PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The works of the Rev. John Wesley, Vol. 10 (of 32)
Wesley, John, 1703-1791 · 85,864 words · 123 reading sections
Part 1
The Works of the Rev. John Wesley, M.A. ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Transcriber’s Notes │ │ │ │ …
249 wordsSECTION 2VOLUME X.
BRISTOL: Printed by WILLIAM PINE, in _Wine-Street_. MDCCLXXII. THE CONTENTS Of the TENTH VOLUME. _Serious thoughts occasioned by the late Earthquake at Lisbon._ _A Collection of Forms of Prayer for every Day in the week._ _A Collection of Prayers for Families._ _An Address to the Clergy._ _A short Account of the …
820 wordsSECTION 3Part 3
The fact (of the truth of which any who will be at the pains of enquiring, may soon be satisfied) is this. On _Tuesday, March 25th_ last, being the week before _Easter_, many persons heard a great noise near a ridge of mountains called _Black Hamilton_ in _Yorkshire_. It was observed chiefly on the south west side of t…
863 wordsSECTION 4Part 4
It could not be water; for no water issued out, when the one or the other rock was torn off. Nor had there been any rains for some time before. It was in that part of the country a remarkable dry season. Neither was there any cavity in that part of the rock, wherein a sufficient quantity of water might have lodged. On …
746 wordsSECTION 5Part 5
First, If by affirming, “All this is purely natural,” you mean, it is not providential, or that God has nothing to do with it, this is not true, that is, supposing the bible to be true. For supposing this, you may discant ever so long on the natural causes of murrain, winds, thunder, lightning, and yet you are altogeth…
850 wordsSECTION 6Part 6
But supposing the earthquake which made such havock at _Lisbon_, should never travel so far as _London_, is there nothing else which can reach us? What think you of a comet? Are we absolutely out of the reach of this? You cannot say we are; seeing these move in all directions, and through every region of the universe. …
869 wordsSECTION 7Part 7
Yet more: whose mercy riseth above the heavens, and his faithfulness above the clouds: who is loving to every man, and his mercy over all his works: let us secure him on our side. Let us make this wise, this powerful, this gracious God our friend! Then need we not fear, though the earth be moved and the hills be carrie…
859 wordsSECTION 8Part 8
But extends beyond the bounds of time and place, to the house of God eternal in the heavens. Hence he is so far from looking upon death as an enemy, that he longs to feel his welcome embrace. He groans (but they are pleasing groans) to have mortality swallowed up of life. Perhaps you will say, “But this is all a dream…
422 wordsSECTION 9SUNDAY MORNING.
ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies, I thy unworthy servant desire to present myself, with all humility, before thee, to offer my morning sacrifice of love and thanksgiving! Glory be to thee, O most adorable Father, who after thou hadst finished the work of creation, enteredst into thy eternal rest. Glory be to thee, O…
885 wordsSECTION 10Part 10
O merciful God, whatsoever thou deniest me, deny me not this love. Save me from the idolatry _of loving the world, or any of the things of the world_. Let me never love any creature, but for thy sake, and in subordination to thy love. Take thou the full possession of my heart, raise there thy throne, and command there,…
389 wordsSECTION 11SUNDAY EVENING.
_General questions which a serious Christian may propose to himself, before he begins his evening devotions._ 1. With what degree of attention and fervour did I use my morning prayers, public or private? 2. Have I done any thing without a present, or at least a previous perception of its direct, or remote tendency to…
822 wordsSECTION 12Part 12
Above all, deliver me, O my God, from all idolatrous self-love. I know, O God (blessed be thy infinite mercy for giving me this knowledge) that this is the root of all evil. I know, thou madest me, not to do my own will but thine. I know, the very corruption of the devil is, the having a will contrary to thine. O be th…
610 wordsSECTION 13MONDAY MORNING.
_General questions, which may be used every morning._ Did I think of God first and last? Have I examined myself how I behaved since last night’s retirement? Am I resolved to do all the good I can this day, and to be diligent in the business of my calling? O GOD, who art the giver of all good gifts, I thy unworthy s…
892 wordsSECTION 14Part 14
¹ Here mention the particular persons you would pray for. * * * * *…
10 wordsSECTION 15MONDAY EVENING.
_Particular questions relating to the love of our neighbour._ 1. Have I thought any thing but my conscience, too dear to part with, to please or serve my neighbour? 2. Have I rejoiced or grieved with him? 3. Have I received his infirmities with pity, not with anger? 4. Have I contradicted any one, either where I ha…
682 wordsSECTION 16Part 16
Shew mercy to the whole world, O Father of all; let the gospel of thy Son run and be glorified throughout all the earth. Let it be made known to all infidels, and obeyed by all Christians. Be merciful to this church and nation; give unto thy bishops a discerning spirit, that they may make choice of fit persons to serve…
233 wordsSECTION 17TUESDAY MORNING.
