The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1898, Page 2

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

The Presentation of the Child Jesu .

In the second chapter of St. Luke we read
that Joseph and Mary brought the child Jesus
to the temple at Jerusalem to present Him to
the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice according to
the law: A pair of turtle-doves or two young
pigeons. And there was a man in Jerusalem,
whose name was Simeon, waiting for the con-
solation of Israel; and the Holy Ghost was
upon him. And it was revealed unto him by
the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death,
before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And
he came by the Spirit into the temple, and
when the parents brought in the child Jesus,
he took Him up in his arms, and blessed
God, and said, ‘‘Lord, now lettest Thou Thy
servant depart in
peace, according to
Thy word; for mine
eyes have seen Thy

salvation, which
Thou hast pre-
pared before the
face of all people,
a light to lighten
the Gentiles, and
the glory of Thy
people Israel.’’

On these beauti-
ful words of the
aged Simeon Dr.

Luther writes:
**Simeon means
exactly what he
says: ‘My eyes
have seen Thy sal-
vation,’ the salva-
tion which God in
- heayen has  or-
dained. The world

death; for against these very foes we have
this Helper. Whoever wishes to escape death
and to be freed from sin must trust in this
Saviour, whom God Himself has appointed to
carry our sins and to purchase our redemp-
tion by His blood. He who has this confi-
dence can under all circumstances, even amid
dangers and death exclaim with Simeon:
‘Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart
in peace,’ while he who places his hope on
something else will ever be without peace
and full of fear; he has no Saviour and re-
mains in death and condemnation.

‘‘Simeon also says of this Saviour: ‘Which
Thou hast prepared before the face of all
people.’ He says: Not for me alone did

God do this; there are many others that be-

will persist in the

creation of other
fancied saviours
from sin and death.
The Jew expects to obtain mercy from God if
he refrains from eating pork, if he keeps the
Sabbath and is circumcised, etc. The monk
regards his monastic life as a guarantee of
heaven for him. There is no end to the ab-
surd penances and idolatrous ceremonies in
the pope’s church. Faithful Simeon wished
to warn all against such grievous mistakes
and to teach us to accept the only true Sav-
jour of whom we stand in need, and whom
God Himself ordained to be our Helper. If
we have Him, we are safe; for God, the
Father in heaven, did send this Child Jesus
to be a Saviour and to bring us salvation.

**It is, therefore, necessary that we look to
this Child, that we take Him upon our arms,
as Simeon did; and this we will do if we make
Him the only joy, comfort, and consolation of
our heart. If our hearts are once firm in the
conviction that this Child is the salvation of
God for us, it must follow that we become
contented and fearless in the presence of

The Presentation of the Child Jesus.

long to the happy number thus blessed of
God. This Saviour is prepared before the
face of all people, and for the entire world.

“Simeon, Mary, Peter, and Paul were not
the only ones to have a Saviour, but all the
nations of the earth shallown Him. To make
the meaning of the words perfectly plain,
Simeon adds: ‘A light to lighten the Gentiles,
and the glory of Thy people Israel.’ Here
we have the reason why God gave this Sav-
iour, namely, that He should be a Redeemer
for all nations, for Jews and for Gentiles.”

May God, in the new year, make us more
zealous in our mission work, by which we
make known this salvation, which He has pre-
pared for all people.

——_ ~~ ae

Care is God’s business, not ours. Ours is
to work and pray and trust. We are never
nearer peace and rest than when we allow
Him to care for us. ‘If God be for us, who
can be against us?””

A New Year’s Prayer.

The fishermen of Brittany utter this simple
prayer when they launch their boats upon the
deep: ‘Keep me, my God; my boat is small
and the ocean is wide.’’ How beautiful the
words, the thought. At the beginning of 3
new year the prayer might be uttered by
God’s children, journeying on the Sea of Life.
My boat is small, I am so weak, so helpless.
Tossed to and fro I perish, unless Thou dost
help me. Keep me, my God; ‘Thy ocean is
so wide’? —the voyage so long —the days and
the years so many. ‘In Thee, O Lord, do
I put my trust.”

Only One Day at
a Time.

God gives His
children strength
to bear the troubles
of the day. They
are not to borrow
the troubles of to-
morrow. They are
not to try to bear
all the load of to-
morrow’s anxie-
ties. When the

morrow comes,

grace and strength
will come sufficient
for its tasks and
for its troubles.
“Take therefore n0
thought for the
morrow; for the
morrow shall take
thought for the
things of itself.
Sufficient unto the
day is the evil
thereof.’’

A Christian lady had met with a very seri-
ous accident, which made necessary 2 painfal
operation and many months of confinement
to her bed. When the doctor had finished
his work and was taking his leave, the lady
asked, ‘‘Doctor, how long shall I have to lie
here helpless ?””

“Oh, only one day at a time,’? was the
cheery answer, and the poor sufferer was com-
forted as she thought that God had promised
strength sufficient for the day.

“As thy day thy strength shall be!
This should be hear for thee;

He who knows thy frame will spare
Burdens more than thou canst bear.”

—_—»>—-o-P o> oe

A New Year’s Wish.

“May God, our Father, ever be your guide;
Jesus, our Saylour, be close by your side;
The Holy Spirit in your heart abide — 4
Then peace will be your guest whate’er betide: