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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent gtre filmds d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour §tre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est filmd d partir de t'angle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 V^ < ^ ^6^rAAnTNESS / ■ , FOR THE GODHEAD. •# ^' BY JOHN COLLINS. PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR. SAINT JOHN, N. B., 1884. "\ \f (.J :/ U //■■ PREFACE. *i^ THERE ARE WITNESSES INT THIS BOOK TO SUPPORT THE OOD-HEAD OF HEAVEN IN HIS DIVINE SPIRITUAL GOVERNMENT. In opposition to the god of this world, and his triune three, Satan, Flesh and Self, against the triune three of Heaven, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, with obsei 'ationa on Father Maturin'a sermon, preached in St. Luke's Church, Halifax, November, 1883, without respect to persons, creeds, sects, parties, or any church going system proving. God expects of all mankind, on their true spiritual character, which Hf; himself has formed and expects of, and I bring Peter as witness, when God put him through his seminary and training post vision, and took all JewiF:!i and Sectarian bigotery out of him, (see Acts 10, v 34) then Peter opened his mouth and said of a truth, "no lie is in this." I perceive God is no r- specter of persons, ^ verse 35) but in every nation, he that feareth Go«l md worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. The Douy version say;; worketh justice is accepted with him, and endorse it with my Roman (-< t holic friends ; or, justice in substance is righteousness, and here we are agreed, justice and truth are one, by God's authority and Peter as their truo witness. And now I come to show how God the Fath r keeps his children obeying and doing their duty, no merit for their doing, but being pleased with his children attending their Father's bidding. He sn les upon them and bestows His Son's merited graces and salvation freeh; pon them, without a sigh from your spirit to purchase it, or one cent of , jarthly ore to pay for it, it would offend the Heavenly Father, to presume < i Him to take two payments for one debt, which the Sou has paid and the Fattier accepted long, long ago, and because you have nothing to pay. He f eely forgives you all; and I believe He would damn every man who would presume on God to take either spiritual services, or human services, sacrifices of any kind, and dismiss his Son's human toil and labors, with a life of sowing tears, sighs and groans, which rent Jerusalem's rocks, and expired — the first and last meritorious life blood and heart blood, which flowed from the soldier's spear — and this sacrifice of His Son, He gave and received and accepted, according to His Dwn will and independent government, and God would dethrone his own government to dismiss His own Son and accept of corruptible inferior in His place; and again how unjust would it be for any man to exact two payments for one debt; he would be a robber and deceiver ihat would do that. Here we see God has stripped man of all self -righteousness — his labors of either body or soul — God does notice us it' we fast, or to be skele> tons ; and to be charitable and give all our goods to feed the poor, and give our body a sacrifice to be burned, God having accepted His Son, could not r accept of.it ; it would make Him an unjust God, it would disgrace His throne and overthrow His system of righteousness; an Paul is a true witness here, (see first Corinthians, 13, verse 3) and as he was one bf the learned of the day and could speak with more tongues than :heni all andf)^ combines angels' tongues to charm their ears ; and if God does nol. ac^opt"-.*^ and give the efficacy, it is all sounding brass and tinkling cym^ls ; thJR being God's truth and Paul being an unquestionable witness that cannot be doubted, from the fact of his experiences and God creating him anew he knows both sides and is competent to direct in the right pathway, and as the Father in the bank of Heaven, as he says, it pleased the Father that in His Son should all fulness dwell, remember the word all fulness dwell, and it would make God a liar to say that He gave and deposited in that Bishop, Priest or Minister of any class to give away the efficiency and increase from thoir vessels and hands ; now all God's true taught ones would be only like finger-posts, and no more efficiency in them than in finger-posts, and would direct them to the Godhead's bank, and Jesus' overflowing heart and hand invites the hungry and thirsty to come and eat and drink abundantly. Oh my beloved little ones, there is no scanty fare with me, and all free, and I purchased it and gave it all in free bestowments. This is the unchangeable law of the bank of Heaven — imchangeable as God and lasting as eternity. But the opposite god of this world, Satan, Flesh and Self, in their nature is to overthrow the above All Divine Authority, for two opposites cannot be one, nor light and darkness cannot be one and is not one, nor Christ and Belial never will be one, but Satan will have His enemies to preach Jesus, and their desire is with their father's designing cunning to waylay and betray all they can, and to think with their father's bold- ness and audacity, to tell Jesus to His face He cast out devils in his name, but in the sunlight Jesus rose and exposed them and their father, who belonged to the old school of liars and tells them plainly that he never knew them. ■'^, ^ iV. •^s, / A WITNESS for' THE GODHEAD. .J^ HAVE i^ad the sermon preached by the Rev. Father Maturin, in St. Cuke's Church, Halifax. He says, "The subject which we have to consider to-night, is that of Confession and Absolution, and there is so much feeling excited on both sides, that it seems hopeless to be able to speak, or to expect to be listened to, without strong feeling, yet it is a good sign when men are thinking deeply, or feel deeply about it." I have often thought, if only I could be allowed to t«ll certain persons what I believe on this subject, and if only they would believe that I am honest in what I say, I have no doubt that I. could remove the prejudice that exists in their minds, it is verj X true Sir, for believing in you in these two senses you would have them, for you are the end of the law to them in whom their faith centres, bat I hope Sir, you would not let the old blinder, liar and deceiver put you in Christ's place, who is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes in Him, and He never gave us to believe on angels, prophets, nor His apostles that liedj and the deceiving High Priest, who would seek for false ■N/itnesses to put Jesus to death, and here He proved Himself to be the true Son of His Father, the murderer doing his work for Christ, and never believed he would be one ; and just see the old blinder and deceiver, to get Peter to be Pope Supreme over Christ, getting him to disbelieve His word and contradicting Him to His face, and that He should not go up to Jerusalem nor be put to death. How do we know that it was the old blinder, liar and deceiver who tried to get Peter to be Pope Supreme over Christ and make Him a liar, and that He should not go up to Jerusalem and suffer many things and be put to death. And here Jesus overthrowed the Pope Supreme for attempting to make Him a liar, but ^/hrist with bitterness and contempt says, " Get thee behind Me Satan," for by consenting to the tempter He would become the adversary of God, that savors the things that be of man and not the things that be of God, and let us st'll obey Christ's command and not trust in man in whom there is no stay. Our Lord is true, for man's daily experiences prove the fact, man is here to-day and away to-morrow, which fact proves it is true ; and here we should all say to self, flesh and satan — the misinterpreter of God's word — see the boldness and audacity of the devil placing Him on a pinnacle of the Temple and wanting Him to throw Himself down and kill Himself — who quotes scripture that God would give His angels charge over Him and in their hands they would bear Him up, lest Thou -dash Thy foot against a" 6 atone; Vjut Christ would not obey scripture when the y.ui'}^ and his ministers preached it ; and I give Jesus the proof, for " '^e') ^ the devil's ministers said in the name of Jesus whom Paul prealsftpe ed, come out of them, (and here we see the devil would dishoni Christ's commissioned sei"vant and overthrow Christ's government ♦ for commissioning them) but Jesus took the virtue and efficacy out of His name and they had only the sounding braiBS and tinkling cymbal without the power, and to show his authority to the devil and his commissioned ministers. He let loose the evil spirits (their own class) to leap on them and tear them, and send them out naked, and hear we see the god of this world his flesh, self and satan will be opposed and never will be one in time or eternity, and to think of his perseverance, when he was forty days an hungered, when the devil wanted Him to make stones bread, He could do it but He would not do anything to please the devil, but He would do it to please and profit the blind beggar on the way- side, who honored Him to be the light for soul and body, and here He teaches us to be like Him, to mind not high things, but to condescend to men of low estate ; and I have heard that the devil had some of his agents to fast forty days and nights. Oh, how glad the devil would be, having such servants as these, not to let Christ above them, and if possible, to cast Christ in the shade and ^ be supreme in his devil's nature. And the third temptation was that he would give Him all the kingdoms of the world if He would fall down and worship him, and hear we never can be mistaken, but see clearly the deril's nature and that he wants all to bow down and worship him, for their great knowledge acquii'ed from natan's great trunk and tree of knowledge and have them seeking and acquiring the wisdom of this world, which comes to nought and foolishness with the God of Heaven, and here we see the two Gods and their subjects directly opposite ; the God of Heaven is light and truthful right- eousness, and the opposite and his blinding deceivers appearing what they are not, and wants to pass button moluds for guineas, without putting them in the scale of truth to prove them. When I was a juror, sixty years ago, in sessions and assizes, I was always anxious to find out the foundation and truthful con- sistency of all evidence, so that my conscience would be clear in giving a true verdict of the original God of nature, and we read of the triune three, that there was nothing made that was made with- out, them, and after calling the world into existence and bid it be, and at his bidding was, and we cannot doubt it, for it is true, a^id it does exist, and the firmament with its lights, the waters with fishes and the dry land with its fruits and it is true and is so. We need not multiply words, and we read He made man in Hi» own likeness, truthfid, loving and kind, and God was His com- panion and life for walking with him through all the paths of \ ^tt •■ > 11^^*'- N Eden, «>- ^ to eat all the abundance and variety of fruit to his *,.JaoQ , satisfection, but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and J\vas not to eat on pain of death. r-'^ ' And we learn, to get a companion for Adam, He caused him to /; -I'eep, amd made him a woman of one of his ribs, to be with him, Jf'' and it seems to me that it is God's actual practical law that a man should have but one wife at a time, for He could have given him two or three at the same time, but the fact is God did not do it, but it seems to me that the god of this world in selfish fleshly lusts would be opposite to the God of Heaven, would glory in having God's chief creation no better than the brutal tribes of brutal beasts of the field, but God gave them his truthful warning, " the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die," and the devil was permitted to go to and fro and tempt, but not to force the will of any. Here is the foundation of satan, tempting and deceiving our first parents in their innocency, and to make God a liar and to bring _, his spiritual and heaven-born family to be slaves to the flesh and tw\ its lusts. God's children have to contend against the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life. " Oh, see the beautiful fruit-«- how desirable to the eye. Oh, taste and find how palatable it is above all, it will make you gods, and getting so much knowledge and knowing so much good and evil you will be above all gods," and by Eve's conceiving to him he has got into all our flesh without, one exception, in me, as well as in others, and if the fleshly lusta gain victory over the spirit, it will draw the spirit down into sin to lie, deceive, murder and steal, and at last to hell for- ' ever, but if the spirit has gained the victory over the flesh, it will raise it above all that is low, mean or wicked, and enable it to rise and shine in all that is gracious, righteous and truthful, and be exalted to Heaven at last, and here we see the end of both these leaders, but God's word puts the climax on it. He that soweth in the flesh shall reap corruption, and he that soweth in the spirit, life everlasting and glory to God. The flesh being inferior to the spirit, must borrow all its life, power and electricity from the spirit ] for take the spirit from the flesh it would leave the flesh nothing but a mass of lifeless corruption, and leave lips and hands inactive, and it would be im- possible for our hand to command the Holy Ghost to come down from Heaven and operate, but the god of this world would endorse it, while in the fleshy sphere he reigns and exhalts to way-lay and blind the simple hearted, for such is the distinction between the two gods and the subjects they teach (directly opposite). Now the truth of the matter is, there is no light in Father Maturin, nor in me, John Collins, we must borrow it from below, from the old transforming angel of light, or from the true light of the Son of God above, and we believe we are the servants of him whom we r= 8 obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteous- ness, and by faithful obedience to the upi>er God saves to th** uttermost, unto the end, but the lower god makes no preoa to save any one, but as he has got into your flesh and mine by Eve's conception, and operates upon us to disbelieve God and to become like satan, a liar and deceiver, and believe every man ; as Ood says to His followers and disciples, you are my witnesses and I come as a witness to second Peter as a witness, a» he has pro- mised to reveal himself to his dependent little ones. When a boy, with Satan's proud nature in my flesh, inhaled by Eve's conception, {but I did not know it then, but since, many a time he has led me captive at his will to top the pole and be above all my equals in placing the ball where I pleased and being Pope Supreme,) I would allow no one to control me, but there came a large boy and joined us, he would place the ball where he pleased and I would not let him, but in the contest he threw me over and took the supremacy from me. Thus carrying on in vanity's fair and sinning against reason and judgment until I was ten years old by my father's side reading the first Psalm, not to stand with sinners nor take counsel with the imgodly. His prayers brought me to a full stop, and I never flntered a dancing display, horse race or cock fight from that day, and I believe this was my first change in my conversion, I was my father's herd boy from seven to fourteen years, where I herded the sheep and cattle, and I thought when God made use of such feeble instruments as David the stripling herd boy, to wield the arm and sling the stone, being with God to conduct it, to lay the boaster's pride low, and I being a shepherd and also of the baby race to whom he promises to reveal himself, and to bring the proud and haughty heart down to the stature of a baby, dependent on the parent to carry them with their strength, their spoon feeding to nourish them, their clothing to cover them (and not themselves) but the parents to wash them almost every day to keep them clean, and carried in the parent's bosom, and drink the milk of the word that they may grow thereby, and the smiles of the parent and the multiplication of kisses, and peace be unto you without a cent to pay or an alms deed to purchase it. To think so, and say so, is conjecturing and injurious ; and he gets the flesh wrought up to disbelieve God and says that there is no hell, no everlasting punishment, no worm nor fire. Oh, how pleasing to the flesh is the devil's preaching, and to those who drink in sin as the ox the water, and rejects and denies God's word in their unbelief, for he conveys no blessing through unbelief, for He says, he that believeth not His word, shall be damned ; and no man's word opposite and contrary to God's word is to be believed, but is to be rejected as serving the things that be of man; and I think you have done it Sir, by changing Christ's figure of the new birth which he taught Nicodemus, and tells him that which is born of the spirit must beget him and bring forth and enable him to entei* into the Kingdom of Heaven, of grace, love and.peace, not meats or drinks of death stricken material, it is spiiitual birth, (see first Peter, 1: 23) he follows up Christ in the contrast, being born again, not of coriiiptible seed, such as Hesh, but of incorruptible as the word of God which liveth and abideth forever, and hear Peter in verae 24 ; he tells us man's flesh is as grass and his glory fades away, (and all grades and ■classes, and devils themselves must believe Peter's preaching true of fallen corruptible man). The contrast, verse 25, proves God's word is spirit and life. He is the food of the soul that gives life and health, which pain and death defy, most vigorous when the body dies, verse 25, but the word of the Ijord endureth for ever, and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. Oh how fleshly corrupted minds eclipse the sun) but Christ is the true vine and also a door to let the sheep out into pastures ; but here God uses a human birth to represent a spiritual one, and tells Nicodemus in the third chapter of St. John's gospel, that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit, and there are four parts in every spiritual birth before we enter the kingdom of joy, love and peace. And now for seventy years since I was sent to visit the sinsick souls and bodies, and travel in pain for their deliverance and direct their mind's' eye to behold their deliverer. The Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the whole world ; and surely you are in the world, and He will not pass you by. but simply look and believe like the bitten Israelites, for the moment they obeyed > he god of obedience I contrast bcvtween these and poet and say : — O" the upper God's subjects, who can join the "Am I not of birth divine, Bl^rn to rise and soar and shine, Yes, eternity is mine." I am an heir of God, and if a child then a heir, and He welcomes His lawful chiMren home, for God's word says, " he that i« born of God doth not commit sin, for His seed remaineth in him," and with God's spirit and strength say like Christ, " get thee behind me Satan, I want no fellowship with you," or like Joseph, when tempted he raised his voice and said, "how could I do this wickedness and sin against God," here these babes were all right in the Heavenly Father's arms, to receive his smile and his strength, to be made perfect in their weakness with grace sufficient for them. Some wonder why I presume to write, and me not taught the languages, and one of these linguists, (master of five languages) with his pompous majesty said to ray face, (for which I give him credit not behind my back.) * How is it that you presume to know doctrine and you do not know the languages sir." But if God has made use of the weak things to confound the mighty, it might not be thought strange, if He employed the cock to preach to Peter, and God made it effectual preaching too, which brought His self- righteousness and strength to His disciple to know that man in his best estate is but vanity, and God knows it, but we all see here that it was God's word that Peter remembered, that the power and efficacy was in, which caused Peter to weep bitterly, and his penitential tears flowed, and I hope when my Lord employs me it will be like the cock, to bring to memory what he has said, to bring to conversion and ripen them for God to pardon and convert their souls, and then the cock and I equally accepted having done our duty, we have the answer of a good conscience towards God, and we leave it with, pod, to give the efficacy and grace as it is his way to freely bestow it, and the cock and I have to boast of nature's God for our qualifications in our native language, but the cock more than me, as I went to school and learned to read and write and went through the five first rules of Arithmetic, and with practising when I was able to keep grocery store and dra])ery and bleaching, when my father's cousin, James Collins, kept a Bleaching House on the river. With this small education, God was able to l^erform the work without any mistake, and going under the yoke of Christ, I am striving to be a fingerpost to point to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. It is not in any instrument to take Christ's place and office and give efficacy and take away the sins of the world, whether he be pope, priest or minister of any grade, or John Collins either, (as powerless as any of them,) and has nut one drop to spare, and he never commanded them to take His office or give one, when He % 12 lacl none to spare, and it would be deceiving for me not to tell where the Father has placed His deposit, for it pleased the Father that in His Son should all fulness dwell, (not tha half in Him and the I'est to Bishops, Priests and Deacons to scatter broa^^'^ast at theii:' will.) No, no division, all in Him alone to give to all his humble little ones, for the haughty heart he will not hear, nor him that looketh high. We must be very blind to think God would use Satan, flesh and self, the god of this world's instruments to do the God of Heaven's spiritual work, no, He must swamp them down and take Satan's proud mind out of them the way Jesus did with Saul of Tarsus, that had the men and the bloody letters of the high priests, that would destroy all that would call on the name of Jesus, you must not go to Him direct, you must come and be circumcised and come to our government, or you cannot be saved according to our supreme government, we will scatter you to strong cities, just the language of satan, self and flesh, but the opposite God met him aiiid took all the devil's herd of swine out of him and made a baby of him and wants some one to take him by the hand and lead him, and now he is fit for God to reveal himself to him, but it was no good before, when he was the devil's captive, and under his proud boast- ing, but Jesus soon laid the boaster's pride low and scaled his eyes, to let him know a brighter day was before him. When these scales fell and the Holy Ghost entered into his temple and he was baptised by faith and claimed relationship with his new foundation Father, Son and Holy Ghost, with whom all true light and true teaching are found in what I have said and what I have commanded you, the commission he gave to his disciples not to add or diminish a word uttered by his lips, for if any does, he is in the dark, for at the last testimony of His will, here God has bound himself to add the plagues, or to erase his name, or his pai't taken out of the book of life and not one word to give a ray of hope, (see Rev. xxii, verses 18, 19,) ever to be restored to life again. Oh, how many misrepresent the scriptures and pervert the right way of the Lord, and as there is no light in ourselves, then "we must borrow from the sunlight of Heaven, or the old angel's light and borrow from their parties an^l watch their word, spirit and nature of Satan, flesh and self, which wants, by their organized laws, to cast Christ 's spiritual honor and spiritual ordinance in the shade, and there is no doubt but the word, spirit and nature of the devil would do it, for these two opposites never can be one in time or eternity. I was pleased in reading the first line of Father Maturin's ser- mon, on his mission to Halifax, he says, " we have no right to say to a large number of men, you are all blind and the slaves of a blind and unreasonable prejudice, there is in the minds of innocent 13 io tell where Father that [im and the "ast at theii? lumble little that looketh an, flesh and of Heaven's take Satan's il of Tarsus, priests, that us, you must jed and come ) our supreme the language I and took all baby of him ead him, and ; was no good 3 proud boast- saled his eyes, n these scales 3 was baptised ation Father, true teaching mded you, the ninish a word for at the last f to add the »f the book of V. xxii, verses rvert the right ves, then "we d angel's light »rd, spirit and heir organized dinance in the I nature of the an be one in Maturin's ser- 10 right to say he slaves of a ids of innocent Protestants, a greater loyalty towards the person of Jesus Christ the one Mediator between God and man, the clean must stand alone for God will not tolerate anything tnat encroaches on His office; the great High priest, the one Mediator, the one Fountain ) oi cleansing grace, no doctrine to be endorsed that would lessen their faith in Him. As their Saviour Christ must be mv Redeemer, my great High Priest, I cannot allow any cloud of earth to rise between me and Him, I cannot allow another to stand in His place, so say my devout and earnest Protestants, contending earn- estly against what they think would dishonor their Lord, and if the doctrine of Absolution did thjs, did push Christ off a little farther, or hinder the free approach* of the soul to the throne of Grace, then they are perfectly right, it ought to be rejected." Why Sir, I endorse your last sentiment, and am ready to shake hands with you in my heart, were you a Protestant, and what would dishonor Jesus Christ ought to be resisted and that is true Protestantism, and I hope we will keep you and take good care of you that no harm shall befall you, for you are a protestant and we claim you, and I hope you will never be two-faced, double-tongued, nor any- thing but a true witness for our Great High Priest. As Christ alone is the subject of discus^n recorded in the old and new Testemants from the foundation laid, with the Godhead and Adam and Eve's family, and that one law book, one creed book and prayer book to Adam's family to the end of time with- out altering or erasing a word uttered by His lips, or any man's werd added in its place, they are to bear the penalty of having their name erased, and the plagues added, the last sentence at the close of the Judge's Law book. And we must look out not to savor the things that be of men, such as injurious conjecturers think and say, that Satan, self and flesh form everything, but that the Doctrine of Confession and \ Absolution was very clear and plain, for in the Lord's Prayer He teaches it, (see* Mat. 6, v. 12) and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors, (verse 14) for if ye forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, (verae 15) but if you for- give not men their trespasses neither will your Heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses. Here we see that none can forgive sins only those that are sinned against, and as all sin is against God therefore God has to forgive all sin that is against Himself, and God requires the man who has sinned against Him to confess and forsake sin and he shall find mercy, and this is the Godhead's foundation, independent of angels or man, and He says, " I will Ihave no other gods before Me," but the gods of this world, (the pposite) would have the Priest in with his favorite chosen flesh, . elf and satan, for God never names a priest at all to assist Him 11 the least, but he-was His opposer first and last, and in their lindness they were the ringleaders of the Scribes and Pharisees 14 V and Lawyers, the worst class in the world to whom the woes of God belong, and it is #ot worth a cent what I say or what any other man may say, it is only sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal for it is what I have said unto you, what I have commanded you, and you will be judged by it on the resurrectic . mom. (Oh, let us dread the plagues and no record of us in God's Book of Life, oh the death book is a separation from God, where life is never found) for daring to erase one word of His and putting any other man's word in its place, therefore let us have no foundation but Christ, and what He has said and commanded His disciples to do, and drive away the chaff of man's conjecture* and inference, or think HO, and say so, for Satan and his ministers can prove everything they want to, by the clouds of earth to eclipse the Sun of Right- eousness and dim HxS rays, and when a new portion of scripture comes up, does our bishop or priest approve of it that way, or do our learned ministers of various sects accept or approve of it and if so ail is well, and according tc this system the priests and minis- ters have the conscience of the people, but there are still exceptions, and there was a sect of the Boreaiis which always brought the doctrine of the preacher and tried it by the word of God, to see the truthfulness' of his doctrine, and they were much to be com- mended for honoring God's word, and like them I wish to obey God and test the truth of the preacher, and all productions, "by the words uttered by His own mouth, and all in harmony correspond- ing with the same. I am now about to show you how I treated the doctrine of Confession and Absolution, the first rose from the practice of kicking foot ball, I was supple, and when I got it I kept it until I put it by the post, and then shouted hard, " I have topped the pole, and took it from you all," and that day I appeared as high as the Pope of Rome — I topped the pole — I was above them all. I did not see it then, but I saw it since, that it was Satan, flesh and self, and by Eve's conceiving to saten, he got into my flesh and got me to boast and ventelate my pride wine. But by means of my father's advice, example and prayers, I came to a full stop at ten years old, and I never went to dancing or foot ball broadway since, and commenced to draw nearer to God, at the age of fifteen God brought me unto his Kingdom of grace divine. The people that were sick sent for me to read, sing and pray with them. I was like my namesake John, that many things preached he in exhortations to the people, and like John, I spoke on ■ the foundation of the Father and Son, forgiving God with man, and man with man, and by confessing and forsaking sin he shall find meij^, and on this foundation, God has never named a priest to take his place to forgive sins in his word. He never mentioned a priest or minister to forgive, instead of the man that was trespassed against, and if any man attempts to alter or change this "v ., I 3 woes of what any [g cymbal ided you, !)h, let us ' Life, oh er found) ler man's it Christ, I do, and or think ^erything )f Right- scripture ay, or do of it and nd minis- :ceptions, ught the 3d, to see be coni- 1 to obey ns,*by the rrespond- ctrine of actice of it until I the pole, ;h as the I did and self, got me rayers, I dancing to God, of grace sing and y things poke on tian, and lall find 3riest to jntioned lat was nge this s i 16 foundation by the Father and the Son, I would charge him he was like the man that sowed the tares among the whe»T,t, (an enemy has done this,) satan, self and flesh. As I was passing by one evening where they were playing foot- ball, I said to a young man, " Why do you spend your strength on trifles light as air 1 " The young man kindled up at once ajxd said, " You kicked foot-ball yourself." " Yes, and I know the folly of it," " Oh, get along, you old hypocritical Methodist you," and I made off" when I saw the storm rise so high, and about a year after that he was very sick, and he sent for me, and I went and shook hands with him, and asked him had he any hopes of getting better. " Sometimes I have, but at other times I have not," he said, " you recollect the time I treated you with scurrilous contempt, at the same time I believed you were right and I was wrong, yet I let out the spleen, I sent for you to beg your pardon." " Well, I never had a charge against you, for I know what it is to speak rash and hasty, and I did not think any thing about it, but you bring to memory the Father and His Son, who said, * if you for- give one another their trespasses, so also will your Heavenly Father forgive your trespasses,' and now in compliance with God's will and word I forgive you and you will forgive me, and believ- ing God's word true, we have both pardon on the spot," and I sang and prayed, and we rejoiced together, and he got better and became one of ray best friends after that. On another occasion, I was speaking on this subject, and the mistress of the house said, " well, Mr. Collins, I have one enemy and I cannot forgive him, he tried to slander my daughter, and I have evidence that would commit him for it, but I do not want to go to law, but I must tell you I cannot forgive him." I Said " but if he comes to you and confesses that he told lies about your daugh- ter, and says I come to beg your pardon, would you forgive him V* ** Yes, indeed I would." Now, you are all right by God's law, for He does not bind you to forgive iintil he confesses and forsakes sin, and God will not pardon without confession and forsaking sin, as against Him all sin is committed according to the foundation of the Godhead's laws, he will not let angels, prophets, apostles, bishops or priests of any grade or country rival or disthrone Him of His seat or glorious ofiice, as f»ur great High Priest, who accord- ing to the foundation of His own iaws, healeth all our diseases, and never missed a cure, and who parioneth all our sins, and never denied a poor mourning broken heart crying after him for a cure, for eitheiPfeoul or body. He blessed and healed them all. But there is another class of enquirers belonging to the god of this world, satan, self and flesh. See Mat. 21, verse 2: And when He was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people (and these are the chief ministers and leaders among the devil's ministers, to try to confound and condemn Christ with 16 their old angel's ^ght, and the wisdom of a death stricken world) with the audacity and boldness of theii* father, say " By what authority doest thou these things, and who gave thee this authority.'