you, and he will lead you into all truth. If you must dispute, stay till you are master of the subject; otherwise you will hurt the cause you would defend." And in a subsequent letter he says, "O dear Sir, many of God's children are grieved at your principles! Oh that God may give you a sight of his free, sovereign, and electing love! But no more of this. Why will you compel me to write thus? Why will you dispute? I am willing to go with you to prison and to death; but I am not willing to oppose you." And again, "Oh that there may be harmony and very intimate union between us, yet it cannot be, since you hold universal redemption. The Devil rages in London. He begins now to triumph indeed. The children of God are disunited among themselves. My dear brother, for Christ's sake avoid all disputation! Do not oblige me to preach against you: I had rather die."

He soon, however, began to fear that he had been sinfully silent. The children of God, he thought, were in danger of falling into error: many who had been worked upon by his ministry had been misled, and more were calling loudly upon him to show his opinion also. "I must then show," said he, "that I know no man after the flesh, and that I have no respect to persons any farther than is consistent with my duty to my Lord and Master.” And therefore he took pen in hand to write against Wesley, protesting that Jonah could not go with more reluctance against Nineveh. "Was nature to speak," said he, "I had rather die than do it ;

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and yet if I am faithful to God, and to my own and other's souls, I must not stand neuter any longer." In this letter Whitefield related how Wesley had preached and printed his obnoxious sermon, in consequence of drawing a lot. I have often questioned," said he, "whether in so doing you did not tempt the Lord. A due exercise of religious prudence without a lot, would have directed you in that matter. Besides I never heard that you enquired of God, whether or not election was a gospel doctrine. But I fear taking it for granted it was not, you only enquired whether you should be silent, or preach and print against it. I am apt to think one reason why God should so suffer you to be deceived was, that hereby a special obligation might be laid upon me faithfully to declare the Scripture doctrine of election, that thus the Lord might give me a fresh opportunity of seeing what was in my heart, and whether I would be true to his cause or not. Perhaps God has laid this difficult task upon me, even to see whether I am willing to forsake all for him or not." Thus while he reprehended Wesley for a most reprehensible and presumptuous practice, did he manifest a spirit little less presumptuous himself. In farther proof of the folly of Wesley's practice, he related also the fact of his drawing lots to discover whether Whitefield should proceed to Georgia, or leave the ship which was then under sail and return to London, upon which occasion he reminded him of his subsequent confession that God had given him a wrong lot. "I should never," says

he, "have published this private transaction to the world did not the glory of God call me to it.”

This was the only important part of the letter, and Whitefield afterwards felt and feelingly acknowledged the great impropriety which he had committed in thus revealing the weakness of his friend. The argumentative part had nothing worthy of notice either in manner or matter, for powerful preacher as he was, he had neither strength nor acuteness of intellect, and his written compositions are nearly worthless. But the conclusion is remarkable for the honest confidence and the warmth of affection which it breathes. "Dear, dear Sir, Oh be not offended! For Christ's sake be not rash! Give yourself to reading. Study the covenant of grace. Down with your carnal reasoning! Be a little child; and then, instead of pawning your salvation, as you have done in a late hymn-book, if the doctrine of universal redemption be not true; instead of talking of sinless perfection, as you have done in the preface to that hymn-book, and making man's salvation to depend on his own free will, as have done in this sermon, you will compose a hymn in praise of sovereign distinguishing love. You will caution believers against striving to work a perfection out of their own hearts, and print another sermon the reverse of this, and entitle it Free Grace indeed; free, because not free to all; but free, because God may withhold or give it to whom, and when he pleases. Till you do this I must doubt whether or not you know yourself. God knows my heart, nothing but a single regard to the honour of

you

Christ has forced this letter from me. I love and honour you for his sake; and when I come to judgement will thank you before men and angels for what you have, under God, done for my soul. There I am persuaded I shall see dear Mr. Wesley convinced of election and everlasting love. And it often fills me with pleasure to think how I shall behold you casting your crown down at the feet of the Lamb, and as it were filled with a holy blushing for opposing the divine sovereignty in the manner you have done. But I hope the Lord will show you this before you go hence. Oh how do I long for that day!"

That this letter was intended for publication is certain; but there seems to have been a hope in Whitefield's mind that the effect which its perusal would produce might render publication needless. His friends in London however thought proper to print it, without either his permission or Wesley's, and copies were distributed at the door of the Foundery, and in the meeting itself. Wesley holding one in his hand stated to the congregation the fact of its surreptitious publication, and then saying, "I will do just what I believe Mr. Whitefield would were he here himself," he tore it in pieces. Every person present followed his example; and Wesley, in reference to the person by whose means these unlucky copies had been circulated, exclaims in his journal," Ah poor Ahitophel! Ibi omnis effusus labor!"?

The person who seems to have been most active in enforcing Calvinism in opposition to Wesley at

this time was a certain John Cennick, whom he employed at Kingswood in the school which Whitefield had designed for the children of the colliers. Whitefield had collected some money for this good work, and had performed the ceremony of laying the foundation; but farther than this ceremony it had not proceeded when he embarked the second time for America, and left it to be carried forward by Wesley. There was the great difficulty of want of money in the way; but this was a difficulty which faith would remove, and in faith Wesley began building without having a quarter of the sum necessary for finishing it. But he found persons who were willing to advance money if he would become responsible for the debt; the responsibility and the property thus devolved upon him, and he immediately made his will, bequeathing it to his brother Charles and Whitefield. Two masters were provided as soon as the house was fit to receive them, and Cennick was one. He was not in holy orders, but the practice of lay-preaching which had at first been vehemently opposed by the Wesleys, had now become inevitably a part of their system, and Cennick, who had great talents for popular speaking, laboured also as one of these helpers, as they were called. This person in his horror against the doctrines of the Wesleys wrote urgently to Whitefield, calling upon him to hasten from America that he might stay the plague. "I sit," said he, "solitary like Eli, waiting what will become of the ark; and while I wail and fear the carrying of it away from among my people, my trouble in