Wesley, John.
First sermon
1903.

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

1938

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WESLEY'S
FIRST SERMONAND OTHE®
BEGINNINGS

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

1938

WESLEY'S
FIRST SERMON

From an engraving- by T. Holloway.

<o^n^~u uvZ..

WESLEY'S
FIRST SERMON

AND OTHER FIRST THINGS
IN THE LIFE OF THE
FATHER OF METHODISM

3-n iRemembvance
June 17, 1703

LONDO.N CHARLES H. KELLY
2, CASTLE STREET, CITY ROAD, E.C.
and 26, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.
1903

THE WESLEYAN METHODIST
CONFERENCE OFFICE is indebted
to Mr. Russell J. Colman, of Norwich, tor
permission to photograph and reproduce the
Manuscripts in this Souvenir. Mr. Colman
inherited them from his father, the late
Mr. J. J. Colman, into whose possession they
came, many years ago, through Mr. Gandy,
from the Rev. Henry Moore, one of the
executors under the will of John Wesley.

WESLEY'S FIRST SERMON
John Wesley was ordained Deacon by Dr. Potter, Bishop
of Oxford, * in the September Ember week/ 1725. Bio
graphers know where the first sermon was preached, but
they do not know either the dale or the text. Long after
wards Wesley wrote in his Journal, Wednesday, October 16,
1771: 'I preached at South Lye. Here it was that I
preached my first sermon, six-and-forty years ago. One
man was in my present audience who heard it. Most of
ihe rest are gone to their long home.' A small packet
of manuscripts, yellow with age, described as ' My Old
Sermons,' reveals the hitherto unknown text. The packet
includes a manuscript sermon preached by the Rector of
Epworth at Buxton, July 7, 1721, from Psalm civ. 10: 'He
sendeth the springs among the rivers' [with 'valleys' sub
stituted], 'which run among the hills.' Did the old Rector
send this sermon to his son as an example to guide him
in preparing his first sermon?
There are also several sermons in John Wesley's hand
writing. The first is dated 1725. The writing belongs to
Wesley's earliest period after leaving school. The changing
style is apparent in the letters here facsimiled. Another
sermon reveals its later date by the handwriting 5 and the
conjecture is confirmed by the endorsement at the bottom
5

Wesley's First Sermon
of the last page: ' Transcribed] Sat., Oct. 6, 1727.' On
the outside paper cover, in faded writing, is a list of
churches in which these early sermons were preached :
Stanton (where the Kirkhams lived), Wroote, and South
Lye ; the dates being 1725 and 1727.
Wesley began his work as a preacher with the text,
Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness ' ;
he closed it, in the magistrate's dining-room at Leatherhead,
with the verse, ' Seek ye the Lord while He may be found,
call ye upon Him while He is near.'
The abbreviations are quite simple, the chief being
V for *th.'

Wesley's First Sermon

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16

Wesley's First Sermon

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i7

Wesley's First Sermon

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Wesley's First Sermon

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more . $msn '

HIS ORDINATION
Every member of the Wesley family, in September, 1725,
was intensely anxious about the future of ' dear Jacky,' his
father and mother most of all. The correspondence lifts
the veil from the financial difficulties. The Rector of
Epworth, burdened with debt and struggling for life, never
theless strove to help his son. Still more concerned was
he that the Charterhouse scholar, whose career at Christ
Church had been so brilliant, should be, doctrinally, without
reproach, and that at his ordination his conscience might be
' as the noonday clear.'
Who is the 'Mr. Downs' named in the letter?
Dr. Morley we know as that Rector of Lincoln College
who, a few months later, secured for John the Lincoln
Fellowship resigned by Sir John Thorold.
There is doubt as to the meaning of line six in the letter.
Tyerman never saw the original. Copying from a garbled
extract, he misquotes thus ; * On Monday I design to wait
on Dr. Morley, and will try to prevail with your brother
to return you £8 with interest. I will assist you in the
charges for ordination.' With this compare the original.
How are we to translate the abbreviated words? Are
they 'your brother,' or 'your tutor'? or something quite
different ?

