1763.

1763Age 60

IN almost every successive year, the Methodist movement devolved more and more on Wesley. His brother was in feeble health, had an increasing family, and employed himself almost exclusively in writing hymns, and in preaching to the Methodists of London and of Bristol. Whitefield’s asthma had become chronic, and well-nigh disabled him. He spent the first six months of 1763 chiefly in the north of England and in Scotland; but, for six weeks of that period, he was entirely silent; and during the remainder, his preaching was often intermitted, and in no instance was more frequent than once a day. Three months were occupied with his voyage to America, where he landed about the beginning of September, and speaks of himself as “wearied and almost worn out”; and where he was not able to preach more than twice or thrice a week. Comparatively speaking, his work was already done; though still preaching, it was as an invalid. For the last five and twenty years, it would be difficult to say whether Whitefield or Wesley, simply considered as evangelists, had been in labours more abundant. For twenty-eight years after this, Wesley was almost the only itinerant clergyman living. Grimshaw was dead; Whitefield, to a great extent, was disabled, and, as early as the year 1770, was removed to the rest of heaven; Charles Wesley had already become a settled minister; Berridge’s itinerancy was confined to his own comparatively small circuit, and to his visits to the metropolis; Romaine, Venn, Rowland Hill, and others, had pastoral charges, which necessarily prevented them leaving home, as often as they wished. Wesley, and Wesley only, was unfettered. He was without a church, and really without a home. His wife made him miserable, and he had no children to demand his time. His health was as vigorous as ever, and his heart as warm; and hence, while all his old clerical friends either died, or were disabled, or otherwise were obliged to relinquish the itinerant ministry, he andhe alone ended as he first began; and, from 1735 to 1791, a period of five and fifty years, lived not the enviable life of a settled pastor, but the homeless life of a wandering evangelist, and devoted his health, energies, and talents to a work resembling his who said, “I am a debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians”; “so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.”

At the commencement of 1763, Wesley was in the midst of the fanatical troubles, chiefly created by Bell and Maxfield. The following letters refer to these affairs. They were all published in theLondon Chronicle.

“Southwark,January 6, 1763.“Sir,—One Bell, said to be a Lifeguardsman, holds forth to an assembly, near Hanover Square. He is supposed to belong to the Methodists; but he advances things which many Methodists abhor. Nevertheless, his delusions spread. Many of his followers think themselves perfect, and declare they shall never die, ‘because,’ as they say, ‘our dear Lord, who certainly will come a second time, is at the door, and we shall see Him come.’“God only knows where this folly of Mr. Bell’s may end, if not soon stopped. Soon after the Reformation in Germany, many sprung up who held that they were perfect; they despised authority, and declared Christ was at the door (as Mr. Bell does) to destroy the world. Many of them, men and women, worshipped naked, and appeared so in the streets of Amsterdam and elsewhere, declaring that, as clothes came in only in consequence of sin, so they being free from sin were to wear none.“Impartiality.”[500]

“Southwark,January 6, 1763.

“Sir,—One Bell, said to be a Lifeguardsman, holds forth to an assembly, near Hanover Square. He is supposed to belong to the Methodists; but he advances things which many Methodists abhor. Nevertheless, his delusions spread. Many of his followers think themselves perfect, and declare they shall never die, ‘because,’ as they say, ‘our dear Lord, who certainly will come a second time, is at the door, and we shall see Him come.’

“God only knows where this folly of Mr. Bell’s may end, if not soon stopped. Soon after the Reformation in Germany, many sprung up who held that they were perfect; they despised authority, and declared Christ was at the door (as Mr. Bell does) to destroy the world. Many of them, men and women, worshipped naked, and appeared so in the streets of Amsterdam and elsewhere, declaring that, as clothes came in only in consequence of sin, so they being free from sin were to wear none.

“Impartiality.”[500]

“Windmill Hill,January 7, 1763.“Sir,—When I returned to London two or three months ago, I received various accounts of some meetings for prayer, which had lately been held by Mr. Bell and a few others. Some highly applauded them; others utterly condemned; some affirmed they had done much good; others that they had done much hurt. This convinced me, that it was requisite to proceed with caution, and to do nothing rashly. The first point was to form my own judgment, and that upon the fullest evidence. To this end I first talked with Mr. Bell himself, whom I knew to be an honest, well meaning man. Next, I told him they were at liberty, for a few times, to meet under my roof. They did so, both in the society room at the Foundery, and in the chapel at West Street. By this means, I had an opportunity of hearing them myself, which I did at both places. I waspresent also, at the next meeting after that, which is mentioned by Mr. Dodd and Mr. Thompson, in thePublic Ledger. The same things which they blame I blame also; and so I told Mr. Bell the same evening. I was in hopes they would be done away, which occasioned my waiting till this time. But now, having lost that hope, I have given orders that they shall meet under my roof no more.“John Wesley.”[501]

“Windmill Hill,January 7, 1763.

“Sir,—When I returned to London two or three months ago, I received various accounts of some meetings for prayer, which had lately been held by Mr. Bell and a few others. Some highly applauded them; others utterly condemned; some affirmed they had done much good; others that they had done much hurt. This convinced me, that it was requisite to proceed with caution, and to do nothing rashly. The first point was to form my own judgment, and that upon the fullest evidence. To this end I first talked with Mr. Bell himself, whom I knew to be an honest, well meaning man. Next, I told him they were at liberty, for a few times, to meet under my roof. They did so, both in the society room at the Foundery, and in the chapel at West Street. By this means, I had an opportunity of hearing them myself, which I did at both places. I waspresent also, at the next meeting after that, which is mentioned by Mr. Dodd and Mr. Thompson, in thePublic Ledger. The same things which they blame I blame also; and so I told Mr. Bell the same evening. I was in hopes they would be done away, which occasioned my waiting till this time. But now, having lost that hope, I have given orders that they shall meet under my roof no more.

“John Wesley.”[501]

“February 9, 1763.“Sir,—I take this opportunity of informing all whom it may concern—1. That Mr. Bell is not a member of our society; 2. That I do not believe either the end of the world, or any signal calamity, will be on the 28th instant; and 3. That not one in fifty, perhaps not one in five hundred, of the people called Methodists, believe any more than I do, either this or any other of his prophecies.“I am, etc.,“John Wesley.”[502]

“February 9, 1763.

“Sir,—I take this opportunity of informing all whom it may concern—1. That Mr. Bell is not a member of our society; 2. That I do not believe either the end of the world, or any signal calamity, will be on the 28th instant; and 3. That not one in fifty, perhaps not one in five hundred, of the people called Methodists, believe any more than I do, either this or any other of his prophecies.

“I am, etc.,

“John Wesley.”[502]

Christian perfection, for a season, took the place of Church separation. The Methodists, for years past, had been on the point of declaring themselves Dissenters; now they were not unlikely to become fanatics. From the first, Wesley had taught the doctrine of Christian perfection; but now some of Wesley’s followers were in danger of attaching to that doctrine whims which Wesley never sanctioned. Besides, is there not truth in the statement of Dr. Whitehead, a man well qualified to judge: “The doctrine ofperfection, orperfectlove, was undoubtedly taught among the Methodists from the beginning; but themannerin which it wasnowpreached, pressing the people to expect what was called the destruction of therootof sin, in one moment, was most certainlynew; I can find no trace of it before the period at which I have fixed its introduction”?[503]

Wesley’s annoyance was great, and his forbearance with the London fanatics exposed him to the censure of his friends. John Downes, in a letter to Joseph Cownley, wrote: “I consider the follies and extravagance of the witnesses as the devices of Satan, to cast a blemish upon a real work of God. The more I converse with the solid ones, the more I long to experience what they do. It is a state worthy of a Christian. As to the follies of the enthusiasts, Mr. Charles hears everyweek less or more. Why his brother suffers them we cannot tell. He threatens, but cannot find in his heart to put in execution. The consequence is, the talk of all the town, and entertainment for the newspapers.”[504]

Charles Wesley, in a letter dated February 1, 1763, remarks: “Sad havoc Satan has made of the flock. What they will do after my brother’s departure, I leave to the Lord; for I dare not think of it. I gave warning four years ago of the flood of enthusiasm which has now overflowed us; and of the sect of ranters that should arise out of the witnesses. My last hymns are a further standing testimony. Tell Christopher Hopper, I reverence him for his stand against the torrent.”[505]

This was well, so far as it went; but it would have been considerably better, if Charles Wesley had joined with his warnings and vaticinations his active cooperation to stem the torrent of which he had prophesied. Wesley wrote to him on February 8, saying: “The sooner you could be here the better; for the mask is thrown off. George Bell, John Dixon, Joseph Calvert, Benjamin Briggs, etc., etc., have quitted the society, and renounced all fellowship with us. I wrote to Thomas” (Maxfield), “but was not favoured with an answer. This morning I wrote a second time, and received an answer indeed! The substance is, ‘You take too much upon you.’”[506]

Charles evidently declined to come to his brother’s help; hence the following extracts from two other letters, dated respectively February 26 and March 6, 1763:

“I perceive,verba fiunt mortuo; so I say no more about your coming to London. Here stand I; and I shall stand, with or without human help, if God is with us. That story of Thomas Maxfield is not true. But I doubt more is true than is good. He is a most incomprehensible creature. I cannot convince him, that separation is any evil; or, that speaking in the name of God, when God has not spoken, is any more than an innocent mistake. I know not what to say to him, or do with him. He is reallymali caput et fons.”[507]

A fortnight after this, Wesley wrote as follows to the Countess of Huntingdon.

“March 20, 1763.“My Lady,—By the mercy of God, I am still alive, and following the work to which He has called me, although without any help, even in the most trying times, from those of whom I might have expected it. Their voice seemed to be rather, ‘Down with him, down with him; even to the ground.’ I mean (for I use no ceremony or circumlocution) Mr. Madan, Mr. Haweis, Mr. Berridge, and (I am sorry to say it) Mr. Whitefield. Only Mr. Romaine has shown a truly sympathising spirit, and acted the part of a brother. As to the prophecies of these poor wild men, George Bell and half-a-dozen more, I am not a jot more accountable for them than Mr. Whitefield is, having never countenanced them in any degree, but opposed them from the moment I heard them; neither have these extravagances any foundation in any doctrine which I teach. The loving God with all our heart, soul, and strength, and the loving all men as Christ loved us, is, and ever was, for these thirty years, the sum of what I deliver, as pure religion and undefiled. However, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved! The will of the Lord be done!‘Poor and helpless as I am,Thou dost for my vileness care,Thou hast called me by Thy name,Thou dost all my burdens bear.’“I am, your ladyship’s servant for Christ’s sake,“John Wesley.”[508]

“March 20, 1763.

“My Lady,—By the mercy of God, I am still alive, and following the work to which He has called me, although without any help, even in the most trying times, from those of whom I might have expected it. Their voice seemed to be rather, ‘Down with him, down with him; even to the ground.’ I mean (for I use no ceremony or circumlocution) Mr. Madan, Mr. Haweis, Mr. Berridge, and (I am sorry to say it) Mr. Whitefield. Only Mr. Romaine has shown a truly sympathising spirit, and acted the part of a brother. As to the prophecies of these poor wild men, George Bell and half-a-dozen more, I am not a jot more accountable for them than Mr. Whitefield is, having never countenanced them in any degree, but opposed them from the moment I heard them; neither have these extravagances any foundation in any doctrine which I teach. The loving God with all our heart, soul, and strength, and the loving all men as Christ loved us, is, and ever was, for these thirty years, the sum of what I deliver, as pure religion and undefiled. However, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved! The will of the Lord be done!

‘Poor and helpless as I am,Thou dost for my vileness care,Thou hast called me by Thy name,Thou dost all my burdens bear.’

‘Poor and helpless as I am,

Thou dost for my vileness care,

Thou hast called me by Thy name,

Thou dost all my burdens bear.’

