Zion’s I>an(linark.
93
Psulms 57: 7, “ My lieart is fixed,”
cVc. \Vas it not always fixtnl, Da
vid ? OH, no! “Behold I was shapen
in iniquity; and in sin dil luy inotli-
t \’ (.ionoot vc me.”—Olst Psalm 5tli
verse. “ Who eui bring a clean
thing out ot an unclean thing? Not
—Jitb 14; 4. What more, Da
vid ? “ Tiiy arrows stick fast in me,
and thv hand presseth me sore; mine
iniquities are gone over my head : as
a heavy burden tlu>y are too heavy
fi.r me. I am frouhled ; I am bow-
el down greatly; in my distress I
sonv'ht the Jvord, he heard me and
lelivered me from all my fears ; he
brought me up also out of an horri
ble pit, out of the miry clay, and .set
niy feet upon a rock and established
mv v'oi IIS'S.
9
What more has he
He hath put a new .song ip
mouth,” even prai.ses to our
(lone
my
God. O God, my heart is fixed ; I
will sing and give praises even with
my glory. Awake psahry and harp!
i' will [iraise Thee, O Lord, among
the jieople; ai-.d I will sing praises
unto Thee among the nations;
My keart is fixed—did David say?
.May 1 not say .so too ?
Jc-sns, Thy precious blood’s tny sta}'—
I nothing good can do.
My heart is fixed—it trusts in God,
■My portion and my choice ;
Finnlv It rests upon iii.s -word,
And doth in him rejoice.
Jly heart is fixed—his power controls,
His wisdom gnide.s me still ;
H(* calms the tempest, (,r it rolts
(ibedient to his will.
My heart is fixed—lia.s satan then
The power to break my bold?
j\ly [.ord beholds just how and when
This wolf comes near his fold.
Mv heart is fixed—ye earthly toys.
It is not fixed on you ;
Fly then, ye treaehcrou.s, fieeting joy.s,
.My .Jesus I’ll pursue'
Though fickle iu tay inward frame,
.My outward conduct ill ,
Sweet .Jesus, in 'I'hy gloriou.s name
.My heart is fixed still.
“ With the heart m.an believeth
unto righteousness,” &c.
Your.s, in hope of eternal life,
E. J, WiDIMAMS.
EI.DER JOHNSON’S LETTER.
—FASTING.
Brother Gold:—Correct an
error in my communieation, “'The
Towaliga As.sociation Again,” about
midway of the second column where
it is printed “perish,” when it should
be persist; and, in another place it
i.s jtrinted “ law,” when it should be
land, &G.
I like Elder Johnson’s article, and
will say that I have fretjuently kept
first days by inv.self; and always do
in cases of ordination, and I believe
the church ought to. If it is not
commanded it i.s authorized by ex
ample, and by my experience is a
o-ood thin;;.
o o
Affectionately your brotiier,
J. R. Respe-ss.
Kllavilh, Schley County, G.i., .\pril, 1877
VvTlliamston, N. C., March 30th, 1877.
To Elder R. W. Hill,— Gerrnaidown,
N. C.,—Dear Brother:—
As you were p!ea.sed to mention
my name in connection witli the
“ Kehnkee History,’’ in your letter of
the lotli of January last, published
in Zion’s I concl tided
it about as well to ans^tver yom thro’
the same medium.
