_CORRESPONDENCE IN 1776._
FLETCHER’S health was failing; and no wonder. Wesley writes:—
“He was more and more abundant in his ministerial labours, both in
public and private; not contenting himself with preaching, but
visiting his flock in every corner of his parish. And this work he
attended to early and late, whether the weather was fair or foul;
regarding neither heat nor cold, rain nor snow, whether he was on
horseback or on foot. But this further weakened his constitution;
which was still more effectually done by his intense and uninterrupted
studies, in which he frequently continued, without scarce any
intermission, fourteen, fifteen, or sixteen hours a day. But still he
did not allow himself such food as was necessary to sustain nature. He
seldom took any regular meals except he had company; otherwise, twice
or thrice in four-and-twenty hours he ate some bread and cheese, or
fruit. Instead of this, he sometimes took a draught of milk, and then
wrote on again. When one reproved him for not affording himself a
sufficiency of necessary food, he replied, ‘Not allow myself food! Why
our food seldom costs my housekeeper and me less than two shillings a
week.’”[353]
Footnote 353:
Wesley’s “Life of Fletcher.”
During the Calvinian controversy, Fletcher’s letters to his friends seem
to have been comparatively few. At all events, few have been preserved.
Now he resumed his epistolary correspondence; and the present chapter
will mainly consist of these outpourings of his heart to those whom he
dearly loved.
In a letter, dated January 9, 1776, and published in the “Life and Times
of Wesley,” Fletcher refers to a renewed proposal to become Wesley’s
successor. To prepare him for this, Wesley requested that he would
accompany him in his evangelistic tours, so that he might be commended
to the Methodist Societies they visited. Fletcher replied that he was
willing to accompany Wesley as a travelling assistant; but he strongly
objected to being nominated Wesley’s _successor_. Besides other reasons,
which he adduced, he remarked, that such a nomination would lead people
to suspect, and say, that what he had written, “for truth and
conscience’ sake,” in defence of Wesley’s doctrines, had all been done
for the purpose of becoming, what Toplady had called, “the Bishop of
Moorfields.” There is no need to quote this letter at full length; but
it is an important one, as showing that the proposal which Wesley had
made to Fletcher, three years before, was not a passing whim, but a
fixed idea, on the realization of which he had set his heart.[354]
Footnote 354:
Others, besides Wesley, had fixed upon Fletcher as Wesley’s successor.
Joseph Benson, in 1775, shortly after Wesley’s dangerous illness in
Ireland, wrote to him, saying, “In case of Mr. Wesley’s death, your
help would be wanted, in the government of the Societies, and in
conducting the work of God.” To this, Fletcher replied, “God has
lately shaken Mr. Wesley over the grave; but, I believe, from the
strength of his constitution and the weakness of mine, he will survive
me; so that I do not scheme about helping to make up the gap, when
that great tree shall fall. Sufficient for the day will that trouble
be; nor will the Divine power be then insufficient to help the people
in time of need.” (Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”)
It may be added, that Fletcher, in the same letter, informs Wesley,
that, by the last post, he had sent him a manuscript, entitled, “A
Second Check to Civil Antinomianism;” being an extract from the Church
of England Homily on Rebellion; and he expresses the opinion that it
might be well to print and circulate it, not only for the general good,
but, also, “to shame Mr. Roquet,” one of the first masters of Wesley’s
school, at Kingswood, but now a clergyman of the Church of England, who,
in the controversy respecting the American rebellion, had turned against
his old friend Wesley, and had rendered assistance to Wesley’s
dissenting opponent, Caleb Evans. Wesley seems to have had more regard
for Mr. Roquet’s reputation, than even gentle-minded Fletcher had, for
Fletcher’s manuscript was not published.
Fletcher refused to be commended as Wesley’s successor; but he evidently
thought of travelling. Hence, in a letter to his friend James Ireland,
Esq., he wrote:—
“Madeley, February 3, 1776. Upon the news of your illness, I and many
more prayed that you might be supported under your pressures, and that
they might yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness. We shall now
turn our prayers into praises for your happy recovery, and for the
support the Lord has granted you under your trial. There are lessons
which we can never learn but under the cross: we must suffer with
Christ if we will be glorified with Him. I hope you will take care
that it may not be said of you, as it was of Hezekiah, ‘He rendered
not unto the Lord, according to the benefit’ of his recovery. May we
see the propriety and profit of rendering Him our bodies and our
souls,—the sacrifices of humble, praising, obedient love,—and warm,
active, cheerful thanksgiving!
“A young clergyman offers to assist me: if he does, I may make an
excursion somewhere this spring; where it will be, I don’t know. It
may be into _eternity_, for I dare not depend upon to-morrow; but
should it be your way, I shall inform you of a variety of family
trials, which the Lord has sent me—all for _good_, to break my will in
every possible respect.”[355]
Footnote 355:
Letters, 1791, p. 227.
In reference to this excursion, Wesley writes:—
“His health being more than ever impaired by a violent cough,
accompanied with spitting of blood, I told him, nothing was so likely
to restore his health as a long journey. I, therefore, proposed his
taking a journey of some months with me, through various parts of
England and Scotland; telling him, ‘When you are tired, or like it
best, you may come into my carriage; but, remember, that riding on
horseback is the best of all exercises for _you_, so far as your
strength will permit.’ He looked upon this as a call from Providence,
and very willingly accepted of the proposal. We set out, as I am
accustomed to do, early in the spring, and travelled by moderate
journeys, suited to his strength, eleven or twelve hundred miles.[356]
When we returned to London, in the latter end of the year, he was
considerably better; and I verily believe, if he had travelled with
me, partly in the chaise and partly on horseback, only a few months
longer, he would have quite recovered his health.”[357]
Footnote 356:
I cannot trace this journey.—L.T.
Footnote 357:
Wesley’s “Life of Fletcher.”
At this period, the end of 1775, or the beginning of 1776, Joseph Benson
was stationed in the circuit of Newcastle-on-Tyne, and to him Fletcher
wrote as follows:—
“Though I am pretty well in body, I break fast. I have been put into
such pinching, grinding circumstances for near a year, by a series of
providential and domestic trials, as have given me some deadly blows.
Mr. Wesley kindly invited me some weeks ago to travel with him and
visit some of his Societies. The controversy is partly over, and I
feel an inclination to break one of my chains,—parochial
retirement,—which may be a nest for self. A young minister, in
deacon’s orders, has offered to be my curate; and, if he can live in
this wilderness, I shall have some liberty to leave it. I commit the
matter entirely to the Lord.
“The few professors I see in these parts are so far from what I could
wish them and myself to be, that I cannot but cry out, ‘Lord, how long
wilt Thou give Thine heritage to desolation or barrenness? How long
shall the heathen say, where is now their indwelling God?’ I hope it
is better with you in the north. What are your heart, your pen, your
tongue doing? Are they receiving, sealing, spreading the truth
everywhere within your sphere? Are you dead to praise or dispraise?
Could you quietly pass for a mere fool, and have gross nonsense
fathered upon you without any uneasy reflection of self? The Lord
bless you! Beware of your grand enemy, earthly wisdom, and unbelieving
reasonings. You will never overcome but by childlike, loving
simplicity.”[358]
Footnote 358:
Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”
Wesley set out, on his “_long journey_,” from London, on Sunday evening,
March 3, 1776, and reached Bristol two days afterwards. On Wednesday,
March 6, he went to Taunton, and “opened the new preaching-house.” On
Thursday, he returned to Bristol; and, on the Monday following, started
for the north, visiting his Societies at Stroud, Painswick, Tewkesbury,
Worcester, and other places, until, on March 25, he arrived at
Birmingham.[359] Mr. Benson says Fletcher joined Wesley “at London, or
more probably at Bristol, and accompanied him on his journeys through
Gloucestershire, and Worcestershire, and a part of Warwickshire,
Staffordshire, and Shropshire. He did not, however, proceed further
north with Mr. Wesley, at that time, but stopped at Madeley, for reasons
which he mentioned to me in the following letter, written soon after:—
“‘MY DEAR BROTHER,—I would have answered your letter before now, had I
not been overdone with writing. I have just concluded an answer to Mr.
Evans and Dr. Price; a work which I have undertaken with a desire to
serve the cause of religion, as well as that of loyalty. This work has
prevented me from following Mr. Wesley. Besides, as the clergyman who
is here with me (a student from Edmund Hall[360]), has just accepted a
place near Manchester, I shall still be without a curate.
“‘I see so little fruit in these parts that I am almost disheartened,
both with respect to the power of the Word, and the experience of the
professors I converse with. I am closely followed with the thought
that the kingdom in the Holy Ghost is almost lost; and that faith in
the dispensation of the Spirit is at a very low ebb. But it may be, I
think so on account of my little experience, and the weakness of the
faith of those whom I meet. It may be better in all other places. I
shall be glad to travel a little to see the goodness of the land. God
deliver us from all extremes, and make and keep us humble, loving,
disinterested, and zealous! I preached, before Mr. Greaves came, as
much as my strength could well admit, although to little purpose; but
I must not complain. If one person receive a good desire in ten years,
by my instrumentality, it is a greater honour than I deserve—an honour
for which I could not be too thankful. Let us bless the Lord for all
things. We have reasons innumerable to do it. Bless Him on my account,
as well as your own; and the God of peace be with you.’”[361]
Footnote 359:
Wesley’s Journal.
Footnote 360:
The College, at Oxford, to which the Countess of Huntingdon had been
accustomed to send godly young men, to prepare them for Orders, and
from which six of her students had been expelled, in 1768.
Footnote 361:
Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”
Before proceeding further, it may be added, that Joseph Benson doubted
the propriety of Wesley and Fletcher turning their attention to
politics. In an unpublished letter, dated “Newcastle, May 21, 1776,” he
wrote:—
“These are ‘perilous times’ indeed, and threaten to be more perilous
still. You see what a famous politician our friend Fletcher is become.
Though I exceedingly approve both of the ‘Calm Address’ and its
‘Vindication,’ I fear these subjects only detain the authors from more
valuable and important work. We expected Mr. Fletcher here along with
Mr. Wesley; but I understand, by a letter from him yesterday, that he
has been prevented, by his having to answer Dr. Price and Mr. Evans.
And there is more work for him still. A friend of ours, in London, has
sent Mr. Cownley and me a pamphlet, which, in some important points,
takes Mr. Fletcher’s ‘Vindication’ thoroughly to pieces. I fear he
will find it no easy thing to reply to some of its arguments. As for
Price, his ideas of liberty are beyond measure extravagant; and Mr.
Fletcher and Mr. Wesley will find it no very difficult matter to reply
to _him_. But, the principal thing to be thought, talked, and wrote
about, is the _baptism of the Spirit_, or the _inward kingdom of God_.
Oh! my friend, this is but little known among us!”
To his old friend, Mr. Vaughan, Fletcher wrote:—
“MADELEY, _March 21, 1776_.
“DEAR SIR,—Your barrel of cider came safe to hand. How could you think
to make me such a present? But I must rather thank you for your love
and generosity, than scold you for your excessive profusion. You
should have stayed till cider was ten shillings a hogshead, but in
such a year as this—! However, the Lord reward you, and return it to
you, in streams of living water, and plenty of the wine of His
kingdom!
“I thought I should soon have done with controversy; but now I give up
the hope of having done with it before I die. There are three sorts of
people I must continually attack, or defend myself against—Gallios,
Pharisees, and Antinomians. I hope I shall die in harness fighting
against some of them. I do not, however, forget, that the Gallio, the
Simon, and the Nicholas _within_, are far more dangerous to me than
those without. In my own heart, that immense field, I must _first_
fight the Lord’s battles and my own. Help me here; join me in this
field. All Christians are here militia-men, if they are not professed
soldiers. O, my friend, I need wisdom—_meekness of wisdom_! A heart
full of it is better than all your cider vault full of the most
generous liquors; and it is in Christ for us. O! go and ask for you
and me; and I shall ask for me and you. May we not be ashamed, nor
afraid to come, and beg every moment for wine and milk—grace and
wisdom!
“Beware, my friend, of the world. Let not its cares, nor the
deceitfulness of its riches, keep or draw you from Jesus. Before you
handle the birdlime, be sure you dip your heart and hand in the oil of
grace. Time flies. Years of plenty and of scarcity, of peace and war,
disappear before the eternity to which we are all hastening.
“Remember me kindly to Mrs. Vaughan. That the Lord would abundantly
bless you both, in your souls, bodies, concerns, and children, is the
sincere wish of your affectionate friend,
“J. FLETCHER.”[362]
Footnote 362:
Letters, 1791, p. 229.
The following letter, to Charles Wesley, refers, among other things, to
another of Fletcher’s publications, which has yet to be noticed:—
“MADELEY, _May 11, 1776_.
“MY DEAR BROTHER,—What are you doing in London? Are you ripening as
fast for the grave as I am? How should we lay out every moment for
God! For some days, I have had the symptoms of an inward consumptive
decay—spitting of blood, etc. Thank God! I look at our last enemy with
great calmness. I hope, however, that the Lord will spare me to
publish my end of the controversy, which is _A Double Dissertation
upon the Doctrines of Grace and Justice_. This piece will, I flatter
myself, reconcile all the _candid_ Calvinists and _candid_ Arminians,
and be a means of pointing out the way in which peace and harmony may
be restored to the Church.
“I still look for an outpouring of the Spirit, inwardly and outwardly.
Should I die before that great day, I shall have the consolation to
see it from afar. Thank God! I enjoy uninterrupted peace in the midst
of my trials, which are, sometimes, not a few. Joy also I possess; but
I look for joy of a superior nature. I feel myself, in a good degree,
dead to praise and dispraise: I hope, at least, that it is so; because
I do not feel that the one lifts me up, or that the other dejects me.
I want to see a Pentecost Christian Church; and, if it is not to be
seen at this time upon earth, I am willing to go and see that glorious
wonder in heaven. How is it with you? Are you ready to seize the crown
in the name of the Redeemer _reigning_ in your heart? We run a race
towards the grave. John is likely to outrun you, unless you have a
swift foot.
“I had lately a letter from one of the preachers, who finds great
fault with me, for having published, in my book on Perfection, your
hymn called _The Last Wish_. He calls it dangerous mysticism. My
_private_ thoughts are, that the truth lies between _driving_
Methodism and _still_ mysticism. What think you? Read the addresses
which I have added to that piece, and tell me your thoughts.
“Let us pray that God would renew our youth, as that of the eagle,
that we may bear fruit in our old age. I hope I shall see you _before_
my death: if not, let us rejoice at the thought of meeting in
heaven.”[363]
Footnote 363:
Letters, 1791, p. 231.
The censured hymn was the following—
“To do, or not to do; to have,
Or not to have, I leave to Thee:
To be, or not to be, I leave:
Thy only will be done in me.
All my requests are lost in one:
Father, Thy only will be done.
“Suffice that, for the season past,
Myself in things Divine I sought,
For comforts cried with eager haste,
And murmur’d that I found them not:
I leave it now to Thee alone,
Father, Thy only will be done.
“Thy gifts I clamour for no more,
Or selfishly Thy grace require,
An evil heart to varnish o’er;
Jesus, the Giver, I desire;
After the flesh no longer known:
Father, Thy only will be done.
“Welcome alike the crown or cross;
Trouble I cannot ask, nor peace,
Nor toil, nor rest, nor gain, nor loss,
Nor joy, nor grief, nor pain, nor ease,
Nor life, nor death; but ever groan,
Father, Thy only will be done.”
This was what Wesley’s Itinerant Preacher called “_dangerous_
mysticism,” and Fletcher, “_still_ mysticism.” Whether Fletcher himself
experienced this “destruction of self-will,” and “absolute resignation,
which characterises a perfect believer,” it is difficult to determine;
but it may safely be affirmed that he was struggling to attain to such a
state of holiness. “This hymn,” said he, “suits all the believers who
are at the bottom of Mount Sion, and begin to join the spirits of just
men made perfect.” And then, as a specimen of what he calls “_driving_
Methodism,” he adds:—
“But when the triumphal chariot of perfect love _gloriously_ carries
you to the top of perfection’s hill;—when you are raised far above the
_common_ heights of the perfect,—when you are almost translated into
glory like Elijah, _then_ you may sing another hymn of the same
Christian poet” (Charles Wesley) “with the Rev. Mr. Madan, and the
numerous body of imperfectionists who use his collection of Psalms,
etc.”
This, of course, was a quiet satire on Martin Madan and his Calvinistic
congregation; but, passing that, the “_driving_ hymn was as follows:—
“Who in Jesus confide,
They are bold to outride
The storms of affliction beneath:
With the prophet they soar
To that heavenly shore,
And out-fly all the arrows of death.
“By faith _we are come_
To our _permanent home_;
By hope we _the rapture improve_:
By love we _still rise_,
And _look down_ on the skies—
For the _heaven of heavens is love_!
“Who on earth can conceive
How happy _we live_
In the city of God the great King!
What a concert of praise,
When our Jesus’s grace
The whole heavenly company sing!
“What a rapturous song,
When the glorified throng
In the spirit of harmony join!
Join all the glad choirs,
Hearts, voices, and lyres,
And the burden is mercy divine!”[364]
Footnote 364:
Fletcher’s “Last Check to Antinomianism,” p. 323.
