# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1900_S22 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) Bs The future God has wisely hidden from our The Lutheran Pioneer. to see is a sacrilege. The only proper thing would be to make due preparation for the journey and ask the Lord to prosper your undertaking. Deut. 18, 10—12 the Lord says: ‘‘There shall not be found among you any one that A Lutheran Mission School. Our picture represents some of the pupils of a Lutheran mission school, which our city missionary has opened in the City Hospital at St. Louis. When he last summer began Dis work in that large city, he sound pone maketh his son or his daughter to pass through aoe well taken care of as to GE bodily the fire, or that wseth divination, or an ob- necessities; but there was no one to instruct server of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or and educate them. They were children of very | , charmer, or 8 consulter with familiar spirits, noorjparentsmandesome Gs on had never ria wizard, or a necromancer. For all that attended a school. The missionary gathered | do these things are an abomination unto the them about him, and with great interest they | < 1 listened to his teaching. Thus a school was opened, in which the little ones can learn to know Him who has said, ‘‘Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God.” conjurer who drives away sickness by abus- to divine the future, or the man who consults spirits and the dead to ascertain hidden things are an abomination to Him; if these people ae are, therefore, successful in their arts, it is (For the LUTHERAN PIONEER.) The Second Commandment. ( Concluded.) 3. We shall not take God’s name in vain by using witchcraft. Outside of the ordinary, natural means which God has ordained for the purpose of giving us re- lief, we are forbidden to use any other means when we are in trouble but prayer; for He says: ‘Call upon me in the day of trouble.’? To make use of His holy name or word, therefore, to gain relief is plainly an abuse of _ Hisname or word. For example: Suppose you aresick. The proper thing in such a case would be to send for a doctor and take the medicine he prescribes for you, * the meanwhile, however, not for- getting to ask God for His help ~- and blessing. It would in such a case be al- together sinful for you to send for a person who, instead of giving you medicine, would, I will say, make the sign of the cross over you and in the name of the Holy Trinity bid the sickness be gone. God gives us no command ‘or promise for such a use of His name. Or suppose you have lost a valuable ring. The proper thing for you to do in such 2 case is to search for the lost article and ask God to bless your search. It would be sinful on your part to look up a so-called ‘wise man’’ and ask him to help you find your lost prop- erty by ‘‘laying cards,’’ ‘‘consulting spirits,”’ and the like; for God has strictly forbidden us to consult spirits or use divination to as- certain that which is hidden. Another example: You wish to-make a journey, and would like to know if it will be ‘@ prosperous undertaking. You go to a so- called ‘‘fortune-teller’’ and have her ‘‘look into the future’? for you. ‘That is sinful. A Lutheran Mission School. apparent that it is not by God’s help that they are so. By whose then? Why, by the help of the devil. We know that the devil can do wonderful things. We read, Exod. 7. 8, how his servants, the Egyptian sorcerers, suc- ceeded in imitating the divine miracles of Moses, and 1 Sam. 28 it is related how the witch of Endor was able by the help of Satan to bring up before King Saul a figure which resembled the deceased Prophet Samuel in appearance. And when, therefore, in our days extraordinary things are done by men using God’s name or word without His com- mand or promise, we may be certain that such things are done ‘after the working of Satan.’ (2 Thess. 2, 9.) 4, We shall not lie or deceive by God’s name. Not all lying and deceiving is here referred to, but only such as is done by God’s name. This may be done in two ways; namely, by preaching false doctrine as though it were God’s Word or by claiming to be a child of God and yet be a servant of the devil. Every preacher of doctrine contrary to God’s Word lies and deceives by God’s eyes and for us to try to lift the curtain in order to see that which only God’s eyes are Lord.’? Were God plainly declares that the} ing His name, the fortune-teller who pretends | name. He gains the ear of his hearers by claiming to have a message from God ‘for them, and yet what he tells them is not God's Word. Of such false prophets God says: ‘‘Behold, Iam against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues and say, He saith.’’ (Jer. 23, 31.) Likewise the hypocrite lies and deceives by God’s name. While clothing himself in Christian works and imi- tating the Christian in his speech, the hypo- crite’s heart is far from God. He uses his Christianity as a cloak of maliciousness. Re- ferring to such hypocrites the Lord says: ‘This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.’’ But also those lie and deceive by God’s name who endeavor to adorn an ungodly life with the Word of God. The man who professes to be a Chris- tian, but leads an ungodly life profanes God’s name. While his lips bring homage unto God as his Lord, his life shows that he is a servant of the devil. Con- cerning these Jesus declares: “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that docth the will of my Father which is in heaven.’’ (Matt. 7, 21.) We shall now briefly learn what God enjoins in the Second Com- mandment. Our Small Catechism tells us, we should call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks. God has given us His Word and therein revealed Himself unto us as our Lord, our trouble. As such we should there- fore acknowledge and accept Him, go to Him in our need and praise and thank Him for His help and succor. In thus looking to God for all help and acknowledg- ing His benefits we humbly confess our own helplessness and glorify His great name. In every trouble we should call upon God’s name. ‘‘Call upon me in the day of trouble;’’ says the Lord, ‘I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.’? But not only in times of special trouble are we to turn to God; nay, our whole life shall be passed in praying to Him, our heart and soul shall be fixed upon Him as the One from whom cometh our help. And the more importunate our prayer, the more urgent our solicitations, the better pleased is our God; for He declares: ‘‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.’? (Matt. 7, 7.) Finally, we should praise and thank God: We should glorify Him, proclaim His wonderful qualities and works, and acknowledge His good gifts and blessings. —May God in His grace preserve us against all profanation of His holy name and grant us strength to keep it holy to His honor and glory. F. J. L. God, our Helper in all need and .