The Journal of John Wesley

Name: The Journal of John Wesley
Author: John Wesley

John Wesley (1703–1791) was an English Anglican priest whose evangelical ministry gave rise to Methodism. After his Aldersgate experience in 1738, he spent fifty years preaching in the open air, organizing societies, and publishing sermons, hymns, and his Notes on the New Testament. His collected Sermons on Several Occasions became a doctrinal standard for Methodist preaching, and his disciplined, practical divinity shaped evangelical Christianity across the English-speaking world.

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First published: 1735
Category: Biography
Length: 154k words · about 10 hours
Chapters: 382

About this book

John Wesley's Journal is his own record of the Methodist movement from its early years, begun in 1735 and continued through decades of itinerant preaching. It notes journeys, sermons, societies, opposition, conversions, and the ordinary discipline of an extraordinary ministry. Read as diary rather than finished history, it offers an immediate, sometimes bracing picture of evangelical revival in formation.

EDITOR'S NOTE
INTRODUCTION
AN APPRECIATION OF JOHN WESLEY'S JOURNAL
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Chapter 1. Wesley as a Missionary to Georgia
Wesley Begins his Work
Origin of the Holy Club
Wesley Sails for America
Life on Board
Memorable Atlantic Storms
Wesley Arrives in Georgia
Begins His Ministry at Savannah
'I Waked Under Water'
Talks to the Indians
Fearless of Rains and Dews
Desires to Go Among the Indians
Begins to Learn Spanish
Warrant for Wesley's Arrest
The Jury's Charge against Wesley
Why Wesley left Georgia
Lost in the Woods
Farewell to America
The Voyage to England
Lands at Deal 🔒
In London Again 🔒
Wesley Meets Peter Bohler 🔒
Wesley's Four Resolutions 🔒
Incidents on the Manchester Road 🔒
Companions on Horseback 🔒
Preaches in Oxford Castle 🔒
Talks with Bohler 🔒
'I Felt My Heart Strangely Warmed' 🔒
Wesley Preaches in Newgate Gaol 🔒
Wesley Begins Field-preaching 🔒
The First Methodist Building 🔒
Wesley's Living Arguments 🔒
Beau Nash Argues with Wesley 🔒
'All the World My Parish' 🔒
Susanna Wesley and her Son 🔒
Talks with Whitefield 🔒
Press-gang Disturbs the Sermon 🔒
The New Name of Methodism 🔒
An Accident and a Long Sermon 🔒
Wesley in Wales 🔒
'A Terrible Sight' 🔒
'Yonder Comes Wesley, Galloping' 🔒
The Colliers of Kingswood 🔒
Wesley's Correspondents 🔒
A Sermon and a Riot 🔒
Preaching Incidents 🔒
Wesley's Labor Colony 🔒
Dispute with Whitefield 🔒
Wesley at Northampton and Nottingham 🔒
An Ox in the Congregation 🔒
Wesley at Cardiff 🔒
A Curious Interruption 🔒
Wesley's Congregation Stoned 🔒
A Bull in the Congregation 🔒
Wesley Was 'the Better Mounted' 🔒
A Big Crowd at Newcastle 🔒
Wesley on His Father's Tombstone 🔒
'Let Them Convert the Scolds' 🔒
Death of Wesley's Mother 🔒
Mrs. Wesley as Preacher 🔒
She Speaks to Two Hundred 🔒
How the Wesleys Were Brought up 🔒
'Conquer the Child's Will' 🔒
They Had Nothing They Cried For 🔒
Keeping the Wesley Children in Order 🔒
Susanna Wesley's 'By-laws' 🔒
Mr. Stephenson and Wesley 🔒