Why these long quotations? Simply to show that real Christian Perfection
is, according to the “_private_ thoughts” of Fletcher, one of the
holiest of the old Methodists, a something that “lies between” the
“driving Methodism and _still_ mysticism” embodied in the two remarkable
hymns just cited.
Soon after the date of the last letter (May 11, 1776) Fletcher’s health
so entirely failed, that he was compelled to leave his parish and repair
to the hot wells at Bristol. His friend, Charles Wesley, on June 30,
embodied the feelings of his full heart in the following touching hymn:—
“Jesus, Thy feeble servant see!
Sick is the man beloved by Thee:
Thy name to magnify,
To spread Thy Gospel-truths again,
His precious soul in life detain,
Nor suffer him to die.
“The fervent prayer Thou oft hast heard,
Thy glorious arm in mercy bared;
Thy wonder-working power
Appear’d in all Thy people’s sight,
And stopp’d the Spirit in its flight,
Or bade the grave restore.
“In faith we ask a fresh reprieve:
Frequent in deaths he still shall live,
If Thou pronounce the word;
Shall spend for Thee, his strength renew’d,
Witness of the all-cleansing blood,
Forerunner of his Lord.
“The Spirit that raised Thee from the dead,
Be in its quick’ning virtue shed,
His mortal flesh to raise,
To consecrate Thy human shrine,
And fill with energy divine
Thy minister of grace.
“Body and soul at once revive;
The prayer of faith in which we strive,
So shall we all proclaim,
According to Thy gracious will,
Omnipotent the sick to heal,
From age to age the same.”[365]
Footnote 365:
_Wesleyan Methodist Magazine_, 1835, p. 576.
Fifteen years ago (soon after he came to Madeley), at Christmas time, in
a dark night, Fletcher, on the top of Lincoln-hill woods, was at a loss
which way to take to reach his vicarage at Madeley. Providentially, he
met a working man of Coalbrookdale, Michael Onions by name, who was on
his way to Broseley to fetch a fiddler for a dancing party in Michael’s
house. Fletcher told him he had lost his road to Madeley, and asked him
to put him right. Good-tempered Michael went half-a-mile out of his way
to render the muffled stranger the necessary guidance. Conversation
ensued; Michael explained the object of his journey to Broseley;
Fletcher warned him of his sin and danger; Michael became alarmed, and,
instead of proceeding to Broseley to secure the services of the fiddler,
returned to his dwelling at Coalbrookdale. On his entering, the
assembled dancers asked, “Have you brought the fiddler?” “No,” said
Michael. “Is he not at home?” “I don’t know.” “Have you not been to
Broseley?” “No.” “Why? What’s the matter? You look ill, and are all of a
tremble.” Michael then stated that he had met some one on the top of
Lincoln-hill woods; but whether man or angel he knew not; and, after
relating the conversation between them, added, “I dare not go to
Broseley—I would not for the world.” Next Sunday morning, Michael and
some of his dancing friends went to Madeley church; and there, in the
voice of Fletcher, he recognized the mysterious traveller he had met
with on Lincoln-hill. Michael was converted, and became one of the first
Methodists in Coalbrookdale.[366] To this humble, but faithful Christian
friend, and to his fellow Methodists, Fletcher now wrote as follows:—
“BRISTOL, _July 11, 1776_.
“MY DEAR BROTHER,—Having just seen, at the Wells, Mr. Darby, who is
going back to the Dale, I gladly seize the opportunity of letting you
know what the Lord is doing for my soul and body.
“With respect to my soul, I feel a degree of righteousness, peace, and
joy, and wait for the establishment of His internal kingdom in the
Holy Ghost. The hope of my being rooted and grounded in the love, that
casts out slavish fear, grows more lively every day. I am not afraid
of any evil tidings, and my heart stands calm, believing in the Lord,
and desiring Him to do with me whatsoever He pleaseth.
“With respect to my body, I know not what to say; but the physician
says he hopes I shall do well; and so I hope, and believe too, whether
I recover my strength or not. Health and sickness, life and death, are
best when the Lord sends them. All things work together for good to
those that love God.
“I am forbid preaching; but, blessed be God! I am not forbid, by my
heavenly Physician, to pray, believe, and love. This is a sweet work,
which heals, delights, and strengthens.
“I hope you bear me on your hearts, as I do you on mine. My wish for
you is that you may be possessors of an inward kingdom of grace; that
you may so hunger and thirst after righteousness as to be filled. Oh!
be hearty in the cause of religion. Be _humbly_ zealous for your own
salvation, and for God’s glory; nor forget to care for the salvation
of each other. Keep yourselves in the love of God; and keep one
another by _example_, _reproof_, _exhortation_, _encouragement_,
_social prayer_, and _a faithful use of all the means of grace_. Use
yourselves to bow at the feet of Christ. Go to Him continually for the
holy anointing of His Spirit, who will be a Teacher always near,
always with you and in you. If you have that _inward_ Instructor, you
will suffer no material loss when your outward teachers are removed.
Make the most of dear Mr. Greaves[367] while you have him. While you
have the light of God’s word, believe in the light, that you may be
children of the light, fitted for the kingdom of eternal light, where
I charge you to meet your affectionate brother and minister,
“J. FLETCHER.”[368]
Footnote 366:
_Wesleyan Times_, March 3, 1856, p. 138.
Footnote 367:
Who had again become Fletcher’s curate.
Footnote 368:
Letters, 1791, p. 14.
To Charles Perronet, son of the venerable Vicar of Shoreham, Fletcher
wrote:—
“BRISTOL, _July 12, 1776_.
