“Light and Darkness, Part VI” by Romans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_md12ROLpvQ
We are continuing in our Series, Light and Darkness. This is our sixth Installment. We will be reviewing and examining the many verses in Scripture where the two words “light” and “darkness” both appear, either separately or as a phrase. They have much to teach us. So let's begin...
On our first Installment of this Series, I pointed out that, virtually from the very beginning, Scripture presented the concepts of Light and Darkness in physical and Spiritual aspects. Unlike previous Installments, we will also be examining Day and Night in a literal, physical presentation, and also in a spiritually symbolic regard. Let's look at our first “hit,” tonight, and look at it beyond its physical context, into the Spiritual realm.
It is found in Genesis 1:4-5: “And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” Let's examine this Creation of Light that we see discribed, here, first with a physical – almost scientific and clinical – approach to it, that then leads into a spiritual dimension, and finally its potential for spiritual symbolism.
The Preacher's Homiletical has this to say in reference to the above: “CRITICAL NOTES: 'And God said, Better: Then said God” = “the state of things being as just described.” From this point the drama is unfolded to the eye. Light] The orig. is indeed inimitable: The nearest approach in Eng. is perhaps: “Exist, light!—then exists light.” Good, Also: “fair,” “fine,” “beautiful;” Sept. Kalon. Verse 5. 'And so'—or—'And then it became one day.”
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— THE CREATION OF LIGHT: I. Divinely produced. “And God said, Let there be light.” 1. For the protection of life. The Divine Being is gradually preparing the infant world for the habitation of living things. Hence, prior to their creation, He beneficently makes everything ready for their advent. Plants could not live without light; without it, the flowers would soon wither.
Even in a brief night they close their petals, and will only open them again at the gentle approach of the morning light. Nor could man survive in continued darkness. A sad depression would rest upon his soul. A weird monotony would come upon his life. He would long for the grave, and soon would his longings be at rest, as life under such conditions would be impossible, and certainly unbearable.
2. For the enjoyment of life. Even if man was permitted to live for a short space of time in a dark world, what practical use could he make of life, and what enjoyment could he have in it? He would not be able to pursue any commercial enterprise... in study... able to read... able to write. For if darkness had remained upon the earth from its creation, an invention for the giving of light would have been impossible...
It is light that makes the world so beautiful, and that enables the artist to perceive its grandeur, and reproduce it on his canvas. Light is one of God’s best gifts to the world. (1.) It is inexpensive. The world has to pay for the light produced by man; that created by God, we get for nothing. Man has limitations; God has none. Man is selfish; God is beneficent. (2.) It is extensive. It floods the universe. It is the heritage of the poor equally with the rich; it enters the hut as well as the palace.
(3.) It is welcome. The light of morning is welcome to the mariner, who has been tossed on the great deep through the dark and stormy night; to the weary sufferer, whose pain has rendered sleep impossible; and how often has the morning dawn over the distant hills awakened the rapture of poetic souls as they have been watching from an eminence the outgoings of the morning.
3. For the instruction of life. Light is not merely a protection. It is not only an enjoyment. It is also an instructor. It is an emblem. It is an emblem of God, it’s Author, who is the Eternal Light. It is an emblem of truth. It is an emblem of goodness. It is an emblem of heaven. It is an emblem of beneficence. It is calculated to teach the world the most important lessons it can possibly learn. All the gifts of God are teachers as well as benefactors. He leads men through enjoyment into instruction.
II. Divinely approved. “And God saw the light, that it was good.” 1. It was good in itself. The light was pure. It was clear. It was not so fierce as to injure. It was not so weak as to be ineffectual. It was not so loud in its advent as to disturb. It was noiseless. It was abundant. There is a great force in light, and yet nothing is more gentle; hence it was as the offspring of Divine power.
2. It was good because adapted to the purpose contemplated by it. Nothing else could more efficiently have accomplished its purpose toward the life of man. Nothing else could have supplied its place in the universe. It is allied to religious ideas. It is allied to scientific investigation. It is allied to every practical subject of life. Hence it is good because adapted to its purpose, deep in its meaning, wide in its realm, happy in its influence, and educational in its tendency.
