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THE 
 
 W RITINGS 
 
 OP 
 
 JESSE J. G O B E N , 
 
 TO WHICH ARE ADDED THE LETTERS OF 
 
 WILLIS E. MOORE AND WILLIAM H. DAEXALL. 
 
 [ G . Beebe’s Sons, Printers, Middletown, X. Y. 
 
3i$b~ lY/aolSi 
 
 3535 « 
 
 P K E F A C E . 
 
 Elbeti CtGBE^s was born of poor parentage, and deprived 
 of the opportunity of obtaining* anything* more than an ordi¬ 
 nary common school education of the backwoods; yet he was 
 a boy of strong* mind and intellect, and very firm in his con¬ 
 victions. He was raised a strictly moral and honest boy, 
 and instructed by his parents in the habits of industry and 
 economy ^ but having* been raised and lived mostly in a wil¬ 
 derness country, and in his early life amongst the Indians 
 and savage beasts, his opportunities were very meager. Yet 
 lie was of an industrious turn of mind, energetic in business, 
 and by habits of industry and economy he made a comfort¬ 
 able living for his family. Notwithstanding, after he com¬ 
 menced preaching, he spent more time laboring in the gospel 
 field than most ministers of the gospel, yet he went without 
 fee or reward from men, relying* on the promise of the Lord, 
 that he would be with him and sustain him by his grace. 
 
 The reader will find his life, as written by himself, to be 
 very entertaining, especially to those who have been regene¬ 
 rated and bom of the Spirit of God. Though his body has 
 passed away by the cold hand of death, yet his spirit lives 
 in and with that God who gave it, and he will still live in 
 the minds of his brethren and sisters in the Lord; and I 
 trust that we may all meet him on the bank of sweet deliver¬ 
 ance, and join in the general assembly of the church of the 
 
IV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 First-born in that haven of rest where the wicked will cease 
 to trouble and the saints be forever at rest. 
 
 We will let these lines suffice for a Preface, as his life, 
 written by himself, will be more interesting than anything 
 we can say. 
 
 William H. Darnall. 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WEITINGS. 
 
 When tlie memoirs of a man are preserved in book 
 form, the reader is very apt to inquire of what stock or blood 
 was he. To answer this inquiry I have learned that my 
 grandmother was a Welsh lady. Her maiden name was 
 Bebecca Braudy, and she married an Irishman whose name 
 was Billy Goben. They had eight children—four girls and 
 four boys. The names of the girls were Peggy, Betsey, Ee¬ 
 becca and Katy. The boys’ names were Joseph, James, 
 Billy and John. My father’s name was James. My grand¬ 
 father was a Bevolutionary soldier, who served through the 
 seven years of war. The above marriage took place in the 
 year of the Declaration of Independence. My other grand¬ 
 mother I can say but little about. She died before my recol¬ 
 lection. I do not remember her father’s nor mother’s names. 
 Her given name was Susie. She married I. John Cline. 
 They were both of American Dutch descent. They had ten 
 children—four girls and six boys. The names of the girls 
 were Betsey, Nancy, Susie and Buth. Betsey was my mother. 
 The boys’ names were John, Jacob, Jesse, Peter, Aaron and 
 Levi. 
 
 From the above the reader may learn that Welsh, Irish 
 and Dutch blood mingle in my veins. All the above ances¬ 
 try were early settlers in the State of Kentucky, where the 
 savage foes and wild beasts were numerous. I have often 
 sat spell bound to hear my mother tell of the many sore 
 
6 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’s WRITINGS. 
 
 trials, deprivations, narrow escapes and bloody conflicts that 
 took place; and fear would so overcome me that I would be 
 afraid to move, or even draw my breath, so as to be heard. 
 So unsafe were the emigrants that some were shot while 
 plowing in their fields, and others at their springs. In fine, 
 they had to unite, and some stand guard while others plowed. 
 They dug ditches from the forts to the springs, and covered 
 them with slabs and dirt. 
 
 But to return more fully to my narrative. My father 
 and mother were united in marriage, but I do not remember 
 the date. They both resided in Shelby County, Kentucky, 
 and had ten children. The first five were still-born, and they 
 despaired of ever having a living child; but the next one 
 lived, and- thev called, her name Susie. The next was a 
 daughter, and they called her Malinda. My parents then 
 moved into Jefferson County, Kentucky, eight miles below 
 Man’s Lick, and there I was born, December 17th, 1808. 
 Three and a half years after my birth another son was born, 
 whose name was Alfred Allen. My youngest brother’s name 
 was Fieklen, but I do not remember the date of his birth. 
 
 Having now given a short history of my lineal descent, 
 I wish to make a few remarks before taking up my own his¬ 
 tory, that the reader may form some idea why I have com¬ 
 menced this historv, which is to me a Herculean task. 
 
 First, it has been my meditation by day and by night 
 for more than ten vears to leave some testimony of the won- 
 
 \j ft/ 
 
 der-working mercy and goodness of God to me, feeling im¬ 
 pressed that I could not die in peace if I neglected it; and 
 just as often I have concluded that 1 could not, and therefore 
 would not make the attempt; for I had waited until the 
 burden of three score and fourteen years was upon me, with 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN 7 S WRITINGS. 
 
 7 
 
 feeble nerves and a depreciated talent, which was never 
 great. Therefore to give a correct account of seventy years 
 would be next to impossible, for I have kept no written 
 account; but being fully persuaded that I have no other 
 motive but to glorify God, and to at least edify some, I com¬ 
 menced, not knowing what the issue will be. 
 
 As above stated, I was born December 17th, 1808. My 
 earliest recollection is the war of 1812. The Indians con¬ 
 tinued to commit depredations on the settlers, until there 
 was a call for volunteers, and my father volunteered. His 
 house was a point where the neighborhood volunteers met, 
 and their wives came with them. I distinctly remember, 
 when the men started, seeing their wives standing in differ¬ 
 ent places weeping, doubtless meditating on the perils of 
 war. My father was gone three months, in which time the 
 army destroyed a number of towns and cut all the Indians 7 
 corn, which gave peace to the settlers. 
 
 The next circumstance in the history of my life was, has 
 been and is so dark, mysterious and incomprehensible that 
 I at first thought I would say nothing about it; but the sec¬ 
 ond thought occurred that though it was involved in mys¬ 
 tery, yet it was as true as anything that I had written or 
 would write. Hence I give it in detail, leaving the reader to 
 draw his own conclusions. 
 
 After the Indian war, in the year 1813, in the month of 
 June, the squirrels were very destructive to the corn, and 
 my father took his gun and went to the field to try if he could 
 stop the destruction of his corn. My uncle, Jesse Cline, for 
 whom I was named, and William Shanklin, went with him, 
 and I also was permitted to go. They had killed three or 
 four, when they saw one run up a tall beech tree. My father 
 
8 
 
 JESSE J. G-OBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 shot it, and when it had fallen some forty or fifty feet they 
 could see it no more; and what increased their admiration, 
 and caused their search to be more diligent, they said that 
 after it had fallen several feet it became jet black. While 
 they were marveling at the idea of so unreasonable a cir¬ 
 cumstance there commenced a most lamentable groaning 
 within fifteen or twenty feet from where thev stood. There 
 
 tj t j 
 
 • 
 
 was a large beech log lying there, and a small blue ash top 
 had fallen across the beech log; and they had lain there so 
 long that the bark had fallen off the ash limbs. The men 
 stood amazed, and the groaning continued. At length they 
 went to the spot where the groaning seemed to be and ex¬ 
 amined critically, scratching the leaves from the side of the 
 log to see if it was hollow. They could make no discovery 
 of anything, but the groaning continued. At length the ash 
 brush began shaking, and the groaning increased. The men 
 stood amazed, one saying to another, u What is it V J Of 
 course it alarmed me to see them so excited. At length the 
 groaning ceased. It broke up the squirrel hunt, and they 
 started to the house, which was a half-mile distant, and I 
 do not think they spoke one word on the way; but when they 
 arrived at the house they related the mysterious circumstance 
 to my mother, which seemed to fall on her mind with amaze¬ 
 ment and solemnity. In the month of July my father was 
 taken sick, and in August he died; and his dying groans, 
 and those above spoken of, were as near the same as any 
 two things I ever heard, both in sound and in length of time. 
 
 Xow my mother was left a widow, on a new place, with 
 but little ground cleared, in a thinly settled country, and I 
 the oldest boy, whose age then was about five years and 
 eight months; but my grandfather built a cabin on his land 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN\s WRITINGS. 
 
 9 
 
 :aml moved my mother to it, a distance of sixty miles, so as 
 to assist her. He was raised a Presbyterian of the strictest 
 sort, and was very rigid in discipline. He seemed impressed 
 in his mind that one of the three little bovs would be a min- 
 ister of the gospel, and he would frequently talk to mother 
 about it until he would be in a flood of tears; and as grand¬ 
 father was impressed in that way, I thought it must be so, 
 and often wondered which one it would be. 
 
 I was about ten vears old when the next circumstance 
 of note occurred. My mother and oldest sister went to one 
 of my uncle’s to sit until bed-time. Mother and sister and I 
 were sitting by the Are, when suddenly it was said to me, 
 “You must go and pray.” I answered, “O Lord, I do not 
 know the first word of prayer.” I sprang to my feet, feeling 
 like the paleness of death was upon me. My heart was pal¬ 
 pitating, and my whole system was in a tremor. I walked 
 to the door and leaned against the post. To me it was the 
 darkest night I ever saw. The thought ran through my 
 mind that I dared not go out to pray, and to stand there was 
 not humble enough, and if I knelt down the Lord would not 
 bear with me; for I was so great a sinner, and the holiness 
 
 of God seemed to be present. I have no language to describe 
 
 % 
 
 the depth of my feelings. As there was but little light in 
 the house, my sister had no idea of my great agitation of 
 mind. At length my extreme trouble somewhat subsided, 
 and after a late hour I went to sleep. I had several cousins 
 that lived near, with whom I had often met, and had much 
 pleasure in playing and romping; but now I was as one 
 wounded, and had to leave my former company, which was 
 a sore trial to me; not because I desired to return to my 
 former course, but because of their strenuous inquiry to know 
 
10 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 what was the matter, sometimes supposing that I was mad 
 at them. On some occasions I was overcome for their feel¬ 
 ings’ sake; and when the evening shades came I would retire 
 to some lonely place, and there weep over my past conduct,, 
 promising to do so no more. 
 
 This state of things continued for some time. At length 
 the greatest revival of religion that ever I saw commenced 
 at Buffalo Lick, about two miles from my mother’s. I at¬ 
 tended the meeting with my two sisters, hoping there would 
 be some relief for me; but all to no purpose. There were a 
 number of young people about my age that appeared to be 
 in great agony, weeping and sighing over their lost and 
 ruined condition; and the thought occurred to me, O that I 
 could weep and mourn as those young people do; then I 
 would hope that some good was begun. But this I could 
 not do. My eyes were dry, my heart was hard, and the 
 words of the poet were completely mine, 
 
 “ But my complaint remains ; 
 
 I feel the very same; 
 
 As full of guilt and fear and pain 
 As when at first I came. 
 
 “ 0 would the Lord appear, 
 
 My malady to heal; 
 
 He knows how long I've languish’d here, 
 
 And what distress I feel.” 
 
 The revival subsided, and there were a number brought into 
 the church. I think the work was of the Lord, for they wore 
 well, honoring the profession they had made. My extreme 
 trouble subsided, and I fell back into the common row of 
 young people, filled with mirth and vanity. 
 
 Nothing of note took place until in my nineteenth year, 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 11 
 
 tv lien I learned there was to be a baptizing about ten miles 
 from my mother’s, and amongst the candidates a young lady 
 to whom I had been paying my respects for a time. I went 
 to the meeting. The congregation was large, and the scene 
 was a solemn one to me; for I viewed the ordinance then as 
 I now do, that it was a sacred one from heaven, and the 
 preparation of its subjects must come from the same source; 
 and I was not prepared, and had no evidence that I ever 
 would be. This gave me a feeling that I was unworthy the 
 company of such as had received the heavenly gift. 
 
 But to continue my narrative just as it occurred. [Not 
 far from this time my mother made me a proposition as fol¬ 
 lows : If I would go on and raise grain for the support of the 
 family, as I had done, all the tobacco I could raise should be 
 my own. This stimulated my energy to its highest pitch, so 
 that I suppose I came as near working day and night as one 
 possibly could; for on several nights I hung tobacco from 
 dark until daylight, so that in three crops I made enough to 
 enter eighty acres of land, and to pay for two horses and a 
 cow and calf. 
 
 At this period the year 1820 had rolled around, and I 
 had made up my mind to leave the land of my childhood and 
 go to the wilderness of Indiana. I started on the first of 
 October and landed in Montgomery County, entered my land 
 on Walnut Creek, seven miles east of Crawfordsville, raised 
 my cabin, hewed puncheons and floored it, built the chimney 
 up to the mantel, and prepared the small stick for running 
 out the floor. In the above time I lost one of my horses. I 
 kept the leader hobbled, to let them feed near where I was 
 working, when all at once one was missing, and in all my 
 searching I could not find it. As the red men had not yet 
 
12 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 given up tlieir hunting-ground, I supposed they had stolen 
 it. After this misfortune I went hack to Kentucky, settled 
 up some business, and then paid a visit to the young lady 
 above mentioned, making known to her my loss. She pro¬ 
 posed that we postpone our marriage for the present, until 
 I could get another beast. I told her I was net willing to go 
 without her, for I had made arrangements for us both; and 
 with her consent she would ride my beast and I would walk. 
 She thought it would be too hard for me; but I told her that 
 she would make up for all my toil, and I thought I could go 
 the trij) about as soon as a horse could. So we were married 
 on the 8th of December, 1829, started to our wilderness home 
 on the 11th, and landed within one mile of our cabin on the 
 21st, having been ten days traveling. 
 
 I will now give a more full account of our tedious jour¬ 
 ney, which will explain why we were so long on the road. 
 It began raining the first day at noon, and continued to pour 
 down until three o'clock in the morning. Then a little snow 
 fell, about one inch, and it cleared off exceedingly cold, and 
 all the streams of note were swimming; but we pursued our 
 journey, and about three o’clock we came to a cabin in the 
 woods. An elderly man came out and informed us that there 
 was a creek a few rods ahead that could not be forded, and 
 that •five or six persons were there waiting for the stream to 
 run down. He further stated that he was riding a very tall 
 beast, and he thought that by morning he could cross with¬ 
 out getting wet; and that u you and your lady can walk up 
 the creek about three-quarters of a mile, to where there is a 
 foot-log, and there you can cross, and I will lead your beast 
 across and hitch it, and you can come down and get it and 
 pursue your journey.” This kind offer was thankfully re- 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 1 o 
 
 j O 
 
 ceived, and the next morning completely fulfilled. But to 
 continue my narrative. This same old gentleman in the 
 course of the evening said to me, u Let us take a walk.” I 
 readily consented, and he began a conversation by saying, 
 u Young man, you seem to be traveling with a nice looking 
 young lady, and I thought perhaps you were not married, 
 and if you were not, I would offer my services to assist you 
 in getting a license.” I thanked him for his kind offer, but 
 went on to state to him that although our way of traveling 
 looked suspicious, yet we were legally and lawfully married. 
 I then gave the old gentleman a short history of our lives, 
 stating that my mother was left a widow with five children 
 when I was about five years old; that she raised them, but 
 had very little to give them ; that my wife lost her mother 
 when she was three years old, and her father was left with 
 nine children; that he raised them, but had nothing to give 
 them; and that when we became acquainted we took a fancy 
 to each other, and agreed to cast our lots together, though 
 we were poor. At this point the old gentleman asked par¬ 
 don for the freedom he had taken, and went on to sav that 
 this journey would do for us to talk about for many years, if 
 we should live. I thanked him for the kind regard he had 
 for us. He was about sixty years of age, and a steam doctor 
 by profession; and I have ever thought of him with the kind¬ 
 est regard. 
 
 The next day’s travel brought us to a stream called Sand 
 Creek. It was very full, and we stayed there that night 
 with a man named Clap, and slept in a room ‘that was not 
 plastered. The night was exceedingly cold, so of course our 
 rest was very poor. The next morning we crossed the raging 
 stream in a small canoe, and swam our beast by its side. 
 
14 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 The next obstacles in our way were the two Miscatitacs. 
 We crossed them just below the two forks. The ferryman 
 took our beast on the upper side of the canoe, which was 
 wrong, and the swift water washed her under the canoe. 
 This frightened the beast, and as long as she could touch 
 bottom with her hind feet she reared and pitched, rocking the 
 canoe. I took fast hold of my wife, with the thought that if 
 the canoe upset I would make a leap at the beast’s tail and 
 lay hold of the same, and let her take us out; but we soon 
 got in water so deep that she could not touch bottom, so we 
 landed safely, and truly felt that we had narrowly escaped 
 great danger. But the stream being wide, and the water 
 extremely cold, the beast seemed like she would chill to death. 
 
 The next obstruction we met with was at Blue Biver. 
 It had overflowed its banks for a number of rods, and the 
 drift had been running so that several persons had been 
 waiting two days to cross. It was in the morning when we 
 got to the river, and I hunted up the ferryman to learn our 
 chance for crossing. He said it was not safe to cross, but if 
 I insisted lie would try it in the afternoon. I asked my wife 
 if she was willing to risk it, and she said she was; so when 
 the time came to start I got a man to ride our beast up the 
 river through the timber, about half a mile above the ford, 
 where the flat-boat was anchored, and the ferryman took us 
 up in a canoe to the boat. This we had to do in order to 
 angle the river, that we might not be landed below the out- 
 coming ford. When those men who had been waiting two 
 days to cross saw that we were going to risk it, they said if 
 that woman was soldier enough to go, they ought also to be; 
 so they went with us. There were six persons and four 
 
15 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 horses in the boat, and we landed safely. I think I was 
 thankful, and I know 1 was glad. 
 
 There was nothing of note until we got to Eel River. 
 The water looked like lye, and was a very muddy bottom. 
 The ford was tolerably wide, and there was a high foot-log 
 below the ford. My wife said she would rather risk riding 
 the beast than to try walking the foot-log, so she rode across ; 
 but with the depth of the mud and water together, it was 
 with difficulty that she kept her feet dry. 
 
 The next difficulty occurred on our last day’s travel. In 
 crossing a muddy branch the beast crossed so as to get both 
 fore feet on the opposite side of the branch, and her hind 
 feet were in the mud a foot deep. She gave a spring to get 
 out, and burst the girt, and my wife fell on her feet where 
 the mud and water was about fifteen inches deep. I sprang 
 in and caught her as she was falling, led her out, wrung the 
 water out of her dress, got a dry pair of stockings out of the 
 saddle-sacks, and we put them on. Then I repaired the girt, 
 saddled the beast, and helped her on, wrapping her in my 
 overcoat the best I could. By this time it was getting dark, 
 and the nearest house was five miles distant, and our clothes 
 were frozen stiff to the knees. About nine o’clock we landed 
 at the house previously spoken of, which was one mile from 
 our cabin. Xow we were glad beyond description that our 
 tedious journey had ended at last. Neither of us received 
 any lasting injury from our wetting. 
 
 We yet had to go one mile and three-quarters to Billy 
 Wilson’s, where we could get board until I could fix our 
 cabin. The fine was.to run out, and a back and jambs to 
 make, before we could move. We landed at our boarding 
 house early in the morning, and I struck out to the cabin, 
 
16 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEX’S WPwITIXGS. 
 
 witli tlie intention to run the flue out that day, although I 
 knew it was called a good day's work for two hands to build 
 a flue to a story-and-a-half house. I will here say that the 
 weather had moderated during the night, which greatly 
 favored me in my work. When I got to the cabin the first 
 thing to do was to make a scaffold to stand on. I gave a 
 glancing lick to sharpen a fork, and the ax passed over my 
 foot, cutting three of my toes to the bone, and my shoe at 
 least two inches. In a few minutes the blood began gushing 
 out profusely. What shall I dot If I go to the house to 
 get my foot tied up, I will not get my flue done; and if it 
 continues to bleed, I may get so weak that I cannot work. 
 The thought struck me, I will make some stiff* mortar and 
 cram the top of my shoe full, and then stick a plaster of mud 
 on the cut place, and when it runs full there will be no room 
 for any more. So I carried into effect the above plan ; and 
 when the blood gushed out in any place I would cram in: 
 more mud. I got my flue done, and reached my boarding 
 house a little after sunset. . When I took off mv shoe and » 
 stocking a thin scale of clotted blood had settled around my 
 foot, and when I had washed it off I think it was whiter than 
 it has ever been since. The next day I got a hand to help 
 me, and we made the back and jambs. This we did by set¬ 
 ting up a puncheon of the thickness we wanted the back, 
 and one on each side of the thickness we wanted the jambs. 
 Then we threw dirt behind them, and beat the dirt until it 
 became a stiff* mortar. Then we kindled a lire and burned 
 the puncheons out, and the fire-place was completed. 
 
 The next thing to be done was to-take a trip to Putnam 
 County. My mother had given me a bed, and I had a trunk. 
 
 I had hired a man that had moved from Kentucky to haul 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 17 
 
 them for me with his goods. The distance that I had to go 
 was ten miles through a wilderness. I put my feather bed 
 in the straw tick and threw it across my saddle, and turned 
 the collar upside down, letting it rest on the pommel of the 
 saddle and the neck of the beast, and set the trunk on the 
 collar; and so I took them home. 
 
 The next trip was to Crawfordsville, to get our pot 
 metal and cupboard ware. This being done, we were ready 
 to move to our new home. After taking supper with Uncle 
 Billy Wilson and Aunt Bachel, with whom we had boarded, 
 we repaired to our cabin, while as yet there was no loft laid 
 in it nor shutter to the door ; but we hung a quilt in the door, 
 made our bed on the floor, and had a good night’s rest. The 
 next morning, while I was busy at work out of doors, it all 
 at once struck my mind with amusement, How will Mintia 
 fix for our breakfasts J ? knowing we had no furniture but two 
 little stools that I had previously made; but, rather to my 
 surprise, she had set the trunk out and spread a little cloth 
 on it, and set a stool on each side of the trunk. When I 
 stepped in she turned toward the back part of the house, as 
 though she had something to do there. Her cheeks were 
 very red, and I saw she was a little plagued. I sat down on 
 mv stool, and not one bite would I eat until she came. 1 
 was truly happy in the midst of danger, and surrounded with 
 plenty in the midst of want; and I can truly say that I never 
 have enjoyed a more pleasant meal since. 
 
 The next night we were sitting by a bright fire, when 
 all at once my beast began snorting very loud and shrill, as 
 though she were badly scared. I had her chained to a ])ro- 
 jecting beech limb, about forty yards from the house, and I 
 
18 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 ran out to learn wliat was the matter. Eight behind the 
 chimney stood a hollow stump, with a hole in it near the 
 ground about the size of a hat, and I ran against it, one foot- 
 striking on one side and the other foot on the other side. 
 This left me in a widened out and bowed down condition, 
 and I came well nigh pitching over the stump. While in 
 this condition there were two of the keenest snaps right in 
 my face, so that the breath of the brute blew my hair back 
 as though it had been done with a fan. 1 then heard it run 
 away, so I went on to my beast and quieted her. Then I 
 went into the house and began telling my wife that 1 was 
 nearly bitten by a dog; and while I was telling her, a wolf 
 began howling not more than a hundred yards off, and at 
 least a half-dozen more responded, so that the woods rang 
 with their noise. My wife then explained to me that she had 
 thrown the crumbs of the table in the stump, for we neither 
 had pig, dog nor pup to eat them. So the wolf had been 
 eating the crumbs, and I had greatly surprised it, and it me; 
 for the snaps in my face were so keen and unexpected that 
 the appearance of sparkling fire was before my eyes. 
 
 I now went on to finish our house, making boards to 
 cover the loft, and a shutter to the door. This being done, 
 the next thing was to make a tray; for my wife had been 
 making up her bread in a breakfast plate. I went to a buck¬ 
 eye tree, split out a block, and dressed it nicely with a foot 
 adze and drawing knife; so we had a good tray, that lasted 
 us more than a dozen years. The next grr a test need was a 
 wash tub ; so I dug out a white walnut trough that would 
 hold a bushel and a half, and put legs in it to make it a 
 proper height. All this time our bed had to be made on the 
 floor; so I made a bedstead with one leg, confined it to the 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 19 
 
 walls of tlie house with small poles, bottomed it with linn 
 bark, and it was almost equal to a spring bottom. The next 
 great need was a table; so I split open a black walnut and 
 got timber of which I made a table; and our oldest daughter’s 
 wedding dinner was eaten in the kitchen on that table. 
 
 Now our house was fitted out with furniture, and we had 
 been blessed with about two weeks of mild winter weather. 
 This being the first week in January, it began snowing, and 
 snowed until it was twenty-two inches deep, and turned ex¬ 
 ceedingly cold, and remained so until March, so that I could 
 do no clearing; but I employed my time in cutting rail tim¬ 
 ber. I cut a large black walnut, where I wanted my garden ; 
 and the snow being so deep, it hindered the chips from flying 
 away. In the spring I began piling the chips to burn, and 
 to make quick work I would fall on my knees and scrape up 
 a whole pile at a time; and about the third pile I heard a 
 strange rattling noise. I looked, and there was a black 
 rattle snake, that had worked a hole in the top of the chips, 
 and was drawing its head back to strike me in the face. My 
 chips fell in a hurry, and I soon dispatched him. You may 
 be sure that I looked closely at my chip piles before I moved 
 them. 
 
 I will here relate another snake story. My wife said she 
 wanted to go and stay all night with Aunt Rachel, where we 
 had boarded. I told her she might go before night, and I 
 would work until sunset, and then come; so about dusk I 
 dropped my ax and started on a run for the little path. 
 When I got within about ten feet of the path I jumped into 
 it, and at that moment there was a black rattle snake cross¬ 
 ing the path. It threw itself in a coil, and as it struck I 
 jumped up, and it missed its aim. It stretched its neck to 
 
20 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEX'S WRITINGS. 
 
 run, but when I came down it struck again. The next time 
 I had presence of mind to jump backward. This put me out 
 of his reach, and I made quick work of him. It would be 
 hard to tell which was the more frightened, me or the snake. 
 I then had three-quarters of a mile to go, and every step I 
 thought, Snake! snake! Doubtless my steps were quick 
 and a good piece apart. Although there were many wild 
 animals in the country, such as the lynx, panther, bear, wolf, 
 catamount and wild cat, yet I had greater fear of snakes than 
 
 all of them. There were three deer licks, and the furthest of 
 
 / 
 
 them was one mile and a quarter; and when we wanted some 
 venison I would go and watch one of those licks at night, 
 for I had no time to hunt during the day. I had a thick jiair 
 of cloth ieggins, that reached six inches above my knees, and 
 they made me feel somewhat snake-proof. On some occa¬ 
 sion! I would hear them rush across my path, and it would 
 make my fiesh creep. There is something singular in regard 
 to the color of a deer. On the darkest night they have the 
 appearance of a spot of moonlight shining through a dark 
 shade on the earth, so that you have a fair target to level 
 your gun at. I never shot at one but wliac I got it. One 
 evening I told my wife that I wanted some venison, and I 
 would go down to the lick, it being about sunset: so I got 
 upon my scaffold, and had not yet sat down when I heard 
 one walking in the gravel not more than four or five rods 
 from me, and coming toward me. I was standing in a lialf- 
 bent condition, my gun not primed, and I dared not move. 
 I waited until it put its head down to drink, and then primed 
 my gun and banged away, breaking its back. My wife heard 
 it bleat, for the lick was not more than three hundred yards 
 from the house: so she came down, and carried my gun and 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 21 
 
 shot pouch, and I took one of my suspenders and tied its feet 
 together, carrying it like you would a shot pouch, and feel¬ 
 ing very proud. 
 
 Xow I have given a short history of my travels, and as 
 yet have said very little on the more important points that 
 induced me to write. Strange to say, that although I had 
 been so wonderfully arrested in my childhood, and made to 
 acknowledge that I did not know the first word of prayer, 
 and dared not bow on my sinful knees, yet when I arrived at 
 manhood there was a principle in me that I had to make my 
 peace with God through my obedience to him, and thereby 
 draw his love to me. I began the work by trying to live up 
 to the strictest rule of morality, quitting all joking and jest¬ 
 ing as much as I could, and often saying prayers, and truly 
 thought I was gaining ground very fast; for when I looked 
 back on my past life it was not so bad as many othei*$. I 
 had now so reformed that there were but few church mem¬ 
 bers that I would have been willing to exchange chances with 
 if I could. It is true I thought there were a few who were 
 better than I; but after awhile, when some of the busy scenes 
 of life were over, I expected to get as good as they; for I 
 verily thought a man could have all the religion he would 
 work for. There was a Baptist Church which had been con¬ 
 stituted the year before we came, but they had no meeting¬ 
 house, so they had to hold their meetings at private houses; 
 and the members lived so scattered that when they came to 
 meeting they would stay over night in our neighborhood, and 
 often some of them stayed with us. Their whole theme would 
 be on their system of religion, which was predestination, 
 election and justification through the righteousness of Jesus 
 Christ, and the final perseverance of the saints in grace to 
 
22 
 
 JESSE J. SOBERS WHITINGS. 
 
 glory. This was as opposite to my religion aslife and death f 
 and what made the matter worse, they eonld outtalk me, and 
 seemed to prove their system from the Scriptures, while I 
 believed with all my heart that my system was true and theirs 
 false. What gave me more trouble, my wife was young in 
 years, and more so by profession, and they might get her so 
 blindfolded that she would unite with them; so it struck me* 
 that I would read the New Testament through, so as to be 
 able to prove my doctrine. I read about half-way through,, 
 and did not find one witness to rely on; so I concluded that 
 I had not been particular enough in reading, and would be¬ 
 gin again at the first chapter, and prepare myself with paper 
 and ink, and write down all my passages and memorize them, 
 and then I would be ready for argument; for I felt sure that 
 I was right, as I had commenced the work, and had become 
 a grtat deal better. So I began and read every chapter 
 
 i 
 
 carefully, and did not find one passage in my favor. My' 
 astonishment was beyond expression, for I was not willing 
 to be convinced of the truth; so it had a tendency to make 
 me exceedingly mad against the Scriptures, and the thought 
 would frequently run through my mind, O that I had the 
 last Bible on earth! I would tear out every particle of that 
 hard doctrine! But I still went with my wife to meeting \ 
 for there were no roads, but the trees were blazed from house 
 to house. When they began their meeting, and I heard them 
 invite nobody but the brethren and sisters of their faith and 
 order, it sounded so selfish and one-sided to me that it was 
 contemptible; for I could think of no order of people but 
 what were preferable to them. All this time my wife had 
 been a silent listener to my great opposition, and never had 
 attempted the least argument; but one morning she came to 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN ? S WRITINGS. 
 
 23 
 
 the door and asked me to come in, and I answered her re¬ 
 quest. She then informed me that she had made up her 
 mind to offer her letter to the church the next day. O what 
 a shock it was to me! for she had remained so silent all the 
 time that I thought I had gained my point. I answered her, 
 saying, “ Well, Mintia, if you must go with them, it will have 
 to be so; but it grieves my heart sorely.” I then sat down 
 by her and laid my face on her lap, and my tears ran freely. 
 She then said, “Mr. Goben, you ought not take it so hard, 
 for you knew I was a Baptist before we were married.” I 
 said, “ Yes, but I did not know the doctrine was so God- 
 dishonoring, and I feel it will be a disgrace to you. If you 
 could be reconciled to join some other order, it would please 
 me well.” She answered, “If I cannot join them, I do not 
 wish to join any other.” I then said, “ I do not wish to de¬ 
 prive you of any of your privileges, but I had rather you 
 would join any other order.” I went out to my work, and 
 fully made up my mind that I would not go to meeting with 
 her the next day; but Saturday morning came, and I was 
 chopping on a tree in front of the house, when she called to 
 me, saying it was time we were fixing for meeting. I quit 
 work and meditated a few minutes. The thought struck me, 
 If 1 do not go, it will hurt her feelings, and likely she will 
 shed tears over the matter, and I do not feel satisfied for 
 that to be. I will go, but will not go into the house. But 
 when we got there I thought it would look bad for me to stay 
 out, so I went in. In a few minutes they began their meet¬ 
 ing, and I sat there feeling most hateful; but it was only a 
 few minutes until a strange tremor ran over me, so that my 
 whole system was shocked. I felt like the paleness of death 
 had come upon me, and all my strength was well nigh gone. 
 
24 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 I looked at the congregation that sat before me. Such heav¬ 
 enly countenances I had never seen before. They all looked 
 precisely alike, having that heavenly beauty and brightness 
 that is indescribable. I saw in my understanding their ac¬ 
 ceptable services ascending upward from them all in praise 
 to God; while I viewed my condition to be the very oppo¬ 
 site, for the blackness of darkness had overwhelmed me. I 
 could not remain in the house, and tremblingly endeavored 
 to go out unobserved. I went to the west end of the house, 
 where there was no window, so that I might not be observed, 
 and there I remained until meeting broke up, pondering over 
 the strange view I had just had, and my unaccountable feel¬ 
 ings. I will here state that my wife numbered amongst the 
 best singers, and we had been in the habit of singing a great 
 deal together, both at home and abroad; but now my singing 
 was dried up, my harp was on the willows. AYhen asked 
 why I did not help sing, it gave me trouble, for I did not 
 wish to tell; for it seemed that it would be a great sin for 
 me to sing songs that did not embrace me, but belonged to 
 others. For instance, if I should sing, “Am I a soldier of 
 the cross, a follower of the Lamb F I knew that I was not; 
 and if I should attempt to sing, “ I'm not ashamed to own 
 my Lord,’’ I had no Lord that I dared to claim; so all was 
 false to me. Xow a new scene had commenced with me, for 
 all my supposed goodness was gone, and I was left to reflect 
 on the strange things that had transpired; while the holi¬ 
 ness of the great God was continually with me, and my own 
 imperfections were so great that I could oiler no acceptable 
 service to God. My prayers were sin and my tears were 
 vile, all falling powerless to the ground; hence my only hope 
 was that I would get better after awhile, and then the Lord 
 
25 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 would hear me. I went on from day to day, hoping the time 
 would come; but instead of getting better, I was like the 
 poor woman in the gospel, and grew rather worse, so that it 
 became a wonder to me that I had been spared to that time. 
 Surely the Lord will not bear with me much longer. As I 
 was coming from my work, and leading my beast, the earth 
 sounded hollow under my feet, and at every step the crust 
 seemed to get thinner. The thought struck me that I would 
 be swallowed up, and at that moment I sprang forward, and 
 of course the bridle was jerked out of my hand. Then the 
 thought struck me that my condition was worse than it was 
 before; for 1 had often confessed the justice of God in my 
 destruction, and when it was about to be accomplished I 
 tried to hinder it. So I stood still for a few moments, think¬ 
 ing that possibly the stroke of death would come. After 
 waiting a few minutes I went back and got the beast, feeling 
 like a poor, guilty sinner indeed. Soon after this, as I was 
 goiug out to my work, it was suggested to me, with power 
 that arrested my whole attention, You have often said that 
 when you got ready you could turn to the Lord and pray, 
 and be accepted; now pray. There I stood for some time, 
 with my guilty head hung down, acknowledging the justice 
 of the charge; and feeling my guilty and condemned condi¬ 
 tion, I tried to cease asking mercy at the expense of justice. 
 Still my thought would be that if there was a way in which 
 mercy could come and God be just, Lord, let it come. Now 
 my hope of getting better, so that the Lord would hear me 
 pray, was all gone; but the thought struck me that if the 
 saints of God knew my condition, and would pray for me, 
 the Lord might hear them. But this cannot be; for I am so 
 guilty and condemned that I dare not say anything about it. 
 
26 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 One night, after we had retired to bed, I introduced the sub¬ 
 ject of prayer to my wife, hoping that if she prayed I would 
 be remembered in her prayers. She said she sometimes tried 
 to pray, but it was so weak that she did not know whether 
 she ought to call it prayer or not. I greatly urged the duty 
 of prayer, saying that the Lord heard the prayers of the 
 righteous, but those of the wicked he would not hear. 
 
 At this stage of my trouble I had some business to settle 
 in Putnam County, a distance of ten miles through the wil¬ 
 derness ; and on my return home, just after I crossed the 
 waters of Raccoon, I began singing a song with the spirit 
 and understanding that I never possessed before. I have 
 previously spoken of my wife and self singing a great deal 
 together. When we went to meeting there would be a num¬ 
 ber of songs sung by us, both before and after meeting, at 
 the request of the members, and also, when we visited any 
 of the neighbors, singing would occupy a part of the time j 
 but now many weeks had come and gone, and I had not been 
 heard to even hum a tune; hence my wife had to do her 
 singing alone. I will here repeat my song, for it was applied 
 to me as if it had been made for me: 
 
 “ Come, ye sinners, poor and needy, 
 
 Weak and wounded, sick and sore ; 
 
 Jesus ready stands to save you, 
 
 Full of pity, love and power. 
 
 He is able, 
 
 He is willing; doubt no more. 
 
 “ Come, ye needy ! come and welcome, 
 
 God’s free bounty glorify; 
 
 True belief and true repentance, 
 
 Every grace that brings you nigh— 
 
• JESSE J. GOBEN ? S WRITINGS. 
 
 27 
 
 Without money, 
 
 Come to Jesus Christ, and buy. 
 
 ‘‘Let not conscience make you linger, 
 
 Nor of fitness fondly dream; 
 
 All the fitness he requireth 
 Is to feel your need of him. 
 
 This he gives you; 
 
 v 
 
 ’Tis the Spirit’s glimmering beam. 
 
 “Come, ye weary, heavy laden, 
 
 Bruised and mangled by the fall! 
 
 If you tarry till you’re better 
 You will never come at all. 
 
 Not the righteous— 
 
 Sinners Jesus came to call. 
 
 “Agonizing in the garden, 
 
 Lo, our Savior prostrate lies ! 
 
 On the bloody tree behold him; 
 
 Hear him cry before he dies, 
 
 ‘It is finished!’ 
 
 Sinners, will not this suffice ? 
 
 “ Lo, the incarnate God ascending, 
 
 Pleads the merit of his blood ; 
 
 Venture on him, venture freely, 
 
 Let no other trust intrude. 
 
 None but Jesus 
 Can do helpless sinners good. 
 
 “ Saints and angels, join'd in concert, 
 
 Sing the praises of the Lamb; 
 
 While the blissful seats of heaven 
 Sweetly echo with his name. 
 
 Hallelujah! 
 
 Sinners here may do the same.” 
 
 Truly this was the song of songs to rne ? for I saw in my un¬ 
 derstanding the truth of every word expressed by the poet* 
 
28 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’s WRITINGS. 
 
 • • 
 
 and was made to believe it, receive it, and rejoice in it; for 
 tliere was such love, power, meekness and fullness that every 
 power of my soul reached forth, saying, O that I could meet 
 a multitude of people, so that I could proclaim the fullness 
 of the Lord Jesus! Sure I am, if I had met any person or 
 persons, that I would have proclaimed the glad tidings of 
 salvation; for the streams of glory were shining forth from 
 the Lord Jesus, and I felt almost swallowed up in the love of 
 God, and the tears flowing from my eyes above anything I 
 ever witnessed before. At length I became astonished at 
 my condition, and in a little time I was left to meditate on 
 the strange things that had just taken place. I now felt 
 calm, and my burden of sin was gone. Xow the thought 
 struck me that 1 would sing my song again, hoping to know 
 more about the strange things that had just taken place; 
 but all to no purpose. My mind then began running in 
 travail to the church. I would often find myself in the midst 
 of many people, trying to tell them of the fullness and glory 
 of God; but it was only a little time until I thought I would 
 never mention the strange things that had taken place, lest 
 some one would think I was claiming it for a hope, and I did 
 not wish to deceive anybody nor to be deceived. It con¬ 
 tinued to dwell on my mind with such great weight that I 
 thought I must tell my wife; but I would tell her in a cheery 
 wav. so that I would not deceive her. When I got home I 
 said, u Mintia, I was one of the most foolish creatures to-day 
 you ever saw. I was riding along, and I began singing, and 
 the first thing I knew I was weeping. It seemed like my 
 very heart was weeping, and such a flood of tears never 
 flowed from my eyes. I hardly knew when I commenced, 
 nor did I know how to quit.” She merely answered, u It was 
 
29 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 t 
 
 a check of conscience.* 1 ’ That did not satisfy me, neither do 
 I believe that any person could have satisfied me. My mind 
 continued in travail to the church, and I did not believe that 
 I had any right to church privileges, so I began trying to 
 pray the Lord to take this spirit of travail that I had to the 
 church away from me, for I was not fit for the kingdom; and 
 in a short time the Lord answered my prayer, for my mind 
 ceased to travail to the church, and the circumstance that 
 occurred in the wilderness while singing my song was so 
 completely taken from me that it never entered my mind for 
 more than twelve months. But when I went to meeting and 
 heard the gospel proclaimed, I would be so carried away that 
 I could not hide my feelings; and the thought would some¬ 
 times occur to me, If I did not know the truth, why was I 
 so affected ? I would then conclude that I only thought I 
 loved the truth, but Christians knew they loved it. I lived 
 in a strange way; for my supposed strength to ingratiate 
 myself into the favor of God was all gone, and the only iiope 
 I had was that God in his own good time would begin the 
 work and carry it on; but great fear would often come that 
 it never would be. It so occurred that my wife and I went 
 to brother West’s to pay them a visit, and when we got there 
 old brother Martin and his wife were there. That made five 
 members of the same church that had met together, and they 
 had a most enjoyable time in singing. They all told their 
 exj)erience, giving the reason of their hope in Christ. Then 
 old brother Martin said, u Friend Goben, we have all told 
 our experience, and we would be glad to hear you tell yours.” 
 I answered, u Father Martin, I would be as glad to tell as 
 you would be to hear, if I had anything to tell.” Here I 
 labored with all my heart to convince them that I was void 
 
30 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 of any evidence, for so I truly felt to be. After a late liour 
 we all retired to bed, and I dreamed I saw a tree standing in 
 the east, and it was the most singular tree I ever saw. It 
 was very white, and for straightness it could not be sur¬ 
 passed. It reached toward the heavens, far above all trees, 
 and the smooth body was of great length, without knot or 
 limb; but near the top there were a few scattering limbs, 
 exceedingly white, and all turned toward the heavens. The 
 tree stood in a meadow that belonged to me; and while I 
 was viewing the singularity of the tree, some one said to me, 
 u See here.’ 1 I looked down at the root of the tree, and all 
 
 4 
 
 the limbs were taken from it and laid in a pile at the root; 
 and while I stood looking, and wondering with astonishment, 
 to see how few they seemed to be when on the tree, and how 
 great they were when gathered together, it was said to me, 
 “This is like unto your hope in Jesus. Though it seems 
 small to you, when gathered together it is great.” At that 
 moment I sprang straight up in the bed with an inexpressi¬ 
 ble joy, to think that I had a hope in Jesus. Every doubt 
 was removed for a few minutes, but my ecstasy of joy ceased, 
 and the thought ran through my mind that it was but a 
 dream ; so I laid down and went to sleep. When 1 arose the 
 next morning my mind commenced in travail to the church, 
 and I viewed myself almost continually surrounded by many 
 people, and I telling them the reason of my hope; and as 
 soon as I saw there was no congregation about me I would 
 say to myself, What have you to tell the people ? Nothing, 
 but that you have dreamed a dream. Shame! shame! I 
 have often heard of that dream religion, and there is nothing 
 in it but delusion; and I will not dare go to meeting any 
 more, for I have no control of myself. I felt sure that if I 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 31 
 
 got where there was opportunity, as I could not control my¬ 
 self now, I could not then. My condition was most distress¬ 
 ing ; for 1 felt sure that if I went to meeting*, and opportunity 
 was offered, I would be up and talking. This state of mind 
 continued for at least two weeks, so that 1 ate no pleasant 
 meat, nor did I have the least gleam of hope that it would 
 ever be any better. I had a great quantity of trash to clean 
 up in the meadow that I have previously spoken of, where I 
 saw that tall, straight, white tree in my dream, which gave 
 me such great joy ; and in a moment of time the circumstance 
 that had taken place with me in the wilderness, on the waters 
 of Raccoon, flowed into my mind with fresh vigor and a joy 
 that is inexpressible. In my ecstasy of joy I proclaimed, 
 One thing I know, that I saw the Lord Jesus, and in him an 
 inexpressible fullness. 1 fell on my knees, and as I had not 
 one thing to ask for, I arose without saying a word, for my 
 cup was full and running over. I remember when I arose of 
 turning around and looking up into the heavens until my joy 
 subsided. O wliat a calmness possessed my breast! But it 
 was not long until I retired to the woods to hunt some secret 
 
 V 
 
 place, to pray for that heavenly enjoyment to come again. I 
 traveled around, but found no place secret enough. Here I 
 was left to ponder over the strange way that I had traveled; 
 for truly I had been brought in a way that I knew not. My 
 cup of deliverance had been a mingled cup, full of both joy 
 and sorrow; for when I saw the fullness of the Lord Jesus, 
 and was ftlled with his love, and saw the spangled streams 
 of glory that burst forth from his person, my soul was over¬ 
 whelmed with joy, and I was almost swallowed up in love; 
 but when I saw his great sufferance, innocence, humbleness 
 and humility, my heart was overwhelmed with sorrow. 
 
32 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN S WRITINGS. 
 
 Hence I felt sure that I was alone in my travail, and there¬ 
 fore had no right to church privileges. My understanding 
 had been that when any one was brought to a knowledge of 
 the truth it was all joy and gladness, and no mingling of 
 sorrow ; therefore I had no right, for there was none like me. 
 One day, while riding along, I commenced singing this old 
 hymn, 
 
 “With pleasing grief and mournful joy 
 My spirit then was filled, 
 
 That I should such a life destroy, 
 
 Yet live by them 1 killed.” 
 
 O what a joy came over me, to know that I was not alone! 
 The poet had expressed what I saw and felt precisely. O 
 how I loved him ! If I could meet him I would take him in 
 my arms; and if he was dead, and I knew where his grave 
 was, I would go and expand my arms around it. But my 
 trouble continued. I had often resorted to secret prayer, 
 imploring the Lord to reveal to me, even in a dream, whether 
 it was my duty to be baptized or not; and often my dreams 
 would increase my distress, so that I would say, with Job, 
 u Thou scarest me with dreams.' 7 On one occasion I had 
 went to mill, and did not get back until late in the night ; 
 and while I was doing up my feeding it came into my mind 
 that when I got done feeding I would try to pray the Lord 
 once more to reveal to me, even in a dream, what my duty 
 was. I finished my feeding, and got half-way from the barn 
 to the house, when my promise flowed into my mind. I 
 stopped suddenly, and the first thought was, I have tried so 
 often, and have received nothing, that it is not worth while 
 for me to try again. The next thought was that it was better 
 not to vow at all, than to vow and not pay. I went back to 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN ? S WRITINGS. 
 
 33 
 
 the barn and began going up into the haymow; and when I 
 got about half-way up these words flowed into my mind with 
 convincing power, 
 
 “ Let not conscience make you linger, 
 
 Nor of fitness fondly dream ; 
 
 All the fitness he requireth 
 Is to feel your need of him. 
 
 This he gives you; 
 
 ’Tis the Spirit’s glimmering beam.” 
 
 I stopped going up as quickly as if I had been smitten with 
 
 a rod, and came down feeling guilty and ashamed of myself, 
 
 and acknowledging my ignorance before God ; now seeing 
 
 that seven years ago he had warned me in the wilderness in 
 
 these same words, and I had been praying more or less to 
 
 dream of my fitness, which he had warned me not to do, and 
 * 
 
 at that time had shown me that all my needs were supplied 
 in him. Hence I then felt strengthened to say, If the Lord 
 spares me until the next meeting, I will relate my experience 
 to the church; and if not received, I will bear the shame. 
 When the meeting day came I went, and was received for 
 baptism the next day. When I went home my wife said to 
 me, u Mr. Goben, you joined the church to day.” I answered, 
 u Yes, I did: and I am greatly afraid that I have done 
 wrong.” She then said that she knew I had joined, for if 
 was made plain to her, and she had a heavenly meeting at 
 home. But my trouble was inexpressible, for I viewed the 
 step that I was about to take to be a momentous one; for if 
 I was not a fit subject, it would be but a mockery of a heav¬ 
 enly ordinance, and therefore add sin to sin. I arose and 
 walked out of the house, with a view to find some secret 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEl' S WRITINGS. 
 
 place, and there implore the Lord to forgive me if I had done 
 wrong, and to hinder my baptism if I was not a lit subject-. 
 Mv wife seemed to understand my feelings, and my motive 
 for wanting to be alone, and she walked out after me and 
 locked Jier arm in mine, and would not leave me alone, but 
 endeavored to give words of comfort. The night passed off 
 with but little rest for me, and my constant meditation was 
 that I could not consent to be baptized with my present de¬ 
 jected feelings. But we went to meeting, and Elder Lee 
 preached, as I thought, with power from on high. A sweet, 
 peaceful submission came over me, and it continually flowed 
 through my mind that if 1 knew I had but one hour to live, 
 I would want to be baptized; for although I was unworthy, 
 Jesus was worthy to be followed in all his ordinances. So 
 the ordinance was performed by Elder John Lee; and the 
 sweet, peaceful, heavenly calm that possessed my soul is 
 inexpressible. I felt a love to the brotherhood, and to my 
 wife and children, that I had not realized before. Xow I 
 wanted to go from house to house to tell of the goodness and 
 mercy of God through the merits of the Lord Jesus; and 
 often after my wife had retired to bed my mind would be so 
 agitated, and my breast so full, that I would leave the house 
 in order to get relief, and travel on, preaching with great 
 enjoyment and relief, being entirely unconscious of where I 
 was going; and on some occasions I went so far that it was 
 difficult to find the house. Sometimes I would have quite a 
 resting spell, so that the spirit of preaching would entirely 
 leave me for several days; and when I thought how won¬ 
 derfully I had been exercised in the past, and how easy I 
 now felt, I would feel, Surely my past troubles have all been 
 a delusion, and O how glad I am to find it out before the 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN ? S WRITINGS. 
 
 35 
 
 yoke was put upon me. Now I can go on and labor for my 
 family, for I am not fit to preacli. But there is many a poor 
 fellow, as honest as I am, that has been caught under this 
 delusion. When in the height of my glory I would be struck 
 with a convincing power, and all my trouble would be upon 
 me again. I want it to be strictly understood that I had no 
 objection to preaching the gospel if I had been the man. It 
 ■would often be suggested to me, when I was done talking, 
 Now if you can talk that way, why not preach to the people ? 
 I then tried to remember what I said, but the longer I studied 
 about it the less I knew. While I was under this great afflic¬ 
 tion of mind I was taken with a severe spell of typhoid fever, 
 and became very low, so that I had to be turned by pulling 
 the sheet. • My wife had just turned me with my face to the 
 front side of the bed, and she and our little daughter, about 
 five years old, took their seats in front of me, where there 
 was a candle burning very brightly. There had been almost 
 entire silence for a considerable time, when all at once it was 
 suggested or spoken to my understanding with unusual 
 power, so that it ran over me with great surprise, It may be 
 that the Lord has afflicted you because you would not preach. 
 There I lay in deep meditation, pondering over the strong 
 impeachment which was waiting for my answer. At length 
 this answer came, Surely I am not afflicted because I would 
 not preach, for the Lord does know that my family cannot do 
 without me. They need all my labor. The next thing I 
 knew I was in eternity, where darkness and silence reigned. 
 Then it was said to me, u Now they have to do without you. 
 Would it not have been better for you to have spent most of 
 your time away from your family, and been permitted to go 
 home once in awhile to comfort and advise them ? But now 
 
36 JESSE J. GOBEN ? S WRITINGS. 
 
 it is too late.” Then I was permitted to look from eternity 
 into time, and see a poor widow and her children sitting in 
 silent solitude, uncared for, and my disobedience had brought 
 it all. The God of wisdom can only tell the billows of sor- 
 row and waves of trouble that rolled over me. I verily be- 
 
 t j 
 
 lieve that I then experienced in substance the same that 
 Jonah did, and much for the same reason, when he pro¬ 
 claimed, u Out of the belly of hell cried I for disobedience 
 was my great trouble. After the above conflict I did not 
 know for several days that I was in the world. Mv doctors 
 and all others despaired of my recovery, except my wife, and 
 she hoped against hope, believing that I had to preach; but 
 one night it became a settled conclusion that I would not live 
 to see the light of another day, and her faith grew somewhat 
 weak. She put on her sun-bonnet and left the house weep¬ 
 ing, to incpiire of the Lord if she was mistaken. My brother’s 
 wife followed her into the loom-house, where it was very 
 dark, and heard her prayer to God in my behalf, in which 
 she promised the Lord that if he would restore me to health, 
 and would be her helper, no murmur nor complaint should 
 be heard from her, though she should be often left lonely and 
 desolate. Brother Daniel Lee also stepped to the door and 
 heard her prayer; but they both acted prudently, and did 
 not tell it until after I was liberated to preach. My fever 
 continued, and all understanding left me, so that I did not 
 know that I was in the world for several days: but at length 
 my disease broke, and I improved very fast. When I got so 
 that 1 could walk by holding to a chair and slipping it on the 
 floor to the fire, while my wife was making up my bed, it 
 flowed into my mind with power all that the Lord had shown 
 me in removing me from time into eternity, and I burst out 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 37 
 
 in a cry, which astonished my wife very much. She stepped 
 to me in a moment, and asked what was the matter; but I 
 was so full of cry that I could not talk for a few moments. 
 As soon as I could speak I said, “ I will tell you as quick as 
 I can.” So it was but a little time until I related to her 
 what 1 have above spoken of, in relation to the Lord remov¬ 
 ing me from time to eternity. I now expressed to her a will¬ 
 ingness to go, and asked her if she would catch a beast for 
 me. She said to me, “ You are not able to go. If you w^ere 
 on a beast vou would fall off. If you were too rebellious to 
 go when you were able, the Lord does not require you to go 
 Avhen you are not able. Wait until you are able, and I have 
 not one word to say.” But as I increased in strength I also 
 increased in opposition to go, so that when I left home on 
 business I would secretly say farewell, thinking quite likely 
 I would not be permitted to return. At length it came into 
 my mind that the Scriptures were of God, and if it was his 
 holy will he could direct me to some portion that would give 
 me comfort. So I took the book and placed it on my knee, 
 and instead of comfort, the first words I saw greatly re¬ 
 proved me and added to my trouble. It was the twelfth 
 chapter of the book of Numbers, which reads thus, “And 
 Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethi¬ 
 opian woman whom he had married.” “And they said, Hath 
 
 * > 
 
 the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses ? hath he not spoken 
 also by us ? And the Lord heard it. Now the man Moses 
 was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face 
 of the earth. And the Lord spake suddenly unto Moses, and 
 unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the 
 tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. 
 And the Lord came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood 
 
38 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN 7 S WHITINGS. 
 
 in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: 
 and they both came forth. And he said, Hear now my 
 words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will 
 make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto 
 him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful 
 in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, 
 even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the simili¬ 
 tude of the Lord shall he behold . 77 Here I took up lamenta¬ 
 tion with Aaron and Miriam. My condition.was like theirs 
 with one exception. They envied Moses, and greatly desired 
 
 to be God’s prophets, coveting a station that God had not 
 
 « 
 
 placed them in; but my great distress was that I was not 
 fit. Consequently I often found myself in argument, seem¬ 
 ingly face to face with the Lord, laboring to convince him 
 that I was not the man, and that he did know I could not 
 preach. But as he told them that if they were his prophets 
 he would have revealed it to them in a vision, or dark sent¬ 
 ence, or dream, and I had often tried to pray to the Lord to 
 
 reveal to me in a dream what my duty was, and he had not 
 
 < • 
 
 answered me, even as he had not answered them, so our con¬ 
 ditions were alike; but if the Lord would only manifest to 
 me as he did to Moses, then my joy would be full. O how 
 gladly I would go, proclaiming the riches of his grace! But 
 this cannot be, for the day of miracles is past, and I am not 
 good, like Moses was. So I laid my Bible on the fire-board r 
 thinking I would not take it down any more, for it condemned 
 me instead of giving comfort. This was on Sunday morning, 
 and my wife said to me, u Let us go to Mr. Edwards 7 to-day. 
 We have not been there for a good while . 77 I answered, u If 
 you want to go we will go . 77 But I would much rather have 
 stayed at home, for I was but little company for any one, and 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WHITINGS. 
 
 39 
 
 none for myself. It was a day of great conflict to me; and 
 Mrs. Edwards increased my trouble greatly by saying in my 
 presence to my wife, u Mrs. Goben, I believe that Mr. Goben 
 is thinking about preaching.” We returned home in the 
 evening, and my wife took a seat in the door, but I walked 
 to and fro across the house, thinking of the great set-back 
 that I got in the morning by reading the Bible. At length 
 I took the Bible and sat down in the door also, with the 
 prayerful desire that the Lord would cause it to fall open in 
 some place, and direct my eyes to some portion that would 
 give me relief. It fell open at the second chapter of Pro¬ 
 verbs, and it appeared to me that the Spirit of life from God 
 entered into the words, and he appropriated it to me and for 
 me, just as much as if he had spoken to me from heaven. 
 These were the words, u My son, if thou wilt receive my 
 words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that thou 
 incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to un¬ 
 derstanding; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest 
 
 > 
 
 up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, 
 and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou 
 understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of 
 God. For the Lord giveth wisdom : out of his mouth cometh 
 knowledge and understanding.” When I had finished read¬ 
 ing the above I turned to my wife and said, u Did you hear 
 that?” She said, u Yes.” I then read it over again to her, 
 for it was the most life-giving, soul-cheering, heart-rejoicing 
 reading that I had ever read; for now God had spoken to 
 me, even apparently mouth to mouth, as lie did to Moses, 
 calling me his son, and telling me that he gave wisdom, and 
 out of his mouth came knowledge and understanding. All 
 the above had come to me, not in word only, but in power, 
 
40 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WHITINGS. 
 
 and in mucli assurance, and in tlie Holy Ghost, so that I 
 was bound to say that the day of miracles was not over yet, 
 as I had thought; for the Lord God still reigns triumphant, 
 unfolding his grace and glory. Now I saw no need of being 
 any wiser, which had been my great trouble, for my God 
 supplied all my wants; for there was a stream coming from 
 the heavens, in the eyes of my mind, in appearance like the 
 rainbow, and it extended into my breast, giving me such 
 fullness of grace, glory and joy that I felt that my full soul 
 could hold no more. The above ecstasy of joy took place on 
 Sunday evening, as above described, and Monday morning 
 I commenced plowing my little corn, continuing to preach 
 with the Holy Ghost sent down. At length it occurred to 
 me that it might be that I was not uncovering my corn, for 
 I knew that my mind was not on my work; so I stopped my 
 beast and walked to and fro, until I saw that it was left in 
 complete order. I continued plowing from end to end of the 
 field, and at length I saw that I was getting along so fast, 
 and the day was very warm, that I might overheat my beast; 
 so I stopped and examined, and saw that all was right. It 
 was then suggested to me, You have often been greatly trou¬ 
 bled, and desired to know if it was the work of God with 
 you, as it was with Paul, why were you not obedient to the 
 heavenly call, as he was, and cease to confer with flesh and 
 blood? Was lie obedient until God delivered him? No. 
 Has he delivered you ? Yes. Are you willing and obedi¬ 
 ent ? Yes, Lord, with all my heart; for God has delivered 
 me, and I can do all things that he requireth of me. The 
 next suggestion was that next Saturday is church meeting, 
 and they will liberate you. “ Yes,” said I, u and they ought 
 to do it, for the Lord lias liberated me; and they will know, 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WHITINGS. 
 
 41 
 
 and I will not have to tell them one word about it, for the 
 mind of the Lord is in his church. r The day of meeting came, 
 and I went; and when the i>roper time came brother West 
 arose and said, u Brethren, there is a gift in this church that 
 will be profitable to the church if liberated. I mean brother 
 Goben.” Elder John Lee replied, u Brother Goben is here, 
 and can speak for himself.” I then arose, and spoke in sub¬ 
 stance as I have above written of my deliverance. The 
 church 4 then took up my case, and licensed me to go and 
 preach wherever God in his providence cast my lot. I verily 
 believed at that time that they had done nothing but what 
 was their duty to do, for the Lord had delivered me of a 
 burden that had been pressing me down for seven years; but 
 about the time meeting was dismissed I began to lose sight 
 of the glorious rainbow that had extended into me, above 
 spoken of, and before I got home I was praying to die; for 
 it had now gone out that I was liberated to preach, which I 
 could not do. I continued to pray to die, until the loss of 
 sleep, the failure of apjmtite and distress of mind caused a 
 severe pain in my breast, so that I believed I would soon 
 die; and as I had prayed so fervently to die, and the Lord 
 was about to answer my request, now I was not willing to 
 die. It seemed so dreadful to ask the Lord to let me live, 
 that my condition was a woeful one. So it went on for one 
 whole year, and I never attempted to preach a word; but on 
 one occasion Elder Lee asked me to close meeting by singing 
 and prayer, and I took the hymn book and opened it at a 
 hymn that was appropriate to my condition, and it reproved 
 me beyond expression. I will here give the hymn : 
 
 “ Thou dear Redeemer, God ! 
 
 With shame I do confess 
 
42 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN 7 S WRITINGS. 
 
 That daily I deserve thy rod 
 Because I still transgress. 
 
 “ My wretched heart is hard, 
 
 And prone to every ill; 
 
 My Father’s rod doth make me smart,, 
 
 And mourn my stubborn will. 
 
 “ I often go astray, 
 
 My thoughts I can't control; 
 
 Nor can I find a heart to pray * 
 
 While lifeless in my soul. 
 
 “ I think I do esteem 
 My brethren in the Lord 
 Far better than mvself indeed, 
 
 And worthy my regard. 
 
 “ They seem to shine so bright. 
 
 And praise the Lord with zeal, 
 
 And worship thee with such delight 
 As I do want to feel. 
 
 “ With truth they will not part, 
 
 And Christ is all their theme; 
 
 Thy blessed cause is near their heart; 
 
 To me they lovely seem. 
 
 “ Dear Lord, the work is thine, 
 
 The work of grace begun; 
 
 My stubborn heart to thee incline. 
 