“MY VERY DEAR BROTHER,—I gladly thank you for your last favour. The
Lord keeps me hanging by a thread. He weighs me in the balance for
life and death; I trust Him for the choice. He knows, far better than
I, what is best; and I leave all to His unerring wisdom. I am calm,
and wait, with submission, for what the Lord will say concerning me. I
wait to be baptized into _all His fulness_, and trust the word—_the
word of His grace_.”[369]
Footnote 369:
_Ibid_, p. 231.
Exactly a month after the date of this letter, holy Charles Perronet
himself fell asleep in Jesus. “My dear Charles,” wrote his venerable
father, “after wearing out a weakly constitution in the most unwearied
endeavours to bring many to Christ, breathed out his pious soul in the
remarkable words of his dear Lord, ‘Father, into Thy hands I commend my
spirit.’” “I have uninterrupted fellowship with God,” cried the dying
saint; “and Christ is all in all to me.”[370] As soon as Fletcher heard
of the death of this godly man, he wrote to the bereaved father as
follows:—
“Methinks I see you, right honoured Sir, mounted, as another Moses, on
the top of Pisgah, and through the telescope of faith descrying the
promised land; or, rather, in the present instance, I observe you,
like another Joshua, on the banks of Jordan, viewing all Israel, with
your son among them, passing over the river to their great
possessions. Permit me, therefore, in consideration of your years and
office, to exclaim, in the language of young Elisha to his ancient
seer, ‘My father! My father! The chariots of Israel and the horsemen
thereof.’
“‘There, there they are, and there is your son!
Whom faith pursues, and eager hope discerns,
In yon bright chariot, as a cherub borne
On wings of love, to uncreated realms
Of deathless joy, and everlasting peace.’”[371]
Footnote 370:
Atmore’s “Methodist Memorial.”
Footnote 371:
Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”
On the day Charles Perronet died, Wesley was in Bristol, and wrote:—
“1776. August 12.—I found Mr. Fletcher a little better, and proposed
his taking a journey with me to Cornwall; nothing being so likely to
restore his health as a journey of four or five hundred miles. But his
physician would in no wise consent, so I gave up the point.”[372]
Footnote 372:
Wesley’s Journal.
Instead of going to Cornwall Fletcher returned to Madeley, where he
wrote two letters to his friend, James Ireland, Esq., from which the
following are extracts:—
“Madeley, August 18, 1776. My breast is very weak, but, if it please
God, it will in time recover strength. Mr. Greaves will take all the
duty upon himself, and I shall continue to take rest, exercise, and
the food which was recommended to me. The Lord grant me to rest myself
on Christ, to exercise myself in charity, and to feed upon the bread
of life, which God has given us in Jesus Christ.
“I thank you, my dear friend, for all your favours and all your
attention to me. What returns shall I make? I will drink the cup of
thanksgiving, and I will bless the name of the Lord. I will thank my
dear friend and wish him all the temporal blessings he conferred upon
me, and all those spiritual ones which were not in his power to
bestow. Live in health; live piously; live content; live in Christ;
live for eternity; live to make your wife, your children, your
servants, your neighbours happy. And may the God of all grace give
back a hundredfold to you and your dear wife all the kindnesses with
which you have loaded me.”[373]
“Madeley, August 24, 1776. My dear friend, I have received the news of
your _loss_, and of the _gain_ of your younger daughter. She has
entered into port, and has left you on a tempestuous sea. I recommend
to Mrs. Ireland the resignation of David when he lost his son; and do
you give her the example. The day of death is preferable to that of
our birth; with respect to infants, the maxim of Solomon is
indubitable. 0 what an honour is it to be the father and mother of a
little cherub who hovers round the throne of God in heavenly glory!
“Roquet[374] dead and buried! The jolly man who last summer shook his
head at me as at a dying man! How frail are we! God help us to live
_to-day_! to-morrow is the fool’s day.
“I have not, at present, the least idea that I am called to quit my
post here. I see no probability of being useful in Switzerland. My
call is here; I am sure of it. If I undertook the journey, it would be
merely to accompany you. I dare not gratify friendship by taking such
a step. I have no faith in the prescriptions of your physician; and I
think if health be better for us than sickness, we may enjoy it as
well here as in France or Italy. If sickness be best for us, why shun
it? Everything is good when it comes from God. Nothing but a baptism
of fire and the most evident openings of Providence can engage me in
such a journey. If I reject your obliging offer to procure me a
substitute, attribute it to my fear of taking a false step, of
quitting my post without command, and of engaging in a warfare to
which the Lord does not call me.”[375]
Footnote 373:
Letters, 1791, p. 232.
Footnote 374:
The Rev. James Roquet, who, in 1775, had turned against his old friend
Wesley respecting the rebellion in America.
Footnote 375:
Letters, 1791, p. 234.
A fortnight later, Fletcher wrote again to Mr. Ireland:—
“Madeley, September 7, 1776. My dear friend, my health is better than
when I wrote last. I have not yet preached; rather from a sense of
duty to my friends, and high thoughts of the labours of Mr. Greaves
(who does the work of an evangelist to better purpose than I), than to
spare myself; for, if I am not mistaken, I am as able to do my work
now as I was a year ago.
“A fortnight ago, I paid a visit to West Bromwich. I ran away from the
kindness of my parishioners, who oppressed me with tokens of their
love. To me there is nothing so extremely trying as excessive
kindness. I am of the king’s mind when the people showed their love to
him on his journey to Portsmouth: ‘I can bear,’ he said, ‘the hissings
of a London mob, but these shouts of joy are too much for me.’ You, my
dear friend, Mrs. Ireland, Mrs. Norman, and all your family, have put
me to that severe trial, to which all trials caused by the hard words
that have been spoken against me are nothing.
“At our age, a recovery can be but a short reprieve. Let us then give
up ourselves daily to the Lord, as people who have no confidence in
the flesh, and do not trust to to-morrow. I find my weakness,
unprofitableness, and wretchedness daily more and more; and the more I
find them, the more help I have to sink into self-abhorrence. Nor do I
despair to sink so in it as to die to self and revive in my God.”[376]
Footnote 376:
Letters, 1791, p. 236.
