{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_44140/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_44140","id":"gutenberg_44140","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/44140","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Biographies","Category: History - American","Category: History - British","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Whitefield, George, 1714-1770"],"text":"Transcriber's note:\n\nText enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).\n\nSmall capital text has been replaced with all capitals.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n[Illustration: titlepage]\n\n[Illustration: George Whitefield. (handwritten signature)]\n\n\n\n\n  GEORGE WHITEFIELD:\n\n  A BIOGRAPHY,\n\n  WITH\n\n  SPECIAL REFERENCE TO HIS LABORS\n  IN AMERICA.\n\n  COMPILED\n  BY JOSEPH BELCHER, D. D.,\n\n  AUTHOR OF THE LIFE OF REV. DR. CAREY, MISSIONARY TO INDIA,\n  ETC., ETC.\n\n  PUBLISHED BY THE\n  AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY,\n  150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW YORK.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n  CHAPTER I.\n\n  MORAL STATE OF GREAT BRITAIN IN THE EARLY\n  PART OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY--WHITEFIELD,\n  FROM HIS BIRTH TO HIS FIRST SERMON.\n\n  1714-1736.\n\n  Low state of religion in Great Britain and its dependencies\n  when Whitefield appeared--His birth in Gloucester--Hooper--\n  Raikes--Whitefield's early life--His entrance at the\n  university of Oxford--Becomes connected with the Wesleys\n  and other Methodists--Illness and mental trials--Relief--\n  Preparation for the ministry--Return to Gloucester--\n  Ordination--First sermon                                       13\n\n\n  CHAPTER II.\n\n  WHITEFIELD'S SUCCESS AS A PREACHER IN ENGLAND--FIRST\n  VISIT TO AMERICA.\n\n  1736-1738.\n\n  Whitefield's return to Oxford--Usefulness there--Visits\n  London--Great popularity--Georgia--His anxiety as to duty--\n  Invited to Georgia by the Wesleys--Preparation and\n  departure--Preaching and excitement at Deal--Labors and\n  success on board--Arrival and labors at Gibraltar--\n  Interesting incidents on the voyage--Sickness and recovery--\n  His reception at Savannah--Visit to an Indian king--Origin\n  of the Orphan asylum--Visit to Frederica--Return to\n  Savannah--Visit to Charleston--Treatment by Garden--\n  Embarkation for Europe--Stormy voyage--Arrival in Limerick--\n  Journey to London--Meeting with the trustees of Georgia--\n  Ordination as priest--Return to London--First extempore\n  prayer--First idea of open-air preaching                       40\n\n\n  CHAPTER III.\n\n  OPEN-AIR PREACHING IN ENGLAND AND WALES--ERECTION\n  OF THE TABERNACLE IN LONDON.\n\n  1738, 1739.\n\n  Whitefield's visit to Bristol--New opposition--Interviews\n  with the chancellor of the diocese--Preaching at Kingswood--\n  Large congregations--Preaching at Bristol--Labors in Wales\n  with Howel Harris--Gloucester--Old Mr. Cole--Return to\n  London--Conflict with Bishop Warburton and others--\n  Moorfields--Kennington Common--Blackheath--Anecdotes--\n  Erection of the Tabernacle--New Tabernacle--Certificate--\n  Visit to Norwich--Conversion of Robert Robinson--Preaching\n  at the West End of London--Liberality of Whitefield's\n  congregations--Attendance of the nobility on Whitefield's\n  ministry--Architecture of Tabernacle and Tottenham Court\n  road chapel                                                    71\n\n\n  CHAPTER IV.\n\n  WHITEFIELD'S SECOND VISIT TO AMERICA.\n\n  1739, 1740.\n\n  Joseph Periam's release by Whitefield from Bedlam--\n  Whitefield's arrival at Philadelphia--Preaches to vast\n  crowds in the open air--Testimony of Dr. Franklin and\n  others--Account of the Log College--William Tennent, Sen.--\n  Whitefield's own account of his preaching at Philadelphia--\n  Subsequent discovery of the conversion of Dr. Rodgers--\n  Whitefield's first visit to New York--Description of him by\n  one of his hearers--Sermons in New Jersey--Old Tennent\n  church--Places of preaching at New York--Address to sailors--\n  Letter to Pemberton--Interview with Gilbert Tennent--Some of\n  Whitefield's sermons printed--Departure from Philadelphia--\n  Sermons on his journey to Savannah--Arrival and reception at\n  Charleston--Departure for Savannah--Dangers of the way--State\n  of things in Georgia--Whitefield revisits Charleston--\n  Controversy with Commissary Garden--Lays the foundation-stone\n  of the Orphan house--Sermon by Smith on the character of\n  Whitefield                                                     97\n\n\n  CHAPTER V.\n\n  CONTINUATION OF HIS SECOND VISIT TO AMERICA.\n\n  1740.\n\n  Feebleness of Whitefield's health--Again visits Charleston,\n  Philadelphia, etc.--Extent of his former success--Extracts\n  from Seward's journal--Extracts from newspapers--Whitefield's\n  letter to England--His correspondence on marriage--Birth and\n  death of his son--His funeral sermon for his wife--Franklin\n  and others on Whitefield's eloquence--Anecdote--Extract from\n  the New England Weekly Journal--Return to Savannah--Manner of\n  his reception--Activity at Savannah--Again visits Charleston--\n  Cited into the Commissary's court--Various examinations--\n  Whitefield's appeal to the Court of Chancery--Interview with\n  the Commissary--Usefulness at Charleston--Sails for New\n  England                                                       129\n\n\n  CHAPTER VI.\n\n  WHITEFIELD'S FIRST VISIT TO NEW ENGLAND.\n\n  SEPTEMBER TO NOVEMBER, 1740.\n\n  State of religion in New England--Testimony of Prince--Dr.\n  I. Mather--Dr. Jonathan Edwards' success--Prevalence of\n  prayer--Whitefield's arrival and labors at Newport--Interview\n  with Clap--Honeyman--Letter from Barber--Journey to Boston--\n  Interview with the Commissary and the clergy--Preaches at\n  Brattle-street, Old South church, New North, Common, Roxbury,\n  Old North, Cambridge, First church--Interview with Governor\n  Belcher--Roxbury--Hollis-street--Old South church--\n  Brattle-street--Marblehead--Salem--Ipswich--Newbury--Hampton--\n  Portsmouth--York--Return to Boston--Frequent preaching--\n  Invitation to children--Interesting conversation with a\n  child--Anecdote of juvenile usefulness--Remarks on an\n  unconverted ministry--Whitefield's character of Boston--\n  Preaches at Concord, Sudbury, Marlborough, Worcester,\n  Leicester, Brookfield, Cold Spring, Hadley, Northampton--\n  Revival there--Whitefield's opinion of Mr. Edwards and\n  family--Important interview--Preaching at East Windsor,\n  Westfield, Springfield, Suffield--Opinion of Mr. and Mrs.\n  Edwards, Sen.--Relinquishment of appointments to preach--\n  Visit to New Haven--Interview with Principal Clap--Departure\n  from New England--Whitefield's character of it--Conversion\n  of Mr. Emerson--Prince's account of Whitefield's visit--Dr.\n  Baron Stow on its results--Anecdote,                          148\n\n\n  CHAPTER VII.\n\n  LABORS IN NEW YORK AND THE MIDDLE AND SOUTHERN\n  STATES.\n\n  1740, 1741.\n\n  Whitefield's arrival and labors at New York, Staten Island,\n  and Newark--Mr. Burr--Meeting with Gilbert Tennent--Visit to\n  Baskinridge--Tennent's preaching in Cross' barn--Whitefield\n  preaches in the new house at Philadelphia--Franklin's advice\n  to Gilbert Tennent--Remarkable instances of conversion--\n  Success in Philadelphia--Apostrophe in a sermon--Visit to\n  Gloucester, Greenwich, Cohansey, Salem, Newcastle, Fagg's\n  Manor, Bohemia--Sails from Reedy island to Charleston--\n  Arrival at Bethesda--Remarkable escape from death--\n  Prosecution at Charleston--Preaching--Letters from Boston--\n  Departure for England--Separation from Messrs. Wesley--\n  Difficulties in London--Triumph--Howel Harris                 196\n\n\n  CHAPTER VIII.\n\n  FIRST AND SECOND VISITS TO SCOTLAND--LABORS\n  IN ENGLAND AND WALES.\n\n  1741-1744.\n\n  Scheme of comprehension--Account of Rev. John Cennick--\n  Voyage to Scotland--Letter to Rodgers--Visit to Erskine--\n  Preaching in Edinburgh--Labors at Glasgow--His sermons\n  printed--Return to England--Letter from McCulloch--Renewed\n  glance at Edinburgh--Public attention deeply riveted--\n  Execution of a convict--Improvement of the event in a\n  sermon--Conversion of a mimic--A drunken sergeant--Miss\n  Hunter--Marquis of Lothian--Conduct of Rev. Mr. Ogilvie--\n  Second visit to Scotland--Cambuslang--Kilmarnock--Glance\n  at subsequent visits--Orphan-house park, Edinburgh--\n  Glasgow--Increasing reputation--Extracts from letters--\n  Anecdotes--Visit to Wales--Letters from America--Visit to\n  Gloucester, Strand, Tewkesbury--Encouraging news from\n  America--Success in London--Awakening at the Tabernacle--\n  Visit to Gloucester and its neighborhood--South Wales--\n  Return to London--Bristol--Exeter--Mr. Saunders--Conversion\n  of Thomas Olivers--Birmingham--Kidderminster--Health--\n  Assizes at Gloucester--Plymouth--Deliverance from\n  assassination--Conversion of Mr. Tanner--Visits to the\n  poor--Anecdote--Embarkation for America                       222\n\n\n  CHAPTER IX.\n\n  WHITEFIELD'S SECOND VISIT TO NEW ENGLAND.\n\n  1744, 1745.\n\n  Incidents of the voyage from England--Prayer heard--General\n  alarm--Whitefield's illness--Arrival at York--Threatening\n  sickness--Rev. Mr. Moody--Preaching at York and Portsmouth--\n  Apparent danger of death--Departure for Boston--Constant\n  preaching there--Chelsea--Malden--Prince's account of his\n  preaching and conduct--Objections made to his administration\n  of the Lord's supper--Changes in New England--Opposition to\n  Whitefield in Connecticut, New Haven, Massachusetts, Harvard\n  College--Large meeting in his favor at Boston--Number of\n  signatures to the testimony--Progress of revival--\n  Proceedings of Harvard College--Whitefield's defence--\n  Subsequent act of the College--Expositions at Boston,\n  Ipswich, Portland, Exeter--Expedition against Cape Breton--\n  Sherburne's request--Sermon to the soldiers--Refusal of\n  chaplaincy--Conversion of a colored trumpeter--Of a noted\n  scoffer--Anecdote of Whitefield and Dr. Hopkins               254\n\n\n  CHAPTER X.\n\n  LABORS IN THE MIDDLE AND SOUTHERN STATES--THE\n  BERMUDAS.\n\n  1745-1748.\n\n  Whitefield's preaching in New York, New Jersey,\n  Philadelphia--Liberal offer declined--Usefulness of his\n  printed sermons in Virginia--Preaches at Hanover--Isaac\n  Oliver--Visit to Bethesda--His account of the Orphan-house--\n  His character as given by the New York Post-boy--Public\n  testimony as to Whitefield's integrity--Preaching tour in\n  Maryland--Visit to Charleston--Success of his preaching in\n  Maryland--Visits New York, Newport, Portsmouth, Boston--\n  Return to Philadelphia--Bohemia--Journey to North Carolina--\n  Embarkation for the Bermudas--His progress and labors--\n  Honored by the governor and others--Usefulness among the\n  negroes--Summary of his proceedings in the Bermudas--\n  Kindness of the people there--Voyage to England--His labors\n  on the voyage--Arrival at Deal                                277\n\n\n  CHAPTER XI.\n\n  LABORS IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND--CHAPLAIN\n  TO LADY HUNTINGDON.\n\n  1748, 1749.\n\n  Triumphs and trials in London--Becomes chaplain to the\n  Countess of Huntingdon--Complimented by the great--\n  Bolingbroke and Rev. Mr. Church--Rev. James Hervey--Honors\n  conferred on Whitefield--Falsehoods of Horace Walpole--\n  Charged with vulgarism--Defence--Third visit to Scotland--\n  Return to London--Visit to the west of England--Conversions\n  in Gloucestershire--Tour in Cornwall--Brilliant assemblies\n  in London--Excursion to Exeter and Plymouth--Rev. Andrew\n  Kinsman--Return to London--Decline of health and visit to\n  Portsmouth and Wales--Arrival of Mrs. Whitefield from the\n  Bermudas--Visit to the north of England--Popularity there--\n  Intensely interesting services--Rev. W. Grimshawe--Solemn\n  instances of mortality--Return to London for the winter--\n  Usefulness                                                    301\n\n\n  CHAPTER XII.\n\n  LABORS IN GREAT BRITAIN--FOURTH VISIT TO AMERICA--NEW\n  TABERNACLE IN LONDON, AND TABERNACLE\n  AT BRISTOL.\n\n  1750-1754.\n\n  Efforts made by Whitefield for Bethesda--His ardent love for\n  America--Love to his mother--His mourning for sin--Dr.\n  Doddridge--London ministers--Interview with Doddridge and\n  Hervey--Earthquake in London--Bishop Horne's sermon--\n  Universal consternation--Preaching of Whitefield at midnight\n  in Hyde park--Whitefield and his friends at Court--Journey to\n  Bristol--Taunton--Rev. R. Darracott--Preaching at Rotherham,\n  Bolton, Ulverston--Conversion of Mr. Thorpe--Edinburgh and\n  other places in Scotland--Testimony of Hume--Second visit to\n  Ireland--Opposition on Oxmantown Green--Usefulness in\n  Ireland--Rev. John Edwards--Fourth voyage to America--\n  Interview with Lady Huntingdon--Moravians--Lady Huntingdon's\n  testimony--Letter to Dr. Franklin--Itinerant labors--\n  Revision of manuscripts--Erection of the new Tabernacle--\n  Again itinerates--Dedication of the Tabernacle at Bristol--\n  Somersetshire--Condolence on Mr. Wesley's sickness--Visit of\n  Messrs. Davies and Tennent to England--Whitefield's fifth\n  voyage to America                                             323\n\n\n  CHAPTER XIII.\n\n  FIFTH VISIT TO AMERICA--RENEWED LABORS IN\n  GREAT BRITAIN--TOTTENHAM COURT-ROAD CHAPEL.\n\n  1754-1763.\n\n  Whitefield's arrival and proceedings in Lisbon--Lands at\n  Beaufort, S. C.--Voyage to New York--New Jersey--Interview\n  with William Tennent--Accompanies President Burr to New\n  England--Popularity at Boston--Correspondence with\n  Habersham--Portsmouth--Rhode Island--Franklin's narrative of\n  a drummer and Whitefield--Powerful address in Virginia--\n  Pleasant interview at Charleston--Embarks for England--\n  Arrival at New Haven--His feelings on arriving in England--\n  Labors at the Tabernacle--Love for America--Journey to\n  Bristol, Gloucestershire, Norwich--Returns to London--\n  Reproof from Grimshawe--Serious illness--Earthquake at\n  Lisbon--Tottenham Court-road Chapel--Conversion of Mr.\n  Crane--Publication of \"A short Address\"--Personal character\n  of Whitefield's preaching--His servant--Shuter--Violent\n  persecution--Interference of government--Journey to\n  Bristol--Lines on a chair--Journey to Kent, north of England,\n  Scotland--Meeting at Leeds--Interview with the new governor\n  of Georgia--Prosperity of Tottenham Court--Journey to\n  Scotland--Ireland--Returns to London--Ill health--Anecdote--\n  Another visit to Scotland--Death of friends--Debts of\n  Bethesda paid--Renewed visit to Scotland--Visit to\n  Brighton--Foote's mimicry--Activity--Sails on his sixth\n  voyage to America                                             350\n\n  CHAPTER XIV.\n\n  SIXTH VISIT AND LABORS IN AMERICA--RENEWED\n  LABORS IN GREAT BRITAIN.\n\n  1763-1767.\n\n  Improvement of Whitefield's health--Friends in Virginia--\n  Proceedings in Philadelphia--New Jersey--A collegiate\n  hearer--New York--Letter from Boston Gazette--Opposition of\n  Seabury--Arrival and preaching at Boston--Public thanks to\n  him--Leaves Boston--New Haven--New York--New Jersey\n  College--Philadelphia--Virginia--South Carolina--Bethesda--\n  Proceedings of the government--Prosperity of the Orphan-\n  house--Thoughts of returning to England--Still detained in\n  America--Sails for England--Arrival there--Dedicates a\n  church at Bath--Returns to London--Sickness--Interest in\n  American affairs--Rev. Samson Occum--Labors with Mr.\n  Whitaker in England--Success--Whitefield's journey to\n  Bristol--Success in London--Mr. Joss becomes his colleague--\n  Rev. Rowland Hill--Whitefield again visits Bath and\n  Bristol--Mr. Fletcher's sermons in London--Preface to\n  Bunyan's works--Whitefield in Wales and Gloucestershire--\n  North of England--Disappointed in obtaining a charter\n  for Bethesda                                                  375\n\n\n  CHAPTER XV.\n\n  HIS LAST LABORS IN GREAT BRITAIN--COLLEGE\n  AT TREVECCA--EARL OF BUCHAN--TUNBRIDGE\n  WELLS.\n\n  1767-1769.\n\n  Letter to Keen--Whitefield preaches before the Book\n  Society--Change in his style and manner of preaching--\n  Expulsion of six students from Oxford--Whitefield's letter\n  to the Vice-chancellor--Usefulness of the expelled young\n  men--Letter to a gentleman at Wisbeach--To Captain Scott--\n  To Hon. and Rev. Walter Shirley--Death and funeral services\n  of the Earl of Buchan--Whitefield's last visit to\n  Edinburgh--Death of Mrs. Whitefield--Whitefield's own\n  sickness--Dedication of the college at Trevecca--Improvement\n  of his health--Letter to Mr. Shirley--Letter of Dr. Franklin\n  to Whitefield--Whitefield's remarks on it--Dedication of\n  church at Tunbridge Wells--Contemplated voyage to America--\n  His last sermon--Account of Rev. George Burder--Messrs.\n  Wilson--Embarkation of Whitefield--Detained in the Downs--\n  Ordination and preaching at Deal--Anecdote of Dr. Gibbons--\n  Clears the Channel--Arrival at Charleston                     400\n\n\n  CHAPTER XVI.\n\n  SEVENTH VISIT AND LAST LABORS IN AMERICA--DEATH.\n\n  1769, 1770.\n\n  Arrival at Bethesda--Its prosperity--Honors paid him by the\n  legislature--Letter at Charleston--Plan of the proposed\n  college--Visits Philadelphia--Preaches at Burlington, New\n  York, Albany--Attends an execution--Visit to Sharon--\n  Conversion of Mr. Randall--Visit to Boston--Letters to\n  Messrs. Wright and Keen--Letter in Pennsylvania Journal--\n  Arrival at Exeter--Anecdote--Vast congregation--Delivers his\n  last sermon--Account of it--His solemnly interesting\n  appearance--Rodgers' Journal--Journey of Whitefield to\n  Newburyport--Alarming illness--Death--His remarks to Dr.\n  Finley--Arrangements for the funeral--Its solemn services--\n  Cenotaph                                                      423\n\n\n  CHAPTER XVII.\n\n  TESTIMONIES AND FACTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF WHITEFIELD'S\n  CHARACTER.\n\n  Funeral sermon by Dr. Cooper--Respect shown to his memory in\n  Georgia--Whitefield county--Sermon by Rev. Mr. Ellington--\n  Arrival of the news in London--Sermon by Rev. J. Wesley--\n  Rev. John Newton--Anecdote--Reply of Bacon the sculptor--\n  Visits to his tomb--Old man in Ipswich--Whitefield's\n  indifference to his reputation and ease--Institution at\n  Georgia--Laborious life--Extraordinary voice--Use of common\n  facts--Anecdotes--His solemnity of manner--Testimony of an\n  American preacher--Of Winter--Anecdotes--Sermons in storms--\n  Appearance in the pulpit--Character of his printed sermons--\n  His devotional spirit--Visiting the sick--Intercourse with\n  society--Neatness                                             445\n\n\n  CHAPTER XVIII.\n\n  CHARACTER OF WHITEFIELD AS A PREACHER--CENTENNIAL\n  COMMEMORATIONS.\n\n  Prominence given by him to the truths of salvation--His\n  ardent glow of feeling--His direct address--His habitual\n  dependence on the Spirit of God--Dealt with men as immortal\n  beings--Dr. Hamilton's estimate of Whitefield--Comparison of\n  Whitefield and Wesley--Centennial commemorations--Hymns by\n  Mr. Conder--Usefulness--Bristol Tabernacle--Mr. James'\n  sermon--Character of Whitefield's ministry, by Mr. Glanville  479\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nThe excellent Matthew Henry has very truly said, \"There are remains\nof great and good men, which, like Elijah's mantle, ought to be\ngathered up and preserved by the survivors--their sayings, their\nwritings, their examples; that as their works follow them in the\nreward of them, they may stay behind in the benefit of them.\"\n\nInfluenced by this and kindred sentiments, the compiler of this\nvolume has devoted no small labor to gather from every source to\nwhich he could gain access, whatever appeared to him important to be\nknown respecting the most distinguished uninspired preacher perhaps\nof any age or country. Whatever may be the faults of the work,\nto use the language of the Rev. Dr. Campbell, one of the present\npastors of Whitefield's churches in London, in reference to a short\nsketch he had himself prepared of our great evangelist, \"It will\nserve to bring him and his apostolic labors before the minds of\nvast multitudes of the rising generation, to whom both are all but\nunknown; and this is far from unimportant. Whatever tends to fix\nthe minds of men afresh upon the character of WHITEFIELD is, and\nit always will be, something gained to the cause of true religion.\nThe contemplation of that character is one of the most healthful\nexercises that can occupy a Christian heart, or a Christian\nunderstanding. It is an admirable theme for ministerial meditation.\nIt tends equally to humble, to instruct, and to encourage; to excite\nlove to Christ, zeal for his glory, and compassion for the souls of\nmen. What Alexander and C\u00e6sar, Charles XII. of Sweden and Napoleon\nthe first, are to those of the sons of men who have not yet ceased\nto 'learn war,' that Whitefield and Wesley are to those who aspire\nto eminent usefulness as ministers and missionaries of the cross.\"\n\nIn the preparation of this memoir, the compiler has sought to\ncollect together incidents which might interest and instruct,\nespecially in connection with Whitefield's labors in America; to\npresent him as much as possible in his own dress; and to use the\nfacts of his life to excite and cherish his own spirit, so far as\nhe had the spirit of Christ. Facts reflecting on the reputation and\nfeelings of others have been used only as the interests of truth\nseemed to demand.\n\nIt would have been easy to place on almost every page an array of\nauthorities, and to give here a long list of friends to whom the\nwriter has been indebted for aid; but the sole object of the volume\nis the honor of Christ in the salvation of men, and that this may be\naccomplished, we pray that the blessing of Heaven may rest upon it.\n\nPHILADELPHIA, 1857.\n\n\n\n\nGEORGE WHITEFIELD.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\n     MORAL STATE OF GREAT BRITAIN IN THE EARLY PART OF THE EIGHTEENTH\n     CENTURY--WHITEFIELD FROM HIS BIRTH TO HIS FIRST SERMON.\n\n\nThat we may have a clear and comprehensive view of the labors and\nsuccess of George Whitefield, it is important that we consider\nthe moral condition of Great Britain and its dependencies when\nthe Head of the church brought him on the field of action. The\nlatter part of the seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth\ncenturies presented in that country a scene of moral darkness, the\nmore remarkable as it so soon succeeded the triumph of evangelical\ntruth which distinguished the seventeenth century, and which is\nperpetuated in a religious literature that will bless the world.\nCauses had long been at work which produced such insensibility and\ndecline as to all that is good, and such a bold and open activity in\nevil, as it is hoped the grace of God may avert from his churches\nin all future time. The doctrine of the divine right of kings to\nimplicit obedience on the part of their subjects; the principle\nof priestly control of the minds of men in religious matters; and\nclerical influence, sustained by kingly authority, in favor of\nsports on the Lord's day, together with the evil examples of men\nhigh in rank and power, had produced their natural results on the\nmasses of the people, and make it painful, even at this distant\nperiod, to survey the scene.\n\nNor were these all the evils of that day. The expulsion from their\npulpits, by the \"Act of Uniformity,\" of two thousand of the most\nable and useful of the clergy in England, had led to great ignorance\nand neglect of religion; and though men like Leighton and Owen,\nFlavel and Baxter, with Bunyan and a host of others, had continued,\nin spite of opposing laws, to preach when they were not shut up in\nprison, and to write their immortal practical works, by the time of\nwhich we are speaking they had been called to their eternal reward,\nleaving very few men of like spirit behind them. Thus infidelity,\nprofligacy, and formalism almost universally prevailed.\n\nThe low state of religion in the established church at that time\nmay be learned from the Rev. Augustus M. Toplady, himself one of\nits ministers, who died in 1778. In a sermon yet extant he says,\n\"I believe no denomination of professing Christians, the church\nof Rome excepted, were so generally void of the light and life of\ngodliness, so generally destitute of the doctrine and of the grace\nof the gospel, as was the church of England, considered as a body,\nabout fifty years ago. At that period a _converted_ minister in the\nestablishment was as great a wonder as a comet; but now, blessed\nbe God, since that precious, that great apostle of the English\nempire, the late dear Mr. Whitefield, was raised up in the spirit\nand power of Elias, the word of God has run and been glorified;\nmany have believed and been added to the Lord all over the three\nkingdoms; and blessed be his name, the great Shepherd and Bishop of\nsouls continues still to issue his word, and great is the company of\npreachers, greater and greater every year.\"\n\nIf it be said that Toplady, as he belonged to a different school of\ntheology from that which then generally prevailed, could scarcely\nbe expected to be impartial, we ask leave to transcribe a few lines\nfrom Bishop Butler, who within six months of Whitefield's ordination\nwrote thus: \"It is come, I know not how, to be taken for granted\nby many persons, that Christianity is not so much as a subject of\ninquiry; but that it is now at length discovered to be fictitious.\nAnd accordingly they treat it as if in the present age this were an\nagreed point among all people of discernment; and nothing remained\nbut to set it up as a principal subject of mirth and ridicule, as\nit were by way of reprisals for its having so long interrupted\nthe pleasures of the world.\" Bishop Warburton, who commenced his\nministry a few years before Whitefield, and who cannot be charged\nwith enthusiasm, says, \"I have lived to see that fatal crisis, when\nreligion hath lost its hold on the minds of the people.\"\n\nMany other witnesses might be brought to testify that error and\nworldly mindedness had made mournful havoc among the clergy,\nand that spiritual religion had been almost buried in forms and\nceremonies. A recent writer has well described the state of religion\nin the established church at that time, as only to be compared to a\nfrozen or palsied carcass. \"There,\" says this Episcopal clergyman,\n\"were the time-honored formularies which the wisdom of the reformers\nhad provided. There were the services and lessons from Scripture,\njust in the same order as we have them now. But as to preaching\nthe gospel, in the established church there was almost none. The\ndistinguishing doctrines of Christianity--the atonement, the work\nand office of Christ and the Spirit--were comparatively lost sight\nof. The vast majority of sermons were miserable moral essays,\nutterly devoid of any thing calculated to awaken, convert, save, or\nsanctify souls.\" Southey, a biographer of Wesley, who assuredly will\nnot be accused of too strong a tendency to evangelical truth, is\ncompelled to say, \"A laxity of opinions as well as morals obtained,\nand infidelity, a plague which had lately found its way into the\ncountry, was becoming so prevalent, that the vice-chancellor of\nthe university at Oxford, in a _programma_, exhorted the tutors to\ndischarge their duties by double diligence, and had forbidden the\nunder-graduates to read such books as might tend to the weakening of\ntheir faith.\"\n\nThere were undoubtedly some learned and conscientious bishops\nat this era. Such men were Secker and Gibson, Lowth and Horne,\nButler, and others. But even the best of them seem sadly to have\nmisunderstood the requirements of the day they lived in. They spent\ntheir strength in writing apologies for Christianity, and contending\nagainst infidels. They could not see that without the direct\npreaching of the essential doctrines of the gospel, their labors\nmust be sadly defective. The man who dared to preach the doctrines\nof the Bible, and in harmony with the Articles and Homilies of his\nchurch, was set down as an enthusiast or fanatic.\n\nAmong those who had dissented from the established hierarchy, and\nwho were untrammelled by the impositions of secular authority, the\nstate of vital godliness was also unhappily very low. The noble\nspirits of early non-conformity had passed from earth, or crossed\nthe Atlantic to the frozen shores of New England, and a race of men\nhad sprung up, some of whom retained the tenets of orthodoxy, but\nhad lost its power; while others reposed on comfortable endowments,\nand lulled themselves, or were drawn by favorable breezes, into the\ncold elements of Arianism and Socinianism. As persons in the frozen\nregions are said to sleep longer and more soundly than others, so\ndid they; and a more terrific blast of the trumpet of the gospel\nwas required to rouse and awake them from their spiritual slumbers.\nHappily indeed for the world, and for the church in it, there were\nsome exceptions. Watts and Guyse and Doddridge, and their pious\nassociates in different parts of the land, were laborers together in\n\"God's husbandry,\" and ceased not to cultivate it with affectionate\nfaithfulness and care; and wherever their labors extended, the\nplants of grace grew and flourished. Darracott, \"the star of the\nwest,\" threw his mild rays over the vales of Somerset; and in the\nnorth also a few faithful men were found.\n\nNor have we even now said all that should be written as to the\ncharacter of those times. The highest personages in the land then\nopenly lived in ways contrary to the law of God, and no man rebuked\nthem. Profligacy and irreligion were reputable and respectable.\nJudging from the description we have of men and manners in those\ndays, a gentleman might have been defined as a creature who got\ndrunk, gambled, swore, fought duels, and violated the seventh\ncommandment, and for all this very few thought the worse of him.\n\nThose too were the days when the men whom even kings delighted\nto honor were such as Bolingbroke, Chesterfield, Walpole, and\nNewcastle. To be an infidel, to obtain power by intrigue, and\nto retain it by the grossest and most notorious bribery, were\nconsidered no disqualifications even for the highest offices. Such\nmen indeed were not only tolerated, but praised. In those days\ntoo, Hume, an avowed infidel, put forth his History, and obtained\na pension. Sterne and Swift then wrote their talented, but obscene\nbooks; both of them were clergymen, but the public saw little\ninconsistency in their conduct. Fielding and Smollett were the\npopular authors, and the literary taste of high and low was suited\nby Roderick Random, Peregrine Pickle, Joseph Andrews, and Tom Jones.\nThese authors were ingenious heathen philosophers, assuming the name\nof Christians, and forcibly paganizing Christianity for the sake of\npleasing the world.\n\nTurning to _Scotland_, we find that the bold proclamation of the\ndiscriminating truths of the gospel which characterize the preaching\nof Knox, Welsh, and others, was being rapidly laid aside, and\ncold formal addresses, verging towards a kind of Socinianism were\nbecoming fashionable. Old Mr. Hutchinson, minister of Kilellan, in\nRenfrewshire, who saw but the beginning of this sad change, used to\nsay to Wodrow the historian, \"When I compare the times before the\nrestoration with those since the revolution, I must own that the\nyoung ministers preach accurately, and methodically; but there was\nfar more of the power and efficacy of the Spirit and of the grace\nof God went along with sermons in those days than now. For my own\npart--all the glory be to God--I seldom set my foot in a pulpit in\nthose days, but I had notice of the blessed effects of the word.\" It\nis true, that even then there were a few faithful witnesses for God\nin Scotland, such as the brothers Erskine, in the Secession church;\nbut for the most part, coldness, barrenness, and death prevailed.\nThe people knew not God, and were strangers to the life-giving\ninfluence and power of the gospel.\n\nThe Arianism of England had been carried to the north of _Ireland_,\nand finding a state of feeling suitable to its reception, it took\nroot and grew up, so as to characterize a distinct section of the\nPresbyterian church, then and still distinguished by the name of the\nRemonstrant Synod. The south and west of Ireland were subjected to\na blight not less withering, though of a different kind, and which\ncontinued much longer--continued, to a great extent, throughout\nthe whole of the last century. The clergy were usually sons of the\ngentry, and accustomed to their sporting, drinking, and riotous\nhabits. They had no preparation for ministerial duties but a college\ndegree; and no education, either literary or moral, which had not\nbeen obtained among wild young men at the university. According\nto the interest which they happened to have, they passed at once\nfrom college to ministerial charges, and again mixed in all the\ndissipations of the districts where these lay. Ignorant of the\ntruth, they and their congregations were satisfied with some short\nmoral discourse. Many of the people were almost as ignorant of the\nScriptures and scripture truth as the inhabitants of Hindostan.\nThe Catholic priests meanwhile were at work among the people, and\nthey had many to help them. The sick and the dying were watched;\ntheir fears were wrought upon; they were told of the power which\nthe priests had, of the influence possessed by the Virgin, and much\nabout the _old church_; and as soon as any seemed to give way, on\nwhatever point, the priest was sent for, who plied them anew, and\nseldom failed in succeeding with the poor ignorant people. They were\nnow ready to receive absolution; but he had farther conditions to\npropose. The whole family must submit to be rebaptized, or at least\npromise to attend mass--and this also was not unfrequently gained;\nthe Protestant clergyman being all the while at a distance, neither\nknowing nor much caring what was going on. In this way great numbers\nof the lower and middle classes of the Protestants went over to the\nchurch of Rome. Throughout whole districts the Protestant churches\nwere almost emptied, and many of those in rural districts were\nallowed to fall into ruins.\n\nOf _Wales_ it is not important at present to say much. From the\nmiddle ages downwards, great darkness and superstition had prevailed\namong its mountains. It is true that in the days of James I.,\na clergyman named Wroth, whose conversion to the truth had been\nremarkable, had labored with eminent zeal and success, but at the\nperiod of which we are now writing declension had succeeded. Within\nthe establishment all was cold and dead; nearly every minister\nwas ignorant of the Welsh language, a fact which also applied to\nseveral successive bishops, while the state of morals, among even\nthe leaders of the hierarchy, was truly deplorable. An old Methodist\nsimply but truly described the country at this period, and of his\ncorrect narrative we will here give a free translation.\n\nThe land, he tells us, was dark indeed. Scarcely any of the lower\nranks could read at all. The morals of the country were very\ncorrupt; and in this respect there was no difference between\nhigh and low, layman and clergyman. Gluttony, drunkenness, and\nlicentiousness prevailed through the whole country. Nor were the\noperations of the church at all adapted to repress these evils. From\nthe pulpit the name of the Redeemer was scarcely heard; nor was much\nmention made of the natural sinfulness of man, or of the influence\nof the Holy Spirit. On Sunday mornings, the poor were more constant\nin their attendance at church than the gentry; but the Sunday\nevenings were spent by all in idle amusements. Every Sabbath there\nwas practised a kind of sport, called in Welsh _Achwaren-gamp_,\nin which all the young men of the neighborhood had a trial of\nstrength, and the people assembled from the surrounding country\nto witness their feats. On a Saturday night, particularly in the\nsummer, the young men and women held what they called _Nosweithian\ncann_, or singing eves; that is, they met together and amused\nthemselves by singing in turns to the harp, till the dawn of the\nSabbath. These things, with the performance of rustic dramas, would\noccupy sometimes the whole of the sacred day itself; while a set of\nvagabonds, called the _Bobl gerdded_, or walking people, used to\ntraverse the villages, begging with impunity, to the disgrace alike\nof the law and the country. With all this social sprightliness, the\nWelsh were then a superstitious, and even a gloomy people. They\nstill retained many habits apparently derived from paganism, and\nnot a few of the practices of popery. Their funerals, like those of\nthe Irish, were scenes of riot and drunkenness, followed by prayers\nfor the release of the deceased from the pains of purgatory. Such\nwas the superstition of the people, that when Methodism was first\nintroduced among them, many of the peasantry expressed their horror\nof the new opinions by the truly Popish gesture of crossing the\nforehead; and when Wesley first visited them, he pronounced them\n\"as little versed in the principles of Christianity as a Creek or\nCherokee Indian.\" To this declaration he added the striking remark,\nthat, \"notwithstanding their superstition and ignorance, the people\n'were ripe for the gospel,' and most enthusiastically anxious to\navail themselves of every opportunity of instruction.\"\n\nAs an illustration of the truth of the remark we have just\nintroduced from the discerning Wesley, we may mention an incident\nwhich occurred in 1736. At this period dissent itself was reduced so\nlow in the country, that there were only six dissenting houses of\nworship in all North Wales. One Sunday, Mr. Lewis Rees, a dissenting\nminister from South Wales, and the father of Dr. Rees, the author of\nthe celebrated Cyclopedia which bears his name, visited Pwllheli, a\ntown on the promontory of Sl\u00ebyn, in Caernarvonshire, and one of the\nfew places in which the Independents still had a chapel. After the\nservice, the congregation, collecting around him, complained very\nsorely that their numbers were rapidly diminishing, that the few\nwho yet remained were for the most part poor, and that every thing\nconnected with their cause looked gloomy. To which the minister\nreplied, \"The dawn of religion is again breaking out in South\nWales,\" referring them to the fact, that already a distinguished\nman--Howel Harris--had risen up, going about instructing the people\nin the truths of the gospel. Such was the character of the times\nwhen God was raising up agents to revive and extend his cause. We\nshall before long return to Wales with lively interest.\n\n\"Such,\" says the eloquent Robert Hall, \"was the situation of things\nwhen Whitefield and Wesley made their appearance, who, whatever\nfailings the severest criticism can discover in their character,\nwill be hailed by posterity as the second reformers of England.\nNothing was farther from the views of these excellent men than to\ninnovate on the established religion of their country; their sole\naim was to recall the people to the good old way, and to imprint the\ndoctrines of the Articles and Homilies on the spirits of men. But\nthis doctrine had been so long a dead letter, and so completely\nobliterated from the mind by contrary instructions, that the attempt\nto revive it met with all the opposition that innovation is sure to\nencounter, in addition to what naturally results from the nature\nof the doctrine itself, which has to contend with the whole force\nof human corruption. The revival of the _old_, appeared like the\nintroduction of a _new_ religion; and the hostility it excited\nwas less sanguinary, but scarcely less virulent, than that which\nsignalized the first publication of Christianity. The gospel of\nChrist, or that system of truth which was laid at the foundation of\nthe Reformation, has since made rapid advances, and in every step of\nits progress has sustained the most furious assaults.\"\n\nIt ought here to be stated, as illustrating the providence of God in\npreparing the British empire for the reception of the gospel, that\nthe revolution of 1688 introduced the spirit of toleration, and in\n1714, the very year of Whitefield's birth, Anne, the last English\nsovereign of a persecuting spirit, died, and the throne was assumed\nby George I., the first prince of the house of Hanover. The way of\nthe Lord was thus prepared for bright illustrations of his mercy.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nRising from the beautiful valley of the Severn, and on the borders\nof that noble stream, reposes in antique glory the affluent city of\nGLOUCESTER, with its regular streets, and its majestic cathedral\nand other relics of bygone days. In that city the traveller may\nexamine three spots which will long be interesting to the student of\necclesiastical curiosities. The first of these is the ancient church\nof Mary de Crypt, where reposes the dust of Robert Raikes, the\nfounder of Sunday-schools; the second, is the little stone which,\nin a pensive-looking inclosure, marks the site on which the truly\nnoble-minded and Protestant Bishop Hooper was burnt, an early martyr\nof bloody Mary's reign. There wicked men stood around to light up\nthe flames, and to mock his sorrows; but as we stand and look, we\nexult in the subsequent triumphs of truth.\n\nThe third spot, and the one to us at the present moment the most\ninteresting, is the Bell inn or hotel, yet standing, though\nenlarged and beautified since the period of which we write. There\nWHITEFIELD--the saint, the seraph, the \"angel flying in the midst of\nheaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell\non the earth\"--first breathed the vital air. Venerable city, we\nwill rejoice that though within thy walls one glorious luminary of\nsalvation was extinguished, another \"burning and shining light\" was\nraised up to diffuse joy and happiness over the two most influential\nquarters of the globe, and a third has since been given to suggest\nthe simple plan by which millions of the young have already acquired\nthe knowledge of salvation.\n\nGEORGE WHITEFIELD, the sixth son of Thomas and Elizabeth Whitefield,\nwas born December 16, 1714, old style. Concerning his father and\nmother he writes, \"The former died when I was two years old; the\nlatter died in December, 1751, in the seventy-first year of her age,\nand has often told me how she endured fourteen weeks' sickness after\nshe brought me into the world; but was used to say, even when I\nwas an infant, that she expected more comfort from me than from any\nother of her children. This, with the circumstance of my being born\nin an inn, has often been of service to me, in exciting my endeavors\nto make good my mother's expectations, and so follow the example of\nmy dear Saviour, who was laid in a manger belonging to an inn.\"\n\nIn one of his journals, which he commenced at a very early part\nof his ministry, Whitefield details with great simplicity many\nincidents of his childhood and youth; from which it appears, that\nthough at times he had many serious thoughts and impressions,\nthe general course of his life, till the age of sixteen, was\nirreligious. He tells us that in early youth he was \"so brutish as\nto hate instruction, and used purposely to shun all opportunities\nof receiving it,\" and that he spent much money, improperly obtained\nfrom his mother, in cards, plays, and romances, \"which,\" says he,\n\"were my heart's delight. Often have I joined with others in playing\nroguish tricks; but was generally, if not always, happily detected:\nfor this I have often since, and do now bless and praise God.\" His\nfull confessions of this character are very affecting, and should be\na caution to young persons to repel all such temptations.\n\nWhen George was about ten years of age, his mother married a second\ntime, thus forming a connection which led to much unhappiness.\nHe was, however, continued at school; and when twelve years old,\nwas transferred to the grammar-school of St. Mary de Crypt, where\nhe remained about three years. Having a graceful elocution and a\ngood memory, he gained much credit for delivering speeches before\nthe city corporation at the annual visitation of the school, and\nreceived pecuniary rewards for his performances on those occasions.\nHow deeply he afterwards deplored these celebrations, especially\nthe performance of plays in connection with his school-fellows,\nmay be learned from his own words: \"I cannot but observe here,\nwith much concern of mind, how this way of training up youth has\na natural tendency to debauch the mind, to raise ill passions,\nand to stuff the memory with things as contrary to the gospel of\nChrist, as darkness to light, hell to heaven.\" This sad tendency\nwas but too clearly evinced in the case of Whitefield himself. \"I\ngot acquainted,\" he says, \"with such a set of debauched, abandoned,\natheistical youths, that if God, by his free, unmerited, and special\ngrace, had not delivered me out of their hands, I should have sat\nin the scorner's chair, and made a mock at sin. By keeping company\nwith them, my thoughts of religion grew more and more like theirs.\nI went to public service only to make sport, and walk about. I took\npleasure in their lewd conversation. I began to reason as they did,\nand to ask why God had given me passions, and not permitted me to\ngratify them. In short, I soon made great proficiency in the school\nof the devil. I affected to look rakish, and was in a fair way of\nbeing as infamous as the worst of them.\" These were the things, and\nnot oratory, as has sometimes been said, which Whitefield learned\nfrom plays and acting.\n\nIn the midst of all this, his conscience often made him unhappy; and\nhe wished, if possible, to combine religion with his pleasures. He\npurchased and carefully read \"Ken's Manual for Winchester Scholars,\"\na book which commended itself as having comforted his mother in her\nafflictions, and which he afterwards considered to have been \"of\ngreat benefit to his soul.\"\n\nAt the age of fifteen, he thought he had acquired learning enough\nfor any ordinary occupation in life, and as his mother's business\nwas declining, he persuaded her to allow him to leave school and\nassist in labor. \"I began,\" says he, \"to assist her occasionally\nin the public-house, till at length I put on my blue apron and\nmy snuffers, washed mops, cleaned rooms, and in one word, became\nprofessed and common _drawer_ for nearly a year and a half.\" In the\nmidst of the activity called for in such a situation, it pleased God\nto renew his religious impressions, which induced him, at least at\nintervals, to attend with much earnestness to the concerns of his\nsoul.\n\nFrom his childhood, Whitefield tells us, he \"was always fond of\nbeing a clergyman, and used frequently to imitate the ministers'\nreading prayers.\" Nor did this tendency towards clerical engagements\ncease as he became older. \"Notwithstanding,\" he says, \"I was thus\nemployed in a large inn, and had sometimes the care of the whole\nhouse upon my hands, yet I composed two or three sermons, and\ndedicated one of them to my elder brother. One day, I remember, I\nwas very much pressed to self-examination, and found myself very\nunwilling to look into my heart. Frequently I read the Bible when\nsitting up at night. And a dear youth, now with God, would often\nentreat me, when serving at the bar, to go to Oxford. My general\nanswer was, 'I wish I could.'\"\n\nHis mother's difficulties increasing, it became necessary for her\nto leave the inn; in which she was succeeded by one of her married\nsons, with whom George for some time remained to continue his\nassistance in the business. Some disagreement, however, arising\nbetween them, he after a time took his departure from the inn, and\nwent to spend a month with his eldest brother at Bristol. Returning\nfrom that city to Gloucester, he resided for a short season with his\nmother. While thus living unemployed, without any definite object\nbefore him, and waiting the openings of providence, his mother\nwas visited by an Oxford student, a servitor of Pembroke college\nin that university. In the course of their conversation, he told\nher, that after all his expenses at college for the quarter were\ndischarged, he had one penny remaining. She immediately exclaimed,\n\"This will do for my son!\" and turning to him, said, \"Will you go\nto Oxford, George?\" He replied, \"With all my heart.\" Application\nwas immediately made to several friends who had influence at\nthe college, and they pledged themselves to serve her. In this\nconfidence, her favorite son returned to the grammar-school,\nwhere he not only resumed his studies with greater diligence, but\nendeavored, and not altogether in vain, to promote religion and\nvirtue among his associates.\n\nHaving fully secured his literary preparation for the university,\nWhitefield removed to Oxford in his eighteenth year, and was\nimmediately admitted, as a servitor, into Pembroke college. He soon\nfound that the seat of learning was also a scene of danger. From\nthe period of 1662, when the two thousand Non-conformists had been\nexpelled from the church, the universities had been sinking into a\nmoral lethargy, preferring uniformity to vital religion. Our young\nservitor was shocked with the impiety of the students in general,\nand dreading their influence on himself, he as much as possible\nabstained from their society, and shut himself up in his study.\n\nBefore he went to Oxford, Whitefield had heard of a class of\nyoung men in the university who \"lived by rule and method,\" and\nwere therefore called _Methodists_. They were much talked of, and\ngenerally despised. Of this party, John Wesley, a Fellow of Lincoln\ncollege, and already in holy orders, was the leader, his brother\nCharles being also as warmly attached to it. They avowed that the\ngreat object of their lives was to save their souls, and to live\nwholly to the glory of God; and rarely have men subjected themselves\nto greater self-denials and austerities. Drawn towards them by\nkindred feelings, Whitefield strenuously defended them whenever he\nheard them reviled, and when he saw them going, through a crowd\nmanifesting their ridicule, every Sunday to receive the sacrament\nat St. Mary's or Christ church, he was strongly inclined to follow\ntheir example.\n\nFor more than a year he intensely desired to be acquainted with\nthem, but a sense of his pecuniary inferiority to them prevented his\nadvances. At length, learning that a pauper had attempted suicide,\nWhitefield sent a poor woman to inform Charles Wesley, that so he\nmight visit her, and administer religious instruction. He charged\nthe woman not to tell Mr. Wesley who sent her, but, contrary to\nthis injunction, she told his name; and Charles Wesley, who had\nfrequently seen Whitefield walking by himself, on the next morning\ninvited him to breakfast. An introduction to the little brotherhood\nsoon followed, and he also, like them, \"began to live by rule, and\npick up the very fragments of his time, that not a moment might be\nlost.\"\n\nIt is painful to read Whitefield's own account of the mortifications\nof body to which he now submitted; and we are not surprised that, as\nthe result, his health was so reduced as to place even his life in\ndanger. All this time he had no clear view of the way of salvation,\nand was \"seeking to work out a righteousness of his own.\" In this\nstate he lay on his bed, his tongue parched with fever, and the\nwords of the dying Saviour, \"I thirst,\" were impressed on his mind.\nRemembering that this thirst occurred near the end of the Saviour's\nsufferings, the thought arose in his mind, \"Why may it not be so\nwith me? Why may I not now receive deliverance and comfort? Why\nmay I not now dare to trust and rejoice in the pardoning mercy of\nGod?\" There was, as Tracy has said, no reason why he might not--why\nhe ought not. He saw nothing to forbid him. He prayed in hope,\nborrowing language from the fact which suggested the train of\nthought--\"I thirst, I thirst for faith in pardoning love. Lord, I\nbelieve; help thou mine unbelief.\" His prayer was heard. He dared\nto trust in the mercy of God, as revealed in the death of Jesus\nChrist for sinners. Conscience and his Bible bore witness that he\ndid right. The load that had so heavily oppressed him, the load of\nguilt and terror and anxiety, that weighed down his spirit while he\nsinfully and ungratefully hesitated to trust in divine mercy, was\ngone. He saw the trustworthiness of the mercy of God in Christ, and\nhis heart rejoiced.\n\n\"Though,\" as Tracy has well said, \"the English universities were\nestablished mainly for the purpose of educating men for the\nministry, Whitefield was not likely to gain a good knowledge of\ntheology there. He took another, and a characteristic course. Some\ntime after his conversion, when he was at Gloucester, he says,\n'I began to read the holy Scriptures upon my knees; laying aside\nall other books, and praying over, if possible, every line and\nword. This proved meat indeed and drink indeed to my soul. I daily\nreceived fresh life, light, and power from above. I thus got more\ntrue knowledge in reading the book of God in one month, than I could\never have acquired from all the writings of men.'\"\n\nEvery hour of Whitefield's time, especially after he had been\n\"filled with peace and joy in believing,\" was sacredly devoted to\npreparation for the great work to which he had now solemnly devoted\nhimself. He visited the prisoners in the jail, and the poor in their\ncottages, and gave as much time as he could to communion with God in\nhis closet. His friends now earnestly importuned him to apply for\nordination; but from this his deep sense of unworthiness made him\nshrink. Besides, he intended to have a hundred and fifty sermons\ncarefully written before he began to preach. He had as yet but one,\nand he lent that to a neighboring clergyman, to convince him that\nhe was not yet fit to be ordained. The clergyman kept it for two\nweeks, divided it into two, preached it to his own people, and then\nreturned it to Whitefield, with a guinea for the use of it.\n\nStill, however, the work of preparation for the ministry was rapidly\ngoing on. The state of his health compelled him to retire for a\nseason from Oxford, and he returned home to increase the depth of\nhis piety, and to be led, little as he thought of it, at once to the\npulpit. He writes, \"O what sweet communion had I daily vouchsafed\nwith God in prayer, after my coming to Gloucester. How often have\nI been carried out beyond myself, when meditating in the fields.\nHow assuredly I felt that Christ dwelt in me, and I in him; and how\ndaily did I walk in the comforts of the Holy Ghost, and was edified\nand refreshed in the multitude of peace. I always observed that\nas my inward strength increased, so my outward sphere of action\nincreased proportionably.\"\n\nThus, happy in himself, and thankful to the gracious God who made\nhim so, the affectionate soul of George Whitefield ardently desired\nthat others might participate in his sacred joys. In order to\nadvance this object, he mixed in the society of young people, and\nendeavored to awaken them to a just sense of the nature of true\nreligion. Some were convinced of the truth, and united with him in\nreligious exercises; and these were some of the first-fruits of his\npious labors. His discovery of the necessity of regeneration, like\nMelancthon's great discovery of the truth, led him to imagine that\nno one could resist the evidence which convinced his own mind. He\nwrites, \"Upon this, like the woman of Samaria, when Christ revealed\nhimself to her at the well, I had no rest in my soul till I wrote\nletters to my relations, telling them there was such a thing as the\n_new birth_. I imagined they would have gladly received it; but,\nalas, my words seemed to them as idle tales. They thought I was\ngoing beside myself.\" He visited the jail every day, and read and\nprayed with the prisoners; attended public worship very frequently,\nand read twice or three times a week to some poor people in the\ncity. In addition to all this, he tells us, \"During my stay here,\nGod enabled me to give a public testimony of my repentance as to\nseeing and acting plays; for hearing the strollers had come to\ntown, and knowing what an egregious offender I had been, I was\nstirred up to extract Mr. Law's excellent treatise, entitled, \"The\nabsolute Unlawfulness of the Stage Entertainment.\" The printer,\nat my request, put a little of it in the newspaper for six weeks\nsuccessively; and God was pleased to give it his blessing.\"\n\nIn this manner Whitefield employed himself during nine months; and\none effect of so doing was, that the partition wall of bigotry was\nsoon broken down in his heart. He says, \"I loved all, of whatever\ndenomination, who loved the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.\" This\nstatement in his diary is connected with an account of the benefit\nhe derived from studying the works of the Non-conformists. \"Baxter's\nCall,\" and \"Alleine's Alarm,\" so accorded with his own ideas of\nfidelity and unction, that wherever he recognized their spirit he\nacknowledged \"a brother beloved.\" On this portion of his history\nwe dwell with unspeakable delight; the only drawback is an undue\nimportance he appears to have attached to _dreams_; and even those,\nconsidered as an _index_ to his waking hours, are interesting,\nrevealing as they do his deep solicitude on the behalf of souls.\n\nHere then, before he had completed his twenty-first year, we see\nWhitefield returned to Gloucester, and such was already the fame of\nhis piety and talents, that Dr. Benson, the bishop of the diocese,\noffered to dispense, in his favor, with the rule which forbids the\nordination of deacons at so unripe an age. Thus graphically did he\nafterwards describe his acceptance of this proposal.\n\n\"I never prayed against any corruption I had in my life so much as\nI did against going into holy orders so soon as my friends were for\nhaving me go. Bishop Benson was pleased to honor me with peculiar\nfriendship, so as to offer me preferment, or to do any thing for me.