It was just at this time that we first hear of a remarkable man called Thomas Walsh. I must first tell you that Robert Swindells (the same who had so narrowly escaped with his life at Shepton), was in Ireland with Wesley. He was preaching one day on the parade-ground at Limerick, when he observed, amongst the listening crowd, a young man with an intelligent, but very sad countenance. He was listening earnestly, poor young man, for his heart was very sorrowful, and he wanted comfort and help, and the words of the text had seemed like a message from God to his soul. The text was, “Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He had often tried to get rest to his soul, from the time that he had been a very little boy. His parents were Roman Catholics, living in a little Irish village called Newmarket. They had taught him, when a child, the Lord’s Prayer and a prayer to the Virgin Mary, in Irish. They had also taught him the 100th Psalm in Latin, which he did not understand. When he was seven he learned English, and after that, his elder brother, who was teacher in a school, taught him the Latin grammar. This brother had been brought up to be a priest, but had become a Protestant. Most likely, however, he had not become a believer in the Lord Jesus, for he never seems to have told Thomas the way to be saved. There are millions of Protestants who know as little about that as the Papists do, and care as little about it as the heathen. Thomas, though he did not know it, did care about it, and longed to be saved; he was terrified at the thought of death, and the more frightened he became the more he prayed, now and then to God, and very often to saints and angels. When he was thirteen he began to go constantly to mass, and tried to leave off bad ways, but he only became more frightened and unhappy, because he found his prayers could not give him peace. He says “my very bones trembled because of my sins.” He went to tell the priest, who advised him to pray more. He also tried to get rid of his fears by amusing himself. But he grew more and more unhappy. He fasted, confessed his sins to the priest, and would throw himself on the ground in an agony, praying to the saints for mercy. When he was seventeen his brother convinced him that popery was full of error. He sat up with Thomas one night, and talked to him till nearly one o’clock about the worship of saints. Thomas began that night to pray to God only, and resolved to pray to saints and angels no more. He also began to study the Bible, and soon told his father he was a Protestant and that he would go to the Church of England services instead of to mass. His father could not answer his arguments. But though Thomas was a Protestant, he was not any happier than before. Instead of having peace, he only saw more than ever “the exceeding sinfulness of sin.” And it was just then that on the parade-ground, at Limerick, the blessed words reached his ears, “Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” To his great joy, the preachers came just after this to his little native village, where a Methodist society was formed, and Thomas joined it. The preaching, he said, had shown him not only what sin is, but what Christ is. The fact is, we never really see the blackness of sin till we see the Blessed One who has put it away, and know who and what He is. It was this that made Peter fall down and say, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” It was a very blessed day for Thomas Walsh when he first knew Christ. He says, “I broke out into tears of joy and love.” A friend who had gone to the meeting with him was converted at the same time. From this moment Thomas Walsh “counted all things but dung that he might win Christ.” Not win salvation—that he already had, as far as it is salvation for the soul. (The salvation of the body will not be till the Lord comes to change our vile bodies, and fashion them like to His glorious body.) But to win Christ is something more than being forgiven and saved. It is to know Him—a knowledge which begins at conversion. When will it end? Will it ever end?
Thomas Walsh did not think as many do, that now that he was saved, the way to be devoted to Christ was to spend his whole time in preaching the gospel to others. It is a very blessed thing as God gives us opportunity to make Christ known to perishing souls. But those who do this are just those who need all the more to be learning themselves. Those who give out most need to take in most. Thomas Walsh would study the Bible for hours every day. For this purpose he got up at four o’clock, and taught himself Greek and Hebrew for the better understanding of the Scriptures. He would leave off to pray, or thank God for the treasures he found in His blessed word, and then go again to his studies. Wesley said afterward, such correct knowledge of the Bible he never saw in any man before, and never expected to see again. It was only after much study and much prayer that he began to preach. He walked thirty miles to preach his first sermon, which was in a barn. Thenceforward he went about the country preaching with wonderful power and blessing. It was a great advantage to him that he could preach in Irish, as of course the English Methodists could not. Numbers seem to have been saved through his labors, and it is not wonderful therefore that mobs were gathered by the priests to attack him wherever he went. One day seventy-eight men with clubs rushed upon him, and in a very Irish fashion proposed to bring a Roman Catholic priest and an English clergyman to convert him between them. Then, said the Irishmen, he might have his choice whether to be a Papist or a member of the Church of England. If he would be either one or the other he should go in peace. He explained to them that he had not come to talk about sects, but to preach of the Saviour, who would save Roman Catholic sinners and Protestant sinners alike. Upon this the wild Irishmen attempted to put him in a well, but with the help of the parish minister he was rescued. We will now leave him preaching through the towns and villages of Ireland, sometimes mobbed, sometimes imprisoned, but whether in prison or out of it, telling the glad tidings, and finding everywhere some whose hearts the Lord opened, who believed and were saved.
