^\t>^
UCSB LIBRARY
^fj^ METrtODISM 0i^y^
/•
ORIGIN, ECONOMY, AND PREBENT
POSITION.
BY REV. JAMES DIXON, D. D.
EX-PRESIDENT OF THE WESLEY AN CONFERENCE.
REVISED BY THE EDITOR.
NEW-YORK :
PUBUSHED BY G. LANE & P. P. SANDFORD,
FOR THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, AT THE CONFERENCE
OFFICE, 200 MULBERRY-STREET.
J. Collord, Printer.
1843.
V
\%%A;^
ADVERTISEMENT.
i
In preparing for the press the Sermon de-
livered before the conference, it was found
necessary to recompose the whole. The
arrangement and topics remain unaltered ;
but liberty has been taken in introducing new
arguments and illustrations in support of the
several positions then laid down.
It has been thought best to divide the dis-
course into three distinct parts, as each sub-
ject — though it is hoped the whole is in unity
with itself — may be regarded as complete.
Whatever reception the Sermon may meet
with among his brethren and the people in
general, the author feels it a happiness to
bear his humble testimony to the great work
which God has wrought in the world by the
instrumentality of Methodism.
To his brethren, in conference, who unan-
imously requested the publication of the Ser-
mon, the author owes, and tenders, his warm-
4 ADVERTISEMENT.
est acknowledgments. But in the circum-
stances in which it now appears, it would be
wrong to claim for it their official confirma-
tion.
A general approval — without being pledg-
ed to every sentiment — is all that the author
understood as meant by the vote for its pub-
lication ; and if, in its enlarged form, it may
secure this, together with a promotion of a
spirit of increased confidence and piety in
the body, his highest hopes will be gratified.
Manchester, March 11, 1843.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
THK POSITION OF THE METHODIST BODY EXAMINED IN
A PURELY RELIGIOUS POINT OF VIEW.
I. Sketch of the faith and effects of primitive Christiani-
ty — This faith experimental — Apostolic preaching
— Justification and other blessings attained only by
faith — Universally adopted as the apostolic rule in
seeking the conversion of men Pages 9-49
II. The agreement of the doctrines and ordinances of
the Methodist Church to the primitive model in
these respects — 1. Methodism originated in the
adoption of an experimental faith — The case of the
founders of Methodism personally — Salvation by
faith only, adopted as the basis of operations by the
united ministry at the first conference — The stead-
fastness with which this faith has been held — The
steady progression of the work by the operation of
this fundamental truth — Its efficiency shown in the
effects produced in the church and nation on the
profligate masses of the country, and especially in
pagan nations — The genuineness of this faith cor.
roborated by every kind of evidence 49-108
6 CONTENTS.
III. The exhortation applied to " mind the same thing"
— As the legitimate end of the gospel institution —
As embracing the greatest possible issue — As
absolutely essential — As a mark of fidelity. Th&
means to be employed — Preaching the cross — The
Spirit's influence — Salvation by grace — The suffi-
ciency of faith — The perfection of the gospel in
itself. Pages 109-144
FART n.
THK POSITION OF TI E METHODIST COMMUNITY IN IT
ECCLESIASTICA . OR ECONOMICAL ASPECTS.
I. The principles of Scripture on the subject of the
church — In five several notes — Fellowship on the
basis of the Christian faith — A Christian service in-
eluding the sacraments — Spiritual life — Holy disci-
pline on the rules of the word of God — A spiritual
minister — These notes proved to be possessed by
the Methodist Church 145-231
n. The exhortation applied in this branch of the argu-
ment to walk by the same rule — 1. By acknow-
ledging the supremacy of Scripture — 2. By preserv-
ing our church system entire — 3. By promoting the
largest developments of the kingdom of God —
4. By the cultivation of a catholic spirit — 5. By
employing our organization for purely spiritual pur-
poses „ 231-265
CONTENTS.
PART III.
THE POSITION OP THE METHODIST BODY IN THE MEANS
EMPLOYED, IN EXTENDING THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND
EVANGELIZING THE WORLD.
I. The rules of Scripture on this subject — The apostolic
commission — The example of primitive times — The
union of the first churches in evangelical labours
— The aggressive nature of the means employ.
ed Pages 266-282
II. The theory of the church system of the Methodist
body shown to harmonize with primitive principles
and practice — 1 . In the doctrinal system of our the-
ology — 2. In the institutions of the church — As in
the conference — Itinerancy — Circuits — Missionary
Society 282-336
III. General rules applied — 1. Not to despise little
things, and yet to aim at great ones — 2. To be
firm in principle, but free in detail — 3. Not to ex-
pect success without sacrifice — 4. To avoid making
outward circumstances the rule of obligation to the
church — 5. The expenditure of power in religion
is its growth — 6. Belief in the concurrent move-
ments of Providence with the operations of the
church 336-360
METHODISM
ORIGIN, ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION-
Nevertheless, whereunto we have already
attained, let us walk by the same rule, let
US MIND THE SAME THING. PhIL. Ill, 16.
The apostle was naturally solicitous that the dis-
ciples at PhUippi should, after his time, remain faith-
ful to the principles of the gospel which he had
taught. Had his advice been universally regarded,
innumerable heresies, which have corrupted and de-
formed the truth itself, would have been avoided, and
superstitious observances, the bane of the purity,
vigour, and life of the church, prevented. The his-
tory of Christianity is a faithful record of the conse-
quences of the departure from the apostolic injunc-
tion. A divergence, in various degrees, from the
simple and uncorrupt doctrines of our Lord and his
apostles, together with the principles and precedents
of the truly primitive church, has led to most disas-
trous consequences. The effects are seen in the
early growth of error, which, continuing to accumu-
late with the progress of time, at length grew to
10 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
such a height as to obscure th(^ truth, and present
living Christianity, for ages, as little better than one
enormous heresy.
From the same cause, communities and nations,
bearing the Christian name, have sunk to the lowest
point of moral degradation. With no clear enuncia-
tion of the gospel to guide their footsteps, no faithful
exhibition of the Saviour's cross, no offer of that
which constitutes the essence and power of reUgion
— salvation by faith — and no spiritual worship leading
the penitent and believing into the presence of Al-
mighty God ; they naturally glided into a state of
superstition, irreligion, and practical impiety. As
the truth elevates and makes free, so the substitution
of falsehood and human ceremonies in its place be-
wilders and enslaves. Through a long and dreary
period, scarcely any thing presents itself to the eye
of the observer, as associated with the Christian
name, but mental and spiritual prostration, followed
by the iron rule of despotism. That sacred system
of religion, which, when preserved in its owti pure
and unsophisticated doctrines and ordinances, admi-
nisters knowledge, salvation, the consolations of
grace, the motives and power of holiness, and, con-
sequently, leads to freedom ; — in the hands of its de-
signing corrupters, only ministered bewildering fables,
polluting dogmas, the dread of ghostly and mysterious
powers possessed only by themselves, and issued in
the ahnost universal extinction of true religion for
many ages. All this, with much more, constitutes
the dreary picture of Christianity in every place ;
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 11
and the whole resulted from inattention to the apos-
tolic injunction delivered to the primitive church,
" Whereunto we have .already attained, let us walk
by the same rule, let us mind the same thing."
The same caution is applicable to ourselves, as a
Christian body. The duty, however, must rest on
the evidence of several important facts. It sjipposes
that, in our leading and essential views, principles,
and proceedings, our system corresponds with the
primitive model. If we have not " walked by this
rule," we can be under no obligation to continue to
" mind the same thing ;" rather, the obligation would
lie on the other side, and it would be our duty to
abandon our ancient landmarks, and inquire, with
Pilate, though in a different spirit, "What is truth 1"
This point must be at once conceded. No Christian
community can be under a necessity to remain in
heresy, in schism, or in obstinate separation, if these
cases of sin can be made out against it. But if, on
the other hand, it rests on the- one " foundation of
the prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ himself be-
ing the chief corner-stone ;" and if " a dispensation
of the gospel has been committed to it ;" if the Lord
has wrought a great spiritual work in the world by
its instrumentaUty ; if its order and discipline are
found to conserve and advance this work in the souls
of the people under its influence ; if deep, wide, and
great reUgious interests on a large scale, and an ex-
tended surface, are involved in its existing doctrines
and polity ; if a numerous, intelligent, and pious peo-
ple are obviously " making their calling and election
12 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
sure," under its fostering care ; and, moreover, it' the
blessing of God continues to crown its efforts for the
conversion of men, at home and abroad ; — then it is
clearly the duty of such a church to be faithful to its
trust, to " walk by the same rule, and to mind the
same thing."
That which is thus stated hypolhelically, regard-
ing any church in general, must now be examined as
to ours in particular. If it can be made out, that, by
the blessing of God, the true doctrines of the gospel
are held, a system of means originated, and a spirit
of genuine religion created identical with New-Tes-
tament truth, times, and precedents, then the apos-
tolic exhortation must be applicable to us. Method-
ism is a great fact. Irrespective of reasoning, it
exists ; and the means of its formation is a question
worthy of examination, as well as its spirit, doctrines,
and polity. It cannot be deemed, we hope, unsuita-
ble to the present important occasion, impartially to
review our position as a Christian community. The
times are peculiar ; the doctrines and principles of
church polity are being sifted ; we are not likely to
be left to repose in peace ; assaults from many quar-
ters are being made upon us already ; and, judging
from the attitude assumed by some parties, perhaps
more formidable and virulent opposition may be ex-
pected. In this state of things, it is our duty to
examine whether our " house is built on the sand,"
or "on a rock."
In considering our position as a Christian commu-
nity, it will be requisite, —
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 13
I. To examine the question in its purely spiritual
and religious bearings ;
II. To investigate the subject in its ecclesiastical
or economical aspects ;
III. To judge of the harmony of its principles and
means, with the obvious designs of the gospel, in evan-
gelizing the world.
PART I.
WE ARE TO EXAMINE THE QUESTION OF OUR POSI-
TION IN A PURELY SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS POINT
OF VIEW.
The character of the movement which is now,
and, indeed, has long been, going on, must be sought
primarily in the purely religious spirit of Methodism.
Forms and professions, in our case, were pi-eceded
by a living piety, which gave them all their peculiar
cast.
Genuine Christianity is obviously intended to pro-
duce practical and saving results ; and such results
must originate in divine power. In the absence of
such fruit, we have reason to suspect that the truth
is not announced, and that any church system failing
in this point, however applauded, is either vicious in
principle, or corruptly administered. On the other
hand, when we behold the preaching of the word in
" power, in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance,"
the services of the sanctuary administering grace,
14 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
consolation, and spiritual life, to those who devoutly
wait upon God ; the prayers of the church answered
in " showers of blessing;" and all issuing in the illu-
mination, pardon, and holiness of great numbers of
persons, previously " dead in trespasses and in sins ;"
then we have proof of sound doctrine, a genuine re-
ligious, and, indeed, a directly divine, result.
Both our Lord and his apostles put the test of a
true and valid commission on this practical proof:
" Beware," said our Saviour, " of false prophets,
which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly
they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by
their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or
figs of thistles 1 Many will say to me in that day.
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name ■?
and in thy name have cast out devils 1 and in thy
name done many wonderful works ? And then will
1 profess unto them, I never knew you : depart from
me, ye that work iniquity." Matt, vii, 15, 16,22, 23.
St. Paul appeals to the same test : " Ye are our
epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all
men : forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be
the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not
with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God ; not
in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart,"
2 Cor. iii, 2, 3.
This kind of evidence cannot, indeed, be the first
and chief proof of a divine call ; but it is essential
that such evidence should be given as a witness of
its validity. An individual Christian, who should
profess faith in Christ, and affirm that he enjoyed all
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 15
the blessings of an adopted and regenerate state, and
yet fail to give proof of the genuineness and divinity
of the work by spiritual and holy fruit, would be justly
considered either an enthusiast or an Antinomian.
The change of his heart, indeed, would lie much
beyond this external holmess, and must origmate in
the blessing of God ; but the latter is always, and
rightly, considered as an essential part of the work
of grace.
It is the same with respect to a ministry, or a
church. The primary call and designation is emi-
nently divine, and not cognizable by us ; and involves
all the prerogatives of Deity, the sovereignty of grace
and government, the operations of the Holy Spirit,
and all the great principles of the kingdom of Christ ;
for, inasmuch as he is the " Head of his body the
church," it follows that the ministerial function must
originate in his election and grace. All this is prior
to, and independent of, any external and ministerial
fruit. The evidence of St. Paul's call to the apos-
tleship lay, in the first instance, in its extraordinary
circumstances, and must be limited to himself. No
other parties could be judges of the first depositum
of " this grace." It was a solemn transaction of
transcendent grandeur and importance, between "the
Lord of the harvest," and his servant, whom he had
chosen to " send forth into his harvest." But allow-
ing this to be the case, the fruits of apostolical in-
spiration, teaching, miracles, and labours, must be
necessary to give corroboration to the spiritual and
hidden call. Had nothing religious and divine re-
16 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIIV,
suited in the mission and ministry of this •' chosen
vessel," where would have been the proof of his being
so chosen ? In addition to the extraordinary change,
the personal holiness, the spiritual gifts, of this emi-
nent man, the world saw multitudes converted to the
faith, the foundation of numerous churches laid, a
great company of believers rallying round his stand-
ard, and the whole exhibiting the evidences of Chris-
tian piety. These were the fruits of his divine voca-
tion ; these were the corroborative evidences of its
genuineness.
The successors of the apostles ought to embrace
the whole of their vocation. If they profess to hold
their commission, they are bound in all fairness to
give evidence of the fact by corresponding labours
and results. Of what value can a pretended office
be considered, which fails to accomplish the pur-
poses of its origination 1 Those who not only put in
an exclusive claim to this honour and dignity, but
also anathematize all others as intruders and not
ministers, and their charges as assemblies of schis-
matics and heathens, and not churches, cannot com-
plain if the proof of their o\\ti " apostleship" be de-
manded in such fruits as surrounded the triumphant
labours of those wiio really bore the office.
How comes it to pass, that, in connection with this
supposed valid line, this only divinely commissioned
ministry, this exclusively guarded, sanctioned, and
authenticated function, — we ask. How comes it to
pass, that all possible doctrinal, moral, disciplinary,
and social abominations have grown up 1 All the
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 17
enormities of Popery, all the superstitions of the
Greek Church, and, to speak in the mildest terms,
the defective piety, through long periods, in our o^^^l
national Church, stand connected with this supposed
exclusive descent of ministerial rights and grace.
When it is affirmed, that no moral delinquencies in
the " successors of the apostles" can invalidate their
conmiission, or render their ministrations ineffective,
is it meant, that this benefit extends to their flocks
as well as to themselves ? because, for ages and
ages, we see priest and people involved in the same
enormous profligacies and crimes.
Surely we must have some valid rule bv which to
judge of such a case. What does efficacy in this
claim mean '\ When it is said, " The impiety of the
ininister, who has received this commission, does not
invalidate the efficacy of the sacraments, rites, and
ordinances of the Church ; and, moreover, all wor-
thy recipients are regenerated in the sacrament of
baptism, and continue to retain justifying and saving
grace in the sacrament of the Lord's supper ;" is it
meant, that this grace, thus received, leaves its sub-
jects just in the same immoralities and sins as the
most wicked, and yet is, at the same time, effica-
cious ? To what end is it efficacious 1 Evidently not
"unto salvation." We urge this question, because
of its importance. If it were really true, that the
parties, claiming to be exclusively apostolical minis-
ters, bore this honoured commission, and the divine
grace and blessing were limited to their order, irre-
spective of the religious and moral character of the
2
18 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
holders, and that nothing can invalidate the efficacy
of their administrations; then it follows, that fruit
corresponding to the purity of primitive doctrine
must appear. But we find not this fruit, except in
the case of converted ministers, be their station what
it may ; so that the assumed commission has no cor-
roboration.
Assumption and exclusion exist together. Those
who claim to be the only ministers, and their flocks
to be the only Church of God, of necessity exclude
and repudiate all others. We are one of these ex-
cluded (not to say, excommunicated) communities.
We are grieved more on account of others than our-
selves, that this should be the case. A want of the
fraternal love, so often inculcated in the New Testa-
ment, is not the only evil involved. The theories
which set up an exclusive claim for catholic truth
and communion, as developed in the views and move-
ments of the party referred to, are, we believe, false,
as well as uncharitable. Their spread is to be de-
plored most, on the ground of their dragging from
their obscure recesses the long-exploded errors of
past generations, and making their anti-evangelical
opinions the basis of a new, combined, and, it would
seem, powerful religious demonstration. That our
doctrines should be branded as heresy, our views of
religious enjoyinent as fanaticism, and our church-
fellowship as schism, are matters of no great moment,
otherwise than as the spirit engendering these sen-
timents must exist as a new element of sectarian
bigotry, and thus prevent the growth of true religion,
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 19
though the parties claim for themselves a pure cath-
olicity.
But the attempt to establish " another gospel" is
a much more serious subject. It is not our business
to deal with this question at present ; otherwise the
charge might easily be made out. Whatever may
be the truth regarding ourselves, the movement in
question is either a new apostacy, or a return to the
old one. Its universality is its bane. It perverts
the Holy Scriptures ; the atonement of our Lord ;
the genuine offices and influences of the Holy Spi-
rit ; the legitimate nature of the ministry and the
church ; the true design of the institution of the holy
sacraments ; the evangelical substance of Christian
doctrine ; the characteristics and specific nature of
experimental religion ; together with the freedom and
just rights of God's people and household. All these
great and fundamental parts of Christianity are made
the subjects of this new assault. This is the dis-
tressing part of the case. In disputes which only
involve personal or party considerations, it is undig-
nified, often unchristian, to intermingle in the strife ;
but when God's own truth, and God"s own work, are
involved, the matter assumes a different aspect : it
is base to be silent.
More with a view to self-vindication, and the esta-
blishment of our own people in the " faith once deli-
vered" to them by their fathers, than with any hope
of convincing others, we bring forward the proof that
a genuine experimental work of religion has been
20 METHODlSiM IN IT3 ORIGIN,
wrought among us. To accomplish this, it will be
necessary, —
I. To give a sketch of the faith and effects of pri-
mitive Christianity ;
II. To examine whether our system harmonizes
with this primitive model ; and then,
III. If this is the case, to apply the apostolic
canon, "Walk by the same rule, and mind the same
thing."
I. We are to give a sketch of the faith and effects
of primitive Christianity.
1. The first and apostolic promulgation of the
gospel was evidently designed to produce an experi-
mental faith ; and any system that is in harmony
wth this design must lead to similar results.
The world " without God" is involved in this dis-
mal state, not on the ground of a non-existent me-
dium of light and grace, but of unbelief. Two only
modes of enjoying " the things of God" can be con-
ceived, that of open vision, as possessed by the
blessed in heaven, or, by the instructions of revela-
tion, and the ordinances of religion, received through
faith. The ignorance, depravity, idolatry, and mi-
sery of the " world lying in the wicked one," is the
result of its severance from God. This loss arises
from the neglect and abuse of those instriunents of
knowledge, grace, and salvation which he has never
failed to furnish ; and this of necessity leads to a spi-
ritual night of bewildering darkness. The absence
of the truth from the human mind involves, in fact,
ECONOMY, A\D PRESENT POSITION. 21
the absence of faith ; and this in its turn the absence
of God in the riches of his grace, and the energy of
his saving power. What must follow 1 The springs
and fountains of depravity in the human heart are all
broken up, man becomes an active agent in evil, and
the world is filled with every form of sin and misery.
Hence the divine economy, whether considered in
its primary revelations and provisions, in its regular
and continuous operations, or, in cases of its decay,
in a recovery of its power and mercy, will have for
its object the restoration of the alienated heart of
man to God by faith.
Religion, in aU its means and influence, is the re-
establishment of God's kingdom among men ; the
erection of his rectoral throne, and the promulgation
of his laws ; the formation of his temple on earth,
and the opening of its gates for his worship ; the
preparation, by the administration of its grace through
the priesthood of Christ, of a medium of communion
•with the " Father of spirits ;" and, above all, it is
the free and saving exhibition of his mercy and love
in the pardon of sin, and the rich effusions of his
Spirit in the renewal of the soul, and the joys of ho-
liness.
The Christian, which is the last and concentrated
form of all the dispensations of the divine religion, as
given from the first faint dawn to the last bright and
meridian displays of God's love, had this great de-
sign. It proposed one only object, by one only
means, — at least, all others were included in this
one, — the restoration of God to man in the fulness
22 JIETHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
of his knowledge, love, and glory ; and, as the effect
of this, the recovery of his wandering sheep to the
fold and favour of their heavenly Shepherd.
This practical and saving purpose is observable in
every provision of the Christian system. No doubt,
it has its sublimities, its mysteries, its hidden agen-
cies, its " heavenly sanctuary," and ministry ; but
the end is the salvation of mankind. The incarna-
tion of our Lord took place, that, being " God vidth
us," " the Word made flesh, and dwelling among us,
we might behold his glory, the glory of the only-
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." If
we descend from this highest to the very lowest pro-
vision of the Christian economy, we shall meet with
only this one design, — the purpose of God " to dwell
again with ijian upon the earth," and to draw, by
every possible means, this creature of his love to
the enjoyment of himself. The great body of re-
vealed truth, the cross of our dying Lord, the dis-
charge of his priestly office before the throne above,
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the establishment
of the church on earth, the promulgation of divine
truth by preaching and othervdse, the administration
of the sacraments, and the communion of saints ; all
have one and the same purpose, as the " manifesta-
tion of God in the flesh ;" — namely, the drawing to-
gether of " all things in Christ," that the Deity may
dwell, in grace, among his redeemed children, and
that they, in their turn, may, in assurance and peace,
say, " Abba, Father."
2. What constituted apostolic preaching, and
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 23
wherein consisted the strength and glory of primi-
tive doctrine 1
St. Paul asserts, on this subject, "The gospel
of Christ is the power of God unto salvation," Rom.
i, 16. It follows, that the genuine gospel compre-
hends, promulgates, and brings into actual operation,
" in power," the means of salvation ; and, moreover,
if rightly proclaimed, and believingly embraced,
works, " effectually" and certainly, the illumination,
repentance, justification, " new birth," and holiness,
— all included in the word " salvation," — of all who
are thus brought under its influence. This is the
legitimate and Scriptural test of the gospel being
effective, and of chnrch ordinances administered, in
any place, and among any people, in their truth and
power. Those ministers who " open" no " blind
eyes," who " turn" no enslaved sinners " from Satan
to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins,
and an inheritance among them that are sanctified,"
whatever may be their credentials, cannot possibly
hold a divine conunission, preach the " unsearchable
riches of Christ," or perform their duties through
that " power from on high," for which our Lord di-
rected his first witnesses to " tarry at Jerusalem"
till they had received it.
This being the case, the question, " What consti-
tuted apostolic preaching, and wherein consists the
strength and glory of primitive doctrine V is of great
consequence.
The message itself comprehended, chiefly, the
subject of redemption. The whole essence of the
24 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
gospel is contained in many plain and simple enunci-
ations : " God hath visited and redeemed his peo-
ple," Luke i, 68. " When the fulness of the time
was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman,
made under the law, to redeem them that were un-
der the law, that we might receive the adoption of
sons," Gal. iv, 4, 5. " God was in Christ reconcil-
ing the world unto himself, not miputing their tres-
passes unto them," 2 Cor. v, 19. He was "made
to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him," 2 Cor. v, 21.
Jesus is " the propitiation for our sins : and not for
ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world,"
1 John ii, 2. This doctrine constituted the great
centre-truth of the apostolic system of teaching. In
respect of its primary importance, its relative value,
and its position in the economy of salvation, all the
first preachers of Christianity, as well as St. Paul,
may be said to have " known nothing among men
save Jesus Christ and him crucified."
But around this one doctrine all other truth, in the
evangelical economy, is found to radiate in beautiful
harmony. From this point, the divine nature, attri-
butes, counsels, will, and providence, are all seen, in
their most glorious and encouraging aspects. The
Son of God is, indeed, made palpable, speaks in hu-
man language, performs divine works in the sight of
men, and then suffers and dies for sin. The occa-
sional visitations of " the Angel of the covenant" to
the abodes of earth, and in the form of man, exer-
cising a punitive power or condescending mercy, be-
ECONOMY, A.VD PRESENT POSITION. 25
came, in the person of our Lord, a permanent resi-
dent in our nature. The long line of sacrifices,
whether offered in patriarchal times or in the Jewish
temple, having but a dim and obscure meaning, ex-
cept to the faith of a few in different ages, now
received their illustration when Jesus " died once
for all." The scattered rays of heavenly light and
divine truth, which had evolved through the prophe-
tic period and the several dispensations, were now
concentrated in one great oracle, and could be an-
nounced in one sentence, " God so loved the world,
that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have ever-
lasting life," John iii, 16.
From the same elevated region, the true charac-
ter and destinies of man can alone be learned. The
depth of his fall is best seen in the humiliation and
sufferings by which he is saved ; and the extent of
his loss, in the number of blessings included in, as
well as the price paid for, his redemption. The
greatness of his pollution, the completeness of his
ruin, the depth of his misery, together with his utter
helplessness, are all most clearly perceived in the
fact, that he is " washed, that he is sanctified, that
he is justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and by the Spirit of our God," 1 Cor. vi, 11. But
while the catastrophe of man's ruin is most vividly
seen in connection with the cross, so his highest hap-
piness and glory are exhibited from the same point.
Every thing in heaven and in earth is put in requisi-
tion to save and elevate man. When we imagine
26 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
that all the provisions of Christianity are contained
in a singular writing denominated " Scripture," other-
wise than in covenant ; and that all which is neces-
sary to bring about our recovery and salvation, is
mere instruction on the part ofGod,anA oti ours cre-
dence in its truth ; we are much mistaken. That
writing removes the veil thrown over the agencies
of the invisible world ; and now in its light we be-
hold the Godhead putting forth his own infinite re-
sources, — the Son leaving the Father's bosom, — the
Holy Ghost descending, — angelic beings employed
as ministering spirits, — the depths of eternity stirred,
— inspiration given, — a divine government establish-
ed, — different dispensations unrolled from the book
of God's counsels, — prophets appearing, — symbols
and sacrifices ordained, — miracles performed, — mys-
terious and typical persons and events introduced on
the stage of time. But all these point to, and ter-
minate in, one great event, the cross ; and that had
but one end, the salvation of man.
It follows, that the doctrine of Christ crucified,
preached by the primitive evangelists, though one
and isolated, yet, in its associated objects and issues,
does not stand alone. It is the only sacrifice ac-
cepted of God, or regarded when he listens to the
prayers of the penitent, or pardons the guilty ; it is
the only merit to which the troubled conscience and
bleeding heart of the distressed in sin can turn for
peace and rest ; it is the fountain whence flow all the
streams of grace and life found in the church ; it is
the great object to which all true teaching, liturgical
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 27
services, sacramental ordinances, and hymns of de-
votion, should direct the attention and feelings of
men ; in fine, it is the foundation-stone on which the
spiritual building, whether existing on earth or in
heaven, is erected.
But besides the cross being the only point where
God meets man, it is found in experience, that it is
the only power by which he can be softened and
moved, so as to lead him to salvation. The minis-
try of the apostles was powerful, in consequence of
its being full of Christ. The same is the case in all
times, and with all ministers, however imperfect in
other respects. In truth, with respect to God, the
atonement is the only medium through which he can
look upon man in love, grant him access in prayer,
pardon his sins, and account him righteous ; and
then, vtith respect to man himself, it is the only ob-
ject of " faith toward God" in which he can trust,
because the only substitutional and vicarious merit
available to him. There may, indeed, be discovered
in the Saviour's character, teaching, and suflferings,
that which is calculated naturally to touch tlie hu-
man heart ; and it is always found that the narrative
of the crucifixion and of the tragic scenes of the pas-
sion, in the hands of Christian preachers, moves the
minds of men much more than any other subjects.
But the power of the cross is not in its adaptation to
excite the feelings, but to assuage the conscience,
and give rest to the " weary and heavy-laden" sin-
ner. This is man's great want. Sin is leading
him to his final doom ; to ruin, to perdition. "What
28 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
must I do to be saved 1" is the question which, in a
thousand forms, presses upon his heart. The great
value of the doctrine of the atonement is found in the
circumstance, that it is the answer — the only an-
swer — to the inquirJ^ Here, then, we have the true
and proper " faith once delivered to the saints," in
its object. It may be safely affirmed, in the midst
of the disputes and controversies now so rife, that
the ministry which most fully sets forth the glories
of the Saviour in his cross and passion, and seeks to
accomplish the designs and purposes of his death, is
most identical with that of the primitive teachers of
Christianity ; and if so, it must be the most aposto-
lical. Moreover, that church which most faithfully
consei-ves this doctrine, exhibits it in its creeds, ser-
vices, sermons, devotions, and active operations in
the salvation of mankind, is most like the first
churches, and, this being the case, must be most
primitive in its foundation, spirit, and character.
3. In every aspect of the gospel, faith only is re-
presented as the appropriate instrument and condi-
tion of reception, whether for justification, or any
other blessing.
It invites us to God, but tells us, at the same time,
that " without faith it is impossible to please him.
For he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek him." Heb. xi, 6. It enjoins on us the duty
of prayer ; but it promises the answer only to those
who believe. Our Lord, on this subject, says, "And
all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believ-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 29
ing, ye shall receive," Matt, xxi, 22. And again :
" And Jesus answering saith unto them. Have faith
in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever
shall say unto this mountain. Be thou removed, and
be thou cast into the sea ; and shall not doubt in his
heart, but shall believe that those things which he
saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever
he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things
soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye re-
ceive them, and ye shall have them." Mark xi,
22-24.
The gospel offers a present salvation to every
man, including justification, adoption, and sanctifica-
tion ; and all this is by faith alone. " Whom God
hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in
his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remis-
sion of sins that are past, through the forbearance of
God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteous-
ness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him
which believeth in Jesus. Therefore we conclude
that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of
the law, .... seeing it is one God which shall jus-
tify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision
through faith." Rom. iii, 25, 26, 28, 30.
On the kindred blessing of adopting grace, we
have similar language : " He came unto his own,
and his own received him not. But as many as re-
ceived him, to them gave he power to become the
sons of God ; even to them that believe on his name :
which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John i,
30 , METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
11, 12. " But after that faith is come, we are no
longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the
children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as
many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have
put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male
nor female : for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." Gal.
iii, 25-28.
On the subject of the believer's sanctification, the
means are more frequently adverted to than the in-
.strument. And yet on this point it is said, " Puri-
fying their hearts by faith," Acts xv, 9. The nature
of the purity which is thus said to be received by
faith, must be sought in a comparison of texts. If
this method be adopted, it will be found that the
sanctLfication of the heai-t is indicated by that ex-
pression, " Having therefore tliese promises, dearly
beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness
of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear
of God," 2 Cor. vii, 1. " If we walk in the light, as
he is in the light, we have fellowship one with an-
other, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth
us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us
our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John i, 7-9.
Thus, we find that, in the " analogy of fahh" as
exhibited in the teaching of the apostles, the belief
of the truth, involving trust in the Saviour's death
and merit, was the sole condition of salvation. We
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 31
hear of no second principle ; not even of any auxili-
ary or subsidiary condition. " Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to
his mercy he saved us," Tit. iii, 5. " For by grace
are ye saved, through faith ; and that not of your-
selves : it is the gift of God : not of works, lest any
man should boast," Eph. ii, 8, 9. " And if by grace,
then it is no more of works : otherwise grace is no more
grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more of
grace : otherwise work is no more work." Rom. xi,6.
This divine principle of faith would, of course, be
connected with other movements of the mind ; but
all to issue in this one act of confidence in the Sa-
viour's blood. When the hand is stretched out to
receive a gratuity, many things are included in the
act, though in the ultimate result the hand only is
engaged. All the curious mechanism of the body,
and the powers of the mind, are supposed in the ex-
ercise of the simple act of receiving a charity. Men-
tal anguish, a bleeding heart, a sense of suffering and
want, the volitions of the wOl, and the intricate move-
ments of the nervous and muscular systems, are all
involved in the suppliant cry, and the outstretched
arm ; but it is the hand alone, finally, that receives
the charitable relief. It is so in the case of faith.
There must be a previous perception of the truth, a
deep sense of sin, a penitent heart, the spii-it of
prayer, a turning to God from old habits of evil ; but
when the final closure with Christ takes place, it is
faith — only faith — which lays hold of his precious
merit, and justifies the soul.
32 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
4. No mental or moral exercise of the mind can
possibly harmonize with the principles and provisions
of the gospel, but faith.
We instance in one doctrine, — the trinity of per-
sons in the Godhead. This, instead of being specu-
lative and unimportant, is, in fact, the first and fun-
damental tnith of the gospel. The v^rhole scheme
of Christianity revolves on this great fact : yet it is
evident, that the knowledge of this first truth must
be limited to revelation ; and, as a consequence, be
embraced only as an article of faith. None can
comprehend God in his essence, his mode of being,
the personal distinctions of Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost ; and yet it is easy to perceive, that without
this doctrine the whole fabric of Christianity must
fall to the ground. The mystery of the incarnation
must be involved in the question of the antecedent
and the eternal existence of the Son of God, who is
represented as the "brightness of his Father's glory,
and the express image of his person," Heb. i, 3 ; as
" God manifest in the flesh," 1 Tim. iii, 16 ; as "the
Word" who " was in the beginning with God, and
was God ;" and yet " was made flesh, and dwelt
among us ;" and " in whom all the fulness of the
Godhead dwelt bodily," John i, 1, 14 ; Col. ii, 9.
How could this take place, unless the Son eternally
existed in the bosom of tlie Father ! Then, again,
the whole sacrificial system of Christianity, together
with all its collateral provisions and blessings, must
rest in this mystery of the incarnation. The re-
demption-price, paid for our ransom and recovery,
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 33
depended, for its value, merit, and efficacy, on the
Deity of the suffering Saviour. The functions of
the Holy Ghost in the Christian economy are con-
nected with the doctrine of the trinity. How could'
he inspire the prophets and apostles, be poured out
on the day of Pentecost, enlighten the ignorant in
sin, convert the heart to God, bear witness, give life
and love, and dwell with bplievers as their constant
Comforter, unless he possessed personality and intel-
ligence ^ That we cannot comprehend this holy
verity, is no evidence that it is not one. In this, as
in many other similar cases, the revelation of the
truth as a truth is complete ; while the subject to
which it refers remains a mystery still.
But although the wisest of men cannot compre-
hend the mystery of the trinity, and its collateral
doctrines, the incarnation of Christ, and the person-
ality and official functions of the Holy Spirit ; yet
all can be inducted into the faith of these great
truths ; and, moreover, faith is the only principle
which can possibly meet the case. Doctrines which
cannot be understood, because of their abstract, ethe-
real, and exalted nature, can, when revealed, be be-
lieved. Neither is this faith irrational or unsustained,
when the oracle itself is proved to be divine. As a
fact, any of the doctrines in question can be admitted
by the mind, and all the economical and moral bene-
fit intended be attained ; while the metaphysics of the
fact are far too distant and sublime for comprehen-
sion. This must be the case respecting the entire
nature of God. No one can understand the fir.st
3
34 MKTHODISM fX ITS ORfGrN',
truth of the whole series relative to the Deity,-—
" God is a Spirit," any more than the divine attri-
butes in detail. Yet he can admit and believe the
•doctrine itself as unquestionable.
Hence, on this principle, the most barbarous, as
well as the most refined races, could be initiated into
the faith of the trinity, as well as the mysteries of
the incarnation and atonement. This we know to
have been the case, without any reserve. These
great articles of the Christian faith, in primitive
times, were taught to all. The elementary preach-
ing of the apostles embraced them ; and great was
the effect which such teaching produced. Their
admission, in their force and grandeur, into the mind
of even the most ignorant and besotted, transformed
every thing, within and without, in possession and
in prospect. The Saviour's sojourn in our flesh and
in our world brings the human family into perfectly
new relations ; and the world, it is seen, is occupied
and filled with God ; not merely in his spiritual be-
ing, and in his supreme government, but as one with
itself, clothed in the attire of flesh and blood, in con-
tact with all its evils, sympathizing in all its woes,
taking on himself the burden of its sins, and opening
a beautiful, holy, and eternal intercourse between the
material and the immaterial, — earth and heaven, — be-
tween the apostate human race and their reconciled
God and Father above. The eternal " Son of God,"
as such, comes down in the person of our Lord, to
meet man in his own humble dwelling place, to teach,
to work miracles, to suffer, and to die ; and then the
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 35
" Son of man," in the human nature, after the resur-
rection, ascended to heaven to hold high intercourse
with God, and to establish an indissoluble and glo-
rious fellowship between the Deity on his throne,
and man as redeemed. This doctrine, heartily re-
ceived through faith, was of itself sufficient to draw
men from their idolatrj^. Belief in the constantly
announced incarnation of'" Emmanuel, God with us,"
broke the spell of superstition, by bringing even pa-
gans to " know the true God, and Jesus Christ whom
he had sent ;" and filled them with adoring joy at the
discovery of the great love manifested to them.
This faith at once transformed the besotted idolater
into a devout worshipper of the one true God ; drew
him from an erroneous confidence in his "vain obla-
tions," to trust in the " one Lord ;" and presented to
his mind an open door of access to a new, spiritual,
and heavenly world.
We are speaking of the adaptation of faith only to
the provisions of the gospel. In further illustration
of this point, we mention the Scriptural doctrine of
salvation by grace ; that is, salvation as a free and
undeserved gift. If any truth of the Bible can be
said to be plain and clear, it is this. We are not
now merely referring to the primary blessings of the
gospel, as founded in the gift and sacrifice of Christ ;
but on the bestowment of its privileges on individual
man.
We ask, On what principle is this grant conferred ?
The answer is. That of grace. When the sorrow-
ful penitent is justified, and released from his liability
36 afETHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
to suffer the just penalty due to his guilt, he is par-
doned and accepted on the principle of spontaneous
grace. When from this point of a first acceptance,
other blessings are contemplated and sought, sanc-
tification, and all the rights and joys of the spiritual
life, the same rule is observed. Never, under any
circumstances, or in any state, from the first awa-
kening of the soul up to its highest attainable privi-
leges in holiness, can any one claim the blessings of
the gospel on the ground of legal right. If so, then
all these blessings must be of grace. Grace origin-
ated the gift of Christ ; his redemption itself, to us,
is infinite, unbounded, universal grace ; the treatment
of man on the principle and in the spirit of that re-
demption, (as in his calls, offer of repentance and
pardon, visitations of the Holy Spirit, and long-suf-
fering patience toward him in his sins,) is all of
grace ; and then, when the " day of redemption
draweth nigh," and salvation is experimentally given,
the movement of God toward the sinner, the act by
which he is justified, and the subsequent privileges
of his state, are all of grace.
It follows from this, that faith alone must be the
proximate instrument of salvation. Nothing else
answers to the doctrine of a gratuitous justification ;
and hence, whenever the twin truths of grace and
faith are held at all, they are held together. Truth
is always consistent with itself. Having in tender
and unbounded grace provided for the free forgive-
ness and salvation of the human race, the consistent
and harmonious condition of its reception is faith.
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 37
The first — salvation by grace — ^vas the new, the
heart-cheering, the sublime and glorious oracle set
up in the primitive church. This truth, so important
in itself, was not exhibited in apostolical teaching as
a beautilul abstraction, a mere principle, a remote
and distant settlement in the decrees of God. In
this sense the most cold and legal theologians will
often allow that salvation is of grace. But, although
they often accede to the general proposition, they
take care to set up an intervening power, in the form
of conditions, duties, penances, sufferings, sacra-
ments, and ceremonies, so as effectually to neutral-
ize the benefit. By these devices, though grace is
allowed to be the primary movement in the mind of
God, in the arrangements of the gospel dispensation,
yet, in the successive stages of its manifestation,
from the throne above to the heart of the sinner, it
becomes (in consequence of being received first
through one medium and then through another, all
having their separate conditions and ceremonies) no
grace at all, but rather a system of legal observances.
No objection is taken to the idea of this being the
spring-head of the blessings of the gospel, in the di-
vine purpose, if the benefit maybe modified by these
parties themselves. Put the grace of God under
ecclesiastical restraint, and then there is no objection
to the doctrine. Let this blessing flow through the
sacraments, and these be limited in their validity to
a particular priesthood, and that priesthood stand on
a self-defined succession ; then, on this ground, there
can be no objection to the doctrine in question.
38 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
The series of arrangements in the theory under
consideration are, first, grace in God as the origin
and cause of man's salvation ; then the sacraments
of the church, the channels and media of this grace ;
then the sacerdotal order, in their line only, as the
parties into whose hands these sacraments are in-
trusted ; then the imposition of such terms on the
commimicants as they think proper, under the notion
of " worthily receiving ;" and then on these condi-
tions the poor sinner is permitted to receive grace.
This, it is evident, is a fearful departure from the
manner in which the divine mercy was exhibited in
apostolic times. It was grace, not put under the
surveillance of man, but freely, directly, and imme-
diately exercised. The primitive doctrine pointed
the inquiring penitent to God as the author of his
salvation ; not by a circuitous route of forms and
works, but noio, at once. " This is the accepted
time, this is the day of salvation," 2 Cor. vi, 2. The
divine grace, as set forth in the sacred writings, is
not merely a plan, a scheme, a counsel, or the har-
monious operation of all these, to produce some mer-
ciful result for the advantage of man. In addition
to this, it is described as a gift, an act, an operation,
a power ; and all instant and direct. " Being justi-
fied by grace." How"? " It is God that justifieth."
"By grace are ye saved through faith." In what
way 1 " It is the gift of God." Tit. iii, 7 ; Rom. viii,
33 ; Eph. ii, 8.
All the concurrent blessings of a state of salvation
are spoken of as being of this nature. "Be ye re-
ECONOMY. AND PRESENT POSITION. 39
conciled to God," 2 Cor. v, 20. " We have peace
' with God," Rom. v, 1. " The love of God Is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is
given unto us," Rom. v, 5. " The disciples were
filled with joy and with the Holy Ghost," Acts xiii,
52. The kingdom of God is " not meat and drink,"
(Jewish or Christian sacrifices or ceremonies,) " but
righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost,"
Rom. xiv, 17. " Sin shall not have dominion over
you ; for ye are not under the law, but under grace,"
Rom. vi, 14. " Grace reigneth through righteous-
ness unto eternal life," Rom. v, 21. These are the
kind of expressions constantly employed to designate
divine grace in its ditTerent aspects. How remote
is this from the idea of grace lodged in what is call-
ed the church, to be doled out in some unintelligible
manner, on terms of her own ! By this notion, God,
in the infinitude of his love, the riches of his mercy,
and his readiness to hear prayer and save mankind,
is thrown into a dim, obscure, and mysterious dis-
tance, having no direct concern in the great business
of the sinner's salvation. But, on the other — the
apostolic — mode of teaching, he is brought nigh, and
through Christ is seen to " give ear to prayer," to
" stretch out his hand to save," to " pardon iniquity,
transgression, and sin ;" in an inexpressible " man-
ner of love" " to call" all true believers " sons of
God," to admit them, thus saved, to dwell in love
and in God ; for " God is love, and he that dwelleth
in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him." This
is the grace of God, a sovereign and immediate ex-
40 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
ercise of the divine love and power in the free be-
stowment of the privileges of experimental religion,
as promised in the gospel ; the gift of the Holy
Ghost in the renewal and sanctification of the soul ;
and all the light, joy, and consolation of the spiritual
life.
Faith is the only fitting instrmnent of receiving
this blessing, thus immediately conferred by the hand
of God. So we find it set forth in the New Testa-
ment. When other conditions are insisted upon,
they will sufficiently indicate, at once, that salvation
by grace, properly considered, has been abandoned.
Nothing can bring the guilty sinner to God for the
pardon of sin, or for any other blessing, as an act of
grace, but faith. If, in his prayers and religious
exercises, he seeks to open up a negotiation on the
principle of compromise ; (that is, that God should
abate some portions of his threatenings, on the ground
that he, the suppliant, should in future amend his
ways, and do God better service ;) or if, on the other
hand, in the mind and feelings of this person, the
transaction should assume the form of a commercial
and conditional interchange between himself and
God ; then, in either of these cases, there can be no
room for faith. The question then becomes altoge-
ther one of service and wages. Now, that this is
not in the spirit of the New Testament, must be evi-
dent. Had God designed to save the world by the
enactments of law, the costly provisions of redemp-
tion might have been spared. How could that be
accomplished, when, in fact, all men are transgres-
ECONOMV, AND PRESENT POSITION. 41
sors of that law ? The design of the Christian dis-
pensation was, clearly, to develop a perfectly different
truth ; namely, that God had established an immu-
table economy of grace ; that salvation should be a
free gift, and all its privileges and blessings con-
ferred as a gratuity ; and, besides, that faith alone
should be the condition. The one beautifully har-
monizes with the other, and both with the sinful state
of human nature. How can a guilty criminal be
saved otherwise than by grace 1 And what can he
do in his condition but " believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ," that he may "be saved]"
3. ^Vhile dwelling on the harmony of faith with
the provisions of the gospel, it may be as well, thirdly,
to consider the question in relation to the cross and
atonement of Christ.
We hear the apostle exclaiming, " God forbid that
I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ," Gal. vi, 14, and, " I determined not to know
any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him
crucified ; that your faith should not stand in the
wisdom of men, but in the power of God," 1 Cor. ii,
2, 5. And again : " We preach Christ crucified,
unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks
foolishness ; but unto them which are called, both
Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God," 1 Cor. i, 23, 24. This is the uni-
form language of all the apostles. The death of
Christ is set forth in their preaching as an " atone-
ment ;" a " propitiation ;" a " sacrifice to God ;" " a
redemption price ;" " an offering for sin."
42 MKTHODIS.M IN ITS ORIGIN,
This blood of the Saviour is ever laid at ihe foun-
dation of the entire scheme of experimental Christi-
anity. It is the only merit and rigliteousness, on the
ground of which Almighty God deals with man on
all the subjects of his salvation, listens to his prayers,
accepts his faith, pardons his transgressions, accounts
him righteous, takes him into favour and fellowship,
and invests him with the title to eternal life. This
sacrificial blood is that fountain, which, when applied
by the blessed Spirit, is represented as " washing
away sin," as well as " opening a new and living
way into the holiest ;" terms which indicate that
sanctification is not a mere habit, produced by the
combined influence of pre-existing principles of piety,
or attained by sacraments and means, but a grace
wrought in the soul through the atonement.
The sacrifice of Christ is also represented as the
foundation of the mediatorial throne, and constitutes
the formal plea of our great High Priest's interces-
sion. The gospel, as taught by the apostles, is full
of this great topic. The atonement meets us at
every point, not in mystei-ious and reserved enigmas,
types, and forms, which all belonged to the departed
dispensation, but as a great and literal truth. All
that God is seen to do in the exercise of mercy, the
diffusion of his Holy Spirit, the bestowment of pri-
vileges, and the inspirations of sacred joy, is through
the blood of the covenant. All that is required from
man, whether on his fiist approach to the mercy-
seat, or in all his subsequent exercises of faith and
piety, has reference to the sacrifice of Christ. This
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 43
doctrine of our Christianity, as set forth by its first
teachers, is not only exhibited as one truth among
many, of transcendant value and importance, but as
the grand central verity of the entire system, con-
necting itself with every other vital doctrine, so as
even to give it all its value and efficacy. Besides,
it is necessary to perceive all this, in order to a right
apprehension of the true gospel, and the exercise of
saving faith.
Let the mind fail to believe the atonement in any
of the required acts of piety, and then, not being " of
faith," they can be of no avail before God. Suppose
the ambassador of Christ be deficient in a clear, MI,
broad exhibition of the death of Christ for the sins
of the world ; would the message be the gospel 1 Or,
if this doctrine were faithfully preached, and the
auditory failed to " behold Christ, so jevidently set
forth, crucified among them ;" would their hearing
be " in faith, to the saving of the soul "?" If, again,
public prayers were oflfered up, either in a Liturgy
or otherwise, and he who presented the supplications
of the congregation to God neglected, or from a spi-
ritual blindness was unable, to recognise, appreciate?
and plead the atonement ; woidd such prayers avail
to avert the divine wnrath, draw down blessings, and
secure the gift of the Holy Spirit 1 But more : in
case the sacrament of the Lord's supper is adminis-
tered, according to the most approved forms, and yet
both the administrator and the recipients be incapa-
ble, for want of faith, to " show forth the Lord's
death," and spiritually to eat " the Lord's body and
44 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
drink his blood ;" is it conceivable that the grace of
this sacrament can be attained 1 The atonement is
not simply laid in the hidden counsels of God, as the
basis on which he chooses to bestow all grace ; but
it is made the object of faith to the sinner in every
service and exercise of religion. Every thing, how-
ever exact in order, is defective in its absence. It
is, in truth, " the alpha and the omega, the first and
the last," in the matter connected with our salvation.
Even the law could be of no avail without the death
of Christ. It could not have force as a rule of holi-
ness and obedience, for the simple reason, that it
would be impracticable through the sin and infirmity
of man. It could be of no value as a remedy for the
guilt of man, because in its mere precepts and com-
mands we have nothing saving. But all this is
changed, when viewed in connection with the sacri-
fice of the cross, and the grace which follows. It is
then a " schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that
we might be justified by faith," Gal. iii, 24. In like
manner the gospel, as a mere revelation of great
truths, of light and information, could not, without
the atonement, lead to any saving result. The dis-
ease and misery of man is not intellectual privation :
it is a moral malady, the disease of sin. But then
sin is an offence against God, a transgression of his
law, the pollution and ruin of the soul, the deep-
seated fountain and spring of all evil acts and habits.
And this, again, implies guilt, and an exposure to
eternal damnation. What instruction could reach
this case^ Light, however ftiU, and teaching, how-
KCONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 45
ever profound, could only aggravate the misery of
such a state by the revelation of its dreadful import-
ance ; while the danger v/ould be altogether un-
touched. But the atonement, connected with this
light, entirely alters its character. The revelation
of our own corrupt, miserable, guilty, and dangerous
state, then becomes of the nature of a mercy, because,
instead of a perplexity and cause of irritation, it is
seen, that " we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins," Eph. i, 7. Moreover, the
higher revelation of God, and his glorious dwelling-
place in heaven, surrounded by blessed beings, the
happy subjects of his eternal kingdom, when viewed
in the light of the cross of our Lord, becomes attract-
ive and joyful. His anger is propitiated, his wrath
is turned aside, his throne is a throne of love ; he is
accessible, even here, to faith and prayer, and here-
after to the disembodied spirit in vision and glory.
All other lessons of knowledge are vitally affected
by this truth. Place the cross in the centre of the
most glowing and exalted pictures of spiritual hap-
piness, and they all become vivid realities ; without
it, painted baubles. " The blood of the covenant,"
placed by the side of the most difficult obligations
and duties of holiness, makes the whole practicable
and easy ; while its absence from this branch of the
truth renders it utterly ineffective. Let the "Lamb
that was slain" be present in the darkest scenes of
this world, and then the most burdensome crosses,
afflictions, privations, and miseries — even to impri-
sonment and the martyr's grave — are possible, and
46 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGI.V,
may be made joyfiJ. If the atonement is not every
truth in one, yet it is essential to the vahie and vita-
lity of every other doctrine.
4. This faith the apostles sought to establish uni-
versally.
They bore the doctrine of the crucifixion into the
temple, whore Jesus had taught, and performed his
miracles ; into the hall where he had been arraigned
and condemned ; to Calvary, where he had died.
They proclaimed the efficiency of his blood to wash
away sin to the multitudes who had clamoured to
shed it, taken pleasure in the agonies of the sufferer,
and participated in the guilt of his murder ; they
preached it, as the means of peace and reconcilia-
tion, to the distracted and agitated authorities, the
skeptical and divided nation then filling up the mea-
sure of its iniquities ; and held out hope, through it,
of continued mercy from God to his ancient people.
But they did not stop at Jerusalem. They confront-
ed the polished philosophers of Athens with the
story of the crucifixion, and the doctrine of the re-
surrection ; they entered into the voluptuous regions
of Antioch, and turned the hopes and fears of the
Christian doctrine against the tide of sensual dissi-
pation ; they nobly met the Cesars at the head of
their martial hosts, with no other weapon in the un-
equal contest than the cross ; they visited the impe-
rial city itself, and planted this tree of life in the
midst of its numerous, rich, powerful, but idolatrous
population ; they built the Christian altar by the side
of the fanes of superstition, and challenged its priest-
ECOXOMV, AND PRESKNT POSITION. 47
hood and its devotees to the trial of the divinity and
saving efficiency of the truth they taught ; and, repu-
diating all human distinctions on religious questions,
they proclaimed the same " blood of sprinkling" to
the slaves of the lords of the world, and the barba-
rians of the provinces. They trusted not in the na-
tural adaptation of this doctrine for effects ; — and yet
such adaptation exists ; — but they relied on its divi-
nity. They had received their conmiission from
God their Saviour : this was sufficient for them : it
stood in the place of demonstration, as to the fitness
of such a doctrine to save the world ; and they knew
that a commission which bore the sign-manual of the
Godhead could neither be untrue nor ineffective.
The effect was one. It brought all the believers
in Christ to salvation. But although the grace was
to all the same in character and privilege, and, in its
purely .spiritual effects, identical ; yet the fruits were
multitudinous and diversified. The lofty were brought
low, and the poor exalted ; " the wise in their own
conceits" were made foolish, and the ignorant and
brutish were taught wisdom ; the free in pleasure
and sin were " placed under the law to Christ," and
the enslaved to .Satan were made free in the Lord ;
those who had imagined themselves near, the elect,
the chosen seed, the children of Abraham, found
themselves afar off, and those who were really so
were " made nigh by the blood of Christ ;" the self-
righteous, who considered themselves deified by in-
nate virtues, saw their idols dethroned and expelled,
and, becoming " poor in spirit, were made rich." In
48 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
fine, wlieiever the doctrine of salvation by Jesus
Christ was proclaimed in its owtt unadorned simpli-
city, there the true Christian faith sprang up in its
evidences of divinity and power, irrespective of the
nation, the prejudices, the moral state, and the super-
stition and ignorance of the people.
We linger about the cross : how should it be other-
wise ■? Talk of primitive doctrine ! this is primitive
doctrine ; the first in the order of time, as preached
by the apostles after they had received " power from
on high," — "the promised gift of the Father;" the
first in importance in that " analogy of faith" which
they so richly, fully, and perfectly taught ; the first
economically, as the instrument in all their labours
to found the church and to convert the world.
The primitive Christians were believers in this
grand truth ; and their spiritual privileges and im-
mortal hopes rested upon it. By its energizing force
upon the mind, and, through that, upon society, all
that we witness in ancient times was WTOught. Like
a fire, it melted down i;^ its progress all fond con-
ceits, philosophical theories, mythological systems?
superstitious worship, and unreal sacrifices ; and then
planted in their place the temple of God, adorned in
all truth and holiness, into which the tribes and na-
tions of the world eagerly pressed to do homage to
the " Man of sorrows." Till unmeaning supersti-
tions took the place of the true doctrine of the cross,
it was omnipotent. It taught the guilty to find rest
to their weary and afllicted spirits ; in its mercy and
merit, it established an open way of access to God
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 49
on the one hand, and a medium through which he
could display his grace and love on the other ; it con-
stituted a channel tlirough which the effusions of the
Holy Spirit might be poured forth upon the world ;
it exerted an ameliorating, softening, and healing in-
fluence on hiunan society ; it broke down, wherever
received, the enmities and ferocities of man against
man, by producing a new creation after the image of
God ; and, moreover, it founded a religious brother-
hood among men, a new family of God, consisting of
all races, kindreds, ranks, and colours. This is
faith in the cross; and these are some of its results.
Now the true subject of investigation at this
point, is,
II. Whether it has pleased almighty God to make
our doctrines and ordinances the means of produc-
ing a living faith, in agreement with that of primi-
tive times.
