Page:The rock of wisdom.djvu/46

 some time, and it appeared that a voice said unto me go forth and preach the word, and great shall be your reward and so from that time to this I have strove to do that duty to God and my fellow creatures, notwithstanding my many failures and short-comings; thank the Lord my head is yet above the water, my sail is yet hoisted for heaven and immortal glory, my prayer is still that he would give us the pure word of general grace, that we may preach to all the sinful race, and point them to the all atoning blood, and then great shall be the preacher's crown in time and eternity; I have had a discovery of that star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall arise out of Israel, that rejected people, the Lord has opened a gate in the vineyard, and the gate will never be shut only by disobedience, Num. 24 c. 17 v. In the year of 1S16, in March 26, I left the methodist episcopal church after this about twelve years, a certain gentleman who called himself a lawyer, I being in company with him he swore in my presence and I took him to task for it, and he said I suppose you are one of them methodist who say it is wrong to swear; I answered and said that I was a methodist, and he said that he believed I was a liar, I then pulled out a methodist discipline to prove to him that I was, and by that book he proves to me that I was not a member by discipline, for no man can be a citizen of the United States unless he takes the oath of allegiance, says he, then I discovered where I was in an error and had to leave the book and take to my own knowledge to vindicate my own cause, by pointing him to the ninth Psalm, seventeenth verse; I knew he was a wicked man by swearing, for it says the wicked shall be turned into hell, and again, upon the wicked he shall rain snares of fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest, this shall be the portion of their cup, for Solomon said in a multitude of counsel there is safety, so I say too, for I found it so, I pointed him to Rev. 3 c. IS v. there is my counsel and here I got by the monster; then lie turned and said unto me, is all things possible with God? I said yes, then said lie can God make two hills and no valley between? and I said yes, I answered, for when he made our first parents they were two hills and there was no valley between; until he violated the law, and ever since that there has been a valley between men, but once and a while we can find a bridge,