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A65301 Light in darkness, or, Deliverance proclaimed unto the church in the midst of all her despondencies and discouragements in a sermon / preached by Thomas Watson. Watson, Thomas, d. 1686. 1679 (1679) Wing W1132; ESTC R38516 12,192 38

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Light in Darkness OR DELIVERANCE Proclaimed unto the CHURCH IN THE Midst of all her Despondencies and Discouragements IN A SERMON Preached by THOMAS WATSON LONDON Printed for Hen. Bettenham at the Still-Yard in Thames-Street 1679. Light in Darkness c. Psal. 112. v. 4. Unto the Upright there ariseth Light in the Darkness THE Scripture as Chrysostome says is a Spiritual Paradise The Book of Psalms is placed in the midst of this Paradise The Psalms are not only for Delight but for Use like those Trees of the Sanctuary in Ezekiel which were both for Food and for Medicine The Psalms of David are commensurate and exactly fitted to every Christians condition If his Affections are frozen here he may fetch Fire if his Grace be weak here he may fetch Arniour If his Spirits are ready to faint here he may fetch Cordials for his Soul Amongst other Divine Consolations the Text is not the least Unto the Upright there ariseth Light in the Darkness Which words are calculated for the Comfort of the Godly in all Ages and Centuries of the Church This Text is like Israel's Pillar of Fire in the Wilderness or like the Mariners Lanthorn that gives Light in a Dark Night Unto the Upright there ariseth Light in the Darkness Let me Explain the Words e're I come to the Proposition 1. To the Upright Who are here meant by the Upright The Hebrew word for Upright signifies Plainness of Heart The Upright Man is without Collusion or Fraud In whose Spirit there is no Guile Psal. 32. 2. He that is Upright his Heart and his Tongue go together as a well-made Dial goes exactly by the Sun The Words following in the Text may serve for a short Paraphrase to shew us who this Upright Man is the Text sayes He is Gracious Full of Compassion Righteous First The Upright Man is Gracious That implies his Holiness Secondly He is Full of Compassion That implies his Charitableness And Thirdly He is Righteous That implies his Justness He is Gracious therefore he fears God He is Full of Compassion therefore he feeds the Poor He is Righteous therefore he does to others as he would have them do to him This is the Upright Man In short He is one that does act from a right Principle and that is Faith By a right Rule and that is Scripture To a right End and that is God's glory Here 's a man downright Upright 2. The second thing in the Text is There ariseth Light to the Upright What 's meant by Light here By Light metaphorically is meant Delight and Comfort or Joy That 's here meant by Light Esther 8. 16. The Jews had Light and Gladness and Joy Light when it springs in doth much revive Light is sweet Joy is to the Heart as Light is to the Eye Exhilarating and Refreshing That 's the second Word There ariseth Light that is Joy and Comfort 3. There ariseth Light in Darkness What 's meant here by Darkness By Darkness is meant Trouble and Sorrow Res adversae In Isa. 8. 22. They shall look unto the Earth and behold Trouble and Darkness By Darkness is meant Trouble Darkness is very Disconsolate and Afrighting It makes every thing like the Terrors of the Night Such is Trouble Such is Affliction 't is Affrighting It makes every thing like the Terrours of the Night So much for the Explaining of the Words To the Upright ariseth Light in the Darkness The Observation that results from the Words is this Pray observe it Doct. That when the Condition of God's People is Darkest God causes a Light to shine ●nto them To the Upright ariseth Light in Darkness This Proposition has two Branches I shall speak of them distinctly 1. That the Upright may have their Night it may be a Dark season 2. That a Morning-light arises to them in the midst of all their Darkness First That the Upright those whom God loves they may have their Night they may have a very Dark season They may have a two-fold Night They may have 1. A Night of Affliction 2. A Night of Desertion 1. They may have a Night of Affliction for Godliness does not exempt from Trouble A Dark Cloud may set upon their Name upon their Estate God may lay an Embargo upon all their Outward Comforts In Ruth 1. 