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pleased God, as 1 hope, to quicken me and show me my true condition as a lost sinner, I then went to work performing a round of duties such as read ing the Bible, and trying in my imperfect way to ask God to have mercy upon my poo,r soul, not thinking htyt whjit m.V o,wo good do vugs w,ould be Kthe. means otfetny sakyaiion. I really thought i( I did tny part, then, and not*till then, would God do his; thinking too that it would not be.long be fore I would he a Christian. -I .continued in this tain hope until last year, 185©, it then appeared that I wvas lost forever, and there was no chance of <*a4vation lor such a rebel against God, and 1 often feared I should not live to the -©lose of the year, ■feeling-at the same time that if I died ip dittou there was no peace hut tormet lur me. i .•was often strufck with great fear, arising, I suppose, from a feeling seuse of ray guilt and condemnation. Still 1 continued to ask God for meioy and-plead, .for pardon. Ou hearing of a death it would strike ue it it had beeo.sied wopjd be banished forever from the peaceful,presence of-God. Thousands of otears have I shed in trying to ask God for mercy •upon me a lost and ruined sinner. At times. 1„ would try to throw all such impressions and fears away, but l.eould not. ‘When that light was seen tin. the elements, last yeajyJ thought the world was coming loan end and I was lost foiever. Condem • nation retted heayijy upon me, and I felt to be without a friend in earth or heaven. How God in .justice could save wed -could ot see. <4 felt that the day whs, near at hand that ! must be spurned from. God’s presence. If over any poor soul did honestly try to pray surely I did.. The very breath >.ng of my soul was God be raeicifei to me or I die. Lord save, I perishJ Every wrong that I aver had done appeared like mountains I thought if the .Xiord would only have .mercy on jtne and. pardon, my.- si as that I twauld be ..willing to .suffer anything that be saw fit to put upon-me. :1 continued in this sad state until last Novem ber, when one of my sisters went forward to the church and told what great things she hoped .the Lord had done for her poor soul. Poor me, I was left behind and knew apt hat to,do. .There I sat lamenting jaty-case while it was ..continually--sug gested to me ‘\You .are-Lost and left behind.” As .1 followed my sister to the water next morning the ..very breathings of my soul, almost ~very breath I drew, was ‘‘God be merciful to roe.a sinner.” — (Baptism was administered, and, it seemed to be the juost lovely and beautiiuL&ight l -ever saw. Eld. W. M. .Mitchell -preached .after returning to the bouse, aim I thought that surely someone had told him rny. condition* for every word seemed directed to me. -After - meeting, closed my mother went to him and a>ked him to remember her and her .and pray for them. He said he would try to do so, and l heard it. It seemed to strike me to the heart.. I felt like one alone, and there was no hope orxiorafof t . for me. After going home in great distress I ag-ain tried to throw all had feeliivgs off, but could not. Every day ;I seemed to become worse and worse. Oa Tuesday however, alter the meeting, it seemed SOITII hitJN BAPTIST M is, 88isA<i BK. that I should die, my burden was -so great-, l got the Bible to see if 1 could any •comfort. 4 open ed the book at the sth chapter of Matthew and read it. My burden left tpe, but still 4 had nowiew of Christ as rav Savior, .nor any thought that my sins w* re forgiven for his sake. I retired to my bed in peace of mind. Toe uext morning l arose and every thing looked new and beautiful. I start ed to the cowpen and began to sing— “ Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sin, S’-Ue Christian soul is here advised to obey her Lord and^ing.” I knew not how I got where I was. When I come to my self‘l was praising God, and saying, *f4hessed pre they that mourn iff or they shall be com forted : glory to ■God in the‘highest:” I felt like my cruel sins were gone andlE was free. My Sa vior lived and dud for me. I did ihin*k I never -should see any;,more trouble in rim world. This pleasant and happy‘frame cif rainti, continued about three hours, after which T began to ‘fear*l was de ceived, and I prayed to God if'J was deceived tto > undeceive me, and lead me in the t ight way. ‘My mother asked me about tny condition a,ndT told her. i also told brother gild sister Mays. They advisedme togoto the chareli. i felt that'lvwant ed to be baptised, but feared that I was deceived and not a.pryper subject. However, 1 and my brother, who is about 14 >ears old, went to the church at Providence on Saturday before the 2nd Sunday in December 