Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayerful attention to 2 Kings, the second book of
Kings chapter 18 and verse 5. That is page 406 if you have
one of our free Bibles, 406. 2 Kings chapter 18 and verse 5. He, that is, Hezekiah, trusted
in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like
him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. to Kings 18 and verse 5. We read in the portion in 2 Chronicles
chapter 32 that there was other recordings in the Word of God
of Hezekiah's life, and that time that Sennacherib came, and
the time that Hezekiah was sick unto death. This account here
in Kings is one of the others, the other is in Isaiah chapter
38. Nevertheless, the portion we
read is a very clear summary of that time, and I want this
evening very much to refer to that chapter. But before we do,
Ezekiel here is set before us as a man that trusted in the
Lord, not just trusted, but that there was none after him among
the kings of Judah or any that were before him that came near
to him entrusting in the Lord God of Israel, and that would
have included King David. And yet here, it is Hezekiah
that is renowned for his trust. The Word of God records many
of the Lord's dear people, and especially the kings, where is
mentioned specific things about them in the same way as what
is said about Hezekiah here. Ahab, what would we remember
Ahab for? What does the Word of God say
that Ahab was renowned for in the same way that Hezekiah was? Well, in 1 Kings chapter 21 and
verse 25, we read, but there was none like unto Ahab, which
did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom
Jezebel his wife stirred up." What a solemn thing to have in
the inspired Word of God that which we are renowned for and
upon record for as being none like us for wickedness. And this
is Ahab. And a solemn thing and a warning
to us, if we're a man or a woman, a husband or a wife, the power
that the wife does have over a husband. And when we think
of the way that Satan got through Eve to Adam and the fall, then
we can see again there that that has followed through and will
follow right through. We think of how it was that John
the Baptist lost his life. It was through Herodias, the
daughter of Herodias dancing, Herodias then saying to Herod
that that's what she wanted, the head of John the Baptist. How was it that Joseph got thrown
into prison? It was because of his master's
wife falsely accusing him, and so he was thrown into prison,
and many other times. But Ahab is known for that. What about Josiah? With Josiah
in the second Book of Chronicles, we have him recorded as holding
a Passover. Now you might say, well, Josiah,
you would remember him for cleansing the temple for the book of the
law being found, and humbling himself before God, and a real
reforming in the land. But what he has said, especially
concerning him, looking back, looking forward, in 2 Chronicles
35 and verse 18, regarding that Passover, there was no Passover
like it, like to that kept in Israel, from the days of Samuel
the prophet, neither did all the kings of Israel keep such
a Passover as Josiah can't. So that is the thing that he
is remembered for, renowned for, the Passover. Of course, the
Passover that was first instituted when the children of Israel came
out of Egypt, and it sets forth the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus
Christ. He is that lamb sacrificed for
us. He desired to eat that sacrifice
with his disciples before he suffered. He was that paschal
lamb. That's what that ordinance, that's
what that service pointed to. And here Josiah is renowned as
holding such a Passover that was not held since the days of
Samuel or ever since. We think of King Solomon, what would we remember
him for? Surely it is the wisdom that
God gave him. God asked him in a vision, in
the night what he should be given. And his petition in the second book
of Chronicles in chapter one, God had asked Solomon, verse
seven, ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon says, give
me now wisdom and knowledge that I may go in and out, go out and
come in before this people, for who can judge this thy people
that is so great? And God gave him that. And we
read in verse 12, wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee.
And I will give thee riches and wealth and honour such as none
of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall
there be any after thee have thee like. So wisdom and the
riches that God gave to go with that. And Solomon is renowned
for that. But then we have Hezekiah, and
it's his trust. It's how he trusted in the Lord
his God. I want to go back to the chapter
that we read. Go back to 2 Chronicles and chapter
32. Because that, as it were, doesn't
go so deeply into each event, but it does summarize the time
that the Assyrian king came. the time also that Hezekiah was
sick and Isaiah said to him that he should put his house in order,
he should not live but die. We should remember that at this
time the trust that Hezekiah put in the Lord It was fully seen to be a right
trust. Regarding his illness, he recovered. He didn't die. It was added to
his life 15 years. Regarding the Assyrian king,
what that king said was true. All of the nations round about,
all of them, they had fallen to him. Their
gods hadn't helped them. But the Lord God of Israel, he
did help Hezekiah. And there in the midst of all
of those nations, there is little Judah. The other 10 tribes, they
were carried away. But there is little Judah, and
that stands against that great army and power. A little clue is given there
in verse 31, concerning the ambassadors, the princes of Babylon, who sent
unto him to inquire of the wonder that was done in the land. The
wonder that was done in the land. how that land had stood when
so many others had fallen. He trusted, he looked solely
to the Lord, and the Lord delivered him in those two ways. And it is in that way that Hezekiah
is renowned for his trust in the Lord. leaning upon Him, looking
to Him, resting upon Him, believing that He would appear and help. And the Lord did. May we be those that trust in
the Lord. Scripture says, trust in the
Lord with all thine heart and lean not on thine own understanding. We trust in the word of God,
we trust in what God has said, what he has set before us in
the word. We trust that he's true, we trust
in the salvation of our Lord especially, that his death truly did make
atonement for sin, that truly has blotted out our sins, the
sins of His people. We trust that it shall be His
righteousness that shall be ours as we stand before that last
great Judgment Day. We trust that He that has begun
a good work in us We'll perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. We trust that he'll continue
to teach us and to keep us and to guard us from spiritual error,
from backsliding, from fully turning back and away from him.