His Ordination
In less than a week Samuel Wesley is again writing to
his son : ' God fit you for your great work ! Fast, watch, and
pray; believe, love, endure, and be happy; towards which
you shall never want the most ardent prayers of your most
affectionate father.'
Samuel Wesley's friendship with Dr. Morley was of
high importance in the settlement of John's future. It
secured for him the Lincoln Fellowship. The two events—
his Ordination, September 19, 1725, and his election to the
Fellowship, March 17, 1726— ran together. When this letter
was written, the Fellowship had been vacant four months.
Overton, himself a Lincoln man, has pointed out two facts
of the greatest interest : Lincoln College was founded for the
express purpose of putting down the Lollards ; the irony in
the situation is exquisite. The other point is that in his
election Wesley succeeded Sir John Thorold, who afterwards
became ' a friend of Wesley, and is thus described in a letter
to the Honourable Grace Granville, daughter of Lord
Lansdown, dated November 1, 1738, and sent from Windsor
to Miss Ann Granville [' Selima '], Mrs. Delany's sister.' ' Sir
John was ancestor, on his grandmother's side, of Dr. Trollope,
Bishop of Nottingham, and, on his father's side, of the late
Dr. Thorold, Bishop of Rochester.' In the Colman Collection
is a beautiful letter written by Sir John Thorold to Wesley in
1736. He was a man of great wealth and social distinction,
and was at that time preaching twice a week for the
Moravians.

His Ordination

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<rr ^JfiksT^r <tp Ckaff r^ la 'rit; o rfaftic

23

HIS FIRST DEVOTIONAL READING
A letter to his mother, written in the spring of 1725,
is interesting, not only because of its allusion to the
approaching ordination, but also from the fact that it
contains a reference to the book which first inspired
Wesley with enthusiasm for a life of experimental religion.
It also played a momentous part in the initiation of his
career as a producer of books.
Even more than his father, the mother, herself a highly
cultivated scholar, became his tutor in theology. They
discussed books through the post, and especially doctrine.
In these studies Thomas a Kempis's 'Christian Pattern'
led the way.

His First Devotional Reading
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O'

25

His First Devotional Reading

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1

26

His First Devotional Reading

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Jcfan facszti'-

27

HIS FIRST BOOKS
'A Collection of Forms of Prayer for Every Day in the
Week' was Wesley's first venture in print. The Prayers,
intended for his pupils at Oxford, reflect the spirit of the
Holy Club.
In 1735 he published a sermon, preached in St. Mary's.
In the same year he brought out a volume, the title-page of
which is here reproduced. It appeared in two editions,— one
in 8vo, with five engravings; the other in 24mo. Of the
latter Wesley says:
In a few days will be published in 24mo A beautiful Edition
of the foregoing Divine Treatise of the Imitation of Christ ;
with a new Preface, giving some plain Directions, How to
read this (or indeed any other Religious Book) with Im
provement. N.B. — There will be a handsome Allowance (in this
Edition) to all such as shall take a number to be disposed of
charitably.
This marks the beginning of Wesley's attempt to give
cheap and good books to the people.
The title-page is processed from a first edition. On the
fly-leaf is the name 'Robert Guthrie his book Selkerk
13 June 1761.'
The Preface is in five parts. The fifth only is Wesley's
composition. It is scarcely less characteristic than the famous
Preface to the Hymn-Book. 28

His First Books

THE

4

Chriftian's Pattern; ,,.
/ ¦ tr ,,f '" }
(> -,': .- 'OR, A /.¦*//"<>"/, t '.,
TREATISE '.
. ' //<£ f
t' „ OFTHE
Imitation of CHRIS%
Written Originally '« 'Latin, • 1
ByTHOMASaKEMPIS. j
Wkh a PREFACE, '/H ? 1 \
Containing an Account ofthe
Usefulness of this TREATISE:
Directions for Reading it with Advantagej .
%, And likewife an Account of this Edition.

