Remembering John Wesley

In this tercentenary year of the birth of John Wesley a new book by Iain H. Murray, 'Wesley and Men who Followed', is to be published by the Banner of Truth Trust next month. It deals with the immense gospel work done by Wesley and some of his Methodist preachers.

John Wesley left behind him a family of churches among which his reputation was to be revered across the earth.

26 years after his death, William Carvosso spoke for thousands when he wrote of Wesley in the year 1817, 'I often think I shall praise God to all eternity for His raising him up, and sending him into Cornwall.' Ten years later as missionaries established an outpost in one of the darkest corners of the Pacific - Bay of Islands, New Zealand - affection led them to name it 'Wesleydale'. A century and a half later Wesley's 'Twelve Rules' for preachers were still being used in Papua New Guinea. Summing up a life-long study of Wesley, Frank Baker wrote in 1974: 'In all sincerity, and with all the weight I can muster, I claim that whatever his errors of memory, in judgment, in tact, throughout his long adult life until his death at the age of 87 in 1791, John Wesley consistently and courageously lived to the glory of God.'

These quotations are from Methodists but it would be a great mistake to suppose that Wesley's reputation as a Christian leader depends on that source. Charles Hodge, the Presbyterian Princetonian, placed him among the very few whom he called 'world controllers', men whose power affected not only the faith and character of their own time but coming generations. The Baptist C.H. Spurgeon said that his own ministry compared to that of Wesley was like a 'farthing candle' beside the sun. Bishop J.C. Ryle called him 'a mighty instrument in God's hand for good', and believed that the Church of England would have fared better if Wesley had become Archbishop of Canterbury.

Commitment to the Bible

In any remotely authentic account of Wesley's life one thing should stand out: the unifying principle of his commitment to the Bible. What he wrote in 1745 on Scripture as the 'sole rule' of his faith he maintained to the end. In 1768 he said: 'I am, at this day, hardly sure of anything but what I learn from the Bible.' In 1789 it was still the same: 'Keep close to the Bible', he exhorted a preacher. 'Enjoin nothing that the Bible does not clearly enjoin. Forbid nothing that it does not clearly forbid.' From Scripture he learned his own position: 'I desire to have both heaven and hell ever before my eye while I stand on this isthmus of life, between these two boundless oceans.' This led to his life-long endeavour to make Christ known as the only way to heaven. 'Wherever I see one or a thousand men running into hell, I will stop them if I can - as a minister of Christ I will beseech them in his name to turn back ... I am not satisfied God would accept my plea, "Lord, he was not of my parish".'

Endeavour maintained

Countless other names in church history have shared in this same endeavour; what stands out in Wesley is the way the endeavour was maintained and never seemed to flag. The earnestness of his early years did not become the easy-going pace of an old moderate. Let his Journal be opened at almost any point in the 50 years from the early 1740s to his death, and the life-style will be seen to be essentially the same. In a fairly typical week in his life in September 1748, we read of a Friday, in the Midlands of England, when he rode to Wednesbury and preached at about four in the afternoon. He then got back on his horse and, 'with some difficulty', reached Meriden (still in the Midlands) at about nine that night. The next day was Saturday but he needed to be back in London for the Sunday, so he was on horseback at 4.00am and rode 78 miles. This still left him well short of London, so on the Sunday he was again in the saddle at 4.00, in order to reach the Foundery - his London headquarters - 'between seven and eight' that morning. He proceeded to preach there that morning, and in the open-air at Moorfields at 5.00pm 'to a larger congregation than I have seen there for some years'.

Physical effort

This was not abnormal for him at the age of 45 years, and over 20 years later there was still little difference in his routine. In 1771 John Fletcher could report: 'He has generally blown the gospel trumpet, and rode 200 miles, before most of the professors, who despise his labours, have left their downy pillows.' When almost 73 he was capable of riding 100 miles on horseback. By that time a chaise had become his normal conveyance, but when it failed him, as it did in the north of Scotland when he was 81, he had no problem trudging 12 and a half miles through heavy rain.

Apart from the change from horse to chaise, Wesley's itinerating and preaching schedule continued. On Sunday June 18 1786, for instance, when he was 83 years of age, he preached twice in Hull and then the next day he journeyed 76 miles to Swinefleet. En route he preached two sermons, and a third in the open air at Swinefleet the same evening. Even at the age of 86 he could still say, 'I travel three or four thousand miles a year.' His final sermon in the open-air was on October 6 1790, and his last sermon - of 40,000 to 50,000 - was in a house at Leatherhead on February 23 1791, when his text was, 'Seek ye the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near.' His prayer, 'Lord, let me never live to be useless', was granted.

Wesley's societies

Through all these years the growth and spread of Wesley's societies continued. By 1790, the year before his death, there were 115 circuits and 71,568 members. Of course, for all this he had need of many 'assistants' who served in a circuit for one or two years. ' I know', he once said, 'if I were myself to preach one whole year in one place, I should preach both myself and most of my congregation to sleep.' But he had a greater reason for that arrangement. Given the paucity of gospel preachers he knew no other way to reach the multitudes. It was not settled pastors that were needed so much as itinerant evangelists. That was the gift that he looked for in his assistants, and in numbers of them he found it. On one occasion, when John Nelson was brought before an officer and asked to state the offence for which he had been imprisoned, he replied: 'For warning people to flee from the wrath to come, and if this be a crime I shall commit it again, unless you cut my tongue out; for it is better to die than disobey God.' Thomas Walsh was another such man. In 1755, when Wesley was in touch with him about his next circuit appointment, Walsh replied: 'You desire that I would go into the north; but you may judge how unfit I am for either at present. Dear Sir, I find, as it were, an infinite desire to preach the gospel, and, if I could, to set the nation on fire. But the providence of God keeps me weak, and often visits me with afflictions of body. I do not murmur, neither do I count my life dear unto myself; but I find need of patience, because I have not more health and strength to preach the gospel, which I love more than my necessary food.'

First helpers

Wesley once described his first helpers as 'poor, ignorant men, without experience, learning, or art; but simple of heart, devoted to God, full of faith and zeal, seeking no honour, no profit, no pleasure, no ease, but merely to save souls; fearing neither want, pain, persecution, nor whatever man could do unto them.'

They were not always 'ignorant' - Walsh could use both Hebrew and Greek - but judging by university standards many of them undoubtedly were poorly educated and had often to face derision. That was no great affliction for men who might have to live on £12 a year, to face hostile mobs, and preach outdoors in all weather. Certainly in calibre and quality they were varied. The best of them, however, would have been outstanding in any company, and they exemplified what Wesley regarded as a true calling: 'Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen, such alone will shake the gates of hell, and set up the kingdom of heaven upon earth.' Irregular Wesley's assistants may have been, but they exemplified the Puritan saying, 'They are the best ministers, that carry people unto heaven.'

For those readers who are interested in knowing more about John Wesley, a conference is being held April 25-26 at the Congregational Church in Keswick, looking at the lessons that can be learned from the Wesleyan Methodists. It will be addressed by Alun McNabb (Dudley), Iain Murray (Edinburgh), and Eric Aldritt (Keswick). Telephone 017687 78311 for further details.

Some thoughts about the great evangelist

Commitment to the Bible

Endeavour maintained

Physical effort

Wesley's societies

First helpers

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