Nathan Bangs · 72 of 73

Chapter 2. From 1787 to 1791 inclusive. · Part 5

“The solemn news reached our ears that the public papers had announced the death of that dear man of God, John Wesley. He died in his own house in London, in the eighty-eighth year of his age, after preaching the gospel sixty-four years. When we consider his plain and nervous writings; his uncommon talent for sermonizing and journalizing; that he had such a steady flow of animal spirits; so much of the spirit of government in him; knowledge as an observer; his attainments as a scholar; his experience as a Christian; I conclude his equal is not to be found among all the sons he hath brought up; nor his superior among all the sons of Adam he may have left behind. Brother Coke was sunk in spirit, and wished to hasten home immediately. For my part, notwithstanding my long absence from Mr. Wesley, and a few unpleasant expressions in some of the letters the dear old man has written to me, occasioned by the misrepresentations of others, I feel the stroke most sensibly; and I expect I shall never read his Works without reflecting on the loss which the church of God and the world have sustained by his death.”

The death of Mr. Wesley, though from his great age it must have been generally expected by his friends, was an event mournfully felt throughout the Christian church, and more especially through all the ranks of Methodism. His character is now so well known that it is scarcely necessary to add any thing here to what has already been said in the published accounts of this great and good man. As long as pure Christianity shall remain, So long will the name of Wesley be held in grateful remembrance. For among all those who have been raised up in modern days to revive and diffuse abroad the pure principles of the gospel, no one shone so conspicuously, nor exerted such a holy and extensive influence, as did John Wesley. His writings will speak for him, and proclaim him the sound divine, the ripe and finished scholar, the deep and sincere Christian, and a man of the most enlarged philanthropy, so long as pure Christianity shall be held in esteem, while the scribblings of his defamers shall be held in execration by all pious and well-informed ChristiAnswers And the society he was instrumental in raising up and establishing in Great Britain, as well as the Church which was organized under his direction in America, shall remain as monuments of his wisdom in devising and executing plans for the diffusion of gospel truth and holiness, and for the permanent establishment of such associations as be instrumental in transmitting these blessings from generation to generation.

That the Church, in both hemispheres, should mourn the loss of such a man is nothing more than what could have been expected, while the fact that he had been instrumental in raising up men, as his sons in the gospel, competent to carry out, and to continue in operation, the plans he had devised for the salvation of the world, evinces the wisdom and energy with which he had applied himself to his work. While, therefore, his weeping friends stood around his bed, and heard his last dying words, “The best of all is, God is with us,” they gathered fresh courage to trust in the God of his life for a continuance of his blessing upon his mourning Church.

In consequence of this afflictive intelligence, Dr. Coke hastened to prepare for his departure from the continent, that he might mingle his sorrows with his brethren in Europe over the loss they had sustained in the death of Mr. Wesley. On his way he stopped at Baltimore, and on Sabbath preached a sermon on the occasion of the death of Mr. Wesley, in which he mentioned some things which gave offense to his American brethren. His profound sorrow at the loss of Mr. Wesley, though an event which, in the ordinary course of nature, must have been anticipated as near at hand, and the keen sensibilities of his heart to every thing which had the remotest tendency to tarnish the glory of that great man, led him to say, in the above sermon, that the act of leaving Mr. Wesley’s name from the minutes probably hastened his death.

This circumstance would be hardly worthy of notice, had not some persons, more distinguished for their petulance than their candor, seized upon it for the purpose of disparaging the character of the American conference. In addition to what has already been said in reference to this matter, the following particulars may serve to vindicate the conduct of the conference, as well as to apologize for the precipitancy of Dr. Coke in making the assertion, erroneous in itself, in so public a manner — a fault amply atoned for by the sincerity and frankness with which he afterward deported himself toward his American brethren. Were the judgments of mankind infallible in all cases, we should be saved the necessity of offering apologies for such venial instances of human infirmity.

That we may rightly understand this subject, it is necessary to review some of the doings of the conferences of 1784 and 1787. The minute of the conference of 1784, already noticed, respecting obeying Mr. Wesley during his lifetime, stood unrepealed until 1787, when it was omitted. Among other reasons for this omission, one unquestionably was, to prevent any one from accusing them, as some had already done, of being under the dictation and control of a British subject, who had written against the American revolution, and thereby of subjecting themselves to the suspicion of disloyalty to their own government; and also to remove every apprehension of having Bishop Asbury, whom they so highly respected and affectionately loved, taken from among them. This was an event the more to be deprecated, as they knew of no one who could fill his place. He had grown up with them — had suffered and sympathized with them during a protracted and sanguinary war — had fully identified his interests, his weal or woe, with t heirs and had, moreover, become familiar with their character and peculiar circumstances, both as American citizens and as Methodist preachers; and hence, whatever deference they might have felt for Dr. Coke — and they certainly were not deficient in love and respect for him — past experience convinced them that he did not understand their affairs so well as did Bishop Asbury. And that which gave origin to their fears that such a dictation as has been supposed might be exercised over their affairs, was the fact heretofore alluded to, that in 1787, Dr. Coke, at the request of Mr. Wesley, altered the time of holding the General Conference, without consulting the American preachers, and also requested Mr. Whatcoat to be elected a joint superintendent with Bishop Asbury. That Mr. Wesley was dissatisfied with this omission is certain, from some expressions in his letters to Bishop Asbury about that time, to which the bishop alludes in the above notice of Mr. Wesley’s death, and which probably led to the famous letter in which Bishop Asbury is censured for taking the title of bishop, concerning which so much has been said by the enemies of Methodist episcopacy.

As to the minute to which allusion has been made, it was a voluntary act of the conference, and not a contract mutually entered into between them and Mr. Wesley, and therefore its omission in 1787 was no violation of a pledged faith between the parties. But as some of the enemies of Bishop Asbury have blamed him in this business, it seems proper to give his own version of these acts of the conference, with a view to justify himself in reference to this affair. He says, “I never approved of that binding minute,” alluding to the minute of 1784, in which they promised obedience to Mr. Wesley in matters of church government: —

“I did not think it practical expediency to obey Mr. Wesley at three thousand miles’ distance, in all matters relative to church government; neither did brother Whatcoat, nor several others. At the first General Conference I was mute and modest when it passed, and I was mute when it was expunged. For this Mr. Wesley blamed me, and was displeased that I did not rather reject the whole connection, or leave them, if they did not comply. But I could not give up the connection so easily, after laboring so many years with and for them.”

But although Mr. Wesley suffered a momentary displeasure to arise in his mind on account of their rescinding the rule in question, and with characteristic plainness expressed his dissatisfaction to Bishop Asbury, yet when the thing was fully explained to him, together with the motives which prompted them to that act, he became satisfied with the uprightness of their conduct, and expressed, only twenty-nine days before his death, his unabated attachment to his American brethren, in the following letter to the Rev. Ezekiel Cooper: —

Near London, Feb. 1, 1791.

“My Dear Brother, — Those who desire to write, or say any thing to me, have no time to lose; for time has shaken me by the hand, and death is not far behind. But I have reason to be thankful for the time that is past: I felt few of the infirmities of age for fourscore and six years. It was not till a year and a half ago that my strength and sight failed. And still I am enabled to scrawl a little, and to creep, though I cannot run. Probably I should not be able to do so much, did not many of you assist me by your prayers. I have given a distinct account of the work of God which has been wrought in Britain and Ireland for more than half a century. We want some of you to give us a connected relation of what our Lord has been doing in America, from the time that Richard Boardman accepted the invitation, and left his country to serve you. See that you never give place to one thought of separating from your brethren in Europe. Lose no opportunity of declaring to all men that the Methodists are one people in all the world; and that it is their full determination so to continue,

Though mountains rise, and oceans roll, To sever us in vain.

To the care of our common Lord, I commit you; and am your affectionate friend and brother,

“John Wesley.”

After reading such an epistle as this, who can doubt of the writer’s affectionate regard for his American brethren, as well as his strong desire for their indissoluble union with their brethren in Europe? — Such sentiments were highly worthy the apostolic character which Mr. Wesley sustained, as well as the position he occupied as the founder and leader of the entire denomination on both sides of the Atlantic — standing, as he did, upon the margin of time, with eternity full in his view! May it ever be the aim of both families of the Methodists to cultivate the spirit herein recommended!

