Newspapers / Zion’s Landmarks (Wilson, N.C.) / Dec. 15, 1873, edition 1 / Page 1
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m TLE floPE, W'liy ;i:u 1 !-':t 1. !hi'ouyli .-lil the by-gone yrnrs ? i ;ii iloish ill ; eyi'i where 1 li^tles-etVHyed. 1 knew lo o:'iinv in tho.-e ['leasiint eouits, in inioe !iini i>ica.'iire I was not alVaul. \V!io wa.- it iMit' iiie I'lom that jiiaec arise, And leave the ;_d)ry ofthose eiiUTaid iields? !ne f^cAc anolhei' land and name, .iiiuilier imn-e ihan diarming fancy builds? Who told me tiiat the shining streams I loved Fameii -wihiy unw;i.rd to the sea of Death? The ghnving -kies so gorgeous and .so grand, Jktre lightnings swift and thunders under- nea'Ji ? A stilly voire—a silent, warning voice! W’iiv shoiiid ! heed it in a iatid so free? S i iia-sing i'atr—there ! had lived :uid loved The sinner’s hiine--my sweet initivity. Ami yet tliey naUed—those jilea.siires palled to me, Unr-.sl . ame to me like a bird of flight; A.nd tonehed my soul witli its swift wings of ])ain. Turned all my mourning into restless niglit. It stirred my heart and woke corruption there, Drew liicl: ihe shining of the silken veil, 'J'hal 1 luiglit see my life a leiirons thing, ils lio.-.es and aims an empty, fairy tale. The gilded goblet, filled with nectar sweet Drawn from : !ic flowing of a golden bowl, Ifow had the sparkle and the foam grown ilim, And ceased to glad my longing, thirsting soul ? Thu garh of youi.h so bright in gala day.s— Oil! seib.aAi: phnn igj laid for joy apart, liow I'ailliiess now to eiothe a naked soul, Ilow impoKni to warm a shivering heart. /aIi.s; th^“ in bufiiuy ifiooiner, gardens, have tlio smell of ill til,' ling deal li. Tin- trees of beauty and their lusenous fruiUs Have Inrneii lo ashes by a jmtrid breath. Ides o’er the land thesiiadow of the grave, With iiuiiglu beyond for the undying son], F-:;ve ilie dark misery of a wretched woe Tile swift unfolding of a fearful scroll! I must away; in pain and troubled fear 1 saw in di'eams another land flian this; A Holy King ruled all the vast domain, A sceptre held that penitents might kiss. I wandered far, in weary lengtlicned HCareh To find that land ami call that King my own, Tet I was lold that none could enter there. Save those Tedeemed by lib incarnate Son. Oh ! weary road to travel day liy day, .Vml lay me down to rest and sleep at night; A'ot rest, oh, no ! the struggling soul must fiiul If possible, that land oflife and light. I’e up and doing—walk the rounds again — Tlie burning sands arc (piick beneath thy feet, \'et on lost heart, and onward though thy t hirst In the sad march no wells of water meet. Grown tired now ; all hoiieless of the end ! I’oor heart still crying in its sad refrain. Bewildered soul, blind, lost, and all undone, There is no hand to ease tliy acldng pain. “Dust unto dust” I must cleave liere ai d die; 1 cannot reach the King’s white see(itre now. Or if I niiglit ’twonid touch corruption here And write its sentence on my morta.1 brow'. Yet what is this ? not voice nor yet a sound, Which luishe.s sweetly now the restle.ss moan, “Not these poor suffering's—nor thy wander ings far— But Christ’s own blood may to the King atone.” Blest ihonght did tlien the golden sceptre drop And touch at last my sin-Bolluted lips, And did I taste a drop from that .sweet ]''roip wliich the saint of wondrous mercy sips. Again was paace, sweet peace unto my soul, A little moment all its situs were hid ; All covered, whose the blesssd Inand that bronglit A roll of peace, and on ray spirit laid. -No thought so sweet in m.y Egyptian life, No hope like this “that I saw jioace at last By ijiijmiation of His righteousness.” I Yet see I still a journey stretching on. j 1 have hut rested—to renew the niareh ; I A i-irri-K HOPE is given for the way, A little light by which to keep the search, Oh! 1 am fearful thi.s my treiiibliiig sta.r (.irows oft’ so dim f cannot see its ray ; So strangely lost, I can but halt and cry—• “I cannot .“cu” Lord show mo nowtliy way. My heart erics out for stronger light, to see, A surer patli—a brighter Star of Hoite ! Dries out to know if this can he the road, IVhieh 1 so blindly and so sadly grope ? Oh ! I’onld I feel that in my he.'irt I held (rod’s own dear gift—a .simple, tru.sting faith ; Feel that, though darkness is around, beneath, Thi.s is tliu tvay—the .straight and narrow path. Oh I Egypt’s land is now no more to me— The land of Siren and .kcoliaii song ; No wooing breeze nor odors wafting sweet, Bring earthly joy tlie.se sadder days among. Oh, they are sad; with sorrows girt around, Yet sweeter far their sadness and their gloom, For Oil! a glimmer, breaks sometimes the clouds. And gilds the darkne.ss which en.shrond.s the tomb. Yea ! let me go uiion this thorny road— M’ithout tlie fc.sting ofa rosy bed ; Conformed to him who suffered all below; And liad not where to lay his weary head. Lord in thy sullerings fix my prieele.ss hope— He died for me—for me he ’ro.se again ; Oh! what Were sorrow with such sweetnesr^ mixed, ■ Or case snflicient for the deepest 2'ain ? ^fortlipidilffe ^is—t(Thoii^and iiojiins That Thy own Son lias borne tlie crimson weight Of all my sins, and let me hoping go To bear his sad rejiroach without the gate. Lord seal me Thine—I fain would bear Thy name; Sweet Star of Hope—bv Thy command be still! And let me look upon its brightness, then I can walk oiiwtird, knowing “all is well.” 1870 A. Sr.'iAGiNS. Lord .said “my grace is sufficient for thec/’he did not mean that it was .suf ficient, only provided Saul woultl labor faithfullv to obtain it, or at least, Paul did not so understand him ; for be says, “to him that work- etb is the rewaid not reckoned of grace, but ofdebt,” Rom. 4: 4. Row wb;it conld be more plain and fa miliar with us than the Apostle’s words ? Do we not know it is so— iiui.st receive that atonement, not only must our sins before wbat we term our conversion be atoned for, but all the .siins we ever committed ill vVdani while embodied in him, and from our natural birth to the day of our death, all must be atoned for else wc cannot be saved. 