By an oversight, the following letter was not inserted in Hervey’s
memoir. It ought to have found a place at page 220. When Wesley became an
out-door preacher, in 1739, Hervey wrote him a letter of remonstrance, to
which he replied as follows:—
“As to your advice, that, I should settle in college, I have
no business there, having now no office, and no pupils. And
whether the other branch of your proposal be expedient,
namely, to accept of a cure of souls, it will be time enough
to consider when one is offered to me. But, in the meantime,
you think, I ought to be still, because, otherwise, I shall
invade another’s office. You, accordingly, ask, How is it,
that, I assemble Christians who are none of my charge, to sing
psalms, and pray, and hear the Scriptures expounded; and think
it hard to justify this in other men’s parishes, upon catholic
principles.
“Permit me to speak plainly. If, by ‘catholic principles,’
you mean any other than scriptural, they weigh nothing with
me; I allow no other rule, whether of faith or practice, than
the Holy Scriptures. But, on scriptural principles, I do not
think it hard to justify what I do. God, in Scripture, commands
me, according to my power, to instruct the ignorant, reform
the wicked, confirm the virtuous. Man forbids me to do this
in another’s parish; that is, in effect, not to do it at all;
seeing I have now no parish of my own, nor probably ever shall.
Whom then shall I hear? God or man? ‘_If it be just to obey man
rather than God, judge ye._’ ‘_A dispensation of the Gospel is
committed to me, and woe is me, if I preach not the Gospel._’
But where shall I preach it, upon the principles you mention?
Not in any of the _Christian_ parts, at least, of the habitable
earth; for all these are, after a sort, divided into parishes.
“Suffer me to tell you my principles in this matter. I look
upon _all the world as my parish_; thus far I mean, that,
in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my
bounden duty, to declare unto all, that are willing to hear,
the glad tidings of salvation. This is the work, which I know,
God has called me to; and sure I am, that His blessing attends
it. Great encouragement have I, therefore, to be faithful in
fulfilling the work He hath given me to do. His servant I am;
and, as such, am employed according to the plain direction of
His word,—‘_as I have opportunity, doing good to all men_.’
And His providence clearly concurs with His word; which has
disengaged me from all things else, that I might singly attend
on this very thing, ‘_and go about doing good_.’
“If you ask, ‘How can this be? How can one do good, of whom
_men say all manner of evil_?’ I will put you in mind, (though
you once knew this, yea, and much established me in that great
truth,) the more evil men say of me for my Lord’s sake, the
more good He will do by me. That it is for His sake, I know,
and He knoweth, and the event agreeth thereto; for He mightily
confirms the word I speak, by the Holy Ghost, given unto them
that hear them. I fear you have herein made shipwreck of the
faith. I fear, ‘_Satan, transformed into an angel of light_,’
hath assaulted you, and prevailed also. I fear, that offspring
of hell, worldly or mystic prudence, has drawn you away from
the simplicity of the Gospel. How else could you ever conceive,
that, the being reviled, and ‘_hated of all men_,’ should make
us less fit for our Masters service? How else could you ever
think of ‘_saving yourself and them that hear you_,’ without
being _the filth and offscouring of the world_’?
“To this hour, is this Scripture true. And I therein rejoice,
yea, and will rejoice. Blessed be God, I enjoy the reproach
of Christ! O may you also be vile, exceeding vile for His
sake! God forbid that you should ever be other than generally
scandalous; I had almost said universally. If any man tell you,
there is a new way of following Christ ‘he is a liar, and the
truth is not in him.’
“JOHN WESLEY.”