MINUTES
of the
OCMULGEE ASSOCIATION,
CONVENED WITH THE
MOUNT ZION CHURCH, JONES COUNTY,
on the
13tii, 14th AND 15th DAYS OF SEPTEMBER, 1862.
MILLEDGEVILLE, GA.:
printed at the southern recorder office.
1862.
MINUTES
1st. The Introductory Sermon wa3 delivered by Bra.
James Stewart, from the 1st Epistle General of John, 4tb
chapter ao<l 19th verse : " We love Him because He first
loved us." After one hour the Messengers repaired to ibe
house. Preaching at the stand by Bro. Wiley F. Rogers,
from the Primitive Ebenezer, followed by Bro. Simmons*
from the Itchaconna. The Association was opened with
prayer by Bro. Helms.
2d. Received letters from seventeen churches and mio-
uted their state.
3d. Elected James H. Montgomery, Moderator; Hearo-
don Patterson, Clerk ; D. L. Hitchcock to preach the next
Introductory Sermon—Bro. Z. Edmundson his alternate;
and Wm. S. Montgomery to write the next Circular Letter.
4th. On motion, the following committees were ap¬
pointed :
On Arranging Preaching.—Brethren D. L. Hitchcock,
Wm. S. Montgomery, M. H. Hutchinson, J. W. Simmon9,
and Z. Edmundson, from the body ; from 'the Church, R.
Patterson, C. Haddock.
With their Supply.—J. Stewart.
On Arranging Business to come be/ore the Body.—Brethren
Z. Edmundson, Wm. S. Montgomery.
To write Corresppiuiing Letters, to ■ Sister <As&Kuitions*—J-
M. Gilstrap, H. Patterson, Wm. S. Montgomery.
4 th. Called for correspondence from sister Associations,
and received as follows :
From the Ebenezer.—W. F. Rogers, Brannan, Whitaker,
Leaves, Grier, Ivey, Rials and Balcomb.
4
From the Yellow River.—William L. Beebe and J. L.
Purington.
From, the Primitive Western.■—William Bennett.
From the Oconee.—No correspondence.
From the Itchaconna.—J. M. Field, Simmons and Mc-
Artbur.
The Committee on Arranging Preachirjg report tbat Bro.
Respass, from the Upatoie,-commence preaching to-morrow
morning at 10 o'clock, followed by Bro. Helms ; in the
evering, J. L. Purington, from the Yellow River, followed
in exhortation by J. M. Fielcj, from the Itchaconna;
Prayer by Bro...Purington. .
The Association then adjourned until 8£ o'clock Monday
morning. * '
Sunday Morning, 10 o'clock.
Met at the stand accprding to appointment. The breth¬
ren appointed to preach yesterday evening came forward
and preached .to an attentive congregation, considering the
inclemency of the weather, and we hope to good effect.
Monday Morning, 8£ o'clock.
The Association met pursuant to adjournment, and was
opened with prayer by W. F. Rogers.
1st. Received, read and adopted the report of the Com¬
mittee on Business.
3d. Called the roll.
3d. Read the Decorum. 1
4th. Received and read a letter from the Towaliga Asso¬
ciation, with their delegates, T. C. Tri'ce, J. Mullins, J. M.'
Williams and T. B. Williams, petitioning lis to open up a
correspondence with this body ; and appointed J. Stewart,
W. S. Montgomery, D. L. Hitchcock, J. W. Simmons and
Z. Edmundson a committee to report upon said petition.
The committee appointed to repprt upon the petition of
the Towaliga Association beg leave to report, that when¬
ever they remove the cause that existed at the time of the
droppihg'of correspondence with them, as Well as the dis-
5
oiders that now exist among them,'then, and not till then,
will we correspond with them again.
Which report was received and adopted.
5th. Called for, read and adopted the circular letter pre¬
pared by M. H. Hutchinson.
Gth. Appointed brethren to sister Associations, as follows:
To tlte Itchaconna.—J. Jarrell, J, Castlebury, J. W.
