Wesley Corpus

“10. To quicken me in making a diligent and thankful use of these peculiar advantages, I have the opportunity of communicating weekly, and of public prayer twice a day. It would be easy to mention many mcre, as well as to show many disadvantages, which one of greater courage and skill than me, could scarce separate from the way of life you speak of. But whatever others could do, I could not. I could not stand my ground one month against intemperance in sleep, self indulgence in food, irregularity in study; against a general lukewarmness in my affections, and remissness in my actions; against a softness directly opposite to the character of a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And then when my spirit was thus dissolved, I should be an easy prey to every temptation. Then might the cares of the world, and the desire of other things, roll back with a full tide upon me: and it would be no wonder, if while I preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. [ cannot, therefore, but observe, that the question does not relate barely to the degrees of noliness, but to the very being of i: Agitur de vita et sanguine Turni: [Life is at stake :] “The point is, whether I shall or shall not work out my salvation: whether I shall serve Christ or Belial. “11. What still heightens my fear of this untried state is, that when I am once entered into it, I am entered irrecoverably,--once for all : Vestigia nulla retrorsum: [There is no going back.] If I should ever be weary of the way of life I am now in, I have frequent opportunities of quitting it: but whatever difficulties occur in that, foreseen or unforeseen, there is no return, any more than from the grave. When I have once launched out into the unknown sea, there is no recovering my harbour. I must go on, through whatever whirlpools, or rocka, or sands, though all the waves and storms go over me.