 To pray, Thy will be done. 
 
 “ Thy righteousness and grace, 
 
 Good Lord, is all my plea; 
 
 Before thy heavenly Father’s face, 
 
 Dear Lord, remember me.” 
 
 No words could have been more appropriate to me than the 
 above. I read them with trembling sighs and tears, feeling 
 the deep chastisement of the Lord, for through the abund- 
 
43 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 ance of revelation 1 had been wafted on eagles’ wings; but 
 now I had to have the thorn in the flesh to keep me from 
 
 * ' t 
 
 being exalted above measure, and to teach me that all my 
 strength was of the Lord, and not of myself. When the year 
 above spoken of had passed away I took the Bible, as I had 
 often done before, and commenced reading the third chapter 
 of Hebrews, which reads as follows: u Wherefore, holy breth¬ 
 ren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle 
 and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; who was 
 faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faith¬ 
 ful in all his house. For this man was counted worthy of 
 more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath budded 
 the house hath more honor than the house. For every house 
 is budded by some man; but he that built all things is God. 
 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, 
 for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken 
 after; but Christ as a son over his own house; whose house 
 are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the 
 hope firm unto the end.” When I had read the above it 
 arrested my mind with great weight, and with full purpose 
 of heart I said, u If the Lord spares me until the next meet¬ 
 ing I will take that text; and if I am able to say anything 
 about it, it will be of God, for I know nothing about it.” So 
 
 ,» f 4 • 
 
 the time came, and I read the text, and I know I had more 
 enjoyment in fifteen minutes, while laboring to explain that 
 text, than I had in all the year that had passed; for 1 had 
 been so long overwhelmed in darkness and sorrow that I 
 felt like I was brought forth to the light of a glorious day. 
 But my rejoicing did not remain long, for at the close of the 
 meeting Elder Lee said, u There will be meeting at sister 
 Watkins’ to-night, and brother Goben will preach for us.’? 
 
44 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 This appointment was so unexpected that it fell on me with 
 great weight; for I had nothing beforehand, and the thought 
 struck me, What will I do ? I am empty now, and there is 
 not a text in the book that I know anything about. But at 
 length my mind was called to the fifth and sixth verses of 
 the sixth chapter of Genesis, which reads as follows: “And 
 God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, 
 and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was 
 only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had 
 made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” 
 The time came for meeting, and I went with great fear and 
 trembling. The house was crowded to its utmost capacity; 
 and I vividly remember, while reading the text, that the 
 thought ran through my mind, O that I were standing on a 
 trap-door, so that I could be let down and be seen no more. 
 
 I remember very little that I said to the text, but will here 
 state what I remember: 
 
 First, it was God who saw that the wickedness of man 
 was great in the earth, but it was the Lord that repented 
 
 * . 'f . . > 
 
 and was grieved at heart. Jesus is both Lord and Christ, 
 and was a repenting character almost from the cradle to the . 
 cross. He wept that we might weep ; and we have no record 
 of his rejoicing but once, and in that he thanked his Father, 
 Lord of heaven and earth, because he had hid these things 
 from the wise and prudent, and had revealed them unto 
 babes. But God that was manifest in the flesh underwent 
 no change, could not be tempted, neither did he tempt man. 
 The prophet Samuel said, “ The Strength of Israel will not 
 repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.” Jesus 
 was Mediator between God and man, and was exalted a 
 Prince and a Savior, to give repentance and remission of sins 
 
45 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S "WRITINGS. 
 
 to Israel. He was tempted in all points like unto Iris breth¬ 
 ren, vet he was without sin. 
 
 The above is in substance the way I ran the text, and I 
 felt then, as I have felt since on several occasions, that I had 
 done the subject poor justice ; although I believed then, and 
 do now believe, that as far as I went I gave the true mean¬ 
 ing of the text. I will here state that a young man at this 
 meeting, who professed to be a strong Universalist, was 
 struck under conviction, and was made to believe that he 
 was one of the very characters that had caused the Lord to 
 repent that he had placed him on earth. In about three 
 months I spoke from the same text, and this young man was 
 delivered of his burden, and made to rejoice in hope of the 
 glory of God while the meeting was going on; and he was 
 the first person I ever baptized. There was a very large 
 congregation came to see the ordinance performed, and I 
 labored with all the ability I had to prove what it took to 
 constitute a fit subject, and that immersion was the only 
 gospel mode. There was a rather noted man of the Method¬ 
 ist order that showed a number of the brethren on his finger 
 that I did not lack more than half the breadth of his nail of 
 proving to him that baptism by immersion was the only gos- 
 pel mode. So you may see that I came very near making 
 one convert at my first attempt ; but I missed just a little. 
 
 The reader may see that I have run ahead of my narra¬ 
 tive in speaking of baptizing the young man, while as yet I 
 have given no account of my ordination; so I will go back 
 to where I digressed. 
 
 I continued to exercise in the bounds of the church, and 
 it was not more than three months until the Wolf Creek 
 Church sent messengers, asking permission of Walnut Creek 
 
4G 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 for my services. This astonished me very much; for the 
 estimate I had put on myself was so small that it had never 
 entered my mind that any church would call for my services 
 outside of my membership. But it was only a few weeks 
 until my astonishment was greatly increased, for the church 
 at Thorntown sent messengers on the same errand; and it 
 was but a few months until the Pisgah Church followed suit. 
 The God of wisdom alone can tell my feelings, the deep pov¬ 
 erty and inadequacy on my part, and the prayerful desire in 
 behalf of the churches that God would intercede in their be¬ 
 half, and send them able defenders of the gospel of God. 
 Xow my time was all taken up with the church of my mem¬ 
 bership ; but on learning the true state of the Thorntown 
 Church, I was greatly comforted, for I learned they had just 
 excluded their old minister on a point of order in their church 
 discipline. He had strenuously contended that the church 
 should exclude a member on the testimony of one witness; 
 that is, if one member brought a charge against another, he 
 should be believed, though there be no preponderance in the 
 testimony. Now what gave me comfort, I had inquired into 
 the character of the minister that thev had excluded, and 
 learned from them that they had been well satisfied with him 
 before this trouble; and I fancied the case was so plain that 
 I could reclaim him, for the Lord had said in his word that 
 one should not be put to death but by the testimony of two 
 or three witnesses. The time came, and I went to the meet¬ 
 ing in great hope, believing it was the last trip that I would 
 have to take; for I felt sure that 1 could reclaim him to the 
 fellowship of his brethren, and save myself a twenty-five mile 
 ride, and the church would have an abler minister than I 
 dared claim to be. When I got there this excluded minister 
 
47 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 was there. His name was Walter Leak. He appeared very 
 sociable, and after meeting invited me home with him. This 
 was just to my hand, and increased my faith that I should 
 be able to accomplish my purpose. Dinner being over, he 
 began giving me a history of the trouble; but the more he 
 said the weaker I got in being able to accomplish anything, 
 for he perfectly justified himself, but almost everybody else 
 was wrong. My head got lower and lower, and my mouth 
 was closed, seeing he was pure in his own eyes. He went 
 on to state that he had prayed to God to know if he was 
 right, and he had got a perfect answer of peace. He also 
 told me a dream that he had, and he interpreted the dream 
 in his own favor, while I thought it was all against him. 
 This was the dream: He was traveling, and he came to a 
 stream, and in the stream he saw a red heifer. She started 
 down stream, and he followed her a great way. At last he 
 lost sight of her, and then he turned back. He interpreted 
 the red heifer to be the church, and he had followed her until 
 she had went so far astray that he had turned back. My 
 interpretation was that the heifer was a brute beast. Her 
 color was red, which signified blood, and the blood is the life 
 of the flesh; and he had followed his own delusions until he 
 had conspired his own death. 
 
 The above interview with the Elder was on Saturday 
 evening. ISext day there was a good turn-out for a thinly 
 settled country, and we had a very pleasant meeting, and 
 perhaps there were not less than twenty-five who stayed for 
 dinner. I ate and saddled my beast before the first table 
 was half-done eating, and sister Polly Kogers came to the 
 •door and asked me to wait a little, for she said sister Long 
 would be going my road as soon as she finished her dinner. 
 
48 
 
 JESSE J. GrOBEX'S WBITIXGS. 
 
 The members were all strangers to me, with slight exception, 
 but I waited for sister Long. We had ridden together but 
 a little distance when she said, u Brother Goben, you have 
 had an interview with brother Leak; what do you think of 
 the course the church has pursued with him ? Has she done 
 right or not V 7 I was silent for a moment, for the question 
 was a leading one, and if answered, yes or no must be the 
 answer. I had learned there had been some small division 
 in the church, and I did not know where sister Long stood, 
 and the thought of getting into a controversy with a strange, 
 sister was unpleasant to me ; but at length I said, u Sister, 
 he is precisely where he ought to be; and if he gets to see 
 his wrong, and makes a humble acknowledgement, doubtless- 
 the church will reinstate him.* 1 She then said, u Brother 
 
 Goben, you are of my opinion.” So her answer was very 
 
 ■ 
 
 pleasant to me. I continued to attend that church for 
 twentv-five years, and the Wolf Creek Church about the 
 same length of time. After I had been exercising amongst 
 the churches a little above a year my ordination was called 
 for. This made a solemn impression on me, and caused 
 great engagement of mind in prayer to God that he would 
 hinder my ordination if it ought not to be; but the solemn 
 scene went on. There was but one question asked me, and 
 that was, u What is it that gives the saints a right or title to 
 heaven !” My answer was, u Heirship.” And I have no 
 other answer vet. 
 
 i/ 
 
 I continued to attend the four churches previously spo¬ 
 ken of, and would often have great liberty, and feel wonder¬ 
 fully built up. Then a reverse would come, and I would be 
 brought as low as I had been high, and would feel in my 
 heart and soul that I was a poor, little nobody, going some- 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN ? S WRITINGS. 
 
 49 
 
 where to say nothing. O what engagement of mind there 
 would be to God that he would comfort his people! After 
 I had been laboring in the ministry about four years my 
 mind was arrested with inexpressible anxiety that the Lord 
 would open up some way that I could cpiit preaching; for I 
 was doing no good, and the Lord would save as many people 
 if I never preached one word as he would if I preached all 
 the days of my life. This state of mind followed me for many 
 weeks by day and by night, with prayerful desire that the 
 Lord would intervene, and cause the yoke to be taken off, so 
 that I could consistently quit; then I could labor for my 
 family and do some good. I remember that on Friday night 
 my wife had a dream as follows: She saw me in my coffin. 
 I was not dead, but the paleness of death was upon me, and 
 I was the most disconsolate, lonesome being she ever saw, 
 continually begging her to stay with me, and not to leave 
 me, for I could not bear her to be out of my sight for one 
 moment. My Bible was hung up before me, just so that I 
 could not reach it. The next morning she related h^r dream 
 to me with great weight of mind, and said, u Mr. Goben, you 
 are going to be stopped from preaching for a great while if 
 you ever preach any more, for I saw it all in my dream last 
 night.* 7 I started to the Thorntown Church Saturday morn¬ 
 ing as well as usual, a distance of twenty-five miles, and as 
 I was coming home Sunday evening my affliction came upon 
 me, and I felt like I could not hold out to get home, ft hurt 
 me so bad in both of my sides to ride, that w hen I got within 
 three-quarters of a mile of home I got dow T n off' my beast to 
 Avalk. I looked, and saw my wife coming to meet me, some¬ 
 thing she never did before nor since. When she met me she 
 
 4 
 
30 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 said, u I am not surprised. I felt sure you would come home 
 sick.'’ So she sent for Doctor Parson, and he continued to 
 come; but my disease was a mystery to him—lie could not 
 fathom it. He often said that he would giye live hundred 
 dollars to know what was the matter. I knew what com¬ 
 plaint I had, but neither the doctor nor myself had any 
 remedy, for it was the rod of the Lord for my disobedience. 
 
 t/ / C/ 
 
 I had been long praying tor the Lord to open some way for 
 me to quit preaching, but he had answered my prayers in a 
 way I was not looking for; and now it was continually ring¬ 
 ing in my mind, “ Xow you can quit! now you can quit!” 
 And also these words, “ He has comforted others, himself he 
 cannot comfort.” These last words ran through my mind so 
 long that a wonder arose in my mind if it was Scripture, and 
 I said to my wife, “ Mintia, I would like to have the Bible.” 
 She answered, “ The doctor told me to put the books away ; 
 that you must not read any until you get better.” I said 
 nothing, but the first time she went out of the house I crept 
 to the bureau and got the Bible, and the first words I saw 
 were these, “He has comforted others, but himself he cannot 
 comfort/' O solemn truth ! Who would remain in trouble 
 if they could comfort themselves ? I was one of the most 
 disconsolate creatures on earth. O how I promised the Lord, 
 if lie would restore me once more, that I would never mur¬ 
 mur again; but I was left to meditate on the many super¬ 
 natural manifestations to me, and felt constrained to ac¬ 
 knowledge the justice of God in my affliction. The dream of 
 my wife above spoken of was verified, for I could not bear 
 for her to go out of my sight. We had a fine chance of good 
 peaches, and they all had to go to loss; for if they had been 
 worth ten times as much I would not have been willing for 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 51 
 
 her absence that they might be saved. At length the doctor 
 said it was not worth while for him to continue to come, for 
 he could do me no good; but lie would call in passing, to see 
 how I was. I have said that my wife was warned in a dream 
 •of my sore affliction, which came upon me just according to 
 the dream. When I had suffered enough for my rebellion 
 against the Lord, he caused her to dream another dream for 
 my restoration, which was as follows: A strange person 
 came to the side of our bed and said to her, “Your husband 
 will never get well under the present treatment; but I can 
 cure him.” She looked at him, and took his description most 
 minutely. He then turned from the bed and walked out of 
 the house, her eyes following him as long as she could see 
 him. He was a very straight, tidy-looking man, with blue 
 eyes and fair hair. He had on light pants, a mixed coat, 
 and a white bell-crown hat. He was a stranger to us both, 
 for neither of us had ever seen him before. The next morn¬ 
 ing she told me her dream, and seemed greatly encouraged 
 and much elated, and went on to say that she wanted me to 
 go with her to town to-day and see if we could find that man, 
 for she would know him if she could see him. She went on 
 to say that she did not know whether he went to Crawfords- 
 ville or to Ladoga: but “ we will go to Crawfordsville first, 
 and if we do not find him there we will go to Ladoga ; /or I 
 will never be satisfied until we go.” I said I did not want to 
 go, for doctors could not save my life; and I had doctored 
 until I was tired doctoring, and was not able to go. She 
 answered that she did not think they could prolong my life, 
 but they might make me more comfortable while I did live. 
 She knew I was not able to go, but she would have the little 
 boys hitch the horses to the wagon, and she would put a bed 
 
52 JESSE J. G0BE2s ? S YTRITIXGS. 
 
 % 
 
 in it, and help me in and cover me up, and she could drive, 
 and when I was in I could not get out without help ; and she 
 wanted me to go for her satisfaction, for she never would be 
 
 i 
 
 satisfied until we went. So I reluctantly went, though the 
 snow was deep and the weather exceedingly cold. YTe need 
 not go to any of the doctors we knew, for the dream said 
 that neither of us had ever seen him, and there were but two 
 doctors in town that we had not both seen; one was Doctor 
 Wiley, and the other was Doctor Benage. We first drove to 
 Doctor Wiley’s, but he was gone to Ohio. This greatly 
 troubled me, for I thought likely he was the man that my 
 wife would think she dreamed of, and it would cause another 
 trip to satisfy her, and it was a great burden to me to think 
 of having to come again; but she asked where Doctor Ben- 
 age’s office was, and they pointed it out. She drove to the 
 door and got out, and partly opened the door, and saw a 
 small man sitting there that did not answer the description 
 of her dream; so she turned her face to me and said, “ This 
 is not the place,” and pulled the door shut. She turned 
 again and said, “Are you the man of the house V 7 The young 
 man answered, “No, maam; Mr. Benage has walked out. 
 Do you want to see him ?” “ Y^es, sir.” “ Come in and take 
 
 a seat by the stove, and I will hunt him up.” So she helped 
 me out of the wagon and we went in. In a few minutes we 
 heard footsteps at the door, and you may be sure that we 
 were looking with all anxiety to see the man that had been 
 dreamed of; and as soon as he entered the door my wife 
 said, “ That is the man.” I could not deny it, for there he 
 was, just as her dream had described him, with his fair com¬ 
 plexion, blue eyes, light pants, mixed coat, and white bell- 
 crown hat;, and it made a strange sensation run over me.. 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN 7 S WRITINGS. 
 
 53 
 
 She said, U I have come to see if you can tell what is the 
 matter with my husband. 7 ’ I said, u Yes, Doctor, I am like 
 the poor Syrophenician woman; I have spent all I had with 
 physicians, and have got no better. I do not want you to 
 flatter me. If you can do me any good, say so; if not, let 
 me alone. 77 After examining me he said, “I will give you a 
 course of medicine, and charge you two dollars and a half. 
 When you have taken it, if you feel as well as you could 
 expect, knowing that you have been going down for a year, 
 you need not come back again; otherwise come back, and I 
 will give you another course of medicine. 77 So I went home 
 somewhat encouraged; but I was so swollen in my bowels 
 that it took a four-inch string, tied in the button-holes, to 
 fasten my pants. I took the medicine, and in forty-eight 
 hours was as well as I have ever been since, except my weak¬ 
 ness. 
 
 How if the reader can explain the dreams on any other 
 principle than that of supernatural, it is his privilege to do 
 so; but to me, who had to realize their fulfillment, it was of 
 great weight. O how I cried to the Lord for deliverance, 
 while the waves and billows of sorrow came over me! I felt 
 that I had sunk in deep mire, where there was no standing, 
 and my own rebellion had brought it all upon me; and if the 
 Lord would have mercy and forgive me, I never would mur¬ 
 mur again, for my privileges had been great, How I was 
 low in the valley oT despair, and no evidence that it would 
 be otherwise; but the miracle was performed, and I was re¬ 
 stored to health, and I never have since prayed to be relieved 
 from preaching. * 
 
 In a short time I resumed my attendance to the churches. 
 About four years after the above affliction I was going to the 
 
-> 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 54 
 
 Tlioratown Church. The distance being about twenty-five 
 miles, I commonly went some eight or ten miles on Friday j 
 but on this occasion I was very much crowded with my work,, 
 so I concluded to wait until Saturday morning, and rise early,, 
 and thereby save time. When night came I retired to bed,, 
 feeling very tired, and the thought struck me with great force 
 that perhaps I would not awake in time to go. So I laid 
 troubling over the matter a good bit, rather blaming myself 
 because I had not gone as usual; but at length the thought 
 struck me with great comfort that if I did not awake in time 
 to go I would take it for granted that it was not necessary 
 for me to go. So I went to sleep as peacefully as I ever did 
 in my life, leaving the event to the Lord, not caring which 
 way it should be. In the morning, between three and four 
 o’clock, I saw a poor worm lying curled up in a passive, un- 
 conscious condition, and I felt a great sympathy for it. I 
 also saw a staff coming down from the heavens,- and though 
 it was small, it was of great weight. It continued to come 
 down, until it slowly settled on the worm and crushed it to 
 
 death. While I was looking with great admiration, the 
 
 * 
 
 prophet Jeremiah came and seated himself by my side, and 
 said, u Prophesy, and say, Hear, O worm, the word of the 
 Lord.” 1 replied, u Let the Lord speak, and it will be done.” 
 He again said, u Prophesy, and say, Hear, O worm, the word 
 of the Lord.” I again said, u Only let the Lord speak; there 
 is power in his word.” He repeated it the third time. I 
 then come over his words, and the staff began rising slowly 
 from the worm, life fully returned to it, and it began squirm¬ 
 ing. I was sleeping at the back side of the bed, behind my 
 wife, and the first thing I knew I landed on the floor, some 
 seven or eight feet from where I was lying, with feelings that 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 55 
 
 I have not now nor ever have had language to fully describe. 
 Every nerve was excited to its utmost capacity, so that it 
 was with difficulty that I put on my clothes; for I had just 
 been in the presence of a heavenly messenger sent from God. 
 and in conversation with him, who was sent on an embassy 
 to me, a poor worm, who was lying in a death-like posture, 
 unconscious of all surrounding circumstances, that I might 
 pursue my journey in due time. Truly I felt that the Lord 
 was mindful of me. So I went on my way rejoicing, praying, 
 preaching, and giving thanks with unusual liberty. While 
 I now write, though it has been a number of years past, the 
 truth of the circumstance arrests me with great power, and 
 calls my mind back to the circumstance of the prophet Daniel 
 and John the evangelist, when the Lord God sent messen¬ 
 gers of their brethren from heaven to instruct and comfort 
 them, and the interview was so glorious that they desired to 
 worship them 5 but they forbade it, saying, U 1 am of thy 
 brethren, and of thy fellow-servants; worship God.” I will 
 here give a description of the prophet Jeremiah. He was a 
 large, robust man, clothed in white. His pants reached to 
 his knees, with long stockings. His head was white as wool, 
 and his countenance was beautiful and grave. It was all 
 real to me then, and remains the same to this day. 
 
