[1] Wesley’s Works, vol. viii., p. 334.
[2] Autobiography of Mrs. Delany, vol. i., p. 586.
[3] “Poems on Several Occasions,” by Samuel Wesley, A.M., 1736, p. 107.
[4] Two villages in Bedfordshire.
[5] Probably the mother of the wife of Wesley’s brother Samuel.
[6] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 8.
[7] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 9.
[8] Ibid. p. 10.
[9] Ibid. vol. xii., p. 6.
[10] Moore’s “Life of Wesley,” vol i, p. 187.
[11] Wesley’s Works, vol, i., p. 5.
[12] Wesley’s father had been thrown out of a waggon and seriously
injured. (See “Life and Times of Rev. Samuel Wesley,” pp. 416, 417.)
[13] Moore’s Life of Wesley, vol. i., p. 198.
[14] MS. Journal.
[15] Clayton’s father died in January, 1737 (The Private Journal and
Literary Remains of John Byrom, vol ii., p. 87).
[16] The Private Journal and Literary Remains of John Byrom, 1855.
[17] Mr. Rivington, the bookseller of St. Paul’s Churchyard, London.
[18] Wesley’s Works, vol. i, p. 13.
[19] Wesley’s Works, vol. viii., p. 334.
[20] Mr. Smith was evidently one of the Oxford Methodists, and appears
to have been a Fellow of Lincoln College; In a letter dated Aug. 17,
1733, Wesley writes,—“The thing that gives offence here, is the being
singular with regard to time, expense, and company. This is evident
beyond exception, from the case of Mr. Smith, one of our Fellows, who
no sooner began to husband his time, to retrench unnecessary expenses,
and to avoid his irreligious acquaintances, but he was set upon, by not
only those acquaintance, but many others too, as if he had entered into
a conspiracy to cut all their throats: though, to this day, he had not
advised any single person, unless in a word or two and by accident, to
act as he did in those instances” (Moore’s Life of Wesley, vol. i., p.
206). We have not been able to trace Mr. Smith’s subsequent career. The
following letter, however, written a few months later than the above by
Wesley, will not be unacceptable.
“LONDON, _February 6, 1734_; 4, Perpool Lane.
“MY DEAREST FRIEND,—It was waiting for Mr. Greeve’s coming made
me not answer yours sooner. If, when I come, I don’t give you
a sufficient reason for my being so long absent from college,
never trust me more. But, yet, alas! how lukewarm is piety
become with me at the best; and fasting neglected, which I
never looked for; not entirely dropped, I hope, but for a week
or two, to be taken up and practised again incessantly.
“Notwithstanding, I cannot be present in body sooner than in a
month’s time, because I am learning shorthand, which will take
up a full fortnight of it. You know, I presume, I was obliged
to see my father before my return, and, therefore, we will get
you to ask leave of absence, and entreat Mr. Farrer for so much
longer.
“I beg my humble service to him and all friends; and accept the
same yourself from, my dearest friend, your much obliged friend
and servant, WILLIAM SMITH.
“The Rev. Mr. Wesley, Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford.”
[21] Probably another Oxford Methodist.
[22] Probably his pupils.
[23] A room over the north gate of the city, used as a common prison,
principally for debtors.
[24] Moore’s “Life of Wesley,” vol. i., p. 205.
[25] Where is Clayton’s diary now? We wish we could find it. Wesley begun
to keep a diary as early as about the year 1725 (see Wesley’s Works,
vol. i. p. 3), in which, he says, he noted how he “employed every hour.”
This practice he continued to do, wherever he was, till he left England
in 1735; and yet not a line of these interesting journals has been
published. Where are those manuscripts, and why are they not given to the
public?
[26] To use a popular designation, Clayton and Wesley were becoming
Ritualists. Hitherto the Bible had been their only rule of faith and
practice; now they began to study ecclesiastical canons and decretals.
