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 I 
 
 
SERMONS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 GOSPELS OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL YEAR 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY SIECK, 
 
 Pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, Wis. 
 
 PART FIRST. 
 
 St. Louis, Mo. 
 
 CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE. 
 
 1902. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Of the early Christians at Jerusalem we read that 
 they continued steadfastly in the apostles'' doctrine, and 
 the apostles themselves spoke not as of themselves, but 
 preached and propagated the doctrine committed to them 
 by their Lord and confirmed to them by the Spirit whom 
 He had sent from the Father. Thus did they, preachers 
 and hearers, bear the first and foremost token of true dis- 
 cipleship, according to their Master's word. If ye continue 
 in my ivord, then are ye my disciples indeed. Again, when 
 Antichrist set up his throne in the church, the chief abomi- 
 nations in holy places were the false doctrines whereby 
 the souls of men, instead of being made free by the truth 
 of the gospel, were fettered and held in bondage and the 
 thraldom of a worse than Babylonian captivity. And 
 when, in the days of the Reformation, the bulwarks of 
 Satan were laid low and Israel was set free, this wondrous 
 work of God was performed by the restoi'ation of the doc- 
 trine of Christ to the preachers and hearers of Christen- 
 dom. Alas, then came a time when this kindly light of 
 saving truth was again obscured, when rationalism was 
 enthroned in the pulpits of what went under the name, ])ut 
 no longer fought under the standards, of the Lutheran 
 church. It was then chiefly in the old books handed down 
 from better days and read and reread at the firesides of 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 humble people, whose libraries consisted of the Bible, the 
 Hymnbook, the Catechism, and the family postils, that 
 the pure doctrine of the grace of God in Christ Jesus was 
 still the bread of life which nourished immortal souls imto 
 life everlasting. God bless those old postils and those 
 who read them, the old German postils, of which there 
 are thousands also in this country, where they have con- 
 tributed and still contril)ute not a little toward keeping 
 preachers and hearers steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. 
 For though by the goodness and mercy of God the 
 Lutheran church is no longer aii unknowni quantity in 
 America, and its light of pure doctrine is not hidden under 
 a bushel, but shines throughout the land from coast to 
 coast, and to far distant shores beyond the seas, it must 
 not be forgotten that this light of pure Scripture doctrine 
 came to the restorers of sound Lutheranism m America 
 largely through the quarto and folio volumes of the six- 
 teenth and seventeenth centuries and was to a consider- 
 able extent exhibited and communicated to hearers and 
 readers directly from these sources. Nor are the days 
 of their usefulness now at an end. May their blessings 
 never cease. 
 
 But here we have a new postil, not in the language 
 of Luther and of the land of our fathers in the faith of 
 the Lutheran church. And this should not be a cause of 
 regret, but of grateful rejoicing. For here we have the 
 same doctrine, pure and unalloyed, the same precious 
 truth of God which the apostles and prophets set forth l)y 
 divine inspiration, whicli was professed by the martyrs, 
 was voiced forth in strains of spiritual song, was cherished 
 by our fathers, is held in sacred esteem by ourselves, and 
 is being, God grant it, handed down to our children and 
 children's children, also in the language in which this 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 volume speaks, and in which these sermons were preached. 
 Every page of the book bears testimony that the preacher 
 and his hearers continue steadfastly in the apostles' doc- 
 trine. May the same be said of its readers, and may their 
 numbers be great and mcreasing. May the Lord, who 
 blessed the old postils, abundantly bless this new one. 
 And let those who love Zion say. Yea and Amen. 
 
 Pago Pago, Tutuila, April 2, 1902. 
 
 A. L. Graebner. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 First Sunday in Advent. Matt. 21, 1 — 9. — "Beliold, Thy King Cometh 
 
 unto Thee!" ■It 1 
 
 Second Sunday in Advent. Luke 21, 25 — 36. — The Last Day a Day of Joy 
 
 for All True Christians 7 
 
 Third Sunday in Advent. Matt. 11, 2 — 10. — That Jesus Christ is Truly tlie 
 
 Messiah who Should Come 14 
 
 Fourth Sunday in Advent. John 1, 19 — 28. — The Christian's Confession 
 
 concerning Jesus 21 
 
 Gospel on Christmas Day. Luke 2, 1 — 14. — The Angel's Message: Unto 
 
 You is Bom this Day a Savior 27 
 
 Gospel on Second Christmas Day. Luke 2, 15 — 20. — The Faith of the 
 
 Shepherds 32 
 
 Sunday after Christmas. Luke 2, 33 — 40. — What our Gospel Proposes to 
 
 us for the Last Sunday in the Year 37 
 
 New Year's Day. Luke 2, 21. — Two New Year's Gifts 43 
 
 Sunday after New Year. Matt. 2, 13 — 23. — How the Enemies Plot against 
 
 Christ and His Kingdom 48 
 
 Epiphany. Matt. 2, 1 — 12. — True Wisdom to be Learned of the Wise Men 54 
 
 First Epiphany. Luke 2, 41 — 52. — Parental Care and Authority (51 
 
 Second Epiphany. John 2, 1 — 11. — The Blessedness of Those who have 
 
 Jesus with them in the Matrimonial State 67 
 
 Third Epiphany. Matt. 8, 1 — 13. — True Faith's Foundation and Fruits. . . 75 
 
 Fourth Epiphany. Matt. 8, 23— 27. — The Weak Faith 81 
 
 Fifth Epiphany. Matt. 13, 24 — 30. — Tares among the Wheat, or, The Con- 
 dition of the Church on Earth 87 
 
 Christ's Presentation in the Temple. Luke 2, 22 — 32. — Who can Depart 
 
 this Life in Peace like Simeon ? 93 
 
 Septuagesima Sunday. Matt. 20, 1 — IG. — Our Labor in the Lord's Vine- 
 yard, and Our Reward 98 
 
 Sexagesima Sunday. Luke 8, 4 — 15. — The True Reason why so Many De- 
 rive no Benefit from the Hearing of the Word of God 104 
 
 Quinquagesima Sunday. Luke 18, 31 — 43. — The Doubts and Offenses of 
 
 Human Reason concerning the Suffering and Death of the Son of God 111 
 
 First Sunday in Lent. Matt. 4, 1 — 11. — How may a Christian Stand Firm 
 
 in Temptations ? 118 
 
 Second Sunday in Lent. Matt. 15, 21— 28. — The Folly of not Believing that 
 
 You are in Grace unless You Feel it 125 
 
VIII CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Third Sunday in Lent. Luke 11, 14— 28. — Christ's Discourse on Satan's 
 
 Kingdom 131 
 
 P'ourth Sunday in Lent. Jolin G, 1 — 15. — Christ quite a Different Savior 
 
 than Most Men Desire 138 
 
 Fifth Sunday in Lent. John 8, 46 — 59. — Wliy is it that so Many Cannot 
 
 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? 145 
 
 Palm Sunday. Rom. 1, H!. — I am not Ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: 
 
 for it is the Power of God unto Salvation to Every One that Believeth 152 
 
 Good Friday. Luke 23, 4(5 — 48. — The Death of Jesus 157 
 
 Easter Sunday. Mark 16, 1 — 8. — The Fact and the Meaning of Christ's 
 
 Resurrection 162 
 
 Easter Monday. Luke 24, 13 — 35. — The Risen Lord with the Disciples of 
 
 Emmaus 169 
 
 First Sunday after Easter. John 20, 19 — 31. — Thomas' Unbelief concena- 
 
 insT Christ's Resurrection 175 
 
 Second Sunday after Easter. John 10, 11 — 16. — Christ the Good Shepherd 182 
 Third Sunday after Easter. John 16, 16 — 23. — The Sorrow and the Joy of 
 
 a Christian 188 
 
 Fourth Sunday after Easter. John 16, 5 — 15. — The Holy Ghost's Reproval 194 
 Fifth Sunday after Easter. John 16, 23 — 30. — How to Overcome the Im- 
 pediments to Prayer 200 
 
 Ascension Day. Mark 16, 14 — 20. — Christ Absent and yet Present 206 
 
 Sixth Sunday after Easter. John 15, 26 — 16, 4. — Persecution for Christ's 
 
 Sake 212 
 
 Pentecost Sunday. John 14, 23—31. —The Church of Jesus Christ 218 
 
 Pentecost Monday. John 3, 16 — 21. — What the Love of God in Jesus 
 
 Gives to us and Asks of us 225 
 
FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 Matt. 21, 1—9. 
 
 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, 
 unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, saying unto them. Go 
 into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and 
 a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say 
 ought unto you, ye shall say. The Lord hath need of them ; and straightway he 
 will send them. And this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken 
 by the prophet, saying. Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh 
 unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. And the 
 disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, and brought the ass, and 
 the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they sat him thereon. And a very 
 great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches 
 from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went 
 before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the sou of David : Blessed 
 is he that cometh in the name of the Lord ; Hosanna in the highest. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 About three hundred years before the event occurred which 
 is recorded in our Gospel — Christ entering the city of Jerusalem 
 — there was an occurrence of a similar nature at the gates of that 
 city. A great king, in command of a formidable army and sur- 
 rounded with military splendor, halted his fiery steed before the 
 walls and demanded of the sentinels that were stationed in the 
 turrets an unconditional surrender. There was consternation 
 among the inhabitants. While the king was making preparations 
 to besiege the city of the Jews, the highpriest hurriedly called 
 together the priests, and had them put on their white robes, and 
 quickly escorted them to the gate where the king was issuing his 
 orders for the assault. The gate was opened, and the priests 
 reverently bowed before the great king, and he was informed by 
 the highpriest that the inhabitants would not offer resistance, but 
 that they surrendered the city to him and his army. All they 
 asked of him was that he should show clemency and consider the 
 Jews his loyal subjects. That king was Alexander the Great. 
 
£ FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 What a difference between that great monarch coming to the 
 holy city in military attire, followed by grim warriors, and Jesus 
 coming meek and lowly, surrounded by the joyful throng of his 
 followers shouting as they moved along, "Hosanna to the Son of 
 David: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; 
 Hosanna in the highest ! ' ' Not a welcome guest was Alexander 
 the Great, though it is said that he kindly treated the Jews and 
 even condescended to offer sacrifice in the temple according to 
 Jewish rites. The Jews had just cause to fear the Macedonian 
 king who on his conquering tour to the East laid waste the land, 
 and burned the cities, and either slew or took captive and then 
 sold as slaves all who dared to oppose him. But what cause did 
 the Jews have to fear Jesus with whom the prophecy of Zechariah 
 was being fulfilled: "Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy 
 king cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt 
 the foal of an ass?" Gladly could all the inhabitants of Jeru- 
 salem welcome that king in their midst. 
 
 And now, my hearers, that King comes to this day. He 
 comes invisibly in His word and in His holy sacraments. Every 
 land, every city, every hamlet, every home where the gospel has 
 found a place, is Jerusalem; and there is the daughter of Sion, 
 and the promise given to her is being fulfilled: "Behold, thy 
 King cometh unto thee." And since among us we have the Word 
 of God taught in its purity and the sacraments administered ac- 
 cording to the Lord's institution, that King is our King also ; and 
 He continually comes to us also in His word and sacraments. 
 Hear me, therefore, proclaim to all of you this day the joyful 
 message of Advent, 
 
 "BEHOLD, THY KING COMETH UNTO THEE!" 
 And we shall consider, 
 
 I. Wliat manner of King cometh unto us, 
 H. What iff the purpose of His coming. 
 
 L 
 
 What comfort for us to know that our King cometh unto us : 
 Jesus who came to Jerusalem. He has not forsaken us. Thouf^h 
 He does withhold from us His visible presence, yet He is with us 
 invisibly and enters our homes and our liearts ! What comfort 
 
FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 3 
 
 for us to know that our King does visit us on this earth, though 
 He ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of God the 
 Father Ahiiighty ! And why is that so comforting? Because 
 our King is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is more 
 than Alexander the Great and all the powerful rulers on earth. 
 He is a Kingr under whose rule and guidance we shall neither fear 
 nor want. For how does our Gospel describe this King? What 
 manner of King cometh unto us ? He is an omniscient King who 
 knows even the most secret thoughts in the hearts of men ; He is 
 an almighty King who can accomplish all He desires and with 
 whom nothing is impossible ; He is a meek King whose heart is 
 full of kindness and tender mercies. 
 
 He is, first of all, an omniscient King. We read, ^'■And 
 when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Beth- 
 phage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 
 saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and 
 straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose 
 them and bring them unto me.'' We must know that the Lord 
 had not been in the village where the beasts of burden were tied. 
 He had not sent some one ahead to procure those animals and tie 
 them there for His disciples to come and get them for Him. 
 No ; He came from the opposite direction, from Galilee, by the 
 way of Jericho and Bethany. And yet He knew, as though 
 Himself He had been there, that those animals were in waiting 
 for Him. Now, how is that to be explained? There is but one 
 explanation, and that is to concede His omniscience. O what 
 comfort to be derived therefrom ! Behold, thv King cometh unto 
 thee, an omniscient King ! He knows everything and all, the 
 past and the future. Nothing is hidden before Him. He knows 
 all our cares and troubles. Men may make light of our tribula- 
 tions, while we are suffering to such an extent as almost to make 
 us feel as though we could not bear our burden any longer ; the 
 Lord, our King, does not undervalue our agonies and our distress. 
 He knows our difiiculties and fully understands our groaning 
 under those heavy burdens. He knows even the very thoughts 
 in the hearts of men, and, if there are enemies plotting against 
 us secretly. He knows all their designs; and He even knew them 
 before they conceived such thoughts of wickedness. He is an 
 omniscient King. 
 
4 FIRST SUNDAY IN AUVEXT. 
 
 And, at the same time, an almighty King, We read, ^^And 
 if any man say oucjht unto you, ye shall say. The Lord hatli 
 need of them; and straightioay he icill send them.'''' And again 
 we read, '■'■Tlie disciples ivent, and did as Jesus commanded them, 
 and brought the ass, and the colt.'' In the gospel according to 
 St, Luke we find an account of this same occurrence, and there 
 we are told, "And as they were loosing the colt, the owners 
 thereof said unto them. Why loose ye the colt? And they said, 
 The Lord hath need of him," How wonderful ! The Lord would 
 make use of a colt. He does not purchase the animal. He bor- 
 rows it from a man who is apparently a perfect stranger to Him, 
 He does not even ask for it, but directs His disciples to get it 
 and moves the owner's heart not to interfere, but to let the dis- 
 ciples take the animal to their Master, He influences that man's 
 will from afar off and makes him do exactly what He wants Him 
 to do. Now, how is this to be explained? There is but one ex- 
 planation, and that is to concede His omnipotence, O what com- 
 fort to be derived therefrom ! Behold, thy King cometh unto 
 thee, an almighty King, a King who is so powerful as even to 
 rule the hearts of men and to make them perform and do His 
 will ! Art thou in want and bodily needs ? Art thou tempted 
 to say, "What shall we eat? what shall we drink? wherewithal 
 shall we be clothed?" Behold, thy King cometh unto thee ! He 
 can furnish thee with the necessaries of life. Heaven and earth 
 belong to Him, His resources will never give out. He is able 
 to procure for you in some way all that you need. Art thou in 
 ill health and suffering, coping with diseases that baflle medical 
 skill? He is the Lord, thy Healer, He can give thee health 
 and strength and make all thy diseases disappear. Art thou in 
 difficulties or perplexities of any kind, in sorrow, in trials and 
 tribulations? He can deliver thee. He can lead thee out of thy 
 troubles with His powerful hand. He is almighty. With Him 
 nothing is impossible. 
 
 But the most comforting point of our gospel is this: He is 
 also a meek King, We read, "^1// this was done, that it might 
 he fulfilled whicJi was spoken hy t J le prophet, saying. Tell ye the 
 daughter of 8ion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and 
 sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass." Woe unto 
 us if that omniscient and omnipotent King came to us provokinl 
 
FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 and full of anger ! For since He is omniscient, He certainly 
 knows all our sins and manifold transgressions ; and since He is 
 almighty, He can severely punish our iniquities and pour out 
 upon us the vials of His wrath. And what else have we deserved 
 with our sins than to be doomed to eternal condemnation? But 
 no; our King comes unto us not to mete out justice and to re- 
 ward us according to our iniquities. He comes meek, in loving- 
 kindness. No harm does He intend. He is full of compassion. 
 His heart is filled with kindness and tender mercies. Art thou 
 troubled on account of thy sins? Does thy conscience tell thee 
 thou wert too great a sinner, thy sins could never be forgiven, 
 thou hadst no right to grace, because thou didst not accept the 
 Lord's grace at the time it was offered unto thee? Behold, thy 
 King cometh unto thee, meek. He again offers unto thee His 
 grace and assures to thee the full forgiveness of all thy sins. 
 Art thou afflicted with some malady, with poverty, with want, 
 with distress, with sorrow of any kind, or tribulation of any de- 
 scription? Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek. His de- 
 sire is to lighten thy burden or to give thee strength patiently to 
 bear what thou must bear in this life for thine own good, so as 
 not to be deprived of the happiness of a future world. He will 
 allay thy sorrows, comfort thee in distress, and wipe the tears 
 from thine eyes. 
 
 Behold then, such is thy King who cometh unto thee in His 
 word and sacraments, an omniscient King before whom nothing 
 is concealed, an almighty King with whom nothing is impossible, 
 a meek King who is kindly disposed to all, even the greatest of 
 sinners. 
 
 II. 
 
 And now, in the second place, let us consider the purpose 
 of His comino;. 
 
 We read, ^^A)id a very great multitude spread their garments 
 in the way ; others cut doum branches from the trees, a)id straived 
 them in the way. And the Tnultitudes that went before, and that 
 folJoived, cried, saying, Ilosanna to the Son of David : Blessed 
 is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; Ilosanna in the 
 highest!'" What a grand spectacle ! What a joyous gathering ! 
 The Lord is coming down the slope from mount Olivet, riding 
 
b FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT, 
 
 a beast of burden and advancing toward the city. His eyes are 
 fixed on Jerusalem with its white shining walls, enclosing thou- 
 sands of dwellings and gardens, and on that magnificent struc- 
 ture, the temple of Jehovah with its glittering pinnacles flashing 
 in the sun. His disciples form the escort. A very great multi- 
 tude gathers at the gate and conducts the Lord into the citv. 
 The crowd swells more and more as they move along. Every- 
 body is happy. Everybody is filled with joy. Branches are cut 
 down from the trees and thrown in the way. Garments are 
 spread out on the ground for the Lord to ride over them. With 
 rejoicing, with singing and shouting, as if the king were coming 
 home to his royal palace from some expedition, the procession 
 passes along the streets up to the temple, where even the children 
 join in the songs of praise and cry, "Hosanna to the Son of 
 David." 
 
 Here, my friends, we find depicted the true purpose of the 
 Lord's coming to us in His word and sacraments. His purpose 
 is not merely to take away from us our sorrows, as the omniscient 
 and almighty King. No; His purpose is to substitute joy for 
 sorrow, to fill our hearts with gladness, to make us rejoice over 
 our salvation. At that time He came to Jerusalem to die for the 
 sins of the world. Only a few days later He was taken before 
 the tribunal of Pontius Pilate, condemned to death, nailed to the 
 accursed tree, and for three days His lifeless corpse remained in 
 the tomb and was then raised again from the dead. He paid the 
 penalty for our sins and the ransom price for our souls. He per- 
 formed the great work of the redemption, worked out the for- 
 giveness of all our sins, and gained for each and every one of us 
 eternal life. And now, when the Lord, our heavenly King, 
 comes to us in His word and sacraments. He offers, gives and 
 imparts to us these sublime treasures, procured with the high 
 price of His own ])recious blood. Wherever His word is, there 
 is Christ Himself; and the purpose of His coming to us is always 
 to bring joy and happiness to our hearts and to fill our souls with 
 the hope of eternal life. 
 
 May the Lord, then, never come to us in vain! May we 
 always receive Him cheerfully, as did the disciples and the mul- 
 titudes in our Gospel, receive Him in true faith, and prove such 
 faith not only with our lips, but also with our lives; not only 
 
SECOND SUXDAV IX ADVENT. 7 
 
 singing His praises, but also doing Him service and leading a 
 godly and holy life in uprightness and honesty. Then the pur- 
 pose of His coming shall be accomplished. We shall be a happy 
 people indeed. Joy shall reign supreme in our hearts and homes, 
 and such joy as can never be compared to the joys and pleasures 
 of this world. Anthems of praise shall fill the earth ; and when 
 the storm of life is past, we shall join the angel chorus and sing 
 with them, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; 
 Hosanna in the highest !" Amen. 
 
 SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 Luke 21, 25—36. 
 
 Aud there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and 
 upon the eartli distress of nations, witli j^erplexity; the sea and the waves 
 roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things 
 whicli are coming on the earth : for tlie powers of lieaven sliall be shal^en. And 
 then shall tliey see the Sou of man coming in a cloud with power aud great 
 glory. Aud when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up 
 your heads; for your redemption draweth uigh. And he spake to them a par- 
 able ; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees ; when they now shoot forth, ye see 
 and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, 
 wlieu ye see tliese things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh 
 at liand. Verily I say unto you, Tliis generation shall not pass away, till all be 
 fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away : 1)ut my words sliall not pass away. 
 And take heed to yourselves, lest at auy time your hearts be overcharged with 
 surfeiting, and drunkeuuess, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon 
 you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell ou the face 
 of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be ac- 
 counted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand 
 before the Sou of man. 
 
 Beloved in Christ: 
 
 Our Gospel treats of a very serious matter, of the last day, 
 or the day of judgment. Jesus tells us that this world shall not 
 last forever, but come to a sudden, abrupt end; and that this end 
 shall be attended by the most fearful signs in the planets above 
 us, and upon the earth, and among the nations. He says, ^^And 
 there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; 
 and upon the earth distress of nations, loith perplexity; the sea 
 
 2 
 
8 SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and 
 for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for 
 the poivers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the 
 Son of man coming in a cloud loitJi power and great glory.'" And 
 still more distinctly does He predict the end when He says in plain 
 language, not to be misunderstood, '■'' Heaven and earth shall pass 
 away.'' Pass away, that is, be utterly destroyed, annihilated, be 
 no more. 
 
 Now, is not this a terrible thing to think of, that heaven and 
 earth shall pass away, pass away as surely as they were called into 
 being, and that this catastrophe may come at any time, even to- 
 day? That, as St. Peter says, "The day of the Lord will come 
 as a thief in the night ; in the which the heavens shall pass away 
 with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat ; 
 the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up?" 
 The children of this world can not bear to hear this. It is dis- 
 agreeable to them. It is too fearful. And for this reason they 
 oppose the doctrine of the day of judgment, ridicule it, and treat 
 it with contempt. Yet this doctrine of the last day does not stand 
 in contradiction to human reason. For even human reason must 
 admit not merely the possibility, but even the probability that 
 there will be an end of this world. "But human imagination 
 finds it hard to picture to itself this tremendous collapse, this 
 altogether unparalleled catastrophe, after the passage of centuries 
 or ages during which the world has pursued its accustomed course. 
 The imagination can not conceive, amid the well-ordered facts of 
 our daily life, so sublime and terrific an interruption, so over- 
 whelming a conclusion of all that we see and are conversant with." 
 The day of judgment, as described in the Holy Scriptures, 
 must be viewed by all the children of this world with fear and 
 trembling. It is to them a day of terror, a day depriving them 
 at once of all their joys and pleasures and plunging them into the 
 greatest imaginal)le misery. But what does Jesus say to His dis- 
 ciples, to the true Christians, about that day? Should they fear 
 the day of judgment? No; He says, ''Wlien these things begin 
 to come to jmss, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your 
 redemption draweth nigh."" It is not a day of terror, but a day 
 of joy for all the true followers 'of Christ. And this shall be the 
 subject of our discourse, with the aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 9 
 
 THE LAST DAY A DAY OF JOY FOR ALL TRUE CHRISTIANS. 
 Let us consider, 
 
 I. Wliy all true Christians look forward to the last day as a 
 
 day of joy for them, and 
 11. What they must do so as not to be deceived in their joyful 
 expectation. 
 
 I. 
 
 True Christians are often worried about the last day. The 
 thought sometimes troubles them, How if that day should sud- 
 denly come upon you? How would you feel, if you should have 
 to witness those terrible signs in heaven -above and upon earth 
 below? Would not your heart fail you for fear? And when the 
 Supreme Judge appears in the clouds, can you face Him? Must 
 you not hide your face in shame because you have sinned? Does 
 not the word of God say, "The world passeth away, and the lust 
 thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever?" 
 How then can you expect to abide forever while the earth is pass- 
 ing away? Are you not an unprofitable servant, a frivolous trans- 
 gressor, who did almost everything else, but not the will of God? 
 
 These thoughts come to true Christians, I say. They are not 
 entertained by godless people. These do not believe Christ's pre- 
 diction, and when the thought of judgment day fastens upon their 
 mind, they quickly dismiss that thought, thinking. What is the 
 use of worrying over so uncertain a thing? When, therefore, at 
 times you feel frightened about the last day, let it be because you 
 are earnestly concerned about your eternal welfare. But you 
 must get beyond such fear and fright. For Jesus says to all His 
 followers, " When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, 
 and lift up your heads ; for your redemption draiveth nigh . ' ' You 
 must look forward to the last day as a day of joy. Why ? Because 
 that day is the day of your redemption, as Jesus says, the day in 
 which you shall be redeemed from each and every trouble, from 
 everything that is hurtful to body and soul. 
 
 In the first place, why should you feel frightened when those 
 ^ 'signs occur in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and 
 when the sea and the waves are roaring, and the powers of heaven 
 are shaken?"" For godless peoj^le, for the children of this world, 
 these are indeed signs foreboding distress and misery, so that 
 
10 SECOND SUNDAY IX ADVENT. 
 
 '■'■their hearts iiinat he failiuff them for fear, and for Jookinr/ after 
 those tilings icJiieli are coming on the earth.'" For godless people 
 these terrible si^ns are the tolling of the bell of eternal death, the 
 rail of the angry Judge at the door of the tottering world. But for 
 the true Christians these signs are the melodious chimes of the 
 eternal Sa))bat!i, the gentle breezes of the everlasting spring. 
 When they behold these signs, they must picture to their minds 
 Jesus standing before them and saying, Fear not, my beloved 
 children, I am here, I am come to destro}' the prison in which 
 you are being held, and to set you free. The Lord illustrates 
 this by a beautiful i)arable. He says, '■^Behold the Jig tree, and 
 all the trees; tchen tliey noiv shoot forth, ye see and know of your 
 own selves that summer is noiv nigh at hand. So likewise ye, tahen 
 ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God 
 is nir/h at hand.'" Is the sprouting of the trees and the blooming 
 of the flowers in spring something frightening? Does not the en- 
 tire creation, and man above all, rejoice when the winter season is 
 ended and beautiful spring is ushered in amid the songs of birds 
 and the blooming of the flowers? Behold then, thus nmst those 
 
 sio-ns which are so terrible for the children of this world be viewed 
 
 o 
 
 by the true Christians. They are not to be looked upon as dismal 
 forebodings, ])ut as the most pleasing indications of the coming of 
 God's kingdom, which is peace, joy, happiness, bliss for ever 
 and ever. 
 
 Furthermore, why should you feel frightened when you be- 
 hold "///p Son of man coming in a cloud in jxncer and great 
 rflory.'" True, those who have not been waiting for the Lord and 
 did not care for Him shall be terrified when most unexpectedly, 
 like a flash of lightning in a clear sky, the Lord appears in the 
 clouds. They shall })erceive at once Him whom they })ierced by 
 their infidelity, and all their sins, especially tiieir enmity against 
 Jesus and His divine word, will come home to them, and fill them 
 with unspeakable fear, so that in utter des})air they Mill say to 
 the mountains, Cover us, and to the hills, Fall on us. But what 
 cause has a true Christian to be afraid of Jesus, even in that great 
 moment when as the Judge of the world He shall descend from 
 heaven? Jesus is his Friend, his best Friend, his truest Friend. 
 Ev(Mi if now he thinks that tlie sight of Jesus in the clouds will 
 frifi^hteii him, he siiall find it otherwise. Even the weakest be- 
 
8ECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 11 
 
 liever who puts his trust in Christ shall find himself transformed 
 in a moment, when Christ comes, and his heart filled with in- 
 effable joy. For then his faith shall at once be changed into 
 sight and all those weaknesses by which faith is hampered in this 
 world shall be gone. 
 
 And also this is true that the destruction of this visible world 
 shall be a terrible thing for those that love the world, and the 
 things of this world, and know of no other joy than earthly joy 
 and earthly pleasure. For Jesus says, ''■Heaven and earth shall 
 pass away.'' But what does He add? He says, '■'^But my words 
 shall not pass avjay.'' Why does Jesus add this? He obviously 
 means to say, Fear not, my beloved Christians; let the visible 
 world pass away, my words shall come true. Did I not promise 
 you a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteous- 
 ness? If then you believe my words, you shall find a new crea- 
 tion coming forth, immediately after this world has been con- 
 sumed by fire; and triumphantly j^ou shall enter into life eternal. 
 
 O, my friends, what a joyful day, then, must the last day of 
 this world be for every true Christian ! It is the day of perfect 
 redemption, the day in which we shall be made rid of our sins, 
 our frailties, our natural depravity, our fears, our sobs, our tears, 
 our pains, our misfortunes, our anxieties, and all our crosses, and 
 tribulations. It is the day in which the gates of Paradise shall 
 be opened unto us, and in our flesh we shall behold God, and in 
 Him be ineffably happy, experiencing those things which eye 
 hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the hearts 
 of men; but which God has prepared for them that love Him. 
 O, let us not wish for that day to be long coming and far away, 
 but beseech our divine Lord to come, to come soon, and to re- 
 deem us from this vain world by His glorious advent in the clouds. 
 
 11. 
 
 And now, in the second place, let us consider what we must 
 do, so as not to be deceived in our joyful anticipation. 
 
 Saint John says in his first epistle, "Little children, abide 
 in Him, that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, 
 and not be ashamed before Him in His coming." So the one 
 and only thing we must do, not to be deceived in our joyful 
 anticipation, is to abide with Jesus, that is, to remain with Him 
 
12 SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 in true faith, not to leave Him, and always to come back to Him 
 when we have gone astray. 
 
 And what must we do to remain with Jesus? He says, " TaTce 
 heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged 
 with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so 
 that day come upon you unaivares. For as a snare shall it come 
 on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.'" Surfeiting 
 and drunkenness are not human, they are worse than beastly. 
 The greediest })east knows when it has enough and will stop eat- 
 ing and drinking when the craving of its appetite has been satis- 
 tied. Del)aucheries and drunken carousals are unmanly wrongs 
 even from a heathen's moral point of view, how much the more 
 from the Christian's moral standpoint. Does not God say dis- 
 tinctly, "The drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom of God?" 
 A drunkard is not a Christian, no matter how much he goes to 
 church or how religiously he deports himself otherwise. Must he 
 not himself admit that he could not face the Lord Jesus in one 
 of his drunken revelries? Take heed then, this is the Lord's 
 warning, '■^take heed, lest at any time your hearts he overcharged 
 icith surfeiting and drunkenness.^^ — And the cares of this life 
 are not less dantjerous than surfeiting- and drunkenness. How 
 shall a man be duly prepared to meet his God when his thoughts 
 are never with God, when he never sets his affection on things 
 above, when he never seeks the kingdom of God and His right- 
 eousness; but has his mind fixed on this world and nothing but 
 this world, when the craving for and hankering after wealth, 
 earthly goods, earthly pleasures and enjoyments is the one sole 
 aim and object of his earthly existence? Here is where many 
 make a grave mistake. They make a pretense of religion. They 
 run along with the true followers of Christ. They do as if they 
 were striving for heaven. But their religion is nothing more 
 than a show and a sham. It is not heaven they are after, but the 
 earth. Their hearts are overcharged with the cares of life, and 
 this they show by their neglect to come up to the duties of a 
 Christian, by shunning the house of God and neglecting prayer. 
 O, how can you expect Jesus to confess you before His Father 
 in heaven when suddenly He shall come, if you refuse to con- 
 fess Him before men? How can you expect to be received into 
 heaven, if your heart clings to this world and you do not sin- 
 
SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 13 
 
 cerely seek the kingdom of God? Take heed then, beware of 
 the cares of this life, do not let fhese take possession of your 
 soul and lead you away from Jesus, and on the last day you shall 
 not be deceived in the joyful anticipation of true Christians. 
 
 Finally Jesus says, " Watch ye therefore, and pray always, 
 that ye may be accounted tvorthy to escape all these things that 
 shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." Behold 
 then, if you would not be deceived in your joyful anticipation 
 on the last day, if you would remain in the faith and be duly 
 prepared to meet Christ when He comes to judge the quick and 
 the dead, you must also watch and pray. We must watch our 
 sinful heart, which is always prone to evil, watch our thoughts, 
 which easily become vain, watch our words that our lips speak 
 no guile, watch our walk and conversation that we always re- 
 main in the path of true Christians and that we take as our rule 
 and o;uide the word of God, watch all the foes of our eternal 
 salvation, the devil, the world and our own flesh, that they 
 may not lead us into misbelief, despair, and other great shame 
 and vice. 
 
 And to watchfulness we must add prayer. For "with might 
 of ours can nought be done." All that we do is utt-^rly useless 
 and will accomplish nothing. God must do everything and all. 
 Therefore we must pray without ceasing and call upon God, say- 
 ing, Lord, I admit that I am a damnable sinner, not worthy to 
 stand before Thee. But Thy grace is from everlasting to ever- 
 lasting upon them that fear Thee. Thou hast given me Thine 
 only begotten Son and He has atoned for all my sins and made 
 me acceptable in Thy sight. O, keep me in the blessed faith of 
 Thy dear Son. Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me. Let me 
 remain Thy dear child, and endure to the end, and receive the 
 crown of life. 
 
 O, blessed is he who thus entrusts himself to the grace and 
 mercy of God in Jesus the Savior ! Let death come, or let 
 the last day come, he shall not be deceived, he shall be found 
 w^orthy to stand before the Son of man and enter into eternal 
 glory. Amen. 
 
14 THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 THIRD SUXDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 Matt. 11, 2—10. 
 Now when Johu had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of 
 his disciples, and said unto him, Art tliou he that sliould come, or do we look 
 for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those 
 things which ye do hear and see : The blind receive tlieir sight, and the lame 
 walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, tlie dead are raised up, and the 
 poor have the gospel i)reaclied to them. And l)Iessed is he, whosoever shall not 
 be offended in me. And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes 
 concerning John, Wliat went ye out into tlie wilderness to see? A reed shaken 
 with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft rai- 
 ment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went 
 ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 
 For this is he, of whom it is written. Behold, I send my messenger before thy 
 face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 
 
 Belovki) Fkiexds in Christ: 
 
 ''Art Thou He that should come, or do we look for another?'" 
 That is the question which John the Baptist has two of his dis- 
 ciples ask Christ. Tlie purport of this (question was to ascertain 
 whether Jesus was the promised Messiah. But why did John the 
 Baptist have his disciples ask Jesus that question? Did he him- 
 self doubt whether Jesus is the Messiah? Many commentators 
 offer this explanation. They say, When John the Baptist was 
 brooding in his gloomy prison cell, when he found that his earthly 
 career was drawing to a close, when Jesus did not come to his 
 rescue, his faith was shaken, he began to doubt whether he had 
 not made the greatest mistake of his life when at the river Jordan 
 he testified that Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah and 
 pointed at Him with his finger, saying, "Behold the Lamb of 
 God, which taketh away the sin of the world." But such a thing 
 is hardly credible that God's appointed fore-runner of the Mes- 
 siah should so utterly fail in his mission as to doul)t the truth of 
 what God Ilijnself had told him to say. And does not Christ say 
 in our gospel that John the Baptist is not a reed shaken w itli the 
 wind? What does that mean but that he is not a man given to 
 doubts and wavering opinions? We therefore accept Luther's ex- 
 planation. Luther says, "It is certain that John has Christ asked 
 for the sake of his disciples." Not because he himself doubted, 
 hut })ecause his disciples doubted, did John put this (luestioii to 
 
THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 15 
 
 Christ. This explanation also conforms to what we are told of 
 John's disciples in the third chapter of the Gospel according to 
 St. John. There they are reported as coming to John the Baptist 
 and sajnng, "Rabbi, He that was with thee beyond Jordan, to 
 whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all 
 men come to him." They did not seem to like it that all men 
 went to Jesus. They had heard John bearing witness of Jesus, 
 but as yet did not have the confidence in Jesus which they should 
 have had. 
 
 To this day there are people who either do not at all believe 
 in Christ Jesus as the promised Messiah, or doubt whether Jesus 
 is He that should come. The first class, who openly reject Christ, 
 are the Jews and infidels. The Jews are to this day expecting 
 the promised Messiah to come, and the infidels discredit the clear- 
 est Bible statements concerning Christ. The second class, those 
 who doubt whether Jesus Christ is the promised ^Messiah, are such 
 as claim to be Christians, but are not made divinely certain in the 
 faith. They do not openly reject Christ as do the Jews and in- 
 fidels. They hear the Gospel like the disciples of John the Baptist. 
 But they are as the reed shaken with the wind. When any sup- 
 posed arguments and proofs against the Gospel are placed before 
 them, their faith is shocked and they begin to doubt. Let me 
 explain to you with the aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 THAT JESUS CHRIST IS TRULY THE MESSIAH WHO SHOULD COME. 
 
 I. Because His person exactly answers to the description of 
 
 the promised Messiah, 
 II. Because His deeds exactly correspond to the deeds the Mes- 
 siah tvas to perform, 
 III. Because He was preceded by the fore-runner who was to 
 go before the Messiah. 
 
 I. 
 
 What was Jesus' answer when John's disciples had asked 
 Him, '■'-Art Thou He that shoidd come, or do ive look for an- 
 other?''' Does He say, No, I am not He, John the Baptist ought 
 not to have sent you to Me? No ! He silently admits that He is 
 the promised Messiah and says to these two men, "6^0 and shew 
 John again those things which ye do hear and see.'' 
 
16 THIRD SUNDAY IX ADVENT. 
 
 Jesus Christ is truly the Messiah, who should come, and that 
 is attested, in the tirst i)lace, by the fact that His person exactly 
 answers to the description of the promised Messiah. In the Old 
 Testament God has given a full description of the Messiah's per- 
 son, and so perfectly does that description correspond with Jesus' 
 person, that nobody can look for another, if he sincerely accepts 
 and believes the clear words of Scripture. In the Old Testament 
 God has so perfectly portrayed the Messiah that everybody should 
 have known Him when He came. In the Old Testament God 
 stated the time when the Messiah should come, the place where 
 He should be born, and the family and })eople from whom He 
 was to descend. And who is it that answers to this description 
 exactly, in every detail? Nobody in this world excepting Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 As to the Hine when the Messiah was to come, had not Jacob, 
 the patriarch, spoken the prophecy, "The sceptre shall not depart 
 from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh 
 come?" And had not the sceptre departed from Judah, had not 
 the Jews ceased to be an independent people, had not the Romans 
 conquered and subdued them and made of Judaea a Roman prov- 
 ince when Jesus came? Furthermore, had not Daniel given the 
 prophecy; "Seventy weeks are determined upon Thy people and 
 upon Thy holy city ... to anoint the Most Holy?" And what 
 did Daniel mean to say? As the context shows, he meant to 
 say that in seventy weeks, not of days, ])ut of years, that is, in 
 4it0 years, counting from the rebuilding of the temple after the 
 Babylonian captivity, the Holy One in Israel, the Messiah, should 
 appear. And what do we read in the books of history? How long 
 after the reconstruction of the temple was it when Jesus came? 
 It was about 490 years, as everybody can ascertain for himself. 
 
 And as to the place where the Messiah was to be born, had 
 not Micah prophesied, "And thou, Bethlehem in the land of 
 Judah, art not the least among the princes of .Judah; for out 
 of thee shall come a Governor that shall rule my people Israel?" 
 And was not Jesus born in Bethlehem ? But there were two vil- 
 lages called Bethlehem. One was in the land occupied by the 
 tribe of Sebulon and the other in Judah. Now, that there might 
 not be a mistake, the prophet points out Bethlehem in the land 
 of Judah; an<l was not Jesus born in that selfsame Bethlehem? 
 
THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 17 
 
 And, finally, as to the family and people from whom the 
 Messiah was to descend, had not the prophets announced that the 
 Messiah should descend from king David? Did not Isaiah, for 
 instance, say, "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem 
 of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots : and the Spirit 
 of the Lord shall rest upon Him?" Now, Jesse was king David's 
 father. And did not Jesus Christ descend from the house and 
 lineage of David? But at the time of Christ there were many 
 others that descended from king David, and to avoid mistakes 
 God added another prophecy to point out the very person among 
 those descendants. He had His prophet Isaiah exclaim, "Behold, 
 a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call Him Im- 
 manuel." And do not the holy evangelists inform us that Jesus 
 was born of the Virgin Mary? And since He was conceived by 
 the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary, is He not Immanuel, 
 that is, God and man in one person? 
 
 We see, Christ's person exactly answers to the description of 
 the promised Messiah. He is the Messiah, and none other. 
 
 II. 
 
 The second reason upon which we base our faith in Jesus 
 Christ as the Messiah who is to come, is, because His deeds ex- 
 actly correspond to the deeds which the Messiah was to perform. 
 
 What deeds was the Messiah to perform according to the 
 prophecies of the Old Testament? In the first place, He was to 
 perform the greatest miracles which the earth had ever seen. In 
 the thirty-fifth chapter of his prophecies Isaiah says of the Mes- 
 siah and of His time, "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, 
 and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame 
 man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing." Jesus 
 evidently refers to this very prophecy when He gives answer to 
 John's disciples, saying, "T/?e blind receive their sight, and the 
 lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead 
 are raised up."" Jesus means to say. How can you doubt whether 
 I am He that should come ? Do you not see that I am perform- 
 ing exactly those deeds which the Messiah is to perform? And 
 to this day Christians can challenge the world to show them a man 
 in the entire history of the world who so perfectly came up to all 
 the requirements of the promised Messiah as did Jesus of Nazareth. 
 
18 THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 Let unbelievers search the liooks of history and point out a man 
 who did the miracles that Christ performed. It is folly to dispute 
 those miracles. They are recorded not only in the New Testa- 
 ment; an account of some of these miracles is to be found even 
 in contemporaneous writings of the enemies of Christianity. But 
 not another man did the world produce who in his own name and 
 by his own authority healed thousands of the sick by moans of 
 his simple word and w'ill, opened the eyes of the blind, restored 
 unto the deaf the power of hearing, gave unto the dumb the power 
 of speach, and unto the lame the use of their limbs, and even 
 called back into the land of the living those that were entombed. 
 The four Gospels of the New Testament are almost one continual 
 narrative of divine miracles wrought by Jesus Christ, and, as 
 St. John informs us, "These are written that ye might believe 
 that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye 
 might have life through His name." 
 
 According to the prophecies of the Old Testament the Mes- 
 siah was to perform another great work. He was to proclaim the 
 Gospel, the glad tidings of the forgiveness of sins. In Isaiah, 
 chapter 61, we read, the Messiah Himself being the speaker: 
 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath 
 anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek ; He hath sent 
 me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the cap- 
 tives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound." 
 Christ evidently refers to this passage of the Old Testament when 
 He adds, "^;icZ the poor have the Gospel preached to them.'''' Christ 
 means to say, Do you not hear that I am preaching the Gospel, 
 the glad tidings, which the Messiah is to proclaim? And if we 
 examine the records of the New Testament, we find that flesus 
 was almost constantly surrounded by the meek, and the broken- 
 hearted, and distressed, proclaiming to them the Gospel, speak- 
 ing words of eternal life. And did not Christ Himself ])erform 
 the great work of the redemi)tion which the Messiah was to per- 
 form and upon which He was to base His proclamation of liberty 
 to the captives? Read the 22d Psalm and the r)3d chai)ter of Isaiah, 
 where the Messiah's sufferinir, death and resurrection are de- 
 scribed, and compare the history of Jesus' holy passion ! See 
 how these prophecies in their minutest details were fulfilled in 
 Christ Jesus ! Nothing is missing. Jesus' deeds exactly corre- 
 
THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 19 
 
 spond to the deeds which the Messiah was to perform. Christ 
 therefore says, ^'Aiid blessed is he, ivhosoever .shall not be offended 
 in me.'' Blessed is he that is not offended in Christ's lowliness 
 and humiUation ! Blessed is he that receives Christ as the promised 
 Messiah who should come, as the heavenly Prophet who proclaimed 
 to us lost and condemned sinners the Gospel, as the great High- 
 priest who upon the altar of the cross brought the great sacrifice 
 of His life for our sins, as the King of kings and Lord of lords ! 
 
 III. 
 
 The third reason upon which we base our faith in Jesus Christ 
 as the promised Messiah is, because He was preceded by the same 
 fore-runner who was to go before the Messiah. 
 
 God had arranged that a fore-runner should precede the Mes- 
 siah, a man who should prepare for Him the way, call attention 
 to Him, and point Him out to the people as the promised Messiah. 
 Isaiah speaks of that fore-runner when he says in the 40th chapter, 
 "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness. Prepare ye the 
 way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our 
 God." And Malachi, the last of the prophets, alludes to that 
 fore-runner, saying, "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he 
 shall prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom ye seek shall 
 suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the Covenant 
 whom ye delight in; behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of 
 hosts." And at the end of his prophecies the same prophet says, 
 "Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the coming 
 of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." 
 
 Did not such a fore-runner as the one described by the prophets 
 precede the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ ? Who was that fore- 
 runner? It was John the Baptist. We, therefore, read in our 
 Gospel, '■'■And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the vml- 
 titudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness 
 to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But ivliat ivent ye out 
 for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that 
 wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went ye out 
 for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a 
 prophet. For this is He of vahom it is written. Behold, I send my 
 messenger before Thy face, ivhich sJiall preimre Thy ivay before 
 Thee." After the departure of those two disciples of John who 
 
20 THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 had asked Him whether He was the promised Messiah, Jesus ad- 
 dresses the people concerning John and tells them, You must not 
 think that John no longer takes me for the Messiah. No; he is 
 not a reed shaken with the wind. He does not revoke his testi- 
 mony concerning me. Neither must you think that John would 
 come out a changed man in speech and appearance were he to be 
 pardoned by king Herod and leave the prison. No; he is not a 
 man in soft clothing as worn by those who are in kings' houses. 
 He remains the same preacher of repentance, clad in a robe of 
 camel's hair. Nor must you think that John is but a common 
 prophet. He is more than a prophet. He is the second Elijah 
 promised to come. He is the man of whom the prophet wrote 
 that he should prepare the way before me. He is the Messiah's 
 fore-runner. 
 
 How, then, can anyone doubt whether Jesus Christ is really 
 the promised Messiah ? Did not the promised fore-runner go be- 
 fore Him? Did not John the Baptist precede Him in the spirit 
 and power of Elias and do exactly what the Messiah's fore-runner 
 Avas to do? Did he not prepare before Him the way, declaring, 
 "He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose 
 shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose?" Did he not bear 
 record that Jesus is the Son of God ? 
 
 Let all the Jews and infidels and all the enemies of Christ say 
 what they may. Their arguments against Christ are illusions. 
 Jesus Christ is truly the Messiah who should come. As we have 
 seen. His person exactly answers to the description of the Mes- 
 siah given in the Old Testament, His deeds exactly correspond to 
 those deeds which the Messiah was to perform, and He was pre- 
 ceded by the fore-runner who was to go before the ]Mcssiah. Let 
 us, therefore, lift u\) our heads in trium})h and rejoice in our faith 
 whicli is so well founded that even the gates of hell shall not pre- 
 vail against it, and sing praises to our beloved Savior and King, 
 in whom all the i)romises of God are yea and amen to the glory 
 of our God. Amen. 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY IX ADVENT. 21 
 
 FOUETH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 John 1, 19—28. 
 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites 
 from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, aud denied 
 not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. Aud they asked him, What then? 
 Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he 
 answered. No. Then said they unto him. Who art thou? that we may give 
 an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am 
 the voice of one crying in the Avilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, 
 as said the prophet Esaias. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. 
 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be 
 not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered tliem, saying, 
 I baptize with water : but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not ; 
 he it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am 
 not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, 
 where John was baptizing. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 In those days when John the Baptist preached in the wilder- 
 ness, the longing and waiting for the promised Messiah had 
 reached its highest pitch in Israel. The time was fulfilled, the 
 seventy weeks of Daniel were accomplished, Judah had lost its 
 sceptre. Now the Messiah had to be expected. When, there- 
 fore, John arose and deported himself like an ancient prophet, 
 living the life of a hermit in the wilderness, clothed in camel's 
 hair, feeding on locusts and wild honey, and preaching with great 
 power that the Kingdom of heaven was nigh at hand, the whole 
 country round about was wild with excitement. We are told 
 that Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about 
 Jordan went out to him. The people heard his thundering ser- 
 mons, bidding them to repent of their sins. They were baptized 
 and confessed their wrongs. And not only did they regard John 
 as a great prophet, but day by day the conviction grew that he 
 must be the very Christ himself, the Messiah for whom they had 
 been waiting so long. 
 
 Even the Sanhedrim in Jerusalem became alarmed. The 
 Sanhedrim, composed of seventy-one men, was the ecclesiastical 
 court. Upon these men devolved the duty to settle all religious 
 questions that disturbed the public mind. So they sent to John 
 a delegation consisting of priests and Levites, highly respected 
 men belonging to the order of the Pharisees, to ask him formally 
 whether he himself laid claim to being the promised Messiah. 
 
22 FOURTH SUNDAY IX ADVENT. 
 
 This delegation faithfully i)erformed its mission and received a 
 straight-forward answer from John. John disclaimed all honor. 
 '•''He confeKfied, lam not the Christ.'' And when '•''they asked 
 him. What then? art thou EUati? he saith, I am not. Art thou 
 that jrrophet? he ansioered, iVo." And when they pressed him to 
 tell them who he was, that they might give answer to them that 
 sent them, and to state why he was baptizing, though he is neither 
 the Christ, nor Elias, nor that prophet, he made a noble confession 
 concerning Jesus, a model confession, to be imitated by every 
 Christian. Accordingly, let us consider with the aid of God's Holy 
 S})irit, 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN'S CONFESSION CONCERNING JESUS, 
 and see, 
 
 I. What a Christian must confess concerning Jesus, and 
 II. /;/ what manner this confession is to be made. 
 
 I. 
 
 By his example John the Baptist plainly teaches what Chris- 
 tians nmst confess concerning Jesus. AVhen pressed to make a 
 confession concerning the Christ, what did he say ? He referred 
 to Jesus and said, "//e it is, who coming after me is i^referred 
 before me, whose shoe's Jatchet I am not worthy to unloose." 
 "What curious language, "coming after me and preferred be- 
 fore me !" For the latter words do not merely mean that Jesus 
 ranks higher than John, but that He was, that He existed be- 
 fore him. John himself renders this explanation when shortly 
 afterwards he says, "This is He of Avhom I said. After me 
 Cometh a man which is })referred before me: for He was be- 
 fore me." AVas not John older than Jesus and therefore before 
 Jesus? How can he say that Jesus existed before him? John 
 evidently testitied to Christ's divinity. He meant to say that 
 Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the Word which in the beginning 
 was with God and by whom all things are made. But John con- 
 fesses more concerning Jesus. He says, "/«m tJie voice of one 
 crying in the icildcrness. Make straight the icay of the Lord, 
 as said the prophet Esaias.'' The Lord whose way should l)e 
 made straight and of whom Esaias s})eaks, is the Messiah, is 
 Jesus. What, then, does John confess here concerning Jesus? 
 He confesses that Jesus is the Lord, Jehovah who was to come 
 into the flesh, the Savior of llie world. Behold, then, the noble 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 23 
 
 confession of John the Baptist concerning Jesus. He confesses 
 two distinct things concerning Jesus. He confesses that Jesus 
 is before him, that He is true God, and that He is the Jehovah 
 to come, the promised Savior and DeUverer. 
 
 The very same two things must Christians confess to this 
 day concerning Jesus. They must make a true confession con- 
 cerning the person and the office of Jesus Christ. 
 
 The main reason why Christians must confess Jesus before 
 men is, because to this day the workl knoweth Him not. By the 
 Christian's testimony Christ should be made known and honored 
 among men. Now, it is a historical fact that there was a man 
 living in the land of Judaea almost 1900 years ago, whose name 
 was Jesus. No sane person will deny that. Neither will the 
 children of this world deny that Jesus was the founder of the 
 Christian religion. Jesus was true man. His humanity is un- 
 disputed. But this is what the world will not believe that this 
 despised man Jesus, who was laid in the manger, who had not 
 where to lay His head, who shamefully died on the cross, should 
 be the Lord of glory, the true and everlasting God. This is what 
 the children of this world will not believe, that Jesus came into 
 this world to redeem us from sin and death by His innocent 
 suffering and painful death on the cross, and that we are saved 
 by faith in Christ Jesus, and not in any other way. These are 
 the two principal points of dispute between the Christians and 
 the children of this world, Christ's divinity and His redemption. 
 And here we must confess and declare openly before all men 
 that Jesus is more than mortal man, more than an angel and 
 archangel, that He is Jehovah, the Lord, before whom John the 
 Baptist made straight the way, the eternal One who was pre- 
 ferred before all, who was and existed before any one was born, 
 before whom all men must bow, even the prophets, even he who 
 was more than a prophet, John, who was the greatest man in his 
 day, but had to deem himself unworthy to perform upon Jesus 
 the Avork of a slave and to unloose his shoe's latchet. This is 
 the principal part of our Christian confession before the world 
 that we assert and defend Christ's divinity. Then we must also 
 declare the truth of His miracles, of His resurrection and ascen- 
 sion into heaven, His enthronement at the right hand of God 
 the Father Almighty, and His coming to judge the quick and 
 
 3 
 
24 FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 the dead. We must confess our faith that "there is no salvation 
 in any other, that there is none other name under heaven given 
 among men whereby we must be saved," but the sweet name 
 of Jesus. We must confess that Jesus receives sinners, that He 
 welcomes all who come to Him, that His grace is boundless as 
 the sea in its wide expanse, that He yearns and longs to save all 
 and would not have a single soul eternally lost. We must con- 
 fess our own experience with Jesus, how in Him we found for- 
 giveness of sins, peace with God, life and salvation, and thus 
 bear witness unto the world that the Christian faith is not a de- 
 lusion, but a real thing and a precious thing, a thing which will 
 make man truly happy both in this life and in the world to come. 
 O my friends, nmst we not say that perhaps many an un- 
 believer would have been won over to Christ, if those Christians 
 with whom he came in contact in the world had not been so shy 
 and backward in confessing Christ? Must we not say that many 
 Christians dare not open their mouths to confess the faith when 
 they should speak? that in their dealings with the children of 
 this world they never seek an opportunity to plead for Christ 
 and for his cause? aye, that sometimes they act in the presence 
 of unbelievers as if they were ashamed of Christ and of the 
 religion which they profess? O let us all remember that we 
 must confess Jesus, that this duty devolves upon every Chris- 
 tian, and that Jesus says, "Whosoever shall confess me before 
 men, him will 1 confess also before my Father which is in 
 heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will 
 I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." 
 
 II. 
 
 And now, in the second place, let us consider in what man- 
 ner this confession is to be made. 
 
 A striking feature in John's record is his deep humility, his 
 remarkable modesty. He claimed to be nothing more than a mes- 
 sage, a voice rather than a person, a man whose highest work and 
 glory it was to forget his miserable self in the surpassing great- 
 ness of his commission from heaven. "T/e said, lam (//c ri,i<r of 
 one crying in the ivilderne.ss.'' And when they asked hiu) and said 
 unto him, " Why haptizeat thou then, if thou he not that Christ, 
 nor EHas, neither that prophet? John answered them, saying, I 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 25 
 
 baptize with ivater.''' He would say, I am not the Master, but the 
 servant, I simply baptize with water, but there is another who 
 gives unto this sacrament its efficacy, its wonderful power to work 
 forgiveness of sins, to deliver from death and the devil, and 
 to give eternal salvation; and that man is Jesus, ^^whose shoe^s 
 latchet I am not worthy to unloose.'''' 
 
 Behold then, in such manner must we also confess Jesus be- 
 fore men, with sincere humility, with a deep conviction of our 
 own un worthiness. It is not the true Christian spirit to think a 
 great deal of yourself, to have and hold a high opinion of your 
 own person, to compare yourself with others, and then to find 
 yourself much better, and to boast of your virtues and own right- 
 eousness. That is the spirit of the Pharisee who went into the 
 temple and prayed, saying, "God, I thank Thee, that I am not as 
 other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this 
 publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I pos- 
 sess." That is the spirit of the hypocrite who seeks to extract the 
 mote in another's eye and does not perceive the beam in his own 
 eye. Christians must admit always, admit also before the children 
 of this world, while confessing Jesus, that they are damnable sin- 
 ners, that they sin daily and deserve nothing but punishment, that 
 in themselves they are not any better than the rest of the children 
 of men, and that, if God should deal with them after their sins 
 and reward them according to their iniquities, they would be eter- 
 nally lost. And that they are Christians, that they have been 
 converted to Christ Jesus, that they are walking in the narrow 
 way that leads to eternal life, that they stand in God's grace and 
 favor, that they have the forgiveness of their sins and are made 
 heirs of eternal life, this they must not credit to themselves, as if 
 they were the authors of their own salvation, but to the grace and 
 mercy of the Almighty, and say, "I did not by my own reason 
 or strength come to Jesus, but the Holy Ghost called me by the 
 Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctifies and keeps me in 
 the true faith." Not in an overbearing spirit, but in sincere 
 humility must a Christian confess Jesus before men. 
 
 Another feature in John's record is his courage, his fearless- 
 ness in confessing Christ. The delegation sent to him bv the San- 
 hedrim was composed of priests and Levites. They were the 
 men who sat in Moses' seat, the rightful teachers of the people. 
 
26 FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. 
 
 Yet John is bold enough to say to them, '■'' There stondeth one 
 among y oil ^ ivJiom ye know not.^^ These words implied a censure. 
 They should have known Jesus, known that He is the Christ. Did 
 not the wise men come to Jerusalem from the East seeking the 
 new-born King of the Jews? and did the}' not direct these wise 
 men to Bethlehem? Did not God show them plainly by these 
 wise men that the Messiah was come ? Did not old Simeon in the 
 temple take up the child Jesus in his arihs and say, "Lord, now 
 lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word: 
 for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation?" And did they not con- 
 verse with Jesus in the temple, when He was twelve years old, 
 and admire His understanding and His answers? Why did they 
 not watch and interest themselves in this wonderful child? John, 
 therefore, boldly censures them for their negligence and confesses 
 that Jesus, whom they do not know, is the Christ, let them say 
 and do what they will about it. 
 
 Behold then, in such manner must we also confess Jesus be- 
 fore men, with boldness and undaunted courage. It is not an easy 
 thing to confess Jesus in our days. If you confess Jesus, you are 
 very apt to be persecuted. You may be injured in your profes- 
 sion, business or trade, lose your customers or work. You may 
 be ridiculed and looked down upon as out of touch with the prog- 
 ress of the age. You may be laughed to scorn and sneered at as 
 a hypocrite and a coward when you refuse to walk in the counsel 
 of the ungodly, and to stand in the way of sinners, and to sit in 
 the seat of the scornful, and say that your delight is in the law of 
 the Lord. It takes courage to confess Christ. 
 
