The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1907, Page 66

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66 : The Lutheran Pioneer.

pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He
would send forth laborers into His harvest,” Luke
10, 2. All around us are large fields white to har-
vest, and the Church is to enter the fields and gather
in the harvest of souls bought with the precious
blood of Christ. But, alas! the laborers are so
few, and the few are often in distress, because mem-
bers of the Church do not show the interest and do
not give the support which the work requires. May
the Church arise and realize the glorious opportu-
nities offered to her in the many mission fields
white to harvest. May her members be filled with
the true missionary zeal and become more and more
like Christ who said: “My meat is to do the will of
Him that sent me, and to finish His work,” John
4, 34.

“Gather the harvest in;
The fields are white, and long ago ye heard
Ringing across the world the Master’s word —
Leave not such fruitage to the lord of sin;
Gather the harvest in.

“Gather the harvest in;
Ye know ye live not to yourselves nor dic;
Then let not this bright hour of work go by;
Souls must be saved from Satan’s pow’r and sin;
Gather the harvest in.”

To another lesson which the harvest teaches we
should give earnest heed for our own salvation.
The great harvest which is the end of the world is
approaching. Of this harvest the Savior says: “The
harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers
are the angels. As the tares are gathered and
burned: in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this
world. The Son of Man shall send forth His angels,
and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things
that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall
cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be
wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the
righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of
their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear!”
Matt. 18, 39—43. Let us see to it that on that

great harvest day we be not found among the tares _

which shall be burned in the fire that shall never be
quenched, but among the wheat which shall be
gathered into the heavenly garner. It would be
dreadful if to any of us the prophet’s words should
be applied: “The harvest is past, the summer is
ended, and we are not saved.” We still live in the
time of grace, and God in mercy still sows the seed
of His Word among us. Let us not reject it or
neglect it, but let us accept it in true faith. We
can’ then with longing joy look forward to that

great harvest which is the end of the world and
which every passing day brings nearer.

“Come, O Lord of merey, come,

Bid us sing Thy Harvest-home!

Let. Thy saints be gathered in,

Free from sorrow, free from sin;

All upon the golden floor

Praising ‘Thee forevermore.

Come, with thousand angels, come;

Bid us sing Thy Harvest-home!”

———EE

The Lord’s Prayer.

Tue THirp PETITION.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
y

What does this mean?
The good and gracious will of God is done in-
deed without our prayer; but we pray in this peti-
tion that it may be done among us also.

How is this done?

When God breaks and hinders every counsel and
will which would not let us hallow God’s name nor
let His kingdom come, ‘such as the will of the devil,
the world, and our flesh: but strengthens and pre-
serves us steadfast in His Word and faith unto our
end. This is His gracious and good will.

We pray in this petition that God’s good and
gracious will be done. This will of God is, that His
name be hallowed and that His kingdom come.
This is indeed a good and gracious will, since its
sole purpose is to help all men and make them eter-
nally happy.

God’s good and gracious will is done perfectly
in heaven; for there the heavenly host and the
saints in light hallow God’s name by joyous and
willing obedience, and there has begun the kingdom
of glory where is peace and joy and pleasures at the
right hand of God forevermore. :

So, also, is the good and gracious will of God
done upon earth, though but imperfectly. That
His gracious will might be done God chose the
people of Israel to be His own. ‘To this people He
gaye His Word through Moses and the prophets,
and when the fullness of the time was come, God
sent His only-begotten Son to be the Savior of man-
kind, and the Gospel of Christ He has published to
the world. Thus our heavenly Father has done all
to save men and make them eternally happy-

- True, great and mighty enemies arose who did
their utmost to hinder God’s will. Powerful na-
tions sought to destroy God’s chosen people, and the