“I am, your ladyship’s servant for Christ’s sake,

“John Wesley.”[508]

Wesley thought he had one friend left, though only one, in Mr. Romaine; but in this he was mistaken. Hence the following, written within a week after the above.

“Lambeth,March 26, 1763.“Madam,—Thanks to your ladyship for your kind remembrance of me in your last. Enclosed is poor Mr. John Wesley’s letter. The contents of it, as far as I am concerned, surprised me; for no one has spoken more freely of what is now passing among the people than myself. Indeed, I have not preached so much as others whose names he mentions, nor could I. My subject is one, and I dare not vary from it. A perfection out of Christ is with me all rank pride and damnable sin. Man cannot be laid too low; nor Christ set too high. I would therefore always aim, as good brother Grimshaw expresses it, to get the old gentleman down, and keep him down; and then Christ reigns like Himself, when He isall, and man is nothing.“I pity Mr. John from my heart. His societies are in great confusion; and the point, which brought them into the wilderness of rant and madness, is still insisted on as much as ever. I fear the end of this delusion. As the late alarming providence has not had its proper effect, andperfectionis still the cry, God will certainly give them up to some more dreadful thing. May their eyes be opened before it is too late!“Things are not here as at Brighton. The Foundery, the Tabernacle, the Lock, the Meeting, yea, St. Dunstan’s, has each its party, and brotherly love is almost lost in our disputes. Thank God, I am out of them.“My wife joins me in duty and affection to your ladyship, and we are your faithful servants in our most dear and eternally precious Jesus,“W. Romaine.”[509]

“Lambeth,March 26, 1763.

“Madam,—Thanks to your ladyship for your kind remembrance of me in your last. Enclosed is poor Mr. John Wesley’s letter. The contents of it, as far as I am concerned, surprised me; for no one has spoken more freely of what is now passing among the people than myself. Indeed, I have not preached so much as others whose names he mentions, nor could I. My subject is one, and I dare not vary from it. A perfection out of Christ is with me all rank pride and damnable sin. Man cannot be laid too low; nor Christ set too high. I would therefore always aim, as good brother Grimshaw expresses it, to get the old gentleman down, and keep him down; and then Christ reigns like Himself, when He isall, and man is nothing.

“I pity Mr. John from my heart. His societies are in great confusion; and the point, which brought them into the wilderness of rant and madness, is still insisted on as much as ever. I fear the end of this delusion. As the late alarming providence has not had its proper effect, andperfectionis still the cry, God will certainly give them up to some more dreadful thing. May their eyes be opened before it is too late!

“Things are not here as at Brighton. The Foundery, the Tabernacle, the Lock, the Meeting, yea, St. Dunstan’s, has each its party, and brotherly love is almost lost in our disputes. Thank God, I am out of them.

“My wife joins me in duty and affection to your ladyship, and we are your faithful servants in our most dear and eternally precious Jesus,

“W. Romaine.”[509]

Such, in the midst of his London troubles, was Wesley’s want of sympathy and help from those whom he had been accustomed to regard as friends. Fletcher of Madeley continued faithful, but the duties of his distant vicarage were a bar to his rendering assistance in the metropolis. As early as November 22, 1762, he wrote Charles Wesley:[510]“Many of our brethren are overshooting sober Christianity in London. Oh that I could stand in the gap! Oh that I could, by sacrificing myself, shut this immense abyss of enthusiasm, which opens its mouth among us! The corruption of the best things is always the worst of corruptions.”

In another letter, dated September 9, 1763, Fletcher writes: “If Mr. Maxfield returns, the Lord may correct his errors, and give him so to insist on the fruits of faith as to prevent antinomianism. I believe him sincere; and, though obstinate and suspicious, I am persuaded he has a true desire to know the will, and live the life of God. I reply in the same words you quoted to me in one of your letters: ‘Don’t be afraid of a wreck, for Jesus is in the ship.’ After the most violent storm, the Lord will, perhaps all at once, bring our ship into the desired haven.”[511]

Fletcher thoroughly understood Wesley’s doctrines; but it is clear that Romaine did not. When and where did Wesley preach “a perfection out of Christ”? What was Romaine’s meaning when he employed that expression? Who can tell? Could Romaine himself? We greatly doubt it. Wesley, in the plainest language, had said all he had to say, both in the former and in the Farther Thoughts on Christian Perfection. Had Romaine read these tracts? If he had, he ought tohave known that they contained not a single syllable concerning any “perfection out of Christ”; if he had not, he was culpable in branding a doctrine, the meaning of which he had yet to learn. In a letter to Mrs. Maitland, dated May 12, 1763, Wesley declares, that he can say nothing on the subject of Christian perfection but what he has said already. Nevertheless, at her request, he is willing to add a few words more. He proceeds:—

“As to the wordperfection, it is scriptural. Therefore, neither you nor I can in conscience object to it, unless we would send the Holy Ghost to school, and teach Him to speak, who made the tongue.“ByChristianperfection I mean, (as I have said again and again,) the so loving God and our neighbour, as to ‘rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks.’ He that experiences this is scripturally perfect. And if you do not, yet you may experience it; you surely will, if you follow hard after it, for the Scripture cannot be broken.“What then does their arguing prove, who object against Christian perfection? Absolute or infallible perfection, I never contended for; sinless perfection I do not contend for, seeing it is not scriptural. A perfection such as enables a person to fulfil the whole law, and so need not the merits of Christ, I do not acknowledge. I do now, and always did protest against it.“But is there no sin in those who are perfect in love? I believe not; but, be that as it may, they feel none,—no temper contrary to pure love, while they rejoice, pray, and give thanks continually. Whether sin is suspended, or extinguished, I will not dispute. It is enough, that they feel nothing but love. This you allow we should daily press after; and this is all I contend for.”[512]

“As to the wordperfection, it is scriptural. Therefore, neither you nor I can in conscience object to it, unless we would send the Holy Ghost to school, and teach Him to speak, who made the tongue.

