Notes:
Sermon 107: On Faith
Isa. 5:4 was something of a favourite of Wesley’s; there are fourteen notices of its use in his oral preaching from 1748 to 1788. He knew William Tilly’s reference to it in his university sermon, ‘On Grieving the Holy Spirit’; cf. Sermon XI in his Sixteen Sermons (1712), p. 320. Wesley’s abridgement of this, copied out in 1733, was found among his papers after his death and published as a Wesley original by Thomas Jackson in 1825. Wesley also knew Jeremiah Seed’s sermon on the same text; cf. Sermon III in Seed’s Posthumous Works (1750), I.69-94 (for Wesley’s admiring reference to him as a preacher, see the Preface to SOSO,V-VIII, §5, II.355-57).
What is wholly original in this present sermon, however, is Wesley’s direct identification of ‘God’s Vineyard’ with his own Methodist movement, together with the special pathos of his estimate of God’s special blessings to the Methodist people and of their failures to fulfil their original promise and prospects. I.8-9 is a capsule history of Methodism; V.1-7 is a candid summary of its leader’s discontents. Clearly, this was a sermon chiefly for Methodists, which raises the interesting question as to how widely Wesley expected the sermons in SOSO, VIII, to be read.
At any rate, this sermon was written at Witney (near Oxford), on October 17, 1787 (see JWJ for October 16 and diary for October 17) and was first published in SOSO, VIII.249-72 (1788), with its present title. In the January and February issues of the Arminian Magazine (1789), XII.6-14, 62-68, it was reprinted without a title and numbered ‘Sermon XLVIII’ (on p. 6) and ‘Sermon XLIX’ (on p. 62)—the latter number is the correct one. The present text here is based on SOSO, VIII, which is very nearly identical with the Magazine reprint.
03:503 On God’s VineyardIsaiah 5:4
What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
The ‘vineyard of the Lord’, taking the word in its widest sense, may include the whole world. All the inhabitants of the earth may in some sense be called ‘the vineyard of the Lord’, who ‘hath made all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, that they might seek the Lord, if haply they may feel after him, and find him’.
Cf. Acts 17:26-27 (Notes); Isa. 5:7.
Cf. 2 Tim. 2:19.
An echo of Thomas Crane’s metaphor about the concentric circles of Providence; see No. 67, ‘On Divine Providence’, §16 and n.
AM, ‘by’.
What could God have done more in this his vineyard (suppose he had designed it should put forth great branches, and spread over the earth) which he hath not done in it?
First, with regard to doctrine;
Secondly, with regard to spiritual helps;
Thirdly, with regard to discipline; and
Fourthly, with regard to outward protection.
These things being considered, I would then briefly inquire, 504‘Wherefore, when he looked [that] it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?’
11I. 1. First, what could have been done in this his vineyard which God hath not done in it? What could have been done more with regard to doctrine? From the very beginning, from the time that four young men united together, each of them was homo unius libri—a man of one book.
See above, ‘Preface’ (1746), §5 and n. (1:104-5 in this edn.). For Wesley’s dating the Revival from 1729, of. No. 63, ‘The General Spread of the Gospel’, §16 and n.; see also below, I.3.
Cf. Ps. 119:105 (BCP).
22. It is true a learned man, Dr. Trapp,
Joseph Trapp (1679-1747), ally of Henry Sacheverell and first professor of poetry at Oxford, whose four sermons on The Nature, Folly, Sin, and Danger of Being Righteous Overmuch (1739), aimed mostly at Law and Whitefield, gained him more fame among the Methodists than he enjoyed elsewhere.
Law, A Practical Treatise Upon Christian Perfection (1726), and A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life (1729).
Cf. Trapp, A Reply to Mr. Law’s Earnest and Serious Answer (as it is called) to Dr. Trapp’s Discourse of the Folly, Sin, and Danger of Being Righteous Overmuch (London, Gilliver, 1741), pp. 6-7. Wesley paraphrases Trapp, whose references are mainly to Law’s Christian Perfection. Cf. Moore, Wesley, I.171, for Samuel Wesley, Sen.’s claim that if ‘my son John has the honour of being styled the “Father of the Holy Club”, I must be the grandfather of it…’.
Cf. 1 Pet. 1:23.
33. Another learned man, the late Bishop Warburton, roundly affirms that ‘they were the offspring of Mr. Law and Count Zinzendorf together.’
William Warburton (1698-1779), Bishop of Gloucester. In his Doctrine of Grace (1762), p. 152 (cf. Works, VII.342-43), he had asserted that ‘Mr. Law begot Methodism and Count Zinzendorf rocked the cradle.’ See No. 100, ‘On Pleasing All Men’, I.2 and n. For other references to Zinzendorf, cf. No. 13, On Sin in Believers, I.5 and n.
Another pointer to the origins of Methodism in the Holy Club in 1729. See above I.1; and No. 63, ‘The General Spread of the Gospel’, §16 and n.
44. The book which, next to the Holy Scripture, was of the greatest use to them in settling their judgment as to the grand point of justification by faith was the Book of Homilies.
Cf. Wesley’s abridgement of the first Edwardian Homilies in his little tract, The Doctrine of Salvation, Faith, and Good Works, Extracted from the Homilies of the Church of England (1739). Cf. LPT Wesley, pp. 121-33; see Bibliog, No. 11, and Vol. 12 of this edn.
See JWJ, Nov. 11, 1738.
Actually, it was the thirty-fifth ‘Article’: ‘Of the Homilies’.
55. It has been frequently observed that very few were clear in their judgment both with regard to justification and sanctification. Many who have spoken and written admirably well concerning justification had no clear conception, nay, were totally ignorant, of the doctrine of sanctification. Who has wrote more ably than Martin Luther on justification by faith alone? And who was more ignorant of the doctrine of sanctification, or more confused in his conceptions of it? In order to be thoroughly convinced of this, of his total ignorance with regard to sanctification, there needs no more than to read over, without prejudice, his celebrated comment on the Epistle to the Galatians.
Cf. JWJ, June 15, 1741, for Wesley’s disparaging evaluation of Luther’s Commentary on Galatians; see also No. 14, The Repentance of Believers, I.9 and n.
Francis de Sales (1567-1622), Bishop of Geneva and author of two classics of devotional literature: An Introduction to the Devout Life (1609), and A Treatise on the Lave of God (1616). Wesley had read the former in 1733.
Juan de Castañiza (c. 1536-99), a Spanish Benedictine, credited in the eighteenth century as author of Pugna Spiritualis; tractatus vere aureus de perfectione vitae Christianae (1599). Susanna Wesley owned a copy of its English translation (by Richard Lucas in 1698) and used it in the family devotions in the Epworth rectory. Since then, it has been more often attributed to Lorenzo Scupoli, a Spanish Theatine. Cf. M. Alamo in Dictionnaire d’histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, XI.1414-15; see also No. 3, ‘Awake, Thou That Sleepest’, II.9 and n.
Catechism which every parish priest is to teach his people. [Wesley had read this Catechism in Oct. 1732. Cf. The Catechism of the Council of Trent for Parish Priests (1566), translated into English, with notes, by T. A. Buckley, 1852.]
For other comments on Methodist ‘triumphalism’, cf. No. 102, ‘Of Former Times’, §22 and n.
66. They know, indeed, that at the same time a man is justified sanctification properly begins. For when he is justified he is ‘born again’,
John 3:3, 7.
John 3:3, where ἄνωθεν literally means ‘from above’. Cf. No. 45, ‘The New Birth’, II.3; and below, I.9.
John 3:6, 8.
Jas. 3:15.
Phil. 2:5.
77. It is true a late very eminent author, in his strange treatise on regeneration,
William Law, whose The Grounds and Reasons of Christian Regeneration (1739) had been read straightaway by Charles Wesley to the Methodist Society in London in 1739. Cf. Moore, Wesley, I.300, and see Law’s Works (1762), V.180, 170. Echoed in No. 45, ‘The New Birth’, IV.3. The most famous eighteenth-century essay on this theme, however, was Daniel Waterland’s Regeneration Stated and Explained (1740), which Wesley had also read.
Prov. 4:18.
88. It is then a great blessing given to this people that, as they do not think or speak of justification so as to supersede sanctification, so neither do they think or speak of sanctification so as to supersede justification. They take care to keep each in its own place, laying equal stress on one and the other. They know God has joined these together, and it is not for man to put them asunder.
See Matt. 19:6.
99. Who then is a Christian, according to the light which God hath vouchsafed to this people? He that, being justified by faith, hath peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ;
See Rom. 5:1.
See above, I.6.
Cf. Col. 3:10.
See Rom. 5:5.
Cf. Mark 12:33 and Matt. 22:38-40; see also No. 7, ‘The Way to the Kingdom’, I.8 and n. For Wesley’s definition of inward and outward holiness (love of God and love of neighbour), cf. ibid., I.10 and n.
Matt. 11:29.
See Phil. 4:11.
See Phil. 2:5.
See 1 Thess. 5:22.
Cf. Ps. 39:1 (BCP).
See Luke 1:6.
See Matt. 7:12.
See 1 Cor. 10:31.
Now what could God have done more for this his vineyard which he hath not done in it, with regard to doctrine?
2II. We are to inquire, secondly, what could have been done which he hath not done in it, with regard to spiritual helps.
11. Let us consider this matter from the very beginning. Two young clergymen, not very remarkable any way, of middle age, having a tolerable measure of health, though rather weak than strong, began about fifty years ago to call sinners to repentance. This they did, for a time, in many of the churches in and about London. But two difficulties arose: first, the churches were so crowded that many of the parishioners could not get in; secondly, they preached new doctrines—that we are saved by faith, and, that ‘without holiness no man could see the Lord’.
Cf. Heb. 12:14. A recollection of the first critical reactions to ‘Methodism’; the most popular charge was ‘enthusiasm’, the most serious was doctrinal inconsistency. Cf. Josiah Tucker’s letter, June 14, 1739, in the Gent’s Mag. (1739), IX.292-97 (‘…this new set of principles’, etc.). But see also Tucker’s longer critique of the ‘medley of [Wesley’s] principles’ in his Brief History of the Principles of Methodism; Wherein the Rise and Progress…and Present Inconsistencies of this Sect Are…Traced Out and Accounted For (1742), p. 32. Tucker’s main thesis (pp. 32-39) is that Wesley was trying to reconcile William Law, John Calvin, and James Arminius, a venture that was patently absurd.
Wesley records having first preached in Moorfields on June 17, 1739. This was the large open tract outside the City of London, north of Moorgate. The Foundery was there, and later it became Wesley’s headquarters and home. Also on June 17, he preached on Kennington Common, another open space south of the Thames, across London Bridge and just east of the pleasure gardens of Vauxhall. Note that this account ignores the fact that he had already begun his field preaching near Bristol Apr. 2, 1739.
See Amos 4:11; Zech. 3:2; cf. No. 4, Scriptural Christianity, II.2 and n.
22. It may be observed that these clergymen, all this time, had no plan at all. They only went hither and thither, wherever they had a prospect of saving souls from death. But when more and more asked, ‘What must I do to be saved?’
Acts 16:30.
Would Wesley’s choice of Thursday night have been influenced by his memories that it was the special evening of the week that his mother had ‘formerly bestowed upon [him]’ for study and counselling? Cf. his letter to her from Oxford, Feb. 28, 1732; and see Susanna’s letter to her husband, dated Feb. 6, 1712, which Wesley included in his Journal account of her death and burial, Aug. 1, 1742.
The first official record of membership in the Society at London is in the Minutes, Aug. 18, 1767, §8: ‘2250’.
33. But how should this multitude of people be kept together? And how should it be known whether they walked worthy of their profession? They were providentially led, when they were thinking on another thing (namely, paying the public debt),
Debts owed to lenders outside the Methodist Societies.
