USA > New Jersey > Memorials of Methodism in New Jersey : from the foundation of the first society in the state in 1770, to the completion of the first twenty years of its history > Part 3
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* Sketch of Rev. Philip Gatch, by Hon. John McLean, LL. D. Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States.
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receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, &c.,' and showed, First, what the things of God are. Secondly, de- scribed the natural man. And, Thirdly, showed how they appear to be foolishness to him; and that he cannot know them by the strength of his natural or acquired abili- ties." The little society in Burlington, he continues, appears to be in a comfortable and prosperous state. He proceeded to Trenton, where many people assembled to hear him preach, though but a short notice had been given of the service. During this visit to Trenton he writes, " My soul has been much assaulted lately by Satan; but, by the grace of God, it is filled with Divine peace. My heart thirsteth for God, even for the living God. I wrote to Mr. Wesley to day, and in the evening addressed my discourse, chiefly, to the young people. May the Lord apply it to their hearts."
We have thus traced, with some degree of particu- larity, at the risk of wearying the reader with the same- ness of the narrative, the movements of Mr. Asbury in the State from the time he first preached within its limits till the session of the first Conference held in America. We have done this because these records are essential to our narrative, and because they cast light upon the infant Methodism of the province, which is furnished from no other source. In these brief memorials which
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Asbury has bequeathed us, we catch just and reliable, if not dazzling, glimpses of the early struggles and pro- gress of the cause.
That most remarkable man, Benjamin Abbott, joined the society this year. He was converted the twelfth of October of the previous year. He was a very wicked man until about the fortieth year of his age, being ad- dicted to drinking, fighting, swearing, gambling, and kindred vices, yet he was industrious and provided well for his household. Sometimes, during his life of sin, he was troubled on account of the peril to which he felt his follies exposed him, but his religious concern was of short continuance, and he would rush as greedily as before into sinful employments and indulgences. Sometimes his outraged conscience would be terribly alarmed by awful dreams, which had the effect of producing promises of amendment, but, though he would reform his outward conduct for a season, his vows were as often broken as made, until he was brought under pungent and powerful conviction by a sermon preached by a Methodist. His wife was a serious and praying woman, and a member of the Presbyterian Church, which he sometimes at- tended, and in the doctrines of which he had been reared; but, though a professor of religion, she did not possess any very just notions of experimental godliness.
One Sabbath her minister was sick, and, being inclined
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to attend religious service, she asked permission of her husband to go to a Methodist meeting, which she heard was to be held about ten or twelve miles distant. He consented to her request, and, in company with her eld- est son and daughter, she went to the meeting. When she returned he asked her how she liked the preacher. She replied that "he was as great a preacher as ever she had heard in all her life," and persuaded him to go and hear for himself. The next Sabbath he went. The preacher took for his text, " Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." He was much engaged, and the people were greatly af- fected. This was surprising to Abbott, as he had never seen the like before. The sermon, however, made no impression upon his mind until, in making his applica- tion, the preacher said, "It may be that some of you may think that there is neither God nor devil, heaven nor hell, only a guilty conscience; and, indeed, my friends, that is bad enough. But I assure you that there is both heaven and hell, God and devil." He proceeded to argue that fire was contained in everything, and that there was a hell dreadful beyond comprehen- sion, and urged the people to fly to Christ for refuge. He showed the reality of the existence of God by a beautiful illustration of his works, and called upon the
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people to come unto Him for Christ had died for their re- demption.
