Yet while he thus set at nought the authority of the Bishop, he would have revived a practice which had fallen into disuse throughout all the reformed Churches, as being little congenial to the spirit of the Reformation. The society at Bristol passed a resolution that all the members should obey the Church to which they belonged, by observing all Fridays in the year, as days of fasting or abstinence; and they agreed that as many as had opportunity should meet on that day and spend an hour together in prayer. This probably gave currency, if it did not occasion, a report which now prevailed that he was a Papist, if not a Jesuit. This report, he affirms, was begun by persons who were either bigotted Dissenters, or Clergymen; and they spoke either in gross ignorance, not understanding what the principles of Popery were, or in wilful falsehood, thinking to serve their own cause. "Now take this to yourselves," he says, "whosoever ye are, high or low, Dissenters or Churchmen, clergy or laity, who have advanced this shameless charge, and digest it how you can!" "O ye fools," he exclaims, "when will ye understand that the preaching justification by faith alone, the allowing no meritorious cause of justification, but the death and the righteousness of Christ, and no conditional or instrumental cause but faith, is overturning Popery from the foundation? When will ye understand that the most destructive of all those errors which Rome, the mother of abominations, hath brought forth (compared to which transubstantiation and a hun

dred more, are trifles light as air,) is that we are justified by works, or (to express the same thing a little more decently) by faith and works. Now, do I preach this? I did for ten years: I was fundamentally a Papist and knew it not. But I do now testify to all (and it is the very point for asserting which I have to this day been called in question,) that no good works can be done before justification, none which have not in them the nature of sin." This doctrine, however, was not preached in all the naked absurdity of its consequences.

Charles Wesley, who was now pursuing the course of itinerant preaching which Whitefield had begun, joined his brother at Bristol about this time; and it so happens that the manner of his preaching and the method which was observed in their meetings, are described by one whom curiosity and a religious temper led to hear him in a field near the city. "I found him," says this person, "standing on a table board in an erect posture, with his hands and eyes lifted up to heaven in prayer: he prayed with uncommon fervour, fluency, and variety of proper expressions. He then preached about an hour in such a manner as I scarce ever heard any man preach though I have heard many a finer sermon, according to the common taste or acceptation of sermons, I never heard any man discover such evident signs of a vehement desire, or labour so earnestly to convince his hearers that they were all by nature in a sinful, lost, undone state. He showed how great a change a faith in Christ would produce in the whole man, and that every man who

is in Christ, that is who believes in him unto salvation, is a new creature. Nor did he fail to press how ineffectual their faith would be to justify them unless it wrought by love, purified their hearts, and was productive of good works. With uncommon fervour he acquitted himself as an ambassador of Christ, beseeching them in his name, and praying them in his stead to be reconciled to God. although he used no notes nor had any thing in his hand but a Bible, yet he delivered his thoughts in a rich, copious variety of expression, and with so much propriety, that I could not observe any thing incoherent or inanimate through the whole performance."

And

This person, whose name was Joseph Williams, was a dissenter of Kidderminster; and having been accustomed to a dry and formal manner of preaching, he was the more impressed by the eloquence of one whose mind was enriched by cultivation as well as heated with devotion. His account of the meeting in the evening is more curious. The room was thronged; but in the middle there was a convenient place provided for the minister to stand or sit on. They sung a hymn before he came, but broke it off on his appearing; and he expounded part of a chapter of St. John in what Mr. Williams calls a most sweet, savoury, spiritual manner. This was followed by another hymn, that by more expounding, and that again by more singing: Wesley

Charles Wesley says of this Mr. Williams in his journal, “I know not of what denomination he is, nor is it material; for he has the mind which was in Christ."

then prayed over a great number of bills which were put up by the society, about twenty of which respected spiritual cases, and he concluded with a blessing. The whole service took up nearly two hours. "But never sure," says Williams, “did I hear such praying; never did I see or hear such evident marks of fervency in the service of God. At the close of every petition a serious Amen, like a gentle rushing sound of waters, ran through the whole audience, with such a solemn air as quite distinguished it from whatever of that nature I have heard attending the responses in the Church service. If there be such a thing as heavenly music upon earth I heard it there. If there be such an enjoyment, such an attainment as Heaven upon earth, numbers in that society seemed to possess it. As for my own part, I do not remember my heart to have been so elevated in divine love and praise as it was there and then for many years past, if ever; and an affecting sense and savour thereof abode in my mind many weeks after."

This good man would not have thus spoken with unqualified approbation, had he been present at any more violent exhibition. But the "outward signs" about this time were for a while suspended; the more susceptible subjects had gone through the disease, and the symptoms which it assumed in others were such as would awaken horror in the beholders rather than excite in them any desire of going through the same initiation. Many," says Wesley, "were deeply convinced, but none

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were delivered from that painful conviction. The children came to the birth, but there was not strength to bring forth. I fear we have grieved the Spirit of the jealous God by questioning his work, and that, therefore, he is withdrawn from us for a season." He now returned to London, and preached triumphantly at Whitefield's favourite stationsMoorfields and Kennington Common. But his greatest triumph was in finding that his mother at length acquiesced in the whole of his proceedings. She told him that till lately she had scarce heard of a present forgiveness of sins, or of God's Spirit bearing witness with our spirit; much less had she imagined that it was the common privilege of all true believers, and therefore she had never dared ask it for herself. But recently when her son-in-law Hall, in delivering the cup to her, pronounced these words, the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which was given for thee, the words struck through her heart, and she then knew that for Christ's sake God had forgiven her all her sins. Wesley asked whether his father had not the same faith, and whether he had not preached it to others. She replied, he had it himself, and declared, a little before his death, he had no darkness, no fear, no doubt of his salvation; but that she did not remember to have heard him preach upon it explicitly; and therefore supposed that he regarded it as the peculiar blessing of a few, not as promised to all the people of God. Mrs. Wesley was then seventy years of age; and this account may induce a reasonable suspicion that her powers