Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

It behooves the church of God to be patient and remain steadfast through poverty and tribulation a little while, then shall it receive the crown. The church must keep the word of Christ's patience; that is, it must practice patience and conquer by his word. It must submit to contempt, scorn, and oppression on the part of the wise and mighty of the world, it must suffer without complaining, bear anguish and sorrow, and find support in the word which teaches us, that such is to be the portion of God's people here on earth, especially in these latter days. Though we have but little strength, the power of the Word is great; the faithfulness of the Lord will enable us to keep the truth and thereby vanquish all its opponents. "Be not thou ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner; but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God." Through the trials of the latter days the church shall be made worthy of the crown of victory. The cross is the Christians' coat-ofarms; the effeminate shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Man thy soul with courage, Zion; be undaunted in the strife; be undaunted always, looking forward to the crown of life. Though the enemy be mighty, life is but a fleeting breath; let thy heart be stout, O Zion, and be faithful unto death.

Faithful Lord Jesus, thou knowest that we can do nothing of ourselves; give us grace that we may confess thee and be willing to suffer for thy name's sake. Grant us patience; keep our eyes directed toward the crown, so that we never may grow faint of heart, but thank and bless thee in our tribulations while life endures. Amen.

Who will but let himself be guided Of God alone, in all his ways, Shall strength receive, be well provided, And safely led through evil days; Who trusts in God's unchanging love, Builds on the Rock that naught can move. Think not, when in the stress of trial, That God hath cast thee off unheard, That he whose hopes meet no denial Must surely be of God preferred; God never will forsake in need The heart that trusts in him indeed.

15. Friday after Second Sunday in Advent.

Lord, help us in the time of our adversity by the power of thy word.

Amen.

2 Thessalonians 1, 3-12. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God, for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure; which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; and to you who are troubled, rest with us; when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not

God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power; that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The saints of God are purified through much suffering. The dross of sin in them is purged away by fire, the flesh is mortified, the lusts die, the soul is drawn toward heaven, their love is increased, their patience is trained. Then they learn to thank God for his grace in all things and to sing heavenly songs of praise to him in the midst of the dark prison. Such glory can not be attained without suffering. Accept as the cross of the Lord all trouble that may befall you; then it also is, in truth, the cross of Christ. In other words, suffer as a Christian, bow to the will of God, accept chastisement from the Most High; then shall selfishness, stubbornness, the cares and the lusts, die. Then will God make you worthy of his call, and perfect his image in you. Thus is his name glorified in us, and thus are we glorified in him, even in this world. How full of grace is the path of suffering! Yet we shun it instead of loving it!

Especially, however, do our sufferings prepare us for the blessed estate in the future life, and to meet him when he comes with his mighty angels on that great day. Then it shall be seen, that our tribulations have not harmed us, but that they have, on the contrary, sanctified, purified and transfigured us. When the ungodly are consumed by the advent of Christ, then shall our glory shine in full The angels shall marvel and adore the Lord; new depths of his wisdom are opened to them and to us. We, who had fallen so low and were in such wretched case, are become so unspeakably glorious. Thereby the Lord receives his new name; forever new it is reflected from us; in this wise we have it written in our foreheads. His name Jesus shines with a splendor forever new throughout all eternity. Every knee bows to him, and all the saints praise him with new tongues.

Then is our time of tribulation gone by, and the eternal wedding days are come.

We are willing to suffer, Lord Jesus; but still, do thou help us thereto. Give us grace so to bear our sufferings, that thy name may be honored here and yonder. Amen.

Nearer, my God, to thee, Nearer to thee! E'en though it be a cross That raiseth me; Still all my song shall be, Nearer, my God, to thee, Nearer to thee.

16. Saturday after Second Sunday in Advent.

Lord, wake us and keep us awake by thy Spirit and word. Amen.

Malachi 4, 1-6. For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, said the Lord of hosts. Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Should not the word concerning the day of the Lord wake us, make us humble, yea, even crush us and make us sincerely contrite of heart? When the Lord through Jonah spoke of doom and destruction to the people of Nineveh, it caused them to put on sackcloth and ashes, for they believed the word. Whosoever believes the word of God concerning the return of the Lord, bows the head in acknowledgment of sin, and is afeared and seeks grace. The ungodly despise the word; therefore they feel so secure, and haste without fear toward destruction. There is no lack of warning from the merciful God. Even as he sent Elijah to the apostate Israelites and chastised them with the fiery tongue of the prophet and with hunger and the sword; and as he sent the Baptist to the Israelites of a later day and by his powerful exhortation to repentance shook Jerusalem and all Judæa; in like manner he continues to send new witnesses who cry out, calling people to repentance, and start spiritual movements in this place and that; while unbelief is compelled to show its poverty, as was the case with the Baal-cult in the time of Ahab. And during the time yet to come he shall give his witnesses great power before the peoples and the tribes, (Rev. 11). All in vain! The many will continue in fancied security in their sins and will not repent. Therefore the day of doom must become a burning oven and burn them up, leaving them neither root nor branch. For they alone who have been born again and are holy can stand before him that cometh.