1 Compared with the Original, and corrected throughout
By JOHN WES LET, M^
Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxon.

L 0 N D 0 Nt''
Printed for C.'Rivinoton, at the Bible and
Crown in St. Paul's Cburch-yar&.

MD'C CXXXV*

29

AN EARLY LETTER
Wesley was not merely a preacher and litterateur ; he was
one of the best and most prolific letter-writers in an age much
given to correspondence. His letters were always interesting.
For this reason they have been preserved by thousands.
They are not only autographs prized by collectors, and
heirlooms in old Methodist families, but also valuable helps
to the historian. Their influence throughout Great Britain
and Ireland, in America, and even on the Continent of
Europe, constitutes a noteworthy feature in the story of the
eighteenth century. They are to-day read with avidity, and
are never likely to lose their charm.
One of Wesley's earliest letters will be found opposite. It
was written to his mother in the year 1723, when her son
was twenty years of age.

3°

An Early Letter

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0~^^<-- •,•>¦ ¦ *¦' —"- <- jr c y jjj

31

An Early Letter

df sfi) _ — 7-,rr -lerrT: ifeiho scfadom . fanf
are. nrerT; - - • -  - ¦ - •

p/ff as fam, .?rrfan<% t-~d ¦'-

-¦', ---.- rf faifd dC tedfa^ifaz, l-fazfafasste
'¦ " or in d ffoorz fir ffafa, tfaz/z.r
'fazno7-.-fahr-.fafa rrzrz-: Z7L ?' ' X-o' am. ^"-'^ •'' COTrS ZzSe izfcz/i

$d 'nstfifam ZYzzha d.-t Ofaidzrc nt t-fa'e. nose, roc/ft '/&<ve ffn--
eztem<fZ. Jf ii'tttorr/iz£a.co. z
*»• . . e. ¦ :
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dtfaaiz fat, fzfaf.^fo zny def^S^tinTo dtec nveif-Wdfffa.
fefad izraJiff. hor to ffa rz€r- ^trfadfa^zfarof n-or-d t/te notes
dfrmy ttrrtrana?. fa csramzzfar.^z 'cm, a greed - Tzr/rfitjfef tfziiz-\
,r£n ft .?zz£e crr??z To Tzofare tfa-Tne e/joo/p/f f£r- drfpTrz^rMn >° .
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4 <7 ¦¦
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C KS ' '
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^ -' .
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e 9 O ' - -
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faffircf/.fs
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from ites Ste Mdaf Jfkp/foa fan fare/a?? f tefao A'as dencer/vd 2?)
;t. odes ire- id/^o fa^azfacrfbs 2&p zshjfrer&tzen? ttt rTZfbeai 7?07ir

32

An Early Letter

'it z, roost remote, edic- itenq z'7? it /rod Zzfot-Crfa i)cdor7tz

/Z

rijris-zo frzodrzdrczrrzirp+'zrrrzdzsj?^^.^ aZzftears
S_-zd>,fiteM - _ 'jfzzoivZ) te

to iee dzozs' Sfedrz iVfe ~ c&'zi ' g
fzd fadfaorz-.' t% a -r?d>-msi

dddffa,

¦ r
ye.-d dts7r?*d-d->i~
¦•?'-f "
W'fD f?lX) n rfidAfer, n a»g

- -p rrrr7\ n « *, .-O . /?r
fakiorzd. ip d/zc creo. t ft te. f jAaci corztetrzde ri'-j rd. dsddtd?^

Ipzrrj on 3 rmy id-i/zcrd

r.7JO

%

J

n T> d d'- d"
t-cz:r fa'/zrzfU/ii -far?

- fa„-*&*

( do.

It^fcp^fo- djc,3.

. &„,

rerrrsrz? ds7~ ?rz z. Azi-C
tc G&dmr Jis*BZd,!7m-z, scr.-

z'cc to 'tefaifaf-r .,fai dfaisPAfi-.