 I will here make a statement of an interview I had with 
 a minister of the New Light order at the Tliorntown Church, 
 some thirty odd years ago. It was the greatest sleet I ever 
 saw. He had started to Frankfort on Friday, and that night 
 this wonderful sleet came on, and his beast was barefooted. 
 He came leading it up to the house where the meeting was 
 held, and asked liberty to stay until he could travel. His 
 request was granted, and he stayed until he heard two dis- 
 
56 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’s WHITINGS. 
 
 courses. After meeting was over he said, if it would not 
 give offense, he would like to tell me how my preaching 
 
 sounded to him. I told him to go on and speak his mind 
 
 % 
 
 freely, that it would give no offense ; for a religion that would 
 not bear scrutiny was not worth possessing; that it was a 
 pleasure to me for persons to ask questions, and if I could 
 answer them, all right; but if I could not, it only showed 
 that I had no light on the subject. He commenced by say¬ 
 ing that he would use a figure of two fields, one on the right 
 hand and the other on the left. He would take the right 
 hand field, and the left was mine. When Spring came he 
 would break his ground, but I would not break mine, but 
 would say that if it was to be broken it would be broken. 
 When planting time came he would plant, but I would not, 
 but would say that if it was to be planted it would be plant¬ 
 ed. When tending time came he would tend, but I would 
 not, but would continue to say that if it was to be tended it 
 would be tended. So he said that when gathering time came 
 he would have a crop, but I would have none. When he 
 got through his illustration he seemed much elated, as if he 
 had a strong argument that could not be overthrown; but I 
 said to him, u Can’t you see that when your figure is rightly 
 applied it all belongs to me, and you have no use for it ? 
 For Adam was the husbandman, and the garden was passive 
 in his hands. It could not cultivate itself; and Jesus said, 
 ‘I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Husbandman.’ 
 Therefore the Lord must work in his vineyard, or it will all 
 come to naught, for it has no life in itself, either natural or 
 spiritual, but a given life; therefore it is passive in the hands 
 of the husbandman. If you were to see your system carried 
 into effect you coukl not bear the sight—I believe you would 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 57 
 
 faint; for you would see limbs lopping off limbs, and limbs 
 inserting limbs into limbs, in order to make themselves better, 
 which would be an effect without a cause, and you could not 
 bear the sight. But let the literal husbandman work in his 
 vineyard, and the spiritual man in his, and all is easy and 
 plain.” The minister seemed dumbfounded; and though he 
 stayed some twelve hours after this conversation, he had no 
 more to say. 
 
 I will here give a discourse preached in the year 1859 on 
 the resurrection of the dead, under the following circum¬ 
 stances : Edward Hered, a non-resurrection minister, held a 
 meeting in the neighborhood of churches that I was attend¬ 
 ing, and he made a request of several of the brethren that I 
 should meet him on a certain day, and each of us preach our 
 views on the resurrection. The brethren said they had no 
 objection, if I was willing; but when I got the word I was 
 under promise to the Union Church that, with no providen¬ 
 tial hindrance, I would be with them; so I could not accept 
 his proposition. But Elder Hered was there, and a large 
 congregation to hear him; and he threw out some strong 
 insinuations against persons holding to doctrine that they 
 were not able to defend. When I heard of his boasting I 
 sent him a letter, stating the reason why I had not met him. 
 I also informed him that if all he wanted was to preach his 
 sentiments on the resurrection, and he desired me to follow 
 him and give my views on the same, I would accommodate 
 him. He accepted, and appointed the place two miles south 
 of Thorntown, at a large Missionary Baptist meeting-house. 
 On the morning of our meeting he sent two of his brethren 
 down on my road to meet me, and to make a request that we 
 should not pick at each other’s preaching. 1 told them I 
 
58 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN ? S WRITINGS. 
 
 had no thought of picking at him, but simply to give my own 
 views. We met, and I was given an introduction to him, for 
 we only knew each other by reputation. I then made a re¬ 
 quest of him that we limit ourselves to one hour and a half 
 each; but he objected, and would not be limited. I then 
 told him I had heard people say that to be preached to death 
 was a hard death; and if we could not establish our views in 
 that time, we would fail to establish them at all. “ But you 
 may go on and speak as long as you‘please; one hour and a 
 half will do me.” So he commenced the service, to a very 
 large and attentive congregation. There were a number of 
 persons from four different counties. I do not remember the 
 text he quoted, but I do remember the course he pursued. 
 He went on and quoted every text relative to the resurrec¬ 
 tion of the dead except two, and did not attempt to give any 
 explanation, but barely quoted them, and left them without 
 comment. The two that he did not quote were so pointed 
 against his doctrine that doubtless he did not wish to re¬ 
 hearse them. One is in the book of Job xix. 25-27: “I know 
 that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter 
 day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms de¬ 
 stroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I 
 shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not 
 another; though my reins be consumed within me.” The 
 other text can be found in Mark xii. 20, and also in Luke, 
 where the Sadducees were tempting Christ by asking him 
 whose wife a certain woman would be in the resurrection 
 that had been the wife of seven husbands. Jesus answered 
 them, “Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the 
 Scriptures, neither the power of God I For when they shall 
 rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 59 
 
 marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.” The 
 Elder occupied two hours, but failed to establish his system; 
 but in closing he gave out a song by memory, that either 
 himself or some of his brethren had composed to harmonize 
 with his doctrine, and some of the congregation helped him 
 sing it. This gave me trouble for a moment, for I felt that 
 I was unprepared with a song to defend the resurrection of 
 the dead, and I had to arise as soon as his song ended; but 
 in a minute or two a beautiful hymn on that subject flowed 
 into my mind, which caused a glad feeling to come over me. 
 When his hymn ended I arose and quoted a text in First 
 Corinthians xv. 20-24: u But now is Christ risen from the 
 dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. For 
 since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection 
 
 A r , 
 
 of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall 
 all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ 
 the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his com¬ 
 ing. Then cometh the end.” My text having been quoted, 
 the first remark was that if the Elder had quoted any wit¬ 
 ness from the Bible before this congregation that proved the 
 non-resurrection of this mortal body, they ought to believe 
 it, for it was of God; and as sure as he has proved his sys¬ 
 tem, I will fail to prove a resurrection, for the Bible does not 
 contradict itself; but if he failed, I may chance to find some. 
 Now I have a question to ask you, Elder Hered, before I 
 proceed. Have you any evidence in the Bible that God will 
 destroy or annihilate his own image? He sat dumb. I ap¬ 
 pealed to him again, saying, u I have asked you a fair ques¬ 
 tion.” He still remained dumb. 1 then said, u 1 will not 
 move one peg until I get an answer, for the question is a fair 
 one; you can either say yes or no.” He then spoke out, say- 
 
GO 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 ing, “No, lie will not.” “There,” said I, “I am glad my 
 task is an easy one; for I came to contend that there was no 
 evidence in the Bible that God would destroy his own image 
 and likeness, and my worthy opponent says that he will not; 
 therefore there is no argument between us.” I then took up 
 my text and commented on it as best I could. I cannot now 
 rehearse all that I then said, but I still remember my con¬ 
 cluding remarks, which were as follows: That sin was the 
 cause of death, and Christ put away sin by the sacrifice of 
 himself. The cause being put away, must secure the discon¬ 
 tinuance of the effect. Sin being put away, death is de¬ 
 stroyed, and the resurrection must follow. The evidence 
 given of Jesus having put away sin was by his personal 
 resurrection from the dead; that as he arose the first begot¬ 
 ten from the dead, and the first ripe fruits of them that slept, 
 so all for whom Jesus died and rose again must in like man¬ 
 ner be raised from the dead, and receive that resurrection of 
 life and immortality manifested in the risen body of their 
 Bedeemer. Hence comes the victorious challenge of death 
 for its sting and the grave for its victory. These being the 
 closing remarks, I gave out the song above spoken of: 
 
 “ Sweet to rejoice in lively hope, 
 
 That when my change shall come, 
 
 Angels will hover round my bed, 
 
 And waft my spirit home. 
 
 “ There shall my disembodied soul 
 View Jesus, and adore ; 
 
 Be in his likeness satisfied, 
 
 And grieve and sin no more. 
 
 “ Shall see him wear that very flesh 
 On which my guilt was lain ; 
 
JESSE J. goben’s writings. 61 
 
 His love intense, his merits fresh, 
 
 As though but newly slain. 
 
 “ These eyes shall see him in that da} r , 
 
 The Christ that died for me; 
 
 And all my rising bones shall say, 
 
 Lord, who is like to thee? 
 
 “If such the views which grace unfolds, 
 
 Weak as it is below, 
 
 What rapture must the church above 
 In Jesus’ presence know ! 
 
 “ 0 may the unctions of these truths 
 Forever with me stay, 
 
 Till from her sinful cage dismiss’d, 
 
 My spirit flies away.” 
 
 At the conclusion of the hymn meeting was dismissed, 
 and Elder Hexed stepped up on a platform, that was built 
 for the convenience of ladies to get on their beasts, and said, 
 “ Friend Goben, I blame you for two things.” I said, “What 
 is it?” He said, “You judged of my preaching.” I said, 
 “How £id I judge of your preaching?” He said, “I sent 
 two brethren to meet you this morning, and to make a re¬ 
 quest that we were not to pick at each other. When you 
 got up you said that if I had brought any witness to prove 
 the non-resurrection of this mortal body, they ought to be¬ 
 lieve it, for it was of God ; and it was as much as to say that 
 I had brought none.” “ Well,” said I, “ if you brought any 
 witness I did not hear it, and I now call on you to tell these 
 people where it is; and if you cannot, don’t blame me, and 
 forever afterward hold your peace.” His lips quivered, and 
 he.turned pale, but made no reply. I then said, “What is 
 the other thing you blamed me for ?” He said, “ When you 
 gave out that hymn you forked your Angers opposite your 
 
G2 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 eyes, as though it were these eyes." I* said, u You ought to 
 excuse me for that, for I am in sentiment with Job, and my 
 fingers were only doing the bidding of my mind, when Job 
 said, ; In my ilesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for my¬ 
 self. and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.’ ” At this 
 
 t* * 
 
 juncture Elder Hered said, “I see plainly it is not worth 
 while for me to preach at this place any more." So we part¬ 
 ed, and I must here say that I felt truly gratified, for the 
 meeting turned out much better than I expected. The Eider 
 was considered an able debater and a politician, and the 
 people of Boone County had sent him once to the Legisla¬ 
 ture ; so I concluded the battle was similar to that of Goliath 
 and Dayid the stripling. 
 
 After I had been a resident of Indiana twenty-five years 
 I went back to Kentucky on a three weeks’ tour of preach¬ 
 ing, and brother Jonathan Vancleaye also went. We went 
 to Beech Creek, and I had preached, and there was a brother 
 whose name was Charles Bright. I had known him from my 
 childhood. He was a bachelor when I left Kentucky, but he 
 had married in my absence. He had got entangled in the 
 non-resurrection doctrine, and the church was on the verge 
 of excluding him. At the close of the meeting there was a 
 large, good-looking lady came to me and said, “ My strange 
 brother, I want you to go home with me.” I said, “I have 
 promised to go with brother Bright, so I reckon I can’t go 
 with you." She said, “ That is just to my hand, for I am his 
 wife.*' “ Well, then,” I said, u I will go.” I started to my 
 beast, and while unhitching, brother Guthery, the pastor of 
 the church, came to me and said, “Brother Goben, I am sorry 
 for you, for you are going with brother Bright, and he has 
 got off in that non-resurrection doctrine, and we can’t do 
 
JESSE J. goben’s writings. 63 
 
 .'anything with him. He is a rich man, and has nothing to do 
 but read, and he knows the Scriptures better than all of us 
 preachers put together. We have been bearing with him 
 about a year; but he is our Deacon, and a very good man, 
 and we hate to exclude him.” “ Well, brother Guthery, I 
 have agreed to go, and will have to do the best I can.” I 
 went, and when dinner was over sister Bright said, “ Brother 
 Goben, I will now tell you why I wanted you to come home 
 with me. While you were preaching to-day it fastened on 
 my mind that you could get Mr. Bright out of this non-resur¬ 
 rection doctrine. He is a good husband, but the church is 
 about to exclude him, and it seems like it will almost break 
 my heart.” Here she broke down weeping. 1 then said, 
 ■“ Sister, brother Bright will have to give me his views on the 
 resurrection, so that I can know where we differ.” Then 
 brother Bright said , u O, brother Goben, I believe in a resur¬ 
 rection, but not such a one as she talks of.” I then said, 
 ,u The Sadducees came to Jesus, tempting him, and said, 
 There was a woman that had married seven husbands, and 
 last of all the woman died; and in the resurrection whose 
 wife shall she be ? for they all had her. Jesus said, Ye do 
 err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God; for 
 in the resurrection, when they shall arise from the dead, they 
 neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are all as the 
 angels of God.” Then brother Bright said, “Brother Goben, 
 you did not quote that right.” I said, “Yes, I reckon I 
 did.” “No,” said he, “you did not; for those words, ‘when 
 they shall arise from the dead,’ are not there.” “ Well,” 
 .said I, “ if they are there, it is one strong witness for the 
 resurrection of the dead.” “ O yes,” said he, “ if they were 
 there.” “Well,” said I, “brother Bright, if they are not 
 
G4 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 t 
 
 there, I will figree to preach your doctrine as long as I live; 
 and if they are there, I want you to agree to quit troubling 
 your brethren with your non-resurrection doctrine; for they 
 love you, and do not want to exclude you.” He then said, 
 “I will accept your proposition.” Then sister Bright jumped 
 up and got the Bible, and handed it to him. He looked 
 awhile, but did not find the text. I then said, u Let me look ; 
 it may be that I can find it.” I found it, and handed him the 
 book. He read it over, and then said, “ I knew you were 
 mistaken.” I said, u Bead it again.” He read it just as he 
 had before, leaving out the words, u When they shall arise 
 from the dead.” I then got up and stepped behind him, 
 placing my finger on the line ; and when I got to those words 
 I stopped. He looked for a second or two with astonish¬ 
 ment, and then leaned back in his chair and said, u I never 
 saw that before.” At that juncture his wife clapped her 
 hand on his knee and said, u Old man, will you do what you 
 said ?” As he did not answer her forthwith, she repeated it. 
 He then said, u Yes, old woman, I certainly will.” Then the 
 old lady sent out for her neighbors to come in, and we had a 
 very pleasant meeting, and she seemed like she had got new 
 life. Five years afterward brother Guthery moved to Craw- 
 fordsville, and he informed me that brother Bright had never 
 been any more trouble to the church on his non-resurrection 
 doctrine. 
 
 I will here narrate a circumstance as it was told to me, 
 which was rather supernatural. Polly Misner was born and 
 raised in the State of Ohio, and joined the Methodists when 
 a girl; and when grown she was married to a man by the 
 name of Campbell. In process of time her husband died, 
 and all her children, and she came to Montgomery County, 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 65 
 
 Indiana, to live with her brother. She frequently attended 
 our meetings at Walnut Creek, and finally became under 
 great trouble of mind, and came to the conclusion that the 
 Lord had taken her husband and children from her because 
 she was so great a sinner that she was not fit for them to 
 live with. While she was in her great trouble the Method¬ 
 ists were carrying on a protracted meeting in the school- 
 house where we held our monthly meetings, and she conclu¬ 
 ded that she would go to their meeting and see if she could 
 hear anything that would give her relief. She went, and the 
 house was full of people, carrying on a lively meeting. She 
 took her seat at the back part of the house; and while sit¬ 
 ting there in solitude, thinking over her sinful condition, I 
 stepped in, read a text, and began preaching. I proved to 
 
 her that the Lord had not taken her husband and children 
 
 # 
 
 because of her sins, but it was amongst the all things work¬ 
 ing together for them that love God. She received comfort, 
 and left the house. She had a niece that lived about one 
 hundred yards from the school-house, who saw her going 
 home, and called to her, saying, “Aunt Polly, what are you 
 going home for?” She answered, “ Meeting is over.” Her 
 niece said, “No, it is not; I hear them singing.” She then 
 said, “My meeting is over.” She went on to her brother’s, 
 some two hundred yards further, and her sister-in-law said, 
 “Aunt Polly, why did you come home so soon?” She again 
 replied that meeting was over. Her sister-in-law said, “No, 
 it is not, for I hear them singing.” She then went on to tell 
 -how I came into the house, read a text, preached, and dis¬ 
 missed meeting; and her meeting was out and she came 
 home. This Avas a great astonishment to many, for they 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 GO 
 
 knew that Aunt Polly was a woman of truth, and not given 
 to jesting. So it is evident that the Lord manifested to her 
 a discourse delivered by me for her comfort, though I was 
 not there. It was not long until X baptized her, and she has 
 been one of the faithful to this day. 
 
 I will here narrate a similar circumstance, which is as 
 follows: Brother Jonathan Jones and his wife took an orphan 
 child to raise whose name was Arabella Caster. When she 
 was about seventeen years old she started to walk from the 
 dwelling house to the kitchen. She fell in the yard speech¬ 
 less, and remained so for several days. One night, after she 
 came to her speech, she told the family she wanted them to 
 send for me, for she desired to hear me preach once more. 
 It being a time of very high waters, and still raining, and 
 very dark, they told her it would be very difficult to go that 
 night, the distance being some ten miles, but they would go 
 in the morning; so she laid quiet a little while. All at once 
 she said, u Mr. Goben has come." Some of the family spoke, 
 and she said, u Hush ! he is reading his text.” She then laid 
 quiet several minutes, and then said, u There, he is done.” 
 
 She then quoted the text, “ Comfort ye, comfort ye my peo- 
 
 » 
 
 pie, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, 
 and cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her 
 iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord’s 
 hand double for all her sins.” She then took up the subject 
 herself and preached from it, to the astonishment of all 
 present, in language they could not rehearse. Sister Jones 
 said it made a tremor run over her, so that the skin drew 
 tight on her head, to hear the wonderfully rich language she 
 used in her dying hour; and it was but a little time until her 
 spirit took its flight. 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 67 
 
 I will here give a history of a discourse preached in the 
 year 1857 at the funeral of Edward Gamhere. I had sold 
 my farm, and had moved some thirteen miles; and about 
 two years afterward I met Mr. Gambere at Crawfordsville. 
 He was some ninety odd years of age, and only knew per¬ 
 sons by their voice. I said, “ How do you do, father Gam¬ 
 bere ? 77 He said, “ Friend Goben, is that you ? I am glad 
 to see you. 77 I then said, “ Father Gambere, I am glad to 
 see you. 77 Then said he, “ I will tell you the reason why I 
 am so glad to see you. I am now an old man, and must soon 
 go the way of all the earth. I have had it on my mind that 
 I wanted you to preach my funeral, and it has troubled me 
 a great deal, for I have been afraid that I would never get 
 to see you. I have a text that I want you to use on that 
 occasion. It is the text my father’s funeral was preached 
 from. You will find it in the ninth chapter of Hebrews, and 
 last two verses. 77 He then quoted, “And as it is appointed 
 unto men once to die, but after this the judgment : so Christ 
 was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them 
 that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin 
 unto salvation. 77 He then said, “Will you answer my re¬ 
 quest, when you hear that this old body is put away ? 77 I 
 then said, “ Yes, father Gambere, the Lord being my helper, 
 I will.” With deep solemnity and a warm hand-shake we 
 parted, and I saw him no more. Now I began meditating on 
 the text, and thinking that I would have to preach on a 
 future day of judgment, something I had never yet done, 
 though I had believed it from my earliest recollection, and 
 everybody else, so far as I knew, and the hymn books of all 
 denominations had more or less hymns portraying that day; 
 but at length it occurred to me that it would be time enough 
 
68 JESSE J. GOBEN’S writings. 
 
 to be troubled about it when I had it to do. So I thought 
 but little more about it, only hoping that the Lord would 
 control the matter. In about one year I heard the old man 
 was dead, and I wrote a letter to his son, informing him of 
 my promise to his father, and calling on him to give notice 
 of the meeting. I then got my Bible and read the text, and 
 to my astonishment I saw that the judgment was on Christ, 
 because of the appointment of man to death, and not on man 
 at all; for man was already judged, condemned, and sent¬ 
 enced to death and dust, and for this cause Christ was offered 
 to bear the sins of many. Xow the witnesses began to flow 
 into my mind that there was no such thing as a future day 
 of judgment, but it was one eternal now with the great God. 
 The funeral was appointed at Fredericksburgh, and there 
 was a large congregation assembled. Of course I cannot tell 
 you now all that I said then, but the substance I can give. 
 After reading the text I said, u This text was the choice of 
 the deceased hither to be used at this time, when his tongue 
 was still in death.” I then rehearsed the conversation above 
 written, relative to the funeral. I then stated that he was- 
 one of the oldest citizens that had lived amongst us; that he 
 was a moral, peaceable man, but had not made any open 
 profession of religion; and as the Bible informed us that the 
 race was not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, and 
 that the song of the redeemed was, u Xot unto us, not unto 
 us, but unto thy name be the glory,” I would therefore leave 
 it to this congregation to say, if the Lord should enable this- 
 old man to sing the song of redemption, who will sing the 
 song the louder, we that have lived in a church capacity, or 
 this old man, that never did. I then stated that this text 
 had been relied on, as well as many others, to prove a future 
 
JESSE J. goben’s writings. 69 
 
 day of judgment; but it was an old, gray-beaded error, and 
 that falsehood never got any better by reason of age. It is 
 strange to think how many have believed it, and never ob¬ 
 served what it involves. It would bring back all the glori¬ 
 fied saints in heaven, and all the wicked that were banished 
 from the glory of God and the presence of his power, to see 
 whether they had gone to the right place; and if there were 
 no change made, it would be but a mockery; and if any 
 change, it would prove a weakness in eternal wisdom. But 
 a resurrection of the just and of the unjust is provable. The 
 judgment having gone before, tells us that the dead in Christ 
 shall rise first, and be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, 
 and so shall they ever be with the Lord; but the wicked 
 shall go away in their wickedness. Christ proclaimed, “How 
 is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this 
 world be cast out.” You are condemned already, because 
 you have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son 
 of God. ISTot only so, but the Scriptures abundantly testify 
 that Christ is the Shepherd of his sheep, and therefore ac- 
 countable for their trespasses; and the Husband of the bride, 
 and therefore accountable for her debts; and that he is the 
 Head of the body, and therefore accountable for his mem¬ 
 bers. The prophet Isaiah says that the Lord laid on him 
 the iniquity of us all. Paul testifies that they are justified 
 from all things, and challenges all opposing powers, saying, 
 u Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It 
 is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth V 7 Justi¬ 
 fication being a law term, it could not take place in the ab¬ 
 sence of a judgment previously rendered; and in conclusion 
 Jesus cried out, u It is finished !” and gave up the ghost. 
 
