The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1885, Page 41

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The Lutheran Pioneer, —

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

Pousiisuep BY THE KivANGELIcAL Lureran Synopicat Conrerence or NortH AMERICA.

R. A. BISCHOFF, Editor.

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

Vol. VII.

St. Louis, Mo., November, 1885.

No. 11.

“The Day is at Hand.”

Rom. 13, 12; 1 Cor. 3, 13.

Work, for the day is coming
When Jesus will return:

At the thought of His appearing,
Our hearts within us burn;

For we shall see His beauty,
And share His loving smile,

Then let us not grow weary,
*Tis but ‘a little while.”

Work, for the day is coming;
Work, children of the light;
Sce thousands round you lying
In nature’s darkest night.
Up! rouse them from their slumber!

_____Tell them there yet is room, ____
That Jesus still is waiting,

And longs to see them come.

Work, for the day is coming;
Your talents may be few,
Yet, if you now take gladly,
The work JZe bids you do,
Although it may be lowly,
Precious to Him ’twill be,
And thou shalt hear Him saying,
“Ye did it unto Me.”

Work, for the day is coming;
Work, though no fruit you see ;
The master will reward you,
E’en as the work shall be.
He marks the prayerful sowing,
He counts the sighs and tears,
The patient, faithful labors
Of long and weary years.

Work, for the day is coming;
The Bridegroom draweth near,
To call the Bride He ransomed,
In glory to appear.
He says He’s coming quickly,
To take us to His home;
"Ten so,’’ we cry, rejoicing,
“Lord Jesus, quickly come!”
—Selected.

—>~< oa +

The Coming of the Lord Jesus.

The Advent season reminds us of our Lord’s
coming. The Son of God has come in the flesh

}. to redeem the world. He still comes in the

Gospel and in the Sacraments to call sinners
unto Himself and to make them partakers of
that salvation which His coming into the world
in our flesh secured for them all. And He will

come in glory to take His children to Himself,
that they may enjoy the great salvation forever
in their Father's house, where ‘‘the wicked
cease from troubling and the weary are at
rest.””

When He ascended into heaven, the angels
said to His disciples, “‘This same Jesus, which
is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come
in like manner as ye have seen Him go into
heaven.’’ Ever since that time the coming of
the Lord Jesus in glory is the ‘‘blessed hope”
of the Church. Jesus is coming! What a
hope full of blessing! Jesus Himself is coming
—the ‘‘same Jesus” who said, Come unto Me.
We shall see His very face; the very brow that
was crowned with thorns; the very eyes that
looked on Peter; the very lips that said such
wonderful and gracious things! No longer
wishing for Him, but really seeing Him! Is
this terrible to you? Only one thing would
make it terrible, and it is, if you reject the Say-
iour here and will not come to Him in the time
of grace and in this day of salvation, and will
not let Him wash away your sins in His pre-
cious blood. Then His coming would indeed
be terrible, for He would never anymore’ say
to you ‘‘Come,’’ but only ‘‘Depart.” But if
you by true faith have found salvation in the
loving Saviour who really died to save you,
then His coming will be to you the glorious
fulfillment of His sweet promise: ‘‘I will come
again, and receive you to myself; that where
Iam ye may bealso.’’ At the cry, ‘Jesus is
coming!’’ the believer’s heart beats quick, but
it is with gladness, not with terror. Jesus is
coming! Could anything be happier news to
the children of God who love His appearing?
Let us then with glad hearts look forward to
that glorious advent of our Lord which every
setting sun brings nearer. And may our hearts
be thus drawn away from the world and all its
sinful doings; ‘‘for our citizenship is in heaven;
from whence we look for the Saviour, the Lord
Jesus Christ,’’ (Phil. 3, 20).

————+ 0-4 oe
Surely | Come Quickly.
The Lord did not mean these words to be

empty sounds. He meant His church to listen
and give heed to the solemn announcement.

They speak to each passing age with deeper
tone and more awaking voice. The voice of
this trumpet waxes louder and louder as the
ages roll away. :

‘‘Now is our salvation nearer than when we
believed!”’ Are we, in the eager joy of our
hearts, trying to measure the ages and count
the few years or days that may lie between us
and the Lord? Who can wonder that we
should do so? Who would not wonder if we
did not?

“His wife hath made herself ready.’’ Are
we ready? Is the bridal dress put on, ‘‘the
fine linen, clean and white?’’ Are we decked
for the marriage supper? Are we keeping our
garments undefiled? Are we ‘keeping our-
selves in the love of God, looking for the
mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal
life???’ (Jude 21).

And are we warning the ungodly? Are we
Noahs in the prospect of that fiery deluge that
is coming on theearth? Are we ‘“‘preachers of
righteousness’? Do we ‘‘condemn the world’?
Are we becoming more and more earnest in

urging our message upon sinners—‘‘flee from -

the wrath to come’ ?— C. 7.

<0 0-9» en

Waiting For The Bridegroom.

If thou desirest to enter into the marriage
of the Lamb, desire the coming of the Bride-
groom; ‘‘the Spirit and the Bride say, Come.’’
If thou hast not the earnest of the Spirit, by
which thou mayest cry—‘‘Come, Lord Jesus,’’
the Bridegroom will not lead thee into the
heavenly wedding. Thou art not the Bride;
if thou desirest not the coming of the Bride-
groom. Wilt thou have a place in the new
heavens and the new earth, why then dost
thou cleave unto these old things? Wilt thou
be made a partaker of the Creator, why dost
thou cleave to the beggarly creatures? Dost
thou look for a building of God, ‘‘a house not
made with hands, eternal in the heaven,” why
then dost thou not desire to be clothed upon
with our house which is from heaven? If in
this life the Holy Trinity doth not dwell in thy
heart by grace, the Holy Trinity will never
dwell in thee in the life to come through glory.

John Gerhard. -