John Wesley

In John Bunyan’s classic allegory, Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian sets out on a journey from his hometown of the City of Destruction to his ultimate destination in Celestial City. Another pilgrim, Hopeful, joins him on the journey. Along the way, they discuss people who began a similar journey but didn’t last long. One such traveler, Mr. Temporary, from the town Graceless, was well-intentioned but turned back to the ways of the world. Mr. Temporary’s profession of faith was short-lived as he gradually stopped praying and shunned his Christian friends, choosing instead the company of worldly people like Mr. Saveself (don’t you love these names!). The word they used to describe Mr. Temporary, “backslide,” is not a word I hear much anymore. It’s closely aligned with the middle English word abak, meaning to move or slide backward. The prophet Jeremiah lamented, “Our backslidings are many; we have sinned against you” (Jer. 14.7 KJV). Backsliding was a common expression in earlier days to describe people who fall away from faith. The danger of relapsing into old patterns of destructive behavior posed a threat to believers, then as now. I came across a sermon John Wesley (1703-1791) preached titled “A Call to Backsliders.” The third section of hymns in John’s 1780 Methodist songbook was collected under the designation “For Persons Convinced of Backsliding.” Nothing subtle about it! John compiled and edited eight hundred hymns for his hymnbook (ninety percent were written by his brother Charles). John added thirty hymns that he translated from German hymns, as well as a few of his own compositions. One hymn included in the backsliding section is no longer sung today but is appropriate to pray: