_To the Bishop of B――――._
_Tabernacle-House, February 16, 1756._
_My Lord_,
I THIS evening received your Lordship’s kind letter, and though it is
late, and nature calls for rest, yet in the fear of him to whom all
hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid,
I desire now to sit down and give your Lordship an explicit answer.
GOD, even that GOD by whom I am to be judged, can witness, that with
a disinterested view to promote his glory, and the welfare of precious
and immortal souls, I entered into holy orders, according to the form
of ordination of the church of _England_; and, as thousands can testify,
for near these twenty years last past, I have conscientiously defended
her homilies and articles, and upon all occasions spoken well of her
liturgy. Either of these, together with her discipline, I am so far
from renouncing, much less from throwing aside all regard to, that I
earnestly pray for the due restoration of the one, and daily lament
the wanton departure of too, too many from the other. But, my Lord,
what can I do? When I acted in the most regular manner, and when I
was bringing multitudes even of Dissenters themselves to croud the
churches, without any other reason being given than that too many
followed after me, I was denied the use of them. Being thus excluded,
and many thousands of ignorant souls, that perhaps would neither go
to church nor meeting-houses, being very hungry after the gospel, I
thought myself bound in duty to deal out to them the bread of life.
Being further ambitious to serve my GOD, my King, and my country, I
sacrificed my affections, and left my native soil, in order to begin
and carry on an Orphan-house in the infant colony of _Georgia_, which,
through the divine blessing, is put upon a good foundation. This served
as an introduction, though without design, to my visiting the other
parts of his Majesty’s dominions in _North-America_; and I humbly hope,
that many made truly serious in that foreign clime, will be my joy and
crown of rejoicing in the day of the LORD JESUS. If it was not for this
hope, nay, my Lord, if I was not assured, that the blessed Redeemer
(O amazing condescension) hath vouchsafed to own me for the real
conversion, and turning of many from darkness to light, the weakness of
my frequently worn out and decaying body, the innumerable temptations
that have beset my soul, together with the violent opposition I have
met with from various quarters, would long since have quite overwhelmed,
and at least have prevailed on me to accept some of those offers
that have been made me to nestle, by accepting of which I might have
screened myself from that obloquy and contempt, which, in some degree
or other, every day I have the honour to meet with for JESU’s sake.
But hitherto having obtained help from GOD, without eating a morsel of
the church of _England_’s bread, I still continue to use her liturgy,
wherever a church or chapel is allowed me, and preach up her articles,
and enforce her homilies. Your Lordship therefore judgeth exceeding
right, when you say, “I presume you do not mean to declare any dissent
from the church of _England_.”――Far be it from me; no, my Lord, unless
thrust out, I shall never leave her, and even then (as I hope whenever
it happens it will be an unjust extrusion) I shall still continue to
adhere to her doctrines, and pray for the much wished-for restoration
of her discipline, even to my dying day. Fond of displaying her truly
protestant and orthodox principles, especially when church and state
are in danger from a cruel and popish enemy, I am glad, my Lord, of
an opportunity of preaching, though it should be in a meeting-house;
and I think it discovers a good and moderate spirit in the Dissenters,
who will quietly attend on the church service, as many have done,
and continue to do at _Long-Acre_ chapel, while many, who I suppose
stile themselves her faithful sons, by very improper instruments of
reformation, have endeavoured to disturb and molest us. If the lessor
of this chapel, my Lord, hath no power to let it out, or if it be not
legally and properly licensed, I have been deceived indeed; and if upon
enquiry I find this to be the case, I shall soon declare in the most
public manner, how both your Lordship and myself have been imposed upon.
But if it appears, that the lessor hath a right to dispose of his own
property, and that the place is licensed, if not in the court books of
the Quarter Sessions, yet in the Commons or some other proper court;
and as some good, I trust, has been, and hope will yet be done by this
foolishness of preaching, surely your Lordship’s candour will overlook
a little irregularity; since I fear that in these dregs of time, these
last days, wherein we live, we must be obliged to be irregular, or
in short we must do no good at all. My Lord, I remember well, (and O
that I may more than ever obey your Lordship’s admonition) and often
recollect that awful day wherein I was ordained priest, and when
authority was given me, by my honoured friend and father good Bishop
_Benson_, to preach the word of GOD. O that the glorious exhortation,
which he delivered with so much solemnity, may be written upon the
tables of my heart! Mindful of this, I shall be always ready to go out,
and seek for CHRIST’s sheep that are dispersed abroad, and be willing
to spend and be spent for the good of his children which are in the
midst of this naughty world. Never did I so much as dream, my Lord,
that this was only a local commission, or that the condition annexed,
“Where you shall be lawfully appointed thereunto,” was to confine me
to any particular place, and that it would be unlawful for me to preach
out of it. It is plain my Lord Bishop of _Gloucester_ did not think so;
for when his secretary brought a licence for me, his Lordship said,
“It would cost me thirty shillings, and therefore I should not have
it.” And when after being presented to the late Bishop of _London_, I
applied to him for a licence, his lordship was pleased to say, “I was
going to _Georgia_, and needed none.” Accordingly I preached in most of
the London churches under his Lordship’s immediate inspection; and why
any other licence than my letters of orders should now be required, I
believe no substantial, I am positive no truly scriptural, reason can
be assigned. It is true, as your Lordship observes, there is one canon
that says, “That no curate or minister shall be permitted to serve
in any place, without examination and admission of the Bishop of
the diocese.” And there is another also, as quoted by your Lordship,
which tells us, “That neither minister, church-wardens, nor any other
officers of the church, shall suffer any man to preach within their
chapels, but such as, by shewing their licence to preach, shall appear
unto them to be sufficiently authorized thereunto.” But, my Lord, what
curacy or parsonage have I desired, or do I desire to be admitted to
serve in? Or into what church or chapel do I attempt to intrude myself,
without leave from the churchwardens or other officers? No, my Lord,
being, as I think, without cause denied admission into the churches, I
am content to take the field, and when the weather will permit, with a
table for my pulpit, and the heavens, for my sounding-board, I desire
to proclaim to all, the unsearchable riches of JESUS CHRIST. Besides,
my Lord, if this canon should be always put into full execution, I
humbly presume, that no bishop or presbyter can legally preach at any
time out of the diocese in which he is appointed to serve; consequently
no city incumbent can even occasionally be lawfully assisted by any
country clergyman, or even a bishop himself be lawfully permitted
to preach a charity sermon out of his own diocese, without a special
licence for so doing. And what a loss would that be to many noble
charities here in town? As for that other canon which your Lordship
mentions, and which runs thus, “Neither shall any minister, not
licensed as is aforesaid, presume to appoint or hold any meetings for
sermons, commonly termed by some, prophecies or exercises, in market
towns or other places, under the said pains.” I need not inform your
Lordship, that it was originally levelled against those who would not
conform to the church of _England_, and that too in such high flying
times, which I cannot believe any one of the present moderate bench
of bishops would wish to see again restored. And if this be the true
state of the case, how, my Lord, doth this canon belong to me, who
am episcopally ordained, and have very lately published a small tract
(which I humbly beg your Lordship’s acceptance of) on purpose to
recommend the communion office of the church of _England_? But, my
Lord, to come nearer to the point in hand, (and for CHRIST’s sake
let not your Lordship be offended with my using such plainness of
speech) I would, as in the presence of the living GOD, put it to your
Lordship’s conscience, whether there is one bishop or presbyter in
