Chapter XXVI: Last Days on Earth (1)

1784–1785.

FLETCHER took a profound interest, not only in Sunday Schools, which were being opened in various places, but in an institution which has long been the greatest of which the Methodists can boast. In 1783, Dr. Coke and a few of his friends drew up “A Plan of the Society for the Establishment of Missions among the Heathen.” This curious and most interesting document is too long to be inserted here. Suffice it to say, there is reason to believe that Fletcher was one of Coke’s counsellors. It has been already stated that, in the summer of 1783, the Doctor, on his way from Dublin, called at Madeley, and preached in Fletcher’s church. Soon after this, Fletcher and his wife went to Dublin; and now, at the beginning of the year 1784, Coke forwarded to Fletcher the aforesaid “Plan,” and a list of his missionary subscribers, twenty-six in number, seven of whom resided in Dublin. Is it chimerical to suppose that the formation of this Missionary Society was a subject of conversation between Coke and Fletcher, when the former was at Madeley, and that it was mainly through Fletcher’s influence that so many of its first subscribers were Dublin Methodists? It is a curious fact that neither of the Wesleys appeared in the list of contributors, the reason perhaps of which might be that they had not been consulted in drawing up the “Plan.” Fletcher, however, subscribed £2 2_s._ 0_d._ of the first year’s income, which amounted to £66 3_s._ 0_d._, and to him Coke sent the “Plan” and the report, and also the following letter appended:—

“Near PLYMOUTH, _January 6, 1784_.

“MY VERY DEAR SIR,—Lest _Mr. Parker_ should neglect to send you one of
our Plans for the establishing of foreign Missions, I take the liberty
of doing it. Ten subscribers more, of two guineas per annum, have
favoured me with their names. If _you_ can get a few subscribers more,
we shall be obliged to you.

“We have now a very wonderful outpouring of the Spirit in the West of
Cornwall. I have been obliged to make a winter campaign of it, and
preach here and there out of doors.

“I beg my affectionate respects to Mrs. Fletcher. I entreat you to
pray for

“Your most affectionate Friend and Brother,
“THOMAS COKE.”

At this period, Fletcher was engaged in the last of his literary works. The following, hitherto unpublished letter, may serve as an introduction to the essays Fletcher was now writing. It was addressed to the “Rev. Mr. Bouverot, Geneva;” and, though without date, was evidently written a few days before Fletcher’s memorable visit to Dublin:—

“The Society of Christian Philosophers, which you mention, seems, in
this day, to be a useful Institution. The most redoubtable attacks
upon religion come from our modern Sadducees, who say there is neither
angel nor spirit; and the famous Dr. Priestly openly maintains that we
have no soul, or, at least, that it is no other than the animal
spirits. It may be, therefore, that God, who never leaves Himself
without witnesses, has permitted this Society for the maintenance of a
metaphysical doctrine so opposite to that of materialism. ‘Prove all
things; hold fast that which is good.’

“A Swedish gentleman, called Baron Swedenborg,[600] published many
pieces in England, and declared he had conversed with angels and
spirits for more than forty years, and that with as much familiarity
as with men. Some of his works have been translated into English.
There is one, of which I have the original Latin by me, entitled,
‘Mirabilia Coeli et Inferni,’ and which I mean to send you as soon as
I shall find a convenient opportunity. It is certain, if believers
were more detached from earthly things, and more concentred in Christ
by faith, they would converse with angels and with the spirits of the
departed saints, as the Patriarchs and first Christians were
accustomed to do. There would, indeed, in this, be some danger of
following after piety, with a view to such an advantage, through a
species of curiosity, which, if it ought not to be called the _back
door_, yet would not deserve to be entitled the _front_, which
consists in an humble faith disengaged from sense and from all
self-seeking,” etc., etc.

“I have not yet had leisure to cast my eyes over mys’ Next week, at
the invitation of many who love the Word of God, I mean to make a tour
into Ireland, from whence I propose returning before winter. Mr.
Wesley, who is eighty years of age, is now on a tour in the Low
Countries, where he preaches, even at Amsterdam.

“Assist me to bless God, who has sustained me hitherto, and who is my
light and my salvation in Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and
ever! Remember me before God in your prayers, as I have a continual
remembrance of you in mine.”

Footnote 600:

Swedenborg died in 1772.

Fletcher’s bold speculation, respecting the possibility of conversing with angels and the spirits of departed saints, may be passed in silence. The reader’s attention must now be asked to the famous Dr. Priestley.

This remarkable man was born at Fieldhead, near Leeds, in 1733. While a student at the Dissenting Academy, kept by Dr. Ashworth, at Daventry, he became an Arian. His subsequent career need not here be traced. It is enough to say, that, about the year 1767, while he was the minister of a large congregation of Dissenters at Leeds, he embraced Socinianism; and that, about 1781, he wrote and published his “History of the Corruptions of Christianity,”—some of the teachings of which work Fletcher felt it his duty to refute. Dr. Priestley died at Philadelphia, in the United States of America, in 1804.

It has been already stated, that, early in the year 1785, Fletcher published a second and enlarged edition of his poem, entitled, “La Grace et la Nature.” At the end of that work, the following advertisement was inserted: “Prêt à être publié en Anglois: A Rational Vindication of the Catholic Faith, respecting the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost: being the First Part of a Scriptural Vindication of Christ’s Divinity. Inscribed to the Rev. Dr. Priestley.”

