Micah 7:8-9 - Homiletics

From darkness into light.

"When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a Light unto me.. He will bring me forth to the light." The Bible is "the heart book of the world." 'In order to the unravelment of its deep spiritual teaching, we must study it in the light of our own soul experiences - of our joys and sorrows and needs. It is one thing to be able to understand the volume in the meaning of its words and the construction of its phrases and forms of expression; but it is quite another thing to feel that it is ours to enter into the inward experiences of God's saints of old, through whom he speaks to us in these wondrous pages—experiences by which he has fitted them to be his messengers of help and hope to the world; and to enter into these we must bring our hearts as well as our intellects to the study of the book, and endeavour to trace the application of its teachings to the wants and aspirations of the human spirit. Notice in the human experience here described—

I. DARKNESS . The adverse influences of life are thus symbolized. We are constantly attended by these. It must be so. Human life is a pilgrimage, and no traveller can expect to reach the end of his journey without feeling weary and worn. It is a voyage, and hence we must encounter storms. The world is a stage, and we are the players, and although to outward appearances it may seem that we are acting our respective parts with ease, who can tell what anxiety is encountered behind the scenes? These adverse influences meet us in life's daily duties. They are often occasioned by differences in temper and disposition, giving rise to misunderstanding; or by the temporal circumstances being straitened; or by prolonged and tedious suspense in reference to the success or failure of certain projects; or by baffled hopes and expecta

tions. They come to us in the form of the sorrows of life. There is failure of health, with the anxious days and weary nights it brings to the household. There is bereavement, with its attendant grief and gloom. There are also cruel misrepresentations, malicious censures, unjust reproaches ( Micah 7:10 ). And these adverse influences follow in quick succession.

When sorrows come, they come not single spies,

But in battalions"

They fill the heart with sadness, and there settles down upon the troubled spirit the darkness of night. "I sit in darkness."

II. LIGHT IN DARKNESS . Light is revealing, restoring, gladdening, in its effects. Under its influence that which was before concealed becomes manifest to us; new life is put into us, and joy and gladness become inspired within. So shall it be with the good in a spiritual sense. In their gloomiest seasons these gracious influences shall be experienced by them by reason of the presence with them of the Lord their God. It is not so much that the Lord will cause light to break in upon them (although that is gloriously true), as that he himself will be with them as their Light. "When I sit in darkness the Lord shall be a Light unto me;" "The Lord is my Light and my Salvation." ( Psalms 27:1 ); "In his favour is life" ( Psalms 30:5 ). Light in darkness, springing from the conscious presence of the Lord, is the thought here expressed. And in the next verse is the additional, yet closely related thought of—

III. PASSING OUT OF DARKNESS INTO THE LIGHT . "He will bring me forth to the light" ( Micah 7:9 ). So has it been in the past in the experience of the good. Jacob (comp. Genesis 42:36 . with Genesis 45:26-28 ); Elijah; the Sunammite; the Captivity (comp. Psalms 123:1-4 . with Psalms 126:1-6 .). So still to all trusting hearts; and so hereafter, "The Lord shall be thine everlasting Light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended" ( Isaiah 60:20 ).