  * * * * * Christ-Exalting Joy To Sarah Ryan, Wesley’s housekeeper at Bristol, and to her friend, DOROTHY FURLEY: “October 1st, 1759. “DEAR sisters,—I have been putting off writing to you lest the action of writing should divert my soul from the awful and delightful worship it is engaged in But I now conclude I shall be no loser if I invite you to love Him my soul loveth; to dread Him my soul dreadeth; to adore Him my soul adoreth. “Sink with me before the throne of Grace; and, while the cherubim veil their faces, and cry out in tender fear and exquisite trembling, ‘Holy! Holy! Holy!’ let us put our mouths in the dust, and echo back the solemn sound, ‘Holy! Holy! Holy!’ Let us plunge ourselves in that ocean of purity. Let us try to fathom the depths of Divine mercy; and, convinced of the impossibility of such an attempt, let us lose ourselves in them Let us be comprehended by God, if we cannot comprehend Him Let us be supremely happy in God Let the intenseness of our happiness border upon misery, because we can make Him no return Let our head become waters, and our eyes a fountain of tears— tears of humble repentance, of solemn joy, of silent admiration, of exalted adoration, of raptured desires, of inflamed transports, of speechless awe My God and my all! Your God and your all! Our God and our all! Praise Him! With our souls blended into one by Divine love, let us with one mouth glorify the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; our Father, who is over all, through all, and in us all “I charge you before the Lord Jesus, who giveth life and more abundant life; I entreat you by all the actings of faith, the stretchings of hope, the flames of love you have ever felt, sink to greater depths of self-abasing repentance; rise to greater heights of Christ-exalting joy And let Him, who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that you can ask or think, carry on, and fulfil in you the work of faith with power; with that power whereby He subdueth all tilings unto Himself Be steadfast in hope, immovable in patience and love, always abounding in the outward and inward labour of love; and receive the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls “I am, dear sisters, your well-wisher, “John Fletcher.” * * * * * “Only a Methodist!” To Charles Wesley: “Madeley, October 12th, 1761. “My dear sir,—You have always the goodness to encourage me, and your encouragements are not unseasonable; for discouragements follow one another with very little intermission. Those which are of an inward nature are sufficiently known to you; but some others are peculiar to myself, especially those I have had for eight days past, during Madeley wake. “Seeing that I could not suppress these bacchanals, I did all in my power to moderate their madness; but my endeavours have had little or no effect You cannot well imagine how much the animosity of my parishioners is heightened, and with what boldness it discovers itself against me, because I preached against drunkenness, shows, and bull-baiting. The publicans and maltmen will not forgive me. They think that to preach against drunkenness, and to cut their purse, is the same thing. “My church begins not to be so well filled as it has been, and I account for it thus: the curiosity of some of my hearers is satisfied, and others are offended by the word; the roads are worse; and if it shall ever please the Lord to pour His Spirit upon us, the time is not yet come. The people, instead of saying, ’Let us go up to the house of the Lord,’ exclaim, ‘Why should we go and hear a Methodist?’ “I should lose all patience with my flock if I had not more reason to be satisfied with them than with myself My own barrenness furnishes me with excuses for theirs; and I wait the time when God shall give seed to the sower and increase to the seed sown In waiting that time, I learn the meaning of this prayer, ‘Thy will be done.’ “Believe me, your sincere, though unworthy friend, “J Fletcher.” * * * * * The Believer’s Song To Miss Hatton: “Madeley, January 9th, 1767. “My dear friend,—The dream of life will soon be over; the morning of eternity will soon succeed Away then with all the shadows of time! Away from them to the Eternal Substance—to Jesus, the First and the Last, by whom, and for whom, all things consist If you take Jesus to be your head, by the mystery of faith, you will be united to the resurrection and the life The bitterness of death is past, my dear friend. Only look to Jesus He died for you—died in your place—died under the frowns of Heaven, that we might die under its smiles Regard neither unbelief nor doubt Fear neither sin nor hell Choose neither life nor death All these are swallowed up in the immensity of Christ, and are triumphed over in His Cross Fight the good fight of faith Hold fast your confidence in the atoning, sanctifying blood of the Lamb of God. Confer no more with flesh and blood Go, meet the Bridegroom Behold He cometh! Trim your lamp Quit yourself like a soldier of Jesus. I entreat you, as a companion in tribulation; I charge you, as a minister, go, at every breath you draw, to Him, who says, ’Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out’; and ’He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.’ Joyfully sing the believer’s song, ’O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ!’ Let your surviving friends triumph over you, as one faithful unto death as one triumphing in death itself.” * * * * * Christ the Truth To Mr. Charles Perronet, who was suffering great affliction of body and mind: “1772, September 7th.—My very dear friend,—No cross, no crown; the heavier the cross, the brighter the crown. “Oh, for a firm and lasting faith, “Faith—I mean the evidence of things not seen—is a powerful cordial to support and exhilarate us under the heaviest pressures of pain and temptation. By faith, we live upon the invisible, eternal God; we believe that in Him we live, move, and have our being; insensibly we slide from self into God, from the visible into the invisible, from the carnal into the spiritual, from time into eternity Here our spirits are ever young; they live in and upon the very fountain of strength, sprightliness, and joy Oh! my dear friend, let us rest more upon the truth as it is in Jesus Of late, I have been brought to feed more upon Jesus as the truth I see more in Him in that character than I ever did I see Christ the truth of my life, friends, relations, sense, food, raiment, light, fire, resting-place All out of Him are but shadows All in Him are blessed sacraments; I mean visible signs of the fountain, or vehicles to convey the streams of inward grace.” * * * * * Uninterrupted Peace To Charles Wesley: “Madeley, May 11th, 1776. “My dear brother,—What are you doing in London? Are you ripening as fast for the grave as I am? How should we lay out every moment for God? For some days I have had the symptoms of an inward consumptive decay—spitting of blood, etc Thank God! I look at our last enemy with great calmness. “I still look for an outpouring of the Spirit, inwardly and outwardly Should I die before that great day I shall have the consolation to see it from afar Thank God! I enjoy uninterrupted peace in the midst of my trials, which are, sometimes, not a few Joy also I possess; but I look for joy of a superior nature I feel myself, in a good degree, dead to praise and dispraise. I hope, at least, that it is so, because I do not feel that the one lifts me up, or that the other dejects me I want to see a Pentecost Christian Church; and, if it is not to be seen at this time upon earth, I am willing to go and see that glorious wonder in Heaven How is it with you? Are you ready to seize the crown in the name of the Redeemer reigning in your heart? We run a race towards the grave. John is likely to outrun you, unless you have a swift foot. “Let us pray that God would renew our youth, as that of the eagle, that we may bear fruit in our old age I hope I shall see you before my death; if not, let us rejoice at the thought of meeting in Heaven.” * * * * * A Witness in Word and Deed To certain Methodists at Hull and York who invited him to visit the great Methodist county: “London, November 12th, 1776. “My dear brethren,—I thank you for your kind letters and invitations to visit you, and the brethren about you I have often found an attraction in Yorkshire My desire was indeed a little selfish; I wanted to improve by the conversation of my unknown brethren If God bids me be strong again, I shall be glad to try if He will be pleased to comfort us by the mutual faith both of you and me My desire is that Christ may be glorified both in my life and death If I have any desire to live at any time, it is principally to be a witness, in word and deed, of the dispensation of power from on high; and to point out that kingdom which does not consist in word, but in power, even in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of power I am writing an essay upon that important part of the Christian doctrine. “Should I be spared to visit you, the keep of a horse, and the poor rider, will be all the burden I should lay on you; and that will be more than my Heavenly Master indulged Himself in. I am just setting out for Norwich with Mr. Wesley, whose renewed strength and immense labours astonish me What a pattern for preachers! His redeeming the time is, if I mistake not, matchless. “Should I never have the pleasure of thanking you in person for your brotherly regard, I beg you will endeavour to meet me in the Kingdom of our Father, where distance of time and place is lost in the fulness of Him who is all in all. The way ye know—the penitential way of a heart-felt faith working by obedient love.” * * * * * In the Balances To Mr. Ireland: “NEWINGTON, January 29th, 1777. “Thanks be to God, and to my dear friend, for favours upon favours, for undeserved love and the most endearing tokens of it! “I have received your obliging letters, full of kind offers; and your jar, full of excellent grapes May God open to you the book of life, and seal upon your heart all the offers and promises it contains! May the treasures of Christ’s love, and all the fruits of the Spirit, be open to my dear friend, and unwearied benefactor! “Last Sunday, Providence sent me Dr. Turner, who, under God, saved my life, twenty-three years ago, in a dangerous illness; and I am inclined to try what his method will do He orders me asses’ milk, chicken, etc.; forbids me riding, and recommends the greatest quietness. He