תמונות בעמוד
PDF
ePub

honeft in the fight of all men." 1 Tim. v. 8. " If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel."

5. We have already enlarged on the great duty of taking up our cross, and therefore shall only obferve, that if we will be real difciples of our crucified Lord, we must expect to meet with contempt and perfecution from the carnal world. Rom. viii. 7. "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be." John xv. 18-21. "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me, before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chofen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that Ifaid unto you, The fervant is not greater than his lord. If they have perfecuted me, they will alfo perfecute you: if they have kept my faying, they will keep yours alfo. But all thefe things they will do unto you for my name's fake, because they know not him that fent me." O what chriftian would refuse to suffer for the fake of his Redeemer. Matt. v. 10-12. "Bleffed are they which are perfecuted for righteousness' fake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Bleffed are ye when men fhall revile you, and perfecute you, and fhall fay all manner of evil against you falfely for my fake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."

5th. We have also spoken largely on all the ordinances of the gofpel, and the neceffity of being conftant partakers of them; and have proved this by a great variety of scriptures. Although the ordinances are but means of grace, their end, which is the falvation of our fouls, cannot be attained without them. Such is the order of God, except when unavoidable hindrances prevent our attending of them; in which cafe, God will himself be to the fincere foul instead of all ordinances, yea, will turn the very bin drances themselves into the most profitable of all means.

6th. Thus have we briefly explained the regulations by which the members of our fociety are governed. When these rules were once in a particular fuit at law read in a full court of justice, in Europe, "I wish," faid the judge, lifting up his hands," that all the world kept them." O what a happy world would it become, if they were written by the Spirit of God on every heart. Surely "the Lord God would then dwell among us," (Pfal. Ixviii. 18.) yea, his delight would be among the children of men. "The wolf would then dwell with the lamb, and the leopard lie down with the kid," (Ifa. xi. 6.) " They would not hurt nor destroy in all God's holy mountain: for the earth would be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea," (ver. 9.)

N

SECTION II.

Of Class-Meeting.

OW may

the leaders of claffes be ren

Quejt. 1. H dered more ufeful?

Anfw. 1. Let each of them be diligently examined concerning his method of meeting a clafs. Let this be done with all poffible exactnefs, at least once a quarter. In order to this, take fufficient time.

2. Let each leader carefully inquire how every foul in his clafs profpers: Not only how each perfon obferves the outward rules, but how he grows in the knowledge and love of God.

3. Let the leaders converse with those who have the charge of their circuits, frequently and freely.

Queft. 2 Can any thing more be done in order to make the clafs-meetings lively and profitable? Anfw. 1. Change improper leaders.

2. Let the leaders frequently meet each other's claffes.

3. Let us obferve which leaders are the most useful: And let thefe meet the other claffes as often as poffible. 4. See that all the leaders be not only men of found judgment, but men truly devoted to God.

Queft. 3. How fhall we prevent improper persons from infinuating themfelves into the fociety?

Anfw 1. Give tickets to none until they are recommended by a leader, with whom they have met at least fix months on trial.

2. Give notes to none but those who are recommended by one you know, or until they have met three or four times in a clafs.

3. Read the rules to them the first time they meet. Queft.. 4. How fhall, we be more exact in receiving and excluding members?

Anfw. The official minifter or preacher fhall, at every quarterly meeting, read the names of those that are received and excluded.

Queft. 5. What fhall we do with those members of fociety, who wilfully and repeatedly neglect to meet their clafs?

Anf. 1. Let the elder, deacon, or one of the preachers, vifit them, whenever it is practicable, and explain to them the confequence if they continue to neglect, viz. Exclufion.

2. If they do not amend, let him who has the charge of the circuit exclude them in the fociety; fhewing that they are laid afide for a breach of our rules of discipline and not for immoral conduct.

NOTE S.

1. So much has been already spoken concerning the office of a leader in the notes on the preceding fection and on the 10th of the rft chapter, that we have hardly room to enlarge without tautology. But from the whole we may obferve, how careful our minifters fhould be in their choice of leaders. For our leaders under God are the finews of our fociety, and our revivals will ever, in a great meafure, rife or fall with them. Our minifters and preachers fhould therefore confider no time better employed than that which they bestow on the leaders in examining them, directing them, and stirring them up to their holy and momentous duty.

