Now, let us see how these two men tackled the problem, which is occupying the the attention of learned religious congresses. They walked down Sandgate, and "standing at the end of a street with John Taylor, we began to sing the Hundredth Psalm." That "Muke a joyful noise unto the Lord, all_yo lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing, The first result was that, three or four people came out to see what was the matter." I suppose they thought a new kind of cheap Jack had come, or a new kind of Junatic. And now for the kind of truth that John Wesley thought was the right medicine for Sandgate. As I have said, how many there are, who would have taken some text about poverty and social conditions.
so John Wesley. He says "The people increased to four or five hundred, and I suppose. there might be twelve hundred before I had done preaching; to whom I applied these solemn words, He was wounded for our _transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his stripes we are healed." When he had finished, he says, "the people gaped with astonishment; and I cried out, If you desire to know who I am, I am John Wesley." He preached the next day on the tender passage, "T will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely." And after preaching the poor people were ready to tread me under foot, out of sheer kindness."
Here indeed is something for us all to think about. Wesley didn't feel the need of advertise ing, or of the "puff preliminary," of a band, or of a choir, as far as one can read, he had not. even the advantage of a stool. What ho did was this. He told these poor people the "old, old story," of the love of God in Jesus Christ; and not only that; he didn't preach as he might have done, the story of Jesus feeding the multitudes, nor healing them, He preached that Christ had loved them and died for them. He didn't try first to teetotalize them in a preliminary way to preaching. the Gospel to them. Not at all. They had no Revival accessories at all. These two men stood up and told the people of Sandgate the story of wh: in Christian language is called the Atonement; how One had come, who had been wounded for them, had been bruised for their inquiries and had healed them by his stripes. One, the Son of God. innocent, holy, undefiled, out of love, He had not only come from heaven, but had
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.