Through the Night of Doubt and Sorrow ELW 327, Verse 4
Devotion
Through the night of doubt and sorrow,
onward goes the pilgrim band,
singing songs of expectation,
marching to the promised land.
Clear before us through the darkness
gleams and burns the guiding light;
pilgrim clasps the hand of pilgrim
stepping fearless through the night.
One the light of God's own presence
on the ransomed people shed,
chasing far the gloom and terror,
bright'ning all the path we tread.
One the object of our journey,
one the faith which never tires,
one the earnest looking forward,
one the hope our God inspires.
One the strain that lips of thousands
lift as from the heart of one;
one the conflict, one the peril,
one the march in God begun.
One the gladness of rejoicing
on the far eternal shore,
where the one almighty Father
reigns in love forevermore.
Onward, therefore, sisters, brothers;
onward, with the cross our aid.
Bear its shame, and fight its battle
till we rest beneath its shade.
Soon shall come the great awak'ning;
soon the rending of the tomb!
Then the scatt'ring of all shadows,
and the end of toil and gloom.
These words were likely first written in 1825 by a Dane,
Bernhardt S. Ingemann. At the time, nationalistic zeal was
stirring people up, and friction in Northern Europe and
Scandinavia caused borders to be politically fluid. In the
midst of this civic strife, Ingemann, Professor of Danish
Language and Literature, penned this hymn. He saw the
affront of the cross, a tool of humiliation and torture
used by the Roman Empire, and the shame it intended for
Jesus and his followers. With the eyes of faith, however,
we can see redemption inherent in it, for we know the
next chapter of the story, a resurrection that means
death, especially this death, was not the last word.
Ingemann beautifully sees us resting in the shade of the
cross, an image hardly fitting the intention of those who
murdered Jesus! Yet, this is our story too. For in the cross,
we see that God is all in all for us.
Prayer
Gracious God, help us resist the temptations of idolatry,
whatever shape, and turn to you as the one who can save
and redeem. You are our standard bearer. Amen.