Then Shall Thy Light Break Forth

Thomas Thacher (1620-1678), pastor of the Old South Church in Boston, preached from Isaiah 58 at a solemn assembly in 1674. The title of the sermon was “A Fast of God’s Choosing, Plainly Opened For the Help of Those Poor in Spirit whose Hearts are Set to Seek the Lord their God in New-England, in the Solemn Ordinance of a Fast.”

(In an age of 140-characters, text-ese, and sound-bytes, I wonder if our economization of communication is actually better.)

“Is not this the fast that I have chosen?

to loose the bands of wickedness,

to undo the heavy burdens,

and to let the oppressed go free,

and that ye break every yoke?

Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry,

and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house?

when thou seest the naked,

that thou cover him;

and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning,

and thine health shall spring forth speedily:

and thy righteousness shall go before thee;

the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward.

Then shalt thou call,

and the LORD shall answer;

thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am” (Isaiah 58:6-9, K.J.V.).

It’s a good read (it was published four years after Thacher preached it). The older I get, the more jealous I am for the style of those old preachers: they are so pastoral. Sometimes we speak of ministers as “soul-physicians,” but sometimes these guys are more like “soul-surgeons.” I listen to a few people who do this today (Sinclair Ferguson is especially good at this), but in general it’s hard to find them.

In speaking from verse 8 (“Then shall thy light break forth as the morning”), Thacher mentions several things that this spiritual light, this sign of God’s satisfaction, does in the life of believers coming out of a time of spiritual darkness (hence the need for the solemn assembly, repentance, and fasting). One of the things he mentions is that light illuminates just how dark the darkness was: “...it is light after darkness when you now see that darkness had covered your souls whereas you previously did not know what your state and condition were.”

I know this darkness from personal (and pastoral) experience. It’s the tendency to see spiritual darkness as a circumstance brought about in your life through the actions of others. This gloom through which we trudge does not originate with us, but has wrapped itself around us through the selfish, ignorant, unjust, or wicked actions/words of others (so we think - we actually can't see anything correctly). I wouldn’t be in this inky pit if it weren’t for them, we tell ourselves (and probably plenty of others). We blind ourselves to our own spiritual darkness by insisting that it is something outside that has offensively been pushed on us.

We cannot see our own darkness.

In a few days I have to speak to a small-group Bible study about why I think a popular Bible teacher is not the best person from whom to learn. The main spiritual unhealthiness I think this teacher promotes is how we hear from the Lord (specifically, in extra-biblical personal revelation). I don’t want to just offer criticism at this meeting, so I was studying what the Bible had to say about hearing God. It’s a common theme in the Gospel of John. While I was doing this research, though, I re-read the story of the blind man in chapter 9. He is given sight by Jesus, but later interrogated by the Pharisees and cast out of the synagogue as a result of his testimony concerning Christ.

“Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth” (John 9:35-41).

The greatest darkness belongs to those who deny the darkness exists because of their own sin. Christ “gives them over” to this blindness (in the Romans 1:24,26,28 sense). This is how “they which see might be made blind.” Their decided condition is declared over them by the Lord.

“The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:22,23).

“The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light” (Luke 11:34-36).

In both of these statements Jesus identifies the darkness not as something exterior to us, but something akin to what we now call “worldview.” Our philosophy of life, our way of seeing and evaluating everything in our experience of reality, is either one illuminated by the pure light of the wisdom of the Word, or is darkened by “vain...imaginations,” “their foolish heart,” “the vanity of their mind,” or “the blindness of their heart” (Romans 1:21; Ephesians 4:17,18).

Yes, this is the continual state of unbelievers, but spiritual darkness can sometimes afflict believers.

“...through unbelief and the temptations of Satan, the sensible sight of the light and love of God may for a time be clouded and obscured from them, yet he is still the same, and they shall be sure to be kept by the power of God unto salvation” (1689 Baptist Confession, 17.1).

“Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation” (Baptist Faith & Message 2000, V).

This brings me back to Thacher’s sermon and Isaiah 58:8.

“Then shall thy light break forth as the morning...” This is a promise of God.

What brings the light that shows just how dark our darkness was?

“...to loose the bands of wickedness,

to undo the heavy burdens,

and to let the oppressed go free,

and that ye break every yoke?

Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry,

and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house?

when thou seest the naked,

that thou cover him;

and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?” (58:6,7).

Sadly, when we go through times of spiritual darkness, we tend most to focus inward on ourselves (again, I say this out of personal and pastoral experience). With blind eyes continually gazing at the darkness, we, as Thacher said, do "not know what [our] state and condition" is. The remedy according to the Lord’s words through the prophet is just the opposite. We are commanded to do just the opposite of what our natural (sinful) instincts are when we are going through a season of darkness. Instead of falling deeper into the singularity (black hole), we are to turn outward to care for others. “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning...”

Maybe you’re thinking, “but isn’t it hypocrisy to do these things if I don’t feel like doing them?”

The Lord Himself answers this a few chapters earlier (where He’s speaking about right observance of His sabbath): “Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed” (56:1).

