FRANCIS ASBURY AS A MAN

     Humboldt said: "The finest fruit earth holds up to its Maker is a finished man." Francis Asbury was possessed with rather more than the usual' degree of the Spartan spirit, especially as it related to what he considered his duty, yet, in spirit, he was gentle as a woman and the possessor of those finer sensibilities which are so beautiful in character.

     He had a fine appreciation of nature. Time and again his sensitive spirit responded to the "majesty of the ocean," the "stately grandeur of the mountains," the "lovely Shenandoah," the "thundering Niagara," the "noble Hudson with its Palisades," etc.

     He was generous to a fault. One instance must suffice. On one of his visits to the Western conference he said: "The brethren were in want, and could not suit (clothe) themselves; so I parted with my watch, my coat, and my shirt."

     He had an innate sense of refinement. The untidiness of many of the homes in which he was compelled to accept entertainment was very galling to him. At one of the conferences, the only thing that came up to mar the occasion was when one of the presiding elders placed his feet on the railing in front of the pulpit. To this bishop, who thought nothing of sleeping on a hard floor or riding thirty miles in a hard rain storm because it was in the line of duty, this rudeness was "like thorns in his flesh," until the offending brother placed his feet where they belonged.

     He was exceptionally sensitive to the sufferings of the horses which were so necessary to the prosecution of his work. Again and again he records his grief over the weariness or sickness of the faithful animals, walked miles when they were lame, and grieved when they had to go without food. At one time one of the faithful brutes which he had used for a long time became worn out. He had to sell it and buy another. The touching way in which he refers to the whinnying of the abandoned horse, as he rode off, is exceedingly expressive.

     Again, he had a lively sense of humor, giving way to which often caused him grief. For instance we find the following record: "I reproved myself for a sudden and violent laugh at the relation of a man's having given an old negro woman her liberty because she had too much religion for him." The italics are his. Again, "I attempted to preach at Bath, on `the lame and the blind;' the discourse was very lame; and it may be I left my hearers as I found them-blind." He found one society where they had "more gold than grace;" and another where "they had neither dollars nor discipline, being sadly deficient in both." Traveling in New Jersey, he remarked: "Since this day week I have ridden over dead sands and among a dead people, and a long space between meals,"

     His manly traits of character were manifested in his solicitude for, and interest in his parents. The greater portion of the time covered by his ministry his salary was sixty-four dollars a year, then it was raised to the munificent sum of eighty dollars. He saved all he could spare out of this and made regular remittances to them as long as they lived. He says he ministered to the necessities of a beloved mother until he was fifty-seven. Several letters written to them have been preserved and breathe the spirit of filial love to a remarkable degree. When word reached him of his father's death in 1798 he wrote in his journal: "I now feel myself an orphan with respect to my father; wounded memory recalls to mind what took place when I parted with him, nearly twenty-seven years next September; from a man that seldom, if ever, I saw weep-but when I came to America, overwhelmed with tears, and grief, he cried out, `I shall never see him again!"' His mother died January 6, 1802. He penned the following tribute to her memory: "As a woman and a wife she was chaste, modest, blameless; as a mother (above all the women in the world would I claim her for my own) ardently affectionate; as a `mother in Israel' few of her sex have done more by a holy walk to live, and by personal labor to support, the gospel, and to wash the saints' feet; as a friend, she was generous, true, and constant."

     Like all great men he was humble. A sample of this trait and one out of many is found in connection with the general conference of 1792. The O'Kelly faction presented a resolution intended to restrict the powers of the bishop, especially in the appointment of preachers. When the matter was presented, Bishop Asbury left the room and did not return for two days until the matter was settled. His modesty impelled him to do this that all embarrassment might be removed and the conference left to the utmost freedom of expression. He wrote a message to be read, in which he said: "I am happy in the consideration that I never stationed a preacher through enmity, or as a punishment. I have acted for the glory of God, the good of the people, and to promote the usefulness of the preachers."

     With these fundamental traits of character, together with others which lack of space forbids mention, and all adorned and beautified by grace, Mark Antony's tribute to Brutus may be very properly applied to this wonderful man:

"His life was gentle, and the elements
So mix'd in him that Nature might stand up

And say to all the world, "This was a man!"'

     Francis Asbury as a Christian. Thomas DeQuincey wrote: "Though a great man may, by a rare possibility, be an infidel, yet an intellect of the highest order must build upon Christianity." Dr. Theodore Cuyler said: "The best advertisement of a workshop is first-class work. The strongest attraction to Christianity is a well-made Christian character." Francis Asbury was not only a man; he was a Christian man. Hence, he was great because he was good.

     He experienced and preached holiness of heart and life. We read: "My soul is happy in God-purity of heart is my joy, and prayer is my delight." "My general experience is close communion with God, holy fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, a will resigned, frequent addresses to the throne of grace, a constant, serious care for the prosperity of Zion, forethought in the arrangements and appointments of the preachers, a soul drawn out in ardent prayer for the universal church and the complete triumph of Christ over the whole earth. Amen, amen, so be it!" After preaching in one place on 2 Cor. 7:1, he writes: "I find the way of holiness very narrow to walk in or to preach; and although I do not consider sanctification, Christian perfection, a commonplace subject, yet I make it the burden, and labor to make it the savor of every sermon." Again, "We were careful to pray with all the families where we stopped, exhorting all professors to holiness."

