The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1915, Page 33

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Che Lutheran Pioneer. —

A MISSIONARY MONTHLY.

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PuBLISHED BY THE EVANGELICAL Lutuzran SyNopicaL Conrerence or Norti AMERICA.
REY. F. J. UANKENAU, EDITOR.

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

Vol. XXXVII.

Pentecostal Prayer.

Spirit of merey, truth, and love,
Oh, shed Thine influence from above,
And still from age to age convey
The wonders of this sacred day.

In ev'ry clime, by ev’ry tongue,
Be God's surpassing glory sung;
Let all the listening earth be taught
The wonders by our Savior wrought.

Unfailing Comfort, heavenly Guide,
Still o’er Thy holy Church preside;
Still let mankind Thy blessings prove,
Spirit of merey, truth, and love.
(Found. Hosp. Coll., 1774.)

Our Ascended Lord.

Having dispelled the dark and gloomy shadows
of Good Friday by the glorious brightness of His
victorious resurrection on Easter Day, thus con-
firming Tis victory over sin and death, the redemp-
tion of man, and his reconciliation with God, Christ
still further pursued Tis victory by ascending to
the right hand of His heavenly Father to, occupy
His throne of glory, to make all Tis enemies His

footstool, to gather all His elect by the voice of the

Gospel, and to lead them into the place which He
liad prepared for them in glory. To this end He
poured out His Spirit on the disciples on Pente-
cost, so that they, being themselves led in all truth,
and fitted out for their great calling, might go forth
in His strength to Jews and Gentiles, and proclaim
the glad tidings of His glorious victory. ;

And with what great joy and enduring faith-
fulness did these first messengers‘ and their im-
mediate pupils carry out the purpose of their

ST. LOUIS, MO., MAY, 1915.

Master! ‘To the East and to the West, to the
North and to the South, they brought the message
of their crucified Savior, their risen Lord, their
ascended King. ‘They proclaimed the glad tidings
in Jerusalem, in Judea, and in Galilee, and, cross-
ing the borders of Jewry, they carried the news
to the Gentile nations. “Go ye into all the world,
and preach the Gospel to every creature,” had been
the parting word of the Savior, and to carry out
this command they recoiled from no danger and
hesitated at no difficulty. No desert, be it ever so
hot, could them; no sea, though ever so
tempestuous, could frighten them; no people, be
it ever so degraded, could hold them back; no con-
ditions, be they yet so unpromising, could shake
their resolve. Onward they went, waving the
banner of their King’s Gospel on high, over hill
and dale, over land and sea. Forward they went,
undeterred by the fiery darts of slander and the
fierce onslaughts of persecution.’ The icy blasts of
the north wind and the hot breath of the desert
storm was not able to retard their onward march.
Ever on they went, wielding the sword of the
Spirit, which is the Word of God; and wherever
they went, they conquered souls for their ascended
and enthroned King. ‘The cold sneer of the self-
righteous Pharisee and the contemptuous smile of
the Sadducee was not able to cool their ardor; they
were not disheartened by the degraded superstition
of the Lystrans, the bigoted idolatry of the Ephe-
sians, the overbearing pride of the Athenians, the
refined sensuality of the Corinthians, nor the cold
indifference of the Romans. Ever mindful of their
Lord’s desire to disciple the nations of the world,
they undauntedly pursued their glorious work.
Dear reader, He that ascended on high and sits.
at His Father’s right hand is also our King; He

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