John Wesley's Scriptural Christianity
The Life of the
Rev. John WesleyPart 2
Mr. Fletcher came forward to defend his venerable friend, on account of the great uproar which the Calvinistic party had raised against him upon the publication of these Minutes. The Countess of Huntingdon had taken serious alarm and offense; and the Rev. Walter Shirley, her brother and Chaplain, had written a Circular Letter to all the serious Clergy, and several others, inviting them to go in a body to the ensuing Conference, and "insist upon a formal recantation of the said Minutes, and, in case of a refusal, to sign and publish their protest against them." Mr. Shirley and a few others accordingly attended the Bristol Conference, where, says Mr. Wesley, "we had more Preachers than usual, in consequence of Mr. Shirley’s Circular Letter. At ten on Thursday morning he came, with nine or tell of his friends: We conversed freely for about two hours; and, I believe, they were satisfied, that we were not such ‘dreadful heretics’ as they imagined, but were tolerably sound in the faith."
The meeting was creditable to each party. Mr. Wesley acknowledged that the Minutes were "not sufficiently guarded." And to prevent all future misconstruction, he and the Conference issued the following "Declaration," to which was appended a Note from Mr. Shirley, acknowledging his mistake as to the meaning of the Minutes: —
"BRISTOL, August 9, 1771.
"WHEREAS the doctrinal points in the Minutes of a Conference held in London, August 7, 1770, have been understood to favor ‘justification by works:’ Now the Rev. John Wesley and others, assembled in Conference, do declare, that we had no such meaning; and that we abhor the doctrine of ‘justification by works,’ as a most perilous and abominable doctrine. And as the said Minutes are not sufficiently guarded in the way they are expressed, we hereby solemnly declare in the sight of God, that we have no trust or confidence but in the alone merits of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ for justification or salvation, either in life, death, or the day of judgment. And though no one is a real Christian believer (and consequently cannot be saved) who doeth not good works, where there is time and opportunity; yet our works have no part in meriting or purchasing our justification, from first to last, either in whole or in part.
"Signed by the Rev. Mr. Wesley and fifty-three Preachers."
MR. SHIRLEY’S NOTE.
"Mr. Shirley’s Christian respects wait on Mr. Wesley. The Declaration agreed to in Conference the 8th of August, 1771, has convinced Mr. Shirley he had mistaken the meaning of the doctrinal points in the Minutes of the Conference held in London, August 7, 1770; and he hereby wishes to testify the full satisfaction he has in the said Declaration, and his hearty concurrence and agreement with the same.
"Mr. Wesley is at full liberty to make what use he please of this.
"August 10, 1771."
Mr. Fletcher had entitled his Defense of Mr. Wesley, "The First Check to Antinomianism;" but he did not content himself with evangelizing the apparently legal Minutes, and defending the doctrinal consistency and orthodoxy of Mr. Wesley. He incidentally discussed various other points of the quinquarticular controversy; and he, as well as Mr. Wesley, was quickly assailed by a number of replies not couched in the most courteous style. Mr. Fletcher’s skill and admirable temper so fully fitted him to conduct the dispute which had arisen, that Mr. Wesley left the contest chiefly to him, and calmly pursued his labors; and the whole issued in a series of publications, from the pen of the Vicar of Madeley, which, as a whole, can scarcely be too highly praised or valued. While the language endures, they will effectually operate as checks to Antinomianism in every subtle form which it may assume; and present the pure and beautiful system of evangelical truth, as well guarded on the other hand against Pelagian self-sufficiency. The Rev. Augustus Toplady, Mr. (afterwards Sir Richard) Hill, and his brother, the Rev. Rowhand Hill, with the Rev. John Berridge, were his principal antagonists; but his learning, his acuteness, his brilliant talent at illustrating an argument, and above all, the hallowed spirit in which he conducted the controversy, gave him a mighty superiority over his opponents; and although there will be a difference of opinion, according to the systems which different readers have adopted, as to the side on which the victory of argument remains, there can be none as to which bore away the prize of temper.
The Calvinian controversy, painful as it was in many respects, and the cause of much unhallowed joy to the profane wits of the day, who were not a little gratified at this exhibition of what they termed "spiritual gladiatorship," has been productive of important consequences in this country. It showed to the pious and moderate Calvinists how well the richest views of evangelical truth could he united with what is properly Arminianism; and it effected, by its bold and fearless exhibition of the logical consequences of the doctrines of the Decrees, much greater moderation in those who still admitted them, and gave birth to some softened modifications of Calvinism in the age that followed, — an effect which has remained to this day. The disputes on these subjects have, since that time, been less frequent, and more temperate; nor have good men so much labored to depart to the greatest distance from each other as to find a ground on which they could make the nearest approaches.
