# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1890_S42 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 42 The Lutheran Pioneer. The Water of Baptism. By Dr. MARTIN LUTHER. | | pent and in true faith say: My Lord God has assured me of all mercy, when I was baptized in the Baptism of His Son, and now I will turn | back to this grace of God, being convinced that Who dares to despise this ordinance, with| my sins are removed, not, indeed, for my own which the Father, Son and Holy Ghost unite? Who would venture to call such water mC) water? Do we not plainly see what spices God has thrown into this water? If we mix sugar with water it is no longer mere water, but becomes claret, or something similar; why then should we endeavor to separate the Word from the water and say it is mere water, as if neither the Word of God nor He Himself were united with it? God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are in and with the baptismal water, as Christ, at the Jordan, was in the water, the Holy Ghost over it, and God the Father revealing Himself in the voice from heaven. Baptism is, therefore, a peculiar water which taketh away death and every evil, helping us into heaven and to a life ever- lasting. It is a precious, sweet water, full of aroma, a healing power, for God is united with it. God is a God of life, and, there- fore, this water which He has blessed must be the true water of life, which conquers death and hell and brings eternal life. It behooves us indeed to learn the im- portance of Baptism and to value.it highly. We do not baptize in the name of an angel, or of a human being, but in the name of God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. We must, therefore, be exceedingly care- ful not to separate in Holy Baptism the Word from the water with which we baptize, but we must confess and believe that God so instituted this ordinance that, for Christ’s sake, we are hereby, through the Holy Ghost, cleansed from our sins and rescued from eternal death. Or why else should the Holy Trinity be present with it? If we then firmly believe that our little children are born in sin, Jet us be quick to baptize them, that God may accomplish His work in them, according to His declaration - that we must be born again of water and the Spirit, and that he who believes and is bap- tized shall be saved. If we know our infants to be under the dominion of death, let us not be slow to wash them according to the com- mand of Christ, in this -bath of Baptism, that death may be overcome. ; And thou, my hearer, who art baptized, re- member well that thy baptism is unto thee a seal and guarantee of the forgiveness of thy sins and of the promise of eternal life through Christ. Yea, baptism has a divine power to destroy death and to purify from sin; where- fore we are baptized with such hope into the death of Christ. Bapti-m with its blessings and promises re- mains efficacious, though we may have fallen into sin and guilt, if we return from our error and do not continue in our wickedness. It will never do to seek forgiveness of sins and yet persistently to abide in them; we must re- sake or that of any other creature, but solely for Christ’s sake, who has instituted and or- dained Baptism, and who was Himself bap- tized, as though He had been a sinner. The Precious Volume. When traveling on the banks of the Orange River, between Namaqualand and the Griqua country, in South Africa, the Rev. R Moffat, the well-known African missionary, came to a heathen village where an incident occurred which he describes thus: “We had traveled far, and were hungry, | thirsty and fatigued. From the fear of being Advent. My Hosannas do receive And victorious palms, dear Saviour! Thanks and honor I will pay Thee, as best I can, forever, And by faith I will embrace, Lord, Thy merit through Thy grace. Hail! Hosanna! David’s Son, Help, Lord, hear our supplication! Let Thy sceptre, realm, and crown Bring us blessing and salvation, That forever we may sing: Hail! Hosanna! Lord, our King! exposed to lions, we preferred remaining at the village to proceeding during the night. The people rather roughly directed us to halt ata distance; we asked for water, but they would not supply it. I offered the three or four but- tons which still remained on my jacket for a little milk; this also was refused. We had the prospect of another hungry night at a dis- tance from water, though within sight of the river. It was difficult to reconcile ourselves to our lot, for, in addition to repeated rebuffs, the manner of the villagers excited suspicion. “When twilight drew on, a woman ap- proached; she bore on her head a bundle of wood, and had a vessel of milk in her hand; the latter (without opening her lips) she handed to us, laid down the wood and returned to the village. A second time she approached with a cooking vessel on her head, and a leg of mut- ton in one hand and water in the other. She sat down without saying a word, prepared the fire and put on the meat. We asked her again and again who she was. She remained silent till affectionately entreated to give us a reason for such unlooked-for kindness to strangers. The solitary tear stole down her sable cheek when she replied, ‘‘I love Him whose servants ye are, and surely it is my duty to give youa cup of cold water in His name. My heart is full, therefore I can not speak the joy I feel to see you in this out-of-the-world place.’’ On learning a little of her history, and that she was a solitary light burning in a dark place, I asked her how she kept up the light of God in her soul in the entire absence of the com- munion of saints. She drew from her bosom a copy of the Dutch Testament which she had received from Mr. Helm, when in his school some years previous, before she had been compelled by her connections to retire to her present seclusion; ‘‘This,’’ she said, “‘is the fountain whence I drink; this is the oil which makes my lamp burn!’’ I looked upon the precious relic, and the reader may conceive how we felt when we met with this disciple and mingled our sympathies and prayers together at the throne of our heavenly Father.” : —_— oo - Let Your Light Shine! Some years ago there dwelt a widow in a lonely cottage on the sea-shore. All around her the coast was rugged and dangerous, and many a time was her heart melted at the sight of wrecked fishing boats and other vessels, and the cries of perishing human beings. One stormy night, when the howling wind was mak- ing loneliness more lonely, and the widow was thinking of what the next morning's light might let her see, a happy thought came to her. Her cottage stood on a high spot, and her window looked out upon the sea; might she not place a lamp by that window, that it might be a light to warn some poor fisherman or sailor off the coast? She did so. All her life after, during the winter nights, her lamp burned at the window; and many a poor fisherman had cause to bless God for the widow’s lamp; many & crew were saved from perishing. That widow woman ‘‘did what she could;”’ and if all believers kept their light burning as brightly and steadily, might not many a soul be warned to flee from the wrath to come? If Christians would live as lights in this world, they would do much for the salvation of sinners. Let your light shine! + +o or oe Tue promises of God are so many bonds - wherein He stands bound to us; and these ~ bonds may be put in suit, and His people have liberty and confidence to ask what He hath promised them. It is a mighty argument in prayer, when we can plead, that we ask no more, than God hath promised.