Alright brethren, Isaiah chapter
39. Isaiah 39. We're remembering our Savior at His
table this morning. When we observe the Lord's table,
I like to preach from passages that show us exactly what Christ
did for us. But every passage in Scripture
does that. Every passage does that. And
this passage here is no exception. And I wanted to get to this third
trial of Hezekiah. And so, I think we'll see how this passage
will help us remember our Savior. This passage shows us that every
believer, every believer, every sanctified child of God, Hezekiah,
the Lord said there was none like him of all the kings of
Judah before and none like him after. Faithful, faithful, faithful
man by God's grace. But though God's child is given
faith and believes the gospel, We're sinners still. We're sinners
still. We have sin nature still. And
we're constantly being saved by God for the sake of the Lord
Jesus, our righteousness. constantly being shown mercy
and saved by the Lord. And He will keep His people. We will fall. God's sheep will
stray. Christ our shepherd will uphold
us. He will return us and He will
keep us looking to Christ. And that's what we see here with
Hezekiah. Now the Lord had sent two trials
to Hezekiah already. We've seen the trial with the
Assyrian, and then the trial of sickness unto death. Well,
the Lord delivered him from those. The Lord delivered him from those
two trials. And Hezekiah declared what God
did for him. when He delivered him from that
trial of sickness. He said there, look back at Isaiah
38, look at verse 15. We saw this last time. He said,
What shall I say? He hath bespoken unto me, and
himself hath done it. I shall go softly all my years
in the bitterness of my soul." I'll remember this bitterness
of my soul, my sin, my attachment to this world, and I'll go through
my life remembering Christ is my life and not the things of
this world. He rejoiced anew. all over again
that God in Christ Jesus had put away all His sin and delivered
Him from the pit of corruption from Himself. He said in verse
17, Isaiah 38, 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.
And Hezekiah gave all the glory to God, and said that he resolved
that he would give all the praise to God from that day forward
in the house of the Lord. He said in verse 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. Now hold your place here and
well let me just tell you, we'll turn over here to 2 Chronicles
32 in just a moment. But let me just tell you what
happened, save us a little time. Whenever he delivered Hezekiah
from this sickness and he delivered them from the hand of the Syrians,
many nations all around heard about this and they brought gifts
unto the Lord, to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king
of Judah, so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations.
That's what the scripture said. It says, Hezekiah had exceeding
much riches and honor and he made himself treasuries for silver
and for gold and for precious stones and for spices and for
shields and for all manner of pleasant jewels. He made storehouses
also for the increase of corn and wine and oil and stalls for
all manner of beasts and coats for his flocks. They had all
kind of animals. Moreover, he provided cities.
He built more cities. And it says, possessions of flocks
and herds in abundance. For God had given him substance
very much. This was all after the trial
with Assyria and the sickness. God blessed him. All these people
brought all these gifts and he had all these storehouses full
of every kind of treasure. Now remember, when the Lord told
Hezekiah that He would recover him from his sickness and that
he would live 15 more years, Hezekiah asked a sign and the
Lord gave him a sign. The Lord made the sun go back
10 degrees. Made the sun go back 10 degrees.
Well, Babylon worshipped the sun. They worshiped the sun and
the sky. They were idolaters. And they
saw that. And that got their attention.
And they saw that wonder. And they wanted to know about
it. They heard about God, Hezekiah's God delivering him from the Assyrians.
And they heard about him recovering him from this sickness. And Babylon
wants to have an alliance with Judah, with Hezekiah. And so
he sent princes there. This was a political move by
the king of Babylon. Now Isaiah 39 tells us there
in verse 1, At that time, Merodot Baladon, the son of Baladon,
king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for
he had heard that he had been sick and was recovered. And Hezekiah
was glad of them, and showed them the house of his precious
things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious
ointment, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found
in his treasures. There was nothing in his house,
nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them not. Now
go with me over to 2 Chronicles 32. When the Babylonian king
sent his princes there to Hezekiah, they were walking around the
place and he was showing them all his treasures. And they said,
we heard that you defeated the Assyrians. We heard you defeated
the Assyrians. Assyrians were a massive nation
at this time. We heard you defeated the Assyrians.
