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Daar brethren I now find myself looking on the face of those dear saints, as they waited on the Lord during this meeting,(l mean ini mymmd.)Oh how pleasantit is to remember the sound of those sweet voices in conversation, in preaching, singing and praying, and the lovely countenances that we beheld at this Association. Not only the messengers from the several churches seemed spiritural- i ly minded, but the corespondance i and visitors all seem clothed with 11 the spirit of humiiity. 1 The moderator and clerk of this Association we thought filled their station with honor to themselves and perfect satisfaction to the body. Ot course all who know them would expect nothing else. We can now, in our mind/st-o that faithful old soldier of the cross, to-wit: Elder T. W.Stallings on the Moderater’s seat ruling in love; and Eider A. V. Simms as a faithful servant writing down the business of the body with precis sion. Finally the adjournment. When it was announced that we must now part, after such a pleas ant meeting, the brethren sang a hymn, and took the parting hand in tears, and with deep emotion, perhaps never to meet again on earth. But Deloved ones if we never meet again on earth, we look for a city, whose maker and build er iJfcod, to which we now journey by faith. May the Lord enable us all to live in union and peace the few days we remain on earth. We had the pleasure- of spend ing a little time with Elder Simms’ pleasant family in Valdosta. When we met our dear sister Simms and as she told us that one of the children was sick, and had been sometime in bro. Simms’ absence, we thought of those lov ed ones we had left behind. So often in afflictions. Dear breth ren if you could only know what ministers and their families y rllMy SeFv tiiairXHey rtlay SCrve for Jesus’ sake, we feel sure that you would sympathyze with them, and be perfectly willing to help them bear their burdens. We remember when we took the hand of one of bro. Simms’ little boys and told him good-bye, that' our heart was filled with sympathy for him. This brothers, isters and dear mothers who are so often left at home by their dear father, who has to turn his back on all those ■ sweet ties, and go and serve his brethren for Jesus’ sake. May God’s blessings attend them. While at Valdosta we visited, and was 1 kindly cared for by our dear bro. ’ .and sister Moore. We took (dinner with them and left in the ? after-noon for Banviok, Ga., where » we met Elder R. H. Barwick and s amilyat their home. Os course i we were delighted to meet them as they are closely related to us in theflesh, and better still, we hope we are kin-folks in Jesus. We have known to love Bob from childhood because of the fleshly relation between us, and now we love him as Christian and faith ful gospel minister, and his dear wife a, a sister in Christ, who nils her place as a Christian in the house of God and in the home circle. We spent sometime with them, and some with brother Joe Rountree, and his dear family. Before going on to the Oclocknee Association, we attended a very rPeasant meeting at Harmony church (Brooks County) At the Oclocknee Asosciation of 6 an^o^e d me eting with some , , 6 d ear Ba i u ts with whom we . , me t before and many Th we had neyer met. 6 preaching was in power, and Th? COmfortin K and instructive, a* / arraDgod have preaching th^ e n 81and ln the da y and in ob| W D,ght - The busilleßß we Association was transacted h Peace and kve. Elder Bar- Wk was their Moderator and bro- ’ ther Jasper Gibson served as ; y and the preaching was all °W, and we had to part, we look ed each other in the face, and ’ with our eyes filled with tears, we I took each other by the hand and I bid farewell, feeling perhaps, l that it would be the last time we would meet on this side of the grave. May God bless those dear peo-1 I pie. We would not, no, we could I not forget those dear friends at Boston who opened their doors to us, and so kindly cared for us du- 1 ring the meeting. May the Lord 1 reward them. We were proud to 8 meet Elder Hanks and his pleas- i I ant family at their home in Bos- | ton. They did all they could to i make our company feel happy J < and we think they succeeded. We ] I returned from the Association to I < bro. Joe Rountree’s and was taken i very sick while at his home. But I our own children could not have I done more for us, than he and his dear wife. Brother Rountree called doctor Vann, of Boston to treat me, who kindly attended me I and would not make any charge I for his trouble. May the Lord re ward him. We were soon up and able to travel, and went to Moul trieGa., where we met cur Ecn-in law and wife, Mr. J. W. Coleman. We went to Pleasant Grove church in Colquitt county on Friday be- | fore the first Sunday, where we met our dear brother Elder H. P. Tucker and preached to a small congregation that day. Saturday and Sunday we preached at Live Oak, where we met good congrega tions. Elders Tucker and W. W. Williams were with us both days, Sunday evening we went home with Elder Williams and preached at his home that night. This was very pleasant to us, for we have long‘known and loved broth er Williams and his family. Next day we preached at Magno lia church and went home with brother