 Let us not be afraid to face those who can not bear to hear 
 the name of Jesus professed before them as the Lord and Savior. 
 Let us not be afraid to suffer the conseijuences which the confes- 
 sion of that blessed name may bring upon us. What is this world 
 to us, and what are the things of this world to us? The world 
 shall pass away and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of 
 God abideth for ever. Let us fearlessly confess our divine Lord 
 like John the Baptist did. And when the storm of life is passed 
 and our confession is ended, we shall find in our beloved Savior 
 Jesus an Advocate with the Father, saying to Him, Let these enter 
 into the glory: they have confessed me before men and endured 
 to the end; they shall live before me for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
GOSPEL ON CHRISTMAS DAY. 27 
 
 GOSPEL ON CHRISTMAS DAY. 
 
 Luke 2, 1— l-t. 
 ■ And it came to pass in those days, tliat tliere went out a decree from Cae- 
 sar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first 
 made when Cyrenius was governgr of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every 
 one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city 
 of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem ; 
 (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) to be taxed with Mary his 
 espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were 
 there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought 
 forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid hira in 
 a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in 
 the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock 
 by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the 
 Lord shone round about them : and they were sore afraid. And the angel said 
 unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which 
 shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a 
 Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you ; Ye shall 
 find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly 
 there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and 
 saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 
 
 Beloved Friends in the new-born Savior: 
 
 '■'■Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy.'"' This was 
 the angel's introduction as he delivered his great message from 
 heaven on Christmas day, the lirst Christmas that dawned upon 
 the world. Christmas was intended to be a day of joy, of uni- 
 versal joy. Not another day in the year is hailed with such de- 
 light by both young and old as Christmas day. Not another fes- 
 tival of the Christian Church causes so much gladness as does this 
 glorious festival, which, by the grace of God, we have again been 
 permitted to celebrate to-day. To-day the whole world round 
 about us seems turned into a sea of gladness. Faces beaming 
 with joy are seen everywhere. jNIan for once seems to forget his 
 own precious self and to find pleasure in making others happy. 
 Tokens of love are exchano-ed anion"; friends. Parents desire to 
 see their children happier on this day, and children desire to see 
 their parents joyful. Brothers and sisters under the Christmas 
 tree more than on any other occasion are made to feel that they 
 are members of the same family. Thus has Christmas come to be 
 a day of joy, a day of prevailing happiness, a day in which almost 
 everybody feels that he should be happy and make others happy. 
 
2^ GOSPEL ON CHRISTMAS DAY. 
 
 But this time-honored custom of bestowinfj and receivino- 
 gifts, though laudable in itself, is not the foundation nor every- 
 where a token, of that joy whereof the angel speaks. The angel 
 does not say, I bring 3'ou good tidings of great joy, for henceforth 
 this day shall be among men a day of showing love and kindness. 
 No, he says, ''Fo?' unto you is born this day in the city of David 
 a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.'' The true reason for joy on 
 Christmas day is to be sought in the fact that a Savior was born 
 unto us this day. This is the great message of the day. Let us 
 consider then, with the aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 THE ANGEL'S MESSAGE: UNTO YOU IS BORN THIS DAY A SAVIOR. 
 
 Ever}^ word of this message is of utmost importance. We 
 shall, therefore, analyze it and consider its four component parts, 
 namely, 
 
 I. The Savior, II. /*' born, III. Unto you, and IV. This day. 
 
 I. 
 
 "^ Savior," says the angel. — Could the culprit on the scaf- 
 fold receive better news than to be informed that the governor's 
 messenger has arrived with a pardon? Could the shipwrecked 
 man who is about to sink into the depths of the sea receive better 
 aid than to ])e grasped hy a strong hand and lifted into the boat? 
 Now, we are all as the culprit and the drowning man. We are 
 sinners and as such we are lost and condemned. By the fall of 
 Adam and Eve in the garden of P^den the wliole human family 
 was corrupted with the filth of sin and made odious in the sight of 
 God, who is a consuming fire to evil-doers. Hell and damnation 
 is our inevitable doom because we have sinned. Why were the 
 shepherds sore afraid when, as we are told, ^Hhe angel of the 
 Lord came upon them., and the glory of the Lord shone round 
 about them?'' They were afraid })ecause they were sinners. 
 Nothing in heaven or on earth could frighten man if he were 
 sinless. But now we have a Savior, a Savior by divine assurance, 
 a Savior to deliver us from everlasting death. O my fiiends, 
 could we receive better news than that? Do we value the bene- 
 factor who saves our life and rescues us from temporal death? 
 But here is the Savior from greater perils than all the dangers 
 upon earth, the Savior from hell. O how we should rejoice, how 
 
GK)SPEL ON CHRISTMAS DAY. 29 
 
 we should thank our God for that Savior, who is God Himself, 
 who could never save us from eternal death if He were not God. 
 Or do you doubt that the Babe of Bethlehem is the Savior 
 that came down from heaven? Look into our Christmas Gospel 
 and all doubts must disappear. We read, ''And it came to jjass 
 in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, 
 that all the ivorld should be taxed. And this taxing was first made 
 when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And all went to he taxed, 
 every one into his own city. And Joseph also ivent upfro^n Galilee, 
 out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, 
 which is called Bethlehem ; because he was of the house and lineage 
 of David: to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great 
 ivith child.''' O what a wonderful child! For the sake of this 
 child the whole world is set in commotion. God puts into the 
 heart of the greatest living ruler, Caesar Augustus, to issue a de- 
 cree of taxation which affects the whole world. In every land 
 under the Roman rule the inhabitants must repair to the city or 
 place of their birth to be taxed. And why all this? That Mary 
 and Joseph should go to Bethlehem and that the child Jesus should 
 be born in the city of David. Aye, what a Avonderful child ! Not 
 only the world, even the heavens are set in commotion for the 
 sake of this child. The angel of the Lord appeared unto the 
 shepherds on the plains of Bethlehem to bring them the good 
 tidings of the Savior's birth; and ''suddenly there was ivitJi the 
 angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying. 
 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward 
 men.'' What more evidence do we want that this child is the 
 Savior? Could God do more than to set heaven and earth in com- 
 motion to make us understand the importance of the great event 
 in the holy night? 
 
 IL 
 
 But let us continue and look at the next word in the angel's 
 message. He saj's, "Born," born is a Savior, and the following 
 account is given of His birth: "And so it was, that, while they 
 were there, the days were accomjilished that she should be delivered. 
 And she brought forth her first-born Son, and ivrappted Him in 
 swaddling clothes, and laid llim in a 7nanger ; because tltere ivas 
 no room for them in the inn." The Savior of the world Mas })orn 
 
30 GOSPEL ON CHRISTMAS DAY. 
 
 in extreme poverty. There was no bed or cradle for Ilim ; He 
 was laid in a manger. And the fact that He was laid in a manger 
 also discloses the place of His birth. He must have been born 
 in a stable, where mangers are kept and beasts are fed. He was 
 born; the Savior of the world Avas born ! What joy and iia})})!- 
 ness is contained for us in that little word ! Suppose God had 
 come down from heaven in His glorious majesty to deal with us 
 fallen creatures, could we stand before Him? No; we would 
 have to cry for the mountains to fall upon us, and for the hills 
 to cover us. But now God is born; the AVord is made flesh; 
 God is become man; God has taken upon Himself our human 
 nature; God is become our brother. Could there be a irreater 
 evidence of God's love to man? Could God show more i)laiidy 
 that He desires our eternal hap})iness than hy giving us His own 
 Son, in our own likeness, in the form of man, in all respects the 
 same as we with the exception of sin ? For what was the purpose 
 of all this? AYhy did God become man? That he might work 
 out that righteousness which God requires of man and which no 
 man can show forth, that in our stead, as our substitute, He 
 might fulfill the commandments and atone for all our transgres- 
 sions by a painful suffering and bitter death. The Babe of Beth- 
 lehem is our Redeemer, who reconciled us to God, in whom 
 God has manifested His great love to the sinful creature. "God 
 so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that 
 whosoever believeth in Him should not i)erish, but have ever- 
 lasting life." No better illustration could be given of this great 
 Word of God than the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. 
 
 III. 
 
 But the great trouble is that so many do not believe in Him, 
 The sinner who is conscious of the greatness of his jruiit will 
 say, There is surely no help for me. Others ma}' rejoice in the 
 Savior and joyfull}' kneel at the manger of the heavenly child. 
 As for me, I have no right there, I must stay awa}'. lint what 
 does the angel say in his message? He says, " Unto you is born 
 this day a Savior." A\'li()m does he mean? He was addressiuir 
 the shepherds. Did he mean the shepherds alone? Or, since 
 the shepherds were mem})ers of God's chosen people, of the 
 Jewish nation, did he mean to say that unto the Jews alone a 
 
GOSPEL OX CHRISTMAS J)AY. 31 
 
 Savior was born? No, my friends, the angel himself explains 
 these two little words, "unto you," when he says, "-Feav not: 
 for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great Joy, which sJtall be 
 to cdl people.'' Unto whom, then, is the Savior born? O joyful 
 message, unto all people ! Do you hear it, O sinner? Unto all 
 people, that is, unto all that ever lived on the face of the earth 
 from the first man, Adam, .unto the last man that shall be born 
 before the coming of the day of judgment, unto Jews and Gen- 
 tiles, Christians and non-Christians, saints and sinners. You have 
 a claim upon this child and if you were ever so great a sinner. 
 Let your sins be as many as the sands on the sea-shore and as 
 black as nio;ht, the Babe of Bethlehem extends also to you His 
 little hands and bids you rejoice in the full forgiveness of your 
 foul deeds. You have as much right to this heavenly child as 
 the greatest saint. For this child is the Son of man, who came 
 to seek and to save that which was lost. He is the Lamb of 
 God that taketh away the sins of the world. He is the propi- 
 tiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of 
 the whole world. And if you had done ever so many wrongs 
 and had shown yourself ever so unworthy of God's love, come, 
 let not the greatness or the multitude of your sins keep you 
 away; come and say, O Thou heavenly Child, I can hardly be- 
 lieve it, but it is true, yes, it is true and certain. Thou art mine 
 also, my brother, my God, my Savior, for thou wast born also 
 unto me. 
 
 IV. 
 
 There is but one more expression in the angel's message: 
 ''This day,'' "this day is born unto you a Savior." What does 
 that mean "this day?" The angel obviously meant to say nothing 
 more than that now was the hour of fulfillment of all those divine 
 prophecies concerning the coming Savior from the beginning of 
 the world. That promised Deliverer did not come .some time ago 
 and remain unknown, nor was He to be expected in some future 
 day, but now, this very day. He came. To convince the shep- 
 herds the angel gave them a special sign. He said, ''And this 
 shad be a sign imto you; Ye shall Jind the Babe wrajiped in 
 swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." This was indeed a sign 
 bv which the shepherds could not be misled. That a new-born 
 
32 (JOSI'KL ox SECOND CHRISTMAfS DAY. 
 
 infant should be cradled in a manger was a most extraordinary 
 tliiiiL', and if that niirht sonu' other child was born in Bethlehem 
 it was surely bedded more comfortably than Mary's son. 
 
 "This day is born unto }()u a Savior." It is this day alway 
 for those who believe in Him. Tiie moment the sinner believes 
 in flesus, the Savior is his and all the blessings of the Savior are 
 conferred U2)on him. Melanchthon was once asked by a learned 
 man why we still say, "This day Christ is born," notwithstanding 
 the fact that Jesus was born so many hundreds of years ago. 
 .Melanchthon answered, "Are you not in need of a Savior this day ? 
 Because every day we nuist have a Savior we still say, This day 
 He is })orn." 
 
 Let this day then be for you the day of Christ's birth, the 
 day in whiih Christ is born anew in your heart. This day, when 
 you hear His voice, harden not your heart. Let this day be unto 
 you a day of rejoicing in the Savior. And when no more we can 
 .say "This day," there will be an endless day, a day of glory, of 
 happiness and l)liss, a day in which we shall unite with the angels 
 and sing glory to our (Jod and Savior for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 GOSPEL ON SECOND CHRISTMAS DAY. 
 
 LcKK 2. ir.— L'o. 
 And it came to pass, as tlie angels were gone away from them into heaven, 
 tlie sheplierds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Hetlilehem, and see 
 this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 
 And they came witli haste, and found Mary, and .Joseph, and the babe lying in a 
 manger. And wiien tiiey liad seen it, they made known abroad the saying whicli 
 was told them concerning this ciilld. And all tliey that heard It wondered at 
 those tilings wiiicli were told tliem by tlie sheplierds. Hut Mary kept all these 
 things, and pondered tliem in iier heart. And tlie slic])lierds returned, glorifying 
 and praising (iod for all tiie things that they had lieard and seen, as it was told 
 unto tliein. 
 
 Dkmm.v HklonkI) Fimknds: 
 
 Shcjiherds on the plains of Betldehem were the first to be 
 notified that the Savior is born, (iod did not send His anjjel to 
 the great men of the Jewish nation, to the scribes and chief priests 
 in Jerusalrm, to Id them know Ihal now the time was fulfilled and 
 
GOSPEL ON SECOND CHRISTMAS DAY. 33 
 
 the Savior was come. No; the first to receive the good tidings 
 of the Savior's birth were plain shepherds keeping watcli over 
 their flocks by night. This is significant. It is in full accordance 
 with what St. Paul says in his first epistle to the Corinthians, "For 
 ve see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after 
 the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: but God 
 hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise." 
 It is not very likely that the great men of Jerusalem, which was 
 onh' a short distance, only six miles, from Bethlehem, would have 
 received the angel's message with such an humble faith as did the 
 shepherds, these plain and unpretentious men. These shepherds 
 of the city of David must have been devout Israelites, waiting for 
 the consolation of Israel, believing sincerely in the promised Mes- 
 siah. At the end of our Gospel we are told that "^Ae shepherds 
 returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they 
 had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.'" This plainly shows 
 the piety of these men. They appreciated what God had revealed 
 unto them. Their hearts were filled with thanks and their lips with 
 praise when they returned from their visit to the village and went 
 back to their flocks wdiich they had left on the plains. And the 
 same state of mind they displayed when the angel suddenly ap- 
 peared and when in Bethlehem they beheld the Child in the 
 manger. The most prominent characteristic of these shepherds 
 is their faith. The subject of our discourse shall be, with the aid 
 of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 THE FAITH OF THE SHEPHERDS. 
 
 I. The nature of their faith . 
 II . Th e fruit of their faith . 
 
 I. 
 
 We read, ''Aiid it came to pass, as the 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 hnoivn unto us.'' Note well, the 
 shepherds do not say, Let us go and see whether this be true 
 which the angel of the Lord hath said. They do not speak as if 
 in the least they doubted the angel's statement. They are fully 
 persuaded, they are sure that all must be so. They believe firmly 
 
34 GOSPEL OX ISECOXD CHRISTMAS DAY. 
 
 and steadfastly. And on what do they base their faith? On the 
 word alone. The angel had spoken to them. The angel of the 
 Lord had brought down to them from heaven the joyful messao-e 
 that the ISavior is born. This message they do not receive as com- 
 ing from the angel, but as coming from the Lord God, as they 
 themselves say, " The Lord hath made it knoicu unto us.'' Their 
 faith rests upon the foundation of the word of God alone and they 
 are made so sure and certain about these things because thev are 
 fully aware that God Himself has told them, God who is true, and 
 whose word is absolutely reliable. 
 
 Behold, then, here we have the true nature of faith. True 
 faith is not a thing which is uncertain in itself. If 3'ou are a true 
 believer you will not be in a doubting, wavering state of mind, 
 thinking that possibly the things that are recorded in the Bible 
 might be true, but not sure and certain about them. No; as 
 Luther says in his preface to his explanation of St. Paul's epistle 
 to the Romans, "Faith is a living and solid confidence in the f^race 
 and mercy of God and is so certain that a man would rather die a 
 thousand times than suffer such confidence to be taken awav from 
 him." If you are a true believer you will base your faith on the 
 word of God alone, on the word which is written in the Bible. 
 You will believe that God is merciful to you, a lost and condemned 
 sinner, that your sins are all forgiven, and that you have been par- 
 doned for the sake of His beloved Son Jesus Christ, who died for 
 your sins on the cross, that heaven is your eternal home, and that 
 finally you will be received into the celestial mansions. You will 
 believe these things, not because any man has told you or because 
 your heart desires them, but because God says so. And what is 
 more truthful, what can we rely upon more firmly, what is more 
 sure and certain than the word of God? Such is the nature of 
 faith. It is unwavering reliance in the word of God. 
 
 But we learn more of faith. Behold the shepherds ! At first 
 they were sore afraid when the glory of the Lord shone round 
 al)out them. Being sinners the glory of the Lord struck terror to 
 their hearts. But the moment they received the angel's message, 
 the moment they believed the word, all their fear vanished like 
 the mist before the sun, and they rejoiced in what the Lord had 
 made known unto them. Joyfully they hastened to Bethlehem to 
 behold the rirw-born Savior. We read: -.!«(/ th< >/ rautr o-ith 
 
GOSPEL OX SKCON'I) CHIUSTMAS DAY. 85 
 
 haste, and found Mary, and JosepJi, and tJie babe lying in a 
 manger.''' They came with haste. Why with haste? Were they 
 afraid to leave their flocks and were they in a hurry to return as 
 quickly as possible to their folds ? No ; they were overjoyed to 
 know that now, at last, the Savior was come whom Israel had 
 been expecting so long. They had been longing for Him, pray- 
 ing for Him, who should redeem Israel. And now He was come. 
 Their most fervent desire was gratified. The state of their mind 
 was like that of Simeon in the temple when he took the child 
 Jesus up in his arms and exclaimed with rapture, "Lord, now 
 lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word: 
 for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." The child in the manger 
 was Christ the Lord, born in the city of David, a Savior. They 
 knew that they were sinners, coming short of the glory of God. 
 But tliey also knew that their Redeemer lived, that the child born 
 at Bethlehem was the Savior of their souls ; and in Him they re- 
 posed their trust and confidence ; in Him they found true and 
 enduring comfort; in Him they rejoiced as in the God of their 
 salvation. Such is faith. 
 
 There is not a happier man on earth than a true Christian. 
 Believing in Christ his Savior, he, and he only, has true comfort. 
 In all the vicissitudes of life in this vale of tears, in the conscious- 
 ness of his sinfulness, in view of the righteous wrath of God as 
 revealed on Sinai, he hastens to the manger of Bethlehem and 
 with the shepherds finds comfort and celestial joy in the Son of 
 God and Mary's son, his brother and kinsman who was born in 
 the city of David a Savior, poor that we should be made rich, de- 
 spised and rejected of men that we might be received into grace 
 and glory, the Lord our righteousness. Such is the nature of 
 faith, firm reliance in the word of our salvation and trustful con- 
 fidence in Him who is set forth in that word as the Savior of sin- 
 ners, Christ the Lord. 
 
 A.nd such faith is also sure to bear its fruit . 
 
 IL 
 
 We read in our text: *^And vjhen they had seen it, they 
 made known abroad the saying ivhicJi was told them concerning 
 this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things 
 which ivere told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these 
 
36 (JOSPKL ox SECOND fllKISTMAS DAY. 
 
 things, and pomhred them in tier heart.'' The desire of the shep- 
 herds was to liave others share their happiness and so rejoice with 
 them. Tlu'ir liearts were tilled to overflowing and they could not 
 but speak. The first whom they told of the angel's appearance 
 and joyful message, were Mary and Joseph; for of Mary we are 
 told that she ''kept all these things, and pondered them in her 
 heart.'' We are, doubtless, indebted to Mary for the entire 
 account of the Savior's birth which she communicated to Luke 
 the Evangelist, Avho recorded it in his Gospel. And when the 
 shepherds had told Mary and Joseph they went to their friends 
 and accjuaintances. They were the first Christian missionaries, 
 the tirst to make known the Gospel, the good tidings that the 
 Savior was come. Their faith would not let them rest ; they 
 had to go forth and be witnesses of all that they themselves 
 had heard and seen. 
 
 Behold, then, my friends, one of the first fruits of faith, 
 love of the neighbor, a desire to see others rejoicing and ha^jp}'. 
 And which is the greatest blessing that we can bestow upon our 
 iK'iirhbor? It is to make known to him Jesus his Savior. Jesus 
 alone can make him truly happy. Jesus alone can rid him of the 
 guilt of his sin and lead him to eternal life. Jesus alone can turn 
 his griefs and sorrows into joy. True faith will induce you to 
 attend also to the bodily needs of your neighbor, to feed the 
 hungred and thirsty, clothe the naked, give shelter to the home- 
 less, visit the sick, and to show sympathy to all. But if your 
 faith is true it will induce you to seek, above all thinjrs, the wel- 
 fare of your neighbor's immortal soul. David says, "I believe, 
 therefore have I spoken," and so every Christian must say, I 
 believe, therefore I speak; I believe, therefore I bear witness 
 to the truth. I proclaim the great things which God hath shown 
 unto me. I praise the name of the Lord to those who still dwell 
 in ignorance and in the shadow of death. 
 
 And now let us note the closing words of our text. ".\nd 
 thf sheph( rds returned," says the Evangelist. Whither did they 
 return? 'I'o their herds and daily occupation. They had found 
 Christ the Lord, and to serve Ilim in true faith was henceforth 
 the task of their lives. But it was in their humble walks that 
 they sought and found tlu' ()i)i)ortunities for serving the King of 
 (ilory, whose praises angels and archangels had voieed to their 
 
SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. 37 
 
 wondering ears, and in whose service the heavenly host find in- 
 effable bliss. We too have been, in the spirit, at Bethlehem, and 
 have heard the good tidings of great joy, and our hearts are filled 
 and overflowing with the gladness of another world. How, then, 
 are we to manifest our thanks and magnify the praises of the 
 Father who has so loved us that He gave us His only begotten 
 Son, and of the Son who for our sakes became poor that we 
 through His poverty might be rich? Let us follow the shep- 
 herds' example, and return to our various occupations with hearts 
 and hands ready to serve Him all the days of our lives in true 
 godliness, until the Lord will send his holy angel and call us 
 hence from all our earthly toil to our heavenly home, where we, 
 too, shall see our Savior, not at Bethlehem, the city of David, 
 but in Jerusalem on high, the city of our God, and voice forth 
 His perfect praises for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. 
 
 Luke 2, 33 — 40. 
 
 And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken 
 of him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother. Behold, 
 this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel ; and for a sign 
 which shall be spoken against; (yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own 
 soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. And there was 
 one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser : she was 
 of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;' 
 and she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not 
 from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And 
 she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of 
 him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. And when they had 
 performed all things according to tiie law of the Lord, they returned into Gali- 
 lee, to their oavu city Nazareth. And the child grew, and waxed strong iu 
 spirit, flUed with wisdom : and the grace of God was upon him. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 This is the la.st Sunday in the year, and our Gospel is a very 
 suitable text for the occasion. The principal characters in our 
 Gospel, aside from the Lord Jesus who is always the center of 
 all, are an old man and an old woman, both far advanced in 
 
3J$ SUNDAY AKTKi: CIIUISTMAS. 
 
 years, liaving arrived at a ripe old age and reminding us of life's 
 eve and tin- end of our earthly pilgrimage. There is old Simeon, 
 who had taken the ehild riesus up in his arms and had said, 
 "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according 
 to Thy word: for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." There 
 is the aged Anna, who was a regular attendant at the temple, and 
 was full of rejoicing when she beheld the heavenly child Jesus, 
 and spake of Ilim to all them that looked for redemption in 
 Jerusali'in. 
 
 These old Simeons and Annas have not died out. There is 
 to this (lav many an old man, bent with years, his eyes dimmed 
 and his feet tottering, but his tongue filled with the praise of 
 Him who came to seek and to save that which was lost. There 
 is to this day many a venerable mat ion in silvery hair, having 
 braved the storms and tempests of many a year, but her soul's 
 delight is to visit the Lord's temple; and with the Psalmist she 
 savs, "Lord, I love the habitation of Thy house, and the place 
 where Thine honor dwelleth." 
 
 O, ])lessed be these old people that frequent the house of 
 the Lord, though it is with faltering steps they must approach ! 
 Blessed be these old people that do not depart from the temple, 
 do not keep away from the house of God, unless God Himself 
 l)i(ls them stay at home ! Blessed be these old people that remain 
 st«'adtast in the faith unto the end, until their eyelids close in 
 death and they are stretched on the bier, the expression of Chris- 
 tian joy and inward contentedness still remaining on their })allid 
 features and silently proclaiming to those who gaze on these fea- 
 tures, "I have fought a good tight, I have tinished my course, 
 I have kejit the faith: henceforth there is laid uj) for me a crown 
 of righteousness." 
 
 Simeon and Anna, both far advanced in years, both not far 
 from the grave, and with them — what a contrast! — the child 
 .Icsus who had just entered upon life's j^athway. This is what 
 our (iospcl presents to us on the last Suiuhu' in the year. Let us 
 in(|uiic more into this and consider with the aid of God's Holy 
 Spirit, 
 
 W HA r OUR (iOSPEL PROPOSKS TO US FOR THE LAST SUNDAY 
 L\ THE YEAR. 
 
 i'wo things, I. .1 f/i(('.sfi()n, II. ^[ Icfison. 
 
8UKDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. 39 
 
 I. 
 
 Our Gospel proposes to us for the last Sunday in the year, 
 in the first place, a question. What question? Let us examine 
 the beginning of our text, and we shall see. We read, ^^And 
 Joseph and His mother marveled at those tJiings ivJnch ivere spoken 
 of Him. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary His 
 mother. Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of 
 many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; 
 yea, a sword shall inerce through thy own soul also, that the 
 thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.'''' The question in- 
 volved here is this: What did you make of the child Jesus in 
 the year now drawing to its close ? Was He set for your fall or 
 for your rising again? Or, in other words, did you cling to the 
 Rock of ages, to the Lord Jesus, did you remain in the faith, 
 and progress in the faith, and thus improve in your Christian 
 walk and conversation? Or did you begin to lose faith in the 
 Lord Jesus, to drop off, to leave that solid Rock, and float away 
 upon the sea of this world and drown in despair or in the pleasures 
 of this life? 
 
 My friends, there are only two ways, a narrow and a broad 
 way, one leading to life eternal and the other to eternal dam- 
 nation; and there are only two relations of men to the Lord 
 Jesus. Either He is set for their risino; or for their fall. It is 
 not God's will and purpose that anyone should fall. He wants 
 all men to be saved. But this is the outcome: Some rise at this 
 Rock, and some fall. At this Rock the whole human race is 
 split, is divided into two parts. The one part believe on the 
 Lord Jesus and are saved by Him, and unto these He is set for 
 their rising. The other part do not believe on Him, are offended 
 in Him, reject Him, and unto these He is set for their fall. 
 There is not another person in the world about whom there is 
 so much controversy as the Lord Jesus. He is the sign spoken 
 ao-ainst. Some are for Him, some against Him. The message 
 of the cross is unto some foolishness, unto others it is the power 
 of God. The Gospel is unto some a savor of life unto life, unto 
 others a savor of death unto death. And I beg you observe that 
 the unfortunate class of those unto whom Christ is set for their 
 fall does not consist of such only as are His declared and out- 
 spoken enemies, but also of those who neither openly deny, nor 
 4 
 
40 SUNDAY AFTEU CHHIST.MAS. 
 
 publicly confess the Lord Jesus. For what does the Lord say? 
 lie savs, "He that is not with me is against me." There is no 
 neutrality in this ciuestion. Whosoever does not publicly deny 
 Christ, so as not to hurt the feelings of true Christians, and, at 
 the same time, refuses openly to confess Christ before men, so 
 as to be on good terms with the Lord's enemies also, is by no 
 means neutral; no, he belongs to those unto whom Christ is set 
 for their fall. 
 
 How is it with you, then, my friend? Was Jesus set for 
 your fall or for your rising in the past year? This is a grave 
 (lucstion, so much the more because with such as have been 
 brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and are 
 accustomed to the preaching of God's holy Word, the fall gen- 
 erally does not come precipitately, but slowly and gradually. 
 When a huge stone is started from the tojD of a hill to roll down- 
 ward, it will, at first, move slowl}^ but gradually its velocity 
 will increase, and finally it will tear along Avith frightful rapidity, 
 until with a crash it reaches the abyss below. And thus it is 
 with many of those unto whom Christ is set for their fall. The 
 first symptom of their fall is a certain indifference, a lack of zeal 
 for heavenly things, which takes possession of their souls. They 
 arc not interested in God's kingdom as much as they formerly 
 have been. They do not care as much for the Gospel as they did 
 before. If they can only find some trivial reason to stay at home 
 on Sunday and not go to church they are glad to do so. They do 
 not listen to the sermon with devout attention and with a desire 
 to hear God's message. And if something is said in the sermon 
 that stings and disturbs them they object inwardly and harden 
 their hearts against the divine Word. And if there is no halt in 
 this downward course, still graver symptoms will appear. They 
 will not read the Scriptures. They will not come to the Lord's 
 Supper. They will cease to l)ray. They will shun the comjiany 
 of Christians and seek their most intimate friends among the 
 children of this world. They will connnit gross sins and not 
 repent, and thus keep on like the rolling stone in its downward 
 course. 
 
 (), what a grave (juestion, then, for all of us at the end of 
 the year, the (pu'stion: Was the child Jesus set for your rising 
 or for your fall? i), blessed is he unto whom Jesus was set for 
 
SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTJMAS. 41 
 
 a rising ! Blessed is he who firmly clings to the Rock of ages, 
 whose faith did increase, whose love to the Lord Jesus became 
 only the more fervent ! Blessed is he who did not waver amid 
 all the trials and temptations that did beset him during the past 
 year in this vale of tears, but who stood firm and sought comfort 
 in Christ's words ! Blessed is he whose walk and conversation 
 was in conformity with his Christian calling ! In short, blessed 
 is he who came nearer to Jesus during the past year ! 
 
 But how, my friend, if this were not the case with you? 
 How, if you had started already on the downward coursed Your 
 own heart and conscience will tell you whether Jesus was set for 
 your fall. But if that should be the case with you, sad as it is, 
 let me tell you, there is still hope for you. The Lord God does 
 not want to see you lost. Even now Jesus extends to you His 
 powerful and merciful hand. O come, believe on Him, trust in 
 Him to give you strength, and you shall not perish, but have 
 everlasting life. 
 
 II. 
 
 And to show what we must do in order to remain on the 
 path that leads to eternal life and not to go astray, our Gospel 
 proposes to us, for the end of the year, a threefold lesson. 
 
 The first lesson we may take from Simeon's and Anna's 
 good old age. Simeon had attained to an age reached by prob- 
 ably one among a hundred. He had been anxious to behold 
 Avith his own eyes the promised Savior and then to depart in 
 peace. An old tradition has it that this was his last visit at the 
 temple, that he fell down and expired on the floor of the temple 
 when he had finished his hymn to the Savior. And of Anna we 
 are told, ^'■Slie ivas a ividow of about fourscore and four years.''^ 
 Such a good old age is awarded to but few among the living. 
 What lesson are we taught thereby? We are taught not to put 
 off repentance, and wait for old age to come, and then to pre- 
 pare to meet our God. You do not know how quickly and how 
 suddenly you may be summoned to appear before the tribunal of 
 your Maker. Another year of your earthly pilgrimage is draw- 
 ing to a close and so much nearer are you come to the grave. 
 Therefore fix your account with God, so as to be ready at any 
 moment to depart in peace. 
 
42 SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. 
 
 The next lesson we may take from Simeon's and Anna's 
 piety and faithfulness in their attendance at the temple. Of 
 Simeon we are told in the passage preceding our text that "he 
 was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and 
 the Holy Ghost was upon him." And of Anna we read, ''She 
 dtparti'd not from the trmjjle, but served God icith fastings and 
 prat/ers night and day.'' Seven years had she lived with her 
 husband from her virginity. Then came the lone days of widow- 
 hood. But there is a guiding star by which she is directed on 
 life's pathway, and that is the redemption through the Messiah, 
 whom she expects to see before death comes. Having pondered 
 over the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament, she 
 knew that now the time was fulfilled and that the long expected 
 Redeemer was to come. She is old and feeble, but there is an 
 occupation to which she clings and from which she can not de- 
 sist, and that is to serve God with fastings and jnayers night 
 and day. She is a widow indeed, as described by St. Paul, 
 *'a widow who is desolate, trusteth in God and continueth in 
 sup})lic'ations and prayers day and night." Now, what lesson 
 does that teach us? It teaches us to lead a pious life and faith- 
 fully to serve the Lord our God, not only privately in our homes 
 by a diligent use of the word of God and by prayer, but also 
 publicly by attending the house of worship, by taking an active 
 part in the divine service, and by hearing with devout attention 
 the preaching of the divine Word. Do not fail, then, in the com- 
 ing year, diligently to provide for the wants of your immortal 
 soul, and to be fed with the liread of eternal life. 
 
 Then, my friends, the coming year will be unto you a year 
 of blessing. Even if dire calamities should be in store for you, 
 it will be a year of ))lcssing. AVe read in our Gospel, ''And ivhen 
 they had j)erf armed all things according to the law of the Lord, 
 they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.'' But 
 something inten'enod ])efore they reached Nazareth. King Herod 
 sought to destroy the child, and they had to flee to the land of 
 Egyi)t. This, most likely, was the first occasion for a swoid to 
 ])i('i((' through Mary's soul, to think that her child was the Son 
 of (iod and that He must flee from a tyrant. But soon was this 
 tribulation overcome, and at the end of our Gospel we read, 
 *'And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled witli 
 
NEW year's day. 43 
 
 wisdom: and the g7'ace of God was upon Him.'" Now what 
 lesson does that teach us? It teaches us not to fear for the 
 child Jesus, not to fear for the spreading of His kingdom and 
 for the future welfare of the church. Let the enemies of Chris- 
 tianity be ever so bold and use all their craftiness and power to 
 destroy what God has built, they shall succeed as little as did 
 King Herod. The Christ Child shall grow and wax stronger, 
 and no power in heaven or on earth shall be able to stem the 
 progress of His church and the coming of His kingdom. And 
 if at times it should seem as if we must cry, "Lord, help us, 
 we perish!" the Lord will always be with us. His little flock; 
 He will not forsake us. He will help us with His powerful hand 
 in all times of need and distress, and will finally conduct us to the 
 realm of glory, where we shall sing His praise forever. Amen. 
 
 NEW YEAE'S DAY. 
 
 Luke 2, 21. 
 And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, 
 his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was 
 conceived in the womb. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 '■^And when eight days wer'e accomplished,'^ says our text. 
 Eight days since when? Since the birth of Jesus. And this is 
 the eighth day after the joyous festival of Christ's birth. So the 
 reason why this Gospel was placed on the church calendar for the 
 day is, because the occurrence corresponds with the date. 
 
 And what date is this? It is the first day in a new secular 
 year, New Year's Day, a day of joy and mirth, a day greeted 
 with delight and hailed with gladness by Christians and non- 
 Christians. It will certainly interest us all to know that there 
 was a time when this day was not celebrated in the Christian 
 church as a festival. In the first centuries of the Christian era 
 the Christians observed this day as a day of fasting. On this day 
 the heathen had a great celebration in their way, offering great 
 sacrifices to their gods, eating, drinking, dancing, and being merry. 
 And the Christians were careful not to appear as if they took a 
 
44 NEW YEAR S DAY. 
 
 part in those festivities of the heathen. Augustine, who lived in 
 tlu' latter part of the fourth and in tlie beginning of the fifth 
 century, says, "On this day we Christians fast and sigh for the 
 iieathen who are joyful." But when in the course of time 
 lieathenism was detiironed and Christianity was made the religion 
 of the state, the Christians made a festival of the day which 
 formerly had been a day of fasting. It is not more than about 
 seven hundred years that New Year's Day is celebrated in the 
 church as a joyful festival. And why do Christians hail this day 
 with joy and gladness ? Because, as we are informed in our Gospel, 
 the Lord (Jod did for us a great thing on this day. He conferred 
 upon us a great gift, a priceless treasure. And the solemn im- 
 portance of the day reminds us that we should consecrate our- 
 selves to (iod and thus present also to Him a gift on this memo- 
 rable day of our earthly lives. Accordingly, the subject of our 
 discourse shall be with the aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 TWO NEW YEAR'S GIFTS, 
 
 I. ^l fji'fat (jift which God pvtsents to u.s, and 
 11. A small gift ivhich vje should present to God. 
 
 I. 
 
 While with the children of men Christmas Day is the day of 
 gifts. New Year's Day is with them the da}' of good wishes and 
 congratulations. And there is a New Year's wish for us all, written 
 by (iod and extended to us in His divine word. That New Year's 
 wish is our sinii)lc and brief Gospel which reads, ^^And ivhen 
 eif/hf (fays icere accompUslied for the circumcisinri of the child. 
 His iKiine inas called Jesus, tvhich loas so named of the ancfel 
 before He ivas conceived in the tvoinh.^' Now we must know that 
 God's wishes are not like the wishes of men, not sim})ly cluH'ring 
 words and hop(^ful expressions. When God wishes us anything. 
 He, at the same time, imparts, presents to us that which He wishes. 
 David, therefore, says, "For Thou blessest, O Lord, and it shall 
 b(! l)lessed forever." The fact is that God on this day had His 
 l)eloved Son shed the first drops of His i)reci()us blood to assure 
 us of the forgiveness of our sins, and that in the darkness before 
 us, in the dim future, which our eyes can not penetrate, lie writes 
 the sweet nanu* of .Iksis in Haming letters to dispel all the dark- 
 ness and to illumine our path. 
 
NEW year's day. 45 
 
 In the first place, let us note that Jesus was circumcised on 
 this day. Now that seems to be a very foolish thing in the eyes 
 of man, that Jesus should submit to this old Israelitish rite and 
 sacrament. But such are God's institutions, foolish in the eyes 
 of man. It is the same with Baptism, which in the New Testa- 
 ment has followed in the wake of Circumcision. And why did 
 Jesus submit to Circumcision? Did He have to do that? or did 
 He do that for His own sake ? No ; Jesus was not under the Law. 
 He is Lord of all. And yet He placed Himself under the Law 
 and was obedient to the Law for our sakes, because by the Law 
 we were all condemned. We are all sinners, and eternal condemna- 
 tion is our doom, because we do not fulfill the commandments. 
 However, Jesus came to fulfill the commandments in our stead 
 and to pay the penalty for our transgressions. And on this day 
 He made the beginning to atone for us by His precious blood. 
 This day He shed the first drops of His blood, to be followed by 
 His holy sacrificial offering on the cross, when as the Lamb of 
 God He bled and died for us all. This day, the first day of the 
 year, God extends to us in His New Year's wish a general pardon 
 for all our transgressions, for all our sins in the past year and for 
 all the sins of the new year ; a general pardon by the blood and 
 righteousness of His beloved Son. 
 
 And to this grand New Year's gift God adds something more. 
 As in Baptism the child receives a name, so did the Son of God 
 receive a name in Circumcision. And what is that name? Jesus. 
 Why the name Jesus? Because '■'■He was so named of the angel 
 before He loas conceived in the womb."" And what is the meaning 
 of this name? The angel said to Joseph, "Thou shalt call His 
 name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." Jesus 
 means Savior, Redeemer. Now in His great New Year's wish 
 God presents to us the name of Jesus, and that is not an empty 
 name. In the dark future before us, the name of Jesus boldly 
 stands forth in shining letters, more bright than gold, and silver, 
 and sparkling diamonds. Jesus will guide our way and illumine 
 our path. Jesus will be with us in the new year, as He has been 
 in the old. Jesus will be in our hearts, in our homes, in our humble 
 little church, in our assembly. His grace will not depart from us, 
 nor will the covenant of His peace be removed. His love will be 
 the same. His mercy the same, His comfort the same. No matter 
 
46 NEW year's day. 
 
 what may bo in store for us, in days of joy and in days of sorrow, 
 Josu.-? will be with us. Let the drear}' diiys come, let times of 
 sorrowing eorae, let our best friends desert us, Jesus will not 
 leave us. lie will be with us alway, even unto the end of the 
 world. 
 
 Tell me, my friends, is not this a grand wish and gift for 
 the new year? O how happy, how fortunate are we, how rich, 
 how l)lessed to have the sweet name of Jesus ! God is the 
 almighty Owner of the earth. If He wished, He could give us 
 all the gold and silver in the world. But what should we be 
 benefited if, at the same time, we did not possess the Gospel of 
 His grace? We would be poor and miserable; for in death we 
 must leave all, and all the riches of this earth can not purchase 
 the kingdom of heaven. God could also give us the promise 
 and make true the promise that during the year no illness should 
 visit our homes, no sorrow should come into our hearts, no want 
 should knock at our doors, that all our days should be joyful 
 and happy on this earth. But how do we know that such con- 
 tinuous joy would be for our own good? What are all the joys 
 of life without the grace of God? Must we not all die? And 
 what is more terrible than the fate of the rich man who found 
 himself in hell and torment, after he had fared sumptuously 
 every day and had received his good things in his life-time? — 
 Indeed, the grace of God imparted to us with the sweet name 
 of Jesus is the grandest gift that God could bestow upon us. 
 
 II. 
 
 Having shown you the great gift which God bestows on us 
 this New Year's Day, let me, in the second place, call your atten- 
 tion to a small gift which we should present to God. 
 
 Our Gospel says that Jesus ''2vas so named of the anrjel 
 hefon- III was conceived in the ivoinb.'' And, as we have heard 
 before, the angel said to Joseph, "Thou shalt call His name 
 Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins." So the 
 very name of Jesus reminds us of the fact that we are sinners, 
 who are in need of a Savior. 
 
 And now what can we give to God as a New Year's <>-ift since 
 wo are snmcrs? Shall we give Him our property, our earthly 
 possessions? Ah, I am afraid that perhaps many a Christian 
 
NEW year's day. 47 
 
 would be unwilling to do that. How do some people grumble 
 and complain when they are called upon to do something for God, 
 to give for the church ! They can spend money very lavishly for 
 their own amusement and pleasure, but even a small amount for 
 the church is too much for them. And yet Christ says, "Who- 
 soever forsaketh not all that he hath he can not be my disciple." 
 A true Christian should not only be willing to give freely for 
 God's kingdom, but should do so without grumbling, should find 
 pleasure in so doing, and thank the Lord when he is able to aid 
 by earthly means in the establishment of God's kingdom. Still, 
 if we should sacrifice all our possessions for Christ's sake, can 
 we really say that we have given God anything? Is not God the 
 real Owner ? Does not heaven and earth belong to Him ? Are we 
 more than stewards who must give account to God how we dealt 
 with those goods which He placed in our hands on this earth ? 
 
 What else, then, can we give God as a New Year's gift? 
 Shall we give Him our clothing, when in the shape of a beggar 
 He appeals to us to give Him protection and shelter? Shall we 
 give Him food and drink when to the poor that are starving, 
 because they can not procure the necessaries of life, we give 
 nourishment? All this we are required to do as Christians, and 
 Jesus distinctly says of such deeds done in the faith, "Inasmuch 
 as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, 
 ye have done it unto Me." Still, can we really say that we have 
 given God anything when we have ministered to the wants of 
 those that are in need? Is not God the real Owner of all that 
 we possess, also of our food and raiment? 
 
 Yet, my friends, there is one thing we have, and which we 
 can really give God as a New Year's gift. It is very small indeed, 
 insignificant compared with the great New Year's gift of our God ; 
 but God will gladly accept it, aye, He begs for it, as it were, He 
 asks and demands of us that we should give Him that gift. In 
 the book of Proverbs He says, "My son, give Me thy heart, and 
 let thine eyes observe My ways." 
 
 O let us give God our hearts. Let this be our New Year's 
 gift. And how shall we do that? The heart is the seat of our 
 affection, the seat of love. To give God our hearts is to love 
 Him. By nature our hearts are alienated from God. By nature 
 our hearts do not cling to God, but to sin, to the world and its 
 
48 SLNDAV AFTKH NEW YEAR. 
 
 evil lii.sts. We must, therefore, tear away our heart from the 
 world and from sin and give it to Him who made it, to God. 
 Tills we can never do of our own natural power, but only in the 
 power of (Jod. And, therefore, we must call upon God to give 
 us strength from on high. We must be so minded that every 
 dav of the year we say in our hearts, I do not covet the riches of 
 this earth, if only I am made rich in God ; I do not care for the 
 pleasures of this world, if only I am made sure of the pleasures of 
 heaven; I do not desire earthly glory, if only I shall be honored 
 as a child of God. Our motto must be for the New Year, "Lord, 
 whom have I in heaven but Thee ? And there is none upon earth 
 that I desire beside Thee." Behold, then, if this we do, then we 
 have given God our heart, and not a better New Year's gift does 
 He desire. 
 
 Let us love Him, then, for He hath first loved us. If we 
 remain in this love, we shall also remain in the faith, and if we 
 remain in the faith, the New Year shall be unto us a year of grace 
 and blessing. May the Lord grant us this for the sake of Jesus, 
 His ])eloved Son, our Lord, unto whom be praise and glory for- 
 ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 SUNDAY AFTER NEW YEAR. 
 
 Matt. 2, 13—23. 
 Ami wlicn they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to 
 .losopli ill ii dream, saying. Arise, and take the young cliild and his mother, and 
 floe into Kgypt, and l)e tiiou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek 
 the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young cliild and 
 his motiier by nigiit, and departed into Egypt: and was there until tlie death of 
 Herod: that it might be fullllled which was spoken of the J^ord by the prophet, 
 saying. Out of Egy|)t liave I called my son. Then Herod, when he saw tliat he 
 was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all 
 the children that were in Bethleliem, and in all tl>e coasts tiiereof, from two 
 years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of 
 the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by .Jeremy the projihet, 
 saying, In Hama was there a voice heard, lamentation, aiul \veei)ing, and great 
 mourning, Hac^hel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, be- 
 cause tlicy iire not. But when Herod was dead, l)ehold, an angel of tlie Lord 
 appciiivtii in a dream to .Joseph in ICgyi)t, saying, Arise, ami take tlie young 
 cliild and ids mother, and go into the land of Israel: for tliey arc dead, wliicli 
 souglit tile young ciiild's life. .Viid lie arose, and took the young cliild and his 
 
SUNDAY AFTER NEW YEAR. 49 
 
 mother, and came luto the hind of Israel. But when he lieard that Archelaus 
 did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: 
 notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, lie turned aside into tlie parts 
 of Galilee: and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it miglit i)e 
 fulfilled which was spoken by the proi)hets, He shall be called a Nazarene. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 King Herod wiis an enemy of Christ, though he pretended to 
 l)e a friend of Christ when he said to the wise men from the East, 
 *'(tO and search diligently for tJie young Child, and when ye have 
 found Him, bring me ivord again that I may come and worsJiip 
 Him also.^^ To this day there are enemies of Christ that pose as 
 His friends. Christ distinctly says, "He that is not with me, is 
 against me ; and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad." 
 According to these words of our divine Lord all those that mean 
 to hold a neutral position, and all those that do not gather with 
 Him, or work for Him and for His kingdom, must be looked 
 upon as His opponents. They are against Him; they are His 
 enemies. You are either a friend of Christ, and then you will act 
 the part of a friend, you will confess His name and work for His 
 kingdom ; or you are an enemy of Christ, and then you will act 
 the part of an enemy, though you may do so under the disguise 
 •of a friend. 
 
 There are many in our days who do not believe in Christ and 
 yet they do not openly speak against Him, or persecute Him. 
 Sometimes there are children who are scoffers and infidels at the 
 bottom of their hearts, and yet they come to church and make an 
 outward profession of the Christian religi(m on account of their 
 pious parents whom they would not like to offend by an open 
 renunciation of the faith. And then again there are parents who 
 are outspoken unbelievers, and yet they send their children to 
 -church and to Sunday-school, because they can not deny the whole- 
 some influence of religion. Then there are such as do not openly 
 join the ranks of blasphemers, because if they did this, it might 
 injure their trade and business, or because by such a step they 
 would hurt the feelings of their Christian friends. And so they 
 do not wish to sever their connection with the church altogether. 
 They pose as Christians whilst their entire mien and demeanor 
 .plainly shows they do not care for the church ; the word of God 
 has no charms for them ; thev are unbelievers, enemies of Christ. 
 
50 SUNDAY AFTER NEW YEAR. 
 
 But aside from these secret enemies there is another class of 
 bold, outspoken enemies of Ciirist and His religion, enemies raging 
 and ravin"- a<rainst Christ like Herod in our Gospel, enemies who 
 plot, and seek to destroy Christ, and to wi{)e Christianity from 
 the earth. Let us consider with the aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 HOW THE ENEMIES PLOT AGAINST CHRIST AND HIS KINGDOM; 
 
 and let us consider 
 
 1. The craftiness of their plotting. 
 II. The uselessness of their plotting . 
 
 I. 
 
 How ingeniously did Herod plot against the newborn Savior I 
 When the wise men came to Jerusalem from the East, seeking the 
 newborn King of the Jews, he discovered that such a King was 
 expected and that He was to be born in Bethlehem. So he sent 
 those wise men to l^ethlehem and instructed them to be sure and 
 come back to tell him whether they had found that King, so that 
 he also might worship Him. The hypocrite ! He never thought 
 of worshiping the Child. He meant to kill Him. God, there- 
 fore, told the wise men in a dream not to return to Herod, and 
 they departed into their own country another way. ^^And ichen 
 they were departed^ behold, the angel of the Lord oppeareth to 
 JosepJt in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the yoting Child and 
 His mother, and flee into Egypt, and he thou tJtere until I bring 
 thee word: for lie rod will seek the young Child to destroy Jlim.'^ 
 Behold the ingenuity and shrewdness with which this enemy plots 
 and schemes against the Lord's Anointed ! So cleverly does he 
 arrange his plans, so secretly does he work, it seems he nnist 
 succeed. Must not the wise men return to their homes by the 
 way of Jerusalem? Must not gratitude prompt them to bring 
 Herod all the information desired? It was, indeed, a finely laid 
 j>l(>t, a selienie which could not but work successfully to the mind 
 of the bloody tyrant, whose soul was as black as night, who 
 broyded tleath and destruction merely to keej) his throne and not 
 to be pushed aside by an intruder. 
 
 But Herod not only plotted against Christ's person, but also 
 against His kingdom. We read of Joseph, " When he arose, he 
 took the yonng Chllil anil If is titother hy nigJit, and departed into 
 ^OyP^' <">'f >'''"< fl" !''■ >nitil the death of Jlerod : that it might be 
 
SUNDAY AFTKIl NEW VEAU. 51 
 
 fulJiJled which jvas spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying. 
 Out of Egypt have I called my Son.' ' So the persecution directed 
 against tlie person of Clirist did strike those also that were witii 
 Christ. The whole family had to flee for the life of Jesus, and 
 dwell for a time in a strange country, in the land of Egypt. And 
 not only the near relatives of Jesus had to suffer inconvenience, 
 but also those that were in the same locality were aftiicted for 
 Jesus' sake. For we are told, ^'■Then Herod, when he saw, that 
 he 2vas mocked of the ivise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent 
 forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in 
 all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to 
 the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.^' Here 
 again we perceive the ingenuity and shrewdness of the bloody 
 tyrant. The Child that was heir to the throne had to die at all 
 hazards. And since the wise men had not brought him the in- 
 formation he desired, since he only knew where, but not who the 
 Child was, he determined to slay all the children in and around 
 Bethlehem, of two years and under. How could the mysterious 
 Child escape then? When those infants were butchered and the 
 blood of the first martyrs Avas shed, the king was sure of it that 
 he could not have missed the Christ-child. 
 
 This cruel king has had his followers at all times from the be- 
 ginning of the Christian era to this day. There always have been 
 enemies of Christ who plotted and schemed against the Lord's 
 Anointed and His kingdom. How did the Jews, notably the Phari- 
 sees and chief rulers, persecute Jesus and plan to kill Him ! How 
 did they breathe out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples 
 of the Lord ! And the heathen — how mercilessly did they deal with 
 Christ's followers ! In the first three centuries alone there were 
 seven persecutions waged against the Christians by seven different 
 Roman emperors, and the Christians were put to death by the 
 thousands. Like sheep they were led to the slaughter, tortured, 
 and killed. Later on Mohammed came. He promised heaven to 
 those of his followers who died on the battle-field fio-htinor for the 
 cause of Islam. And now the Christians were again butchered 
 by the thousands. Entire Christian provinces were laid waste 
 and depopulated. Then the papacy came. The Roman pontiff 
 sat in the temple of God, in the church "shewing himself that he 
 is God." And how cruell}^ did he persecute the true followers of 
 
52 SLNDAY AFTER XEW YEAK. 
 
 Christ I Countless is the number of those who under the rule of 
 tlie papai-v were tortured and slauLditered, beeause they woold not 
 acknt)\vledge any other authority in matters of faith than the word 
 of God, and no other ruler and king than the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 The books of history are full of horrors Committed under the 
 I)aj)al rule. 
 
 And have the enemies ceased at last to plot against Christ 
 and Ilis kino-doni ? Have not the most shocking atrocities occurred 
 within recent years? Have not thousands of Christians been mas- 
 sacred in cold l)l()<)d by the Turks? Are not anarchists and their 
 allies continually at work planning how they might overthrow the 
 established order of things and destroy Christ and His religion? 
 Do they not openly sa}' that the time will come when by brutal 
 force they will accomplish their designs, and bring about the de- 
 sired change with blood-stained hands? — There is no question, to 
 this day the enemies are plotting against Christ and His kingdom. 
 
 II. 
 
 And now, in the second place, let us see how useless all their 
 plotting is. 
 
 What did Herod accomplish against the person of Christ? 
 Did he dethrone Christ? Did he make to naught the prophecy 
 of God concerning the Messiah ? No ; contrary to his own will he 
 had to be instrumental in fultilling God's prophecy. By Christ's 
 flight to Egypt the prophecy had to be fulfilled which says, '"■Out 
 of Eijupt have I called my Son/' And by the massacre of those 
 innocent infants in the borders of Bethlehem another divine 
 prophecy had to come true, the prophecy of Jeremy, saying, 
 "/>t Rama w((s (here a voice Jieard, lamentation, and weeping, 
 and great nionrninf/, Rachel weejjing /or her children, and would 
 not he cdiiifortid , hccansc theij are not.'" 
 
 And what did llcrod jiccomplish against Christ's kingdom? 
 Did his power extend into the realms of the invisible world? 
 Could \\v del)ar (iod's holy angels from warning the wise men 
 and Joseph in a (beam? Did he not again, contrary to his own 
 will, have to aid and serve the kinjjdom of Christ which he meant 
 to destroy? For did he really harm those innocent infants, those 
 first martyrs, who bled for desus' sake? Many, or perhaps all 
 of them, would have grown up enemies of Christ , had tluy lived; 
 
SUNDAY AFTER NEW YEAR. 53^ 
 
 for most of the Jews rejected their Messiah. But now they en- 
 tered into eternal glory and were among those of whom it is said 
 in the Psalm, "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou 
 hast perfected praise." As our children, dying in their baptismal 
 grace, invariably go to heaven, so did these infants, who were 
 Rachel's children, children of the covenant, having received the 
 sacrament of Circumcision which in the Old Testament held the 
 place of Baptism, by their premature death, get to eternal happi- 
 ness and bliss. 
 
 So we have seen that Herod's plotting against Christ and His 
 kingdom was altogether unsuccessful. Though he succeeded for 
 a w^hile in hiding his diabolical plot before the wise men, he could 
 not hide it from God. Though he formed his plans with the ut- 
 most ingenuity and shrewdness and executed them with merciless 
 cruelty, his fight against the Lord and His Anointed was in vain. 
 And so it has always been. The enemies of Christ never did 
 succeed and never will succeed. In the early times of the Chris- 
 tian church both, Jews and Gentiles, combined and arrayed their 
 forces against the Christian religion. Entire libraries have been 
 Avritten against the divine truth of the Gospel, and heathen officials 
 tried to stamp out the pest of Christianity, as they called it, by 
 seizing and burning every copy of the New Testament they could 
 find. Entire Christian provinces were ravaged and depopulated, 
 and the smoldering ruins of Christian homes showed how com- 
 pletely the work of devastation was done. But it was in vain. 
 Christ always survived His enemies. At times it seemed as if 
 the church of God was no more. But the Lord has ahvays made 
 true His promise that even the gates of hell shall not prevail 
 against His church. 
 
 And there is one more point to which I would call 3'our 
 attention. Those enemies of Christ who waste their efforts in 
 plotting against Him and His kingdom oftentimes meet their due 
 punishment already in this life. There is but a short notice in 
 our Gospel concerning Herod, ^^But when Herod was dead, be- 
 hold , an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in 
 Egypt, saying, Arise, and take the young Child and His mother, 
 and go into the land of Israel : for they are dead which sought 
 the young Cliild's life.'''' Two secular historians, a Jew by the 
 name of Josephus and a Christian by the name of Eusebius, de- 
 
54 EPIPIIAXY. 
 
 scribe the death of this cruel king Herod. They tell us that his 
 bodv was covered with ulcers emitting such a stench, that it was 
 almost impossible to stay with him. ^^'hen he saw that he nmst 
 die, he had the most distinguished Jews incarcerated and ordered 
 that they should l)e i)ut to death as soon as he would })reathe his 
 last, so that, as he himself said, all Judaea would have to mourn, 
 in i)laee of rejoicing, at his death. Then the miserable wretch 
 committed suicide 1)V i)lunging a knife into his heart. And there 
 is another historian l)y the name of Lactantius who wrote a book 
 entitled, "Death of Persecutors," showing that nearly ever}' one 
 of those Koman emperors and officials who stained their hands 
 with Christian l)l()od met with a most horril)le death. 
 
 Indeed, (iod is not mocked. Even when God does not avenge 
 the blood of His saints on earth, even when those who have been 
 devoting their lives to i)lottin<? ao^ainst Christ and His kingdom 
 and have been ])ersccuting the children of God pass away from 
 this life apparently in peace and without suffering, they shall not 
 escape the punishment which they deserve. They shall perceive 
 whom they have pierced and come to eternal woe. 
 
 Let us, then, contidently trust in the Lord. Let the enemies 
 of Christ and His church plot all they wish with the utmost cun- 
 ning and craftiness, they shall succeed as little now as they did 
 in former times. "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of 
 Jacob is our refutre." Amen. 
 
 EPIPHANY. 
 
 9 
 
 Matt. 2, 1—12. 
 Now when Jesus was born in Betlilehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the 
 king, behold, tliere came wise men from tiie east to Jerusalem, saying. Where 
 is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen liis star in the east, and 
 art- (.onie to worsliij) him. W'iien Herod tlie Icing had lieard tiiese things, he was 
 truiil)k-d. and all Jerusalein with him. And wlu-n he had gathered all the chief 
 priests and scribes of the pe()i)le togetiicr, he demanded of them where Christ 
 should l)e i)oni. And they said unto him. In Hethlehem of Judaea: for thus it 
 Is written by the prophet, And thou Hethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the 
 least uniong the i)rinces of Juda: for out of thee shall come a (iovernor, that 
 shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise 
 men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent 
 them tf) Hethlehem, and said, (io and search diligently for the young child; and 
 
EPIPHANY. 55 
 
 when ye have found him, bring me word again, tliat I maj- come and worship 
 him also. When they had iieard the king, tliey departed; and, lo, the star, 
 which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where 
 the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding 
 great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child 
 with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him : and when they had 
 opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, 
 and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to 
 Herod, they departed into their own country another way. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 The purport of this Gospel is to inculcate the fact that also 
 the Gentiles have a part in Christ. That the Son of God was to 
 be the Savior of the Jews, there could be no question. He had 
 been promised to the chosen people of God for a period of two 
 thousand years. And when the time was fulfilled and He was 
 made manifest in the flesh, the Jews were the first to be notified 
 that the Savior was come. On the plains of Bethlehem the angel 
 of the Lord appeared to the shepherds, who were Jews, and 
 brought them the good tidings of great joy that unto them was 
 born, in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. 
 Scarcely, however, had the Jews been made acquainted with this 
 joyful intelligence, when the Lord God informed the Gentiles 
 also that a Savior had come for them. And while the good ti- 
 dings were brought to the Jews on the very spot, in the immediate 
 neighborhood of Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, the commu- 
 nication of the Savior's birth was conveyed to the Gentiles in the 
 far East, far away from the scene. While the Jews received 
 their information by an angel from heaven announcing the Sav- 
 ior's birth, and by the multitudes of the heavenly host singing 
 songs of praises upon earth, the Gentiles beheld in the heavens 
 a wonderful star. While the Jewish representatives, to whom 
 God communicated the great event, were plain shepherds, the 
 Gentile representatives were men of wealth and learning. 
 
