try, Mr. John Wesley set out intending to go to Tiverton, and Mr. Charles began writing his first sermon after his conversion, "In the name of Christ his prophet.”

He had before this time been the means of leading several persons to a knowledge of themselves, and to a sense of their want of faith in Christ: he was now the instrument in the hands of God of bringing one to an experimental knowledge of salvation by the remission of sin, so that she rejoiced in God her Saviour. A severe exercise of faith and patience soon followed. June the 1st, he found his mind so exceedingly dull and heavy that he had scarcely any power to pray. This state increased upon him for several days, till at length he became insensible of any comfort, or of any impression of good upon his mind in the means of grace. He was averse to prayer, and though he had but just recovered strength sufficient to go to church, yet he almost resolved not to go at all: when he did go, the prayers and sacrament were a grievous burden to him: instead of a fruitful field, he found the whole service a dreary barren wilderness, destitute of comfort and profit. He felt what he calls, "A cowardly desire of death," to escape from his present painful feelings. He began to examine himself, and to enquire wherein his present state differed from the state he was in before he professed faith. He soon found there was a difference in the following particulars; he observed the present darkness was not like the former; there was no guilt in it; he was persuaded God would remove it in his own time; and he was confident of the love and mercy of God to him in Christ Jesus.-The former state was night, the present only a cloudy day; at length the cloud dispersed, and the Sun of righteousness again shone with brightness on his soul.

This was a most instructive exercise. It showed him, 1. His own utter helplessness in the work of his salvation. He found by experience that he could not produce comfort or any religious affection in himself when he most wanted them. The work is God's; when he gives light and strength, man may work, and he is required to work out his salvation with fear and trembling; but till God begin the work, man cannot move a step in it. 2. It taught him to value the gifts of God which nothing can purchase; and to guard them as his treasure, and not barter them for the goods of this life. 3. He saw hereby, that if he could not produce comfort and religious affections in himself, he was still less able to produce them in others, and therefore, whenever they were experienced under his ministry, the work was God's, he was only the mean, humble instrument in his hand. Thus God prepared him for great usefulness and guarded him against pride. When the trial was over, he saw the excellent fruits of it, and thanked God that it continued so long.

June the 7th, Dr. Byrom* called upon him. Mr. Wesley had a

* John Byrom, an ingenious poet of Manchester, was born in 1691. His first poetical essay appeared in the Spectator, No. 603, beginning, "My time, O ye Muses, was happily spent ;" which, with two humorous letters on dreams, are to be found in the eighth volume. He was admitted a member of the Royal Society in 1724. Having originally entertained thoughts of practising physic,

hard struggle with his bashfulness before he could prevail on himself to speak freely to the doctor on the things of God. At length he gave him a simple relation of his own experience: this brought on a full explanation of the doctrine of faith, which Dr. Byrom received with wonderful readiness.

Mr. Wesley having recovered strength, began to move about among his friends. He went to Blendon, and to some other places in the country, and found, that the more he labored in the work of the ministry, the more his joy and happiness in God was increased. He was remarkably diligent, zealous, and successful wherever he went, seldom staying a night or two in any place, but several persons were convinced of the truth and converted to God. In this journey he met with the Rev. Mr. Piers, and on the 9th of this month, in riding to Bexley, spake to him of his own experience, with great simplicity, but with confidence. He found Mr. Piers ready to receive the faith. Greatest part of the day was spent in the same manner, Mr. Bray, who was with Mr. Wesley, relating the dealings of God with his own soul, and showing what great things God had done for their friends in London. Mr Piers listened with eager attention to all that was said, made not the least objection, but confessed that these were things which he had never experienced. They then walked and sung, and prayed in the garden: he was greatly affected, and testified his full conviction of the truth, and desire of finding Christ. "But," said he, "I must first prepare myself by long exercise of prayer and good works."