3. We see here that the Divine Being carefully scrutinises the work of his hands. When He had created light, He saw that it was good. May we not learn a lesson here, to pause after our daily toil, to inspect and review its worth. Every act of life should be followed by contemplation. It is criminal folly to allow years to pass without inquiry into the moral quality of our work. He who makes a daily survey of his toil will be able to make a daily improvement, and secure the daily approval of his conscience.
III. Divinely proportioned. “And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night.” 1. The light was indicative of day. In this light man was to work. The light ever active would rebuke indolence. By this light man was to read. In this light man was to order his moral conduct. Through this light man was to walk to the eternal light. 2. The removal of light was indicative of night. In this night man was to rest from the excitement of pleasure, and the anxiety of toil.
Its darkness was to make him feel the need of a Divine protection... Some preachers say that they can study better at night. If they can, it is the result of habit, and not the natural outcome of their physical constitution. God evidently thinks that men can rest better at night, and work better in the day-time. Hence He puts out the great light, and bids the world repose under the care of Him who neither slumbereth or sleepeth.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES: Verse 3. Light is the first of all creatures that God makes, as being itself most generally useful, especially to the end which God principally aimed at, which was to make all the rest of his works visible. God loves to do all His works in the light. 1. He dwells in the light because 2. His works are perfect, and therefore, able to endure the light (see John 3:21), in order that 3. He may be seen in His works.
The study of God’s work is:—1. Pleasant. 2. Profitable. 3. Necessary. Light is an emblem of God:—1. Glorious. 2. Pure. 3. Diffused in an instant. 4. Searching all places. 5. Useful for direction and comfort. How much more is God the author of wisdom, and understanding, the inward light of the soul. There was nothing but deformity till God brought beauty into the world.
God often brings light out of darkness:—1. The light of day from the darkness of night. 2. The light of prosperity from the darkness of affliction. 3. The light of knowledge from the darkness of ignorance. 4. The light of peace from the darkness of strife.
Was light created before the creation of the sun, and other luminous bodies? That this is possible has been shown by Dr. McCaul, “Aids to Faith,” p. 210; but very probably the creation of the sun is related in Genesis 1:1, where under the word heaven (or heavens), may be comprehended the whole visible universe of sun, moon, and stars. Now, the history is going on to the adaptation of the earth for man’s abode.
In Genesis 1:2, a thick darkness had enveloped it. In this 3rd verse the darkness is dispelled by the word of God, the light is separated from the darkness, and the regular succession of day and night is established. Still, probably, there remains a clouded atmosphere, or other obstacle to the full vision of sun and sky. It is not till the fourth day that their impediments are removed, and the sun appears to the earth as the great luminary of the day, the moon and the stars as ruling the night.
Light may, perhaps, have been created before the sun. Yet the statement, that on the first day, not only was there light, but the succession of day and night, seems to prove that the creation of the sun was “in the beginning,” though its visible manifestation in the firmament was not till the fourth day [Speaker’s Commentary].
In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. But Genesis 1:16 reads, “God made two
great lights.” In the one, we have “bara,” create; in the other, asáh, He made or fashioned, or appointed, of materials or objects already created, or existent, the sun to be a light-bearer; and so also the moon, which is known not to have light either in itself or immediately surrounding it.
The Creator adopted and employed for this purpose the sun and moon, and may have introduced, for the first time, such relations as now exist between them and our atmosphere. Adopting the latitude of interpretation, which is warranted by the use of the distinct terms, bara and asáh, we suggest another view. When, after the deluge, God “Set His bow in the cloud to be a token that the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy the earth,” it is not necessarily an inference that the rainbow had never before appeared.
As all the physical conditions, on which it depends had existed during man’s history, it may have been visible; and, assuming that it was so, it only received a new historical connection when it was made a token of the covenant. In the same manner the sun and moon and stars may have been visible long before they were appointed to be “for signs and for seasons,” and to fulfil a new historical relation to man, as they ever afterward rule his day and night [Dr. W. Fraser].
Genesis 1:4. God’s view of His works:—1. To rejoice in them. 2. To support them. 3. To direct them.
Let us review the works of God:—1. As a good employment for our minds. 2. As a comfort to our souls. 3. As increasing our love for Him. 4. As inspiring us with praise.
The work of God is good:—1. Because it must answer to the workman. 2. Because no one else can augment its perfection. 3. Because it is the vehicle of truth. 4. If it proves not so to us it is because we are out of harmony with it. 5. Let us try to imitate God in his method of works as far as possible. Light is good:—1. Therefore thank God for it. 2. Therefore use it well. 3. Therefore strive to reflect it.