33

FIRESIDE STORIES
In his Oxford days, even during the period of his severest
asceticism, Wesley was a fascinating companion. In later
life he charmed everyone by his conversational powers. Dr.
Johnson, chief of the higher literary circle, thought two
hours of his company all too brief. Wesley was an accom
plished word-painter. What he saw he could make others
see. It is this power to tell a story, to describe an event, to
tease out the nerves, veins, and muscles of a book, to picture
a scene, to illuminate personal character, that invests his
Journal with ever-living freshness.
Letters to his mother are like pages of the Journal,
especially the earlier ones, written before both became absorbed
in theological discussions. If a collection of Wesley's
' Remarkable Accounts ' were made, his story of Jack
Sheppard would have to head the series, unless indeed
letters of his boyhood containing 'Remarkable Accounts'
of Charterhouse experiences should be unearthed.
It is charming to think of the young student cheering the
dreariness of his mother's life at Wroote or Epworth with
incidents out of the great world, from her so far removed.

34

Fireside Stories
9lrz: j .sid ¦ 'SJ^iJ"
* fad s--~ .j~
faizzarfftrnfzr
%\ are met- f us *«, ^ fatift te Cctf&f, as ' ' fi^tl9U ^
tuti meg £r fn somt measure, covin* to tte t%,f differ m 4-
falfr frkd, prec&fd & a osrz caai/.zmm^-r. ' Oti\iho ffafij je
¦^-c-iecfrt'Tatcpnira mat &. faaa atme?i GrftkA&o lof/Cr
faina. era torn. Vf f.iinfafutt (raj jerk ad fc.s fecn. /ncm.-n m 4
a iona fame .g& intra ±3 itezd sermrffaiKo tfej a.- tvt& as oczd
,/pt- a great m&nt, Mouj7 arc fiseuty fon#i; iteomizan ffaatfai,
pc-z uHjofcto fda-te date ifljdnfurmiatn ¦ef^mn, a equctth n\hcr
enfa .tenfaiinq diet tome noudd- doer odour ssve-n th z tesnid;
- Q- / ¦-»£ ? ., d , d • d L 7 ~. ' //l
tad-no sacm-sr kzrnd aoeit?, sur/us fafi d-.iio mere, snafrna off
v.-A'ir.c hoi reec-sm ms far fii.rszh/s s diz~fa era^t^-ad.faaTzJC-
• 1/
ii^r J am vrfte *a*-s- mrri sucn ffsTzf-dtrris-rz ; rcr iznfdfr ftez- car*
ri'eo mo amat,, ffrvaf it afai, ttey nz tiar~r fauf a peer ysf<rc(ador
' ftercriisfkiecs o^n.rzs fuiiteiu fa cancsmirzo i faimozzd
Aspards ucofrrfivm mrwakrrnrep. it indZifa as si-rnriVi'no as
>ncvf dtote-7 Sfaoe ri-ea$d . ff %ff?\Jk ^ ffa-^ff^ffa^'cd- £j&t{
fedzcis <mcd-out czfafy ccmzOsmfad tipid: ,w/i, fopsHsn fifaffa his fair.
in* (for fa e&aite affaryait^ *>ffp ffiterdaTnr '«*, madsry s*&
/Haf-o- afferzrizdTzdize. -cf~f.itn . Wcn^vtr ftiaijfymiofaffsz seazurt