O ETERNAL and merciful Father, I give thee humble thanks (increase my thankfulness, I beseech thee) for all the blessings, spiritual and temporal, which in the riches of thy mercy thou hast poured down upon me. Lord, let me not live but to love thee, and to glorify thy name. Particularly I give thee most unfeigned than…
863 wordsSECTION 18TUESDAY EVENING.
_Particular questions relating to humility._ 1. Have I laboured to conform all my thoughts, words and actions to these fundamental maxims; _I am nothing, I have nothing, I can do nothing_? 2. Have I set apart some time this day, to think upon my infirmities, follies and sins? 3. Have I ascribed to myself any part of…
856 wordsSECTION 19Part 19
O thou Creator and preserver of all mankind, have mercy upon all conditions of men: purge thy holy Catholic church from all heresy, schism, and superstition. Bless our sovereign in his person, in his actions, in his relations, and in his people. May it please thee _to endue his council, and all the nobility, with grace…
225 wordsSECTION 20WEDNESDAY MORNING.
O THOU who dwellest in the light which no man can approach, in whose presence there is no night, in the light of whose countenance there is perpetual day: I thy sinful servant, whom thou hast preserved this night, who live by thy power this day, bless and glorify thee, for the defence of thy almighty providence, (――――)…
880 wordsSECTION 21Part 21
With a propitious eye, O gracious Lord, behold all my enemies, and all that are in affliction; give them patience under their sufferings, and grant that they, and all the members of thy church, may find rest, _where the wicked cease from troubling_, and mercy in the great day of trial. In particular I commend to thy me…
139 wordsSECTION 22WEDNESDAY EVENING.
_Particular questions relating to mortification._ 1. Have I done any thing merely because it was pleasing? 2. Have I not only ♦not done what passion sollicited me to, but done just the contrary? ♦ “done” replaced with “not done” per Errata 3. Have I received the inconveniences I could not avoid, as means of mortifi…
841 wordsSECTION 23Part 23
O my God, I praise thee for thy continual preservation of me, for thy fatherly protection over me this day. (――――)¹. For all the comforts with which thou surroundest me, spiritual and temporal; particularly for leave now to pray unto thee. O accept the poor services, pardon the sinfulness of this and all my holy duties…
127 wordsSECTION 24THURSDAY MORNING.
O ETERNAL God, my Sovereign Lord, I acknowledge all I am, all I have is thine. O give me such a sense of thy infinite goodness, that I may return to thee all possible love and obedience. I humbly and heartily thank thee for all the favours thou hast bestow’d upon me; for creating me after thine own image, for thy dail…
643 wordsSECTION 25Part 25
Extend, O Lord, thy pity to the whole race of mankind: enlighten the Gentiles with thy truth, and bring into thy flock thy ancient people the Jews. Be gracious to the holy Catholic church; and grant she may always preserve that doctrine and discipline which thou hast delivered to her. Grant that all of this nation, esp…
299 wordsSECTION 26THURSDAY EVENING.
_Particular questions relating to resignation and meekness._ 1. Have I endeavoured to will what God wills, and that only? 2. Have I received every thing that has befallen me, without my choice, as the choice of infinite wisdom and goodness for me, with thanks? 3. Have I (after doing what he requires of me to do conc…
908 wordsSECTION 27Part 27
Have mercy, O Father of the spirits of all flesh, on all mankind. Convert all Jews, Turks and Heathens to thy truth. Bless the Catholic church; heal its breaches, and establish it in truth and peace. Preserve and defend all Christian princes, especially our sovereign and his family. Be merciful to this nation; bless th…
307 wordsSECTION 28FRIDAY MORNING.
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, I bless thee from my heart, that of thy infinite goodness thou hast preserved me this night past, and hast with the impregnable defence of thy providence protected me, from the power and malice of the devil. Withdraw not, I humbly intreat thee, thy protection from me, but mercifully this d…
900 wordsSECTION 29Part 29
Hear, O merciful Father, my supplications, for the sake of thy Son _Jesus_, and bring us, with all those who have pleased thee from the beginning of the world, into the glories of thy Son’s kingdom: to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all praise for ever and ever! _Our Father_, &c. * * * * …
54 wordsSECTION 30FRIDAY EVENING.
_Questions relating to mortification, see before the prayers for Wednesday evening._ O GOD the Father, who canst not be thought to have made me only to destroy me, have mercy upon me. O God the Son, who knowing thy Father’s will didst come into the world to save me, have mercy upon me. O God the Holy Ghost, who to t…
927 wordsSECTION 31Part 31
¹ Here mention the particulars you would pray for. * * * * *…
9 wordsSECTION 32SATURDAY MORNING.
