Newspaper Page Text
— — “r
experience. I
-- . J
Barwick, Ga., Feb. 25, WU- M
Mr. Joel Moore, Very dear brother
in Christ. It is with a feeling irre
sistable that I this lovely morning
endeavor to comply with your
earnest request.' For several years
I havo felt an impression to write
what I trust to be the dealings-..0f
the Lord with poor sinful me; and
ns I have undertaken it may it not
be alone, but may it be wiitten bj
God's help, for without Him I have
long since learned that I can do
nothing. For I can truly say a
did Paul “That in me, that is in my
flesh, dwelleth no good things 1 ’ 1
Swas born of strict Methodist
parents and raised to womanhood,
under very strict Methodist disci- |
nline, t: ained up in Sunday schools,
to pray/ (no, just to go
through the form of so-called
prayer.) In short I was -alhari
seo of the Pharisees,” without hope
. .1 . vtmrlrl
and without God in the worm. t
When I was about ten years old I t
joined the Methodist church. !■ a
was sent up by my school teacher
and did not realize what for, until r
the preacher asked me how I wish j
ed to be baptized, and 1 told him 1 ]
had been sprinkled in infancy, ?
which I suppose gave them satis- ,
faction, as that was the oi?ly
tion I was asked. I now being a ,
member of the church I thought I
must bo quite good, so 1 read a
great deal in niy testament , but
I will here strife I did not under
stand a thing Tread. 1 once heard
u Methodist minister say that it
was as easy to understand the
bible as it was to unravel, a sock,
hut my experience in the matter
teaches mo that they only under
stand it to whom the Lord reveals
it, and if 1 know anything of the
least portion of it, ’tis through
God’s mercy and goodness in re
vealing it to me ; it is not oi my
own wisdom.
From my early childhood, I hace
-T' 1 ! wp.l I! ~ WU'WW
and what after death; would often
wonder what would become of me
.it I were to die, and when about
twelve years old it appeared to me
that I was a sinner in the sight of
God, and I had been taught that
God did not love sinners and it
troubled me no little to think that
I could not be a Christian. I tried
to be good but it seemed I got
worse, and if became such a bur
den to me I did not think I could
bear it. Often have I watched the
sun sink behind the tree-tops with
tears in my eyes, fearing I would
never see it rise again, and Oh!
what a nightcf terror for me. I have
of ten stole up frorji my bed and
tried to read my bible when. I
could not sleep. When my eyes
were closed it seemed that hell
with all its inmates weie turned
loose after me. At times my mind
would not be so troubled, but for
about five years no tongue can de
scribe what 1 suffered. In my
trouble 1 met and fell in love with
my (now) husband, but it was not
pleasant altogether for his people,
that were members of any church,
were Primitive Baptist, and to this
my family objected, but 1 fully be
lieved thatl could convert him in
to a Methodist. We were married
and all was quite agreeable for
near a year. I had a great deal
of fespect for my husband’s par
ents but would not let my mind
dwell on their being “Hard-shells,”
this was the name 1 knew Primi
tives by in those days. But after
a while a sweet little girl was born
to us, and now my full intention
was to have her sprinkled, and 1
told my husband so, and his reply
was, “No child of mine shall ever
be sprinkled.” This sank deep
into my heart. At that time it
troubled me, lor 1 was satisfied
that it was right, and 1 decided
that 1 must go to work in earnest
and get him to join the Methodist
church, and 1 felt sure he would
not oppose mein having my little
one sprinkled. So 1 d’d all that
lay in my power to convert him
to my way yf thinking, but 1 could
not. He not argue with me,
■•■Wl
but very kindly tell me he did not 1
believe in what the Methodists i
packed. One day after 1 had t
been trying to get him to join the 1
M. E. church he said “Lets both go j
to the Missionaries,” but this was
almost an insult to me, and 1 told ’
him if 1 could not be a Methodist 1
should not be anything. lhen he
reminded me of the fact that no
bnuhadany objections to my being
one*. ' And 1 wish to say here, that
though my husdand and his fami
ly have been accused of having in
fluenced nie to join the Primitive
Baptists the accusation was false :
they did not try it. I feel sure that
there was not enough families in
the country to make me believe
then what 1 now do believe.
Time rolled on and with a bur
dened heart 1 wondered what the
end would be. I felt to be one
alone ; surely, felt there was no
one like me. I would hear my
friends say they felt sure of heaven,
nAt.liin.<r hrt wPP.n
that there was nouung uetwcuu
them and their God, they knew l}
all would be well with them after
death. But alas ! for me 1 could
not feel so. I had been to a few «)
Primitive meetings but of course I
1 did not believe anything they £
said for 1 had heard that theirs (
was a dangerous doctrine, and that
was the way 1 believed it; and it
was seldom Iwouldgo in the house
when I went with my husband to
Tear them; but after a while 1
heard these same people speak of
having a little hope in Christ, and
that God for Christ sake had par
doned their sins, and 1 just felt that
Oh, if 1 only had a hope, but 1 did
not have even that. I felt that 1[
should be so thankful for even a
hope, and one day 1 was going to
Antioch church in Emanual coun
ty, Ga., and felt so cast down 1
could not talk, but 1 still wished
that 1 could claim a hope and my
every breath was “Lord have
mercy on me.”