35

Fireside Stories

t* maid- isim to, ir ia. fi&sr^ faanact-to dozctite dcfynfo
ffcrtnfand fa <TV c:znn mz-t'ia {is Kictisf- drti'-ofa^-r- rented izj htfa- r
fr. tf^tfroteisitfitirteft, \ faster- fafa^-d'ls^c.rzzte.c nci fa fowid fizsarz:
^ ^ ? 7 r> <- d 9l
¦¦c farce. B&sTi azs ciazis crfeddsrv, ircd.z: fayn ft," ize/ina fa-rt ry-t,
' C / / l C- ' ijTz
jtucite tc z &aoj sfaK aoiozteha nc-ted: fa pa / jzx ssirsrat uzcfe
^CcerS d PC' c/tAr- atfrxiffaouf d i.- coids-n, f aft nzcf r%-ad a mrdimitA..
six fa cf even, ai n to i-d.sdu nfiessfaczz 'iai>e- ddarr* ff. cfa-, iric fad zir~
fi 'at ¦? fat> no; ¦-, fact emu- *horzr fz *****-,¦ Ci fa macs fud sscate frr>nzi !
r ^"'
msijdn'qsrr dJz'je i^zzcr^. af?-*-- an difafahafatzQ-fa.
£(r<-t fefi "tem.-rr </fs* r farifdczs- '*'(>) ijt.fe".*;*^/.'^ ;/»&'
^. •¦ £y.fa-i if~hoilzir: fn.r 'zztk^ jdx., if ft ^ L^cm.cjfn'^ h&frfac r'tr/iJfd^
... .Wii i :W* hn(>C era tuto-jn-ihoM jact^tr furf>o ej tdfahz: oj as£v
¦' . fttna ofaz ft- l"^Cm * «j^ ***, eisn/cri. iotlft.M. 8b ->c falo* com .
tez u)> fo fa"-*'"-' ft>fal~- ¦V**fl\f»rusn^ njr^t^n.-ji foA JfjcfV&ma
f„-r ft.^fa-.^ -"*-' fa-.^^ ¦rfafaf^fffa '"¦fa *. Jtvfffajan atrtrht. **.&•-.
* '. -arifx) te^i fa'e fa'** *';>1> *''*'' ^V'"'* **f***-fV d*. sffa-»> Ou-teit,
£? <- . - r ¦ s ¦ f*.
' I i--L .a-, tec u manor WefriRn i» tzjfir f*dy GJ-pfst ft,\ f juhwta.
vf V nRJfd - ,  . C C V- v ^-.
' (A. / hfaiftfz jtf. h-B if.&Ly «aJ cfaerh-zse ahok.-r ecetiito? tfcnr
"- .,- s /r f jf f C\ a r
tutnitto, Mi '"" *"> c •* x'naflfaau.; Inn \eh tniie S:a~n~d.cz, so cstehj
/ • it yfahcr>l0>.itftu-tf*i n-,r*>h. vri *.-«.' ». t<5 efdenr. frt '¦htrutrtf h,
^r- fa fa tftt.riv*rl), faii faJrrvee^nrZsK ifiurf^ffa *.^ ^mr^'o ff^/d,
h- fa~» --d dz-'te •''¦¦ &*/**) 9za.Hil i^-far iiicfaif'i^rC^ifa,;

36

Fireside Stories

S

\ fcfa.ccz.fx t-.iT.ri ,* rfal f^cni'm.

%. r, , /*SBBXf

^* .1 ' , ^i.fi^ozs frufai-L ,ccz,nf famous M fZtitosS 3mffa 0^7*1* irfdffx*
S* V. /'a > ...» , * ^ n --, V . _ .

£ |> fAtflrrtru&^riirfi-no'fnort ttozzfAin A-rt^d/rcs-Joz. font, %*ve/4'rtlfit,$ff
,* * .Hh i f""i i!ht&- *>cA- *t efntfty dznchi * jfafaiter Cd.-LtOhbh, isvahl
Ia. | - d fas* hove- tx-nf it fori hzmz '/>ai if ho? do} cH*,nfaczfa zzf tzcndf ,

