The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1896, Page 33

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Che Lutheran Pioneer.

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

Pusiisuep BY TUE EVANGELICAL LurnERAN SYNODICAL CONFERENCE OF NortH AMERICA.

R. A. BISCHOFF, Editor.

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

Vol. XVIII.

The Believer's Nearness to God.

So nigh, so very nigh to God,
I can not nearer be,

For in the person of His Son
I am as near as He.

So dear, so very dear to God,
More dear I can not be;

The love wherewith He loves the Son,
Such is His love to me.

Why should I ever careful be,
Since such a God is mine?
He watches o’er me day and night,
And tells me, ‘Mine is thine.’
Selected.
~<a oo

~The Robe uf Christ’s Righteousness.

The Bible tells us of a dress that all sin-
ners should put on. It is the righteousness
of Christ, which He has procured for us by
His life, sufferings, and death, and which
alone can be a covering for our sins.

We are sinners, and all we can do to save
ourselyes, or make ourselves better, is just
like dressing in dirty rags. Such rags will
never do instead of proper clothing. If we
were to try all our lives to make ourselves fit
to stand before God, we could never do it.
We must come to Him as the prodigal son
came to his father. He came just as he was.
He did not stay to make himself better, or to
mend his clothes; he could not do it, he knew
it was hopeless. He came as he was and told
his father he was not worthy to come. And
then the father called for the best robe to
cover him.

That is what God does. If you come to
Him as a poor sinner, who has no fit dress to
stand in before Him, He will clothe you with
the beautiful robe of Christ’s righteousness,
80 that you can cry out with joy: ‘I will
greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall
be joyful in my God; for He hath clothed
Me with the garments of salvation, He hath
Covered me with the robe of righteousness,”
Isa. 61,10. In the Gospel those garments of
Salvation are offered to you, for the Gospel
brings to you Christ and His righteousness.
The moment you accept the Gospel you are

St. Louis, Mo., September, 1896.

clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteous-
ness and become a happy child of God.

A poor colored slave in the West Indies,
who had led a very wicked life and who felt
himself a lost, undone sinner, one evening
heard a Gospel sermon, in which Christ was
presented as the Saviour of sinners. By the
grace of God he accepted the Saviour by true
faith and found peace.

His master heard the same sermon; but as
he had lived outwardly what men regard as
a good moral life, his proud heart rejected
the finished work of Christ, and set about
trying to save himself. This went on for
about a month, and the poor Pharisee was
becoming more wretched, when he resolved
to haye a conversation with the happy slave,
and the following accordingly took place:

“Sam, you are happy!”’

‘Yes, massa, I be,’’ he said, his face beam-
ing with joy.

“Well, Sam,’’ said the master, ‘‘I have
come here this morning to find out what it is
that makes you happy. You know, Sam,
I heard that same sermon about which you
speak so much, and from which you, though
you were such a bad fellow before, got so
much peace and happiness, while I, who have
always been what the world calls a good man,
have been going on in darkness and sorrow
eyer since, and it seems to me I only grow
worse. It is a great mystery, Sam, I don’t
understand it.’” =

‘Oh, massa,’’ said the poor slave, ‘‘it ain’t
no mystery at all to me, ’cause you see dat’s
de berry reason Sam was such a bad fellow,
and hab on such a dirty, ragged blanket, dat
when God called him he knew it wasn’t fit to
go ’fore God in, so he threw it right away,
and den God put on him de robe of Christ’s
righteousness; and den, ob course, when Sam
had dat on, he couldn’t help being glad and
full_ob peace. But massa hab on what he
thinks to be a real good coat, and he did not
like to throw dat away, for he thought if it
was fixed up a little it would do to go *fore
God. So when he sees a dirty spot, he says:
‘Oh, I} wash dat!’ and when he sees a hole,
he says: ‘Oh, J’ll patch dat!’ and so he goes
on, trying to make his old coat do; but it

No. 9.

nebber will, for God won’t receive massa in
dat coat, no matter how much he fix it ub.
But if massa will only throw dat coat away,
and let God put de robe ob Christ’s righteous-
ness on him, den massa can go in ’fore God,
and not be ’fraid, but be happy, like poor,
bad Sam.’’

The slave paused and looked at his master,
as if to see the effect of this bold language.
A smile broke over the master. ‘‘You are
right, Sam,’’ he exclaimed, as he grasped the
rough black hand held out to him. “I have
been trying to fix up my old coat; but, thank
God, Iam done with it now. I’ll have on the
robe of Christ’s righteousness as well as you,
and I see that will bring me peace and joy.
God bless you, Sam; you haye taught me
a precious truth.’’

——s- +o or oo

Look at Christ.

Looking at the natural sun weakens the eye;
but the more we look at Christ, the Sun of
Righteousness, the stronger and clearer will
the eye of faith be. Look but at Christ, then
you will love Him, and live on Him and for
Him. Are you tempted to sin? Remember
that He gave Himself for you that you may
be saved not only from the guilt of sin, but
also from its power over you. Think how
much He loved you—how much He suffered
for you, and you will loathe sin in every form.
Love to read the Scriptures —they testify of
Christ. Are you in danger of being carried
about ‘‘with every wind of doctrine?” Be oc-
cupied with Christ, who plainly speaks to you
in the Bible. It is His word. Accept it as it
is written, no matter what your reason or other
men’s reason may say. Look to Christ alone
—the ‘‘Rock of Ages’”’ is a sure foundation,
‘tthe same yesterday, to-day, and forever.””
Do the trials of life weary you, and its cares
threaten to overwhelm, look unto Him who
says: ‘Come unto me all ye that labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

————>—~< oo  e -
Tue wealthy miser lives as a poor man

here: but he must give account as a rich man
in the day of judgment.