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[0:00] As the Lord helps me this morning hour, I would like to direct your attention to some thoughts found in Isaiah 38, and I will announce as my text the last clause which is found in the 14th verse.

[0:20] Isaiah 38, and the last clause of 14. O Lord, I am oppressed. O Lord, I am oppressed.

[0:35] Undertake for me. I could sometimes well imagine those who know nothing of grace and nothing of the true seeking of God's mercies who look upon such expressions as this, and as well as many of the Psalms and think what a melancholy way it is for a child of God.

[0:57] And truly it all comes to this one all-important thing, friends, that the natural man cannot understand. But yet when we think of the fact that the natural man cannot understand these things, there is also another verse which is accompanied with that same verse, and it says, But the spiritual man discerneth all things.

[1:23] They find these very expressions, like in the words of our text and the Psalms which we had read, and also the experience of Hezekiah in chapter 38, as if there is something there to which touches a cord in their own heart and to their own soul.

[1:40] Truly we see also into this chapter where Hezekiah was brought to confess that he says, O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit.

[1:59] In other words, the trial and the temptation and the sorrows of which Hezekiah passed through. Though it was very grievous to the flesh, though he experienced much darkness, trial under it, yet he found it was then his soul lived.

[2:15] And we notice also into this chapter that what Hezekiah had passed through, he came to that greatest experience, which I am certainly convinced in my own mind is the experience of all of those who desire for our salvation, and that is that their sins are forgiven.

[2:39] I cannot but believe if there is something in your own conscience, friend, maybe you cut yourself off. Maybe you feel there is no work of grace. Maybe you're cast down and wondering if the Lord is ever going to have mercy or grace upon you.

[2:56] And yet in your own mind, if there is something within you that says, Oh, I wondered if my sins could ever be forgiven. Or if my sins are forgiven. Or if the Lord would forgive my sin.

[3:08] I can assure you if that has become any concern or want in your own soul, the day is going to come when you shall know it. Now as we look upon Hezekiah, friends, we find here something of the Lord's working in this man's soul.

[3:26] It is good possibly, friends, just to review of the little things, few things which took place in Hezekiah's life. You remember his father was King Ahaz.

[3:37] And he was a wicked man. When he went to battle against the Assyrians and lost the battle, he became envious of the Assyrians' God.

[3:50] And he sent his prophets and he sent his priests over there to the land of Assyria and had to them make a description of the altar of which there was there in Assyria. And he had that description brought back and he had them build it and put it into the court of God's house.

[4:06] He was a wicked man. And when the Lord promised him some deliverance, the Lord says, ask a sign. And he says, I won't tempt the Lord. I won't ask any sign. He never wanted a sign.

[4:18] He never wanted a token to his own soul. And he died in his sin. And yet from his issue, from him came forth this blessed man Hezekiah.

[4:32] Hezekiah was then finally brought to the throne, if I remember the dates correctly, about 25 years of age. And he did that which was right and good in the sight of the Lord.

[4:44] And he sought the Lord with all of his heart. And he sought to reform the children of Judah. He cleansed the temple and opened its doors. He commanded the children of Israel to put away all of their idolatry and all the sacrifices of which they were offering upon the high hills and other places.

[5:00] And said in Jerusalem, and Jerusalem only upon the one altar, which God hath ordained, must we offer sacrifices to our God. And he called for a feast. He called for the Passover.

[5:12] Passover. And if I remember correctly, friends, that there was no Passover ever conducted and held like in the days of Hezekiah, where the people came with joy. They came with delight.

[5:24] In other words, I would believe under Hezekiah, as well as under David, there was a time of reviving. And Hezekiah rejoiced to see God's hand amongst them. Hezekiah could say all in truth and in sincerity, like we see here, that he did that which was right in the sight of God and seek to follow the Lord with all his heart and all his soul.

[5:47] Then in the midst of this reviving and in the midst of all of these great visitations of God, then there was the king of Assyria who came with his army and besieged Jerusalem. For some time it looked as if he was going to starve it out.

