Wesley Corpus

Sun. 20.--At Mr. Seward’s earnest request, I preached once more in Moorfields, on * the work of faith,” and the “ patience of hope,” and “the labour of love.” A zealous man was so kind as to free us from most of the noisy, careless hearers, (or spectators rather,) by reading, meanwhile, at a small distance, a chapter in the “ Whole Duty of Man.” I wish neither he nor they may ever read a worse book; though I can tell them of a better,--the Bible. In the evening, I went with Mr. Seward to the love-feast in Fetter-lane; at the conclusion of which, having said nothing till then, I read a paper, the substance whereof was as follows :-- “ About nine months ago certain of you began to speak contrary to the doctrine we had till then received. The sum of what you asserted is this:-- ~ 1. That there is no such thing as weak faith: that there is no justifying faith where there is ever any doubt or fear, or where there is not, in the full sense, a new, a clean heart. 2. Thata mak ought not to use those ordinances of God, which our Church terms ‘ means of grace,’ before he has such a faith as excludes all doubt and fear, and implies a new, a clean heart. “ You have often affirmed, that to search the Scriptures, to pray, or to communicate, before we have this faith, is to seek salvation by works ; and that till these works are laid aside no man can receive faith. I believe these assertions to be flatly contrary to the word of God. I have es = ‘ Aug. 1740. | REV. J. WESLEY’S JOURNAL. 19] warned you hereof again and again, and besought you to turn back to the Law and the Testimony. I have borne with you long, hoping you would turn. But as I find you more and more confirmed in the error of your ways, nothing now remains, but that I should give you up to God. You that are of the same judgment, follow me.” I then, without saying any thing more, withdrew, as did eighteen or nineteen of the society.