We trust his protection, his care, not just for our lives
outwardly, but for our spiritual lives. that he who has made our
heaven secure will bring us there. Trust is a very vital part of
the Christian life. Faith is another word that describes
trust. Faith is trusting, is believing
and trusting in what God has said, what God has said he would
do. or maybe this evening. We hope that we are those that
do trust in God. But when we look at things that
we have done, our sins, our departures from the Lord, we may wonder,
do we really trust in the Lord at all? When we come into those things
that are real trials and things in providence and things that
happen, we might think, do we really
trust in the Lord? If we were, then why have these
things happened and why have these come to pass? There'd be many things that make
us question, are we really a man? a woman, a child, that trusts in the Lord. And so it is with that thought
to look at this passage here, the description that is given
of Hezekiah and his life, a man that God has said Remember this
is the inspired word of God. God has said that he trusted
above all the kings of Judah that were before him and all
that were after him. So let's look at what happened
and what was in this man of God's life. Firstly, that trust was severely
tried. We know the outcome. We know the outcome of his sickness. We know the outcome of how the
enemy was turned back. Hezekiah had to walk through
it. and you and I, of those things
that we walk through and we cannot, we do not know the outcome. Peter says, the trial of your
faith, being much more precious than gold, though it be tried
with fire, shall be found unto honour and glory at the appearing
of Jesus Christ. Even if our trust is real, it
will be tried. And we'll wonder sometimes whether
that trust is a real, solid trust because of the buffetings, the
temptations, the trials, the things that are said against
it. You know, Sir Nachoray and his messengers said many things,
many things against Tessie Kye. They likened his God just to
be the same as the gods of the other nations that were around
about. They poured scorn upon him and
upon his trust. There are many things against
it. Dear friend, don't be surprised if your trust, my trust, is also
really tried by the things that happen in our lives and the things
that we do ourselves. The second thing is, though he
was a man that trusted, he was a man that was afflicted and
afflicted unto death. Now sometimes we might say, or
Satan might suggest, if you are a child of God, if you are truly
trusting in the Lord, you would not have got ill, and especially
you would not have got so ill that you were at death's door.
And yet Hezekiah was. Sometimes we could be tempted,
and Satan would suggest that if our trust is really upon the
Lord, we won't have anything go wrong in our lives, no troubles
at all. No sicknesses, no trials. The Lord will watch over us,
he'll keep us. You know, that's what Satan accused Job of. Job only trusted
in the Lord. He only believed the Lord and
served him because the Lord had hedged him about and kept all
that he'd had. And Satan thought you touch.
You touch what he has, you turn and you curse thee to thy face. The Lord gave him permission,
he touched all that he had, and he touched his health as well. Dear Job, he said, the Lord gave
and the Lord hath taken away, lest it be the name of the Lord. And in all this that he sinned
not with his lips, Later on, he spoke many things. It was
a very severe trial, but he's brought out of it better. But
Satan knows for a while, there are so many millions in this
land, in this world, that they will serve the Lord while he
watches over them and keeps them, or they can trust in the Lord.
