"Bristol, November 30, 1741.
"I rejoice that your soul is thirsting for holiness. God grant it may never cease till you experience the full and glorious liberty of His children! I see plainly how Satan loves to drive to extremes. Since there is no such thing as having the in-being of sin destroyed, he would not have people press after a delivery from the power of it. This also is owing to the corruption of our hearts. The old man doth not love to be crucified and slain; but I hope the language of your heart and mine is this—
'Reign in me, Lord, Thy foes control,
That would refuse Thy sway;
Diffuse Thy image through my soul,
And bring the perfect day.Scatter the last remains of sin,
And seal me Thine abode;
O set me purified within,
A temple meet for God.My root of holiness Thou art,
For faith hath made Thee mine;
With all Thy fulness, fill my heart,
Till I am wholly Thine.'"No wonder, when we come to be thus minded, if carnal ministers, and carnal professors of all kinds, cry out against us. Nay, even some who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, having slumbered and slept, and mixed too much with the world, even such frequently fight against their privileges, and rest in an infant state of piety. But, I believe, the Lord will rouse them, and let the world know what the blood of Jesus can and will do. Blessed be His name! we have a growing church at Bristol. Yesterday, and several other times, the Lord has filled many, as with new wine. Sometimes, I scarce have known whether I have been in or out of the body; but, I find, the more I receive of grace, the more I desire to lie as a poor, very poor sinner, at the feet of Christ. Several have just now been with me, who have, this last week, drunk deep of Divine love. They are now full of the comforts of the Holy Ghost. Let us, my dear brother, live a life of great nearness to Jesus; and labour day by day to perfect holiness in the fear of God. There is a glorious rest to be entered into even here. May the Lord make us partakers of it!"
These are notable extracts. Their tone and language are remarkably different from the tone and language of Whitefield's previous correspondence. Strangely enough, though fresh from Calvinistic Scotland, he was evidently veering round to something like Wesley's doctrine of Christian perfection. In 1740, the two Wesleys had published a volume of "Hymns and Sacred Poems," with a preface, in which Wesley propounded his views of Christian holiness in language the strongest he ever used. Indeed, in after life, he himself modified several of the expressions in this remarkable preface, and honestly admitted that some of them were far too strong. The hymns, and especially the preface, when first published, greatly disturbed Whitefield's serenity, and, no doubt, partly led to the temporary estrangement between him and Wesley, which had then occurred. But, notwithstanding this, in the foregoing letter, Whitefield breathes out the desires of his soul, in three of the most forcibly worded verses in Wesley's book. It is true, he slightly alters the phraseology, and likewise injures it; but there is no material alteration of sentiment. The verses, as the Wesleys published them, were as follows:—
"Reign in me, Lord, Thy foes control,
Who would not own Thy sway;
Diffuse Thy image through my soul;
Shine to the perfect day.
Scatter the last remains of sin,
And seal me Thine abode;
O make me glorious all within,
A temple built by God.
My inward holiness Thou art,
For faith hath made Thee mine:
With all Thy fulness fill my heart,
Till all I am is Thine!"
Such was part of Wesley's hymn on "Christ our Sanctification. Stronger language, on the subject, he never used; and, yet, this was now the language of his friend Whitefield. If the views of the two were not perfectly identical, there certainly was a near approach, on the part of Whitefield, to the doctrine Wesley taught. Why was this? There can be little doubt, that, it was greatly owing to the brotherly influence of Howell Harris. To a large extent, Whitefield had been made the tool of excited partisans, both in London and in Bristol. The men were violently opposed to Wesley, but were too small to even think of conquering him, without Whitefield's aid. Whitefield was naturally unsuspicious, and, he was also fond of being regarded and consulted as a leader. Wesley's opponents knew all this, and used their opportunity for annoying him. Bitter complaints were made to Whitefield, respecting the doctrines that he taught. Whitefield, whose heart was always better than his head, became confused, and he was induced to strongly condemn some of Wesley's doctrines, without really understanding what they were. Estrangement followed; and, for the last six months, the two old friends had been divided. During Whitefield's visit to Scotland, Howell Harris seems to have acted as his curate, in London; where he also had an important interview with the Wesley brothers. Hence the following, addressed to Whitefield:—
"October, 1741.
