Faith
The Lord went in front of them in a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.
Exodus 13:21-22
STORY
John Henry Newman was born in London in the year 1801. At the age of fifteen he was converted, and became an earnest student of the Bible and church doctrine. This led him to becoming an ordained priest in the Church of England.
While still a priest with the Anglican Church, and because of poor health Newman travelled to Italy. While in Italy he studied at the Vatican, which moved him closer to being associated with the Roman Catholic Church. As he was personally mentored by Pope Leo XIII, he became a Roman Catholic priest.
On his return voyage to England foul weather forced his ship to be docked in the Italian straits of Bonifazio. During this time of physical, emotional, and spiritual despair Newman wrote a poem tilted The Pillar of the Cloud. Newman wrote this poem on June 16, 1833. The poem is based on Exodus 13:21-22 regarding God’s guidance of the Israelites through their wilderness journey. The poem, as most hymn lyrics begin, was later sit to music and became the hymn Lead, Kindly Light.
In the first stanza Newman calls on the kindly light – the Holy Spirit – to rescue him from his triple gloom of homesickness, his apprehension in the face of his mission as a priest, and his desire to reach his true home, which is heaven. In this second stanza, Newman recalls with sadness and remorse regarding his past, when he had been proud and willful. In the third and final verse, a glorious and triumphant last stanza, we see Newman’s faith and hope vanquish his gloom. He throws his cares to Christ, remembering that he has forever been blest.
Refrain:
Lead, kindly Light, amid the gloom of evening.
Lord, lead me on! Lord, lead me on!
On through the night! On to your radiance!
Lead, kindly Light!
Lead, kindly Light, kindly Light!
Stanza 1
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Direct my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.
So lead me onward, Lord, and hear my plea. [Refrain]
Stanza 2
Not always thus, I seldom looked for you,
I loved to choose and seek my path alone.
In spite of fear, my pride controlled my will,
Remember not my past, but lead me still. [Refrain]
Stanza 3
So long your pow’r has blest me on the way,
And still it leads, past hill and storm and night!
And with the morn, those angel faces smile,
Which I have loved long since, and lost a while. [Refrain]
Points to Ponder
> With all that God had done for the Hebrews, they still questioned and doubted. Moses even said to the desert wonderers “remember” what God has done for you, yet they still questioned and doubted. Do you remember? Are you a doubting Hebrew?
o For me: I remember but I forget as I doubt because my present problems can trump anything that God has done for me in the past. God in my past should inform me that God is in my present, but worry can be all consuming.
> Do you feel that God guides you “by a pillar of cloud by day, to lead them along the way, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light, so that they might travel by day and by night.”
o For me: I know that the Holy Spirit guides me, though it is often very hard to discern that guidance. I am guided by the scriptures, devotional reading, and my Christian friends, though yet again discernment is a problem. Most times guidance only comes as a nudge when I will only accept a triumphant declaration.
> How would you describe the guidance of the Holy Spirit in your life?
o For me: It is a feeling. The problem is if it a spiritual feeling or a self-justification feeling. Is this really God speaking to me or just my speaking to myself. This is a real quandary that all Christians must confront.
> What is your Exodus experience?
o For me: For me, it was when I was living in an apartment with three other Christians as a student attending Slippery Rock College in Pennsylvania, located sixty mile north of Pittsburgh. Up until then I had a quite spiritual relationship with Jesus. These three men actually integrated Jesus into their lives and it was manifested in their daily enthusiasm. Over the three years that I lived with them (remember the Hebrews were in the desert for forty years) I began to manifest how Jesus infused had every part of my daily living.
> Could Lead, Kindly Light be your hymn?
o For me: This is my hymn and should be the hymn of every Christian. The hymn outlines our life journey from hopelessness and despair to salvation and the comfort of Jesus. This is the hymn of every individual who eventually establishes a meaningful relationship with Jesus. As I am an evangelical Christian, I hope that this hymn can become the hymn of every unbeliever.
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