The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1898, Page 14

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14

The Lutheran Pioneer.

Do not Neglect the Means of Grace.

Confirmation day is a day of joy. On that
day those that have been instructed in the
Bible truths of the Catechism confess their
faith before God and His church, and promise
to remain faithful unto death. This is indeed
good reason for rejoicing. But with this joy
sadness is mingled whenever we think of the
many that have made the same confession and
the same promise, and have proved unfaithful.
*‘Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this
present world,’’ says St. Paul. And every
pastor must join in this sad saying, when
thinking of many that once promised faithful-
ness to the Saviour and that are now on the
broad way that leads to everlasting dam-
nation. What was the cause of their fall-
ing away? They neglected the means of
grace. They seldom attended the preach-
ing of God’s Word and at last stayed away
entirely. Their first communion was their
last communion, or they were not regular
guests, and soon were no longer seen at
the Lord’s table. Some went perhaps once
@ year, some once in two years, some so
rarely that the rule was not to go to the
sacrament. They neglected the means of
grace, and that causes spiritual death. Do
not tell me that they perhaps were diligent

The Use of Feet and Hands.

In the native quarters of the towns of India
the strange spectacle may be seen of the Hin-
doo using his toes with the dexterity of his
fingers. For example:

A butcher, seizing a piece of meat in his
hands will cut it in two with a stroke of his
knife, held between the first and second toes
of his foot.

The shoemaker uses no last, but turns his
unfinished shoe with his feet, while his hands
are busy in shaping it. So the carpenter holds
with his great toe the board he is cutting, and
the woodturner handles his tools as well with
his toes as withehis fingers.

“I know that my Redeemer liveth.”

Early on Easter morning, in the year 1548,
King Sigismund I, aged 81 years, went into
his beautiful chapel, attended by several of
his courtiers. Having entered the chapel, he
thoughtfully looked at the marble grave which
he had prepared for himself during his life-
time. Feeling that the hour was near in which
he would have to exchange the throne for the
coffin, his royal mantle for the shroud, he
sighed deeply. At last he said: ‘‘Well, I know
that my Redeemer liveth. He will raise me
from this bed chamber. ‘These mine eyes
shall behold my Saviour, who to-day is risen
from the dead.’’ He then knelt down, and
whilst he was praying, his soul passed
away to Him who is the Resurrection and
the Life.

eo=<me-

“! Am Satisfied.”

Bengel, the great Lutheran divine, dur-
ing his sickness longed very much to have
some one to speak to him of spiritual things.
As no one else was to be had, he sent for
one of his pupils. When the student
learned Bengel’s desire, he was abashed
and said, ‘‘How can I, a mere youth, speak
to my professor ?’’

ea ee

Bengel answered: ‘That would indeed
fill me with regret if one of my pupils was
unable to speak a word of consolation to

in the private study of the Scriptures and
in closet meditation and prayer. Those
that neglect the rich supplies offered them

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I
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in the public worship of the congregation
are not hungry for the bread of life and do
not embrace private opportunities to eat
and be filled. No. They neglect the means
of grace publicly and privately, and for
lack of spiritual nourishment they die. As
the body can not live without food, so faith
in the soul can not live without spiritual
food. ‘This food is given to us in God’s
appointed means of grace, which are His
Word and Sacraments. The same means
of grace by which faith is wrought in our
hearts, must preserve it unto salvation. By
God’s power we are brought to faith, and
by that same power we are kept in faith. But
that power of God works through the means
of grace. The preaching of the Gospel, which
is a power of God unto salvation to all that
believe, nourishes and strengthens our faith.
That same Gospel we have in the Lord’s
Supper, in which forgiveness of sins, sealed
with the Body and Blood of Christ, is offered
tous. What a strong nourishment of faith
is this!

Therefore, do not neglect the means of
grace. As soon as you begin to negleot these
Means of grace, your spiritual life is en-
_ dangered; and persistence in such neglect
must bring death. Remember, ‘‘He that en-
‘dureth to the end shall be sayed.’? Remain
_ under the power of God’s Word and Sacra-
ment, until the journey ends and the vic-
fory is won. Do not neglect the means of

grace!

ANTS

ST will put enmity between thee and the woman,
and between thy seed and her seed: it shall
bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.’
Gen. 3, 15.

This use of the feet to assist the hands in
their labor is not, however, the mere result of
practice, but is in part due to the fact that
the Hindoo foot is different from ours in its
anatomical conformation.

The ankle of the Hindoo, and the articula-
tion of the back of the foot, permit consider-
able lateral motion; and the toes possess a
surprising mobility.

The great toe can be moved freely in all
directions, and the first and second toes are
separated by a wide space, sometimes as
much as five-eighths of an inch across at the
base of the toes and two inches at their ex-
tremities.

The articulation of the hip is also peculiar,
and this renders it easier to use the toes in
handling the objects by enabling the Hindoo
to sit in a squatting posture much more com-
fortably than we can.— Zz.

one who needed it.’’

Full of anxiety the student repeated the
verse: ‘‘The blood of Jesus Christ, His
Son, cleanseth us from all sin.’’

“That is right,’’? said the sick man, ‘I
am satisfied.’? With hearty thanks he dis-
missed the student.

— tomer oe

Korean Customs.

All things in Korea are strange to for-
eigners. ‘Thimbles are of cloth, beautifully
embroidered. ‘There are no buttons nor
pins, and garments are tied on with ribbons.

Soap is sold in the form of 2 powder, and the
only matches are shavings tipped with sulphur.
These haye to be put into the fire to light them.

The market scenes are interesting. You see
pompous men in long gowns and high hats,
poor women with green cloaks over their heads,
and scores of boys carrying vegetables. The
people are early risers, and the best time to
market is between five and six in the morning.
Two hours later the stands are all cleared
away and you have to rely on the retail stores
or little shops.

Eggs in Korea are bought by the stick and
are stacked up like kindling wood. Ten eggs
are laid end to end, and they are then wrapped
about with straw, so that they stand out
straight and stiff, and look more like clubs
than eggs. In the stores these sticks of eggs
are piled up crosswise, and the price i8 about
three cents a stick.