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1.
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Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. So
much of the spiritual life of the devout Jew is couched in Exodus
imagery:
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"Was it not thou that didst dry up the sea, the waters of the
great deep: that didst make the depths of the sea a way for the
redeemed to pass over?” (Isa. 51:10, RSV).
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The newly-freed slaves of Egypt were led by the fiery cloud
through the depths of the sea, and no doubt many a prayer ascended to heaven
during that awe-inspiring passage. The depths symbolized death and the grave,
and thus the passage of the Red Sea was a “baptism” (1 Cor. 10:2)
— there the Israelite died to his old way of life and was born again,
being redeemed out of “Egypt”.
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The depths here mentioned are Hezekiah’s sorrows at the
specter of death, for himself and for his people. The impending disaster is
obviously caused by sins (vv. 3,4), perhaps those of Hezekiah but certainly
those of the nation, which in any case were far worse.
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2.
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Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the
voice of my supplications. Hezekiah seems to be appropriating the formal
language of Solomon in his prayer at the dedication of the Temple (1 Kings 8).
The salient features of that prayer were God’s choice of David’s
house and of Jerusalem, the supremacy of Israel’s God over any pretenders,
and the forgiveness and redemption held out to those who repent. Hezekiah is now
“calling in” the promise which has been outstanding for 300
years.
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3.
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If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall
stand? The word “mark” is shamar, to watch (as in
v. 6), to observe, or to keep, as in a record book. God’s eye can discern,
and His mind record, enough even in the best of men upon which to base a
condemnation (Eccl. 7:20; Rom. 3:23; James 3:2). “Stand” is used
here in the sense of “to be justified” or acquitted in a legal
proceeding. If any of us were brought to a court, or judgment seat, and judged
strictly by the commandments, we could not possibly be judged righteous (Psa.
143:2). “Stand” is here the opposite of “fall”, i.e.,
“to be condemned” (Psa. 1:5; 18:38; 20:8; Mal. 3:2; Rom.
14:4).
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4.
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But there is forgiveness (‘the
forgiveness’, referring to that of Isa. 38:17) with thee, that thou
mightest be feared. God is merciful (Exod. 34:7) to those who cry unto Him
in sincere repentance (1 Kings 8:47), with the loving reverence and fear of the
child, not the dread of the slave.
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5,6.
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These verses read like something out of Psalm 119. The
repetition here suggests that this literary device is Hezekiah’s own. Then
should it not be inferred that the same evident characteristic in all the
preceding Songs of Degrees stamps them also as his personal
compositions?
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5.
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I will wait for the Lord (Psa. 27:4; 33:20; 40:1),
my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope (131:3). This might be
paraphrased: ‘I have been waiting, and I still wait.’ As the
faithful dog waits for his master, so does the true servant for his lord, even
long past the limits of reasonableness.
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The word “wait” is qavah, from a
root signifying to bind together or entwine. Hope is a cord which binds in unity
our hearts with God’s. Our waiting is one of outward and inward qualities:
‘I wait’ as a public profession, for all to see; and ‘my soul
(my inner being) waits’ in true sincerity which only God may
see.
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The “word” in which Hezekiah hopes is specifically
the divine message brought by Isaiah to his death-bed:
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“Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of
David thy father, I have heard thy prayer. I have seen thy tears: behold, I will
add unto thy days fifteen years. And I will deliver thee and this city out of
the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city” (Isa.
38:5,6).
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6.
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My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for
the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. Another
example of the fine parallelism and step-by-step progressions that characterize
the Songs of Degrees. ‘I have waited for Yahweh,’ says Hezekiah,
‘longer and more faithfully than the best of the watchmen on the city
walls have waited for the morning’ (cp. Isa. 21:5,6,8,11). The king is
alluding to the state of siege in which God’s holy city found herself. All
of Isa. 62, but especially vv. 6 and 7, is an obvious link with this verse. The
watchmen upon the walls of Jerusalem cry continually, and the most faithful of
all them is the watchman-king confined to his bed of sickness. Their cries are
heard and the city is delivered. No more will it be termed Forsaken or Desolate;
God has renewed His covenant of marriage with Jerusalem His bride. His delight
is in her (“Hephzibah”) and she shall be married
(“Beulah”). The subsequent royal marriage (or renewal of vows?) of
Hezekiah and Hephzibah (2 Kings 21:1) was a pattern of God’s love and
final marriage to Israel (Psalms Studies, Psa. 45).
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These themes — the watchman, the gates, and the glory of
God in manifestation for His people’s salvation — have been taken
from Psalm 24, a song of David commemorating the bringing of the ark to a
conquered Zion. Again, we see that Isaiah and Hezekiah have looked back to the
glories of a previous age in their celebration of Zion’s glad morning. God
will not forsake His city and the city of David the great king (122:5-7;
125:1,2; 128:5; Matt. 5:35). The weeping of the night of the Assyrian, when the
watchers strained their eyes for a sight of the enemy, has given way to the joy
of a new morning for Israel — her attackers having now been
destroyed.
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7,8.
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Let Israel hope in the Lord (v. 5): for with the
Lord there is mercy (forgiveness and fulfillment of the covenant
promises!), and with him is plenteous redemption, and he shall redeem Israel
from all his iniquities. Hezekiah’s implicit trust in Yahweh is the
first thing Scripture records of him:
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“He trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him
was none like him among the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him”
(2 Kings 18:5).
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This trust was the basis of Sennacherib’s taunting (2
Kings 18:28,31); and it is mentioned again and again (Isa. 36:18; 37:10). It is
the cause of all that God accomplished through this wise and righteous man. The
formula may be simple, but it still works:
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“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not
unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall
direct thy paths” (Prov. 3:5,6).
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1.
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Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord. It is
in keeping with Scriptural precedent, and also especially prophetic of the
Messiah’s mission, that even a righteous leader cannot, and will not,
disavow the sins of his community (Exod. 32:32; 2 Sam. 24:17; Dan. 9:5-15; Ezra
9:6). The effects of our sins have attached themselves to Jesus, the antitypical
Hezekiah; he has sunk in the depths (Psa. 40:2; 69:2,14; Lam. 3:53-55). He has
borne our iniquities and by his prayers and actions made intercession for us,
the transgressors (Isa. 53:11,12). The redemption Jesus has brought, even the
righteous Hezekiah could not accomplish.
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4.
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That thou mightest be feared — a worthy
consequence of the assurance of forgiveness in Christ.
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6.
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They that watch for the morning looks forward to the
morning of the Resurrection, the guarantee of the completeness of God’s
redemption in Christ (cp. Mal. 4:2; 2 Sam. 23:4). Therefore...
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7.
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Let (the New) Israel hope in the Lord.
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Mercy and redemption come in very powerfully
here.
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8.
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And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. A
comprehensive salvation to be manifested ultimately in the blessings of the
Kingdom (cp. Mic. 7:18,19). With God there is plenteous redemption (v. 7)
— it is more than enough for any possible difficulty. The Lord’s arm
is never shortened that it cannot save those who come unto Him.
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