The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1914, Page 25

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Che Lutheran Pioneer.

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

PUBLISHED BY THE EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN SyNODICAL CONFERENCE OF NorTH AMERICA.

REV. F. J. LANKENAU, EDITOR.

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

Vol. XXXVI. ST. LOU

No. 4.

18S, MO., APRIL, 1914.

The Easter Message.

The rosy dawn proclaims the coming day;
Behold three pious women on their way.

They hasten to anoint Christ crucified,
Their blessed Master, who, alas! has died.

One thought disturbs them ere they reach His grave,
“Who will remove the stone before the cave?”

But, lo! as they approached the place, they’ saw
The open sepulcher with fear and awe.

For in it sat an angel clothed in white,
Who said: “O women, be not filled with fright!

“Jesus of Nazareth who lay here dead
Is risen. Go, these joyful tidings spread.” —

O glorious Easter message full of balm
For sinful hearts, thou bring’st us heavenly calm.

Now we are sure that faith is not a dream,
For He that rose must be the Lord Supreme.

Then, too, Christ’s resurrection makes it clear
That all His words are truthful and sincere,

And that the world is truly reconciled
To God, who raised our Substitute, His Child;

And, lastly, that—O joy! —on Judgment Day
We also shall arise and live for aye.

Hence let us keep this feast aright forsooth
With the unleavened bread of unfeigned truth.
If. OsTertus.

He Is Risen, Hallelujah!

What truth can be more comforting and cheer-
ing to us Christians than that of the resurrection
of Christ from the dead? . How happy the holy
women must have been when they came to the
grave of Jesus to anoint His body, and heard the
joyful news: “He is not here, He is risen!”

Jesus, thy Savior and Redeemer, liveth; THe ‘rise from the grave and enter life eternal.

liveth upon whom all depends, thy own life, yes,
thine eternal life. That which the prophets fore-
told concerning Him, what He Himself said of His
death and resurrection, is fulfilled. His Word has
been perfectly fulfilled, every letter of it having
come true. There can, therefore, be no doubt that
He is the true Christ, the Son of God, the true
Messiah. the promised Woman’s Seed, the Salvation
of the world. Our faith in Him rests upon a firm
foundation; now all doubts must disappear.

How can we, then, otherwise than rejoice? For
now salvation is ours! If Christ is risen from the
dead, the work of our redemption is finished, we
are perfectly reconciled unto God. Not only has
He begun the task, He has perfectly completed it.
Had He remained in the grave and had His body
seen corruption, we would have good reason to
mourn and weep, for then our hope in Him as
our Substitute would be vain. But now all is well.
We are not only able to say: “He was delivered
for our offenses,” but also: “He was raised again
for our justification.” ‘The handwriting against us
is destroyed, an insulted God is propitiated, and the
covenant of grace is established. Our adoption as
God’s children is now attested and sealed, and
heaven is thrown wide open for the whole world of
sinners. Fe that believes in the risen Savior has
free access to the Father.

Then, too, the devil has no more power over us.
His works are destroyed; he is vanquished; the
head of the hellish serpent is bruised.

And since Jesus is risen from the dead, my death
has lost its sting, and its terrors disappear. He no
longer seems a murderer, but a sweet angel of peace
to take me from this world of sin and woe to my
Father’s bosom. Jesus lives, therefore I shall also

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