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THE PILGRIM’S BANNER.
A. V.SIMMS, - - VALDOSTA, CA.
LfK HANKS, • • BOSTON GA.,
EDITORS.
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Valdosta, Ga., April 15,1895.
A TOUR.
At the request of a great many
brethren we have visited and tried
*to preach at some of the churches
in the Harmony Association in
this state, and at the request of
many dear ones with whom it
was our good fortune to meet —we
now undertake to let them hear
from us “through the Banner.”
We were blessed to fill all the ap
pointments that had been made
except the one at Ohickasaw
hatchie church near Dawson, —we
were pi esent on Saturday and as
sisted in the ordination of a dear
brother to the office of deacon, but
Sunday was a rainy day and there
was no preaching.
We found the churches, for the
most part in a healthy state,
having the faithful services of
good humble ministers. The at
tendance was good considering the
busy season of the year, and we
were treated with every courtesy
that one could desire, for which
we return thanks to our dear
brethren sisters and friends and,
to our Heavenly Father.
Besides the many kind words of
encouragement and cheer from
loving brethren and sisters, we re
ceived ' many tokens of love in a
more substantial
M But
these iinej are penfreA,*the ques
tipn arises: “Ara t worthy of
such friends?” But whether lam
"for not, 1 apa sure they done these
things as unto the Lord*, and if so,
they are sure of their reward.
Elder R. H* Jennings gave up
and loved ones, and .ac
companied us to all our appoint
ments except two or three. He is
a good traveling companion.
While traveling along the lone
some roads we had a good time in
rehearsing to each our woes, con
flicts and trials,'and shed tears of
love and sympathy for each other.
Sometimes when we had talked
about everything, and nothing
more could be thought of, our
voices might have been heard
quite a distance, singing some of
the sweet songs of Zion.
Oh, what would become of the
poor preacher if he could not find
sympathy Even to
hear one say at certain times “I
am sorry for you” is worth hun
dreds to him, if he can believe the
speaker is sincere.
We enjoyed fair liberty in
preaching except at one or two
appointments, one of these, no
tably was at Louvale, Ga. Our ef
forts there was without life, and
we fear no good can come of it.
True many of our brethren and
iriends spoke complimentary of
our efforts even there, but if we
could know they would not re
receive this issue of the Banner we
would say that they knew we
needed helpful words, and they
only felt inclined to help arid pity
us in our dark and cast down con
edition.
11 was astonishing to note the
number of gleaningJßuths that
attended) arid followed us along
to our appointments; their tearful
faces telling of their love for Jesms
and his people’ while their tonguW
were unwilling to make the con
fession. Oh! how our poor heart
goes out in loving -fellowship to
(hose doubtful trembling ones,
and how we desired to help them,
but could not. Truly it is a sad
sweet sight to hear them on part
ing, say with tears of contrition
“Please pray for me.” May the
Lord bless them, and lead them
’ in the way everlasting.
We arrived home safely on the
morning of the 10th inst, and found
all well, —for which we return
thanks to the ever blessed Lord.
S.
First Shall be Last.
i “And, behold, there are last which
. shall be first, and there are first which
shall be last.” Luke 13:30.
1
Sister M. M. Sellers, of Alabama,
desires my views on the above.
The Jews were the first to enter
the kingdom and the Gentiles last,
but the children of the kingdom
(Jews) shall be last out; hence
the Gentiles are now first in the
kingdom of Christ. Jews which
. were first shall be last and the
Gentiles which were last are now
first.
This will also apply to our ex
perience in the case of the home
i and prodigal son.
Some children of God get in
disobedience, and leave the father’s
house, and get off to swine-feeding;
and when they are so famished
and are ready to perish, they re
turn confessing their sins; but
there are some obstinate brethren
, who are-not willing to bear with
the infirmities of erring ones, and
hence are being rebellious. But
he that thinketh he standeth
should take heed lest he fall
We often see the spirit of the
home son manifested in reclaiming
an erring brother, The
comes firstand e
last. '
error iLid wa.by a godly
deportment WWfmld forgive him
and treat him as kindly aS if he
neverhad liave sinned. Tne Spirit
of Jesus is a forgiving Spirit and
suffers long, beareth all things,
endureth all things. The fleshl}
spirit of the home son is obsti
nate, unforgiving, full of envy,
evil speaking, fault finding and
strains at ghats and swallows
camels, and is more tenacious for
customs and the traditions
of the fathers than for the
the commandments of God, Mat
15: 12, -He does not feel prized
according to his worth, and can
see more fitness jn himself, as a
preacher or deacon, than others
can see in him. The one who is
first put himself forward as a
preacher, and so anxious to get to
preach, shall be last in .the affec
tions and estimation of the* breth
ren ; and that one who feels poor
and is last in his ow.n estimation
shall bo first in the estimation of
his brethren. ’
Whenever God calls a roan to
preach the brethren will feel im
pressed with him, for the mind
of the Lord is with his people,
That bother who feels poor,
humble and the very last shall be
first as a bright and shining in
Zion. That one who feels that he
is a wonderful gift, and that the
Lord’s people could not get along
without him, and that he has
clearer view's on the Scriptures
than the rest oi his brethren, will
surely be last in Zion.