[6:03] But thank God there was that river. And you remember Hezekiah stopped up the spring of Gihon and brought it up through a tunnel and brought it up into the Jerusalem. So the enemy outside couldn't see the spring of Gihon.

[6:17] But there was that river which flowed into Jerusalem, which kept the children of Judah alive in Jerusalem. And the enemy couldn't understand it.

[6:29] Why don't they thirst out? Why don't they starve out? Why don't they thirst out? Why don't they thirst out? Why don't they thirst out? But there was that river, which we read, I believe it is in Psalm 48. And Hezekiah, at least one of the men of his days, formed that psalm around that river.

[6:45] That river was a type and a figure, as I believe Hezekiah seen it, of the ever goodness of God, the grace of God, the mercies of God, which make glad the city of God.

[6:56] Then in the midst of all this harassment and all that terrible messages which came from the king of Assyria, Rabshack, and all the profane things which they said against Hezekiah and against his God, and how they sought to weaken the hands of the children of Judah, there in the midst of all this great sorrow and the great exercise, then we find that Hezekiah also took sick himself.

[7:29] It appears as if it was some type of a boil, inflammation there upon his body someplace. It broke out. And without a doubt, extreme fever came upon him and he was sick unto death.

[7:42] And then to add to his trial and to add to his temptation, to add to his grief and to add, as we see in the words of our text, his great depression which he's already under.

[7:54] The Lord says to Hezekiah, to the prophet Isaiah, go to Hezekiah and tell him to set the house in order for he shall surely die and not live.

[8:06] This is to test Hezekiah even further. Now, friends, what added to the trial of Hezekiah? The enemy surrounding Jerusalem with all of their profanity and profaned things against Hezekiah and his God.

[8:20] And then to find that he's also brought, as it were, to the point of death and to tell that he must die. Remember, Hezekiah had no children.

[8:33] And without a doubt, I think the greatest grief to Hezekiah was this, that he was to be in the line of that promised Messiah. And if he was taken, what was to come of that line?

[8:47] Had the Lord looked upon all the past sins of Judah? Upon all the sins which were brought under his father Ahaz and some other kings? Has now the Lord, as it were, come to the end of all of his promise and now is going to clean cut it off and not bring the Messiah?

[9:05] Not that I believe Hezekiah wanted that line of the Messiah to come through him. That wasn't the point. But there was the promise that David would not fail to have a son to sit upon his throne.

[9:18] And David, by grace and by faith, looked to the time when Christ would be exalted upon the throne of Judah or upon the throne of the Israel of God. That is the... Now is the Lord going to cut it off?

[9:31] Is the Lord refusing, as it were, to send a Savior? And then on top of it, I may believe, his sins begin to mount up before him. Oh, he looked to the front coming of the Messiah.

[9:44] He looked to the time when that Savior would come to be saved from sin. And now his sins stared him in the face. What about the pardon? What about his forgiveness? And all these things testified against his own conscience.

[9:58] Oh, friend, it is a mercy when we have are brought into such a place and we know what it is like Hezekiah to turn our face to the wall and he wept sore. Oh, it is a sense of our sin.

[10:11] Sometimes these trials and the temptations of which the Lord brings us into, because if our trials and temptations do not come to bless to the soul, they are nothing. The world has its troubles.

[10:21] They have its sorrows. But it is, what do they do? It may be sickness. It may be disappointment in your home. It may be grief and sorrow. But it's going to be your sins which must testify against you in the midst of all of this.

[10:34] And we read that Hezekiah turned his face to the wall. Now the fact will come if you know something of this, friend, you're going to turn your face from this world and all of its allurement and you're going to find that you're alone.

[10:50] You'll stare as a word upon the blank wall with a sense of your own sins and your own shortcoming and Hezekiah wept sore, we read there. I know Hezekiah says, remember now, O Lord, I beseech you, I have walked before thee in truth.

[11:04] Some look upon this as Hezekiah seeking to look upon this as a meritorious way. I don't look at it that way. I feel Hezekiah was in truth and in sincerity. Says, Lord, thou knowest how I have sought thee.

