OLD SCHOOL BAPTIST CONFERENCE OF MAINE
The Old School Baptist Conference of Maine, held with the Old School Baptist Church at North Berwick, Maine, to the associations with whom we correspond.
We wish you all grace and prosperity in the kingdom of
God. Another year has passed since we last addressed you, and we are still
journeying, we hope, to the city which hath foundations, whose Builder and
Maker is God. We have in Jesus our Savior a lively hope to an inheritance
incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for
you, saith the apostle Peter, who are kept by the power of God. God, through faith
unto salvation, is ready to be revealed in the last time. The Scriptures very preciously
give us manifold glimpses of the “better country” (Heb. 11:16). In that
heavenly country Christ and his ransomed ones shall dwell for ever and ever. As
Israel saw and tasted the grapes of Eshcol (Num. 13:23), so believers in Christ
have the first fruits of the Spirit (Rom. 8:23), blessed, divine foretastes of
our future blessedness beyond this mortal life. Even now, we have the earnest of
our inheritance, and there are moments with believers when so comfortingly
glorious is the experience of the earnest of the Spirit in their hearts that
they are inspired with longings to depart and be with Christ, which is far
better.
“O,
when wilt Thou bid me ascend,
To join in Thy praises above,
To gaze on Thee, world without end,
And feast on Thy ravishing love?”
“For now we see through a glass darkly: but then face to
face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” Jesus
Christ has gone into heaven, and so near and indissolvable is the union of the
church unto him that where he is, there shall also his people be. So shall we
ever be with the Lord. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh. God sent
forth his Son, made of a woman. O, it is the crowning glory in the revelation of
the gospel that Christ Jesus, “the second man is the Lord from heaven.” What
infinite exaltation, glory and honor hath God taken our nature unto, in taking
into union with himself the holy child Jesus, “that holy thing” conceived by
the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:35). He is verily God and
truly man, Emmanuel, “Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to
be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the
form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” The Son of God, having
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Our very
Jesus, who was crucified upon Calvary, who was buried, rose again the third day,
ascended, and was received up into glory. He was taken up into heaven (Acts 1:2,
9-11). He is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God (Heb. 4:14). Christ
has entered heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God for us; the
Forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made a High Priest forever after the
order of Melchisedec. This contemplation of our Savior is very comforting. He
has gone before, our Head, the first that should rise from the dead; he has
cast up the highway and gathered out the stones; he has prepared all things for
the safety of our journey, and has made all things ready for our entrance into
heaven, and for our dwelling in the house of the Lord forever. Christ is the
head of the church, and as the Forerunner of his people, he proclaims in the
court of heaven, before the Father’s face, My ransomed ones, the members of my
body, are coming, where I am, there shall they be also.
“Jesus
my all to heaven has gone,
He whom I fix my hopes upon.
His track I see, and I’ll pursue
The narrow way till Him I view.”
The resurrection and ascension of Christ is full of
comfort to us poor sinners, for in it we see the eternal glorification of the
manhood of the Son of God, and as the Head of the church, we very blessedly
contemplate him, the first fruits of them that slept. “Christ the first fruits,
afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.” These things are vital
realities in our faith, for we have, dear brethren, been taught that we are
vile sinners, justly condemned under the curse of the law, but the glad tidings
of the gospel has come to us in power, that Christ hath redeemed us from the
curse of the law, being made a curse for us. In Jesus we have found all our
hope, the hope of salvation, of forgiveness of sins, of justification, of
eternal life, of eternal glory. With earnest expectation we are now waiting
(Rom. 3:19), we are looking for (Titus 2:13), and pressing toward the actual
crowning day, the consummation decreed, the eternal glory that awaits the
vessels of mercy afore prepared unto glory. Now, we are dwelling in tabernacles
of clay, corruptible, mortal, subject to sickness and pain; now we are plagued
with indwelling sin, and are buffeted by temptations; we daily encounter cares
and trials, and some of the ransomed are appointed to endure a great fight of
afflictions. Earth’s fairest delights lose their luster, fade, and pass away,
and earthly sweets are turned to bitterness. The apostle Paul tells the saints,
“We are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things
unto this day.” Encountering such a tide of woes, with what certainty he
declares, “If in this life only we have hope in Chris,t we are of all men most
miserable.” But the I consummation of our hope in Christ is not in this present
world, but with fond desire we reach forth to that life beyond the grave, to
eternity, to the realms of immortal glory, and the full assurance of our faith
that is our goodly heritage is founded upon this glorious fact, “Now is Christ
risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept.” While we
are pilgrims here below we are supported and cheered in the rugged way, being
sealed with the holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our
inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise
of God’s glory. The words of the truth of the gospel instruct us to look beyond
the tribulations of our present life, beyond the perishing transitory things of
earth and time, beyond these regions of mortality, to the realms of immortality
and everlasting day. Having the first fruits of the Spirit in our hearts, we
know that we have in heaven a better and an enduring substance. When the time
draws nigh that the believer must die (Gen. 46:29), how sacredly blessed is his
exit from this world. To die is gain, to die is to depart and to be with
Christ, which is far better. Though on the eve of our departure the body may be
subjected to sufferings, yet the sufficiency of God’s covenant mercy is such
that we shall triumph in death, for death, O believer in Jesus, is yours (1 Cor.