^ (I am always glad to hear the words from Jesus' lips, believing His word is sure, for I am sui-e I am on the rock, and when the rock goes do^n I will go down with it, and this is the text Father Maturin has taken as a foundation to build the great Bulwark of his Church going system.) And Jesus, opposite to their serper.te- tine cunning and snake-like twis missioned him to go home and tell his friends and neighbours what great things the Lord had done for him, and no doubt but there were many converted when Christ gave the efficacy and increase, and He never sent to a priest or mentioned one of them as being used by Him. God chose the rams* horns to convey his power to pull down the walls of Jericho, in preference to the silver trumpets, and none would be of any use without He gave the efficacy. Moses' rod opened the sea when He gave the efficacy, and cleft the rock when He gave the power. We never hear of a priest assisting Hin^ at all, but we hear of a blind boy, to whom Christ gave sight, confound- 21 ing all the leaders of the Synagogue with the teachings of his despised master. He nmde a very successful minister of the woman of Samaria, when He changed water with her and washed the crimson scarlet stains away, and filled her with His living water, and she ran to the city and poured it out on eyes and ears as she went through the city without shame or fear, saying, " Go to Jesus, He is the fountain of living water at the well. Go and see Him, He told me all that ever I did. Oh go, the fountain is free," and away they go to whiten the fields for the harvest, and bear their testimony. We not only believe from the saying of the woman, for we have heard Him ourselves, and know indeed that He is the Christ, the Saviour of the world, and not a priest sent to save the world ; and I do believe that He gave the efficacy to gather in such a glorious harvest, and I would not doubt but the priests and bishops, getting a thousand a year, have not had half as many souls for their ministry, where God gives no virtue nor efficacy. And here we see God's word is true in choosing the weaker things of this world to confound the greater and the mighty, and not one of these had a particle of their long labors of study, or dis- play of oratory, or priestly power, lips and hands, to give efficacy j these had none of these acquirements to boast of, or to get efficacy from, and here we see the contrast between the god of this world, satan, flesh and self, in glorying in their own self righteousness, to make God's little ones of no reputation, like himself, to gain worldly popular applause. And here again we see His word is true, where He says, " Not many mighty, not many noble are called, for God has chosen the weaker things to confound the greater and the mighty," (not many,) but there are exceptions. When they came down to be little children, and having no strength of their own to boast of, their boast is in the strength of their parents' arms to support them, and their spoonfeeding to nourish them, (not their own will and choit-e but their parents,) and the parents washing and clothing, freely destowed without a cent to pay, and the parents' sympathy in their weakness and sufferings, and in giving the kiss of peace. Peace be unto you, is the way Jesus accosted his disciples every Sabbath when they were in sorrow and trouble. What a comfort to hear from a father come to comfort his little children, (not big ones at all). God's word records it, " One is our Father, even Christ, who has power to give birthright to soul and body, and I prefer him to Father Maturin, who begets neither and dismisses Christ's figure of a birth, and in his supreme judgment, translates it into a baptism and no greater authority than earthly material hands, words and water, and if God would accept this, He would be one with the god of this world, and His kingdom would be divided, and be just thoMsame as that class that iJiought Christ was dependent on Beelzebub, the chief of the devils; 22 and licro they go so far as to say that fallen corniptibJe flesh lives, and that hands have conveyed the spiritual blessing and grace of God to the 8u})jects. No, God's spirit and graces were never deposited in man's hands nor appointed by God to convey salva- tion, and His spiritual life to any. God never appointed flesh and humanity to convey this spiritual power and life. His divinity and salvation must have the approbation of God before He will give His power or efficacy, and it is not to be expected that God would cast out devils by the strength and power of Beelzebub. No, He cannot endorse it, nor can He give the preference to Satan, self and flesh, where they rule, and prefer them by My spirit's ofiice in spirituality to the souls of men, bestowing My graces to the souls of My blood bought property ; and as in strength the flesh borrows from the spirit, and the spirit borrows all its strength and power from the God that breathed it, and as the flesh is dei)endent on the spirit for all its life and energy and takes the sjuritual life out of the flesh, it is but a lifeless mass of corruption, and who but Satan delights in death and destruction, would blind his ministers to dismiss God's spiritual power, and supplant it by putting death stricken material in its place. It has no life but what it borrows from the spirit ; why, such men have not common sense, awfidly in the dark, and not a ray from the Son's bright beams from heaven. I see Father Maurin quoting St. John, 20: 23, who claims to be authorized by Christ, to declare with authority his pardon with " Wliosoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whosoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. "^ He says if a person claims the right to exercise j udicial authority in the States, his claim is heard, and if he cannot substantiate^ he is punished as an imposture or turned out as a madman, and on this ground claims a lawful, truthful, scriptural hearing, as he has given to prove his system by God's word as a foundation to believe and trust, and I think it is just and right to give him a fair trial in the broad daylight of the sunbeam. I recollect when a jurer in Ireland, on sessions and assizes, sixty years ago, the judge of assizes said to us, " Now every man of the jury recollect the law is before you, the statutes and the witnesses and the men that give the witness, if they are favoring or partial to a party and contradict themselves in what they first say, you must dismiss them as unworthy of a place in your verdict," and I think assertions, thoughts, sayings conjectures and inferences should never be allowed to put the rope around any man's neck; and there was an assault case tried in court, and the witness first said he struck him and he fell, but on cross-examination, he said he pushed him and he fell, and the two councils argued a good while upon it, and the impartial judgei'equested them to give place to him, and he said " many witnesses not being used to witness are subject to 23 rences 3k; and aid lie ushed |pon it, mdhe iect ta misword, and you yourself like myself, have sometimes gone back and corrected our miswording, but now witness, do you mean to say, when he came to him, that he struck him with the tist of wickedness and knocked him down, or do you mean when he came against him that he fell." Well lie pushed him and he fell. Now gentlemen, you may dispose of that ; and I have been up and down, mixing with a great many societies these eighty years, and I am now in my eighty-sixth year, and when I read the pro- phets, and hear of God giving his command to one of his prophets to go and deliver his message, and do not stay or eat or drink with them, and he obeyed the csmmand for some time and was firm, but this prophet insisted that an angel had told him to eat and drink with him, and it was very natural for flesh and blood to believe an angel and a prophet that they would not tell a lie ; and for disbelieving God and believing them, God allowed a lion to meet him on the way, and kill him. It left an impression on my mind that it is better to believe one word from Jesus' lips, than all the angels in heaven or prophets on earth. Again John the Baptist would have gone astray if Christ had not set him right. When John was baptizing, Jesus came into the water and deuiand- ed baptism of John, and John answered Him raying, " I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest though to me," that was all right in a certain sense John, and you are the greatest prophet ever bom of woman, and you cannot take my office, and I cannot take your ofiice ; yours is to baptise with water, and mine is to baptize as you prophesied, with the Holy Ghost, and it is best to fulfill all righteousness ; and then John baptised Him. It would not do to let John be Pope Supreme over Christ to alter and to overthrow Christ's government; if he would, the devil would soon ride High Sherifi' over us. Glory to God the rock is unshaken. Again, when they were suffering under persecution, John said to Christ, " liet us call fire from heaven and destroy them, as Elisha did." Oh John, do not be too hasty, wait until you get your commission, as Elisha got his, before you take the govern- ment from God, for He will have no other Gods before Me, and He n\ay truthfully say, we were long with them before we sent them to smell the sulphur or feel the scorch, for we never allow pope, priest, prophet or king or disciple of any grade or party to take God's place. And again forty disciples left Him, and Hymeneus and others made shipwreck of faith, and Thomas doubted, and the devil entered into Judas and got him to believe in him, instead of in God, where he told him, thou sayest, (Judas said is it I,) and Jesus says thou sayest. Ch, how truthful is Jesus. Again see how Satan, self and flesh work up the minds of many into bigoted,. pride-going sects and parties, even in company with Jesus' personal presence, teaching them. John said, " We saw a ^' I ! !i I 24 man casting out devils in thy name and we fprbade him." What is the reason ? Because he followed not us in the Roman Catholic Church — first church, as they assert — who only has power in our fleshly hands to command and apply the spirit's obedience, that qualifies thera for the priestly office in our first church. And a second says, we are the first church, and have Apostolick succession, and a third says no, we are the first church and before any of you, for we are the only true baptized church in the woi'ld, for we belong to John the Baptist's old church before any of you existed. We think that the storm of Satan's breezes are very high here; and I might gw and talk with a hundred and fifty more, and with their fancy, think so and Bay so, and with their gigantic strength and superior wisdom over our church, (though some of them are no better than the brutal tribes of the forest, in their fancy and blindness, say, " It is the best of them all put together, and try what you please there is nothing like leather.) This is an old saying, true then, true now, for it is Satan, self and flesh, and here are a host of popes, or as the Scripture words it, Gods many and Lords many, that want His seat and throne to legislate for Him. And now we have a clear view of the god of this world and his blind fleshly lusts and slaves, from the day he entered our flesh by Eve's conception, and to get us to be above God and above all, and to make God a liar, (thou shalt not surely die,) and blind us so as to pass his lies for God's gold guineas of truithfulness, then we are deceived and he is sure of us, and the truth-teller, Jesus, (opposite to the liar,) has said, " All liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death ; and you would think God thought it would be all right, when He wanied him, and told him he should have Satan's company through all eternity, to talk of^ the gain they have made -by their lying, fraud, and falsehood. So we see there is no end of man one way or another, but to get above God and make Him a liar, and we ought to know Satan has imbued us with his poison of corruption, pride and death, from tliat day, and from Satan flows all this. I cannot trust in angels, prophets, apostles, doctors or ministers of any sect or denomination, who are opposite to Christ, and deny His word and attempt to make it a lie like the old father of the firm, who would contradict God's word, uttered by His lips, and when I think He knows all the past and all the present, and knows the future and its pride, the dissolution of a death stricken world. I was surprised to hear lately from the lips of one who said, " They did not think much of the old Testament," and it just came to memory; why, the greatest glory of a foundation belongs to it, and He Himself, after He conquered hell, death and the grave, and was about to ascend up to Heaven, He said to His disciples 25 on the way, why are ye sad, and they said, " Are you a stranger, and do not know Jesus of Nazareth, that we expected to be the Saviour of the world, and the rulers by wicked hands have slain, and we hear he has risen from the tomb, and certain women of our company have told us he is risen, and He said, * Oh, blind and slow in heart to believe all the prophets have written and in the Psalms concerning him,' and how he had to come as a sheep and as a lamb to the slaughter and be killed and rise again and ascend to his heme in the Heaven of Heavens, and they did not know him, but He made Himself known in the breaking of bread. Oh, we might have known it was He, the Fountain of Love, for how did our hearts burn within us, while he talked with us and opened our hearts to understand the scriptures," (God is His own interpre- ter, and he will make it plain.) This testimony is from his own lips, and is the most orthodox and truest ever recorded in the world. It establishes n^-'^ faith in the unchangeable Godhead, and makes me as bold as a lion when he supplies me with His strength for my weakness, wisdom for my ignorance, light for my darkness, and every day, whether in my camp or out of my camp, to gather my manna. But to return to my namesake John, and Christ's disciple in company with him, that said " We saw a man cast out devils in thy name, and we forbade him, because he followed not us," and Christ saith, " He that does a good deed in My name will not speak evil of Me." Oh John, I could not endorse your ignorance of me, for I am no bigot, and I am no sectarian, give all my ac- ceptance to the humble characters who fear God, and work righte- ousness, whether they be Jew or Greek, Bond or Free. What a beautiful character His is, without a particle of pride or self im- portance, and God is not like Satan, He never makes a counterfit (bad coin) for them ; He remakes and operates on and exposes their pride, (yes their devil's pride) and fills them with His own meek and holy nature. I love poetry, but I am no poet, and this 23rd Psalm, and as I was my father's shepherd and herd boy, and being a little like David, I knew the figure of the truth he used spiritually. He would carry the lambs in his bosom, and gently lead those that were with young, desiring to strengthen and nourish them, and I know in ray office, taking care of the sheep and lambs, I have brought the lambs from the thioket and the briars, and carried them in my arms, and looked for the ewe where it got its nourish- ment, for the briars would have held it till it perished. I, as well as David need the Lord to be my Shepherd, still it seems to me that Father Maturin wants a few scriptural hearers, and quotes the scriptures the way he thinks is right. Now I want my Shep- herd to teach and lead me with His wisdom, not the wisdom of the world, that comes to nought, but from above, with life and 26 understanding, to be a true -witness for Christ, and as I do love this Psalm, say : "The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want, He makes me down to lie. In pastures green He leadetli me, The quiet waters by. My soul He doth restore again, And me to walk doth make Within the paths of righteousness, Even for His own name sake. Yea tho' I walk through Death's dark vale, / Yet will I fear no ill, 'For thou art with me and thy rod, And staff me comfort still. ,, My table thou hast furnished, In presence of my foes, My head thou dost with oil anoint, And my cup overflows. „.^'.- Goodness and mercy all my life. Shall surely follow me, And in God's house forever more. My dwelling place shall be." Father Maturin says: I know the stand they take, who say, I go straight to God for everything, though I think such a person wholly unscriptural. Here he promises him to know all scripture and pronounces him unscriptural, and this is the way Satan, flesh and self proves everything they want, and my knowing this system seventy years ago, that for ten years, T knew nature always pro- poses itself for its end, proves it by conjecture, thinks so, aiwi says so ; and did not blind Bartimeus go straight forward to Him when He called him. And did He not answer him on the spot, or did He send him to a priest to do the work for Him ; no. He is suffi- cient for His own work. Amidst all these eclipses He proves Himself to be the light of both worlds, yes, and the soul and body too. And Father Maturin says, I think such a position wholly unscriptural, (but we have no higher authority in earth or heaven,) and I think ; Oh, what a great god we have got among the gods many and lords many, to take His seat and dismiss Him and kill Him and cast Him out of the vineyard and seize the inheritance. Here in the sunlight of His truthfulness, He has exposed the god Oi this world, flesh, self and the devil, and his party riveling God and legislate for Him. * While we walk in the sunlight we can discover his features in the noonday, the opposite between Christ and Belial, that never will be one. And again, a woman, (a Greek,) went straight to Him and prayed Him to help her, and He then tried her faith — the channel He conveys Himself through — and said, " It is not 27 right to take the childrens* brfead and cast it unto dogs." "Truth Lord, but do not the dogs gather up the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Jesus answered her faith in Him : " Oh woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee, even as thou wilt; you may go your way, the devil has departed out of your daughter," and she obeyed Christ and went her way, and she came home and found the devil gone out, and her daughter calm and peaceable ; so we see faith is taking God at His word, and get blest at once from God. Again a nobleman comes straight to Him and besouglit Him for his child, who was at the point of death, and He tried his faith^ saying, " without you see signs and wonders ye will not believe." But he answered, " I want neither signs nor wonders, come down ere my child die," and Jesus answered his faith and said, " Go thy way, thy son liveth." He took Jesus at his word, and went hia way, and his son liv^ed ; and he wanted to know whether nature restored his child or Jesus, and he asked them what hour he began to mend, and they said yesterday, about the seventh hour the fever left him, and he remembered it was at the same hour that he heard from His lips, " Thy son liveth," and he believed and his whole house ; and here we see Jesus everywhere, having the blessings with Him to give to every lawful claimant who believed. Again Father Maturin refers to the suffering woman, who said, " If I may but touch His garment I shall be made whole," (he gives us a little satanic cunning and wire-twisting words.) He says that she did not feel that it was coming between her and Him, you say, (so is the law with Satan and his,) but the only channel of conveying His healing power, is bread, wine and water, by the hands of the bishop and lips of a priest, they are but the hem of Christ's garment, (are not you first rate at transnbstantia- tion,) the channels which convey the grace which flows from His person alone. I do not know what to make of such stuff as bread and water, the hands of bishops and the lips of a priest. They make them the hem of Christ's garment, through which the people get their blessing. Shut up this channel and there is no more blessing, and here you are consistent with your assertions, that no one coming straight to Christ can be blessed. God has told us of some style of men, who handle the word of God deceitfully, and surely we have them before us now. It requires no sophistny to amend or improve the truthfulness of hel* case, she was diseased and had heard of Jesus curing diseases, and said in her heart, " If I can but touch His garment, I shall be made whole," but her weakness and the press being gi'eat, would forbid her to touch Him. but faith and perseverance said if I can I will touch Him, and she touched Him, without a priest to assist her, or the crowd to hide the Son. With the touch of faith, He 28 gave the virtue. (He could not deny'Himself.) He said, " Who- soever belie veth in me shall be saved." He never said believe in a priest, but in Himself — our Great High Priest, almighty to save to the uttermost all that come to Him and believe on Him. And Jesus said, " Some one has touched me," but Peter said, " Do not they all throng thee." Oh, it is a touch of faith that always draws my virtues and graces freely; and the woman came straight forward and told all the truth, (for Jesus loves the truth, and the devil and his lying ministers He abhors,) and why she had touched him, because she had need of Him, and she fell at Jesus' feet and there never was a better penitent bench than Jesus' feet ; yet she got no benefit from them, but from His heart's overflowing graces, for her truthfulness. He gives her a noble boon (before them all) of acceptance ; " Woman be healed of thy plague." Glory be to God for Jesus the Truth, the Life and the Way — not a lie or fleshly corruption, in which Satan and his ministers enshroud themselves in among the death stricken material reserved for the smoke, fire and flame. Hundreds came wherever He went, and cried after Him and •went straight to Him to be healed. But it appears that Father Maturin thinks that these free straightforward approaches were uncertain and not true, and this was the stand the devil took with Eve, to make God's word a lie, and we may expect all those he begets in his nature, he will bring forth without a feature marred in their countenance, (like father like son.) Himself and His system again received the same assurance. When I heard from the lips of one to whom I believe God has given power and com- mandment, and authority, committed unto him, I absolve thee of all thy sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, the principles in both cases are precisely the same. (Yes according to the old angel's light,) and you think so and say so, if you are logically to carry out your principle of going straight to God, you must give up your bible. Oh Sir, come into the sun- light of Heaven and leave the old deceiver's light, or he will drag you down to himself, where there is blackness and darkness for ever and ever. Oh Sir, come to the true light of righteousness, who. receiveth every man that cometh to Him, and gives up serving the things that be of men, and embrace the true God of Heaven, and by His wisdom, grace and strength divine, go up and tread the golden streets, and sing to Him that loved us and washed us from our sins, in His own blood ; and by His own application, " I will, be thou clean, neither do I condemn you." Third, " I am thy salvation." Fourth, "My peace I give unto you." Fifth, " Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of God is risen on thee." Let us catch the ray, as there is no light in ourselves. We borrow.it all, like Stephen, whose face, with the borrowed sun- light, shone like an Angel's, and he reflected back iigain to the 29 sun- drag for ^ness, t'ving glory of the fountain of light and heat. Sixth, " Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest ; and come unto me and be ye saved for I ^jQfljGrod, and there is none else can save but Me." He will not send you to these priests, for they are a class of pretended friends, and they are from the first to the last, the revilers and robbers of His honor and glory, and changing His spiritual government to a deceitful, fleshly and cor- ruptable one. He never did send one to a priest to pardon them, and He never will send one to a priest, for with satanic cunning and snake-like twist, they would use His name for a cloak of hypocrisy, but inwardly they would rather have Beelzebub exalted over Eim, and they would use His name, and with Satan, their father's boldness, use His name without asking leave. The thieves and robbers, they would use it to serve the devil's kingdom, and to betray simple innocent souls. And after all these blessed invitations to come unto Him and to take of the fountain of water of life freely, (if not, He would be opposed to Himself and His government,) and because they had nothing to pay. He freely forgave them all ; and if He would send away to the priests to get pardons, I would suspect Him to be changed, and to find Satan, self and flesh, for I hear they make a good business of it ; like the lawyers, they want the dust they cost. I believe that Jesus never did and never will join the class that by their hyjx)crisy make a gain of goodness. We cannot but see the difierence between the two gods; Oh yes, His lips haye said, freely; and He never gave a command to go to the priest to pardon any man. It is Satan blinding them with fancy, conjecture, and their own sins; and He said. Come to Me and believe in Me, and without a cent, and you will have nothing to pay; you will get your pardon freely, and you that have nothing to pay, come, believe My word, and you will get it freely ; and I have plenty in store for you, poor and needy, weak and weary, and I will give you rest; come believe Me, I never told a lie in My life; prove Me and try Me if I will not open the windows of Heaven and pour down blessings that there will not be room to contain, and then your blessed experience will be like David's. "My cup over- flows. Glory to God in the highest, for ever moro. Amen." Do not dare to go to a priest, for they have be ,n from the first the ringleaders of all My persecutors, that would exult in the destruction of My spiritual kingdom, and put in My place, fleshly, corruptible lips and hands to pardon, bless and convey the Holy Ghost by their holy hands; and here they are independent. Christ only by His holy spirit-can give the efiicacy, and if they would use Christ's name, it would be only for a cloak to cover their hypocrisy, for I never heard of Christ commanding a priest's lips or bishop's hand to convey the Holy Ghost. No, this wojild exalt Satan, flesh and self, and make the spirit subject to the 30 lower fleshly powers that be, and it would dishonor Christ and His spiritual kingdom to be inferior and controlled by fleshly lips and hands of corruption, for this system (cloaked) belongs to the devil and his ministers to waylay and betray the simple and innocent ones, to get them to believe in their assertions, and think so, instead of the plain truth uttered by Him, who said, "I will give M}'^ Holy Spirit to them that ask Me, without a cent to pay. Well, you have both parties before you, and if you want to go to hell, go with your eyes open. Father Maturin does not believe God nor me, and believes me to be a liar, the same as the father of the firm, who attempted to make God a liar, long, long ago. But the lies turn on himself until this day. Father Maturin denies God's Word, that He will give His Holy Spirit to them that ask Him, but I believe God's Word, foi He gave it to me for believing and asking, and when alone on the hill where I fed the sheep and cattle, and no one there but God and myself, and when the shades of night came on, a thought came into my mind: you might be like Jacob, stay all night and wait till the break of day, and I laid the Testament down on the edge of the ditch and laid my head down on it, and I said to myself, now Lord here will I stay till the break of day, and my heart said, now I believe thou art able and willing to save me, and I believe thou canst save me now, for Jesus sake save me now; and I thought on the Word of God, where He said, " AVhatsoever ye shall ask in My name, I will give it imto you," and at once a light and joy covered my senses and it came to my tongue and I cried out: Glory to God in the highest, and I knew what it was to be begotten by His spirit, and to be borne into His kingdom of grace, and breathing the air of Heaven, and using the language of the Kingdom of Heaven, the same that the angels brought to the shepherds on the plains, and my heart could sing Glory, Glory, all the way home. I never wish to live a day with- out breathing the air and using the language of this Heavenly Kingdom of grace until I cross the stream of death and renew the same in the kingdom of peace and bliss, and sing to Him that loved me and washed me from my sin in His blood, be glory to God and the Lamb for ever and ever. Amen, and glory again in looking over the scene and spot of my birth-place, which nobody knew but God and myself. There are four acts of faith which T did not take notice of until I was thinking over it again ; they are — First, I believed He was able to save me. Second, I believed He was willing to save me. Third, I believed He could save me now. Fourth, For Jesus sake He saved me. Hast not thou said, " Whatsoever thou shalt ask the Father in My name, believing, that will He give thee. Here Jqsus has worded it so plain that a wayfaring man, though a fool, need not misunderstand, and the more child-like they approach, L J 31 the more acceptable to God, for He cannot accept the self-import- ant, starched up with the devil's pride-wine. Though Father Maturin denies Christ and the Bible, and me for coming straight to Him to obtain His pardon and blessing, does he think that the sunlight has blinded me. Yet I in my supremacy may tell him that the old angel's light is too dim to see, and I would think he was the blindest of the two ; but he is not accountable to nie, nor I to him, and we are agreed we should differ, and leave it with Him, to whom we are both accountable, and unclothed without a cloak or covering before Him, to settle our accounts* and fix our destinies for ever and evermore. I borrow this poetry, and join with ten thousands, and will tell Father Maturin : " We won't give up the Bible, God's Holy Book of Truth, The blessed slave of hoary age; The guide of early youth. The lamp that sheds a glorious light, O'er all the dreary road, The voice that speaks a Saviour's love And leads us Home to God. We won't give up the Bible, For it alone can tell, * The way to save ou.r erring souls ~^From being sent to hell. .• « And it alone can tell us how, We can have hopes of Heaven, And through a Saviour's precious blood, Our sins may be forgiven. We won't give up the Bible, For pleasure or for pain, We'll buy the truth and sell it not For all that we might gain. Tho' man may ^trive to take our prize, By guile and cruel might; We'll suffer all that man can do, And God defend the right. We won't give up the Bible, But spread it far and wide, Until the Saviour's voice is heard Beyond the rolling tide. Till all shall know His glorious power; And with one voice and heart, Resolve that from God's sacred word, We'U never, never part. Olory be to God for His sunlight and divine teaching. Again, Father Maturin, by what authority doest'thou these things? To which he answers, " The bishop who ordained me gave it me, look at my commission : Whatsoever sins thou doest for- give. My prayer book also orders me co tell the people twice a 32 day that I have received authority." He does not acknowledge that the chief Bishop of souls gave it to him. It is the fleshly- bishop that gives it to him, and it is what we would expect of the god of this world, Satan, flesh and self, who would overthrow His kingdom and government. Then he quotes scripture to make Christ and Belial one. With their great powers they change and make Heaven and earth one. They may attempt it, but I have showed my reason that I acknowledge no statute for Christianity but Christ's word, spirit and nature. Lying prophets and lying ignorant disciples, priests and ministers, can get no power from God. His disciples were ignorant, and He had to teach them to the last, and in Matthew and John He teaches the same, (Matthew 16, verse 24.) Here He shows His contempt for these trappers and betrayers, a wicked and adulterous generation, seeking after sin and perplexing Jesus. He warns His disciples against these wicked deceivers, and the doctrine of devils they held. The dis- ciples in their ignorance thought He talked of them not bringing bread, (verse 11.) How^ is it that ye do not understand what I spake, (verse 12.) Then understood they how He bid them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Christ and Belial being opposite, never can be one, therefore He warns His disciples against the devil's doctrine that never will give \ii&\ but kill it. Oh, will men be so blind as to take these ignorant djsciples, and despise the Fountain of Wis- dom, and the Unchangeable Bock of Ages; and again, in verse 13; He comes to try and teach His disciples and asks, " Who do men. say that I the son of man ami" (verse 14.) They said, "some say John the Baptist, some say Elias." But whom say ye that I ami" Simon Peter answered and said, " Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God," (verse 17.) Jesus answered and said unto him, " Blessed art thou Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood have not revealed it unto thee, but My Father, which is in Heaven." Jesus never did give much credit to flesh and blood revealing, but gave the glory to His Spiritual Father for revealing His Spiritual Son to establish in their hearts that there is no way of revealing^ the Spiritual Godhead and their Spiritual Kingdom, but by spiritual agency. He says, "The flesh protiteth nothing, but the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life," and the devil cannot get much glory for fleshly con'uption from the Spiritual Godhead here. So we see Christ is the subject and object of their faith, and Peter gave expression to his faith, when he said, Christ was the Son of the Living God, and Christ accepted Peter's faith in Him, and gave His Father the credit of revealing Him by the scriptures, that we might comprehend the indestructable house made without hands eternal in the heavens. And Peter, a rock ■with the rest of the rocks — the disciples — ^built together in the 33 habitation of God, through His spirit, as Ho said, T will dwell in them and reign in them, and they shall be My sons and daughters aaith the Lord Almighty, (not these secondhanded gods and lords many of selfish corruption.) In God's spiritual building there is faith, hope and love, but if they lose their cement of faith and love to Christ, they fall out of His spiritual building, and then roll into fleshly lusts and death stricken corruption. To me it would be a poor place to get spiritual life and love from, (verse 18,) and I congratulate Peter for placing his faith on Christ, the unshaken rock, and His church built thereon, for its permanent solidity, the gates of hell not pre- vailing against it. But thej^ have made a greater mistake, who place Peter for Ghrist the foundation rock for all others to build on ; but Peter proves he is not Christ the foundation rock, and Peter as a rock, by the divine cement of faith, hope and, love, Peter is built on Christ the foundation stone, which God in Zion laid, and if Peter was the foundation rock, he would be giving the keys to Christ to turn them all round to Peter's legislation and government. But that is not true, but this is true and no lie, that Christ the founda- tion rock gives him the keys to govern this church, built on the unchangeble government and law. Just the same in the 18th as in the 6th of Matthew, the foundation laid between Father and Son, unchangeably the same in the government of His church and family, (Mathew 18: verse 15.) "Moreovei:, if thy brother tres- pass against thee go and tell him his fault between thee and him at once; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother; and if he will not hear thee bring another (he never names a priest) with tl^e, that eveiy word be established; tell it unto the church, (not a priest,) and it he neglect to hear the church, loose him and cast him out as a heathen man and a publican." And here according to My teaching, "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." But the priests, the leaders of the Scribes and Pharisees with their deceitful bad doctrine betray the simple hearted. Again, (Matthew 18, verse 23,) "Therefore the kingdom is likened unto a certain king, that would take account of his servants, and one owed him ten thousand talents and he demanded payment, and he fell down and worshi]>ped him and he had compassion on. him, and because he had nothing to pay, he forgave him all ; and' one of his fellow servants met him that owed him so much, and he demanded payment, and he prayed him to have patience and he would not, but put him in prison, and his king that forgave him^ was wrath and delivered him to the tormentors till he would pay the debt." And -Jesus says, "So likewise shall My heavenl]^ Father also do unto you, if ye forgive not every mui his brother 3 3.4 their trespasses," and here we have Fatner, Son and Spirit one — their words are unalterable — the keys to tinni them according to His will, and He surely will endorse it in earth and heaven. He could not endorse the Scribes and Pharisees and Lawyers and the chief priests, the ringleaders of the gang with their false doctrines, and fleshly corruptions, for the interest of self and flesh, who wished to dethrone Christ and put Peter in His place, and have Peter the unchangeble, unshaken rock, and there is no doubt but the devil and his ministers would rejoice in having fleshly corrup-* tion above Christ and His divine spirituality. (Matthew 16, verse 21,) "From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go up to Jerusalem and suffer many things of the chief priests (and He never mentions chief priests, but when He classes them among His enemies) and scribes and be killed and be raised again the third day." Verse 22 : Then Peter took Him and began to rebuke Him saying, "Be it far from thee Lord, this shall not be unto thee." I now borrow the following beautiful hymn, made on the talents: — " Ten thousand talents once I owed, And nothing had to pay, But Jesus freed me from the load, And took my debt away. And since the Lord forgave my sin, And blotted out my score, Much more indebted have I been Than ere I was before. The love I owe for sin forgiven, For power to believe, For present peace and promised heaven, ^ No angel can conceive. That love of thine, thou sinner's friend, ^ Witness thy bleeding heart, My little all can ne'er extend H To pay the smallest part. 'Tis well, it shall *my glory be, Yet who will boast their store. In time and in eternity, To own thee more and more," Jesus turned and said unto Peter, "Get the behind me Satan," (now one would think the devil wanted Him among the chief priests, who reject Him in their unbelief,) and Jesus treated him like them, with great bitterness, " Get thee behind jne Satan," (for he has joined the ranks of Satan, for thou savorest of the things that be not of God, but that be of men) and it appears while we are in the enemies' country and subject to the devil's temptation, no man is to be trusted. Here we see the devil f)uts him up, and snares him. Oh, how true ! Now he savors the things that be of 35 men, flesh and corruption, and sanctions priests, fleshly lips and hands, with no power but what they borrow from the fleshly sjnrit, (and God never gives them a command to transfer one drop of his power or grace to save the soul,) and God has commanded not to trust in man, in whom there is no stay, and not to trust in self either, but trust in Christ, the unshaken rock, and believe in what He has said and commanded, and no priest or disciple or any one else who would contradict Him. And as he betrayed Peter, (for God does not do it,) so has he deceived and blinded all those that fancied that Peter was the unshaken rock." But here it is proved that he is nothing but a rolling stone and holding this cement — faith, hope «ind love, and through this channel they draw all there strength, stability and firmness; and Peter turned the keys the wrong way, and by unbelief has loosed himself from Christ, and bound himself to Satan by his unbelief, (get thee behind me Satan,) he is by Christ the rock unchangeable, without variableness or shadow of turning. Yet after all Peter's unbelief in denying Christ and his word, and in his separate state, Christ has given Peter the keys from his own lips, when he said, I forgive my brother until seven times seven. Jesus told Peter if he repented, (for repentance is always implied and required,) to forgive him to seventy times seven. Yes, Peter, I rejoice with you, and glory be to Jesus who gave you the keys from his own lips. If you repent you are to be forgiven until seventy times seven. Now, Peter turned the keys the right way, and here we find that faith, hope and love bind you io the rock, no more to be shaken again, and there is no record of his heart-rending sin and bitter teans, and I believe Peter did shed them, and I believe Jesus saved him, and did restore his soul like David's, and make him wake again, and after all, God used him in binding Jews and Gentiles together and make one fold under one shepherd, Jesus, Acts x. And here Christ kept him on the reign in his seminary and train- ing school, where he learned him the lessons of humble obedience. When our Lord commanded him to rise, kill and eat, he said, not so Lord, for I have never eaten anything common or unclean, (these things are not unclean.) Oh, Peter, you do not know every- thing. I have cleansed them. As if he wanted to take the stiffened starch out of him, ho gave him a leason in the trance, and coming out of it, he wondered what the vision meant; and three men sent from Cornelius stood before the gate inquiring for him; then Gftd revealed to him his duty and he obeyed him, (and not himself, nor a man in the world, but him,) and he took these men in and lodged them, and the next day being emptied of his pride and self importance, he goes and preaches to the Gentiles ; and coming in Cornelius met him and fell down to worship him, ' but Peter said, see thou do it not, I myself also am a man and there is none to be worshipped but God; but the devil tempted him 36 to be pope supreme over the disciples, yes and tempted him to be supreme over my Lord, and to teach him and to correct his mis- takes and expose his ignorance, and to top the pole and to be above all gods, and teach the Father, Son and Holy Ghost a more noble and honorable way of ease and pleasure without cnicifying the flesh and its lusts and lovers. But Peter may say, I am a baby now and led by my Father's hand, and obey his command and preach to the Gentiles the unchangeable riches of Christ. There is a hymn composed, 2 Samuel 12, 13, which represents us all glorying in fleshly pride : — I left the God of truth and light, I left the God that ^ave nie birth To wander in the wilds of night And perish in the snares of death. Sweet was his service and his yoke Was light and easy to be borne, Through all his bands of love I broke I cast away his gifts with ^corn. I danced in Folly's giddy maze, And drank the sea and ohased the wine, But falsehood lurked in all her ways, Her laughter left remorse behind. I dreamed of bliss in pleasure's bowers While falling roses stayed my head, But serpents hissed among the flowers I woke and thorns was all my bed. In riches when I sought for joy And placed in sordid gains my trust, I found that gold was all alloy And worldly treasures crumbling dust. I woed ambition, topped the pole And shone among the stars, but fell Headlong in all my pride of soul, Like Lucifer, from heaven to hell. ^"■ Heartbroken friends, poor cast down Where shall the chief of sinners fly, ^mighty vengeance from thy frown Eternal flashes from thine eye. Tho' through the gloom of guilty jeers My faith dusoem a dawn of grace, The Son of Big^teousness appears In JesuB* reconcilling face. My suffering, slain and risen Lord ^ la sore distress I tura to thee, I claim acceptance on Thy Word, My God, my God forsake not me. Prostrate before Thv merc]^ seat, I dare not if I wonld despair, Kone ever perished «t Thy feet A&d I idlll^e forever there. ..