“ByChristianperfection I mean, (as I have said again and again,) the so loving God and our neighbour, as to ‘rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks.’ He that experiences this is scripturally perfect. And if you do not, yet you may experience it; you surely will, if you follow hard after it, for the Scripture cannot be broken.

“What then does their arguing prove, who object against Christian perfection? Absolute or infallible perfection, I never contended for; sinless perfection I do not contend for, seeing it is not scriptural. A perfection such as enables a person to fulfil the whole law, and so need not the merits of Christ, I do not acknowledge. I do now, and always did protest against it.

“But is there no sin in those who are perfect in love? I believe not; but, be that as it may, they feel none,—no temper contrary to pure love, while they rejoice, pray, and give thanks continually. Whether sin is suspended, or extinguished, I will not dispute. It is enough, that they feel nothing but love. This you allow we should daily press after; and this is all I contend for.”[512]

In 1759, Wesley published his “Thoughts on Christian Perfection”; and now he issued another 12mo tract of thirty-nine pages, entitled “Farther Thoughts upon Christian Perfection,” in which he says: “In most particulars, I think now as I did then; in some I do not. My present thoughts I now offer to your consideration; being still open to further conviction; and willing, I trust, to be taught of God, by whatever instrument He shall choose.” He proceeds to show, that the highest degree of sanctification attainable on earth will not save a man from “unavoidable defect of understanding,” and from “mistakes in many things”; and that “these mistakes will frequently occasion something wrong, both in our tempers,and words, and actions.” For this reason, “the holiest of men still need Christ, as their prophet, king, and priest.” He maintains, that the sanctified have a direct, as well as an indirect, witness of their sanctification; and that “some, though not all, may have a testimony from the Spirit” of their final perseverance. He admits that, in most instances, those who are “justifiedgraduallydie to sin and grow in grace, till at, or perhaps a little before death, God perfects them in love”; but, in some instances, “God cuts short His work. He does the work of many years in a few weeks: perhaps in a week, a day, an hour.” Concerning those in London, who professed to have attained to Christian perfection, he says: “there is a wide difference between some of them and others.” He adds: “I think most of them, with whom I have spoken, have much faith, love, joy, and peace. Some of these, I believe, are renewed in love, and have thedirectwitness of it; and they manifest thefruitof it in all their words and actions. But some, who have much love, peace, and joy, have not the direct witness; and others, who think they have, are manifestly wanting in the fruit. How many I will not say: perhaps one in ten, perhaps more or fewer.Someare undeniably wanting inlongsuffering; some ingentleness; some ingoodness; some infidelity; some inmeekness; and some intemperance.” To these last mentioned he says: “Let us not fight about words; in the thing we clearly agree. You have not what I callperfection. If others will call it so, they may.”

After laying it down, that “those who are perfect may grow in grace, not only while they are in the body, but to all eternity,” he proceeds to say: “formerly, we thought, one saved from sin could not fall. Now, we know the contrary. We are surrounded with instances of those, who lately experienced all that I mean by perfection. They had both the fruit of the Spirit and the witness; but they have now lost both. There is no such height of holiness as it is impossible to fall from. If there be any thatcannot fall, this wholly depends on the promise and faithfulness of God.”

His advices to those who professed perfection are—

“1. Watch and pray continually against pride. Always remember,much gracedoes not implymuch light. These do not always go together. Give not place to the dangerous mistake that none canteachyou, but those that are themselves saved from sin. 2. Beware of that daughter of pride, enthusiasm. Do not hastily ascribe things to God. Do not easily suppose dreams, voices, impressions, visions, or revelations to be from God. They may be from Him. They may be from nature. They may be from the devil. Try all things by the written word, and let all bow down before it. 3. Beware of antinomianism, making void the law, or any part of it, through faith. Do not put your head on the hole of a cockatrice’s den. Beware of Moravianism, the most refined antinomianism that ever was under the sun, producing the grossest libertinism, and most flagrant breach of every moral precept, such as could only have sprung from the abuse of true Christian experience. Beware of Moravian bigotry, stillness, self indulgence, censoriousness, and solifidianism. 4. Beware of sins of omission. Lose no opportunity of doing good in any kind. Give no place to indolence. Lose no shred of time. Do not talk much; neither long at a time: few can converse profitably above an hour. Keep at the utmost distance from pious chit-chat, from religious gossiping. 5. Beware of desiring anything but God. Admit no desire of pleasing food, or of any pleasure of sense; no desire of pleasing the eye, or the imagination, by anything grand, or new, or beautiful; no desire of money, of praise, or esteem; of happiness inany creature. 6. Beware of schism, of making a rent in the church of Christ. Do not extol, or run down, any preacher. Never omit meeting your class or band; never absent yourself from any public meeting. These are the very sinews of our society. Beware of impatience of contradiction, of touchiness, of testiness. Beware of tempting others to separate fromyou. Be particularly careful in speaking of yourself. Avoid all magnificent, pompous words. 7. Be exemplary in all things; particularly in outward things, as in dress; in little things; in laying out your money, avoiding every needless expense; in deep, steady seriousness; and in the solidity and usefulness of all your conversation.”

Such are some of the salient points in Wesley’s “Farther Thoughts upon Christian Perfection.” Opinions respecting them will vary; but all will admit the sincerity and intense earnestness of the man who wrote them.

Let us now track his footsteps in 1763. With the exception of a brief visit to Norwich, and another to Bristol, the first four months were spent in London and its vicinity, during which two or three incidents occurred, besides the perfectionist agitation, that are worth mentioning.

One was the death of Mrs. Charity Perronet, the good vicar of Shoreham’s wife, whom Wesley buried on February 11.