James Jones for dinner— another precious brother and his family whom we have known and loved a long time. From her& xiiuMus camera- <.o spend c. night. We have known and loved this dear brother and his family quite a long time. We preached that night at his home to a large audience with good liberty. Next day we went to our Son-in-laws (Mr. Collens) and spent the most of the night wit i him and his wife our only daugh ter. Next morning we took the cars for home and arived hom safely Thursday evening and found all well as usual, and for which wo praise the Lord. Dear breth ren remember us when it goes well with you. In hope, H. Temples. Worthington Fla. Nov. 22,1895. Elder A. V. Simms. Dear Brother in the Lord:—l will write a short account of our good meetings. The church met at New Hope,(Alauchua County) on Saturday before the first Sun day in Oct. at the regular meet ing, and after trying to preach in my feeble way, three precious ones came forward and was receiv ed for baptism; also received one by letter. We met again Sunday morning for baptism when a dear old brother came forward and was received for baptism; also restorer another dear brother who hac been excluded. I have been trying to serve this church for ton years, and I am sure I never witnessed a better meeting. It seemed to be a sweet time of rejoicing among all the saints. “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, for his goodness and mercy endu reth foreyer.” On the second Sunday in Oct. • baptized two at Little Spring church, rfnd on the third Sunday in October I baptized three at ’leasaut Grove chureh, one of whom was a cousin of mine—a very old brother. This too, was a joyful meeting. On the second Sunday again at Little Spring we received four for baptism —• three sisters and one brother —my brother in the flesh. This will always be a green spo.t in my mem ory. Praise the LordO my soul and all that is withurme praisoHia Holy Name for his goodness, and for His wonderful works towards the children of men. Your unworthy brother J. R. Dukrs. Columbus Ga., September 22,1895 1 Elder A. V. Simms Valdosta, Ga., i Beloved in the Lord.— Feeling ' some what inclined to write you, 1 and desiring to write of things ' pertaining to the church ofChnst, it being the “called out” of God— called and gratified for a pur- ' pose, and that purpose is that we do the things which he shown us i in his word and taught us in our hearts. And, first, our preachers under obligations to serve us as church es? Yes, Are the deacons under obligation to the churches to serve them? Yes. Are the private mem bers under obligations‘to serve one another? Yes. Then the ques tion arises How, and in what way is all this service to be rendered? Preachers do you love Christ? Then • you should obey the command; “Feed my sheep,” How do we • know the sheep? Because they ! bear fruit and are of the light. • The light maketh manifest. The 1 character of the tree is known by T its own fruit. But the preacher is not to feed and not be fed himself. While Christ has made this duty ( to feed the sheep, or the church, , and a “woe” is pronounced against him if he“preaches not the gospel, the church is not to take advan tage of this “woe,” for God has made it the duty of the church to feed the preacher; and I think it is “woe” unto that church that fails in this duty. But. says one, “How are we to get about it? Our preachers are being neglected and our wid ows are needing attention, and L th A l at, we do.” Well, in th*. apostolic age choice or seven men, upon one occasion, who were ti “serve tables,” who were called Deacons,nd those deacons were to loc 1 ’ the Grecian widows, f j that they had been nej and were suffering for us temporal j things. The apostles did not have the time to look after these widows, and it was meet they should leave the word of God and serve tables.” Just so it is to-day. If the ministers are alive to the various duties as servants of God they have not the time, nor is it “meet” for them to look after such things now; hence the duty of some one to look after these things. It is the indispensible duty of the ministers of God to preach the gospel,and preach without ceasing. But the question arises: How can he perform his duty—a duty made binding upon him by the Lord— unless the church performs her duty—a duty imposed upon her by the same sacred authority? And do we not neglect our preachers? Sadly so. The Scriptures do not! support the salary system, yetit does teach that the minister who preaches the gospel should live of the gospel. Nor does this mean to live of it in the spirit, as some seem to think, but that he who shows Spiritual things should reap carnal things. Deacons then,should see to it that brethren who are reluctant in their dutv in these things; and when they stubbornly refuse after hav- j ing been faithfully admonished, it proves them to be covetioua, and I when this sin is manifested i n them they should be dealt with as the Scriptures directs. But dear brethren how often do we hear cases of coveteousness before the church? Is it because G od >J people have ceased to be coveteous. I fear we arejgradually going down stream. The preachers ar ® ready to excuse us and take all the f aalfc themselves by saying it is his fault. But no dear