The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1892, Page 45

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Che Lutheran Pioneer,

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

Pusuisnep py tHe Evancenican Lurneran SynopicaL Conrerence oF NortH

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

t. Louis, Mo., December, 1892.

Vol. XIV. S

AMERICA.

R. A. BISCHOFF, Editor.

No. 12.

Christmas.

Rejoice, rejoice, ye Christians,
With all your hearts this morn!
O hear the blessed tidings,
“The Lord, the Christ, is born,’’
Now brought us by the angels
That stand about God's throne;
O lovely are the voices

That make such tidings known!

O hearken to their singing:
“This Child shall be your Friend;
The Father so has willed it,
That thus your woes should end.
The Son is freely given,

That in Him ye may have

The Fathers grace and blessing,
And know He loves to save.

Nor deem the form too lowly
That clothes Him at this hour;
For know ye what it hideth?
’Tis God’s almighty power.
Though now within the manger
So poor and weak He lies,

He is the Lord of all things,
He reigns above the skies.

Sin, death, and hell, and Satan
Have lost the victory;
This Child shall overthrow them,
As ye shall surely see.
. Their wrath shall naught avail them;
Fear not, their reign is o’er;
This Child shall overthrow them,—
O hear and doubt no more!”’
(Old German hymn, 1510.)

++ oo oe

The Birth of Christ.

The birth of Christ, which fills our hearts
with: joy in the merry Christmas time, was a
lowly birth. When Joseph and the virgin
Mary came to Bethlehem to have their names
put into the tax-lists in obedience to the decree
of the Roman Emperor Augustus, they found
no room in the inn and therefore took refuge
in a stable for the night. And in that stable
Mary, a poor and unprovided stranger, brought
forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in
swaddling-clothes, and laid him in a manger.
What a lowly birth! There is no glory and
no splendor to be seen. There is nothing but
Poverty and want. And yet the birth of that

tion for us, but in Him there is salvation for
all sinners. May all our readers welcome to
their hearts the Child of Bethlehem as their
only Saviour and thus enjoy ahappy Christmas!

Child of Bethlehem has for ages filled the
hearts of millions with joy, and it still makes
every Christmas-day a day of gladness and re-
joicing. For who is that Child of Bethlehem?
Let the angel tell you.

In that same night there were shepherds in
the field, keeping watch over their flock. And,
lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and
the glory of the Lord shone round about them ;
and they were sore afraid. But the angel
said: ‘‘Fear not; for behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people. For unto you is born this day in the
city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: ye
shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling-
clothes, lying in a manger.’? And instantly
the sky was thronged with a multitude of
angels who made the night-air ring with their
song of praise: ‘Glory to God ‘in the highest,
and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

Wonderful birth! ‘That Child of Bethlehem
is ‘‘Christ the Lord,’’ the Lord of heaven and
earth. He, who created the universe became
a helpless babe. God's own Son took upon
Him our human nature and became like unto
us, only without sin, And this God-man is
our Saviour.

By sin our human race had fallen under the
curse and wrath of a just and holy God. Our
sin separated us from God and from all the
joys of heaven. No mere human being and
no angel could become our Saviour and bear
the punishment of our sin. Our Saviour must
be God; for God’s power was necessary to
bear the punishment of the world’s sin. Our
Saviour must also be a true man in order to
suffer and to die. And, behold, God in His
wisdom and love gaye us such a Saviour.
“God so loved the world that He gave His
only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in Him, should not perish ‘but have everlasting
life,’? John 3,16. The Child of Bethlehem is
our. Saviour—God and Man in one Person.
He was made under the law and took the
place of all sinners and bore the punishment
of all our sins. Through faith in Him we
have forgiveness of sin and life everlasting.
Well may we rejoice at the birth of this
Sayiour; for without Him there is no salya-

-.-+=ao- oO

The Way to Heaven.

At the manger of Bethlehem you can learn
the way to heaven. ‘God so loved the world,
that He gave His only-begotten Son.’’ What
more could He do? ‘*That whosoever’’—that
is, you, everybody, anybody that—‘‘believeth
in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.’’ It is not said that God has given His <
Son to all that will keep His law, for this we
could not do, and therefore the gift would be
available to none of us. But the great God
has given His Son to the whole sinful world,
that ‘‘whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.’’

The Christmas gift of God’s great love
Is the only way to heaven above.

——s oo oe

Christmas Customs in Scandinavia.

In Sweden and Norway Christmas is a day
of joy for everybody. In the country every
house stands open to the passing stranger and
he is at liberty to sit down to the table that
has ‘been expressly filled for him. In many
parts of Norway even the tavern keepers
charge nothing for food and lodging. The
custom of making each other presents on Holy-
eve is conscientiously maintained among all
classes, and as everybody must have a present,
the ladies have their hands full for weeks and
months beforehand in order to be prepared.
Even the dumb beasts get their share of good
things. The horses get more oats than usual,
the horned cattle a better quality of hay, the
dog a generous soup, and even the birds have
placed for them in front of every barn a pole
or fir-tree on which has been fastened a sheaf

of oats.
: ee

Christmas.

«what season is better of all the whole
“Thy needy, poor neighbor to com

year,

fort and cheer?’?