Newcastle's First Methodist Room 🔒
Chapter 5. Wesley Refused Sacraments at Epworth; Cornwall and the Scilly Isles; Natural Amphitheater at Gwennap; Wesley in Danger 🔒
Wesley Refused the Sacrament at Epworth 🔒
Wesley and the Cock-fighter 🔒
Wesley in Seven Dials 🔒
Wesley's Horses Give Trouble 🔒
Wesley Goes to Cornwall 🔒
The Cornish Tinners 🔒
In the Scilly Isles 🔒
Remarkable Service at Gwennap 🔒
A Mob at Wednesbury 🔒
Wesley in Danger 🔒
His Presence of Mind 🔒
'What Soft Hair He Has' 🔒
Wesley's Defenders 🔒
The Sleepy Magistrates' Proclamation 🔒
Wesley Nearly Drowned 🔒
Methodism on the Stage 🔒
The First Conference 🔒
Wesley's Chancery Bill 🔒
Wesley's Effective Letter 🔒
Press Gang and Methodists 🔒
Reading the Riot Act 🔒
Wesley Seized for a Soldier 🔒
Dramatic Scenes at Falmouth 🔒
'I am John Wesley' 🔒
Wesley Pushed from a High Wall 🔒
Riot Act and a Sermon 🔒
Pelted by the Mob at Leeds 🔒
Great Excitement at Newcastle 🔒
Wesley's Letter to the Mayor 🔒
Preaching under Difficulties 🔒
The Blasphemous Troops 🔒
Bonfires Everywhere 🔒
Wesley and Faith-healing 🔒
Wesley Encounters Severe Weather 🔒
Preaching to the Lead Miners 🔒
How Wesley Dealt with a Mob 🔒
The Bargemen and their Clubs 🔒
Remarkable Accident to Wesley 🔒
A Shower of Stones 🔒
A Horrible Proposition 🔒
Incidents in Ireland 🔒
Wesley Lives on Apple-tea 🔒
A Determined Preacher 🔒
Zealous Protestants 🔒
Wesley Protests Against Lawlessness 🔒
Beaten by the Mob 🔒
Defending Field Preaching 🔒
Three Remarkable Shots with Stones 🔒
Wesley in Wales 🔒
Marries his Brother 🔒
Methodists Lease an Abbey 🔒
Wesley and the Soldiers' Class 🔒
A Ridiculous Question 🔒
A Rough Voyage 🔒
Remarkable Scenes at Bolton 🔒
Wesley at Dudley and Birmingham 🔒
Wesley in Wales 🔒
Waiting for the Irish Boat 🔒
'Where Is the Parson?' 🔒
Wesley Interviews Mrs. Pilkington 🔒
Wesley Burned in Effigy 🔒
Visits to Kinsale and Cork 🔒
At an Irish Funeral 🔒
Wesley Rides Ninety Miles 🔒
He Left One Shilling and Fourpence 🔒
Wesley as Editor 🔒
In Canterbury Cathedral 🔒
Chapter 9. Wesley's Marriage; Dealings with Cornwall Smugglers; His Illness and Recovery 🔒
Wesley Decides to Marry 🔒
Marriage and Preaching 🔒
Wesley and His Barber 🔒
Wesley's Impressions of Scotland 🔒
Wesley's Remarkable Vitality 🔒
A Crowded Coach 🔒
Wesley Sleeps in a Cellar 🔒
Round Chester Walls 🔒
A Boiling Sea 🔒
Wesley's Forgiveness 🔒
The Pay of Preaching 🔒
Wesley in Glasgow 🔒
Apprenticeship Customs 🔒
Cornish Smugglers 🔒
Wesley Writes His Epitaph 🔒
Wesley His Own Doctor 🔒
Chapter 10. Retirement in Paddington; Wesley Slandered; Premonitions; A Dream 🔒
Wesley Retires to Paddington 🔒
Persecuting the Methodists 🔒
Wesley's Prescriptions 🔒
Wesley and the Sunshine 🔒
The Room Was Like and Oven 🔒
'This Is No Mazed Man' 🔒
Slandering Wesley in the Pulpit 🔒
Extraordinary Coincidence 🔒
Macbeth and Thunder at Drury Lane 🔒
At Dover Castle 🔒
Preaching to a Press-gang 🔒
Waiting for the Ferry 🔒
Irish Honesty 🔒
A Remarkable Premonition Fulfilled 🔒
Preaching in a Loft 🔒
A Terrible Dream 🔒
The Delights of North Wales 🔒
Wesley's Debt of f 1236 🔒
Wesley on Electricity as a Cure 🔒
Chapter 11. 'I do Indeed Live by Preaching'; Wesley's Advice to Travelers; Wesley and the French Prisoners 🔒
