# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1913_S9
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Che Lutheran Pioneer.

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

Pubhisued BY THE EVANGELIcAL Lurueran Synopicat CONFERENCE oF Nortit AMERICA.

REV. F. J. LANKENAU, EDITOR.

Entered at the Post Ofice at St. Louis, Mo., as second-class matter.

ST. LOUIS, etd FEBRU ARY, 1913.

No. 2.

Mercy’s Free!

By faith T see my Savior dying,
On the tree;
To every nation He is erying,
Look at me!
We bids the guilty now draw near,
Repent, believe, dismiss their fear,
Ifark! hark! what precious words I hear,
Merey’s free!

Did Christ, when I was sin pursuing,
Pity me?

And did We snateh my soul from ruin?
Can it be?

O yes! He did salvation bring.

We is my Prophet, Priest, and King;

And now my happy soul can sing,
Mercy’s free!

Long as I live Ill still be crying,
Mercy’s free!
And this shall be my theme when dying,
Merey’s free!
And when the vale of death I’ve passed,
When lodged above the stormy blast,
Vl sing while endless ages last,
Mercy’s free!
R. Jukes, 1842.

ee...

Lenten Thoughts.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God,
humbled Himself-and became obedient unto death
on the cross. But He did not suffer death for His
own sake; He had committed no wrong, in Him
was no sin, and therefore no punishmsae could be
inflicted upon Him.

Every pain He suffered, was for others, for us
children of death; the Prince of Life shed His

blood, the Just for the unjust, in order that He
might reconcile us with God. He did not suffer

and die to make atonement for His own sins, but
for those of His enemies, for yours and mine, that
we might be healed by His stripes and in Him be
made acceptable with God.

The Beloved of the Father died for us the ac-
cursed death on the cross; He became a curse for
us, that the blessing of the Father might descend
upon us. To gain honor for us, He died the death
of a criminal; to attain for us the liberty of the
children of God, He was sold and executed like a
slave. He was covered with shame and disgrace,
mocked and derided, to free us from shame and
deliver us from disgrace.

The pain and agony which Jesus suffered for
us no tongue will ever be able to express. We are
surely bought with a price! ‘To redeem us from
our iniquities, the Son of God must bear suffering
beyond calculation and be tortured in body and soul
beyond description. for our sake He freely re-
nounces His divine glory; because of His great
love for us He avoids no danger and no pain, but
even gives up His life.

Behold here the great value of our souls, since
such an inestimable price is paid for their re-
demption. But let us also consider how abominable
sin is, which makes necessary such suffering on the
part of the Savior. Should not our hearts be filled
with fear and terror of sin, since the Savior must
bear such pain on its account?

And oh, the love of Jesus for us, that it was
able to draw Him down from heaven to undergo all
this sorrow and agony to save us! Love for us
consumed Him; love for us drove Him into death.

O Love, O Love, how strong art Thou!
In shroud and grave Thou lay’st Him low
Whose word the mountains rendeth! |

This is not the first time, dear readers, that you