The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1913, Page 18

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18

seal of perfect redemption. Had He remained in
the grave, our faith in Him would be vain, and we
would still be in our sins; then curse would still
be on us, the Law would still condemn us, and all
our hope would be vain and futile. But now that
Christ, our bondsman, is risen, we know that God’s
wrath is quenched, and that forgiveness of sin, life,
and salvation are ours. Christ’s resurrection is,
therefore, a receipt given by God the Father, de-
claring that the ransom which Christ paid has fully
wiped out the whole debt of sin. Now we know
that the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses
us from all sin, and that we may appropriate unto
ourselves the righteousness of Chtist. If, then, our
sins would trouble us, the Law condemn us, or
Satan accuse us, we may joyfully say with Paul:
“Christ was delivered for our offenses, and raised
again for our justification.”

He who slumbered in the grave

Ts exalted now to save;

Now through Christendom it rings

That the Lamb is King of kings.

Now He bids us tell mankind

How all may salvation find,

How poor sinners are forgiven,

And through faith may enter heaven.

Hallelujah!

° E ; Victory.

Victory! That is the final word of all of Christ’s
work. How often it seemed as if all must be cer-
tain, hopeless defeat!, Only think of Gethsemane
with its sorrow unto death; think of the mockery
in the high priest’s palace; think of Pilate’s judg-
ment-hall with its scourging; think of the crown
of thorns, of the sad journey to Calvary, the cruel
crucifixion, the taunting of the King who cannot
help Himself. All seems lost! But He had said,
“Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
“Your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” “Ihe Son
of Man shall die, but the third day He shall rise
again.”

Yes, victory! When He says so, even death must
bring life, and shame be a part of glory. For nine-
teen centuries Christians have been celebrating the
victory; we fill His courts with praise and our
hearts with new joy. We take courage, and press
on in the life He brings, in the battle He commands,
in the victory He offers. O glorious certainty and
heavenly conviction! Even death is only a step to
glory. We are more than conquerors, and Easter
is the pledge and proof of all. He is risen, death
is slain and buried. ; :

The Lutheran Pioneer.

The Resurrection of Our Lord.

‘The resurrection of our Lord seals and accredits
all the doctrines of the Gospel. It attests His divine
Sonship, His Messiahship, the truthfulness of His
teachings, and the effectual accomplishment of the
work He said He had come to perform. The true
meaning of Pilate’s inscription on the cross was
authenticated in Joseph’s tomb. What there oc-
curred affixed the great Amen of Heaven to all that
Jesus ever said He was, or taught, or did. Chris-
tian life is not a funeral procession, not the follow-
ing of a coflined Galilean, but a triumphal march
to the clarion notes of a living Conqueror, — a liv-
ing and enthroned Immanuel.

David Livingstone.

David Livingstone, the great missionary and
explorer, the centennial of whose birth the whole
Christian world will commemorate on the 19th of
this month, saw the light of day at Blantyre, near
Glasgow, Scotland. His parents were of the work-
ing-class, but earnest and faithful Christians. ‘The
Christian mission cause interested them greatly,
and, no doubt, their lively interest was not without
effect on their son. Because of the poverty of his
parents, David was obliged to go to work in a cot-
ton-mill at the age of ten years, and here he spent
the next twelve years of his life.. An appeal of the
German Lutheran missionary. Guetzlaff, who had
been working in China since 1831, determined him
to become a medical missionary among the Chinese;
but the breaking out of the Opium War prevented
him from carrying out his desire. He then decided
to go to Africa, in which continent he had become
interested through the reports of Rev. Robert Moffat.

After his arrival in Africa, he spent some time
in work at Kuruman, the station of Moffat, and in
making several missionary trips to the north, partly
to gain a better knowledge of the people, and partly”
to find a suitable location for a new station. Quite
early in his career as missionary he became con-
vineed that native workers must be put into the
field; and his great ambition was to educate as
many such native workers as possible, and scatter
these native agents far and near. From the very
first he gained a remarkable influence over the
natives, both chiefs and people, by his fine tact and
the winning charm of his manner.

In 1848, he settled at Mabotsa, among the.
Bakhatla, and while there he married Mary Moffat,