3:22). Death shall not separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord. Witness the dying thief upon the cross, “Today shalt thou be
with me in paradise.” Look at that sacred scene when the martyr Stephen fell
asleep. “They stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive
my spirit! And he kneeled down and cried aloud, O Lord, lay not this
sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
“Jesus
can make a dying bed
Feel soft as downy pillows are,
While on His breast I lean my head,
And breathe my life out sweetly there.”
The payment of the debt of the church was exacted of
Christ, their surety. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not
his mouth; he murmured not, he did not resent the holy demands of the law, he
went forth, he gave his back to the smiters and cheeks to them that plucked off
the hair; he was the ward of his church, the shield of her salvation, he hid
not his face from shame and spitting. O the love of Christ for the church! He
gave himself a sacrifice for her. The soul and body of the sinless humanity of
Christ were baptized in sufferings to ransom his people from sin, the curse, and
the grave. “Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin,” and in his sore
agony in the garden, he cried, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto
death.” But he shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. He
was crucified, and when all was finished, he said, “Father, into thy hands I
commend my spirit, and having said this, he gave up the ghost.” (Luke 23:46).
His sacred, incorruptible body was laid in Joseph’s new tomb until the third
day, when he arose from the dead. So, when the soul is in departing (Gen.
35:18), in the precious moment of death, the spirit of the believer departs
from the body, and is immediately received by the Lord Jesus, to be with him,
which is far better than to remain in this life. Our corruptible bodies are
consigned to the dust till, as our Savior taught, he will raise them up again
at the last day (John 4:39-40). Martha was not a forgetful hearer of the words
of the dear Redeemer when she said to him at the grave of her brother Lazarus,
“I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Then the
Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all he changed, in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the
dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For the
corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
So when this corruptible shall have put on in corruption, and this mortal shall
have put on immortality, then shall be brought pass the saying that is written,
Death is allowed up in victory. O glorious mystery! Well might the apostle with
holy ardor tell us, “This one thing I do, forgetting those things, which are
behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” It was that
he might attain unto such a glorious resurrection of the dead (Phil. 3:11). To
this we hope to come (Acts 26:7-8), for then in the resurrection, the Savior,
our Lord Jesus Christ, shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned
like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even
to subdue all things unto himself.
When God made the world, he rested and was refreshed
(Exod. 31:17), and Jesus, having redeemed the church with his own blood, rested
and entered into his glory. He ascended far above all principality and power,
and dominion, and every name that is named. He was received up into glory. This
destiny is also ours. Our Redeemer thus prayed, “Father, I will that they also,
whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory
which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the
world.” The Lord will guide us with his counsel and afterward receive us to
glory. The God of all grace hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ
Jesus. This glory we have little foretastes of, Christ is in us the hope of
glory, this is the earnest of our inheritance, and the harvest of eternal glory
is yet to come. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the church, is now glorified, and we shall be glorified. “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then
shall ye also appear with him in glory”. O how sacredly comforting is the
thought that our vile bodies, now natural, mortal, and corruptible, shall be
raised spiritual, immortal, and incorruptible. It is sown in dishonor, it is
raised in glory, that “we shall bear the image of the heavenly”. “We shall be
like him, for we shall see him as he is.” Then shall we actually know and enjoy
in all its infinite fullness forevermore the glorious liberty of the children
of God (Rom. 8:21). We are sealed by the Spirit unto the day of redemption.
Even now in this present world, the moments are very sweet when by faith we
taste that we are risen with Christ, and sit with him in heavenly places.
Blessed first fruits of the Spirit! In a little while, the glorious harvest of
eternal glory will be ours. We shall be glorified and share with Christ in
heaven a far more exceeding and an eternal weight of glory. We shall inherit
the kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world. We shall dwell in
the city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God. We shall live
in a better country, that is, a heavenly one, and there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain. This is love’s
own country, and we shall dwell in love and joy forever with the Lord. Heaven is
our Father’s house, and thou our glorious God shalt make us full of joy with
thy countenance.
“Then
shall the church, the Lamb’s own bride,
Both crowned and seated at His side,
Outshine the sun’s meridian ray:
While Jesus smiling at the sight,
Shall then, with a supreme delight,
The travail of His soul survey.”
We shall dwell in the King’s palace with Jesus, our lovely
and glorious King, and we shall be holy and without blame before Him in love.
