The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1890, Page 42

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42

The Lutheran Pioneer.

The Water of Baptism.

By Dr. MARTIN LUTHER.

|

| pent and in true faith say: My Lord God has
assured me of all mercy, when I was baptized
in the Baptism of His Son, and now I will turn

| back to this grace of God, being convinced that

Who dares to despise this ordinance, with| my sins are removed, not, indeed, for my own

which the Father, Son and Holy Ghost unite?
Who would venture to call such water mC)
water? Do we not plainly see what spices
God has thrown into this water? If we mix

sugar with water it is no longer mere water,
but becomes claret, or something similar; why
then should we endeavor to separate the Word
from the water and say it is mere water, as if
neither the Word of God nor He Himself were
united with it? God the Father, the Son and
the Holy Ghost are in and with the baptismal
water, as Christ, at the Jordan, was in the
water, the Holy Ghost over it, and God the
Father revealing Himself in the voice from
heaven.

Baptism is, therefore, a peculiar water
which taketh away death and every evil,
helping us into heaven and to a life ever-
lasting. It is a precious, sweet water, full
of aroma, a healing power, for God is united
with it. God is a God of life, and, there-
fore, this water which He has blessed must
be the true water of life, which conquers
death and hell and brings eternal life.

It behooves us indeed to learn the im-
portance of Baptism and to value.it highly.
We do not baptize in the name of an angel,
or of a human being, but in the name of
God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

We must, therefore, be exceedingly care-
ful not to separate in Holy Baptism the Word
from the water with which we baptize, but we
must confess and believe that God so instituted
this ordinance that, for Christ’s sake, we are
hereby, through the Holy Ghost, cleansed from
our sins and rescued from eternal death. Or why
else should the Holy Trinity be present with
it? If we then firmly believe that our little
children are born in sin, Jet us be quick to
baptize them, that God may accomplish His
work in them, according to His declaration

- that we must be born again of water and the
Spirit, and that he who believes and is bap-
tized shall be saved. If we know our infants
to be under the dominion of death, let us not
be slow to wash them according to the com-
mand of Christ, in this -bath of Baptism, that
death may be overcome. ;

And thou, my hearer, who art baptized, re-
member well that thy baptism is unto thee a
seal and guarantee of the forgiveness of thy
sins and of the promise of eternal life through
Christ. Yea, baptism has a divine power to
destroy death and to purify from sin; where-
fore we are baptized with such hope into the
death of Christ.

Bapti-m with its blessings and promises re-
mains efficacious, though we may have fallen
into sin and guilt, if we return from our error
and do not continue in our wickedness. It
will never do to seek forgiveness of sins and
yet persistently to abide in them; we must re-

sake or that of any other creature, but solely
for Christ’s sake, who has instituted and or-
dained Baptism, and who was Himself bap-
tized, as though He had been a sinner.

The Precious Volume.

When traveling on the banks of the Orange
River, between Namaqualand and the Griqua
country, in South Africa, the Rev. R Moffat,
the well-known African missionary, came to a
heathen village where an incident occurred
which he describes thus:

“We had traveled far, and were hungry,

| thirsty and fatigued. From the fear of being

Advent.

My Hosannas do receive

And victorious palms, dear Saviour!
Thanks and honor I will pay

Thee, as best I can, forever,

And by faith I will embrace,

Lord, Thy merit through Thy grace.

Hail! Hosanna! David’s Son,
Help, Lord, hear our supplication!
Let Thy sceptre, realm, and crown
Bring us blessing and salvation,
That forever we may sing:

Hail! Hosanna! Lord, our King!

exposed to lions, we preferred remaining at the
village to proceeding during the night. The
people rather roughly directed us to halt ata
distance; we asked for water, but they would
not supply it. I offered the three or four but-
tons which still remained on my jacket for a
little milk; this also was refused. We had
the prospect of another hungry night at a dis-
tance from water, though within sight of the
river. It was difficult to reconcile ourselves to
our lot, for, in addition to repeated rebuffs, the
manner of the villagers excited suspicion.
“When twilight drew on, a woman ap-
proached; she bore on her head a bundle of
wood, and had a vessel of milk in her hand;
the latter (without opening her lips) she handed
to us, laid down the wood and returned to the
village. A second time she approached with

a cooking vessel on her head, and a leg of mut-

ton in one hand and water in the other. She

sat down without saying a word, prepared the

fire and put on the meat. We asked her again

and again who she was. She remained silent

till affectionately entreated to give us a reason

for such unlooked-for kindness to strangers.

The solitary tear stole down her sable cheek

when she replied, ‘‘I love Him whose servants

ye are, and surely it is my duty to give youa
cup of cold water in His name. My heart is
full, therefore I can not speak the joy I feel to
see you in this out-of-the-world place.’’ On
learning a little of her history, and that she
was a solitary light burning in a dark place,
I asked her how she kept up the light of God
in her soul in the entire absence of the com-
munion of saints. She drew from her bosom a
copy of the Dutch Testament which she had
received from Mr. Helm, when in his school
some years previous, before she had been
compelled by her connections to retire to
her present seclusion; ‘‘This,’’ she said, “‘is
the fountain whence I drink; this is the oil
which makes my lamp burn!’’ I looked
upon the precious relic, and the reader may
conceive how we felt when we met with this
disciple and mingled our sympathies and
prayers together at the throne of our
heavenly Father.”

: —_— oo -

Let Your Light Shine!

Some years ago there dwelt a widow in a
lonely cottage on the sea-shore. All around
her the coast was rugged and dangerous, and
many a time was her heart melted at the sight
of wrecked fishing boats and other vessels, and
the cries of perishing human beings. One
stormy night, when the howling wind was mak-
ing loneliness more lonely, and the widow was
thinking of what the next morning's light might
let her see, a happy thought came to her. Her
cottage stood on a high spot, and her window
looked out upon the sea; might she not place
a lamp by that window, that it might be a
light to warn some poor fisherman or sailor off
the coast? She did so. All her life after,
during the winter nights, her lamp burned at
the window; and many a poor fisherman had
cause to bless God for the widow’s lamp; many
& crew were saved from perishing.

That widow woman ‘‘did what she could;”’
and if all believers kept their light burning as
brightly and steadily, might not many a soul
be warned to flee from the wrath to come? If
Christians would live as lights in this world,
they would do much for the salvation of sinners.

Let your light shine!

+ +o or oe

Tue promises of God are so many bonds -
wherein He stands bound to us; and these ~
bonds may be put in suit, and His people have
liberty and confidence to ask what He hath
promised them. It is a mighty argument in
prayer, when we can plead, that we ask no
more, than God hath promised.