THE KING’S BUSINESS
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servitor. His time was coming and God would open the way. This was how He did it. Let Whitefield tell it in his own words. “I .sent a poor aged apple woman of our college to inform him (Charles Wesley) that a poor woman had at tempted suicide, with a request that he would visit her, but not to discover who I was; she went, but contrary to my orders, told my name. He, having heard of my coming to the Castle, and to the parish church sac rament, and having met me frequent ly walking by myself, followed the woman when she was gone away, and sent an invitation to me by her to come to breakfast with him the next morning. My soul was at that time athirst for some spiritual friends. He soon discovered it and put into my hands Professor Franke’s ‘Treatise Against the Fear of Man’ and ‘The Country Parson’s Advice to His Par ishioners.’ In a short time he let me have' another, ‘The Life of God in the Soul of Man.’ I never knew what true religion was till God sent me that excellent treatise. God soon showed me that true religion was union of the soul with God, and Christ formed within us. Not till then did I know that I must be a new creature. Like the woman of Sam aria, I .wrote letters to my relatives, telling them there was such a thing as a new birth; they thought I was going beside myself.” To be continued.
engage in prayer. Later they were joined by James Hervey, of Lincoln, and, after he had been at Oxford for twelve months, by George White- field. Whitefield’s first year at college seems to have passed very quietly. He was kept busy with his studies, but found time to do some outside reading. Law’s “Serious Call to the Unconverted” was bought and read at this time with great profit by the spiritually hungry youth. Of course, he knew something of the little group of men who were meet ing in Mr. Wesley’s rooms, for were not “The Holy Club,” or “The Godly Club,” or “The Bible Moths,” or “The Bible Bigots,” or “The Sacramenta- rians,” or “The Methodists,” names constantly used in derision by the undergrads, to designate the band of men who were earnestly seeking to know God and to do His will? As the name given to the disciples first at Antioch, in derision, is now the name we delight in—“Christians,” so the name given at Oxford, in deris ion, is now the name of that honored branch of the church for which we all thank God—“Methodists.” This name was given them “simply because they professed to live by rule; took the sacrament every month, and visit ed the sick poor, and the prisoners confined in the Castle jail.” But Whitefield did not know any of them, personally, and hardly dared to aspire to their fellowship—he was only a
3 j|jJljFrrforr ty? aattlf, miff« If? asmthrii on Ijiglf, Ijr Irh rapttoity rap- -Wttítn?, anh gaor gifts unto amt. Anil ip?gaur sump in hr apostles; anil suma, prophets; unit sum?, rnangrltsts; unit some, pastors anil trarhrrs.—Ephesians 4 : 8 , 11 .
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