Another was an effort to relieve the sufferings of the London poor. The year opened with one of the severest frostson record. The Thames was so covered with ice, that passengers and carriages crossed from one shore to the other; and booths were erected, and fairs held, on the river’s ice-glazed surface. Navigation was entirely stopped, and many thousands of watermen, with their families, were plunged into extreme distress. In some places, the ice was measured, and found to be six feet thick. Sea gulls came up as high as London Bridge; and other birds, in great numbers, were driven from their usual haunts, and were seen in the streets of the metropolis. Many persons were frozen to death; and large bodies of famished men wandered throughout the capital, begging bread and clothes.[513]Wesley was not the man to witness such suffering without endeavouring to relieve it. “Great numbers,” saysLloyd’s Evening Post, “of poor people had pease pottage and barley broth given them at the Foundery, at the expense of Mr. Wesley; and a collection was made, in the same place of worship, for further supplying the necessities of the destitute, at which upwards of £100 was contributed.”[514]Considering the value of money at that period, this was not amiss for the poor Foundery Methodists.

A third incident must be mentioned. We have just seen Wesley trying to relieve misery; we shall now see him endeavouring to put an end to vice. The Society for the Reformation of Manners was first instituted about the year 1677.[515]From 1730 to 1757, the society was defunct. In the last mentioned year, and perhaps as one of the results of Methodism, it was revived. The approbation of the lord mayor of London, and of the court of aldermen, was obtained. Thousands of books of instruction were sent to parish officers and parish constables, to remind them of their duty. The laws against immorality were again enforced. Streets, and fields, and public houses were swept of their notorious offenders. In five years, about ten thousand persons were brought to justice, chiefly for gambling, swearing, sabbath breaking, lewdness, and selling obscene engravings.

There can be little doubt that Wesley was connected withthe revival of this useful association. At all events, in 1763, when the society consisted of one hundred and sixty members, nearly half of that number were Methodists.[516]On January 30, the society met at Wesley’s chapel, in West Street, Seven Dials; where he preached, before its members, the annual sermon, taking as his text the very scripture which had been selected by his father, when performing the same service sixty-five years before: “Who will rise up with me against the wicked?” Wesley attached considerable importance to this sermon, as is seen from the fact, that he retired to Lewisham to compose and write it, and that it was immediately published in an octavo pamphlet of thirty pages. Three years afterwards, the society, a second time, ceased to be; chiefly through an action instituted against it in the King’s Bench, where an adverse verdict was obtained, by the false swearing of a man whom the society subsequently convicted of wilful perjury. Still the death blow to the society was struck. Wesley writes: “They could never recover the expense of that suit. Lord, how long shall the ungodly triumph?”

In the early part of the year 1763, a shameful fraud was attempted upon Wesley, and is referred to in the following letter, published in theLondon Chronicle.

“April 5, 1763.“Sir,—Some time since, I heard a man in the street bawling, ‘The Scripture Doctrine of Imputed Righteousness, asserted and maintained by the Rev. John Wesley.’ I was a little surprised, not having published anything on the head; and more so when, upon reading it over, I found not one line of it was mine, though I remembered to havereadsomething like it. Soon after, to show what I really do maintain, I published ‘Thoughts on the Imputed Righteousness of Christ’: mentioning therein that ‘pious fraud,’ which constrained me so to do.“The modest author of the former publication now prints a second edition of it, and faces me down before all the world, yea, and proves, that it is mine.“Would you not wonder, by what argument? Oh, the plainest in the world. ‘There is not,’ says he, ‘the least fraud in the publication, nor imposition on Mr. Wesley; for the words are transcribed from the ninth and tenth volumes of his Christian Library.’ But the Christian Library isnot Mr. Wesley’s writing; it is ‘Extracts from and Abridgments of’ other writers; the subject of which I highly approve, but I will not be accountable for every expression. Much less will Ifathereight pages of I know not what, which a shameless man has picked out of that work, tacked together in the manner he thought good, and then published in my name. He puts me in mind of what occurred some years since. A man was stretching his throat near Moorfields, and screaming out: ‘A full and true Account of the Death of the Rev. George Whitefield.’ One took hold of him, and said: ‘Sirrah! what do you mean? Mr. Whitefield is yonder before you.’ He shrugged up his shoulders, and said: ‘Why, sir, an honest man must do something to turn a penny.’“I am, sir, your humble servant,“John Wesley.”[517]

“April 5, 1763.

“Sir,—Some time since, I heard a man in the street bawling, ‘The Scripture Doctrine of Imputed Righteousness, asserted and maintained by the Rev. John Wesley.’ I was a little surprised, not having published anything on the head; and more so when, upon reading it over, I found not one line of it was mine, though I remembered to havereadsomething like it. Soon after, to show what I really do maintain, I published ‘Thoughts on the Imputed Righteousness of Christ’: mentioning therein that ‘pious fraud,’ which constrained me so to do.

“The modest author of the former publication now prints a second edition of it, and faces me down before all the world, yea, and proves, that it is mine.

“Would you not wonder, by what argument? Oh, the plainest in the world. ‘There is not,’ says he, ‘the least fraud in the publication, nor imposition on Mr. Wesley; for the words are transcribed from the ninth and tenth volumes of his Christian Library.’ But the Christian Library isnot Mr. Wesley’s writing; it is ‘Extracts from and Abridgments of’ other writers; the subject of which I highly approve, but I will not be accountable for every expression. Much less will Ifathereight pages of I know not what, which a shameless man has picked out of that work, tacked together in the manner he thought good, and then published in my name. He puts me in mind of what occurred some years since. A man was stretching his throat near Moorfields, and screaming out: ‘A full and true Account of the Death of the Rev. George Whitefield.’ One took hold of him, and said: ‘Sirrah! what do you mean? Mr. Whitefield is yonder before you.’ He shrugged up his shoulders, and said: ‘Why, sir, an honest man must do something to turn a penny.’

“I am, sir, your humble servant,

“John Wesley.”[517]

On the 16th of May, two months later than usual, Wesley left London for the north.[518]By travelling in postchaises, he reached Newcastle in three days, and in three more came to Edinburgh, where he had an interview with his old friend Whitefield. He writes: “Humanly speaking, he is worn out; but we have to do with Him who hath all power in heaven and earth.”