The service being over, two dreams, which he had dreamed about seven years before, one of which related to hell and the other to heaven, rose vividly before his mind. He thought of his misspent life, " and in a mo- ment," he says, "all my sins that I ever had committed were brought to my view; I saw it was the mercy of God that I was out of hell, and promised to amend my life." He went home distressed in spirit, and oppressed with awful thoughts concerning a future life. His con- victions increased, and for several days he suffered se- vere and almost insupportable mental agony. The doc- trine of election troubled him, and he feared he was a reprobate, doomed to suffer forever the wrath of God. In this state of mind he was tempted to commit suicide, and even went so far as to take the first steps towards the commission of the awful deed, when it occurred to his mind, as if uttered by a voice, "This punishment is nothing to hell;" this restrained him and he continued to seek for mercy. On one occasion he went to hear the preacher, who was the means of awakening him. He had an interview with him before the services com- menced, and told him the state of his mind, and desired to be baptized, hoping, by that means to gain relief. The preacher asked him if he was a Quaker. He re-
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plied he was not, only a poor, wretched, condemned sin- ner. He then exhorted him to believe in Christ for sal- vation; and, in reply to his misgivings concerning the willingness of God to save so great a sinner as he felt himself to be, he assured him that he was the very man Christ died for, else he would not have awakened him ; that he came to seek the lost and to save the great- est of sinners, and applied to his case the promises of Scripture. They went to the house, where the meeting was to be held, but Abbott remained outside, as he was afraid to go in lest he should cry out as he had done at a meeting a day or two previous, and thus expose him- self to ridicule. The preacher, in his prayer, especially dwelt upon the case of "the poor, broken-hearted sin- ner." He says, " His cries to God, on this occasion, ran through my heart like darts and daggers ; after meeting I returned and prayed in my family, and ever after con- tinued that duty. That night I lay alone, expecting to sleep but little, but to pray and weep all night; when- ever I fell into a slumber, it appeared to me that I saw hell opened ready to receive me, and I just on the point of dropping in, and devils waiting to seize me. Being thus alarmed, it would arouse me up, crying to the Lord to save me; and thus I passed the whole night in this terrified unhappy condition. Just at the dawning of the day I fell into a dose more like sleep than any I had
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during the whole night, in which I dreamed that I saw a river as clear as crystal, in the midst of which appeared a rock with a child sitting upon it, and a multitude of people on the shore, who said the child would be lost. I then saw a small man on the bank of the river, whose hair was very black, and he and I wrestled together. I heard the people cry out, The child is lost ; and, looking round, I saw it floating down the river; and, when it came opposite where we were, it threw up its wings, and I saw it was an angel. . The man, with whom I wrestled, told me there was a sorrel or red horse chained head and hind foot in the river, and bade me go down and loose him. The people parted to the right and left, forming a lane for me to pass through ; I immediately hastened to the river and went in, the water running over my head, and, without receiving any kind of injury, I loosed the horse and immediately I sprang out of the water like a cork, or the bouncing of a ball; and, at that instant, I awoke, and saw, by faith, the Lord Jesus Christ stand- ing by me with his arms extended wide, saying to me, 'I died for you.' I then looked up, and, by faith, I saw the Ancient of Days, and he said to me, 'I freely for- give thee for what Christ has done.' At this I burst into a flood of tears ; and, with joy in my heart, cried and praised God. * * The Scriptures were won- derfully opened to my understanding. I was now ena-
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bled to interpret the dream, or vision, to my own satis- faction, viz :- The river, which I saw, represented to me the river of life proceeding from the throne of God, spoken of by the Psalmist, xlvi. 4, and also in Rev. xxii. 1. The numerous company on the shores repre- sented the angels of God, standing to rejoice at my con- version, according to Luke xv. 6, 7. The sorrel or red horse, I thought, was my own spirit or mind, fettered with the cords of unbelief or the chains of the devil. The color represented the carnal mind, or nature of Sa- tan, which was stamped upon me; and thus I was plunged into the river, where the cords of unbelief were immedi- ately loosed by faith, and my captive soul set at liberty ; and my bouncing out was the representation of the lightness of my heart, which sprang up to God, upon my instantane- ous change from nature to grace. The man, at whose command I was loosed, was Christ; thus I was set at liberty from the chains of bondage and enmity of the carnal mind."
No sooner did he receive the assurance of pardon than he began to labor for God. He arose and called up his family, and read and expounded to them a por- tion of Scripture, exhorted them, sung, and prayed, and says, "If I had had a congregation, I could have preached." After breakfast he told his wife he must go 4
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and tell the neighbors what the Lord had done for his soul.