\ ^ 4f- ---:- » *< &•>&* fa Ujtet/Q-vuy mz.tfcrz.ti ^onroz k J- Pfydtezdu.
^ *• & fri zou fLy z,tcd nonfat ofaftpfAf, wttJ JaUlrto* r-Jffc i' ff^fS f>Q<
iff £/\ jt K r- f\i* *• _ I ' te
JT ^ K ?«*Z*« <?>^ arlCrS^ffj -fallen*, fa rf-*et»,^^^;/?fijh<fft,
>5 rg f^-rtim-- id tx~rrctsj-fd'"uffierf7 zrurvf Mitnc-j fts Ja.ij nz /iisilad fata, j-hs
S?)t> /f c»4h£ rttotfmts ^rVha4Mt^esttf'rr^'afser>SO7i%0^oioXr^i^df
P r* * i^T1 ^ , c, ^- ff, *»r « *-' /" l' -
it f ^/W-** /-»*£/ i1">T.-«»j;*>_'3/^i£-^'..£ zndr,-/ - dfai.fah^V-tfzj-frkfH.- te
\ % - -^d tiH-n, nfarrftr r^hus of tszimfatftd/Z. efvtiishilr; £ff A % ias^z-fte
^"5 ^ f .At/, rrrui.z inznoman rzfo-.
3 ^f pi* - f rs > >
¦U S - Js-f'tove- tmf tifon from fa* J? ho? Sib or, tntuclh zid fenrf r?--
Vs- r a ' • , u- <£\ « o . - ' , , '""far , <d d? <
'*; r3 ^ pfutotf, t-sdA c-**>o?>-fnntu> d, ttu- u r,cn- Zz^idc feed ' currcfS fcte-iok tei
rdfji.i--i.z~- *nz notkzho jo zd >vch i ca i » Zazzfa nsit\ aj faiihe tezfa^df 4 qjrerts
K ?"• 'at ,Vm^ •> c*n -t/Mctfln. ^-zitTif^-mf-^mi sivz b mz, dir^-rfC dzv.
. *" »" %^^ ff fr-i dL-n^z-^r Ad aj me>iz *. <3/£ zzfer ?ns; J jf ft ij:cct)ir>g ofkii f>
'-¦ "«^ fun a eorrtsAmtisHeJ- i f»t dtshzr i*iiz ifsnsnrtrt tefairuz; &rf ' forfeit
¦'£- * $*¦ $ ia t-t no' drore fa;*>i furJinisSfuoS^a'dxf^.JfatrU-HrnfoficJ-oriviefa
'- , fa it //U. ddffrfairt. fire, ft./ fail Ho? fzzi af> a.-hsn.-lr' £c?n .Ppr dfc-fnt, ' te.
^.S .V , *t ff f <jr te "dr\ *-£ t <)t fad
" , fs fcrtft/itL %or* * r Mvt. msn. fhan oOiteetStrzO f dormz iTr, zzob.J J/i
xr\ S — s^-7 ^ d ti^/ <.y-
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I ft VJ iftoSu-i ffa*>* ytSiorfrtt to m+c if d, of tiajitH mr fi*' + f arsons mffa
cf^S ** v^' /fs/t/aes mo-fjff faomo- do fftadanffau Jcfat) somjifdri? tfiS-itui.
"(N %**' ^ /^--r- fvdjifu'i ccuio uo»s ?o fjf, fL? £ tim aftec- 9ffaz&-k m*

37

FIRST 'REMARKABLE ACCOUNT'
The story of the Epworth ghost is familiar. Its influence
on the mind of John Wesley, at the time a Charterhouse boy,
is beyond question. He loved the marvellous. His belief
in the unseen was realistic, and he never lost it. To him
God ruled all things visible and invisible ; and the devil,
a prince of the power of the air, could and did intermeddle
in the affairs of nature and of human life. We may smile at
Wesley's weird stories ; but we ought not to forget the serious
part played by the supernatural in giving a direction to his
thoughts and in adding a note of distinction to his faith.
Wesley was an accomplished teller of stories. The re
lation of this gift to his field-preaching and to the work of his
* helpers ' is a curious and not unprofitable study. Methodist
preachers from of old have had a reputation for power to
arrest attention and to brighten firesides by good stories.
The gift is inherited from the man who in early youth
charmed his mother and sisters with such story-letters as
are here reproduced.