At Edinburgh, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland were holding their annual conference, and many of the ministers, nobility, and gentry flocked together to hear Wesley preach in the High School yard, at seven a.m. He says: “I spake as plain as ever I did in my life. But I never knew any in Scotland offended at plain dealing. In this respect, the north Britons are a pattern to all mankind.”

One of Wesley’s hearers, on this occasion, was Lady Frances Gardiner, the widow of the renowned Colonel Gardiner, who fell at the battle of Preston Pans. A month afterwards, this Christian lady wrote to him, congratulating him on sending Mr. Hanby and Mr. Roberts to Edinburgh,where their labours had been greatly blessed; and then adding: “I have never, I own, been at the preaching house in a morning yet, as they preach so early; but I ventured to the High School yard the morning you left Edinburgh; and it pleased God, even after I got home, to follow part of your sermon with a blessing to me.”[519]

A year later, Wesley formed an acquaintance, at Edinburgh, with Lady Maxwell, who about the year 1761 had been left a widow, at nineteen years of age. She now became a Methodist; and, in 1770, for the purpose of affording a Christian education to poor children, she established a school in Edinburgh, which she liberally sustained for forty years; and, at her death, made provision for its existence to the end of time.[520]In the same year, Wesley was introduced to Lady Glenorchy, who also, a few months afterwards, became a widow at the age of thirty-one, and opened a chapel, which had been a popish church, for the supply of which Wesley obtained the services of the Rev. Richard de Courcy; the agreement being that, while this young minister of the Church of England should take the principal duties of the chapel, one night in the week should be set apart for the preaching of Wesley’s itinerants; and that liberty should be given to any presbyterian clergyman, who might be willing occasionally to officiate.[521]The plan was utopian, and was soon a failure.

Of the Methodist chapel which, during the year 1763, was built in Edinburgh,[522]we know nothing; but, in 1788, a second was erected, under the auspices of Zechariah Yewdall,[523]which Valentine Ward described as “a dirty, damp, dark, dangerous hole, seating six hundred people;[524]and which, twenty-seven years afterwards, was bought by the Edinburgh commissioners, for the sum of £1900, in order to build the bridge from Shakespeare Square to Calton Hill.[525]

During his present stay in Scotland, Wesley also preached at Dunbar, where, eleven years before, a company of English dragoons held a prayer-meeting, at which Andrew Affleckwas converted; became a member of the Methodist society, which was then formed; and, for fifty-nine years, lived the life of an earnest Christian, and then expired, saying, “Dying is hard work, but the grace of God is sufficient for me.”[526]

Wesley returned to Newcastle on the 1st of June, preaching at Alnwick and Morpeth on his way. In a few days, he proceeded to Barnard castle, where there was a remarkable revival of religion. A few months before, the societies throughout “the dales,” or Barnard castle circuit, had been exceeding lifeless. Samuel Meggot recommended them to observe every Friday with fasting and prayer. The result has just been stated. Twenty in Barnard castle had found peace with God, and twenty-eight had been sanctified.

For sixteen years, Methodism had existed in this small country town, and here, as in other places, had been baptized in suffering. Many a time had Catherine Graves, one of the first members, been hunted by the rabble, and been pricked with pins for the purpose of drawing blood, and thereby depriving her of the power of sorcery; but now the Barnard castle Methodists, comparatively speaking, were no longer a feeble folk. They built themselves a chapel; and became the head of perhaps the widest Methodist circuit then existing. They were pious, but they were poor, and contributed, upon an average, not more than a farthing per member per week; and, of course, their circuit allowances were upon a corresponding scale. The following is averbatim et literatimextract from their stewards’ book, for the quarter ending Midsummer, 1768.

In other words, in 1768, three married Methodist ministers, and an unmarried one, cost the Barnard castle circuit about £109 8s.a year; or, including house rent, doctors’ bills, circuit horse, allowances for wives, conference expenses, and interest on borrowed money, about ten shillings and sixpence per minister per week.O tempora! O mores!

In his journey southwards, Wesley omitted visiting several of his preaching places in the north of Yorkshire. One of these was Helmsley, to which the following letter, by Dr. Conyers, refers.

“June 7, 1763.“Reverend and dear Sir,—I have had information, from many hands, of your design of calling upon me at Helmsley, in your return from Scotland. I take this opportunity, frankly and freely, to declare to you, that my house and my heart are, and ever shall be, open to you. I presume our archdeacon will be with me, from Stokesley, on Wednesday evening, as he always takes a bed, and spends a night or two with me, when he is upon his visitation, which is at this place on Friday next. How far you may alter your design of preaching here, on that account, I leave to yourself. I speak this not out of fear; for I loveyouas I love my own soul: my only apprehension is, that he, being upon the spot, may shut my church doors against you. But if you only mean a friendly visit to me, I shall be glad to see you, let who will be here; and it will be the comfort of my heart, to have you preach to my flock in every room of my house, at any time when you come this way. As far as the doctrine you teach has come to my knowledge, I know not one part to which I could not subscribe, both with hand and heart.“I am, reverend and dear sir, your affectionate friend and servant in Christ,“Richard Conyers.”[527]

“June 7, 1763.

“Reverend and dear Sir,—I have had information, from many hands, of your design of calling upon me at Helmsley, in your return from Scotland. I take this opportunity, frankly and freely, to declare to you, that my house and my heart are, and ever shall be, open to you. I presume our archdeacon will be with me, from Stokesley, on Wednesday evening, as he always takes a bed, and spends a night or two with me, when he is upon his visitation, which is at this place on Friday next. How far you may alter your design of preaching here, on that account, I leave to yourself. I speak this not out of fear; for I loveyouas I love my own soul: my only apprehension is, that he, being upon the spot, may shut my church doors against you. But if you only mean a friendly visit to me, I shall be glad to see you, let who will be here; and it will be the comfort of my heart, to have you preach to my flock in every room of my house, at any time when you come this way. As far as the doctrine you teach has come to my knowledge, I know not one part to which I could not subscribe, both with hand and heart.