It is scarcely necessary to remark here, that this
has been regarded as a vital question from the be-
ginning. Directly or indirectly, the whole principle
and plan of Methodism, in its origin, progress, and
standing, turns on the doctrine of faith. Not " the
faith," as articles of religion merely ; which view of
the case has usually occupied the attention of con-
troversialists in their debates as to whether they and
others were true churches, or the contrary. This
point has not been neglected. The truth has been
regarded as essential, as the foundation of the church,
and also as the only authorized means of the spread
of religion. But, in union with the desire to secure
4
50 METHODISiM IN ITS ORIGIN,
the fundamental doctrines of Scripture, a main ob-
ject, and indeed the chief and leading purpose of all
that has been attempted, has been the spread of a
living and experimental faith, with its fruits and re-
sults. It has ever been held as an axiom not to be
controverted, that when the doctrines of Scripture
are proclaimed, and acted upon, by a professedly
Christian church, in their ov^^n legitimate spirit, they
must be sanctioned by the blessing of God, accom-
plish the end for which they are given, and lead, as
a consequence, to the spiritual life and salvation of
all who believe. For the sake of distinctness, it may
be remarked,
1. That Methodism was originated, and its dis-
tinctive characteristics were created, by the experi-
mental adoption of this principle.
The leading features of this great religious move-
ment, in the beginning, related to certain assigned
effects of faith. It was a successful attempt to carry
out, into living reality, the blessings which are found
in the word of God to be connected with its descrip-
tions of " the belief of the truth." The point from
whence its operations began was the present, con-
scious, divinely attested salvation of man by faith.
This doctrine was the seed of the harvest which fol-
lowed, the germinant power whence it grew, and has
hitherto been the leaven of its increase and the
means of its prosperity. Unlike most other revivals
of religion, it had not its rise in an attempted reform-
ation of existing creeds, or in the formation of eccle-
siastical canons and church orders, but in preaching
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 51
the cross of Christ, and a vehement invitation to lost
sinners to "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ."
The case of the founders of Methodism personally,
is, in this point of view, deeply interesting.
It is known that the two Wesleys obtained evan-
gelical faith about the same time, and under peculiar
circumstances ; moreover, that though their minis-
try did not originate in this change, or at this period,
— for they had received holy orders some time pre-
viously, and exercised their ministry most laborious-
ly, — yet the spiritual work of God, of which they
were the instruments, took its rise from this circum-
stance, and began with the personal faith and expe-
rhnental enjoyments of these two eminent servants
of God. No sooner had they attained justification
and assurance, than they began to proclaim them
abroad, as " upon the house-top," to all within the
sphere of their influence. Learning, purity, zeal,
self-denial, charity, and ministerial labours, of the
most gigantic nature, distinguished these eminent
men before ; but, being destitute of these blessings,
they had no power for usefulness, beyond a general
impression and service rendered to an ecclesiastical
system.
The elder of the brothers, and the leader of the
work, has traced his own case in the most graphic
and touching manner. On his return from America
he says : " It is now two years and almost four
months since I left my native country, in order to
teach the Indians the nature of Christianity. But
what have I learned myself in the mean time ■? Why,
52 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
(what I least of all expected,) that I, who went to
America to convert others, was never myself con-
verted to God. ' I am not mad,' though I thus
speak ; but ' I speak the words of truth and sober-
ness ;' if haply some of those who still dream may
awake, and see that as I am, so are they." "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 ' alienated' as I am ' from the life of God,' I am
' a child of wrath,' an heir of hell ; that my owti
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 my-
self to plead, I have no hope, but that of being justi-
fied freely, ' through the redemption that is in Jesus :'
I have no hope, but that, if I seek, I shall find Christ,
and be found in him, ' not having my own righteous-
ness, 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 misei-able comfort-
ers,) I answer. So have the devils, — a sort of faith ;
but still they are strangers to the covenant of j)ro-
ECOXOMV, AND PRES-ENT POSITION. 53
mise. So the apostles had even at Cana of 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 for-
given, 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 can have without know-
ing 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 destroy-
ed' in him : he is freed from fear, having ' peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and rejoic-
ing 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.' "
Speaking of his views and state at the time above
referred to, he again remarks : " In my return to
England, January, 1738, being in imminent danger
of death, and very uneasy on that account, I was
strongly convinced that the cause of that uneasiness
was unbelief; and that the gaining a true, living
faith, was the ' one thing needful' for me. But still
54 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
I fixed not this faitli on its right object : I meant only
faith in God, not faith in or through Christ. Again :
I knew not that I was wholly void of this faith ; but
only thought I had not enough of it. So that when
Peter Bolder, whom God prepared for me as soon as
I came to London, affirmed of true faith in Christ,
(which is but one,) that it had those two fruits inse-
parably attending it, ' dominion over sin, and con-
stant peace from a sense of forgiveness ;' I was
quite amazed, and looked upon it as a new gospel.
If this was so, it was clear I had not faith. But I
was not willing to be convinced of this. Therefore,
I disputed with all my might, and laboured to prove
that faith might be where these were not ; especially
where the sense of forgiveness was not ; for, all the
scriptures relating to this, I had been long since
taught to construe away ; and to call all Presbyte-
rians who spoke otherwise. Besides, I well saw,
no one could, in the nature of things, have such a
sense of forgiveness, and not feci it. But I felt it
not. If then there was no faith without this, all my
pretensions to faith dropped at once."
After further describing his various inquiries and
exercises on the subject, Mr. Wesley refers to the
period and circumstances of his attainment of faith.
" In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a soci-
ety in Aldersgate-street, when one was reading Lu-
ther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About
a quarter before nine, while he was describing the
change which God works in the heart through faith
in Christ. I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 55
I did trust in Christ — Christ alone, for salvation :
and an assurance was given me, that he had taken
away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law
of sin and death."
This is the point whence our work, in its divine,
its saving, and its vitally powerful character, began :
it is "the work of faith." This gift and its attend-
ant blessing being attained by both the Wesleys,
their " word was in power ;" sinners trembled under
the sense of its searching light ; and soon great
numbers found the " pearl of great price." This
experimental faith and salvation stood variously con-
nected with the origination of our cause.
From this time they began properly to preach the
gospel. They had laboured with all their energy
and ability to establish the " righteousness of the
law." They beheld the fulness of the divine com-
mand requiring holiness and obedience ; and by va-
rious modes — as fasting, prayer, weekly communion,
diligent attention to all the ordinances of the Lord's
house, self-denial and mortification, together with
the visitation of the sick, and other acts of charity —
sought to obey this law, and attain to the required
purity ; and that which they observed themselves,
they diligently taught to others. In addition to this,
they soared into mystic regions, and, by various
mental exercises, sought to ingraft these principles
and tastes on their active habits of practical piety
and devotion. But all this time they neither knew
nor preached the doctrines of the new covenant.
Like all men destitute of personal and experimental
56 METHODISM I\ ITS ORIGIN,
faith, they never thought of offering pardon to the
guilty tlirough the alone merits of Jesus Christ.
Nothing short of this is the gospel. Guilty, help-
less, and runied man can only be saved from his
condemnation by a free justification, and from the
depravity of his nature by the new birth. Whatever
else men may preach, if their ministry does not in-
clude these great provisions of divine grace, their
message is defective or false. How evangelical
effects can be expected in the absence of ev'angelical
truth, it is difficult to imagine ; and it is most cer-
tain that they are never found. This was the fact
with these eminent men. Their zeal and talents
made an impression, but did not save souls. Many
were attracted, delighted, or offended, as the case
might be ; but none were led to the Lord Jesus
Christ, none were constituted new creatures, none
attained either to the joy or the purity of the Chris-
tian character. How, indeed, should it be so, when
the instrument they employed was not the doctrine
of the cross 1 But no sooner had they attained to
faith themselves, than they saw the true nature and
substance of the gospel ; and, instead of preaching
old and ineffective dogmas, gathered from " the tra-
ditions of the fathers," the schools of the moralists,
and the reveries of the Mystics, they drew their doc-
trine, fresh and full, from the sacred oracles, and
nobly and broadly set forth " the truth as it is in Je-
sus." The perplexities through which they had
passed showed them the necessity of precision and
simplicity. Hence they not only taught the truth,
ECONOMY, AND PRESKN'T POSITION". 57
but Studiously stripped it of all external and adven-
titious appendages, and exhibited it in all its force
and power, because in its own unmixed purity and
massive greatness. In fact, the success of Method-
ism began, where success must always begin, in the
preaching of the tiue gospel. Thus the personal
faith of the leaders of the work stood connected with
the work itself, just as the conversion of St. Paul
was associated with his mission to the Gentiles, and
as the attainment of evangelical views and enjoy-
ments by the reformers was identified with the
churches they established, and with the Articles and
Liturgies they provided for the edification of the
people.
It is a well-established fact, that the human intel-
lect is perfectly insufficient of itself to apprehend the
spiritual and saving nature of Christianity. Men
without the Spirit are without the faculty to under-
stand or to teach the gospel. They may possess
great learning, acuteness, mental power, and elo-
quence ; they may manifest equal zeal, industry,
self-denial, and charity ; they may labour with the
utmost sincerity in the support, vindication, and ex-
tension of an ecclesiastical system ; and yet, if with-
out conversion to God, it will not be the gospel they
preach ; and, strange to say, they will be ignorant
of the defect. Hence, the great change which now
took place in the state of the founders of Method-
ism had the effect of opening their eyes to a true
knowledge of the Christian dispensation itself, and,
consequently, led to its adoption as the only legiti-
58 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
mate means of bringing tlie lost and profligate masses
of mankind to a knowledge of salvation.
But the effect of this great change was not only to
enable them to comprehend the gospel in its substance,
but to give them the poiver to teach the manner of its
attainment. Up to this time they had been, as Mr.
Wesley says, " beating the air." Strenuous, even
to severity, in urging all to whom they had the op-
portunity of preaching, or otherwise addressing, to
observe, even to the letter, all the canons, rubrics,
and ascetic rules they could possibly discover, how-
ever obsolete in practice, in the discipline of the
church ; they failed in teaching the evangelical way
of " repentance toward God, and faith toward our
Lord Jesus Christ." Their principles and feelings
would have admirably fitted them to found some
new religious or monastic order ; and by the force
of their example, and the severity of their morality,
to attract, consolidate, and build up a numerous soci-
ety. But with the new views and feelings which
they attained at this period, instead of expending
their energies in creating a system which might s)rm-
bolize with the ancient monastic orders, they felt
that they were in possession of a power which might
be employed among the " chief of sinners," in diffus-
ing the blessed privileges of divine grace. From
this elevation, a new light, and a new world, burst
on their astonished minds. The nations of sinful
men lay before them in their helpless ignorance and
guilt ; but they now saw that they were redeemed
by the blood of the cross : and the sight not only
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 59
awakened feelings of pity and love unfelt before, but,
with the evidence of their own salvation by simple
faith, which they then enjoyed in all its freshness,
they also felt that they possessed the means of lead-
ing others to the same state of salvation, and also
that the progress of such a work need not be limited
to time or place. The conviction rested on them
with all the force of a divine demonstration, that to
hide their " light under a bushel" would be criminal.
With all their predilections in favour of elegant scho-
larship, and a university life, they did not dare to con-
tinue in this honourable seclusion ; and, breaking
through every attraction, they rushed into every " open
door," to make known the way of salvation by faith.
This was the burden of their message. Having only
one thing to seek — the present salvation of sinners —
and knowing that there is only one method of enjoy-
ing this blessing, they employed no modes of finesse,
or abstruse and complicated policy, to accomplish
their purpose. With a directness which only such
a feeling can inspire, they everywhere proclaimed
Christ, and urged upon all the privilege of embrac-
ing in him a present state of pardon, acceptance, and
peace with God.
We find no theoretic doctrine of preparation essen-
tial to success ; no plans of moral or social amelio-
ration put in operation ; no normal schools of train-
ing established to educate sinners into a capacity
and fitness to be saved ; no refined methods of im-
proving the intellect, and polishing the manners of
the rude barbarians to be sought and converted,
60 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
adopted. Nothing of this kind appears. With en-
tire confidence in the independent sufficiency of "the
gospel," as " the power of God unto salvation," we
behold the messengers of mercy take their stand in
the midst of listening thousands, in the open air ; and
while they are declaring the glad tidings of salvation,
many, who came in ignorance, indifference, and
often in scorn and derision, were arrested in their
career of sin, brought into a penitent state, and, be-
fore the close of the service, by faith in the Saviour,
entered into liberty, and found the peace and favour
of God. Thus the acquisition of faith, in the case
of our founders, enabled them, not merely to teach
the gospel as an abstract truth, but to employ it as
a mighty instrmnent for the recovery of man to the
favour and image of God. Hence, besides the indi-
vidual justification of these great men, two conse-
quences arose out of their attainment of saving faith,
in connection with the work of which they were the
instruments : it inducted them into a true perception
of the gospel itself, and prepared them to teach all
other men the way of attaining its blessings.
2. The unanimity with which the doctrine of sal-
vation hi/ faith only was adopted as the basis of the
operation of the united ministry of the body, must be
also considered.
In the first conference ever held, this became the
chief subject of consideration. It is stated that,
" after some time spent in prayer, the design of
our meeting was proposed ; namely, to consider,
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 61
(1.) What to teach ; and, (2.) What to do ; that is,
how to regulate our doctrine, discipline, and practice.
"We began by considering the doctrine of justifi-
cation : the questions relating to which, with the
substance of the answers given thereto, were as fol-
lows : —
" (1.) What is it to be justified 1 To be pardoned,
and received into God's favour, into such a state,
that if we continue therein, we shall be finally saved.
(2.) Is faith the condition of justification ? Yes ; for
every one who believeth not is condemned ; and every
one who believes is justified. (3.) But must not re-
pentance, and works meet for repentance, go before
this faith 1 Without doubt ; if by repentance you
mean conviction of sin ; and by works meet for re-
pentance, obeying God as far as we can, forgiving
our brother, leaving oflf evil, doing good, and using
his ordinances according to the power we have re-
ceived. (4.) What is faith? Faith in general is a
divine, supernatural elenchos of things not seen ; that
is, of past, future, or spiritual things. It is a spirit-
ual sight of God, and the things of God. First, a
sinner is convinced, by the Holy Ghost, ' Christ
loved me, and gave himself for me.' This is that
faith by which he is justified or pardoned, the mo-
ment he receives it. Immediately the same Spirit
bears witness, ' Thou art pardoned ; thou hast re-
demption in his blood.' And this is saving faith,
whereby the love of God is shed abroad in his heart.
(5.) Have all Christians this faith ? May not a man
62 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIX,
be justified, and not know it ? That all true Chris-
tians have such a faith as implies an assurance of
God's love, appears from Rom. viii, 15 ; Eph. iv,
32 ; 2 Cor. xiii, 5 ; Heb. viii, 10 ; 1 John iv, 10 ;
V, 19. And that no man can be justified, and not
know it, appears further from the nature of the thing.
For faith after repentance, is ease after pain, rest
after toil, light after darkness. It appears also from
the immediate, as well as distant, fruits thereof.
(6.) But may not a man go to heaven without it ? It
does not appear from Holj- Writ, that a man who
hears the gospel can, (Mark xvi, 16,) whatever a
heathen may do. Rom. ii, 14. (7.) What are the
immediate fruits of justif3'ing faith 1 Peace, joy, love,
power over all outward sin, and power to keep down
inward sin. (8.) Does any one believe, who has not
the witness in himself, or any longer than he sees,
loves, and obeys God 1 We apprehend not ; seeing
God being the very essence of faith ; love and obe-
dience the inseparable properties of it. (9.) What
sins are consistent with justifying faith 1 No wilful
sin. If a believer wilfully sins, he casts away his
faith. Neither is it possible he should have jus-
tifying faith again, without previously repenting.
(10.) Must every believer come into a state of doubt,
or fear, or darkness ? Will he do so, unless by igno-
rance or unfaithfulness ? Does God otherwise with-
draw himself? It is certain, a believer need never
again come into condemnation. It seems, he need
not come into a state of doubt, or fear, or darkness :
and that (ordinarily, at least) he will not, unless by
ECONOMV, A.VD PRESENT POSITION. 63
ignorance or unfaithfulness. Yet it is true, that the
first joy does seldom last long ; that it is commonly
followed by doubts and fears ; and that God frequent-
ly permits great heaviness, before any large mani-
festation of himself. (11.) Are works necessary to
the continuance of faith '? Without doubt ; for a man
may forfeit the free gift of God, either by sins of
omission or commission. (12.) Can faith be lost,
but for the want of works 1 It cannot but through
disobedience. (13.) How is faith made perfect hy
xoorksl The more we exert our faith, the more
it is increased. To him that hath shall be given.
(14.) St. Paul says, Abraham was not justified by
works; St. James, he i^as justified by works. Do they
not contradict each other 1 No. (i.) Because they do
not speak of the same justification. St. Paul speaks
of that justification which was when Abraham was
seventy-five years old, above twenty years before
Isaac was born ; St. James, of that justification
which was when he offered up Isaac on the altar,
(ii.) Because they do not speak of the same works ;
St. Paul speaking of the works which precede faith ;
St. James, of works which spring from it."
These questions indicate the fact, that this system
began, not in a theoretic, but an experimental, faith ;
and this, it is seen, was made the basis of the plan
of operations then determined upon. This is cer-
tainly identical with primitive Christianity. During
the life of the apostles, and indeed down to the close
of the sacred canon, we hear of nothing but religion
in an experimental form. Christianity was then a
64 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
class of great truths, and its disciples were taught to
imbody its blessings in their own hearts. Chris-
tians, at the period in question, possessed no exter-
nal power ; and they sought not to commend their
cause to the acceptance of the world by any motives
drawn from considerations of church order and eco-
nomy. They addressed themselves to the heart.
They bore in their commission the means of salva-
tion, and they made the offer : this was the case
with our fathers. Like the first teachers of the gos-
pel, they began their work where all evil has its seat,
the inmost soul. Their object was not to rear an
external fabric, but by working from the outer to the
inner man, — from the forms and shadows in which
men were entrenched, — to treat with them on the
subject of a vital faith in Christ, and pardon through
his blood.
We are taunted with the Popish objection to the
Reformation : " Where was your religion before
Luther !" This is repeated, in spirit and substance,
at least. The answer is. In the Bible : and the first
act of the awakened mind of our founder and his co-
adjutors was to abandon every human rule of faith,
and adopt the word of God alone. They fled from
their old, shattered, and ineffective confidence in ec-
clesiastical authority, and rested exclusively in the
teaching of Christ and his apostles. After discover-
ing the sufficiency of this in their own case, they
sought to make it the sole foundation of the work in
which they were engaged.
In the first instance, Methodism in its organized
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 65
form was nothing- more nor less than the union of a
few ministers, for the purpose of recognising the
Bible as the foundation of their faith, and taking
counsel with each other as to the best method of pro-
pagating the truth they had found. They felt that
the gospel of the blessed God possessed an absolute
supremacy ; that it could not, innocently, be made
subordinate to the laws of man. They knew, by a
divine persuasion, as well as by the testimony of
their hearts, that it was their duty to hold this de-
posite as from God, to consider themselves as " stew-
ards of the mysteries of his kingdom ;" that they
were accountable, chiefly and primarily, to the Head
of the church, from whom alone they had received
the double grace, — salvation, and a call to the minis-
try ; were bound, under the penalty of his maledic-
tion, to " preach the faith'' they once, in effect and
practice, attempted "to destroy." They would
gladly have built their work on the old foundations,
had they been permitted ; and fulfilled the commis-
sion which they had received, within the existing
ecclesiastical limits of the national Church. But,
this not being the case, they considered themselves
obliged to " hold fast their divine vocation," and
make the truth known, as was done by its first
teachers, in its own naked and unadorned simplicity,
and beyond the line and limits of any prescribed
order.
The whule question respecting the lawfulness of
this movement terminates in this, namely, whether
the divine commission given to these holy men was,
'66 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
in its nature, subordinate to human authority, or ab-
soKite, and consequently binding, irrespective of this
authority. The principle, wc grant, is as applica-
ble, whichever way the truth may lie, to others as to
them. It is evident from facts, that our fathers felt
the truth to be absolute ; that they had no choice as
to their own duty, and were obliged to consider tlie
gospel, both in its own nature and their holding it,
as supreme in itself Were they in error, or did
they judge wisely in this ? The case is a plain one.
They had obtained an experimental faith, and thus
acquired a religious fitness ; they were " moved by
the Holy Ghost" to take upon them the holy minis-
try, and thus possessed an official call. They had,
through the spiritual light which they obtained,
gained a clear knowledge of the gospel itself, and
were qualified to teach it ; they were urged by the
vows of God, which were upon them, to a faithful
discharge of their great duty. Besides, they saw
clearly that the state of the world around them made
it necessary that this saving truth should be plainly
and generally taught, or otherwise the people must
perish in their sins. But at tiiis point ecclesiastical
laws and authority interposed to prevent the general
proclamation of that which they knew to be divine
truth ; and the question arose, as to the weight of
obligation imposed upon them by their divine voca-
tion, and also the nature of that authority and those
rules by which they were obstructed in their course.
In striking the balance, they concluded rightly, that
religion — in its own divinity being from God, in its
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 67
inspired records being full and perfect, and in its
Head (Jesus Christ, as the Lord of his own king-
dom) supreme — could not be subordinated to an eco-
nomy which, in its canons, was only human ; in fine,
that the divine, the moral, the saving, and conse-
quently absolute, claims of the gospel are transcend-
ently above the conditional obedience which must be
given to the authority of man, when applied to the
subject of religion. When the alternative came
practically before them for consideration, — whether
it was their duty to obey that divine and speaking
principle of faith within them, which was no other
than the voice of God ; or the authority which was
speaking without them by the laws of the Church,
which was no other than the voice of man, and went
to contravene and silence the other, — they hesitated
not. On the other hand, they " conferred not with
flesh and blood," but " went forth everywhere, the
Lord vi-orking with them, and confirmed the word
with signs following." Thus Methodism originated
in the adoption of the Bible as its foundation and
rule, a living and saving faith as its moving and en-
ergizipg power, the spread of religion and the salva-
tion of man as its object : believing in the divinity
of its vocation, it claimed to be free from the coer-
cion of human laws ; and, " following the command-
ment of God," it saw that it not only possessed the
right, but was under " constraint" arising out of " a
dispensation of the gospel" being " committed" to it,
to make it known to the greatest possible extent.
The validity of these claims must be sought in its fruits.
68 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGI>r,
3. The steadiness with which this faith has been
held from the beginning must be noticed.
From the first moment when it pleased God to
" reveal his Son" in the hearts of our founders, to
the present period, the theory of our system has, at
least, been the same. This uniformity and steadi-
ness of principle has been maintained in the midst
of every possible form of temptation and opposition.
The introduction of this primary truth to public
attention instantly aroused general indignation, as if
some unheard-of heresy had sprung up. Enthusi-
asm, amounting to madness, was attributed to the
parties holding the obnoxious sentiment, avowing, as
they did, their own personal possession of the bless-
ings they taught. For men to affirm the doctrines
of faith, and then to corroborate their preaching by
the profession of personal assurance, excited as much
astonishment and indignation at the time, as if the
most pestiferous, immoral, and dangerous tenets had
been broached. But this feeling was greatly height-
ened, when, by the simple and lucid preaching of this
faith and salvation as a common blessing, the multi-
tudes in Moorfields, Kingswood, Newcastle, Corn-
wall, and the cities and villages of the nation, were
moved, like the waves of the sea, and, falling under
the power of the word, cried out, that " God was
among them of a truth." The thing became more
intolerable still, when it was discovered that great
numbers among the ignorant, the notoriously wicked,
and brutally barbarous of the poorer classes profess-
ed to believe in Christ, to enjoy a present pardon and
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 69
peace, to know the love of God, and to be new crea-
tures. This was considered nothing less than blas-
phemy ; and hence they were to be assaulted at all
points. Mitred, clerical, and enidite opponents girt
on their armour, to write down the doctrinal truths
of the Bible and of their own Church ; to prove that
the notion of spiritual intluence, and its implied re-
sults, the conversion of the heart, and sensible reli-
gious enjoyments, were the dreams of the rankest
fanaticism ; that the distress of penitents, attended
as it was by painful agonies of mind, and the joys of
pardoned believers, could be nothing but the effect
of s}Tnpathy and animal excitement ; and, moreover,
that the pretended reformations from habitual vice,
and the practice of every domestic, social, and per-
sonal virtue, were only the colourings and assump-
tions of hypocrisy. These charges and assaults were
reiterated in every shape, from the reasonings of
sober orthodoxy to the rank ribaldry of raving pas-
sion. But, to our admiration and gratitude, our
fathers stood firm in the midst of this opposition,
" strong in faith, giving glory to God." No princi-
ple was ever compromised to meet a difficulty ; no
truth of God was ever surrendered to soften the as-
perities of, or to conciliate, an opponent ; and no
obvious course of duty, in seeking the " lost sheep
of the house of Israel," was ever deviated from, on
the assumption, that these souls were not sought
canonically. The frowns of power, the storms of
popular fury and persecution, the sarcasms of the
profane, the scorn of the rationalists of the age, the
70 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
pointed and powerful opposition of the " church-
principle" men of those times, all failed to drive them
from their position on that " rock" on which the
church is truly built, and against which the gates of
hell cannot prevail.
4. Hence it is appropriate to remark here, that
this work of God has uniformly progressed by the
simple operation of this fundamental truth.
We have the means and opportunity of examining
the question from three or four several points, each
somewhat different in its aspect, and yet all uniting
to produce one general result. We refer to the
church at the period of the early development of
this doctrine of faith ; its effects on the general
masses of society ; and its remarkable success in
superstitious and idolatrous nations. But before we
proceed to these several points of illustration, it may
clear our course to remark,
1.) That Methodism has ever, uniformly and
universally, employed the doctrine of faith, as the
primary and appointed instrument of saving mankind.
There is, in our apprehension, a difference be-
tween a church being founded on even an evangeli-
cal system of doctrines, and those doctrines being
employed as instruments in carrying out the ends of
such an arrangement, in the salvation of the people.
The Articles of the Establishment, for instance, have
always, since the period of its foundation, been the
acknowledged doctrinal system of the Church. But
it would be idle to affirm, that these doctrines have
been employed in every age, and by all the clergy,
ECONOMY, AXD PRESENT POSITION. 71
to secure the beneficial purposes designed. Every
one knows that at this very moment these doctrines
are ahogether denied, or their true meaning per-
verted, while the practical fruits contemplated by
the founders of the Church, (namely, the salvation of
the people, through faith in these fundamental veri-
ties,) are now sought to be effected by other, and, as
we think, insufficient, and indeed antagonist, means.
That the truth so lucidly set forth in the Articles
was designed as the instrument of the nation's train-
ing, from age to age, is clear enough from the cir-
cumstance, that the same truth is imbodied in the
Homilies which were composed for popular use, and
appointed to be read to the people.
But the Tractarians no longer trust to this evan-
gelical system for effect. They decry the principles
of the Reformation which sought, as its first duty,
to overthrow the working of a scheme of a dark and
superstitious period, and, after disentangling the
doctrines of the gospel from the infinhe series of
errors which darkened their lustre, to exhibit them
to the world in their own unmixed simplicity. This
noble work is now repudiated ; and, instead of look-
ing for a blessing from God in the spiritual life and
happiness of men, by the truths of their own Arti-
cles received by faith, they now either deny those
doctrines altogether, or seek — as was the case in the
dark days of Popery — to imbed them in sacramental
and other forms, and look for good and useful effects,
not from the truth, but from that which they consider
its visible symbol.
72 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
By tliis means the Church, in its offices, and not
in the gospel which it teaches, aims to become the
great operator in the extension of rehgion : what
that religion will become, may easily bo divined.
The assertion of St. Paul is, that " the church is the
pillar and ground of the truth ;" but according to
the old practice of Popery, and the new practice of
Puseyism, allowed and tolerated in the Church of
England to an alarming, and, for any thing which
can be foreseen, may soon become so to a universal,
extent, he ought to have said, that the church was
the " pillar and ground" of sacraments ; that these
are the only objects on which the ignorant multitude
need gaze, and from them, as from the rock smitten
by the rod of Moses, the waters of life gush forth in
healing and nourishing virtue. These sacraments,
according to the modest teaching of this school, ad-
minister the grace of both justification and regene-
ration ; they initiate into the spiritual life, and then
feed the life they give. What more did Popery ever
teach regarding the mass, except that it is offered
and is efficacious for the dead as well as the living?
This must soon follow in the new school : errors
cannot, any more than truth, be made to stop half
way. That which may be considered the animus
or principle of Puseyism, is, the attempt to make re-
ligion stand on the sacraments, to give the Church
by her functionaries the sole prerogative of erecting
an ecclesiastical dominion in which they may exer-
cise an undivided power. This is " the spirit in
the wheels." Those wheels may turn many ways.
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 73
and present a panoramic variety of aspects to the
beholder ; but the spring is one, it is in perfect unity
with itself, it has no clashing and contradictory ele-
ments ; it can speak or be silent, as times and cir-
cumstances require ; but its quiet is only the serpent
in coil : it has one soul, though its external figure
may assume a thousand shapes.
The end of all this is to produce moral impressions
and religious effects, by means of external symbols.
It would not, in this attempt, be safe to discard the
great facts and doctrines of the gospel altogether ;
and hence, instead of standing out in their own sim-
plicity, fulness, and sufficiency, as in themselves
objects of saving faith, they are twisted, minified,
humanized, and then incorporated into the new tem-
ple service, to stand out in the place of the types
and shadows so long ago departed. Every blessing
and grace of Christianity is held to be limited to
this system.
The induction of particulars is easy. The Church,
it is maintained, is one ; the one Church, of divine
right, is episcopalian ; the Church of England only
possesses episcopalian orders and government ;
therefore, this Church is the only true, catholic, apos-
tolic Church in these realms. But, more : the sacra-
ments of the Church, we are taught, imbody and
exhibit the grace of the gospel. Through these the
"body and blood of Christ" can alone be made avail-
able, because the elements can only be transmuted
by passing through the hands, and receiving the
qualified touch, of the successionist priest. Justifi-
74 iMETHODISM IN ITS OIUGIX,
cation, spiritual life, and the privileges of the gospel,
it is not denied, flow through the blood of Christ,
and the influence of the Holy Spirit. The veriest
Papist or Puseyite in the world will allow this ; but
then it is the blood of Christ, and the Holy Ghost as
connected with the ministrations of these particular
priests. This, it is everywhere assumed, is the only
channel in which the divine mercy flows, and, conse-
quently, the only mode of salvation to lost mankind.
The inference is easy and inevitable. The way,
and the only way, of extending Christianity, accord-
ing to these views, is, to set up this hierarchy, to
exhibit these sacraments, to invite all to believe in
their efficacy ; and, receiving the material substances
of water in baptism, and bread and wine in the Lord's
supper, from the only hands among men possessing
the magic ability to perform the miracle and adminis-
ter the mercy, they shall then surely be saved. In
this theory, faith is not made to rest on the divine
testimony, the promise of God. The " gospel" which
was commanded to be " preached to all people," and
on hearing of which it is said, " He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved," is as nothing. This
new, or — as St. Paul designates a similar case —
" another gospel," is not truth presented to the mind,
producing a change by a process of illumination,
persuasion, trust, sanctification, and love. It is, on
the other hand, an exhibition to the senses of sym-
bols, the meaning of which neither the exhibitor, nor
the persons to whom the exhibition is made, are sup-
posed at all to understand. The fancy, imagination,
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 75
and feelings are enlisted ; and by impressions intan-
gible, and perfectly mysterious, the material elements
which are put into the hands, or held up to the
senses of the recipient, are supposed to produce a
spiritual, divine, and saving change in the imma-
terial, but fallen and guilty, spirit. If this principle
be true, if it really indicate the design of the gospel,
then it follows, that the only mode by which it is
possible to save mankind, and evangelize the world,
is to desist from the old practice of preaching the
gospel, and in its stead to set up episcopal altars,
and to employ the pulpit and the press merely to
persuade men that they ought to lay aside their in-
tellect, and use only their senses ; that religion is
no matter of thought, conviction, rational persuasion,
and exercise of what used to be called faith ; that
St. Peter, St. Paul, and Jesus Christ were all in error,
when the first said, " Being born again, not of cor-
ruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of
God," 1 Peter i, 23 ; the second, " In whom ye
also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation : in whom also after
that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spi-
rit of promise," Eph. i, 13 ; the Saviour himself, in
his prayer, when he uttered the remarkable words,
" Sanctify them through thy truth : thy word is
truth," John xvii, 17 ; — we say, all this must be en-
tirely repudiated, and a mere aptitude to submit to
authority, yield up the mind to the imagination, prac-
tise well the senses in conveying the impressions
intended to be wrought by the use of symbols to the
76 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
soul, and then, if not vitiated by a flaw in the cre-
dentials of the actor in the scene, then religion, in
all its principles, immunities, graces, holiness, and
rewards, will infallibly be the issue.
The trial is going on ; the consequences must be
portentous. If the old dogmas of Popery, in this
new combination, work different results than before,
then the usual connection between cause and effect
will be broken, and among other gifts with which
the Oxford school is endowed, must be that of mira-
cles. But, no ; a dark and irreligious superstition,
if not a mental, ecclesiastical, and civil despotism,
such as in every instance has followed in the wake
of principles similar to those referred to, must again,
if this attempt at their propagation prove successful,
afflict our country and the world.
The jrrinciple of Methodism is antagonist to this,
ever has been, and we trust ever will be. It has,
from its earliest efforts, only attempted to save man-
kind by the truth received by faith. This has been
its only instrumentality. External forms did nothing
for it, for in truth it had none. Its people were not
saved by sacraments, for they never attended them
till led to the national communion by the previous
faith, which, through the word, had been produced
in their hearts. When passing from scene to scene,
in their early labours, what did the first apostles of
this blessed work carry with them ? Literally no-
thing but their Bibles. When they stood in the
midst of rude, ignorant, and profligate multitudes,
endeavouring to persuade them to " flee from the
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 77
wrath to come," to " repent and turn to the Lord,"
to " believe in the Lord Jesus," that they might be
" saved," what instruments did they employ 1 Cer-
tainly none but the truth ; the doctrines and com-
mands of the word of God. How should they,
indeed, do otherwise, when in reality thej'^ possessed
no other ^ They were driven destitute and power-
less into the world. No enchanting music, brilliant
candles, rising incense, decorated altars, imposing
ceremonial, awaited them, to give effect to their
message. A stone, elevated above the common level,
served for their pulpit ; the street, road, or field, for
their place of audience ; the shadowy umbrage of
hedge, trees, or forest, for their shelter from winds,
rain, or heat ; and the only means employed was the
use of the human voice, the bended knee, the hymn
of praise, and the plain and heart-searching sermon.
(2.) This doctrine of a personal and experimental
faith was introduced into the church and nation at a
period of formality and spiritual death, and produced
a powerful result.
The Christian church, it is agreed on all hands,
at the period in question, though existing on its pre-
sent foundations as to truth and order, generally
speaking, consisted of formal bodies, without life and
vitality. The services and ministrations, so much
relied upon, existed then, as well as now, and yet
produced but little effect. The theology of the
times was cold, formal, and legal ; but destitute of
evangelical doctrine, clearness, point, unction, and
of an attempt to plant the truth in the heart as a
78 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN",
living principle of faith and experience. The pulpit
exercises were in agreement with the chilling na-
ture of the doctrine ; void of animation, importunity,
pathos, and power ; they were the mere official per-
formance of the duties of the hour, and without
reference to usefulness and conversion. But were
not the sacraments administered by men in the suc-
cession! and if so, could the effect fail, and the
people be devoid of saving grace ! Here is the re-
futation of this theory. This order of ministers
existed, and has always existed, and been scattered
through the nation ; and yet saving effects are not
seen to follow its ministrations. Surely, if the grace
of justification and regeneration had certainly fol-
lowed the initiatory sacrament of baptism, to be
renewed and confirmed as certainly in that of the
Lord's supper, then the fruits of these exalted bless-
ings must have been manifest in the religious hap-
piness and Christian holiness of, at least, those who
confirmed the grace received in the first of these
ordinances, by attending the second. But the testi-
mon\^ of all contemporaneous observers is to the
effect, that spiritual death almost universally reign-
ed. The necessary result followed, and immorality
and every kind of evil covered the land.
But the introduction of the doctrine of faith, pro-
claimed, as often as possible, from the pulpits of the
Establishment, and irregularly through the whole
country as well, soon began to be felt. Besides the
promulgation of the doctrine itself, societies of living
believers. were united in every part of the kingdom,
ECONOMY, AXD PRESENT POSITION. 79
who became the witnesses of the truth, and the salt
of the age. These knots of holy people, which in
primitive times would have been called churches,
became in their turn the centres of a mighty influ-
ence and power. Though attached to the Church
of England and generally attending her ordinances,
she never, except in a very few instances, acknow-
ledged them as her children. But the light they
reflected could not be put out. They imbodied the
truth they had received, the blessings God had con-
ferred, and the joys and privileges of his salvation,
in so clear and vivid a manner, that the effect of
their testimony could not be prevented. And al-
though the Establishment refused, formall}-, to sanc-
tion the movements of the leaders of Methodism,
or to adopt their spiritual children, yet it is notorious
that, either from the Calvinistic or the Wesleyau
branch, she received most, if not all, her distin-
guished lights of the last age.
Two facts are undeniable ; namely, that, prior to
the rise of Methodism, the Church had lost the spi-
rit of her own creeds, substituted a heathen morality
in their place, was careless as to the salvation of
the people over whom she had the legal charge, and
had sunk, not so much into rationalism as into indif-
ference ; and that, concurrently with the progress of
this new development of spiritual power, there rose
up in her bosom an evangelical spirit. Nearly the
same may be said of the dissenting bodies. Those
which had retained their orthodoxy seem to have
possessed but little life, and to have expended but an
80 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
equally trifling amount of zeal in evangelical labour.
The distinctive forms of Methodism are one thing,
and its spirit another. We consider it as one of
those religious epochs which are created by the joint
operation of the providence and Spirit of God. It
was, in its origin, the turning over of a new page in
" the little book held in the hand of the Lion of the
tribe of Judah," Rev. v, 5. It was of the nature of a
new " visitation from on high ;" a " shaking of the"
mystic " heavens and earth ;" not a new dispensa-
tion of the gospel, except in commission, but a mighty
impulse given to the old one ; not the addition of
any new truth, but the resurrection of that which
had long been entombed, with a command for its
flight as with angelic wings through the nations of
the earth ; and it was not the creation of a new
spiritual order of ministers in the Christian economy,
but it was new life and anointing from on high given
to that which already existed ; an outpouring of the
Spirit, a deepening of the " river of the water of
life."
The true spirit of religion, like the winds of hea-
ven, invigorates all things brought under its influ-
ence, though not of its own essence. With the
diffusion of pious feeling, the standard of morals rises
to an elevation which is impracticable while society
is destitute of its impulse, its power, and its hopes.
In unison with moral elevation, intellectual strength
is developed, and the wonderful resources of the
human mind are seen in rich variety. While barba-
rism is the fruit of ignorance, and ignorance the fruit
ECONOMY, A\D PRESENT POSITION. 81
of vice, it follows that to strike at sin, to implant the
fear of God, to train the people in habits of piety
and devotion, and to inculcate the maxims of Chris-
tian virtue, must lay the foundation of public wisdom
and morality, at the same time that it secures indi-
vidual happiness. Those who are fond of decrying
the last great revival of religion as a national evil,
and, when they touch this string, invariably do it
with tones of melancholy or passion, just as nature
may happen to predispose, will do well to account
for — what is on their principles inexplicable — the
phenomenon, that, during the period of the fermenta-
tion of this mischievous leaven, the nation has risen
to its highest point of glory.
We are aware that by a strange ingenuity it is
now a point of policy, in taking the moral statistics
of the country, to discard as unchristian, unholy, and
publicly injurious, every thing which cannot be put
within the pale of the Establishment. The masses
of men employed in manufactures, colleries, and
others, are described as being entirely destitute of
Christianity, because the supineness of past years
has failed to provide for them churches and minis-
ters ; while in truth, for nearly a century, these
classes have been the objects of our incessant care ;
numerous and spacious places of worship have been
erected for their benefit ; large and ilourishing con-
gregations collected ; and societies, comprehending
tens of thousands, united in church fellowship. We
are, indeed, as ready to mourn over the great evils
existing among this portion of the community as any
6
82 METHODISM IX ITS ORIGIX,
Other parties ; but we deny the fairness of the at-
tempt to classify us and other religious communi-
ties among Chartists, Socialists, and Infidels, and
we refuse to take the place assigned us in this cate-
gory of vice and sin. Is it not ineffably disgusting
to hear men contrast with our own times former
periods of our history, (evidently meaning those an-
terior to the Reformation,) for the purpose of exhibit-
ing Popery as operating most beneficially, and the
modern system most perniciously, on the religious
character and moral state of the nation ? The domi-
nation of the clerical order, the universal authority
and influence of ecclesiastical law, the faithful alle-
giance of the nobles and the state to Papal power,
the unresisting subjection of the populace, the reign
of a dark, bewildering, and oppressive superstition,
are all dwelt upon with the fond feeling of the poet
mourning over the ruins of Troy. Nothing is seen
in these portions of our history, while the " man of
sin" held dominion, but beauty and glory. A na-
tion covered with monasteries, cloisters, religious
houses, and filled with idle and dissipated monks and
nuns, is the beau ideal of reUgious prosperity and
perfection in the opinion of — " tell it not in Gath,
publish it not in the streets of Askelon!" — the Ox-
ford theologians, educated, honoured, and endowed
to preach Protestant doctrine in the Protestant
Church of these realms ! While all the charms of
poetry and eloquence are called up to paint the glo-
ries of Popery in the gorgeous tints of unmixed beau-
ty and happiness, equal labour is employed, though
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION, 83
in a very different style, to exhibit the period to
which our remarks refer, as that of unmitigated
ignorance and barbarism. It is described as the
iron age of our beloved country ; and, as to religion,
it is sketched as the very night of the world, without
one radiant beam, one glittering star, one ray of
blessedness, to relieve the dismal gloom. The mean-
ing of all this is clear enough. An impression is
intended to be made, especially on the minds of our
legislators and the higher classes, that nothing but
a more stringent system of religious law and clerical
authority, accompanied by a corresponding appara-
tus of superstition, can possibly conserve the nation
from the imagined evils resulting from freedom of
thought and worship. We demur to these assumed
facts, as well as the reasoning founded upon them.
On the contrary, we believe, the brightest moral
epoch of our history lies within the limits of the
much maligned period in question.
It will not, however, suit the occasion, to go into
any thing like a general proof. Let us limit our
evidence to one fact only, — evangelical enterprise.
The past centurj' has seen more done for the con-
version of the world than has ever been witnessed in
a similar period of time : may we not say, than had
been witnessed during the whole period from the
age of the apo.stles down to the commencement of
the era referred to'? If the past century had been
so entirely destitute of all Christian truth, piety,
principle, and charity, as is represented, liow came
this to pass ? We have beheld the light of Chris-
84 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
tianity emanating from our shores to bless nearly all
nations. Is this term too general 1 Then we have
seen all the agencies which Christianity can employ,
engaged to bless the world, on a much larger scale
than in any former period. Are we to be driven, by
this new mode of tactics, from the recollection that
the blessed Bible has been translated into a great
number of languages and dialects ; that a mighty
apparatus of education for the benefit of all nations
has been put in motion ; that, above all, the gospel
has been, and is now being, preached to an indefinite
extent in every climate, and on every shore; and,
despite the derision of vain and supercilious men,
churches, — true Christian churches, — embracing
tens of thousands who have as much right to the
Christian name as any others, have been planted ]
If this is not religion, then we ask. What is it 1 Now,
will the parties who are so anxious to fix on what
may be called the Methodistic epoch of our history
the charge of religious indiflference, or only a mis-
chievous activity, have the goodness to tell us how
they account for this one fact 1 Their friend and
co-worker. Dr. Wiseman, cuts the knot at once, by
denying that any success has attended these evan-
gelical exertions.
But, passing over this denial as it deserves, and
assuming the truth of the statements contained in
the reported statistics of our respective Protestant
churches, we infer that a deep and powerful religious
principle has been at work. That spirit and agency
which has voluntarily reared so many noble struc-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 85
tures for Christian worship in this country, furnish-
ed so great a number of able men to preach the
truth, trained up mjrriads of immortal spirits in wis-
dom, piety, public virtue, and divine love, and dili-
gently attended to the wants of the young and the
poor, — when endowed indifference allowed them to
remain in ignorance and sin, — could be no other
than religious and divine, unless moral principle
has changed its nature, and evil has become good.
And, moreover, the charity and zeal which devised
the means, and prompted the men to descend into
the depths of darkness and misery presented by en-
slaved negroes, savage pagans, and wandering
hordes of destitute men, in order to reclaim them
from their barbarism, and lead them to Christ, —
could be no other than Christian. It would be
cowardice in us, my dear brethren, nay, it would
be unfaithfulness to God, not to vindicate his own
work against the malevolent aspersions of its bitter
enemies.
. But why do we dwell on this 1 Because the policy
is to decry, not merely Methodism in its organized
form, but the spint, the origin, and the spring of the
great movement of which the name is the mere type.
In opposition to this, we hold it to be divine, be-
cause so sanatory and useful in its operations. We
prove this by the fact, that in addition to the life and
health imparted to its actual disciples, it has wither-
ed nothing in which moral life was found. The
nation and the world have advanced in all the bless-
ings of civilization ; all the evangelical dissenting
86 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
churches have manifested a new spring of life and
power ; the Establishment has shaken herself from
her slumbers, and has " put on her beautiful gar-
ments ;" and, it is extremely probable, that, but for
the awakenings of this revival of religion, even the
men who are now so actively zealous in opposition
to its progress and growth, would have been quiet
enough in the slumbers of a common moral death.
It is in the order of things, that the same glorious
sun which, by his genial beams, draws forth all the
beauties and fertility of nature, also warms the viper
into life. Whether ecclesiastical and other authori-
ties are prepared to allow the fact or not, yet the
annals of the period under consideration cannot be
expunged, and impartial history must make known
two undeniable truths ; namely, that at the time the
instruments of this work began to proclaim the doc-
trine of an evangelical faith, the Church and nation
were in a very degraded state as to religion and
morals, and that, concurrently with the teaching of
this truth, a great and important change has been
wrought, embracing the growth of a powerful reli-
gious principle, an elevated tone of morals, and, also,
on the whole, a vast improvement of the nation, at
home and abroad, in all the characteristics of free-
dom, order, knowledge, wealth, and greatness.
(3.) We behold the simple truth, which produced
so great a change in the Church and nation, operat-
ing in the midst of the most profligate, rude, and
immoral masses of the people, and gathering beau-
tiful and glorious fruit.
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 87
That great changes followed when men were
visited by the preachers of faith in the crucified Sa-
viour, were offered a free and gratuitous pardon
through his blood, and pressed to enter into the king-
dom of God, is a fact attested by undeniable evi-
dence. That a vast number of individuals and families,
in the most destitute localities, — as colliers, miners,
boatmen, working manufacturers, mechanics, pea-
sants, farmers, — were roused from their slumbers,
awakened to serious reflection, became devout in
their spirit, and pure in their lives, is a matter of
history. A social change followed the religious
one. These individuals and families were improved
in their habits, became sober and industrious, were
employed in places of trust, gradually accumulated
property, and became the pillars and the ornaments
of society. It is impossible to conceive what the
condition of these classes must have been, as to
morals and civil order, had not this much-maligned
system sought them out in their wretchedness and
sin. Did either the Church or the nation care for the
souls of these wandering sheep '\ Were churches
built, endowments bestowed, pastors sent, the gos-
pel preached, and religious education provided, for
these accumulating masses of human beings "? It is
notorious that for at least two generations, ours was
nearly the only body who felt the urgency of their
case, and made some humble efforts, as means could
be obtained, to meet the growing necessity. We
are now reproached on account of these exertions.
Our labours are considered rebellion, and our unit-
88 METHODISM I\ ITS ORIGIN',
ing these poor outcasts in Christian communion as
schism.
The result is both our reward and defence. A
countless multitude, who " have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb," are
now before the throne of God : many of their de-
scendants, after emerging, by the force of those prin-
ciples which religion implanted, and its habits taught,
from the low and common level of society, are now
filling honourable and useful posts, though no longer
with us. A seed has been left, however, which has
greatly increased in number, influence, and useful-
ness ; spacious and commodious places of worship
have been reared, and means provided, for the
preaching of the gospel and the administration of its
ordinances ; and, above all, we have reason to re-
joice, that great multitudes of the present generation
of the classes above mentioned are worshipping God
in spirit, and rejoicing in possession of all the privi-
leges of grace.
What produced these results 1 The simple doc-
trine of salvation by faith. It came upon the slum-
bering age with the impressiveness of a new revela-
tion ; it flew, as news of strange but of transcendent
importance, that man might know his sins forgiven,
be " born again," and enjoy the love of God ; the
arrested and awakened multitudes transmitted the
intelligence from place to place, till it reached the
utmost verge of the nation ; the saved of the Lord
bore an experimental testimony to what their eyes
had seen, their ears heard, and their hearts felt and
ECONOMY, AXD PRESENT POSITION. 89
enjoyed; and, in the end, though agitation, tumuh,
confusion, and opposition attended the process, large
bodies of the people were upheaved from the depths
of degradation in which they had sunk, and were
presented to the beholder, like a submerged island
raised in all the beauty and fertility of spiritual
life.
If the doctrine of salvation by faith only be called
in question, — which is now, and ever has been, the
fact with unspiritual men, — we have no objection to
put the proof of its efficiency on the effects produced
in the case under consideration. Cures wrought in
the most inveterate instances of disease are rightly
considered the best possible evidence of the skiU of
the physician and the efficacy of his remedies. It
has often, as at present, been the reproach of our
body, that the educated, intellectual, scientific, and
polite classes of society are rarely, if ever, brought
to embrace our tenets and join our community. It
may be so, and yet be no reproach to us. The ques-
tion is not, whether our system of doctrine and com-
munion is palatable to those who are " whole and
need not a physician ;" but. What has been the effect
of the teaching and grace ministered by this church
upon the diseased, who seek healing for their wound-
ed spirits ? It is stated, that none but the ignorant
condescend to place themselves under its ministry
and ordinances. Does it leave them ignorant ] if
not, where is the sting of the sarcasm ] Let the an-
swer be the glorious fact, that nearly the whole
community, from the beginning to the present time,
90 METHODISM I.N ITS ORIGIN,
ministers and people, belonged to the poorer classes,
many of whom are now, and long have been, walking
in the paths of truth, and of elevated, practical, use-
ful, and especially religious, knowledge. The ob-
jection is reiterated in another form ; and it is said,
that the vicious and wicked are chiefly operated
upon. Are they left wicked ] It is obvious that
these persons, being in the most desperate circum-
stances, need the most pity and care. And, undoubt-
edly, Methodism has gone down into the lowest
depths of sin and misery. It has planted its ordi-
nances, and poured forth its healing waters, in the
midst of the poorest and most wicked and polluted
portions of the population ; and from among these
destitute and neglected classes it has gained some
of its most glorious triumphs. Even the modern
Methodists themselves, who now worship God in
their peaceful and quiet chapels, and live in the
midst of cultivated religious society, can scarcely
conceive the extent to which this was the case in
the beginning. If this is our disgrace, we hail and
welcome it ; or rather, we adore God for his good-
ness in permitting us to bear reproach for his name's
sake. And we take courage, and gather consola-
tion from the conviction, that the doctrine of salva-
tion by faith only, which has thus saved, purified,
elevated, and made myriads of the most miserable
families holy and happy, cannot but be both true and
divine.
(4.) But, above all, the efficiency of the doctrine
of salvation by faith only, is most fully illustrated by
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 91
its success among the dark and idolatrous heathen
nations.
The brightest demonstration of the transcendent
value and importance of this divine truth is to be
sought on pagan ground. Here, if anywhere, it
might be imagined, the experiment must fail. The
simple doctrine of salvation by faith, it might be
objected, cannot possibly meet evils and wants so
complex as those found in the dark and bewilder-
ing superstitions of these besotted nations. " Will
you pretend," it has been tauntingly inquired, " to
wean the people from their idolatry, break down
their superstitions, dry up the fountain of their cor-
ruptions, and superinduce a new and Christian state
of things, by your fond fancy, your fanatical preach-
ing of Christ crucified V Let the result be the an-
swer. This doctrine was proclaimed to slaves in
heathenism ; a class the most degraded, bought and
sold like beasts of burden, their intellectual condi-
tion corresponding to their civil state, and, moreover,
their morals as low as sin could possibly reduce
them. The messengers of our church visited them
in these circumstances, and preached this truth;
and this was their only instrumentality in seeking
their conversion, — they possessed no other. They
were without power, and, had they been disposed to
employ it, possessed no means of coercion; they
were without friends, and could not, had their prin-
ciples urged them to it, put the negro race under a
long course of preparatory education and training ;
they were opposed, despised, and persecuted, and
92 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
had not the opportunity, on account of the condition
of the slaves, even of exercising a perfect discipline,
or regularly administering the sacraments. All that
was left them in this region of oppressive misery
and sin, was to scatter, as casual opportunities oc-
curred, the " seed of the kingdom," and especially
the privileges of the gospel, including the present
pardon of sin and the renovation of the heart. What
was the issue 1 As if their chains, labours, wrongs,
and expatriation from the shores of their own coun-
try, had predisposed them to embrace the gospel, or,
rather, as if especially prepared of God, these poor
outcasts caught at the " glad tidings" with the utmost
eagerness. The truth fermented in the mass, and
rapidly extended its influence. The offer of pardon,
through faith, — the plainest of all propositions, and
yet, to the carnal mind, the most perplexing, — was
easily understood by the poor Africans ; and they
pressed to the cross to receive the great salvation.
Neither the cruel lask of the whip, the stocks, the
dungeon, nor the infliction of any other possible in-
jury ; nor yet the imprisonment of their ministers,
the shutting up of their chapels, and the interdicts
of law against their Christian communion ; could
stop the progress of the work, or extinguish the sa-
cred flame of piety and love which had been kindled
among them. Like the Israelites in Egypt, the
more they were oppressed, the more they grew in
numbers, strength, and piety. And after the strug-
gles of many years, the endurance of every variety
of injury, and bearing meekly every possible form
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 93
of contempt, by the force of the truth they had em-
braced, they are free, thej'^ are happy, and they are
on the road to civiUzation and wealth.
The Methodist Church in the West Indies pre-
sents to view one of the most magnificent triumphs
of the gospel in modern times ; and illustrates, as
clearly as the thing can admit of illustration, the
divine efficiency of the simple doctrines of the gos-
pel. As the forest grows from the slips and seeds
deposited in the bosom of the earth, so from the
truth taught by a few despised and much-injured
missionaries in these regions, a beautiful and holy
community has grown up, rich in piety and pure in
morals. While other religious appliances have
utterly failed when tried, and have often not been
tried at all, because a failure was certainly antici-
pated, the ministers of this doctrine never for a mo-
ment thought of abandoning even so unpromising a
field for the want of success. They knew that the
Saviour whom they preached died equally for " Jew
and Gentile, bond and free," and that faith in his
name would as certainly bring the one as the other
into a justified and regenerate state, and fit them for
the communion of the church, the blessings of civil
freedom, and the joys of heaven. The effects are
before the world ; but the world, through false prin-
ciples and besotted prejudices, cannot see them. In
the meanwhile, peace with God in the heart, pos-
sessed beneath a sable skin, joys divine, flowing from
lips unaccustomed to the language of praise, the
feeling of love and charity, the idea and the habit of
94 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
worship, the admission of the obligations of Chris-
tian morality, the gradual influence and authority of
Scriptural discipline, the adoption of the marriage
bond, the training and education of Christian families,
— have all united to prepare these people for the
blessings of civil freedom, and to fit them to render
a loyal allegiance to the state.
