The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1872-03-07
THE MILLwRlGAT PREACHER
FROM THE LiFE CT REV. ARCHIBALD
ALExANDER, D. D.

$1,000 -fA--~1 y. ~
| I'm 1872, DR.. Alexander and Ben
jamin Grigsby, both young men re
Gently licensed to preach. were sent
by the Commission of the Synod
of Virginia on a missionary tour in
THE Eastern part of the State" The
/ following narrative is very inter
Testing one, and in some respects
very iustructive 5te
From Prince Edward the roang
tpreaehers went towards Lunanburg.
Before sunset they arrived at the
house of Dir Marlborough. Baptist
of some wealth, who received them
with Christian and Virginia hospi-
tality. Here they gained acquain-
tance with 4 man whose case is too
remarkable and characteristic OF the
| times to be omitted. And as the
EnemOrau,lums of DR.. Alexander re
specting his contemporaries furnish
facts which would otherwise be en-
| :i:ely lost, we feel justified in fire.
quently turning aside to diversity
our story by such episodes.
MIR. Marlborough took occasion to
inform US that there was Baptist
preacher in his employment IS
millwright, who would be at the
house as soon as his work was flu
ished. Accordingly about dusk of
the evening,ean old man in coarse
gaFb, with leathern apron, and laden
with tools, entered the house and
| took his seat on the stairs. Neither
Mir. Grigsby nor had ever been ac-
quainted with uneducated preachers,
land we were struck with astonish-
ment that this carpenter should pre-
tend to preach. When we retired,
! Mr.. Shelburne, such was his name,
was put into the same loom with US.
l felt an avidity to question him re-
| specting his call to the ministry
Mr.. Shelburne perceived the drift of
my question, and instead of giving q
general answer proceeded to a nara
tive of his own experience, and to
state the circumstances. which led
him to suppose that God had called
him to be a preacher. The substance
Of his story was as follows;
Il was born in one of the lower
counties of Virginia, and when young
was put 10 learn the carpenters trade
About this time came into the neigh
borhood a Presbyterian minister, by
the name of Martin, whom / went to
hear; and before he was done / was
convinced that / was in lost and
.undORe condition. He made no stay,
and Iheard no more of MIN But
wound had been left in my concis-
ence which / knew not how to get
healed, and no one about me could
give any valuable advice as to cure.
went from day to day under heavy
burden, bewiling my miserable state,
till at length my distress became so
great that L eotTld neither eat nor
sleep with any peace or comfort.
My neighbors said that l was fall
ing into melancholy or going mad,
but not one of them had any knOwl-
edge from expert lnce of the nature
of distress. Thus l continued |
mourning over my miserable case
for weeks and months. was led, !
however, to read constantly in the |
Bible; but this rather increased than
ie 5seflGt, my distress; until one Sun
day evening l saw as clearly as
ever saw anything how l could be
saved, through the death # Christ.
/ was filed with comfort, and yet
sorrow for my sins, flowed more
copiously than ever. Ipraised God
aloud, and immediately told my
wife that / had found salvation;
and when any of my neighbOrs ome
to see me, ptold them Of the good
ness of God, and what lhc had done
for my soul, and how he had par
doned all my sins. As spoke free
~ Of the wonderful change | had ex
perienced, IL was soon noised abroad,
and many came to see me, and to
hear an account of. the matter from
my own mouth.
ION Sabbath evenings my house
would be crowed, and when l had
finished my narrative | was accus-
toned to give them a word of ex
hortatiop. And as / could be better
heard when standing. I stood and
addressed my neighhors, without
any thought Of preaching. After
proceeding for some. time in this
way, l fonnd that several others be-
gan to be awakened by what they
heard ffomme, and appeared to be
brought through the new birth
much as ] had been. This greatly
me to proceed in my
work, and God was pleased to bless
ms humble labors to the conversion
of many. Ali this time l did no
more than relate my own experience
and then ezhOrt my neighbors to
seek unto the Lord for mercy. Thus
was / led on from step to step, until
at leagth actually became a preach
er, without Intending it. Exercised
persons would frequently come to /
me for cOunsei, as ! had been the
first among them to experience the
grace OF God; and that / might be ,
able to answer their questions I was
to study the Bible continu-
ally; and often while at work, par
sicular passages would be opened to /
my mind; which encouraged me to
hope that the Lord had called me to
instraet those who BeFe more igno-
rant than myself and when the
people would collect at my house, {
explained to them those passages 4
Fhich had been opened to my mind
All this time / had no instruction in I
spiritual matters from any man, ex- !
,ept the sermons which heard from {
Mr. Martin. But after few yea s ,
here cam 2 a baptist preacher into
,ur neighhorhood, and / found that /
lis doctrine agreed substantially {
With my experience, and with shat / T
iad learned cut Of the Bible. travel s
ed about with him, and was encour
Iged BY him 20 20 on in the exercise =
# my gift Of pnllie speaking, bar was {
old by him that there was one duty ?
which / was required TO perform, 5
which was that I should Fc baptized 1
TO the command Of Christ. &
And as We rode along we came TO =
ertain water, and said. ee her Z
S water, what doth hinder me S
o he baDtizedl? Upon which we d