44. This division of the people, and exclusion of those that walked disorderly, without any respect of persons, were helps which few other communities had. To these, as the societies increased, was soon added another. The stewards of the societies 03:510in each district were desired to meet the preachers once a quarter, in some central place, to give an account of the spiritual and temporal state of their several societies. The use of these Quarterly Meetings was soon found to be exceeding great; in consideration of which they were gradually spread to all the societies in the kingdom.
55. In order to increase the union between the preachers (as well as that of the people) they were desired to meet all together in London, and, some time after, a select number of them.
This annual ‘Conference of Preachers in Connexion with Mr. Wesley’ was a unique feature of Methodist polity from 1744 onwards. Cf. Wesley’s description of it in the Minutes, Aug. 12, 1766, §§4-5, and his insistence that it was a consultative body only, without any legislative function or authority. For a summary of the history and role of the conference in Methodist polity, see also his ‘Thoughts Upon Some Late Occurrences’, dated Mar. 3, 1785, and published in AM (1785), VIII.267-69.
In ‘Minutes of Several Conversations Between the Rev. Mr. John and Charles Wesley and Others.’ There are such records for 1744-47, and also ‘brief notices’ of the fifteen Conferences between 1749 and 1765; then a continuous run of Minutes from 1765 onwards (see Vol. 10 of this edn.).
Eph. 4:16.
66. That this may be the more effectually done, they have another excellent help in the constant change of preachers;
Wesley set especial store by this idea of itinerancy, making it a distinctive feature of Methodist polity which has continued, in one form or another in Methodism until modern times. Cf. his letters to Joseph Benson, Dec. 11, 1772; to Samuel Walker, Sept. 3, 1756; to Mrs. Ward, July 16, 1788; see also, Baker, John Wesley and the Church of England, pp. 114, 172, 226, 320.
Cf. John and Charles Wesley, Hymns and Sacred Poems (1740), p. 195 (Poet. Wks., I.362; see also No. 504 in Collection, 7:693-94 of this edn.). For quotations of other lines from this hymn, see Nos. 13, On Sin in Believers, IV.6; and 132, ‘On Faith, Heb. 11:1’, §6.
77. Together with these helps which are peculiar to their own Society, they have all those which are enjoyed in common by the other members of the Church of England. Indeed they have been long pressed to separate from it, to which they have had temptations of every kind. But they cannot, they dare not, they will not separate from it, while they can remain therein with a clear conscience. It is true, if any sinful terms of communion were imposed upon them, then they would be constrained to separate; but as this is not the case at present we rejoice to continue therein.
88. What then could God have done more for this his vineyard which he hath not done in it, with regard to spiritual helps? He has hardly dealt so with any other people in the Christian world! If it be said, He could have made them a separate people like the Moravian Brethren, I answer, This would have been a direct contradiction to his whole design in raising them up; namely, to spread scriptural religion throughout the land, among people of every denomination,
A relatively new usage for this term; cf. No. 104, ‘On Attending the Church Service’, §4 and n.
Cf. Gal. 5:6; see also No. 2, The Almost Christian, II.6 and n.
1III. 1. Such are the spiritual helps which God has bestowed on this his vineyard, with no sparing hand. Discipline might be inserted among these; but we may as well speak of it under a separate head. It is certain that in this respect the Methodists are a highly favoured people. Nothing can be more simple, nothing more rational, than the Methodist discipline: it is entirely founded on common sense, particularly applying the general rules of Scripture. Any person determined to save his soul may be united (this is the only condition required) with them. But this desire must be evidenced by three marks: avoiding all known sin, doing good after his power, and attending all the ordinances of God.
A summary of the General Rules; cf. Vol. 9 of this edn.
22. Their public service is at five in the morning and six or seven in the evening, that their temporal business may not be hindered. Only on Sunday it begins between nine and ten, and concludes with the Lord’s Supper. On Sunday evening the Society meets; but care is taken to dismiss them early, that all the heads of families may have time to instruct their several households. Once a quarter the principal preacher in every circuit examines every member of the societies therein. By this means, if the behaviour of anyone is blameable, which is frequently to be expected in so numerous a body of people, it is easily discovered, and either the offence or the offender removed in time.
