Chapter XX (2)

By far the best account, however, of Fletcher in connection with the Bristol Conference, was written, not by one of Wesley’s sturdy Itinerants, but by a young Welshman, who was present, for the purpose of offering himself for the Itinerant work. On account of his delicate health and feeble voice, the offer of David Lloyd was not accepted; but, some years afterwards, he was ordained by Bishop Horsley, who gave him the living of Llanbister, which, even now, is not worth more than £150 a year. The parsonage was a plain stone building, the door of which opened into the main room of the house,—its floor consisting of stone slabs, its fireplace wide, with benches in the corners, and the fire on the hearth made principally of turf. On the same floor was another apartment, which served as kitchen, and above were two humble bed-rooms. “Such,” wrote the late Rev. James Dixon, D.D., who, at the commencement of his ministry, was often the delighted guest of Mr. Lloyd,—“Such was the residence of a philosopher, a poet, and a divine, who seemed to enjoy, with unmixed contentment, the inheritance given him by Providence.” Mr. Lloyd’s wife was a good old Methodist; their house was the home of Methodist itinerant preachers; out of his small income, Mr. Lloyd subscribed £10 a year to the Methodist and Church Missionary Societies; presented to each a donation of £500; by his will, directed that the residue of his property should be equally divided between these two Societies; and built a Methodist chapel in his parish, secured it to the Connexion by deed, and gave to it an endowment, “that Methodist preaching,” as he said, “might continue in the parish as long as water should run.”[415]

Footnote 415:

_Wesleyan Methodist Magazine._ Sixpenny Edition, 1863, pp. 1–8.

This remarkable man, for whom Dr. Dixon had the highest admiration, wrote as follows to the Rev. Dr. Adam Clarke:—

“LLANBISTER, NEAR KNIGHTON, RADNORSHIRE,

“_November 7, 1821_.

“REV. AND DEAR SIR,—At the conference of the Methodist preachers, held
at Bristol in the year 1777, an interview took place between the Rev.
Mr. Wesley and the Rev. John Fletcher, of Madeley. I was both an eye-
and ear-witness to the facts I here relate. The Rev. Mr. Fletcher had
for a long time laboured under the effects of a deep-rooted
consumption, which was then adjudged to be rapidly advancing to its
final crisis. He was advised by the faculty to make the tour of the
Continent, and to breathe his native air. He resided, at that time,
with Mr. Ireland, a gentleman of known celebrity for the exercise of
catholic love towards all such as possessed the essential attributes
of great and good men. On the forenoon of a day, when the sitting of
the Conference was drawing to a close, tidings announced the approach
of Mr. Fletcher. As he entered the vestibule of the New Room,
supported by Mr. Ireland, I can never forget the visible impulse of
esteem which his venerable presence excited in the house. The whole
assembly stood up, as if moved by an electric shock. Mr. Wesley rose,
_ex cathedrâ_, and advanced a few paces to receive his highly
respected friend and reverend brother, whose visage seemed strongly to
bode that he stood on the verge of the grave; while his eyes,
sparkling with seraphic love, indicated that he dwelt in the suburbs
of heaven. In this his languid but happy state, he addressed the
Conference, on their work and his own views, in a strain of holy and
pathetic eloquence, which no language of mine can adequately express.
The influence of his spirit and pathos seemed to bear down all before
it. I never saw such an instantaneous effect produced in a religious
assembly, either before or since. He had scarcely pronounced a dozen
sentences before a hundred preachers, to speak in round numbers, were
immersed in tears. Time can never efface from my mind the recollection
and image of what I then felt and saw. Such a scene I never expect to
witness again on this side eternity. Mr. Wesley, in order to relieve
his languid friend from the fatigue and injury which might arise from
a too long and arduous exertion of the lungs through much speaking,
abruptly kneeled down at his side, the whole congress of preachers
doing the same, while, in a concise and energetic manner, he prayed
for Mr. Fletcher’s restoration to health and a longer exercise of his
ministerial labours. Mr. Wesley closed his prayer with the following
prophetic promise, pronounced in his peculiar manner, and with a
confidence and emphasis which seemed to thrill through every heart,
‘HE SHALL NOT DIE, BUT LIVE, AND DECLARE THE WORKS OF THE LORD.’ The
event verified the prediction. Mr. Fletcher lived for eight succeeding
years, exerting all the zeal of a primitive missionary, and enjoying
all the esteem of a holy patriarch.

