SITTING IN THE DARKNESS
SCRIPTURE: Psalm 107:10 “Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in
affliction and iron; 107:11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:”
INTRODUCTION:
It is probable that it was on a return from exile or captivity. There is nothing in the psalm to forbid the supposition that this was the return from the captivity at Babylon, and that the psalm was designed to be used at the re-dedication of the temple after the restoration. Every part of it would be appropriate to such an occasion, and it is every way probable that so important an event would be celebrated with appropriate songs of praise. Very often when we speak of darkness in terms of Christianity, we automatically have negative thoughts. Such is true in a lot of cases. The reasons of Darkness though vary, at least according to my attempt to expound and exhort from these particular Scriptures. This darkness can be a terrible experience or it can be an experience of delight. Barnes’ Notes
To “sit in darkness” is significant of great ignorance or of affliction and trouble, as darkness is an
emblem of calamity. Barnes’ Notes
And in the shadow of death A dark, gloomy, chilly shade such as “Death” would cast if he stood between us and the light. Barnes’ Notes
The reference is to the sad and gloomy residence of the Hebrews in the land of captivity. Barnes’ Notes
Being bound in affliction and iron Captives and slaves. Barnes’ Notes
Notice they are sitting and not “walking through the valley of the shadow of death.” This would imply that whatever the experience, the time frame of the experience is being extended by “sitting”.
Darkness à {2822} èv,j — choshek, kho-shek’; from 2821; the dark; hence (literally) darkness; figuratively, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness: — dark(-ness), night, obscurity.
I. EXPLANATIONS FOR THE DARKNESS
A. Providential Darkness:
1. It is a time of learning and fellowship with Christ. You are still on the “right way” (v. 7), but God has taken you aside for a moment in time.
2. It is meant to bring glory to God.
Psalm 107:8 “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!”
3. It is meant to strengthen your relationship with God and your understanding of His presence and planning in your life.
Psalm 107:9 “For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with
goodness.”
B. Mandatory Darkness (*This explanation is in context with the segment of Scriptures.)
1. It is a determined sentence for willing disobedience.
Psalm 107:11 “Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:”
{5006} Åa"n; — na’ats, naw-ats’; a primitive root; to scorn; or (Eccl. 12:5) by
interchange for 5132, to bloom: — abhor, (give occasion to) blaspheme, contemn, despise, flourish, X great, provoke.
Psalm 107:17 “Fools because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, are afflicted.”
Galatians 6:7 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man
soweth, that shall he also reap.”
2. It is meant for chastisement.
I Corinthians 11:32 “But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that
we should not be condemned with the world.”
II Corinthians 6:9 “As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we
live; as chastened, and not killed;”
Hebrews 12:5 “And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as
unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor
faint when thou art rebuked of him: 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he
chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 12:7 If ye endure
chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom
the father chasteneth not?”
3. It is a plan to humble your spirit and salvage your salvation.
Psalm 107:12 “Therefore he brought down their heart with labor; they fell down,
and there was none to help.”
{3665} [n"K; — kana`, kaw-nah’; a primitive root; properly, to bend the knee;
hence, to humiliate, vanquish: — bring down (low), into subjection, under, humble (self), subdue.
I Corinthians 5:3 “For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have
judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done
this deed, 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered
together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, 5:5 To
deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the
spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
4. It is a time of repentance to restore your relationship with the Father.
C. Voluntary Darkness
1. It is self-inflicted.
2. It is a self-pity party.
3. There is no purpose to and no plan for it.
4. It is a waste of strength, time and effort.
5. God is disgraced. Christianity is mocked. You are exhausted.
II. LIBERATION FROM THE DARKNESS
Psalm 107:13 “Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. 107:14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.”
A. Providential Darkness
1. Enjoy the depth of the experience. Cherish the moment.
James 1:2 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 1:4 But
let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire,
wanting nothing.”
Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for
the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
2. Savor the Savior. Walk with Him. Talk with Him.
Psalm 107:8 “Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his
wonderful works to the children of men!”
3. Let Him live in you and through you.
4. Wait on Him to lead you forward.
B. Mandatory Darkness
1. Serve your time and don’t whine, regardless of length.
2. Thank God that He cares enough to correct.
3. Stay closer to God and farther from the world.
Galatians 5:16 “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of
the flesh. 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the
flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things
that ye would. 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.”
4. Learn from the experience. The next time, “Don’t do stupid.” (Dr. Sam Chand)
Romans 8:13 “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the
Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”
5. Move forward only when God is satisfied and He releases you.
C. Voluntary Darkness
1. Admit it. Don’t blame God or even the Devil in some cases though Satan loves
the tool of self-pity.
2. Leave self behind.
Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
3. Re-define and realign your focus.
Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;”
4. Get up and walk away when you are ready to face the responsibility.
III. ETERNAL DARKNESS
Matthew 8:11 “And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The children of the kingdom That is, the children, or the people, who “expected the kingdom,” or to whom it properly belonged; or, in other words, the Jews. THEY supposed themselves to be the special
favorites of heaven. They thought that the Messiah would enlarge their nation and spread the triumphs of THEIR kingdom. They called THEMSELVES, therefore, the children or the members of the kingdom of
God, to the exclusion of the Gentiles. Our Saviour used the manner of speech to which they were accustomed, and said that “many of the pagans would be saved, and many Jews lost”. Barnes’ Notes
Shall be cast out into outer darkness ... This is an image of future punishment. It is not improbable that the image was taken from Roman dungeons or prisons. They were commonly constructed under ground.
They were shut out from the light of the sun. They were, of course, damp, dark, and unhealthy, and probably most filthy. Masters were in the habit of constructing such prisons for their slaves, where the unhappy prisoner, without light, or company, or comfort, spent his days and nights in weeping from grief, and in vainly gnashing his teeth from indignation. The image expresses the fact that the wicked who are lost will be shut out from the light of heaven, and from peace, and joy, and hope; will weep in
hopeless grief, and will gnash their teeth in indignation against God, and complain against his justice. What a striking image of future woe! Go to a damp, dark, solitary, and squalid dungeon; see a miserable and enraged victim; add to his sufferings the idea of eternity, and then remember that this, after all, is but an image, a faint image, of hell! Barnes’ Notes
Matthew 22:12 “And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 22:13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and
take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Here we find a tragic description of the eternal condition of those who are lost. This is "eternal darkness." The soul who turns his back on God and rejects Jesus Christ who is the light of life enters
eternity with no light and shall remain in utter darkness and outer darkness forever. A Dict. Of Bible Types
Matthew 25:29 “For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
There was darkness when Christ was crucified: Matthew 27:45 “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.”
On this occasion the darkness was "actual" and "literal" It may be taken as a warning to sinners that all of those who crucify Christ, who reject Him and turn their backs on Him will be forever in the outer darkness. This same picture was given in Egypt when the plague of darkness fell upon the people. The idolators and all of those who rejected God in Egypt were enveloped in the dense darkness which could be felt while there was light in all the houses of Israel who believed God. A Dictionary of Bible Types
CONCLUSION
If you experience a time of providential darkness while in the will of God, cherish it and learn from it. Grow closer to God by it.
If you experience a time of mandatory darkness, repent of your rebellion/disobedience. Learn from it. Get back to God. Never do it again. Warn others so they may learn by your mistakes.
If you, by pride or self-pity, enter into voluntary darkness, it’s time to grow up. What’s happening to you right now is not different than what has happened to many others before you. Repent and walk out of the darkness.
If you are rejecting the Savior, you are destined not only to sit in darkness, but also at your death to be cast into outer darkness for eternity. Repent of your sins. Receive the Savior. Let Him pull you out of darkness.