^■a^-*^- 37 Oh, how Peter is portrayed here by the poet, yes, and the most of us as well as Peter. There is nothing to get our corrupt flesh cmcified like believing Christ's word alone, and obeying him and learning of him to be meek and lowly, and we will find rest for our souls, which the world, the flesh and the devil will never »give here or hereafter, for all connected with these are death stricken, -and never can be one with a spiritual life giving God, and all the flesh of the whole world, and all finest oratory of words and tink- ling symbols will never dethrone Christ from 'iis spiritual office or give life to a ioul. But Peter gets it more ]>y believing and obey- ing and it takes both to gain acceptance wita God. Cornelius said to Peter, now we are all here waiting to hear what God has commanded you to say to us (and do not give us a word of your own or any one else's, for it is bad currency and would not pass in the bank of God.) Verse 34, so Peter opened his mouth and said, of a truth, I perceive God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him. Here we see by Christ's teaching, Peter has become a liberal, for before he was a blinded bigoted Jew. It was a good thing for us Gentiles to have Christ instead of Peter, for Peter in lus bigotry would not have let us up in equal right and privileges with the Jews > bu^; what will become of those building on Peter, and thrown off by Christ to the devil 1 Why, just the same. If they believe in God's word alone, God will save them as readily and willingly as he did Peter, for he is no respecter of persons (and Iiere Peter exalts God's Word and as Lord above all lords, verse 36, The word which God sent unto the Children of Israel preach- ing peace by Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all.) Oh how Peter preached and exhalted Christ as above all lordd. Peter did not want to top the pole now, and get above Christ and organize a better government for him. No, hear how he exalts the Father's and His S|n's government ; how God annointed Jesus of Nazareth with the !Kly Ghost and with power, who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him, verse 43, and another burst of honor and glory to his name by the prophets. To him gave all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remis- sion of sins. Here Cornelius and the Gentile believed and were blessed at once. While Peter spake the words, the Holy Ghost fell on them all which heard the word. Hei*e is Christ, the word which Peter exalts, and faith in that word is the channel of God conveying his blessing, though unbelief shuts up the channel and stops the flow of his grace, and they of the circumcision were as- tonished, and as many as came with Peter, because that on the Oentiles was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost ; the bigoted Jews did not believe that the Gentiles should share tlie blessings of the Holy Ghost equal to them, but when they heard them spea^ I I ill 38 witli tongues ventilating their spiritual fire, they never doubted more, for they heard them speak with tongues and magnified God (not the lips or hand oi priests or any man's hands in the world). Now Peter was taught in Christ's training school and has lost all that fleshly selC-ftud sectarian devilism ; and having his commission renewed again he preached his mastei*, (not himself), that he is no respecter of persons nor countries, hut to every nation, he that feareth God and worketh righteousness, (in the Douy Testament it is worded, he who worketh justice is accepted with God : and here we see that God accepts of all coming to him on their character being true and righteous. (And I do not qiiarrel with the world when the substance is one and I look upon justice in substances that are one). Not according to their church going system whether old or young, and accepts none for their creeds nor prayer books, or me for my writing of books, no, it is for the truthful, honest principle within to allow no man's word to take the place of his, my Lord's, and to top the pole and be above all angels, prophets, apostles, popes or priests in all the world, and Peter was then where I am now, exalting Christ and his word above all and ijetting the Holv Ghost's baptisimal fire through the channel of believing God's word preached by Peter (not Peter's word), and as a Gentile, Peter looked on them with contempt. Now Peter commands them to be baptized, with the sign in the Christian dispensation in equal right and ijrivilege with the Jews, and fulfilled one of his prophesies, that he had sheep to bring of another fold and then he must bring and make one fold and one shepherd, and Peter was a witness (second of Acts) of the Holy Ghost decending and blessing their hearts, that made their tongues flame with burning charity divine, and he is a witness in the tenth chapter. He witnessed the Holy Ghost falling on the Gentiles producing the same efl:ect on them equally as on the J ews, and here Peter has bound the two together and believes God makes them one family. |P I believe God has given the Holy Ghost by laying on the hands of the apostles, but here Peter never mentions a hand laid on any of the three thousand, and here in these various applications of descending and falling on them there, and he gives his holy spirit to them that ask him, and we cannot limit God, for he can work with means and without means, and he cured the fever with his- touch and it fled, and the Centurion's fever disappeared. His word was eoually effectual in healing and restoring others, but he wants to be touched by faith. And all those opposite, proud boasters of Satan and their self-righteoifs system, cannot have acceptance with God. And Peter is bi'ought to trial in the 1 1 , V. 3,, saying, "Thou wentesfc in to men uncircumcised and didst eat with them " ; but Peter rei^eated the matter about the vision, and the men sent to him from Cornelius sent for Peter, and they 39 Holy them hands on any ions of spirit work ith hia His but he proud b have ;he 11, 1 didst vision. said, he will tell thee words whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghofet fell on them a« on us ; then remembered I the word of the Lord, how he said, " John indeed baptised with v/ater, but ye shall be baptised with the Holy Ghost," verse 17 ; " Forasnmch as God gave them the gift as he did us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, what was I that I could withstand God." When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God, saying, " Then hath God also granted \nito the Gentiles repentance unto life." (My heart says glory, glory be to God and the Lamb forever and ever). Matthew 16, v. 24. And now I return to Christ's address to his disciples after he dismissed Peter. "Then said Jesus to his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." And satan, our flesh (for he is in us all) lusts after bag-lilling, flesh eating honors, seeking pleasure in display and vanity's fair, steeped in sin and folly (it is no matter about the cross, it is of trivial consequence — this is the teaching of satan), but rather weep than laugh, like me, seeing eternal consequences before you, and the Judgment day, where you must appear, " For whosoever will save his life will loose it, but whosoever will loose his life for my sake shall save it," When I heard that some of the martyrs in the flames believing could clap their hands, and amidst the flames give glory to Jesus' name, and believing Jesus he got a blessed exchange, an eternal life for a momentary one. And verse 26. Jesus brings it up before them, what does a man profit if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul, or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul. I believe those in hell would give thousands of worlds to get to heaven ; and he warns his disciples, how his father shall bring them all to judgment, and warns them to be faithful and to believe his word, " He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth on him." Here we see this settles the question for- ever, uttered by his own lips, that there is no eflicacy or blessing obtained but by believing in Christ Almighty and all sufhcient to save, and it would be only fancy for us to think by believing in patriarchs or prophets, apostles or piiosts or ministers, of all grades and societies, and by believing in all this to get a blessing. They might as well believe in a molten calf, for they are all death stricken material, and borrow all their human and spiritual life from the Godhead's fountain alone, and the government of heaven has placed, as he did John, a finger j)ost to point and cry " Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world " ; and he never deposited one drop of oil to transfer to another, (and he would not do it) for he is everywhere present and has the blessing with him. 40 ( and he knows how and when to givis the efficacy himself, and there is no distance with God when he is everywhere. It would make God a liar to say that he gave one-half of the power to his Son. and the other half to his disciples and priests to give their favorite church believers, but God is true and every man a liar who denies his word, hear it, lor it pleased the Father that in his Son should all fulness dwell, and I think it would please the father of the firm to see his son striving to prove the one-half in the Son and the other half in his disciples and priests and draw it from fallen Peter at the time, but no doubt their father would give them credit for the attempt, and the Jews turned on himself, when he made the attempt, and so it will be in the end. I am surprised that Father Maturin boasts so much of Peter and the keys, and that Peter got the keys for having such strong faith in Christ the Rock, the Son of the living God; but now by unbelief he lost the keys, and the imion was broken- up when he lost the cement o'f faith and hope and love, that bound him to the Kock, for Satan has surely blinded him and is doing the same thing now that Peter did then, throwing away the keys and dis- "believing God's word, and you are by your fancy substituting priests' and bishops' words, instead of God's word. Now hear his own lips, Luke ii v 52: Woe unto you Lawers, for ye have taken away the keys of knowledge, ye enter not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered ; and when they heard these things they vehemently provoked him that they might accuse him. And here there can be no mistake of the devil in his ministers disobeying and trying to destroy God's word. In Ireland, the priests were the men who took the Bibles and Testaments from the people at home, and they were great movera in getting the Bibles and Testaments taken from the children in the schools at home, and only for a fine orthodox Church of England minister and me they, would have accomplished it ; but we kept them in the schools. There was a Catholic in our town and her child- j'en taught her to read the Testament and she could not read any other book. The priest came to get it from her but she would not give it up. " Why will not you obey your clergy > " No, I can read no other book and it entertains me and it is my only comfort when all are away from me, and I will not will not give it up ; so he went away and bothered her no more. She was a fine woman and she did everybody good that she could, and the Protestants would do the same to her, (and to love God and our neighbor as ourselves, God says, against such things there is no law.) So from all these evidences you got the keys when he was fallen through unbelief. It is not the keys that Christ gave him when bound by faith to Christ, the unshaken rock, and when Father and Son received him in fellowship and union with them, therefore the keys you fancy you have got are not the keys Father and Son gave 41 id there d make his Sou favorite 3 denies L should of the 5on and n fallen e them rhen he f Peter 1 strong now by ivhen he n to the le same and dis- itituting hear his iQ taken id them d these ise him, linisters md, the ts from ing the lools at ninister ihem in 3r child- ead any )uld not 0, I can comfort : up ; so woman testants ibor as s fallen n when ler and 'ore the on gave him when bound by faith to Christ, the rock, therefore, all unbelie- vers can never keep nor turn Christ's keys when denying his word through unbelief. "But come backsliding Israel, or backsliding Peter, and I will heal your backslidings and love you again, and if you turn the keys in preferring any man's word before mine, I will not give thee efficacy. So Jesus has the keys and gives them to no unbelievers and he can turn believers into heaven or into hell, according to his will and word. And who can stay his hand 1 I will now quote two verses of poetry : Jesus the Saviour reigns, . The God of truth ar ' love, ' '. When he had purged v.ai' stains, He took his seat above. Lift up your hearts, lift up your voice, Rejoice, again I say rejoice. His Kingdom cannot fall, • , He reigns o'er earth and heaven. The keys of death and hell Are to our Jesus given. Lift up your hearts, lift up your voice, Eejoice, again I say rejoice. I see Father Maturin entera into the old Testament. He says from the time of Moses to the coming of Christ, there was but one way of receiving forgiveness of sin, and that was through the administration of the i)riests, and here, sir, I suspect you to be a little one sided, for we hear God appointed a brazen serpent to be put up on a polo, and all those that were bitten by the* flying serpent, or sin bitten, if they would look to it — the type of Christ — they would be saved, and he has bound himself to give the efficacy to all he has appointed when truly offered. He says the only way sin could be forgiven wa^ by the Aronick Priesthood, and here I see your drift is to bring your priesthood, the successors of Moses and Aaron, which you bring to a close, to that effect; and there is no power in Moses or Aaron's priesthood subtracted from God's efficacy and acceptance by God ; but as Moses was faith- ful and all his house, he would not alter a jot or tittle of God's commands, and I am sure God will only require him to do his duty and will save him the trouble of giving the power and efficacy, for he will give it himself to all his true, humble, obedient ones, not like the Altar of Coradalha, who would build his Altar and rob God of all his glory and by deceitful cunning get all the glory and honor themselves. No, sir, you never did belong to God's sign of priesthood, and here you insinuate, to deceive the simple 4rnd innocent souls, and as God's word gives us his way, which is, " by their fruits ye shall know them;" and hear the close of his sentence, since it took place in time it is applied through the hands and lips of a priest, so the flesh, with this priesthood, will give the power 42 and efficacy independent thereby. They will not trouble the God for his spiritual power and efficacy for they think efficacy of flesh is a]l sufficient. Again he says, but we are concerned mostly with the prayer b jok. As members of the Episcopal Church, we are bound by our prayer book; the prayer book is for me and you the authorized interpreter of the Bible. Oh, sir, you have gone about with satanic cunning assertions, think so and say so, and they have topped the pole at last. Away with the Bible from the schools, the kitchen, the closet and the family altar; away with the Bible with its lies, and give me the prayer book where truth alone is found, and the only proof he gives is, his assertions, says so, and thinks so. The only proof the devil gives. His ministers and lying ones are try- ^gy ^y these, to make God's word a lie, so are they who have exalted themselves above all that is called God, and the devil has got all his ministers, like himself, to overthrow the Godhead for their publishing such a deceitful book as the Bible. Here they say that God is not the interpreter of his own book and that we must go to you and to your prayer book to interpret it ; so we need not go to God to interpret his own book but to this greater God — the prayer book, to interpret it for us. I am ready to say, who but the devil and his ministers top the pole, antl above all gods they are. Here we can never be mistaken between the two gods, the one light and the other darkness, and leading to the blackness and darkness forever ; and his servant you are to whom you obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness. I now insert a hymn that strips us of all self-righteousness, or works meritorious for salvation : "I want my vigor to renew, thine image to retrieve, The veil of outward thinga pass through, and gasp in thee to live. I work and own the labor vain, and thus from work I cease, I strive and see my fruitless pain, till God create my peace. Fruitless till thou thy self impart, must all my eflforts prove, They cannot change a sinful! heart, they cannot purchase love. ' I do the thing the law enjoins, and then the strife give o'er, To thee I then resign the whole, I trust in means no more. I trust in him who stands between the Father's wrath and me, Jesus thou great eternal mien, I look for all from thee." To me this is dishonor to God, the King of Kings, who without- control, rules over earth and heaven and hell. And who can stay his handl Who but a madman would prefer and put another god above him, to explain the records of his will. He may well say, ye blind guides who want to teach, who strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. I feel it my duty to witness for Jesus, and 43 to speak for him, and to recommend all to come to him for peace, pardon and freedom, as the scripture says — If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. (I prefer to recommend them to you for pardon, rather than priests lips or hands, and when you get your pardon from him'then you will not envy the proiid that turn aside to lies.) Oh, ye priests and ministers, repent- you for your attempts to blind and close the eyes of the simple, ignorant ones ; Oh, repent, repent of your deceitful conduct and leading the simple to the wrong fountain of your fleshly corruptions, assertions and think so, who pass your button mould coin for God's golden, truthful guineas of his word and spirit through which all graces flow. As Father Maturin has brought forth the prayer book and the Church of England assertion, and I have heard some of them say that they were the first church and apostolic succession, and no proof given, but their assertions, not one word from Glod to prove it: and I hear often from Catholic's that thev were the first church and apostolic succession, but not a word from God's book, but their own assertions, just what satan and self proves everything by, and I know it this 70 years, going up and down through this world. Well, I will not trust myself nor any other man in the world, we must get it from the Godhead's fountain. And we read of a church that leaned on the arm of their beloved, coming up through the wilderness, and in the temples and synagogues they met, and of another class of churches that met in their houses where the dew distilled from Mount Hermon and refreshed them, and Christ in his day seems to acknowledge them and tells them, where two or three are met together in my name there I am in the midst of them. Would any man tell me those were Roman Catholic or Church of England. No man in the world would tell such a lie as that, and here God's true word, the Bible, tells us they were Jews. Where was the second church formed by Peter, a Jew, in the second chapter of the Acts. He formed the first christian church, and they were Jews from all parts of the world, and Christ tells his disciples to tarry in Jerusalem till they would receive the blessing of the Father and the power from on high ; and John said: He that cometh after him would baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire, and they waited eight or nine days, and none of John's or Christ's propecies were fulfilled. No power cameyefc, or fire, but we will wait, and we never knew Christ or John to tell a lie. So they waited on and on, and the tenth day came and the heavens opened and the Spirit came in a rushing mighty wind, and tongues like fire sat on each of them, and Christ and John both were true prophets, and a lie was never heard from one of them, and here were three thousand blest with the Holy Ghost, without the lips or hands of a priest, or no dues to pay either. (Glory be to God of heaven, all free vestments without money and without u price.) Now Jesus has said glory and honor be to the Jew first and and also to the Gentile second. (Is there any of these parties who will tell Jesus he is a liar ) "Well where can we prove that Christ is true and that the Gentiles is second. Well, when God sent to Peter the vision and commanded him to kill and eat, and he said, "Not so Lord, for I have never eaten anything common or unclean " ; but Peter was ignorant and did not know that he had cleansed us Gentiles. Then he went and did not act on his own thoughts, but obeyed his master's command, and preached. To him give all the prophets witness, " that whosoever believeth on him shall be saved," (it is not the old liar's system — whosoever believeth in priest's lips and hands shall be saved) ; and they ber lieved Peter's testimony, delivered from God, without addition or subtraction and the Gentiles believed that moment, and the Holy Ohost fell on them, (and he was not dependant on priest's hands to convey it.) Here Peter's sectarian bigotry and selfish boast is all destroyed, and here we prove God's word true — the Gentiles second. Now there is neither Jew nor Greek, barbarian, scithian, bond or free, and all who honor God by believing on him alone, all sufficient to save them, God will bless, save and make them happy, and keep them by his almighty power and faith unto sal- vation. Now I would say to Father Maturin, if he can't prove God a liar for saying the Jews were the first church, (for we know better, for it was not the Romish Church that was the first church,) and proves it by the old father's lying insertions, think so, and say so, that he and his sons prove all- by. If you be true, and God a liar, according to the foundation laid in the 6th of Matthew by the Godhead recorded : " If you forgive men their trespasses, so also will your heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses, but if you will not forgive men their ti-espasses neither will your heavenly Father forgive you your trespasses," and if Jesus has told the lie lis duty is to come to you and confess and forsake, and on this law clause you are bound to forgive and pardon him. If you are guilty of the lie, you are to come to God and confess and forsake, and God is bound to pardon you without sending you to a church, priest's lips or hands, or to have a cent to pay. And again it is their duty to go to their hearers that they have lied to, and confess to them their guilt to whom they have lied and deceived, and they are bound by divine authority to pardon the priests when they comply with the regulations of God's laws. Here we see God's government in the noon-day and sun-Jight of heavenly glory, without the clouds of fleshly corruption to dim its ray, and God here never mentions a priest in all this as a channel of his conveyance at all, but he often mentions them as the stop- pers and preventers of his conveying his blessings and graces around. There are two instances where ho mentions priests : one was when 45 iw first and parties who that Christ rod sent to nd he said, onimon or hat he had on his own ached. To elieveth on —whosoever nd they ber addition or id the Holy iest's hands fish boast is the Gentiles tan, scithian, . him alone, make them ith unto sal- prove God a know better, church,) and I, and say so, d God a liar, thew by the asses, so also ss, but if you 3iir heavenly 5 told the lie , and on this . If you are and forsake, 1 to a church, lat they have lave lied and pardon the God's laws. . sun-Jight of ion to dim its J as a channel 1 as the stop- ;races around. one was when he performed a miracle and he sent him to a priest to offer accord- ing to the law's requirements, to put down their clamour, for he was not as they said, a breaker of the law, but a fulfillei' of the law. Again, he healed ten lepers and commanded them to go to the priests, and they obeyed him, and as they went they were cleansed, and one of them returned to thank his healer ; and here he showed them that he never despised Moses or Aaron's sign, who l)eing truth- ful and obedient, and would not try to rob God of his glory to exalt themselves. These are not the class of priests bannered under the God of this world, who would not give them such an appetite that they would eat up the vituals of the poor, and rob God of the glory, and of the crown of honor that should deck his brow, and place it on their own brow to top the pole above all gods. The woman caught in adultery was brought to him on purpose to confuse or condemn him, and they told him of her evil deed, and the law condemned her to be stoned, and he would not break the law in this case, but demanded of them that were without sin to cast the first stone, and they were panic stricken, and one ran here and another there and left Jesus and the woman alone, and He asked " Where are thine accusers 1 " she answered, " None, Lord/' and he would not destroy the law and the prophets, but fulfilled it : " I come the broken heart to bind, the bleeding soul to cure, and wipe the tears from thy bedewed cheek, and neither do I condemn, but go and sin no more," (do not forget, go sin no more, your best friend has said it). I did not intenft to go here, but perhaps some might get a little light from the Sun of heaven, for I have none, T borrow it all myself, and invite air with me to lie in the sun-light and warming glow, and give the glory to the fountain above ; and they questioned our Lord why Moses gave a writing of divorce to separate man and wife, and he said, " Moses knowing the hardness of their hearts permitted them to do so," but it should not be so in the dawn of the morning of a Gospel day, but in the dark days of heathen and pagan darkness, God bore with them in their dark state of midnight gloom, and let them have wives and concubines as they wished ; but God never allowed a man to have more than one wife at a time and he proved it by giving Adam one wife, for he could have taken three ribs and made him three wives as well as one, and I believe God laid the foundation right, for a man to have but one wife. Again, they wanted to humble him about the woman having seven husbands, and in the resurrection, by asking whose wife she shouii' be, and he told them that in the resurrection they neither marry ;ior are given in marriage, but are as the Angels, pure life springs of spiritual joy, (and it appears that those that glory in the flesh, tongues, hands and lips that communicated and gave so many spiritual blessings and pardons to the people, they will not ! '1 : 4e l)e admitted to the sj)iritiial joys of heaven). There we see Christ never destroyed the hiw and the prophets but fulfilled them, and hei'e he supports Moses and Aaron's obedient priesthood, and the opposite rebels he pours his vials of wrath upon them, and on the day he was condemned the clammerers could not prove one law he had broken, and Pilate and Herod cleared him, for not one law had he broken, but they had to release one at the last, and the clammerers prevailed. And we find the Godhead never allowed nor commanded more than one wife at a time, though seven had her, she had but one husband at a time, which was lawful in the dawn of Christianity and in ripened years, and Christ never intended that a man should liave two wives. And the woman of Samaria when she wanted living water to save her bodily toil, and he told her to call her husband, and she said, " I have no husband," and he said, " Thou hadst five hus- bands and he whom you now have is not thine husband ; in that thou sayest truly." Oh what a joy must that have been to her, to make the breast heave and the cheeks glow, and the fountains to flow in penitential grief. "God be merciful to me a sinner." I perceive thou art a j^rophet, and I want my soul saved, and I want to go to a church that it may save my soul, (here Christ does not convict her for having been lawfully married five times, but the conviction came from — whom thou hast is not thy husband,) and whether is this Mount G*ragieu or a Jerusalem Church the best for me to go to, that I may save my soul. Oh woman, the time cometh that you have not to go to this Mount nor yet to Jerusalem to be saved, for salvation is of the Jews, and I am Jesus the Jew, who saves everywhere, when lawfully claimed — on the sea shores, or in ships, on the monntain tops, valleys low, or by the wayside. To those who touch me by faith I give the liealing virtue, and it freely, without price, and if you go to the church to be saved, the church minister's duty is to direct you to Me, that saves in the churches and out of the churches, ail alike, w^ho claim me by believing in me; there is no salvation in any church where I am not there to give it, for not one has a drop of oil to spare to another, for it would destroy the government of Heaven to deposit in any other, for it pleased the Father that in His Son should all fullness dwell, and no one can be anything but as a finger-post to point and say, "Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world," (and can you take away my sins now, and save me without my going to this church'? Yes, if you believe me I can save you now. Yes, I believe Jesus, that thou canst save me now, and he says I am thy salvation and can wash the crimson and scarlet as wdiite as snow, for comfort. And he has made her a fit vessel for him to deposit his living water, and he brings her to the city and deals out the water on eyes and 47 •cars on all around and gathers a glorious harvest for her Lord. The fields got white for the grainery. It would be empty sounds and tinkling symbols if God had not given the power and efficacy that made her preaching sin-killing and soul-saving, and here we see the glory all belongs to God, and the profit to the ministers and the hearers, filling their hearts with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Now let us take one or two of the seven churches of Asia. The churches have no rewards or punishments to give. It is in Jesus the deposit is, and he alone gives it to the characters, whether good or bad, and for example: Revelations, ii v 2, "And I know thy labor and patience and how thou canst not bear them that do evil, and how 'thou hast tried them that say they are apostles, and are not, and how thou hast found them liars." Verse 3, "And hast borne and hast had patience and for my sake hast labored and hast not fainted." Verse 4, "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee for thou hast left thy first love." Vei-se 5, "Remem- ber from whence thou art fallen ; repent and do thy fairest works, ^r else I will come and remove the candlestick out of his place except thou repent." Here we see the God of Heaven governs his subjects by rewards and punishments, the way every christian town in England governs their subjects, (not mob law.) Verse 12, "Unto the angel of the church Pergamos write: I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is, and thou boldest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth, (just where the devils sons would carry out their murdering plans.) Verse 14, "But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication, so hast thou them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaifcanes, which things I hate; repent, or else I will come unto you quickly and fight against thee with the sword of my mouth," (and them that have no ears, he does not invite them to hear.) I see here that God approves of those that stood out to be martyred rather than connive and comi romise with bad doctrine and dissembling to please satan, self anct flesh. Verse 16, "And unto the church of Thyatira write, these things saith the Son of God, (oh, hear it from the throne of heaven and dread the Almighty's frown,) who has eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; I know thy charity and thy faith and thy Avorks, and the last to be more than the first, notwithstanding I have a few things against you, because thou sufierest that woman Jezebel, which callest herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto !| 48 idols, and gave her space to repent of her fornication, and she (oh^ the patience and forebearance of God with sinners, waiting on them to repent, and they will not accept of a free pardon, and when in hell they cannot blame God — he is free — and there they will be tlieir own tormentors. Verse 22, and I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation^ except they repent. Verse 23, and I will kill her children with death. It is not the churches that will kill you or save you, no, it is Me, the Son of God, who has died for you that you have provoked so long, and all the churches shall know that I am he wh ;h searchest the reins and hearts, and I will give to every one according to his works, and there is no man nor church can dam or save but me, the Son of God, and every one getting my free grace, and mentions a good character, I am bound to save them, and those who despise my free grace from my government I am bound to dam them. Revela.-jns iii v 3, "Unto the church at Sardis write, remember therefore and repent. If thou shalt not watch, I will come upon thee." Verse 4, "Thou hast a few names even in Sardis, which have not defiled their garments, and they Bhall walk with me, for they are worthy, (here he rewards hia faithful servants again.) He that overcometh the same shall be clothed in white raiment, and I (no man else) will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels, and there is still an ex- ception. And he will cloth them in white, and God makes them his companions, and walks with them, for God loves purity of heart. Write these things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the keys of David, he that openeth and no mau shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth, (and here he has turned the keys and excluded all men from his office and used the keys to shut and open by their superior interpreter, their prayer book which takes the keys from Jesus the inferior,, and we being superior, will use them according to our better judgment.) I must confess that I never thought nor could conceive how any man could be so blind and in the dark as to believe that the prayer book, which got its rise at the reformation, by finite man, or that anyone could think it would cast God's word in the shade, who is the maker and governor of all worlds. Why, it is awful^ and dreadful to think of it. They must be near the blackness and darkness forever. No man ever borrowed it from the sunlight of heaven. We can only trace it to the old blinders firm, satan^ flesh and self, and I would allow such men as these, to deny the scripture, and to be honest infidels at once, than be a quack in con* nection with them. Again, to Father Maturin: who gave you this authority) Who gave me this authority: my answer is — the Bishop who ordained me gave it me, (one assertion.) Second answer — Look at my commission, " Whosoever sins thou dost forgive, etc.,'* 7 / 49 mail), shade, I awful,. 