TEXT: "_Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning
cometh, and also the night._"--Isaiah 21:11-12.
It is very interesting to note that, whether we study the Old Testament
or the New, nights are always associated with God's mornings. In other
words, he does not leave us in despair without sending to us his
messengers of hope and cheer.
The Prophet Isaiah in this particular part of his prophecy seems to be
almost broken-hearted because of the sin of the people. As one of the
Scotch preachers has put it, he has practically sobbed himself to
sleep. A great shadow has fallen upon the people of God and he is in
despair because of it. They have sown to the wind and now they are
reaping the whirlwind, a result which is inevitable. They are away
from Zion with its temple, and are deprived of the view of those
mountains which are round about Jerusalem and to this day are clad with
vines and olive trees. They are in captivity and are the abject slaves
of the enemies of God. Isaiah's heart is well-nigh crushed, but in the
midst of the despair he has a vision of the chariots coming and hears a
cry which rejoices his soul, "Babylon is fallen." It is because of
these tidings that he cries out in the words of the text.
What a night they had had of it! They had been in darkness that was
ever increasing, and the song of thanksgiving which used to fill their
souls because of the nearness of Jehovah had entirely departed from
them.
The figure of the watchman is often used in the Bible, as for example
when he stands upon the city walls and is told that if he sounds the
trumpet telling of the approach of the enemy and the people hear and do
not take warning their blood is upon their own heads, while if he fails
to sound the trumpet and the people are cut off, their blood is
required at the watchman's hand. And again in the first chapter of
Zechariah the eighth to the eleventh verses, "I saw by night, and
behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle
trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses,
speckled and white. Then said I, O my Lord, what are these? And the
angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be.
And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These
are they whom the Lord hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth.
And they answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle
trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and
behold all the earth sitteth still and is at rest." For here the man
standing in the midst of the myrtle trees is him of whom the prophets
did speak, while the messengers are those who bring him tidings of the
progress of his kingdom. But again where David comes to the watch
tower and sees the two messengers running, the second one bringing him
tidings of the death of his son, and from this watch tower he staggers
back again to his room crying out, "O Absalom, my son, would God I had
died for thee!"
The poet usually sings of the night as a time of beauty. He sings of
the moon and the stars; but in the Bible night always stands for that
which is dark, foul, loathsome, sinful, cold and deadly. There are
different nights mentioned in the Scripture, for the most part in the
Old Testament. There was that night in Eden when sin blinded the eyes
of Adam and Eve and a great darkness fell round about them. There was
the night of the flood, all because the people had neglected God; and
there was the night of the destroying angel passing over the cities of
Egypt, all because of the indifference of those who knew not God. But
even in these nights God does not leave his people without help, for in
Eden we read, "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head";
while in the flood behold the Ark; and in the Passover night we see the
blood of the Paschal lamb sprinkled upon the lintels of the door.
There are different mornings mentioned in the Scriptures, and as a rule
we find them in the New Testament.
The morning of his birth.
The morning of his resurrection.
The morning of his miracle when the empty nets are filled and the
discouraged fishermen are made to rejoice.
The morning of his return, when, after the rising of the morning star,
an endless day of blessing shall be ushered in.
It used to be the custom in Scotland, especially in Aberdeen, for the
night watchman of the city guard as he paced the streets to cry aloud,
"Twelve o'clock and the night is dark; one o'clock and the storm is
heavy," and the restless sleeper would toss upon his pillow and listen
for the tidings of the morning hour, "Two o'clock and the morning is
starry." It is in this spirit that we listen to-day to the cry of the
watchman when he declares, "The morning cometh and also the night."
I
We are in a sense in the night in these days, even though we are
Christians.
First: Because of the existence of sin. It is everywhere, in the heart
as a mighty principle of evil pulling us down as the law of gravitation
pulls material substances toward the earth's center. In the life as
shown by our habits and practices, for these are the fruits of sin. In
the very air we breathe sin is manifest, and sin has brought the night.
Second: I sometimes think that the darkness is increasing because as
ministers we fail to preach concerning sin. We speak of it as an error
or a mistake; we talk about the devil and call him his Satanic majesty;
we preach about hell and call it the lost world, while it is true that
in the olden days when men trembled under the word of the preacher the
man of God spoke of the devil and hell and sin in all their awfulness.
But the morning cometh, for while it is true that sin is in the world
and it has gripped many of us, yet because of Christ's death upon the
cross we are free from the penalty of sin; we may be free from the
power of sin, for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus sets us
free from the law of sin and death; we may be free from the practice of
sin, for Christ is the secret of our deliverance. But the text tells
us that while the morning cometh the night also appears. And so for
those of us whose lives have been such a struggle we cry, "Is there no
deliverance?" and I answer, yes, we shall one day be free from the
presence of sin; and that will be at his return when we shall see him
and be like him, and the new day which is never to close shall be upon
us.
Third: We are in the night because of the existence of sorrow. Next to
sin this is the greatest fact in the world, for men are born unto
trouble as the sparks fly upward. And somehow the morning and the
night as they are fastened together in this text present to us the
story of our lives, for we are first in the morning when everything
seems peaceful, and almost immediately in the night when we are really
in despair.
I journeyed from Naples to Rome over a fine piece of railway and found
myself now in the darkness of a tunnel and almost immediately rushing
out onto a fertile plain. That railroad is the story of many a life.
But "Is there no deliverance that is complete?" and I answer, yes,
there is a time coming when there shall be no sea and no tears and no
night, for the former things are passed away.
Fourth: We are in the night because of mystery. Life is full of
questions. "Why must I have this trial or pain or trouble?" So many
of us are asking these questions, and there is really no answer, at
least none for the present. And yet God has not deceived us, for he
has said, "What I do thou knowest not now but thou shalt know
hereafter." He tells us that when we see him we shall know, but also
declares that no one can see his face and live; and then, said the
sainted Augustine, "Let me die that I may see him." It is true that we
shall go on from light into darkness, from morning into the night, but
is there no final deliverance? And I answer, yes, when we see him and
become like him we shall know as we are known. Let us wait and believe
until that day.
Have you ever seen a perfect rainbow--that is, a rainbow in a perfect
circle? I never have. The most perfect one I have ever seen was on
the plains of Jericho, but it was a half circle. However, in the
Revelation we are told that in that day there shall be a rainbow round
about the throne, when half circles shall be made whole and half things
shall be made complete; that is the morning for which we long.