Yes, in our whole spirit and soul and body we shall be faultless in the beauty
of holiness, we shall see him face to face and we shall be like him, and so
shall we ever be with the Lord.
We have appointed our next yearly conference to assemble,
the Lord willing, with the church at North Berwick, Maine, on Friday before the
first Monday in September, 1904, when we hope to again receive your messengers
and correspondence.
FREDERICK W. KEENE, Mod.
JOSEPH F. HALL, Clerk.
1904
– CIRCULAR LETTER
THE OLD SCHOOL BAPTIST CONFERENCE OF MAINE, TO THE
ASSOCIATIONS WITH WHOM WE CORRESPOND.
BELOVED OF GOD:
Once again, we send you our annual epistle of love and
fellowship in Christ Jesus. The year that is past, like the years that preceded
it, has abounded in vicissitudes to those who fear the Lord, but amidst them
all our consolation is this: all the times that pass over Israel, and over all
the kingdoms of the countries (I Chron. 29:30), are only such as the Lord has
ordained, and as we contemplate the character of our God, that he is just and
holy, gracious and almighty, we may well bow in acquiescence to his ways, and
sing, “Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth” (Revelation 19:6). Happy
are we when in such a state of mind. The saints in times past looked unto God
and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed, and shall we in our day
look in vain unto the Lord our God? It cannot be, for with the seal of our
mercy there is “no variableness, neither shadow of turning,” and he loves his
own with an everlasting love, His mercy endureth forever. God is the eternal
fountain of all our mercies, he is the confidence of the church, and to him in
these our times we would turn, saying with the congregation of old, “Save thy
people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up forever”
(Psalm 28:9). The Lord is the rock of our salvation. If this be so in truth, it
may well be said of us, “Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O
people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy
excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread
upon their high places.” Our Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to save his
people from their sins. He gave himself a sacrifice for our transgressions, and
unaided, by himself, he purged our sins; Christ hath redeemed us from the curse
of the law, being made a curse for us. He has ransomed his people by his
precious blood, ransomed them from the power of the grave, redeemed them from
death, and redeemed them unto God. He has gone into heaven itself, having obtained
eternal redemption for us. This now is the hope of believers, and in his
salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time, they greatly rejoice, “though
now for a season, if need be, they are in heaviness through manifold
temptations.” This is our rejoicing, beloved brethren, that Israel shall be
saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation; ye shall not be ashamed nor
confounded, world without end.
During our earthly pilgrimage, salvations without number
(Psalm 71:15) are needed, and no other Savior have we than he who hath loved
us and hath washed us from our sins in his own blood. To him therefore our song
shall be ascribing “salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and
unto the Lamb” (Rev. 7:10). As then we view the children of God encompassed
with temptations and adversities our hearts are moved in their behalf, and our
prayer is, “Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance.” The Lord has a
people, as he says, “This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew
forth my praise.” They are his, for he hath chosen them in Christ Jesus before
the foundation of the world, that they should be holy and without blame before
him in love. They are his, for he hath redeemed them, and very blessedly speaks
to them, saying, “Fear not; for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy
name; thou art mine.” They are his, for he hath put his Spirit within them, and
they are born again, born of his Spirit; his fear he puts in their hearts, that
they shall not depart from him. He will say, “It is my people, and they shall
say, The Lord is my God” (Zech. 13:9). The people of God need, while here
below, continual salvation from the power of their enemies. The world, the
flesh, and the devil are all combined against them, and the saints endure much
damage and affliction from their foes. So subtle are our adversaries that we
are often ensnared and wounded, and cannot discern that it is an enemy that hath
done it. Our foes put on a friendly aspect, we are allured and become their
prey; Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Our natural heart is
deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. We read of the
deceitfulness of riches, and of some coveting after money who have erred from
the faith and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows (1 Tim. 6:10).
We need salvation from men of corrupt minds, who wrest the Scriptures, and by
their perverse disputings would pervert the gospel of Christ. They privily
bring in damnable heresies, and their words are as a canker eating away the
health and happiness of the household of God. The churches, dear brethren,
today are being tried. O Lord, save thy people. Every day, also, we need
salvation from the indwelling lusts of our flesh, that we may walk holily and
unblamably, glorifying our Father which is in heaven, in our body and spirit
which are his. Whatsoever distresses may befall the people of God, so dear are
they to us that our cry shall be, O Lord, save thy people, cause their faces to
shine upon them, and they shall be saved.
The psalmist continues his prayer, saying, “Bless thine
inheritance.” The world is God’s, and the fullness thereof; all the beasts of
the forest are his, and the cattle upon a thousand hills, the gold and the
silver are the Lord’s. But, “The Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot
of his inheritance” (Deut. 32:9). “The Lord hath chosen Jacob for himself, and
Israel for his peculiar treasure” (Psalm 135:4). This is a very gracious
revelation, for did not the Savior say, “Where your treasure is, there will
your heart be also”? (Matt. 6:21). Then if Israel is the peculiar treasure of
the Lord, there is his heart also. O wonderful! Has he not said of Zion, “This
is my rest forever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it”? (Psalm 132:24).
