The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1890, Page 1

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Che Lutheran Pioneer.

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

PosuisHep By THE EVANGELICAL LuTaeRAN SyNnopicaAL CoNFERENCE or Nort AMERICA.

R. A. BISCHOFF, Editor.

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

Vol. XII.

; St. Louis, Mo., January, 1890.

No. 1.

Father, take my Hand.

The way is dark, my Father! Cloud on cloud
Is gathering thickly o’er my head, and loud
The thunders roar above me. See, I stand
Like one bewildered! ‘Father, take my hand,
And through the gloom
Lead up to light
Thy child.

The day goes fast, my Father, and the night
Is drawing darkly down. My faithless sight
Sees ghostly visions; fears, a spectral band,
Encompass me. Oh, Father! take my hand,
And from the night
Lead up to light
Thy child.

The way is long, my Father! and my soul
Longs for the rest and quiet of the goal.
While yet I journey through this weary land,
Keep me from wandering. Father, take my hand;
Quickly and straight i
Lead to heaven's gate
Thy child!

The path is rough, my Father! Many a thorn
Has pierced me; and my weary feet, all torn
And bleeding, mark the way. Yet the command
Bids me press forward... Father, take my hand;
Then safe and blest
Lead up to rest
Thy child;

The throng is great, my Father! Many a doubt
And fear of danger compass me about,
And foes oppress me sore. I can not stand
Or go alone. Oh, Father, take my hand;
And through the throng
Lead safe along
Thy child!

The cross is heavy, Father! I have borne
It long, and still do bear it. Let my worn
And fainting spirit rise to that blest land
And reaching down,
Lead to the crown

Thy child. Anon.

—++ oo >

“‘His Name was called Jesus.”

This is the message brought to us in the
Gospel lesson of New Year'sday. And a sweet
and comforting message it is. For why was
the Babe of Bethlehem called Jesus? The
angel said, ‘‘Thou shalt call His name Jesus;
for He shall save His people from their sins.””
Jesus means Saviour, and in the Babe of

Bethlehem we have the Saviour from all our
sins. Such a Saviour we need as we enter the
new year; for in Him only we can have a
happy new year.

The closing year tells us that death and the
account are so much nearer. This is an un-
pleasant thought to the unbeliever. But to
the believer there is no cause of fear. He be-
lieves in Him whose name .was called Jesus.
He, therefore, knows that he-has a Saviour.
The thought of the future is not dreadful to
him. Death has lost its terrors and the judg-
ment no longer threatens eternal punishment.
The Saviour in whom he believes is present
with him every day, providing for all earthly
wants and delivering from all earthly woes,
but especially supplying the wants of his soul
and delivering from the damnation which his
sins have deserved. Why, then, should the
future, whatever it may bring him yet in this
world, be a cause of fear? ‘Though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me, Thy
rod and Thy staff they comfort me.’’ Ps. 23, 4.
To the believer, therefore, who enters the new
year in the name of Jesus and continues his
journey in the power of His grace, the new
year will be full of blessing and true happiness.
Step by step, as hours and days pass by, he
will be nearing his Father's house, his own
happy and eternal home in heaven.

In the name of Him whose name was called
Jesus we wish all our readers

A Harry New YEAR.

_——_— 0-0

Be not Anxious.

God’s children need not worry, for God will
care for them. Will He? Well, if He will
not, then throw away the Bible. But will He
give them all they want? That is another
question. Will the wise parent give the child
all it wants? Will the physician give the
patient all he wants? Will the teacher give
the pupil all he wants? Never; for that would
often ruin, instead of profiting. Ask again,
Will God give His child all he needs? We
have His word that, if we seek the kingdom
of God and His righteousness, all these things

shall be added unto us. God is pledged to
supply all the real needs of His people in such
& manner as is indicated by wisdom and love
combined with power. And the trouble arises
just here, that men are not willing calmly to
trust this divine guidance.

Just imagine a family of children who are
never restrained, and whose every wish is
always gratified. They come and go as they
please, they spend according to their own judg-
ment, they study and play to suit themselves.
No restraint at all is put upon them. What
kind of men and women do you suppose they
will grow up to be? Will they make a success
of life, or will their lives turn out to be miser-
able failures? Probably the worst thing that
could happen to a family of children would be
just such treatment as this. Better for them
were they all to die of scarlet-fever before they
are five years old. So, were God to give His
children ‘all they fancy they need, it would
ruin them for time and eternity.

Now, while Christ tells us what not to worry
about, He tells us what to seek after. ‘‘Seek
ye first the kingdom of God.’”’ On this we are
to bestow our first energies. It may be well
just here to pause and ask ourselves what is
the object of our most devoted search. Some
are seeking for riches, some for education, some
for position, some for power. Everyone has
something for whose possession he is most
earnest, and for the sake of which he would
sacrifice all else. What is your most coveted
object in life? Find out, and then lay it in
the balance on one side, and put ‘‘the king-
dom of God’’ in the other scale. Now say,
candidly, which outweighs the other? Which
is the more valuable? Which will last the
longest? Is it any wonder, then, that the Son
of God says, Seek this first? And since He was
right in His estimate, will you not follow His
command?—S. S. F.

oo

As I was at my window I saw the stars and
the sky, and that vast and magnificent firma-
ment in which the Lord had placed them.
I could nowhere discover the columns on which
the Master had supported this immense vault,
and yet the heavens did not fall.

Martin Luther.