upon him. He more than ever felt what he had subscribed to at his ordination, that he was "far gone from original righteousness," and "had fallen short of the glory of God," that glorious image of God, in which man was at first created. He had felt much of this in the late trials through which he passed. He had weighed himself in the balance of the sanctuary, the word of God; and had attentively marked the lively victorious faith of more experienced Christians. "And now," says he, "it is upwards of two years since I left my native country, in order to teach the Georgia Indians the nature of Christianity; but what have I learned myself in the mean time? Why, (what I least of all suspected,) that I, who went to America to convert others, was never converted myself. I am not mad,' though I thus speak: but speak the words of truth and soberness,' if haply some of those who still dream may awake, and see, that as I am, so are they.

"Are they read in philosophy? So was I. In ancient or modern tongues? So was I also. Are they versed in the science of divinity? I too have studied it many years. Can they talk fluently upon spiritual things? The very same I could do. Are they plenteous in alms? Behold, I give all my goods to feed the poor.

"Do they give of their labour as well as their substance? I have laboured more abundantly than they all. Are they willing to suffer for their brethren? I have thrown up my friends, reputation, ease, country; I have put my life in my hand, wandering into strange lands; I have given my body to be devoured by the deep, parched up with heat, consumed by toil and weariness, or whatsoever God shall please to bring upon me. But does all this, (be it more or less, it matters not,) make me acceptable to God? Does all I ever did or can know, say, give, do, or suffer, justify me in his sight? Yea, or the constant use of all the means of grace? (which nevertheless is meet, right, and our bounden duty,) or that I know nothing of myself, that I am as touching outward, moral righteousness blameless? Or, (to come closer yet,) the having a rational conviction of all the truths of Christianity? Does all this give a claim to the holy, heavenly, divine character of a Christian? By no means. If the oracles of God are true, if we are still to abide by the law and the testimony;' all these things, though when ennobled by faith in Christ, they are holy, and just, and good, yet without it are 'dung and dross.'

"This then have I learned in the ends of the earth, that I am fallen short of the glory of God;' that my whole heart is altogether corrupt and abominable, and consequently my whole life, (seeing it cannot be, that 'an evil tree' should bring forth good fruit ;') that my own works, my own sufferings, my own righteousness, are so far from reconciling me to an offended God, so far from making any atonement for the least of those sins, which are more in number than the hairs of my head,' that the most specious of them need an atonement themselves, or they cannot abide his righteous judgment; that having the sentence of death in my heart, and having nothing in or of myself, to plead, I have no hope, but that of being justified freely, through the redemption that is in Jesus;' I have no hope, but that if I seek I shall find the Christ, and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.' "If it be said, that I have faith, (for many such things have I heard,

from many miserable comforters,) I answer, so have the devils,—a sort of faith; but still they are strangers to the covenant of promise. So the apostles had even at Cana in Galilee, when Jesus first manifested forth his glory; even then they, in a sort, believed on him;' but they had not then the faith that overcometh the world.' The faith I want is, 'a sure trust and confidence in God, that, through the merits of Christ, my sins are forgiven, and I reconciled to the favour of God.' I want that faith which St. Paul recommends to all the world, especially in his Epistle to the Romans: That faith which enables every one that hath it to cry out, I live not; but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.' I want that faith which none has, without knowing that he hath it, (though many imagine they have it, who have it not,) for whosoever hath it, is freed from sin, the whole body of sin, is destroyed' in him: He is freed from fear, having peace with God through Christ, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.' And he is freed from doubt, having the love of God shed abroad in his heart, through the Holy Ghost which is given unto him; which Spirit itself beareth witness with his spirit, that he is a child of God.'"

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He observes, however, "Many reasons I have to bless God-for my having been carried into that strange land, contrary to all my preceding resolutions. Hereby I trust he hath, in some measure, ‘ humbled me, and proved me, and shown me what was in my heart.' Hereby I have been taught to beware of men.'-Hereby God has given me to know many of his servants, particularly those of the church of Hernhuth. Hereby my passage is open to the writings of holy men, in the German, Spanish, and Italian tongues. All in Georgia have heard the word of God: Some have believed and began to run well. A few steps have been taken towards publishing the glad tidings both to the African and American heathens. Many children have learned how they ought to serve God, and to be useful to their neighbour. And those whom it most concerns, have an opportunity of knowing the state of their infant colony, and laying a firmer foundation of peace and happiness to many generations."

After waiting on General Oglethorpe, and on the Trustees of Georgia, he was invited to preach in several of the churches. He now began to be popular, appearing in a new character, as a Missionary lately returned from preaching the Gospel to the Indians in America. The churches where he preached, were crowded. This soon produced a complaint, that there was no room "for the best in the parish ;" and that objection, united to the offence which was given by his plain heart-searching sermons, produced in each place at last the following repulsion, "Sir, you must preach here no more."