Fletcher began to hope that he would soon be able to resume his work. To
Charles Wesley he wrote as follows:—
“MADELEY, _September 15, 1776_.
“MY VERY DEAR BROTHER,—I lately consulted a pious gentleman, near
Lichfield, famous for his skill in the disorders of the breast. He
assured me I am in no immediate danger of a consumption of the lungs;
and that my disorder is upon the nerves, in consequence of too close
thinking. He permitted me to write and preach in moderation; and gave
me medicines, which, I think, are of service in taking off my feverish
heats. My spitting of blood is stopped, and I may yet be spared to
travel with you as an invalid.
“If God adds one inch to my span I see my calling. I desire to know
nothing but Christ, and Him crucified, revealed in the Spirit. I long
to feel the _utmost power_ of the Spirit’s dispensation, and I will
endeavour to bear my testimony to the glory of that dispensation both
with my pen and tongue. Some of our injudicious or inattentive friends
will probably charge me with _novelty_ for it; but, be that as it
will, let us meekly stand for the truth as it is in Jesus, and trust
the Lord for everything. I thank God I feel so dead to popular
applause that, I trust, I should not be afraid to maintain a truth
against all the world; and yet I dread to dissent from any child of
God, and feel ready to condescend to every one. O what depths of
humble love, and what heights of Gospel truth, do I sometimes see! I
want to sink into the former and rise into the latter. Help me by your
example, letters, and prayers.”[377]
Footnote 377:
_Ibid_, p. 237.
At the same period of time, Fletcher wrote to Joseph Benson, giving him
an account of the state of his health and of his literary projects.
“MY VERY DEAR BROTHER,—Your kind letter has followed me from Bristol
to Madeley, where I have been for some weeks. My health is better than
it was in August, but it is far from being established. Close thinking
and writing had brought upon me a slow fever, with a cough and
spitting of blood, which a physician took for symptoms of a
consumption of the lungs; whereas they were only symptoms of a
consumption of the nerves and solids. He put me accordingly upon the
lowest diet, and had me blooded four times, which made much against
me. I am, however, greatly recovered since I have begun to eat meat
again. My cough and spitting of blood have left me, but want of sleep
and a slow fever keep me still very low. If the Lord pleases, He can
in a moment restore my strength; but He needs not a worm. I thank Him
for having kept me perfectly resigned to His will, and calm in the
awful scene which I have passed through.
“I design to conclude my last controversial piece as I shall be able,
and hope it will give my friends some satisfaction; because it will
show the cause of all our doctrinal errors, and will place the
doctrine of election and reprobation upon its proper basis. I finish
also my essay on the ‘Dispensation of the Spirit,’[378] which is the
thing I want most to see your thoughts upon. Pray for light and power,
truth and love; and impart to me a share of your experiences, to
quicken my dulness of apprehension and feeling. If God spare me a
little, it will be to bear my testimony to the doctrine of perfect
spiritual Christianity. May we be personal witnesses of this glorious
dispensation, and be so inflamed with love as to kindle all around us.
“Give my kind love and thanks to all enquiring friends. If I live over
the winter, I shall, should Providence open the way, visit you all”
[at Newcastle-on-Tyne], “and assure you that I am in Christ your
affectionate brother and servant.”[379]
Footnote 378:
This essay was not published separately, but was probably embodied in
the “Portrait of St. Paul,” to be noticed anon.
Footnote 379:
Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”
Three weeks after the date of these letters, poor Fletcher’s hope of
recovery was terribly shaken. On October 5, 1776, his disorder
unexpectedly and violently returned, and his friends around him thought
he was about to die. Some one, perhaps his curate, Mr. Greaves,
immediately improvised a beautiful hymn, which was sung, by a distressed
congregation, in Madeley church, on the following day, Friday, October
6. The hymn is too full of affection and piety to be omitted. It was as
follows:—
“O Thou, before whose gracious throne
We bow our suppliant spirits down,
View the sad breast and streaming eye,
And let our sorrows pierce the sky.
“Thou know’st the anxious cares we feel,
And all our trembling lips would tell;
Thou only canst assuage our grief,
And yield our woe-fraught hearts relief.
“Though we have sinned, and justly dread
The vengeance hovering o’er our head,
Yet, Power benign! Thy servant spare,
Nor turn aside Thy people’s prayer.
“Avert the swift-descending stroke,
Nor smite the shepherd of the flock;
Lest o’er the barren waste we stray,
To prowling wolves an easy prey.
“Restore him, sinking to the grave;
Stretch out Thy arm, make haste to save;
Back to our hopes and wishes give,
And bid our friend and father live.
“Bound to each soul with sacred ties,
In every breast his image lies;
Thy pitying aid, O God, impart,
Nor rend him from each bleeding heart.
“Yet, if our supplications fail,
And prayers and tears cannot prevail,
Condemned, on this dark desert coast,
To mourn our much-loved leader lost,—
“Be Thou his strength, be Thou his stay,
Support him through the gloomy way;
Comfort his soul, surround his bed,
And guide him through the dreary shade.
“Around him may Thy angels wait,
Deck’d with their robes of heavenly state,
To teach his happy soul to rise,
And waft him to his native skies.”[380]
Footnote 380:
_The Local Preacher’s Magazine_, 1852, p. 113.
As soon as possible, Wesley made his way to Madeley, and escorted
Fletcher to London. On November 13, they set out for Norwich, and nine
days afterwards Wesley wrote, “I brought Mr. Fletcher back to London
considerably better than when he set out.” Among other places, they
visited Lowestoft, where Wesley opened the new Preaching-house, and
where Fletcher preached on Wednesday morning, November 20.[381] Whilst
here, he wrote the following to Mr. Benson:—
“LOWESTOFT, _November 21, 1776_.