But when something goes against them, And when they have affliction
and adversity and trouble, then they don't want to follow the
Lord anymore. They say, if this is all the
protection we get from this insurance policy called Christianity, then
I'm not having anything to do with that. The message of our Lord was,
in me you shall have peace, in the world you shall have tribulation,
but be of good cheer, I've overcome the world. The encouragement
that the dear disciples gave the apostles to the followers
of Christ, that ye must through much tribulation enter the kingdom. They didn't say to them, if you
trust in the Lord, you won't have any trouble and any difficulties
and any trials. Rather the very opposite. And
so here is Hezekiah, a man renowned for his trust, and he is afflicted. We read in verse 27 that the Lord had blessed him
with much riches and honour. Now we might look at a person, a professed Christian, And they
say, we trust in the Lord. And you look at them and you
think, wow, of course you can say that. You've got a good bank
balance. You're rich. You've got lots
of this world's goods. Do you really trust? I think
it was the Countess Huntington that said how thankful she was
that the word of God said that there were not many noble, not
many that were rich in this world that were called, and didn't
say that there weren't any, because that would have ruled her out. But God does choose some, like
Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man, that use those riches for the
good of the church, in his case, his own tomb, and laid the Lord
in it. And those that use their riches
for the good of the poor and the Lord's dear people don't rule out the reality of
the trust of one of God's children, because the Lord has also given
them much riches. of this world. If their trust is real, their
trust won't be in their riches, but in the Lord. And sometimes,
like with Job, who's a very rich and wealthy man, all of that
is taken away. We trust not in uncertain riches,
but sometimes the Lord gives those like Hezekiah who truly
trust of this world's goods and riches. In the fourth place, he was a
man of prayer. In verse 20, we read of the effect
when the servants of Sennacherib wrote letters to rail on the
Lord God of Israel, and they cried to the people on the wall
and tried to discourage them. And we read, for this cause,
Hezekiah the king and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed
and cried to heaven. Their trust was not just a trust
where they'll all be right, It'll all turn out all right, we're
trusting in the Lord. No, the true trust, it goes along
with wrestling prayer. So that's a sign of unbelief. Why should they be crying to
the Lord if they're really trusting in Him? They're almost implying,
well, the enemy might be prevailing. But a true trust will bring us,
when we feel our fears and our doubts and our insufficiency
in the greatness of what was being threatened here, the reality
of it, brings to real prayer. You and I are trusting. We'll
also be praying. We'll be like Hezekiah in that
way. And sometime in the great blessing
of prayer, we can unburden our hearts, we can tell the Lord
all our fears, we can tell Him how we feel, that our trust is
really tried. But it will be in prayer. Not
to man, but to the Lord. And really, this was a prayer
meeting, wasn't it? Adhikara, Isaiah, We read in
another account that they spread their letter before the Lord. They met together. May we be like that and prove
that not only Hezekiah but ourselves have that joined to our trusting. Those prayers were heard unanswered. The fifth thing is that Hezekiah,
he used means when the enemy was coming against them. He didn't
just trust and say, well, it'll all be right. He didn't just
pray. But he actually took steps to
fortify the city and to make it harder for the enemy. In verse
3 we read that he took counsel with his princes and his mighty
men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without
the city and they did help him. So there was gathered much people
together who stopped all the fountains and the brook that
ran through the midst of the land saying, why should the kings
of Assyria come and find much water? And also we have in verse
five, also he strengthened himself and built up all the wall that
was broken and raised it up to the towers. and another war without,
and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and
shields in abundance, and he set captains of war over the
people, gathered them together. He's using great means here. One sense is like when the children
of Israel came out of Egypt, then came Amalek and fought against
them, Joshua was fighting with the people in the valley. Moses,
Aaron and Hur were on the hill. Moses was lifting up his rod,
a symbol of prayer and the power of God. And as his rod was held
up, then Israel prevailed. When he let it down, then Amalek
prevailed. And Aaron and Hur, they held
up his hands when they were weary. It's beautiful. Other men hold
up our hands in prayer. But there's the two sides. It
wasn't just prayer and no literal fighting with the enemy. It wasn't
just fighting with the enemy and no prayer. It was both. And we find the same with Hezekiah. He doesn't just trust and say,
well, looks like the city is strong enough, fortified, He
took great care and diligence and counsel and shored up his
defences and also strengthened himself. Was his trust in that? No, his trust was in the Lord. But because his trust was in
the Lord, then he used means. You might say in the end of it,
Were those means affected? They didn't need to fight and
he didn't come in there, but they were gathered round about.
