agonies.

I confess it. They are freed from them after you have prayed over them. Granted. - They say it is God's doing. I own they say so. Dear Brother! where is your ocular demonstration? Where indeed is the rational proof? Their living well afterwards may be a probable and sufficient argument that they believe themselves; but goes no farther."

it

"I must ask," he continues, "a few more questions. Did these agitations ever begin during the use of any collects of the Church? Or during the preaching of any sermon, that had before been preached within consecrated walls without that effect? Or during the inculcating any other doctrine, besides that of your New Birth? Are the main body of these agents or patients, good sort of people before hand, or loose and immoral ?” While the elder brother reasoned thus sanely against the extravagancies which Wesley encouraged, he cordially rejoiced with him in the real good which was done. "I wish you could build not only a school," he says, "but a church too for the colliers, if there is not any place at present where they can meet; and I should rejoice heartily to have it endowed, though Mr. Whitefield were to be the minister of it, provided the Bishop fully joined." But he saw to what this course was leading. "Your distinction," he says, "between the discipline and doctrine of the church is, I think, not quite pertinent; for surely episcopacy is matter of doctrine too: but granting it otherwise, you know there is no fear of being cast out of our syna

gogue for any tenets whatever. Did not Clarke die preferred? Were not Collins and Coward free from anathema? Are not Chubb and Gordon now caressed? My knowledge of this makes me suspect Whitefield as if he designed to provoke persecution by his bodings of it. He has already personally disobliged the Bishops of Gloucester and London, and doubtless will do as much by all the rest, if they fall not down before his whimsies, and should offer to stand in his way. Now, if he by his madness should lay himself open to the small remains of discipline amongst us, (as by marrying without licence, or any other way) and get excommunicated for his pains, I am very apprehensive you would still stick to him as your dear brother; and so though the church would not excommunicate you, you would excommunicate the church."

But Wesley had already set the discipline of the church at defiance. Harvey, his pupil formerly, and one of his first disciples at Oxford, expostulated with him on the irregularity of his conduct, and advised him either to settle in College, or to accept a cure of souls. He replied, that he had no business in College, having no office there and no pupils; and that it would be time enough to consider whether it were expedient to accept a cure, when one should be offered to him. "In the mean time," he says, "you think I ought to be still, because otherwise I should 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 ex

pounded; and you think it hard to justify doing 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." Harvey had objected to him, that by this conduct he brought a reproach upon himself which diminished his power of doing good. To this Wesley replied exultingly, "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 words I speak by the Holy Ghost given unto those that hear them. O my friend, my heart is moved toward you! 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 Master's 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! Oh, may you also be vile, exceeding vile for His sake! God for

bid 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."

66

It was a natural consequence of this temper of mind that he should disregard any ecclesiastical authority which attempted to interfere with his course of conduct. The Bishop of Bristol, after a conversation in which Wesley had confirmed to him the fact that people were thrown into fits at his meetings, and that he prayed over them and his prayer was often heard, desired him to quit his diocese, where he was not commissioned to preach, and consequently had no business. Wesley replied, My business on earth is to do what good I can: wherever, therefore, I think I can do most good, there must I stay so long as I think so; at present I think I can do most good here, therefore here I stay: being ordained as Fellow of a College, I was not limited to any particular cure, but have an indeterminate commission to preach the word of God in any part of the Church of England. I do not, therefore, conceive that in preaching here by this commission, I break any human law. When I am convinced I do, then it will be time to ask shall I obey God or man?' But if I should be convinced in the mean while, that I could advance the glory of God and the salvation of souls in any other place more than in Bristol, in that hour, by God's help, I will go hence; which till then I may not do.”

Yet while he thus set at nought the authority of the Bishop, he would have revived a practice which had fallen into disuse throughout all the reformed Churches, as being little congenial to the spirit of the Reformation. The society at Bristol passed a resolution that all the members should obey the Church to which they belonged, by observing all Fridays in the year, as days of fasting or abstinence; and they agreed that as many as had opportunity should meet on that day and spend an hour together in prayer. This probably gave currency, if it did not occasion, a report which now prevailed that he was a Papist, if not a Jesuit. This report, he affirms, was begun by persons who were either bigotted Dissenters, or Clergymen; and they spoke either in gross ignorance, not understanding what the principles of Popery were, or in wilful falsehood, thinking to serve their own cause. "Now take this to yourselves," he says, "whosoever ye are, high or low, Dissenters or Churchmen, clergy or laity, who have advanced this shameless charge, and digest it how you can!" "O ye fools," he exclaims, "when will ye understand that the preaching justification by faith alone, the allowing no meritorious cause of justification, but the death and the righteousness of Christ, and no conditional or instrumental cause but faith, is overturning Popery from the foundation? When will ye understand that the most destructive of all those errors which Rome, the mother of abominations, hath brought forth (compared to which transubstantiation and a hun