O GOD, thou great Creator and Sovereign Lord of heaven and earth, thou Father of angels and men, thou giver of life and protector of all thy creatures, mercifully accept this my morning sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, which I desire to offer with all humility to thy divine Majesty. _Thou art praised, O Lord, by a…
736 wordsSECTION 33Part 33
With a propitious eye, O gracious Comforter, behold all that are in affliction: let the sighings of the prisoners, the groans of the sick, the prayers of the oppressed, the desire of the poor and needy come before thee (――――)¹. Give unto my enemies (――――) grace and pardon, charity to me and love to thee: remove the clo…
194 wordsSECTION 34SATURDAY EVENING.
_Particular questions relating to thankfulness._ 1. Have I allotted some time for thanking God for the blessings of the past week? 2. Have I, in order to be the more sensible of them, seriously and deliberately considered the several circumstances that attended them? 3. Have I considered each of them as an obligatio…
879 wordsSECTION 35SUNDAY MORNING.
ALMIGHTY and eternal God, we desire to praise thy holy name for so graciously raising us up, in soundness of body and mind, to see the light of this day. We bless thee in behalf of all thy creatures; for _the eyes of all look unto thee, and thou givest them their meat in due season_. But above all we acknowledge thy i…
814 wordsSECTION 36SUNDAY EVENING.
O THOU _high and holy one that inhabitest eternity_. Thou art to be feared and loved by all thy servants. _All thy works praise thee_, O God; and we especially _give thanks unto thee_, for thy marvellous love in Christ Jesus, by whom thou hast _reconciled the world to thyself_. Thou hast _given us exceeding great and p…
887 wordsSECTION 37MONDAY MORNING.
WE humble ourselves, O Lord of heaven and earth, before thy glorious Majesty. We acknowledge thy eternal power, wisdom, goodness, and truth; and desire to render thee most unfeigned thanks, for all the benefits which thou pourest upon us. But above all, for thine inestimable love, in the redemption of the world, by our…
637 wordsSECTION 38MONDAY EVENING.
ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father in whom we live, move, and have our being; to whose tender compassions we owe our safety the day past, together with all the comforts of this life, and the hopes of that which is to come: we praise thee, O Lord, we bow ourselves before thee, acknowledging we have nothing but what we re…
609 wordsSECTION 39TUESDAY MORNING.
O MOST great and mighty Lord, the possessor of heaven and earth, all the angels rejoice in blessing and praising thee, the Father of spirits: for _thou hast created all things, and in wisdom hast thou made them all_, and spread thy tender mercies over all thy works. We desire thankfuly to acknowledge thy bounty to us, …
601 wordsSECTION 40TUESDAY EVENING.
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, the sovereign Lord of all creatures in heaven and earth, we acknowledge that our beings, and all the comforts of them, depend on thee, the fountain of all good. We have nothing but what is owing entirely to thy free and bounteous love, O most blessed Creator, and to the riches of thy grace…
696 wordsSECTION 41WEDNESDAY MORNING.
O GOD, blessed for ever, we thank and praise thee for all thy benefits, for the comforts of this life, and our hope of everlasting salvation in the life to come. We desire to have a lively sense of thy love always possessing our hearts, that may still constrain us to love thee, to obey thee, to trust in thee, to be con…
604 wordsSECTION 42WEDNESDAY EVENING.
O LORD, _how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all. The day is thine, the night also is thine; thou hast prepared the light and the sun._ We render thee thanks for all the benefits which thou hast bestowed on the whole world; especially on us, whom thou hast called to the knowledge of thy grace in C…
749 wordsSECTION 43THURSDAY MORNING.
O LORD, the God of our salvation, _thou art the hope of all the ends of the earth_. Upon thee the eyes of all do wait; for thou givest unto all life and breath and all things. Thou still watchest over us for good; thou daily renewest to us our lives and thy mercies: and thou hast given us the assurance of thy word, tha…
592 wordsSECTION 44THURSDAY EVENING.
O LORD our God, thy glory is above all our thoughts, and thy mercy is over all thy works. We are still living monuments of thy mercy. For thou hast not cut us off in our sins, but still givest us a good hope and strong consolation thro’ grace. Thou hast sent thy only Son into the world, that whosoever believeth in him …
641 wordsSECTION 45FRIDAY MORNING.
O LORD God, _merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth_; thou _keepest mercy for thousands; thou pardonest iniquity and transgression and sin. How excellent is thy loving kindness, O_ God! _The children of men shall put their trust under the shadow of thy wings!_ And therefore do we still…
613 wordsSECTION 46FRIDAY EVENING.
