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Mr. Wesley, as an author, has been blamed for his numerous extracts from the writings of others. The fact is true; but the blame supposed, does not, I apprehend, attach to it. He supposed that the works from which he made extracts were the property of the public; and that the extracts he made might be useful to the Methodists, who probably would never see the originals. And further, he did not make his extracts in any clandestine way, or for the sake of lucre. All the profits of his books, only passed through his hands to the relief of the poor.

Mr. Wesley's works were printed together in 1774, in thirtytwo volumes, in London (not including the Philosophy, or Notes on the Old and New Testament) but very incorrectly. Hewas a laborious and useful writer; and his name will descend to posterity, with no small share of respectablity and applause. I shall conclude this section in the words of a writer of his life; "If usefulness be excellence; if public good is the chief object of attention in public characters; and if the greatest benefactors to mankind are most estimable, Mr. John Wesley will long be remembered as one of the best of men, as he was for more than fifty years, the most diligent and indefatigable."

SECTION

• During Mr. Wesley's life-time, and till 1801, the English Con ference assisted the Methodist connexion in Ireland, in allowing yearly, a sum sufficient to defray the expences unavoidably incurred, by sending the Gospel into many parts of this island, where, from the poverty of its inhabitants, pecuniary aid could not be procured. The Works of Messrs. Wesley, Fletcher, and all other Books printed at the Conference Office, London, were regularly forwarded to Ireland for sale; from the produce thereof, the exigencies of each circuit were An alteration has since that period taken place; and by means of a subscription, made throughout the Methodists in Ireland, a Bookroom has been established in Dublin, on a respectable footing, which now furnishes a considerable supply of all such Books as are in general use among this people.

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It is with pleasure perceived, that great improvements have evidently been made, in the arranging and printing of the Dublin edition of Mr. Wesley's nine volumes of Sermons, which are now published in six; to each volume is prefixed a Table of Contents, the ac quisition of which is obvious. His Notes on the New Testament have also been carefully printed on a good type and paper. The Methodist Magazine is likewise printed and published here; and the affairs of Ireland more fully detailed, to the great satisfaction of the Subscribers. It is sincerely to be hoped, that this Infant Establi-hment will meet general approbation and support; and that thereby light and religious knowledge will, by the blessing of God, be more fully diffused throughout our kingdom, by means of the METHODIST BOOK-ROOM.

SECTION IV.

Stating Mr. Wesley's Notions of the relative Situation of his Societies, to other religious Bodies of People in this Kingdom; and of the true Character and Office of the Methodist Preachers.

No man could understand the nature and design of the

Methodist societies so well as Mr. Wesley; as he was the chief instrument in raising them, and governed them for more than forty years by rules which he himself made for that purpose. He has declared again and again, in the most express terms, that the design was not to form a new party in the nation; not to form the societies into independent churches, or to draw away those who became Methodists, from their former religious connexions. The only intention was, to rouse all parties, the members of the church in particular, to a holy jealousy and a spiritual emulation; and to assist them as far as possible, in promoting Christian experience, and practical religion through the land. The design was disinterested and noble; and every part of the Methodist economy exactly corresponded with the professed design, which shewed the sincerity of Mr. Wesley's declarations. The Preachers were itinerant, which rendered them incapable, had they been otherwise qualified, of performing the duties of settled pastors to the societies: the times of preaching, and of other meetings, were so ordered, as not to interfere with the times of public worship in the Church, or among the Dissenters. The whole economy was formed, with wonderful consistency in all its parts, to be a blessing indiscriminately to all parties. While this economy remained inviolate, it was of wonderful use. It was highly pleasing to see rigid Churchmen, and equally rigid Dissenters of all denominations, assembled together in a Methodist preachinghouse; hearing the truths of the Gospel preached, and each feeling the beneficial influence of them on their own hearts. This tended gradually to lessen their prejudices against each other; and however they might still differ, as to modes of worship, it brought them nearer together in Christian charity

VOL. 11.

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and brotherly love. And every candid man must acknowledge, that since the Methodists have generally prevailed, the violence of party spirit, in matters of religion, has, in equal proportion been diminished. This relative situation of the societies, the members of which still held their former religious connexions, Mr. Wesley calls their peculiar glory. "It is a new thing (says he) upon the earth. Revolve all the histories of the Church from the earliest ages, and you will find, whenever there was a great work of God in any particular city or nation, the subjects of that work, soon said to their neighbours, Stand by yourselves, for we are hotier than you.' As soon as ever they separated themselves, either they retired into deserts, or at least formed parties, into which none were admitted but such as subscribed both to their judgment and practice. But with the Methodists, it is quite otherwise, They are not a sect or party. They do not separate from the religious community to which they at first belonged. And I believe one reason why God is pleased to continue my life so long, is to confirm them in their present purpose; not to separate from the Church." See Arminian Magazine for 1790.

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Mr. Wesley has very explicitly described, both the character and office of a Methodist Preacher, in a sermon which he sometimes preached at the Conference, before the Preachers then assembled. His text was, Hebrews, v. 4. No man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. In this discourse he has clearly shewn, that the office of a Priest, was totally distinct and separate from the office of a Preacher or expounder of God's word and will, sometimes called a Prophet. That from Adam to Noah ; and from Noah to Moses, the first-born in every family was the Priest, by virtue of his primogeniture: but any other of the family might be a prophet, or expounder of God's will to the people. In the time of Moses, the priesthood was restricted to the tribe of Levi; while the Preachers or expounders of God's law, might be, and afterwards were of different tribes. In the New Testament, these expounders of the law, are called, or Scribes: but few, if any of them, were Priests.

The Lord Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest of our profession, sent out Apostles, and Evangelists, to proclaim the glad-tidings of peace to all the world. Afterwards, Pastors were appointed to preside over, and to build up in the faith, the churches that were formed. "But (says Mr. Wesley) I do not find, that ever the office of an Erangelist, was the same with that of a Fastor, frequently called a Bishop. I cannot prove from any part of the New Testa

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ment, or from any author of the three first centuries, that the office of an Evangelist, gave any man a right to act as a Pastor or Bishop. I believe these offices were cousidered as quite distinct from each other, till the time of Constantine."

Mr. Wesley then goes on to observe, that among the Presbyterians, in the Church of England, and even among the Roman-Catholics, the office of an Evangelist, or Teacher, does not imply that of a Pastor, to whom peculiarly belongs the administration of the sacraments, All Presbyterian churches, that of Scotland in particular, license men to preach throughout the whole kingdom, before they are ordained. And it is never understood that this appointment to preach, gives them any right to administer the sacraments. "Likewise (says he) in our own church, persons may be authorised to preach, yea, may be Doctors in Divinity, as Dr. Atwood, at Oxford, was when I resided there, who are not ordained at all; and consequently have no right to administer the Lord's Supper. Yea, even in the Church of Rome itself, if a Lay-brother believes he is called to go on a mission, as it is termed, he is sent out, though neither Priest nor Deacon, to execute that office, and not the other."

That there were itinerant Preachers in the Primitive Church, who travelled from place to place preaching the Gospel, without interfering with the duties of the established Pastors, does not admit of much doubt. We may venture to say, that one part of the Methodist economy approached nearer to this primitive practice, than any thing which has taken place in the Christian Church since the days of the Apostles. I have long been persuaded, that no religious establishment, whether national or otherwise, ever did, or ever will, keep up the original spirit of its institution without an itinerant ministry connected with it. This however is certain, that the Church of England, of which most of the Methodists are members, might have received a vast accession of strength from the labours of the Methodist Preachers among the middling and lower orders of the people, had the Rulers of that Church understood in time, how to have estimated them. At present it is not probabie, that either the Bishops, or the Clergy in general, will know or believe what advantages they might have gained from the labours of the Methodist Preachers (if numbers of p'ous people be an advantage) till their losses have fully convinced them.

Notwithstanding Mr. Wesley's ordinations, it is manifest that he had no intention or wish, that the great body of the people should separate from the Church, or change their re

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lative situation to other denominations of Christians in the land. This appears evident from the following paper which he wrote in December 1789; and from the extracts from his last Journal, which I shall subjoin.

"1. From a child I was taught to love and reverence the Scripture, the oracles of God and next to these, to esteem the Primitive Fathers, the writers of the three first centuries. Next after the Primitive Church, I esteemed our own, the Church of England, as the most scriptural national Church in the world. I therefore, not only assented to all the doctrines, but observed all the rubric in the Liturgy and that with all possible exactness, even at the peril of my life.

"2. In this judgment, and with this spirit, I went to America, strongly attached to the Bible, the Primitive Church, and the Church of England, from which I would not vary in one jot or tittle on any account whatever. In this spirit I returned as regular a Clergyman as any in the three kingdoms: till after not being permitted to preach in the Churches, I was constrained to preach in the open air,

"3. Here was my first irregularity. And it was not voluntary, but constrained. The second was extemporary prayer. This likewise I believed to be my bounden duty, for the sake of those who desired me to watch over their souls. I could not in conscience refrain from it: neither from accepting those, who desired to serve me as sons in the Gospel.

4. When the people joined together, simply to help each other to Heaven, increased by hundreds and thousands, still they had no more thought of leaving the Church than of leaving the kingdom. Nay, I continually and earnestly cautioned them against it: reminding them, that we were a part of the Church of England, whom God had raised up, not only to save our own souls, but to enliven our neighbours, those of the Church in particular. And at the first meeting of all our Preachers in Conference, in June 1744, I exhorted them to keep to the Church, observing, that this was our peculiar glory, Not to form any New Sect, but abiding in our own Church, to do to all men all the good we possibly could.

5. But as more Dissenters joined with us, many of whom were much prejudiced against the Church, these, with or without design, were continually infusing their own prejudices into their brethren. I saw this, and gave warning of it from time to time, both in private and in public. And in the year 1758, I resolved to bring the matter to a fair issue. So I desired the point might be considered at large, Whether it was expedient for the Methodists to leave the

Church?

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