Simmons, J. Stewart, D. L. Hitchcock.
To the Yellow River.—M. H. Hutchinson, J. M. Gillstrap.
To the Primitive Ebenezer.—J. Jarrell, Z. Edtnundson. H.
Patterson, J. Stewart.
To the Primitive Western.—J. Webb, D. L. Hitchcock, J.
W. Simmons, J. Castlebury.
7th. Appointed general meetings as follows :
First District.—Tirzah, Putnam county, fifth Sunday in
March, and Friday before, in 1863.
Second District.—Murder Creek, Jasper county, fifth
Sabbath in August, and Friday before, in 1863.
Third District.—Mount Zion, Jones county, fifth Sunday
in May, and Friday before, in 1S63.
8th. Called for, read and adopted corresponding letters.
9th. Received, read and adopted the report of the com¬
mittee appointed at the last session of this body to visit
Union Church, Jones county, and enquire for the cause of
her not representing herself in our body for the last three
years.
The committee, H. Patterson, J. Stewart, J. B. Pound,
R. Woodall, report: That we have attended to the business
assigned us, and after enquiry was made relative to the
church not representing herself in our body for the last
three years, found it to be an omission of duty; and she
promises in future to live more in the discharge of her duty
than she has hitherto.
10th. The next session of this body will be held with the
Rooty Creek Church, Putnam county, commencing Satur¬
day before the second Sabbath in September, 1863.
11th. Called for and received contributions from the
churches, distributed corresponding minutes, and agreed to
6
have SOO copies of these minutes printed; and that the
Clerk attend to the printing and distributing the same ; that
If© deliver the minutes for the churches at their respective
court-houses, with the Clerk of the Superior Court, and
receive for his services $25 00.
Exhortation and prayer by the Moderator.
The Association then adjourned sine die.
JAMES H. MONTGOMERY, Moderator.
Hearndon Patterson, Clerk.
7
OIROULAH. IiBTTHR.
The OcmvXget Association to the Churches she represents,
Greeting:
Dear Brethren;—Through the kind Providence of
Almighty God we are, under peculiar circumstances, per¬
mitted to address you once more by our Circular Letter,
which is truly a blessing and privilege that should be
greatly appreciated by the children of God in this day of
great calamity—of war and bloodshed; and a blessing, too,
that many of the dear saints of God at the present time are
deprived of the privilege of enjoying, as they have hereto¬
fore been permitted to do in times of prosperity and peace.
And, brethren, we know not how soon the time may come
when we shall not be permitted to meet together to worship
God under our own vine and fig-tree, according to the dic¬
tates of our own consciences; for we aie sure that the
same spirit of fanatical religious bigotry that now rules and
reigns in the hearts of our enemies, and is prompting them
to prosecute this unholy, unjust and cruel war of subjuga¬
tion against the Southern States, and thereby deprive us of
©ur political and domestic fights as a free people, would
also prompt them to deprive us of our religious privileges
and rights. But, dear brethren, we would desire to unite
our hearts in thanks and praises to our Heavenly Father,
that He, the God of Heaven and of Earth, reigns—who
hath declared, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all
my pleasure." And also, " That I am God, and besides
me there is none else."
We, therefore, for a foundation of our remarks, call your
attention to the first chapter of Nahum and 7th verse, which
reads as follows: 4< The Lord is good, a stronghold in the
day of trouble, and He knoweth them that trust in Him."
The goodness of God to the human race has been made
manifest in all ages of the world, even from the creation of
man up to the present time. In the first place, (rod made
man in His image, after His likeness, and therefore pro-
s
nounced him, together with everything that He had made,
very good. God ha,d the right, and did give to Adam a
law; " And the Lord God commanded the man, saying,
Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not
eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die." Genesis ii. chap., 16, 17. Adam and Eve
being thus situated in the garden, were not satisfied with
the privileges granted them, but disobeyed the Lord God
by eating of that which they were forbidden to eat, and
thereby brought the penalty of the law upon their own
heads, as also upon their posterity. Thus they became in
a state of sin and death, under the law, and under the curse
of the law. For which disobedience, " Cursed is the
ground for thy sake ; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the
days of thy life ; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth
to thee ; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto
the ground ; for out of it wast thou taken : for dust thou
art, and unto dust shalt thou return." "Wherefore, as by
one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and
so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."
