The Beneficence of Blindness
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
We now come to a most interesting study. In our last message we saw Saul, the persecutor, stricken down by a great light from Heaven. When he arose and opened his eyes, he saw no man. We wish now to set before you the meaning of Saul's three days of misery. We trust that we will, perhaps, have withal, some insight into the hours of darkness that sometimes lower over our own heads. Read the following Scripture:
"And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
"And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink" (Acts 9:8-9).
I. THE DAYS OF DARKNESS THAT SHUT MAN OUT FROM OUR VIEW
We read that when Saul opened his eyes, "he saw no man." Our minds are carried back to the scene of the Transfiguration. There, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from that cloud God spoke saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him." When the disciples heard that, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. Jesus touched them and said, "Arise, and be not afraid." And when they had lifted up their eyes, "they saw no man, save Jesus only."
Peter had desired to make three tabernacles, one for Moses, one for Elias, and one for Jesus. God quickly answered his folly by acclaiming Christ, and Christ alone, as His beloved Son. It was then that the disciples opened their eyes and saw Jesus only.
Perhaps for this cause Saul was blinded so that being unable to see men, with his physical eyes, he might the better see Jesus Christ with his spiritual eyes.
When George Matheson became blind his sweetheart turned him down. With broken heart he went home to weep over the loss of his eyes and the loss of his betrothed. There, mid the darkness of night, he poured out his soul to God, and wrote:
"O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul on Thee,
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer fuller be.
"O Light that followest ail my way,
I yield my flick'ring torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine's glow its day
May brighter fairer be.
"O Joy that seekest me thro' pain,
I cannot close my heart, to Thee;
I trace the rainbow thro' the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be.
"O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to hide from Thee;
I lay in dust life's glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be."
Saul of Tarsus could well have written in a like strain about the loss of his sight. He saw no man, but he saw God. His whole life had thus far centered in men. He had lived for men, and for their plaudit; now he is shut out from the sight of men.
Sometimes it becomes necessary for God to shut out of lives the lure of the earthly, that the love of the Heavenly may glow.
If our darkness in dimming the sight of things terrestrial, causes the light of the Saviour's face to shine upon us, all is well.
If our loss of the things temporal makes sure the gain of things eternal, all is well.
If our sorrow and our sighing in this present time, increases our songs and singing in the time to come, then, all is well.
II. THE DAYS OF DARKNESS THAT ARE MARKED WITH DEPENDENCY
How stirring the words: "They led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus!" How had the mighty fallen! How had the strong become weak? He who was once the essence of self-trust and of self-confidence could no longer lean on the arm of his own prowess.
Saul had been a captain, a leader of others; now he is a captive, led of others.
Saul had been prone to trust his own strength; now he was all weakness, cast upon the power of God.
We say again, How had the mighty fallen! He who was chief, had become tributary. He who was sought by reason of his leadership, had become solitary. He who went forth to lead men and women bound into captivity, was a captive to his own weakness.
Once more Saul of Tarsus was cast upon God. He who was led by the hand, knew that the end of his own self-life had come. He had always, in the past, leaned on the arm of his own strength, now he was forced to lean on God, Once again we see the beneficence of Saul's blindness. The Lord was not only bringing Saul to the end of himself; He was also bringing him to the place of dependency on God.
All of this was working out for Saul's own good. It is not in a man to order his own steps. He who walketh in pride must sooner or later come to his fall. Man's breath is in his nostrils, and whereof is he to be accounted for? Man's wisdom is but foolishness with God; his strength is but weakness; his glory, is but as the grass.
How are men cut down as in a moment! They fade as fades the flower. In the morning they flourish and grow up, in the evening they are cut down and they wither away. They are carried away as with a flood. Even though their years reach unto threescore years and ten, or by reason of strength to fourscore years, yet is their strength, labor, and sorrow; for they are soon cut off and they fly away.
Even though pride compasseth a man as a chain; even though violence covereth him as a garment, even though he speaks loftily, and sets his mouth against the heavens, yet, he will be brought into desolation as in a moment; he will be cast down into destruction; he will be utterly consumed with terrors.
Thank God that Saul was made low! Thank God that Saul's hopes were shattered, and his pride humbled!
As Saul was led by the hand, perhaps he knew not that his weakness would shortly lead him to a new strength; that his pathway of humiliation would prove the stepping stone to his Divine exaltation.
III. THE DAYS OF DARKNESS, THAT ARE WITHOUT FOOD OR DRINK
Eating and drinking represents the apex of a world-centered life. The rich farmer said, "I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." Christ said, "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink." Again He said, "Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek.)"
Solomon in discussing what wisdom had found out as the supreme good for a man, under the sun, all the days of his vain life, said; "A man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry."
Saul "neither did eat nor drink," for three days. We thus judge that his self-life had indeed met its collapse. He had come to the end of his own row. Plunged into darkness, his mirth was dampened, his joy was gone. Instead of satisfaction, sorrow of soul stirred him to the depth. Instead of the best of men, he felt himself the greatest of sinners. To be sure he was still righteous after the requirements of the Law; yet, he was altogether vile in the sight of God.
His bones began to wax old with their roaring all the day. He had awakened to the fact that his zeal was misguided, and that he had, in reality, been fighting against God. His only relief from the heinousness of his sin, was this, that he had done all in ignorance and unbelief. Now, however, that his spiritual eyes were opened, he saw the vileness of his own soul.
We have discovered in all of this just what the unsaved world needs today a deep, pungent consciousness of sin. It is this sense of the heart's depravity, that drives one to the Cross of Christ.
Is thy life all filled with sorrows and with sighing?
Dost thou walk in darkened pathways, lone, and drear?