“I am, dear Sir, with high regard and esteem, your sincere friend and
humble servant,

“DAVID LLOYD.”[416]

Footnote 416:

“Life of Adam Clarke, LL.D.,” by Rev. Samuel Dunn, p. 127.

Remembering the position which Fletcher had occupied, during the last six years, as the valiant and greatly abused expounder and defender of Wesley’s Anti-Calvinian doctrines, and also bearing in mind the heavenly-mindedness in which Fletcher was now living, and, apparently, dying, there is no room to wonder at Mr. Lloyd’s account, or to doubt of its being strictly accurate. Who can adequately conceive the influence of Fletcher’s visit on the piety and usefulness of Wesley’s conclave of Itinerant Preachers? This is one of the secrets to be revealed hereafter.

Another incident, belonging to this period, must be introduced. James Rogers was now a young Itinerant of five years’ standing, but already possessed the confidence and esteem of Wesley, and afterwards had the honour of seeing Wesley die. No doubt, all of Wesley’s Preachers, at this time assembled in Bristol, would have been delighted to be introduced to poor Fletcher at Brislington; but, on account of his state of health, this was a privilege not many were permitted to enjoy. James Rogers was one of the favoured few, and he shall be allowed, in his own artless way, to tell the story of his interview, and of an open-air sacramental service. During the previous year, he had been stationed in Edinburgh; now he was appointed to Cornwall. He writes:—

“In the year 1777, I was appointed to labour in the east of Cornwall.
A journey of between four and five hundred miles was no small fatigue,
in my then weak state of body; but the Lord was with me. I took my
appointment as from God, and set out in His name, and found sweet
communion with Him in the way.

“I had long desired to see that most eminently pious man of God, Mr.
Fletcher; and now an opportunity offered. Stopping at Bristol a few
days, to rest myself and horse, I heard of his being at Mr. Ireland’s,
about three miles off, and, with two of my brethren, took a ride to
see him. When we came there, he was returning from a ride, which he
was advised by his physician to take every day. Dismounting from his
horse, he came to us with arms spread open, and eyes lifted up to
heaven. His apostolic appearance, with the whole of his deportment,
greatly affected me. The first words he spoke, while yet standing in
the stable by his horse, were a part of the sixteenth chapter of St.
John’s Gospel. He pointed out from thence the descent of the Holy
Ghost, as the great promise of the Father, and the privilege of all
New Testament believers, in a manner I had never heard before. My soul
was dissolved into tenderness, and became as melting wax before the
fire.

“As an invidious report had been spread, that he had renounced what he
had lately written against Calvinism, I took the liberty to mention
the report, and asked him what he thought had given rise to it? He
replied, he could not tell, except that he had refrained from speaking
on controverted points since he came to Mr. Ireland’s: partly, by
reason of the poor state of his health; and partly, because he did not
wish to grieve his kind friend, by making his house a field of
controversy; but he assured us, he had not seen cause to repent of
what he had written in defence of the Rev. Mr. Wesley’s ‘Minutes.’
And, though he believed his close application to study had been the
means of reducing his body to the state in which we then saw it, yet,
he said, if he fell a victim, it was in a good cause.

“After a little conversation upon his darling topic, the _universal
love of God in Christ Jesus_, we were about to take our leave, when
Mr. Ireland sent his footman into the yard with a bottle of red wine,
and some slices of bread upon a waiter. We all uncovered our heads,
while Mr. Fletcher craved a blessing upon the same; which he had no
sooner done, than he handed first the bread to each, and, lifting up
his eyes to heaven, pronounced these words, ‘The body of our Lord
Jesus Christ, which was given for thee, preserve thy body and soul
unto everlasting life.’ Afterwards, handing the wine, he repeated in
like manner, ‘The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,’ etc. Such a
sacrament I never had before. A sense of the Divine presence rested
upon us all; and we were melted into floods of tears. His worthy
friend, Mr. Ireland, grieved to see him exhaust his little strength by
so much speaking, took him by the arm, and almost forced him into the
house; while he kept looking wistfully, and speaking to us, as long as
we could see him. We then mounted our horses, and rode away. That hour
more than repaid me for my whole journey from Edinburgh to
Cornwall.”[417]

Footnote 417:

“Experience and Labours of James Rogers,” written by himself, 1796, p.
22.

The scene so simply described is worthy of being painted by an artistic Methodist.