Besides the salvation which the doctrine of faith
has wrought, — which is itself sufficient for our argu-
ment, — all the collateral blessings referred to have
sprung fom this root. It does not embrace, in detail,
the separate graces of the Christian character, and
the virtues of public life ; but it is the soul of them
all. As the heart propels the blood through the
veins, so as to give life, vigour, health, and beauty
to the body ; so this doctrine gives tone, strength,
and activity even to the commonly recognized moral
and social virtues. Had the national obligation of
emancipation been hazarded by some master spirit,
without the concurrent influence and teaching of true
religion, as preparatory to the reception of the bless-
ing by the slaves, the scheme would have been
deemed Utopian. The negro race in our own colo-
nies owe their personal freedom to the influence of
Christian teaching on their own character, and the
world owes all the consequences of this mighty mo-
ral example to the force and energy of the doctrine
of salvation by faith. The hands which struck ofT
the fetters of these poor slaves were the mission-
aries of the cross, who taught them that they were
men, led them to the temple of religion, and pointed
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 95
them to a glorious immortality. In this, as in all
similar cases, the great preparatory ameliorations
which have taken place are owing to the influence
of vital religion. Such effects as these never come
from the hands of secular legislation. Tribes,
classes, and nations, which obtain improved institu-
tions, do so by the elevation of personal character; and
this again is brought about by the power of the gospel.
Similar illustrations of the wonderful efficacy of
the doctrine of salvation by faith might be given
from many other quarters. But we desist, with the
one remark, that the same simple truth has been
taught to savage hordes, to polluted idolaters, and to
the children of the wilderness, with equally satisfac-
tory results. Tens of thousands, in less than a
generation, have been brought into Christian com-
munion, kneel together at the table of the Lord, ex-
hibit all the characteristics of the spiritual mind,
read the word of God, devoutly sing his praises, and
offer prayer to him, in their now Christian families ;
they observe all the rufes of morality and godly
order, and live in the joyful hope of heaven ; and
this new creation has all sprung from one only root,
— the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith.
5. The genuineness of this faith, as being Scrip-
tural and divine, stands corroborated by every form
and kind of evidence.
We have the evidence of personal testimony. In
imitation of the primitive church, it has, through the
whole period of our history, been considered the
sacred duty of all who themselves have found the
96 METHODISM IX ITS ORIGIN',
Lord to become his " witnesses" in the world. This
is believed to be one of the functions and obligations
of the church. To " acknowledge," " confess,"
" bear witness" to, and " follow," our Lord, are
terms in constant use in relation to the practice of
the first believers. The confession of faith in Christ
by the apostolic church was not subscription to a
creed, the adoption of formularies, meeting at the
Lord's table, union in public worship — some of these,
no doubt, were included ; but it was a living, per-
sonal testimony, borne by grateful and sanctified spi-
rits, to the truth and grace of God.
Much obloquy has been thrown on some of our
institutions and means of grace, on account of their
design to call forth this living testimony of a believ-
ing church to the work of God in their hearts. A
thousand silly objections are started, to all of which
one only answer is perfectly sufficient. Does the
practice agree with primitive and apostolic principle
and precedent? We reply, that innumerable pas-
sages of the New Testament, some speaking the lan-
guage of blessing and privilege, others of precept,
command, and narrative, can only be interpreted on
the principle we maintain. In this first age we have
nothing like an ecclesiastical faith, — men made be-
lievers on the ground of an economical arrangement,
— or adoption into the Christian family by subjection
to a ceremony, without any saving knowledge of
Christ. A mute church, or one made vocal only by
the utterance of a common creed, or responses to a
common form of prayer, was unknown to the apos-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 97
ties. Every one was supposed to " know in whom
he had believed," and to be under an obligation " with
his mouth to make confession unto salvation," 2 Tim.
i, 12 ; Rom. x, 10. All this, no doubt, was under
the judicious direction and guidance of the apostles
and elders ; but in their intercourse with the world,
and among their unbelieving relations, they were left
to exercise their gifts, and to bear their witness, as
an enlightened mind might dictate, or as the " Spirit
gave them utterance."
We have encouraged this kind of testimony, under
proper guidance ; and great has been the benefit to
us and to the world. Much of the instruction of
both the Old and New Testament consists of the
memorials of living piety. The best, indeed almost
the only, monuments of the church in the first ages,
of any value or consideration, are the experimental
and suffering testimony of the martyred hosts who
sealed their faith by their blood.
" Our fathers, too, where are they ]" They are
silent as regards the accustomed places of their long
"prophesying in sackcloth ;" (may we not call it !)
but, " being dead, they yet speak to us." We do
not boast, and yet we have our succession, — a suc-
cession of living v>itnesses. For more than a cen-
tury, a long and numerous line of Christian believers,
united to each other in bonds of the tenderest love,
have spoken the same language, and attest, that,
through the truth they have heard, they have attain-
ed to faith, and enjoyed an assurance of salvation.
This witness is echoed by multitudes in all stations,
7
98 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
from distant shores of many nations, and in numer-
ous lan^ages. It is difficult to imagine either col-
lusion or deception in this case. The question is
one of fact ; namely, whether or not belief in the
doctrines taught by our church has resulted in those
blessings and changes which are described as be-
longing to the primitive church. It is not in the
nature of things, that all the parties concerned must
be incompetent to give their testimony in such cases ;
and to represent the religion of the new covenant as
of so equivocal a character as not to admit of it, is
to malign its Author and design. St. Peter said,
" Be ready always to give an answer to every man
that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you
with meekness and fear," 1 Pet. iii, 15. It may
serve the purposes of those who have no experimen-
tal knowledge, or, according to St. Paul, " assurance
of knowledge," to represent the whole process of
conversion as an unintelligible operation, and those
who profess to " know in whom they have believed,"
as fanatical persons. But the question is not so
treated in Scripture ; and on other subjects the in-
ductive test is taken as conclusive evidence. When
millions of lips attest the same truth, some on earth
and the greater number in heaven ; when this wit-
ness is not the language of a class, but of all classes,
— men of acute intellect, of erudition, of scientific
pursuits ; — of students and masters of the general
principles and rules of law ; of merchants and men
of business, as well as of peasants and operatives ; —
we say, when all these bear a united testimony, it
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 1)9
must in the main be true, if any certainty of know-
ledge is to be attained on earth. These " are our
epistle, known and read of all men," 2 Cor. iii, S.
Our case is a plain one. Those who deny our
divine vocation will necessarily have to prove that
Methodism is not Christianity. This will oblige
them to put a negative on the testimony which we
adduce, and to pronounce the whole to be one bold,
long-continued, united, simultaneous, many-tongued
LIE. We say nothing now on the question of polity ;
that is a distinct thing ; we merely refer to the living
witness of our people. If this be denied, then it
must be contended that the whole system is rotten
falsehood ; that its disciples are composed of de-
ceivers and deceived ; and, moreover, that the lives
and deaths of those who have departed from this
world were mere imbodied mockery. All this must
be done, or the inference is inevitable, — that " this
witness is true ;" and, being allowed, then a proof
of true religion is made out, a work of God is in-
volved ; and from this it will follow, that the evi-
dence of a .state of Scriptural Christianity is fully
established.
If this united witness be not, in itself, deemed suf-
ficient, we are willing to abide by the test of St.
James, " Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being
alone." Evidence of a sound and Scriptural faith
may be considered both personal and collective.
Personal evidence of faith, from works, must be
sought in the individual piety and holiness of be-
lievers. " The tree is known by its fruit," Matt.
100 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
xii, 33. God forbid that we should lay claim to a
piety, holiness, zeal, and devotedness, anywise equal
to our obli£Talions, or at all on a level with the mighty
mercy and grace of redemption, the promised influ-
ence and sanctifying power of the Comforter, or the
perfection of the divine law. Nothing of this is
meant, and we are perfectly willing to confess our
sins and short comings. But our question relates to
the truth of things, to a genuine result, rather than
to the degree in which it exists ; this of necessity
greatly varies in different individuals. We have
often been exposed to a cross-fire from the batteries
of our assailants ; and while one class has lampoon-
ed us on account of a supposed fanaticism, by rea-
son of our holding the doctrine of salvation by faith
only, another has done the same on the contrary plea
of our being legal, and insisting on the obligations of
practical piety, and the diligent discharge of holy
duties. Our very name imports strictness of life ;
and since it might be deemed invidious, and savour-
ing of vanity, were we to argue from the piety of our
own age, we will put our proof on tunes which are
past. That the fathers and people of our commu-
nity were eminent in self-denial and the endurance
of persecution ; constant and fervent in the spirit and
habits of prayer and devotion ; regular in their at-
tendance upon divine ordinances ; attentive and hum-
ble in the house of God ; conscientious in the sanc-
tification of the sabbath, and anxious to improve its
sacred rest ; plain, sober, chaste, and Christian in
their modes of life ; zealous in the support of the in-
ECOXOMV, AND PRESENT POSITION. 101
stitutions of religion, and laborious in the dissemina-
tion of the truth ; pitiful, benevolent, and attentive to
the wants of the suffering poor, the afflicted, and
dying : — we say, that all these marks of piety and
good works were extensively, if not universally, re-
garded, is attested by the reproaches of enemies, as
well as by the records of our dead. When these
things were novel, they excited the astonishment of
all men ; now that they are common, they raise the
wonder of none. The faith of the gospel in the case
of our noble ancestors eminently " worked by love ;"
and they "excelled in every good work." They
obeyed the apostolic injunction : " Add to your faith
virtue ; and to virtue knowledge ; and to knowledge
temperance ; and to temperance patience ; and to
patience godliness ; and to godliness brotherly kind-
ness ; and to brotherly kindness charity ;" and the
annexed promise has been ftilfilled : '■ So an entrance
shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the ever-
lasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ." 2 Pet. i, 5-7, 11.
Collective evidence of the vitality of faith among
us is to be sought in our institutions, and their bene-
ficial operation on the state of the world. When we
see a civil community living in peace, virtue, free-
dom, and plenty, we naturally conclude that a spirit
of love, equity, and good government must pervade
and animate the whole. In like manner, when we
behold religious institutions pouring light, grace, ho-
liness, and salvation, domestic and temporal enjoy-
ment, on thousands around, we have a right to infer
102 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
that tliey are resting on the truth, are animated and
imbued by a spirit of piety, and enjoy the blessing
of God. The strength of evidence in this case arises
out of the fact, that the ivholc of our means of doing
good, and the fruit resulting, have sprung from a
genuine faith ; and that our institutions did not pro-
duce our faith, but our faith the institutions.
The means of preaching the gospel, and of apply-
ing religious consolation at home and abroad, must
be classed among this holy fruit. We see around
us numerous places of worship, and thousands of
ministers employed in proclaiming the truth and ad-
ministering the ordinances ; we behold a mighty
missionary apparatus sending its agents and pouring
its blessings on every shore ; we witness means for
the instruction and training of the children of the
poor, the youth of the community, and candidates for
the ministry ; we are cheered by the sight of bene-
volent and other charitable societies, designed to
feed, clothe, and in some degree to provide for, the
destitute, homeless, and sick. We stop to ask,
" Whence has all this sprung "? Is it the gift of the
wealthy 1 or does it flow from the endowments of
the state ■?" The answer is at hand: "It has all
arisen from the piety of — a comparatively poor peo-
ple." No princely or noble patrons have appeared
to enrich our church by their bounty. Our means
of usefulness spring from the operation of a power-
ful principle, adopted and acted upon by all. The
hands which have built our Zion, in its material and
external form, are the laborious hands of her faithful
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 103
SOUS. Let candid and honest men determine whe-
ther the motive has proceeded from a spirit of super-
stition, or a spirit of faith and love.
In conjunction with testimony and works in evi-
dence of the Scriptural and divine origin of this cause,
we have privilege attained and happiness enjoyed.
With the evangelists and primitive church, the lead-
ers of this work have ever held that the true Chris-
tian faith, in connection with its attendant grace,
must he productive of spiritual happiness.
The question of feeling, indeed, has been the sub-
ject of boundless reproach on the part of our oppo-
nents, and of great glorying on our own. We have
always held that the affections have much to do with
our system of religion, as we are certain they had
with that of apostolic times. How can it be otherwise,
in the case of a divine and vital work of grace !
What is the language of Scripture 1 Take the case
of a justified man, an adopted child, a regenerate spi-
rit, a state of Christian holiness. Can these bless-
ings be possessed without emotion'? without the
affections being excited, and the soul attuned to the
highest happiness ? Speaking of these several states,
— which, by the by, are not several in their enjoy-
ment, but one and indivisible, and he who has at-
tained to one, must have attained to them all, — the
language of feeling is used in every variety. " We
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,"
Rom. v, 1. " Having made peace through the blood
of his cross," Col. i, 20. " The disciples were filled
with joy, and with the Holy Ghost," Acts xiii, 53
104 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
" We rejoice in hope of the glory of God." " We
joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom
we have now received the atonement." " The love
of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost which is given imto us." Rom. v, 2, 11, 8.
" He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God
in him." " Perfect love casteth out fear." 1 John
iv, 16, 18. These and similar expressions are con-
stantly employed by the sacred writers, when they
speak of experimental and personal religion. Is
there no emotion of the mind, no excitement of the
passions, in all this ] Those who deny the legiti-
macy of feeling, and an appeal to the hopes, joys,
and affections in religion, neither understand its na-
ture nor the structure of man. To touch the heart,
to engage the sympathies, and to enlist the sentient
faculties, on the side of piety, devotion, and holiness,
have been considered as evidence either of deceptive
designs, or of fanaticism. What, then, is religion a
mathematical problem, — a demonstration, — an ab-
straction, — a cold region of metaphysical specula-
tion, — a dry detail of duty, — a rotatory movement
amid senseless ceremonies 1 No ; it introduces us to
God as reconciled, — our Father, our Friend, our
God. It places us beneath the cross, gives us an
interest in redemption, makes the Saviour's merit
our own, and unites us as "joint heirs" with him in
all the blessings of his "purchased possession." It
brings to our wants and miseries the dispensation of
the Spirit, and bestows his illuminations, power, sanc-
tity, and consolations on the soul. Is it conceivable,
ECONOMY, AND PRESEXT POSITION. 105
that this interest in the adorable Trinity, manifesting
the peculiar glories of the separate persons in the
work of our salvation, can be enjoyed without the
highest ecstasy of happiness 1
We glory in the reproach that our people mani-
fest /eeZm^,- that they imbody their faith and enjoy-
ments in lofty sentiment, in hjTnns of animated praise,
in undecaying joys, in fervour of spirit, and in im-
passioned devotion. And, moreover, we affirm that
the primitive church, in her ordinances and commu-
nion, was framed on the principle of creating and
eliciting these feelings. We imitated, in this, the
first societies of Christians, and never considered
any portion of the community in a healthy and pros-
perous state, unless, with the administration of the
truth and ordinances, it could present to the view of
the visible church and invisible powers, a people
pardoned, reconciled to God, living in his commu-
nion, and giving utterance to the language of thanks-
giving and praise. Thank God, this has been heard
in our sanctuaries from the beginning ; and not only
in the high places of religion, but in deep poverty,
excruciating pain, exhausting afflictions, dark tem-
poral visitations, and the agonies of death !
We are not alone in this. Besides the first Chris-
tians, and the martyr church, it is the state of the
simple, unsophisticated followers of Christ, of all
parties and nations. Feeling, it may be allowed, has
sometimes been really eccentric ; and, for want of
sympathy with its causes, has appeared so to men in
other cases. How should the merely mental and
106 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN",
animal tastes of the godless have any communion of
feeling with the happiness of piety 1 And how should
those true fanatics, who are exciting themselves,
and attempting to inflame others, by the means of a
fascinating externalism, possess any sentiments in
common with those who take the blessings of divine
grace, as the free gifts of God, from his own hands,
and oifer him the praise of his blessings from the
altar of their own hearts, instead of presenting them
upon the altars of a human system 1 May we never
lose this reproach ; or, rather, may we never de-
serve to lose it ! Are we not in some danger 1 The
freshness of novelty is over ; the simplicity of former
times is gone ; and the oneness of our religious pri-
vileges is invaded by the intermixture of worldly
possessions and enjoyments. Let us guard our
hearts and our services, lest our feelings should be
chilled, and the sacred fire go out on our altars.
The fair inference from this united evidence is,
that a system, which in faith and experience so fully
harmonizes with primitive truth and feeling, must
originate in the one and undivided work of the Me-
diator, by the operation of the " one Spirit" of the
living God.
That religion which is not only of God by the
provisional arrangements of his grace, but is also
■wi-ought by him, cannot be essentially different — be
it found in what age or in what communit}' it may —
in any of its living developments. We hear much
of primitive Christianity, of catholic doctrine, and of
an apostolical church. No objection can be taken
ECONOMV, AND PRESENT POSITION. 107
to the terms employed, if the meaning be made to
harmonize with the expressions. But how is it that
we hear so little respecting primitive and apostolical
religion, as such ? The quality of the piety existing
among the flock may be whatever circumstances may
make it, for any care that is manifested by the new
controversialists to prove or to cause it to be primi-
tive and apostolic. Why do they not attempt to
show that in all places, in all ages, and under all
possible varieties of events, the divine-right system
which they claim to possess, and that exclusively,
has always filled the world with sound piety and
Christian holiness ? That which is primitive and
apostolic must, in our humble apprehension, agree to
the first model, not merely in orders, offices, and sup-
posed vocation, as certain and never-failing channels
of grace and salvation ; but in its fruits and effects.
How can the casual means be primitive, if the issue
is not such ! There is such a thing as an apostolical
church in livmg faith, as well as in written creeds ;
in piety, holiness, love, and sacred joys, as well as
in inanimate and material forms and ceremonies ; in
active zeal, charity, and exertions to promote spirit-
ual religion among the flock, and the salvation of the
lost, as well as in adherence to an ecclesiastical
form. If the living effects and fruits which flow
from true and Scriptural Christianity are not found
connected with that which now pretends to be pruni-
tive, we have reason to conclude that the catholic
church, as the Establislunent now arrogates to be, in
exclusion to all others, is not, in fact, so purely and
108 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN',
perfectly a part of the church of the Lord Jesus
Christ as it vainly imagines.
Without indulging in any fond conceits in the use of
the terms, we claim to be both catholic and apostolic,
or rather Scriptural, on the ground both of vocation
and fruit. If our friends, or our enemies, will go
with us to the times of the apostles, we hail them as
companions ; we walk with them over this sacred,
this Scriptural ground with delight, as brethren be-
loved. But if they descend two or three centuries
lower down, perambulate the scenes of folly, super-
stition, false doctrine, and incipient Popery therein
presented, and call these catholic and apostolic; why,
then we separate. In plain truth, Methodism is a
spiritual and religious entity, and is constantly grow-
ing and expanding. This work must have a cause
and origin of some kind, good or evil : its friends and
supporters claim for it a divine designation, and con-
sider it the work of God ; its enemies deny the claim.
We appeal from reasonings to facts, and believe that
these facts are in agreement with God's gracious
mode of working in all similar cases, and especially
in planting the first churches ; the fruits of the whole
are identical with those which are narrated in the
doctrines, ministerial labours, discipline, and expe-
rience of the New-Testament churches ; and, to
complete the case, it is seen that the means were in
no respect dissimilar to those which were employed
in the first ages. " The same fountain cannot send
forth bitter streams and sweet ;" and hence we are
obliged to infer that this is the finger of God.
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 109
III. At this stage of our subject it is requisite to
apply the apostolic exhortation : " Let us walk by
the same rule, let us mind the same thing"
1. " Let us mind the same thing," namely, the
promotion of experimental religion,
(1.) As the true and legitimate end of the gospel
institution.
The salvation of mankind is the issue proposed by
the whole economy of Christianity. In concurrence
with this primary purpose of the death of our Lord,
and the establislunent of his church, our fathers only
sought to bring guilty sinners to the exercise of faith
in his name, and to the enjoyment of his grace. This
was the great first principle on which they invaria-
bly acted in all their movements : economical ar-
rangements were only considered as secondary to
this. Theoretical and political Christians have in-
variably reversed this order ; and have propounded
their platform as the first in time, in importance, and
in its claims to the fealty of their disciples. In the
New-Testament narrative, we hear little or nothing
respecting the progress of events, but the number of
the converted, their spiritual state, their union in
societies for religious exercises, the outpourings of
the Holy Spirit on their meetings, their simple par-
ticipation of the Lord's supper, and their zealous
exertions for mutual support, and the extension of
the "common salvation." Religion itself was the
inspiring spirit of order and discipline. The inward,
hidden, and divine life, imparted by the truth and
grace of the gospel, created the external economy,
110 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
and not the economy the life. Experimental piety-
was the first in order, and the discipline of the church
the second.
This was the rule on which our fathers acted.
Their prayers, itinerant labours, privations, and suf-
ferings, had this one object, to " save souls from
death." Their style of preaching, as to doctrine,
address, and manner ; their establishment of private
and separate meetings for prayer, exhortation, and
mutual interchanges of experience ; and their pasto-
ral care, either of the societies as a whole, or their
visitations in the midst of contumely and reproach :
all proposed this as the important and happy result.
They exulted over the conversion of sinners, they
bore patiently the infirmities of the weak, they sought
the backsliders with lingering pity, and their whole
concern was to present to God as great a number of
believers in Christ as possible, " without spot or
wrinkle, or any such thing." No inclemency of
weather, no abuse of mobs, no length or dreariness
of rough and rugged roads, and no physical dangers
and suffering, could damp their ardour, or cause
them to turn aside from their well-understood path
of duty.
Let us imitate our fathers in this the first obliga-
tion of the ministry. Any church must decay, when
its aggressive, evangelizing, and, in the sense of
conversion, proselyting spirit is lost ; and no church
can decline while this is sedidously regarded. The
masses of people constituting nations may remain
and increase ; and these being considered as nomi-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. Ill
nal members of an Establishment, such a church
may be esteemed as full and prosperous, irrespective
of their pietj' or accessions by the modes referred to.
But a purely spiritual and voluntary body occupies a
very different position ; and what is to keep up its
efficiency but the influx of new members'? Even its
own children, born in its bosom, baptized by its mi-
nisters, and educated in its schools, must remain in
its outer courts, unless they manifest the evidences
of at least a desire " to flee from the wrath to come."
Hence, among ourselves, the places of the dead, the
losses by backsliders, the rents made by the changes
and fluctuations of population, can only be supplied
by a continued accession of new converts, brought
to God by the faithful and successful preaching of
the gospel.
But motives drawn from the desire to fill up our
ranks will not be sufficient, and, destitute of higher
considerations, may be questioned as to their legiti-
macy. The love of God, and of the souls of man-
kind, must continue to be the moving spring of our
ministerial exertions. Lower feelings are unworthy
of the sacred office which we hold ; higher ones
cannot occupy and fill the human mind. Well may
those considerations w^hich drew from the bosom of
God the unbounded love of redemption, brought the
Saviour from heaven, caused him to bleed and die
on the cross, and led to the establishment of the
Christian kingdom in the midst of miracles and gifts
of the Holy Ghost, draw forth the highest charity
and energies of man. To cherish a deep sense of
112 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
the importance of leading sinners to Christ, and, in-
strumentally, of opening to them the treasures of the
gospel, will keep every thing else in its place. Life,
simplicity, energy, pathos, will follow. Ministers
only need to be adequately impressed with two sen-
timents, to induce untiring zeal : the first, the dan-
ger of men in their sins ; the second, the value of
the blessings of the gospel. Only let the misery of
man " without God" be felt ; his immortality, his
high destinj^, his moral consciousness, his need of a
resting place, his perturbed feelings, his untamed
passions, his slavery to sin, and his exposure to final
and irretrievable ruin, be fully admitted ; and, under
such views and impressions, ministers must be " in-
stant in season and out of season." Then, again,
let the grace, freeness, and sufficiency of the gospel,
as a remedy, be constantly present to the mind ; that
the will of God is the present salvation of all, that
Christ died to procure it, and that the ministry is
" the ministry of reconciliation ;" and this double
impression must prevent all dry formality, curious
speculation, fictitious ornament, and, in fact, cause
preaching and exertions to become a question of life
and death.
(2.) " Let us mind the same thing," — namely, the
salvation of men, — as the greatest possible issue of
the gospel.
No view of Christianity is so magnificent and sub-
lime as in its saving effects. Many blessings of
great consequence to mankind, and highly beneficial
in their mental, domestic, and social states, flow from
ECONOMY, AXD PRESEXT POSiTIOX. 113
the gospel ; but its highest purpose is the salvation
of the soul. Indeed, it may be affirmed, that the
spirit and power of even this secondaiy happiness is,
in the first instance, laid in experimental religion.
That improvement of man which relates to the pre-
sent life must have a moral basis ; and this, again,
must receive its principles from the word of God,
and its capacity for good from his grace. But the
purely spiritual life is much the highest view that
can be taken of his case. On the principle of the
moral nature, religious capabilities, hopes, and, above
all, the immortal destiny of the human family, it will
follow, that the greatest blessing which can be con-
ferred, is that religion which meets all these claims
and fills up these mighty wants. We know, from
what we see and feel, that the real elements of hap-
piness or misery in the present life are moral. It is
true that physical causes operate upon the physical
nature of man, and, through his material organiza-
tion, upon the mental; and also on those sentiments
and feelings which are spiritual. But these are only
the aggravation, not the innate and original cause,
of these painful sensations. The primary evil lies
deeper than the play of external influences, and the
good which is its remedy must be equally deep.
Man is in sin, and is restless, unhappy, full of trou-
ble, mental suffering, and fearful forebodings, in con-
sequence of his guilt. To arrest the sinner in his
career of folly — to lead him to repentance — to turn
him to God — to open in his heart the power and tri-
umphs of faith — to conduct him to Christ — to bring
114 METHODISM IX ITS ORIGIN,
liim to enjoy all the blessings of redeeming love — to
train him up in Christian holiness — to pour upon his
bewildered mind the hopes of a future life — and to
impart all the joys and consolations of present grace :
— are certainly the highest results of the truth and
ordinances of the gospel.
No ministry or church ought to be satisfied with
its operations without these fruits. Every thing in
Christianity is established to effect great results.
An administrative character belongs to aU the means
established in the kingdom of God ; and if the effects
designed and promised do not flow from the working
of a particular church system, it is to be presumed,
either that it is unscriptural in its doctrines and or-
dinances, or that the spirit of the wliole is opposed
to the end proposed.
The true value and real nature of both the minis-
try and the ordinances of the church can only be
estimated by the test of this principle. How great
is an office and a service which stands connected
with the designs of the death of our Lord, and the
grace and power of his mediatorial throne ! " For
the joy that was set before him," he " endured the
cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the
right hand of the throne of God," Heb. xii, 2. The
ministrj' coincides with this high purpose. " All
things are of God, who hath reconciled us to him-
self by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the minis-
try of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassa-
dors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by
us : we pray vou in Christ's stead. Be ye reconciled
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 115
to God." 2 Cor. v, 18, 20. " We then, as workers
together with liim, beseech you also that ye receive
not the grace of God in vain," 2 Cor. vi, 1. "Who
also hath made us able ministers of the New Testa-
ment, not of the letter, but of the spirit : for the let-
ter killeth, but the spirit giveth life," 2 Cor. iii, 6.
" All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore and teach aU nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you. And lo, I am
with you ahvay, even unto the end of the world."
Matt, xxviii, 19, 20. " He that receiveth you, re-
ceiveth me ; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him
that sent me," Matt, x, 40. These and similar ex-
pressions indicate the high nature of the ministry of
the gospel. The end proposed by the death and
mediation of our Lord, as well as the introduction of
the dispensation of the Spirit, and the ordination of
men to this office, are one and the same. To bring
"many sons unto glory, the. Captain of our salva-
tion" was " made perfect through suffering," Heb.
ii, 10 ; and, in a subordinate sense, the same is con-
templated bv the preaching of the word, and the ad-
ministration of ordinances. This is the most impor-
tant and- valuable result that can possibly be reached
by religion. He who is instrumental in saving a
soul accomplishes the greatest work that can be
accomplished, — we do not say by man, — for it cost
God his highest love to do this. The ecclesiastical
scheme, the canonical laws, the economical and dis-
116 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
ciplinary regulations of a church, are its mere ma-
sonry to keep out the wind and weather, or to mark
tiie line on wliich its operations may be most usefully
conducted. The incense within, produced by the
fervent prayers, the faithful preaching, and the de-
vout worship, — all accompanied by the blessed effu-
sions of the Holy Spirit, — constitutes the real life
and power of the church. And this issuing in the
preparation of a countless multitude for, and their
admission into, the kingdom of heaven, is the great
consummation contemplated in the mighty means
employed.
This is the object at which, in imitation of our
fathers, we are to aim. An extended religious hie-
rarchy, unless occupied and filled by a corresponding
number of believing men, saved in the Lord, and
exhibiting the graces, and attending to all the works,
of Christian piety, is like a splendid burial place ; —
scientifically laid out, it may be, covered with ver-
dure, ornamented with every variety of plant and
shrub ; — but still, merely a place of sepulture, where
all that is seen of man is the record of his once hav-
ing lived, and the mute, cold, and soulless effigy of
his material being. On the other hand, a church
which embraces in its pale a large number of happy
disciples, filled with the love of God, and performing
the functions of the spiritual life, is as a country
tenanted by living men ; rendered vocal by their
praises, fruitful by their active and continued labours,
and manifesting the characteristic air and features
of an impassioned sensibility and happiness. Next
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 117
to heaven, this is the highest dwelling place of
God.
No man ever had a commission from God to preach
his truth, (or, having received it, has lost his call-
ing,) if souls are not saved by his labours. He, on
the other hand, who is successful in this, and conse-
quentlj^ kindles a flame of sacred light in the church
in which he ministers, may well be thankful and
satisfied with his lot. He is doing God's greatest
work ; compared with which every thing else is
merely " hewing wood and drawing water" for the
service of his temple.
(3.) This attempt so to administer the truth as to
save lost mankind must be prosecuted as absolutely
essential.
The moral condition of the human family demands,
and always will demand, this effort to lead them to
salvation. The fact, that the whole race is brought
into the world in a fallen state ; that all are " born
in sin and shapen in iniquity ;" and that every one,
in consequence of the corruption and taint of original
depravity, is " a child of wrath ;" makes it necessary
that the healing remedies of the gospel should be
continuously applied. If we imagine that the ad-
vancement of society, even in its most refined and
cultivated forms, is of such a nature as to make it
unnecessary to preach the most elementary truths in
the clearest and plainest manner possible, we have
been " deceived by science, falsely so called." If,
again, we so hold the initiatory sacrament of bap-
tism, as to confer, certainly and necessarily, the
118 iMETHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
blessings of justification and regeneration, to be rati-
fied and perpetuated by the Lord's supper, and thus
fail to make conversion necessary in all, we most
certainly misinterpret the meaning of those sacred
ordinances, and endanger the salvation of mankind.
No ; the fountain of original sin is not yet dried up ;
it sends forth its bitter waters still ; and they arc as
deep, as wide, and as turbid as ever. The non-
necessity of the gospel, in its clearest light and
richest grace, would suppose a reversal of the primi-
tive curse. This has not taken place, and never
will, till the trial of the world ends. The present
and all succeeding generations have, and will con-
tinue to have, the stamp of original depravity upon
them ; will be the alienated children of God ; will
manifest the accustomed " enmity" of " the carnal
mind ;" and be found " dead in trespasses and in
sins." Yes ; the world is fuU of the dead and the
dying. The Saviour, the fountain of regeneration,
the doctrine of faith and justification, are, and ever
win be, as necessary as when these great mercies
were first made known. Polish man as you may,
nothing can save him but the grace of God.
This forms the ground of an urgent necessity for
the faithful preaching of the whole " gospel of the
blessed God." The economy of Christianity is to
be considered in the light of an ever-perfect and pre-
sent provision for the evils and miseries of a fallen
and ruined world. With the poison and pain of a
mortal malady, it is of the highest mercy that a heal-
ing remedy is provided. But this only becomes
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 119
effective when it is applied. The business of the
ministry and of the ordinances of the church is to
open and bring near the grace provided.
The gospel itself insists, in the most strenuous
maimer, on the danger of man in an unconverted
state, as well as the absolute necessity, in all, of faith
and pardon. " There is none righteous, no, not one.
There is no difference : for all have sinned, and
come short of the glory of God." Rom. iii, 10, 22,
23. "The wages of sin is death," Rom. vi, 23.
" He that believeth not is condemned already," John
iii, 18. " Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish," Luke xiii, 3. " Except ye be converted,
and become as little children, ye shall in no case
enter into the kingdom of heaven," Matt, xviii, 3.
These are the unequivocal declarations of Scripture
respecting those who are destitute of an interest in
the provisions of the covenant of grace. No means
can reach this case, but such as reverse it. The
impenitent must be brought to repentance ; the un-
righteous, to attain the righteousness of faith ; the
" carnal," and those who are " sold under sin," to
the fountain of regeneration ; the unholy and unclean
to " the blood which cleanses" from all sin ; and
those who are living estranged from God, " through
the ignorance that is in them," to the possession of
his love, and a joyful fellowship in the service of
his house.
To the extent of this, the dangers and evils of sin
are removed ; and (fearful to think !) the rest of
mankind are living under all the rigour of the law.
120 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
Surely this consideration ought to induce all who
are engaged in seeking the lost souls of men, to
" work while it is day.*' Etiquette and order are
things lighter than air, when placed in contrast with
this imperative obligation. This is the first great
principle of Christianity. It is, in fact, the one rule
of this merciful system ; it transcends all other con-
siderations, and sets them aside, if they stand in its
way, as " wood, hay, and stubble." This was the
great gospel law, on which our fathers acted. Their
object was one — to save souls from eternal misery.
When this presented itself, in all its vividness, to
their believing and ardent minds, they did not " coni-
fer with flesh and blood," court the countenance of
the great, parley with human authority, ask if the
duty harmonized with the " traditions of the elders,"
or ran in a parallel line with the canons of the Church.
They broke these " withs" and " bands" in sunder
at once, and " rushed into every open door," to pro-
clauii the Saviour to lost mankind. If we possess the
grace to emulate their example, and tread in their
footsteps, the conversion of men from sin to God will
be the lirst and the last object of our ministry, and
of all our exertions.
(4.) We are under obligation to " mind the same
thing," — ^namely, the promotion of vital piety, as a
mark of fidelity to our trust and to God.
When true churches have fallen, they have been
unfaithful to first principles and prunitive usage. All
reformation has turned on the point of restoring the
doctrines and worship of the church to their Scrip-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 121
tural simplicity. Had Christian churches been faith-
ful to the truth, to their vocation, and to the legiti-
mate objects of their institution, the frightful enor-
mities which were perpetrated in the Christian name
would have been avoided, and long before the present
period the world would have been filled with the
sound of salvation. How admonitory is the history
of the church ! Its apostacies, heresies, disunion,
sloth, avarice, cruelties, and abominable corruptions,
stand out as a beacon on the shores of a sea as dan-
gerous and full of shoals to us as to them. May
God give us grace to take the warning, and avoid
their doom !
That a blessing has rested on our doctrines and
system of operations, ive know ; though others may
doubt, and, indeed, contradict and deny. God has
affixed his signet, — we do not shrink from the re-
sponsibility of saying, — openly, visibly., palpably, to
the truths delivered among us, on a scale as wide
and varied as in any portion of the modern church ;
we think, much more so. What are the fruits and
beauties which adorn the earth, but a public, obvious,
and sensible proof that the God of nature is living in
her domains, touching every spring and law of life,
causing the " little hills to drop fatness," " the val-
leys to sing for joy," and crowning the teeming year
with his goodness ■? In like manner, when we behold
the soul adorned with Christian graces, the word of
the gospel " running and being glorified," outpour-
ings of the Spirit vouchsafed, and tens of thousands
brought into the faith and liberty of God's people, it
122 METHODISM 1\ ITS ORIGIN,
would be next to blasphemy to deny that this is the
work of God.
A full and firm adherence to the first and princi-
pal objects of this work, if our inference be true, is
no other than faithfulness to God. He has either
committed a " dispensation of the gospel" to us, or
not ; if he has done so, then it behooves us to " hold
fast the form of sound words in faith and love ;" if
not, then our cause must sink, as all religious out-
breaks do which rest not upon the true foundation.
" Perilous times" have overtaken us ; and our obli-
gations are more onerous, if possible, than ever.
We need feel no surprise if our cause, in its doctri-
nal sj'stem, it-s church order, and its very objects and
purposes, be subjected to a fiery ordeal. Certainly,
if the remarkable and portentous movement now
going on be permitted to follow up its career, and
achieve its object, we cannot possibly avoid coming
into direct and palpable collision. The two systems
are the very antipodes of each other. The question
to be solved by the history of a few years is, whe-
ther our conununity, in unison with other evangelical
bodies, will have the piety, strength of principle,
humble faith, self-denying spirit, and fidelity to God,
to maintain our faith inviolate in the midst of this
swelling flood. If it shall please God to give us this
grace, a new and most important service for the
general interests of religion will be added to the
past, and somewhat different to any hitherto per-
formed. Whrj should we either hide the truth from
owselves, or hesitate to amiounce it ? — If this church,
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 123
in connection with the other parties referred to, do
not exert itself for the preservation of the truths of
the gospel, in their simplicity and power, there is
every probability that the nation must, ere long, fall
again under the dominion of falsehood and supersti-
tion. The silence of the state ; the flimsy apologe-
tical language, rather than dignified reproof, admin-
istered on the part of the bishops ; their positive
countenance of the principles of the Tractarian
scheme ; the zeal and fanaticism of the young blood
of the Church, which must influence the next gene-
ration ; the apostacies of the clergy that have taken
place, and are hourly going on ; and then, the natu-
ral fondness of human nature for novelty, when it
panders to its pride : — we say, all these considera-
tions lead us to the deep conviction, that the mainte-
nance of the truth of God, and the liberties of his
people, rest in other hands than in those of the esta-
blished Church, except in the case of a very small
remnant, who refuse to bow the knee to this new in-
carnation of Baal. May we and other evangelical
bodies be found faithful witnesses for Clirist !
2. But in minding the same thing, namely, the
salvation of mankind, as first in importance, and un-
perativc in obligation, it is essential to " walk by the
same rule."
(1.) Let us still exhibit the cross and offices of
our Saviour clearly and fully. This is an essential
rule.
"We have no right to expect the same results as
were secured by the labours of our predecessors, un-
124 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
less we employ the same means. Our ministry must
be rich, powerful, effective, and saving, in proportion
as we proclaim " Christ, and him crucified." We
must recollect that success rests on the divine bless-
ing ; so that the question, as to the necessity of
preaching the cross, must be determined by the place
it occupies in the economy of our salvation. If we
inquire, What doctrines are found to receive the di-
vine sanction, in such manner as to bring about the
great spiritual objects which are contemplated in the
gospel ■? it will be found that they have always been
those of which the cross is the centre truth. Human
opinion has in all cases determined otherwise. It
has generally been thought prudent and expedient to
begin a course of teaching (especially the ignorant
and vicious) with the elements of moral truth, the
divine attributes, the obligations and details of the
law, or the adoption of some kind of scenic and pic-
torial teaching, as is now attempted to be re-intro-
duced for the purpose of conveying instruction to the
ignorant. Facts oppose these theories altogether.
Effects do unquestionably follow the adoption of any
one of these modes of operation ; but, then, are they
the effects proposed by the gospel ] Rationalism may
spring from one class of means, and superstition from
another ; and either of these may become widely
spread, take deep root, and hold millions of men for
ages in their iron grasp, impress them with their
own respective moral lineage, and fix their destiny ;
but what are their characteristics ? Are the people
penitent, pardoned, regenerate, holy, devoted to God's
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 125
service, and full of faith and good works 1 These
are the fruits contemplated by the preaching of Chris-
tian truth, and the administration of the means of
grace. But they are never found in union with the
theories mentioned, when those theories are put into
a working form, and made to operate as church sys-
tems. On the other hand, it has never been known,
that the atonement of our Lord has been proclaimed,
in connection with the other truths flowing from that,
l)ut great and powei-ful effects have followed ; and
that, in the particulars specified, men have been saved
from their sins.
This is accounted for on the ground of the position
of the cross in the scheme of our salvation, and the
consequent bestowment of grace from God, through
it, as the medium. In this view of the case, the
death of Christ is not a mere instrument by which a
skilful and eloquent preacher may deal most effect-
ually ^vith the feelings of his auditory ; but it is the
point where God meets the sinner, and, consequently,
to which the sinner must be drawn, in order that he
may so meet him. This is the true reason for the
faithful enunciation of this doctrine, and the true
ground of its usefulness. When does God manifest
himself in blessing ? It will be said. Whenever he,
the sinner, believes. But it may be asked. In what "?
Not in any vagaries which man in his officiousness
may think right to set up, but in this one truth, —
Christ crucified for sin. No faith but this is saving ;
and hence the infinite importance of teaching it on
the largest possible scale.
126 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
Other sentiments, even wlien drawn from tho word
of God, if placed in an isolated form, and disjointed
from the cross of our Lord, are proved in the history
of Christianity to be utterly unavailing in respect of
any saving result. It follows from this, that no one
can do the work of God, but by clearly, constantly,
and fully proclaiming the doctrine of the atonement,
without any reserve. Our fathers were distinguish-
ed for this. In their circumstances, their preaching
must of necessity have been destitute of the attrac-
tions of erudition and ornament, culled from the
philosophers and poets ; and yet it proved to be full
of power, and great were the effects. When we
inquire as to the cause of this, the answer is at hand :
They everywhere exhibited the doctrine of Christ
crucified, drew the people to faith in the Saviour,
and, on the ground of that faith, God bestowed the
blessings of his salvation. Let us imitate them in
this, and we need be under no apprehension as to
the decay of our cause, or the want of fruit in our
ministry.
(2.) Let us place the doctrine of the Holy Spirit's
influence prominently before the attention and faith
of the people, in agreement with the position it really
holds in the economy of our salvation. This is
essential in carrying on the work of God.
The Holy Spirit's offices stand in necessary con-
nection -with the j)ersonal glories and atonement of
our Lord. Regeneration, with its collateral fruits,
is as much a doctrine of the New Testament as jus-
tification itself. But this involves the necessity of
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 127
tlie Spirit's grace and power. Indeed, none of the
practical blessings of the gospel can possibly be se-
cured without the presence and powerful operation
of this divine Agent. The truth itself, and the
administration of the sacraments, though in their in-
stitution Scriptural, must fail of producing saving
results, unless the dispensation of the Spirit accom-
pany the external means. How can the blind see,
the dead live, and the polluted heart — the fountain
and spring of all moral emotion, feeling, and passion
— send forth the pure streams of religious joy, love,
and holiness, but by the " washing of regeneration"
through the Holy Spirit? The whole scheme of
Scriptural piety presupposes this divine influence ;
and to go about the task of saving lost mankind,
without adopting means to secure His effusions, and
prominently setting forth his glories, must prove
utterly futile.
We are assured, from the nature of the work itself,
the difficulties to be overcome, and the fruits which
have followed, that, in an eminent sense, our past
successes and prosperity have been spiritual in their
cause. Nothing less than the fulfdment of the pro-
mise made to his first ministers by Christ, repeated
in the case of our fathers, could have either fitted
them for their ministry, or rendered it so remarkably
powerful as we know it to have been. The great
movements which took place under their word, —
when multitudes wept aloud in penitent sorrow, fell
in prostrate devotion before the Lord, cried out in
agony and affliction of heart, " Men and bretliren.
128 METHODISM IN ITS ORIO.IN",
what shall we do'?" and when, at the same time and
place, this scene of sorrow was often suddenly turn-
ed into joy, the night into day, and the sense of guilt,
bondage, and danger, into the happiness of a con-
scious pardon, and all the characteristics of a new
life, — were deemed disorderly, fanatical, and enthu-
siastic as the works and fruits of the Spirit must
be by those who judge of religion by the common
sentiments of nature. But in the midst of great re-
proach, we have invariably adhered to the doctrine
in question, and have no hesitation in confessing^
that the truth or falsehood of our claims, the reality
or fictitious nature of our work, and the divinity or
human origin of our whole system, must depend,
first, on the existence and ofiice of the Holy Ghost,
and then on his efficient operation in our ministry
and ordinances. If his influence be denied in our
work, then the whole must be accounted for on some
other principles ; and we ask the objector to furnish
us with his solution of the case, and his array of
agencies in the accomplishment of this spiritual
creation. Deny the Spirit's grace in the progress
of Methodism, and the whole sinks into a merely
human enterprise ; admit the claim, and it stands out
as a genuine work of God. Our antagonists take
the first alternative ; we adopt the latter. They
account for the rise and progress of the most remark-
able revival of religion in modern times, on the
ground of some favourable incidents, adaptation of
circumstances, state of the public mind, and the pecu-
liar fitness of the agents engaged to bring about the
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 129
result. All these are utterly insufficient, if it be
granted that conversions were effected ; and if they
were not, can our opponents tell us what the change
from sin to holiness, which took place in thousands
of instances, and was sustained by a consistent life
for many years, really was, and how brought about ?
By a series of well-established facts, we know that
our work, from the beginning, has been carried on
by the influence of the Holy Spirit, granted in silent
and gentle power, or in rich and glorious effusions,
according to his own will. We must still depend on
the same divine agency. To secure this, our doc-
trines must be true, simple, plain, and exhibit the
whole work of Christ ; our worship must embrace all
the objects of such an exercise, " in spirit and in
truth ;" our church order must be Scriptural, and
only comprehend and propose to carry out the spi-
ritual designs of Christianity ; our people themselves
must live in faith, praj-er, self-denial, purity, good
works, and charity ; and withal, honour must be
done to the Holy Ghost, by expressly invoking his
blessing, and yielding to his teaching and grace.
A word of caution, it is hoped, may not be con-
sidered unseasonable. We are, and probably shall
be, exposed to danger on this point. The danger re-
ferred to is exhibited in the history of all times and
all churches. It is that of ceasing, practically, to
depend on the Spirit's influence, as the result of
something like mature hierarchical arrangements.
It may have happened in the case of individual
ministers, when young, inexperienced, dependant,
9
130 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN',
and full of fear and apprehension, that they were
dilijrent in prayer for the assistance and blessing of
the Holy Spirit ; but, as time advanced, as stores of
knowledge were acquired, and a facility in preach-
ing obtained, there may have been less of this. The
result is seen. The early ministry of such men will
have been eminently useful, in the conversion of sin-
ners ; and the latter part of it, by reason of their not
enjoying the same " unction of the Holy One," com-
paratively barren. The same may be the case with
churches. When despised, persecuted, poor, few
in number, and surrounded by every form of difficul-
ty, they are, of necessity, driven to first principles —
to cry to God, repose in his power, and expect the
conversion of sinners and the enlargement of their
borders, by the power of the Holy Ghost. But as
they grow in numbers, respectability, and wealth ;
as their organization, religious ordinances, and means
of grace become more perfect and regular ; and,
moreover, as verbal definitions, canonical laws, ec-
clesiastical arrangements, and the dress and adorn-
ing of the system become more and more attractive ;
it is extremely possible for such a community par-
tially to lose sight of the necessity of spiritual influ-
ence in the operations of the church, and to depend
mainly on the efficiency of the machinery. Let us
avoid this danger. While we are grateful to God
for our increased facilities for worship, and the en-
joyment of full religious services, let us cherish the
same humble dependance on the effusions of the
Holy Ghost, as if we went out, as our fathers did,
KCONOMV, AND PRESENT POSITION. 131
without " scrip" or " sandals," and with nothing but
the truth in our hands. And, besides this, we are
taught by our own history not to prescribe modes of
operation to the Spirit ; not to mark out channels for
the water of life ; nor to imagine that the " wind"
must necessarily blow from one quarter. Let us re-
member, "the wind bloweth where it listeth." If
God chooses to disturb the still, calm, quiet duties
and devotions of any particular place, by pouring out
his Spirit, so as to awaken " the dead in sin," and
by this to produce opposition, and the old complaint
of " enthusiasm," let us not be ashamed of the impu-
tation. On the other hand, it is essential to our
prosperity, the perpetuity of our work, the salvation
of the wicked, and the ultimate end we propose, —
the conversion of the world, — that the Holy Ghost
should exhibit his power constantly among us. This
must be sought by every legitimate means ; and He
must not be " grieved," or " quenched," by a fasti-
dious fear of offending the cold, sober, and skeptical
portions of men around, who, when they succeed in
driving good men from one point of practical ortho-
doxy, never rest till they have driven them from the
next, and then the following, till the church sinks
into perfect apathy and death.
(3.) Let us continue to proclaim, constantly, as
on the house-top, the doctrine of salvation by grace.
Grace, we mean, in contradistinction to works.
This is not only necessary to the evangelical charac-
ter of a church's creed ; but its faithful declaration
is indispensable to the success of its exertions to
132 METHODISM IN ITS ORIOIN,
save the souls of men. It was a bold and noble task,
undertaken on the part of our fathers, in their day,
to preach a gratuitous salvation, confronted as they
were at every point, and in every place, by a host
of law-and-merit men. Nearly the whole theology
of those times was imbued by this spirit, and its
authors were prepared to defend it against the in-
truders, who by this one doctrine sapped the founda-
tion o{ the foir fabric.
The true question is, whether, in treating with a
sinner, on the matter of his pardon and sanctification,
God acts in the plenitude of his own grace, or on
the ground of man's personal state, as to his obe-
dience, works, innate fitness, or observance of sacra-
mental duties. This is to be considered as a fact,
on one side or the other ; and our exertions must
agree to the truth as it may be fixed in the economy
of Christianity, and revealed in Holy Scripture. It
is most evident, that all ministerial and church exer-
tions to accomplish the ends proposed by the gospel,
must depend, for their success, on their harmony
with the established order of the economy itself.
We are speaking of legitimate effects ; not of all
kinds of influence and power over the masses of
mankind. It has happened in the course of the his-
tory, for instance, of the Popish hierarchy, that the
end sought has been secured. The advocates of
that great and dire apostacy have fixed on this as
an argument of its being the pure catholic church,
to which our Lord made his promises of perpetuity,
universality, and that he, by his sacred Spirit, would
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 133
continue to be with it " to the end of the world,"
Matt, xxviii, 20. Here, it is ar^ed, is a visible
Christian power which has existed from the begin-
ning of Christianity, possessing one head, a uni-
versal ecclesiastical authority, a regular succession
of priests, the true sacraments, and whose doctrines
have been professed by unnumbered nations. On
account of this power are claimed all the attributes
and rights of the one, true, and only church of God.
We ask, whether the gracious ends proposed by
Christianity have been accomplished by the doctrines
and offices of this church 1 or whether it presents
itself in the aspect of a mere organization of men,
under the domination of superstition 1 When we
enter this splendid temple, and examine its preten-
sions by the infallible test of Scripture, we find that,
instead of Christian fruit, we have a system of gross
and palpable idolatry, and every corresponding enor-
mity. On this and other evidence, we are led to
see, that great effects may follow a professedly re-
ligious establishment, and yet that those effects may
not be Christian in their character. To secure these,
it is clear that the means employed must be in har-
mony with the manner in which God produces them.
Now it only requires an impartial examination of
the word of God to perceive that salvation is of
grace. " The grace of God that bringeth salvation
hath appeared to all men," Titus ii, 11. " We have
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins, according to the riches of his grace," Eph. i, 7.
" Not by works of righteousness which we have
134 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
done, but according to his mercy he saved us," Titus
iii, 5. This is the general language of the gospel
message. It exhibits a provision, a law, a settled
rule, in the kingdom of God. This cannot be alter-
ed by man. Teaching of another sort may be re-
sorted to ; and, in fact, the utmost pains have been
taken to establish other doctrines, to the utter repu-
diation of this. Have they succeeded "! Poor, guilty,
and polluted sinners have been trained, drilled, and
exhorted, in every form of language, to look for the
blessing of God by the observance of ceremonies,
the works of law, and self-mortiiication. Has God
met them at these shrines of human superstition, and
conferred upon them the forgiveness of sin and the
gift of his Holy Spirit ? If effects are to determine
the question, we may know infallibly that he has not.
They remain still in the misery and pollution of sin ;
and though they exercise some kind of unintelligible
dependance on their performances, yet the salvation
they expect is always distant, and they are taught
to decry the notion of present effects, Not so when
the doctrine of grace is faithfully proclaimed. Led
to God by a system of teaching which represents
him as a God of love, ^' pardoning iniquity, trans-
gression, and sin," from the free and spontaneous
motions of his own grace, he meets them in the ful-
ness of his mercy, and in Christ Jesus freely justi-
fies and saves them. Let us still adhere to this
doctrine, publish it abroad, and endeavour, by all the
means in our power, to cause it to be received. It
has hitherto been our life, our power, our means of
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 135
success. Nothing can supersede it. With it, we,
and others of like creed, may still move the world ;
without it, we must sink into oblivion !
(4.) Let us continue, in all our labours for the
salvation of men and the triumphs of the gospel, to
trust to the sufficiency of faith.
Keeping the end in view, all along referred to, —
the induction of sinners into the privileges and bless-
ings of the gospel, — the doctrine of faith must be the
main instrument. The point on which it is desired
that attention may be fixed is this : — that the apos-
tles who finished the canon of Holy Scripture,
not only imbodied this truth as of fundamental im-
portance in the sacred records, but employed it with-
out reserve in their labours for the conversion of
men. Their whole teaching was in exact accord-
ance with this one address : " Be it known unto you
therefore, men and brethren, that through this man
is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins : and
by him all that believe are justified from all things,
from which ye could not be justified by the law of
Moses," Acts xiii, 38, 39. This was their great
rule, and in imitation of this apostolic practice, our
predecessors adopted the same line^of proceeding.
The law, it is true, whereby is " the knowledge of
sin," and the obligations of repentance and of works
meet for repentance, were everywhere insisted upon ;
but, in the matter of pardon and the attainment of
" the liberty of the sons of God," faith alone was
taught. This was the great lever which, in the
hands of the first preachers of Christian doctrine.
136 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
moved the world ; and which on the last revival of
religion produced so deep an impression. Without
the application and constant use of this doctrine, any
church must either sink into some kind of heresy, or
assume some form of external superstition. Purity
and life cannot be conserved, but by a constant union
with Christ, and the rich reception of the grace of
his Spirit ; and this union can only be maintained
by faith. " The just shall live by faith," Hebrews
X, 38.
If we " stand in the old paths," and address our-
selves to the duty of seeking the conversion of man-
kind, laying aside every other subject, and do this
in the proper sense of the expression ; then we shall
be true to this principle, because we shall find that
nothing else will accomplish the end we seek. Let
us not be diverted from this by the consideration,
that great numbers of our people are so far advanced
in Christian attainments as to make it inexpedient
to keep up this kind of ministry among them. The
object is to bring into the experience of saving grace
those who are destitute of these blessings ; and it
would be wrong to neglect the state of those who
are not saved, by the consideration of those who are.
In old congregations, as well as in new places, if the
" edification of the body of Christ" be sought, by the
constant accession of new converts, then this light
must be kept up " to guide their feet into the way
of peace." Preaching the doctrine of faith keeps the
door of our Lord's house constantly open ; the way
to his kingdom clear and well defined ; presents the
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 137
blessings of pardon and acceptance as constantly
practicable ; and exhibits the grace of God, and the
passion and merit of Christ, as in perspective, to the
sight and hopes of sinners.
This is the case with regard to the church in her
stated and general ordinances and services. But,
in addition to this. Christian bodies, with their minis-
ters and means, ought to go much beyond the line
of their own established services, in seeking the sal-
vation of the lost. The darkest places of our own
population ought to be entered ; the most profligate
and abandoned ought to be sought ; the church-neg-
lecting and out-door masses, which constitute the
vast majority, ought to be visited, in their neglected
state, by the pervading and aggressive calls of the
gospel. And then, beyond our own limits lie the
dark dominions of Popery, Mohammedanism, and
Pagan idolatry. How are these wants to be met ■?