20. Call me not Naomi that is Fair or Pleasant call me Mara For the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me 2. The Godly may have not only a Night of Affliction but they may have a Night of Desertion God may with-draw the smiling Beams of his Favour and then 't is Night with them indeed then nothing follows but Darkness In Job 6. 4. The Arrows of the Almighty are within me the poison whereof drinketh up my Spirit It alludes saies Drusius unto the Custom of the Persians who in their Warrs did dip their Arrows in Poison that they might shoot their Enemies with the more deadly Wound Thus the God of Heaven he may sometimes shoot the poisoned Arrow of Desertion and then the Soul is Benighted it is in the Dark Though God has the Heart of a Father yet he may sometimes have the Face of an Enemy And the Lord may cause a Cloud of Darkness upon the Soul and suspend the Beams of Spiritual Comfort for these two Reasons Reason 1. The Darkness of Desertion it is to quicken the exercise of Grace For Grace sometimes acts highest when Comfort is lowest In Jonah 2. 4. I said I am cast out of thy sight yet will I look again towards thy Holy Temple That is I will look to Christ of whom the Temple was but a Type Faith and Patience like two Stars shine brightest in a dark Night of Desertion We are taken with the Comforts but God is more taken with the Actings of our Grace Reason 2. The Lord may cause a Dark Cloud to be upon the Righteous a Cloud of Desertion That he may hereby awaken excite and stir up in them a Spirit of Prayer If ever the Soul will pray to purpose 't is now in an hour of Desertion Fathers may hide their Faces from their Children to make them cry after them the more God sometimes hides the light of his Face that we may cry after him the louder As David in Pfal 143. 7. Hear me speedily O Lord my Spirit faileth O! hide not t●y Face from me My Beloved ●esertion it is a short Hell Jonah called the Whales belly the belly of Hell Why so Because he was Deserted there And if ever Jonah would Pray to purpose it was now that he might get out of the belly of Hell Jonah 2. 2. Out of the belly of Hell I cryed unto thee and thou heardest my voice And that 's the first Branch of the Doctrine That God's People they may have a dark Night A Night of Affliction when God lays an Embargo upon all their Comforts And a Night of Desertion which is a short Hell Secondly The second Branch of the Proposition is this That
now a Morning Light shines upon the Righteous Unto the Upright there ariseth Light in the Darkness Lux oritur A Morning Light shines The Philosopher says Non dantur purae tenebrae When 't is Darkest when there 's Midnight God will cause Light some way or other to break forth to the Upright in Heart In Psal. 18. 28. The Lord will light my Candle As if David had said Though at present all my Comforts seem to be blown out and I am left in the dark yet the Lord will light my Candle he will make Light to arise in Obscurity There is a twofold Light that God causes to arise upon the Upright when they are in the dark There is 1. An Outward Light that he makes to shine 2. An Inward Light that he makes to shine 1. There is an Outward Light shines that is God does oftentimes cause a Light of Prosperity to arise upon his People that 's a Light in Darkness When God by his Providence alters the Face of things and causes Peace and Prosperity in the Tabernacles of the Righteous here 's Light arising in Darkness In Psal. 29. 3. When his Candle shined upon my Head What was this Candle It was nothing else but the Candle of Prosperity that shined upon him And in Psal. 132. 17. I have ordained a Lamp for mine Anointed That is Outward Blessings Gracious Prosperity shall shine as a Lamp upon David's Successor I have ordained a Lamp for mine Anointed I will give outward Glory in the Kingdom Here 's an outward Light The Lord can on a sudden alter the Scene of Providence and turn the shadow of Death into the Light of the Morning 2. God causes an Inward Light to arise upon the Upright when they are in the dark 1. A Light of Grace 2. A Light of Joy First The Light of Grace he makes that shine In the midst of Darkness let the Darkness be what it will a dram of Faith in the Soul is a spark of Light When the Tree has no Leaves nor Blossoms to be seen but seems dead in Autumn yet there may be sap in the Root of the Vine When our Outward Comforts are as it were dead there may be a Seed of Grace preserved in the Heart and this Grace in the darkest condition it is the dawning of Light in the Soul Secondly God causes a Light of Spiritual Joy and Comfort to arise upon his Saints And truly this Light of Spiritual Joy it is somewhat of the glimmering of the Light of Heaven this is some glimpse of the Light of Paradise In Isa. 12. 