Chapter I
The main proposition and subject of this discourse thence deduced : That a child
of God may walk in darkness. That thereby distress of conscience, and
desertion in the want of assurance ofjustification, is meant, proved.
THIS to be tlie meaning of tlie words will more fully appear in opening the
several propositions to be delivered out of them, whereof the first and princi
pally intended is this : That one who truly fears God, and is obedient to
him, may be in a condition of darkness, and have no light ; and he may walk many days and years in that condition.
And herein, further to explain the text, and bottom this great point well
upon it, and more particularly to discover what the condition of a child of
God, thus in darkness, is, we will first inquire what is meant by walking in darkness here in this place.
First, Walking in darkness is taken in 1 John i. 6, for living in sin and ungodliness in the commission of known sins or omission of known
duties, going on in the works of darkness. 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
( lean on the Lord and yet transgress, Mic. iii. 11. And besides, the text speaks of such who for their present condition fear God and are obedient to him, which if
Apostle tells us. Nay, the Holy Ghost reproves such as do
they thus walked in darkness they could not be said to do. Neither
Secondly, Is it to be meant of walking in ignorance, as, John xii. 35, it is
taken. For one that hath no light, in that sense, can never truly fear God nor obey him : the heart that wanteth knowledge is not good/ says Solo
mon, Prov. xix. 2 ; and so to walk in darkness is accompanied with walking in vanity of mind, Eph. iv. 17. But
Thirdly, He means it of discomfiture and sorrow, as often we find in
Scripture darkness to be taken, as Eccles. v. 17; as, on the contrary, light, because it is so pleasant a thing to behold, is put for comfort, Eccles. xi.
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
Fourthly, Of what kind of sorrow, and for what ? Whether from outward
afflictions, or inward distress of mind and conscience ; or, to use Solomon s
distinction, whether by reason of man s ordinary infirmities, or of a wounded
spirit ? That is yet in question. And
First, 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, Isa. lix. 9, and I will not exclude it here. For, in them also, a man s best
support is to trust in God ; and it is the safest way to interpret Scriptures in the largest sense which the words and coherence will bear. But yet that cannot be the only or principal meaning of it j for besides what is further to
238 A CHILD OF LIGHT WALKING IN DAEKNESS. [PAET I.
be said to the contrary, he adds withal, and hath no light, that is, no com
fort. Now, as philosophers say, non dantur puree tenebrce, 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. And besides, God s people, when they walk in
the greatest outward darkness, may have, yea, often use to have, most light in their spirits. But here is such an estate spoken of, such a darkness as hath no light in it. Therefore
Secondly, It is principally to be understood of the want of inward com
fort in their spirits, from something that is between God and them ; and so meant of that darkness and terrors which accompany the want of the sense
of God s favour. And so darkness is elsewhere taken for inward affliction of
spirit and mind, and want of light, in point of assurance, that God is a man s
God, and of the pardon of a man s sins ; so, Ps. Ixxxviii. 6, Henian useth
this word to express his distress. And the reasons why it is thus to be un
derstood here are
First, Because the remedy here prescribed isfaitfi; to stay himself upon God, and that as upon his God ; he puts in his God, emphatically, because
that is the point he is troubled about, and concerning which he is in dark
ness, and of which he would have such a one to be persuaded. And that is it which faith, which is propounded here as the remedy, doth in the first place and principally look unto, as its primary aim and object.
Secondly, In the foregoing verses he had spoken of justification, whereby God pardons our sins and accepts our persons; the prophet, or Christ in
the person of his elect, (as some,) having expressed his assurance of this :
* God is near that justifies me, who shall condemn ? Which words the
Apostle, Bom. viii. 32, 33, doth allege in the point of justification, and to
express the triumphing assurance of it ; and applies them in the name and
person of true believers too. 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 ; therefore he adds, Who is among you that feareth
the Lord, and walketh in darkness ? &c. : as if he should have said to such, Though you want the comfortable sense and assurance of this, yet be not
discouraged ; but do you exercise faith, go out of yourselves, rely upon Christ and that mercy which is to be found in God : you may fear God and want
it, and you are to trust in God in the want of it.
Thirdly, These words have a relation also to the 4th verse, where he says, as that God had given him this assurance of his own justification, for his own particular comfort, in those immediately foregoing verses to the text, so there, that God had also given him the tongue of the learned, to minis
ter a word of comfort in season to him that is weary and heavy laden : and
thereupon, in this verse, he accordingly shews 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. And in all the word of God there is not a more comfortable and seasonable word to one in such a condition to be found. All which
argues it is spoken of inward darkness and trouble of spirit, and that in
point of applying justification, and God to be a man s God.
CHAP. II.] A CHILD OF LIGHT WALKING IN DARKNESS. 239