 Now, since we are descendants of Gentile nations and our 
 heathen ancestors were converted from heathenism and brought 
 to the faith of the Son of God, O how should we thank God for 
 His great mercy shown unto us ! A special festival, the festival 
 of Epiphany, which we are celebrating to-day, was arranged in 
 the church to commemorate this blessed fact and to give us an 
 occasion to offer up praise and thanksgiving for the inestimable 
 
56 EriPHANY. 
 
 blessintr that we have been rescued from heathenism by the won- 
 {k'rfiil Child in the manger, that we also have a share in the 
 Christ-child, that He is our Savior as well as the Savior of the 
 Jews,' and that we have found Him, recognized in Him our Sav- 
 ior, and have been made members of the Christian church. 
 
 Our Gospel, however, also imparts valuable instruction. 
 "Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our 
 learning," and there is something to be learned of the wise men 
 in our Gospel. The subject of our discourse shall be with the 
 aid of Ciod's Holy S})irit, 
 
 TRUE WISDOM TO BE LEARNED OF THE WISE MEN. 
 
 I. Tlu'i/ foUowt'd tlie guide from heaven. 
 n. Tltey were not influenced hy the infidelity of otiiers. 
 111. When they found Christ, they worshiped and honored 
 Him. 
 
 I. 
 
 ^^Now when Jesus loas horn in Bethlehem of Judaea in the 
 days (f Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the 
 East to Jerusalem, saying. Where is He that is born King of the 
 Jews? for we have seen His star in the East, and are come to 
 worshij) Him.'"' So these wise men had a guide from heaven, 
 and they followed that guide, making no delay and undertaking 
 a long and expensive journey to find Christ. But we must not 
 think that that wonderful star in itself was their guide. The 
 science of astronomy does not teach the way to heaven. Men 
 have been endeavoring to show that the Gospel is written in the 
 stars, but that is a mere play of fancy. "The heavens declare the 
 glory of Ciod ; and the firmament showetli His handiwork." But 
 where does the word of God say that man should lift up his eyes 
 to heaven and read the Gospel in the stars? No; the Gospel is a 
 mystery which was kept secret since the world began, and is not 
 revealed by the works of nature, but by the great God Himself 
 in His divine word. Those wise men, therefore, must have had 
 some divine revelation concerning that star, or they never would 
 have comprehended its nu'aning. 
 
 Another false notion current in our daj's concerning the star 
 of Bethlehem is, that it was soniethinff in the ordinarv coui'se of 
 
EPIPHANY. .37 
 
 nature. Astronomers have found that about the time when those 
 wise men journeyed to Jerusalem, there was a conjunction of 
 three very bright stars, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturnus; a conjunc- 
 tion which occurs only once in eight centuries. And now it is 
 claimed that the star which those wise men beheld was this con- 
 junction of stars. How absurd ! Could that conjunction guide 
 them from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, and then remain in a fixed 
 position over where the young Child was ? Is not Bethlehem 
 south of Jerusalem and do not the ordinary stars move from east 
 to west and stand so high above us that they always seem to go 
 with us, and never stop over and above a certain place, while we 
 are walking on? No ; we must not seek to explain away miracles. 
 There may have been conjunctions of stars at the same time, but 
 they certainly had nothing to do with this star. This star was a 
 special light placed by the Lord God for this special purpose in 
 the lower regions of the atmosphere. 
 
 As intimated, the guide which the wise men really followed 
 was the divine revelation concerning that star. And now, when 
 they came to Jerusalem, we are told that Herod '■'■gathered all the 
 chief priests and scribes of the people together, and demanded of 
 them where Christ should he horn. And they said unto him. In 
 Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is ivritten hy the prophet. And 
 thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the 
 princes of Juda : for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall 
 rule my people Israel.'' And when Herod had told them this and 
 had sent them to Bethlehem, we are informed, " When they had 
 heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw 
 in the East, ivent hefore them, till it came and stood over where 
 the young Child ivas. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with 
 exceeding great joy.'' What was it, then, that really guided and 
 led these wise men to Christ? Which was their true guide to 
 heaven? It Avas the word of God, the word of divine revelation 
 spoken by the prophet. That was the guide from heaven whom 
 they followed. And how wise were they to follow that guide I 
 Had they remained in the East and paid no attention to the won- 
 derful star, and had they not followed the directions given by the 
 word of God in the writings of the prophet, they never would 
 have come to Christ; they would have remained in darkness, in 
 superstition, and condemnation. 
 
58 EPIPHANY. 
 
 Behold, then, here is true wisdom. Follow the guide from 
 lu'tiven. That guide is the divine word. But you must not wait 
 for a special divine revelation in a dream or vision. You have no 
 promise for that. God may send you a star in the shape of great 
 joy or great sorrow, or in some other way give you an indication 
 that He longs and yearns to save you in i)articular. But then you 
 nuist place your confidence in the written word of God, and heed 
 the word of God. Let the word of God perform upon you its 
 mission on this earth. Let the word of God convince you that 
 vou are a lost and condemned sinner, and persuade you that you 
 have been redeemed from sin and death by the Lord Jesus, by 
 His painful suffcriuir and })itter death on the cross. Let the word 
 of God guide you through this vale of tears to the heavenly man- 
 sions. That is true wisdom, that is making a profitable use of 
 your time upon earth, so that you may get to a blessed hereafter. 
 
 IL 
 
 The wise men showed true wisdom in another way. They 
 were not influenced by the infidelity of others. We read, " Whe)i 
 llerod tht kin<j had liturd tJiese tJiinyti, he was troubled and all 
 Jerusalem with him." Now imagine how these wise men must 
 have felt. They had come to Jerusalem, expecting to find every 
 faro beaming with joy, everybody speaking of the newborn King, 
 and the whole city wild with excitement. What do they find ? All is 
 (luict. No one seems to care for that King on whose account they 
 had come so far a way. Aye, when the object of their visit is made 
 known, Herod and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem are alarmed. 
 And then again, such is the indifference displayed by the inhabit- 
 ants, not a sinHe one of them offers to jjo along to Bethlehem. 
 Could these people more plainly show that they did not believe in 
 that newborn Kinj^? But what do we find the wise men doing? 
 Do they say within themselves, Ah, we have been deceived; we 
 have come here in vain; there is no newborn King of the Jews; 
 if there were, would not His own people know about it? would not 
 the distinguished men, the learned and prominent, come with us 
 and go to Bethlehem ? No ; the wise men were not disturbed in the 
 least. They were not influenced by the infidelity of others. They 
 simply believed what (iod had told them, and though not a soul 
 seemed to share their faith, they proceeded to Bethlehem at once. 
 
EPIPHANY . 5i) 
 
 Behold here true wisdom. You must not be disturbed by the 
 infidelity of others. If you allow yourselves to be influenced by 
 the adverse attitude which the majority of men assume toward 
 Christ, then you will reject Christ, reject the word of God, and 
 be an unbeliever. And is not this the greatest folly to think that 
 truth is to be found with the majority? Have not the most ab- 
 surd theories been advanced by the philosophers of this world, 
 and almost universally accepted, until they were out of date, and 
 had to make room for other theories equally foolish ? And why 
 do you expect the majority, and especially the great men of this 
 world, the rich and distinguished, to follow Christ? Did not 
 Jesus say, "Wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth 
 to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat" ? Did not 
 St. Paul say, "Ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many 
 wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are 
 called" ? If, therefore, you would be truly wise and prudent, you 
 must not seek your salvation in great Jerusalem, that is, not with 
 the masses, but in Bethlehem, in the lowly manger. You must 
 not seek your salvation with the scribes and chief priests, that is, 
 with the learned, rich, and great, but with Mary and Joseph, with 
 those who humbly profess their faith in Jesus the Savior. 
 
 III. 
 
 There is one more point showing the true wisdom of the wise 
 men. When they had found Christ, they worshiped Him. We are 
 told, ^^And ivhen they ivere come into the house, they saiv the 
 young Child ivith Mary His mother, and fell down, and wor- 
 shiped Him : and lohen they had opened their treasures, they pre- 
 sented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.^'' 
 The wise men had believed in Christ all along. They believed in 
 Him as soon as they were persuaded by the divine revelation that 
 the star which they beheld in the East, was the star of the new- 
 born King of the Jews. We must not think that their faith in 
 Christ did not begin until their eyes beheld Him. But now when 
 they did see Him for whose sake they had come all the way from 
 the far East, what did they behold? Did they find what they 
 surely must have expected? Did they find a royal family sur- 
 rounded with all the luxury and comfort of Oriental splendor and 
 ease? Did they find a magnificent palace, guarded by sentries in 
 
60 Kl'I I'll ANY. 
 
 gorgeous ;ittii»* to protect the approach to the great Prince and 
 King? No; there is a low hut, and the occujjants are as poor as 
 thev can be, and the ChiUl is a babe hke any other child. Must 
 not their faith receive a fatal shock at the sight of all this pov- 
 erty and lowliness? Yet they were wise men, indeed. They knew 
 that the word of God could not deceive them. And did not the 
 wonderful star remain over above the Child? So they boldly 
 ovinanie all adverse sentiments, fell down upon their knees, wor- 
 shiped the Child, and honored Him with gifts. They gave Him 
 <Told, and we can well conceive how sorely the Child needed the 
 gold for His impending flight to Egypt. But frankincense and 
 myrrh were not considered es})ecially valuable. There must be a 
 special meaning to these two latter gifts. Frankincense was 
 burned at the sacritices to honor the deity, and myrrh was used 
 in embalming a corpse. It seems, then, that by presenting these 
 two gifts the wise men meant to profess their faith that this Child 
 was both (iod and man. 
 
 Now, if we would be wise and prudent like the wise men, we 
 must see that we keep the faith when trials and atiiictions come, 
 when things do not turn out according to our wishes and expecta- 
 tions, when our faith receives a shock: Having found Christ, you 
 must hold on to Him. It will never l)enetit you to believe in 
 Chiist for a while, and then to turn away from Him. Only he 
 that endureth to the end shall be saved. O be not ashamed, then, 
 of Christ and of His Gospel ! Confess Him before men, and He 
 will confess you also })efore His Father in heaven. Do not mind 
 the scorn of the children of this world. Say before all men that 
 you believe that flesus is both God and man, that He is your Sav- 
 ior and Redeemer, your Sovereign and King, whom you worship, 
 and whom you mean to serve as long as you are living upon this 
 earth. The wise nu'ii honored Him and worshiped Him when He 
 was in lowliness and })overty ; how much the more should you wor- 
 ship and honor Him now, since He is exalted above the heavens 
 and sitting at the right hand of God the Father Almighty ! 
 
 May the Lord, thcMi, grant us all His grace to iippl}^ our 
 JK'ai'ts unto true wisdom and to imitate the example of the wise 
 men, to tin* glory of His holy name and to the salvation of our 
 .souls ! Amen. 
 
FIRST EPIPHANY. 61 
 
 FIRST EPIPHANY. 
 
 Luke 2, 41—52. 
 
 Now his parents went to' Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. 
 And when he was twelve years old^ they went up to Jerusalem after the custom 
 of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child 
 .Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. 
 4<But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; 
 and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they 
 found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came 
 to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst 
 of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that 
 heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. Aud when they 
 saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, wliy hast thou 
 thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And 
 he said unto them. How is it that ye sought me ? wist ye not tliat I must l)e 
 about my Father's business? And they understood not the saying which he 
 spake unto them. And he went down Avith them, aud came to Nazareth, and 
 was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. Aud 
 Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 The visit of Jesus to Jerusalem at the age of twelve years is 
 the only incident recorded of the time of His boyhood. Beside 
 the remark that He was subject to His parents and that He in- 
 creased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man, 
 nothing more is said of Him until, at the age of thirty years, He 
 comes to John the Baptist and is baptized in the river Jordan. 
 
 Had anything remarka])le occurred within this long period, 
 had Jesus done anything to show that He is the Son of God and 
 Savior of the world, had He performed a miracle, for instance, 
 St. Luke would probably have mentioned it in his Gospel. Luke 
 is the only Evangelist who tells particulars of Jesus' infancy and 
 boyhood, and he seems to have his information from Jesus' mother, 
 Mary, of whom he distinctly says at different occasions that she 
 kept these things in her heart. Had Jesus in any way manifested 
 His divinity, Mary, undoubtedly, would have told Luke, so that 
 he might put it down in his book for future generations. We are 
 expressly told that at the marriage at Cana in Galilee He per- 
 formed His Jirst miracle, turning water into wine. The onl}' time 
 when rays of divine glory shone forth from the Son of man in the 
 days of His youth was when, at the age of twelve years, He was 
 
62 FIRST EPIIMIANV. 
 
 in the temple of Jerusalem. There He sat, the tender youth, in 
 the mitlst of the tloctors, that is, the men who had grown up in 
 the study of the Scriptures, who were the teachers of the people, 
 and were looked upon as authorities in religious matters. He con- 
 verses with these highly educated men. He asks them and answers 
 them, and behold, sucii is the understanding and such are the an- 
 swers of the boy of Galilee, that the doctors do not know what to 
 make of it. They are amazed. They had never seen and heard 
 the like. And the same amazement comes upon Mary and Joseph 
 when He says to them, ''How is it that ye sought me? wist ye 
 not that I imist be about my Father s business?'' Here the rays 
 of His divine glory are darting forth from the Son of God, and 
 He fently reminds His parents of the fact that He is the eternal 
 Son of the Father, a fact which they well knew, but did not bear 
 in mind when they addressed Him. 
 
 A special feature, however, of our Gospel is, that it contains 
 an important lesson for parents. It tells in what manner parents 
 should care for their children and exercise their authority over 
 them. This, then, shall be the subject of our discourse, with the 
 aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 PAREiNTAL CARE AND AUTHORITY. 
 
 We shall consider 
 
 I. Parental care, and 
 H. Parental authority. 
 
 I. 
 
 Parents need not be told that they must attend to their chil- 
 dren in earthly things. The}^ know that. It is implanted by na- 
 ture. Even the animals instinctively take care of their young, 
 feed them, and protect them, until they can take care of them- 
 selves. Parents loving their children will do for them all they 
 can that they might l)e happy and become useful members of the 
 human family. They will, above all earthly things, give them a 
 good education. For all the inheritance which they may leave to 
 their children can not outweigh a good education. Success and 
 hajjpincss depends to a great extent on education. 
 
 There is one thing, however, which stands even above earthly 
 education, and that is the welfare of the child's immortal soul. 
 
FIRST EPIPHANY. 63 
 
 If parents are required to look to the mortal bodies of their chil- 
 dren, how much more to their immortal souls ! In this respect 
 the parents of Jesus may serve as an example. Of them we read : 
 ^^N'ow His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the 
 passover.^'' Mary and Joseph were a pious couple, they walked in 
 the fear of God, they observed the commandments of the Lord, 
 and thereby they set a good example to the child that was en- 
 trusted to them. Parents, know that your children will learn 
 more by the example you give them in your daily lives than by 
 anything else. Live Christianity before their eyes, and they 
 w^ill learn Christianity. If sincerely you walk in the fear of 
 God, your children Avill be imbued with the spirit of godliness, 
 and in this wise you will extend to them the proper care for 
 their souls. 
 
 Moreover, the parents of Jesus did not neglect the religious 
 training of their child. They did not content themselves with the 
 good example, but led Him to do as they did. We read, '■^And 
 when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the 
 custom of the feast. And when they had fulfilled the days, as 
 they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and 
 Joseph and His mother kneiv not of it^ So they took the child 
 J^sus along with them to Jerusalem and had Him worship with 
 them in the temple. Parents should teach their children to pray 
 and worship the Lord, and should urge them and influence them 
 to walk in the ways of the Lord as long as they live. 
 
 Here is where some parents make a grave mistake. They 
 hold to the principle that their children should form their own 
 judgment as to the religion which they mean to embrace. They 
 say, I do not want to make a hypocrite of my child; I have my 
 children baptized and confirmed, and after that they must make 
 use of their own judgment; if they do not care for the church, I 
 can not help it. That is a wrong principle. God demands of 
 you that you should bring up your children in the nurture and 
 admonition of the Lord. That is an express command of God. 
 Not only should we bestow special care upon the immortal souls 
 of our children in the days of their infancy and childhood. Not 
 only should we have them baptized, and teach them to pray at 
 home, and send them to a Christian parochial school, where they 
 may receive a true Christian training, before we send them to the 
 
64 FIKST El'l I'll ANY. 
 
 public school, whore religion is not and should not be taught. 
 Not only should we attend to their spiritual needs and have them 
 thorouo-hlv instructed in the true faith, until they are contirnied. 
 But after their Contirmation, when they enter the wicked world, 
 when they come in contact with all sorts of people, when they 
 are bein*"^ tempted by the devil, the w^orld, and their own sinful 
 rtesh more than before, then, O parents, is the very time that we 
 must bestow special care on our children that they should remain 
 true to their God, and that our work upon them in the days of 
 infancy and childhood be not in vain. Of course, we can not 
 force our children to believe. Faith is God's work. But we can 
 and should lead, exhort, and admonish them to make diligent use 
 of the means of grace i)y which faith is })r(^duced and sustained. 
 We can and should beseech them, entreat them, admonish them, 
 warn them. And this we should do as long as we live, even when 
 our children have left the shelter of the parental roof. 
 
 Parents should be watchful also that their children do not get 
 into bad company and associate with such as will harm their souls. 
 We read, ''But thiij, supposhig Him to have been in the company, 
 went a da t/\s Journey : and tlity Konrjlit Him among their kin.sf'olk 
 and acquaintance. And ivhen they found Him not, they turned 
 hack again to Jerusalem , seeking Him.'' When the Israelites went 
 to a feast in Jerusalem from remoter cities and towns, they always 
 went in large caravans. Such a caravan had been made up at 
 Nazareth. Kinsmen and acquaintances usually ke})t together, and 
 that was the coin))any to which »Tesus kept Himself. His i)arents 
 knew that they could safely entrust Him to that company, and 
 so they were not disturbed when they did not see Him on leaving 
 Jerusalem, liut when the caravan halted and preparations were 
 being made to encami) for the night, the}' missed their boy and 
 hastened back to Jerusalem. Now, as the parents of Jesus watched 
 over their child, how much the more should all parents keep watch 
 over their children and see that they do not get into bad company I 
 .lesus' pai'ents knew that their boy would do no wrong. But how 
 is it with our children? How easily are they misled ! How easily 
 do they fall a prey to the temptations with which they are being 
 beset ! Indeed, Christian parents can not be careful enough about 
 the company of their children. They should not let their children 
 associate; with every Ixxly that conies along. They should make 
 
FIRST EPIPHANY. 65 
 
 sure of it that the good seed which they have sown in their cliil- 
 dren's hearts be not trodden down, and not permit them to malce 
 friends with such as seduce them into sin and vice. This is the 
 care which parents should bestow on their children. 
 
 11. 
 
 Our Gospel contains a lesson on parental authority also. We 
 read, ^^And it came fo2)asfi, that offer three days they found Him 
 in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, 
 and asking them questions. And all that heard Him were aston- 
 ished at His understanding and ansioers. And icJien they saw Him, 
 they were amazed: and His mother said unto Him, Son, why hast 
 Thou thus dealt ivith us? behold. Thy father und I have sought 
 Tliee sorroiving.'' These words of Mary were evidently meant 
 for a rebuke. They can not be explained in any other wa}'. The 
 poor mother had worried over her lost child, and had suffered a 
 great deal for three days. And now that she finds Him at last, 
 she means to let Him know that she is His mother and censures 
 Him for all the grief and sorrow she had to bear on His account. 
 This censure would have been in the right place, if Jesus had 
 done wrong and had not been the Son of God. As the Son of 
 God He had to be about His Father's business, and His mother's 
 authority did not exceed the authority of His heavenly Father. 
 
 It is quite a different thing with other parents. God Him- 
 self has established the authority of parents over their children. 
 When God says, "Honor thy father and thy mother," this im- 
 plies that your father and mother are your superiors, that they 
 stand above you, and that you must obey them. Parents, there- 
 fore, do perfectly right when they rebuke and censure their chil- 
 dren for the wrongs which they do, and when they punish them 
 for their wickedness. They must do that. They are commanded 
 to do it. Does not God say in the Book of Proverbs, "With- 
 hold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with 
 the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and 
 shalt deliver his soul from hell"? In our days there is a o-row- 
 ing sentiment among })arents to let the children have their own 
 way, not to punish them for their wrongs, and simply to tell them 
 that it is for their own detriment if they do wrong. Children 
 brought up in that way soon trample upon their parents and do 
 
66 FIIJST El'lI'MANV, 
 
 what they please, irrespective of anybody. Parents who really 
 love their children will and must exercise their authority and 
 make their children understand tiiat they must obey. They will 
 mould the characters of their children and train them to be good 
 men and women in future years. They will bend the tree while 
 it is young, so that it might grow up to the joy and to the de- 
 licrht of others. 
 
 o 
 
 And as the parents should exercise their authority, so are 
 the children required to submit to this parental authority. We 
 see this in the exami)le of Jesus, of Avhom the end of our Gos- 
 pel says, '■'•And lie went down with them, and came to Xazareth^ 
 and was Kuhject to tht-m: hut His mother l-ept all these sayings 
 in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and 
 in favor with God and man." The heavenly Child, the Son of 
 God, was subject to His earthly parents, that is. He submitted 
 to their authority. Though He was God, and, therefore, stood 
 above them, He did not make use of His divine authority. He 
 did not exhibit Himself as their superior. No, He obeyed, that 
 in all things He might be like as we. What a fine example for 
 children ! If the eternal Son of God obeyed His earthly parents, 
 He who was not subject to anybody, how much the more should 
 Christian children walk in obedience, and do all they can to 
 serve their parents ! Children, you can never repay your father 
 and mother for what they did for you. The sleepless nights, 
 the care and worry, the attention paid to your mortal bodies 
 and to your immortal souls, these arc things for which you can 
 never give your parents an adequate compensation. Ol)ey your 
 parents, then; hold them in love and esteem as long as they live. 
 A Christian child, even when already advanced in years, will not 
 undertake; an important step without consulting the parents and 
 seeking their advice. And if thus you honor your father and 
 iiiotlicr, you will not oidy inherit the })romise of the fourth com- 
 niandincnt that you shall live long upon the earth, ])ut you will 
 increase also, as Jesus did, in favor with God and man. Both 
 God and men are pleased with a child that shows obedience to 
 the parents. 
 
 Finally, my friends, can we parents say that we always did 
 our duty to the children whom (lod entrusted to our care? And 
 can the children say that they always obeyed their parents? 
 
SECOND KIM I'll AW. 67 
 
 No; in this respect, also, we must admit that we are sinners. 
 Let us look for forgiveness to Him who became man for us, was 
 a child for us, lived upon this earth for us, and died on the cross 
 for our salvation. "The blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, 
 cleanseth us from all sin," and as He was raised from the dead 
 by the glory of the Father, so should we also walk in newness 
 of life. Let us look to Him for strength, and He will enable us 
 to walk in His commandments to the glory of His holy name. 
 Amen. 
 
 SECOND EPIPHANY. 
 
 John 2, 1— 11. 
 
 And the third day there was a marriage iu Cana of Galilee ; and the mother 
 ■of Jesus was there: and both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the mar- 
 riage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They 
 have no wine. Jesus saith unto her. Woman, wiiat have I to do with thee? 
 mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants. Whatsoever 
 he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after 
 the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. 
 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots witli water. And tliey filled them 
 up to the brim. And he saith unto tiiem. Draw out now, and bear unto the 
 governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted 
 the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was : (but the servants 
 which di-ew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, 
 and saith unto him. Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and 
 when men have well drunk, then that which is worse : but thou liast kept the 
 good wine until now. This begiiniiug of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, 
 and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 In our Gospel we find the Lord Jesus at a wedding. Wed- 
 ding day is always a day of rejoicing. But in the holy state of 
 matrimony two kinds of days are to be expected, days of pros- 
 perity and days of adversity. And there are two kinds of mar- 
 ried couples, such as are never truly happy, even in the da3^s of 
 prosperity, and such as are always happy, even in the days of 
 adversity. 
 
 Unhappy are those who have not Jesus w'ith them, who do 
 not believe on the Lord Jesus, and refuse to admit Him to their 
 home. Let such a married couple be apparently ever so happy ; 
 
^$ tiECONU I:J'I1>HANY. 
 
 let thoni love each other ever so fervently; let them possess 
 health, and wealtii, and beauty; let them be free from want and 
 siekness and sorrow and trouble of any kind, and fare sump- 
 tuously every day — they are poor, miserable, unhapi)y, after 
 all, even in such days of prosperity. "There is no i)eaee unto 
 the wicked," says the Word of God, and Ood's Word must be 
 true. There is no peace unto them, no peace with God. Their 
 hearts resemble the troubled sea. The accusations of their own 
 conscience are never at rest, and the consequence is, they are 
 miserable, even in the midst of joy and plenty. 
 
 liut there are also days of adversity for those married couples 
 that do not admit Jesus to their homes. Be they ever so for- 
 tunate in this life, as far as mutual affection, health, and wealthy 
 and social standing is concerned, they are not exempt from the 
 cross which God has laid on the matrimonial state. They must 
 bear their share of it. And oh ! how dreadful are the homes of 
 the wicked when mutual love should cease to exist between man 
 and wife, when misfortunes come, when poverty sets in, when 
 want is felt, when they bt^gin to disagree and to quarrel ! Then 
 there may be divorce suits and social scandals ; or even nuirder 
 and suicide may sever the union from which the Lord Jesus had 
 been excluded. 
 
 Quite a different place is the home of a truly Christian mar- 
 ried couple, of a couple that had invited Jesus to their wedding, 
 and then retains Jesus with them during all the days of its married 
 life. There the words of the Psalm are being made true : "Blessed 
 is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in His ways. 
 For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands: happy shalt thou be,, 
 and it shall be well with thee." 
 
 Now in our Gospel we are told of such a couple that invited 
 Jesus to their wedding, and it is shown how well they fared hav- 
 ing Jesus with them. Let us, therefore, consider with the aid of 
 God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 THE BLESSEDNESS OF THOSE WHO HAVE JESUS WITH THEM 
 L\ THE MATRIMONIAL STATE. 
 
 Their blessedness 
 
 I. /// f/ii (l(ii/s of prosperit 1/ , and •• 
 
 IL hi tin (hii/s of (idvemity . 
 
SECOiND EPIPHANY. 69 
 
 I. 
 
 We read, ^^And the third day there was a marriage in Cana 
 of Galilee ; and the mother of Jesus was there. And both Jesus 
 was called^ and His disciples, to the marriage.'" Groom and bride, 
 most likely, were Christ's own relations, because, as we are told, 
 '■'tlie mother of Jesus was there.'" But not for this reason did 
 John the Evangelist hand down to posterity this narrative, because 
 Jesus' mother was there, but because Jesus Himself was there 
 and His disciples. As the context shows, Jesus had shortly be- 
 fore been baptized in the river Jordan, had just entered upon His 
 public oflSce, and chosen several disciples. As yet He had not 
 performed a miracle, for we read at the end of our Gospel, " TJiis 
 beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and mani- 
 fested forth His glory ; and His disciples believed on Him." Still, 
 though Christ had just entered u})oii His pul)Iic office to teach the 
 people. He does not decline the invitation to that marriage. He 
 honors the young couple with His presence and thereby adds to 
 their joy. From the account given in our Gospel we perceive 
 that Jesus was considered the most distino^uished jjuest at this 
 wedding. He is honored above all and by all. He is the center 
 of the group, and He it was that brought happiness into the home 
 of the newly married couple. 
 
 Behold, then, the blessedness of those who have Jesus with 
 them in the matrimonial state ! Behold their blessedness in the 
 days of prosperity ! They love Jesus and Jesus loves them, and, 
 O, what blessedness is there in the love of Jesus ! What blessed- 
 ness for man and wife to know, Jesus is present with us in our 
 home, and if it were ever so lowly a place; He is our Friend, 
 our Guide, our Savior and Redeemer ! Be their days ever so fair 
 and their joys ever so great, there is no earthly jo}', no earthly 
 pleasure to eclipse the Sun of Life which illuminates their path 
 and directs them where to go — Jesus and His love. All their 
 treasures and worldly possessions they value for naught, if thrown 
 into the scales against Jesus, the Lover of their souls ; so much 
 do they love Him. Jesus it is whom they consult when about to 
 enter into the matrimonial state. They take it to the Lord in 
 prayer, and ask Him for wisdom and prudence in the selection 
 of their partner with whom they are to be united for life. They 
 are careful not to be deceived by wealth, beauty, and prominence. 
 
70 SKfOND Kl'Il'HAXY. 
 
 They do not form a ln'tiotlial sec rctly, against their parents' will, 
 and takr heed not to transgress the commandment which says, 
 "Honor thy father and tiiy mother." They enter into the holy 
 state of matrimony with a clear conscience, so that Jesus can enter 
 with them into their homes and dwell with them. 
 
 And still more is their blessedness enhanced by praising Jesus. 
 Thev not on!}' love, they also praise Jesus, and to praise Jesus is 
 not an arduous task for them, but pleasant work. The days of 
 prosperity are the most dangerous for a Christian couple. In such 
 days God is easily forgotten, and we are apt to turn to the world 
 and to its evil lusts. But a Christian couple will practice what 
 the Psalm says, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all 
 His benefits!" A Christian couple will adopt for its own and 
 live up to the motto of Joshua, "As for me and my house, we 
 will serve the Lord." They will neglect neither their daily prayers 
 nor tiie reading of the Scriptures. They will not permit anuise- 
 ments or worldly enjoyments to keep them away from the house 
 of God, while the Word of God is being preached. They will 
 make it a point to come regularly to the Lord's Supper. If their 
 union is blessed with children, they will have their little ones bap- 
 tized according to Christ's command, "Suffer the little children 
 to come unto Me," and will bring them up in the nurture and ad- 
 monition of the Lord. "When their children are of age and leave 
 the i)arental roof, they will watch them carefully, so that they do 
 not go astray, but remain with Christ, and walk the path that 
 leads to etei'nal life. Their most intimate friends and associates 
 they will not seek among intidels and godless people, but among 
 those who confess the Lord Jesus. If the Lord God grants them 
 riches, they will neither scpumder what they have, and thus abuse 
 the gifts, nor will they drift into the vice of avarice and make 
 manunon their god. They will ahyays be willing to help the poor 
 and distressed, and to aid in spreading God's kingdom. 
 
 What blessedness of such couples in the days of prosperitj^ ! 
 Jesus is their joy, their treasure, their soul's delight. They 
 always realize that it is Jesus whom they have to thank for all 
 they are enjoying. By faith in the Lord Jesus they have peace 
 with (iod, and their conscience is at rest. They know that their 
 sins are all forgiven through Jesus' blood and merits, and that 
 for .b>us" sake (iod looks down upon them as if they had no 
 
SECOND EPIPHANY. 71 
 
 sin, looks upon them as a loving father upon his dear children. 
 O how nuich more do the}' enjoy the da3's of prosperity than un- 
 believers, who know not what it is to be joyful in the Lord and 
 to be perfectly contented ! How much easier for a true Christian 
 couple to be pleased with what little they possess than for un- 
 believers who restlessly crave for more and labor under the de- 
 lusion that money, riches, wealth is the source of true happiness ! 
 If God grants them more than they need, a Christian couple will 
 praise him for it and make good use of their possessions ; but 
 content they will be with food and raiment. 
 
 One thing in particular adds to their blessedness in the days 
 of prosperity. They know that God is pleased with them, even 
 as the Lord Jesus was pleased with the newly married couple at 
 Cana. They know that their marriage is honorable and pleasing 
 to God. And so are all their works pleasing unto the Lord. 
 When the husband toils and labors in the sweat of his face, or 
 when the wife does her humble housework, those are all sood 
 works, better works than the prayers and fasting of all the monks 
 and nuns in the world, and God will reward them in heaven. 
 So much about the days of prosperity. 
 
 IL 
 
 But there are also days of adversity in the matrimony of 
 God's children, and since they have Jesus with them always, He 
 is with them in the days of adversity also, and blessedness does 
 not leave them. 
 
 In our Gospel Ave are told that '■Hhey had no wine.'" Want 
 was felt on the very first day of the union of this couple. Jesus' 
 mother informs the Lord of their want, and He says to her, 
 '■'■Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet 
 come.'" This was a rebuke, and from it we see that Mary must 
 have said something that was out of place. She had no right 
 to interpose in this matter. But she took the reproof very sub- 
 missively, and said to the servants, ^^ Whatsoever He saith unto 
 you, do it." Hereupon Jesus ordered them to fill the six water- 
 pots set there for the purifying, and containing a number of 
 gallons each, with water, and without any ceremony, simply by 
 His will. He turned the water into wine, and into wine of the 
 best quality. For we read, ^^When the rider of the feast had 
 
72 SECOND F.ril'HANV. 
 
 tasted the iratcr that was made vnne, and knew not whence it 
 was (hut tht sn-vanfs which drew the imter knew), the governor 
 of the feast called the bridegroom, and saith unto him. Every 
 man at the beginning doth set forth good ivine; and when men 
 have well drunk, then that lohich is worse: hut thou hast kept 
 the good wine iintil nowS' 
 
 Now jis there was want in the house in Cana, so must all 
 Christian couples meet times of affliction. There are the days of 
 advcrsitv, the days of which we say, AVe like them not. There 
 arc the davs of ilhicss, when we must cope with diseases, and 
 all our jov is turned into sadness, or when death comes and we 
 are overwliclmed with grief and sorrow to see those depart from 
 us whom we loved so dearly. Again there are days of actual 
 want, when the husband is out of work, or wdien the wages are 
 so poor that it is impossible to make both ends meet. At such 
 times a Christian couple may be tempted to fear for the future 
 and to exclaim, "What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? 
 or. Wherewithal shall we be clothed?" Then again there is, per- 
 haps, a special cross which a Christian couple must bear, ill-will 
 on the j)art of others, persecution, losses. Sometimes their own 
 children will cause trouble and create days of adversity. Even 
 as Abraham had a godless son, Ishmael, and Adam a godless 
 son, Cain, so unto this day a disobedient and godless child may 
 come forth from a true Christian family, to fill the hearts of 
 Christian parents witii the utmost grief. There are many tribu- 
 lations for Christian families in this w^orld of sorrow\ Who could 
 enumerate all the days of adversity? 
 
 But how do Christians take such days of adversity? Do 
 they chide with God and murmur against Him because He per- 
 mits misfortunes to come? Do husband and wife rebuke one 
 another and curse the day when they were married, and wish for 
 a divorce? No; like Mary in our Gospel, they will tell it to 
 the Ijord Jesus, in whose name they entered into the holy state 
 of matrimony. If it is illness or want which they suffer, tliej' 
 will in >\\e\\ distress call upon their almight}^ Savior for help, and 
 will rest assured that He will procure for them, when His hour 
 is conn', all that they need, and that He will never leave nor for- 
 sake thciu. It" it is some special cross whicli they must bear, 
 they will apply to llini who said, "Conu' unto ]Me, all ye that 
 
THIKD EPIPHANY. 73 
 
 labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give 3'^ou rest." If they 
 get into such straits and conditions as to make them feel at loss 
 what to do, they will consult Jesus and do what He tells them in 
 His Word, in the Scriptures. 
 
 O the blessedness of Christians even in the days of adver- 
 sity ! Unbelievers find no comfort, no consolation in such days. 
 They must sullenly endure their misery and know of no helper. 
 What glorious privilege of a Christian husband and wife, that in 
 every distress, in every affliction and tribulation they can appeal 
 to their God and Savior and say to Him, Lord, such and such is 
 my trouble, help me, deliver me ! And, verily, they shall not 
 ask Him in vain. He is to-day the same that He was in times of 
 old, just as loving, and merciful, and powerful, and mighty to 
 deliver us from all evil. And if at times He does suffer us to 
 shed many tears and to pass through many evil days, it must be 
 for our own good, and we will submit to His will. But when 
 His hour is come. He will rescue us from all misery and turn our 
 sadness into joy and gladness. 
 
 Let us always remain with Jesus, and keep Jesus with us, at 
 our fireside, both in the days of prosperity and adversity wdiich 
 fall to our lot in the matrimonial state, and we shall experience 
 the truth of the words in the Psalm, "O Lord of hosts, blessed 
 is the man that trusteth in Thee." Amen. 
 
 THIRD EPIPHANY. 
 
 Matt. 8, 1—13. 
 
 Wheu he was come down from the mountaiUj great multitudes folloAved 
 him. Aud, behold, there came a leper and worshiped liim, saying, Lord, if 
 thou wilt, thou canst maiie me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand, and 
 touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy w'as 
 cleansed. And Jesus saith unto him. See thou tell no man; but go thy way, 
 shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a tes- 
 timony unto them. And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came 
 unto him a centurion, beseecliiug him, and saying. Lord, my servant lietli at 
 home sick of tlie palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will 
 come and lieal liim. Tlie centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not Avortliy 
 that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speal< the word only, and my 
 servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers 
 under me: and I say to this man. Go, and he goetli; and to another, Come, 
 
74 THIKD El'Il'HANY. 
 
 and he cometh; and to my senant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard 
 it. he maneied, and said to them tliat followed, Verily I say unto you, I have 
 not found so ^reat faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you. That many shall 
 come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, 
 anil Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. Hut the children of the kinijdom shall l)e 
 cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weepins and gnasliinji of teeth. 
 And Jesus said unto the centurion. Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, 
 so be it done unto thee. And his servant was liealed in the selfsame hour. 
 
 Beloved Fimknds in Ciihist : 
 
 The great central theme of our Gospel is faith, faith illus- 
 trated both ill the leper and in the centurion. The climax is 
 reached when Jesus exclaims, " Vevily I say unto you, I have 
 not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.^' 
 
 The unbelieving: children of this world have no true notion 
 of faith. Ask them, and what will they say? Some of them 
 will tell you, Faith is but a mask which Christians wear upon 
 their face. They put on a pious outward appearance, pray, go to 
 church, talk religion, and all this they do to some seltish purpose. 
 They are far from tj'uly believing the alleged faith which they 
 profess ; and the very sins which they openly condemn in others 
 thev commit themselves in secret. This class of unbelievers 
 looks upon all Christians as hypocrites. Others, again, among 
 the unbelieving children of this world will tell you. Faith is a 
 sort of a mental disease, an illusion formed in the mind. Though 
 there ])e many hypocrites among the Christians, 3'et they are not 
 all such. There arc some who really believe what the Bible 
 says, and imagine it were all true, contrary to the simplest prin- 
 ciples of common sense. And this illusion will sometimes get 
 such a strong hold u[)()n them as to cause religious fanaticism 
 and even in.sanity. This second class of unbelievers looks upon 
 the Christians, as if they were men with an unbalanced mind. 
 And there is a third class of unl)elievers who, if you ask them 
 their opinion on faith, will smile and say. Why do you make 
 such a jjreat ado about faith? What good does faith do? Let 
 a man believe ever so much and ever so sincerely, what does that 
 benefit him or others? Faith, rightly looked at, is nothing but 
 an altogether useless act in the mind ; and you Christians expect 
 to get to heaven by faith. AN'hat foolishness I 
 
 Snch arc the opinions of the children of this world. They 
 have not the least idea of what faith is. They speak of faith 
 
THIRD EPIPHANY. 75 
 
 as a blind man would speak of colors. And is this to be won- 
 dered at? Does not the Word of God say, "The natural man 
 receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God : for they are fool- 
 ishness unto him"? Oh, if such men would only taste of faith 
 themselves and experience for themselves what faith is, they 
 would know whereof they speak, and they would no longer 
 speak as they now speak. But Christians, too, are in need of 
 constant enlightenment on the nature of faith. Our Gospel 
 points out the foundation on which true faith is built, and also 
 tells of the fruits of such faith. The subject of our discourse 
 shall be ^\^th the aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 TRUE FAITH'S FOUNDATION AND FRUITS. 
 I. Its foundation, and 
 II. Its fruits. 
 
 I. 
 
 On what did the leper in our Gospel rest his faith ? We are 
 told, " When He was come doimi from the mountain, great mul- 
 titudes followed Him. And, behold, there came a leper and xoor- 
 shiped Him, saying. Lord, if Thou wilt, TJiou canst make me 
 clean.'' Here we must observe that the leper is not praying for 
 a spiritual gift, but for a temporal blessing. He is not asking 
 for forgiveness of sin and the grace of God, but for the removal 
 of his leprosy. Jesus had just delivered His great sermon on the 
 mount, and the leper had probably stood from afar and heard 
 the sermon, because the law did not permit him to approach 
 others on account of his loathsome contagious disease. But 
 when Jesus came down from the mount, the poor man was 
 bold enough to walk right up to the Lord, to fall down before 
 Him, burying his face in the dust, and to utter the request : 
 ^'Lord, if Thou loilt. Thou canst make me clean.'' Mark well 
 how he submits to the Lord's will, teaching us by his example 
 that, if ever we ask for a temporal gift, we should leave it to 
 the Lord to deal with us according to His good pleasure. Doubt- 
 less the leper knew that man is sometimes afflicted with some 
 temporal evil for the sake of his own welfare, and so he did 
 not venture to ask for the cleansing of his leprosy without affix- 
 ing the condition: '■'•Lord, if Thou wilt." He meant to say. 
 Thou knowest better than I do, O Lord, whether or not it will 
 
7(j TIIIUD P:i'irHANV. 
 
 1)0 profitable for mc to be made rid of this loathsome disease, 
 but a.s for Tliv ability to heal me, I do not doubt that for one 
 moment ; if Thou wilt only, Thou canst make me clean. On 
 what, then, did the le[)er rest his faith? On Christ, His good 
 and <n-aeious will and His almi(;hty word. He desired to hear 
 the word of Christ telling him that he should be clean, and he 
 was confident that instantly his leprosy would disappear, if Jesus 
 only spoke the word. And not in vain did he entrust himself to 
 the Lord, not in vain did he rest his faith on Christ's will and 
 word, for we are informed, ^^And Jeftiis put forth His Itcmd, 
 and touc/it'd liiui, sai/huj, I ivill; he thou clean. And immedi- 
 atehj his lejjrosij ivas tieanst^d. And Jesus saith unto him. See 
 thou tell no man; but go tJiy way, sheiv thyself to the priest, 
 and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony 
 unto them." 
 
 And upon what did the centurion in our Gospel rest his 
 faith? The centurion also asked for a temporal gift. We read, 
 *^And 7vhen Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto 
 llini a centurion, htseecJiing Him, and saying, Lord, my servant 
 lieth at home sick of the palsy , grievously tormented." And when 
 Jesus answered and said, ^^ I will come and heal Jiim," what was 
 the centurion's reply? " The centurion answered and said. Lord, 
 I am not loorthy tluit Thou shouldest come under my roof: hut 
 .ywak the icord only, and my servant shall he healed." The cen- 
 turion docs not desire a sign, he does not desire to see Jesus lay 
 His hand upon the sick man. He does not even deem it neces- 
 sary for Christ to come into the house. All he desires is to hear 
 Christ's word. Christ's word is the foundation upon which his 
 faith rests, Christ's word and nothing else. Aye, such is his con- 
 fidence in Christ's word that he says, ^'■For I am a man under 
 authority, having soldiers under me: and L say to this man. Go, 
 ami he goctli ; mid to another, Come, and lie comet h : and to nty 
 srrrant. Do thin, and lie docth it." He evidently means to say, 
 I am a man imder authority. I have superiors whom 1 must 
 obey. Yet is my word ol)eyed by those that are subject to me. 
 But Thou art more than mortal man. Thou art the Son of (iod, 
 .subject to no authority, all the powers in heaven are subject to 
 Thee. How nuich more, then, must Thy word accomplish what 
 it says ! Thou speakcst and it is done. All that is necessary is 
 
TIIIHD EPIl'HANV. < ( 
 
 Thy word, and my servant's disease must disappear. And to 
 show that this is true faith, faith as it shoukl be, namely the 
 faith which rests on no other foundation than Christ's Word, 
 our Gospel says, " When Jesus /leard it, He marveled, and said 
 to tlieiu that foUoived, Verily I say unto you, I have not found 
 so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you. That 
 many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with 
 Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But 
 the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: 
 there shall be iveeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said 
 unto the centurion, Go thy way ; and as thou hast believed, so be 
 it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame 
 hour.^' The faith which brings deliverance is the faith that rests 
 on the foundation of Christ's Word. 
 
 Is your faith resting on this foundation, my hearer? In our 
 days thousands of Christians claim to be true believers, and there 
 is no sound and solid basis to their faith. They are not posi- 
 tively sure and certain about the things which they believe. 
 They base their faith on their own reiDentance, on their con- 
 version, on their emotions, on their feelings, on their virtues, 
 and the like. There are those who say, I believe that I am a 
 child of God, for I did repent of my sins, I felt truly sorry for 
 having sinned against God, and so I confidently believe that in 
 Christ my sins are forgiven. Others say, I believe that in Christ 
 I am saved, for my own heart tells me so. I felt the wrath of 
 God upon me, and then I went down upon my knees and im- 
 plored God to have mercy on me, and behold, my fears de- 
 parted, my soul was quickened, a voice seemed to call to me. 
 Thy sins are forgiven thee, and now I believe that I have made 
 my calling and election sure. Still others say, I. felt my misery 
 and m}' wretchedness, I did not know whither to flee for fear of 
 God's anger and wrath. But then I began to pray and to wrestle 
 with God, and I continued therein night and day until the Spirit 
 of God came into my soul, and I felt that I was truly converted. 
 Then I could shout and say. Now I have found grace, Jesus is 
 mine, heaven is mine, I am saved, hallelujah ! Others, again, 
 triumphantly call attention to the wonderful change which has 
 come upon them, and expect to get to heaven because they had 
 amended their former sinful lives. Formerly, say these, we 
 
78 THllJD EPirilANV. 
 
 took part \n the vain pleasures of this world and indulged in 
 certain sins, hut nt)\v we lead an altogether different life, we 
 read the Bihle, we pray, we go to church ; why, then, should 
 we not ''et to heaven? Finally, there are such as claim to be in 
 favor with God because in a dream or in a vision they had seen 
 Jesus, or the holv angels, or had otherwise met with some ex- 
 traordinary experience, assuring them of the grace of God, the 
 forLMveness of their sins, and the salvation of their souls. 
 
 All these foundations of faith which men make unto them- 
 selves are like the quicksand which gives way under the feet. 
 Woe unto those who rest their faith on their own repentance, 
 for our repentance is always imperfect and never deserving .of 
 God's '--race ! Woe unto those Avho rely upon their own feel- 
 ino-, for they rely ui)on their own sinful heart, and God says, 
 "lie that trustcth in his own heart is a fool !" Woe unto those 
 who base their faith on certain emotions and on the inward tes- 
 timony of God's Holy Spirit, for that testimony may not always 
 be there ! Woe unto those who believe that they are God's chil- 
 dren because they are walking in newness of life, for even the 
 best of lives is damnable, if not covered with the robe of Christ's 
 rijihteousness. 
 
 The onlv foundation upon which Christians must rest their 
 faith is Christ's Word. Whosoever sim})ly relies upon that which 
 God has spoken in Ilis divine Word, in the Bible, whosoever be- 
 lieves that his sins are forgiven, and that he shall be received 
 into heaven for no other reason than because God declared in 
 His Word that all men, even the greatest of sinners, are recon- 
 ciled with God for the sake of the painful suffering and bitter 
 death of His beloved Son Jesus Christ, and that through His 
 name whosoever bclieveth in Him shall receive remission of 
 sins, he has based his faith on the true and everlasting founda- 
 tion on which alone it can securely rest. For, while everything 
 else, repentance, conversion, feeling, virtue, is unreliable, the 
 Word of (lod is truthful and can never fail. Let such a be- 
 liever experience nothing but God's anger and wrath and feel no 
 joy whatever, let him suffer tri))ulations, and afflictions, and per- 
 secutions, let Satan direct against iiiin his darts, in the very face 
 of death, the \N'()i(l of (Jod will bear him through. Nothing can 
 
 Do 
 
 prevail against faith resting on such foundation. 
 
THIRD EPIPHANY. 79 
 
 II. 
 
 And now, in the second place, let us briefly consider the 
 fruits which the faith brings forth that is based on Christ's ^^'ord. 
 
 The fruit of faith is love, as exemplilied in the centurion's 
 care for his slave. The centurion, literally, a captain over one 
 hundred soldiers, was not a Jew, but a Roman. As' a rule, these 
 Roman officials, and Roman men and women in general, cared 
 very little for the welfare of their slaves. But behold, what a 
 sympathizing master true faith had made of this centurion. He 
 looks after his servant with no less solicitude than he would de- 
 vote to his own child. He is grieved to see him tormented and 
 writhing with pain. He does all in his power to allay his pains 
 and to have him restored to health. In his anxiety he applies to 
 the Lord for his slave. That, surely, was not merely a trait of 
 his noble character, but the fruit of his faith. 
 
 But let us look at Luke's account and we shall hear still more 
 about the fruits of his faith. Luke informs us that the centurion, 
 deeming himself unworthy, did not go to meet the Lord in person, 
 but at first sent the elders of the Jews to beseech Jesus in his 
 behalf. And what did the elders say about the centurion? They 
 said, "He is worthy for whom Thou shouldest do this: for he 
 loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue." The fruit 
 of his faith was, then, that he also loved God's chosen people, 
 though they were despised and held in contempt by the Romans, 
 and to show them his appreciation of their religion, he built them 
 a synagogue, a house of worship, where, doubtless, he himself 
 was a regular attendant. 
 
 Love of God and the neighbor is another fruit which invari- 
 ably grows upon the tree of that faith which is based upon the 
 Word of God. Unbelievers and enthusiasts frequently speak 
 despicably of that faith which rests upon the Word of God alone, 
 and claim that such a faith were a dreary thought of the heart. 
 But they know not of what they speak. For if anything will 
 change man's heart, and make him a new creature, and move and 
 urge him to love God and his neighbor, to feed the hungred and 
 thirsty, clothe the naked, give shelter to the homeless, and to do 
 works of charity without ceasing, it is that faith which is based 
 upon the Word of God alone. Such faith is God's work in man, 
 and how can that which God has quickened into life be a dead and 
 
80 TlllUD Kl'll'llAM. 
 
 powerless thinfr? Rather could the sun be without light or the 
 lire without warmth than true faith without deeds of love. But 
 one thiniT must well be borne in mind here. "While the unbelievers 
 and inaiiy enthusiasts make a great show and display of what they 
 call charity, arranging charity balls and advertising their dona- 
 tions, so that men siiould admire their generosity, the children of 
 God, who base their faith on the Word of God alone, prefer not 
 to let the left hand know what the right is doing. In sincere 
 humility they do not make a boast of their sympathy for others 
 and of the great good which they do. Quietly they bring forth 
 the fruits of their faith, incessantly and without murmuring, 
 building the kingdom of God, supi)orting the holy ministry, aid- 
 ing those that are in need, and, in general, doing good unto all 
 men, especially unto them which are of the household of faith. 
 
 Another fruit of faith is ap})arent both in the leper and in 
 till" centurion. It is true humility before God and men. The 
 leper yields up his own will and wisdom to Christ and His will 
 and wisdom and goodness, saying, '•^Lord, if Thou vnlt.'"' And 
 the centurion humbles himself, though a Roman officer, before the 
 Man of Nazareth and Son of God. He deems himself unworthy 
 of receiving Jesus in his house and extending to Him his hospi- 
 tality. He does not claim at Jesus' hands any measure according 
 to his own thoughts or desires, but leaves the manner of the fulfill- 
 ment of his petition entirely to the Lord. This was not a fruit 
 of his sinful nature, but of faith engendered in him by the Word 
 of God. He, who would otherwise have been a haughty Roman 
 officer, was thus made a meek and huml)le petitioner before the 
 meek and humble Nazarene. And thus to-day faith makes men 
 meek and humble who would by nature ])e haughty and puffed 
 up with pride. Faith, a firm reliance upon God's grace in Christ 
 Jesus, disposes the believer to mercy, to sympathy with the af- 
 flicted, though they be lowly, as was the centurion's slave. 
 
 There are still other fruits of faith which might be here 
 enumerated. But let this suffice. May the Lord grant us all 
 that faith which is based on the Word of God alone, and we shall 
 not only be sure of our faith, but also l)ring forth the blessed 
 fruits of faith and never grow weary in welldoing. May He grant 
 us tlii< by His Holy Spiiit for the sake of Jesus Christ, His be- 
 loved Son, our only Mediator and Redeemer. Amen. 
 
FOURTH EPIPHANY. 81 
 
 FOURTH EPIPHANY. 
 
 Matt. 8, 23—27. 
 
 And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, 
 behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was 
 covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, 
 and awolve him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish. And lie saith unto them. 
 Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked tlie winds 
 and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marveled, saying, What 
 manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him! 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 Jesus had been busily engaged all day preaching and heal- 
 ing; the sick. There was such a vast throno; and so much to 
 attend to, He had not found time to eat. When night came, 
 the people still remained, and all that Jesus could do to obtain 
 rest was to withdraw from them. So He told His disciples to 
 have a boat ready that He might cross the lake. ^^And ichen He 
 7vas entered info a shij), His discijiles /oUowed Ifhn.^' Straight- 
 way Jesus made for the stern of the boat, where He laid down 
 His weary head on an improvised pillow, probably made of a 
 fisherman's coat, and, worn out and fatigued as He was, He was 
 soon fast asleep. Out went the frail craft upon the dangerous 
 deep in the black night. But as they pushed from the shore, 
 there was not the . slightest indication of any impending danger. 
 Safely did the boat glide along driven by a gentle breeze. They 
 had probably reached the middle of the lake, when suddenly, 
 without the least warning, a squall was upon them. ^'Behold, 
 there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the shij) 
 was covered with the waves: but He ivas asleej).'' The disciples 
 were fishermen. They knew how to manage a boat. They had 
 braved many a storm on this lake. But such a tempest they, 
 most likely, had never encountered before. They lose control 
 of the ship. It is tossed upon the crest of the waves like a nut- 
 shell. The water dashes in afore and aft, much faster than they 
 can bail it out. It dawns upon them that they are lost. In such 
 a tempest there is no escape. The boat must either be capsized 
 or swamped. And there is their Master with them in the boat, 
 resting in sweet repose, so fast aslee}) as not to be aroused by 
 
82 rOLirrii ki'ii'iianv. 
 
 all the noise around Him, by the roaring of the storm and the 
 sphishing of the angrv waves, and by all the jolting and buffet- 
 ing caused by the rocking of the boat. They can no longer 
 bear it. They "came to Him^ and awoke Him, saying. Lord, 
 save us: we perisli.''' St. Mark tells us that in their fright and 
 frenzy they even dared to censure the Lord, saying to Him, 
 ♦'Master, carest Thou not that we perish?" And what is Jesus' 
 answer? " IT/^y are ye fearful, ye of little faith?''' So the 
 great fault of the disciples in this storm was that they were of 
 little faith, that their faith was not what it should have been, 
 that their faith was weak. And this shall be our subject to-day 
 with the aid of God's Holy Spirit. Having shown you last Sun- 
 day an example of strong faith, let me speak to you to-day of 
 
 THE WEAK FAITH, 
 and explain, 
 
 I. That the iveak faith differs from unbelief, but 
 
 H. That weakness of faith is a dangerous thing. 
 
 I. 
 
 The disciples did not call upon Jesus in vain, "//e arose^ 
 and rebuked the winds and the sea ; and fhe-re was a great calm.''' 
 The manner in which He rebuked the winds and the sea is de- 
 scribed by St. Mark. "He said unto the sea. Peace, be still, 
 and the wind ceased." In an instant the tempest was hushed. 
 The sea lay before them in its wide expanse as smooth as glass, 
 while a serene sky was overhead. So astonishing was this mir- 
 acle that "///r men. marveled, saying. What manner of man is 
 this, that even the ivinds and the sea obey Ilimf 
 
 Hut Jesus not only shows that He is the Lord of nature, 
 whom even the winds and the sea must obey. He, at the same 
 time, reproves His disciples, saying to them, "O ye of little 
 faith !" He means to say, If your faith were great and strong, 
 you M'ould not fear even this gale, since I am with you in the 
 ship; you would not (loul)t for one moment that even while 
 asleej) I am keeping watch over you, and that nothing shall harm 
 you while I am near. In the disciples we have an example of 
 weak faith, and by that example we may learn how the weak 
 f:iith (|ifTer> fi-oiu uiihelicf. 
 
FOURTH EI'irilAXY. 83 
 
 This, my friends, is a suhject of vital importance. We know 
 that faith saves and that unbelief condemns. Faith, and if there 
 were ever so little of it, if it were ever so weak : faith leads to a 
 blissful eternity, while unbelief in every shape and form will lead 
 to eternal woe. Does not Jesus say, "He that believeth and is 
 baptized, shall be saved ; but he that believeth not, shall l)e 
 damned"? But where is there a Christian, a true child of God, 
 whom the thought did not trouble at times. Ah, perhaps you 
 have no faith, perhaps you are an unbeliever who shall be 
 damned? Weak faith sometimes so strongly resembles unbelief 
 that the one may be mistaken for the other, though there is an 
 essential difference between the two. How vastly important, 
 then, to know exactly in what the weak faith differs from un- 
 belief ! 
 
 Now, to enable you to ward off Satan's darts tempting you 
 that you should despair of your own salvation because you had 
 not faith, let me bring out a few points of our Gospel, showing 
 the difference between the weak faith and unbelief. As long as 
 a man is void of faith altogether, he will, perhaps, not even 
 think of God, much less approach God in the days of distress. 
 He will either seek help and succor in earthly things alone, or 
 sink into despair. And if he does make an attempt to call u})on 
 God, the almighty Ruler of heaven and earth, he will do so with 
 an unbelieving heart, without trust in God, only to try whether 
 prayer will do any good when everything else has failed. But if 
 your faith is weak, as it was with the disciples, though you may 
 get to the point of abandoning all hopes, where you may even 
 have to cope with doubts as to whether God can help you, yet, 
 if there is faith in you, that faith will exert its divine power, 
 and will be strong enough to overcome your doubts and fears, 
 so that you will sincerely trust in God and confidently exclaim, 
 as did the disciples, "Lord, help me!" You will say with the 
 holy psalmist, "God is my refuge and strength, a very present 
 help in trouble." As long as your thoughts are with God, in 
 communication with God, sighing to the Lord, trusting in the 
 Lord, you are a true believer, though your faith may be very 
 weak. — Furthermore, as long as a man is void of faith alto- 
 gether, he will not sincerely trust in God's grace and mercy. 
 This becomes apparent especially when great misfortunes come 
 
84 FOL'KTII EPIPHANY. 
 
 upon him. And when such a )nan must leave this world, when 
 on his (k'athl)e(l ho })orceives that now he must cross the dark 
 valley of deatli, tlio voice of his conscience perhaps once more 
 will make itself heard. Ilis sins will come to his memory, and 
 thouo-h he tries ever so hard to find rest and comfort asainst 
 his sins, he cannot. God's grace and mercy is proclaimed to 
 him in vain. He does not desire Christ. He attempts to clothe 
 himself before God in the filthy rags of his own righteousness. 
 In such a state of mind he passes into eternity. But if your 
 faitli is weak, you will, at all events, hold on to God's grace and 
 mercv. You may get into such deep distress as to say with the 
 disci})les, "Lord, carest Thou not that I perish?" Hast Thou 
 forgotten to be merciful? But though your faith be ever so 
 weak, it will enable you to hold on to God's grace and mercy. 
 You will be confident that God cannot mean you any harm, in 
 spite of all the trials and temptations and misfortunes that you 
 must endure. You will say, God hath given me His beloved 
 Son, His one and all; how, then, can I doubt His grace and 
 mercy? Confidently you will appeal to God and implore Him, 
 saying. Lord, help me, or I must perish ! I know^ Thou wilt 
 hear my prayer, for Thou hast said, "Call upon Me in the day 
 of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shall glorify Me," and, 
 "My mercy is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that 
 fear Me." How can I doubt Thy promise? Though 1 am a 
 sinner, not worthy of Thy grace, Thou canst not forsake me. 
 As long, then, as thus you humble yourself before God and de- 
 sire His grace, though that desire be ever so faint, you are a 
 believer, and your faith, though weak, is true faith, and has the 
 promise of eternal life. 
 