“I am, reverend and dear sir, your affectionate friend and servant in Christ,

“Richard Conyers.”[527]

On the 13th of June, Wesley came to Epworth, where, while he was preaching, “a kind of gentleman” hired a company of boys and a drunken man to disturb the congregation. The boys shouted; the drunkard, as well as he could articulate, bawled ribaldry and nonsense; and the gentleman, with a French horn, did his utmost in blowing blasts of discord; but, despite the hubbub, the congregation quietly listened to the preacher’s sermon.

From Epworth, Wesley proceeded to Doncaster, Leeds, Dewsbury, and Manchester. While at Manchester, he paid his first visit to Matthew Mayer, at Portwood Hall, nearStockport, now a young man twenty-three years of age, a Methodist of about four years’ standing, but who had found peace with God only a few months before. In conjunction with John Morris, he had established weekly prayer-meetings at Davyhulme, Dukinfield, Ashton under Lyne, and other places, in one of which John Whitehead, the biographer of Wesley, was converted. Wesley invited young Mayer to accompany him to Birmingham, which invitation was accepted; and thus commenced a remarkable career of earnest and successful preaching, which lasted fifty years. Matthew Mayer never became, in the common sense of the designation, an itinerant preacher; and yet he itinerated tens of thousands of miles; and there are few towns, or even large villages, in Cheshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, the south of Lancashire, or the west of Yorkshire, in which there were not numerous living witnesses of the Divine, converting power that attended his preaching. Matthew Mayer was one of the most remarkable local preachers that Methodism has ever had. He died in 1814, and Joseph Benson went all the way from London to Lancashire, in the depth of winter, purposely to preach his funeral sermon.

Wesley left Stockport on the 20th of June, and reached the metropolis four days afterwards. Finding that the ferment, arising out of Thomas Maxfield’s separation, still continued, he resolved to remain in London until after his conference had met.

Unfortunately, no explicit record of the proceedings of this conference exists. It is known that the first edition of what are called “The Large Minutes” was published in 1753. A second edition, containing the added legislation of the last ten years, was issued in 1763. Comparing the two, we find the following decisions arrived at during the interval between the dates just mentioned.

1. “We believe the design of God, in raising up the preachers called Methodists, is to reform the nation, and, in particular, the Church; to spread scriptural holiness over the land.”[528]2. “The greatest hindrance to field preaching is to be expected from the rich, or cowardly, or lazy Methodists. But regard them not, neitherstewards, leaders, nor people. Whenever the weather will permit, go out in God’s name into the most public places, and call all to repent and believe the gospel. Every assistant, at least, in every circuit, should endeavour to preach abroad every Sunday; especially in the old societies, lest they settle upon their lees.”[529]3. In order to prevent strangers being present more than twice or thrice at society meetings, “See that all, in every place, show their tickets before they come in. If the stewards and leaders are not exact and impartial herein, employ others which have more resolution.”[530]4. “Examining and instructing the people” [under our care] “at their own houses, at times set apart for that purpose, has never been effectually done yet; though Thomas Walsh took some steps therein. Who will take up that cross? It will be of great use to others, and a blessing to his own soul. Do all youcanherein, if not all youwould. Inquire in each house, ‘Have you family prayer? Do you read the Scripture in your family? Have you a fixed time for private prayer?’ Examine each as to his growth in grace, and discharge of relative duties.”[531]5. “Should we insist everywhere on the band rules? particularly that relating to ruffles?“Answer. By all means. This is no time to give any encouragement to superfluity of apparel. Therefore, give no band tickets to any in England or Ireland, till they have left them off. In order to this, (1) Read, in every society, the ‘Thoughts concerning Dress.’ (2) In visiting the classes, be very mild, but very strict. (3) Allow no exempt case, not even of a married woman; better one suffer than many.“To encourage meeting in band: (1) In every large society, have a lovefeast quarterly for the bands only. (2) Never fail to meet them, apart from the society, once a week. (3) Exhort all believers to embrace the advantage. (4) Give a band ticket to none till they have met a quarter on trial.”[532]6. “At each meeting of children, in every place, we may first set them a lesson in the ‘Instructions,’ or ‘Tokens for Children,’ (2) Hear them repeat it. (3) Explain it to them in an easy, familiar manner. (4) Often ask, ‘What have I been saying?’ and strive to fasten it on their hearts.”[533]7. “Ought any woman to marry without the consent of her parents?“Answer. In general she ought not. Yet there may be an exception. For if (1) a woman be under necessity of marrying; if (2) her parents absolutely refuse to let her marry any Christian: then she may, nay ought, to marry without their consent. Yet even then a Methodist preacher ought not to marry her.”[534]8. “Read the sermon upon evil speaking, in every society. Extirpate smuggling, buying or selling uncustomed goods, out of every society;particularly in Cornwall, and in all seaport towns. Let no person remain with us, who will not totally abstain from every kind and degree of it. Extirpate bribery; receiving anything, directly or indirectly, for voting in any election. Show no respect of persons herein, but expel all who touch the accursed thing. Let this be particularly observed at Grimsby and St. Ives.”[535]9. Let every preacher in town “examine carefully what state the sick is in; and instruct, reprove, or exhort accordingly.”[536]10. “Rarely spend above an hour at a time in conversing with any one. Earnestly recommend the five o’clock hour to all.”[537]11. The preachers were requested to offer constantly and fervently, at set times, private, family, and public prayer; consisting of deprecation, petition, intercession, and thanksgiving. They were to forecast, wherever they were, how to secure the hour at five in the evening, and the hour before or after morning preaching, for private devotion. They were constantly to read the Scriptures, Wesley’s tracts, and the Christian Library. They were to devote their mornings to reading, writing, prayer, and meditation. They were always to have a New Testament in their pockets; and were to see that Wesley’s Notes thereon were in every society, and were to explain them to the congregations. They were devoutly to use the Lord’s supper at every opportunity. They were advised to fast every Friday, Wesley avowing his purpose generally to eat only vegetables on Friday, and to take only toast and water in the morning. They were to meet every society weekly; also the leaders, and the bands, if any. They were diligently to inquire into the state of the books, to do all they could to propagate them. They were to keep watchnights once a month, and lovefeasts twice a year for the whole society. They were to visit every society once a quarter; to take a regular catalogue of the members, at least, once a year; and to write Wesley an account of all the defects of “the common preachers,” which they could not themselves cure. They were steadily to watch against the world, the devil, themselves, and besetting sins; and to deny themselves every useless pleasure of sense, imagination, and honour. They were recommended to use only that kind and that degree of food, which was best both for the body and the soul; to eat no flesh and no late suppers; and to take only three meals a day.[538]12. “What can be done to make the people sing true?“Answer. (1) Learn to sing true yourselves. (2) Recommend the tunes everywhere. (3) If a preacher cannot sing himself, let him choose two or three persons in every place, to pitch the tune for him.”[539]13. “What is it best to take after preaching?“Answer. Lemonade; candied orange peel; or a little soft, warm ale. But egg and wine is downright poison. And so are late suppers.”[540]