The day before Mr. Wesley and Mr. Bray arrived at Blendon, Mr. Piers had been led to read the homily on justification, by which he was convinced that in him, by nature, dwelt no good thing. This prepared him to receive what these messengers of peace related, concerning their own experience. He now saw that all the thoughts of his heart were evil, and that continually, forasmuch as whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

June the 10th. He became earnest for present salvation; he prayed to God for comfort, and was encouraged by reading Luke v. 23. "Whether is it easier to say, thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, rise up and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy) I say unto thee arise, and take up thy bed and go unto thine house," &c. Mr. Wesley and Mr. Bray now conversed with him on the power of Christ to save, and then prayed with him; they afterwards read the 65th Psalm, and all of them were animated with hope in reading, "Thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come. Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and receivest unto thyself; he shall dwell in thy court, and shall be

he received the appellation of Doctor, by which he was always known; but reducing himself to narrow circumstances by a precipitate marriage, he supported himself by teaching a new method of writing Short-hand, of his own invention; until an estate devolved to him by the death of an elder brother. He was a man of ready, lively wit, of which he gave many humorous specimens, whenever a favorable opportunity tempted him to indulge his disposition. He died in 1763; and a collection of his Miscellaneous Poems was printed at Manchester, in two volumes octavo, 1773.

satisfied with the plenteousness of thy house, even of thy holy temple. Thou shalt show us wonderful things in thy righteousness, O God of our salvation! Thou art the hope of all the ends of the earth," &c. In the continuance of these exercises alternately, of conversing, reading, and praying together, Mr. Piers received power to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and had peace and joy in believing.

The next day Mr. Piers preached on death: and in hearing him, Mr. Wesley observes, "I found great joy in feeling myself willing, or rather desirous to die." This however did not proceed from impatience, or a fear of the afflictions and sufferings of life, but from a clear evidence of his acceptance in the beloved. After sermon they went to the house of Mr. Piers, and joined in prayer for a poor woman in deep despair: then going down to her, Mr. Wesley asked whether she thought God was love, and not anger, as Satan would persuade her? He showed her the gospel plan of salvation; a plan founded in mercy and love to lost, perishing sinners. She received what he said with all imaginable eagerness. When they had continued some time together in prayer for her, she rose up a new creature, strongly and explicitly declaring her faith in the blood of Christ, and full persuasion that she was accepted in him.

Mr. Wesley remained weak in body, but grew stronger daily in faith, and more zealous for God and the salvation of men, great power accompanying his exhortations and prayers. On the evening of this day, after family prayer, he expounded the lesson, and one of the servants testified her faith in Christ and peace with God. A short time afterwards the gardener was made a happy partaker of the same blessings. Mr. Piers also began to see the fruit of his ministerial labors. Being sent for to visit a dying woman in despair, because she had done so little good and so much evil; he declared to her the glad tidings of salvation by grace, and showed her, that if she could sincerely repent and receive Christ by a living faith, God would pardon her sins and receive her graciously. This opened to her view a solid ground of comfort; she gladly quitted all confidence in herself, to trust in Jesus Christ, and she experienced her faith in him by a calm, cheerful, triumphant expectation of death. Her fears and agonies were at an end; being justified by faith she had peace with God, and only entered farther into her rest, by dying a few hours after. The spectators of this awful joyful scene, were melted into tears, while she calmly passed into the heavenly Canaan, and brought up a good report of her faithful pastor, who under Christ saved her soul from death.

The next day, June the 14th, Mr. Wesley returned to London, and was informed that his brother, Mr. John Wesley, was gone to Hernhuth. The news, he observes, surprised, but did not disquiet him. He staid only two days in London, and then returned with J. Delamotte to Blendon, and from thence to Bexley. Here his complaints returned upon him, and he was obliged to keep his bed. "Desires of death," says he, "often rose in me, which I labored to check, not daring to form any wish concerning it." His pains abated; and on the 21st, I find him complaining, that several days

had elapsed, and he had done nothing for God; so earnestly did he desire to be incessantly laboring in the work of the ministry.