One of these was to regard Saturday as the Sabbath-day, and Sunday as
the Lord’s-day. Christians, however, were not to “Judaize and rest on”
(Saturday, or) “the Sabbath-day; but work, and give the preference to the
Lord’s-day, by resting as Christians.” On both days might be celebrated
the Feast of the Eucharist, even during Lent. If any clergyman was found
fasting on any Saturday, except Easter Eve, he was to be deposed; and
if a layman was guilty of such a peccadillo, he was to be suspended
from communion. At the time of the Laodicean Council (about A.D. 363),
public assemblies were held on Saturdays as well as Sundays, and it was
decreed that on the former, as on the latter, “the Gospels, with the
other Scriptures, ought to be read” before “the Sacrifice,” or Eucharist.
(Laodicean Canons, 29th, 49th, 16th; and Apostolical Canons, 56th.)
[27] Dr. Deacon was one of the non-juring priests, or high churchmen,
who refused to take the oaths to the government of King William III.
They maintained:—1. The doctrine of passive obedience. 2. That the
hereditary succession to the throne is of Divine institution, and,
therefore, can never be interrupted, suspended, or annulled. 3. That the
Church is subject to the jurisdiction, not of the civil magistrates,
but of God alone, particularly in matters of a religious nature. 4.
That, consequently, the bishops deposed by William III. remained,
notwithstanding their deposition, true bishops to the day of their death;
and that those who were substituted in their place were the unjust
possessors of other men’s property. 5. That these unjust possessors
of ecclesiastical dignities were rebels against the State, as well as
schismatics in the Church; and that all, therefore, who held communion
with them were also chargeable with rebellion and schism; and, 6. That
this schism, which rends the Church in pieces, was a most heinous
sin, whose punishment must fall heavy on all those who did not return
sincerely to the true Church from which they had departed.
Dr. Deacon held such opinions and suffered for them. It was alleged by
his opponents that, after the rebellion in 1715, he absolved Justice
Hall and Parson Paul at the gallows, and publicly declared to them, at
Tyburn, that the fact for which they were executed was meritorious. It
was further said that, on account of this, a warrant was issued against
Deacon by the State Secretary, and that his friends prevented his arrest
by sending him off to Holland to study physic. The principal part of
this allegation was denied by Deacon. He admits that he went to Holland;
but says, he lived upon his own fortune there, and did not begin his
medical studies until after his return to London, where he derived great
assistance from the celebrated Dr. Mead. He then removed to Manchester,
where he collected a small congregation of high churchmen like himself;
and, a few years later, became painfully prominent in the disturbances
arising out of the Manchester visit of the Young Pretender. But more of
this anon.
Dr. Deacon’s publications embraced the following:—“The History of the
Arians, and of the Council of Nice, written in French by Sebastian Lenain
de Tillemont, and translated into English by Thomas Deacon. London,
1721.” 8vo, 356 pp. “The Doctrine of the Church of Rome concerning
Purgatory, proved to be contrary to Catholic Tradition, and inconsistent
with the Necessary Duty of Praying for the Dead, as practised by the
Ancient Church. By Thomas Deacon, Priest. London, 1718.” 12mo, 143
pp. “Ecclesiastical Memoirs of the six first Centuries, made good by
Citations from Original Authors, etc. Written in French by Sebastian
Le Nain de Tillemont.” Translated by Deacon. “London. Printed for the
benefit of the Translator, and sold by J. Wilford, at the three Flower
de luces, behind St. Paul’s Chapter House; and W. Clayton, Bookseller
in Manchester.” Folio, vol. I., 1733. 667 pp. Vol. II., 1735. 593 pp.
These volumes come down to the year A.D. 177. The work seems not to
have been completed. The list of subscribers includes “John Byrom. A.M.
F.R.S.” and “Rev. John Clayton. A.M. Curate of Salford, in Lancashire.”
Deacon also published another work, immediately after the rebellion in
1745, entitled, “A Full, True, and Comprehensive View of Christianity:
Containing a Short Historical Account of Religion from the Creation of
the World to the fourth Century after our Lord Jesus Christ.” 8vo, 483
pp.: a work far more Popish than Protestant. The following are some
of the things which Deacon tries to elucidate and recommend:—“Public
Confession and Penance;” “The Eucharist, a Sacrament and a Sacrifice;”
“Unction before Baptism, and the Consecration of the Oil and Water;”
“Trine Immersion, the White Garment, the Kiss of Peace, the Milk and
Honey,” etc.; “Prayer for the Faithful Departed;” “Infant Communion;”
etc. This book excited great attention, as well it might; and several
severe replies to it were published in the years 1748 and 1749.