     He was a man of prayer. When not traveling, his invariable rule was to rise at four o'clock and spend two hours in prayer and meditation and another hour before retiring. For years he prayed daily for each one of his preachers by name, until the number of them made it impracticable. When making out the appointments of the preachers, he was in the habit of praying over each one. Many of his contemporary laborers comment upon his power in prayer in public. He constantly mourned the want of opportunity for secret prayer necessitated by his long journeys. "My mind enjoys peace; and although by constant traveling I am kept. from the privilege of being frequently in private prayer, yet I am preserved from anger and murmuring; my soul is wholly given up to God. "My soul is in peace-I want more prayer, patience, life, and love-I walk daily, hourly, and sometimes minutely with God." "I was happy in being alone. I poured out my soul to God for the whole work, and the dear people and preachers of my charge. My body is weak-my soul enjoys peace. I have power over all sin, and possess a spirit of prayer and watchfulness: I feel myself dead to all below, and desire to live only for God and souls."

     He was fully submitted to the divine will. This gave him meekness in suffering and trial, but boldness in conquering difficulties and opposing wrong. Some of his brethren in Virginia were uneasy about his power as a bishop and he wrote them he "would lie down and be trodden upon rather than knowingly injure one soul." Again, "I have had lately two official cordials, ironically speaking. They know how to come at me, although four or five hundred miles distant. Lord, help me to do and suffer all I ought to do and suffer for Thee, Thy church, and ministers." One more must suffice: "My soul has constant peace and joy, notwithstanding my labors, and trials, and reproach; which I heed not, though it comes as it sometimes does from the good when they are not gratified in all their wishes. People unacquainted with the causes and motives of my conduct will always, more or less, judge of me improperly. Six months ago a man could write to me in the most adulatory terms, to tell me of the unshaken confidence reposed in me by preachers and people: behold, his station is changed, and certain measures are pursued which do not comport with his views and feelings. Oh, then I am menaced with the downfall of Methodism; and my influence, character, and reputation are all to find a grave in the ruins. Should this journal ever see the light, those who read it when I am gone, may, perhaps, wonder that ever I should have received such letters, or had such friends: yes, gentle reader, both have been. Whom then shall I believe; and whom shall I trust? Why, whom but a good, and true, and never-failing God?"

     He had clear conceptions of truth. This made him bold and uncompromising in his opposition to all sin, as suggested above. He opposed slavery in public and private. The subject was discussed in several annual and general conferences and Bishop Asbury was always strong in his attitude of opposition. He preached and warned everywhere against the sin of dram drinking, which was so prevalent in his day. He found one Methodist who had provided a keg of whisky for a barn raising. The doughty bishop ordered the whisky emptied out into the road. The man refused, and Mr. Asbury, although excessively weary from a long day's ride, called for his horse and rode on to find another stopping place, refusing to stay in the house over night. Rev. J. B. Finley relates the following: Mr. Finley and Bishop Asbury stopped at the home of a Methodist family in the west. The daughter and some other young ladies were in the parlor, very gaily dressed. The father and mother came in, followed by the grandparents. Taking the grandmother by the hand, the bishop looked at her closely, then with tears in his eyes said: "I was looking to see if I could trace in the lineaments of your face, the likeness of your sainted mother. She belonged to the first generation of Methodists. You and your husband belong to the second generation. Your son and his wife are the third, and that young girl, your granddaughter, represents the fourth. She has learned to dress and play on the piano, and is versed in all the arts of fashionable life; and, I presume, at this rate of progress, the fifth generation of Methodists will be sent to dancing-school." Time and again he mentions preaching an "awful sermon," a "searching sermon," etc. Near the close of his life, we find the following: "Our ease in Zion makes me feel awful: who shall reform the reformers? Ah, poor dead Methodists! I have seen preachers' children wearing gold-brought up in pride. Ah, mercy, mercy!"

     Such, in brief, is a superficial analysis of the qualities found in this composite character. His soul was truly a star, but unlike Milton, it did not dwell apart; but, like the Lord whom he served, tabernacled with men.

FOR DISCUSSION AND MEDITATION

1. As a man, compare Mr. Asbury's spartan spirit as it related to duty and his gentleness and finer sensibilities with those of his biographer, Mr. Griffith, as seen in "Living Embers". Especially note: love of nature, innate sense of refinement, kindness, solicitude for parents, humility and also his sense of humor. Note an example of the humility of Mr. Asbury; of Mr. Griffith.

2. As a Christian, note: his experience, his life of prayer, his meekness in trial and suffering, and his boldness in conquering difficulties and opposing wrong, his clear conception of truth, and compare these qualities, also, with those of his biographer, Mr. Griffith, in "Living Embers".

3. What is the best advertisement of a work shop? The strongest attraction to Christianity?

4. What incident illustrates the fickleness of people?