The other sheep (Gentiles)
spoken of by Jesus was then last,
but they are now first in the king
dom. May we not possess that
seMiraiportant spirit of the/-home
son,” but may we possess the spirit
of th'e prodigal to say, “Father, I
have sinned etc,”—-H.
All who feel impressed, will
write for the Banner for we love
to hear from the dear saints scat
tered abroad. Send us church
news. —H.
To The Beaders of The Banner
It is with a feeling of much un
’’worthiness that I attempt to ex
press a few of my thoughts pertain
ing to the present condition of the
minds and views of the Primitive
Baptists in some localities.
I find that (he Baptists are not
united on some things as they
should be. The subject of minis
terial support has caused much
coldness in the ranks of Zion, which
is very destructive to the peace of
the church. Seemingly, some ad
vocate ministerial support too
much, while I believe some are too
careless and remiss in their duties
toward their pastor’s welfare, and
really ought to do more for him;
and at the same time, and in the
same church there are others who,
no doubt do their full duty in this
particular. Now, the great puzzle
among many, is, what is the reme
dy to annul the strife among the
people of God, and restore brother
ly love in its purity. I 4esire to
offer some of my thoughts, and if
I am wrong, I ask the brethren and
sisters to charge it all to ignorance
and forgive me; and if I have ever
had your fellowship, please do not
throw me away, but forbear with
me in my weakness.
We will go back and consider what
has been. My dear old father, who
passed away last August, in his
84th year, and who had a name
fifty years among the Baptists, of
ten said he never heard a sermon
preached from the sacred stand by
m Old Baptist on the subject of
ministerial support until very re
cently; besides, I have some recol
lection myself on this subject, and
there is evidently, a wrong some
where,or th.ere would be less dissat
isfaction on the subject; for when
Zion has the mind of Christ there
exists a oneness; but on the other
hand, and pertaining this subject,
there is much bitterness among us.
One dear and precious brother
with whom I was and
I hope I love, said in
March 15th, that
’hose remi33 1,1 ,heir
. .hose
who complained of, ana cppised
the same, and of it's being 'preached
from the pulpit. I have to dis
agree with the brother’s views. I
know brethren wlio have always
been cheerful givers, but who are
opposed to having it preached from
the pulpit, and they, are so disgust
ed with it, they say; until they
canqpt> nor will not tolerate it by
giving anyonore to those who ad
vocate it, in order that they may
hear it publicly proclaimed from
the pulpit; and I believe they are
true and worthy Baptists
Such assertions as this, tend . to
to mar the peace and love of the
brethren, rather than unite** them
in perfect harmony as they should
be. In fact, there seems tq bq, a
great majority.of the Baptists op
posed to its being so publicly pro
claimed. My judgement is that
less ministerial aid will be donated
because of it# being so much
preached of arid written about.
As far as my own weak self is
concerned, I feel it to be quite a
barrier. I want to lieip our
preachers to the extent 1 feel it
to be my duty and no more. I
have given aid wheh I feel
it as a and I dont believe
that the preacher or I either were
benefitted thereby; or at the
true cause of Zion was not-benefit
ed. I know bf many Ihumble
Baptists that are in the same state
of mind as I have herein
Now I do not believe tlmt all
the bretheren, who opphs* minis
terial aid being publicly pro
claimed and preached in the pul
pit, are exercising enbngh for
bearance; some, I fear, arb too lios
tile and have too much to say
against those who do advocate it—
I do not try to exonerate myself in
this, particular. Sometimes my
mind is wrought up to snch a point
that I say too much, and am af
terwards sorry for it So brethren
let us say less about it on both
sides and I feel sure there will then
be less dissensions, and each will
have more forbearance que with
another. Let us endeaver to obey
our Captain (Jesus Christ) In all
humbleness and meekness, and we
will move onward in this low
ground of sorrow with more light
and life; I desire to offer one more
thought. I. believe when our
ministery loses sight of their morn
ing star they lose their faith to
some extent and begin to look
too much to the brethren for sup
port and not altogether to their
Captain. Then too, some of the
brethren do, I fear, begin’to bite
at and try to devour them too
soon, and not exercise, patience
enough. I believe that the ab
sence of the Lord on both sides
prompts brethren to act with each
other in such away that brotherly
love will cease, or grow cold and if
it continues there will be; in my
oppinion a division among the
Baptist soon. According to the
Scriptures there is a woe pronoun
ced on all who cause trouble within
the ranks of Zion. So brethren,
would it not be good for each
brother and sister to try to dodge
this woo by trying to be conserva
tive and consistant in all his or her
spiritual acts, and conversation; let
us move on in more peace and re
verence to our Captain. The poor
Israelite cannot withstand the
storms of life without the aid and
direction of their meek and hum
ble Captain.
Now brethren, if any one takes
offence at this and wants to reply
in a harsh way, they need not
think they can or will get up a
quarrel with me, for I will not
quarrel through the columns of gny
paper. I hope I have written this
through love for the cause of
Zion.
In conclusion, I again, beg for
bearance of all who may oppose
my views, for lam very little and
weak, not worthy of the atten
tion of God’s dear people.
Yours in much weakness,
G. G. Register.
Jasper, Fla., Mar. 29, ’95;
.Bemakks. .
We give the foregoing letter to our
readers, not because we agree with
brother Register in |^ er y thing
contained therein, but because of
our love for, and confidence in him,
and knowing that he would not
knowingly do a thing that would
hinder the love, or bring discord
among the brethren. We have
known brother Register for many
years; was present when he joined
the church, these unwothy hands
baptised him, and we have served
the .church- of his membership con
tinuously ever since; during which
time we have been the recipient of
some material help from brother
Register’s hands, which we hope
has been duly appreciated. He is
not therefore opposed to “ministe
rial support”. But although he
admits it to be the duty of the
church to take care of her pastor,
yet he does not seem to think this
duty should be preached as other
duties are. We are inclined to
think that if more was done and
less said about it in- certain local
ities. it might be better. But how
can brother Register admit it to be
a duty, and objects to hearing it
preached as other duties are. this
seems inconsistent. If brother
Register had given some scriptur
al proof for his opinion it would
have stengthend his argument very
much, and Baptists wo ild have re
garded his position with more fa
vor than they are likely to do.
The only reason he gives why he
thinks preachers should keep si
lent on this portion of the word of
God, is that his father never heard
it until near the close of his life.
If what the fathers did should be
a sufficient “rule of faith and prac
tice”, for the church, then the
brother’s argument would be enti-
tied to some consideration. But
we do not think brother Register
himself would be w’iliing to give
up his Bible, and be governed by
what the fathers have done in oth
, er things. It seems strange that
• anyone would be willing to admit
that the scriptures teach a certain
1 thing, and then object to hearing
it preached. We think the Lord’s
ministers should preach on this,
and all other Bible subjects as the
Spirit may impress them, but not
, otherwise. It should be preached
j not simply for the preacher’s ben-
■ efit, but for the general, lasting
i good of the church. For a preach
-1 er and his family to suffer for the
necessaries of life, is a very small
thing compared to the whole
, church swallowed up of covetuous
, ness, and suffering under the/wrath
and indignation of God for rebell
i ion r.gainst His law. We have
» some reason to fear that many
1 good brethren have never been able
to see this point. And worse, still
it is-often the case when the poor
grief-bearing minister would under
take to show it to them, his mo-
■ tives are impugned, and he is charg
i ed with selfishness.
But brother Register knows of
some brethren who have hitherto
been dutiful and true, who say they
“cannot, and will not” help anoth
er preacher who preaches on this
subject. Now that’s bad. Brethren
, ought not to talk that way; they
might Impress others with the idea
that they were not very bad about
helping at first, and thereby cause
people to form wrong conclusions
about them. Wonder how
a preacher would have to wait and
keep silent on the subject before
such brethren would be induced to
resume their former liberal spirit,
and do their duty as before? Such
talk as this will not be likely to
i a preacher!
tlfe Lord. lie can better afford to
do without the help of his breth
ren than to refuse to deliver the
message his Master bids him. He
cannot, he dare not undertake to.
please men. When he does- he
ceases to be the servant of Christ,
and becomes the servant of men,
and also becomes accessory to the
sins of his brethren, which brings
down upon himself the wrath and
indignation of the Lord.