About the same time, Fletcher wrote as follows to the venerable Vicar of Shoreham, the Rev. Vincent Perronet.

“1777, September 6. My very dear father,—I humbly thank you for the
honour and consolation of your two kind letters. Your vouchsafing to
remember a poor, unprofitable worm, is to me a sure token that my
heavenly Father remembers me. He is God, and therefore I am not
consumed. He is a _merciful, all-gracious God_, and therefore I am
blessed with sympathizing friends and gracious helpers on all sides. O
Sir! if in this disordered, imperfect state of the Church, I meet with
so much kindness, what shall I not meet with, when the millennium you
pray for shall begin? O that the happy thought, the glorious hope may
animate me to perfect holiness in the fear of God; that I may be
accounted worthy to escape the terrible judgments, which will make way
for that happy state of things, and that I may have a part in the
first resurrection, if I am numbered among the dead before that happy
period begin!

“‘Oh! for a firm and lasting faith,
To credit all the Almighty saith!
To embrace the promise of His Son,
And call that glorious rest our own!’

“We are saved by hope at this time; but hope that is seen is not hope.
Let us abound, then, in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost: so
shall we antedate the millennium, take the kingdom, and enjoy
beforehand the rest, which remains for the people of God.

“One of my parishioners brought a horse, last week, to carry me home;
and desired to walk by my side all the way. By the advice of your dear
son, Mr. William Perronet, who still continues to bestow upon me all
the help I could expect from the most loving brother, I sent the man
back. I thank God, I am a little stronger than when I came here. I
kiss the rod, lean on the staff, and wait the end. I yesterday saw a
physician, who told me my case is not yet an absolutely lost case. But
the prospect of languishing two or three years longer, a burden to
everybody, a help to none, would be very painful, if the will of God
and the covenant of life in Christ Jesus did not sanctify all
circumstances, and dispel every gloom. I remember, with grateful joy,
the happy days I spent at Shoreham: _Tecum vivere amem; tecum obeam
lubens_. But, what is better still, I shall live with the Lord and
with you for ever and ever.

“Your obliged servant and affectionate son,
“J. FLETCHER.”[418]

Footnote 418:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

The next letter has not before been published. It was addressed to the lady who afterwards became his wife:—

“BRISTOL, _October 20, 1777_.

“DEAR MADAM,—The hope of thanking you in person for the favour of your
friendly directions, as well as bodily weakness, has prevented me
sending you a letter full of grateful acknowledgments. But, as
Providence may postpone your intended journey to Bath, and hasten mine
into Spain, or into eternity, I trouble you with these lines to
testify how indebted I am to you for thinking of admitting me into the
number of your patients. I have not tried your remedy yet, because the
gentlemen of the faculty, who have attended me here, say, that, though
it might be very good for persons of a cold, phlegmatic habit of body,
it is improper for those who are, like myself, of a dry, bilious
habit. I have taken the bark and rhubarb for some days, and I thought
yesterday that the former medicine had removed the spitting of blood;
but to-night it has again made its appearance. However, I think I can
speak a little better, though I cannot bear the motion of a horse so
well as I could two months ago.

“All is well that comes from our heavenly Friend and Physician. Shall
we receive the sweet at His hands, and not the bitter? Is not His
every dispensation of providence and grace to be received with
thankfulness? I would not get well against His will for all the world,
and for what I esteem more than all the world,—the pleasure of seeing
those whom He has chosen out of the world. If Providence parts us on
earth, we shall meet in heaven.

“I have had it, however, in my thoughts to antedate that pleasure with
respect to you and your devoted family:[419] I was once going to take
the pen to ask your leave to enter and die under your friendly roof;
but the fear of troubling you and taking a step contrary to the
leadings of Providence, made me decline. If you have not a poor
Lazarus at your door to trouble you, you have Lazarus’s Friend in your
sight and heart, to comfort and save you. May He, every day, appear
more glorious in your sight, and may you, every hour, drink deeper
into His Spirit!