 The difference, then, ])etween weak believers and unbelievers 
 is simply this: While unbelievers either ignore God altogether 
 or sink into utter despair, weak believers will finally triumph over 
 their temptations and sincerely call upon the Lord in prayer. 
 While unbelievers fail to lay hold on (iod's grace and mercy, 
 shown to the whole sinful world in the sacrifice of His beloved 
 Son, weak believers, though frightened and greatly distur])ed, 
 will cling to fiod's grace after all and expect of Him alcme their 
 help. And their trust is not in vain. For "a bruised reed shall 
 lb- not break, and a smoking tlax shall He not (jueneh." 
 
FOURTH EPIPHANY. 85 
 
 II. 
 
 Now since also a weak faith is true faith and has the promise 
 of eternal life, a person might think that a weak faith is all that 
 needs be desired. That is a grave mistake. Let me endeavor 
 to show you that weakness of faith is a dangerous thing. 
 
 Weakness of faith is surely not a state and condition in 
 which a Christian should wish to remain. Did Jesus mean to 
 praise His disciples when He said, " Why are ye fearful ? ye 
 of little faith"" ? "Was not this an outright reproof? According 
 to Mark and Luke it was even more than a reproof. It was 
 a rebuff. Jesus said, "Where is your faith?" and, "How is it 
 that ye have no faith?" Weakness of faith is nothing pleas- 
 ing to God, nothing praiseworthy. As a Christian must follow 
 holiness and strive to become always more and more perfect in 
 righteousness of life, so must he strive to grow strong in the 
 faith, and to rid himself of those infirmities that cling to his 
 faith. St. Paul, indeed, says, "I will glory in mine infirmities," 
 but he does not mean infirmities of faith; he means the trilni- 
 lations he had to endure for Christ's sake. 
 
 It is a dang:erous thino; to be contented with a weak faith. 
 To this day Christians must experience the same things which 
 the disciples had to experience. To this day Christians must fol- 
 low Christ into the ship and upon the sea of this world. And 
 while other ships may have smooth sailing, the ship w^ith Christ 
 in it often seems to be doomed to destruction. It gets into a 
 storm center. The waves dash over into it. The sails are rent. 
 The masts and the rudder are broken. It drifts along helplessly, 
 tossed up and down upon the billows of an angry sea, and all 
 seems to be lost and gone. Meanwhile Jesus seems not to care 
 for the fate of the ship. He sleeps. What I mean to say is 
 this: Whosoever casts his lot with Christ, whosoever embarks 
 with Him in the ship of life, and confesses Him before men, 
 and sets sail for the beautiful shore of a blissful hereafter under 
 His guidance, must be prepared to meet with disastrous storms 
 in this life, to encounter trials and temptations, persecutions, 
 griefs, sorrows, aflfliction, and all manner of tribulations. If you 
 love Christ, the world will hate you. If you join those that 
 rally around the standard of the Gospel, you will be laughed at, 
 sneered at, scoffed at. If you make it a point not only to hear 
 
^Q FOUUTII EPU'IIANY. 
 
 Christ's Word, but also to do Christ's will, if you sternly refuse 
 to take part in the world's evil lusts, in drunken revelries, in 
 j)ul)lic (laiu-c's, and similar works of the tiesh, you can depend on 
 it that vou will have to suffer for such refusal in some way. 
 If you have entrusted yourself to Christ, to His guidance and 
 o-overnint' in life, the common ills of mankind are not kei)t awa}' 
 from you. You may even have to bear more than those who 
 have not cast their lot with Christ. You may have to suffer 
 illness, reverses in business, trouble in the family, and divers 
 misfortunes. And then the greatest trouble will come. Satan 
 will .-hoot his darts against you. He will whisper into your ear 
 and say. You are certainly not a child of God. Can a merciful 
 God let His children suffer as you must suffer? Go to, there 
 either must be no God, and all your faith in God and a Savior 
 be a delusion, or, if there is a God, He does not care for you. 
 
 Now tell me, my friends, is a weak faith likely to hold out 
 in such tierce tempests and storms? Is not the smoking flax 
 very ai)t to be extinguished and the bruised reed very apt to 
 break, when the wind blows a gale? Does not Christ tell us in 
 the i)araljle of the sower that those who have no root believe 
 for a while only and in time of temptation fall away? Have not 
 thousands upon thousands fallen away from Christ because they 
 were contented with a weak faith? Does not every weak believer 
 easily fall a prey to error, to temi)tation, to sins and lusts? Is not 
 this a most danjrerous thing: to be contented with a weak faith? 
 
 O let us all seek, then, to be strengthened in the faith ! 
 Let us pray, as did the disciples, and say with them, "Lord, in- 
 crease our faith." And to increase our faith we must diligently 
 make use of the means of grace. Come to the house of God, 
 my friend, and with devout attention hear the preaching of the 
 divine Word. Come to the holy sacrament and receive the true 
 Ixxly and blood of Christ, given and shed for the remission of 
 sins. And tiuis, by the grace of (Jod, you shall be made "strong 
 in the Lord and in the j)ower of His might, and })ut on the whole 
 annor of Ciod, that you may be able to stand against the wiles 
 of the devil." 
 
 Let us tight the good tight of faith, then, and lay hold on 
 eternal life. And (Jod grant that we all hold out to the end, and 
 tinally receive the crown of victory for Jesus' sake. Amen. 
 
FIFTH EPIPHANY. 87 
 
 FIFTH EPIPHANY. 
 
 Matt. 13, 24—30. 
 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is 
 likened unto a man which sowed good seed in liis Held : but wliile men slept, 
 liis enemy came and sowed tares among tlie wlieat, and went liis way. But 
 when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares 
 also. So the seiTants of the householder came and said uuto him, Sir, didst 
 not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said 
 uuto them. An enemy hath done this. The seiTants said unto him. Wilt thou 
 then that we go and gather them up ? But he said. Nay ; lest while ye gather 
 up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with tliem. Let both grow together 
 until the hai-vest: and in the time of han^est I will say to tlie reapers. Gather ye 
 together first the tares, and l)ind them in bundles to burn them : but gather the 
 wheat into my barn. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 In the parable of our Gospel the Lord Jesus illustrates the 
 kingdom of heaven. When Jesus speaks of the kingdom of 
 heaven in His parables, He does not mean merel}^ the kingdom of 
 glory, which we generally call heaven. He means His church, 
 which, upon this earth, is the kingdom of His grace, and in 
 heaven will be the kingdom of glory. And that Christ means 
 to illustrate the state and condition of His church here upon earth 
 in this parable of the tares among the wheat is plainly to be seen 
 from His own interpretation of the parable. The parable of our 
 Gospel is one of the few parables of our Lord which He Himself 
 has explained. For this is what we read in the same chapter 
 from which our text is taken: "And His disciples came unto 
 Him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 
 He answered and said unto them. He that soweth the good seed 
 is the Son of man ; the field is the world ; the good seed are the 
 children of the kino;dom; but the tares are the children of the 
 wicked one ; the enemy that sowed them is the devil ; the harvest 
 is the end of the world; and the reaj^ers are the angels. As 
 therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire ; so shall 
 it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth 
 His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things 
 that offend, and them which do inicjuity ; and shall cast them into 
 a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 
 Then shall the ricfhteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of 
 
88 FIFTH EPIPHANY. 
 
 their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." So, in the 
 Ii<'-lit of Christ's own interpretation, the world appears as a vast 
 tiekl. Ui)on this tielcl Jesus sows the good seed of His divine 
 Word. That seed is not east out in vain. Children of God are 
 produeed, true Christians, who eonstitute the ehurch of Christ. 
 Meanwhile, the devil also sows his pernicious seed in between, 
 whieh produces ungodliness and children of wickedness. These 
 are intermingled with the true Christians, like the tares among 
 the wheat. And in this mixed state and condition the church 
 shall remain unto the end of the world. 
 
 The subject of our discourse shall be with the aid of God's 
 Holy Spirit, 
 
 TARES AMONG THE AVHEAT, OR, THE CONDITION OF THE 
 CHURCH ON EARTH. 
 
 And we shall consider, 
 
 I. That upon earth the church appears in a condition re- 
 sembling tares among wheat, and 
 H. IIoiv we are to conduct ourselves in vieiv thereof. 
 
 I. 
 
 The church upon this earth appears in a condition resembling 
 tares among the wheat. I deliberately say, it appears in such 
 condition. The godless people that are found in the visible church 
 are not a component i)art of the church. For what does Christ 
 call the church? He says, " 77(e kingdom of heaven is likened 
 unto (I nKiii which sowed good seed in his f eld.'" The church is 
 the kingdom of heaven upon earth, and only that which is pro- 
 duced by the good seed of the divine Word pertains to the church. 
 Wherever there are those who believe in Jesus Christ, there is the 
 church. Jesus says, "Where two or three are gathered together 
 in my name, there am 1 in the midst of them." In the time of 
 the New Testament the ehui-eh is not contined to a certain locality, 
 to a certain nation or people, as it was in the time of the Old 
 Testament. The whole wide world is its domain, and wherever 
 Christ Himself is the Sower, that is, where the Word of Ciod is 
 taught in its purity and the holy sacraments are administered in 
 (■onformity with Christ's institution, there is the church of Christ. 
 The climcli in itself is a j>ure thing, a glorious church, as St. Paul 
 
FIFTH EPIPHANY. 89 
 
 says, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, holy and 
 without blemish. 
 
 But what is the outward appearance of the church upon this 
 earth? Christ says, ''But while ynen slept, his enemy came and 
 sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the 
 blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the 
 tares also.'' Behold, then, such is the outward appearance of the 
 church upon earth. It resembles in its outward appearance a field 
 where the tares are mixed among the wheat. Note well, the tares 
 are not a desirable plant. The farmer does not sow them. He 
 does not cultivate them. So the wicked, the hypocrites, false 
 prophets, gross and impenitent sinners, are not of God. They be- 
 long to the church only as the tares belong to the wheat-field, or 
 the withered and dead branches to the living tree. They are not 
 members of the church proper, of that mystic body of which 
 Christ is the Head. But such is merely the outward appearance 
 of Christ's church. Where the Word of God is taught in its 
 purity and the holy sacraments are rightly administered, where 
 the true church is established, there you will also find the sad 
 effects of Satan's pernicious work. You will find wicked people 
 among the good, godlessness developing alongside of piety, vice 
 cropping forth on the very side of virtue, and children of the 
 Evil One standing next to the children of God. 
 
 This has always been the case, and thus it shall remain unto 
 the end of the world. Was not Cain, who killed his brother Abel, 
 in the first church, the church of Adam? Was there not such 
 corruption in the church of Seth that God determined to make an 
 end of it by the deluge? In the small church saved in the ark, 
 the church of Noah, was there not a black sheep, Ham? Did not 
 such wickedness develop in the church of Shem that God found 
 it necessary to single out Abraham and to make him the father of 
 His chosen people? And what sins, crimes of almost every de- 
 scription, do we find recorded in the Old Testament, crimes com- 
 mitted by members of God's people, the people of Israel ! And 
 when in the New Testament the Eternal Son of God came into 
 the flesh and gathered around Him a church of His disciples, 
 were there not tares among the wheat? Did not Judas betray 
 his Master? And when the holy apostles founded the Christian 
 church and organized Christian congregations, beginning at Jeru- 
 
;m) fifth EriniAxv. 
 
 salem and thence extending their missionary labors to the different 
 l)arts of the world, were these churches and congregations pure 
 and faidtless, and did the apostles never find cause for complaint? 
 Did not one of tliosc first seven deacons elected for the congre- 
 gation in JerusaU'm, a man bv the name of Nicolas, cause divisions 
 in the church and become tlie founder of a most disgraceful sect? 
 Do we not find divisions in the congregation of Corinth, alterca- 
 tion among the members, injustice, abuse of the Lord's Supper, 
 men who denied the doctrine of the resurrection, and even a man 
 who had committed incest? Did not false prophets succeed in 
 seducing nearly all the members of the congregations in Galatia 
 to bi'licvc that they were not saved through faith alone, but also 
 by their own good deeds? Read the epistles in the New Testa- 
 ment, and you will find that under the very eyes of the apostles 
 Satan sowed his tares among the wheat, and that the church, in 
 its outward ai)pearance, before men, was never pure, but always 
 in such a mixed state and condition. 
 
 And where should I begin and end, would I enter upon the 
 history of })<)st-ap()stolic times and show you how the pai)acy de- 
 vel()i)ed in the church? Show me a church which presents the 
 appearance of pure wheat with not a blade of any sort of obnox- 
 ious weed in it. Show me a congregation which has arrived at the 
 stage of ])erfection, and where everything is exactly as it should be 
 among tiie members. There is no such church upon earth. And 
 there can never be such a church upon earth, for the simple 
 reason tiiat Satan will always sow the seed of wickedness upon 
 the same field where God casts the seed of His divine Word, and 
 that our own hearts, corrupted with sin, are always susceptible of 
 all that is evil. 
 
 II. 
 
 And now, in the second place, let us consider how we should 
 conduct ourselves in view of this mixed state. 
 
 In our (ios|)el we read, 'sS'o fhr seri'onfs of the Jioiiseholder 
 came nud said imtn /u'»), Sir, didst mtt thou smv good seed in fh// 
 fit Id/ From irhcnce then hath it tares? He said nntn the/n. An 
 t^iicnnj hath done this. The sei'vaiits said unto him. Wilt thou 
 thin that ve (jo and (jathcr them up? But he said, Nay; lest 
 v'hi/i' i/t' ijathi V lip the tares, ye root up (dso the wheat iritJi them. 
 
FIFTH EPIPHANY. 'Jl 
 
 Let both grow together until the harvest: mid in the time of 
 harvest I will say to the reapers. Gather ye together first the 
 tares, and hind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the 
 wheat into my barn." 
 
 The first thinsr we learn here is that wo must not be offended 
 when we behold tares among the wheat, thinking that a church 
 must be false in which sins occur, and eventually severing our 
 connection with it, though we must admit that it has the marks 
 of the true church, the pure Word of God and the holy sacra- 
 ments. The children of this world generally make a great ado 
 when a church member is exposed as a hypocrite, or falls into 
 some gross sin even in the eyes of the world. They charge such 
 things to the inability of the church to exercise a wholesome in- 
 fluence upon its members. And ill-advised Christians will some- 
 times permit their thoughts to run into the same channel. The 
 true church of Christ upon this earth, according to their thoughts, 
 is a net comprising only good fishes, a table spread with holy 
 vessels only. As soon as some public offense is given, they begin 
 to doubt whether this can be the true church of Christ when such 
 horrible things can come to pass. 
 
 This is a grave mistake. Must you rest your souls' salvation 
 upon the righteousness and piety of men? Must you not rest 
 your souls' salvation upon the infallible Word of God alone? If, 
 therefore, you are seeking the true chur<;h of Christ upon earth, 
 you must seek for a church wdiere the holy Word of God is pro- 
 claimed in its truth and purity, without taking anything there- 
 from or adding anything thereto, where Scripture is explained 
 by Scripture, and where the holy sacraments are administered in 
 conformity with Christ's institution. These are the infallible 
 marks by which you should know the true church. Where these 
 are, there the good seed is sown which must, and invariably Avill, 
 produce fruit for eternal life; there is the true church of God. 
 
 And another thing to be observed in view of this mixed con- 
 dition of the church is, we must not think that we had to cleanse 
 the church by rooting out the hypocrites, and heretics, and evil- 
 doers from the field of this world. By the church of Rome 
 thousands were put to death not only for evil-doing, but also for 
 supposed witchcraft and for proclaiming doctrines which were 
 termed heresies, because they opposed the papacy. The hands 
 
92 FiiTii f:piriiANY. 
 
 of that chuirli arc stained w itli the blood of many thousands of 
 martyrs, true Cliristians, who eonfessed Jesus to the end of their 
 lives, as did John IIuss, who was burned at the stake. Woe 
 unto us if that church ever came to ruling power in our beloved 
 country ! lieligious freedom would be at an end. And the so- 
 called Keformed churches are little l)etter. By Calvin the prin- 
 ciple was ratified tiiat heretics, or false teachers, should be 
 destroyed l)y the sword. To this day the churches based on 
 Calvinistie docti-ine do not com})rehen(l the distinction between 
 church ajid state. Time and again they make efforts to govern 
 the church by secular i)()wer and to have the state mix into 
 church affairs. All of this is on the line of rooting up the tares 
 with the wheat, of ruling the church with the sword, with tempo- 
 ral power, and not by the Word of God alone. 
 
 Still, are we not to mind the sins and evils which occur in the 
 church? Are we to ))e indifferent about thetn? Are we to keep 
 such within tiic pale of the church as are open and manifest 
 sinners? Verily not. Note w^ell that Christ says, " While men 
 slept, his enemy came and soived tares.'' The members of a 
 Christian couirregation should be watchful and wakeful to pre- 
 vent, as nmch as possible, the enemy from sowing his tares 
 among the wheat. They should admonish one another to be 
 steadfast in the faith of the Son of God who died on the cross 
 for the sins of all men, and to lead a truly Christian life. And 
 when a church member does fall into sin, the duty devolves upon 
 the congregation to convince him by the use of the divine Word 
 of the wickedness of his ways, and to lead him to repent of his 
 sin, and to seek refuge with Jesus, who is the propitiation for 
 our sins, and not foi" ours only, but for the sins of the whole 
 Avorld. If he rejients, his sin is forgiven, and he remains in the 
 church. But if he does not repent, and i)ersists in the way of 
 the transgressor, the rule is laid down by the Lord Jesus in the 
 eighteenth chapter of Matthew that such person shall, after re- 
 {)eated fruitless admonitions, be looked upon as a heathen man 
 and a publican, or excommunicated, excluded from the Christian 
 conjirc^fjation. 
 
 May the Lord, iheii, grant unto us all His grace to examine 
 our own hearts, and to s(m» that we are true members of the in- 
 visible chui'ch, which is t)uilt upon the foundation of the apostles 
 
Christ's pkesextation ix the temple. 93 
 
 and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself ])eiag tlie chief corner stone. 
 And on the hist day, when the mixed state of the church shall 
 cease, we shall not be in those bundles of tares that are cast into 
 the furnace of fire, but in the sheaves that are received into the 
 barn, and be among the righteous who shall shine forth as the 
 sun in the kino;dom of our Father. Amen. 
 
 CHRIST'S PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE. 
 
 Litre 2, 22—32. 
 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were 
 accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; (as 
 it is written in the law of the Loi'd, Every male that openeth the womb shall be 
 called holy to the Lord;) and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said 
 in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. And, be- 
 hold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon ; and the same 
 man was just and devout, Avaiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy 
 Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he 
 should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by 
 the Spirit into the temple : and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to 
 do for him after the custom of the law, then took he him up in his arms, and 
 blessed God, and said. Lord, now lettest thou thy ser\-ant depart in peace, ac- 
 cording to thy word : for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast 
 prepared before the face of all people ; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the 
 glory of thy people Israel. 
 
 Beloved Friexds ix Christ : 
 
 The Gospel which I have read to you is intended for a cer- 
 tain day, for the second day of February. The second day of 
 February is the fortieth day after Christmas, and on that day the 
 Child Jesus was taken to Jerusalem by His mother Mary and 
 His foster father Joseph, and presented to the Lord in His holy 
 temple. At the same time, Mary brought the sacrifices of puri- 
 fication, as prescribed by the Law of God. 
 
 Now while they were in the temple with the Child Jesus, an 
 old man came into the temple, and when he beheld the Child, his 
 features beamed with joy. He took the Child from His mother's 
 arms, pressed Him tenderly to his own bosom, and exclaimed as 
 if in ecstasy, ''•Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in 
 peace^ according to Thy v;ord: for mine eyes have seen Thy sal- 
 vation.'*'' This old man was Simeon ; and of Simeon we may 
 
94 C1I1:IST\s PliESEXXATION IN TIIK TKMPLE. 
 
 lojini a vcrv proritablo lesson. "We nil know that once we must 
 (lie. There is no balm to save us from the grave. When our ap- 
 pointed time has come, we must succumb to the inevitable, and 
 no power can extend our lives beyond the allotted tune. Now 
 while the children of this world dread and fear death and loathe 
 even to be reminded of death, a Christian may calmly look into 
 the face of this grim monster and meet him, as did old Simeon, 
 without fear and trembling. We all cling to life, and also a 
 Christian will use all rightful means to keep death away from his 
 door ; but he has no higher wish than to depart from this life in 
 peace, when his time is ended. Let us consider, then, with the 
 aid of God's Holy Spirit, the question, 
 
 WHO CAN DEPART THIS LIFE IN PEACE LIKE SIMEON? 
 
 The answer is. He that 
 
 I. behohU Jesus icifh Ihe eyes of faith , and 
 II. embraces Jesus loith the arms of faith, 
 
 I. 
 
 Of Simeon we read, '■'■And he came hij the Spirit into the 
 temple: and ichen the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do 
 for Ilim after the custom, of the Law, then took he Him up in his 
 arms, and blessed God, and said. Lord, now lettest Thou Thj 
 servant depart in peace, according to Thy word: for mine eyes 
 have seen Thy salvation.'" And there is an old tradition that 
 Simeon did not leave the temple alive, l)ut that he ex})ircd, clos- 
 ing his eyes in the sleep of death, after he had gazed upon the 
 heavenly Child and had ended his psalm of praise. 
 
 IIow did Simeon come to depart from this life so peacefully? 
 lie had seen Jesus. But how many others did also behold Jesus 
 when lie was in the flesh, and did not dei)art in peace when death 
 came upon them ! The mere sight of Jesus, seeing Him with 
 bodily eyes, can, therefore, not be the real cause of Simeon's 
 j)caceful departure from this world. There nuist be something 
 else connected with that seeing. The fact is, Simeon beheld 
 Jesus with different eyes than the priests in the temple and the 
 great majority of the Jews. He, at the same time, beheld Jesus 
 with the eyes of faith. And thus he had been gazing upon Jesus 
 long before his bodily eyes were i)ermitted to behold Him. 
 
Christ's presentation in the temple. 95 
 
 Who, then, can depart this life in peace like Simeon? He 
 that beholds Jesus, he that sees Jesus with the eyes of faith. 
 And how Jesus may be beheld with the eyes of faith is most 
 beautifully shown in our Gospel. 
 
 There we are told of Simeon, ^^And it was revealed unto 
 him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he 
 had seen the Lord's Christ.'" Whom, then, did Simeon recosr- 
 nize in the Child? With the eyes of faith he recognized in Him 
 the Lord's Christ, that is, the Lord's Anointed, the promised 
 Messiah and Deliverer, whom all Israel for many centuries had 
 been expecting to come. He therefore says, '■'■For mine eyes 
 have seen Thy salvation.'^ He obviously has in his mind the 
 words of the dying patriarch Jacob, who, while pronouncing the 
 blessing upon his sons, made a solemn pause, and exclaimed, 
 "I have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord," meaning by the sal- 
 vation the Savior from sin, in whom all the nations of the earth 
 should be blessed. If, therefore, like Simeon, you would behold 
 Jesus with the eyes of faith, so as to die in peace, you must not 
 look upon Him as did those priests in the temple who took Him 
 for a common child. No; you must recognize in Him the Savior 
 and Deliverer from sin. You must not look upon Him as though 
 He were nothing more than mortal man, only a perfect man and 
 the model for all men. No ; you must believe that He is the 
 Lord's Christ, that He is both God and man in one person. 
 
 And not only His person, but His office also you must view 
 Avith the eyes of faith. You must know by faith that He has ac- 
 complished the great work of the redemption of the whole fallen 
 human race, when for our sakes and in our stead He put Himself 
 under the Law. 
 
 Reference is made to this great work of the Son of God in 
 the beginning of our Gospel, where we are told how Jesus was 
 presented to the Lord in the temple and how the sacrifice of 
 purification was brought for Him. According to the Law of 
 God for the children of Israel, every mother, having given birth 
 to a child, was to be considered unclean ; and she had to remain 
 at home for forty days if the child was a boy, and for eighty days 
 if the child was a girl. These were the days of purification. 
 When they were accomplished, the first place a mother in Israel 
 had to visit with her child was the Lord's temple, where the 
 
96 Christ's puese.ntatiox in the temple. 
 
 parencs had to offer a sacrifice for the l)irtli of the child. Now 
 this Lav, was evidently to remind the children of Israel that man 
 is conceived and born in sins. But Jesus was not conceived and 
 born in sins. He was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of 
 the Virgin Marv. Yet of His own will and accord He put Him- 
 self under the Law, as though He were a sinner, like all the rest 
 of the children of men. And this He did for us, as our sub- 
 stitute, that He might redeein us. Behold, then, if with the 
 eyes of faith you would see Jesus, you must also look upon Him 
 as the substitute of the sinful human race, who put Himself un- 
 der the Law for our sakes, and fulfilled for us the Law's demands, 
 that wc might not be eternally condemned 1)}^ the Law which we 
 have not fulfilled, l>ut live before God forever. 
 
 II. 
 
 Still, my friends, if, like Simeon, we would depart from this 
 life in jieace, we nuist not only ])ehold Jesus with the eyes of 
 faith, but also embrace Him with the arms of faith. This is our 
 second point. 
 
 Old Simeon was not satisfied with the mere look which he 
 cast upon the Child. We are informed that he took the Child up 
 in iiis arms. So great was his joy, he could not constrain him- 
 self. Ho had to press the dear Child to his own bosom. 
 
 My friend, do you Avish to depart from this life in peace, like 
 Simeon, when your time comes? If so, you must also embrace 
 Jesus. I do not mean that you must embrace Him with bodily 
 arms. You could not do that. For though invisibly and even 
 bodily present with us alway, the Lord Jesus is no longer visible 
 with us. And was it tiie bodily contact which made Simeon so 
 iia[)i)y in death? Did not many of the Jews touch Jesus when 
 He was in the flesh, and not see salvation? Did not Judas kiss 
 Him ? There must be something else connected with the embrace 
 also of old Simeon. The fact is, Simeon embraced Jesus, at the 
 same time, with Ww. arms of faith. When he tenderly pressed 
 the Child to his bosom, lie meant to say thereby. This Child is 
 jnf/ Savior, in;/ consolation, ///y ho})e in life and in death. And in 
 this maniK r old Simeon had been embracing Jesus long before he 
 was permitted to hol<l Him in his arms. 
 
Christ's pkesextatiox in thk tkmi'le. 97 
 
 Thus, then, my friends, true faith is not contented with 
 merely beholding Jesus, that is, with know'ledge and assent, 
 knowing that He is the promised Messiah, the Son of God, born 
 of the Father in eternity, the Mediator between God and men, 
 the Savior of the fallen human race. The main thino; is to em- 
 brace Jesus, that is, to make Jesus your own, to receive and ac- 
 cept Him as your Savior, to appropriate to yourselves the merits 
 and sufferings of eTesus, in short, to place your confidence in 
 eTesus alone. 
 
 And how is that done? How is Jesus embraced with the 
 arms of faith? How is Jesus made our own? Behold Simeon's 
 example. He says, ^^Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which 
 Thou Jiast prepared before the face of all people ; a light to lighten 
 the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.'' Do you hear 
 how Simeon places himself in line with the Gentiles and says that 
 Jesus is the Savior of both Jews and Gentiles? Simeon knows 
 that he is a sinner, though he is a member of God's chosen 
 people, and that in the sight of the just and holy God he is not 
 any better than a heathen. Yet he is not frightened by the glory 
 and majesty of the heavenly Child. He firmly believes that in 
 this Child all his sins are forgiven, and that now the gates of 
 heaven are opened before him. 
 
 So if you would embrace Jesus with the arms of faith, you 
 must, indeed, humble yourselves before God and admit that you 
 are sinners, not worthy of His grace ; but then you must not 
 despair on account of yoxxv sins, and if they were ever so great, 
 but come to Jesus and say, Receive me, O Lord, make me Thine 
 own. You must boldly apply to yourselves that which Jesus did 
 for all sinners and confidently believe that in Him you have per- 
 fect forgiveness, life, and salvation. 
 
 And if you do this with a sincere heart, you wdll not only lead 
 a godly and holy life, as did Simeon, of whom we are expressly 
 told that he '■'■ was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of 
 Israel, and the Holy Ghost was upon /uV«," but you will also be 
 duly prepared at any time to depart this life in peace, to fall 
 asleep in Jesus' name, and to awake in the heavenly mansions, 
 where there is joy for evermore. Amen. 
 
98 SEITIAOKSIMA SUNDAY. 
 
 SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY 
 
 Matt. 20, 1—16. 
 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which 
 went out early In the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. And wlten he 
 had agreed with the laborers for a jienny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 
 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the market 
 place, and said unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right 
 I will give you. And they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth 
 and ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, 
 and found otiiers standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the 
 day idle? They say unto him. Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto 
 them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye re- 
 ceive. So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward. 
 Call the laborers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the lirst. 
 And when they came that were hired about the eleventli lionr, they received 
 every man a penny. But when the lirst came, they supposed that they should 
 have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. And when 
 they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, saying. 
 These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto 
 us, which have l)orne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of 
 them, and said. Friend, I do tiiee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a 
 penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as 
 unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine 
 eye evil, because I am good ? So the last shall be first, and the first last : for 
 many be called, but few chosen. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 Thi.s Gospel has always been considered one of the most diffi- 
 cult texts in the Bil)le. The difficulty arises when we attempt 
 an explanation of all the points of comparison in the parable. 
 Luther calls such an attempt a great mistake. A parable gener- 
 ally has some points in it which admit of no interpretation, be- 
 cause they stand in no relation whatever to the truth which the 
 parable is to im})r('ss on the mind. When Christ says, for in- 
 stance, that lie shall come to judge the \vorld as a thief in the 
 night, does He mean to say that He will do the work of a thief, 
 which is to rob and to .steal? No; He simply means to say that 
 He will come unexi)ectdd, and nothing more. In another parable, 
 the unjust steward who cunningly deceived his master is praised 
 because he had done wisely providing for the future. But does 
 this mean that fraud and deception is something jiraiseworthy and 
 <'oniin('ii(ial)l('? No; it simply means that, as the ciiildrcn of this 
 world arc prudent in their own sinful way, so should the Chris- 
 
SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 99 
 
 tians be prudent in a rightful way and provide for a blessed 
 hereafter. 
 
 So in our Gospel we must not attempt an interpretation of 
 every single point, but see which is the general doctrine, or di- 
 vine truth, which Jesus. means to inculcate by this paraljle. And 
 this is plainly shown by the context, elesus had told a young man, 
 who was ver}'^ rich, that he should give all his goods to the poor 
 and follow Him as a disciple. The young man could not make 
 up his mind to do that. He went away sorrowful. Hereupon 
 Peter said to the Lord, "Behold, we have forsaken all, and fol- 
 lowed Thee: what shall we have therefore?" Peter thoujrht that 
 he and his fellow-disciples were entitled to an ample reward for 
 the sacrifice of their earthly possessions for Christ's sake; and 
 now he wanted to know what their reward would be. And what 
 was Jesus' reply ? He said, "Every one that hath forsaken houses, 
 or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, 
 or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and 
 shall inherit eternal life. But" — adds He significantly — "many 
 that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first." Christ 
 means to say, It is truly not in vain that you follow me and labor 
 in my kingdom as my servants, but take heed ; that is a dangerous 
 question, "What shall we have therefore?" For in my kingdom 
 all must labor, some more, some less, every one according to the 
 grace bestowed upon him, but the reward is by grace, not by 
 merit. No one can say that by his labor he merits anything, or 
 that he works for compensation. And this is the general truth 
 which the Lord means to teach by the parable of our Gospel, 
 namely, that all must labor in the vineyard of His kingdom and 
 that their reward is by grace. Accordingly, the subject of our 
 discourse shall be with the aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 OUR LABOR IN THE LORD'S VINEYARD, AND OUR REWARD. 
 
 I. Our labor. 
 II. Our reward. 
 
 I. 
 
 The most important and most precious doctrine of the Holy 
 Scriptures is the doctrine of justification by grace, the doctrine 
 that we are justified and saved not by our own good works and 
 righteousness, but by God's free grace and mercy, through faith 
 
JQQ SEITUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 
 
 in the Lord Jesus Christ. This doctrine is the great central truth 
 of the Bible and the foundation of our hope. If we had not this 
 doctrine, we couhl never be made sure of our soul's salvation. 
 The doctrine of justification by grace should, therefore, occupy 
 tlic foremost part in our hearts and permeate all our thoughts. 
 Most beautifully does St. Paul set forth this doctrine when he 
 says in his epistle to the Ephesians, "By grace are ye saved 
 through faith ; and that not of yourselves : it is the gift of God : 
 not of works, lest any man should boast." Where this doctrine 
 is received into the heart, and not merely comprehended by the 
 understanding, there is true happiness, there is God's kingdom, 
 and a truly h(dy people. 
 
 But oh, how grossly do some men abuse this precious doc- 
 trine ! Why, say they, if all things are by grace, then we need 
 not do good Avorks and abound in them. If all things are by 
 grace, what is the use of watching, praying, searching the Scrip- 
 tures, and the like? If by grace alone Ave are saved and our good 
 works are not taken into account, what is the use of crucifying 
 the flesh, and toiling and laboring for God's kingdom? 
 
 All such blasphemous thoughts are most vigorously de- 
 nounced by the parable of our Gospel. Here the whole world 
 is pictured as a market place, where the people are standing 
 about idle and know not what to do ; Avhile the kingdom of heaven 
 is pictured as a vineyard, where all are kept busy. Some enter 
 the vineyard early in the day, others come later. All day long 
 they come into the vineyard, some even in the very last hour. 
 But from the moment they enter the vineyard they Avork. They 
 are engaged for the very purpose to labor in the vineyard. Now 
 AA'hat does this teach us? It teaches us that in the Lord's vine- 
 yard there is no idleness, but restless activity. He that is still 
 standing idle and doing nothing in a spiritual Avay; he that does 
 not seek God's kingdom and His rijjhteousness ; he that does not 
 set his affection on things al)ove ; he that does not run for the 
 prize and fight for the incorruptible crown, as avc are told in the 
 epistle of the day — he is not in the Lord's vineyard, not in (iod's 
 kingdom, not a true Christian; no, he is still standing idle in the 
 market j)lace of this world. 
 
 As soon as you enter the Lord's vineyai<l, my friend, you 
 will toil mid labor for your Loid and Master, and faithfully do 
 
SEPTUAGESIIVIA SUNDAY. lUl 
 
 your share of the work which He assigns to you. And what will 
 you work for? Not to gain heaven by the labor of your hands. 
 
 Not the labor of your hands 
 Can fulfill the Law's demands. 
 Could your zeal no respite know, 
 Could your tears forever flow, 
 All for sin could not atone, 
 Christ has saved, and He alone. 
 
 Christ has already gained heaven for all men by His merits, by 
 His innocent suffering and death ; and as soon as you enter His 
 vineyard, the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation is freely pre- 
 sented to you and made yours by faith. You will hibor for the 
 Lord prompted by gratitude. You will feel as though you could 
 not do enough for Him, since He has done so much for you, for- 
 giving you all your sins, healing all your diseases, delivering your 
 life from destruction, and crowning you with loving kindness and 
 tender mercies. It will be a pleasure for you to toil and labor in 
 God's kingdom. Your faith, if true and sincere, cannot but produce 
 good works. Is it not impossible for the sun to be without light and 
 for the fire to be without warmth? Behold, just as impossible is it 
 for a true Christian, whose heart is filled with God's love, not to 
 do the Avorks of love in the Lord's vineyard, but to stand idle, and 
 to say, I am saved by grace through faith alone, therefore I need 
 not toil and labor in the vineyard, I need not perform good works. 
 Examine your own life, my friend. You toil and labor, you 
 diligently perform the works of your earthly calling, that you 
 mio-ht get along in the world. That is right. But what labor do 
 you perform in the Lord's vineyard into which God has called 
 you from the market place of this world? Where are the fruits 
 of your faith ? In what manner are you making yourself useful 
 in the Lord's vineyard? Are 3^ou doing your part and share of 
 the work to be accomplished for the extension of God's kingdom 
 and for the glorification of His holy name? Are you doing all 
 you can for the Lord ? Do you not mind going to some trouble 
 and inconvenience ? Do you give freely and willingly to support 
 the Lord's cause? Do you deny yourself certain things for the 
 Lord's sake? Or do you think, If others are fools enough to 
 sacrifice themselves for the Lord and to labor in the sweat of 
 their brow, in the Lord's vineyard, let them do so; so much the 
 
\{\-2 sErruAOEsniA sinday. 
 
 better for me; I shall labor as little as possible, pay as little as 
 l)()ssible, exert myself us little as i)ossible, and the more others 
 do the less shall l)e required of me? If such is your principle, 
 vou are sadly deceiving yourself. The others are not the fools, 
 l)ut you are the fool; and may the Lord grant that you perceive 
 your folly in good time. 
 
 Do not say to me, Those who were called and did their work 
 in the eleventh hour also received the reward, and so will I wait 
 until the eleventh hour, until I am old and death is nigh, and 
 then I will quickly repent and get to heaven. True, Christ is 
 ever ready to receive penitent sinners. He pardoned the dying 
 thief. But how do }'ou know whether you will attain to old age, 
 or whether you will tind time to fix your account with God? 
 Mav not death come very suddenly? And can you bring forth 
 the same excuse which those had who were called in the eleventh 
 hour? When the householder asked them, " Wh// stand ye here 
 all tin (hiij idle?'' did they not make answer and say, ""Because 
 no iiKiii hdth Jdred US'" ? Can you offer such an excuse? Did not 
 the Lord call upon you in His divine Word and entreat you many 
 a time to go into His vineyard? O, then harden not j^our own 
 heart. Engage in the Lord's service. He is ever ready to receive 
 you. (to, that is, repent of your sins with a sincere heart and 
 seek refuge with the Savior Jesus, who bled and died for you. 
 And tiuis you shall be in the vineyard, and your heart shall be 
 filled with a fervent desire to serve God and to labor for Him 
 and for His cause. 
 
 11. 
 
 And your labor shall not be without a reward. 
 
 8i)eaking of the reward we must l)ear two things in mind. 
 First, that we merit absolutely nothing by our labor in the Lord's 
 vinevard, and second, tiiat nevertheless every laborer shall receive 
 his reward. 
 
 Tiie main [jurpose of our CJospel, as stated before, is to show 
 that the work in God's kingdom is not done for compensation, 
 that we merit nothing by all the labor we perform for Christ's 
 sak«'. This is plainly shown by the fact that all lal)orers are paid 
 alike, every one receives the stipulated price, which is a penny. 
 An<l when those- who had been engaged early in the nu)rning. 
 
SEPTLAUKSIMA .SINDAV. 103 
 
 '•^murmured against the (loodman of the house, saying, Tliese last 
 have ivrougJit hut one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto 
 us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day,'' what 
 answer did they receive? "i/e answered one of them, and said. 
 Friend, I do thee no ivrong : didst not thou agree loith me for a 
 penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto 
 this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what 
 I ivill loith mine own? Is tJnne eye evil, because I am good?"" 
 
 We must know that God is our Lord and Master. In this 
 respect our relation to God is the same as that of a slave to his 
 master. The slave does not earn anything by his labor, and is in 
 duty bound to do all the work he can. So Ave are in duty bound 
 to our God and Creator. It is not optional with us to work in 
 His vineyard, or to stand idle in the market place of this world, 
 just as it may suit our own fancy. No ; the lal>or in His vine- 
 yard is something we owe Him, something we must do, and we 
 have no compensation to claim. Jesus therefore says in the 
 Gospel according to St. Luke, "Which of you, having a servant 
 plowing, or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he 
 is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not 
 rather say to him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird 
 thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and after- 
 ward thou shalt eat and drink ? Doth he thank that servant be- 
 cause he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. 
 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which 
 are commanded you, say. We are unprofitable servants: we have 
 done that which was our duty to do." So it is not more than 
 a plain duty of ours to labor in the vineyard of the Lord, who 
 created us, and gave us life and existence, and preserves us from 
 day to day. A compensation for our labors in His vineyard is 
 altogether out of question. 
 
 Nevertheless, my friends, God has promised us that we 
 should be abundantly rewarded for all the labor we perform in 
 His vineyard. His grace and mercy is so bountiful that He not 
 only gives us eternal life for the sake of His beloved Son, but 
 also an additional glory in heaven according to the pleasure of 
 His grace. Did not Jesus say, "Whosoever shall give you a cup 
 of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily 
 I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward" ? Whatever you may 
 
104 SEXACiESIMA SLXDAY. 
 
 do in the fiiitli of the Son of God, every stroke in the Lord's 
 vineyard, even the least and most imperfect Avork, every mite 
 given to the Lord, every prayer ascending into heaven, every 
 good deed proceeding from a truly believing heart, shall be re- 
 warded in heaven. Mark well, heaven itself is not the reward. 
 Heaven has already been gained for us all by Jesus' l)lessed work 
 of the redemption. Rut in heaven, after we have entered the bliss- 
 ful mansions, we shall be rewarded by our good God and Lord. 
 
 O mv friends, how ready and willing should we be to work 
 while it is day, ere the night conieth when no man can work, to 
 take part in the Lord's work wherever we can, wherever there 
 is an oi)poi'tunity for us: to pray diligently in our homes and in 
 the house of the Lord, to give for the support of God's kingdom, 
 not as little, Init as much as possible; to bear our crosses with 
 patience; to aid the })oor and to help those who are in distress; 
 in short, to labor in the Lord's vineyard ! 
 
 Let us never tire, then, of our blessed work. Let us re- 
 member the words of St. Paul, "He which soweth sparingly'' shall 
 reap also sparingly ; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap 
 also bountifully." Let us run that we may obtain the prize, 
 and never be weary in welldoing, until of us it may be said, 
 "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: 
 Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors ; and 
 their works do follow them." Ma}'^ God grant us this for Jesus' 
 sake. Amen. 
 
 SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 
 
 LUKK K, 4 — 15. 
 
 And when much people were fjathered together, and were come to him out 
 of every city, he spake l)y a paral)le: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as 
 he sowed, some fell l)y tiie way side; and it was trodden down, and tlie fowls of 
 tiie air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sjirunj; 
 np, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell amontr thorns; 
 and tiie tliorns spraiifi up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, 
 and si)rang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these 
 tilings, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples 
 asked liim, saying, Wliat might tliis parable be? And he said. Unto you it is 
 given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of fiod : but to otliers in paral)les; 
 that seeing they miglit not .see, and lieariug liiey might uot understand. Now 
 
SEXAGESliMA SUNDAY. 105 
 
 the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by tlie way side are 
 they that hear; then cometh tlie devil, and taketh away the word out of their 
 hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on tlie rock are they, which, 
 when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these liave no root, whicli for a 
 while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among 
 thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with 
 cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But 
 that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having 
 heard the word, keep it, p.nd bring forth fruit with patience. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ : 
 
 " Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the Mngdom 
 of God: but to others in pai-ables ; that seeing they might not see, 
 (ind hearing they might not understand.'''' These words of our 
 Gospel almost sound as if it were God's will that some people 
 f^hould not understand and, therefore, should not derive any 
 benefit from the Word of God, though they hear it. 
 
 The doctrine of Calvin actually maintains that the reason 
 why so many derive no benefit from the divine Word is, because 
 God, according to the unsearchable counsel of His own will, 
 *' whereby He extendeth and withholdeth mercy as He pleaseth," 
 passes by and does not effectually call them through the Gospel. 
 The Word sounds in their ears, but it is ineffectual with them, 
 besause God has not predestinated them unto everlasting life, 
 but foreordained them to everlasting death : such is the Calvin- 
 istic theory. 
 
 And does not this exjDlanation seem very plausible ? Whence 
 that great difference between the hearers of the divine Word? 
 Why is it that some are so quickly moved by the preaching of 
 the Word, and others are not moved at all? Some there be who 
 are deeply impressed when they hear the sermon. They are 
 aroused from their sinful slumber. They are made to rejoice 
 over their salvation. They are comforted in their distresses. 
 Others there be who seem to experience nothing of the kind, 
 though they hear the same divine Word. The preaching leaves 
 them cold and indifferent. Neither are they frightened by the 
 preaching of the Law, nor are their hearts gladdened by the 
 preaching of the Gospel. They draw no comfort from the divine 
 Word. And if their hearts should be moved to some extent dur- 
 ing a sermon, it is only a transient emotion and does not last. 
 Why is it, then, that these derive no l)enefit from the Word? 
 
lOtJ SEXAGf:si.MA SINDAV. 
 
 "NVliv is it that unto tluMii the Word of (lod is preached in vain, 
 while others experience all the blessings that are connected with 
 God's Word? Calvin's doctrine, which sa^s, God passes by and 
 does not effectually call them, seems to explain the situation 
 at once. 
 
 But this explanation is utterly wrong. It contradicts the 
 Scriptures throughout. If there is au}^ truth explicitly stated in 
 the Bible, it is this, that God wills not the sinner's death, that 
 He desires that all men should be saved, that with Him there is 
 no respect of jx-rsons, that His Word is intended for the salva- 
 tion of all that hear it preached unto them. 
 
 The words of Christ, '■'■That seeing they might not see, and 
 hearing they might not understand,'' do not mean to say, it were 
 God's will that some people should not understand His Word. 
 They merely explain why the Lord began to speak in i)arables. 
 Before this He had preached the Gospel in plain words, without 
 the use of figures and illustrations. This the people despised. 
 Now He spok(! in j)arables, in illustrations taken from earthly 
 things, and '-'■ivJn'n lie had said these things, He cried, He that hath 
 ears to hear. Jet him hear.'' His intention was not that the people 
 should not understand His words, but that they should search, as 
 did the disciples, for the hidden meaning of His parables. 
 
 The triu> reason, then, why so many derive no benefit from 
 the hearing of the divine Word is not to be sought in God's will, 
 as if God did not want them to understand, but in their own sin- 
 ful hearts. This is shown in the parable of our Gos})el. Accord- 
 ingly, let us consider with the aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 thp: trie keasox why so 3[any derive no benefit from 
 the heahixg of the word of god. 
 
 It is because their own hearts resemble, 
 I. Eitln^r tiif ir(ti/side, 
 II. Or tin' rocky soil, 
 III. Or the thorny soil. 
 
 I. 
 
 "yl sower ircnf out to soir his seed: and as he soived, some 
 fell hy tJic way sidi ; ami it ir(is trodden down, and the fo ids of 
 the air devoured if/' This is the beixinninjr of the i)arable. And 
 here is the explanation, " VV/c seed is the Word of God . Those 
 
SEXAGESIMA SLXDAV. 107 
 
 hy the way side are they that hear; then tometh the devil, and 
 taketh away the Word out of their hearts, le^t they should believe 
 and be saved.^'' 
 
 So there is a class of men whose hearts resemble the way- 
 side. When the sower w^alks along the edge of the field, casting 
 out his seed by the handful, some of the seed will, perhaps, t^et 
 beyond the tilled soil and fall on the road, where it is crushed 
 under the feet of those who walk by, and the birds come and de- 
 vour it. What a striking illustration of some of the hearers of 
 the divine Word ! There are some such people as get an occa- 
 sional seed of God's Word, a stray seed, so to say, which falls on 
 the wayside. They are not regular attendants at church. They 
 drop in occasionally, or when there is something going on, or 
 they attend the divine service merely to please some one else. 
 Still, they hear, as Christ says. But what fate does the holy 
 Word of God meet with when they hear it proclaimed to them, 
 and feel how it strikes them and wants to take root in the depth 
 of their souls? It is trodden down and crushed. Perhaps their 
 souls were prejudiced before they entered the house of God, and 
 they only came wnth the avowed purpose to be confirmed in such 
 prejudice, to gather evidences against the Christian faith and doc- 
 trine, to find fault somewhere, and afterwards to put to ridicule 
 what they heard the preacher say. Or, perhaps, they are so in- 
 different as to pay no attention to the sermon, and sit there with 
 staring eyes, but their thoughts far away, and with open ears tak- 
 ing in the sounds, but not the words, so that seeing they do not 
 see, and hearing they do not understand. And what is the out- 
 come? '''■Then cometh the devil, and taketh away the Word out 
 of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved."" Like as 
 the fowl of the air pick up the seed on the wa3^side, so does the 
 devil take away from their hearts the divine Word, so that there 
 is not a trace of it left to do them any good, to save them from 
 his power, from sin and from death, and to fill their souls with 
 true consolation and with the hope of eternal life. 
 
 What, then, is the true reason why these people derive no 
 benefit from the hearing of the divine Word? Is it because God 
 does not want them to believe and to be saved? No ; it is because 
 the devil does not want them to believe and to be saved. And the 
 devil could not have any power over them if they did not yield to 
 
108 SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 
 
 him, if tlu'ir hearts did not resemble the trodden wayside paved 
 witii prejudice and indifference, which God, even while they hear 
 the Word, endeavors to remove from them, and would actually 
 remove, if only they would not resist Him willfully, and harden 
 their own hearts against the divine truth. 
 
 11. 
 
 The second class of those who derive no benefit from the 
 hearing of the divine Word are they who resemble the rocky soil. 
 The Lord says in the parable, ''And some fell upon a rod-; and 
 as soon as it was sjjtmng up, it withered away, because it lacked 
 moisture.'' And this is the explanation, ''They on the rock are 
 they, ivhich, ivhen they hear, receive the Word with joy; and 
 these have no root, ivhich for a while believe, and in time of 
 temptation fall away."" When the seed drops on the rock which 
 is covered with a thin layer of ground, the moisture in the soil 
 and the heat from above will cause it to sprout in a short time ; 
 and the blades will come forth very promising. Alas ! there is 
 no room in such a thin layer for the roots to grow. The sun 
 scorches, the moisture evaporates, the ground becomes parched, 
 and everything withers away. This is a portraiture of not a few 
 hearers of the divine Word. There are people who are easily 
 moved. They do not harden their hearts with prejudice and in- 
 difference, as does the first class. Their prejudices, if they enter- 
 tain such, are quickly removed, and their indifference is com- 
 pletely overcome, while they hear the precious Gospel telling 
 them that God loved them so dearly, in spite of their sinfulness, 
 and has given His only begotten Son to die for them, that they 
 might live. They are truly converted. They believe on the Lord 
 Jesus Christ with a true heart. They begin a new life that is 
 pleasing in the sight of God. They are God's dear children, and 
 walk in the narrow way that leads to eternal life. 
 
 But no Christian can walk that way unencumbered and un- 
 disturbed. Temptations will and must come. These enthusiastic 
 Christians are assailed by the devil, the world, and tlieir own sin- 
 ful flesh. They are prevailed upon to leave the narrow way and 
 to enter upon the broad way which is so agreeable to tlie flesh. 
 And behold, just as easily as they were converted, they are again 
 perverted; just as easily as they were moved to believe in the 
 
SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY. 1()9 
 
 Lord Jesus, just as easily are they induced to cast away that 
 l)recious faith and to join the world with its evil lusts. 
 
 And let me tell you right here, such time -Christians, such 
 unreliable Christians are frequently those who are converted in 
 revival meetings, if a conversion takes place at all. You know 
 about these revival meetings. A so-called evangelist is enffaged 
 to stir up the people, because there is a sort of spiritual stag- 
 nation and the pastor's sermons are ineffective. Big crowds as- 
 semble. A o;reat show is made about the good work that is being 
 done and about the large number of those who are being con- 
 verted. Alas ! when the noted evangelist has departed, or even 
 before that, the enthusiasm dies away, and, perhaps, within a 
 few weeks the majority of those newly converted Christians are 
 again outside of the pale of the Christian church; and though 
 a great ado had been made in the press about the number of con- 
 versions, the great number of backsliders is never made public. 
 
 But what is the true reason why these backsliders derive no 
 benefit from the hearing of the divine Word? Why is it that 
 they lose the faith and join the world, like Demas? Is it because 
 the Lord God neglected them and did not endow them with suffi- 
 cient grace and power to withstand those temptations and to re- 
 main in the faith ? No ; it is because their own hearts resemble 
 the rocky soil which produces no fruit. The Word of God wdiich 
 they hear is mighty to change their hearts, and the grace which 
 they receive is powerful and sufficient to keep them in the nar- 
 row way. But they refuse to obey the Word when temptations 
 come upon them. They resist the Holy Ghost, who warns them 
 and prevails upon them to stand firm. And so the fault lies with 
 them. They themselves are to blame for not deriving any benefit 
 from the hearing of the divine Word. 
 
 III. 
 
 The third class of hearers deriving no enduring benefit from 
 the hearing of the divine Word, are those who resemble the thorny 
 soil. The Lord says in the parable, ^^And some fell ainong thorns; 
 and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.'' And this is the 
 explanation, "vlncZ that ivldcJi fell atnong thorns are they, which, 
 when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and 
 riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.'^ 
 
110 SEXAGKSI.MA SLNDAY. 
 
 The seed which falls on the thorny soil will certainly grow. But 
 the thorns also will grow; and thorns are weeds that will thrive 
 and "-et ahead of good iilants. In a short while the thorns wnll be 
 masters of the tiold, and the good seed will be choked and re- 
 tarded in its growth, so that it will not yield fruit to perfection. 
 And thus it is with many hearers of the divine Word. They ap- 
 pear to be true Christians, as far as the outward profession goes. 
 They neither show and manifest their dislike of the Christian 
 faith, as does the- first class; nor do they profess Christianity 
 only for a while and then fall away, as does the second class. 
 They are outward members of the church and remain such. They 
 make use of the means of grace. They hear the preaching of 
 the Word of God and come to the holy sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper. They seem to manifest a desire to provide for the eter- 
 nal welfare of their immortal souls. They seem really to seek 
 the kinc^dom of God and His righteousness. But there are other 
 things which they crave for, and which so completely occupy their 
 hearts as to crowd out and subdue their Christianity. They have 
 earthly cares and earthly troul^les which draw away their minds 
 from heaven. They chase after riches and have set their mind 
 on wealth. They seek worldly enjoyments and do not shrink 
 back from i)artaking of those sinful pleasures in which the chil- 
 dren of this world lind their joy. In short, the}^ want to serve 
 two masters, God and this world. And that is a thing which no 
 one can do. The world will make slaves of such double-faced 
 Christians, slaves that are Christians merely by name, but not 
 in truth. Though tliey hear the Word of God and ajjparently 
 receive a blessing therefrom, they will not live up to the Word 
 and will deny by their lives what they profess with their mouths. 
 
 What, then, is the true reason why these derive no l)enetit 
 from the hearing of the divine Word, why they do not bring fruit 
 to perfection ? The true reason is to be sought in their own hearts, 
 which resemble the thorny soil. There is always in the Word 
 whieh they hear the jjower to change their hearts and to overcome 
 th«' cares and riches and pleasures of this life. But they refuse 
 to yield to the j)Ower of the Word and prefer to follow their own 
 incliiialioMs. 
 
 My dear fi'icnds, let us always be careful not to resist within 
 ourselves when we hear what (iod has to say to us. Let us always 
 
QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. Ill 
 
 submit to the divine influence of God's Word. Our hearts shall 
 then resemble neither the wayside, nor the rocky soil, nor the 
 thorny soil, but the good ground. We shall continually enjoy the 
 benefits which the Lord has promised unto them that hear His 
 Word devoutly, and our true portrait we shall find in the last 
 words of our Gospel, where the Lord says, "^w< that on the good 
 ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard 
 the Word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.'' Amen. 
 
 QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 
 
 Luke 18, 31—43. 
 Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up 
 to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the 
 Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, 
 and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on : and they shall 
 scourge him, and put him to deatli : and tlie third day he shall rise again. And 
 they understood none of these tilings: and this saying was hid from them, 
 neither knew tliey the tilings which were spoken. And it came to pass, that as 
 he was come nigh unto Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side beg- 
 ging: and hearing the multitude pass by, he asked what it meant. And they 
 told him, that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, 
 thou son of David, have mercy on me. And they which went before rebuked 
 him, that he should hold his peace : but he cried so much the more. Thou son 
 of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood, and commanded him to be 
 brought unto him : and when he was come near, he asked him, saying, What 
 wilt thou that I shall do unto thee? And he said, Lord, that I may receive my 
 sight. And Jesus said unto him. Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee. 
 And immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying God : and 
 all the people, when they saw it, gave praise unto God. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 '■'■They understood none of these things: and this saying was 
 hid from tJtem, neitlier kneio they the things which were spoken.'''' 
 This is what St. Luke has to say of the disciples, after the Lord 
 had told them in plain words that now they were going to Jeru- 
 salem, and that there He must suffer and die. None of these 
 things did they understand. How is this to be accounted for? 
 Could the Lord speak any plainer than He did? Were not His 
 words as clear and simple as they could be to communicate unto 
 them the information that He was to suffer and to die? '■'Behold, 
 
112 QUINQUAGESI>L\ SUNDAY. 
 
 we go up to Jeinimleni, and all things that are ivritten by the 
 prophet a concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For 
 lit shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and 
 spittfully entreated, and spitted on; and they shall scourge Him, 
 and put Ilini to death."" How can it be possible for anyone 
 not to understand sueli plain and simple language? The Lord 
 certainly spoke to them in their own native tongue. And this 
 they did not understand? What are we to make of that? 
 
 The solution of this i)roblem is obvious. St. Luke does not 
 say, They understood not the words. These they understood per- 
 fectly well. They comprehended as well as we do that the Lord 
 spoke of His suffering and death. St. Luke says, " TJiey under- 
 stood not these THINGS." How their Lord and Master should be 
 delivered into the hands of the Gentiles to suffer and to die — 
 this is what they could not comi)rehend. It was incompatible 
 with their opinion of the Messiah and His glorious kingdom. 
 They expected to go to Jerusalem and see Jesus enthroned as 
 the great King of Israel to inaugurate a new era for the Jewish 
 nation. Their own human reason revolted at the idea that He, 
 who more than once had miraculously escaped the murderous 
 grasj) of His enemies, should now be delivered into their hands, 
 and that He, who had in thousands of cases soothed the pains 
 and healed the diseases of others and had even restored to life 
 the dead, should now underjro torments and sufferingfs and Him- 
 self be slain. And unto this day human reason is prone to doubt 
 and to be offended in the sufferings and death of our beloved 
 Savior. Let us, therefore, with the aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 consider, 
 
 THE DOUBTS AND OFFENSES OF HUMAN REASON CONCERNING 
 THE SUFFERING AND DEATH OF THE SON OF GOD. 
 