[11:19] Thou knowest how I have sought to do that which is right. How I have sought to turn Judah again back unto thee. And we have seen some reviving now in the midst of all these things to be removed.

[11:30] I know there's a mixture of interpretation but I stand there. I do not believe He looked upon these in some meritorious way. But as if any true child of God or any true servant would say, Lord, I have sought to do thy will.

[11:48] I have tried to do that which was right according to thy leadings. There is times when we can come in honesty and open our hearts before the Lord in such ways but that I'm going to leave.

[12:00] And so we find that Hezekiah wept sore. And then Hezekiah as in the words of our text says, O Lord, I am oppressed, undertake for me.

[12:13] Now when we look quickly there at the verse number nine in our chapter, we find here that Hezekiah rehearses what had taken place. And he brings forth something of the experience and the feelings of his soul.

[12:29] Now I realize, friends, the Lord works and agrees with all of His people. Some are brought into great lengths to see something of the law work and the condemnation. Some are brought in great lengths to see something of the truths or the glories of the gospel.

[12:44] But the Lord is very sovereign in His workings. But there is one thing for sure. Like as He rehearses here, He had been sick and was recovered. Now I'm not looking upon this as a natural sickness, although Hezekiah was sick and was recovered by a miracle of God's mercies and grace.

[13:04] But friends, it wasn't only his sickness that he was recovered. Friends, he was recovered spiritually. So friends, when the Lord brings us to see something of our guilt, something of that terrible sickness which far exceeds any disease upon the face of the earth, that disease of sin and evil which permeates throughout the whole of our person, when we are brought to see something of the nature of it, friends, the Lord will bring us to a deliverance.

[13:34] He will bring us to health, that is spiritually. There's going to be a recovery because it is all of grace. It is all of that which is the work of God within the soul of His people.

[13:48] Oh, again, friend, it is a mercy if you know something of yourself as a sinner. And it is a sad state if you know nothing of yourself as a sinner and you know nothing of the grief of sin.

[14:00] By nature, I realize, young and old, we love sin. And it is only by God's grace and His holy teaching that will ever be brought to the place to say, I hate the sins that made me mourn.

[14:12] Made me mourn. I hate those things which now I have done and which are evil in the sight of God. But I love thy salvation. So we find here that Hezekiah gives a little description of his experience.

[14:30] Because, friends, we don't want to dwell only upon the depth and the depravity of man. We want to dwell much upon the restoration. Now, as you look upon this narrative which lays before us, pointing out a few things in the word in our chapter, first of all, in verse 10, he says, I said in the cutting off of my days.

[14:56] Now, the Lord will cut you off. Not necessarily I'm meeting by death, but He's going to cut you off from this world. He's going to cut you off from all of its folly and all of its foolishness.

[15:11] And by a sense of your own sins and by your own wretchedness, you're going to feel yourselves to be cut off from God. sin is that which makes a separation between man and God.

[15:23] God cast out Adam and Eve out of that beautiful garden of Eden because of sin. He destroyed the world by a flood because of sin.

[15:33] He brought the Amorite and the Canaanite to naught because of their sin. And He sent a Savior to die on the cross because of sin.

[15:47] I know it is particular in its nature and I realize it is for individuals. But that's why He sent. And that's why the Lord Jesus hung up onto the cross and suffered.

[16:01] That's why God the Father hid His face even from His only beloved Son because He stood in the place of a sinner. That's why the Lord Jesus Christ cried out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken Him?

[16:14] Because of sin. Oh, that hideous nature of sin. What a disease, what grief, what sorrow it has brought into this world. And so there is a cutting off.

[16:26] Cutting off in our feelings of this world because of sin. A cutting off from the thoughts of God of ever we've been finding peace with God because of our sin. And He says, I shall go to the gate of grave.

[16:40] I am deprived of the residue of my dears. I shall not see the Lord. Even in the land of the living. I realize this subject is great.

[16:52] And as we look upon Hezekiah, first of all, I believe he knew something of grace. He was a gracious soul. And the Lord brought him into this great trial so that he might further manifest the mercies and grace to him.