Such was the chosen counsellor of Clayton and of Wesley. He was as much a
papist as a protestant. Wesley was mercifully introduced to other guides.
Clayton, without, perhaps, adopting all the opinions of his non-juring
adviser, was doubtlessly influenced by them to the end of life. Dr.
Deacon died in 1753, and was buried in St Ann’s churchyard, Manchester.
The following clumsy inscription was on his tomb:—
“Ἐι μη ἐν σταυρω.
“Here lie interred the remains (which, though mortality is at
present corrupt, it shall one day most surely be raised again
to immortality, and put on incorruption) of Thomas Deacon,
the greatest of sinners, and the most unworthy of Primitive
Bishops, who died 16th of February, 1753, in the fifty-sixth
year of his age; and of Sarah, his wife, who died July 4th,
1745, in the forty-fifth year of her age. The Lord grant the
faithful, here underlying, the mercy of the Lord in that day!
(2 Tim. i 18)
“Ἐν τουτω νικα.”
(_Gentleman’s Magazine_, 1821.)
[28] The Ecclesiastical term for the Fasts of the fourth and sixth
days of the week, Wednesday and Friday, in memory of the council which
condemned Christ, and of His passion.
[29] Here, again, the Oxford Methodists have recourse, not to the Bible,
as at the commencement of their history, but to superstitious canons.
At the Council of Constantinople, A.D. 683, it was decreed against the
Armenians, that wine used at the Eucharist should be mixed with water;
and, in support of this, were quoted the Liturgies of St James, and St
Basil, and the 37th Canon of the African Code. Of course, the origin of
this superstition was the fact, that water, as well as blood, came out of
the side of the Divine Redeemer; but Dr. Deacon, in a pamphlet, published
in 1719, and entitled, “The Plaintiff’s Charge Disproved,” etc., took
other ground. He maintained that our blessed Saviour “used wine and water
at the Eucharist;” that He “ordained these elements to be the matter of
the sacrament, and commanded His apostles and the Church to practice
after His example.” Deacon adds:—“How terrible the consequence may be of
omitting part of our Redeemer’s cup, is what I dare not determine.”
[30] This work, by Dr. Deacon, was entitled, “A Complete Collection
of Devotions: taken from the Apostolical Constitutions, the Ancient
Liturgies, and the Common Prayer Book of the Church of England.
“Part I. Comprehending the Public Offices of the Church. Humbly offered
to the Consideration of the present Churches of Christendom, Greek,
Roman, English, and all others.
“Part II. Being a Primitive Method of Daily Private Prayer, containing
Devotions for the Morning and Evening, and for the Ancient Hours of
Prayer, nine, twelve, and three; together with the Hymns of Thanksgivings
for the Lord’s Day and Sabbath; and Prayers for Fasting Days; as also
Devotions for the Altar, and Graces before and after Meat; all taken
from the Apostolical Constitutions, and the Ancient Liturgies, with some
additions: and recommended to the practice of all private Christians of
every Communion. London: Printed for the Author. 1734.”
This is a curious book, showing the ritualistic proclivities of Dr.
Deacon and his friends. Space forbids lengthened extracts; but, in
“Morning Prayer,” occurs the following; “Let us pray for those who are
departed in the faith, and are at rest in Christ; that God, the lover of
mankind, who hath received their souls, would forgive them all their sins
voluntary and involuntary, and of His great mercy would graciously grant
them perpetual peace in the region of the just.”
There are public Prayers, “for the Catechumens, or unbaptized persons,
who are receiving instruction in Christianity;” and “for the Energumens,
or Persons possessed by Evil Spirits.”
There is “The Form of admitting a Penitent to Penance,” embracing a
confession of his crimes to the Priest; and a prayer that God would
“graciously accept the man’s Penance; and that, by his continuance in a
state of mournful confession and prayer, he may the sooner obtain God’s
merciful pardon.”
In the Office of Baptism, it is ordered, that, the Priest shall “anoint
the child with the Holy Oil, and make the sign of the Cross upon its
forehead, breast, and palms of the hands.” It was then to be “dipped in
the water three times;” and then to be “clothed in White Garments;” after
which, the Sponsors were to give it “the Kiss of Peace,” and the Priest
was to put into its mouth “a little of the Consecrated Milk and Honey.”
