ZION’S LANDMARKS.
rrjf
Balvation. We are fortia to have the
faith of Jesus Christ, with respect of
persons. (James 2 : 1.) E-iches, gay
clothing, gold rings, white skins or
• black skins are not the qualifications
for church privileges, neither ai’e we
to think that God’s grace is confined
to the one or the other class of men
on account of these things. “He will
have mercy on whom he will have
Jnercy.” Grant that the negroes are
an inferior race to the white race ;
what of tha* ? Is salvation by works?
'■^sitby natural intelligence or by
grace ? By grace surely. Then if
any of the degraded negro race is
called by grace, he can say with an
enlightened and intelligent Paul, “bv
the grace of God, I am what I am.”
"What more can the superior white
race say ? No flesh shall glory in
God’s presence, on account of his
wisdom, race or color. Not many
mighty men, nor wise after the flesh,
are called of God to a knowledge of
the truth. They are mostly arrayed
against the truth. Though we have
in the church, male an 1 female, pa
rents and children, bond and free,
master and servant, old and young,
the relative duties of each are pointed
out in the word of God, and all to be
one in point of subjection to the law of
^trisT. We have some strong in
O
faith and some who are weak, but the
strong should bear the infirmities of
the weak, and the weak should not
despise the strong. God hath wise
ly tempered the body together, that
there should be no schism in the body,
but thac the “members should have
the same care one for another.” (1
Cor. 12th chapt.) “The body is not
one member but many.’’ The foot
cannot say, “because I am not the
hand I am not of the body.
I have written hastily as present
ed to mind while writing. May the
Lord preserve his people from all
error. Yours in affliction,
W. M. MITCHELL.
shall I know I love saints ? By giv
ing them such things as they need, for
then your love is not in word, but as
I the scripture saith, but in deed and
truth—by choosing and preferring
their company ; by living in peace,
union and fellowship with them ; by
forgiving them all offences against
you; by covering their failings with
the mantle of charity ; by delighting
to worship God with them ; by feel
ing they are your choice companions
on earth ; by feeling their conversa
tion about heavenly things is plleas-
ing and refreshing and strengthening
to your soul—in a word, by feelings
of love sometimes in the heart, that
endears them to you as precious ob
jects of your affection, that sweetens
the heart and perfumes all the place
wheie you have met, and makes you
loth to part with objects so dear.”—
Joishua Lawrence.
Appointment.
Elder JOHN II. DANIEL will preach at
Wilson, on the fourth Saturday and Sunday
in April (24th and 25th instant.) Elder E. D.
HART will also preach at the same time and
place. Elder Daniel will also preach at the
residence of ©alvin Rountree, in Wilson Coun
ty, on the fourth Sunday evening, at 4 o’clock.
Tho public are respectfully invited to attend
Wilson, N. C., April 15.
ELDER L. I. BODENHxiMER,
EDI t'OR.
“But how shall 1 know I love God?
He that loveth God, the same is
known of him. Do you think a man
«an lore and not know it ? No, sir,
#uch a thing cannot be. He that
loveth God keepeth his command''
ments. This is-the way you are to
know whether you love God or not.
How shall I know I love Christ ?—
If you feel a constraining influence
to yield obedience to each and every
•ne of his commandments ; for Christ
says, he that loveth me keep-
ech my commandments. How
Dedicated to Sister Maiy Stoner, of
Indiana-
I at this time am at Brother
Bennett P. Pitt’s, in Eastern
North Carolina. And as I be
lieve you to be acquainted with
the fare of wayfaring men, and
that you have a knowdedge of
the ebVjs and flowings of our
comforts, and that you also have
feasted upon unexpected mercies,
I venture to express some of the
dealings of God, as realized by
the poor pilgrim in this present
world. How that He, for a pur
pose of His own glory and our
benefit, suffers His children to
pass through so many changes.
Sometimes they are surrounded
by darkness of understanding
and leanness of soul, and cannot
see the beauties that belong to
the pi’omises in the Gospel, nei
ther feel to thirst after righteous
ness as they would wdsli to do.
This world and its confusions
cling about us; our hearts be
come heavy, our heads bowed
down and our faith feeble, in
short, a genera] gloom and fear
fulness seem to hide our comforts.
This frame of feeling brings us
to a self examination of our
hope; and so we begin in our
minds, asking questions of our
selves, saying, “Why art thou
cast down, O, my soul, and why
art thou disquieted within me.”
Psalms. If I am a Christian,
I surely am a poor one, for I can
not think God would suffer His
children to be so low sunk and
so far gone. Hence they begin
to long to see and hear some of
Plis children tell their feelings;
for, in so doing, they are sure to
speak of the glory of Christ’s
kingdom, and talk of His power.
For, to the Christian, Christ is all
and in all, and blessed forever
more. Eph. 1 : 23: Col. 3 : 11.
You also know, that there are
few nowadays, that are willing
to give God all the glory; yet,
they will say give Him all the
glory : what is due Him on His
own merits, and wEat we pur
chase for Him by our merits,
and will claim admittance into
the kingdom of heaven for what
they have done for the sick, the
blind, the filthy, and the dead,
in His name. Luke 25 : 11. As
much as to say. We deserve ad
mittance for two reasons; for
having done so many good things
to the objects of pity, that other
wise would have went undone;
and secondly, for being kind
enough to announce it in “ Thy
name.” Therefore, they claim
admittance, not for what Christ
had done for them, in His Fa
ther’s name, but for what they
had done for the distressed in
His name. We have no doubt,
that if the ancient and modern
^'•Jcnockers^'* for admittance, had
been, or were admitted now,
upon the principle of meritorious
deeds, if there could be euch a
thing, that the next step w'ould
be, to claim adoration from God,
for the deeds done. Hence,
Chiist demands of them to de
part from Him, became they
were workers of iniquity. Matt.
Y : 23. So if those aacient Ar-
miniang, who clam
into the kingdom of heaven^
what they claimed to have done
in Christ’s name, were pronoun
ced by Christ to be workers of
iniquity, and were driven froco
His presence, for making the
claim, may we not suppose that
the same characters, of whom
there is not a few nowadays ma
king the same claim, will meet
with the same fate. For every
consideration of salvation to poor
sinners, for or in consideration,
of anything done or foreseen in.
them, as the cause of grace
abounding to them, is in itself
iniquity, and naturally destroys
the (Terms, Grace ] For if we
are to receive salvation for some
thing done by us, the doing of
that something, be it ever so
small, is the nail in a sure place,
driven by the sinner, and not by
the Master of Assemblies. This
would change the order of God’s
word, and at the same time sub
tract grace from mercy ; the re-
m.ainder, in that e.'ent, would
be (Naught.) For it is as im
possible for grace and works to
both have a place., as cause, in
salvation, as it would be for two
serpents to swallow each other
tail foremost, until neither of
them could be seen, nor existed.
The Apostle fully confirms this
view of the impossibility of sal
vation being by grace and works
combined, for, says he: “ And
if by grace,* then is it no more
of works; otherwise grace is no
more grace;. But if it be of
works, then is it no more grace
otherwise work is no more work.
Rom. 11 : S. This quotation
decides that it cannot be of grace
and works both ; that if it is of
one, the other is dead. But the
5th verse of the same chapter
decides it to be of grace, as
follov.’-s : “ Even so then at th»
present time also, there is a rem
nant according to the election
of grace.” And in Ephesians
2: 8th and 9th verses, Paul
clearly draws the line, and pute
the question forever at reat, in
the following language: “For
by grace are ye saved, through.