“My Christian love waits upon Mrs. Crosby, Miss Hurrel, and Miss
Ritchie.[420] I hope the Lord binds you each day closer to Himself and
to each other, and enables you to see and experience the glory of the
promise made to the daughters and handmaids, as well as to the sons
and servants of the Lord. Oh, what a day when we shall all be so
filled with power from on high, as to go forth and prophesy, and water
the Lord’s drooping plants and barren parched garden with _rivers of
living water flowing from our own souls_; and when an ardent fire of
Divine love will make us put our candle to the chaff of sin, and fire
all the harvests and tents of the Laodiceans! As Abraham saw the day
of _Christ_, our _first Comforter_, and was glad, so I see the day of
the _Spirit_, our _other Comforter_, and rejoice. May you live to
enjoy it! May you and yours hasten it by the pleadings of mighty
prayer! To thank the _Father_ for the unspeakable gift of His Son; and
to look to both for the fulness of that other _gift of God_, for that
_well of living water_ which Christ offered to the woman of Samaria,
is a blessed work, in which I beg you would assist your obliged
brother,

“J. FLETCHER.

“Miss Bosanquet,
“At Cross Hall,
“Near _Leads_,
“Yorkshire, by Manchester.”
Bristol postmark.

Footnote 419:

Miss Bosanquet kept an orphanage, wholly at her own expense.

Footnote 420:

Three grand old Methodists, and, at least, one of them a preacheress.

In another letter to Miss Bosanquet, written about the same time, he remarked:—

“I calmly wait, in unshaken resignation, for the full salvation of
God: ready to trust Him, to venture on His faithful love and on the
sure mercies of David, either at midnight, noonday, or cock-crowing:
for my time is in His hand, and His time is best, and shall be my
time. Death has lost his sting; and I know not what hurry of spirits
is, or what are unbelieving fears, under the most trying
circumstances. Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift.”[421]

Footnote 421:

Mrs. Fletcher’s “Letter to Mons. H. L. De la Flechere,” 1786, p. 35.

At the same period, Fletcher commenced a correspondence with another distinguished lady, the Right Hon. Lady Mary Fitzgerald, daughter of the Earl of Bristol, and aunt of Lord Liverpool. She had been married to George Fitzgerald, Esq., and, for about twelve years past, had been an exemplary member of the Methodist Society. The friendship between her and Wesley was great, and Wesley visited her only nine days before his death. In 1815, at the age of ninety, her clothing caught fire, and she died, her last words being, “Come, Lord Jesus, my blessed Redeemer, come and receive my spirit!” In conformity with a clause in her will, her remains were interred in the burial ground at the front of City Road Chapel; and, in memory of her, there is a plain white marble tablet in that sacred edifice.[422] The following is an extract from Fletcher’s letter to this Methodist lady:—

“_October 21, 1777._

“HONOURED AND DEAR MADAM,—The honour of your Christian letter humbles
me; and the idea of your taking half-a-dozen steps, much more that of
your taking a journey, to consult so mean a creature as myself, lays
me in the dust. My brothers and sisters invite me once more to breathe
my native air, and the physicians recommend to me a journey to the
continent. If I go, I shall probably pass through London, and, in that
case, I could have the honour of waiting upon you. I say, probably,
because I shall have to accompany my friend and a serious family, who
intend to spend the winter in the south of France, or in Spain; and I
do not yet know whether they design to embark at Dover, or at some
port in the west of England.

“You have been afflicted as well as myself. May our maladies yield the
peaceable fruits of righteousness, complete deadness to the world, and
increased faith in the mercy, love, and power of Him, who supports
under the greatest trials, and can make our extremity of weakness an
opportunity of displaying the greatness of His power!

“I have taken the bark for some days, and it seems to have been
blessed to the removal of my spitting of blood. Time will decide
whether it be a real removal, or only a suspension of that symptom.
Either will prove a blessing, as His will is our health. To live
singly to God, the best method is to desire it in _meekness_; to
spread the desire in _quietness_ before Him who inspires it; to offer
Him _now_ all we have and are, _as we can_; and to open our mouth of
expectation wide, that He may fill it with all His fulness, or that He
may _try our patience_, and teach us to know our _total helplessness_.
With respect to the weeping frame of repentance, and the joyous one of
faith, they are both good alternately; but the latter is the better of
the two, because it enables us to do, and suffer, and praise, which
honours Christ more. Both are happily mixed. May they be so in you,
Madam, and in your unworthy and obliged servant,

“J. FLETCHER.”[423]

Footnote 422:

Stevenson’s “City Road Chapel.”

Footnote 423:

Letters, 1791, p. 256.