Then there is “The Form of Consecrating the Oil for Baptism:” and “The
Form of Consecrating the Milk and Honey:” and “The Form of Consecrating
the Chrism for Confirmation:” and “The Form of Consecrating the Oil for
the Sick.” N.B. The Oil was to be “sweet oil of Olives;” and the Chrism
“sweet oil of Olives and precious balsam, commonly called Balm of Gilead.”
These extracts speak for themselves.
[31] Was this the daughter of Dr. Potter, Bishop of Oxford? And was she
one of the Oxford Methodists?
[32] John Baptist Cotelerius was a learned French author, born in 1628.
He made a collection of the writings of the Fathers, who lived in the
Apostolic age, revised and corrected from several manuscripts, with a
Latin translation and notes. His work was published in two volumes folio,
in 1672.
[33] “The Apostolical Constitutions,” a collection of regulations
attributed to the Apostles, and supposed to have been collected by St
Clement, whose name they bear.
[34] “The Recognitions of Clement,” a book whose authenticity has been
greatly doubted, and whose chief subject is the “Travels and Acts of
Peter.”
[35] Mr. Spinckes was prebendary of Salisbury, and rector of St
Martin’s in that town. In 1690, he was deprived of all his preferments
for refusing to take the oaths to William and Mary. In 1713, he was
consecrated a non-juring bishop by Dr. Hickes, and the Scotch bishops,
Campbell and Gadderar. He died in 1727. The full title of the book, which
Clayton mentions is, “The True Church of England—Man’s Companion in the
Closet; or, a Complete Manual of Private Devotions; collected from the
Writings of Archbishop Laud, Bishop Andrews, Bishop Ken, Dr. Hickes, Mr.
Kettlewell, Mr. Spinckes, and other eminent Divines of the Church of
England. With a Preface by the Reverend Mr. Spinckes.” Though deficient
in its recognition of the doctrine of salvation by faith, it contains
hardly anything seriously objectionable; it is intensely devotional;
and could be sincerely used by none except those who made religion the
supreme business of their lives.
[36] Wesley’s Works, vol. xiii., p. 185.
[37] The Private Journal and Literary Remains of John Byrom. 1855.
[38] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 83.
[39] Ibid. p. 94, 95.
[40] Ibid. p. 97.
[41] “Manchester: its Political, Social, and Commercial History,” by
James Wheeler. 1836.
[42] Dr. Byrom’s eldest daughter has left a journal of the events of this
memorable entry into Manchester. She writes:—“1745. November 29. Friday,
eleven o’clock, we went to the cross; about three o’clock, the Prince and
the main body came. The Prince went straight to Mr. Dickenson’s, where
he lodges; the Duke of Athol at Mr. Marsden’s, and the Duke of Perth at
Gartside’s. The bells rung, and P. Cotterel made a bonfire. All the town
was illuminated,—every house, except Mr. Dickenson’s. About four o’clock,
the king was proclaimed. The mob shouted very cleverly.
“Saturday, November 30. An officer called on us to go and see the Prince.
We went to Mr. Fletcher’s, and saw him get on horseback; and a noble
sight it was. I would not have missed it for a great deal of money. When
he rid out of the court, he was received with as much joy and shouting
almost as if he had been king without any dispute. As soon as he was
gone, the officer and we went to prayers at the old church, at two
o’clock. Mr. Sprigley read prayers, and prayed for the King and Prince
of Wales, and named no names. We went up to Mr. Fletcher’s, and stayed
there till the Prince was at supper. Secretary Murray came to let us know
that the Prince was at leisure; so we were all introduced, and had the
honour to kiss his hand. My papa was fetched prisoner (playfully, by the
ladies,) to do the same, as was Mr. Deacon; Mr. Cattell and Mr. Clayton
did it without; the latter said grace for him.”
Mr. Dickenson’s house, in which the prince resided, was at the top of
Market Street. There was a court-yard in front, shut out from the street
by large iron gates. In virtue of the prince’s short residence, the house
was afterwards called the “Palace”; and on its becoming a hostelry, was
designated the “Palace Inn.”
