The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1903, Page 14

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his own brothers from starvation.
_ Joseph could say to his brothers later on, ‘‘Ye

The Lutheran Pioneer.

The First Article.

Or Gop's GovERNMENT.
We praise, we worship Thee, we trust,
And give Thee thanks forever,
O Father, that Thy rule is just,
And wise, and changes never:
Thy boundless power o’er all things reigns,
Done is whate’er Thy will ordains;
Well for us that Thou reignest!

Thus we sing in the well-known hymn of
our church.

God rules over all, and all things are done
according to His will; for ‘‘the Lord hath
prepared His throne in the heavens; and His
kingdom ruleth over all,’’ Ps. 103, 18.

But as God rules the universe, so He also
rules each individual creature’s life. ‘‘He de-
fends me against all danger, guards and pro-
tects me from all evil.’” God prevents the
falling brick from killing me, and protects me
from the plague that walketh in darkness. He
protected Daniel in the lions’ den, He defended
David against the spear hurled against him by
Saul. He that keepeth us shall neither slum-
ber nor sleep; He will preserve our going out
and our coming in.

Let us not think that there is anything too
small and insignificant for God’s care; for
eyen the hairs on our head are numbered.
The psalmist tells us that God saw us before
we were born and that all our members were
written in His book when as yet there was
none of them.

Nothing, nothing happens without God’s
will. There is no such thing as chance. God
sends sorrow and suffering upon the ungodly
as a punishment, upon the godly as a chas-
tisement. God does, indeed, not want evil
done upon earth, for He forbids and punishes
evildoing. Often He also brings to naught the
evil plans of men. Pharaoh, who would bring
back the Israelites, must drown in the Red
Sea; Herod is prevented from slaying the
Christ-child, by its flight into Egypt; Peter,
who had been cast into prison, is liberated
by the angel of God.

And when the Lord does not prevent the
evil, He makes it serve His designs of wisdom
and love. When Joseph’s brothers would kill
him, God turned their hearts from this evil
design; but when the Ishmaelite merchants
appeared upon the scene, the brothers de-
cided to sell Joseph. This evil plan God did

» not prevent from being executed, but had it

to serve His good purpose. Joseph rises to
great honors in Egypt, and becomes the means
of saving the Egyptians, his old father, and
Therefore

thought evil against me; but God meant it

unto good,’’ Gen. 50, 20.

Ee The most awful crime that ever was com-
mitte was not done without God’s will. The
8 Son of God was nailed to the cross
ugh He were the greatest of criminals.
et God so ruled all that by the greatest

of crimes the greatest blessings were brought
to all mankind. In killing the Son of God the
devil destroyed himself and brought destruc-
tion upon his kingdom.

God everywhere has sway,

And all things serve His might;

His every act pure blessing is,
His path unsullied light.

F. J. L.

CHRIST IS RISEN.

“He is risen! He is risen!
Tell it with a joyful voice;
He has burst His three days’ prison,
Let the whole wide world rejoice.
Death is vanquished, man {is free,
Christ has won the victory.”

—_———s>~-+ Pe

Do You Want Peace?

You can find peace in Jesus only, for the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into
this world of sin, and misery, and woe, to
procure peace for sinners. At His birth the
angels sang, *‘Peace on earth.’? On the cross
He became a sacrifice for sin— a substitute for
man— enduring the judgment of God against
sin, and having put away sin by the sacrifice
of Himself, He is raised again from the dead

by the glory of the Father, and is seated in
the glory at the right hand of God, as the
proof of God’s satisfaction with the work He
has accomplished for sinners.

Do you want peace with God? You can
find itin Jesus. ‘‘He hath made peace by the
blood of His cross.’’ ‘‘He is our peace.’’ See
Him by faith, on the cross for you. Behold
Him suffering for you that great agony which
pressed from His lips that ery of woe: ‘‘My
God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?’
Look at the empty grave, look up into glory,
by faith see Him there for you, beyond death,
and you may say, ‘‘He loved me,’’ ‘‘He was
delivered for my offenses, He was raised again
for my justification. ‘Therefore, being justi-
fied by faith, I have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ.’’

——s+-<—>er oo

A Searching Question.

A reader sends us the following simple lines,
calling them a searching question:

‘What kind of a church would my church be

If every member were just like me?”’

Our friend is right. The lines present a
searching question, which has a wide applica-
tion, and which includes many other questions.
For instance: If-every member were just like
me, would the services of the church be well
attended? If every member were just like me,
would there be hearty singing at the church
services? If every member were just like me,
would the pastor find help and encouragement
in his efforts to lead souls into the kingdom of
Christ? How about the parish school if every
member followed my example? How much
money would there be in the church treasury
if all the rest gave as Ido? If every member
were just like me, would the congregation do
its duty in regard to the institutions and mis-
sion work of the Church? It is a searching
question, but a wholesome one:

“What kind of a church would my church be

If every member were just like me?”

“I Know That My Redeemer Liveth.”

Early on Easter morning of April 1, 1548,
Sigismund, King of Poland, 81 years old, en-
tered along with his courtiers into his beauti-
ful chapel, and looked reflectively into his
marble tomb, which he had ordered to be made
for himself. He felt that the hour was near at
hand when he must exchange his throne for
his coffin, his royal robe for his shroud, and
deeply sighing, said: ‘‘I know that my Re-
deemer liveth; He will clothe me again with
this my skin. He will wake me up out of this
little chamber in which I shall rest, and with
these mine eyes I shall see my Saviour, who
on this day rose from the dead.”’

Then he fell upon his knees, and whilst he
was praying, the hour had come which he had
anticipated ; his soul ascended to the presence
of Him who is the resurrection and the life.