We have thus briefly referred to the creation of man, and
of his condition prior to his disobedience, and the effects of
his disobedience, in order to more fully set forth the good¬
ness of God manifested to poor condemned sinners, upon
whom he has seen fit to bestow innumerable blessings,
without the least merit on their part, and of which man has
been and is an unworthy recipient. For in Him we live,
move, and have our being. Indeed, we are helpless crea¬
tures, unable to perform that which is good, prone to sin.
The heart of man is deceitful and desperately wicked above
all things. Who can know it? It is compared to a cage
of unclean birds. Man is full of wounds and bruises and
putrefying sores, from the crown of the head to the sole of
the foot; already condemned, because the wrath of God
abideth upon him. ; He loves darkness rather than light
because his deeds are evil; and being thus condemned, he
9
is utterly unable to extricate himself from his truly deplora¬
ble condition. How, then, can man be just with God, or
how can he be released from under the law and from under
the curse of the law? The first promise that we have on
record, for the redemption of man, will be found in Genesis
iii. 15: "And ! will put enmity between thee and the
woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise
thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." And Galatians
iv. 4 : u But when the fullness of the time was come, God
sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
to redeem them that were under the law, that we might
receive the adoption of sons." The last quotations express
the fulfillment of the promise. The prophet Isaiah speaks
ot the Son ot God in the following expressive language, as
though he had already made his descent into the world :
" For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given .; and
the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name
shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the
increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order
it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from
henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this.'' Thus we see that the Old Testament
saints looked forward to the coming of the Savior, in whom
they trusted for eternal salvation and deliverance from sin
and death. They delighted in his name. He was their
theme by day and night. David says, Blessed is that
man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the
proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. Many, O Lord my
God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and
thy thoughts which are to usward; they cannot be reck¬
oned up in order unto thee; if I would declare and speak
of them, they are more, than can be numbered. Then
surely, the Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble;
and he knoweth them that trust in him."
The children ot God in the present day, as well as in all
other times or days, when clothed and in their right minds.
10
are compelled to adopt the language of the text, because
they were taught and believe that it was the goodness of
God that led them to repentance; that it was not by works
of righteousness which they had done, but by his own
mercy he had saved them. For by grace are ye saved,
through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of
God. Therefore, dear brethren, you that have-been made
partakers of His grace, who have been called out of dark¬
ness into light, and have been called with a holy calling not
•according to your works, but according to His (God's) own
purpose and grace which was given you in Christ Jesus
before the world began, have reason to exclaim, "The
Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He
inoweth them that trust in Him." And when you are
tempted and tried, and without are fightings and within are
fears, and have exhausted all your own strength, to whom
can you go but to the Lord, who is a stronghold, and who
is ever ready to comfort his children and give to them
whatsoever they ask in His name. He has promised to
give strength unto His people, and bless His people with
peace. "Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give
thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. For his anger
endureth but a moment; in his favor is life; weeping may
endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Psalms
xxx. 4, 5. " Traly my soul waiteth upon God : from him
cometh my salvation. He only is my rock and my salva¬
tion; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved."
Psalms lxii. 1, 2.
Then, ye saints of God, we exhort you in this day of
exceeding great calamity to put your trust in God, for He
is your only safe refuge—a present help in time of trouble.