prohibits the use of Bristol water; advises some water of a purgative nature; and tries to promote expectoration by a method that so far answers, though I spit by it more blood than before. “With respect to my soul, I find it good to be in the balance—awfully weighed every day for life or death I thank God the latter has lost its sting, and endears to me the Prince of Life But oh, I want Christ, my resurrection, to be a thousand times more dear to me; and I doubt not He will be so, when I am filled with the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him Let us wait for that glory, praising God for all we have received, and trusting Him for all we have not yet received Let our faith do justice to His veracity; our hope to His goodness; and our love to all His perfections It is good to trust in the Lord; and His saints like well to hope in Him.” * * * * * Make Haste to Christ To Mr. William Wase: “Bristol, November, 1777. “My dear brother,—Go to Mrs. Cound, and tell her I charge her, in the name of God, to give up the world, to set out with all speed for Heaven, and to join the few about her who fear God If she refuses, call again; call weekly, if not daily, and warn her from me till she is ripe for glory Tell the brethren at Broseley that I did my body an injury the last time I preached to them on the Green; but, if they took the warning, I do not repine Give my love to George Crannage; tell him to make haste to Christ, and not to doze away his last days. “The physician has not yet given me up; but, I bless God, I do not wait for his farewell, to give myself up to my God and Saviour I write by stealth, as my friends here would have me forbear writing, and even talking; but I will never part with my privilege of writing and shouting, ‘Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory’ over sin, death, and the grave ‘through Jesus Christ.’ To Him be glory for ever and ever! Amen!” * * * * * Dig Hard for Hidden Treasure To the Methodists in and about Madeley: “My dear companions in tribulation,—Peace and mercy, faith, hope, and love be multiplied to you all from the Father of mercies through the Lord Jesus Christ, by the spirit of grace! I thank you for your kind remembrance of me in your prayers I am yet spared to pray for you Oh, that I had more power with God! I would bring down Heaven into all your hearts Strive together in love for the living faith, the glorious hope, the sanctifying love once delivered to the saints Look to Jesus. Move on; run yourselves in the heavenly race, and let each sweetly draw his brother along, till the whole company appears before the redeeming God in Sion. “I hope God will, in His mercy, spare me to see you in the flesh; and if I cannot labour for you, I shall gladly suffer with you. If you will put health into my flesh, joy into my heart, and life into my whole frame, be of one heart and of one soul Count nothing your own but your sin and shame; and bury that dreadful property in the grave of our Saviour Let all you are and have be His who bought you Dig hard in the Gospel mines for hidden treasure Blow hard the furnace of prayer with the bellows of faith until you are melted into love, and the dross of sin is purged out of every heart Get together into Jesus, the heavenly ark, and sweetly sail into the ocean of eternity; so shall you be true miners, furnacemen, and bargemen. Farewell, in Jesus! Tell Mrs. Counds I shall greatly rejoice if she remembers Lot’s wife.” * * * * * The Dregs of Life To Mr Ireland: “Madeley, September 13th, 1784. “My dear friend,—I keep in my sentry-box till Providence removes me. My situation is quite suited to my little strength. I may do as much or as little as I please, according to my weakness; and I have an advantage, which I can have nowhere else in such a degree—my little field of action is just at my own door, so that if I happen to overdo myself, I have but to step from my pulpit to my bed, and from my bed to my grave. If I had a body full of vigour, and a purse full of money, I should like well enough to travel about as Mr. Wesley does; but as Providence does not call me to it I readily submit The snail does best in its shell; were it to aim at galloping, like the racehorse, it would be ridiculous indeed My wife is quite of my mind with respect to the call we have to a sedentary life We are two poor invalids, who between us make half a labourer. “We shall have tea cheap and light very dear; I don’t admire the change. Twenty thousand chambers walled up, and filled with foul air, are converted into so many dungeons for the industrious artisan, who, being compelled by this murderous tax, denies himself the benefit of light and air Blessed be God! the light of Heaven and the air of the spiritual world are still free. “My dear partner sweetly helps me to drink the dregs of life, and to carry with ease the daily cross We are not long for this world—we see it, we feel it; and, by looking at death and his conqueror, we fight beforehand our last battle with that last enemy whom our dear Lord has overcome for us That we may triumph over him with an humble, Christian courage, is the prayer of my dear friend, yours, “John Fletcher.” CHAPTER XXV. |
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