Wesley Corpus

Never omit meeting your Class or Band; never absent yourself from any public meeting. These are the very sinews of our Society; and whatever weakens, or tends to weaken, our regard for these, or our exactness in attending them, strikes at the very root of our community. As one saith, ‘That part of our economy, the private weekly meetings for prayer, examination, and particular exhortation, has been the greatest means of deepening and confirming every blessing that was received by the word preached, and of diffusing it to others, who could not attend the public ministry; whereas, without this reli gious connexion and intercourse, the most ardent attempts, by mere preaching, have proved of no lasting use.’ “Suffer not one thought of separating from your brethren, whether their opinions agree with yours or not. Do not dream that any man sins in not believing you, in not taking your word; or that this or that opinion is essential to the work, and both must stand or fall together. Beware of impatience of contradiction. Do not condemn or think hardly of those who cannot see just as you see, or who judge it their duty to contradict you, whether in a great thing or a small. I fear some of us have thought hardly of others, merely because they contradicted what we affirmed. All this tends to division; and, by everything of this kind, we are teaching them an evil lesson against ourselves. “O beware of touchiness, of testiness, not bearing to be spoken to ; starting at the least word; and flying from those who do not implicitly receive mine or another’s sayings! “Expect contradiction and opposition, together with crosses of various kinds. Consider the words of St. Paul: “To you it is given, in the behalf of Christ,’--for his sake, as a fruit of his death and intercession for you,-‘not only to believe, but also to suffer for his sake.” (Phil. i. 29.) It is given / God gives you this opposition or reproach; it is a fresh token of his love. And will you disown the Giver; or spurn his gift, and count it a misfortune?