110
foil’s Landmarks.
i
full of f>'loiy.
1 folt light and free as one can
cfdize, who is delivered from that
•iidcrous load of sin, theawful dark-
u-'.s of des'.pair, and the chains of eier-
:>ul death. A ll things appeared to be
clothed in a robe of praise and thanks-
'’is ing to their creator, and my only
dr sire was to praise him with all the
iciiltic's of my soul. The passage
•o.'plied to me was. “We know that
v,e have jtassed from death unto life
b(cause we love the brethren.” 1
oi'hed all my dear friends to know
what a dear Saviour I laid found,
.■md to embraee my mother, revealing
i.i her the glorious news that her
■ •liild who WHS lost had been fonnd
and enabletl to ery Abba, Father ;
lait 1 was deterred from so doing
feeling that it was such unbounded
love and merey conferred one so vile
that it could nut be possible.
'{'he preaching of the gos{>el was
like good news and glad tidings from
a far country. The once sealed book
jiow alTorded instruction and comfort.
bliiTt was indeed the chietest among
itai thousand and altogether lovely to
my sold.
My mind was soon C-v;erci.sed on
;he subject of baptism. I considered
it a liinding duty on all Glod’s chil
dren, and the door which lead into
liie liberty of the gospel. It became
,-uch a burden that 1 could scarcely
wait from one week to another, when
TTnicht. ibiu witii mv Father’s chil-
«.* • *
dri'n, who wene pressing on towards
die mark of the prize ot the high
calling of (iod in Christ Jesus.
The w'cek before our meoting I
■ as quite sick, but I enjoyed inex
pressible delight, for I felt that I was
ike the prodigal son returning from
tiie wilderne.ss of sin, .soon hoping
TO meet that happy baud, wlio had so
, )iig been enjoying our Heavenly
Catlier’s smiles.
The following passage was on my
; lind most of the week. “Wherefore
• \nne out trom amongst them, saith
he Lord, and touch not the unclean
'himr, iiiid I will be a father unto you
i.nd ye. shall be my sous and daughters,
saith the Lord Almighty.”
My health ivas sufficiently restored
?o atti'inl meeting on Saturday, when
Jrawn by an irresistible power I
■ras enaliled to make known to the
hureh my precious hope in Christ,
..nd desire to follow him through evil
;'ts well as good report, esteeming the
'•eproaches of Christ greater riches
rhnii all the treasures of Fgypt. I
was received, and on the next day,
the t !th of May, 1 was baptized in
the Roanoke river, by my belovcil
father, surrounded by a lai'ge assem
bly. Though hut fifteen years of
ao-e I was enabled with incxprcs.sihle
jov to confess my humble faith and
iiojie ill Jesus before a gainsaying
vvorld, choixsing rather to suffer affiic-
flon with the people of God than
dwell in the tents of wickedness for a
...eason.
I eiijoycM a delightful peace for
Riree months, feeling as though I was
tl«vd to the world with =ts temptations
and tiiat mv thoughts and affections
would henceforth be concent: ated on
my Saviour, and my heart ever be
drawn fortli in prayer and prai.se to
Him. But I .soon found there were
two mem\)crs within me, the fle.sh
warring against the spirit and the
spirit against the flesh, so that the
things we would, w'e do not and those
we would not, we do. We are com
manded, that as we have received
Chri.st Jesus the Lord so walk in
him : may we over he found so do
ing. Since that peaceful morn,
when Jesus appeared to me above the
hrightue.ss of the sun at noon-day, my
little hark has|ias.sed through various
scenes, both j>ro.sperous and adverse.
Sometimes I realize a calm and
delightful .sail, trusting entirely in
Jesus, and rejoicing in full ho}>e of
the glory of God, and .sometimes ex-
{lericncing the tempestuon.s storms of
sore adversity. But, I believe that
ail are needful, and our afflictions are
oft blessing in di.sguise, tending more
to our growth in grace, iiua-case in
faith, and the knowledge of Christ.