1. Thine Anger is turned away and thou comfortedst me The Light of Divine Joy in the Soul it is sweet and ravishing it makes all dark Shadows flee away Spiritual Joy causes a Jubilation and does as far exceed all earthly Comforts as Heaven does Earth Thus you see that in Midnight in the darkest Cloud of Providence God causes some Light or other to arise upon the Upright My Brethren 't is only God can make it lightsome in a dark troubled Soul As when the Sun is set none can make it rise again but God So My Beloved when 't is Sun-set in the Soul and the Dew of Tears fall from the Eye none can make Day-light in the Soul but only God Ministers they may Preach Comfort to us but God only can make us feel Comfort Ministers they may bring a Cordial to us and set it by us but none but God can pour this Cordial into the Heart in Psal. 4. 7. Thou hast put Gladness in my Heart Before I come to the Application here 's a Question arises Why does God make Light to arise to his People in an hour of Darkness I answer for three Reasons 1. That God may hereby fulfil his Promise He has said it that he will enlighten his People In Isa. 42. 16. I will make Darkness Light before them God's Honour lies upon it to make good his Promise and to cause Light to arise to his People in Obscurity The Lord's Promise it is his Bond. When one has given Bond to another he cannot go back Though sometimes God's Promise may be long in Travail yet at last it brings forth Deliverance Two things in God never fail First His Compassions fail not Lam. 3. 22. Secondly His Faithfulness fails not Psal. 82. 33. God may sometimes delay a Promise but he will not deny his Promise God may sometimes change his Promise turn a Temporal Promise into a Spiritual and so pay us in a better Coin but will never break his Promise He has said he will cause a Light to go before his People in all their Darkness 2. God may cause Light and Joy to arise to his People because they help to enlighten others When other Christians are in the dark of Ignorance they enlighten them with Knowledg when they are in the dark of Affliction ready to perish they feed them and they relieve them and their Almes minister Light of Joy and Comfort to the Poor when they are in Desertion why God's People they speak a word of Comfort to their Hearts They enlighten those that sit in Darkness and therefore surely God will not let those want Light who help to enlighten others if they should come to be benighted with Sorrow why God will be sure to spring in with some Light to them who have given Light to others 3. God will cause Light to arise in Darkness to his People either he will support them in Trouble or deliver them out of Trouble because God sees that they have great need of some dawnings of Light they need some Morning-Star now to appear they would faint away they would be discouraged in serving God if sometimes he did not turn the Shadow of Death into the Light of the Morning Should the sick Patient always have purging Physick given him why surely if he had no Cordials he would soon faint away God knows our frame he sees our Spirits would fail before him if he did always let a dark Cloud dwell upon us and therefore in Judgment he remembers Mercy and causes the Day-Star of Comfort and Joy to spring up in a Gracious Soul God will not fuffer it always to be dark in the Hearts of his People lest they should touch upon the Rock of Despair The Musician he will not stretch the Strings of his Viol too hard left they should chance to break Thus you see why the wise God sees it fittest to cause Light to arise unto his People in the midst of all their Clouds of Darkness And so much briefly for the Doctrinal part I proceed now to the Application 1. By way of Information 2. By way of Consolation 1. Use of Information First By way of Information Here are several Inferences Inference 1. 1. See from this Text the Infinite Goodness of God to his Children in all cases that may fall out in this World whether Affliction or Desertion O the goodness of God! in