Another of his early sermons was delivered at Epworth, January 11, 1726, at the funeral of John Griffith, a hopeful young man, son of one of the Epworth parishioners. The text was 2 Samuel xii. 23, and the subject of the brief sermon was the folly of indulging grief, except on account of sin. Funeral sermons, in the common acceptation of the word, the young preacher denounces, for they had been so often prostituted to a mere flattery of the dead that now they were no longer capable of serving good purposes. “It is of no service to the dead,” says he, “to celebrate his actions, since he has the applause of God and His holy angels, and his own conscience. And it is of little use to the living, since he who desires a pattern may find enough proposed as such in the sacred writings.” For such reasons, Wesley, already laconic, reduces all that he has to say of John Griffith into a single sentence. “To his parents he was an affectionate, dutiful son; to his acquaintance an ingenuous, cheerful, good-natured companion; and to me a well-tried, sincere friend.”[42] In a little more than two months after the delivery of this sermon, Wesley was elected fellow of Lincoln College.[43] The election took place March 17th, 1726. In this affair, his brother Samuel rendered him considerable assistance; his mother, with a full heart, thanked Almighty God for his “good success;”[44] and his father wrote him as follows:— “DEAR MR. FELLOW ELECT OF LINCOLN,—I have done more than I could for you. On your waiting on Dr. Morley[45] with this, he will pay you £12. You are inexpressibly obliged to that generous man. The last £12 pinched me so hard, that I am forced to beg time of your brother Sam till after harvest, to pay him the £10 that you say he lent you. Nor shall I have as much as that, perhaps not £5, to keep my family till after harvest; and I do not expect that I shall be able to do anything for Charles when he goes to the university. What will be my own fate God only knows. _Sed passi graviora._ Wherever I am, my Jack is fellow of Lincoln. I wrote to Dr. King, desiring leave for you to come one, two, or three months into the country, where you shall be gladly welcome. Keep your best friend fast; and, next to him, Dr. Morley; and have a care of your other friends, especially the younger. All at present from your loving father, “SAMUEL WESLEY.”[46] Writing to his brother Samuel, Wesley says:— “LINCOLN COLLEGE, OXON, _April 4, 1726_. “DEAR BROTHER,—My father very unexpectedly, a week ago, sent me a bill on Dr. Morley for £12, which he had paid to the rector’s use at Gainsborough; so that now all my debts are paid, and the expenses of my treat defrayed; and I have still above £10 remaining. If I could have leave to stay in the country till my college allowance commences, this money would abundantly suffice me till then.