Light and darkness succeed each:—1. Each useful in its turn. 2. We should prepare for darkness. 3. We may anticipate heaven where there is no night. Genesis 1:5. All light is not day, nor all darkness night; but light and darkness alternating in a regular order constitute day and night [Augustine].
None but superficial thinkers can take offence at the idea of created things receiving names from God. The name of a thing is the expression of its nature. If the name be given by man, it fixes, in a word, the impression which it makes upon the human mind; but when given by God, it expresses the reality, what the thing is in God’s creation, and the place assigned it there by the side of other things [Keil & Delitzsch].
In what sense is the word “day” to be understood in this narrative? To simplify the subject I make the single issue—is it a period of twenty-four hours, or a period of special character, indefinitely long? The latter theory supposes the word to refer here not so much to duration as to special character—the sort of work done and the changes produced during the period contemplated.
Turning our attention to this latter theory, we raise these inquiries: 1. Do the laws of language and especially does the usage of the word “day” permit it? Beyond all question the word “day” is used abundantly (and therefore admits of being used) to denote a period of special character, with no particular reference to its duration. We have a case in this immediate connection (Gen_2:4) where it is used of the whole creative period; “In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.”
To set aside this testimony from usage as being inapplicable to the present case, it has been said—i. That here is a succession of days, “first day,” “second day,” and that this requires the usual sense of days of the week. To which the answer is that here are six special periods succeeding each other—a sufficient reason for using the word in the peculiar sense of a period of special character.
Each of these periods is distinct from any and all the rest in the character of the work wrought in it.
The reason for dividing the creative work into six periods—“days,” rather than into more or fewer, lies in the Divine wisdom as to the best proportion of days of man’s labour to the one day of his rest, the Sabbath. ii. It will also be urged that each of these days is said to be made up of evening and of morning—“The evening and the morning were the first day.” But the strength of this objection comes mainly from mis-translation.
The precise thought is not that evening and morning composed or made up one full day; but rather this: There was evening and there was morning—day one, i.e., day number one. There was darkness, and there was light, indicating one of the great creative periods. It is one thing to say, There were alternations of evening and morning—i.e., dark scenes and bright scenes—marking the successive periods of creation, first, second, third; and another to affirm that each of these evenings and mornings made up a day.
Let it be considered, moreover, that while in Hebrew, as in English, night and day are often used for the average twelve hours duration of darkness and of light respectively in each twenty-four hours, yet in neither language are the words evening and morning used in this sense, as synonymous both night and day.
Indeed, “evening” and “morning” are rather points than periods of time; certainly do not indicate any definite amount of time—any precise number of hours; but are used to denote the two great changes—i.e., from light to darkness, and from darkness to light; in other words, from day to night, and from night to day. Therefore, to make evening and morning, added together, constitute one day... and cannot be the meaning of these passages in Genesis. 2...
SUGGESTIVE ILLUSTRATIONS: And God said. How long did the spirit brood over chaos? When did God say, “Let there be light?” Moses does not tell us. He states results, not processes. He brings the thing produced into close proximity with the producing cause. The instrumentality employed, as well as the time engaged, are not mentioned. Man is not forbidden to enquire concerning these; but Moses did not write to gratify such a spirit.
He wrote to teach that it was at the bidding of the Almighty that light dawned—that the waters retired within the limits assigned to them—that the vast continents and mountain chains lifted their heads—that the flowers looked forth in beauty in the valley; and that the great lights of the firmament took each its station on high, and began to run its appointed course in the heavens.
All Nature, (says a thoughtful mind) is one storehouse of parables to the thoughtful mind. Science, even when most careless, can hardly help stumbling on some of them in its way. But the more carefully we weigh its discourses, the richer we shall find them to be in lessons of wisdom. The links which bind the planets to their sun are not so firm as those which bind the outward world of sense and matter to the higher and nobler truths of the spiritual world.
Nature is one vast mirror in which we may see the dim reflection of a nobler field of thought than the conflict of jarring atoms, or integrels of atomic force can ever supply. We need first to gaze downward that presently we may look upward; and turning (says Birks) from the shadows to the substance...
from things seen and temporal to the unseen and eternal—may veil our faces before the mission of a greatness that is unsearchable and a goodness that is unspeakable, and in the spirit of Christian faith and hope may gaze on the uncreated light, and rejoice with trembling while we adore.