That Mr. Wesley had not the true Christian faith, is manifest; for he had not that deliverance from the fear of death, nor victory over all sin, which are the fruits of that faith. He does not seem to have had any immediate reference to that faith which he afterwards experienced and taught; for as yet he did not understand it. When the first Journal, in which this is said, was printed in his works, in 1774, he doubted whether the severe sentence he here pronounced upon himself, was just. He then believed, that when he went to America, he had the faith of a servant, though not of a son. Though he was far from being singular

in making this distinction, yet the propriety of it has been doubted, and sometimes even denied.

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The distinction is founded on what the Apostle has said, Rom. viii, 15, and farther illustrated and confirmed, Gal. iv, 1-7. Mr. Wesley observes in a note on Rom. viii, 15, that "The Spirit of bondage' here seems directly to mean, those operations of the Holy Spirit, by which the soul, on its first conviction, feels itself in bondage to sin, to the world, to Satan, and obnoxious to the wrath of God." He has printed a sermon on the same text, in which he explains it in the same way. He was not singular in this interpretation, as might easily be shown from respectable authority. And all sound Christian experience proves that the distinction is well founded. "By the law" only "is the" true knowledge of sin ;" and without it those who admit the Christian revelation, are either Pharisees or Antinomians. But the sincere take Christ's "yoke upon them," as Mr. Wesley did; and to them Christ "gives rest. The spirit of life in Christ Jesus makes them free from the law of sin and death." To stop short of this liberty is, alas! too common especially where religion so prevails as to become reputable. Mr. Wesley observes, in his Sermon on "The spirit of bondage and adoption," that the generality of those who are highly esteemed by men, live and die in that bondage. The devoted brothers were not content thus to live; and hence, in the "spirit of adoption" to which they attained, they became "the savour of life" to millions.

Mr. C. Wesley, to whom I now return, had been absent from England upwards of thirteen months. During this time he had passed through an uncommon series of difficulties. In his distress, the Scriptures became more precious than ever before: He felt a power in them, which nothing creaturely can convey; and saw a beauty, which criticism never discovered. He was thus prepared to attend to the powerful, yet simple, way of salvation by faith, which the pride of man hath always rejected.

When he arrived in London, his friends received him with inexpressible joy; a report having been spread, that the ship, in which he came home, had been seen to sink at sea. One lady he found, when he called upon her, who was reading an account of his death. After delivering his letters, he waited on his friend Mr. Charles Rivington, in St. Paul's churchyard. Here he met with letters and a Journal from his brother in Georgia, which informed him of what had taken place soon after he left it. Before he quitted America, Mr. Charles Wesley had written a letter to his brother John, in which he had expressed his sentiments of some particular persons with freedom: but by way of caution, had pointed out two individuals by two Greek words. This letter Mr. John Wesley dropped, and it fell into the hands of those who were enemies to both of them. This was sure to raise great disturbance, among a people so irritable and so revengeful as the Georgians were at that time. Mr. Charles had happily escaped out of their reach, and the storm fell with a double violence on his brother.* Journal which he now received from Mr. Rivington, informed him of the particulars. "I read it," says Mr. Charles, "without either surprise or impatience. The dropping of my fatal letter, I hope, will con

The

*This was eight or nine months previous to the persecution he suffered on account of Mrs. Williamson.

vince him of what I never could, his own great carelessness; and the sufferings which it has brought upon him, may show him his blindness. His simplicity in telling what and who were meant by the two Greek words was out-doing his own out-doings. Surely all this will be sufficient to teach him a little of the wisdom of the serpent, of which he seems so entirely void."

It appears from Mr. Charles Wesley's Journal, that most of the Trustees for Georgia were Dissenters. They have given us, however, an unequivocal proof, that the Dissenters, at this time, possessed great liberality of sentiment, or they would not have approved of the nomination of the two Mr. Wesleys, men avowedly of very High Church principles, to go and preach the Gospel in Georgia; especially as their father had been so public an opposer of the Dissenting interest.

December 7.-One of these Trustees having called on Mr. C. Wesley, the latter observes, "We had much discourse of Georgia, and of my brother's persecution among that stiff-necked people. He seems a truly pious humble Christian, full of zeal for God and love to man." Mr. Charles Wesley was then a rigid Churchman: It is, therefore, pleasing to find this testimony of his candid judgment of a Dissenter. It is not what opinion a man holds, but what spirit he is of, that is the great question.