3ssand [ght of satan,. Iny the in C50II* )u this tishop -Look etc.,'" Third, and my prayer book orders me to tell, the judge I have this authority, (and this is your Godhead's true statutes.) Fourth, by the authority of more than three thousand years of unquestionable Aght. Fifth, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ. Sixth, by the authority of the plain words of my prayer book. Seventh, by the authority of my bishop who ordained mo. Eighth, one word in conclusion : everyone in the Episcopal Church is bound to believe this teaching. (I think I would break the chain and escape for my life, and take refuge in the Bible, and take it for better or worse, than be bound to the prayer book of man's manufacture). One assertion he makes, by the authority of the bishop, who or- dained him. Paul differs from you, he says : he did not receive his commission from man, but from God the fountain head him- self. Paul belongs to a different sign from yours. You must belong to fallen Peter's line who rejected God's word through unbelief and thrown off the rock, and I think God will charge you, as he did othei-s, that they savored of the things that be of men, and not the things that be of God.) My prayer book authorizes me to tell the people I have received that authority. Your asser* tion proves your bishop has commissioned you, (and not*God acknowledged at all), and here we see the God of heaven can get no credit from the God of this world and his commissioned ministers. Again, he says, by the authority of more than three thousand years of unquestionable right, and here he has brought to the people his age and long standing that they cannot question his truthful- ness, and you cannot but believe, and here we have a double quan- tity of say so and think so, and their assertions. And like the old eclipse of the sun, that would keep in the dark the God of the Bible, not thousands but millions, and as you have shown yourself of what side you are of, and I (opposite) show of what side I am, as opposite as Christ and Belial, (that never can be one,) the one has the sunlight to give them, and the other the transformed angels light to guide them), so you surely see the con- trast, whether you belong to Christ or Belial, for there is no com- promise with God. Again, Father Maturin says, I act by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Scriptures. I would suspect that he uses him as a cloak, (or I do not know what), but it is a fact God has neither foundation nor topstone with them. I was thinking if hiii evidence was given in Ireland, where I was sixty years ago, after the judge gives his charge to the jury — Gentlemen, recollect the laws before you, the statutes and the evidence, and the manner in which they give their evidence. If any contoidict themselves and is partial to any party you must dismiss them as unworthy of a place in your verdict. Every intelligent juror could give his verdict that two opposite kingdoms are not o^e, and two opposite governments could not be one that 4 50 11 contradict each other. All such evidence must be dismissed by all true conscientious jurors. So it is dismissed. Well, let us try to make thtse two Crods one, and unite this earth and heaven together, and the death stricken and tlie other life, where death can never come or be one. Third, with respect to ourselves there will be no more war — The spirit against the flesh and the flesh against the spirit. Who but an insane man, or one in the gloom of the black- ness of darkness, would conceive such lying deception, such as our Lord mentions in Revelations 2, Verse 2, how thou canst not bear them which are evil, and how thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars. Is not Jesus plain and honest within, and bitter against sin. Again, Revelations 3, Verst; 9, Behold I will make them of the synagogue of satan which say they are Jews and are not, and do lie, (he says he will do it himself and not trouble a pope or bishop or priest that lie and deceive the innocent ones), for I have the keys of death and hell, and I am bound to shut up these lying sons of satan, that they will never ventilate any more of satan's pride wine around to stagnate the Bible gospel, and the glow of the atmosphere of heaven. Alid now I am another John the Baptist to bear witness to the truthfulness of the Godhead, to cry. Behold the Lamb of God, God's own Ijamb who takes away the sins of the world by his divine laws of authority, and by his authority I want to show Father Maturin his mistake, that God never gave nor deposited in fleshly lips or hands, or words of any bishop, subtracted from him- self, in whom the whole treasure of the Godhead is to me. It is awful blindness, that the spiritual God in his spiritual kingdom would accept of corruptible flesh, to convey his spiritual blessings to his spiritual subjects, in his own spiritual kingdom. God never could accept of this, for it would make the spirit depending on the flesh for its spiritual life and blessings, and this would dethrone the Godhead and place satan, flesh and self in his place, and overthrow the Godhead, and in time you would get no more spiritual bless- ings from the Godhead, he being dethroned ; and here in conse- quence of this newly organized government, we get you in time to draw all your spiritual blessings through the channel of our super- ior fleshly administrations, (well did you in your fancy conjecture, infer, think so and say so — what you prove everything by ; and here you can imagine you have topped the pole, and above all gods you are). But as I am a witness for the spiritual Godhead (and not fallen humanity's statutes,) I now bear witness for God the fountain of all spiritual life and truthfulness, for soul and body. I witness, ih-st, when he made man of the dust of the ground, but he was of no use, a lifeless, inactive creature, having mouth, lips, tongue and hands that were of no use — lifeless, inactive, dead. Second, God breathed part of his own life breath in him and he became a living soul, to be the companion of his maker, and walk 51 and talk together, the giver of the life of his soul and body, and the devil, his op^wsite, wants to destroy the life of their soul and body. And the Father's free gift, the son of his love, was given to be a sacrifice, rather than they should suffer. He wanted to suffer to save their souls and bodies, and he came in prophetic vision, and in person landed on our shores, and led a life of toil and labor, and as the prophets told, he would be a man of sorrows acquainted with grief, to benefit us at his own expense, and travelled to and fro teaching his disciples, and gifting and gracing his disciples for the work that was before them, and correcting their mistakes, and sharply reproved any of them that wanted to be pope suiierior, one above another, and he never would allow any of them to alter or doubt a word he said, and trained them to look forward for a greater outpouring of the spirit's blessings, for the kingdom of heaven was at hand, and he rewarded them by blessing them many a time, and one time, at the transfiguvation, they were nearly transported. After he arose from the dead, and when he conversed with his disciples, how their hearts burned with spiritual glow, while he opened to them the scripture, and his spirit accompaning his word, they had the dew drops of the spirit's efficacy, which increased their confidence in their Master, and leaving them, he breathed on them his holy spirit, and told them their duty, as he had taught them not to alter one word. And whosoever sins ye remit they shall be remitted, and whosoever sins ye retain they shall be retained, and according to my word I am bound to send all liars that have not repented of their sins to hell ; but if they repent, confess and forsake their sins, they are to be loosed and recom- mended to their God's pardoning mercy, and if they confess and forsake their sins and make restitution, they are to be loosed from the penalty of the law, (for example, the priests that have published that they were the first church, and told their hearers so, are bound to confess and forsake sin, and if they do so, God is bound by his own law to pardon them, and the priests are to confess to their hearers their sin of lying deception, and they are bound to pardon the priests and forgive their sins); but God requires restitution, and if any of his hearers die in the faith that the church would save them, they are lost by it. God has said, if the trumpet gives the wrong sound their blood will I require at the watchman's hand, arid God said it ; and believing this when I am preaching, and after I have done, I ask myself, is this God's truthful sound his own word prompts. His life have I preached to the people and I wish to be guided by Christ's commission to his disciples, to teach to the nations what I have said xinto you, and I think that all I say corresponds with this divine statute and model before me, according to my best judgment, and if I do name a man, I do not represent him as an object of faith to draw life and salvation from, ill iiii! 52 and when using the productions of some of these great doctors and professors, I have thought they were somewhat eclipsed, rather than driving the clouds off the sun, and I join with none of them that quotes them. I was reading this morning at the time of family prayer, a part of John's witness for Christ : John iii v 31, (this record is suffi- cient for us to keep God in his place, and man in his place.) He that cometh from above is above all, he that is of the earth is earthy and speaketh of the things of the earth, (and this is to put an end to my supremecy, and all others with me, for here God has topped the pole above all fleshly presumers,) verse 33, he that has received his testimony ,hath set to his seal,that God is true. Verse 34, for he whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of God, for God giveth not the spirit by measure unto him. (Here again God does not trouble any man to take his office, he gives his spirit direct himself, and I think he is the best judge o^ ihe machinery he puts it through.) Verse 35, the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into his hand. Verse 36, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; (this is quite a different object of faith beside priests lips and hands to get efficacy and pardon from blind self,) and he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life, (and then it must be death,) but the wrath of God abideth on him." God's word being time, if he never sees life he will never enter his life joys, and believing God, it must be a separation from God and heaven, and to hope to get there, the devil's forces must overcome heaven's forces to enter there. I was reading, a few mornings ago, in first Timothy, first chap- ter, verse 13, wheji Paul was before a blasphemer and persecutor, and injurious, because he did it ignorantly in unbelief. In verse 14, he tells us of the fountain that administers abundance of grace, (not from the fleshly fountain of bishops lips and hands,) and the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and ^?V3 which is in Christ Jesus. Well might he boast of the fountain which gave him such abun- dant supplies, without a cent of dues to pay for it, and the fountain proclaims it, that whosoever will may come and take of the water of life freely, (would you not think that they deserved the hottest hell, that would not accept of an eternal heaven of life, of light, of love, of peace, joy and happiness, and not to be indebted to any flesh earning or gold from earth's mines to pay for it. Oh how he gives and borrows none), and while others boast of their abundant stores and invites the people to come and partake of their supplies from their fountain, lips and hands. The Apostle Paul invites all to come to quite a different fountain where he felt its life spring joys from condemnation, and tells us it is worthy of acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Paul was lifted up with pride, fallen into the snare of 53 the devil, with the bloody letters of the high priests, to scatter to strange cities all that would call on the name of Jesus. Who could question Paul's conversation 1 He was a sectarian bigot and then he was a boaster and ventilator of the devil's pride wine, and could speak with more tongues than them all, and was one of the first or second in the class of the murdering high priests, and sin like, driving all before him ; and when Jesus, in his office as priest and saviour, gave remission of sins, (not priests) he said, " Saul, Saul why persecutest thou me," he fell to the ground, and the glory of the sunlight sealed his eyes, and he made a dependent baby of him, and caused him to learn the A. B. C. The firat lesson in Christ's seminary is humility, the best from first to last, till we get on the shroud. No one can doubt his conversation from being a murderer in the devil's army. He leaves them and joins the baby dependent little ones (he wants to be led by the hand, not seeking the glories or honors of this death stricken world, and like his master, weep and pray over Jerusalem), and Paul, with the nature of his new master could travel in pain for souls in nature's darkness to bring them into the life and liberty of God, and Paul knows the government of both gods, and he can witness the truth of that scripture ; his servants ye are to whom you obey, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righte- ousness ; and we see clearly the distinction between the two gods and their services, and I think Father Maturin was not more bigoted in his sectarian heart than Paul was. Oh, how glad I would be to sit at his feet and hear him relate such an experience as Paul's — I was a persecutor and injurious but I did it ignorantly in unbelief. I think I would have to rise and shake hands with him, yes, heart and hand under a meek and holy Jesus, not use him as a cloke to cover our convenience, but in our hearts to wash and cleanse us from fleshly corruptions, that war against the soul's best interest, and God will have to change this vile body and make it spiritual before it will be one, without contest or strife. Again, Father Maturin comes to regenerate the children, as his prayer book states, and I take my Bible, law book, creed book, and prayer book to ground^n^y faith on. Yours says, " Who gave you this namel" Answer, my god-fathers and god-mothera in my baptisim wherein I was made a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven. I never heard of god- fathers and god-mothers in the Bible, but I have heaid of Gods many and Lords many, that wanted to usurp authority and take God's seat of honor, and in their fancy would make better laws than God could make, and I hear many say they vow, and do not perform their vows, and I think it would be right if their parents were dead, to adopt them and provide for them and Ulach them ; and where necessity is there is no law against it, but God and the Bible has appointed the pai-ents to present their children in the 54 ordinance, and provide and teach them. He commanded Abraham to present his child, Isaac, in the age of sacrifices, and at the close of the age, Zacharias and Elizabeth presented their ohild and h& got his name John, and though Jesus was named by an angel before he was bcm, yet that authority would not do the father and mother. Joseph and Mary presented him, and I believe God made no mistake in making parents responsible in presenting and teach- ing their children. I think it would dishonor God to change and give the charge to gods and godesses to sink his own foundation (if necessity required it it was all right), and a good many say there are none to be baptized but believers that God has justfied, (well, this is generally believed to be true, and if original sin is on them they are death stricken and separated from God and turned out of Eden, and guilt of original sin is on them.) And in that state of death and condemnation there are men that come by earthly material, hands, words and water to take away the gift of original sin and condemnation ; and wherein I was made a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of" heaven. Thm is like those who need his name in calling evil spirits out, and preaching his name. No, I never gave you my name to use in exalting yourselves and your prayer book above my God and my Bible. I now quote a hymn, which a mother, when dying, gave to her son, the only legacy she had to give him — The Bible. " This book is all that's left me now, Tears will unbidden start, With faltering lip and throbbing brain, 'I press it to my heart. For many generations past, Here is our family tree. My mother's hands this Bible clasped ; She dying gave it me. Ah, well do I remember those Whose names these records bear, Who round the hearthstone used to close After the family prayer. And talk of what these pages said, In tones my heart would thrill, Though theyT with the silent dead ; Here ar*;; the living still. My father read this holy book, To brothers, sisters dear ; How calm was my poor mother's look^ Who loved Grod's word to hear. ^ Her angel face, I see it yet, With thronnng memories come ; Again this litue group is met Within the walls of home. 55 That truest friend man ever knew, It's constancy I have tried, When all were false I found thee true. My councillor and guide. The mines of earth no treasure give, That could this volume buy; In teaching me the way to live. It taught me how to die." And this is to agree and walk with Christ and not to quarrel with him nor doubt a word he has said, and when dying, take him at his word, when thy heart and thy flesh shall fail thee. I will be the strength of thy heart and thy portion forever. So we see it is Jesus first and second through life, in death the staff in the valley^ which supports when all other flesh and strength fails, and here I stand a witness for the true spiritual God, and his spiritual Bible above all books of men's invention in all the world. And God has bis royal priesthood of old, Moses and Aaron, and those of their line, faithful men, and they are passed away. Jesus passed by the great and mighty of this world, (and it is like what he would do,) and he went and picked up a royal priesthood of fishermen and tent-makers, as he passed along the shores, and he had a good deal of trouble in teaching them humility, and he had to use the mallet and chisel on them, to strip them of their self-importance and to mortify their pride, and to keep them from being the captives of the devil^Jbut he drilled them well, and would not allow one of them to alter one word he said, and if they would, he would throw them overboard ; and here are the fruits sown by his royal priest- hood, who would not presume to let corruptible give spiritual life to souls and pardon their sins, and by the slight of hands, make children members of Christ, and by their operations make them fit for heaven. And this is a little of Father Maturin's prayer book, which he exalts above the Bible, and he claims to belong to Christ's newly organized royal priesthood, recorded in the Bible. (Oh, how sataa with his Indian rubber stretch, warps them round and round in the dark to serve his purixjse.) I will now^ give him an example or two of Christ's royal priest- hood, and see if he is like them. Here we see how satan blinds men to fancy and imagine their great acquired learning and wisdom is greater light than the sun of righteousness revealed in the Bible, (while in their blindness, they are only eclipses of its bright beams.) Acts iv v 1, And as they spake unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, (to stop a revivor of God's work,) for howbeit many of them which heard the word believed, and the number of the men was about five thousand. What a blessed revival, which the devil and his high priests wanted to stop, and to get them to be dumb and silent, but ', l-.lt' MJii'.l • i i 11 56 Christ's royal priesthood of fishermen and tent-makers would be neither dumb or silent, but they would obey their great high, priest, who put them into office to confound the wisdom of men, for the wisdom of those would not employ one of such ignorant and illiterate men, and I think if Christ gave his efficacy to them. It is as good as *;he highest tongues of men and of angels without his efficacy. Verse 6, and Annas the high priest, as leader in the firm against Christ and his royal piiesthood, and Caiaphas and John and J lexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered at Jerusalem, and sat there in the midst of them, and asked them by what power do ye these things? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, (and I believe Peter never got it from the bishop's lips, or thands of Father Maturin's line,) said unto them, '* Ye rulers of the people and Elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of the good deed done to the important man, by what name he is made whole, be it known to you all, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead, even by him does this man stand here before you whole." Verse 11, "This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head corner." Verse 12, "Neither is there salvati6n in any other, (oh Peter, quit your lying, for we have salvation in our lips and hands, to save all that come to us, and there is no doubt that some of you must be liars,) for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved." Here Peter is not ashamed nor afraid to tell them they belong to the devil's murder- ing class of priests, the sons like the father that begets them, and Christ's royal priesthood gives all the honor, power and glory to Him that begets them, and I join them in giving glory to Jesus' life giving name forever and ever. Amen and Amen again. When Paul and Barnabas were laboring for their Lord, God so blessed their labors that people were astonished and wanted to make gods of them, and to ofier sacrifice to them, but Christ's true priesthood would not rob God. Their business is to preach the crucifying of the flesh and mortifying the deeds of the body, and like their master, men of no reputation or honors of this death stricken world attached to them. And again, like the devil would do, tempt the people to make a god of Paul, and another of Apollis and of lips, and last and least of all, Christ, to pass fleshly corrup- tions through; but Paul, one of the royal line, who would not take and rob Jesus of one tittle of honor or glory that bedecks the Saviour's brow, but Paul in detestation and abhorrence against such presumption, crys out, " was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptised in the name of Paul." No, no, Jesus was crucified for you, and our name he wants to be honored with his name, (not Paul's name in its place,) and here we see that Christ's noble line of royal priesthood is above all that is fleshly and selfish or i 67 od so to true the and eath v^ould pollis rrup- take the linst were nfied (not line h or ■covetous, yes, they are above all that is low, mean or wicked, without pride, falsehood or deception, with which the de\'il*s opposite are filled. This is the Bible, the Godhead's true witness, and any man may contrast this with the sand banks without a Bible. Father Maturin says, one thing that concerns me is, what interpretation does the Episcopal Church put upon them? Here we see he has no Bible statute, but the sayings of men, likely to change like sand banks along the ocean shove, and I cannot believe that any hands, words or water have spiritual efiicacy deposited in them, to give to the child the spiritual mind of Chiist, and a spiritual child of God, and a spidtual inheritor of the kingdom of heaven. Satan might whisper, we will save Christ the trouble of taking away original sin, and we will d» it by our better organized system of baptism, and make it a member of Christ, a child of God and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven. Hero we see this new system of godfathers and godmothers, and hands, words and water, all death stricken matei'ial, gives spiritual birthright and a spiritual heaven to inherit it. Why, my Lord must be greatly indebted to the flesh for such spiritual blessing to support his spiritual king- dom, (but could any but an insane man believe it.) I believe Jesus will never thank them for their fancy and conjecture, and as you have taken your bold stand in exalting your prayer book above the Bible, and as God has given you and I the right of private judgment, and gives us the liberty of damning ourselves, before he will take the liberty from us and act for us, the same as he gave the talents, he gives them power to occupy, and he will not use the talents or occupy them for them. The^ may hide it in the earth or roll it up in a napkin at their peril. You have the right of preferring your prayer book to the Bible, and he gives me the right of prefering the Bible to your prayer book, and we both must render our account on the day of Judgment. I was taught, when a boy, that the guilt of Adam's sin was on his posterity, and it has caused me a great deal of thought^ and I find there were lying prophets, lying apostles, and also some lying ministers to this day. I have read a book of a hundred and fifty denominations, and when they start out on Jesus, the narrow way, and some of them would not be long on it until they go on the broadway, and seeing and finding the serpent in our flesh and still has excuse to tempt, seduce and betray us as usual. I came to the conclusion I could neither trust myself nor any other man, and as God's positive command from his own lips has sait! " trust not in man nor in the arm of man in whom there is no itay, (v/e know it is true,) but trust in the Living God, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength and life and love, and this led me to Jesus' commission to his disciples, to go and teach all nations — what I have commanded you, what I have said unto you. I say Mil ii I 11 ;i ! 11 58 now we can l>elieve it was uttered by his own lips. Here we have the truth, and all corresponding with the truth, and we can believe it. But that which is opposite and contradictory to Christ we must dismiss it ; and it came to my mind : what did God say to Adam'a posterity in the beginning, and God gave it to me to see it revealed in his sunlight, what no man in the world ever taught me (and T do pray every day for God to teach me more and more). I ask what did God say to Adam and Eve, the death stricken, horrified and frightened. Here we hear from the fountain of love, sympathy and compassion proclaimed in their eara : "I will give my beloved son, my free gift," (in other words) the free gift of God came upon all men for justification of life and that word took death away, and life restored, took its place, and condemnation taken away, and justification takes its place, and there was not a man living but Adam himself. (But here it appears like one eternal). Now to the latest posterity the condemnation and gilt of original sin is taken away by the father's free gift of the Son of his love, and we here, are as sinners, in our hearts in open ybellion, and here we are convicted and condemed like the jailor who cried out, " What shall I do to be saved." Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house. Here we see Christ is a prince and a Saviour, to give repentance and remission of sins, and here he pardons the confessor and forsaker of his sins freely the same as he got original sin taken away by the same free gift of God, and with him, freely gives all things, with no dues to pay that belongs to this firm (the opposite god wants the dues). And here we see God did not leave the baby dependent on any priest or minister to regenerate it. He did it himself freely, and I am sure it is wisdom in God, knowing what man is, not to trust him, when he describes him in his best estate. But many a baby might be dead before they reach the house, then, according to their system, the baby was lost. I would say glory to God in the highest for his better organized system, that his free gift saves them, and God has made them inde- pendent to all men in the world either damning or saving them,, and let the child be taught in heaven or earth. As intellect would grow and capacity extend, it would soon comprehend the Father's love in the free gift of his son, that freely justified them without faith or believing when the child, was not able to believe. Glory to God and the Lamb forever and ever amen. And here I believe God's word is true, how darkness has covered the earth and gross darkness the minds of the people, and as God has bound his disciples, and all his true ministei*s to believe what Christ has said and commanded, their preaching is to be in harmony ^ with the words and commands of Christ, and that what he has not commanded we are bound to reject and dismiss ; but the god of this world (opposite) satan, flesh and self would accept of all con- 59 Hory jecture, fancy, say so, and think so, satan's profits, yes, and would have all his ministers preach Jesus name, and in their fancy satan would suggest to tell Jesus how many devils they cast out in his name, and pardoned sinners with thy name, and conveyed the Holy Ghost by thy name, and should not you respect us for our most excellent service ; and Jesus has warned us of many that shall come in his name, and Jesus has said they aro false prophets, and they have come and I have not sent them, and they shall not pro- fit my people, but they may deceive many of the simple hearted ones — and I believe among many of the difierent denominations that are hunters, tipplers and drunkards. My wife told me she was at school with a dean's daughter, — second family partially kept in the dark — and here these men, in the sink of corruption, and fleshly sin, and these are acknowledged to pardon sinners and give the Holy Ghost (as they fancy) and regenerate children and make them meet for heaven, which the Godhead had the glory and honor of doing before we were bom. I have been acquainted with noble priests in Ireland, men of principle and character, kind and friendly, and one of them stopped and lodged with us when convenient, and I did the same and stopped and lodged with the priest who treated me gentlemanly and like a christian — and there was another goodnatured priest but he loved the glass — and one time he was passing where the Orange Lodge was sitting, and as he was going past he fell as he was com- ing to the house, and the Orangemen brought him in and gave him a cup of tea and put him to bed, and told him in the morning they had made an Orangeman of him, and when he is on the way there la a night's lodging for him. He said, " It is well it is no worse boy»-j I am much obliged to you." I am happy to say that Catho- lics and Protestants in our immediate neighborhood felt like one family and would rise at the hour of midnight to serve one another, just as it ought to be. When a young boy, I was asked to^be an Orangeman, and I asked my father would he allow me, and he said, " Never be a party man but be a true Protestant ; and where you find a man in need of relief, no matter what clime or country, sect or denomination, relieve him, but you need not go to feed a man when he is not hungry, for he cannot receive nor digest it, so I never was a party man, nor a sectarian bigot, but respect eveiy man for his real worth, and I sign myself the friend of every man and the enemy of none, John Collins. Some call me John the Baptist, and I do not object to the title when I endorse John's doctrines, principles, and practice in the wilderness of Judea. I was brought up from a child a Presbyterian and a Methodist, and there I stood between the two parties, and when any of them got a little one-sided, and me in the centre, I was qualifying them both, and keeping them from extremes. After I was converted I attended to family prayer and studied 60 f the "Word of God with his spirit teaching, and I began to preach in exortation to the people, and one of the elders, who loved me dearly, came a long distance to stop me, and said to me, " You know better than that John, to begin to preach without going through college, and going through the examinations of the Presby- tery, and get the Synod to send you out the right man, and you know the Methodists do not qualify their ministers, and their going to heaven by their works meritorious for salvation, and you were taught better than that John. I said, I know the Catechism as well as you, and it says he has foreordained all things for his own glory whatsoever comes to pass." Well it has come to pass that I have begun to preach, and according to the doctrine of necessity I am bound to preach. Have you come all this way to break God's decree and stop me % He seemed to stop here. I said, " We are all subject to mistake, and miswording too, (but if the Divines had worded it that God has foreordained the way to glorify him in whatsoever comes to pass, it would be more consistent, and in the scriptures it is worded that he walked into the mountain. Again, while Philip and the Eunich were driving together, he commanded the chariot to stand still ; but we know it was the horse, but the fact of the matter is, they both stood still. How many cavil about words, and darken counsel with words. Again you charge the Methodists of going to heaven by the merits of works, and this is clamor, and the Methodists may put another plaster on you, that you will get to heaven because you are one of the elect, no matter what you do, and both are clamor, and I am not one-sided but in the centre, and taught by both parties, and actually we get all our blessings from the one fountain. Now you believe that he died for the elect, and I believe he died for the whole world. ' Well I do not quarrel with you about the elect for Christ is the elect, and all believers are precious to him, and God numbered his Israel, many a time coming up through the wilderness, and we read of a hundred and forty-four thousand numbered around the throne ; and I asked him, did he go to get a blessing from the elect on their way home or the forty thousand around the throne. No, you never ask one from any of them, and where do you go to] To Jesus* feet and mercy seat where you get all your blessings freely bestow- ed, without a sacrifice, without money and without price. Well, I believe he died for the whole world. Well, do I go to any of them for a Idessing. No. I believe they have not a drop of oil to spare me, and where do I go but to Jesus, who says " Come unto me." And we both get our blessings fi'om Christ the free bestower. Now this is your faith's free foundation, and I was taught it by the Presbyterians and the Methodists the same. By grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works should man boast. After this my kind friend troubled me no more. So we separated with due respect for each 61 3SIIS tby you ft of lend 3ach other. My father and mother intended to put my eldest brother through college lor a Presbyterian minister, but did not. And then I believed that no one could preach unless they went through the course, just as they were taught around me, and I heard some say the priests were the best learned men and they only were fit to explain the scriptures j and some Presbyterians and Church of England people would make their boasts of their ministers who were the best learned of any, and these assertions were.common among us, and hardly a word about God qualifying them for his ministry ] And it was the same in Christ's day. Is not this the carpenter's son, who has never learned his letters, and it seems to me it will be the same until the end of time, by satan snaring them and puffing them up, unless the Pentecost showers or the Millenium gates would open and sweep all our self-righteousness and corrup- ' tion from us, to accept of Christ's gifting, 'gracing and teaching them his divine spiritual government in the college of his nature, meek humility, which Christ put in Paul in that he could speak with more tongues than them all, but when Christ put him through his mature humility, he tells us how his tongue of eloquenme in :ept it leal of 't and le baU )st he Id this Inceiv- ig re- [eived, Idam's inter- id to [■ledge, us to your and Ith his strength of grace, and put to death the old man, (flesh's corrupt nature,) and mortify the deeds of the body, the flesh lusts and loves. God commands us to crucify the flesh with its aflections and lusts. Well, we have no excuses to make when we hav6 access to him who controls both worlds, and gives all this jiower for asking and believing, and without a cent to pay, (there is no excuse for us, no, no,) but we now give in to satan and indulge in the lusts of the flesh, and the lust of the eye and the i)ride of life, all death stricken material, and believe satan when he tells us that all these are the blessings of pardon, regeneration and salvation, is to flow through this channel ; and then, to top the pole and get above all gods, as it seems Father Maturin has got, it does not concern him what the Bible says, or any one else says. The Bible must be interpreted by their standard of faith and practice — the prayer book. Surely we must say it has topped the pole, the true standard and statute for the world's redemption, and here we see that the devil is just the same now, as he was with Eve, attempt- ing to make God a liar. Now the prophets and apostles, and this great prayer book, casts them all in the shade. • I am now in my eighty-sixth year, and long ago I got acquaint- ed with the deVil's proof texts, where he tells of himself, for he is the father of the firm of liars, and very bold to say thou shalt not surely die ; and this is his bold assertion, and thinks so and says so, and in their blindness they think his ministry a right and true one, and we need never be mistaken in the proofs the devil and his ministers give in their assertions, and we cannot but see that satan and his ministers are their assertions, and that they can prove everything they want by them, and the scriptures passed by, otherways accepted by some learned doctors and professors, to explain it to them, and satan blinds them to give up their con- science to these pride-wine displayers, instead of expressing their • own conscience and jugment, and to think, that Jesus having more knowledge than all the world,.be8towing his tree and full salvation to suit the cajmcity of babes to v/hom he reveals himself, and he gives them to know that they must be divested of their pnde-wine boasting and come down to the humble dependent state of a baby, before they ever enter the kingdom of heaven, (satan will never endorse it, but Jesus lips have said it.) Which is the liar? Will none of the learned men get to heaven 1 Yes, but they must belong to the baby class, that depend on their parents for support, for reproof, correction and their washing, (for if I wash you not ye have no part in me,) and clothing, and the glow and smile of their countenance and the multiplication of kisses and peace be imto you — which he gave to his dependent babies on the first day of the week, when he came in the midst of them to comfort and sup- port them in their weakness, in the time of their sorrow and trial, and strengthen their faith when they preyed his word true. As 04 thy day, thy strength shall he, hut those that are rich and increas- , ed in goods and want nothing from him, but would sell him and walk no more with him in humble love, prodigal like, disowns his home and his father's government, they know nothing about the trials that make his promises sweet, and give new life to prayer, and I think that Christ and his royal priesthood of the illiterate fisheimen, would not regret now their toil, and passing through bonds and imprisonment, tumults, labors and the fires of Smith- field, since it must make heaven sweet in the light and glow of the Sun that never sets, and where darkness and death can never come — oh, glorious home for his little simple dependent babes. For the last fifty years I have been in discussions with various classes of learned and illiterate infidels and have seen some of them converted and have still contended for the faith, delivered to the saints, whose foundation is God and the Bible, and I have met many learned men, plain simple and truthful, but they belonged to the baby race and were not snared by satan, and such men as these education never hurts, and any well balanced mind that views everything in the light of God it will not do them harm, and be like Paul, that counted all things but dross, when compared with the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord — ftnd others that have not half the education, would be blowing of his pride-wine and could not get ventilation for the contents within. I now write a Hymn called the Family Bible. A sailor told me that Hymn was made on one like him. His father read the Bible and attend- ed to family prater, and ho left home and went to sea and did not see home for thirty years, and he and two other boys were driven on an Island where there were no inhabitants, and they thought they would die there, and they began to think of the Bible and father's prayers, and the children's seats, and he thought his heart lightened when he remembered these words from his mother's lips: " Here I lav me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.'* They saw a ship passing in the distance, and one boy ran to the shore, and they sent a boat and took them ofi", and he got convert- ed and got into Jesus' life boat, that landed him safe in heaven. " How painfully pleasisg, the fond recollection, Of youthful emotions and innocent joy, When blest with parental advice and affection. Surrounded witn mercy and peace from on high, * I still view the chair of my sire and my mother, And the seats of their offspring arranged on each hand, And that richest book that excem every other, The funily bible that lay on the stand. The old fashioned bible, the dear blessed bible. That family bible, that lay on the stand. 