From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee

From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee

LSB #607

v. 4: And though it tarry through the night

And till the morning waken,

My heart shall never doubt His might

Nor count itself forsaken.

O Israel, trust in God your Lord.

Born of the Spirit and the Word,

Now wait for His appearing.

This verse is from a hymn of Martin Luther based on Psalm 130. The psalms are poetry, and so words like morning and night aren’t necessarily literal, but signify the darkness of the woe we are enduring, and then the morning when the sun comes up and the woe is past. So here. Though our woe (and for us, this virus!) tarry for a while, the morning of its end is coming. We will not doubt His might to bring this to an end. And though it tarry - and maybe go on much longer than we’d like! - we are not forsaken. The Lord has not turned away from us. We are His new Israel, His people, born again of water, Word, and Spirit. So in this night of woe, fear, and dread, we wait for the morning of His appearing. Waiting is hard! But it can also be good. It all depends on how you wait. If we wait with impatience, accusing God of being uncaring and unloving, that is not good. But if we wait with repentance and prayer, seeking our safety, refuge, and all good in Him, then this can be a time of growth and blessing for us. Yes, even in this the Lord is still our Good Shepherd.