He first went to the house of a Baptist; and, as he and his wife were professors of religion, he supposed they would understand the nature of the change he had experienced and rejoice with him ; " but, to my great sur- prise," he says, "when I related my experience and told what God had done for my soul, it appeared as strange to them as if I had claimed possession of Old England, and called it all my own." He then proceeded to a mill, where he thought he would see a number of people, and have an opportunity to exhort them, and tell them what a bless- ing he had obtained. On his way he exhorted all he met with to turn to God; and, on reaching the mill, he told his experience to the people and urged them to flee from the wrath to come, while " some laughed, and others cried, and some thought" his reason had departed. " Before night," he says, "a report was spread all through the neighborhood that I was raving mad." When he returned home he asked his wife about her conviction and conversion, expecting that, as she was a professor of religion, she was acquainted with the mys- teries of the new birth, but he was mistaken. She was led by domestic affliction, a few years after her marriage, to covenant with God to be more religious, and became a praying woman, and united with the Church, but re-
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mained destitute of the power of godliness. He told her she had no religion, and was nothing more than a strict Pharisee. This displeased her, and the next day she went to seek advice from her minister, who coun- seled her to not regard what her husband said, for he expected to be saved by his works. She returned better satisfied in mind, and took a book from the minister for him to read. It was Bellamey's New Divinity, in which he insisted on conversion before conviction, and faith be- fore repentance. He read the book about half through, and finding the author to be a rigid Calvinist, he threw it aside, " determined," he says, "to read no more in it, as my own experience clearly proved to me that the doc- trines it contained were false."
The minister sent for Abbott to visit him, which he did ; and, after dinner, he requested the family to with- draw from the dining room, when he informed him that he had learned that God had done great things for him. Abbott then related to him an account of his conviction and conversion, to which he paid strict attention until he had finished, when he told him he was under strong de- lusions of the devil. He handed him a book to read, which he felt he ought not to take, however he resisted the impression and took it. On his way home he was tempted to doubt, and called to mind his various sins, but none of them condemned him. He then recurred
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to a particular sin which he concluded would condemn him; "but in a moment," he says, "I felt an evidence that that sin was forgiven as though separate from all the rest that ever I had committed ; but, recollecting the minister had told me 'I was under strong delusions of the devil,' it was suggested to my mind, it may be he is right. I went a little out of the road, and kneeled down and prayed to God if I was deceived to undeceive me, and the Lord said to me, 'Why do you doubt ? Is not Christ all sufficient ? Is he not able ? Have you not felt his blood applied ?' I then sprang upon my feet and cried out, Not all the devils in hell, nor all the Predestinarians on earth should make me doubt; for I knew I was converted. At that instant I was filled with unspeakable raptures of joy."
He pursued his way, leaving it luminous with the light of his holy example, steadfast to the end. He was a true hero, facing mobs and enduring reproach, but never daunted in the work of God. For several years, as a local preacher, he abounded in evangelical labors in West Jersey and elsewhere, and was one of the most powerful and successful instruments employed in spread- ing Methodism in the southern section of the State. He will appear again and again, a valiant actor in some of the most heroic scenes of our narrative.
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THE FIRST CONFERENCE.
CHAPTER III.
THE FIRST CONFERENCE.
ASBURY had now been in the country a little over twenty months, and had traveled and labored exten- sively in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. In the latter province especially, he had borne the lamp of truth into many a dark and neglected neighborhood, and through his labors, the work of reform was spread- ing, the feeble societies were waxing stronger and stronger, and the few faint streaks of light, which had been gilding the horizon for more than two years, were increasing in number and in power, and had already wreathed themselves into a bow of promise, which cast a cheering and grateful radiance over the otherwise por- tentous future.
When Asbury first arrived at Philadelphia, the entire membership, in that city, did not exceed thirty-eight .*
* So says Rev. Thomas Sargeant in the Christian Advocate, 1829, p. 120; but Asbury in his Journal, Vol. III. p. 121, says, " In 1771, [ which was the year of his arrival,] there were about 300 Metho-
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It is not probable that at that time the number in New Jersey was much greater, if, indeed, it was as great ; but at the Conference, which sat in Philadelphia, in the summer of 1773, Philadelphia reported 180 members and New Jersey 200.
