The First Book of Samuel by SAREJESS (epub read online books txt) 📕

What was different about this one yet this man who stood talking to the crowd seemed to have a quiet dignity which was lacking in so many other religious fanatics.

Samuel tended to stay away from groups, which seemed to run on emotionalism but here he found himself wanting to hear what this man was saying. A number of other men who appeared to be clergymen stood nearby listening and nodding whenever the preacher made a good point.

"Come brethren let us lift up our voices in worship and sing to the Lord” said the preacher “Oh God of Israel who in ages past" he sang the crowd taking up the tune. “Now that was not something one saw every day a preacher who got his audience to sing along.”

There seemed to be something sincere about this group of whom most seemed to be worshipers of the same faith as the man on the cart. When the singing had finished the preacher man invited those present who had not yet committed their lives to the care of the Savior to come forth and receive prayer to this end. A number of men and women began to move forward, to stand under the cart. When they had gathered the clergyman began to pray, it was not a long winded prayer much to Samuel’s surprise, it was a simple prayer. The body of which was a request of the Almighty to accept these, his wayward sheep and forgive them and bring them once again into the fold. As Samuel watched he could see in his minds eye this preacher as a shepherd tending his flock, a smile crossed his lips. “Maybe I am being too cynical” he thought having seen scenes like this all before. Soon the officials of the Church of England would arrive and break up this meeting spreading the flock to the four corners of the earth but in the mean time Samuel decided to watch and listen.

The prayer now ended the preacher invited those present to partake in a light meal, which had been prepared for them. Not wanting to appear the odd man out Samuel dismounted and joined the crowd, who were now been fed by the clergymen who had stood nearby during the service. Bread cheese and milk were all offered by the men and the crowd ate quietly, thanking the good Lord for the bounty of the preacher man.

Standing near by the clergyman Samuel began to listen to the general conversation between the clergyman and those about him. The man seemed serious about what he believed. A strange longing took possession of Samuel he wanted to know more. He had a desire to ask many questions of the clergyman, he had a desire to bear his soul to this man even though it might be dangerous. Was it possible that after all this time the answer he sought was within reach? Maybe this man would be able to help bring peace to his tired soul and release him from the endless cycle of life? Yet at the same time something held him back would the man ridicule him? Would the man even believe him? And yet the words that the clergyman had uttered earlier kept repeating in his mind "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth."

While he yet pondered, the clergyman passed among the crowd speaking a word of encouragement here, a word there. If Samuel continued to wait the opportunity would pass him by and yet he did not want to become the focus of the crowd’s attention.

“Tell me friend” he asked a man who was handing out bread "who is the clergyman who spoke so eloquently?"
"Why Sir that is John Wesley. He is indeed blessed to have been anointed by the Almighty to bring us the word do you not think?" asked the man. “Why indeed sir I have seldom heard such eloquence, such self assurance, such a grace with words" said Samuel “May I offer you some bread friend” asked the man.

“Indeed I would be grateful" said Samuel accepting some bread from the man “tell me friend where might I have some private speech with clergyman Wesley?" "Why sir he lays this night at the Bull and Bell Inn at Canterbury. If you seek him out I am sure he will have some word for you" said the man.

1747 Canterbury England Samuel
Now it came about that Samuel continued his journey to the city of Canterbury, a city long known for been the city of religious change from the earliest times the Archbishop had sat in the city making decisions which in some or other way had made much impact on the religious life of England. Here the ancient cathedral stood, its hallowed precincts open to all that would study the words of the bible and come to some discovery which would change the church life of the nation. The middle years of the 18th century were no different from the centuries which had passed before. The city was known for the meetings of the holy men who sat here to define the word, making the Church of England the great establishment on which the nation depended.

