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142 us read one proof iu the prophecy of Isa.-xlix. 5, <6. “And now saith the Lord, that formed >re from the womb, to be Ins servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, ye'thall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and <my God shall be my strength. And he said, it is a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, .and to restore the preserved of Israel: 1 will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thott tnaycst be ray salvation unto the eud of the earth.” Now it is clear from this passage that he was a servant, and w hile it is a marvelous thing with us, that lie should be a ser vant, it is a light thing with (rod that lie should gather the tribes of Jacob, and be a light to the Getinles, and also Go fs salvation, or tl e R idee til er of hrs church. Asa servant, lie give* every example that is necessary for the Christian to fol low ; as their shepherd, he goes before them to lead them out in a discharge of every du : v that they owe to God ; He bows m prayer to his Fa tlei Oitlinies ; he walks with John down into tlie Stream of Jordan, walking mi the ways of the Lord, that folrti was con fnatided to make straight ; that is doing j st as the. Lord had commanded, and never clocked tnoUgli to say that some other way Would do as web. By doing a* God had hid them, the heavens were opened to sanction the act. as it Was in all other acts of bis Son. Yes, and all of bis childrth, win n they are walking will), and af ter their Slu.pheid, it has the sanction of heaveu. Christ is their S eplieid, and again he is h.und preaching bis own gospel, am! in this he gives ix ample to his servants, anti they ought to follow Ts iu ; that is. preach llie preaching that he bids them, or teach the children to observe what he has Commanded them. Sntelv ho has the right to * a command, for he shall be their Shepherd, ami by obeying him in all these particulars, they will be found faithful, feeding the flock of God, wh ch he lias purchased with his own blood, a id will not have to bear the awful curse for feeding themselves, aid f fclu g not the flock. “ And I will set up one Shepherd over them, even my servant Divnl.— H-r shall Led them, arid be shall be their Shep herd.” “ I freely feed thee now*. With tokens of mv love, But richer pastures I’ll prepare, And sweeter streams above.” For fear of making fids entirely too lengthy, it is cotisideral ly shoHehed in iis ong naf design.— It is hoped however,* that it will be wholly satis factory to all who uray have the pleasure of read ing it. CIRCULAR LETTER. The Ocmulgee Association of Primitive Baptists to the churches of which she is com posed sends Christian salutation. Dearly Bi loved in the Lord— Grace, mer cy, peace and truth tie multiplied. Aoeoiding to our custom we present to your consideration our annual Cbcular, written mnin the important sub jject f the Union between Cmist and the church, a sulj ct frayght with much comf ul to the Christian when properly understood, a sutj cl that we regard SOUTHERN BAPTIST MESSENGER- as the foH : nda!t‘ion -upon which the whole of the economy-cif-sahv-at'ion rests, and flora which all the blessings of salivation do flow. We would then re mark in view of ike Gniou between Christ and the cburch, spifititrallly.,-we believe it to be eternal.— fbat God tbe father did choose his people in Christ ‘before ‘the foundation of the world, and that they WeTe then and there blessed wish all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, asap pears from Ephesians i. 3,4, and if blessed with all spiritual ‘blessings, there were no spiritual blessings left out. We maintain that Election, Redemption, Justification, Sanctification, Faith and Repentance were among the number of spiritual blessings. We lenru also from 2 lim. i. 9, that God gave his peo pie grace in Christ before the world began, hence, it ii evident that bis people were in Christ spirit ually before the world began, or grace could not have been given them there. The same truth is proven by the Savior’s language in chapter 17ih of John’s Gospel, 28rd verse. Now in this relation i 1 is said in truth, he hath not beheld iniquity in Ja ob, neither has he seen perverseness in Israel.— Nu nbvis xxiii. 