The Rev. Joseph Benson, the quondam tutor of Lady Huntingdon’s Trevecca College, when Fletcher was its president, says this “Rational Vindication” was left by Fletcher “not quite finished;” which assertion seems to clash with Fletcher’s own advertisement just given. There can be no doubt it was as finished as Fletcher meant it to be; though not as complete as Mr. Benson thought it ought to be, and as he himself tried to make it. In addition to this, however, Fletcher began a second essay, entitled, “Socinianism Unscriptural; or, the Prophets and Apostles vindicated from the Charge of holding the Doctrine of Christ’s mere Humanity: being the Second Part of a Vindication of His Divinity. Inscribed to the Rev. Dr. Priestley.” The first of these was intended to be an answer to Priestley’s assertion that “the doctrine of the Trinity is irrational;” and the second to refute his equally unfounded dogma, that, the doctrine of Christ’s “divinity has no proper foundation in the Old Testament,—the prophets speaking of the Messiah only as a man like themselves;” nor in the “New Testament,—the Apostles never giving our Lord any higher title than that of a man approved of God.” In Mr. Benson’s opinion, both of the essays were left unfinished; and it is certain that neither of them was published in Fletcher’s lifetime. Rightly or wrongly, Mr. Benson—a very able theologian—undertook, after Fletcher’s death, to write supplements to both, and then published them; and these irrefutable productions of Mr. Benson’s pen have, ever since 1818, when he was the Methodist Connexional Editor, been improperly incorporated in Fletcher’s “Collected Works.” Mr. Benson’s additions to Fletcher’s essays are invaluable; but they ought, in fairness to both authors, to be published separately. On this subject, however, nothing more need be added. Fletcher’s replies to Priestley, which were printed a few years subsequent to his death,[601] were revised by Wesley, who writes, in his Journal:—

“1784, Saturday, March 27. I went to Madeley; and, at Mr. Fletcher’s
desire, revised his letters to Dr. Priestley. I think there is hardly
another man in England so fit to encounter him.—Sunday, 28.
Notwithstanding the severe weather, the church was more than filled. I
preached on part of the Epistle (Heb. ix. 13, etc.); in the afternoon,
ons’ and I believe God applied it to many hearts.”

Footnote 601:

The titles were:—1. “A Rational Vindication of the Catholic Faith:
being the First Part of a Vindication of Christ’s Divinity; inscribed
to the Rev. Dr. Priestley, by J. Fletcher, Vicar of Madeley, Salop.
Left imperfect by the Author, and now _revised_ and _finished_, at
Mrs. Fletcher’s request, by Joseph Benson, Hull.” 12mo, 223 pp. No
date, but published in 1788 or 1789. The work consists of fourteen
chapters, only four of which were written by Fletcher. The remaining
ten were Mr. Benson’s productions.

2. “Socinianism Unscriptural; or, the Prophets and Apostles vindicated
from the Charge of holding the Doctrine of Christ’s _mere Humanity_:
being the Second Part of a Vindication of His Divinity: inscribed to
the Rev. Dr. Priestley, by the late Rev. John Fletcher, Vicar of
Madeley, Salop. To which is added, a Demonstration of the want of
Common Sense in the New Testament Writers, etc., etc., in a Series of
Letters to the Rev. Mr. Wesley, by Joseph Benson. Birmingham: 1791.”
12mo, 239 pp. Fletcher’s part of the volume occupies 118 pages.

Never has there been a time when there was more need of essays like those of Fletcher than that which is now passing. Socinianism, in various shapes, even among many who think themselves orthodox, is rampant; and the Methodist Book Committee would render incalculable service to the cause of Christian truth, by publishing in a separate form, and at as cheap a price as possible, Fletcher’s two unanswerable replies to the redoubtable Dr. Priestley.

In his “Expostulatory Letter,” Fletcher writes:—

“While you invite archdeacons and bishops to defend their church and
the divinity of their Saviour, may the voice of a poor country vicar
be heard amidst the groans of the press which repeats your challenges?
Will not your sense of honour feel too great a disappointment in
seeing so mean a person step forth to present you with an
expostulatory letter, and to break a spear with you, on the very
ground where you think yourself invincible,—philosophy, reason, and
common sense?

“Conscious of the variety of your learning, and the greatness of your
reputation, I apologize for my boldness, by observing, that the Church
is my mother; that the feeblest child has a right to cry out when his
mother is stabbed to the heart; and that, when the Divine crown of our
Lord is publicly struck at, the least of believers may show his
astonishment at the antichristian deed.

“When the Socinians of the last century said that it was impossible to
believe God and man were united in the person of our Lord, the
Catholics replied, it was as easy to believe that God and man make one
Christ, as to believe that the immortal soul and the mortal body are
one man. And Dr. Sherlock added, that the best way for the Socinians
to set aside this argument against the mystery of our Lord’s
incarnation, was to deny the union of soul and body, because they
could not understand it; and openly to maintain, that man is a body
without a soul, a compound of mere matter.

“When that judicious divine dropped this hint, he little thought that
some philosophers of our day would be so desperately bent upon
divesting Christ of His Divine glory, that they would be content to
die like dogs, without leaving any surviving part of themselves, so
that they might win the day against the Catholic Church, and the
divinity of our Lord.

“I am sorry to observe that you have the dangerous honour to be at the
head of these bold philosophers. Dr. Berkeley was so singular as to
deny the existence of matter. According to his doctrine, there is
nothing but spirit in the world, and matter exists only in our ideas.
As a rival of his singularity, you run into the opposite extreme; you
annihilate our souls; you turn us into mere machines; we are nothing
but matter; and if you allow us any spirit, it is only such as can be
distilled like spirits of wine. Thus, if we believe you both, being
ground not only to atoms but to absolute nonentity between the two
millstones of your preposterous and contrary mistakes, we have neither
form nor substance, neither body nor soul!

