The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1904, Page 12

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12

in answer to Pilate’s question, He says: ‘“‘Thou
sayest it, Iam a King. To this end was I born,
and for this cause came I into the world, that I
should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that
is of the truth heareth my voice,’? John 18, 37.
They that are of the truth hear the King’s voice;
the King of grace governs His people by His voice,
by means of the Word and Sacraments, and pours
upon them the treasures of His grace. As a good
Shepherd He cares most tenderly for His sheep,
and provides them with all they need for the salva-
tion of their souls. All He gained by His suffer-
ing and death He gives to the subjects of His king-
dom of grace: forgiveness of sin, life, and salvation.

And not only does He provide for His people,
He also protects them against their enemies. He
protects us against the onslaughts of Satan, whose
subjects we once were, and who is desirous to get
us again into his power; against our own flesh,
which longs to go back into the slavery of the devil;
against the world, which uses all its powers to bring
us back into the kingdom of darkness. Oh, how
blessed are we Christians, in the possession of such
a mighty King, such a meek and gracious King,
who has enriched us in all things, and who protects
and defends us so faithfully day after day, so that
no harm can come near us!

Christ is, finally, also our King of glory. Refer-
ring to the kingdom of glory, the Apostle says,
2 Tim. 4, 18: ‘‘The Lord shall deliver me from
every evil work, and will preserve me unto His
heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and
ever. Amen.’”’ Here upon earth we are living in a
vale of tears, and heavy is the cross we often must
bear. Our path is beset with thorns, and rugged is
the way. But the time will come when we shall
exchange the wilderness for the promised land, the
cross for the crown. The wearisome journey will
have ended when once we have crossed the dark
waters of Jordan, when temporal death will have
opened unto us the gates to heaven’s bliss and
glory. Then shall we be delivered from all evil
and be the subjects of Christ’s kingdom of glory.
With all the saints in light we shall then be in the
presence of our King and enjoy unspeakable pleas-
ures at His right hand for evermore, saying, ‘‘Bless-
ing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and
honor, and power, and might be unto our God for
ever and ever. Amen.” ¥F. J. L.

“‘ONE of God’s ways of helping us is to give us
strength to endure. He does not take away the
hard trial, but He makes us able to endure it.’?

re
oes a Se ee

The Lutheran Pioneer.

Faithful.

Scuderi, a young Sicilian Catholic, used to con-
fess to the Romish priest every week, and would do
whatever the priest told him to do, in order to get
forgiveness of sins and peace of conscience. But he
could never feel sure of forgiveness, nor rid himself
of tormenting doubts of his salvation. He learned
to know a Protestant, who pointed him to the Sav-
iour and told him of the free grace of God in Christ
Jesus. Full of zeal he now read the New Testament,
and soon found forgiveness of sins and the assur-
ance of salvation by faith in Jesus.

But his new faith was soon to be put severely to
the test. As Scuderi could not keep his new joy to
himself, he came into conflict with those about him.
His mother and his sister listened to him, and the
latter openly joined the Protestants. But the father,
a drunkard, raged so much the more and tried to
stab his son, and did dangerously stab his daugh-
ter when she-refused to stay away from the Evan-
gelical church. In spite of all persecutions Scuderi
remained faithful and is now’a Bible agent bearing
the message‘of God’s love to his benighted country-
men.

—————

A Saviour for All.

A city missionary, accompanied by a young
man, visited the prisoners in a jail and preached
to them. On the way home the young man said to
the missionary, ‘‘I am sure you must have made
an impression upon the prisoners. Such a sermon
could not fail to do them good.’’

“Has it done you good ?”’ asked the missionary.

“‘Me? Why, you preached for the prisoners !??
said the young man, astonished at the question.

The missionary shook his head and said, ‘‘I
preached Jesus Christ the Saviour; you have as
much need of Him as they; and He is a Saviour
for all sinners, whether in jail or out of jail.”’

——-2—____—_

Are You Not Baptized?

Luther was once visited by his dear friend,
Weller.

‘“How are you, my friend??? asked Luther.

*fO, I don’t know how or why it is,”? answered
Weller, ‘‘but I feel so depressed and so sorrowful.’?

‘‘Why, are you not baptized???

“This rejoinder of Luther,’’ said Weller, ‘‘com-
forted me more than an entire sermon could have
done.’’— Sel.