 We shall see, 
 
 I. Wherein these doubts and offenses consist, and 
 II. How they are removed. 
 
 I. 
 
 Though the disciples could not help understanding the literal 
 meaning of Christ's words when He said, '■'-Behold, we go up to 
 Jernsdh III . <ni<l all fhitigs fhaf are ivritten by the prophets con- 
 
QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 113 
 
 cerning the Son of man shall be accomph'shed. For He shall he 
 delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall he mocked, and spitefully 
 entreated, and spitted on; and they shall scourge Him, and put 
 Him to death: and the third day He shall rise again,'' still this 
 sajnng was hid unto them. Doubts entered their minds as to 
 the true meaning of these words. They took it for granted that 
 these words could not be taken in a literal sense. 
 
 And what were their doubts? They evidently considered it 
 both impossible and unnecessary that their Lord and Master 
 should suffer and die. 
 
 Impossible they deemed it. Had they not heard Him say 
 time and again that He was the true Son of the livino; God? 
 Had they not beheld with their own eyes that nothing in this 
 world could withstand His divine power? Had they not recog- 
 nized in Him the divine Master who conquered all diseases, all 
 the demons of hell, and even death? And how often had His 
 enemies attempted both with force and with subtlety to appre- 
 hend and to kill Him ! At Nazareth they had led Him to the 
 brow of the hill whereon the city was built, that they might 
 cast Him down headlong. And how did He escape? Passing 
 through the midst of them He went His way. At Jerusalem they 
 had sent officers to take Him prisoner. The officers went and 
 found Him preaching in the market place. His divine words 
 so affected them they could not lay hands upon Him. Upon 
 their return, being asked, "Why have ye not brought Him?" 
 they made answer, "Never man spake like this Man." In the 
 temple the Jews had gone sheer mad when the Lord declared 
 unto them, "Verily, verily, I say unto you. Before Abraham was, 
 I am." They took up stones, stood around Him in a circle, and 
 made preparations to stone Him to death. He seemed doomed 
 right then and there. And how did He escape? Majestically 
 going through the midst of them. He passed out of the temple. 
 No arm was able to move, no stone was hurled at Him. Of such 
 things had the disciples been eyewitnesses. Hence their doubts 
 as to the possibility of Christ's falling into the hands of His 
 enemies to suffer and to die. 
 
 Moreover, they also doubted the necessity of Christ's suf- 
 fering and death. From the days of their youth they had been 
 taught that the Messiah would establish a glorious worldly king- 
 
114 QUINQUAGESniA SUNDAY. 
 
 (lom and rule over all the nations. All along the Lord had been 
 in.^tructiii^^ them and telling them that His kingdom were not of 
 this world. But they held on to their ideas of Christ's worldly 
 kingdom. What neeessity was there for Him to midergo such 
 things as to suffer, and to die, and to rise again from the dead? 
 Could lie not ascend the throne of David without doing Him- 
 self such harm? These, evidently, were their doubts as to the 
 necessity of Christ's suffering and death. And so deeply were 
 these doubts rooted in their minds as to make it impossible for 
 them to understand the spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom, until 
 the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost came upon them and 
 guided them into all truth. 
 
 From the disciples we learn that human reason can compre- 
 hend neither the possibility nor the necessity of Christ's suffering 
 and death. The deep humiliation of the Son of God is a mys- 
 terv which human reason can neither fathom nor reveal. It is 
 and it ever has been a stumbling; -block to human reason that 
 Jesus should suffer and die on the cross and, at the same time, 
 be the eternal Son of God. History proves and experience con- 
 firms it. Nothing did the Jews and the Gentiles in the days of 
 the apostles consider more foolish and ridiculous than to hear 
 the Christians call Him their God and Savior who had been be- 
 trayed by one of His own disciples, mocked, spitefully entreated, 
 spitted on, scourged, and finally nailed to the cross, and killed 
 like a common criminal. 
 
 The same objections to the Bible's statements concerning 
 the suffering and death of God's eternal Son are made in the 
 name of human reason and common sense to this day. How can 
 that be possible? says the voice of human reason. Jesus of 
 Nazareth, the homeless man, Avho had not where to lay His head; 
 who fled l)efore His persecutors; who lay upon His knees in 
 Gethsemane sorrowful and sore amazed; who was altogether 
 helpless in the hands of His enemies; who was taken captive and 
 bound })y the ofticers, and elders, and chief priests; who was 
 condemned to death, ill-treated, scourged, crucified; who Him- 
 self complained that God had forsaken Him, and died such an 
 ignominious death — this unfortunate man should be the Son of 
 (lod? How can that be j)ossil)le? And even if it were pos- 
 sible — says the voice of human reason — , where is the necessity 
 
QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY, 115 
 
 for such proceedings? The great God, that Supreme Being, who 
 created heaven and earth, who is exalted above all things, who 
 lives in a state of glory and majesty which no mortal tongue 
 can describe ; that great God should descend from the throne of 
 His divine glory and become man for the purpose of permitting 
 Himself to l)e spitefully entreated l)y a lawless mob, to, be l)uf- 
 feted by the vile hands of ruffians, chastised, mocked, murdered? 
 Should God, the God of love, be so cruel as to lay upon His be- 
 loved Son the burden of the whole sinful world, all the sins and 
 transgressions of the human race, and have Him suffer the most 
 excruciating pains, and shed His blood in streams, and die a 
 miserable death? Could not the Almighty have devised some 
 other plan to redeem and save the lost human race than with the 
 blood of His own Son? These, my friends, are the doubts and 
 objections and offenses of human reason concerning the suffering 
 and death of the Son of God. 
 
 II. 
 
 And now, in the second place, let us see how these doubts 
 and offenses may be removed. 
 
 Concerning the first doubt and offense of human reason, the 
 possibility of Jesus' suffering and death, we must admit that Jesus 
 could not be the Son of God, if accidentally He had fallen into 
 the hands of His enemies and had suffered as a powerless victim 
 to their relentless enmity. How could an accident, how could 
 any unforeseen event, or fate, disturb the plans of the omniscient 
 God? How could human craftiness outwit divine wdsdom ? How 
 could any power upon earth conquer the Almighty and reverse 
 His decrees? But the foundation of this doubt and oifense has 
 been removed long ago by the Scriptures. For the Scriptures 
 tell us that Jesus did not fall into the hands of His enemies 
 unawares, because fate had suddenly turned against Him. The 
 Scriptures tell us that He did not suffer and die unwillingly, but 
 willingly, according to God's eternal counsel, and to fulfill the 
 Scriptures. Read the Old Testament, and you will find that for 
 a period of four thousand years God had been proclaiming to the 
 world that His Son should become man to suffer and die for the 
 sins of the world. Even the minutest occurrences connected with 
 His sufferinor and death are foretold in the Old Testament. And 
 
116 QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 
 
 (lid not Christ Himself show before all men that He could have 
 escaped and that He was able to resist? Not only did He stay 
 the hands of those who wanted to precipitate Him from the rock 
 at Nazareth, and of those who wanted to stone Him in the temple, 
 but even in the hour of His deepest humiliation He exhibited His 
 divine power. Scarcely had He risen to His feet from that ter- 
 rible struggle in Gethsemane, when His majestic words, "I am 
 He," made the motley crowd, which came to take Him captive, 
 go backward and fall to the ground. He healed the ear of 
 Makinis wliicli Peter had cut off with his sword, and ])y the 
 simple words, "If ye seek mo, let these go," He gained liberty 
 for His disciples. Had He only been willing to do so. He could 
 easily have laid all His enemies prostrate at His feet, and could 
 even have descended from the cross, and transformed that scene 
 of His humiliation into a scene of glory and triumph. But it 
 was of His own will that He consented to reconcile unto God 
 the sinful world by His suffering and death. Willingly He came 
 into this world. Willingly He took upon Himself the form of 
 a servant. Willingly, and well knowing everything that was in 
 store for Him, He undertook His last journey to Jerusalem to 
 fultill all things said by the prophets concerning the Son of man. 
 Where is there any room now for human reason to come in with 
 its doubts and offenses concerning the possibility of Jesus' suffer- 
 ing and death? They are all removed by the fact that Jesus 
 suffered willingly. 
 
 But, says human reason, was all this necessary? Could the 
 merciful God not devise some other plan, a plan not so cruel and 
 bloody, to save the human race? The Scriptures remove also 
 this second offense. The Scriptures tell us that God is not only 
 merciful, but also just and holy, that His justice demands full 
 puiiisiinu'iit of the transgressors ; and that He cannot be mer- 
 ciful at the exi)ense of His justice and holiness; that He cannot 
 forgive sin in such a way as to act as if sin were nothing serious; 
 that God Himself did not take any pleasure in the cruelty that 
 was connected with the noble sacrifice of His beloved Son for 
 the fallen human race; but that this had to be in order to fully 
 atone for the sins of all men and to satisfy the demands of divine 
 justice. It is true, hy nature we have correct ideas neither of 
 the (liiiiMiableness of sin nor of the strictness of God's justice. 
 
QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. 117 
 
 By nature we are disposed to look upon sin, as if it were merely 
 a sort of weakness for which we were not so much to blame ; 
 and we are disposed to look upon the great God in heaven, as 
 if He were an over-good and lenient Father who overlooks the 
 wrongs of His children and lets their misdoings go unpunished. 
 Hence, to become perfectly convinced of the necessity of Jesus' 
 bloody atonement for our sins we must, first of all, be enlightened 
 by the holy Word of God. All the doubts and offenses con- 
 cerning the necessity of Jesus' suffering and death will be hushed 
 in him who yields to the intluence of the divine Word. This we 
 may learn from the latter part of our Gospel. There Ave read, 
 ^^And it came to pass, that as He was come nigh unto Jericho, a 
 certain blind man sat by the wayside begging ; and hearing the 
 multitude pass by, he asked ivhat it meant. And they told him, 
 that Jesus of Nazareth passeth by. And he cried, saying, Jesus, 
 TJiou Son of David, have mercy on me. And they loliich went 
 before rebuked him, that he shoidd hold his peace: but he cried 
 so much the more. Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And 
 Jesus stood and commanded him to be brought unto Him: and 
 when he was come near. He asked him, saying. What ivilt thou 
 that I shall do unto thee ? And he said, Lord, that I may re- 
 ceive my sight. And Jesus said unto him., Receive thy sight: 
 thy faith hath saved thee. And immediately lie received his 
 sight, and followed Him, glorifying God: and all the people, 
 when they saw it, gave praise unto God.'''' 
 
 This wonderful event, which occurred immediately after the 
 disciples had been made aware of their own spiritual blindness in 
 the matter concerning the Lord's suffering and death, goes to 
 show how the natural man may be cured of his spiritual blind- 
 ness, so as to become perfectly convinced of the necessity of 
 Jesus' suffering and death. Like the blind man he nuist, first 
 of all, know that he is blind spiritually, and then call upon Jesus 
 the Savior to help him, and to enlighten him with His Word and 
 Spirit, so that he may see, that he may behold the wonders of 
 His grace and mercy exhibited in the pains and suffering of the 
 dying Savior. 
 
 O blessed is he who calls upon Jesus, as did that blind man ! 
 Jesus will hear his prayer and remove from him all those doubts 
 which his own human reason may produce concerning the Lord's 
 
118 FIKST .srXUAY IX LENT. 
 
 holy passion. The history of the Lord's passion will be unto 
 him a source of life and salvation, a crystal fountain whence the 
 healinir streams do flow that will comfort him in life and death. 
 May the Lord grant unto us all His divine blessing during 
 the coming season of Lent, and strengthen our faith in us, while 
 we prayerfully contemplate the sacred story of our suffering and 
 dying Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. 
 
 FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 Matt. 4, 1 — 11. 
 Then was Jesus led up of the si)irit into the wilderness to be tempted of the 
 devil. And when he liad fasted forty days and forty ni<;hts, lie was afterward 
 an hundred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of 
 God, command tliat these stones be made bread. But he answered and said. It 
 Is written, .Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth 
 out of the mouth of God. Tlien tlie devil tal^etli him up into the holy city, and 
 setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him. If thou be the Sou 
 of God, cast tliyself down : for it is written. He shall give his angels charge con- 
 cerning tliee: and in their hands they shall bear tliee up, lest at any time thou 
 dash tliy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him. It is written again, Thou 
 slialt not tempt the Lord tliy God. Again, tlie devil tai<;etli him up into an ex- 
 ceeding higli mountain, and slieweth him all tlie kingdoms of the world, and the 
 glory of them; and saith unto him. All these tilings will I give thee, if tliou wilt 
 fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him. Get thee hence, Satan : 
 for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou 
 ser\-e. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered 
 unto him. 
 
 Beloved Friends ix Christ: 
 
 This is a remarkable story — Christ tempted by the devil in 
 the wilderness. At tirst sight we arc at a loss what to make of it, 
 and w(; fail to see why Christ should be tem])ted of the devil. But 
 there is a cause and reason for everything Christ did. And the 
 reason why Jesus underwent this temptation in the wilderness 
 was, because He wanted to make amends for and set aright the 
 failure of our first parents, of Adam and Eve, in Paradise. Are 
 we not told that "for this purpose the Son of God was manifested 
 that He might destroy the works of the devil"? And what was 
 the devil's first work? It was this. In the form of a serpent he 
 approached man in Paradise and tempted him to transgress God's 
 
FIRST SUNDAY IX LENT. IIH 
 
 commandment, to perform an act of disol)oclience against the di- 
 vine Maker. And behold, lie was successful. Thouixli our first 
 parents jiossessed the power to resist Satan and to retain their 
 original integrity, yet they did not stand tirm in the hour of temp- 
 tation, but hearkened to the seducing voice of the tempter. Thus 
 sin was brought into the world with all its evil consequences, 
 misery, death, and eternal damnation. And it was not merely 
 the individual that fell, it was the race that fell in Adam and Eve. 
 For their children were flesh of their flesh and blood of their 
 blood, polluted and corrupted with the same sin with which they 
 were infected. The fountain having been contaminated, the en- 
 tire stream issuing therefrom is stocked with germs of disease and 
 death. This was the devil's work. But our divine Lord came to 
 destroy the works of the devil. Scarcely had He been baptized 
 by John the Baptist and entered upon His public ministry, when 
 He encountered the "old serpent" in the wilderness and sub- 
 jected Himself to the deceiver's temptations. And lo ! Jesus 
 came out victorious. He conquered Satan for us, as our Substi- 
 tute, and thereby won back the battle which had been lost in 
 Paradise. 
 
 Jesus, however, does not only figure as our Substitute in 
 those temptations in the wilderness. He is our Guide at the same 
 time. Bj" His example we may learn how to stand firm in all the 
 temptations with which we are being beset. With the aid of God's 
 Holy Spirit let us consider the question, 
 
 HOW MAY A CHRISTIAN STAND FIRM IN TEMPTATIONS? 
 
 I. In temptations to use unlaivful 'means for his sustenance, 
 
 hy an implicit trust in God. 
 II. In temptations to believe false doctrines, by a strict ad- 
 herence to the divine Word. 
 HI. In temjytations to seek the world's sinful pleasures, by a 
 stern refusal. 
 
 I. 
 
 '■^TJien ivas Jesvs led up) of the Spirit into the luilderness to 
 he tempted of the devil. And ivJien He had fasted forty days and 
 forty nifjJits, He toas afterncard an Jningred. And when the tempter 
 came to Him, he said. If Thou be the Son of God, command that 
 
 9 
 
120 FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT, 
 
 these stones be made hread.'' We shall not enter upon the ques- 
 tion here, in what disguise or form the devil approached Jesus 
 and tempted Ilim. The Scriptures say nothing about this, and 
 all we know is, that it was the evil spirit, who had assumed the 
 form of an intellectual, rational, visible being, so that he could 
 converse with Jesus. Neither shall we enter into discussion with 
 those who claim that the things recorded in our Gospel were not 
 an actual occurrence, but merely took place in the mind of elesus 
 and were a sort of a vision which came to His weakened mind in 
 consequence of a forty days' fast. There is not the least trace 
 of an indication pointing to such an explanation. Our text, on 
 the face of it, is a plain, simple narrative describing what actually 
 took place ; and every unprejudiced reader will and must accept 
 it as such. 
 
 The question with us is. What did the first temptation im- 
 ply, when tiie devil approached Jesus and said, "7/" Thou be the 
 Soil of God, command tliat these stones be made bread" 7 The 
 answer is. It implied that Jesus should use unlawful means to pro- 
 vide for His own sustenance. Jesus was hungry, having fasted 
 forty days and forty nights. He was starved and longed for some- 
 thing to eat. Now the devil's object was that Jesus should not 
 trust in His heavenly Father, and expect of Him to provide for 
 His bodily wants, but that He should exert His own power, if He 
 really were the Son of God, and turn stones into bread, against 
 the will of the Father, who had sent Him upon this earth to suffer 
 and to subject His will to the will of His Father in heaven, to be 
 obedient to Him to death, even the death of the cross. 
 
 Does not the devil tempt Christians in the same manner to 
 this day? When you are in want and an opportunity presents 
 itself to obtain money or goods in an unlawful way, by practicing 
 upon your neighbor a clever fraud, or by lottery, or gambling, 
 or in some otlier crooked way, does not the devil whisper into 
 your ear and say, 'Here is your chance ! Why should you be such 
 a fool as to let it sli])? Go, do it I Others do it, the most re- 
 spectable people do it. There is no wrong in it, especially since 
 you are in such straits and difficulties. When you are ill at ease 
 about stolen or lost goods, or about things that are concealed be- 
 fore your eyes and that you would like to know, are you not 
 tempted at times to apply to clairvoyants, mediums, fortune- 
 
FIKST SUNDAY IX LENT. 121 
 
 tellers, and to find out with their aid what God does not want you 
 to know? When a disease has fastened upon you which baffles 
 medical skill and no relief may be expected from the physicians, 
 are you not tempted at times to use witchcraft, or to join the so- 
 called Christian Scientists who deny the very existence of sin and 
 its evil consequences, and tell you to simply believe that you are 
 well and your sickness must depart ? 
 
 How may a Christian stand firm in these temptations to use 
 unlawful means for his sustenance or deliverance? Christ shows 
 us plainly. He answered the devil and said, '■'■It is ivriffen, 
 Man shall not live hy bread alone^ but by every word that pro- 
 ceedetli out of the mouth of God.'" The Lord quotes this passage 
 from the book of Deuteronomy, where the reason is stated why 
 God fed the Israelites with manna, namely, because He would 
 teach them that man shall not live by bread alone. Jesus here 
 manifests His trust in the heavenly Father, that the Father is able 
 and willing to provide for Him ; and that He can do so without 
 bread, even as He did in the wilderness when He fed Israel forty 
 years with manna. Learn from Christ, then, my dear Christian, 
 how to stand firm in the temptation to use unlawful means for 
 your sustenance and deliverance. Trust in God that He will pro- 
 vide for you in some way. Trust in Him so implicitly as not to 
 doubt that the affliction in which you must remain is for your 
 own good, and that He will deliver you when the right time is 
 come. Trust in Him, that without His good and gracious will 
 not a hair shall drop from your head, and that with Him yon are 
 always in safe keeping. And if thus you trust in the Almighty 
 God you will stand firm in the hour of temptation and not think 
 of doing anything which is incompatible with conscience and His 
 divine Word. 
 
 II. 
 
 The second temptation is described in the following words, 
 '■'■Then the devil taketJi Him up into the holy city, and setfeth Him 
 on a pinnacle of the temple, and saitJt unto Him, If Thou he the 
 Son of God, cast Thyself dote n: for it is written, He shall (jive 
 His angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall 
 bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. '^ 
 Now what did this second temptation imply? It implied false 
 
122 FIRST SUNDAY IX LENT. 
 
 doctrine. The false doctrine produced by the devil is, that God 
 will protect those who trust in Him and let no harm come to them, 
 even if wantonl}' they expose themselves to danger and risk their 
 lives by some foolhardy act. Jesus had declared His trust in the 
 heavenly Father in point of nourishment ; now He should show 
 His trust in point of safety. He should leap from the high roof 
 of the temple, and believe that He would land safely on the ground 
 below, because God's holy angels would bear Him upon their 
 hands. In support of this false doctrine the devil quotes Scrip- 
 ture. But how does he quote Scrijjture? He omits the very 
 l)oint at issue. For the passage quoted from Psalm 91 reads, 
 *'In all thy ways the Lord shall keep thee." "What does that 
 mean, "In all thy ways" ? It means. If you go out of 3'our way, 
 out of the way of your duty and calling, you forfeit the promise 
 and have no claim to God's protection. Now these few little 
 words overthrow the whole doctrine of God's jirotection in fool- 
 hardiness, which the devil meant to elicit from the Word of God; 
 and therefore he cunningly omitted them. It was false doctrine 
 with which he temi)ted Christ. 
 
 Does not the devil oftentimes tempt Christians in the same 
 manner to this day? Is he not constantly breeding mischief by 
 false doctrine? Are there not false prophets almost everywhere, 
 perverting and distorting the holy "Word of God by either omit- 
 tinor therefrom or adding thereto? Is there not a bewildering 
 number of sects, each of them deviating from God's plain "Word 
 in some point and claiming to possess the truth? Is there a divine 
 truth Avhich iSatan had not assailed and to which he had not given 
 some false interjjretation? Docs he not continually bring forth 
 something; new, some new doctrine, or some new method to rob 
 men of their faith in flesus, the Savior from sin, aside from whom 
 there is no salvation and none other name under heaven given 
 among men whereby we must be saved? 
 
 How nuiy Christians stand firm in these temptations of false 
 doctrine? Christ shows us i)lainly. He simply said to the devil, 
 "// is irn'ffcii (/f/ff/ii, Tlion shttlt )i(>f fc)i/j)f tJie Lord tlnj God."^ 
 "W^hat was the wc.tpon, then, which Jesus wielded against tlu^ 
 tempter, and l)y which He wiped out his fiery darts? It was 
 the written Word of God. The devil had quoted the Word of 
 God to support a false doctrine of his own fabrication, and had 
 
FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. 123 
 
 mutilated the Word to gain the point. Jesus quoted the Word of 
 God in full l^earing in plain language upon the point in question. 
 He stood firm in the temptation and overcame Satan by a strict 
 adherence to the divine Word. Learn from Christ, then, mv dear 
 Christians, how to stand firm when you are being tempted bv false 
 doctrine. It is a vain excuse for a Christian to say. There are so 
 many churches, every one of them claiming to be right and saying 
 the others were wrong, one does not know whom or what to be- 
 lieve. You have the written Word of God, the Bible. Ever}'^ ques- 
 tion of doctrine is settled in that Book. There is nothin<r to be 
 settled by churches, or synods, or ecclesiastical bodies. God Him- 
 self has settled everything once for all in the Bible. Let neither 
 the traditions of men, nor the dictates of human reason, nor 
 the deceptions of your own sinful heart beguile you. Search the 
 Scriptures. Abide by the letter and spirit of the Avritten Word 
 of God; and if this you do, you shall not be deceived by false 
 doctrine, even though men endeavor to support it by Scripture, 
 falsely quoted, and by wonders and signs. Jesus distinctly says, 
 "There shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show 
 great signs and wonders." But if you strictly adhere to the 
 divine Word, you will not be deceived by them. 
 
 III. 
 
 The third temptation is thus described: ^^ Again the devil 
 iaheth Him up into an exceeding Itigli mountain, and shoiveth 
 Uim all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; and 
 saith unto Him, All these things will I give Thee, if Thou ivilt 
 fall doion and worship me."' Now what does this third tempta- 
 tion imply? It was calculated to kindle in Jesus a desire for the 
 pleasures of this world. From an exceeding high mountain the 
 devil showed Him all the kingdoms of this world and their glory. 
 This was done, as Luke informs us, "in a moment of time." It 
 was done in a twinkling of the eye. There was a scene presented 
 to the eyes of Jesus which came and went as a flash of lightning. 
 It was, doubtless, "a fascinating delusion of Satan setting forth 
 the wealth and pleasure and gayety of life as indulged in by the 
 children of the world; the crowns, and robes, and palaces, and 
 pleasure gardens, and all the earthly power and splendor of kings 
 and princes." The devil was sure that this dazzling picture must 
 
124 FIRST SUNDAY IX LENT. 
 
 create a profound impression and produce in Jesus a desire to 
 enjoy those pleasures. Unhesitatingly he, therefore, makes the 
 proposal, "A/l (htst f/thu/s viU I tjive TAee, if Thou wilt fall 
 down and n'ors/iip me." 
 
 Does not the devil tempt Christians in the same manner to 
 this day? Is not the temptation to seek the world's sinful pleas- 
 ures the most frecjuent and the most dangerous delusion of the 
 prince of this world? From the days of the holy apostles, when 
 Demas forsook Paul, having loved this present world, to this day, 
 have not thousands u})on thousands lost the faith and swelled the 
 number of the damned, because they withstood not the tempta- 
 tion to the lusts of the flesh, and of the eye, and the pride of 
 life? Is not the world and its evil lusts, the desire for nothing 
 ])ut amusements, enjoyments, pleasures the great temptation of 
 the day, the temptation that tends to ruin our Christian con- 
 srreo-ations, and to kill in them the spiritual life, and to induce 
 the Christians to worship God with their mouths and the devil in 
 their hearts and with their works? 
 
 () my dear Christian hearers, let us stand firm in this last 
 and severest tcmi)tation. Christ has shown us how. He met the 
 devil with a stern refusal and said, ^^Get thee hence, Satajt : for 
 it is 2critfen, Thou shalt ivorship the Lord thy God, and Him 
 onh/ shalt thou sei^e.'' Learn from Christ, then, what to do 
 when you are tempted to seek the world's sinful pleasures. When 
 the godless children of this world invite you to go with them to 
 such places as should be shunned by Christians, or to do such 
 things as are forbidden in the Lord's commandments, the onl}^ 
 way to overcome such temptations is, sternly and most emphat- 
 ically to refuse, because God demands your whole heart and not 
 only a part of it, if you would l)e His child. Say with Joseph, 
 "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" 
 Remember the apostle's entreaty: "Love not the world, neither 
 the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the 
 love of (iod is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust 
 of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not 
 of the Father, })ut of the world ; and the world jiasseth away and 
 the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God, abideth for- 
 ever." Know that you are actually worshiping the devil, if you 
 give \'()ur h»'ait to the world. But blessed are they that stand 
 
SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. 125 
 
 firm in the hour of temptation ! At the end of our Gospel we 
 read of Christ, ^^TJien the devil leavetJi IIi)ii, and, heliold, angels 
 came and ministered unto Him.''' So shall the angels of God 
 also minister unto those who stand firm in temptations, and guard 
 and keep them until they arrive 
 
 Where all the ransomed church of God 
 Be saved to sin no more. 
 Amen. 
 
 SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 Matt. 15, 21—28. 
 Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 
 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto 
 him, saying. Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; ray daughter is 
 grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his dis- 
 ciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crietli after us. 
 But lie answered and said, I am not sent but unto tlie lost sheep of the house 
 of Israel. Then came she and woi'shiped him, saying. Lord, help me. But lie 
 answered and said. It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to 
 dogs. And she said. Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall 
 from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, 
 great is thy faith : be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was 
 made whole from that very hour. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 The Syrophoenician woman in our Gospel, though coming 
 from the Gentiles, was a true believer in Jesus Christ. ' ' O woman, 
 great is thy faith!'' says Jesus. She was in God's grace, her sins 
 were forgiven, she was a child of God; and God loved her. 
 
 But did she feel these things? Did she joyously experience 
 in her own heart that she was in such a blessed state? No; while 
 Jesus dealt with her as He did when He rebuked her and refused 
 her request, she surely felt no joy. And yet she was a true Chris- 
 tian, in God's grace, even while her soul was filled with darkness. 
 
 One of the greatest mistakes is to think that you must feel 
 joyful and happy continually to be a true Christian, that you must 
 be fully aware that your sins are really forgiven and that you are 
 in God's grace, and, if you did not feel that way, you had no 
 claim on the full forgiveness of your sins and on the grace and 
 
126 SECOXD SUNDAY IX LENT. 
 
 mercy of the ^Almighty. That is the great error under which 
 many of our Anioricau churches are constantly laboring. In 
 their revival meetings they endeavor to stir up the feelings of the 
 people and to get them into a state of high excitement. They 
 urt^' the sinners to come forward and he converted to Christ. 
 "When any one comes forward signifying his intention to become 
 converted, they plead with him, and gather around him, and pray 
 for him, and the question put to him is not, Dost thou believe? 
 but, How dost thou feel? Dost thou feel that thou art converted, 
 that thou art in the grace of God? And he is not declared con- 
 verted unless he says, I feel. These conversions based on a 
 momentary feeling of joy brought forth under the strain of reli- 
 gious excitement frequently prove to be mere delusions. For 
 what guaranty of God's grace can your ow^i heart afford? Is not 
 man's heart a deceitful and desperately wicked thing? Does not 
 God say in the book of Proverbs, "He that trusteth in his own 
 heart is a fool" ? 
 
 It is foolish, therefore, to trust in your own heart, in your 
 feelings and inward experience for the certainty of your con- 
 version. And e({ually as foolish it is to think that you are not 
 converted unless you feel joyful and happy. This shall be the 
 subject of our discourse to-day. With the aid of God's Holy 
 Spirit let us consider, 
 
 THE FOLLY OF NOT BELIEVING THAT YOU ARE IN GRACE 
 UNLESS YOU FEEL IT. 
 
 I. Because you can be in grace^ though you do not feel it. 
 II. Because true faith relies on the Word alone, which prom- 
 ises God\s grace. 
 
 I. 
 
 You can be in God's grace and favor, though you do not 
 feel it. This truth is clearly set forth in our Gospel. Let us in- 
 (juire into the state of the woman's mind who, as shown before, 
 was in God's grace, and see Avhether she really felt as if the grace 
 of God was with her. 
 
 We are told, in the first place, that she was in great trouble. 
 When Jesus came near Tyre and Sidon, ".s7<e came out of the scniie 
 coasts, and cried unto Ilitn, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, 
 Tliou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a 
 
SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. 127 
 
 devil.''' How must this woman have felt when she, a firm be- 
 hever in Jesus, was thus afflicted and her daughter was })odily 
 possessed with the devil ! But to add to her miser}^ what was 
 Jesus' reply? We are told, '^Bat He ansicered her not a irord."" 
 Did this look to her as if she were in God's o-race? How must 
 she have felt when upon her humble prayer to the Lord she was 
 simply ignored by Him who so kindly heard the pra^^ers of ah that 
 applied to Him for help in their distress, and cheerfully granted 
 their requests? Picture to your mind the distressed woman fol- 
 lowing after Christ, crying after Him, asking and beseeching Him ; 
 and Christ leisurely walking on, paying no attention to her, not 
 noticing her. How miserable must she feel ! 
 
 We are told furthermore, '•^And His disciples came and be- 
 sought Him, sai/ing, Send her away ; for she crieth after its.'' 
 The woman, undoubtedly, heard the disciples interceding for her, 
 and a flash of hope shot through her soul. But how great must 
 have been her disappointment when Jesus ^^ answered and said, I 
 am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.^' Must 
 she not have felt as though there was no hope for her, as though 
 she must not dare to approach Christ, because she was not an 
 Israelite? Meanwhile, as Mark informs us, Jesus entered a house. 
 He was gone, and there the poor woman stood in the street, aban- 
 doned and forsaken. How dreary must have been her thoughts ! 
 How depressed must have been the state of her mind ! Still, she 
 does not give up to despair. She makes another attempt. She 
 enters the house, and '■'■then came she and icorshijjed Him, saying. 
 Lord, help me." Stern and austere is the Lord's reply, "/j5 is 
 not meet to take the children" s bread and to cast it to dogs.''' She is 
 made to believe that she is no better than a doo;, beinij of heathen 
 descent. All the hope she had of obtaining deliverance is cut 
 short. O how great must have been her wretchedness, her grief 
 and sorrow! Why did Jesus deal thus with the poor woman? 
 Was He angry? Not in the least. His grace was with her all 
 the while He refused her prayer. But to prove her faith the Lord, 
 for a time, hid from her His goodness. 
 
 Note, my dear Christian, you can be in God's grace, though, 
 like the woman in our Gospel, you do not feel it. To this day 
 God will sometimes deal with His dear children as He did with 
 this woman, and deprive them of all those joyful feelings which 
 
126 SECOND SUNDAY IX LENT. 
 
 at other times make them so happv. To this day God will some- 
 times hide His lovely face, as it were, and let trials, and afflic- 
 tions, and temptations come upon those whom He loves. To this 
 day God will sometimes deal witli us as though He were deaf to 
 our prayers and did not care to answer, and the more we call 
 upon Him, the less we hear of Him, the less we experience His 
 grace and mercy, and the deeper is our soul plunged into the abyss 
 of grief and sorrow. This truth is taught not only by the example 
 of the woman of Canaan ; it is attested and corroborated by nu- 
 merous examples in the Holy Scriptures. There is Job. Was 
 he not a child of God, and in God's grace? And when tried in 
 the furnace of affliction, how did he feel? He says, "I cry unto 
 Thee, and Thou dost not hear me, I stand up and Thou regardest 
 me not. Thou art become cruel to me: with Thy strong hand 
 Thou opposest Thyself against me." There is the pious King 
 Hezekiah, who was smitten with illness. He wept sore, and after 
 his recovery he made a psalm describing his feelings while he was 
 suffering, wherein he says, "Like a crane or a swallow, so did I 
 chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking up- 
 ward: O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me." There is 
 David. Even when Nathan the prophet had absolved him from 
 his sin, he still felt the pangs of God's anger and w^rath and said 
 in the 3<sth Psalm, "I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; 
 I go mourning all the day long." There is the sinful woman, 
 Mary Magdalene. Though Christ had given the assurance and 
 said, "Many sins are forgiven her," still she wept bitterly and 
 did not feel the healing l)alm of grace, until Christ turned to her 
 and said, "Thy sins be forgiven thee : thy faith hath saved thee: 
 de})art in peace." 
 
 You see, my dear Christians, you can be in God's grace, 
 thouirh vou do not feel it. You can be in such a condition as 
 to experience nothing but death and condemnation and, at the 
 same time, be a child of God. You can be weeping and lament- 
 ing over your sins, while the angels in heaven arc praising the 
 Lord for your repentance. You can have peace with God and, 
 at the same time, your own heart may be filled with fear and 
 uneasiness. When you are in such a depressed and despondent 
 state, do not let false i)r()phets deceive and tell you, you were no 
 Christian, because you did not feel any joy and did not experience 
 
SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. 129 
 
 God's grace. Know that God moans to prove your faith when 
 He withholds those joyful feelings, that Jesus merely hides His 
 grace, which is yours nevertheless and shall not be taken away 
 from 3'ou. Hold on to His grace, as the woman of Canaan did, 
 and say, 
 
 When darkness veils His lovely face, 
 
 I rest on His unchanging grace. 
 
 In every high and stormy gale 
 
 My anchor holds within the veil. 
 
 On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand, 
 
 All other ground is sinking sand. 
 
 11. 
 
 It is folly not to believe that you are in God's grace unless 
 you feel it, also for this reason, because true faith relies on the 
 Word alone, which promises God's grace. 
 
 Jesus praises the woman, because, in spite of His rebukes 
 and the feeling of her own unworthiness and all contrary experi- 
 ences, her faith in His grace and mercy remained unshaken. 
 
 Though Christ seemed to be opposing her, this woman ob- 
 viously said within herself. It is impossible that Christ, the Son 
 of David, should put you off and not grant your request ; He 
 cannot be angry ; He nuist be merciful ; you must persevere ; He 
 surely is your Savior, His harsh words notwithstanding, "When 
 therefore Christ said to her, "// is not meet to take the children'' s 
 bread and to cast it to dogs," she clings to these words and re- 
 sponds, ''^Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crmnbs irhich fall 
 from their masters' table.'' How adroitly does she turn to her 
 favor what seems to be aofainst her ! And does the Lord censure 
 her for such obtrusiveness ? No; He is highly pleased and says, 
 "O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thoa wilt. 
 And her daughter was made ichole froni that very hoar.'" 
 
 Behold, my friends, here is an example showing wherein true 
 faith consists. Faith does not consist in relying on the feelings 
 of your own heart and believing that you are converted, justified, 
 saved, because your own heart tells you so, or because there is a 
 voice within you saying, Now you have grace, now you are born 
 again, now you have i)assed through and made your calling and 
 election sure, now your sins are forgiven, now you are a child of 
 
130 SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 God and an heir of the kingdom of heaven. Modern revival con- 
 versions are largely brought about in that way, and peojile thus 
 converted claim that they can fix the very minute of their con- 
 version. They mistake for conversion what is merely an outburst 
 of feelint^. No: true faith has a better and firmer foundation 
 than the fluctuating feelings of our sinful heart. True faith con- 
 sists in relying on the Word of God alone, which promises the 
 grace of God. That is what the woman did in our Gospel. She 
 held on to Christ's words, in spite of all conflicting experiences. 
 
 If any one perceives that he is a lost and condemned sinner, 
 for whom there is no help, and flees to Jesus, seeking refuge in 
 His wounds, if in spite of his sins he applies to himself the right- 
 eousness of Jesus, who died on the cross for us all, and trusts in 
 the gracious promises of the Gospel, which says, *'God so loved 
 the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever 
 believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life," 
 then can he rest assured that he is in God's grace. He that does 
 not want to believe the gracious promises of the Gospel made to 
 all sinners, unless he can feel the beneficent effects of that Gospel 
 u})on his own heart and soul, such person does the very same 
 thing which Thomas did when he said, "Except I shall see in the 
 Lord's hands the print of the nails, and put my finger in the 
 print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, 1 will not 
 believe." The Lord had compassion on this doubting disciple, 
 .but He also censured him, saying, "Thomas, because thou hast 
 seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, 
 and yet have believed." Blessed, therefore, are they who rely 
 on the Word of God alone for their salvation and everything that 
 pertains thereto ! But pity on those who are determined not to 
 believe unless they meet with some peculiar experience within 
 themselves ! Their faith is not based on the right foundation. 
 If they believe, they do not believe for the sake of the divine 
 Word, but for the sake of their own feelings. Their own feel- 
 ings will finally be their Gospel, their Christ, their Savior, the 
 foundation of their salvation. And that is a foundation which 
 will cruml)le into dust and finally plunge them into the vortex 
 of des|)air. 
 
 RemenilK'r, my hearers, you are saved not by what you feel, 
 but by what you Ix'iicve. It is not written. He that is joyful 
 
THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT. 131 
 
 nhall be saved, but, "He that belie veth shall be saved." It is 
 not feeling, but believing. We walk by faith, not by sight. When 
 I feel my soul as cold as an iceberg, as hard as a rock, as sinful 
 as Satan, even then does faith not cease to justify. Faith pre- 
 vails as truly in the midst of sad feelings as of happ}^ feelings. 
 For just then, standing alone, it shows the greatness of its power. 
 May the Lord grant unto us all such unflinching faith in the 
 words of His promises and enable each one of us to say, 
 
 I cling to what my Savior taught, 
 And trust it, whether felt or not. 
 Amen. 
 
 THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 Luke 11, 14—28. 
 And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, 
 when the devil was gone out, the dumb spaiie; and the people wondered. But 
 some of them said. He casteth out devils through Beelzebub tlie chief of the 
 devils. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. But lie, 
 knowing their thoughts, said unto them. Every kingdom divided against itself 
 is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan 
 also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say 
 that I cast out devils through Beelzebul). And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, 
 by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. But 
 if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come 
 upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace : 
 but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh 
 from him all his armor wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. He that is 
 not with me is against me : and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. When 
 the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking 
 rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. 
 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and 
 taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, 
 and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. .And it 
 came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted 
 up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the woml) that bare thee, and the 
 paps which thou hast sucked. But he said. Yea rather, blessed are they that 
 hear the word of God, and keep it. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ : 
 
 In our last Sunday's Gospel we were informed that Jesus 
 cast a devil out of the Syrophoenician woman's daughter, and 
 to-day again we are told, ''And He cast out a devil, 'f»d if tras 
 
132 TlllHU SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 dumb. And if came to pass., when the devil icas gone out, the 
 dumb spake.'''' 
 
 To believe in the actual existence of devils or evil spirits 
 is now looked upon as a remnant of old superstitions of bygone 
 days by those who claim to be progressing with the times. They 
 themselves use such phrases as, In the devil's name, and the like, 
 and these phrases seem to indicate that they must be believing in 
 the actual existence of the devil after all, their declaration to the 
 contrary notwithstanding. But let any one say to them that he 
 believes in the existence of a personal devil, and he is very apt 
 to be laughed at and called a fool. 
 
 Now we must admit that in olden times, and especially during 
 the reign of the papacy in the Old World, and in the days of the 
 Pilc^rim Fathers in the New World, in our own country, the most 
 absurd stories were circulated designed to frighten people, telling 
 how the devil appeared with hoof and horns, and what he had 
 done. The most cruel punishments were inflicted upon those who 
 were suspected of having some secret intercourse with the devil. 
 Such persons were horribly tortured to extort from them a con- 
 fession of their guilt. They were required to undergo tests 
 to prove their innocence. Many an innocent person was put 
 to death. 
 
 All of this was an abuse of the doctrine of the Scriptures 
 concerning the devil. It was contrary to the Scriptures. But are 
 we to cast away this doctrine, because it was and is still being 
 abused ? Are we to deny the very existence of Satan because so 
 nmch superstition clusters around his name? Verily not. The 
 Scripture is the divine truth. The Scripture is just as true in 
 what it says of the devil as it is in what it says of God. And 
 does not the Scripture contain a complete history of the devil, 
 of his origin, his works, his intentions, and his final doom? 
 
 This Sunday's Gospel also treats of the works of Satan. 
 After the Lord Jesus had cast out a devil of the man who was 
 dumb, we are told, " 77/e people wondered. But some of thc/n 
 said, lie casteth out devils through Beelzebid), the chirf of the 
 devils. And others, tempting Him, sought of Him a sign from 
 heaven.'' From this Christ takes o'ccasion to discourse copiously 
 on the kingdom of Satan. Let us therefore consider with the aid 
 of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT. 133 
 
 CHRIST'S DISCOURSE ON SATAN'S KINGDOM, 
 showing, 
 
 I. Wherein Satan's kingdom consists, and 
 II. IIoiv his kingdom is overcome. 
 
 I. 
 
 Christ says, ^' Every I'ingdom divided against itself is brought 
 to desolation; and a house divided against a house faJleth . If 
 Satan also he divided against himself, hoio shall his kingdom 
 stand f because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. 
 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast 
 them out? therefore shall they be your judges. But if I icith the 
 finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is 
 come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his jyalace, 
 his goods are in peace: hut when a stronger than he shall come 
 upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all Jiis armor 
 loherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils." From these words 
 of our Savior we see clearly that there is such a thing as the king- 
 dom of Satan, that there are palaces which he inhabits, and that 
 there is an armor wherein he trusts. 
 
 And what is Satan's kingdom? His kingdom is this world; 
 his palace is the human heart; his armor are all those things 
 which Satan makes use of to establish or keep his sovereignty 
 in the human heart. 
 
 The whole world is Satan's kingdom. He is, therefore, called 
 the prince of this world, the god of this world. He did not create 
 the world, neither does he preserve and govern the world; but 
 Satan it was who brought about the present deplorable state of 
 the world. He corrupted the world. He seduced man to sin and 
 thereby introduced sin, and woe, and misery, and death ; and he 
 established a king-dom of his own in God's beautiful creation. 
 All men are born sinners and, therefore, born subjects of Satan 
 in his kingdom. Had not God had compassion on the fallen 
 human race, not a soul would be saved, but all men would have 
 to remain in Satan's kino;dom and share with him his terrible 
 doom of eternal damnation. But God did have mercy on us. 
 He had His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, live and suffer and 
 die for us, and thereby destroy the works of the devil. "^^ hoso- 
 ever is baptized in Jesus' name is no more a subject in Satan's 
 
134 THIRD SUNDAY IX LENT. 
 
 kiiiirdoin, though he is still in the world, which is Satan's kingdom. 
 God is his Father, Jesus is his King, and Satan has no claim upon 
 him. Alas ! many that were baptized do not remain in their bap- 
 tismal grace. They lose the faith, lead a godless life, and let 
 Satan rule over them. Hence it is that Satan's throne is estab- 
 lished even in Christian lands. The heathen and Mohammedan 
 lands with their people and the remnants of Jewry that are scat- 
 tered over the whole world, are the strongholds of Satan, which 
 he holds by ignorance and superstition, so that rarely a soul 
 escapes. But even in the midst of Christendom there are mil- 
 lions of palaces, millions of human hearts that are occupied by 
 the prince of this woi-ld. Not only does Satan hold in his clutches 
 those who are outspoken infidels and enemies of the divine truth, 
 but even many of those who claim to be Christians are his loyal 
 subjects. 
 
 For what does Christ say in our Gospel? He says, "//e that 
 is not loith me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me 
 scattereth." What does that mean? In the connection in which 
 it is said it means this. Not only such as claim to be neutral and 
 neither to hold to me nor to Satan are against me and, therefore, 
 Satan's servants ; l)ut even such as do not gather with me, such as 
 do not work with me, and are not in a true union with me, though 
 they claim to be Christians, are Satan's su])j('cts. Oh, Satan is a 
 cunning spirit. He does not demand of his subjects to worship 
 him openly, he permits them to go by the name of God's servants, 
 and is perfectly satisfied, if they will onh^ do his works. Whoso- 
 ever indulges in some sin and nourishes and cherishes that sin and 
 cannot make up his mind to rid himself of that sin with the power 
 of God, his heart is Satan's residence and palace, and if he were 
 ever so good a Christian outwardly before the world. A heart 
 given to licentiousness is Satan's domain. The drunkard's heart 
 is Satan's possession. Hearts that arc continually possessed with 
 pride, arrogance, conceitedness, hatred, enmity, or any such sinful 
 emotions, are the devil's })alaces. For these are the weapons, the 
 armor, by which he keepeth his own. In short, where sin is not 
 being n'sislcul, where sin is permitted to ])revail and to hold its 
 sway in the heart, there Satan's kingdom is estal)lished. Di'unkards 
 will sometimes make an effort to keep sober and even swear never 
 to tnncli nnothci- drop of strong drink, ])ut their a[)petite is so 
 
THIRD SUXDAY IN LENT. 135 
 
 strong that they cannot keep themselves under control. Sensu- 
 alists will sometimes make a desperate effort to lead a chaste and 
 decent life, but the next temptation gets the best of them. Persons 
 given to lies and falsehoods will sometimes make up their minds 
 to be truthful and sincere, but before they are aware another 
 falsehood crosses their lips. Whence this irresistil)le power of 
 sin ? It is because the power which holds them in bonds and fet- 
 ters is more than human. It is diabolic. Satan has possession 
 of such hearts. 
 
 And not only such has Satan l)ound with his chains and fet- 
 ters as live in open sin and shame, but also many of those who 
 lead an honest and upright life before men. Sometimes his fetters 
 are so hidden and concealed as to make it impossible for man to 
 detect them. When we see a drunkard staggering in the street, 
 or when we hear some person cursing, and swearing, and using 
 filthy language ; or when we see some one performing an extremely 
 wicked deed, we may justly form an opinion that the hearts of 
 such persons must be palaces of Satan. But the evil spirit does 
 not dwell exclusively in the hearts of the grossly immoral and 
 profane and in the slums of sin and vice. Sometimes he has even 
 a stronger hold upon the self-righteous and upon those who are 
 highly educated and appear to l)e beyond reproach. Satan has. 
 his dominion not onl}^ in the hearts of the illiterate and ignorant, 
 sometimes his kingdom is even more firmly established in the 
 hearts of the educated who disseminate errors and do this, per- 
 haps, even in the name of divine truth. 
 
 11. 
 
 And now, in the second place, having heard wherein Satan's 
 kingdom consists, let us consider how his kingdom is overcome. 
 Christ says, " When a strong man armed keepefh Ins palace, his 
 goods are in peace.' but ichen a stronger than he shall come upon 
 him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armor ivherein 
 he trusted, and divideth his spoil." Here Christ tells us that, 
 when Satan dwells in man's heart, he is theTe as a strong man 
 armed, and he will remain and keep his own, except one stronger 
 than he come upon him and overcome the evil spirit. But who is 
 stronger than Satan? No mortal man. No mortal man can by 
 his own natural power break Satan's fetters and rid himself of 
 10 
 
136 TIIIKD SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 Satan's dominion. Satan is too strong for him. Sometimes it 
 seems as if ])y his own will i)ower a man could overcome Satan 
 and his destructive work. Drunkards, and licentious persons will 
 somotinios abandon those evil i)ractices in which previously they 
 had indulged. But, at the same time, they are fettered by other 
 sins, as, by self-righteousness or covetousness, and their hearts 
 remain virtually unchanged. Is Satan really overcome if one sin 
 is dispensed with and another remains, or is substituted in its 
 place, if, for instance, the drunkard drinks no more, but prides 
 himself in self-righteousness before God and man ? No ; in such 
 cases Satan is not overcome at all. He only puts on a different 
 garb. His power remains imdisturbed. 
 
 The only possible way for man to be saved from Satan's 
 power is through Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God. He is 
 the stronger who comes upon and overcomes the strong man 
 armed, who takcth from him all his armor and divideth the spoils. 
 The only j^ossible way to overcome Satan's kingdom, to rend 
 asunder his fetters, to rid yourself from the bondage of sin, to 
 become a truly free man, who is not the slave of some pet sin, to 
 become truly converted from the power of Satan to God, is through 
 Jesus Christ. You must not attempt to overcome Satan's king- 
 dom l)y your own power, or you will fail invariably. Christ alone 
 can free the sinner from Satan's power. 
 
 And how will Jesus do this? He will, first of all, lead the 
 sinner to i)erccive the damnableness of his sin, to feel true re- 
 morse, not so much because of the evil consequences of sin, a 
 name tainted before the world, or health impaired or ruined, but 
 most of all because by sin he transgressed God's divine Law, and 
 stood in league with God's enemy, the devil, permitting him to 
 occupy his heart as a palace, while it should have been the temple 
 of God. 
 
 But Jesus will do more for the sinner than that. He will not 
 only let his heart be filled with remorse by the Law. He will also 
 take possession of his heart by the Gospel ; and Satan will have to 
 depart. Christ will replenish that heart with true faitii, with the 
 assurance that all sins have been blotted out by His suffering and 
 death on the cross. Thus will He rid the heart from the love of 
 sin and evil ways and lead the soul to hate and despise all works of 
 darkness and with strength from on high to resist all temptations. 
 
THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT. 137 
 
 Behold, thus is Satan's kingdom overcome in man's heart through 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 But so strong and so cunning, at the same time, is Satan, 
 even when driven out of man's heart and completely put to flight, 
 he will watch his chances to return and to recapture the palace 
 which he was forced to abandon. And if not properly guarded 
 against, he may regain his dominion and reestablish his kingdom. 
 Christ says, ^^W/teu the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he 
 waJketh througli dry places, seehing rest ; and finding none, he 
 saiih, I ivill return unto my house whence I came out. And u^hen 
 he Cometh, he findeth it swept and garnislied. Tltea goeth he, and 
 taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and 
 they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is 
 worse than the first.'' Christ means to say. If a Christian is not 
 on his guard, Satan will again get him under control and triumph 
 over him. If a Christian ceases to watch and to pray, to use 
 diligently the means of grace, to battle against sin in his own 
 heart ; if he begins to grow indifferent as to his soul's salva- 
 tion and to desire after the world's evil lusts, then is his heart 
 swept and garnished and duly prepared for the reception of the 
 evil spirit. And 'vvoe unto him if he yields to the desires of his own 
 flesh ! Not only will his own pet sin return, but other sins will 
 follow in its wake, and the last state will be worse than the first. 
 It is always a more difiicult thing for a backslider to be recon- 
 verted than for a sinner who had not yet tasted the good Word 
 of God and the powers of the world to come, to come to re- 
 pentance. 
 
 O let us all be mindful of the apostle's warning, "Let him 
 that standeth take heed lest he fall." Let us diligently make use 
 of God's holy Word and wield that Sword of the Spirit freely 
 against him who goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom 
 he may devour. And ours shall be the promise of our Savior, 
 ' ' Blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it.'" Amen . 
 
138 PYJIUTII SLXUAV IN LENT. 
 
 FOUKTH SUXDAY IX LENT. 
 
 John (>, 1 — 15. 
 After these things Jesus weut over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of 
 Tiberias. And a great multitude followed liim, because they saw his miracles 
 which he did on them that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, 
 and there he sat with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was 
 nigh. When Jesus tlien lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto 
 him, he saitli unto Piiilip, Whence shall we buy bi-ead, that these may eat? 
 And this he said to prove iiim: for he himself i<uew what lie would do. Philip 
 answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, 
 that every one of tliem may take a little. One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon 
 Peter's brother, saith unto him, Tliere is a lad here, which hath five barley 
 loaves, and two small fishes : but what are they among so many ? And Jesus 
 said. Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the 
 men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves; and 
 when he had given thanks, lie distributed to tlie disciples, and the disciples to 
 them tiiat were set down; and likewise of tlie fishes as much as tliey would. 
 Wiien they were filled, he said unto liis disciples. Gather up the fragments that 
 remain, that nothing be lost. Tlierefore they gathered them together, and filled 
 twelve l)askets with tiie fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained 
 over and above unto them tliat had eaten. Then those men, when they had seen 
 tlie miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come 
 into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and 
 take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain him- 
 self alone. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 In this day'.s Go.si)el we are told that the people intended to 
 take Je.sus by force and make Him a king. The time .seemed to 
 be favorable. The Passover was nigh. From all parts of Judea 
 and from other i)arts of the world the Jews were flocking to Jeru- 
 salem to celebrate the great annual feast which, according to their 
 Law, they were required to celebrate in their magnificent temple 
 at the capital city. Thousands among the common people took 
 Jesus for the great Pro})het of whom Moses had spoken, saying, 
 *'The Lord, thy God, will raise up a Prophet unto thee, like 
 unto nic; unto Him ye shall hearken." They looked upon Jesus 
 as the promised Messiah, as the long-exiK'cted Deliverer, who 
 should restore the glory of the li()us(> of Israel. Like a gloom 
 rested upon the whole nation the shame of having been conquered 
 })y the Gentiles and being held in bondage by the mighty Komans. 
 And since the whole nation was inspired with a fervent desire to 
 cast off the Roman yoke and to be an independent people again, 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 139 
 
 would not the Pas.sover have been the most opportune time to pro- 
 claim a king? Is it not very likely that the multitudes coming to 
 Jerusalem to worship would have made an attempt to expel the 
 Roman intruders and hailed with delight the man who should re- 
 store the throne of David and Solomon? 
 
 But what are we told of Christ? When He perceived what 
 the people were about, "//e departed again into a mountain 
 llimaelf alone.'" He secreted Himself. He did not mean to be 
 the kind of savior they expected and desired. He did not mean 
 to be a worldly king. And Christ is the same to-day, though 
 most men expect of Him something different. The subject of 
 our discourse shall be with the aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 CHRIST QUITE A DIFFERENT SAVIOR THAN MOST MEN DESIRE. 
 
 We shall see, 
 
 I. What kind of savior most men desire^ and, 
 II. What hind of Savior Jesus is. 
 
 I. 
 
 At the time of Christ there were two classes of men who de- 
 sired a different kind of savior than Jesus was. The one class 
 were those who persecuted Christ. This class was composed of 
 the Sadducees and Pharisees, two different sects at variance with 
 each other, but one in their opposition to Christ. The Sadducees 
 were the agnostics and scoffers of those days. They believed in 
 no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit. Their sole aim was to en- 
 joy this life, to eat, drink, and be merry, and not to worry about 
 the hereafter. They looked upon those as fools who said that 
 there was a heaven and a hell. Still, they also desired a savior. 
 But the savior whom they had in their minds was to be a man who 
 should teach them how to enjoy this life still more and who should 
 procure for them more of the pleasures of this world. 
 
 There Avas quite a contrast between these and the Pharisees. 
 The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead, in heaven 
 and hell, in a retribution after this life, and showed great piety. 
 But they meant to get to heaven by their own righteousness. The 
 savior whom they desired was to be a man who should preach 
 morality, admire their outward holiness, keep aloof from publi- 
 cans and sinners, and make the Jews the leading nation of the 
 world in external magnificence and splendor. Since Jesus in no 
 
140 Forinir sun day ix lent. 
 
 way came near their standard of the Messiah they opposed Him, 
 And the same thing was done In' the Sadducees, who looked upon 
 Jesus as a man who was far behind the times. 
 
 Aside from these outspoken enemies of Christ there was an- 
 other class of men who did not oppose Christ and yet desired a 
 different kind of savior than Jesus proved to be. These are de- 
 scribed in the following words of our Gospel, '■''After these tilings 
 Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 
 And a (jreat multitude followed Him, because they saw His mir- 
 acles ichich He did on them that were diseased." The miracles 
 which Jesus performed convinced them that He must be, at least, 
 a great prophet, and all the threats and blasphemies of Pharisees 
 and Sadducees could not keep them from following after Christ 
 and hearing His jireaching. 
 
 Still, Jesus was not the kind of savior they were wishing for. 
 This is plainly shown in our Gospel. All those miracles which 
 Jesus performed before their eyes, all the divine sayings which 
 they had heard from His lips did not move them to proclaim Him 
 their Kins: and Savior. But no sooner had He fed them in the 
 wilderness with a little bread and fish and supi)lied their wants in 
 a miraculous way, so that even more was left over than the original 
 supply — "o sooner had Jesus performed the great miracle of feed- 
 ing five thousand men with only five barley loaves and two small 
 fishes, than the people shouted in an ecstasy, "77/?.s' is of a truth 
 that Prophet that shoidd come into the world.''' Now they owned 
 that He was the Prophet promised by Moses, the true Messiah. 
 Even such was their excitement over what Jesus had done for 
 them, that they made ready to take Him by force and make Him 
 tlu'ir king at once. Wli}' did not the previous miracles of Christ 
 produce upon the i)eople the effect which this miracle of feeding 
 them produced? The reason is obvious. The people desired a 
 savior who should give them i)lenty to eat, a savior not of the 
 soul, but of the body; not for heaven, but for the earth. When, 
 therefore, on the following day Jesus met some of them at Caper- 
 naum they said to Him, "Lord, evermore give us this bread." 
 That shows plainly what kind of savior they desired. They were 
 bread-Clu'istians and wanted a ])read-savior. 
 
 But the same state of things exists to this day. To this day 
 the same two classes of in»Mi are to l)e found who at the time of 
 
rOUUTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 141 
 
 Christ desired a different kind of savior than Jesus was. We 
 have Sadducees in our days. These are the infidels who mock 
 and scoff at every form of religion, who say that there is no God, 
 who deny heaven and hell, and claim that man has no more soul 
 than the brute. Jesus is not a savior to their taste. Their saviors, 
 the men whom they admire, are those who assail and denounce 
 the Bible, and the Christian religion, and everything in connection 
 therewith. We also have the Pharisees. These sometimes lay 
 claim to the Christian name. They are the self-righteous who 
 protest most vigorously if j^ou tell them that they are lost and 
 condemned sinners, and that they cannot get to heaven in any 
 other way than by faith in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God that 
 taketh away the sins of the world. Jesus is not a savior to their 
 taste either. Their saviors are those who proclaim shallow mo- 
 rality, praise the achievements of man, and urge people to show 
 sympathy to their fellow men, presupposing that, if there is a 
 yonder life, man must get there by his own exertions. 
 