21. The spouse could say in truth, lam comely. Songs i. 5. The husband could say truly thou art all fair my love, there is no spot in thee. Solids iv. 7. Therefore iu view of this glorious end eternal truth, an Apostle wou and say, and ye are complete in him. Now if the Apostle bad salt! ye ahull be complete in him, it would have changed the feature of the sul j-ct very much, but he sa)s ye are, in the piesent tense. Now we cannot snp p >e for a moment that any of the foregoing passa ges refer to the church in her fallen aid corrupt siaie, but refer to her in her just.fied sra e, viewed in the ligbteousness of (Jurist, who of God is made unto her wisdom. lighteou*ness, sanc tification and redemption, lienee, dear brell.r. n, fS long as Christ has been the head, so long has the chmch been the body united to the head ; so long as he has been the husband, so long lias she , been the w fe ; so long as he has been the Suepheid i o long has hi* people been the sheep ; so long as . he has been ieoogniz-d as tlie great law f,i filler, so long has there been a people for whom lie has been aoknc lodged a Savior. These things as we un derstand them, were conceived in the womb of eter nity, but were manifested in due time according to tlie eternal puipose of God which he prepared in ’ Christ Jtsus our Lord. But notwithstanding these ■ things aie so, yet we find the wisdom of God be • ginning to be developed, and the Union of Christ and the ciiuicU manifested in the creation of ma teriality ; tor in the beginning God created the r IL-aveti and theeaith. Gen. i. 1. Here we find that ceated of which the humanity of Christ and the rchu'ch was composed, out of which material Adam • was formed with his bride and posterity iu him, from which fumed matter, according to the fle-h Clui>t Jesus descended. Here then is found ann > ion to i xist, iu a flesh and blood point of view.— Hence, by referring to tlie 3>d chapter of Luke, you will find the genealogy trac-d back from Joseph ilie husband of Mary to Adam, who is declaied to 1 be the Son of God. It is said by an Apostle iu ref i ereuce to Christ, for as much then as the children J. are partakers of flesh and blood, be also, himself likewise, took pan. ot me same II • i-t brethren,a pan of the very same fl -sli ate: bi *i of which his children wee partakers, lor sum rs ilte nature of this glorious union that a separation can not take place. Hence says the Savior, a body oast thou prepared me; hence,we uniark in the womb of eternity before time we find Christ and his peo ple one; in creation we find them one ; in forma tion we find them one; before the violation of the law we find them identified together; when the church was found under the law we find him there too; hence says an Apostle, lie was made of a wo man, made under Ihe law to redeem them that were under ihe law. Now the facts prove what Paul says to be true, when be says we are members of his body, of bis flesh,otncl of bis bones, for ho says no man ever yet bated his own flesh. And now brethren, in consequence of this relationship it is said in all their afflictions lie wa* affl cted.— And now mv dear brethren, this flesh and blood relationship, together with his agreement; 8 Me diator iu the covenant of redemption with his Fat! - er. qualified him to suffer and bear our sins in bis own body on the tree, and prepared him to fulfill the law to ever) jot and tittle; for it was not wi.h the blood of goals and calves, but by bis own blood be obtained eternal redemption for us. Tms being and De, grace can teign, and the bidden wisdom of God be ghniously display ed, in calling the redeem ed of the L rd, ttie members of his body from the wild nirizjs of sin, and causing them to mourn in consequence of sin, and to uesire a freedom bom it. But how G.d can be j tst and save them, is out of their sight; but when the L n d’s lime is come he will make a further development in the imputation of the bles*ing ol faith, or in the teci piioti of the lighteou-ness of Curist iu which they stand acquit ted hi Christ. Faith is the instinirieut or the hand which receives Chiist as their Savior and causes them to nj'ice iu his love; these things all the family of the Lord experience in a g.eater or less degree ; for tlie ransomed of the Lnd shall return and come to Zmn with songs and eve)lasting j yg upon their heal, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Weil might the Apostle John say, behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called tlie sons of God. We are ♦ sons in a two fold sense, sons by adoption, and sons by regeneration, and the new birth. Hence it is said, because ye are sons God has setit forth the Spirit of bis son into your heart crying, Abba, Father, that is. Father, Father—Father by adop tion, and Father by being born of an incorruptible seed by the word of God, which liveth and ahidetb forever. For everybody knows that in a literal sense, by adoption the adopted does not partake of the nature or likeness of the adopter, yet by a regular process of law, is m ide heir to the estate of the adopter. And every person that knows any thing experimentally of the Lml J.-sus Curist that the sinner in order to be regenerated, must be born of i 53 , the Spiiil ; must have the Spirit of Christ; must , be a partaker ol the divine nature; must have - Cnrist formed in hint the hope of glory ; must be t renewed iu knowledge after Lite image of him that f created him. So we see that they cannot mean