In Glasgow Cathedral 🔒
Wesley Sings a Scotch Psalm 🔒
'I Do Indeed Live by Preaching!' 🔒
Wesley at Charterhouse 🔒
Wesley Opposed by Mayor and Minister 🔒
Fire at Kingswood School 🔒
In Norfolk and Suffolk 🔒
Another Ninety-mile Journey 🔒
Wesley's Advice to Travelers 🔒
Wesley at Norwich and Colchester 🔒
The Sands of Ravenglass 🔒
Useless Doctors 🔒
Fire in a Coalpit 🔒
Newcastle as a Summer Resort 🔒
Wesley Likes a Soft Cushion 🔒
Defeating the Press-gang 🔒
Extraordinary Trances 🔒
Wesley Rides Twenty-four Hundred Miles in Seven Months 🔒
Field-preaching Expedient 🔒
Wesley Clothes French Prisoners 🔒
The Truth about Trances 🔒
Wesley and the Irish Question 🔒
Attack on Wesley's Hat 🔒
'A Kind of Waterspout' 🔒
A Tinner's Story 🔒
Wesley Writes to the London Chronicle 🔒
Preaching in the Inn Yard 🔒
Wesley Preaches at Aberdeen 🔒
Wesley's Criticism of Edinburgh 🔒
A Busy Week 🔒
Wesley and Impositions 🔒
A Monster Called a Declaration 🔒
Some Impudent Women 🔒
Seen in a Looking Glass 🔒
Wesley at Matlock Bath and Boston 🔒
Preaching by Moonlight 🔒
Some Rough Journeys 🔒
Remarkable Speaking Statue 🔒
Wesley and the Oatmeal Sellers 🔒
The Irish Whiteboys 🔒
Whitewashing Kilkenny Marble 🔒
Wesley in Cornwall 🔒
Wesley's Day of Pentecost 🔒
Wesley in Aberdeen Again 🔒
Plain Dealing in Scotland 🔒
The Drunkard's Magnificat 🔒
Methodists and Their Wealth 🔒
A Difficult Crossing 🔒
Wesley at Birmingham, Walsal, and Derby 🔒
'No Law for Methodists' 🔒
Wesley Unhorsed 🔒
Wesley on Holy Island 🔒
Wesley at the General Assembly 🔒
At Inverness 🔒
A Sermon and Congregation to Order 🔒
Wesley and a Scotch Communion 🔒
Wesley's Likes and Dislikes 🔒
She Thought, 'I Laugh Prettily' 🔒
An Exhausting Day 🔒
Seven Hours on Horseback 🔒
The Ride from Pembroke to Swansea 🔒
Wesley's Experiments with Lions 🔒
Chapter 14. Justice for Methodists; Methodist Character; Instructions to Parents; Wesley's Opinion of Mary Queen of Scots 🔒
Breakfast with Mr. Whitefield 🔒
Two Deeds 🔒
Wesley Covered with Mud 🔒
Wesley Secures Justice for Methodists 🔒
Gwennap's Famous Amphitheater 🔒
Wesley on a Country Life 🔒
Wesley and the Character of a Methodist 🔒
The Sexton's Strange Apparition 🔒
Queer Houses at Sheerness 🔒
Wesley in the Marshalsea Prison 🔒
Wesley Travels North 🔒
Preaching in a North Wind 🔒
Wesley Instructs Parents 🔒
Wesley and Mary Queen of Scots 🔒
Wesley at Scoon and Holyrood 🔒
Wesley's Old Schoolfellow 🔒
Wesley's Wife Ill 🔒
Wesley and Seaport Towns 🔒
Chapter 15. Wesley Opens a New Church; Comments on Rousseau; Geology; Swedenborg, and Riding Horseback; Gwennap and 20,000 People; Death of Whitefield 🔒
Wesley's Land-shark 🔒
Wesley Opens a New Church 🔒
A Forsaken Beauty 🔒
Wesley at the Countess of Huntingdon's 🔒
The Gentleman with Rotten Eggs 🔒
Wesley on Geology and Rousseau 🔒
Swedenborg an Entertaining Madman 🔒
Wesley and His Horses 🔒
Wesley at Nairn, Elgin, and Aberdeen 🔒
Where Are the Highlands? 🔒
Wesley and the Turnpikes 🔒
Wesley in St. Albans Abbey 🔒
Wesley and the Druid Monuments 🔒
Congregation of 20,000 🔒
Fire at Portsmouth Dock 🔒
Wesley Preaches Whitefield's Funeral Sermon 🔒
