The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1879, Page 21

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Che Lutheran Pioneer.

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

PuBLisHED BY THE EVANGELICAL LuruERAN SyNopIcCAL ConrrrENcE oF NortH AMERICA.

Edited by Prof. R. A. BISCHOFF.

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

Vol. I.

St. Louis, Mo., August, 1879.

No. 6.

The Lord will Provide.

Though troubles assail, and dangers affright,
Though friends should all fail, and foes all unite;
Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide,

The Scripture assures us, Zhe Lord will provide.

The birds without barn or storehouse are fed,
From them let us learn to trust for our bread;
His saints, what is fitting, shall ne’er be denied,
So long as ’tis written, Zhe Lord will provide.

We may, like the ships, by tempest be tossed
On perilous deeps, but cannot be lost:
Though Satan enrages the wind and the tide,
The promise engages, The Lord will provide.

His call we obey, like Abra’m of old,

Not knowing our way, but faith makes us bold;
For though we are strangers, we have a good guide,
And trust in all dangers, Zhe Lord will provide.

When Satan appears to stop up our path,

And fills us with fears, we triumph by faith:

He cannot take from us, though oft he has tried,
This heart-cheering promise, The Lord will provide.

He tells us we're weak, our hope is in vain,

The good that we seek we ne’er shall obtain;

But when such suggestions our spirits have plied,
This answers all questions, Zhe Lord will provide.

No strength: of our own or goodness we claim ;
Yet since we have known the Saviour’s great name,
In this our strong tower for safety we hide,

The Lord is our power, The Lord will provide.

When life sinks apace, and death is in view,
This word of his grace shall comfort us through:
No fearing or doubting with Christ on our side,
We hope to die shouting, The Lord will provide.
(Newton.)
(or the ‘‘Lutheran Pionecr.??)

The Love of God.

God loves us. This He proved already in
the work of creation. What induced Him to
create us human beings with such bodies as we
have and with immortal souls? Was it because
swe had merited it, or because He was compelled
to do so? Certainly not. It was only His free
Jove and goodness. And why did He make
the sun, the moon and the stars to shine upon
the earth and to serve us with their light?
And why does the Lord cause the earth to
bring forth grass, and grain, and fruit, and

herbs for our nourishment and pleasure?
these things prove that God loves us.

‘‘He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and
on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and
on the unjust.”

But still greater does the love of God appear
in the great work of redemption. Here we
can say with the words of our Saviour: ‘‘God
so loved the world that He gave His only be-
gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life.’’
The apostle Paul also testifies that God so loved
us sinners, “that He spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all.’

Moved by His own most free and unmerited
love, the Son of God paid for our redemption
the price which the law of God demanded.
And what a price! We talk of it, but none
save Himself can understand its amount. ‘‘We
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ:
though He was rich, yet for our sake He be-
came poor that we through His poverty might
become rich.’’ He assumed human nature.
He fulfilled the law of God for us. He suffered
and died for our sins. The Lord of glory was
made a curse. The prince of life was laid in a
grave. We may think and think again, but
here is something which is above all thoughts.
We are lost initsdepth. Think, Oh sinner, of
the manger, the garden, and the cross, and
wonder at the unspeakable love of God in
Christ. The Son of God dies for His enemies.
The Righteous One gives His life for sinuers.
He dies that they may live.

Great is the love of God also in the work of
sanctification, through which we are made par-
takers of the redemption of Christ. God says
through the prophet Jeremiah, ‘‘Yea, I have
loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore
with loving kindness have I drawn thee.’
But let us also ask him who knows this love of
God by his own experience. He will answer
and say, Yea, indeed, God has loved me with
an everlasting love and with loving kindness
He has drawn me unto Himself by His Word
and Spirit. I was a stranger wandering from
the fold of God, -but Jesus has sought me and
found me. I was dead in sin, but now I live
in God. Once I was blind, but nowIsee. I
know that I am a poor sinner, but I know also

All

that Jesus is my dear Saviour. I was wretched
and miserable, poor and naked, but Jesus has
forgiven me all my sins, and has clothed and
adorned me with his own perfect righteousness.
I was a child of wrath, but now I ama child
of grace. I was without hope in this world,
but now I know that my Redeemer lives, and
that my eternal home is with Him in heaven.
I feared death and eternity, because my con-
science condemned me, but now I have a desire
to depart and to be with Christ which is far bet-
ter than to stay in this poor life here on earth.

My dear friend, have you experienced this
happy change, this work of sanctification in
your heart? God created you and to this hour
He has preserved you. The Son of God, our
Lord Jesus Christ, redeemed you long ago.
The Holy Ghost would now sanctify you and
by true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ make
you partaker of the redemption of Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins and for your soul’s
salvation. Oh, do not resist the Spirit of God,
but let your heart be changed and turned
unto the Lord. ‘As I live, saith the Lord, I
have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,
but that the wicked turn from his way and
live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways:
for why will ye die, Oh house of Israel.”

Will you despise and reject this love of God?
Will you rather remain in your sins and in the
power of the devil than be converted unto
God, the only source of life and salvation?
‘‘He that believeth not will be damned.”’ Shall
this judgment of God come upon you? I hope
not. I hope the love of God will melt your.
heart, that you may repent of your sins and
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, that your
sins may be forgiven unto you, that you may
be united with your God and rejoice and be
happy in His love forever. J. F. D.

0 4 0

WE have all things in Christ, and Christ is
all things in us: if we are sick, He is a physi-
cian; if we fear death, He is life; if we are in
darkness, He is light; if we are in want, He is
rich; if we are hungry, He is food; if we are
thirsty, He is drink; if we are miserable, He is
mercy; if we are longing for heaven, He is the
way.—St. Ambrose.

*