Yes, unto Solomon God said, “I have hallowed this house which thou hast built,
to put my name there forever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there
perpetually” (1 Kings 9:3).
“Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance.” Bless
thine inheritance with sweet peace and fellowship in the gospel. Send down, O
Lord, a bountiful rain of thy loving-kindness to confirm thine inheritance when
it is weary. Though all the powers of darkness curse them, “Let them curse, but
bless thou” (Psalm 109:28). How light shall be their curse when the blessing of
the Lord is our portion. Look, gracious Lord, upon thy dry, parched places,
and pour forth showers of blessing (Ezek. 34:26), then shall thine inheritance
flourish as the garden of Eden, and thy land shall be called Beulah (Isaiah
62:4).
“Feed them also, and lift them up forever.” This is also our prayer to God for the church of God. We need our God himself to be our
Shepherd, then we shall not want, for we are the people of his pasture, and the
sheep of his hand. The church of God needs continual nourishment, and only the
Lord can afford us that food upon which we can thrive. The flock of God which
he hath purchased with his own blood craves the green pastures, and the Lamb in
the midst of the throne shall feed them, and lead them unto living fountains of
water. The Lamb of God is our Shepherd, and our Shepherd is our Husband, the
Head of the church, our Mediator, our Sacrifice, truly he is our all. O, it is
through him that there is revealed unto us all the glorious and comforting
things of God; they shine forth in his face. He declares to us all the
excellencies of the high and holy One that inhabiteth eternity. In him are hid
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
“On
His fullness in believing,
Daily we receive supply;
He, our glorious Head, is living,
Sure His members cannot die,
Precious Jesus, O how sweet to live on Thee.”
Thus saith the Lord, “I will raise up for them a plant of
renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land” (Ezek.
34:29). Truly this is our Lord Jesus Christ, he is our food, the green
pastures, the bread of life, his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink
indeed. The saints delight to feed upon the mercy and love of God, yea, all the
attributes of God are to them most precious and nourishing to their souls in
their meditations when the Holy Spirit feeds them. And where shall we find the
green pastures of God’s attributes? Creation affords us glimpses of God our
Creator. His provinces over all his works excite the admiration of those who
fear his great name, but O, it is in the glorious doctrine of the gospel of
Christ that all the fullness of God is made known. Here Jehovah in all his
infinite and eternal excellencies is revealed, and here he feeds the people of
his pasture, the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
“And lift them up forever.” Viewed in themselves, the
people of God are sinful and poor, and are often, in consequence of their felt
disabilities, found abased in the dust. Sometimes so minished and brought low
are they through oppression, affliction, and sorrow, that they are as those
trodden down beneath the feet of the enemy, as the mire of the streets. Poor,
sinful, and unworthy, shall they be despised, neglected, forgotten? O no, for
this is the word of the Lord: “O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.” “I
will bring my people again from the depths of the sea.” And the Holy Ghost
shall inspire their hearts in faith to say, “Thou which hast shewed me great
and sore troubles, shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from the
depths of the earth.” Our God is ever mindful of his inheritance. “He raiseth
up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to
set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory.” O Lord,
lift them up forever, lift them up above the condemnation of the law, exalt
them in thy righteousness, O Savior, lift them up above the cunning craftiness
of men who lie in wait to deceive, lift them up to the highway, above every
false way, above all the heresies of men and devils, exalt them in thy truth,
lift them up above their fears and unbelief, lift them up above the powers of
Satan, above the cares and vanities of the world, that they may live unto Thee
and set their affection on things above, and not on things on the earth. When
faint and weary and ready to perish in their warfare with sin and Satan, shew
them Thy victories, O Christ, our Redeemer, over our sins, over death and the
grave, inspire their souls to believe in Thee, then shall they be lifted up,
and by faith shall sit with Thee in heavenly places. Blessed earnest, blessed
foretaste of the eternal exaltation of the church in everlasting glory. Then
indeed shall the ransomed be lifted up above sin and sufferings, death and the
grave, above corruption and mortality, and we shall be like our ascended and
glorified Savior, for we shall see him as he is. “Save thy people, and bless
thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up forever.”
Dear brethren, it has been with pleasure that we have
received your messengers and correspondence, and desire the continuance of your
fellowship.
We have appointed our next annual conference to assemble
with the church at North Berwick, Maine, on Friday before the first Monday in
September, 1905, when we hope again to receive your messengers and
correspondence.
FREDERICK W. KEENE, Moderator
JOSEPH HALL, Clerk
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