Thy light is come, thy mourning's o'er ; Look up; for thou shalt weep no more! Bless'd be the Name that sets thee free, Hath rose, with healing in his wings. And will he now forsake his own, Or lose the purchase of his blood? No; for he looks with pity down, He watches over thee for good: Gracious he eyes thee from above, And guards and feeds thee with his love. Since thou wast precious in his sight, How highly favour'd hast thou been! Upborne by faith to glory's height, The Saviour-God thine eyes have seen; Thy heart has felt its sins forgiven, And tastes anticipated heaven. Still may his love thy fortress be, On eagles' wings thy spirit bear ; Thus may he comfort thee below; Thus may he all his graces give : Him but in part thou here canst know: Yet here by faith submit to live ; Help me to fight my passage through, Nor seize thy heaven till I may too. Or if the sovereign wise decree First number thee among the blest, Mix'd with the quires that hover round, And all the adverse powers control, Angel of peace, may I be found, To animate thy parting soul, Point out the crown, and smooth the way To regions of eternal day. Fired with the thought, I see thee now Thy mounting soul, and spreads abroad, Is this the soul so late weigh'd down By care and sins, by griefs and pains? Jesus for thee the victory gains; And death, and sin, and Satan yield To faith's unconquerable shield. Bless'd be the God that calls thee home; Faithful to thee his mercies prove; Through death's dark vale he bids thee come, And more than conquer in his love; Robes thee in righteousness divine, And makes the crown of glory thine! To the principles which John and Charles Wesley recognised in the act of their conversion, they steadily adhered to the end of their lives. The careful study of the holy Scriptures, their acquaintance with Protestant theology, and their observation of the work of God in his church, all served to strengthen their conviction that they had not been misled in submitting to the test of experience the doctrine of salvation by faith, which they had first learned from Peter Böhler. They saw with increasing clearness, that the Christian faith which is described in the Acts of the Apostles, and in the apostolical Epistles, is not a mere assent to the general truth of the Gospel, nor a mere belief of its essential doctrines, but a personal trust in the sacrificial blood of the Son of God, exercised in a penitent state of heart, and productive both of peace of conscience, and of inward and outward holiness. This became the principal topic of their ministry; and while its truth was to them matter of personal consciousness, they saw it exemplified in the character of thousands of their spiritual children. It was, in fact, under God, the great secret of their power, both as Preachers and writers. Under the divine sanction and blessing, they illustrated, enforced, and defended this doctrine with unexampled energy and effect. It was a happy day, not only to themselves, but for the world, when, after a protracted course of painful prepara tion, they received this truth, and were qualified to preach it to all men, out of the fulness of a heart purified by faith from its guilt and natural corruption. For the long space of ten years had Charles been labouring after holiness, without attaining to it; and for the longer space of twelve or thirteen years had John been engaged in the same pursuit, and with the same want of success. They were still in the state which is described in the seventh chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. They were "carnal, and sold under sin." Their struggles to get free from it were powerless and unavailing; so that, after a thousand resolutions and efforts, they could only lament, in the bitterness of disappointed hope, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Now they were translated from the legal to the evangelical state; and could testify with the Apostle, "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." "Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." "Whom, having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." Their friend the Rev. John Gambold, Incumbent of Stanton-Harcourt, and one of their Oxford companions, received the truth at the same time, and through the same instrumentality. Like them, he had long been wandering in the labyrinths of Mysticism, wearying himself for very vanity ; and on emerging into light, he appositely denominated the evangelical method of justification by faith, "the sinner's short way to God." Next to the study of the holy Scriptures, the Wesleys were established in the truth by reading the Homilies of the Church of England. They wondered, as well they might, that they had so long overlooked the obvious meaning of their own formularies. While the doctrine of present salva tion from the guilt and power of sin, by faith in the Lord Jesus, meets the wants of fallen man, and is thus of universal application, it is the most effectual antidote to Popery; and in this light it was regarded by all the Protestant Reformers. Against the advocates of this vital truth, therefore, the Papal Council of Trent levelled its bitterest anathemas; and the same important tenet is now assailed by misrepresentation and unmeaning verbiage by the men who are attempting to revive the dogmas of Romanism in the Church of England, and to supersede the scriptural theology of the Reformation.* • Allusion is here especially intended to Dr. Pusey's Letter to the Bishop of Oxford, and Mr. Newman's Lectures on Justification. The first of these publications contains such misstatements concerning the Wesleyan tenets as it is hard to reconcile with honesty of purpose. As to many passages in the latter of these works, conjectures may indeed be formed respecting their import; but what the author really intended to teach, on the all-important subject of justification before God, it would be difficult to decide. It cannot be here said that the trumpet does not give an uncertain sound. Like the true Theologues of the Roman school, the author "Leads to bewilder, and dazzles to blind." CHAPTER V. THE day on which Mr. Charles Wesley came to Christ, weary and heavy laden, and found rest to his soul, was unquestionably the most important period of his existence. He then felt that he passed from death unto life. His spiritual enjoyments now began, in all their richness and depth; and he entered upon a course of ministerial usefulness, of which, up to this period, he had no conception. It easy to trace, in his subsequent spirit and practice, all the scriptural marks of a renewed nature. His conscience was exceedingly tender. He watched the workings of his heart with unremitting care, fearful lest he should sin against God, by pride, or any other evil temper. The means of grace were his delight; for in the use of them he enjoyed communion with God. Before the end of the month his health was so far improved, that he was able to go abroad; and he was then every day an attendant at church, where he received the Lord's supper at every opportunity. He appears indeed to have still communicated with his friends almost daily. The Bible was his constant companion. He read it, and meditated upon it, day and night. In consequence of his long and severe afflictions, he was, as yet, unable to address large congregations in public; but, like the Apostles at Jerusalem, "daily, and in every house," where he could gain access, "he ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." In private companies, where many resorted to him, he read the Scriptures, sang hymns, related his religious experience, and urged upon all the duty and privilege of an immediate application to Christ, in faith, for pardon, and peace, and holiness. Never did he forget the bright and joyous days, and months, and years, which followed his espousal to Christ; and every remembrance of them was refreshing to his heart. The most perfect picture of his feelings and character at this period is that which was drawn many years afterwards by his own inimitable hand. It was not under the mere influence of a |