The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1890, Page 9

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Ghe Autheran Pioneer. —

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

PosiisHep BY THE HvANGELICAL LuTHERAN SyNopIcAL CoNFERENCE oF NortH AMERICA.

R. A. BISCHOFF, Editor.

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

Vol. XII.

St. Louis, Mo., March, 1890.

Christ Crucified.

Oh teach me what it meaneth,
That cross uplifted high,

With One, the Man of Sorrows,
Condemned to bleed and die.

Teach me awhile to ponder
What human guilt hath done

To Thee, the King of Glory,
And God’s beloved Son.

Oh teach me all their meaning—
Torn hands and thorn-clad brow;

And teach me why, with anguish,

. Thy heart is breaking now.

Oh teach me what it cost Thee
To make a sinner whole;

And teach me, Saviour, teach me,
The value of a soul.

Oh teach me what it meaneth—
That sacred crimson tide—
The blood and water flowing :
From Thine own wounded side.
Oh teach me it availeth
To wash the darkest stains,
Till on my soul polluted
No spot of sin remains.

Oh teach me what it meaneth—
Thy love beyond compare;
Thy love that reacheth deeper,
Than depths of self-despair.
Yea, teach me, till there gloweth
In this cold heart of mine,
Some feeble, pale reflection
Of that pure love of Thine!

Oh, Infinite Redeemer,
I bring no other plea—
Because Thou dost invite me,
I cast myself on Thee!
Because Thou dost accept me,
I love and I adore!
Because Zhy love constraineth,

5 ll praise Thee evermore! Selected.

~~ << ___

In our Stead.

In the time of Lent we behold Christ nailed
to the tree of the cross, and the Bible tells us,
‘*Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”
So the curse and wrath of a just and holy God
was upon Him. Why? Was Hea great sin-
ner? No! Pilate, the judge, before whom He
had been brought, said again and again, ‘‘I
find no fault in Him.’’ He was the Son of God,

No. 3.

‘tholy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sin-
ners,’ Hebr. 7, 26. He ‘‘did no sin, neither
was guile found in His mouth,’’ 1. Pet. 2, 22.
There was no stain of sin in Him. He was
perfect in all His thoughts, and words, and
ways. God was fully pleased in Him. ‘This
is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,’’
said the Father. Yet that Son was nailed to
the tree of the cross, and ‘‘cursed is every one
that hangeth on a tree.’’ How is this? Let
the Bible tell you. ‘‘Christ hath redeemed us
from the curse of the law, being made a curse
for us, for itis written, ‘Cursed is every one
that hangeth on a tree,’ Gal. 3, 13. ‘‘His
own self bare our sins in His body on the tree,”’
1. Pet. 2, 24. God ‘hath made Him to be sin
for us, who knew no sin; that we might be
made the righteousness of God in Him,” 2. Cor.
5, 21. ‘‘All we like sheep have gone astray:
we have turned every one to his own way;
and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of
us all,” Isaiah 53, 6. He gave Himself for our
sins,’ Gal. 1, 4.

From these passages of the Bible we learn
that Christ suffered and died in our stead. By
our sins we deserved the curse and wrath of a
just and holy God. God can not overlook our
sins; for His justice demands the punishment
of every sin. No creature in heaven or on
earth could deliver us from the curse and wrath
of God. So God’s own beloved Son in His un-
speakable love came down from heaven; He
became man; He took our sins upon Himself,
and the wrath of God which we deserved was
poured out upon Him. He was punished in
our stead. He took our place, and suffered and
died, the Just One for the unjust.

What a horrible thing sin is! What a great
offense against God! Our sins brought that
great suffering of body and soul on the Holy
One of God. Our sins made Him a Man of
sorrows, nailed Him to the cross, and put Him
to death. Blessed are they who thus acknow]l-
edge and feel their sins. They can find salva-
tion in that suffering and dying Saviour. By
His sufferings and death He has redeemed us
from eternal sufferings and death in hell. His
death brings us life, and “‘by His wounds we
are healed.’” His blood “‘cleanseth us from all
sins,’ and though our “‘sins be as scarlet they

shall be white as snow, though they be red like
crimson they shall! be as wool.’

By suffering and dying in our stead Christ
paid the price of our redemption and opened
Paradise for us. Let us seek salvation in this
Saviour only. Believe in him and He will
give you rest. His arms are open to receive
the chief of sinners.

“ach drop of blood proclaims there’s room,

And bids the poor and needy come.”

= + ome + a

“God Spared not His own Son.”

One day a Christian was pressing on some .
neighbors the danger of neglecting their soul’s
salvation, and in doing so set before them the
terrors of the hell that awaits the impenitent.
One of them turned upon him and said, ‘““You
are a father; could you make one.of your chil-
dren unhappy for his whole life, even if he had
offended you ever so deeply? And will God
be less merciful to us than an earthly parent
would be towards his children? If we have
been so unfortunate as to offend Him, still will
He not spare us?’ ‘‘Spare you?’’ answered
the other; ‘how could He do that, when He
spared not His own Son!”’

———S

The Ground of Trust.

Our faith is built upon God’s faithfulness;
and we trust Him most who have proved Him
oftenest. Said a teacher: ‘‘A poor little boy
came to me one day, and asked me to give him
a piece of bread. He was hungry and had
nothing to eat. I gave him some food and he
went away very much pleased. Some days
rafter he came again, and asked the same thing.
What made him come again? ‘Because you
gave him before,’ was the reply of the little
ones to whom the teacher had been speaking.
Yes,’ said the teacher; ‘and so it was with
David, who said, that because God had listened :
to him once, he would go to Him again.’ And
so it should be with us.’

“His loye in time past
Forbids me to think
He'll leave me at last
In trouble to sink.’?