Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 3.
POETRY.
prudent parents disal- '
lt»V
Too mheh of sweets to craving baby
hbod,
So (».<*! perhaps is keeping from us
now
Lifes sweetest things because it seem
elh good.
And IT sometimes commingled with]
lifes wine
We find the wormwood and rebel and
shrink
Be sure a wiser hand than yours or
mine
Pours out the portion for our lips to
drink.
If we bould push ajar the gates of
Hie
And stand within and all Gods work
ings see,
We could interpret all this doubt and
strife
And (preach mystery could find a
key;
But not to-day—then be content poor
heart,
God’s plans like lilies pure and white
unfold,
IVe must not tear the close shut leaves
apart,
Time will reveal the calyxes of gold.
And if through patient toil we reach
the land
Where tired feet with sandals loose
stall rest
Where we shall clearly know and un
derstand
1 think that we shall say—“ God knows
the best”
Faitlk and Burdens Borne For
Others,
That faith is given to one for an
other,while that other is suffering
under some particular trial, and
KMfltediimgeli devoidlof it ; as al-
part, are given ter one to bear
for another, I believe with all my
heart as having experienced it for
myself, and have knowledge of in
stanees in others.
And that by a process so myste
rious, and a power sofaroutreach
ing nature, that we are bound to
ascribe it to the mighty power of
God as working in us according to
his own will, having predestinated
the means and the ends that al
ways results to h;s exclusive glory,
and the confirmation and advance
ment of his children thus wrought
in, “from iaith to faith.”
And as faith must always go out,
“not knowi’g whither,” so to
whom God gives faith for another
it is often, if not always, without
a knowledge of the peculiar trials,
straits and lack of faith, in that
other. And whom he burdened for
another, is generally unconscious
of the condition of that other.
Nor dot's this come under the
general law—“bear ya one anoth
ers burdens;” in which case we
must ourselves find and under
stand these burdens to share them.
But this is on a higher plane, and
commanded by a special unwritten
Spiritual law that applies only to
those who have, by suffering, at
tained to a higher spiritual perfec
tion that thus enables them to
w'alk by thii rule. (Phil. 3:15 )
Only Peter, James and John were
sufficient for, and hence, suffered
to go in and see certain works of
Jesua, as in Luke 8:5; and others;
as also his transfiguration and su
preme agony in the garden. But
few are permitted or are called to
go down into the deep to see the
wonders of the Lord in greater
display there. For, but for this
greater perfection in faith, these
wonders in revealing would stagger
instead of strengthen their faith.
For it is to higher revelations of
glory as well. And so such are
called “from glory to glory” and
“from, faith to faith.”
The above thoughts are given as
a preface to extracts from a letter
from Sister Miller, of Atlanta, Ga.,
who herself has been down into
the deep and seen Che wonders of
. “THOU HAST GIVEN. A BANNER TO 'SeM THAT.'FE II THEE, THAT MF !!E DWUYBD BECAUSE OF THE THIMH.v-tPsAiJis 60: *.
the Lord there; and so made strong
to bear the burdens "of others, as
her letter will explain. Aud then
afterwards, so edifying and com
forting has such been to me, that
I thought of giving instances of
this nature that I know, and ask
others for the same, believing it
would be profitable to the house
hold of faith generally. —P.
THE LETTER.
Kirkwood, Ga., April 23, ’96;
Dear Brother and Sister: —I;
have never experienced the weight
and carriage ot anothers burden
until the last several days. Last
Sunday was two weeks ago, Broth
er Daniel was at church, and said,
“all was well.” That evening his I
fourteen and a halt year old, and
only son was taken seriously ill.
On Tuesday following —knowing
nothing of his son’s illness —Broth-
er Daniel became such a weight on
|my mind that my prayers were
ourdenad with him. I could not
account for it, nor could I throw
iit off. Late that evening I went
to Sistei Kate Greens, but- 1:0 re
lief, my mind and heart, instead,
became more and more burdened
with him, and such a burden of
bitter sadness, yet commingled
with a sweetness so strange that I
cannot express it. How I fried to
throw it off and rise above it; bin
impossible, Alas.'alas; little did
I know of Brother Daniel's own
heart-burden ; for this dying boy
was his pride of this life, Little
did I know that this fatal sickness
had shadowed his homo and heart;
of death —then hovering low
would strike down, for heavenly
Angel-wings to bear his belove:
son to another parent, whose arm
could heal aud give eternal life!