"Dear Brother Whitefield,—I believe that jealousies will not be entirely eradicated until correspondence with those who indulge a party-spirit, and are not like little children, ceases. I have seen, more than ever, since I came home, what carnal professors are.[498] The Lord has helped me to bear my testimony against sin, and to declare that all those who labour for deliverance from the dominion of sin, self, and unbelief, shall be set free; they shall so behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, as to be changed into His image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor. iii. 18; Rom. vi. 14, viii. 2; 2 Peter i. 4; and 2 Cor. v. 15). When I mentioned this liberty from the power of sin, I was abused as one holding sinless perfection; and, I find, they have troubled you with this information. I have always stated, that the body of sin remains in believers, but that the power of it is destroyed. By dwelling on sanctification, we shall find self and carnal reason in arms against us; just the same as the pride of the Pharisees is against us, when we preach justification by faith. These opposers would be glad to influence you. They were in hopes to set brother Cennick and myself by the ears, but the Lord disappointed them.
"Now, as to brother Wesley. The Lord gave me, on a certain day, such earnestness to pray for him, and such faith that he would be led into all truth, that all my prejudices were removed, and I felt I could speak to him in love. Still, I had no thoughts of so doing, until he invited me to visit him. Then I opened my heart to him, and told him how the Lord taught me every truth. He allowed everything, and said, that we, through grace, shall not fall away. I saw room to hope, that the Lord would bring us together in truth.[499] As to free-will, he utterly denied it. He does really mean what he says. He did so openly, in Charles Square. 'God,' said he, 'is willing to save you all, if you will. What I mean by saying if you will, is, not if you have a faint wish to go to heaven, but, if you will submit to Christ, in all His offices, for salvation—if you are willing He should save you from sin, as well as hell; else you cannot be saved.'
"Brother Charles Wesley came to town last Saturday night, and we providentially met. He owned he had no free-will until four years ago; that it was God who chose him first; and not he God: and that he is kept faithful by the faithfulness of God. He spoke tenderly of you, and seemed to be quite loving and teachable."[500]
Harris's letter seems to have touched Whitefield, and to have filled his heart with a gush of warm affection, which found utterance in the following letter, which he, immediately, wrote to Wesley:—
"Aberdeen, October, 1741.
"Reverend and dear Brother,—I have for a long time expected that you would have sent me an answer to my last; but, I suppose, you are afraid to correspond with me, because I revealed your secret about the 'lot.'" (See p. 469.) "Though much may be said for my doing it, yet I am sorry now that any such thing dropped from my pen, and I humbly ask pardon. I find I love you as much as ever; and pray God, if it be His blessed will, that we may be all united together.
"For some days, it has been upon my mind to write to you, and this morning I received a letter from brother Harris, telling me how he had conversed with you and your dear brother. May God remove all obstacles that now prevent our union! Though I hold particular election, yet I offer Jesus freely to every individual soul. You may carry sanctification to what degrees you will, only I cannot agree that the in-being of sin is to be destroyed in this life.
"Oh, my dear brother, the Lord has been much with me in Scotland. I every morning feel fellowship with Christ, and He is pleased to give me peace and joy in believing.
"In about three weeks, I hope to be at Bristol. May all disputings cease, and each of us talk of nothing but Jesus, and Him crucified! This is my resolution. The Lord be with your spirit!
"I am, without dissimulation, ever yours,
"George Whitefield."
When Whitefield arrived in Bristol, Wesley was recovering from a severe and dangerous fever; and, though neither of them mentions the fact, there can be little doubt, that the old friends met, and conversed together, as Whitefield proposed they should. As noticed in foregoing pages, Whitefield, to some extent, misunderstood and mis-stated Wesley's doctrine of Christian holiness; and as it is probable that explanations were given during the interview at Bristol, there is now no difficulty in understanding the alteration of tone and language in Whitefield's letters already quoted. Though in a mystic way still clinging to what he calls the "in-being of sin" in all believers, Whitefield was now, in reality, seeking the sanctification which Wesley taught.