\nMy friends wanted me to mount the church betimes. They wanted me\nto knock my head against the pulpit too young; but how some young\nmen stand up here and there and preach, I do not know. However it\nbe to them, God knows how deep a concern entering into the ministry\nand preaching was to me. I prayed a thousand times, till the sweat\nhas dropped from my face like rain, that God of his infinite mercy\nwould not let me enter the church till he called me and thrust me\nforth in his work. I remember once in Gloucester--I know the room; I\nlook up to the window when I am there and walk along the street--I\nsaid, 'Lord, I cannot go; I shall be puffed up with pride, and fall\ninto the condemnation of the devil. Lord, do not let me go yet.' I\npleaded to be at Oxford two or three years more. I intended to make\none hundred and fifty sermons, and thought that I would set up with\na good stock in trade. I remember praying, wrestling, and striving\nwith God. I said, 'I am undone, I am unfit to preach in thy great\nname. Send me not. Lord, send me not yet.' I wrote to all my friends\nin town and country to pray against the bishop's solicitation; but\nthey insisted I should go into orders before I was twenty-two. After\nall their solicitations these words came into my mind: 'Nothing\nshall pluck you out of my hands;' they came warm to my heart. Then,\nand not till then, I said, 'Lord, _I will go_; send me when thou\nwilt.'\"\n\nSunday, June 20, 1736, was the day appointed for his ordination\nin the cathedral at Gloucester. On the preceding evening he spent\ntwo hours in prayer for himself and the others who were to be set\napart to the sacred office with him; and on the day itself he rose\nearly, and passed the morning in prayer and meditation on the\nqualifications and duties of the office he was about to undertake.\nOn a review of the solemn services of the day, he says, \"I trust I\nanswered every question from the bottom of my heart, and heartily\nprayed that God might say, Amen. And when the bishop laid his hands\nupon my head, if my vile heart do not deceive me, I offered my whole\nspirit, soul, and body to the service of God's sanctuary. Let come\nwhat will, life or death, depth or height, I shall henceforward\nlive like one who this day, in the presence of men and angels, took\nthe holy sacrament, on the profession of being inwardly moved by\nthe Holy Ghost to take upon me that ministration in the church. I\ncall heaven and earth to witness, that when the bishop laid his\nhands upon me, I gave myself up to be a martyr for Him who hung\nupon the cross for me. Known unto him are all future events and\ncontingencies; I have thrown myself blindfold, and I trust without\nreserve, into his almighty hands. When I went up to the altar, I\ncould think of nothing but Samuel's standing before the Lord with a\nlinen ephod.\"\n\nHaving thus received ordination as a deacon of the church of\nEngland, he delayed not to enter upon the work to which he was\nappointed; and accordingly, on the next Sabbath he preached his\nfirst sermon in his native city of Gloucester, selecting for his\nsubject, \"The necessity and benefit of religious society.\" At the\nappointed time he ascended the pulpit, in the church of St. Mary de\nCrypt. We have his own record of the service: \"Last Sunday, in the\nafternoon, I preached my first sermon in the church where I first\nreceived the Lord's supper. Curiosity drew a large congregation\ntogether. The sight, at first, a little awed me; but I was comforted\nwith a heartfelt sense of the divine presence, and soon found the\nadvantage of having been accustomed to public speaking when a boy\nat school, and of exhorting and teaching the prisoners and the\npoor people at their private houses, while at the university. By\nthese means I was kept from being daunted overmuch. As I proceeded,\nI perceived the fire kindled, till at last, though so young, and\namidst a crowd of those who knew me in my childish days, I trust\nI was enabled to speak with some degree of gospel authority. Some\nfew mocked, but most, for the present, seemed struck; and I have\nsince heard that a complaint was made to the bishop, that I drove\nfifteen people mad the first sermon. The worthy prelate, as I am\ninformed, wished that the madness might not be forgotten before the\nnext Sunday. Before then, I hope that my sermon upon, 'He that is in\nChrist is a new creature,' will be completed. Blessed be God, I now\nfind freedom in writing. Glorious Jesus,\n\n    \"'Unloose my stammering tongue to tell\n      Thy love immense, unsearchable.'\"\n\nIt is remarkable, under all the circumstances of the case, that\nBishop Benson, a man never distinguished for his evangelical views,\nalways showed his friendship for Whitefield. Not only did he offer\nhim ordination when others might have refused, and defend him\nagainst the persecutions to which he was exposed, but he more than\nonce gave him pecuniary help when it was much needed, though the\nyoung clergyman had never complained.\n\nThus early apprized of the secret of his strength, his profound\naspirations for the growth of Christianity, the delight of\nexercising his rare powers, and the popular admiration, operating\nwith combined and ceaseless force upon a mind impatient of repose,\nurged him into exertions which, if not attested by irrefragable\nproofs, might appear incredible. It was the statement of one who\nknew him well, and who was incapable of wilful exaggeration, and it\nis confirmed by his letters, journals, and a \"cloud of witnesses,\"\nthat \"in the compass of a single week, and that for years, he\nspoke in general forty hours, and in very many sixty, and that to\nthousands: and after his labors, instead of taking any rest, he\nwas engaged in offering up prayers and intercessions, with hymns\nand spiritual songs, as his manner was, in every house to which he\nwas invited.\" Never perhaps, since the apostolic age, has any man\ngiven himself so entirely to preaching the gospel of Christ for\nthe salvation of souls, adopting as his motto the language of the\napostle Paul, \"_This one thing I do_.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nWHITEFIELD'S SUCCESS AS A PREACHER IN ENGLAND--FIRST VISIT TO\nAMERICA.\n\n1736-1738.\n\n\nWhitefield, though thus prepared for action, was not impatient,\nbut willing to wait till his duty was fully ascertained. On the\nWednesday after his first sermon he went to Oxford, where, he says,\n\"I was received with great joy by my religious friends. For about\na week I continued in my servitor's habit, and then took my degree\nof Bachelor of Arts, after having been at the university three\nyears and three quarters, and going on towards the twenty-second\nyear of my age. My dear and honored friends, the Rev. Messrs. John\nand Charles Wesley, being now embarked for Georgia, and one or\ntwo others having taken orders, the interest of Methodism, as it\nwas then and is now termed, had visibly declined, and very few of\nthis reputedly mad way were left at the university. This somewhat\ndiscouraged me at times, but the Lord Jesus supported my soul, and\nmade me easy by giving me a strong conviction that I was where he\nwould have me to be. My degree, I soon found, was of service to\nme, as it gave me access to those I could not be seen with when in\nan inferior station; and as opportunity offered, I was enabled to\nconverse with them about the things which belonged to the kingdom of\nGod. The subscriptions for the poor prisoners, which amounted to\nabout forty pounds per annum, were soon put into my hands; two or\nthree charity schools, maintained by the Methodists, were under my\nmore immediate inspection; which, with the time I spent in following\nmy studies, private retirement, and religious converse, sweetly\nfilled up the whole of my day, and kept me from that unaccountable\nbut too common complaint of having any time hang upon my hands.\"\n\nThe stay of Mr. Whitefield at Oxford, however, was very short. He\nsays, \"By a series of unforeseen, unexpected, and unsought-for\nprovidences, I was called in a short time from my beloved retirement\nto take a journey to the metropolis of England. While I was an\nunder-graduate, among the religious friends, I was very intimate\nwith one Mr. B----n, a professed Methodist, who had lately taken\norders, and was curate at the Tower of London. With him, when\nabsent, I frequently corresponded, and when present took sweet\ncounsel, and walked to the house of God as friends. He mentioned\nme to that late good and great man, Sir John Phillips; and being\ncalled down for a while into Hampshire, he wrote to me to be of\ngood courage, and in the strength of God bade me hasten to town to\nofficiate in his absence, and to be refreshed with the sight and\nconversation of many who loved me for Christ's sake, and had for a\nlong time desired to see me.\"\n\nOn his arrival in London, Whitefield delivered his first sermon\nthere in Bishopsgate church, on the afternoon of Lord's day, August\n8. On entering the pulpit, his juvenile aspect excited a general\nfeeling of his unfitness for the station, but he had not proceeded\nfar in his sermon before it gave place to universal expressions of\nwonder and pleasure. If however he was thus exposed to the danger\nof vanity, as he says, \"God sent me something to ballast it. For as\nI passed along the streets, many came out of their shops, admiring\nto see so young a person in a gown and cassock. One I remember in\nparticular, cried out, 'There's a boy parson;' which, as it served\nto mortify my pride, put me also upon turning that apostolical\nexhortation into prayer, 'Let no man despise thy youth.'\" From\nhis first sermon to his departure, at the end of two months, his\npopularity in London continued to increase, and the crowds were\nso vast that it was necessary to place constables both inside and\noutside of the churches to preserve the peace. He tells us himself,\n\"Here I continued for the space of two months, reading prayers twice\na week, catechizing and preaching once, visiting the soldiers in the\ninfirmary and barracks daily. I also read prayers every evening at\nWapping chapel, and preached at Ludgate prison every Tuesday. God\nwas pleased to give me favor in the eyes of the inhabitants of the\nTower; the chapel was crowded on Lord's days; religious friends from\ndivers parts of the town attended the word, and several young men\ncame on Lord's-day morning, under serious impressions, to hear me\ndiscourse about the _new birth_, and the necessity of renouncing all\nin affection in order to follow Jesus Christ.\"\n\nThe preaching of Mr. Whitefield now excited an unusual degree\nof attention among persons of all ranks. In many of the city\nchurches he proclaimed the glad tidings of great joy to listening\nmultitudes, who were powerfully affected by the fire which was\ndisplayed in the animated addresses of this man of God. Lord and\nLady Huntingdon constantly attended wherever he preached, and Lady\nAnne Frankland became one of the first-fruits of his ministry among\nthe nobility of the metropolis. Her ladyship spent much of her\ntime with Lady Huntingdon, from whose society and conversation she\nderived great comfort. She was a daughter of Richard, the first\nEarl of Scarborough; was for many years lady of the bedchamber to\nthe Princess Anne, and to the Princesses Amelia and Caroline; and\nfinally became the second wife of Frederic Frankland, Esq., a member\nof Parliament, from whose cruelty she endured much.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe have already said, that some time before this Messrs. John and\nCharles Wesley had embarked for Georgia, and to their names we\nmight have added that of Mr. Ingham, also a member of the Methodist\nfraternity at Oxford.\n\nGeorgia, which was explored by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584, had been\ncolonized by debtors from Europe, by multitudes who had fled from\nthe grasp of persecution, and by others who were interested in\nconstructing a barrier against Spanish aggression. It originally had\ntrustees in England, concerned for its interests, including sons of\nthe nobility. The chief agent in executing the benevolent designs\nin view was the truly excellent General Oglethorpe, who admirably\ncarried out the motto he gave to his companions in the work, \"_Non\nsibi sed aliis_\"--\"Not for themselves, but for others.\" The children\nof poverty, taken from the overgrown agricultural population,\nalready a tax upon parish bounty at home, were to be transferred\nin large numbers to the silk and indigo plantations which were\nestablished on the savannahs and bottoms south and west of the\nriver, which thence derived its name from the peculiar conformation\nof the adjoining plains. Combined with these leading purposes, it\nwas a cherished principle with the early patrons of this colony,\nthat it should become the centre for the diffusion of the gospel\namong the natives; while charitable foundations were also laid for\nthe secular and religious education of all who would take advantage\nof such provisions. The first Christians who left Europe to advance\nthe spiritual interests of Georgia were Moravians, and the next\nwere the Wesleys and Ingham. The records of the colony, as quoted\nin White's Historical Collections of Georgia, show that, Sept. 14,\n1735, Charles Wesley was appointed \"Secretary for the Indian affairs\nin Georgia,\" and that, Oct. 10, 1735, John Wesley was appointed\n\"missionary at Savannah.\"\n\nWhitefield had left London, and was laboring among a poor and\nilliterate people in Hampshire, when his attention was directly\ndrawn to Georgia. This was not, indeed, the first time his heart had\nbeen interested in the matter. He writes, \"When I had been about a\nmonth in town, letters came from the Messrs. Wesley, and the Rev.\nMr. Ingham their fellow-laborer, an Israelite indeed, from Georgia.\nTheir accounts fired my soul, and made me long to go abroad for God\ntoo. But having no outward call, and being as I then thought too\nweak in body ever to undertake a voyage at sea, I endeavored to\nlay aside all thoughts of going abroad. But my endeavors were all\nin vain; for I felt at times such a strong attraction in my soul\ntowards Georgia, that I thought it almost irresistible. I strove\nagainst it with all my power, begged again and again, with many\ncries and tears, that the Lord would not suffer me to be deluded,\nand at length opened my mind to several dear friends. All agreed\nthat laborers were wanted at home, that I had as yet no visible call\nabroad, and that it was my duty not to be rash, but wait and see\nwhat Providence might point out to me. To this I consented with my\nwhole heart.\"\n\nThe path of duty, however, soon opened before him. While fulfilling\nhis duties at Dummer, in Hampshire, preaching for the Rev. Mr.\nKinchin, who was now absent from home, to which labors we have\nalready referred, he received an invitation to a lucrative curacy in\nLondon; but Georgia still rested like one of the prophetic \"burdens\"\non his mind. At this juncture he received a letter from his clerical\nfriend at the Tower, saying that Mr. Charles Wesley had arrived in\nLondon. Very soon Mr. Wesley himself wrote to Whitefield, saying,\nthat he was come over to procure laborers, \"but,\" added he, \"I dare\nnot prevent God's nomination.\" \"In a few days after this,\" writes\nMr. Whitefield, \"came another letter from Mr. John Wesley, wherein\nwere these words: 'Only Mr. Delamotte is with me, till God shall\nstir up the hearts of some of his servants, who putting their lives\nin their hands, shall come over and help us, where the harvest is\nso great, and the laborers so few. What if thou art the man, Mr.\nWhitefield?' In another letter were these words: 'Do you ask me what\nyou shall have? Food to eat and raiment to put on, a house to lay\nyour head in--such as our Lord had not--and a crown of glory that\nfadeth not away.' Upon reading this my heart leaped within me, and\nas it were echoed to the call.\"\n\nAfter having consulted his bishop, Dr. Benson, as also the\narchbishop of Canterbury, and the trustees of Georgia including\nGeneral James Oglethorpe who was then in London, he went to Bristol,\nBath, and other places, to take leave of his personal friends. As\nhe could not refrain from preaching, so every sermon increased his\npopularity. We give his account of his preaching at Bristol, as a\nspecimen of the reception he met with.\n\n\"It was wonderful to see how the people hung upon the rails of\nthe organ-loft, climbed upon the leads of the church, and made\nthe church itself so hot with their breath, that the steam would\nfall from the pillars like drops of rain. Sometimes almost as many\nwould go away for want of room as came in, and it was with great\ndifficulty I got into the desk to read prayers or preach. Persons\nof all ranks not only publicly attended my ministry, but gave me\nprivate invitations to their houses. A private society or two were\nerected. I preached and collected for the poor prisoners in Newgate\ntwice or thrice a week, and many made me large offers if I would not\ngo abroad.\"\n\nHaving mentioned General James Edward Oglethorpe, the first\ngovernor, and indeed the founder of the colony of Georgia, and to\nthe end of Whitefield's life his cordial friend, a few additional\nfacts concerning him may here be stated. He was the son of Sir\nTheophilus Oglethorpe, and was born in London, December 21, 1688.\nAt sixteen he was admitted a student at Oxford, but did not finish\nhis studies, as the military profession had more charms for him\nthan literary pursuits. He was first commissioned as an ensign.\nAfter the death of Queen Anne, he entered into the service of Prince\nEugene. When he attained the age of twenty-four years, he entered\nParliament, for Haslemere, where he continued thirty-two years. In\nNovember, 1732, Oglethorpe, with one hundred and sixteen settlers,\nembarked for Georgia, and landed at Charleston, S. C., January 13,\n1733. They shortly afterwards proceeded to Georgia, where Oglethorpe\nlaid out a town, and called it Savannah. He very happily secured\nthe good will of the Indians. In 1743, he left Georgia for England,\nto answer charges brought against him by Lieutenant-colonel Cook.\nA court martial declared the charges groundless and malicious, and\nCook was dismissed from the service. In 1744 he was appointed one of\nthe field-officers under field-marshal the Earl of Stair, to oppose\nthe expected invasion of France. He died in 1785. He was truly a\nnoble man.\n\nAs the period approached when Whitefield was to leave England,\nthe people showed their esteem for him in almost every possible\nway. They followed him so closely, and in such numbers, for holy\ncounsels, that he could scarcely command a moment for retirement.\nThey begged to receive from him religious books, and to have their\nnames written therein with his own hand, as memorials of him,\nand very many followed him from place to place till his final\nembarkation.\n\nIt was indeed a surprising fact, that a young man, scarcely more\nthan twenty-two years of age, and previously unknown to the world,\nshould be able to collect such immense congregations, and rouse\nand command their attention; multitudes hanging upon and receiving\ninstructions from his lips. But God had endowed him with a singular\nunion of qualities, which most eminently fitted him for the work of\nan evangelist. He was faithful to his trust, and his divine Master\nabundantly blessed and honored him in the discharge of its momentous\nduties.\n\nWe have now traced the amazing effects of Whitefield's _first_\nsermons, and it may be interesting briefly to inquire into their\ngeneral character, and to ascertain what truths thus aroused the\npublic mind. Three of these sermons can, happily, be identified\nwith these \"times of refreshing;\" and they may be depended on,\nas specimens of both the letter and the spirit of his preaching,\nbecause they were printed from his own manuscripts: they are those\non \"_Early Piety_,\" \"_Regeneration_,\" and \"_Intercession_.\" Whoever\nwill read the appeals in these sermons, realizing the circumstances\nunder which they were made, will scarcely wonder at the effect\nproduced by them. The topics of the second and third, and the tone\nof all the three, are very different from the matter and manner of\nsermonizing then known to the masses of the people. They do not\nsurprise _us_, because happily neither the topics nor the tone\nof them are \"strange things to our ears.\" Both, however, were\nnovelties in those days, even in London. When or where had an appeal\nbeen made like this?\n\n\"I beseech you, in love and compassion, to come to Jesus. Indeed,\nall I say is in love to your souls. And if I could be but an\ninstrument of bringing you to Jesus, I should not envy, but rejoice\nin your happiness, however much you were exalted. If I was to\nmake up the _last_ of the train of the companions of the blessed\nJesus, it would rejoice me to see you above me in glory. I could\nwillingly go to prison or to death for you, so I could but bring\none soul from the devil's strong-holds, into the salvation which\nis by Christ Jesus. Come then to Christ, every one that hears me\nthis night. Come, come, my guilty brethren; I beseech you, for your\nimmortal souls' sake, for Christ's sake, come to Christ. Methinks I\ncould speak till midnight unto you. Would you have me go and tell\nmy Master that you will not come, and that I have spent my strength\nin vain? I cannot bear to carry such a message to him. I would not,\nindeed, I would not be a swift witness against you at the great day\nof account; but if you will refuse these gracious invitations, I\nmust do it.\"\n\nIn this spirit, not very prevalent even now, Whitefield began his\nministry. There is a fascination as well as fervor, or rather a\nfascination arising from fervor, in some of his earliest as well as\nhis later discourses. How bold and beautiful is the peroration of\nthat on \"_Intercession_.\" Referring to the holy impatience of \"the\nsouls under the altar,\" for the coming of the kingdom of God, he\nexclaims,\n\n\"And shall not we who are on earth be often exercised in this\ndivine employ with the glorious company of the spirits of just men\nmade perfect? Since our happiness is so much to consist in the\ncommunion of saints in the church triumphant above, shall we not\nfrequently intercede for the church militant below, and earnestly\nbeg that we may be all one? To provoke you to this work and labor\nof love, remember, that it is the never-ceasing employment of the\nholy and highly exalted Jesus himself; so that he who is constantly\ninterceding for others, is doing that on earth which the eternal\nSon of God is always doing in heaven. Imagine, therefore, when\nyou are lifting up holy hands for one another, that you see the\nheavens opened, and the Son of God in all his glory, as the great\nHigh-priest of your salvation, pleading for you the all-sufficient\nmerit of his sacrifice before the throne. Join your intercession\nwith his. The imagination will strengthen your faith, and excite a\nholy earnestness in your prayers.\"\n\nThe nearer the time approached for his leaving the country, the more\naffectionate the people grew towards him, and the more eagerly did\nthey attend on his ministry. Many thousands of ardent petitions were\npresented to heaven on behalf of his person and his ministry; and\nmultitudes would stop him in the aisles of the churches, or follow\nhim with their tearful looks. Most of all was it difficult for him\nto part from his friends at St. Dunstan's, where he administered the\nsacrament, after spending the night before in prayer.\n\nThe man who had produced these extraordinary effects, says Dr.\nGillies, had many natural advantages. He was something above the\nmiddle stature, well proportioned, though at that time slender, and\nremarkable for native gracefulness of manner. His complexion was\nvery fair, his features regular, his eyes small and lively, of a\ndark blue color: in recovering from the measles, he had contracted\na squint with one of them; but this peculiarity rather rendered the\nexpression of his countenance more rememberable, than in any degree\nlessened the effect of its uncommon sweetness. His voice excelled\nboth in melody and compass, and its fine modulations were happily\naccompanied by the grace of action which he possessed in an eminent\ndegree, and which is said to be the chief requisite of an orator.\nAn ignorant man described his eloquence oddly, but strikingly,\nwhen he said that Mr. Whitefield preached like a lion. So strange\na comparison conveyed no unapt idea of the force, and vehemence,\nand passion--of the authority which awed the hearers, and made them\ntremble like Felix before the apostle. Believing himself to be the\nmessenger of God, commissioned to call sinners to repentance, he\nspoke as one conscious of his high credentials, with authority and\npower; yet in all his discourses there was a fervor and melting\ncharity, an earnestness of persuasion, an outpouring of redundant\nlove, partaking of the virtue of the faith from which it flowed,\ninsomuch that it seemed to enter the heart which it pierced, and to\nheal it as with a balm.\n\nAt length, having preached in a considerable number of the London\nchurches, collected about a thousand pounds for the charity\nschools, and obtained upwards of three hundred pounds for the\npoor in Georgia, Whitefield left London, December 28, 1737, in the\ntwenty-third of his age, and went in the strength of God, as a poor\npilgrim, on board the Whitaker.\n\nScarcely had he entered on his voyage from London, when he\ndiscovered that but little comfort was to be expected in the ship\non which he had embarked. There was no place for retirement, no\ndisposition to receive him as an ambassador of Christ, and a decided\ndislike even to the forms of religion. They moved but slowly to\nthe Downs, where they were detained for nearly a month, and where\nWhitefield went on shore to visit Deal, an ancient town, one of the\nCinque-ports, so called, where \"the common people,\" as in the case\nof his great Master, \"heard him gladly.\" With him, through his whole\nministry, it was of small importance whether he preached to the\nrich or the poor; for he viewed the gospel as a message of mercy to\n_sinners_, and wherever men were found, he was willing to persuade\nthem to be reconciled to God.\n\nThe account given by Mr. Whitefield of his visit to Deal, and of the\ndifferent treatment he received there from different persons, would\nbe almost as correct a description of his labors and reception in a\nhundred other places. He spent his first evening very comfortably in\nreligious conversation and family prayer, at which a poor woman was\nmuch affected. \"Who knows,\" he says, \"what a fire this little spark\nmay kindle?\" Next evening, eight or nine poor people came to him at\nthe report of this poor woman; and when, after three or four days,\nthe ship in which he had embarked was driven back to Deal, many met\ntogether to bewail their own sins and those of others. Soon the\nlandlady who owned the house where he lodged, sent to her tenants,\nbeseeching them not to let any more persons come in, for fear the\nfloor should break under them; and they actually put a prop under it.\n\nThe minister of Upper Deal, a mile or two from the town, now invited\nWhitefield to preach in the church; it was much crowded, and many\nwent away for want of room. Some stood on the leads of the building\noutside, and looked in at the top windows, and all around seemed\neager to hear the word. \"May the Lord,\" says the good man, \"make\nthem _doers_ of it. In the evening I was obliged to divide my\nhearers into four companies, and was enabled to expound to them from\nsix till ten. Lord, keep me from being weary of, or in well-doing.\"\n\nThe excitement at Deal became very great, in consequence of the\nconviction of the people that their own minister, the Rev. Dr.\nCarter, did not preach the gospel. The good man, to disprove the\ncharge, published a volume of his sermons, which, however admired by\ngay formalists, furnished but too much evidence of the justice of\nthe charge.\n\nJust as he had left the church at Upper Deal, where he had been\npreaching to a vast congregation, Mr. Whitefield, in consequence of\na sudden change of the wind, was summoned on board, and the Whitaker\nsailed for Georgia. A very few hours afterwards, the vessel which\nbrought back John Wesley from that colony anchored in the Downs,\nwhen he learned that the ships had passed each other, but neither\nof these remarkable men then knew how dear a friend was on board\nthe other. When Wesley landed, he found it was still possible to\ncommunicate with his friend, and Whitefield was surprised to receive\na letter from him, saying, \"When I saw God by the wind which was\ncarrying you out brought me in, I asked counsel of God. His answer\nyou have enclosed.\" The enclosure was a slip of paper with the\nwords, \"Let him return to London,\" which Wesley had obtained by lot,\nto which he had had recourse. Whitefield prayed for direction, and\nwent on his voyage.\n\nThis first voyage of Whitefield to America was invested with scenes\nof far more than common interest. Perhaps, since the apostle Paul's\nmemorable voyage to Rome, the ocean had never exhibited a more\nremarkable spectacle than that furnished by this ship. He was but\na stripling in his twenty-third year, and a faint and hesitating\nhomage once on a Sabbath-day, from a few of the less obdurate\nsinners among his hearers, would be all that such a clergyman\ncould expect from an assemblage of gentlemen, of soldiers with\ntheir wives and families, and the ship's crew. Yet in the hands of\nthis remarkable youth all became pliant as a willow. He converted\nthe chief cabin into a cloister, the deck into a church, and the\nsteerage into a school-room. He so bore down all opposition by love,\nreason, and Scripture, that we soon see him, at the request of the\ncaptain and officers, with the hearty concurrence of the gentlemen\nwho were passengers, reading \"full public prayers\" to them twice a\nday in the great cabin, and expounding every night after the evening\nprayers, besides daily reading prayers, and preaching twice a day\non deck to the soldiers and sailors, and increasing the services\non Sundays. In addition to all this, he daily catechized a company\nof young soldiers, and engaged in the same exercise with the women\napart by themselves.\n\nNor did even all this suffice to expend his zeal, for he commenced\na course of expositions on the creed and ten commandments; and so\nconvinced was he of the value of catechetical teaching, that on\nFebruary 3d he writes, \"I began to-night to turn the observations\nmade on the lessons in the morning into catechetical questions, and\nwas pleased to hear some of the soldiers make very apt answers.\"\n\nNor were the children forgotten; the Hon. Mr. Habersham, a personal\nfriend who accompanied him, assumed their instruction as his\ndepartment of holy labor. Mr. Whitefield wrote of him, that he was\n\"pleased to see Mr. Habersham so active in teaching the children. He\nhas now many scholars--may God bless him.\"\n\nFriendship for Whitefield had influenced Mr. Habersham to accompany\nthe young evangelist to Georgia. Mr. Habersham's friends, at\nBeverly, in Yorkshire, where he was born in 1712, were greatly\nopposed to his plans, but surely the hand of God directed them.\nHe presided over the Orphan-house till 1744, when he entered into\na commercial partnership. He occupied several important stations,\ntill he became president of the colony in 1769. The proceedings\nconnected with the revolutionary war more than once placed him in\ngreat difficulties; he did not live to see its happy results, for in\n1775 the state of his health compelled him to visit the north, in\nhope of its renovation. The change, however, was of no benefit, and\nhe died at New Brunswick, New Jersey, August 28, 1775. The \"Gazette\"\nof the day said of him, \"In the first stations of the province he\nconducted himself with ability, honor, and integrity, which gained\nhim the love and esteem of his fellow-citizens; nor was he less\ndistinguished in private life by a conscientious discharge of the\nsocial duties, as a tender and affectionate parent, a sincere and\nwarm friend, and a kind and indulgent master. Mr. Habersham was\nmarried by the Rev. Mr. Whitefield to Mary Bolton at Bethesda, on\nthe 26th of December, 1740, by whom he had ten children, three of\nwhom, sons, survived him, and were zealous in the cause of American\nliberty.\"\n\nIn harmony with the solemn duties which Mr. Whitefield had assumed,\nhe watched over the conduct of all around him. He tells us that the\nship's cook was awfully addicted to drinking, and when reproved for\nthis and other sins, he boasted that he would be wicked till within\ntwo years of his death, and would then reform. Alas, he died on the\nvoyage, after an illness of six hours, brought on by drinking.\n\nOne day on this voyage, finding on Captain Whiting's pillow \"The\nIndependent Whig,\" Whitefield exchanged it for a book entitled \"The\nSelf-Deceiver.\" The next morning, the captain came smiling and\ninquired who made the exchange. Mr. Whitefield confessed the fact,\nand begged his acceptance of the book, which he said he had read,\nand liked very well. From thenceforward a visible alteration took\nplace in the conduct of the captain.\n\nOn their arrival at Gibraltar, where they had to continue some time,\nMr. Whitefield found that Major Sinclair, without solicitation, had\nprovided a lodging for him, and the governor and military invited\nhim to their table. Being apprehensive that at a public military\ntable he might be more than hospitably treated, to prevent any\nthing disagreeable, he reminded his excellency that, at the court\nof Ahasuerus, \"none did compel.\" The governor took the hint, and\npleasantly replied, \"No compulsion of any kind shall be used at my\ntable;\" and every thing was conducted with the greatest propriety.\nHere he often preached, and was heard by many, including all in high\noffices. Unusual indeed were the scenes, both with respect to the\nplace and the people. The adjacent promontories, and the vastness of\nthe rock of Gibraltar, aided in the enlargement of the ideas of the\npreacher as to Him, who \"in his strength setteth fast the mountains,\nand is girded about with power.\" And the place being a sort of\npublic rendezvous of all nations, he thought, he says, \"he saw the\nworld in epitome.\"\n\nThe success of Whitefield's ministry at Gibraltar was truly\nremarkable. He quaintly says of it, \"Samson's riddle was fulfilled\nthere: 'out of the strong came forth sweetness.' Who more unlikely\nto be wrought upon than soldiers? And yet, among any set of people,\nI have not been where God has made his power more known. Many that\nwere quite blind, have received their sight; many that had fallen\nback, have repented and turned to the Lord again; many that were\nashamed to own Christ openly, have waxed bold; and many saints have\nhad their hearts filled with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.\"\n\nAmong other religions societies to which Whitefield was introduced\nat Gibraltar, he one day attended the Jewish synagogue, and was\nagreeably surprised when one of the rulers handed him into the chief\nseat. The rabbi had the day before heard him preach against profane\nswearing, and now thanked him for his sermon. He remained in the\nsynagogue during the whole service, engaged, he says, \"in secret\nprayer that the veil might be taken from the heart of the Jews, and\nthey grafted again into their own olive-tree.\"\n\nSeveral facts occurred on the way to Savannah after their\nembarkation from Gibraltar, which are too interesting to pass\nwithout notice. On one occasion Captain Mackay, after Whitefield\nhad preached against drunkenness, urged the men to attend to the\nthings which had been spoken; telling them that he was a notorious\nswearer until he did so; and beseeching them for Christ's sake to\ngive up their sins. On another occasion, while marrying a couple on\ndeck, Whitefield suddenly shut the prayer-book in the midst of the\nceremony, because the bridegroom had behaved with levity; and not\nuntil the laughter was turned into weeping, would he proceed. At the\nclose of the service he gave the bride a Bible. When a shark was\ncaught, with five pilot-fish clinging to its fins, he said, \"Go to\nthe pilot-fish, thou that forsakest a friend in adversity; consider\nhis ways, and be abashed.\" When a dolphin was caught, the change\nof its hues from lovely to livid, reminded him to say, \"Just so is\nman; he flourishes for a little while, but when death cometh, how\nquickly his beauty is gone! A Christian may learn instruction from\nevery thing he meets with.\" While he was preaching on the death\nof Christ darkness came on, and he said, \"It puts me in mind of\nthat darkness which overwhelmed the world when the God of nature\nsuffered.\"\n\nIn the latter part of the voyage, fever laid prostrate all in the\nship except four persons, and at length it seized Whitefield, and\nconfined him to his bed for a week. The attack, though short, must\nhave been severe; for besides other remedies, he was bled three\ntimes. During his illness, the captain gave up his own bed to\nhim, and Mr. Habersham watched him day and night; but that which\ngratified him most was, that the sick between decks, whom he had\nendangered his life to console, prayed for him with great fervor. He\nrecovered, and repaid the kindness of all. At length, on May 5, they\ncame in sight of Savannah river, and sent off for a pilot; and such\nwas the joy of all, when they came to anchor at Tybee island, that\nhe could not help exclaiming, \"How infinitely more joyful will the\nchildren of God be, when, having passed through the waves of this\ntroublesome world, they arrive at the haven of everlasting rest!\"\nThough still weak, he preached a farewell sermon to his \"red-coated\nand blue-jacketed parishioners,\" as he called his military and naval\ncongregation. It was heard with floods of tears.\n\nUpon this voyage, says Dr. Gillies, he made these reflections many\nyears after: \"Even at this distance of time, the remembrance of the\nhappy hours I enjoyed in religious exercises on deck, is refreshing\nto my soul; and although nature sometimes relented at being taken\nfrom my friends, and I was little accustomed to the inconveniences\nof a sea-life, yet, a consciousness that I had the glory of God\nand the good of souls in view, afforded me, from time to time,\nunspeakable satisfaction.\"\n\nWhitefield was cordially welcomed at Savannah by Delamotte and\nother friends of the Wesleys: the magistrates also offered to wait\nupon him to pay their respects; but this he declined, and waited\nupon them. They agreed to build him a tabernacle and a house at\nFrederica, and to accept his services at Savannah as long as he\npleased. He was soon, however, again laid aside by the return of his\nfever, now accompanied with ague. This attack in a few days brought\nhim so low, and made so great an alteration in his person, that he\nsays, \"Had my friends seen me at that hour, they might have learned\nnot to have any man's person in admiration, and not to think more\nhighly of me than they ought to think.\"\n\nThe first thing which Whitefield did after his recovery was to\nvisit _Tomo-Chici_, the Indian king, then on his death-bed. This\nwas the micoe, or king, whom Oglethorpe had taken to England, in\n1734, and introduced to king George the Second. He was accompanied\nby his wife and son, and seven other Indians of the Creek nation.\nHis eloquent speech to the king and queen was so well received at\ncourt, that he was loaded with presents, and when he had again to\nembark, was sent in one of the royal carriages to Gravesend. \"He now\nlay,\" says Whitefield, \"on a blanket, thin and meagre; little else\nbut skin and bones. Senanki, his wife, sat by, fanning him with\nIndian feathers. There was no one could talk English, so I could\nonly shake hands with him and leave him. A few days afterwards,\nMr. Whitefield again went to visit Tomo-Chici, and found that\nhis nephew, Tooanoowee, could speak English. Whitefield says, \"I\ndesired him to ask his uncle, whether he thought he should die;\nwho answered, 'I cannot tell.' I then asked where he thought he\nshould go after death. He replied, 'To heaven.' But alas, how can\na drunkard enter there? I then exhorted Tooanoowee, who is a tall,\nproper youth, not to get drunk; telling him that he understood\nEnglish, and therefore would be punished the more if he did not live\nbetter. I then asked him whether he believed in a heaven. He said,\n'Yes.' I then asked whether he believed in a hell, and described it\nby pointing to the fire. He replied, 'No.' From whence we may easily\ngather, how natural it is to all mankind to believe there is a place\nof happiness, because they wish it to be so; and on the contrary,\nhow averse they are to believe in a place of torment, because they\nwish it may not be so. But God is just and true; and as surely as\nthe righteous shall go away into everlasting happiness, so the\nimpenitently wicked shall go into everlasting punishment.\"\n\nThe records of Georgia say, under date of December 21, 1737,\n\"Ordered, that a license be made out for the Rev. Mr. George\nWhitefield to perform ecclesiastical offices in Georgia, as a deacon\nin the church of England.\"\n\nBefore Whitefield had any thoughts of going abroad, Charles Wesley\ntalked to him of an orphan-house in Georgia, which he and General\nOglethorpe had contemplated. When he arrived in Savannah, and had\nsufficiently recovered from his illness to examine the state of\nthe colony, the condition of the children deeply affected him; and\nhe set his heart on founding the projected institution as soon\nas he should be able to collect the needful funds. In the mean\ntime he opened schools in the villages of Highgate and Hampstead,\nand one also, for girls, in Savannah. He afterwards visited the\nSaltzburgher's orphan-school at Ebenezer; and if any thing had been\nwanted to settle his own determination, or to inflame his zeal, he\nfound it there. The Saltzburghers were exiles for conscience' sake,\nand were eminent for piety and industry. Their ministers, the Rev.\nMessrs. Grenaw and Boltzius, were eminently evangelical, and their\nasylum, which they had been enabled to found by British benevolence,\nfor widows and orphans, was flourishing. Whitefield was so delighted\nwith the order and harmony of Ebenezer, that he gave a share of\nhis own \"poor's store\" to Boltzius, for his orphans. Then came the\nscene which entirely completed his purpose: Boltzius \"called all the\nchildren before him; catechized and exhorted them to give God thanks\nfor his good providence towards them; then prayed with them, and\nmade them pray after him; then sung a psalm. Afterwards, the little\nlambs came and shook me by the hand, one by one, and so we parted.\"\nWhitefield was now pledged to this cause for life.\n\nMost of our readers probably know that the conductors of \"The\nGentleman's Magazine,\" a work which has now been regularly\npublished in London for much more than a century, have never been\nfavorable to evangelical truth, or its ministers; it is therefore\nthe more gratifying to copy from that work for November, 1737, the\nfollowing lines: it will be seen that they were published more than\na month before Mr. Whitefield's departure to the American colonies.\n\n\n\"TO THE REV. MR. WHITEFIELD, ON HIS DESIGN FOR GEORGIA.\n\n    \"How great, how just thy zeal, adventurous youth,\n     To spread in heathen climes the light of truth!\n     Go, loved of heaven, with every grace refined,\n     Inform, enrapture each dark Indian's mind;\n     Grateful, as when to realms long hid from day,\n     The cheerful dawn foreshows the solar ray.\n     How great thy charity, whose large embrace\n     Intends the eternal weal of all thy race;\n     Prompts thee the rage of waves and winds to scorn,\n     To effect the work for which thy soul was born.\n     What multitudes, whom Pagan dreams deceive,\n     Shall, when they hear thy heavenly voice, believe!\n     On Georgia's shore thy Wesley shall attend,\n     To hail the wished arrival of his friend;\n     With joy the promised harvest he surveys,\n     And to his Lord for faithful laborers prays;\n     Though crowded temples here would plead thy stay,\n     Yet haste, blest prophet, on thy destined way.\n     Be gentle, winds, and breathe an easy breeze,\n     Be clear, ye skies, and smooth, ye flowing seas!\n     From heaven, ye guardian angels, swift descend,\n     Delighted his blest mission to attend;\n     Which shall from Satan's power whole nations free,\n     While half the world to Jesus bow the knee.\n     Long as Savannah, peaceful stream, shall glide,\n     Your worth renowned shall be extended wide;\n     Children as yet unborn shall bless your lore,\n     Who thus to save them left your native shore;\n     The apostles thus, with ardent zeal inspired,\n     To gain _all nations_ for their Lord desired.\n     They measured seas, a life laborious knew,\n     And numerous converts to their Master drew;\n     Whose hallelujahs, on the ethereal plains,\n     Rise scarce beneath the bright seraphic strains.\n\n    \"GLOUCESTER, Nov. 1, 1737.\"\n\nAfter spending a few weeks at Savannah, laboring as much as his\nhealth would permit, Whitefield went to Frederica, where he was\ngladly received; the people \"having had a famine of the word for a\nlong season.\" They had no sanctuary, and therefore he had to preach\nunder a tree, or in Mr. Habersham's house. This visit, although\nshort, endeared him to all the people; and he had the satisfaction\nbefore he left, to see them \"sawing timber for a commodious place\nof worship, until a church could be built.\" His return, however,\nto Savannah was hastened by a somewhat painful event. One of his\nfriends was lost in the woods, and missing from Tuesday till Friday.\nThe great guns had been fired to direct the wanderer, but in vain;\nand some of the people had searched for him day and night, without\nsuccess. This report was sent to Whitefield, and it hurried him away\nfrom Frederica. He had the pleasure, however, on his arrival at\nSavannah, to find his \"lost sheep.\"\n\nDuring the stay of Whitefield in Georgia, the weather was intensely\nhot, sometimes almost burning his feet through his shoes. Seeing\nothers do it, he determined to accustom himself to hardship by\nlying constantly on the floor; which by use he found to be so far\nfrom being uncomfortable, that afterwards it became so to lie on a\nbed. Nor was he more ready to deny himself than he was assiduous\nto do good; preaching often, catechizing the young, visiting the\nsick, and exhorting from house to house. Entirely independent and\nunrestrained, he knew no fear in the discharge of what he regarded\nas his duty. Knowing that some men of influence, to whom his voice\ncould not be addressed from the pulpit, were living in open defiance\nof morality and shame, he went into the court and made an address to\nthe grand jury, urging them to present all such offenders without\npartiality or fear, since the miserable state of the colony was\ndoubtless owing to divine displeasure against their sins.\n\nReflection on the character, labors, and success of his\npredecessors, stimulated his zeal and encouraged his hope. It could\nnot be denied that John Wesley had been misrepresented and unkindly\ntreated, both in Savannah and Frederica, and Whitefield therefore\nrejoiced to bear honorable testimony of him and his colleagues.\nHe says, \"Surely I must labor most heartily, since I come after\nsuch worthy men. The good Mr. John Wesley has done in America is\ninexpressible. His name is very precious among the people, and he\nhas laid such a foundation, that I hope neither men nor devils will\nbe able to shake it. O that I may follow him as he has followed\nChrist.\"\n\nMr. Whitefield having as yet only received deacon's orders, and\nwishing to be ordained priest, for the more complete performance\nof his duty as a minister of the church of England, it became\nnecessary for him to return to Europe for that purpose; and being\nalso desirous of making collections for his Orphan-house, he left\nMr. Habersham at Savannah, and went to Charleston, S. C., on his way\nto England.\n\nAt Charleston he became acquainted with the Rev. Alexander Garden,\nthe ecclesiastical commissary of the Bishop of London, who with\napparent cordiality twice invited him into his pulpit, and assured\nhim that he would defend him with his life and property, should the\nsame arbitrary proceedings ever be commenced against him which Mr.\nWesley had met with in Georgia. Dr. Deems, in his recently published\nvolume, \"The Annals of Southern Methodism,\" tells us, when speaking\nof his first sermon, \"The people at first despised his youth, but\nhis engaging address soon gained their general esteem, and Mr.\nGarden thanked him most cordially.\" In an after-period, however,\nwhen Mr. Garden more fully understood the evangelical character of\nMr. Whitefield's preaching, he frequently took occasion to point\nout what he called the pernicious tendency of his doctrines, and\nirregular manner of life. He represented him as a religious quack,\nwho had an excellent way of setting off and rendering palatable his\npoisonous tenets. On one occasion Garden, to keep his flock from\ngoing after this strange pastor, preached from the text, \"These that\nhave turned the world upside down are come hither also.\" Whitefield,\nhowever, was not to be silenced in this way, and returned the\ncompliment by preaching from the words, \"Alexander the coppersmith\ndid me much evil; the Lord reward him according to his works.\"\n\nOn September 6, 1738, Whitefield embarked for London. The voyage was\nperilous in the extreme. They were tossed about with bad weather,\nin a ship out of repair, and in sad want of provisions. When they\nwere over about one-third of the Atlantic, a vessel from Jamaica\nwould have gladly received him, but he chose to share the lot of\nhis shipmates. They highly valued his services, and one of his\nfellow-passengers, Captain Gladman, became, as the result of this\nvoyage, a truly pious man. The captain, in a subsequent period, at\nhis own earnest request, became the fellow-traveller of his teacher.\n\nAfter a passage of about nine weeks, they made the port of Limerick,\nin Ireland. \"I wish,\" Whitefield says, \"I could never forget what\nI felt when water and provisions were brought us from the shore.\nMr. M'Mahon, a country gentleman, came from his seat at midnight\non purpose to relieve us, and most kindly invited me, though\nunknown, to his house, to stay as long as I pleased.\" At Limerick\nhe was cordially received by that worthy prelate, Bishop Birscough,\nwho engaged him to preach at the cathedral. From thence he went\nto Dublin, where he preached, and was hospitably entertained by\nArchbishop Bolton, Bishop Rundel, and Dr. Delany.\n\nRemaining but a short time in Ireland, he proceeded to London, where\nhe arrived December 8. Here he had the pleasure of conversing with\nsome of the Moravian brethren, whose faith and love refreshed his\nspirit, though he did not entirely approve some of their views. He\nsoon discovered somewhat of a change of feeling towards him on the\npart of many of the London clergy. Within two days, he found five\nof the churches were closed against him. He called on the Archbishop\nof Canterbury and the Bishop of London, who received him with cold\ncivility. The bishop asked him if his journals were not tinctured\nwith enthusiasm; and he replied, with his usual meekness and candor,\nthat they were written only for his own use, and that of his private\nfriends, and that they were published without his knowledge. So\nanxious was he to avoid giving offence, that he took the earliest\nopportunity to expunge from his journals whatever he discovered to\nbe erroneous, and whatever he had said without imperative necessity,\nor which was likely to injure the character and feelings of any one.\n\nThe trustees of Georgia, at a meeting in London, received Whitefield\nwith great cordiality, and in compliance with the wishes of the\ncolonists, they presented him with the living of Savannah, the\nsalary of which he declined to receive; but he thankfully accepted\nfive hundred acres of land, on which he proposed to erect his\norphan-house.\n\nOn Sunday, January 14, 1739, being then in his twenty-fifth year,\nWhitefield was ordained priest at Oxford, by his worthy friend\nBishop Benson. Having preached twice to very crowded congregations,\nand administered the Lord's supper at the castle, he returned to\nLondon the next day. As Dr. Benson once expressed regret that he\nhad ordained Mr. Whitefield, it may be proper here to explain the\ncircumstances. Shortly after the late Countess of Huntingdon first\nbecame acquainted with the truth as it is in Jesus, Bishop Benson,\nwho had been lord Huntingdon's tutor, was sent for to remonstrate\nwith her ladyship, and to induce her to relinquish what were then\nconsidered her erroneous views; but she pressed him so hard with\nthe Articles and Homilies of his own church, and so plainly and\nfaithfully urged upon him the awful responsibility of his station,\nthat for the moment his mind was hurt, and he rose up to depart,\nlamenting that he had ever laid his hands upon George Whitefield, to\nwhom he imputed the change which had been wrought in her ladyship.\n\"My lord,\" said she, \"mark my words; when you come upon your dying\nbed, that will be one of the few ordinations you will reflect upon\nwith pleasure.\" It would seem that it was so; for, on his death-bed,\nthe Bishop sent ten guineas to Mr. Whitefield as a token of his\nfavor and approbation, and begged to be remembered by him in his\nprayers.\n\nThe interval between his taking priests' orders, and embarking a\nsecond time for Georgia, was employed by Whitefield, with his usual\nenergy and success, in preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,\nand in making collections for his Orphan-house. Having, before his\nvisit to America, collected large sums for the charity schools in\nthe metropolis, he naturally expected that the pulpits would not be\ndenied him now, in which to plead the interests of his own poor.\nBut he was scarcely yet aware that the tide of clerical opinion had\nturned so extensively and strongly against him. The doctrines he had\npreached, and the manner in which he had preached them, had produced\na sensation so strong, that he found himself excluded from most of\nthe churches in London. A few, however, were yet open to him for\nhis benevolent design. The Rev. Mr. Broughton conducted himself,\namong others, very nobly. Having been urged to refuse his pulpit,\nas some of his neighbors had done, he boldly replied, that \"having\nobtained the lectureship of St. Helen's by Whitefield's influence,\nhe should have the pulpit if he desired it.\" Mr. Whitefield\npreached, but Mr. Broughton thus losing the lectureship, Whitefield\nblamed himself for having done so. Whatever he might himself be\nwilling to suffer, he was not willing to inflict inconvenience on\nothers.\n\nOnly a few days before his being ordained as priest, Whitefield\noffered his first public _extempore_ prayer, in a large meeting\nin Red Cross-street, London. He mentions this fact in a note of\nhis diary as \"the first time I ever prayed extempore before such a\nnumber.\" He did not even then suppose that his preaching, as well\nas his prayers in this manner, were to develop his mighty power.\nThe crowding of the churches now suggested the idea of preaching in\nthe open air. He says, \"When I was informed that nearly a thousand\npeople stood out in the church-yard, and that hundreds returned\nhome, this put me first upon thinking of preaching without doors. I\nmentioned it to some friends, who looked upon it as a _mad_ motion.\nHowever, we kneeled down and prayed that nothing might be done\nrashly. Hear and answer, O Lord, for thy name's sake.\"\n\nWe shall soon see how his extempore expositions and prayers were\nfitting him for this new enterprise. He would have commenced in\nLondon now, but he lacked a fair opportunity.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nOPEN-AIR PREACHING IN ENGLAND AND WALES--ERECTION OF THE TABERNACLE\nIN LONDON.\n\n1738-1739.\n\n\nUnder the circumstances we have related in our last chapter,\nWhitefield paid another visit to Bristol, and soon found that he had\nto meet with new and very unexpected opposition. When he arrived in\nthe city, the chancellor of the diocese, while he did not approve\nof what he considered his irregular conduct, told him that he would\nnot prohibit any clergyman from lending him his church; but in a\nfew days afterwards he sent for the evangelist, and announced his\nentire opposition to his movements. Strangely enough, he now asked\nWhitefield by what authority he preached in the diocese of Bristol\nwithout a license. The reply of the intrepid minister was, that he\nsupposed such a custom had become obsolete, and asked the chancellor\nin his turn, \"And pray, sir, why did you not ask the clergyman who\npreached for you last Thursday this question?\" The chancellor then\nread to him the canons which forbid any clergyman from preaching\nin a private house; to which Whitefield replied, that he did not\nsuppose these canons referred to professed ministers of the church\nof England; and when the chancellor told him he was mistaken, he\nreminded his superior, \"There is also a canon, sir, forbidding all\nclergymen to frequent taverns and play at cards; why is not that\nput in execution?\" And he then added, that notwithstanding any\ncanons to the contrary, he could not but speak the things which\nhe knew, and that he was resolved to proceed as usual. His answer\nwas written down, and the chancellor closed the interview with the\nwords, \"I am resolved, sir, if you preach or expound anywhere in\nthis diocese till you have a license, I will first suspend, and then\nexcommunicate you.\" The crisis was now come; the Rubicon had been\npassed, and the inquiry might well be made, \"What will Whitefield\nnow do?