At last I said to those in the room,
“somohow, from some cause, Broth
er Daniel lies heavy on my mind
and I cannot get him off. lam so
burdened with Lira that I wish I
could.see him.” And from then
on I kept referring to him all the
evening, n >r could I enjoy any
thing, or become interested in the
conversation. The next day 1
went into the city (Kirkwood is a
suburb) to visit Sister Whail y
when she told me Brother Daniel’s
son was critically ill. Then my
heart was heavy and my soul,
troubled indeed. After leaving
her, I could scarcely keep from
weeping aloud in the street; fur
now this strange burden seamed a
nresentment of to his be
loved son. Yes, this model, this
ideal of uprightness aud morality,
with not a single spot on his boy
ish garments, must be taken from
him; and he would need all the
help his brethren and sisters could
give him to bear up under this
fearful stroke. So heavy was the
burden now, I could not sleep at
nights, I would lie and think, and
cry, and pray aud pray for him.
Then the thought came what
means this?—that my soul is bur
dened and bowed so for another?
The same answer—it means death ;
but also it means a display of the
power glory and grace of God that
can enable a mortal to say
“Thy will, not mine, be done,
though Thou slay me.” For the
thought would come—Brother 1).
has had grate given to say, to the
glory of God, “they will be done;”
on all former Occasions of gore
trialsand bereavements, to the joy
and strength of the church, am’,
wonder of the world ; but will he—
can he say it now when God takes
his earthly idol?—surely he cannot
say it to this dispensation that be
reaves b in of his only
such a son. .My tears would flow
and my heart cry out ‘cruel death!
@he f ilartm 0 Smincr.
'F W ... w : • ;
_ .11—— I ■ ————- ■ ——TJT-*- ——
DEVOTEE TO THECAUSE OF CHRIST.
Valdosta, Ga., Aovpiebcr 1, 1896.
r - 7' I
will you take that boy?” ltsebm-j:
ed L could h.*a<; this ; answer from
the Lord —"I will take him, ami be.'
with them to the end. Then
would come a restful calm over me ,
for awhile.
Strange to say, 1 wanted to go to
Brother Daniel in bis afflictions
aud comfort, him, but could not;
1 felt 1 could not bear it. So time !
passed on in this wav till Sunday,!
when we all met at cliurcn, sav i
I Brother- D. I c uld not stay my
tears lor the burden on my heart,
nor did I hear one word of the
preaching, so full was my soul of j
sadness —and strange to say of
sweetness too. Then I resolved
!to visit b im. Iwent; and he met
me with his face wreathed in the;
most heavenly smile, showing so i
far, his wonted resignation to the ■
will of God. lie said to nv j , “1■
believe he Lord has b?en with me, ;
and in has shown me he will take
!my boy, and I am perfectly re
signed to his most holy will, ’ Oh
wonderful! wonderful! I was so
glad to see him thus resigned that
■ it was a conffort and relief to me
somewhat. Would God ever so
graciously give me such beautiful
resignation under such a stroke as
this, to glorify his name? But Ij
went home carrying the whol°|
burden again, yet there was with
it a sweet persuasive sadness, I '
wish 1 could describe, but words 1
fail. I did not. vbit him again j
. till to arrange for the funeral. As.
; I entered the door, Brother D. met;
me with that same heavenly smile
IJ
God, that it seemed * to glorify his!
countenance. Oh, great is thej
mystery of godliness! To see-,
such sublime submission to the'
will and work of God and. that!
work lacerating, as it were —the I
very applo.of bis ey>-, in weak mor-,
tai man. demonstrates the fact,
that God is not slack concerning!
his promises ; and also forced ail'
to say “there is truth in that nlaji’n
religion, and profession of the;
same.” Aud this is fruit that gio-1
~ ° i
rifles God. Still, how wonderful.l
Six years since, Brother Daniel j
was born of the spirit, nor has;
doubted his birthright since. And '
under prcvidi-iitia I dealings he!
has manifested the same sublime;
submission to Goy's will. But in j
this last, in proportion that it was I
greater, it the more glorifies his!
Father, and our Father, which art)
in heaver. No wonder he never I
doubr.s :«r fear, but can sav every
day “My Father.” Such surely is ,
the fruit of obedience.
At the funeral service ui the •
church, they sang “Safe in the I
Arms of Jesus.'/ When Brother!.
Daniel’s voice rang out so clear ,■
and animated above the rest, that j
Elder Whatley, who was standing £
ready to delivers, discourse, turned i |
to see if it was indeed Brother! t
Danie’s voice; and when he saw it | (
was, and a smile illuminating his - j
face, his eyes upturned as if be-1 *
holding the Lord he thus worship
ad, he was so surprised—so over-;,
come to behold such sublime grace f
and submission in a mortal that (
he (so he said) bursffd into a r
Hood ol tears and sat down rnd |
wept like a child; and this effect f
was general. •
After service, I went to h ; s ,
home to say a wore of condolence c
to the mother, and “good bye.”