“Glad am I, Sir, that when you made so free with the souls of men you
did not pass your philosophical sponge over the existence of the
Father of spirits, the great Soul which gives life and motion to the
universe. But, though you spare the Father’s dignity, you attack the
Son’s divinity; you deny the sanctifying influences of the Holy Ghost;
and, by hasty strides, you carry us back to a dwarf, mongrel
Christianity, made up of materialism, Judaism, and the baptism of
John.

“To gain this inglorious end, in yours’ you collect the capital errors
invented by fallen Christians in the corrupt ages of Christianity;
then, taking some of the most precious Gospel truths, you blend them
with these errors, and rendering them all equally odious, you turn
them promiscuously out of the Church as the ‘Corruptions of
Christianity.’ Thus you cleanse the temple of truth as our Lord would
have cleansed that of Jerusalem, if he had thrown down the tables of
show-bread as well as the tables of the money changers, and if He had
turned out the cherubim of glory as He did the beasts which defiled
that holy place. In short, you treat our Lord’s divinity as the Jews
treated His humanity when they numbered Him with felons, that the mob
might cry with a show of piety, ‘Away with Him! Crucify Him!’ with the
thieves, His accursed companions!”

On the mysterious and holy doctrine of the Trinity in unity, Fletcher writes:—

“That there is a Supreme, Infinite, and Eternal Mind by which the
world was made, is evident from the works of creation and providence.
Every leaf of the trees which cover a thousand hills, every spire of
the grass which clothes a thousand vales, echoes, ‘There is a God.’
But the peculiar mode of His existence is far above our reach. Of this
we only know what He plainly reveals to us, and what we may infer from
what He hath plainly revealed; for sooner shall the vilest insect find
out the nature of man, than the brightest man shall of himself
discover the nature of God.

“It is agreed on all hands that the Supreme Being, compared with all
other beings, is One,—one Creator over numberless creatures, one
Infinite Being over myriads of finite beings, one Eternal Intelligence
over millions of temporary intelligences. The distance between the
things made and Him that made them being boundless, the living God
must stand for ever far higher above all that lives, than the sun
stands superior to all the beams it emits, and to all the tapers
lighted at its fire. In this sense, true Christians are all
Unitarians: God having plainly revealed His unity by the prophets, by
the Apostles, and by our Lord Himself, there is no doubt about this
point. And may the hand which writes these sheets wither a thousand
times over rather than it should designedly write one word against
this glorious and ever-adorable unity!

“But although the Supreme Being is One when He is compared to all
created beings, shall we quarrel with Him when He informs us that
notwithstanding he has no second in the universe of creatures, yet, in
Himself, He exists in a wonderful manner, insomuch that His own
eternal and perfect essence subsists, without division or separation,
under three adorable distinctions, which are called sometimes ‘the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost;’ and sometimes ‘the Father, the
Word, and the Spirit’? ‘Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed
it, Why hast Thou made me thus?’ or, Why dost Thou exist after such a
manner?”

Fletcher then proceeds to describe the different opponents of his doctrine; namely,—

“_Tritheists_, who so unscripturally distinguish the Divine Persons as
to divide and separate them into three deities; and who, by this
means, run into polytheism, or the belief of many gods. _Ditheists_,
generally called Arians, who worship two gods, a great god and a
little god; the former uncreate, the latter created; the former God by
nature, and the latter only by courtesy. _Deists_, who so
unscripturally maintain the unity of the Divine essence as to admit
but one Divine subsistence;” and who include Jews, Mahometans,
Infidels, and Socinians.

Fletcher next undertakes to show and prove that God the Father has a proper Son, by whom He made the world; that our Lord Jesus Christ claimed the divine honour of being this Son; that He is the Redeemer and Saviour of lost mankind; that He is to be the final and universal Judge; and that divine worship was paid to Him by patriarchs, prophets, and Apostles, and is His undoubted right.

Fletcher’s second pamphlet, entitled “Socinianism Unscriptural,” consists of eight letters, addressed to Dr. Priestley, in which he shows that Socinians err when they assert that the prophets always spoke of the Messiah as of a mere man like themselves. He proves that our first parents expected a _Divine_ Messiah, and that the _Divine Person_ who appeared to the patriarchs, and to Moses, was Jehovah, the Son, or Christ in His pre-existent state; that the foundation of the proofs of Christ’s divinity, in the writings of the prophets, is laid in the three original prophecies (Gen. iii. 15, xxii. 16, etc., and xlix. 8–10), recorded by Moses concerning the Messiah; that all the prophets bear witness to His Godhead, as do also the Evangelists and Apostles.

This is a meagre outline of Fletcher’s exceedingly able pamphlet, but nothing more can be here attempted. Two brief extracts, however, may be added, illustrative of his style:—

“I have proved that the king of Israel who brought his people out of
Egypt was Christ, in His pre-existent nature. Moses was the prime
minister of this great King; Joshua, the general of His armies; the
tabernacle, His palace; the mercy-seat, His throne; the ark, His royal
standard; the priests, His officers; the Levites, His guards; and the
shekinah, the visible display of His presence.”

“Read, dear Sir, the Scriptures without the veil of your system, and
you will see that the Messiah, the wonderful Person whom you so
constantly endeavour to degrade, was to be a mediating Prophet, like
Moses; an atoning Priest, like Aaron; a pacific King, like Solomon; a
royal Prophet, like David; a kingly Priest, like Melchisedec; the
Everlasting Father, as the Logos by whom all things were created; and
the Mighty God, as the proper Son of Him with whom He shares, in the
unity of the Divine Spirit, the supreme title of ‘Jehovah, Lord of
hosts.’”

