CW 517 - Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness
This Sunday’s Hymn of the Day is “Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness.” The author, Howard M. Edwards III, wrote of the text of this hymn, “It is astounding how much Jesus did in such a brief earthly ministry, yet more astounding is how God’s blessing and saving acts continue on through Christ. How can we do other than to praise this Light in the darkness” (Christian Worship Handbook, p. 371)?
For our devotion, we’ll hear the hymn verses, then we’ll hear Bible verses of what Jesus did to break the darkness of sin and death in our world. These astounding acts of power and mercy are the reasons we praise him.
Verse one: Praise the one who breaks the darkness with a liberating light; praise the one who frees the pris’ners, turning blindness into sight. Praise the one who preached the gospel, healing ev’ry dread disease, calming storms and feeding thousands with the Father’s word of peace.
Praise the one who breaks the darkness with a liberating light. Jesus said of himself, “I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
Praise the one who frees the pris’ners, turning blindness into sight. Jesus says he is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).
Praise the one who preached the gospel, healing ev’ry dread disease, calming storms and feeding thousands with the Father’s word of peace. Matthew writes, “Jesus traveled throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people” (Matthew 4:23). Mark writes, “Jesus got up [from the boat], rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” The wind stopped, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39). Matthew writes, “Jesus broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples. The disciples gave the food to the people. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not even counting women and children” (Matthew 14:19, 21).
Verse two: Praise the one who blessed the children with a strong, yet gentle, word; praise the one who drove out demons with the piercing, two-edged sword. Praise the one who brings cool water to the desert’s burning sand; from this well comes living water, quenching thirst in ev’ry land.
Praise the one who blessed the children with a strong, yet gentle, word. Mark writes, “[Jesus] took the little children in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them” (Mark 10:16).
Praise the one who drove out demons with the piercing, two-edged sword. We hear about Jesus healing a demon-possessed boy in this Sunday’s Gospel lesson. Mark writes, “When Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, he rebuked the unclean spirit [of the boy]. ‘You mute and deaf spirit,’ he said, ‘I command you to come out of him and never enter him again!’ The spirit screamed, shook the boy violently, and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many of them said, ‘He's dead!’ But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him up, and he stood up” (Mark 9:25-27). The Bible teaches about God’s Word being like a double-edged sword: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to the point of dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, even being able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
Praise the one who brings cool water to the desert’s burning sand; from this well comes living water, quenching thirst in ev’ry land. Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, “Waters will flow in the wilderness, and streams in the wasteland. The burning sand will become a pool, and in the thirsty ground there will be springs of water” (Isaiah 35:6-7).
Verse three: Let us praise the Word incarnate, Christ, who suffered in our place; Jesus died and rose victorious that we may know God by grace. Let us sing for joy and gladness, seeing what our God has done; let us praise the true Redeemer, praise the one who makes us one.
Let us praise the Word incarnate, Christ, who suffered in our place. The word “incarnate” means God in human flesh. Jesus is the Word of God in human flesh and blood. John writes, “The Word became flesh and dwelled among us. We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
Jesus died and rose victorious that we may know God by grace. St. Paul writes about Christ’s death and resurrection, “This saying is trustworthy and worthy of full acceptance: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,’ of whom I am the worst. But I was shown mercy for this reason: that in me, the worst sinner, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his unlimited patience as an example for those who are going to believe in him, resulting in eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:15-16).
Let us sing for joy and gladness, seeing what our God has done; let us praise the true Redeemer, praise the one who makes us one. We join St. Paul in praising Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer for all he has done to save us, “Now to the King eternal, to the immortal, invisible, only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:17).