Search -
The Lives of Early Methodist Preachers, Chiefly Written by Themselves
The Lives of Early Methodist Preachers Chiefly Written by Themselves Author:Thomas Jackson Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE LIFE MR. JONATHAN MASKEW. BY JOHN GAULTER. Vol. it. M THE LIFE MR. JONATHAN MASKEW. I Have always considered it as a reflection on our Conn... more »exion that so many of the first Preachers among the Methodists have passed without notice into the grave. Almost every circumstance of their history is important, as the fathers and founders of many of our societies. If this is neglected much longer, it will be almost impossible to preserve any thing interesting of their experience, labours, and usefulness; as their friends, and children in the Gospel, from the lapse of time, are fast moving off the stage of life. We know their names, a few places of action, and we see the fruits of their labours; but we want more positive information relative to men, to whom, under God, we are so much indebted. We see men every day registering their infamy, and perpetuating their crimes, by publishing them; and the press groaning under a weight of biography, that, it is to be wished, for the happiness of the world, will only furnish materials for the fire, or habitations for the worms. And shall we not be as zealous to be useful, as they are to disseminate the most noxious principles, in bringing from the unworthy obscurity in which they have been too long concealed, those excellent men who counted not their lives dear, that they might preach the Gospel, and spread the knowledge of vital religion ? With this view I have collected this imperfect account of a man but little known in the world, or among the Methodists. The sources of my information were his children and neighbours, and the society to which he belonged. In his life time, he certainly stood high in their opinion for singular seriousness and invariable steadfastness, who, if not flattered by popular admiration as a Preacher,...« less