Light! At present the waters of superstition lie deep on the face of the earth while the spirit has been moving on the space of those waters—the great moral chaos for 6,000 years. The Divine voice shall again be heard saying, “Let there be light;” and the light, which has struggled ineffectually with the darkness for 6,000 years, shall break forth on all sides, and with boundless brilliancy and prevailing power dart its rays to the very ends of the earth...
Creation! Here we have:—1. The Author; 2. The Order; 3. The Purpose; and 4. The Period of Creation! In all times, and in every heathen land, people have had their thoughts and dreams about the way in which this fair world and yonder bright heavens came to be. One asserts the eternity of matter, another argues that they originated in chance; and both of these rank in wisdom with the quaint explanation of Topsy—that they grew.
Darkness and Light! How great is this mystery! And, as the light cast upon a diamond only brings out its beauties, so the light of Science only reveals more and more the mysteries of darkness and light. The prism of late has been unusually rich in new discoveries. The pathway in which Newton took the first main step has been explored anew, and secret marvels have been disclosed in every step of the progress, opening up a wondrous field of beauty in the Divine enquiry {in Job 38:10}:
“Knowest thou the pathway of light?” The waves of light, from 4,000 to 6,000 in one inch—these swift undulations, hundreds of millions of millions in one second, baffle and confound the mind.
The beautiful gradation of tint and shade deduced from the pure white of the sunbeam—the dark lines that take their stations, like sentinels, in the midst of LIGHT itself —all stimulate the curiosity of Science, while they disclose depths of mystery in “Let there be light!”
These are observations that, while they fire our imaginations as to the physical properties of light and darkness, and speak of mystical and spiritual symbolism, they also fall short of crossing over into that symbolism. As I said in the introduction, besides creating the contrasts of Light and Darkness, God names those contrasts Day and Night. And that contrast is part of the spiritual experience of those who have accepted the Salvation made available through Christ's sacrifice for us.
Consider, first Jesus' words in John 9:4: “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” Similarly, the Apostle Paul associates us with Christ in our dedication to the work of God while it is day, and our awareness of the need to be prepared against the wiles and attacks of our common enemy.
We read in 1 Thessalonians 5:5-8: “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.”
John Gill writes, “Ye are all children of light,.... Or enlightened persons, whose understandings were enlightened by the spirit of God, to see their lost state by nature, the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the insufficiency of their righteousness to justify them before God, the fulness, suitableness, and excellency of Christ's righteousness, the way of salvation by Christ, and that it is all of grace from first to last; to understand in some measure the Scriptures of truth, and the mysteries of the Gospel; to have knowledge of some things that are yet to be done on earth, as the bringing in of the fulness of the Gentiles, the conversion of the Jews, the destruction of antichrist, the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the change of living saints ... up into the air to meet Christ, the burning of the world, and the new heavens and new earth, where Christ and his saints will dwell; as also to have some glimpse of the heavenly glory, of the unseen joys, and invisible realities of the other world: and this the apostle says of them all, in a judgment of charity, as being under a profession of the grace of God, and in a church state, and nothing appearing against them why such a character did not belong to them:
and the children of the day; of the Gospel day, in distinction from the night of Jewish darkness; and of the day of grace which was come upon their souls, in opposition to the night of ignorance and infidelity, which was past; and of the everlasting day of glory, being heirs of, and having a right unto, and a meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light:
we are not of the night, nor of darkness; that is not the children of darkness, as the Syriac and Arabic versions read; and the former changes the person, and reads, "ye are not the children of the night", &c. of the night of the legal dispensation, or of Gentile ignorance; or of a state of natural darkness, in unregeneracy and was no need to write unto them concerning the time and season of Christ's coming, and lays a foundation for the following exhortations.