[43] Pictorial History of England, vol. iv., p. 548.
[44] Everett’s “Methodism in Manchester,” p. 121.
[45] Mr. Samuel Barker.
[46] Tradition says the suspension lasted three years.
[47] Everett’s “Life of Clarke,” vol. ii., p. 239.
[48] An excellent library was attached to Clayton’s school (“Private
Journal and Literary Remains of John Byrom”).
[49] _Lloyd’s Evening Post_, June 30, 1760.
[50] In 1756, a 12mo pamphlet, of 34 pages, was published, with the
title, “A Sequel to the Friendly Advice to the Poor of the Town of
Manchester. By Joseph Stot, Cobbler.” This vivaciously written _brochure_
taunts Clayton with having published nothing except a solitary sermon and
his “Friendly Advice,” and pretends to have expected that his pen would
have benefitted the public during the time his tongue was silenced by his
bishop. It also states that Clayton was never seen out of doors “without
a great sweeping nosegay;” and accounts for this on the ground that,
perhaps, the foul smells of Manchester made it necessary.
[51] Calamy’s “Nonconformist Memorial,” vol. ii., p. 599; and
_Evangelical Magazine_, 1814, p. 302.
[52] Fast-day.
[53] “Life and Times of Lady Huntingdon,” vol. i., p. 242.
[54] Salmon was one of the Oxford Methodists. In 1779, Wesley wrote:
“Fifty years ago Mr. Matthew Salmon was one of our little company at
Oxford, and was then, both in person, in natural temper, and in piety,
one of the loveliest young men I knew.” (Wesley’s Journal.) Like Clayton,
Mr. Salmon became alienated from the Methodists. In 1748, he published
the “Foreigner’s Companion through the Universities of Oxford and
Cambridge,” which contained the following:—“The times of the day the
University go to this church, are ten in the morning, and two in the
afternoon, on Sundays and holidays, the sermon usually lasting about half
an hour. But, when I happened to be at Oxford, in 1742, Mr. Wesley, the
Methodist, of Christ Church, entertained his audience two hours; and,
having insulted and abused all degrees, from the highest to the lowest,
was, in a manner, hissed out of the pulpit by the lads.”
The preacher on this occasion was Charles Wesley, and the two hours’
sermon, was his well-known Discourse, before the University of Oxford,
on “Awake thou that sleepest,” etc. (Eph. v. 14). On reading Salmon’s
unbrotherly attack, Charles Wesley remarked: “And high time for the
lads to do so, if the historian said true; but, unfortunately for him,
I measured the time by my watch, and it was within the hour; I abused
neither high nor low, as my sermon, in print, will show: neither was I
hissed out of the pulpit, or treated with the least incivility, either by
young or old. What, then, shall I say to my old high church friend whom I
once so much admired? I must rank him among the apocryphal writers, such
as the judicious Dr. Mather, the wary Bishop Burnet, and the most modest
Mr. Oldmixon.” (C. Wesley’s Journal, vol. ii., p. 71.)
A nephew of Mr. Salmon’s, and some other branches of his family,
afterwards became Methodists, at Nantwich and in the neighbourhood. Miss
Salmon was an intimate friend of Elizabeth Ritchie and Hester Ann Rogers.
Joseph Whittingham Salmon, the nephew, entertained Wesley at Nantwich, in
1779. In 1785, he preached, and published a sermon on the death of his
wife, with the title, “The Robes of the Saints washed in the Blood of the
Lamb: being the Substance of a Funeral Discourse, preached at the Barker
Street Chapel, Nantwich, on Occasion of the Death of Mrs. Salmon.” 8vo,
39 pages. And, in 1796, he gave to the world a book of poetry, entitled,
“Moral Reflections in Verse, begun in Hawkstone Park,” etc. 8vo, 264
pages.
Matthew Salmon, the Oxford Methodist, will be occasionally mentioned in
succeeding pages.
[55] A parish in Essex.
[56] The celebrated, Rev. William Law.
[57] Wesley’s reasons were _substantially_ the same as Ingham’s. (See
“Life and Times of Wesley,” vol. i., p. 115, 116.)
[58] In Thames Street
[59] Another instance of the high-churchism of these Oxford Methodists.