Mr. Oglethorpe sailed for England on the 26th of November, and arrived in London on the 7th of January, 1737. Mr. Charles Wesley waited upon him the next day, and the most cordial friendship continued from that time between them till his death.

About the middle of January, Count Zinzendorff arrived in England. One principal object of this visit seems to have been, to get the Moravian Church and the Church of England in Georgia, acknowledged as one Church. The Count had been informed of the piety and zeal of the two brothers; and, on the 19th, a few days after his arrival, he sent for Mr. Charles Wesley, who was received by the Count with all possible affection. Here he became acquainted with the object of the Count's visit to this country. From him he went to the Bishop of Oxford, who received him with equal kindness, and desired him to call as often as he could, without ceremony or farther invitation. They had much talk of the state of religion among the Moravians, and of the object of the Count's visit; and the Bishop acknowledged, that the Moravian Bishops had the true succession. Here we see a reason of the two brothers' willingness to join the Moravians.

On the 26th, being near Twickenham, on a visit to Dr. Hales, who was one of the Trustees for Georgia, Mr. C. Wesley, the next day, took a walk to see Mr. Pope's house and gardens; "justly," he observes, "called a burlesque on human greatness." He adds, "I was sensibly affected with the plain Latin sentence on the obelisk, in memory of his mother.-Ah Editha, Matrum optima, Mulierum amantissima, vale !'* How far superior to the most laboured elegy which he, or Prior himself, could have composed!"-I mention this as one proof of his fine classical taste.

As Georgia was supposed to be under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of London, Mr. C. Wesley took an early opportunity of waiting on his Lordship with the Count's proposition: But the Bishop refused to med* Ah Editha, the best of mothers, the most loving of women, farewell!

dle in that business. He waited again on the Bishop of Oxford, and informed him, the Bishop of London declined having any thing to do with Georgia, alleging, that it belonged to the Archbishop to unite the Moravians with the English Church. He replied that it was the Bishop of London's office. proper "He bid me," adds Mr. Wesley, 66 assure the Count, we should acknowledge the Moravians as our brethren, and one Church with us." The Count seemed resolved to carry his people from Georgia, if they might not be permitted to preach to the Indians. He was also very desirous to take Mr. Charles Wesley with him into Germany.

In August, Mr. C. Wesley was requested to carry up the Address, from the University of Oxford, to his Majesty. Accordingly, on the 26th, he waited on the King with the Address, at Hampton Court, accompanied with a few friends. They were graciously received; and the Archbishop told him, he was glad to see him there. They kissed their Majesties' hands, and were invited to dinner. Mr. Wesley left the dinner and the company, and hasted back to town. The next day, he waited on his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and dined at St. James's. So we see he was still an honourable man. But he was not satisfied with his present state. On the 31st of August, he consulted Mr. Law; the sum of whose advice was, "Renounce yourself, and be not impatient." This was very good advice, in order to wait for faith; but very bad, if to rest without it. In the beginning of September, he consulted him again, and asked several questions, to which Mr. Law gave the following answers: "Q. With what comment shall I read the Scriptures? A. None.-Q. What do you think of one who dies unrenewed while endeavouring after it? A. It neither concerns you to ask,* nor me to answer.-Q. Shall I write once more to such a person? A. No.-Q. But I am persuaded it will do him good? A. Sir, I have told you my opinion.-Q. Shall I write to you? A. Nothing I can either speak or write will do you any good."-Certainly not. He had attained to all that Mr. Law knew, and fully practised it.

To oblige Mr. Oglethorpe, Mr. C. Wesley still held his office of Secretary, and had even formed a resolution to return to Georgia. About the middle of October, he was informed at the office, that he must sail in three weeks. His mother vehemently protested against his going back to America; but this did not alter his resolution.

In the beginning of February, 1738, about the time Mr. John Wesley returned from Georgia, Peter Boehler arrived in England. He soon became acquainted with the two brothers, and, on the 20th of this month, prevailed with Mr. Charles Wesley to assist him in learning English. He was now at Oxford, and Boehler soon entered into some close conversation with him, and with some scholars who were serious, and who could converse in Latin. He pressed upon them the necessity of Gogpel faith: He showed them, that many who had been awakened had fallen asleep again, for want of attaining to it. He spoke much of the necessity of prayer and faith, but none of them seemed to understand him. Mr. Charles Wesley was, immediately after this, taken ill of a pleu

* Mr. C. Wesley found, that he was not renewed, and thought he might die while endea vouring after it. The question, therefore, was to him of serious importance. The right answer would have been, "He cannot die in that state, for God will not quench the smoking flax. He must fall from it, or he must attain the faith of the Gospel."