Commentary on Isaiah, Commentary on Isaiah · Chapter 37 · Verse 15
Verſ. 15. And Hezekiah praied vntounto the Lord, ſaying;
16. O Lord of hostes, God of Iſrael, which dwelleſt betweene the Cherubims: thou art very God alone ouer all the kingdomes of the earth; thou haſt made the heauen and the earth.
BEcauſe Sennacherib had been the inſtrument of Satan to ſhake the faith of Hezekias, hee now oppoſeth his rampart againſt him; to wit, that God is the Lord of hosts, and therefore of infinit power. For there is no doubt but hee rouſeth vp his ſpirits, in aſſuring himſelfe to obtaine that he askes, when he adornes the Lord with theſe excellent titles. Will we hauehave our praiers to preuaile with God? let vsus hold this principle; that God will bee found of them that ſeeke him:A principle euer to be held, namely, that God will alwaies be found of them that ſeeke him. Heb. 11.6. But this good King had ſpeciall need to lay hold of this ſentence; to wit, that Gods power alwaies remaines one and the ſame, albeit the wicked ſtriue to leſſen it by their railings & ſcoffes; and to take heart the more freely and boldly vntounto him, to ſet himſelfe valiantly againſt the lets by which Satan indeuoured to hinder his courſe. Now herein we may behold the heroicall magnanimitie of this good King, who ceaſed not to reſiſt this tyrant for the maintenance of Gods power, but bare a loyall affection inwardly in his heart thereunto, and alſo made God a witneſſe of his inward affection. Before he begins to frame any praier then, he breaks through the fallacies whereby Satan went about to put him to the wall: ſo that hee not onelyonly magnifies Gods power, but maintaines the ſoueraigntie which hee hath ouer the whole world.
Now hee meditates on theſe things, the better to confirme himſelfe in the aſſurance which he had in Gods prouidence, by which all things in heauen and in earth are ordered and diſpoſed. And this foundation ought all the faithfull firſt to lay, that ſo they loſe not their labour in praying. The Kings praier had not been of ſuch force and efficacie, if he had onelyonly ſaid, Incline thine eare O Lord, and heare, &c. or ſuch like wordes: as when hee keepes this principle firſt in his heart; that God hath care ouer al the works of his hands. For he perſwades himſelfe that God will take this cauſe into his owne hands, and will not ſuffer the tyrant thus proudly to aduance himſelfe; but will rather ſpeedily put him downe, ſith the gouernment of the whole world belongs vntounto him. Alſo, ſeeing Sennacherib attributed that vntounto himſelfe, which of right appertained vntounto God; that hee could not eſcape vnpuniſhed.
Where he ſubiecteth all the kingdomes of the earth vnderunder Gods hand and power, he applies it vntounto his owne particular vſe. In the meane while, ſuch a title neuer agrees to any but to God onelyonly; becauſe hee rules ouer all Kingdomes. Notwithſtanding he denies not but Kings, Princes, and Magiſtrates hauehave their iuſt titles; yet ſo, as thēſelues be ſubiect vntounto God, & maintaine his right & dominion: for it belongs onelyonly to God to be King of Kings, & Lord of Lords, as S. Paul ſaith.1. Tim. 6.15. Not that hee therefore aboliſheth the names of Kings and Lords, with their dominions, but ſhewes that all depends vponupon God onelyonly, how great or mightie ſoeuer they be; that they ſhould not thinke themſelues haile fellow well met with him, but that they ought rather to acknowledge him to be their Lord and King. Kings then hold their authoritie, as you ſee; if ſo be they will keepe the mid way betweene God and men, and will not preſume to climbe higher.