\"\n\nAlready have we seen that he had earnestly desired, in London, to\npreach in the open air, for want of room in the churches, and indeed\nalso from the opposition of the clergy, which had begun so strongly\nto manifest itself; and during this journey to Bristol, he found it\nnecessary to preach in the open air or not at all. As this event was\nof vast importance in its results, both in his own history and that\nof Mr. Wesley, who also began to preach on the same spot within two\nmonths after Whitefield had opened the way, we must stay a while to\nnarrate the facts.\n\n[Illustration: TABERNACLE, p 89.]\n\n[Illustration: HANHAM MOUNT]\n\nAt that time, the colliers of Kingswood, near the city of Bristol,\nwere a most depraved and reckless class of men. Inconceivably\nbarbarous and ignorant, they trampled on all laws, human and divine,\nand hesitated not to set the magistrates at defiance. It was\ndangerous to pass near the scene of their labors, even in open day,\nfor robberies and murders were of frequent occurrence; in a word, it\nwas truly \"a seat of Satan.\" When Whitefield was at Bristol, making\ncollections for his projected orphan institution in Georgia, not a\nfew persons had said to him, \"Why go abroad; have we not Indians\nenough at home? If you have a mind to convert Indians, there are\ncolliers enough in Kingswood.\" \"I thought,\" says he, \"it might be\ndoing the service of my Creator, who had a mountain for his pulpit,\nand the heavens for his sounding-board, and who, when his gospel\nwas refused by the Jews, sent his servants into the highways and\nhedges.\" After much prayer and many inward struggles, he went one\nday to a gentle elevation on the south side of Kingswood, called\nHanham Mount, and there, under an old sycamore-tree, he preached his\nfirst sermon in the open air to about a hundred colliers. The scene\nmust have been very impressive. Before him stretched the rich and\nbeautiful valley of the Avon, through which the river was gently\nwinding, bordered in the distance by the undulating hills; while on\nhis right and left the cities of Bath and Bristol were within sight.\n\nThe fact of his preaching here soon and extensively spread, and at\nmeeting after meeting his audience increased, till he found himself\naddressing _nearly twenty thousand persons_. His own account of the\neffects produced is very striking. He says, \"The first discovery of\ntheir being affected, was in the white gutters made by their tears,\nwhich plentifully fell down their black cheeks, as they came out of\ntheir coal pits. Hundreds and hundreds of them were soon brought\nunder deep convictions, which happily ended in sound and thorough\nconversion. As the scene was quite new, and I had just begun to\nbe an extempore preacher, I had often many inward conflicts.\nSometimes, when twenty thousand people were before me, I had not,\nas I thought, a word to say; but I was never deserted; and I was\noften so assisted as to understand what that meaneth, 'Out of his\nbelly shall flow rivers of living water.' The open firmament above;\nthe prospect of the adjacent fields; with the sight of thousands\nand thousands, some in coaches, some on horseback, and some in the\ntrees, and all so affected as to be drenched in tears together, to\nwhich sometimes was added the solemnity of the approaching night,\nwere almost too much for me; I was occasionally all but overcome.\"\nWriting to Mr. Wesley a few weeks afterwards, he says, \"Yesterday I\nbegan to play the madman in Gloucestershire, by preaching on a table\nin Thornbury-street. To-day I have exhorted twice, and by and by\nI shall begin a third time; nothing like doing good by the way. I\nsuppose you have heard of my proceedings in Kingswood.\"\n\nWe scarcely need to remark here, that Kingswood has ever since been\nregarded as a sacred spot in ecclesiastical history. Here houses\nfor Wesleyan Methodists and Independents were soon erected, and in\nthem thousands have been converted to God. Here was placed the first\nschool for the sons of Methodist preachers, and on Hanham Mount,\nbesides the voice of Whitefield, those of the Wesleys, Coke and\nMather, Pawson and Benson, and Bradburn, accomplished some of the\nmightiest effects which attended their powerful preaching. There are\nyet some living in the neighborhood who were awakened under their\nministry, and whose eyes glisten as they tell of the blessed days\nthat are past.\n\nBesides the colliers, and thousands from the neighboring villages,\npersons of all ranks daily flocked out of Bristol. And he was\nsoon invited by many of the most respectable people to preach\non a large bowling-green in the city itself. Many of the people\nindeed sneered to see a stripling with a gown mount a table on\nunconsecrated ground; this even excited once or twice the laugh of\nsome of the higher ranks, who had admired him in the churches. But\nhe was unmoved, and his preaching was so blessed, that many were\nawakened. Sometimes he was employed almost from morning till night\nanswering those who, in distress of soul, cried out, \"What shall I\ndo to be saved?\" He now sought the help of Mr. John Wesley, who,\nafter much reasoning with himself on the subject, complied with\nthe invitation, and followed Whitefield's example, who immediately\ncommitted the work to him. Before leaving the neighborhood, however,\nWhitefield had the satisfaction of laying the foundation of a school\nfor Kingswood; for the support of which the colliers liberally and\ncheerfully subscribed.\n\nTaking an affectionate leave of his Bristol friends, Whitefield made\nan excursion into Wales, where a revival of religion had commenced\nseveral years before, under the ministry of the Rev. Griffith Jones,\nand was now carried on by the ministry of Mr. Howel Harris, a man\nof strong mental powers, great Christian zeal, and considerable\nlearning. They met at Cardiff. Whitefield's heart was then glowing\nwith the fire he had himself kindled at Bristol and Kingswood. On\nhis way from Bristol to Cardiff, he was delayed at the New Passage\nby contrary winds. He says, \"At the inn there was an unhappy\nclergyman who would not go over in the passage-boat, because I was\nin it. Alas, thought I, this very temper would make heaven itself\nunpleasant to that man, if he saw me there. I was told that he\ncharged me with being a dissenter. I saw him, soon after, shaking\nhis elbows over a gaming-table. I heartily wish those who charge\nme causelessly with schism and being righteous overmuch, would\nconsider that the canons of our church forbid the clergy to frequent\ntaverns, or to play at cards or dice, or any other unlawful games.\nTheir indulging themselves in these things is a stumbling-block to\nthousands.\"\n\nWe have said that Whitefield first met Howel Harris at Cardiff.\nAfter preaching in the town-hall, from the judges' seat, he says, \"I\nwas much refreshed with the sight of Mr. Howel Harris; whom, though\nI knew not in person, I have long loved, and have often felt my\nsoul drawn out in prayer in his behalf.... When I first saw him, my\nheart was knit closely to him. I wanted to catch some of his fire,\nand gave him the right hand of fellowship with my whole heart. After\nI had saluted him, and given an exhortation to a great number of\npeople, who followed me to the inn, we spent the remainder of the\nevening in taking sweet counsel together, and telling one another\nwhat God had done for our souls. A divine and strong sympathy\nseemed to be between us, and I was resolved to promote his interest\nwith all my might. Accordingly we took an account of the several\nsocieties, and agreed on such measures as seemed most conducive to\npromote the common interest of our Lord. Blessed be God, there seems\na noble spirit gone out into Wales; and I believe that, ere long,\nthere will be more visible fruits of it. What inclines me strongly\nto think so is, that the partition wall of bigotry and party spirit\nis broken down, and ministers and teachers of different communions\njoin, with one heart and one mind, to carry on the kingdom of\nJesus Christ. The Lord make all the Christian world thus minded;\nfor, until this is done, we must, I fear, despair of any great\nreformation in the church of God.\"\n\nBefore leaving Cardiff, Whitefield preached again in the town-hall,\nto a large assembly. He says, \"My dear brother Harris sat close by\nme. I did not observe any scoffers within; but without, some were\npleased to honor me so far as to trail a dead fox, and hunt it\nabout the hall. But, blessed be God, my voice prevailed. This being\ndone, I went, with many of my hearers, among whom were two worthy\ndissenting ministers, to public worship; and in the second lesson\nwere these remarkable words: 'The high-priests, and the scribes,\nand the chief of the people sought to destroy him; but they could\nnot find what they might do to him; for all the people were very\nattentive to hear him.'\n\n\"In the afternoon I preached again, without any disturbance or\nscoffing. In the evening, I talked for above an hour and a half\nwith the religious society, and never did I see a congregation more\nmelted down. The love of Jesus touched them to the quick. Most\nof them were dissolved in tears. They came to me after, weeping,\nbidding me farewell, and wishing I could continue with them longer.\nThanks be to God, for such an entrance into Wales. I wrestled with\nGod for them in prayer, and blessed be His holy name for sending me\ninto Wales. I hope these are the first-fruits of a greater harvest,\nif ever it should please God to bring me back from Georgia. 'Father,\nthy will be done.'\"\n\nWhitefield returned from this short excursion, to Bristol, baptized\nwith Welsh fire, and renewed his labors among the Kingswood colliers\nwith more than his usual power and success. He could not, however,\nforget the tears which had entreated him to stay longer in Wales,\nand in three or four weeks he visited Usk and Pontypool, where he\nwas again met by Howel Harris. At Usk, \"the pulpit being denied, I\npreached upon a table, under a large tree, to some hundreds, and God\nwas with us of a truth. On my way to Pontypool, I was informed by\na man who heard it, that Counsellor H---- did me the honor to make\na public motion to Judge P---- to stop me and brother Howel Harris\nfrom going about teaching the people. Poor man, he put me in mind of\nTertullus, in the Acts; but my hour is not yet come. I have scarcely\nbegun my testimony. For my finishing it, my enemies must have power\nover me from above. Lord, prepare me for that hour.\"\n\nThe report to which we have just referred did not prevent the curate\nof Pontypool from cordially inviting Whitefield into his pulpit. He\nalso read prayers for him. After the sermon, it was found that so\nmany had come to hear who could not find room in the church, that\nanother sermon was loudly called for. He says, \"I went and preached\nto all the people in the field. I always find I have most power\nwhen I preach in the open air; a proof to me that God is pleased\nwith this way of preaching. I betook myself to rest, full of such\nunutterable peace as no one can conceive of but those who feel it.\"\n\nIn several other places did our evangelist, during this excursion,\nunfurl the banner of the cross; and at its close he writes, \"Oh how\nswiftly this week has glided away. To me it has been but as one day.\nHow do I pity those who complain that time hangs on their hands! Let\nthem but love Christ, and spend their whole time in his service,\nand they will find but few melancholy hours.\" Nor will any wonder\nthat he should thus speak, who consider the spirit which animated\nhis soul. What he some time afterwards wrote to Howel Harris,\nfrom Philadelphia, indicated the spirit he himself cherished:\n\"Intersperse prayers with your exhortations, and thereby call down\nfire from heaven, even the fire of the Holy Ghost,\n\n    \"'To soften, sweeten, and refine,\n      And melt them into love.'\n\nSpeak every time, my dear brother, as if it were your last; _weep\nout_, if possible, every argument, and compel them to cry, 'Behold\nhow he loveth us.'\"\n\nFrom Wales, Whitefield went to visit his native city, Gloucester;\nand after one or two sermons, he found himself here also excluded\nfrom the parochial pulpits. But notwithstanding his persecutions,\nand the infirm state of his health at that time, his labors in\nGloucester and its vicinity were constant and eminently successful.\nBowling-greens, market-crosses, highways, and other such places,\nbore witness to his faithful and tearful labors.\n\nAt Gloucester lived at that time the Rev. Mr. Cole, an old\ndissenting minister, who often heard Whitefield preach, and used to\nsay, \"These are the days of the Son of man indeed!\" Whitefield, when\na boy, had been taught to ridicule this Mr. Cole; and when he was\nonce asked what profession he would engage in, replied, \"I will be a\nminister, but I will take care never to tell stories in the pulpit\nlike old Cole.\" Twelve years afterwards, the old minister heard the\nyoung one preach, and tell some story to illustrate his subject,\nwhen the venerable servant of Christ remarked, \"I find young\nWhitefield can tell stories now as well as old Cole.\" The good man\nwas much affected with the preaching of his young friend, and was so\nhumble, that he used to subscribe himself his curate, and went about\nin the country preaching after him. One evening, while preaching, he\nwas struck with death, and asked for a chair to lean on till he had\nfinished his sermon. Having done this, he was carried up stairs and\ndied. When the fact was told to Whitefield, he said, \"O blessed God,\nif it be thy holy will, may my exit be like his!\" How striking is\nthis fact when looked at in connection with the circumstances of his\nown removal from earth.\n\nIntent on the advancement of his orphan-house in Georgia, Whitefield\nsoon went to London, passing on his way through Oxford. At both\nplaces he found opposition, and in London was shut out of the\nchurches. He preached to thousands in Islington churchyard, and now\nresolved to give himself to the work in the open air.\n\nFrom the conflict with the enemies who a few years before had\nthreatened her existence, the polemics of the church of England now\nturned to resist the unwelcome ally who menaced her repose. Bishop\nWarburton led the van, and behind him many a mitred front scowled\non the audacious innovator. Divested of the logomachies which\nchiefly engaged the attention of the disputants, the controversy\nbetween Whitefield and the bishops lay in a narrow compass. It\nbeing mutually conceded that the virtues of the Christian life can\nresult only from certain divine impulses, and that to lay a claim\nto this holy inspiration when its legitimate fruits are wanting,\nis a fatal delusion, he maintained, and they denied, that the\nperson who is the subject of this sacred influence has within his\nown bosom an independent attestation of its reality. So abstruse a\ndebate required the zest of some more pungent ingredients, and the\npolemics with whom Whitefield had to do were not such sciolists in\ntheir calling as to be ignorant of the necessity of riveting upon\nhim some epithet at once opprobrious and vague. While therefore\nmilder spirits arraigned him as an _enthusiast_, Warburton, with\nconstitutional energy of invective, denounced him as a _fanatic_. In\nvain Whitefield demanded a definition of these reproachful terms. To\nhave fixed their meaning would have been to blunt their edge. They\nafforded a solution, at once compendious, obscure, and repulsive, of\nwhatever was remarkable in his character, and have been associated\nwith his name from that time to the present.\n\nThe spots on which Whitefield now began, in his own language,\n\"to take the field,\" and publicly to erect the standard of the\nRedeemer's cross, are well known. Moorfields, then a place of\ngeneral rendezvous and recreation from the crowded city, Kennington\nCommon then about two, and Blackheath about five miles from London,\nwere the favorite sites to which he loved to resort, and \"open his\nmouth boldly\" to listening thousands, in honor of his crucified and\nglorified Lord. Recording his first engagement of this kind in his\ndiary of Sabbath evening, April 29, 1739, he writes, \"Begun to be\nyet more vile this day, for I preached at Moorfields to an exceeding\ngreat multitude; and at five in the evening went and preached at\nKennington Common, where upwards of twenty thousand were supposed\nto be present. The wind being for me, it carried my voice to the\nextreme part of my audience. All stood attentive, and joined in\nthe psalm and the Lord's prayer so regularly, that I scarce ever\npreached with more quietness in a church. Many were much affected.\n\n    \"'For this let men revile my name,\n      I'll shun no cross, I'll fear no shame;\n      All hail, reproach, and welcome pain,\n      Only thy terrors, Lord, restrain.'\"\n\nFor several successive months, the places we have named were his\nchief scenes of action. At a moderate computation, the audience\nfrequently consisted of twenty thousand. It is said that the singing\ncould be heard two miles, and the voice of the preacher nearly\none. Sometimes there were upwards of a hundred coaches, besides\nwagons, scaffolds, and other contrivances by which a sight of him\ncould be obtained. The rising ground on Blackheath, from which\nWhitefield preached, is still known as \"Whitefield's mount,\" and\nafter his death, Lord Dartmouth planted it with fir-trees. It will\never be a grateful recollection to the author of this volume, that\nduring the summer of 1839 he prevailed on some of the most eminent\nministers of England to preach on every successive Monday evening\non this hallowed spot; and that here many thousands then heard\nthe way of salvation, and not a few were brought to the cross of\nChrist. In that immediate neighborhood too, now densely populated,\nhe organized, and for some years preached to a Christian church.\nMemorable times! Many were the manifestations of the Redeemer's\nfavor.\n\nAn anecdote which we heard many years ago from one of Whitefield's\nBlackheath hearers, may here be related. While one day preaching on\n\"the heath,\" there passed along the road at some distance, an old\nman and \"Mary\" his wife, with their ass and his loaded panniers,\nreturning from London to their home in Kent. Attracted alike by the\ncrowd and the preacher's voice, the old man and his wife turned a\nlittle out of their way to hear \"what the man was talking about.\"\nWhitefield spoke of somewhat which occurred eighteen hundred years\nago, and the old man said, \"Mary, come along, it is only something\nwhich happened a long while ago;\" but Mary's attention had been\narrested, and she wished to stay a minute or two longer. They were\nboth soon in tears, and the inquiry was excited in their hearts,\n\"What shall we do to be saved?\" On their way home, while \"talking\nof all these things,\" the old man recollected his neglected Bible,\nand asked, \"Why, Mary, does not our old book at home say somewhat\nabout these things?\" They went home, and examined the old book with\nnew light. \"Why, Mary,\" asked the old man, \"is this indeed our old\nbook? why, every thing in it seems quite new.\" So true is it, that\nthe teaching of the Spirit gives new discernment as to the truths of\ndivine revelation.\n\nA fact strikingly illustrating the children's love to our evangelist\nmay be here mentioned. In his open-air preachings, especially in and\nabout London, he was usually attended by many of them, who sat round\nhim, in and about the pulpit, and handed to him the notes of those\nwho desired his counsels and prayers. These children were exposed to\nthe missiles with which he was often assailed, but however terrified\nthey might be, or even hurt, they seldom shrunk; \"but,\" says he, \"on\nthe contrary, every time I was struck, they turned up their little\nweeping eyes, and seemed to wish they could receive the blows for\nme.\"\n\nSpeaking of his open-air labors, the devoted preacher says, \"Words\ncannot express the displays of divine grace which we saw, and heard\nof, and felt. Lord, not unto me, but unto thy name be all the\nglory.\" On a subsequent occasion he writes, \"We have had a glorious\nseason, a true Easter. Jesus Christ is risen indeed. I have been\npreaching in Moorfields, and our Saviour carries all before us.\nNothing can resist his conquering blood. It would have delighted you\nto see poor sinners flock from the booths to see Jesus lifted up on\nthe pole of the gospel.\" The climax of his success there, is one of\nthe most remarkable letters that ever came from a mortal's pen. He\nrecords at its close, \"We then retired to the Tabernacle, with my\npockets full of notes from persons brought under concern, and read\nthem amidst the praises and spiritual acclamations of thousands, who\njoined with the holy angels in rejoicing that so many sinners were\nsnatched, in such an unexpected, unlikely place and manner, out of\nthe very jaws of the devil. This was the beginning of the Tabernacle\nsociety. Three hundred and fifty awakened souls were received in\none day; and I believe the number of notes exceeded a thousand. But\nI must have done, believing you want to retire, to join in mutual\npraise with me in thanksgiving to God and the Lamb.\"\n\nHaving thus introduced the name of the Tabernacle, it is important\nthat the reader should be acquainted with the origin of the\nbuildings which have borne that name. From the very first of what\nmay be called his irregular labors, Whitefield always declared that\nhe \"would never be the founder of a sect.\" He kept his word; yet\ntwo London churches remain as his memorial--the Tabernacle, and\nTottenham Court-road chapel, the one in the north, and the other\nin the western part of the metropolis. The Tabernacle, which was\nfirst erected, was his more especial and favorite field of labor,\nand he dwelt in the house adjoining it, which is still the pastoral\nresidence.\n\nMoorfields, just without the limits of the old north city wall of\nLondon, was, a few years before Whitefield first knew it, a marsh,\nand during the greater part of the year, was absolutely impassable.\nHaving been partially drained, a brick kiln was erected, and the\nfirst bricks used in London are said to have been manufactured\nthere. Afterwards it was a field for the practice of archery,\nwhen it was laid out in walks, and called the City Mall. Though\nimproved in name and appearance, it became the rallying ground for\nthe rabble of London; wrestlers, boxers, and mountebanks, the idle,\nthe dissolute, and the profane, held here their daily and nightly\nrevels. It appeared, in fact, to be one of the strong-holds of\nSatan, and therefore became a most tempting and important point\nof attack for the daring eloquence of Whitefield. All London rang\none day with the announcement that Whitefield would preach the day\nfollowing at Moorfields.\n\nThis was in January, 1739. Gillies says, \"The thing being strange\nand new, he found, on coming out of the coach, an incredible number\nof people assembled. Many told him that he would never come out of\nthat place alive. He went in, however, between two friends, who by\nthe pressure of the crowd were soon parted from him entirely, and\nobliged to leave him to the mercy of the rabble. But these, instead\nof hurting him, formed a lane for him, and carried him along to the\nmiddle of the fields, where a table had been placed. This, however,\nhaving been broken by the crowd, he mounted a wall, and preached to\nan exceeding great multitude in tones so melting, that his words\ndrew tears and groans from the most abandoned of his hearers.\nMoorfields became henceforth one of the principal scenes of his\ntriumphs. Thirty thousand people sometimes gathered together to hear\nhim, and generous contributions here poured in for his orphan-house\nat Bethesda. On one occasion twenty pounds--about one hundred\ndollars--were received in half-pennies, more than one person was\nable to carry away, and enough to put one out of conceit with a\nspecie currency.\"\n\nIt was not till his fifth visit to London, in March, 1741, that\nWhitefield ventured to preach in Moorfields on _a week-day_; the day\nselected for this bold action being Good-Friday. His chief, if not\nhis only friends on this occasion, he tells us, were a few \"orthodox\ndissenters.\" These people perceiving the inconvenience to which\nhe was subjected by the weather, during the morning and evening\nservices in Moorfields, procured the loan of a piece of ground, and\nemployed a carpenter to build a large temporary shed, to screen the\nauditory from the cold and rain. This building Whitefield called\na \"tabernacle,\" as it was only intended to be used a few months\nduring his stay in his native country, previous to his return to\nAmerica. Providence, however, had otherwise determined, and this\nproved the commencement of a permanent establishment of the means of\ngrace. A great spiritual awakening took place; congregations became\nvery large, acquiring at the same time considerable cohesion, and\nassuming a stationary character. This original fabric of wood was a\nplace of large dimensions; and notwithstanding its rude aspect and\ntemporary design, it sufficed for the accommodation of Whitefield\nand his flock, during the twelve succeeding years--a period the most\nbrilliant and useful of his extraordinary career.\n\nSome of Whitefield's friends, however, did not approve of the\noriginal wooden structure; and anticipating or desiring the\nformation of a Christian church, they called for the immediate\nerection of a substantial brick building, a point which was debated\nwith a warmth approaching to violence, of which Whitefield makes\npathetic mention seven years afterwards. Here then several important\nfacts are established: that the original tabernacle sprang not from\nWhitefield, but from a voluntary movement among his adherents,\ncomposed chiefly, if not wholly, of Protestant dissenters; that the\nexpense was borne not by him, but by them; that much debate and\ndissension attended the measure, proving the thoroughly free and\npopular character of the original movement; and that, as the edifice\noriginated with the people alone, so did the institution of regular\nworship. It is certain that fears existed in the mind of Whitefield\nas to the success of such an organization; but the results most\nhappily disappointed his expectations.\n\nThe subject of the erection of a more spacious edifice in the place\nof the tabernacle of wood, was first discussed at the mansion\nof Lady Huntingdon, in Leicestershire, when Drs. Doddridge and\nStonehouse, and the Rev. Messrs. Hervey and Whitefield happened to\nmeet together, in the summer of 1751. During the following winter,\nWhitefield began to make collections for the object, and on almost\nits first presentation in London, nine hundred pounds, or four\nthousand five hundred dollars, were subscribed. \"But,\" he says, \"on\nthe principle that burned children dread the fire, I do not mean\nto begin until I get one thousand in hand, and then to contract at\na certain sum for the whole.\" The fact was, that Whitefield had\noften been in great straits for the support of his orphan-house\nin Georgia, \"for I forgot,\" he says, \"that Professor Francke built\nin Glaucha, in a populous country, and that I was building at the\nvery tail of the world.\" In March, 1753, he wrote to Mr. Charles\nWesley, \"On Tuesday morning the first brick of our new Tabernacle\nwas laid with awful solemnity. I preached from Exodus 20:24, 'In all\nplaces where I record my name, I will come unto thee, and I will\nbless thee.' The wall is now about a yard high. The building is to\nbe eighty feet square. It is on the old spot. We have bought the\nhouse, and if we finish what we have begun, shall be rent free for\nforty-six years.\" In June the dedicatory services took place, when\nthe Tabernacle, though capable, with its capacious galleries, of\nholding _four thousand_ people, was crowded almost to suffocation.\nOften have we seen this vast building crowded with worshippers, with\ndelight have we occupied its pulpit, and with devout gratitude do we\nrecord, that never for a moment has the frown of heaven rested upon\nit. Thousands will ever bless God for its erection.\n\nNot unfrequently has the question been discussed, to what\ndenomination of Christians does the Tabernacle really belong? In\nanswer to this question, we give a legal document which may also\nshow what is done in reference to houses of worship in England,\nunder the laws for the maintenance of religious toleration.\n\n\"These are to certifie whom it may Concern, that a Certificate\nbearing date the Eighteenth Day of June, in the year of Our Lord\nOne Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty-four, under the Hands of\nStarkey Myddleton Minister, Robert Keen, Thomas Cox, Samuel Grace,\nRobert Hodgson, James Smith, Thomas Robinson, Benjamin Coles,\nThomas Brooks, and Samuel Lockhart, for appropriating and setting\napart a Certain Building for that purpose erected, situate near the\nBarking Dogs in the Parish of Saint Luke in the County of Middlesex,\nand intended for the meeting place of a certain Congregation of\nProtestant Dissenters from the Church of England, calling themselves\nIndependents, was Registered in the Registry of the Dean and Chapter\nof the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul, London, This Twenty-first\nDay of June in the year of Our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and\nSixty-four.\n\n  \"THOMAS COLLINS, Deputy Registrar.\"\n\nWhile the new Tabernacle was in the course of erection, Whitefield\nvisited Norwich, where his ministry was largely attended, and\nnotwithstanding much opposition, was followed with considerable\nsuccess. Writing to his friend Keen, he says, \"How does God delight\nto exceed even the hopes, and to disappoint the fears of his weak,\nthough honest-hearted people. In spite of all opposition, he hath\ncaused us to triumph even in Norwich. Thousands attend twice every\nday, and hear with the greatest eagerness. I hope it will appear\nyet more and more that God hath much people here.\" Compelled by\nalarming illness, the result of his too much preaching, he suddenly\nreturned to London, from whence he thus wrote to one of the converts\nat Norwich: \"I shall little regard the weakness and indisposition of\nmy body, if I can but have the pleasure of hearing, if not before,\nyet at the great day, that good was done to one precious soul at\nNorwich. Blessed be God for the seed sown there. I doubt not but\nit will be watered with the dew of his heavenly blessing, and bring\nforth a divine increase.\"\n\nTruly the gospel did triumph, not only in the erection of the\nTabernacle in that city, but in preparing sinners to be pillars in\nthe temple of God, and to win others to his service.\n\nAmong other converts won at Norwich, was the afterwards popular and\nuseful minister of Christ, the Rev. Robert Robinson, of Cambridge,\nEngland. When a young man, about eighteen, he resided in that city,\nand was engaged in the business of a barber. When he was walking\none morning with several companions who had agreed that day to take\ntheir pleasure, the first object which attracted their attention\nwas an old woman who pretended to tell fortunes. They immediately\nemployed her to tell theirs, and that they might qualify her for the\nundertaking, first made her thoroughly intoxicated. Robinson was\ninformed, among other things, that he would live to a very old age,\nand see his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren growing\nup around him. Though he had assisted in intoxicating the old\nwoman, he had credulity enough to be struck with those parts of the\nprediction which related to himself. \"And so,\" said he when alone,\n\"I am to see children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. At\nthat age I must be a burden to the young people. What shall I do?\nThere is no way for an old man to render himself more agreeable to\nyouth, than by sitting and telling them pleasant and profitable\nstories. I will then,\" thought he, \"during my youth, endeavor\nto store my mind with all kinds of knowledge. I will see and\nhear, and note down every thing that is rare and wonderful, that\nI may sit, when incapable of other employments, and entertain my\ndescendants. Thus shall my company be rendered pleasant, and I shall\nbe respected, rather than neglected, in old age. Let me see, what\ncan I acquire first? Oh, here is the famous Methodist preacher,\nWhitefield; he is to preach here, they say, to-night; I will go and\nhear him.\"\n\nFrom these strange motives, as he told the celebrated Rev. Andrew\nFuller, he went to hear Whitefield preach. That evening his text\nwas, \"But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come\nto his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who\nhath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?\" Matt. 3:7. \"Mr.\nWhitefield,\" said Robinson, \"described the Sadducees' character;\nthis did not touch me; I thought myself as good a Christian as any\nman in England. From this he went to that of the Pharisees. He\ndescribed their exterior decency, but observed, that the poison of\nthe viper rankled in their hearts. This rather shook me. At length,\nin the course of his sermon, he abruptly broke off; paused for a\nfew moments; then burst into a flood of tears, lifted up his hands\nand eyes, and exclaimed, 'Oh, my hearers, _the wrath's to come! the\nwrath's to come!_' These words sunk into my heart like lead in the\nwater; I wept, and when the sermon was ended retired alone. For days\nand weeks I could think of little else. Those awful words would\nfollow me wherever I went: 'The wrath's to come! The wrath's to\ncome!'\"\n\nScarcely had Whitefield completed the Tabernacle in London, before\nhe was earnestly solicited to hold public services at the west\nend of the city, and Long-Acre chapel, then under the charge of a\ndissenter, was offered for his use. An unruly rabble endeavored to\ndrive the preacher from his post; but a running fire of brickbats,\nbroken glass, bells, drums, and clappers, neither annoyed nor\nfrightened the intrepid evangelist; nor did an interference on the\npart of the hierarchy, which followed soon after, prohibiting his\npreaching in an incorporated chapel. \"I hope you will not look on\nit as contumacy,\" said Whitefield to the bishop, \"if I persist in\nprosecuting my design until I am more particularly apprized wherein\nI have erred. I trust the irregularity I am charged with will appear\njustifiable to every lover of English liberty, and what is all to\nme, be approved at the awful and impartial tribunal of the great\nBishop and Shepherd of souls.\" Writing to Lady Huntingdon, he says,\n\"My greatest distress is so to act as to avoid rashness on the\none hand and timidity on the other;\" and this shows, what indeed\nwas proved in his whole life, an entire absence of that malignant\nelement of fanaticism which courts opposition and revels in it.\n\n\"Determined,\" as Mrs. Knight says, in her beautiful volume, \"_Lady\nHuntingdon and her Friends_,\" \"not to be beaten from his ground,\nyet hoping to escape some of its annoyances, Whitefield resolved to\nbuild a chapel of his own. Hence arose Tottenham Court-road chapel,\nwhich went by the name of 'Whitefield's soul-trap.'\" Admirably\ndoes he say, \"I pray the Friend of sinners to make it a soul-trap\nindeed to many wandering creatures. My constant work is preaching\nfifteen times a week. Conviction and conversion go on here, for God\nhath met us in our new building.\" It was completed and dedicated in\nNovember, 1756. Though not equal in its triumphs to the Tabernacle,\nthe congregation has always been large, and its preachers--always\nthe same as those at the Tabernacle--have not labored in vain. In\n1829, '30, improvements were made in the building, which still,\nhowever, contains Whitefield's pulpit. A vast area in the centre was\noriginally filled with plain seats, where the masses of the people\nwere accommodated free of all pew rent.\n\nLet not infidels tell us, that the religion of these men and of\nthose times was mere enthusiasm, and that the temporal interests\nof men were neglected in professions of high regard for those of\na spiritual character. Let such men know that within two years\nof the opening of Tottenham Court-road chapel, not only did the\ncongregation build a parsonage-house for their minister, but twelve\nalmshouses for as many poor widows. The Tabernacle has always\nacted with equal generosity. In proportion to their means, few\ncongregations in the world have exceeded these two in works of\nbenevolence.\n\nAssuredly what has sometimes been charged on evangelical\nministers--that they attend to the spiritual interests of mankind,\nbut neglect their temporal sufferings--would never apply to Mr.\nWhitefield. No sooner had he completed these large edifices, where\nvast congregations assembled, than he was heard frequently to plead\nfor those laboring under oppression or distress in foreign lands.\nHe preached in both these houses in behalf of the poor French\nProtestants in Prussia, who had suffered much from the cruelty of\nthe Russians, when great numbers of the nobility, and some of the\nhighest officers of the crown went to hear him. The collections for\nthis object amounted to upwards of fifteen hundred pounds, or seven\nthousand five hundred dollars; and for this disinterested act of\nbenevolence Whitefield received the thanks of his Prussian Majesty.\n\nAgain, on the day recommended by the government for a general fast,\nMr. Whitefield preached both at the Tabernacle and at Tottenham\nCourt-road chapel, after which he collected five hundred and sixty\npounds for the relief of the German Protestants, and the sufferers\nby fire at Boston, for which he received the unanimous thanks of\nthe inhabitants of that town. Lady Huntingdon wrote to one of her\nfriends, \"It would delight you to have seen what crowds of the\nmighty and noble flocked to hear him. The collection was for the\nrelief of the poor German Protestants. I invited several to come\nwho probably would not attend his ministry on other occasions.\"\nFew places at that time could boast of such a constellation of\ntranscendent genius and senatorial talent, such a brilliant\nassemblage of wisdom, magnanimity, and oratorical powers, as were\nthen found within these houses of the living God.\n\nOne word may be allowed here on the plain architecture of these\nbuildings. \"We are,\" says the excellent Mr. James, \"in many things\nimproved, and I rejoice in the improvement; but the occasion of my\njoy is at the same time the occasion of my fear and my jealousy\nalso. Our ecclesiastical architecture is just now a special\nobject of our attention. Whitefield, it may be confessed, paid\ntoo little attention to this; we, perhaps, are paying too much.\nHis only solicitude was to save souls, careless altogether of the\ntastefulness of the building within which that work, which has\nno relation to styles of architecture, was carried on. His only\ncalculation in the construction of a building was, how many immortal\nsouls could be crowded within four square walls, and under a roof,\nto hear 'the joyful sound.' Hence the somewhat uncouth buildings\nwhich he erected. Ah, but when I consider that every stone in those\nunsightly walls has echoed to the sound of salvation and the hymns\nof redeemed spirits, and that almost every spot on the floor has\nbeen moistened by the tears of penitence, then, in a feeling of\nsanctity I seem to lose the sense of deformity, and there comes over\nme an awe and solemnity which no modern gothic structure with its\nlofty arches and painted windows can inspire. But still, as religion\nis not only the most holy, but the most beautiful thing in God's\nuniverse, there is no reason why taste and devotion should not be\nunited. It is the ministry of the word, however, upon which the\nchurch must be chiefly intent.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nWHITEFIELD'S SECOND VISIT TO AMERICA.\n\n1739, 1740.\n\n\nAs in the preceding chapter, for the sake of connecting the history\nof Whitefield's church edifices in London, we have anticipated the\norder of events, we go back to the period shortly before his second\nvoyage to America.\n\nAbout the time of which we are now writing, a circumstance occurred\nof deep interest, which Whitefield relates at considerable length.\nJoseph Periam, a young man in London, who had read his sermon on\n\"regeneration,\" became deeply impressed by it; he sold all that he\npossessed, and prayed so loud and fasted so long, that his family\nsupposed him deranged, and sent him to the Bedlam madhouse, where he\nwas treated as \"methodistically mad,\" and as \"one of Whitefield's\ngang.\" The keepers threw him down, and forced a key into his mouth,\nwhile they drenched him with medicine. He was then placed in a cold\nroom without windows, and with a damp cellar under it. Periam,\nhowever, found some means of conveying a letter to Whitefield,\nrequesting both advice and a visit. These were promptly given.\nThe preacher soon discovered that Periam was not mad; and taking\na Mr. Seward and some other friends with him, he went before the\ncommittee of the hospital to explain the case. It must have been\nsomewhat of a ludicrous scene. Seward so astounded the committee by\nquoting Scripture, that they pronounced him to be as mad as Periam.\nThe doctors frankly told the deputation, that in their opinion,\nWhitefield and his followers were \"really beside themselves.\" It was\nhowever agreed, that if Whitefield would take Periam out to Georgia,\nhis release would be granted. Thus the conference ended, and the\nyoung man went out as a schoolmaster at the Orphan-house. There he\nwas exemplary and useful, and when he died two of his sons were\nreceived into the institution.\n\nMr. Whitefield so successfully pleaded the cause of his American\norphans, that during his journeys of twelve months he collected\nupwards of one thousand pounds towards the erection of his intended\nhouse for their accommodation. With this sum in his possession, he\nset sail for America the second time, August 14, 1739, accompanied\nby his friend Mr. Seward, eight men, one boy, and two children.\n\nWhile all this was going on, the inhabitants of Georgia were making\nevery possible preparation for his reception. The records of the\ntrustees say, May 16, 1739, \"Read a commission to the Rev. George\nWhitefield to perform all religious and ecclesiastical offices at\nSavannah, in Georgia.\" Again: \"June 2, 1739. Sealed a grant of five\nhundred acres of land to the Rev. George Whitefield, in trust for\nthe use of the house to be erected and maintained for the receiving\nsuch children as now are, and shall hereafter be left orphans in\nthe colony of Georgia, in pursuance of the direction of the Common\nCouncil held the 30th of last month.\"\n\nNot only was Whitefield anxious to establish the orphan-house\nfor the benefit of the whole colony of Georgia, but having been\nordained priest, for the purpose of instructing the inhabitants of\nthe town of Savannah, he was desirous of making full proof of his\nministry among them. After a passage of nine weeks he landed at\nPhiladelphia, and was immediately invited to preach in the churches;\nto which people of all denominations thronged as in England. He\nwas especially pleased to find that they preferred sermons when\n\"not delivered within the church walls.\" And it was well they did,\nfor his fame had arrived in the city before him, and crowds were\ncollected to hear him which no church could contain.\n\nA letter written on this voyage to America has recently come to\nlight, which beautifully illustrates the spirit by which Whitefield\nwas now animated. It was addressed to the Rev. John Cumming of\nAndover, Hampshire, England.\n\n          \"Wrote at Sea, dated at Philadelphia, Nov. 9, 1739.\n\n     \"REVEREND AND DEAR SIR--You see by my writing this how willing\n     I am to cultivate a correspondence with you. I wish Christians\n     in general, and ministers of Christ in particular, were better\n     acquainted. The cause of Christ thereby must be necessarily\n     promoted. But bigotry and sectarian zeal have been the bane of\n     our holy religion. Though we have one Lord, one faith, and one\n     baptism, yet if we do not all worship God in one particular\n     way, we behave to each other like Jews and Samaritans. Dear\n     sir, I hope that neither of us have so learned Christ. Blessed\n     be God for his free grace in Christ. The partition wall has\n     for some time been broken down out of my heart, and I can truly\n     say, whosoever loves the Lord Jesus, 'the same is my brother,\n     and sister, and mother.' For this reason, dear sir, I love you.\n     For this reason, though I decrease, yet I heartily wish you may\n     increase, even with all the increase of God. I am persuaded\n     you are like-minded. I believe my friends have prayed for me.\n     The Lord hath dealt most lovingly with me his servant. He has\n     chastened and corrected, but hath not given me over into the\n     hands of the enemy. A future journal will acquaint you with\n     particulars. What I have sent over to be published will afford\n     you abundant matter for thanksgiving in behalf of,\n\n     \"Dear sir, your affectionate friend,\n     Brother, and servant,\n\n     \"G. WHITEFIELD.\"\n\nThe old court-house of Philadelphia, then standing on Second and\nMarket streets, had a balcony, which several years before the visit\nof Whitefield had been often used instead of a pulpit. In 1736, we\nfind that Mr. Abel Noble had preached \"from the court-house steps,\"\non a Monday, to a large congregation standing in Market-street,\non the subject of keeping the Sabbath. In the same year, Michael\nWelfare appeared there to give his \"warning voice,\" and now, in\n1739, it became one of the favorite preaching stands of the great\nevangelist. Here he stood, surrounded by many thousands, even down\nto the side of the Delaware river, not a few bathed in tears, and\ninquiring after the way of salvation.\n\n[Illustration: OLD COURT-HOUSE, PHILADELPHIA.]\n\n[Illustration: TENNENT CHURCH, FREEHOLD, N. J. p. 117.]\n\nDr. Franklin says, \"The multitudes of all sects and denominations\nthat attended his sermons were enormous; and it was a matter\nof speculation with me to observe the influence of his oratory\non his hearers, and how much they admired and respected him,\nnotwithstanding his common abuse of them, by assuring them that\nthey were, naturally, half beasts and half devils. It was wonderful\nto see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants.\nFrom being thoughtless and indifferent about religion, it seemed\nas if all the world was growing religious; so that one could not\nwalk through the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in\ndifferent families in every street.\"\n\nA constant attendant on his ministry at this time says, \"His\nhearers were never weary; every eye was fixed on his expressive\ncountenance; every ear was charmed with his melodious voice; every\nheart captivated with the beauty and propriety of his address. He\nwas no contracted bigot; all denominations partook of his religious\ncharity. Anxious in America for our civil privileges, he was alike\nsolicitous for the spiritual and temporal happiness of mankind. No\nman since the apostolic age preached oftener or with better success.\nHe was, moreover, a polite gentleman, a faithful friend, an engaging\ncompanion, and a sincere Christian. His sermons in the open air\nlasted about one and a half hours.\"\n\nWatson, in his \"Annals of Philadelphia,\" speaking of Whitefield's\nfirst visit to that city, tells us that he preached to a crowd of\nfifteen thousand persons on Society hill, and adds, \"About the same\ntime he so far succeeded to repress the usual public amusements,\nthat the dancing-school was discontinued, and the ball and concert\nrooms were shut up, as inconsistent with the requisitions of the\ngospel. No less than fourteen sermons were preached on Society hill\nin the open air in one week, during the session of the Presbyterian\nchurch; and the gazette of the day, in noticing the fact, says,\n'The change to religion here is altogether surprising, through the\ninfluence of Whitefield; no books sell but religious, and such is\nthe general conversation.'\"\n\nIt is said, that though some gentlemen broke open the\nassembly-rooms, no company could be induced to visit them. Such was\nthe popularity of Whitefield, that when he left the city, about\none hundred and fifty gentlemen accompanied him as far as Chester,\nfifteen miles from Philadelphia, where he preached to about seven\nthousand people. At White Clay creek, he preached to eight thousand\npeople, three thousand of whom, it is said, were on horseback. Many\ncomplimentary effusions to him appeared in the newspapers, and James\nPemberton, a very distinguished _Friend_, said of him, \"In his\nconversation he is very agreeable, and has not much of the priest;\nhe frequents no set company.\"\n\nAn old gentleman assured Watson, the annalist, that on one occasion\nthe words, \"And he taught them, saying,\" as pronounced by Whitefield\non Society hill, were heard at Gloucester point, a distance by water\nof two miles.\n\nAbundant reasons might be assigned for our introducing in this place\nan account of the institution called \"the Log college.\" It has\nproved the parent of every collegiate and theological institution\nconnected with the large and wealthy body of Presbyterians in this\ncountry; it was originated by a family which became especially\nendeared to Mr. Whitefield; and from his journal, recording his\nvisit to it, we have, in some respects at least, the clearest\nstatement of facts concerning it which history has preserved.\n\nAs we have already shown, about one hundred and forty years ago,\nthe state of religion, both in Europe and America, was very low.\nNor was the condition of the Presbyterian body an exception. As\nthe late Dr. Alexander, in his interesting volume, called \"The Log\nCollege,\" says, \"The ministers composing the Presbyterian church\nin this country were sound in the faith, and strongly attached to\nthe Westminster confession of faith and catechisms, as were also\ntheir people; and there were no diversities or contentions among\nthem respecting the doctrines of the gospel; but as to the vital\npower of godliness, there is reason to believe that it was little\nknown or spoken of. Revivals of religion were nowhere heard of,\nand an orthodox creed, and a decent external conduct were the only\npoints on which inquiry was made, when persons were admitted to\nthe communion of the church. Indeed, it was very much a matter of\ncourse, for all who had been baptized in infancy, to be received\ninto communion at the proper age, without exhibiting or possessing\nany satisfactory evidence of a change of heart by the supernatural\noperations of the Holy Spirit. And the habit of their preachers was\nto address their people as though they were all pious, and only\nneeded instruction and confirmation.\"\n\nSuch was the lamentable state of things when the Rev. William\nTennent, sen., an Irish clergyman past the middle stage of life\narrived in this country, about the year 1716. After laboring for\na season in the state of New York, till about 1721, he received\nan invitation to settle at Bensalem, where he ministered to the\nsmall Presbyterian congregation till 1726, when he was called to\nNeshaminy, in the same county, where he labored for the rest of\nhis life, living till 1746, when he died, aged seventy-three. In\nNeshaminy the good man felt that he was called not only to discharge\nthe duties of a preacher and pastor, but to look over the whole\ncountry, and to devise means for the extension of the cause of\nChrist. He had himself four sons, the subjects of divine grace, and\nblessed with talents for usefulness in the kingdom of the Redeemer,\nand he felt that when other young men rose up in the church, favored\nwith ministerial talents, they also would need mental cultivation.\nHence his determination to erect the humble building of which we now\nwrite, which was the first Presbyterian literary and theological\ninstitution in this country, the immediate parent of the college at\nPrinceton, and from which, indeed, all similar institutions emanated.\n\nThe site of the Log college is about a mile from Neshaminy creek,\nwhere the Presbyterian church has long stood. The ground near and\naround it lies handsomely to the eye, and the more distant prospect\nis very beautiful; for while there is a considerable extent of\nfertile, well-cultivated land, nearly level, the view is bounded to\nthe north and west by a range of hills, which have a very pleasing\nappearance. Mr. Whitefield has left in his \"Journal,\" the only\ndescription we have of the building. \"The place,\" says he, \"wherein\nthe young men study now, is in contempt called 'the college.' It\nis a log-house about twenty feet long, and nearly as many broad;\nand to me it seemed to resemble the school of the old prophets, for\ntheir habitations were mean. That they sought not great things for\nthemselves is plain from these passages of Scripture, wherein we are\ntold that each of them took a beam to build them a house; and that\nat the feast of the sons of the prophets, one of them put on the\npot, while the others went to fetch some herbs out of the field. All\nthat we can say of most of our universities is, they are glorious\nwithout. From this despised place, seven or eight worthy ministers\nof Jesus have lately been sent forth; more are almost ready to be\nsent, and the foundation is now laying for the instruction of many\nothers.\"\n\nOf the senior Tennent, the founder of the Log college, little more\nis known than what we have already given. He was a member of the\nsynod of Philadelphia, who were satisfied with his reasons for\nleaving the Established church of Ireland, and for several years\nthis body cordially co\u00f6perated with him in his zealous labors.\nTheir unity of feeling, however, seems to have declined. This we\nlearn from a passage in Whitefield's \"Journal,\" which also gives\nus a beautiful view of the good old man. \"At my return home, was\nmuch comforted by the coming of one Mr. Tennent, an old gray-headed\ndisciple and soldier of Jesus Christ. He keeps an academy about\ntwenty miles from Philadelphia, and has been blest with four\ngracious sons, three of which have been, and still continue to be\neminently useful in the church of Christ. He brought three pious\nsouls along with him, and rejoiced me by letting me know how they\nhad been evil spoken of for their Master's sake. He is a great\nfriend of Mr. Erskine, of Scotland; and as far as I can learn, both\nhe and his sons are secretly despised by the generality of the\nsynod, as Mr. Erskine and his friends are hated by the judicatories\nof Edinburgh, and as the Methodist preachers, as they are called,\nare by their brethren in England.\"\n\nNot long after this, the Log college was visited by Whitefield, who\nwrote the account we have already given. He also says, under the\ndate of Nov. 29, 1739, \"Set out for Neshaminy, twenty miles distant\nfrom Trent Town, where old Mr. Tennent lives, and keeps an academy,\nand where I was to preach to-day, according to appointment. About\ntwelve o'clock, we came thither, and found about three thousand\npeople gathered together in the meeting-house yard. Mr. William\nTennent, junior, an eminent servant of Jesus Christ, because we\nstayed beyond the time appointed, was preaching to them. When\nI came up, he soon stopped; sung a psalm, and then I began to\nspeak as the Lord gave me utterance. At first, the people seemed\nunaffected, but in the midst of my discourse, the power of the Lord\nJesus came upon me, and I felt such a struggling within myself for\nthe people as I scarce ever felt before. The hearers began to be\nmelted down immediately, and to cry much; and we had good reason\nto hope the Lord intended good for many. After I had finished, Mr.\nGilbert Tennent gave a word of exhortation, to confirm what had\nbeen delivered. At the end of his discourse, we sung a psalm, and\ndismissed the people with a blessing; O that the people may say Amen\nto it. After our exercises were over, we went to old Mr. Tennent's,\nwho entertained us like one of the ancient patriarchs. His wife,\nto me seemed like Elizabeth, and he like Zachary; both, as far as\nI can learn, walk in the commandments and ordinances of the Lord\nblameless. Though God was pleased to humble my soul, so that I was\nobliged to retire for a while, yet we had sweet communion with each\nother, and spent the evening in concerting what measures had best\nbe taken for promoting our dear Lord's kingdom. It happened very\nprovidentially that Mr. Tennent and his brethren are appointed to be\na presbytery by the synod, so that they intend bringing up gracious\nyouths, and sending them out from time to time into the Lord's\nvineyard.\"\n\nWe may be permitted to add here, that among the ministers sent out\nby Mr. Tennent, from the Log college, to preach the gospel, were his\nfour sons, Gilbert, William, John, and Charles, the Rev. Messrs.\nSamuel Blair, John Blair, Charles Beatty, and Rev. Dr. Samuel J.\nFinley, President of Princeton College; of some of these excellent\nmen the reader will hear again in the course of this volume.\n\nIn reference to his first visit to Philadelphia, Whitefield thus\nwrites: \"I have scarcely preached among them, but I have seen a\nstirring among the dry bones. Go where I will, I find people with\ngreat gladness receive me into their houses. Sometimes I think I am\nspeaking to stocks and stones; but before I have done, the power\nof the Lord comes over them, and I find I have been ploughing up\nsome fallow ground, in a place where there has been a great famine\nof the word of God. But as God's word increases, so will the rage\nand opposition of the devil. Scoffers seem to be at a stand what to\nsay. They mutter in coffee-houses, give a curse, drink a barrel of\npunch, and then cry out against me for not preaching more morality.