In the midst of all these controversies and cares, the societies contrived to spread and flourish under the influence of the zeal and piety of the Preachers, animated by the ceaseless activity and regular visits of Mr. Wesley, who, though now upwards of seventy years of age, seemed to possess his natural strength unabated. His thoughts were, however, frequently turning with anxiety to some arrangement for the government of the Connection after his death; and, not being satisfied that the plan he had sketched out a few years before would provide for a case of so much consequence, he directed his attention to Mr. Fletcher, and warmly invited him to come forth into the work, and to allow himself to he introduced by him to the societies and Preachers as their future head. Earnestly as this was pressed, Mr. Fletcher could not be induced to undertake a task to which, in his humility, he thought himself inadequate. This seems to have been his only objection; but had he accepted the offer, the plan would have failed, as Mr. Fletcher was a few years afterwards called into another world. From Mr. Charles Wesley, who had become a family man, and had nearly given up traveling, he had no hope as a successor; and even then a further settlement would have been necessary, because he could not be expected long to survive his brother. Still therefore this important matter remained undetermined. At the time the overture was made to Mr. Fletcher, the Preachers who were fully engaged in the work amounted to one hundred and fifty; and the societies, in great Britain and Ireland, to upwards of thirty-five thousand, exclusive of the regular hearers. This rapid and constant enlargement of the Connection heightened the urgency of the question of its future settlement; and it is pleasing to remark, that Mr. Charles Wesley at length entered into this feeling, and offered his suggestions. In spite of the little misunderstandings which had arisen, he maintained a strong, interest in a work, of which he had been so eminent an instrument; and this grew upon him in his latter years.
In 1775 Mr. Wesley, during a tour in the north of Ireland, had a dangerous sickness occasioned by sleeping on the ground, in an orchard, in the hot weather, which he says he had been "accustomed to do for forty years without ever being injured by it." He was slow to admit that old age had arrived, or he trusted to triumph long over its infirmities. The consequence in this case, however, was that, after manfully struggling with the incipient symptoms of the complaint, and attempting to throw them off by reading, journeying, and preaching, he sunk into a severe fever, from which, after lying insensible for some days, he recovered with extraordinary rapidity; and resumed a service which, extended as it had been through so many years, was not yet to be terminated.
The Foundry having become too small for the comfortable accommodation of the congregation in that part of London, and being also gloomy and dilapidated, a new chapel was erected in the year 1778. "November 1st," says Mr. Wesley, "was the day appointed for opening the New Chapel in the City-road. It is perfectly neat, but not fine, and contains far more than the Foundry; I believe, together with the morning chapel, as many as the Tabernacle. Many were afraid that the multitudes, crowding from all parts, would have occasioned much disturbance; but they were happily disappointed; there was none at all: All was quietness, decency, and order.
I preached on part of Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple; and both in the morning and afternoon God was eminently present in the midst of the congregation." Here the brothers agreed to officiate as often as possible till the congregation should be settled. Two resident Clergymen were also employed at this chapel as curates, for reading the full Church Service, administering the sacraments, and burying the dead.
In 1778 Mr. Wesley began to publish a periodical work, which he entitled, "The Arminian Magazine; consisting of Extracts and Original Treatises on Universal Redemption." He needed a medium through which he could reply to the numerous attacks made upon him; and he made use of it further to introduce into general circulation several choice treatises on Universal Redemption, and to publish selections from his valuable correspondence with pious persons. He conducted this work while he lived; and it is still continued by the conference, under the title of the "Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine," on the same general principles as to its theology, though on a more enlarged plan.
In 1783 Mr. Wesley paid a visit to Holland, having been pressed to undertake this journey by a Mr. Ferguson, formerly a member of the London society, who had made acquaintance with some pious people, who, having read Mr. Wesley’s Sermons, were desirous of seeing him. The record which he has made in his Journal of this journey exhibits his activity at so advanced an age, and presents an interesting picture of his intercourse with a pious remnant in several parts of that morally deteriorated country.
That provision for the stability and the government of the Connection after his death which had been to Mr. Wesley a matter of serious concern for several years, was accomplished in 1784, and gave him, whenever he subsequently adverted to the subject, the greatest satisfaction. From this time he felt that he had nothing more to do, than to spend his remaining life in the same spiritual labors in which he had been so long engaged; and that he had done all that a true prudence required, to provide for the continuance and extension of a work which had so strangely enlarged under his superintendence.
