The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1880, Page 53

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ol. II.

— Che Lutheran Pioneer.

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

PusiisHeD BY THE EyanceuicaL LurueraN SynopicaL ConFereNcE or NortH AMERICA.

Edited by Prof. R. A. BISCHOFF.

Entered at the Post Office at St. Louis, Mo., a3 second-class matter.

No. 2.

Easter.

Awake, my heart, with gladness,
See, what to-day is done!

How after gloom and sadness
Comes forth the glorious Sun!
My Saviour there was laid,
Where our bed must be made,
When to the realms of light

Our spirit wings its flight.

They in the grave did sink Him,
The foe held jubilee;

Before he can bethink him,

Lo! Christ again is free,

And Victory! He cries;

He waveth tow’rds the skles
His banner, for the fleld

Is by the Hero held.

Upon the graye is standing

The Hero, looking ’round;

The foe no more withstanding,
His weapons on the ground
Throws down, his hellish power
To Christ he must give o’er,
And to the Victor’s bands
Must yield his feet and hands.

This is a sight to gladden

And fill my heart with joy;
Now naught again shall sadden
My soul, nor e’er destroy

My happy, cheerful mood,

Or any precious good

Which by His victory

Christ Jesus gained for me.

I fear nor hell nor devil,

They of their power are shorn;
I’m ever free from evil,

And sin I laugh to scorn.

Grim death with all its might
Cannot my soul affright,

It is an empty form,

Howe’er it rage and storm.

The world against me rageth,

Its fury I disdain;

Though war ’gainst me it wageth,
Its effort is in vain.

No trouble troubles me,

My heart from care is free,

I glory in my cross,

Earth’s joys I count but loss.

I cleave now and forever

To Christ, 1 member true;
My Head will leave me never,
Whate’er He passeth through;

St. Louis, Mo., April, 1880.

He treads the world beneath

His feet, and conquers death
And hell, and breaks sin’s thrall;
I follow Him through all.

To glory He ascendeth,

I follow Him fore’er,

And He, my Head, defendeth
His member from all care;
No enemy I fear,

While He, my Head, is near;
My Saviour is my shield,

By Him all rage is stilled.

He to the gates me Ieadeth
Of yon fair realms of light,
Whereon the pilgrim readeth
In golden letters bright:
“Who there are scorned with me,
With me here crowned shall be;
Who there with me shall die,
Shall here be raised as I!”
(Paul Gerhardt, 1649.)

—— =>

The Glad Easter Tidings.

When, on the third day after the crucifixion,
Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of
James, and Salome went out to the sepulchre,
or grave, early in the morning, to anoint the
body of Christ with sweet spices, they found the
stone rolled away, and the body was gone. But
an angel was there to tell them the glad Easfer
tidings. He said unto them, ‘‘Be not affrighted:
ye seek Jesus of Nazareth which was crucified:
He is risen; He is not here: behold the place
where they laid Him.’’ Mark 16,6. These are
the tidings of joy which gladden our hearts on
the joyful Easter festival. “Well may we re-
joice! For St. Pail says, “If Christ be not
raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your
sins.’ 1 Cor. 5,17. But Christ is raised, and
our faith is not vain, and we who believe in
Him are not in our sins. ‘There is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus.’ Rom. 8, 1. Christ did not
suffer and die for His own sake, but for us, in
our place, in our stead. As our substitute and
representative He fought with our enemies,
with sin, death, devil and hell. When Christ
was laid into the grave, it seemed as if our ene-
mies had won the victory. Had He remained
in the grave, then our enemies would have tri-
umphed, and we would be in their power for

all eternity. But, oh, rejoice, ye sinners! The
Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! He came
forth from the grave as the great conqueror.
Since He is our representative, His triumph is
our triumph, and His victory is our victory.
His resurrection is the crowning proof that God
| accepted the price which Christ laid down, in
order to purchase us from sin and eternal
damnation. And what was done for all sinners,
each has the benefit of when he takes it for
himself by faith in the risen Saviour. Those
that do not believe reject this Saviour, and do
not enjoy the great benefits of Christ’s resur-
rection. So this is a most important question
for every one: Do you believe that God raised
Christ from the dead? St. Paul says, ‘If thou
shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised
Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.’’? Rom.
10, 9. Mark well those words: ‘believe in
thine heart that God hath raised him from the
dead.’’ Ah, there is so much believing with
the head in our time! And that is the reason
why so many are not filled with joy at the glad
Easter tidings. They do not deny the fact of
Christ’s resurrection. They take it to be true
just as they take it to be true that George
Washington was the first President of the
United States. But this believing with the
head cannot save a man, cannot fill his heart
with joy. St. Paul says, ‘‘If thou shalt believe
in thine heart’’—mark well ‘‘in thine heart that
God raised Christ from the dead, thou shalt be
saved.”’ As a poor lost and condemned sinner
you must put the trust of your heart in the
risen Saviour. In His resurrection you must see
the overwhelming proof that your enemies were
conquered, that your sins were left behind in
the grave, that you were set free and absolved
from all your sins. Thus the Easter tidings
will fill your heart with gladness and make you
leap and shout for joy. Why should you not
rejoice? Being planted in Christ by the true
faith of your heart, you need fear no wrath of
God, no death, no hell, no devil. Looking into
the empty grave of your risen Saviour you can
cry out triumphantly:
“Since Christ is free, now Jam free
From all unrighteousness,

Since He is just, now Zam just,
He is my righteousness! *”

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