ADDENDUM.
By an oversight, the following letter was not inserted in Hervey’s memoir. It ought to have found a place atpage 220. When Wesley became an out-door preacher, in 1739, Hervey wrote him a letter of remonstrance, to which he replied as follows:—
“As to your advice, that, I should settle in college, I have no business there, having now no office, and no pupils. And whether the other branch of your proposal be expedient, namely, to accept of a cure of souls, it will be time enough to consider when one is offered to me. But, in the meantime, you think, I ought to be still, because, otherwise, I shall invade another’s office. You, accordingly, ask, How is it, that, I assemble Christians who are none of my charge, to sing psalms, and pray, and hear the Scriptures expounded; and think it hard to justify this in other men’s parishes, upon catholic principles.“Permit me to speak plainly. If, by ‘catholic principles,’ you mean any other than scriptural, they weigh nothing with me; I allow no other rule, whether of faith or practice, than the Holy Scriptures. But, on scriptural principles, I do not think it hard to justify what I do. God, in Scripture, commands me, according to my power, to instruct the ignorant, reform the wicked, confirm the virtuous. Man forbids me to do this in another’s parish; that is, in effect, not to do it at all; seeing I have now no parish of my own, nor probably ever shall. Whom then shall I hear? God or man? ‘If it be just to obey man rather than God, judge ye.’ ‘A dispensation of the Gospel is committed to me, and woe is me, if I preach not the Gospel.’ But where shall I preach it, upon the principles you mention? Not in any of theChristianparts, at least, of the habitable earth; for all these are, after a sort, divided into parishes.“Suffer me to tell you my principles in this matter. I look uponall the world as my parish; thus far I mean, that, in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty, to declare unto all, that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation. This is the work, which I know, God has called me to; and sure I am, that His blessing attends it. Great encouragement have I, therefore, to be faithful in fulfilling the work He hath given me to do. His servant I am; and, as such, am employed according to the plain direction of His word,—‘as I have opportunity, doing good to all men.’ And His providence clearly concurs with His word; which has disengaged me from all things else, that I might singly attend on this very thing, ‘and go about doing good.’“If you ask, ‘How can this be? How can one do good, of whommen say all manner of evil?’ I will put you in mind, (though you once knew this, yea, and much established me in that great truth,) the moreevil men say of me for my Lord’s sake, the more good He will do by me. That it is for His sake, I know, and He knoweth, and the event agreeth thereto; for He mightily confirms the word I speak, by the Holy Ghost, given unto them that hear them. I fear you have herein made shipwreck of the faith. I fear, ‘Satan, transformed into an angel of light,’ hath assaulted you, and prevailed also. I fear, that offspring of hell, worldly or mystic prudence, has drawn you away from the simplicity of the Gospel. How else could you ever conceive, that, the being reviled, and ‘hated of all men,’ should make us less fit for our Masters service? How else could you ever think of ‘saving yourself and them that hear you,’ without beingthe filth and offscouring of the world’?“To this hour, is this Scripture true. And I therein rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. Blessed be God, I enjoy the reproach of Christ! O may you also be vile, exceeding vile for His sake! God forbid that you should ever be other than generally scandalous; I had almost said universally. If any man tell you, there is a new way of following Christ ‘he is a liar, and the truth is not in him.’“John Wesley.”
“As to your advice, that, I should settle in college, I have no business there, having now no office, and no pupils. And whether the other branch of your proposal be expedient, namely, to accept of a cure of souls, it will be time enough to consider when one is offered to me. But, in the meantime, you think, I ought to be still, because, otherwise, I shall invade another’s office. You, accordingly, ask, How is it, that, I assemble Christians who are none of my charge, to sing psalms, and pray, and hear the Scriptures expounded; and think it hard to justify this in other men’s parishes, upon catholic principles.
“Permit me to speak plainly. If, by ‘catholic principles,’ you mean any other than scriptural, they weigh nothing with me; I allow no other rule, whether of faith or practice, than the Holy Scriptures. But, on scriptural principles, I do not think it hard to justify what I do. God, in Scripture, commands me, according to my power, to instruct the ignorant, reform the wicked, confirm the virtuous. Man forbids me to do this in another’s parish; that is, in effect, not to do it at all; seeing I have now no parish of my own, nor probably ever shall. Whom then shall I hear? God or man? ‘If it be just to obey man rather than God, judge ye.’ ‘A dispensation of the Gospel is committed to me, and woe is me, if I preach not the Gospel.’ But where shall I preach it, upon the principles you mention? Not in any of theChristianparts, at least, of the habitable earth; for all these are, after a sort, divided into parishes.
“Suffer me to tell you my principles in this matter. I look uponall the world as my parish; thus far I mean, that, in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty, to declare unto all, that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation. This is the work, which I know, God has called me to; and sure I am, that His blessing attends it. Great encouragement have I, therefore, to be faithful in fulfilling the work He hath given me to do. His servant I am; and, as such, am employed according to the plain direction of His word,—‘as I have opportunity, doing good to all men.’ And His providence clearly concurs with His word; which has disengaged me from all things else, that I might singly attend on this very thing, ‘and go about doing good.’
“If you ask, ‘How can this be? How can one do good, of whommen say all manner of evil?’ I will put you in mind, (though you once knew this, yea, and much established me in that great truth,) the moreevil men say of me for my Lord’s sake, the more good He will do by me. That it is for His sake, I know, and He knoweth, and the event agreeth thereto; for He mightily confirms the word I speak, by the Holy Ghost, given unto them that hear them. I fear you have herein made shipwreck of the faith. I fear, ‘Satan, transformed into an angel of light,’ hath assaulted you, and prevailed also. I fear, that offspring of hell, worldly or mystic prudence, has drawn you away from the simplicity of the Gospel. How else could you ever conceive, that, the being reviled, and ‘hated of all men,’ should make us less fit for our Masters service? How else could you ever think of ‘saving yourself and them that hear you,’ without beingthe filth and offscouring of the world’?
“To this hour, is this Scripture true. And I therein rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. Blessed be God, I enjoy the reproach of Christ! O may you also be vile, exceeding vile for His sake! God forbid that you should ever be other than generally scandalous; I had almost said universally. If any man tell you, there is a new way of following Christ ‘he is a liar, and the truth is not in him.’
“John Wesley.”