“MY DEAR FRIEND,—Mr. Wesley having invited me to travel with him, to
see if change of air and motion will be a means of restoring me to a
share of my former health, I have accompanied him through Oxfordshire,
Northamptonshire, and Norfolk; and I hope I am rather better than
worse. I find it good to be with this extraordinary servant of God. I
think his diligence and wisdom are matchless. It is a good school for
me, only I am too old a scholar to make proficiency. However, let us
live to God to-day, and trust Him for to-morrow; so that, whether we
are laid up in a sick bed or a damp grave, or whether we are yet able
to act, we may be able to say,
“‘God is the sea of love,
Where all my pleasures roll,
The circle where my passions move,
And centre of my soul.’”[382]
Footnote 381:
Wesley’s Journal.
Footnote 382:
Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”
Another characteristic letter must be introduced. Certain good
Methodists at Hull and York having invited him, when able, to visit the
great Methodist county, Fletcher wrote to them as follows:—
“To Messrs. Hare, Terry, Fox, and Good, at Hull;—and Messrs. Preston,
Simpson, and Ramsden, at York.
“LONDON, _November 12, 1776_.
“MY DEAR BRETHREN,—I thank you for your kind letters and invitations
to visit you, and the brethren about you. I have often found an
attraction in Yorkshire. My desire was indeed a little selfish; I
wanted to improve by the conversation of my unknown brethren. If God
bids me be strong again, I shall be glad to try if He will be pleased
to comfort us by the mutual faith both of you and me. My desire is,
that Christ may be glorified both in my life and death. If I have any
desire to live at any time, it is principally to be a witness, in word
and deed, of the dispensation of _power from on high_; and to point
out that kingdom which does not consist in word, but in _power_, even
in _righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost_, the _Spirit of
power_. I am writing an Essay upon that important part of the
Christian doctrine.
“Should I be spared to visit you, the keep of a horse, and the poor
rider, will be all the burden I should lay on you; and that will be
more than my Heavenly Master indulged Himself in. I am just setting
out for Norwich with Mr. Wesley, whose renewed strength and immense
labours astonish me. What a pattern for preachers! His redeeming the
time is, if I mistake not, matchless.
“Should I never have the pleasure of thanking you in person for your
brotherly regard, I beg you will endeavour to meet me in the kingdom
of our Father, where distance of time and place is lost in the fulness
of Him who is _all in all_. The way ye know,—the penitential way of a
heart-felt faith working by obedient love.”[383]
Footnote 383:
_Methodist Magazine_, 1801, p. 43.
Early in the month of December, Fletcher visited Mr. Gorham, at St.
Neots. One of his inducements to undertake this journey was to have an
opportunity of conversing with Berridge, Vicar of Everton, and with
Henry Venn, who, a few years before, had left Huddersfield, and settled
in a small country village, as Rector of Yelling. Mr. Gorham’s son
accompanied Fletcher to Everton. Sixteen years had elapsed since
Fletcher’s former visit there; and, during that interval, Berridge had
published his “Christian World Unmasked;” and Fletcher had severely
handled its Calvinian doctrines in his “Fifth Check to Antinomianism;”
but there was no room for malice in Christian hearts like theirs. The
instant Fletcher entered the parsonage at Everton, Berridge rose up, ran
to meet him, embraced him with folded arms, and cried, “My dear brother,
how could we write against each other, when we both aim at the same
thing—the glory of God, and the good of souls! My book lies quietly on
the shelf,—and there let it lie.” For two hours, the loving polemics had
an unbroken conversation; when Berridge said, “We must not part without
praying.” Down they fell upon their knees. Full of the great truth then
occupying his mind, and which probably had been the chief subject of
conversation with his friend, Fletcher began to pray for an effusion of
the Spirit, and for greater degrees of sanctification and usefulness.
Berridge followed, with a prayer full of love and faith. The two seemed
as if it were impossible to separate; and Fletcher had to be _torn_
away, to keep an appointment, at St. Neots, with the Rector of Yelling.
Venn was charmed with Fletcher, and became so absorbed in the
conversation, that Fletcher had to remind him, playfully, of the meal
before him. A year afterwards, they met again, at Bristol, lodged
together for six weeks in the same house, and Venn, on his return to
Yelling, declared, from his pulpit, that Fletcher was “like an angel on
earth.”
Notwithstanding considerable opposition, Fletcher was permitted to
preach once in St. Neots Church, and took, as his text, “We love Him,
because He first loved us.” Many hung upon the lips of the preacher; but
three or four of his hearers, in great dudgeon, left before his sermon
was ended. “I will not be tedious,” cried Fletcher, as the discontented
were retreating, “but oh that I might persuade you to love Him, who
first loved us!” About thirty of his congregation followed him to his
lodgings, where, at their request, he preached again, most of those that
were present being powerfully affected.
Considering the state of his health, this preaching exercise was hardly
prudent; but Fletcher had less regard for his health than for what he
conceived to be his duty. The season was the depth of winter; but he
maintained his accustomed early rising. One morning, before four
o’clock, Mr. Gorham stole gently into his chamber, and kindled his fire.
