Wesley Corpus

. wise? Where is the disputer of this world?’ Where is the replier against God with his sage maxims, ‘ He that is despised can do no good in the world? To be useful a man must be esteemed: to advance the glory of God, you must have a fair reputation.’ Saith the world so? Well, what saith the Scripture? Why, that God ‘hath laughed’ all this heathen wisdom ‘to scorn.’ It saith that twelve despised foliowers of a despised Master, all of whom were esteemed ‘as the filth and off-scouring of the world,’ did more good init, than all the twelve tribes of Israel. It saith, that their despised Master left an express declaration to us, and to our children, ‘ Blessed are ye’ (not accursed with the heavy curse of doing no good, of being useless in the world) ‘when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil of you falsely for my name’s sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad ; for great is your reward in heaven.’ “22. These are a part of my reasons for choosing to abide as yet in the station wherein [now am. As to the flock committed to your care, whom you have many years fed with the sincere milk of the word, I trust in God, your labour shall not be in vain. Some of them you have seen gathered into the garner. And, for yourself, I doubt not, when ‘your warfare is accomplished,’ when you are ‘made perfect through sufferings,’ you shall follow the children whom God hath given you, full of years and victories. And he that took care of those poor sheep before you was born, will not forget them when you are dead.” Thur. 29.--TI left London, and in the evening expounded to a small company at Basingstoke. Saturday, 31.--In the evening [ reached Bristol, and met Mr. Whitefield there. I could scarce reconcile myself at first to this strange way of preaching in the fields, of which he set me an example on Sunday ; having been all my life (till very lately) , so tenacious of every point relating to decency and order, that I should have thought the saving of souls almost a sin, if it had not been done in a church.