Newspapers / Zion’s Landmarks (Wilson, N.C.) / Oct. 1, 1870, edition 1 / Page 4
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164 ZION’S LANDMARKS. ,Bi;ti.er, Taylor County, Ga., July 26th, 1870. Miss Elizabeth E. Williams — Dear 3Iadam:—I am in receipt of your letter of 10th instant, which I have perused the second time with much interest. In answer to your letter, I will say, that while I sympa thise with you and hope that I can also pray for you, yet I do feel that vou are one of the hio-hlv favored of * O the Lord. You write to me of your •youthful feelings and views, when you felt that you could enjoy much more pleasure in sin than religion could afford you. On the second j>age of your letter you state the cir cumstances of your fii’st serious con cern about your future state, in 1854. Since that time you have been great ly troubled on account of your sins, and say you have tried to live a holy life, but what you desire you cannot attain. You say that you have often prayed, or tried to pray, for mercy, but your prayers seemed unavailing, and you have sometimes thought to throw away ad such exercises and think no more of the.se things, as you could not nccomplI,sh anything there- hy. But again your troubles would come upon you, and your gloom would seem greater than ever; so that the necessity was upon you to call upon the Lord for mercy, and have desired that if your prayers could not be answered, that the Ix>rd would hear and answer the prayers of Christians in your behalf. Your tears, which I observed when I wa.s in your country, while tryingtoshew the hel[)lcss state of sinners, and the abounding grace of God by which the poor and needy are comforted and everlastingly saved, together with the brief conversation I had with you at your father’s house concerning your spiritual exercises, gives me the full est as.surance that ivhat you have 'written to me is unfeigned. I have carefully observed every expression in your letter. After giving an ac count of your troubles, glooms, de pression and praying for a space of sixteen years, (acknowledging some intervals of lightmindedness,) you in an affecting manner .speak of God’s goodness and forbearance towards you ; though you say you arc yet without a hope, and greatly fear sometimes that you will remain with out a hope and die in your .sins, but then again you say you have a little hojie that peradventure the Lord will save you ; and especially when you •■-•'ar chri.stians talk about their trou bles, you say they tell your feelings better than you could yourself. From the scope of your letter 1 feel to hope that you have received the gift of faith and hope, though your faith may be weak. I am aware, that there are some who have received a hope of pardon, and because they could not feel all the time as they did when first relieved, they were not dispo.sed to acknowledge any hope. They find that they are yet sinners and cannot live as holy a life as they desire; they conclude that Christians do not expe rience such temptations to sin as they often feel, and to which they may at times yield through weakness of the flesh. Toil need not look for a change of your fleshly nature, while you remain in this world. God in his word has said of you and me, and all the rest of Adam’s sons and daug!iter.s, “ the whole head is sick and the whole heart is faint; from the sole of the foot even unto the head, there is no .soundness in it, but wounds and bruise.s and putrlfying sores ; they have not been closed, nei ther bound up,” Ac. Isaiah 1, 5 ; 6. Again, “ the heart is deceitful above all tilings and desperately wicked,” Jer. 17 : 9. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is no t subject to the law of God, neither in deed can be. lioman.s 8 ; 7. Now madam, .these sayings are true, not only of some, but of all the apostate race of Adam, and you need not ex pect that the Lord will manifest to you by his Spirit that you are any other or better creature than he has described you in his word. Now if you were ignorant of your wretsbed state by nature, so that you could boasi yourself as the Pharisees do, then I should think that you were darkness still, but the self-loathing which you feel and express, the dark ness, gloom and depressio'n of spirit which you experience, are not evi dences of a benighted state, but of a spiritual enlightenment, without which you never would have known how vile a sinner you are, nor would you ever been prepared to call upon the name of the Lord. Every time that yon view yooisclf aright you will both see and feel that you are vile, that you are unworthy, guilty, lost, ruined and undone forever, without the pardoning mercy and grace of God. But now because there is no thing good in you, do you think there is not any thing good in Christ, or will you not trust in Christ except