 And then there are such in our days as are very much like 
 the people whom Jesus fed in our Gospel. Like the multitude 
 they follow Jesus into the wilderness. In a certain sense they 
 separate themselves from the children of this world. They go to 
 church and hear the preaching of the divine Word. But what is it 
 they seek with Christ? Redemption from sin? Life everlasting? 
 Far from it. To say it in plain words, they seek with Christ noth- 
 ing but bread and fish. They expect Him to give them the riches 
 and pleasures of this world, to permit them to enjoy this life to 
 their heart's content, to do the same things which the children of 
 this world call their greatest delight, to go to dances, balls, and 
 theaters, and thus to participate in the world's evil lusts. And 
 when they are told that Jesus is not such a savior, that Christians 
 must crucify their flesh and the lusts thereof: then they feel dis- 
 appointed and offended. Their conduct shows that Jesus is not 
 the savior whom they desire. 
 
 IL 
 
 And now, in the second place, let us see what kind of Savior 
 Jesus really is. 
 
 St. Mark also has an account of this great miracle. He says 
 that, when the nudtitude came to Jesus, "7/e was moved with 
 
142 FOURTH SUNDAY IX LENT. 
 
 compassion to2vard them, because Ihey were as sheep having no 
 .shepherd: and lie began to teach them many things.'" So from 
 St. Mark's account we see that the first thing which Jesus did was 
 that He administered to the spiritual wants of the people. He fed 
 their immortal souls with the bread of life. His heart was filled 
 with compassion toward them, not so much because they were in 
 bodily needs, but, above all, because they were as sheep having 
 no shepherd for their souls to lead and guide them. From this 
 we see what kind of Savior Jesus is. He is a Savior, first of all, 
 for the souls of men. Those who come to Him and receive Him 
 as their Savior are required, first of all, to seek the kingdom of 
 God and His righteousness ; first of all, to look upon Him as the 
 Savior from sin "who has redeemed us lost and condemned 
 creatures, purchased and won us from all sins, from death and 
 from the power of the devil, not with gold or silver, but with 
 His holy, precious blood and Avith His innocent suffering and 
 death, that we may be His own, and live under Him in His king- 
 dom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and 
 blessedness." 
 
 All this is well known. It is being preached and proclaimed 
 continually. But where are they who desire such a Savior and 
 wish to be His disciples in the manner indicated? Ah, these are 
 comparatively few. There are many, indeed, who follow Christ 
 into the wilderness, as did the multitude in our Gospel, many who 
 hear the preaching of His divine Word, many who perform the 
 outward works of Christians, say their daily prayers, give to the 
 poor, show benevolence, support the church, and help to extend 
 the kingdom of God. But if the inmost thoughts of their hearts 
 were exposed, how many would we find doing all these things 
 from pure, untainted love of the Savior, because He loved them 
 first and did so much for them? How many would we find doing 
 these things with cheerfulness of heart and with rejoicing that 
 they can, in some way, show their gratitude for the great work of 
 the redemption wrought u})on their immortal souls? They do, in- 
 deed, ill their wa}', believe in the Bible and call Jesus their Savior. 
 But when they are informed that Jesus is a Savior of the soul, 
 and that they must give Him their hearts, serve Him alone, shun 
 the world and its evil lusts, and set their affection on things above, 
 where Christ sitteth on the riirlit liand of God, then it becomes 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 143 
 
 apparent that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God and Mar^-'s 
 Son, is not the Savior whom they really desire. 
 
 Still, we must not think that Jesus showed no care for our 
 bodily needs. Though providing, first of all, for our immortal 
 souls. He does not neglect our mortal bodies. Having taught the 
 multitude and shown them the way to eternal life, He also ad- 
 ministered to their bodily needs. He gives them bread to eat and 
 by a miracle of His divine power not only supplies their present 
 wants, but also furnishes enough food for them on their way 
 home. Our Gospel tells us, " When Jesus then lifted up His eyes, 
 and saw a great compani/ come unto Ilitn, He saith unto Philip, 
 Whence shall loe buy bread, that these may eat? And this He 
 said to prove Him: for He Himself hnew what He would do. 
 Philip answered Him, Two hundred pennywortli of bread is not 
 sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. One 
 of His disciples, Andi'eiv, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto Him, 
 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small 
 fishes : but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make 
 the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So 
 the men sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus 
 took the loaves; and when He had given thanks. He distributed 
 to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and 
 likewise of the fishes, as much as they would. When they were 
 filled. He said unto His disciples. Gather up the fragments that 
 remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore they gathered them to- 
 gether, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of tJte five barley 
 loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.'''' 
 From this we see what kind of Savior Jesus is. He is such a 
 Savior as will never forsake those w^ho trust in Him. He will in 
 some way furnish for them all they need for the support of this 
 body and life, and if He should have to do so by miracle. He 
 does not promise them riches, not an abundance of goods and 
 earthly possessions. But He will from His vast stores supply 
 them with the necessaries of life. He therefore says to all His fol- 
 lowers, "Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what 
 ye shall drink ; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not 
 the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the 
 fowls of the air : for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather 
 into barns ; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not 
 
144 FOURTH SUNDAY IN' LKNT. 
 
 much bettor than they?" But above and beyond this He pro- 
 vides for our ininiortal souls. To the multitude by the seaside 
 He had preached Avords of eternal life before He fed them to 
 sustain this temporal life. And for all mankind He came into 
 the world to seek and to save those who without His saving 
 grace must have been lost forever. And to this day He rules 
 in His kingdom of grace by His Word, calls and enlightens 
 and sanctities and preserves in saving faith, through His Spirit, 
 those who shall be gathered about His throne in the kingdom 
 of glory. 
 
 Tell me, then, my friends, could we wish for a better Savior 
 than Jesus? a Savior who takes charge of our immortal souls, 
 and providing for us richly and daily, does not neglect the mortal 
 body? Is it not the height of folly to desire a different kind of 
 savior than Jesus is? What should we be benefited, if we had 
 a savior who would give us all the riches and pleasures of this 
 world, and who would desert us in the hour of death, and leave 
 us to our fate, which is eternal woe and misery for all the chil- 
 dren of men who die in their sins and have not obtained forgive- 
 ness of their transgressions? "What is a man profited, if he shall 
 gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" 
 
 May this, then, be our prayer, 
 
 Jesus, Lover of my soul, 
 Let me to Thy bosom fly, 
 While the nearer waters roll, 
 While the tempest still is high! 
 Hide me, my Savior, hide, 
 Till the storm of life is past; 
 Safe into the haven guide, 
 O receive my soul at last. 
 
 Amen. 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY IX LKNT. 145 
 
 FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 John 8, 46— 5i). 
 Which of you couviuceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, wliy do ye not 
 believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore liear them 
 not, because ye are not of God. Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, 
 Say Ave not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil ? Jesus answered, 
 I have not a devil; but I honor my Father, and ye do dishonor me. And I seek 
 not mine own glory: there is one that seelceth and judgeth. Verily, verily, I 
 say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never .see death. Then said the 
 Jews unto liim, Now we know tliat thou liast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the 
 prophets: and thou sayest. If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of 
 death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the 
 prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered. If I lionor 
 myself, my honor is nothing : it is my Fatlier that lionoreth me ; of whom ye 
 say that he is your God : yet ye have not known him ; but I know him : and if 
 I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, 
 and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw 
 it, and was glad. Theu said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, 
 and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them. Verily, verily, I say unto 
 you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but 
 Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, 
 and so passed by. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 " Why do ye not believe meV This question is asked by the 
 Lord Jesus in our Gospel. The Jews to whom the question was 
 put answered with scorn and malediction. In our days men gen- 
 erally couch their answer to this question in polite words. If you 
 ask an infidel, Why do you not believe on the Lord Jesus? he will 
 say now-a-days, I cannot; I would like to, but I am sorry to say, 
 I cannot. Some years ago a pastor had a conversation with a 
 Congressman on a train comins: from Washington . The Congress- 
 man told him that nearly all the highly educated men that make 
 the laws of the land were infidels, and that he, too, was an infidel, 
 but that he was not happy in that state ; his mother was a devout 
 Christian, and he knew that she was a happy woman. But as for 
 himself, he could not believe the Christian doctrine, though he 
 desired very much that he could do so and be a happy man. But 
 in the course of the conversation it developed what the man's 
 trouble was. It was that he had contrived for himself an ob.stacle 
 to keep him from the faith. He had fixed in his mind the idea 
 that to be a faithful believer you must be ignorant to a certain 
 
146 I'llTll SLXDAY IN LENT. 
 
 extent and prone to superstition. So he preferred to be an in- 
 lidel and to claim for himself the name of a highly educated man 
 who was no more bound with the ties of old traditions and super- 
 stitions of bygone days. 
 
 Let us not be deceived by these pretensions of infidels when 
 they say that they would like to believe on the Lord Jesus, but 
 that they could not, because they were too highly educated, they 
 knew too much, they had made a thorough study of the laws of 
 nature, had traveled and seen so much of the world, and the like. 
 Infidelity has not monopolized education, and never will. Among 
 the greatest men, the most profound thinkers, the wisest states- 
 men, the highest men in literature, there always have been and 
 there are to this day professed Christians. Washington professed 
 the Christian faith, and so did Newton and Noah Webster. Bis- 
 marck and Gladstone, the greatest statesmen of modern times, 
 were believers on the Lord Jesus ; and many learned men of our 
 days are, at the same time, prominent men in the Christian church. 
 Learninir and education are not barriers against the Christian faith. 
 The true cause of infidelity is always to be sought in man's will. 
 A person may think that he does not believe because he cannot 
 on account of his own convictions to the contrary, but if he will 
 examine his own heart honestly and sincerely, he will alwavs find 
 that he does not like to part with some pet sin, or that he is loath 
 to put up with some things that true believers must endure. This 
 is shown in our Gospel by the example of the Jews with whom 
 Jesus disputed in the temple. Let us, therefore, consider, with 
 the aid of God's Holy Spirit, the question, 
 
 WHY IS IT THAT SO MANY CANNOT BELIEVE ON THE LORD 
 JESUS CHRIST? 
 
 The answer is threefold, 
 
 I. Becanse they do not want to hear the timth, 
 n. Because theij despise the Lord's grace. 
 III. Because Christ's divinity is foolishness unto them. 
 
 I. 
 
 In the third article of the Creed we confess according to our 
 Catechism, "I believe that I cannot by my own reason and 
 strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him." 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY IX LEXT. 147 
 
 This means that natural man cannot by his own natural power 
 decide for Christ and himself make up his mind to believe. But 
 it does not mean that such natural inability may be tendered as 
 an excuse and that it could not be overcome. The root and source 
 of this inability lies in man's perverted will. He cannot believe 
 because he does not want to believe. 
 
 This is clearly shown in our Gospel. Christ says to the Jews, 
 *^ Which of you convincetJi me of sin? And if I say the trutlt^ 
 lohy do ye not believe meV The Jew^s did not want to hear the 
 truth, as Jesus testifies here. He asks, *' Which of you con- 
 vinceth me of sinT'' He had lived among them. They had closely 
 watched His deeds and sayings. Now they should bear witness 
 to the truth and own the truth. They should either name and 
 prove a sin which He did, or openly confess His sinlessness and 
 believe Him. Do they convince Him of sin? They know that 
 they cannot. Do they, then, admit His holiness? They do not. 
 B}^ such conduct they prove that they are opposed to the truth 
 and do not want to hear the truth, and for that very reason do 
 not believe on the Lord Jesus. 
 
 Christ says, furthermore, "//e that is of Godyheareth God's 
 words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.''' 
 They had God's words, the Law^ and the prophets. Both Moses 
 and the prophets wrote of the Messiah and His works, and Jesus 
 did exactly the works which the Messiah was to perform. Why 
 did the Jews not pay any attention to that? Jesus proved His 
 sayings by the Scriptures of the Old Testament ; He Himself 
 spoke the Word of God. Why did they not listen to Him? They 
 show by such conduct that they are enemies of the truth, and for 
 that reason do not l)elieve on the Lord Jesus. 
 
 Yea, the}^ resort to lies and blasphemy. For we are told, 
 '■'■Then answered the Jews, and said unto Him, Say ive not icell 
 that Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?'''' They cannot 
 answer the Lord's questions, their conscience smarts, they know 
 that they are doing wrong; still, from pure hatred they will not 
 admit this, and they give vent to their ill feeling by uttering blas- 
 phemy. Did these Jews have any excuse for their infidelity? 
 Yerih' not. They did not want to hear the truth. 
 
 And to this day why is it that so many who possess the Bible 
 and live amonof the Christians cannot believe on the Lord Jesus? 
 
148 FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 Is it because they are too well educated, too far advanced in wis- 
 dom and knowledge, too nuich enlightened? That claim is per- 
 sistently made by their chamijions. But facts are stubborn things, 
 and the fact is that some of the greatest thinkers were Christians. 
 "Why, then, do learned men among the infidels not believe? Cer- 
 tainly not because of their high intellectual standing, but because 
 they do not want to hear the truth. Christ's sinlessness, His 
 divine works, His precious Gospel is before them, they cannot 
 gainsay it, it is attested by better evidence than any historical 
 fact which they believe. Why are they so ready to believe almost 
 any theory that ojiposes religion, and so eager to discredit the 
 Gos})el? The fault lies in their own sinful heart which cannot 
 bear the truth. 
 
 Furthermore, if these infidels, as they often claim, would like 
 to believe if only they could, why do they not hear the "Word of 
 God, through which faith is planted in the heart? AVh}' do they 
 shun the preaching of the "Word? "Why do they not read the 
 Bible? Must not Christ say to them the same words which He 
 spoke to the Jews, "//e tliat is of God luareth God" >> ivords: ye 
 therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God'^? Do they 
 not show by such indifference that they do not want to hear 
 the truth? 
 
 Finally, such infidels as resort to lies and blasphemy, as un- 
 scrupulously pervert the "Word of God and denounce the Christian 
 religion as fraud and hypocrisy, why can they not believe on the 
 Lord Jesus? Because of their sincerity and conscientiousness? 
 No; like those obdurate Jews, with whom Christ disputed in the 
 temple, they do not want the truth. 
 
 11. 
 The second reason why so many cannot believe on the Lord 
 Jesus is because they despise the Lord's grace. We read, "■Jesus 
 answered, I have not a devil; but I honor my Father, and ye 
 dishonor me. And I seek not mine own glory : there is One that 
 seekefh and Judgefh/'' These Jews dishonored Jesus. They had 
 made up their minds that this man should not be their jNIessiah, 
 and they op})osed Him so much the more, because all the in- 
 dications were in His favor. In their council they said, "What 
 do we? for this man docth many miracles. If we let Him thus 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 149 
 
 alone till men will believe on Him, and the Romans shall come 
 and take away both our place and nation." They would not 
 humble themselves under this man Jesus, who claimed to be the 
 Messiah, and was not such a Messiah as they expected, not a 
 great worldly ruler, who could smite the nations and establish 
 the throne of David. They were too proud and worldly-minded 
 to accept His grace and to receive from Him eternal life. When, 
 therefore, Jesus said to them, "■Verdi/, verily, I say unto you. 
 If a man keep my saying, he sJtall never see death,''' then the 
 Jews said unto Him, '-'-Now we know that Thou hast a devil. 
 Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and Thou nayest. If a man 
 keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art Thou greater 
 than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the j^^'ophets are 
 dead: ivhom makest Thou Thyself?'" Behold how angry they 
 get when Jesus speaks of eternal life, to be received by the 
 keeping of His saying, that is, by faith in Him ! Behold how 
 they pervert the words of His mouth and construe them as if 
 He were speaking of natural death ! Behold how they despise 
 His grace and mercy ! It is apparent, they are too proud, 
 too self-righteous to humble themselves and to receive eternal 
 life as a gift of His grace, by faith in Him. Hence their in- 
 fidelity. 
 
 And, to this day, why is it that so many cannot believe on 
 the Lord Jesus? Is it not because they are self-righteous and 
 expect to get to heaven by their own good works and righteous- 
 ness? Is it not because they despise the Lord's grace? They 
 are puffed up with pride, with egotism, with arrogance, and con- 
 ceitedness. Is it, then, to be wondered at that they despise the 
 Lord's grace and cannot believe? Unto such people the doc- 
 trine of justification by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus 
 Christ is foolishness. They are too i:)roud to admit that they are 
 damnable sinners. It is too deg-radino^ for them to think so low 
 and little of themselves. They are too proud to humble them- 
 selves before their divine Maker. They will even criticise His 
 doings, His works in nature, His dealings with mankind, and 
 prescribe to the Almighty hoAv He must rule the universe. They 
 are too proud to receive eternal life as a gift of God's grace and 
 mercy. If still they believe in a Supreme Being and a future 
 world, they expect to get there by their own efforts, by their 
 
150 FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 
 
 trood behavior in this Hfe, b}' their own virtues, by doing what 
 thev themselves consider to be right and pleasing to the Creator. 
 But a Savior of sinners they despise and the blood of Jesus 
 Christ, the Son of God, which flowed also for them, they tread 
 under foot. They despise the Lord's grace. And that is the 
 true reason why they cannot believe. 
 
 III. 
 
 But there is one thing in particular which is especially ob- 
 jectionable to an iniidel, and that is Christ's divinity. 
 
 At the end of our Gospel we read, '■'■ Jesus answered^ If I 
 honor i/it/seJf, vi// /loiior is notJiiiKj : it is my Father that IwnoretJi 
 me, of u-hom ye say, that He is your God. Yet ye have not 
 knoicn lliin; but I know Hint: and if I should say, I know 
 Him not, I shall he a liar like unto you: hut I knovj Him, and 
 keep His saying. Your father Ahraham rejoiced to see my day : 
 and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto Him, 
 Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast seen Abraham? Jesus 
 said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you. Before Ahraham 
 2vas, I am."" Here Christ attests His divinity. He says that 
 Abraham rejoiced to see His day, believing on Him as the Seed 
 in whom all the nations of the earth should be blessed. The 
 Jews well understood the meaning of these words. Scornfully 
 they retort, '•'■Tlwu art not yet fifty years old, and hast seen 
 Abraham?''' And what is Christ's reply? He says, "'Verily, 
 vcrih/, I say unto you. Before Ahraliam ivas, I am.'' Our Eng- 
 lish Bible reads, "Before Abraham was," but the exact trans- 
 lation is, "Before Abraham was made." This implies that Abra- 
 ham was a creature of God. And in o})position thereto Christ 
 says, "I am," and this implies that Christ is not a creature, that 
 He is eternal, that He is God. This is just as plain as when He 
 says, "Unto me is given all power in heaven and in earth ;" just 
 as plain as when St. Paul says, "Christ is God blessed forever;" 
 just as i)lain as when St. John says, "This (Jesus Christ) is the 
 true God and eternal life." And what response do the Jews 
 make? " Then took they up stones to cast at Him: but Jesus hid 
 Hinisdf, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of 
 them, and so passed by." They cannot find words with which 
 to express their disgust. They mean to stone Jesus as a bias- 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT. 151 
 
 phemer. The assertion of His divinity it was which enraged them 
 and made them act Hke madmen. 
 
 Why is it, to this day, that so many cannot believe on the 
 Lord Jesus? Is it not because Ciirist's divinity is utter foolish- 
 ness and such a great stumbling-block unto them? Like the 
 Jews in our Gospel they make Him the greatest liar and im- 
 postor that ever lived. There is a class of inlidels who claim 
 to be Christ's true disciples and say that they walk in the foot- 
 steps of Christ, proclaiming the Gospel of love, wdiile, at the 
 same time, they deny His miracles, His divinity, His redemp- 
 tion, and all the essentials of the Gospel truth. What an 
 absurdity to claim the Christian name, and yet deny Christ ! 
 Others, more true to the evil designs of their wicked hearts, 
 say, Jesus wns led to proclaim Himself the Son of God and 
 the Lord's Anointed from human weakness, being intoxicated 
 with the homage paid to Him by His disciples. Why, then, 
 can these infidels not believe on the Lord Jesus? Is it because 
 they are so conscientious concerning the Gospel truth? No, it 
 is because the Gospel is foolishness unto them, because they 
 harbor ill feelings in their own bosoms against the divine Lord, 
 and will not concede His divinity, in spite of overwhelming evi- 
 dences. 
 
 Let us not be deceived by the pretensions of infidels, when 
 they say that they feel sorry because they could not believe on 
 the Lord Jesus. Whosoever is sorry for his infidelity, in him 
 God has already begun His work ; and his sorrow, if true, will 
 soon turn into joy and saving faith. The Lord grant unto us all 
 His grace that we may not resist His Holy Spirit, but yield to 
 the life-giving power of His Word, and believe with all our soul 
 on Him who has bought us with His own precious blood and with 
 His innocent sufferino^ and death. Amen. 
 
 11 
 
152 PALM SUNDAY. 
 
 PALM SUNDAY. 
 
 ADDRESS TO THE CATECHUMENS. 
 
 KoM. 1, It;. 
 I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto 
 salvation to every one that believeth. 
 
 My Deakly Belo\tcd Children : 
 
 As often us you came to this church before this day, you 
 came to hear God speak to you. His divine Word was pro- 
 claimed to you, and where His Word is prochiimed there God 
 speaks Himself. But what is the purpose of your visit in the 
 house of God on this day? To-day you came not only to hear 
 God speak to you, but also to speak before God yourselves. And 
 what is it you intend to say to God? You intend to give Him 
 a solemn promise, a promise which the entire congregation shall 
 hear and by which you shall bind yourselves to your God for all 
 the days of your lives. You shall promise Him faithfulness unto 
 death. You shall promise Him that you will always serve and 
 obey Him, never forsake Him, never desert Him, that neither 
 poverty nor riches, neither honor nor reproach, neither life nor 
 death, that absolutely nothing in this world shall ever sever your 
 connection with God and the true Church. Will 3'ou keep this 
 promise? O my dearly beloved children, before the omniscient 
 God, who searches the depths of the heart, I ask you, Will you 
 keep this solemn promise? Will you all, every one of you, re- 
 main with Christ and His Church? Oh, it is a sad exi)erience 
 that b}^ a great immber of children the confirmation vow is soon 
 set at nought. Thousands of children stood before the altar on 
 confirmation da}' with tears in their ej^es and the best resolves in 
 their hearts and promised to be faithful unto death. And what 
 became of them later on? For a while they appeared to be 
 walking the narrow way that leads to eternal life, but gradually 
 they drifted away from the church and from their (iod and 
 swelled the large number of the lost. They did not stand firm 
 in the hour of temptation. They began to love the world and 
 its evil lusts. The}' felt loath to bear the cross of Christ and the 
 reproach which the world heai)s upon them that pray, and go to 
 (■inii-cii, and make an open profession of the Christian faith. And 
 
PALM SUNDAY. 153 
 
 SO they felt ashamed of Christ whose name they solenmly con- 
 fessed before men on the day of their conlirmation ; ashamed of 
 their faith, of their God, of their chm-ch ; ashamed of prayer, 
 ashamed of being seen going to church, ashamed of confessing 
 their Savior before the world, ashamed of being true Christians. 
 With a seared conscience they deserted the Christian ranks and 
 joined the host of Christ's enemies, Avalking the broad way that 
 leads to eternal ijerdition. O may the Lord grant that not a 
 single one of you shall ever do such a thing ! May the Lord 
 grant that on the last day every one of you shall be found stand- 
 ing at the right hand of Christ and hear His words : "Come, ye 
 blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from 
 the foundation of the world I" 
 
 Now to enable you to stand firm in all the temptations of 
 life, let me call your attention to a precious Word of God. This 
 Word of God you must always bear in mind and never forget as 
 long as you live. And if this you do, you will certainly keep the 
 great promise of the day. We find the same recorded Rom. 1,16: 
 
 I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST: FOR IT IS THE 
 
 POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION TO EVERY ONE THAT 
 
 BELIEVETH. 
 
 I. 
 
 "/ am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.'' Who said 
 this? The greatest and most learned man among the apostles, 
 St. Paul. Not always could he say, "I am not ashamed of the 
 Gospel of Christ." There was a time when he hated and de- 
 tested nothing more than the Gospel of Christ. That was before 
 his conversion, when his name was Saul. When Stephen, the 
 first Christian martyr, was stoned to death, Saul watched the 
 clothes of those who did the killing and took great pleasure in 
 the martyr's death. And then he searched the houses in Jeru- 
 salem and committed to prison all the Christians whom he could 
 find. Not satisfied therewith, he proceeded to Damascus to per- 
 secute the Christians. But on his way to Damascus the most 
 unexpected thing in the world came to pass. Saul, the perse- 
 cutor of the Church of God, was converted to Christ in a most 
 wonderful way. There was a light from heaven blinding him, 
 and a voice, which called to him, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest 
 thou me? — I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest." He was led 
 
1,34 r.vLM srxDAY. 
 
 to Damascus now and remained ])lind for three days. But he 
 no more thought of persecuting the Christians. When his sight 
 had l)ecn restored by a Christian named Ananias, he was bap- 
 tized and immediately began to preach in the synagogues that 
 Jesus is the Son of God. And from this time forth he was not 
 ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. He traveled from place to 
 place, and visited nearly all the principal cities of the Old World, 
 and wherever he appeared he proclaimed the Gospel that Ciirist 
 Jesus is come into the world to save sinners. He was beaten, 
 scourged, cast into prison, stoned for preaching the Gospel. He 
 was mocked, scoffed, laughed at by the would-be wise men of 
 this world, because he believed such a silly thing as was to their 
 minds the Gos})el of Christ. But he never faltered, never 
 wavered, never clianged his opinion. Boldly did he confess the 
 faith before Jews and Gentiles, before the rich and the poor, 
 before the learned and unlearned, even before princes and kings. 
 He was a man who was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. 
 
 My dear children, will you ever be ashamed of this Gospel? 
 O that I could fasten upon your souls in indelible characters, 
 never to l)e forgotten, always to be remembered, these blessed 
 words: "/ «m not aaJiamed of the Gospel of Christ,''' In the 
 wide world which is before you and through which you are to 
 pass, you will meet with all sorts of people, and many of them 
 will 1)0 wicked people, godless people, people who will do all 
 they can to make you ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. They 
 will laugh at you and sneer at you because you pray, and go to 
 church, and lead a Christian life. They will tell you that you 
 were the greatest fools to believe what the Bible says, that in 
 this age of enlightenment and progress no intelligent i)erson could 
 hold on to what is called the faith of our fathers, that there is 
 neither a heaven nor a hell, and that it were doul)tful at least if 
 there be a (iod. And not only by infidels and open blasphemers 
 will you be ajjproaehod; there will be others who will do all in 
 their power to make you ashamed of the Gospel. False prophets 
 also, men who claim to be Christians and jx'rvert the true Chris- 
 tian doctrine, will endeavor to lead you astray. They will come 
 to you in sheep's clothing, that is, in Christian disguise, and i)re- 
 tending to mean well with you. They will talk Scripture and 
 act as though they would only have you know the truth, and be 
 
VAL.M SUNDAY. 155 
 
 God's dear children, and be sure of heaven. But inwardly they 
 are ravening wolves. Their real object, though themselves they 
 might not be aware of it, is to make you ashamed of the Gospel 
 of Christ. They will tell you that you must rely on the feelings 
 of your own sinful heart for your conversion and salvation, or 
 that you must gain heaven by your own earnest endeavors. And 
 what is that but setting aside the Gospel of Christ? My dear 
 children, be not deceived. You have been instructed in the pure 
 doctrine of the divine Word, in God's Word and Luther's doctrine 
 pure. Let no man take from you that which has been entrusted 
 to you, whether he be an infidel or a false })rophet. Remember 
 Paul's words to the Galatians, "If any man i)reach any other 
 Gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." 
 But it will not suffice to confess the Gospel with the lips only. 
 For in this case you would be numbered with those of whom Jesus 
 says, "Not ever}^ one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter 
 into the kingdom of heaven." By your lives you must show that 
 you are not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Once more, dear 
 children, I warn you, at this solemn occasion, as I have warned 
 you many a time. Beware of sin ! Obey the commandments of 
 the Lord. Never do such things or say such things as you would 
 feel ashamed to say or do in the presence or with the knowledge 
 of your father and mother. Always remember that God knows 
 and sees everything you say or do. Do .not neglect your daily 
 prayers. He that prays no more is spiritually dead and is ashamed 
 of the Gospel of Christ. Attend the divine services regularly. 
 He that does not go to church and has no desire to hear the preach- 
 ing of God's Word is not of God and plainly shows that he is 
 ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Come frequently to the Lord's 
 Supper. He that will no more comply with Christ's command, 
 "This do ye in remembrance of me," is no less ashamed of the 
 Gospel of Christ than he who despises preaching and God's Word. 
 
 II. 
 
 And why should you not be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ ? 
 The apostle says, '^For it ts the j^oiver of God unto salvation to 
 every one that helievetJi.'' 
 
 Must you not say from your own experience that the Gospel 
 of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to every one that 
 
156 PAL3r SUNDAY. 
 
 believeth ? Did not the Spirit of God often move your hearts by 
 this precious Gospel ? Have you not been led to say with St. Paul, 
 "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that 
 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"? When the 
 inestimable love of God to us poor lost and condemned sinners in 
 His ])oloved Son Jesus Christ was pictured to you, when you were 
 shown how kind God is to us and how He longs and yearns to have 
 all men to be saved, were you not sometimes made to feel as 
 though you must leave this world and hasten to God and to your 
 blessed Savior Jesus and be with Him forever? 
 
 O dear children, abide with Jesus, then, and with His precious 
 Gospel. Solemnly I declare unto you in the presence of God and 
 this congregation that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing 
 which will make you happy, truly happy both in this life and in 
 the world which is to come. The Gospel is the glad tidings of the 
 grace of God in Christ Jesus, and as long as you sincerely believe 
 in the Savior Jesus, you will find that the Gospel is truly the power 
 of God unto 3'()ur salvation. The Gospel will assure you that it 
 was for your sins also that Jesus died on the cross, that, though 
 you be and remain sinners as long as you live, your transgressions 
 have all been blotted out, that God is pleased with you for His dear 
 Son's sake, and that nothing can happen to you against the will of 
 your ofood God and Lord. And when death comes and you nmst 
 leave this world, the Gospel will enable you to face the last grim 
 foe without fear and trembling. You will commend your soul 
 into God's hands and depart in peace, falling asleep in Jesus. 
 
 Let this be your highest aim, then, and the main object for 
 which you strive upon this earth, to obtain eternal salvation. 
 "What good will all the pleasures of life, all the honor among 
 men, and all the riches of this Avorld do you, if in the end you 
 would have to shai'e the rich man's fate in hell and torments? 
 "What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole w^orld and lose 
 his .soul?" Therefore, "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold 
 on eternal life, whereunto you are also called, and have professed 
 a good profession before many witnesses." Never be ashamed of 
 the Gospel of Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation to 
 every one that believeth. Be faithful, be faithful unto death, and 
 you shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised 
 to them tlnit love Him. Amen. 
 
(JOOD FRIDAY. 157 
 
 GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood 
 Shall never lose its power, 
 Till all the ransomed church of God 
 Be saved to sin no more. 
 
 Luke 23, 46—48. 
 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said. Father, into thy hands 
 I commend my spirit: and having said tlius, he gave up the ghost. Now wlien 
 the centurion saw what was done, lie gloritied God, saying. Certainly this was 
 a righteous man. And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding 
 the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned. 
 
 In the Lamb that was Slain Beloved Fellow Christians: 
 
 What shall we do? Shall we weep, or shall we rejoice? To- 
 day we must sing, 
 
 Alas, and did my Savior bleed, 
 And did my Sovereign die? 
 
 And surely, if ever there was an occasion for shedding tears, it is 
 the memorial day of Jesus' death, who died for us all and gave 
 His life as a sacrifice to atone for our sins. But again we know, 
 had Jesus not died for us, we should all be lost and suffer eternal 
 misery in the world to come ; and it was the death of our divine 
 Lord that rescued us from this terrible doom and opened unto us 
 the gates of paradise, that we might live in hapi)iness and bliss 
 which words cannot describe. Must not Good Friday, viewed 
 from such a point, be unto us all a day of great rejoicing, since 
 this da}'^ we were rescued from hell, and the gates of heaven were 
 thrown ojien before us ? 
 
 If ever a minister of the Gospel, whose sacred duty it is to 
 proclaim the divine truth, must feel his own inability, it is on this 
 day, when he is confronted with the most important event in the 
 history of this world, when he is to dwell upon that which came to 
 pass on Mount Calvary. "That spot is the center of all things. 
 The streams of ancient history converge here, and here the river 
 of modern history takes its rise. The eyes of patriarchs and 
 prophets strained forward to Calvaiy, and now the eyes of all 
 generations and of all races look back to it. The seeker after 
 truth who has explored the realms of knowledge comes to Cal- 
 
158 GOOD FRIDAY. 
 
 vary, and finds at last that he has reached the center. The weary 
 heart of man that has wandered the world over in search of per- 
 fect sympathy and love, at last arrives here and finds rest." 
 
 Still, though the theme be too high for human thought, we 
 Avill venture forward, and occupy our minds with it, and receive 
 into our hearts as nuich as we can of the truth that has a breadth 
 and length, a height and depth which pass understanding. With 
 the aid of God's Holy Spirit let us consider, 
 
 THE DEATH OF JESUS, 
 and see 
 
 I. How JeKuti died, and 
 II. Wliat is the effect of His death. 
 
 I. 
 
 Jesus died on the cross. His last sufferino; began the ni^-ht 
 before in the garden Gethscmane, Avhere He felt the approach of 
 this last terrible struggle and, in consequence thereof. His agony 
 became so intense that drops of sweat intermingled with blood fell 
 from His face upon the ground. During that sleepless night He 
 was abused in various ways. He was taken captive, and led from 
 one place to another; and in the morning He was delivered to the 
 Roman governor Pontius Pilate. Then He was scourged, and 
 crowned with thorns, and illtreated until He Avas almost exhausted 
 from pain and fatigue. At last He was affixed to the cross. His 
 hands and feet being pierced with nails. 
 
 But hoAV did Jesus die on the cross? What Avas the cause of 
 His death? Did He die from exhaustion? Did He hold on to life 
 as long as He could, and did He grow Aveaker and Aveaker while 
 hanging on tin; cross, until His strength failed Him and life i)assed 
 away? Did life ebb away and vanish slowly and finally disap[)car, 
 like a stream that is lost in the sands of the desert? St. Luke 
 says, "7/e cried with a loud voice.'' Loud did His voice ring 
 through the darkness that attended His death on Mount Calvary. 
 A man dying from exhaustion can scarcely utter a faint whisper 
 in his last moments, and his attendants must strain their ears to 
 catcli liis l;jst Avords. Jesus, therefore, did not die from ex- 
 haustion. He was in full possession of His strength to the last 
 minute. This is one of the most remarkable features connected 
 Avith His death. It Avas so surprising to all who witnessed the 
 
GOOD FRIDAY. 159 
 
 death of the divine Sufferer, that they did not know what to 
 make of it. We are tokl, "They feared greatly," and even Pilate 
 marveled when he was informed that Jesus was already dead. 
 The crucified generally lingered from twelve to forty-eio-ht and 
 even to seventy-two hours. And to see a crucified man die shout- 
 ing with a loud voice, this was something unheard of. 
 
 Perhaps some one will say, What is the difference? Is it not 
 sufficient simply to know that Jesus died for us? What does it 
 concern us whether He died from exhaustion or in full strenoth? 
 My friends, that is not a matter of indifference. Had Jesus died 
 from exhaustion, had He held on to life until He had to give up 
 His soul, then it would be apparent that He was not God but a 
 mere man. Then the old serpent really would have conquered 
 Him in this great struggle. This crjdng with a loud voice shows 
 that Jesus did not die because He had to yield to the inevitable, 
 that His death was not an irresistible doom, but an act of His will. 
 Jesus certainly suffered and endured all the pains of a dying man. 
 But while mortal man dies because he must, Jesus, the Son of 
 God, died because He would. He certainly could have more than 
 outlived the thieves that were crucified with Him. But He died 
 voluntarily. Did He not say to the Jews, "I lay down my life 
 that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay 
 it down of myself"? Voluntarily Jesus surrendered Himself to 
 His enemies. Never would they have been able to apprehend 
 Him, or to do Him any harm, had He resisted. But it was of 
 His own will that He submitted to their ill treatment, to the 
 scourging, crucifixion, and all the sufferings. It was of His own 
 will that He brought the great sacrifice of His life and gave up 
 the o;host. 
 
 We are also told which were His last words. The last words 
 of a dying friend or relative are dear to us, especially if they are 
 words of Scripture. Christ's last words were a (juotatiou from 
 that most precious of all the books in the Old Testament, from 
 the thirty-first Psalm. '■'He said. Father, into Jliy hands I com- 
 mend my spirit: and having said thus. He gave up the ghost,'' 
 Satan, who tempted the divine Sufferer in the wilderness, cer- 
 tainly was close at hand when Jesus Avas dying, and eager to seize 
 His departing soul. But Jesus plucked His spirit away from 
 these hostile hands and securely placed it in the hands of the 
 
160 GOOD FUIUAY. 
 
 Father. His spirit was now in paradise, while His lifeless body 
 was in the hands of men, and was afterwards borne to the grave. 
 The terrible struofgle was ended and the Man of Sorrows was be- 
 yond the reach of all the enemies, visible and invisible, by whom 
 He had been beset. 
 
 11. 
 
 And what is the effect of His death ? Two most remarkable 
 incidents are recorded in our text, as a direct result of Jesus' 
 death, that of the centurion glorifying God, and that of the people 
 smiting their breasts. 
 
 We read, ^^N'ow when the centurion saw what was done, he 
 glorified God, sai/ing. Certainly this was a righteous man.'' 
 How wonderful ! The centurion was a heathen and his soldiers 
 had abused the divine Sufferer, had mocked Him, spitted on 
 Him, crowned Him witli thorns, and illtreated Him from the 
 moment He fell into their hands until the very last. The centu- 
 rion himself may have taken an active part in these proceedings, 
 at least he did not interfere. But what a chano-e in this man as 
 soon as the head of the ]SIan upon the cross drops upon His breast 
 and life departs ! The centurion was standing opposite the cross 
 and watching the dying victim. Perhaps it had been dawning 
 upon his mind for some time that this Man must be, after all, 
 what He claimed to ])e. He had heard each of Christ's remark- 
 able words on the cross. He had witnessed the wonderful con- 
 version of the robber and the inexplical)lc signs of revolting na- 
 ture, the darkening of the sun and the eartlKjuake. Now that 
 Jesus' eyelids close in death he cannot keep his peace. He bursts 
 forth in i)raise of the dying Savior and calls Him the Son of God, 
 as the hol}^ Evangelists report. Tradition says that this centu- 
 rion's name was Longinus, that afterwards he became bishop of 
 Cappadocia, and ultimately died a martyr. 
 
 The other incident illustrating the effect of Jesus' death is 
 recorded in the words, ^'■^itid all the people that came together 
 to that sight, beholding the tilings which were done, smote their 
 breasts, <iud returned.'' What a wonderful change did Jesus' 
 d(>ath ))r<)duce in the hearts of the people ! Misled by the elders 
 and chief j)ri('sts, persuaded and moved ])y the heads of the 
 Jewish nation, they had l)een crowding around Pilate's judgment 
 
GOOD KKIDAV. 161 
 
 seat like a pack of hungry wolves, shouting until they were hoarse, 
 "Crucify Him ! Crucify Him !" When Pilate finally consented 
 to grant them their ])loodthirsty wish, and washed his hands be- 
 fore the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this 
 just person, see ye to it," they all cried of one accord, "His 
 l)lood be on us and on our children !" And even while Jesus was 
 hanging on the cross the people that passed by railed on Him, 
 wagging their heads and saying, "Ah, Thou that destroyest the 
 temple and buildest it in three days, save Thyself ; if Thou be 
 the Son of God, come down from the cross." But what is it we 
 hear of these same people when they behold the lifeless body of 
 their victim ? Their lips are sealed. They dare not say any more. 
 But they smite their breasts, thereby indicating their sorrow and 
 remorse for what they had been doing. 
 
 And this, my friends, is the effect of Jesus' death unto this 
 day. When you fix your eyes upon the dying Lord, when you 
 behold Him nailed on the cursed tree and pouring out His soul in 
 death amid heartrendino; agonies and sufferino; what will be the 
 effect ui)on 3^our soul, if you do not willfully resist and harden 
 your own heart, as did the chief priests and elders? The first 
 effect will be extreme sorrow, sorrow for your sins which have 
 caused the innocent suffering and painful death of your divine 
 Savior. You will be moved to smite your breast and to say. Oh, 
 what have I done? I have nailed the Son of God to the cross ! 
 My sin it was which made Him suffer and die. And the second 
 effect of Jesus' suffering and death is that you will glorify God, 
 as did the centurion. You will praise God and His wonderful 
 grace and mercy, the great love wherewith He so loved the world 
 that He gave His only begotten Son to die that we might live. 
 You will feel assured now, since Jesus died for you, that your 
 sins are all wiped out, and that the penalty is fully paid for all 
 your transgressions. 
 
 May the death of our dear Savior produce in us all this double 
 effect ; and thus we shall behold the Lamb of God which taketh 
 away the sin of the world. Amen. 
 
162 EASTER SUNDAY. 
 
 EASTER SUXDAY. 
 
 Mark 16, 1—8. 
 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, aiul Mary the mother of 
 James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they mifiht come and anoint 
 him. And very early in the morning, the first day of the weelv, they came unto 
 the sepulcher at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves. Who 
 shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher? And Avhen they 
 looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away : for it was very great. And 
 entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, 
 clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto 
 them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek .Tesus of Nazareth, wliich was crucitted: he is 
 risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, 
 tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee : there shall ye 
 see him, as he said unto you. And tiiey went out (piickly, and fled from the 
 sepulcher; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to 
 any man; for they were afraid. 
 
 Hallelujah, lo, He wakes, 
 
 Lives o'er death and hell victorious, 
 
 Earth in awe with trembling quakes, 
 
 As the Hero rises glorious, 
 
 He who died on Golgotha. 
 
 Jesus lives! Hallelujah! 
 
 Hallelujali, see the tomb, 
 
 Ye who o'er His death are pining, 
 
 Dry your tears, to joy give room, 
 
 While the radiant sun is shining. 
 
 Hear the angel's gloria, 
 
 Jesus lives! Hallelujah! 
 
 Yea, "The stone which the builders refused is become the 
 head stone of the corner. This is the Lord's doing; it is mar- 
 velous in our eves. This is the day which the Lord hath made ; 
 we will rejoice and be <rlad in it." Thus did David rejoice in the 
 Old Testament when in the spirit, by divine inspiration, he saw 
 the glorious day in which the Lord's Anointed, whom the T.«oi-d 
 would not suffer to see corruption, would leave the tomb. 
 
 Hut we live in the time of the New Testament. "What David 
 saw in the dim future has been fultilled. Christ is risen from 
 the dead. Tic; rose almost nineteen hundred years ago. What 
 thrills of joy should till our hearts as we meditate on tiiis glorious 
 event ! Is there another day in the history of this world that has 
 
EASTER 8UNDAY. 163 
 
 brought greater blessings for all generations, past, present, and 
 to come? another day that has brought greater deliverance for 
 the fallen race ? another day that has witnessed a greater miracle 
 than the day of Christ's resurrection? Must we not exclaim with 
 David, "This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 
 This is the day which the Lord hath made ; we will rejoice and 
 be glad in it" ? 
 
 No greater miracle can be performed than to raise the dead. 
 How astounded should we be if some one would take us to the 
 cemetery and before our eyes would call forth and restore to life 
 the decaying body of a friend who sleeps beneath the sod. This 
 was done. Christ of His own power, and the prophets and the 
 apostles in the power of God, did raise 'the dead. But what are 
 these resuscitations compared with Christ's own resurrection? 
 Christ was not passive in His resurrection. He was not merely 
 raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, He was active 
 in His resurrection. He Himself of His own powder rose from the 
 dead. Though Death had claimed Him and bound Him witii his 
 fetters and chains, though He was truly and perfectly dead. His 
 heart ceasing to beat and not a spark of life remaining in His 
 chilled and motionless body. He raised Himself, He freed Him- 
 self from Death's cold embrace, He restored Himself to life. 
 Can there be a greater miracle? 
 
 But is Christ's resurrection beyond doubt? Is our joy on 
 Easter day well founded? May not all these things be a dream? 
 No, my friends, these things are not a dream. If ever we Chris- 
 tians can lift up our heads in triumph, and defy all unbelievers, 
 and rejoice in the faith, it is on the day of Christ's resurrection. 
 Let us consider with the aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 THE FACT AND THE MEANING OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION. 
 
 I. The indisimtahle fact, 
 II. TJie glorious meaning. 
 
 I. 
 
 To be convinced of the fact of Christ's resurrection all doubts 
 as to His actual death must be removed. The theory has been 
 advanced by the opponents of Christianity, that Christ could not 
 have been actually dead, that He must have been in a trance, and 
 
164 EASTER SUNDAY. 
 
 that the coolness of the sepuloher must have restored Him to con- 
 sciousness. How absurd and utterly impossible is this theory ! 
 "What does our Gospel say? ''And when Ike Sabbath ivas jMst, 
 Maty Magdalene^ and Mart/ the mother of James, and Salome, 
 had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him, 
 And very early in the morning, the first day of the weeh, they 
 came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun. And they said 
 amonf/ themselves. Who shall roll us away the stone from the door 
 of the sepulcher?'' Would these women have come to the sep- 
 ulcher on Easter morn to anoint the body of Christ, to embalm 
 His body, if the least doubt could have been entertained as to His 
 actual death? if the slightest possibility had existed that He might 
 be in a trance? O how anxious would they have been to think 
 that He was merely in a deathlike sleep ! But they knew that 
 He was truly dead. Had they not seen Him bow His head on 
 the cross and give up the ghost? Had they not seen with their 
 own eyes how the soldier had thrust a spear into His side and 
 pierced His heart, to make sure of His death? Is it not madness 
 to claim that a man may be merely in a trance when the heart, 
 the center of life, is destroyed? 
 
 The fact of Christ's resurrection is evinced by the empty 
 tomb. We read, ''And when they looked, they saiv that thi^ stone 
 was rolled away : for it was very great.'' On Friday evening, 
 when Jesus was buried by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, 
 these women were present at the interment. They saw how their 
 beloved Master was wound in a clean linen cloth with spices. 
 They saw how the corpse was deposited in the new rock-hewn 
 grave. They saw how a great stone was rolled to the door of 
 the sepulcher. And what do they behold now on Easter morn? 
 The stone is rolled away. The black, yawning opening of the 
 sepulcher stares \\\\o\\ them. Its occupant is gone. How is this 
 to be accounted for? Was the body stolen? The murderers of 
 Christ had made theft impossible. They came to Pilate and said, 
 "Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while He was yet 
 alive. After three days I will rise again. Command therefore 
 that the sei)ul<h('r hv made sure unto the third day, lest His 
 discii)les come by night and steal Him away, and say unto the 
 people. He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse 
 than the tirst." AVhereupon Pilate stationed a guard consisting 
 
EASTER SUNDAY, 1G5 
 
 of several soldiers at the scpulcher and had them seal the stone 
 with the imperial Roman signet. How could the body be stolen 
 in the face of such precautions? And yet the body was no lono^er 
 there on Easter morn. The imperial signet was broken. The 
 stone was rolled away. The watch had fled. The toml) was vacant. 
 
 And it was an angel from heaven that announced the fact of 
 His resurrection. We read, ^'And entering into the sepulcher, they 
 saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long lohite 
 garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them. Be 
 not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which icas crucified: 
 He is risen; He is not here: behold the place ivhere they laid 
 Himy Can we, dare we doubt a fact which God makes known 
 to us by one of His own messengers? Must not Christ's resur- 
 rection be an indisputable fact when we hear God informing us 
 that He is risen from the dead? And how was this resurrection 
 accomplished? Matthew tells us, "And, behold, there was a great 
 earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, 
 and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it. 
 His countenance was like lia;htning and his raiment white as snow: 
 and for fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead 
 men." Not did this anfjel assist Christ in His resurrection. Christ 
 had risen already and had passed with the body of His glorious 
 resurrection through the sealed stone. The angel's mission was 
 merely to reveal the fact of His resurrection and to show by the 
 vacant sepulcher that death no longer holds the Prince of Life. 
 
 Who can dispute the fact of Christ's resurrection? Did He 
 not walk upon this earth for forty days after His resurrection, 
 and show^ Himself to His disciples at different times and in various 
 places, and eat and drink with them, and hold long conversations 
 with them, and instruct them, until He bade them farewell and 
 ascended into heaven before their eyes? A favorite theory with 
 the enemies of Christianity is, that the disciples Avere deceived, 
 that the Christ of the resurrection was a Christ of their own imagi- 
 nation. Is not this theory as absurd as it can be? Did not the 
 risen Lord have the greatest trouble to convince His disciples of 
 the fact of His resurrection? What troul)le did He have with 
 Thomas ! How slow of heart were they all to believe ! Another 
 theory is, that the entire account of Christ's wonderful accom- 
 plishments, including His resurrection, is a piece of fraud, a 
 
1G<) EASTER SUNDAY. 
 
 made-up story playing upon the credulity of the common people. 
 Is not this theory as absurd as the rest? Did the disciples of 
 Christ, and the writers of the New Testament in general, ever 
 show the slightest signs of willful or involuntary deception? Were 
 they not the most competent and truthful witnesses, who knew 
 what tiiey said and meant what they said? And, finally, what 
 did I he disciples get for preaching the crucified and risen Christ? 
 Were they not persecuted and put to death for their testimony? 
 Can we conceive how a whole class of men will go into })()vorty, 
 disgrace, persecution, death for the sake of a Hagrant, willful lie, 
 rather than to tell the truth and thereby to avoid hardships and 
 io-nominv, and to live? No; Christ's resurrection is a fact which 
 has been sealed with the heart's blood of the most trustworthy 
 witnesses, a fact which is even better established than most of the 
 universally credited events in the annals of history, a fact which 
 everv man in this world, using his own common sense and not 
 blinded by prejudice, will and must admit, an indisputable fact. 
 
 II. 
 
 A glorious meaning is connected with this indisputable fact. 
 This is the second part of our discourse. 
 
 The angel said to the women, ''■But go your way^ tell His 
 disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee: there 
 shall ye see Him, as He said unto you.'' "As He said unto 
 vou." The an^el refers to Christ's words and tells the women 
 that now, after His resurrection, He would make true all that He 
 had said. And this is the meaning which, above all, is implied in 
 Christ's resurrection: Christ's Word is true, God's Word is true. 
 Christ's resurrection is the crowning evidence of our Christian 
 faith. Christ's resurrection puts the stamp of genuineness on 
 every word that is contained in the Bible. Even one of the bit- 
 terest enemies of Christianity that ever lived and who has, per- 
 haps, done more harm than all the rest, calls the resurrection of 
 Christ "the center of the center — the real heart of Christianity," 
 and adds, "It can scarcely be doubted that with it the truth of 
 Christianity stands or falls." With singular unanimity the ene- 
 mies of the Christian religion have agreed that, if the resurrec- 
 tion of Jesus Christ from the grave be granted, all else that Chris- 
 tianity claims nnist l)e conceded. How triumphantly, then, can 
 
EASTER SUNDAY. 1(m 
 
 we profess the faith ! We can say to the unbeHever, Christ is 
 risen from the dead; you cannot gainsay thi.'^ fact ; you yourself 
 must and do admit it by your inability to di.s[)rove it. What, 
 then, do your arguments amount to which you bring forth ao^ainst 
 the Christian religion ? They amount to nothing, however cleverly 
 they are made. They are as shining soap bubbles. And do you 
 not behold the living monument wiiich the risen Christ has erected 
 in the world, that great monument which stands to this dav and 
 will stand unto the end of the world? Do you not behold the 
 Christian Church, which is built on the fact of Christ's resurrec- 
 tion and in which He invisibly lives and reigns? 
 
 The meaning of Christ's resurrection, however, is not only 
 to furnish us with an invincible proof for the truth of the Chris- 
 tian religion, but also to make us joyful in the faith and in the 
 hope of eternal life. Three things that are contained in the third 
 article of the Creed have been made sure by Christ's resurrec- 
 tion : the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and 
 life everlasting. 
 
 We must remember that Christ is our Substitute in every- 
 thing He did, that for us He lived and led a life in strict obedi- 
 ence to the divine Law, that for us He died on the cross and 
 suffered the punishment w^hich we deserve for our transgressions, 
 that for us He was laid in the o:rave and entered into the dark 
 chambers of death. And as He was our Substitute in life and 
 death so was He our Representative in His glorious resurrection. 
 God raised His beloved Son from the dead and thereby solemnly 
 declared that His great work for us is api)roved, that the Law is 
 fulfilled for all men, that the penalty is paid for the sins of the 
 world. O o;lorious moanino^ of Christ's resurrection ! It means 
 that our blessed Mediator and Redeemer has not only finished 
 the redemption, but that His great work for us has also been 
 accepted of the Father. It means that the divine subscription 
 and seal has been aflixed to the document which attests to us the 
 remission of all our guilt. It means that God's wrath and anger 
 upon our sins is appeased, that His stern justice is satisfied, that 
 He is perfectly reconciled to the whole fallen world. It means 
 that not only a universal pardon has been extended to all sin- 
 ners from the beginning: to the end of the world, but that even a 
 solemn public absolution has been pronounced upon all the chil- 
 12 
 
168 EASTER SUNDAY. 
 
 dren of men, declaring them free from guilt and exempt from 
 the damnation which for their sins they deserve. Does not Paul 
 distinctly say that Christ "was delivered for our offenses and 
 raised ao'ain for our justification," and "that God was in Christ, 
 reconciling the world unto Himself, not imjiuting their trespasses 
 unto them"? O the glorious meaning of Christ's resurrection! 
 Come, whoever thou art, here is the forgiveness of all th}^ sins. 
 God has sealed it unto thee in Christ's resurrection. Take it, 
 receive it, accept it, believe it, and you have it. 
 
 And as Christ rose from the dead, so we await the resurrec- 
 tion of the body. We must all sink into our graves when our 
 time has come. But if with the forgiveness of our sins we de- 
 part from this life, death shall harm us as little as it has harmed 
 Christ. He says, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that 
 believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and 
 whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." Death 
 shall be for us nothing more than a sweet slumber. "This cor- 
 ruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on 
 immortality." Christ rose from the dead, and we shall follow 
 Him. He became the first fruits of them that slec}). O glorious 
 day when our bodies shall come forth from the earth and l)c like 
 unto the glorious ))ody of the risen Christ, bodies that shall be 
 freed from all infirmities, bodies that shall be spirit -like, as 
 Christ's body was when after His resurrection He passed through 
 the thickest walls and appeared and again vanishe4 from sight! 
 O irlorious dav when in our flesh we shall see God ! 
 
 Finally, Christ's resurrection means for us life everlasting. 
 St; Paul says Romans, chapter sixth, "Now if Ave be dead with 
 Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him: knowing 
 that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death 
 hath no more dominion over Him." What a glorious life into 
 which Christ entered by His resurrection I Not an enemy of His 
 was permitted to behold and abuse Him. No sorrow filled His 
 heart. Not a tear did He shed. But He ascended into heaven. 
 He was received into tli(! beautiful realms above amid the liaile- 
 lujalis of the heavenly host, seated at the I'lght hand of (Jod the 
 Father Almighty, and lives and reigns to all eternity. Thus shall 
 we also enter into heaven, into life everlasting, into joy and 
 bliss wliicli no language can tell; for the Psalm says, "In Thy 
 
EASTER MONDAY. I<i9 
 
 presence is fullness of joy ; at Thy right hand there arc i)leasures 
 for evermore,"' and our dear Redeemer Himself has given us the 
 blessed promise, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, 
 and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life." 
 
 Praise, then, and glory be to our risen Lord, to our heavenly 
 King, who liveth in us and we in Him, and who is the same yes- 
 terday, and to-day, and forever. Amen. 
 
 EASTEE MONDAY. 
 
 Luke 24, 13—35. 
 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a villajie called Emmaus, 
 which Avas from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together 
 of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, tliat, while they 
 communed together and reasoned, .Jesus himself drew near, and went with tliera. 
 But their eyes were holden that tiiey should not know liim. And he said unto 
 them. What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, 
 as ye walk, and are sad? And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, an- 
 swering, said unto him. Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not 
 known the things which are come to pass there in these days? And he said 
 unto them. What things? And they said unto him, Concerning .Tesus of Xaza- 
 reth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before (4od and all the jieople : 
 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, 
 and have crucified him. But we trusted that it had been lie which should have 
 redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to-day is the third day since these things 
 were done. Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, 
 which were early at the sepulcher; and when they found not liis body, they came, 
 saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. 
 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulcher, and found it even 
 so as the women had said : but him they saw not. Then he said unto them, 
 O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken : ought 
 not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And be- 
 ginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scrip- 
 tures the things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither 
 they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they con- 
 strained him, saying. Abide with us : for it is toward evening, and the day is far 
 spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at 
 meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. 
 And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their 
 siglit. And they said one to another. Did not our heart burn within us, while 
 he talked with us l)y the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? And 
 they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven 
 gathered together, and them that were with them, saying. The Lord is risen in- 
 deed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the 
 way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. 
 
170 EASTEIl MONDAY. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ : 
 
 The event of our Gospel occurred on the day of Christ's 
 resurrection. As we are told in the tenth chapter of Luke, Christ, 
 besides the smaller circle of twelve disciples, had another, a larger 
 circle of seventy disciples. The two disciples that walked from 
 Jerusalem to Eniniaus in the afternoon of the resurrection day, 
 most likely, belonged to this larger circle of Christ's disciples. The 
 name of the one was Cleopas. The other some take for St. Luke 
 himself, who modestly withholds his name, while others take him 
 for James, because 8t. Paul says in the Hrst epistle to the Corin- 
 thians that Jesus after His resurrection ai)peared unto James also. 
 
 Now these two discijjles, as it seems, did not feel safe in the 
 city. They were in a state of bewilderment. A rumor had been 
 circulated that Christ was risen. This fills them with fright. They 
 haste away from the miserable place where their dear Lord and 
 Master was apprehended, condemned, crucified, and taken down 
 from the cross a corpse ; away from the dangerous spot where 
 they themselves were in jeopardy of life and had to hide for fear 
 of the Jews. Who could vouch for them that the chief priests 
 and the elders t)f the people would not keep on in the course 
 which they had begun ? that they would not send out their serv- 
 ants to search for the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth and have 
 them share the fate of their Master? So these two flee from the 
 city. "With the city behind them they feel more at ease, and the 
 topic of their conversation, as they walk along, is the tragic end 
 of Ilim whom they loved and of whom they had expected that He 
 Avould redeem Israel. 
 
 And lo ! while they walk along in sad conversation a stranger 
 overtakes them. They probably took him for one of those pil- 
 grims who came from distant parts to attend the feast of the 
 Passover, and who was now on the way home. It was Jesus, the 
 risen Lord, and Ihcir eyes were holden that they should not know 
 Him. So we Hud the risen Lord with the two disci[)les of Eni- 
 maus, walking with them and then abiding with them at Emmaus. 
 
 The su})ject of our discourse shall therefore be with the aid 
 of (iod's Holy Spirit, 
 
 THK RISEN LORD WITH THE DISCIPLES OF EMMAUS, 
 I, ^Lv tlii'lr cfiiiipain'oii, and 
 11 . A In IIk i r i/iii si . 
 
EASTER .MONDAY. 171 
 
 I. 
 