Therefore let us not sleep as do others.... As the rest of the Gentiles, as unconverted persons, who are in a state of darkness, and are children of the night; let us not act that part they do, or be like them; which professors of religion too much are, when they indulge themselves in carnal lusts and pleasures, and are careless and thoughtless about the coming of the day of the Lord;
and get into a stupid, drowsy, and slumbering frame of spirit; when grace lies dormant as if it was not, and they grow backward to, and slothful in the discharge of duty, and content themselves with the bare externals of religion; and become lukewarm and indifferent with respect to the truths and ordinance of the Gospel, the cause of God, the interest of religion, and glory of Christ;
and are unconcerned about sins of omission or commission: and are willing to continue in such a position, being displeased at every admonition and exhortation given them to awake; but this is very unbecoming children of the light, and of the day: but let us watch; over ourselves, our hearts, thoughts, affections, words and actions; and over others, our fellow Christians, that they give not into bad principles and evil practices; and against sin, and all appearance of it;
against the temptations of Satan, the snares of the world, and the errors of wicked men, who lie in wait to deceive; and in the word and ordinances, and particularly in prayer, both unto it, in it, and after it; and for the second coming of Christ, with faith, affection, and patience; and the rather, because of the uncertainty of the time of it;
and be sober; not only in body, abstaining from excessive eating and drinking, using this world, and the good things of it, so as not to abuse them, or ourselves with them; but also in mind, that the heart be overcharged with the cares of this world; for men may be inebriated with the world, as well as with wine; for an immoderate care for, and pursuit after the world, chokes the word, makes it unfruitful, and runs persons into divers snares and temptations, and hurtful lusts.
The Arabic version renders it, "let us repent"; and the Ethiopic version, "let us understand"; as intending the sobriety of the mind, repentance being an after thought of the mind, a serious reflection on past actions with sorrow and concern; and thinking soberly, and not more highly than a man ought to think of himself, his gifts, his attainments and abilities, in opposition to pride, vanity, and self-conceit; and shows a true and well informed understanding and judgment.
But let us, who are of the day, be sober,.... As in body, so in mind; let us cast off the works of darkness, and have no fellowship with them; since the day of grace has passed upon us, the darkness is gone, and the true light shines, let us walk as children of the light, living soberly, righteously, and godly:
putting on the breastplate of faith and love; As there can be no true faith where there is no love, so there is no true love where faith is wanting: "faith" is a considerable part of the Christian soldier's breastplate, and answers the end of a breastplate, it being that grace which preserves the vitals of religion, and keeps all warm and comfortable within; and secures the peace and joy of the saints, as it has to do with Christ and his righteousness;
wherefore this breastplate is called "the breastplate of righteousness", it fortifies the soul, and preserves it from Satan's temptations, from his fiery darts entering, and doing the mischief they would; it defends the heart against the errors of the wicked, for a man that believes has a witness in himself to the truths of the Gospel, and therefore cannot be easily moved from them;
and strengthens a man against the carnal reasonings of the mind, for faith in the promises of God surmounts all the difficulties that reason objects to the fulfilling of them; and secures from the fears of death, the terrors of the law, and dread of the wrath of God:
and love is the other part of the breast plate; love to God and Christ is a means of keeping the believer sound both in faith and practice; for a soul that truly loves God and Christ cannot give in to principles that depreciate the grace of God, and derogate from the glory and dignity of the person and office of Christ, or the work of the Spirit;
and such love the ordinances and commands of Christ, and hate every false way of worship, or invention of men; and love to the saints is the bond of perfectness, knits them together, preserves unity and peace, and fortifies against the common enemy:
and for an helmet, the hope of salvation; the helmet is that part of armour which covers the head, and was made of brass, and used to be anointed with oil, that it might shine the brighter, last the longer, and more easily repel blows; to which this grace of the Spirit, hope of salvation by Christ, is fitly compared: for by "salvation" is meant salvation by Christ, spiritual salvation, and that as complete in heaven;
and hope is a grace wrought in the soul by the spirit of God, which has for its foundation Christ and his righteousness, and for its object the heavenly glory; it covers the head in the day of battle, and preserves from being overcome by sin and Satan, when one that is destitute of it says there is no hope, and we will walk every man after the imagination of his own evil heart; it erects the head in time of difficulty, amidst tribulation and afflictions; it defends it from fears of divine wrath.
and it preserves from Satan's temptations, and being carried away with the error of the wicked, from the hope of the Gospel: and thus a Christian clothed and armed with these graces, faith, hope, and love, should be so far from indulging himself in sin and sloth, that he ought always to be sober and watchful, and prepared to meet the enemy in the gate; and be ready, always waiting for his Lord's coming.”
This concludes this evening's Discussion, “Light and Darkness, Part VI.”
This Discussion was originally conducted “live” on September 25th, 2019.
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