The Rise of Methodism Briefly Sketched

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1863. Excerpt: ... purified in a day. It was the real, ascertained condition of the people, spreading into all its parts and extending over a lengthened period. In this state of affairs, what was the Legislature doing? Why, these were the days of notorious parliamentary corruption, when that man--unscrupulous, but of splendid genius--who said every man had his price--became all powerful in the House of Commons. Small hope from that source. What were the clergy doing? Some of them were mourning the sad state of their flocks, were praying with agonising zeal, and crying, "How long, 0 Lord, wilt thou bear with this sinful generation?" Many of them were doing their duty to the best of their ability, but utterly powerless in the work of national regeneration. There is no question about the Church being in a very degenerate state. The learned Butler felt this. On the decease of Potter, Archbishop of Canterbury, George H. offered to make Butler his successor, but he declined, saying that "he was too late to save a sinking Church." John Foster relates upon what he considers good authority an instance of a country clergyman who, one Sunday morning, made the service as short as he could, and announced as his reason that a neighbour was going to bait his bull in the afternoon, and he had hastened the service to its conclusion in order that the congregation might have more time to see the sport. This case must have been an exception; but those ministers who, as the world thought, did all that was necessary, preached a cold and spiritless formality. "They found," said Dr. Waddy recently, "the land pervaded with immorality, and they preached morality," It is therefore evident that as the nation had fallen into extraordinary wickedness--the governors and clergy of the nation being very re...