 ''What manner of coiiDuumcaiions are fJtese that i/e have one 
 to another^ as ye ivalk, and are sad /'' By this (luc^stion the risen 
 Lord interrupts the two disciples in their conversation. He can- 
 not see them sad and depressed. He iiKiuires about their trouble. 
 Now had they recognized Him immediately, how great would 
 have been their amazement and their joy. "But their eyes were 
 holden that they should not knoio Him.'' So one of them, Cleopas, 
 makes reply and expresses his surprise at this question, saying, 
 "■Art Thou only a stranger in Jerusalem and hast not Txiiown the 
 things loJdch are come to pass there in these days?" What he 
 would sa}^ is this, Though a stranger, you ought to know what has 
 Ijeen the talk of the town for the last days, and you ought to know 
 something at least about that which is disturbing our minds. But 
 Jesus, as if totally ignorant of those things, asks again and thus 
 leads them to express the doubts and troubles of which He would 
 make them free. ''He said unto thetn. What things? And they 
 said unto Him^ Concerning Jesus of Nazareth , which icas a prophet 
 mighty in deed and word before God and all tlie people : and how 
 the chief priests and our rulers delivei'ed Him to he condemned to 
 death, and have crucified Him. But we trusted that it had been 
 He which should have redeemed Israel : and beside all this, to-day 
 is the third day since these things were done. Yea, and certain 
 women also of our company made us astonished, which were early 
 at the sepulcher; and lohen they found not His body, they came, 
 saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, lohich said that 
 He was alive. And certain of them which were with us went to 
 the sepulcher, and found it even so as the loonien had said: but 
 Him they saw not.'' What ignorance concerning Christ's person 
 and office, what doubts and uncertainties, do their words betray ! 
 They admit that Jesus was a prophet mighty in deed and word 
 before God and all the people; but what do they think of Him 
 now? He is nothing more to them now than Jesus of Nazareth, 
 condemned to death and crucified by the chief priests and rulers. 
 Why do they not dare now to call Him the Son of the living God ? 
 Oh, they are very much in doul)t about that now. They say, " We 
 trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed Israel." 
 They speak as if all their hopes and expectations were blasted. 
 For what could they expect of a dead Messiah? Could a dead 
 
172 EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 Messiah redeem Israel, restore the glorious kingdom of God's 
 chosen people, and reestablish the throne of David and Soh)mon? 
 As lon^J" as He was alive they tirmly believed in His future glo- 
 rious kingdom, and thougli Christ informed them time and again 
 that His kiniT'lom was of a different nature than they supposed, 
 that it was a kingdom in the hearts of men, still they held fast 
 to their own fancies and pictured Jesus to their minds as a great 
 worldly ruler to be honcu'ed by all the nations upon the earth. 
 But now that He was dead, Avhat could they hope for? It seems 
 to them that all was a dream. Still there is something mysterious 
 in this matter, something they cannot account for, something 
 encouraging them not fully to abandon their hopes. This is the 
 third day, and had not -lesus told them that on the third day He 
 would rise again from the dead? And did not the women who 
 had been at the sepulcher early in the morning claim they had 
 seen a vision of angels, saying. He is alive? Had not some of 
 their own number gone to the sepulcher and found it empty? 
 This is what })uzzles them and makes them feel uneasy. 
 
 Christ, their companion, hears what they have to say and 
 then replies, '•'■O fools, and slow of Jieart to believe all that the 
 jprophets have spoken: oiujht not Christ to have suffered these 
 things, and to enter into His glory? And hef/i)uiinf/ at Moses and 
 all the projihets, He expounded unto them in aJl the Scriptures the 
 things concerning Himself' What a powerful sermon that nmst 
 have been ! Christ removes all their doubts and sets aright all 
 their prejudices. He shows that according to Moses and the 
 prophets the Messiah had to suffer precisely those things which 
 Jesus of Nazareth had suffered, and that He had to die and rise 
 again from the dead. He expounds to them all the prophecies 
 concernin*; the sufferinu' and death of the Son of God, and thus 
 convinces th(!m by Scripture. O how their hearts burn within 
 them now, how they hang upon the lips of their companion, how 
 convincingly His woi*ds penetrate their soul ! They are so charmed 
 with their comjianion's conversation that they loathe to ])art when 
 they arrive at their journey's end. 
 
 And I would have you note, my hearers, that unto this day 
 the risen Lord is a comforting companion unto all His disciples 
 upon life's pathway. Note well, this is the benetit, this is the 
 blessing of (^hrist's resurrection that He is with us alway. He is 
 
EASTER MONDAY. 173 
 
 invisibly, but reall}' present, present not only according to His 
 divinity, but according to His exalted humanity also, present in 
 the body of His resurrection, present with us where we go and 
 stand ; invisibly present both in the days of prosperity and in the 
 days of adversity. He speaks to us in His holy Word, in the 
 Scriptures, and we again can address Him in our prayers. He is 
 our companion on life's pilgrimage, even as He was the com- 
 panion of those two disciples on their way to Emmaus. 
 
 11. 
 
 But let us hear the continuation of our narrative. We read, 
 ^'And they dreiv nigh unto tJie viUaf/e, irhit/ier theij ivent: and 
 He made as tliough He would have gone fnrtlier. Bat they con- 
 strained Him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, 
 and the day is far s^jent. And He vjent in to tarry with them.'" 
 Their companion now became their guest. He had won their 
 hearts. They felt as if they could not part with Him. So they 
 constrain Him, that is, they entreat and prevail upon Him, to 
 remain and pass the night with them. And their dear comi)anion 
 accepts their kind invitation. He enters the house with them. 
 Meanwhile the sun has gone down. Supper is served. And what 
 do we hear? ^^And it came to pass, as He sat at meat with them. 
 He took bread, and Messed it, and brake, and gave to then/.'" 
 How strange ! He is their guest and still He assumes the duties 
 of the landlord. He takes the bread, pronounces the blessing, 
 and distributes to the disciples. The defenders of the papac}' 
 claim that the risen Lord celeV)rated the holy communion at this 
 instance, using merely the bread and not the wine. They do so 
 to support their erroneous practice of withholding the cup from 
 the laity. But, in the first place, there is not the slightest inti- 
 mation in the text that this was to be a celebration of the holy 
 communion. And, in the second place, even if it was, the fact 
 that Jesus distributed the bread certainly does not warrant the 
 assertion that He declined to give them wine also. Does not 
 St. Peter say in the epistle of the, day that Jesus did both eat and 
 drink with His disciples after His resurrection? Christ simply 
 did here as He was wont to do when eating with His disciples. 
 He said the prayer, brake the bread, and gave the pieces to His 
 disciples. 
 
174 EASTER MONDAY. 
 
 And what was the effect of these proceedings? " TJieir eyes 
 loere opened, and ihei/ knew Ili/n/' Like a flash of lightning it 
 dawned upon them, it is the Lord. They knew Him at once. It 
 was their dear Lord and Master given to them from the grave. 
 The women had not been mistaken and the angels had told the 
 truth. He was risen from the dead. He was again among the 
 living. But how was it that they did not know Him before this, 
 when they looked into His face and He spoke to them? Had He 
 changed His api)earance ? Had He put on a different form ? No ; 
 He was the same. His body was the same. But their eyes were 
 holden that they should not know Him. Now, how^ever, when 
 He raised up His hands and gave them the bread, the veil drops 
 from their eyes. They recognize Him. But before they can find 
 words with which to express their amazement. He vanishes out 
 of their sight. For now He had accomplished His object with 
 them. He had removed their doubts concerning His suffering, 
 death, and resurrection. He had, by eating with them, shown 
 and proved that He was alive. Now^ they are surprised that they 
 did not recognize Him before, and '-'the)/ mij one to another, Did 
 not our heart hum ivitliin us, while He talked with us by the way, 
 and ivhile lie opened to us the Scriptures?'' 
 
 And what further effect did this manifestation of the risen 
 Lord produce? Though they evidently had intended to stay in 
 the village over night, and had asked their unknown companion 
 to abide with them and not to proceed on His journey, because 
 night was nigh at hand, ^'they i'ose up the same hour and returned 
 to Jerusalem.''' They were anxious to communicate the good news 
 to their fellow disciples and to tell them how He was their com- 
 panion on the way to Emmaus and their guest in the village. And 
 when they arrived at Jerusalem, '■^ they found the eleven r/athered 
 toe/ether, and the?n that were ivith them, saying. The Lord is risen 
 indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told ivhat things 
 were done in the way, and how He was known of them in breaking 
 of bread." 
 
 My friends, this also is one of the comforts and blessings 
 of Christ's resurrection that He will be our guest as He was the 
 guest of those disciples at Emmaus. Not only does the risen 
 Lord accompany Ilis faithful believers in the pathway of life, 
 He enters their homes also and tarries with them invisiblv, but 
 
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 175 
 
 really and truly. He even enters into their hearts by means of 
 His Word and sacrament and makes them His holy temple. It is 
 not in vain we pray to Him at meat and say, "Come, Lord Jesus, 
 be our Guest and let Thy gifts to us be blest." It is not in vain 
 we call upon Him and say, Abide, O dearest Jesus, among us 
 with Thy grace. It is not in vain we sing, 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ, with us abide, 
 For round us falls the eventide; 
 Nor let Thy Word, the heavenly light, 
 For us be ever veiled in night. 
 
 Even when death comes, we can depend on the invisible 
 presence of our risen Lord and can grasp His divine hand, which 
 will lead us safely through the dark valley of death into the 
 heavenly paradise. 
 
 May the Lord, then, keep us steadfast in the faith, that we 
 remain His true disciples ; and we shall enjoy the benefits of His 
 presence with us unto the end of our pilgrimage, until in Jeru- 
 salem our happy home shall be with Him forevermore. Amen. 
 
 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 John 20, 19—31. 
 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the 
 doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came 
 Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And 
 when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were 
 the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again. 
 Peace be unto you : as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when 
 he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them. Receive ye the Holy 
 Ghost: whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and wliose- 
 soever sins ye retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called 
 Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The otlier disciples therefore 
 said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them. Except I sliall 
 see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the 
 nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days 
 again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them : then came Jesus, the 
 doors being shut, and stood in tlie midst, and said. Peace be unto you. Then 
 saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach 
 hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and l)e not faitiiless, but i)elieving. 
 And Thomas answered and said unto him. My Lord and my God. Jesus saith 
 unto liim, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed : blessed are 
 
176 FIKST SLXDAY AFTER EASTEK. 
 
 they that have not seen, and yet have believed. And many other sic^ns truly did 
 Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but 
 these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; 
 and that Ijelieviug ye might have life through his name. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 Two manifestations of the risen Lord are recorded in our 
 Gospel. Tlie tirst manifestation took place on the day of Christ's 
 resurrection and the second, eight days after. 
 
 Who could describe the feelings of jo}' felt by the whole 
 assembly of Christ's disciples, when their Lord and Master sud- 
 denly appeared in their midst, while they were gathered together 
 behind closed and bolted doors in the evening of the day of His 
 resurrection? Did they expect Him this night and did they meet 
 for this })urpose? Hardly. But they knew that He was risen 
 from the dead. The women who had been at the sepulcher early 
 in the morning to anoint His body had found the sepulcher 
 emj)ty and had seen a vision of angels, saying that He was alive. 
 Mary Magdalene had seen Him and spoken to Him. Simon Peter 
 had seen Him. The two disciples of Emmaus had just arrived 
 and reported how the risen Lord had Avalkcd with them to Em- 
 maus and how He was known of them in breaking of bread. 
 At (livcis places the Lord had appeared on this day, but most 
 of His disci})les had not seen Him as yet. O how great must 
 have been their joy when suddenly, in the stillness of their 
 assembly, they heard His familiar voice, saying, '''■Peace he 
 unto i/oit!" and when they looked up and saw Him standing in 
 their midst ! 
 
 This was His first manifestation in their assembly after His 
 resurrection. And it was characterized by something peculiar. 
 We are told, "T//r>< saidJe.ms to them again, Peace he unto you : 
 as mij F<( flier /lath sent me, even .so send I you. And iclien He 
 had said this. He hreathed on them and saith unto them. Receive 
 ye the Holy Ghost: whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted 
 unto them; and lohosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.''^ 
 In the most unambiguous terms Christ gives unto His disciples, 
 that is, unto I lis Church upon earth, the power to forgive sins. 
 This is the scat of the doctrine of absolution. And though this 
 doctrine, accoi'ding to which sins arc to be ft)rgivcn l)y nioital 
 ni.'in ill the name of Clirist, is looked upon by some as one of the 
 
FIUST SUXDAV AFTKli EASTEU. 177 
 
 remnants of the papacy in our church, still it is an undeniable 
 doctrine of Clirist and affords great consohition. 
 
 But we shall not enter in detail upon this comforting doctrine 
 to-day. There is another Sunday in the ecclesiastical year to be 
 devoted to the contemplation of this doctrine. We shall apply 
 our attention to the second part of our Gospel which treats of the 
 unbelieving disciple Thomas in particular, and tells how the risen 
 Lord, in His second manifestation, on this very day, the 'Sunday 
 after Easter, healed this straying sheep of His flock of his unbelief. 
 Accordingly, let us consider with the aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 THOMAS' UNBELIEF CONCERNING CHRIST'S RESURRECTION, 
 
 and see 
 
 I. Hoiv outspoken and, at the same time, hoiv unreasonable 
 
 ivas his unbelief, and 
 II. Hoio the Lord rebukes him and, at the same time, con- 
 vinces him of His resurrection. 
 
 I. 
 
 We read, '■'■But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, 
 was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore 
 said unto him. We have seen the Lord.'' When Christ appeared 
 unto His disciples the first time, on the day of His resurrection, 
 all w^ere present excepting Thomas. We are not told what was 
 the reason of his absence. But his conduct may give us a clue. 
 His conduct shows that he must have been on the point of sever- 
 ing his connection with his fellow disciples. Doubts had arisen 
 in his mind concerning Christ, who had died on the cross. And 
 while the other disciples entertained the same doubts, his case was 
 more severe. He had evidently made up his mind that their cause 
 was hopelessly lost, since their Master was dead. Why, then, 
 should he go to their assembly ? Perhaps he thought within him- 
 self, What foolishness to meet in a body and run the risk of being 
 arrested by the ofiicials ! I shall have nothing to do with this 
 thing and will not identify myself with these disciples any longer. 
 Still, Thomas was not so far gone as to betray his fellow disciples, 
 not so far gone as to tread in the footsteps of Judas, to go to the 
 chief priests and elders and to tell them, I also was a disciple of 
 Jesus of Nazareth, but now I renounce Him ; and I am at your 
 
178 FIKST SUNDAY AFTER KASTEK. 
 
 service, if you can make any use of me. No ; he is still on good 
 terms with the other discii)les. They meet him and say, " We 
 have seen the Lord/' They say to him, Thomas, the Lprd is 
 really risen from the dead. The rumors about His resurrection 
 have proven true. He appeared in our midst. We have seen 
 Him wath our own eyes, and with our own ears we heard His sweet 
 voice. In short, they related to him in detail all that came to pass 
 in Christ's first manifestation after His resurrection. And what 
 does Thomas say? Does he believe? Is his heart filled with joy 
 at the Lord's resurrection? No; stubbornly he adheres to his 
 doubts and says, '■^Except I shall see in His hands the print of 
 the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, 1 2vill not believe.'' 
 He would say, "Do you think that I am so credulous as to deem 
 it possible for a man who is dead to be moving among the living? 
 Did I not see from a distance how His hands and feet were pierced 
 with nails and how, after His death on the cross, one of the sol- 
 diers ran his spear into His side, producing a wound which neces- 
 sarily would have killed Him, had He not already been dead, an 
 ugly, gaping wound, large enough to lay a hand into it? Let me 
 tell you, then, I shall not believe that He is alive until I shall 
 place my finger in the print of the nails and thrust my hand in His 
 open side." So outspoken was Thomas' unbelief, he would not 
 believe the report of his fellow disciples, say what they would. 
 
 And how unreasonable was his unbelief. His fellow dis- 
 ciples were trustworthy men and not given to falsehood. This 
 he knew. There was no reason whatever to doubt their words. 
 It was wrong to discredit their statements. It was unreasonable 
 to be suspicious in the face of their integrity and their em})hatic 
 assurances. 
 
 But this unbelieving Thomas has had his followers at all 
 times. O how many that had been Jesus' true disciples for a 
 time at length became offended in Christ because of His deep 
 humiliation, shunned the assembly of their fellow Christians, and 
 drifted away upon the waves and billows of their own unreason- 
 able doubts and unbelief! " TFe have seen the Lord,'' these 
 words of Christ's disciples are addressed to all of us. The Lord's 
 chosen apostles bear witness unto all those things that the Savior 
 (lid and said. .lesus did not Himself write and publish a Itook 
 containing His doctrine, liiit the (Jospel which II(! did preach 
 
FIRST SINDAY ATTKU KASTEU. 179 
 
 tiud tlie work which He did pei-fonii has been handed down to us 
 by His chosen disciples, by His order and command; and it is 
 written for all generations unto the end of the world in that divine 
 book, the Holy Scriptures. The apostles were with the Lord 
 Jesus from the beginning of His ministry. They were eyewit- 
 nesses of what He did. They accompanied Him Avhither He went. 
 They heard His sayings. They witnessed His miracles. "We 
 have seen the Lord," believe in Him, all generations, this is what 
 His disciples proclaim in the New Testament. 
 
 And what say the unbelieving Thomases ? To this day they 
 reply. Had our own eyes seen the miracles that are ascribed to 
 Jesus in the New Testament, the healings of the sick, and the 
 halt, and the maimed, and the blind, the stilling of the tempest, 
 the feeding of thousands with a few loaves of bread, the calling 
 forth of the dead, and all those wonderful deeds which, it is 
 alleged, Christ performed; had we ourselves witnessed all those 
 wonderful things presumably connected with His life, suffering, 
 death, and resurrection, then should we not hesitate a moment, 
 but believe in Him forthwith. But these things we did not see. 
 They are incredible. They are inconsistent with the common 
 order of things in this world. And therefore we do not believe. 
 
 Have these unbelievers who discredit the statements of the 
 Bible any sound reason, any just cause to justify their unbelief? 
 No : their unbelief is just as unreasonable as was that of Thomas, 
 unto whom the disciples said, "We have seen the Lord." The 
 writers of the New Testament were men who were both able and 
 willing to give a truthful statement, to present things exactly as 
 they were. They were able to do this because they themselves 
 had seen those things and had heard what Christ said. And they 
 w^ere willing to tell the truth, since they were honest and upright 
 men who would rather die than deviate from the truth. Had the 
 disciples been men of dubious character, or had they gained some 
 temporal advantage by the preaching of the Gospel, then perhaps 
 might we suspect that they were impostors and had made up this 
 story to gratify their own ambition, or to fill their pockets. But 
 what earthly l)enetit did the ai)ostles reap from the i)reaching of 
 the Gospel? Did they gain an}' earthly advantage thereby? Did 
 they gain fame, honor Ix^fore men, riches, worldly possessions? 
 No; they were hated, ridiculed, persecuted, banished, tortured. 
 
180 FIRST SUNDAY AFTEH EA.STER. 
 
 and put to death for their testimony. Who ever heard that a man 
 with a rational mind would make up a lie and maintain that lie, 
 that he might suffer and be put to death, while he could save his 
 life if he told the truth? The apostles sealed with their own 
 heart's blood the truthfulness of their report. 
 
 11. 
 
 And now, having heard how outspoken and, at the same 
 time, how unreasonable was Thomas' unbelief, let us consider 
 how the Lord rebuked and, at the same time, convinced him of 
 His resurrection. 
 
 We read, '^Aiid after eight days again His disciples were 
 ivithin, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors be- 
 ing shuty and stood in the midst and said. Peace he unto you^ 
 "Peace be unto you." This expression is to this day the com- 
 mon form of greeting among the nations in the East. But in the 
 mouth of Jesus it signifies more. He is the Prince of peace, and 
 where He is faithfully received, there strife and discord must de- 
 part and peace prevail. O let us remember this, my hearers; 
 where there is not peace, where there is strife and discord among 
 relatives, those of the same kin hating one another, husband and 
 wife chiding another, children and parents opposing another, there 
 Jesus cannot remain, and a peaceless heart cannot retain the true 
 faith in the risen Lord, who is the Prince of peace. 
 
 But what do we hear of Christ after He has greeted His dis- 
 ciples? " Then saith He to Thomas, Reach hither thy Jinger and 
 behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into 
 my side: and be not faithless, hut believing.'' How wonderful! 
 The Lord knows everything and all that came to pass within the 
 last eight days between Thomas and the rest of the disciples. We 
 are not told that He appeared unto any of them. But He knows 
 every word that Thomas spoke. He knows his ver}^ thoughts. 
 He knows all about his doubts and faithlessness. Straightway 
 He ai)pr()aches Thomas and connnands him to satisfy his curi- 
 osity, to behold the; pierced hands and to make sure of it that 
 they were pierced with nails by i)assing his finger over the print, 
 and to thrust his hand into His side. All of this was intended 
 for a rebuke of Thomas' skepticism. The Lord did not ap- 
 prove of his stubbornness in not accepting the testimony of his 
 
FIRST .SUNDAY AFTER FASTER. 181 
 
 fellow disciples. He, therefore, adds, ''And be not faithless, 
 bat believing.''' 
 
 Unto this day the Lord rebukes those who are straying away 
 into the barren fields of doubt and infidelity, those who are on 
 the point of leaving His flock, because they are offended in this 
 or in that, and things do not suit them. "Be not faithless, but 
 believing." These words are intended for all the unbelieving 
 Thomases in the world. Your faithlessness is not only unreason- 
 able, so that you cannot satisfy your own mind with those poor 
 arguments produced to overthrow the Gospel truth; it is sinful 
 also. By your unbelief you abuse God's chosen messengers whom 
 He has sent forth to proclaim His divine truth, and you stamp 
 them as liars and impostors. By your unbelief you even make 
 God a liar and place yourself above your divine Maker, contra- 
 dicting His testimonies and refusing to acknowledge His supreme 
 authority. 
 
 But what did Thomas do after the Lord had rebuked him for 
 his unbelief? ''Thomas answered and said unto Him, Mij Lord 
 and my God.'' So taken with surprise was Thomas, he did not 
 attempt to satisfy his curiosity and to stretch forth his finger and 
 his hand. Christ had convinced him of His resurrection, so per- 
 fectly convinced him that both with amazement and with exultant 
 joy he exclaims, "My Lord and my God !" He is completely 
 cured of his doubts and unbelief. Happy for him that he did not 
 miss this assembly ! Happy for him that he came once more and 
 joined the gathering of those with whom he previously had been 
 associating ! O how miserable must he have felt all along; in the 
 state of unbelief, how despondent and comfortless ! And his fel- 
 low disciples were so confident, so joyful and happy. But now 
 his soul is filled with delight; and Jesus says to him, "Thomas, 
 because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that 
 have not seen, and yet have believed.'''' 
 
 Even now the risen Lord can and will convince the faithless 
 who are found in the gatherings of His faithful disciples. It is 
 true, no more does He appear visibly since the day of His as- 
 cension into heaven. No more does He visibly approach these 
 unbelieving Thomases and show them His wounds. But He ap- 
 proaches them invisibly in His Word. And by His life-giving 
 Word He changes their hearts and minds and fills them with 
 
1«2 SECOND SUNDAY AFTEU EASTEK. 
 
 faith, with true, j)er.severing, and unwavering faith. "Whosoever 
 will hear the Word of God and not willfully resist witliin himself, 
 while he feels the convincing power of that Word, will soon find 
 all his doubts and uncertainties removed; and the day will dawn 
 and the day star will arise in his heart. He will believe, though 
 he did not see, and will be blessed. 
 
 May the Lord, then, help us all sincerely and constantly to 
 believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that be- 
 lieving we may have life through His name. Amen. 
 
 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 John 10, 11— IC. 
 I am tlie good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 
 But he tliat is an liireling, and not tlie shepherd, wliose own the sheep are not, 
 * seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth 
 them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, 
 and caretli not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, 
 and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: 
 and I lay down my life for tlie sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not 
 of tills fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there 
 shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 
 
 Beloved Fhiexds in Christ : 
 
 '■'I am the Good Shepherd," says Jesus. He claims that He 
 is the great Shepherd s})oken of by the prophets. Jesus Christ is 
 the jjreat central figure of God's revelation. "To Him give all 
 the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth 
 in Him shall receive remission of sins." And as Christ is the 
 great central figure in the writings of the prophets, so is He the 
 one great topic of the apostles' speech. St. Paul, therefore, 
 says to the Corinthians, "I am determined not to know anything 
 among you save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." 
 
 Christ is the great central figure of Christianity also. What 
 is it that constitutes a Christian? It is faith in Jesus Christ. 
 Christ nuist be our one and all. As the heart is the center of 
 bodily life, so is Christ the center of spiritual life. Christ is our 
 sole Comfort, our Light in darkness, our Hope in distress, dearest 
 to us in heaven and upon earth, our Jewel, our Treasure, our 
 
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 183 
 
 Wealth, our Joy; our thoughts center in Christ Jesus as the one 
 great object of our desires. A Christian is a branch on the Vine, 
 which is Christ, and lives in Christ, and Christ in him. To ])eo-in 
 to be a Christian is to find Christ; to be a Christian is to abide 
 with Christ; to remain a Christian is to hold fast to Christ; to 
 die a Christian is to fall asleep in Christ. 
 
 If a person desires to be saved he must come to Christ and 
 learn to place confidence in Christ alone. There is no other way 
 to eternal salvation. Christ is the door that leads to heaven, and 
 the only door. Christ alone can save our immortal souls. Christ 
 alone can reconcile us lost and condemned sinners with the of- 
 fended God and secure for us a dwelling place in the heavenly 
 mansions. AVhen, therefore, Christ is portrayed before our eyes 
 in the holy Scriptures, the aim and purpose is always to draw us 
 to Christ, to invite us tenderly to trust in Christ, to urge us to 
 place all our confidence in Christ, our beloved Savior. This is 
 done in our Gospel also, where Christ is portrayed as our Good 
 Shepherd and His great love toward us is made manifest. The 
 subject of our discourse shall be with the aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD, 
 
 I. Giving His life for the sheej), 
 H. Lovingly providing for the sheep, 
 IH. Restoring those who have strayed away. 
 
 I. 
 
 Jesus says, '■^I am the Good Shepherd: the Good Shepherd 
 giveth His life for the sheej). But he that is an hireling, 2vhose 
 oivn the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, 
 and fieeth, and the ivolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 
 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for 
 the sheep. ''^ In this beautiful parable the Lord exhibits Himself 
 as the Good Shepherd as distinguished from a hireling who shows 
 no concern for the sheep entrusted to his care. What can you 
 expect of a careless hireling? Can you expect of him to put 
 his life at stake when the wolf rushes into the flock to create 
 havoc among the sheep? No; the hireling's first thought in case 
 of danger is not how to save the sheep, but how to save himself 
 and secure his own life. He runs, he flees at the toj) of his 
 
 ]3 
 
1,S4 SECOND SUNDAY AFTEK EASTER. 
 
 speed, while the wolf hiis things his own way, tearing to pieces 
 the defenseless sheep and lambs and scattering the flock in all 
 directions. I am no such hireling, says Jesus. As a true shep- 
 herd will fiffht a wild beast that attacks the flock, and deliver his 
 sheep, and slay the brute, even though in the encounter he should 
 receive wounds that will cause death, so do I, at the price of my 
 own life, deliver my sheep and save them from the bitter pains 
 of eternal death. I am the Good Shepherd that giveth His life 
 for the sheep. 
 
 Now, to understand the meaning of this parable more accu- 
 rately, we must remember that by nature all men are as lost sheep. 
 Our first parents Avere sheep of the heavenly fold as long as they 
 were in the garden of Eden. Alas ! they did not remain in this 
 blessed state. They were seduced into sin and fell a prey to 
 Satan. Since the fall all men are born in sin, and not a soul is 
 by nature born into the sheepfold of the Lord. By nature we are 
 all deaf to the voice of our Good Shepherd. We do not heed His 
 words. We do not follow Him. We seek our pleasures upon 
 the barren fields of the world and our nourishment among the 
 poisonous weeds that are so destructive to our eternal welfare. 
 By sin the whole human race has been scattered, as Isaiah says, 
 "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one 
 to his own way." And the wolf is lurking behind the bushes. 
 Satan is only waiting for man's temporal death, that he might 
 seize his victim and get eternal possession. 
 
 But behold! the Good Shepherd came. The eternal Son 
 of God appeared on the scene to deliver the fallen human race 
 from the jaws of the ravening wolf, to gather them into the king- 
 dom of His grace, to pasture them, and finally to lead them into 
 Paradise. But oh, what did our Good Shepherd endure that He 
 might deliver the lost sheep ! He that meant to be our Shepherd 
 had to fight the devil in our stead and die for us. This is what 
 the Lord Jesus Christ did for us as our Good Shepherd. As the 
 Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world He came 
 down from the throne of His divine glory and Himself assumed 
 the form of the lost sheep. He became man. He abstained from 
 the full use of His divine power. He became the same as we all, 
 with the exception of sin. He undertook the combat with the 
 wolf that was after the sheep, with the })rince of darkness, the 
 
SECOND KUXDAY AFTER EASTEK. 185 
 
 enemy of our etern:il welfare. In this fierce t^truggle our Good 
 Shepherd not only put His life at .stake, but actually did give 
 His life. He died for us on the cross. O how must Satan have 
 triumphed when our Substitute was slain, when the Good Shep- 
 herd was dying, as His blood was ebbing away ! The Shepherd 
 conquered, the whole flock seemed to be his. But thinn^s turned 
 out contrary to Satan's expectation. For behold, Christ rose 
 again from the dead. His death now turned out to be the sheep's 
 life, His blood -shedding their deliverance. His sacrifice their 
 freedom. In giving for us His precious life our Good Shepherd 
 redeemed us all from sin, from death, and from the power of 
 the devil. 
 
 II. 
 
 But in the portrait of the Good Shepherd, as shown in our 
 Gospel, the Lord is pictured also as lovingly providing for the 
 sheep. Jesus says, "/ am the Good Shepherd, and know my 
 sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father hnoweth me, even 
 so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.'''' 
 To understand these words the better we must know that in the 
 East the sheep of different herders are usually taken to a great 
 gathering-place, to a large fold, for the night. The shepherd is 
 out all day, watching his sheep and leading them from pasture to 
 pasture. But when night comes he brings them into the common 
 enclosure, where they mix up with the sheep of other shej^herds. 
 Now in the morning, when the shepherds come to take their 
 sheep out for the day, how does each shepherd know which are 
 his sheep? He simply calls them, and they know his voice and 
 follow him. The sheep will always follow their own shepherd 
 and never hearken to the voice of a stranger. 
 
 Now Jesus says, "/ know my sheep, ^'' and when He says, 
 *'I know my sheep," He does not merely mean to say that He 
 knows which are the sheep that belong to His flock, but that 
 He acknowledges them to be His own and lovingly provides for 
 them. He pays attention to the special condition of every sheep 
 in His flock. He knows their needs and helps them. He knows 
 their ailments and heals them. He knows their faults and leads 
 them in the paths of righteousness. He knows their dangers and 
 protects them. He knows their weakness and u|)holds them. 
 
18G SECOND .SUNDAY AFTER EA.STEU. 
 
 O blessed is every one that has committed himself to the care 
 of Jesus ! Blessed is every one that knows the Good Shepherd, 
 knows Him by faith and trusts in Him ! As a good shepherd 
 provides for his sheep, so will Jesus lovingly provide for him. 
 A good shepherd will wash his sheep from uncleanness ; and so 
 does Jesus wash off the sins of His sheep in holy Baptism. 
 "Though their sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; 
 though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." A good 
 shepherd will take his sheep to the pastures, where they will find 
 ample nourishment, and to the fresh waters, where they may 
 quench their thirst; and so does Jesus lead those who are His 
 own into the green pastures of His precious Gospel and to the 
 refreshing water of life. He says to them, "Come unto me all 
 ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I wall give you rest." 
 "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink." He does 
 even more than any shepherd will do. He gives us Himself, His 
 own body and blood, to eat and to drink in the Lord's Supper. 
 A good shepherd will deal tenderly with his sheep. He will let 
 the dogs bark at them and chase them from some dangerous place. 
 But the dogs are not i)ermitted to hurt and to harm them. And 
 so does Jesus deal with those who are His own with the utmost 
 caution and tenderness. His sheep know^ what they may expect 
 of their Good Shepherd — nothing but love, grace, mercy, kind- 
 ness. At times He does permit the Law to frighten them, so that 
 thoughts like these will troul)le them. Ah, are you not too great 
 a sinner? can you expect to be received into heaven? But He 
 thereby merely keeps them from carnal security, and soon again 
 they can rejoice in His love. At times He permits trials and 
 afHictions to harass His dear children, but they know, it is for 
 their own eternal good, that with the unbelieving world they 
 should not be condemned. Could any shepherd provide more 
 lovingly for His sheep than the Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus, 
 provides for His flock? 
 
 III. 
 
 But He also restores those who have strayed away. Jesus 
 
 says, "yl«t/ otlm' aJieep I have, iv/iich are not of tJiis fold: them 
 
 also I must hn'nr/, and tliey shaU hear my voice; and there shall 
 
 he om fold, mnf <ni(^ SJiejflicrd .'' The meaning of these words is 
 
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EAi^TEK. 187 
 
 obvious. The sheep of this fold are the Jews. Christ was sent 
 to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Here we find also who 
 were the hirelings spoken of in the beginning of the i)aral)le. 
 The hirelings of whom Jesus eomplains that they take not the 
 proper care of the sheep, were the si)iritual rulers of Israel, the 
 chief priests and scribes, who misled the people, contending that 
 Jesus is not the Christ. The other sheep which arc not of this 
 fold are the Gentiles. The Gentiles also Jesus promised to re- 
 store, so that there should be no more distinction before God be- 
 tween Jews and Gentiles, but all should constitute one fold, or, 
 rather, one great flock under His shepherding care. 
 
 Behold the great love of our Good Shepherd to all men, to 
 the whole fallen human race. The Gentiles in the time of the 
 Old Testament did wrong when they did not come into the fold of 
 Israel and did not join God's chosen people. They had strayed 
 away from the Shepherd's care and Avent their own ways in super- 
 stition and idolatry. But Christ declares that from the Gentiles 
 also He will call His sheep. There are those who are without 
 Christ, without His AYord, without His grace, roaming al)out in 
 the world without a Savior. They are all His, inasmuch as He 
 has bought them at the price of His precious blood; and not a 
 human soul would the eternal Son of God see eternally lost. He 
 loves even the greatest sinner, loves him because he has an im- 
 mortal soul which has been redeemed with His blood. When a 
 good shepherd misses a sheep, he will search for that lost sheep 
 and spare no pains to find it. And when he finds the poor sheep 
 caught in a thicket and in the hedges, or in some ravine, sore 
 and bleeding, O how great is his joy to find it ! Jesus does the 
 same. If you are a lost sheep. He spares no pains to restore 
 your soul. He calls you by the sweet voice of the Gospel. His 
 voice may reach you and sound in your ears and penetrate to the 
 very depth of your soul when you are ever so far away from 
 Him, upon forbidden paths and in the ways of sin and shame. 
 And when, at last. He does find you, when you answer His voice 
 and return from the ways of sin and death to your own Good 
 Shepherd, He will not chide with you. He will not punish you. 
 With gladness He restores you to the fold, and even the angels 
 in heaven take their harps and sing songs of praise when the sin- 
 ner comes to repentance. 
 
18^ TIIIKU SUNDAY AFTER KASTEK. 
 
 May the Lord, then, grant us all His grace, that we abide 
 with Jesus, our Good Shepherd, and say from the depth of 
 
 our souls. 
 
 Let me be Thine forever, 
 Thou gracious God and Lord, 
 Let me forsake Thee never, 
 Nor wander from Thy Word. 
 Lord, do not let me waver. 
 But give me steadfastness, 
 And for such grace forever 
 Thy holy name I'll bless. 
 Amen. 
 
 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 John 16, 16—23. 
 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye 
 shall see me, because I go to tlie Fatlier. Then said some of his disciples 
 among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye 
 shall not see me : and again, a little while, and ye shall see me : and, Because 
 I go to the Father? They said therefore, Wliat is this that he saith, A little 
 while? we cannot tell what he saith. Now Jesus Ivnew that they were desirous 
 to aslv him, and said unto them. Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, 
 A little wliile, and )'e shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall 
 see me? Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the 
 world shall rejoice : and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned 
 into joy. A woman wlien slie is in travail liath sorrow, because her hour is 
 come: but as soon as slie is delivered of the cliild, she remembereth no more 
 the anguish, for joy that a man is Ijorn into tlie world. And ye now therefore 
 have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your 
 joy no man taketli from you. And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. 
 
 Beloved Fuiexds ix Christ. 
 
 The Lord »Icsus spoke these words in the night in which lie 
 was betrayed. lie had already told His disciples in plain words 
 that He must suffer and die. Only a few days before He said to 
 them, "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are 
 written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be ac- 
 complished. For He shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and 
 shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: and 
 they .shall scourge Him, and put Him to death: and the third 
 day He shall rise again." And now He seeks to impress on their 
 
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 189 
 
 minds that the time is at hand. He says, "-A little while, and ye 
 shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, 
 because I go to the Father.'' But the disciples could not compre- 
 hend this matter. They understood His words. They probably 
 knew even now that He meant to refer to His suffcrin<'-, death, 
 and resurrection. But they did not understand the things. Why? 
 Because there was a fixed notion in their minds that, as the Mes- 
 siah, Jesus must do what the children of Israel expected of their 
 Messiah, that He must establish a glorious worldly kingdom and 
 be the temporal ruler of God's people. The words, "^ little 
 while,'"' were especially offensive to them. How was it that Jesus 
 would remain with them only for a little while and then go to the 
 Father? They expected Him to remain with them a great while 
 longer. They had escorted Him into the city of Jerusalem amid 
 the shouts and hosannas of the multitude and had come to stay, 
 to see their beloved Master seated upon the throne of David and 
 Solomon, to share His glory, and to be made judges ruling the 
 twelve tribes of Israel, and, in general, to enter upon an era of 
 happiness and prosperity for the whole nation. And was He now 
 about to leave them in a little while? It could not be. "TAey 
 said therefore. What is this that He saifh, A little while? we can- 
 not tell what He saith." But Christ does not make an attempt 
 to explain to them the expression, "A little while." He knows, 
 it would be of no avail in their present state. He simply tells 
 them what will be the effect of His withdrawal and reappearance, 
 saying to them, Verily, verily, I say nnto you. That ye shall iveep 
 and lament, but the icorld shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrovj- 
 ful, but your sorroic shall be turned into joy^ Sorrow and joy 
 was in store for them : sorrow, when their beloved Lord and Mas- 
 ter would leave them and sink into the grave, and joy, exceeding 
 joy, when they should again behold Him in the body of His glo- 
 rious resurrection. 
 
 This was not only said for the disciples of Christ at that time. 
 Unto the end of the world Christians must expect l)oth sorrow 
 and joy. Let us consider with the aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 THE SORROW AND THE JOY OF A CHRISTIAN, 
 
 and see 
 
 I. Tlte Christian' s sorrow, and 
 II . Tlie Ch ristia n ' s joy . 
 
190 TIIIHD SUXDAV AITEH EA8TEK. 
 
 I. 
 
 Many people hold that Christians should not be burdened 
 with sorrows. They enter the Christian ranks and profess the 
 Christian faith, and now they expect that God should so rule and 
 govern things that their lives glide along like a smooth stream, 
 without any trouble or hindrance. They expect of Him that He 
 must keep away from them every calamity. When some smaller 
 evil comes upon them, they may reconcile themselves to that and 
 get over it, thinking that it is something which, after all, they 
 desei-ve for their sins. But when they are made the victims of 
 some great misfortune, when some great calamity has befallen 
 them, causing immense sorrow and grief, they murmur against 
 their divine ]Maker. They sav, How can a gracious and merciful 
 God send down upon us, while we are trusting in Him, such mis- 
 fortunes? No; there is no Father in heaven, no divine Ruler of 
 the universe, for if there were, we Avould not be in sorrow and 
 mourninjj. 
 
 The fault with such people is that they expect of God some- 
 thing which He never promised to those who trust in Him. When 
 and where did God })romise that Christians should never be Inir- 
 dened with sorrows in this world ? He promises you His divine 
 protection. He promises to care for you, to provide for you, to 
 give His holy angels charge over you, and not to tempt you above 
 what you are able to bear. But nowhere docs He promise to 
 withhold from 3'ou all sorrows. On the contrary, Jesus says to 
 His disciples in our text, " Vei'ily, verilij, I >«iy (info you. That ye 
 shall 7veep and lament, but the ivorld shaU rejoice/' Can you 
 rightly expect greater favors from the Lord than His disciples ? 
 Can you say that they deserved more punishment than you ? Does 
 not St. Paul say distinctly, "All that will live godly in Christ 
 Jesus shall suffer persecution"? Does he not say of himself and 
 of all Christians, "Through much tribulation we must enter into 
 the kingdom of God"? And look at the example of God's dear 
 children in the Holy Scriptures. Look at men like Job, and the 
 prophets, and the apostles. AVhat afflictions, what griefs, what 
 sorrows fell to their lot ! No ; Christians are not exempt from 
 the common ills of mankind. They are subject to the same ail- 
 ments, and diseases, and misfortunes, and calamities that the rest 
 of the children of men must bear in this life. As a rule, they 
 
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER KASTER. 191 
 
 must even bear more than the unbeheving children of this world. 
 They are the cross-bearers. They must endure the reproach of 
 the unbelieving world. They must suffer for the very reason 
 that they are Christians. Christ says to them, "In the world ye 
 have tri])ulation." 
 
 But these are not the greatest sorrows of Christians; for 
 they are sorrows concerning only temporal things and the mortal 
 body. The greatest sorrow of a Christian is when he is troubled 
 about the welfare of his immortal soul. Christians must some- 
 times meet with the same experiences as did the disciples of 
 Christ during the three days when Christ was taken from them, 
 while He was lying in the grave. O how must the disciples 
 have felt then ! Their hearts must have been filled with sorrow 
 to overflowing. They still clung to Christ; they loved Him; 
 but they felt as if all their hopes and fondest expectations were 
 blasted. They had hoped that it was He who should redeem 
 Israel, but what could they hope for now? Death glared from 
 the eyes that had looked upon them so lovingly. The lips were 
 silenced that had spoken to them words of eternal life. The 
 tomb had received Him whom they had followed and for whom 
 they had left everything. They could see Him no more, and in 
 their minds He was no longer the great wonder-worker, but a 
 mangled corpse. All their comfort in life and in death avus now 
 gone. Such profound sorrow they had never tasted before. And 
 to this day the greatest sorrow of Christians is when they are 
 made to feel as if they had no Savior, when Jesus hides from 
 them, as it were. They feel no joy. They cannot rejoice iu 
 their salvation. It seems to them that they are not Christians, 
 that they have not faith and that they have no right to appro- 
 priate to themselves the promises of eternal life. It seems to 
 them that Jesus is dead for them, that He can do nothing for 
 them, and that they have been trusting in Him in vain. They 
 take their Bible and read it, and even the divine "Word does not 
 impress their soul. They seek relief in prayer, and God does not 
 seem to hear them. Their soul is shrouded in darkness. They 
 feel as if they were fast sinking to hell. They must say with 
 Job, "I cry unto Thee and Thou dost not hear me, I stand up 
 and Thou rejjardest me not. Thou art become cruel to me: with 
 Thy strong hand Thou opposest Thyself against me ;" and with 
 
192 TllIIM) SLNDAV AITKI! KASTEH. 
 
 Duvid, "I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly, I go mourn- 
 ing all the day long." 
 
 But the comforting promise given to Christians is, that their 
 sorrow shall not long endure. How long did the disciples mourn 
 the loss of their Master? Only a little while, only three days. 
 And to this day God will not put heavier burdens upon His dear 
 children than they are able to bear, and will deliver them shortly. 
 All their troubles and sorrows must come to an end ; and only 
 for a little while must they suffer in the furnace of tribulation, 
 that their faith may be tried and that they may be made strong 
 in the Lord and in the power of His might. Then is their sor- 
 row turned into joy. 
 
 11. 
 
 This is the second point of our discourse, the joy of 
 Christians. 
 
 Which is the joy of Christians? Some people hold that to 
 be a Christian is to be always sad and gloomy, to find fault with 
 almost everything that is going on in the world, to find no joy 
 whatever in earthly things, but to spend their lives in sadness 
 and sorrow. But does not God say distinctly to the Christians, 
 "Kejoice with them that do rejoice"? Yea, more than this, the 
 apostle says, "Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again I say, Re- 
 joice." The jo}' of the world is, at best, but an imperfect and 
 fleeting thing. 
 
 Man's desire for happiness can never be perfectly satisfied 
 ])y the joys of this life. He will always find something lacking 
 to make his joy complete ; and generally he will find a few drops 
 of gall in the cup of pleasure. And what do worldlings say who 
 have l)eon tasting of nearly all the pleasures under the sun ? They 
 tell us that in the midst of their pleasures they can find no real 
 and lasting enjoyment. All the joys of this life pass away. He 
 that is laughing to-day may be weeping to-morrow. Finally, 
 death comes and ends all pleasures. 
 
 A Christian, therefore, does not seek his happiness in the 
 things of this life. For the true joy of a Christian is of a higher 
 order. The Christian's joy is descri))ed in the words of Jesus, 
 "/ irill scr i/(}U (Kjfiiii, (iiul 1/1)11 r Jiairt s/iaU rejoice, and your joy 
 
TIIUU) SUNDAY AITKU KASTKlt. 193 
 
 no man taketh from you.'' Tho Christian's greatest joy is tlie 
 possession and enjoyment of Jesus. He can sa}', 
 
 Jesus, Thou art mine forever, 
 Dearer far than earth to nie; 
 Neither Ufe nor death shall sever 
 Those sweet ties which bind to Thee. 
 
 All the joys of life are as nothing compared to this joy in 
 Jesus the Savior. He alone is truly happy who is made sure 
 that his sins are forgiven, that God is his dear Father, and that 
 he is God's beloved child, and that heaven is his home. And 
 of these thhigs is every one made sure who trul}^ believes in the 
 Savior Jesus. Joyfully can the Christian lift up his head, even in 
 the midst of afflictions and tribulations, and say to his heavenly 
 Father, Thou dost love me. Thou lovest me even now, and I 
 know that "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy 
 to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in rae." 
 Joyfully can the Christian face the dark future l)efore him. He 
 knows that that future will be bright in the end, and that for 
 him the day will come of which Jesus says, ^'And in that day ye 
 shall ask mt nothing," an eternal day of joy and glory, a day in 
 which he shall find all those mysterious dealings of God with him 
 in this life explained to his perfect satisfaction. 
 
 May the Lord, then, fill our hearts with this joy which sur- 
 passes all human thought and understanding, and may we all say 
 to our beloved Savior Jesus, 
 
 Thou alone art all my Treasure, 
 , Who hast died that I may live; 
 
 Thou conferrest noblest pleasure, 
 Who dost all my sins forgive. 
 
 Amen. 
 
1114 FOUKTII SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 John K>, 5—15. 
 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, 
 Whither goest thou? But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow 
 hath tilled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you tiie truth, It is expedient for you 
 that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; 
 but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will re- 
 prove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because 
 they believe not on me ; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see 
 me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have 
 yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear tliem now. Ilowbeit when 
 he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth : for he shall not 
 spealv of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will 
 shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, 
 and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: tliere- 
 fore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 In our Gospel Jesus promises to His disciples His Holy Spirit. 
 He had informed them that He would soon leave them and go to 
 the Father, that is, that by Plis death, resurrection, and ascen- 
 sion He would return to whence He had come, to heaven. Then 
 they should see Him no more. He would no more be with them 
 visibly, to guide and to teach them as He had done during the 
 three i)ast years. Thougli the disciples did not comprehend the 
 full meaning of their Master's words, yet from His remarks they 
 gathered so much that He was about to leave them; and this 
 made them sad. But Jesus tells them, ^ ' N'evertheless I tell yoa 
 the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not 
 away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I 
 ivill send Ilim unto you^ And then He informs them what the 
 Comforter, the Holy Spirit, woidd do: that He would guide 
 them into all truth, and show them things to come, and, above 
 all things, that He woidd glorify Jesus, that is, extol and exalt 
 Jesus in their own iiearts. 
 
 And how gloriously was this promise fidfilled ! On the day 
 of Pentecost the Holy Ghost came down upon them visibly in 
 the shaj)e of tongU(;s as of fire. And what a wonderful change 
 did lie produc(! in these men! He guidcnl them into all truth, 
 showed them things to come, and glorified Jesus. From the mo- 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTKK EASTER. 195 
 
 ment they were tilled with the Holy Ghost, they were imbued 
 with a profound knowledge of the great deeds of God for the 
 salvation of man, and were enabled to proclaim those great deeds 
 ill languages which they had never learned. From the moment 
 they were filled Avith the Holy Ghost they were endowed with 
 dauntless courage and with power from on high. Boldly they 
 stood up before Jewish and Gentile mobs, before kings and 
 rulers, and bore witness of what they themselves had heard and 
 seen of Jesus. From the moment they were filled ^vith the Holy 
 Ghost Jesus was glorified in their hearts. They saw His gloiy 
 now. They no longer expected Him to establish a worldly king- 
 dom and be a worldly ruler. They saw in Him the exalted Lord 
 sitting at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from 
 whence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead, and there 
 was not another name that sounded sweeter in their ears than the 
 name of Jesus. Such was the operation of the Holy Ghost ui)on 
 Christ's disciples. And to this day God's Holy Spirit has His 
 divine work among Christians in particular. We know that to 
 the Spirit of God we owe our conversion and salvation, that it 
 is the Spirit who calls us by the Gospel, enlightens us with His 
 gifts, sanctifies and keeps us in the true faith. 
 
 But the Spirit does not only deal with the followers of Christ 
 in particular. He "reproves the world," as Christ says in our 
 Gospel, that is, He also addresses the children of men in general. 
 And what Christ says here about the Spirit's deaUng with the 
 world does not merely apply to unbelievers, but to Christians 
 also, inasmuch as they are still in the world and retain their 
 sinful flesh as long as they live upon the earth. Let us consider 
 with the aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 THE HOLY GHOST'S REPROVAL 
 
 I. Concerning sin, 
 H. Concerning righteousness, and 
 HI . Concerning Judgment . 
 
 I. 
 
 Jesus says, ''And when He (the Spirit) is come, He will re- 
 prove the loorld of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. '' 
 Here we must inquire into the meaning of the word "reprove." 
 
196 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTEH EASTER. 
 
 The word "reprove," as used in this conneetion, does not mean 
 merely to censure, but to convict. In reproving the world the 
 Holy Ghost brings home to the children of men their errors, and 
 makes them see that they are open to the condemnation of their 
 conscience. 
 
 And of Avhat does the Holy Ghost reprove the world? In- 
 the first place, of sin. I call your attention to the fact that, 
 though the Holy Ghost is opposed to all sins, yet Jesus does not 
 mention particular sins. He does not publish a long list of sins of 
 which the Holy Ghost should reprove the world. No; He men- 
 tions but one sin, one particular sin. He says, ''Of sin, htrause 
 they beUeve not on me.'' Unbelief — that is the sin of which the 
 Holy Ghost reproves the world. 
 
 Is there a sin which is more widespread, more universal than 
 unbelief? Like a disease, like a pestilence, this sin has seized 
 upon the world, and there is no abatement. To this day the 
 overwhelming majority of the inhabitants of this world is com- 
 l)osed of heathen, Mohammedans, and Jews. And look at our 
 own country. It has been said that this is a Christian nation. 
 And what do our statistics say ? They have disclosed the startling 
 revelation that only one third of the number of our inhabitants 
 are members of or attendants at Christian churches. Think of 
 it, there are always two unbelievers to one professed believer. 
 And if the professed believers were sifted down and only the 
 true believers in Christ Jesus were to remain, how would the 
 number of believers dwindle down ! How many members are 
 there of Christian churches who have never known what faith is 
 in Christ Jesus, or have lost the faith ! To this day it is true 
 what John says of Jesus, the Light of the world, "He was in the 
 world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew 
 Him not." Unbelief is the great universal sin, and, therefore, 
 the Holy ({host nnist reprove the world of sin that they do not 
 believe on the Lord Jesus. 
 
 And unbelief is a sin which is not acknowledged to be sin 
 by the children of this world. People \n\\ readily admit that it 
 is a sin to lie and to steal ; but tell an unbeliever that it is a sin 
 not to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will laugh you in 
 the face. He will say. Are not my thoughts my own? Am I re- 
 sponsible for my convictions? Can I be blamed for not ))elieving 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 197 
 
 as long as I am not convinced of the truth of the Gospel? On 
 the contrary, would it not be a moral wrong for me to simulate, 
 to pretend faith Avithout conviction ? But before the tribunal of 
 the Holy Ghost the unbeliever's arguments in defense of his in- 
 fidelity are reduced to a folly. By the Word of God the Holy 
 Ghost can make the unbeliever tremble and perceive that unbelief 
 is indeed the sin, the greatest sin in the world, the sin which 
 makes all the rest of sins remain unforgiven, the sin which is 
 sure to lead into eternal condemnation. He will address him and 
 say, How dare you make light of your unbelief? It is nothin(y 
 less than rebellion against your divine Maker. You have thereby 
 been giving the lie to your God. You have discredited His divine 
 Word and despised your own salvation. You have sinned against 
 God and against yourself, rejecting your own eternal welfare ; 
 for "he that belie veth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that 
 believeth not shall be damned." 
 
 O my friends, let us all be on our guard against this terrible 
 sin which is sure to hurl the unbeliever into eternal condemnation. 
 Many a Christian believed for a while, and in the time of temp- 
 tation he fell away. Many a one has made shipwreck of faith. 
 Let us remain continually under the influence of God's Holy 
 Spirit, hearing the Word of God and searching the Scriptures, 
 and we shall keep the faith. It is to the Christians that St. Paul 
 says, "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall," 
 and, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove 
 your own selves." 
 
 II. 
 
 The Holy Ghost, secondly, reproves the world of righteous- 
 ness. ''Oy righteousness i'^ says Jesus, '^because I go to my 
 Father, and ye see me no more.^'' Now what righteousness is 
 this? What has righteousness to do with Christ's going to the 
 Father and being seen no more ? We must remember that Jesus 
 said this shortly before His suffering and death. His going to 
 the Father led over Calvary. He did not mean simply that He 
 must die and depart from this world, but that He must go to 
 the Father by way of sacrificing His life for the sins of the world, 
 that by perfect obedience unto death He must work out a spot- 
 less ri<2:hteousness for all men. The righteousness, then, of which 
 
Ida FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER FASTER. 
 
 the Holy Ghost reproves the world is that righteousness which 
 Jesus Avrought by His sinless life and vicarious suffering and 
 death, that righteousness of which we say, 
 
 Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness 
 My beauty are, my glorious dress. 
 
 And why does the Holy Ghost reprove the world of this 
 rio-hteousness? Because the world does neither know of nor care 
 for this righteousness. Very many of the children of this world 
 never think of })reparing for the hereafter. They live and die 
 like brutes. And those who do believe in a blessed hereafter seek 
 to get there by their own righteousness. By nature we all do not 
 know otherwise and do not think otherwise than that, if there 
 is another life beyond the grave, we must be good and do good 
 in this world, that we may obtain eternal life ; we must do at 
 least the best we can, and rel}' on the mercy of a good God for 
 the rest; in short, we must do the work ourselves and expect 
 heaven as a reward for our good deeds. 
 
 Now the Holy Ghost reproves the world concerning the right- 
 eousness of Christ which He has wrought out for the whole sin- 
 ful world. He addresses man by the "Word of God and says to 
 him, How dare you expect to gain heaven by your own righteous- 
 ness? You are a sinner and before God all your righteousnesses 
 are as filthy rags. You are born in sin, and polluted with sin, 
 and corrupted from head to foot. All that you are, say, and do, 
 is sin. Your very hope of expecting eternal life for your own 
 good deeds is sin, an act of disobedience. You are lost, eternally 
 lost, if by your own sinful righteousness you attempt to gain 
 heaven. But lo ! God has made provision for you in His great 
 love. He would not have you die in your sins and be eternally 
 lost: He sent His beloved Son into the world to work out for 
 you that righteousness which you cannot afford, because you are 
 a sinner. He had Him lead for 3'ou, in your stead, a life with- 
 out sin, and had Him atone for your transgressions by His suffer- 
 ing and death on the cross. And now 3'ou must appropriate to 
 yourself this righteousness of Jesus the Savior; you must believe 
 in Christ and build all your hope for a blissful hereafter on Jesus' 
 blood and righteousness. That is the way to eternal salvation, 
 and the onlv wav; there is no other. 
 
FOUliTlI SiLXDAY AFTKIi EASTER. 11»9 
 
 Let US all make sure of Christ's righteousness, then. Also 
 Christians are sometimes tempted to forget tliat it is Jesus alone 
 who has saved them, and to seek help elsewhere than in the wounds 
 of Him who died that we might live. Let us alwa^^s bear in mind 
 that there is no salvation in any other, and that there is none other 
 name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved, 
 but the blessed name of Jesus. 
 
 IIL 
 
 The Holy Ghost reproves the world, thirdly, of judgment. 
 ^^ Of judgment^'' says Jesus, ^^hecause the prince of this world is 
 Judged." The prince of this world is the devil. He is judged. 
 Judgment was pronounced against him when Jesus suffered and 
 died and rose again from the dead. By sin Satan had dominion 
 over all the children of men. He was their master. They were 
 bound to him by the fetters of sin and could not escape from the 
 prison of hell which he had prepared for them. But by Christ's 
 going to the Father, by Christ's glorious Avork of redemption, 
 the tie has been removed by which fallen man is bound to the 
 prince of darkness. Sin is taken away. It is no more imputed 
 to those who believe in the Redeemer. The old serpent's head is 
 bruised and crushed, and he has no longer any power over man, 
 unless man himself prefers to remain in his power and willingly 
 serves his greatest foe. Satan has been dethroned and sentenced 
 by our Redeemer's blessed work. The sentence will be executed 
 on the last day, which may come upon the world at any time. 
 
 And why does the Holy Ghost reprove the world of judg- 
 ment because the prince of the world is judged? That men might 
 know whom they are really serving in sin and unbelief: the devil, 
 from whose })ower they have actually been rescued by the Re- 
 deemer ; the devil, who is sentenced to eternal torment. The 
 Holy Ghost addresses man by the Word of God and says to him, 
 What foll}^ to serve a master whom }ou are not obliged to serve, 
 a master who treats you even worse than the bloodiest tyrant, 
 who for a short while delights you with the pleasures of sin, and 
 then makes you suffer for it, suffer often already in this life and 
 then suffer eternally ! Behold the judgment of the prince of this 
 world. His doom is sealed. "He is reserved in everlasting chains 
 under darkness unto judgment of the great day." And his fate 
 
 14 
 
200 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 shall be your fate, if you do not (juit his service and commend 
 yourself into the hands of Him who has redeemed, purchased, 
 and won you from all sins, from death, and from the power of 
 the devil. 
 
 O let us be careful, then, not to commit our ransomed souls 
 to Satan's power. Let us continually pray the Lord to deliver 
 us from temptation and not to take His Holy Spirit from us. 
 And thus, by the grace of God, we shall conquer the devil, the 
 world, and our own sinful flesh, and finally receive the salvation 
 of our souls. Amen. 
 
