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S L A N D M A li K S
61
ministers of the gospel generallj de
part from tlvsir duty, b«ing cli.strn«tftt]
of the providence and promises of
(lod, the churches will also forsake
their duty: or when tire churches for
get, and neglect their duty to their
niinistcr, he will necessarily leave his
post, and in cither cas® the church
will soon present the picture of a
planted, bnt untended garden; or a
jieoplc who do not like to retain God
in their knowledge. And whenever
nrinistei’s appear consoientlou.sly, and
contentedly, to spend only two days
in the week, and sometimes not that
in attending to the duties of tlicir
office, the churches will imitate their
bad esamjiles, and immediately dis
charge, an efpially small proportion
of their duty.
In this state of things, it is need
less for ministers to exhort churches,
it is vain f;>r Associations to write
circulars, the conduci of both mims-
icrs and churches, deeiare, tliat it is
onlv for the name of the thing, that
they write, and we would' give it as
our opinion, tliat the relative and re
ciprocal duties between charches and
ministers, ought never ta be named
again, until the one or the other re
turns from that far gone wandering,
where they now are, to the place
Avhcrc they ought to be found. The
breath, the paper,, tlie labor, are all
lost. Therefore, return, O watch
men, to your po.=d.s, oi’ complain no
more of tlie churches. Kctm-ii, O
churches, to your duties, or complain
no more of your ministers. O Lord
help thy ministers to rely on thy pro-
mi.ses, andret'orn to their duties; give-
tiiv church grace, to enable them to
feel their duties, and a willingness to.
comply therewith. Amen.,
[From the Priiuitive Baptist,
AlABAM.\, CnAMBKasCo.,
June 20th, ISfo. ^
Beloved brethren and.sisters in
TUE Lord : I v/as received among
the Fi imitive Baptists at Providence
church, Bussell Co., and baptised
on the first Sunday in August,
lSi3, then the 22nd year cfiny
age. Since that time I have passed
through many dark scenes of mind,
and been filled with many doubts
and fears; but .sometimes I have
been quite confident that! engaged
the presence of the Lord, and oeen
able to say wi'fli good old Job, “I
know that my Redeemer liveth.”—
At other times, I have felt like
?hat I could fiom my very heart
adopt the language of David and
say that, “I had rather be a door
keeper in the house'of my God,
than to enjoy the pleasure of sin
have overcome the world.Ano-
tiier reason why he should remem
ber BOW his Creato-r is, tliat the
for a.season, or to dwell in the if he is
I tents of wickedness.” [suffered to li v®. in this sinful world;
fforSolomon again say.s: “If a man
live many years, and rejoice in them
f know that I am young-, and
hut a very poor ignorant creature
at best: but still I hope the reader
will take the admonition of Paul
when he said relative to Timothy,
“Let no man despise thy youth”;
and as yonnr Elihu said, “I also
will show mine opinion.” Job.
32,10. I also would he glad to
give earnest heed to the words of
Solomon, because-they are accepta
ble words and words of truth.—
(Eccl. 12, 10.) And his admoni
tion vras, as you may find in the
same chapter, first and second
verses, to “Remember now thy
Creaf-or in the days of thy youth,
while the evil day.s come not, nor
the rears draw nigh when tliou
shalt say, I have no jdeasure in
them); while the sun, or the light,
or the moon, or the stars, be not
dai'kened, nor the clouds retuirn
after the ram.”
He who has once had the true
light of gospel truth to- shine upon
him, and been illuminated by the
glorious sun of righteousnoss^^^ria-
ing upon him “with liealing in hia
wings,” though' he is dead to sin,
will often find that if lie cannot live
in sin, yet sin lives in him. as one of
the prominent laws in liis mem
bers, 'warring and figlitiag with
many a struggle against the law
of his renewed mind, and bringing
liira into captivity to the law of sin
which is in his members.. Bora
7:23. Though 'under tbe power
ful influence of the spirit of God, in
the days, of his youth, he may re
member and praise his Creator,
and with his mind for a time keep
his body under, and be enabled to
offer it as a living sacrifice; and he
may perhaps begin to tliink the
battle is over and he will spend his
days in rejoicing and praising God,
for his wonderful works to the chil
dren of men; but let him take heed
and remember that lie will ol'ten
find occasion to praise God for otlier
deliverance besides that he has al
ready had; for Cliist has said, iu
the world you shall have tribulax
tion; and if you have not had any
yet, you may b* assured that it
will coma. Then you will firid the
promise of Christ to be profitable
to you, “I will not leave you com
fortless and be ei' good cheer, for I
all; yet let him remember the days
of darkness, for they shall be many.
