Wesley Corpus

gation listening with much attention, and as much devotion, as they would have done to an opera. But is this Christian wor- ship ? Or ought it ever to be suffered in a Christian church ? Itwas thought wehad between seven and eight hundred com- municants ; and indeed the power of God was in the midst of them. Our own Room in the evening was well filled with peo- ple, and with the presence of God. Afterward we had a love- feast, which I supposemight have continued till midnight, if all had spoken that were ready to speak. On Monday and Tuesday I preached again at Bethesda, and God touched several hearts, even of the rich and great : So that (for the time at least) theywere "almost persuaded to be Christ- ians. " It seems as if the good Providence ofGodhad prepared this place, for those rich and honourable sinners, who will not deign to receive any message from God but in a genteel way. By conversing with many of our friends, I found theywere still increasing in grace as well as in number. The society now contains upwards ofa thousand members ; so that it has outrunall inEngland, but that of London. After this amaz- ing flow, we must expect an ebb : It will be well if only two hundred of these fall away. On Thursday and Friday the congregations were still uncommonly large, and seemed to feel all that was spoken. -Even at the Gravel-Walk, where the congregation 368 REV. J. WESLEY'S April, 1787. used to be small enough, the House was crowded in the evening ; although the soldiers (seventy or eighty of whom are in the society) could not attend; it being the hour of their roll-calling. I preached first at the new Room, and afterwards at Bethesda : Many fair blossoms we see here also ; and surely some fruit will follow ! In the evening our House could not contain the congregation,though they squeezed together as close as possible. I believe few of them heard in vain: Such atten- tion sat on every face, as I seldom see even in Bristol or London. I set out early, and preached at Prosperous about ten, to a numerous congregation; and although I had come ten miles outofmyway, I didnot regretmylabour. In the even-