The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
The way of the wicked is moral and spiritual darkness in which they walk blind and do not know what causes them to fall. It stands opposite the path of the just, which grows ever brighter toward the perfect day as those who advance toward God receive increasing light. Therefore the path of evil men is not to be entered but to be avoided, turned from, and passed by. They stumble because they reject God's light and follow their own judgment, failing to discern His work and presence by ignoring His voice, trusting their own sight and understanding, and letting unbelief and skepticism take the place of faith. Standing safe requires a simple, single purpose in seeking God's wisdom for His glory alone, attending to His words, keeping them in heart and before the eyes, guarding the heart with diligence, putting away perverse speech, looking straight forward, and pondering the path so the feet do not slide.
Darkness Set Against Light
The way of the wicked is moral and spiritual darkness, a blind walking in which men cannot see and do not know what they stumble over. It is the blindness that comes from rejecting light and following human judgment, failing to discern the work and presence of God, and letting unbelief and skepticism take the place of faith. Its darkness is the want of true religion, for a mere profession of Christianity without Christian character leaves the path shadowy, while genuine religion is seen in daily unselfish work for others to glorify God.
This dark way stands set against the path of the just, which shines brighter and brighter unto the perfect day, so that progress toward God brings ever-increasing light. Those who do not advance toward Him see only sparks of heavenly glory and stumble in the uncertainty of night, unable to value the instruction He gives day by day, even words entrusted to chosen messengers. To turn toward Him is to move into brightening glory, to turn away is to remain unable to recognize what causes the fall.
The darkness belongs to those who cannot rest without doing mischief and causing others to fall, who eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence, and this is the condition of the world today. Leaving the safe and right path puts a person into this darkness, where return grows difficult because barriers are removed and safeguards are broken down. One step in the wrong direction prepares the way for another until habit makes the course hard to abandon, for whatever is accustomed to, whether good or evil, is difficult to give up, and corrupting the ways takes less time and labor than ingrafting habits of righteousness and truth.
Causes of Blind Stumbling
Stumbling comes from rejecting divine light and following personal judgment, so that the stumbler cannot recognize what leads him astray. He fails to discern divine work and presence because he ignores the voice speaking to him, trusts his own sight and understanding, and lets unbelief and skepticism take the place of faith, and in doing so he forsakes God. The way is dark because true religion is lacking, for a profession of Christianity without Christian character leaves the path shadowy. Genuine religion appears in daily life in unselfish work for others and to glorify God, in contrast to the just person's path that grows ever brighter.
Those distant from God fail to discern and value the instruction He gives, including day-by-day instruction and words He may entrust to chosen messengers in an unknown hour, and so they go stumbling in the uncertainty of night without knowing what makes them stumble. Without advancing toward God they see only sparks of the heavenly glory and cannot speak or pray about what they have not seen. Instead they must search closely and studiously for truth as for hidden treasure and advance in the light into brightening glory. The light refused is the light of the Sun of Righteousness shining upon the church, given to lighten darkness and to call for the preparation essential to shining as lights in the world. Those who receive this light comprehend it, but those who refuse it walk in darkness and stumble without knowing at what they stumble.
Educators who ignore a plain Thus saith the Lord and take the forbidden knowledge of disobedience fall under condemnation and stumble in darkness without knowing at what they stumble. Their stumbling is because Satan has blinded their eyes, and by precept and example they set the stumbling block of their own iniquity before others and blind other eyes. Thus those who ought to walk in light walk in darkness because they do not steadfastly behold Jesus as the Light of the world. Teachers determined, like the priests and rulers, to keep students in the same old path the world travels go into still greater darkness and lose their bearings. They could have worked with Christ but spurned His messengers and message, with minds preoccupied by minor interests and ready to be deceived by the delusions of the last day, and they miss the blessed opportunity to yoke up with Christ and be laborers together with God.