Christian soul; live in repentance day by day unto the last. Never feel too secure, be not puffed up, but walk in holy fear, and with David become all the time less worthy in your own eyes. You have learned to lay all your sins on Jesus and have found healing under his wings; never desert your first love. By the light of the Spirit you shall see yourself more and more clearly and feel more deeply your need of grace; neither shall there be any want of the trials necessary to your daily revival and your humiliation; you also shall be led with the Lord from the judgment hall along the path of pain to Calvary; still, push your way deeper into the fellowship of his suffering and

deeper into the salvation of grace. The way leads to the Ascension hill, and soon you shall with unclouded eye see that sun which gladdens all the saints with eternal gladness, but sends the horrors of death through all who are puffed up.

Lord Jesus, give us god-fearing and humble hearts, and prepare our souls by thy grace, that we may await with joy the coming of thy day and be accepted of thee. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, do not delay, O hasten our salvation! We often tremble on our way In fear and tribulation. Then hear us when we cry to thee; Come, mighty Judge, come, make us free From every evil. Amen!

17. Third Sunday in Advent. I.

Lord, give us grace, that we may understand thy word and believe in thee. Amen. Gospel Lesson. Matthew II, 2-10. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that should 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 their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. And, as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went 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 whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

Jesus, the son of God and of Mary, who was born in Bethlehem, is in truth the Christ, and there in no other king and redeemer of our souls. Neither do we want any other; we need none other, for he is that perfect savior who helps us out of every trouble. In him the prophecies of the prophets concerning the Messiah have been fulfilled to the letter. He is become the least, and is the greatest; the poorest, and the richest; the most despised, but the most glorious. He enters into our nature, but transfigures it into godlike glory; he dies, but death has no part in him; he is the living one in all eternity. Here is Abel and his innocent blood, shed by a brother's hand; here are the wisdom, sale, imprisonment, and the royal splendor of Joseph ; here are the highpriest, the lamb, and the blood which is carried into the sanctuary; here is Samuel with his triple office; here is David in his humiliation and then in his glory; here is Solomon, the prince. of peace, who builds the temple of the Lord, here is the son of the virgin, of whom Isaiah spake, the child which is the eternal wonderful God; here is the suffering and dying, but again living servant of the Lord, written of in the 53rd chapter of that prophet; the hunted hart of the 22nd psalm of David; here are all the Scriptures. The eyes of the blind are opened and the ears of the deaf are unstopped; the

lame man leaps as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sings with joy. The year of jubilee is come, the prisoners of death are set free. John, whom prophecy calls Elijah, goes before and prepares the way; the greatest of all the prophets is the herald of him who became the least of all.

We also experience on ourselves that Jesus is the true Savior. He has opened our eyes, so that we see our sin and know his merit, which takes it away. We see the death in ourselves, but know the life which vanquishes death, and feel the victory of love in our hearts. We hear the music of heaven in the gospel, and the spirit within us answers amen. We feel the cleansing grace of the blood of Jesus and the victorious power of his life in our hearts, so that we taste the peace of God, love our enemies, bear our sufferings, and give thanks for the daily cross. Will you say that this is not the work of the true Savior? We, who of ourselves can only be offended because of his suffering, still love this crucified form with love unspeakable, a thousand times more than all else in the world. We are tempted, and we sin; but we fly to him, and we find in his wounds our city of refuge; we are victorious over sin and death; they can not touch us at the horns of the altar.

Blessed be the Lord Jesus, who came to the world and became our Savior; who comes to us and saves us; who shall come and set us free. Dear Lord, man us with firm faith when we fight our last battle with the devil in the agony of death. Amen.

Let the earth now praise the Lord, Who hath truly kept his word, And the sinner's help and friend Now at last to us doth send.

What the fathers most desired, What the prophet's heart inspired, What they longed for many a year, Stands fulfilled in glory here.

18. Third Sunday in Advent. II.

Lord, make us thy faithful servants. Amen.

Epistle Lesson, 1 Corinthians, 4, 1-5. Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment; yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

John the Baptist was the servant and steward of Christ, and so are also all the legitimate and true preachers of the word of God; they are appointed of the Lord to administer his mysteries of the gospel. All who have been properly called to the office of the ministry are to be accounted servants of Christ, who have received the office from him and administer it in his stead. In themselves the ministers of the Word are only erring men, but their office exalts them, and the