Hezekiah said, oh yes, yes, I did that. I did that. And they said,
we saw the sun go back 10 degrees. Hezekiah said, oh yes, yes, I
asked for that sign. That was done for me. That was
done for me. When they marveled at all Hezekiah's
treasures, Hezekiah said, Oh yes, all these treasures I've
gotten. These are all mine. They're all
mine. 2 Chronicles 32. But Hezekiah rendered not again
according to the benefit done unto him, for his heart was lifted
up. Therefore there was wrath upon
him and upon Judah and Jerusalem. Hezekiah rendered not again the
glory that belonged to God for doing it all and giving it all
to Hezekiah. He rendered not again the glory
to God. The reason it says is for his
heart was lifted up. His heart was lifted up. Why
was Hezekiah's heart lifted up? Look down at verse 31, 2 Chronicles
32, 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. God left him to try him that
he might know all that was in his heart. God left him. God knew what was in Hezekiah's
heart. He left him so that Hezekiah
would know all that was in his heart. And Hezekiah found out that all
that was in his sinful heart of flesh was pride. Pride. Now, hold your place there
in 2 Chronicles 32. We may come back. Let's go back
now to Isaiah 39 verse 3. Then came Isaiah the prophet
unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men?
And from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They
come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon. Hezekiah
was flattered. He was flattered. This filled
him with pride that these men came all the way from Babylon,
the princes of Babylon, the kings and ambassadors to him. Verse
4, then said he, Isaiah said, What have they seen in thine
house? And Hezekiah answered, all that's in mine house have
they seen. There's nothing among my treasures
that I've not showed them. None of Hezekiah's treasures
were Hezekiah's treasures. They were all God's. God gave
them all to Hezekiah. Everything he had, God gave it
to him. And Hezekiah did not show these
men the greatest treasure he possessed. He didn't tell these
men about his God. He didn't tell these men about
God who put all his sin away and cast all his sin behind his
back. He didn't tell them about God.
Verse 5, Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the
Lord of hosts. Behold, the day is come that
all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid
up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing
shall be left, saith the Lord. And of thy sons thou shalt issue
from thee, sons that he hadn't even had yet, which thou shalt
beget, shall they take away, and they shall be eunuchs in
the palace of the king of Babylon." Hezekiah only lived 15 more years,
so these boys, if he'd have had them that year, they'd at most
be 14 years old. They were carried away to Babylon
and made eunuchs in the palace of the king. Then said Hezekiah
to Isaiah, good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken.
He said, moreover, for there shall be peace and truth in my
days." Hezekiah is not saying, well, that's good, just as long
as I have peace and good in my days, and that's good whatever
you do after. That's not what he's saying.
That's not what he's saying. He's saying, good is the word
of the Lord. He's saying, though this is heart-wrenching, and
it was to Hezekiah. It's heartbreaking to hear this.
To hear what was going to happen. God's chasing him. But he said,
it's a good word because God's remembered mercy. He's remembered
mercy. He's going to take it all from
me. Even take my sons from me. But God has withheld from me
what I deserve. That's what He's saying. He's
withheld from me what I deserve. I deserve judgment. And He's
given me what I do not deserve. He's given me peace and truth
in my days. Now, I want to show you four
things from this, or three things from this. Three things from
this. First of all, Remember this, child of God, any good
work done by us, any good work done by us is done by God working
in us. It's not of us, it's by God working
in us. Remember that. Hezekiah's father
was Ahaz. He was the most evil king Judah
had. He was an evil man. And yet God
chose Hezekiah before the foundation of the world. He was an elect
child of God. God chose him freely by His grace.
God sent the Gospel to Hezekiah, regenerated him, gave him faith,
made him know and believe Christ, His surety who was coming. He
taught him the Gospel. And God did all of this by grace
alone. by grace alone. Concerning the
defeat of the Assyrians, concerning him being recovered from his
sickness and concerning his walk and everything he did all his
days. This is what God said in 2 Chronicles
32, 21. It says, The Lord sent an angel
which cut off all the mighty men of valor and the leaders
and captains of the camp of the king of Assyria. The Lord did
it. And it says, Thus the Lord saved
Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of
Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all, and
the Lord guided them on every side. That's what the Lord did
for them concerning all Hezekiah's good works. And he did a lot
of good works concerning all the riches he possessed. We just
read they're called the benefit done unto him. The benefit God
did unto him. That's what they're all called.
God had given him substance very much. That's what we just read.
And like Hezekiah, Every sinner, every sinner that God saves has
nothing in which to boast of. We have nothing in which to boast.
