It is certain, that all the pomp and show we now see, for promoting the Lord's work, will at last be brought to naught; because it is not the way of God's choosing.
And he will clear all this rubbish away, and afterwards work in his own way, and by instruments of his own choice. For our Lord saith, "marvel not that the world hates you; for you know it hated me before it hated you. It hates me because I testify the deeds thereof are evil." What then! do natural men support him and his cause, when they have hated him and his cause in all ages? How inconsistent in itself! It is supporting the thing in appearance only, or that which has a show of the cause of Christ, but which, in reality, is the devil's cause in masquerade. And this has been the manner of the devil, from the days of Cain, down to Constantine the Great; to set up a form of religion, in opposition to the true religion by grace and faith, and maintain it in the world, by men of this world; condemning, killing, and destroying, by a thousand infernal tortures, all the children of God that oppose it. But, in the days of Constantine, he seems to have come to his senses; and, as if he saw, that the massacre of millions could not stop the progress of the religion of Jesus Christ; or, as if gorged with blood, or satisfied with cruelty, he comes to a cessation of arms, all on a sudden; and sits still, as an idle spectator, for a good while. During this time, Constantine repealed all persecuting laws and then established religion by law; honoring the ministers of the Gospel--giving them salaries and making everything in religion grand, rich, and pompous.
But how soon does the devil improve on this plan, and turn all into show and form again;--and then follows persecution of the saints; which has shown itself more or less in every country throughout Christendom. In England, though they cast off the cruel yoke of Popery, yet they set up the idol of uniformity; manifesting the same persecuting spirit, and contending, by kings, queens, lords of parliament, magistrates, and constables, for the support of a form of godliness, and will-worship; at the same time, opposing the Gospel in its purity and simplicity; and fining and imprisoning those who adhered to it. How dangerous then is a form of religion, armed with civil power! and how dangerous to trust a body of learned and monied clergy, with any kind of power. Our fathers who composed the convention to form the Constitution of the State of North Carolina, knew the danger of these men; therefore, inserted an article that no minister of the Gospel, having the cure of souls, should have a seat in either house of the Legislature. They had tasted the gall and venom of this tribe of money-getting characters, and therefore, guarded against them in that article. And if it were not for this article, we should see them electioneering, this way and that way, to get into the Legislature. And could they once obtain an ascendency in the government, they would ride rough-shod over the consciences and property of the people, like all other tyrants? There would be no danger in letting the good become members, but to keep out the bad and designing, our fathers thought best to keep all out--and they were right.
It has been said, that money and education are power. And does not money and education fill the offices of the state? Does not money and education levy war, and carry it on? What would America have done in the revolution, had it not been for her wise counsellors, continental money, and the silver crowns of France! And what would the missionary societies do for runners and beggars, if it were not for money! What would the Pope of Rome have done for priests to carry about his indulgences and pardons to sell, had it not been for money, a part of which went to pay the priests for their trouble, and the balance was for the Pope to carry on his schemes. It is just so with many of our modern priests: money causes them to go about; a part of what they get they have for begging; and the balance is for the Board of Directors to carry on their plans and schemes. And what they will do in the end, time only can reveal. We see them now making mighty strides in every part of the union, to get hold of money, and what new tricks and schemes are to be played under the mask of religious benevolence to attain something out of view, and not heretofore known in the devil's politics, is left wholly to conjecture.
I have been told of late, the Baptists were like Israel without a king. Now the Israelites desired Samuel to ask the Lord to give them a king that they might be like the nations around them and have a great man to fight their battles and go in and out before them, but some of our modern Baptists are not so condescending to God as Israel was, to ask of him a great man, or men to go before them; or agreeably to the words of Christ, "pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out more laborers into his vineyard;" but to be like the Church of England, and the Presbyterians around them, they have without any authority from the Lord, set up a priestly polishing machine at headquarters, to polish over young men, and make great ministers of them, to fight their battles and go in and out before them. Are they afraid to trust their cause with God any longer, and so have rejected him after enjoying his protection for such a length of time, and will they now depend on an arm of flesh?
The church of Rome, and other churches, tried the experiment of making great learned divines, and soon these great divines, bishops, parsons, curates, and friars, must have great salaries, and be maintained in high dignity by the people. And so it will be with these young doctors from headquarters, after going through the polishing machine; for, work they cannot, though they will not be ashamed to beg, since it has become fashionable for divines in broadcloth to follow this trade. I should like to know how many we have among us that would rather go to Doctor Greatman for instruction, than to Jesus Christ, and would prefer to show themselves approved men for talents and learning, than study to show themselves approved of God for a holy, pious, humble life; or diligence in the ministry, knowledge of the holy Scriptures, having their ministry written on the tables of many hearts--by the power of the spirit of God attending their unpolished discourses, to the salvation of men!
But how soon does the devil improve on this plan, and turn all into show and form again;--and then follows persecution of the saints; which has shown itself more or less in every country throughout Christendom. In England, though they cast off the cruel yoke of Popery, yet they set up the idol of uniformity; manifesting the same persecuting spirit, and contending, by kings, queens, lords of parliament, magistrates, and constables, for the support of a form of godliness, and will-worship; at the same time, opposing the Gospel in its purity and simplicity; and fining and imprisoning those who adhered to it. How dangerous then is a form of religion, armed with civil power! and how dangerous to trust a body of learned and monied clergy, with any kind of power. Our fathers who composed the convention to form the Constitution of the State of North Carolina, knew the danger of these men; therefore, inserted an article that no minister of the Gospel, having the cure of souls, should have a seat in either house of the Legislature. They had tasted the gall and venom of this tribe of money-getting characters, and therefore, guarded against them in that article. And if it were not for this article, we should see them electioneering, this way and that way, to get into the Legislature. And could they once obtain an ascendency in the government, they would ride rough-shod over the consciences and property of the people, like all other tyrants? There would be no danger in letting the good become members, but to keep out the bad and designing, our fathers thought best to keep all out--and they were right.