[17:05] The Lord had a purpose in it all. It was all going to work for his good. Therefore, when Hezekiah says, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the living, I do not believe He said, I am without hope.

[17:18] But I believe He thought He shall never, as it were, have another glimpse of God and His love and His mercy to his soul. Oh, maybe you can think back sometimes when the Lord was very good to you, when you had some sweet times in your soul.

[17:34] But then the Lord brings it to a test. And you feel you shall never, as it were, ever be brought back to the days of your early love, or ever be brought again to some sweet tokens of God to the soul.

[17:47] And when these things are brought and exercised to the soul, as I look upon it, the Lord is about ready to make room for further manifestations. Because spiritual doubts, friends, make room for further manifestations of God.

[18:01] But not dealing with Hezekiah now as a child of God, but dealing with the experience of as one who feels himself to be cut off, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living.

[18:16] For myself, friends, I came to this place. I thought I was never to be converted. If I was ever to be converted, I would have been converted before that particular date.

[18:27] And therefore, I felt to be cut off from all hope in this world. Oh, it is a mercy to come to the end of all hope and self. Because where it comes to an end of all hope and self, then it is time when the Lord is going to appear and show himself and give you hope in his mercy.

[18:45] But such will be the case because of your own sin, willful sin, delivered sin. You feel you shall never be saved, shall never come to salvation.

[19:02] You shall eternally perish for the lost in hell. He speaks about his age departing and is removed as a shepherd's tent. A shepherd's tent was something which was flimsy.

[19:13] One day it could be put up here and another day there. It was something which is easily moved around. He's brought to see how easily a man is cut off and that we have no abiding city.

[19:27] And then he reckoned as it were that almost any time his bones would be broken and he would be brought to the grave. But we find that in all this he turned his face to the wall.

[19:40] He knew where to go. Oh, the blessedness of faith, friend. When one is brought under the convictions of sin, when one is brought into trials and temptation, and when they are in possession of grace or in possession of a living religion, they know where to go.

[19:58] There's something within them which lifts up their hearts and souls in prayer before the Lord. So has Ezekiah like in the words of our text. He says, Oh, Lord.

[20:10] There it is. Faith points out the road. It comes to the object. It wasn't, Oh, Isaiah. Or, Oh, this or, Oh, that.

[20:21] I realize there's great comfort in the people of God. And I realize, Isaiah was as a servant of God and was as a messenger of God. And under the Old Testament, Iridah, God spoke through prophets and through dreams, which was all true.

[20:35] But yet, what was all of this without God himself? He describes his experience like as a crane and a swallow. So did I chatter.

[20:46] I mourned as a dove. Mine eyes failed with looking upward. In other words, he found himself like these mourning doves who mourn as it were in the morning, mourn over their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their partner, whatever the case is.

[21:03] But they have a mournful voice. And so we may believe here that Hezekiah could hardly, as it were, describe the state of his prayer. It was sighs and groans before the throne of grace.

[21:17] He couldn't seem to order it collectively. He said, mine eyes failed with looking upward. In other words, like, like, Jonah, he says, I looked and I looked and I looked again. But it seems as if the Lord has cut off my prayer.

[21:30] Even that godly Jeremiah, remember, friends, this isn't a language which is strange to the children of God. I know it is strange to the professing church, but not to the children of God.

[21:42] For Jeremiah says, the Lord has shut out my prayer. In other words, it seems like the heavens aren't as brass. Oh, friend, have you ever come there?

[21:52] To our little children and young friends, do you try to pray and the heavens seem as brass? Oh, friend, Hezekiah did, but there we kind that in due course the Lord will hear.

[22:06] Look again, friend. Keep praying. Keep seeking. Keep petitioning the throne of grace that the Lord might have mercy on you. He will not give you a deaf ear. The Lord waiteth to be gracious.

[22:20] It is appointed time, though the vision carry. Wait for it. And Hezekiah says, my eyes fail with looking upward. But yet he could say, oh, Lord, the creator of heaven and earth, the Lord of all mercy, the God of all grace.

[22:38] And then he says, I am oppressed. Undertake for me. The word here, I am oppressed, of course, means that he was greatly pressed down under the weight of his guilt, under the weight of his sin.

