“London, November 2, 1764.
“My dear Brother,—At the request of several of our preachers, I have at length abridged Goodwin’s ‘Treatise on Justification.’ I trust it will stop the mouths of gainsayers concerning imputed righteousness; and teach them to speak as the oracles of God.
“I desire you to read the proposal and preface in every society within your circuit; then enforce it, as you see best, both in public and private conversation. Spare no pains. Exert yourself. See what you can do. Give this proof of your love for the truth, for the people, and for your affectionate friend and brother,
“John Wesley.”[609]
Wesley’s publications, in 1764, were fewer than usual.
1. “An Extract of the Rev. Mr. Wesley’s Journal, from June 17, 1758, to May 5, 1760.” 12mo, 106 pages.
2. “A Short History of Methodism.” 12mo, 11 pages. He begins by stating, that many of the accounts given of the Methodists were as remote from truth as that given by a gentleman in Ireland, namely, that “the Methodists are the people who place all religion in wearing long beards.” He then proceeds to notice the rise of Methodism in the Oxford university; the mission to Georgia; the separation of Whitefield; then the separation from Whitefield of William Cudworth and James Relly, both of them “properly antinomians, absolute, avowed enemies to the law of God;” then the springing up of Venn, Romaine, Madan, Berridge, and others; and then the schism of Bell and Maxfield. He concludes:
“Those who remain with Mr. Wesley are mostly Church of England men. They love her articles, her homilies, her liturgy, her discipline, and unwillingly vary from it in any instance. All who preach among them declare, ‘We are all by nature children of wrath. But by grace we are saved through faith; saved both from the guilt and from the power of sin.’ They endeavour to live according to what they preach, to be plain Bible Christians. And they meet together, at convenient times, to encourage one another therein. They tenderly love many that are Calvinists, though they do not love their opinions. Yea, they love the antinomians themselves; but it is with a love of compassion only. For they hate their doctrines with a perfect hatred; they abhor them as they do hell fire: being convinced nothing can so effectually destroy all faith, all holiness, and all good works.”
Such was Wesley’s manifesto concerning the Methodists in 1764.