"Our end in leaving our native land," Wesley says, "was not to avoid
want, God having given us plenty of temporal blessings; nor to gain the
dung and dross of riches and honor; but simply to save our souls, to
live wholly to the glory of God."
Wesley hoped by subjecting himself to the hardships of such a life to
secure that holiness for which his soul so ardently longed. He had no
clear conception as yet of the doctrine of salvation by faith alone. He
hoped by spending his life among rude savages to escape the temptations
of the great metropolis. In the wilds of America he could live on "water
and bread and the fruits of the earth," and speak "without giving
offense." He justly concluded that "pomp and show of the world had no
place in the wilds of America." "An Indian hut offered no food for
curiosity." "My chief motive," he says, "is the hope of saving my own
soul. I hope to learn the true sense of the Gospel of Christ by
preaching it to the heathen." "I cannot hope to attain the same degree
of holiness here which I do there." "I hope," he continues, "from the
moment I leave the English shore, under the acknowledged character of a
teacher sent from God, there shall be no word heard from my lips but
what properly flows from that character."
But Wesley could not get away from himself. The greatest hindrance to
holiness was in his own heart. He had looked for holiness in works,
sacrifices, austerities, etc., but had failed to see that it was by
faith alone.
The voyage, though of almost unparalleled roughness, was of infinite
profit to Wesley. A company of Moravians, with David Nitschmann as their
bishop, were passengers, bound to the New World, fleeing from popish
persecutions. Wesley, observing their behavior in the midst of great
peril, was convinced that they were in possession of that to which he
was a stranger. Ingham represented them as "a heavenly minded people."
Fifty-seven days of sea life brought them within sight of the beautiful
Savannah. Soon they were kneeling upon its soil, thanking God for his
merciful care and providential deliverance.
An event occurred on the voyage to Georgia illustrating Wesley's
character. General Oglethorpe had become offended at his Italian
servant. Hearing a disturbance in the cabin, Wesley stepped in. The
general, observing him, and being in a high temper, sought to apologize.
"You must excuse me, Mr. Wesley," he said; "I have met with a
provocation too great for a man to bear. You know I drink nothing but
Cyprus wine. I provided myself with several dozens of it, and this
villain, Grimaldi, has drank nearly the whole lot of it. I will be
avenged. He shall be tied hand and foot, and carried to the man-of-war.
[A man-of-war accompanied the expedition for protection.] The rascal
should have taken care how he used me so, for I never forgive." Wesley,
fixing his eye upon the general--an eye that seemed to penetrate his
soul--said, "Then I hope, general, you never sin!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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