[22:51] under the weight of his trial, under the weight of his grief. He was greatly pressed down. Oh, I am oppressed. But notice the lack of language undertake for me.

[23:06] Now, what's very interesting, friends, is I must confess scouting around for a text to preach from. My mind went to this chapter and I read some other verses and I thought, no, I have spoken on this chapter about a year ago and I felt, I must not always keep going back to the same things.

[23:23] But I really haven't spoken from this particular text to my knowledge. But I looked it up in the original Hebrew, undertake for me. Where is it used elsewhere?

[23:35] And I found that to this very expression, undertake for me, is the same expression which David uses in the Psalms when he says, be surety unto thy servant.

[23:47] It is the same word which is used there of Judah when he says, there and stood before Joseph and he said, I will be surety for the land. It is the same word which we find in the book of Proverbs where we find the word surety.

[24:05] Now, as I told you before, the language, the Hebrew language is very vast. They have far more words to express something than our English language and therefore our translators felt the best translation would be undertake for me and friends, to me, it suits it well.

[24:23] Oh, is it so in the case of you, friend, something of the oppression of your sin, the oppression of self? Do you feel it's very great and you feel there is one who must undertake, lift you up, support you and keep you and give you that needed grace and strength?

[24:43] Now, let us notice here then we find this prayer when he says here, undertake for me or be surety unto me.

[24:57] Let us notice then in some measure how the Lord answered the prayer of Hezekiah. If you will quickly go back to verse 5, if you have your Bibles open and I seem to be a better preacher along Bible studies than I do actually taking a sermon.

[25:14] But nevertheless, as we look into chapter 38 and verse 5, we see, Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David, thy father, I have heard thy prayer.

[25:28] Now, upon what ground now is the Lord going to answer the prayer of Hezekiah? we find him upon the ground of his promise, upon the ground of the covenant of grace.

[25:43] You remember the first thing here that the Lord spoke to Hezekiah was this. He refers to himself as the God of David, thy father. I believe now Hezekiah began to think, David, my father, whom was given the promise that out of his line would come the Messiah.

[26:05] In other words, Hezekiah is pointed to the Savior. That promise. Oh, precious thought, isn't it? When the Lord brings you to a consciousness of your sin and brings you as a guilty sinner, oh, isn't it a mercy that same work which brought you as a sinner now also brings you by living faith to the object which is Christ to realize that all the blessings that Hezekiah is going to now realize and experience have to flow through the mediator, flow to that one who is the promised of God who would come and would reign upon the throne of David forever, who would be the king of kings and lord of lords, so the God of David, thy father.

[26:54] Remember the promise? Remember that of which now thou hast been sorely grieved over? In other words, he points them to the surety. Now what do we find elsewhere about this blessed surety?

[27:10] First of all, you'll notice that throughout these verses which follow verse 5 and in verse 5, we have the Lord and again, again and again referring to himself. Notice, I have heard, I have seen, I will deliver, I will defend, ah, it is the great I am.

[27:34] Oh, friend, what a mercy when we take our eyes against all other refuge and against all other hope and they are centered upon Christ. This is the drawings of God. You remember when I say in Jeremiah where we read, because I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.

[27:55] What is first? Love. It was God which loved from an everlasting love and therefore love was there first and then because of love was already established in the councils of eternity in the covenant of grace, there is the drawings of God to the Father to the, of that soul to the Son.

[28:13] This is why the bride says, draw me, I want to come to the proper place. And we hear when the Lord is about to save Hezekiah and redeem him and visit him and show him the glory of the surety.

[28:26] He says to me, it says unto Isaiah, I have heard thy prayer. Oh, that's what we want, don't we? The God hearing our prayer.

[28:39] When does the Lord hear the prayers of his people? When do they plead in and through the merit of Christ? Oh, I know I mentioned it recently, but it comes to me again and again. When I told you I come across this little book when I went on to visit someplace and told about the Jews' religion, they do not believe they need a mediator.

