The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1881, Page 2

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The Wise Men of the East.

THE STORY.
Our picture shows us the wise men that came
from the East to worship the Babe of Beth-
Jehem and to Jay their precious gifts at the feet
of the infant Saviour. - It is a most beautiful
picture. When one of our little boys saw it,
he said, ‘‘Papa, there is a colored man there
too, and so all people should come to Jesus.”’
“Yes, when the angel brought the glad tidings
of the Saviour’s birth to the shepherds at Beth-
< Iehem, he said that those tidings are ‘to all
people’.’’ -This we also learn from the story of
the wise men from the East. You can read
_the story in Matthew 2, 1—12. The wise men
lived in a distant land. By a wonderful star
God Jet them know that there was born in
Judea the King of the Jews, the Saviour of
sinners. The wise men thought they would
find this King in the great city of Jerusalem,
in the king’s palace. So they went to that
city, but they did not find the new-born King
there. ‘They were told, however, from the
Word of God that the Saviour should be born
in Bethlehem. ‘For thus it is written by the
prophet, And thou Bethlehem in the land of
Juda, art not the least among the princes of
Juda, for out of thee shall come a Governor,
that shall rule my people Israel.’’ They
trusted this word of God and started on their
way to the humble village of Bethlehem. And
the star, which they saw in the East, went be-
fore them, ‘till it came and stood over where
the young child was. And when they had
. thus found the Saviour, they fell down and
worshipped Him, and opened their treasures,
and presented unto Him gifts: gold, and
frankincense, and myrrh. They then went
home with happy hearts; for they had found
the Saviour.
THE LESSON.

Dear reader, have you found the Saviour?
This is an important question for you as you
enter a new year; for this Saviour only can
render the new year happy. As long as we
travel through this world without the Saviour,
we as lost sinners are on the road to eternal
damnation, yea, we are condemned already;
for it is plainly written: ‘He that believeth
not is condemned already’? (John 3, 18.);
“He that believeth not the Son shall not see
life; but the wrath of God abideth on him’
(John 8, 36.). How can there be any happi-
ness as long as we are under the wrath and
curse of God? You may expect to be made
happy in the new year by the wealth and joys
and pleasures of this world, but these things
cannot give you any true happiness; they can-
not take away your sins; they cannot take
away the wrath and curse of God; they cannot
save you from hell; they cannot give you the
sure hope of eternal life in the hour of death.
True happiness and salvation can only be found
in Jesus. He came into this world as the Sav-
iour of all sinners. The poor Jewish shepherds

which directed them to Bethlehem.
not think: Well, these folks here in Jerusalem
don’t seem to care much about the new-born
King, and so we may go back home, there can-
not be any truth in what we heard. They did
not think so.
word of God and went to Bethlehem.
when they came to the lowly stable and saw the
Babe in the manger surrounded by poverty and
want, they did not think: Well, now, this can-
not be the new-born King, the Saviour of sin-
ners; everything looks~so poor and lowly
around here; we surely must be mistaken.
No!
but simply trusted in the word of God, and
looked upon the infant Saviour in true faith,
and gave Him their precious gifts.
must simply trust in God’s Word.
not think: Well, there can be nothing in that
Gospel-news; it is a mere sound of words.
No!
Word of God which tells us that Jesus came
into the world to save us from all our sins, and
that ‘the that believeth hath everlasting life’’
(John 6, 47.).
there can be nothing in Baptism; a little water
can bring me no good. We must simply trust
the Word of God which tells us, ‘‘He that be-
lieveth, and is baptized, shall be saved’? (Mark
16, 16.).
bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper can bring
me no good. We must simply trust the Word
of God which tells us that with the bread
Christ gives us His body which was given for us,
and with the wine His blood which was shed
Sor us, for the remission of our sins (Matthew 26,
26—28.). So we, not by following our own
reason and our own thoughts, but by simply
trusting in God’s Word find the Saviour, and
in Him we have true happiness and eternal sal-
vation.
year; for we know that we are God’s children
by faith in Jesus, and that our Father will take
care of us, and that all things that will happen
to us will be for our own good. To all our
readers we wish such a happy new year!

from the fields of Bethlehem and the rich wise
men from the distant heathen land found their
happiness and salvation in Him. And _ for
ages kings and beggars, wise men and un-
learned men, have found salvation in this Sav-
iour. He has brought true happiness into the
palace of the rich and into the cabin of the
poor. He comes to you in the Gospel, and you
find Him there by simply trusting in this
Gospel. Men often, in looking for salvation
and happiness, follow their; own thoughts.
They resolve to do better in the coming year by
their own strength; they want to turn over a
new leaf; they trust in their own works, in
their own good feelings, in their excitement;
but they cannot find true happiness by thus
following their own thoughts. When the wise
men followed their own thoughts, they went to

Jerusalem to find the Saviour there; but they
did not find Him.

But when they heard the
word of God, they simply trusted this word
They did

No! They simply trusted the

And

They did not follow their own thoughts,

So we
We must

We must simply put our trust in the

We must not think: Well,

We must not think: Well, the

We can then joyfully enter the new

Our Third Volume.

As we begin our third volume we give thanks
to God for blessing our little service for the
Master. We know from letters received in the
past year that our work has not been done in
vain. Our little Pioneer has brought words of
comfort to the lonely chamber of the sick,
words of salvation to sinful souls, leading some
to the Lord Jesus, and causing ‘‘joy in the
presence of the angels of God.’’ Thanks be to
God for all his blessings!

Our Proneer will in the new year continue
to speak his simple words for Jesus. He will
bear testimony to thet truth confessed by our
dear Lutheran Church, holding fast ‘‘the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.’’
He will not try to gain success by compromis-
ing the least particle of the truth or by becom-
ing in the least disloyal to the Master; for we
know that success gained in this way will not
prove a success in the day of reckoning when
editors, too, must give account unto God for
every word they wrote.

Go on, then, my dear little Proncer! May
you become a welcome visitor in many a home!
A preacher of pure Gospel-truth to sinful souls!

“Go where the hunter roveth,
Beneath the Northern pines—
Go where the summer loyeth
To dwell mid Southern vines—
Far o’er the Western prairie,
To hill, and vale, and plain,
The glorious Gospel carry;
Redeeming love proclaim.

“Go o’er the Rocky Mountains,
Where parting daylight shines,
Where California’s fountains
Sparkle o’er golden mines;
Or seek the lowly dwelling,
The cabin dark and lone,
Redemption’s story telling
To freedmen in their home.”

————>~+ oo

“He will pick me up.”

An English lady saw an old German farmer,
stooping in his little patch of ground, to pick
up the pears which fell from its one tree, and
said to him: ‘You must grow tired in such
labor, at your time of life, so bent and weak
with old age?’”’? His answer showed his child:
like faith, for he said: ‘‘No, madam! I have
been in my time God’s working servant; He
has now made me to be His waiting servant.
One of these days, when I fall as these pears
are falling, He will pick me up.”

—s- +e or oe

A few more Years.

“A few more years shall roll,
A few more seasons come

And we shall be with those that rest
Asleep within the tomb;

Then, O my:Lord, prepare
My soul !for that great day;

O wash me in Thy precious blood,
And take my sins away.”