If we believe on Christ and we do works of faith, we have nothing
in which to be proud of. It's all the work of God by His
grace in us, brethren. all the work of God. We're God's
children by God's grace. Always remember that. Always
remember that. Remember God's purpose in election. Romans 9, Verse 11 said, concerning
Jacob and Esau, the children being not yet born, that the
purpose of God, they had done any good or evil, that the purpose
of God according to election might stand, not of works, but
of God that calleth. When Moses asked God to show
him his glory, when God put him in the cleft of the rock, Where
are you going to see God's glory? You're going to see it in Christ.
That's what the cleft of the rock typified. Put Him in the
cleft of the rock, and when God passed by, He declared His glory.
And this is what He said to Moses. He said, I'll have mercy on whom
I will have mercy. I will have compassion on whom
I will have compassion. And so Paul said, so then, it's
not of Him that willeth. Salvation is not of my will and
your will. We can't boast in our will. It's
not of Him that runneth. That means salvation is not by
our works. It's of God that shows mercy. Anything you have, any work of
faith you perform, it is all entirely by God's grace. We have no reason to be proud. and no reason to boast. We're
God's children by grace. We're given the gift of faith
by grace. And every good work of faith
that His children do are all performed by God working it in
us by God's grace. Listen to Ephesians chapter 2
and verse 8. For by grace are you saved through
faith. and that not of yourselves. It
is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should
boast. For we are His workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. When you do good works, works
of faith, the only reason you do it, faith is the first good
work you're going to do. You're going to believe on Christ.
That's a good thing. And everything good that God's child does, the
only reason we do it is because God ordained it before the foundation
of the world. God worked it in you by grace
and brought it to pass. We don't have one thing to glory
in. Nothing. Always remember that. Now secondly, remember this. Though we're born again of God,
and though He makes us faithful by His grace, pride and sin is all that we
are in our flesh. That's all we are. God said of
Hezekiah, 2 Kings 18.5. I want you to look at this. 2
Kings 18.5. This is what God said of Hezekiah. 2 Kings 18.5. This is talking about when he
was restoring the true worship to Israel and restoring the true
worship in Judah according to the law given at Sinai. to worship at Jerusalem, to worship
through the high priest, and through the lamb, and in a temple
God provided, all the things God commanded according to the
law. And it says this of Hezekiah, 2 Kings 18.5, He 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. For he claimed
to the Lord, and departed not from following him, but kept
his commandments which the Lord commanded Moses." That is, he
worshipped according to the ceremonies God gave to Moses. And it says, and the Lord was
with him. and he prospered whether so ever
he went. That was true of Hezekiah. Look at 2nd Chronicles and look
back there at chapter 32 and look at this. After listing all the works Hezekiah
did, after listing all the works that he did, all the riches that
he wisely stored up, and the cities he built. God declares
that Hezekiah even worked an engineering marvel. This was
an engineering marvel in that day. It says there in verse 30,
this same Hezekiah also stopped the upper water course of Gihon
and brought it straight down to the west side of the city
of David. He made a conduit. This was an
engineering marvel. It says, and Hezekiah prospered
in all his works. And then we read, verse 31, how
be it? In the business of the ambassadors
of the princes of Babylon that came to inquire about the wonder
done in the land, God left him to try him that he might know
all that was in his heart. Though Hezekiah had a new heart
given to him by God, created by God, and he believed God,
and though God worked all these wonderful works in him that he
did, Hezekiah still had a sin nature. And in that sin nature,
in that sinful heart, was nothing but pride. Nothing but pride. And throughout scripture, we
find God teach His saints this painful lesson over and over
and over. Just what He taught Hezekiah.
This was a mercy to Hezekiah. For God to leave him, to try
him, so that Hezekiah would know what he is in his flesh. This
was the mercy of God to him. And we see God teach this painful
lesson to his children over and over in Scripture. I want you
to think of this now. Adam was created upright. Adam was in a perfect world where
no sin existed. You and me have a sin nature.
