stumble at noon ... as ... night - There is no relaxation of our evils; at the time when we might look for the noon of relief, there is still the night of our calamity.
in desolate places - rather, to suit the parallel words “at noonday,” in fertile (literally, “fat”; Gen 27:28) fields [Gesenius] (where all is promising) we are like the dead (who have no hope left them); or, where others are prosperous, we wander about as dead men; true of all unbelievers (Isa 26:10; Luk 15:17).