To another lady, Mrs. Thornton, Fletcher wrote:—

“I spend more time in giving my friends an account of my health, than
the matter is worth. You will see by the enclosed, which I beg you to
send to the post, when you have shown it to Mr. John and Charles
Wesley, how their poor servant does. I am kept in sweet peace, and am
looking for the triumphant joy of my Lord, and for the fulness
expressed in these words, which sweetly filled the sleepless hours of
last night,—

“‘Drawn—and redeem’d—and seal’d,
I bless the One and Three;
With Father, Son, and Spirit fill’d
To all eternity.’

“With respect to my body, I sleep less, and spit more blood than I did
when you were here, nor can I bear the least trot of an easy horse. If
this continues many days, instead of thinking to go and see my friends
on the continent, I shall turn my steps to my earthly home, to be
ready to lay my bones in my churchyard. Two of my parishioners came to
convey me safe home, and had persuaded me to go with them in a
post-chaise; but I had so bad a night before the day that I was to set
out, that I gave it up. I have nothing to look at but Jesus and the
grave. May I so look at them, as to live in my Resurrection and my
life; and die in all the meekness and holiness of my Lord and my
all.”[424]

Footnote 424:

Letters, 1791, pp. 249, 253.

Fletcher having decided to go to the continent, it became necessary to arrange monetary and other matters before he started. To two of his friends at Madeley, Mr. Thomas York and Mr. Daniel Edmunds, he wrote as follows:—

“BRISTOL, _November, 1777_.

“MY DEAR FRIENDS,—The debt of gratitude I owe to a dying sister, who
once took a long journey to see me, when I was ill in Germany, and
whom I just stopped from coming, last winter, to Newington to nurse
me,—the unanimous advice of the physicians whom I have consulted,—and
the opportunity of travelling with serious friends,—have at last
determined me to remove to a warmer climate. As it is very doubtful
whether I shall be able to stand the journey; and, if I do, whether I
shall be able to come back to England; and, if I come back, whether I
shall be able to serve my church, it is right to make what provision I
can to have it properly served while I live, and to secure some
spiritual assistance to my serious parishioners when I shall die.

“I have attempted to build a house in Madeley Wood, about the centre
of my parish, where I should be glad the children might be taught to
read and write in the day, and the grown-up people might hear the Word
of God in the evening, when they can get an Evangelist to preach it to
them; and where the serious people might assemble for social worship
when they have no teacher. The expense of that building, and paying
for the ground it stands upon, have involved me in some difficulties;
especially as my ill health has put on me the additional expense of an
assistant.

“If I had strength, I would serve my church alone, board as cheaply as
I could, and save what I was able to do from the produce of the living
to clear the debt, and leave that little token of my love, free from
encumbrances, to my parishioners.

“But, as Providence orders things otherwise, I have another object,
which is to secure a faithful minister to serve the church while I
live. Providence has sent me dear Mr. Greaves, who loves the people,
and is loved by them. I should be glad to make him comfortable; and,
as all the care of my flock, by my illness, devolves upon him, I would
not hesitate for a moment to let him have all the profit of the
living, if it were not for the debt contracted about the room. My
difficulty lies, then, between what I owe to my fellow-labourer, and
what I owe to my parishioners, whom I should be sorry to have burdened
with a debt contracted for the room.

“My agreement with Mr. Greaves was to allow him forty guineas a year,
out of which I was to deduct twelve for his board; but, as I cannot
board him when I go abroad, I design to allow him, during my absence,
£50 a-year, together with the use of my house, furniture, garden, and
my horse, if he chooses to keep one; reserving the use of a room, and
a stall in the stable, to entertain the preachers who help us in their
Round: not doubting but that the serious people will gladly find them
and their horses proper necessaries.

“But I know so little what my income may be, that I am not sure it
will yield Mr. Greaves £50, after paying all the expenses of the
living. Now I beg you will consult together, and see whether the
Vicar’s income, _i.e._, tithes, etc., etc., will discharge all the
expenses of the living, and leave a residue sufficient to pay a
stipend of £50. I except the royalty, which I have appropriated to the
expense of the Room. If it be, well; if there be any surplus, let it
be applied to the Room; if there be anything short, then Mr. Greaves
may have the whole, and take his chance in that respect, as it will be
only taking the Vicar’s chance; for I doubt if sometimes, after
necessary charges defrayed, the Vicars have had a clear £50.

