The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1888, Page 33

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Che Lutheran Pioneer.

A MISSIONARY MONTHILY.

PUBLISHED BY THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN SYNODICAL CONFERENCE OF Nortu AMERICA.

Entered at the Post Office at St. Louis, Mo.

R. A. BISCHOFF, Editor.

, a8 second-class matter.

Vol. X.

St. Louis, Mo., September

, 1888. No. 9.

“He Careth For You.”
1 Peter 5, 7.

What can it mean? Is it aught to Him

That the nights are long and the days are dim?
Can He be touched by the griefs I bear,

Which sadden the heart and whiten the hair?
Around His throne are eternal calms,

And strong, glad music of happy psalms,

And bliss, unruflled by any strife.

How can He care for my little life?

And yet I want Him to care for me

While L live in this world where the sorrows be.

When the lights die down from the paths I take,
* When strength is feeble and friends forsake,

When love and music, that once did bless,

Have left me to silence and loneliness,

And my life-song changes to sobbing prayers,

Then my heart cries out for a God who cares.

*Oh, wonderful story of deathless love!
Each child is dear to that Heart above;
He fights for me when I cannot fight,

_ He comforts me in the gloom of night,
He lifts the burden, for He is strong,
He stills the sigh and awakens the song;
The sorrow that bowed me down He bears,
And loves and pardons because He-cares.

Let all who are sad take heart again;
We are not alone in our hours of pain;
The Blessed One stoops from His throne above
To soothe and quiet us with His love.
' He leaves us not when the storm is high
- And we have safety, for He js nigh.
Can it be trouble which He doth share?
Oh, rest in peace, for the Lord does care.
Selected.

—qwm- oe ae

Salvation.

~The salvation. which Christ procured for sin-
ners is called a common salvation. ‘‘ Beloved,
when I gave all diligence to write unto you of
the-common salvation, it was needful for me.to
write unto you,’’ (Jude 3). It is common in
the sense that it is provided for all, itis adapted
to all, it is offered to all, it is needed by all.
“God co loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son,’ that whosvever believeth on him
should not perish, but have everlasting life,’’
(John 8, 16); ‘*Lovk unto me, and be~ye
saved, all the ends of the earth,’’ (Isa. 45, 22);
“There-is no difference; for all have sinned,
and come short of the glory of God,’? (Rom.

‘eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that

‘sion work and seek to bring to others the salva-

‘salvation from.day to day,”” (Ps. 96, 2).

|\it does not know itself to be a grace at all.’

3, 22); ‘* Whosoever will, i: him take the
water of life freely,’* (Rev. 22, 17). Thus it is
seen that none are shut out from this salvation;
except by their own fault, for He whose name
is Love is ‘not willing that any should per-
ish, but that all should come to repentance,”
Q Pet. 3, 9).

But the salvation which is common must be-
come personal, and the sinner must learn to ex-
claim with the Psalmist, ‘Thou art the God
of my salvation,’’ (Ps. 25, 5), and to ery out in
his prayer, ‘‘Say unto my soul, I am thy salva-
tion,” (Ps. 35, 3). It was a searching question
Jesus asked His disciples, ‘‘ Whom say ye that
ITam?’’ (Matt. 16, 15). No matter what others
say and think, what say you about me? ‘If
thow shall 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). No one can act for us in this
all-important matter. We must accept Jesus
as our salvation for ourselves. We must be
born for ourselves, and die for ourselves, and
be judged for ourselves, and receive Christ for
ourselves or perish forever.

“How Am I Justified?”

By A. M. T.

Clearly not by works, for the Apostle Paul
says:—‘‘ Being justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:,
whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in His blood, to declare His
righteousness for the remission of sins that are
past, through the forbearance of God; to de-,
clare, at this time, His righteousness: that He
might be just, and the justifier of him which
believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then?
It isexcluded. By what law? of works? Nay,;.
but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude:
that a man is justified by faith without the
deeds of the law” (Rom. 3, 24—28).

Beloved reader, the simple fact is thia, the,
Lord Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of God
came down here into this world of sin and
misery, and human woe. He fully told out.
the heart of God towards lost, ruined man, and.
on the cross He became a sacrifice for sin—a,
substitute for.man—enduring the judgment of
God against sin, and having. put away sins by
the sacrifice of Himself, He is raised again
from the dead by the glory of the Father, and
is seated in the glory at the right hand of God,
as the proof of God’s satisfaction with the work
He has accomplished for the sinnef.. Do you.
‘want peace with God? ‘'He hath made. peace,
| by the blood of His cross,’”’ ‘‘He is our peace.’”.
See Him, by faith, on the cross for you—hear
that cry, ““My God, My God, why hast Thou.
forsaken Me?’’ Look at the empty tomb, look.
up. into the glory; by faith see Him there for,
you, beyond death, and you may say, ‘‘He
loved me,’”? “He gave Himself for me,” ‘He
Was, delivered for my offences, He was raised
again for my justification; therefore being justified
‘by faith, Thave peace with God through our Tort
Je esus Christ.”’

Now you have-got to works. ‘‘For we (His
believing children) are His workmanship, cre-.
ated in Christ Jesus unto good works, which
God hath before ordained that we should walk in

them’ * Eph. 2,10). God grant, dear reader)
that you may not read this in vain.

_  “T would not work ny soul to save, ;
For that my Lord hath done;.
But I would work like any slave,
From love to God’s dear Son.”?

Dear reader, for you everything turns upon
the question whether you receive Jesus as your
salvation, not whether any body else receives
Him, but whether you receive Him. ‘He that
believeth on him is not condemned: but he
that believeth not is condemned already, be-
cause he hath not believed in the name of the
only begotten Son of God,”’ (John 3, 18). Thus
is decided the destiny of the soul for ever, for.
“this is the record, that Gud hath given to us

hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not.
the Son of God hath not life,” (1 John 5,
11. 12).° May we know Him. more and more
as all our salvation and all our desire! Then
we shall also become more zealous in our. mis-

tion which gives peace to our souls. ‘“‘Sing
unto the Lord, bless his name: show forth his

———> +o oe oe
_ Sr. BerNarp’ puts it well when he gays: fee
‘‘ Humility is, of all graces, the ‘chiefest whe {/ obs