With David, I feel, tiuit. “Before
I was afflicted I went astray ;” and
as the rod of chastisement is often
felt I do desire with renewed fer
vency of soul to thank our God for
his watchful care and unceasing love
and mercy.
Precious indeed is it to velw the
handof our Heavenly Father in all ©nr
patlnyay, meeting out our chauges to
us in v/isdom,'love, i^id mereV, eiu.^/-
ling us with thankfulness, humility,
and resignation to in .spirit Tel, thy
will O God 1 not mine, be done.
Zioik’s Landmarks.
P. D. GOLD, EwTon.
Ki:R.sc'Kn»Tiox $2 00 Pini-AxxrM.
Wil.Kon, ZS'orth Carolina, June 1st, 1871.
NOTICE!
^S^^Clubs of eight subi orihers, or a larger
number, can have the I.andm-uiks at $1.50
each, am] the ciuh.s need net be at the same
Post Office or even in the same State, and
persons renewing can make club.s in same
way.
Our brethren and friends are all authorised
to act as Agents in obtaining suKscribers—
Tlieir names need not be published in the
Li.st of Agents. We ho|w they tvill generally
make an effort to extend the eirculation of the
Landmaeks. We hope hereafter to have
better print and soon to enlarge the paper
some. Money can be sent l)v expre.ss or oth
erwise at my ex[)ense. In sums of a few dol
lars it is as safe in ordinary letters as in Reg
istered Letters—it is always at my ri.sk.—
When money Is not receijjted please inform
me. For a good reason please direct letters
to me as follows ;
J\ 1). Gold, Wilson, N. a
E I) .[ T O R I A L
“With joy let each afflicted .s.iim,
Thi.s cheering trutli beiiold.
That when he’s tried he sliall not faint.
But shall come forth as gold.’’
Beloved in Cbri.sl, wherever we be
may we be enabled to contend ear
nestly for tlie faith, and keep our
garments unspotted from (he world.
May we ntanifest ottr love to Christ
bv obeying his commands. May we
ever rtjoice in Christ Jesus, and have
no confidence in the tlesiq remember
ing, that we all arc dust aud unto it
we must return, and appear before
the righteous Judge of all the earth.
“Self righteou.s souls on works rely,
And boast thc-ir moral dignity ;
Itiit if 1 li.sp a song of praise,
Faeh note .sliall echo grace, free grace.”
“Tis thus alone of grace I botust,
And ’tis alone in grace 1 trust ;
For all tliat’s past, grace is my theme,
For what’s to come ’tis still the .same.”
iMay we live the life of the right
eous, iind bid adieu to earth in the
triumph of faith.
In hutnhlo hope,
S. N. Biggs.
Brother Goi.I),—I request your
views on the fallen angels, who they
were and from whence they fell &c ;
also tell us about the law of siii and
death ; and what law Christ came to
redeem his ]tf«)})le from under the
curse of; and what obedience the
Christian owes to the Decalogue or
ten commandments, or whether it is
binding on the Gentiles as well as the
JevT,
~w|>t^)main 'I’ours in,hope Ac.
R. W. Dukpex.
In order to elucidate the above sub
jects two things are requimt ; one
is spiritiral light and liberty of utter
ance, the other is, time and .space in
which to express such views at length.
In each of these requirements I feel
to be much limited.
“Fallen angels :” The scriptures
speak ot elect angels ; if this term
when applied to man implies a non
election, whv should it not admit of
the same construction in reference to
angels ! “I charge thee before God,
and the liO'-d Jesus Chri.st, and the
elect angels.” 1 Tim. 5 ; 21.
Some angels kept not their first
estate, and what are the.se but fallen
angels, as Adam after the fall is still
a man ? “And the ano-els which
AlMTiINTMENTS.
Eiders B, r. .Pitt and Mhn. Wood
ard iiave appointments to preach as
fallows, the Lord witling:
Friiliiv iK-forc ffi-d \ Q.,p._
^unu:ly■ in ,j uiu‘, l
Satiuday asul 4nt Siunday, Chapel.