1. “We believe the design of God, in raising up the preachers called Methodists, is to reform the nation, and, in particular, the Church; to spread scriptural holiness over the land.”[528]

2. “The greatest hindrance to field preaching is to be expected from the rich, or cowardly, or lazy Methodists. But regard them not, neitherstewards, leaders, nor people. Whenever the weather will permit, go out in God’s name into the most public places, and call all to repent and believe the gospel. Every assistant, at least, in every circuit, should endeavour to preach abroad every Sunday; especially in the old societies, lest they settle upon their lees.”[529]

3. In order to prevent strangers being present more than twice or thrice at society meetings, “See that all, in every place, show their tickets before they come in. If the stewards and leaders are not exact and impartial herein, employ others which have more resolution.”[530]

4. “Examining and instructing the people” [under our care] “at their own houses, at times set apart for that purpose, has never been effectually done yet; though Thomas Walsh took some steps therein. Who will take up that cross? It will be of great use to others, and a blessing to his own soul. Do all youcanherein, if not all youwould. Inquire in each house, ‘Have you family prayer? Do you read the Scripture in your family? Have you a fixed time for private prayer?’ Examine each as to his growth in grace, and discharge of relative duties.”[531]

5. “Should we insist everywhere on the band rules? particularly that relating to ruffles?

“Answer. By all means. This is no time to give any encouragement to superfluity of apparel. Therefore, give no band tickets to any in England or Ireland, till they have left them off. In order to this, (1) Read, in every society, the ‘Thoughts concerning Dress.’ (2) In visiting the classes, be very mild, but very strict. (3) Allow no exempt case, not even of a married woman; better one suffer than many.

“To encourage meeting in band: (1) In every large society, have a lovefeast quarterly for the bands only. (2) Never fail to meet them, apart from the society, once a week. (3) Exhort all believers to embrace the advantage. (4) Give a band ticket to none till they have met a quarter on trial.”[532]

6. “At each meeting of children, in every place, we may first set them a lesson in the ‘Instructions,’ or ‘Tokens for Children,’ (2) Hear them repeat it. (3) Explain it to them in an easy, familiar manner. (4) Often ask, ‘What have I been saying?’ and strive to fasten it on their hearts.”[533]

7. “Ought any woman to marry without the consent of her parents?

“Answer. In general she ought not. Yet there may be an exception. For if (1) a woman be under necessity of marrying; if (2) her parents absolutely refuse to let her marry any Christian: then she may, nay ought, to marry without their consent. Yet even then a Methodist preacher ought not to marry her.”[534]

8. “Read the sermon upon evil speaking, in every society. Extirpate smuggling, buying or selling uncustomed goods, out of every society;particularly in Cornwall, and in all seaport towns. Let no person remain with us, who will not totally abstain from every kind and degree of it. Extirpate bribery; receiving anything, directly or indirectly, for voting in any election. Show no respect of persons herein, but expel all who touch the accursed thing. Let this be particularly observed at Grimsby and St. Ives.”[535]

9. Let every preacher in town “examine carefully what state the sick is in; and instruct, reprove, or exhort accordingly.”[536]

10. “Rarely spend above an hour at a time in conversing with any one. Earnestly recommend the five o’clock hour to all.”[537]

11. The preachers were requested to offer constantly and fervently, at set times, private, family, and public prayer; consisting of deprecation, petition, intercession, and thanksgiving. They were to forecast, wherever they were, how to secure the hour at five in the evening, and the hour before or after morning preaching, for private devotion. They were constantly to read the Scriptures, Wesley’s tracts, and the Christian Library. They were to devote their mornings to reading, writing, prayer, and meditation. They were always to have a New Testament in their pockets; and were to see that Wesley’s Notes thereon were in every society, and were to explain them to the congregations. They were devoutly to use the Lord’s supper at every opportunity. They were advised to fast every Friday, Wesley avowing his purpose generally to eat only vegetables on Friday, and to take only toast and water in the morning. They were to meet every society weekly; also the leaders, and the bands, if any. They were diligently to inquire into the state of the books, to do all they could to propagate them. They were to keep watchnights once a month, and lovefeasts twice a year for the whole society. They were to visit every society once a quarter; to take a regular catalogue of the members, at least, once a year; and to write Wesley an account of all the defects of “the common preachers,” which they could not themselves cure. They were steadily to watch against the world, the devil, themselves, and besetting sins; and to deny themselves every useless pleasure of sense, imagination, and honour. They were recommended to use only that kind and that degree of food, which was best both for the body and the soul; to eat no flesh and no late suppers; and to take only three meals a day.[538]

12. “What can be done to make the people sing true?

“Answer. (1) Learn to sing true yourselves. (2) Recommend the tunes everywhere. (3) If a preacher cannot sing himself, let him choose two or three persons in every place, to pitch the tune for him.”[539]

13. “What is it best to take after preaching?

“Answer. Lemonade; candied orange peel; or a little soft, warm ale. But egg and wine is downright poison. And so are late suppers.”[540]

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