Wesley remained in Ireland about three months, traveling all about the country. “Multitudes,” he says, “of every kind and degree, are daily turned from the power of darkness unto God.” On the other hand, there was often opposition, both from the priests, and from the Protestants. The Protestants appear to have been as dark and unbelieving as the Papists. “It is true,” said Wesley, “ they hate Popery, but they hate Christianity a great deal more.” The work of conversion continued in Ireland after Wesley left. There were now many Methodists preaching there. A list of these men, Charles Wesley at the head, was that summer sent out by the grand jury of Cork, with the declaration: “We find and present these nine men to be persons of ill fame, vagabonds, and common disturbers of His Majesty’s peace, and we pray they may be transported.” John Wesley meanwhile was preaching over the length and breadth of England. The work went on as before, multitudes coming to hear, and receiving pardon and life, and here and there mobs, violent as ever, attacked the preachers, and filled the houses where they lodged. Wesley rejoiced on these occasions that “God thus brought all the drunkards, swearers, and mere sinners in the place to hear of His plenteous redemption.”
Early in the year 1750, the people of London were alarmed by the shock of an earthquake. The second shock, a month later, was more violent. The houses were much shaken and chimneys thrown down. John Wesley was not in London at that time, but Charles was, and he preached with great power to the trembling crowds who thronged to the Foundry, and other Methodist meeting places. Many of the people of London fled from the city in terror, and spent the night in the fields. Hyde Park was filled with these terrified people, and there, at midnight, Whitefield preached to them, and found them eager to listen. “They thought,” as they said, “the day of judgment was come.” “We know that a day is coming, when the Lord will arise and shake terribly the earth.” But before He does so, He will have gathered His saints to Himself, in a moment—in the twinkling of an eye. Are you ready for that solemn moment? We shall be caught up to be forever with Him, or we shall be left behind to the terrible judgments which are coming on the earth. Wesley’s journeys now included Ireland, and nearly the whole of England, besides Wales. I do not find that he had as yet visited the eastern counties of England, nor had he as yet been to Scotland. But you must remember, that by this time there were very many Methodist preachers, preaching incessantly in every direction. Whitefield especially was untiring in his labors, and not even Wesley himself preached as often, or to such immense multitudes. In the thirty-four years of his ministry his public preachings amounted to 18,000 times. Forty hours a week was the time he usually spent in preaching, sometimes sixty hours. He went over England from one end to the other, and went also into Scotland, and crossed the Atlantic thirteen times in order to make the gospel known in America. Besides this wonderful amount of preaching, he spent many hours more in prayer or the singing of hymns, in the houses to which he was invited. Frequently he spent whole nights in reading the word and in prayer. He always got up at four, and went to bed at ten. It would appear that thousands of souls were saved by his means. And there is no doubt that his knowledge of God’s word and mind was far more deep and true than Wesley’s. We have seen how faithfully he warned Wesley against some of his errors. We do not find either that he fell into the snare of forming societies and making rules. His business was simply to make Christ known, as far as he himself had that blessed knowledge. I could not tell you of all the other preachers, so many were they by this time. Their various histories were so far alike, that we find them constantly preaching to multitudes of people—constantly beaten, stoned, dragged through the mire, pelted and insulted. And when we further remember that these men were not sent out by any society, or paid a penny for their labors, that in fact they had to suffer great loss, and spend as well as be spent in Christ’s service, we can then better understand how real a work of the Spirit of God was this—how great mercy was God now showing to a nation who had forgotten and despised Him. It is true that there was much which these Methodist preachers did not yet understand or know. Of the Lord’s coming, as we have seen, they were in ignorance. They do not seem either to have thought of the blessed fact that God not only saves souls, but by the Holy Ghost unites them to Christ, the Head in Heaven, so that all who are thus saved at the present time are members one of another—form one Body—which is the true Church of God. And we have duties as belonging to the Church, just as everyone has duties as a member of a family. What concerns one, concerns all—all who believe. What a blessed thing thus to know that we are one with all those who are loved by Christ, and who love Him. Surely they ought to have a great share in our thoughts, our prayers, and our service. But we must look elsewhere than in the accounts of the Methodists to find teaching and guidance in that which concerns the Church as a body. Where must we then look for that? Thank God, we have not in these days to look far. Now that everyone has, or can have, a Bible, they have no excuse for remaining in ignorance of any truth which God has made known. Read the New Testament, with earnest prayer to God, that He will teach you what the Church is, and how you should own this truth in practice, and He will give you a ready answer. If it is true that you have brothers and sisters in the family to which you belong down here, you can clearly understand that to behave as the only child, even if your behavior were good so far, would not be right. So, if you belong to a heavenly family, and are united even more closely than by relationship to God’s believing people, you have to act accordingly. May God teach you how to do so!