They could have found water. If there was no defences, they
would have come right in immediately. There was no need to cry upon
the wall and to those that were upon the wall. All of our lives,
we have many things of which we would use means and that we
would pray in medical ways, in natural ways, in preservation,
whatever it is, whether it is building a building or a house
of God, or whether it is driving on the roads, we have many different
means and things that we actually do, we take care. And that's
not a sign, we're not trusting in the Lord, and that's seen
here with Hezekiah, that he used these means. The sixth thing
that we notice is that he encouraged others to trust. When he set those captains of
war over the people, we read that he spake comfortably to
them. He said, in verse seven, be strong
and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of
Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him. For there be
more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh,
but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles. And we read, and the people rested
themselves upon the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah. Remember preaching from those
words here, I think it was probably the second time I ever stood
up and preached in this pulpit was on those words. Pray me the
third time. And the Lord and the people rested
themselves upon the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah. If you
and I are trusting, We know the value of that trust, and we know
the God in whom we trust. Then we want to encourage others
as well. We want to bring them along with
us, encourage them and help us. What a mark of trusting ourselves. What a sad thing if we say that
we are trusting, but we wouldn't encourage any others to do what
we are doing. but when we know that that which
we are resting on is worthy of rest and worthy of trust, then
we'll surely point others that way as well. If we have proved
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as our great Redeemer, as worthy
of our trust, a trust for time and trust for eternity, then
surely we will point to others to Christ. Point out Him who is the way,
the truth, and the life, and that there is none other name
given among men whereby we must be saved. It's a blessed thing
where we can look back over 40 years of pilgrimage, 40 years
of profession, and be able to say the Lord is worthy of our
trust, We've leaned upon Him, we've looked to Him in many trials
and many troubles. He never failed us yet, never
will. With the dear friends at Millward
House, the pilgrim home this morning, one of those dear sisters
in faith, she says, you know, she says, I brought to the Lord
when I was six years of age. I'm 92 now. Double that 40 years, more, she
could remember and look back. She was 11 when the war broke
out, Second World War. Those dear saints, they can speak
of what the Lord has done for them and helped them all their
journey through. And may we be able to do that,
though we might not have walked half the time, that they have
and encourage others. But then in the seventh place,
we have Hezekiah and he made mistakes. In fact, he was lifted
up in pride. We have in verse 25, but Hezekiah
rendered not a gain according to the benefit done unto him.
This followed, his sickness unto death, his prayer unto the Lord
then, and his being healed. And yet Hezekiah was lifted up
in pride. He re-ended not. Can we think
in our life where the Lord has helped us, appeared for us, and
yet we look at how have we rewarded him? How have we given thanks?
How have we given praise? Maybe we'd fallen and we'd turned
to some sin and the sin like of Hezekiah with pride. We have
in verse 31, howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes
of Babylon who sent unto him to inquire of the wonder that
was done in the land, God left him to try him that he might
know all that was in his heart. All that was in his heart. One
thing in his heart was trust. God had put it there. There was
other things there, pride there. And you know, you and I will
have other things in our heart. They don't come from the Lord.
They're sinful things, they're old nature. We're just like Hezekiah. Now the Lord had done a wonder
in the trial of course with Ezekiel, the sickness unto death, he's
the captain, the Lord's host, come at that crucial time, just
a time when, naturally speaking, you'd think he should have health
and strength. But here he is, ill, and yet
he prays and the Lord remembers him and delivers him. It's a
wonderful deliverance. You would think there'd be wonderful
returns of thanksgiving and Humbleness, humbled at the Lord's goodness,
but no, as Ikaiah, he was lifted up in pride. And may that be
encouragement when we know what is in our hearts too. The Lord
reproved him for it. But then we read this. This is
our eighth point, that he repented. He humbled himself. Verse 26,
notwithstanding, Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his
heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath
of the Lord came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah. When the Lord finds us out, when
he reproves us, when he chastens us, Not a blessed thing when
he gives us humility and repentance and godly sorrow. Here is one
that trusted in the Lord. And we get in this chapter that
brings together what is written in Kings, what is written in
Isaiah. We bring just a summary, a snapshot
over his life to give a real picture of this man of God that
trusted. with his blemishes, as well as
with what he was by the grace of God. It may be an encouragement
to you and I, the trust that the Lord has given us is a true
trust. In spite of our failures, our
pride, in spite of the afflictions and troubles and trials that
come, though he slay me, yet will I
trust in him that we hang upon the Lord. What I do thou knowest
not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. The Lord is a God
of judgment. Blessed are all they that wait
for him. He knows best how to manage us
in our lives, how to order our lives. And we know that that
is true in Romans 8, 28. We know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them that are according
to his purpose. So may we be like Hezekiah. May we be those that Trust in
the Lord God of Israel, unknown for that, known for leaning upon
him, and we go on our way trusting in the Lord. Trust in the Lord
with all thine heart, lean not unto thine own understanding. May the Lord add his blessing.
Amen.