The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1881, Page 3

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The Lutheran Pioneer. 3

A New Year’s Story.

In the year 1846, on St. Kilda, one of the
islands of Western Scotland, there lived a poor
widow and herson. She brought him up in
the fear of the Lord, and well did he repay her
care. He was a great help to her, though only
sixteen years of age. They were very poor,
and to help their scanty meals, Ronald, her
son, used to get seabirds’ eggs upon the near
cliffs. This was very dangerous, for the birds
used often to attack him.

One day, having received his mother’s bless-
ing, Ronald set off to the cliffs with a strong
rope, by which to get down, and a knife to
strike the bird, should he be attacked. The
cliff rose several hundred feet above the sea,
wild waves lashed madly against it, dashing
the glittering spray far and near.

Ronald fustened one end of the rope upon
the top of the cliff, and the other round his
waist, and was then let down until he got to
one of those clefts of the rock in which the
birds build, when he gave the signal to his
companions not to let him down any further.
He planted his foot on a projecting point of the
rock, grasped with one hand his knife, and
with the other tried to take the eggs. Just
then a bird flew at him. He made a blow with
the knife; but, oh! in place of striking the
bird, he struck the rope, and, having cut some
of the strands of the rope, he hung over the
wild, raging waves by only: a few threads of
hemp. His piercing cry was heard by his
companions above, who saw his danger, and
gently tried to draw him up. Awful moment!
As they drew in each coil, Ronald felt thread
after thread giving way. ‘O Lord! save me,’’
was his first cry; and then, “‘O Lord! comfort
my dear mother.’’ He closed his eyes on the
awful scene as he felt the rope breaking. He
nears the top; but, oh! the rope is breaking.
Another ‘and another pull; then a snap, and
now there is but one strand holding him. He
nears the top; his friends reach over to grasp
him; he is not yet within their reach. One
more haul of the rope; it strains; it unravels
under his weight. He looks below at the dark
waste of boiling water, and then above to the
glorious heavens. He feels he is going. He
hears the wild cry of his companions, the
frantic shriek of his fond mother, as they hold
her back from rushing to try to save her child.
He knows no more; reason yields; he becomes
insensible. But just as the rope is giving way,
a friend stretches forward at the risk of being
dragged over the cliff—a strong hand grasps
him, and Ronald—is saved.

Dear reader, from this true and simple story
you may learn an important lesson for the new
year, and therefore.we have named it a New
Year's story. As the year 1880 passes by, an-
other strand of your rope of life is breaking.
Strand after strand snaps as the knell of each
departing year tolls its mournful notes. How
Many threads are now left? Can you tell?
Perhaps ere the year 1881 passes by the

last thread may snap, and if you die in
your sins, rejecting your Saviour, it will send
you into the burning waves of eternal Hell.
Do you realize your position? Ronald realized
his position when the last strand was giving
way, thread by thread, and when a strong hand
was stretched out to save him, which brought
him safely beyond the reach of further danger,
and placed him in the loving arms of his

Well, now suppose you could find no time to
fill every number in the coming year—and
suppose those few that have helped you along
by their contributions and have made the paper
interesting and instructive, would forsake you
as others have done—and suppose you could
find no suitable story for the third page of
every number—and suppose you could find
nothing to put into the Outlook—and suppose
parent! If you are still an unbeliever, may| the readers would all by and by “‘stop the
you then by the grace of God learn to know| paper.’’—We went on supposing, and the twelve
your danger and flee at once to the Saviour of| numbers of the third volume rose up before our
sinners. In the Gospel He stretches out His} mind—every number with its twelve columns
hand to “pluck you as a brand out of the fire,’”’} —all white and waiting to be filled—it was a
to save you from falling down into hell when} horrible sight for an editor! But when we
the last strand of your rope of life is breaking | read the story of Old Nancy we were ashamed
and to place you for ever beyond the reach of| of ‘our “‘supposes,” and we learned to hope
danger, safe in the arms of a loving and al-| firmly ‘that God would help us along from
mighty Father. Jesus ‘came to seek arid to} number to number. May all our Christian
save the lost;’? He came to save you. All| readers learn from Old Nancy to trust more
your sins were laid on Him, and He finished] fully in the Lord and to give up ‘‘dem sup-
the work of your redemption, so that you are] poses as is making dem so mis’rable.’’