[28:58] And they have no mediator. If they're never brought to a need of one, they certainly don't have one. Isn't it sad? In other words, friends, their prayers, in spite of all their sighs, in spite of all their groans, and weeping by the wall there, the wailing wall in Jerusalem, it means nothing.

[29:18] Just sheer mockery because they need no substitute. They want no mediator. And therefore, the Lord does not hear their prayer. Oh, just because we end our prayer for Jesus' sake, that doesn't mean that it is there, but friends, when it comes by living faith, when with all of our petitions and all of our cross eyes and groans before the throne of grace, and we are brought to realize, but nothing can be answered but in and through the mediator, through his precious blood, through all of his great atonement, and now to the joy and the comfort of Hezekiah's prayer.

[29:54] With all of his sighs, with all of his groans, and with all of his mourning, the great God of heaven says, I have heard thy prayer. Oh, what a condescending God.

[30:07] Friend, it is all because of the Savior, because of the surety, because of the mediator. Furthermore, he says, I have seen thy tears.

[30:21] Oh, for God's people, he takes all their tears and puts them in a bottle before him. He remembers the tears of joy, the tears of thanksgiving, the tears of our sin, the tears of our sighs and of our groans before the throne of grace.

[30:36] God, I have seen. Does it not set forth the condescending nature of God himself that he should look upon the tears of a sinner? One who had sinned against his grace and sinned against his law and had forfeited all right?

[30:52] Oh, we find in the word of God that heaven rejoices over the first tear which falls from a repented sinner. And so the Lord takes and observes these things.

[31:03] There's condescension. Then he says, I will add. Oh, what a mercy when the Lord adds to our souls those sweetnesses, those visitations, as we're going to notice a little later.

[31:18] And then you'll notice in verse 6 he gives them another two promises. I will deliver and I will defend. Oh, isn't that just what we want? Do you know something of yourself as a sinner?

[31:31] We want the Lord to deliver us. What do you want to be delivered from, friend? From your sin. From its condemnation. From its power.

[31:42] From its penalty. Because sin does have a power. It seems to weigh heavily upon our nature. It's got good lodging in our nature, isn't it? Our nature waters sin.

[31:53] It fertilizes it. It brings it forth. But only by divine grace in the mighty hand of God does the Lord deliver us. Deliver us from its condemnation by showing us the Savior died for our sin.

[32:08] Delivering us from its power by subduing the power of sin and the love of sin and inflaming the love of Christ to the soul. Oh, that's how it works, friend. The Lord makes himself so lovely and so wanted that you begin to see the empty, the vanity.

[32:25] And young friend, do you love this world? Do you love its attractions? Do you know what's going to save you? By grace. But the Lord giving you a love to him.

[32:36] A love to his word. A love to the means. Then you'll know what it is by Hezekiah. Even in the midst of all of your activities of the day and around the school, you're going to turn your face to the wall and say, Lord, have mercy upon me.

[32:52] I hope you can weep sore. Not that only your weeping is going to be salvation and if you don't weep, don't think you're going to be lost. But there's going to be weeping inwardly. And so we read that the Lord says, I will deliver.

[33:06] How does he deliver? By sending the Savior. By revealing the Lord Jesus Christ to you. Oh, what a deliverance when Christ reveals himself to the soul.

[33:17] What a deliverance it was to those two that walked on the road to Emmaus. What a deliverance it was to Peter. What a deliverance it was to Abraham as he stood upon the mount and seen in the thicket a ram caught with its horns, a type and a figure of Christ, a surety, one to stand in the place of another.

[33:36] What a deliverance it was there in the case of Moses when the Lord showed him the place by him, which is a type in the figure of Christ. What a deliverance it was to Paul when he was brought to see that by the law he was dead and it slew him, it brought him as a guilty sinner.

[33:57] But when the Lord Jesus appeared in his love and his mercy, what a deliverance it was to the Galatians when they seen Christ as it were crucified before them. I didn't say crucified, but as if he was crucified before him.

[34:12] Oh, deliverance. But we also see in this passage that it was not only deliverance, but a defense. I'm going to defend.