[60] One of these was David Nitschmann, the Moravian Bishop. (See
Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 16.)
[61] It was during this storm, that Wesley was struck with the contrast
between the Moravians and the rest of the ship’s occupants. The crew in
general were in paroxysms of fear and anxiety; the Moravians were calm,
and employed themselves in singing psalms (Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p.
20).
[62] A sort of flat-bottomed barge (Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 28).
[63] Charles Wesley writes:—“Tuesday, March 9, 1736. The first who
saluted me on my landing, was honest Mr. Ingham, and that with his usual
heartiness. Never did I more rejoice at the sight of him; especially when
he told me the treatment he has met with for vindicating the Lord’s day.”
Charles had gone to be the minister of the palmetto town, Frederica; and
was soon in greater trouble than Ingham had experienced. Ingham remained
with his friend nineteen days; and, during this brief period, Charles
encountered a difficulty about baptizing a child by immersion; got into
hot water, by endeavouring to reconcile two termagant women; and was
wrongfully charged by Oglethorpe with mutiny and sedition. By March 28th,
things had arrived at such a pass, that Charles Wesley requested Ingham
to go to Savannah for his brother. Ingham was extremely reluctant to
leave his friend in such trouble and danger; but was, at last, persuaded;
and, accordingly, on the day just mentioned, after preaching “an alarming
sermon on the day of judgment, and joining with” Charles Wesley “in
offering up the Christian sacrifice,” he started. This is not the place
to enter into detail respecting C. Wesley’s trials at Frederica. Suffice
it to give an extract from his Journal: “I hastened to the water-side,
where I found Mr. Ingham just put off. O happy, happy friend! _Abiit,
erupit, evasit!_ But woe is me, that I am still constrained to dwell with
Meshech! I languished to bear him company, followed him with my eyes
till out of sight, and then sank into deeper dejection than I had known
before.” We must now keep company with Ingham.
[64] David Nitschmann.
[65] C. Wesley’s Journal, vol. i., p. 27.
[66] The Indians gave to Ingham a plot of fruitful ground, in the midst
of which was a small, round hill; and, on the top of this hill, a house
was built for an Indian school. The house was named Irene. (Wesley’s
Works, vol. i., p. 61.)
[67] _Gentleman’s Magazine_, 1737, p. 575.
[68] C. Wesley’s Journal, vol. i., p. 73.
[69] William Delamotte, who became the friend of Ingham, and joined
the Moravians. For four or five years, he was one of their most
ardent and useful preachers. His labours in Yorkshire were attended
with great success. He died February 22, 1743, and was buried at St.
Dunstan’s-in-the-East, London (Holmes’ “History of the Brethren,” vol.
i., p. 315: Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 94.)
[70] Charles Delamotte, who also became a Moravian, and, after a long
life of piety and peace, died at Barrow-upon-Humber, in 1796.
[71] At this date, Wesley was in the thick of his Georgian troubles.
[72] The English bishops would have acted more justly and generously if
they had helped Wesley out of their own fat incomes, instead of finding
fault with his trifling expenses. On March 4, 1737, Wesley says, “I writ
the trustees for Georgia an account of our year’s expenses, from March
1, 1736, to March 1, 1737; which, deducting extraordinary expenses, such
as repairing the parsonage house, and journeys to Frederica, amounted,
for Mr. Delamotte and me, to £44 4_s._ 4_d._” Can it be correct that the
bishops found fault with Wesley costing the trustees £22 2_s._ 2_d._
per year? It may be asked what Wesley received from the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts? The answer is £50; “which,
indeed,” says he, “was in a manner forced upon me, contrary both to
expectation and desire” (Wesley’s Unpublished Journal). Seven months
later, on November 10, 1737, he writes, in the same Journal, “Colonel
Henderson arrived, by whom I received a benefaction of £10 sterling,
after having been for several months without one shilling in the house,
but not without peace, health, and contentment.” This was the man at
whose extravagance the bishops grumbled, and concerning whom even Ingham
felt some anxiety. The Georgian trustees had no misgivings.
[73] _Methodist Magazine_, 1848, p. 1096.
[74] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 40.
