The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1902, Page 37

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Che Lutheran Pioneer,

A MISSIONARY

MONTHLY.

PUBLISHED BY THE EvancericaAL Luraeran SynopicaL CoNFERENCE OF NortH AMERICA.

: St. Todi Mo.

R. A. BISCHOFF, Editor.

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

. October, 1902.

No. 10.

Heaven.

There is a blessed home
Beyond this land of woe,
Where trials never come,
Nor tears of sorrow flow;
Where faith is lost in sight,
And patient hope is crowned,
And everlasting light
Its glory throws around.

Look up, ye saints of God,
Nor fear to tread below
The path your Saviour trod

Of daily toil and woe;
Wait but a little while

In uncomplaining love,
His own most gracious smile

Shall welcome you above.
H, W. Baker.

——»>—-o-aP or a

The Blessedness of Heaven.

It is impossible to give a full description
of the bliss in store for those who diejin the
Lord, since the language of man is wholly in-
adequate to do full justice to this great theme.
Even the Bible gives but faint pictures of the
glories of heaven. Yet what the Scriptures
do say should arouse in us all an earnest long-
ing to enter upon these joys.

According to the Bible the glory awaiting
us in heaven is so great, that nothing on earth
can be compared to it. All the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy to be com-
pared with the glory which shall: be revealed
in us in heaven. And if you now for a mo-
ment consider the innumerable host of suffer-
ings this present time holds in store for us; if
you think of the need of thousands of your
fellow men, of the groans of the wounded, the
sighs of the forsaken, and the cries of the
downtrodden; if you reflect upon all the woe
and misery and agony this life calls its own
—what a glory must that be in comparison to
which all these sufferings are like a grain to a
ton, like a drop to the ocean.

And this glory is eternal. All the splendor
€nd honor, all the glory and pleasure and
riches of this world soon pass away, but the
Blories of heaven are without end; these
glories no number can express, no space can
hold, no thought can grasp.

The saints in heaven will be removed from
allsorrow. ‘He that goeth forth and weepeth,
bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come
again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with
him.’ They will not hunger and thirst, but
will feed upon the heavenly manna and drink
of living waters. Heat and cold will not vex
them, since they will be covered by the shadow
of the wing of the Almighty, and will abide
in the tabernacle of God. And there will be
no more death, for they will have passed from
death to life, and death, the last enemy, will
have been vanquished. Neither will there be
any more pain or crying, for God will wipe
away all tears from their eyes; they will live
forever in peace, and no enemy will come
nigh unto them. Their every wish will be
granted, since their will will be in perfect con-
formity with the will of God. Sin will be re-
moved,.and even the remembrance of the sins
and sorrows of their life on earth cannot mar
their joy; for they will have overcome by the
blood of the Lamb, and will live in undis-
turbed peace and bliss.

The glorified bodies of the blessed shall
shine forth like the sun, they will be clothed
in white robes, and the crown of life will
adorn their brows. They shall enter into the
rest Christ has prepared for them. Their
home shall be a house not built with hands,
in the New Jerusalem with its walls of jasper,
the city of pure gold, like unto clear gold,
having twelve pearly gates, the city in which
the Lamb is the temple, and which is lighted
py the glory of God. Their food shall be the
fruit of the tree of life and they shall drink.of
the pure river proceeding out of the throne of
God and of the Lamb. They shall sit down
with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the num-
ber of the elect, and live in sweet communion
with all the saints of every age and every
nation.

But the greatest bliss in store for us is that
referred to in Rev. 21,8: ‘tBehold, the taber-
nacle of God is with men, and He will dwell
with them, and they shall be His people, and
God Himself shall be with them, and be their
God,’ and this will be the fountain of our
greatest bliss. There we shall no longer sigh:
“My soul thirsteth for God, for the living

God: when shall I come and appear before
God?’’ For there we shall no longer see as
through a glass, darkly, but from face to face.
We shall gaze with rapture upon the face of
God, and see Him as He is. The veil that
hid Him from our eyes will be torn, and we
will be afforded the bliss of basking unceas-
ingly in the presence of God’s face. Oh, the
depths of mercy, truth, and love that will
then be opened to our view! Before our
wondering eye will lie unfolded the whole
plan of our redemption and all the mysterious
ways of divine Providence.

Oh, the bliss of heaven! There will be s
life that will not end in death; there will be
a day having no night, security without fear,
joy without pain, beauty without spot or
blemish. Joy, complete, everlasting joy, will
there fill our hearts and cause us to burst
forth in a glorious song of praise and ado-
ration. Here the happy throng of Christ’s
people sing: ‘‘Hallelujah, salvation, and glory,
and honor, and power unto the Lord God,’
and there the host of all God’s saints will
send forth the grand chorus: ‘‘Blessing, and
glory, and wisdom, snd honor, and power be
unto our God forever and ever. Hallelujah;
for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.””

And when may we expect to enter the
blessedness of heaven? When we believe in
Jesus Christ. Blessed are all those, then,
that trust in Christ the Saviour and continue
in this faith till their last breath; for they
will inherit eternal life, that life, that bliss
which Christ has won for them by His blood
and death. This faith is the hand that grasps
eternal life. ‘‘God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten Son, that who-
soever believeth in Him, should not perish,
put have everlasting life.’’ F.J.L.

—> eae oe —-

Anone all the gifts of God to men the best
and most glorious is that of His Word. If any
man would take it from us, he would take the
shining sun from us and leave us in utter dark-
ness. ‘The world without the Word would be
ahelland the kingdom of Satan, notwithstand-
ing the fact that rich men and wise men were
found in it.—Luther.

Oe ee oe ee ee ee Teer)

(eee eee