\nPoor men, if God judges them, as he certainly will do, by _their_\nmorality, out of their own mouths will he condemn them. Their\nmorality, falsely so called, will prove their damnation. God has\nenlarged my heart to pray. Tears trickle down my face, and I am in\ngreat agony; but the Lord is pleased to set his seal to what he\nenables me to deliver. Amid cries and groans in the congregation,\nGod gives me much freedom of speech. Many people and many ministers\nweep. My own soul is much carried out. I preached to a vast assembly\nof sinners; nearly twelve thousand were collected; and I had not\nspoken long, before I perceived numbers melting; as I proceeded, the\npower increased, and thousands cried out; never before did I see so\nglorious a sight. Oh, what strong crying and tears were poured forth\nafter the dear Lord Jesus! Some fainted; and when they had gotten a\nlittle strength, they would hear and faint again. Never was my soul\nfilled with greater power. Oh, what thoughts and words did God put\ninto my heart. As great, if not greater commotion was in the hearts\nof the people. Look where I would, most were drowned in tears.\"\n\nAn aged man who was living in 1806, and who well remembered the\nscenes he witnessed, bore testimony that after this visit of the\ngreat evangelist, public worship was regularly celebrated in\nPhiladelphia twice a day for a whole year; and that on the Lord's\nday it was celebrated three, and frequently four times in each\nchurch. He said there were not less than twenty-six societies\nregularly held for prayer and Christian conference.\n\nSuch was the influence of Whitefield, not only in Philadelphia, but\nthroughout the colony of Pennsylvania, that in the city attention to\ncommerce was suspended, and in the country the cultivation of the\nland for the time being was abandoned, that people might hear him\nproclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus.\n\nAmong other very striking conversions in Philadelphia at this\nperiod, was that of a young lady, who had for several years made\na public profession of Christianity, but who now became fully\nconvinced that \"she was totally unacquainted with vital piety.\"\nWhen Mr. Whitefield began his labors in that city, she was greatly\naffected by his preaching, on which she constantly attended, and\noften afterwards told her friends, that after the first sermon she\nheard him preach, she was ready to say with the woman of Samaria,\n\"Come see a man who told me all things that ever I did.\" The\npreacher, she said, so exactly described all the secret workings of\nher heart, her wishes, and her actions, that she really believed\nhe was either more than human, or else that he was supernaturally\nassisted to know her heart. She was not then aware that all depraved\nhearts are much alike, and that he who in lively colors can paint\none, gives a description which will be recognized by many as their\nown. This young lady once walked twenty miles to hear a sermon\nfrom Whitefield; she became a most eminent Christian, and was one\nof the constituent members of the church organized by Mr. Tennent.\nShe married Mr. Hugh Hodge, who was also one of the seals of Mr.\nWhitefield's ministry, and a deacon of the church, and for more than\nsixty years she eminently \"adorned the gospel of God in all things.\"\n\nDuring this first visit of Mr. Whitefield to Philadelphia, another\ninteresting circumstance occurred. Whitefield preached one evening\nstanding on the steps of the court-house, in Market-street,\nwhich became, as we have said, his favorite spot during that and\nsubsequent visits. A youth some thirteen years of age stood near\nhim, and held a lantern for his accommodation; but becoming deeply\nabsorbed in the sermon, and strongly agitated, the lantern fell from\nhis hands, and was dashed in pieces. Those near the boy, observing\nthe cause of the accident, felt specially interested, and for a\nfew moments the meeting was discomposed by the occurrence. Some\nfourteen years afterwards, Mr. Whitefield, on his fifth visit to\nthis country, was visiting St. George's, in Delaware. He was one\nday riding out with the Rev. Dr. John Rodgers, then settled as the\nminister at St. George's, in the closed carriage in which Whitefield\ngenerally rode. Mr. Rodgers asked him whether he recollected the\noccurrence of the little boy who was so affected with his preaching\nas to let his lantern fall. Mr. Whitefield replied, \"O yes, I\nremember it well; and have often thought I would give almost any\nthing in my power, to know who that little boy was, and what had\nbecome of him.\" Mr. Rodgers replied with a smile, \"I am that little\nboy.\" Mr. Whitefield, with tears of joy, started from his seat, took\nhim in his arms, and with strong emotion remarked, that he was the\n_fourteenth_ person then in the ministry whom he had discovered in\nthe course of that visit to America, in whose conversion he had,\nunder God, been instrumental.\n\nFrom Philadelphia, Whitefield was invited by Mr. Noble to New\nYork; this gentleman being the only person with whom he then had\nan acquaintance in that city. Upon his arrival, he waited with his\nfriend on the commissary, but he refused to Whitefield the use of\nthe church. This commissary of the bishop, he says, \"was full of\nanger and resentment, and denied me the use of his pulpit before I\nasked for it. He said they did not want my assistance. I replied,\nthat if they preached the gospel, I wished them good luck: I will\npreach in the fields; for all places are alike to me.\" The undaunted\nevangelist therefore preached in the fields; and on the evening of\nthe same day, to a very thronged and attentive audience, in the Rev.\nMr. Pemberton's meeting-house, in Wall-street; and continued to do\nso twice or three times a day, with apparent success.\n\nOf this visit to New York, and of Whitefield's labors there,\nwe have a graphic account, furnished by one of his hearers, for\n\"Prince's Christian History.\" Of the first sermon in the fields,\nthe writer says, \"I fear curiosity was the motive that led me\nand many others into that assembly. I had read two or three of\nMr. Whitefield's sermons and part of his Journal, and from them\nhad obtained a settled opinion, that he was a good man. Thus far\nwas I prejudiced in his favor. But then having heard of so much\nopposition, and many clamors against him, I thought it possible he\nmight have carried matters too far; that some enthusiasm might have\nmixed itself with his piety, and that his zeal might have exceeded\nhis knowledge. With these prepossessions I went into the fields.\nWhen I came there, I saw a great number of people, consisting of\nChristians of all denominations, some Jews, and a few, I believe,\nof no religion at all. When Mr. Whitefield came to the place\ndesignated, which was a little eminence on the side of a hill, he\nstood still and beckoned with his hand, and disposed the multitude\nupon the descent, before, and on each side of him. He then prayed\nmost excellently, in the same manner, I suppose, that the first\nministers of the Christian church prayed. The assembly soon appeared\nto be divided into two companies, the one of which I considered\nas God's church, and the other the devil's chapel. The first were\ncollected round the minister, and were very serious and attentive;\nthe last had placed themselves in the skirts of the assembly,\nand spent most of their time in giggling, scoffing, talking, and\nlaughing. I believe the minister saw them, for in his sermon,\nremarking on the cowardice and shamefacedness in Christ's cause, he\npointed towards _this_ assembly, and reproached the former, those\nwho seemed to be Christians, with the boldness and zeal with which\nthe devil's vassals serve him. Towards the last prayer the whole\nassembly appeared more united, and all became hushed and still; a\nsolemn awe and reverence appeared in the faces of most, a mighty\nenergy attending the word. I heard and felt something astonishing\nand surprising, but I confess I was not at that time fully rid of my\nscruples. But as I thought I saw a visible presence of God with Mr.\nWhitefield, I kept my doubts to myself.\n\n\"Under this frame of mind, I went to hear him in the evening at\nthe Presbyterian church, where he expounded to above two thousand\npeople within and without doors. I never in my life saw so attentive\nan audience. All he said was demonstration, life, and power. The\npeople's eyes and ears hung on his lips. They greedily devoured\nevery word. I came home astonished. Every scruple vanished; I never\nsaw nor heard the like; and I said within myself, 'Surely God is\nwith this man, of a truth.' He preached and expounded in this manner\ntwice every day for four days, and his evening assemblies were\ncontinually increasing.\n\n\"On Sunday morning at eight o'clock, his congregation consisted of\nabout fifteen hundred people; but at night several thousands came\ntogether to hear him; and the place being too strait for them, many\nwere forced to go away, and some, it is said, with tears lamented\ntheir disappointment. After sermon he left New York at ten at night,\nto fulfil a promise that he had made to preach at Elizabethtown, at\neleven A. M. the next day.\"\n\nWe give a few paragraphs from the same vigorous pen, relating to\nthe personal manners and the doctrines of our evangelist. \"He is a\nman of a middle stature, of a slender body, of a fair complexion,\nand of a comely appearance. He is of a sprightly, cheerful temper,\nand acts and moves with great agility and life. The endowments of\nhis mind are very uncommon; his wit is quick and piercing; his\nimagination lively and florid; and as far as I can discern, both are\nunder the direction of an exact and solid judgment. He has a most\nready memory, and I think speaks entirely without notes. He has a\nclear and musical voice, and a wonderful command of it. He uses much\ngesture, but with great propriety. Every accent of his voice, every\nmotion of his body _speaks_, and both are natural and unaffected. If\nhis delivery is the product of art, it is certainly the perfection\nof it, for it is entirely concealed. He has a great mastery of\nwords, but studies much plainness of speech.\n\n\"His doctrine is right _sterling_. I mean, perfectly agreeable\nto the Articles of the church of England, to which he frequently\nappeals for the truth of it. He loudly proclaims all men by nature\nto be under sin, and obnoxious to the wrath and curse of God. He\nmaintains the absolute necessity of supernatural grace to bring\nmen out of this state. He asserts the righteousness of Christ to\nbe the only cause of the justification of the sinner; that this is\nreceived by faith; that this faith is the gift of God; that where\nfaith is wrought, it brings the sinner under the deepest sense of\nhis guilt and unworthiness to the footstool of sovereign grace, to\naccept of mercy as the free gift of God, only for Christ's sake. He\ndenies that good works have any share in our justification: that\nindeed they do justify our faith, and necessarily flow from it,\nas streams from the fountain; but Christ's external righteousness\nimputed to us, and his inherent righteousness wrought in us, is the\nonly cause of man's salvation. He asserts the absolute necessity of\nthe new birth, where a principle of new life is ingenerated in the\nheart of man, and an entire change is produced in the temper and\ndisposition of the soul; and that this new production is the work\nonly of God's blessed Spirit. That wherever this change is wrought,\nit is permanent and abiding, and that the gates of hell shall never\nprevail against it. He asserts that the special influence and\nindwelling of the Spirit, was not peculiar to the first Christians,\nbut that it is the common privilege of believers in all ages of the\nchurch; that the Holy Spirit is the author of the sanctification and\ncomfort of all God's people; and that, even in these days, if any\nman have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. He said, that\nto many of his hearers, he feared he spoke in an unknown tongue;\nthat he preached great mysteries; that true Christians knew what he\nmeant, and that all his hearers, if they are saved, must be brought\nto understand them. These are some of the doctrines which have been\nattended with such mighty power in this city. This is the doctrine\nof the martyrs. This they sealed with their blood; notwithstanding\nthat so many in our days have departed from it.\n\n\"Mr. Whitefield speaks much of the language of the New Testament;\nand has an admirable faculty in explaining the Scriptures. He\nstrikes out of them such lights, and unveils those excellencies\nwhich surprise his hearers, when he expounds them. He expresses the\nhighest love and concern for the souls of men; and speaks of Christ\nwith the most affectionate appropriation--'_My Master! My Lord!_' He\nis no enemy to the innocent freedoms and liberties of the gospel;\nnor does he affect singularity in indifferent things. He spends\nnot his zeal in trifles, but says, 'The kingdom of God consists\nnot in meats and drinks; but in righteousness, and peace, and joy\nin the Holy Ghost.' He breathes a most catholic spirit, and prays\nmost earnestly that God would destroy all that bigotry and party\nzeal which has divided Christians. He supposes some of Christ's\nflock are to be found under every denomination, and upbraids the\nuncharitableness of those who confine the church to their own\ncommunion. He professes a most sincere love to all those who love\nour Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and declares that he has no\ndesign to make a party in religion. He professes that his whole\ndesign in preaching the gospel is to bring men to Christ, to deliver\nthem from their false confidences, to raise them from their dead\nformalities, and to revive primitive Christianity among them; and\nif he can obtain this end, he will leave them to their liberty, and\nthey may go to what church, and worship God in what form they like\nbest.\"\n\nWhile going from Philadelphia to New York, or on his return,\nWhitefield appears to have preached at Maidenhead, Abington,\nNeshaminy, Freehold, Burlington, Elizabethtown, and New Brunswick,\nto many thousands, gathered from various parts, among whom there\nhad been a considerable awakening under the ministry of Mr.\nFrelinghuysen, a Reformed Dutch minister, and the Rev. Messrs.\nTennent, Blair, and Rowland. It was no less pleasing to him than\nstrange to see such congregations in a foreign land; ministers\nand people shedding tears, sinners struck with awe, and religious\npersons who had been much persecuted, filled with joy. The old\n_Tennent church_ at Freehold, where preached Whitefield, Brainerd,\nDavies, and other \"famous men\" of that day, still echoes with the\nsame gospel. In size the building is forty feet by sixty, with three\nentrances on the larger side. The pulpit is on the north side of the\nhouse, immediately opposite the central door, so that the minister\nfaces the width of the church instead of its length. The pulpit is\nvery narrow, and is surmounted with a sounding-board, according\nto the custom of our fathers. In the middle aisle lie buried the\nremains of the sainted William Tennent, whose death took place about\nseven years after that of Whitefield, at the age of seventy-two\nyears. A handsome monumental tablet records the leading dates of his\npilgrimage.\n\nSome of our readers may inquire as to the localities honored by\nWhitefield's preaching in and about the city of New York. We\nfind many records of his discoursing in the open fields of the\nsurrounding country; the old City Exchange, which stood at the\nfoot of Broad-street, near Water-street, and which was built on\nlarge arches, was a favorite spot for itinerant preachers, and for\nWhitefield among the rest. During his various visits to New York,\nfrom 1745 to 1760, he generally preached in the Presbyterian church\nin Wall-street, which was then the only church of that denomination\nin the city, and of which the Rev. Dr. Pemberton, from Boston, was\nthe minister. Afterwards, a few years before his death, he was\naccustomed to preach in the Brick church in Beekman-street; which\nwas then familiarly called the \"Brick meeting,\" and in common\nparlance, said to be \"in the fields;\" so little was the city\nextended at that period. So prosperous was his ministry in New York,\nthat it was found necessary immediately to enlarge the Presbyterian\nchurch in Wall-street, by the erection of galleries; and a year or\ntwo afterwards it was again enlarged about one-third, in order to\naccommodate the stated worshippers.\n\nWhen Whitefield was preaching before a very large number of the\nseamen of New York, he introduced the following bold apostrophe into\nhis sermon: \"Well, my boys, we have a cloudless sky, and are making\nfine headway over a smooth sea, before a light breeze, and we shall\nsoon lose sight of land. But what means this sudden lowering of\nthe heavens, and that dark cloud arising from beneath the western\nhorizon? Hark! don't you hear the distant thunder? Don't you see\nthose flashes of lightning? There is a storm gathering. Every man\nto his duty. How the waves rush and dash against the ship! The\nair is dark. The tempest rages. Our masts are gone! What next?\"\nThe unsuspecting tars, reminded of former perils on the deep, as\nif struck by the power of magic, arose, and with united voices\nexclaimed, \"Take to the longboat, sir!\" The reader may well imagine\nhow this very natural answer would be used by the preacher.\n\nWhile at New York, Whitefield wrote, \"God willing, in about\nseven months I hope to see New England on my return to Europe.\nAn effectual door is there opened, and no wonder there are many\nadversaries. Shortly I expect to suffer for my dear Master.\" And\nafter his return to Philadelphia, he showed his piety and meekness\nby writing to the Rev. Dr. Pemberton, of New York, \"I have been much\nconcerned since I saw you, lest I behaved not with that humility\ntowards you which is due from a babe to a father in Christ; but\nyou know, reverend sir, how difficult it is to meet with success,\nand not be puffed up with it; and therefore, if any such thing was\ndiscernible in my conduct, O pity me, and pray to the Lord to heal\nmy pride. All I can say is, that I desire to learn of Jesus Christ\nto be meek and lowly in heart; but my corruptions are so strong, and\nmy employ so dangerous, that I am sometimes afraid.\"\n\nOne of the most important incidents of this journey to New York,\nwas the meeting of Whitefield with Gilbert Tennent. Two powerful\npreachers could hardly resemble each other less; and the great\nstrength of each lay in characteristics in which the other was\ndeficient. In one point, especially, Whitefield felt and recorded\nhis new friend's superiority. He heard Tennent preach. \"Never before\nheard I such a searching sermon. He went to the bottom indeed, and\ndid not 'daub with untempered mortar.' He convinced me, more and\nmore, that we can preach the gospel of Christ no further than we\nhave experienced the power of it in our hearts. I found what a babe\nand novice I was in the things of God.\" These men, as Tracy says,\nhaving once met, could not but be friends and allies for life; and\nthe effects of their alliance could not fail to be felt by thousands.\n\nBoth at Philadelphia and New York, printers applied to Whitefield\nfor copies of his sermons for publication, and two were so issued,\nin the influence of which their author had cause to rejoice. In an\nafter-period, the celebrated Benjamin Franklin printed Whitefield's\n\"Journal in New England,\" still extant; a copy of which was sold at\nauction in Philadelphia in 1855, for about thirty times its original\nprice. His journals, indeed, and his sermons became considerable\narticles in commerce, and did not a little, amid the comparatively\nsparse population of the country, to extend both his fame and his\nusefulness.\n\nBut the time was now come when it became important that Whitefield\nshould pursue his course towards Savannah. He could not, however,\nregret his stay so long on the road. \"It is unknown,\" he says, \"what\ndeep impressions have been made on the hearts of hundreds. Many poor\nsinners have, I trust, been called home, and great numbers are under\nstrong convictions. An opposer told me I had unhinged many _good\nsort of people_. I believe it.\"\n\nNor was this the only good he had done. No small sympathy had been\nexcited among Christian people in favor of his orphan family, and a\nspirit of liberality and of prayer was extensively cherished. \"They\nsent me,\" says the grateful evangelist, \"butter, sugar, chocolate,\npickles, cheese, and flour, for my orphans; and indeed, I could\nalmost say, they would pluck out their own eyes and give me. O that\nwhat God says of the church of Philadelphia may now be fulfilled in\nthe city called after her name--'I know thy works.'\"\n\nThe ready liberality which everywhere met Whitefield, determined\nhim to pursue his journey by land. He therefore procured a vessel,\nin which he sent on his family and their supplies to Savannah. Of\nthis sloop, Captain Gladman was master; and a young man who had\nrecently been converted by the preaching of the great evangelist,\nwillingly offered himself as mate. We have already seen that he was\naccompanied southward as far as Chester by a very large company of\ngentlemen of Philadelphia; and on his arrival at that place, a court\nwas about to open, but the judges sent him word that they would\nnot commence their business until the sermon, which they expected\nfrom him, was over. Nearly a thousand people had travelled from\nPhiladelphia to hear it, and it was thought that those collected\nfrom places many miles around, composed an assembly of not less than\nseven thousand persons. A platform was erected, and it was believed\nthat many of his hearers obtained something infinitely better than\nthe mere gratification of their curiosity.\n\nAmong other places at which he preached on this journey, was White\nClay creek, endeared to him not only as the place where he first met\nwith his beloved friend William Tennent, but as the residence of\na Welsh family who had heard him preach at Cardiff and Kingswood\nbefore they emigrated, and who bore, what was to him a fact of\nendearing interest, the name of _Howell_. But during this tour\nWhitefield had to endure considerable privations and peril in riding\nthrough the woods. On one occasion, he heard the wolves \"howling\nlike a kennel of hounds\" near to the road; on another, he had a\nnarrow escape in trying to cross the Potomac in a storm. Here also\nhe had once to swim his horse, owing to the floods; for it was now\nthe depth of winter. One night, Seward and he lost their way in the\nwoods of South Carolina, and were much alarmed at seeing groups\nof negroes dancing around large fires. Notwithstanding all the\nhardships, however, of the journey, no real injury was sustained\nfrom it.\n\nOur evangelist at length arrived at Charleston in good health and\nspirits. But he could not obtain admittance to St. Philip's church;\nGarden, the commissary, who had once promised to \"defend him with\nlife and fortune,\" was absent, and the curate would not open the\ndoors without his leave. The people, however, had not forgotten him,\nand the Rev. Josiah Smith, the congregational minister, and the\npastor of the French church, at once threw open their houses and\npulpits, and rich indeed were the blessings they enjoyed.\n\nThe congregations during his present visit to Charleston were large\nand polite; but he says they presented \"an affected finery and\ngayety of dress and deportment, which I question if the court-end\nof London could exceed.\" Before he left, however, there was what\nhe called \"a glorious alteration in the audience.\" Many of them\nwept; and the hitherto light and airy had visibly strong feelings,\nas shown in their countenances. Such was their extreme anxiety to\nhear more from him, that after he had gone to the shore to sail for\nGeorgia, they prevailed on him to preach again.\n\nOn the next morning, Whitefield and his companions left Charleston\nin a canoe for Savannah; and on their way lay on the ground in the\nwoods, surrounded by large fires to keep off the wild beasts. On\nthis fact he makes the reflection, \"An emblem, I thought, of the\ndivine love and presence keeping off evils and corruptions from the\nsoul.\" On his arrival at Savannah, January 11, 1740, he was very\nhappy to meet his family, who had arrived there three weeks before\nhim; and to find, by letters from England, New York, etc., that the\nwork of the Lord prospered. One thing, however, greatly distressed\nhim. The colony of Georgia was reduced even to a much lower state\nthan when he left it, and was deserted by nearly all who could get\naway. He thought that to employ those who were left, would render\nthem an important service, and that the money thus expended might be\nthe means of keeping them in the colony.\n\nDuring the absence of Mr. Whitefield from Georgia, Mr. Habersham\nhad fixed on a plot of ground of five hundred acres, about ten\nmiles from Savannah, on which the orphan-house should stand, and\nhad already commenced to clear and stock it. The orphans, in the\nmean time, were accommodated in a hired house. Whitefield afterwards\nregretted the course pursued. He found the condition of the orphans\nso pitiable, and the inhabitants so poor, that he immediately\nopened an infirmary, hired a large house at a great rent, and took\nin, at different times, twenty-four orphans.\n\nIn the March following, Whitefield was again at Charleston, where he\nwent to meet his brother, the captain of a ship, from England. Here\nhe was requested by many of the inhabitants to give some account of\nhis poor orphans, which he did in the house of worship occupied by\nhis friend the Rev. Josiah Smith, the first native of South Carolina\nwho received a literary degree. Such was the spirit excited, that\nthe collection amounted to seventy pounds sterling. This was no\nsmall encouragement, especially as he had reason to believe that\nmost of it came from those who had received spiritual benefit from\nhis ministry.\n\nBut if Whitefield now had his joys in Charleston, so he had also\nhis sorrows. We have seen that in a previous visit to this city,\nhe had considered himself \"set for the defence of the gospel.\" He\nhad remarked, in reference to the twelfth article of the church of\nEngland, \"Observe, my dear brethren, the words of the article, 'Good\nworks are the fruit of faith, and follow after justification.' How\ncan they then precede, or be in any way the cause of it? No, our\npersons must be justified, before our performances can be accepted.\"\nCommissary Garden, of whom we have already spoken, now seized the\nopportunity of Whitefield's visit to Charleston, to write him a\nletter, dated March 17, attacking his doctrine of justification, and\nchallenging him to defend what he had said concerning the bishop of\nLondon and his clergy. In this letter, he urged in reply to what\nthe evangelist had said, \"If good works do necessarily spring out\nof a true and lively faith, and a true and lively faith necessarily\nprecedes justification, the consequence is plain, that good works\nmust not only follow after, but precede justification also.\"\nWhitefield replied the next day, \"I perceive that you are angry\novermuch. Was I never so much inclined to dispute, I would stay\ntill the cool of the day. Your letter more and more confirms me,\nthat my charge against the clergy is just and reasonable. It would\nbe endless to enter into such a private debate as you, reverend\nsir, seem desirous of. You have read my sermon: be pleased to read\nit again; and if there be any thing contrary to sound doctrine, or\nthe Articles of the church of England, be pleased to let the public\nknow it from the press; and then let the world judge whether you or\nmy brethren the clergy have been rashly slandered.\" This was but\nthe commencement of a controversy, in which were concerned Garden\nof Charleston, and the Rev. Messrs. Croswell and Gee of Boston,\nportions of which are preserved in the Old South church library, in\nthe latter city; and which was afterwards resumed between Garden\nand Smith, of Charleston, in the \"South Carolina Gazette,\" as may\nbe seen in the library of the American Antiquarian Society at\nWorcester, Massachusetts.\n\nIn the mean time, Whitefield had returned to Savannah, and on\nMarch 25, he laid the first brick of the main building of the\norphan-house, which he called _Bethesda_, that is, a house of mercy.\nIt was built of wood, and measured seventy feet by forty. By this\ntime nearly forty children had been received, to be provided for\nwith food and raiment; and counting the workmen with these, he had\nnearly one hundred persons to feed day by day. To do all this he\nhad very little money in the bank; still he was not discouraged,\nbeing persuaded that his present duty was to advance the interests\nof the colony by carrying on his work. \"As yet,\" says he, \"I am\nkept from the least doubting. The more my family increases, the\nmore enlargement and comfort I feel. Set thy almighty _fiat_ to it,\nO gracious Father, and for thine own name's sake convince us more\nand more, that thou wilt never forsake those who put their trust in\nthee.\" On reviewing this passage fifteen years afterwards, he wrote,\n\"Hitherto, blessed be God, I have not been disappointed of my hope.\"\n\nWe close our present chapter with a very short visit to Charleston.\nIn this city Whitefield had assuredly produced a very extraordinary\nexcitement, and very opposite opinions were entertained in reference\nto his character and doctrines. On the day after he had laid the\nfirst stone of Bethesda, Mr. Smith undertook at Charleston to defend\nthe conduct and character of his beloved friend, in a sermon from\nJob 32:17: \"I said, I will answer also my part; I also will show\nmine opinion.\" As this discourse was published during the following\nJune, with a commendatory preface by the Rev. Drs. Colman and Cooper\nof Boston, and is still highly valued as a piece of contemporary\nhistory, we give an extract, particularly as to the _manner_ of the\npreaching of the great evangelist.\n\n\"He is certainly a finished preacher. A noble negligence ran\nthrough his style. The passion and flame of his expressions will,\nI trust, be long felt by many. My pen cannot describe his action\nand gestures, in all their strength and decencies. He appeared to\nme, in all his discourses, to be very deeply affected and impressed\nin his own heart. How did that burn and boil within him, when he\nspake of the things which he had 'made touching the King.' How was\nhis tongue like the pen of a ready writer, touched as with a coal\nfrom the altar. With what a flow of words, what a ready profusion\nof language, did he speak to us upon the great concerns of our\nsouls. In what a flaming light did he set _our_ eternity before\nus. How earnestly he pressed Christ upon us. How did he move our\npassions with the constraining love of _such_ a Redeemer. The awe,\nthe silence, the attention which sat upon the face of the great\naudience, was an argument how he could reign over all their powers.\nMany thought he spake as never man spake before him. So charmed\nwere the people with his manner of address, that they shut up their\nshops, forgot their secular business, and laid aside their schemes\nfor the world; and the oftener he preached, the keener edge he\nseemed to put upon their desires to hear him again.\n\n\"How awfully, with what thunder and sound, did he discharge the\nartillery of heaven upon us. And yet, how could he soften and\nmelt even a soldier of Ulysses with the mercy of God. How close,\nstrong, and pungent were his applications to the conscience;\nmingling light and heat; pointing the arrows of the Almighty at the\nhearts of sinners, while he poured in the balm upon the wounds of\nthe contrite, and made broken bones rejoice. Eternal themes, the\ntremendous solemnities of our religion, were all _alive_ upon his\ntongue. So, methinks--if you will forgive the figure--St. Paul would\n_look_ and speak in a pulpit. In some such manner, I am tempted to\nconceive of a seraph, were he sent down to preach among us, and to\ntell us what things he had seen and heard above.\n\nHow bold and courageous did he look. He was no flatterer; he would\nnot suffer men to settle on their lees; and did not prophesy smooth\nthings, nor sew pillows under their arms. He taught the way of God\nin truth, and regarded not the persons of men. He struck at the\npolitest and most modish of our vices, and at the most fashionable\nentertainments, regardless of every one's presence, but His in whose\nname he spoke with this authority. And I dare warrant, if none\nshould go to these diversions until they have answered the solemn\nquestions he put to their consciences, our theatre would soon sink\nand perish. I freely own he has taken my heart.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nCONTINUATION OF WHITEFIELD'S SECOND VISIT TO AMERICA. 1740.\n\n\nAt the period when Whitefield laid the cornerstone of his Bethesda,\nhis health was much impaired, and his spirits depressed. But it\nwas necessary that funds should be obtained, to meet the claims\nnow daily made upon him. He had received handsome donations from\nCharleston, New York, and Philadelphia, yet the urgent demand was\nfor more. He therefore embarked from Charleston for Newcastle,\nDelaware, in a sloop, and arrived there in about ten days. Passing\non from thence to Philadelphia, he found the churches closed against\nhim. The commissary told him that he would lend the church to him\nno more. The laconic answer of Whitefield was, \"The fields are\nopen;\" and eight thousand people assembled to hear him the same\nevening, and ten thousand on the following day. On the following\nLord's day morning, he collected one hundred and ten pounds sterling\nfor his \"poor orphans,\" and then went to the Episcopal church,\nwhere the commissary preached a sermon on justification by works.\nAs Whitefield was recognized at church, it was naturally expected\nthat in the evening he would answer the sermon; nor was the public\nexpectation disappointed. After his sermon, he collected eighty\npounds more for Bethesda.\n\nBut far higher success than this attended his labors. Societies for\nworship were commenced in different parts of the town; not a few\nbegan seriously to inquire after the way of salvation; many negroes\ncame to the evangelist with the inquiry, \"Have I a soul?\" and a\nchurch was formed, of which the distinguished Gilbert Tennent was\nthe eminently useful pastor. No less than one hundred and forty, who\nhad undergone a previous strict examination as to their personal\npiety, were received as constituent members of the church, and large\nadditions were from time to time made to their number.\n\nSeveral events of special interest occurred during this visit to\nPhiladelphia. Tennent had to tell a series of delightful facts\nas to the usefulness of Whitefield's former labors. He began to\ndeliberate on a plan for a negro school in Pennsylvania, as he did\nafterwards also in Virginia, but unexpected difficulties intervened,\nand both in the end were abandoned. Mr. Jones, the Baptist minister\nof the city, told Whitefield of the change produced by his former\npreaching on the minds of two ministers; one of whom stated to his\ncongregation that he had hitherto been deceiving both himself and\nthem, and added, that he could not preach to them at present, but\nrequested them to unite in prayer with him; and the other resigned\nhis charge, to itinerate among the unenlightened villages of New\nJersey and elsewhere. Another fact was, that an Indian trader became\nso impressed with the preaching of Whitefield, that he had given up\nhis business, and was gone to teach the Indians with whom he used to\ntrade. Nor had his usefulness stopped here: he heard of a drinking\nclub, which had attached to it a negro boy remarkable for his powers\nof mimicry. This boy was directed by the gentlemen who composed the\nclub to exercise his powers on Mr. Whitefield: he did so, but very\nreluctantly; at length he stood up and said, \"I speak the truth in\nChrist, I lie not; unless you repent, you will all be damned.\" This\nunexpected speech had such an effect as to break up the club, which\nmet no more.\n\nWe add a few paragraphs from Seward's journal, who soon after\nsailed for England to promote the interests of Georgia, and who\ndied in the parent country. They date from the 24th to the 26th of\nApril. \"Came to Christopher Wigner's plantation in Skippack, where\nmany Dutch people are settled, and where the famous Mr. Spalemburg\nlately resided. It was surprising to see such a multitude of people\ngathered together in such a wilderness country, thirty miles distant\nfrom Philadelphia. Mr. Whitefield was exceedingly carried out,\nin his sermon, to press poor sinners to come to Christ by faith,\nand claim all their privileges; namely, not only righteousness\nand peace, but joy in the Holy Ghost; and after he had done, our\ndear friend Peter Bohler preached in Dutch, to those who could not\nunderstand Mr. Whitefield in English.\"\n\n\"Before Mr. Whitefield left Philadelphia, he was desired to visit\none who was under a deep sense of sin, from hearing him preach. In\npraying with this person, he was so carried beyond himself, that\nthe whole company, about twenty, seemed to be filled with the Holy\nGhost, and magnified the God of heaven.\"\n\n\"Arose at three o'clock, and though Mr. Whitefield was very weak\nin body, yet the Lord enabled him to ride nearly fifty miles, and\nto preach to about five thousand people at Amwell, with the same\npower as usual. Mr. Gilbert Tennent, Mr. Rowland, Mr. Wales, and Mr.\nCampbell, four godly ministers, met us here.\"\n\n\"Came to New Brunswick. Met Mr. Noble from New York, a zealous\npromoter of our Lord's kingdom. He said their society at New York\nwas enlarged from seventy to one hundred and seventy, and was\ndaily increasing; and that Messrs. Gilbert and William Tennent,\nMr. Rowland, and several others, were hard laborers in our Lord's\nvineyard.\"\n\nIt will be readily supposed that by this time Whitefield and\nhis movements had become so much a matter of interest as to be\nfrequently discussed in the newspapers of the day.\n\nThe \"New England Weekly Journal\" of April 29, 1740, copies from a\nPhiladelphia paper of April 17: \"The middle of last month the Rev.\nMr. Whitefield was at Charleston, and preached five times, and\ncollected at one time upwards of \u00a370 sterling for the benefit of\nthe orphan-house in Georgia; and on Sunday last, after ten days'\npassage from Georgia, he landed at Newcastle, where he preached\nmorning and evening. On Monday morning he preached to about three\nthousand at Wilmington, and in the evening arrived in this city.\nOn Tuesday evening he preached to about eight thousand on Society\nhill, and preached at the same place yesterday morning and evening.\"\nThen follows a list of his appointments daily to April 29, during\nwhich time he was to preach at Whitemarsh, Germantown, Philadelphia,\nSalem, N. J., Neshaminy, Skippack, Frederick township, Amwell, New\nBrunswick, Elizabethtown, and New York. On May 6th, the Journal\ncopied a Philadelphia notice of April 24th, that he had preached on\nthe previous Sabbath to fifteen thousand hearers, and on Monday at\nGreenwich and Gloucester, and that he would return to Georgia before\nvisiting New England.\n\nThe Journal of May 20th, contains a letter from Whitefield to a\nfriend in England, dated New Brunswick, N. J., April 27. Of his\nvisit to Charleston he says, \"A glorious work was begun in the\nhearts of the inhabitants, and many were brought to cry out, 'What\nshall we do to be saved?' A fortnight ago, after a short passage of\nten days, I landed in Pennsylvania, and have had the pleasure of\nseeing and hearing that my poor endeavors for promoting Christ's\nkingdom, when here last, were not altogether in vain in the Lord. I\ncannot tell you how many have come to me laboring under the deepest\nconvictions, and seemingly truly desirous of finding rest in Jesus\nChrist. Several have actually received him into their hearts by\nfaith, and have not only righteousness and peace, but joy in the\nHoly Ghost. In short, the word has run and been much glorified, and\nmany negroes also are in a fair way of being brought home to God.\nYoung ones I intend to buy, and do not despair of seeing a room full\nof that despised generation, in a short time, singing and making\nmelody with grace in their hearts to the Lord.\n\n\"An effectual door is opened for preaching the everlasting gospel,\nand I daily receive fresh and most importunate invitations to preach\nin all the counties round about. God is pleased to give a great\nblessing to my printed sermons. They are in the hands of thousands\nin these parts, and are a means of enlightening and building up many\nin their most holy faith. The clergy, I find, are most offended\nat me. The commissary of Philadelphia, having gotten a little\nstronger than when I was here last, has thrown off the mask, denied\nme the pulpit, and last Sunday preached up an historical faith,\nand justification by works. But the people only flock the more.\nThe power of God is more visible than ever in our assemblies, and\nmore and more are convinced that I preach the doctrine of Jesus\nChrist. Some of the bigoted, self-righteous Quakers now also begin\nto spit out a little of the venom of the serpent. They cannot bear\nthe doctrine of original sin, and of an imputed righteousness as\nthe cause of our acceptance with God. I have not yet met with much\nopposition from the dissenters; but when I come to tell many of\nthem, ministers as well as people, that they hold the truth in\nunrighteousness, that they talk and preach of justifying faith,\nbut never felt it in their hearts, as I am persuaded numbers of\nthem have not, then they no doubt will shoot out their arrows, even\nbitter words.\"\n\nWhile on his voyage from Charleston to Newcastle, Whitefield seems\nto have devoted the 4th of April, 1740, to correspondence on the\nsubject of marriage. \"I find,\" said he, \"by experience, that a\nmistress is absolutely necessary for the due management of my\nincreasing family, and to take off some of that care which at\npresent lies upon me.\" His letters were addressed to a young lady\nand her parents, connected with a family much devoted to piety.\nHere, as everywhere else, his heart is transparent. He says to the\nparents of Miss E----, \"I write only because I believe it is the\nwill of God that I should alter my state; but your denial will fully\nconvince me that your daughter is not the person appointed for me.\nHe knows my heart; I would not marry but for him, and in him, for\nten thousand worlds.\"\n\nThe next year, having returned to England, Whitefield, like his\neminent friend John Wesley, was married, and, like him also, was\nunhappy in his domestic relation. In each case, the husband exacted\na previous pledge that the wife should never prevent the delivery\nof a single sermon; and this was followed by separation from the\nwife for weeks, months, or even years, in the prosecution of their\narduous labors. In the case of Whitefield, his marriage in Wales,\nwith a widow lady, in 1741, was followed by the birth of a son;\nprevious to which event he had said, in the joy of his heart, that\nhis name should be John, and that he should be a preacher of the\neverlasting gospel. The first prediction was realized, and when\nhis child was a week old, the good man told his people in the\nTabernacle, London, that he would live to preach, and \"be great in\nthe sight of the Lord.\" But alas, at the end of four months John\ndied, and his father very wisely wrote in his journal: \"I hope what\nhappened before his birth, and since at his death, has taught me\nsuch lessons as, if duly improved, may render his mistaken parent\nmore sober-minded, more experienced in Satan's devices, and\nconsequently more useful in his future labors in the church of God.\"\n\nOn the death of his wife somewhat suddenly, August 9, 1768, Mr.\nWhitefield himself preached her funeral sermon, from Romans 8:28:\n\"And we know that all things work together for good to them that\nlove God, to them that are the called according to his purpose.\" In\ndescribing her character, he particularly mentioned her fortitude\nand courage, and suddenly exclaimed, \"Do you remember my preaching\nin those fields by the stump of the old tree? The multitude was\ngreat, and many were disposed to be riotous. At first I addressed\nthem with firmness; but when a gang of desperate banditti drew\nnear, with the most ferocious looks, and horrid imprecations and\nmenaces, my courage began to fail. My wife was then standing behind\nme, as I stood on the table. I think I hear her now. She pulled my\ngown\"--himself suiting the action to the word, by placing his hand\nbehind him and touching his robe--\"and looking up, said, 'George,\nplay the man for your God.' My confidence returned. I again spoke to\nthe multitude with boldness and affection; they became still; and\nmany were deeply affected.\"\n\nBefore we leave Philadelphia, we may relate an instance or two as\nto the power of his eloquence. Dr. Franklin says, \"He had a loud\nand clear voice, and articulated his words so perfectly that he\nmight be heard and understood to a great distance; especially as his\nauditors observed the most profound silence. He preached one evening\nfrom the top of the court-house steps, which are in the middle of\nMarket-street, and on the west side of Second-street, which crosses\nit at right angles. Both streets were filled with his hearers to a\nconsiderable distance. Being among the hindmost in Market-street,\nI had the curiosity to learn how far he might be heard by setting\nbackwards down the street towards the river; and I found his voice\ndistinct till I came near Front-street, where some noise in that\nstreet obstructed it. Imagine, then, a semicircle of which my\ndistance should be a radius, and that it was filled with auditors,\nto each of whom I allowed two square feet, I computed that he might\nwell be heard by more than thirty thousand people.\"\n\nBut not only does Franklin bear witness of Whitefield's eloquence as\nto his voice, but still more strongly as to its _persuasiveness_, of\nwhich, it seems, he was himself a striking illustration. He says, \"I\nrefused to contribute to his orphan-house in Georgia, thinking it\ninjudiciously located. Soon after, I happened to attend one of his\nsermons, in the course of which I perceived he intended to finish\nwith a collection, and I silently resolved he should get nothing\nfrom me. I had in my pocket a handful of copper money, three or\nfour silver dollars, and five pistoles in gold. As he proceeded, I\nbegan to soften, and determined to give the copper. Another stroke\nof his oratory made me ashamed of that, and determined me to give\nthe silver; and he finished so admirably, that I emptied my pocket\nwholly into the collector's dish, gold and all. At this sermon there\nwas also one of our club; who being of my sentiments respecting the\nbuilding at Georgia, and suspecting a collection might be intended,\nhad, by precaution, emptied his pockets before he came from home.\nTowards the conclusion of the discourse, however, he felt a strong\ninclination to give, and applied to a neighbor, who stood near him,\nto lend him some money for the purpose. The request was made to,\nperhaps, the only man in the company who had the firmness not to be\naffected by the preacher. His answer was, 'At any other time, friend\nHodgkinson, I would lend to thee freely; but not now, for thee seems\nto be out of thy right senses.'\"\n\nWhitefield, much as he loved Philadelphia, had now again to leave\nit. Thus writes the correspondent of the \"New England Weekly\nJournal,\" at Newcastle, May 15: \"This evening Mr. Whitefield went\non board his sloop here, to sail for Georgia. On Sunday he preached\ntwice In Philadelphia, and in the evening, when he preached his\nfarewell sermon, it is supposed he had twenty thousand hearers. On\nMonday he preached at Darby and Chester; on Tuesday, at Wilmington\nand White Clay creek; on Wednesday, twice at Nottingham; on\nThursday, at Fog's Manor and Newcastle. The congregations were\nmuch increased since his being here last. The presence of God was\nmuch seen in the assemblies, especially at Nottingham and Fog's\nManor, where the people were under such deep soul distress, that\ntheir cries almost drowned his voice. He has collected in this and\nthe neighboring provinces, about \u00a3450 sterling for his orphans in\nGeorgia.\"\n\nHe arrived at Savannah June 5, and most interesting was the manner\nof his reception. He says, \"O what a sweet meeting I had with my\ndear friends! What God has prepared for me, I know not; but surely\nI cannot well expect a greater happiness, till I embrace the saints\nin glory. When I parted, my heart was ready to break with sorrow;\nbut now it almost bursts with joy. O how did each in turn hang upon\nmy neck, kiss, and weep over me with tears of joy! And my own soul\nwas so full of a sense of God's love when I embraced one friend\nin particular, that I thought I should have expired in the place.\nI felt my soul so full of a sense of the divine goodness, that I\nwanted words to express myself. Why me, Lord; why me? When we came\nto public worship, young and old were all dissolved in tears. After\nservice, several of my parishioners, all my family, and the little\nchildren, returned home, crying along the streets, and some could\nnot avoid praying very loud.\n\n\"Being very weak in body, I laid myself upon a bed; but finding so\nmany weeping, I rose and betook myself to prayer again. But had\nI not lifted up my voice very high, the groans and cries of the\nchildren would have prevented my being heard. This continued for\nnear an hour; till at last, finding their concern rather increase\nthan abate, I desired all to retire. Then some or other might be\nheard praying earnestly, in every corner of the house. It happened\nat this time to thunder and lighten, which added very much to the\nsolemnity of the night. Next day the concern still continued,\nespecially among the girls. I mention the orphans in particular,\nthat their benefactors may rejoice in what God is doing for their\nsouls.\"\n\nOn the 7th of June, he wrote, \"I have brought with me a Latin\nmaster, and on Monday laid the foundation, in the name of the Lord\nJesus, for a university in Georgia.\" On the 28th of the same month,\nhe wrote to a Mr. W. D----, in a style admirably corresponding with\nthe meek spirit we have already seen in his letter to the Rev.\nDr. Pemberton, of New York. \"I thank you for your kind letters\nand friendly cautions; and I trust I shall always reckon those my\nchoicest friends, who, in simplicity and meekness, tell me the\ncorruptions of my heart. It is that faithfulness which has endeared\nJ. S---- to me. I think I never was obliged to any one so much\nbefore. O my dear brother, still continue faithful to my soul; do\nnot hate me in your heart; in any wise reprove me. Exhort all my\nbrethren to forgive my past, I fear, too imperious carriage; and let\nthem pray that I may know myself to be, what I really am, less than\nthe least of them all.\"\n\nWhitefield's family at Bethesda had now increased to not less than\none hundred and fifty persons, and to advance their interests, it\nwas needful that he should again visit Charleston, where he arrived\non the third of July, and immediately commenced preaching, as on\nformer visits. On the following Sabbath, three days after his\narrival, he attended the Episcopal church, where, he says, \"I heard\nthe commissary preach as virulent and unorthodox, inconsistent a\ndiscourse, as ever I heard in my life. His heart seemed full of\ncholer and resentment. Out of the abundance thereof, he poured forth\nso many bitter words against the Methodists, as he called them, in\ngeneral, and me in particular, that several who intended to receive\nthe sacrament at his hands, withdrew. Never, I believe, was such\na preparation sermon preached before. After sermon, he sent his\nclerk to desire me not to come to the sacrament till he had spoken\nwith me. I immediately retired to my lodgings, rejoicing that I was\naccounted worthy to suffer this further degree of contempt for my\ndear Lord's sake.\"\n\nThe next day, the commissary of the bishop of London issued against\nWhitefield the following ecclesiastical writ:\n\n\"Alexander Garden, lawfully constituted Commissary of the Right\nReverend Father in Christ, Edmund, by divine permission Lord Bishop\nof London, supported by the royal authority underwritten:\n\n\"Alexander Garden, To all and singular clerks, and literate persons\nwhomsoever, in and throughout the whole province of South Carolina,\nwheresoever appointed, Greeting:\n\n\"To you, conjunctly and severally, we commit, and strictly\nenjoining, command, that you do cite, or cause to be cited,\nperemptorily, George Whitefield, clerk, and presbyter of the Church\nof England, that he lawfully appear before us, in the parish church\nof St. Philip, Charleston, and in the judicial place of the same, on\nTuesday, the fifteenth day of this instant July, 'twixt the hours of\nnine and ten in the forenoon, then and there in justice to answer to\ncertain articles, heads, or interrogatories, which will be objected\nand ministered unto him concerning the mere health of his soul, and\nthe reformation and correction of his manners and excesses, and\nchiefly for omitting to use the form of prayers prescribed in the\nCommunion-Book; and further to do and receive what shall be just\nin that behalf, on pain of law and contempt. And what you shall do\nin the premises, you shall duly certify us, together with these\npresents.\n\n\"Given under our hands and seals of our office, at Charleston, this\nseventh day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven\nhundred and forty.\"\n\nJustice to all parties requires it should be said, that the phrase\nas to the health of Whitefield's _soul_ was used by Garden not of\nchoice, but in conformity with the forms of English ecclesiastical\nlaw; the theory of which is, that ecclesiastical courts are only\nheld to promote the spiritual health or welfare of those who are\ncited into them. The principal sin of Whitefield was \"omitting to\nuse the form of prayer prescribed in the Common Prayer Book.\" The\nundisputed matter of fact, as Tracy says, was, that he always used\nthat form when he could obtain an Episcopal church to preach in; but\nwhen he was shut out of such pulpits, and was preaching to Baptists,\nPresbyterians, and Congregationalists, in their own houses of\nworship, where none of the congregations had prayer books, or knew\nhow to use them, and where the introduction of unaccustomed forms\nwould not have promoted the devotion of the worshippers, he prayed\nextempore.\n\nOn the day this writ was issued, Whitefield preached for Mr.\nChanler, \"a gracious Baptist minister, about fourteen miles from\nCharleston;\" and twice on the next day \"to a large audience in\nMr. Osgood's meeting-house, a young Independent minister,\" at\nDorchester; the next day at Dorchester again, and at Charleston\nin the evening; the next day preached and read prayers in Christ's\nchurch, and twice at Charleston the next day, with great success.\nAnd now, on July 11th, a citation was served upon him to appear on\nthe fifteenth, as required in the writ.\n\nOn the 12th, he preached and read prayers twice on John's island;\nand on the 13th, which was the Sabbath, he again listened to a\nsermon from the commissary. Of this sermon Whitefield says, \"Had\nsome infernal spirit been sent to draw my picture, I think it\nscarcely possible that he could paint me in more horrid colors. I\nthink, if ever, then was the time that all manner of evil was spoken\nagainst me falsely for Christ's sake. The commissary seemed to\nransack church history for instances of enthusiasm and abused grace.\nHe drew a parallel between me and all the Oliverians, Ranters,\nQuakers, French prophets, till he came down to a family of Dutartes,\nwho lived not many years ago in South Carolina, and were guilty of\nthe most notorious incests and murders.\"\n\nThe next day Whitefield again preached twice; and on Tuesday\nappeared before the commissary, according to his citation. This is\nsaid to have been the first court of the kind ever attempted to be\nheld in any of the colonies. It consisted of the reverend commissary\nA. Garden, and the Rev. Messrs. Guy, Mellichamp, Roe, and Orr, who,\nas well as Whitefield himself, and his able advocate, Mr. Andrew\nRutledge, respectively showed their want of familiarity with such\nbusiness, and, after a series of blunders on both sides, the court\nadjourned to nine o'clock the next morning, to afford Whitefield\ntime to ascertain the extent of the jurisdiction of the bishop and\nhis commissary. How little, however, he studied the subject may be\ninferred from the fact, that he preached twice during the remainder\nof the day. The next day, a Mr. Graham appeared as a prosecuting\nattorney, and Mr. Rutledge as counsel for the respondent. Whitefield\nmade some mistakes, but hints from his quick-sighted advocate and\nhis own adroitness saved him from their consequences; though he\ncontrived to give the court a lecture on the meanness of catching at\na word as soon as it was out of his lips, without allowing him time\nto correct it. He now filed his objection against being judged by\nthe commissary, who, he alleged, was prejudiced against him. This\ngave rise to new questions: the court adjourned; and the evangelist\nwent to James' island, read prayers, and preached. The next day\nhe again appeared in court, and found that his exceptions were\nrepelled, and that the arbitrators he had asked for would not be\nappointed. He now appealed to the high Court of Chancery in London,\ndeclaring all further proceedings in this court to be null and\nvoid. He then retired and read letters which refreshed his spirit,\nby informing him how \"mightily grew the word of God and prevailed\"\nat Philadelphia; and that Mr. Bolton, in Georgia, had nearly fifty\nnegroes learning to read. On the 18th he preached twice, and on the\n19th again appeared before the commissary, and bound himself, in\na penalty of ten pounds, to prosecute his appeal in London within\ntwelve months. The appeal was never tried, as the ecclesiastical\nauthorities allowed it to die of neglect.\n\n\"The court being ended,\" says Whitefield, in his journal, \"the\ncommissary desired to speak with me. I asked him to my lodgings. He\nchose to walk on a green near the church. His spirit was somewhat\ncalmer than usual; but after an hour's conversation, we were as far\nfrom agreeing as before.