O LORD, thou wast before all, thou art above all, and thy years shall not fail. Thou art the searcher of our hearts. Thou knowest the dulness and hardness, the vanity and deceitfulness of them: we were born sinners, and so have we lived. We have added sin to sin. We have abused thy great and manifold mercies, tempted t…
626 wordsSECTION 47SATURDAY MORNING.
WE present ourselves before thee, O Lord our God, to pay our tribute of prayer and thanksgiving; desiring thee mercifully to accept us and our services, at the hands of Jesus Christ. In his great name we come to beg thy pardon and peace, the increase of thy grace, and the tokens of thy love. For we are not worthy of th…
597 wordsSECTION 48SATURDAY EVENING.
O LORD our God, thou art infinitely good, and thou hast shewed us what is good. Thou sendest out thy light and thy truth, that they may guide us, and makest plain thy way before our face. Thou givest us many opportunities and advantages, to quicken and further us in thy service. We have _line upon line_, and _precept u…
903 wordsSECTION 49Part 49
My first design was, to offer a few plain thoughts to the clergy of our own church only. But upon farther reflection, I see no cause for being so _straitened in my own bowels_. I am a debtor to all: and therefore though I primarily speak to them with whom I am more immediately connected, yet I would not be understood t…
876 wordsSECTION 50Part 50
_5thly_, Some knowledge of the _sciences_ also, is (to say the least) equally _expedient_. Nay, may we not say, that the knowledge of one (whether art or science) altho’ now quite unfashionable, is even _necessary_, next, and in order to, the knowledge of the scripture itself? I mean, _logic_. For what is this, if righ…
756 wordsSECTION 51Part 51
_9thly_, Next to _prudence_ or _common sense_ (if it be not included therein) a clergyman ought certainly to have some degree of _good-breeding_: I mean, address, easiness and propriety of behaviour, wherever his lot is cast: perhaps one might add, he should have (tho’ not the stateliness; _for he is the servant of all…
846 wordsSECTION 52Part 52
He therefore must be utterly void of understanding, must be a madman of the highest order, who on any consideration whatever, undertakes this office, while he is a stranger to this affection. Nay, I have often wondered that any man in his senses, does not rather dig or thresh for a livelihood, than continue therein, un…
867 wordsSECTION 53Part 53
(1.) Are we then such as we are sensible we should be, _1st_, With regard to natural endowments? I am afraid not. If we were, how many stumbling-blocks would be removed out of the way of serious infidels? Alas, what terrible effects do we continually see of that common, tho’ senseless imagination, “The boy, if he is fi…
832 wordsSECTION 54Part 54
2. Do I understand _Greek_ and _Hebrew_? Otherwise how can I undertake (as every minister does) not only to explain books which are written therein, but to defend them against all opponents? Am I not at the mercy of every one who does understand, or even pretends to understand the original? For which way can I confute …
864 wordsSECTION 55Part 55
If I am wanting even in these lowest endowments, shall I not frequently regret the want? How often shall I move heavily, and be far less useful than I might have been? How much more shall I suffer in my usefulness, if I have wasted the opportunities I once had of acquainting myself with the great lights of antiquity, t…
848 wordsSECTION 56Part 56
If preferment, or honour, or profit was in his eye, his _eye_ was not _single_. And our Lord knew no medium between a _single_ and an _evil eye_. The _eye_ therefore which is not _single_ is _evil_. It is a plain, adjudged case. He then that has any other design in undertaking or executing the office of a minister, tha…
846 wordsSECTION 57Part 57
*Some years ago I was asking a plain man, “Ought not _he who feeds the flock, to eat of the milk of the flock_?” He answered, “Friend, I have no objection to that. But what is that to him who _does not feed the flock_? He stands on the far side of the hedge, and feeds himself. It is another who feeds the flock. And oug…
854 wordsSECTION 58Part 58
What a creature then is a coveteous, an ambitious, a luxurious, an indolent, a diversion-loving clergyman? Is it any wonder that infidelity should encrease, where any of these are to be found? That many, comparing their spirit with their profession, should blaspheme that worthy name whereby they are called? But _woe be…
786 wordsSECTION 59JOHN WESLEY.
LONDON, _February 6, 1756_. A short ACCOUNT OF THE DEATH OF THOMAS HITCHENS. _Bisveal_, near _Redruth, Cornwall_. 1. MY son, _Thomas Hitchens_, was born _April 14, 1723_. He went to school till he was about ten years old. From school he went to work at the stamps in dressing of tin oar, in which employment he contin…
918 wordsSECTION 60Part 60
7. He frequently repeated those words of St. _Paul_, _It is good for a man not to touch a woman_; and those of _Job_, _I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I think upon a maid_! He was very jealous over himself when he was in company with those of a different sex. And if no man besides himself was there…
885 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.