 Jesse J. Goben. 
 
Crawfordsville, IncL r April, 1876 . 
 
 Dear Brother Payne: —Your postal card was re¬ 
 ceived and read with pleasure. I was glad to hear from you, 
 but have made no progress in getting subscribers for vour 
 paper. These contracted times in currency is a hard time to 
 start a paper, though I wish you great success. If you suc¬ 
 ceed, I will be a subscriber, provided I can raise the means* 
 The points of doctrine that you mentioned in your Prospectus 
 are fully sustained by the Scriptures. I have been made to 
 wonder how any man that leans to the Lord for understand¬ 
 ing fails to see that the doctrine of the two seeds is abund¬ 
 antly proved by the Scriptures; for if there w T ere no other 
 evidence but the parable of the wheat and tares, it would be 
 
 abundantly sustained. Jesus not only spake the parable,. 
 
 . 
 
 but explained it, so it will admit of no other explanation j 
 and how heaven-daring it would be for a finite w T orm to un¬ 
 dertake to improve on the explanation of the Lord of lords 
 and King of kings. Kot only so, but the volume of nature 
 harmonizes with and substantiates the same doctrine; for 
 everything has its opposite. Hence Paul would say, 66 The 
 invisible things of him from the creation of the world are 
 clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, 
 even his eternal power and Godhead.” From the above we 
 may learn that in creation God had an eye single to the un¬ 
 folding of heavenly things; and not only so, but he also 
 made manifest the existence of the mystery of iniquity* 
 Therefore he planted the tree of the knowledge of good and 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 71 
 
 evil as a warning; for it is noted in the Scriptures that it is 
 no less the prerogative of God to reveal sin than to reveal 
 holiftess. But Satan, with all his subjects, are inclined to 
 hide their crimes, ^Not only so, hut your second point of 
 doctrine in your Banner is equally sustained, to wit, the 
 eternity of the Lord Jesus ; for if mortal man should vent 
 his skill to declare the eternity of Jesus beyond what the 
 Scriptures have done, he would utterly fail. 
 
 Jesse J. Goben. 
 
 Crawfordsville, Montgomery Co., Ind., Feb. 6, 1876. 
 
 Dear Brother Goodson :—The time has come and 
 passed for me to make a remittance to you for your excellent 
 paper, the u Messenger of Peace.” I now send you $1.50, 
 hoping that the u Messenger ” may prove a blessing to all 
 who read it. I am much pleased with the manner in which 
 you conduct it; for there is no way 1 can conceive of that 
 the gifts of the whole can be sent abroad without giving 
 offense but to let each one write affirmatively his own views, 
 and thereby not be found wasting their time in pulling down 
 some one else whom they suppose is wrong. By your per¬ 
 mission I will give a few thoughts on the subject of feet 
 washing, notwithstanding there has been a great deal said 
 pro and con on that subject. 
 
 First I remark that in years gone by I was very much 
 troubled to know why the churches did not practice it; and 
 as I am now reconciled that the Savior did not intend the 
 
72 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WHITINGS. 
 
 literal observance, and as none of the brethren have said 
 precisely what I want to say, I therefore want .to tell the 
 brethren how I became reconciled. First, the kingdom of 
 heaven had been a subject long prophesied of, and now Christ 
 the King had come, and had spoken many parables, illus¬ 
 trating to his disciples what the kingdom was like; but they 
 did not understand the manner of the kingdom, but looked 
 at Christ as a temporal deliverer. Hence they would often 
 say, u Wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel ?” 
 Doubtless their anxiety was great to be restored, for the 
 Koman yoke was pressing them sorely ; and as all the king¬ 
 doms in the world had their great men in them, they greatly 
 desired to know who was to be the greatest in the kingdom. 
 Jesus reproved them, and said, u Whosoever will be chief 
 among you, let him be your servant.” He also took a little 
 child and set it in their midst, saying, u Except ye be con¬ 
 verted. and become as little children, ye shall not enter into 
 the kingdom of heaven." The mother of Zebedee’s children 
 also grew proud, and asked the Savior to u grant that these 
 my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the 
 other on the left, in thy kingdom.” The rest of the disciples 
 took indignation at them; and Jesus, to show them by a sign 
 or figure the difference between his kingdom and the king¬ 
 doms of this world, girded himself with a towel, and poured 
 water into a basin, and began to wash his disciples’ feet, 
 saying, u What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shaft 
 know hereafter.” Surely they did know that he was wash¬ 
 ing their feet; and if they did, then they knew that it was 
 not that literal observance, but something that it signified. 
 Hence, when he had finished washing their feet he explained 
 to them what it was that they did not know, but told them 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 73 
 
 they should know hereafter. Hence he said, u Know ye what 
 I have done to you t” u The servant is not greater than his 
 lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.” 
 u If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; 
 ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.” Thus he ex¬ 
 plained to them that his kingdom was not in self-exaltation, 
 like the kingdoms of this world, but in humbleness and hu¬ 
 mility. Hence, having cured the bigotry that existed among 
 the apostles, they never handed it down to the churches; 
 neither do we hear of the apostles washing one another’s 
 feet in a literal sense. The three evangelists are silent on 
 the subject; and the Acts of the Apostles, which is a history 
 of the church for the space of thirty years, is silent on the 
 subject. But the evangelist John comes up in the rear, some 
 thirty years after the setting up of the kingdom, and re¬ 
 hearses what Jesus did to the twelve. It is very evident 
 that the apostles occupied some very conspicuous places in 
 the kingdom that were never enjoined on anybody else. 
 First, they were set upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve 
 tribes of Israel, writing down all the laws and ordinances 
 that were to govern the kingdom in all ages to come. In the 
 next place, Jesus breathed on them, and said, u Receive ye 
 the Holy Ghost.” u Freely ye have received, freely give.” 
 a Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out 
 devils.” Hence I conclude that one of the above is as much 
 enjoined on the churches as the other, for neither of them is 
 handed down to be practiced by the churches; but they were 
 -enjoined on them for our instruction. 
 
 In conclusion 1 will say that our feet are the members' 
 that come in contact with the earth—they are our traveling 
 members; and to whomsoever we yield ourselves servants to 
 
74 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 obey, his servants we are, whether of sin unto death, or 
 obedience unto righteousness. If my brethren should learn 
 that I have been walking in forbidden paths, having gone 
 down to Egypt for help by mingling with the world in an 
 unbecoming way, and thereby defiled my feet, they begin 
 washing my feet by telling me that I am to observe all things 
 whatsoever my Lord has commanded me, that I have no re¬ 
 served rights, that God’s Israel are to dwell alone, and not 
 to be reckoned among the nations. If they reclaim me they 
 have succeeded in washing my feet, and have saved a soul 
 from death, and hid a multitude of sins. 
 
 Brother Goodson, I have not given chapter and verse, 
 but the brethren can hunt them up at their leisure. 
 
 Yours to serve in the kingdom and patience of Jesus 
 Christ, 
 
 Jesse J. Goben. 
 
 July 8, 1876: 
 
 Dear Brother Payne in the Kingdom and Pa¬ 
 tience of Jesus Christ :—I take this highly favored op¬ 
 portunity to answer your request, though, my dear brother, 
 
 i 
 
 I feel very incompetent for the task. I feel assured that you 
 could write more instructively to the brethren than I can on 
 that subject; but I proceed, with this standing request, that 
 you at some future time, not far distant, give your views on 
 the same subject, it being the motto of your paper. 
 
 “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 75 
 
 the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of 
 Godj and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the 
 court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it 
 not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall 
 they tread under foot forty and two months.” Having quo¬ 
 ted to the conclusion of the second verse, we will proceed. 
 First, the old apostle John informs us that when he wrote 
 
 .ji u ’' 1 • 
 
 the above text he was in the isle which is called Patinos, for 
 the w r ord of God, and for the testimony of Jesus. Then his 
 exiled solitude was for no crime that he had committed, but 
 for his belief in and testimony of Jesus. He said that it was 
 on the Lord’s day, that is, the gospel day; for the light 
 he called day, and the darkness he called night.—Genesis 
 i. 5. Hence the glorious Son of God was then shining in the 
 gospel heavens with all his glorious fullness, right where he 
 is now, in the midst of the candlesticks, with his white head 
 and flaming eyes and glowing feet, as in a burning furnace 
 his white head indicating his eternity and purity, his flaming 
 eyes his keen perception over all things, and his feet in a 
 burning furnace, showing that he had come in contact with 
 the, earth, where his people were chosen in the furnace of 
 affliction. Hence, by these seven candlesticks or churches 
 the Lord has shown what will be the condition of the churches 
 in all time to come. The first was Ephesus, and they of the 
 outer court claimed the doctrine of succession to the apostle- 
 ship; and the church had borne with them, and had patience,, 
 and tried them, and found them to be liars that said they 
 were apostles. Doubtless this state of things lasted until 
 Rome lost her power. The second state was Smyrna, and 
 the blasphemers of the outer court said they were Jews; but 
 they were of the synagogue of Satan, and were shutting up 
 
76 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN'S WRITINGS. 
 
 in prison the members of the inner court, and giving them 
 
 • i ✓ 
 
 much tribulation. This shows the enmity existing between 
 thy seed and her seed: Jesus in the inner court leading his 
 army, and the devil in the outer court leading his army. 
 Hence Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, informs us that 
 Jesus, the great Michael, the Archangel, when contending 
 with the devil, he (the devil) disputed about the body of 
 Moses; yet Michael dared not bring a railing accusation 
 against him before the Lord, but said, “ The Lord rebuke 
 thee, Satan." The devil had introduced the principle of work 
 amongst the creatures of God; and although salvation was 
 by grace, yet they dared not deny that good works were 
 necessary. Hence the body of Moses was the point in dis¬ 
 pute, for he was to execute the law; and he that doeth the 
 things of the law is to live by them. For this cause God hid 
 the bodv of Moses, so that no man knows where it is unto 
 this day; and all who are delivered from this body of works 
 hunt for it, but thev can never find it. Blessed is the man 
 whose sins are covered. I will close this part of the subject 
 by asking, “ Watchman, what of the night F In what state 
 of the seven churches do we live ? 
 
 “And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and 
 the angel stood, saying, Bise, and measure the temple of 
 God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.” Doubt¬ 
 less Jesus was that angel, and his people are the femple, for 
 it is so noted in the Scriptures. The altar is the place wTiere 
 they offer their sacrifice. The rod by which they are meas- 
 ured is the Scriptures of truth. Bemeinber, the angel above 
 spoken of “ stood, saying, Bise,” which shows a continual 
 measuring. Hence every minister of Jesus in every gospel 
 discourse measures both the temple and the altar; but the 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 77 
 
 outer court is always left out, for the reed will not measure 
 them. In the twenty-first chapter we have ample testimony 
 why one is measured and the other left out. Hence he says,. 
 
 m 
 
 “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high 
 mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusa¬ 
 lem, descending out of heaven from God.” They are liis.. 
 They come from him, and must go to him. John says, “ Ye 
 are of God, little children, and the whole world lietli in wick¬ 
 edness.” This is the outer court. They had only a nominal 
 standing; hence they were given unto the Gentiles, or the 
 heathen. But the oracles were given unto the Jews; there¬ 
 fore the condemnation of those of the outer court slumbereth 
 not, and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and 
 two months. Then come the two witnesses. 
 
 Brother Payne, I have written at intervals, and have 
 done the best I could; it looks very meager. Ho as you 
 please with the scrap, and all will be right. At some future 
 time, if the Lord will, I will give a few thoughts on the two 
 witnesses. Yours to serve, 
 
 Jesse J. Goben. 
 
 April 18, 1877. 
 
 Dear Brother Payne and Brethren :—I feel that 
 I want to converse a little with you all this morning, and I 
 have a hope that you will bear with my weakness. First, I 
 feel a great anxiety for the spread and success of the “ Herald 
 of Truth but my prayer to God is that my zeal may not be 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN ? S WRITINGS. 
 
 78 
 
 .suffered to surpass a becoming knowledge, and thereby make 
 the u Herald of Truth v a calamity instead of a blessing. I 
 am fully satisfied that the belief of the doctrine of two seeds, 
 or the disbelief of it, does not unchristianize God’s children. 
 No, it has nothing to do with their hope in Jesus. But to 
 you and to me it has a vast amount to do with the consist¬ 
 ency of truth. Then let us be very careful to raise no bar of 
 
 0 
 
 fellowship against our brethren who do not view this line of 
 doctrine as we do. Let us give no offense to Jew nor Gen¬ 
 tile, nor to the church of God; but in meekness and in love 
 
 • 
 
 let us express our views to each other, casting no unpleasant 
 reflections on our brethren who honestly differ from us. I 
 have been mingling with the Baptists for more than forty 
 years, and a large portion of that time I have attended four 
 churches. There have never been any splits or divisions 
 among them in regard to the two seed doctrine, from the fact 
 that I never undertook to drench them, but left them free to 
 form their own conclusions, after I had borne my little testi¬ 
 mony. I hope I feel thankful that I have had no disposition 
 to preach the devil and the dire condition of the condemned, 
 but Jesus Christ and him crucified. Notwithstanding what 
 I have said above, I have not shunned to declare the whole 
 counsel of God, as I understand it. Furthermore, I have 
 never been able to harmonize the Scriptures in any other 
 way, but that there are two great mysteries, each producing 
 after its own kind, and there is no relationship or union be¬ 
 tween them ; and that God never punished the devil nor sin 
 for what it is in itself, but for the transgressions against him, 
 I am sure that the brethren all know by woeful experience 
 that there is a war going on in them, and I feel about as sure 
 that none ot them believe that their heavenly Father is 
 
JESSE J- *& OBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 70 
 
 lighting against liimself; but with liis Spirit in them they 
 are warring against sin, and were it not for God’s interven¬ 
 tion they would be overcome. But Jesus came to destroy 
 him that had the power of death, that is, the devil, and de¬ 
 liver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime 
 subject to bondage. O how beautiful, how consistent, how 
 harmonious the truth appears when we use the testimony as 
 the Lord has laid ft down! But when any of the children 
 get it reversed, it makes desperate work. 
 
 Brethren, the reason that I so much urge each one of 
 you to increase the list of signers for the u Herald of Truth” 
 is because of its consistency with the revelation that God 
 has given; and I feel assured that the truth of God declared 
 in that wav that should characterize the children of the king- 
 dom cannot prove destructive to the household of faith. I 
 for one am well pleased with the manner in which the u Her¬ 
 ald” is conducted; yes, far better than I expected to be. 
 Brother Payne, I have obtained one more subscriber. It is 
 sister Betsey Wilson. She was born blind to natural things 
 as well as to heavenly things; but it pleased the Lord years 
 ago to enlighten the eyes of her understanding, so that she 
 can behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ as 
 well as any of her brethren, and she, with them, is looking 
 forward to the more refulgent glory. 
 
 Jesse J. Goben. 
 
Crawfordsville, Ind,, Sept. 15, 1884. 
 
 Elder Dickerson—Dear Brother :—I received your 
 letter, in which you call me to account for preaching Jesus 
 and the resurrection of the dead. This has been and is a 
 subject of much controversy, from the resurrection of Jesus 
 Christ to the present, notwithstanding* God gave infallible 
 testimony by Enoch, the seventh from Adam, in translating 
 him, showing the finality of the antediluvian world. “ Enoch 
 walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.* 5 ’ 
 Again, in the second measure of time Elijah was translated^, 
 showing the finality of the prophetic age. In the third and 
 last measure of time Jesus arose, and after forty days as¬ 
 cended up on high, with the eternal life of all he represented 
 in him, saying, “As I live, shall ye also live. 55 Notwith¬ 
 standing the above, with all that is written, you call me in 
 question for bearing testimony to the resurrection of the 
 dead, as did the Jews the Lord Jesus and his disciples for 
 X>reaching the same. The Jews encountered Jesus, intro¬ 
 ducing to him a woman that had been married to seven hus¬ 
 bands, asking him, “ In the resurrection whose wife shall she 
 be? 55 He answered them, “Do ye not therefore err, because 
 ye know not the Scriptures, neither the power of God f For 
 when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor 
 are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in 
 heaven. 55 Ought not the above answer put to silence all 
 caviling, seeing Jesus confirmed the resurrection of the dead 
 by his “shall, 55 which means fate, or destinyf Here suffer 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 81 
 
 me to repeat the words of Paul to Agrrppa: u Why should 
 it be thought a thiug incredible with you, that God should 
 raise the dead F Notwithstanding the above, it was but a 
 short time until Steidien sealed his testimony with the blood 
 of his life for the same doctrine; and it was but a short time 
 until the church at Corinth became so entangled that it drew 
 forth one of the most powerful arguments of the most cogent 
 reasoning by the apostle Paul. He calls attention in the 
 first place to the fact that the truth of Christ’s resurrection 
 is essential to the very nature and efficacy of the gospel, and 
 that this truth had been received and fully acknowledged by 
 them; and he alleges that the apostles, including himself, 
 with many others, witnessed the infallible proofs by which 
 this great fact was sustained; and that they (the apostles), 
 who were the chosen witnesses of Christ’s resurrection, had 
 not only with one voice proclaimed the fact, but the Holy 
 Ghost had also borne witness, and those Corinthians had 
 believed it. Hence he institutes the inquiry, “If Christ be 
 preached that lie rose from the dead, how say some among 
 you that there is no resurrection of the dead?” Here let it 
 be observed that the Corinthians had acknowledged the 
 truth of Christ’s resurrection, and had practiced baptism as 
 explained by the apostles in its doctrinal relations to that 
 great truth ; and yet some among them denied the resurrec¬ 
 tion of the dead. Hence the inquiry above, which implies 
 that the resurrection of the dead necessarily follows the 
 resurrection of Christ, as effect follows cause. So the apostle 
 
 V 
 
 argues not only from the effect to the*cause, but also from 
 the non-existence of the effect to the non-existence of the 
 cause. Hence the apostle says, “ But if there be no resur- 
 
 0 
 
82 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEX'S WRITINGS. 
 
 rection of the dead, tlien is Christ not risen.’ 7 This he re¬ 
 peats the second time, to render more distinct and emphatic 
 the truth affirmed. Upon the assumption that the dead rise 
 not, which, if true, utterly disproves the truth of Christ’s 
 resurrection, he reckons the consequences to be disastrous 
 beyond measure, and so declares them, namely, that the 
 apostles themselves were false witnesses of God, that their 
 preaching was vain, they were still in their sins, they also 
 who had fallen asleep in Christ had perished, and the hope 
 of the disciples, in view of the perils, persecutions and tribu¬ 
 lations endured because of their identification by profession 
 with the death and resurrection of Christ, furnished neither 
 mitigation in the present life nor promised relief after death. 
 At this stage of his argument the apostle triumphantly af¬ 
 firms the resurrection of Christ as an established fact, and 
 exults in his representative character: u But now is Christ 
 risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that 
 slept." He here introduces an instructive parable between 
 Adam and Christ; one the head and representative of the 
 race in death — u since by man came death;” the other the 
 
 ts 7 
 
 head and representative of the same race in the resurrection 
 of the dead — u by man came also the resurrection of the 
 dead.” The one a representative- on whom the sentence of 
 death has passed — u as in Adam all die;” the other a repre¬ 
 sentative in whom eternal life was inherent — u even so in 
 Christ shall all be made alive.” According to the apostle’s 
 own words, all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 
 and shall come forth.' Hence the argument is that the resur¬ 
 rection of Christ secures the resurrection of the dead, he 
 being the first fruits; and the fact that some among the 
 Corinthians denied the resurrection of the dead, while they 
 
I 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 83 
 
 acknowledged tlie trutli of Christ’s resurrection, and prac¬ 
 ticed baptism in its doctrinal relations to that great truth. 
 Hence the apostle said, If the dead rise not, as some among 
 you affirm, then Christ does not reign, he is not the Mediator, 
 he has not risen from the dead. If it be admitted, as those 
 heretic members did admit, that Christ lives and reigns, then 
 the resurrection of the dead will certainly follow; for to this 
 end Christ both died and rose again, that he might be Lord 
 both of the dead and the living. u For he must reign, till he 
 hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that 
 shall be destroyed is death.’’ Death is destroyed or done 
 away by raising the dead. They professed that Christ had 
 risen, as you do, brother Dickerson, and that he lived and 
 reigned, but that there was no resurrection of the dead; 
 which was shown by the apostle to be most contradictory, 
 and their heresy was shown to be self-destructive. In the 
 event that the dead’rose not, their baptism was shown to be 
 a vain and meaningless pretense. 
 
