So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word Psalm 119;142

Good King Hezekiah was one of the most wonderful people who ever lived. His reign on David's throne brought Jerusalem as close to heaven on earth as it seemed possible to be. Hezekiah was a superb administrator, a spiritual Reformer as well, and a leader whose prayers were miraculously answered every step of his way. He "prospered in all his works" (2 Chron 32:30). It's amazing-God gave him no less than 15 or 16 pages of PR in the Bible where often a very good person ranks a mere phrase or a verse.

But his grand spiritual and CEO success went to his head. His story should make all of us tremble. He was only 39 when he stood at the pinnacle of all his triumphs, powerful, immensely wealthy, loved by his people, respected by the world, . . . blessed by God.

If anybody reads this is who is 39, let him or her "remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth while the evil days come not" (Eccl 12:1). Hezekiah got so busy reveling in God's undeniable blessings that he neglected to read the Psalms of David, one of which is a prayer: "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me" (139:23, 24). Why, there just couldn't be anything "wicked" unknown in Hezekiah's heart! God had set His solemn seal of approval on him.

Hezekiah was too busy being (and doing) good to stop and read that Psalm. When cancer or something suddenly struck him, all he could think of was his good works, his "perfect" obedience to the law of God (2 Kings 20:2, 3). So the king sent the equivalent of e-mails everywhere, "pray for the king to be healed," and he got another miracle-he was healed.

"Howbeit, . . . God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart" (2 Chron 32:31). Not that God needed to know, but that he might know, and we too might "know" that Laodicea's (our) greatest sin is unknown. In his extra 15 years, Hezekiah undid all the good that he had done the previous 29 years, and prepared his throne for ruin.

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