THE

LIFE

OF THE

REV. JOHN WESLEY, M. A.

SOME TIME FELLOW OF LINCOLN COLLEGE, OXFORD.

COLLECTED FROM HIS PRIVATE PAPERS AND PRINTED WORKS; AND WRITTEN
AT THE REQUEST OF HIS EXECUTORS.

TO WHICH IS PREFIXED

SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS ANCESTORS AND RELATIONS,

WITH

THE LIFE OF THE

REV. CHARLES WESLEY, M. A.

COLLECTED FROM HIS PRIVATE JOURNAL, AND NEVER BEFORE

PUBLISHED.

BY

JOHN WHITEHEAD, M. D.

AUTHOR OF THE DISCOURSE DELIVERED AT MR. WESLEY'S FUNERAL.

In labors more abundant-

A workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of Truth.-PAUL.

TWO VOLUMES IN ONE.

VOL. I.

BOSTON:

HILL & BRODHEAD,

17 & 19 CORNHILL.

HAVING had in my possession, for many years, a genuine copy of the London edition of WHITEHEAD'S LIFE OF WESLEY, which, with a single exception, was the only copy known to be in existence, I considered it too valuable longer to slumber in obscurity, and about a year since, I announced my intention to republish it. Through causes unlooked for, and beyond my control, the execution of my plan has been considerably delayed; but at length, I have the very great pleasure of presenting to the public, in a neat and substantial form, an American edition of this inestimable work, without the least variation in the language or arrangement of the copy, and without notes or comments. As this was the first written Life of the Wesleys, prepared from authentic documents, and as it is the only one which has been written which can rightfully claim the merit of impartiality, I thought it best, in republishing it, to conform as nearly as possible to the original text, and leave the reader free to draw his own conclusions of the contents of the work.

It is next to superfluous to speak of the importance of this re-publication; the fact is more than admitted by those who are conversant with its historical merits. Methodism has attained so prominent a position in the affairs of the religious world, that every thing connected with its origin, its principles and its history becomes a matter of public interest. When, therefore, an authentic record of the chief events connected with the first half century of the existence of this institution is brought forth in an accessible form, shall it not be regarded as an affair deserving something better than a mere passing notice? Considering the partial statements and false colorings in reference to important matters, which prejudiced and selfish biographers and historians have embodied in nearly all the books extant purporting to be the lives of Wesley, and the histories of Methodism, this truthful sketch of Whitehead shines out from among the mass of error, like a sparkling diamond from the unseemly rubbish of its native bed.

The life of Wesley and the early history of Methodism are so intimately associated as to be almost one and the same thing. The chief incidents of the former become the elements of the latter. As Abraham is the acknowledged father of the faithful, so in a similar sense, is Wesley the father of Methodism; and as in either case, the characteristic traits of the parents A*

are transmitted to their offspring, there may be seen in the developments of Methodism the impress of the expansive intellect and boundless benevolence of him who was the heaven-chosen instrument of projecting this great moral enterprise, whose infancy he nursed with more than parental solicitude.— From the commencement to the close of Mr. Wesley's protracted public career, one object alone seemed to have predominated in his mind, and to that, were devoted, unreservedly, all his masterly intellectual and physical energies. That object was, to rear in the world a spiritual church, a holy temple unto God, whose walls should tower aloft in the majesty of strength divine, in bright and glorious contrast with the tottering edifices of a formal religion, and the crumbling wrecks of blind superstition! In this holy enterprise, he received important assistance from his brother, the Rev. Charles Wesley, M. A., whose life is also sketched by the same able biographer, and is contained in this work.

The careful reader will at once perceive that Dr. Whitehead is no ordinary writer. The elegance, strength and perspicuity of his language, the facility and faithfulness of his delineations amply qualify him for the acceptable performance of the task which Mr. Wesley, in confidence, intrusted to him.

With the hope that the efforts which I have made to republish this valuable work, and which have been attended with great expense, will be duly appreciated, and that the work itself may be the means of further extending the public acquaintance with the FOUNDERS, DOCTRINES and EARLY USAGES of a dearly cherished religious institution, I remain the Public's humble and obedient servant in the bonds of the Gospel,

BOSTON, June, 1844.

JOHN MCLEISH.

ADVERTISEMENT.

AN EXTRACT FROM MR. WESLEY'S WILL.

"I GIVE all my manuscripts to Thomas Coke, Doctor Whitehead, and Henry Moore, to be burnt or published, as they see good."

As the dispute between Dr. Coke, Mr. Moore, the Methodist Conference, and me, respecting the publication of Mr. J. Wesley's Life, has been very generally made known through the three kingdoms, it seems necessary to state to the public, what has been done on my part, and on the part of the committee united with me, to put an end to that dispute. After the Manchester Conference, in 1791, Mr. Rogers, Dr. Coke, Mr. Whitefield, &c. began the dispute, on the subject of money, or the division of the profits arising from the sale of the Life: they afterwards required, that I should publish nothing in the Life of Mr. J. Wesley, but what should be approved by a committee of the preachers. With respect to the first, I offered to give them the whole profits of the work, if they desired it, in order to put an end to the difference, as my printed letter of November of that year, will testify. With respect to the requisition, I could not in conscience submit to it. I offered to read the manuscript to them as friends, and to consult them on particular parts of Mr. Wesley's life; but insisted on the right of using my own judgment, if on any point we could not agree. Here then we differed, and in the printed letter above mentioned, I addressed the preachers on this subject, in the following words: "I therefore entreat you, for God's sake, for the sake of peace among the people, for the honor of religion in general, to desist from this arbitrary and illiberal requisition. If you still insist upon it, and make a breach on this account, I call the living God to witness between me and you this day, that I am clear; the mischief that may follow, will lie at your door, not mine; and you shall answer for it, at the awful tribunal of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

In August, 1792, when the Methodist preachers were assembled in conference, at London, the committee above mentioned, met, and resolved,

That, "When the members of the committee united themselves together, to support Dr. Whitehead in writing the life of Mr. Wesley, the following were the leading principles of their union: 1. That Dr. Whitehead having been solicited to write the life, by the executors, preachers, and others, had pledged himself to the public to cxecute the work; and his printed proposals had been signed by the executors, and admitted by the Conference. 2. That Dr. Whitehead had an undoubted right to use his own judgment without control, in writing a book to which his name must be prefixed, and for the contents of

* See Arminian Magazine for January, 1792, page 29.