Isaiah 38:16 O LORD, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so will you recover me, and make me to live. Strange as it may appear, it is no less true that life is often lengthened and health invigorated by a sharp illness. Like a ship put in dock for repairs, an illness or an accident lays a man aside for a time out of the reach of work and worry, and the rest of mind and body restores the balance of his exhausted energies. Typhus fever successfully treated often clarifies the whole system, just as a chimney is cleansed by setting it on fire; and a severe illness often acts as a solemn warning, leading men to consider their ways and their work, and to diminish the strain which is overtaxing the system, or to give up some vicious habit of self-indulgence which is laying the axe to the root of the tree. (W. Johnston, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. |
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