This text refers to the desperate attempt of the government of Judah under its enlightened, beneficent king Hezekiah, to muster support from the pharaoh of Egypt against the invading Assyrian army, which pillaged indiscriminately wherever it entered. Indeed, the people of the northern kingdom of Israel disappeared for ever under the horror of Assyrian deportation, and it seemed only too probable that the inhabitants of Judah would fare likewise, while the sacred city of Jerusalem and the Temple would be razed to the ground. If only the people could have trusted in the Lord, all would have been well. In the event the besieging Assyrian host suddenly departed from Jerusalem, for reasons which remain obscure, and the city was miraculously saved. And so Isaiah's oracle was fulfilled, despite rather than because of Hezekiah's activities.

When the burden of difficulties is almost too great for us to bear, when we are the victims of a tragedy of enormous proportion, a deeper wisdom will eventually guide our response and modify our actions. We remember Hamlet's soliloquy:

To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?

It seems that both these options have their point, but the wise person will have learned by life's experience that patient suffering is the best preparation for positive action against misfortune, such as is bound to cloud all lives that are moving towards the ultimate meaning. It was this meaning that Hamlet himself was seeking; the spiritual aspirant knows that the great work is himself or herself. The place of operation is where we find ourselves, and our tools are the means at hand. It is hard to attain this stance of cool detachment when our little world seems to be going up in smoke, but we maintain our greatest calm when we trust in the providence of God, admitting that of ourselves we can do nothing to alter the situation.

Let be then: learn that I am God,
high over the nations, high above earth. (Psalm 46.10)

The psalmist here reminds us that God is our shelter and our refuge, a timely help in trouble. Therefore neither the tumult of the cosmic elements nor the destructive fury of invading armies need fill us with terror.

These things are bound to be, as part of the evolution of the universe and our own growth into full humanity. Their pain cannot be denied, but the end is so vast in its human implications that we may be able to say with Job:

I know that thou canst do all things
and that no purpose is beyond thee.
But I have spoken of great things which I have not understood,
things too wonderful for me to know.
I knew thee then only by report,
but now I see thee with my own eyes.
Therefore I melt away;
I repent in dust and ashes. (Job 42.2-6)

A final point must be made: God does not do our work for us, nor does he rake our chestnuts out of the fire we have made. If he did, we would never grow into responsible people. The miraculous preservation of Jerusalem which we have considered did not profoundly alter the unspiritual attitude of the people, and little over a century later the city and its Temple were destroyed by the Babylonians. Only then did the remnant of the people think seriously of their covenant with God, and authentic Judaism was born under the teaching work of Ezra and his successors. God's action is one of strengthening us, so that we may be better equipped to deal with the emergency.

Give me the faith to be still when danger threatens, Lord, so that I may be receptive to the power of your Spirit and acquit myself as an authentic person modelled on your nature as revealed in Jesus Christ.