Moreouer, Hezechias gathers this title from the very creation; for it is not poſſible that the Creator of heauen and earth ſhould euer forſake the workes of his owne hands; nay, doe we not ſee on the contrary, that he gouernes mankind by his prouidence, which is the chiefeſt part of the world? It were too abſurd a thing then to limit the creation within ſo narrow bounds, that it ſhould onelyonly ſerue as a witneſſe of a certaine power of God, that laſted but a while, and ſtretched it ſelfe to a few things: no, it ought to bee extended to a continuall working in all things. By this it appeares, that thoſe tyrants which will take liberty to rule as they liſt, do therein bereaue God of his honour; and therefore when things fall out otherwiſe then well vntounto them, they may iuſtly impute it to their owne pride and preſumption.
Hezekias alſo alleageth other epithetes, for the confirmation of his faith. And firſt, in that he calles him the Lord of hosts, he againe extols his power: but when he addes, the God of Iſrael, he notes out a more neere and particular preſence: for it was no ſmall ſigne of Gods louelove, to hauehave taken the ſafetie of this people into his owne cuſtodie. Hereunto appertaines his ſitting betweene the Cherubims: as if he ſhould ſay; Thou haſt placed thy throne here, and haſt promiſed protection to ſuch as call vponupon thee before the Arke of the couenant: now reſting my ſelfe vponupon this promiſe, I come to thee as to the only gardian of my ſafetie.Exod. 25.18. But Hezekias doubtleſſe had reſpect to the forme of the Arke, which was ſhadowed with Cherubims. Some expound theſe Cherubims, Angels, as if it were ſaid, God reignes in heauen, and ſits among the Angels. But this expoſition ſutes not. For it is ſaid, that he ſits betweene the Cherubims, becauſe of the Arke which was thus compoſed. Now wee know it was a true and certaine ſigne of Gods preſence, albeit his power was not ſhut vp within the ſame: but Hezekias in mentioning thereof meant to affirme, that God was there preſent, becauſe he had vouchſafed to gather his people vntounto him, by ſtretching his wings (as you would ſay) ouer them. For as much then as there is a great diſtance of place betweene God and vsus, Hezekias layes hold vponupon this notable pledge of adoption, and yet kept he his mind free from being tainted with any carnall conceits touching Gods Maieſtie, whereinto the ſuperſtitious plunge themſelues, who ſtriue by all meanes to draw him downe from heauen: but the King contenting himſelfe with faith in the promiſes which he had receiued, concludes, that he needed not to ſeeke farre for Gods fauorable preſence.
Let vsus obſerue this phraſe of ſpeech well therefore, which teacheth vsus to mount by little and little vntounto heauen by the light of the promiſes which doe ſhine clearely before vsus: yet ſo, that in ſeeking ſuccour, we imagin not that God ſhould be abſent from vsus, ſeeing he hath choſen his dwelling place in the mids of vsus. For in regard that his Maieſtie much ſurmounts heauen and earth, it is not lawfull for vsus to bound him within the narrow ſcantling of our vnderſtanding: yet we may comprehend him according to the ſmall meaſure thereof, becauſe he hath reuealed himſelfe vntounto vsus by his word: not that we muſt needs pull him downe from his heauenlie throne therefore, but that our minds which are of themſelues weake and dull, might by degrees approach neerer and neerer vntounto him: for we hauehave good reaſon to preſſe with boldnes towards his highnes, in regard he calles vsus vntounto him by his word and Sacraments.
And if we conceiue of theſe things aright, the ſpirituall knowledge of God ſhall alwaies beare ſway amongſt vsus, ſo as wee ſhall not need to tye the Lord any more to ſtones nor ſtocks.If the ſpirituall knowledge of God beares ſway in our hearts, we ſhall not need to tye his preſence to ſtocks or ſtones. No, we ſhall imagin nothing of him that is earthlie or carnall: for the neerer we ſhall draw towards him, the more will we endeuour our ſelues to vſe all lawfull meanes which he ſets before vsus, that our ſpirits may not reſt vponupon earthlie things: for he applies himſelfe to our ſhallownes only, to the end that his Sacraments might ſerue vsus as ladders to climb vp vntounto him by: but this ſuperſtition hath peruerted and turned it to a cleane contrarie vſe.