This settlement was effected by a legal instrument, enrolled in Chancery, called "A Deed of Declaration," in which one hundred Preachers, mentioned by name were declared to be "the Conference of the people called Methodists." By means of this Deed, a legal description was given to the term Conference, and the settlement of the chapels upon Trustees was provided for; so that the appointment of Preachers to officiate in them should be vested in the Conference, as it had heretofore been in Mr. Wesley. As the whole of the Preachers were not included in the Deed, and a few who thought themselves equally entitled to be of the hundred Preachers who thus formed the legal Conference, were excepted, some dissatisfaction arose; but as all the Preachers were eligible to he introduced into that body, as vacancies occurred, this feeling was but partial, and soon subsided. All the Preachers in full connection were also allowed to vote in the Conference; and subsequently, those who were not of the hundred, but had been in connection a certain number of years, were permitted, by their votes, to put the President into nomination for the election of the legal Conference. Thus all reasonable ground for mistrust and jealousy was removed from the body of the Preachers at large; and with respect to the hundred Preachers themselves, the President being chosen annually, and each being eligible to that honor, efficiency of administration was wisely connected with equality. The consequence has been, that the Preachers have generally remained most firmly united by affection and mutual confidence, and that few serious disputes have ever arisen among them, or have extended beyond a very few individuals. Ecclesiastical history does not, perhaps, present an instance of an equal number of Ministers brought into contact so close, and called so frequently together, for the discussion of various subjects, among whom so much general unanimity, both as to doctrines and points of discipline, has prevailed, joined with so much real goodwill and friendship towards each other, for so great a number of years.
This is the more remarkable, as by their frequent charges from station to station, opposite interests and feelings are very often brought into conflict.
The final decisions of the Conference on their appointment to these stations, generally the most perplexing part of its annual business, are, however, cheerfully or patiently submitted to, from the knowledge that each has of the public spirit with which that body is actuated, and the frank and brotherly manner in which all its proceedings are conducted. The order of proceeding in the business of the Conference is the same as in the days of Mr. Wesley. It admits candidates for the ministry, on proper recommendation from the Superintendents and District-Meetings; examines those who have completed their probation of four years, and receives the approved into full connection, which is its ordination; investigates, without any exception, the character and talents of those also are already in connection year by year; appoints the stations of the year ensuing; sends additional Preachers to new places; receives the reports of the Committees appointed to manage and distribute various Funds; reviews the state of the societies; and issues an Annual Pastoral Address.
At the time of the meeting of the Conferences, beside the Sunday services, public worship is held early in the morning and in the evening of every day, except Saturday, which is usually attended by great multitudes. The business of each Conference, exclusive of that done in Committees which meet previously, occupies, on the average, about a fortnight in every year.
Were it not for the District-Meetings, composed of the Preachers, and the Stewards of a number of Circuits, or stations, in different parts of the kingdom, (an arrangement which was adopted after Mr. Wesley’s death,) the business of the Conference would require a much longer time to transact; but in these meetings much is prepared for its final decision.
The state in which the separation of the United States from the mother country left the Methodist American societies had become a matter of serious concern to Mr. Wesley, and presented to him a new case, for which it was imperative to make some provision this, however, could not be done but by a proceeding which he foresaw would lay him open to much remark, and some censure, from the rigid English Episcopalians. But with him, the principle of making every thing indifferent give place to the necessity of doing-good or preventing evil, was paramount; and when that necessity was clearly made out, he was not a man to hesitate. The mission of Messrs. Boardman and Pilmoor to America has been already mentioned.
Two years afterward, in 1771, Mr. Wesley sent out Messrs. Asbury and Wright; and in 1773, Messrs. Rankin and Shadford. In 1777, the Preachers in the different Circuits in America had amounted to forty, and the societies had also greatly increased. These were scattered in towns and settlements so distant that it required constant and extensive traveling from the Preachers to supply them with the word of God. The two last-mentioned Preachers returned, after employing themselves on the mission for about five years; and Mr. Asbury, a true Itinerant, who in this respect followed in America the unwearied example of Mr. Wesley, gradually acquired a great and deserved influence, which, supported as it was by his excellent sense, moderating temper, and entire devotedness to the service of God, increased rather than diminished to the end of a protraeted life. The American Preachers, like those in England, were at first restrained by Mr. Wesley from administering either of the sacraments; but when, through the war, and the acquisition of independence by the States, most of the Clergy of the Church of England had left the country, neither the children of the members of the Methodist societies could be baptized, nor the Lords supper administered among them, without a change of the original plan. Mr. Asbury’s predictions for the former order of things prevented him from listening to the request of the American societies to be formed into a regular Church, and furnished with all its spiritual privileges; and a division had already taken place among them. This breach, however, Mr. Asbury had the address to heal; and at the peace he laid the whole case before Mr. Wesley. The result will be seen by the following extract from his letter to Dr. Coke, Mr. Asbury, and the brethren in America, dated Bristol, September 10th, 1784: — "By a very uncommon train of providences, many of the provinces of North America are totally disjoined from their mother country, and erected into independent States. The English Government has no authority over them, either civil or ecclesiastical, any more than over the States of Holland. A civil authority is exercised over them, partly by the Congress, partly by the Provincial Assemblies. But no one either exercises or claims any ecclesiastical authority at all. In this peculiar situation, some thousands of the inhabitants of these States desire my advice; and, in compliance with their desire, I have drawn up a little sketch.