We have only one mode of successful enterprise,
and that is, in continuing to imitate the example of
the first evangelists, and our own predecessors, in
proclaiming'the freeness of God's grace to be re-
ceived by faith. All prosperity and success depend
not merely on holding the truth, as a dogma, but on
the use made of this doctrine in the services of the
church ; the public preaching of the word ; and la-
bours employed to carry out the purposes of the gos-
pel, in the conversion of the world of ungodly men.
This is the truth which God has ever sanctioned by
the effusions of his blessed Spirit ; and without these
influences, churches can neither preserve their
138 MKTHODIS.M IN ITS ORIGI.V,
vitality, nor fulfil the divine purpose in the salvation
of those who are " ignorant and out of the way."
(5.) Finall}', let us rest on the perfection of the
gospel in itself, and the means it employs, guarding
against all refinements, or the employment of human
expedients to accomplish the Lord's work.
Nothing can be conceived of more importance than
this. It is just as possible to carry expediency into
religion as into the business of civil life. There will
always be the temptation to this. To make the
teaching and ordinances of the gospel palatable to
the age, to adjust it to circumstances, to render it
attractive and ornamental, and, by adorning it in the
dress and colouring of a secular eloquence and ex-
ternal beauty, to endeavour to render it popular and
agreeable to public taste ; — are dangers to which we,
in common with all other Christian bodies, are ex-
posed. There is great plausibility in all this ; and
when it becomes excessive, the effect is, to put aside
the gospel and service of God, properly considered,
and to substitute the shadow for the substance, the
flesh for the spirit, and the human for the divine.
The pure and unadorned gospel is itself the essence
of beauty and grandeur. Standing out in its simpli-
city, mercy, holiness, and hopes, nothing can equal
its sublimity. The spiritual glories of Christianity
are too ethereal and divine to receive improvement
from the human intellect ; and, in their unsophisti-
cated truth, they are too powerful to need the inge-
nuity of man to render them effective. But we are
not speaking of Christianity in its abstract verity and
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 139
beauty, but as the instrument of carrying on God's
saving work in the world. We deem the gospel,
independent of any other means, sufficient. It is
unquestionably right and necessary, that godly order,
discipline, and rules of action should be devised by
the church, and observed by its ministers and people.
But what, it may be inquired, is the relation of these
things to the truth 1 Just the same as that of the
walls and the different utensils of the temple to the
fire burning on the altar, to the divine " glory shining
between the cherubim." There could be no re-
ligious benefit in the sacred edifice itself, or in the
arrangements of the services of religion : the grace
of God flowed from the truth taught, the sacrifices
presented, the functions of the high priest, — all typi-
cal of the glorious work of Christ. In like manner,
however complete the hierarchical arrangements
may be in the Christian church, no saving efficacy
can attend them, unless the gospel itself is found
there also. If preached in the " highways," on the
mountain's brow, in the streets of our cities, or be-
neath the shade of spreading trees, this gospel will
still be efficacious to save.
The movement now going on among the Tracta-
rians contemplates religious results and benefits,
chiefly through the sacraments ; and in like manner
depreciates the value and efficacy of preaching as a
divine ordinance. In what relation does St. Paul
place the preaching of the gospel ] He says to the
Corinthians, " I thank God that I baptized none of
you, but Crispus and Gaius ; lest any should say that
140 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
I had baptized in mine own name. And I baptized
also the household of Stephanas : besides, I know
not whether I baptized any other. For Christ sent
me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel." 1 Cor.
i, 14-17. It W'Ould be curious to hear those who so
strenuously distinguish between the prophetic, and
what is called the priestly, functions in the Christian
ministry, explain this passage. The pre-eminence
is always given to the priestly office ; and yet, in op-
position to this, St. Paul glories in the fact, that
Christ had not sent him to baptize, but to preach !
The reason is clear enough : by preaching the truth
of God, he had been made instrumental in the salva-
tion of men. To the Ephesian church, he said :
" In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation : in whom
also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that
Holy Spirit of promise," Eph. i, 13. Their " be-
lieving," their " salvation," their " sealing," arose
out of their " hearing" the gospel. In his complaints
to the Galatians he adverts to this : " I marvel that
ye are so soon removed from him that called you
into the grace of Christ unto another gospel," Gal.
i, 6. And again : " This only would I learn of you,
Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or
by the hearing of faith V Gal. iii, 2. Here it is
evident that this people had been called into the
" grace of Christ" by that gospel which they had
perverted, and had also received the Spirit by " the
hearing of faith." To the Thessalonians he writes :
" For this cause thank we God without ceasing,
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 141
because, when ye received the word of God which
ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men,
but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectu-
ally worketh also in you that believe," 1 Thess. ii,
13. To the same people, in his Second Epistle, he
says : " But we are bound to give thanks alway to
God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salva-
tion through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief
of the truth : whereunto he called you by our gospel,
to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ," 2 Thess. ii, 13, 14. They were " called,"
we see, to all these blessings through the gospel,
which "worked effectually in them that believed."
To the Romans the apostle breaks out into the noble
exclamation : " For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ ; for it is the power of God unto salvation
to every one that believeth ; to the Jew first, and
-also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith to faith : as it is \\Titten,
The just shall live by faith." Rom. i, 16, 17. Facts
corroborate this doctrine. The impressions wrought
on the day of Pentecost, as connected with the out-
pouring of the Spirit, took place under the preach-
ing of Peter; and when God opened "the door of
faith to the Gentiles" in the family of Cornelius, it
was by the word of the gospel delivered by the same
eminent apostle.
We may fairly assume from these Scriptural ex-
amples, that those ministers who are the most pains-
taking preachers of the word of God, will be the most
142 METHODISM IS ITS ORIGIN,
successful in bringing the lost sheep, for whom the
Saviour died, to faith in his name, and the enjoy-
ment of his grace. The uijcompromising conduct
of our fathers in this, as in other things, is a fine
example to us. They trusted in the efficiency of
the gospel in its own truth, divinity, and power ; and
only combined with its faithful preaching such means
as it suggests. There was a directness — what in
technical language might possibly be called a dogma-
tism — in their enunciation of the truth, which left
none in the dark respecting its meaning. The
thoughtless sinner did not go away complimenting
himself that he was not like other men ; he was left
in no uncertainty as to whether it was his duty to
repent and turn to God ; the necessity and the marks
of the new birth were given, so that none could
easily mistake the question ; and the present prac-
ticability of faith in Christ, and, through that, the
attainment of pardon and every other blessing, were
pointedly but encouragingly exhibited. Great have
been the eifects ; and similar ones must continue to
follow, if we employ the doctrines of the gospel un-
mutilated by the inventions of man's wisdom.
We have great advantages in our meditations on
these momentous questions, in the circumstance that
our system rests on these principles ; and in their
truth, again, being corroborated by the work of God
around us. " Other men laboured, and we are en-
tered into their labours.*' They have, indeed, in all
respects, left us the legacy of a bright example. We
are instructed in our present obligations and duties
ECONOMY, A\D PRESENT POSITIO.V. 143
by their spirit, manner of life, preaching, toils, and
triumphs ; we are led to see the manner in which
God blesses and owns the plans and labours of his
servants, in their great success in the conversion of
sinners ; we are animated and encouraged, by the
support given to them in their poverty, privations,
and sufferings ; we are filled with hope respecting
the future, by beholding, from low and insignificant
beginnings, an extended, spiritual, and active Chris-
tian communit}'-, still endeavoui-ing to fulfil the com-
mands of Christ ; we derive gi-eat advantages from
the moral power (next to that of God) which is the
combined effect of the wisdom, piety, and evangelical
labours of our ancestors ; and, above all, we are in-
structed by the living and dying joys and holiness
of a countless host of witnesses to the truth and
divinity of the religion we have received ourselves,
and are endeavouring to propagate in the world.
Methodism is a great moral creation. Explain
its principles as you may, here it stands ! What
awaits it, we know not ; for, who can penetrate the
future 1 With one feeling we are deeply impressed ;
namely, that at present and in future, the spirit of
genuine. Scriptural, deep, and devoted piety culti-
vated by its living disciples, must fix its state. This
has ever been its power ; and if this be lost, Method-
ism must dwindle first into a form, then into secta-
rianism, and expire. Our best light, next to the
Bible, is the past history of our own body. We here
behold God working in condescending mercy, in
making those " a people who were not a people ;"
144 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
we see the principles and doctrines of the gospel illus-
trated by effects and fruits the most unequivocal ;
we are made acquainted with its simple efficiency,
unaided by the countenance of power, or any other
adventitious support ; and we behold " the foolish
things of the world confound the wise ; weak things
of the world confound the things which are mighty ;
base things of the world, and things which are de-
spised, and things which are not, bring to naught
things that are : that no flesh should glory in his
presence," 1 Cor. i, 27-29. Our safety is still to
follow the pillar in the wilderness ; to " walk by the
same rule, to mind the same thing."
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 145
PART II.
IN CONSIDERING OUR POSITION AS A CHRISTIAN COM-
MUNITY, IT WILL BE REQUISITE TO EXAMINE THE
SUBJECT IN ITS ECCLESIASTICAL OR ECONOMICAL
ASPECTS,
It may be proper to premise, that our status, in
the midst of the general Christianity of the world,
has been, and still continues to many observers to
be, a perplexing phenomenon, — an inexplicable ano-
maly : the}' know not how to classify us, or what to
make of us. Popery is very well understood, in the
supremacy of its chief; its conclave of cardinals ;
its power of the keys ; its claim of infallibility ; its
pretended catholicity ; its theological sentiments ; its
oppressive discipline ; and its long history of blood
and persecution : but then we are not Papists, and
cannot be judged by the rules of this hierarchy.
Diocesan episcopacy, as held by many authorities,
is a tangible system. The exclusive government of
bishops ; the distinction of the three orders ; the
apostolical succession ; the supposed efficacy of the
sacraments from the hands of this order of priests
only ; the Church, as the only catholic form of Chris-
tianity in this country, founded on the divine-right
principle, to the exclusion of all other Christian com-
munities ; are very intelligible points. But we do
not fall within these lines of demarcation, and, in-
10
146 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
deed, have our place assigned us out of the pale
of the Church. Presbyterianism, too, possesses
its well-defined platform. Its pastorate, assembly,
lay-eldership, confession of faith, modes of discipline,
are all accurately exhibited. But we cannot be
identified with this system in detail, though we are
regulated by many of its principles. Independency,
in its several communities, and in its all-absorbing
suffrage principle, is comprehensible ; but we are
not Independents. By reason of our non-identifica-
tion with these bodies of professed Christians, in
their several distinctive and ecclesiastical party di-
visions, many of them deny that we are a church at
all ; and consider us merely as a set of irregular re-
ligionists, and if saved at all, it must be on the ground
of what they call the uncovenanted mercies of God.
It never occurs to over-zealous and ultra parti-
sans, that, by possibility, there may be some truth
beyond the limits of their own enclosures. These
one-idea-cd men do not stop to think, as they cherish
their fond but single notion, that there may be both
variety and harmony ; and, consequently, the mere
fact of a community of Christians not being of their
party, is no proof that they have no place in the
" body of Christ :" or that they are not true churches,
or parts of the one true church of the living God.
Moreover, it might not be amiss, if those who isolate
themselves from the whole of Christianity except
their own, were to inquire if their foundation is
broad enough to sustain the entire kingdom of God ;
if the platform they have laid for themselves and
ECONOMV, AND PRESENT POSITION. 147
their religious operations is sufficiently extended and
expansive to develop the whole truth of God, the
mercies of redemption, and his gracious purpose to
save the world. But, above all things, it might be
useful to all parties who investigate these questions,
carefully to distinguish between that which is divine,
and that which is human, in connection with the
church. If this were regarded, it would follow, that
any Christian body which should faithfully hold the
divine and immutable truth of the gospel, must be of
the true church ; though in the department which is
human, and in which freedom is allowed, it might
differ from others. There would be just as much
sense in denying that a civil society could not be-
long either to the community of men or of nations,
because they choose to adopt a costume different from
that of other people, and because in their institutions
shades of difference appear on questions of govern-
ment ; as in affirming that bodies of men are not
Christian churches, though they hold all " the truth
as it is in Jesus," because they do not conform to
a set of regulations which have originated in expe-
diency. On this rule of distinguishing the divine
from the human, it might be found, on examination,
that many of the principles in each existing system
of church order are out of place ; and that a new
adjustment would be an advantage, and much more
in agreement with the whole truth than that held by
any of the isolated bodies, calling themselves the
church.
But this must appear irregular to those who limit
Its METHODIfSM I\ ITS ORIGIN",
all truth to their own foundation. Church polity can
only have for its legitimate purpose, preaching the
truth of God, the discipline of the New Testament,
feeding the sheep of Christ's flock, and carrying out
the purposes of redeeming love in the conversion of
the world. This polity is not the church, though it
is often so considered ; but it is the rule of its go-
vernment, and the instrument of its action. Is it
human, or is it divine 1 That to which the whole
administration of the church relates, as the gospel
itself, the laws of Christ as the rule of life, the sa-
craments to be administered, is divine. The office,
too, of pastor, bishop, or presbyter, as a generic
function, is divhie. But here we stop. The exer-
cise of the church's own liberty, or rather judgment
and prudence, begins at this point. What God has
absolutely revealed and authoritatively appointed,
can be subject to no modification of man. But the
mode in which his truth shall be proclaimed, and the
discipline of his kingdom carried into effect, not be-
ing so limited and defined, some scope for the exer-
cise of judicious expediency is here allowed. This
is a mark of the wisdom of God. How can the same
external forms be made to suit every time, place, and
people 1 A great principle may be planted in a soil
in which it would be impossible to carry out a per-
fected institution.
Ecclesiastical arrangements and canons are to be
judged of, not by their own intrinsic or independent
character, but by their harmony with the doctrines,
spirit, and designs of the gospel. As for instance :
ECON'OMV, A.VD PRESEN'T POSITION. 149
a canon which enacted that the ministers of a par-
ticular church should only preach in consecrated
places would, we think, contravene the command of
Christ to " preach the gospel to every creature ;"
beicause these consecrated places will not contain
" every creature ;" and, if they would, they do not
attend them. Again : any definition of the sacra-
ments, or even the mode of administering them,
which should virtually nullify the doctrine of justifi-
cation by faith, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit,
must be placed in a false position by such a canon,
because it opposes the free, present, and universal
proclamation of pardon, as found in the gospel, to be
received, not through a sacrament, but through the
blood of Christ ; not through the consecrated ele-
ments, but by believing in his name. In like man-
ner, when an office (as that of bishop, which in the
New Testament is a designation common with that
of presbj'ter, pastor, or minister) is, by human autho-
rit\^ elevated to the position of a distinct and sepa-
rate ORDER, and that as of divine right, including
corresponding powers ; and then, as the next pro-
cess, that this office, in its isolated and elevated po-
sition, is essential to the very being of a church, to
the subordinate orders, to the existence of true and
lawful sacraments, and to the administration of dis-
cipline ; then, it is evident that such office is swollen
and distorted, inasmuch as the position it is made
to hold places other arrangements and provisions
of the divine economy in subordination to it, while,
in truth, they have no such dependance, and cannot
150 METHODISM IN ITS ORIUIN,
be placed under such mere human authority without
injury.
This is no fanciful picture. Christianity, in itself
so free, so merciful, so simple, and so universal in
its designs of good to man, has been narrowed to a
system, and that system itself to a set of merely hu-
man canons ; while every operation of truth and reli-
gion beyond the limits of this scheme has been de-
nounced as heretical in doctrine, and schismatical in
spirit.
Taking the extreme of any system of church
polity found in operation, either at the time of the
rise of Methodism, or at present, it might easily be
shown that there is ample room for an enlarged basis.
The non-adoption of a practical catholicity, by the
Protestant churches, at the period of the Reforma-
tion, not only gave their arch-enemy a great advan-
tage over them, but circumscribed and fettered their
own exertions. Hence the labours of these churches
in this country, and in other places, were bounded
by a narrow principle, so as to leave our home pop-
ulation greatly neglected, and the distant portions
of the world nearly altogether unvisited.
A careful analysis of the " church principles" of
Methodism will show, that by simply adhering to the
grand, fundamental doctrines of the word of God ;
the ends proposed by Christian discipline ; the pri-
mary purposes of the gospel institution ; the spirit-
ual characteristics of the church ; and by following
the precepts and precedents of the apostles alone,
without attempting to define, circumscribe, and Umit
ECOXOMV, AND PRESENT POSITION. 151
our polity ; we possess a great advantage, in an am-
ple, as well as in a clear basis of operations. But,
above all, by working on a principle, instead of a set
of canons of a circumscribed nature, we are prepared
to carry out the great blessings of the gospel to an
illimitable extent.
Moreover, in practice, by acting on the simple
plan of adopting absolutely all the verities of the
word of God, and things indifferent and human, as
wisdom and necessity may dictate, we have the
means of working into our church system many of
the most important and valuable elements of other
churches, without being identical with any.
"We have much of the spirit, and indeed of the
order, of a primitive and simple episcopate, without
its more modern, and, as we think, injurious encum-
brances and limitations. We have, undoubtedly, a
large infusion of the presbyterian leaven, though not,
in detail, the entire platform of that system. We
have intermixed in our practical operations a large
amount of the suffrage principle, though not, by any
means, to the full extent of the expression, indepen-
dent and voluntary, either in our theory or practice.
It would be difficult to show that any one of the
schemes adverted to is in theory sufficient to bear
the weight of the church, as exhibited in the Holy
Scriptures, or to perform that great task assigned it
in the universal triumphs of Christianity through the
world. What may be the ultimate position of our
own community, with its affiliated branches and in-
direct influence, it is impossible to foresee. Hitherto,
152 METHODISM IX ITS ORIGI.V,
however, our principles have proved to be good in
practice ; and a great and extended church is found
to repose upon them in efficiency and power.
I. Let us examine the question of our ecclesiasti-
cal economy, hy comparing it with the principles of
Scripture on the subject of the church.
1. The primary idea of a church, as furnished by
the New Testament, is that of fellowship on the basis
of the Christian faith.
We say, " on the basis of the Christian faith," in
contradistinction to fellowship founded on an official
figment. It is well known that the person or man
Peter is considered the " rock"" on which the Popish
Church is built ; and as that church claims to be
universal, it is assumed that the entire, true, and
pure catholic church is built on this foundation. In
this scheme the church is not made to rest on apos-
tolic truth, but on apostolic authority; and all bodies
of Christians, whatever may be their faith and piety,
if they cannot trace their origin to this centre of
unity and authority at Rome, or refuse to yield alle-
giance to St. Peter's chair, (which, by the by, was
never occupied by Peter at all, and is a pui-e inven-
tion and fiction, resting on no valid authority,) then
they are held to be no churches, and to possess no
Christian rights or privileges. Hence, on the ground
that the churches of the Reformation could no longer
assent to this principle, but claimed to build their
communion on the word of God, instead of the man
Peter, and those who arrogate to themselves the title
ECONOMV. AND PRESEN T POSITION. 153
of his successors and the vicars of Christ on earth,
they were excommunicated as heretical and schis-
matical. The English Church is in this position at
this day. The orders of her priesthood are deemed
as invalid by the arrogant Papist, as those of the
Methodist minister by the most bigoted Episcopalian.
And, moreover, the whole bench of bishops and
archbishops belonging to the national Establishment
are no more considered bishops by Romanists, than
these dignitaries consider the pastors of their neigh-
bours, the dissenting congregations, as bishops. All
this necessarily arises out of the dogma, that the
church is built on the " rock" Peter, meaning Peter,
not as teaching the doctrines of the gospel, but as
exercising an undivided power, to be transmitted in
lineal descent to the occupants of his throne.
The recently revived doctrine of apostolical suc-
cession contains all the falsehood of this principle,
as well as its mischievous tendencies, though in a
somewhat different form. As it regards the basis
of the church, it is as nearly the same as possible ;
only, instead of making Peter the exclusive " rock,"
they elevate the apostolical office to that distinction,
taking care, at the same time, to assume that they
themselves are the successors of the apostles. Let
the gentlemen of the Tract school state the matter
themselves. In the " Principles" agreed upon at
the origin of the movement, they say : —
" (1.) The only way of salvation is partaking the
body and blood of our crucified Redeemer.
" (2.) The mean, exp-essly authorized by him
154 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
for that purpose, is tlie holy sacrament of his
supper.
" (3.) The security, by him no less expressly au-
thorized, for the continuance and due application of
that sacrament, is the apostolical commission of the
bishops, and, under them, the presbyters of the
Church."
This document, it seems, was improved from a
previously adopted one, which states the case more
nakedly, though, in fact, there is no difference in
the doctrines of the two. They say in this paper, —
" (1.) The participation of the body and blood of
Christ is essential to the maintenance of Christian
life and hope in each individual.
(2.) It is conveyed to individual Christians only
by the hands of the successors of the apostles and
their delegates.
" (3.) The successors of the apostles are those
who are descended in a direct line from them, by
the imposition of hands ; and the delegates of these
are the respective presbyters, whom each has com-
missioned."
Here we have substantially the same doctrine as
that which is made the very foundation of Popery.
It is true, the word " church" is not used as in the
base of the claims for St. Peter as the " rock ;" but
the same thing is reached by another process. The
successors of the apostles are they who alone can
validly administer the sacraments ; the sacraments
are the only media of salvation ; it is essential that
those who are true Christians should partake of the
ECONOMy, AND PRESENT POSITION. 155
" body and blood of Christ," thus administered ; and
if they do not, they are not, and cannot be, so saved.
Hence the whole church is made to hinge on apos-
tolical succession. Where, then, it may be in-
quired, is the essential difference between building
the church on the pope, and the Anglican bishops 1
The two claims are exactly identical. They equally
displace the doctrines of our Lord and his apostles
from the position assigned them in the ^\^:itings of
the New Testament, and build the visible Christian
church on an office instead of the truth.
The doctrine of Scripture is most explicit on the
question, and is placed in every possible variety of
view. In speaking of the labours of the ministry in
the formation of churches and their edification, St.
Paul says, " According to the grace of God which
is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have
laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon,"
1 Cor. iii, 10. He then fully indicates the nature
of the foundation in question. Is it the apostolic
office, to be perpetuated in the episcopal succession'?
Just the reverse. " For other foundation can no
man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ,"
verse 11. Referring to the same subject, he says
to the Ephesians : " Now therefore ye are no more
strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the
saints, and of the household of God ; and are built
upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone ;
in whom all the building fitly framed together grow-
eth unto a holy temple in the Lord ; in whom ye
]56 METHODISM 1\ ITS ORIGIN,
also are builded together for a habitation of God
through the Spirit," Eph. ii, 19-22.
It is sufficiently clear from these passages that the
apostles never dreamed that the episcopal office —
even supposing it was exercised — constituted the
foundation of the Christian church. That teaching
or doctrine is referred to, is evident, because in one
passage the " prophets" as vi^ell as the " apostles"
are placed in the " foundation." These holy men
sustained no office in the Christian church, and can-
not be said, In any sense, to be united as joint func-
tionaries with the apostles. But by their inspired
writings they may, and in fact do, hold the position
of joint witnesses and teachers, with the apostles, of
that full and perfect truth which the faith of all be-
lievers embraces ; and, consequently, unitedly, with
all that was taught and done by our Lord, constitute
the one perfect and secure foundation of the Chris-
tian church.
The dogma, that all that is Christian in the world
must be united imder the authority of the successors
of the apostles, meaning by this, the pope and his
delegates, or the Anglican bishops and their presby-
ters, or those possessing a similar claim, at once
unchristianizes all other churches. On this assump-
tion, the Lutheran, Reformed, Presbyterian, and all
other religious bodies, are placed beyond the pale of
the church catholic ; their ministers have no voca-
tion, their doctrines no saving efficiency, their sacra-
ments no validity ; and the ineffiibly ridiculous, as
well as distressingly profane and irreligious conclu-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 157
sion is come to, that all these parties, on the mere
ground of their non-conformity to these claims,
though otherwise many of them the most holy of
men, are not Christians, and their communities are
not churches !
It is necessary to go from these absui-d opinions
and claims of interested partisans, to a consideration
of the teaching and testimony of the word of God.
The term " church" is employed, in many places,
to designate the united aggregate society of Chris-
tians in all times and in all places. As in the cele-
brated passage, — " He saith unto them, But whom
say ye that I am ? And Simon Peter answered and
said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto him. Blessed art
thou, Simon Bar-jona : for flesh and blood hath not
revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in
heaven. And I say also unto thee. That thou art
Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church ;
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
Matt, xvi, 15-18. To Timothy the apostle says :
" These things write I unto thee, hoping to come
unto thee shortly : but if I tarry long, that thou mayest
know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the
house of God, which is the church of the living God,
the pillar and ground of the truth," 1 Tim. iii, 14, 15.
To the Colossians : "And he is the head of the body,
the church : who is the beginning, the first-born from
the dead ; that in all things he might have the pre-
eminence," Col. i, 18. With this agrees his teach-
uig to the Corinthians ; '' For first of all, when ye
158 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
come together in the church, I hear that there be
divisions among you ; and I partly believe it. What ?
have ye not houses to eat and to drink in f or de-
spise ye the church of God, and shame them that
have not]" 1 Cor. xi, 18, 22. Again : " For as the
body is one, and hath many members, and all the
members of that one body, being many, are one body :
so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all bap-
tized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gen-
tiles, whether we be bond or free ; and have been all
made to drink into one spirit. Now ye are the body
of Christ, and members in particular. And God
hath set some in the church, first apostles, second-
arily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles,
then gifts of healing, helps, governments, diversities
of tongues." 1 Cor. xii, 12, 13, 27, 28. Two pas-
sages in his Epistle to the Ephesians refer to this
view of the church : " According to the working of
his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when
he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own
right hand in the heavenly places, far above all prin-
cipality, and power, and might, and dominion, and
every name that is named, not only in this world, but
also in that which is to come : and hath put all
things under his feet, and gave him to be the head
over all things to the church, which is his body, the
fulness of him that filleth all in all," Eph. i, 19-23.
Again : " For the husband is the head of the wife,
even as Christ is the head of the church : and he is
the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church
is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their
ECONOMV, AXD PRESENT POSITION. 159
own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your
wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and
gave himself for it ; that he might sanctify and
cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
that he might present it to himself a glorious chuixh,
not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but
that it should be holy and vnthout blemish." Eph.
V, 23-27.
In these passages, and numerous others, in which
the church is spoken of as " the kingdom of God,"
the " family of God," " the elect," and by similar
expressions ; the language used is general, and evi-
dently refers to the whole community of Christians.
It follows that, on some principle or other, they are
one, though divided by language, local residence, the
demarcation of kingdoms, and the distance of ages.
We see that Christ is the only " foundation" and
" Head" of the church. If so, the union in question
is a union on that " foundation," and fellowship with
Christ as subordinate members of the body, while he
is the " Head."
Jesus Christ is the foundation of the church by
his redemption and his doctrines ; the inspired pro-
phets and apostles, teaching by his Spirit, in a doc-
trinal sense only, sharing in this office ; and he is
the " Head" of the church much in the same sense,
only the term also conveys the idea of actual go-
vernment. Now, this foundation being the truth,
including that which relates to the deity and atone-
ment of our Lord, as well as his teaching, and that
of his apostles ; those communities which embrace
160 METHODISiM IN ITS ORIGIN,
and hold fast these divine doctrines, experimentally
and savingly, must be built on the one foundation.
Then, again, the headship of Christ, including, as it
does, government, by his own immediate power, as
well as by his precepts and laws, it follows that
those societies of Christians which hold him as their
Head, and embrace these laws as the rule of obe-
dience, and really render it, are members of his
kingdom or church.
What, then, it may be inquired, has any kind of
vocation to do with this I and what relation can offi-
cers in the church sustain in reference to these fun-
damental principles? Evidently no other than as
the teaching of the doctrines in question, and the
administration of the laws and discipline, lead to the
recognition of the rights of Christ. The name by
which any functionary is designated, — whether
bishop, elder, or deacon, — is of trifling importance ;
the rights of the office cannot go beyond an adminis-
trative power, without trenching on the supreme
authority of the great Head of the church. What
would be said of the pretensions of the governor of
a distant province of the empire, if he, and others
his successors, should set up the claim of an exclu-
sive dominion on the basis of their office ! if they
should assert, that they, in their character of vicars-
regal, are essential to the possession of all property,
honours, personal liberty, national franchises, and
state offices of every sort ; and that, unless all these
civil distinctions and privileges come through their
hands, and with their sign-manual, they must be in-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 161
valid, and cannot be legally enjoyed ? and also that
all the other provinces of the empire must be subject
to the same rules, and through one or more of their
successors, enthroned as the centre of all human
rights, every blessing must flow ? Is it not seen at
once, that the true order of things would be reversed
in this case ! This personage is not an absolute
sovereign, and in that sense the fountain of power,
but a vicar, a lieutenant. But it is obvious that the
existence of civil society, of the commonwealth, of
the rights and liberties of the people, is not made
to rest on a delegated oifice, but on the laws. The
function is given in relation to this previously-exist-
ing basis of societj-^, but the society itself does not
rest on the office. Would not the supreme power
claim, in such cases, the right of something like
sovereignty ; and deal out its honours and rewards,
not on the dictum and pretensions of its lieutenant,
but on the measure and rule of its own honour, jus-
tice, and grace ? And, if the supposed officers should
— by a course of audacious assumptions ; by forced
glosses and interpretations put upon the laws them-
selves ; by setting up modes of administration tend-
ing to draw all power into their own hands ; and by
a mixture of hypocritical concern for the people's
good, and of usurped dominion over their feelings
and consciences — succeed in drawing away their
loyalty and allegiance from their rightful sovereign
to themselves ; would it not be expected that such
arrogant and unfaithful servants would be superseded
by othcr-s ? and that their office, the instrument of
11
162 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
their disloyalty, would be shorn of some of its attri-
butes, and one more simple, and in greater harmony
with the rights of the sovereign on the one hand,
and of those of his subjects on the other, would be
substituted in its place ? Moreover, would not the
people expect, justly, to enjoy the rights and liber-
ties of citizens on the basis of the laws of their coun-
try, and not on subjection to an officer ] Those laws
they would consider as antecedent to every thing
else ; as lying at the very foundation of all their
claims and blessings ; and, in conformity to them,
were possessed of a true and indefeisible right to the
benefits of civil society. It is clear that the official
claims supposed in this case would infringe on the
prerogatives of the supreme power, virtually nullify
the laws, and place the interests of the people in
jeopardy. All that such parties have a right to
claim, — or indeed do claim, — is that of administering
the constitutional compacts between the sovereign
power and its subjects.
Now this case, in some sort, illustrates the one
under consideration, though the analogy may not be
perfect. We assume that the doctrines of Christ
constitute the one only foundation of the church, and
that he alone is its head. It follows from this, that
the church is founded on the " truth ;" and that those
who believe and obey it are on this foundation, and
constitute portions of the church of the living God.
We reiterate this sentiment. We say the plain,
obvious, vital, well-understood doctrines of the Bible
— the Bible alone — constitute the foundation of the
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT roslTlO.N. 163
Christian faith, and, consequently, that of the church :
not the truth and the pope ; not the truth and the
succession ; but the unniutilated truth itself. This
is, as we believe, the firm, immutable, and eternal
foundation of the true church ; that which will stand
in all times, through all changes, and in the midst of
every storm ; and we assert that every soul really
beUeving this truth is a Christian ; that every socie-
ty of such Christians is a local and isolated church;
and that the union of all such societies constitutes
the true catholic church, wherever found, or ben ring
whatever name they may.
On the ground of conformity to the Hnly Scrip-
tures on this point, we claim to be a section or part
of the true church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our
fellowship is founded on the doctrine and teaching
of Christ, the " Foundation" and " Head" of the
church. We receive the Holy Scriptures as divine,
as sufficient, and as the only rule of faith and prac-
tice. From these Holy Scriptures we have imbo-
died in our acknowledged and legalized standards
the universally-recognised articles of religion as held
by all orthodox churches in every period of time.
We believe in the blessed Trinity, Father, Son, and
Hoi)' Ghost ; in the incarnation of the Son in our
flesh ; his propitiatory and sacrificial death ; his
resurrection from the dead ; his ascension to hea-
ven ; his priestly office and mediatorial power and
government ; and that he v.ill come to be our
Judge. We believe in the gift of the Holy
Ghost, as the fruit of our Lord's death ; a? the
164 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
author of regeneration, holiness, and spiritual life and
joy, to all believers. We believe in the remission
of sins through faith in the sacrifice of Christ ; to be
shown in the happiness and holiness of an obedient
piety. We believe in the force and authority of the
moral law ; the sacredness of the sabbath ; the obli-
gations of the Christian profession ; public worship,
and diligent attention to all the ordinances and com-
mandments of the Lord. We believe in the strict
and proper divinity of the Christian church, with all
that which of necessity belongs to it ; namely, that it
is not a voluntary association, but a union of men on
the authority of the Christian faith. We believe in
the two sacraments ; that they are of divine appoint-
ment, and consequently binding on all Christians ; and
that their due administration, according to the teach-
ing of Scripture, is essential to the being of a church.
In our case, these great principles, ramified in
their just proportions through our whole system, are
not loose and floating opinions, left to be adopted or
not, as men may be inclined ; or, if adopted, modified
according to their own private views ; and then, if
held by one, and preached to the people for a time,
entirely supplanted by the next incumbent, by a set
of antagonist notions, just as the school in which he
has been taught, or his own fancies or even hetero-
doxy, may dictate. Our doctrines are fastened to
our church system by every variety of link and bolt
which prudent forethought could devise. It is possible
for human unfaithfulness to accomplish any kind of
mjurv and evil ; but certainly, with our legal guards
KCOXOMV, AND PRESENT POSITIOX. 165
and wakeful care over the rising ministry, this is not
likely to take place, we trust, for ages to come : we
hope not at all.
And, in passing, we may remark, that we have
much more confidence m a succession of true doc-
trine, than in any succession of orders. We cannot
conceive that any body of men can constitute a
Scriptural church, in the absence of true doctrine,
and that held in its own sense ; and it is equally in-
credible, that a society of men holding such doctrine,
in its own meaning, of faith and holiness, are not a
Scriptural church. We remark, on the necessity of
the vital doctrines of the gospel being maintained in
their own saving and sanctifying power, because of
the abuse of the opposite sentiment. One of the
current opinions of the times, is, that if the creeds
of a church are orthodox, the church itself must be
right, and there can be no justifiable reason for any
separate movement. Hence the early labours of
the Wesleys are blamed, on the ground that the
Church remained evangelical in profession. But all
contemporary testimony attests, that her standards
were practically neglected, or denied ; that the au-
thorities and ministers were strong and numerous
enough to smother the voice of their own Church ;
and that they constantly preached and exhibited to
the people a set of flimsy, legal — often heathenish
or Socinian — notions. Properly speaking, in many
places there existed no church at all, in the Scrip-
tural sense of the expression. A hierarchy of priests,
when botli themselves and the people are destitute
166 ME'I'HODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
of all faith in Christ and marks of true religion, is no
church, though the creeds and confessions remain.
In many instances the first Methodist ministers en-
tered a village or town, in which the resident priest
and his people were equally and altogether destitute
of even the decencies of morality, — much more of
the faith and salvation of Christ : — will it be said
that they constituted a church, just because the
creeds happened to repose in the parish "! Their
only fellowship was fellowship in sin ; and it would
require some ingenuity to prove that the slumbering
creeds and official clergyman formed a church. It
might as well be said that the Republic of Plato —
the treatise bearing that name — constituted, of itself,
a real, living community of happy citizens. Then,
again, suppose the Oxford school should succeed in
establishing the notion, that all the children of the
nation, being baptized by themselves, will certainly
pass into a state of salvation ; and this opinion should
possess the minds of these same people, to the neg-
lect of those acts of penitence and faith in Christ
which are taught by the Scriptures ; it is evident
that in one generation all true religion must become
extinct. Then we ask, would these baptized infidels
and profligates constitute a church, in their several
localities 1 Just such churches as were found in the
communion of Rome in the middle ages.
But it was held to be sinful and schismatical for
the first Methodists to go among these classes of
perishing sinners, and endeavour to form a religious
society. This return to the primitive mode] ; to the
ECONOMY, AXD PRESENT POSITION. 167
usages of the first Christians ; to the Scriptural idea
of a real church system, indicated by a true faith,
holy life, and union with each other ; did not har-
monize with the prevalent sentiments, practice, and
designs of the ruling ecclesiastical powers of the
time, or with the public feeling : and hence the
incorporation of the newly-created piety with the
Establishment was sedulously guarded against and
prevented. Indeed, it is difficult to imagine how
incorporation could take place ; for " what fellow-
ship hath he that believeth with an infidel V But,
though there could have been no fusion of the Me-
thodist societies with the living masses of profligate
unbelievers, yet these societies might have been
placed on the foundation already existing in the pro-
visions of the hierarchy ; and on that basis the whole
fruit of Methodistic labour might have rested at this
day. This was refused. Not by act of parliament,
as in the case of the Nonconformists ; but by that
which is as eflfective, — a refusal to admit and make
provision for the new life which had been created.
By every possible mode, the Church refused to re-
cognise these poor and despised believers in Christ ;
often preached against and persecuted them ; drove
them in many instances from the Lord's table ; and
seemed to act on the principle of making the Church
too hot for them.
The issue is seen. Truth cannot be abandoned
by those who have found it ; faith in Christ cannot
be modified and mutilated to meet the convenience
of those who have attained this blessing ; the life of
168 METHODISM (X IIS ORIGIN',
God, and the enjoyments and blessings of his love,
cannot be put ofT and put on, as expediency may dic-
tate ; the affections and sympathies of religion, which
seek, as by a class of natural instincts, communion
with others, cannot be obliterated in the believing
heart ; and, besides. Christian principles, duties, and
conscientious obligations — all involved in this ques-
tion — cannot be given up as things indifferent. The
Church, as it existed in the beginning of Methodism,
— and probably ever since, — imagined it ought not
to encourage the piety of the new movement.
Meanwhile the Methodist leaders sought no change,
no reform of the system, no purgation of the Liturgy,
and no alteration of the governing power. All they
desired was a practical provision for their spiritual
good, in accordance with the doctrines and disci-
pline of the existing creeds. The Church refused to
accede to this, — and the Methodist societies could not
give up their fellowship. Their salvation was the
question at issue. They had found the Lord, in his
mercy, through these means ; they had been blessed
and edified in the divine life ; their affections were
kindled ; all of truth, faith, enjoyment, hope, and
holiness, which they knew, had been imparted
through these channels; and it is difficult to con-
vince men that the means by which they have been
brought to God are either heretical, schismatical, or
unlawful. Here, then, the matter stood for many
years. The Church would not receive us on the
avowed ground of our irregularities ; while those
things which were deemed irregular entered into the
ECONOMY, AND PRKSEXT POSITIOX. 169
very vitals of the Cliristian life, and could not be
safely given up.
By the easy and very natural operation of these
causes, we have become, ipso facto, a church, what-
ever may be said on the de jure part of the question.
We imagine, that we carry out the primary idea
of Scripture, on the subject of communion, founded
on the Christian faith. The fellowship of the primi-
tive disciples, as indicated in the annals of the Acts
of the Apostles, evidentlj' included much more than
merely assembling together in one common place of
worship ; or meeting together, as now, once a month
at the Lord's table, in great part strangers to each
other. The communion of the ancient church evi-
dently included an interchange of experience and
feeling ; mutual instruction, advice, and exhorta-
tion ; sympathy in trials, sufferings, and temptations ;
prayers for each other's welfare ; confessions of
" faults one to another ;" and help and assistance in
every thing relative either to this life or the life to
come. What are we to understand by such expres-
sions as the following, if this were not the case ? —
" Confess your faults one to another, and pray one
for another," James v, 16. " Exhort one another
daily," Heb. iii, 13. " Bear ye one another's bur-
dens," Gal. vi, 2. " If a man be overtaken in a
fault, ye which are spiritual restore such a one in
the spirit of meekness," Gal. vi, 1. " Rejoice with
them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep,"
Rom. xii, 15. " Speaking to yourselves in psalms,
and hymns, and spiritual songs," Eph. v, 19. " And
170 MKTHODISM I.\ ITS 01!IUI.\,
all they that believed were together, and had all
things common. And they continuing daily with
one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from
house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and
singleness of heart." Acts ii, 44, 4G. We are evi-
dently to understand, by this language, that the an-
cient communion of the church was not merely the
recognition of a pastor, and fellowship with him and
their fellow-communicants at the Lord's table ; but
it was personal, the believers being " knit together
in love," and the " body edified by that which every
joint supplied," Col. ii, 2 ; Eph. iv, 16.
If this note of a true church be deemed essential,
then we may lay claim to it. Our union is proba-
bly more complete than that of any community of
Christians ; and the true doctrine of the New Tes-
tament has, we believe, been imbodied in our prac-
tice. Once in the week, or oftener, it is expected
that every Methodist in the world vnll meet with
others, his brethren in the Lord, for the purpose of
enjoying the " communion of saints." This is not
formal. The joys and sorrows of the heart are laid
open ; the dealings and ways of God are made
known ; the progress of the Spirit's work in the soul
is unfolded ; the temptations and exercises of the life
of faith are detailed ; the divine affections are quick-
ened and refined by the exercises of praise and wor-
ship ; and the whole is sanctified by fervent and
united prayer. Religion is one, all over the world,
when it is divine : — the gift of the " one God and
Father of all ;" the effect of the one effectual sacrifice
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 171
of the Son of God ; the fruit of the one Spirit's ope-
ration ; the grace obtained by the " one faith :" and
it is identical in all its characteristics. Hence, as
our people are called with the same calling, they
speak the same language in every place. Were it
possible to assemble the whole Methodist community,
heart would meet heart in sympathy and love, would
join in the same confession of faith, and blend their
sacred joys in one harmonious song of praise. All
this is deemed extremely objectionable ; tending to
make hj-pocrites, produce spiritual pride, and nurture
enthusiasm. The question is, as to the practice be-
ing in conformity with the teaching and example of
the primitive church. Being satisfied of this, we
can endure the scoffs of the world, and the objections
of doubting and lukewarm Christians. We hold the
faith of Christ as revealed in the divine records ; and
we build the communion of saints on the experiment-
al profession of this faith ; and judge that, in this,
we have the first and primary 7iote of a true church
of Christ.
2. A truly Christian service, including the sacra-
ments, is necessary to the constitution of a church.
The church of Christ, as brought to view in the
New Testament, evidently supposes a public reli-
gious service. This might not, and indeed could
not, be perfectly uniform, in the mode, time, and
place of observance. The first disciples of Christ
had to conduct their worship under very different
circumstances : sometimes in the synagogue, then
in the oratory, and again, alternately, in the upper
172 MKTHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN',
room, the sea-shore, the house-top, the way-side, the
wilderness, and the dark-vaulted cavern. But, at all
hazards, the duty was observed. The assemblies of
the church, in union with the mixed multitude who
came for Scriptural exposition, public worship, and
the administration of ordinances, are often mention-
ed both in Scripture and in the earliest ecclesiastical
historians.
The first inconveniences of the disciples of Christ
gradually wore away. Their numbers, influence,
and wealth, enabled them to provide places of public
resort, in which to hold their assemblies, and to wor-
ship God. Confiscations, proscriptions, martyrdoms,
could not destroy them ; but the more they suffered,
the more they increased : " The blood of the mar-
tyrs was the seed of the church."
Their services, at first, seem to have been very
simple. They could not have possessed the entire
and perfected canon of Holy Scripture, for it was
not then given. The whole of the New Testament
was written during the plantation of the first socie-
ties ; and every part, with the exception of the four
evangelists, addressed to particular local or provin-
cial churches. Creeds and liturgies, certainly em-
ployed extensively, perhaps generally, in early times,
were of a much later date than most of, if not the
last of, the epistles. There exists good evidence
that the different churches, such as Jerusalem, Alex-
andria, Antioch, Rome, and others, possessed formu-
laries and liturgies of their own ; each independent
of the other, but agreeing in all fundamental doc-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 173
trines, and faithfully setting forth the privileges and
duties of the gospel. In the course of time these
several s}Tnbols were moulded, as it seems, by some
general authority, much into their present form, and
became the guides of the united church.* This did
not last long ; for though the early creeds were not
formally discarded, yet they were practically super-
seded by accumulating error and superstition.
The pi-lnciple we are dwelling upon, namely, the
obligations of public worship as essential to the
church state, is indicated in many parts of Scripture.
It is not merely of the apostles and ministers that
our Lord saj's, " Ye are my witnesses," but of the
collective church. It was designed to set forth, ex-
hibit, and testify of the truth and grace of God, in
its public profession, worship, and ordinances. With
this fully agree the several expressions, " Ye are as
a city set on a hill," " Ye are the lights of the world,"
'■ Ye are the salt of the earth." The temples of
religion are as beacons in the desert, to guide wan-
dering men to God. The services of the Christian
sanctuary are as collected rays of light thrown upon
the dark and cheerless world, in its night of secular
pursuits and sinful pleasures. The assemblies of
the saints in their places of devotion, on the Lord's
day, are a public witness, attestation, and fealty paid
to the truth and obligations of the gospel. That this
is a branch of Christian duty, is obvious ; and the
men, or families, who neglect the house of prayer,
and refuse to pay their devotions in the presence of
•• See Bingham, Pearson on the Creed, Eusebius, &c.
174 METHODIS.M I\ ITS ORIGIN,
the " great congregation," have no claim to the
Christian name. To meet God in his great temple ;
to sing hymns of praise in adoration of the perfec-
tions of his heing, the wonders of his providence, and
the riches of his grace ; to celebrate the passion of
our Lord, the merit and mercy of his atonement, and
the freeness of his salvation to sinners ; to invoke
the blessings of the Trinity, — the love of the Father,
the redemption of the Son, and the effusions of the
Spirit, — together with the promised pardon of sin,
and the comforts and joys of religion ; are plain and
obvious obligations, and are essential to the true
church.
But this seems to indicate one or two points of
importance, by which this branch of our own claim
may be examined.
The first is, that a true church will not only exhi-
bit in its order of services the abstract glories of
God, but especially the mode of his manifold grace,
as a guide to those who seek his blessing in public
worship.
If worship be any thing more than a ceremony,
filling the mind with abstract ideas, exciting the feel-
ings, and by its forms and exercises intended to pro-
duce mere moral impressions ; then it must be de-
signed to lead to the attainment of specific blessings :
and this, again, implies that God is present to mani-
fest his grace in accordance with the supposed good
to be attained, and also that, as all the privileges of
the gospel covenant are administered conditionally,
namely, on the rule of faith ; so the performance of
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 175
worship includes these acts of faith. But these acts
of faith suppose objects of faith. The mind cannot
rest on a nonentity ; faith cannot grasp a fiction or
a shadow ; and the guilty, fearful, and troubled mind
cannot be satisfied with any thing but a tangible
manifestation of the grace of God, in experimental
power. Hence it follows, that the public service of
religion should set forth, as clearly as possible, the
way and manner of God's manifested mercy : — how
he pardons the sinner, bestows comfort on the dis-
tressed, sanctifies the polluted, inspires peace and
joy, admits men to his fellowship, and causes them
to live in the plenitude of his love.
Whether our church services answer these de-
mands, is the subject to be considered. These ser-
vices, in imitation of the primitive practice, consist
of hymns, prayers, and sermons. The hymns we
sing embrace, we are bold to affirm, one of the finest
bodies of divinity extant ; as well as poetic beaut}'
and sentiment almost inimitable. They enter into
all the details of experience : the feelings of the
heart are touched with the tenderest pathos ; and the
dilferest stages of the life of God, from the first
emotions of penitent desire up to the highest rap-
tures of sacred joy and pious and holy love, are de-
scribed, and have an appropriate medium of expres-
sion. In some places the Liturgy of the Church is
used, so that the prayers of the congregation, in these
cases, are well kno\\Ti. When it is not so employed,
it may be truly affirmed that the extempore supplica-
tions of our pastors embrace all sorts and conditions
176 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
of men ; the blessings they severally need are brought
before God, and sought with a fervour and copious-
ness suited to the exigencies of the case. The gift
of prayer is one of the most valuable and important
which the divine Spirit can impart to the true minis-
ter ; and though liturgical preparations are highly
esteemed and partially adopted among us, yet it is
certain that all who are truly called of God to the
service of the sanctuary will possess this in common
with other qualifications. The other department,
namely, sermons addressed to those who wait upon
the Lord, are of a different nature from the other
portions of public worship, but are an essential part ;
for, " faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God," Rom. x, 17. " The trumpet," in this
respect, in our congregations, " maketh no uncer-
tain sound." Though diversified in other respects,
in this our ministry is uniform in the full, clear,
broad, and explicit enunciation of the ^way of the
sinner's approach to God, the nature of saving grace,
and the mode of its attainment. The proof of all
this is in the effects wrought. God is found in these
services by myriads, in the blessings of his covenant,
in the comforts of his Holy Spirit, in the strength
and energy of the new life, in the imparted power
and triumphs of holiness, and in all the fulness of his
divine love. Enthusiastic though it may sound, yet
the truth is, that neither ministers nor people among
us can be satisfied, unless the divine presence is
vouchsafed, and these effects are manifested. For-
mal devotion, the decencies of morality, the " form
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 177
of godliness," and the " kingdom of God in word
only," without conversions and manifest spiritual
life, are not deemed satisfactory.
It is held as a sacred principle by our church, that
all true religion is divine, not remotely, but imme-
diately ; that pardon and justification must, in every
instance, flow from the act of God's grace. " It is
God that justifieth," Rom. viii, 33 ; and though the
doctrine may be freely and plainly preached, yet the
privilege is not attained by any thing answering to
the notion of a reflex exercise of faith even in the
truth or in the sacraments. Rather, faith is a con-
dition, implying trust in the blood of Christ ; and God
himself is the judge of its sincerity, and of its recog-
nition of the legitimate object ; and must, by his own
immediate and sovereign volition, pronounce the sin-
ner pardoned, the captive released, the lost restored.
The new birth is equally divine. It is called being
" born of the Spirit," John iii, 5 ; a " new creation,"
2 Cor. v, 17 ; " being quickened from the death of
sin," Eph. ii, 1 ; and " passing from death unto life,"
1 John iii, 14. Hence this is not brought about by
moral suasion, by the influence of external means, by
the force of some latent and innate power of the soul,
called into vigorous development by the arts of rea-
son and persuasion : it is the power of God. The
same is the case with respect to all the distinctive
enjoyments of the divine life. They do not grow
out of some common element of religion, created by
the means of grace. If the Christian walks in
peace, it is " the peace of God," Phil, iv, 7 ; if he
12
178 METHODISM IN ITS ORIOm,
rejoices, it is " in hope of the glory of God," Rom.
V, 2 ; if he dwells in love, it is because it is " shed
abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost," Rom. v, 5 ;
if he exhibits the strength and activity of holy life,
it is because " the inner man is renewed day by day,"
2 Cor. iv, 16.
On tliese grounds the services of a true and evan-
gelical church, if such in reality, must be so framed
and conducted as to lead to these results. The end
is not answered unless this is the case. However
formal, pompous, and imposing the worship of reli-
gious communities may be, if it do not lead to God,
and, as a consequence, to these fruits and blessings,
it is not Christian ; and such communities are not
faithfully exhibiting this characteristic of the true
church. It is, we trust, our honest endeavour to
guard against a mere setting forth of the abstract
glories of God on the one hand, so as to lead to a
mere general, rationalized, imaginative, mental exer-
cise of the faculties of the soul, under the name of
worship ; and, on the other, to neutralize the great
truths and blessings of religion, after the manner of
Popery, so as to exhibit them by visible symbols, and
suppose the very divinity and humanity of our Lord
to be contained in a wafer. No ; we endeavour to
show that the Lord is present in the assemblies of
his saints, in an ineffable manner, but really so, to
confer, in rich experience, all the blessed privileges
he has promised. To make known the manner of
this, to point out the conditions, to lead the way, and
thus to bring God down to man, and raise man to the
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 179
enjoyment of God, is the great end of public wor-
ship. When this is secured, we have the beautiful
sight of a Christian church in her highest altitude on
earth ; but when this is not the case, the decorated
place — illuminated, perfumed with incense, and re-
splendent with attractions for the senses — is but a
heathen temple.
But more : the services of the house of God must
set forth the peculiar work and offices of our Lord,
as well as those of the Holy Spirit, in order to be
Christian. The sacrificial and priestly character
of our blessed Saviour is essentially involved in the
duties of worship, and the manner of the sinner's
approach to God, whether in private or in public.
Our Lord opened this case in his own ministry, and
the truth is completed in the Epistles. " I am the
way, and the truth, and the life," he said : " no man
Cometh to the Father but by me," John xiv, 6. " No
man knoweth the Father, save the Son, and he to
whomsoever the Son will reveal him," Matt, xi, 27.
" And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will
I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."
John xiv, 13, 14. In his direction on this subject,
St. Paul introduces this : "I exhort therefore that
first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and
giving of thanks be made for all men ; for kings, and
for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet
and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For
this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Saviour ; who will have all men to be saved, and to
180 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there
is one God, and one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus ; who gave himself a ransom
for all, to be testified in due time." 1 Tim. ii, 1-6.
The Epistle to the Hebrews seems written expressly
to illustrate this point. We quote one or two pas-
sages : " Seeing then that we have a great High
Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the
Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we
have not a High Priest which cannot be touched
with the feeling of our infimities ; but was in all
points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let
us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in
time of need." Heb. iv, 14-16. " But this man,
because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable
priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them
to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession for them." Heb.
vii, 24, 25. " For Christ is not entered into the
holy places made with hands, which are the figures
of the true ; but into heaven itself, now to appear in
the presence of God for us," Heb. ix, 24. " Hav-
ing therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the
holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living
way which he hath consecrated for us, through the
veil, that is to say, his flesh ; and having a High
Priest over the house of God ; let us draw near with
a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our
bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 181
the profession of our faith without wavering : for he
is faithful that promised ; and let us consider one
another to provoke unto love and to good works :
not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,
as the manner of some is ; but exhorting one an-
other : and so much the more as ye see the day ap-
proaching." Heb. X, 19-25. It is very evident from
aU this, that worship without Christ must be unavail-
ing, and that the only way of approach' to the Father
is through the Son. Prayer can only be answered,
thanksgivings accepted, blessings conferred, and God
of a truth be found among the assemblies of men, by
the intervention of the Saviour's sacrifice, and the
eflfective discharge of his priestly office.
From this it follows, that, in the instituted services
of religion, this principle of the Christian economy
ought to be regarded, and this want of man provided
for. Indeed, in the dispensation itself, our Lord is
a " Priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec ;"
he "ever liveth ;" hath "obtained an everlasting
priesthood ;" and made " one sacrifice for sins."
All this is perfect and immutable. The point is this :
when an assembly of men meet together for worship,
they ought to be led to apprehend this provision, to
draw nigh to God through this High Priest of our
profession, and so to pray and present their devotions
by faith in " the Lamb slain in the midst of the
throne," as to obtain access to God, and to receive
the blessings of his grace.
Hence the value and importance of the doctrine
of Christ crucified. The Christian sanctuary ought
182 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
to be filled with light on this subject. The hymns,
— the prayers, — the sermons, — in order to meet the
wants of men, and to strengthen their confidence in
Christ, supposing them to be believers, and to in-
struct them if they are not, must be constantly fiill
of this great theme.
Whether we have secured this point in our ser-
vices, is the question under consideration : if so,
then, in this particular, our worship is Scriptural,
and we may so far claim to be a branch of the Chris-
tian church. In this, as in other things, much de-
pends on the living ministry. Theoretically, this is,
undoubtedly, our principle. We no more expect the
blessing of God in our public assemblies, the bestow-
ment of the privileges of grace, or the conversion of
sinners, if these services are destitute of a full, bold,
clear, and vivid exhibition of the atonement and in-
tercession of our Lord, than we expect to find Chris-
tian light, mercy, and grace, in connection with the
mosque. " Where," said our Lord, " two or three
are gathered together in my name, there am I in the
midst of them," Matt, xviii, 20. The force and em-
phasis of this passage are in the term, "my name."