Monday, IjCwI.s’ Sc'hool House.
Tuesday,
iN'ahunta.
MARRIED.
On the 12th of May 18"-1, by Uder f*. !>•
Oold ; Mr. Be,nja.wix Ci.omok and ML-xs
Fannie Staton, at the residence of Mr, John
.Staton, of Edgecombe County, N, (J.
kept not their first estate, but left
their own habitation, he (God) liath
re,served in everlasting chain,s under
ci
darkne.ss, unto the judgment of the
great day.” Jude 6. There i.s an
election of some angels, and .some fell;
I this election however is not thechoos-
ing of angels already fallen and .sav
ing them, but rather their (xxnfirma-
tion in a state already holy.
What is the character of the.se fal
len angels ? If Adam, who was very
good and in the likeness of his maker
before the fall (not good merely in the
sense of having all his mem’oers per
fect or a pliysical perfection, for men
have that sort of perfection now in
tlieir fallen sate, that is they have all
the members of a man &o.,) could so
tall a.s to become the corrup.t head or
I father of an offspring called children
of wrath, a generation of vipers Ac.,
why .should not an :mgel who fiill.s
bei'ome corrujit a.s a ilcvil, ina.‘^nnicb
as the greater and more exalted one
is in position, the greiiter hi.s fall and
the nsore dol>ased be is wlien he doe.->
fall ?
Yv e are mortified to hi^ftr occa.slon-
ally that some of our brethren preach
an eternal devil. Preach an eternal
Jesus, brethren, who only inhahit.-^
eternity Ac. I^reach what Is reveal
ed in the word of God which say.«,
resist tlic devil, bat not to preach
him. We .should not preach things
about which the scriptures are silent.
If the bfhk does not tell u.s how the
devil originated then we should not
attempt to find that out. dVhen we
preach any thing except what i.s re
vealed or dearly g’athered from other
revealed things we ])lnnge into vanr
jangling and unprofitable.strifc,whiob
will not do any good but much harm.
Ohristians know that there is a
devil, and that from the beginning,
our first knowledge of him and the
first mention of him in the garden of
Eden, he is a liar and the fatlier of it
and that his spirit is in wicked men
hence they are his children, and that
we nature were in the same condi
tion. Ghri.stl.ins also know that he
makes war in heaven (tl echureh) and
that he is a devourer of their joy.“,
and that if he can get Christians to
quarrel about bis origin ortocxil! him
eternal it suits him very much. Any
thing plea.ses him, except preaching
Jesus, aud christian.sf know •'that none-
hut Jesus can cast him out and deliv
er us from tire gwl of this world,
the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience. Hence,
brethren, re,slst the devil by putting
on the whole armor of God, and he
will fiee from you. He is mentioned
first in the garden of Eden and is
there a liar ; when in heaven (not the
true heaven) fighting withMicheal he
was a liar. His.seetl—not his angels
—are wicked men such a.s Cain who
had the spirit of&rtan. All wicked
spirits are of him, whoever iscontro'-
ed by a cwropt .spirit is of Satan,
not in his flesh for that is of Adam
or earth, but this corrupt .spirit is
the devil. Hence some who were of
the seed of Abraham in the flesh are
of their father the Devil because they
will do Ins lusts. All men both elect,
and non-elect are by nature equally
dead in .sins and equally the children
of wrath—hence grace makes the dif
ference.
The second question of brother
Durden i.s ; “Also tell us about tl'O
law of sin and death.” It is evident
from scripture that there are more
laws than one ; “For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath
made me free from the law of sin ami
death. For what the law could not
do &c.” Ro,m. 8- 2, 3. Now a law
is authority or the binding utterance
of power. The law of a nation is ifo
solemn and most forcible cxpre.ssion
of might, for in it is reposed all the
sovereignty—there is nothing above
it. Here is tiic law of the spirit alt