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166 been poor, my mind very dark and unfruitful ; jet I have written several letters during the time in my poor weak way. She also serins to think that I would like to drop correspondence with her. O no, my dear sister, 1 highly appreciate the corres pondence of the saints, and it seems to me that 1 surely would die away here in the land of Assyria, was it not for the correspondence of the saints through the Signs and Messenger , and also in a private way. Many of them as well as yourself whose faces I have never seen, yet through corres pondence w’e have become quite acquainted with each other; and though, sister Hardy, you have made me sorry with a letter, you have made me glad twice.since that time. Yes I was much com forted with the comfort wherewith ye were com forted of God, and hope that you will continue to write both publicly and privately. I well remem ber when I first saw your name in the Messenger , and how my soul was drawn out to you in love, as to many others when reading their communica tions in the Signs and Messenger. The sister re quested us to join her to praise the dear Savior.— 0 delightful! The brethren and sisters will please join with us, and with one voice and one heart and one soul, we will all sing. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and has redeemed us to God by his blood out of every kindred and tongue, and people, and nation, paying, amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, and honor and power and might ;be unto our God forever and ever, Amen. 0 how it swells our heart! our soul is enlarged to hear the saints giving all the glory to God. lam reminded of what the Psalmist has said, that praise is comely to the upright. O thou Holy One of Israel. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee, my tongue shall talk of thy righteousness all the day long. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord. Dear brethren Beebe and Puringlon, I have been greatly refreshed bv your Editorials, as also by the communications of the brethren and sisters. My love to all the saints and friends. Remember your poor sister, the feeblest of all. NANCY DUTTON. Franklin, Ga., Oct. 14, 1860. Beloved Sister in Christ :—lf you will suffer one so unworthy as poor me to claim such dear relationship with you, I have waited somewhat im patiently for an answer from you. I could not blame you in the least to drop correspondence with me, I am such a poor hobbling worldly-minded kind of a creature, and you have so many zealous intelligent, warm-hearted correspondents that would interest you so much more than poor un worthy me, but some how or other, I have an in creased desire to correspond with you, and thought I could not wait any longer for an answer, but would write again, not knowing but what my letter might have been mislaid. Dear sister, I have been greatly refreshed of late I hope from the presence of the Lord, for which I desire to thank, praise, and adore the God of all grace, that he should ever condescend so low as to raise poor sinful de SOUTH Eli If BAPTIST MESSENGER. generate men and women, and make them sit to gether in heavenly places in Christ Jesus 5 yea, and make them king* and priests unto God. Was ever love like this? yea, he hath said to his people, your righteousness is ot me, saith the Lord, and we are not our own, we are bought with a price, not with Itorruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Chris*. Yes, my dear sister, we are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time, and he is God ar.d changes not, and that is the reason my dear sister, that poor un worthy me has not been consumed long ago; for had he marked one sin of a thousand, without an eye single to that glorious covenant of redemption, I might have been as miserable as I have made myself sinful. But thanks, praise, glory and ado ration be to bis holy name that in the midst of de served wrath, he hath remembered mercy and laid help upon one who was Mighty, and able to save all that come unto God by him. Yes, and blessed be his holy name, he has not left it to poor fallen degenerate man to choose or refuse as the popular doctrine of the day is. But our blessed Savior quickens them into life, draws them by the sweet cords of his love, leads them in ways they have not known, and paths they have not trod, and whatsoever he doeth it'shall stand ; yea it shall be forever. There is no taking from it, nor adding to it, and he will show his people his covenant, and the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him. Yes my dear sister, they have food to eat the world knows nothing of. Yes, and it is sweet to the taste, sweeter than honey in the honey comb. But I need not attempt to describe it to you, knowing that you have been taught by the same Spirit, and whose abilities and understanding is far superior to mine. But my dear sister, I must write on a little further and endeavor to show forth his praise, for that is all we can do, for our blessed Lord car ried on his own work in spite of wicked men and devils, and carries it on out of our sight too, for I know that the churches have been in a cold and lifeless condition for a good while, and it seems like the Lord had forgotten to be gracious. But now I know it was not so, for the Lord was carrying on his own undisturbed affairs, and has now made it manifest to us these few months past by bringing in his subjects to declare what great things he has done for their souls, and cry not unto us, but unto thy name be all the glory, for unto him all the glory is due. There seems to be a general move in all the churches in the bounds of my ac quaintance. There has been added to the churches and baptized, from one to as high as eleven at each monthly meeting. 0 sister Dutton, join with me in my feeble effort to praise our exalted Savior, for such a glorious plan of salvation; and that he ever condescended to manifest himself to us even to me the chiefest of sinners. Was ever love like this ? Was ever grace so free? and not to me only, but to my children Last June one of my daughters came forward to the church, and declar ed what great things the Lord had done for her soul, was received and baptized, and in two months more her husband came forward and done the same. She dated her travels some seven years back, and I hope the next mee ting to see one of my sons take up his cross and follow his Lord and’ Master unto the liquid grave. lie has had a hope for some time. Sister Dutton, we have just been to our Associ ation, we had a harmonious meeting indeed ; saints rejoiced, and sinners trembled. We had some eighteen or twenty preachers —one about twenty years of age that could preach sovereign grace.— O sister, it would have done your very soul good to have heard him. Thus it proves the prophecy of the world to be false, that says, the Old Bap*- list preachers will soon all be.dead, for our God is able to call and qualify just such preachers as he will own and bless. Among the rest of the preach ers was our beloved brother, Wm. M. Mitchell; he told me to say to you, sister Dutton, that he high ly appreciated your letters, and loved you as a warm-hearted Christian, and did not want you to think hard of him for not answering all of your letters, for his time was so filled up, he could not answer all private letters, but wished you to con tinue to write to him. lie visits a good many Associations, and writes a good deal for publi cation. He is a very gracious man with us. Sister, my space admonishes tne to quit, but I want you to pray for me and mine, and write to me as soon as you receive this. Your letters are comforting and interesting to me, one of the least of all. ANN E. HARDY.. -■■■ ■ ‘g> ‘I Naomi, Walker Cos„ Ga., Nov. 20, 1860. Bro. Beebe : —By request of many brethren,, permit me to say, that Tuesday after the 3d Sun day in October, 1 arrived home, and found all well. I visited Conecuh River Association, they had a very pleasant session indeed ;• the preaching sov ereign grace. Also at Primitive Western, sover eign grace was the theme, and a pleasant session of her body. I left on Monday at 12 o’clock. I lookback to the brethren with whom I formed ac quaintance, with full feelings of fellowship, as i-ojnd Bap.ists; may God bless them. H. G. FULLER. “ Sirs, Ye are Brethren.” Strife over “ Machinery.” —At the recent session of the Bethel Baptist Association, Georgia, Rev. W. N. Chaudoin said that “ the anti-Board Spirit was es sentially an anti-Mission spirit; that he had travel ed and seen enough to convince him that this was true.” The Christian Index adds: “Os one thing we feel confident, this anti-Board spirit is working mischief in our denomination : it injures the love and fellow-feeling that should exist between the churches: it is breaking the unity of the spirit and the bonds of peace: it will make our denomination retrograde in piety, influence apd efficiency ; and as bro. Chaudoin thinks, we fear that it will tend to de stroy the missionary spirit of the Baptists.” We suppose the great difficulty in the case to he that which the Virginia Baptist (an anti-Board paper) points out: “ We fear we are giving an undue por tion of our time and energies to the discussion of ab stract-plans, instead of proving the plans by their ac* tual efficiency.”— Bcligious Herald ,