\" \"All his discourse was so inconsistent and\ncontrary to the gospel of our Lord, that I was obliged to tell him\nthat I believed him to be an unconverted man, an enemy to God, and\nof a like spirit with the persecutor Saul. At this he smiled; and,\nafter we had talked a long while, we parted, and God gave me great\nsatisfaction that I had delivered my soul in my private conversation\nwith the commissary.\"\n\nThe next day, July 20, was the Sabbath. The commissary preached in\nhis usual style, and Whitefield preached his farewell sermon to\nthe people of Charleston. By his recommendation two or three of\nthe dissenting ministers had instituted a weekly lecture; and the\nevangelist \"advised the people, as the gospel was not preached in\nchurch, to go and hear it in the meeting-house.\" On leaving the\ncity, he summed up, in his journal, the results of his labors in\nthis manner:\n\n\"What makes the change more remarkable in the Charleston people\nis, that they seemed to me, at my first coming, to be a people\nwholly devoted to pleasure. One well acquainted with their\nmanners and circumstances, told me more had been spent on polite\nentertainments, than the poor's-rate came to; but now the jewellers\nand dancing-masters begin to cry out that their craft is in danger.\nA vast alteration is discernible in the ladies' dresses. And some,\nwhile I have been speaking, have been so convinced of the sin of\nwearing jewels, that I have seen them with blushes put their hands\nto their ears, and cover them with their fans. But I hope the\nreformation has gone farther than externals. Many moral, good sort\nof men, who before were settled on their lees, have been gloriously\nawakened to seek after Jesus Christ; and many a Lydia's heart hath\nbeen opened to receive the things that were spoken. Indeed, the word\ncame like a hammer and a fire. And a door, I believe, will be opened\nfor teaching the poor negroes. Several of them have done their usual\nwork in less time, that they might come to hear me. Many of their\nowners, who have been awakened, resolved to teach them Christianity.\nHad I time, and proper schoolmasters, I might immediately erect a\nnegro school in South Carolina, as well as in Pennsylvania. Many\nwould willingly contribute both money and land.\"\n\nThe Baptist church in Charleston at this time was nearly extinct,\nbeing reduced to five or six communicants, but Whitefield's success\ngreatly increased their number, and it thus gained strength which\nit has never lost. It is also gratefully mentioned even now by the\nchurch of that denomination at Eutaw, that Whitefield during this\nvisit to South Carolina preached the dedication-sermon of their\nhouse of worship.\n\nWhitefield left Charleston on July 21, visiting and preaching on his\nway homeward, which he reached towards the close of the same week.\nHe preached on the Sabbath in extreme weakness of body, but \"with\nthe Holy Ghost from above,\" and several were hopefully converted to\nGod. On the 18th of August, he again left Savannah for Charleston,\nwhere he was able, for want of bodily strength, to preach but once a\nday, but he thought that his sermons were attended with more power\nand success than ever before. In a few days after, having preached a\nfarewell sermon to four thousand hearers, he sailed for New England,\nwhere he had been very cordially invited by leading ministers and\nothers in Boston and many other places.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI.\n\nWHITEFIELD'S FIRST VISIT TO NEW ENGLAND.\n\nSEPTEMBER TO NOVEMBER, 1740.\n\n\nThe religious state of New England in the early part of the\neighteenth century, was little better than the description we\nhave already given of the state of Great Britain and its other\ndependencies at that period. Dr. Prince tells us, that the first age\nof New England was one of an almost continual revival. Preaching was\nattended with so much power in some places, \"that it was a common\ninquiry, by such members of a family as were detained at home on a\nSabbath, whether any had been visibly awakened in the house of God\nthat day.\" And he adds, \"Few Sabbaths did pass without some being\nevidently converted, and some convincing proof of the power of God\naccompanying his word.\"\n\nDr. Increase Mather, writing towards the close of the seventeenth\ncentury, while he confirms the statements we have already given,\nbears farther testimony which is of a very painful character.\nHe says, \"Prayer is necessary on this account, that conversions\nhave become rare in this age of the world. They that have their\nthoughts exercised in discerning things of this nature, have sad\napprehensions that the work of conversion has come to a stand.\nDuring the last age scarcely a sermon was preached without some\nbeing apparently converted, and sometimes hundreds were converted\nby one sermon. Who of us now can say that we have seen any thing\nsuch as this? Clear, sound conversions are not frequent in our\ncongregations; the great bulk of the present generation are\napparently poor, perishing, and if the Lord prevent not, undone;\nmany are profane, drunkards, lascivious, scoffers at the power of\ngodliness, and disobedient; others are civil and outwardly conformed\nto good order, because so educated, but without knowing aught of\na real change of heart.\" The same estimable writer says, in 1721,\n\"I am now in my eighty-third year, and having had an opportunity\nof conversing with the first planters of this country, and having\nbeen for _sixty-five_ years a preacher of the gospel, I feel as did\nthe ancient men who had seen the former temple, and who wept aloud\nas they saw the latter. The children of New England are, or once\nwere, for the most part, the children of godly parents. What did our\nfathers come into this wilderness for? Not to gain estates as men\ndo now, but for religion, and that they might have their children\nin a hopeful way of being truly religious. There was a famous man\nwho preached before one of the greatest assemblies that ever was\naddressed; it was about seventy years ago; and he said to them, 'I\nlived in a country seven years, and all that time I never heard a\nprofane oath, or saw a man drunk.' And where was that country? It\nwas New England. Ah, degenerate New England! What art thou come to\nat this day? How are those sins become common that were once not\neven heard of!\"\n\nPassing over, for the present, indications of a revival of religion,\nwhich had appeared in other parts of the country, we speak now\nonly of New England. In 1734, a very extraordinary work of grace\nappeared at Northampton, Massachusetts, under the ministry of the\ndistinguished Jonathan Edwards, the elder, the history of which is\ngiven in his admirable \"Narrative of the surprising Work of God\" at\nthat period, in Northampton and the vicinity.\n\nIt is important to remark here, that the preaching which led to such\ndelightful results was of the most faithful and pungent character.\nWe will give one instance, as illustrative of many, as will be\ndistinctly seen by those who have read EDWARDS' sermon, \"_Sinners\nin the hands of an angry God_,\" or his \"_Justice of God in the\ndamnation of Sinners_.\" Perhaps, however, no sermon in New England\nhas ever acquired greater celebrity, or accomplished more good, than\nthe one preached by President Edwards at Enfield, July 8, 1741, from\nthe words, \"Their feet shall slide in due time.\" Deut. 32:35. \"When\nthey went into the meeting-house, the appearance of the assembly was\nthoughtless and vain; the people scarcely conducted themselves with\ncommon decency.\" But as the sermon proceeded, the audience became\nso overwhelmed with distress and weeping, that the preacher was\n\"obliged to speak to the people and desire silence, that he might\nbe heard.\" The excitement soon became intense; and it is said that\na minister who sat in the pulpit with Mr. Edwards, in the agitation\nof his feelings, caught the preacher by the skirt of his dress, and\nsaid, \"Mr. Edwards, Mr. Edwards, is not God a God of mercy?\" Many of\nthe hearers were seen unconsciously holding themselves up against\nthe pillars, and the sides of the pews, as though they already felt\nthemselves sliding into the pit. This fact has often been mentioned\nas a proof of the strong and scriptural character of President\nEdwards' peculiar eloquence--the eloquence of truth as attended by\ninfluence from heaven; for his sermons were read, without gestures.\n\nBut there was another element which must be taken into account when\nwe look at the result of this sermon, as well as others delivered in\nlike circumstances, and one which we fear has been often overlooked.\n\"While the people of the neighboring towns were in great distress\nabout their souls, the inhabitants of Enfield were very secure,\nloose, and vain. A lecture had been appointed there, and the\nneighboring people were so affected at the thoughtlessness of the\ninhabitants, and had so much fear that God would, in his righteous\njudgment, pass them by, that many of them were prostrate before\nhim a considerable part of the previous evening, supplicating the\nmercy of heaven in their behalf. And when the time appointed for the\nlecture came, a number of the surrounding ministers were present,\nas well as some from a distance\"--a proof of the prayerful interest\nfelt on behalf of the town. In all this we see much of the secret\nof the powerful impression produced by that sermon, and are taught\nthat in seasons when God seems about to pour out his Spirit on a\ncommunity, Christians should be found \"continuing instant in prayer.\"\n\nIn this more hopeful state of things than had long before existed\nin New England, Whitefield, who was now the second time in America,\nwas most urgently entreated to visit the descendants of the Pilgrim\nfathers. He complied with the request, and arrived at Newport on\nthe evening of the Sabbath, September 14, 1740. We furnish an\naccount, written chiefly by himself, in his journal, published in\nLondon, 1741, a copy of which may be found in the library of Harvard\nUniversity, to which we have had a kind access, and which is rich in\nwhat we may term _Whitefieldian lore_. He writes,\n\n\"Was sick part of the passage, but found afterwards the sea-air,\nunder God, much improved my health. Arrived at Newport, in Rhode\nIsland, just after the beginning of evening service. We came\npurposely thither first with our sloop. I think it the most pleasant\nentrance I ever yet saw. Almost all the morning the wind was\ncontrary; but I found a very strong inclination to pray that we\nmight arrive time enough to be present at public worship. Once I\ncalled the people; but something prevented their coming. At last,\nfinding my impression increase upon me, I desired their attendance\nimmediately. They came. With a strong assurance that we should be\nheard, we prayed that the Lord would turn the wind, that we might\ngive him thanks in the great congregation; and also that he would\nsend such to us as he would have us to converse with, and who might\nshow us a lodging. Though the wind was ahead when we began, when we\nhad done praying, and came up out of the cabin, it was quite fair.\n\n\"With a gentle gale we sailed most pleasantly into the harbor; got\ninto public worship before they had finished the psalms; and sat, as\nI thought, undiscovered. After service was over, a gentleman asked\nme whether my name was not Whitefield. I told him 'yes;' he then\ndesired me to go to his house, and he would take care to provide\nlodgings and necessaries for me and my friends. I went, silently\nadmiring God's goodness in answering my prayer so minutely. Several\ngentlemen of the town soon came to pay their respects to me, among\nwhom was one Mr. Clap, an aged dissenting minister, but the most\nvenerable man I ever saw. He looked like a good old Puritan, and\ngave me an idea of what stamp those men were who first settled New\nEngland. His countenance was very heavenly; he rejoiced much in\nspirit at the sight of me, and prayed most affectionately for a\nblessing on my coming to Rhode Island.\"\n\nIn the evening, in company with Mr. Clap and other friends,\nWhitefield visited Mr. Honeyman, the minister of the church of\nEngland, and requested the use of his pulpit. \"At first he seemed\na little unwilling, being desirous to know 'what extraordinary\ncall I had to preach on week-days,' which he said was disorderly.\nI answered, 'St. Paul exhorted Timothy to 'be instant in season\nand out of season;' that if the orders of the church were rightly\ncomplied with, our ministers should read public prayers twice every\nday, and then it would not be disorderly at such times to give them\na sermon. As to an extraordinary call, I claimed none otherwise than\nupon the apostle's injunction, 'As we have opportunity, let us do\ngood unto all men.' He still held out, and did not give any positive\nanswer; but at last, after he had withdrawn and consulted with the\ngentlemen, he said, 'If my preaching would promote the glory of\nGod, and the good of souls, I was welcome to his church as often\nas I would, during my stay in town.' We then agreed to make use of\nit at ten in the morning, and three in the afternoon. After this,\nI went to wait on the governor, who seemed to be a very plain man,\nand had a very plain house, which much pleased me. By profession,\nI think he is a Seventh-day Baptist; he is a man of good report\nas to his conduct and dealing with the world.\" As might have been\nexpected, the evening was spent in exposition and prayer, with a\ncrowded company, in the house of his friend Bowers, the gentleman\nwho first addressed him when coming out of church.\n\nOn Monday morning, he breakfasted with \"old Mr. Clap, and was much\nedified by his conversation.\" Of this venerable servant of Christ\nhe says, \"I could not but think, while at his table, that I was\nsitting with one of the patriarchs. He is full of days, a bachelor,\nand has been minister of a congregation in Rhode Island upwards of\nforty years. People of all denominations, I find, respect him. He\nabounds in good works; gives all away, and is wonderfully tender of\nlittle children; many of different persuasions come to be instructed\nby him. Whenever he dies, I am persuaded, with good old Simeon, he\nwill be enabled to say, 'Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart\nin peace.'\" Whitefield preached, according to appointment, morning\nand afternoon, \"in the church. It is very commodious, and I believe\nwill contain three thousand people. It was more than filled in the\nafternoon. Persons of all denominations attended. God assisted me\nmuch. I observed numbers affected, and had great reason to believe\nthe word of the Lord had been 'sharper than a twoedged sword,' in\nsome of the hearers' souls.\"\n\nOn the evening of the same day he received the following note:\n\n     REVEREND SIR AND BELOVED BROTHER--Although mine eyes never saw\n     your face before this day, yet my heart and soul have been\n     united to you in love, by the bond of the Spirit. I have longed\n     and expected to see you for many months past. Blessed be God,\n     mine eyes have seen the joyful day. I trust, through grace, I\n     have some things to communicate to you that will make your heart\n     glad. I shall omit writing any thing, and only hereby present\n     my hearty love, and let you know that I am waiting now at the\n     post of your door for admission. Though I am unworthy, my Lord\n     is worthy, in whose name, I trust, I come. I am your unworthy\n     brother,\n\n     \"JONATHAN BARBER.\"\n\n\"On reading it,\" says Whitefield, \"I could not but think this was\none of those young ministers whom God had lately made use of in such\na remarkable manner, at the east end of Long Island. I sent for him,\nand found he was the man. My heart rejoiced. We walked out, and took\nsweet counsel together; and among other things, he told me that he\ncame to Rhode Island under a full conviction that he should see me\nthere, and had been waiting for me about a week.... What rendered\nthis more remarkable was, I had no intention of sailing to Rhode\nIsland till about three days before I left Carolina; and I had a\ngreat desire to put in, if I could, at the east end of Long Island,\nto see this very person, whom the great God now brought unto me.\nLord, accept our thanks, sanctify our meeting, and teach us both\nwhat we shall do for thine own name's sake. In the evening I went\nto the venerable Mr. Clap's, and exhorted and prayed with a great\nmultitude, who not only crowded into the house, but thronged every\nway about it. The dear old man rejoiced to see the things which\nhe saw; and after my exhortation was over, dismissed me with his\nblessing.\"\n\nTuesday, we scarcely need remark, was spent by Whitefield in the\nwork of his great Master. He preached to a vast congregation,\nincluding the members of the House of Assembly, who adjourned to\nattend the service; and he had very delightful evidence that his\nlabors had already been useful. On Wednesday he left Newport, and\nabout noon preached at Bristol, at the request of the court, which\nwas then in session, and slept that night at a hotel on the road to\nBoston. On Thursday morning he set out early, and as he passed on\nwith his friends, he says, \"Found that the people were apprized of\nmy coming, and were solicitous for my preaching; but being resolved\nunder God, if possible, to reach Boston, we travelled on for near\nfifty miles, and came to Boston about eight in the evening. When\nwe were within four miles of the city, the governor's son, several\nother gentlemen, and one or two ministers, waited at a gentleman's\nhouse to give me the meeting. They received me with great gladness,\nand told me many more would have come, had not a large funeral\nbeen in the town, or if there had been more certain notice of my\narriving. This rejoiced me; for I think I can stand any thing\nbetter than this. It savors too much of human grandeur. But I must\nbe tried every way; the Lord be my helper. After stopping a while,\nwe went together to Boston, to the house of one Mr. Sandiford,\nbrother-in-law to the Rev. Dr. Colman, who long since had sent me an\ninvitation.... My heart was but low, and my body weak; but, at the\nrequest of one of the ministers, I gave thanks to our gracious God\nfor bringing me in safety, and prayed that my coming might be in the\nfulness of the blessing of the gospel of peace.\"\n\nHe slept well that night, and the next morning, he says, \"I\nperceived fresh emanations of divine light break in upon and refresh\nmy soul.\" He was visited by several gentlemen, including Josiah\nWillard, Esq., the secretary of the province, a man who feared God,\nand with whom Whitefield had for some time been in correspondence.\nThe governor, Belcher, received him with the utmost respect, and\nrequested frequent visits. He attended public worship at the church\nof England, and waited on the commissary home, who received him\nvery courteously. As it was a day on which the clergy of that body\nhad a meeting, he came into the company of five of them assembled\ntogether. They soon attacked him \"for calling _that Tennent_ and\nhis brethren faithful ministers of Christ.\" He answered, that he\nbelieved they were so. They questioned the validity of Presbyterian\nordination, and quoted from his journal his own words against him.\nHe replied, that perhaps his sentiments were altered. They then\nwent into a doctrinal discussion, which continued till Whitefield,\nfinding how inconsistent they were, took his leave, resolving that\nthey should not have the opportunity of denying him their pulpits.\nHowever, they treated him, on the whole, with more courtesy than he\nhad lately been accustomed to receive from the ministers of his own\nchurch.\n\nIn the afternoon of the same day, he preached to a vast congregation\nin the Rev. Dr. Colman's meeting-house, in Brattle-street, and in\nthe evening exhorted and prayed with such as came to his lodgings.\nOn Saturday, in the forenoon, he discoursed to a crowded audience at\nthe Old South church, where Dr. Sewall was pastor, the only church\nedifice in Boston with which Whitefield was connected which is still\nstanding as it then was. In the afternoon he preached on the Common\nto about eight thousand persons, and, at night to a thronged company\nat his own lodgings.\n\nOn the morning of the next day, which was the Sabbath, he heard\nDr. Colman preach; in the afternoon, he preached at Mr. Foxcroft's\nmeeting-house to a vast auditory. This gentleman was the senior\npastor of the First church, meeting in Chauncy-place, and the\nRev. Charles Chauncy was his colleague. The church edifice was in\nCornhill-square, not far from the old state-house, and was usually\ncalled the \"Old Brick meeting.\" As this house was by far too small\nto contain his auditory, he almost immediately afterwards preached\non the Common, to about fifteen thousand hearers; and again at night\nat his lodgings. He says, \"Some afterwards came into my room. I felt\nmuch of the divine presence in my own soul, and though hoarse was\nenabled to speak with much power, and could have spoke, I believe,\ntill midnight.\"\n\nOn Monday morning, Whitefield preached at Mr. Webb's meeting-house,\nthe \"New North,\" on the corner of Clark and Hanover streets. \"The\npresence of the Lord,\" he says, \"was among us. Look where I would\naround me, visible impressions were made upon the auditory. Most\nwept for a considerable time.\" In the afternoon he meant to have\npreached at Mr. Cheekley's, in Summer-street, but was prevented\nby an accident. Just before the time for the commencement of the\nservice, a person broke a board in one of the galleries, of which\nto make a seat; the noise alarmed some who heard it, and they\nimprudently cried out that the galleries were giving way. The\nhouse being much crowded, the whole congregation were thrown into\nthe utmost alarm and disorder; some jumped from the gallery into\nthe seats below, others fell from the windows, and those below\npressing to get out of the porch, were many of them thrown over each\nother and trodden upon. Many, as might be expected, were seriously\nbruised; others had bones broken; and within two days five persons\ndied from the injuries they had received. Mr. Whitefield's presence\nof mind did not fail him; he immediately led the anxious throng to\nthe Common, and preached to them from the text, \"Go ye out into the\nhighways and hedges, and compel them to come in.\" He says, \"The\nweather was wet, but above eight thousand followed into the fields.\"\n\nOn Tuesday morning, Whitefield visited Mr. Walter, at Roxbury. This\ngentleman had been the colleague, and was now the successor of John\nEliot, \"the apostle of the Indians.\" These two men had been pastors\nof that church one hundred and six years. Whitefield was much\npleased with Walter, who, in return, was glad to hear that he, like\nold Bishop Beveridge, called man \"half a devil and half a beast.\" He\npreached that forenoon at Mr. Gee's meeting-house, the \"Old North,\"\nof which church the celebrated Dr. Cotton Mather had formerly been\npastor. The house stood in the North square, and was taken down by\nthe British army and burned for fuel at the siege of Boston, in\n1776. The auditory Whitefield preached to that morning was not very\ncrowded, as the people were in doubt where he would preach. After\ndining with the secretary of the province, he says, \"I preached\nin the afternoon at Dr. Sewall's to a thronged congregation, and\nexhorted and prayed as usual at my own lodgings; at neither place\nwithout some manifestations of a divine power accompanying the word.\"\n\nWednesday was not lost. Whitefield himself shall describe its\nproceedings. \"Went this morning to see and preach at Cambridge, the\nchief college for training up the sons of the prophets in all New\nEngland. It has one president, I think four tutors, and about a\nhundred students. It is scarce as big as one of our least colleges\nin Oxford, and as far as I could gather from some who well knew the\nstate of it, not far superior to our universities in piety and true\ngodliness. Tutors neglect to pray with, and examine the hearts of\ntheir pupils. Discipline is at too low an ebb. Bad books are become\nfashionable. Tillotson and Clarke are read instead of Sheppard,\nStoddard, and such like evangelical writers; and therefore I chose\nto preach on these words: 'We are not as many, who corrupt the\nword of God;' and in the conclusion of my sermon I made a close\napplication to tutors and students. A great number of neighboring\nministers attended, as indeed they do at all other times, and God\ngave me great boldness and freedom of speech. The president of the\ncollege and minister of the parish treated me very civilly. In the\nafternoon I preached again in the court, without any particular\napplication to the students. I believe there were about seven\nthousand hearers. The Holy Spirit melted many hearts. The word was\nattended with a manifest power; and a minister soon after wrote me\nword, that 'he believed one of his daughters was savingly wrought\nupon at that time.' Paid my respects to the lieutenant-governor,\nwho lives at Cambridge, and returned in the evening to Boston, and\nprayed with and exhorted many people who were waiting round the door\nfor a spiritual morsel. I believe our Lord did not send them empty\naway.\"\n\nAn elm under which Whitefield preached in Cambridge became\ndistinguished; it being under its shade that Washington, thirty-one\nyears after, first drew his sword in the cause of the Revolution,\non taking the command of the American army. From this circumstance,\nit has been called the \"Washington elm.\" The last time the late\ndistinguished Dr. Holyoke, of Salem, Mass., was in Cambridge, then\nnearly a hundred years old, while passing this tree with a friend,\nhe said that he heard Whitefield's sermon, being at the time a\nstudent in college.\n\nOn Thursday he preached the weekly lecture at Mr. Foxcroft's, the\nFirst church. But he says, \"I was so oppressed with a sense of my\nbase ingratitude to my dearest Saviour, that Satan would fain have\ntempted me to hold my tongue, and not invite poor sinners to Jesus\nChrist, because I was so great a sinner myself. But God enabled\nme to withstand the temptation, and since Jesus Christ had shown\nsuch mercy to, and had not withdrawn his Holy Spirit from me, the\nchief of sinners, I was enabled more feelingly to talk of his love;\nand afterwards found that one stranger, in particular, was in all\nprobability effectually convinced by that morning's sermon. After\npublic worship, I went, at his excellency's invitation, and dined\nwith the governor. Most of the ministers of the town were invited\nwith me. Before dinner, the governor sent for me up into his\nchamber. He wept, wished me 'good luck in the name of the Lord,'\nand recommended himself, ministers, and people to my prayers.\nImmediately after dinner, I prayed explicitly for them all, and\nwent in his coach to the end of the town; but had such a sense of\nmy vileness upon my soul, that I wondered people did not stone me.\nCrossed a ferry, and preached at Charlestown, a town lying on the\nnorth side of Boston. The meeting-house was very capacious, and\nquite filled. A gracious melting was discernible through the whole\ncongregation, and I perceived much freedom and sweetness in my own\nsoul, though the damp I felt in the morning was not quite gone off.\nIn the evening I exhorted and prayed as usual at my lodgings; and\nblessed be God, I found a great alteration in my hearers. They now\nbegan to melt and weep under the word.\"\n\nOn Friday, the following day, he preached in the morning at Roxbury,\nfrom a little ascent, to many thousands of people, with much of the\ndivine presence. Several came to him afterwards, telling him how\nthey were struck with the word. Having dined with Judge Dudley, he\npreached to a still larger congregation from a scaffold erected\noutside Mr. Byles' meeting-house in Hollis-street. Wrote to several\nfriends in England; gave a short exhortation to a large crowd of\nhearers; and then spent the evening with several ministers in\nedifying conversation, singing, and prayer.\n\nSaturday, he preached in the morning at Mr. Welsteed's\nmeeting-house, and in the afternoon to about fifteen thousand\npeople on the Common. \"But Oh, how did the word run! It rejoiced\nme to see such numbers greatly affected, so that some, I believe,\ncould scarcely abstain from crying out. That place was no other\nthan a Bethel, and a gate of heaven.\" After he had gone home to his\nlodgings he says, \"The power and presence of the Lord accompanied\nand followed me. Many now wept bitterly, and cried out under the\nword like persons that were really hungering and thirsting after\nrighteousness; and after I left them, God gave me to wrestle with\nhim in my chamber, in behalf of some dear friends then present,\nand others that were absent from us. The Spirit of the Lord was\nupon them all. It made intercession with groanings that cannot be\nuttered.\"\n\nOn the day following, being the Sabbath, in the morning he preached\nat the Old South church, Dr. Sewall's, to a very crowded auditory,\n\"with almost as much power and visible appearance of God as\nyesterday. Collected \u00a3555 currency for my little lambs; was taken\nvery ill after dinner; vomited violently, but was enabled to preach\nat Dr. Colman's in the afternoon to as great, if not a greater\ncongregation than in the morning. Here also \u00a3470 were collected for\nthe orphan-house in Georgia. In both places all things were carried\non with decency and order. People went slowly out, as though they\nhad not a mind to escape giving; and Dr. Colman said 'it was the\nmost pleasant time he ever enjoyed in that meeting-house through the\nwhole course of his life.' Blessed be God, after sermon I perceived\nmyself somewhat refreshed. Supped very early. Had the honor of a\nprivate visit from the governor, who came full of affection to\ntake his leave of me for the present. Went, at their request, and\npreached to a great company of negroes, on the conversion of the\nEthiopian, Acts the eighth; at which the poor creatures, as well as\nmany white people, were much affected; and at my return, gave an\nexhortation to a crowd of people who were waiting at my lodgings. My\nanimal spirits were almost exhausted, and my legs, through expense\nof sweating and vomiting, almost ready to sink under me; but the\nLord visited my soul, and I went to bed greatly refreshed with\ndivine consolations.\" Even at this early period such sufferings of\nhis bodily system frequently followed his herculean labors.\n\nEarly on Monday morning, Sept. 29, Whitefield left Boston on an\nexcursion to the eastward. At Marblehead, he \"preached to some\nthousands in a broad place in the middle of the town, but not with\nmuch apparent effect.\" At Salem, he \"preached to about seven\nthousand people. Here the Lord manifested forth his glory. One man\nwas, I believe, struck down by the power of the word. In every part\nof the congregation, persons might be seen under great concern.\" He\nwent on to Ipswich, where he was kindly \"entertained at the house\nof Mr. Rogers, one of the ministers of the place.\" Of this family\nour evangelist was soon to know more than he had hitherto done. At\nabout this period, John Rogers, aged 77, and Nathanael Rogers, were\njoint pastors of the First church at Ipswich; both of them were\nardent promoters of the revival, as was also Daniel Rogers, of the\nsame family. Whitefield learned with deep interest that his host\nwas a descendant of the celebrated martyr, John Rogers. The next\nday he preached there to some thousands. \"The Lord,\" says he, \"gave\nme freedom, and there was a great melting in the congregation.\" At\nNewbury, in the afternoon, the Lord accompanied the word with power.\nThe meeting-house was very large, many ministers were present, and\nthe people were greatly affected. Blessed be God, his divine power\nattends us more and more.\" Wednesday, he preached at Hampton, in\nthe open air, to some thousands. He was here very highly gratified\nwith the conversation of Mr. Colton, the minister, and with the\nChristian simplicity of his excellent wife. The high wind prevented\nhis being heard so well as he usually was, and he did not enjoy his\naccustomed freedom; still, \"some, though not many, were affected.\"\nAt Portsmouth, he \"preached to a polite auditory, but so very\nunconcerned, that I began to question whether I had been speaking\nto rational or brute creatures. Seeing no immediate effects of\nthe word preached, I was a little dejected; but God, to comfort my\nheart, sent one young man, crying out in great anguish of spirit,\n'What shall I do to be saved?'\"\n\nFrom Portsmouth, our evangelist proceeded to York, in Maine, \"to\nsee one Mr. Moody, a worthy, plain, and powerful minister of Jesus\nChrist, though now much impaired by old age. He has lived by faith\nfor many years, would have no settled salary, and has been much\ndespised by bad men, and as much respected by the true lovers of\nthe blessed Jesus.\" The next morning he was much comforted to hear,\nfrom Mr. Moody, that he would preach that morning to a hundred new\ncreatures; \"and indeed,\" says he, \"I believe I did; for when I came\nto preach, I could speak little or no terror, but most consolation.\"\nHe preached morning and evening. \"The hearers looked plain and\nsimple, and the tears trickled apace down most of their cheeks.\" He\nreturned to Portsmouth that night, and the next morning preached to\na far greater congregation, and with much better effect than before.\n\"Instead of preaching to dead stocks, I now had reason to believe I\nwas preaching to living men. People began to melt soon after I began\nto pray; and the power increased more and more during the whole\nsermon.\" This was still more clearly evinced after Mr. Whitefield's\ndeparture from the town.\n\nReturning to Boston, through Salem, Marblehead, and Malden, in each\nof which places he preached, and being now in improved health, he\npreached, October 7, both morning and evening, \"with much power,\"\nat Brattle-street. There had been for several days a report in\ncirculation, that he had died suddenly, or was poisoned, and the\npeople greatly rejoiced again to see him alive. At Mr. Webb's, the\nNew North church, on the following Wednesday, he thought there was\nmore of the presence of God through the whole ministration, than\nhe had before, known at one time in the course of his life. He\nwent there with the governor, in his coach, and preached morning\nand evening. \"Jesus Christ manifested forth his glory; many hearts\nmelted within them; and I think I was never drawn out to pray for\nand invite little children to Jesus Christ, as I was this morning. A\nlittle before, I had heard of a child who was taken sick just after\nit had heard me preach, and said he would go to Mr. Whitefield's\nGod, and died in a short time. This encouraged me to speak to the\nlittle ones. But O, how were the old people affected when I said,\n'Little children, if your parents will not come to Christ, do you\ncome, and go to heaven without them.' There seemed to be but few\ndry eyes, look where I would. I have not seen a greater commotion\nsince my preaching at Boston. Glory be to God, who has not forgotten\nto be gracious.\" He collected, after this sermon, \u00a3440 for his\norphan-house, which was now more generally supported than ever\nbefore.\n\nThe interesting fact we have just related of the impression produced\non the mind of a little child by the preaching of Mr. Whitefield,\nmay afford the opportunity to introduce one or two other facts\nbearing on the same general topic, and suggesting some practical\nlessons.\n\nWhitefield could indeed descend to talk with children. Here is\na specimen which at once impresses us with a lively idea of his\nspirit, and of the adaptation of the religion of Jesus to the young\nas well as the old. A little girl seven years of age, when on her\ndeath-bed, desired an interview with him; he came, and thus they\nconversed:\n\nWHITEFIELD. For what purpose, my dear child, have you sent for me?\n\nGIRL. I think I am dying, and I wished very much to see you.\n\nWHITEFIELD. What can I do for you?\n\nGIRL. You can tell me about Christ, and pray for me.\n\nWHITEFIELD. My dear girl, what do you know about Christ?\n\nGIRL. I know he is the Saviour of the world.\n\nWHITEFIELD. My dear child, he is so.\n\nGIRL. I hope he will be _my_ Saviour also.\n\nWHITEFIELD. I hope, my dear, that this is the language of faith out\nof the mouth of a babe; but tell me what ground you have for saying\nthis?\n\nGIRL. Oh, sir, he bids little children, such as I, to come unto him,\nand says, \"Of such is the kingdom of heaven;\" and besides, I love\nChrist, and am always glad when I think of him.\n\nWHITEFIELD. My dear child, you make my very heart to rejoice; but\nare you not a sinner?\n\nGIRL. Yes, I am a sinner, but my blessed Redeemer takes away sin,\nand I long to be with him.\n\nWHITEFIELD. My dear girl, I trust that the desire of your heart will\nbe granted; but where do you think you will find your Redeemer?\n\nGIRL. O, sir, I think I shall find him in heaven.\n\nWHITEFIELD. Do you think you will get to heaven?\n\nGIRL. Yes, I do.\n\nWHITEFIELD. But what if you do not find Christ there?\n\nGIRL. If I do not find Christ there, I am sure it is not heaven; for\nwhere he dwells must be heaven, for there also dwells God, and holy\nangels, and all that Christ saves.\n\nWho can tell the results of a single sermon, or trace the\nconsequences of one conversion? When Mr. Whitefield was preaching\nin New England, a lady became the subject of divine grace, and her\nspirit was peculiarly drawn out in prayer for others. But in her\nChristian exercises she was alone; she could persuade no one to pray\nwith her but her little daughter, about ten years of age. She took\nthis dear child into her closet from day to day, as a witness of her\ncries and tears. After a time, it pleased God to touch the heart of\nthe child, and to give her the hope of salvation by the remission\nof sin. In a transport of holy joy she then exclaimed, \"O, mother,\nif all the world knew this! I wish I could tell every body. Pray,\nmother, let me run to some of the neighbors and tell them, that they\nmay be happy and love my Saviour too.\" \"Ah, my dear child,\" said the\nmother, \"that would be useless, for I suppose that were you to tell\nyour experience, there is not one within many miles who would not\nlaugh at you, and say it was all delusion.\" \"Oh, mother,\" replied\nthe dear girl, \"I think they would believe me. I must go over to\nthe shoemaker and tell him; he will believe me.\" She ran over, and\nfound him at work in his shop. She began by telling him that he must\ndie, and that he was a sinner, and that she was a sinner, but that\nher blessed Saviour had heard her mother's prayers, and had forgiven\nall her sins; and that now she was so happy that she did not know\nhow to tell it. The shoemaker was struck with surprise, his tears\nflowed down like rain; he threw aside his work, and by prayer and\nsupplication sought for mercy. The neighborhood were awakened, and\nwithin a few months more than fifty persons were brought to the\nknowledge of Jesus, and rejoiced in his power and grace.\n\nBut to return to our narrative of Whitefield's labors in Boston. On\nThursday, October 9, he preached the public lecture at the Old South\nchurch. He had selected another text, but it was much impressed on\nhis heart that he should preach from our Lord's conference with\nNicodemus. A large number of ministers were present, and when he\ncame to the words, \"Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not\nthese things?\" he says, \"The Lord enabled me to open my mouth boldly\nagainst unconverted ministers, to caution tutors to take care of\ntheir pupils, and also to advise ministers particularly to examine\ninto the experiences of candidates for ordination. For I am verily\npersuaded the generality of preachers talk of an unknown and unfelt\nChrist; and the reason why congregations have been so dead is,\nbecause they have had dead men preaching to them. O that the Lord\nmay quicken and revive them, for his own name's sake. For how can\ndead men beget living children? It is true, indeed, God may convert\nmen by the devil, if he pleases, and so he may by unconverted\nministers; but I believe he seldom makes use of either of them for\nthis purpose. No; the Lord will choose vessels made meet by the\noperations of the blessed Spirit for his sacred use: and as for\nmy own part, I would not lay hands on an unconverted man for ten\nthousand worlds. Unspeakable freedom God gave me while treating on\nthis head. After sermon, I dined with the governor, who seemed more\nkindly affected than ever, and particularly told me, of the minister\nwho has lately begun to preach extempore, that 'he was glad he had\nfound out a way to save his eyes.' In the afternoon I preached on\nthe Common to about fifteen thousand people, and collected upwards\nof two hundred pounds for the orphan-house. Just as I had finished\nmy sermon, a ticket was put up to me, wherein I was desired to pray\nfor a person just entered upon the ministry, but under apprehension\nthat he was not converted. God enabled me to pray for him with my\nwhole heart; and I hope that ticket may teach many others not to\nrun before they can give an account of their conversion. If they\ndo, they offer to God strange fire.\" The same day and evening,\nWhitefield attended the funeral of one of the provincial council,\npreached at the almshouse, exhorted a great number of persons at\nthe workhouse, who followed him there, and conversed with many who\nwaited at his lodgings for spiritual advice. From the time of his\nreturn from the east, he had been thronged, morning and evening,\nwith anxious inquirers. His friends cried, \"Spare thyself;\" but he\nsays, \"I went and ate bread very comfortably at a friend's house,\nwhere I was invited, and soon after retired to my rest. Oh, how\ncomfortable is sleep after working for Jesus.\"\n\nOn Friday he preached at Charlestown and at Reading to many\nthousands, and on Saturday from the meeting-house door at Cambridge,\non Noah as a preacher of righteousness; a great number of persons\nwere present, who stood very attentively during a shower of rain,\nand were at the latter part of the sermon much affected. On the same\nafternoon he returned to Boston, and again preached, and was engaged\ntill midnight, chiefly in conversation and prayer with persons\nanxious for their salvation.\n\nSunday, October 12, he rose with body and soul greatly refreshed,\nand spent its early hours in conversing with those who came for\nspiritual counsel. He then \"preached with great power and affection\"\nat the Old South church, which was so exceedingly thronged, that\nhe was obliged to get in at one of the windows. He dined with the\ngovernor, who came to him after dinner weeping, and desired his\nprayers. He heard Dr. Sewall in the afternoon. Both during the\nexercises and after them he was sick, but went with the governor in\nhis coach, and preached his farewell sermon on the Common, Gillies\nsays, to twenty thousand, and Tracy to nearly thirty thousand\npeople, though the whole population of Boston did not at that time\nexceed twenty thousand. Great multitudes were melted into tears when\nhe spoke of leaving them. The governor then went with him to his\nlodgings. He stood in the passage and spoke to a great company, both\nwithin and without the doors; but they were so deeply affected, and\ncried out so loud, that he was compelled to leave off praying. The\nremaining part of the evening was chiefly spent in conversation with\ninquirers.\n\nIn closing his account of this day's work, he exclaims, \"Blessed be\nGod for what things he has done in Boston! I hope a glorious work is\nnow begun, and that the Lord will stir up some faithful laborers to\ncarry it on. Boston is a large, populous place, very wealthy. Has\nthe form kept up, but has lost much of the power of religion. I have\nnot heard of any remarkable stir for these many years. Ministers\nand people are obliged to confess, that the love of many is waxed\ncold. Both, for the generality, seem to be too much conformed\nto the world. There is much of the pride of life to be seen in\ntheir assemblies. Jewels, patches, and gay apparel are commonly\nworn by the female sex; and even the common people, I observed\ndressed up in the pride of life. There are nine meeting-houses of\nthe Congregational persuasion, one Baptist, one French, and one\nbelonging to the Scotch-Irish. One thing Boston is very remarkable\nfor--the external observance of the Sabbath. Men in civil offices\nhave a regard for religion. The governor encourages them, and the\nministers and magistrates are more united than in any other place\nwhere I have been. Both were exceedingly civil to me during my stay.\nI never saw so little scoffing, never had so little opposition.\nBut one might easily see much would hereafter arise, when I came\nto be more particular in my application to particular persons; for\nI fear many rest in a head-knowledge, are close pharisees, and\nhave only a name to live. It must needs be so when the power of\ngodliness is dwindled away, and where the form only of religion\nis become fashionable among people. Boston people are dear to my\nsoul. They were greatly affected by the word, followed me night\nand day, and were very liberal to my dear orphans. I promised, God\nwilling, to visit them again, and intend to fulfil my promise when\nit shall please God to bring me again from my native country. In the\nmeanwhile, dear Boston, adieu. The Lord be with thy ministers and\npeople, and grant that the remnant which is still left according\nto the election of grace, may take root downwards, and bear fruit\nupwards, and fill the land.\"\n\nOn the morning following these solemn services, Whitefield left\nBoston on his way to Northampton. To detail his four days' progress,\nwould be almost to repeat what we have already written. At Concord,\nwhere he arrived on Monday about noon, he preached twice to some\nthousands in the open air, \"and a comfortable preaching it was. The\nhearers were sweetly melted down.\" Mr. Bliss, the minister of the\ntown, of whose subsequent labors it has been well said, more perfect\naccounts ought to have been preserved, wept abundantly. On Tuesday\nhe \"preached at Sudbury to some thousands with power, and observed\na considerable commotion in the assembly;\" as was also the case the\nsame afternoon at Marlborough. At the latter place he was met by\nGovernor Belcher, who went with him through the rain that night to\nWorcester. Here, on Wednesday, he \"preached in the open air to some\nthousands. The word fell with weight indeed. It carried all before\nit. After sermon, the governor said to me, 'I pray God I may apply\nwhat has been said to my own heart. Pray, Mr. Whitefield, that I may\nhunger and thirst after righteousness.'\" Passing on, he preached\nat Leicester, Brookfield, and Cold-Spring, on his way to Hadley,\nwhere he arrived on Friday, and preached about noon. In this place\nhe says, \"A great work was begun, and carried on some years ago;\nbut lately the people of God have complained of deadness and losing\ntheir first love. However, as soon as I mentioned what God had done\nfor their souls formerly, it was like putting fire to timber. The\nremembrance of it quickened them, and caused many to weep sorely.\"\nOn the same afternoon he crossed the ferry to Northampton.\n\nOf the great revival of religion in New England, which commenced at\nNorthampton about 1734, and is the subject of President Edwards'\n\"Narrative,\" we have already briefly spoken; its importance will\njustify a more extended notice. It began without any extraordinary\ncircumstances to awaken the attention of the people, or any uncommon\narrangements or efforts by the minister. The young people of the\nplace had for two or three years shown an increased measure of\nthoughtfulness, and a growing disposition to receive religious\ninstruction. There had been, from time to time, instances of strong\nreligious impression and of hopeful conversion. But in the latter\nend of December, 1734, five or six persons, one after another,\nbecame very suddenly the subjects of the grace of God which newly\ncreates the soul. Among these was a young woman distinguished for\nher gayety in youthful society, \"one of the greatest company-keepers\nin the whole town,\" who came to the pastor with a broken heart\nand a contrite spirit, and with faith and hope in the Saviour of\nsinners, before any one had heard of her being at all impressed\nwith serious things. The sudden, though, as time proved, the _real_\nconversion of this young woman, was the power of God striking the\nelectric chain of religious sympathies which had imperceptibly,\nbut effectually encircled all the families of Northampton. Mr.\nEdwards' \"Narrative\" says, \"The news of it seemed to be almost\nlike a flash of lightning upon the hearts of young people all over\nthe town, and upon many others.... Presently a great and earnest\nconcern about the great things of religion and the eternal world\nbecame universal in all parts of the town, and among persons of\nall degrees and all ages. All talk but about spiritual and eternal\nthings was soon thrown by; all the conversation in all companies\nwas upon these things only, except so much as was necessary for\npeople carrying on their ordinary secular business. The minds of\npeople were wonderfully taken off from the world; it was treated\namong us as a thing of very little consequence. All would eagerly\nlay hold of opportunities for their souls, and were wont very often\nto meet together in private houses for religious purposes. And\nsuch meetings, when appointed, were generally thronged. Those who\nwere wont to be the vainest and loosest, and those who had been\nmost disposed to think and speak lightly of vital and experimental\nreligion, were now generally subject to great awakening. And the\nwork of conversion was carried on in a most astonishing manner, and\nincreased more and more. From day to day, for many months together,\nmight be seen evident instances of sinners brought out of darkness\ninto marvellous light. In the spring and summer following, the town\nseemed to be full of the presence of God; it was never so full of\nlove, and yet so full of distress, as it was then. It was a time\nof joy in families, on account of salvation being brought to them;\nparents rejoicing over their children as new-born, and husbands\nover their wives, and wives over their husbands. The goings of God\nwere then seen in his sanctuary, God's day was a delight, and his\ntabernacles were amiable. Our public assemblies were then beautiful;\nthe congregation was alive in God's service, every one eagerly\nintent on the public worship, every hearer eager to drink in the\nwords of the minister as they came from his mouth. The assembly\nwere, from time to time, in tears, while the word was preached; some\nweeping with sorrow and distress, others with joy and love, others\nwith pity and concern for their neighbors.\"\n\nIn December, 1743, nine years after this blessed work had begun,\nEdwards writes, \"Ever since the great work of God that was wrought\nhere about nine years ago, there has been a great, abiding\nalteration in this town, in many respects. There has been vastly\nmore religion kept up in the town, among all sorts of persons, in\nreligious exercises, and in common conversation, than used to be\nbefore. There has remained a more general seriousness and decency\nin attending the public worship. I suppose the town has been in no\nmeasure so free from vice, for any long time together, for these\nsixty years, as it has these nine years past. There has also been\nan evident alteration with respect to a charitable spirit to the\npoor. And though, after that great work of nine years ago, there\nhas been a very lamentable decay of religious affections, and the\nengagedness of people's spirits in religion, yet many societies for\nprayer and social religion were all along kept up, and there were\nsome few instances of awakening and deep concern about the things of\nanother world, even in the most dead time. In the year 1740, in the\nspring, before Mr. Whitefield came to this town, there was a visible\nalteration. There was more seriousness and religious conversation,\nespecially among young people. Those things that were of ill\ntendency among them were more forborne; and it was a more frequent\nthing for persons to visit their ministers upon soul accounts. In\nsome particular persons, there appeared a great alteration about\nthat time. And thus it continued till Mr. Whitefield came to town,\nwhich was about the middle of October following.\"\n\nAnd what thought Whitefield himself on his arrival at Northampton?\nLet us hear him. \"Their pastor's name is Edwards, successor and\ngrandson to the great Stoddard, whose memory will be always precious\nto my soul, and whose books, entitled, \"_A Guide to Christ_,\" and\n\"_Safety of appearing in Christ's righteousness_,\" I would recommend\nto all. Mr. Edwards is a solid, excellent Christian, but at present\nweak in body. I think I may say I have not seen his fellow in all\nNew England. When I came into his pulpit, I found my heart drawn out\nto talk of scarce any thing besides the consolations and privileges\nof saints, and the plentiful effusion of the Spirit upon the\nhearts of believers. And when I came to remind them of their former\nexperiences, and how zealous and lively they were at that time, both\nminister and people wept much; and the Holy Ghost enabled me to\nspeak with a great deal of power. In the evening, I gave a word of\nexhortation to several who came to Mr. Edwards' house.\"\n\nOn the following morning, \"At Mr. Edwards' request, I spoke to his\nlittle children, who were much affected. Preached at Hatfield, five\nmiles from Northampton, but found myself not much strengthened.\nConversed profitably on the way about the things of God with dear\nMr. Edwards, and preached about four in the afternoon to his\ncongregation. I began with fear and trembling, feeling but little\npower in the morning, but God assisted me. Few dry eyes seemed to be\nin the assembly for a considerable time. I had an affecting prospect\nin my own heart of the glories of the upper world, and was enabled\nto speak of them feelingly to others. I believe many were filled, as\nit were, with new wine; and it seemed as if a time of refreshing was\ncome from the presence of the Lord.\"\n\nThe day following this was the Sabbath. Whitefield tells us in his\njournal, that he \"felt wonderful satisfaction in being at the house\nof Mr. Edwards. He is a son himself, and hath also a daughter of\nAbraham for his wife. A sweeter couple I have not yet seen. Their\nchildren were dressed, not in silks and satins, but plain, as\nbecomes the children of those who in all things ought to be examples\nof Christian simplicity. She is a woman adorned with a meek and\nquiet spirit, talked feelingly and solidly of the things of God, and\nseemed to be such a help-mate for her husband, that she caused me to\nrenew those prayers, which, for some months, I have put up to God,\nthat he would be pleased to send me a daughter of Abraham to be my\nwife. I find, upon many accounts, it is my duty to marry. Lord, I\ndesire to have no choice of my own. Thou knowest my circumstances;\nthou knowest I only desire to marry in and for thee.\"\n\nWhitefield \"preached this morning, and perceived the melting begin\nsooner and rise higher than before. Dear Mr. Edwards wept during\nthe whole time of exercise. The people were equally, if not more\naffected; and my own soul was much lifted up towards God. In the\nafternoon the power increased yet more and more. Our Lord seemed to\nkeep the good wine till the last. I have not seen four such gracious\nmeetings together since my arrival. My soul was much knit to these\ndear people of God; and though I had not time to converse with them\nabout their experiences, yet one might see they were for the most\npart, a gracious, tender people; and though their former fire might\nbe greatly abated, yet it immediately appeared when stirred up.\"\n\nEdwards had looked forward to Whitefield's visit to Northampton with\ninterest, for he felt greatly concerned for his success. He wrote\na week before his arrival to his friend Dr. Wheelock, then a young\nminister of twenty-nine, \"I think that those that make mention of\nthe Lord, should now be awakened and encouraged to call upon God,\nand not keep silence, nor give him any rest, till he establish and\ntill he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth; and particularly\nshould be earnest with God, that he would still uphold and succeed\nthe Rev. Mr. Whitefield, the instrument that it has pleased him\nto improve to do such great things for the honor of his name, and\nat all times so to guide and direct him under his extraordinary\ncircumstances, that Satan may not get any advantage of him.\"\n\nAfter his visit, Edwards writes, \"Mr. Whitefield's sermons were\nsuitable to the circumstances of the town; containing just\nreproofs of our backslidings, and in a most moving and affecting\nmanner, making use of our great profession and our great mercies\nas arguments with us to return to God, from whom we had departed.\nImmediately after this, the minds of the people in general appeared\nmore engaged in religion, showing a greater forwardness to make\nit the subject of their conversation, and to meet frequently for\nreligious purposes, and to embrace all opportunities to hear\nthe word preached. The revival at first appeared chiefly among\nprofessors, and those who had entertained the hope that they were\nin a state of grace, to whom Mr. Whitefield chiefly addressed\nhimself; but in a very short time, there appeared an awakening and\ndeep concern among some young persons that looked upon themselves\nin a Christless state; and there were some hopeful appearances of\nconversion; and some professors were greatly revived. In about a\nmonth or six weeks, there was a great alteration in the town, both\nas to the revivals of professors, and awakenings of others.