[75] Sir John Thorold belonged to one of the oldest families in
Lincolnshire. He was a great friend of the first Methodists; and, as
early as 1738, used to attend the Moravian meetings, in the house of
James Hutton, at The Bible and Sun, a little westward of Temple Bar;
and to expound among the Brethren the Holy Scriptures, and to engage
in prayer. In 1742, he became dissatisfied, and brought the following
charges against them. “1. Their not praying so much to the Father and the
Holy Ghost as to the Son. 2. Their speaking so contemptuously of reason,
which opened a door to fancy and enthusiasm. 3. Their saying, there were
no duties in the New Testament. 4. Their not giving an open conscientious
confession of their faith. 5. Their disowning their tenets when driven to
a pinch.”
Sir John Thorold died in 1748. (Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 82; and Life and
Times of Countess of Huntingdon, vol. i., p. 77.)
[76] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 40.
[77] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 161.
[78] Whitefield’s Journals, p. 115; and C. Wesley’s Journal, vol. i., p.
139.
[79] The meaning of this phraseology may, perhaps, be gathered from a
letter which Wesley wrote to his brother Samuel, on October 23, 1738,
five months after Wesley’s conversion. The following is an extract:—“The
πληροφορία πίστεως,—the seal of the Spirit, the love of God shed abroad
in my heart, and producing joy in the Holy Ghost, joy which no man
taketh away, joy unspeakable and full of glory,—this witness of the
Spirit I have not; but I wait patiently for it. I know many who have
already received it,” etc. (“Life and Times of Wesley,” vol. i., p. 190).
The fact is, Wesley, for a season, appeared to confound the witness
of the Spirit to the justification of a Christian believer with what
he afterwards meant by the attainment of Christian perfection. Soon
afterwards, however, he was blessed with clearer light, and gave to the
Church, perhaps, the best definition of the doctrine ever penned,—“The
testimony of the Spirit is an inward impression on the soul, whereby the
Spirit of God directly witnesses to my spirit that I am a child of God;
that Jesus Christ hath loved me, and given Himself for me; and that all
my sins are blotted out, and I, even I, am reconciled to God.”
[80] Nelson’s Journal.
[81] C. Wesley’s Journal.
[82] One of Molther’s dogmas was, that no one has any faith while he has
any doubt.
[83] Wesley’s Journal.
[84] Nelson’s Journal.
[85] See “Hutton’s Memoirs,” p. 100-108; and Holmes’ “History of the
Church of the Brethren,” vol. i., p. 318.
[86] To say the least, this was offensively premature. Where is the
evidence that either Wesley or Nelson wished to be received into the
Moravian community?
[87] This interview probably occurred in the year 1741, though Nelson
neglects to supply the date. In 1739, Wesley had published his “Character
of a Methodist,” and also his abridged “Life of Halyburton,” with a
preface by himself. In both of these publications, he propounded, in
strong language, his doctrine of entire sanctification.
[88] Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 350.
[89] Nelson’s Journal.
[90] In a letter by James Hutton to Count Zinzendorf, and dated,
September 17, 1740, only three days before the date of this letter by
Ingham, the following occurs:—“Ingham writes from Yorkshire, that, he
also has discovered something new in his heart, and is now assured he
shall not die eternally; he had never before experienced the like. He
also writes, that, many souls in Yorkshire have of late found grace, and
he desires that Toltschig may come to him.” (“Memoirs of James Hutton,”
p. 63.)
[91] _Methodist Magazine_, 1778, p. 182.
[92] “Memoirs of James Hutton,” p. 64.
[93] Wesley’s Journal.
[94] See Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 349.
[95] Probably the same as Mr. Justice Burton, who figured so prominently
in endeavouring to obtain witnesses, that Charles Wesley was a Jacobite,
in 1744. (See C. Wesley’s Journal, vol. i., p. 358.)
[96] _Weekly Miscellany_, May 17, 1740.
[97] Ibid. June 8, 1740.
[98] _Weekly Miscellany_, June 21, 1740.
[99] The Rev. Jacob Rogers, of Bedford, of whom Wesley, in 1753, wrote as
follows:—“Above fourteen years ago, Mr. Rogers, then curate of St. Paul’s
(Bedford), preached the pure gospel with general acceptance. A great
awakening began, and continually increased, till the poor weather-cock
turned Baptist; he then preached the absolute decrees with all his might;
but in a while the wind changed again, and he turned and sank into the
German whirlpool. How many souls has this unhappy man to answer for!”