It would be hypocritical to take care of others if we were attempting to procure salvation or righteousness for ourselves. That’s not the case in chapter 58. He’s calling His people (a people struggling in spiritual darkness) to a humble repentance, a fast, that consists in obeying His command to care for those in need. The goal isn’t salvation through righteousness. God Himself provided that a few chapters earlier. The purpose is obeying God (the fruit of those truly justified by faith). It’s not hypocrisy to do what God has commanded when you don’t feel like it. It’s spiritual discipline.

And He promises that the darkness will lift when we do it. One of the first things we realize with the coming light of dawn is just how dark the previous darkness had been. Our turning in on ourselves meant we weren’t caring for others – a rebellion against the command of the Lord. As a result He sends the darkness, usually through conflicts with others or difficult circumstances (which sometimes triggers depression). We deny the darkness belongs to us and blame others in our vain imaginations. And the darkness deepens.

Want to see reality? Consider your salvation (justified by faith in Jesus Christ alone) and obey God’s command to care for others – whether you feel like it or not. The light will dawn and you’ll see reality. Your darkness was yours.

Something else Thacher says: “...when this light that is promised is gradual, like the light of the morning that ‘shineth more and more unto the perfect day’ (Proverbs 4:18). You must not say there is no light because it is not noon at dawn. If spiritually it is but the dawning of the day or the light of the morning star, you still have cause to acknowledge it is an answer to prayers. If it foreshadows the beginning of your return from spiritual captivity or outward calamity you are to acknowledge it as a springing light which shall go on to the perfect day in full perfection of glory.”

Believer bowed down in gloom, the light does not come from contemplating the murk (darkness cannot be seen for what it is while we are still blind to it). It comes with a faith in Christ that produces self-disciplined obedience to His commands to care for others selflessly.

 “Then shall thy light break forth as the morning...”

The Desire for Holiness and the Presence of Christ

How do we experience the presence of Christ in the gathering of the Church? Prayer? Music?

How about Church discipline?

“For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst” (Matthew 18:20). We often quote this verse, usually out of its context. Church discipline. Read Matthew 18:15-20. This promise is attached to the revelation of “stumbling blocks” in the congregation. We have no right to attach it to something more to our liking.

Read 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 2 Corinthians 2:1-11. In these passages on Church discipline, there is a similar implication that Christ is present in this action: “In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus...but one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ” (1 Corinthians 5:4; 2 Corinthians 2:10).

Finally: “If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of that person and do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!” (2 Thessalonians 3:14-16).

Three times the New Testament tells us that Christ the Lord is present when His people take a stand for His holiness and disassociate from unrepentant sinners. His holiness is the boundary line for true, biblical, peaceful fellowship. “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). In our desire for peace in the congregation, we are not to sacrifice the process of being made holy (“the sanctification”). If we do, we are promised that we will not see the Lord. He will not be present in our gatherings, no matter how good the music is or how sincere the prayers are. We do not dictate the terms of the presence of the King.

The unrepentant sinner has no place in the gathering of the people of the King of kings. We do not fool Him by modifying, watering down, or simply ignoring His commandments. They are the conduit of His love (John 14:15,21,23,24; 15:10). They are the purpose of our mission (Matthew 28:20). Further, obedience is the mark of the true people of God (Acts 6:7; Romans 1:5; 6:16,17; 10:16; 15:18; 16;26; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; Hebrews 5:8-10; 11:8; 1 Peter 1:2,14,22).

Do we desire the presence of Christ in His Church? Then we must humbly, repentantly desire His holiness. Together.

Inside=Life/Outside=Death

“It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife” (1 Corinthians 5:1).

It may not have existed among the Gentiles, but it was an ancient sin warned against in the Law of Moses under the old covenant. Take careful note of the punishment.

• “You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife; it is your father’s nakedness...for whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people” (Leviticus 18:8,29).
• “If there is a man who lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death, their bloodguiltiness is upon them” (Leviticus 20:11). The sentence, “surely be put to death” (מות־יומתו), is an echo of the curse of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (תמות מות, Genesis 2:17).
• “A man shall not take his father’s wife so that he will not uncover his father’s skirt” (Deuteronomy 22:30).
• “‘Cursed is he who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s skirt.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen’” (Deuteronomy 27:20).

The punishment is to “be cut off from among [the] people,” “cursed,” which is to “be put to death.”

Now compare this punishment to the new covenant discipline mandated by the apostle Paul:

• “You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst” (1 Corinthians 5:2).
• “In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and I with you in spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus, I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (5:4,5).
• “But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler - not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves” (5:11-13; compare this last sentence with Deuteronomy 13:5; 17:7; 21:21; 22:21,22,24).