Cast your cares on Jesus, for He cap do thee good. " In
the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer ;
I have overcome the world." "Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ; by whom also we have access by faith into this
grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of
God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also:
11
knowing that tribulation worketh patience ; and patience,
experience, and experience, hope; and hope maketh not
ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our
hearts by the Holy Ghost which is gfven unto us. For
vhen we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died
for the ungodly." Romans v. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Then, dear
brethren, put your trust in God alone, for he is your strong
tower and rock of defense. His grace is sufficient for you,
and in order for the saints to trust in Him they must be
instant in season and out of season ; be diligent in the per¬
formance of every duty that devolves upon them, both as
the children of God and as citizens. They should not for¬
sake the assembling of themselves together, as the manner
of some is ; but exhort one another, and so much the more
as ye see the day approaching. They should consider one
another, to provoke unto love and to good works. Jesus
says, " As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you :
continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye
shall abide in my love ; even as I have kept my Father's
commandments, and abide in his love, These things have
J spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and
that your joy might be full. This is my commandment,
That ye love one another, as I have loved you." John xv.
9, 10, 11, 12.
Brethren should meet together often and pray one for
another. If there ever was a time when Christians should
be more prayerful and devotional, above that of ordinary
times, that time is now present, when our country is pass¬
ing through a desperate struggle for her political and do¬
mestic rights, " and we might say, our religious privileges
and rights also when fanatical religious bigotry seems to
be swaying and controlling the minds of our enemies, who
are trying to crush everything like true republicanism in
our country; who have lost sight of the spirit of the old
Constitution as it was, under which we formerly lived and
for awhile enjoyed our rights as a free people. Surely,
Christians should pray without ceasing, and in everything
give thanks. They should give thanks to God for his
goodness to us as a nation when we were comparatively
12
weak in resources and numerical .strength, without a gov¬
ernment and army and navy. We haves been successful in
creating a government, and in Raising knd equipping an
army sufficient to cope with that of our enemy—"the most
powerful and best equipped army that the world ever knew
almost"—have been successful in all the most important
battles that have yet occurred, and have driven them back
almost from our soil. Then, brethren, if the Lord be for
us, who can be against us ? We are told that the battle is
not to the strong nor the race to the swift. We believe that
we are fighting in a just cause, for everything that is near
and dear to a free people. Therefore, we believe the God
of hosts is with us, and we have the greatest encouragement
to ask his blessings upon our country, our government and
authorities, and upon our armies; that He would bless the
fathers, husbands, brothers and sons composing our armies,
and cover their heads in the day of battle. Then, dear
brethren, let us exhort you to trust in Him, for "Surely, the
Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He
knoweth them that trust in Him," Finally, brethren, fare¬
well. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live
in peace, and the God of love.and peace shall be with you.
STATE OF THE CHURCH ESS.
CHURCHES.
Enon
Rooty Creek
Mount Gilead
New Salem
Tiizah
Crooked Creek..
Fishing Creek...
Falling Creek...
Fellowship
Hebron
Murder Creek...
Shoal Creek
New Fellowship.
Chapel Hill
Walnut Creek...
County Line
New Hope
Mount Zion
Union
Ephesus
COUNTIES
Putnam
do
do
do
do
do
Baldwin,
Jasper
do .......
do
do
Newton
Monroe
Jones
do
do
do
do
do
Monroe
MESSENGERS' NAMES.
R. Buckner, John B. Pound
Zachariah Edmundson, David L. Hitchcock
Cairy Cox, Benjamin W. Purifoy*
B. Leverett.* E. J. Harvey*
Not Represented
Kenian Branan, J. B. Wright
Samuel W. Powell, T. Turk
James Niblet, G. W. Comer
Not Represented
M. H. Huchison, B. Bryant*
Philip Lewis, J. M. Gillstrap
James H. Montgomery, William S. Montgomery —
J. Webb, J. Castlebury
Robert Woodall
Larkin Smythey
James Stewart, Wm. G. Lane
Samuel Gray, John Jarrel
Caswell Haddock, Hearndon Patterson
Not Represented
John W. Simmons, J. W. Green,* A. Middlebrooks,
Note.—Absentees marked thus
'Baptized...
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Received of the Clerk Twenty-five Dollars for Printing 800 copies of these Minutes.