ready, hold fast till I come." The faith that you now have you are to hold fast until the Lord comes. The same he repeats: And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end." His works you are to keep unto the end. What are His works? All creatures are the works of God, but of the works of creation He is here not speaking. He that is here speaking is Jesus Christ, the Mediator between God and man. He says: "My works." What are His works? His work is that He became poor on earth to make you heirs of heaven; His work is that He bare your sins in His own body on the tree, that sin be accounted unto you no more, and the curse be removed from you; His work is that He tasted all the bitterness of death that the second death should not touch you; His work is that He descended into hell triumphantly, that your souls might be delivered from the power of darkness; His work is that He rose from the dead to justify you and to adorn you with His righteousness; IIis work is that He ascended on high to prepare a mansion for you; His work is that He sits at the right hand of the Father, making intercession and pleading for you; His work is that He grants you His Spirit and, as the good Shepherd, leads you to green pastures, and will all your lifetime so guide and govern you that you may reach the mansion prepared for you in heaven. Behold, these are His works, as you have learned them from the second article of the Creed, and you to-day publicly testify before God and man that these His works are your salvation.

And now the Lord says unto you: "He that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end." These His works you must keep unto the end. How can you keep His works? Certainly in no other way than by holding them fast. The works of Jesus Christ you keep when you hold them fast as the comfort of your heart, the foundation of your hope; for His works are kept by faith. You keep His works, if you keep the faith, and to this the Lord earnestly and solemnly admonishes you: Hold fast that ye have; keep my works." O! that I could engrave these words on your hearts with indelible letters that you could never forget them. What would you be benefited if to-day you believe, but hereafter throw away faith? "When

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the righteous," says the Lord, "turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, all his righteousness shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die." Ex. 18, 24. Not those who once believed and fell away again, only those who keep His works unto the end will be found worthy to stand before the Son of man. So long as you keep the doorposts of your heart marked with the blood of Jesus the destroyer must pass you by. Keep, O keep His blood in your hearts as the price with which your souls are purchased that at your latter end you may be able to commend your souls into His hands, saying: Lord Jesus, Thou hast redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature; Thou hast purchased and won me from all sin, from death and the power of the devil by Thy holy and precious blood; Thine I am, and Thou shalt keep my soul.

II.

But think it not an easy task to keep the Lord's works. If your life is prolonged on earth, you will experience that, where there is a treasure, there are also thieves who would steal it. In our text the Lord says: Hold fast; overcome; keep. Hold fast; for there are those who would take the treasure from you. Overcome; for there are those who will fight against you. Keep; for there is a possibility of losing the treasure. You can not remain untried; temptations will come to you, and often they will come in a way, shape and form in which you would never have expected it. The time may come when you will be tempted to turn your back on the Lutheran church, which is in all disrepute with the world, because it adheres so closely to the Word, and to go to some other church which makes more show before men, and is more in favor with the world. God grant that you may then remember that, after being instructed in the true doctrine of the Gospel, you vowed faithfulness to this doctrine even unto death, and that, if you break this vow, you deny the truth of that Lord who has said: "Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father

with the holy angels." Mark 8, 38. You know that that alone is the truly orthodox church which is ashamed of none of the Lord's words, which in her teachings abides in every word that proceeded from the mouth of the Lord. Let this mind abide in you that, whatever word the Lord has spoken, you are ready to receive it and to bow to it, be it never so hateful to the flesh, or offensive to men. You have learned that all the teachings of our Evangelical Lutheran church are founded on the clear, plain Word of the Lord. Do, therefore, what Paul commands Timothy: "Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of." 2 Tim. 3, 14.

The time will come, when you will be tempted by the lust of sin, the glitter of gold, the honor of the world; but remember always that sin, however tempting and innocent it may appear, is that deadly poison which brought woe on all our race; that you brought nothing into the world and can carry nothing out, and that they who love the praise of men rather than the praise of God can not be the children of God.

What particular trials are in store for you, what temptations will come upon you, I do not and can not know. We live in the last times of the world when offenses multiply, and sore trials may come to you. You may be called on for the Lord's sake to pluck out your right eye and to cast it from you; you may be obliged to prove that you love the Lord more than father or mother, son or daughter, yea, more than life itself; for the powers of darkness are at work and they are waxing stronger. Satan seems to be preparing for his last and greatest struggle. But be ye not dismayed. Be faithful unto the Lord, and you will always find Him a very present help in every need. "Greater," writes the apostle John to all Christians, “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." 1 John 4, 4. The Lord to whom you to-day consecrate yourselves is greater than all the powers of darkness. Whatever may betide, look to Him and He will uphold you with the right hand of His righteousness. Only remember what Paul writes of Him: He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and

rose again." 2 Cor. 5, 15. Live unto Him who died for you, and help and strength, light and comfort shall never be lacking you; for He rose again and sits on the throne of the Father, a Lord over all.

Because He is Lord over all, His promises are sure and can not fail you. He says: "He that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him I will give the morning-star." The morning star. The blessedness of the saints in the New Jerusalem. Let not that morning star be obscured in your mind, neither by stormy clouds, nor by cares and pleasures and riches of this world. Keep it in view. Keep the works of the Lord; hold fast that ye have, and when you close your eyes in death. the messengers of the Lord will be in waiting to carry your soul upward into the full brightness of that morning star, and the goodly company of the saints in light will greet you with gladness, and your ear will be ravished by the voice of the Lamb, saying: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Amen.

PALM SUNDAY.

CONFIRMATION.

SECOND ADDRESS.

TEXT: And now, little children, abide in him; that when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 1 John 2, 28.

All men, and therefore we too, are sinners by nature. When man is born into this world he is in a condition in which he is not an heir of righteousness and salvation, but an heir of sin. and damnation. In the condition in which man is born he can not be saved; for "that which is born of the flesh, is flesh," and "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." 1 Cor. 15, 50.

But God is love. He is not willing that any should perish. He desires the life and salvation of all. Therefore He sent His Son to redeem our race, and through the work of Jesus Christ He established a kingdom of grace on earth; a kingdom into which He would fain receive all sinners; a kingdom in which He governs us with grace, in which He prepares us for salvation and out of which He finally transplants us into the kingdom of everlasting glory.

The means through which God receives man shortly after his birth, the means which God has ordained especially for the introduction of infants into His kingdom of grace, is baptism. Though baptism seems an insignificant ceremony to the natural eye, yet in it the doors of the kingdom of God are thrown open. The carnal eye can see nothing in it save a little water, the carnal ear can hear nothing save a few words. Therefore to many thousands, though they have been baptized, baptism appears an indifferent or even contemptible thing. They lay no store by it. They do not believe that they received anything in baptism, and it would not trouble their mind if they (257)

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