It has been already shown in a letter which Fletcher addressed to Wesley in 1755, the year of his conversion, that he was what is commonly called a Millenarian. Twenty-nine years had elapsed since then. During this long interval, no man had been a more diligent and devout student of the Holy Scriptures than himself, and yet his Millenarian belief remained unchanged. Hence the following remarkable passage in his “Socinianism Unscriptural.” After quoting and paraphrasing Isa. lxvi. 15–24, Fletcher proceeds to say:—

“Here ends Isaiah’s account of that glorious reign of Jehovah-Shiloh,
which the fathers called the ‘Millennium,’ as being to last a thousand
years, and during which it is probable our Lord will use these
extraordinary means to keep all the nations in the way of
obedience:—1. A constant display of His goodness over all the earth,
but particularly in and about Jerusalem, where the Lord will manifest
His glory, and bless His happy subjects with new manifestations of His
presence every Lord’s day and every new moon. 2. A distinguishing
interposition of Providence which will withhold the Messiah’s wonted
blessings from the disobedient (Zech. xiv. 17). 3. The constant
endeavours of the saints, martyrs, patriarchs, prophets, and Apostles,
raised from the dead and conversing with men, as Moses and Elijah did
with our Lord’s disciples upon the mount, where they were indulged
with a view of His glorified person, and of His ‘kingdom come with
power.’ These glorified high priests and kings, as ministers and
lieutenants of the Messiah, will rule all churches and states with
unerring wisdom and unwarped fidelity. 4. The care that the Lord
Himself will take to set apart for the ministry, under His glorified
saints, those who in every nation shall distinguish themselves by
their virtue and piety. This seems to be the meaning of His own words:
‘And when they shall come out of all nations to My holy mountain, I
will take of them for priests and Levites, saith the Lord,’ Isaiah
lxvi. 20, 21. 5. A standing display of the ministration of
condemnation, as appears from Isaiah lxvi. 24, and from other parallel
Scriptures. 6. At the same time that the ministration of condemnation
will powerfully work upon the fears of mankind to keep men in the way
of duty, an occasional display of the ministration of righteous mercy
will work upon their hopes. How will those hopes be fired when they
shall ‘see the Lamb’ of God ‘standing on the Mount Sion, and with Him’
His ‘hundred and forty-four thousand’ worthies, ‘having His Father’s
name,’ Divine Majesty, Irresistible Power, Ineffable Love, and Bliss
Inexpressible, ‘written on their foreheads!’ (Rev. xiv). But, 7. What
will peculiarly tend to keep men from lapsing into rebellion against
God will be the long life of the godly, and the untimely death of
those who shall offer to tread the paths of iniquity. The godly shall
attain to the years of antediluvian patriarchs, and the wicked shall
not live out half their days; they shall not live above a hundred
years; or, to speak after our manner, they shall die in their
childhood. This seems to be Isaiah’s meaning in Isaiah lxv. 17–25.”

Leaving it to others to advocate or to attack these interpretations of Scripture, the present writer will only add, that thus full of firm unwavering faith in the Divine majesty and glorious kingship of his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the devout and reverent Fletcher drew near to the mysterious spirit-world.

In harmony with all this, Fletcher wrote to his friend, Mr. Henry Brooke, of Dublin, as follows:—

“MADELEY, _April 27, 1784_.

“MY DEAR BROTHER,—Mercy, peace, and perfect love attend you, and your
dear partner, and the dear friends who live under your roof; and with
whom I beg you may abide under the cross, till, with John, Mary, and
Salome, you _all_ can say, ‘We are crucified with Him, and the life we
now live, we live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved us, and
gave Himself for us.’

“With respect to the glory of the Lord, _it is at hand_; whatever
false wisdom and unbelief may whisper to our hearts. It can be no
farther off than the presence of Him, who _fills all in all_.

“With respect to what you say of the kingdom not coming with the
outward pomp, which is observable by the men of the world, it is
strictly true; but that there is an _inward_ display of _power_ and
_glory_ under Pentecostal Christianity is undeniable, both from our
Lord’s _promises_ to His imperfect disciples, and from their
_experiences_ after the kingdom of God was come to them with power. To
wait in deep resignation, and with a constant attention to what the
Lord will please to do or say concerning us and His Church; and to
leave to Him _the times and seasons_, is what I am chiefly called to
do; taking care to avoid falling into either _speculation_ careless of
_action_, or into the _activity_ which is devoid of _spirituality_. I
_would_ not have a lamp without oil; and I _could_ not have oil
without a lamp, and a vessel to hold it in for myself, and to
communicate it to others.

“Fare you all well in Christ! So prays
“JOHN FLETCHER.”[602]

Footnote 602:

“Thirteen Original Letters of the Rev. John Fletcher.” Bath, 1791, p.
36.

On the day that Fletcher penned the foregoing, his wife wrote as follows to Mrs. Smyth, their hostess in Dublin. The letter, however, was signed, “John and Mary Fletcher,” and has not before been published. It furnishes a glimpse of the Madeley Methodists:—

“_April 27, 1784._

“MY VERY DEAR MADAM,—If anything I said in my last was attended with a
blessing, I give glory to my adorable Father. I am ready to wonder
that He ever works by so poor a worm.