33. Whenever it is needful to exclude any disorderly member out of the Society, it is done in the most quiet and inoffensive manner—only by not renewing his ticket
These tokens of membership in good standing, personally subscribed by Wesley or one of his Assistants, were required for admission to class meetings and to Holy Communion.
1IV. 1. But was it possible that all these things should be done without a flood of opposition? The prince of this world was not dead, nor asleep: and would he not fight that his kingdom might not be delivered up? If the word of the Apostle be found true, in all ages and nations ‘all they that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.’
Cf. 2 Tim. 3:12.
22. In truth the god of this world was not asleep. Neither was he idle. He did fight, and that with all his power, that his kingdom might not be delivered up. He ‘brought forth all his hosts to war’.
Cf. Charles Wesley, ‘Christ the Friend of Sinners’, ‘And call forth all his hosts to war’, in Hymns and Sacred Poems (1739), p. 102. This hymn was also published in A Collection of Hymns (1780), No. 29, omitting st. 6. This is probably the hymn which Charles Wesley wrote on his conversion; cf. CWJ, May 23, 1738. For a more complete history of the hymn, cf. Baker, Representative Verse of Charles Wesley (London, Epworth Press, 1962), pp. 3-4.
Ps. 68:30 (BCP). Cf. No. 52, The Reformation of Manners, I.5 and n.
‘Flock’ is inserted in ink in Wesley’s own copies of the Sermons and AM, though not in his hand.
George II (1683-1760); cf. Wesley’s comment upon the king’s death (‘When will England have a better Prince?’), JWJ, Oct. 25, 1760. See also Leslie Stephen’s account in DNB of Samuel Chandler’s funeral sermon (Nov. 9, 1760) in which he compared George II to David (‘a man after God’s own heart’). In the Appendix to Chandler’s History of Persecution from the Patriarchal Age to the Reign of George II; A New Edition (Hull, 1813), p. 416, the late king is quoted as having declared in open court that ‘no man should be persecuted for conscience’ sake in his dominions’. Cf. also Wesley’s Thoughts upon Liberty, §19, and No. 127, ‘On the Wedding Garment’, §14. For other comments on George II, cf. No. 15, The Great Assize, §1.
On Nov. 1, 1762, Howell Harris recorded bits of gossip he picked up in Bath, including the statement: ‘Archbishop Seeker offered to Mr. Onslow, late Speaker, a scheme against the Methodists, and he [the elder Pitt, Leader of the House of Commons] said he did not like persecution;’ cf. Tom Beynon, ed., Howell Harris, Reformer and Soldier (Caernarvon, Calvinistic Methodist Bookroom, 1958), p. 139. See also Baker, John Wesley and the Church of England, pp. 180, 376.
33. But in defiance of this, several who bore his Majesty’s commission have persecuted them from time to time, and that under colour of law, availing themselves of what is called the Conventicle Act—one in particular, in Kent, who some years since took upon him to fine one of the preachers and several of his hearers. But they thought it their duty to appeal to his Majesty’s Court of King’s Bench. The cause was given for the plaintiffs, 03:514who have ever since been permitted to worship God according to their own conscience.
For this case in Rolvenden, Kent, in 1760, see WHS, XVIII.113-20; cf. John Wesley’s letter to his brother Charles, June 24, 1760. There are other references to the Methodists appealing to His Majesty’s Court of King’s Bench. The Canterbury rioters (Kent) are mentioned in JWJ, Nov. 11, 1751: ‘We had not any disturbance from first to last, the Court of King’s Bench having broke the spirit of the rioters.’ See also entries for Aug. 30, 1766; Apr. 20, 1752; July 29, 1786; and Wesley’s letter to Richard Bailey, Aug. 15, 1751.
44. I believe this is a thing wholly without precedent. I find no other instance of it in any age of the church, from the day of Pentecost to this day. Every opinion, right and wrong, has been tolerated, almost in every age and nation. Every mode of worship has been tolerated, however superstitious or absurd. But I do not know that true, vital, scriptural religion was ever tolerated before. For this the people called Methodists have abundant reason to praise God. In their favour he hath wrought a new thing in the earth: he hath stilled the enemy and the avenger.