It is essential that Christian assemblies, great or
small, should meet in the " name" of Christ. One
thing invariably we find, namely, that if, by any cir-
cumstance, as from the imperfect apprehension of the
case on the part of ministers ; a leaning to a legal
or non-evangelical system ; or, on the other hand,
the temptation to sparkle in the false glare of a
worldly elocution ; — we say, if from any of these or
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 183
Other causes, the peculiar work of Christ is not kept
steadily before the attention of our congregations,
they invariably decline. Worship becomes insipid ;
" briers and thorns spring up," in the place of good
fruit ; desolation takes the place of life, order, and
beauty ; and there is all possible evidence of a tem-
ple deserted by its Lord.
And besides, that which we acknowledge in our-
selves, we witness in others. The history of
churches illustrates this point, that, whenever and
wherever the services have not retained their evan-
gelical character, the spirit of piety has evaporated,
and in a short period they have presented the aspect
of perfect moral ruin. That our principle is true to
this immutable arrangement of the divine economy,
(namely, that, in the worship of God, Christ must be
acknowledged in faith,) we are sure : that it is the
desire and intention of the body I now address, that
this should be perfect and complete, uniform and
universal, we know ; that this has been secured, to
a very great extent, the fruits of our services de-
lightfully declare ; and the divergence from this is
so very rare and unfrequent, that it scarcely breaks
in upon the hallowed uniformity of our practice, and,
when discovered, is found to originate in human in-
firmity, — ^perhaps truth ought to lead us to say, to a
defective training, or, as in many instances in past
times, to no training at all. Christ is " the Alpha,
the Omega, the first and the last," in our religious
means. Praise without Christ, we hold to be po-
etic blasphemy in the temple of religion. Prayer
184 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
without Christ is the presumptuous, arrogant, Pela-
gian pleading of a guilty criminal in the courts of the
infinite Judge, on the plea of human merit ; for what
else can prayer contain, if not filled with the merit
of the sacred sacrifice 1 Sermons without Christ —
we will not say — are like a blazing meteor lit up to
delude : that would be doing them too much honour :
there is no light in them : they are rather like a
black cloud passing over the fair bosom of the sky,
and darkening the brightness of the son. Worship
without Christ is the intrusion of man into the pre-
sence of his Maker uninvited, unbidden, unprovided
with any introduction, can be of no avail, is insulting
to the majesty and holiness of God, and partakes of
the nature of presumptuous sin. We earnestly pray
that our services may become more perfectly per-
vaded with the fulness of our Lord's sacrificial and
mediatorial grace !
Then what shall we say of the sacraments 1 Are
not these essential to the services of a church, call-
ing itself Christian ? It is objected, that we have not
the sacraments, because we are not commissioned to
give them. We have these sacred ordinances in
fact ; and the question of their validity must be left,
where many other such questions are left, to be
settled at some future time, and by other genera-
tions. In the mean while, it may be some comfort
to us — such as it is — to know, that the most promi-
nent parties raising this objection are in the same
dilemma themselves. The Popish priest will no
more admit the validity of the sacraments adminis-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 185
tered by the Anglican priest, than the latter will
allow the validity of those which are delivered by
the Methodist minister.
What constitutes a valid sacrament 1 Not the
hands which administer it, but its conformity to the
original institution, to the ordination of Christ, and
especially its setting forth the very grace and
blessing intended by our Lord. This is evidently
the meaning of the Article of the Church of
England : " And the sacraments be duly adminis-
tered, according to Christ's ordinance, in all those
things that of necessity are requisite to the same."
If the Church is right as to the substance of the sa-
crament called the Lord's supper, then we are so ;
because, in general, we use the service of the Church
in its administration ; and our rule is to do so always.
Then the only question at issue relates to the quali-
fication for its administration. If we have a right to
the ministry, we have a right to this particular func-
tion ; and till it is proved that we are not ministers,
this question may lie over. In the mean time, we
allow that the sacraments are requisite ; and it is
essential to the spiritual well being of a Christian
body, that they should be sacredly attended to.
From various causes, and especially from the unset-
tled state of the question at the death of our founder,
the controversies which followed, and the slow and
gradual manner of the introduction of the adminis-
tration into our places of worship, this sacred ordi-
nance, it may be granted, has not been, in time past,
80 perfectly attended to, as is observed in churches
186 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
whose organization is more ancient. The defect
has, however, been rapidly passing away in recent
times ; and regular provision has been made for the
celebration of this holy ordinance, at least as fre-
quently as is observed in other churches.
But are the proposed ends answered ! Are the
people edified in the spiritual life, strengthened in
the faith, comforted in tlicir tribulations, and united
to each other in the bonds of fraternal love ? We do
not ask, if sin is infallibly and certainly forgiven, by
the mere reception of the Lord's body and blood, as
is taught by many. We deny the dogma in toto,
and consider it a most dangerous delusion ; and, so
far as it is received and acted upon by the people,
fatal to true religion. But in the true sense of re-
ceiving grace and blessing, how shall we ascertain
the fact 1 Just in the same way as we ascertain any
other fact regarding the divine life, — by testimony
and observation. The recipients of the Lord's sup-
per among us may know whether or not they receive
spiritual blessings, just as they may know this in
their observance of other means. Observation can
instruct us as to whether the people, thus " setting
forth the Lord's death until he come," " walk wor-
thy of the vocation wherewith they are called." We
possess these modes of ascertaining the fact. Have
they who object and doubt any other in their own
case ■? As to the assumptions of the successionists,
and the pretensions built upon them, they are no bet-
ter than a mound of sand. The first link in this
chain being a fallacy, all that is appended to it falls
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 187
to the ground. Y«t, if we appeal to experience and
fact, in proof of the religious and gracious efficacy
of our sacraments, this proof is denied us. If, on
our own part, we demand evidence of the astounding
efficacy of these other sacraments, we are answer-
ed : "We are the successors of the apostles." Al-
lowing this for a moment, what follows? "Why,
the sacraments which we consecrate and give, infal-
libly administer pardon, grace, and holiness." Very
well ; is there no evidence of this ? If so, where ?
Is it to be found in the testimony of your conununi-
cants, and in their lives ] Nay, a mere child, in al-
most any village in England, can confute this. The
swearing, drunken, quarrelling, cheating, profligate,
and ignorant communicant of the Romish Church,
as well as the immoral and irreligious recipients of
the sacraments in the Church of England, have all re-
ceived these holy mysteries at the hands of successiou-
ist priests. How is it, then, that, in case this salva-
tion is certainly ministered, neither the parties them-
selves, nor any one else, can discover it 1 that there
is no internal evidence to the persons themselves,
and no external evidence given to others by holy
fruit ? It is manifest, then, that the forms of a sacra-
ment may exist without any sacramental effect fol-
lowing ; proving that the virtue supposed is not ab-
solutely and independently in the rite ; but, like all
the other parts of the Christian economy, the efficacy
is dependant on the influence and blessing of the
Holy Spirit.
We have every reason to be satisfied with this
188 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
proof of the usefulness and Wlidity of our own.
The grace of God is enjoyed, me " Lord's body and
blood is discerned" by faith, the spiritual life of the
disciples is invigorated, divine joys are felt, the in-
w^ard principles of holiness are strengthened, and
the Holy Ghost seals and ratifies the blessings of the
covenant. This is our second note of being a true
church.
3. Spiritual life, in all its characteristics, is essen-
tial to a church.
The union and fellowship of men void of the life
of God, and of the marks of a regenerate state, would
not constitute a church. The Armenian, Abyssi-
nian, Greek, Popish, and other ecclesiastical bodies,
have remained under the designation of churches,
when, in all probability, at some periods and in some
places, not the smallest particle of spiritual life ex-
isted among them. It is difficult to conceive how
these aggregations of men can be considered churches
of Christ. Hierarchical arrangements do not of
themselves constitute a church, but living men who
are possessed of a true faith, and " worship God in
spirit and in truth."
(1.) By " life" is meant here, union with Christ
in the blessings of his redemption.
The figures of Scripture beautifully illustrate this.
The parable of the vine and its branches is in point :
" I am the true vine, and my Father is the husband-
man. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he
taketh away : and every branch that beareth fruit,
he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
KCONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 189
Now ye are clean through the word which I have
spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As
the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide
in the vine ; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
I am the vine, ye are the branches : he that abideth
in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit : for without me ye can do nothing. If a man
abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is
withered ; and men gather them, and cast them into
the fire, and they are burned." John xv, 1-6. The
leading idea in this parable is that of derived life,
supported and maintained by union with Christ.
The church is represented under the figure of a tree :
Christ is its root, trunk, sap ; no fruit can be borne
without union with him. Christians are branches in
him, full of blossom, and in season bearing fruit.
Some of these branches are " purged," pruned ;
others are " taken away" as rotten and useless ;
while the greater number, leaving the tree perfect as
a whole, live and yield fruit to the glory of God.
We see from this, that life and fertility are the es-
sential state of the church ; death and decay the
accidents : in other words, that the disciples of
Christ are living and fruitful, but there may be con-
nected with them those who bear no good fruit, and
who in the end suffer excision. The figure of a
human body, again, is of similar import : " For as
the body is one, and hath many members, and all the
members of that one body, being many, are one body :
so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all bap-
tized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles,
190 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN',
whether we be bond or free ; and have been all made
to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one
member, but many." 1 Cor. xii, 12-14. Many other
passages, as we have seen, place Christ as the head
of this body. The doctrine of this portion of Holy
Writ is the same as in the other case. The notion
is that of a cumulative body of men, united to each
other, and to Christ as the head. Is this body re-
presented as an Egyptian munmiy, — ^breathless, mo-
tionless, and dead ? No. " By one Spirit" they have
been " baptized into one body." Hence the church
is a body with a soul, and that soul is the Spirit of
God, giving life, holiness, activity, and joy.
St. Peter represents the same thing by another
figure, — ^that of a building : " To whom coming, as
unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but
chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones,
are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to
offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by
Jesus Christ Ye are a chosen generation, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people ;
that ye should show forth the praises of Him who
hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous
light." 1 Pet. ii, 4, 5, 9. Here, again, we have the
same truth. Christ is the " living stone ;" believers
in him are, in virtue of their union with him, " lively
stones ;" and the whole are a united temple employ-
ed in offering spiritual sacrifices to God.
This is the primitive church. How unlike many
of those which claim to be the only true, catholic,
and apostolic churches of modern times!
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 191
(2.) Again : by " life" is meant the indwelling
power of the Holy Ghost.
As in the apostle's description, " Know ye not
that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of
God dweUeth in you 1 The temple of God is holy,
which temple ye are." 1 Cor. iii, 16, 17. The re-
generating and sanctifying power of the Spirit of God
is described as necessary to individual Christian
piety, and, indeed, to the happiness as well as the
formation of the spiritual character. None can be
Christians without tliis. The human faculties are
incapable, unaided, to discover the truth. This is
made known by the Spirit. " As it is written, Eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered
into the heart of man, the things which God hath
prepared for them that love him. But God hath
revealed them to us by his Spirit : for the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save
the spirit of man which is in him'? even so the
things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of
God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the
world, but the Spirit which is of God ; that we might
know the things that are freely given to us of God.
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God : for they are foolishness unto him ;
neither can he know them, because they are spirit-
ually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all
things, yet he himself is judged of no man." 1 Cor.
ii, 9-12, 14, 15. As.surance, peace, joy, love, tem-
perance, meekness, gentleness, goodness, faith, —
192 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
are all cqiKilly spoken of as the fruit of the Spirit.
In a word, all the characteristics of the regenerate
state, all the happiness of the divine life, and the
entire power of Christian holiness, in individuals,
flow from this source ; and our Lord said, in refer-
ence to the whole : " The water that I shall give
him, shall be in him a well of water springing up
unto everlasting life," John iv, 14.
The same rule must obtain with respect to col-
lective Christian societies. The Holy Spirit must
dwell in and among its members. How, indeed, can
it be otherwise, if the individuals are renewed and
sanctified by his influence and power'? The phe-
nomenon of the church, in the first ages, living toge-
ther in holiness and charity, or in case of a true and
spiritual community in any age, can only be account-
ed for on this principle. To behold in primitive
times a large number of persons, some of them Jews,
and others Gentiles, brought together in a state of
godly love ; — or in modern times a large class of
persons of diflferent grades, education, and prejudices,
all united together as one body ; — must indicate the
existence of some common influence and power.
What can this be but the influence and power of the
Spirit of God ? And, more than this : if these people
are found to enjoy the same privileges, to possess
the same characteristic marks of mind and heart,
essentially to speak the same language, and to live
an equally holy life, then the same fact is further
illustrated.
Now, that this is the case with all true Christians,
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 193
is a matter of observation and notoriety. A similar
• life of holiness and piety is found to animate the
whole ; and it is certain, that common and general
moral effects can only be produced by a common
cause. When it is seen in nature that the same
fertility is found on one soil as on another, it is clear
enough that the same agencies are at work. The
Spirit of God is just as essential to the fruitfulness
and happiness of the church as the principle of life
— whatever it may be — in the material universe.
But in any branch of the true church, retaining its
union with Christ, life in her assemblies, as well as
in her members, wUl be apparent. This is seen in
the power attending the gospel ; in the unction ac-
companying the ordinances ; in the conversion of
sinners ; and in revivals of the work of God. Dull
uniformity is never found to exist in a church which
retains the truth, the simplicity of worship, the
living faith of the gospel, and the spirit of fervent
prayer. The Holy Spirit will dwell there as in a
celestial home, to produce the " beauties of holiness,"
and the graces of piety in all their freshness. The
ornaments and glory of religion, and of private and
public virtue, will be visible in the life and habits of
such a people. But the mighty energy will not stop
there. Effusions of the Spirit will be manifested as
in ancient times. St. Luke speaks in the Acts of
the Apostles of the place in which the disciples were
met being shaken by this power. Whether the
places of assembly are now so affected or not, if this
divine agency be present, the people will be awa-
13
194 METHODISM I.\ ITS ORIGIN,
kened from the sleep and death of sin : roused from
the dream of earthly ease and happiness ; brought
to penitent mourning ; will cry out, " Men and bre-
thren, what shall we do 1" and in fervent supplica-
tion seek God. This power, likewise, if present at
all, will be " present to heal." Penitents will be
brought into a state of pardon, dark and afflicted spi-
rits will attain " peace with God," and the profligate
and sensual will become " new creatures."
This is the life which was enjoyed in the first as-
semblies of the church ; this has ever been mani-
fested in subsequent times, when in any place she
has remained true to her high calling ; and it must
be the case evciywhere, if the Spirit of God con-
tinues his divine and saving operations. The rigi-
dity, coldness, and barrenness of winter, as contrasted
with the genial warmth and fruitfulness of summer,
are not more apparent than is the death of churches
without the Holy Spirit, and the life of others under
his inspiring influence.
(3.) Again: By "life" is meant the possession
and vigorous exercise of spiritual faculties and
graces.
The church being a spiritual community, and de-
voted to heavenly objects, must, in order to this,
possess a new and divine class of faculties and afiec-
tions, either to enjoy its blessings, or to perform its
duties. The one term " holiness" may indicate what
is meant. There must be a perception of the su-
preme beauty and excellences of the holiness exhi-
bited in the Scriptures, as the highest good ; and, at
ECONOMY, AND PRKSENT POSITIOX. 195
least, a deep love of sacred things, — of prayer, the
truth, the sanctuary of religion, — and a longing de-
sire after conformity to God's image ; or this form
of life cannot exist. The opposite feelings of human
nature, such as " emulations, wrath, strife," the am-
bition, pride, and covetousness of the world, have in
all instances, when indulged in, wrought the utter
ruin of Christian societies.
One thing is much and constantly insisted on, as
characteristic of the life of which we speak, — the
union of love. How beautiful is our Lord's inter-
cessory prayer, offered while on earth, for his church
through all time I — " Neither pray I for these alone,
but for them also which shall believe on me through
their word ; that they all may be one, as thou. Fa-
ther, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be
one in us : that the world may believe that thou hast
sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I
have given them ; that they may be one, even as we
are one : I in them, and thou in me, that they may
be made perfect in one, and that the world may
know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them,
as thou hast loved me." John xvii, 20-23. On the
same subject he says : " A new commandment I give
unto you. That ye love one another ; as I have loved
you, that ye also love one another. By this shall
all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have
love one to another." .John xiii, 34, 35. We give
one passage from St. Paul : " Put on therefore, as
the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mer-
cies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-
196 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
suffering ; forbearing one another, and forgiving one
another, if any man have a quarrel against any ;
even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And
above all these things put on charity, which is the
bond of perfectness." Col. iii, 12-14. The beloved
disciples are full of this theme : " In this the chil-
dren of God are manifest, and the children of the
devil : whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of
God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For
this is the message that we heard from the begin-
ning, that we should love one another. Beloved,
let us love one another : for love is of God, and
every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth
God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God
is love. Behold, if God so loved us, we ought also
to love one another. No man hath seen God at any
time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us,
and his love is perfected in us." 1 John iii, 10, 11 ;
iv, 7, 8, 12.
This union of love is, as we perceive, represented
as originating in one cause, — the love of God in
Christ to his people ; having one mode of manifesta-
tion, — the pardon of sin, the new birth, the spiritual
life ; — this, again, creating one common and univer-
sal class of affections in the heart, and these directed
to one central object, — the supreme Fountain of all
good. Attracted to God in his paternal character
and condescending grace, — as well as internally
moved by a common impulse of love to seek all hap-
piness in him, — the mind soars above the animal pas-
sions and sordid feelings which engender strife and
KCONOMV, AND PRESENT POSITION. 197
hatred. But more : a Christian people discover in
each other the evidences of grace. This they recog-
nise as the fruit of their Lord's death, and of the
Spirit's influence. Those whom they thus perceive
as being beloved of God, and men for whom their
Saviour died, must be objects of mutual affection,
because of their relationship to the one Lord of all.
And, moreover, as the greater includes the less, so
the existence of this one divine affection must lead
up all the inferior feelings and graces of the soul to
the full and appropriate discharge of their several
functions. Tenderness, sympathy, mercy, patience,
long-suffering, gentleness, courtesy, and charitable
relief administered to the necessity of the saints, —
must all follow in the train of love.
From the prominency given to this subject in the
teaching of our Lord and his apostles, we may be
certain that love is of the very essence of the church-
state, and is a most important and valuable element
of its prosperity. Unity in particular societies of
Christians, as well as an approximation of catholic
charity among those of some diversity of opinion on
minor questions, must be sought in love. Other
things have been tried in vain. Authority, coercion,
the wranglings of reason, the power of persuasion,
common symbols of faith, and attempted uniformity
of every sort, have all failed to produce this effect.
It is certain that unless unity and diversity can be
made to coexist, the former will never be an inha-
bitant of our earth, or form the state of the church.
Is there any reason in the world why they who ac-
198 MKTHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
knowledge the same God and Father of all, and
especially who believe in the same Lord Jesus Christ,
and have received the same Holy Ghost, his pro-
mised gift, should not dwell in unity and godly love 1
It is time the divinely-appointed element of divine
love should be tried among churches which are se-
parated from each other. Distinct, local, Christian
societies, cannot be considered as within the pale
of the church at all, unless the bond of union be love ;
and if they possess the heart of love among them-
selves, why not extend it to other Christians 1
There is also great strength in this divine affec-
tion. Any separate church must be internally strong
and vigorous, when the spirit of love pervades its
fellowship, stimulates its zeal, lives in its services
and exertions, and binds its rich and poor in one
harmonious concord of affectionate co-operation.
And we may be certain that the most successful in-
strumentality that any community of Christians can
employ to impress the world, is that of love. It is
of the nature of a genial solar influence. It softens
the hard and rugged ; it melts the asperities and
prejudices of the obstinate ; it soothes and consoles
the downcast ; it wins the confidence of the suspi-
cious, and prevents evil surmising ; and when argu-
ment, dogmatism, and authority fail either to con-
vince or to persuade, love very often finds an avenue to
tlie heart and conscience, by which truth may after-
ward enter, and faith and hope spring up. As that
believer is the best Christian, and the nearest in
moral resemblance to God, who possesses most love,
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 199 '
— " for God is love ;" (1 John iv, 8 ;) so that com-
munity of Christians, which among themselves, as
well as toward all other bodies holding the Head,
and even toward the world without, exhibits most
of the spirit, holiness, beauty, unity, and activity of
love, is the best, and the most Christian and catholic
church.
We indulge the hope, that, from the beginning to
the present period, our church has exhibited signs
of life. This, in part at least, has been our offence.
Our people have been too fervent and active for the
taste of the world around them ; and have often been
considered, even by portions of the church, as mani-
festing an enthusiastic spirit. That a mighty mass
of men has been impregnated with the leaven of
our doctrines, principles, and opinions, in fine, with
the animus of Methodism, at home and abroad, —
must be granted on all hands. But the true ques-
tion is, whether this is spiritual life. Is it true reli-
gion? If so, then it follows that we have been
moulded and fashioned by the operation of a divine
and saving power, the energy and influence of the
Spirit of God.
Are our people united to Christ 1 They acknow-
ledge him as " God with us," as the true and only
Saviour, as alone making atonement for sin, as " the
High Priest of our profession," as the " Lord our
righteousness," and as the only Foundation and Head
of the true church. His precious death is the only
ground of their confidence for justification, sanctifi-
cation, and eternal life ; and they disclaim every
200 METHODISM I\ ITS ORIGIN',
Other, whether presented to iliem in the Ibrm of hu-
man virtue, works, or sacraments. They know and
acknowledge no other merit, redemption, or salva-
tion, but what is found in him. This is the common,
the universal faith of the whole community ; it is
the teaching of the ministry, and the creed of the
body.
This, it will be granted, is so far well ; but is the
union vital 1 It is so far vital, that the great body
of the people claim to enjoy the blessings which are
described as resulting from the sacrificial and priestly
offices of our Lord.
Moreover, they are not isolated, distinct, separate,
wandering pilgrims, living as recluse religionists,
without any tangible form ; but a " united society ;"
and stand out to view in a cor-porate capacity. The
evidence of their having received the gospel is indu-
bitable. Can they be any thing but a church ? If
they are something else, what are they 1 Can a true
believer in Christ — who, in virtue of his faith, has
obtained the salvation for which He died and which
he offers in his blessed word — be any thing but a
Christian 1 And, we ask, can tens of thousands of
such believers, united together in the closest bonds
of fraternal love, making profession of this faith, be
any thing but a church ] The church is the " body
of Christ." True ; and where are we to look for
this body, but among those whx) have a lively faith
in its Head? The church is the " family of God."
True ; and where are we to expect to find this fami-
ly, but among adopted and regenerate men ] These
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 201
are the proofs of our union with Christ, the glorious
Head of his spiritual body, — the evidences on which
we claim to be a church.
Have our people received the promised gift of the
Holy Ghost? They acknowledge his offices, his
divinity, personality, and various functions as exhi-
bited in the Christian economy, to be a part of their
faith. They believe that he is permanently con-
nected with Christ, in the dispensation, — finally es-
tablished by his exaltation to the right hand of God, —
the object of which is the great work of the world's
salvation ; and that no man can be a true Christian
but by his gracious power ; and, more, that no cor-
poration of men, however venerable, or however
economically perfect, can be a church without his
constant presence and blessing.
But, besides this, they profess to enjoy this great
" gift." This with them is no confused and unin-
telligible notion, without evidence and fruit. The
Scriptures teach, that " he that believeth on the Son
of God hath the witness in himself," 1 John v, 10.
And again : " Because ye are sons, God hath sent
forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying,
Abba, Father," Gal. iv, 6. Myriads testify that in
this mode they enjoy this blessing. St. Paul him-
self has said, " Where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty." In accordance with this. Chris-
tians are exhorted by the same apostle to " stand
fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us
free," Gal. v, 1. The great body of our people
profess to enjoy this liberty. Again : our Saviour
202 METHODISM l\ ITS ORIGIN,
taught, " Ye must be born again :" and, " The wind
bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and
whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the
Spirit,"' John iii, 7, 8. The greater number of these
people profess to have been so born again. The
apostle says, " The love of God is shed abroad in our
hearts by the Holy Ghost," Rom. v, 5 ; and, " The
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace," Gal. v, 22.
Vast multitudes tell us they possess these divine,
these happy feelings. All this, it may be said, re-
lates to individuals ; whereas the promise of the
Spirit is made to the church. What is the church
but an aggregation of individuals 1 And yet we have
no objection to meet this plea. Be it granted that
the Holy Ghost is promised to the collective church,
in her ministers, ordinances, and members. It will
follow from this, that the gospel preached by the
former will be " in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and
in much assurance," 1 Thess. i, 5. How is this to be
ascertained but by effects following 1 These effects
are before the world. Almighty power has attended
this ministry in the conversion of great multitudes,
some in heaven, and some on earth, which have been
brought under its influence. In the second case, —
that of ordinances, — the effusions of the Spirit must
attend their administration. If testimony, happiness,
holiness, and spiritual growth and strength, are to
be taken as evidence of this blessing, we possess
this. In the third instance noticed, — a blessing on
their fellowship, — we may say that the vitality, peace,
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 203
and holiness sought and enjo3'ed by a numerous peo-
ple for a century, is satisfactorj^ demonstration of the
grace of the Holy Spirit. Then, again, we ask,
Can a community be visited by the Holy Ghost, and
can this blessed influence attend their ministry, their
services, and their sacraments, and cement, unite, and
sanctify their people, and yet such community not
be a church ? If not, this state of things must be
considered as perplexing and wonderful, — a moral
phenomenon, as if the fruits of harvest were found
in an arctic winter.
Are our people in possession of those spiritual
affections which predispose and fit them for " the
communion of saints V It is clear that the first so-
cieties of Christians were not founded on the basis
either of the principles of civil and political science,
or of the common opinions and passions of human
nature. Christianity introduced into the world a
purely spiritual system, and proposed to build the
church, as to the foundation, on the truth, and, as to
instruments and means, to employ the new and divine
affections which it created by its influence on the
mind and character of its disciples. Churches with-
out faith, conversion. Christian love, and humility, —
founded on creeds and symbols alone, — have retain-
ed their name for centuries, but have manifested
none of the characteristics of true Christianity.
Certain spiritual and moral qualities are always
supposed in the Scriptural accounts of the church.
Let us take one picture of this state. " Till we all
come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge
204 MKTHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
of the Son of (Jod, unto a perfect man, unto the
measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ :
that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to
and fro, and carried about with every wind of doc-
trine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive ; but speaking
the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things,
which is the Head, even Christ : from whom the
whole body fitly joined together and compacted by
that which every joint supplieth, according to the
effectual working in the measure of every part,
maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of
itself in love," Eph. iv, 13-16. The terms employed
in this beautiful description are only applicable to
the truly spiritual mind and character. The ele-
ments of this are presumed to exist in the body, and
so to operate as to lead to that unity, edification,
knowledge, love, and enlargement, which are essen-
tial to the true life of religion.
Now, do we possess any thing like this 1 Are re-
ligious affections, principles, and feelings, the bonds
of our fellowship, the cement of our union, the spring
and fountain of our life ] We know no other in-
fluence which is adequate to the purpose, and believe
that the great mass of our people are a true part of
the body of Christ, attracted to each other by the
power of a common feeling, namely, that of similarity
of faith in the Saviour, and possess an identity of
spiritual nature, aflTections, and objects of pursuit.
This has ever been the soul of our fellowship. All,
indeed, do not remain. The ambitious, who have
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 205
been discontented with their own position, have again
and again agitated and divided the people, formed
factions, and for a time scattered portions of the
flock. What has been the issue ? Has the wound
remained, — the gash continued 1 No : in a most
astonishing manner, and in an inconceivably short
period, the wound has been healed ; and health, vi-
gour, and growth have gone on almost without inter-
ruption. This shows that, even in the most afflictive
cases of division in our history, the vitality has re-
mained, life has flowed on, the body has retained its
unity and strength, and the rent made has only been
the severance of an excrescence which could not be
absorbed. As to individual instances of separation,
from the loss of faith and piety, the indulgence of
worldly affections, and the existence of some unsub-
dued sin, it is well known that they generally take
place without any disciplinary course at all. The
internal life, spirit, and power, throw off these dead
or dying branches, just as the leaves which hang on
some trees through the winter are at once expelled
from their unnatural position on the return of spring.
We are warranted in inferring that nothing less
than the existence of the sentiments,, affections, and
graces, which unitedly constitute the Christian cha-
racter, have, on the main, ever been the bond of the
Christian fellowship among us. Salvation in Christ,
and the blessed influence of the Holy Spirit in the
heart, together with corresponding religious exer-
cises and services, have prepared our people, in all
times and places, to form really " united societies,"
206 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
to cherish one spirit, to speak one language, to adopt
one system of discipline and worship, to own and
esteem each other in all places as brethren, and by
combined exertions to promote the salvation and
happiness of all men. If this union and life, these
various aflections, religious services, and one united
fellowship, in the faith of Christ, and in the fear and
love of God, do not indicate the church, we again
ask, What do they indicate 1 When we behold the
human body, do we not at once infer that this physi-
cal organization must be inhabited, inspired, employ
its senses, move, and perform all its functions through
the mysterious presence and powers of the soul ! In
like manner, when we see a large community exhi-
biting all the characteristics of the body of Christ,
are we not driven to infer that it is his church, and
that beneath the external formation there is hidden
a divine power, — the Spirit of God, — and that the
life, lioliness, unity, and beauties of associated reli-
gion could not exist without his inspirations 1 This
LIFE, including a vital faith in Christ, the blessings
of the Holy Ghost, and the identity of our fellowship
with the Scriptural characteristics of the body of
Christ, in the functions and aflfections existing, is
the third note of our being a church.
4. Holy discipline, on the rules of the word of
God, is essential to a church.
The recognition and pervading authority of the
laws of Christ are evidently necessarj'. How can
any church be of the kingdom of Christ, unless he
reigns as King, by the predominance of his laws !
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 207
And how can these laws have power, if they are not
recognised on the part of the people, and enforced
by holy discipline 1 This question is one of the most
difficult and perplexing, in the abstract, that can
well be imagined ; and the practical application and
enforcement of discipline have originated most of the
discontent and divisions on the one hand, which have
arisen among Christian bodies, and most of the op-
pression and cruelty inflicted upon them on the other.
All the absurd, anti-scriptural, restrictive, and per-
secuting exactions of the canon-law, dominant in
Christendom for so many long and dreary ages, fall
under the general head of discipline. Extremes on
one side follow extremes on the other. Hence,
among many of the Protestant churches discipline
has often been lax ; the teaching and precepts of the
gospel of Christ, on the express subject of the go-
vernment of the church, and the obligations of its
members, have been allowed to fall into neglect ; the
consequence has been, the discredit of religion itself,
and the degradation of the kingdom of Christ among
men.
On this somewhat difficult question we may say
that our general principle is, to retain the supremacy
of the word of God, in the fulness and sufficiency of
its teaching, for discipline as well as doctrine, and in
all things pertaining to the Christian life, and the
government and well being of the people ; that the
enforcement of these laws, according to the New
Testament, can only be legitimately secured by mo-
ral means, — such as teaching, admonition, suspen-
208 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
sion, and, in case of necessity, excision from the
body of believers. For the sake of precision, and to
render the rules of the kingdom of Christ clear and
intelligible to the members ; also to enable them fully
to understand the nature and obligations under which
they place themselves by uniting with a Christian
church, and to lead them to feel the necessity of
walking circumspectly ; it is necessary for the au-
thorities to draw out the sense and meaning of Scrip-
ture into succinct propositions or canons : but it is
not lawful to pervert the meaning of the word of
God, and thus change his church into an earthly re-
public ; or by the use of the selected code to super-
sede the laws of Christ, and by this infringe the
right of private judgment in a free use of the Scrip-
tures. The Bible must still be left in the hands of
the people, and to its divine authority the final appeal
ought, in all cases, to be made.
It is quite impossible, in this discourse, to go
through the entire body of our rules on matters of
discipline ; all that can be attempted must be limited
to a few of the objects proposed.
(1.) As our system rests on the fact, that religion
itself is experimental and practical ; and that the
church is composed of those who, at least, are
" pricked in the heart" by the word of truth, so as
to desire to " flee from the wrath to come ;" the first
branch of our discipline relates to this subject.
Rules to guide the people in all the essential duties
and obligations of the spiritual life, — private, domes-
tic, and conventional, — as well as in the church state,
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 209
are provided. These are free from all ambiguity ;
are simple and practical, and only aim at the promo-
tion of holiness of heart and life. In establishing
this branch of our discipline, our founder gloried in
the circumstance that the foundation of our conunu-
nion is of the most catholic nature. No subscription
to any doctrinal articles, modes of church govern-
ment and order, Tubrics, canons, and creeds, is de-
manded ; but a simple desire to " flee from the wrath
to come," evidenced by " repentance, and fruits meet
for repentance." This principle is beautifully deve-
loped in the whole scheme of discipline relative to
the members of the church. Every provision is
found to have some design to promote their experi-
mental growth in the knowledge and enjoyment of
the things of God. And it seems to be assumed
that he who is penitent, who seeks the Lord with
his whole heart, who duly attends the means of grace,
and who regards all the obligations of practical reli-
gion, cannot be very wrong in his creed. That the
head is more frequently put right by the heart, than
the heart made right by the head, may be very well
allowed. And hence it was believed, that if the
soul were aflected by a sense of sin, this would, if
followed out, lead to faith in the gospel.
The entire discipline of the body on the subject of
membership — including admission, continuance, sus-
pension, expulsion — is founded on the simple and
only principle of forming and preserving a spiritual
church on the faith of the gospel, experimentally and
practically held. Those regulations and usages
14
210 METHODISM IN ITS ORIOirT,
which are deemed most objectional by other Chris-
tians, — as the private meetings for conference on
matters of personal religion, — are all designed to
carry into effect one of the leading ideas of Scrip-
ture, namely, that of mutual edification in faith and
piety, so as to bring out into public view and practi-
cal operation the hidden power and grace of the
heart. While our discipline treats with the utmost
tenderness and assiduous attention those who are
" weak in the faith," and uses all possible means for
their encouragement and improvement, it discounte-
nances indifference, and visits the proofs of hypoc-
risy and immorality with certain admonition, or ex-
cision, as the case may require.
(2.) Our sacramental services are equally guarded.
It is required that these ordinances shall be at-
tended to, and administered, in the most solemn and
impressive manner. The members of the church
are accredited by that circumstance ; but, to meet
the case of other persons who are not in society, on
application to the minister, and approval by him,
they too are admitted. By these rules the Lord's
table, on the one hand, is sufficiently guarded, and,
on the other, the truly catholic principle is recog-
nised, — that there is a general church of Christ, as
well as particular communions ; and the Methodist
economy would not refuse its members the advantage
of communicating with any portion of that church
or of receiving to its table those who consider i*
meet, or find it convenient, to avail themselves of
this privilege among us.
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 211
(3.) But it is designed by our discipline to con-
serve not merely the purity of the church in its
living members, but also the doctrines of the gospel,
as preached in our congregations.
This remark embraces two points of equal import-
ance, — the evangelical truth of the doctrines taught,
and the purity of the pulpit — the vehicle of their
enunciation.
The rules on the first point are extremely strin-
gent. They are, as is well known, not limited to a
voluntary judgment, but are secured by legal provi-
sions connected with the settlement of every regular
place of worship that we occupy. It is not in the
choice of any parties to determine what doctrines
shall be permanently preached ; no other than those
which were taught by our founder, and made the
standard for the body by his authority, can be pro-
mulgated. Power is also given to so many parties
to watch over this legal arrangement, with the right
to adjudicate in cases of any existing corruption of
doctrine, in the church first, and, if that be found an
insufficient remedy, to carry the question to the
highest legal tribunals of the land. Hence, the pos-
sible continued existence of heretical doctrine must
be supposed on the ground of entire indifference,
founded on the departure from the faith of the whole
body. The value of this will be apparent by con-
trast. We are supplied with an ample illustration
in what is now going on. Let us take No. 85 of the
" Tracts for the Times." It is given in the form
of lectures, delivered in St. Mary's Church, Oxford.
212 MKTHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
A more mischievous production never issued from
the head or pen of man. It is difficult to say which
predominates most, infidelity or Popery ; but one
thing is certain, that not one iota of evangelical
truth, or of the doctrines of the Church of England,
understood as a Protestant church, appears from one
end to the other. Yet this tissue of Popish infidelity
was preached in one of the established churches of
the nation, and no disciplinaiy remedy has been en-
forced. Would a case parallel to this be permitted
among ourselves ^ Most certainly not. Any of our
places of worship, allowing the promulgation — we
will not say, of doctrines as heretical and pestiferous,
for that is next to impossible, but — of deviations from
the truth in any of the vital subjects of the gospel,
would be forfeited. The security that true theology
shall be universally and for ever taught, is as ample
as the wisest provisions can possibly make it. When
we see the amazing difficulty of providing for the
SUCCESSION of evangelical doctrine in particular
churches, the value of this feature of our discipline
will be duly appreciated.
The other subject referred to, — namely, the ar-
rangements, or, to use the more ecclesiastical term,
the canons, provided to conserve the purity of the
ministry itself, — is closely connected with the fore-
going topic. It is enough to say, that this is con-
tinuous. It is not deemed sufficient that the candi-
date for this office shall give unequivocal proof, as
far as man's judgment can go, of conversion to God,
and that he is " moved by the Holy Ghost" to take
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 213
the sacred office upon him ; but it is also considered
necessary that he should give evidence of a similar
piety and moral fitness for this holy function in all
subsequent periods of life. The holy doctrines of
the gospel have but a poor chance of being dealt
with fairly in unholy hands, considered simply as
truths. Indeed, it may be safely affirmed, that the
thing never existed. The verities of God must take
their form and colouring from the mind through
which they pass. Hence, in corrupt churches con-
fidence is never exercised for any good effects from
preaching ; it is usually decried as of little value :
but the sacraments are depended upon ; these, it is
held, lose none of their saving efficacy by being de-
filed by the hands through which they pass. "Unto
the wicked God saith," in every age, " What hast
thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou
shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth V " Once
a bishop, always a bishop," may do as an ecclesias-
tical maxim ; but, if many of those who have sus-
tained this and other branches of the sacred office,
had been dealt with on Christian rules, they would
have been placed in a very different position. We
do not plead an exemption from human infirmity ;
but we do say, that our discipline, on these two vital
questions, — security from heretical pravity, and offi-
cial ungodliness, — provides as many guards as can
be well devised.
(4.) The ultimate end proposed by our discipline
is expansion and gro^vth.
The connectional principle, expressed by the term,
214 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
" UNITED SOCIETIES," (Icvelops this. This appears
in every variety of mode. It is seen on the platform
of our ministerial operations in the several circuits
at home. Though most of these include one or more
well-instructed and respectahle congregations, as the
centre or basis of operations ; yet they embrace nu-
merous villages, hamlets, suburban and scattered
portions of the population, having neither the means
nor the inclination to provide for themselves. For-
merly this work was left very much in our hands.
No parties " cared for these souls," perishing " for
lack of knowledge." Our operations in this form
have been deemed irregular. This is a pure mis-
take. ^Vhen in former times the ministers, and their
associates and helpers, were seen perambulating the
country in quest of lost souls ; pushing their ad-
vanced posts into the territories of ignorance and
sin ; making little and despised lodgments in the
dismal abodes of wicked men ; establishing the
means of grace as they were able, and then watching
over and guarding the whole ; — these proceedings
were deemed eccentric and disorderly. The very
reverse. They proceeded on a great principle,
■ivTought into a perfectly harmonious plan of labour.
These despised evangelists were not at home in
their excursions. They were in possession of a
central point, held in peace and power ; and these
visitations were made to enlarge the circumference
of their Christian borders, and to bring to God, and
the blessings of his grace and truth, those who were
wandering in the desert. How many of these moral
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 215
wildernesses have been niade to smile and " blossom
as the rose !" The duty of the cliurch to endeavour
to seek enlargement in the sense of bringing others
to the knowledge of salvation, is felt to be so vital,
that it may well be considered as forming a part of
our disciplinary code. The strong are taught that
it is their duty to support the weak — the rich to sup-
ply the lack of means among the poor — the saved to
care for the sovds of the " ignorant and those who
are out of the way" — and the consolidated societies
to feel the obligation of providing the means of reli-
gion for the world of perishing men. The effect of
this principle, imbodied in our Rules, and thus acted
upon by all the members of the church, is seen in the
expansion of the system, the eidargement of the work,
and the salvation of men, on the scale of our existing
power and numbers. This discipline, as in actual
operation among us, is the fourth note of the church.
5. A spiritual ministry, sustaining the double func-
tion of preaching and the pastoral care, is necessary
to constitute a church.
A distinction has sometimes been made between
the church and the ministry. The congregation of
the faithful has been spoken of under the general
appellation of the church, while the ministry has been
represented as a mere office, not essential, not inhe-
rent, not an integral part of the body of Christ. And,
on the other hand, many reasoners, and especially
those holding Popish, or semi-popish opinions, speak
of the hierarchy, the order, the canonical platform,
the synodical assemblies of ministers, and the appa-
216 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
ratus of means, as the church ; while the people are
altogether lost sight of. Both these notions are evi-
dently unsupported by Scripture and the reasons of
the case. Ministers and people stand in necessary
connection with each other, though their position in
the house of our Lord may be different. A con-
clave of ministers would not, in that character, con-
stitute a church ; and an assembly of believers, des-
titute of a pastor, — except in cases of accident,
emergency, and necessity, — would, it is true, be a
meeting or assembly of religious men ; but, wthout
the word of God preached, and the sacraments ad-
ministered, could not, in the proper sense of the
expression, be considered a church. It is clear
from the testimony and precedents of the New Tes-
tament, that the union of both in their just and pro-
per position — the one as the pastor, the other as the
flock — is essential to constitute the state in question.
The ministry, as a function, was appointed by
Christ in his humiUation, as a permanent provision
of his kingdom. " All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have com-
manded you : and, lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world." Matt, xxviii, 18-20.
We have here not only the institution of the minis-
try, but its continuance provided for. How could
Christ be with his apostles to the end of the world,
unless an order of men were to be raised up in per-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 217
petuity, to be favoured with this privilege 1 We do
not dispute with any parties respecting the intention
of Christ in raising up a succession of minister
The questions in debate relate to other points ; as,
whether they are called immediately by Christ him-
self, in the exercise of the power of which he speaks ;
or whether the bishops are a distinct order, and li-
neally the successors of the apostles, and as such
possess the exclusive right and prerogative to ap-
point, in perpetuity, those who are to hold this and
all other ministerial offices ; or whether, no mention
being made of such a design in the law itself, com-
pared with other passages, bishops and elders are
not of the same generic ministerial order, and pos-
sessed of equal rights ; or whether, in the proper
sense of the term as technically used, a series of ap-
pointments, one succeeding another, as the links of
a chain, in one specific line -without deviation, is
meant : on the other hand, whether our Saviour,
having said nothing on the question, has not left
himself at liberty to break through any imagined
line, and when one set of ministers fail to accomplish
his work, he may not raise up others ; and if they
are so called, anointed by his Spirit, and endowed
for the office, they may not justly be considered as
the true followers or successors of the first apostles
and evangelists.*
* See Burnet's " History of the Reformation" (Records ;)
Jewel's " Apology" and " Defence ;" Faber's " Vallenses"
and "Provincial Letters;" Stillingfleet's Irenicum;
Powell's " Essay on the Apostolical Succession."
218 METHODISM IN' ITS ORIGIX,
Our own ministerial vocation, so far as the exter-
nal call is considered, is soon and easily stated. The
f^ts are clear and succinct.
(1.) The venerable founder of our body was a
presbyter of the Church of England. When he
came carefully, and without prejudice, to examine
the question, he found that the order of bishops and
presbyters, as exhibited in the New Testament, was
the same ; that, moreover, this principle was recog-
nised in the church for a considerable time ; and that
the superiority of bishops arose out of the mere cir-
cumstance of their being, for the sake of order, ele-
vated to preside in the meetings of the elders ; and
when the churches had several ministers, from con-
venience and necessity, one of the number, from age
or superior endowments, was appointed to take the
superintendence, — that is, he was the first among
equals. When Mr. Wesley was virtually put out
of the Church, — that is, not permitted to execute
what he considered his mission regularly within her
pale, — he threw himself on this first, primary, and
Scriptural view of his position. Hence he consi-
dered himself not merely a minister of the national
Church of England, but a presbyter of the universal
church ; so that though he might not be permitted to
exercise his calling in one particular .sphere, yet the
" dispensation of the gospel which he had received"
held good in any sphere and in any place ; in point
of fact, that he did not cease to be a true presbyter
of the church of Christ, when he was dispensing the
gospel in the fields and private buildings ; and believ-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 819
ing truly, that the episcopoi and elders of the New-
Testament were of the same degree, he says, on one
occasion, that he " believed he vms as really a bishop
as any in the land.''"'
(2.) God honoured this remarkable man by mak-
ing him the instrument of the conversion and salva-
tion of great numbers. From among these his spi-
ritual children, many came forward, from time to
time, attesting that they were called of God to preach
his gospel. This our founder violently opposed at
first ; but the evidence of their piety, gifts, and the
remarkable blessing which evidently rested on their
labours, bore down his opposition, and he yielded to
the demonstration, that this too was the work of
God.
(3.) These holy and zealous men, after due exa-
mination, were set apart for the work to which they
were called, though not by imposition of hands.
This setting apart in the congregation, by prayer,
exhortation, and religious exercises, was of the es-
sence of ordination, though destitute of the formality
of the " laying on of the hands of the presbytery."
This latter ceremony was evidently avoided, that as
small an amount of offence as possible might be given
to the Church, that her order might as slightly as
possible be innovated ; and that a link of connection
might be retained ; for it must be conceded, that Mr.
Wesley treated these helpers as preachers only, not
possessing the full ministerial call, and desired his
societies to receive the sacraments at the hands of
the clergy.
220 METHODISM IX ITS ORIGIN,
(4.) These preachers proved themselves to be
men of eminent qualifications for the ministry. They
performed their office with great power, and won-
derful effect. They were the instruments of awa-
kening multitudes of sinners, of extending the old
societies and founding new ones, and ranked among
the most able evangelists ever known in the church.
But besides preaching, they also performed the func-
tion of pastors. They watched over their flocks, fed
them by wholesome doctrine, instruction, and disci-
pline. They admitted into the societies, governed,
and expelled. In fact, they performed all the offices
of true ministers, save the administration of the sa-
craments. This point Mr. Wesley reserved, evi-
dently under the persuasion that without ordination
by the imposition of hands, the preachers were not
fully qualified ; and he withheld this, that, as before
stated, the members might be induced to attend at
the parish church. We are only giving a narrative,
and stating facts ; or we might ask, " What right
had these preachers to do so much Avithout being
permitted to do the rest ■? to form, feed, govern, and
watch over churches of Christ, and thus in every
possible way to lead them into the truth, privileges,
and blessings of the gospel ?" We ask, " What right
had they to go thus far, if they had not the right to
do the only other thing necessary to the ministerial
office, — to administer the sacraments V
It must be remarked here, that Mr. Wesley be-
lieved he possessed the right to give this power, as
much so as any bishop in England. Hence, when
KCONOiMV, A\D PRESENT POSITION. 221
from prudential motives he saw it suitable to exer-
cise it, he did so without scruple. When America
set herself free from her connection with the mother
country, he ordained men for the ministry, and gave
form to a church system. Scotland, also, being, as
he thought, differently circumstanced from England,
he adopted a similar mode of proceeding for that
branch of the work ; and, in the latter period of his
life, he ordained some few of the preachers for the
full ministry in this country ; so that, in truth, the
pastorate among us has never been destitute of an
ordained presbytery, to transmit the very orders pos-
sessed by Mr. Wesley himself. If it be contended,
that a succession, in the sense of a transmission of
orders, is necessary to constitute a valid ministry ;
we reply, that we have never been without this
power, because we have always had in the ministry
men who had themselves been ordained by Mr. Wes-
ley, and who had in their turn ordained others.
Here, then, is the power of a perfect church, and
ecclesiastical system, so far as the ministry is con-
cerned, even on the principles contended for by most
of the parties holding the essential connection be-
tween an ordained ministrj'^ and a valid church.
And on the ground of the identity of bishops and
elders as one order, fully believed by Mr. Wesley,
and by all candid and truth-seeking writers on the
question ; it follows, that the constitution of the
American Methodist Episcopal Church is only a
legitimate development of the principle ; and, it may
be added, that an imitation of that great transaction
222 iMETHODISJI IX ITS ORIGIN,
in this country would be perfectly justifiable on the
ground assumed by Mr. Wesley himself, and held
sacred by his followers.
(5.) In this position the matter stood at the period
of Mr. Wesley's death. The conference possessed
the power of ordination, even by imposition of hands,
in the line in which their founder stood, at any time
they chose to use it. A crisis soon arose, in an ur-
gent desire, on the part of the people, for the sacra-
ments among themselves. The ministers, in defer-
ence to the opinion of their founder, warded off the
subject as often and as long as they could ; but, be-
ing driven to the necessity of coming to some kind
of conclusion, they took the most moderate course
in their power. The points at issue were of the
most grave and important nature ; amounting, in
reality, to the question, whether the great work
which God had wrought should be given up, and
left, like a wrecked vessel, to float in any direction
in which chance might carry it ; or, whether it
should be conserved, the emergency provided for,
and a solid basis for future peace and prosperity
sought. The technicalities connected with contro-
verted questions but ill exhibit them to superficial
observers. This was the case at that time in the
matters mooted in the debate. Beneath the exterior
of the sacramental controversy lay the seeds of the
dissolution of Methodism on the one hand, or the
germ of an independent church system on the other.
Our fathers determined to take the latter course.
How far the subject of ministerial qualification for
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 223
giving the sacraments, without imposition of hands,
came under consideration, I have not the means of
knowing ; but practically the conference determined
to rely on that separation and consecration to the
holy ministry, which, as they believed, embraced the
essence of ordination, rather than exercise the power
they possessed, and formally go to the practice of the
imposition of hands.* Candid and moderate men
* If this be deemed irregular by strict Churchmen, it may
be as well to remind them of some few facts connected with
this subject in the established Church. In answer to the
question, " Whether in the New Testament be required any
consecration of a bishop and priest, or only appointing to the
office be sufficient V Cranmer remarks, " In the New Testa-
ment, he that is appointed a bishop or a priest, needeth no
consecration by the Scripture ; for election or appointing
thereto is sufficient." In answer to another question, this
reformer says, " And at that time, forasmuch as the Christian
people had no sword nor governor among them, they were
constrained of necessity to take such curates and priests as
either they knew themselves to be meet thereto, or else as
were commended unto them by othere, that were so replete
with the Spirit of God, with such knowledge in the profession
of Christ, such wisdom, such conversation and counsel, that
they ought even of conscience to give credit unto them, and
to accept such as by them were presented: and so sometimes
the apostles and others, unto whom God had given abundantly
his Spirit, sent or appointed ministers of God's word : some-
times the people did choose such as they thought meet there-
unto ; and when they were appointed or sent by the apostles,
or others, the people, of their own voluntary will, with thanks
did accept them ; not for the supremity, empire, or dominion,
that the apostles had over them to command, as their princes
and masters, but as good people, ready to obey the advice of
224 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
will think that they acted wisely ; and that, in con-
sidering themselves qualified to administer the sa-
craments, they usurped no powers which did not
legitimately belong to the ministerial office which
good counsellors, and to accept any thing that was necessary
for their edification and benefit."
Again : in answer to the question, "Whether a bishop hath
authority to make a priest by the Scripture or no ? and whe-
ther any other bvit only a bishop may make a priest ?" Cran-
merrepUes, "A bishop may make a priest by the Scripture,
and so may princes and governors also, and that by the autho-
rity of God committed to them, and the people also by their
election ; for as we read that bishops have done it, so Chris-
tian emperors and princes have done it ; and the people, be-
fore Cliristian princes were, commonly did elect their bishops
and priests." In answer to other questions relating to cases
of urgent necessity, it is held by Cranmer, and many of the
most celebrated theologians of the day, that it is not unlawful
for laymen of every degree to preach the word of God, to ad-
minister the sacraments, and perform all the otlier functions
of the ministry. (See Burnet's "Historical Records," vol.
iii, sec. xxi, quest. 9-14.) Moreover, it is a curious fact,
that the Refomied Church of England did not prepare any
reformed ordinal until 1550. Did Cranmer and his compeers
use the old Popish service in the consecration of bishops, and
the ordination of presbyters ? or did they act on their own
principle, as above stated, and appoint to the sacred office by
election? This subject is involved in some obscurity; and
yet, during the interval refeiTed to, we have the record of the
election of many of the bishops of the reformed period of
Henry VIH., and no account of their consecration. Even
Mr. Percival, in the list appended to his book on Apostolical
Succession, has failed to produce any evidence of the conse-
cration of these bishops. Now, in case this should prove to
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 225
thev had, many of them, so long and so usefully
held.
In this position the matter stood for some years,
few doubting but that the right to administer the sa-
craments was assumed by men who had previously
possessed the ministerial qualification without using
it, in deference to the general usage. They who
knew the men, would have small difiiculty in admit-
ting their fitness for the right discharge of the func-
tion ; and they who looked a little deeper than the
human authority established in the ecclesiastical
canons of a particular church, could not doubt their
divme right to its exercise. It would require some
acuteness to prove that men who had been intrusted
with a call from God, and thus *' put into the minis-
try," had not received a full commission, when, in
truth, it was exercised in every way but this one.
They had most successfully sustained the office of
evangelists, superintendents, the administrators of
be in fact, what it appears to be, as understood by the gene-
ral laws of evidence, namely, that for several years during
the early part of the Reformation, bishops were appointed by
election, and not by consecration ; then what becomes of the
doctrine of apostolical succession ? These bishops were ap-
pointed to their office without the communication to them by
other bishops of the power and grace supposed to be inherent
in the epi-scopal function. Consequently they were out of the
line : their ordinations, supposing they performed any, must
be invalid ; their " making the body and blood of Christ" in
the eueharist must in its turn fail ; and as none can be saved
but by partaking the sacrament so prepared, consequencea
the m:»'-t disastrous must necessarily have followed.
1.5
226 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
discipline ; and it would be difficult to show that
such men as Benson, Pawson, Mather, Olivers,
Clarke, Taylor, Wood, Entwisle, and their cowork-
ers, went beyond their calling when they adminis-
tered the Lord's supper to the flocks over which the
chief Shepherd had made them overseers.
(6.) When the field of missionary enterprise en-
larged, the right of ordination, by the imposition of
hands, began to be exercised in the case of those
who were appointed to foreign stations. An attempt
to carry the same point, in regard of all who took
upon them the full ministry in this countrj', met with
a powerful resistance, on the ground of the validity
of the existing vocation of the brethren : this was
not disputed by those who considered the imposition
of hands as more perfect ; and, in the absence of
something approaching to unanimity, the question
for the time was abandoned. A few years rolled
on, and then the usage was adopted without a dis-
sentient voice.
From all this it appears that, in fact, we possess
and exercise all the functions of a full and completed
ministry ; not merely in substance, but in form.
This, then, is our fifth note of a church.
The whole case may be summed up in few words.
The Methodist " united societies" constitute a
communion of Christians, on the basis of the faith
of the New Testament ; these societies are spiritual,
holy, living believers, united to Christ, and blessed
with the influence of the Holy Spirit. A Christian
service, embracing preaching, the sacraments, and
ECOXO.MY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 227
such private meetings as tend to edification, is fully
provided, and in constant practice ; holy discipline,
for the purposes of purity, conservation, and pro-
gress, founded on the word of God, is assented to,
enforced, and observed ; and a ministry converted,
called of God, set apart and ordained by the pastor-
ate, is in the full exercise of its functions. This we
call a CHURCH.