65 the rert- • That Bible, the volume of God'a inapiration, • At morning and evening could yield us delight, And the prayer of our sire was a sweet invocation, For mercies by day and for safety by night, Our hymns of thanksgiving with harmony swelling, All warm from the nearto of a family band, Half raised uh from earth to that rapturous dwelling, Described in that bible that lay on the stand. The old fashioned bible, etc. Blessed bible, the light and the guide of the stranger, With thee I seem circled with parents and friends. Thy kind admonitions shall guide me from danger. On thee my last lingering nope now depends. Hope wakens to vigor and rises to glory, rU hasten and flee into the promised land, For refuse, lay hold on the hope set before me. Revealed in the bible that lay on the stand. The old fashioned bible, etc. Ye Bona of tranquility long have departed, My hope almost gone and my parents no more» In sorrow and sadness I live broken-hearted, And wander unknown on a far distant shore. Yet how can I doubt a dear Saviour's protection. Forgetful of gifts from his bountiful hand. Oh let me vrith patience receive his correction. And think on the bible that lay on the stand. The dear blessed bible, etc. Hail rising brightest and best of the morning, The star that guided my parents safe home, A jB^eam of thy gloiy my pathway adorning, i^all scatter my dorkness and scatter my gloom, As the Eastern sages to worship the stranger, In extacy hastened to Canaan's blest land, III bow to adore him but not in a manger, He is seen in the bible that lay on the stand. The dear blessed bible, etc., The' 1^ and misfortone press hard on my feelings, 111 nee to the bible and trust in the Lord, TIko' darkness shall cover his merciful dealings. My soul is still cheered by his heavenly word. AxA now from things earthly my soul is removing, I sooii shall shout glory with heaven's bright Mnd, Ib raptuijpd of joy be for ever adoring. The God of the bible that lay on the stand. The old fashioned bible, the dear blessed bible. The family bible that lay on the stand." •And this blessed book, it author God, who made all worlds and controls and governs them by his independent sovereign will, by towards and punishments, and Christendom foUo'tes the aa.me exAmpIe, consigning to death the murderers of himself and others^ that no murderer hath eterhal life abiding in him, (Uie opposite 6 66 must be eternal death,) and is not this great love in Christ's warn- ing them to save them from eternal death, and those who do not care about you, smelling the sulphur and crying, I am tormented in these llames. Would these be your friends, or Jesus crying after you, *• I died for you, come unto me, I am your Saviour, come." There are some preachers, who seem to preach all gosjiel morality, civility and courtesy; all very good, but these are but half-sided preachers, and do not like to disturb satan, but keep the old man's goods in peace, and do not give a list of signs to awake them, and do not tell what Jesus said — that all liai*s, swearei'S, drunkards, thieves and whoremongei-s, adulterers and murderera, have their portion in the lake of tire and brimstone, which is the second death ; that is a separation from God the fountain of life, where death can never come. To be a holy preacher, he must preach both law and gospel to the i)eople, as God has worded it in the old fashioned bible, to get his own soul saved and be clear of the blood of the people, and I see in Canon Farrar's two sermons he preaches the same as the devil preached to Eve at the beginning, and opposite to God, and to make God a liar, he tells her, thou ■ shalt not surely die, but it will make you so wise and great to be above all gods, (what a bait for pride and presumption to obtain.) When I was in London, I heard he was one of the finest Church of England ministens there, and he appears to be one with Father Maturin, dismissing our old fashioned bible, only as their better judgment would bind or loose it, or give it ind»dgence as it suited their superior judgment or the prayer book, (and it seems now we are in the position of Eve, she had the rght of private judgement and power to refuse or accept of God's word : Thou shalt surely die, or the devil's word, (opposite,) Thou shalt not surely die, and the fact proves God was true and is unchangeably the same now, and all those who attempt to make God's word a lie will know in the end that they were Hare, and he will not break his word, and he will give them a liar's sentence, and send them to hell, and then they will know, not by hearsay, that God was true and will know by fact and experience that God is time, and know that separated from God is death, away from God the fountain of life, of light and love. I love the bible, and have been ta ght it from from a child, but dfd not prize it much until I was ten years old, and then I began to be thoughtful and study it, and I have got a gi'eat deal of knowledge of satan, flesh and self, as God and the bible exposes them and brings them to the sunlight. And I think no one in justice should find fault with me for witnessing for God, my true Saviour, that gave me the Bible, my rule of life in faith and practice, and as God long, long ago, made use of his little ones, that none would employ but himself — David the hired boy, the stiipling, with his insignificant sling and stone; but the mighty learned sage would not allow him to meet the gi'eat 67 life, irora old, ot a the for my ^ade ivid )nej leat Goliath that defied God, and all the armies of Israel, and these great warriors would not allow him to meet the great boaster with such weapons, and got him to put on Saul's costume, helmet and shining sword, and when, having them on, he lost all confidence in having success, with manual qualifications and show and display, he throws off all manual organizing, and having faith in God, the conductor of the stone, he does his duty and wields the arm to the honor of him of whom he borro\7ed the strength, and God con- ducted it and gave the efficacy and power from on high that laid the proud boaster's head low, who, with his own sword, intended to overthrow God's government and not save a man to proclaim honor to the meek and lowly Jesus' name. (Oh what wonderful amount of the devil's pride-wine was sunk in the dust when his own sword cut his own head off). How true is God's word, that man in his beat estate is noth'iig but vanity, and his fancied ac- quired wisdom is foolishness with God, (what a blessed happy state is that baby's, that does not have to take thought nor provide any- thing : the parent thinks and provides evei*ything). And as I have endeavored to be a witness for my Lord, it is seventy yeara since I began to recommed people to the sinner's friend, mine and yours, and all out friends, and when I was in thb devil's services I was ventilating satan's pride-wine to get above all ray equals. Since God converted me, I now pity the slaves of Satan, ventilating his pride-wino in showing off and making dis- play in Vanities' Fair ; and since Jesus changed me into his hum- ble servant, I oppose all pride-wine boastei-s, and I want to save them from the devil puffing them up and snaring them, and I want to save Canon Farrar from being one sided, preaching all gospel and passing by the law, God's school master, to bring us to liimself, and Canon Fan-ar. Solomon, the wise man, says, an open reproof is better than secret love, and I hope Canon Farrar enjoys its truthfullness. He says, I would rather accept — as re- flecting on the mind of God the broad humane charity — the keen and tender Son's ability, than the hard system of heartless Theolo- gians. Here we see he is one sided in favor of God's attributes of mercy, and does away with God's attributes in punishing his rebels and enemies by his own just and righteous laws, and here he wants to reflect on God, the broad humanity of charity and the Son*« ability, and you say, and this is your assertion for reflecting on the mrnd of God your human charity, and I do not think you borrow- ed it from God to reflect it back on him to destroy his own organ- ised attributes of justice ; and I think you have borrowed it from the god of this world, who would not have a trumpet to alarm or aw^e them until they would awake and hear the cry, " I am tor- mented in this flame, he is just the kind of preacher the lower god wants. Again Oanon Farrar says, we should calmly and deliberately 68 erase from our English bible the three words, damnation, hell and everlasting, (and like the father of the firm, proves everything by himself, his assertions and his pride- wine display.) I say, unflinch- ingly, claiming the first right to speak by another blast of satan's pride-wine, I say in the calmest, most unflinching sense of re- sponsibility, I say, standing here in the sight of God and of my ^viour, and of angels, (and if this is nc^ a display of satan, flesh imd self, I do not know what is — ^he got into the wrong college, with satan, who wants to lessen and destroy God's word — the Bibla) Again I say, not one of these three words ought to stand any longer in our English Bible, (so much for the man that is wiser than Grod, and all that trust in the bible,) but mistransala- tions have them, (this is a prophecy,) but he was not there to set them right. He says, but unquestionably they will not be in the i-evised edition, if the revisers understand their duty. And we read of gods many that want to be above God, who denounce Jesus for his ignorance and want of learning, and they having a first-class education were only competent to take his seat and legislate for him, (Satan blinding them they fancied it.) In the days of his flesh he met them who fancied they shone brihtger than the sun, and it appears satan, after eighteen hundred years has passed, has some of this class, begotten sons that lise and cast the Son of God in the darkest shade, presuming there are none to dis- miss law penally or erase by my command damnation, hell and everlasting punishment from our English Bible, and I only am fit to give indulgences, for I speak with the authority of knowledge, ^Krhftt a boast of satan's pride>wine is this,) and if the opposite, the meek and lolwy Jesus, would tell you that knowledge pufleth up, but that charity edifieth, would you believe him? .^.nd that the 'Wisdom of the world is foolishness with God, would you believe himf Sir, I think if you believed this, we would hear no more of Sour boasted authority of knowledge, the unhallowed breath of atan's pride- wine. He gives the revisers to know their ignorance or neglect of duty, if they do not erase these words, but I see the i^visors have kept the three words, damnation, hell and everlast- ing, the same as in our old testament. I hope he will be stopped from exalting himself above all that is called God. Again, he carries out his pope supremacy and says, did ^ou ever believe that one you loved ever suf^red eternal fire, then m union with satan, flesh and self, and with satan proves his assertions, and he, the end of the law, and in his pompous majesty says, first, I say Ood forbid ; second, I fling with abhorrance such a creed, (so God's oreed and law book are thrown overboard, by Oanor Fairar's supreme knowledge and autiibrity); third, let every Pharisee gnash lAk teeth if he will ; fourth, let every dogmatic system authorise ; fifth, but that I oannot ; sixth, and do not believe. I believe yoa ttOw to be a nonbeliever in God's word, (just where Satan would ^9 liave you,) to make a liar of God, as the old father of the firm attempted to do, but did not do it, nor one of his sons will never do it, and in the end they know that God was and is true, and his opposites are liars. The seventh boasts of his assertions, like his fatlier, to make hif lies pass as a government bank of golden truthfulness, and sajrs again, scripture will not let me. Now, sir, I believe this assertion is a lie. Let us view the case. I call and appeal to the whole world to get a man in all the human family to prove that scripture took away the right of private judgment and bound your conscience and would not let you act No, God would not take it from you nor let the devil take it from you, for then you would not be responsible or accountable. He would not be a man of God's creating, who has no power of acting, and it appears the old blinder has caused you to miss your way; it is like what the old blinder would do, extinguish the sunlight of heaven. Let us try the case again, see Matthew xxv, v. 24, " Then he which had received the one talent, came and said. Lord, I know thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed." Verse 25, " And I was afraid and went and hid thy talent in the earth : lo, there thou hast that is thine.** And where the devil blinded him to tell his Lord he knew him to be a hard man reaping where he had not sown ; and again telling him, I hid thy talent in the earth, and lo, there thou hast that if thine ; and it appears he proves himself to be the liar and hi& Lor^ true. Did scripture want his conscience to tell lies on his Lord and prove himself the liar and the Lord true, and scripture never interfered to prevent him from telling lies on himself or justify his Lord's truthfulness. This case proves his liberty to exercise or use his talent when he had power to bury it or occupy it for his Lord. How blind the old blinder has him, to think he could not see that he had got the talent and that he had power to occupy or bury it of his own free will, and the fact is he did not want to serve or promote the interests of his Lord, but to displease him, and his own will allowed him to choose an opposite master, who tought him to lie like himself, and he was in the same circumstances as the rest that got the talents, and their free will gave them to choose, occupying them for their Lord and Master, and he preferred burying it in the earth ; and I believe if he had occupied it for his Lord, he would have been rewardt^l the same as the rest were, and that would have been better than striving to displease his Master, and now he is brought to the bar of Justice, and his Lord said unto him, " Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gathered where I have not strawed, (and that is a lie,) you should have put my money to the exchangers, that I might receive my own with usury, take the talent from him, (verse 30,) and cast the wicked servant into 70 f outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, and not one word of hope of one tear being wiped away. And here we see his sympathy for suffering humanity is the foundation on which he bases his system, and like satan, proves all by assertions. He says, let every dogmatic authority think, is not that yourself. Again, he commences with the old father's proofs, assertions and think so, that proves everything they want. He now tells us of the chains that bind him down, and will not let him believe God's word ; first, my concience will not let me ; second, my reason will not let me ; third, my faith in Christ will not let me ; fourth, the voice of the spirit within my soul will not let me ; fifth, and God will not let me. Well, I would expect this from a man in the Asylum, bereft of his common sense. Who could believe him that these five chains have bound him so that he has no power to act or believe God's word, and we see all these are the same as the former case we tried, but Satan and self assertion proves all for him, and if God is true and every man that contra- dicts him a liar, we should go to God's word in the old and new testaments for the true proofs. See Ezekiel xxxii, v. 27, They are fallen among the uncircumcised that are gone down to hell. Psalm xi V 6, Upon the wicked he shall reign snares, fire and brimstone, and this will be the portion of their cup. Isaiah xviii, v. 56, be- hold the Lord will come with fire and anger, and his rebuke with flames of fire, like what he visited Sodom with, and as I stand a witness for himself, Matthew v, v. 22, (uttered by his own lips,) And whosoever shall say, thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire, (the opposite say no hell fire.) Verse 2&, it is better that one of thy members should perish and not thy whole body be cast into hell. Mark, believing his own words, uses his Masters words, if thy hand offend thee, cut it off, rather than go to hell where the worn dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Verse 45, and if thy foot offend thee, cut it off, for it is better for thee to enter into life halt, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched, (and those that presume to know more than God say that is a lie). Verse 47, " And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, for it is better to enter into the kingdom of heaven with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire." Verse 49, " Where the worm that dieth not and the fire is aot quenched," (and those who fancy they have superior authority of knowledge say that is a lie). Mark also follows his master and warns them of God's power that can kill and send both soul and body to hell, Luke xii, verse 5. Again, in Matthew xxii, Jesus brought fourth a parable of a king making a marriage for his son, and Uie Jews and,his own family were invited, but satan, their leader, and self and flesh preferred their bodies' interest to that of their soul, and would prefer the garments of their own self-right* ecus weaving and making, and fancies he is fit to be a guest at 71 ,nd sua on, ■leir bof jht- tat any wedding feast, and in his self importance and vain conceit, prefers his to a white robe washed in the blood of the Lamb, with- out spot or wrinkle, and freely bestowed, without a cent to pay for it. And for his pride wine and presuming, his servants are ordered to bind him hand and foot and to cast him into outer darkness, there yhall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, (and we see after all the reprecentation of the righteous being separated from the unrighteous, and the godly from the ungodly, and we read of the devil and his angels being separated from heaven and God long before we existed ; and since their fall, of a promise from Father and Son to reclaim or restore them,) and the unrighteous and ungodly le 1 captive by the devil at his will^n fleshly lusts, pride and vanity, rejecting his pardoning mercy, until the day of death is come, and judgment is the other, and having prepared ourselves for the devil and his angels, and without one promise ever to be separated from your father, as God has said : Ye are of your father, the devil, for his works ye do, and in the final judgment recorded in Matthew xxv, and in three verses he shows the two characters, and their final end and both parties' destiny fixed forever, and he will put the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left. Here the separation takes place, and the proud, boast- ing, butting, hooking, and snorting goats, and this final separation, will allow these pride wine ventilatora to butt and knock around God's little lambs no more, and in the 41st he severs them ever- lastingly, Hear ^the sentence : " He shall say unto them on the the left hand, depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire pre- pared for the devil and his angels." And in the 46th concludes and finally carries out the distinct separation : " And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal." Here we see what is said of the one state is said of the other, never to be changed, and those who have topped the pole and with majesty speaks with authority of knowletlge knows all this. Oh, how wise they are. Since 1 commenced to use my sling and stone, as a shepherd boy, I have carried the lambs in my bosom many a time, and make the stones apply to the devourers, and from my hand, and generally saved them with some exceptions, and our Lord proves himself the good shepherd who would carry the lambs and the weak ones in his arms, but above all he lays down his life for his sheep, and he does not cover nor cloke their sins like the other shepherd who go with the motive to be flesh eaters and wool clothers. He deals honestly with' them and tells them plainly, above board, that they keep a fear outside, but inwardly they were ravening wolves. What an awful character he gives them, and he knows they will never be converted until they are convicted, and he warns them faithfully that he is clear of their blood. Do we deserve it, when we can get it, like the bitten Israelites, who looked at the brazen serpent, and the moment they 72 looked the poison left their flesh, and life was restored, and the moment Peter used the name of Jesus, it made the dead ankle bone skip with activity, and I was ready to fancy, when he was cured, his heart and tongue proclaimed glory, glory be to that name above every other name that brings dead souls and bodies to life, (glory, glory to God in the highest and forever more). Peter follows Christ's example in believing that he cannot get a soul converted without being convicted, see Acts ii, verse 23. Here he charges them with wickedness and murder. He being delivered by the determinate council of God, you have taken and by wicked hands you have crucified and slain, verse 36 There- fore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that Grod hath made that same Jesus whohi ye have crucified both Lord and Christ, verse 37. Now when they heard these things they were pricked in their hearts, and said to Peter and the rest of the Apostles, " What shall we do," (and God nor Peter never told them of a body act to perform to be saved, it is the acts of the soul believ- ing that Christ is true that saves, for the multitude of our sins will never damn us, nor the fewness entitle us to his favor, for he can pardon five hundred as well as fifty.) In verse 38, Peter tells them to repent, '(it is the labor and exercises of the mind) and he pays not according to the merit of work done but according to their faith in their pay-master, whose government law is all free bestow- ments, and to bring a price in our hand would be the gi'ound for our rejection. Peter said unto them, " Repent and be baptized every one of jou in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost," and through faith and believing, the channel through which God conveys all his graces. "What a glorious revival took place when three thousand were con- verted in a day, by Peter's plain honest truthfulness, not covering their sins but exposing them to bring them to conviction, and save them by God's unchangeable government law. Without ye repent ye shall likewise perish. And God gave his disciples to teach nothing but what he has said, and commanded them to follow him through evil report and good report, and as Jesus, with bitter contempt, pours down his woes upon the Scribes and Phaiisees and Lawyers in order to convict them, and then by his own govern- ment law, and by their confession and forsaking, they will find mercy, but there is no hope of mei'cy to go on in sin that grace may abound. It is contrary to all justice. All preachers should never forget to teach what he has said and commanded, as he alone has the eflScacy to give. You may blindly fancy you have done many wonderful works in his name, and fancy you make the evil spirito 4X)me out by the most efficacious name in earth or heaven, but for their hypocrisy and deception intended to got the people to believe that he was as truly commissioned as Paul was ; and when he 73 took the virtue out of his own name, it was of no use. Here we see that all our labors are in vain when he withdraws the virtue of his name, so we see it is best to be pleasers of the ears of the Ijord of Sabbaoth, rather than the ears of setitarian bigotry to gain notoriety and popular applause, and such characters were in Christ's day, who boasted of their superiority of learning, yes, and of their fleshly learning too. Is not this the cari)enter's son] (He is not worthy of notice.) They were so blind with their self-conceit that tliey did not think he was the son of David, a King's son by humanity, and the Son ofGod in heaven by divine spirituality, but the old blinder, Satan, self and flesh, and the chief priests, scribes and pharisees, that should have received him and l>een his chief sup- porters, became his bitterest enemies, and would not be led or taught by him. They would have Moses to lead and teach them, and he told them if they would believe Moses they would believe him, for he wrote of Me. But he is so ignorant that he is not fit to teach us, and so the separation took place, and he leaves the dead works and commences to establish a spiritual kingdom, not of meats and drinks, but of righteousness and peace and joy in all true believers hearts. And since this priesthood would not crucify the flesh with its aflcctions, and corruptions, but would bag-fill and flesh eat, God did not destroy their free Jwill, nor by necessity bind them, but gives them the liberty of flesh feeding and glut- tony — eat and drink, for to-morrow ye die, and then will he settle up the whole account ; and since this fleshly priesthood has left him, he is under the necessity of forming a new spiritual priest- hood that will crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts, that will never compromise with poj)e's supremecy, to attempt to over- throw divine spirituality in the kingdom of grace, love, mercy and peace, which they get from Jesus their king in his kingdom. So he comes on the sea shore and gathers up the toil working fishermen from the shores to make them fishers of men, without any other qualifications but what he himself would give them, and the first lesson he taught them was meek humility, and the servant not to be above his Lord ; to endure suflfering and hardness as good soldiers, to resist against flesh and blood, and fight the good fight of faith, to lay hold on eternal life, to receive the crown of glory in the end for the hardship they endured in the battle field. I see the God of heaven wants the flesh to be overcome, and the spirit to gain the victory, and the opposite god, satan, flesh and self, that want the spirit to depend on the flesh tor its refreshing, nurishing oil of the fleshly, is greater to give it strength, (as some fancy.) But you may see Jesus' new royal priesthood recorded in the 10th chapter of Matthew, and he sends them out without flattery, and nothing to depend on but himself. The word which was irom the beginning, which itiined the manna, which they neither sowed or reaped, but gathered and used it and took their 74 fill, to increase their faith in his word, and the prophets meal and oil were sufficient to sustain him, and the waters of Jordan divided by his command, to give them a dry passage, and a rod smote the sea and divided the waters when God gave the efficacy, and by the efficacy a rod smote a rock and got water to supply Israel on their journey, and to strengthen them in their faith, he fed multitudes with a few loves and fishes, and as he too was a fisherman, he sent him to catch money out of a fish's mouth, to pay their passage on their journey; and we see faith in his word is the seminary through which he supplies them with knowledge, that none but himself could give ; and to give them resignation in sufiering, like himself, for the servant is not to be above his Lord,He calls this royal priesthood his little ones ; and to encourage those in whose houses they called, he promises them that he will be their paymaster, and says, "Whosoever shall give a cup of cold water, only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, ho shall in nowise lose his reward," and here we see that the great, the rich learned, high priests.jthe scribes andpharisees, hpve made a complete separation, for they would not have him and i secuted him in the end, and the chief priests were the ring-lea* ji-s in the gang. I was in Ireland sixty years ago and the Bishop had thirty thousand pounds a year for his office as a Bishop in the county Armagh, and I heard they claimed Apostolic succession, and I thought it could not be Christ's church, for Christ would not suffer one of his disciples to be above another, and if they want to be great, let their greatness consist in their faithful servitude, and I was acquainted with two fine Church of England ministers, and one of them and myself kept the Bible in our schools, and I was once put in as church warden, but I never interfered with their system, such as regenerating children, until this sermon of Father Maturin's came before me, and as I profess to be a witness for i^ ^ Christ, I never thought they were so far fallen as to put God- ' fathera and Godmothers in the place of God's government law that he has appointed for the parents to present ; it is in opposition to God. And not long since I heard of several Bishops getting thirty thousand pounds each for their office ; but of late I read in a paper — but I cannot now give the place and the particulars — that in a church in London one has a living worth nine hundred and twenty- five pounds a year, and a population of thirty-one thousand, and a congregation of eleven thousand. The spiritual church goer is thus promoted by an endowment of eighty-four pounds per annum,, while ^the material comfort of each parishoner is secured by an annual provision of nearly thirty-three pounds. The new Popish church reformer has a great work before him» Oh, it is«k hard matter for Christ and christians to get along with those heady, high minded, proud, overbearing supreme popes, who want to rule both God and man ; however, it is well for the church & ■ v.^^-.,^ ■- - 75 !.¥. >( • reformer to do his duty, and as Soloman, the wise man, says, "An open reproof is better than secret love." And I never thought the church of England was fallen so' low in fleshly corruption, that it would destroy the life of religion from any man or any church — the foundation where satan binds and deceives and carries off his captives ; and looking at this before me a thought reflects itself on my mind that if I was about to destroy and banish religion from any church — first, I would heap riches on it ; second, I would get them by their own labors to know all languages ; third, I would heap titles of honor on them to show their superior rank and offices to let people know the height of our dignity, and pope's supremacy, (where I was once, when a boy, w^hen I gave the command the inferiora had to obey or be dismissed, or have pennance put on them.) Oh devil, I have known thy supremacy over 78 years ago when I was 7 years old, and I was bom in Ireland the year of the rebellion, in 1879, and on the 15th of July, I will be 86 years of age, and I was under the devil's supremacy until I was ten years old, and as the scripture words it, I was no more led captive by the devil at his will, and I came to a full stop and accepted of a better leader, the Shepherd of Israel, whose pastures are ever green and food nourishing, and the grace's fountain of living waters, still and deep and inexhaustible, where his sheep and lambs can never die with hunger, nor faint with thirst, and when Jesus came he wanted to identify himself with them, his own family, and prove to them that he was the theme and sub- ject of the prophets all along, and when they would not have him, but preferred Moses to him, he appealed to them that if they accepted of Moses that they should accept of him for he. wrote of him. I myself never broke a law of Moses nor approved of any one breaking ajaw that he made, and I proved it to them by the the woman they brought to be stoned, and I ordered those that were free from sin to stone her, and they left her, and I did not take their free will from them, for I approved of Moses* law ; but no, they would not take with them Moses. No, they would in their blinded pope supremacy of their superior knowledge, accept of Moses and dismiss the ignorant and illiterate Jesus (away with him,) and it is just what the world, flesh and the devil did then, does now, and will forever more do, where the devil, the world and the flesh has supremacy. They dispise the meek, the lowly, holy and loving Jesus, the man of no reputation to gain the world's respect or favor for himself, or one of his little ones, who believe in his name. His fountain of life-springs flow to them freely and these clamourers could not but see his pure and spotless life, but the old blinder, having them captive, would not let them take a look at the beautiful, meek, lowly, spotless and loving Jesus, with- out pride or guile, fraiid or falsehood, which were never heard from his Ups ; yet the devil having them captive at his will they would 76 cleonoiir on, and most unreasonably too, that he was a glutton and a dninkard, and a friend of sinners. Oh, what a criminal he mi^st have been in their eyes as they fancy. Oh, how blind they must be who do not see themselves that they are in need of him, but in their sheer blindness peraevere and follow after and clamour for the innocent blood of the Lamb of God, and the flesh eaters and the flesh seekers are unchangeable, the same in high or low degrees, liiding in the shade with their cunning, sly, corruptible nature, and will not act the part of the divine, for light and darkness are not one, nor Christ and belial never will be one. To be a heart whole christian, and to be dependent on him alone who can provide for you, and Will pay others who will assist him in doing so, and he will be their security so that they may go on with his despised little ones, to suffer reproach with their master, since he can give them grace in the day of trouble, like those of old, that with his love they took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, and rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer perse- VJ , cution for his name sake. These, and such as these, came out under a divine spirituality, that gave them such a heart whole victory over the world, the flesh and the devil. I had the pleasure of witnessing God's truth as a prince and a saviour to give repentance and remission of sins, and this is Christ's offices alone, no matter what instrumentality is used, it .must be acceptable to him before he gives the efiicacy, and he is a jealous God , and he will never give his office or glory to another. (But to be short, and I can hardly be that.) This damsel was married about a year ago and she sent for a doctor, and he told her she was proof against medicines aid, and that she had not long to live, and she waked up rather alarmed, and conviction seized her, and she said to the doctor, " How can I die 1 1 never loved God nor served him, but I lived to the world and sin and vanity." She said for her husband to come, for me, and I went, and as soon as 1 went in she said to me, the doctor says I must die, and commenced liter confessions before father and mother and all in the house, and aaid, " I never loved God in my life, and never belonged to any church. I might say my prayers but my heart never prayed then. I will be lost, Mr. Collins, I will be lost." Well, if you are lost, I hear of a seeker who comes to seek those who are lost, and according to his will and word, the seeker has a claim on the lost, because you are lost, for he is exalted a prince and a saviour to give repentance and remission of sins, and this is his independent office, and now he has convicted you and wants to convert you and pardon all your sins, and he has only to say, as his word said long Ago, Your sins which were many are all forgiven you (not half forgiven, but all), and do not let satan tempt you to doubt a word he has said, for it is your duty to believe it true. Oh, here I cor- xect my mistake, for we cannot prevent satan's tempting any more It 77 she and r to lent and ■oog balf H'ord I Icor- ore than we can prevent birds flying over our heads, but we can piv vent them making nests in our hearts. Satan can do nothing but tempt, he cannot force, he cannot injure us until we consent to him, and then we are led captive at his will, for Christ was tempted, like unto us, but without sin ; but Jesus never consented to him, but commanded him to get hence ; and Jesus commands us to resist the devil and he will flee hotft us, and Jesus, when we resist, will give us his power and strength for' out weakness, and victory is ours by divine will, and I sung a portion of this hymn, which I sung upwards of sixty years ago at the penit' nt bench, in Dun* ganon pi-eaching house, and the fame of Jesus was far extended, when the Fathey gave his Son a free gift from heaven to eai-th to save sinners. I will now insert it here : — Jesus thy far extended fame my drooping soul exalts to hear. Thy name, thy all restoring name, is music in a sinner's ear. And art thon not the Saviour still, in every place and age the eame, " Hast thou forgot thy gracious skill, or lost the virtue of thy will. Sinners of old thou didst receive, with comfortable words and kind. Their sorrows cheered, their wants relieved, healed the diseased and cared the blind. Faith in thy changeless name I have, the good the kind physician thou, Art able now our souls to save, art willing to restore them now. Tho' eighteen hundred years have passed, since thou didst iu tl^ flesh appear, Thy tender mercies ever last, and still thy healing power is hear. Would'st thon the body's health restore, and not regari the lonesick soul. The sin-sick soul thou lovest much more, and sweetly thou wilt^ make it whole. CUE All my disease, my every sin, to thee oh Jesus I confess, In pattion Lord my cure begin, and perfect it in holiness. That token of thine utmost good, now Saviour now on me bestow,' "''■' And purge my conscience witii thy Uood, and wash my nature white as snow. And when I sung a few verses of this hymn, she became more earnest, and at the end of our prayer God blest her soul, and filled her with unspeakable joy, like David's cup, it overflowed. When I was leaving, she asked me to come again, and I said I would, and about a week after I came to see her, and when I came in she was so happy in talking to them all, and then she talked to me, and said — I could not die when you came to see me first, but I can die any minnte now. A more fearless, joyful soul I have hardly ever seen. God conquered the king of terrors, and has taken away the sting and filled her with life-springs of joy. She asked me to attend her funeral, and so I did, and before she died there was a difttige of concience from saying she did not believe any one conldi 78 love God's word when she now knows it is true, and she confessed she loved father and mother and sister, but she told them she now loved Jesus better than them all. God taught her that ; and we see here her truthful, just and righteous heart, that would not allow any one to doubt the truthfulness of God's word, it was tho greatest victory over Satan, flesh and self, I have ever seen since I came to America. There was a local preacher in Ireland, when dying, while he was able to litter a word, he told them he commenced his heaven with the language the angels brought to the Shepherds, and it was glory, glory all the way till he passed to his home. There was an officer's lady who came and attended our meetings, and God convicted her, as it is his office, and