38

First 'Remarkable Account'

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I ' i .'fa-z-zteiifaa.f^ 9u *idmz dalSv&fiji -/^Injun
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i--Z,~zidzr'z.72C
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39
First ' RemarKable Account '

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40
First ' Remarkable Account '

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zz lyrz, Zzzvzi- z-'.-it. *Z2Z z^-dz-—- nz za z -i-T^zzf. ^rrctz. dz^t^z Azdinz.. *"*?.. " '
dJPfal d.zsd-fa). . i ,-> * f>-

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4*

A DIARIST— THE HOLY CLUB
Bishop Jeremy Taylor's * Holy Living and Holy Dying '
first suggested to Wesley the plan of writing a daily account
of his doings. It is one of three books that figure prominently
in his letters to his mother during the years following his
ordination. One of these letters we have processed. Doc-
trinally its value is great. One can discern the anvil, the
fire, the hammer, in the earliest shaping of that evangelical
theology of faith and pardon which, when completely
fashioned and joyfully experienced, was to shake the world.
The letter marks two notable beginnings: (l) Wesley as a
Diarist; (2) Wesley as the Leader of the Holy Club.
Strictly speaking, Charles Wesley founded * Oxford
Methodism.' William Morgan— the first of the little
company to receive his crown— gave to the pietistic fellow
ship its practical work by leading the brothers to the prison
in Oxford. The earliest convert, the first in the long line
of Methodist witnesses, is 'Bob Kirkham.' He was the
brother of Wesley's first love, the saintly and beautiful
'Varanese,' younger daughter of the Rector of Stanton, for
whom Wesley so often preached. In this letter John tells
his mother the story of his friend's conversion.

42

A Diarist— The Holy Club

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43

A Diarist— The Holy Club

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44

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45

THE OUTBREAK OF OPPOSITION
In his Introduction to the Journal Wesley describes the
rise of the Holy Club, He quotes letters from his father,
showing the great interest he took in the movement. The
first paragraph in the letter now reproduced should be read
in this connexion,
The second paragraph touches gently and with fine
charity the beginning of opposition, illustrating that sense
of humour which so often helped Wesley in the perse
cutions of his after-life, It recalls the fact that at this
time he was not only Greek Lecturer, but also " Moderator
of the Classes.' Canon Overton says ; ' The duty of the
Moderator of the Classes was to sit in the college hall,
and preside over the " Disputations " which were held at
Lincoln College every day in the week except Sundays.
¦ . . The plan was this s A thesis was proposed ; the dis
putants argued on one side or the other; the moderator
had to listen to the arguments, and then to decide with
whom the victory lay. " I could not avoid," says Wesley,
" acquiring thereby some degree of expertness in arguing,
and especially in discovering and pointing out well covered
and plausible fallacies. I have since found abundant reason
to praise God for giving me this honest art." '

46

The Outbreak of Opposition

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47

The Outbreak of Opposition

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4S

The Outbreak of Opposition

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J?srte7!a- a/iSia' aisy.

49

THE JOURNAL
The Diaries of the Oxford period are written in a cryptic
longhand. This abbreviated system he continued to use
until the summer of 1737. It was his brother Charles,
writing from Boston, who forced him to learn Byrom's
shorthand, so that the gossips of Savannah and Frederica
might not be able to read their correspondence. In one of
the Georgia volumes the two systems are found side by side.
The accompanying shorthand pages have been selected
from an immense number, because of the special interest
attaching to them. The date of Wesley's 'conversion' is
May 24, 1738. The pages here given cover the last
ten days in the April of that year. Even to those who
cannot read every word on the pages they will be intensely
interesting, if only because of the references to Bohler and to
Wesley's brother-in-law Hall and his sister Patty, at this
time in Islington. The meaning of the shorthand, in brief,
is that he rises between four and five, spends much time in
private and public prayer, preaches, writes, rides, dines, takes
tea, and converses incessantly with Bohler and others. It is
disappointing to discover that the Diary comes to a sudden
halt on April 30, 1738, and does not resume until Easter
Eve, 1739,