They who arrogate to themselves the exclusive
title of " the holy Catholic Church," will, of course,
place us in the same category with the Lutheran,
Reformed, and Scotch Churches, deny our title, and
denounce us as heretics. From some of the very
last prelatical charges, there is reason to conclude
that something more than this would be done, if
"that which letteth were taken out of the way."
Whether this may be the case, and how soon, none
can know. The times are most ominous. For the
last few years a spirit has been abroad most hostile
to the principles of the Reformation, and threatening
the religious liberties of the country. We seem to
be marked out as the first victims of this crusade.
The peaceful exercise of our religious privileges and
attempts to do good are suddenly and everywhere
opposed and assailed ; we are, from the pidpit and
the press, denounced as heretics, as well as schis-
matics ; a quiet grave is refused to our dead ; and
exultation and joy are expressed at the prospect of
breaking in upon our tranquil borders, and scatter-
ing our people. How soon and how suddenly are
the tables turned! But a few fleeting years have
228 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
passed since we were courted as allies, our assist-
ance sought in the emergency of the Church, and
our position allowed to be the very opposite of anta-
gonist. In that dark day we did not forget our
founder and his principles, A ready, frank, and
willing frioid/i/ assistance was accorded. This was
not inefl'ective. If we did not hold the balance in
our hands, which, in the circumstances, is extremely
probable, yet it was in our power to have greatly
swelled the flood, and to have rendered resistance a
more difficult task.* We sought no favour — we
* It is so unusual, and, at the same time, so refreshing, to
meet with any thing like truth, when the character of our
founder and the spirit of Methodism arc concerned, that we can-
not deny ourselves the gratification of inserting the beautiful
and eloquent eulogium on both, delivered at Oxford, in the re-
cently published Banipton Lectures, by the Rev. James Garbett.
" The period was full of danger ; but, mean while, the pro-
vidence of the Head of the church had been preparing from
afar off the forces which were to resist the tempest. So long
ago as the middle of last centuiy, in the midst of the general
slumijer, two remarkable men had spning up in the bosom of
the Church, and had commenced that spiritual movement
which, both within and without her, has never since been
checked, but has gone swelling on and on, till it has pervaded
the length and breadth of the land. Both of them were sin-
gularly endowed with popular eloquence, and the power of
moving, as one man, the hearts of the greatest multitudes.
But one of them, John Wesley, was as remarkable a man as
any age or country- has produced — resolute, calm, indefatiga-
ble — combining with a strong personal asceticism, a rare sym-
pathy with the minds of other men — with the most piercing
and far-reaching sagacity, that profound entliusisism which
gives to great truths the power by which they overbear oppo-
ECON'OMV, AND PRKSENT POSITION. 229
asked for no compromise — we expected no sacrifice
to be made to us. But ice had a right to expect
peace. War, however, has been proclaimed. This,
it will be said by some, is not from authority. It is
sition, Jind conquer mankind — a mind legislational, systema-
tic, creative, fi.x:ing what would have been, in other hands, the
heats of the moment, in a permanent form ; and imbodying,
in profoundly calculated institutions, the spirit which, in the
case of AATiitefield, evaporated, after a few convulsive efforts,
without anj' lastmg result.
" Among the vehement opposition of authority, the scoffs
and contempt of the learned, and the violences of popular out-
rage, these men succeeded in conveying spiritual conscious-
ness, and the purifying influences of the gospel, to wildernesses
into which the Church had never attempted to penetrate —
and to thousands of souls within her pale, whom the indiffer-
ence of her ministers had permitted to walk in darkness.
But the power of these remarkable men lay in the great truths
which they preached — trutlis which, from the beginning until
now, have carried their own witness with them, and com-
manded the hearts of mankind. As, at the Reformation, it
was the announcement of the gospel, as contained in the
written word, which moved men's souls so deeply ; and, w'ith
all the drawbacks of enthusiasm, and the other evil influences
which are always found to accompany the resuscitation, par-
tial or general, of the religious spirit, it has permanently im-
pressed an ameliorating influence on countless masses, which
would otherwise have been abandoned to practical heathen-
ism. In the mean time, there was not wanting a succession
of ministers within the Church, who, through evil report and
good report, announced the same long-neglected doctrines ;
and they had grown so strange to men's ears, that, though
they are fundamental truths, and the very message of Christ,
they were denounced at first as but little better than heresy.
But gradually the spirit of reformation spread ; the dead slum-
230 METHODI.S.M IN ITS OIUGIN,
replied, Authority does not even attempt to stop or
mitigate its course. No one can mistake the objects
sought. They are evidently designed to maintain
the Church, not merely as the Establishment of the
nation, but as per se — the holy Catholic Church —
and that other bodies are no churches at all, but he-
ber of the Church was effectually broken ; the once-despised
doctrines were widely recognised, not only as the unquestion-
able truths of Scripture, but as the authorized teaching of the
Church of England. Henceforth her ministers ceased to be
the ' apes of Epictetus ;' they spoke to men's souls ; they be-
gan /rom Christ, as the source of life, instead of working up
to him ; in one word, they preached Christ crucified, the be-
ginning, the middle, and the end of our faith. Along with this
bold and simple Scriptural teaclring there went necessarily,
hand in hand, a less secular life in the established clergy ; an
indefatigable zeal in all good works ; an earnestness hitherto
unknown ; and a primitive abandorunent of soul, and body,
and substance, and every thing, so that Christ might be glo-
rified, and his gospel win its way in the hearts of men."
Of the conduct of the Methodist body, in the late troubles
and dangers of the Church, this distinguished man has the
candour to say, —
" The convulsions which, from the troubled depths of a
diseased social system, threatened the overthrow of every
existing institution, had taken a tone of decided hostility to
the Church ; and not only anarchist and infidel — which was
natural — conspired her ruin ; but, with the exception of the
followers of Wesley, to whom the lasting gratitude of the
Church is due, the great dissenting bodies likewise ; they
were utterly reckless of ultimate consequences, and unmind-
ful of the dangers which threatened the very existence of the
gospel in the overthrow of the Church, under whose mighty
shadow they themselves had been sheltered." (Vol. ii, pp.
453, 468.)
ECONOMV, AND PRESENT POSITION. 231
retical and schismatical rebels, to be hunted, harass-
ed, beaten down, and overthrown by such weapons
as the constitution allows. The issue is with God.
In the mean time we take our position, — we trust in
the spirit of prayer, meekness, and Christian love,
but, — firmly, resolutely, and unalterably, as a branch
of the one true church of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ.
II. We may now, in reference to this subject,
apply the exhortation of the apostle : " Let us walk
by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.''''
1. By still acknowledging the supremacy and the
sufficiency of Holy Scripture.
This was a rule, a principle, an axiom, with our
founder and fathers. That which was not found
clearly stated in the word of God, or could not be
honestly and fairly deduced therefrom, was rejected.
Every truth of the sacred oracles, whether relating
to doctrines, experience, duties, order, and govern-
ment, was held as of equal and paramount obligation.
The Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible,
constituted the foundation of that fabric of religion
which, by the mercy of God, we have been enabled
to rear. The beautiful passage of Mr. Wesley, in
the Preface to his Sermons, expresses this sentiment
in forcible and glowing language : —
" To candid, reasonable men, I am not afraid to
lay open what have been the inmost thoughts of my
heart. I have thought, I am a creature of a day,
passing through life as an arrow through the air. I
232 METHODISM IN ITS ORIOIN,
am a spirit come from God, artd returning to God ;
just hovering over the great gulf; till a few moments
hence, I am no more seen ; I drop into an unchange-
able eternity ! I want to know one thing, — the way
to heaven ; how to land safe on that happy shore.
God himself has condescended to teach the way : for
this very end he came from heaven. He hath writ-
ten it down in a book. O give me that book ! At
any price give me the book of God ! I have it :
here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo
unius libri (' a man of one book.') Here then I am,
far from the busy ways of men. I sit down alone ;
only God is here. In his presence I open, I read
his book ; for this end, to find the way to heaven.
Is there a doubt concerning the meaning of what I
read 1 Does any thing appear dark or intricate 1 1
lift up my heart to the Father of lights r — Lord, is
it not thy word, ' If any man lack wisdom, let him
ask of God V Thou ' givest liberally, and upbraid-
est not.' Thou hast said, 'If any be willing to do
thy will, he shall know.' I am willing to do, let me
know, thy will. I then search after and consider
parallel passages of Scripture, ' comparing spiritual
things with spiritual ;' I meditate thereon with all
the attention and earnestness of which my mind is
capable. If any doubt still remains, I consult those
who are experienced in the things of God ; and then
the WTitings whereby, being dead, they yet speak.
And what I thus learn, that I teach." He adds:
" I have accordingly set down in the following ser-
mons what I find ia the Bible concerning the way
ECOXOMV, AND PRESENT POSITION. 233
to heaven ; with a view to distinguish this way of
God from all those which are the inventions of men.
I have endeavoured to describe the true, the Scrip-
tural, experimental religion, so as to omit nothing
which is a real part thereof, and to add nothing
thereto that is not."
This passage is important, on account of its beau-
tiful simplicity and piety, but much more so, in
consequence of the sermons in question being our
standard of doctrine, not only assented to by every
candidate for the ministrj', but so referred to, by
legal settlements, as to make it unlawful for any
opposing doctrine to be taught from our pulpits, or in
any of our theological schools. No secondary au-
thority is here acknowledged, or ever has been, as
co-ordinate with the Bible. Tradition, councils,
creeds, catholic theology, or an infallible interpreter,
are all discarded as in any sense occupying an equal
place with the word of God. The sacred text alone,
in our system, is clothed with divine authority, either
in the sense of giving the rule of faith, or the pre-
cepts of practical religion. We are fully prepared
to subscribe to the sixth Article of the English
Church on this point : " Holy Scripture containeth
all things necessary to salvation ; so that whatso-
ever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby,
is not to be required of any man, that it should be
believed, as an article of faith, or be thought re-
quisite or necessary to salvation. In the name
of ' Holy Scripture' we do understand those ca-
nonical books of the Old and New Testament,
234 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
of whose authority was never any doubt in the
Church."
Let us tenaciously adhere to this sacred canon of
Protestantism. It was not merely adopted as the
rule of this or that particular church, but was, in
fact, the great princAple of the revival of religion
effected by our fathers. Its practical adoption by
the reformers shook Popery to its foundations, and
its continuance is essential to the evangelical cha-
racter and useful expansion of these churches. Let
any form of Christianity be built on any thing but the
truth of God, and then it rests on a foundation of
sand, because hiunan ; and let any parties endeavour
to carry out their operations by means other than
those furnished by Scripture, and they are instantly
paralyzed as to spiritual good.
There is great occasion of fidelity to this rule
from the opposition of antagonist powers. It may
be safely affirmed, that no truth is in greater jeopar-
dy than this. There are dangers from the refine-
ments of philosophy ; from the skepticism of many
of the critics ; from the tendency to centralize even
religion, and consider it a compact of men, — a cor-
poration, — rather than a question of individual faith
in the truth of God. But we are in especial danger
from the new " church principles" now in the course
of development. Religious duties, as regards men
and churches, are of constant obligation. But there
are seasons when an avowal, vindication, and propa-
gation of great truths are especially necessary. The
only divine authority of Scripture is one of the truths
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 235
in question, and this one of the periods referred to.
It is attempted to wrest this shield from the Protest-
ant churches. This would be fair in the Church of
Rome, though the evil itself would be the same as
in other cases ; but, professing, as she does, the
equal authority of tradition and Scripture, and this
being one of the authoritative dogmas enacted by her
last council, and considered one of the infallible veri-
ties of the infallible church, she, as such, has a right
to enforce it. But what are we to say of avowed
Protestants attempting, by all the means in their
power, to create a concurrent and equal authority
with the word of God ! This is now going on to a
fearful extent. The parties making this attempt are
an organized body, occupy high places, are in the
most influential seat of education in the nation, are
filling the young mind of the country with this and
their other notions ; from this seed-plot, so well and
sedulously cultivated, it is to be rationally expected,
that the next generation will be found to deny alto-
gether the sufficiency of Holy Scripture as the rule
of faith ; and the pulpits of our national Church will
be filled by men who will preach another gospel than
that which is found in the Bible, as is the case at
present, as far as the leaven has reached. These
men meet at this point, it is true, a courteous, affec-
tionate, gentle, and feeble resistance. The authori-
ties reassert the old doctrines of the Church, and
reason with the gentlemen of the new school ; at
the same time, taking care to remove the edge
both of reasons and reproofs, by fulsome compli-
236 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
ments paid to their piety, honesty of purpose, purity
of motive, and very eminent services rendered to
the Church.
We leave these men to their own account. But
what is our duty ] It is to reassert, to vindicate, and
by all the means in our power to propajrate the doc-
trine of the integrity, divinity, and sufficiency of the
word of God ;• to protest against the introduction of
this primary and most pernicious falsehood of Popery
into the Church of the nation, not merely as corrupt-
ing the truth and tlie 7-cliffion of the Establishment,
but, if permitted, as vitiating its claim, as breaking
the bond, as subverting its foundations, and as
setting all those who adhere to the Protestant con-
stitution of that Church free from every form of alle-
giance.
These are strong words ; but they are deliberately
chosen. What do we behold before our eyes 1 We
see a great conspiracy in existence ; its head-quar-
ters, Oxford, the fountain-head of education, both
theological and classical, and the place where the
young nobility and candidates for holy orders are
found in great numbers. This compact body teach
their dogmas, containing all the essential elements
of Popery, without any effective check or control ;
on the other hand, applause and encouragement are
given them on the whole, and the effect is to render
the English Church a purely Popish hierarchy ; and
whether united to " the mother of harlots," or only
claiming the relationship of " a dear daughter," is
of little consequence if the characteristics are the
ECOXOMV, AND PRESEXT POSITION'. 237
same. This question embraces something more
than at first appears. It involves the truth ; but it
involves the rights of private judgment as well ; and
so certainly as this system becomes predominant, all
freedom ceases. It begins with the Bible first, and
puts it under human authority. It will next proceed
to living men. The progress of events is most ap-
palling. Tract Xo. 85 met with no reproof, and but
little attention, though it treats the word of God on
exactly the same principle as the same writer treats
the Articles in Xo. 90. This latter offence has
called for interposition, such as it is ; but no defence
is set up for the Bible. Then the question comes to
this : Shall we stand by and see the leading, first,
and germinant falsehood of Popery introduced into
the Church, followed, as a matter of course, by all
the rest, without uttering our protest 1 Our fathers
founded their system on the Bible alone. By the
divine grace, we will hold to this principle. In the
case of our demurrer against the introduction of Po-
pery into the Establishment, it may be objected, that
it is a question for the Church alone to decide, and that
we have nothing to do in the business. This, under
some circumstances, would be true. But this Church
is national — we are a part of the nation — and if the
compact between the Church and nation is founded
on Protestant grounds, and the one party — the
Church — is rendering herself Popish with a view to
bring the other under the same superstition, then
the compact is broken, and the position of the parties
is altogclher different. We are determined to op-
238 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
pose Popery wherever it exists, because it is, in its
essential nature, opposed to that religion which we
consider to be true and divine.
But how are these tendencies to undermine the
authority of the word of God to be met and counter-
acted 1 One mode of guarding against this evil would
be, if possible, to bring forward more fully and pro-
minently the entire Bible. This would honour the
sacred oracles in the sight of the people. The ques-
tion referred to here may be made clear, by noticing
the difference between preaching from insulated
texts as a mere motto, or adopting the essay style,
and taking large portions of the word of God, and
adopting the practice of exposition. The great want
of the professing people of the age is, a large, com-
prehensive, and connected knowledge of the Holy
Scriptures. If this point could be secured, the new
modes of seduction, by the authority of tradition and
catholic truth, would be utterly unavailing. He
who possesses an enlarged faith in the gospel, en-
joys an " assurance of understanding," as to the
certainty and sufficiency of Holy Scripture as the
foundation or rule of faith. God has provided against
these dark days of heresy, apostacy, and treason
against his truth, by the glorious labours of the Bi-
ble Society. But the word of God cannot operate
as a charm on the faith and experience of Christians,
or raise a barrier against an antagonist power, by
the multiplicity of its copies, and their merely being
found in the hands or houses of those who profess
to believe in its divinity. Its doctrines, principles.
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 239
commands, and entire system must be wrought into
the moral feelings and constitution of the members
forming Christian churches ; and by this innate light,
assurance, power, and comfort, the traditionary as-
sault must be resisted and overcome.
But it is very much the fashion, in the controver-
sies now going on, for the opponents of the Bible to
draw us from Scriptural ground, and make the battle-
field, human authority and the writings of uninspired
men. This is done with some plausibility. The
Scriptures are not entirely discarded ; but they can-
not be understood, it is atfirmed ; and the fathers of
the first four centuries are to be the interpreters.
We should like to know which is the more difficult
of comprehension, — the Bible, or these heterogene-
ous, clashing, contradictory, and ever-varying com-
mentators ? But the device answers. It draws us,
when successful, from the simple authority of the
word of God ; it admits the necessity of a human
ecclesiastical authority as a standing teacher of di-
vine truth ; it thus transfers the confidence of the
believing church from the covenant of God to catho-
lic truth, so propounded ; it thus annihilates the right
of private judgment and of individual faith ; and it
makes the church a corporate body, and salvation a
corporate blessing given or withheld at the pleasure
of the priesthood.
The evangelical church — our branch among the
rest — owes it to herself to meet all this on Scriptu-
ral ground alone, and once more to place Christianity
on the Bible. The numerous questions now mooted.
240 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
and made the subject of so much angry and vehement
debate, may be reduced to one ; namely, whether
the Bible, and only the Bible, shall continue to be
the religion of Protestants. If this is to be the case,
then all Christians will have to bear their witness.
To wrest the Holy Scriptures from us is the policy
of the conspiracy ; this done, it is confidently felt,
that every claim, however insulting to God, and op-
pressive to man, may be carried ; and when the light
of the divine word is extinguished, it will be per-
fectly practicable to establish the old Popish idolatry
on the foundations of the Protestant religion. Let
us, in the midst of this portentous struggle, keep
within the citadel of truth prepared by our fathers ;
rest on the doctrine of the divine sufficiency of the
holy oracles as on a rock ; insist on the right of
every man to read this word of God, and by the
teaching of the Holy Spirit form his faith and expe-
rience on its rules ; and resist the attempt to set
aside the sufficiency of this plenary, inspired, and
perfect rule of faith, as the worst form of impiety,
and as infallibly introductory of every species of
error and superstition.
2. Let us still preserve our church system in its
integrity.
We cannot but recollect that it originated in an
urgent necessity, and that it cannot be abandoned
till the necessity ceases. Not only the wants of
our own country, but those of the world, demanded,
at the time, the enlarged development of Christian
truth, which our economy proposed and accomplish-
ECONOMY, AND PRESKNT POSITION. 241
ed. No ecclesiastical system practically embraced
the outcast, ignorant, and immoral population of the
nation. They laj', in dense masses of profligacy
and crime, unpitied and unprovided for. Hence the
origin of our itinerancy. It adopted the obligation
of visiting these poor and perishing men ; of carry-
ing to them the ordinances of religion, which their
state prevented them from desiring for themselves :
it looked upon them as redeemed, the purchase of
the Saviour's blood, and as capable of all the bless-
ings of the gospel ; and, at the greatest expense of
personal ease, reputation, and social happiness, on
the part of those who undertook the self-denying
task, this provision of our economy has long been
prosecuted. Can this work be abandoned, or the
evangelical principle on which it rests be sacrificed ■?
We believe that, in any state of the world, — unless
the millennium shall entirely alter its moral condi-
tion, — a necessity will always exist for the evan-
gelizing and aggressive operations of the church.
This branch of duty, then, must still remain with us
— our opprobrium or our glory.
A powerful and pressing necessity also arose, from
the awakened state of the thousands who listened
to the ministry of our fathers, for religious com-
munion. Hence the establishment of our class-
rneetings, and similar means. It was found that a
mere attendance upon the public preaching and
monthly sacraments could not meet the case of
those who were anxiously inquiring, "What they
must do to be saved V Personal and direct instruc-
16
242 METHODISM IN ITS OltlGI.V,
tion, encouragement afforded in the duty of believing
in the Saviour, and express advice and sympathy on
the respective subjects of experience, temptation, in-
ward conflict, and the painful exercises of the divine
life, were not only useful, but, in keeping up the
spirit of true religion, absolutely essential. Can
these be abandoned ? Is there not the same neces-
sity for this assistance, stimulus, encouragement, and
these guards, as ever 1 Who will take up this part
of our economy, promote this connnunion of the
saints, and lead the people forward in the way to
heaven by this form of pastoral care'? We know
very fully that these meetings, though, in thsir spirit
and design, perfectly Scriptural, are not in sufficient
repute to be adopted by others. Then these means
of grace, so intimately connected with the vitality
of religion, cannot be abandoned, because the piety
and holiness of which they are very much the con-
servative power cannot be sacrificed.
"We believe the provisions of our economy origi-
nated in the simple operation of the truths of Scrip-
ture. The conference, which is our chief ministerial
synod, sprung from the meeting of the fathers of our
church, to consult as to what they should teach, and
how they should best accomplish the end of teach-
ing ; to lay down schemes and plans of usefulness ;
to examine and induct candidates for the ministry ;
and to exercise a wholesome discipline over the
whole body of ministers as well as people. This is
in exact agreement with the spirit, if not with the
literal practice, of primitive times. The subordinate
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 243
meetings for business connected \vitii our circuits
had a similar origin. They were designed to meet
the wants and exigencies of the church as it rose
into being and into form, and all had a practical and
business-like purpose. These cannot be given up,
except it should be determined to abandon the wliole
design. They constitute the power which works
the entire machine ; and, if other parties were will-
ing, they could not place themselves at the several
posts of duty so as successfully to conduct its ope-
rations.
But this church system not only bears the marks
of springing from the natural growth of Scriptural
truth, but of being fostered by the care and blessing
of God. The ministers who first began the work
contented themselves with simply sowing the seed
of the kingdom of Christ ; and as the harvest grew,
the great Husbandman himself provided the fence.
They did not spend their energy, genius, and in-
ventive powers, in framing a constitution, and then
determine to operate on the platform thus prepared ;
but they held themselves bound to follow the guidance
of Providence ; and as exigencies aro.se, they were
met by provisions so simple, harmonious, and beauti-
ful, as to show that they sprang from the highest
wisdom. Complexity is a sign of expediency ; sim-
plicity, of the operation of unembarrassed truth,
under the guiding hand of God. One mind, indeed,
existed, admirably formed to be the instrument of
all this ; that mind possessed extraordinary clear-
ness, depth, compass, submissive docility in the things
244 METHOUISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
of God, singleness of purpose, unbending firmness,
and wisdom at once penetrating and practical, and,
withal, untiring zeal, as if a perpetual spring-tide of
youth and strength were granted for the purposes
of his employment. God works by the human mind
as his chief instrument ; and when we see men arise
to perform extraordinary services in his church, it
would be impious not to acknowledge his guiding
wisdom and providential care.
Then, when we examine this church system,
from any point, we may learn our own duties and
obligations. Do we refer to its origin'? We per-
ceive it to arise from the belief of the truth in the
living mind, and thus to spring from the Bible itself.
Do we examine the mode of its advancement ] We
find the seed sown in tlie most unpropitious soil, in
the midst of sin, ignorance, and barbarity ; small in
the " blade," — weak, delicate, and tender, — and yet
it grows till a great tree spreads forth its foliage,
and gives its shelter and fruit to myriads. Do we
look at the agents employed, and the field of their
labours? We witness two things, — extraordinary
suflTering, and forbidding sterility. Yet they labour
on, unw-earied and undismayed, — "cast down, but
not destroyed," — till, by repeated strokes, the rock
is rent, and the scattered stones form a beautiful
temple to the Lord. Do we watch the movement
of the " pillar of fire and of cloud," in this march
through the wilderness ! We behold it stop to point
out the places where water may be found in the arid
desert ; where a safe encampment may be adven-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 245
tured upon ; and where and when the next move-
ment may be securely undertaken. No : this system
bears too many marks of the divine blessing, — it is
too vital and full of life, — it has secured to us too
many privileges, — it has given nutriment to too many
souls, — it has created too wide a field for the gospel
message, — and it is endeared to us by too many holy
associations, to be abandoned by the present genera-
tion of its disciples.
3. In all preceding time cur ancestors held them-
selves at liberty to promote the largest and highest
developments of the principles and power of the
kingdom of God : " Let us walk by the same rule,
let us mind the same thing."
This is one of the fundamental laws of our sys-
tem. Our fathers considered it a duty to follow the
leadings of divine Providence, in the extension of the
work of God. They never bound themselves to one
specific mode of doing good and saving souls, or of
preaching the gospel and extending the Redeemer's
kingdom, as the divine right of Methodism. A dis-
tinction has ever been preserved between things
essential, Scriptural, and divine, and those which
are nonessential, unsettled, and left very much to the
judgment of the living church. The fundamental
portions of Christianity they held to be its unalter-
able and immutable truths ; but to limit the promul-
gation of these truths to one class of men, and bind
even them to a strict canonical code, beyond which
they should not be at liberty to sow the seed of life,
they esteemed not merely as nonessential, but perni-
246 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
cious ; inasmuch as it restricts the church's free-
dom, prevents the progress of the kingdom of Christ,
and interferes with the free action — on merely human
authority — of good men in seeking the salvation of
their fellow-sinners.
It is clear that the New Testament does not en-
force any ecclesiastical code. We have no pattern
of the Christian church given in Mount Zion, as was
given to Moses in Horeb : no dimensions, furniture,
utensils, priestly robes, specific manner of service,
as was the case in the Jewish temple. The simple
reason is, Christianity is designed to be universal, to
embrace the whole family of man, and to give its
light, grace, holiness, and blessings to all the world.
How, then, can this system minister its mercy in
the same modes ? The New Testament furnishes
us with great principles, general rules, precedents,
and examples, for our guidance ; and then affords
freedom as to the circumstantials of time, manner,
and the employment of means, for the introduction
of the gospel into uncultivated regions, and the ex-
ternal growth of its truth and grace. Human re-
strictions have, in all ages, been as a drag-chain on
the movements of Christianity itself. The church
has never been able to fulfil her commission, because
she has placed herself under the cumbersome load
of these narrow and restrictive rules. It is not only
her privilege, but her duty, to liberate herself from
these chains ; that, with mind and heart unfettered
and free, she may be in a position to execute the
Lord's commission. This freedom has been retained
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 247
hitherto in our body, and at present it is, if possible,
more essential than ever.
It only requires a very cursory knowledge of the
word of God, and of the true nature of the kingdom
of our Lord, to perceive, that though no new truth
can be expected in Christianity, yet new develop-
ments of both truth and grace may be anticipated, on
a much larger, deeper, and broader scale than is at
present witnessed. How shall the prophecies be
fulfilled, Christianity become universal, the world be
filled with the knowledge of the glory of God, and
the long-predicted period of Messiah's triumph over
the false systems now so predominant, be accom-
plished, except by an enlargement of the basis
of the church's operations 1 Most assuredly, (ew
things are less like each other, than the picture
given us of religion in the " latter-day glory," and
its present narrow, sectarian, pugnacious character ;
and if in this, as in the ordinary affairs of the world,
the foundation is to sustain the splendid building ex-
hibited to view, it is certain that it must be adjusted
anew, and the church built not upon the theories of
parties, as on episcopacy, or any other form ; it must
be left to repose on its divine foundation, — the coun-
sels of God, the atonement of Christ, and the univer-
sal covenant of grace. Then, again, this fundamen-
tal truth being preserved in its just and unalterable
immutability, the salvation of men may he sought
without the labours of ministers being lettered by
technical rules, or party distinctions.
That this principle has ever been regarded in our
248 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
own body, may be easily illustrated. The provision
made by Mr. Wesley to meet the wants of Scotland,
already referred to, may be adduced. It was found
that the usual mode of doing good in England did not
suit the state of things in that country ; and in con-
sequence of this absence of adaptation, the work of
God did not prosper as in other places. Did the
founder of our societies determine, doggedly and
pertinaciously, to adhere to one mode of operation %
Instead of this, he deviated entirely from his accus-
tomed practice, ordained ministers for that portion
of the gospel field, and sanctioned church principles
which, to say the least, were very diflTerent from
those he adopted in this part of the nation. In the
American case we have another illustration of the
point on which we are dwelling. When the United
States had effected their emancipation from the
mother country, Mr. Wesley considered himself at
liberty to act with perfect freedom in the new terri-
tory, and, we may say, to develop his views and
opinions fully ; and, if we mistake not, it is to the
American Methodist Episcopal Church that we are
to look for the real mind and sentiments of this great
man. Obstructions removed, he instantly seized the
opportunity of appointing an entire church system,
on the principle of moderate episcopacy. And if
we may judge of the wisdom and piety of the design
by its usefulness and success, certainly we shall be
prepared to consider it most providential. No church
in modern times has made any thing like the pro-
gress which is seen in this branch of our community.
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 249
But the question was introduced not so much to state
the amount of success which followed the establish-
ment of this scheme, as to point out the principle of
adaptation observable in its adoption. We see, in
this case, that when it was discovered to be essen-
tial to the well-being and growth of a particular
section of the body, that a somewhat different form
of discipline and order should be established from
that which existed at home, the change was at once
effected.
The determinatioji of the conference to allow the
administration of the sacraments, and the rules made
on that subject, are a further illustration of the same
principle. The history of this is well known. The
societies found themselves in an altered position
afler Mr. Wesley's death. The ordinances were
earnestly desired, and it was determined to allow
of their administration under certain regulations.
Many parties imagined that this and other litigated
points must break up the whole body. But no sane
man, unless biased by party feeling, would say that
the non-ordinance system then prevailing must, as
an essential and necessary thing, prevail for ever.
Hence the alteration was made, the remedy applied ;
and, instead of the connection being broken up and
scattered, the sacraments became a bond of union,
and the means of life.
The formation of the Missionary Society is an-
other case in point. When the world opened scenes
of increased usefulness, and God indicated his will
that we should enter these open doors, it was not
250 METHODISM I.N ITS ORIGIN',
considered necessary that the old system of evan-
gelical enterprise should be adhered to. Hence a
new spring was added to the machine ; a society
was formed, not independent of the church, not with
an action and movement of its own ; but as the
channel of the church's bounty and zeal, in the con-
version of the world.
By these several examples we see that Method-
ism has always held itself free to follow the com-
mands of the Head of the church, and to act on the
largest teachings of the truth. We are not at liberty
to compromise any portion of the gospel ; but we are
not limited in the mode of making it known. The
atonement, for instance, as a truth, is unalterably
and eternally fixed : and this not only as a fact in
the annals of the universe, but in its relations to jus-
tification, holiness, and all the blessings of religion.
No church is at liberty to tamper with this great
verity. But this is not the question. It is, whether
this doctrine of the Saviour's death shall only be
announced, and its benefits administered, episcopally,
or in some other limited channel. We replidiate
this notion, and hold that no such limitations are
found in the word of God itself, and that no human
authority possesses the right to impose them. And
on the much-disputed matter of churdi principles,
we say, that, as found in the New Testament, they
are incapable of the restrictions attempted to be im-
posed. We believe that, had our fathers been call-
ed to it, they would have sealed their attachment to
the truth of God with their blood. But they distin-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 251
guished between this truth and the vehicle of its
transmission. Let us, then, firmly adhere to the
real doctrines and precepts of the gospel ; but let us,
at the same time, cautiously guard against restric-
tive canons. We have hitherto held ourselves free
to do good on the largest scale ; we know not to
what extent it may please God to employ us in the
salvation of the world ; and it is obviously our duty
to be in readiness to obey his counsels and his calls.
4. Our position among the churches has always
been held in a catholic spirit, so as to fraternize
with them in every thing evangelical. " Let us"
still " walk by the same rule, let us mind the same
thing."'
The annals of our history cannot furnish an in-
stance in which we have been the aggressors on the
much-debated points of ecclesiastical order. Hav-
ing never bound ourselves down to any merely human
scheme, imagining it to be divine, we have been un-
der no temptation to dispute with others on account
of their peculiar forms.
We acknowledge a " common salvation," belong-
ing to all true believers in Jesus Christ, whatever
may be the external form of church contununion by
which they profess and exhibit their faith. The
truth of God is one, complete, and perfect in its own
beautiful fulness, irrespective of any human modes
of symbolizing and setting it forth to mankind. This
is catholic, eternal, immutable ; which cannot pos-
sibly be mutilated, narrowed, minified into the insig-
nificance of sectarianism, whether ancient or modern.
252 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
Where is this truth to be found but in the Holy-
Scriptures 1 Hence those churches which believe
in the inspired word of God, so far as that point is
concerned, repose on the largest possible foundation.
It follows that their catholicity does not depend on
the form they take, but on the doctrines they em-
brace. It would be just as reasonable for the tur-
baned nations to affirm, that the proof of manhood lay
in flowing robes, — or for the western nations to con-
trovert this by arguing that the evidence rather lay
in the close dress of the Europeans, — as to attempt
to fasten the immutable and ethereal verities of God
to any specific forms, or to put them into one uniform
costume, and affirm that the dogmas not found in
that particular dress had no right to the claim of
catholicity. Can any absurdity be greater than this 1
Yet such is the pretence of Popery and its mimic
followers. The glorious attributes and grace of God
are not, on this assumption, the same, if exhibited
in the Bibles or the pulpits of real Protestants, as
they would be if set forth in the Bibles and services
of THE holy CathoUc Church ! The same objection
lies against all the other verities of the gospel. The
deity of Christ, the atonement, the Mediator's grace,
and the influence of the Holy Spirit, when repre-
sented beyond the Tweed, or taught by Dr. Chal-
mers, are not the same as when found on this side
of the Tweed, and taught in the "holy Catholic
Church" established on the south side of the border !
In one of these cases the doctrine taught is here-
tical, or, if not in itself, it is made so by passing
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 253
through the lips of a certain chiss of men, and loses
its effect ; in the other, it is perfectly orthodox, be
its substance what it may, and is consequently effec-
tive and saving. This mere modus, as far as we
are able to understand the matter, is considered to
constitute the essential attributes of catholicity ; for
it will not be denied that most of the Protestant
bodies as truly hold all the Articles of Faith con-
tained in the Creeds of the Church of England, as
the most zealous disciples of that form of Christiani-
ty. Will it then be said, that the vital and saving
efficacy of the truth is lost, because it is not profess-
ed in this identical order 1 Yet this, in fact, con-
stitutes the only difference between the gospel as
held by one party in contrast with that held by
another.
If it be objected, that the notions entertained re-
specting catholic truth do not relate to the Bible,
but to the interpretation of its doctrines ; and that to
the teaching from the inspired volume rightly be-
longs the character and name ; we reply, that mere
teaching must necessarily be as sectarian in one
case as in another, for the simple reason that it is
human. Who would willingly leave the high, holy,
heavenly, and sublime region of really catholic truth,
as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, which is so uni-
versal as to exhibit all that can be known of God,
the Saviour, salvation, and immortality ; — who, we
say, would leave this pure and perfect region, for the
dark chaos of human opinion, fallaciously graced by
this term 1
254 Mf.THODISM IX ITS ORIGIN,
We have been taught to respect men and churches
for the " truth's sake ;" and we are still called upon
to " walk by the same rule." Why should any pe-
culiar modes of thinking- be an occasion of separa-
tion, if the parties concerned have been taught of
God, believe in the Saviour, and manifest a real spi-
rit of religion ? The points on which they agree in
faith and experience are the really necessary sub-
jects ; and those on which ihey disagree are cer-
tainly not of essenlial moment, inasmuch as they
neither keep them from the cross, nor debar them
an entrance into the kingdom of heaven. The same
is the case with regard to churches. Those which
hold the doctrines of our Lord's atonement, justifica-
tion by faith only, and the necessity of the new birth,
may surely so far dismiss minor points, as to esta-
blish a confraternity of aifection, allow each other's
claims, assist and aid in the promotion of the com-
mon good, and endeavour, by every means, to remove
the projectiles of spleen and party spirit, standing in
the way of actual fellowship, and to smooth the path
to a higher and richer dispensation of the catholic
spirit.
It is the peculiar and imperative duty of all who
really hold evangelical truth, to cultivate the spirit
of union. The times call for this : the elements of
the opposite tendency are converging to a point of
fearful combination. Party names are adopted, and
party colours are hoisted ; but the animus of the
anti-evangelical movement is one. It is no stranger
on earth, and is only singular by being the last incar-
ECOXOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 255
nation of the evil one. The same thing immediately
followed the first preaching of the gospel : " the
mystery of iniquity" soon began "to work." We
have now a new muster of the " powers of darkness ;"
but the old feature of opposition, — " he that is born
after the flesh persecuting him that is born after the
Spirit," Gal. iv, 29 ; — this is seen through every
disguise : and though the movement assumes the
pretence of great forbearance and " zeal for the Lord
of hosts," yet the purpose evidently is, to crush
evangelical religion by the creation of an ecclesias-
tical power, either moral or otherwise, capable of
controlling the state of the Christian profession, —
probably independent of Rome, if practicable, but,
rather than not accomplish this object, in union with
that church.
In this threatening state of affairs, it is not the
time for us to be either indifferent or sectarian.
While we claun from others the rank of a true
church of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must be willing
to accord this claim — together with affection and
respect — to the followers of our Lord, wherever
found. We have, always, in profession, spurned a
narrow sectarianism ; let us do so in spirit. We
have, indeed, often been obliged to speak strongly in
vindication of ourselves, when violently assailed as
at present ; but let it be known, that bigotry is not
the congenial element of our church. The soul of
our system is, w-e trust, in agreement with our doc-
trines, which are all universal ; and, among others,
that of universal love is sacredly held. Our princi-
256 METHODISM I\ ITS ORIGIN,
pies, our economy, our objects, are too great, natu-
rally, to allow the little viper, sectarianism, to coil
itself in our community, and hiss forth its hatred
against all, however excellent, who are not found to
be of our party.
There is a living spirit in all churches which
must, in its reaction, fix their destinies. If they
settle on some narrow notions, they necessarily par-
take of the insignificance of their adopted opinions.
Communities professing adherence and fealty to a
sectarian and uncharitable creed, will, however high
their pretences, become, in mind, heart, and feeling,
that which their theory is in principle. How can
the building stand out beyond its foundation ? Now,
as we are not cramped and limited in our creed, we
ought not to be so in our feelings. Let us move on
the dimensions of our own ideal system, or rather
of that truth of God which we have been taught.
That which is universal embraces every thing, — the
little and the great, ^yhile we are prepared to per-
form the least service for our Lord, let us be equally
ready to perform the highest, the noblest, and the
most costly. Our principles will bear any weight ;
our doctrines, carried out, will lead to great, extend-
ed, and general efforts to glorify God ; success, on
the scale of the truths which we hold, must issue in
the triumphs of the gospel in every part of the world :
and, moreover, should the spirit of controversy, the
pressure of opposing forces, the selfish pusillanimity
and cowering of our own hearts, the want of zeal
and generosity, and especially the decay of faith,
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 257
holy love, devoted piety, and large and comprehen-
sive views and feelings ; — should any or all of these
sinister evils shrivel us up to the littleness of party,
the bigotry of sectarianism, and the asperities of re-
ligious animosity, and lead to the working out of the
interests of a selfish sect ; — then we shall belie every
doctrine we hold, — every sentiment we have been
taught, — the brightest examples of our ancestors, —
the work of God as it stands before us, — and, most
of all, the very truth of the glorious gospel itself.
5. Our community has hitherto employed its or-
ganization and strength in purely spiritual objects :
" Let us" still " walk by" this " rule, let us mind"
this "thing."
Our system denies no man his civil rights, free-
dom of opinion, or a proper standing in society.
But it has ever denied itself the practice of employ-
ing its religious organization for worldly purposes.
Like a noble vessel, it has sought for itself an open
sea, and deep water, lest it should be stranded on
some of those numerous rocks of earthly association
and policy on which others have been wrecked.
Freedom of action can only be secured by this.
When a church of Christ admits the co-ordinate
power of some earthly interest, it then loses a large
amount of its religious character and freedom. The
motives, passions, and schemes of human policy, in-
termixed with the gospel kingdom, necessarily bring
the spiritual features of the institution to a resem-
blance to secular government, and greatly impair its
efficiency and vigour. The dissemination of the
17
258 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
truth is, in such cases, retarded ; the indefeasible
rights of the ministry are interfered with ; the just
freedom of the people of God, in their individual and
aggregate association, compromised ; and the laws
of Christ subordinated to the ordinances of man.
This state of things has never taken place but by
the corrupt assent, connivance, or solicitation of the
church. In the loss of truth, purity, and piety, the
master passion of fallen man — ambition — is found to
be as common in ecclesiastics as in other persons ;
and a careful examination of the question will show,
that all the evils referred to have sprung from this
fountain. To array the Church in the gorgeous attri-
butes of worldly greatness ; to secure her dominion,
authority, and power ; to free her from the obligation of
obedience to civil government, even in secular things ;
and then to put down all good men, and associations
of believers, as heretics, schismatics, and rebels ;
have been the leading policy of bodies calling them-
selves by the Christian name. To effect these
worldly alliances, means have been employed which
would have been inimical to religion, had it existed ;
but as the matter stood, nothing was lost, because
nothing was possessed ; while a return to right prin-
ciples has ever been rendered infinitely difficult, be-
cause of the amalgamation of the two elements and
the two interests, — ^the secular and the spiritual.
This is the secret of much that is stigmatized as
schism. Causes have been sought, and probable
reasons assigned, for the numerous separations
which have taken place from the Establishment in
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 259
this country. The parties have been blamed in no
very measured terms for the sin of rebellion ; but the
true cause has often been put aside. To place the
subject in as inoffensive a point of view as possible,
it may be affirmed, that when a number of men ob-
tain the right faith of the gospel, and feel the force
of truth on their consciences, they immediately per-
ceive themselves " under the law to Christ ;" this
impels them to obey his word in propagating the
gospel ; they have been impeded in this, and harass-
ed, and persecuted, so as to be driven to seek, in a
separate fellowship, repose and a freedom to obey
God. This is our owm case. Our position gives us
liberty to follow the Lord according to the injunctions
of his own blessed word. Let us, therefore, " stand
fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us
free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of
bondage," Gal. v, 1
This spirituality of purpose and object has been
our strength. The power of the church is its purity
and holiness. Let any individual believer unduly
entangle himself with the affairs of this life, and he
is instantly shorn of his strength, and becomes " as
other men." In like manner, when a Christian body
yields itself to worldly views and influences, it loses
its beauty and strength at the same time. The Spi-
rit of God breathes softly or powerfully on a people
who present for the visitation a pure and elevated
piety, a believing and obedient heart, a retiring and
self-denying spirit, the habit of supplication and
prayer, and a living exhibition of the truth. This
260 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
working and operation of the Spirit of God is the
life of the church, and is never found but in union
with spiritual minds and spiritual institutions. A
worldly policy can never be a fit channel for the
waters of life to flow through ; and although a com-
bination of men may possess the power to exact obe-
dience to its mandates, while the spirit, end, and
means employed all quadrate with earthly dominion ;
yet it is always found that such bodies are powerless
in saving mankind, and imparting the consolations
and hopes of religion. The strength of our commu-
nity has been its unmixed spiritual organization and
designs ; let this continue, and we may humbly and
confidently hope that almighty God will still employ
us in the extension of his truth and the salvation of
the world.
But the spirituality of which we speak has, all
along, been our bond of union. Not on human and
earthly, but on common religious interests this fel-
lowship has ever been kept up ; and it is safe in pro-
portion to the predominance of this feeling. The
architects of formalism are building their fabric with
fragile materials. The attractions of external show
and fascinating ceremonials cannot last long. The
passions grow cold with age ; they loose their grasp
on the withering enchantment ; and the new senti-
ments of the next generation will demand a fresh
creation. Those who are labouring in this vocation
must go further, or lose their labour. The under-
standing being out of the question, and the heart
finding no food for its best feelings, a superstition
ECONOiMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 261
of horror must be contrived ; the conscience must be
blinded and coerced, and the imagination must be
taught to roam in a world of fancied furies.
It is different with the fellowship of Christian love.
This is intelligible, cordial, enduring. It is not an
objective union merely, an attraction of the eyes, the
fancy, the taste ; — it is the religion of the heart. It
is founded in salvation equally enjoyed in Christ ;
the similarity of nature experienced in the new birth ;
the convergence of minds and hearts, attracted to
each other by like graces, joys, and objects ; and it
is the warm impulse of the divine affections. " Every
one that loveth him that begat, loveth him also that
is begotten of him," 1 John v, 1. Religion has, in
its own element, been our all in all. Let it be che-
rished, strengthened, and invigorated. God dwells
in the pious heart, and he equally lives in the spirit-
ual church. With his presence and grace we shall
be omnipotent ; in his absence, every thing must fall
into decay and ruin.
We have finished the review of our status as a
church. The ground we have trodden has been
perilous. Many things have been " set down, not in
malice," but in unmixed pain. Parties in that Church
for which we have ever cherished the sincerest re-
spect and affection, and which it has been our un-
feigned desire to honour and support, have obliged
us to speak in the language of severity. This is a
subject of sorrowful regret. But we owe more to
the truth than to man ; and to desert or fail to vindi-
cate that great work which God has wrought among
262 iMETHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
US, would, in his sight, be esteemed as apostacy fiO.n
it, and probaljly be visited by the withdrawal of his
long-continued grace and blessing. We believe the
men who have put the agitation in motion against
ourselves are the worst, the most dangerous, and
also the most dishonourable enemies with whom the
real Church of England has had to contend since the
days of Laud ; and, in some of its features, the pre-
sent " conspiracy'''' is much more fearful and formi-
dable than even that in which Laud himself was
concerned.
But, turning from this disagreeable part of the
subject, what, we ask, do we see in our own posi-
tion 1 Much to excite our gratitude, — much to cause
us great accountability, — and much to create great
Bolicitude. That God has displayed such extraordi-
nary grace to us may well teach us thankfulness.
How great the number who have been already saved !
And how numerous the witnesses now on earth to
the power of the gospel ! This is our joy and crown
of rejoicing. But it ought to call forth our gratitude
that, against such a time of trial, — we may say, such
a falling away and apostacy from the standard of
Christian truth, — as the present, the great Head of
the church has, we trust, in some measure, provided
for the calamity, by raising up a body which is sepa-
rate, independent, and free to act ; and which, we
are sure, cannot, except perhaps in a few individual
cases, be either seduced or dismayed. Light now
begins to shine on this our independent position, —
its reasons in the divine counsels, and its mercy to
ECONOMY, ANB PRESENT POSITION. 263
the world. In despite of all attempts (and they have
been numerous) at absorption or amalgamation, some
kind of hidden and intangible influence and power has
gone on, working in the body, till it has become too
numerous, too complicated, and too compact, to ad-
mit of coherence with any other. This has per-
plexed and saddened many, hearts, at different pe-
riods, both within and without our United Societies.
But the " end is known from the beginiung" by the
Lord ; and we doubt not that the whole mystery will
be made manifest, and most likely at a period not far
distant. Let our chief thanks, however, be pre-
sented to God, that he has provided so extended a
means of preaching and conserving his truth, of train-
ing up a spiritual church, and of seeking the salva-
tion of mankind.
But privileges and responsibility stand in close
connection. " Where much is given, much is re-
quired." Our stewardship is of a most solenan na-
ture. Nothing can fit us for it but deep humility,
much prayer, singleness of purpose, deliberative
wisdom, the absence of earthly passions, — of ambi-
tion, self-indulgence, avarice, — as well as union,
brotherly love, exalted piety, and laborious zeal.
The hand which steers our vessel safely through
the perilous seas surrounding us must be, indeed,
more than human. Let us implore His grace, and
stand to our post. There are seasons when neither
an ordinary amount of capacity, nor of self-sacrifice
and zeal, will meet the demands of duty. This is
one of those times. We have always been much
264 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
more a working than a speculative people. If pos-
sible, we are bound by every consideration to become
tenfold more active, diligent, and laborious than ever
in the conversion of souls to God — ready to rush into
every open door, to carry with us the " glad tidings
of great joy." But with the hands of the labourer
we must have corresponding vigilance ; with untir-
ing industry we must have presiding mind ; with the
power to " do good" we must have the courteous
courage to see that it is not " evil spoken of." God
has, in every period of our history, supplied us with
agents for every kind of work ; and if we continue
to obey his call, and to do his will, no exigency can
arise in which he will not, out of the fulness of his
Spirit, do so still.
Hence, while anxious, we are full of confidence.
Great things await us, either in the form of disaster
or progress. A church which rests on the extended
platform now occupied by our people and institutions,
cannot be agitated, disturbed, split, broken up, and
wrecked, — which is the obvious hope of some of our
enemies, — without leaving a mighty chasm, and pro-
ducing a sort of moral earthquake. And, on the
other hand, we cannot remain and prosper without
great results. A religious system which rests nearly
on every shore, and which, in some parts of the
world, imbodies an immense number of disciples, —
at the same time possessing means of moral influ-
ence and usefulness of a very powerful nature, —
cannot proceed on the scale even of natural growth
without producing great effects. The magnitude of
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 265
our body ; the extent of interests involved ; the suc-
cess granted ; the number of people in our fellow-
ship ; and the connection of the vi^hole with the des-
tinies of the world at large ; may well, on occasions
like this, fill the mind with anxious thought. What
God may do with us, we know not. Our duty is
plain. It is to remain faithful to our principles, our
doctrines, our church polity, our fellowship, our ob-
jects of doing good ; — " to be of good courage, and
play the men for our people, and for the cities of our
God," and then in humility to say, " Let the Lord
do that which seeraeth him good," 2 Sam. x, 12.
266 METHODISM K\ ITS ORIGIN,
PART III.
IN FURTHER CONSIDERING OCR POSITION AS A CHRIS-
TIAN COMMUNITY, IT WILL BE REQUISITE TO JUDGE
OF THE PRINCIPLES ADOPTED, AND THE MEANS EM-
PLOYED, TO EXTEND THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND
EVANGELIZE THE WORLD.
The character of a church must be judged of, not
merely by its own internal organization and commu-
nion, but by its spirit and action in fulfilling the de-
signs of Christianity itself. In addition to apostolic
doctrines, there must be found apostolic practice, or
a church cannot be considered as primitive in cha-
racter. It may, indeed, be questioned whether pu-
rity of doctrine can long remain with any people,
unless the saving designs of the gospel be carried
out. This point seems somewhat analogous to that
of experimental and practical religion. A believer
will attain the privileges of grace irrespective of
good works, by faith only ; and although he will
retain these privileges on the same ground, yet it
must be a faith working by love, producing holiness,
and leading to good works, otherwise the state of
blessing must be forfeited and lost. It is the same
with a community. In case there is a depnsite of
truth, a dispensation of the gospel given, a spiritual
communion, rich gifts, and the ministerial function,
together with the means of its exercise : — then, there
must be evangelical exertions, diligence in extending
ECONOiMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 267
the kingdom of our Lord, otherwise the blessing must
be forfeited, or, what amounts to the same thing, the
body will become corrupt, lifeless, or extinct. A
church which is destitute of the Spirit, and fails in
the work of evangelization, must have lost its calling,
or, at least, be in a backsliding state, and need refor-
mation, on the simple ground, that one of its unques-
tionable duties is, to carry on an aggressive warfare
against the idolatry, sin, and evils of the world.
I. We possess two or three several rules of Scrip-
ture on this subject, ivhich may he considered as
marks of a true church.
1. Acting on the apostolic commission is one :
*' Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost : teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you : and, lo,
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world," Matt, xxviii, 19, 20.
That the obligation to perform this duty rests on
the church in all ages, is evident from the latter part
of the passage. The terms "alway, even unto the
end of the world," show that the commission ex-
tended to all times. Every other portion of instruc-
tion given to the apostles, on the question of extend-
ing the knowledge of the Saviour's name, accords
with this full and complete commission. It follows
from this, that the possession of the aggressive attri-
bute is, in all ages and places, essential to the cha-
racter of a primitive and apostolical body. When
268 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
we find this principle imbodied in the constitution
of a church, its spirit cherished, and means adopted
to carry the Lord's message universally through the
world ; then this primary appointment may be con-
sidered as adopted and taken up. That the commis-
sion cannot be assumed by individual ministers ; and,
consequently, must be embraced as a church princi-
ple., to be carried out by arrangement and concert, is
evident from the fact, that it is not in the power of
individual men to accomplish it. What right, then,
can any community have to claim for itself the qua-
lities, powers, and grace of a true church of our
Lord Jesus Christ, if it fail to execute his commis-
sion ■? Allowing that, in some sense, the succession
doctrine is true ; that there really exists a ministry
which stands in the position of the first teachers of
the gospel ; where are we to look for it so much as
among the churches which act on the principle of
extending that gospel to all the world ■?
Surely this vocation is not limited to a mere desig-
nation to ofl[ice — a title — a name. It contains a great
commission ; and none can have a right to the name
of apostolical churches which do not, practically,
obey the injunctions of the Lord Jesus on this sub-
ject. Their pretences otherwise are something like
the obsolete custom of the monarchs of this nation, in
assuming the heraldry, insignia, and name of "kings
of France," for so many ages after we had lost every
foot of land in that kingdom, and nothing remained
but the empty title. So it has been with many
churches claiming to be primitive. The name haa
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 269
remained as a sjinbol of departed glory, but without
any vestige of its spirit and power. For ages and
ages some of these bodies have been nestling in their
own corruptions, without any consideration of the
wants and dangers of the world, or any kind of means
adopted to carry out our Lord's command. How,
then, it may be asked, can that church be apostolical,
or its ministers the successors of the apostolic " or-
der," which fails to execute the commission delivered
by Christ into the hands of these honoured servants ^
If one thing is a more unequivocal mark of a body
of Christians being intrusted with this commission
than another, it is its actual execution. How could
it be executed unless it were given 1 and how can
it be given where it is not executed 1 This will be
an evidence of a true church in all ages.
2. The example of primitive times, as well as the
apostolic commission, will show that a church, to be
Scriptural, must be constituted on the principle of
aggression.
It is easy to perceive, on the evidence of the sacred
narrative alone, that the ancient societies of Chris-
tians were constituted on this basis. They were not
isolated and independent bodies ; existing for them-
selves alone ; confining their prayers, charity, preach-
ing, economy, and means, to the matter of mere self-
edification. All these, indeed, were regarded in
their place. But the strength of the central church
was built up, that it might be in a condition to act on
the surrounding world, as well as to enjoy blessings
in itself.
270 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIX,
The disciples at Jerusalem constituted one of these
central bodies, which by its spiritual movements first
touched the nearest portions of territory and popula-
tion around, but, in its remote results, reached the
ends of the earth. From the upper room where the
Holy Ghost, on the day of Pentecost, was given, the
apostles and evangelists went forth in power to pro-
claim the glad tidings of gospel peace and salvation.
We have many interesting circumstances connected
with these earliest cxei'tions of the mother church
to extend to other places the light and mercy which
she had received. Though the impulse was new,
the faith of the disciples steadfast, and their love
ardent and glowing ; )'et their means were limited,
their prejudices numerous and next to insuperable,
and the barriers in the way of tlieir aggressive move-
ment appalling ; and every thing had to be wrought
out from a germinant principle, by a painful expe-
rience of labour, prayer, enterprise, opposition, and
martyrdom. How insignificant and unpromising
were appearances at the death of our Lord ; nay,
even at the period of his ascension, and afterward,
when his church stood before the world as a distinct
body ! But even in their feeblest state we find the
apostles going " forth, and preaching everywhere,
the Lord working with them, and confirming the
word with signs following,'' Mark xvi, 20. At this
early date, as might be expected from our Lord's
predictions, many things of a most unpromising na-
ture, as to outward events, contributed to the success
of the first plantation of tho church. Among these
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 271
must be classed impulses of the blessed Spirit — in-
terpositions of Providence — facilities for aggression
from the :he!i state of the world — and not unfre-
quently persecution and opposition. We perceive
all these elements powerfully contributing their se-
veral amounts of influence and impetus, to impel the
church forward in her course of evangelical labour
and success. Hence, at the time of Stephen's mar-
tyrdom, " there was a great persecution against the
church which was at Jerusalem ; and they were all
scattered abroad tliroughout the regions of Judea and
Samaria, except the apostles. As for Saul, he made
havoc of the church, entering into every house, and
haling men and women, conmiitted them to prison.
