The lion-hearted Wesleys.--And their brave,
long-suffering followers.--What Munchin thought of
John Wesley.--Hymn 276 and how it came to be
written.--The mischievous schoolboy becomes the
sweet singer of Methodism.--The wall that sat
down.--And the people who sat down with it.
THE troubles in Wednesbury were not yet ended. The very magistrates who
had refused to see Mr. Wesley that night when the mob dragged him to the
door, a few days later gave orders for the police to search everywhere
for "those Methodist preachers who go about raising riots."
Even this failed to frighten the brave-hearted Wesleys, for when John
left Wednesbury his brother Charles took his place. He found the poor
Methodists still suffering terrible persecutions, but patient and
forgiving to their enemies. Christ's own words were their help and
comfort: "_Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness' sake:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven_" (Matt. v. 10).
Munchin, the man who had been one of the leaders of the mob and
afterwards protected Mr. Wesley, had joined the Methodists and become a
member of society. One day Mr. Charles said to him: "What did you think
of my brother?"
"Think of him?" said Munchin; "I think he is a man of God; and God was
surely by his side when so many of us could not kill one man."
The persecutions of the Methodists in Wednesbury continued for a long
time. The windows of their houses were broken, their tables, chairs, and
other furniture were smashed to pieces, and their feather-beds were torn
into shreds. No craven-hearted man would have dared to go into such a
place of danger, and preach to such fiends in human form; but the
Wesleys knew no fear when duty called, and again and again they visited
their poor, persecuted followers. Christ-like men, indeed, they were,
for, like their Holy Leader, "when they were reviled they reviled not
again; when they suffered they threatened not."
Mr. Charles composed a hymn after one of the dreadful rows, which shows
how entirely they trusted in Jesus, and how sure they were that no harm
could come to them except what He allowed.
Look at number 276 in your Wesley's Hymn-Book, and you will find this
very hymn. This is the first verse:--
"Worship and thanks and blessing,
And strength ascribe to Jesus!
Jesus alone defends His own,
When earth and hell oppress us.
"Jesus with joy we witness
Almighty to deliver,
Our seals set to, that God is true,
And reigns a King for ever."
That reminds me that I must not forget to tell you, by far the greater
number of the hymns we sing every Sunday in chapel were written by Mr.
Charles Wesley. Yes, the little mischievous Westminster schoolboy became
the sweet singer of Methodism. Not only among Methodists are his
beautiful hymns sung to-day, but in almost every Christian hymn-book in
the world some of his verses will be found.
You must not think all places were like Wednesbury. Mr. Wesley had often
very attentive congregations, and the people listened to him gladly.
Indeed, at an open-air service he once held, the people behaved better
than I fear we should have done. Part of the congregation sat on a low
wall built of loose stones; all at once, in the middle of the sermon,
down came the wall and all the people with it. I think we should have
burst out laughing, it must have looked so funny. Instead of which,
there was no laughing and no screaming; the people just kept their
places, only instead of sitting on the top of the wall they sat at the
bottom. There was no interruption of the service at all; Mr. Wesley went
on with his sermon, and the people continued reverent and attentive.
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