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THE COUNTRYMAN.
The church was built, the sacred altar reared,
The gospel preached, Jehovah loved and feared,
While learning eame, and with its potent rod,
Enlarged the mind, yet kept the heart to God.
A True Picture.
The Hardshell Baptists are a very sen
sible set of people, and always were.
They know a thing or two about the hypoc-
ricy there is abroad in the land, under the
name of religion. They know almost as
much about it as I do. Hence I would like
to see you fooling them with your corn-
cakes, when they know a genuine article of
wheat bread. I would like to see you
throw dust in their eyes, with regard to the
fancy article of religion which so much
abounds nowadays, and which forms the
flash stock in trade of thoso who huckster
their religion as they do their merchandize,
and who make God’s house a den of thieves,
I have been led to these lemarks by an
article in the Southern Baptist Messenger
of Dec. 1, 1861. The foundation of the
writer’s essay is the 21st verse of the 7th
chapter of Matthew :
“ Not every one that saith unto me Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heav
en, but he that doeth the will of my father
which is in heaven.”
After some introductory remarks, the
writer proceeds as follows :
“ Some make great pretensions to piety,
seem to be very religious, even righteous
over much ; wear a sanctimonious mask ;
pray loud and long ; fill tire churches and
pulpits with fleshly members ; look down
with supreme contempt upon those who are
doubting yet hoping, and by this means de
ceive their fellows, who can only judge by
appearances. Many are deceived,no doubt,
and really believe that they are Christians,
and that they*aro on their way to heaven.
These ought to he pitied. But many are
hypocrites, and know they have not been
changed, and make all this parade to con
ceal their real character, intending from the
first to accomplish some wicked design, and
then reveal themselves. Such are to be
avoided as the pestilence. The devil wants
no better tools to further his plans. These
are always ready to say, Lord, Lord, and
can boast of having done many wonderful
works in the name of the Lord, even proph
esied, and cast out devils.”
After firing the foregoing broadside info
the hypocrites, my Baptist brother, contin
ues : “ Let us notice the experience of the
nominal professor, or the religion that con
sists only in name. Ho generally commen
ces the work in the time of some great ex
citement, when his fears are powerfully
aroused by appeals to bis imagination ; the
most vivid pictures wrought by eloquence
—the result of heated imagination in the
preacher—of the lost in torment ; their
wailing's are described with powerful con
tortions of the body ; now heated, he gives
himself up to the occasion ; knows he is
lost, and will do all that is required by his
spiritual advisers. They mark out his course
for him ; prescribe for his disease, and af
ter he has undergone a certain amount of
penance, and mortification of the body—
his mind, and the whole nervous system
having undergone the strongest tension—
he is persuaded that it is now time to be
lieve in Christ, and is told that he can be
lieve and rejoice : that this is his privilege.
He questions nothing that is told him. Elo
quence has prevailed, and wishing to grati
fy those who seem to take such a deep in
terest in his welfare, he professes to be con
verted, and as the day ot mourning is past,
his time to rejoice has como. Those who
were instrumental in his salvation, of course
are delighted that they have converted an
other sinner from the error of his ways ;
another star is added to their crown, and it
is a time of great joy. This convert’s ex
perience, of course, will be, the more he
pray ed and wept, the better he got—the
more God was pleased with him. He con
tinued to pay the debt, amount for amount
charged, until it was all paid, when, as a
matter of course, God balanced the account;
the hook was entered settled; and as he
procured his religion himself, he can, if he
will, hold on to it; but if he grows cold,
God gives him up to the devil. But I will
not continue his experience ; every Christian
can anticipate it. Every Christian knows
there has been no change only for the worse
—and it is much for the worse, for his ears
cannot endure sound doctrine now. It is
sickening to contemplate this condition. I
write in sorrow. Man’s works, his power
atid ability, great as they are, are utterly
worthless when compared to the works of
God. What He does stands forever ; it is
like him, glorious to contemplate. If any
of us are saved, it. is because He willed it;
‘He purposed it; it was not by our willings
nor runnings ; we have nothing to boast of;
grace has made the difference, and to God
belongs the glory.”
These are my views, precisely : but if I
had written them, 1 would have been ac
cused ot prejudice. It would have been
said 1 wrote them because I am “ hetero
dox,” aud a “ heretic.”—But here they are,
written by an “ orthodox” man, and pub-
lishedin an '* orthodox” paper. All honor
to the Hardshells for speaking the truth
By the way, I see in the Messenger be
fore me, that brother Beebe, like other ed
itors, is complaining of hard times, and ur
ging hispations to come to the rescue. I
trust they will do so, and not suffer tho
Messenger to dwindle away and die.
There are so few journals that dare to speak
the truth, that the Messenger cannot be
spared. I urge tbe Hardshells to support
their paper. It were a shame for it to he
discontinued. To brother Beebe—my broth
er editor and brother Hardshell—I wish
abundant success in his calls upon his old
patrons, and a long list of new ones. And
not only should all of brother Beebe’s de
nomination subscribe for his paper, but all
others should, who desire to uphold truth
spoken in a plain, straight-forward way.
W. B. K., Waverly Hall, Ga..
Your dollar was rec’d. on 18th Oct., en
tered to your credit, and the paper has been
sent yon regularly ever since.
W. I., same office.—Your brother paid
for your paper several weeks ago, but by
some oversight it was not entered upon tbe
mail-book, until today.. 0. K., now. You
have credit for 1 year from today.
—
Small-Pox.
Mr. Countryman :—As the people are
very much interested in knowing what pro
gress the small-pox is making in our com
munity, I will say, through your paper, that
at Mrs. Spivey Fuller’s, 5 miles wetJ of
Eatonton, there are 7 cases, all mild, ex
cept 1 or 2. The place is well guarded
both . night and day, which precludes the
probability, or even possibility, oftbe spread
of this loathsome-disease.
Also, at Mr. Tlios. Vincent’s, 15 miles
west of Eatonton, in Jones county, there
are 3 cases, al! mild.
The disease was brought into these fam
ilies by the return of their respective sons
from our army iu Virginia—contracted in
passing through, perhaps, Staunton.
It is strange, and fortunate too, that it
has not been more wide-spread, as the young
men visited, and were visited, freely, by
then friends and relations, up to tho time
of its appearing on the skin, having high fe
vers for several days, before which goes
far to prove that the disease may be high
ly contagious, but certainly not highly in
fectious.—J G. Gibson, M. D. Eaton
ton, Ga., Nov■ 5th 1862.
“Most people, as they approach old age,
show in what manner their body and minds
will decay.”