Primitive Baptists have, besii, as
sailed, vehenientlv, for the last fifty
years, not only hy Catholic and Pro
testant religions denomination.s, hut
also by those who cyill tliemselVi's
Baptists, many of whom went out
from among u.s to make it manifest
that they were not of u.s. But for
the course pursued hy the.se last
named a true history ol the Kelmkee
A.ssoeiatioa and all others identified
with her, to the pre.sent time, would
not ajijiear to be so absolutely neces
sary. If they had confined them
selves till now as they began, imme
diately after the separation, to the
calliny: of us imlv names, such as
antivomian, old fogies, hard-shells,
straight jackets, &c., we might have
afforded to remain silent ; for that
would have only been adding to the
volume of aspersions cast toward us
by the multitude of other religious
sects, for which we care very little.—
But when the time arrive-s that these
runaways change their tactics and
seek to substitute their Order for the
Primitive church of Christ, it .seems
projier that a prote.st should be en
tered. They wish to steal our good
name. The name which they have
traduced for thirty, forty and fifty
years, they now seek to a.ssume as
their own. Books are wudtten, peri
odicals filled and pulpits ring with
arguments and loud lu-ofessions of re
gard for Primitive Ba[)tist.s, and that
the Mi.ssionuries of the present day
are the simon-pure, old-fashioned
Baptists of fifty, or a hundred, or a
thousand years ago. While we are
denounced as the New School itarty
that took its rise some forty or fifty
years ago under the leadership of
Lawroince, Osbourn and others,
■^"IffoW -badv
jugglers are said to easily pro-ve that
white i.s black and black is white, so
it may be that thtsse men after a
while will provcstich a falsehood to be
the truth, if nothing is presented as
an offset to it. Human appliances
are jiowerful and widcsi)read now to
fasten upon the mind of the pre.sent
and future generations this great
falsehood. We have of course, al
ready, oiir membership, our ministry,
onr periodicals, pamphlets and books
(among which stands conspicuously
the Editorials of Elder Beebe,) to re
fute these charges; but there is yet
a nece.ssity, it appears to me, for a
History of the Church i« which this
matter of division should be particu
larly attended to and ample proof set
forth, by a true record, of facts and
words Old of their own mouths, that
they, the Missionaries, have departed
from the faith and practice of apos
tolic Baptists, and arc, to all intents
and purpospes, the New School Party
of about half a century’s groivth.
This work, therefore, contemplated
by us, well be as much in defen.se of
all other Primitive Baptist Associa
tions, as of tlie Kehuikee. And with
its general history of the church from
the earliest tirae.s, will, it is thought,
be desirable-to) all Old School Bap
tists throngoat the length and
breadth of the land. Tlie age of tLse
Kehukee Association (l)cing eiie
hundred and:eleven years old),, a«u-
thorizes her,,to.some extent, to .step
forward, in this important niattar in
defense ofi herself ajvcl tlie brethren
scatteredj abroad-.
“ Keluikeei.sm ” in the South and
“ Blackrockism ” iu the North have
been the targets for the marksmen to
shoot at for lo these many vears, and
if shots recoil from one, .so they will
from the other, to the wounding of
the enemy and vindication of truth.
The only lameiies.s about this mat
ter of the History, i.s the want of
.some competent person to get it up.
I am not. I lack the ability and the
time. But the brethren have thought
proper to impo.se the labor on me,
and I must do the best I can to grat
ify them. Sympayiy rnu.st cover all
the defects. I think I know well
enough what sort of a work is want
ed, but how to prepare it I do not
know, and must draw the bow at a
ventuie. When it is finished, if ev
er, it may not suit either -myself or
my brethren in Christ. We must
look to God for every ble.s.sing in all
our undertakiiig.s.
If yon have a mind to come and
.see us in the East, brother Hill,
please do .so. We should be glad to
welecjuie you. Ministerial visits in
this .section are not too frequent. .1
am in hopes they will increase in
mimhcr and duration. Onr church
es are in peace and are moving along
with a moderate degree of truth, and
prosperity.
I do not remember of having
heard anything prejudicial to you,
while pa.«sing or re-passing through
Tenue.s.->ee iu 1874. If I did I sup-
pcjse it was not of much con.sequence,
as it has e.scaped my recollection.
I should like to hear from you
again, citherpuhlicly or privately,
when you feel disposed to write.
Affectionately yours,
' C. B. HASsKi.r-.
LaGninge, N. G., March, 1877.
Elder P. D. Gold,—Dear Brother in
Christ:—
It seems that 1 feel an impro.ssion
to write for publication my expe
rience of grace and call to the minis
try, and though I have no natural
desire to see my writings published,
from some cause I feel an. impression,
which is very humiliating to my
feelings indeed, to place before the
public that which 1 iiave so often
heard laughed at, to wit: an e.xperi-
ence of grace and call to the minis
try. Vain people like fashionable
religion, and that religion that does
not bend to) man’s carnal nature is as
a root out of a dry ground.
