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The sermon presents suffering and spiritual darkness as purposeful aspects of God’s sovereign providence rather than evidence of divine absence or instability. God uses trouble to turn people toward Himself, while believers must guard against allowing His gifts to eclipse the Giver. Spurgeon contrasts the temporary darkness experienced by Christians with the everlasting judgment awaiting those outside Christ. Salvation is offered to repentant sinners through faith in Christ, who became man, died in their place, and secures eternal hope.
Theological center: God sovereignly governs both light and darkness, while salvation is secured for sinners through faith in the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ.
Applications: Look to God in trouble · Guard against idolatrous comforts · Trust God’s unchanging character · Believe in Christ for salvation
Primary texts: Isaiah 45:7 · Habakkuk 2:14 · Psalms 119:67
“I form the light, and create darkness.” Isaiah 45:7 TOMORROW we are all expecting to witness one of the greatest sights in the universe—the annular eclipse of the sun. It is possible that many of us shall have gone the way of all flesh before such a sight shall again be seen in this country and we are therefore looking for it with some degree of expectation. It is probable that hundreds and thousands of the human race will be attracted by it, to study for a few hours, at least, the science of astronomy. Certain it is that our astronomers are making the most capital they possibly can of it by endeavoring to thrust it in every way under our notice in order to induce us to make the sun, the moon, and the stars a little more the object of our attention than they have been hitherto. Surely I need offer no apology whatever if religion comes forward today and asks that attention should be drawn to her, even by the eclipse itself. Without a doubt, if there be sermons in stones, there must be a great sermon in the sun. And if there be books in the running brooks, no doubt there is many a huge volume to be found in a sun eclipse. All things teach us, if we have but a mind to learn. There is nothing which we can see, or hear, or feel, which may not be the channels of great instruction to us. Let us see whether this may not lead us this morning into a train of thought which may, under God’s blessing, be something far better to us than the seeing of an eclipse. I shall note this morning, in addressing you, that since the Lord creates darkness as well as light— first of all, eclipses of every kind are part of God’s way of governing the world. In the second place, we shall notice that since God creates the darkness as well as the light, we may conclude beyond a doubt that He has a design in the eclipse—in the darkness as well as the light. And then, thirdly, we shall notice that as all things that God has created, whether they be light or whether they be dark, have a sermon for us, no doubt there are some sermons to be found in this. I. First of all, ECLIPSES ARE A PART OF GOD’S PLAN. In the olden times the ignorant people in England were frightened of an eclipse—they could not understand what it meant. They were quite sure that there was about to be a war, or a famine, or a terrible fire. They were absolutely certain that something fearful would happen, for they regarded it as being a prophecy of coming ills. They were totally at a loss to account for it and knew nothing about the theory which now so satisfactorily sets our minds at rest. And you are aware that till…