The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1892, Page 10

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Abraham Offering Isaac.

In the twenty second chapter of Genesis
we read the wonderful Bible story which our
picture illustrates. We are there told that
God tried Abraham’s faith and said unto him:
“Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac,
whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land
of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt-
offering upon one of the mountains which I
will tell thee of.’? This was a severe trial of
Abraham’s faith. What a strange and hard
command it was! Was not Isaac the son of
promise, the beloved son for whom Abraham
had waited for so many years, the son in whom
all the families of the
earth were to be
blessed? Was it pos-
sible, that this com-
mand to burn this son
to death came from
God? How can-the
merciful God give
such a command ?
How was His promise
to be fulfilled, if Isaac
was put to death? But
Abraham did not rea-

ashes; he counted not the part his own hand
would take in the death of Isaac; for he knew
that the word of God must stand fast forever.
It was not for him to inquire how that word
of God was tobe fulfilled; he only knew that
it would and must be fulfilled. He did not
reason at all, but accepted the word of God in
simple faith. Let us follow his example when-
ever we hear orread the word of God. Letus not
inquire, how can this be, and how can that be.
Let us not explain and twist the word of God to
suit our own reason. Let us accept it as it is

written in simple faith, and rest assured that
this word of God will stand fast forever, whilst
the reasoning of men will be put to shame.

The Lutheran Pioneer.

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Eternal Life.

T have been suffering from sore sickness, so
that I gave up my life to God; but many a
thought have I hadin my weakness. Oh! how
I thought of what eternal life is, what joy it
has! Although I am sure that it is already
given us through Christ, and prepared for us,
because we believe ; yet, it is there that it will
be manifested, what the new creation shall be.
Whilst we remain here below, we cannot attain
to understanding the first creation. If I had
been with God before He created the world, I
could have given Him no counsel how to create
the round worlds and the firmaments from

nothing, and to jewel

it with the Sun, en-

lightening all the

son. No. He simply
obeyed. He went to
the mountain Moriah,
as he was commanded,
he boand the unresist-
ing Isaac, and placed
him on the altar upon
the wood, and
stretched forth his
hand, and took the
knife to slay his son,
when the angel of the
Lord called unto him,
and said: ‘‘Lay not
thy hand upon the
lad, neither do thou
anything unto him; for now I know that thou

fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld] offered a ram in his son’s stead as a burnt-| as
‘And | offering to the Lord. About two thousand | that is to say,

thy son, thine only son, from me.’’
Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and,
behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket
by his horns: and Abraham went and took the

ram and offered him up for a burnt-offering| stroke, and no substitute was found for that| God, a perfect light of reason, and

in the stead of his son.’’

Abraham’s faith, so severely tested, was
triumphant. What a great, what a wonderful
faith it was! Of Abraham it is written: “By
faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up
Isaac ; and he that had received the promises,
offered up his only begotten,
_ said, That in Isaac shall thy seed ‘be called:
_ accounting that God was able to raise him up,

‘called.”” This was enough for him,

of whom it was} and He who spared Isaac, and spared Abra-
ham the pain of inflicting the blow, spared
not Himself, and
in from the dead,’’ Heb. 11, 17—19. To] but delivered Him up for us all.’? Let us
raham God had said, “In Isaac shall thy | meditate on this as we pass through the Holy

: Season of Lent and behold the beloved Son
of God offering Himself up as a sacrifice for
the sins of the world. :

Abraham’s arm was held back, and he

years later, the hand of another and greater
father was uplifted to slay another and dearer
Son, but no power held back the descending

Son. The sword of God’s wrath was buried
in the heart of His only-begotten, dearly be-
loved Son upon the cross, wringing from Him
the cry of anguish, ‘‘My God, My God, why
hast thou forsaken me?” ‘This later sacrifice
was forshadowed in the offering up of Isaac;

“spared not His own Son,

——s +o
R’s dying day is his crowning day,

earth in its swift
course; or how to
create man and
woman. All this He

did, and none was his
counsellor or taught
Him. Surely there-
fore I may joyfully
trust Him and give
Him glory for the fu-
ture life, and the new
creation, how all shall
be in these, and be
content that He alone
be the Creator. I think
often about it, but I
cannot understand
how we shall spend
our time in that eter-
nal life; no change,
no eating and drink-
ing, no labor, nothing
to do. I deem, how-
ever, that we shall
have countless ob-
: jects to contemplate.
In the life to come we shall not see darkly,
we now do; but we shall see face to face,
there shall be a most glorious
brightness of the Eternal Majesty, in which
we shall see God, even as He is. There shall
be a true and perfect knowledge and love of
a perfect
will, an heavenly, Divine, an eternal will.
There we shall ever be studying, and learn-
ing more of what there is in the Incarnation of
the Son of God. We can never learn: that
mystery through. Yes, this will be the Eter-

and learning more and more.—Luther.

_———~- oa e.

It was the quaint saying of a dying man,
who exclaimed, ‘*T have no fear of going
home. God’s finger is on the latch, and I am
ready for him to open the door. It is but the

entrance to my father’s house.’? And said
another,
It is the
and sins,
forever,’’

‘Why should I shrink from dying?
funeral of all my sorrows, and evils,
and the perfection of all my joys

nal life, the life of the angels, ever searching