5°

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53

FIELD^PREACHING
On Saturday, March 31, in the year 1739, Wesley met
Whitefield in Bristol. The two friends discussed * field-
preaching.' On Sunday, April 1, Whitefield preached on
Hannam Mount, near Kingswood. On Monday he was at
Thornbury " playing the madman,' preaching on a table in
the street. The next day he wrote this famous letter.
Meantime, what happened to Wesley ? On Saturday
Wesley is troubled about this new way. ' I should have
thought the saving of souls almost a sin, if it had not been
done in a church.' On Sunday he expounds our Lord's
Sermon on the Mount — 'one pretty remarkable precedent of
field-preaching.' On Monday, at four in the afternoon, he
too plays the madman, or, to use his own memorable words,
' I submitted to be more vile, and proclaimed in the highways
the glad tidings of salvation, speaking from a little eminence,
in a ground adjoining to the city, to about three thousand
people.' Two days later three women agreed to meet together.
This letter is more ragged than any other document in the
collection. It marks the beginning of Field-preaching, of
the Evangelical Revival, and of Methodism.

54

Field=Preaching

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Field=Preaching

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56

THE EVANGELICAL REVIVAL
In 1739 the Diary is resumed. The published extract
from the Journal shows how the long interval was
filled. Within a month after his conversion Wesley made
the memorable journey to Germany in company with
Moravian friends. Returning, he forthwith began to pro
claim, with a power to which aforetime he had been a
stranger, the glad tidings, The two pages of the Diary
— which, according to our translation, were written on
Thursday, April 25, at one o'clock, immediately before
dinner — bear upon their face the signs of the activity and
gladness, not without conflict, of this ever-memorable
Easter-tide. The whole volume, of which this is but an
example, recalls the Pentecostal record ; * And they, con
tinuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking
bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness
and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour
with all the people. And the Lord added daily to the
church such as were being saved.'
In both cases persecution arose, and there were " signs
following.' Many of the phenomena were beyond human
comprehension. They intensified the public excitement,
and not infrequently added to the embarrassments of
Wesley and his friends. The most unlikely persons
57

The Evangelical Revival
succumbed to the preternatural influence that for a time
prevailed in all the services. Strong sceptics went to scoff
or criticise, and themselves roared in the disquietude of
their spirits. The Journal at this point is full of extra
ordinary stories of people sore vexed and lunatic, of
answers to prayer, of dreams and visions. Sober-minded
persons were scandalised ; even Whitefield protested. A
leader weaker than Wesley, with a mother advising less
sensible and far-sighted, would have been overwhelmed.
But notwithstanding his predisposition towards the super
natural, Wesley never lost his mental balance. One fact
that helped him was his recognition of the analogy
between the days through which he was passing and
the Pentecostal times. In the inevitable reaction against
' enthusiasm ' it saved him from losing his faith.
The Shorthand Diary belonging to this special period,
of which a single specimen is given, is fairly complete.
lis peculiar interest is that in many cases it will enable
us to give the names in full of persons only vaguely
indicated in the printed Journal.

58

The Evangelical Revival

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59
HIS MOTHER
We may imagine the joy of Susanna Wesley when she
heard what God was doing through her ' dear Jacky.'
From the moment of his rescue out of the burning rectory
she had regarded him as saved for a great purpose.
How often must she have recalled the long past ! In her
possession at this very time was the letter she wrote to her
husband when he was lodging at Mrs. Farmery's, in
St. Margaret's Churchyard, Westminster. That letter tells
the story of an evangelistic adventure which befell herself
in 1711, when Jacky was eight years old. Her husband,
away from home for months at a stretch, as member for
his province of Convocation, left the parish to a curate
who could not preach. What Susanna Wesley did this
letter describes. The letter is well known; now, however,
for the first time, it may be seen as it was when John
gathered his mother's papers together, carefully endorsing
each, — a letter stained with tears, many times read, a brave
woman's defence of a course appallingly irregular, but which
now shines out as the first step forward in that great
Evangelical Revival, one outcome of which, and by no
means the only one, was the creation of the Methodist
Societies.

60

His Mother

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61

His Mother

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62

His Mother

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63

FRINTED BY
HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD.
LONDON AND AYLESBURY