[34:24] And friend, this is something we stand in the whole of our experience. Oh, when I think of that, I can't think. It was in our friendly companion recently, and I'm not very good at quoting things, but there was Luther one day defending the truth.

[34:40] a bulwark for the things of God. And then the Lord allowed Satan as it were to cut loose against Luther and try to bring before him his sin.

[34:52] But Luther came, that the Lord came in defense. Luther by faith beheld of the scriptures and of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he defended.

[35:04] There it is caused before Satan what God hath done. the precious blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin. Defense. And when doubts and fears come upon you, and many erasments of Satan, and what a mercy then the Lord sets up a banner.

[35:25] In a measure, friends, I can understand something of that banner, which we read, and I believe it is in Isaiah, when the enemy will surround, and when there's all of these conflicts. Then you can see the banner is that which was set upon a pole.

[35:41] And sometimes you can see the troops are coming, so you've been told. But high above all the troops, there is the banner, there is the flag. Being in the service, I can appreciate something like that.

[35:53] It is much just to say, here's my banner. I'm coming. I'm coming to defend you. Oh, it was a sweet voice when John the Baptist heard the voice of the Son of God, the heavenly bridegroom.

[36:09] What a banner, and what a defense it was when that one in the songs of Solomon heard him leaping over the mountains, coming, and speaking peace to the soul. Oh, we need a defense.

[36:22] The harassment of on beneath, the temptations of Satan. And what a mercy when you can look in your own life, in your own experience, when you were almost ready to give over.

[36:36] And then we find like in the case of David, where the Lord was a defense. And David encouraged himself in the Lord his God, ready to stone him.

[36:50] Oh, what a wretched state David brought himself into. But there was faith, defense. And what a mercy when the Lord by his condescending love and mercy shows to us something of the beauty of that armor which he hath provided for his own.

[37:07] The sword of the Spirit, the word of faith, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and those shoes of the gospel. Defend.

[37:20] So we see here that the Lord did come and defend, and he spoke to Hezekiah. Then later, of course, we notice that in our narrative that Hezekiah realized the pardon, the forgiveness of his sin.

[37:34] Oh, this was that of which he said, undertake for me. And the language is be surety unto me. Actually, the description here would be something like a man being brought to prison with all of his debts and with all of his condemnation gathering around him.

[37:52] But then he sees this one who is to be the surety, who had in eternity signed, as it were, his name thereupon to that contract and says, I will redeem.

[38:05] I will come for sinners. I will redeem the lost. And as that person walks by and he sees the surety, he calls out to the surety and says, be surety unto me.

[38:18] And then the surety comes and stands before the judge and pays the fine, pays the debt, and the man goes free. Oh, what a surety Christ is.

[38:31] You remember some time back I told our little children in the Sunday school about an illustration of the surety and I won't go into it. Maybe you can remember it. One who takes your debt, takes your place and stands in your stead.

[38:45] This is what Hezekiah said. Undertake for me. Now the surety, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ.

[38:58] We see many stripes and figures in the Old Testament. There, of course, of Judah coming forth and standing in the place of Benjamin and says, I will be surety.

[39:09] I will take his place. I will be the bondservant and let him go free. We have another beautiful type there in the book of Philemon.

[39:20] You remember some time when I spoke about that. And when Philemon, or when Paul wrote to Philemon on the case of that servant of Philemon, Onesimus, we read here, he says, if he hath wronged thee or owed thee aught, put that on my account.

[39:48] In other words, if Onesimus hath wronged Philemon and there was a debt there on Onesimus' case, put that on my account. Just charge it to me, says Paul.

[40:00] And then Paul goes on in verse 19 of that same chapter and he says, And he says, If he hath wronged thee, put it on my account. And he says, I will repay it.

[40:14] But let us look at something of the blessedness of Christ as the surety of his people. First of all, we might think of that, how Christ satisfied the law.

[40:25] He fulfilled it. He made it perfect. And so we find then there is that satisfaction upon the part of Christ, which is a blessed surety.

[40:38] Then also we may look upon the power of Christ. The thought which comes to me is this. You remember when those three men were put into the fire?