When we got there Elder S. M.
first time in my life 1 found a peo
ple 1 could witness with. They
had felt burdened as L did. He set
forth God’s plan of salvation ; how
He had made some their redemp
tion through Jesus Christ, and 1
found myself melted to teats, be
lieving it, in spite of everything 1
had heard, and that day 1 fell so
much in love with those once hated
people .1 could hardly turn loose
their hands when 1 shook hands
with a few. It seemed 1 could see
the image of Christ in them, but 1
promised myself that 1 would never J
tell any one in the world that 1 '
ever thought they were the church
of Christ; although 1 fully believed
it, but on Sunday night as we rode ,
along it seemed my heart got full
to overflowing, 1 had to confess it;
and praise God, from whom all
blessings flow. Such a happy night
1 have never spent. In a short (
time after we reached home Robert )
(now Elder Barwick) came and ,
wethen rejoiced together; there ]
was beauty in their countenances (
that 1 had 1 never seen before and j
my joy was indescribable. I felt
like 1 wanted to get at the feet of
all God’s dear people and beg their .' .
forgivness. I was willing to make
any acknowledgment required by
them for the way 1 had persecuted
them. Robert said, “Aunt Lizzie
what do you guess your parents
will say. ?” But 1 felt sure if they
had passed through what 1 had,
and could feel what 1 had experi
enced they would not be angry
with me, and 1 wrote to them but
father’s response was a twelve-page
letter which was not pleasant,
Then he came to see me and sat
and talked »to me until twelve
o’clock and told me if he believed
what 1 did he would throw his bible
in the fire, and say it was every
word a fraud and a iie, and do just
as he pleased. But 1 told him no,
no papa you would not, and dear
Bro. Moore 1 can’t believe he would.
On Sunday 1 with my dear
companion was received at the wa
ter and with five others were bap
tized. This was a most joyful time
to me, as 1 came up out of the wa
ter, 1 felt so good 1 thought surely.
1 was free from all trouble, ’tis t
heaven begun below. But 1 find r
trials and crosses all along my e
pathway; while at times 1 can re- |:
joice in them, for 1 And that it i
was through trialsand tribulations ;
that Christ’s deciplesof old travel- ;
ed here, even Christ himself was i
persecuted while here on this earth, <
and how very much my i
were those of old to poor little i
insignificant me. Iso often think
of you and think Oh, if 1 could be
like you, so submissive to God’s
will but,
“I am so vile so prone to sin
I’fear I’ve not been born again.”
1 must now close, beging to be
remembered in your prayers, and
if anything I’ve written is of any
comfort to you, give God the praise,
for “by the grace of God 1 am what
1 am.”
Your little sister in Christ, 1
hope.
Mrs. J. B. Rountree.
The Blind Man.
'‘And as Jesus passed by He saw a
man that was blind from his birth.
John Ist verse 9th chapter, u
What a contrast between the two. o
Jesus could and did see him, but a
he could not at the time see Jesus, s
and his seeing Jesus in the future I
entirely depended upon Jesus first I
seeing him. The deciples also saw t
the blind man, and his condition ?
naturally attracted their attention, 1
and they began at once to set up
some natural enteligible,but carnal .
reasoning about the cause saying,
“Who did sin etc,” but the answer 1
of Jesus was sufficent to teach them .
that the power of God was to be <
made manifest. This does not de
pend upon human reason, or wis-
I dom.lf so the great and wise would
more likely arrive at the truth than
the weak and ignorant,but God has
not ordained that the power of God
should stand in the wisdom of men.
The blind man then in the text I
believe represents a sinner ;one like
our children now born in sin, not
like some say their children are
born little innocent creatures, but
after awhile mav do bad
com? sinners,but that
ing born seeing, and after awhile
go blind, not so with the man Jesus
saw ;he was born blind,but I believe
this blind man represent more than
a sinner, to remain in sin but rep
resents a sinner chose:: to salvation.
This is the kind of a sinner I hope
you are.l am writing to you Brother
Simms. Then if this blind man
represents a sinner chosen to sal
vation, all the means of open
ing his eyes and giving sight, were
ordained of God and treasured up
in Christ before the world began,
hence the means were commensu
rate to the end and proved effectual,
and were not abortive. This is the
reason the Church needs no auxil
ery till this day, neither is there,
now nor in any past time, neither
will there he in any future time,
necessityfor the church to devise or
resort to any means to save sinners
or qua lily preachers, and might T
not safely and scriptually say that
the Church has never done it—l
mean the Church of Christ,because
Gocfhas devised means whereby
His banished shall not be expelled
from Him.
This Bro. Simms saves us the
‘ trouble and besides we would not
know how to do it, we do not know
how to open blind eyes, his parents
could not do it, or they would not
have had a blind child. The
Church ot rist as organized on
Apostolic faith and doctrine could
not do it. The Apostles and all
human efforts combined could not
do it. Out of the skill of any earth
ly physician or optican to open
the eyes of one born blind, father
in the fervency of prayer, and thej
fond and loving mother in all hjfl
tenderness and tears could not gi®
sight, she might have led him
to the beautiful flower garden andw
endeavored, and besought, agon- 1
ized in tears and she could not see
them,but in a more sublime strain
she might have admonished and
entreated him to behold the great
Wide and deep ocean as she moves,
stupendous mountains in all their
grandeur or “my son I” she might
have exclaimed in her agony “look <
up and behold the beautiful com-
I pany of Heaven, the dark clouds as
they rise up
majo-tyin tJd®|
cniuy
it for I
1 ' ’’"H
i’cii a/Hi
<-•011 I) M
i u a W
;iian <S
■
t llit'S '
i.- hail®
lh'l :
■Axl'kl;®;'-
dren ®
they®
I had®
the t« '
fact
we .<®
s ! > va®
® -
ail tJte
■ ' ;i ‘ ! H
s
to I)(®
: H
this 8.
he v,®
•h.'SU.®
Lt ’ l
1 -S"
1
cam®
was ■
and ■
m ®
® :
h ®
mar®
as oi
prea
here
Bind