Christian Theology - Media Sabda Org

gospel should be, 'without stain;' or, as a greater than he had said, Dr.
Clarke could have said, ' Which of you convinceth me of sin?'" Like the
patriarch, he said, "Till I die, I will not remove my integrity from me. My
righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go. My heart shall not
reproach me as long as I live." Such was his unbending integrity that it
may be said of him, as truly as it ever was affirmed of any statesman or
patriot, "He would lay down his life for his country, and would not do a
base thing to save it; one who would neither tread upon an insect, nor
crouch to an emperor."
His attachment to Methodism continued to the last, and was then
shown by a bequest for the relief of its chapels. He has been heard to say
more than once, "I belong to the Methodists,—body and soul, blood and
sinews. This coat" (seizing hold of his own sleeve) "is theirs." In a letter
to me he remarks: "For nearly fifty years I have lived only for the support
and credit of Methodism: myself and my interests, the Searcher of hearts
knows, were never objects of my attention: I came into the connection
with a single eye and an upright heart; and by the mercy of God I have
been able to retain both." From censoriousness he was perfectly free. His
judgment of his brethren was never harsh or severe. He was always ready
to speak in their praise, and to put the best construction on their sayings
and doings. His humility was deep and unaffected; with all his learning
there was no parade. However familiar he might be among his friends, yet
among the great and the learned he was modest to an excess. He shunned
the gaze of the public, and preferred preaching in small chapels to large
ones. He had a high sense of honour, but without pride and ambition. He
would submit, with all cheerfulness, and without the least affectation, to
perform the meanest offices for himself, his friends, or the poor. In a
letter, dated Feb. 4, 1823, he writes: "Visit the people from house to
house; and speak in the most affectionate manner to them. Take notice of
the children; treat them lovingly: this will do the children good, and the
parents will like it. Cheerfully partake of the meanest fare, when the
people invite you. About two years ago, when travelling among the
cottages in Ireland, I went into a most wretched hovel, and they had just
poured out the potatoes into a basket, which, with a little salt, were to