rled into
the abyss when, like a bolt of lightning, the thought struck him: But are
you yourself a Christian, have you received the forgiveness of your sin?

"It struck me like a hammer, crashing the rock," he said later, "what the
Lord tells the ungodly: 'What hast thou to declare my statutes or that
thou shouldest take my covenant into thy mouth, seeing that thou hatest
my instruction and castest my word behind thee!'" Gone like a dream were
now all his proud fancies. Only one thought filled his whole being--to
obtain the forgiveness of his sin and the assurance of God's grace. But
so violent became his struggle that his mind at times reeled on the brink
of insanity. His young friends stood loyally by him, comforting and
guarding him as far as they could. And when it became clear that he must
be removed from the noise of the city, one of them, F. Sibbern,
volunteered to take him home. There his old parents received him with
understanding, even rejoicing that anxiety for his soul and not other
things had so disturbed his mind.

The peace of the quiet countryside, the understanding care of his parents
and the soothing influence of their firm Evangelical faith acted as a
balm to Grundtvig's struggling spirit. He loved to enter the old church
of his childhood, to hear his father preach, or sit alone before the
altar in meditation and prayer. And there before the altar of the church
in which he had been baptized and confirmed, he at last found peace, the
true peace of God that passeth all understanding.

After the great change in his life, Grundtvig now wished most heartily to
become his father's assistant. The elder Grundtvig had already forwarded
his resignation from the pastorate but was more than happy to apply for
its return and for the appointment of his son as his assistant. And so,
Grundtvig was ordained at Copenhagen, May 11, 1811, and installed at Udby
a few days later. He was back again in the old church of his childhood.

Chapter Twelve
The Lonely Defender of the Bible

Grundtvig began his work at Udby with all the zeal of a new convert. He
ministered to young and old, spent himself in work for the sick and the
poor, and preached the Gospel with a fervor that was new, not only to the
people of Udby, but to most people of that generation. If other things
had not intervened, like his father, he might have spent his life as a