368. GEN 1:3. LIGHT AND THE GOSPEL COMPARED
Gen_1:3. Light and the Gospel Compared
(a missionary sketch.)
"And God said, Let there be light: and there was fight."’97Gen_1:3.
Our text has been considered the sublimest sentence the world possesses, in any language or tongue. It presents before us the power and grandeur of the Deity, in the most striking and magnificent view. He resolves to bring into being this globe of ours; he steps forth to throw into activity his creative energies. Before him is one dark void, one confused chaotic mass. The silence is broken by the omnific voice of God: he speaks, and says, "Let there be light," and behold there is light. Obedient to the Divine Mandate, that beautiful first-born creature bursts into existence, the fairest and brightest image of its great original. The adversaries of revelation have treated the text with scorn, as being at variance with philosophy and the true nature of things, as light is said to have existed before the sun and moon were created. It is, however, not difficult to show the unbelieving reviler of revelation, that the text is both philosophically and theologically true; caloric or latent heat, which is inseparably connected with latent of hidden light, exists in every part of nature, without which there could be no vegetation, and which may be considered as the life of the material world. This then was the light which God produced by his word. The subject of light considered philosophically, is one peculiarly interesting and instructive. On the present occasion, however, we wish to apply the subject to the spread of the light of truth; the light of the glorious Gospel of the blessed God. Let us consider,
I. The Appropriateness of the Metaphor.
How may the Gospel be described and compared to light? By a little attention to the Holy Oracles, we shall perceive hat the Gospel is often thus represented. Mat_4:16. Isa_60:1. "Arise, shine," &c. "Life and immortality," &c. Jesus speaking also said, "Light is come," &c. Joh_3:19. See the full application of it, 2Co_4:4-6.
1. Light and the Gospel resemble each other in their source and Divine Resemblance.
God made the light; he produced it by his infinite skill and Almighty Power; and as he formed it, so he formed it in the bright resemblance of himself. "God is light," &c.; "He is the Father of lights," &c. How forcibly do these remarks apply to the Gospel; it is not a cunningly advised fable; it is not of man, or by man. but of God, and from God; "Glorious Gospel of the blessed God." Not only is the Gospel from God, but it bears the Divine likeness; it reflects the Divine image. Every attribute of God is seen in the Gospel. It is a Gospel of mercy, yet of justice; a Gospel of grace, yet of holiness; a Gospel of truth, and of wisdom, and power. "Here the whole Deity is known," &c.
2. Light and the Gospel resemble each other in their adaptation to the end de signed.
The design of light is to make manifest Objects truly interesting may surround us we may have the power of vision, but with out light they necessarily remain unseen So it is with the great things connected with the soul, and God, and eternity. Now these are all made manifest, all made known, &c. Reason could not apprehend these things; philosophy could not. The Gospel has brought them all before us; all the mighty, momentous concerns of the soul and eternity, are made manifest. Now, no doubt, no obscurity, &c. Two remarks,
(1) The simplicity of light, while it is so glorious, yet so simple. No glare, &c.
(2) Its mildness. All other bodies, when put in rapid motion, are destructive in their effects. The stream rushes on when swelled by the flood, and sweeps away every thing before it; the air, although the balm of life, when agitated, levels buildings, tears up the trees of the forest, or sinks the majestic vessels in the waters of the deep. Not so light; although it moves with such rapidity, yet it falls on the eye with radiant softness and beauty. Now so the Gospel is full of holy simplicity; it is a revelation for the poor, and the illiterate, and the wayfaring men, &c. So it is like light for its mildness; it is a Gospel of grace, no error, no lightnings, no thunders, no earthquakes, no curses; all tenderness, all heavenly softness. "Law was given," &c. Contrast the two passages, "Cursed be he who continueth not," &c.; and "God so loved the world," &c.
3. Light and the Gospel resemble each other in their purity.
Darkness is the emblem of ignorance and crime, light of knowledge and holiness. How beautifully transparent is light, no foul mixture of pollution with it; it may pass over regions, where the plague or pestilence rage, but unlike the air, it exhales none of the contagious matter. So the Gospel is eminently a system of purity; it is holy in every sense of the word; all its doctrines, principles, and precepts, are holy; in it is no impurity at all. How unlike every form of Paganism and Mahomedanism; on it is engraven, "holiness to the Lord;" it has come in contact with every vile system, and yet it has retained all its original purity. Now the Gospel is not only pure, but it diffuses purity; it is God’s great instrument for delivering the mind from sin; "Ye shall know the truth," &c.; "Sanctify them by thy truth," &c.
4 Light and the Gospel resemble each other in their inseparable connection with joy and happiness.
Solomon has said, Ecc_11:7, "Truly the light is sweet," &c. See that poor sight less creature, how deplorable is his condition; how many enjoyments he loses, &c.! See that benighted traveller, in the dreary desert, in danger from wild beasts &c. See the tempest-tossed mariner, how he longs for the light of the morning. Now the Gospel finds man naturally thus; he is blind, in the darkness of his lost estate, in the way of death. He is exposed to the tempest of the Divine wrath, under the curse of God. The Gospel totally reverses his condition; his understanding is filled with the light of knowledge; his conscience the light of peace; his heart the light of joy and hope in the Lord. Now he is a child of light and of the day; a child of grace, and heir of heaven. Let me then hasten to notice,
II. The Will of God respecting it
It is the will of God,
1. That man should have the light of salvation.
He wills not the moral darkness of one soul; God hates moral darkness. To expel it, and to illuminate the soul of man, he has sent his word, his Son, his Spirit, and his ministers, &c. It is the will of God,
2. That his Church should be the light of the world.
The world is in darkness; how is it to be lightened? by the instrumentality of the Church. Hence the Church is likened to the moon, cheering the night with her silvery beams; also compared to a candlestick, &c., ye are the lights of the world; "Arise, shine," &c. God does not expect the world to be savingly enlightened by literary or philosophical societies; by mechanic’s institutions, by educational or temperance societies. These may be auxiliary means, these may be enlisted into the service of the Church, but God says to the Church, "Let there be light," diffuse your rays abroad, &c. It is the will of God,
3. That the world should be filled with the light of the gospel of Christ.
(1) Now the gospel is adapted to all the world. It is as much suited to one part of it as to another.
(2) It is expressly said that it is designed for the whole world. "God sent not his Son," &c. "I am the light of the world." "This we know and testify," &c. Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature," &c.
(3) The whole world shall finally enjoy its saving rays. "This gospel of the kingdom," &c. See Isa_11:9, Isa_60:19, and Hab_2:14.
Application
1. Have you the light of Divine grace in your hearts? Can you say, "Once I was blind," &c. Ye who were once in darkness, are you now light in the Lord? How necessary this to comfort in life, peace in death, and safety in eternity!
2. Have you this light in your families? It is said of the children of Israel, that during the darkness of Egypt, they had light in their dwellings. Keep the fire on the altar of domestic worship, continually burning.
3. Have you light in your neighborhoods? Are your neighbors in the way to heaven or perdition? See that you feel for them, and try to enlighten them.
4. Are you assisting to enlighten the world? It is the will of God that the world should be filled with light. What is your heart’s desire? Is it that "Israel," &c. "Send out thy light and truth." Is it, "God be merciful," &c. Are you acting as well as praying? Are you sending the word of light’97the ambassadors of light, &c. Oh, how delightful will be the day of the world’s millennial glory, when we shall not need to ask our brother, "Knowest thou the Lord," &c.!
Autor: JABEZ BURNS