Brother D. took me to his aunt and ■ j
said “she (refering to me) has a
been my greatest stay in this trou-l *
ble. I. was astonished—l well £
knew I had done nothing, only be- a
ing burdened, had grieved and j
prayed for him; but I thought he J
know nothing of that. t
Yesterday he camo to' see me s
;viid ''’be mo, 1 had been his
e u'thiy stay, aud how
,y H!! cv-wy hour during Ms trial
though; ol' me, and fel.t—felt to
.waving for Kim. As
. could fully understand
it ail, 11’ abzed at once that I had
beer. g-Vs uto bear anothers bilr
deii. what seemed so won
.bffui —marvelous was that
till'Lord iiud given him evidence
of (he fact.
And >’> r. - i thus counted worthy to
endure apu suffer for Jesus? Did
. J, rd thus glorify his name
t!i rough me? Oh what a gracious,
B : ! a;.- and loving Lord we have.
Ought «e not to love, praise and
give glory by words and works to
his-uanie forever more?
Y'Jvi’ loving sister,
S”sie Miller,
PO Jackson st,, Atlanta. Ga.
i V/.
Grace aud Works.
Beloved Brethren:—From the
days of Paul .until now there has
been a controversy betwee'n the op
posite advocates of grace and
works as these two principles ap'
perrain to salvation, and we can
not too well understand and apply
! these terms in their different
IrmUiings; therefore, with your
kmJ leave, I wish to submit some
reli ctioas upon the scriptural
! view of grace and good works in a
| gospel sense —for as to salvation
frora the law of sin and death
tfie.e is no r<.om for misunder
stand >bg or difference among the
sap Christ who have
l r > this pbint:
"Not tfyoiks of righteousness
I which we have done, but according
to His mercy He saved us,- by the
washing of regeneration, an ! re
, newi.ig 01-the Holy Ghost) which
he died on us abundantly through
Jesus C irist our Savioua; that be
ing justified by His g t race we
should i e made heirs according to
the hu’ie oi eternal life,” The sub
jects of grace believe this testi
| mony and agree that “Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the
law, being made a curse for us.”
! 1 fence, in what I shall write
; her-, you will understand that it
.is in reference to the grace and
woiksol the gospel, and to uh
whom God save! by the washing
of regeneration, and renewing of
the.. Holy Ghost.. That there
should exist any misunderstanding
and difference among the saved
people the Lord in regard to
grace and works in a gospel sense
is sorrowful, and it behooves us,
therefore, to see that we are in
Leo with the apostles of the Lord
Jesus, and that we maintain in
corruptness in doctrine or teach
ing and hold fast the form of
sound words; for if we fail to do
this, then there will rise dissension
and confusion more or Jess, to the
distress of the people of grace.
From this fruitful source as a-root
principle most of the sad divisions
among the Baptist people have
arisen! f° r they all agree as to re
demption by the precious blood of
Christ, and regeneration by the
renewing of the Holy Spirit, even
the general Baptists who went out
from us; but differences have'
arisen over the proper relation and
place of g l! d works in the gospel
of grace, including all gospel obe
dience. e must believe that the
Ho y scriptures will guide us
aright in as iu a p else. To 1
the oracles of God, then, let us I
turn our prayerful consideration, 1
as untd a light that shineth in a 1
dark pl at “ A - lhe testimony of i
Jesus is, “h hosoever dnnketh of I
lhe water t .at I shall give him
shall nevCi -■‘ ist; but the water j
that I shall give him shall be in >
him a well of water springing up 1
into ever lasting life.” ’ John 4:14.
“Whosoever bveth and belibveth
m me shall never die.” John 11:26.
This is sufficient to show the source i
of spiritual and eternal life, and
the relation of faith to life; ’that I
is, that Jesus gives unto us eternal
life, and that faith springs utp out 1
of lite.
Now, we know that all accepta
ble obedience and - good works •:
springs out of faith; “for without
faith it is impossible to please
God.” As to faith, Paul testifies:
“Therefore it is of faith, that it
might be by grace; to the end and
the promise might be sure to all
the seed.” Rom. 4:16 e . So faith
itself is grace, the free gift of God
in Christ. The grace ot faith,
then, is the underlying source of
all gospel obedience and good
works; and this obedient faith is
> itself the fruit of the life-giving
j spirit, and we believe according
. to the working of God’s mighty
[ power, which He wrought in
• Christ, when he raised' him from
the dead, is the testimony of Paul
in Eph I.
James writes upon faith and
works, showing their inseparable
relation in the Christian life; but
in perfect harmony with Jesus and
Paul, he shows that faith produces
good works, as cause and effect.
For he says; “Show me thy faith
without thy works, and I will
I show t.hee % my faith by my works.
Jjhjjfit thouyhow faith wrought
: faith made perfect.” James 11.