"Lord King’s account of the primitive church convinced me, many years ago, that Bishops and Presbyters are the same order, and consequently have the same right to ordain. For many years I have been importuned, from time to time, to exercise this right, by ordaining part of our Traveling Preachers; but I have still refused, not only for peace’ sake, but because I was determined, as little as possible, to violate the established order of the national Church to which I belonged.
"But the case is widely different between England and North America. Here there are Bishops who have a legal jurisdiction. In America there are none, neither any parish Ministers. So that, for some hundred miles together, there is none either to baptize or to administer the Lord’s supper. Here, therefore, my scruples are at an end; and I conceive myself at full liberty, as I violate no order, and invade no man’s right, by appointing and sending laborers into the harvest.
"I have accordingly appointed Dr. Coke and Mr. Francis Asbury to be joint Superintendents over or brethren in North America, as also Richard Whatcoat and Thomas Vasey to act as Elders among them, by baptizing and administering the Lord’s supper. And I have prepared a Liturgy, little differing from that of the Church of England, (I think the best constituted national Church in the world,) which I advise all the Traveling Preachers to use on the Lord’s day? in all the congregations, reading the Litany only on Wednesdays and Fridays, and Praying extempore on all other days. I also advise the Elders to administer the supper of the Lord on every Lord’s day."
Two persons were thus appointed as Superintendents or Bishops, and two as Elders, with power to administer the sacraments; and the American Methodists were formed into a Church, because they could no longer remain a society attached to a colonial Establishment which then had ceased to exist.
Some time after this, Mr. Wesley appointed several of the English Preachers, by imposition of hands, to administer the sacraments to the societies in Scotland. There the English Establishment did not extend, and a necessity of a somewhat similar kind existed, though not of so pressing a nature as in America. He, however, steadily objected to give this liberty, generally, to his Preachers in England; and those who administered the sacraments in Scotland were not permitted to perform the same also in England upon their return. The reason why he refused to appoint in the same manner, and for the same purpose, for England, is stated in the letter above quoted. He was satisfied of his power, as a Presbyter, to ordain for such an administration; but, he says, "I have still refused, not only for peace’ sake, but because I was determined as little as possible to violate the established order of the national Church to which I belonged." This was a prudent principle most sincerely held by him; and it explains his conduct in those particulars for which he has been censured by opposite parties. When it could not be avoided, without sacrificing some real good, he did violate "the established order," thinking that this order was in itself merely prudential. When that necessity did not exist, his own predilections, and those of many members of his societies, enforced upon him this abstinence from innovation.
In the year 1786, at the Bristol Conference, the old subject of separating from the Church was again discussed and; "without one dissenting voice," it was determined to continue therein; "which determination," he remarks, "will, I doubt not, stand, at least till I am removed into a better world."
After the Conference was concluded, he paid a second visit to Holland, in company with Mr. Brackenbury and Mr. Broadbent, preached in various places, expounded to private companies and engaged in conversation with many learned and pious individuals.
On his return to England, his Journal presents the usual record of constant preaching and traveling, interspersed with useful remark and incident. The labors and journeys of almost every day are noticed, exhibiting at once a singular instance of natural strength, sustained, doubtless, by the special blessing of God, and of an center consecration of time to the service of mankind, of which no similar example is probably on record; and which is rendered still more wonderful by the consideration that it had been continued for more than half a century, on the same scale of exertion, and almost without intermission. The vigor of his mind at this age is also as remarkable; the same power of acute observation as formerly is manifested: the same taste for reading and criticism; the same facility in literary composition. Nor is the buoyant cheerfulness of his spirit a less striking feature. Nothing of the old man of unrenewed nature appears; no forebodings of evil; no querulous comparisons of the present with the past: — there is the same delight in the beautiful scenes of nature; the same enjoyment of conversation, provided it had the two qualities of usefulness and brevity: the same joy in hopeful appearances of God; and the same tact at turning the edge of little discomforts and disappointments by the power of an undisturbed equanimity. Above all we see the man of one business, living only to serve God and his generation, "instant in season and out of season," seriously intent, not upon doing so much duty, but upon saving souls; and preaching, conversing, and writing for this end alone.
