“Your very affectionate servant,
“John Wesley.”[584]
Let the railway riding and carriage driving public of the present day take a hint from this.
Another letter may be inserted here, which shows, that, in the Methodist movement, Wesley was now without a counsellor. His brother, to whom the letter was addressed, had retired into comparative seclusion; and there was no one to occupy his place. The letter also contains historical allusions of considerable importance.
“Haddington, May 25, 1764.
“Dear Brother,—Is there any reason why you and I should have no further intercourse with each other? I know none; although possibly there are persons in the world, who would not be sorry for it. I hope you find peace and unity in the south, as we do in the north; only the seceders and Mr. Sandeman’s friends are ready to eat us up. And no wonder; for these, as well as deists and Socinians, I oppose ex professo. But how do Thomas Maxfield and his friends go on? quietly, or gladiatorio animo? And how are John Jones, Downes, and Richardson? and my best friend, and yours?
“The frightful stories, written from London, had made all our preachers in the north afraid even to mutter about perfection; and, of course, the people, on all sides, were grown good Calvinists in that point. It is what I foresaw from the beginning; that the devil would strive, by Thomas Maxfield and company, to drive perfection out of the kingdom.
“O let you and I hold fast whereunto we have attained; and let our yea be yea, and our nay nay! I feel the want of some about me, that are all faith and love. No man was more profitable to me than George Bell, while he was simple of heart. O for heat and light united! My love to Sally. Adieu!
“John Wesley.“[585]
The next matter to be mentioned was of paramount importance. The desertion of Maxfield, the retirement of Wesley’s brother, and the Greek ordination of John Jones have been already noticed. Just at this juncture, Providence raised up the Rev. John Richardson, a young Yorkshireman, who was episcopally ordained, had a curacy in Sussex, and, in 1762, was made a happy witness of the power of Divine truth under a sermon preached by Thomas Rankin. Within a year after this, Richardson relinquished his curacy, joined the Methodists, and became Wesley’s assistant in London. Still, Wesley, in the spring of 1764, was in the greatest difficulty. He was bound to visit his country societies; his brother declined to supply his place in London, and also objected to John Jones taking any part in administering the sacraments during Wesley’s absence. Things were in this position when Wesley wrote to his brother as follows.