a) Hezekiah had felt great despair at the news that he would soon die.
b) But God then exercised mercy and favour.
c) He pondered over how he should respond to God’s mercy extended to him.
2. He has spoken to me.
a) He pondered over what God had said to him.
b) He stood in awe of what God had said about an extension of life.
c) Hezekiah believed with all his heart that God would fulfil what He has said.
d) It is as if God had already done it!
3. An appropriate response.
a) He determined that he would walk carefully for all the years he would be given.
b) But he still had to deal with the bitterness of his soul.
c) That occurred when he first heard from Isaiah the word that
he must set his house in order, in preparation for death.
4. How do men live?
a) By these things men live:
i) A word of hope given by God.
ii) Answers to prayer.
iii) Mercy bestowed.
b) The life of the spirit of man.
i) It is tied to one’s faith in God.
ii) It is the application of that faith in the promises given by God.
iii) In addition, there is the restoration of the spirit.
iv) There was a revived spirit to live meaningfully for the LORD.