[40:52] They said, Our God is able. I really realized he was able. Whether he would do it was another thing. And like the man with the leprosies, his Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst.

[41:07] Oh, the mighty ability of God to save unto the uttermost, who can pay, as it were, the utmost farthing, who made a complete atonement, and who was mighty in word and in deed, and who was able to subdue the powers and the power of Satan, and is able.

[41:30] Oh, may we look upon the ability of God, upon the ability of Christ, as well as his complete satisfaction. Then also we might meditate upon the compassionate nature of Christ.

[41:43] Oh, how we read again and again, and he had compassion. Now when Hezekiah was brought to this great straits, the Lord had compassion upon Him. Oh, friend, think of it.

[41:56] The Lord has compassion upon all those sinners who come unto Him by faith. When He hears the cry and the prayer of a true, sincere soul, for that glorious salvation, He has compassion.

[42:09] And then lastly, we may look upon the fact that Christ is the near kinsman. Oh, the truth which is found in that text which we read in Galatians 4, verse 4, in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them which are under the law.

[42:36] In other words, we find here, then, there is this blessed union, that kinsman who took flesh and in all points suffered and sorrowed in all points like we are yet without sin, who came for the very purpose to save the lost souls.

[42:55] Can you see the blessedness of this surety? I confess, friends, I come so short of putting things in its proper order. I come so short of exalting the Savior.

[43:08] But, friends, I can only put them as a word in words and try to describe the glory of this surety. Oh, that you might know what it is then to turn your face to the wall and weep sore, realizing and thinking in your own soul of a sentence of death because of your sin.

[43:26] To know what it is to weep and to cry over your sins and over your shortcomings to God. Oh, friend, the time will come when the Lord upon the ground of the covenant of grace, upon the merit and the worth of that dear Son which has already come into this world that is the Lord Jesus, he will hear the prayer.

[43:47] He will see the tears. He will come and deliver. He will come and deliver and he will come and defend and he will do all things because he is a complete Savior.

[43:59] It's all of grace from beginning to end. It's all by him, by his might, by his power and all because of his great love to those who find themselves to be sinners in his sight.

[44:13] He received them. He did wonders. And like Hezekiah, what a mercy when we also know what it is to say, the living, the living, they shall praise thee as I do this day.

[44:27] Well, may the Lord bless these few remarks and use it for his dear name's sake. Amen. Shall we turn and sing part of hymn number 122?

[44:45] 122 and we'll begin singing with verse 7. Verse 7 to the end of verse of hymn 1-2-2. To this dear surety's hand will I commit my case.

[45:00] He answers and fulfills his father's broken law. Behold, my soul at freedom set, my surety paid the dreadful debt.

[45:12] Hymn number 122 and beginning singing at verse 7. Hymn number 122 and beginning singing at verse 7. Hymn number 122 to this dear surety's hand will I commit my cause.

[45:45] He answers and fulfills his father's broken lost.

[45:56] Behold, my soul that freedom set of surety paid the dreadful death.

[46:14] Jesus, my great high praise, God offered his blood and died.

[46:25] My guilty conscience seeks now sacrifice be son with heart of love.

[46:41] It once and now in place before the cross I had looked in a few for my dear son high.

[47:05] The father loves his ears and his slandered bond.

[47:16] Not all that fell nor sin can say can turn his heart his love away.

[47:32] name. My dear almighty Lord, my conqueror and my king, thy scepter and thy sword, thy reigning praise I say.

[47:58] thine is the power even I sit in willing bonds beneath thine feet.

[48:17] Now let my soul arise and thread that tempter down.

[48:28] My captain leading for to conquer and a crown of evil shame.

[48:44] Shelf in the name to death and help from you.

[48:56] shall all the hosts of death and power of hell unknown put their most dreadful crowns of rage and mis chipped upon I shall be saved for Christ is place superior power and guardian grace.

[49:43] O Lord, again we would look to thee that thou would forgive all that has been said amiss that thou would follow with thine own blessing upon thy word and may the grace of the Savior and the love of the Father and the communion of the Holy Ghost rest upon all now and forever more Amen.

[50:08] Amen. Amen.