Since my last letter, I have visited several villages in the country where I never went before. Castledargin, Corringuncor, Drimnagooli, and Ballindrist. There are a few brethren in the neighbourhood of Corringuncor, and they feel rejoiced when any one pays them a visit. The congregation at that place was large and very encouraging. Mr. Berry is going on a missionary tour amongst them this next week. May the Lord bless his own word to their everlasting welfare, and his own glory!
Ballindrist is an interesting little station, and, by the blessing of God, I trust good will result from the proclamation of his word; but at Drimnagooli, there exists the greatest spirit of inquiry. I have only been in that neighbourhood three times, and I am happy to say that, each time, the congregation increased. They are continually saying, “Visit us as often as you can.” The clergyman in that neighbourhood has preached against baptism; but I have lately observed, where there is the most opposition, there is the greatest spirit of inquiry, and the largest congregations.
Since I have been in this superstitious island (and surely this is the place “where Satan’s seat is”), I have sometimes thought of what my affectionate pastor told me when he was living, just before I left England. Calling me by my name, he said, “Whatever others do, let it be your determination to preach Jesus; wherever you take your stand, there let the cross be erected. Dagon fell when the ark of God was set up in his presence; they set him up the second time, but behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground and broken to pieces; so if you set up Christ, with a single eye to his glory, Antichrist must fall; ‘my word shall not return unto me void.’”
During the next month, if all is well, as I shall have a long journey inspecting the schools, I hope to have many opportunities of proclaiming the gospel to those that are now sitting in darkness. I pray that the Lord may command a blessing, even life for evermore.
J. Bates.
To Mr. Thomas.
Ballycar, Nov. 13, 1834.
October 29. Being asked by a Roman Catholic why I would not pray to the Saints, and implore their intercession; I replied, Because I have no authority in Scripture for it. But on the contrary, St. Paul says, “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus;” and the Saviour himself says, in John xiv. 6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me;” and he also says, “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, I will do it.” Now since all we ask the Father, in the name of the Son, is granted unto us, why should we address ourselves to other mediators? We also read in 1 John ii. 1: “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
Nov. 2. In Quin, entering into a conversation with two persons, on the necessity of reading the Scriptures, one of them replied, that their clergy would not permit them to read them. I asked him, which should he obey, his priest or God? He replied, God. “Therefore you should read, and not only read but search, the Scriptures; for Christ himself says, ‘Search the Scriptures;’ and again he says, ‘Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it:’ and the apostle Paul strongly commends the people of Berea for reading the Scriptures; he expressly says in Acts xvii. 11: ‘These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so.’ Now if these people doubted the words of that eminent apostle, how much more should we search the Scriptures in the present day, and see if the doctrine taught us be consistent with the Scriptures or not!” After reading different passages of Scripture, and reasoning for some time on this subject with these people, they replied that it appeared consistent with truth, that men should read the Scriptures.