Great Evangelists and Temperance

White Ribbon, Volume 18, Issue 9, 1 October 1946, Page 6

Great Evangelists and Temperance

l!.v VICTORIA (iRKKi, M.\

No. 3 JOHN WESLEY \\ c would all d'» well to follow the valuable advice given to Jolm Weslev by his mother hi a letter she wrote t«» him in June, 1735. “Take this ruie: whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness ot your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off the relish of spiritual things, in short, whatever increases the strergtu and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin to you, howevet innocent it may he in itself. And so on the contrary.” The great evangelist owed much to the instruction in spiritual matters which he received a' a child from his mother. John Wesley was not only a total abstainer hiipself, was also a prohibitionist. Jiy the “General Rules" trained by his brother Charles and himsell in 1743, the members of the society of Methodists were required to “abstain from drunkenness, buying and selling spirituous liquors or drinking them unless in cases of extreme necessity”; and the first rules tor the organisation within the Church, known as “Hand Societies,* directed the members “to taste no spirituous liquors, no dram of any kind unless prescribed by a physician.” Weslev’s* travels through the British Isles gave him the opportunity of first-hand observation ot the evils of drink and made him very definite in his condemnation .In looking through his Journal, I found two interesting extracts which are worth quoting. Ilie first was written on Tuesdav, April 19th, 1743. *V\ hilt* I was sjieaking, a gentleman rode up very drunk, and after many unseemly and hitter words, laboured much to ride over some of the people. I was surprised to hear that lie was a neighbouring clergyman. And this, too, is a man zealous for the Church. Ah, jHxir ( Inirch, it it stood in need ot* such defenders.” The second extract shows the power ot the Holy Spirit through Wesley’s preaching, used to convert a drunkard. It was written on Thursday, April llili, 1751.

"The barber who shaved me said : ‘Sir, I praise Cod on your behalf. When you were at Bolton last, 1 was one of the most eminent drunkards in all the town. But I came to listen at the window, and Cod struck me to the heart. I then earnestly prayed for power against drinking and Cod gave me more than I asked. He took away the very desire for it. A et I felt myself worse and worse, till on the sth of April last 1 could hold out no longer I knew I must drop into hell that moment unless Cod appeared to save me; and He did appear. I knew He loved me, and felt sweet l*carc. Yet 1 did not dare to say 1 had faith till yesterday was twelve-month.

Cod gave me laitli and His love has ever since filled mv heart.’ ” In 1773, corn was very expensive in England, and Wesley attributed this to the immense amount use 1 in distilling. He estimated that nearly half the wheat produced by Britain was, as he said* consumed not by so harmless a way as throwing of it into the sea, hut hy converting it into a deadly poison: poison that naturally destroys not only the strength and life, hut also the morals of our countrymen.” We pride ourselves on our progress as a people, but it stems that in these matters we cannot, and will not, learn any lessons from the past. To-day the position as regards food is truly des|>erate lor millions of people, vet we go on in the same old way, turning Cod’s wholesome grain into poisonous liquor. As I pen these words, I have before me to-day’s newspaper, which states that according to an article in the Medical Journal of Australia, “Australia is second in the list of countries as lar as convictions for drunkenness are concerned.” Australian police claim that drink causes SOTr of the offences they are called upon to investigate. We know how tremendous is our drink bill in New Zealand. Cod lias given our people many opportunities of saving ‘‘We refuse to have drink sold here any longer,” and the majority ot the people answer, ‘‘We

want to keep drink for our pleasure, with all its attendant evils.” Mav Cod help our country and nation in their blindness and selfishness. In a “Sermon on the Use of Money,' John W esley was very forthright when he said: “Neither may.we gain by hurting our neighbour in his body. Therefore we may not sell anything which tends to impair health Such is evidently all the liquid fire commonly called drams, or spirituous liquors. It is true these may have a place in medicine, they may he of some use in bodily disorders, althought there would rarely be occasion for them, were it not for the unskilfulness of the practitioner. Therefore, such as prepare and sell them only for ibis end may keep their conscience clear But who are they? Who prepare them for this end ; I)o you know ten such distillers in England? Then excuse these. But all who sell them in the common way to any that will buy, are poisoners general. They murder His Majesty’s subjects wholesale, neither does their eye pity or spare. They drive them to hell like sheep. And what is their gain? Is it not the blood of these men AA’ho then would envy them their large estates and sumptuous palaces? A curse is in the midst of hem; the curse of Cod cleav es to the stones, the timber, the furnitirre of

them. I lie curse of God is m their gardens, their walks, their groves; a lire that burns to the nethermost hell.

Here was the Church speaking in no uncertain voice. John Wesley did not mince matters in dealing with evil. How many souls lived to bless his name! How many drunkards, like the barber of Bolton, broke off the chains oi drink. He did for the Temperance cause of England what Dr. Lyman Beecher did for that of America. We thank God for his life and work -one of God’s great blessings to Britain. May it inspire others to take up the work lie relinquished.

What would he say it he knew lhal in Britain two thousand tons of barlev are used daily for making beer, ami that this could provide a full barley bread ration for seven million people a day ?