The church has, as history teach
es, ever maintained her independ
ence, even before kings and rulers,
who assayed to take away her Bi
ble -her only code of laws and sub
stitute another. Millions of devoted
Christians have gone to the stake
and scaffold, while others have
laid their heads on the block, and
surrendered their lives, rather than
surrender their Bibles. But that
God who has always /ought the
battles of His people, has given
the church victory and rest. Sa
tan has been foiled in his efforts,
so that he dare not come against
her with the sword anymore; and
now will he change hjs tactics and
creep into the church, and possess
the hearts of good brethren, and
raise the same complaint there?
God forbid, I pray. But he never
had a better opportunity to effect
his pernicious purposes, and wreck
the faith, and destroy the peace of
many of the dear children of God
on this subject than ut this pres
ent time. It is one portion of
God’s holy word that has been sad
ly neglected; and as a result of
such neglect, satan may be found
in almost, if not quits all of oar
churches, whispering in the ears of
some brethren, “It is something
new. Your Father never heard
it.” Never does he tell them what
God has said about it. He goes ;
further. He may try to get them
to promise him if he can, that they
will never again help another
1 preacher who preaches it.
■ In conclusion we desire to beg
' the dear brethren everywhere to
study the scriptrfras with a prayer
ful desire to know the truth, and*
God will surely guide us all aright.
Meanwhile, and until the mints
have cleared away, and above all
things, let us have fervent charity
among ourselves. May we learn
' how to bear with each other’s weak
nesses,and pray for each other.—g.
, Evidences of the Newborn Soul.
I will try to give you some of
them in as short and plam a
• as I can if I know anything about
them.
1 st. Internal evidences are
love to God and the Christians or
them w r e believe to bo Christians.
This Jove surpasses all other
' love. It is the love of God. He
is love, and wo love him because
•he first loved us. Now a person |
. that has not been born of God
don’t know anything about this
love. He may think he loves
God, and if he is asked if he loves
God he will say yes; but wo know
by experience that he does DQt'
know what the Joys of God' is.
This love is different from natur
al love. This love to God causes
one to hate evil wherever he sees it
and more especially in one’s self.
To love God and to hate evil, I
think, are too strong evidences.of
the new-born soul. The love of
God causes a desire to follow him
in his ordinances. Though one
may feel ever so unworthy, this,
also, is.an evidence. The yoke of
disobedience and the burden of
unworthiness becomes very heavy K
and one becomes weary and heavy
laden with his yoke and burden :
but Christ says:” Take my '■
voke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am'meek and lowly in heart;
and ye shall find rest unto
v f) «TrCtu"i IS 111 F. yit tn
, 29,30. . ; •
2nd. What are soine of the
tern al evidences? The oxter
'evidences are to’make mini!
the internal evidences by foil
‘--ing Christ in his ordinances;
> going'to the church. an*d to b
tism: by uniting with the peo
so dearly loved ; and to
’ He leads to follow ;»and shljh.pl
es of vice and k
1 one’s self unspotted froht •
-world; have a well ordered w
and godly conversation ; and 1
sake not the preaching days, es
cially Saturdays. It seems to
that there are people that woi
’ not go to preaching at all if th
were no Sundays. When walk
■ in all the commandments of 1
Lord in peace and union, love
, God and each other, each one 1
t { ting his light shine in all of his <
ties, bearing each other’s burde
in administering to the needy, a
when there is a little contributi
to he made up, each one coming
and giving his ’amount fre
without having to be called c
and thus walking, what strong
evidences are needed? *
Joshua Mewborn
Snow Hill, N. C.
The fear of the Lord is the 1
ginning of knowledge. 1
cannot go beyond the beginnii
We know of nothing anterior
that! The fear that procei
from the Lord is the pafent
true knowledge, is the begining
wisdom. Here is the true Fat!
whose instruction a wise son w
hear, and he makes a glad fatl
here is a true Mother whose law
not forsaken will be an ornamc
of grace unto the head, and chai
about the neck.
Will the pastors of Churcl
act as agents tor the Banner a
thus aid us to put it in the hou
of many lovers of truth?—H.