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1^ar£ ht 0 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.”