\"\n\nDuring this visit of Whitefield to Edwards, some conversation\nwas held between them, of which, several years afterwards, as it\nappears to us, far too much was said. Edwards took an opportunity,\nprivately, to converse with his friend about _impulses_, and\nfurnished him with some reasons for thinking that he gave too much\nattention to such things. Whitefield did not appear offended,\nneither did he seem inclined to converse much on the subject, or to\nyield to the reasonings of his friend Edwards. The latter says, \"It\nis true, that I thought Mr. Whitefield liked me not so well for my\nopposing these things; and though he treated me with great kindness,\nyet he never made so much of an intimate of me, as of some others.\"\nIt seems also, that they conversed on the strong language which\nthe great evangelist was accustomed to employ as to those whom he\nconsidered to be unconverted, and the duty of the people to forsake\nthe preaching of ministers whom he did not consider to be renewed\nin the spirit of their minds. Whitefield told Edwards also, of the\ndesign he had cherished of bringing over a number of young men from\nEngland, to be ordained by the Tennents, in New Jersey; an object,\nhowever, which he never accomplished.\n\nIt appears that after preaching at Northampton twice on the Sabbath,\nWhitefield, accompanied by his friend Edwards, rode to the house of\nthe father of the last-named gentleman, the Rev. Timothy Edwards,\nin East Windsor, Connecticut. At this place, as also at Westfield,\nSpringfield, Suffield, Hartford, Wethersfield, Middletown, and\nWallingford, he preached to large assemblies, generally with his\naccustomed animation and power, and with the happy proofs of\nsuccess which he so frequently witnessed. During this week also,\nhe experienced a remarkable deliverance from great danger. He\nsays, \"A little after I left Springfield, my horse, coming over a\nbroken bridge, threw me over his head, directly upon my nose. The\nfall stunned me for a while. My mouth was full of dust, I bled a\nlittle, but falling upon soft sand, got not much damage. After\nI had recovered myself, and mounted my horse, God so filled me\nwith a sense of his sovereign, distinguishing love, and my own\nunworthiness, that my eyes gushed out with tears; but they were all\ntears of love. Oh, how did I want to sink before the high and lofty\nOne who inhabiteth eternity!\"\n\nDuring this week also, on his way to Suffield, he met with a\nminister who said, \"It was not absolutely necessary for a gospel\nminister, that he should be converted;\" meaning, no doubt, that\nthough conversion was necessary to his salvation, it was not\nindispensable to his ministerial character and usefulness. This gave\nWhitefield a subject. \"I insisted much in my discourse upon the\ndoctrine of the new birth, and also the necessity of a minister's\nbeing converted, before he could preach Christ aright. The word\ncame with great power, and a great impression was made upon the\npeople in all parts of the assembly. Many ministers were present. I\ndid not spare them. Most of them thanked me for my plain dealing;\nbut one was offended; and so would more of his stamp be, if I were\nto continue longer in New England. For unconverted ministers are\nthe bane of the Christian church; and though I honor the memory of\nthat great and good man Mr. Stoddard, yet I think he is much to\nbe blamed for endeavoring to prove that unconverted men might be\nadmitted into the ministry. How he has handled the controversy, I\nknow not. I think no solid arguments can be brought to defend such a\ncause. A sermon lately published by Mr. Gilbert Tennent, entitled,\n'_The Danger of an Unconverted Ministry_,' I think unanswerable.\nTracy truly says, that Stoddard, in his '_Appeal to the Learned_,'\nassumes that an unconverted minister is bound to continue in the\nperformance of ministerial duties, and infers that unconverted men\nmay therefore be admitted to the church. This opinion at one period\nextensively prevailed, though all held it desirable that a minister\nshould be a converted man. By his attacks on this opinion, and\nespecially by thus endorsing Tennent's Nottingham sermon, Whitefield\ngave great offence.\"\n\nOn Wednesday afternoon, he preached at East Windsor, and spent\nthe night with Mr. Edwards, senior, \"I believe,\" he says, \"a true\ndisciple and minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. After exercise, we\nsupped at the house of old Mr. Edwards. His wife was as aged, I\nbelieve, as himself, and I fancied that I was sitting in the house\nof a Zacharias and Elisabeth.\" On the following day, he \"preached to\nmany thousands, and with much freedom and power,\" at Hartford in the\nmorning, and at Wethersfield in the afternoon. Here he met Messrs.\nWheelock and Pomeroy, \"two young, faithful, and zealous ministers\nof Jesus Christ.\" From this place he had intended to go eastward\nas far as Plymouth, and return by another route to Providence, and\nnotice had been given in the newspapers of about twenty sermons\nwhich he proposed to preach at the times and places specified.\nHe was afterwards blamed for making these appointments without\nfirst consulting the pastors of the several churches; thus giving\ncountenance, it was said, to the practice of itinerants intruding\ninto other men's parishes without their consent. The proceeding\nwas certainly somewhat irregular, but Whitefield was not much to\nbe blamed for it. The details were settled, and the publication\nmade, by men in whose judgment and knowledge of the customs of\nthe country he had a right to confide; and the appointments\nwere believed, in all cases, and doubtless known in some, to be\nagreeable to the parties concerned. At Wethersfield, however, the\nevangelist ascertained the necessity of his hastening on to New\nYork, and immediately, therefore, published a note recalling these\nappointments.\n\nOn Friday, October 24, Whitefield arrived at New Haven, and was\nentertained at the house of Mr. James Pierpont, the brother-in-law\nof Mr. Edwards, and of Mr. Noyes, the minister of the First\nCongregational church. The Legislature of the colony being in\nsession, he remained till after the Lord's day; and \"had the\npleasure of seeing numbers daily impressed,\" under his ministrations\nin the old polygonal meeting-house. Several ministers of the\nvicinity visited him, \"with whose pious conversation he was much\nrefreshed.\" Good old Governor Tallcott, on whom with due politeness\nhe waited to pay his respects, said to him, \"Thanks be to God for\nsuch refreshings in our way to heaven.\" Among others who heard his\nglowing appeals to the congregations that listened to him during\nthis visit, was young Samuel Hopkins, still well known as an eminent\ndivine. Hopkins was now nineteen, and was a student at college; his\nbiographer tells us, that \"he was much interested in the man, and\nmuch impressed by his solemn warnings.\"\n\nThe testimony of Hopkins himself may here be introduced. He says,\nspeaking of Whitefield, \"The attention of the people in general was\ngreatly awakened upon hearing the fame of him, that there was a\nremarkable preacher from England travelling through the country. The\npeople flocked to hear him when he came to New Haven. Some travelled\ntwenty miles out of the country to hear him. The assemblies were\ncrowded, and remarkably attentive; people appeared generally to\napprove, and their conversation turned chiefly upon him and his\npreaching. Some disapproved of several things, which occasioned\nconsiderable disputes. I heard him when he preached in public, and\nwhen he expounded in private in the evening, and highly approved of\nhim, and was impressed by what he said in public and in private.\nHe preached against mixed dancing and the frolicking of males\nand females together, which practice was then very common in New\nEngland. This offended some, especially young people. But I remember\nI justified him in this in my own mind, and in conversation with\nthose who were disposed to condemn him. This was in October, 1740,\nwhen I had entered on my last year in college.\"\n\nOn this visit, Whitefield dined with the Rev. Mr. Clap, the rector\nof the college. Of the college he says, \"It is about one-third part\nas big as Cambridge. It has one rector, three tutors, and about a\nhundred students. But I hear of no remarkable concern among them\nconcerning religion.\" Mr. Clap, it is well known, afterwards became\nthe public opponent of Whitefield; and it would seem that his\ndislike to him commenced with this first interview; for he \"spoke\nvery closely to the students, and showed the dreadful consequences\nof an unconverted ministry.\" In his journal of the day he says, \"O\nthat God may quicken ministers! O that the Lord may make them a\nflaming fire!\" On the two days following, he preached at Milford,\nStratford, and Fairfield, on his way to New York. On Wednesday, when\nat Stamford, he thus speaks of New England and his labors in it:\n\n\"I give God thanks for sending me to New England. I have now had\nan opportunity of seeing the greatest and most populous parts of\nit; and take it all together, it certainly on many accounts exceeds\nall other provinces of America, and for the establishment of\nreligion, perhaps all other parts of the world. Never, surely, was\nso large a spot of ground settled in such a manner, in so short a\nspace of one hundred years. The towns all through Connecticut and\neastwards towards York in the province of Massachusetts, [Maine,]\nnear the river-side, are large, well peopled, and exceedingly\npleasant to travel through. Every five miles, or perhaps less,\nyou have a meeting-house, and I believe there is no such a thing\nas a pluralist, or non-resident minister in both provinces. Many,\nnay, most that preach, I fear do not experimentally know Christ;\nyet I cannot see much worldly advantage to tempt them to take upon\nthem the sacred function. Few country ministers, as I have been\ninformed, have sufficient allowed them in money to maintain a\nfamily. God has remarkably, in sundry times and in divers manners,\npoured out his Spirit in several parts of both provinces; and it\noften refreshes my soul to hear of the faith of the good forefathers\nwho first settled in these parts. Notwithstanding they had their\nfoibles, surely they were a set of righteous men. They certainly\nfollowed our Lord's rule, sought first the kingdom of God and his\nrighteousness; and behold, all other things God added unto them.\nTheir seed are now blessed, in temporal things especially, and\nnotwithstanding the rising generation seem to be settled on their\nlees, yet I believe the Lord hath more than seven thousand who have\nnot bowed the knee to Baal. The ministers and people of Connecticut\nseem to be more simple than those that live near Boston, especially\nin those parts where I went. But I think the ministers' preaching\nalmost universally by notes, is a certain mark they have in a great\nmeasure lost the old spirit of preaching. For though all are not to\nbe condemned that use notes, yet it is a sad symptom of the decay\nof vital religion when reading sermons becomes fashionable, where\nextempore preaching did once almost universally prevail. As for\nthe universities, I believe it may be said, their light is become\ndarkness, darkness that may be felt, and is complained of by the\nmost godly ministers. I pray God these fountains may be purified,\nand send forth pure streams to water the cities of our God....\nAs for the civil government of New England, it seems to be well\nregulated, and I think, at opening all their courts, either the\njudge or a minister begins with a prayer. Family worship, I believe,\nis generally kept up. The negroes I think better used, both in soul\nand body, than in any other province I have yet seen. In short, I\nlike New England exceedingly well; and when a spirit of reformation\nrevives, it certainly will prevail here more than in other places,\nbecause they are simple in their worship, less corrupt in their\nprinciples, and consequently easier to be brought over to the form\nof sound words, into which so many of their pious ancestors were\ndelivered. Send forth, O Lord, thy light and thy truth, and for\nthine infinite mercy's sake, show thou hast a peculiar delight in\nthese habitable parts of the earth. Amen, Lord Jesus, amen, and\namen.\"\n\nAmong many who became the subjects of divine grace during this visit\nof Whitefield to New England, was Daniel Emerson, who was educated\nat Harvard college, where he received his first degree in 1739, and\nwhere he continued to reside for some time as a graduate. While at\ncollege, he is said to have been very fond of the gay pleasures of\nthis life, until his attention was effectually called to religion by\nthe preaching of Whitefield, whom he followed from place to place\nfor several days. He was ordained at Hollis, New Hampshire, in 1743,\nwhere, in a ministry of fifty years, he was a worthy follower of\nhis spiritual father. The chief excellences of his preaching were\nsound doctrine, deep feeling, and zeal at times almost overwhelming.\nHe was truly a son of thunder, and a flaming light. He was almost\nincessantly engaged in labors, preaching, attending funerals, etc.,\nfar and near. His efforts were greatly blessed, especially among\nhis own people, who under his ministry enjoyed extensive revivals\nof religion, and where also a large number of ministers have been\ncalled to their work. He died in 1801, aged eighty-five.\n\nIt may be appropriate to introduce here a sketch of Whitefield's\ndoctrines and labors at this time, as given us by the eminent Dr.\nThomas Prince, in his \"Christian History,\" under date of January\n26, 1744-5, but having reference to Whitefield's first visit to New\nEngland, which we have just described:\n\n\"He spoke with a mighty sense of God, eternity, the immortality\nand preciousness of the souls of his hearers, of their original\ncorruption, and of the extreme danger the unregenerate are in; with\nthe nature and absolute necessity of regeneration by the Holy Ghost;\nand of believing in Christ, in order to our pardon, justification,\nyielding an acceptable obedience, and obtaining salvation from\nhell and an entrance into heaven. His doctrine was plainly that\nof the reformers; declaring against our putting our good works or\nmorality in the room of Christ's righteousness, or their having any\nhand in our justification, or being indeed pleasing to God while\nwe are totally unsanctified, acting upon corrupt principles, and\nunreconciled enemies to him; which occasioned some to mistake him,\nas if he opposed morality. But he insisted on it, that the tree of\nthe heart is by original sin exceedingly corrupted, and must be\nmade good by regeneration, that so the fruits proceeding from it\nmay be good likewise; that where the heart is renewed, it ought\nand will be careful to maintain good works, that if any be not\nhabitually so careful who think themselves renewed, they deceive\ntheir own souls; and even the most improved in holiness, as well as\nothers, must entirely depend on the righteousness of Christ for the\nacceptance of their persons and services. And though now and then\nhe dropped some expressions that were not so accurate and guarded\nas we should expect from aged and long-studied ministers, yet I had\nthe satisfaction to observe his readiness with great modesty and\nthankfulness to receive correction as soon as offered.\n\n\"In short, he was a most importunate wooer of souls to come to\nChrist for the enjoyment of him, and all his benefits. He distinctly\napplied his exhortations to the elderly people, the middle-aged,\nthe young, the Indians, and negroes, and had a most winning way\nof addressing them. He affectionately prayed for our magistrates,\nministers, colleges, candidates for the ministry, and churches, as\nwell as people in general; and before he left us, in a public and\nmoving manner, he observed to the people how sorry he was to hear\nthat the religious assemblies, especially on lectures, had been so\nthin, exhorted them earnestly to a more general attendance on our\npublic ministrations for the time to come, and told them how glad he\nshould be to hear of the same.\n\n\"Multitudes were greatly affected, and many awakened with his lively\nministry. Though he preached every day, the houses were crowded; but\nwhen he preached on the Common, a vaster number attended; and almost\nevery evening the house where he lodged was thronged to hear his\nprayers and counsels.\n\n\"On Mr. Whitefield's leaving us, great numbers in this town [Boston]\nwere so happily concerned about their souls, as we had never\nseen any thing like it before, except at the time of the general\nearthquake;[1] and their desires excited to hear their ministers\nmore than ever. So that our assemblies, both on lectures and\nSabbaths, were surprisingly increased, and now the people wanted\nto hear us oftener. In consequence of which a public lecture was\nproposed to be set up at Dr. Colman's church, near the midst of the\ntown, on every Tuesday evening.\"\n\n  [1] Dr. Prince, in a note, here says, \"Though people were _then_,\"\n  in the time of the earthquake, \"generally frightened, and many\n  awakened to such a sense of their duty as to offer themselves to our\n  communion, yet very few came to me _then_ under deep convictions of\n  their unconverted and lost condition, in comparison of what came\n  _now_. Nor did those who came to me _then_, come so much with the\n  inquiry, 'What shall we do to be saved?' as to signify they had such\n  a sense of their duty to come to the Lord's table that they dare not\n  stay away any longer.\"\n\nIn reference to the work of grace which was connected with\nWhitefield's preaching in New England, the Rev. Dr. Baron Stow,\nin his \"Centennial Discourse,\" says, \"The result, by the blessing\nof God, was a powerful revival, such as New England had never\nwitnessed. The work was opposed with great vehemence; and no\nimpartial reader of the history of those extraordinary scenes can\nquestion that much of the hostility was provoked by improprieties of\nboth speech and action, that would at any time be offensive to those\nwho love good order and Christian decorum. But after making liberal\nallowance for all that was truly exceptionable, it is cheerfully\nadmitted by the candid Christian, that the excitement was, in the\nmain, the product of the Holy Spirit, and that its fruits were\neminently favorable to the advancement of true religion. A torpid\ncommunity was aroused, as by the trump of God, from its long and\nheavy slumber; ministers and people were converted; the style of\npreaching, and the tone of individual piety were improved; a cold,\ncadaverous formalism gave place to the living energy of experimental\ngodliness; the doctrines of the gospel were brought out from their\nconcealment, and made to reassert their claims to a cordial,\npractical credence, and all the interests of truth and holiness\nreceived new homage from regenerated thousands.\"\n\nOne or two other facts connected with Whitefield's usefulness in New\nEngland are too important to be omitted. During this visit he was\nmuch gratified by an interview with a colored man, who had been his\nchaise-driver when he first visited Cambridge. The negro had heard\nhim preach in the college a sermon especially addressed \"to those\nwho labor and are heavy-laden.\" It took such a hold on the poor man,\nthat he repeated it in the kitchen when he reached home. Mr. Cooper\nof Boston was so well satisfied, as was Whitefield also, with his\naccount of his conversion, that he was admitted to the Lord's table.\n\nAnother \"brand plucked from the burning\" was a son of Mackintosh,\nan English rebel, who had been condemned to perpetual imprisonment,\nand had been allowed by George the First to settle in New England.\nOne of his daughters, a lady of fortune, had heard Whitefield preach\nin Dr. Prince's church at Boston, and had been won by the word to\nChrist. She was soon after smitten by sickness, and ripened rapidly\nfor heaven. On her death-bed she cried out for her \"soul friend\" Mr.\nWhitefield; but checking her own impatience, she asked, \"Why should\nI do so? He is gone about his Master's work, and in a little time we\nshall meet to part no more.\" The distinguished evangelist had a very\nhigh opinion of her piety, and his interest in her was increased by\nthe fact that she had a very remarkable escape from some ruffians\nwho had been bribed to convey her and her sister to Scotland, that\ntheir uncle might seize on an estate worth a thousand pounds a year.\n\nThere were at this time not less than twenty ministers in the\nneighborhood of Boston who unhesitatingly spoke of Whitefield\nas their spiritual father, directly tracing their conversion to\nhis ministry. Of one of these we have an account by Collins, the\njournalist of South Reading. Speaking of 1741, he says, \"Mr.\nWhitefield preached upon our Common in the open air. Mr. Hobby\nthe minister went with the multitude to hear him. It is said that\nMr. Hobby afterwards remarked, he came to pick a hole in Mr.\nWhitefield's coat, but that Whitefield picked a hole in his heart.\nMr. Hobby afterwards wrote and published a defence of Mr. Whitefield\nin a letter to Mr. Henchman, the minister of Lynn, who had written\nagainst him.\"\n\nThe letters of Whitefield, during his journeys of eleven hundred\nmiles in New England, were few and brief; but they clearly indicated\nthat at this time he was inclined \"to return no more to his native\ncountry.\" New England, notwithstanding his trials there, had\nevidently won his heart, and for a time almost weaned him from Great\nBritain. When he left it, as he was now about to do, for the south,\nhe wrote, \"God only knows what a cross it was to me to leave dear\nNew England so soon. I hope death will not be so bitter to me as\nwas parting with my friends. Glad shall I be to be _prayed_ thither\nagain before I see my native land. I would just be where He would\nhave me, although in the uttermost parts of the earth. I am now\nhunting for poor lost sinners in these _ungospelized_ wilds.\"\n\nIs there not an awfully retributive providence connected with the\nrejection of the gospel and its ministers? Do we not see this\nprinciple at work in the history and present state of the Jews; and\nhas it not often appeared also in the history of Christianity? There\nwas a beautiful village, now a city, in Massachusetts, from which\nWhitefield was driven with such rancorous abuse, that he shook off\nthe dust of his feet, and proclaimed that the Spirit of God would\nnot visit that spot till the last of those persecutors was dead. The\ngood man's language had a fearful truth in it, though he was not\ndivinely gifted with the prophet's inspiration. A consciousness of\ndesertion paralyzed the energies of the church; for nearly a century\nit was nurtured on the unwholesome food of unscriptural doctrine. In\nthe very garden of natural loveliness, it sat like a heath in the\ndesert, upon which there could be no rain; and not till that whole\ngeneration had passed from the earth, did Zion appear there in her\nbeauty and strength.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII.\n\nLABORS IN NEW YORK AND THE MIDDLE AND SOUTHERN STATES.\n\n1740, 1741.\n\n\nWhitefield was now again on his way to New York, preaching at Rye\nand King's Bridge on the road. At the latter place he was met by\nseveral friends from the city, with whom he pleasantly talked, \"and\nfound,\" he says, \"an inexpressible satisfaction in my soul when I\narrived at the house of my very dear friend Mr. Noble. After supper\nthe Lord filled my heart, and gave me to wrestle with him for New\nYork inhabitants and my own dear friends.\" He was also cheered\nby meeting Mr. Davenport from Long Island, whose labors as an\nevangelist were then exciting much interest. Here too he met with a\nviolent pamphlet published against him. \"Met also with two volumes\nof sermons published in London as delivered by me, though I never\npreached on most of the texts. But Satan must try all ways to bring\nthe work of God into contempt.\"\n\nOn the morning after his arrival, Whitefield preached in Mr.\nPemberton's meeting-house, and says concerning the service, \"Never\nsaw the word of God fall with such weight in New York before. Two or\nthree cried out. Mr. Noble could scarce refrain himself. And look\nwhere I would, many seemed deeply wounded. At night the word was\nattended with great power. One cried out; and the Lord enabled me\nat the latter end of my sermon to speak with authority. Alas, how\nvain are the thoughts of men! As I came along yesterday, I found my\nheart somewhat dejected, and told Mr. Noble I expected but little\nmoving in New York; but he bid me 'expect great things from God,'\nand likewise told me of several who were, as he hoped, savingly\nwrought upon by my ministry when I was there last.\"\n\nOn the following day he finished his answer to the pamphlet already\nreferred to, and says, \"God enabled me to write it in the spirit of\nmeekness.\" He adds, \"Preached twice as yesterday to very crowded\nauditories, and neither time without power. In the evening exercise\nsome fainted, and the Lord seemed to show us more and more that a\ntime for favoring New York was near at hand. Oh, wherefore did I\ndoubt? Lord, increase my faith.\"\n\nThe following day, November 2, was the Sabbath. \"Preached this\nmorning with freedom and some power, but was much dejected before\nthe evening sermon. For near half an hour before I left Mr. Noble's\nhouse, I could only lie before the Lord, and say I was a poor\nsinner, and wonder that Christ would be gracious to such a wretch.\nAs I went to meeting I grew weaker and weaker, and when I came into\nthe pulpit I could have chosen to be silent rather than speak. But\nafter I had begun, the Spirit of the Lord gave me freedom, till\nat length it came down like a mighty rushing wind, and carried\nall before it. Immediately the whole congregation was alarmed.\nShrieking, crying, weeping, and wailing were to be heard in every\ncorner; men's hearts failing them for fear, and many falling into\nthe arms of their friends. My soul was carried out till I could\nscarcely speak any more. A sense of God's goodness overwhelmed me.\"\n\nAfter narrating two or three pleasing incidents as to the effect\nof his preaching even on the minds of children, and describing his\nfeelings on his return home, he gives an account of the wedding\nof two young persons who were going as his assistants to Georgia.\n\"Never,\" he says, \"did I see a more solemn wedding. Jesus Christ\nwas called, and he was present in a remarkable manner. After Mr.\nPemberton had married them, I prayed. But my soul, how was it\nenabled to wrestle with and lay hold on God! I was in a very great\nagony, and the Holy Ghost was so remarkably present, that most,\nI believe, could say, 'Surely God is in this place.' After this,\ndivine manifestations flowed in so fast, that my frail tabernacle\nwas scarce able to sustain them. My dear friends sat round me on the\nbedsides. I prayed for each of them alternately with strong cries,\nand pierced by the eye of faith even within the veil. I continued in\nthis condition for about half an hour, astonished at my own vileness\nand the excellency of Christ, then rose full of peace and love and\njoy.\"\n\nOn Monday, the 3d, he preached both morning and afternoon to\nincreasing congregations, and says, \"There was a great and gracious\nmelting both times, but no crying out. Nearly \u00a3110 currency were\ncollected for the orphans; and in the evening many came and took an\naffectionate leave. About seven we took boat; reached Staten Island\nabout ten, greatly refreshed in my inner man. A dear Christian\nfriend received us gladly, and we solaced ourselves by singing and\npraying. About midnight retired to sleep, still longing for that\ntime when I shall sleep no more.\"\n\nOn Tuesday he preached on Staten Island from a wagon, to three\nor four hundred people. \"The Lord came among them,\" and several\ninquired after the way of salvation. Here he met Gilbert Tennent\nand Mr. Cross. The former of these excellent ministers had recently\nlost his wife, and though he was ardently attached to her, he calmly\npreached her funeral sermon with the corpse lying before him.\nTennent had lately been preaching in New Jersey and Maryland, and\nhad a delightful account to give his friend of the progress of the\ngood work. Nor was the account given by Mr. Cross of less interest.\nAfter sermon he rode to Newark, where he preached till dark, as he\nthought with but little good effect. \"However, at night the Lord\nmanifested forth his glory; for, coming down to family prayer where\nI lodged, and perceiving many young men around me, my soul was, as\nit were, melted down with concern for them. After singing, I gave\na word of exhortation; with what power none can fully express but\nthose that saw it. Oh, how did the word fall like a hammer and like\na fire. What a weeping was there!\"\n\nWe must stay a moment to give a fact or two in reference to the\nRev. Aaron Burr, then quite a young man, who two or three years\nbefore had been ordained at Newark, and whose ministry had been\nattended with a delightful revival the year preceding Whitefield's\nvisit. During the period of this revival, the neighboring village\nof Elizabethtown had been remarkable for its insensibility; even\nWhitefield had preached there, \"and not a single known conversion,\"\nsays Dr. Stearns, \"followed his ministrations.\" Afterwards the\npastor, the well-known Jonathan Dickinson, saw happy results from\nvery plain preaching. Newark caught a new flame from its neighboring\naltar, and Mr. Burr, who had lately been to New England in quest\nof health, had heard the devoted evangelist again and again,\nand invited him to visit his flock, which he did about a month\nafterwards with happy results. The account given by Mr. Burr of\nWhitefield's preaching in New England was precisely what we should\nexpect from the man who was afterwards the first president of\nPrinceton college, and who, fourteen years after this, accompanied\nhis eloquent friend to New England, \"and saw at Boston, morning\nafter morning, three or four thousand people hanging in breathless\nsilence on the lips of the preacher, and weeping silent tears.\"\n\nThe Rev. Stephen Dodd of East Haven, Conn., relates that an old\nlady told him that when Mr. Whitefield came to preach in the old\nmeeting-house at Newark, she was twelve years old, and as he entered\nthe pulpit she looked at him with distrust, but before he got\nthrough his prayers herself and all the congregation were melted\ndown, and the sermon filled the house with groans and tears. The\nnext time he came, the congregation was so large that the pulpit\nwindow was taken out, and he preached through the opening to the\npeople in the burying-ground.\n\nOn Wednesday, the 5th, he went to Baskinridge, Mr. Cross' parish,\nwhere he found Mr. Davenport, who, according to appointment, had\nbeen preaching to about three thousand people. He writes, \"As I went\nalong, I told a friend my soul wept for them, and I was persuaded\nwithin myself that the Lord would that day make his power to be\nknown among them. In prayer, I perceived my soul drawn out, and a\nstirring of affections among the people. I had not discoursed long\nbefore the Holy Ghost displayed his power. In every part of the\ncongregation somebody or other began to cry out, and almost all\nmelted into tears. This abated for a few moments, till a little boy\nabout seven or eight years of age cried out exceeding piteously\nindeed, and wept as though his little heart would break. Mr. Cross\nhaving compassion on him, took him up into the wagon, which so\naffected me, that I broke from my discourse, and told the people the\nlittle boy should preach to them, and that God, since old professors\nwould not cry after Christ, had displayed his sovereignty, and out\nof an infant's mouth was perfecting praise. God so blessed this,\nthat a universal concern fell on the congregation again. Fresh\npersons dropped down here and there, and the cry increased more and\nmore.\"\n\nIn the evening, Gilbert Tennent preached excellently in Mr. Cross'\nbarn, two miles off. His subject was the necessity and benefit of\nspiritual desertions, a remarkable subject, as has been said, at\nsuch a time, in a barn, and at night. \"A great commotion,\" says\nWhitefield, \"was soon observed among the hearers. I then gave a word\nof exhortation. The Lord's presence attended it in a surprising\nmanner. One, in about six minutes, cried out, 'He is come, He is\ncome!' and could scarcely sustain the discovery that Jesus Christ\nmade of himself to his soul. Others were so earnest for a discovery\nof the Lord to their souls, that their eager crying obliged me to\nstop, and I prayed over them as I saw their agonies and distress\nincrease. At length my own soul was so full that I retired, and was\nin a strong agony for some time, and wept before the Lord under a\ndeep sense of my own vileness, and the sovereignty and greatness of\nGod's everlasting love. Most of the people spent the remainder of\nthe night in prayer and praise. Two or three young ministers spoke\nalternately, and others prayed as the Lord gave them utterance.\"\n\nThe next morning Whitefield exhorted, sung, and prayed with the\npeople in the barn, and had some delightful conversation with\na lad of thirteen, a poor negro woman, and several others. In\ncompany with several Christian friends, he then rode to the house\nof Gilbert Tennent in New Brunswick. Here he found letters from\nSavannah saying that great mortality existed in the neighborhood,\nbut that the family at the orphan-house continued in health, and\nthat a minister was about coming from England to take his church at\nSavannah. \"This last,\" says he, \"much rejoiced me, being resolved\nto give up the Savannah living as soon as I arrived in Georgia. A\nparish and the orphan-house together are too much for me; besides,\nGod seems to show me it is my duty to evangelize, and not to fix\nin any particular place.\" Here he was met by William Tennent also,\nand after much conversation and prayer, it was settled that Gilbert\nTennent should go to Boston to carry on the work so happily begun\nthere. After preaching, exhortation, and prayer, Whitefield went\nwith Davenport to Trenton, and so on to Philadelphia. On their way,\nthey were twice remarkably preserved from drowning in creeks much\nswollen by the rains; and late on a very dark Saturday night arrived\nin the city, which had been already honored by his usefulness.\n\nOn the following day, he twice preached in the house which his\nfriends were now building for him, and in which Gilbert Tennent\nlabored for many years with great success. He says, \"It is one\nhundred feet long and seventy feet broad. A large gallery is to be\nerected all around in it. Many footsteps of Providence have been\nvisible in beginning and carrying it on. Both in the morning and\nevening God's glory filled the house, for there was great power in\nthe congregation. The roof is not yet up, but the people raised a\nconvenient pulpit and boarded the bottom. The joy of most of the\nhearers when they saw me was inexpressible. Between services, I\nreceived a packet of letters from England, dated in March last. May\nthe Lord heal, and bring good out of the divisions which at present\nseem to be among the brethren there. God giving me freedom, and\nmany friends being in the room, I kneeled down and prayed with and\nexhorted them all. But Oh, how did they melt under both; my soul was\nmuch rejoiced to look round on them.\"\n\nA fact in connection with the building of this church edifice\nillustrates the practical philosophy of Dr. Franklin. Tennent waited\non him for aid in the erection of the house, which was cheerfully\nafforded; the philosopher was asked by Tennent as to the best\nmethod of raising the necessary funds, who instantly recommended him\nto call at every house in the town to solicit help. He argued thus:\n\"Many are really desirous to give, and will be glad to see you;\nothers are inclined to be friendly, and will give if they are urged;\na third will be sure, if they are omitted, to say they would have\ngiven had they been asked; and a fourth class will give you, rather\nthan have it said they refused.\" Tennent acted on the doctor's\ncounsel, and the funds were raised without difficulty.\n\nTwo instances of the happy influence of the truth in the conversion\nof sinners, in connection with this visit, must be given from\nWhitefield's own pen. The first related to a Mr. Brockden, a lawyer\neminent in his profession, and the recorder of deeds for the city.\nFor many years this gentleman had been distinguished for Deism.\nWhitefield writes, \"In his younger days he had some religious\nimpressions, but going into business, the cares of the world so\nchoked the good seed, that he not only forgot his God in some\ndegree, but at length began to doubt of and to dispute his very\nbeing. In this state he continued many years, and has been very\nzealous to propagate his deistical, I could almost say atheistical\nprinciples among moral men; but he told me he never endeavored\nto make proselytes of vicious, debauched people. When I came to\nPhiladelphia, this time twelvemonth, he told me he had not so much\nas a curiosity to hear me. But a brother Deist, his choicest friend,\npressed him to come and hear me. To satisfy his curiosity, he at\nlength complied with the request. I preached at the court-house\nstairs, upon the conference which the Lord had with Nicodemus. I had\nnot spoken much before the Lord struck his heart. 'For,' said he, 'I\nsaw your doctrine tended to make people good.' His family knew not\nthat he had been to hear me. After he came home, his wife, who had\nbeen at sermon, came in also, and wished heartily that he had heard\nme. He said nothing. After this, another of his family came in,\nrepeating the same wish; and, if I mistake not, after that another;\ntill at last, being unable to refrain any longer, with tears in his\neyes, he said, 'Why, I have been hearing him;' and then expressed\nhis approbation. Ever since he has followed on to know the Lord;\nand I verily believe Jesus Christ has made himself manifest to his\nsoul. Though upwards of threescore years old, he is now, I believe,\nborn again of God. He is as a little child, and often, as he told\nme, receives such communications from God, when he retires into the\nwoods, that he thinks he could die a martyr for the truth.\"\n\nThe other instance was that of the captain of a ship, \"as great a\nreprobate,\" says Whitefield, \"as ever I heard of.\" This man used to\ngo on board the transport ships, and offer a guinea for a new oath,\nthat he might have the honor of making it. \"To the honor of God's\ngrace,\" says our evangelist, \"let it be said, he is now, I believe,\na Christian; not only reformed, but renewed. The effectual stroke,\nhe told me, was given when I preached last spring at Pennepack. Ever\nsince he has been zealous for the truth; stood like a lamb when he\nwas beaten, and in danger of being murdered by some of my opposers,\nand, in short, shows his faith by his works.\"\n\nThe stay of Mr. Whitefield in Philadelphia at this time was about\na week, during which he preached in the new house twice every day\nto large and deeply interested congregations. He says, \"It would\nbe almost endless to recount all the particular instances of God's\ngrace which I have seen this week past. Many that before were\nonly convicted, now plainly proved that they were converted, and\nhad a clear evidence of it within themselves. My chief business\nwas now to build up and to exhort them to continue in the grace\nof God. Notwithstanding, many were convicted almost every day,\nand came to me under the greatest distress and anguish of soul.\nSeveral societies are now in the town, not only of men and women,\nbut of little boys and little girls. Being so engaged, I could\nnot visit them as I would, but I hope the Lord will raise up some\nfellow-laborers, and that elders will be ordained in every place.\"\n\nPerhaps no man was ever more free from sectarianism than George\nWhitefield. It is true, that he was ordained a clergyman of the\nchurch of England, and never manifested any degree of reluctance to\nofficiate within its walls; but it is equally true, that the vast\nmajority of his sermons were delivered in connection with other\nbodies of Christians. When he was once preaching from the balcony\nof the court-house, Market-street, Philadelphia, he delivered an\nimpressive apostrophe: \"Father Abraham, who have you in heaven? any\nEpiscopalians?\" \"No.\" \"Any Presbyterians?\" \"No.\" \"Any Baptists?\"\n\"No.\" \"Have you any Methodists, Seceders, or Independents there?\"\n\"No, no!\" \"Why, who have you there?\" \"We don't know those names\nhere. All who are here are Christians, believers in Christ--men\nwho have overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of his\ntestimony.\" \"Oh, is that the case? then God help me, God help us\nall, to forget party names, and to become Christians, in deed and\nin truth.\" It might be well for the different bodies of Christians\nto think of the propriety of following this example of the holy\nman. The peculiarities of each Christian denomination may have\ntheir importance, but they ought not to keep good men in a state of\nseparation, much less of alienation from each other.\n\nOn Monday, November 17, Whitefield left Philadelphia. He says, \"Was\nmuch melted at parting from my dear friends. Had it much impressed\nupon my mind, that I should go to England, and undergo trials for\nthe truth's sake. These words, 'The Jews sought to stone thee,\nand goest thou thither again?' with our Lord's answer, have been\nfor some time lying upon me; and while my friends were weeping\nround me, St. Paul's words darted into my soul, 'What mean you to\nweep and break my heart? I am willing not only to be bound, but\nto die for the Lord Jesus.' After fervent prayer, I took my leave\nof some, but being to preach at Gloucester in the West Jerseys,\nothers accompanied me in boats over the river. We sung as we sailed,\nbut my heart was low. I preached at Gloucester, but found myself\nweighed down, and was not able to deliver my sermon with my usual\nvigor. However, there was an affecting melting, and several, as\nI heard afterwards, who had been in bondage before, at that time\nreceived joy in the Holy Ghost. I rode on in company with several\nto Greenwich, and preached to a few, with scarce any power. In\nthe evening we travelled on a few miles, but my body was more and\nmore out of order, and I thought God was preparing me for future\nblessings. It is good to be humbled. I am never better than when I\nam brought to lie at the foot of the cross. It is a certain sign\nGod intends that soul a greater crown. Lord, let me always feel\nmyself a poor sinner.\" On Tuesday he preached at Pilesgrove to\nabout two thousand people, but saw only a few affected. \"At night,\"\nhe says, \"God was pleased so abundantly to refresh my soul as to\nmake me forget the weakness of my body; I prayed and exhorted\nwith great power in the family where I lodged.\" On Wednesday, at\nCohansey, where Gilbert Tennent had prepared the way for him, he\nsays, \"Preached to some thousands both morning and afternoon. The\nword gradually struck the hearers, till the whole congregation was\ngreatly moved, and two cried out in the bitterness of their souls\nafter a crucified Saviour, and were scarcely able to stand. My\nsoul was replenished as with new wine, and life and power flew all\naround me.\" At Salem, on the 20th, he preached in the morning at the\ncourt-house, and in the afternoon in the open air before the prison,\nto about two thousand persons. \"Both times God was with us.\" On\nFriday, November 21, he got with some difficulty to Newcastle, where\nhe preached in the court-house, and \"observed some few affected,\nand some few scoffing.\" Here he was joined by Mr. Charles Tennent,\nwho had lately married a young lady awakened under Whitefield's\nministry. They went on to White Clay creek, \"and God,\" says he, \"was\npleased to appear for me in an extraordinary manner. There were many\nthousands waiting to hear the word. I have not seen a more lovely\nsight. I sang the twenty-third psalm, and these words gave my soul\nunspeakable comfort:\n\n    \"'In presence of my spiteful foes,\n      He does my table spread.'\n\n\"The Lord Jesus assisted me in preaching. The melting soon began,\nand the power increased more and more, till the greatest part of the\ncongregation was exceedingly moved. Several cried out in different\nparts, and others were to be seen wringing their hands and weeping\nbitterly. The stir was ten times greater than when I was here\nlast.\" At Fagg's Manor, on Saturday afternoon, he preached \"to many\nthousands, and God was pleased mightily to own his word. There was\na wondrous powerful moving, but it did not rise to such a degree as\nwhen I preached here last spring. I was taken ill after preaching.\"\nAfter still farther labors, he retired to rest, and he says, \"The\nLord gave me sweet sleep, and in the morning I arose with my natural\nstrength much renewed.\" This was the Sabbath, and he preached at\nNottingham \"to a large congregation, who seemed in no wise to regard\nthe rain, so they might be watered with the dew of God's blessing.\"\n\nOn the following afternoon, at Bohemia, in Maryland, he says,\n\"Preached to about two thousand, and have not seen a more solid\nmelting, I think, since my arrival. Some scoffers stood on the\noutside, but the Holy Spirit enabled me to lay the terrors of\nthe Lord before them, and they grew more serious. My soul much\nrejoiced in the Lord to see salvation brought to Maryland.\" On\nTuesday, November 25, \"came to Reedy Island, and had the wonderful\npresence of God in the assembly in the afternoon. Several of my\ndear Philadelphia friends came to take their last farewell.\" On\nWednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, he preached again. \"The Lord was\nwith us every time. I was greatly delighted to see the captains of\nthe ships, and their respective crews, come constantly to hear the\nword of God on shore, and join with us in religious exercises on\nboard.\"\n\nOn December 1, when they sailed from Reedy Island to Charleston,\nhe wrote in his journal, \"But before I go on, stop, O my soul, and\nlook back a little on the great things the Lord hath done for thee\nduring this excursion. I think it is now the seventy-fifth day since\nI arrived at Rhode Island. My body was then weak, but the Lord has\nmuch renewed its strength. I have been enabled to preach, I think,\none hundred and seventy-five times in public, besides exhorting very\nfrequently in private. I have travelled upwards of eight hundred\nmiles, and gotten upwards of \u00a3700 sterling in goods, provisions,\nand money for my poor orphans. Never did God vouchsafe me such\ngreat assistances. Never did I perform my journeys with so little\nfatigue, or see such a continuance of the divine presence in the\ncongregations to whom I have preached. All things concur to convince\nme that America is to be my chief scene for action.\"\n\nIn about eight days, he arrived at Charleston, where he found there\nhad recently been a large fire, and to improve the sad event he\npreached a sermon, and passed on to his own home, where he found\nall well, and where he made arrangements for his voyage to England,\nleaving on the 29th of December. On that day he narrowly escaped\ndeath. A laborer was walking behind him with a gun under his arm,\nwhich went off unawares; happily its muzzle was towards the ground,\n\"otherwise,\" says Whitefield, \"I and one of my friends, in all\nprobability, should have been killed; for we were directly before,\nand not above a yard or two distant from it. How ought we to live\nin such a state as we would not fear to die in; for in the midst\nof life we are in death!\" In the evening he preached his farewell\nsermon as pastor of Savannah.\n\nOn Mr. Whitefield's arrival at Charleston, in company with two\ngentlemen named Bryan, who had been called to suffer persecution\nfor Christ's sake, he had the happiness of meeting his brother, the\ncaptain of a vessel from England, who gave him much interesting\nintelligence of the Christians in that country. Commencing with the\nSabbath, he preached twice every day, in addition to expounding the\nScriptures almost every evening, and expresses his gratitude for\ndivine assistance. But though he had much to rejoice in, he had\nalso more than one source of sorrow. Some professors of religion,\nof whom he had hoped well, had fallen away, and not a few of his\nenemies were even more enraged than formerly. Hugh Bryan had written\na letter, in which, among other matters, \"it was hinted that the\nclergy break their canons.\" At the request of Jonathan Bryan,\nWhitefield had corrected it for the press, and it was published\nwhile he was now in the city. Hugh Bryan was apprehended, and on\nhis examination, being asked, frankly confessed that Whitefield had\ncorrected and made some alterations in it. Writing on January 10,\nhe says, \"This evening a constable came to me with the following\nwarrant:\n\n     \"'South Carolina SS. By B---- W----, etc. Whereas I have\n     received information upon oath that George Whitefield, Clerk,\n     hath made and composed a false, malicious, scandalous, and\n     infamous Libel against the Clergy of this Province, in contempt\n     of His Majesty and His Laws, and against the King's Peace: These\n     are therefore, in His Majesty's Name, to charge and command\n     you and each of you forthwith to apprehend the said George\n     Whitefield, and to bring him before Me to answer the premises.\n     Hereof fail not, at your peril. And for your so doing this shall\n     be your and each of your sufficient Warrant. Given under my hand\n     and seal this tenth day of January, in the fourteenth year of\n     His Majesty's Reign, Anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and\n     forty [one.]\n\n     \"'B---- W----.'\"\n\nWhitefield gave security to appear by his attorney at the next\nquarter sessions, under penalty of one hundred pounds proclamation\nmoney. \"Blessed be God,\" he says in his journal, \"for this\nfurther honor. My soul rejoices in it. I think this may be called\npersecution. I think it is for righteousness' sake.\" The next\nmorning he preached on Herod sending the wise men to find out\nChrist, professing a desire to worship him, but intending to kill\nhim; _persecution under pretence of religion_, being his theme.\nThe afternoon sermon was on the murder of Naboth, from which he\ndiscoursed on _the abuse of power by men in authority_. He says,\n\"My hearers, as well as myself, made the application. It was pretty\nclose.\" No doubt it was. In the evening he expounded the narrative\nof Orpah and Ruth, and exhorted his hearers to follow the Lord Jesus\nChrist, though his cause be never so much persecuted and spoken\nagainst.\n\nOn the following Thursday, he received several highly gratifying\nletters from his friends at Boston. Mr. Secretary Willard said\nto him, \"Divers young men in this town, who are candidates for\nthe ministry, have been brought under deep convictions by your\npreaching, and are carried off from the foundation of their false\nhopes to rest only upon Christ for salvation.\"\n\nThe Rev. Mr. Cooper wrote, \"I can inform you that there are many\nabiding proofs that you did not run in vain, and labor in vain\namong us in this place. I can only say now in general, some have\nbeen awakened who were before quite secure, and I hope a good work\nbegun in them. Others, who had been under religious impressions,\nare now more earnestly pressing into the kingdom of heaven, and\nmany of the children of God are stirred up to give diligence for\nthe full assurance of faith. There is a greater flocking to all the\nlectures in the town, and the people show such a disposition to the\nnew Tuesday evening lecture, that our large capacious house cannot\nreceive all that come. I am sure your visit to us has made a large\naddition to the prayers that are going up for you in one place and\nanother, and I hope also unto the jewels that are to make up your\ncrown in the day of the Lord.\"\n\nIn addition to these statements, Mr. Welch, a pious merchant,\nwrote, \"I fear I am tedious, but I cannot break off till I just\nmention, to the glory of the grace of God, and for your comfort\nand encouragement, the success your ministry of late has had among\nus. Impressions made seem to be abiding on the minds of many. The\ndoctrines of grace seem to be more the topic of conversation than\never I knew them. Nay, religious conversation seems to be almost\n_fashionable_, and almost every one seems disposed to hear or speak\nof the things of God. Multitudes flock to the evening lecture,\nthough it has sometimes been the worst of weather. Ministers seem to\npreach with more life, and the great auditories seem to hear with\nsolemn attention, and I hope our Lord Jesus is getting to himself\nthe victory over the hearts of many sinners.\"\n\nThese, and other letters of a similar character, filled the heart\nof Whitefield with grateful pleasure; and he went on preaching and\nenjoying the society of his friends till Friday, January 16. He\nsays, \"I never received such generous tokens of love, I think, from\nany people before, as from some in Charleston. They so loaded me\nwith sea-stores, that I sent many of them to Savannah.\" He now went\non board, and was fully engaged in preparations for the voyage,\nwhich however was not entered on till the 24th. On that day the\n_Minerva_ sailed over Charleston bar, and after a generally pleasant\nvoyage, they landed at Falmouth, March 11. \"This,\" says he, \"was a\nprofitable voyage to my soul, because of my having had many sweet\nopportunities for reading, meditation, and prayer.\"\n\nThe impartiality of history requires us, however reluctantly, here\nto notice the separation which to some extent now took place between\nWhitefield, and his old friends Messrs. John and Charles Wesley.\nTheir mutual attachment in early life we have already seen, as also\nWhitefield's anxiety in Georgia to defend Mr. John Wesley's conduct\nagainst those who opposed him. Impartial observers, however, after\na while began to remark, that on some doctrinal points, especially\non that of predestination, a difference was springing up. On his\npassage to England, February 1, 1741, Whitefield thus wrote to\nMr. Charles Wesley: \"My dear, dear brethren, why did you throw\nout the bone of contention? Why did you print that sermon against\npredestination? Why did you in particular, my dear brother Charles,\naffix your hymn, and join in putting out your late hymn-book? How\ncan you say you will not dispute with me about election, and yet\nprint such hymns? and your brother sent his sermon against election,\nto Mr. Garden and others in America. Do not you think, my dear\nbrethren, I must be as much concerned for truth, or what I think\ntruth, as you? God is my judge, I always was, and hope I always\nshall be desirous that you may be preferred before me. But I must\npreach the gospel of Christ, and that I cannot _now_ do, without\nspeaking of election.\" He then tells Mr. Charles Wesley, that in\nChristmas-week he had written an answer to his brother's sermon,\n\"which,\" says he, \"is now printing at Charleston; another copy I\nhave sent to Boston, and another I now bring with me, to print in\nLondon. If it occasion a strangeness between us, it shall not be my\nfault. There is nothing in my answer exciting to it, that I know of.\nO, my dear brethren, my heart almost bleeds within me. Methinks I\ncould be willing to tarry here on the waters for ever, rather than\ncome to England to oppose you.\"\n\nDr. Whitehead, in his \"Life of John Wesley,\" has very wisely\nsaid, \"Controversy almost always injures the Christian temper,\nmuch more than it promotes the interests of speculative truth. On\nthis question a separation took place between Mr. Wesley and Mr.\nWhitefield, so far as to have different places of worship; and some\nwarm and tart expressions dropped from each. But their good opinion\nof each other's integrity and usefulness, founded on long and\nintimate acquaintance, could not be injured by such a difference of\nsentiment; and their mutual affection was only obscured by a cloud\nfor a season.\"\n\nThe friendship between Mr. Whitefield and the Messrs. Wesley was\nvery much increased and perpetuated by the wife of Mr. Charles\nWesley. This very extraordinary lady, whose original name was\nGwinne, was equally distinguished for her beauty, talents, and\npiety. She had a very cordial regard for Mr. Whitefield, who as\ncordially reciprocated it. She was married when the controversy\namong these eminent men was at its height, and stipulated that\nshe should always be allowed to hear the preaching of Whitefield\nand his friends. In her latter years especially, and she lived\ntill ninety-six, she expressed her pleasure in the belief that\nshe promoted the continuance of that endearing intercourse which\nsubsisted between Whitefield and her husband. She softened all\nparties, and was on all occasions a blessed peacemaker.\n\nOne fact relating to this eminently excellent woman may be\nmentioned. She was nearly twenty years younger than her husband, and\nfour years after her marriage, and at the age of twenty-six, she\nwas seized with small-pox, of which at that time her eldest child\ndied. She lay twenty-two days in imminent danger of death, and when\nshe recovered she was so much altered in features that no one could\nrecognize her; but never did woman before lose her beauty with so\nlittle regret. She used sportively to say, that the change in her\nappearance \"afforded great satisfaction to her dear husband, who\nwas glad to see her look so much older, and better suited to be his\ncompanion.\"\n\nOn Whitefield's arrival at Falmouth, he immediately set off in a\npost-chaise to London, in order to preach on the following Sabbath.\nBut he now found occasion for all the patience he had acquired. He\nhad, he says, \"written two well-meant, though ill-judged letters\nagainst England's two great favorites, '_The Whole Duty of Man_,'\nand Archbishop Tillotson, who, I said, knew no more about religion\nthan Mohammed. The Moravians had made inroads on our societies;\"\nbesides which, the controversy with the Messrs. Wesley injured him.