she was invited to attend our class meeting, but she would not, but sent for a very pious female to spend the evening with her, and as they talked her distress increased, until she, like David, roared with the disquie- tude of her soul, and she sent for me and met me at the hall door, crying out — I will be lost, I will be lost, I have lived to fashion, show and vanity. She could not eat hardly anything for two days, and I told her Paul was three days in distress, and could neither eat nor drink, before God blessed him and pardoned him, and with Christ's new nature he commenced preaching Jesus, and when he was under the command of this world, he would destroy all that would call upon his name. Oh, how soon he can convince and convert an enemy and make him delight to please him. I told her he had performed the first part of his office on her, and he is a prince and a saviour to give repentance first and remission of sins ; second, and now believe him, that^he is true to his word and that your sins, which are many, are all forgiven, and that the liv-. ing water of his graces will flow on the machinery, and the heart burst with joy, giving glory to G(»d, the fountain of light, life, love and joy, that overflows the heart ; but unbelief puts down the sluice and turns the water ofi" the machinery, and nothing but a dead cold chilliness ensues, and he says he can do no mighty works there because of unbelief. After talking and reasoning a long time, I sang some verses of " Jesus thy far extended fame," and then prayed, and she believed and fear gave place to perfect love, and peace overflowed her heart and she took a hearty tea, what she did not do for two days be- fore, and praised the Lord for the life of soul and body, but was sorry she had spent so much of her early life in vanity's fail*. I met her about eight days after, as she was taking a walk, and asked her how she was getting on. She told me she was one of the happiest creatures under heaven. After a great storm there generally follows a calm, and she endured to the end, and kept the faith and got safe home. Gloiy to God for his sufficient grace. This is the Godhead's system of confession and forsaking sin, and he will give them pardoning mercy and grace in proportion to their day. 79 : some dslie led her ysbe- sorry et her id her ippiest erally h and is the will day. I romemlier another case of God convicting souls first and con- verting second, And he heard me preach, and to be short, we went to bed to sleep, but he began talking and I soon found out that God had convicted him, and we talked near to midnight, and T believed he was not far from the kingdom, and after telling many things, he told me, from a boy that he always believed he should be bom of the spirit of God to get into the kihgdom of grace, righteousness, i)eace and joy, and he was determined to seek and persevere until he fo\uid it, and read more, and fasted and prayed more, and I am no better ; and I am beginning to think I am the one passed by, and I said it is just what satan would tell you, just as if the funds of Christ were all exhausted, and there are no more supplies, (to get unbelief to take the place of faith). I said, you did right to follow on until you found the grace of accept- ance, and it was a righteous way of working, confessing and forsak- ing, and you shall iind mercy, though it is not by works of righteousness that he will save us, but it is the pathway to find the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Ghost that will and does save us. I said, " What if you should lose sight of all the past, and, like the bitten Israelites, with the poison and death in their iiesh, and dying all around, and they that obeyed and looked, and honored God's word were healed immediately, and take a look to Christ and his word as he commands : Look unto me all ends of the earth and be ye saved, for I am God, and there is none can save either body or soul but me ; no matter what instrument is used, it must please me or it is of no use, for I will not give the efficacy, and then it is powerless." You know all the poor and maimed and halt and blind he saved, in every place where he met them ; and palsy, dropsy, and fever, and at his touch they fled, and every place he went he had the blessings with him ; and you need not leave my side to be saved. Only touch him by faith and salvation is yours, without money, hand or foot, to merit it ; it is all in the FatSer's deposit freely bestowed. I fell asleep and I saw no more of the man for half a year, and in ray travels I met a woman who said she knew a man that I had converted. I said, quit your jesting now, you know that belongs to a higher power than me, but I recommend them all to him who never missed a cure, and I said, " Is there any man converted," and she said, " Oh yes, and no one doubts his conversion : his mourning and sorrow are turned into joy and rejoicing." It gladdened my heart, for I was praying for the peace of the man. I then went to see him and we greeted each other with welcome, and he told me when I fell asleep he began to think over all I said, and he said in. his heart, I do believe He can save me now, and the lightness of joy came and I said glory, glory, twice ; and he thought it would wake me, but it did not, and he thought I was tired and slipped away from my side and went home rejoicing. We had many a pleasant 80 interview together since, but ho liaa gone safely home Iw^foro ino^ and a thougiit retlected on my uiind, us the people said I converted hiui, and wo shall l)oth get to heaven together, and with gladness to greet ine ho meets me with Hinging, to John ^Collins who loved nie and convertwl mo l>e glory, glory. And on i\w other hand a whole host of Father Maturin's company whom he has regenerated, blest and pardoned, and th(>y greet him with glory, glory bo to Father Matnrin, who saved and regenerated and pardoned mo* Away aliead of ns is Jesus' great comjuiny, that no man couhl numbtT, with one burst of joy to him that loved us and washed our sins away in his own blood, to him Im glory, glory for evermore, Amen. What may we expect, being op|>OHite to Jesus and his bhuMl washed ihrong, to hear the glory ascriUid to corruptible death stricken mattM-ial to exclude his blood chuxnsing fountain, and prefer the lips, hands, water, and the prayer book, above the JUble. Why» wo cannot fxi>ect anything better for such rivulry of Christ, but to bo thrown overboard, like lucifer, from heaviMi to hell. I hope, by timely n^pentjince and confessing and forsaking, that wo will nev(!r presume by our lleshly corruptions to exceed and encroach on L'hrist's kiiij^dom again. Again, I will relate another cas4; of God's conv(;rting grace. I was preaching up at Musqutuih, and one of my old hearers wished me to go to see them, about three mihts from Musquash, in a place they called the Narrows. I wcsnt to sen her, and was very much pleaseil to see her and a fine family of children. I never was hero before and the i>eople wanted to hear John in the wildernesB preach, and a man went like a walking ttdograph and told tho people, and wo had a fair congregation, and I preached and left xiext nioniing, and after tliree months I went to Musw KongH. Tlir old (Hies Hr<' out of ;lalo with him now, and 1 Ray, glory to (iud for niisitig dead Htoiirs to AliraliMin'M hodh, and he is uii tho right track, oheyiiig (Jod and watching and j)raying. And I now want to K(>ttie up with Kathcr Alaturin, and sliow the <»o(I of heaven's governnuMit law, hy confeKsing and for.sakiiig he gives his piinloning mercy to tim true churcii. And tin* g(nl of this world Salan, (1< ;.h and self,these two gods aredin'ctly oppoHito and (ho (lod of h(^a\cn wants all glory to his divine K]>iri(uality and jturity, and tin; gods of this world, o|)p«)site, wants all the glory and honour \'ntu\ (Jod, and get the honour to themselveH for their great wisdoni and their great a<'«|uiri>ment+4, and souie of them with tlu'ir spleeny dcvilism would hring Christ to be dependent on helial for power tocastoutdevils, (hecuusehehadnopowertocastthcui out. Oh, Imt the devil's ministry is hold and full of hardihood). «leHUs says, I am come in my fathers name, and you will not hoar nor receive n>e, and if anotluu' conu; in his own nanu', you will # r«M!(!ive him. Il<'re wo scuj Satan, self and .''esh is pn^ferred to Christ's divine spirituality, and here I want fo show you yonr opposition to Christ, hy making you t sol f (m pud to ^ 'hrist, for \w says: J will, he thou clean, I am thy salvation, J am thy («od. Y^ou say witii etpnd authority, I absolve thee from ail thy sina in tin; name of tin; h'atln'r, Son and Holy (Jhost; and hore sir, I think the old blinder has deceived you, and placed you abovt; tho apostles and «'(pial with Christ, and 1 belie\e a disciple of Chritit never said I pardon yow, I absolve thee from all thy sins, but (Jod never allowed a prophet or an apostle to lie (M[ual tt> himself, (hut the devil wouhl hav<» you his e<|ual, and above him too,) but ho gave his nanu) as the key to us(\ and he wotdd'nt give the ellrcaey to either tlu) devil, or hypocritical deceivei-s, but nuike them lly boforo them,and(iod neNcrdeposited power in them as theyj>leased,|to make the (lev ils ily, and to t best; faithful, humblo servants lut was alwayH with them- and gave it as he thought fit, without, party or prido, and v.hon Peter esed the nanu- of .I<>suh Christ, to rise uj) and walk, fJod gave tin; jiowor and ellicacy, and the dead prnvers leaped for joy, and when the |M'oj>hi saw the lanie leap for joy, they wanted to c.valt IVter for administrating tin; dc^posit (Jod placed in him, but (iod at this tinn>put Peter through his retint^ryand took all po)x;ry out of hinr, and in; tells them that it was no holiness of his own that made this uuui whole, but he exalts Jesus' name that gavo him this p«;rfect 8oundn(;Ks in the presence of all. Onc«5 P«!ter was cont(;nding with the disciples, which wo\dd be the greator, Poter, by Christ's refining, is ou!y acknowledging one [uipa, even Christ, and all we are brethr«>n. (and this is Christ'H, and ho said one is our father, even Christ and all wi; arc brethren,) so we hqo Pet>er had no pow(;r in himself, or any other nuin, (>o beget liiju a child oi Christ, and uckuowledgoH all one tuuiinou brotherh'^ xl. 82 Here we see Peter got riJ of popery, and the devil's pride was completely taken out of him, and none but Christ could do it. I wish Father Maturin had gone through the same humble Jesus* refinery. I believe we would never hear him proclaiming: I absolve thee from all thy sins. We would never hear it from his lips again, and would confess to God his di.Hobcdioncc in not at- tending to liis command, not to trust in man nor in the arm of man in whom there is no stay, (proof jmsitive, here to-day and away to-morrow,) but for the time being 1 wi.l trust in the Lord Jehovah, for in Irim is everlfisting strength, wisdom, love and power divine, and not in bi8ho[)'s hands. I want thy \C^is(lom from above to enable me to resist the devil's pride-wine uud fleshly corruption and that you may never believe his proof-t(!xts : such as, sny so, thou shalt not surely die, and your pathway will Ije [strewn with beautiful fruit and flowers, and you shall live and fe(;d on this palatable food, and it will make you wise and great, that you will be pope supreme above all your equals, what I faincied I was onco, but the supremacy was taken from me, and Christ took it out of Peter, to whom he and the devil correspond(«l, when tempted to get him supreme above his equals, and I hope Father Maturin will give up the devil's assertions, by which he and his ministei-s prove all to the interest of the flesh, their lusts and their loves, and tho opposite, the heavenly God — for the 8j)irit's life, health and happi- ness — wants the flesh to be crucified with its affections and lusts, and not to seek the perishable honours of earth, but seek the; honours that come from God only, not from corruptible perishable flesh, that the devil would want us to fancy that the flesh, lips, tongue and hands will bless, pardon and cleanse the soul from sin, and this will make the devil above God and independent of God, and tho fountain opened on Calvary to wash and cleanse from all sin. Surely this is one of tho devil's own nuisterpieces, to have all spiritual dependence on the flesh for all their wisdom and all their grace, strength, power, light, life and heavenly love, and to accomplish this would bo tho boast, glory and joy of the devil t-nd his ministers, and their fleshly corrupt natures would be exalted above all that is called God, and these two natures opposite, can never be made one, and satau and his ministers to carry out their system of inde|)endenco to God, and have God depend on the devil, flosh and self, for all the spiritual graces, pardoning, washing, cleansing and making them mete for Heaven — the land of the pure and holy. Oh, what a blinder, liar and deceiver. The God of heaven has said that. The devil may tell us wo are not in tho dark, for God has told on me, and I can only tempt. God will not allow me to force your will, but when I tempt you and you conceive and consent to me, then I have you, and Jesus says he has cap- tives at will. If you had resistcil mo as Christ did, I could do you no harm, but it is my business when you are my captive, to get I \ 8.T have Id all id tx) Lud dtcd can their |evil, ^ing, the iGod the not leivo Icap- ]you get you to believe that the wisdom of this woild in far superior to all the wisdom from ahovo, aiid that insin, when he was injid(?, that the fl(!sh operated on the llesli hiuI begot spiritual life in llesh, to go at large, independent of (lod's spiritual lile-broath, to animate the lifV;lcs8 clny, and that would b(^ as tnn; as (Icnhly, corruptible, perishable hands and lips to pardon, wash ami cleauso souls and spirits, to get them to enjoy light and life, and tlui joy of heaven. God abhoi-s all fleshly corruption, hypocrisy and cleception. Ho saw some would follow him lor the loaves and fishes, and others would follow him when he woidd bid lys friends farewell, and a rich man would follow hin», and Jesus could read the inside motives, he might fancy he might gain jjopular aj)plause in the world, and as J(?sus never wanted moneyed m(Mi to join his illiter- ate royal priesthood, lest they would infect them with the scab of pride and ami)ition, which has killed many a she(>p and land), and then tells him he might come if he would sell all that he had and give it to the poor; and he would giv<» hin> t)easur(\s in heaven hereafter, and he went awav sorrowful because Christ would not bow to his supremacy and tak(f him with his riches, but as Christ's kingdom is not of the world, and this illiterate royal priesthood, laboring night and day with cries and tears. (See Acts XX, V. .'H , Therefore reuuMuber that by the s[»ace of these years I ceased not to warn c\ory one night and day with tears.) Read this chapter and you will see Christ's true ministry, and the char- acter of his labors; not a loiterer or loafer, but of the true lineage of Christ's royal priesthood, who covete and Peter and John seeing the subjects that would be for future usefulness, laid their hands on them, and God gave His a})proval by giving eliicacy and acceptance, for there was no efficacy in their fleshly hands to give the efiicacy and power from on high, which Cod himself gives when waiting on him to tit them for the work to meet satan's pride wine boasters, and high j)riests, the head of the firm, but satan would rather have the fleshly hands exalt rather than the spirit's conveying it in the kingdom of his grace, and God uses various instrumentalities to convey His blessings through, and his power to carry out liis designs. Father Maturin says that, at the apostle's hands they could believe that the Holy Ghost was given, and could not God U8<^ the bishop's as an instrument of con- voying the Holy Ghost, and you can believe other things ffnd why not believe that, and I believe he could through any instrument- ality, he pleased, through a rod or aji apron ; he could convey it i> through a mm's horns, and as said before, he could give power to a rod to convey it, as well as divide the sea and rent a rock. No credit will we give to any instrument. Tt is powerleEs of itself without God gives the eflicacy and spiritual power from on high (opposite to that below, of fleshly corruption). So we see that no one in time being, let any man ever be deceived by substituting fleshly corruptiou in the place of Christ's spiriti al life power, who placed instrumentality for Christ's acceptance and eflicacy, (the old bluider would have it pass current, and dismiss Christ, and here Are the two opposite). Here you insinuate you are the successors of Peter and John, and therefore your bishops i)resume they convey the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of their hands, and I believe you do not belong to Christ or his royal priesthood or poor fisherman's lino j that Christ independently chose and commissioned the new organized priesthood himself, (Matt, x.) Father Maturin might 85 Iht Vl . be like Simon, who received that power, to get exalted in power and get gain by it. It is a little suspicions, that these fler.h grasp- ers want to exalt themselves instead of Christ's spiritual kingdom, and Christ says of those that make gain of godliness, from such turn away, and Peter tells him, thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Here we see money is useful for our humanity in using it aright, but Christ's spirituality is independent to it, and is freely bestowed. So here we see Father Maturin has neither part nor lot with Christ's new organized priesthood, and that his opposition to Christ saps the foundation of our IJible, and his better foundation is the ])rayer book, the production of man, and I have often thought the bishops belong to the line of the scribes, phari- sees and high priests, their leaders in destroying Christ's power spiritually. The bishops hav(» got riches and power like them, to carry on the party bag-tilling and flesh feeding, and that is what satan, flesh and self would agree to, and lot the soul starve in the midst of plenty. There was a curate in the adjoining parish, and he had fifty pounds a year, as his salary, and I heard he lived among his parishioners and would give most of it away to tin; suffering poor, but he got mari'ied to a bisho])'s daughter, and then he got four parishes for his portion and he had to get curates to preach for him, and meeting one of his parishioners, whose society he formerly enjoyed, and who rejoiced to see him, said, Why we thought you would not be three years without coming to se«^ us, and he said, well, the curate has the most of his time in the parish, and is never expected of him to give a diinier or supp(>r, and the rector's get a good deal of money, and it is expected of th^mi to give the diiniers and suppers, and that takes s great deal of time. So we see to attend to satan, flesh and self, there is a gnsit deal of time wasted. So we sec; the wisdom of Christ in not taking the rich man and his money into his viiu yard, for in a little while they would Epread their infection. Th(^y would be in ease and honor seek- ers, to pleasure, self and satan. I never believed these bishops where the successors of Christ and the ajjostles. when they want to take the tithes from Pr«^sbyterians and Catholics, and bjimpjet and sport on it, and dismiss Christ's law of equality, to do to all men as you would wish them to do to you. One time the tithe proctor came, lifting the tithes, and he took the blanket of a sick woman while her husband was away, and hrr little daughter cauje running to my father, and my father redeemed it and sent it to cover her sick mother, and I believe if the rector had been there ho would not have done it, but it is the features of sin and stitan. The law is row repealed, and I hope the day will never come to stain the christian name again. Now, we believe it is just for every denomi- nation to pay their own ministers, and the former tithe proctora 86 were unjust. No (loul»t thero was some of theso living nt that time, who told tko people that a just and rightc^oiis God has givon him the power to couv(;y the Jloly Chost hy the laying on of the Bishop's liands. Who would helievo such assertions, inferenceB and conjectures? It is disgraceful for common humanity to presuuK! or take such a stand and wo hear the successors of those that justify themselves hy unjust human laws, but con- demned l»y christian law — a court of ecpiity ; and it is ini])0S- sibhj that Christ should accc^pt such rich, honor seeking men. Christ must he changed if ho woidd, but ho is not changed, nor never will be changed. You fail in the attempt to make Christ and b(^lial one, and the devil with all his agents will never enrich the spirit by flesh spiritually blessing it. And the God of heaven will not have one with their money to labor and work for him, and the more nioney tlu^y have the god of this world welcomes them to do his services, and here is the distinct nature seen with all clearness, Th(!r(; was a young man that attended the Bishop of Arnrngh where ho went to preach, and he had the shepherd's crook in his hand, and two men walked before him, and he walked behind him and held up the skirt of his garment as he walked along as if it was some god that had topjxid the pole above all gods, according to Eve's conc(!ption, juul (Jhrist and his disciples would hardly 1x5 counted shoe blacks beside hin>. He would not acknowledge (>hrist, nor Christ would not acknowleilge him, nor put him in the place of one of his laboring fishermen. Well, hear the warning he gives his disci[»les against thes»» showy pretcuiders, uttered from his own lips, see Luke xx, verse 45 : Then in the audience of all the people ho saitl unto his disciples, beware (have no fellowship with them for tln^y will spread their bad infection on the sheep and lambs till death ensu(^s) of tlu^ scribes which desire to walk in long robes, and love gnfetings in the markets, and the high seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts : (Christ has given the show of theso men, and now he gives us their inside and their reward 'in the sin), which devour widow's houses, and for a show • make long prayers ; th(^ same shall receive great damnation. Jesus does not deceive them. They are not in the dark when they hear their sontouce pas.sed in the audience of tiie people. But the devil at his work, likti Eve, blinds them and tries to make God's word a lie, and Tbo go on and never believe him and never reform, and shall go on in sin regardless of con8c 87 ii> honey whon ho knows bitter always is best for taking bile and corruption from their system, and I believe Christ's plan is tho best to follow, to speak and to spare not, and whip and drive him back from going down the flaming rocks of eternal damnation. No town or country or kingdom can be goverimd right without laws to warn the breaker of the danger of doing so, and his safety by keeping the law. Ho is but half a preacher who only preaches the law, and a half one that only preaches the gospel ; but Christ, tho whole preacher, preaches both law and gospel, and Mr. Wesley followed him, and I saw a ])ieco recorded in the Wesleyan, of March 21. 188t : The world has not out-grown the wisdom of John Wesley's teaching. What he says a]>out preaching the law might be written to day. Young ministers will do well to take heed to his counsel, (yes, and I say, old ministers too). I see a danger you are in which perhaps you do not see yourselves. Is it not most pleasing to mo as well as to you to be always ))reaching about tho love of Cod. Without doubt, so it is. IJut yet it would be utterly wrong and unscriptural to preach nothing else. Let the law always prepare for the; gospel. 1 have never spoken more earnestly of the love of Cod in Christ than I did last night, but it was after I had been tearing the unawakened to pieces. Co thou and do likewise. It is true tho love of Cod in Christ alone feeds liis chiklron ; but then they are to be guarded as well as fed ; yea, and often quickened too, and the bulk of our hearers must bo purged before they are fed, tilse wc only feed tho disease. Beware of all honey, it is the best extreme, but it is an extreme. I see hero how necessary for every true minister of Christ to preatih both law and gosjjel, as Christ has worded and sjx>ke it from his own lips, and never allow any blind, bigoted sectarian to alter or amend Cod's word by their fanciful superior judgment ; and I never saw so much of this style of hand and wire twisting words as when I read the book of the hundred and fifty denominations, where they are binding and loosing, and attempting to excel each other by going to their superior saints, leaders, doctors and professors, and the simple, innocent minds are belit^ving what they would not have looked at years ago, and satan in our flesh is at his work, blinding and pufling them up, and carrying them about with every kind of doctrine by the slight of men's hands, lips and tongues — as some word it — and fancy, by tho application of the same, they re;^onerate, pardon, bless, wash, cleanse and make th(Mn meet for the kingdom of heaven without (jlod's spirit operating at all, and fancy they have paid Cod a groat compliment, doing all that to exalt his name ; but if God would tell you, it was to exalt your own name, and dethrone mo and tak(5 my office, unwarmnfc- ably, and by your assertions, say so, and think so, (all satan's proof texts.) My commission to my disciples, first and last, is, teach what I have commanded and said unto you, let no man 88 alter or change my word or the plagues will bo added unto him. After all this i)lain preaching of Christ, yet satan, flesh and self, in opi)ositiou to Christ, will seek to be exalted to gain honor and power, and toj) the pole, and above all gods to be, and no change, with satan prcadiing the same he preached to Eve to prove (jrod a liar. He preaches the same to you and me, the 1>eautiful fruit — the palatable feast, but above all gods will be and top the pole, and is just at the present time at his work, tempting some members of their opi)onent'8 government, bribed with hundreds to upset your governments, and by supporting the old bribery system you will get into good offices ; second, and high salaries and sure pay too ; and third, satan would say, do you see that beautiful fine region and timber land : it will make us up and independent. Oh, satan, you know how to please the brutes and get them to fancy that they will get eternal joy, and with their airs live and banquet on endless plenty. Here we must all see the firm they belong to — satan, flesh and self. Oh, how satan, by their conceiv- ing to think he makes them like himself — lying, treacherous deceivers, which God could never accept of them, they pretend and fancy they are christians; but by their fruits we know them — they grow in nature's garden — they don't belong to God at all, but their true lineage is the; original satan, flesh and self. It is an unhappy thing for a shepherd when scabby sheep break through and mix witli his clean, healthy ones. They must be doubly cautious and watchful, and if any begin to run at the nose, be sure to separate? them, lest they infect them with the scab and death ensues ; and David l)eing a shepherd, in taking care of the flocks of the field, and again, the flocks of God's Israel, warns these to keep separate. In his first Psalm he tells them not to stand in the way of sinners, nor take counsel with the ungodly, nor let their bodies get a stain by sitting in the scorner's chair — it is too mean a place for God's temi)le3 to sit in — such society as jokers and jesters, making display in vanity's fan* ; and by-and-by graduate and sit with tipplers and drunkards, partaking of their spirit and the bowl. They become dead to the happiness and interests of home, and become a slave to lust and appetite, so they cannot, or will not, stop the current, until a drunkaj'd's grave or a drunkard's hell will be their portion. But the devil has a host of his minis- ters preaching it, just as firm as their fatbeins preached to Eve — thou shalt not surely die — and his great object is to get them all like himself, proving God a liar, and all the quotations of their father — think so, say so — has never proved it yet, but they will all know in the end that God is true, and all who contradict will know in the end they are liars, and I believe the devil, flesh and self will never let drunkenness cease if they can carry it on. So we see the low, mean class they belong to, and I take the opposite stand, and be my kind, simple, good natured brother's keeper, as , 89 fur as in ray power lies, and the temperance friends are doing groat work, that they will not bo ashamed of in the judgment day, having used the means to save his blood-bought property that they may not bo the slaves of satan, l)ut that they may populate heaven, as they are the lawful right of Christy the purchaser, and I hope the cause may last till there will never be a drop more sold in the world, and I will take that to make a complete victory over satan, flesh and self — and as satan got into our flesh by Eve's con- ceiving to him, he is in all our Hesh and owing to that and his Satanic cunning we become an easy j)rey to his deceiving. About 78 years ago — I was 7 years old then — there was a servant man of my father's, a good natured man, who when a boy, acquired a tasn tor spirits, and he was 40 years back and forward in my father's house, and when he would earn four or five pounds he would go and drink it, and this was the kind of life he led for fifty years. He never married, and at the close of life he came to his sister's to die, and called at my father's, and while he and I were sitting at he kitchen tire, he with a broken heart, said, " I am a comment of that old proverb : they that swim in sin shall sink in sorrow," and though I had no piety, yet I felt oppressed, and sad at the expr<;ssion ; and rembering him and his maddened brain, daring God to damn hin), and he died in a few days after, and I need not multiply facts, and exi)erience would till volumes of satan, flesh and self — the devil's worst kind of slavery on earth, and an eternity of slavery, crying, I am tormented in this flame. I give two more of the same kind, and one of these a minister's son, a a doctor, who, in youth acquired the lust and appetite, and though a young man of about forty, he sank down and died. Talking with him, I would say — why is it, that you, knowing there is no nourishment in it, and nothing l)ut a stimulant use it. *' Well I know that." But the lust and appetite is so strong that if it was in their reach, it seems they would have it if they should bo damned. And I again say, is it not awful that they will be lost, and say there is no way to save us from hell, but to cut the str(\am at the fountain and still no more ; and when we find we cannot get it we will be saved, but not till then. Another doctor I knew, on his death bed, felt the same, exclaiming, I am as weak as water, and he goes down to destruction. I felt shocked to think of the awful btate these are in, who, with sound judgment, and eyes open, go down to hell ; to think that all the revenue in the world — no, nor all the world itself — cannot redeem one of these back again. Again, was there no hereafter, I believe it would be a blessing to this present world if there was never another drop distilled. Let us contrast. I believe it has been the means of producing ten evils for one good, of destroying the peace of ten families, for one that it made peace in ; second, it has been the means of destroying the interests of ten families for one it promoted ; third, it has been the lueans, 90 ^ as medicine, to kill ten for one it cured ; fourth, it has heen the means of sending ten to hell for one it sent to heaven — no, it never sent one there. No, hut it is rohbing Christ of his blood- bought property, and populating hell with them. I say, M-here is there a christian name or man that will not use all his ))Ower to drive this stumbling block out of the way of their weak, feeble brothers, and still no more. So, let all christian governments drive it from their shores, as they did slavery from shores that is not half as bad as drunk(^nn(?ss, in the present, the future, and forever. So, let all unite to close the door and not let one of the weak ones tumble down to take shelter among the flaming rocks, befme they would meet their judge. So, I would say, go on England, and denounce all families, flesh and blood, the only land mark, and peti- tion — anil shake over them in family relationship, both human and divine, and to love God and one another ; against such there is no law. What a blessed state is this to go through the heaven of grace to the transfer of the heaven of fruition and bliss. I iB would obey my Lord above any man, and that would be, not to taste, touch nor handle the unclean deceiver that leaves them often in the mud and gutter. From witnessing the scenes, such as I have mentioned, 1 acted from my judgment, and would not please myself nor any other man, and I wish to live what I j>reach. I took orte smoke in my life, and three snuffs, and three spoonfulls of spirits, in fifty years, and I can write a little yet, and I will be 86 the 15th July, 1884, and I have pretty good health, without the tremor in n)y hand, and I believe there is no inn-keeper or tippler but believes I was right to live so, if there was no here- after. It they had lived so there would now be no trouble in putting down distilleries and tobacconists. What a quiet world we would have, and satan, flesh and self would be conquered com- pletely. There are two ways it can be put down. If all the people were unanimous in any town or neighbourhood and all declare they will not let a shebeen be in the neighbourhood nor a public house be in the town. He would be a madman that would live in wealth, quarrelling with all his neighbours. No, he would not do it at all. The other is the House of Commons, that can put it down, and as they had the honor of putting down man's slavery, and there is no hell promised against it. I hoi)e you will put down the devil's slavery, which involves soul and body in the worst kind of slavery, having them hear the language of the damned before they blaspheme his name without any resi)ect to God, and dare God to damn them. Oh, the old blinder, who graduates them into the blackness of darkness forever, to he the companions of fiends, devils a» 1 fire unquenchible, and under the slavery of man's whip, ends with a short life of bodily toil. Not so bad as Uiany of the drunkards, blaspheming their best friend, that shed his life's blood for them, and, as if determined on their own . 91 tlestruction, wade through it down to hell, where, God has said, the Kinok(5 of their toniieut will ascend up forever and ever. (Hut the devil in hi.s nature and liis unbelieving captives, satan, flesh and self would tell — not to Gotl, but behind Jiia back, ns fancy says — that's a lie, for we know better ; so satan has got you to top the pole, and above all god's you are. So much for your superior education and knowledge). You see how much I want to impress on our statesnjen, and all houses pf commons, and e\ery man in the possession of a soul, to use all their energies and powers to drive the murderer from the shores of Christendom, and save our kind, good natured young men (for a miser would not spend his money) from smelling tluj sulphur and feeling the scorch, and never allow their voice to bo lieard in the torments of the flame. Oh, take care, you legislators, that God does not bring a charge against you that you have freed the body, the inferior part of man, and the soul, the nobler part of man, j)art and parcel of himself, my life's breath that animated my lifeless powers, that made man active and intelligent, and chiefly for this nobler part of man, he has travailed and groaned and bled and died to save them, and God will give you credit for freeing the body from slavery, for he can- not approve of either body or soul being in slavery, and ho invites all that are in bondage to sin and satan to conie to him and he will free them, and says, if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free inde(;d, and as Christ is the i'vevv of soul and l)ody, and with the powers of reason and judgment he has given us, let us follow his example, and we will never err. Now, you see you will be guilty in the sight of God without doing to the utmost of your powers to save the nobler part — the soul — and get it freed from satan, flesh and self, the leadei-s and asserters of this awful, awful slavery that sends ten to hell for one it sends to heaven ; yes, twenty to hell and never was the means of sending one to heaven. I am as bold as a lion from seeing its cause and (;irects for seventy years. T defy truthful contradiction, and I say boldly, cut the stream at the fountain and still no more. You see the two ways you can do it, and you can do it. Let the House of Commons and the subjects be true to God, their judge by-and-by, and let conscience speak the truth, without con[)romising with the world, the flesh an; " godhead of heaven and I will place them on you. You will be bishops, lords, gods, in the future, and they will accost you — Oh ! your lordship, etc. Satan will say, I have fulfilled my word and put you above the God of heaven, and by your own consent, since I did not force it upon you. When I tempted you you accepted and consented, and if there is any sin it belongs to you. By your own consent and acceptance you will be your own tormentors for- ever and ever. Oh, satan, you are logical, keeping yourself clear and letting their conscience know that their own sins will be upon their own head. Here we see these fallen priests and prophets on whom God's displeasure will rest, neither belong they to Moses nor Aaron's blood, nor to the royal priesthood whom God formed himself, and commissioned in the tenth of Matthew. See Micah, iii. chap., 10 verse, "They buildup Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity. Verse 11, The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money ; yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among ui "i none evil can come upon us." This is like what the devil would tell them, till he would lift the hatch and take them down. Sae Zephaniah, iii. chap., 4 verse, " Her prophets are light and trea jherous persons ; her priests have polluted the sanc- tuary, they have done violence to the law." See Acts, xix. chap., 13 verse. "Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits, the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. Verse 14, "And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a. Jew, and chief of the priests which did so." Verse 15, "And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are yeV Verse 16, "And the man in whom the evil spirit was, leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wound- ed." Verse 17, "And fear came upon them, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified." Here Jesus would not allow these ■devils, deceiving hypocrites, high priests to use his name to deceive the simple and innocent. And I thank Jesus' name that he per- mitted these devils to ventilate their father's murdering nature, by beating and tearing one another. The deceiving priests, it seems, got the worst of it when they ran away wounded and naked. It is evident none of them belonged to Jesus, for he is the prince of peace. He reproved the rash act of Peter, and ordered him to put up his sword ; and he healed the ear Peter had wounded. Here the two natures are opposite — Jesus, the peacemaker, and the devil and his party, the murderers. From the beginning he is unchangeable, the same, and when writing this the thought struck ine : Would this be the kind of persons in hell tearing one another and destroying one ano^ier ? I don't know, nor do I want to know. We hear of a rich man in hell, satan's choice, for he can 106 I sow the money round in sin and dissipation, and God would not approve of that. Jesus choice in heaven is a poor man. At the close of Father Maturin's sermon he invites the people, to do what their cliurch tell them, to come to some discreet, sincere minis- ter of God's word. Sir, my heart shrinks back when you name God's word, for you put your prayer book before it, and now you tell the people to do what their church tells them. Sir, I do sus- pect you want to pass your buttonmould coin for Christ's gold guineas on us, that is satan. Many assertions say so, and the devil's chief currency — his assertions and no other authority but himself that, thou shalt not surely die. To go to some minister and open their minds ; this will pass with this world and its blind slaves ; but the opposite god denys that, and says, the wisdom of this world is foolishness, that the world by wisdom does not know God. If the devil could get them to believe all the godhead's treasures were deposited in them, he would have his point gained, and God and his son, in whom are deposited all the treasures of JL the godhead, must be dismissed to give him place to the superior- ity, as they fancy, and wisdom of this world. Father Maturin claims the same right as Peter had, when he shed on them God's efficacy and spiiitual power from on high that annointed them and blessed them. The devil and his party, opposite, would have all the glory from beneath, also the honour — fleshly hands to give the Holy Ghost, and bless and grace their spirits from the fountain of their corruptness to rob God, of his divine spirit- uality — the giving of his spirit to feed and nourish the spirits begotten by him. But satan and his party would rather exalt flesh to give spii'itual blessings to spirits. Here we see satan, flesh and self in their true nature, but you are not the men God would employ, at all. You are always dismissing divine spirituality and exalting carnal lusts, which proves louder than words. Satan must have changed Jesus if he would take such rich men, having thirty thousand pounds a year, to labour in his vineyard when before a rich man offered himself and Jesus would not take him being loaded with such death-stricken dust. If he would disbur- den himself of the load Jesus would take him then, but he showed he loved his dust more than Christ loved the poor. 1 believe the devil has not yet so converted nor changed Christ, who is still the same, and who demands the crucifying of the flesh, its lusts, and its lovers, or those who go for gain, honour, ease or fame. He has well said of them, they have run and I have not sent them and they shall not profit my people. The poet means the same when: he said : "The men that slight thy faithful word, In their own lies confide, These are the temples of the Tiord, And heathens all beside. 