“I beg you will let me know how the balance of my account stands,
that, some way or other, I may order it to be paid immediately; for,
if the balance is against me, I could not leave England comfortably
without having settled the payment. A letter will settle this business
as well as if twenty friends were at the trouble of taking a journey;
and talking is far worse for me than reading or writing.

“Ten thousand pardons, my dear friends, for troubling you with this
scrawl about worldly matters. I am quite tired with writing, but I
cannot lay by my pen without desiring my best Christian love to all my
dear companions in tribulation, and neighbours in Shropshire;
especially to Mrs. York, Miss Simpson, Mrs. Harper, Mr. Scott, Winny
Edmunds, and all enquiring friends. Thank Molly for her good
management, and tell her I recommend her to our common Heavenly
Master. If she wants to go to London, or to come to Bristol, I shall
give her such a character as will help her to some good place. I
heartily thank Daniel, both as churchwarden and as receiver and
house-steward; and I beg Mr. York to pay him a proper salary.

“I am, in the best bonds, your affectionate neighbour, friend, and
minister,

J. FLETCHER.”[425]

Footnote 425:

Letters, 1791, p. 34.

A letter on small matters, so far as the reader is concerned; but a letter unveiling Fletcher’s heart, and exhibiting his perfect unworldliness. The following, extracted from a letter to Mr. William Wase, reveals other characteristics:—

“BRISTOL, _November, 1777_.

“MY DEAR BROTHER,—Go to Mrs. Cound, and tell her, I charge her, in the
name of God, to give up the world, to set out with all speed for
heaven, and to join the few about her who fear God. If she refuses,
call again; call weekly, if not daily, and warn her from me till she
is ripe for glory. Tell the brethren at Broseley that I did my body an
injury the last time I preached to them on the Green; but, if they
took the warning, I do not repine. Give my love to George Crannage;
tell him to make haste to Christ, and not to doze away his last days.

“The physician has not yet given me up; but, I bless God, I do not
wait for his farewell, to give myself up to my God and Saviour. I
write by stealth, as my friends here would have me forbear writing,
and even talking; but I will never part with my privilege of writing
and shouting, _‘Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory’ over sin,
death, and the grave ‘through Jesus Christ.’_ To Him be glory for ever
and ever! Amen!”[426]

Footnote 426:

_Ibid_, p. 36.

To his congregation in Madeley Church, Fletcher wrote as follows:—

“BRISTOL, _November 26, 1777_.

“To the Brethren who hear the Word of God in the parish church of
Madeley.

“MY DEAR BRETHREN,—I thank you for the declaration of your
affectionate remembrance, which you sent me by John Owen, the
messenger of your brotherly love.

“As various reasons prevent my coming to take leave of you in “erson,
permit me to do it by letter. The hope of recovering a little
strength, to serve you again in the Gospel, makes me take the advice
of the physicians, who say that removing to a drier air and warmer
climate may be of great service to my health.

“I am more and more persuaded that I have not declared unto you
cunningly devised fables, and that the Gospel I have had the honour of
preaching, though feebly, among you, is the power of God to salvation,
to every one who believes it.

“Want of time does not permit me to give you more than the following
directions. Have, every day, lower thoughts of yourselves, higher
thoughts of Christ, kinder thoughts of your brethren, and more hopeful
thoughts of all around you. Love to assemble in the great
congregation; but, above all, love to pray to your Father in secret;
consider your Saviour; and listen for your Sanctifier. Wait all day
long for His glorious appearing within you; and, when you are
together, by suitable prayers, proper hymns, and enlivening
exhortations, keep up your earnest expectation of His pardoning and
sanctifying love. Let not a drop satisfy you; desire an ocean. Do not
eat your morsel by yourselves, like selfish, niggardly people, but be
ready to share it with all. Let every one with whom you converse be
the better for your conversation. Be burning and shining lights
wherever you are. Set the fire of divine love to the hellish stubble
of sin. Be valiant for the truth. Be champions for love. Be sons of
thunder against sin; and sons of consolation towards humbled sinners.
Be faithful to your God, your king, and your masters. Let not the good
ways of God be blasphemed through any of you.

