Wesley Corpus

gation listening with much attention, and as much devotion, as they would have done to an opera. But is this Christian wor- ship ? Or ought it ever to be suffered in a Christian church ? Itwas thought wehad between seven and eight hundred com- municants ; and indeed the power of God was in the midst of them. Our own Room in the evening was well filled with peo- ple, and with the presence of God. Afterward we had a love- feast, which I supposemight have continued till midnight, if all had spoken that were ready to speak. On Monday and Tuesday I preached again at Bethesda, and God touched several hearts, even of the rich and great : So that (for the time at least) theywere "almost persuaded to be Christ- ians. " It seems as if the good Providence ofGodhad prepared this place, for those rich and honourable sinners, who will not deign to receive any message from God but in a genteel way. Wed. 11. By conversing with many of our friends, I found theywere still increasing in grace as well as in number. The society now contains upwards ofa thousand members ; so that it has outrunall inEngland, but that of London. After this amaz- ing flow, we must expect an ebb : It will be well if only two hundred of these fall away. On Thursday and Friday the congregations were still uncommonly large, and seemed to feel all that was spoken. Sat. 14.-Even at the Gravel-Walk, where the congregation 368 REV. J. WESLEY'S [April, 1787. used to be small enough, the House was crowded in the evening ; although the soldiers (seventy or eighty of whom are in the society) could not attend; it being the hour of their roll-calling. Sun. 15. I preached first at the new Room, and afterwards at Bethesda : Many fair blossoms we see here also ; and surely some fruit will follow ! In the evening our House could not contain the congregation,though they squeezed together as close as possible. I believe few of them heard in vain: Such atten- tion sat on every face, as I seldom see even in Bristol or London. Mon. 16. I set out early, and preached at Prosperous about ten, to a numerous congregation; and although I had come ten miles outofmyway, I didnot regretmylabour. In the even-