Those who flatter and exalt finite man instead of following God's directions are in spiritual darkness with blinded eyesight and are not standing in the light. Though they do not intend to do wrong, their weakness and lack of spiritual discernment cause them to stumble without knowing the cause. Those who persist in spiritual error without changing or confessing their mistakes fall into greater deception and stumble in darkness without recognizing what causes the fall. Persisting in a wrong course without changing the spirit or admitting mistakes brings surrounding doubt and darkness, as at Minneapolis where some kept their former spirit and course of action and doubt and darkness deepened around them while they stumbled without knowing the cause. Without God's power and grace people stumble without understanding what causes the fall, and contention with failure to repent and be cleansed hinders the needed reformation and leaves them in this darkness. Intemperance in study is like intoxication, leading students away from the path of righteousness and into darkness where they cannot see what causes them to stumble.
Warning and Way to Stand
The warning is not to enter the path of the wicked nor to go in the way of evil men, but to avoid it, turn from it, and pass on by. A simple and single purpose in seeking God's wisdom keeps the feet from sliding. That singleness means a single eye to His glory, a persistent purpose that leaves out self and the preferences of others, and refuses to measure the course by whether personal possessions will increase or decrease. It means seeing for oneself instead of expecting another to do the seeing and to guide as if blind.
Striving for perfection of character must be done lawfully. This requires attending to God's words and keeping them before the eyes and in the midst of the heart as life and health, keeping the heart with all diligence, putting away a forward mouth and perverse lips, looking straight forward, and pondering the path of the feet so that all ways are established. Those who are willing to be corrected can still hear His voice, for He is gracious and ready to pardon all who turn to Him with penitence and faith. Those already in this darkness need conversion, the heavenly anointing for their eyes, and a deep and thorough work of heart.
Without that work the delusions of the last days will bring them into captivity to the powers of darkness. One step in the wrong direction prepares the way for another until habit makes the course hard to abandon. A single glass of wine opens the door of temptation leading to habits of drunkenness, a single indulged vindictive feeling opens the way to a train of feelings ending in murder, and the least deviation from right principle leads to separation from God and may end in apostasy. Corrupting the ways takes less time and labor than grafting habits of righteousness and truth upon the character, since whatever a person becomes accustomed to, whether its influence is good or evil, is difficult to give up. Students therefore should preserve their strength for the work God has appointed them rather than waste it in intemperate study that, like intoxication, leads away from the path of righteousness into darkness where they cannot see what causes them to stumble.
The way of the wicked is moral and spiritual darkness in which they walk blind and do not know what causes them to fall. It stands opposite the path of the just, which grows ever brighter toward the perfect day as those who advance toward God receive increasing light. Therefore the path of evil men is not to be entered but to be avoided, turned from, and passed by. They stumble because they reject God's light and follow their own judgment, failing to discern His work and presence by ignoring His voice, trusting their own sight and understanding, and letting unbelief and skepticism take the place of faith. Standing safe requires a simple, single purpose in seeking God's wisdom for His glory alone, attending to His words, keeping them in heart and before the eyes, guarding the heart with diligence, putting away perverse speech, looking straight forward, and pondering the path so the feet do not slide.
Darkness Set Against Light
The way of the wicked is moral and spiritual darkness, a blind walking in which men cannot see and do not know what they stumble over. It is the blindness that comes from rejecting light and following human judgment, failing to discern the work and presence of God, and letting unbelief and skepticism take the place of faith. Its darkness is the want of true religion, for a mere profession of Christianity without Christian character leaves the path shadowy, while genuine religion is seen in daily unselfish work for others to glorify God.
This dark way stands set against the path of the just, which shines brighter and brighter unto the perfect day, so that progress toward God brings ever-increasing light. Those who do not advance toward Him see only sparks of heavenly glory and stumble in the uncertainty of night, unable to value the instruction He gives day by day, even words entrusted to chosen messengers. To turn toward Him is to move into brightening glory, to turn away is to remain unable to recognize what causes the fall.
The darkness belongs to those who cannot rest without doing mischief and causing others to fall, who eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence, and this is the condition of the world today. Leaving the safe and right path puts a person into this darkness, where return grows difficult because barriers are removed and safeguards are broken down. One step in the wrong direction prepares the way for another until habit makes the course hard to abandon, for whatever is accustomed to, whether good or evil, is difficult to give up, and corrupting the ways takes less time and labor than ingrafting habits of righteousness and truth.