preachers, the wrong is somewhere else. Do we not read our Bibles, and do we not hear you preach, and have we not the law of Christ in Let deacons awake to their duty and see that the church takes care of her preacher. Dear brethren do not let it be with us as with a dear preacher I know who served his church faithfully one year and received only twelve dollars, which barely paid his car fare, and nothing was left for hisfam ily at the end of the year the church called him again and he found himself in a great strait to know whether his preaching was of the Lord. Brethren shall we throw suet obsticles in the preach ers way and thus be a hindrance X) the cause of Christ? God forbid. Dear brother Simms I hope the Lord will revive us again and show his people their transgres sions and the house of Jacob her sins that our duties may be fully known to us all. If our brother deacons would only be faithful to their duties I think we would not hear any more complaint; for we hear no more complaint about the Grecian wid ows after those deacons were ap pointed. Brother Simms may the grace ( of our Lord and master guide , you in all ot your work, is the prayer of your unworthy brother ‘ iu the Lord. R. E. L. Land. September 6th 1895 This morning while on my bee of affliction, looking out of my window, gazing upon thes cenes of nature, my thoughts ran thus: What a change my mind has un dergone since one year ago. How different the scenes appeared to me then and now. How often had I longed to be up ansi mingle with the busy throng of the world, and engage in the pursultaof life; to walk out and roam amid the trees and flowers, and commune with the beautiful works of nature. Many, many tears had I shed jn O - - tne out-ao- _• which othe# could enjoy. Hotv often had I begged my bless ed Lord to raise me from this bed of suffering, and permit me just once to go to the house of worship, i 0 how bright I had once beheld life, and now what a changel As I I gazed on all that met my eyes, I I saw nothing but gloom. Howl very insignificant everything ap peared. I saw no beauty in any-1 thing pertaining to this life. I felt like I was only looking upon I scenes which had no meaning in I. (them; that this world was only a i barren waste, only a dark and gloomy valley through which poor gilgrims had to pass before they reached the haven of rest. I i thought how bright and glorious w that home above to which I am hastening. Everything is tran sient here, while above is a never ending eternity. “Ye fleeting charms of earth, farewell! Your springs of joy are dry; My soul now seeks another home, A brighter world on high.” ’ I saw no life in the verdant grove, no beauty in the flowers that bloomed, no sweetness in the birds that sang. My heart and desires were above, where all is J°y> peace and happiness, where there is no sorrow, sin or euffer ing. While I looked first on one thing, and then another, meditat- ln g on all these things, a feeling °f humble gratitude filled my soul and I saw depicted on everything submission and praise. What or dor and grandeur I beheld in all the hand-work of God 1 I saw I b he hand of Omnipresence in every thing. The trees had put on ' an appearance of submission and * Praise to the God of gods; the flowers seem to *be blooming in I honor to the King of kings. At once mine ear caught the carol of I the little birds, and they seemed to be praising the Prince of Peace. As I listened to their little an thems, my heart responded, yes, 1 Praise be to his holy name 1 I felt that there was a meaning in every- , What a mighty hand had all these things I what a eighty hand ruled their destiny I i I felt, like I wanted no better com pany than those things which had no sin in them. I thought, how much better are all these things than man in his depraved condi tion. These were in humble sub mission to the will of the Creator, while man often tried to thwart lis purposes. It seemed to me that I could see stamped on everything. “Jehovah is his name.” A gentle breeze fanned my aching brow,and I thought, what a blessing is air. I heard a peal of thunder in the distance, and thought, Who can stay his hand? It seemed to me that I could see the immutabillity of God’s laws more vivid than ever before. Everything was just as good as it was when it was first made, except poor, fallen man; just as good as it was when the Creator made it all, and saw that it was good; just as unchangeable as it was when “he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast;” just as beautiful as it was “when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” I thought, what' a sublime study is this grand cre ation ! What a lesson in all we see I I felt a sweet solace in this, that not a sparrow falls to the ground without him; nay,not a leaf, then of how much more value are we than many sparrows? I have written these things just as I realized them. I gave no outward expression to my feelings, only through a flood of tears. I think all this was to show me God’s power that he had a great design m everything, and every thing was to fulfill his designs; that he had given me a life of suffering, and in it was some deep designs, known only to himself. Nannie Edwards. I TyTy, Ga., Nov., 12, 1895. . Elder A. V. Simms. t brother in ChrW?