Being “cut off from among [the] people” in the old covenant meant death. In the new covenant it means excommunication. What does this say about membership in the congregation as the place of life? To be outside the gathering of the Church is a living death. Is your view of the local Church (for this is undoubtedly who Paul is addressing – it stretches believability to think he is speaking to the universal Church) this lofty? Inside, life. Outside, death.*

There is, of course, a profound difference between the old/new covenant with regards to capital punishment/excommunication. There is grace and mercy extended to those excommunicated in the new covenant:

• “For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you. But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorrow not to me, but in some degree - in order not to say too much - to all of you. Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. But one whom you forgive anything, I forgive also; for indeed what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ, so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes” (2 Corinthians 2:4-11).
• “For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it - for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while - I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death” (7:8-10).

In the new covenant, the “living death” of excommunication is used by God to produce “the sorrow” which “produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation.” This is exactly what Jesus teaches. “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:17). How did Jesus treat Gentiles and tax collectors? Read Matthew 9:9-13. They are objects of evangelism. They are urged to follow Jesus.

Inside, life. Outside, death.

Hear the call. Come in from among the walking dead. Come into the community of life, the gathering of those who follow Jesus, the local Church.

* We’ve developed a sort of cultural allergy to speaking of boundaries with regards to the Church. It is an allergy the New Testament doesn’t share with us in our sensitivity. The New Testament has no problem speaking of those inside the Church and those outside the Church (Mark 4:11; 1 Corinthians 5:11-13; Colossians 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:12; 1 Timothy 3:7; Revelation 22:5).

Not Goods, but the Good

“Wherefore should I fear in the evil days, when iniquity shall compass me about, as at mine heels? They trust in their goods, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches. Yet a man can by no means redeem his brother: he cannot give his ransom to God, (so precious is the redemption of their souls, and the continuance forever) that he may live still forever, and not see the grave. For he seeth that wise men die: and also that the ignorant and foolish perish, and leave their riches for others. Yet they think their houses and their habitations shall continue forever, even from generation to generation, and call their lands by their names. But man shall not continue in honor; he is like the beasts that die. This their way uttereth their foolishness; yet their posterity delight in their talk...like sheep they lie in grave; death devoureth them; and the righteous shall have domination over them in the morning; for their beauty shall consume, when they shall go from their house to grave...be not thou afraid when one is made rich, and when the glory of his house is increased. For he shall take nothing away, when he dieth, neither shall his pomp descend after him. For while he lived, he rejoiced himself; and men will praise thee, when thou makest much of thyself. He shall enter into the generation of his fathers, and they shall not live forever. Man is in honor; and understandeth not; he is like to beasts that perish” (Psalm 49:5-20, Geneva Bible).

For a government (elected by the people for the people) to borrow $4,000,000 a minute, spending $2.06 for every $1.00 it takes in...these things cannot last forever (I’m starting to wonder if we’re seeing “Lord of the Flies” played out over a few centuries in this Republic). This is reason for despair if 49:15 (the only such verse in this Psalm) is not the solid confession of your faith in this world: “...God shall deliver my soul from the power of the grave; for He will receive me” (49:15).

As a dear brother of mine once said, “faith is faith only when Christ is all you have.” It seems the Father, in His disciplining love for His children (Hebrews 12:1-13), is bringing His Church to a place where this is our reality, to our ultimate and eternal joy. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and was made the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in His own order: the firstfruits is Christ, afterward, they that are of Christ, at His coming shall rise again. Then shall be the end, when He hath delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when He hath put down all rule, and all authority and power. For He must reign till He hath put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed, is death. For He hath put down all things under His feet. (And when He saith that all things are subdued to Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, which did put down all things under him.) And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him, that did subdue all things under Him, that God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:19-28). Our faith is not in political party, economic system, or earthly citizenship. He will make sure His children in Christ learn this lesson well. For our good and His glory.

Help Us See Grace

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing [παιδεύουσα] us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:11-14).

Holy Spirit, use Your Word to shape our understanding of grace, that it may not be a tool to quiet our consciences as we live like the world, but that grace would be seen as a disciplining, correcting, loving work of God to make us long for Him and to live to be instruments for His work in the world.

The Trinity's Healing in Discipline

I am doing some preparation for Sunday evening’s corporate meditation on 1 Corinthians 12:8-11.

“But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For...to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, but one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills” (1 Corinthians 12:7-9,11).

Notice that the Spirit gives “gifts” (plural) of healing. We usually consider the obvious healing from physical ailments, but the N.T. refers to a spiritual healing that comes from repentance and faith in the saving work of Jesus, Who heals us from sin (Matthew 13:15; John 12:40; Acts 28:27; 1 Peter 2:24).

Another type of healing comes from embracing the discipline of the Father in our lives (an expression of His love for His children) as He separates us from the remaining sinfulness in our lives and draws us closer to Himself (sanctification):

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him Who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, ‘MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES’ [a quote from Proverbs 3:11,12]. It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled...” (Hebrews 12:1-15).

This gift of healing discipline has its Source in the love of the Father, through the mediation of the Son, by the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the Church. I add "in the Church" to this Trinitarian summary of the healing in discipline because we don’t heal ourselves, and this gift is given for “the common good.” O beloved Church, may the Trinity use you to proclaim the Spirit's promise of healing through your sanctifying discipleship.