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ZION’S LANDMARKS.
DEVOTED TO THE DEFENSE OF THE PRIMITIVE BAPTISTS.
“TO THK jyjSriD TO ti-ie: testimony.”
Volume II.
Wilson, North Carolina, September 1, 1869.
Number 19.
foitVij.
The Little One.
I am a liUIo scholar,
1. daily go to school,
To leara of master Jesus
The perfect golden rule.
The scholars they ait love Him,
The school is good and free ;
Come all yo careless siusiers
And go to school with me.
I am a little Christian,
The Lord has made me so—
All over a new creature.
What wonders He can do?
I love the things 1 bated,
I hate the things 1 loved ;
My Master is preparing roe
To reign with him above.
I am a Utile preacher,
1 preach the gospel free,
And all my Master gives me
I give it all aw.,y.
V Allot when my hc.iu'geoTl
1 go to ifaster’s store ;
1 tell him all about it,
He smiles, and gives tae more.
I am a little shepherd.
1 teed my Master’s t heep,
A.nd on the hill of Zion
I love with them to ceep.
The food my Master gi, ?s rrta
To feed the little flock ;
It is the bread of life divii e,
And honey from the rock.
1 am a little w'atchmaii,
I stand upon the wall,
And when the foe is comiiif
I give a sudden call.
I blow my little trumpet
To let the people know ;
And all who will lake warning
Kscape from every foe.
I am a little poet,
1 made this little song;
And oftimes it doth comfort me
AVhen i am all a’onc.
If any little creature
Would wish to feel the same,
1 ])ray the Lord w'ould set his soul
All in a heavenly flame.
“ Ihy piesence, LerJ, cjn cheer my lie
Though every earthly comfort die ;
Thy smile can bid my pains depart
And raise my sacred pleasures higli.
art.
“ Oh, let me hear tby biisslul voice.
Inspiring life-and-ioy divino;
The barren desert siiall rejoice ;
’lis paradife, if :liou%tt iaiQe,”
Circular Letter written for the Bear! world, ^Yith all its corruptions, trou-
Creek Association hy Elder S* C-1 j^jes cares and woes, with all its dy'^
Little- I T ’ • ‘
■ , ing interests, sink down low in our
The Ministers ana Messengers com- , , r u c -u
° . esteem, and we live by laith on
posing, the Bear Creek Associa
tion, convened With Watson
Son of God.
the
And as such, we may
become well acquainted with Christ
Church, Union County, N. C., to f teaching
the Churches they represent : j],,, n„|y Spirit, for
Grace, Mercy and Truth be with
of
certain it is,
that all teaching short of this, will
r, y . y he sure to end in midnight darkness.
Dearly Beloved Brethren in the ■ i • i „ i • , , . r
And right here, is it not to be lear-
Lord, Through Divino permission | ^
we arc again assemhled, m an asso-! ^
dated capacity, in tl.is inhospitable | j,y
and unfriendly world , and we ought
to be thankful to the great Giver of
all good for Ilis kind preservation
over and toward us. Let us rejoice
Divine truth, we live in a day of de
lusion and darkness instead of the
true light of Gospel liberty as ■ some
of the religionists of the day would
in the truth of the gospel oi our Lord ! i i- o vm ‘ tv •
, m . VT ; have you believe: Oh, may Divine
and Saviour Jesus Christ, in that lie I , • '> , tt t
. . ,1 1 i uv tiiG tcRciiinff ot liiG AjLoiy
being the Way, the Truth and tne i ° ^
. -TV 1 • ai Ghost, shine into our hearts, lor by
Life; this glorious Redeemer is th^f ’
life giving life ’jji,aintainiirg?M||j|
of all His dear saints or^ belief^
poison m
harm in it,” for there is
the end.
Let us turn our attention toward
the modern men of the day,^ and
what will we find ? If we find any
thing, it must be a fire of their own
kindling, for those mighty effort
men have kindled a fire high and
flaming, and have encompassed them
selves about with the sparks, and in
the light of their fire they walk, talk
and amuse themselves all the day
long, and in their own fire light they
speak great swelling words, which
they do not understand, about the
great deeds they themselves have
done, and the great number of
proselytes thus formed and fashioned,
in the light of their fii'e, and what a
surprisingly state of prosperity their
tne
children ; and he never has, nor nev
er will forsake the work of his own
hands. As such, what he begins by
his power he carries on with his arm,
and will not break the bruised reed
nor quench the smoking flax. Ilis
heart is loVe and his bowels mercy,
and ho will prove himself to be an
all sufficient Saviour to all tliat put
their trust in him for life and salva:
tion. May we all put our trust in
him that he may dispose of us as
his
cause isi n, and how very popular and
shining of this light, "we shall be j respectable they themselves of late^
^bri’a
eliabiod’tO^discbver the' dtirkae's^. of’ka:
the day, in the general, and also to
discern the dark state of things that '
is now upon the true Church, which
is the pillar and ground of th® truth.
This same light will enable us to dis-
he cold and barren condition
cern
that a great many of the real chil-
seems good and right in
sight,
for certain it is, that our natural
ignorance and blindness is such that,
without the teaching and guidance of
the Good Spirit, we shall soon lose
the right way, and fall into pits and
snares, errors and heresies, to our
great injury, and to the .dishonor of
the holv religion of Christ our Lord.
May t!ie Holy Spirit be our sure and
constant guide while in this trouble -
some woild. May ho lead our minds
into the mysteries of the Cross, and
ma}' our souls center there, and we
feel ourselves at home. Yes, my
brethren, may the whole gospel be-
come very precious and refreshing to
our souls, and in Jesas may we con
fide, and of him boast and sing his
praises. And may this polluted
dren of God are in at the present day.
Brethren, what is the matter?
There is something wrong. Such a
state of things would not exist if all
was right. Well, where is'the fault?
It is not in God, for God has not
changed. The fault, then, most
assuredly, is in us, and as such, let
each and every one of us pray God
to give us light and^' understanding,
that we may by this Divine light be
enabled to search our tents thorough
ly, to see if the accursed tiling is hid
there-, as was the case of Achau of
old. (See Joshua, 7th chapter and
11th verse.) We are commanded to
try the spirits. Take them to the
standard, the Woi’d of God, and try
them there, for there is danger of be-‘
ing ensnared by these
spirits.
We would
dissembling
advise you to stand
aloof from all those modern isms of
the day; and also beware of all se
cret political machinery, which goes
under the dissembled name of “no
and Avhat is it all, but an empty blank?
■‘^Iretliren, we would that the Lord
would grant that our souls might be
wet with the dew of Heaven, and we
find it good to wait upon the Lord
and draw near to Him at a throne of
Grace, and live near to Gcd, by faith,
and feed on Divine things. If we
can feel that we live by faith on th-o
Son of God, we will grow and thrive
thereby. If we can view Jesus, and
contemplate his love, in undertaking
the work of salvation, and engaging
as our surety befoi e the foundation
of the world, we will see that the
foundation of our salvation was had
in covenant arrangement between
the Father and Son, to which the
Holy Ghost bears testimony.
Let us rejoice, in that our names
were written in the Lamb’s Book of
Life from before the foundation of
the world. What then shall separ
ate us from his love ? Shall wars,
pestilence famine or distreee, per
secution or the frowns cf this inhos
pitable world? Bay, the Apostle
tells us that neither death nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor
powers, nor things present, nor
things to come, ror heighth, nor
depth, nor any other creature shall be
able to separate us from the lore of