 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 John Kt, 23—30. 
 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my 
 name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name : ask, 
 and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. These things have I spoken 
 unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto 
 you In proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. At that day ye 
 shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for 
 you: for the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have 
 believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father, and am come 
 into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Fatlier. His disciples 
 said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now 
 are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not tliat any man should 
 ask thee: by this we believe tliat thou earnest fortli from God. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ : 
 
 Our Gospel treats of i)rayer. We poor sinful mortals are 
 permitted to pray, privileged to address our Creator, the great 
 God in heaven. "What an honor ! Common people consider them- 
 selves highly honored when they are admitted into the presence 
 of a mighty ruler and i)rincc to speak to him and ask of him some 
 favor. But how nmch greater is this honor, conferred ui)on us 
 poor sinful creatures, that at any time and everywhere we may 
 address thi; Kuler of the universe and confide to Him our troubles 
 and cares I 
 
 Do all men make the proper use of this privilege? Do all 
 men pray? No. Most i)eople never pray. The unbelieving chil- 
 dren of this world treat prayer with scorn and ridicule. At the 
 same time, let an unbeliever get into danger of his life and, in 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 201 
 
 most cases, he himself will make an attempt to pray and to call 
 upon God to save him, as has often been witnessed in the case 
 of shipwrecks, earthquakes, and similar calamities. Those who 
 a short time before had blasphemed God and ridiculed prayer were 
 seen to be among the first to fall down upon their knees, and to 
 wring their hands, and to cry that God should help them. 
 
 Alas ! it is not only the unbelieving world that neglects prayer. 
 Even faithful Christians are sometimes neglectful in their duty to 
 pray. Satan, the old w^icked foe, knows well that prayer is a bul- 
 wark against him, that there is very little chance for him to deceive 
 and to seduce the praying Christian into misbelief, despair, and 
 other great shame and vice. One of his old tricks is, therefore, 
 to throw all kinds of obstacles in the Christian's way to keep him 
 from praying. 
 
 Now in our Gospel we are told by our divine Lord Jesus how 
 we may overcome those impediments which Satan places in our 
 way, and Avith the aid of God continue in our prayers. Let me 
 show you with the aid of God's Holy Spirit 
 
 HOW TO OVERCOME THE IMPEDIMENTS TO PRAYER. 
 
 This is done by heeding 
 
 I. The express command of God that vje shoidd pray ; 
 II. TJie divine assurance that God is pleased with our prayer ; 
 III. The divine promise that our prayer shall he heard. 
 
 I. • 
 
 One of the main impediments by which Christians are often 
 kept from prayer, undoubtedly, is procrastination, or a putting 
 off of prayer for some future time. You know and feel that you 
 ought to pray, but you think that you are not in the right mood 
 to pray just then. You are not in a suitable frame of mind to 
 address the Almighty. Your thoughts are not moving in the right 
 channel. And so you put it off to a time w^hen you expect to be 
 better prepared for prayer. The appointed time comes and lo ! 
 you are no more or, perhaps, even less qualified than before. 
 You do not pray in the morning when you rise, you expect to be 
 inspired with more devotion later in the day. The day passes, 
 your mind is occupied with the things of this life, and you forget 
 to pray. Or you do not pray in the evening before retiring, you 
 
202 FIFTH SUNDAY AITKU EASTEK. 
 
 feel too tiivd and worn out, untl make ui) your mind to i)ray the 
 next evening. The next evening eonies, and again you feel the 
 same way, and prayer is neglected! My dear Christians, wiio 
 among us has not been deluded by this old trick of Satan inducing 
 us to put off prayer, until, by the grace of God, we found that 
 this procrastination was a delusion and a snare aiming at the de- 
 struction of our soul ? 
 
 Now, how niav Christians overcome this first and most dan- 
 gerous impediment to prayer? By heeding the express command 
 of God that we should pray. Jesus says in our Gospel, '-'Hitherto 
 have ye asked nothing in my namt^ : ask, and ye shall receive, that 
 your joy may he full.'' This is certainly as plain a command as 
 there can be. Christ says to His disciples, "Ask, and ye shall 
 receive." He does not merely give an advice here, saying, it 
 were a useful thing to i)ray. He does not leave it to our own 
 judgment to determine for ourselves whether we should pray or 
 not. No, this is a direct and straight command, "Ask, and ye 
 shall receive." The same command is implied in the Second 
 Commandment. For when God saj's, "Thou shalt not take the 
 name of the Lord Thy God in vain," this implies that we should 
 make the right and proper use of the name of God, that we should 
 call upon Him in every time of trouble, pray, praise, and give 
 thanks. And the same connnand is also given by the words of 
 the holy apostle, "Pray without ceasing," and m many other 
 passages of the holy Scriptures, })oth in the Old and the New 
 Testament. 
 
 When, therefore, we are tempted to put off i)rayer, when we 
 hear the voice which says. You cannot pray, you are not in the 
 right frame of mind to converse with God, wait a while, you will 
 do better later on, let us remember that these suggestions come 
 from the devil. Let us sternly oppose the old wicked foe and 
 say to him, Depart from me, thou evil spirit ! Shall I transgress 
 God's express command which l)i(ls me pray? Is not this com- 
 mand on the same line with all the rest of God's holy command- 
 ments? If, therefore, I should keep all the rest of God's holy 
 commandinenls and offend in this one point and not pray, T would 
 be guilty of all. Wliat of it, if 1 deem myself unprepared and 
 not in a suitable frame of mind? I might also l)e unj)rei)ared to 
 hear the Word of God, and is that an excuse? No; I shall not 
 
riFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTEH. 203 
 
 consider whether I am i)repared or i)ot, hut <leein it my duty to 
 pray. God's command stands and remains the same, no niatter 
 how I feel about it. Aye, the less disi)osed I feel to pray, the 
 more will I fear God's express command and say to Him, O God, 
 Thou hast commanded me to pray, and I am so negligent, I have 
 no desire and no zeal; forgive me my sins, O Lord, and fill my 
 heart with fervency and true devotion. And, my friends, if thus 
 we heed God's express command, we shall soon be quickened, 
 and we shall triumphantly overcome the impediment by which 
 Satan meant to fell us. 
 
 II. 
 
 Another impediment by which Christians are often kept from 
 prayer is a sense of their own unworthiness. When they turn to 
 God to address Him in prayer their own conscience will rise up 
 against them and say, How dare you pray? How dare you say, 
 Our Father? The holy apostles, men like Paul, John, Peter, 
 could do that. But what are you ? You are unworthy; you are 
 a damnable sinner. And still you mean to stand up before the 
 just and holy God, who is a consuming fire to all evil-doers? 
 No ; prayer is not a privilege for you. You must be a different 
 creature before you can venture to pray to God. Does not the 
 Bible say, "We know that God heareth not sinners"? Such, my 
 friends, are Satan's darts, by which Christians are often assailed, 
 especially when they are in some great trouble . Indifferent people, 
 secure sinners, of course, who never feel worried about their sins, 
 cannot understand this. Of the scribes and Pharisees, for in- 
 stance, we read that they prayed a great deal, and never doubted 
 their worthiness. The Pharisee who with the publican went up 
 into the temple to pray, boasted of his own ^vorthiness even in his 
 prayer, and said, "God, I thank Thee, that I am not as other men 
 are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican." 
 And such Pharisees are to be found to this day. They are the 
 people who trust in themselves that they are righteous, w^io do 
 not mean to receive something of God when they pray, but to 
 give God something thereby, to enhance His glory and to make 
 a show of their own piety. Their prayers are not true prayers, 
 not an intercourse between the soul and the true living God, but 
 only a mockery of prayer, mere babbling. True Christians who 
 
204 FIFTH .SUNDAY AFTEK EASTER. 
 
 know how sternly God is opposed to sin, frequently are held down 
 by their own unworthiness and are made to feel as if the}' nuist 
 not dare to stand before the holy ( Jod and address Him in prayer. 
 
 But how may Christians overcome this second impediment to 
 prayer? By heedinu" the assurance which God has given us that 
 He is pleased with our prayer. This divine assurance is clearly 
 stated in our Gospel, where the Lord says, ^^And I say not unfo 
 you that I will pray the Father for you: for the Fatlier Himself 
 loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I am 
 come out from God.''' These words must be rightly understood. 
 When Jesus says, "I say not unto you that T will pray the Father 
 for you," He does not mean that He will not intercede for us be- 
 fore the Father, or that we should not depend on His intercession 
 for us. No; what He would say is this: Think not, my dear 
 disciples, that I alone could pray for you, and that you were not 
 permitted to address the Father in prayer. Know that the Father 
 loves you for ni}' sake ; He is pleased with your prayers which you 
 address to Him in ni}' name. Pray therefore, in spite of your own 
 un worthiness ; pray, though you feel as if you should not dare to 
 approach the Ahnighty. 
 
 Let us well remember this, my dear Christians. The Lord 
 'Jesus assured His disciples that they were God's dear children 
 since they believed in Jesus the Savior ; and so are we His dear 
 children if we believe, for with God there is no respect of persons. 
 And look at the disciples, how imperfect they were at the time 
 when Christ gave them this comforting assurance. They expected 
 of Christ that He should establish a glorious worldly kingdom and 
 make worldly rulers of them. They quarreled among themselves 
 who should occupy the highest rank. Yet they were assured that 
 the Father loved them because they loved Jesus and believed 
 in Jesus ; yet they were assured that God was pleased with their 
 prayers. Wh}', then, should we desist from prayer when Satan 
 holds before us our unworthiness? Why should we be afraid to 
 ap})roach (iod's mercy-scat because of our sins? Let us heed the 
 divine assurance that God is always pleased with our prayers as 
 long as we pray in the name of Jesus, that is, in faith, with a sin- 
 cere heart, in love to Jesus, and if that faith were ever so weak 
 and frail and had dwindled down to a mere desire to believe, to 
 a bruised reed and smoking flax. 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 205 
 
 III. 
 
 Still, there is one more, and a very frequent, impediment by 
 which Christians are kept from prayer, and that is doubt whether 
 our prayer shall be heard. When a Christian makes ready to pray 
 for something Satan will say to him. What is the use of praying? 
 Do you expect to alter the plans of the Almighty ? Worm of the 
 dust that thou art, a tiny speck in the universe, do you really ex- 
 pect to accomplish anything by prayer? God has arranged every- 
 thing beforehand, and He will carry out His arrangements in spite 
 of your prayer. And even if prayers are heard, your prayer, will 
 certainly not be heard, because your voice is too weak to reach to 
 the heavenly throne. You are too insignificant a creature to be rec- 
 ognized by God in heaven. O how often are Christians assailed by 
 such thoughts ! And what is the result ? They either pray in doubt 
 — and then their prayer is not heard, as the holy Apostle James 
 says, "He that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the 
 wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive 
 anything of the Lord" — or they are kept entirely from i)rayer by 
 this impediment of doubt as to the efficacy of their appeal to God. 
 
 But hoAV is this im})ediment overcome ? By heeding the divine 
 promise that our prayers shall be heard. Jesus says, "Fen7y, 
 veriJi/, I sat/ unto i/ou, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my 
 name, He will give it you/' Behold, Jesus not only gives the 
 distinct promise here that our prayers shall be heard. He even 
 attests that promise by a double oath, saying, "Verily, verily, 
 I say unto you." In the face of this direct promise ought not 
 every Christian to be ashamed of himself to give room to doubts 
 arising in his mind as to the efficacy of his prayer? Is it not a sin 
 and a shame l^efore God and all the world to think that your pra^-er 
 will not be heard, when you know that the Son of God has attested 
 with an oath that whatsoever we ask the Father in Jesus' name 
 we shall receive? Do we not give God and His beloved Son 
 Jesus the lie by such doubt? Can there be a more damnable sin? 
 O, then, let us not pay any attention to the voice of Satan saying 
 to us. Pray not, it is useless, you shall not be heard anyway. 
 Let us heed the divine promise that our prayers shall be heard. 
 Satan is a liar; Jesus tells the truth. 
 
 Perhaps some one will say here. But does not God sometimes 
 refuse to ijrant us our requests? Are not many prayers unheard? 
 
206 ASCENSION DAY. 
 
 The answer is, No i)niyer in Jesus' name will be unheard. In Jesus' 
 name you may pray for spiritual gifts, as, the grace of God, the 
 forgiveness of sins, and the like, and these gifts you shall always 
 receive according to special divine promise. In Jesus' name you 
 may also pray for temi)oral gifts, for which you have no special 
 divine promise, but when you pray for these temporal gifts in 
 Jesus' name, you cannot pray in any other way than Jesus did 
 when He said, "Father, not my will, but Thy will be done." 
 Though you must pray in tirin faith and in no wise doubt that 
 God will hear your prayer, yet you can never pray in Jesus' name 
 for a temporal gift without affixing the condition. If it is Thy will, 
 O God, for Thou alone knowest, O Lord, what is truly salutary 
 for my immortal soul. And also this prayer for a temporal gift 
 is always heard, either by granting the very thing for which we 
 ask, or by granting us a still greater spiritual blessing in the place 
 of the temporal gift which we asked and which would not have 
 been truly beneficial had Ave received it. 
 
 May the Lord, then, grant us all His grace to overcome all 
 the imi)ediments by which Satan would keep us from our prayers: 
 that we may heed the express command of God to pray, the divine 
 assurance that God is pleased with our prayers, and the divine 
 promise that our prayer in Jesus' name shall always be heard and 
 accepted. And thus we shall be blessed with all spiritual blessings 
 in heavenly places in Christ, until we behold the Lamb upon His 
 throne and praise Him for ever. Amen. 
 
 ASCENSION DAY. 
 
 Makk ir>, U— 20. 
 Afterward he jx|ipeared unto tlie eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided 
 them with tlieir unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them 
 which had seen him after he was risen. And he said unto them, Go ye into all 
 the world, and preach the pospel to every creature. He that believeth and is 
 baptized sliall be saved; but he tliat believeth not shall be damned. And these 
 sipns shall follow tliem tliat believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; 
 they sliall speak with new tonjiues; they shall take up serpents; and if they 
 driJik any deadly tliin«i, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, 
 and tlicy shall recover. So tlien after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was 
 received up into heaven, and sat on the ri<:!it hand of God. And they went forth, 
 and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and conflrmlufj the word 
 with signs following. Amen. , 
 
ascension day. 207 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 We have heard the narrative of this clay's wonderful event. 
 "God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. 
 Sing praises to God, sing praises : sing praises unto our King, sing 
 praises. For God is the King of all the earth." Thus did David 
 rejoice in the Old Testament when God had manifested to him that 
 the Savior would ascend into heaven and sit at the ri<rht hand of 
 God the Father Almighty. 
 
 But is Christ's ascension into heaven really an occasion for 
 rejoicing? Did He not thereby depart from us? Did lie not 
 leave this earth and withdraw from us His presence so that we see 
 Him no more? He certainly did in a certain sense absent Himself 
 by His ascension into heaven. Still, we can and must rejoice with 
 David; for though Christ is absent in a certain sense, still, in 
 another, in a higher and more important sense He is present with 
 us, and that presence was brought about by His ascension. This 
 is what I wish to impress upon your minds with the aid of God's 
 Holy Spirit, 
 
 CHRIST ABSENT AND YET PRESENT. 
 Let us see 
 
 I. In what sense He is absent from ns, and 
 
 II. In what sense He is present with us. 
 
 I. 
 
 First, then, in what sense is Christ absent? We read, "*So 
 then after the Lord had spoken unto them. He was received up 
 into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.'' And in the 
 book of the Acts we read, "He was taken up, and a cloud received 
 Him out of their sight." So our Lord was taken up into heaven 
 and seen no more. After His ascension into heaven He was no 
 more exposed to the view of men. And that is the true nature of 
 His absence. By His ascension He permanently changed the l)ody 
 of His resurrection into an invisible body. Occasionally He did 
 the same thing before this. When after His resurrection He 
 showed Himself unto His disciples. He would suddenly api)ear in 
 their midst, and then again vanish and disappear before their eyes. 
 But now He slowly disappeared before them in such manner as to 
 convince them that henceforth they should see Him no more, that 
 
208 ASCENSION DAY. 
 
 henceforth He woukl no more show Himself visibly on this earth. 
 His disciples should no more know Him after the tiesh. The 
 Lord did not ascend in the manner commonly accepted; He did 
 not ascend into heaven in such manner as to go up higher and 
 higher, until He appeared to be a small speck in the blue sky, 
 a speck that grew so small that it could not be discerned by the 
 sharpest eye. No, He only went up to a certain height, where 
 He was plainly seen by the gazing disciples from below, and then 
 a cloud came, and He was enveloped in that cloud and seen no 
 more. He had passed from the visible into the invisible. 
 
 And "//e saf on the rUjlii hand of GocW' as our Gospel says. 
 Jesus Christ, we know, is God and man in one person. Now^ the 
 divine part of Jesus Christ could certainly not be seated at the 
 right hand of God in His ascension. According to His divine 
 nature He had been with God from everlasting. It was according 
 to His human nature that Jesus sat at the right hand of God. 
 And what does this mean ? It means, that according to His human 
 nature Christ glorified assumed the full and constant exercise of 
 universal dominion, rule, and government over heaven and earth 
 and all creatures, and especially over His church on earth. 
 
 How, then, are we to look upon Christ since He ascended into . 
 heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty? 
 Did Ciirist remove from this earth His human body and take away 
 from us that same body which was born of the virgin Mary, suf- 
 fered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried, de- 
 scended into hell, and on the third day rose again from the dead? 
 Did He take that body away into the unlimited space above us? 
 Did Christ in that body go so far away from us into the skies that 
 now it is beyond the stars and the largest telescope cannot reach 
 Him? Is there a certain place there, where God, like an earthly 
 monarch, has a gilded throne upon which He is sitting, with Jesus 
 Christ, His Son, sitting at His right side? Is the body of Christ 
 as far away from us as the heavens are away from the earth? 
 No, God is a spirit. He is everywhere. He cannot be confined 
 to a certain spot. And did not Christ Himself say immediately 
 ])efore His ascension, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the 
 end of the world"" ? 
 
 It is true, the earthly manifestation of Jesus Christ our Lord 
 closed on the Mount of Olives. In a certain sense Christ is absent 
 
ASCENSION DAY. 209 
 
 from us since the day of His ascension. That irracious counte- 
 nance of our Lord is no more seen by mortal eye, that thrilling 
 voice is no more heard. But what is it that is really absent of 
 Christ? Is it His body? No, it is merely His visible conversa- 
 tion ; for He was taken away in a cloud ; it is merely His lowli- 
 ness, His form of a servant, for He is exalted and sitteth at the 
 right hand of God the Father Almighty, that is : unto Him is given 
 all power in heaven and ui)on earth. He is withdrawn from our 
 actual sight, and shall remain so until that great day when He 
 shall return and come from heaven in a cloud with power and great 
 glory to judge the quick and the dead. 
 
 11. 
 
 And now let us see in what sense He is present. 
 
 In the first place we must guard against the Calvinistic theory 
 of Christ's spiritual presence. It is claimed that since His ascen- 
 sion into heaven Christ is present only spiritually, that only the 
 divine part of Christ is present with us, but not His human })art, 
 that He is present only inasmuch as our thoughts are occupied 
 with Him, and we believe on Him, and spiritually deal with Him 
 in our minds while we feel and experience His gracious divine 
 presence with us when He fills our souls with peace, comfort, and 
 joy. This theory is wrong. It makes two Christs out of one, 
 while there is but one God, and one Mediator between God and 
 man. According to this theory of Christ's spiritual presence there 
 must be one Christ far away from us, above the stars, the human 
 Christ ; and another Christ who is with us and everywhere, the 
 divine Christ. According to this theory the two natures of Christ, 
 His divine and His human nature, which are inseparably united in 
 Christ's person, and like body and soul constitute and form the 
 one Christ, are torn asunder so that there is no Gad-man JesUs 
 Christ, but a man, or a human nature, which is in heaven, and 
 a God, or a divine nature, which is upon earth, making actually 
 two persons. 
 
 No, there is but one Christ, one person, and as little as the 
 body of a living man can be at a certain place and his soul a thou- 
 sand miles away, so little can Christ's human body be disconnected 
 and separated from His divinity. Where His divine nature is 
 there must be His human nature. Though Christ ascended into 
 
210 ASCENSION DAY. 
 
 heaven, yet He is present with us, })resent not only spiritually 
 but also bodily. 
 
 This is the very reason why we must rejoice over Christ's 
 ascension. Had Christ withdrawTi from us Himself, even His 
 own body, w'hat comfort would there be in His ascension? what 
 benefit could we derive therefrom ? All we could do would be to 
 mourn over His departure as we mourn over the departure of those 
 whom we love. But this is the true comfort and benefit of His 
 ascension, that He no more confines His bodily presence to a cer- 
 tain locality, to a certain land or place, but that He is present 
 everywhere, invisibly, but really and bodily present in heaven 
 above and on earth below. It was His ascension that brought this 
 about, exalting His human nature, endowing His human nature 
 with divine glory and majesty, so that the man Jesus is just as 
 eternal, almighty, omnipresent, omniscient, as is the God Jesus. 
 
 But though Christ is bodily present everywhere, being 
 crowned Lord of all, to get the benefit of His presence we must 
 seek Him in His Word and in His sacraments. We must know 
 that we are lost and condemned sinners and that we cannot be 
 saved in any other way but by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who 
 has redeemed us })oor lost and condemned sinners. We must have 
 Christ and make Him our own that we might live. Christ is 
 present in His Word with His saving grace. For this is what we 
 read in our Gospel, '''■Afterward He appeared unto the eleven as 
 they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hard- 
 ness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen Him 
 after He ivas risen. And He said unto them. Go ye into all the 
 world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth 
 and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be 
 damned.^' Here Christ institutes the ofiice of the holy ministry 
 to have His Gospel preached in all lands, and He promises to save 
 all who believe the Gospel. Christ Himself is present where His 
 Word is being preached, invisibly present, and through the Word 
 He offers unto all who hear the })reaching of His (Jospel the 
 treasures of His grace: forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation. 
 In the early times of the Christian church Christ also gave certain 
 signs unto them that believed. He said to His disciples, ^'^And 
 these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they 
 cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall 
 
ASCENSION 1>AY. 211 
 
 tal'e up serpents; and if (heij drink any deadly thing, it shad imf 
 hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they sh<dl n- 
 covery Christ promised these signs to His church. Thcv arc 
 rarely witnessed among Christians in our days, ])ecause there is 
 no general necessity for them. It was different with the apostles. 
 They had to break down the ramparts of heathenism. Tliev had 
 to introduce the Christian religion in the world. And for this 
 reason their preaching was supported by miracles. " TV/ey irent 
 forth,'" as we read at the end of our Gospel, ^'- and preached every- 
 where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the Word with 
 signs folio wing . " 
 
 Not only with His Word, the Gospel, is Christ bodily present 
 and working with those who preach the Gospel. He is also present 
 in His sacraments. Christ says, "^e that believeth and is bap- 
 tized shall be saved.'" When a child is being baptized Jesus is 
 invisibly present and blesses that child. When to an adult the 
 holy sacrament of Baptism is applied Jesus is there and imi)arts 
 to the believing Christian the forgiveness of all his sins. And it 
 is the same thing with the other sacrament, the Lord's Supper. 
 There the Lord is bodily present. In, with, and under the bread 
 and wine He gives us His true body and blood as a token that our 
 sins are forgiven. It is not a spiritual eating and drinking of 
 Christ's body and blood, and the bread and wine is not merely 
 a sign or emblem to remind us of the body He gave for us and 
 the blood He shed for us, but therewith is connected His real, 
 true body and blood, mj^steriously connected with the bread and 
 wine; and it is by a sacramental, incomprehensible eating and 
 drinking that we receive the body and blood of our Lord. 
 
 Thus we have seen, my friends, though absent in a certain 
 sense, namely inasmuch as we do not see Him, Christ is not absent 
 from us, strictly speaking. He is j^resent. He became even more 
 present by His ascension than He had been before. And to this 
 day He is making true His promise, "Zo, I am ivitli you alway^ 
 even unto tlie end of the world" Amen. 
 
212 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 John 15, 2f,— in, 4. 
 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, 
 even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of 
 me : and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from tlie lie- 
 ginning. These things have I spoken unto you, tliat ye should not be offended. 
 They shall put you out of the synagogues : yea, the time cometh, that whosoever 
 killeth you will think that he doetli God service. And these things will tliey do 
 unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things 
 have I told you, tliat when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told 
 you of them. And these tilings I said not unto you at the beginning, because 
 I was with you. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ: 
 
 Bv the tii-st words of our Gospel our attention is directed to 
 the great festival wliich we shall celebrate next Sunday, the festival 
 of Pentecost or Whitsunday. For when Jesus says, "-But when 
 the Comforter is come, wJiom I ivill send unto you from the Father^ 
 even the Spirit of tmth , ivhirh proceedeth from the Father, He 
 shall test iff/ of me,''' lie evidently refers to the wonderful effusion 
 of the Holy Ghost, who on tlie day of Pentecost came down upon 
 the disciples as they were assembled in Jerusalem, and rested ui)on 
 their heads in the shape of cloven tongues as of fire, and filled 
 their hearts, and enabled them to i)roclaim the great works of 
 God, done for the salvation of man, in all the languages of the 
 world. 
 
 But why did Jesus have the Spirit come upon His disciples in 
 such peculiar manner and entrust them, as it were, to the Spirit, 
 that the Spirit should take them in charge after His ascension into 
 heaven? We have heard that in the Gospel of Sunday before 
 last, where C-hrist says, "I have many things to say unto you, but 
 ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, 
 is come, He will guide you into all truth : for He shall not speak 
 of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: 
 and He will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for 
 He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." Behold, 
 this is what the Holy Ghost was to do and what He did in the 
 disciples. He was to tesstify of Christ, He was to endow them 
 Avith a perfect understanding of Christ and His great work of 
 
SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTEK. 213 
 
 redemption, He was to tell them all those things which, on 
 account of their weakness, they could not bear while Jesus was 
 with them. 
 
 However, Jesus says to His disciples. You must not think 
 that testifying of me, bearing witness of me, is an exclusive work 
 of the Holy Spirit. No, says Jesus, ''Ye also shall bear untness, 
 because ye have been with me from the beginning." And here- 
 upon He discloses unto them a part of their future life. He tells 
 them how they should be hated and persecuted of the world for 
 bearing witness of their divine Lord and Master. This induces 
 me to speak to you with the aid of God's Holy Spirit of 
 
 PERSECUTION FOR CHRIST'S SAKE. 
 I shall show you 
 
 I. That true Christians must suffer persecution^ and 
 II. Why true Christians are persecuted, 
 
 I. 
 
 Jesus says to His disciples, ''They shall j)ut you out of the 
 synagogues : yea, the time cometh, that ivhosoever killeth you will 
 think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do 
 unto you, because they have not hnoion the Father, nor me." ' In the 
 most distinct terms Jesus here predicts persecution to come upon 
 His disciples. And the same prediction He made at different 
 times and occasions. Shortly before our text He says, "If the 
 world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 
 . . . Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not 
 greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also 
 persecute you." And at another place He says to His disciples, 
 "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. . . . 
 They Avill deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge 
 you in their s3niagogues : and ye shall be brought before gov- 
 ernors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and 
 the Gentiles." 
 
 Upon the disciples these predictions came true to the letter. 
 The history of the apostles, as put down by St. Luke in the book 
 of the Acts, contains an account of the persecutions whicii the 
 disciples had to suffer at the hands of Jews and Gentiles ; and the 
 books of the early history of the Christian church are a supple- 
 
214 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTEU EASTEU. 
 
 meut to that account. These brave witnesses of the Lord Jesus 
 were beaten, scourged, cast into prison, i)iaced in the stocks, 
 stoned, tortured, killed. Stephen prochiinis Jesus and is stoned 
 to death. No sooner is Saul, the honored and distinguished 
 Pharisee, converted to Christ than he is cast out of the synagogue. 
 He is intenseJy hated by his former friends, bitterly persecuted, 
 and finally, after enduring countless hardships, he is beheaded in 
 the city of Rome. .Tames is. cast down from the pinnacle of 
 the temple and killed. Each and every one of the apostles meets 
 with a violent death excei)ting St. John, and he is reported to have 
 escaped such a death ])v miracle. 
 
 We must not, however, think that Christ's prediction was 
 meant for the disciples only. It was meant for all true Christians. 
 All true Christians must expect to be hated and persecuted of the 
 world. Jesus says expressly, "If any man will come after me, 
 let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me. For 
 whosoever will save his life shall lose it : and whosoever will lose 
 his life for my sake shall save it."' And it is of all His followers 
 that Jesus savs Matt. 10, 22, "Ye shall be hated of all men for 
 my name's sake." And does not St. Paul say distinctly, "All 
 that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution"? 
 
 If we glance over the history of the Christian church we will 
 find that it is the history of constant persecutions, which the be- 
 lievers in Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, had to suffer, 
 persecutions inflicted upon them by the unbelieving world. The 
 greater the zeal with which true Christians were inspired at any 
 period of time, the more fiercely and cruelly were they persecuted. 
 Especially the three first centuries of the Christian era are marked 
 by persecutions so cruel, so sickening, as to make the blood curdle 
 when you think of it. Not only were the Christians apprehended 
 and cast into the dungeons, they were also put to death in the 
 most shocking manner intended to frighten the other Christians 
 that they should deny Christ, renounce Christianity, and turn to 
 heathen i)ractices. They were crucified head downward, scalded 
 with l)oiling oil, cast before the wild beasts in the arena, or slain 
 with the sword. And why were the heathen so eager to shed the 
 blood of Christians? It was, as Christ says, that by killing the 
 Christians they thought they were doing God service. Chris- 
 tians were held responsible for every calamity. Did a drought 
 
SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTEK. 215 
 
 occur, the common exphmation was that, if God refused rain, 
 the Christians were at fault. Did the Nile refuse its annual 
 irrigation, or the Tiber overflow its banks, did earthquake or 
 famine or any other calamity excite the popular mind, a ready 
 cause w^as in every mouth : The anger of the gods on account of 
 the increase of Christianity, and a ready sacrifice to propitiate 
 the offended deities was immediately resorted to, The slaufrhter 
 of the Christians, 
 
 Such were the dealings with Christians in the early times of 
 the Christian church. And how were the true Christians treated in 
 the time of the Reformation, four hundred years ago? Think of 
 the horrors of the inquisition and all those instruments of torture 
 that were invented under the papal rule to stamp out the Protes- 
 tant heresy, as it was called. Think of the poor Waldenses, who 
 dissented from the doctrines of the papacy prior to the Reforma- 
 tion, and who had to hide in the mountains that they might escape 
 extermination at the hands of Rome's bloodthirsty executioners. 
 Think of Luther, whose hfe was continually at stake, and whom 
 his friends had to secrete for a time that he might escape the fate 
 of John Huss, Think of the Huguenots in France, how^ they were 
 massacred in cold blood. 
 
 And must not ti'ue Christians suffer persecution to this day? 
 Truly, the blood of martyrs is still flowing, and though this age 
 boasts of being an age of enlightenment and progress the Turk is 
 permitted to massacre thousands upon thousands of Christians, 
 and nothing is being done by the worldly powers to stay his mur- 
 derous hand. Onl}^ a short time ago a letter was circulated stating 
 that in the late Armenian massacre not less than 75,000 Christians 
 died the death of martyrs, mostly men, and that about 100,000 
 Christian orphans have been left behind to be looked after, clothed, 
 and fed by Christians in all lands. The bloody persecutions of 
 native and foreign Christians in China are of recent occurrence. 
 And if you are a true Christian, if you profess the faith, depend 
 on it that you wall have to suffer for it in some way. The world 
 will hate you. Your best friends might desert you. Your own rel- 
 atives, if they still cling to the world, will l)e against you. You 
 will have to suffer persecution and endure the hatred, the scorn 
 and ridicule, the antagonism, the malice of the evil world for the 
 sake of Jesus whom you profess before them. 
 
2H3 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. 
 
 II. 
 
 And now let us see why Christians are being persecuted. 
 
 Men have often been offended in these persecutions which 
 Christians must suffer. It has been said, Why does not God 
 protect those whom He loves? If He is the Ruler over all, if 
 He is almighty, if He can turn even the hearts of men, why 
 does He not turn the hearts of those who thirst after the blood 
 of His children and stay their nuirderous hands? To all ques- 
 tions of this kind we find a re})ly in our Gospel. Jesus says, 
 '•'■ These tilings have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be 
 offended,^' and again He says, ^'■But these things have I told you, 
 that ichen the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you 
 of them.'' Be not offended, then, says Jesus, when you see per- 
 secutions coming. Remember, I told you that they shall come 
 and must come, and rest contented there. Do not endeavor to 
 pry into secrets which have not been revealed, or to fathom depths 
 which you shall never reach with the line of human understanding. 
 Why God, who is and ever remains a divine Protector of all that 
 trust in Him, will permit dire persecutions to come upon those 
 whom He loves, %vJty He will stay the hand of the persecutor in 
 one land and not in another, lohy He will let scores of years roll 
 on without any notable persecution and then let persecutions come 
 in full force, wliy He will let one Christian suffer more, another 
 less — these are mysteries which human reason will never solve. 
 And because the faith of a Christian receives a severe shock when 
 he must encounter persecutions, Jesus says, "Be not offended. 
 Remember, I told you that it should come ; know that I have not 
 deserted you. I love you still. Keep the faith and endure to the 
 end, and you shall l)e saved." 
 
 Our divine Lord also states the true reason why the chil- 
 dren of this world persecute His dear Christians. He says, ^^And 
 these things loill they do unto you, because they have not known 
 the Father, nor me.'' These words almost sound as if Jesus 
 intended thereb}' to excuse the children of this w'orld for perse- 
 cuting the Christians, as if He would say. They are not so nmch 
 to blame, they arc ignorant, they know no better. But this is 
 not the case. For to know the Father and to know Christ, in 
 the language of the Scriptures, is the same thing as believing 
 in and loving the Father and His Son Jesus. Not to know the 
 
SIXTH SUNDAY AFTEU EAISTEK. 217 
 
 Father and Jesus is, therefore, the same thing as not to believe 
 in, not to love, but to hate and to reject the true God and His 
 beloved Son. So the reason why the children of this world per- 
 secute the Christians is not simply because they did not know any 
 better and, therefore, were not to be held so much accountable 
 for their wickedness, but because they are opposed to the true 
 God and His beloved Son Jesus Christ, because they hate Him 
 and instead of loving God love themselves, love sin, love the 
 pleasures of this life and the honor and vain glory of this world. 
 And they cannot display their hatred against God in any other 
 way than by abusing, harassing, ill-treating, persecuting those 
 who truly believe in Him. In the Christians they actually perse- 
 cute God and the Lord Jesus. When, therefore, Saul, on his 
 way to Damascus to persecute the Christians, was thrown to the 
 ground and heard the voice from heaven saying, "Saul, Saul, why 
 persecutest thou me?" and said, "Who art Thou, Lord?"" the 
 answer came, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." The chil- 
 dren of this world cannot bear to see the Christians walking the 
 narrow way that leads to eternal life, shunning the world's evil 
 lusts, and keeping themselves from sin ; for this conduct of Chris- 
 tians reminds them continually of their wickedness and silently 
 condemns their evil actions. They cannot bear to hear Christians 
 speaking of Jesus the Savior and saying that though they are sin- 
 ners the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, which was shed 
 for all men on the cross, has cleansed them from all their sins; 
 for this declaration condemns them and im})lies that they who 
 refuse to believe in Christ shall be eternally lost because they do 
 not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 
 
 May the Lord, then, uphold us all in the persecutions wiiich 
 we must endure for His name's sake, and ours shall be the promise, 
 "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and i)ersecute you, 
 and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 
 Rejoice and be exceeding glad : for great is your reward in heaven." 
 Amen. 
 
218 PENTECOST SUNDAY. 
 
 PEXTECOST SUNDAY. 
 
 John U, 23—31. 
 If a man love me, lie will keep my words : and my Father will love him, and 
 we will come unto him, and make our at)ode with him. He that loveth me not 
 keepeth not my ssayinjis : and tlie word wiiith ye hear is not mine, but the Father's 
 which sent me. These thinjrs liave 1 spoken unto you, being yet present with 
 you. But the Comforter, whicli is the Holy Giiost, whom the Father will send 
 in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remem- 
 brance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I 
 give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be 
 troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go 
 away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because 
 I said, I go unto tlie Father: for my Father is greater than I. And now I have 
 told you before it come to pass, tliat, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. 
 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, 
 and liath nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father; 
 and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go heuce. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ : 
 
 Our Gospel does not refer to the great historical fact of the 
 day. It does not tell of the wonderful outpouring of the Holy 
 Ghost. It goes a step farther and tells of the fruit and result of 
 the great miracle of Pentecost. The great miracle of Pentecost 
 is narrated in the Epistle of the day. The Lord Jesus had told 
 His disciples, before His ascension into heaven, not to de})art 
 from the city of Jerusalem, but to remain until they should re- 
 ceive the Holy Ghost. It was on a Sunday morning, the tenth 
 day after His ascension, when they were all assembled in a cer- 
 tain building in Jerusalem, most likely the temple. This was a 
 festival day for the children of Israel, and that may account for 
 the presence of the disci})les in the temple. It was the fiftieth 
 day after the feast of the Passover, called in the Greek language 
 "Pentecost," meaning the fiftieth. On this day Jerusalem was 
 generally filled with throngs of people coming in from the prov- 
 inces, to worship the Lord in the temple and to thank Him and 
 offer sacrifice for the first fruits of harvest. And what was done 
 when the disciples of Christ were assembled for prayer on this 
 day? Suddenly there was a peculiar sound from heaven as if a 
 tornado were approaching. The noise was that of a rushing, 
 mighty wind, which descended upon the place where the dis- 
 <ij)l(s were, and filled the house. The people of Jerusalem must 
 
PENTECOST SUNDAY. 219 
 
 certainly have felt alarmed and must have rushed out into the 
 streets to find out what was the trou})le. The .sound led them to 
 the temple. Perhaps they expected to find the massive structure 
 damaged by the force of the wind. They entered and, l)ehold, 
 not only was the building intact, but a sight greeted them such 
 as they had never seen. There stood the discipk;s of Christ, the 
 believers in Christ, both men and women, and upon the head 
 of each of them was to be seen a living flame in the shape of 
 tongues as of fire, fire burning and yet not consuniino-. Amaze- 
 ment seized upon the people at what they saw ; but still trrcater 
 was their amazement at what they heard. These simple, unedu- 
 cated men, filled with the Holy Ghost, were preaching; they 
 were proclaiming the great deeds of God. And the greatest 
 marvel was that they spoke languages which they had never 
 learned, so that every foreigner could hear the wonderful works 
 of God in his own tono;ue. 
 
 This, my friends, is the great historical fact of the day as 
 recorded in the Epistle. But what was the immediate fruit and 
 result of this fact? The establishment of the Christian Church. 
 On this day the first Christian congregation was formed in the 
 city of Jerusalem, and not less than three thousand souls w^ere 
 added at once as a result of the great Pentecostal miracle. I say, 
 therefore, that our Gospel goes a step farther, for it evidently 
 treats of the Church of Jesus Christ. The subject of our dis- 
 course shall be, with the aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST: 
 
 I. Its true 'members. 
 11. Its undeceiving marks. 
 HI. Its firm foundation. 
 
 I. 
 
 According to the divine Word the entire human family is 
 divided into two classes of men : children of the world and chil- 
 dren of God. The children of the world are those who walk the 
 broad way that leads to eternal destruction, and the children of 
 God are those who walk the narrow way that leads to eternal 
 life. The one class is the world, and the other class is the 
 Church of Jesus Christ; and there is no third class of men. You 
 must either be a member of the Cimrch of Jesus Christ or a mem- 
 
220 PENTECOST SIXDAY. 
 
 ber of the world. You must either be walking among those who 
 an; bound for eternal danniation, or among those who are mak- 
 ing for eternal life. 
 
 But bow may you know whether you are walking in the nar- 
 row path? How may you know whether you are a true member 
 of the Church of Jesus Christ? Jesus says in our Gospel, "//'a 
 man love me, lie will keep my wordu: and mij Father will love 
 him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him/' 
 The abode, the dwelling i)laee of Jesus Christ is His Church. And 
 what does He say of those with whom He will make His abode? 
 What does He say of the members of His Church ? By what is a 
 man to know whether he is a true member? Jesus says, "//'a 
 man love me/' Behold, then, a man may be baptized in the name 
 of Christ, he may be called a Christian, he may make an open 
 profession of the true doctrine, he may be enrolled as a church 
 member: and yet he may be in such a state that Jesus cannot 
 make His abode with him ; he may not be a true member of the 
 Church of Jesus Christ. All is in vain, all is as nothing, if at the 
 same time he does not love Jesus. It is his relation to Jesus that 
 makes a man a true member of the church of Christ. But the 
 love of Jesus cannot exist without faith in Him. Love is the 
 first fruit of faitii. The whole number of those who love Jesus 
 is the whole nunil)er of those who believe in Him. And these 
 are the Church of Christ. And of each of these Jesus says : 
 "//e ivill keep my ivords.'" Note well: Jesus does not merely 
 say. He will hear niy words, or read my words, or receive my 
 words, but, keep my words. Keep them, that is, retain them as 
 what they are and for what they are given, the word of truth, 
 the word of life, the Mord of our salvation. For Christ's word 
 is pro{)erly the Word of the Gospel, the saving truth whereby 
 God offers us the benefits of Christ and works in us acceptance 
 thereof. Those who reject this Word in unbelief are not members 
 of the Church of Christ. But those who receive the Word of the 
 Gospel and kee]) it, believe what it teaches, confide in its promises, 
 follow its guidance, they, and they only love Jesus, and they are 
 the Church of Christ. And to emphasize this truth the Lord also 
 presents it in a negative form, saying, "//i^ tJiat loveth me not 
 keepeth not my sayim/s." And if any one should say. Why must 
 I keep Christ's sayings in particular? Christ answers and says. 
 
PENTECOST SUNDAY. 221 
 
 ^'And the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which 
 sent me.'' The reason, then, why the keeping of Christ's words 
 is of such paramount importance is because His words are not 
 man's words, but God's words, the Father's words, the last of 
 God's revektion to the sinful world, containing the fulHliment of 
 all previous prophecies concerning the coming of the ISavior and 
 the divine seal of His testimonies. 
 
 Who, then, are the true members of the Church of Jesus 
 Christ? Those Tvho love Him and keep His words. Let a man 
 be ever so prominent a church member, if he does not love Jesus 
 and keep His words, he is in the Church, but not o/the Church; 
 he is not a true member; he is a foreign element in the Church, 
 as the tares among the wheat. We call the entire assembly of 
 those who are baptized in the name of the Triune God and profess 
 the Christian faith "the Church of Jesus Christ." But properly 
 speaking, the Church is composed of those only who love Jesus 
 and keep His words, with whom the Father and the Son have 
 made their abode, the true believers who have been regenerated 
 by God's Holy Spirit and sanctified in Christ Jesus. 
 
 Consequently, the Church of Jesus Christ is an invisible in- 
 stitution. God alone knows who are its true members. Yet we 
 are not to think that, since the Church of Jesus Christ is an in- 
 visible Church and known to God only, it is immaterial to which 
 community of Christians we belong, to which church or denomi- 
 nation, as long as we only make sure of it that we are true mem- 
 bers of Christ's Church. For there are undeceiving marks of the 
 Church, and where these marks are in a Christian community 
 there is the invisible Church hidden, as it were, under the out- 
 ward surface. 
 
 11. 
 
 Jesus, in the words preceding our text, had told His dis- 
 ciples that He would soon leave them. Now when He told them 
 in our text that with the Father He would come and make His 
 abode with them, they probably thought : How can He make His 
 abode with us when He means to leave us? How can we in future 
 times be His abode. His Church? And how does He meet these 
 thoughts of His disciples? He says, ''These thinr/s have I spoken 
 unto you, being yet present vitJi yon. But the Comforter, vhivh 
 
222 PENTECOST SUNDAY, 
 
 is tJie IloJy G/iOftf, w/tom the Father will .send i)i my name. He 
 shall teach you all ihhi(js, and bring all things to your remem- 
 brance^ ivhatsoever I have said unto you.'' So Jesus directs His 
 disciples to the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, and assures them that 
 the divine Spirit will be a most jjowerful agency to impart and 
 explain to them His Word, and through tiieni to keej) His Word 
 among men in the world, so that there should be a Church unto 
 the end of days. Jesus declares that His words, His sayings, are 
 the undeceiving marks of His Church. 
 
 Could it be otherwise? Did not Christ just say that His 
 abode. His Church, are those who love Him and keep His words? 
 Since love is something which we cannot see, but the words of 
 Christ are perceptible to our senses, must not the words of Christ 
 be the true, infallible marks by which we may know whether the 
 Church is to be found in a community of men or not? The Word 
 of Christ, His Gospel, is the power of God unto salvation. It is 
 the incorruptible seed which has the divine promise that it shall 
 not return void, but shall accomplish that which He pleases, and 
 shall prosper in the thing whereto He sent it. We may be sure 
 that where the Word of Christ is preached, there also the Holy 
 Spirit is efficaciously active and sinners are born again, endowed 
 with faith and the fruits of faith, love of Christ, and hoi)e of life 
 everlasting. And thus it is that the words of Christ are the in- 
 fallible marks of the Church of Christ. 
 
 If you get into an assembly where they do not accept Christ's 
 sayings as the Word of God, but as human traditions, then you 
 are in a congregation of bhis})hemers, but not in the Church. If 
 you get into an assembly where the words of Christ are still ac- 
 cepted as the divine Word in their essential parts, but, at the 
 same time, distorted and made to conform to the dictates of 
 human reason, then you are in a corrupted church, in a church 
 disseminating both truth and error: truth, producing true mem- 
 bers of Christ's invisible Church, and error, leading people astray. 
 If you get into an assembly where tlie words of Christ are received 
 and taught as they were sj)oken, where His Word is i)roclaimed 
 in its purity and His sacraments are administered according to 
 His institution, then you arc in the true Church of Jesus Christ. 
 
 This is the glory of our dear Elvangelical Lutheran Church. 
 We know that we have the marks of Christ's true Church. We 
 
PENTECOST SUNDAY. 223 
 
 know that our doctrines are not human inferences or deductions 
 from the Scriptures, but express statements of Christ. "Wo know- 
 that in matters of faith our Church neither pays any attention 
 to traditions, nor to the objections of human reason, but simply 
 asks. What does Christ say? and then abides by His express 
 words. Let us always abide by the letter and spirit of Christ's 
 sayings, and His Church shall be with us, and ours shall l)e the 
 promise, "If ye continue in my Word, then are ye my disciples 
 indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make 
 you free." 
 
 III. 
 
 But the question is. Can we be sure of the Church of Jesus 
 Christ? Can we be sure that all those precious promises will 
 come true which Christ has given to His Church? The answer is, 
 Yes, sure beyond question and doubt. For this Church also rests 
 on a firm and solid foundation. 
 
 Jesus says, '■^ Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto 
 you: not as the ivorld giveth, give I unto you. Let not your 
 heart he troubled, neither let it he afraid. Ye have heard how 
 I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye 
 loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: 
 for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you be- 
 fore it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might be- 
 lieve. Hei'eafter I will not talk much loitli you: for the prince 
 of this ivorld cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that the 
 icorld may know that I love the Father ; and as the Father gave 
 me commandment, even so I do. Ai'ise, let us go Jience.''^ What, 
 then, is the firm and solid foundation of the Church and its glori- 
 ous promises? What should make us sure and certain that it is 
 necessary to be a member of Christ's invisible Church? that in 
 His Church, and in His Church alone, is salvation, and that He 
 will fulfill all His promises given to His believers? Christ's going 
 to the Father, His victorious combat Avith the prince of this world. 
 His obedience to the Father, or, in other words. His life, suffer- 
 ing, and death, or, in one word. His redemption. Christ our 
 Savior "redeemed us poor lost and condemned creatures, pur- 
 chased and won us not with gold or silver, but with His holy 
 precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death." That 
 
224 PENTECOST SUNDAY. 
 
 is the immovable foundation upon which the Church of Christ is 
 l)uilt. If Jesus Christ had not come into tiie workl and suffered 
 and died for the fallen human race, there never would have been 
 such an institution as the Christian Church. What a firm foun- 
 dation ! It is a foundation not made by the hands of mortal man, 
 but l)y the immortal God ; not built in time, but reaching back 
 into eternity, into the council of the Triune God. 
 
 The Church's eternal foundation is, in the first place, the 
 love of the Father, who decreed from eternity to have a Church 
 among the fallen race and to send His Son into the world to seek 
 and to save that which was lost. The Church's foundation is, 
 furthermore, the grace of the Son, who, in obedience to the 
 Father, atoned for the sins of all men by the sacrifice of His 
 life, that all who believe in Him should not perish, but have 
 everlasting life. The Church's foundation is, finally, the com- 
 nmnion and power of the Holy Ghost, who, on this day, came 
 down visil)ly upon the disciples of Christ and ever since has His 
 work among men, calling them by the Gospel, enlightening them 
 with His gifts, sanctifying and kee})ing them in the true faith; 
 gathering them from all nations and tongues and peoples into 
 one fold with one Shepherd, into one holy Christian Church, the 
 communion of saints. 
 
 May the Lord, then, grant us all His grace that every one 
 of us be a true member of the invisible Church of Jesus Christ, 
 that we always bear in mind the true marks of His Church and 
 not ho deceived by false prophets, and that, finally, we neither 
 doubt our Lord's promises, nor fear for the future of the Church, 
 because it rests upon a foundation which the world and the devil 
 and all the powers of hell cannot overthrow. 
 
 My Church, my Church, my dear old Church, 
 
 My glory and my pride. 
 
 Firm in the faith Immanuel taught, 
 
 She holds no faith beside. 
 
 Upon this Rock 
 
 'Gainst every shock, 
 
 Though gates of hell assail, 
 
 She stands secure 
 
 With ])roniise sure: 
 
 They never siiall prevail. 
 
 Ameu. 
 
PENTECOST MONDAY. 225 
 
 PENTECOST MOXDAY. 
 
 John 3, k;— 21. 
 For God so loved the world, that he gave his ouly begotten Sou, that who- 
 soever believeth iu him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God 
 sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; Init that the world 
 through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned : hut 
 he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hatli not believed in tlie 
 name of the only begotten Son of God. And tiiis is the condemnation, tliat 
 light is come into the world, and men loved darkness ratlier than ligiit, l)ecause 
 their deeds Avere evil. For every one tliat doeth evil liateth the light, neither 
 Cometh to the light, lest his deeds sliould l)e reproved. But he that doeth trutli 
 Cometh to the light, that liis deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrouglit 
 in God. 
 
 Beloved Friends in Christ : 
 
 Luther calls the first sentence of our Gospel "the little Gos- 
 pel," because in it is condensed the whole Gospel truth. It is, 
 indeed, a text which is fathomless as the depth of the sea and 
 wider in its range than the ocean. No minister can do justice to 
 this text in a sermon. It covers the whole field of Christian 
 theolog^^ Here we are told of the love of God; and who can 
 tell all al)out God's love? Mention is made of the world, and 
 that brings before our mind the history of man, his creation, his 
 fall in sin, and his relation to the Creator. God's only begotten 
 Son is referred to, and we are thereb}' reminded of the fact that 
 there are different persons in the deity. We are told of our re- 
 demption through Christ Jesus, of faith, of heaven, and of hell. 
 It has been said of this text that "it is so vast that it is almost 
 impossible to do an^^thing with it. It hampers a man into silence; 
 it appalls him. There are some sentences that a man can walk 
 around and walk into, and take possession of its truth. This is 
 not such a sentence. There are sentences that are easily explained, 
 but this is not such a sentence. There are some sentences whose 
 meaning we may measure and take their length and breadth. 
 No such sentence is this. It is immeasural)lc, infinite." 
 
 But it is in substance the very text u})on wliich the first ser- 
 mon was preached in the Christian church. It was the foundation 
 of Peter's discourse when the first Christian con<>reo;ation was 
 being formed in the city of tlerusalem, and is, therefore, a true 
 Pentecostal text. Since the love of God in Jesus is the keynote 
 
226 
 
 PENTECOST MONDAY 
 
 which sounds in our Gospel from beginning to end, I shall en- 
 deavor to make a few remarks on this inexhaustible subject. Let 
 us consider with the aid of God's Holy Spirit, 
 
 WHAT THE LOVE OF GOD L\ JESUS GIVES TO US Ai\D ASKS OF US. 
 I. W7taf it gives to us. 
 II. What it asks of us. 
 
 I. 
 
 ''God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.'' 
 In the fullness of time God had His dear Son become man. This 
 act of love is simply beyond comprehension. There is no lanouaoe 
 for it. So great is the love of God, it embraces the whole world, 
 the world of sinners, the fallen race, and it parts with that which 
 is dearest to Him, with His only begotten Son, for their sakes. 
 "Through Christ heaven has come down upon the earth. He has 
 built the bridge loading across the abyss that man's sin has made 
 between his trembling heart and his God. He has effected the 
 holy chain that now reaches from eternity down into time, and 
 with which we can support ourselves in the storms of life, and by 
 which God will in His own time draw us uj) to His glorv above." 
 
 For to what purpose did He give His only begotten Son? 
 ''That whosoever believeth in Him .should not perish, but have 
 everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the ivorld to con- 
 demn the world; bid that the world through Him might be saved.'' 
 It was the salvation of all men, of every individual, even of the 
 greatest sinners, which God had in view when He gave His only 
 begotten Son. In His Son He gave us a prize and a treasure 
 which is of infinitely greater value to us than if He had given us 
 stores of wealth and royal possessions. "You can, indeed, have 
 many things, without Christ, such as prosperity and joy at home, 
 honor and reputation in the world, earthly possessions and great 
 power. But when suddenly and without warning all that of which 
 you are proud crumbles into dust ; when you are deserted by your 
 best friends and earthly fame fades away ; when 3'ou beirin to feel 
 that the deepest longings of the soul are not satisfied by that which 
 earth can offer you — how poor and wretched must you feel with- 
 out Christ ! " But in Christ you have all that can make you truly 
 happy, even when earthly happiness is turned into misery. Christ 
 has proclaimed to us the good news that God's love is greater than 
 
PENTECOST MONDAY. 227 
 
 our guilt ; and that, when we have boconie rebellious and stubborn, 
 He even then still permits His face to shine upon us. "Christ is 
 the propitiation for our sins : and not for ours only, but also for 
 the sins of the whole world." Christ has paid for us the ransom 
 price and has redeemed us all with His holy jirecious blood and 
 with His innocent suffering and death. Christ has successfully 
 combated with the foes of our eternal welfare, and delivered us 
 from death and from the power of the devil. Christ has worked 
 out for us all a spotless righteousness, so that we should be adorned 
 with the robe of that righteousness and, though we are and remain 
 sinners as long as we live upon this earth, appear before the just 
 and holy God as if we had no sin. Christ has opened for us the 
 crystal portals of the heavenly city and gained for us all eternal 
 life, eternal happiness and bliss, so that the sufferings of this 
 present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that 
 shall be revealed in us. 
 
 Behold, this is Avhat the love of God in Jesus gives to us, 
 offers to us, presents to us: forgiveness of all our sins, life, sal- 
 vation, peace, happiness without end. When God gave His only 
 begotten Son, was not this the greatest deed of love the world 
 ever witnessed? 
 
 II. 
 
 And now, in the second place, let us consider what this love 
 of God in Jesus asks of us. 
 
 Does God ask of us that we perform certain acts and do 
 certain things to show that we are worthy of His love? Does He 
 affix certain conditions and say, I will love you and give you life 
 and salvation, if you pray to me, worship me, and walk in my 
 commandments? Many think that they must gain God's favor 
 by their own deeds. They think that they nmst pray and be 
 good, and then God will love them. No; God loved us first; 
 He loved us before we were born; He loved us in all our misery 
 and sin. From eternity He loved us and decreed to give us His 
 Son, and did actually give us His Son, when the time was ful- 
 filled. How can we induce God to love us when He has already 
 manifested His love to us in His only begotten Son? 
 
 All that the love of God in Jesus asks of us is that we accept 
 the gift which of His boundless grace and mercy He has bestowed 
 upon us, that we accept His Son and, with His Son, all those 
 
228 PENTECOST MONDAY. 
 
 heavenly treti.sures conveyed to us by Ilis Son's work. Our Gospel 
 therefore says, "//e that believeth on Him As not condeinned; hut 
 lit that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not be- 
 lieved in the name of the only begotten Son of God.'"' By faith we 
 must accept the great gift of God. Hence it is by faith alone that 
 we are saved, not by our own deeds and works of righteousness. 
 If we do not believe in the only begotten Son of God we thereby 
 openly despise God's love to us and reject the gift of eternal sal- 
 vation which He extends to us in His Son. Hence it is that he 
 that does not believe is condemned. His condemnation follows 
 as a matter of course. He is not condemned because God did not 
 love him. God loved him as much as all the rest of the world, 
 and gave His Son for him as well as for the rest of men. Con- 
 demnation is his own choice, as our Gospel says, ^^And this is the 
 condemnation, that light is come into the icorld, and men loved 
 darkness ratJier than light, because their deeds were evil. For 
 every one that dmth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the 
 light, lest liix. deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth 
 cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that 
 they are wrought in God."" Much has been said and written in 
 defense of unbelievers to make it appear as if, in some cases at 
 least, there were a good moral excuse for man's unbelief. But the 
 Word of (iod finds no excuse Avhatcver for unbelievers. It says, 
 "They love darkness rather than light, and their deeds are evil." 
 If the love of God, which has been made manifest in Christ, and 
 which supports and sustains us, and gives us the best that we 
 could wish for ourselves ; if the love of God ivhich promises 
 heaven to us as the place where our souls can rest in peace ; if 
 the love of God, which on the first day of the Christian Pentecost 
 so wondrously manifestt-d itself in the coming of the Spirit — if 
 this love of God does not awaken a responsive love in man's 
 heart, there nuist be an obstinate aversion in such a heart to that 
 which is good and a preference to that which is evil. 
 
 O let us love Him, then, for He hath first loved us I Let us 
 believe in God's only begotten Son and thereby accept the gift of 
 our salvation ! Let us "not be of them who draw back unto per- 
 dition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul." 
 
 And now it remains to be said that this acceptance of the 
 benefits of Christ is not a condition that man nmst fulfill, l»ut 
 
PENTECOST MONDAY. 22!> 
 
 again a free gift of God to man. The same means of diviin' 
 grace by which God offers all the spiritual blessings prepared for 
 us, is also the power of God which works in us the acceptance of 
 what is earnestly offered to all. Natural man, as described in our 
 text, is only capable of rejecting the grace of God in Christ, loving 
 darkness rather than light, yea, being himself darkness, dead in 
 sin, an enemy of God, unable and unwilling to accept the salva- 
 tion which is in Christ Jesus. But God so loved the world that 
 He also provided the means whereby sinners may bo led fortb 
 from the thraldom of sin, the power of darkness, to His niarvolous 
 light. It is the Gospel of Christ whereby faith is engendered in 
 the sinner's heart, and whereby the Holy Spirit preserves us with 
 Jesus Christ in the one true faith. Thus it is God who not only 
 enacted the wondrous works of Christmas, and Good Friday, and 
 Easter, but who also works the miracle of Pentecost through all 
 ages and to the end of time. And hereof we, too, are witnesses. 
 And hence, to the end of our lives, our prayer shall be : — 
 
 Lord God, Thou Holy Spirit, 
 My Comforter and Guide, 
 Gi'ant that in Jesus' merit 
 I always may confide. 
 Him to the end confessing. 
 Whom I have known by faith. 
 Give me Thy constant blessing. 
 And grant a Christian death. 
 
 Amen . 
 
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