\nHis congregations on the Sabbath were still large, but on week-days\nhe had not more than two or three hundred hearers. He says, \"Instead\nof having thousands to attend me, scarcely one of my spiritual\nchildren come to see me from morning to night. Once, on Kennington\nCommon, I had not above a hundred to hear me.\"\n\nEven this was not all. He says, \"One that got some hundreds of\npounds by my sermons, refused to print for me any more. And others\nwrote to me, that God would destroy me in a fortnight, and that my\nfall was as great as Peter's.\" Still other sorrows attended him.\nHe writes, \"I was much embarrassed in my outward circumstances. A\nthousand pounds I owed for the orphan-house. Two hundred and fifty\npounds drawn on Mr. Seward, [who was now dead,] were returned upon\nme. I was also threatened to be arrested for two hundred pounds\nmore.\" Besides all this, he had \"a family of one hundred persons\nto be maintained, four thousand miles off, in the dearest part of\nhis majesty's dominions.\" He now began to preach in Moorfields on\nweek-days, under one of the trees; where he saw numbers of his\nspiritual children running by him without looking at him, and some\nof them putting their fingers in their ears, that they might not\nhear one word he said. \"A like scene,\" he says, \"opened at Bristol,\nwhere I was denied preaching in the house I had founded.\" It was the\nKingswood school-house, built for the children of the colliers.\n\nBut Whitefield could not long be kept down. His friends built a\nnew house and opened a new school at Kingswood. Some \"free-grace\ndissenters,\" as Gillies calls them, procured the loan of a building\nlot in London, on which, as we have already seen, they built the\nTabernacle. Here his congregations immediately increased, and he\naddressed them with his usual power and success. Invitations soon\npoured in from the country, and even from places where he had never\nbeen. At a common near Braintree, in Essex, he had more than ten\nthousand hearers, and at many other places congregations were large\nand much affected. \"Sweet,\" says he, \"was the conversation which I\nhad with several ministers of Christ.\" Soon again did he triumph,\neven in England.\n\nAmong the men who were now invited to aid, and who rendered\nimportant assistance to Whitefield in his houses of worship in\nLondon and Bristol, as well as in his itinerant labors, was Howel\nHarris, a native of Wales, a gentleman, and a magistrate, to whom we\nhave already referred. His name in Wales is yet \"a household word,\"\nand his labors form a part of the history of Welsh Calvinistic\nMethodism. As soon as he had embraced the gospel for himself,\nhe became intensely solicitous respecting the condition of his\nneighbors. The scenes of profligacy and vice which everywhere\npresented themselves burdened his heart, and he became anxious to\nbe actively employed in removing evil and doing good. He determined\non taking orders in the church of England, and accordingly\nentered St. Mary's Hall, in Oxford university; but shocked at the\ndissolute habits of the collegians, and finding what were called\nhis methodistical views were in the way of his ordination, he\nreturned to Wales, and began to evangelize its towns and villages.\nWherever there was an opening, there he went, and preached Christ\nto the people; and although defamed and persecuted, he manfully\nprosecuted his work, and thousands were by his agency brought to\nrepentance. He and Mr. Whitefield were kindred spirits, moved by\nthe same impulses, and pursuing the same course. Mr. Whitefield\nspoke of him as \"'a burning and shining light,' a barrier against\nprofaneness and immorality, and an indefatigable promoter of the\ntrue gospel of Jesus Christ. For these years he has preached almost\ntwice a day, for three or four hours together. He has been in seven\ncounties, and has made it his business to go to wakes and fairs to\nturn people from their lying vanities. He has been made the subject\nof numbers of sermons, has been threatened with public prosecutions,\nand had constables sent to apprehend him. But God has blessed him\nwith inflexible courage; strength has been communicated to him from\nabove, and he still goes on from conquering to conquer. God has\ngreatly blessed his pious endeavors; many call, and own him as their\nspiritual father, and would, I believe, lay down their lives for his\nsake.\"\n\nIn the year 1759, when England was threatened with a French\ninvasion, Mr. Harris became a captain in the Brecknockshire militia,\nand into whatever place in England the regiment was ordered, he\nuniformly began to preach, and was the means of introducing the\ngospel into many ignorant and depraved districts. Thus an unusual\nact and an undesirable office were overruled to doing much good.\nWhen the regiment was disbanded, he again regularly entered on his\nministerial duties with all his former zeal and activity. In a word,\nhe may justly be regarded the evangelist of Wales.\n\nAs an illustration of the spirit of the energetic ministers of\nChrist in those days, we quote a fact or two from the life of\nRowland Hill; the more readily as Howel Harris is the principal\nsubject. In 1774, four years after the death of Whitefield, Mr.\nHill travelled through Wales, preaching three or four times every\nday; many conversions took place, which greatly sustained him under\nan attack of illness; and led to the remark in his \"Journal,\" \"My\nbody quite weak, but my soul was refreshed.\" \"A like example,\"\nsays Sidney, one of the biographers of Hill, \"had been previously\nbefore his eyes in the case of Howel Harris, one of Mr. Whitefield's\nenergetic followers, who was a man of extraordinary powers of body\nand mind. Harris used to relate of himself, that being once on a\njourney through Wales, he was subjected to great temptation to\ndesert his Master's cause, when he said, 'Satan, I'll match thee\nfor this;' and 'so I did,' he used to add; 'for I had not ridden\nmany miles before I came to a revel, where there was a show of\nmountebanks, which I entered, and just as they were commencing, I\njumped into the midst of them and cried out, 'Let us pray,' which\nso thunderstruck them that they listened to me quietly, while I\npreached to them a most tremendous sermon, that frightened many\nof them home.' Mr. Hill greatly delighted in this anecdote, and\noften said that amidst somewhat similar scenes, he had been enabled\nsuccessfully to attack the kingdom of Satan.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII.\n\nFIRST AND SECOND VISITS TO SCOTLAND--LABORS IN ENGLAND AND WALES.\n\n1740-1744.\n\n\nWe have seen the spirit in which Mr. Whitefield returned to London,\nand the cool manner in which he was too generally received. It is\npainful to say that this coldness was not confined to enemies of the\ntruth; it appeared in some degree in eminent dissenting ministers,\nas Watts and Bradbury, Barker, and even, to some extent, Doddridge.\nA plan had a few years before been agitated to restore the\ndissenters to the church, usually called the _Comprehension scheme_,\nand assuredly, under the circumstances, friendship with Whitefield\nwas by no means favorable to such a plan being accomplished, though\nit was at this period greatly desired by many of both parties.\nStill, however, good was done; Whitefield preached, and God was\nglorified. More union between Christians in advancing the cause of\nChrist would have been exceedingly desirable, but even the want of\nthis was not permitted to stay the progress of this man of God.\n\nOne of the most popular and useful ministers employed by Whitefield\nand his friends at this time was John Cennick, the author of two\nwell-known hymns, beginning,\n\n    \"Jesus, thy blood and righteousness;\"\n    \"Jesus, my all, to heaven is gone.\"\n\nHe was the preacher who, in Ireland, discoursed from the text,\n\"Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,\" which\ngave occasion for the Methodists in that country to be called\n\"_Swaddlers_.\" The parents of this excellent man were Quakers,\nwho had been imprisoned in Reading jail for the maintenance of\ntheir religious principles. This persecution reduced them from\nrespectability to want, so that, like John Bunyan, they were forced\nto make shoe-laces in prison for their support.\n\nThe conversion of the son was very remarkable. His first deep and\nlasting religious convictions flashed upon his mind like lightning\nfrom heaven, while walking in the crowds of Cheapside, in London.\nThe effects were soon manifested; he became a new man, pursuing\na new course, and entering on a new work. His ministry was very\nefficient, his views of truth were evangelical, his public speaking\npopular, his zeal so great as sometimes to lead him to preach six\ntimes in one day--all which labors were followed with abundant\nsuccess.\n\nMr. Cennick was rather below the middle stature, of a fair\ncountenance, and though by no means robust in health, he knew little\nof timidity. The spirit in which he discharged his ministry may be\nseen in a letter he wrote to a friend: \"We sang a hymn, and then the\ndevil led on his servants; they began beating a drum, and then made\nfires of gunpowder: at first the poor flock was startled; but while\nGod gave me power to speak encouragingly to them, they waxed bolder,\nand very few moved. The mob then fired guns over the people's heads,\nand began to play a water engine upon brother Harris and myself,\ntill we were wet through. They also played an engine upon us with\nhog's-wash and grounds of beer-barrels, and covered us with muddy\nwater from a ditch; they pelted us with eggs and stones, threw\nbaskets of dust over us, and fired their guns so close to us that\nour faces were black with the powder; but, in nothing terrified, we\nremained praying. I think I never saw or felt so great a power of\nGod as was there. In the midst of the confused multitude, I saw a\nman laboring above measure, earnest to fill the buckets with water\nto throw upon us. I asked him, 'What harm do we do? Why are you so\nfurious against us? We only come to tell you that Christ loved you,\nand died for you.' He stepped back a little for room, and threw a\nbucket of water in my face. When I had recovered myself, I said,\n'My dear man, if God should so pour his wrath upon you, what would\nbecome of you? Yet I tell you that Christ loves you.' He threw away\nthe bucket, let fall his trembling hands, and looked as pale as\ndeath; he then shook hands with me, and parted from me, I believe\nunder strong convictions.\"\n\nMr. Cennick had heretofore labored with Whitefield and Wesley, but\nnow adhered to the former, and labored very successfully in the\nTabernacle. After some years he united with the Moravian brethren,\nand died in triumph at thirty-five.\n\nIn the summer of 1741, some three or four months after his arrival\nfrom America, Whitefield paid his first visit to Scotland. The state\nof religion in that country at the commencement of the ministry of\nthis distinguished evangelist, has been already glanced at. It\nis here important to remark, that in 1740 an indication of better\nthings began to appear in several places, especially in Cambuslang,\nunder the ministry of the Rev. Mr. M'Culloch. This excellent man,\nfor nearly a year before the revival began, had been preaching to\nhis people on those subjects which tend most directly to explain the\nnature and prove the necessity of regeneration, according to the\ndifferent aspects in which it is represented in the holy Scriptures.\nThe church edifice had become too small for the congregation, and\nthe minister, in favorable weather, frequently conducted the public\nworship on a green brae on the east side of a deep ravine near the\nchurch, scooped out in the form of an amphitheatre. In this retired\nand romantic spot, the worthy pastor preached in the most impressive\nmanner to the listening multitudes, and not unfrequently, after his\nsermons, detailed to them the astonishing effects of Whitefield's\npreaching in America, which did not a little to increase the\ninterest of the people, as well as lead them to wish to see such an\nextraordinary preacher.\n\nWhile on his voyage to Scotland, Whitefield gave evidence that he\nhad not forgotten America. In his second visit to America, he had\nbecome intimately acquainted with the Rev. Daniel Rodgers of Exeter,\nNew Hampshire, a direct descendant of the seventh generation of John\nRogers, who was burnt at the stake for the testimony of Christ in\nthe days of the bloody Mary. It is not surprising that Whitefield's\noriginal letter to him, now in the possession of the family of the\ngrandson of Daniel Rodgers, is highly valued. It is dated on board\nthe Mary and Ann, bound from London to Scotland, July 25, 1741.\n\n     \"MY DEAR BROTHER RODGERS--How glad was I to receive a letter\n     from your hands, having heard nothing from you or of you\n     particularly since we parted. Oh, what great things has the\n     Lord shown us since that time! methinks I hear you say; and yet\n     I can tell of greater things. And I believe we shall see far\n     greater yet before we die. The work is beginning afresh here.\n     I sometimes think brother Gilbert [Tennent] must take a voyage\n     to old England. Most of our London ministers too much shun the\n     cross, and do not appear boldly for God. Now the Lord has worked\n     so powerfully in your college, I have less to object against\n     your joining Mr. Web. I am glad to hear that you speak _plain\n     and close_. What comfort will this afford you in a dying hour.\n     Go on, my dear brother, go on; venture daily upon Christ. Go out\n     in his strength, and he will enable us to do wonders. He is with\n     me more and more. I have sweetly been carried through the heat\n     and burning of every day's labor. Jesus bears all my burdens.\n     Jesus enables me to cast all my care upon him. Oh then, let us\n     magnify his name together. I am now going to Scotland, knowing\n     not what will befall me. What God does, you may expect to hear\n     of shortly. In the meanwhile, let us pray for and write to each\n     other. As iron sharpeneth iron, so do the letters of a man his\n     friend. Your last I have printed. God's glory called me to it.\n\n     \"My dear brother, adieu. Dear brother Sims sits by and salutes\n     you. My kind love awaits Mr. Web, and all who love the Lord\n     in sincerity. In hopes of receiving another letter from you\n     shortly, I subscribe myself, dear Mr. Rodgers, your most\n     affectionate, though very unworthy brother and servant in the\n     sweetest Jesus,\n\n     \"G. W.\"\n\nAmong those who were most anxious that Mr. Whitefield should visit\nScotland, were the Rev. Messrs. Ebenezer and Ralph Erskine. These\ntwo excellent brothers had separated themselves from the established\nchurch, chiefly on the ground of its cold formalism, and with some\nother zealous ministers had formed what has since been known as the\nAssociate Presbytery. Their wish was, that in coming to Scotland,\nWhitefield should preach only in connection with their body, and\nso help forward the work in which they were engaged. To this he\nobjected, regarding himself as an evangelist at large. As he\nproceeded, they rather opposed him, as not sufficiently particular\nand discriminative in his zeal. They wished him not to labor in\nthe church from which they had seceded, saying, \"God had left it.\"\n\"Then,\" said he, \"it is the more necessary for me to preach in it,\nto endeavor to bring him back. I'll preach Christ wherever they'll\nlet me.\" On the 30th of July he arrived in Edinburgh, where he was\nurged to preach, but declined till he had seen the Messrs. Erskine;\nand accordingly proceeded to Dunfermline. Writing on the 1st of\nAugust, he says, \"I went yesterday to Dunfermline, where dear Mr.\nRalph Erskine hath got a large and separate, or as it is commonly\ntermed, seceding meeting-house. He received me very lovingly. I\npreached to his and the town's people--a very thronged assembly.\nAfter I had done prayers and named my text, the rustling made by\nopening the Bibles all at once quite surprised me--a scene I never\nwas witness to before.\"\n\nOn the day following, Whitefield returned to Edinburgh, accompanied\nby Mr. Ralph Erskine, and preached in the Orphan-house park to a\nlarge and attentive audience. His text was, \"The kingdom of God\nis not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in\nthe Holy Ghost.\" Rom. 14:17. After the sermon, a large company,\nincluding some of the nobility, came to bid him God-speed; and\namong others a portly Quaker, a nephew of the Messrs. Erskine, who,\ntaking him by the hand, said, \"Friend George, I am as thou art; I\nam for bringing all to the life and power of the ever-living God;\nand therefore, if thou wilt not quarrel with me about my hat, I\nwill not quarrel with thee about thy gown.\" On Sabbath evening, he\npreached in the same place, to upwards of fifteen thousand persons;\nand on the evenings of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, to nearly as\nmany; on Tuesday in the Canongate church; on Wednesday and Thursday\nat Dunfermline; and on Friday morning at Queensferry. \"Everywhere,\"\nsays he, \"the auditories were large and very attentive. Great power\naccompanied the word. Many have been brought under convictions, and\nI have already received invitations to different places, which, God\nwilling, I intend to comply with.\" Writing a week later, he says,\n\"It would make your heart leap for joy to be now in Edinburgh. I\nquestion if there be not upwards of three hundred in this city\nseeking after Jesus. Every morning I have a constant levee of\nwounded souls, many of whom are quite slain by the law. God's power\nattends the word continually, just as when I left London. At seven\nin the morning we have a lecture in the fields, attended not only\nby the common people, but also by persons of rank. I have reason to\nthink that several of the latter sort are coming to Jesus. Little\nchildren also are much wrought upon. God much blesses my letters\nfrom the little orphans, [girls in the hospital.] He loves to work\nby contemptible means. Oh, my dear brother, I am quite amazed when\nI think what God has done here in a fortnight. My printed sermons\nand journals have been blessed in an uncommon manner. I am only\nafraid lest people should idolize the instrument, and not look\nenough to the glorious Jesus, in whom alone I desire to glory.\nCongregations consist of many thousands. Never did I see so many\nBibles, nor people looking into them, while I am expounding, with so\nmuch attention. Plenty of tears flow from the hearers' eyes. Their\nemotions appear in various ways. I preach twice daily, and expound\nat private houses at night, and am employed in speaking to souls\nunder distress great part of the day. I have just snatched a few\nmoments to write to my dear brother. Oh, that God may enlarge your\nheart to pray for me. This afternoon I preach out of town, and also\nto-morrow. Next post, God willing, you shall have another letter.\nI walk continually in the comforts of the Holy Ghost. The love of\nChrist quite strikes me dumb. O grace, grace! let that be my song.\nAdieu.\"\n\nIn this manner Whitefield continued to preach very extensively\nover Scotland; and early in September he arrived at Glasgow.\nOn the eleventh of that month he began his labors in the High\nChurch-yard, and for five days in succession preached there twice\na day--at an early hour in the morning, and again in the evening.\nThe expectations of the people were high, not only in Glasgow, but\nall around, and crowds flocked to hear him preach. Morning after\nmorning, and evening after evening, that vast church-yard, almost\npaved as it is with tombstones, was crowded with living worshippers,\ntrembling under the word. But not satisfied with hearing, the pen of\nthe ready writer was from day to day at work, and each sermon was\nprinted by itself, and put immediately into circulation. His sermons\nwere characterized by great simplicity, as if the language of the\npreacher merely expressed what he felt, and yet there was so much\nearnestness, and so much closeness of application, as to account\nfor the effects they produced. He was in the pulpit very much what\nBaxter was in the press. He spoke as a man realizing all that he\nsaid, and laying open the feelings of his own heart in addressing\nthe hearts of others.\n\nVery few men better knew the human heart than Whitefield. He seemed\nto know all the thoughts and feelings of his hearers, and the best\nway in which to meet them. He once preached in Scotland from the\ntext, \"The door was shut.\" Matt. 25:10. A respectable lady who heard\nhim sat near the door, a considerable distance from the pulpit, and\nobserved two showy and trifling young men who appeared to turn the\nsolemn appeals of the preacher into ridicule; she heard one of them\nsay in a low tone to the other, \"Well, what if the door be shut?\nanother will open.\" In a very few minutes, to the great surprise of\nthe lady, Mr. Whitefield said, \"It is possible there may be some\ncareless, trifling person here to-day, who may ward off the force\nof this impressive subject by lightly thinking, 'What matter if the\ndoor be shut? another will open.'\" The two young men looked at each\nother as though they were paralyzed, as the preacher proceeded:\n\"Yes, another door will open; and I will tell you what door it\nwill be: it will be the door of the bottomless pit, the door of\nhell!--the door which conceals from the eyes of angels the horrors\nof damnation.\"\n\nAfter Mr. Whitefield's return to England, at the close of October,\namong many letters which followed him, detailing the results of his\nlabors, was one from Mr. M'Culloch, the excellent minister already\nreferred to:\n\n\"As it is matter of joy and thankfulness to God, who sent you\nhither, and gave you so much countenance, and so remarkably crowned\nyour labors with success here at Glasgow, so I doubt not but the\nfollowing account of the many seals to your ministry in and about\nthat city, will be very rejoicing to your heart, especially as\nthe kingdom of our glorious Redeemer is so much advanced thereby,\nand as the everlasting happiness of souls is promoted. I am well\ninformed by some ministers, and other judicious and experienced\nChristians, that there are to the amount of fifty persons already\nknown, in and about Glasgow, who appear to be savingly converted,\nthrough the blessing and power of God on your ten sermons. And there\nare, besides these, several others apparently under conviction,\nbut not reckoned, as being still doubtful. Several Christians\nalso, of considerable standing, were much strengthened, revived,\nand comforted by what they heard. They were made to rejoice in\nhope of the glory of God, having attained to the full assurance\nof faith. Among those lately converted, there are several young\npeople who were before openly wicked and flagitious, or at best\nbut very negligent as to spiritual things; and yet they are now\nin the way of salvation. Some young converts are yet under doubts\nand fears, but a considerable number of them have attained to\npeace and joy in believing. Several of those who were lately\nwrought on in a gracious way, seem to outstrip Christians of\nconsiderable standing, in spiritual-mindedness, and in many other\ngood qualifications; particularly in their zeal for the conversion\nof others, in their love to ordinances, and in their freedom from\nbigotry and party zeal. Those converted by your ministry have not\nbeen discovered at once, but only from time to time. A good many\nof them have been discovered only of late. Their convictions were\nat first less pungent, and through the discouragements they met\nwith in the families where they resided, as well as from their own\nfeelings, they endeavored for a time to conceal their state. These\ncircumstances afford ground for hoping, that there are yet others\nwho may afterwards become known. Besides such as have been awakened\nthrough the power of God accompanying your sermons, there have been\nothers who have been since awakened, and who have been discovered\nin consequence of the change observable in their conduct. These,\ndear brother, are a few hints concerning some of the most remarkable\nthings, as to the blessing which accompanied your labors at Glasgow.\"\n\nAt Edinburgh, when first visited by Whitefield, many persons of the\nhighest rank constantly attended his ministry. Among them were the\nMarquis of Lothian, the Earl of Leven, Lord Ray, Lady Mary Hamilton,\nLady Frances Gardiner, Lady Jane Nimms, and Lady Dirleton; and at\nsome one of their houses he expounded almost every evening. Numbers\nof ministers and students crowded to hear him; and aged Christians\ntold him they could set their seal to what he preached.\n\nIn connection with this first visit to Edinburgh, several incidents\nhave been related which show the power that accompanied his\npreaching, and the skill with which he could seize upon passing\ncircumstances, and apply them to the great purpose which he always\nhad in view. A gentleman, on returning from one of his sermons, was\nmet on his way home by an eminent minister whom he usually heard,\nand who expressed great surprise that he should go to hear such a\nman. The gentleman replied, \"Sir, when I hear you, I am planting\ntrees all the time; but during the whole of Mr. Whitefield's sermon,\nI could not find time to plant one.\" A similar instance is related\nof a ship-builder, who usually could \"build a ship from stem to\nstern during the sermon; but under Mr. Whitefield, could not lay a\nsingle plank.\"\n\nAnother narrative has been thus given. An unhappy man who had\nforfeited his life to the offended laws of his country, was\nexecuted in that neighborhood. Mr. Whitefield mingled with the\ncrowd collected on the occasion, and was much impressed with the\ndecorum and solemnity which were observable in the awful scene. His\nappearance, however, drew the eyes of all upon him, and produced\na variety of opinions as to the motives which led him to join the\nmultitude.\n\nThe next day, being Sunday, he preached to a very large congregation\nin a field near the city; and in the course of his sermon, he\nadverted to the scenes of the preceding day. \"I know,\" said he,\n\"that many of you may find it difficult to reconcile my appearance\nyesterday with my clerical character. Many of you, I know, will\nsay that my moments would have been better employed in praying\nfor the unhappy man, than in attending him to the fatal tree; and\nthat perhaps curiosity was the only cause that converted me into a\nspectator on that occasion; but those who ascribe that uncharitable\nmotive to me, are under a mistake. I went as an observer of\nhuman nature, and to see the effect that such an occurrence\nwould have on those who witnessed it. I watched the conduct of\nthose who were present on that awful occasion, and I was highly\npleased with their demeanor, which has given me a very favorable\nopinion of the Scottish nation. Your sympathy was visible on your\ncountenances; particularly when the moment arrived that your unhappy\nfellow-creature was to close his eyes on this world for ever. Then\nyou all, as if moved by one impulse, turned your heads aside, and\nwept. Those tears were precious, and will be held in remembrance.\nHow different it was when the Saviour of mankind was extended on the\ncross! The Jews, instead of sympathizing in his sorrows, triumphed\nin them. They reviled him with bitter expressions, with words\neven more bitter than the gall and vinegar which they handed him\nto drink. Not one of all who witnessed his pains, turned his head\naside, even in the last pang. Yes, my friends, there was _one_--that\nglorious luminary,\" pointing to the sun, \"veiled his brightness, and\ntravelled on his course in tenfold night.\"\n\nOn another occasion, near the same city, and probably in the field\nto which we have already referred, under the shade of a venerable\ntree, in a lovely meadow, a poor unhappy man, thinking to turn him\ninto ridicule, placed himself on one of the overhanging boughs,\nimmediately above the preacher's head, and with monkey-like\ndexterity mimicking his gestures, endeavored to raise a laugh in the\naudience. Guided by the looks of some of his hearers, Whitefield\ncaught a glance of him, but without seeming to have noticed him,\ncontinued his discourse. With the skill of a wise orator, he\nreserved the incident for the proper place and time. While forcibly\nspeaking on the power and sovereignty of divine grace, with\nincreasing earnestness he spoke of the unlikely objects it had often\nchosen, and the unlooked for triumphs it had achieved. As he rose\nto the climax of his inspiring theme, and when in the full sweep of\nhis eloquence, he suddenly paused, and turning round, and pointing\nslowly to the poor creature above him, he exclaimed, in a tone of\ndeep and thrilling pathos, \"Even _he_ may yet be the subject of\nthat free and resistless grace.\" It was a shaft from the Almighty.\nWinged by the divine Spirit, it struck the scoffer to the heart, and\nrealized in his conversion the glorious truth it contained.\n\nYet another fact may be told connected with Whitefield and\nEdinburgh. When he was once there, a regiment of soldiers were\nstationed in the city, in which was a sergeant whose name was\nForbes, a very abandoned man, who, everywhere he could do so, run in\ndebt for liquor, with which he was almost at all times drunk. His\nwife washed for the regiment, and thus obtained a little money. She\nwas a pious woman, but all her attempts to reclaim her husband were\nunsuccessful. During one of Mr. Whitefield's visits to the city,\nshe offered her husband a sum of money, if he would for once go and\nhear the eloquent preacher. This was a strong inducement, and he\nengaged to go. The sermon was in a field, as no building could have\ncontained the audience. The sergeant was rather early, and placed\nhimself in the middle of the field, that he might file off when Mr.\nWhitefield ascended the pulpit; as he only wished to be able to say\nthat he had seen him. The crowd, however, increased; and when the\npreacher appeared, they pressed forward, and the sergeant found it\nimpossible to get away. The prayer produced some impression on his\nmind, but the sermon convinced him of his sinfulness and danger.\nHe became a changed man, and showed the reality of his conversion\nby living for many years in a very penurious manner, till he had\nsatisfied the claims of every one of his creditors.\n\nOne fact more should be stated in connection with this visit. Mr.\nJames Ogilvie was one of the ministers of Aberdeen. This city\nwas not in that day, nor indeed in any part of the eighteenth\ncentury, warmly attached to a fully-exhibited gospel. At this time,\nhowever, both Mr. Ogilvie and his colleague, Mr. Bisset, who, as\nSir Henry Moncrieff says, was the highest of the High church, were\nevangelical, though otherwise very opposite men. \"Though colleagues\nof the same congregation,\" says Whitefield, \"they are very different\nin their natural temper. The one is, what they call in Scotland, a\nsweet-blooded man, the other of a choleric disposition. Mr. Bisset\nis neither a seceder nor quite a true kirkman, having great fault\nto find with both. Soon after my arrival, dear Mr. Ogilvie took me\nto pay my respects to him. He was prepared for it, and pulled out\na paper containing a great number of insignificant queries, which\nI had neither time nor inclination to answer.\" For several years\nMr. Ogilvie had been corresponding with Mr. Whitefield to induce\nhim to visit Aberdeen, hoping that some good might be done; and as\nhe was himself to preach on Sabbath forenoon in presence of the\nmagistrates, he gave Mr. Whitefield his place. The congregation was\nlarge, and apparently much interested. Mr. Bisset, in the afternoon,\npreached against Mr. Whitefield by name. Mr. Ogilvie, without either\nconsulting his friend, or noticing the conduct of his colleague,\nstood up, after the sermon, and intimated to the congregation\nthat Mr. Whitefield would again preach in about half an hour. The\nmagistrates remained in the session-house, and the people hastened\nback, expecting to bear a reply. Mr. Whitefield, waiving as much as\npossible all controversial matter, preached Christ. The audience\nwas silent, solemn, and deeply impressed. Next day, the magistrates\napologized for their minister; and as a mark of their own respect,\npresented to Mr. Whitefield the freedom of their city. The effect of\nthis visit to Aberdeen was great and beneficial.\n\nIn 1742, Mr. Whitefield again visited Scotland. In the mean time\nhe had heard that his dear friends the Erskines had become greatly\noffended, on account of what they considered his lax views of church\ngovernment. But notwithstanding this difference with the seceders,\nhe was received by great numbers, among whom were some persons of\ndistinction, with cordiality and joy, and had the satisfaction\nof hearing more and more of the happy fruits of his ministry.\nAt Edinburgh he again preached twice a day, as before, in the\nHospital-park, where a number of seats and shades, in the form of\nan amphitheatre, were erected for the accommodation of his hearers.\nOn the day of his arrival at Cambuslang, he preached three times\nto an immense body of people, although he had preached that same\nmorning at Glasgow. The last service continued till eleven o'clock;\nand so much were the people interested, that Mr. M'Culloch, after\npreaching till past one in the morning, could scarcely persuade them\nto depart. Mr. Whitefield himself thus describes the scene: \"Persons\nfrom all parts flocked to see, and many, from many parts, went home\nconvinced and converted to God. A brae, or hill, near the manse at\nCambuslang, seemed to be formed by Providence for containing a\nlarge congregation. People sat unwearied till two in the morning,\nto hear sermons, disregarding the weather. You could scarcely walk\na yard, but you must tread upon some either rejoicing in God for\nmercies received, or crying out for more. Thousands and thousands\nhave I seen, before it was possible to catch it by sympathy, melted\ndown under the word and power of God. At the celebration of the holy\ncommunion, their joy was so great, that, at the desire of many,\nboth ministers and people, in imitation of Hezekiah's passover,\nthey had, a month or two afterwards, a second, which was a general\nrendezvous of the people of God. The communion was in the field;\nthree tents, at proper distances, all surrounded with a multitude of\nhearers; above twenty ministers, among whom was good old Mr. Bonner,\nattending to preach and assist, all enlivening and enlivened by one\nanother.\"\n\nIn addition to his labors at Glasgow and Cambuslang, it is\nsurprising to observe the number of places in the west of Scotland\nwhich Whitefield visited in the course of a few weeks; preaching\nwherever he went, with his usual frequency, energy, and success.\nA gentleman of piety and intelligence thus refers to one of them\nseveral years afterwards: \"When Mr. Whitefield was preaching at\nKilmarnock, on the twenty-third of August, from the words, 'And of\nhis fulness have all we received, and grace for grace,' I thought I\nnever heard such a sermon; and from the era above mentioned, I have\nalways looked upon him as my spiritual father, and frequently heard\nhim afterwards in Edinburgh and Glasgow with much satisfaction.\nWhen Cape Breton was taken, I happened to be at Edinburgh, and being\ninvited to breakfast with Mr. Whitefield, I never, in all my life,\nenjoyed such another breakfast. He gave the company a fine and\nlively descant upon that part of the world, made us all join in a\nhymn of praise and thanksgiving, and concluded with a most devout\nand fervent prayer.\" About the end of October, Whitefield returned\nto London.\n\nProbably few are aware that Mr. Whitefield visited Scotland no\nless than _fourteen_ times. These visits extended over a period\nof twenty-seven years, beginning in 1741, and ending in 1768.\nIn none of his visits after 1742 were there the same extensive\nawakenings as in his first two visits, yet his coming was always\nrefreshing to serious persons, infusing new life, and increasing\ntheir numbers. Young people, too, were much benefited by his\nministry, and especially young students, who afterwards became\nzealous and evangelical preachers. His morning discourses, which\nwere generally intended for sincere but disconsolate souls, were\npeculiarly fitted to direct and encourage such in the Christian\nlife; and his addresses in the evening to the promiscuous multitudes\nwho then attended him, were powerful and alarming. There was great\nsolemnity in his evening congregations in the Orphan-house park at\nEdinburgh and the High Church-yard at Glasgow, especially towards\nthe conclusion of his sermons--which were usually long, though they\nseemed short to his hearers--when the whole multitude stood fixed,\nand like one man, hung upon his lips with silent attention, and many\nwere under deep religious impressions.\n\nHis conversation was no less useful and delightful than his\nsermons. Many in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and other parts of the land,\nbore witness of this fact. In Glasgow especially, when in company\nwith his excellent friends M'Laurin, Scott, and others, one might\nchallenge the professed sons of pleasure, with all their wit, humor,\nand gayety, to furnish entertainments so gratifying; nor was any\npart of it more agreeable than it was useful and edifying.\n\nMr. Whitefield's friends in Scotland, among whom were many of all\nranks, from the highest to the lowest, were constant and steady\nin their great regard for him, and his opposers from year to year\nbecame less violent. Indeed, his whole behavior was so transparent\nto the eyes of the world, and his character, after it had stood many\nattacks from all quarters, became so thoroughly established, that\nsome of his opposers in Scotland seemed to acquire esteem for him;\nat least, they ceased to speak evil of him.\n\nIn closing our sketch of Whitefield in Scotland, we select a few\nparagraphs from his letters, which are the more interesting as\nbeing among the very last words he wrote in that country. June 15,\n1768, he says, \"You would be delighted to see our Orphan-house\npark assemblies, as large, attentive, and affectionate as ever.\nTwenty-seven-year-old friends and spiritual children remember the\ndays of old; they are seeking after their first love, and there\nseems to be a stirring among the dry bones.\" Writing on the second\nof July, he says, \"Could I preach ten times a day, thousands and\nthousands would attend. I have been confined for a few days; but on\nMonday or Tuesday next, hope to mount my throne again. O, to die\nthere! too great, too great an honor to be expected.\" Again, on the\nninth of July, \"Every thing goes on better and better here; but I am\nso worn down by preaching abroad and talking at home almost all the\nday long, that I have determined, God willing, to set off for London\nnext Tuesday.\"\n\nThe respect with which Whitefield was treated in Scotland, not only\nby professing Christians, but in general society, was shown by the\nfact that he was presented with the freedom of some of the principal\ncities and towns which he visited. This privilege was given him in\nStirling, Glasgow, Paisley, and Aberdeen, in 1741, and at Irvine and\nEdinburgh some years afterwards.\n\nIt is difficult, in such a world as this, so to live as that \"our\ngood\" shall not \"be evil spoken of.\" Mr. Whitefield has sometimes\nbeen charged with motives of a mercenary character, but his whole\nlife showed the fallacy of such a charge. Dr. Gillies, his original\nbiographer, received from unquestionable testimony the knowledge\nof a fact which ought not to be forgotten. During his stay in\nScotland, in the year 1759, a young lady, Miss Hunter, who possessed\na considerable fortune, made a full offer to him of her estate in\nmoney and lands, worth several thousand pounds. He promptly refused\nthe offer; and upon his declining it for himself, she offered it to\nhim for the benefit of his orphan-house. This also he absolutely\nrefused.\n\nNever could Whitefield be accused of moral cowardice. When the old\nScotch Marquis of Lothian professed that his heart was impressed\nwith the importance of religion, but wished to be a Christian in\nthe dark, Whitefield said to him, \"As for praying in your family,\nI entreat you not to neglect it; you are bound to do it. Apply to\nChrist to overcome your present fears; they are the effects of pride\nor infidelity, or both.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nOn his return from Scotland to London in 1741, Whitefield passed\nthrough Wales, where at Abergavenny he was married to a Mrs. James,\na widow, some ten years older than himself. Of this marriage, as\nalso of the death of his only child, we have already spoken. After\npreaching at Bristol twice a day for several days in succession,\nhe returned to London in the beginning of December, where he\nfound letters from Georgia, which, on account of the temporal\ncircumstances of his orphan family, somewhat discouraged him. But to\ntrace his progress, and to report all his labors, would be to extend\nour volume beyond its due limits.\n\nHe was soon again in the west of England, and writing from\nGloucester, his native place, December 23, 1741, he says, \"Last\nThursday evening the Lord brought me hither. I preached immediately\nto our friends in a large barn, and had my Master's presence. Both\nthe power and the congregation increased. On Sunday, Providence\nopened a door for my preaching in St. John's, one of the parish\nchurches. Great numbers came. On Sunday afternoon, after I had\npreached twice at Gloucester, I preached at the hill, six miles off,\nand again at night at Stroud. The people seemed to be more hungry\nthan ever, and the Lord to be more among them. Yesterday morning I\npreached at Painswick, in the parish church, here in the afternoon,\nand again at night in the barn. God gives me unspeakable comfort and\nuninterrupted joy. Here seems to be a new awakening, and a revival\nof the work of God. I find several country people were awakened when\nI preached at Tewkesbury, and have heard of three or four that have\ndied in the Lord. We shall never know what good field-preaching has\ndone till we come to judgment. Many who were prejudiced against me\nbegin to be of another mind; and God shows me more and more that\n'when a man's ways please the Lord, he will make even his enemies to\nbe at peace with him.'\"\n\nIn the following February he was still further encouraged by\nreceiving letters from America, informing him of the remarkable\nsuccess of the gospel there, and that God had stirred up some\nwealthy friends to assist his orphans in their extremity. He writes,\n\"The everlasting God reward all their benefactors. I find there\nhas been a fresh awakening among them. I am informed that twelve\nnegroes belonging to a planter lately converted at the orphan-house,\nare savingly brought home to Jesus Christ.\" Nor were these things\nall which afforded him joy. Writing to a friend, April 6, he says,\n\"Our Saviour is doing great things in London daily. I rejoice to\nhear that you are helped in your work. Let this encourage you; go\non, go on; the more we do, the more we may do for Jesus. I sleep\nand eat but little, and am constantly employed from morning till\nmidnight, and yet my strength is daily renewed. Oh, free grace! it\nfires my soul, and makes me long to do something for Jesus. It is\ntrue, indeed, I want to go home; but here are so many souls ready to\nperish for lack of knowledge, that I am willing to tarry below as\nlong as my Master has work for me.\" It was at this period that he\nfirst ventured to preach in the fair in Moorfields, to which we have\nalready referred. In this year he made also his second journey to\nScotland, the particulars of which have been already given.\n\nOn his arrival from Scotland in London, October, 1742, Whitefield\nfound a new awakening at the Tabernacle, which in the mean time had\nbeen enlarged. He says, \"I am employed, and, glory to rich grace,\nI am carried through the duties of each day with cheerfulness and\nalmost uninterrupted tranquillity. Our society is large, but in good\norder. My Master gives us much of his gracious presence, both in our\npublic and private ministrations.\"\n\nIn March, 1743, he went again into Gloucestershire, where the\npeople appeared to be more eager to attend on his ministry than\never before. \"Preaching,\" says he, \"in Gloucestershire, is now like\npreaching at the Tabernacle in London.\" And in a letter, April 7,\nhe says, \"I preached, and took leave of the Gloucester people with\nmutual and great concern, on Sunday evening last. It was past one in\nthe morning before I could lay my weary body down, At five I rose\nagain, sick for want of rest; but I was enabled to get on horseback\nand ride to Mr. T----'s, where I preached to a large congregation,\nwho came there at seven in the morning. At ten, I read prayers and\npreached, and afterwards administered the sacrament in Stonehouse\nchurch. Then I rode to Stroud, and preached to about twelve thousand\nin Mr. G----'s field; and about six in the evening, to a like number\non Hampton common.\" Next morning he preached near Dursley to some\nthousands; at about seven o'clock he reached Bristol, and preached\nto a full congregation at Smith's hall; and on the following\nmorning, after preaching, set out for Waterford, in South Wales,\nwhere he opened the association which he and his brethren had agreed\nupon, and was several days with them, settling the affairs of the\nsocieties. The work in Wales, during his absence, had very greatly\nextended itself, not a few of the clergy having become converted,\nas well as their people. He tells us, \"The power of God at the\nsacrament, under the ministry of Mr. Rowland, was enough to make\na person's heart burn within him. At seven in the morning have I\nseen perhaps ten thousand from different parts, in the midst of a\nsermon, crying, _Gugunniaut_--_bendyth_--[glory--blessed]--ready\nto leap for joy.\" He continued in Wales some weeks, preaching with\ngreat apparent success, and in the latter part of April returned\nto Gloucester, after having, in about three weeks, travelled about\nfour hundred miles, spent three days in attending associations,\nand preached about forty times. Among the interesting events\nof this journey may be reckoned the fact, that when he was at\nCaermarthen the quarterly sessions were held. When he was about to\npreach, the magistrates sent him word, that if he would stay till\nthe court rose, they would attend on the service. He acceded to\ntheir proposal, and they were present, with many thousands more,\nincluding several persons of high rank.\n\nAfter a few weeks spent in London, preaching to vast congregations\nin Moorfields, and exulting in his accustomed success, collecting\ntoo for his beloved orphans, so as to be able to pay all his debts,\nand to make a remittance to Georgia, we again find him at Bristol,\nand in a few days afterwards at Exeter. Among the clergymen who\nmet him there was Mr. Cennick. As this gentleman was preaching\nduring this visit in the High-street of the city, he was eloquently\ndiscoursing on the doctrine of the atonement by the blood of Christ,\nwhen a profane butcher in the crowd exclaimed, \"If you love blood,\nyou shall presently have enough of it,\" and ran to obtain some to\nthrow on him. A Mr. Saunders, who was employed in conveying persons\nfrom one place to another, though an entire stranger to religion,\nfrom a sense of justice, determined to defend the preacher; and\nwhen the butcher came with a pail nearly filled with blood, he\nquietly took it from him, and poured it over the man's own head.\nThis Mr. Saunders afterwards became an eminent Christian. He was,\ntill extreme old age, the body-coachman of George III., with whom he\nfrequently held Christian conversation, and died happily in 1799, at\nthe age of eighty-nine.\n\nDuring this visit to Bristol, Whitefield's ministry was owned of God\nin the conversion of Thomas Olivers, a young profligate Welshman.\nIt is said, he had so studied profanity and cursing, that he\nwould exemplify the richness of the Welsh language by compounding\ntwenty or thirty words into one long and horrid blasphemy. He had\noften sang profane songs about Whitefield, and was now induced by\ncuriosity to go to hear him. Being too late on the first occasion,\nhe went on the following evening nearly three hours before the time.\nThe text was, \"Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?\" Zech.\n3:2. His heart became broken with a sense of his sins, and he was\nsoon enabled to trust in the mercy of Christ. He became a zealous\nand successful minister of Christ among the followers of Mr. Wesley,\nand was the author of the well-known hymn,\n\n                \"The God of Abram praise,\" etc.\n\nIn August, Whitefield returned to London, but not to make a long\nstay there. \"I thank you,\" he writes to a correspondent, \"for\nyour kind caution to spare myself; but evangelizing is certainly\nmy province. Everywhere effectual doors are opened. So far from\nthinking of settling in London, I am more and more convinced that\nI should go from place to place.\" Accordingly, during the three\nlast months of 1743, we find him in a large number of places in the\ncentral and western parts of England. At Birmingham, he writes, \"I\nhave preached five times this day, and weak as I am, through Christ\nstrengthening me, I could preach five times more.\" At Kidderminster\nhe met with a distinguished Christian merchant, a Mr. Williams,\nwhose published \"Memoirs\" have been eminently useful. Whitefield\nwrites, \"I was kindly received by Mr. Williams. Many friends were\nat his house. I was greatly refreshed to find what a sweet savor of\ngood Baxter's doctrine, works, and discipline remains to this day.\"\nNor did he, amidst all his labors, feel his health much impaired.\nHe observes, indeed, that he had taken a cold, but adds, \"The Lord\nwarms my heart.\"\n\nIn the beginning of March, 1744, he was compelled to attend the\nassizes at Gloucester. During the preceding summer, the enemies of\nthe Methodists had been very violent, especially at Hampton, in that\ncounty. Forbearance in the case had ceased to be a virtue, and Mr.\nWhitefield was strongly urged to appeal to law, which in England in\nsuch cases is severe. At the preceding sessions the rioters had been\nconvicted, but appealed to the assizes, a higher court. After a full\nhearing, a verdict was given in favor of Whitefield and his friends,\nand all the prisoners were found guilty. This exposed each to a\nfine of forty pounds, or six months' imprisonment; the rioters were\ngreatly alarmed, public feeling on the subject was corrected, and\nthe Methodists readily extended forgiveness to the unhappy offenders.\n\nWhitefield was now invited by Mr. Smith, an American merchant then\nin England, in the name of thousands, to revisit this country,\nand took passage with that gentleman in a vessel sailing from\nPortsmouth. But the captain refused to take him, \"for fear,\" as he\nsaid, \"he would spoil the sailors.\" On this account Mr. Whitefield\nwas compelled to go to Plymouth, another seaport, to accomplish his\npurpose. On his way, he preached at Exeter and other places, with\ndelightful results. \"But,\" he says, \"the chief scene was at Plymouth\nand the Dock, [now called Devonport,] where I expected least\nsuccess.\"\n\nWhile he was at Plymouth, four well-dressed men came to the house of\none of his particular friends, in a kind manner inquiring after him,\nand desiring to know where he lodged. Soon after, Mr. Whitefield\nreceived a letter informing him that the writer was a nephew of Mr.\nS----, an attorney in New York; that he had the pleasure of supping\nwith Mr. Whitefield at his uncle's house, and requested his company\nto sup with him and a few friends at a tavern. Mr. Whitefield\nreplied to him that he was not accustomed to sup abroad at such\nhouses, but he should be glad of the gentleman's company to eat a\nmorsel with him at his own lodging. The gentleman accordingly came\nand supped, but was observed frequently to look around him, and to\nbe very absent. At length he took his leave, and returned to his\ncompanions in the tavern, and on being asked by them what he had\ndone, he answered, that he had been treated with so much civility\nand kindness that he had not the heart to touch him. One of the\ncompany, a lieutenant of a man-of-war, laid a wager of ten guineas\nthat he would do his business for him. His companions, however, had\nthe precaution to take away his sword.\n\nIt was now about midnight, and Mr. Whitefield having that day\npreached to a large congregation, and visited the French prisoners,\nhad retired to rest, when he was awoke and told that a well-dressed\ngentleman earnestly wished to speak with him. Supposing that it was\nsome person under conviction of sin, many such having previously\ncalled upon him, he desired him to be brought to his room. The\ngentleman came, sat down by his bedside, congratulated him upon the\nsuccess of his ministry, and expressed considerable regret that he\nhad been prevented from hearing him. Soon after, however, he began\nto utter the most abusive language, and in a cruel and cowardly\nmanner beat him in his bed. The landlady and her daughter, hearing\nthe noise, rushed into the room and laid hold of the assailant;\nbut disengaging himself from them, he renewed his attack on the\nunoffending preacher, who, supposing that he was about to be shot or\nstabbed, underwent all the feelings of a sudden and violent death.\nSoon after, a second person came into the house, and called from\nthe bottom of the stairs, \"Take courage, I am ready to help you.\"\nBut by the repeated cries of murder the neighborhood had become so\nalarmed, that the villains were glad to make their escape. \"The\nnext morning,\" says Mr. Whitefield, \"I was to expound at a private\nhouse, and then to set out for Biddeford. Some urged me to stay and\nprosecute, but being better employed, I went on my intended journey,\nwas greatly blessed in preaching the everlasting gospel; and, upon\nmy return, was well paid for what I had suffered, curiosity having\nled perhaps two thousand more than ordinary to see and hear a man\nthat had like to have been murdered in his bed. And I trust, in the\nfive weeks that I waited for the convoy, hundreds were awakened and\nturned unto the Lord.\"\n\nAs Whitefield was one day preaching in Plymouth, a Mr. Henry Tanner,\nwho was at work as a ship-builder at a distance, heard his voice,\nand resolved, with five or six of his companions, to go and drive\nhim from the place where he stood; and for this purpose they filled\ntheir pockets with stones. When, however, Mr. Tanner drew near, and\nheard Mr. Whitefield earnestly inviting sinners to Christ, he was\nfilled with astonishment, his resolution failed him, and he went\nhome with his mind deeply impressed. On the following evening, he\nagain attended, and heard Mr. Whitefield on the sin of those who\ncrucified the Redeemer. After he had forcibly illustrated their\nguilt, he appeared to look intently on Mr. Tanner, as he exclaimed,\nwith great energy, \"Thou art the man!\" These words powerfully\nimpressed Mr. Tanner; he felt his transgressions of the divine law\nto be awfully great, and in the agony of his soul he cried, \"God be\nmerciful to me a sinner!\" The preacher then proceeded to proclaim\nthe free and abundant grace of the Lord Jesus, which he commanded to\nbe preached among the very people who had murdered him; a gleam of\nhope entered the heart of the penitent, and he surrendered himself\nto Christ. Mr. Tanner afterwards entered the ministry, and labored\nwith great success, for many years, at Exeter.\n\nWe are not quite certain whether it was on this or a subsequent\nvisit to Plymouth, that Whitefield had preached on the Sabbath for\nthe Rev. Mr. Kinsman, and after breakfast on Monday morning, said\nto him, \"Come, let us visit some of your poor people. It is not\nenough that we labor in the pulpit; we must endeavor to be useful\nout of it.\" On entering the dwellings of the afflicted poor, he\nadministered to their temporal as well as their spiritual wants.\nMr. Kinsman, knowing the low state of his finances, was surprised\nat his liberality, and suggested that he thought he had been too\nbountiful. Mr. Whitefield, with some degree of smartness, replied,\n\"It is not enough, young man, to pray, and put on a serious face;\ntrue religion, and undefiled, is this, to visit the widow and the\nfatherless in their affliction, and to supply their wants. My stock,\nit is true, is nearly exhausted; but God, whom I serve, and whose\nsaints we have assisted, will, I doubt not, soon give me a supply.\"\nHis expectation was not disappointed. A stranger called on him\nthe same evening, who said, \"With great pleasure I have heard you\npreach; you are on a journey, as well as myself, and travelling is\nexpensive. Do me the honor to accept of this;\" handing him five\nguineas, or twenty-five dollars. Returning to the family, Mr.\nWhitefield, very pleasantly smiling, showed them the money, saying,\n\"There, young man, God has very speedily repaid what I lent him this\nmorning. Let this in future teach you not to withhold what it is in\nthe power of your hand to give. The gentleman to whom I was called\nis a perfect stranger to me; his only business was to give me the\nsum you see.\" It was a singular fact, that this gentleman, though\nrich, was notorious for a penurious disposition.\n\nDuring his stay in Plymouth, Whitefield's usefulness daily\nincreased. The ferry-men, who obtained their living by carrying\npersons between Plymouth and Dock, refused to take money from his\nhearers, saying, \"God forbid that we should sell his word!\" The\nevangelist exclaimed, \"Oh, the thousands that flock to the preaching\nof Christ's gospel!\" In the midst of these scenes, the convoy\narrived, and in delicate health he embarked for America.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX.\n\nWHITEFIELD'S SECOND VISIT TO NEW ENGLAND.\n\n1744, 1745.