Isaiah 50:10-11 Who is among you that fears the LORD, that obeys the voice of his servant, that walks in darkness, and has no light?… I. ONE WHO TRULY FEARS GOD, AND IS OBEDIENT TO HIM, MAY BE IN A CONDITION OF DARKNESS, AND HAVE NO LIGHT; and may walk many days and years in that condition. 1. Walking in darkness is taken (1 John 1:6) for living in sin and ungodliness. But so it is not to be taken here; for Christ would not have encouraged such to trust in God, who is light, and there can be no fellowship between Him and such darkness, as the apostle tells us. Nay, the Holy Ghost reproves such as do "lean on the Lord" and yet transgress (Micah 3:11). And besides, the text speaks of such who for their present condition fear God and are obedient to Him, which if they thus walked in darkness they could not be said to do. 2. Neither is it to be meant of walking in ignorance, as in John 12:35. For one that hath no light, in that sense, can never truly fear God nor obey Him. 3. He means it of discomfiture and sorrow, as often we find in Scripture darkness to be taken (Ecclesiastes 5:17); as, on the contrary, light, because it is so " pleasant a thing to behold," is put for comfort (Ecclesiastes 11:7), And that so it is taken here is evident by that which is opposed in the next verse, "Walk ye in your light, yet ye shall lie down in sorrow." But — 4. Of what kind of sorrow and for what? (1) It is not to be restrained to outward afflictions only, which are called man's infirmities, as being common to man; which arise from things of this world, or from the men of the world; though to walk in darkness is so taken (Isaiah 59:9). For, in them also, a man's best support is to trust in God. But yet that cannot be the only or principal meaning of it. He adds, "and hath no light," that is, no comfort. Now, as philosophers say, there is no pure darkness without some mixture of light, so we may say, there is not mere or utter darkness caused by outward afflictions: no outward affliction can so universally environ the mind, as to shut up all the crannies of it, so that a man should have no light. Besides, God's people, when they walk in the greatest outward darkness, may have most light in their spirits. But here is such an estate spoken of, such a darkness as bath no light in it. Therefore — (2) It is principally to be understood of the want of inward comfort in their spirits, from something that is between God and them. Because the remedy here provided is faith. In the foregoing verses he had spoken of justification. But because there might be some poor souls who, though truly fearing God, yet might want this assurance, and upon the hearing of this might be the more troubled, because not able to express that confidence which he did, he adds, "Who is among you," etc. These words have a relation also to the 4th verse, where he says that God had given him the "tongue of the learned, to minister a word of comfort in season to him that is weary and heavy laden;" and thereupon, in this verse, he shows the blessed condition of such persons as are most weary through long walking in darkness; and withal he discovereth to them the way of getting out of this darkness, and recovering comfort again. II. WHAT IS THE CONDITION OF SUCH A ONE WHO IS THUS IN DARKNESS, AND HATH NO LIGHT? 1. He is said to have no light. "Light," saith the apostle (Ephesians 5:13), "is that whereby things are made manifest," i.e., to the sense of sight and as light and faith are here severed, so sight also is (2 Corinthians 5:7) distinguished from faith, which is the evidence of things absent and not seen (Hebrews 11:1). When, therefore, here he saith he hath no light, the meaning is, he wants all present sensible testimonies of God's favour to him. To understand this, we must know that God, to help our faith, vouchsafeth a threefold light to His people, to add assurance and joy to their faith; which is to faith as a back of steel to a bow. (1) The immediate light of His countenance. (2) The sight and comfort of their own graces, unto which so many promises belong. So that often when the sun is set, yet starlight appears. (3) Though he want the present light of God's countenance, and the sight of present grace, yet he may have a comfortable remembrance of what once before he had still left. 2. He walks in darkness. (1) To walk in darkness implies to be in doubt whither to go. (2) Those in darkness are apt to stumble at everything. (3) Darkness is exceedingly terrible and full of horror. ( T. Goodwin.) Parallel Verses KJV: Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God. |
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