“I wish you had been with us yesterday morning, in our upper chamber,
to hear the simple tales of our dear women. Do you remember a little
woman, who sat in the window of the room when you met the class, and
who expressed great desire for more of the life of God? It was she who
lived on horse-beans so many weeks, while suckling twins, for fear of
running into debt for bread. She has, since then, been greatly
exercised by poverty, temptation, and illness; but, in all, her desire
for the pure image of God seemed to rise above every other wish; and,
about a fortnight ago, the Lord poured out upon her such an abundance
of His Spirit, that nature almost sank beneath it. She told us
yesterday, that every moment she seems to be so surrounded with God,
and so penetrated with His love, that, said she, ‘I cannot help, many
times in the day, stopping in the midst of my work, when alone, to
shout aloud, Glory! Glory! Glory! My very heart is glad. Yes, my heart
is _so glad_, I could shout from morning till night; but, oh! I can
think of no words to tell what I see and feel of Jesus. I _can_ choose
nothing: I know _no will_—_no choice_: the will of God is my all.’ Had
you heard her speak, and also two others who have just found the Lord,
you would have wept tears of love and joy.

“Our love to Dr. Coke; and thank him for his two letters, which we
have received.

“Begging our tender regards to all our dear Christian friends, we
remain, with kindest remembrance and grateful acknowledgment to our
dear Mr. and Mrs. Smyth, their sincere though unworthy friends,

“JOHN AND MARY FLETCHER.”

The next is a letter which, I believe, has not before been published. It was addressed to a sister of Lady Mary Fitzgerald, and is full of faith in Christ:—

“Christ Jesus is alone the desirable, the everlasting distinction and
honour of men. All other advantages are like the down on the thistle,
blown away in a moment. Riches are incapable of satisfying; friends
are changeable; dear relations are taken away with a stroke; but, amid
all the changes of life, Christ is a Rock. To see Him by faith, to lay
hold on Him, to rely on Him, to live upon Him, this—this is the refuge
from the storm, the shadow from the heat.

“In order that you may obtain it, nothing more or less is required, on
your part, than a full and frequent confession of your own abominable
heart; and kneeling, as a true beggar, at the door of mercy, declaring
you come there only expecting notice and relief because God our
Saviour came to redeem incarnate devils and to convert them into
saints.

“I think you take a sure method to perplex yourself if you look at
yourself for proof of faith. Others must see it in your works; but you
must feel it in your heart. The glory of Jesus is, by faith, realized
to the mind in some such manner as an infinitely grand and beauteous
object in the firmament of heaven arrests the spectator on itself. It
captivates him; and, by the pleasure it imparts, he is led on to view
it. So it is with Jesus, our peace, strength, righteousness,
salvation.

“For my own part, I am often tempted to suspect whether I am not
speaking great swelling words of Christ, and yet am myself nothing
more than sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal; and I find that the
only successful way of answering this doubt is an immediate address to
Jesus Christ, and prayer to Him, to this effect: ‘Whosoever cometh
unto Thee, Thou wilt in no wise cast out. Lord, have I not come unto
Thee? Am I not depending on Thee for life, as a brand plucked out of
the fire? See if there be any way of wickedness in me, and lead me in
the way everlasting!’

“My eyes look to the blessed Jesus; my heart longs to be more in His
service; I mourn my corruptions; they are many and great. When I look
at Him, and contemplate His finished salvation, I admire, I adore, in
some measure I love. When I look at myself, my heart rises at the
sight,—black and selfish, proud and carnal, covetous and unclean. I
want all things that are good; but, oh! I have a blessed Lord Christ,
in whom all fulness dwells for me, and for my dear friend to whom I am
writing,—a fulness of pardon, wisdom, holiness, strength, peace,
salvation, righteousness,—a fulness of mercy, goodness, truth,—all
this, and ten thousand times more, without condition, without
qualification, without workings, without servings, only for receiving.
O blessed free grace of God! What a gift! And for whom? My dear
friend, for you. What says the everlasting God? ‘Believe He gave His
Son for sinners.’ Can God lie? Impossible! Can we have a better
foundation to build upon than the promise and the oath of God?

“My very dear friend, I know you will not be angry at my preachment. I
aim all I say at my own heart. I stand more in need of it than you;
and I always feel my heart refreshed when I am talking or thinking of
the blessed Jesus. But oh! how little I know of Him! O Thou light of
the world, enlighten me! Teach me to know more of Thy infinite,
unsearchable riches, that I may love Thee with an increasing love, and
serve Thee with an increasing zeal till Thou bring me to glory!”

Gratitude was one of Fletcher’s characteristics. Hence, when the son of his dead friend, Mr. Charles Greenwood, of Stoke Newington, visited him at Madeley, he wrote to the loving widow:—

“Madeley, June 20, 1784. The sight of Mr. Greenwood, in his son, has
brought some of my Newington scenes to my remembrance, and I beg leave
to convey my tribute of thanks by his hands. Thanks! Thanks! What,
nothing but words? There is my humbling case. I wish to requite your
manifold kindnesses, but I cannot. I must be satisfied to be ever your
insolvent debtor. Nature and grace do not love it. Proud nature lies
uneasy under great obligations; and thankful grace would be glad to
put something in the scale opposite to that which you have filled with
so many favours. But what shall I put? I wish I could send you all the
Bank of England, and all the Gospel of Christ; but the first is not
mine, and the second is already _yours_.”[603]

Footnote 603:

Letters, 1791, p. 300.

Wesley’s annual Conference, in 1784, was held at Leeds. He writes, in his Journal:—

“1784, Tuesday, _July 27_. Our Conference began; at which four of our
brethren, after long debate (in which Mr. Fletcher[604] took much
pains), acknowledged their fault, and all that was past was forgotten.
Thursday, July 29, being the public Thanksgiving Day, as there was not
room for us in the old church, I read prayers, as well as preached, at
our Room. I admired the whole service for the day. The prayers,
Scriptures, and every part of it, pointed at one thing: ‘Beloved, if
God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.’ Having five
clergymen to assist me, we administered the Lord’s Supper, as was
supposed, to sixteen or seventeen hundred persons. Sunday, August 1.
We were fifteen clergymen at the old church. Tuesday, August 3. Our
Conference concluded in much love, to the great disappointment of
all.”