Adam was created upright. He had no sin nature. You and
me are in a world of sin. Adam was in a perfect world where
there was no sin. And God left him. And Adam transgressed
and plunged his whole world into sin and death. You think you're
going to be able to do better than what Adam did? Do I think
I'm going to be able to do better than what Adam did when here's
a man that didn't have a sin nature? You see how dependent
we are on God to put His hand on us and keep us all the time? All the time? Think about righteous
lot. He was righteous. God had made
him righteous in Christ Jesus his surety. He chose Lot in Christ
before the world was made. Christ entered covenant to lay
down his life for Lot. Christ had made Lot righteous
by being his surety. And God had given Lot a faithful
relative, Abraham. to preach the gospel to him,
to preach the gospel to him. But God left him to show him
what was in his heart. And rather than put aside the
division, rather than continue with Abraham under the gospel,
Lot chose to lead his family to the fertile plain of Sodom,
just because it was a fertile plain. just because it was a
fertile plain. Think about David, the man after
God's own heart. All the faithful things that
David did, all the triumphs David had by God's grace working in
him, and then one day God left him to show him what he was. took the wife of his best friend
and committed adultery with her. And to cover it up, he murdered
his best friend. These are God's saints. These
are regenerated, sanctified, holy, righteous children of God
we're talking about. We could go on and on. We could
talk about Noah. We could talk about Moses smiting
the rock twice in a fit of anger. We could talk about Peter denying
the Lord three times. You see it over and over. And
all it is, is if God takes His hand off you just for a moment,
there is no evil that you and me will not perform. Absolutely
none. God's created in you, child of
God, a new heart in the righteousness and holiness of Christ. And in
that new heart, by God's grace, you believe on Christ. You see
He's your only righteousness. And God's given you a heart to
believe Him. And by God's grace, you believe Him. And you want,
in that new man, you want to serve Christ perfectly. That's what every one of God's
children want to do. But you can't. Because of your
sin nature, you can't. You have a sin nature in you
that is only sin and only wants to sin. That's all your sin nature
wants to do. That's all mine wants to do.
But you can't. Because the Spirit of God will
not let you do what you would. The Spirit of God won't let you
sin to the degree you would if He just left you. But if He ever
does take His hand off, if He ever does take His hand off,
there's no evil, no wickedness that a child of God will not
perform. Not one. Not one. You may have put down some sin.
You may have been able to put off the old man with his sin
and put down some sin in you. But don't ever forget, don't
ever forget it was God that did it in you. He did it. It was a benefit rendered unto
you. Due to this nature of sin, this
sinful heart we've got, if God took his hand off, there's no
evil we will not do. Remember that when you sin, and
remember that when your brethren fall. Now, remember it when your brethren
fall. Now here's the last thing. God
may leave us for a season to show us, to try us and show us
what's in our sinful heart. He may do that. And our sins will cost us. They certainly will. We're going
to see that right here. But God will never leave His
child forever. It says he left him, but he didn't
leave him forever. Why? Because he left his son,
he forsook his son on the cross in what amounted to an eternity
of hell, of justice and judgment. in our room instead. That's why. He may take his hand off to show
you and teach you what you still are in your flesh, but he won't
forsake you. He will not forsake you. Hezekiah, when the Lord took
his hand off Hezekiah, he sinned. This was all of Hezekiah. This
was pride. God hates pride. It's the first
thing listed in the deadly sins that God hates. He hates pride. It's directly diametrically opposed
to God. You just think about it now.
This is the man who just said, All that He had learned in that
trial of sickness, how God delivered Him out of the pit of corruption,
how God had cast His sins behind His back, how that God had, by
these things You make me live, Lord, You've shown me what I
am. You've shown me. You've saved me. Made the sun
go back ten degrees. Gave fifteen more years to my
life. Who just said, we'll praise You
on stringed instruments the rest of our days in the house of the
Lord. And he walked those ambassadors
around his place and he showed them all his treasures. He didn't
leave anything out. He showed them everything he
had and never once mentioned God. How many times have we done
that? How many times do you ever get
something new and show people some new thing you got and all
the bells and whistles it's got? and never once say, God gave
this to me. That was enough pride. That was
enough sin to send Ezekiah to hell forever. And me and you
too. Me and you too. We think of sin
as the big things. We think of sin as the terrible
acts, and they are sin. But brethren, We miss it when
we miss the fact that there's a whole lot of things that we
don't even notice as sin. A whole lot of things. Well,
Hezekiah sinned, and being a faithful father, God's going to always
chasten his children for our sins. And I said to you last
time, there's some vain things to forget about God's chastening.
