The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1908, Page 2

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2 The Lutheran Pioneer.

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The time is short, and we suffer but for a little
while. “Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day.”
Soon all the Christian’s sorrows will be swallowed
up in everlasting joy.

“A little while of mingled joy and sorrow,

A few more years to wander here below,

To wait the dawning of that golden morrow,
When morn shall break above our night of woe.”

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The Lord’s Prayer.

Tue Srxtu Periri0n.

And lead us not into temptation.

What does this mean?

God indeed tempts no one; but we pray in this
petition that God would guard and keep us, so that
the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive
us, nor seduce us into misbelief, despair, and other
great shame and vice; and though we be assailed
by them, that still we may finally overcome, and
obtain the victory.

In the Fifth Petition we prayed for forgiveness
of sins, and we firmly believe that our prayer is
graciously heard and granted. But as we look into
the future and remember our weakness, we have
reason to fear that we shall commit new sins, and
it is for this reason that we pray, “Lead us not into
temptation.” : ct ite

Before we proceed to the consideration of this
petition, however, it will be necessary to remember
that the word temptation is used in a twofold sense
in the Bible; namely, in a good and in a bad sense.
In a good sense God tempts His people in order to
prove their faith and to strengthen them in that
which is good. Thus thé Bible speaks of God’s
having tempted Abraham when He told him to
sacrifice his son “Isaac. Abraham dearly loved
Isaac, but greater than his love for Isaac was to be
his love for God. And by this trial Abraham’s
faith in God was strengthened and his love in-
creased. Such trials of faith God also sends us,
that thereby we may be strengthened and learn to
cling the closer to Him and His precious promises.

That such temptations cannot be meant in the
Sixth Petition is plain, since we rather pray God
that He would try us and see if there be any wicked
. way in us, and to lead us in the way everlasting.
_ ‘The temptation spoken of in this petition is the
temptation to evil, to sin and wickedness. Such
temptation, however, does not come from God. “Let
mio man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of
God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither

despair and other great shame and vices.

tempteth He any man; but every man is tempted,
when he is drawn away of his own lust, and en-
ticed,” James 1, 13. 14. God indeed tempts no one
unto sin, for He is holy and hates the evil, and He
wants us to be holy as He is.

_ From whom, then, do the temptations to sin
come? The answer is easily given: From the
devil, the world, and our sinful flesh. These are
the enemies of whom we already heard in the Third
Petition. These three implacable foes are ever busy
in their attempts to deprive us of our soul’s salva-
tion. The devil arouses sinful thoughts and de-
sires in us. Thus he tempted Adam and Eve, thus
he led on Judas to betray his Master, and thus he
brought Peter to fall.— Then there is the world,
which seeks to draw us away from God. She coaxes
with honeyed words, as did Potiphar’s wife, or she
derides us because of our conscientiousness, or she
invites us to take part in her sinful -pleasures, to
come to the dance, the theater, the gambling room,
the saloon, and the like. And if she does not suc-
ceed in these endeavors, she will use threats, and
even go so far as to persecute us. — And, finally,
there is a third enemy, the flesh, the most dangerous
of the three. We should never need to fear the
world or the devil, if we had not this wicked flesh
to carry about with us. If we could but get rid of
our flesh, we would be delivered from our worst
enemy, for truly in us, that is, in our flesh, dwelleth
no good thing. Our flesh is always enticing us to
sin. Our irritable temper, or covetous disposition,
or levity, or pride, or despondency, are always beset-
ting us and leading us to do evil. .

These our enemies seek to deceive and seduce us.

When Satan tempted .our first parents, he deceit-
fully led-them to believe that by disobeying God’s
command they would gain greatly, and having thus
deceived them, it was but a second step to seduce

them upon the path of disobedience and sin. Thus, .”

also, devil, world, and flesh to-day endeavor to de-
ceive us into believing that the service of sin is
more pleasant than the service of God, and having
succeeded in making us: believe this, it is an easy
matter for them to lead us from the right path, the
path of obedience and faith, upon the path that
begins with misbelief and ends only too often with
As our
first parents’ trust in God was replaced by misbelief
and mistrust, so the devil is always desirous to sow
the. seed of misbelief, mistrust, superstition, and
unbelief in our hearts, and if he has succeeded in
casting his victim into the arms of despair, he re-

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