The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1907, Page 50

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50

The Lutheran Pioneer.

given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice
to God,” Eph. 5, 2

Thus the Gospel reveals God’ s unspeakable love
to us poor sinners; and as the Holy Spirit through
this Gospel brings us to faith, “the love of God is
shed abroad in our hearts,” and kindles in our souls
love to Him who first loved us, and makes the
service which we render Him a service of love.
“We love Him, because He first loved us.”

Let us therefore not be among those who think
that they must love God first and render themselves
pleasing to Him, before He can love them. No.
God is love. He first loved us poor sinners, and
He proved His love by preparing our salvation, and
He still exercises His love by earnestly in the Gospel
calling sinners to come to Him just as they are for
pardon and peace. If He had not first loved us,
there would be no hope for us. All our hope rests
upon God’s love toward us. His love to us is our
trust, the foundation and ground of our peace. It
is the source of our joy, the well-spring of our con-
fidence and consolation in the days of trial and
sorrow, the inspiration of our work, also our mis-
sion work, in the service of Him who loved us and
gave Himself for us.

“We love Him, because He first loved us.”

The Lord’s Prayer.

( Continued.)

Having addressed our God as our heavenly
Father, we now proceed to lay before Him the
wants of our body and soul. This we do in seven
petitions. In the first three we pray God for spir-
itual blessings, thus showing that these blessings
are of the greatest importance. In the fourth peti-
tion we ask God to supply our temporal wants. In
the last three petitions we ask God to turn away
from us that which is harmful to body and soul.

THE First PEritTIon.

Hallowed be Thy name.

What dpes this mean?

God's name is indeed holy in ttself ; but we pray
in this petition that it may be holy among us also.
* How is this done?

When the Word of God ts taught in tts truth and
purity, and we as the children of God also lead
a holy life according to tt. This grant us, dear
Father in heaven! “But he that teaches and lives
otherwise than God's Word teaches profanes the
name of God among us. From this preserve us,
heavenly Father!

God’s name is God as He has revealed Himself
to us.. This we already learned whilst considering
the Second Commandment. And this name of God
is holy, and we cannot make it holier. We, there-
fore, do not here ask that God’s name be made holy,
but that we may keep it holy, that we may always
regard and use it as a holy name. And how neces-
sary it is, indeed, that we should ask God for help
and strength to honor and glorify His holy name
in word and deed! How weak and frail are we,
how prone to dishonor and profane the name of our
heavenly Father !

God’s name is hallowed by us when we believe
and teach it in its truth and purity. In His Word
God has revealed Himself to us as He is. ‘This
Word of God is the truth, John 17, 17, and there-
fore it shall be taught just as Christ, the prophets,
and the apostles proclaimed it. We are to teach it
in its truth and purity, taking nothing away from
it and adding nothing to it. Wherever this is done,
there God’s name is hallowed, for there God’s great
love in giving His Son for our redemption, and
God’s saving grace in Christ is proclaimed and
praised. In order that this blessed teaching may be
preserved among us, we pray: “This grant us, dear
Father in heaven!” Therefore we also pray: “Al-
mighty and most merciful God, the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ: we most heartily beseech ‘Thee
so to rule and govern Thy holy Christian Church
with all its pastors and ministers, that it may be
preserved in the pure doctrine of Thy saving Word,
whereby faith toward Thee may be strengthened,
and -charity increased in us toward all mankind.”

But this truth which we have in God’s pure
Word is also to sanctify us, so that we, as the chil-
dren of God, may lead a holy life according to it.
We are to let our light shine before men, that they
may see our good works, and by them be induced
to glorify our heavenly Father, Matt. 5, 16. What
shining lights were the early Christians in this re-
spect! Many a heathen came to be a Christian by
first seeing the good works of those who bore Christ’s
name. The Christian’s life is the unbeliever’s bible;
if in this bible he sees acts and deeds of faith and
love, it may cause him to stop and think, to read
God’s Bible, believe it, and be saved. O let us
therefore pray God to grant us strength that our
life may redound to His honor, that we may ever
walk as it becometh the children of a heavenly
Father. Let us look to Him in distress, praise Him
in prosperity, and if our works prosper, give all
the glory to God. Thus our whole life will redound

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