of Sennacherib, and his blasphemies against God, which so much astonished Hezekiah, hastened the ruin of that idolatrous king, and induced God to destroy him. When men fly in the face of the Almighty, and insult him with impious speeches, he fails not to set bounds to their insolence. This ought to inspire us with an utter abhorrence of every thing that affronts the Divinity; and particularly of blasphemy, and all other discourses that violate the reverence which is due to the great God whom we adore.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

1. Hezekiah acquaints Isaiah with the blasphemies of Sennacherib, king of Assyria; and the prophet assures him of God's assistance. II. Sennacherib is obliged to leave Judea, because the king of Ethiopia had declared war against him; and sends letters to Hezekiah, full of threatenings and blasphemies against God. III. Hezekiah carries these letters to the temple of the Lord, and implores his assistance. IV. Isaiah assures him from God, that the king of Assyria should not enter Jerusalem, but should return to his own country. V. An angel destroys the army of Sennacherib; who, being returned to his own country, is murdered by his own children.

Reflections.

WE are to observe in this chapter, I. That Hezekiah, extremely alarmed by the threatenings of Sennacherib, had recourse to the intercession of Isaiah ; carried to the temple the insulting letters which that idolatrous king had sent him; and offered up to God a prayer, full of sincere piety, firm confidence, and great zeal for the glory of God. Thus those who fear God have recourse to him, and the prayers of good men, in all their troubles. II. By the assurances Isaiah gave Hezekiah of the divine assistance, we learn, that what chiefly provoked the Lord was the extreme insolence of the king of Assyria, and his blasphemies;

and that God never fails to confound the proud and ungodly. Isaiah's message to Hezekiah expresses very strongly the pride of Sennacherib, and at the same time his weakness, and the power wherewith God would set bounds to his malice, by destroying him, and delivering Jerusalem. Lastly, it appears from this chapter, that Isaiah's promises and the confidence of Hezekiah, were not in vain. Providence thought fit that Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, should declare war against Sennacherib, to oblige him to retire from Hezekiah's dominions; the army of the Assyrians was miraculously defeated by an angel, and Sennacherib himself, at his return from this expedition, was assassinated by his sons in the temple of the idol whom he worshipped. In these events every one may see, that trust in God and prayers are very effectual; that the power of God is infinite; that he is just, and that sooner or later he punishes wicked princes, and in general all those who affront him by their impiety and their pride.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

KING Hezekiah being sick, Isaiah comes to acquaint him that he was to die; but God being moved by the prayers of this prince, promises him fifteen years longer life, and confirms the promise by a miracle. Hezekiah, being recovered, praises God in a song.

Reflections.

I. IT is to be observed that about the time Hezekiah had been attacked by the Assyrians, God visited him with a mortal disease. This was a new trial for that prince whom God loved, and which was to serve to manifest and strengthen his faith and piety. For the same reason God afflicts his children after divers manners, and after he has delivered them from one danger, suffers them sometimes to fall into another. II. The prayer which Hezekiah made to God in his

sickness, beseeching the Lord to remember, that he had walked before him in integrity, shows, that men apply to God with great confidence in time of adversity, and at the approach of death, when they have lived in holiness, and done that which is right in his sight. III. In the sudden healing of Hezekiah, and in the miracle God wrought for his sake, we may observe the power of God, his love to that prince, and the efficacy of the prayers of the righteous. Lastly, Those whom God has delivered from death, or any other danger, ought, in imitation of Hezekiah, who praises God in a song of thanksgiving, to celebrate his loving-kindness, to preserve the remembrance of it, and to employ their life to his glory.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

THE king of Babylon having sent ambassadors to Hezekiah, that prince showed them his treasures: which Isaiah reproved him for, and told him, that those treasures, and even his children should, be carried to Babylon.

Reflections.

THESE are the reflections which the Scripture makes on what is related in this chapter. When the ambassadors of the king of Babylon came to Hezekiah, to inquire after the miracle that had happened, when the shadow of the sun-dial of Ahaz went backward with the sun, God left Hezekiah to himself to try him; but Hezekiah rendered not unto God according to the benefit done unto him, for his heart was lifted up; therefore the wrath of God was kindled against Jerusalem. Upon which Isaiah told him, that his children and his treasures should be carried to Babylon; but Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem humbling themselves, the wrath of God came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah.-We may learn from hence, how easily men forget themselves in

prosperity; and that those who have done their duty in time of affliction, often grow remiss when it is over. This history shows likewise, that worldly advantages are vain and uncertain, and that we should never be puffed up with the possession of them. Lastly, it appears from hence, that God chastises those he loves, when they grow remiss and offend him; but that he is reconciled, as soon as they repent and humble themselves.

CHAPTER XL.

I. THE prophet comforts the people of God, and assures them, God, whose word and promises are always sure, would deliver them. II. He exhorts them to rejoice at that great deliverance. III. He describes the infinite majesty, power, and wisdom of God, and the folly of those that worship idols. Lastly, he declares the happiness of those who worship the true God, and put their trust in him.

Reflections.

THE promises which God makes in this chapter, to comfort and redeem his people, are not to be explained only of the deliverance wrought by the Jews, in freeing them from the king of Assyria, and bringing them again from the Bablylonish captivity; they chiefly relate to the times of the Gospel, and in particular to the coming of John the Baptist, who was sent by God to prepare men to believe in Jesus Christ. This we learn in the beginning of St. John's Gospel, where this prophecy is applied to John the Baptist: The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. To the same times must be referred what Isaiah says of the stability of the word of God, in opposition to men's insignificancy, as St. Peter teaches, when he, applying to the Gospel the words of Isaiah, says All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth;

but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is that word which by the Gospel is preached unto you, 1 Peter i. 25. What the prophet says in the latter part of this chapter is very remarkable; he there speaks of the majesty of God in exalted terms, and the most noble ideas; he represents in a lively manner the stupidity of idolaters, who worship dumb idols, which their own hands have framed; and describes the perfect happiness of those who put their trust in God alone. These discourses of the prophet teach us, that God abhors idolatry, and neither ought nor can be represented by any image; that we ought to adore and fear this great God, before whom all creatures are as nothing; and that all our happiness depends on his favour, and our trust in him."

CHAPTER XLI.

I. THE prophet addresses himself to the isles, that is, to the distant nations, and exhorts them to own the power of God, and the vanity of idols. II. He assures the Israelites of the divine protection; promising to make them triumph over their enemies, and to shower his favours upon them. Lastly, He shows, that the Lord was the only true God; and that the idols were only false divinities, because they could not foretell things to come; and promises that Jerusalem should be restored.

Reflections.

THIS chapter teaches us, I. That the Lord is the true God, who ought alone to be worshipped and adored; that his power is infinite; that he disposes of kings, and of all events; and that those who serve idols are mad. II. We here see the firmness of God's covenant with his ancient people, and his love to them; from whence we may conclude, that as the Christian Church is not less dear to him, he will never forsake it; that whatever condition it be in, it has nothing to fear; and that the enemies of the church, far from compass