1 ,say must be atoned for—and that atonement mu.st be by some other beside oiir- .selve, for suppose one could and that a niward is due to him that | .^hould turn awav from sin and live is worketb at the proposal and by the ‘ the rest of bis lite free from sin direction of another who promises such a reward, but Paul declares that rewards upon such principles are debts and not graec, which is not on ly revelation but a common sense view of the subject. Hence it fol lows that according to the popular doctrine of conditionality, salvation is a reward \vbich the Lord owes to sinners ujion their pertorraing bis terms, and does it not follow that according to such theory there is no grace for any except they perform this or that, and even then the suffi ciency appears to be in that which the sinner ]ierforms, as Arminians them selves allege, that such perforin IfvedpaTurtfios^vn^ fki notarc st. So it does appear that while liiany object to absolute election be cause they think it inconsistent with free grace, yet their real objection is that the grace flowing through that principle is too free and abounding to plea.se them, yea! it was upon that CO.HMITNICATED. PiTi.EK, Taylob County, Ga. August 2()th, 1877) “And be .said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee,” 2nd Cor. 12: 9. Such wa.s the Lord’s answer to Paul when bediad be.sougbthim thrice, that the thorn (the uiessenger of Sa tan) might depart from him. Witliout any comments ujion the context I projiose a few thoughts upon the text itself. And, first. We should under- ! ^ ^ I stand what amount of grace would i ... ^ I apjicar sufficient for .such an one as Paul, who was before a blasphemer, a persecutor, and injurious to the Saints. Rot only was he such—but he was freely willing to be such, and wholy unwilling to be anything else. Plence, it appears that had not God’s willandpurpo.se have hindered the full exercise of Saul’s will, he would have centinned what lie was—blas phemer and a persecutor. In vain should we look for the original source of Paul’s salvation, elsewhere than to God’ love and election, nay ! with out the grace of free election there could be no grace at all. When the principle that Lsaiah cried—' without monev and without A a.s Adam was before his fall, it could not atone for the least sin. To he le gally just he must have lived so all of his life, to do which is not consi.st- ent with our flrllen nature. I am aware that some would admit all this and then allege that Christ has died and mad e such an atonement that we may now be saved by doing the best wc can—but if the Father will ac- cc[»t the best wc can do as a condi tion of our salvation now that Chri.st has died—why not as well if he had not died. Supposing that without further scrutiny, their misconception of the atonerapnt will apppearto their enlightened p^nd.s, apd lowing con-J sidered the clmractcr of that atone ment we need, we will now, as before proposed, see if wc can find an expres sion of such an atonement in the .scriptures. The reader may be re- fered—to 1st. John, 1:7, “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleans- eth us from all sin.” Tliis is meant side ; of all men universally, or otlierwisc, .1” ])rice! I only of a part—if all, then but many object and allege that none ' idea of universal salvation follows iu- were .saved upon su'li jirlnciples, nor ! evitahly—for none can need more j can be. But here let us note that than to be cicansed from all sin. But the mere grace of election is not suf- , if it is moant, and true only of .some, ficieiit, nay. for tlie hu.'^bandnmu to i then the idea of special redemption, choose, purpose, or determine to build | cannot be avoided however ofi'ensive j him a hou.se were not enough, for: the doctrine may be to the earmd : that purpose could never bo obtained | ndml. Again we read of Christ a.s without material which he must pro- j follows—" A^ho gave himself for us vide, and which is generally done at | tliat he might redeem ns from •some cost. Likcwi.se the Church of j all ininuity,” Ac., Titus 2: 14. That the living God is the purcha.se of his | is a truth, a glorious truth, othcrwi.se Son’s blood. So wc come to consider ; our text itself would appear a false- briofly the grace of redemption ^ hood, for how could grace be sutli- as a second part of that sufficiency ex- | cient for any exeej)t they were re plained in our text, and plain as the j deemed from all iniipiity, sinec the subject of redemption is recorded in | last sf dn of sin from the time of our the scriptures, yet the minds of many, j embodiment in Adam to the day of and perhap.s of many Christians, nre | our death, would hinder our being perplexed upon that point. Now, to | ‘fone with the Father and his Bon." avoid the perplexity let its consider— | Jo dying and rising again Christ di(,' 1st. What kind of redemption or atonement we need; and 2nd. Wheth er such an atonement is declared in the scrintures. All men are sinners, and as such none can appear before | also himself likewise took part of th Cod as just, and hence that sinners same, that through death he might (h- be ju.stifled in his sight there initst stroy him that had the power c, not be only an atonement, but they ' Aeath, that i.s, the Devil,” Fob. more than to cripple the Devil slightly Y.’cakcii his buns. T^cr., ar-" la “forasmuch then as the children partakers of flesh and blood.
Zion’s Landmarks (Wilson, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Dec. 15, 1873, edition 1
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