 In conclusion of the whole, sin is the cause of death, and 
 Christ put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. The cause 
 being put away, must secure the discontinuance of the effect. 
 Sin being put away, death is destroyed, and the resurrection 
 of the dead must follow. The evidence given of Christ hav¬ 
 ing put away sin was by his personal resurrection. As he 
 arose the first begotten from the dead, and the first ripe 
 fruits of them that slept, so all for whom Christ died and 
 rose again must in like manner be raised from the dead, and 
 receive that resurrection of life and immortality in the risen 
 body of Jesus their Redeemer. Hence the declaration, u O 
 death, where is thy sting? () grave, where is thy victory? 
 ‘The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 
 
84 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 But thanks be to God, which givetli us the victory through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ.*’ 
 
 Finally, my brother, wrong premises always come to 
 wrong conclusions. You call all the children of Adam the 
 children of the flesh. That is not true, for Isaac and Ish- 
 mael were chosen of God as prototypes. They both had 
 bodies of flesh, but Isaac was never called a child of the 
 flesh, before his birth nor after. Paul said to his Galatian 
 brethren, “As Isaac was, so are we.** How was Isaac ? He 
 was born contrary to nature, to typify all the heaven-born, 
 who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but 
 of God. But Islimael was born of a bond-woman, according 
 to nature, to typify all the children of the flesh; and not only 
 so, for Jacob and Esau typified the same thing. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 Jesse J. Gobena 
 
 Ye saints that now hope for glory. 
 Come, join me, and help me to sing 
 
 Sweet anthems of praises to Jesus, 
 
 Our Prophet, our Priest, and our King. 
 
 Those notes are so charming, melodious, 
 They help me most sweetly to sing; 
 
 If Jesus himself he the Leader, 
 
 We’ll pass through the valley in peace. 
 
 When Jesus beheld me in nature, 
 Pursuing the road down to pain, 
 
 He caused me my sins to discover, 
 
 And cleansed my soul from the stain. 
 
85 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 Then cheer up, ye conquering soldiers, 
 
 Death shortly will sound your reprieve; 
 
 Then all of our arms will he grounded 
 At Jesus’, our General’s, feet. 
 
 Eternity then will he ringing 
 Salvation to God and the Lamh ! 
 
 0 brethren, I long to he singing 
 With angels the praise of his name. 
 
 Jesse J. Goben. 
 
 THE SCRIPTURAL VIEW OF WOMAN SUFFRAGE. 
 
 Editor Review :—Inasmuch as you have given a col¬ 
 umn of your valuable pajmr into the control of the Woman’s 
 Suffrage Association, and inasmuch as we know ourself to 
 be a true friend of the sex, and would do nothing to hinder 
 them in their rights, or in an elevation from the already high 
 position in which their Creator has placed them, we there¬ 
 fore feel free to make a few remarks, with some suggestions, 
 which we hope will be received in the same spirit in which 
 they are given. 
 
 We view the subject to be a momentous one, worthy the 
 deep consideration of an intelligent community. Would it 
 not be wisdom, highly tempered with prudence, for the voting 
 population to know whether the majority of ladies desire 
 such rights of suffrage ? If they do not, would it not be un¬ 
 wise and unkind to give the right of suffrage to the sex at 
 the request of the minority ? Would it not be a stigma on 
 the sex ? We do believe that, if the truth were known, the 
 
86 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 number who are clamoring for the right of suffrage would 
 become beautifully small. It is just as apparent as the sun 
 at noonday that there is a class of women who, like their 
 mother Eve, are dissatisfied with the condition in which they 
 have been placed by the God who created them. When will 
 mortals duly consider the fact that they are entitled to no 
 
 advanced position from the order in which they were ere- 
 
 • 
 
 ated ? To show the first standing of male and female we 
 have only to resort to the order of creation. When the 
 heaven and the earth were created, with all the host of them r 
 there was not a man to till the ground; so the Lord God 
 formed man, and breathed into him the breath of life, and 
 man became a living soul.’ The Lord had planted a garden,, 
 with trees beautiful to the sight; also were planted those 
 which bore fruit pleasant to the taste; also the tree of the 
 knowledge of good and evil. He then put man in the gar¬ 
 den, commanding him to dress it and to keep it. He also 
 gave man free access to eat of the fruit of all the trees in the 
 garden except that of the knowledge of good and evil, know¬ 
 ing that in the day he ate of the forbidden tree death would 
 be the penalty of his disobedience. As yet there was no 
 woman; and to the man was given the right to name all the 
 animal kingdom, and all things were put under his feet—all 
 the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and whatsoever 
 followed the paths through the sea. Still there was no 
 woman; but the Lord saw that it was not good for man to 
 be alone, and he made him a helpmate. The part of man 
 which was taken to form woman was not from his head nor 
 from his feet; which teaches us that she should not attempt 
 to rule man, and that man must not tread woman under foot. 
 A rib was taken out of man’s side, under his arm, near liis 
 
87 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 heart, to show that woman is to be by her husband’s side, 
 under the arm of his protection, near the heart of his love. 
 Hence the order of creation shows that woman was to be in 
 some degree subordinate to man, she being of him, and all 
 rule and control being given him in her absence, she receiv¬ 
 ing the law second-handed, from her husband, and not di¬ 
 rectly. The happy pair did not long continue in the garden, 
 for there came a tempter, and the woman was seduced, and 
 ate of the forbidden fruit. This is the first case of woman 
 suffrage, and she was doubtless very persuasive with tongue 
 and officious with her hands; for she persuaded her hus¬ 
 band, and he also did eat. To hear the voice of a wife as a 
 counsellor is becoming in a husband; but to be induced by 
 her to transgress the law of the Most High is the first im¬ 
 prudence Adam is charged with. Gold may be bought too 
 dear. It is wisdom in creatures to live ignorant of those 
 things which can be known only by transgression. But now 
 the Judge of all the earth commences the trial. Although 
 the woman was first in the transgression, man was first 
 called to account. Why ? Because the law, with the right 
 to rule, had been given to him. Hence.the inquiry, “Adam, 
 where art thou V ? Adam proceeds to excuse himself by lay¬ 
 ing the blame on Eve, and strongly infers that God was to 
 blame in giving him the woman. Here Adam makes use of 
 nineteen words, instead of saying “Yes.” Fifteen of them 
 are used as an apology, and four as a confession; hence long 
 apologies and short confessions have prevailed among men 
 ever since. Next the Judge proceeds to examine the woman, 
 and she lays the blame on the serpent. Now the trial is 
 over, and the Judge proceeds to pass sentence on the trans¬ 
 gressors in order, according to their crimes. In transgres- 
 
ss 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’s WRITINGS. 
 
 sion the devil was first, next the woman, and .last the man. 
 When sentence was passed on the serpent, the contemptible, 
 intruding devil had to stand and take it, having no one on 
 whom to lay the blame. So it follows, “ Cursed art thou 
 above all cattle r (meaning such as are tame), “and above 
 all the beasts of the field,*' meaning such as are wild, roam¬ 
 ing over the hills and mountains, never to assist man or to 
 be assisted by man, ever to be held in contempt, and evil 
 spoken of; so that those who weary themselves in his ser¬ 
 vice are x>rone to call every disagreeable thing which per¬ 
 plexes them by his name. Aow comes the sentence of the 
 woman, Saying, “ Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he 
 shall rule over tliee.*' As Eve was first in transgression, 
 and a tempter to Adam, she and all her sex are reduced to 
 the subjugation of obeying their husbands, instead of con¬ 
 trolling them. Eulers address their subjects by command; 
 but subjects address their rulers by desire, in a supplicating 
 manner. Here we see the subjection of woman is much in¬ 
 creased. By trying to climb higher, she fell much lower. 
 Xext comes the man; and to Adam he said, “ Because thou 
 hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, 
 Thou shalt not eat of it: 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 ii bring forth to thee; and thou shalt 
 eat the herb of the field: in the sweat of thv 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.** Let men live where they will, follow whatever 
 calling they may, afflictions and sorrows attend them all the 
 da vs of their lives. From this we may see that when crea- 
 tures imagine thev have the right to transcend the wisdom 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 89 
 
 of tlie Creator, and thus better their condition, they will find 
 that shame, guilty fear and nakedness are the reward of 
 their labor. 
 
 Jesse J, Goben. 
 
 THE BIBLE. 
 
 The Bible contains GO books, 1,189 chapters, and 31,114 
 verses. The name Lord is found G,062 times in the Old 
 Testament : the name God 2,725 times. The name Jesus 
 occurs 925 times in the Xew Testament; the name Christ 555 
 times. The word Selali is found 74 times in the Bible ; the 
 word eternity in only one place—Isaiah lvii. 15. The Bible 
 is divided into six parts, as follows : First, the law of Hoses, 
 beginning with Genesis and ending with Deuteronomy. 
 Second, the history of the Jews, beginning with Joshua and 
 ending with Esther. Third, a book of poems, beginning with 
 Job and ending with Solomon’s Song. Fourth, the proplie-- 
 cies of sixteen prophets, beginning with Isaiah and ending 
 with Malachi. Fifth, the evangelical part, containing the 
 history of Christ and the apostles. Sixth, the epistolary 
 writings of Paul, Peter, James, Jude and John, together 
 with the book of Bevelation. Hence the Bible is in its parts 
 historical, poetical, allegorical, prophetical, receptive and 
 promissory. Hence it carries on the face of it the merit of 
 being a revelation from God to man. Of revelation there 
 are two kinds, oral and written. Oral revelation was first. 
 In this God revealed his will unto men before letters came 
 
90 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 into use. After letters came into use the Almighty directed 
 the hands of men to write down those revelations of his will 
 which he made known unto them j and such writings are 
 called written revelations. The Bible was more than sixteen 
 hundred years in writing. It contains a history of the 
 world’s whole age, partly in narrative and partly in pro¬ 
 phecy. Moreover, it tells us of some things that took place 
 before the world was, and some things that will be when 
 God is done with the world. Hence it is written in a style 
 that no man on earth can imitate, which will forever keep it 
 from being incorporated with human compositions. The 
 double asseveration, verily, verily, is found 25 times in John’s 
 gospel, and nowhere else. The words Lord God are not 
 found in either, nor in Solomon’s Song. Likewise the names 
 Jesus Christ are not in the three epistles of John. The word 
 baptism, with its relatives, is found 100 times in the Xew 
 Testament. 
 
 Amongst the many thousands that lived before the flood 
 we only have 27 personal names, to wit, Adam, Eve his wife, 
 Abel, Cain, and eleven of his offspring, Seth, and eleven of* 
 his offspring, which make the 27. Of the above we have 
 handed down to us one martyr, one murderer, one manslayer, 
 one prophet, one preacher, and one polygamist. “And La- 
 mech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; 
 ye wires of Lamecli, hearken unto my speech; for I have 
 slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt. 
 If Cain shall be avenged seven fold, truly Lamecli seventy 
 and seven fold.”—Genesis iv. 23, 21. Of the above, seven 
 lived more than 900 years. 
 
 t 
 
 Jesse J. Gobex. 
 
A CALL TO THE MINISTRY. 
 
 THAT IS, HOW MEN ARE CALLED TO THE MINISTRY. 
 
 First, the call to the ministry does not depend upon the 
 brilliancy of natural talents. The mysteries of the gospel 
 are hidden from the wise and prudent. The world by wis¬ 
 dom knows not God. Natural talents furnish men for use- 
 
 • 
 
 fulness in the things of this world, but do not qualify them 
 for gospel ministers. Nor does it depend on seminaries of 
 learning. By some the youth is sent to school with the 
 avowed purpose of preparing him for the ministry; as if the 
 preaching of the gospel were but the declension of nouns or 
 the conjugation of verbs, with a little knowledge of the dead 
 languages. Suppose, however, they equal or excel any of 
 the great men in learning; they are only prepared for worldly 
 pursuits. Amos was a rustic herdsman, yet some of his 
 trophies were higher than the heavens. John the Baptist 
 was brought up in the wilderness, and the apostles for the 
 most part were ignorant Galileans, who followed the trade 
 of fishing; yet these were called by God, while the learned 
 among them were neglected. This call is not included in a 
 gracious call out of darkness into the marvelous light of the 
 gospel. This call is experienced by.all the saints, but all the 
 saints are not preachers. Neither is the call subservient to 
 the will or choice of men. Where preaching is a lucrative 
 business, the greedy may choose it; where it is honorable, 
 the proud may desire it; where it is attended with ease, the 
 
92 
 
 JESSE J. G-OBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 lazy may covet it; bat all these are ignorant of it. It is a 
 miracle only to him that is called. It is true that miracles 
 have sometimes attended the commission, as in tlie cases of 
 Moses, Jeremiah and Paul; but the gifts to the twelve and 
 
 t 
 
 to the seventy were not by miracle, which proves that mira¬ 
 cles are not essential to the call. If the call were by miracle 
 all the time, we should have as good reason to believe that 
 God would call infants or dumb men as any others; but this 
 we know is not true. The call is by special mission. Men 
 who have the common use of their senses, who are delivered 
 
 from darkness, and translated into the kingdom of the Son 
 • 
 
 of God, receive a special gift to qualify them for the work of 
 the ministry. When Christ ascended on high he received 
 gifts for men; and these gifts he bestowed on them. He 
 gives to some apostles, to others prophets, evangelists, pas¬ 
 tors and teachers, for the work of the ministry. This spir¬ 
 itual gift includes two things: first, the preparation of the 
 mind: and secondly, a constraint to improve. 
 
 | The foregoing is what Elder Goben wrote in his books; 
 but the following letter is requested by many brethren to be 
 connected with his writings. A difficulty occurred in Sugar 
 Creek Church, at Crawfordsville, Indiana, on account of 
 some points of doctrine and points of order, and the two 
 factions split. It was taken to Court, and the Judge decided 
 it, as Elder Goben believed, contrary to the order of the 
 Baptists, and contrary to the laws of Christ ; and he wrote 
 the following letter to the Judge, which is herein connected 
 with his writings, viz.:] 
 
 Judge Thomas—Dear Sir:—I have had much deep, 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN ? S WRITINGS. 
 
 93 
 
 unpleasant reflection, mingled with sorrow, in regard to your 
 decision in tlie Old School Baptist troubles; and as I firmly 
 believe that you are not apprised of the great injustice of 
 your decision, I therefore have felt deeply impressed to set 
 forth in order the points in which the great wrong exists. 
 First, I wish to say to you that I have no unkind words to 
 say to you, but merely an explanation, ^ow to the point. 
 
 First. Every deliberative body, whether Church or State, 
 is organized under a Constitution, which is the umpire of 
 their faith; hence they have the right to form Rules of De¬ 
 corum, or laws, to govern them under said Constitution. In 
 that Decorum there must be a majority rule, or else they 
 cannot do business to any extent. Question: Does that 
 majority rule exist independent of the Constitution, or does 
 
 i 
 
 it not grow out of the Constitution ? If it does, did not the 
 majority secede, and thereby forfeit all right to the organ¬ 
 ization ? Moreover; was it not drawn out of Elder Suthard, 
 in the cross-examination, that he and Milton Clark got up 
 an instrument of writing that caused the division, and that 
 ^he (Suthard) would not have joined the church if the divi¬ 
 sion had not taken place ? Did he not further state that the 
 same doctrine had been preached in the church for twenty 
 years, evidencing that what he (Suthard) introduced was 
 something new, and so changed the faith that lie could be¬ 
 come a member? Moreover, was it not proven before Your 
 Honor that said Defendants appointed a meeting at an un¬ 
 usual time, without the knowledge or consent of Plaintiffs, 
 and went on to exclude members without telling them what 
 their crime was ? Is this not more despotic than the dark 
 ages? Even Ctesar of Rome would have the accusers and 
 accused brought face to face, that they might plead and be 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 94 
 
 impleaded. Yot only so, but was it not proven before Your 
 Honor that said Defendants elected their Trustees under 
 another name, showing a new order of things—that they did 
 not like the old name l One of the strong points on which 
 you founded your judgment was church independence; that 
 is, each local body is independent of all the others. It is 
 true there was some conflicting testimony before Your Honor, 
 but let us appeal to the standard that all profess to be gov¬ 
 
 erned bv. “But now are thev many members, yet but one 
 bodv. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no 
 need of theef*—1 Cor. xii. 20, 21. If you will read the chap¬ 
 ter through you will see that the church is typified by the 
 human body, with all its members, showing that there is no 
 such thing as independence. 
 
 The next point on which your judgment was based was 
 that councils were only advisory; and on this point also 
 there was much conflicting testimony. Four witnesses testi¬ 
 fied for the Plaintiffs that councils of the same faith and 
 order of Predestinarian Baptists were conclusive, from which 
 there never had been any appeal; and two witnesses testi¬ 
 fied for the Defendants to the reverse. Who were those two 
 witnesses l Were it proven before Your Honor that those 
 two were convicts, men blackened with crime, should not the 
 
 credibility of witnesses always be taken into consideration ? 
 • 
 
 These were trees “whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice 
 dead, plucked up by the roots.' 1 —Jude 12. There was much 
 said in the trial and argument of the case about the inde¬ 
 pendence of churches, and we may infer from the position 
 taken by some that they regard the churches free and inde¬ 
 pendent of each other, having an unlimited right to do as 
 they please, without regard to the judgment and concurrence 
 
95 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 of sister churches or aggrieved brethren: and they regard it 
 as an infringement of their independence for any to question 
 the validity of any of tlieir proceedings. But to our under¬ 
 standing the saints of God, whether considered individually 
 or collectively, are the most dependent upon God for every¬ 
 thing; and not only so, but by his wisdom and grace are 
 they so peculiarly organized as to be dependent on one an¬ 
 other, so much so that no one member can be independent of 
 any or all the members belonging to the body of Christ. 
 u For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all 
 the members of that one body, being many, are one body: 
 so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into 
 one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be 
 bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one 
 Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the 
 foot shall say, Because I am not the hand. I am not of the 
 body ; is it therefore not of the body'? And if the ear shall 
 say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body: is it 
 therefore not of the body ? r —1 Cor. xii. 12-10. Can the ear 
 perform the office of the eye? Or is the hand independent 
 of the foot ? Are not all the members dependent one upon 
 another ? How vain then it is to talk of the independence 
 of individually organized churches ! Hence in the structure 
 and organization of our natural bodies the head, the heart, 
 the hands and feet, and every member, however small, is 
 indispensable to make the body perfect. Even so is the 
 body of Christ; there is a mutual dependence of the mem¬ 
 bers one with another. The eye, however necessary to see 
 for the whole body, vet it cannot masticate our food and 
 prepare it for the stomach. While the ear can do the hear¬ 
 ing for all the other members of the body, it could not hear 
 
96 
 
 JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 anything if it were cut off from the body. And all the other 
 members—there must be a harmony in the body. The tray- 
 eling members cannot go one way and the body another. 
 Hence we learn from Holy Writ that the Lord has set the 
 members in the body as it has pleased him ; and to disregard 
 the order of heaven is the destruction of our own peace. 
 Hence the necessity of a clear understanding of the relation¬ 
 ship of churches of the same faith and order, or brethren of 
 the one church, which is the body of Christ, which they bear 
 to each other; and what obligations that relationship in¬ 
 volves is sometimes but too faintly felt bv those who sin- 
 cerely desire to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of 
 peace. If all the local branches of the church bear the same 
 relationship to each other as so many members of one body, 
 and they then be so independent of each other as that they 
 may disregard the concurrent judgment of their fellow-mem¬ 
 bers in their proceedings, are not the commandments given 
 to all, to be of one mind, and of the same judgment, and to 
 endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, 
 and follow the things that make for peace, and the things 
 whereby one may edify another, as binding upon all the 
 branches of the church as upon individual members of any 
 one branch ? We think it ought to be readily admitted that 
 the whole church of God in all her branches—the entire body 
 of Christ in all its members, is under the one and the same 
 law of Christ; and what that law says to one it says to all, 
 commanding all, both individually and collectively, to watch 
 and be sober, to observe all things whatsoever Christ has 
 commanded. If all the members of a body are supplied with 
 the same vital blood which flows from the same heart—if all 
 are animated bv the same vitality, how then can they be 
 
JESSE J. GOBEN’S WRITINGS. 
 