Having arranged his affairs for his departure to England, on the 14th of May, after an affectionate parting with Bishop Asbury and several of the preachers who were assembled in Philadelphia, Dr. Coke set sail for London, where he arrived in safety after a short and pleasant voyage. On his arrival in England, at this eventful crisis in the history of Methodism, he found that suspicions had been engendered in the circle of his acquaintance respecting the purity of his motives in hastening from his work in America. Though his future conduct put to silence all such suspicions, yet to a mind alive to every thing which would affect his reputation, and thereby wound the holy cause in which he was engaged, it was no small trial of his faith and patience to have the purity of his motives questioned, or his conduct unjustly censured. In the midst of these conflicts, confiding in the integrity of his own heart, and relying upon the protection of him who had been a never-failing source of consolation to him, both in adversity and prosperity, Dr. Coke silently bowed to the inscrutable ways of divine Providence, while in the meantime he was cheered by the reception of the following friendly and sympathizing letter from Bishop Asbury, which, as belonging to the history of the times, and as exemplifying the spirit and manner in which the writer employed his time, is given entire. It is as follows: —

“Rev. and Most Dear Sir, — If yet in time, this brings greeting. Rejoice with me that the last has been a year of general blessing to the church of God in this wilderness. We humbly hope two thousand souls were born of God, one of which is well ascertained in Jersey and York. East, west, north, and south, the glory of God spreads.

“I have served the Church upward of twenty-five years in Europe and America. All the property I have gained is two old horses, the constant companions of my toil, six if not seven thousand miles every year. When we have no ferryboats, they swim the rivers. As to clothing, I am nearly the same as at the first: neither have I silver nor gold, nor any property. My confidential friends know that I lie not in this matter. I am resolved not to claim any property in the Book Concern. Increase as it may, it will be sacred to invalid preachers, the college, and the schools. I would not have my name mentioned as doing, having, being any thing but dust.

“I soar, indeed, but it is over the tops of the highest mountains we have, which may vie with the Alps. I creep sometimes upon my hands and knees up the slippery ascent; and to serve the Church, and the ministers of it, what I gain is many a reflection from both sides of the Atlantic. I have lived long enough to be loved and hated, to be admired and feared.

“If it were not for the suspicions of some, and the pride and ignorance of others, I am of opinion I could make provision by collections, profits on books, and donations in land, to take two thousand children under the best plan or education ever known in this country. The Lord begins to smile on our Kingswood school. One promising young man is gone forth, another is ready, and several have been under awakenings. None so healthy and orderly as our children; and some promise great talents for learning. The obstinate and ignorant oppose, among preachers and people, while the judicious for good sense and piety, in church and state, admire and applaud. I am, with most dutiful respect, as ever, your son in the gospel,

“Francis Asbury.”

This letter shows not only the high sense which Bishop Asbury entertained for the character of Dr. Coke, his ardent desire for his welfare, and the prosperity of the work of God in the conversion of sinners, but also the great interest he took in the cause of education, affirming that none but the “obstinate and ignorant" opposed their laudable efforts to extend its benefits to the youth of our land; and that the judicious in church and state admired and applauded the literary institution which they had established. And though Providence seemed to frown upon the praiseworthy attempts which they made in the case of education, it was never lost sight of by its friends, but, as we shall see in the course of our history, finally became an integral part of the general system of diffusing the lights of knowledge and Christianity among the inhabitants of this western world. That, however which cheered their hearts and animated them with fresh courage to pursue their way, in the midst of the signals of mourning which were hung out as tokens of sorrow for the loss of such a man as John Wesley, was the ingathering of souls into the fold of Christ, and the continual expansion of their field of gospel labor. While the strife of tongues was heard uttering reproach upon their character and conduct, conscious of the integrity of their hearts, and the purity of their motive, they rejoiced in beholding the right hand of their God stretched out to do them good, to sanction the efforts of their hearts and hands. The following will show the result of this year’s labor: —

Numbers in the Church: Whites This year, 50,385, Last year, 45,949; Increase, 4,436; Colored This year, 12,884, Last year, 11,682; Increase, 1,202; [Corrected] Total This year, 63,269, Last year, 57,631; Increase, 5,638; Preachers This year, 250, Last year, 227; Increase 23.