Aldersgate or Fetter Lane

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12That Wesley had (or at least recorded) so very few direct supernatural experiencesprior to Aldersgate 39 did not mean that Wesley did not have any interest in them. Dr.Robert Webster, Oxford trained church historian and professor at Regent University,includes in Appendix 1 of his book, Methodism and the Miraculous, “John Wesley’sSumming Up the Matter of Old Jeffrey, 1726.” 40 “Old Jeffrey” was the name given to aghost whom the family claimed caused a number of strange events in the Epworth rectorybetween December 1716 and January 1717. Wesley enumerated thirteen strangecharacteristics surrounding “it.” Number three, for instance, reads: “Before it came intoany room, the latches were frequently lifted up, the windows clattered, and whatever ironor Brass was about the changers rung and jarred exceedingly.” Although interestedenough to write about Old Jeffrey ten years after the events, Wesley was not present inthe rectory during this time as he was in residence at the Charterhouse school inLondon. 41 Old Jeffrey is certainly a curiosity, but like Peter Wright’s story told above,Wesley is not directly involved and merely summarizes events as told to him.39There may be other potentially supernatural moments in Wesley’s life prior to Aldersgate that amore thorough reading of the early Wesley journals and writings could uncover. However, most likelythese would be few and far between considering the lack of comment on them in the literature.40Robert Webster, Methodism and the Miraculous: John Wesley’s Idea of the Supernatural andIdentification of Methodists in the Eighteenth Century (Lexington, KY: Emeth Press, 2013), 207.41Henry D. Rack, Reasonable Enthusiast: John Wesley and the Rise of Methodism (London, UK:Epworth Press, 2002), 58-9.
John Wesley’s Experience at Aldersgate (May 24, 1738)13Charles Wesley’s “Strange Palpitation of Heart”Just days prior to John Wesley’s Aldersgate experience, Charles Wesley wasawakened to the work of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday, May 21, 1738. In boldcapital letters, Charles wrote in his journal, “THE DAY OF PENTECOST.” 42 On this dayCharles had a supernatural occurrence.He woke up Friday morning, May 19, with pain and difficulty breathing. 43 Stillvery sick on Pentecost Sunday, Charles prayed, “O Jesus, thou hast said, I will come untoyou. Thou hast said, I will send the Comforter to you. … Accomplish it in thy time andmanner.” Almost immediately he heard a voice (he thought was a Mrs. Musgrave) say,“In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, arise, and believe, and thou shalt be healed of all thyinfirmities!” He “felt … a strange palpitation of heart.” In reality, Mrs. Musgrave was noteven in the house and the voice came from a Mrs. Turner who told Charles, “It was I, aweak sinful creature spoke, but the words were Christ’s. He commanded me to say themand so constrained me that I could not forbear.” 4442A photocopy of Charles’ handwritten leaf with this title can be found in Charles Wesley,Journal, vol. 1, vii. Charles does not even have an entry for Easter Sunday, April 2, of that year. That hewrote boldly, “THE DAY OF PENTECOST,” would seem to be more a reflection of what happened thatday in his life than just noting the liturgical calendar date. As a poet, Charles would likely have noticed anddrawn attention to the fact that his personal Pentecost experience occurred on the same day as thecelebration of Pentecost Sunday.43Charles Wesley, “Friday, May 19, 1738,” Journal, vol. 1, 104.44These words of Mrs. Turner could certainly be considered prophetic in that she was compelledto speak what she believed to be the very words of God given to her. The result of these words on CharlesWesley gives stronger evidence for their prophetic nature.
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