I believe I saw myself to bs a lost
sinner before I was tx;n years old,
but this shock .soon passed off and I
w'etit on in the love and practice of
,sm with no fear of the justice of God
before ruy eyes, and had no desire
to he a Christian, but thought there
would be time enough in the future
—I thought I could become a Chris
tian at uiy own appointed time. I
lov«d sin and }>ursup(l its course, and
would this day liave been as ignor
ant oftheplaia of salvation as the-
bmte had it not been for tlie grace of
God., The apostle says, “ Not by
work.s(»f JtTgbteousne.ss which we liave
done.’” And if God will not accept
our righteous works as a conditiondo*
salvation he will not accept wicked:
ones-—and therefore not of works.
I was called upon as a witness in a
cats® when about fifteen; swore to “the
best of my knowledge and belief:”
but when I thought my oath over I
concluded that I had sworn to a lie.
I then became very uneasy, and went
home and read the .scriptures to
find out what the jienalty was. I
found that it .said, “Thou shalt not
bear false witness.” Again, “ If we
offend in one point we are guilty of
the whole.” Again, “ The .soul that
siniieth shall die.” I concluded that
I had committed the mqiardonable
sin. No one can de.>cribe the horror
that I underwent to hear the thun
dering peals from Sinai or God’s
holy law. While I continued to
hear the justice of God’s holy law,
“ The soul that sins shall die,” it
wa.s revealed to me that God had seen
all my actions and thoughts; and I
acknowledge I was condemned, I
was all unclean, full of wounds and
brni.se.s anti pntrifying sores. I
could .say with the woman at the
well, “Come, .«ee a man that told me
all that I ever did.” I cnnld not
.see the mercy of Goel, and thought
mercy and justice could not harmon
ize iu my cjLse. [ was like tl)e char
acter spoken of in the .scripture—had
spent all my living and grew worse
and worse. I lost all hope and
would have been glad if I had been
a dog; blit this burden of guilt and
condemnation was removed in a wav
and at a time unexpected by me, and
I have never been able to say when
or where, but I h.ave had inexpressa-
ble comforts and seasons of rejoicings
which I believe are a foreta.ste of heav
en. I don’t remember having any
impressions to join the church until
I was twenty years old. One day,
when low down in trouble, as I had
often been, I complained of my dis-
tre.ss and had hard thoimhts ajjainst
the Lord. I enquired, Why was I
thus? when it was revealed to me
that it was for disobedience, and that
it wa.s my duty to join the church.—
I premiised the Lord to comply witli
my duty, and then my burden was
removed in le.ss than a moment. I
soon had an opportunity to join, but
my trouble was gone, and so I did
not comply with my promi.se. I
missed several opportunities, and mv
trouble came upon me again. Its
cau.se was hid from me,, and 1 again
made an enquiry. Why I was thus
digtre.ssed ? when it was revealed to
me that I had not only failed to do
my duty but had’ failed to comply
with thepmmJse I made with God.
I then promised the Lord, with a
vow, that if he would remove the
plague I would join the next cliance
I had. My trouble was removed as
it first was and I went on my way
rejoicing. Then, when an opportu
nity offered, for my oatli’s sake, and
for fear of severe chasti.sement, I
complied and was- baptized by Elder
J. S. Brin.son—the, first Simdlw iu
Febmiary, 1873i
I then thought! 1 would find! aest,
but went home T^ressed with a* bar-
ben in ray braastt. I enqpii’ed of the
Lord; why It was, but founds ne> Be
lief.. Il not relieved until S want
in the-woodfe-aiid poayedi toh-a'Lord! to
show Rso-why l! Nisas-thuir, when it
\va» !ii;ide known- to- me that I was
chosen or called to jU’each. It did
not distre.ss me by any means. I
promised the Lord to make the at-