This period of his life must have been to him one of rich reflection. In his Journal of 1785, March 24, he observes, — I was now considering how strangely the grain of mustard-seed, planted about fifty years ago, had grown up. It has spread through all Great Britain, and Ireland, the Isle of Wight, and the Isle of Man; then to America, through the whole continent, into Canada, the Leeward Islands, and Newfoundland. And the societies, in all these parts, walk by one rule, knowing that religion is in holy
tempers, and striving to worship God, not in form only, but likewise in spirit and in truth."He must, indeed, have been insensible to the emotions of a generous nature, had he not felt an honest satisfaction, that he had lived down calumnies; and that where mobs formerly awaited him, he met with the kind and cheering attentions of the most respectable persons of all religious persuasions, in every part of the country. But, more than this, he could compare the dearth and barrenness of one age with the living verdure and fertility of another. Long-forgotten truths had been made familiar; — a neglected population had been brought within the range of Christian instruction and the constant preaching of the word of life by faithful men; — religious societies had been raised up through the land, generally distinguished by piety and zeal; — by the blessing of God upon the labors of Mr. Whitefield, and others of his first associates, the old Dissenting churches had been quickened into life, and new ones multiplied; the Established Church had been awakened from her lethargy; the number of faithful Ministers in her parishes greatly multiplied; the influence of religion spread into the colonies, and the United States of America; and above all, a vast multitude, the fruit of his own ministerial zeal and faithfulness, had, since the time in which he commenced his labors, departed into a better world. These thoughts must often have passed through his mind, and inspired his heart with devout thanksgivings, although no allusion is ever made to them in a boastful manner. For the past, he knew to whom the praise belonged; and the future he left to God, certain at least of meeting in heaven a greater number of glorified spirits of whose salvation he had been, under God, the instrument, than any Minister of modern ages. That "joyful hope" may explain an incident, which occurred at Oxford towards the close of life. The Rev. Henry Moore, who was with him at the time, observes, that one Sunday morning, Mr. Wesley, on entering the pulpit, instead of announcing the hymn immediately, to the great surprise of the congregation, stood silent, with his eyes closed, for the space of at least ten minutes, rapt in thought; and then, with a feeling which at once conveyed to all present the subject which had so absorbed his attention, gave out the hymn commencing with the lines, —
"Come, let us join our friends above,
Who have obtain’d the prize."It was also his constant practice to preach on All Saints’ Day, which was with him a favorite festival, on communion with the saints in heaven; a practice probably arising out of the same delightful association of remembrances and hope.
On his attaining his eighty-fifth year, he makes the following reflections:
— "I this day enter on my eighty-fifth year. And what cause have I to praise God, as for a thousand spiritual blessings, so for bodily blessings also! How little have I suffered yet, by ‘the rush of numerous years!’ It is true, I am not so agile as I was in times past: I do not run or walk so fast as I did. My sight is a little decayed. My left eye is grown dim and hardly serves me to read. I have daily some pain in the ball of my right eye, as also in my right temple, (occasioned by a blow received some time since,) and in my right shoulder and arm, which I impute partly to a sprain, and partly to the rheumatism. I find likewise some decay in my memory, with regard to names and things lately past; but not at all with regard to what I have read or heard twenty, forty, or sixty years ago. Neither do I find any decay in my hearing, smell, taste, of appetite, (though I want but a third part of the food I once did,) nor do I feel any such thing as weariness, either in traveling or preaching. And I am not conscious of any decay in writing sermons, which I do as readily, and I believe as correctly, as ever.
"To what cause can I impute this, that I am as I am? First, doubtless, to the power of God, fitting me for the work to which I am called, as long as he pleases to continue me therein; and next, subordinately to this, to the prayers of his children. — May we not impute it, as inferior means:
1. To my constant exercise and change of air?
2. To my never having lost a night’s sleep, sick or well, at land or sea, since I was born?
3. To my having sleep at command, so that, whenever I feel myself almost worn out, I call it, and it comes, day or night?
4. To my having constantly, for above sixty years, risen at four in the morning?
5. To my constant preaching at five in the morning, for above fifty years?
6. To my having had so little pain in my life, and so little sorrow or anxious care? — Even now, though I find pain daily in my eye, temple, or arm, yet it is never violent, and seldom lasts many minutes at a time.
"Whether or not this is sent to give me warning that I am shortly to quit this tabernacle, I do not know; but, be it one way, or the other, I have only to say, —
‘My remnant of days
I spend to His praise,
Who died the whole world to redeem:
Be they many or few,
My days are his due,
And they all are devoted to Him.’"And, referring to some persons in the nation who thought themselves endowed with the gift of prophecy, he adds, "If this is to be the last year of my life, according to some of these prophets, I hope it will be the best.