— ■■■■ft-’ ■HH | i'oti Wl i piQagd pal-don Wo r or I calling you “brother,” for I S not feel worthy to use the word. It lis with much fear and trembling that I pen you these few lines; I for I have been made to forcibly realize that I was not worthy to j communicate with God’s dear saints. And dear brother I have been made to mourn and weep many times over my miserable | condition, for I am so week, so im pure, so prone to sin, and do so many wrongs, until it seems that I have got to the place where 11 can do nothing but sin, for surely sin is mixed with all I do. These [things makes me so often fear that I am not one of the Lord’s little ones. How often do I won der is there another like me. But if I really am a Christian, surely there could not be another so low I down in the valley, so far from God as I seem to get at tirms. But then if I could only feel that 1 1 was a Christian I would try to I feel contented. Rut dear brother I feel and often fear that I have deceived the Lord’s people, and also myself as well, by going to them and asking for a home j among them, for if lam a child i of God I surely must be the least [ among them., I feel so unworthy j to be where I am and to enjoy » the blessings of the Lord as I do. ■ But brother Simms the dear old I Baptists are the peoplel love most of all others, and I could not live away from them. I had rather be dead than to be cut off from their sweet fellowship; and do believe I would have died had I not gone and asked for a home among them. I had desired to live with them for a long time, but very well knew that I was not worthy, and when I would think of unit- ing with them I did not think they could receive me. Hew I wept over these things I I felt to be a castaway and cut off from those I loved. Even at the time I did go I went with this same feel ing of unworthiness that I had carried for many days past. I had , gone to preaching many times to join the church if the dear poeple would receive me, but’ had failed. When the opportunity was offered it seemed that I could not make a step or even move. But after I had suffered sufficiently my mas ter gave me strength, I hope to go forward and perform my long neglected duty. I do not now feel that I ever could have gone had not the Lord given me the strength to make that step. With in my poor self I learned I could not do anything, but with God’s grace and mercy I can do many thing*, and He is merciful to us every day we live. I want to do all I do as unto the Lord, that it may be honoring and well pleas ing in His sight, but I fear that I fall far short of it. Elder Patterson has just paid us a visit,and spake many comfort ing words to poor me, when he was with us. He is a most lovely minister and is able and tender in his preaching. We enjoyed his com pany so much, and wish him to come to see us again soon. Bro. Simms we would be so glad to have you visit us again. I do so much desirs to hear you preach once more. You filled my poor heart with joy while preaching at our Association. Do come to see us again, and dear brother I earnestly desire an interest in your prayers, for I feel to need the prayers of the Lord’s people everywhere. May the Lord bless, and direct you in His perfect way is the prayer of your little sister, I hum bly hope. Lizzie E. Williams The Lord is leading you dear sister, and you must taste the bit ters as well as the sweets of this pilgrim journey. You must know Jesus in the fellowship of his sufferings. The doubts and fears of which you complain, are com mon to all Christians. This you will learn as you grow older.—S. * Antioch, Mt. Pisgah, « 27th 28th and 29th, Friday,Saturday and Sunday. Mt Zion, Monday, December 30th, Bethsaida, Tuesday, « 3i s t Live Oak, Wednesday Jan. Ist, Pleasant Grove, Thur. “ 2nd | Sardis, Feiday, « Bethel, Sat. and Sun. “4 & 5 Salem, (Adel.) Mon. “ gth, Concord, Tues, « Bethlehem, « Bth. He is a worthy brother, and a gifted minister.—H. Vienna, Ga., Nov, 20,1895. Elder C. B. Spivey of Ivey, Ga., I who is of the Ebeneezer Associa— I tion will fill the following appoint ments ( D. V. ) : Tues., Dec., 3rd Bethelehem, Wed. “ 4th Mt. Vernon, Thurs. “ sth Ty Ty, Friday/- 6th China Grove, 2nd Sat & Sun. 7 & 8, Providence, I Mon. Dec., 9th Mars Hill, Tues. “ 10th Rocky Creek, Wed. “ 11th Ty Ty Station, Thur. “ 12th Pleasant Hill, Friday,“ 13th Sharon, 3rd Sat & Sun. 14 & 15 Mt. Beazer, Mon. Dec,, 16th Pilgrim’s Rest, Mon. “ 16th (night) Rochelle, Tues, “ 17th New Hope, I Wed. “ 18th Pleasant Plains, Thur. “ 14th Valley Grove, Friday,“ 20th Zion Hope, 4th Sat.&Sun, 21&22, New Bethel, He will need conveyance. As ever yours to serve. P. G. McDonald. DROPSY a™ Positively CURED with Vegetable Remedies, Have cured many thousand cases called hopeless. From first dose symtoms rapidly disappear, and in ten I day at least two-thirds of *ll symtoms are removed. Rook of testimonials of miraculous cures sent FREE. 10 days treatment free by mail. Dr. H. H. Green <fc Sons, Atlanta,Ga We commend the above firm to our brethren and friends and suf ferers from the diseases mention ed. Dr. Green, Sr., and his two I sons have had wonderful success in the treatment of dropsy. They are devoted members of the Prim itive Baptist church in Atlanta and are worthy of the confidence of all. Write them. —Ed.