It has been said, that money and education are power. And does not money and education fill the offices of the state? Does not money and education levy war, and carry it on? What would America have done in the revolution, had it not been for her wise counsellors, continental money, and the silver crowns of France! And what would the missionary societies do for runners and beggars, if it were not for money! What would the Pope of Rome have done for priests to carry about his indulgences and pardons to sell, had it not been for money, a part of which went to pay the priests for their trouble, and the balance was for the Pope to carry on his schemes. It is just so with many of our modern priests: money causes them to go about; a part of what they get they have for begging; and the balance is for the Board of Directors to carry on their plans and schemes. And what they will do in the end, time only can reveal. We see them now making mighty strides in every part of the union, to get hold of money, and what new tricks and schemes are to be played under the mask of religious benevolence to attain something out of view, and not heretofore known in the devil's politics, is left wholly to conjecture.
I have been told of late, the Baptists were like Israel without a king. Now the Israelites desired Samuel to ask the Lord to give them a king that they might be like the nations around them and have a great man to fight their battles and go in and out before them, but some of our modern Baptists are not so condescending to God as Israel was, to ask of him a great man, or men to go before them; or agreeably to the words of Christ, "pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out more laborers into his vineyard;" but to be like the Church of England, and the Presbyterians around them, they have without any authority from the Lord, set up a priestly polishing machine at headquarters, to polish over young men, and make great ministers of them, to fight their battles and go in and out before them. Are they afraid to trust their cause with God any longer, and so have rejected him after enjoying his protection for such a length of time, and will they now depend on an arm of flesh?
The church of Rome, and other churches, tried the experiment of making great learned divines, and soon these great divines, bishops, parsons, curates, and friars, must have great salaries, and be maintained in high dignity by the people. And so it will be with these young doctors from headquarters, after going through the polishing machine; for, work they cannot, though they will not be ashamed to beg, since it has become fashionable for divines in broadcloth to follow this trade. I should like to know how many we have among us that would rather go to Doctor Greatman for instruction, than to Jesus Christ, and would prefer to show themselves approved men for talents and learning, than study to show themselves approved of God for a holy, pious, humble life; or diligence in the ministry, knowledge of the holy Scriptures, having their ministry written on the tables of many hearts--by the power of the spirit of God attending their unpolished discourses, to the salvation of men!
To be continued.
PRODUCTS AVAILABLE FROM WELSH TRACT PUBLICATIONS
THE COMPLETE DIGITAL SIGNS OF THE TIMES FROM 1832-2017
Please send me an email at gsantamaria685@gmail.com. We will accept payment in Zelle, Cash App, Venmo personal check, or postal money order. Please make sure you give your mailing address. I will not post my Zelle, CashApp, or Venmo information until you write me due to privacy concerns. For those mailing a check or money order, you may mail me at:
Guillermo Santamaria
45 Westons Mill Road
East Brunswick, NJ 08816 USA
PRODUCTS AVAILABLE FROM WELSH TRACT PUBLICATIONS
This is a very large file (10.11 gigabytes) If you don't have that much space, you may run it from the Flash Drive, but this will take more time. You need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader (a free download) program installed and open it from there. The PDF is searchable, but some of the older issues, are smudged thus affecting the software's ability to find the words. Copying and pasting will be difficult due to the quality of some of the older issues. The price is $45.
Please send me an email at gsantamaria685@gmail.com. We will accept payment in Zelle, Cash App, Venmo personal check, or postal money order. Please make sure you give your mailing address. I will not post my Zelle, CashApp, or Venmo information until you write me due to privacy concerns. For those mailing a check or money order, you may mail me at:
Guillermo Santamaria
45 Westons Mill Road
East Brunswick, NJ 08816 USA
Email: gsantamaria685@gmail.com
For now, until Welsh Tract Publications is reorganized as an LLC, I will handle the financial transactions. Understand that Welsh Tract Church does NOT have any affiliation with Welsh Tract Publications. Like the website and the YouTube channel, these websites were created by the friends of Welsh Tract Church. We do not believe in any extra-church organizations or "ministries". Flash Drives are now available.
The Lord Bless you!
DIGITAL (POCKET) THOMPSON NOW AVAILABLE FROM WELSH TRACT PUBLICATIONS
For now, until Welsh Tract Publications is reorganized as an LLC, I will handle the financial transactions. Understand that Welsh Tract Church does NOT have any affiliation with Welsh Tract Publications. Like the website and the YouTube channel, these websites were created by the friends of Welsh Tract Church. We do not believe in any extra-church organizations or "ministries". Flash Drives are now available.
The Lord Bless you!
DIGITAL (POCKET) THOMPSON NOW AVAILABLE FROM WELSH TRACT PUBLICATIONS
This flashcard contains all of the known articles written by Elder Wilson Thompson from 1832 until he died in 1866. It also contains Simple Truths, His Autobiography in a PDF file as well as an audiobook as well as his work Triumphs of Truth. Also, these works will be fully searchable and will fit on your smartphone. It will also be suitable for printing. The cost will be $50 for the flash drive containing all this information. We accept Zelle, CashApp, Venmo, or personal checks. For more information write to gsantamaria685@gmail.com.
We are announcing also the shipment of the OSB Periodicals Flash Drive, containing all the Old School Baptist papers we can locate. Watch the video to know more.
TO ORDER you can send $50 to gsantamaria685@gmail.com. we accept Zelle, Cash App, personal check, or Venmo. Contact me for further information. the Lord Bless You!
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