107 ipirit- jpirits. exalt , flesh kvould y ^^^ latan laving when him lisbur- lowed e the lU the , and ehas i and Iwhett The temples of the Lord are these , The only church and true, Who live in pomp and wealth and ease, And Jesus never knew. " And this is the devil in our flesh, acting the hypocrite and deceiv- ing. And I hear now what I heard seventy years ago, and among the play-mates began to argue which of the sects had the soundest ministry, and the Presbyterian boy said their ministers were the best among them, and the Episcopalian boy said iie heard their ministers were the best of any of tuem ; but a Catholic boy got the steam up and says, no, our priests are the best learned men in a.l the world, so he topped the pole and cast all the rest in the shade; of course the boy knew nothing about it, but as some one like Father Maturin, to get the people to believe by his great acquire- ments, that he is one of these smart scientific men that the bishops have given, in his flesh, power to give graces, pardon and salva- tion through earthly, fleshly hands and lips, and says, I absolve thee from all thy sins; and here we see satan and the flesh rejoic- ing in their supremacy over God, who blesses spirits with his spirit, independent of the priest. The God of heaven^ says, I am thy salvation, neither do I condemn thee, and the god of this world and his fleshly ministers takes God's justice and uses his words from his lips and says, I absolve thee from all thy sins; and here we see the contrast between the two gods — the god of this world and his subjects, priests or ministei'S, believers in him get the flesh to regenerate and wash and cleanse the spirit for the kingdom of heaven. (Only we cannot believe satan to be anything but a deceiver.) We would think he wanted to pay God a com- pliment and save his spirit the trouble of operating on spirits, for he would have the flesh to operate, regenerate, wash and cleanse and make them meet for the kingdom of heaven. Yes, Satan, I know you are a deceiver, and I say you are a liar, a deceiver and a murderer, and you are the same as at the begin- ning," feeding the flesh with the bountiful fruit; second, its palatable teas ; third, and educating and intoxicating the minds of my blood-bought property, and peopling hell with them, and now to pay me a compliment it would be the same as it was before, and that was to make me a liar, (but the sins turned on himself and those that believed him,) and God said, bodily exer- cise profiteth little, yes, I did say bodily exercise profiteth nothing, yes, and I have said, he that soweth to the flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption, and he that soweth to the spirit, shall of the spirit reap life everlasting; and again I have said crucify the flesh ■with its lusts, and Christ has said to his desciples, you are no more of the world than I am of the world. Here we see they have no titles of honor from the world to grace them and give efficacy to their word, (for that would be the same as the flesh blessing and 108 saving the spirit.) If satan can get the flesh to get the victory over the spirit, he will have both down to hell with him, and then they will know that God's word is true, when they are reaping a hai vest of corruption, death and destruction. I have often thought what an easy way to be saved by God's plan, like the bitten Israelites, with poison and death in their flesh, they obeyed God's command and looked and were restored, and those that did not look died ; and the woman that said in her heart, if I may but touch the hem of His garment I shall be made whole, and she touched liim by faith and was healed, and accepting Christ as the one crucified, and had nothing to pay, and I was tliinking of the devil's ministers in among the heathen, never teacluug Christ's sacrifice, the end of the law to every one that believeth. They were taught there was Heaven and Paradise, and the wife was taught if her husband died, and if she would sacrifice herself and burn on the funeral pile with her husband, she would get to Heaven by doing so, thus rejecting Christ's sacrifice. I read of another of the same kind who were taught if they would sacrifice themselves to the great god Juggernot, they would get to Heaven for that. I never read of Christ's sacrifice, who saved by a touch or a look in all that country. I was reading also in the Wesleyan March 21, 1884, but this is all fancy and faith in man, and they were sure that the real Maddi was come, who would over- throw the world, and there was no power on earth that could resist him ; he told them to rise and fight and by doing so they would gain approval in Paradise, and if they would not, he would come and send them to Hell if they would not fight for him. Oh, how the devil in our flesh can get us to believe the think so and say so of men and devils; before we believe the God and Saviour of all worlds, and his proofs not only in words, but acts and deeds corresponding with truthfulness, louder than any words that tickles the ears of any man. D Again, upon his own authority he will reward his faithful and obedient subjects with heaven ; and satan, he blinded him to take the place of God, and in his fancy will send the obedient that murders all before him; he fancies he will admit them all to heaven; and the disobedient that will not please him, to take the world, and have all to bow at his command ; and all those that did not assist him, he will send them to hell. He uses God's words, that . he will turn the wicked into hell, with all those that forget God ; and it appears that satan blinds his ministers, ind fills them with his pride wine to carry them in the breeze and to top the pole and says above all gods are we; and, like Father Maturin, continues inviting them to get counsel and advice from the reverend minister ; to come and you shall receive the full assurance of God's pardon, and the perfect cleansing of your souls. And here, sir, you give a whole host of satan's proofs, texts and ' 109 and take that iven; ^orld, not that . rod; Ithem top ither from full touls. and assertions, and you should not say God's pardon, for its deceiving, for you give your lecord, and say, I absolve you from your sins ; and now ye say, using God as a cloak, that they will get God's par- don. Here he appears double tongued and two faced, and it is like what the father of the firm would do to deceive the simple, and I feel disgusted with these double tongues, and I cannot com- promise ; and being a little acquainted with medicine, I would not be just nor honest to apply butter and honey to the system, when I believed bitter aloes was best to take the bile and coiTuption from their system ; and I tell you } ou do not belong to God and his line of priests, nor you do belong to Christ's royal priest- hood, which he chose out of the labouring working class of men, travailing night and day, with cries and tears, to get them delivered from the devil's pride and yoke of slavery. God wants no such back-biters, flesh-eaters, wine-drinkers and flesh-pleasures, and I think they could not spend thirty thousand pounds a year, let them eat and feed the flesh night and day, and never stop ; they could not, and nature would not have such back-biters and scoffers in his priesthood; they must be labourers, not loiterers, that he will employ in his vineyard, and I think Christ and his twelve disciples , did not use the quarter of it a year, to support the whole of them. And Christ at the head of his royal priesthood would not allow one of them to be rich. He would have them live b faith on him who supplies and supports soul and body ; and to teach hiV humble, dependent scholars, and to increase their faith in him, and not allow Peter to go to the mines in the mountains, but just on their journey to get it out of the fishes mouth, to pay their fare on their journey. And this the greatest man in all the world, and he says himself he is the servant of all, and servant of his disciples and royal priesthood, and he commands them to follow him as dear children ; and his family are a childish, dependent generation, and and he tells these hypocritical presumers, that they must be con- verted and become as little children, or they will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And you, being the fruits of satan, flesh and self, there is no entrance for you there, but you will have to go to your father whorh you served — satan, flesh and self — being directly opposite to Christ's divine spirituality. Here yre have the godhead unfolded in his word. If this spirit and this nature, in meek humility saves the weak, the toil-worn would sit down to rest at Jacob's well and defy the devils with all their equipments, and the ministers, two faced double tongued, or cloven footed, like satan, flesh and self. No, there never was guile, fraud or falsehood from His lips, and when brought before Herod and Pilate, not one word of untruth could they prove against him, but he was put to death by the devil's agents with clamour. Here I give you the proof of it, see Matthew the 27th chapter and 20th verse. Oh, hear it, ye lying world. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the no multitude that they should ask Barahbas but destroy Jesus. Here we see the devil had his servants at his work, persuading the peo- ple to ask for Barabbas and destroy J esus, and here we witness the truth of God's word, he is a murderer and deceiver, having the name of God's liigh priest covering over the dev il's nature in them. Its a fact, its not the nature of Christ's royal priesthood to do such work for the devil, no, the devil has got them, and consigning to him he begets them into his nature and practice, to murder the most innocent, and there is no mistake of his nature, but murder those he brings forth, still the same. Here we see its awfid deception, to get the title of God's high priests, and then the devil's sons, as God tells them, you are of your father the devil, for his work ye do, and these do not belong to Moses and Aaron's priesthood, for while they were faithful and obedient God blessed and saved them and when Coradatha conceived to Satan and built another, inde- pendent to God, Moses and Aaron, God for his own honour allow- ed the earth to open and swallow them, and let the devil have his own. There was Ananias and Sapphira, that sold their land, and gave it to the appostles as others did, and the old liar tempted them to kee[) back part of the price, and they conceived to and told a lie, and Peter said how Satan had tilled their hearts to lie unto the Holy Ghost. Peter knew his subtility and deception, and death was their end, and again he enters into Chi'ist's royal priest- hood, and when he got into Judas, he got him to join the graspers after satan's dust and riches, that give worldly minds pleasure, to get honour and pleasure, to top the pole, to get the highest rooms and the chief seats, that the god of this world would have them grace their presents with. I am a little like Peter and Paul, I am not ignor- ant of Satan's devices and the devil's nature in my flesh, since the day of Eve's conception to the devil, and will be in it, until the day of resur- rection, when the maker, as he says, will raise it a spiritual body. I did not see then, but when I got converted I saw it. When I was six or seven years old I was the greatest toad in the jjuddle of earthly glorying, and blew out my pride wine, and commanded them all to obey me, and I was as great a pope that day as the Pope of Rome is this day, in my degree, and I cannot throw a stone at Adam's sons or Eve's daughters. I believe we are all made of one blood, but the opposite god would have them quarreling ubout their great blood, and I do not think that king Herod's blood was more respected by God than the poor man's, but others boast more of their great learning, like Canon Farrar, who speaks with the authority of knowledge, and he acquired it himself, (and then it must be his own self -righteousness,) and casts the carpenter from the head of the working class, and charged him with ignorance, because he never learned letters, and satan and his learned priests condemns him, what fancy and blinding does, and the truth ' " Ill riere peo- sthe ; the * hem. such ng to : the urder ption, ns, as ►rk ye d, for them , inde- allow- tve his 1, and impted lid told ie iinto an, and priest- raspers lure, to rooms ft grace ignor- ,he day If resur- ody. I I was Iddle of nanded -s the la stone ade of "about \oA was it more th the Ithen it from jrance, I priests [uth y ,> without fancy, and we believe it when wo get out of the mists and clouds of men, that He knows more about the workl than all the learned men ever knew, and believing it to be under the govern- ment of Satan, flesh and self, and the blinder gets them to fancy and deny their faith in His word ; the sects are their creed and prayer-book, which is preferred before God's word, uttered by His lips, and this is so much for Satan's supremacy in myself and others, when brought under the great opposer of the God of Heaven and his system of saving sinners by the one sacrifice of his son, and childlike simple faith in hiiu and his graces, which flow freely v/ithout one cent to pay, or one prayer to purchase it. Prayer is a duty to obtain Christ's merited blessings, to ask and receive, that your joys may be full. I Mas taught this doctrine by Presbyterians, and being brought up between them and Methodists, I had the privilege of both their teaching, and they both taught me justification by grace through faith in believing in God Almighty to save; this I was taught by my parents, but did not know it by ex- perience, and now and then being seduced and tempted would make^displays in vanity's fair. When I was ten years old, my father sent for me when I was in the dance, and when in family prayers, he prayed God to save his poor ungodly children. I felt it going through me, and I said to myself, I will never break my father's heart, yes, and Jesus' heart was broken with the spur for my sins, and will J sin against my best friends and sink my soul to ruin and damnation. I was ten years old then, and I bought a new testament and I think for three years it was never out of my pocket or my hands and I soon got disgusted Avhen thinking of vanities. When fifteen, I felt a hungering and thirsting for more of the spirit's soft power, and I went to the hill where I fed the sheep and cattle, and reasoning, reading and praying, the tempter came suggesting, you will not get the blessing now, but at some other time, and I gave up persevering and went home in time for father's prayers, and the second sabbath evening the same. Then I determined to persevere, and when the shades of night came, the tempter came and said, go home, but the persevering spirit says no, I will be like Jacob and wrestle till the break of day, and I laid the new testament down and put my head upon it to stay till the break of day, and commenced believing, first, I believe thou art able to save me, second, I believe thou art willing to save me, third, I believe thou canst save me now, and not wait till to- morrow, fourth, and my faith was increasing and I prayed, save me now for Jesus sake, save me now, and I felt a joy and gladness over my heart, and when it came to my tongue, I entered the kingdom of heavenly grace, there and then, and breathed the air and used the language of Heaven — Glory to God in the highest, and no one with me to hear me but God himself. I came down to the house, and my heart sang glory, glory, all the time. 112 A woman on her death-bed sent for me, I went and she said slie heard God had converted me, and she wanted me to pray with her, I said, the ministers are the men to teach and pray with you. " Well they are, but John I nursed and prayed for you and believe God will bless you and make you a good man, and I would rather have you to pray with me than any one." And to make it easy for me, she said, "I will pray a few words, and you will pray a few words after me," and as she prayed, God melted me down, and then and there I commenced my public work for my Lord, and I visited her every week till she died, and I got blessed and experienced in my Lord's training school, the A B C of religion. I was struck when she told me that she prayed for me. I thought no one prayed for me but father and mother, and I must say with the poet: God moves in a mysterious way, Hia wonderi to perform, He plants His footsteps on the sea, Aiad rides upon the storm. And many a sinking one like Pe , he has raised above the billows, of sins and doubts and fears, to excite their wonder. How soon he made the ocean's breast calm, peaceful, heavenly and serene. But to return, the evenings I went to visit the neighbours would gather in, I may say, to hear the baby prattle. I did not see it then, but since, I see that God would be a liar if he did not reveal himself to the simple, believing, childlike dependent souls ; and wants the wisdom of the world to come to their stature of humility and dependence, that he might bless and save th^m. And the people would invite me to their houses to hold prayer meetings, and now and then God converting a soiil, by reading and explaining the scriptures by God teaching mc. xlnd now I see I was of the old class of preachers. St. John said many things preached he in exhortation to the people, but if God has made choice of such weak and insignificant instrumentality, who art thou that repliest against God. But Christ nev^r taught letters or words, but the true doc- trine of the bible: A church minister came to put me out of his parish and told the people in the house to send me away. And the old woman said since I came God converted her, and she could not send me away. And the leaven of God's grace got into the neighborhood, and a rich drunkard and blasphemer got converted by his wife praying for him, and became a zealous class-leader. The other was a curate in our parish, a simple, good, kind man, accord- ing to the light he had, and we both prayed in the parish, and he wanted me to come over to their church, and he would pay all the expenses of my education, and the bishop would convey the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of his hands, to fit me for the office of a gospel minister. Oh, I saw that his was the old blundering work to take the honor from God, conveying his own spirit and get it j^mu 113 M ing the in [eak linst loc- hia Lnd kid Ithe ked Dhe 3rd- he Ithe loly If a jrk it for fieslily, corruptible Lands to convey and give spiritual blessings to fit him for a gospol minister, as if Christ's spiritual funds were all exhausted, that he had to apply to fleshly mat?^rial to qualify spirits for God's spiritual work. Satan would endorse it, but I would not take the whole world and believe it, for I know his word is true because he gave me his holy spirit, for asking and believing it seventy yeai*s ago. Yes, and I have it to-day, and my soul can breathe the air of the kingdom of heaven, and use the heavenly language, " Glory, glory to God in the highest ; " and I thank God my whole undivided heart can say it, and I never live a day that I do not use the language of heaven. " Glory to God in the high- est, on earth, peace, good will toward men." This good natured curate died, and another came in his place. We wanted a school master, and the committee sent me to wait on him, I told him the committee wished him to take and preside as the other minister did. But he said he would know no committee, for it was his per- sonal right, and I said, no sir, it is not your personal right, for the former minister and I got the school-house built, a committee formed, and their names registered. He said no more on that sub- ject, but said, Collins, how is it that you put yourself on a par with nie, as a preacher of the Gospel ? I said, would you wish to know sir, he said he would, " Well sir, I will tell you, when I was a boy, I was like other boys, and broke the sabbath, and disobeyed ray parents, I saw I had a sinful heart and sought the Lord, and he gave me a new heart, and now I hate sin that I loved before, and the word of God and the spirit of God led me out to the bedside of the sick among my neighbors, and private and family prayer has been the seminary to teach me how to preach the gospel. And here he sank down and lost the high tone of his supremacy and modesty said, you ouglit to have the ordination of the bishop. Oh, I said, I was ordained by the Methodists, not by the laying on of hands. But when they saw I was sent for and taking the country before me, two preachers and about twenty leaders examined me on the doctrine of the fall of man ; two on the doctrine of repen- tance ; three on the doctrine of sanctification by grace through faith ; four on the doctrine of growing in grace and sanctification through the spirit, and lastly, Christ the resurection to eternal life to all that believe in him ; but all unbelievers shq,ll be damned. His belief w^as that the bishop's hands conveyed the Holy Ghost. But God never conveyed spirits to bishops nor apostles hands, for he is every where, and conveys his own spirit to the true and proper subject. Christ taught his disciples doctrines, not letters, and so the Methodists taught me. As I was in easy circumstances, I went around as they did in olden times, formed seven churches in the people's houses in Ireland and here. And I rejoice with many a soul converted to God. But mixing with ministers of various 8 lU sects would have taken me, but not as God made me. Yes, there was one exception, a Presbyterian minister would have taken mo as I was. Again, I wish to show how much I am indebted to God for old fashioned Methodist society. Years ago, when I went up to meet a class, the preacher requested the leaders to read the rules to the class once a quarter, and on Saturday afternoon my father said, " John, I think we would be the better of a glass of punch, for the goose was strong," and we took two glasses apeace, but the next Sabbath I read to the class, you are not to drink spirits, unless in case of extreme necessity, and it flashed on my memory, was it necessary for you to take your two glasses apeace on Saturday. You are pretty leaders, telling the class not to take it and you take it ; should not you live what you preach 1 I returned home and told ray father, and said, would it be right to dismiss the rule or to make an amendment of the rule, or would it be best to keep the i-ule? Father said, John, keep the rule and never let in the thief, and your sin will never stain youi* senses, and live up to what you preach. Since that, I have only used three tablespoonsfuU in 50 years, and if all had done that, we would have no trouble in putting down the love of drink, and I am now 86 past, and if I lived as long again, I would carry out the same doctrine and live the same, and not be ashamed to shun the devil and his agents. Another rule I read out to the class was, "you are not to read books, nor sing songs, nor keep any company, without allowing the Lord to be with you." I read it but did not think about it until I was going to see my intended, and before we talked about our suitableness for one another, I read out the rule to her and said, I want to live up to what I preach, and would you be willing that we should bow down and ask Jesus to keep us company, and we did. (So much for the old fashioned Methodism.) Again, I read out to the class, "you are not to wear gold or costly dress." I ask was this Wesley in opposition to God, but I find that Wesley has took God for his foundation, and this rule is recorded in the words as follows: "Let your adorning not be the outward adorning of plaiting the hair or wearing of gold or costly apparel." Here I saw it was all right, and I used to see young men's fathere and mothers buy cloth at a guinea a yard, and_ I thought they were the nicest boys, but now I wear home-spun, at four shillings a yard without a grumble, it is a light cross and easy for me to bear. Again, I had a son at school in the States, he had been away for two years, and he wrote to mother for our likenesses, and I did not give it deep thought, but she persuaded me into sending them and I did, and then I began to give it deep thought, but they all ♦'I ^ 115 iU )ld Bet the lid, the lext isin .8 it •day. take right vould e and enses, used it, we and I cry out JO shun to vead ling the It until ^ut our said, I Lg that md we [gold or \, but I , rule is , be the costly |} young I, and_ I Ipun, at Ind ea»y In away Id I did Lg them they all argued that the sin was in worshiping them, but the foundation of God's word is do not mako'them, and I believe God is true, for if they were never made they would never be worshiped. I have a particular friend who wanted me to have my likeness put in my books, and said I would sell twice as many of them. I confess it was an object too, but looking at it, it made mo think of Satan's temptation to P:ve, "Oh beautiful fruit," but oh what gain you would make by it, and thinking it over and over again, I niade up my mind not to have them, autl I would not take the City of St. John (and I respect it above nil cities) and all its wealth and honours, to alter one word of God's word. And my Lord telling his di8cii)les to take the lowest seats, (where ho lived himself in word, spirit and nature,) he was independent of the world's appendages to worship him. Once I had occasion to visit the governor of New Brunswick, the Honourable Mr. Wilmot, and I confess he treated me very hospitably and gentlemanly, when I was about to sit down there were two chairs, the one a little higher than the other, and he gave me my choice, and I said, my Lord commands me to take the lowest seat, and by the highest authority, sir, you have the highest seat ; and we had a very pleasant time in conversation ; and I feel very much obliged to him for his marked attention and kind spirit, and he also took two of my books. Here you see I want to live up to what I preach, and above all to attend to what my Lord has said, and to acknowledge him superior above all fleshly death stricken popes. I feel grieved when I hear of lords many and gods many pre- suming to supplant and expose his ignorance, and fancy they will overthrow our bible, and the man who spoke a world from naught, and that at his bidding rose, and his chief pleasure is and was to make all happy, but the opposite god, the deceiver of souls and and bodies by his various schemes disguising them with their father's future, and trying to destroy truth and its author, the God of the bible ; and I look at it as a daring insult to the God of heaven, to raise the prayer book as a standard and a statute to judge God and the bible by, but the fact is louder than words, that the god of this world, satan, self and flesh, in their very nature opposite to God's woi-d, spirit and nature, exposing sin and telling them its wages is death, a separation from God the fountain of life. , . • J Satan has his ministers like himself with satanic cunning and snakish twists, handling the word of God deceitfully. Handling God's words by the slight of man's hands and lips, and they assert the devil's proof, " Thou shalt not surely die," to try and make God a liar ; and he is at his work this day as he was that day, to try and make God a liar (and his conversation is hopeless) and God has his 116 true prophets ami priests, ond some of them were snared and became Satan's undrr this world's fleshly lusts. Those under God's govern- ment, were in God's first church, and he delivered them from the Red Sea and from Pliaroah, and no donbt they would have acknow- ledged that God did great things for them, butsatan tempted them and said, " but he should get you plenty of flesh to eat, and honors to your names, and the devil captivated them and they murmured BO much that God could not do anything with them, unless destroy his own government or destroy them, and on account of their rejection of his laws he destroyed three and twenty thousand of them, and dethro^jed the king on account of his hearkening to 8a tan. And Satan would have them popes supreme above Moses and Aaron and top the pole above God himself ; and they made an alter independent of God or Moses and ofiered insence, and hex'e God made the earth to open and swallow them up before he would give up his government to them and the devil, and let flesh and a 127 the alien armies of the god of this world, whose glorying is to live- and feed their souls on the lusts of the eye, (oh, the beautiful fruit and the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life — poor food for im- mortal souls,) but Paul feeds his -soul no more on the danties of a perishable death stricken world, and so quick was his conversion, when God gave his abundant grace and efficacy to Paul's and Barnabas' labours, that the devil unchangeable, the same, would have his ministers do sacrifice and honour everybody or anybody before God. And when they wanted to do sacrifice to them, did Paul accept of th^i honours'? No, no, Paul left this former class of honour-seekers and robbers of God and his glory. Paul was a true servant of God and no compromiser ; he cries out against them and would not allow himself to be put in the place or office of Christ. Was Paul cioicified for you, or were you baptized in the name of Paul? Here he keeps Jesus in his office and his name above every name. Here we see there is not a feature in his soul like there was when he carried the bloody letters of the devil — his commander and chief — the blinder and murderer unchangeable, the same, and those he makes like himself, murderers of souls and bodies opposite to Christ, and wants to dethrone all his blood-bought property in companionship with himself, to be their tormentor forever and for- ever more. No one can be in the dark seeing the two gods and their characters ; the spiritual God feeds his on his word — that is spiritual life. Ti\e world's god feeds his on folly — that is death in the end. When Isreal wov^ld reverence their father's Saviour and their own Saviour and God, their confidence increased in his almighty and all sufficient power to save them to the uttermost, through their obediance and faith, believing on him. It reflects in my memory what Methodism in England and Ireland was a hundred years ago. I learned the hymn they sang, on their Centennial celebration, very few of the Methodists in this place ever heard it, and I now give it a resurrection. I heard that it was Montgomery who composed it ; and Mr. Wesley says, eight or ten persons came to him deeply convinced of sin, and he ap- pointed one Thursday evening to meet them in a room. The poet mentions this small spot and says : One voice of praise, one voice of prayer, Around, above, below. Ye winds and waves the burden bear, A hundred years ago. A hundred years ago ; what then ? There rose the world to bless, A little band of faithful men, A cloud of witnesses. 128 It looked but like a human hand, Few welcomed it, none feared, Yet as it opened, o'er the land. The hand of God appeared. God gave the word, and great has been The preacher's company ; What Wonders hath our fathers seen. What signs their children see. The Lord made bare his holy arm, In sight of earth and hell. Lions Hed before it with alarm, And alien armies fell. One voice of praise for mercies past. Through all our courts resound. One voice of prayer that to the last, Grace may much more abound. All hail a hundred years ago, ^ ^ ^ And then our lips were dumb ; ^ | By millions heard rejoicing so, A hundntd years to come. And old-fashioned M: thodism I believe is the best since the days of the Apostles, self-sacrificing labourers, and working men ; I have heard them preach eighty three years ago. My father's house was a preaching house for thirty-years, until our school house went down, when the curate of our parish, and I begged and got a new one built, and then we had it for preaching and mission- ary meetings. *Read the 20th chapter of Acts, and you will see the likeness of these old Methodist preachers. Eighty yeara ago they could prevail in praying for the penitent souls to get them delivered. When I contrast these leaders and ministers with those in our dpy that lead their flocks and go to vanity's fair, and the ministers lead them to feast their souls on Satan's food. Oh, the beautiful fruit ; oh taste, it is sweet and pleasant, and you will be wiser and get more knowledge by viewing the scenery. One man got know- ledge that he did not expect at a picnic — he was shot. But the fact is, the devil got into our flesh by Eve's conceiving to him, and is in my flesh as well as your's, and can only be overcome by the heavenly God's spiritual power, that would give us pov/er, strength and grace to resist, and by his strength in our weakness we gain thp victory through our Lord Jesus Christ ; but if we do not think it worth our while to ask his strength, but consent to those flesh lovers, who assert the)-e is no harm in this and that simple, innocent sport ; and the ministers know that Christ has said, they are the light of the world, but if they conceive to Satan, and take earth's death chills i . them their light will soon become darkness, 120 4.