2. We have made many remarks in the course of our work on the neceffity of chriftian fellowship: but this cannot be carried on to any confiderable advantage without ftated folemn times of affembling. The meetings held for this purpose must have a name to › diftinguish them. We call ours Clafs-meetings, and Band-meetings; but of the former we are to speak at prefent. Here we muit notice, that it is the thing itself, chriftian fellowship and not the name, which we contend for. The experience of about fixty-years has fully convinced us of its neceffity; and we ourselves can say that in the courfe of an extenfive acquaintance with men and things, and the church of God, for about twenty or thirty years we have rarely met with one who has been much devoted to God, and at. the fame time not united in clofe chriftian fellowship to fome religious fociety or other. Far be it from us to fuppofe that no fellowship-meetings, except ours, are owned of God: fo illiberal a fentiment never entered our minds.. But we mufl fay, that those who entirely neglect this divinely fitted ordinance (however various the mes given to it, or the modes of conducting it, may be) manifeft, that they are either afhamed to acknowledge antipir. kehren, the true children of God, or “are enemies of the crofe

11. Is it your defire and defign to be on this and all other occafions entirely open, fo as to fpeak without difguife, and without referve?

Any of the preceding queftions may be afked as oftent as occafion requires: The four following at every meeting.

1. What known fins have you committed fince our laft meeting?

2. What particular temptations have you met with? 3. How were you delivered?

4. What have you thought, faid, or done, of which you doubt whether it be fin or not?

Directions given to the Band-Societies.
December 25th, 1744.

YOU

OU are fuppofed to have the Faith that overcometh the world. To you therefore it is not grievous, I. Carefully to abftain from doing evil: in particular, 1. Neither to buy nor fell any thing at all on the Lord's-day.

2. To talte no fpirituous liquor, no dram of any kind, unless preferibed by a physician.

3. To be at a word both in buying and felling.

4. Not to mention the fault of any behind his back, and to ftop thofe fhort that do.

5. To wear no needlefs ornaments, such as rings, earrings, necklaces, lace, ruffles.

6. To ufe no needlefs felf-indulgence.

II. Zealoufly to maintain good works; in particu

lar.

1. To give alms of fuch things as you poffefs, and that according to your ability.

2. To reprove those who fin in your fight, and that in love and meeknefs of wisdom.

3. To be patterns of diligence and frugality, of selfdenial, and taking up the crofs daily.

III. Conflantly to attend on all the ordinances of GOD; in particular,

1. To be at church, and at the LORD's table, and at every public meeting of the bands, at every oppor-: tunity.

2. To ufe private prayer every day; and family prayer, if you are the head of a family.

3. Frequently to read the fcriptures, and meditate thereon. And,

4. To obferve, as days of fasting or abftinence, all Fridays in the year.

NOTE S.

Our fociety may be confidered as a spiritual hospital, where fouls come to be cured of their spiritual diseases. The members therefore who compofe our clafs meetings vary exceedingly in the ftate of their minds and the degrees of their experience. On this account it was thought neceffary by our venerable leader Mr. Wesley, to establish a fociety of evangelical believers within the fociety compofed of the whole body of Methodists, to which he gave the name of the band-fociety. This inftitution he borrowed. from the practice of the primitive churches, as indeed he did almoft every thing he established.

The heart of man by nature is fuch a cage of unclean birds, that few are to be found who will lay before their brethren all. its fecret movements, unlefs the love of God be the ruling principle of their fouls. And even then they are not called upon to exercife this confidence, except towards a small confidential com-. pany of true believers like themselves. When bands can be formed on this plan (and on no other do we form them) they become one of the most profitable means of grace in the whole compafs. of chriftian difcipline. There is nothing we know of, which fo much quickens the foul to a defire and expectation of the perfect love of God as this. It includes in it all the spiritual benefits of focial intercourse. For thefe little families of love, not only mutually weep and rejoice, and in every thing fympathize with each, other, as genuine friends, but each of them poffeffes a measure of" that unction of the Holy One," (1 John ii. 20.) which teaches all spiritual knowledge. And thus are they enabled to "build up themselves [and each other] on their most holy faith," Jude 25. and to "confider one another, to provoke unto love and good works," Heb. x. 24

The regularity and order, which fhould be obferved in every folemn meeting, requires, that one of the band fhould be the. leader, to open and clofe the ordinance with finging, and prayer, though all may ay be here confidered nearly upon an equality. Each

« הקודםהמשך »