you can feel worthy of his mercy? Do you not know that if you felt worthy, then you could not feel your need of Christ, and could not there fore call upon nis name sincerely? Are you afraid to trust in Christ, and cast all your care upon him, because you are a sinner ? If you were not a sinner, then you would have no need of Christ; and if Christ had not come into the world to save sin ners, then he need not or would not come at all. But you feel like you are a very great sinner. So much the better for you, a.s you will feel the greateT need of Christ, and be tlie less apt to trust any other. The thief who was crucified with Christ was a great sinner, and Saul likewise, with Mary, and the Gadarene. These were all groat sinneus; and even pub licans and harlots shall enter the kingdom of heaven sooner than the Pharisee. Now would you feel wor thy of Christ? If you did, you would be a Pharisee, and then yon would reject Christ. Christ says, “ blcs.sed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Now I think from the scope of your letter, that you feel to be very poor in .spirit, and as such the promise is applicable to you. Would yon tl?en feel rich ? If you did, the kingdom of heaven is not promised to sucli. I am glad that I have often felt poor, wretched, vile and miserable beyond exjwession. True such fedings are not pleasant to us, but such expe rience shows tis our need of Christ; prepares us to-call upon him ; shows os that none but Christ can pity or help our case.. Moreover, by dark ness, gloom and depression we are prepared to rvpj'reciate the love and mercy of God,, when he is pleased to manifest to us hrs saving grace, which abounds more flian our sins. What ever may be your affliction of mind or body, as you read thfe imperfect letter, you m®;y be sure that it would not be best for you to have more joy at present, for God has declared that all things work together for good to them that love him, who are the call ed acem’ding to his purpose. Per haps you may have great fears that you are not one that loves Gol, or that has been called by his Spirit, but I hopefully believe tb-at you dt> love the Lord, and that yo-u have been called from death unto life, and from darkness to light, and if the Lord has not yet manifested his love to you, by giving you faith and hoj>e in Christ, I trust, yea, I feel assured that you will ultimately realise a ful filment of that . gracious promi.se, ble.sscd arc they that mourn for they shall he comforted, and that hunger and thirst after rightcousne.'^.s, for they .shall be filled. If the Lord has. at any time given you yieace, with a comfortable hope of pardon, remem ber we must live here by hope, and that which is seen is not hope. You need not expect to know that yon am a saint, nor should you let fle.shly weakness and imperfection hinder your trust in the Lord. Some Chris tians cultivate a .spirit of unbelief and distrust. This we should not do, but should he humble and thankful for just a little hope; and if w'e havn a little, the readiest way to obtain more is to use wliat we have'. This I wmuld recommend yon to do. If you have a little hope follow^ Christ in his ordinances as you arecoramanv ded, and your faith will be .strermtli- ened and your IVope increased. I must now soon dose this letter. I' fear that w’hat I have written will not be fntere.sting to you. I ha’vo often thought of you since I .saw you last, and es[jccialfy since I received your letter, and I hope I have pray ed for you. I know that I desire that the Lord should direct and com fort you and me and all of the poor and afflicted, and if I meet yon no more in this world, may we be pre- jiared in life for death, and for ahap-^ py reception at the right hand of God in that kingdom of glory where sin nor aMiction cannot enter. Very resp eetf11 y, JOHN EOWE. [From the Signs of tlie Times.] PnoviDKNCE, Fla., Aug. 21, 1870. To Ei.i). P. D. Gold—My Dmr Brother:—Having seen a commun ication from you to the “Biblical Recorder,” and respublisbed in the- “Signs of the Times,” and your ad dress not being given, I thought it meet to address you through tire “Signs of the Times,” as you have spoken thiog.s whici4« I have seen and heard. Hence I think I can say ihatl have fellow'ship with you. I have several times been requested to give my reasons more fully than I did in a letter to brother Beebe, dated June 5, 18G9; but I can eav that for the same reasons as given by yourself, I have been deterred.— xind I have found so much comfort to iny soul in your communication, that 1 have been impressed to cast in ray mite, by way of telling you that it was to me as cold ivater to the fevered brow. If I have r
Zion’s Landmarks (Wilson, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Oct. 1, 1870, edition 1
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