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ZION’S- LANDMARKS.
DEVOTED TO THE DEFENSE OF THE PRIMITIVE BAPTISTS.
“TO THJE XjATW Aisro TO THK TESTIMONN".”
Tolume IL
Wilson, North Carolina, May 1, 1869.
Number 11.
•iZ
The following lines were composed by El
der Lewis Whitfield, at Lafayette, Lenoir
Coanty, N. C., in December, 1848, when about
to remoTC with a portion of his family from
this place, (where he settled and long resided,)
to Beaufort in Carteret County, where he died
in October 1849, aged 84 years. Zion’s Land
marks please publish and oblige,
E. D. HART.
Now Lord, though we must part awhile,
-Upon the sacred road,
fitill lot thy face upon us smile.
And keep us near to God.
And if on earth again we meet,
Lord let us meet with thee.
And let thy gracious presence sweet.
From bondage set us free.
This, deadest Lord, we humbly crare,
While Earth is our abode.
That we with Christ and saints may hare
Communion on the road.
■ And since our fellowship below,
Affords such joy “tind love.
We lon^ its full extent to know,
When we shall meet above.
Dear Lord, let this excite ns on,
To keep the narrow way,
Till we shall meet around Thy throne,
To spend an endless day.
i
Opelika, Ala., 1
February 16th, 1869. /
“Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye
kltoll find; knock and it shall be opened unto
you.” Luke 11; 9.
The above language is the instruc
tion and encouragement given by-
Christ to his disciples, in which every
needy child of grace is assured that
his wants shall be supplied. But it is
not merely a lip-service, or to say
Lord, Lord, that is intended by ask
ing. To ask God acceptably, for
anything, there must be a sense of
need, otherwise our petition -will be
but a formal thing at last. Be who
has no feeling sense of sin, will not
ask forgiveness, but will be rather
inclined.to boast of his own. works,
kc.; thank God he is not as ‘‘bther
men.” The wicked are “not in trouble
as other men.” (Psl. 73 : 5.) For
this reason they make confession of
their true character like the proud
Pharisee, and
other men.”
say.
“J am not as
To ask acceptably, not only im
plies a sense of want and a sense of
sin, but it also implie's faith. Inas
much therefor'^ as faith is the fruit of
the Spirit, no person who is destitute
of a spiritual birth can be exercised
by it. Gal. 5 : 22. “Whatsoever
is not of faith is sin.” Rom. 14 : 23.
Where there is no faith there is noth
ing but the .exercise of the. natural
and carnal mind, and as the mind
and conscience of unbelievers are de
filed and pointed with sin, all their
exercises arc sinful, and consequent
ly not acceptable to God. Faith is
not the mere volition of the will or
exercise of the natural mind. It is
a living principle, “the evidence of
things not seen.” Heb. 11 : 1. The
things which the* natural pov,’ers of
the mind look at are things which
the natural mind are capable of
uneferstanding; ' they are tempot al
things. But this is not faith ; faith
looks at eternal things.
Another reason why this living
faith is necessary in every acceptable
petition to God, is found in the fact
that “without faith it is impossible to
please him.” Every man who is not
exercised by faith is exercised by
some fleshly motive and cannot please
God, for it is expressly written that
“ they that are in the flesh cannot
please God.” Rom. 8 : 8. Faith
lays hold of Jesus Christ as its only
plea. The Lord is well pleased in
Him. He is the Righteousness that
will give the trembling sinner accep
tance with God. Hence when we
com.e acceptably before God, we not
only come in faith, but we come in
the name of Jesus. Our own name
will give us no admittance there, no
matter what our wants may be.—
Vengeance waits us when w^e ask in
our own character. “ The wrath of
God abideth upon us.” John 3. We
are under the law and under its curse.
Our mouth is stopped -u^hen -we come
to God in our own character and in
our own name, pleading our moral
performances or our reformations.—
Nothing but the name and character
of Jesus Christ, who is full of grace
and truth, will give us an acceptable
hearing before God. “ If ye shall
ask anything in my name, I will do
it.” John 14 : 14. Faith never lays
hold of anything but realities. It
deals not in fiction. It "presents
Christ and his righteousness as the
only hope of pardon and justification.
WM. M. MITCHELL.
Rbedsville, 1
Rockingham Co.. N. C., ■
March 29, 1869. j
Dear Brother Bodenhmner :—
Having been for some time impressed
to write out my experience, I will
no^y make the attempt, greatly feel
ing my dependence on God to direct
my pen. I was very young rvhen
first arrested ; I suppose about nine
years old. Hearing my parents talk
about the W'orld being destroyed, it
struck me to the heart; I thought
there -was no resting place for me;
but ai^ I gxt* older these feelings
W'ould wear off for a length of time ;
but when doing wrong I would have
checks of conscience, and tried to
pray to the Lord to keep me from
doing wrong, but being possessed
with a wicked heart I could not re
frain from evil. One Sunday morn
ing I took my axe and went in the
woods to cut up some tree laps to
make fires during the week, but was
suddenly struck with a sense of my
wicked heart; I felt condemned be
fore God and went to the house with
out striking a lick, and tried to beg
the Lord to forgive me, and I would
try to do better in the future; but
ere 1 wms aware I would break my
promise and do as wicked as ever.
Sometimes when clouds would rise
during the storm, I felt so guilty I
was afraid God would suffer the light
ning to strike me ; I would sometimes
take a little child in mf lap, think
ing or hoping at least, the Lord
would spare me for the child’s sake;
and when the storm would abate,
I would feel thankful that I wms yet
oat of torment. My troubles in
creased and became so great that I
could not remain at my work ; when
in the field I would go in secret to try
to beg the Lord to have mercy on me
a lost and helpless sinner,
peared to me that I was lost, forever
lost. One day when going to my
work, trying to pray as I went, ].
thought when I got to the fence I
would get on my knees and try once
more to beg the Lord to have mercy
on me, for I expected every minute
to sink into torment; and I saw jus
tice in the Lord in sending me to tor
ment, but I did not want to go, though
1 wanted the will of the Lord to be
done ; and just as I got to the fence,
I looked up toward heaven, and these
words camo in my mind : “ God be
merciful to me a sinnerand the
first thing I knew, I 'tvas smacking
my hands and singing :
“ JesHS, and shall it ever be,
A mortal man ashamed of thee,”
and I felt rejoiced, and was filled with
love beyond expression, and every
thing appeared beautiful, even the
treci^
wanted to see Christians and tell them
what the Lord had done for me ; and
when I went back to the field I felt
so light I could work without any
trouble, and I saw no trouble all that
day ; and the next morning I went,
in to hear prayer where I was living,
and 1 could hardly hold my peace,
and the man being a Presbyterian, I
got in doubts, for I thought if I had.
been a Christian, I would no’- have
been lifted up under his prayer ; and
I was sometimes lifted up and some
times cast down with doubts and fears,
and when I v/ould go to meeting and
see Christians assembled together, it
would tender me, and I thought J
would have given the world, if I had
it, to have been fit to be with them
and I had impressions to go to the
church, and in August, 1858, after-
preaching, I went forward and told
what I hoped the Lord had done for
me, was received and baptized by my . . j
father-in-law, Elder Robert Shreves.
*• But now I have a wai'fare,
Which often bends me low,
The world, the flesh and Satan,
They do beset me so.
Can one who is a christi.an,
Have such a heart as mine?
1 fear I never witnessed
The effects of love divine.
Yours in hope of eternal love,
WILLIAM SUMMERS.
■■ 1
hi,