Eccl. xi. 8.
If I am a child of grace and been
born of the Spiri t, I snj to the
young brother and sister, by my
own experience, that you will some',
times be ready to conclude tliat you
are entirely deceived, and the efful
gent beams of the son that once-
slione BO brilliantly around you re
fuse lo give you any light to your
darkened soul, until you will be
made to ery out like Jeremiah that
you are in dark places as tliose that
be dead of old; (Lara. 2 : (>.) Or
like Rani and those who sailed with
him to Rome, (Acts 2T: 20: 28.)—
When T either sun nor stars ap
pear ftir marry days, and perhap.s,
(as is sometimes with me) more
than fourteen d&js jrass and you
cannot feed spoil the piromises of
the gospeh and are at vour wit’s
end, and in this awful situation of
darkness, satan like a roaring lion
going about seeking whom lie
may devour, and this is also the
time when all the beasts of the
forest do creep forth. Psa. 104:
20. The old man wfith all his
beastly nature will begin to “creep
forth” in a sly sneaking manner to
fright your soul, by telling you
that you are deceived, and that you
are a stTrauger to grace, until the
daij begins to dawn and ibe sun or
the true light shineth upon you,
then these “beasts of the forest”
nole-nger continue to creep and
p.rowl around you, but they “ga
ther themselves together, they lay
them dewn iu their dens,” 22d-
verse.
I think that the young Chris
tian has many important lessons to
learn in the school of experience,
if he stays in this world of .sin and
iniquity, where sin abounds in bis.
flesh and in the hearts of the chit
dren of disobedience; but still he
will occasionally find that where
sin abounds, grace sometimes much
more abounds.
But says one, why is it that I
must sufier thus in this world ? I
answer that your faith mu&t he
tried, being more precious than
gold that perishetki, that, it may be
found to the jiraise of him who
called you to glory and virtue, and
also the Lord is determined that
the righteous shall be tried. Psa.
11:5.
The moat important lesson for
you to learn is to live out of self
and live entirely on another, this
sometimes you think you have
learned; but when the wind be-
come.s boisterous, fear springs up,
and no. o.tbei’ .alternative is left but
to cry, lik® Peter, “Lord, save
me.’’ Mat. 14:30. David at one
time could say, that by his God he
could run through a troopand leap
over a -tt’aH; at another time he was
afraid he should fall by the hand of
Saul. Ait oae time, he could say,
my soul shall make her boast in
God; and at another, he looked
upon, iiimself as a worm and no
man. The wicked know nothing
of such changes and trials as these;
and for this reason they fear not
God. Psa. 55:19. Be imt dis
couraged because of you troubles
and afflictions that you meet Avitli
in the way, for you may be well
assured that, “Many are theafllic-
tions of the righteous; but the Lord
delivereth him out of them all.” —
Psa. 34 : '19, Trust in the Lord,
aiKfJo good; .so .s!nvit-tbt)-u-s4'WeB'Mi:—
the land, and verily thou shalt be
fed. 3-4:3. May the Lord have
mercy upon the poor of his flock,
and rid them from the hand of
strange child rea, that our oxen (the
preachers) may be strong to labor,
that there be no complaining in our
streets. Psa. 9 : 4.
WLM. M. MITCHELL.
-»a> «*-
Tbc disciples of Christ, under the
affliction which they meet with iu
this world,, are apt to be troubled in
their hearts, to be di.squieted in their
minds, to, be defected and discouraged.
It was so.with David. “Why art
tliou cast down, O my soul ? Why
art thou disquieted within me ?” He
was .sensible of Ills afflictions, and that
disonieted him. and east him down.
God’s people ar@ subject to such dis-
quietmeuts, because they are flesh
and blcod, subject to the same pas
sions, made of tlie same mould, sub
ject to the same iniprcs.sions without
as othe-X” men,, and their natures are
upheld with the same supports and
refreshments as others^ the withdraw
ing a,nd want of which aftects them
as. well as others.. And be.sides those
troubles they sntfer in common with
otliens, by reason of their being called
out of the-woridpthe -world hates them,
and they are therefore more ex])osed
to tribulation than others, and so are
apt to be cast dov.:a and diBtjiu’aged.
—BunysiU.,