It was not till the spring of 1751 that Wesley first went to Scotland. Whitefield had been preaching there from time to time for the last ten years. Shortly before going there, Wesley had married a widow lady, called Mrs. Vizelle, who had been a friend of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wesley. He had resolved not to let his marriage in any way interfere with his ceaseless journeys, nor to cause him to preach one sermon the less.
But Mrs. Wesley by no means approved of this wandering life, she liked to be made comfortable, and when we remember how Wesley had accustomed himself to ride about in all weathers, to lodge anywhere, to sleep on the floor, and eat anything he could get, we can hardly be surprised that his wife found it by no means a life of ease and comfort. Unhappily, she discovered this too late, and was then very much displeased with him, and as far as we can find out was most unamiable and unkind. Wesley was, therefore, none the happier for having married her; she found it almost equally a hardship to go about with him, or to stay at home. The plan upon which he had always gone was to give away his money, leaving only enough for his absolute necessities. He possessed, for example, in the way of plate but four silver tea spoons; two in London, and two at Bristol. “Nor,” said he, “shall I ever get more when so many people want bread.” With regard to his habits, he was equally simple, giving himself the example to his preachers how they should live. He not only made rules for them, but observed the same himself. These rules concerned everything they did. They were never to touch spirits, tea, tobacco, or snuff; to eat no supper, or very little. Instead of tea at breakfast they were to drink orange-peel tea or nettle tea, which are by no means pleasant to the taste. They were to go to bed before ten, and get up before six. They were never to exceed three meals a day; they were never to be a moment unemployed; they were to be ashamed of nothing but sin; they were not to mind fetching wood, or drawing water, or cleaning their own shoes or their neighbors, and they were to avoid all jesting, or foolish talking.
Wesley might have saved himself the trouble of making rules, had he borne in mind that the rules laid down in the Bible are all we need. By them the man of God may be thoroughly furnished unto all good works. What we need, is not to have more rules, but to be more, far more, obedient to those which God has given. No man, living in obedience to God, will be guilty of self-indulgence in any shape or form, and will find the blessed footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ a sufficient guide as to how we should walk, and please God, even in the smallest particulars of our every-day life.
It was on the way back from this first journey into Scotland, that we find the following entry in Wesley’s journal. He was again at Epworth, when he thus wrote—“May 13th, 1751. I learned the particulars of Mr. Romley’s case, of which I had heard but a confused account before. In November last he was desired to baptize a child. It was observed that his voice, which had been lost several years, was entirely restored. He read the office with great emotion, and many tears, so as to astonish the whole congregation. But, going home from church, he behaved in so strange a manner that it was thought necessary to confine him. During the first week of his confinement, he was for constraining every one that came near to him to kneel down and pray; and frequently cried out, ‘You will be lost, you will be damned, unless you know your sins are forgiven.’ Upon this Mr. ––– roundly averred that the Methodists had turned his head. After seven or eight days he grew much worse, though still with intervals of reason; and in about a fortnight, by a judgment mixed with mercy, God took him to Himself.”