The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1899, Page 9

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Che Autheran Pioneer.

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

PUBLISHED BY THE HvANGELICAL LuTHEeRAN SynopicaL ConFERENCE oF NortH AMERICA.

R. A. BISCHOFF, Editor.

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

Vol. XXI.

St. The

uis, Mo., March, 1899.

No

3.

Saviour, we are Thine.

Jesus, Thou hast bought us,
Not with gold or gem,

But with Thine own life-blood,
For Thy diadem.

With Thy blessing filling
Each who comes to Thee,

Thou hast made us willing,
Thou hast made us free.

By Thy grand redemption,
By Thy grace Divine,

We are on the Lord’s side—
Saviour, we are Thine.

Fierce may be the conflict,
Strong may be the foe,

But the King’s own army
None can overthrow.

Round His standard ranging,
Victory is secure;

In His truth unchanging
Makes the triumph sure.

Joyfully enlisting,
By Thy grace Divine,
We are on the Lord’s side—

Saviour, we are Thine.
FR. Hi.

0s 0 eo

Lessons of Lent.

great must be God’s wrath over sin! He did
not spare His only-begotten, His well-beloved
Son when He saw Him laden with the sins of
the world. Woe to them that regard sin
lightly. From the sufferings and death of
Christ they may learn the enormity of sin.
May the Lenten meditations fill their hearts
with sorrow over sin and with hatred of sin.

From the sufferings and death of Christ we
learn also the greatness of God’s love. It was
love that moved God to send His Son into this
world, that He may bear our sins and suffer
and die in our stead. God so loved the world
that He gave His only-begotten Son into suf-
ferings and death, that whosoever believeth
in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. ‘*God commendeth His love toward us,
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us.’’ It was love that moved the Son of
God to come into this world and to take upon
Himself our sins and to bear the punishment
which we deserved. He loved us, and there-
fore gave Himself for us, and redeemed us
from sin and all its woe. Through the dark-
ness of Christ’s sufferings and death we be-
hold the bright sun of God’s unspeakable
love. Such love must melt the sinner’s heart
and draw him towards that Saviour who has

In the season of Lent we go with the Saviour| redeemed him with His own precious blood.
on His way of sorrows from Gethsemane to| However great his sins may be, the love of

Calvary and meditate upon His sufferings and
death. There are many lessons to be learned
from such meditation.
most important.
From Christ’s sufferings and death we learn

the suffering and dying Saviour is far greater.
His loving arms, once extended on the cross,

Let me point out the} are still open to receive the chief of sinners.

His unspeakable love gives us the assurance
that He will in no wise cast out them that

to know the enormity of sin. Men often think| come unto Him for pardon, rest, peace, and

light of sin, but sin is a horrible thing.
It brought upon the Son of God the greatest
agony, the most bitter sufferings, and the
most shameful death.
Christ. He is ‘tholy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners.’’? He ‘‘did no sin,
neither was guile found in His mouth.”
there were sins on Christ. He is the Lamb of
God that beareth the sins of the world. ‘‘The
Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
The sin-hating God saw His sin-bearing Son
and poured out upon Him the vials of his
wrath. What a horrible thing sin must be!
What a great offense against God! How

everlasting life.
Thus learning to know the greatness of
God’s love, we shall also learn to love Him

There was no sin in| who loved us first and to show our love by

serving Him. This also is a lesson of Lent.
Christ ‘thas redeemed me, a lost and con-

But| demned creature, purchased and won me from

all sins, from death and from the power of the
devil, not with gold or silver, but with His
holy, precious blood and with His innocent
suffering and death, that I may be His own,
and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve
Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence
and blessedness.’? Our service must not be

the forced service of a slave, but the willing,
joyful service of a beloved and loving child.
It must be the expression of a loving and
grateful heart. The love of Christ must move
us to make known the Gospel of His love.
It must be the great motive power in all our
mission work. Thus the season of Lent will
awaken and intensify the missionary spirit in
our hearts. May God make us willing to learn
the lessons of Lent!

- ne oe

Excuses.

It is wonderful, writes a pastor, how easily
people find excuses when they do not like to
do a thing. Take church-going and store-
going. Every morning the man is at his busi-
ness; nothing keeps him from it but the grippe
or some disease which will not let him out of
the house. He may feel tired, but he goes.
He may have a headache, but off he starts;
and when he is there, how interested he is—
how absorbed, how devoted! That is store-
going. And now take the same man, and look
at his church-going. Whatacontrast! ‘Ihave
a headache; I do not think I will go to church.’””
“Tt rains hard, and it is so cold; I will not
venture out.’’ ‘‘I feel tired; I will stay at
home and rest.’’ And often, when he goes,
how he lolls about and looks around and lets
his mind wander. Yes, you say, but one is
business to which he must attend; we will
lose our place or our money; and the other
is—well, what is it? Is it not an important
thing? Is it not God’s business? Is it not a
very solemn, a very urgent affair? Can it be
neglected? ‘We should fear and love God,
that we may not despise preaching and His
Word; but hold it sacred and gladly hear and
learn it.’’

0 oe

How oft, when thunder clouds are nigh,

The brilliant arch illumes the sky,

Inviting men to praise and bless

The great Creator's faithfulness, :

So, Lord, when doubt and darkness rise, —

May faith behold, with steadfast eyes,

Thy mercy in the saddest hour,

And trust Thy promise and Thy power.
Selected.

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