them to pour out His judgments on the ungodly, as is plainly taught us in 1 Thess. iv. 16 17, where it is said that "the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first:" and that then the living saints shall be "caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.” And in 2 Thess. i. 7, we are told that the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven to take vengeance on the ungodly, and that then He shall be glorified in the saints, who, we read in Col. iii., shall appear with Him in glory, and, as it is said in Zechariah, "The Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee." It is then that those found alive on earth shall be judged by Christ and His saints, and 1000 years later we read of the judgment of those who have died, Christ and His saints sitting in judgment as before. But these things were overlooked even by God's people 100 years ago. Neither Wesley, Whitefield, nor any of God's servants in those days ever gave the blessed message, "The Lord Jesus may come to-day. We must be looking for Him." It should not surprise us that so it was. The Lord Jesus foretold in the 25th chapter of Matthew that so it should be. He says, "While the

bridegroom tarried, they all (foolish and wise virgins alike) slumbered and slept." That is, as regards the truth of His coming at any moment, they were all alike asleep. Let us be thankful that we live at the time when the glorious midnight cry has been made, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him!"

John says, "We set up a plain stone at the head of her grave, and on this stone he wrote the following lines:

"In sure and steadfast hope to rise,

And claim her mansion in the skies;
A christian here her flesh laid down-
The cross exchanging for a crown.

"True daughter of affliction, she,

Inured to pain and misery ;

Mourned a long night of griefs and tears,
A legal night of seventy years.

"The Father then revealed His Son,

Him in the broken bread made known,
She knew and felt her sins forgiven,

And found the earnest of her heaven."

There in the Bunhill Fields burying-ground we may leave Mrs. Wesley, till that day, we hope so soon to come,

when she shall be raised in incorruption, and be for ever with the Lord.

CHAPTER XX.

AFTER his mother's death John Wesley again began his travels between London and Bristol, and in the autumn went for the second time to Newcastle, where Charles had been preaching for some weeks. "Here," John says, "I met the wild, staring, loving society," for by this time those who had been awakened through the Methodist preaching in Newcastle had been formed into what Wesley called a "society." This plan he and Charles, and, indeed, the Methodists in general, seemed to think always needful. John and Charles wrote a set of rules for the various societies in different towns. All these societies formed together what Wesley called "The United Society." He describes a society as "a company of men, having the form and seeking the power of godliness, united in order to pray together, to receive the word of exhortation, and to watch over one another in love, that they may help each other to work out their own salvation." Each society was to be divided into classes, and each class was to have a leader, who was to meet them all once a week.

It seems very strange in looking through these rules to find that not a word is said in them about the belief of those who were thus formed into societies. "The only condition" was that they should have "a desire to flee from the wrath to come, and be saved from their sins." This at least would be a proof that they believed there is a wrath to come, and a way to be saved; but further than this nothing is said about their belief, though they were required to obey the strictest rules as to practice. We know from Scripture that a right practice can only grow out of a right belief. But John Wesley was very slow in getting rid of his old habit of making plans and rules, and of his old thoughts of sticking the fruit upon the tree, instead of looking for the fruit to grow out of it.

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The rules for practice in the societies were such as no unsaved sinner, such as these professedly were, could observe for ten minutes together. For example, they were to avoid doing anything which they knew was not for the glory of God." If it were found that they failed to obey the rules, they were, after reproof, to be put out of the society.

The societies were, therefore, to be formed not of persons believing certain truths, but of persons who had

undertaken to obey certain rules in their practice. You may say that, as a tree is known by its fruits, this would be the best way of finding out and gathering together those who were really believers. But we are apt to forget that to confess with our mouths the Lord Jesus—that is, confess our belief in Him-is the first fruit God looks for. And as regards the plan of forming "societies," men are apt to forget that God has already formed His believing people into one great society, which is made up of all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He does not need that men should form even believing christians into societies, and make rules for them, because He has joined all His * people into One Body, and Himself made the rules they are to obey. We may be sure He has made all the rules which He knew to be needful. These rules we find in the bible, especially in the New Testament. This great society, formed by God, is called the Church of the living God. Christ is the Head, and all believers are members of that One Body. God has thus joined together His people by the Holy Ghost, as we read in 1 Cor. xii. 13, "By One Spirit are we all baptized into One Body."

The first question, therefore, is, "What do we believe?" It is needful this should come first, because it is no use