now as welcome to come to Christ as if you had
never sinned a sin. The moment you take
God at His word, and believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ as the one who loved you and gave
Himself for you—a lost sinner—you are saved.
God says it. ‘All that believe are justified from
all things’ (Acts 13, 39.). Believe, ‘‘and thou
shalt be saved’’ from everlasting destruction—
saved to be holy and happy in the coming
years and in eternity—saved for heaven—saved
for glory—saved for God! Then let the year
1881 be the last strand of the rope—let it snap
—let it break—you will full into the strong
arms of the loving Jesus—you are saved!

—s~+ oo > oe

The English Lutheran Conference of
Missouri

held its last session from the 22d to the 25th of
October in Barton Co., Mo. St. Peters Luth-
eran congregation in Cherokee Co., Kans., was
admitted to membership. The President, Rev.
J. E. Rader, who, with the appointed Dele-
gate, Rev. A. Rader, had attended the meeting
of the Western District of the Missouri Synod,
presented his Report, viz., that the Western
District was willing to send a delegate to the
annual sessions of Conference, who should also
visit the congregations near the place of meet-
ing, and to appoint an English missionary for
the West. It was
‘* Resolved, that we return our most hearty
thanks to the brethren of the Western
District for the kindness extended to our
Delegate and President at that meeting
and for the favorable disposition of things
in our behalf.”’

Rey. A. Rader expressing a willingness to
give up his two youngest sons as students for
the ministry, it was

“Resolved, that the President of our
Conference as one of the Joint Committee
of the Western District, see to this matter
and with that Committee, if practicable,
make the best arrangements for their
literary and theological training.”’

It was further

“‘ Resolved, that we return our most sin-
cere and heartfelt thanks to our kind
friends and brethren in the Lord, of the
Missouri Synod, for their liberal and kind
help in our distress and want during the

s+ oo

Old Nancy.

Christians who are so troubled with anxious
thoughts about the future as to be unhappy
in the present, may learn a good New Year's
lesson from Old Nancy. She was a poor colored
woman and made her living by washing. But
she was always happy, trusting in God with
the simple faith of a child. One day one of
those anxious Christians who are ‘‘taking
thought”’ about the morrow, said to her: “Ah,
Nancy, it is well enough to be happy now, but
I should think your thoughts of the future
would sober you. Suppose, for instance, that
you should be sick and unable to work; or sup-
pose your present employers should move away,
and no one else should give you anything else
to do; or suppose’”’—‘“Stop!”’ cried Nancy. past year.’” :

“J neber supposes. De Lord is my Shepherd,| The ‘next meeting will be held in Salem
and I knows I shall not want. And, honey,” Congregation, Washington Co., Ark., Rev. J.

. an E. Rader’s charge.
she added 2 her gloomy, tia absjall ge a The readers of the PrioNEER are no doubt”
supposes as is making you so mis'rable. You

: = : interested in this English Lutheran Mission.
orter give dem all up, child, an’ jes trus’ in de| 4 report of its progress will be given them
Lord.” ; ars

; ban from time to time. Up to this date it was im-
And now: we will tell our readers another possible to appoint a missionary. The Treas-
story. It is an editorial secret. As we got

urer (Mr. C. F. Lange, 509 klin Ave:,
the manuscript ready for this first number of| dollars. Will not the readers of the ProNEER
our third yolume, we were troubled with all) aid our Church in this important mission-work?
sorts of “supposes”. Our thoughts ran thus:

St. Louis, Mo.) has as yet received only a few ©