“You have need of patience, as well as of faith and power. You must
learn to _suffer_, as well as _do_ the will of God. Think it not
strange to pass through fiery trials. Let your faith be firm in a
tempest. Let your hope in Christ be as a sure anchor cast within the
veil; and your patient love will soon outride the storm. God is the
same merciful and faithful God, ‘_yesterday, to-day, and for ever_.’
Believe in His threefold name. Rejoice in every degree of His great
salvation. Triumph in hope of the glory which shall be revealed. Do
not forget to be thankful for a cup of water; much less for being out
of hell, for the means of grace, the forgiveness of sins, the blood of
Jesus, the communion of saints on earth, and the future glorification
of saints in heaven. Strongly, heartily believe every Gospel truth,
especially the latter part of the Apostles’ Creed. Believe it till
your faith becomes the substance of the eternal life you hope for; and
then, come life, come death, either or both will be welcome to you,
as, through grace, I find they are to me.

“If I am no more permitted to minister to you in the land of the
living, I rejoice at the thought that I shall, perhaps, be allowed to
accompany the angels, who, if you continue in the faith, will be
commissioned to carry your souls into Abraham’s bosom. If our bodies
do not moulder away in the same grave, our spirits shall be sweetly
lost in the same sea of divine and brotherly love. I hope to see you
again in the flesh; but my sweetest and firmest hope is to meet you
where there are no parting seas, no interposing mountains, no
sickness, no death, no fear of loving too much, no shame for loving
too little.

“I earnestly recommend you to the pastoral care of the great Shepherd
and Bishop of souls, to the brotherly care of one another, and to the
ministerial care of my substitute. Should I be spared to come back,
let me have the joy of finding you all of one heart and one soul;
continuing steadfast in the Apostles’ doctrine, in fellowship one with
another, and in communion with our sin-pardoning and sin-abhorring
God.”[427]

Footnote 427:

Letters, 1791, p. 40.

Immediately after the date of this pastoral epistle, in company with Mr. Ireland, two of his daughters, and another family, Fletcher left Brislington for the south of France. During a halt at Reading, he wrote the following to the Rev. Vincent Perronet, the venerable vicar of Shoreham:—

“READING, _December 2, 1777_.

“HONOURED AND DEAR SIR,—I acknowledge, though late, the favour of your
letter. I have given up the thought of going to my parish, and am now
on the road to a warmer climate. The Lord may bless as much the change
of air, as He has blessed the last remedy your son prescribed for me—I
mean the bark. If I should mend a little, I would begin to have faith
in your prophecy. In the meantime, let us have faith in Christ, more
faith day by day, till all the sayings of Christ are verified to us
and in us. Should I go to Geneva, I shall enquire after the Swiss
friends of my dear benefactors at Shoreham, to whose prayers I humbly
recommend myself and my dear fellow-travellers, one of whom, my little
god-daughter, is but eight weeks old.”[428]

Footnote 428:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

At the same time, and on the same sheet, he wrote as follows to Miss Damaris Perronet:—

“MY DEAR FRIEND,—I snatch a moment upon the road to acknowledge the
favour of your letter, and to wish you joy in seeing the Lord is
faithful in rewarding as well as punishing. I once met a gentleman, an
infidel, abroad, who said, ‘Men have no faith: if they believed that
by forsaking houses, lands, and friends, they should receive a
hundredfold, they would instantly renounce all: for who would not
carry all his money to the bank of heaven, to receive a hundredfold
interest?’ The Papists have made so bad a use of the doctrine of the
rewardableness of works, that we dare neither preach it, nor hold it
in a scriptural manner. For my part, I think that if it were properly
received, it would make a great alteration in the professing world.
_You_ dare receive it; try the mighty use of it; and when you have
fully experienced it, do not keep your light to yourself, but impart
it to all within the reach of your tongue and pen. I am glad you see
that every reward, bestowed upon a reprieved sinner, has free-grace
for its foundation, and the blood of Christ for its mark. May the
richest rewards of Divine grace be yours in consequence of the most
exalted faithfulness; and let me beseech you to pray that I may follow
you, as you follow Christ, till our reward be full.”[429]

Footnote 429:

_Methodist Magazine_, 1804, p. 520.

Thus did Fletcher leave England, reiterating one of the great truths that he had been explaining and defending during the last six years. On the next day after the date of his letter, he arrived at Stoke Newington. Wesley writes:—

“Wednesday, _December 3, 1777_. I visited as many of the sick as I
could in the north-east part of the town; and spent the evening at
Newington, with Mr. Fletcher, almost miraculously recovering from his
consumption. On Thursday, December 4, he set out, with Mr. Ireland,
for the south of France.”[430]

Footnote 430:

Wesley’s Journal.