Thus upon entering the ancient walls of the city Samuel was able to look up at the great tower of the cathedral, he wondered at its great beauty and the fact that it was a city which displayed a quiet dignity set deep in the English countryside. Making his way to an inn, which had previously been suggested to him by the lay brother at the meeting where the group of ministers and lay brothers planned to spend the night. Leaving his horse with the stable hand he entered the inn to be greeted by the proprietor, one Joseph Henderson, a friendly host who paid much attention to the comfort of his guests. Samuel was shown to his room and an order taken for his dinner by this jovial host. "Be at ease sir" said the publican "and rest for shortly dinner will be served. In the mean time I would beg your indulgence as I have some matters to attend” “Thank you Mr. Henderson I appreciate you showing me to this fine room" said Samuel, who stood by the window watching the arrival of the previously mentioned party.

The room was a large one which overlooked the yard and stables. Samuel stood watching the arrival of the group of clergy with some interest. There he was able to observe the way they acted. He had often watched people in his long life in the hope of determining the measure of the man he was dealing with before he approached them or interacted with them. It gave him a sense of power to know the short comings of the people he was dealing with. It was true had watched the clergymen at work in the crowd as they ate but now he watched with a great interest, to see how these same clergymen interacted with the stable hand and other people in the yard. He had hoped to see if the public display of humility and grace was carried over into their everyday life and if so, to what extent. He noted that the preacher was accompanied by an older man who had much in common as regarding countenance and demeanor. Later he was to learn that John Wesley and his brother did in fact bear a striking resemblance to each other however the thing that struck the observer was the way in which they spoke to the simple stable boy and to the master of the public house. Their quiet dignified demeanor seemed to carry over into everything they did. Unlike other church men that he had observed, they did not have a public and a private persona they were simply quite dignified men who seemed to put their whole being into what they were doing.

At dinnertime Samuel entered the dining room of the inn and found a table in a small dark corner where he was served his meal. The smell of good wholesome food made him realize that he was very hungry and thus he ate his food with a relish, which would not have surprised the chef of a grand establishment. The vegetables peas and cauliflower were well done the roasted potatoes with a lump of good country butter and the piece of silverside were done to perfection.

While he ate his meal the clergymen entered the dining room and took seats around a large table. They spoke quietly with each other until their meal arrived. Then as Samuel watched they bowed their heads and began to thank the Almighty for their meal. As the elder Wesley prayed Samuel listened. "We thank thee oh Lord for thy precious bounty. We thank thee oh Father for a day well spent in thy service. We thank thee for the feast that thou hast laid before us” intoned the Clergyman finally ending the prayer with a resounding "Amen" the dining room had grown quite as the man prayed. Other dinner guests at other tables had ceased their eating. No cutlery was heard as the man had prayed, now once more voices were heard and the usual sounds of life in a busy city inn returned.

Rising Samuel made his way to the taproom where he ordered and received a mug of country ale the thing about Canterbury ale was it was one of the best ales he had ever tasted. As the evening grew on he indulged in more then a mug thus forgetting his reason for coming to the inn. He drank until late in the night. Sitting in front of the fire enjoying the conversation of a farmer with whom he had struck up a conversation shortly after ordering the first mug of ale.

When he awoke in the morning he was surprised to find himself fully dressed and laying atop the great bed in the room. Hurriedly he made his way down stairs to seek out the clergymen to have a conversation with them. He was greeted by his host who wished him "A good morning" and asked "if he had slept well.” to which Samuel had replied in the affirmative. Upon inquiring as to the whereabouts of the party of clergymen, he was informed that they had left some two hours previously thus Samuel had missed out on the chance to converse with the founders of the Methodists. It was some thing he would often wonder about in later years when he thought back to this period of his life.


CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
1776 AD William Longmont in America
William Longmont had been up before dawn milking the cows, now as he laid aside the hoe he wondered how long his idyllic life could continue. He had been farming in the colony of Virginia now for some years. He looked out across the open field on which he had been working since sun up. He enjoyed farming. It had been a long time since had laid aside the sword to pursue the life of a simple farmer. The centuries of fighting in various wars had tired him. Now all he longed for was a little peace but judging from the latest news coming out of the cities this was soon to change. King George was making life very difficult for the colonists of the New World. How he hated the interference of a parliament that sat thousands of miles across the sea.

The sunlight reflected off the blue hills in the distance. “What a beautiful place these Americas were, uncluttered by the big dirty cities of Europe” William thought he could live here forever if others did not intrude.

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