0503. A DREADED BLESSING
A DREADED BLESSING
"For the morning is to all of them as the shadow of death" (Job_24:17. r.v.).
The moral nature of any man must be sadly perverted, when the bright rays of the morning dawn are to him as the shadows of death. All rebels against the light are lovers of iniquity (Job_24:13). "Men love darkness rather than the light, because their deeds are evil."
I. The Contrast. "The morning..the shadows of death." The difference is that of day and night, life and death, good and evil.
1. The "morning" is suggestive of Pleasure. "Light is sweet, and it is a pleasant thing for the eye to behold the sunshine." How beautiful and fresh is the morning dawn, with all its new revelations and silent benedictions. What a lovely emblem of the dawn of spiritual life in the soul.
2. The "morning" is suggestive of Privilege. With the morning light comes all the opportunities and possibilities of a new day. The darkness as a difficulty in the way of general labour is removed and the generous sunshine pours its cheering beams into every needy corner where its progress is not obstructed The voice of the morning is, "Awake, awake, put on strength." Behold now is the day of salvation. "The night cometh when no man can work."
3. The "shadow of death" is suggestive of gathering darkness. The bright, hopeful light has died away, and the thick gloomy clouds of darkness are spreading quickly over the sky. Those who have been thankfully using the daylight have entered into rest, while those who have been idling away their time have lost their opportunity. Spiritually, this is a very melancholy condition to be in.
4. The "shadow of death" is suggestive of future hopelessness. It is that awful shadow which is the certain forerunner of eternal separation. Death is not far away when its shadow has come. What prospect can a man have of re-establishing his lost character when the shadow of death is already upon him? While death does not end all, it is the end of all opportunity, as far as this life is concerned.
II. The Anomaly. "The morning is to them as the shadow of death." This is a most unnatural and wretched state to be in. It betrays a condition of perfect moral disorder; an inherent unfitness for the enjoyment of God’s order of things. Why should God’s brightest gifts be to them as the darkness of doom? Why should the light of the Gospel be to some as the shadow of death, instead of the morning dawn of the light of life? The more brightly this light of truth shines, the more dark does the sky of their self-created hopes become; so, to them the "morning" of God’s light of salvation is as the shadow of death-
1. Because it awakens the FEAR OF DISCOVERY. Like the thief, the murderer, and the adulterer, they love the darkness better than the light, because it is better suited for their vile purposes. The morning light is as it were the death blow to their ungodly prospects. That which is good very good, is to them bad, because it exposes and condemns their own badness. Those who wrap themselves up in the garment of self-righteousness cannot bear the glare of God’s unsullied truth, because it reveals their boasted righteousness to be nothing but filthy rags. They would rather have the pleasures of darkness, the delusive joys of sin, to the pure delights of holiness that comes to us through the shining of His Word. The man who is afraid of Heaven’s light is an enemy to God at heart. He that loves the light comes into the light that his life and character might be tested and purified. To them who love not the Lord Jesus Christ, His coming again, as the Bright and Morning Star, will be to them indeed as the shadow of death, for they will be consumed by the brightness of His coming.
Autor: James Smith