Art thou given unto weeping and to sighing?
Dost thou know not that thy Saviour standeth near?
Do you pant for God as pants the hart for water?
Does no star of hope about you now appear?
Has the devil snared your soul and has he bound you?
Christ is standing at your side, His help is near.
Cease thy fear, thy pathway drear,
Christ is standing at thy side to give thee cheer;
Why delay, haste thou away!
Turn to Christ, He'll wipe away each bitter tear.
This is just what happened to Saul of Tarsus. When the light had left his life and the sorrows of hell had laid hold upon him, then he saw that Christ was near. This brings us to our next consideration.
IV. THE DAYS OP DARKNESS THAT CAST THE SOUL UPON GOD
How meaningful are the words spoken of Saul, "Behold, he prayeth." He who persecuted Christ now prayed to Christ. He had seen the One whom he had despised; the One whom the scribes and elders had delivered to Pontius Pilate to be crucified he had seen Him exalted, and seated at the Father's right hand. He had heard His voice, saying, "I am Jesus." Now Saul prayed. He prayed for pardon and for peace; he prayed for his sight; he prayed that the burden that lay heavy upon him might be lifted.
We have often seen the motto, "Pray through." Is this not what Saul of Tarsus found it necessary to do? We are saved by grace through faith, and yet there are other things that lie beyond the realm of saving grace, and of trusting faith Saul sought the restoration of his sight; he sought guidance for his next step. He still held those same letters of authority; he still was, supposedly, under obligation to the chief priests. That he was saved, we have no doubt; that he was willing to follow the Lord anywhere, we are sure; however, there was much of mist before him as to his future.
What was Saul to do now? He could not follow his old path. He could not persecute saints what should he do? Closed in by circumstances that baffled him, he began to cry to God. He must have prayed with a Jacob-like clinging, "I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me." One thing we know, God said of Saul, "Behold, he prayeth"; and God does not call "praying," much that we call prayer.
When saints pray, God hears. Yea, when saints pray, as Saul prayed, God must hear and answer prayer. Do we not remember how the angel said to Lot, "Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither." What held back the angel's hand? It was the prayer of Abraham, "Peradventure there be found fifty righteous," "forty-five," "thirty," "twenty," "ten"; thus, "God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out."
At the blessed throne of grace,
Day by day I'll take my place,
While I seek my Saviour's blessing from on high:
There I'll cast my ev'ry care,
Leave it at the place of prayer,
And His joy and peace I'll share,
While He is nigh.
I will close my closet door,
And ray Lord I will adore,
Place on Him my ev'ry vexing care and strife:
In that hallowed, safe retreat,
I will worship at His feet,
And His Name I will repeat,
For He is nigh.
To the place of prayer I'll go,
There I'll seek His will to know,
And with joy I will His ev'ry word obey:
I will heed His voice Divine,
Make His will and purpose mine,
And my heart to Him incline,
Each passing day.
V. THE DAYS OF DARKNESS THAT BRING VISIONS OF DIVINE AID
Saul, in reality, had "visions in the night." His loss of eyesight, increased his faith-sight. God came the closer to him, by reason of his distress. It is always so. When our boat is storm-tossed and driven of the wind; then, over the troubled waters our Lord comes walking on the waves. We may become alarmed, crying, "It is a spirit," but soon we hear His voice saying, "It is I; be not afraid."
When the storms sweep o'er your sky,
And the wind and waves are high,
Then look up, for help is nigh,
Christ is saying, "It is I."
It is I; be not afraid,
I am come to give thee aid,
Let your eye on Me be stayed,
It is I, yes, it is I.
As Saul prayed, he saw "in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight."
Saul's blinded eyes suggest to us the years that his spiritual eyes had been blinded to the Christ of God. Now, with his natural eyes blinded, he knew not whither he went; of old, with his spiritual eyes blinded, he knew not whither he went. Thousands today are walking in darkness, because the God of this world has blinded their eyes, lest the light of the glorious Gospel should shine in upon them and convert them.
"O blind, blind, blind, amid the blaze of noon;
Irrecoverably dark, total eclipse,
Without one ray of light."
That is the condition of every one who wanders on in sin. What do blind men need? It is vision. Saul's first vision, was of Christ speaking to Him; Saul's second vision, was of a man coming to give him sight.
What an analogy a blind man, saw. Certainly that was true. Sometimes our natural sight hinders our spiritual sight. We speak with stronger words, sometimes we cannot see, because we do see. This is what we mean the natural mind receiveth not the things of God, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. No human eye hath ever seen, nor has human ear ever heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.
Saul of Tarsus had been educated at the feet of Gamaliel. However, scholastic eyes do not suffice to see God. The blinding of Saul's physical eyes demonstrated that he was now about to enter a realm where neither natural eyes, nor natural wisdom and scholarship could see. Had Saul sought to know God by his natural senses, he would not have known Him. It was only when his human eyesight was gone, that his spiritual eyes saw.
Jennie Lind said something once that suggested that the glare and glitter of the headlights, hid from her the vision of the glory of God. Saul of Tarsus blinded, saw as he had never seen he saw in a vision the Lord of glory; he saw also a man coming to aid him.
We are not arguing that the sight of our natural eyes is not necessary, for God sent Ananias that Saul might receive his sight. We are only arguing that the eyes that operate in so marvelous a manner, along the path of the physical and earthy, are utterly useless along the pathway of things Divine. We have argued more that the loss of the natural, often makes the vision of the spiritual more effective, for, "we walk by faith, not by sight."
When I am lonely, then Jesus only,
Stands at my side the livelong day;
When naught doth cheer me, then He is near me,
He scatters sunlight on my way,