The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1911, Page 89

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The Lutheran Pioneer,

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

Vol. XXXIII.

——__—___-2.

Pustisnep py THE EvanGenicaL Lutneran SynopicaL ConFERENCE OF Nort AMERICA.
R. A. BISCHOFY, Eprror.

2
Entered at the Post Ofiice at St. Louis, Mo., as second-class matter.

Christmas Hymn.
(Suggested by the Danish.)

The happy Christmas comes once more,
The Heavenly Guest is at the door,

The blessed words the shepherds thrill,
The joyous tidings: Peace, good will!
To David's city let us fly,

Where angels sing beneath the sky;
Through plain and village pressing near,
And news from God with shepherds hear.

Oh, let us go with quiet mind,

The gentle Babe with shepherds find,
To gaze on Him who gladdens them,
The loveliest flower of Jesse’s stem.

The lowly Savior meekly lies,

Laid off the splendor of the skies;
No crown bedecks His forchead fair,
No pearl, nor gem, nor silk is there.

No human glory, might, and gold
The lovely Infant's form enfold;
The manger and the swaddlings poor
Are His whom angels’ songs adore.

Oh, wake our hearts, in gladness sing,
And keep our Christmas with our King,
Till living song, from loving souls,

Like sound of mighty waters rolls.

O Holy Child, Thy manger streams

Till earth and heaven glow with its beams,
Till midnight noon’s broad light has won,
And Jacob’s Star outshines the sun.

Thow patriarchs’ joy, Thou prophets’ song,

Thou heavenly Day-spring, looked for long, ~

Thou Son of Man, Incarnate Word,
Great David’s Son, Great David’s Lord!

Come, Jesus, glorious heavenly Guest,
Keep Thine own Christmas in our breast!
Then David’s harp-strings, hushed so long,
Shall swell our jubilee of song.

Dr. 0. P. Krauth.

ST. LOUIS, H0., DECEMBER, 1911.

No. 12.

A Blessed Christmas.

We wish all our readers a blessed Christmas.
That is far more than what is generally called a
merry Christmas. The shepherds, to whom the first
Christmas message was brought by an angel in the
night when Christ was born, had a blessed Christ-
mas. They heard the good tidings of great joy:
“Unto you is born this day in the city of David a
Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” And they not
only heard the tidings, but they also believed them.
They did not doubt that the angel was God’s mes-
senger, and that his message was God’s own message
to them. Therefore, when the heavenly messenger
and the other angels were gone away from them .
into heaven, the shepherds said one to another,
“Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this
thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath
made known unto us.” ‘The angel’s word was to
them God’s word by which He, the Lord Himself,
made known to them their-Savior’s birth. And
they did not want to go to Bethlehem to see whether
the thing was true or not. No. ‘They were sure
that it had come to pass. They said, “Let us go
to Bethlehem and see the thing which ts come to
pass.” In trusting faith and simple obedience to
the Lord’s word they went to the city and there
found the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying
in a manger, as they had been told. That Child,
born in great poverty, was to them the Savior, Christ
the Lord — God manifest in the flesh. ‘They ac-
cepted Him as their Savior, and their hearts were
filled with the joy of faith. This moved them to
make known abroad the glad tidings of the Savior’s
birth, that others might share their joy and join
them in glorifying and praising God. Theirs was
indeed a blessed Christmas.