Chapter 16. Windsor Park; Wesley as Art Critic; Glasgow and Perth; At 70, Wesley Preaches to 30,000 People 🔒
The Earl of Desmond's Castle 🔒
Wesley in Winchester Cathedral 🔒
Wesley at Windsor Park 🔒
Wesley as Art Critic 🔒
Wesley on A Sentimental Journey 🔒
Wesley and the Boarding School 🔒
Wesley at Greenock and Glasgow 🔒
Wesley Receives the Freedom of Perth 🔒
Wesley Visits the Bass Rock 🔒
Through the Dales 🔒
Field-preaching as Wesley's Cross 🔒
Good or Bad Spirits? 🔒
A Remarkable Dream 🔒
Wesley's Letters and Friends 🔒
Wesley and His Chaise 🔒
Incidents in Ireland 🔒
A Neglected School 🔒
Mobbed by Masons 🔒
Wesley at Derry and Armagh 🔒
The Speaking Statue Again 🔒
The Earthquake at Madeley 🔒
A Man of Seventy Preaches to 30,000 People 🔒
A Monster Elm 🔒
Chapter 17. Wesley Arrested; A Terrible Ride; A Methodist Isaac Newton; Wesley and the American War 🔒
Wesley Arrested in Edinburgh 🔒
Wesley's Terrible Ride 🔒
A Collier's Remarkable Escape 🔒
Wesley at Corfe Castle 🔒
A Methodist Isaac Newton 🔒
Wesley in the Fens 🔒
Wesley's Coach Upset 🔒
Wesley and the American War 🔒
Preaching from the Stocks 🔒
'A Very Extraordinary Genius' 🔒
Neat and Elegant Banff 🔒
A Town of Beggars 🔒
Wesley Criticizes the Scotch Universities 🔒
Smuggling in Cornwall 🔒
In Bethnal Green Hamlet 🔒
City Road Chapel Begun 🔒
Wesley in the Isle of Man 🔒
The Manx Men 🔒
'Taught by a Chaise Boy' 🔒
Are the Methodists a Fallen People? 🔒
Wesley Starts a Magazine 🔒
Wesley Discusses Old Sermons 🔒
Among the Ruins 🔒
City Road Chapel Opened 🔒
Wesley Goes North 🔒
Wesley Attended by Felons 🔒
'Make Your Will before You Sleep' 🔒
Wesley at the German Settlement 🔒
The Bishop of Durham's Tapestry 🔒
Wesley on 'Boston Stump' 🔒
Wesley at Sevenoaks 🔒
Wesley Visits Lord George in the Tower 🔒
A Rough Voyage 🔒
In the Isle of Man 🔒
Preaching at Peel 🔒
An Ideal Circuit 🔒
'A Low, Soft, Solemn Sound' 🔒
Wesley Enters His Eightieth Year 🔒
No Repose for Wesley 🔒
A Christian Bishop's Furniture 🔒
'The Tide Is Now Turned' 🔒
Wesley Visits Holland 🔒
The Reverent Dutch 🔒
The Beautiful Hague 🔒
At Leyden and Amsterdam 🔒
The Warmly Affectionate Dutch 🔒
Wesley at Utrecht 🔒
Two Hours with Dr. Johnson 🔒
Wesley and Early Rising 🔒
Remarkable Escape from Prison 🔒
The Banks of the Spey 🔒
Twelve and a Half Miles in Heavy Rain 🔒
Incidents in Scotland 🔒
Wesley at 81 🔒
Burglary at Wesley's House 🔒
Wesley at Eighty-one Begs f 200 🔒
Fifty Years Growth of Methodism 🔒
Wesley Visits the House of Lords 🔒
Wesley Visits Hatfield House 🔒
Wesley's Threat to Deptford 🔒
Wesley Visits the Irish Parliament House 🔒
A Visit to the Channel Islands 🔒
'A Little Circumstance' 🔒
At the Governor's House 🔒
'Because I Have Lived so Many Years' 🔒
Detained by Contrary Winds 🔒
Sails for Penzance 🔒
Wesley on His Old Age 🔒
Wesley's Reasons for His Long Life 🔒
An Important Conference 🔒
'The Gentle Steps of Age' 🔒
Wesley Sits to Romney 🔒
Wesley Explains Methodism 🔒
Wesley Describes Himself at Eighty-five 🔒
'How Is the Tide Turned!' 🔒
Wesley's Eighty-sixth Christmas 🔒
The Last Year of the Journal 🔒
A Backsliding Innkeeper 🔒
'I Am Become an Honorable Man' 🔒
Wesley's Last Entries 🔒
WESLEY'S LAST HOURS 🔒