In this excursion Mr. Wesley was very successful in doing good; but he met with strong opposition to the doctrine of justification by faith alone, from William Delamotte, whom he calls his scholar, and from Mrs. Delamotte, who was still more violent against it than her son; both were zealous defenders of the merit of good works. Mr. Delamotte supposed, that if men were justified by faith alone, without any regard to works, then sinners obtaining this justification, and dying soon after, would be equal in heaven with those who had labored many years in doing good and serving God. But, said he, "It would be unjust in God to make sinners equal with us, who have labored many years." The Jews of old reasoned in a similar manner concerning the reception of the Gentiles into the gospel church, on the same conditions and to the same privileges with themselves. Their disposition towards the Gentiles is beautifully described, and gently reproved, in the parable of the prodigal son. The cases indeed are not perfectly similar; the one relating to our state in heaven, the other to the blessings and privileges of the gospel in this life. Mr. Delamotte's conclusion, however, does not follow from the doctrine of justification by faith. As all men have sinned, so all men must be justified, or pardoned, and be admitted to a participation of gospel blessings, as an act of mere grace or favor; and the condition required of man, is, faith alone; but it is such a faith as becomes a practical principle of obedience to every part of the gospel, so far as a man understands it. Thus far all men, who hear the gospel, are equal; they must be pardoned and accepted by an act of grace or favor, and the same condition of receiving these blessings is required of every man, without any regard to his works, which are all sinful. Our state in heaven will be regulated by a different rule. All who are saved will not be treated as equal: "Every man will be rewarded according to his works;" that is, according to his improvement in practical holiness, on gospel principles. Heaven will undoubtedly be a state of society; this appears evident, not only from some passages of Scripture, but from the faculties of men, which are formed for social intercourse, in order to obtain the highest degree of happiness. But in a state of society, the members occupy different ranks and degrees; there are certain honors and rewards to be bestowed: in heaven these will all be distributed in proportion to our works, and the conformity to Christ, to which we may attain in this life.

Mr. Delamotte, however, thought his conclusion good, and was animated with zeal against this new faith, as it was then commonly called. He collected his strong reasons against it, and filled two sheets of paper with them: but in searching the Scripture for passages to strengthen his arguments, he met with Titus iii. 5. "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he hath saved us." This passage of Scripture cut him to the heart, destroyed all confidence in the specious reasoning he had used on this subject, and convinced him he was wrong. He

burned his papers, and began to seek in earnest that faith which he had before opposed.

Mrs. Delamotte continued her opposition. In reading a sermon, one evening in the family, Mr. Wesley maintained the doctrine of faith: Mrs. Delamotte opposed. "Madam," said Mr. Wesley, "we cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard: I received faith in that manner, and so have more than thirty others in my presence." Her passion kindled; said she could not bear this, and hastily quitted the room.-Mr. Wesley here gives us some idea of his success in conversing and praying with the people. A month had now elapsed since his justification. A part of this time he had been confined by sickness, and was not yet able to preach. Notwithstanding this, more than thirty persons had been justified in the little meetings at which he had been present! Mrs. Delamotte was afterwards convinced of the truth, and cordially embraced it.

June the 30th, Mr. Wesley received the following letter from Mr. William Delamotte.

"Dear Sir,

"God hath heard your prayers.

Yesterday about twelve, he put his fiat to the desires of his distressed servant; and glory be to him, I have enjoyed the fruits of his holy Spirit ever since. The only uneasiness I feel, is, want of thankfulness and love for so unspeakable a gift. But I am confident of this also, that the same gracious hand which hath communicated, will communicate even unto the end.-O my dear friend, I am free indeed! I agonized some time between darkness and light; but God was greater than my heart, and burst the cloud, and broke down the partition wall, and opened to me the door of faith."

CHAPTER VII.

SECTION IV.

CONTAINING SOME ACCOUNT OF MR. CHARLES WESLEY'S PUBLIC MINISTRY.

If we consider how necessary the gospel is, to the present and future happiness of men, we shall readily acknowledge that a minister of it, occupies the most important office in society; and hence it becomes a matter of the utmost importance, that this office be filled with men properly qualified for it. Christianity is a practical science, the theory of its principles being only preparatory to the practice of those duties which it enjoins. A preacher therefore should not only understand the doctrines of the gospel, and be able to arrange them according to the natural order in which they are intended to influence the mind, and direct the conduct of life; but he ought to experience their influence on his own heart, and be