^ e the men ; thev's school d and [ission- ill see ji-s ago them lin our listers kutiful 3r and Iknow- it the i,and oy the I'ength |e gain I think flesh |imple, I they h take Ikness, and how gi'eat is tlmi darkness ; and will it be true what God has said, they went in the way of Cain, (to be exhalted above hia brother) and perished in the gainsaying of care ; and we may^ naturally infer they do not belong to the God of heaven, for I have never heard of a psalm or hymn or spiritual song sung, nor a sermon preached or an exhortation given, nor one prayer offered to God to bless the lusts of the eye and the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life's aspiring. And we would think these are independent, and do not ask nor do not want him there, (and by their fruits we know them,) the contrast was great between these and his disciples whom he supported and protected against the clamourora who would rob him of glory and honours of his kingship ; but the dis- ciples without shame or fear proclaimed hosanahs to their king Jesus, meek and lowly, and sitting on an ass. Oh, how that gritted on the ears of the flesh judgers, and honour seekers, and wanted Jesus to silence them. Oh, stop them, it is impolite and void of all gentlemanly courtesy, to have them bolting and shout- ing on the wayside, and appeals to him, do you hear what these creatures are saying. Oh, yes, and if these would hold their peace, the very stones would ciy out. Here we see Christ approves and applauds them for doing their duty ; and he says his disciples are no more of this world than he is of this world, and his nature alone can do that when lie changes them from glory to glory into the image of the Lord. And here we see the contrast between Christ's ministers, and the ministers of the god of this world. He wants them to be bag-tillers, ease-seekers, pleasure-takers, and incomes, and titles of honours to their names, that gives worldly minds pleasure ; but Christ teaches his ministers to be labourers^ and not loiterers and economists and not loafers ; he did not teach tliem to go to a hotel to pay servants to wait on them, but sent them to buy meat and take their lunch and serve themselves • and himself busy with the woman of Samaria, washing the crimson and scarlet stains of sin away, and then giving his living water and grace in abundance, which brought an abundant harvest for Christ to put in his grainery at the well. Here we see God has proved his choice of the ram's horns in preference to the silver trumpets ; and to show us all instrumentality is of no effect with- out God gives the efiicacy and acceptance; and how he made choice of the laborious, working class, and trained and taught and cor- rected them, and did not flatter nor deceive them ; and the way to get to heaven is through much labour and tribulation, like himself, to preach on tjhe sea shores and little ships; and he commissioned and GOQamandied them to. go into all the world, and into the streets and lanes of the city, and to the highways and hedges and compel them to come, (not by the force of arms but the power of })ersua- sion,) that my hquse may be tilled ; and they were not to burd^i themselves .unth the god of this world's diut, but give it up to 9 130 the lovei-s of it, and as yoii bave freely received freely give. These are Jesus* own words, and 3'on and I will soon have to answer at his bar, how we have obeyed him. I believe Mr. Wesley could say as well as Paul, I covet no man's silver or gold ; and when he got a little overplus of money, he would not put it in the world's bank, but in the bank of God, and got another labourer into (Jod's vine- yard, and I believe every heart holy man of god should just do the same now, and lalx)ur and persevere as Mr. Wesley. Gideon Wesley preached in the streets and was sometimes scoffed, mocked and abused, but the times I heard him he was not internipted, but he took all in good part and laboured for his Lord and Master ; and there is still some like the War Cry now, which I believe God has blessed many a sinner through their instrumentality. May God bless them in their labours, till there is not one left in Egyptian bondage. I had the pleasure and honour of being at the Berwick Camp meeting, it was on a rising hill above the railway, and when I looked at the place I thought of Christ preaching on the mountain And his servants there following his example and the time well improved in preaching exhorting, singing and prayer ; and a good many were convei-ted to God and believers quickened and their strength renewed, and I rejoiced with others in Jesus renewing And multliplying his graces and peace unto us as he did to the desciples of old. I feel it impressed on my mind to give a short account of a re- vival which took place in the Mechanics' Settlement, but before I enter on that I will give the cause why I came out here. I lived and abounded in plenty ; my land, by le<)se, was only ten shillings an acre, but the lease fell, and the landlord raised it to thirty shillings an acre. But I thought I could live comfoi'table and preach the gospel freely, as I have done for twenty years without a. cent ; and as I was bannered under the Prince of Peace, who commands me when I am oppressed or persecuted in one place, flee ye unto another, and I thought it would be best to keep under the Prince of Peace, before I beat a retreat and join the devil's mur- dering army, with the old father's murdering nature, who would not only have us murder landlords, but all those persons that would not accept of their assertions, fancies, think so and say so, which is the basis and bulwark of Satan's deceiving, but the Prince of Peace kept me under command, to follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. So I decided to keep clear of satan's low, blackguard, murdering class. I wrote to my brother David, in Saint John, if he thought I could do better in New Bninswick, an(^ he wrote me, he could get me six hundred acres in the Mechanics' Settlement for about three shillings an acre, and that expended on the road for our own benefit* 80 my Mends adlowed me to go, for that would be a fine estate y> 131 W mur- would that say so, ut the ithall Sol class, ight I aid get t three )enefit» estate tii for my family. To be short, I sold out and landed in Saint John, and my brother took uie to see the fine estate, anii we came to Mr. Teakle's, and left the waggon there and led tho horse and traveled about seven miles, following the blaze on the trees, till we came to Mr. Campbell's — he was the first mechanic that settled there, and it was the first camp I was ever in, the first spruce bo''/ bed I ever slept on, and I enjoyed their spring, and slept Wdll ; but when they were telling me of groundhogs, bears and foxes, I thought of leaving one of the best societies that any nan could enjoy, and thus coming to the company of the beat's of the forest. I thought I would be in my grave before there would be a carriage road through such thick woods. I never saw a bear in the woods in all my travels, but how much I dreaded their company. Oh, how little the old country people know of the hearty healthy life in the woods. Mrs. Campbell told me when she was walking on the carpets in tho city, she could take a hearty meal, but when she went to plant potatoes in the burnt land, her husband and she had to get a lunch long before dinner time, and that sweetens labour and gives life real pleasure in the woods, far from the city's chica- nery, bubbles, noise and show. I was surprised to see how soon the people gathered in and settled. They raised plenty of fine potatoes, buckwheat and pork, and they lived healthy, hearty and strong on the fruits of their own labours, they know nothing of being toil worn, feasting their eyes in pic-nic display in the god of this world's fleshly vanity, far from what the upper god commands, to be holy in heart and life and all manner of conversation, but we do not expect holy fruit from unholy hearts. Satan, opposite, would endorse such currency, but these two opposits never will be one, and no denominations became one in vanity's fair. Here we see the old blinder urge his captives to go on and gratify the fleshly lusts that war against the soul's divine spiritual- ity ; God has said to his disciples, avoid all foolish talking and vain jesting, for it is not the way for a soul to grow in grace. No, they rather become dwarfish and back-gone children. Wesley follows Ood, and says : No room for mirth or trifling here, For worldly hope or worldly fear, If ufe so soon is gone : If now the Judge is at the door, And all mankind must stand before The inexorable throne. To settle up the account forever : No matter what our thoughts employ, A moment's misery or joy ; But oh, when Irath shall end ; Where shall I find my distant place ? Shall I n^ everlasting days With fiends or angels spend X 132 But to return to the city. I rejoice that I had some sovereigns CO purchas*? on ^ road so that I A^ould not have to travel many miles of woods to get home. I purchased three hundred acres, on the road leading from Lake IJomond to the sea shore, and I called the place after myself — Collinsville, Garnet post oflBce. And my sympathies were great, and myself and Mrs. Campbell, being always used to the means of grace — and they tliought it a great treat, my visiting them once every six weeks, to sing, pray and praise God together. As the settlers increased I went once a month, and I would travel on foot, fifty miles up and fifty miles doA^Ti. I was a great walker and could walk from fifteen to twenty miles a day, and visit as I went along ; and as the settlers increased they made wonderful improvement on the roads, and I wondered how healthy and hearty I was in the camps and log cabins, and this time when I came into the house of Mr. Giferd's anti his son, Collins Giferd, told me of his little sister, about seven years old, that had dreamed a dream, and it was one of Wesley's hymns that I have written ; it is the first among the few that I have written. While she was repeating it it flashed into my mind, and I cried out : " Yes, you may all be saved, whoever will, this man receiveth sinners still, and now is the accepted time and now is the day of salvation; and he never said to-morrow." Mr. Mrs. Magee said, "Will you pray for us?" I think it was not five minutes till they were both happy, and praised God for their spirit- ual life received. I was to go away in the morning, but some said, "Oh, give us a meeting before you go !" So we agreed in the morning. They were not affected by anything I said, but those that were converted became the preachers, and having entered the king- dom of heaven, and breathing the air of heaven, and the language of heaven that the angels brought to the shepherds on the plains, that was: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and goodwill toward men." As soon as they were converted, this was the,; air and language they used in exlialting and praising God. At every morning and evening uieeting there were souls converted to God, for a month ; and I never saw my Lord's own figure more clearly manifested. His graces in the kingdom of heaven are like leven which a woman hid in three measures of meal until the whole was levened. It would be complete devilism to doubt the truth of God's word. Mr. WiUiam Baskin, a local preacher, took an account of all the converts, and he told me there was a hundred and fifty converted, from Elgin corner to the head of Dutch valley. It took in about fifteen miles ; I never spent a month in all my life so joy- fidl and happy as in the place where I dreaded the bear's society. How little we know of the future j and little did I think I would he among God's babies, humble, holy, spiiitual, heaven bom family that is to be heirs of their father's inhentanoe, the crown with robe and palm j and all they had to boast of was CLrist's free bestowments. 133 rOd. like lole of nt tfty )ok loy- he lat its. I do not think they, by their own studies, ever acquired the knowl- edge of one sentence of grammar, we never thought of pleasing ach- ing eara, at all ; and I believe all the acquired language of the world, men and angels, would not recommend them to God. A broken heart coming to him to be healed would be more acceptable to get him to heal it. Don't think that I am against education, only keep it in its own place, and use it in transacting business in the world ; and it is all right to keep it there among their hands and feet, to serve humanity ; and it is all right there in its place ; but to bring all their giert learning with their most excellent labours and services, and bring them to Christ so that they may get life and salvation for them in exchange. God will tell you it is the old blinder that sug- gested that, and you have conceived to him, as Eve did to make Crod a liar, and deny my word ; for God does not hide it in a corner. God has published to the world, but wisdom knows not God. Again, he says, the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. I would not say you never read it, but I believe by your conceiving to Satan, flesh, and worldly selfishness blinds the mind and eclipses the sun- light, Christ's holy book — the Bible. As the devil's nature and his practice is to make God a liar, from first to last ; and he will never be changed, and all tliose he begat in his own nature will act the same — for nature will not act contrary to itself ; therefore all the devil's ministers will be true to the god of this world by cunning, sly, and deceitful subtly. Away with God's word, it is nothing but lies ; and the same with Satan's pride wine-stain in them, would cast it in the fire and burn and consume and put it out of sight, and put it out of the schools so that none be deceived by such a bad book. But if timely repentance does not prevent eternal woes, they will get in a more lasting fire than the Bible passed through, (he could not take these into heaven with him,) but he says he wOl send them where the worm dieth not and the tire is not quenched. We see here the distinction between the two gods, and their sub- jects' residences fixed forever ; those to whom God has given his humble, holy, nature to dwell with the humble, holy Jesus for- ever ; and those that n»ade choice of the devil's proud nature will have the pleasure of their choice, in company with their torturer forever and ever. You see I do not despise education but keep it in its own place, and render under unto Caesar the things that are C;vsars, and unto God the things that are God's ; but do not dare to come to God with your selfishness and assertions, and fanc}'^ God ■will give you spiritual blessings in exchange. This is what the devil, the deceiver, would have you do ; but God is no compromiser nor deceiver, but tells us the truth plainly, that it is not by works of riches that will save us, but the washing of regeneration and renew- ing of the Holy Ghost. He is not going to give up the atoning blood for all the world's salvation. His statutes are the babes dependent on their father's strength for their weakness, light for 134 their darkness ; and his word is spirit and life to live on and make them strong with the strength which God supplies, through his eternal son. He has given these self-righteous and indifferent boasters to know they must be converted and become dependent, ji^ little children, otherwise they will never enter the kingdom of heaven, (so God does not deceive anyone.) And they trust in the character of God's loving little children, which seemed to be all on a level in love, serving one another. Sometimes we travail in pain for anxious souls, and when blessed, tears of joy, and praise and glor^ to God was cried with joyful hearts, like unto the day of ■ Penticost, we felt like one family, and had all things common. It was in the month of March that this revival took place, and this was the month the people generally chopped their land for their croping in the spring. But they were so taken up with the revival, night and day, that they only chopped for their own house, and for the time being they gave up the interest of their bodies for the interest of their souls ; and I do not think any of us thought of prefering the interest of the soul to the body. But we cannot doubt this is the fruit being grafted into Christ, the true vine ; yes, the ' true vine— for a lie or falsehood was never uttered by his lips. And when the month was up they attended to their bodily interest second. Twenty-four young boys belonging to the revival, agreed, as one family interest, that they would chop all that every family laid out to chop for the next season's croping, and by the grace of God and strength divine they did it. All the country around, when hearing of their neglect, said they would starve next season; but no, for I heard some say their crops were abundant. It seems God did not let them suffer for obeying him, where he commands them to first seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you, (and none shall find his promises vain,) and by their fruits we know them. Their new heart produced a new system of carrying on their frolics ; there was f'^ no singing vain songs in praising the creature more than the Creator, and not one drop of alcohol's madening bowl could be found on their premises, such as Satan, flesh and self indulged in, (Two opposite cannot be one.) And sitting down to rest, they obeyed God, and sang psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in their hearts to the Lord — and it proves God's word true — old things are past away and behold all things have become new ; and this is God's nature in those that love God, and I defy con- tradiction. His word is my statute and guide. His word says, • Love is the fulfilling of the law ; and again, to love God and our neighbor as ourself, against such there ia no law. I cannot forget those happy times, catching the dew drops of the morning, like Israel, upon Mount Harmon, getting refreshed by the rays of an unclouded sun. Sometimes we could not sleep half of the night for talking of the joys we felt, and like David, till my cup over- n ^ <> 135 flows ; but some conceived to Satan and flesh, and backslid, as they did with the Lord ; some left him and walked no more with him. I attended about seven funerals of those that kept the faith, and were living monuments of his saving grace while on earth ; and when I think of God's care and teaching to his Israel, making the waters of Jordan divide till they passed through as on dry land, and not only so, but giving them nerve and strength to lift those great stones from the bottom of the river and build a monument to speak and tell to their children God's *»• mt love to their faithful father, and to their children, who love, ^oey and serve him. His love -is unchangeable to the latest posterity. When I think of the Mechanic's and Donegall's meeting houses under their circum- stances, starting and commencing to live on their new farms^ I may just say, in scripture language, that their deep poverty administered to their great liberality.; and it seems that God had given to some of them the gift and genius of mechanism, to cut and hue and square and joint, and make shingles and put them on with soul and body in the work. . There was no loafei*s there among God's wise, spiritual, heaven-bom lineage that could say our birth was not of lips, words, hands or material water ; but we will give the glory to Christ's spiritual living water, that only can feed, refresh and nourish our spiiits. They may sing to their spiritual father, who begat them and brought them forth : Am I not of birth divine, Bom to rise and soar and shine ? Yes, eternity is mine, For I'm a child of God. jw; ■;on< rer- And the father's children is always heire of their father's inherit- ance, owing to their spiritual birth they are heirs to a spiritual house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens ; this being true respecting the upper God's children, (yes, and the government of Britain too,) and of course, the lower god too ; and the upper God has said of him and his, fow are of your father — the devil. Here you have your father named by the best authority in earth or heaven — he is the devil, and he gives his character too ; that he* is a liar, a deceiver and a murderer ; and in his deep designs, approaching Eve, in the first place he is a liar, and in the second place he deceived her ; and death is a separation from life, and she, believing the devil's lying leceptiou, they were separated from God, their life giver and was turned out of Eden, and walked no more with their life giver. But the Godhead organized another system, through the gift of his son, and believing on him he would restore them to life again. But those sons of the devil, with their father's nature not chang- ed, want to make a liar of God and his Son's word, the same to deceive and mui'der and seperate us from heaven and Christ our 136 lifegiver, and the devil in his servants this day when he said thou shalt not fjurely die, and do not believe God's word, it is not to be believed. Oh, put it out of sight, bum it or bury it ! Jesus Christ the subject of the old testament the theam, he is coming, he is coming, and in the new testament, he is come, the broken heart to bind and the bleading soul to^cure. But the chief priests, the leaders of the scribes and pharasees say : come let us crucify him ; if we let him live, our craft is in danger, for this man that has made himself of no reputation in getting worldly honours nor titles to his name would not allow us any bag-filling and banquet- ing at all, but would have us crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts. But we will crucify him first and away with him ; and he is crucified and gone. They being the true sons of their father the devil, the lawful heirs of their father's property their des- tiny is fixed and their doom sealed forever with their father the devil — having lied and denied God's word. J want to say to all the sons and daughters of all branches of temperance societies be firm, steady and persevering, and never belong to those that would not be my brother's keeper; use every means to save the erring one from death, temporal, spiritual and eternal, which God and his servants would delight to do, but the god of this world, the devil, the murdrer; for he would indorse the destruction of the whole ; all those distilling and ventilat- ors, and all lawyers pleading for its spread ; all houses of parliament opening broadways and extending its seats: they are one with the devil, the murderer, and opposite to your maker, and by and by your judge, who is our soul and body Saviour. Could you be offended with God to send you to him whom you supported in populating hell with my blood bought property, and if you had justice in you, would you not allow the purchaser the right of his own property 1 Hear his own word. Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb without spot or blemish. Every heeder and assister of the devil — the head of the firm, and the leader of this flock to hell and damnation — for he would not allow one of God's blood bought property to enter the emerald gates, and walk the golden streets of heaven. No, he would not let one of them ! When he gets them he will keep them secure, foi' his nature would not allow him to act otherwise, so there is no escape from him, unless you break the chain and leap the gulf, and bid defiance to them ; but as he delights in lying and deception, according to his nature, he would be pleased in making Abraham a liar, for he said : there was no passing nor repassing ; but I believe God and Abra- ham is true. The devil with fancy assertions, think so and say so, which is his only proof texts ; according to his nature he teaches his ministers the same. Away with ©od's word, tear it, burn it, or bury it, we have fine history and novels ; some say the prayer book f 187 is the only statute of faith, and in this enlightened day. This is like th% father's and his son's assertions. Christ taught his disci- ples, in his last charge to them, to be his witnesses, and teach nothing to the people but what he had said and commanded them. And he says : Servants you are to whom you obey, whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness ; and all wise and prudent business men always study their profits and their losses, and the God of heaven, (opposite to the God that deceives,) has said, what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and lose his own soul, or what would a man give in exchange for his soul. I think if I was there one day, smelling the brimstone and feeling the scorch, and hearing^ the cries of all around me, I'am tor- mented in this flame, I think I would give the whole world back, and a thousand worlds, could I get rid of the scorch and screams. Now let us take a look at what this spirit business has done for us in this world and the world to come. First, for the body, as so many plead for medicine. I say, has it not killed ten for one it cured, and that being true, it should never be taken as medicine j second, has it not been the means of destroying the interest, peace and happiness of ten families for one it has benefitted or made happy ] 1 say, cut the stream at the fountain and still no more ; third — respecting the souls interest — has it not been the means of producing ten bad prayers for one good one ; yes, ten hundred bad ones and not one good one. And will our legislature still license this poison, that makes human kind devil -like, sunk down in the low dens of sin and degradation, and crimes of various kinds, worse than the brutes of the forest ? My fourth question is respecting the soul's eternal destiny. Has it not been the means of sending ten to hell for one it was the means of sending to heaven? Yes, it has so much of the devil's nature, and our fallen nature, that he makes an easy prey of us and leads us captive at his will, and blinds us so that he may tumble us down the flaming rocks of damnation ; and we may call on the flannng rocks to cover us in vain ; yes, in vain, for we are captives at the devil's will. We made a bad choice, to leave the mercy seat, and be a slave to the devil and alcohol ; for mercy belongs to neither. From these quarter ^ death and ruin must be one in the end ; and in time to come let every man show himself a lover of humanity, and banish alcohol, the mur- derer of body and soul, from our world. And I say to you legisla- ters,if you do not do the utmost inyourpower to banish the murderer, you will meet the god you have aided and assisted to populate hell with Christ's purchased blood-bought property; and I believe your ■doom will be an awful one. yso, ,ches t, or book ^I^w» I 138 THE PILGRIM. Come all you weary travellars, Who are to ('anaan bound, SJL4-A. Take courage and fight valently, g^" 1**^ Obey the trumpet sound. ^ ' Our captain is before us gone, It is God's only Son, • So pilgrims dear don't ye fear, But let us travell on. Through a dark, howling wilderness. To Canaan's peaceful shore, A land of doubts and pits and snares,, Where chilling winds doth roar. But Jesus Christ will with us go» And guide us by the way, Should enemies examine us, He'll teach us M'hat to say. Good-morrow brother traveller. Pray tell me what's your name, Or where is it you're travelling to, Also, from whence you came? "My name it is Appolyn, sir. This land belongs to me, And for your arms and pilgrim dress. I'll give it all to thee. Ah, no ! replies the pilgrim bold. Your offers I disdain, The Lord, he is my shepherd now, In him I will obtain. Pray, what is that upon your head, ( ,| *- That shines so clear and bright, Likewise the covering of your breast, That dazzels in my sight? What kind of shoes are those you wear^ On which you boldly stand. Likewise the shining instrument You bear in your right hand ? It's glorious hope that's on my head, And on my breast my shield. With this bright sword I mean to fight,. Until I gain the field. My feet are shod with gospel peace. On which I boldly stand, I am resolved to fight till death, To win fair Canaan's land. r 33 rR ^ ^ 139 The pleasent fields in Canaan's land, Ah, beautiful to behold, ' The valleys clothed with living ffreen. The mountains tinged with gold. The trees of life with heavenly fruit. Behold, how thick they stand ! Blow gentle gales and bear my soul Away to Canaan's land. ^ I would rather be the least of them. That love the Lord alone. Than wear a ro}'al diadem. Or sit upon a throne. I got this from one of my old, kind ministers, believing me to be wrestling against flesh and blood, both without and within, and getting my captain's strength for my weakness and his strength, to gain the victory. Hear I top the pole with it. The ordinances of the churches — if their character is bad — denys and does not believe God's holy word, but prefers creed-books and prayer books, the products of fallen corruptable man, and prefera it to the God of heaven's divine spiritual book of truth, the Bible. I leave them to God, and may God bless this book, and Father Maturin, whose production gave rise to this book. May He meet him on the way as he'did Saul of Tarses, and ripen and purify him, that he may be like Paul, to catch the Son's light and scatter the clouds of darkness away. I remain, JOHN COLLINS, Preacher of Christ's Gospel, (not another gospel of any man's seting forth,) in the Wilderness of New Brunswick, the friend of every man and the enemy of none. \ ■ * ■:4 "I ^M- fl> REVIEW OF THE PASTORAL OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS. When I read the address of the Catholic Bishops to their people, and the iving themselves to be the only true pastors and teachers of the only true tatholic Church, and that they are the only statute and proffered end of the law. I thouffht it would be equally just and right for the Judges of the Province to tell tiie people of the Province : " I, as Judge, dismiss all the Laws of the Province, and in time-being my conscience i»iall be infallible, just, virtuous, and of true stature to judge the people." Now, who in his senses would indorse these assertions, these sand-banks of men, for eithw spiritual or human law ? I believe the God of Heaven would never accept of either, but I believe the God of this world would. And here we see two gods and law-givers, one for the spirit's interest and the crucifying of the nesh ; the other for crucifying the spirit"s direct operations, and feeding the flesh with his own food, the dust, and, if possible, presuade them that they will get all their life springs from it. Here every one ma^ clearly see to which end he belongs ; the flesh is corruption ; the spirit of Christ, life everlasting. I don't bother much about politics, but I give my vote to whom I please ; and I rejoice in the British Charter which is an untrammelled conscience not triumphed over by any names, sects or parties in the world. And I acknowledge one Great High Priest and Bishop of our souls, havine no superior, but all, inferior and in subordination to His will, word, spirit and nature. I should be happy to assist them without respect to name, creed or party, only the party a^inst sin. And as God has commanded us, let every man speak truth to his neighbour ; also, not to suffer sin on our neighl>our, I teave the Bishops, Poutioians and lower laws of the day, to save from the prisons and penitentiaries by warning them of their danger, and I within the sunlight to warn you of the prison where there is no reprieve. First, you say you are of the first Church — I say, no ! You neither belong to the f^i^t nor second, in point of name or nature. This is my assertion^, like your own, without a proof -text from the upper God's Book. I now give you the proof. First, that God organized with Anrab »ni, the Jewish Church, that leaned on the arm of their beloved, coming through the wilderness : and the fact, that we being Gentiles were never in the church. This is true and the opposite i» not true. The second proof is, they circumcised their child* ren when eight days old, that is true, and the opposite is not true. Third, they slew their lambs, heifers and coats (and your church does not,) and Immt them ; but Gentiles and heathens captivated by Satan's supremacy, burned nobler flesh than they. Fourth, Simeon, taught of God that he should not see death till he shooM see Christ, Mid having fulfllled the require- menta of the law, said, " Kow lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen l^y salvation." Here the flrst meritorious was shed ; aad the latt meritorioaB blood of the same sacrifice was shed on Uie cross q| Calvary, onee for all ; and it is all sufficient, and if all sufficient we wimt no other Mi-ever, Let the oppomte reject or accept, as they please. Hnre in name, naitttie^ acts uid practice, they bear witness against you. Yon never 142 did nor never will be Jews ; and you have no foundation for your Church, and even granting all the stories you have told, you are nothing better ; for €k>d and Uhrist took the bottom out of it, and thus made it bottomless. And to tell the truth, and get rid of the old story-teller — you nor I have neither port or lot in the matter, no foundation, we arc deceived, and that is the truth on the old deceiver, and Christ called Peter, Satan. In the transfer from the old to the new church, we find that in the old it was, " Do this imd thou shalt live ; " in the new it is, look and believe in the Lord Jesus CThrist and t^ou shalt be saved, without a prayer, tear or one cent to merit it ; but pray jr and faith is the medium to draw Christ's merited free favor, and He being the head of this new church system, freely forgives them all, without money and without price. God does not accept of two payments for one debt. It would dishonor His Son to hear them singing in Heaven, I have^tMud a part of my debt. Glory to me. Then satan would rejoice to have Christ dishonored. ^ain, I prove we did not belong to this ^ocond Church. First, because at the Day of Penticost, which was the organization of the Christian Church, they were all Jews, which were gathered together from all parts under Heaven, and we as Gentiles were never Jews, therefore we never belonged to that Church on that day ; and it is deceiving to say that Christ, or His mother, or Peter, or any of the Apostles were Gentiles for they were not. But Christ said to the woman of Samaria, "Salvation of the Jews," i. e. *-* ^^ himself. Second, we do not belong to this second Church in point of name ; for it was called, net the Church of Antioch, nor the Church of Ephesus, nor the Church of Rome, but the New Jerusalem Church. It would be Satan-iUce and Anti-Christ to say that any of these Churches was the first Christian Church, when it was not so. Again, I prove by undeniable fact that there was no Christian Church before that day, and therefore of neces> sity it must be organized afterwards, and was formed by the Apostles. And the only Sacraments appointed by Christ in his Church are Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, and the others are not lawful nor acceptable to Christ when he did not appoint them ; for against this Church Satan and all opponents,, and the gates of Hell cannot prevail, for He must reign until He has put all enemies under his feet. If we turn to the 10th Chapter of Acts, and 28th. (Duoay Bible) verse, we will observe that Peter was strictly a Jew — said he, "You know how abominable a thing it is for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or to come to one of another nation, but God hath shewed to me to call no one common nor unclean." Here we see that Peter was as great a bigot as ever vou were a Roman Catholic or I a Presbyterian or Methodist. Intne34th and 3oth verses we see distinctly that all nations can become members of this Church without any creed or particular denomination, (ac> cording to the Duoay Statute, ) this is owing to their character, i. e. "feareth God and worketh justice." In the 47th verse see how the Gentiles first became members of this Church, Peter gave them visible memberships by Baptism, who had received the Holy Gh^rt;. So that, here, Peter takes uie^. the Gentiles, into the Jewish visible Church, making us equal to them who are Jews, in their rights and privileges. Feter, left to himself, would have turned tiie keys on us Gentiles and would never have let us into the Jewish Church. Ob, how Satan deceives the people through the medium of sectarian bigotry and national clanishness. Like as the Pharisees said of Christ, "We know that God spoke to us through Moses ; but as for this fellow we don't know from whence he is." He leads them captive, with pride pufis them up, and snares tiiem and feeds them on the tree of knowledge, whereby they get: abov« €rod, and in their fleshly glory they eclipse the tun and dim its rays. Bat Christ taught Peter right — and we see that it waii He, and not Peter, that opened the door for us Gentiles. We will thus give God the glory and Peter credit for not contradicting Him as he did on a previous occasion when ^ H3 •^--''.' ^ ^ Uu^^^M.^^^ Mgotry 3 know It know ap, and ley get rays. Peter, >ryand In when ^V -Christ took the " rolling stone " and cast it behind' H< its cement- -faith — to take God at His word. But whb; faith again, " Jesus heals his backslidings and loves hin. him to Himself, the unshaken Rock. And here you see v what Peter and you would in your ignorance of God, exclude «* yonrselves. Again, I give you a part of my experience, to prov« supremacy in my nature. When a boy about eight years of age, my was giving my father some hints that she should receive more respc she was a distant relative of the King of Scotland, and that her ch' should not be sporting with the servant-man's children. Here we see at Eve's daughter puffing her up with his pride-wine — his cunnine ai subtilty as he would cloak and cover it over with decency and order, my father one evening said to her : you have given me several hints of family being superior to mine. Now I will tell you to what family I be^ so we will discover the contrast. I belong to Adam's fallen, corrupt- depraved, death-stricken family, and like the grass we flourish in the sum. mer, and in our generation die in the autumn, and if your species does not die like mine, I will give you the preference. Again we hear of Nebuchad> nezzar, whose wide spread branches or laws pressed all beneath his grasp — he was supreme over all in his day, and would not know God, for he was full of Satan's supremacy, but God, being jealous of His glory, drove him from his throne, and made him an animal to eat grass with the oxen. Where was his great blood then ? Again, in the case of Herod the King, on his birth-day, with his display of oratory, when the people exclaimed he was a God, and not a man. Oh, Satan ! this is you. You would take the honor from God and give it to man. But God will have no other gods before Him, and He commanded His angels to smite him, and he was eaten up by worms and gave up the ghost ; and where was his better blood when he ,vas thus eaten up of worms ? We cannot but see the contrast between the two Princes. The Prince of Light, and the Prince of darkness — the one Humility, the other Vanity. My father also said to her, that when the servant-man's children were modest, mannerly and prudent, he did not see any harm of their worm casts rolling together. And my father cured my mother by giving her the balm of Christ's humility, that purged out Satui^s pride- wine. Thus my mother became a true convert to my father's teaching. Thitk is the way in which Satan works in the hearts of Eve's daughters. See him wanting a mother to get Christ to bow to her, by asking Him that her two sons might be placed, the one on the right hand and the other on the left, in Hia Kingdom. But he put her ofiF, and in his supreme knowledge left her ignorant, for it was not expedient for her to know it. Apiid again, Satan would get others to compliment him, and tell him. "How blessed is the womb that conceived thee, and the paps that gave thee suck." And here, Christ/orei;er has put his stamp upon earthely materia], when compared with the spiritual, said he, " rather, olessed are they that 'know my commandments and keep them," for " Whosoever doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven, the came is my brother and sister, and mother." This is Christ, but in Satan we have the very opposite, for he would have the flesh the greatest. So we see the Frinoe of Darlmess and tiie Sunlight can never agree. When I was a boy, and played the old game of pitching. buttons, I would alter the &o6, and the other boys being smaller than I, had to bow to my supremacy; but by and by another boy stronger than I came, and he would move the 606, so I had to bow to his supremacy. Thns, thinking of my humanity, and led captive by Satan at his will, he will lead me to take this Province and all the other provinces of America, and all France — and by feeding me with his tree of knowledge and money, his gold dust, his food for men. I would take the whole world, and have all to how to my judgment. 'Then I woold have to tell to my name and monoiy : I have gained the ..■l.T,^* . and Hen your DoMt* of Jfeter and Fius the IX with your BishopS; th^ wcfifL withouti thought how like Satan and fallen nature, and unlike G}ituit, t^ for one J. When S%tiMi. offered to Christ the kingdom of thiB wor]4« Wc^ I havcd'avd dismiased him from His presence: "Get thee jience^ .om^'' have Ciow different th» ApostleB. You would take it all ;. and wou)|iat yon, A