Footnote 604:

Before attending the Conference, Fletcher visited Miss Ritchie, who
wrote: “1784, July 16. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher visited Otley. I was
truly blessed and edified by their society. Our house was full of
company.” (“Memoir of Mrs. Mortimer,” by Agnes Bulmer, p. 97.)

Such is Wesley’s brief account of one of the most important Conferences he ever held, and the last which Fletcher had the opportunity of attending. During the year, Dr. Coke had begun the Methodist Foreign Missionary Society; and Wesley had signed and sealed his famous “Deed of Declaration,” constituting, for all time to come, the Legal Conference of the Methodists, and defining the powers and duties of its members. Charles Atmore, who was present, relates,[605] that, on the Sunday evening before the Conference opened, the congregation, assembled to hear Wesley, was four times greater than the chapel could contain, and, therefore, Wesley “preached in a field adjoining, on the judgment of the great day.” On Monday morning, Fletcher “preached an excellent sermon from Matt. v. 13–16, ‘Ye are the salt of the earth,’” etc. At night, Wesley took for his text, “Give the king Thy judgments, O God, and Thy righteousness unto the king’s son.” On Tuesday morning, at five o’clock, Henry Moore delivered a sermon founded upon “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” At the conclusion of the service, Wesley “opened the Conference;” and, in the evening of the day, preached from, “Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered,” etc. Next morning, July 28, at five o’clock, the text of Thomas Taylor was, “What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.” At night, Wesley preached from, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Thursday, July 29, “was a high day indeed.” At five a.m. Thomas Hanby discoursed on “My grace is sufficient for thee,” etc. In the forenoon, Wesley expounded and enforced 1 Cor. xiii. 1–4, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity,” etc. Then followed the sacramental service, in which Wesley was assisted by Fletcher, Coke, Cornelius Bayley, who had been Fletcher’s curate, Mr. Dillon, an ordained clergyman from Ireland, and the well-known David Simpson, of Macclesfield, the services of the day being concluded with another sermon from Wesley, on the text, “This is the first and great commandment.” At five a.m. on Friday, July 30, Joseph Pilmoor preached from “I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved”; and, at night, Fletcher, from, “These all having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”[606] At seven o’clock on Sunday morning, August 1, Fletcher preached again, taking as his text 1 Kings xiii. 26, selected from the first lesson for the day: “It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord: therefore the Lord hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake unto him.” Joseph Benson, who was present, writes:—

“Mr. Fletcher drew such a picture of the degradation and misery of a
backsliding minister, and of the corruption and injury he introduced
into the Church of Christ, as produced a general and deep sensation,
not easily to be forgotten.”

Footnote 605:

_Wesleyan Methodist Magazine_, 1845, p. 12.

Footnote 606:

Respecting this sermon, John Beaumont, father of the celebrated Rev.
Dr. Joseph Beaumont, wrote: “Mr. Fletcher dwelt much on the context,
which speaks of the faith and works of the ancient worthies, and
strongly enforced what he termed a _working faith_. I was blessed
beyond description, and thought him certainly the most angelic man I
had ever heard.” (“The Experience and Travels of John Beaumont.”)

And Henry Moore, another of Fletcher’s auditors, remarks:—

“I was extremely impressed with the whole service: the shadow of the
Divine presence was seen among us, and His going forth was in our
sanctuary.”

Next morning, Mr. Moore himself had to preach. He writes:—

“I went to the chapel at the hour appointed, and, to my dismay, found
the venerable Mr. Fletcher in the pulpit, leaning upon his staff. My
first impression was to run away; but a moment’s reflection changed my
purpose. I ascended the pulpit and gave out the hymn; while I did so,
my knees smote one against the other: I knelt down to pray, and indeed
lifted my heart with my voice, that I might be endued with power and
wisdom from on high: my soul was calmed, and I took my text, and
continued the service, fully set free from fear, and strengthened in
my resolution ever to obey the voice of duty.”[607]

Footnote 607:

“Life of Henry Moore,” by Mrs. Smith, p. 321.

At five o’clock on the following morning, Wesley, eighty-one years of age, again preached, selecting a text admirably adapted to be a sequel to that chosen by Fletcher on the previous Sunday; and also peculiarly suited to what had taken place in the Conference: “And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you; therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever” (Jer. xxxv. 18, 19). The Conference was concluded on Tuesday, August 3; and next morning, at five o’clock, Wesley delivered another sermon, and immediately afterwards took the coach for Wales. His last text, at this remarkable Conference, was, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”[608]

Footnote 608:

_Wesleyan Methodist Magazine_, 1845, p. 14.

A purpose is intended to be served by these minute statements, namely, to convey an idea of what Methodist Conferences were in the olden times, and to indicate the chief preachers, and the _kind_ of texts they took.

It is a well-known fact that the great event of the Conference of 1784 was the rebellion raised in Wesley’s camp of preachers. In his “Deed of Declaration,” he had appointed his brother Charles, Dr. Coke, James Creighton, and ninety-seven of his itinerants to be, after his decease, his legalized successors, and to exercise the powers he had exercised from the beginning. By confining the number of the members of the legal Conference to a hundred, he necessarily excluded not fewer than ninety-two, whom he had employed in circuit work; and, among these, there were several who had claims quite equal to many of the elected ones, as, to wit, Thomas Lee, John Atlay, John Pritchard, John Pool, John Hampson, sen., John Hampson, jun., William Eells, and Joseph Pillmoor. Previous to the Conference being held, certain of the non-elected preachers published a protest against Wesley’s partiality. The crisis was a serious one. Fletcher was not included in the hundred, probably because he desired to be left out; but he was intensely anxious respecting apprehended results. Mrs. Fletcher wrote:—

“O how deeply was he affected for the welfare of his brethren, when we
were at Leeds, in the year 1784! When disputes arose among them, his
soul groaned beneath the burden. By two or three o’clock in the
morning, I was sure to hear him breathing out prayers for the peace
and prosperity of Sion; and when I said to him, I was afraid this
would hurt his health, and that I wished him to sleep more, he would
answer, ‘O Polly, the cause of God lies near my heart.’”

