The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1904, Page 41

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Che Lutheran Pioneer.

A MISSIONARY

MONTHLY.

PUBLISHED BY THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN SYNODICAL CONFERENCE OF NorTH AMERICA.

RN. A. BISCHOFF, Editor.

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

Vol. XXVI.

St. Louis, Mo., June, 1904.

No. 6.

“Him that Cometh to Me, I Will in No Wise
Cast Out,’’ John 6, 37.

Just as thou art, without one trace

Of love, or joy, or inward grace,

Or meetness for the heavenly place, —
Oh, guilty sinner, come!

Burdened with guilt, wouldst thou be blest?
Trust not the world, it gives no rest:
I bring relief to hearts opprest ;—

Oh, weary sinner, come!

Come, leave thy burden at the cross;

Count all thy gains but empty dross;

My grace repays all earthly loss; —
Oh, needy sinner, come!

Come, hither bring thy boding fears,

Thy aching heart, thy bursting tears;

Tis Mercy’s voice salutes thine ears, —
Oh, trembling sinner, come!

The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘‘Come!”

Rejoicing saints reecho, ‘‘Come!”

Who faints, who thirsts, who will, may come —
The Saviour bids thee come. ~* ‘ Sel.

Come Just as You Are.

It is a difficult thing to persuade a convicted
sinner that he may come to Jesus just as he is, and
be saved. His first thought is that he must do
something, because he judges God by himself.
Pure grace, unmerited kindness, favor shown to
the undeserving, is too much for him, until he is
taught by the Holy Spirit. ‘

Not only must the sinner come to the Saviour
just as he is, but unless he comes just as he is he

can never come at all. He must give up forever

all thought of making himself worthy by tears and
prayers and doings of his own; for trust in such

things will keep the soul from the Saviour. The
sinner’s attempt to make himself ‘‘fit to come”? is
a dishonor to our Lord Jésus Christ and a refléc-
tion upon His finished work. It is the same as
saying that His atonement is not sufficient, that
we must add something to the value of His pre-
cious blood, and that we prefer a‘ righteousness of
our own. : ;

It is related that some years ago an artist in
Rome met a beggar.on the streets, so dirty and
ragged, so rough in appearance, with his matted
and unwashed hair and beard, that he gave him a
piece of gold and told him to come to his studio
the next day to sit for his picture, promising to
give him ten times as much. The man went to a
barber, had his head and face put in fine shape,
took a bath, *hired a clean suit of clothes, and ap-
peared before the artist looking somewhat like a
gentleman. ; ;

‘‘You are not the man I invited to come,’ ex-
claimed the indignant painter. ‘‘You have spoiled °
everything by your folly. I wanted you_as you
were yesterday, a forlorn beggar, and by your van-
ity you have defeated my purpose. Out with you!”

So it is with the sinner who imagines that he
can come before God with any-merits of his own.-
Jesus in the Gospel invites sinners to come unto
Him for pardon and salvation, and they must come

just as they are. — .

“Come, ye weary, heavy laden,
Bruised and broken by the fall!
If you tarry till you’re better,
You will never come at all. .
Not the righteous,
Sinners, Jesus came to call.”

Lorp, keep us from all temptations; for we can-
not be our own shepherd. — Walter Scott.