——1808 — to Thomas L. Douglass

Asbury was smarting under the attacks on the presiding eldership which he considered attacks on himself. Here he refers to the opposers.

——1808¹

[TO THOMAS L. DOUGLASS]²

In former times I have been impartial, indifferent, and have appointed good men that I knew were for a Presbyterian party;³ but since they have made such an unwarrantable attack upon the Constitution in the very first General Conference after adoption, I will only trust such men as far as I can see them; and let such men know that I know their principles, and disapprove them. One argument might have been used at General Conference—that at the Constitution Conference (i.e., of 1808 which formed and adopted the Constitution) when the Constitution was ready for adoption, it was suspended to try what afterwards would be secured in it —who shall appoint the presiding elders?—last then, and three or four times over. But behold and wonder! Oh, my son, we must fix our eyes steadily upon pages 23, 24 of our Discipline.

[FRANCIS ASBURY]

William W. Bennett, Memorials of Methodism in Virginia, 584 It is said that Methodist hymnody had its beginnings in America. John Wesley in 1737 at Charles Town, now Charleston, South Carolina, published his first book of hymns. In 1780 he and Charles published the large hymnbook entitled A Collection of Hymns for the Use of People Called Methodists. In 1781 Robert Spence published a pocket hymnbook which was largely a compilation of the hymns of the Wesleys, but without their permission. In 1785 John Wesley published a pocket hymnbook for the use of Christians of all denominations. Wesley sent over to America a number of psalms and hymns to be attached to the Sunday Service of the Methodists of North America. With other occasional services. London. Printed in the year MDCCLXXXIV. These books and a letter were presented to the Christmas Conference in Baltimore, 1784, and the book adopted. It became the first official Methodist hymnal and was called A Collection of Psalms and Hymns. It was not very satisfactory and was used only a few years.

The Pocket Hymn Book soon came into America, and it became very popular. It was reprinted in 1790 and became the second official American hymnal. It can be seen from this preface and letter that several hymnbooks were used in the early days of American Methodism. The earliest came from England. However, the Congregational Church had a hymnbook in America earlier. The title page to this shows that it was the first edition of the hymnbook A Selection of Hymns from various authors. The twenty-first edition of the Methodist Pocket Hymn Book was published in Philadelphia in 1796.⁴ It was revised and improved and had already gone through thirty-five editions in 1805. Methodism was born as a singing church. There is evidence of Asbury’s interest in the hymns. It should be remembered that all these hymns had to be learned, that there were no instruments in those Methodist churches and no choirs. One could wish that Asbury had related something of the methods of teaching the people to sing in the churches. A question was asked in the conference of 1784, “Question 14, How shall we reform our singing? Answer, Let all our preachers who have any knowledge of notes, improve it by learning to sing true themselves and keeping close to Mr. Wesley’s tunes and hymns.”⁵ A copy of the Pocket