~ Where Darkness Reigns ~
The earth was without form, and void; and darkness
was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of
God moved upon the face of the waters.
Name Unknown
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When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces. For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?
And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: Thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.
And it came to pass about the time of shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall overtake them. And when they cried unto the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt: and ye dwelt in the wilderness a long season.
He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.
He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet. And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.
Thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness.
Then said Solomon, The Lord hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness.
And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.
Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months.
Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.
Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death. A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.
He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man. He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.
He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.
They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness.
If I wait, the grave is mine house: I have made my bed in the darkness.
Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine. The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him. He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world.
He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set darkness in my paths. All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.
Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee; Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee. And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?
God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me: Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he covered the darkness from my face.
In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.
He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow of death. When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness.
When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.
There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
Teach us what we shall say unto him; for we cannot order our speech by reason of darkness.
Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it, Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof?
He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet. He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
Thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. But let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the Lord persecute them.
I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.
Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old.
They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation.
Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.
Such sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron; Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High.
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
Understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness.
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night: Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.
Then I saw that wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth darkness. The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness. For he cometh in with vanity, and departeth in darkness, and his name shall be covered with darkness.
But if a man live many years, and rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened.
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! They shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof. And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.
The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone. Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? The deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them. And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things. I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the Lord speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms. That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.
Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday.
Judgment is far from us, neither doth justice overtake us: we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. Darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.
O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?
Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.
Their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.
He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.
Then said the Lord God unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth.
At Tehaphnehes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity. And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God.
Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.
The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, The God of hosts, is his name.
Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.
Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
Night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them.
Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. But with an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.
Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened. It shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark.
The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! The children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.
Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness? there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
When I was daily with you in the temple, ye stretched forth no hands against me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come.
And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season.
And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness? Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.
For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Give thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment ...
These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest. O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.
Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame.
And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
They had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit;
And this is the bottomless pit ...
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:
from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses,
and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
These resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men.
2 Timothy 3:5-9
~ Love Your Neighbor ~
The splinters that surround us speak
Of fields of newly ripened corn;
We do not have to cross the globe
To find those set to be reborn.
The shattered hearts cry out for love,
But we so quickly pass them by.
When will we see we hold the salve
For which their dying souls have cried?
The fields are ready in our towns,
If we can see the pain they bear;
It’s love they need, not our rejection—
Are we the priest who didn’t care?
But if we can become the neighbor
Who helped the beaten man find rest,
Through us they’ll see our Savior
Bestowing love on the oppressed.
If we can piece their hearts together
Through us they’ll feel Christ’s gentle hands;
And when they see He lives today
They’ll gladly follow His commands.
If we can learn to step in faith
Where Christ positioned us today,
It is our lives that serve as guides
To help them find the narrow way.
© by Benjamin Graber
Visit Benjamin at Finding the Secret
This poem may be used in its entirety, with credits
in tact, for non-profit ministering purposes.
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