See Ps. 8:2.
1V. 1. What indeed could God have done more for this his vineyard which he hath not done in it? This having been largely showed, we may now proceed to that strong and tender expostulation: ‘After all that I had done, might I not have looked for the most excellent grapes? Wherefore then brought it forth wild grapes? Might I not have expected a general increase of faith and love, of righteousness and true holiness? Yea, and of the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, long-suffering, meekness, gentleness, fidelity, goodness, temperance?’
Cf. Gal. 5:22-23 (Notes); note Wesley’s rearrangement of the order of these Christian virtues.
See Luke 1:46-47.
Heb. 11:27.
Cf. 1 Pet. 2:9.
22. But instead of this it brought forth wild grapes, fruit of a quite contrary nature. It brought forth error in ten thousand shapes, turning many of the simple out of the way. It brought forth enthusiasm, imaginary inspiration, ascribing to the all-wise God all the wild, absurd, self-inconsistent dreams of an heated imagination. It brought forth pride, robbing the Giver of every good gift of the honour due to his name. It brought forth prejudice, evil surmising, censoriousness, judging, and condemning one another—all totally subversive of that brotherly love which is the very badge of the Christian profession; without which, whosoever liveth is counted dead before God. It brought forth anger, hatred, malice, revenge, and every evil word and work—all direful fruits, not of the Holy Spirit, but of the bottomless pit.
33. It brought forth likewise in many—particularly those that are increased in goods—that grand poison of souls, the love of the world, and that in all branches: ‘the desire of the flesh’, that is, the seeking happiness in the pleasures of sense; ‘the desire of the eyes’, that is, seeking happiness in dress, or any of the pleasures of imagination;
Cf. No. 44, Original Sin, II.10 and n.
Cf. 1 John 2:16; and No. 7, ‘The Way to the Kingdom’, II.2 and n.
Cf. No. 14, The Repentance of Believers, I.7 and n.
Cf. Persius, Satires, ii.61. Wesley had already used this tag in his letter to Colonel Oglethorpe, Apr. 20, 1736, and would use it again in No. 125, ‘On a Single Eye’, III.8. He could have read it in Lactantius, Divinarum Institutionum, II.ii; and in Jeremy Taylor, ‘The House of Feasting’ (Sermon XVI), Works, I.701, where it appears in both Greek and Latin.
44. O ye that have riches in possession,
Ps. 73:12 (BCP).
1 Tim. 6:17.
Cf. Mark 10:23.
Cf. Prov. 23:2.
Cf. Ps. 69:22 (AV); Rom. 11:9.
See Matt. 6:19.
Cf. Matt. 19:24.
55. But why will ye still bring forth wild grapes? What excuse can ye make? Hath God been wanting on his part? Have you not been warned over and over? Have ye not been fed with the sincere milk of the word?
1 Pet. 2:2.
See Exod. 4:13; cf. No. 4, Scriptural Christianity, IV.2 and n.
603:5176. Was not another cause of it your despising that excellent help, union with a Christian society? Have you not read, ‘How can one be warm alone?’
Eccles. 4:11.
Cf. Eccles. 4:10.
See Heb. 13:17.
77. If you are a member of the Society, do you make a full use of your privilege? Do you never fail to meet your class? And that, not as matter of form, but expecting that when you are met together in his name your Lord will be in the midst of you? Are you truly thankful for the amazing liberty of conscience which is vouchsafed to you and your brethren? Such as never was enjoyed before by persons in your circumstances?
The Methodists profited from the growing spirit of religious toleration even more than the Nonconformists or the Roman Catholics; cf. John H. Overton and Frederic Relton, The English Church from the Accession of George I to the End of the Eighteenth Century (1714-1800), Vol. VII in A History of the English Church, W. R. W. Stephens and William Hunt, eds. (London, Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1924), pp. 226-29.
See BCP, Communion, Preface to the Sanctus. For Wesley’s use of ascriptions, cf. No. 1, Salvation by Faith, III.9 and n.
Witney, October 17, 1787
Place and date as in AM.
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Entry Title: Sermon 107: On Faith