At the opening of the Conference, on July 27, Wesley mentioned the “Deed of Declaration,” and the “Appeal” which had been published against it:—

“He showed that, from the commencement of Methodism, the annual
Conferences had always consisted of persons whom he had desired to
meet for the purpose of conferring with him. He insisted, that he had
a right to name the members of the Legal Conference, and to fix their
number. The ‘Appeal,’” he said, “represented him as unjust,
oppressive, and tyrannical, which he was not; the authors of it had
betrayed him; and, by doing so, had hurt the minds of many, and
kindled a flame throughout the kingdom. Hence, he required that they
should acknowledge their fault, and be sorry for it, or he could have
no further connection with them.”[609]

Footnote 609:

Benson’s “Life,” by Macdonald, p. 160.

For seven days, the dispute remained unsettled. Fletcher acted as mediator.

“Never,” says Charles Atmore, “shall I forget the ardour and
earnestness with which Mr. Fletcher expostulated, even on his knees,
both with Mr. Wesley and the preachers. To the former, he said, ‘My
father! my father! they have offended, but they are your children!’ To
the latter, he exclaimed, ‘My brethren! my brethren! he is your
father!’ and then, portraying the work in which they were unitedly
engaged, he fell again on his knees, and with fervour and devotion
engaged in prayer. The Conference was bathed in tears; many sobbed
aloud.”[610]

Footnote 610:

_Wesleyan Methodist Magazine_, 1845, p. 15.

This appears to have been on the last day but one that the Conference sat. Hence Joseph Benson writes:—

“August 2. Our brethren, who had been concerned in the ‘Appeal,’
rejoiced our hearts, by acknowledging their fault, and making
submission. In consequence of their doing so, they were admitted among
their brethren, and appointed to Circuits.”[611]

Footnote 611:

Benson’s “Life,” by Macdonald, p. 160.

It may be added, that, the principal appellants—John Hampson, sen., and John Hampson, jun., Joseph Pillmoor, John Atlay, and William Eells—soon afterwards left the Connexion.

Two other incidents, concerning the Conference, must be mentioned.

It is a well-known fact, that, one of the most important questions asked at Wesley’s Conferences was, “Are there any objections to any of our preachers?” Upon the question being put, the names of all (Wesley’s name included), were read seriatim. When this part of the business of the Conference, in 1784, was reached, Fletcher rose from his seat, to withdraw from the chapel.

“He was eagerly recalled, and asked why he would leave them?
‘Because,’ said he, ‘it is improper, and painful to my feelings, for
me to hear the minute failings of my brethren canvassed, unless my own
character be submitted to the same scrutiny.’ They promised, if he
would stay, that his character should be investigated. On these terms,
he consented to remain; and, when his name was read, an aged preacher
rose, bowed to him, and said, ‘I have but one thing to object to Mr.
Fletcher; God has given him a richer talent than his humility will
suffer him duly to appreciate. In confining himself to Madeley, he
puts his light, comparatively, under a bushel; whereas, if he would
come out more among us, he would draw immense congregations, and would
do much more good.’ In answer to this, Mr. Fletcher stated the tender
and sacred ties which bound him to his parish; its numerous
population; the daily calls for his services; the difficulty of
finding a proper substitute; his increasing infirmities, which
disqualified him for horse exercise; his unwillingness to leave Mrs.
Fletcher at home; and the expense of travelling in carriages. In reply
to his last argument, another preacher arose, and observed that the
expense of his journeys would be cheerfully paid; and that, though he
knew and highly approved Mr. Fletcher’s disinterestedness and delicacy
in pecuniary transactions, yet he feared there was a mixture of pride
in his objection; for that by no importunity could he be prevailed on
to accept a present to defray his expenses on his late visit to
Ireland. ‘A little explanation,’ replied Mr. Fletcher, ‘will set that
matter right. When I was invited to visit my friends at Dublin, I had
every desire to accept their invitation; but I wanted money for the
journey, and knew not how to obtain it. In this situation, I laid the
matter before the Lord, humbly requesting that, if the journey were a
providential opening to do good, I might have the means of performing
it. Shortly afterwards, I received an unexpected sum of money, and
took my journey. While in Dublin, I heard our friends commiserating
the distresses of the poor, and lamenting the inadequate means they
had to relieve them. When, therefore, they offered me a handsome
present, what could I do? The necessary expenses of my journey had
already been supplied; my general income was quite sufficient; I
needed nothing. Had I received the money, I should have given it away.
The poor of Dublin most needed, and were most worthy of, the money of
their generous countrymen. How then could I hesitate to beg that it
might be applied to their relief? You see, brethren, I could not in
conscience do otherwise than I did.’”[612]

Footnote 612:

Benson’s “Life of Fletcher.”

After these explanations, the honest old Methodist preachers, of course, recorded no objection to the “_character_” of John Fletcher; but Wesley, nearly a year afterwards, wrote to his brother Charles:—

“1785, June 2. About once a quarter, I hear from Mr. and Mrs.
Fletcher. I grudge his sitting still; but who can help it? I love ease
as well as he does; but I dare not take it while I believe there is
another world.”[613]

Footnote 613:

Wesley’s Works, vol. xii., p. 142.

