"I Shall Go Softly All My Years"

[Mr. M]

Isaiah 38:

1 In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz,

went to him and said to him, Thus says the Lord:

Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.

2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the Lord,

3 and said, Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth

and with a loyal heart, and have done good in Your sight.

And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

We immediately notice the utter simplicity of the words of this prayer;

bringing remembrance before the Lord. What raises this prayer

to the level of supplication and contrition is the lesson. He wept bitterly.

This prayer could have been simply lip service to the Lord, while expecting

his team of physicians to bring him a cure. Some people even get angry at God

in this situation. But it wasn't a doctor's prognosis of terminal illness.

This is the Word of the Lord from his prophet.

Psalms 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:

a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

While this word clearly states; "you shall die and not live", how swiftly the Lord

repents of His word in response to Hezekiah's contrite heart. 

How willing He is to repent in response to ours.

4 And the word of the Lord came to Isaiah, saying,

5 Go and tell Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father:

I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years.

6 I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city.

In addition to receiving healing favor from the Lord for his own health,

he also receives assurance that Jerusalem will be delivered from the

Assyrian army, for the king stands in the stead of his people.

In response to this blessed report, he composed a song to mark

the revelation he received by the incident.

Isaiah 38:9-20.                                                                                                  

15 What shall I say? He has both spoken unto me, and by Himself has done it:

I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.

16 O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit:

so wilt thou recover me, and make me live.

17 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.

(his salvation, both deliverance and forgiveness)

18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that go

down into the pit cannot hope for Thy Truth.

19 The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the

children shall make known Thy Truth. (memorial)

20 The Lord was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed

instruments all the days of our life in the house of the Lord.

Edited December 27, 2022 by Mr. M
amend title

[Mr. M]

We see this in the narrative from the prison.

Acts 16:

25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God,

and the prisoners were listening to them.

26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken;

and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosened.

27 And the keeper of the prison, awakening from sleep and seeing the prison doors open,

supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.

28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.

29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

30 And he brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

31 So they said, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved,

you and your household.

As Christ is the head to His Body the church, and a man stands in headship

on behalf of his wife and family; a faithful man can bring salvation to many

by a contrite heart, and a faithful spirit.

[com7fy8]

The cup runs over > God does not just bless you by yourself 

[Mr. M]

10 minutes ago, com7fy8 said:

The cup runs over > God does not just bless you by yourself 

Blessed, to be a blessing.

Genesis 12:2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.

[Mr. M]

On 12/26/2022 at 7:22 AM, Mr. M said:

15 What shall I say? He has both spoken unto me, and by Himself has done it:

I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul.

16 O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit:

so wilt thou recover me, and make me live.

17 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.

Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.