Causes of Blind Stumbling
Stumbling comes from rejecting divine light and following personal judgment, so that the stumbler cannot recognize what leads him astray. He fails to discern divine work and presence because he ignores the voice speaking to him, trusts his own sight and understanding, and lets unbelief and skepticism take the place of faith, and in doing so he forsakes God. The way is dark because true religion is lacking, for a profession of Christianity without Christian character leaves the path shadowy. Genuine religion appears in daily life in unselfish work for others and to glorify God, in contrast to the just person's path that grows ever brighter.
Those distant from God fail to discern and value the instruction He gives, including day-by-day instruction and words He may entrust to chosen messengers in an unknown hour, and so they go stumbling in the uncertainty of night without knowing what makes them stumble. Without advancing toward God they see only sparks of the heavenly glory and cannot speak or pray about what they have not seen. Instead they must search closely and studiously for truth as for hidden treasure and advance in the light into brightening glory. The light refused is the light of the Sun of Righteousness shining upon the church, given to lighten darkness and to call for the preparation essential to shining as lights in the world. Those who receive this light comprehend it, but those who refuse it walk in darkness and stumble without knowing at what they stumble.
Educators who ignore a plain Thus saith the Lord and take the forbidden knowledge of disobedience fall under condemnation and stumble in darkness without knowing at what they stumble. Their stumbling is because Satan has blinded their eyes, and by precept and example they set the stumbling block of their own iniquity before others and blind other eyes. Thus those who ought to walk in light walk in darkness because they do not steadfastly behold Jesus as the Light of the world. Teachers determined, like the priests and rulers, to keep students in the same old path the world travels go into still greater darkness and lose their bearings. They could have worked with Christ but spurned His messengers and message, with minds preoccupied by minor interests and ready to be deceived by the delusions of the last day, and they miss the blessed opportunity to yoke up with Christ and be laborers together with God.
Those who flatter and exalt finite man instead of following God's directions are in spiritual darkness with blinded eyesight and are not standing in the light. Though they do not intend to do wrong, their weakness and lack of spiritual discernment cause them to stumble without knowing the cause. Those who persist in spiritual error without changing or confessing their mistakes fall into greater deception and stumble in darkness without recognizing what causes the fall. Persisting in a wrong course without changing the spirit or admitting mistakes brings surrounding doubt and darkness, as at Minneapolis where some kept their former spirit and course of action and doubt and darkness deepened around them while they stumbled without knowing the cause. Without God's power and grace people stumble without understanding what causes the fall, and contention with failure to repent and be cleansed hinders the needed reformation and leaves them in this darkness. Intemperance in study is like intoxication, leading students away from the path of righteousness and into darkness where they cannot see what causes them to stumble.
Warning and Way to Stand
The warning is not to enter the path of the wicked nor to go in the way of evil men, but to avoid it, turn from it, and pass on by. A simple and single purpose in seeking God's wisdom keeps the feet from sliding. That singleness means a single eye to His glory, a persistent purpose that leaves out self and the preferences of others, and refuses to measure the course by whether personal possessions will increase or decrease. It means seeing for oneself instead of expecting another to do the seeing and to guide as if blind.
Striving for perfection of character must be done lawfully. This requires attending to God's words and keeping them before the eyes and in the midst of the heart as life and health, keeping the heart with all diligence, putting away a forward mouth and perverse lips, looking straight forward, and pondering the path of the feet so that all ways are established. Those who are willing to be corrected can still hear His voice, for He is gracious and ready to pardon all who turn to Him with penitence and faith. Those already in this darkness need conversion, the heavenly anointing for their eyes, and a deep and thorough work of heart.
Without that work the delusions of the last days will bring them into captivity to the powers of darkness. One step in the wrong direction prepares the way for another until habit makes the course hard to abandon. A single glass of wine opens the door of temptation leading to habits of drunkenness, a single indulged vindictive feeling opens the way to a train of feelings ending in murder, and the least deviation from right principle leads to separation from God and may end in apostasy. Corrupting the ways takes less time and labor than grafting habits of righteousness and truth upon the character, since whatever a person becomes accustomed to, whether its influence is good or evil, is difficult to give up. Students therefore should preserve their strength for the work God has appointed them rather than waste it in intemperate study that, like intoxication, leads away from the path of righteousness into darkness where they cannot see what causes them to stumble.