I am not careful about it, but heartily receive the advice of the angel in Milton, —
‘How well is thine; how long permit to heaven.’"
The two brothers, whose affection no differences of opinion could diminish, were now to he separated by death. Dr. Whitehead, who visited Mr. Charles Wesley frequently during his last sickness, observes: — "He possessed that state of mind which he had been always pleased to see in others, — unaffected humility, and holy resignation to the will of God.
He had no transports of joy, but solid hope and unshaken confidence in Christ, which kept his mind in perfect peace. A few days before his death he composed the following lines. Having been silent and quiet for some time, he called Mrs. Wesley to him, and bade her write as he dictated: —
‘In age and feebleness extreme,
Who shall a sinful worm redeem?
Jesus, my only hope thou art,
Strength of my failing flesh and heart;
O could I catch a smile from thee,
And drop into eternity!’"He died, March 29th, 1788, aged seventy-nine years and three months; and was buried, April 5th, in Marybone churchyard at his own desire. The pall was supported by eight Clergymen of the Church of England.
"On his tomb-stone are the following lines, written by himself on the death of one of his friends: They could not be more aptly applied to any person than to Mr. Charles Wesley: —
‘With poverty of spirit bless’d,
Rest, happy saint, in Jesus rest;
A sinner saved, through grace forgiven,
Redeem’d from earth to reign in heaven!
Thy labors of unwearied love,
By thee forgot, are crown’d above;
Crown’d, through the mercy of thy Lord,
With a free, full, immense reward!’"The Methodists are greatly indebted to Charles Wesley for his unwearied labors and great usefulness at the first formation of the societies, when every step was attended with difficulty and danger. And being dead he yet speaketh by his numerous and excellent hymns, written for the use of the societies, which still continue to be the means of daily edification and comfort to thousands."
Mr. Wesley was on his regular pastoral visit to Ireland when he entered his 87th year. After holding the Irish Conference in Dublin, and the English Conference at Leeds, in August, he returned to London; from thence he set out to Bristol, and proceeded on his usual tour through the West of England, and Cornwall. From thence he returned by way of Bristol and Bath to London. In the early part of next year, he was again at Bristol, whence he proceeded, preaching at several intermediate towns, to Birmingham. From this place he proceeded through Staffordshire to Madeley. He then visited, for the last time, the societies in Cheshire, Lancashire, and the north of England. On his return southward, he passed through the East Riding of Yorkshire, to Hull; preaching in every place as on the brink of eternity. He also visited Epworth, and various parts of Lincolnshire; and, upon entering his eighty-eighth year, has the following reflections: —
"This day I enter into my eighty-eighth year. For above eighty-six years, I found none of the infirmities of old age; my eyes did not wax dim, neither was my natural strength abated, but last August, I found almost a sudden change: My eyes were so dim that no glasses would help me; my strength likewise now quite forsook me, and probably will not return in this world: But I feel no pain from head to foot; only, it seems, nature is exhausted, and, humanly speaking, will sink more and more, till
‘The weary springs of life stand still at last.’"
"This," says Dr. Whitehead, "at length was literally the case; the death of Mr. Wesley, like that of his brother Charles, being one of those rare instances in which nature, drooping under the load of years, sinks by a gentle decay. For several years preceding his death, this decay was, perhaps, more visible to others than to himself, particularly by a more frequent disposition to sleep during the day, by a growing defect in memory, a faculty he once possessed in a high degree of perfection, and by a general diminution of the vigor and agility he had so long enjoyed. His labors, however, suffered little interruption; and when the summons came, it found him, as he always wished it should, in the harness, still occupied in his Master’s work!"
That interesting record of unparalleled labors "in the Gospel," the Journal of Mr. Wesley, closes on Sunday, October 24th, 1790, when he states that he preached twice at Spitalfields church. He continued, however, to visit various places till February, continually praying, "Lord, let me not live to be useless."