The crackling of the wood awoke him; and, instantly, showing the frame
of mind in which he habitually lived, whether awake or asleep, he cried,
“Is it you, my kind host, with your candle and fire? May the Lord light
the candle of faith and the fire of love in our hearts!” When nearly
fifty years had elapsed, Mr. Gorham said, “I have never forgotten this
salutation; and often do I step into the room, and look at the spot
where I received the dear saint’s thanks, and heard his prayer.”[384]
Footnote 384:
Appendix to Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”
At this time, there resided at the suburban village of Stoke Newington a
gentleman who must have a brief notice. His father, James Greenwood, was
one of the earliest members of the Methodist Society, at the Foundery,
London; and he himself was one of the first trustees of Wesley’s chapel,
in City Road. He had a lucrative business, as an upholsterer, in Rood
Lane and Fenchurch Street; and died, at the age of fifty-six, in 1783,
his remains being put into one of the early-dug graves in the burial
ground of City Road Chapel.[385] Wesley’s mention of his death is worth
quoting:—
“_1783, February 21._—To-day Charles Greenwood went to rest. He had
been a melancholy man all his days, full of doubts and fears, and
continually writing bitter things against himself. When he was first
taken ill, he said he should die, and was miserable through fear of
death; but, two days before he died, the clouds dispersed, and he was
unspeakably happy, telling his friends, ‘God has revealed to me things
which it is impossible for man to utter.’ Just when he died, such
glory filled the room, that it seemed to be a little heaven; none
could grieve or shed a tear, but all present appeared to be partakers
of his joy.”[386]
Footnote 385:
Stevenson’s “City Road Chapel.”
Footnote 386:
Wesley’s Journal.
In the necrology of the Methodists, there are but few brighter death-bed
scenes than that of Charles Greenwood, of Stoke Newington.[387]
Footnote 387:
See an account of it in the _Arminian Magazine_ for 1783.
On his return from St. Neots, on December 16, Fletcher took up his
residence in the house of this worthy man. Wesley disapproved of this,
and wrote:—
“I verily believe, if Mr. Fletcher had travelled with me, partly in
the chaise, and partly on horseback, only a few months longer, he
would quite have recovered his health. But this those about him would
not permit: so being detained in London by his kind but injudicious
friends, while I pursued my journeys, his spitting of blood, with all
the other symptoms, returned, and rapidly increased, till the
physicians pronounced him to be far advanced in a true, pulmonary
consumption.”[388]
Footnote 388:
Wesley’s “Life of Fletcher.”
Fletcher continued to reside with Mr. Greenwood till about the beginning
of the month of May, 1777; but, before proceeding to that year, extracts
must be given from a remarkable letter, which he wrote “to the
parishioners of Madeley.” This was one of his last efforts in the year
1776:—
“NEWINGTON, _December 28, 1776_.
“MY DEAR PARISHIONERS,—I hoped to have spent the Christmas holidays
with you, and to have ministered to you in holy things; but the
weakness of my body confining me here, I humbly submit to the Divine
dispensation. I ease the trouble of my absence by reflecting on the
pleasure I have felt, in years past, while singing with you, ‘Unto us
a child is born, unto us a Son is given.’ This truth is as true now as
it was then. Let us receive it with all readiness, and it will unite
us.
“In order to this, may the eye of your understanding be more and more
opened to see your need of a Redeemer; and to behold the suitableness,
freeness, and fulness of the redemption, which was wrought out by the
Son of God, and which is applied by the Spirit through faith! The wish
which glows in my soul is so ardent and powerful, that it brings me
down on my knees, while I write, and, in that supplicating posture, I
entreat you all to consider and improve the day of your visitation,
and to prepare, in good earnest, to meet, with joy, your God and your
unworthy pastor in another world. I beseech you, by all the
ministerial and providential calls you have had for these seventeen
years, harden not your hearts. Let the longsuffering of God towards
us, who survive the hundreds I have buried, lead us all to repentance.
Dismiss your sins, and embrace Jesus Christ, who wept for you in the
manger, bled for you in Gethsemane, hung for you on the cross, and now
pleads for you on His mediatorial throne. By all that is dear to you,
meet me not on the great day in your sins, enemies to Christ by
_unbelief_, and to God by _wicked works_.
“The sum of all I have preached to you is contained in four
propositions. First, heartily repent of your sins, original and
actual. Secondly, believe the Gospel of Christ in sincerity and truth.
Thirdly, in the power which true faith gives, run the way of God’s
commandments before God and men. Fourthly, by continuing to take up
your cross, and to receive the pure milk of God’s word, grow in grace,
and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
“Should God bid me stay on earth a little longer, and should He renew
my strength to do among you the work of a pastor, I hope I shall prove
a more humble, zealous, and diligent minister than I have hitherto
been. Some of you have supposed that I made more ado about eternity
and your precious souls than they were worth; but how great was your
mistake. Alas! it is my grief and shame that I have not been, both in
public and private, a thousand times more earnest and importunate with
you about your spiritual concerns. Pardon me, my dear friends,—pardon
me my ignorances and negligences in this respect. And as I most humbly
ask your forgiveness, so I most heartily forgive any of you, who may,
at any time, have made no account of my little labours.
“The more nearly I consider death and the grave, judgment and
eternity, the more I feel that I have preached to you the truth, and
that the truth is solid as the rock of ages. Although I hope to see
much more of the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living than I
do see, yet, blessed be the Divine mercy! I see enough to keep my mind
at all times unruffled, and to make me willing calmly to resign my
soul into the hands of my faithful Creator, my loving Redeemer, and my
sanctifying Comforter, _this moment_, or _the next_, if He calls for
it. I desire your public thanks for all the favours He showeth me
continually, with respect to both my soul and body. Help me to be
thankful; for it is a _pleasant thing_ to be thankful. Permit me also
to bespeak an interest in your prayers. Ask that my faith may be
willing to receive _all_ that God’s grace is willing to bestow. Ask
that I may _meekly_ suffer, and _zealously_ do all the will of God;
and that, living or dying, I may say, with the witness of God’s
Spirit, ‘For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.’
“If God calls me from earth, I beg He may appoint a more faithful
shepherd over you. You need not fear that He will not: you see that,
for these many months, you have not only had no famine of the word,
but the richest plenty; and what God has done for months, He can do
for years; yea, for all the years of your life. Only pray; ‘ask and
you shall receive.’ Meet me at the throne of grace, and you shall meet
at the throne of glory your affectionate, obliged, and unworthy
minister,
“J. FLETCHER.”[389]
Footnote 389:
Letters, 1791, p. 21.