It doesn't always mean somebody's being unfaithful when God chastens
them. When God sent that trial of the
Assyrians, Hezekiah was restoring true worship to Judah. When He
sent him that sickness, Hezekiah had been praying to God and begging
God to save him. But there are times when God
chastens us and it is because we have sinned. If you endure
chastening, examine yourself. The scripture says if we would
judge ourselves, we will not be judged by the Lord. Judge
yourself. But this is going to cost Hezekiah. Our sins always cost us. He's
going to He's going to deliver Judah and all those treasures
into Babylonian captivity. That's what God said He would
do. Don't you know that broke Hezekiah's heart? Hezekiah spent
his whole life working and serving the Lord, doing what
he did for God's glory through faith. By God's grace, that's
what he did. That's why they had all that
they had. And God told him, I'm going to
deliver it all into Babylonian captivity. And He told him also,
you're going to beget some sons. But those sons are going to be
carried away and they're going to be made eunuchs in Babylon. That was to Jason, Hezekiah. That hurt him. That broke his
heart. That hurt him. Sin's always costly. It's always
costly. Don't play with sin. Take it from somebody that has
sinned and has experienced God's chastening hand. You can ask
any believer, and it's been around a while, and he'll tell you,
sin's costly. This is what John said in 1 John
2.1, My little children, these things write unto you that you
sin not. But here's the good news. Though
God left Hezekiah for a season, God will never forsake His child
because He forsook His Son on the cross in a room instead of
all His elect. Our Lord Jesus Christ hung there
on Calvary's cross with all the sin of all God's people upon
Him. He was bearing this sin of Hezekiah. on the cross, along with David's
sin, and Lot's sin, and Noah's sin, and Moses' sin, and all
the sins of all his people, and yours and mine who are his people. And he cried out in that darkness,
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And he said, It's
because you are holy. It's because God will by no means
clear the guilty and He was bearing the sin of His people. It was
because God must manifest His righteousness and justify His
people and uphold His law and be the one to save His people
and get all the glory. And that's what Christ was doing.
And because He forsook him on that cross, brethren, this is
what God promises you. Go to Isaiah 54. Isaiah 54. This is what God promises His
child. Isaiah 54 and verse 4. Fear not. When you've sinned, when you've
fallen, the Lord sends the gospel, and this is what He's going to
say to His child. Fear not, for thou shalt not
be ashamed. Neither be confounded, for thou
shalt not be put to shame. Verse 5, For thy maker is thine
husband, the Lord of hosts is his name, and thy Redeemer, the
Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth, shall he be
called. Verse 7, For a small moment have I forsaken thee,
but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid
my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness
will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For this
is as the waters of Noah unto me, for as I have sworn that
the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have
I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For
the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my
kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant
of my peace be removed, saith the Lord. that hath mercy on
thee." What did John say after he said, my little children,
these things are right that you sin not? He said, and when any
man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous, and He is the propitiation, the mercy, the
mercy seat for our sin. When God makes us behold Christ
in the face of our sins, go back there to Isaiah 39, This is what
we say with Hezekiah. When he makes you behold your
sins and makes you see God chastens you, He shows you it's going
to cost you, He shows you that it will be costly, sometimes
to the third and fourth generation. But He shows you for Christ's
sake, He will not forsake you. Then said Hezekiah, verse 8,
to Isaiah, good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken.
He said, moreover, there shall be peace and truth in my days. Hezekiah was humbled by this
fresh sight of Christ. We know that because 2 Chronicles
32.26 says, 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. You see, this trial wasn't only
for Hezekiah, it was for the children of Judah too, of Jerusalem. The trial's never just for one
of God's people, it's for all the family of God. It wasn't
just Hezekiah that was proud and needed a little, it was all
the children in Jerusalem. Hezekiah declared, good is the
word of the Lord, he's chasing me far less than I deserve, and
he's giving me far more than I deserve. That's what he's saying.
For there should be peace and truth in my days, because in
Christ peace and truth are met together. Righteousness and mercy
have kissed in harmony." And so he's saying, the word of the
Lord is good for God's just, and he'll give me mercy because
he's just. And it's due because of Christ. He'll give me mercy. Brethren,
sin not. Don't get puffed up thinking
that because you've worked some good works that that's of you,
that's of God. And anything you have, anything
that we've got, we don't have anything we didn't receive. Don't
glory as if we received it. Don't play around with sin. But
when you sin, as a child of God. God takes His hands off and lets
you see what you are. Rejoice in this. When He comes
and He chastens you and you're on your face crying and mourning
as I'm sure Hezekiah was right here, remember this, the reason
He will not forsake us is because He forsook His Son on Calvary's
cross. and we've been made perfect in
Him. Look at the next word in Isaiah
40. Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people,
saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem,
and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity
is pardoned. She's received of the Lord's hand double for all
her sin. Let's remember the Lord at His
table. Adam, I'm going to get you to
pass the elements out. I'll help you. Lord Jesus, we thank you for
your mercy. We thank you Lord for the message
of love and grace. We thank you Lord that Lord, we thank You that we have hope in You, Lord, that
You'll not forsake us. You won't leave us to our sin, Lord. Make us humble, humble before
you Lord.