Therefore they that were scattered abroad went
everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went
down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ
unto them. Now when the apostles which were at
Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word
of God, they sent unto them Peter and John : who,
when they were come down, prayed for them, that
they might receive the Holy Ghost : (for as yet he
was fallen upon none of them : only they were bap-
tized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid
they their hands on them, and they received the
Holy Ghost. And they, when they had testified and
preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusa-
lem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the
Samaritans." Acts viii, 1, 3-5, 14-17, 25. This is
the first account we have of the disciples moving
beyond the limits of Jerusalem. It develops the
272 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
principle of aggression as an element in the first
church ; but it is only brought out in combination
with persecution, the scattering of the flock of Christ,
and the preaching of Philip, one of the deacons, —
or, as he would now be called, " a layman." In
these early times the burden of prophesying, teach-
ing, or preaching, lay on the conscience of every
disciple. All the Lord's people were prophets, in
the sense of being his witnesses among men.
St. Peter was gone to Joppa, when he was called
to open the gospel kingdom to the Gentiles in the
family of Cornelius, then residing at Cesarea. Two
miraculous agencies were employed to accomplish
this ; — an angel was sent to Cornelius, and a vision
was granted to Peter. The issue was the introduc-
tion of the truth to the family of a devout Gentile,
and the beginning of the work of conversion among
that numerous branch of the human family. This
event excited the prejudices of the Jewish converts.
" And the apostles and brethren that were in Judea
heard that the Gentiles had also received the word
of God. And when Peter was come up to Jerusa-
lem, they that were of the circumcision contended
with him, saying. Thou wentest in to men uncir-
cumcised, and didst eat with them. But Peter re-
hearsed the matter from the beginning, and expound-
ed it by order unto them." The result was : — " When
they heard these things, they held their peace, and
glorified God, saying. Then hath God also to the
Gentiles granted repentance unto life." Acts xi,
1-4, 18. Here then, again, the kingdom of God
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 273
was planted in connection with the church at Jeru-
salem ; and we find that the " brethren," as well as
the apostles, felt that an explanation was due to them
from Peter, on account of the novelty introduced into
the system by his eating with the " uncircumcised,"
and preaching the gospel to them. Peter gave it ;
and not only were the murmurs of the brethren si-
lenced, but their language was altogether changed,
and they " glorified God." The whole of this trans-
action shows that the church at Jerusalem was led
by the providence of God, the calls of his Spirit, and
tlie impulses of faith and duty, to consider their com-
munion as a concentration of power given them only
for the purposes of extension and enlargement.
Antioch became one of these central posts. The
account of the introduction of the gospel to this cele-
brated pagan city, where the disciples were first
called Christians, is very instructive. It is said,
" Now they which were scattered abroad upon the
persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far
as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the
word to none but unto the Jews only. And some
of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which,
when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the
Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand
of the Lord was with thnm : and a great number be-
lieved, and turned unto the Lord." Acts xi, 19-21.
This place seems soon to have become a parent
church, and to have sent out its ambassadors to the
regions around. In the next chapter but one it is
said, " Now there were in the church that was at
18
274 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
Antioch certain prophets and teachers ; as Barna-
bas, and Simeon, that was called Niger, and Lucius
of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up
with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul. As they min-
istered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said,
Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work where-
unto I have called them. And when they had fasted,
and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent
them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy
Ghost, departed unto Seleucia ; and from thence they
sailed to Cyprus." Acts xiii, 1-4. The narrative
then goes on to give an account of the ministerial
career of these apostles to the Gentiles, and espe-
cially that of St. Paul. After preaching in various
places, and founding numerous societies, it is said at
the close, on their return, "And thence" (from At-
talia) " they sailed to Antioch, from whence they
had been recommended to the grace of God for the
work which they fulfilled. And when they were
come, and had gathered the church together, they
rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how
he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles."
Acts xiv, 26, 27. Besides the mission from this
place to Jerusalem, on the subject of circumcision
and the obligation of the believers to keep the law
of Moses, St. Paul and his companion went forth
from this city, on two other occasions, to fulfil their
evangelical mission to the world. See Acts xv,
36-40 ; xviii, 22, 23.
These cases are sufficient to indicate the principle
on which we are insisting, namely, that the aposto-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 275
lical churches admitted the obligation of our Lord's
injunction to " preach the gospel to every creature,"
and acted upon it. No doubt all the principal places
were centres of an aggressive operation ; and when
they became more settled than they appear in their
infant state, and had their bishops, elders, or angels,
to preside over them, still evangelists were employed
to preach in the adjacent country, and proclaim the
truth where Christ had not been named.
When, it may be inquired, does this obligation
cease 1 The answer is, Never, so long as the world
continues in an unevangelized state. The commis-
sion belongs to the dispensation. It is not an acci-
dent of time and place, to be attended to as taste,
inclination, or convenience may dictate. The duty
of a church of Christ to make its concentration,
union, grace, gifts, and power, the foundation of an
onward movement, is essential to the state itself.
Moral obligation is uniform. This is of the nature
of an immutable, moral, or rather divine, obligation,
because it rests on the command of our Lord, and is
inherent in Christianity. In case a Christian church
could succeed in planting the truth in one region, and
giving a rich and plentiful supply of the means of
grace, duty would not terminate there. The " re-
gions beyond" would still require to be blessed with
the same visions of light and pastures of grace. In
the instances referred to above, geographical and
national demarcations are not at all regarded. Every
new footing gained is only made an occasion of an
advance ; till, in the course of a comparatively short
276 METHODISM IX ITS ORIGIN*,
time, by the united labours of all, the gospel was
preached in the greater part of the civilized world.
Now this we consider the practical development
of the understanding of the apostles and disciples
respecting the purport of our Lord's commission.
The fact, that the most remote period — as far back
as antiquity in its remains and history conducts us —
shows that some form of the episcopal government
existed, is taken — and not without reason — as a pre-
sumptive, if not an absolutely conclusive, proof of
the existence of that regime from the beginning.
Hence episcopal churches are deemed apostolical
on this ground. The argument may be good as far
as it goes. But something more is necessarj'. If
these churches cease to perform apostolical service,
and, besides conserving the truth among themselves,
neglect to extend it to others, even to the ends of the
earth ; they may retain the name, but they fail in
preserving the spirit, and even, properly speaking,
the government of a church : they drop the commis-
sion of our Lord, and cease to be in doctrine, as far
as this is concerned, as well as in practice, what our
Lord taught as essential to the characteristics of his
true followers, and as entitling them to the promise,
'' Lo, I am with you alvvay, even to the end of the
world," Matt, xxviii, 20. And, on the other hand,
those communities which are acting on this divine
commission, possess the marks of having received
the mantle of the apostles, whatever may be their
name.
3. The connection of the primitive societies of
ECONOMY, AND PRESF.XT POSITION. 277
Christians for mutual support and strength, and,
through this, their beneficial influence on the world,
indicate the principle we are considering, namely,
that a church must be evangelizing in its labours in
order to be apostolical.
The reconmiendatory letters of the apostles, and
various incidents mentioned in the New Testament,
show that the communion of the primitive church
w'as general, and that a person who w^as a member
of this general body would be received, as such, by
every local society throughout the world. By this
means an interest for the common good was pro-
duced ; and the affectionate zeal of the disciples,
instead of being limited to some narrow bounds, and
sectarian objects, embraced the whole community in
every place. This stood intimately connected vdth
the progress of Christianity. The body, being one,
became strong and vigorous ; the young scions and
offshoots which extended themselves, were supported
by the parent tree ; the more distant and feeble por-
tions of the general community received counsel,
succour, and aid from the more mature and advanced ;
and the poor and persecuted were aided by the pe-
cuniary contributions, and messages of condolence
and sympathy, of those who were placed in better
circumstances. Thus, an intercommunion being
constantly kept up, life circulated rapidly through
the veins of the whole body, stimulus was furnished,
and a high tone of activity ensued.
This was not only beneficial to the church, as
such, but it eminently fitted it to advance in its ca-
278 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
reer of usefulness. Every member, in spirit and
heart, was, what in modern phrase would be called,
a missionary. Feeling an interest in the whole state
of Christianity, his thoughts and affections would
take this specific mould, because its prosperity, in
his views and notions, would not consist in mere
peace, or even purity, but in progress. And by
being trained in the love of the united church in
every place, he would be eminently fitted to contri-
bute his portion of aid, in every possible way, for its
enlargement.
Hence wc find directions of a practical nature, on
points of duty, together with censure or approval, as
the respective societies had acted aright or negli-
gently in these matters. We find a lengthened dis-
course on these points in the eighth and subsequent
chapters of St. Paul's Second Epistle to the Co-
rinthians : " Moreover, brethren," he says, " we do
you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the
churches of Macedonia ; how that in a great trial of
affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep
poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond
their power they were willing of themselves ; pray-
ing us with much entreaty that we would receive the
gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the minister-
ing to the saints. And this they did, not as we
hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord,
and unto us by the will of God. — Therefore, as ye
abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and
knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 279
US, see that ye abound in this grace also. — For if
there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according
to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath
not. For I mean not that other men be eased, and
ye burdened : but by an equality, that now at this
time your abundance may be a supply for their want,
that their abundance also may be a supply for your
want : that there may be equality : as it is written,
He that had gathered much had nothing over ; and
he that had gathered Uttle had no lack. — For as
touching the ministering to the saints, it is superflu-
ous for me to wTite to you : for I know the forward-
ness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them
of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago ;
and your zeal hath provoked very many. — For the
administration of this service not only supplieth the
want of the saints, but is abundant also by many
thanksgivings unto God ; whUe by the experiment
of this ministration they glorify God for your pro-
fessed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for
your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men ;
and by their prayer for you, which long after you for
the exceeding grace of God in you. Thanks be unto
God for his unspeakable gift. — But we will not boast
of things without our measure, but according to the
measure of the rule which God hath distributed to
us, a measure to reach even unto you. For we
stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though
we reached not unto you : for we are come as far as
to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ : not
boasting of things without our measure, that is, of
280 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
Other men's labours ; but having hope, when your
faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you
according to our rule abundantly, to preach the gos-
pel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in
another man's line of things made ready to our hand."
2 Cor. viii, 1-5, 7, 12-15 ; ix, 1, 2, 12-15 ; x, 13-16.
In these passages, with their context, we have the
whole case of the primitive churches, as far as the
principle under review is concerned. But from the
latter portion of the extract it is evident that the
s)Tnpathy, bounty, gift, grace, mutual relief and suc-
cour, referred to throughout, was to become an oc-
casion for the apostles and teachers " to preach the
gospel in the regions beyond."
From all this, it seems that tlie very religion of
the primitive churches embraced this duty. The
individual members would not have been considered
Christians, had they not imbodied in their faith and
feelings a zealous concern for the extension and tri-
umph of the gospel ; and the communities of be-
lievers would not have been recognised as parts of
the body of Christ, had they not manifested a united
affection toward other parts of the family of God,
and contributed their proportion of exertion toward
the multiplication of its numbers, by the conversion
of the Gentile world around.
4. The promise of increase, up to the point of
universality, indicates the aggressive nature of the
means to be employed by the church.
The doctrines and promises of the new covenant
were held in their obvious meaning by the primitive
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 281
disciples. Catliolicity with them was not an un-
meaning abstraction. Though they did not employ
the word, yet they held the doctrine, of universality
in a most important sense. In the Christian theo-
logy, God is represented as universal in his love, his
grace, his authority, and in the designs of his coun-
sels. The Saviour is spoken of as universal in his
redemption and salvation, in his mediatorial functions
and power, and in the message of his gospel. The
Holy Ghost is exhibited as universal in his light, his
influence, and power, and in his various offices as a
Witness, Comforter, and Sanctifler. The church is
described as universal in its foundations, and in its
provisions and rights. On this covenant fulness of
truth and grace the apostles proceeded to build a
really universal fabric ; and had not their successors
narrowed the dispensation by their doctrinal specu-
lations and ecclesiastical systems, this noble design
would, long ago, have been carried out into practical
and beautiful effect. It is difficult to imagine how
the doctrines of the gospel can be truly and consist-
ently held otherwise than in their sublime catholicity.
We instance, more particularly, in that of the atone-
ment. It is stated, " By the grace of God" Christ
" tasted death for every man," Heb. ii, 9. Our Lord
said, " And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will
draw all men unto me," John xii, 32. And again :
" Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to
suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day : and
that repentance and remission of sins should be
preached in his name among all nations, beginning
282 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
at Jerusalem," Luke xxiv, 46, 47. Then, it may
be inquired. How can this doctrine be maintained in
its legitimate meaning, unless it is so placed in the
polity of the church as to make it the ground of a
universal movement among the destitute nations of
the earth, and the offer of salvation to all men 1 The
apostolic doctrine on this, and on all other subjects,
was so understood as to become the ground plan of
their labours and exertions, on the scale of the truth
itself. In virtue of this, the church principles which
they were divinely taught to adopt, were made the
rule of preaching, as extensively as the population
of the world. Christianity was not with them the
symbol of a party, and the watch-word of a sect. It
was a great, a grand, a sublime truth, applicable to
all times, to all places, and to all men. It spurned
the limitations of the Jewish dispensation ; it broke
down " the middle wall of partition" between them
and the Gentiles ; it shone forth as the sun, alike
" on the evil and on the good ;" and enthroned the
Messiah as the anointed and the universal King.
II. Now the question presents itself, at this point
of our progress, Does the theory of our church sys-
tem harmonize tvith this primitive model, and do we
act upon it ?
The true question for consideration is, whether we
are missionary in spirit and in practice. We un-
hesitatingly say, that we are so in an eminent degree ;
that, in fact, if we have any marked and striking
peculiarity, it is this ; and if, above all things, we
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 283
may glory in — or rather magnify — the grace of God
manifested to us, it must be on this ground in parti-
cular. From the beginning our conmiunity has been
led into this branch of usefulness, from a deep con-
viction that good men were bound to care for the
conversion of the ungodly. This has ever been the
ardent and common feeling of all. The enlarged
state of the work, no doubt, originated in the impres-
sion of the first converts, that it was their duty to
seek the salvation of all the lost sons of Adam.
Every society became a nucleus of religious light
and power in its own immediate locality ; while the
more active heralds of the cross flew, as on the wings
of the morning, to proclaim the Saviour's love to the
largest possible extent. These societies were ger-
minant. Working from their feeble centre, they
gained new converts imbued with their own feelings ;
and the accessions they gained increased their
strength. We find the spirit and principle of the
enlarged operation in the very beginning, and in the
universally-recognised doctrines and rules of the
entire body. The missionary enterprise, and the
duties it involves, are not, with us, of the natnre of
a new appendage, — a young scion engrafted on an
old stock ; but the root and primary principle of the
church state itself. It is instructive to trace the
operation of this well-understood and universally-
admitted obligation among the infant societies at
home. Those united bodies considered themselves
a sort of missionary church to the several neighbour-
hoods around them. By preaching, exhortation,
284 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
reading sermons, the institution of prayer meetings,
and personal visitations to the habitations of those to
whom they ',ould gain access, they sought (o intro-
duce the spirit of fervent piety, to seek the most de-
graded, to bring them to Christ, and lead them to a
present salvation. Their means were limited, their
station low, their abilities often humble and unpre-
tending ; but the issue shows that piety is power, and
united exertions, on a systematic plan, will in the
end bring about great results.
These societies were, in the beginning, isolated
bodies, often at a great distance from each other, and
held no intercourse except through the visits of the
Messrs. Wesley, and experimental letters which, in
those times, were constantly sent in interchange from
one place to another. But then the principle of one-
ness was acknowledged. They were united soci-
eties, stimulated by one spirit, and aiming at one
object. In proportion as the work advanced, the
chasms between the different parts of the community
were filled up, and the distance lessened, till they
came to meet as one widely-extended whole. And,
moreover, that spirit of enterprise which grew up
with the little and feeble societies, is now seen to
imbue one great system ; just as the streams from
the mountain-side fall into the ocean, and become a
part of its mighty waters. Hence the evangelical
feelings and aggressive action of the body, as dis-
played at present on the distant fields of the world,
are the concentration of the separate waters of the
diminutive fountains which flowed from the local so-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 285
cieties, to irrigate this country in the first instance,
but are now so deep as to send their streams into
many of the pagan nations. The faith on which the
missionary enterprise rests ; the love of God and
man which is its stimulus ; and the habit of sacri-
fice, zeal, and pecuniary assistance which it calls
forth ; grew up with the religious state of the people
from the beginning. There was no need, when the
time for the enlarged movement came, to look abroad
for precedents, encouragement, motives, and light to
guide them, as in a dark, doubtful, and untrodden
path. They possessed all this among themselves.
It constituted an element of their piety ; it belonged
to their creed ; it entered into their sentiments ; it
was the subject of their daily prayers ; it was one
mode of the expression of their Christian love ; it
formed a part of all their notions of the church state,
and the obligations which it involves.
That the evangelizing spirit and character of our
church is no accident, but indigenous, of home growth,
and properly the system of Methodism itself, must
now be shown.
1. Our theology imbodies the principle, that Chris-
tianity is a universal remedy for the sin and guilt of
the world.
The visible state and movements of a community,
both as regards its individual members and its cor-
porate character, must depend on its doctrines, un-
less they merely exist as a dead letter. But the
fact is, doctrine never does so exist. If the truth is
held by a church, and exhibited in her creeds, and
286 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
yet is not taught and made the ground-work of the
living spirit, experience, and habits of the people,
the doctrine which supersedes it must influence
those who fall under its power. The sentiments
which form the character of, and, indeed, govern
mankind, are not innate, but objective. Truth is of
this nature ; and one of the offices of faith is to
transfer it to the mind, so as to cause it to become
the rule of action, and lead to habits of religion.
The peculiar characteristics of our system, in the
point under consideration, are therefore to be traced
to the teaching we have enjoyed from the beginning.
The doctrine of God's universal grace, and its affi-
liated truths, were not exhibited on the battle-field
of opposing parties, so long and so strenuously, as a
matter of curious speculation, but as lying at the
very foundation of that great evangelical movement
which was then in its commencement. It must be
evident, that the doctrines of universal redemption
are, to say the least, more calculated to inspire a
spirit of enterprise, and lead to exertions to extend
the gospel on a large scale, than the opposite tenets.
We grant, indeed, that this effusion of charitable
zeal does not necessarily flow from an adherence to
this system of doctrine, or that the more restricted
notions entertained by others necessarily lead to a
limited and narrow scale of evangelical labour. We
speak now of the tendency of a form of truth ; and
think that those views which embrace the univer-
sality of the provisions of the gospel are more calcu-
lated to excite to evangelical exertions, on an ex-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 287
tended platform, than those which limit the counsels
of God.
With this remark on the question of tendencies, it
is proper to add, that, in point of fact, many of those
who have held the highest doctrinal sentiments re-
specting the extent of the love and designs of God,
in the mission and death of Christ, have practically
worked much within the bounds of their own theo-
retic circumference ; while, on the other hand, many
of those who hold particular redemption, with its
collateral doctrines, go infinitely beyond their creed
in pious efforts to save a lost and ruined race. In
the one case we have religious feeling and zeal ope-
rating above and beyond the theoretic line marked
out ; and in the other, we have these qualities shrmk-
ing much within the limits of an admitted rule of
truth and duty. But though this may be the fact as
regards parties exposed to all the deteriorating in-
fluences of human infirmity, it must be obvious that
the admitted principle, that an atonement was made
for all men, and therefore that all men may come to
the knowledge of the truth and be saved, is much
more likely to lead to large and unembarrassed
labours to bring them to Christ, than the old, stern
doctrine, that, by an irresistible decree, these benefits
were only designed for a few.
It must, iKtwever, be granted, that, by almost all
parties holding the doctrine of general redemption,
from the time of Arminius — who is perfectly evan-
gelical himself — to the rise of Methodism, notions
were usually associated with the subject which tended
288 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN',
to neutralize the effect of that truth as an instrument
of evangelical exertion. We instance in one point
only, — the opinions entertained on the sufficiency
of what is technically called natural religion. On
the ground of this imagined sufficiency, heathen
virtue, if sincerely cultivated, was often represented
as being as good and acceptable before God as Chris-
tian faith. On this principle, general redemption
was not considered as a provision for universal faith,
grace, conversion, and holiness, — in a word, of a
universal Christianity ; but a sort o( medium through
which every thing else might be equally pleasing to
God. The Christian sacrifice, and the Mediator's
throne, on this theory, were supposed to gain access
to God for the worship of Pagans, Jews, Mohamme-
dans, and Papist idolaters, equally and in common
with the humble believers in these great verities.
In consequence of these loose and erroneous no-
tions, generally held in connection with this import-
ant doctrine, it failed to produce any such result as
we now contemplate, till it was adopted by Mr. Wes-
ley, and made the foundation of his system of evan-
gelical toil. Hence its usefulness, in connection
with efforts to enlarge the kingdom of God, must
depend on the manner in which it is held, and the
other truths which, as satellites, revolve around it.
We believe that, in this, as in many other matters,
jNIethodism has wrought a most beneficial change
even in our own systems of theology. For a long
course of time it was thought by controversialists,
that the doctrine of universal redemption could not
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 289
be held consistently with a thorough and perfectly
evangelical creed ; that, for instance, the entire fall
and depravity of man, salvation by grace, justifica-
tion by faith only, the sanctification of the soul
through the Spirit, and this doctrine, could not exist
in harmony with each other. This opinion has
been shown to be ill founded : it is now seen that
tliese truths can coexist ; that a purely evangelical
system, founded on this theory, is in perfect unity
with itself, and in agreement with Holy Scripture ;
and that a church, in its services, communion,
politv, and entire plan and scheme of evangelical
operations, can be made safely and permanently
to rest on this great principle, this fundamental
truth.
On the other hand, we perceive, in modern times,
a very great revolution in the Calvinistic theology.
The universality of the atonement is generally ad-
mitted ; and, as the admission of one truth must
necessarily draw others after it, it is held to be the
duty of ministers to make a general offer of salva-
tion to their flocks, together with the obligation of
churches to seek the conversion of all mankind.
This is very important ; and, no doubt, stands inti-
mately connected with the highly praiseworthy ex-
ertions v.'e now witness among different bodies of
Christians holding these opinions. From all this it
is evident, that the theological systems of Christian
bodies must be taken as the inspiring cause, the liv-
ing spirit, and the impelling power of their evangeli-
cal labours, — in conjunction, of course, with a true
10
290 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN',
faith on the part of the people, and the efTusions of
the Holy Gljost. By this rule, it is easy to trace
the spring of the missionary feeling, which we be-
hold in our own church system, to our theology. In
addition to the one leading doctrine already mention-
ed, it will illustrate this, if we point out two or three
particulars in connection with our entire creed.
(1.) One of these particulars is, that our doctrinal
system assumes, as a leading principle, that Chris-
tianity is not of the nature of an abstraction, made
known for the mental amusement and pleasure of
mankind, but that it is given for 7tsc.
This, if we mistake not, will furnish a key to all
the writings of Mr. Wesley ; and especially to the
standards which he prepared for the instruction and
guidance of his people. In his hand every truth is
practical ; it has a direct bearing on the state of
mankind ; it is connected with some privilege or
duty ; and its use is plainly pointed out. We have
no curious speculations on the divine essence, coun-
sels, providence ; but a clear, full, and intelligible
exhibition of all that is revealed of the Godhead, but
especially in relation to the salvation of man. His
great love, the freeness of his grace, his readiness
to forgive, the manner in which he makes himself
known to the believing heart, his indwelling life and
power, and the liberty of access he grants in prayer
and communion, are all points which are dwelt upon
in the fullest and plainest manner. The imagina-
tion is not taught to revel in ecstasies, amid the
glories of a fancied deity j but the whole heart is led
ECOXOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 291
to bow in humble adoration at the footstool of the
divine Majesty, to learn his will, to feel his power,
to taste his love. The same is the case with the
doctrine of atonement, of the Holy Spirit's influ-
ence, and of all the promises and duties of the Chris-
tian covenant ; the use of these great provisions of
Christianity is constantly pointed out. But it is to
that branch of theology which is connected with the
personal enjoyments, hopes, and duties of the peeple
of God, that we are to look for the most perfect ex-
hibition of this principle. Every privilege is con-
stituted the element, the power, the motive of active
piety — the inspiring spirit of the religious life. The
foundation of all useful or good works is laid in the
blessings of the grace of God ; but then this grace
can never exist in the heart without bringing every
faculty, gift, distinction, and opportunity under requi-
sition to the glory of God. Never did a system of
teaching more lucidly, powerfully, and with more
uncompromising fidelity, enforce the practical duties
of religion, than that of our venerable founder. He
insisted on faith ; but it was a faith producing good
works. He taught the doctrine of the " witness of
the Spirit ;" but he added that of " the witness of
our own spirit," or the testimony of our conscience,
as a corroborative evidence of adoption. He une-
quivocally made known the necessity of the new
birth ; but he clothed his " neio creation''' in the beau-
tiful verdure of living fruit. He could not imagine
any thing more certain than that the love of God is
an experimental blessing ; but he insisted that it was
292 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN',
the principle of uU practical holiness. Besides this,
all the details of dutj' are gone into with a minute-
ness and force of application which admit of no eva-
sion — no escape.
Now this is intimately connected with the point in
hand. In illustration of this, we may mention the
steadiness of our people in practical usefulness, in
the midst of the ever-shifting temptations to an ec-
centric course. How often is it seen, that the finest
minds, possessed of the most unquestioned and indeed
ardent piety, are diverted from a career of evangeli-
cal labour by the origination of some floating fancies
of the moment ! How mucli intellect, learning, feel-
ing, zeal, vehement debate, — expenditure of time,
influence, and even property, — have we witnessed in
a single generation, on questions which have no prac-
tical bearing on the extension of the gospel, and the
salvation of the world ! The true exposition of
prophecy ; the second coming of Christ, and his
personal reign on earth. ; the restoration of the Jews
to Jerusalem and the Holy Land, in their national
character ; the raptures, frenzy, and strange tongues
of Irvingism ; and now, and above all, the concen-
tration of an infinite amount of research, talent, writ-
ing, and labour, on the question of a mere external
church polity ; are subjects which have engrossed
as much energy, and dissipated as much religion of
the heart, as might, under the blessing of God, have
converted half the continent of India. To revel in
these luxuriant speculations is, no doubt, very agree-
able to, and much more in accordance with, poetic
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 293
taste, and the ambition for learned fame, than the
drudgery of doing good.
By the divine blessing, we have been saved from
all this. We deny not the probability that our want
of leisure, our limited means of gratification in some
of these mental amusements, and our position among
the tribes of Israel, may have contributed their
amount of preventing influence, in guarding us
against approaching these Scrbonian bogs in which
some of the finest geniuses have been engulfed.
But we attribute our preservation chiefly to two safe-
guards among ourselves, — the practical nature of
our doctrinal system, and our active employment.
The first has fixed a principle of religious zeal and
activity in the minds of the people ; and by keeping
before their attention the obligation to devote their
energies and means to really useful purposes, they
are secured from the temptations of an idle and
speculative piety. In times of rehgious excitement,
if the energies of the moving body cannot be directed
to practical objects, they will necessarily take an
eccentric course, and dash into collision with some
opposing body, — or be dissipated in the infinitude of
abstract error. To be preserved in the sober habit
of serving God, doing good, endeavouring to extend
religion, and of exemplifying the steadiness of ex-
perimental piety, is a blessing next in value to its
enjojrment.
Our very existence would have long since ceased,
had we not been kept, by the mercy of God, from
the extravagant errors to which reference has been
294 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
made. It is only by the husbandry of our strength
and resources, and their steady direction to strictly
rehgious objects, that we have been able to accom-
plish so much. Let this be continued as the living
illustration of the spirit, teaching, and tendency of
our theology, and it will, in the end, be seen, that
the regular concentration of means, which appear to
be insignificant, can, in their united force, accomplish
great results.
(2.) Another leading principle of this doctrinal
system is, that the gospel, in itself, is a sufficient
and sovereign remedy for the sins and miseries of
" all sorts and conditions of men."
Believing that all men are included in the mercl.
ful provisions of the " covenant of promise," it fol-
lows, that no decretal curse — no preterition — no
interdict of exclusion from the gospel of Christ —
rests against any rank, any social condition — any
physical, mental, or moral degradation of the human
race ; and that man's nature and evil propensities,
being essentially the same in all ages and places,
can present no barrier against the saving power of
the gospel. Man, thus considered, under the aspects
of the covenant of grace, becomes a very different
creature from what he appears in his actual condi-
tion. Antecedently, and before any exertions are
made for his instruction, and recovery to piety and
to God, he is seen, through this medium, in a poten-
tial state of religion, — capable of being clothed in
the attributes of wisdom, love, and holiness. The
ground-work of all this is laid in the counsels of God,
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 295
as unfolded in the beautiful imagery, predictions, and
promises of the prophets, and secured by the media-
torial grace and power of Messiah. No faith in the
success of the truth can go beyond the limits of the
love, the designs, and the mercy of God : no exer-
tions can be unwarranted, uncovenanted, or stretch
further than the merits of the Saviour's cross on the
one hand, or of the religious capacities of the human
race on the other. Where there is mind, there are
the elements on which the light and influence of the
gospel may successfully operate ; there is a jewel
which may be polished, however rough and deeply
imbedded in the rubbish of idolatry and sin ; an
angel form, though fallen, that may have its wings
trimmed and plumed for a heavenward flight.
Though human nature is, of itself, entirely " alien-
ated from the life of God through the ignorance that
is in us," and by the " inventions" of men in their
religious wanderings and errors, as well as by their
social expedients and vices, ten thousand adventitious
evils have been heaped on the original depravity ;
yet there lies beneath these ruins an indestructible
immateriality ; and where there is soul, [in a state
of probation,] there may be virtue and religion.
These are the views taught by the lessons of the
gospel. How different from those whicli are fur-
nished by a merely economical science ! Classified
in these estunates of his capacity, man is only con-
sidered in reference to his rank in the scale of social
life ; his ability to wield the weapons of war ; his
aptitude to take his share in the manufactures and
296 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
trade of the world ; and his qualifications to add to,
or to deduct from, the stock of temporal enjoyment.
These are the questions discussed and considered
in all merely human policy, respecting a creature
who was formed in the image of God, and who still
retains his immortality. The distinction between
these two systems, in their respective estimate of
the family of man, is infinitely in favour of Chris-
tianity,
The destinies of the world, when considered as the
field of this mighty spiritual operation, appear truly
sublime. The universal establishment of the king-
dom of God ; the reign of religious peace, happiness,
and purity ; the celebration of divine worship in con-
fidence, praise, and love ; the full tide of divine in-
fluence happily possessed, not transiently, but, as a
perennial blessing, ever flowing ; and then the re-
demption of Christ enjoyed by the believing multi-
tude, while " every knee bows to him," and "every
tongue confesses that he is Lord ;" — is a noble and
an animating picture. This, and much more, we are
assured shall take place. God " shall send Jesus
Christ, which before was preached unto you : whom
the heavens must receive until the times of restitu-
tion of all things, which God hath spoken by the
mouth of all his holy prophets since the world be-
gan," Acts iii, 20, 21.
These are the sentiments which our theology im-
bodies. We know of no doubt ever entertained
among us, of the practicability of reaching the high-
est point of advancement by the power of the gospel
ECONOiMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 297
alone. Without this conviction, how forbidding
must the regions to be occupied appear ! In one
place a well-organized paganism presents itself to
view, supported by an antiquated literature and re-
puted sacred writings ; an education founded on
these errors ; a social and domestic state agreeing
to the pollutions of the system ; a worship splendid
and gorgeous, embracing the adoration of an entire
pantheon of idols ; — all stand in array to dispute
every attempt by the minister of the cross to turn
the people to Christ. In another region, humanity
seems stripped of all its distinctions, and man appears
more like a mere brute than the possessor of intelli-
gent and immortal powers. Ignorant of the first
principles of truth, savage and fierce, migratory in
his habits, destitute of the most common notions of
morality, a stranger to every idea of religion, he is
the mere creature of his passions, the sport of every
brutal vice, and distinguished only from the prowl-
ing animals around by his capacity to exceed them
in ferocity. In other parts of the earth, the people
are in slavery : a condition which, of itself, sufficient-
ly indicates the low and sad state of their mental
and moral degradation ; for when was it ever found
that civilized and religious man was long held in
bondage ? The obstacles here are twofold, — the
miserable ignorance and sin of the poor people them-
selves, and the interested opposition of their mas-
ters. These have been felt and encountered at every
advance. Considered by themselves, these difficul-
ties appear insuperable, and, in fact, would have led
298 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
men — ^before the attempt in modern times was made
to convert them to Christianity — to consider it not
only as hopeless, but as the sign of religious mad-
ness. But true faith looks upon nothing as impossi-
ble which is warranted by the word of God. Relying
simply and entirely on the efficiency of the gospel,
these appalling difficulties have all been successfully
encountered.
The primary basis for this confidence — next to
that of the Bible — is laid in our theological system.
It has imbued the whole ministry, and indeed all
the people, with a full and unwavering persuasion
that success is practicable in the most difficult re-
gions, and to an unlimited extent. It has made the
whole body evangelical in its spirit, and induced a
conviction, — amounting in authority and force to an
article of faith, — that this feeling, and these corres-
ponding exertions, arc essential characteristics of a
true church of Christ. In addition to this, it has
led to an anxious desire, and, we hope, to constant
prayers, for perpetual and increased progress ; and,
withal, to a settled judgment, that the retained com-
mission of Chirst, and the promised blessing and
influence of the Holy Spirit, must be indicated by
the advancement of the church, and the conversion
of men to God.
(3.) Again : our theology teaches that all men are
not only invited and permitted, but enjoined and
commanded, to believe and embrace the truth.
It reiterates the command of Christ : " Go ye
therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 299
find, bid to the marriage," Matt, xxii, 9. It an-
nounces the doctrine of St. Paul : " For there is no
difference between the Jew and the Greek : for the
same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon
him. For whosoever shall call on the name of the
Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on
him in whom they have not believed ■? and how shall
they believe in him of whom they have not heard 1
and how shall they hear without a preacher] and
how shall they preach except they be sent ] So
then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God." Romans x, 12-15, 17. But more :
this theology teaches us, that it is not only the duty
of the church to make the gospel known, but also
that it is the duty of all men to believe, in order that
they may be saved ; that in fact it is " made known
to all nations for the obedience of faith," Romans
xvi, 26.
On these principles two great duties are laid upon
the parties referred to, namely, the church and the
world ; and these are essentially connected with each
other. To the church belongs the responsible task
of making the way of salvation known to the pagan
and every other portion of the benighted world.
This is appointed, commanded, and is the establish-
ed order of the Christian economy. To suppose that
the heathen nations may attain religion without the
truth and ordinances of the gospel, is either to
imagine a new miraculous dispensation to be at work,
independent of tlic Christian economy ; or that the
foculties of the human mind are in themselves sufli-
300 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
cient to acquire its knowledge and perform its duties.
Both these positions are nullified by plain, indubi-
table facts. We have no series of moral miracles
at work among the heathen nations, by which they
are led to rise from their degradation ; and it never
happens that their own powers are found sufficient
to elevate them.
Hence the true ana saving power of the Christian
dispensation is found to be limited to itself. We
find none of the wisdom, spiritual life, religious hap-
piness, holiness, habits of worship and adoration,
presented to the true God, — and public and private
virtues such as are taught by the Holy Scriptures, —
beyond the limits of actual Christianity in its autho-
rized means. The gospel institute is, in some sense,
a living, standing, perpetual miracle. It is so, inas-
much as it is a dispensation rising above nature, in
opposition to its moral tendencies and positive state ;
and because it is a inedium through which God di-
rectly works, producing results of holiness and hap-
piness beyond all her means to accomplish. Now,
it is the duty of the church, by her ministers, to es-
tablish the medium in question, by giving the Holy
Scriptures, by preaching the gospel, and by intro-
ducing the ordinances of God's house. We know
not the reasons for the appointment ; but we find, in
fact, that the matter so stands in the final settlement
of the kingdom of God on earth, and is taught in the
last discourses of our Lord with his disciples ; that
the apostles, and of consequence those who are
really their successors, should be his " witnesses" to
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 301
the ends of the earth, and that it belonged to them
" to disciple all nations," Luke xxiv, 48 ; Matthew
xxviii, 19.
This undoubtedly places Christian bodies in an
awful position of responsibility ; and it supposes, in
some sense, though not absolutely, that they possess
the power of self-progression. We limit this remark
to the extension of the truth and means of religion.
This belongs to the church ; this she has the power
of accomplishing. When this is done, the Holy
Spirit operates through the truth and ordinances thus
established, so as to render both effectual in the con-
version of mankind. Facts come in to support this
statement. Wherever the gospel is proclaimed in
its real nature, we find more or less of saving grace
manifested ; and, on the other hand, where this
blessing is not possessed at all, or, being once en-
joyed, is perverted, no such effects are ever found
to exist.
But with duty on the side of the church, we fmd
obligation also on the side of those who are visited
with the grace of the Christian dispensation. There
has been an infinite expenditure of polemic strength
on the questions of God's providence, decrees, spi-
ritual influence, and divine grace, on the one side ;
and on the freedom or bondage of the will, and its
cognate doctrines, on the other ; together with the
accountability, salvability, and final destiny of the
heatiien. However these subjects may be settled,
one thing is plain ; namely, that it is our duty to
make the gospel known to them, and it is equally
302 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
theirs to embrace it, when so made known. There
are no contradictions in truth ; and the command to
make known the gospel is proof of a corresponding
design that it should be believed, enjoyed, and obeyed.
So teaches our theology. It is bright as the
morning light ; it clears away the mists of many
generations ; the dark decrees of the fatalists ; the
mystic jargon of the metaphysicians ; the cold and
crabbed dogmas of the schoolmen ; the anti-evan-
gelical sentiments of the legalists ; and the erroneous
assumptions of the systematic divinity ; but, in addi-
tion, it i^laces the open door of salvation before all
men. It is the theology of the Holy Scriptures, in
the language of common sense. It has driven back
the bolt which locked up the destinies of the world ;
and has thrown open a wide and effectual door of
usefulness to the Gentile nations. Whatever mea-
sure of influence the Methodist doctrine, as a whole,
has had on other churches, (and those who know
the history of Whitefield, as well as that of our own
founder, will not think it trivial,) we are assured
that our own energetic movements in the direction
of the heathen world are owing to the truth which
has been taught among us from the beginning.
(4.) But, finally, this system of doctrine makes it
essential that the blessings of the gospel should be
really enjoyed.
We have no puerile sentimentality, no frenzied
ecstasies, no revelling of the imagination, no self-
created Elysium, no unmeaning austerities and vo-
luntary humility, no '■'■catholic longings,''^ — as the
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 303
new school call their restless desires for the super-
stitions of Rome ; no, none of these are put in the
place of a direct faith and conversion. In this sys-
tem all is real. The blessings of the gospel are re-
presented as free, full, and universal ; but then every
man must personally possess them, or they can fur-
nish him only with a very secondary benefit. To
instruct men in the knowledge of their wants and
dangers, and then to press upon them the glorious
privileges of salvation, and lead them forward to the
highest attainments in knowledge, holiness, and joy,
is the office of our entire theology.
But the point stated in the above proposition by
implication, supposes the danger and peril of all
those who are destitute of the grace of God, as
manifested in the gospel economy. This is the most
moving fact to be found in the whole series of re-
vealed verities, which can be brought before the
attention of serious and reflecting men. However
abstract theories may be disposed of, respecting the
possible salvation of men who are placed, by inevi-
table circumstances, under the dominion of paganism,
or other forms of superstition, it is a settled law of
God, that sin must be pardoned or punished, and
that " without holiness no man shall see the Lord,''
Heb. xii, 14. The entire aggregation of moral evil,
found in the human heart, may exist in different
combinations in this world ; but the issue will be the
same, — eternal banishment from God. The external
colouring of these evils will differ, as men are found
in varied positions in the world. But it is of trifling
304 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN%
importance, whether sinners are lost in the midst of
the light of the gospel, or in the darkness of some
false and erroneous system. Sin persisted in, un-
der all its aspects and in all places, must lead to the
same ruin.
But how awful a light does this truth throw on the
state of the great human family, and on the duties
of the church ! We look on the frivolities of man-
kind ; their devotion to the world, — pleasure, passion,
appetite ; and are little moved. Their inattention to
the services of religion, and to the duty of seeking
God, is as little regarded by us. We speculate on
the injuries, oppressions, falsehoods, and supersti-
tions of Popery ; on the amazing power once pos-
sessed and exercised by the false prophet Moham-
med ; on the foolish, bewildering, and brutalizing
effects of idolatry ; and the matter too often ends in
either mere astonishment or pity. But the evils and
miseries of these systems lie much deeper. The
external development is only the type of their several
forms of sin. They are only the colours hung out
to indicate the mode by w-hich God is renounced in
his authority and love, true religion neglected,
spurned, or at least not acknowledged, and as fur-
nishing the battle-field on which a perpetual contest
against the truth, and the means and motives to
piety, may be carried on.
The only way of arriving at a right perception on
this point is to isolate man from the system by which
he is deluded ; to consider him in his own individual
depravity and guilt ; and then to ask, Is he fit for the
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 305
kingdom of heaven ? Pity may induce unreal hope-)
a false charity lead to excuses and compromises,
and indolence to inattention ; but the word of God
proclaims, as with the sound of thunder, " Except
they repent, they shall all likewise perish," Luke
xiii, 3, 5.
This is the real case to be considered by the
church, in estimating her duties. The increase of a
party, as such, is a low, not to say, a despicable,
motive ; but the conversion of sinners to God is one
of the most noble and exciting which can be enter-
tained. Nothing but Scriptural views on the dan-
gers of mankind can keep either Christian ministers
or the people up to the level of their obligations.
Without this, there can be no love corresponding
with the miseries, wants, and dangers of a lost
world ; and then the absence of this principle must
lead to indifference. The apprehension of the whole
truth on this point is both difficult and painful ; but
without it, zeal will degenerate into partisanship, and
while the peculiarities of the favoured system are
supported, the world will be left unphied in its sins.
The feeling of which we here speak is peculiarly
and exclusively religious. It is in some sense — in
a low degree — the imitation of the love of God in
the gift of his Son, and of the mercy of redemption ;
it is the imbibing and exhibiting the spirit of the
whole gospel. The means employed to save man
supposes a vivid, intense, and infinite perception of
danger. The blessed Being who provided our rescue
at so costly a price, must have belield the misery
20
306 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
and peril of our condition as a catastrophe of surpass-
ing magnitude and solemnity. None but those who
enter into the magnificence of this design, partake
of its spirit and breathe its love, can possibly look
with suitable emotions on the dangers of the millions
of mankind, living " without God in the world."
This feeling evidently animated our fathers. They
considered religion as something positive and essen-
tial. With them, no question could be more cer-
tainly settled, than that men dying impenitent must
perish everlastingly. This sentiment, impressed on
the heart, roused their energies, and nerved them to
exertion. To " save a sinner from the error of his
ways" they felt to be a matter of the highest conse-
quence. Prayers, admonitions, entreaties, self-de-
nying labours were employed, and an exposure to
every kind of contumely was willingly undergone,
to accomplish this great purpose of their melting
charity.
All our united ijiovements originated in the same
feeling. Every rule bears the evidence of two lead-
ing principles, — the danger and misery of man with-
out religion, and love to the whole race for the
Lord's sake. But it is difficult to preserve, in one
organized body, constituted of numerous parties, the
intensity of feeling, on an admitted truth, which was
possessed by the originators of the institutions when
formed to imbody it. Individual duty, obligation,
and even active charity, are often merged in the
general stock of feeling and of effort put forth by
institutional operations. In this way a vicarious re-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 307
ligious tenderness- and zeal are imagined, and indi-
vidual pity, love, and devotedness, are neglected ;
the conscience participates in the delusion, and that
which the institution is doing we take to be done by
ourselves. Masses, as such, never think, exercise
the conscience, or put forth Christian sympathy and
zeal. Individuals lead the mind of the multitude,
direct its principle, and guide its exertions. Hence
the useful and energetic action of a church ; its ad-
herence to the truth of God ; its enlightened conside-
ration of the wants and dangers of the world ; and
its evangelical labours, in an institutional form ; must
depend on the number of thoughtful and sanctified
minds which can be brought to take up these sub-
jects, and pour forth the affections of the heart, in
prayer and charity, into these channels of exertion.
In our own case, as in that of all other Christian
communities, it will be found a difficult task to lead
forward the heart and efforts of the body in this one
evangelical direction. And j'et its purity, efficiency,
and permanent prosperity depend on this. If we
once lose sight of the danger of mankind without the
gospel ; of the distinctive nature of conversion, and
of its absolute necessity in every man living ; of the
paramount obligation of Christians to make the sal-
vation of God universally known ; and then neglect
to take constant measures to carry this into effect ;
the consequence must be either internal disputation
on secondary and trifling questions, or, otherwise,
the adoption of " the form of godliness," while the
" power" is denied.
308 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIiV,
2. The institutions and order of our church are
conceived in tiie spirit of its theology, and contem-
plate a constantly progressive movement
We instance in the establishment and provisions
of this present conference which I now address.
We may be certain that, to a mind constituted like
that of our venerable founder, prescient of almost all
the consequences and results of his undertakings,
though conceived in the utmost simplicity; and in-
tent on one only object, — the conversion of men to
God ; — we say, in the case of such a mind, and with
such purposes, we may be sure that the establish-
ment of this synodical body would, in design, he.
connected with the spread of religion. As is well
known, it existed in great religious efficiency long
before it assumed a legal character. Its legal esta-
blishment arose out of its previous organization as
an instrument of discipline and evangelical exertion.
This latter is, indeed, one of the wisest arrangements
which, we believe, ever existed in connection with
a non-established community ; embracing the free,
and at the same time the definite and tangible, action
of a voluntary church, — and yet a church secured in
its privileges by statutory provisions.
This function of the conference is of very high
consequence to us in many points of view. It esta-
blishes our doctrines with guards and securities of
the most stringent description ; it secures the vigi-
lant exercise of discipline, defined and limited by
well-understood rules, so that church order is, with
us, the wise and moderate execution of recognised
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 309
laws, intelligible to all, and agreed upon by united
counsels ; it provides for the examination, ordina-
tion, and commission, given to the candidates for the
ministry, on the principle of tests which must bring
both duplicity and error to light, if they existed ; it
meets one of the most difficult questions in church
polity with a certain provision, namely, the perpetu-
ation of an evangelical ministry in our respective
places of worship all over the world ; and it is found
generally to conserve the spirit of unity, affection,
zeal, and purity among the pastorate itself; while it
constitutes a recognised and responsible body to
which all can look with confidence, as deeply inte-
rested in maintaining the Scriptural purity and prac-
tical efficiency of the whole church. These are
points on which very lengthened reflections might
be made ; but we are now anxious to limit our re-
marks to the conference as a centre of evangelical
enterprise.
The greatest and most anxious business of this
body, in all its details^ is, to bring the entire work
of Cod before its supervision in different forms, that
measures corresponding to its state may be adopted.
At first sight, much that occupies attention might be
taken as questions of mere business. So the most
vital matters connected with the spiritual and truly
religious state of churches come to be considered,
and their details are undoubtedly so attended to by
mere mechanical minds ; when, in fact, they origi-
nated in the most anxious concern to bring the sub-
ject of the work of God in its highest forms under
310 METHODISM I.\ ITS ORIGIN,
review. Why are the statistics of the body, in the
matter of numbers — the erection of chapels — the
progress of education — the demand for additional
ministers — the division of circuits — and the entire
progress made in the missionary field — successively
reviewed ? These subjects may possibly be attended
to in their mere routine ; but their design is obvious-
ly much higher. The intention is to bring the va-
rious departments of the work of God before the
serious attention of the assembly, not so much as a
legislative body, as a general, incorporated superin-
tendency, acting in a paternal spirit for the common
good, that such measures may be taken as the seve-
ral cases may require. Hence the highest function
of this assembly is, in the right sense of the expres-
sion, EPISCOPAL ("overseeing;") and another is evan-
gelical, — taking measures for the spread of the gos-
pel. It follows that, in its administrative character,
this assembly of ministers ought to be regarded as a
central powder, and its decisions must, of necessity,
from the extensive existence of the societies, have a
•wide range, and produce deep and permanent effects.
The moral and religious spirit possessed and exem-
plified, together with the arrangements and legisla-
tion of each one of these assemblies, in their conse-
quences and eflTects, must reach to everj"^ quarter of
the globe, and flow on, in the state and destinies of
numerous classes of mankind, to the latest genera-
tions. They are not only the nearest portions of the
people, and the adjacent societies, that the motions
of this body touch, affect, and influence immediately ;
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 311
but the rippling movement reaches every shore.
Then, in one view, the conference is an assembly of
ministers, convened for evangelical purposes : it is an
entire pastorate, met to take measures for the propa-
gation of the faith. This is the greatest and most
important office which a united body like this can
sustain. Its legislative, disciplinary, and pastoral
character is highly onerous, as the well-being of a
numerous, affectionate, zealous, and holy people
must be affected by the counsels which prevail. But
it is in the character of an assembly for the propaga-
tion of the faith of Christ, that it appears most iden-
tical with the school of the apostles, and important
and imposing in its aspects.
We may illustrate this by facts. It was in this
body, in 1769, that the " wants of our American bre-
thren were considered, and the question asked, 'Who
is willing to go V Two of our preachers, Richard
Boardman and Joseph Pillmoor, made the offer.
They were sent, with fifty pounds for the chapel,
and twenty pounds for their owti expenses." This
unaffected question, " Who will go V the answer
from two brethren, " Send us," and the sum of twenty
pounds given for the general purposes of their mission,
led to the organization of a church which, if not so
already, is likely to become the greatest Protestant
body in the world. We speak advisedly in this.
Taking into account the present numbers and posi-
tion of the " American Methodist Episcopal Church"
— the wide area of the United States — the rapidly-
increasing population of the country — the adaptation
312 MKTHODiSM IN ITS ORIGiXy
of their system to meet the wants of a scattered anrf
new population — and, above all, the completeness of
their church order, which is evidently looked upon
with affectionate and loyal veneration on the part of
the people — we are furnished with moral data for
the conclusion, that the American Methodist Church
must in the ordinary course of things, become one
of the greatest, if not the very greatest, united Pro-
testant body in the world.
It is true, that this church can only be considered
as in its infancy ; but the progress already made,
and the spirit by which it is animated, unite to indi-
cate the certainty and rapidity of its growth. With
thirty-three annual conferences — nearly one million
of church members — a religious influence extending
to about five millions of the population — almost four
thousand ordained ministers^ — and upward of sevea
thousand local preachers — besides twenty colleges,
and one university,* for the promotion of education
on strictly Christian principles, in union with the
church — we say, all these, in connection with the
peculiar character of the country, present an aspect
of promise which can leave no doubt on the mind as
to the future. These societies extend through the
whole Union ; the continent itself is the base of this
mighty moral operation ; the older and more popu-
lous cities yield their portion of pious communicants ;
but the remote wildernesses, cultivated by the labo-
rious evangelists of the cross, are equally fruitful.
* Ten colleges, two universities, and ten or fifteen con-
ference academies. — Ed.
ECONOMY, AXD PRESENT POSITION. 313
These young communities are laying the foundation
of future events, whether religious or otherwise, of
great consequence. It is the seed-time of their ex-
istence ; and generations unborn, to the latest periods,
must reap the harvest. This is the exact position
of America at present. Her widely-extended —
almost illimitable — territory will be filled with living
man ; her remaining forests will yield to the aggres-
sions of civilization, and present successive harvests
to industrious husbandry ; the noble and magnificent
rivers which sweep through her territories will bear
on their banks an unthought-of population ; — in fact,
it is easy to see that a country so vast, varied, rich
in resources, and capable of every kind of advance-
ment, and occupied withal by the enterprising chil-
dren of our own country, must advance to a great-
ness equal to any thing the world ever saw. In
this state of incipient being, the first occupants of
the soil, as religious teachers, secure a great ad-
vantage. This is possessed, not exclusively, yet
very extensively, by our American brethren. Led
on by their zeal and devotedness to God, they have
followed the scattered settlers to their distant abodes ;
and, in the midst of privations, labours, and difficul-
ties, such as might make the stoutest hearts quail,
they have carried the " glad tidings of great joy" to
these destitute people, and at the same time laid the
foundations of that church which we see rising in
such beautiful proportions, magnificence, and gran-
deur. Thus blended with the very elements of socie-
ty in its young and vigorous pulsations, Methodism
314 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
will, at least in its forms, expand with the social
body. May its doctrines, its spirit, and its experi-
mental features, equally grow !
Well may we look back with interest to the time
when it was inquired in this body, " Who is willing
to go V and when the utmost generosity could only
furnish the two evangelists with twenty pounds for
the expenses of this enterprise ! Well may we take
the caution of the sacred writer, " Who hath de-
spised the day of small things 1" and admire the pa-
rables of our Lord which describe his kingdom as
" leaven," and as a " grain of mustard seed." Bless-
ed be God, we see that the least and most unpromis-
ing means can produce the greatest results !
It is a happiness to be able to connect a work so
spiritual and divine ; so evidently and visibly the
work of God ; so Scriptural and true in its doctrines ;
so primitive and really apostolic in its church order
and polity ; so extended and influential among a ra-
pidly-expanding population ; so promising as to its
future influence upon the state of the general Chris-
tianity of the world ; — we say, it is pleasing, encou-
raging, and a cause of thankfulness, that this mighty
movement, which stands so intimately connected
with this conference, was guided by the counsels of
men — especially of one — of eminent sagacity, faith-
fulness, and zeal.
Thus, from the beginning, this body has been the
fountain head of the evangelical ofTorts of this branch
of the church of Christ. This is a great advantage.
While the origination of missionary societies among
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 315
many other churches has been altogether an ab-extra
movement ; that is, the isolated impression, scheme,
and zealous charity, of individual Christians, who
have thus risen above their church system, and put
in motion many of the best institutions of the day ;
our organization itself, in the highest form, that of
the conference, has been eminently missionary.
Hence, long before the body chose to form a regular
missionary society, the church, as such, was seen
to move in that capacity, and, by the direct acts of
its assembled pastorate, to send forth its evangelists
into various parts of the world. It was during this
period, and under this state of things, that the North
American colonies of the British crown were visited ;
the West Indian Islands, together with Sierra Leone,
were brought under cultivation ; and the mission to
Ceylon and the East was resolved upon and under-
taken by the indefatigable Dr. Coke. Those com-
munities which only give effect to their evangelical
convictions and charities through the medium of in-
stitutions distinct from their church organization,
claim to have a priority over us in point of time. In
the mere formation of distinct societies they are un-
doubtedly right ; but let it be recollected, that the
institution of our Missionary Society introduced no
new principle among us, as was the case among
them. This conference, from its commencement,
was an evangelizing body on the largest scale ; and,
as we see, took in, and, as far as means would allow,
occupied scenes of usefulness, which are rightly
deemed fields of purely missionary enterprise.
316 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
3. The spirit and character of our itinerant minis-
try indicate the aggressive nature of our system.
The evident -design of this arrangement is two-
fold, — the preservation of a lively and vigorous ac-
tion, by a change of ministers, among the societies
ah'eady in existence ; and then a consideration of the
wants of the unconverted. Whatever may be thought
respecting the fitness of itinerancy to meet the entire
necessities of a settled and regularly-organized
church, its establishment and provisional perpetuity,
and indeed universality, prove the point we are con-
sidering, namely, that our church system contains,
within itself essentially, the element of aggression.