_England_, _Wales_, or _Ireland_, that looks upon our canons as his
rule of action? If they do, we are all perjured with a witness, and
consequently, in a very bad sense of the word, _irregular indeed_. May
I not, therefore, say on this, alluding to what my blessed Master did
on another occasion, “He that is without the sin of acting illegally,
if the canons of our church be implicitly to be obeyed, let him cast
the first stone at me and welcome.” Your Lordship knows full well, that
canons and other church laws are good and obligatory, when conformable
to the laws of CHRIST, and agreeable to the liberties of a free people;
but when invented and compiled by men of little hearts and bigotted
principles, on purpose to hinder persons of more enlarged souls from
doing good, or being more extensively useful, they become mere _bruta
fulmina_; and when made use of only as cords to bind up the hands of
a zealous few, that honestly appear for their King, their country,
and their GOD, like the withes with which the _Philistines_ bound
_Sampson_, in my opinion, they may very legally be broken. What pains
and penalties are to be incurred for such offence, (as I have not the
canons at present before me) I cannot tell; but for my own part, my
Lord, if any penalty is incurred, or any pain to be inflicted upon
me, for prophesying or preaching against sin, the Pope, and the devil,
and for recommending the strictest loyalty to the best of princes, his
Majesty King _George_, in this metropolis, or any other part of his
Majesty’s dominions, I trust, through grace, I shall be enabled to say,
_All hail reproach, and welcome pain!_
I think there now remains but one more particular in your Lordship’s
letter to be answered:――your Lordship’s truly apostolical canon taken
out of _2 Corinthians x. 16_; upon turning to, and reading of which, I
could not help thinking, my Lord, of a passage I once met with in good
Mr. _Philip Henry_’s life. It was this: Being ejected out of the church,
and yet thinking it his duty to preach, he used now and then to give
the people of _Broad-Oaks_, where he lived, a gospel sermon; and one
day, as he was coming from his exercise, and meeting with the incumbent,
he thus addressed him: “Sir, I have been taking the liberty of throwing
a handful of seed into your field.” “Have you so, said the good man?
may GOD give it his blessing! There is work enough for us both.” This,
my Lord, I humbly conceive, is the case not only of your Lordship, but
of every minister’s parish in _London_, and every bishop’s diocese in
_England_; and therefore as good is done, and souls are benefited, I
hope your Lordship will not regard a little irregularity, since at the
worst, it is only the irregularity of doing well. But supposing this
should not be admitted as an excuse at other seasons, I would hope it
will have its weight at this critical juncture, wherein, if there were
ten thousand sound preachers, and each preacher had a thousand tongues,
they could not well be too frequently employed in calling upon the
inhabitants of _Great-Britain_ to be upon their guard, against the
cruel and malicious designs of _France_, of _Rome_, and of hell. After
all, my Lord, if your Lordship will be pleased to apply to Mr. _B――――_
himself, (who, I suppose, knows where the place is registered) or if
upon enquiry I shall find, that the lessor hath no power to let it out,
as I hate and abhor every dishonourable action, after my setting out
for _Bristol_, which I expect to do in a few days, I shall decline
preaching in the chapel any more. But if the case should appear to be
otherwise, I hope your Lordship will not be angry, if I persist in this,
I trust not unpardonable, irregularity: for if I decline preaching in
every place, meerly because the incumbent may be unwilling I should
come into his parish, I fear I must seldom or never preach at all;
and this, my Lord, especially at this juncture, when all our civil and
religious liberties are as it were at stake, would to me be worse than
death itself. I humbly ask pardon for detaining your Lordship so long,
but being willing to give your Lordship all the satisfaction I possibly
could, I have chosen rather to sit up and deny myself proper repose,
than to let your Lordship’s candid letter lie by me one moment longer
than was absolutely necessary. I return your Lordship a thousand thanks
for your favourable opinion of me, and good wishes, and begging the
continuance of your Lordship’s blessing, and earnestly praying, that
whenever your Lordship shall be called hence, you may give up your
account with joy, I beg leave to subscribe myself, my Lord,
Your Lordship’s most dutiful son and servant,
_G. W._