Psalms 139:12

Darkness And Light

The darkness and the light are both alike to thee. Psalms 139:12.

I wonder how many boys and girls here are afraid of the dark? I'm not going to ask those who are afraid to hold up their hands, because I expect it is a thing they would rather not confess to, but I'm going to tell you a secret. I'm going to tell it to you in a big whisper because I don't want the grown-ups to hear, so I hope you are listening very hard. Quite a lot of grown-up people are afraid of the dark too!

I wonder why it is that people are afraid of the dark? I think it is because they can't see, and so their imagination fills the darkness with all sorts of bogies. There is nothing in the dark itself that can hurt us. If you go into a dark room at night it is just the same room as it was in the daytime.

Now the words of our text tell us that darkness and light are both alike to God, and I think that verse ought to help us when we feel afraid of the dark.

1. Will you remember first that God sends the darkness as well as the light. It is His gift and so it must be good. God knows that the thirsty flowers need refreshing, and so He sends the darkness with its gift of dew. God knows that birds and beasts and little children and weary men and women need refreshing, and so He sends the darkness with its gift of sleep.

For every weary sparrow there's a cosy nest,

For every furry brother there's a place of rest,