April 18, 1815 — to the British Conference
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE
ASB_VOL3.PDF, PDF page 635
Asbury had come to Wilmington to attend the Philadelphia
Conference. He had received another letter renewing the invitation of the British Conference to visit England. Gradually his health has been getting worse. He speaks in terms of “changing worlds.” He expresses the hope that, if he cannot visit England, he might be able to get to Canada.
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE
April 18, 1815
[TO THE BRITISH CONFERENCE]1
Dearly beloved in the Lord:
Fathers and Brethren in the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, we wish grace, mercy and peace to be more abundantly multiplied unto you through the merits, intercession, and righteousness, of the son of God. We have rejoiced to hear of your prosperity and increase of professional members of society, and on the other hand, we are humbled and deplore our decrease of professional members of society, but we are looking forward when the Lord God of Glory will uncover the right arm of his power and give you or our sons in the Gospel to see greater days than we have ever seen, of the pouring out of the Spirit of the God of Glory.
We have received your last letter, of your readiness to receive us, could we visit you according to our former wishes and intimations, and we hope should the divine providence and will of God be fully manifested to us, we shall be ready, not only to change countries, but to change worlds; but your aged friend is now in the ninth month of the first period of the age of man, having been more or less asthmatic for about sixty years, feeble in his limbs, but more abundantly in his lungs, unfitted for public service in a great measure, as also for social intercourse and common communication. And Oh! was he to visit his native land it would not be in all the strength and health and vigour of the former days of his youth, that could satisfy the wishes of his soul in congregations; nor in social or personal interview even to answer questions consequential and satisfactory to his friends and his own good wishes.
For a few years past, we have had serious times in the Church and in the land. In the Church many of the labourers have been taken from the evil to come both from among the aged, middle aged and young travelling and local preachers, and among the people more than ordinary number have peaceably and many triumphantly died in the Lord, so that with us if not universally yet generally to die is to die in Christ, and this hath greatly comforted us in all our tribulations, so that many precious souls the fruit of forty seven years labour and are clear gains in glory. In the land the rod of affliction still is felt and more than ordinary mortality among our citizens. We hope you continue in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship and breaking bread and in prayer. Oh my brethren, plainness of dress, plainness of speech, simplicity of manners such as marked the primitive Methodists and the Apostles and Martyrs of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us be cautious not to feed the pride of the understanding of the people by fine words and elegant composition, neither by building grand houses and making fine music either vocal or instrumental. It is a strange way to think of feeding people’s pride to convert their souls. Remember one saying, fasting, said our Father,2 “God led us to this at Oxford,” and he certainly led that order of men to many great and good Gospel truths and practices. We have the fullest confidence if we had asked the nine annual conferences, “Shall we present your Christian salutations to your Brethren in the British Conference assembled?” that in a moment they would have lifted the right hand of approbation and fellowship. Bishop McKendree feeleth a great interest in your spiritual prosperity and usefulness.
And we wish you great success in the Lord and we shall consider ourselves as highly honoured to receive an official letter from you every conference. And take a pleasure in making a communication to our annual conferences. And if we cannot visit the United Kingdoms we are not without some feeble hope of visiting the United Provinces.3
And now dear brethren we commend you to God and the word of his grace, and are yours, in the bonds of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, FRANCIS ASBURY4
Methodist Book Room, London:
Letters of Methodist Preachers, V, 2. Transcribed by Frank Baker
Notes (4)
- This letter was sent to Joseph Benson, editor of The Methodist Magazine. ↩
- Wesley frequently stressed the spiritual value of fasting and in his latter years bemoaned the fact that Methodists were neglecting this self-discipline. What Asbury has especially in mind is probably a passage in Wesley’s sermon on “Causes of the Inefficacy of Christianity,” preached at Dublin in 1789 and published in The Arminian Magazine the following year. In it Wesley says: “While we were at Oxford, the rule of every Methodist was, (unless in case of sickness,) to fast every Wednesday and Friday in the year, in imitation of the Primitive Church… I fear there are now thousands of Methodists, so called, . . who… have entirely left off fasting.” (Frank Baker.) ↩
- Canada. ↩
- This official letter of greeting to the British Conference was in the hand of a scribe. The signature is added by Asbury himself, very slowly and tremulously. (Frank Baker.) ↩