A History Of The Rise Of Methodism In America - Media Sabda Org

At Mr. Hinson's, Mr. Asbury notices a curiosity -- "A little woman without hands or feet; yet she
could walk, card, spin, sew, and knit; and her heart rejoiced in God her Saviour." While God was
remembering mercy to the penitent, he was also making himself known in wrath. A certain "W. F.,
who had threatened to stone a Methodist preacher, was suddenly called to eternity." Others, who had
grieved the Spirit of God, and cast off conviction for sin, died in darkness, speaking evil of the ways
of God.
This is a world of contest, in which the stronger displace the weaker. Light and darkness appear
to be contending for the throne of this world; and each alternately sits upon it: soon as the gates of
the west close upon the rays of the orb of day, ebony night is on the throne, spreading its raven wings
over the hemisphere. Heat and cold are contending, and each in turn prevailing. The contest in the
material world, carried on by physical agency, is very like the strife of the moral world, kept up by
invisible spirit agency. It should not surprise, much less be a stumblingblock to any one, when those
who profess religion backslide; since the original parents of mankind fell from holiness into sin,
since Saul, on whom "The spirit of God came, and he prophesied;" and, "God gave him another
heart," complained in the end, "God is departed from me, and answereth me no more." Out of the
twelve that Jesus selected for apostles, one was a traitor: "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of
you is a devil?" If every twelfth minister of the Gospel should turn away from the Saviour, it would
be the same proportionally, to that which took place in His own day. Having brought to notice
several Methodist preachers who gave evidence of their faithfulness unto death, marvel not because
we bring to view those whose hearts turned aside like the deceitful bow.
Mr. Abraham Whitworth was an Englishman; and traveled and preached in Jersey in the summer
and fall of 1772, where his labor was owned in awakening sinners out of their spiritual sleep. It was
under him, as we have said, that Mr. Abbott was brought to reflection; and the second time that he
heard him, he was deeply convicted, and the deep of his heart broken up. The Conference of 1773
received Mr. Whitworth, and appointed him to labor, under Mr. Asbury, on Baltimore circuit, which
included the Eastern, as well as the Western Shore of Maryland. In their quarterly meeting
arrangements, it was divided in three circuits, and so appears on the minutes of 1774, Frederick,
Kent, and Baltimore. The first half of 1773 he labored on the Western, and the latter part, on the
Eastern Shore. He was returned, at the Conference of 1774, to Kent circuit.
While Whitworth was on this circuit, which extended into Queen Anne's county, he had the
rencounter with Parson Cain, an account of which follows:--
"In 1774, Abraham Whitworth was stationed on Kent circuit, and when he reached that part of
his circuit which lay in Queen Anne's, he was met by parson Cain, who took exceptions to his
discourse, because the knowledge of sin forgiven had been insisted upon. Mr. Cain informed the
people that he had spent so many years in such an academy -- so many years in such a college -- had
studied divinity so many years -- had been preaching the Gospel so many years -- and he knew
nothing of his sins being forgiven, or of his being converted. That the stranger was a young man
without college education, and should not be suffered to preach. To this Mr. Whitworth replied: The
parson has given you a detail of his great learning, and has tried to make out that learning is the only
thing that prepares a man to preach the Gospel. As for himself, he could not boast of his learning,
but was of the opinion that no man was fit to preach the Gospel unless he was converted, and knew