On Thursday, February 17, 1791, he preached at Lambeth, but on his return seemed much indisposed, and said he had taken cold. On the following Sunday he was so unwell as to be unable to engage in his usual public exercises; but on Monday he was so much better, that he went to Wickenham to dine with Lady Fitzgerald. He preached on Tuesday evening at City-road; and on Wednesday he went to Leatherhead, and preached to a small company what proved to be his last sermon, from, "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near." On Friday he became so alarmingly ill, that Dr. Whitehead was sent for; but his skill proved unavailing. Mr. Wesley got rapidly worse, and felt that his end was drawing nigh. In this solemn crisis this eminent servant of God experienced the supporting influence of that religion which he had been the honored instrument of reviving in this land, and in America, to so great an extent Great as had been his labors in the cause of Christ, they were no more the foundation of his hope in death, than they had been in life. Eight years before, when at Bristol, he had an alarming attack; and then, while contemplating his critical situation, he said to Mr. Bradford, "I have been reflecting on my past life; I have been wandering up and down between fifty and sixty years, endeavoring in my poor way to do a little good to my fellow-creatures; and now it is probable, that there are but a few steps between me and death; and what have I done to trust to for salvation? I can see nothing which I have done or suffered that will bear looking at. I have no other plea than this,
‘I the chief of sinners am,
But Jesus died for me.’"This was his language to the last. On Sunday, the 27th, he alluded to his views and feelings in that illness. He had been silent for some time, examining, as it appeared, the ground of his confidence, when he said, "There is no need of more; when at Bristol my words were,
‘I the chief of sinners am,
But Jesus died for me.’"And on one asking, "Is this the present language of your heart, and do you feel now as you did then?" he answered, "Yes;" and afterwards added, in reference to Christ, "He is all! He is all!" The day following, he reverted to the same subject, and said, "How necessary it is for every one to be on the right foundation!" and then quoted again his favorite stanza, expressive of the entire dependence of his soul on the sacrificial death of Christ. And he strikingly proved how available is that plea. The most cheering manifestations of the divine presence were vouchsafed to him. On another occasion, he had called for pen and ink, but when they were brought, being unable to write, one said to him, "Let me write for you, Sir; tell me what you would say." He replied, "Nothing, but that God is with us;" and not long after he broke out in a manner which, considering his weakness, astonished all present, In singing,
"I’ll praise my Maker while I’ve breath;
And when my voice is lost in death,
Praise shall employ my nobler powers;
My days of praise shall ne’er be past,
While life and thought and being last,
Or immortality endures."Shortly after he had sung this verse, he became evidently worse and his voice failed in endeavoring to sing part of another hymn. Having rested awhile, he desired those who were with him to "pray and praise." They kneeled down, and the room seemed to be filled with the divine presence.
Having given directions respecting his funeral, he again begged they would pray and praise. Several friends who were in the house being called up, they all kneeled down again, and he joined with them in great fervor of spirit; but in particular parts of the prayer, his whole soul seemed to be engaged in a manner which evidently showed how ardently he longed for the full accomplishment of their united desires. And when one of the Preachers prayed, that if God were about to take away their father to his eternal rest, He would be pleased to continue and increase his blessing upon the doctrine and discipline which He had long made his servant the means of propagating and establishing in the world; Mr. Wesley responded, "Amen," with such a fervor and strength of voice as indicated how intense was his desire that the petition should be answered. In the course of the same day, he attempted to speak to one who came into his room; but perceiving that he did not make himself understood, he paused a little, and then, with all the remaining strength he had, cried out, The best of all is, God is with us; and soon after, lifting up his dying arm in token of victory, and raising his feeble voice with a holy triumph not to be described, he again repeated the heart-reviving words, The best of all is, God with us. During the night following, he frequently attempted to repeat the psalm, part of which he had before sung; but such was his weakness he could only utter,
"I’ll praise — I’ll praise."
On Wednesday morning, March 2nd, it was evident that the closing scene drew near; and Mr. Bradford having prayed with him, he was heard to articulate, "Farewell!" This was the last word he uttered; and while several of his friends were kneeling around his bed, he passed without a groan or struggle into the joyful presence of his Lord.
At the desire of many of his friends his corpse was placed in the New Chapel, and remained there the day before his interment; and so great were the crowds that came to see the body, that it was determined the funeral should be private, in order to prevent tumult. He was accordingly buried between five and six o’clock in the morning of March the 9th; notice having been given to his friends only the evening before. The Rev. Mr. Richardson read the funeral service; and when he came to that part, "forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God to take into himself the soul of our dear brother," — etc., he substituted with the most tender emphasis the epithet father for brother, which had so touching an effect that almost all present broke out into loud weeping. The funeral sermon was preached in the forenoon, to a very crowded and attentive congregation; among whom were many Clergymen and Dissenting Ministers.
The following is the inscription on the marble tablet afterwards placed in the chapel, City-road: —
Sacred to the Memory
OF THE REV. JOHN WESLEY, M.A..
SOMETIME FELLOW OF LINCOLN COLLEGE, OXFORD;
A Man in Learning and sincere Piety
Scarcely inferior to any;
In Zeal, Ministerial Labors, and extensive Usefulness,
Superior, perhaps, to all Men,
Since the days of ST. PAUL.
Regardless of Fatigue, personal Danger, and Disgrace,
He went out into the highways and hedges
Calling Sinners to Repentance,
And publishing the GOSPEL of Peace.
He was the Founder of the Methodist Societies,
And the chief Promoter and Patron
Of the Plan of Itinerant preaching,
Which He extended through GREAT BRITAIN and IRELAND.
