The life and times of the Rev. John Wesley, M.A., founder of the Methodists. Vol. 3 (of 3)Tyerman, L. (Luke)
Religion
The life and times of the Rev. John Wesley, M.A., founder of the Methodists. Vol. 3 (of 3)
Tyerman, L. (Luke)
Methodism; Wesley, John, 1703-1791
From Macclesfield, Wesley proceeded to Stockport, Manchester, and
New Mills. He writes: “Wednesday, March 30--I rode to a little town
called New Mills, and preached in their large new chapel, which has a
casement in every window, three inches square! That is the custom of
the country!” This well ventilated chapel was built principally by Mr.
and Mrs. Beard, the parents of the wife of the late T. Holy, Esq., of
Sheffield.[16]
Coming to Liverpool, on April 6, Wesley says: “We had a huge
congregation at Liverpool; but some pretty, gay, fluttering things
did not behave with so much good manners as the mob at Wigan. The
congregations in general were quite well behaved, as well as large,
both morning and evening; and I found the society both more numerous
and more lively than ever it was before.”
One of these “huge congregations,” after a sermon by Wesley, on Sunday,
April 10, were munificent enough to make a collection amounting to £1
4_s._ 9_d._; and the society, which was more numerous and lively than
ever, aided by the general congregations, managed to contribute, in
their classes and at public collections, from September 1, 1768, to
January 16, 1769, the sum of £10 17_s._ 5_d._ for the support of the
work of God among them.[17] Such was Liverpool Methodism a hundred
years ago!
On April 19, Wesley arrived in Glasgow, and says: “We have few
societies in Scotland like this. The greater part of the members not
only have found peace with God, but continue to walk in the light
of His countenance. That wise and good man, Mr. Gillies, has been
of great service to them, encouraging them to abide in the grace of
God.” Three years before this, Thomas Taylor had been sent to Glasgow,
and, after travelling several hundreds of miles to his appointment,
had, as his first congregation, two bakers’ boys and two old women,
which congregation, however, kept increasing till it reached about two
hundred. Taylor tells us, that for want of means he never kept so many
fast days as he did in Glasgow; and, though he ultimately obtained a
preaching room, and formed a society, and engaged to pay a precentor
fourpence for each service at which he led off the psalms, he found it
so difficult to raise the money that he dismissed the psalms and the
psalm singer all together. He left behind him, however, a society of
seventy members.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account