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 hundred more, are trifles light as air,) is, that we are justified by works, or (to express the same thing a little more decently) by faith and works. Now, do I preach this? I did for ten years: I was fundamentally a Papist and knew it not. But I do now testify to all (and it is the very point for asserting which I have to this day been called in question,) that no good works can be done before justification, none which have not in them the nature of sin." This doctrine, however, was not preached in all the naked absurdity of its consequences.

Charles Wesley, who was now pursuing the course of itinerant preaching which Whitefield had begun, joined his brother at Bristol about this time; and it so happens that the manner of his preaching and the method which was observed in their meetings are described by one whom curiosity and a religious temper led to hear him in a field near the city. "I found him," says this person, "standing on a table board in an erect posture, with his hands and eyes lifted up to heaven in prayer: he prayed with uncommon fervour, fluency, and variety of proper expressions. He then preached about an hour in such à manner as I scarce ever heard any man preach:

though I have heard many a finer sermon, according to the common taste or acceptation of sermons, I never heard any man discover such evident signs of a vehement desire, or labour so earnestly to convince his hearers that they were all by nature in a sinful, lost, undone state. He showed how great a change a faith in Christ would produce in the whole man, and that every man who is in Christ, that is, who believes in him unto salvation, is a new creature. Nor did he fail to press how ineffectual their faith would be to justify them unless it wrought by love, purified their hearts, and was productive of good works. With uncommon fervour he acquitted himself as an ambassador of Christ, beseeching them in his name, and praying them in his stead to be reconciled to God. And although he used no notes, nor had any thing in his hand but a Bible, yet he delivered his thoughts in a rich, copious variety of expression, and with so much propriety, that I could not observe any thing incoherent or inanimate through the whole performance."

This person, whose name was Joseph * Williams, was a dissenter of Kidderminster; and having been accustomed to a dry and formal manner of preaching, he was the more impressed by the eloquence of one whose mind was enriched by cultivation as well as heated with devotion. His account of the meeting in the evening is more curious. The room was thronged; but in the middle there was a convenient place provided for the minister to stand or sit on. They sung a hymn before he came, but broke it off on his appearing; and he expounded part of a chapter of St. John in what Mr. Williams calls a most sweet, savoury, spiritual manner. This was followed by another hymn, that by more expounding, and that again by more singing: Wesley then prayed over a great number of bills which were put up by the society, about twenty of which respected spiritual cases,

* Charles Wesley says of this Mr. Williams in his journal, "I know not of what denomination he is, nor is it material; for he has the mind which was in Christ."

and he concluded with a blessing. The whole service took up nearly two hours. "But never sure," says Williams," did I hear such praying; never did I see or hear such evident marks of fervency in the service of God. At the close of every petition a serious Amen, like a gentle rushing sound of waters, ran through the whole audience, with such a solemn air as quite distinguished it from whatever of that nature I have heard attending the responses in the Church service. If there be such a thing as heavenly music upon earth I heard it there. If there be such an enjoyment, such an attainment as Heaven upon earth, numbers in that society seemed to possess it. As for my own part, I do not remember my heart to have been so elevated in divine love and praise as it was there and then for many years past, if ever; and an affecting sense and savour thereof abode in my mind many weeks after."

This good man would not have thus spoken with unqualified approbation, had he been present at any more violent exhibition. But the "outward signs' about this time were for a while suspended; the more susceptible subjects had gone through the disease, and the symptoms which it assumed in others were such as would awaken horror in the beholders, rather than excite in them any desire of going through the same initiation. Many," says Wesley, "were deeply convinced, but none were delivered from that painful conviction. The children came to the birth, but there was not strength to bring forth. I fear we have grieved the Spirit of the jealous God by questioning his work, and that. therefore, he is withdrawn from us for a season." He now returned to London, and preached triumphantly at Whitefield's favourite stations-Moorfields and Kennington Common. his greatest triumph was in finding that his mother at length acquiesced in the whole of his proceedings. She told him that till lately she had scarce heard of a present forgiveness of sins, or of God's Spirit bearing witness with our spirit; much less had she imagined that it was the common privilege of all true be,

But

lievers, and therefore she had never dared ask it for herself. But recently when her son-in-law, Hall, in delivering the cup to her, pronounced these words, the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for thee, the words struck through her heart, and she then knew that for Christ's sake God had forgiven her all her sins. Wesley asked whether his father had not the same faith, and whether he had not preached it to others. She replied, he had it himself, and declared, a little before his death, he had no darkness, no fear, no doubt of his salvation; but that she did not remember to have heard him preach upon it explicitly; and therefore supposed that he regarded it as the peculiar blessing of a few, not as promised to all the people of God. Mrs. Wesley was then seventy years of age; and this account may induce a reasonable suspicion that her powers of mind must have been impaired: she would not else have supposed that any other faith or degree of faith was necessary, than that in which her husband had lived and died. It is wisely, as well as eloquently said by Fuller the Worthy, in one of his sermons, "Of such as deny that formerly we had in our churches all truth necessary to salvation, I ask Joseph's question to his brethren, Is your father well? the old man-is he yet alive? So, how fare the souls of their sires, and the ghosts of their grandfathers? are they yet alive? do they still survive in bliss, in happiness? Oh no! they are dead; dead in soul, dead in body, dead temporally, dead eternally, dead and damned, if so be we had not all truth necessary to salvation before their time."

This was a great affliction to her son Samuel. He wrote to her, "It was with exceeding concern and grief I heard you had countenanced a spreading delusion, so far as to be one of Jack's congregation. Is it not enough that I am bereft of both my brothers, but must my mother follow too? I earnestly beseech the Almighty to preserve you from joining a schism at the close of your life, as you were unfortunately engaged in one at the

beginning of it. They boast of you already as a disciple. Charles has told John Bentham that I do not differ much, if we understand one another. I am afraid I must be forced to advertise, such is their apprehension, or their charity. But they design separation. Things will take their natural course, without an especial interposition of Providence. They are already forbid all the pulpits in London, and to preach in that diocese is actual schism. In all likelihood it will come to the same all over England, if the Bishops have courage enough. They leave off the liturgy in the fields: though Mr. Whitefield expresses his value for it, he never once read it to his tatterdemalions on a common. Their societies are sufficient to dissolve all other societies

but their own; will any man of common sense or spirit suffer any domestic to be in a bond engaged to relate every thing without reserve to five or ten people, that concerns the person's conscience, how much soever it may concern the family? Ought any married persons to be there, unless husband and wife be there together? This is literally putting asunder whom God hath joined together. As I told Jack, I am not afraid the church should excommunicate him. discipline is at too low an ebb; but that he should excommunicate the church. It is pretty near it. Holiness and good works are not so much as conditions of our acceptance with God. Love-feasts are introduced, and extemporary prayers and expositions of Scripture, which last are enough to bring in all confusion; nor is it likely they will want any miracles to support them. He only can stop them from being a formed sect, in a very little time, who ruleth the madness of the people. Ecclesiastical censures have lost their terrors, thank fanaticism on the one hand and atheism on the other. To talk of persecution, therefore, from thence is mere insult. Poor Brown, who gave name and rise to the first separatists, though he repented every vein of his heart, could never undo the mischief he had done."