The West Indies and America,
With unexampled Success.
He was born the 17th of June, 1703;
And died the 2nd of March, 1791,
In sure and certain hope of Eternal Life,
Through the Atonement and Mediation of a Crucified Savior.
He was sixty-five Years in the Ministry,
And fifty-two an Itinerant Preacher:
He lived to see, in these Kingdoms only,
About three hundred Itinerant,
And one thousand Local Preachers,
Raised up from the midst of his own People;
And eighty thousand Persons in the Societies under his care.
His Name will be ever had in grateful Remembrance
By all who rejoice in the universal Spread
Of the Gospel of CHRIST.
Soli Deo Gloria
This Inscription shows the number of Preachers and members of society at the time of Mr. Wesley’s death. The number of Circuits at home was 115, and the Mission Stations were eight in the West Indies, and eight in British America. The Minutes of the last Conference (1834) mark the vast increase of the work since the venerable Founder of Methodism was taken home to his reward. The number of Circuits in Great Britain and Ireland was then 411; and of Mission Station in the four quarters of the globe 177.
The number of regular Preachers stationed at home was 1070, and on the Missions abroad 236; while the societies amounted in Great Britain to 291,939; in Ireland to 25,614, and on the Foreign Stations to 48,304. The Conference in Upper Canada had under its care 14,930 members, and sixty-four regular Preachers; and in the United States the number of regular Preachers and Missionaries was 2,400, and the societies amounted to 619,771 members. The total number of members in the Wesleyan-Methodist societies throughout the world, exclusive of regular Traveling Preachers, who are stately employed in the ministry, was, 1,000,558.
To say nothing of the advantages which other religious bodies have derived indirectly from Methodism, such are some of its direct effects. Such is the success which has rewarded the Methodists for keeping their original object steadily in vicar, and striving to promote the work of true religion independently of party considerations. The spirit of Methodism has never been the spirit of party. There is not indeed so much of formal union between the Methodists and the Church as in Mr. Wesley’s day. The general introduction of the sacrament of the Lord’s supper, a measure which Mr. Wesley strenuously opposed to the last, has certainly made the separation between his followers and the Church more visible; but this was not the result of hostility to the Church, nor for the reasons usually urged by the Dissenters. The separation which subsists between the Methodists and the national Church was rather the result of circumstances, and it took place so as to leave unimpaired the general feeling of affection on the part of the Methodists for all that is excellent in the Establishment. That feeling has strengthened as the number of evangelical laborious Ministers has in erased in the Church, and her services have thus improved in spirituality and efficiency. Recognizing in her "the mother of us all" and contemplates with deepest admiration her noble army of Confessors and Martyrs, and the illustrious train of her Divines, whose writings have been, and continue to be, the light of Christendom, the followers of Mr. Wesley wish the national Church prosperity and perpetuity. At the same time they cherish true Christian affection for all other evangelical denominations, and rejoice in their success in spreading our common Christianity. Thus have the Methodists ever been "the friends of all, and enemies of none;" and if, maintaining their purity and energy, they proceed in their providential course, practically "remembering one fundamental principle of Wesleyan Methodism is ANTI-SECTARIANISM AND A CATHOLIC SPIRIT" they must, under the divine blessing, prosper to a far greater extent. If, continuing to overlook all mere party-objects, they unwaveringly pursue their high, their hallowed aim simply to promote the spread of pure Christianity throughout the land and the world at large, they will not fail to answer the end for which their great Founder ever regarded the Methodists as raised up by the head of the Church; and the blessings of their system will be diffused still more widely, and will descend to ages yet unborn.
NOTES
1. Wesley’s Works, vol. 1., p. 75.
2. Wesley’s Works, vol. 1., p. 91.
3. Ibid., vol. 1., p. 96.
4. The "Societies" which Mr. Wesley mentions in his Journals as visited by him in London and Bristol, were the remained of Societies which, according to Dr. Woodward, began about the year 1667 among a few young men in London who were awakened under the ministry of Dr. Horneck and others.
5. Wesley’s works, vol. 1., p. 158
6. Wesley’s Works.
7. Wesley’s Works.
8. The want of a provision for their wives and families, in the early periods of Methodism, caused the loss of many eminent Preachers, who were obliged to settle in Independent congregations.
9. "I shall follow, though not with equal steps."
10. In the year 1747.
11. A man of one book.
12. Good men avoid sin from the love of virtue; Wicked men avoid sin from a fear of punishment.
13. Thou shalt not be hanged.
14. Homily on the Salvation of man.
15. Art. 17.
16. Office of consecrating Priests.
17. Visitation of the Sick.
18. Collect before the Holy Communion.
19. Order of Confirmation.