|
The Life of my Spirit
The Life of my Spirit
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 to live.
Hear now, the desperate prayer of a man sentenced to die. For the prophet Isaiah had delivered the word of the Lord to Hezekiah:
Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
This king of Judah had purged all of the idols of his father Ahaz. He had stayed his post in Jerusalem against the mighty king of Assyria. When Rabshakeh and Sennacherib laid siege to the holy city; sending threatening letters and mocking the Lord, Hezekiah stood firm and believed on the Lord. He pleads in his wrenching prayer:
I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight.
Hezekiah was a righteous man, a great man, and a great king. It is later written of this noble man:
He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings in Judah, nor any that were before him.
He had crushed Nehushtan, and Isaiah the prophet was his counselor. He smote the Philistines from the Tower of the Watchman to the fenced city. And now, at just 39 years of age, this godly man is condemned to die.
For all of the benefit and inspiration that Hezekiah’s life has given today’s saint, it is perhaps his prayer at the very door of death that ranks greatest. For therein he gives summary to what things men live by, and in what things is the life of man’s spirit.
He first cites the abrupt cutting off of his days, being deprived of the residue of his years. Surely all men live life in hopes of reaching old age. They toil all of their lives to finally declare that brief rest. They envision it, they plan for it, they strive long and hard to get there, never really expecting not to make it. So Hezekiah’s first plaint is being:
Deprived of the residue of my years.
You’re cutting off my rest and my retirement, Lord. My time for grandchildren, and the comfort of your blessings.
Mine age is departed, and is removed from me like a shepherd’s tent.
So then Hezekiah’s prayer reveals his utter shock at the abrupt ending to his life.
He next laments the two things that his sudden departure will deprive him of. Not a retirement cabin or riches or fame and honor. No Lord, by shortening my life, I am deprived of seeing:
The Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.
Verily, to see the Lord in the land of the living is an exquisite daily joy. For the land of the living encompasses every living thing; from the lowly nematode to the giant redwood. The magnificent animal kingdom, the incredible plant and food system, the insect world, the weather, the fish and fowl, the cosmos above us. It is an endless parade of glory, wisdom, and fearful power. You see, for Hezekiah, there was no television or radio, no internet or cell phone or even electricity. Those were not the things of his prayer:
O Lord, by these things men live…
The things of Hezekiah’s prayer are this glorious creation that surrounds us. Happy is that man who makes them his daily meditation…his rising up, and his going down.
These endless physical wonders around us are as rare as hen’s teeth when we but remember that spirits, angels, and God all live in an invisible world as large as eternity. But only here has He breached that unseen world, to show us in physical, tangible ways his greatness. The land of the living is immersed in a frozen, dead, lifeless space. We are the pearl of great price. Hezekiah has spent countless joyful hours observing and contemplating the Lord in the land of the living. These were his meditations, and where the life of his spirit dwelt.
But equally painful to the son of Abi, he prays, is to no more see man with the inhabitants of the world. Indeed there is no plant, insect, animal or galaxy so complex and beautiful as the inter-acting of societies. People reacting to people: love, hate, war and peace, friendship and commerce. People reacting to their environment, overcoming great obstacles, challenges, and tragedy.
Hezekiah mourns these two great losses: seeing the Lord in the land of the living, and seeing man with the inhabitants of the world. It is, to Hezekiah, these things that men live by:
And in all these things is the life of my spirit.
Surrounded by sunrise and sunset, storm and calm, the lion and the lamb. Although society has become evil and cluttered, yet is there joy in seeing man among the inhabitants of the world. Good men, solid families, strong and lasting friendships; these have all survived the times, and still flourish today. They are such great joy to behold, even as in the days of the great king, and are but a trace of what is to come.
|
Linear Mode