Nothing of very great importance occurred at this Conference, except the adoption of certain rules for the government of the connection, the stationing of the preachers, and the debates in relation to the conduct of some of the preachers, " who had manifested a desire to abide in the cities and live like gentlemen." It was also discovered that money had been wasted, improper lead- ers appointed, and many of the rules broken. The rules adopted by the Conference were the following :
dists in New York, 250 in Philadelphia, and a few in New Jersey." In 1773, according to the minutes, there were only 180 in Philadel- phia. Here is a discrepancy between the authorities, either of which, in ordinary cases, would be regarded as perfectly reliable. If there were 250 in 1771, as Asbury says, how is the decrease of 70 in less than two years to be accounted for ? But, if, as Mr. Sargeant affirms, there were only about 38 in 1771, we can account for the increase of 142 members in less than two years upon the principles of Methodist . progression. It should be remembered that until 1775, New Jersey suffered no decrease from the Revolutionary excitement, but made steady progress in numbers, and at the Conference of 1775, Philadel- phia reported 190 members, which was an increase of ten on the number reported in 1773.
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THE FIRST CONFERENCE.
1. The old Methodist doctrine and discipline shall be enforced and maintained amongst all our societies in America.
2. Any preacher who acts otherwise cannot be re- tained amongst us as a fellow laborer in the vineyard.
3. No preacher in our connection shall be permitted to administer the ordinances at this time, except Mr. S., and he under the particular direction of the assistant.
4. No person shall be admitted more than once or twice to our love feasts and society meetings, without be- coming a member.
5. No preacher shall be permitted to reprint our books, without the approbation of Mr. Wesley, and the consent of his brethren. And that R. W. shall be al- lowed to sell what he has, but reprint no more.
6. Every assistant is to send an account of the work of God in his circuit to the general assistant.
There were now ten traveling preachers in the whole American connection, and 1160 members. These were included in the provinces of New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia, and in New York, and Philadelphia. Beyond these limits Methodism in this country had not pushed its conquests.
JOHN KING and WILLIAM WATTERS were appointed by the Conference to labor in New Jersey, which consti- tuted one circuit. It is not probable that the preachers
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traveled regularly over the whole province, but rather bestowed their labors upon those points which promised the best results, and in nurturing and building up the few societies which had already been formed. As the way opened and the work spread, they extended the area of their toils.
At that day, the fact that a preacher was appointed at the Conference to a given field is not a certain proof that he labored there. Changes were more frequent than Conferences, and they sought to accommodate the exigencies of the work without much reference to the preferences or convenience of the laborers. Hence, though Watters was appointed this year to New Jersey, it does not appear that he labored there. In a short account of his ministerial labors, written by himself, Mr. Watters says that, in October 1772, he accompanied Mr. Williams, a local preacher, to Virginia, and that he re- mained there eleven months, and in the following No- vember took an appointment on Kent circuit, Delaware. As he was in Virginia until the fall of 1773, and then went to Kent circuit, it is not probable that he was in New Jersey at all during this year. In the fall of this year Philip Gatch was sent to labor in New Jersey. Gatch was a native of Maryland, and was sent by Mr. Rankin to this field of labor. In Philadelphia he met Mr. King, with whom he crossed into New Jersey.
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THE FIRST CONFERENCE.
King preached and held a love feast, and, " on the fol- lowing morning," says Gatch, "he pursued his journey, leaving me a ' stranger in a strange land.'" It thus ap- , pears that King was in the province and preached dur- ing the year, but how much labor he performed there it is impossible now to tell.
