Mexico weekly ledger., 1878-11-14

up to the right point, let him be full
of spiritual vigor, and give him work
to do, and the work dies before him.
Now especially, we Baptists must
lake care that we are strong, because
If ever there was point for which
we were noted it was for strength. /
do not think we were ever noted for
beauty. Our forefathers were men
who used to do their own thinking at
home, and when they had found it,
out made up their minds about it.
They did not particularly care whether
the Government Of the day thought
that way, nor whether the bishops
thought that way, nor whether the
Synod and the creed-makers thought
that way at all. They jnst thought
-"That is what is Gods Word, and
we do not care what Cesar's word
is" Some of them, think, made a
mistake; but they meant rightly
when they put on earnal weapons
and buckled them down their sides.
1t was awful work for the Cavaliers
thenl Nobody cracked skull Ike
an Anabaptist. They were terrible
fellows; but when they entered town
there was no sacking Of it; there was
no woman that had to regret that
Cromwell's soldiers came there. The
first thing was ''Smash that painted
window, down with the saints and
angels, every man Jack of Them"
They did do that, and that was very
wrong-indeed have no doubt those
things ought to have been preserved,
that the "attitudinarians" might
worship them. Our fore-fathers did
not 60 in for that line of preservation.
They said, "These things have been
put to bad uses; smash sthem up"
and they did. Very rough and ready
as iconoclasts they we're; but when
that little work was done, and they
met around the campfire. there was
the ordinary soldier admonishing the
captain that was backshding, that he
was not exhibiting the grace that LIE
had some weeks ago; and even old
Mol himself, if he met Baptist,
would get told that they did not enter
into the army to make a king Of him,
and they did not want him to be king,
and they wished he would keep his
place, and they were net going to be
dictated to by Oliver Cromwell any
more than by king. That was the
style of our Anabaptist fathers, and
there is little of it about US still.
We are the least .clannish of all de-
nominations-we do not, certainly, |
run into one mould, ami / do not |
know why we should. I know we
like to go to our Bibles for ourselves. |
When they were telling me years ago
how bad the milk was, one of my
neighbors said, 81 do not care how
bad it is, I keep acow of my own.
That is what we like to do. If the |
preaching should be adulterated, and |
the literature should be adulterated, |
we like to go to Scripture for our
selves. and keep COW or our owa--.-f
Ap,cwesss = ON HAprrsM.
And VIC Deg TO say to all friends,
that that on vhich we differ--namely,
believers baptism-that we shall be
very glad to see altered, because it is
very wrong that there should be two
or three baptisms, where there ought
to be only one, and We believe we are
certain that if you will find us pre-
cept for the baptism of infants, we
will follow it-a plain one, mark you.
And as it is very clear to US, and
we think to yos, that believers were
baptized, that is one baptism-that
is plainly in Scripture, is it not?
Very we'll, the other one-that is the +
other baptism. My black friend,
Mr.. Johnson, gave me the other night
very excellent reason for being im-
mersed. Being a negro, and very
uneducated, he did not know much,
but people that do not know much
sometimes blunder very nicely into
the truth. He said, II knewI ought
to be baptized; SO I says to one,
what do you think?' and he says,
you ought to be sprinkled.' I says
to another. How do you think I ought
to be baptized?' 'Well,' he says,
you ought to be poured says to
another, How ought / to be .baptiz- |
ed?' 'Ohp he says, you ought to
be immersed 'Well, now,' says
to myself, well, if am immersed
shall be sprinkled and / shall be
poured So that the others may be
right, but this one must be, right,
there was no mistake about that"
A Congregational brother said to me,
"Any fool can be Baptist, for the
plain texts of Scripture run that way /
or seem to, but it wants man Of In
teliigence to understand our theory. =
Well, enough about that / want all 3
our brethren to keep their stamiRs
upon that point, for even thon
get into great desln
a part of a good
q brother has .