EXPERIENCE OF DAVID BARTLEY...

BORN AGAIN.
Fifty years ago this afternoon the holy Father gave me faith in Jesus, and revealed him to me as The Lord my Righteousness. This revelation banished all fear, and filled my soul, with perfect love and peace. It was a, new world to me, and the darkness was past.


It was the Lord’s day, in which there was no shadow and not a cloud; sin was ended, and death had lied away. Life and light, joy and gladness filled me with triumphant faith in Jesus, and overflowing love to God for his unspeakable gift. My heart went out in fervent love to the church, the brethren in Christ Jesus, and I longed to go and tell them of the preciousness of the Savior to my believing heart, and what great things he had done for me. He had saved me from deep soul anguish, black despair and death. 

I joyfully understood for the first time that the Lord was my life and light and salvation. To me this was a new experience, and a most wonderful revelation. Old things had passed away, and behold, all things had become new to me. Blessedly I realized that I was in Christ Jesus, and that in him was all fullness of salvation. My soul was satisfied, and I desired no more. “My Beloved is mine, and I am his.” This was my new birthday; I was now a. new creature; my life was new, my heart and spirit, faith and love, peace and comfort, all were new. The Lord had opened my blind eyes and showed me my lost condition almost ten years before, on the second Sunday in November, 1844, and long and deep had been the anguish of my sorrowing soul for my sins, and fearfully crushing my burden of guilt. I verily believed the just wrath of God in his holy law was burning against me, and felt that I was condemned forever. All my sorrow and mourning, crying and praying for mercy and pardon, with all that I could do to bring myself into the favor of God, had utterly failed me, and I felt that I was a miserable reprobate, for whom there was no salvation nor peace.

When the time of my deliverance drew nigh I was a student in a medical college in Cincinnati, with the view of trying to do good while God spared my sinful life. On Tuesday morning, April 25th, 1854, two letters came, one from my eldest sister, the other from her pastor, both relating to my sorrowful experience as a guilty and perishing sinner, (for I had written to her) and he exhorted me to come home to the church. I was too deeply troubled to go to the school that day, but remained alone in my upper room, read the Bible in search of light and comfort, wept and prayed; but all failed, hope had fled and I was lost. This I knew was just, and I was brought to a standstill, helpless as an infant, and not knowing how it was possible; for me to be saved. 

So at last I took up a pen to tell Elder McQueary that, it was impossible for me to go to the church, for none but believers in Christ had right to the solemn ordinance of baptism, and I was in the darkness of unbelief. But bless the Lord, before; I could write the sentence against myself, God, who is rich in mercy, gave; me faith in his beloved Son, who was now my adorable Redeemer and my salvation. Then I wrote to the pastor and told him of my faith and hope in Christ, the firstborn from the dead, and that I would gladly come home to the household of faith, for God had clothed me in the righteousness of his holy Son, who had loved me and died for me, and had taken away both sin and death from me. And so the second Sunday in June, 1854, I was buried with Christ in baptism and raised to walk in newness of life, and to serve God in newness of spirit.

Fifty years in the faith of Jesus, the Son of God, with all the trials of faith, have, made him only the more precious to me, and confirmed me in that first revelation of him to my rejoicing eyes, The Lord my Righteousness. From that happy day till now Jesus is all my salvation and all my desire. O how I long to awake with his heavenly likeness, see him in his glory and He satisfied.

My first birthday was seventy-seven years ago tomorrow, yet I am active, my hearing perfect, and I read without glasses. My address is Lebanon, Ohio.

In the new life your brother,
D. BARTLEY.
Nashville, Tenn., April 25, 1904.

Signs Of The Times
Volume 72, No. 11.
June 1, 1904