Such, then, was the origin, the object, and the history of the society before which Samuel Wesley preached, in St James’s Church, Westminster, in 1698. He was still a young man, and the circumstance of him being selected to preach, shows the high estimation in which he was already held. The sermon is long, able, and earnest. “Daring and open wickedness,” he writes, “is high treason against the Majesty of heaven; and are not all His liege subjects under the deepest obligations to oppose it? Who has courage, and constancy, and bravery, equal to so glorious an undertaking? Blessed be God! we have now the encouragement of superiors. The sword of justice no longer lies rusting and idle, but is drawn and furbished for the battle, and glitters against the enemies of God and of our country. Shall a wretched mortal, a worm of the same dust with ourselves, presume to affront my Father, my Patron, my Friend, my Benefactor, my Saviour, and shall I want courage, or honesty to oppose him, to detect him, and to bring him to that shame and punishment he so highly merits? Whom are we afraid of, that we forget the Lord our Maker? Let all the potsherds of the earth fall down together, and humble themselves before the King, the Lord of hosts, and let Him alone be exalted, whose glory is above the heavens, and who shakes the earth at His displeasure. Let us often read the lives of martyrs. Here were Christians indeed,—who trampled the world, subdued the flesh, and conquered the devil, following the great Captain of their salvation, as He himself led the way, with crimson banners, and garments rolled in blood; and shall we pretend to follow them, as they did Him, and yet be afraid of a few hard words or frowns from mistaken or evil men? Oh pity! pity! poor sinners, and pray to God to pity them, who want the sense and grace to pity themselves; but show your pity to them, not by a cruel fondness, but by a kind and wholesome severity. Why should we suffer them to tumble over a fatal precipice, for fear of disturbing or disobliging them, by pulling them back with some haste and violence? Go on, then, in the name of God. Remember the eyes of God, men, and angels, are upon you. Be sober, be vigilant. Forbid none from casting out devils, because he follows not with _you_. Be careful and humble, and all earth and hell can never hurt you. Be willing, be thankful to be accounted the filth and offscouring of the world; the disturbers of the public peace, by those who themselves notoriously break it. Think much of heaven—forget not death. Be constant at sacraments, and in prayer, public, domestic, and private. Neglect not to sing the high praises of God. Remember the poor, especially God’s poor. Pity the afflicted, especially our dear brethren who now ‘suffer for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus.’ Oh the peace, the joy, the triumph, the exultation of mind which a good man possesses, when he reflects on any sufferings