(Wesley’s Works, vol. ii., p. 293.)
[100] _Weekly Miscellany_, July 26, 1740.
[101] Memoirs of Mrs. Grace Bennett.
[102] Memoirs of James Hutton, p. 59 and 60.
[103] A pilgrim, according to Zinzendorf’s definition, is “a
Philadelphian (lover of the brethren), with a Moravian coat and a
Lutheran tongue.” (“Hutton’s Memoirs,” p. 118.)
[104] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 152.
[105] The property is now held of Ingham’s descendants, on a lease for
five hundred years. (_Methodist Magazine_, 1848, p. 1,099.)
[106] Life and Times of Lady Huntingdon, vol. i., p. 260.
[107] Life and Times of Lady Huntingdon, vol. i., p. 266.
[108] Doubtless, a Tract, of twenty-four pages, published by Wesley, in
1745, and entitled “A Short View of the Difference between the Moravian
Brethren, lately in England, and the Rev. Mr. John and Charles Wesley.”
[109] _Methodist Magazine_, 1797, p. 512.
[110] Hutton’s Memoirs, pp. 221 to 280.
[111] _Evangelical Magazine_, 1814, p. 306.
[112] Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon, vol. i., p. 270.
[113] Minutes of Methodist Conferences, vol. i., p. 717. The 1862 edition.
[114] Wesley’s Works, vol. ii., p. 313.
[115] Sandemanianism was afterwards introduced into New England, but
failed by its own distractions. Sandeman died in Danbury, Connecticut.
His tomb is still preserved there, and slight traces of his system linger
in the vicinity. (Stevens’ History of Methodism, vol. i., p. 392.)
[116] The Daleites derived their name from David Dale, Esq., a successful
man of business, who, after being agent for the sale of the cotton yarn
of Sir R. Arkwright, became, in 1785, the proprietor of the cotton mills
at Lanark. A lawsuit, between the magistrates of Glasgow and the General
Session, led Mr. Dale to secede from the established kirk. Having began
to preach, he was the means of founding several Independent Churches in
Scotland; and, after an active and useful life, died, greatly lamented,
in 1806, aged sixty-seven. (_Evangelical Magazine_, 1807, p. 49.)
[117] Wesley writes: “1765. January 20, I looked over Mr. Romaine’s
strange book on the ‘Life of Faith.’ I thought nothing could ever exceed
Mr. Ingham’s, but really this does; although they differ not an hair’s
breadth from each other, any more than from Mr. Sandeman.” (Wesley’s
Works, vol. iii., p. 193.)
[118] _Evangelical Magazine_, 1814, p. 308.
[119] Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon, vol. i., p. 303.
[120] _Wesleyan Times_, December 14th, 1863.
[121] It is a noticeable fact, that Whitefield also was extremely fond of
reading plays, not only when at school in Gloucester, but, even after he
went to Oxford.
[122] _Methodist Magazine_, 1798, p. 172.
[123] For further particulars of Kezziah Westley, see Memoir of Westley
Hall.
[124] Holmes’s “History of the United Brethren,” vol. ii., p. 38.
[125] Wesley’s sister, Kezziah, now Gambold’s guest.
[126] The Works of Rev. John Gambold, p. 260.
[127] The first edition was published in 1773, with the following
title: “The Martyrdom of Ignatius; a Tragedy. Written in the year 1740.
By the late John Gambold, at that time Minister of Stanton-Harcourt,
Oxfordshire,” 8vo. Cadell, etc.
[128] Wesley’s Works, vol. iii., p. 388.
[129] Stevenson’s “City Road Chapel,” p. 28.
[130] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 97.
[131] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 245.
[132] Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 246.
[133] “The Moravians Compared and Detected,” 1775, p. 150.
[134] It is said, on what authority we know not, that Gambold’s
contributions to this hymn-book consisted of twenty-eight original hymns,
and eleven translations from the Greek, Latin, or German. (_Wesleyan
Times_, January 23, 1865.)
The following are the first lines of both, the numbers being those of the
hymns as they are placed in the respective volumes:—