4ast, and told what great things we hoped lhe Y Lord had done for us. We were teceiyed mi* fellowship, and the next day we were both • baptwteu 1 by ‘Eld. W.’M. Mitchell. Tiuly it was one of the most pleasant happy days to me that jf ever saw. Though I still find a conflict and warfare, T would do good evil is pres ent with me, yet H have enjoyed myself imich better than I ever did. Lest I shojuld ..weary tfce of the reader, I will come to a. close. -Bro. Beebe, do as you you think be§t with jhis. ff desire the prayers of alll the brethren and sisters. May the Lord bless you all is my prayer for Christ’* sake. SARAH C. PARKER. Opelika, Ala., April 2, 1860. JTo Allen Olover of Mississippi. Dear Brother —1 will now try to attend to your request in the 5 h No. of the Messenger, in which you ask my views of Rev. iii. f7. ,LB. “Be cause thou sayest, 1 am rich , and increased with goods aud have need of nothing; and knuw.est.not that thou art wretched and miserjabje, and poor, and blind, and n.aked : .1 cuimsej thee to buy ot me gold tii*d in the tire that thou mayest he rich,” &c. These are the words of. Him who walked in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, even Jesu* who wap dead and is alive again . forever more. .They were spoken immediately to John, and .he was specially commanded to write to the “ Aug*d of the church of the Laodicean*.” The term “ angel” here signifies a gospel minister who was doubtless the pastor of that church. Tue thing* which are written L view to be rather descriptive of the condition of the church than of the angel or minister. In the re/y introduction this view is confirmed, wherein he says, “John to the seven churches.” jEfe tells ;is also that when he was in the Sp rit he was spoken to by the Alpha and Omega with a great voice as of a trumpet, and told to “ write what thou seest in a book ami send it to ‘the -seven .churches which are in A*ia-” The nunfber -seven 4s a .very important number in the Scriptures, and generally signifies a full, complete or perfect number. The seven spirits of God rep resent the fullness and perfections of the whole Godhead as .embraced in Christ who was in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. The seven golden candlesticks are the seven churches,‘by which the fullness of the whole gospel church is represented, and the seven stars in the right band of him who is Alpha and Omega, the Almighty, represent, the Gospel ministry or all the gift* Which are given for the work of the ministry, for the perfecting of the saints and edifying the body 6f Okrist. Tajking this brief.view ol the subject, we jriJl further say, that if this-view, is correct, theo every varied condition in ..which the gospel church may be, in her militant or earthly .state, is represented by the seven,churches ot Asia. There is no con dition in which the church may he, whether of joy =.and. effort, or of trial, sorrow, affliction, persecu tion, strife or confusion, E>ut what there is soii) portion oh-SeriptJiee immediately applicable to the case and descriptive of it. Though ibe seven represented by sevm golden candle sticks, yet there is something against all of them except two. .Tue whole chu.ch of God as regards her standing in Christ is holy and without bhtrge before God in love, she is clothed ia his righteous ness, and is therefore without spot or wrinjrie Qr any such thing, but as regards the .deportment, pf her members there is often “somewhat against them.” Hence as regards. the. condition of the church at Laodicea, they were in a careless, indif ferent and lukew.arju state, in a practical point jof view, and the. Lord expresses his displeasure against their course by saying, fßecapsethou artlokewarm, and- neither .cold nor 1 hot, I wi,!J spue thee out of my mouth:” -Olturcties.so,metises tihrtmgh their •carnal minded ness an'd *4oQse,ness *f gospel order and 4scipline lose their visibility as-churches, and aie thereby-“spued out” like the inhabitants of the land of-Canaan who had dtflied the - land with their abominations, and therefore the laud “vom ited them out. 4 ’ God’s chosen nation were specially admonished to strictly observe the. commands of ike*Lord, le t they also should be “spued out,” of that pleasant land that flawed with inrlk and hon e\. ‘Levit,.xviii.-25—28. ‘When a church for her lukewarmness and carelessness in attending to tha duties and privileges of a church is spued out like Israel of old, they loose the sweets of the milk and noney ol gospel order that is enjoyed by a church where the ordinances of the gospel are faithfully observed, the gospel faithfully proclaimed, and wheie they live iu peace and fellowship one with auolber. To is ia indeed a pleasant gospel land, 59