Fletcher’s examination, on this occasion, took place by special arrangement: if he had lived, perhaps, it would afterwards have been a matter of course; for, about the middle of the Conference, he rose, and, addressing Wesley, said:—

“I fear my successor will not be interested in the work of God, and my
flock may suffer. I have done what I could. I have built a chapel in
Madeley Wood, and I hope, Sir, you will continue to supply it, and
that Madeley may still be part of a Methodist Circuit. If you please,
I should be glad to be put down in the ‘Minutes’ as a supernumerary.”

Wesley was not easily moved, but even he could hardly bear this, and the preachers burst into tears.[614]

Footnote 614:

Mrs. Fletcher’s “Life,” by H. Moore, p. 183.

The other incident, to be mentioned, was of a different kind, and is a good illustration of the remarkable allegorical talent which Fletcher possessed, and often exercised, not only in his published works, but in his correspondence, and in conversation among his friends.

On March 31, 1784, Wesley visited Burslem, where Mr. Enoch Wood resided, a Methodist, and an artist of great ability. Mr. Wood prevailed on Wesley to permit him to model a bust from his person; and a considerable number of copies were executed. The likeness was so striking, that, when Wesley looked at the bust, he said to Mr. Wood, “If you touch it again, you will mar it.” Every wrinkle, dimple, and vein of the face and forehead were marked with perfect accuracy. Four months afterwards, Mr. Wood went to the Conference at Leeds, and soon became one of the most popular men there. Samuel Bardsley hoisted the artist on his shoulder; at the moment, Fletcher was passing through the grave-yard, and was told, by the applauding preachers, the name of the hero, so ludicrously exhibited. Fletcher paused a moment, and then said, “Are you the young man who made that beautiful likeness of Mr. Wesley?” Being answered in the affirmative, and having been made acquainted with the whole process of making the bust, he stood on a grave, and, putting his hand on the artist’s shoulder, he began to spiritualize what he had heard, by using it to illustrate the work of God, in the _new_ creation of the human soul, by the power of the Holy Ghost. He spoke of the rough and unpromising materials,—the corrupt nature derived from fallen Adam; he showed how this, by the energy of the Holy Spirit, is softened and melted down into godly sorrow; how it becomes _plastic_ in the hands of the Divine Artist; how it is cast into a new mould: and how it is formed after the likeness of Christ. His extemporaneous address lasted twenty minutes, and was never forgotten by those who heard it.[615]

Footnote 615:

_Christian Miscellany_, 1848, p. 230.

It may be added that, some years afterwards, Dr. Adam Clarke obtained from Mr. Wood the loan of the original mould, and had a bust cast in solid brass, which is now in the possession of Mr. G. J. Stevenson. This was lent to the sculptor who chiselled the marble effigy of Wesley, now placed in the entrance-hall of the Wesleyan Theological Institution, Richmond. The face and head of the effigy were obtained from it.[616]

Footnote 616:

Stevenson’s “Memorials of the Wesley Family,” p. 349.

On his return to Madeley, Fletcher wrote to his friend, Mr. Ireland, as follows:—

“MADELEY, _September 13, 1784_.

“MY DEAR FRIEND,—I keep in my sentry-box till Providence removes me.
My situation is _quite suited_ to my little strength. I may do as much
or as little as I please, according to my weakness; and I have an
advantage, which I can have nowhere else in such a degree,—my little
field of action is just at my own door, so that if I happen to overdo
myself, I have but to step from my pulpit to my bed, and from my bed
to my grave. If I had a body full of vigour, and a purse full of
money, I should like well enough to travel about as Mr. Wesley does;
but as Providence does not call me to it, I readily submit. The snail
does best in its shell; were it to aim at galloping, like the
racehorse, it would be ridiculous indeed. My wife is quite of my mind
with respect to the call we have to a sedentary life. We are two poor
invalids, who between us make _half_ a labourer.

“We shall have tea cheap and light very dear;[617] I don’t admire the
change. Twenty thousand chambers walled up, and filled with foul air,
are converted into so many dungeons for the industrious artizan, who,
being compelled by this murderous tax, denies himself the benefit of
_light_ and _air_. Blessed be God! the light of heaven and the air of
the spiritual world are still free.

“My dear partner sweetly helps me to drink the dregs of life, and to
carry with ease the daily cross. We are not long for this world—we
_see_ it, we _feel_ it; and, by looking at death and his conqueror, we
fight beforehand our last battle with that last enemy whom our dear
Lord has overcome for us. That we may triumph over him with an humble,
Christian courage is the prayer of, my dear friend, yours,

“JOHN FLETCHER.”[618]

Footnote 617:

On June 21, Pitt moved several resolutions to put an end to smuggling
by reducing the duty upon tea from 50 to 12½ per cent.; and to
increase the window tax in proportion. These resolutions were passed,
though not without much debate.

Footnote 618:

Letters, 1791, p. 302.

Fletcher’s apprehension of the nearness of death, so far as he was concerned, was realized; but his wife did not die until thirty-one years after this, not a year of which passed without her keeping the anniversary of their wedding-day. In the present year she wrote:—

“1784, November 12. We have been married three years this day. A good
day it has been to me! While reflecting on the wonderful goodness of
God in my providential union with my dear husband (so far, so very
far, beyond my warmest wishes), my heart was enlarged with desire to
render to my God a suitable return for all His mercies!”[619]

Footnote 619:

“Mrs. Fletcher’s Life,” by H. Moore, p. 158.

On her birthday, two months previously, she had written in her journal:—