Had the founder of our polity, and those who acted
with him, designed that we should become a mere
local, limited, and stationary body, they certainly
would not have introduced the principle of itinerancy,
so as to found the ministry upon it. True to his own
impressions and long-continued practice, it seems to
have been the fixed resolution of Mr. Wesley, that
his followers should never have the temptation of
settling down in a limited sphere, in the exercise of
isolated pastoral functions, gain for themselves mere
local influence or respect, or surround their ministry
by attached admirers ! Religion was regarded by
him as a great truth, to be as little incorporated with
human feelings and tastes as possible, and the gos-
pel as a remedy complete in itself, and needing none
of the adjuncts of conventional honour and influence.
Its ministers are left, by being in constant transitu,
to the bare and naked power of enunciating the truth.
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 317
without the adventitious aids of residence, personal
influence, the reputation of wisdom, or any of those
qualities which recommend a public character to
those to whom he ministers. As collected churches
need pastors more than evangelists ; and as none
can become thorough pastors without residence ;
and as successful evangelical labours suppose the
occupancy of the country, by settled and established
societies ; it is difficult to conceive on what ground
the law of itineralicy was rendered universal and
perpetual, except on the principle already named, —
that of preserving life in the church, and promoting
the evangelization of the world.
The system is admirably fitted for the latter pur-
pose. It seems to impose the necessity of progres-
sion. An itinerant ministry, moving only round an
orbit already formed, without attempting enlarge-
ment, would present an anomalous appearance. We
are, as a body, in the position of an army, to which
retreat is certain disaster ; and, even more, the mere
attempt to localize, and, in that sense, to concen-
trate, our religious and spiritual resources without
advancement, would be to us a fearful diminution
of strength. Nothing suits the genius of our eco-
nomy but new enterprise — new conquests — and new
fields of evangelical labour — successfully cultivated.
4. The division of our ministerial labour into cir-
cuits indicates the same principle of evangelical ag-
gression.
In the first instance, these were of great extent,
eml)raoing not only numerous towns and villages
318 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
containing a large population, but sometimes entire
counties and provinces. They were, of course, only
visited very occasionally ; but as these spheres of
ministerial labour were contracted, the same spirit
of enterprise still predominated. The true theory
of a Methodist circuit is that of expansion. The
associated ministry is not intended to be circum-
scribed to the congregations already collected, to
tending the sheep already in the fold, and watching
over the individuals and families \\'ho belong to the
church ; but to pervade the whole, as means and
opportunities present themselves, by not only "going
to those who want us, but to those who want us most."
This is the primary idea of this division of our work.
We are not to wait for invitations ; the dead in sin
never cry for help, or for places of worship ; this
follows, never precedes, the preaching of the gospel ;
— nor are we to look for countenance, favour, and
support, — these are won by the evidences of useful-
ness.
The contraction of these spheres of ministerial
labour is admirably calculated to further the work of
God, by increased pastoral attention, by providing
for a richer and more perfect ministry of the word,
and by placing the societies under a more efficient
superintendence. Yet it must be confessed, that,
with this contraction, repose on the old foundations
may take the place of active zeal, so as to lead to
the neglect of the "out-door population." In this
way it is possible that nearly the same state of things
may grow up as obtained when the Wesleys began
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 319
their career. It is the natural course of events, that,
when large and influential congregations are collect-
ed, they should demand a full supply of ministerial
attention and labour. Now, in the present condition
of our body, these congregations, when capable of
providing for themselves, and becoming, in that
sense, independent, are coming to form the real rate
of demand and supply ; and, by the working of this
principle, in the most populous parts of the country,
the amount of ministerial labour expended in our cir-
cuits is in danger of being altogether regulated by
the scale of things as they actually exist. Hence,
if this rule be acted upon, these assemblies may re-
main niunerous, and, as far as they are concerned,
be in a. religious and good state ; but the population
around them, unsought, and left in their ignorance
and sin, will sink into exactly the condition in which
the first Methodist preachers found the miserable and
vicious portions of the community. These destitute
masses had grown up, in profligacy and misery, by
the side of the churches and chapels of their time,
as is the case now to a fearful extent among our-
selves. If, in populous towns and neighbourhoods,
old congregations do not multiply themselves by
raising new branches, at intervals of but a few years,
this must be the case, so far as they are concerned.
The progress of population, in all such places, is in-
comparably greater than the increase of the means
of religion among ourselves. It follows that, so far
as our exertions are considered, on this principle,
these localities are likely to be left in a state of fear-
320 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
ful destitution. Why, it may be inquired, do not
ministers go out into the open air, as their fathers
did, if they have not places of worship ] For the
reason already adverted to. The number of minis-
ters is appointed on the scale of existing congrega-
tions supposed to be large enough to demand their
entire time and strength. This is the rule of the
arrangement ; so that no one minister is at liberty,
on the sabbath especially, — the only time when the
manufacturing population have any leisure, — to go
forth in the spirit of our primitive itinerancy to seek
these poor outcasts. How then can they, by possi-
bility, carry out the aggressive principle 1 We are
persuaded, that means ought to be devised, espe-
cially in the populous districts of the country, to
afford a somewhat new agency to the existing sup-
ply of circuits. By this we do not intend a. different
or an independent agency ; but one which should be
properly missionary ; which should go beyond the
limits of existing things, plunge into the midst of the
miserable, outcast population, and, by preaching, and
the adoption of other means, seek their conversion
to God. This, it is evident, was the original design
of the formation of our circuits ; and nothing can be
more alien from the spirit of their institution, than to
restrict the brethren to the mere supply of existing
places, without the means of attempting the enlarge-
ment of the work of God.
It is not to be assumed that there is no occasion,
and no room, for this. The fact is, that the area of
one of our circuits, in the crowded cities and towns,
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 321
contains nearly as large a population as some of the
thinly-peopled counties. If the principle of numbers
be taken as the data of calculation, it will be found
that, instead of increasing, our work is retrograding,
in all these places. For many years it was thought
that the town and manufacturing portions of the popu-
lation were much the more favourable fields of use-
fulness. Judging from results, this seems to have
been the case once ; but it is doubtful whether it is
so now. This is to be accounted for, in part, by
what has already been adverted to, — the absence of
a properly aggressive power. A system which only
provides for existing church wants, must leave the
most necessitous of the people in their sins. Strange
as the assertion may at first sight appear, the truth
is, that these, so far as our ministry is concerned,
are the most neglected. We talk loudly and pa-
thetically of the distress, privations, and dangers of
the inhabitants of the rural districts of the country,
who are either altogether without the gospel, as
taught by us, or only possess a scanty supply ; while,
at the same time, tens of thousands are living at our
own doors, — in the lanes, alleys, courts, cellars, gar-
rets of our towns and cities, — as destitute practically
of the means and blessings of religion as those who
are involved in the darkness of paganism. What
signifies the proximity of places of worship, or the
preaching of the gospel, to those who are dead in
sin ; and who, if a thought ever crosses their minds
on the question of religion at all, indulge only in re-
flections suggested by their own enmity, or by some
21
322 METHODISM I.\ ITS ORIGIN,
of the obscene and infidel publications which they
are in the constant habit of reading T Saturated as
this class of the conr)munity if« with infidel, socialist,
Chartist, and blasphemous notions ; strengthened in
evil by contact, association, and union ; and by la-
bouring together in masses, propagating ungodliness
and immorality on the largest scale ; — they are not
likely to yield a very plentiful return to the spiritual
husbandman. But still, as, on Mr, Wesley's max-
im, we ai"e to " go to them who need us most," it
behooves us to consider this case well, and to do our
utmost to bring our itinerancy to bear on these urgent
necessities, these pressing evils. These moral ma-
ladies are eating like a gangrene into the vitals of
society ; and, if not checked, controlled, and reme-
died by religion from some quarter, will react in
dreadful power and retribution on that religion itself;
wreak its vengeance on its institutions, and trample
its glories in the dust. No system is so well calcu-
lated to meet this case as ours. The only mode of
successful contest is, to grapple hand to hand with
these evUs, and to plant, by preaching, and the in-
troduction of other means of grace, the warning and
saving truth of God, in the midst of these abodes of
darkness and misery. But adaptation is not all that
is needed. Our town circuits ought to be made more
efficient, by the organized and wealthy congregations
making some provision for their %vretched neigh-
bours ; by the appointment of an agency expressly
for missionary purposes ; and by a diligent and zea-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 323
lous application of the gospel to the crying destitu-
tion and danger of the negligent and wicked.
5. The labours and successes of the missionary-
department of our church in foreign nations are
especially illustrative of the evangelical character
of our body.
We consider the missionary or evangelizing spirit
to be essential to fidelity to the cross of Christ, as
well as to the commission given to his apostles.
Theorists in religion, moral philosophers, the archi-
tects of external systems for the purification of soci-
ety, and the exaltation of mankind ; in a word, all
who exclude God, and calculate on the mental and
moral advancement of the human race by the deve-
lopment of innate virtue, or the impressions of con-
ventional superstition ; have, in all ages, repudiated
the doctrine of the cross, and its essential corollary,
salvation by faith, as insufficient for the evangeliza-
tion of the world.
This is not new. Hence, though the Jews had
in all ages been familiar with the doctrine of sacri-
fice, substitution, piacular offerings, and atonement
for sin by the shedding of blood ; yet, by reason of
their blindness, respecting the spirit and meaning of
these great typical provisions of their economy, the
preaching of " Christ crucified" was to them " a
stumbling block," (1 Cor. i, 23,) and they evidently
calculated on no great results. Their splendid tem-
ple service had become, in the hands of the priest-
hood, an opvs-operatum system. Every thing beyond
324 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
the external arrangement and the sacramental nature
of the ceremonial was lost sight of. The morning
and evening sacrifices, the paschal feast, the sin-
offering, the ceremony of the scape-goat, and, in fact,
the whole of the symbolical dispensation, seems to
have lost its real meaning. In the place of a true
faith in the promised and distant Saviour, whose sa-
crificial death was exhibited in all their services,
they had adopted the common opinions of mankind,
and attached the notion of some undefined and mys-
tic efiicacy to the operation of their ceremonial.
This led to the state of mind which made the preach-
ing of the cross a stumbling block to themselves, and
a jest as to any distant effects. The great master
principle of their entire economy, — that of sacrifice,
— ^when it came to be developed before their eyes in
the real atonement made by the Son of God, sup-
ported and corroborated by the most stupendous mi-
racles, was a " rock of offence, and a stone of stum-
bling," Isa. viii, 14 ; Rom. ix, 32, 33. The success
of the doctrine made no impression, and removed no
prejudice. Looking upon the prodigies of the cru-
cifixion, and the use made of it by the disciples of
our Lord, in seeking the salvation of all men, merely
through the medium of" the traditions of the fathers,"
they felt nothing but indignation and contempt. The
cause leading to the rejection of the redemption of
Christ, and " the faith which was once delivered
unto the saints," was a religious theory founded on
false principles. The doctrines of the rabbles and
the schools being sacredly maintained, and these not
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 325
falling in with the high and glorious Cluistian atone-
ment, the cross was necessarily rejected as the ground
of the salvation of the world .
" To the Greeks" this subject was " foolishness,"
1 Cor. j, 23. They judged of the question by the
rules of their philosophy. How could it be other-
wise, till they had been favoured with the opportu-
nity of knowing the divinity of the new system,
which proclaimed salvation through a crucified Re-
deemer 1 Both the schools and the temple service
of this remarkable and polished people proposed the
cure of vice, the purification of the mind, and the
elevation and happiness of the species, — so far as
they can be considered as contemplating these ob-
jects at all, — by perfectly different means. Their
philosophy was a cumbrous collection of human opi-
nion on questions of virtue, morality, civil order, and
theology ; all terminating in some self-moving power,
and the very antipodes of the Christian doctrine of
salvation by the merit of another. Their mythology
was a system of foolish superstition and idolatry ;
and although some of the sentiments of religion
might be foimd dimly imbedded, yet they were so
lost in the mighty chaos, as to be incapable of any
effect, except a pernicious one. To such a people
as this, the doctrine of the cross, and pardon and
salvation through simple faith in this glorious and
meritorious provision, would, indeed, be considered
foolishness.
Human opinion, however imbodied and however
exhibited, is generally found to be uniform in its
326 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN',
errors. Hence, in modern as in ancient times, the
mere doctrine of atonement is deemed a very inade-
quate and insufficient instrument in seeking the con-
version of mankind. The utilitarian, like the Jew
and the Greek, considers it the height of delirium
to adventure with the cross only, as the means of
renovating the world. Judging of the question, not
as a divine arrangement, but as the means of proba-
ble utility, he can only think of exertions to enlighten,
save, renovate, exalt, and bring to the joys of reli-
gion, — and, as the combined effect of the whole, to
civil order and happiness, — by the atonement, as the
very quintessence of folly. But, while he doubts
and disbelieves, the experiment is going on as in an-
cient times ; and great multitudes, left, by the insuf-
ficiency of natural religion, in idolatry, and in all the
cruelties of savage life, are, by the simple instrumen-
tality of the cross, pardoned, sanctified, added to the
church, and exhibit all the beauties of holiness in
their life and manners.
The rationalist divine, too, imagines it to be in-
consistent with the claims of scholarship, an ad-
vanced state of the science of theology, — ever pro-
gressing, — the improvements in the philosophy of
mind and morals, and with the present refinements
going on in every branch of knowledge — to be con-
stantly recurring to the mere elements of truth, and
to preach nothing but a Saviour. Wherever this
opinion obtains, and is acted upon, the issue is seen.
The much-dreaded enthusiasm of piety, it is true,
is gone ; and, alas ! much besides. Deadly errors
ECONOMY, AXD PRESKXT POSITION. 327
and heresies follow ; lor the Christian arch cannot
stand, if the centre stone be removed. To think of
maintaining the morals, holiness, life, and vigour of
Christianity, without prominently exhibiting the
atonement, is the height of absurdity. The moment
the Saviour is driven from any portion of his church,
by the adoption of a rationalizing or a superstitious
system, then the old serpent nestles in the deserted
place, lilce the owls, bats, and satyrs in fallen Baby-
lon, breeding sophisms, and putting them forth as
the verities of God. In the mean time it is aban-
doned, except by the few or the many, who, having
apostatized from the truth, from mere habit feel it
essential to attend some form of worship. It seems
to be one of the instincts of conamon sense, however,
that men need not be at the trouble of organizing
themselves into a compact body, — unless they have
some other design, — and of meeting together, for
the mere purpose of" denying the Lord that bought
them," 2 Pet. ii, I. Such churches, — if in compli-
ment we are so to call them, — with a beautiful appa-
ratus of religion, and discourses delivered from the
pulpit thin a-s mid air, with here and there a paltry
touch of fancy, imagination, and oratory, without one
word of substance respecting the work of God ; — we
say such churches, though possibly attractive for a
time, soon become deserted. "I am the life," said
our Saviour, John xiv, 6 ; and the evidence of this
is seen in th^ fact, that wherever he is absent in his
atonement and grace, there death reigns in unbroken
silence, desolation, and ruin. No matter what the
328 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
motive or the design may be, if Christ in his cross
be hidden from the sight of a sinful world, whether
by the verbiage of learning, the incrustations of a
worldly philosophy, or the trappings and drapery of
Popish superstition, the issue is the same. The
most plausible abrogation of God's appointed order
of salvation cannot avail. The symbols of our Lord's
death, exhibited in the sacrament, can be no substi-
tute for the reality. Hence, from all this it is mani-
fest, that evangelical labours, founded on the suffi-
ciency of the cross, are necessary as an evidence of
fidelity to the dying Saviour, as well as to prevent a
paralyzing reaction in the church itself.
The Missionary Society among us is not extrane-
ous and exotic, a private adventure, an eccentric and
unauthorized spiritual speculation. It gives expres-
sion to the voice of the church, and by delegation is
the church ; it proclaims the recognised doctrines
of the body, and by its authority and appointment
finds a channel for the charity, zeal, talent, piety,
and love of the entire community ; and it may be
considered as the great artery by which its vitality
is made to circulate to the ends of the earth. These
remarks are intended, to show that our system is, in
itself, essentially and eminently evangelizing.
It is impossible, on this occasion, to go fully into
this subject. All we can adventure upon is, a few
brief remarks in connection with our general design.
It is not an unfair inference to affirm^ that a peo-
ple, who are acting on the commission of Christ,
other things agreeing, — that is, that they preach his
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 329
doctrines, and endeavour to secure the ends pro-
posed, in the salvation of mankind, — have received
such commission from him, and are both carrying
out the purposes of the cross of Christ, and walking
in the footsteps of his apostles. What we claim for
ourselves, we are quite willing to concede to others ;
and should deem it not only bigoted, but directly sin-
ful, not to see the hand of God, and the blessings of
his grace, in the successes of the different churches
of this country and America. And, in our humble
judgment, the Church of England never presented
claims so valid to something more than a national
church establishment, as in the late consecration of
five bishops in Westminster Abbey to distant dio-
cesses abroad. This is apostolic ; for it is acting
practically on the command of our Lord given to
those favoured ambassadors of his truth. But then
other churches do the same thing, — on the rule of
their o\\'n economy, — and are consequently entitled
to similar commendation.
This being conceded, it may be remarked, as a
proof of the strength of the missionary feeling among
ourselves, and of the divine blessing on the recogni-
tion of the obligation, that from small beginnings it
has greatly deepened, and become universal. The
duty of attempting the conversion and seeking the
salvation of the whole world, is now, among our
people, an article of faith, and a branch of personal
piety and Christian love. We have something in
this which has the appearance of a divine impres-
sion ; or, rather, a religious principle wrought in the
330 MKTHODISM IN ITS ORIGm.
heart by the Holy Spirit. Attempts to account for
it on other grounds may be made, and, imdoubtedly,
the pure gold will have much of dross intermixed
with it ; but when the selfishness of the human cha-
racter is considered, it will be difficult to find any
cause but religion adequate to produce this free,
spontaneous, and perennial outpouring of charity ;
and then, again, this charity is divine, and becomes
the formal instrument which God modifies, fashions,
directs, and blesses, in the accomplishment of his
counsels and will.
But the accumidalion of strength and means for
this holy enterprise indicates the same truth, name-
ly, the existence of a common principle, on a large
scale, and of the divine Spirit operaiting through its
instrumentality. This is a remarkable circumstance
in our case. Wherever we behold a forest growing
from tender saplings (which might be trodden down
by the foot of man) into stately, spreading, and lux-
uriant trees, we are sure the spirit of vitality is there
at work. We may exercise equal feelings of as-
surance in the case under consideration. A cause
which, in its real bearings on the character of the
church and the destinies of the world, was properly
studied and understood by few among us a short time
ago, and which has drawn to itself, in a few years,
the profoundest wisdom, the highest talents, the most
glowing eloquence and sanctified feeling, must be
considered as possessing high claims. A work
which engaged the prayers and affections of only a
small remnant of the people, which in less than one
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 331
geneiation attracted the consideration, conciliated
the esteem, enlisted the supplications, and bound to
itself the consciences, of tens of thousands of en-
lightened Christians, cannot but possess the vitality
of truth and religion. And, besides, a channel of
evangelical usefulness, which has swelled its charity
from two or thi'ee thousand pounds a year to one
hundred thousand, in little more than a quarter of a
century, must have elicited the deepest sympathies
of the people of God ; and especially so, when it is
recollected, that the means of the contributors of
this sum are generally limited. All this, we say
again, looks like the Spirit of God moving on the
discordant elements of man's opinions, tastes, affec-
tions, and even contracted selfishness, to bring into
concord and harmony a great power for the accom-
plishment of his work.
But more : the preparation and call of men duly
qualified for the actual discharge of the office of
evangelists in the missionary field, seem to indicate
the powerful and specific operation of the Holy Spi-
rit for this purpose. This sphere of ministerial la-
bour is more difficult and hazardous, and demands
higher qualifications, than any other ; and yet suita-
ble men have been given to the church. The prin-
ciple of adaptation has been remarkable in the history
of this work. Ministerial agents have appeared, as
if formed for particular places and specific duties.
This remark is applicable to the lower as well as to
the higher departments of missionary work. With-
out experience, it is impossible to conceive the nature
332 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
of the labour required from the missionary to savage
nations. If theoretic divines and philosophers united
to select men for such an employment, they would
certainly commit great blunders. By a concurrence
of remarkable circumstances, the young evangelists
who have occupied these rough and difficidt spheres
of labour have usually been perfectly fitted for the
task. After surmounting the first perplexing labours
of providing habitations for themselves, chapels and
school-houses for the natives, and of teaching the
elementary arts of life ; many of these devoted men
have acquired the native languages, have attained a
perfect acquaintance with the manners, habits, and
peculiar features of the character of the people, and
have become, consequently, prepared to exercise a
wise and pastoral supervision. Their discriminating
wisdom, their several gifts, their patient fortitude,
their laborious zeal, their endurance of suffering,
unitedly, present a picture of religious elevation
which bears the marks of a divine designation.
What but the power of divine grace can qualify men
for such duties ] and what but the same grace can
preserve them in a position in which every religious
principle and feeling must be stretched to the utmost
tension by the discouragements and temptations of
their lot ?
But the highest proof of the fact which our argu-
ment assumes, namely, that we have, as a churchy
been called, in our degree, to receive the commis-
sion of our Lord, and are acting upon it, must be
sought in our successes.
ECONCraiY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 333
It may, indeed, be objected, that success is no
proof of the truth of such a claim. We think it is,
supposing the work in question to be really Chris-
tian. To the argument, that " Popery and Moham-
medanism were triumphant," and that " therefore if
mere success be proof of the divinity of a religious
work wrought, the advocates of these systems ought
to have the benefit of it ;" we answer, No : this only
proves that evil agencies may be successful as well
as good ones. But then to do evil of any kind re-
quires no miracle, no divine interposition. This in
any shape, and on any scale, may be achieved, be-
cause in accordance with the fallen state of man.
On the other hand, the conversion of men from sin
to holiness is both above, and in opposition to, the
powers and feelings of nature, and requires the influ-
ence of the Spirit, and the blessing and power of
almighty God. It may be argued, that he enables
many private Christians to conmiunicate saving
knowledge to those with whom they hold inter-
course, but that this irregular and casual usefulness
is no proof of a commission from Christ. It is, how-
ever, evidence that God is with them, to bless the
exertions of his servants in the duty of private ad-
monition ; and if the same blessing is seen to attend
the labours of a conununity, it shows the same thing,
namely, that he is with the church, to enable it to
fulfil its function.
On the question of this success itself, we may here
remark, that it includes every fruit of piety which is
taken as proof of real Christianity ; and, in most of
334 METIIODISII Ii\ ITS ORIGIN',
the cases, the contrast is so decided, that the evi-
dence is the more striking. We have now in these
distant stations nearly one hundred thousand persons
in church fellowship. These have been brought
into the fold of Christ from among the most desti-
tute, degraded, and savage races of mankind. But
where is the proof of their being genuine Christians 1
It is varied, it is complete.
With respect to the visible change, that is obvious
to all. We see them submitting to baptism, attend-
ing public worship, celebrating the Lord's supper,
and holding communion with each other, like Chris-
tian men in other parts of the world. We behold
them renouncing polygamy, concubinage, infanticide,
and all the revolting abominations of a promiscuous
intercourse ; and then adopting the habits and vir-
tues of domestic life, as taught by Christianity ; while
all its sweets and cares are sanctified by ihe word
of God and prayer. We witness a process of edu-
cation going on, where wild and ignorant barbarity
reigned before ; and in these seminaries of incipient
light and wisdom, young and old are learning the
lessons of Holy Scripture and of general truth. We
are cheered to see the rules of Christian morality,
and the observation of Christian institutions, regard-
ed ; such as the sacredness of the sabbath, the obli-
gations of justice, truth, temperance, charity, purity;
and everywhere, with the abandonment of idolatry
and its associated evils, the incipient growth of all
the beauties and excellences of civilization.
But all this, it mav be said, is external. Yes;
ECONOIIY, AND PRESKNT POSITION'. 335
but it is such fruit as shows that there is an internal
power of the Spirit of God and true religion at work.
These people are never admitted, or desire to be
admitted, into the visible church by baptism without
" repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord
Jesus Christ," Acts xx, 21. The usual signs of
this grace invariably appear. Sorrow, contrition,
brokenness of heart, an abandonment of sin ; — the
use of the means of grace, and fervent prayer, are
the marks of repentance they show, accompanied
often by the most heart-touching declarations of self-
loathing, as well as of gratitude to God. Have we
any better testimony than this of genuine penitence
anywhere and in any church ] Their faith in Christ
is associated with the assurance of pardon, peace
with God, a new creation, the spiritual life, and di-
vine love. Can more Scriptural evidence be given
of the grace of God by any other people 1 But this
love to God is evinced by keeping his command-
ments, doing his will, and living in habits of the
strictest morality. This, in the circumstances, is
decisive of the question ; and better proof cannot be
furnished. All this is attended by the usual deve-
lopment of spiritual gifts, which qualify great num-
bers to be useful instructors, in various ways, of their
own countrymen.
Then we ask, How can the distinctions and
honours of Christianity be withheld from those who
sustain its character and obey all its requisitions ■?
How shall the title of " churches of Christ" be de-
nied to these first-fruits of many Gentile regions, if
336 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
ihey live in communion, partake of the Lord's sup-
per, edify each other, glorify God by " psalms, and
hymns, and spiritual songs," (Col. iii, 16,) delight in
the word preached, and manifest holiness of deport-
ment ^
These societies are now found existing on an ex-
tended scale. They are the distant fruits of the
evangelical labours of the church at home, and show
that God has blessed its exertions. The best evi-
dence of the hearty adoption of a gi-eat principle, and
of its permanent influence, in either a Christian body
or in civil societ)'^, is its practical and constant de-
velopment. We say, that the church of Christ
must be evangelizing, to be tnie to his commission
and call ; that this is an essential characteristic ;
and we have been attempting to prove that our
branch of the church embraces this obligation, and
acts on this principle. This is our evidence — these
are our facts.
III. The exhortation of the apostle is applicable at
this point: ^^ Let us walk hy the same rule, let us
mind the same thing."
The past history of our movements may suggest
many useful lessons, in reference to the present and
the future. This must be attempted in the least
possible space.
1. Our case shows that our ancestors never de-
spised little things, and yet aimed at great ones.
"Let us walk by this rule."
Had the small besinninors of the work of God
ECON'OMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 337
been despised, or neglected, the great would never
have existed. The men constituting the imcleu^ of
the largest societies were, in the commencement of
our system, generally ef the poorest class, few in
number, and nearly destitute of all worldly acquire-
ments. The preaching and other services were
usually held in private houses, when the weather
would not admit of outdoor operations. The tempo-
ral contributions of some of the most wealthy and
prosperous places, within the memory of living wit-
nesses, were of the most insignificant description.
The commencement of the greatest achievements,
such as in Cornwall, America, the West Indies, and
many otl^er places, was limited to the feeblest form
of life. Now, had the " day of small and feeble
things been despised"" or disregarded, the " lamp"
W'Ould have been extinguished, and the " bruised
reed would have been broken.'* But no individual
believer was ever thought lightly of, but encouraged,
strengthened, and countenanced ; no societ)^, how-
ever low in circumstances or numbers, or distant
and isolated, was neglected ; no opportunity of use-
fulness, though in the most rude, mean, and scatter-
ed portions of the population, was ever lost sight of
from inattention ; and, above all, no indication of the
divine blessing in the awakening of the souls of men
was ever allowed to subside without diligent nurture
and pastoral care.
But, although attention was given to little things,
great ones were ever before the minds of our vene-
rable fathers. Thev judged of the cause in which
98
338 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
they had embarked, not by appearances, possessions,
power, and instruments, but by the Scriptures. They
knew that it was of God. They read its destiny in
the predictions and promises of the gospel, the pro-
visions of grace in Christ, the power of the Holy
Spirit, and in its essential divinity. Their faith,
feelings, and exertions took this mould. They did
not cease to cherish the highest aspirations, and fix
their attention on the greatest successes, because
they attended to the lesser means then in their
power.
In cases of individual capacity, perseverance, and
industrj', nothing is more pleasing than to behold
the great and majestic mind working its way upward
from poverty, inadequate means of improvement, the
neglect of the obtuse, and the jealousies of the dis-
cerning, — into an open field, an expanded area, an
elevated position, and finally, into the confidence
which influence and rank confer. In this case, the
individual himself may see his way from below even
to the summit, while the several steps taken to reach
it are regarded by the bystanders as, in themselves,
but the mean and cramped movements of a common
person. In somewhat the same way we may be-
lieve that many minds in our body, by the light of
religion itself, saw the distant point of elevation
before them which has been since attained, though
with singular industry and self-denial they continued
to work on the level of existing things, seizing every
opportunity and improving every incident to advance
the work of God.
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 339
" Let us walk by this rule, let us mind tliis thing."
We never ought to lose sight of the highest and most
expanded conceptions of the truth ; the greatest and
most elevated faith, respecting the capacity of our
system of religion to benefit mankind ; the possi-
bility of our cause rising to infinitely greater glory,
efficiency, and usefulness in the world ; and of the
absolute certaintj' of Christianity becoming univer-
sal. These are thoughts which ought to be con-
stantly cherished, and our prayers, charities, and
labours prosecuted on this scale. But, on the other
hand, let us not neglect the lesser objects of atten-
tion and duty. Young, poor, and obscure disciples
may, as in former times, grow into great, influential, .
and able supporters of the church. Unimportant
places may, by attention, care, and persevering cul-
ture, rise into great churches ; and, like the fountain
in the wilderness, pour fourth their streams on the
surrounding sterility. The lesser societies, and
what are deemed the insignificant interests, of our
body, require most attention. That which is capa-
ble of growth and expansion is not the ripe and ma-
ture, but the incipient, forms of life. So it is in this
work. All that can be done in the case of full con-
gregations, is to keep them so ; while the strength
exerted in meaner ones, or in places which scarcely
have any at all, is that which must yield the greatest
fruit. We are in danger of overlooking the details
of good in the impression of a general object ; we
neglect the little by the presence of an ideal notion
of the great.
340 MKTHODISM IN" ITS ORIGIX,
2. We find that our fathers, in this work, adhered
firmly to principle, but held themselves free in detail.
" Let us walk by the same rule."
The whole history of our church illustrates both
parts of this proposition. The great principle by
which our fathers were governed was, the para-
mount obligation to propagate the gospel. In acting
on this, our founder especially had to counterwork
all his own prepossessions, his high-Church notions,
his old attachments, his prospects of preferment and
honour, his literary reputation, — and expose himself
to almost universal contempt. But, through all, he
was true to the master-feeling of obligation. No-
thing could bias his mind, or turn him out of his
course. During the long period of his public life,
we behold him adhering to the same great duty, and
doing, to the utmost of his ability, the same thing.
His sons in the gospel partook of this feeling, and
acted on the same principle. They were not only
men of one book, but they were eminently men of
one business, from which they never deviated.
But while they were firm to the truth of God, and
the primary design of its revelations, they felt them-
selves free in non-essential things, and in the man-
ner of accomplishing their great work. They took
care not to bind themselves in fetters when their
divine Master had made them free. By this rule
they were able to hold the doctrines of the gospel
without embarrassment, and carry them out to an
illimitable extent, where, in other circumstances,
they would havo been restricted. Like the first
ECONOMY, AND PRKSENT POSITION. 341
evangelists, to them it was a subject of iiidifTerence
whether the truth was proclaimed on the mountain-
top, at the sea-side, in the school of Tyrannus, the
synagogue of the Jews, or in private houses. The
great question was, the salvation taught, and the
effects produced ; and not the place where, or the
manner how, it should be published. By thus dis-
tinguishing that which is of perpetual obligation
from that which is accidental, they were inflexible
in purpose, and yet free in action.
The same point must be regarded by ourselves.
We have no choice as to duty. The terms of the
gospel are fixed and settled by its divine Author.
Principle in religion is not feeling, the dictates of
the judgment, the echo of the conscience, — but firm,
unwavering steadfastness in the truth of God. The
duties of the ministry are of the same authoritative
nature. The salvation of mankind, including all the
means to be employed, is the one object to be sought.
Other things are not only indifferent, but partake of
the nature of guilt, when they are employed as the
substitutes for a legitimate end. Any thing put in
the place of the direct intention and purpose of so
preaching the gospel as to save the lost souls
of mankind, is a deviation from the obligation to
which every minister and every church is supremely
bound, by the terms of their respective relations to
Christ.
While this is the case, it does not follow that we
have no latitude and diversity of means. It may be
impossible to do the same work of God under all
342 METHODISM IN ITS (JRK;I.V,
circumstances in a similar way ; and it does not
follow, that the good is not to be sought because it
cannot be attempted on the plan of" some canonical
law. There may be the utmost order in the midst
of apparent irregularity. Nature is working out a
perfectly orderly result in the midst of peals of thun-
der, and the rocking of the tempest. It is so in the
moral movements of divine Providence, — war, pesti-
lence, famine, embarrassments, and distress. The
elements are in disorder ; but there is no eccentricity
in the wisdom, will, and equity of God. In like
manner, when the gospel is held and preached faith-
fully, constantly, and fully, though it may not " give
peace on earth, but rather divisions," yet the confu-
sion is not in the truth, but arises out of the resist-
ance to its spread. On these grounds we are not to
be intimidated by the charge of disorder. While
the word of God is truly held, that of itself will be
a rule ; and never to deviate from its truth or its
designs will secure a steady, and, so far as human
action can be so, an immutable line of operations.
3. The labourers in our vineyard did not expect
success without sacrifice. " Let us still walk by
this rule."
The sacrifices made, and the privations endured,
to bring our cause into its present state, were of the
most extraordinary kind. In the home work, for
many years, every man who entered into our minis-
try did it in the prospect of incessant toil, the priva-
tion of almost every earthly comfort, casual means
of subsistence for himself and family, the endurance
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 343
of great physical suffering ; mortifications from con-
tempt, derision, and mockery ; often positive perse-
cution from mobs, instigated by persons in elevated
life ; and the loss of all the hopes and prospects of
advancement in social rank, and the acquisition of
propertj'. Great numbers have found a premature
grave in the midst of their anxieties and labours,
" not counting their lives dear to themselves, so that
they might finish their course wdth joy, and the
ministry which they had received of the Lord Jesus,
to testify the gospel of the grace of God," Acts xx,
24. Those who have been called to foreign duty
have suffered in other modes, as well as in those
mentioned, and have fallen in greater numbers. A
residence among pagan and uncivilized people, insa-
lubrious climates, the absence of all the arts of social
life, and the ten thousand mental anxieties and mise-
ries attendant on the introduction of the gospel into
untried scenes among hostile tribes, capricious and
fickle nomade nations, inconstant and childish hea-
thens ; — these and similar trials have attended every
step of this work. Many have been sacrificed in
the conflict ; and their bones lie in distant climes,
the first-fruits unto Christ, in a soil to be tenanted
in future ages by millions of those who vvdll " sleep
in the Lord," and at the last day rise to " glory,
honour, immortality, and eternal life," through the
labours and sufferings of these men of God, followed
by others in a similar career of shame and glory.
" None of these things moved them." They press-
ed to the post of duty, though they might certainly
344 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIX,
foresee that it would be the scene of trial, if not the
bed of death. Our happy religious circumstances
are not merely the fruit of great ministerial wisdom,
fidelity, and labour, but of untold and unthought-of
suffering. So far as man is concerned in our church
privileges, they may be said to originate in tears,
prayers, labours, difficulties, and death. In our day,
we have but a poor and inadequate conception of tho
external miseries endured by those into whose " la-
bours we have entered." But they " fainted not."
Receiving their commission from God, — and know-
ing that it was from him, — they felt like the apostle
when he exclaimed, '"Wo is unto me, if I preach
not the gospel !" 1 Cor. ix, 16. The promise of
freedom from suffering was not found in their com-
mission, and they did not dare to " flee from the
face of the Lord" when they met with difficulties in
their course.
It is certain that now, and in future times, those
who are found faithful to their calling must meet
with trials, if not of a similar nature, yet of some
kind or other. It is true as a fact, however it may
be accounted for, that a great work of God never
took place in the world, without the instruments
and witnesses being called to bear the cross, and
often to endure martyrdom. It should seem as if
true religion and easy worldly circumstances could
scarcely coexist hi the present state of fallen human
nature. We have, where it is painful to witness
them, faint whispers, — half-suppressed and half-
expressed sentiments, feelings, and longings, after a
ECONOMV. AND PIIDSENT POSITION. 345
power and doiiiinalion over conscience, which, if con-
ceded and carried out, must lead to the exercise of
some form of coercion against schismatics, heretics,
and separatists. The progress of human opinion,
and the events of the world, present singular pheno-
mena to the mind of the thoughtful. The existence
of extreme views often leads to the conclusion, that
the extreme opposite cannot possibly take place. We
instance in the case of religious liberty. Because
freedom, even to license, has long predominated in
this country, it is generally thought, that any thing
like mental, social, and especially religious, thraldom
is utterly out of the question ;' and that sentiments
leading to this cannot be entertained by the free and
enlightened generation of which we form a part.
Now, strange as it* may seem, just the opposite is
the rational deduction. This is the very point of
danger — this the period which good and moderate
men should watch. When the extreme in any par-
ticular direction is reached, as the human mind can-
not remain quiescent, or society stationary, there
must be a rebound or a divergence. We are in this
transit-state at present ; and it is very ominous, that
an audience — and a willing and multitudinous audi-
ence — is given to opinions which, a few years ago,
we should have thought it impossible for English-
men to write, or, if they had the audacity, it would
be hopeless to attempt to find any to read.
But the principle is illustrated by the liistoiy of
the world ; and we only allude to one period, — that
of the protectorate, followed bv the reign of Charles,
346 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
— the one an epoch of liberty up to the point of
murderous madness, and the other immediately fol-
lowintT distinguished by an attempt to re-establish
the dominion of the "man of sin. '^
Notwithstanding these tendencies, we trust the
good providence of God will avert from our country
the catastrophe of persecution. But even if this
privilege should be granted, difficulties and suffer-
ings of other kinds must be expected. An arduous
contest of principles — the evils of division — the
alienation and loss of friends from the side of evan-
gelical religion — the occasional failure of resources
— the decay of som6 portions of the visible church
of Christ — are evils which must perplex, grieve, and
try the faith of those who are alive to the extension
of the kingdom of God. Besides, in distant coun-
tries, the habits of the people, the predominance of
superstition, and insalubrious climates, present gigan-
tic difficulties. Faith, patience, fortitude, moral
courage, love to God and the human race, and life
itself, must be severely taxed, before the world can
be brought into the fold of Christ. Great judgment,
great virtues, and great sacrifices, can alone conduct
our evangelical efforts to an issue corresponding
with the principles we hold, the successes of past
time, and the position we now occupy. The religion
of Jesus Christ has never been seen in prosperity
and triumph, but in association with the suffering
labours of its confessors, or the martyrdom of its
saints. A different state cannot await the spiritual
church in future, while the world remains the same ;
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 347
and if we calculate on great results, we must make
up our minds to expect great trials.
4. Our ancestors acted on the conviction, that the
obligations of the church are not dependant on cir-
cumstances. " Let us walk by this rule, let us mind
this thing."
Had they adopted the contrary principle, they
must have been prevented from taking a single step
in extending the gospel. The labyrinth of difficul-
ties in which they found themselves was of the most
discouraging nature ; they were not merely of a ne-
gative quality ; as the want of encouragement, pow-
er, property, colleges, church organization, rules of
action, and promising fields of inviting enterprise —
all of which are considered important, and, in most
religious bodies, essential. An ecclesiastical basis
is generally felt to be necessary to any powerful ex-
ternal movement ; and to advance into untried scenes
of evangelical labour, without being sustained by
this corps de reserve of funds, friends, and means,
is esteemed an evidence of enthusiasm. These ad-
vantages were all absent in the first efforts of our
body. But, more than this : positive barriers of
every sort seemed to block up their prospect of suc-
cess. The religious world frowned, took up the wea-
pons of controversy, assailed the feeble, but noble,
phalanx of evangelical soldiers, and as far as the
spirit of the times would allow, the ecclesiastical
authorities, in many instances, resorted to direct
persecution, and treated the disciples of the " new
doctrine," as it was stigmatized, as fanatical and
348 MKTHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
deluded persons. Bui in the world without — if a
contradiction may be allowed, for the church and
the world were much the same — other difRculties
presented themselves. Almost universal ignorance
of the truth of God prevailed. This was attended
by indifference, irreligion, profligate habits, and all
exasperated by a wide-spread skepticism.
Now it is evident, that in this state of things a
conviction of duty could alone operate to induce the
first promoters of this work of God to undertake
their noble task, and their immediate successors to
sustain it. There was a period when all which we
now see, as fruit and success, only existed as a ger-
minant principle, a great truth, an imperative obli-
gation. These were piously cherished in a few-
faithful and glowing hearts. Without troubling
themselves with calculations as to impediments, or
indulging in morbid feelings respecting consequences,
they seem to have acted on one simple rule, — the
discharge of present duty. They knew their com-
mission obliged them to this course ; and, as is al-
ways the case, the profitable improvement of one
opportunity made way for others ; the diligent occu-
pancy of a limited sphere invariably enlarged it, or
prepared for a new one ; and the seed of the gospel
sown in one place, by its growth and fruitfulness,
created means for the cultivation of other territory.
In all this they took not their measure of proceed-
ing from any thing without. They regarded, in the
first degree, the truth of God committed to them in
their call to the ministry ; and in the second, their
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 349
feeling and sense of obligation. These motives
unitedly constituted the exciting cause, the sustaining
power, and the stimulus of all their labours. The
energetic piety within moved them forward, and not
the attractiveness of the scenery in the world around.
It is a noble spectacle to behold great and grand en-
terprises undertaken, difficulties overcome, conquests
won, and important results wrought, from the mere
force of indomitable principle ; or rather, as in this
case, from the elevating influence of piety, and the
rich anointing of the Holy One. This has been re-
markably illustrated in our history. In the isolation
of their faith and piety, in the solitude of their early
pilgrimage, in the absence of all sympathy in their
objects, and in their destitution of all earthly means
and help — what could sustain thes§ wonderful men
in their toils and hopes, but an inward and undying
conviction of duty ?
We are, in some departments of our work, placed
in different circumstances, and in aU we are cheered
by, at least, distant prosperity. Yet it is an unsafe
and fallacious rule, to take the external state of the
cause of God, however encouraging, as the standard
or the motive of duty. Wc must rather draw our
obligation of exertion from the word of God ; and,
if we do so, wc can never stop till we have carried
the gospel to the ends of the earth. But even in
seasons of hopeful prosperity there must arise fitful
periods of trial, when the church can have no guide
but the Bible, and no power of support but naked
principle, sustained by Him who is "mighty to save."
350 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
It would be extremely difficult to discover any other
means of safety and adequate encouragement, even
at the present moment. How Christianity, — we
do not say any particular church, but Christianity,
— as a dispensation of religion on earth, is to be
extricated from its present labyrinth of perplexing
controversy ; and by what means it is to emerge into
light, unity, peace, and consequent power ; it is diffi-
cult to divine. And where, in the midst of the in-
finite chaos of doctrinal sentiment which is now
afloat, any good man can discover a place of rest,
but in the word of God, it is equally impossible to
imagine. Here alone we may calmly repose ; and
it should seem as if our divine Lord, in the order of
his inscrutable providence, and by the permission of
recent events, c^signed to drive the believing and
spiritual church from all external confidence "to an
entire reliance on his word alone. This is sufficient ;
and in all possible events will never fail, in the case
of those churches which fully and piously adhere to
its truths, to furnish every requisite guidance and
support. " Wisdom," drawn from the sacred ora-
cles, can never be erratic, but be " first pure, then
peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated," James
iii, 17. Principle resting on an enlarged and com-
prehensive view of the offices, mediatorial power,
and rectoral glories of Christ — together with the
plain precepts of the word of God, can never be
feeble and ineffective. Motive to duty, diligence,
and labour, drawn from the encouragements and
promises of this sacred storehouse, will always exist
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 351
in force and energy. Viewing all things in the
light of Holy Scripture and the great destinies of
the human race, we shall move on to fulfil our ap-
pointed portion of labour with willing zeal. Our
own personal and collective responsibility, consider-
ed under the impressive lessons which represent
life as short, probationary, accountable — and yet as
big with mighty influence on the religious and im-
mortal state of others — will lead us to " work while
it is day." The weal or wo of the generation
around us, when contemplated in unison with the
doctrines of the gospel, respecting their guilt, dan-
ger, but possible recovery and salvation, must stimu-
late to exertion. The advancing age and high
destinies of the world ; the certainty of great inte-
rests being connected with the movements of the
church, be they of what kind they may ; the plain,
clear, and full exhibition of the riches of divine
grace in the spiritual recovery of the human race ;
the death, claims, glories, and promised dominion
of Christ ; the consunamation of all the diflerent
parts of the Christian salvation in another bright and
glorious dispensation ; are among the permanent
lights of the word of God, to guide us in days of
darkness, to encourage us in seasons of trial, to
stimulate us when tempted to inaction, and to furnish
us with motives for laborious sacrifices, when all
around is confusion and evil.
Let us, then, in imitation of those who have gone
before us in this work, draw all our principles of ac-
tion from a pure, a divine, a never-deviating source,
352 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
however changeful the circumstances without may
appear. Come peace or come war, the truth of God
will sustain us, if we have the grace to renounce the
" horsemen of Egypt," and grasp this shield alone.
5. Our fathers acted on the conviction, that the
expenditure of power was its grovnh. " Let us walk
by the same rule."
This has been remarkably illustrated in our his-
tory. When they were intrusted with but little
strength, they used that little ; though they pos-
sessed but feeble resources, they applied them with
vigour ; and being but few in number, they unitedly
devoted all their powers to the service of God.
These were rules in constant operation. Individuals
converted to God were all expected t,o take their
share of duty. No drones were tolerated — no tri-
flers encouraged in their day-dreams of self-indulg-
ence — and no one was su^jposed to be exempt from
the cross. If mental strength and endowments
among some were seen to be promising and hopeful,
they were laid under instant requisition for the work
of God ; and though, at first, native power was often
undeveloped, and fine qualities of mind remained
rough, unpolished, and not very well adapted to the
service of the spiritual temple ; yet, by application,
culture, and the experience of age, innate and hidden
excellences were brought out, and the employment
of strength was its growth. The same has been the
case in the spiritual life. Young converts, on their
first acquisition of faith and grace, having been put
in possession of the rudiments of the spiritual cha-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 353
racter, have, from feeble beginnings, — ^by prayer, the
teachings of the Spirit, the discipline of the church,
and constant exercise of the grace imparted, — at-
tained great eminence in holiness, ripeness of wis-
dom, and usefulness in the house of God. The
occupation of talents, whether two or five, has inva-
riably brought an increase, and the promise has been
amply fulfilled, " Whosoever hath, to him shall be
given," Luke viii, 18.
The same principle has been seen in its applica-
tion to the collective body. Only by the use of
strength as it has been given, could the church have^
grown, in its different departments, to its present
magnitude. Indeed, in some cases, especially in
respect to the appropriation of the temporal resources
of the community, it has often been thought that the
rule has been carried too far, and that our means
have been employed to exhaustion. That temporary
difficulties have been created, may be admitted ; but
that " there is that scattereth and yet increaseth,"
has been proved by the issue. By a blessing from
God, — for we can only attribute it to this, — when the
several departments of the church have expended
their utmost strength in promoting the conversion
of men, that strength has invariably increased by the
exertion. If any instance admitted of a doubt as to
the application of this principle, it would be seen in
the expenditure of our resources on distant fields.
But how stands the fact ? Instead of the malericl of
the body being diminished by the augmentation of
the funds for foreign work, tlie increase of ministers
23
354 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
on this distant field, and the rush of a strong flood
of feeling, zeal, and energy to this particular quarter
— it hus turned out that our means have all along
multiplied with the expenditure. Greater progress
has been made, even at liome, by far, in the multi-
plication of chapels, schools, and all that goes to con-
stitute the temporal power of a church, since the
missionary department was more fully cultivated.
We must "walk" still "by this rule." If ever
the economical principle become first in order, andive
move on the scale of our actual means, as already in
existence, then we shall become stationary, and the
next move in the process will be doivmvard. If, on
the other hand, the religious principle is acknow-
ledged and acted upon, then we may fairly hope that
progress and prosperity will follow. Let the obliga-
tions and duties of religion be fully felt, in regard to
the salvation of men and the extension of the gospel,
and then economical arrangements will be elevated
to these views, feelings, and noble purposes ; but if
the actual and already-developed means are consti-
tuted the rule of operation, then we make the scale
of existing liberality and zeal the maximum of the
exertion of the church. In this case, we drag the
spiritual principle and obligation down to a level with
the economical arrangement, instead of endeavouring
to raise the economy and means to the elevation of
the religious duty. Had our fathers waited for the
settlement of a beautiful economy, in which every
possible provision should be made for the exigencies
in which their duties mifht place them, they would
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION. 355
never have moved in their work at all. They took
the opposite course. They obeyed the divine call,
and " went out, not knowing whither they went,"
(Heb. xi, 8,) trusted God, left all things in his hands,
and, planting the seeds of life in the " field, the world,"
left them to grow, and, directed by the hand of the
Husbandman, to clothe themselves in material form.
This is the safe i-ule ; and it will be difficult to
discover another. Let strength be used, and it will
be increased ; let great objects be sought for the
honour of God and the good of man, and adequate
resources will be furnished ; let the standard of holy
zeal, extended usefulness, and the conversion of
souls, be invariably kept before the attention of the
people of God, and he will give them enlargement
of heart to enter into the design ; and let the stream
of charity be kept flowing — wide, deep — and the
fountain will supply it with waters in augmented ful-
ness. All things in the church have their reaction ;
and this principle among the rest. In case the re-
sources of every kind intrusted to us are employed
faithfully, zealously, and in the spirit of unbounded
charity, the very use will multiply the means in
question ; whereas, if they are unemployed, they
will, like plelhnra in the animal economy, produce
inaction, paralysis, or death.
6. In the progress of their work, our fathers be-
lieved in a concurrent movement of Providence in
support of religion, and looked for its indications, in
their own labours and trials. " Let U8 walk by this
rule."
356 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
Nothing short of confidence in " the living God,"
acting through this providence, could have supported
these good men in their arduous enterprise. Consi-
dering themselves called hy Christ to the task of
proclaiming his gospel to the world, under most dis-
couraging aspects, they prayed for and expected the
divine protection and guidance in their career of toil
and trial. The singular equanimity displayed by our
venerable founder, in the midst of labour, incessant
travelling, fierce polemic opposition, and aspersions
on his character and motives — as well as direct per-
secutions by the mob — can only be accounted for on
the principle of trust in the guardian care of God.
His coadjutors partook of his spirit. They needed
this soothing persuasion as much, or more than their
leader. He moved rapidly from scene to scene,
partook of the excitement of the varied events through
which he passed, was greeted, hailed, and supported
by some — often influential — friends, and at the end
of his longest and most laborious peregrinations had
a retreat, — a home to which he would retire, where
he found rest, in the midst of the cheering compan-
ionship of the best of his people. It was not so with
many of his preachers. They were called to remain
at the post of duty in all circumstances. Their an-
noyances were not, generally, on so large a scale,
but they were incessant ; their labours were not so
great and responsible, but they were of that humble,
trying, and exhausting nature, which is the greatest
possible exercise of patience ; and in their move-
ECONOMY, AND PRESENT POSITION, 357
ments, instead of being cheered by witnessing exten-
sive and popular results, and being encouraged by
the countenance of powerful friends, they often deli-
vered their message, and performed their work, in
the midst of insignificant and disheartening scenes.
Thus buffeted and worn down, they needed the pro-
tection and support of a divine power, and they
sought and obtained it. In the hands of God they
placed themselves and their cause. He sustained
them in their lonely wanderings, their fiery trials,
their wants and necessities, — raised them from ob-
scurity to eminence, and gave them more than life
itself in the prosperity of their mission, and the sal-
vation of men.
But more : they evidently observed with pious
vigilance the movements of Providence in favour ot
religion. As redemption and government are in the
same Almighty hands, originate in the same God-
head, emanate from the same throne above, and con-
template the same object, though in different modes,
they will, of course, constitute a concurrent move-
ment. Hence it is eminently the duty of the spirit-
ual church to watch with enlightened attention the
overruling events of the divine administration, that
the openings for useful evangelical labours may be
entered, and the season of opportunity be eagerly
seized. We have many proofs that this duty was
diligently attended to. There appears but little of
human forethought, calculation, or forcing of cir-
cumstances in our history. Every event seems to
358 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN,
arise naturally, easily, and calmly, in the way of
facilities for usefulness. This was owing to the in-
terposing power of God.
AVe are called to imitate our predecessors in this.
" Are not thine eyes upon the truth V (Jer. v, 3,)
exclaims one of the prophets, intimating the fact by
the mode of the expression. Then, if we hold the
truth, seek its propagation, and endeavour ardently
to extend its victories, we may be assured that the
eyes of God will be upon us. Success is not to be
anticipated without difficulties, either at home or
abroad ; but if we labour under the persuasion that
we bear a divine commission, which is under the
guidance of Him who gave it ; and that he is exer-
cising, for our security, his wisdom, his care, and
his love ; we need not " fear what man can do unto
us." This may be difficult to realize ; but it is es-
sential to personal consolation, steadiness of purpose,
strength of principle, and tranquillity in trials. We
may be certain that in the general sifting, which now
seems only beginning, our own doctrines, economy,
and standing cannot escape the common ordeal. By
a mysterious power, a storm is gathering in the hea-
vens, which, in its fury, is likely to shake every ec-
clesiastical institution that is not founded on the rock
of truth. Those churches which are secure as to
doctrine and spiritual religion, may, nevertheless, be
greatly exercised in their faith. God is the safe
resting place of his people, and they are encouraged
to exercise trust in his adorable providence till the
"tyranny be overpast."
ECONOMV, AND PRESENT POSITION. 359
But a higher state than mere safety awaits the
true church of God. We are assured from his own
word that to Christ " every knee shall bow, and
every tongue shall confess that he is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father," Rom. xiv, 1 1 ; Phil, ii,
10, 11. The power of evil is not the only power in
the world ; Satanic agency is not the only agency at
work ; the spirit of antichrist is not the only spirit
now " brooding over the chaotic waters of the great
deep ;" and heretical pravity is not the only voice
which is awakening the w-orld from its slumbers.
No ; God is abroad in the accomplishment of his
counsels, and the fulfihnent of his word of truth ; in
the vindication of the injured rights of his glorious
Son, in the support of religion, and to give effect to
his own true church — in her institutions, spiritual
claims, great objects, and universal extension ; and
he is also gathering to himself forces to check, con-
trol, disappoint, and overthrow for ever, all the ene-
mies of the mellennial reign of Christ.
In this state of things, solemn and magnificent
events must take place. A marked, peculiar, and
ILLUMINATED series of providential movements, in
connection with Christianity, must arise. From our
position in the community of churches, we cannot be
exempt from gi-eat duties or great sufferings ; from
being extensively employed, if found fit for the task ;
or from suffering an awful punishment, if, in the day of
trial, we are found " vessels" unfit for our heavenly
" Master's use." The will of God is being accom-
plished ; aiwl although many " signs of the times"
360 METHODISM IN ITS ORIGIN, ETC,
are wrapped in mystery, yet one thing is plain in our
case ; and that is, the paramount obligation of preach-
ing, in every place and by all our means, the unadul-
terated doctrines of the gospel.
We conclude : The times going over us, the state
of the general church, the position of our own body,
the clashing contentions around us, the necessities of
distant countries, and the aspects of the divine ad-
ministration, demand for the guidance of our work
the highest loisdom ; and that ivisdom is found in
religion itself.
THE END.
UCSB LIBRARY
UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY
A 000 565 327 4