3 Ihis is said of the obedient faith
r of Abraham, who believed God,
i and therefore obeyed Him, and his
■ faith which wrought with his
i works was imputed unto him for
righteousnes ', because it was man
, ifested that he was righteous.
I Just, so, the matured fruit of the
goo 4 trees proved it good, but the
good fruit is the outgrowth aud re
sult of the life of the tree, and the
two cannot be divided. So neith
er can spiritual obedience and
good works exist without a living
faith in the Son of God; therefore
all gospel obedience aud every
good work in the sight of God
arise from the Chnst-life in us,
and consequently they are but the
effects of saving grace, the iruits
of the Spirit of Grace, being m-
r separably united with grace. And
I so Paul, speaking of salvation in
) the present time, affirms: “For
) by grace are ye saved through
, faith ; and that not of yourselves
i it is the gift of God.” Since faith
is the gift of God, and our obedi
ence is the obedience of faith, and
our present salvation is by grace
through faith, it is by grace from
first to last —from its beginning to
its finish. And so Paul would in
struct the brethren by thus con
necting their work and labor io
the gospel, saying, “Remembering
without ceasing jour work of
faith, and labor of love, and pati
ence of hope iu our Lord Jesus
Christ.” Hence, as our gospel
work is the work of faith, and our
labor is the labor of love, and our
patience is the patience of hope,
and faith and love and hope are in
our Lord Jesus, certainly they are !
all of grace, just as the branches
and fruits of the growing tree are (
of the life of the tree. And as the
work of faith, and labor of love,
and patience of hope embrace all '
good work and gospel obedience in 1
all the Christian iifo and walk, it 1
is clear that our present salvation 1
is of grace—“ct faith that it might
„ i
be by grace.
This being true, our salvation
now, or in period of. time, is not
c’nditional and does not depend
upon ourselves; . but our walking
in the paths of holiness and being
fruitful in the good works of gos
pel obedience depoxids upon the
gr;.ce of God to both save aud
teach us, as Paul showi in Titua
11. Therefore, when he exhortei
his brethren to work out their
own salvation, he based it upon*
this- “For it is God which
worketh in you both to wilband to
■do of his good pleasure.” Hence,
not only- has God bestowed our
own salva-tion upon us, but He
also gives us the wifi and the pow«
er to work it out or show it forth.
There is not, therefore, but one
principle or way of salvation,
whether hi time or eternity, and
it is the grace of God —“the grace
of God that bringeth salvation.”
If we are now saved, or shall be
saved at any period, the grace of
God then bringeth salvation to us.
And so, when we are saved from
our eelf-wiil, from disobedience
and its bitter consequences, and
walk in good works, it is still the
grace of God that thus saves and
teaches us. For the scriptures re
veal but one salvation —but one.
way of salvation from sin and dis
obedience —Grace —the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ. All gospel
obedience and good works are the
gracious fruits and effects or man
ifestations of this saving and reign
ing grace. And while it is bless
edly true that we are blessgd walk
ing in and working out our salva
tion, it is not for our doing so,
1 a—*■<—j-F brftMnM
our pisswuwM
salvation were condrS^*' 0 AJtu® w
1 pended upon ourselves. It isTftie
’ chief glory of our present and ever-*
’ lasting salvation that all the saved
* shall ba ‘‘to the praise of the glory
of God’s grace.” both in time
and unto etermly. So far from
this praise and glory being divided’
between His grace and our works,
all our truly good works and ac
ceptable gospel obedience flow out
from the glorious throne of grace
in our hearts, as so many happy
acclaims to the praise of the
grace that hath already saved us,
that doth now save us, and that
shall yet save us.
“Grace all the work shall crown,
In everlasting days;
It lays in heaven the topmost stone,
And well deserves the praise.”
I D. Bartley,
1 Crawfordsville, Ind., Oct. 10.
Dear companions in tribulation
of heart and hardships of hand.
Did you ever think of Jesus the
Lord of heaven and earth, by
whom all things were created, and
do consist; and who laid aside
a crown of unspeakable inmeasur
able magesty, and bliss, to come
to that garden the last night ot
of his life. Oh see him there after
a day of toil prostrate on the
ground, agonizing in prayer for
strength to complete our redemp
tion, with soul sorrowful even un
to death, or with system so relaxed
with mental and mortal torture as
that his blood flowed with sweat,
even in great drops, falling from
his face to the ground. See him
soiled witii dust with all his gar
ments red with blood—the holy
one—the Savior of all, yet
all alone, not one friend who could
watch with him one hour, and all
for us. Was ever love so great?
Was ever countenance so marred?
was ever sorrow like unto his sor
row? Oh think of this; of him thus
when you feel inclined to complain
at your hard lot..—P,
No 20;