Friday, February 1, 2019

Genesis 39:1-23; Psalm 17:1-15; Matthew 22:15-46

For Sheol cannot thank You, Death cannot praise You; Those who go down to the pit cannot hope for Your truth. The living, the living man, he shall praise You, As I do this day. Isa. 38:18-19, NKJV

Isaiah told 39-year-old Hezekiah to prepare to die. The just king petitioned the Lord to remember his righteous service. God responded by adding 15 years to his life. Souls in sheol cannot praise God, so Hezekiah was thankful for the prospect to continue to declare God’s goodness. Accordingly, Hezekiah defines “the living” as those who enjoy doing what he was doing: praising and giving thanks to God. May we prepare for heaven now by joyfully praising and thanking God “all the days of our life” (38:20). —W. A. H.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days, to sing God’s praise, than when we’d first begun. —John Newton