 97 
 
 independent of each other, or say to any part of the body, 
 We have no need of thee? The interest is identical; and 
 what concerns one branch or one member concerns all. This 
 position cannot be controverted by the word of God agd the 
 experience of the church in all her history. It is clearly 
 proven that the relationship of sister churches cannot be 
 sustained if any of the churches declare independence of the 
 others. How can two walk together except they be agreed ? 
 
 Yours, 
 
 Jesse J. Goben. 
 
 WILLIS E. MOORE’S LETTER. 
 
 The last of Elder Goben’s own writings, on page 92, 
 ending with the word u improve,” we feel to emphasize on it, 
 and u improve” our time opiiortunities and our enjoyments 
 as a Christian people or body. As it was our high privilege 
 to visit our dear old brother in his last days on earth, we 
 wish to call the reader’s mind and attention to some of his 
 thoughts on the subject of death and its attendant changes, 
 that we must all pass through in the ordeal, viewing the 
 certainty of its near approach with him. There were a great 
 many precious thoughts on his mind that he wished to talk 
 about, one of which was the slaying of the two witnesses, 
 and the time and manner that the Scriptures seemed then to 
 bear him out in; and he only prayed for strength and oppor¬ 
 tunity to preach it as he then saw it. His mind was so far 
 
08 
 
 WILLIS E. MOORE'S LETTER. 
 
 superior to his strength that I could out hope there was yet 
 a work for him to do, and so stated to him. His reply was 
 that if God in his providence gave him permission he would 
 surety do it, and with a feeling and views that he had never 
 felt before. He spoke freely of the troubled state of Zion, 
 and the spirit manifested in some to cultivate strife rather 
 than good feeling; when the good name and enjoyments of 
 the churches and brotherhood generally were disregarded by 
 designing ones, and strife and division would spring up 
 where love, peace, fellowship and enjoyment of the blessings 
 of God our Savior should reign in every heart. We illus¬ 
 trated to his seemingly full satisfaction the prophet’s lan¬ 
 guage, saying, “A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; 
 a spring shut up, a fountain sealed." The special effort of 
 every heaven-born child of God should reach out to preserve 
 the good name of the church of his blessed Master, together 
 with each individual member of it, as we should to preserve 
 and maintain the good name of our companions and sisters. 
 The very thought carries with it that none but a designing 
 evil doer would willingly consent or allow such to be the case, 
 when it is possible by voice or vote to prevent its occurrence. 
 This brought us to speak of a great number that stood aloof 
 from, the church who have tasted the Lord to be gracious, 
 standing without, deprived of voice or vote, and yet hoping 
 and praying for peace in the churches; while their numbers, 
 together with their voice and vote, would rule for peace, 
 brotherly love, and all else that tends to the blessed enjoy¬ 
 ment of the saints on earth. While the door of the church 
 is being opened, and they fail to embrace the opportunity, 
 they still suffer all the attendant evils that follow, and the 
 church as a body suffers, and is deprived of the blessed en- 
 
WILLIS E. MOORE’S LETTER. 99 
 
 joyment of hearing them relate their experience, and of the 
 strength in numbers and spiritual food derived from such an 
 occasion. The brother remarked, u I have often said in my 
 exhortations, Stay away as long as you can, and you will 
 come in the Lord’s own good time; but now I would greatly 
 qualify those words, and say, As long as you can stay away 
 satisfied. For in my judgment a child born of the Spirit of 
 his blessed Lord is never satisfied until he tells it to the 
 church, and is admitted to full fellowship in the church; for 
 it is obedience that we owe our Lord and Master, and not 
 .sacrifice. How awkward would it appear for us to counsel 
 a child in nature not to obey his parent as long as he could 
 put it off. Our Savior in his parables says that his kingdom 
 is like this or that earthly thing, in the sense that he is 
 speaking of it; and Paul takes the matter up and goes still 
 further back, saying, 4 The invisible things of him from the 
 creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by 
 the things that are made, even his eternal power and God¬ 
 head ; so that they are without excuse.’ Xo excuse to be 
 offered. Having all nature before us, and from that to the 
 volume of the book, we are commanded to study them, to 
 show ourselves approved unto God. Xot to study that God 
 may approve your brother’s acts, but your own. When all 
 of us do and live to that admonition or command, we con¬ 
 clude that our strife while in the fiesh would fade away, and 
 be superseded by good feelings, brotherly love, and a long¬ 
 ing desire to meet each other while we remain in the flesh, 
 looking forward to the time when we too will be called away 
 from earth to meet our blessed Lord, and be like him there, 
 as our walk and conduct should imitate his meek and lowly 
 walk while he sojourned on earth, in all meekness, long- 
 
100 
 
 WILLIS E. MOORE’S LETTER. 
 
 suffering, forbearing one another in love, and esteeming each 
 other better than ourselves. Against such number and con¬ 
 duct there is no law to condemn.” In view of the blessed 
 thought of the things that God has prepared for them that 
 love him, and the near approach of the dear brother, as well 
 as ourselves, to death’s door, we feel constrained, with the 
 poet, to say, 
 
 “ Our souls full of glory inspiring our tongue, 
 
 Could we meet with angels we’d sing them a song; 
 
 We’d sing of our Jesus, and tell of his charms, 
 
 And beg them to hear us to his loving arms. 
 
 “We hope they’re descending to hear while we sing, 
 
 Well pleased to hear mortals praising their King; 
 
 Bright angels may whisper so sweet in our ear, 
 
 Away from you heaven and Jesus, my dear. 
 
 “ 0 Jesus ! 0 Jesus ! thou balm of my soul! 
 
 ’Twas thee, my dear Jesus, that made my heart whole ! 
 
 Our last lovely morning, so promising fair, 
 
 Is fast on us fleeting, and soon will appear. 
 
 “And when that bright morning in splendor shall dawn. 
 
 Our tears shall be ended, our sorrows all gone ; 
 
 The Bridegroom from glory to earth shall descend, 
 
 Ten thousand bright angels around him attend. 
 
 “Our graA^es shall be opened, the dead shall arise, 
 
 And with the Redeemer mount up to the skies; 
 
 The saints then immortal in glory shall reign, 
 
 The bride with the Bridegroom forever remain. 
 
 “The seals being opened, the trumpet shall sound, 
 
 To awake God’s dear children that sleep under ground; 
 
 Their souls and their bodies Avill then join in one, 
 
 And each from their Savior receive a bright crown.” 
 
 So let our prayers be ever for the welfare of Zion, waiting in 
 
101 
 
 WILLIS E. MOORE’S LETTER. 
 
 that sweet anticipation for the blessed hope in all things 
 that reaches beyond the grave, contending for nothing but 
 the truth as it is in Jesus, and that tends for peace among 
 the brethren; knowing full well that everything to the con¬ 
 trary, and to the detriment of the welfare of Christ and his 
 church or kingdom, comes of the evil one, and is simply 
 doing his will or wish, instead of obeying our blessed Master. 
 He tells us plainly, u To whom ye yield yourselves servants 
 to obey, his servants ye are.” And should we, claiming to 
 be servants of Christ, hinder reconciliation by word or act, 
 we are doing the works of the wicked one, which is a con¬ 
 tradiction of terms, and are crucifying the Lord afresh, and 
 putting him to an open shame. While there is a seeming 
 difference on some jmints, let us bear with one another in 
 love; for if we were required to see eye to eye in all points, 
 there would be but few in any one church. So let us rather 
 rejoice that others can see further than ourselves, and go on 
 our way rejoicing, remembering our enjoyments in years 
 gone by, and live hoping that the time may speedily come 
 when we all can say to our brethren and sisters, 
 
 “ Remember our fathers, for when we were young 
 
 [In the Spirit] 
 
 Who loved us more fondly than they 
 
 [As children of God] f 
 
 They caught the first accents that fell from our tongue 
 
 [From our experience], 
 
 And smiled at our innocent glee 
 
 [Rejoicing in our Savior]. 
 
 “ Remember our fathers, for now they are old 
 
 [In the service of our God], 
 
 Their locks intermingled with gray 
 
 [Still in the service]; 
 
102 
 
 WILLIS E. MOORE'S LETTER. 
 
 Their footsteps are feeble, once fearless and bold 
 
 [In the cause of Christ], 
 
 Our fathers are passing away 
 
 [In a literal sense have passed away].” 
 
 In view of the great cloud of witnesses for blessing and 
 enjoyment when peace reigns, and nothing but trouble and^ 
 turmoil, confusion and strife, when busy ones have the as¬ 
 cendency, let us strive to lay aside every weight, and the sin 
 that doth so easily beset us, and run with patience the race 
 set before us, looking unto Jesus, who is the Author of our 
 faith. 
 
 Yours in hope of eternal life, 
 
 Willis E. Mooee. 
 
 WILLIAM H. DARNALL’S LETTER, 
 
 Dear Brethren and Sisters in the Lord: —As 
 Elder Jesse J. Goben had commenced and continued to write 
 a synopsis of his life, and more especially of his religious 
 life, until he was taken sick and rendered unable to write 
 more, and as brother Willis E. Moore, having had very con¬ 
 siderable talk with Elder Goben while he was on his death¬ 
 bed, has given his statement of the many things that he and 
 brother Goben talked about up to his death, we will bring 
 the history to a close in as short a way as we can. 
 
 Elder J. J. Goben was born in Jefferson County, Ken- 
 tucky, December 17th, 1808. When he was about twentv- 
 one years old he came to Indiana and entered eighty acres of 
 
WILLIAM H. DARNALL ? S LETTER. 
 
 103 
 
 land, about seven miles east of Crawfordsville, and partly 
 built a cabin on it. He then went back to Kentucky and 
 married Miss Arminta Plunket, on the 8th day of December, 
 1827, and started to Indiana on the 11th, three days after 
 they were married. Having but one horse, he put his wife 
 and what little plunder he had on the horse, himself walking 
 the whole route, having to contend with many dangers of 
 high waters and snow storms on their trip, being detained 
 sometimes by high waters for two or three days at a time. 
 His wife had joined the Baptist Church in Kentucky before 
 they were married; but he, not knowing or caring much 
 about religion, started out in the world to make a living lor 
 liis family, and worked very hard. In a few years thereafter 
 he became very much troubled in spirit about his condition, 
 which lasted for several months, and his burden became so 
 great that he thought he was the greatest sinner in the 
 world; but at an unexpected time the glorious light of the 
 gospel shone in his heart, which caused him to rejoice in 
 Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Some 
 time after this he joined the Baptist Church at Smartsburgh 
 (called Walnut Creek), in this county, and his membership 
 continued there until his death. After joining the church 
 his mind became exercised on his duty as a minister of the 
 gospel, and for months he could have no rest day nor night. 
 
 Sometimes, when he would be at his work, his mind would 
 
 % 
 
 become so strongly exercised that he would leave his work 
 and start through the woods preaching with all the power of 
 his mind, and some of his neighbors, hearing him, thought 
 he was crazy; but finally, after he became a member of the 
 church, he began to exercise his gift in the way of exhorta¬ 
 tion and preaching, to the great comfort and satisfaction of 
 
104 
 
 WILLIA3I II. DAENALL’S LETTEK. 
 
 liis brethren and sisters in the Lord, his gift being highly 
 appreciated by all who professed to believe the Baj)tist doc¬ 
 trine. He had exercised his gift but a short time until he 
 was ordained to the full functions of the gospel ministry, by 
 a Presbytery of the several churches in this part of Indiana; 
 and in a few months he was called to take the pastoral care 
 of four churches. He was very highly esteemed throughout 
 the correspondence, and was for many years Moderator of 
 Sugar Creek Association, and generally appointed as mes¬ 
 senger to the corresponding Associations, and almost uni¬ 
 versally put on the stand at the corresponding Associations 
 to preach on Sunday. In short, he was a man that was very 
 highly esteemed as a minister of the gospel, as a brother in 
 the Lord, as a Moderator in church or Association, as a citi¬ 
 zen, as a husband, as a father, as a neighbor. In fact, he 
 had but few equals. Some several months before his death 
 he was confined to his house and bed, and hosts of friends 
 and brethren and sisters visited him. He alwavs seemed 
 
 C/ 
 
 glad to see them; and generally, after passing compliments, 
 he would quote some text of Scripture and commence i)reacli- 
 ing, trying to unfold some of the beauties of God’s purposes 
 and promises, often saying that this was a world of sorrow, 
 suffering, sickness, pain and death, but that this was not our 
 abiding home; that we are strangers and pilgrims in the 
 world, and when we filled our mission here we must pass 
 through the ordeal of death, and our spirit would go to the 
 God that gave it, and our bodies to the cold and silent tomb, 
 there to remain until Jesus Christ comes the second time, 
 without sin unto salvation, to make up his jewels, and to 
 take his ransomed children home. He often remarked to the 
 writer of this that he did not fear after death, for he felt a 
 
WILLIAM H. DARNALL’S LETTER. 
 
 105 
 
 full assurance of a blessed immortality. He often would say 
 to me, u Brother Darnall, I doif t fear tlie future; it is the 
 present, and the passing* through the iron gate, that I fear. 
 I have had a considerable foretaste of what I have yet to go 
 through. The cup is a bitter one, but my Jesus can and will 
 see me safely through. Then I will be done suffering in this 
 vale of tears; and 1 have a good hope in Jesus that when I 
 am done suffering here I will be at rest, and ultimately re¬ 
 ceive my heavenly inheritance, and wear a crown which Jesus 
 will give me in that day.” 
 
 Brother Goben died March 15th, 1886, with what the 
 doctors said was catarrh of the stomach, aged seventy-seven 
 years and three months, lacking two days. His funeral was 
 preached March 17th, 188G, at Smartsburgh, by Elders James 
 S. Whitlock and William IT. Darnall, to a large congrega¬ 
 tion. His wife had died some three or four years before her 
 husband. They leave four sons and one daughter, with many 
 personal friends and the Baptists in general, to mourn their 
 loss. The writer visited Elder Goben often, and had frequent 
 conversations with him. He often said to me, U I do not fear 
 after death, but I dread to pass through the ordeal.” He 
 also said it was not strange that he should fear the suffer¬ 
 ings of death, when Christ himself prayed that the cup might 
 pass from him. In short, brother Goben was a good man in 
 every sense of the word, and I feel that none will miss him 
 more than myself, for he has always been a beloved brother. 
 In fine, he was an old pioneer, an honest and truthful man, 
 a good Christian, and an able minister. Before his death he 
 requested the following song to be sung at his funeral: 
 
 “ Begone, unbelief! my Savior is near, 
 
 And for my relief will surely appear; 
 
106 
 
 WILLIAM H. DAENALL’S LETTEE. 
 
 By prayer let me wrestle, and he will perform; 
 
 With Christ in the vessel I smile at the storm. 
 
 “ Though dark be my way, since he is my Guide 
 ’Tis mine to obey, ’tis his to provide; 
 
 Though systems be broken, and creatures all fail,. 
 
 The word he has spoken shall surely prevail. 
 
 “ His love in time past forbids me to think 
 Hell leave me at last in trouble to sink; 
 
 Each sweet Ebenezer I have in my view 
 
 Confirms his good pleasure to help me quite through.. 
 
 “ Determined to save, he watched o'er my path 
 
 AVhen Satan’s blind slave I sported with death; 
 
 And can he have taught me to trust in his name, 
 
 And thus far have brought me to put me to shame % 
 
 • 
 
 “ Why should I complain of want or distress, 
 
 Temptation or pain 1 He told me no less. 
 
 The heirs of salvation, I know from his word, 
 
 Through much tribulation must follow their Lord.’ 7 
 
 —Hymn No. 828, Wilson Thompson's Selection of Hymns. 
 
 We will now say a few words in conclusion relative to 
 his dear companion, Arminta Goben. She died some three 
 or four years before her dear husband. Her death occurred 
 on the 22d of September, 1882. She was aged seventy-one 
 years, five months and eleven days. She had lived with her 
 husband almost fifty-three years. There were born to them 
 fourteen children, five of whom were still living at her death, 
 four sons and one daughter, to mourn her loss. She joined 
 the Baptist Church in Kentucky when she was only sixteen 
 years old, and lived in the fellowship of that denomination 
 until her death; and her last request to her husband was to 
 remember the many sweet hours they had spent together. 
 She told him to honor his profession in the ministry, and to 
 
WILLIAM H. DARNALL ? S LETTER. 
 
 107 
 
 make his home with his daughter Sallie. A little time after 
 this she said, u There have been some of the sweetest words 
 passing through my mind this morning that I ever thought 
 of.” She then repeated them, as follows: 
 
 “ What cheering words are these ! 
 
 Their sweetness who can tell! 
 
 In time and in eternity 
 ’Tis with the righteous well. 
 
 “In every state secure, 
 
 Kept by Jehovah’s eye, 
 
 ’Tis well for them while life endures, 
 
 And well when call’d to die. 
 
 “’Tiswell when joys arise, 
 
 ’Tis well when sorrows flow, 
 
 ’Tis well when darkness veils the skies, 
 
 And strong temptations blow. 
 
 “’Tis well when on the mount 
 They feast on saving love ; 
 
 And ’tis as well, in God’s account, 
 
 When they the furnace prove. 
 
 “’Tis well when at the throne . 
 
 They wrestle, weep and pray; 
 
 ’Tis well when at his feet they groan, 
 
 Yet bring their wants away.” 
 
 Sister Goben was beloved by all who knew her. She 
 was a kind, loving and affectionate companion, a good and 
 tender-hearted mother, a good neighbor, and above all an 
 exemplary Christian, always found in the discharge of her 
 duties, and ready at all times to encourage her husband in 
 the discharge of his duties as a minister of the gospel. 
 While she will be much missed by her neighbors and friends, 
 and much more by her. family, yet our loss is her eternal 
 
108 WILLIAM H. DARNALL’S LETTER. 
 
 gain. The funeral took place September 23d,1882. Prayer 
 at the residence at half-past nine o’clock a. in., by Elder 
 Joseph Skeeters, of Montezuma; after which the corpse was 
 taken to the" Old Baptist Church at Smartsburgh, where a 
 discourse was delivered by Elder James S. Whitlock, of 
 Terre Haute, followed by some remarks by Elder William H. 
 Darnall and James Burford. After interment Elder Skeeters 
 made some very appropriate remarks, and then pronounced 
 the benediction. As the writer walked away from the grave 
 this song struck his mind with force, 
 
 “Sister, thou art gone to rest, 
 
 We will not mourn for tliee ; 
 
 For thou art now where oft on earth 
 Thy spirit longed to be, 7 ’ Ac. 
 
 In conclusion I will say to my brethren and sisters in 
 the Lord that our sister has departed from our association, 
 her spirit has returned to that God who gave it, and her 
 body to the cold and silent tomb, and ere long we must follow 
 her through the ordeal of death. O may it be our happy lot 
 to meet her on the eternal shore, with all the blood-washed 
 throng, to enjoy the peaceful presence of our blessed Savior, 
 world without end. 
 
 To the children of our dear brother and sister Goben let 
 me say, though it has been the will of the good Lord to take 
 them from their suffering condition in this world, we trust 
 that it is their infinite and eternal gain, though the loss may 
 seem great to you. I pray God that he may be your God 
 and Guide while you remain on earth. May he by his un¬ 
 erring Spirit reconcile your minds to his dispensations, and 
 inspire you to say, The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketli 
 away; yet blessed be the name of the Lord. May he save 
 
WILLIAM H. DARNALL’S LETTER. 
 
 109 
 
 you all in his kingdom eternal: and that you may all join in 
 the general assembly of the church of the First-born in 
 heaven, to sing his eternal praises forever and forever, is my 
 sincere prayer. 
 
 William H. Darn all. 
 
 ACKOSTIC OF JESSE J. GOBEN. 
 
 Jesus, my Lord, eternal was, 
 
 Eternally the same; 
 
 Salvation from his throne on high, 
 Salvation’s in his name. 
 
 Enthroned he reigns above, 
 
 Jesus, the Father’s Son ; 
 
 Gave up his life in fervent love 
 Of every grace begun. 
 
 Before the Day-star rose, 
 
 Enthroned above the skies, 
 
 None but our Jesus could descend, 
 
 And from the dead arise. 
 

 
 
 
 
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