Mr. King was an Englishman, and came to this coun- try in the latter part of 1769. Soon after his arrival he waited upon Mr. Pillmore, ( who and Richard Board- man were the first preachers sent by Mr. Wesley to this country, where they arrived, landing at Gloucester Point, New Jersey, the 24th of October, 1769,) and desired permission to labor in a public capacity, in the society in Philadelphia. Pillmore, not being satisfied with re- gard to his qualifications, declined giving him authority; but so intent was he on proclaiming the doctrines of free grace to the multitudes there, that he appointed a meet- ing, on his own responsibility, in the Potter's field. His sermon produced so good an impression, that some of the members of the society, who heard him, desired Mr. Pillmore to encourage him to go forward in the work. " After examination he was permitted to preach a trial sermon ; and, as he appeared to be a young man of piety and zeal, and much engaged for God, he received permission from Pillmore to go down to Wilmington, Delaware, where Methodism had already been intro-
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duced, and to exhort among a few awakened persons, who were earnestly seeking the Lord."*
He was the first Methodist preacher that publicly pro- claimed the gospel in the city of Baltimore. It was in the year 1770. He mounted a blacksmith's block, at the intersection of Front street and the great eastern road, and held up the cross to the gaze of his discordant and wondering auditors. A deputy surveyor of the county, who was one of his hearers, was brought under conviction for sin, and was afterward converted to God. He was the first fruit of Methodism in Baltimore, and " some of his descendants are still living in the city and county, and are influential and pious members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. t
Inspired with the conviction that he was in the line of his duty, and encouraged by the success which had al- ready attended his efforts, he plunged into the very heart of the citadel. He took a table for his pulpit, at the corner of Baltimore and Calvert streets, and shouted his message to the crowd; and, "it being a day of general muster of the volunteers and militia, some young men of the 'higher class,' who considered it manly to get drunk on such occasions, determined to interrupt the
* Rev. S. W. Coggeshall in Methodist Quarterly Rev., Oct., 1855.
ยก Rev. W. Hamilton's article on Early Methodism in Maryland, etc., in Methodist Quarterly Review, July 1856.
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THE FIRST CONFERENCE.
services and break up the meeting. In the confusion which followed, the table was overturned and the preacher thrown to the ground." The captain of the company, however, who did not approve of such treat- ment of a stranger, and perceiving that King was a countryman of his, flew to his rescue and protected him from further molestation. Soon after this an in- vitation, it is said, was extended to him to preach in St. Paul's Church. It is not known who was the au- thor of this civility, but the sermon gave offence to the rector of the parish, and the preacher was informed " that hereafter the cannon should not be spiked for his benefit." One, who was present on the occasion, said " that Mr. King made the dust fly from the old velvet cushion."
Such was the man who was appointed to superintend the interests of the cause in New Jersey, in 1773. His heroic disposition and burning zeal were eminently suited to the exigencies of the work ; and though it is probable he did not perform much labor in the province this year,* yet the frail bark of New Jersey Methodism was favored with brave and skillful guidance, by which, with the blessing of God, it passed safely along the treacherous current on which it had been launched, and glided into wider and clearer waters, where the favoring
* Judge McLean's Sketch of Gatch, p. 27-8.
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1 breezes and the serener skies betokened a tranquil and triumphant voyage.
At the Conference of 1774, Mr. King was appointed to Norfolk, Virginia, and in 1775, he is again in New Jersey on the Trenton circuit. In 1776 he located, but in 1801 his name again appears in the itinerant lists, and he was appointed to Franklin circuit, and in 1802 to Sus- sex circuit. In 1803 he again located. He was a man of true piety and usefulness, and so continued until he departed to heaven, at a very advanced age, from the vicinity of Raleigh, North Carolina.
PHILIP GATCH appears to have been the first preacher officially appointed to the province, who for any consid- erable period performed in it regular ministerial labor. He entered upon the appointment, as we have already seen, in the autumn of 1773, and continued in it until the latter part of May, 1774, when he left it to attend Conference in Philadelphia. As he sustained so early and so important a relation to the cause in New Jersey, it is proper that he should receive more than a passing notice in these Memorials.
He was born on the second of March, 1751. His pa- rents were members of the Episcopal Church; but they were destitute, he says, of experimental religion ; yet they paid some attention to its restraints and forms. He was the subject of religious impressions at a very
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