\n\n\nMr. Whitefield commenced his third voyage to America in August,\n1744. His health while crossing the Atlantic became worse,\nrather than better, the voyage lasting eleven weeks. He had set\nout in company with about one hundred and fifty ships, attended\nby several men-of-war as convoys, which, however, they lost by\nstorms separating them on the way. It was more than six weeks,\nowing generally to want of wind, before they reached any of the\nwestern islands. When the wind again sprung up, one of the vessels,\nwhich missed stays, drove upon the ship in which Whitefield was,\nstriking her mainsail into the bowsprit. The alarm was very great,\nbut no lives were lost. He had been singing a hymn on deck when\nthe concussion took place; this fact, together with that of the\nconcussion itself, was communicated to the convoy, and led to the\nuse of much violent and wicked language. But the good man was not\nintimidated. He says, \"I called my friends together, and broke\nout into these words in prayer: 'God of the sea, and God of the\ndry land, this is a night of rebuke and blasphemy. Show thyself,\nO God, and take us under thine own immediate protection. Be thou\nour convoy, and make a difference between those who fear thee, and\nthose that fear thee not.'\" A difference was soon made. Next day a\nheavy storm arose, which \"battered and sent away our convoy, so\nthat we saw him no more all the voyage.\" Whitefield at first did\nnot at all regret the loss, but when two strange sails appeared\nin the distance, and preparation was made for action by mounting\nguns, slinging hammocks on the sides of the ships, and encircling\nthe masts with chains, he being, as he says, \"naturally a coward,\"\nfound it formidable to have no convoy. The vessels, however, proved\nto be only a part of their own fleet. This was a pleasant discovery\nto them, especially to Whitefield. \"The captain, on clearing the\ncabin, said, 'After all, this is the best fighting.' You may be sure\nI concurred, praying that all our conflicts with spiritual enemies\nmight at last terminate in a thorough cleansing and an eternal\npurification of the defiled _cabin_ of our hearts.\"\n\nThe tediousness of this voyage, in the feeble state of his health,\nseems to have tried Whitefield's patience; so that when he arrived\nin sight of the port of York, in the then territory of Maine, in\norder to land a few hours sooner he went on board a fishing smack\nthen in the bay; but darkness coming on, she missed her course,\nand was tossed about all night. Unfortunately, too, she had no\nprovisions, and he was so hungry that he says he \"could have gnawed\nthe very boards.\" Besides he was suffering from \"nervous colic.\" He\nwas greatly discouraged, until a man who was lying at his elbow in\nthe cabin began to talk of \"one Mr. Whitefield, for whose arrival\nthe 'New Lights' in New England\" were watching and praying. \"This,\"\nhe says, \"made me take courage. I continued undiscovered; and in a\nfew hours, in answer, I trust, to _new-light_ prayers, we arrived\nsafe.\" This was on October 19, 1744. He was quite ill when he\nlanded; but was received by Dr. Sherburne, an eminent physician\nat York, who was once a Deist, but had been converted under\nWhitefield's ministry. This gentleman took him to his own house, and\nafter a few days he began to recover.\n\nThe Rev. Mr. Moody, of York, the aged and excellent, but eccentric\nminister of whom we have already spoken, took the earliest suitable\nopportunity of calling on the great evangelist, and said very\ncharacteristically, \"Sir, you are, first, welcome to America;\nsecondly, to New England; thirdly, to all faithful ministers in New\nEngland; fourthly, to all the good people of New England; fifthly,\nto all the good people of York; and sixthly and lastly, to me, dear\nsir, less than the least of all.\" Prince's \"Christian History\" had\nannounced his arrival, and that his intention was \"to pass on to\nGeorgia; and as he goes on, to meddle with no controversies, but\nonly to preach up the parts of vital piety and the pure truths of\nthe gospel, to all who are willing to hear them.\"\n\nAfter giving Whitefield this hearty welcome, Moody urged him for a\nsermon. The preacher hesitated, on account of his illness, but \"good\nold Mr. Moody\" did not give him the benefit of his own favorite\nmaxim, \"When you know not what to do, you must _not_ do you know\nnot what.\" Whitefield preached, and immediately went to Portsmouth,\nwhere he preached the same evening, November 6, for Mr. Fitch, and\nwas to have preached again the next morning, but was too ill, and\ndeferred it till the afternoon. In the mean time, as he wrote, \"My\npains returned; but what gave me most concern was, that notice had\nbeen given of my being engaged to preach. I felt a divine life,\ndistinct from my animal life, which made me, as it were, laugh at\nmy pains, though every one thought I was taken with death. My dear\nYork physician was then about to administer a medicine. I on a\nsudden cried out, 'Doctor, my pains are suspended; by the help of\nGod, I will go and preach, and then come home and die.' With some\ndifficulty I reached the pulpit. All looked quite surprised, as\nthough they saw one risen from the dead. I indeed was as pale as\ndeath, and told them they must look upon me as a dying man, come to\nbear my dying testimony to the truths I had formerly preached to\nthem. All seemed melted, and were drowned in tears. The cry after\nme, when I left the pulpit, was like the cry of sincere mourners\nwhen attending the funeral of a dear departed friend. Upon my\ncoming home, I was laid upon a bed on the ground, near the fire,\nand I heard them say, 'He is gone.' But God was pleased to order it\notherwise. I gradually recovered.\"\n\nIn another account he himself says, \"In my own apprehension, and\nin all appearance to others, I was a dying man. I preached--the\npeople heard me--as such. The invisible realities of another world\nlay open to my view. Expecting to launch into eternity, and to be\nwith my Master before the morning, I spoke with peculiar energy.\nSuch effects followed the word, I thought it was worth dying for a\nthousand times. Though wonderfully comforted within at my return\nhome, I thought I was dying indeed.... Soon after, a poor negro\nwoman would see me. She came, sat down upon the ground, and looked\nearnestly in my face, and then said, 'Massa, you just go to heaven's\ngate, but Jesus Christ said, Get you down, get you down; you must\nnot come here yet; but go first, and call some more poor negroes.' I\nprayed to the Lord, that if I was to live, this might be the event.\"\n\nIt was nearly three weeks before he was sufficiently recovered to\nproceed to Boston. The day before he left Portsmouth Mr. Shurtleff\nwrote, \"The prejudices of most that set themselves against him\nbefore his coming, seem to be in a great measure abated, and in\nsome, to be wholly removed; and there is no open opposition made\nto him. I have frequent opportunities of being with him, and there\nalways appears in him such a concern for the advancement of the\nRedeemer's kingdom and the good of souls, such a care to employ his\nwhole time to these purposes, such sweetness of disposition, and so\nmuch of the temper of his great Lord and Master, that every time I\nsee him, I find my heart further drawn out towards him.\"\n\n\"Prince's Christian History,\" of December 15, says, \"The Rev. Mr.\nWhitefield was so far revived as to be able to take coach with his\nconsort, and set out from Portsmouth to Boston, Nov. 24; whither he\ncame in a very feeble state, the Monday evening after; since which\nhe has been able to preach in several of our largest houses of\npublic worship, particularly the Rev. Dr. Colman's, Dr. Sewall's,\nMr. Webb's, and Mr. Gee's, to crowded assemblies of people, and\nto great and growing acceptance. At Dr. Colman's desire, and with\nthe consent of the church, on the Lord's day after his arrival,\nhe administered to them the holy communion. And last Lord's day he\npreached for the venerable Mr. Cheever, of Chelsea, and administered\nthe holy supper there. The next day he preached for the Rev. Mr.\nEmerson, of Malden. Yesterday he set out to preach for some towns to\nthe northward; proposes to return hither the next Wednesday evening,\nand after a few days to comply with the earnest invitations of\nseveral ministers to go and preach to their congregations, in the\nsouthern parts of the province.\n\n\"He comes with the same extraordinary spirit of meekness, sweetness,\nand universal benevolence as before. In opposition to the spirit\nof separation and bigotry, he is still for holding communion with\nall Protestant churches. In opposition to enthusiasm, he preaches\na close adherence to the Scriptures, the necessity of trying all\nimpressions by them, and of rejecting whatever is not agreeable to\nthem, as delusions. In opposition to Antinomianism, he preaches up\nall kinds of relative and religious duties, though to be performed\nin the strength of Christ; and, in short, the doctrines of the\nchurch of England, and the first fathers of this country. As before,\nhe first applies himself to the understandings of his hearers,\nand then to the affections; and the more he preaches, the more he\nconvinces people of their mistakes about him, and increases their\nsatisfaction.\"\n\nThe administration of the Lord's supper by a priest of the church\nof England in the Congregational church in Brattle-street, Boston,\ngave great offence. Some said, the consent of the church was\nneither given nor asked, and Dr. Colman was blamed for introducing\nWhitefield by his own authority; to which Dr. Colman replied, that,\nas it was customary for pastors to invite the assistance of other\nministers on such occasions, he thought it unnecessary to call for\na vote of the church; that he plainly intimated his intention in\nhis prayer after sermon, and then, on coming to the table, said,\n\"The Rev. Mr. Whitefield being providentially with us, I have asked\nhim to administer the ordinance;\" and that by the countenances of\nthe people it seemed to be universally agreeable to them, which he\nsupposed to be all the consent which the case required.\n\nSince Mr. Whitefield's former visit to New England, a considerable\nchange had taken place in not a few of the ministers and churches.\nIn 1740, he had inveighed strongly against many of the ministers,\nsome of them even by name, as, in his opinion, unconverted; and\nafter his departure, some preachers, who professed themselves to\nbe his followers, had created great confusion by carrying these\ncharges much farther than he would have approved. His second visit\nwas therefore anticipated by many with anxiety, lest it might cause\na new outbreak of enthusiasm and disorder. The General Association\nof Connecticut, in June, 1745, advised that he be not invited to\npreach in any of the churches. When he visited New Haven, he found\nhimself shut out of the pulpit of the First church by its minister\nMr. Noyes. A great crowd, however, assembled to hear him, from the\nneighboring towns, as well as from New Haven, and he preached from a\nplatform erected in the street, before Mr. Pierpont's house on the\nGreen, to a congregation which neither of the meeting-houses could\nhave contained.\n\nFrom Professor Kingsley's \"Sketch of the History of Yale College,\"\nwe learn that \"President Clap issued a declaration, signed by\nhimself and three tutors, that is, Samuel Whittlesey, afterwards\nminister of the First church in New Haven, Thomas Darling, for many\nyears chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas for the county of\nNew Haven, and John Whiting, in which some of the proceedings of Mr.\nWhitefield were condemned. In consequence of the religious fervor\nwhich had been excited, a much greater diversity of theological\nopinions prevailed in Connecticut than at any previous period.\nViolent controversies arose, churches were divided, and the\ngovernment, by interfering to prevent these evils, increased rather\nthan checked them. The college became an object of jealousy; and the\ndeclaration of the rector and tutors, respecting the preaching of\nWhitefield, offended some, without effectually conciliating others.\"\n\nThe opposition to Mr. Whitefield of which we have spoken, was\nby no means all that he met with. Even before the Association\nin Connecticut had taken action, several similar bodies in\nMassachusetts had acted in a similar manner. The corporation of\nHarvard college published a testimony against him, while that of\nYale represented that he intended to root out all the standing\nministers in our land, and to introduce foreigners in their stead.\nThe good man, notwithstanding all this opposition, and much more,\nwent on laboring for the salvation of souls, and God still honored\nhim with success.\n\nWhile the impartiality to which we hold ourselves bound demanded\nthe statement just made, and while we are compelled to admit the\nexistence of evils attendant on these revivals, we also record some\nof the facts connected with a convention of ministers, who assembled\nin Boston in pursuance of a previous notice in the Boston Gazette of\nMay 30, 1743. We copy the original invitation.\n\n\"It is desired and proposed by a number of ministers, both in town\nand country, that such of their brethren as are persuaded that\nthere has been of late a happy revival of religion through an\nextraordinary divine influence, in many parts of this land, and are\nconcerned for the honor and progress of this remarkable work of\nGod, may have an interview at Boston, the day after the approaching\ncommencement, to consider whether they are not called to give an\nopen, conjunct testimony to an event so surprising and gracious; as\nwell as against those errors in doctrine, and disorders in practice,\nwhich through the permitted agency of Satan have attended it, and\nin any measure blemished its glory and hindered its advancement;\nand also to consult as to the most likely method to be taken to\nguard people against such delusions and mistakes as in such a season\nthey are in danger of falling into, and that this blessed work may\ncontinue and flourish among us.\" Those who could not be present were\ninvited to send written attestations.\n\nIn accordance with this proposal, the convention met in Boston\non Thursday, July 7. The Rev. Dr. Sewall of Boston officiated as\nModerator, and the Rev. Messrs. Prince of Boston, and Hobby of\nReading, as Scribes. Ninety persons thus assembled, and letters\nwere read from twenty-eight who were absent. A committee was\nappointed, consisting of the Rev. Dr. Sewall, the Rev. Messrs.\nWigglesworth, Prince, Adams, Cooper, Nathanael Rogers, Leonard,\nand Hobby, to prepare a report. On the next morning this committee\npresented a document, which, after full discussion, was signed by\nall present; and the meeting was dissolved.\n\nOur limits will not allow us to give the whole of the report to\nwhich we have referred, but a few sentences will show its general\ncharacter:\n\n\"We, whose names are undersigned, think it our indispensable\nduty--without judging or censuring such of our brethren as cannot\nat present see things in the same light with us--in this open\nand conjunct manner to declare, to the glory of sovereign grace,\nour full persuasion, either from what we have seen ourselves, or\nreceived upon credible testimony, that there has been a happy\nand remarkable revival of religion in many parts of this land,\nthrough an uncommon divine influence, after a long time of decay\nand deadness, and a sensible and very awful withdrawal of the Holy\nSpirit from his sanctuary among us.... The present work seems to\nbe remarkable and extraordinary, on account of the numbers wrought\nupon. We never before saw so many brought under soul concern, and\nwith great distress making the inquiry, 'What must we do to be\nsaved?' And these persons were of all ages and character. With\nregard to the suddenness and quick progress of it, many persons and\nplaces were surprised with the gracious visit together, or near\nabout the same time, and the heavenly influence diffused itself\nfar and wide, like the light of the morning. Also [the work seems\nto be remarkable] in respect to the degree of operations, both in a\nway of terror, and in a way of consolation, attended in many with\nunusual bodily effects. Not that all who are accounted the subjects\nof the present work have had these extraordinary degrees of previous\ndistress and subsequent joy. But many, and we suppose the greater\nnumber, have been wrought on in a more gentle and silent way, and\nwithout any other appearances than are common and usual at other\ntimes, when persons have been awakened to a solemn concern about\nsalvation, and have been thought to have passed out of a state of\nnature into a state of grace. As to those whose inward concern has\noccasioned extraordinary outward distresses, the most of them, when\nwe came to converse with them, were able to give what appeared to us\na rational account of what so affected their minds.... The instances\nwere very few in which we had reason to think these affections were\nproduced by visionary or sensible representations, or by any other\nimages than such as the Scripture itself presents to us. Of those\nwho were judged hopefully converted, and made a public profession of\nreligion, there have been fewer instances of scandal and apostasy\nthan might be expected.... There appears to be more experimental\ngodliness and lively Christianity than most of us can remember we\nhave ever seen before.... And now we desire to bow the knee in\nthanksgiving to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that\nour eyes have seen and our ears heard such things. And while these\nare our sentiments, we must necessarily be grieved at any accounts\nsent abroad representing this work as all enthusiasm, delusion, and\ndisorder. Indeed, it is not to be denied, that in some places many\nirregularities and extravagances have been permitted to accompany\nit, which we would deeply bewail and lament before God, and look\nupon ourselves obliged, for the honor of the Holy Spirit, and of\nhis operations on the souls of men, to bear a public and faithful\ntestimony against; though at the same time it is to be acknowledged,\nwith much thankfulness, that in other places where the work has\ngreatly flourished, there have been few if any of those disorders\nand excesses. But who can wonder if, at such a time as this, Satan\nshould intermingle himself to hinder and blemish a work so directly\ncontrary to the interests of his own kingdom?... Finally, we exhort\nthe children of God to continue instant in prayer, that He, with\nwhom is the residue of the Spirit, would grant us fresh, more\nplentiful, and extensive effusions, that so this wilderness, in\nall the parts of it, may become a fruitful field; that the present\nappearances may be an earnest of the glorious things promised in the\nlatter days, when she shall shine with the glory of the Lord arisen\nupon her, so as to dazzle the eyes of beholders, confound and put\nto shame all her enemies, rejoice the hearts of her solicitous and\nnow saddened friends, and have a strong influence and resplendency\nthroughout the earth. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus; come quickly.\"\n\nThis paper was signed by eighteen ministers in the county of\nSuffolk, among whom were Colman, Sewall, Prince, Webb, Cooper,\nFoxcroft, Checkly, Gee, Eliot, and Moorhead of Boston; twelve in\nthe county of Essex, nine in Middlesex, six in Worcester, ten in\nPlymouth, one in Barnstable, three in Bristol, three in York, five\nin New Hampshire, and one in Rhode Island. There were one hundred\nand fourteen in all who gave attestations, either by signing their\nnames to the above document, or by sending written attestations.\nNinety-six of the one hundred and fourteen took their first degree\nof Bachelor of Arts more than ten years previously; consequently\nbefore the revival commenced. Twenty-six took their first degrees\nabove thirty years before. Attestations were received but from\ntwelve ministers in Connecticut, as the proposal did not reach them\nin time.\n\nWe may add to this statement, as showing in some degree the extent\nof this revival, that while in 1729 the number of members in the\nCongregational and Presbyterian churches of this country may be\nestimated at thirty-three thousand, the number of communicants in\n1745 could not be less than seventy-five thousand. \"The _special_\nrevivals of religion,\" says an able writer in the \"American\nQuarterly Register,\" vol. 4, 1832, \"were probably the means of\nadding from twenty thousand to thirty thousand members to the\nchurches.\" The same writer adds, \"The genuine fruits of holiness\nappeared, according to the acknowledgment of all parties, in\nmultitudes of those who professed religion. They were Christians,\nwho endured unto the end. This is the unanimous testimony of those\nmen who were the best able to judge. Great numbers who were\nconvinced of sin by Mr. Whitefield's preaching, gave ample evidence,\nliving and dying, of sincere and fervent love to the commands of\nGod. There is reason to believe that a _preparation_ had been made\nfor the descent of the Holy Spirit, many years before the revival\ncommenced. The fasts and public reformations, the prayers and tears\nof good men, from 1700 to 1730, were not in vain.\"\n\nOne fact connected with the testimony against Whitefield, published\nby the faculty of Harvard college, we quote, as showing that then,\nas well as now, a difference of opinion existed as to written and\nextempore sermons. They thought his extempore manner of preaching\n\"by no means proper,\" because extempore preachers are of necessity\nless instructive, the greater part of the sermon being commonly \"the\nsame kind of harangue which they have often used before, so that\nthis is a most lazy manner\" of preaching; and because it exposes the\npreacher to utter rash expressions, and even dangerous errors, as\nWhitefield, they thought, had done in several instances, probably\nfrom that cause. Assuredly he preferred extempore preaching to any\nother; yet he never pretended to preach without previous study. His\nsermons usually cost him as much previous labor as if they had been\nwritten; so that, in his case at least, it was not \"a lazy way\" of\npreaching. The errors which they said he had uttered, were a few\nhasty expressions, which he had retracted as soon as he had been\nreminded of them.\n\nItinerancy, which had also been objected against Whitefield as one\nof his crimes, he strenuously defended as scriptural and right;\nunderstanding an evangelist to be, what they said an itinerant was,\n\"One that hath no particular charge of his own, but goes about from\ncountry to country, or from town to town in any country, and stands\nready to preach to any congregation that shall call him to it.\"\nFor the divine command, \"Go ye into all the world, and preach the\ngospel to every creature,\" he argued, \"authorizes the ministers of\nChrist, even to the end of the world, to preach the gospel in every\ntown and country, though not 'of their own head,' yet whenever and\nwherever Providence should open a door, even though it should be\nin a place 'where officers are already settled, and the gospel is\nfully and faithfully preached.' This, I humbly apprehend, is every\ngospel minister's indisputable privilege.\" He further asked, \"Was\nnot the Reformation begun and carried on by itinerant preaching?\" He\nthen quoted from \"Baxter's Reformed Pastor,\" a plan which had been\nadopted in some parts of England, for circular lectures by settled\nministers selected for the purpose, and with the consent of the\npastors.\n\nIn reference to Harvard college, Whitefield lived long enough\nto take a Christian's revenge. In 1764, he solicited from his\nfriends donations of books for their library, which had recently\nbeen destroyed by fire, and four years afterwards, while his old\nopponent President Holyoke was yet in office, the following minute\nwas entered on their records: \"At a meeting of the President and\nFellows of Harvard college, August 22, 1768, the Rev. G. Whitefield\nhaving, in addition to his former kindness to Harvard college,\nlately presented to the library a new edition of his Journals, and\nhaving procured large benefactions from several benevolent and\nrespectable gentlemen; _voted_, that the thanks of the corporation\nbe given to the Rev. Mr. Whitefield, for these instances of candor\nand generosity.\"\n\nIt will be readily supposed, that notwithstanding all the opposition\nwhich Whitefield met, there were yet many thousands always ready to\nattend on his ministry. It was now the close of 1744, but the cold\nof winter did not prevent vast crowds assembling at early services\nlong before daylight. Speaking of the opposition he met, \"so that,\"\nsays he, \"for a while my situation was rendered uncomfortable,\"\nhe adds, \"But amidst all this smoke a blessed fire broke out. The\nawakened souls were as eager as ever to hear the word. Having heard\nthat I expounded early in Scotland, they begged that I would do\nthe same in Boston. I complied, and opened a lecture at six in\nthe morning. I seldom preached to less than two thousand. It was\ndelightful to see so many of both sexes neatly dressed flocking to\nhear the word, and returning home to family prayer and breakfast\nbefore the opposers were out of their beds.\"\n\nThe late Rev. Dr. Archibald Alexander tells us, that when he was\nat Boston, in 1800, he found in the Old South church a lingering\nrelic of Whitefield's times, in a convert of his day, a lady between\neighty and ninety years of age, who belonged to a prayer-meeting\nfounded then, which had been kept up weekly until within a few\nyears. Of this, she was the only surviving member.\n\nThe \"Evening Post,\" which seems to have been on the side of\nthose who opposed Whitefield, in its issue of March 11, 1745,\nsays, \"Prince, Webb, Foxcroft, and Gee, are the directors of Mr.\nWhitefield's public conduct, as he himself has lately declared at\nNewbury.\" He had other powerful friends among the clergy, and still\nmore among the laity, who invited him by vote into some pulpits\nwhere the pastors were \"shy\" of him.\n\nOn the 7th of February, we find him at Ipswich, where he spent\nseveral days. Mr. Pickering, of the Second church, declined\nadmitting him into his pulpit, and assigned his reasons in a letter,\nwhich was published. It contains the usual objections set forth in\nthe various \"testimonies,\" and is remarkable only for one convenient\nmetaphor. The Bishop of London had published on \"Lukewarmness and\nEnthusiasm.\" Whitefield had said in reply, \"All ought to be thankful\nto that pilot who will teach them to steer a safe and middle\ncourse;\" and Pickering wittily asks, \"But what if the pilot should\ntake the vane for the compass?\"\n\nEarly in March we find him making an excursion into the east, as we\nhear of him both at Berwick and Portland, in the then territory of\nMaine. In the latter place, he not only made a powerful impression\non the people, but on their minister. In the outset a strong feeling\nexisted against his preaching in the pulpit of the First church. Mr.\nSmith, the pastor, says in his \"Journal,\" \"The parish are like to be\nin a flame on account of Mr. Whitefield's coming; the leading men\nviolently opposing.\" Under the date of May 19, after Whitefield's\ndeparture, we find in the \"Journal\" a remarkable passage: \"For\nseveral Sabbaths, and the lecture, I have been all in a blaze; never\nin such a flame, and what I would attend to is, that it was not only\ninvoluntary, but actually determined against. I went to meeting\nresolving to be calm and moderate, lest people should think it was\nwildness and affectation to ape Mr. Whitefield; but God, I see,\nmakes use of me as he pleases, and I am only a machine in his hand.\"\n\nAbout the middle of March, we find our evangelist at Exeter,\nwhere he afterwards preached his last sermon. Here some of the\nmore zealous members of the church had withdrawn, and formed a\nnew church. Their conduct had been sanctioned by one council, and\ncensured by another, two years before this time. Whitefield preached\nto them twice, though Mr. Odlin, the pastor of the church from\nwhich they had withdrawn, \"solemnly warned and charged him against\npreaching in his parish.\" So says the \"Evening Post,\" of March 25,\nwhich further calls the people to whom he preached, \"Separatists.\"\n\nIn this spring of 1745, the first expedition for the capture from\nthe French of the island of Cape Breton, near Nova Scotia, was set\non foot. Colonel Pepperell, a warm personal friend of Whitefield,\nand the only native of New England who was created a Baronet of\nGreat Britain, was then at Boston, constantly attending Whitefield's\nlectures. On the day before he accepted a commission to be general\nin that expedition, he asked his opinion of the matter, and was\ntold, with the preacher's usual frankness, that he did not indeed\nthink that the scheme proposed for taking Louisburgh would be very\npromising; and that the eyes of all would be upon him. If he did\nnot succeed, the widows and orphans of the slain soldiers would be\nlike lions robbed of their whelps; but if it pleased God to give\nhim success, envy would endeavor to eclipse his glory: he had need,\ntherefore, if he went, to go with a single eye; and then there\nwas no doubt, if Providence really called him, he would find his\nstrength equal to the difficulties with which he would have to\ncontend.\n\nAbout the same time, Mr. Sherburne, another of Whitefield's friends,\nbeing appointed one of the commissioners, told him he must favor\nthe expedition, otherwise the pious people would be discouraged\nfrom enlisting; not only did he say this, but he insisted that\nthe evangelist should give him a motto for his flag, for the\nencouragement of his soldiers. Whitefield refused to do this, as\nit would not be consistent with his character as a minister of the\ngospel of peace. But as Sherburne would take no denial, he gave him,\n_Nil desperandum, Christo Duce_--[Nothing to be despaired of, Christ\nbeing leader.] In these circumstances a large number of men enlisted.\n\nThe soldiers and their officers now went farther, and before their\nembarkation requested him to give them a sermon. He preached to\nthem from the text, \"And every one that was in distress, and every\none that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered\nthemselves unto him; and he became a captain over them.\" 1 Samuel\n22:2. From this somewhat singular text, he discoursed on the\nmanner in which distressed sinners came to Jesus Christ, the Son\nof David; and in his application, exhorted the soldiers to behave\nlike the soldiers of David, and the officers to act like David's\nworthies; saying, that if they did so, there would be good news\nfrom Cape Breton. After this he preached to the general himself,\nwho invited him to become one of his chaplains. Whitefield declined\nthis, saying, that though he should esteem this an honor, yet, as\nhe generally preached three times a day, to large congregations,\nhe could do more service by stirring up the people to pray, thus\nstrengthening the hearts and hands of the army. In this practice\nhe persevered during the whole siege of Louisburgh. \"I believe,\"\nsaid he, \"if ever people went with a disinterested view, the New\nEnglanders did then. Though many of them were raw and undisciplined,\nyet numbers were substantial persons, who left their farms and\nwillingly ventured all for their country's good. An amazing series\nof providences appeared, and though some discouraging accounts\nwere sent during the latter end of the siege, yet in about six\nweeks news came of the surrender of Louisburgh. Numbers flocked\nfrom all quarters to hear a thanksgiving sermon upon the occasion.\nAnd I trust the blessing bestowed upon the country through the\nthanksgivings of many, redounded to the glory of God.\"\n\nSome time before this, the people of Boston had proposed to build\nfor Whitefield \"the largest place of worship ever seen in America,\"\nin which he should regularly preach; but, as usual, he feared this\nplan would abridge his liberty of itinerating: he thanked them for\ntheir offer, but decidedly declined to accept it. As his bodily\nstrength increased, he began to move southward, and went through\nRhode Island and Connecticut, preaching to thousands generally twice\na day. He says, \"Though there was much smoke, yet every day I had\nmore and more convincing proof that a blessed gospel fire had been\nkindled in the hearts both of ministers and people.\"\n\nAbout this time occurred a fact which delightfully shows how the\nenemies of this admirable man were often converted into friends.\nA colored trumpeter belonging to the English army resolved to\ninterrupt him while delivering a sermon in the open air. For this\npurpose he went to the field, carrying his trumpet with him,\nintending to blow it with all his might about the middle of the\nsermon. He took his station in front of the minister, and at no\ngreat distance from him. The crowd became very great, and those who\nwere towards the extremity pressed forward, that they might hear\nmore distinctly, and caused such a pressure where the poor trumpeter\nstood, that he found it impossible at the time when he intended to\nblow his trumpet, to raise the arm which held it, by which means\nhe was kept within the sound of the gospel as effectually as if\nhe had been chained to the spot. In a short time his attention\nwas powerfully arrested, and he became so deeply affected by the\nstatements of the preacher, that he was seized with all the agonies\nof despair, and was carried to a house in the neighborhood. After\nthe service, he was visited by Mr. Whitefield, who gave him suitable\ncounsels, and from that time the trumpeter became a greatly altered\nman. So true is it in reference to the omnipotent and gracious Being,\n\n    \"Hearts base as hell he can control,\n     And spread new powers throughout the whole.\"\n\nWhile preaching at Boston, he was delighted to observe that the\nsheriff, who had heretofore been the leader of the persecution\nagainst him, now began to hear him preach; and his pleasure was\nvastly increased, when he saw the crowds come around him to inquire\nas to their highest interests.\n\nAmong these crowds was a somewhat remarkable gentleman of that city.\nHe was a man of ready wit and racy humor, who delighted in preaching\nover a bottle to his ungodly companions. He went to hear Whitefield,\nthat he might be furnished with matter for a \"tavern harangue.\" When\nhe had heard enough of the sermon for his purpose, he endeavored\nto quit the church for the inn, but \"found his endeavors to get\nout fruitless, he was so pent up.\" While thus fixed, and waiting\nfor \"fresh matter of ridicule,\" the truth took possession of his\nheart. That night he went to Mr. Prince full of terror, and sought\nan introduction to ask pardon of the preacher. Whitefield says of\nhim, \"By the paleness, pensiveness, and horror of his countenance,\nI guessed he was the man of whom I had been apprized. 'Sir, can you\nforgive me?' he cried in a low, but plaintive voice. I smiled, and\nsaid, 'Yes, sir, very readily.' 'Indeed,' he said, 'you cannot when\nI tell you all.' I then asked him to sit down; and judging that he\nhad sufficiently felt the lash of the law, I preached the gospel\nto him.\" This, with other remarkable conversions, gave increasing\nenergy and influence to his preaching in Boston. \"My bodily\nstrength,\" he says, \"is recovered, and my soul more than ever in\nlove with a crucified Jesus.\"\n\nAnother illustration may also be here given of the meekness and\ngentleness which usually characterized our evangelist in his\nintercourse with his brethren. In his later visits to New England,\nit was Whitefield's usual practice to spend a few days with Dr.\nHopkins. On one of these occasions, after preaching for the doctor\non the Sabbath, the next day he proposed a ride into the country\nfor exercise. During the ride, Whitefield spoke with regret of the\nviews of their \"good brother Edwards on the subject of the witness\nof the Holy Spirit.\" \"Ah,\" asked Dr. Hopkins, \"and what is the\nerror?\" Here Whitefield made a long pause; and Hopkins continued\nthe conversation: \"Do you believe, Mr. Whitefield, that the witness\nof the Spirit is a direct communication from God?\" \"I cannot say\nthat I do,\" was the reply. \"Well, do you believe that Christians\nhave any other witness of the Spirit than that afforded by the\ntestimony of their own holy affections?\" \"I cannot say that I do,\"\nMr. Whitefield again replied. \"Do you believe it to be any thing\nmore or less,\" continued Hopkins, \"than the Spirit producing in the\nheart the gracious exercises of repentance, faith, etc.?\" \"No, that\nis precisely my view of it,\" said Whitefield. \"And that is precisely\nthe view of good father Edwards,\" pleasantly returned Dr. Hopkins.\nWhitefield frankly acknowledged his error, and rejoiced that there\nwas no disagreement on the subject.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X.\n\n     FROM HIS LEAVING NEW ENGLAND TILL HIS ARRIVAL IN ENGLAND--LABORS\n     IN THE MIDDLE AND SOUTHERN STATES--THE BERMUDAS.\n\n1745-1748.\n\n\nLeaving New England, Whitefield proceeded first to New York, where\nhe preached as he had formerly done, and found that the seed sown in\npast days had produced much fruit. Proceeding still southward, on\nhis way towards Philadelphia, arriving in New Jersey, he says, \"I\nhad the pleasure of preaching by an interpreter to some converted\nIndians, and of seeing nearly fifty young ones in one school, near\nFreehold, learning the Assembly's Catechism.\" A blessed awakening\nhad before this time been begun and carried on among the Delaware\nIndians, by the ministry of David Brainerd; no such work had been\nheard of since the days of the apostolic Eliot in New England.\n\nArriving in Philadelphia, Whitefield was rejoiced to find that his\nfriend Gilbert Tennent was still blessed with success in his labors.\nMany, he says, were under \"soul-sickness,\" and Tennent's health\nsuffered much with walking from place to place to see them. The\ngentlemen connected with the new house in which Tennent preached,\nwere, as well as Tennent himself, desirous of securing at least a\nportion of Whitefield's labors, and offered him eight hundred pounds\na year, if he would become their pastor, and labor with them six\nmonths in the year, travelling the other six months wherever he\nthought proper. He thanked them, but declined.\n\nNot unfrequently have we been told by frigid critics of the inferior\ncharacter of Whitefield's printed sermons. But have they not looked\ntoo much for the beauties of style, and overlooked the simple energy\nof their scriptural truths? Even these printed sermons have, under\nGod, accomplished wonders. In the year 1743, a young gentleman\nfrom Scotland, then residing at Hanover, in Virginia, had obtained\na volume of Whitefield's sermons preached in Glasgow, and taken\nin shorthand, which, after a gentleman of Hanover, named Hunt,\nthe father of a distinguished Presbyterian minister of that name,\nhad studied with great personal benefit, he invited his neighbors\nto visit his house to hear read. By their plainness and fervor,\nattended with the power of God, not a few became convinced of\ntheir lost condition as sinners, and anxiously inquired the way of\nsalvation. The feelings of many were powerfully excited, and they\ncould not forbear bitter and violent weeping. The intelligence\nspread, curiosity prompted the desire of many others to attend such\nremarkable services; and one and another begged for admission,\ntill the houses were crowded. Numbers were pricked to the heart;\nthe word of God became quick and powerful; and, \"What shall we\ndo?\" was the general cry. What to do or say the principal leaders\nknew not. They themselves had been led by a still small voice,\nthey hardly knew how, to an acquaintance with the truth; but now\nthe Lord was speaking as on mount Sinai, with a voice of thunder;\nand sinners, like that mountain itself, trembled. It was not long\nbefore Christians had the happiness to see a goodly number healed\nby the same word that had wounded them, and brought to rejoice in\nChrist, and his great salvation. \"My dwelling-place,\" said Mr.\nMorris, one of their number, \"was at length too small to contain\nthe people, whereupon we determined to build a meeting-house merely\nfor _reading_. And having never been used to social prayer, none of\nus durst attempt it.\" This _reading-house_, as it was called, was\nfollowed by others of like character, and the number of attendants\nand the power of divine influence were much increased. Mr. Morris,\nas the report spread, was invited to several places at a distance to\nread these sermons. The phrase, \"Morris' reading-house,\" has come\ndown by tradition to the present age, as well as important details\nof the opposition of the magistracy and other classes, who sought,\nbut in vain, to stop the progress of the work.\n\nSuch was the origin of the Presbyterian church at Hanover, where, in\nafter-days, William Robinson and President Davies accomplished such\nmighty triumphs, and where the sacred cause still flourishes.\n\nWhitefield does not seem to have been made acquainted with these\nfacts till he now arrived in the colony, and saw the happy effects\nwhich had been produced by the labors of the Rev. Messrs. Robinson,\nTennent, Blair, and others. Of the visit of Whitefield among them,\none of them writes, \"Mr. Whitefield came and preached four or five\ndays in these parts, which was the happy means of giving us further\nencouragement, and engaging others to the Lord, especially among\nthe church people, who received his doctrine more readily than they\nwould from ministers of the Presbyterian denomination.\" We may add\nhere, that in 1747 there were four houses of worship in and around\nHanover, which had sprung from the \"mustard-seed\" of the sermons\ntaken in shorthand from Whitefield's lips at Glasgow.\n\nAmong the converts in the south who met Whitefield, was Isaac\nOliver, who was both deaf and dumb, and had been so from his birth.\nNotwithstanding these great disadvantages, he could both feel and\nevince his strong feelings by the most significant and expressive\nsigns. He could, for instance, so represent the crucifixion of the\nLord Jesus Christ, as to be understood by every one; and among\nhis own friends he could converse about the love of Christ in the\nlanguage of signs, till he was transported in rapture and dissolved\nin tears. He was much beloved for his eminent piety.\n\nWhitefield had not, during any portion of this time, forgotten\nBethesda. The public had warmly sustained it, and he now went\nforward to see to its affairs, and to add to the orphan-house a\nLatin school, intending, indeed, before a long time to found a\ncollege.\n\nThe following account of the orphan-house in 1746, was written by\nMr. Whitefield in the form of a letter to a friend, and published\nas a small pamphlet. We transcribe it from \"White's Historical\nCollections of Georgia,\" published in 1854:\n\n  \"Provide things honest in the sight of all men.\"--Rom. 12:17.\n\n                    \"BETHESDA, in Georgia, March 21, 1745-6.\n\n\"Some have thought that the erecting such a building was only the\nproduce of my own brain; but they are much mistaken; for it was\nfirst proposed to me by my dear friend the Rev. Mr. Charles Wesley,\nwho, with his excellency General Oglethorpe, had concerted a scheme\nfor carrying on such a design before I had any thoughts of going\nabroad myself. It was natural to think that, as the government\nintended this province for the refuge and support of many of our\npoor countrymen, numbers of such adventurers must necessarily be\ntaken off, by being exposed to the hardships which unavoidably\nattend a new settlement. I thought it, therefore, a noble design in\nthe general to erect a house for fatherless children; and believing\nthat such a provision for orphans would be some inducement with many\nto come over, I fell in with the design, when mentioned to me by my\nfriend, and was resolved, in the strength of God, to prosecute it\nwith all my might. This was mentioned to the honorable trustees.\nThey took it kindly at my hands, and wrote to the bishop of Bath and\nWells for leave for me to preach a charity sermon on this occasion\nin the Abbey church. This was granted, and I accordingly began\nimmediately to compose a suitable discourse. But knowing that my\nfirst stay in Georgia would necessarily be short, on account of my\nreturning again to take priest's orders, I thought it most prudent\nfirst to go and see for myself, and defer prosecuting the scheme\ntill I came home.... When I came to Georgia, I found many poor\norphans, who, though taken notice of by the honorable trustees,\nyet, through the neglect of persons under them, were in miserable\ncircumstances. For want of a house to bring them up in, the poor\nlittle ones were tabled out here and there; others were at hard\nservices, and likely to have no education at all.\n\n\"Upon seeing this, and finding that his Majesty and Parliament had\nthe interest of the colony much at heart, I thought I could not\nbetter show my regard to God and my country than by getting a house\nand land for these children, where they might learn to labor, read,\nand write, and at the same time be brought up in the nurture and\nadmonition of the Lord. Accordingly, at my return to England, in\nthe year 1738, to take priest's orders, I applied to the honorable\nsociety for a grant of five hundred acres of land, and laid myself\nunder an obligation to build a house upon it, and to receive from\ntime to time as many orphans as the land and stock would maintain.\nAs I had always acted like a clergyman of the church of England,\nhaving preached in a good part of the London churches, and but a\nfew months before collected near a thousand pounds sterling for the\nchildren belonging to the charity schools in London and Westminster,\nit was natural to think that I might now have the use at least\nof some of these churches to preach in for the orphans hereafter\nmore immediately to be committed to my care. But by the time I had\ntaken priest's orders, the spirit of the clergy began to be much\nimbittered. Churches were gradually denied me, and I must let this\ngood design drop, and thousands, and I might add ten thousands,\ngo without hearing the word of God, or preach in the fields.\nIndeed, two churches, one in London, namely, Spitalfields, and one\nin Bristol, namely, St. Philip's and Jacob, were lent me on this\noccasion, but those were all. I collected for the orphan-house in\nMoorfields two hundred and fifty pounds one Sabbath-day morning,\ntwenty-two pounds of which were in copper. In the afternoon I\ncollected again at Kennington Common, and continued to do so at\nmost of the places where I preached. Besides this, two or three of\nthe bishops, and several persons of distinction contributed, until\nat length, having gotten about a thousand and ten pounds, I gave\nover collecting, and went with what I had to Georgia. At that time\nmultitudes offered to accompany me; but I chose to take over only a\nsurgeon and a few more of both sexes, that I thought would be useful\nin carrying on my design. My dear fellow-traveller William Seward,\nEsq., also joined with them. Our first voyage was to Philadelphia,\nwhere I was willing to go for the sake of laying in provision. I\nlaid out in London a good part of the thousand pounds for goods, and\ngot as much by them in Philadelphia as nearly defrayed the families'\nexpenses of coming over. Here God blessed my ministry daily....\n\n\"January following, 1739, I met my family at Georgia, and being\nunwilling to lose any time, I hired a large house, and took in all\nthe orphans I could find in the colony. A great many also of the\ntown's children came to school gratis, and many poor people that\ncould not maintain their children, upon application, had leave given\nthem to send their little ones for a month or two, or more as they\ncould spare them, till at length my family consisted of between\nsixty and seventy. Most of the orphans were in poor case, and three\nor four almost eaten up with lice. I likewise erected an infirmary,\nin which many sick people were cured and taken care of gratis. I\nhave now by me a list of upwards of a hundred and thirty patients,\nwhich were under the surgeon's hands, exclusive of my own private\nfamily. About March I began the great house, having only about one\nhundred and fifty pounds in cash. I called it _Bethesda_, because\nI hoped it would be a house of mercy to many souls. Many boys have\nbeen put out to trades, and many girls put out to service. I had\nthe pleasure, the other day, to see three boys work at the house in\nwhich they were bred, one of them out of his time, a journeyman,\nand the others serving under their masters. One that I brought from\nNew England is handsomely settled in Carolina; and another from\nPhiladelphia is married, and lives very comfortably in Savannah. We\nhave lately begun to use the plough, and next year I hope to have\nmany acres of good oats and barley. We have nearly twenty sheep and\nlambs, fifty head of cattle, and seven horses. We hope to kill a\nthousand weight of pork this season. Our garden is very beautiful,\nfurnishes us with all sorts of greens, etc., etc. We have plenty\nof milk, eggs, poultry, and make a good deal of butter weekly. A\ngood quantity of wool and cotton have been given me, and we hope to\nhave sufficient spun and wove for the next winter's clothing. The\nfamily now consists of twenty-six persons. Two of the orphan boys\nare blind, one is little better than an idiot. I have two women to\ntake care of the household work, and two men and three boys employed\nabout the plantation and cattle. A set of Dutch servants has been\nlately sent over. The magistrates were pleased to give me two; and I\ntook in a poor widow, aged near seventy, whom nobody else cared to\nhave. A valuable young man from New England is my schoolmaster, and\nin my absence performs duty in the family. On Sabbaths, the grown\npeople attend on public worship at Savannah, or at White Bluff, a\nvillage near Bethesda, where a Dutch minister officiates. The house\nis a noble, commodious building, and every thing sweetly adapted\nfor bringing up youth. Georgia is very healthy; not above one, and\nthat a little child, has died out of our family since it removed to\nBethesda.\"\n\nA tabular statement follows this account, giving full particulars of\nthe eighty-six children who to that period had been admitted into\nthe establishment.\n\nOld newspapers, as daguerreotyping the facts, and even the feelings\nof any particular period, are sometimes invaluable. In New York, as\neverywhere else, Whitefield had his enemies, and many charges were\nbrought against him. But that there were those who took a strongly\nfavorable view of his character and conduct, is very clear from an\nextract we give from \"The New York Post-Boy,\" of April, 1746: \"Mr.\nWhitefield's excellent parts, fine elocution, and masterly address;\nhis admirable talent of opening the Scriptures, and enforcing\nthe most weighty subjects upon the conscience; his polite and\nserious behavior, his unaffected and superior piety, his prudence,\nhumility, and catholic spirit, are things which must silence and\ndisarm prejudice itself. By these qualifications of the orator, the\ndivine, and the Christian, he has not only fixed himself deeper in\nthe affections of his former friends, but greatly increased the\nnumber wherever he has preached; and made his way into the hearts of\nseveral who, till this visit, had said all the severe things against\nhim that enmity itself seemed capable of.\"\n\nFrom this period, this paper especially noticed the various\nmovements of this apostolic man; his arrivals in the city, his\nengagements in it, his departures from it, and the places of his\ndestination, were all given with the minuti\u00e6 with which even the\nmovements of monarchs are recorded.\n\nIt was not without its use that the organs of the public thus\nexpressed their high sense of his character. In 1745, suspicions\nwere whispered abroad as to the entire integrity of this excellent\nman in the appropriation of the funds collected for Bethesda. But\nhappily for all parties, the magistrates of Savannah published in\nthe Philadelphia Gazette an affidavit, that they had carefully\nexamined Mr. Whitefield's receipts and disbursements, and found that\nwhat he had collected in behalf of the orphans, had been honestly\napplied, and that besides, he had given considerably to them of his\nown property.\n\nHaving done what he could at Bethesda, feeling his health failing\nhim, needing resources for his orphans, and urged on by his love of\npreaching, Whitefield was soon again in the field, far away from\nhis home. In the autumn of 1746, we find many passages in his\njournals and letters like these, while in Maryland: \"I trust the\ntime for favoring this and the neighboring southern provinces is\ncome. Everywhere, almost, the door is opened for preaching, great\nnumbers flock to hear, and the power of an ascended Saviour attends\nthe word. For it is surprising how the Lord causes prejudices to\nsubside, and makes my former most bitter enemies to be at peace\nwith me.... Lately I have been in seven counties in Maryland, and\npreached with abundant success.\" At Charleston, South Carolina, he\nwrites, January 1747, \"The Lord Jesus is pleased to give me great\naccess to multitudes of souls.\" A few weeks later, he writes from\nthe same place, that Bethesda was never in a better condition; that\nhe had opened a Latin school there during the winter, and that he\nhoped yet to see ministers furnished from Georgia.\n\nIn April, we again find him in Maryland, as he writes on the\ntwenty-fifth of that month from Bohemia, in that province, and\nspeaks of the success of Mr. Samuel, afterwards President Davies,\nin Virginia, but adds that a proclamation had been issued in that\nstate against itinerants, so that he himself was shut out of it. In\nthe middle of May he exults, \"Maryland is yielding converts to the\nblessed Jesus. The gospel seems to be moving southward. The harvest\nis promising. The time of the singing birds is come;\" and five days\nafterwards he says, \"I have been now a three hundred miles' circuit\nin Maryland, and through one or two counties in Pennsylvania.\nEverywhere the people have a hearing ear, and I trust some have an\nobedient heart.\"\n\nOn the first of June we find him in Philadelphia, from whence\nhe writes, \"At present I have full work here. The congregations\nyesterday were large, and for this month past I have been preaching\nto thousands in different places.\" During the whole of this month\nhis health was in a very critical state. Here we have a few\nsentences from his pen, as given on different days: \"I am sick and\nwell, as I used to be in England; but the Redeemer fills me with\ncomfort. I am determined, in his strength, to die fighting.... I\nhave almost a continual burning fever. With great regret I have\nomitted preaching _one_ night to oblige my friends, and purpose to\ndo so once more, that they may not charge me with murdering myself.\nBut I hope yet to die in the pulpit, or soon after I come out of\nit.... Since my last, I have been several times on the verge of\neternity. At present I am so weak that I cannot preach. It is hard\nwork to be silent, but I must be tried every way.\"\n\nSickness did not interrupt Whitefield's labors, if he could move or\npreach at all. \"I am determined,\" he says to Gilbert Tennent, \"to\ndie fighting, though it be on my _stumps_.\" He was soon after at\nNew York, Newport, Portsmouth, and Boston. At New York he writes,\n\"I am as willing to hunt for souls as ever. I am not weary of my\nwork.\" On the next day he writes, \"I have preached to a very large\nauditory, and do not find myself much worse for it.\" He did so again\nwith success. He then says, \"I shall go to Boston like an arrow\nout of a bow, if Jesus strengthen me. I am resolved to preach and\nwork for Him until I can preach and work no more. I have been upon\nthe water three or four days, and now eat like a sailor.\" He went\non to Boston, where he heard of the sudden but joyful death of his\nvenerable and excellent friend Dr. Colman. He adds, \"My reception at\nBoston and elsewhere was like unto the first. Arrows of conviction\nfled and stuck fast. Congregations were larger than ever, and\nopposers' mouths were stopped.\"\n\nAfter again making short visits to Philadelphia and Bohemia,\nWhitefield, according to previous arrangements, went to spend the\nwinter in North Carolina. Before he left Bohemia, however, he wrote\nto his friends at New York, who were intensely anxious about his\nhealth, but he could only say it was yet fluctuating. Even so was\nit when he arrived in North Carolina, yet he writes, \"I am here,\nhunting in the woods, these _ungospelized_ wilds, for sinners. It is\npleasant work, though my body is weak and crazy. But after a short\n_fermentation_ in the grave, it will be fashioned like unto Christ's\nglorious body. The thought of this rejoices my soul, and makes me\nlong to _leap_ my seventy years. I sometimes think all will go to\nheaven before me. Pray for me as a dying man; but Oh, pray that I\nmay not go off as a _snuff_. I would fain die _blazing_--not with\nhuman glory, but with the love of Jesus.\"\n\nSuch was his weakness, that his journey to Bathtown, in North\nCarolina, was long and slow. Even a short ride was fatiguing and\npainful. Still, he preached with considerable power; cheered on from\nstage to stage by the hope that the conversion of \"North Carolina\nsinners would be glad news in heaven.\" His letters indicated\nlively hopes of an extensive revival, but his expectations were not\nfully realized. His health was still exceedingly feeble, and his\nphysicians ordered him to try a change of climate. He accordingly\nembarked for the Bermudas, where he landed, March 15, 1748.\n\nThe Bermudas are a group of four small islands lying about nine\nhundred miles east of Georgia. The largest of the islands is called\nSt. George's, with a capital of the same name; the climate is\nremarkably fine, and well adapted for the temporary residence and\nrecovery of invalids. Here Whitefield met with an exceedingly kind\nreception, and remained on the island with great benefit to his\nhealth, more than a month. We scarcely need to say that he was not\nidle during his residence here, but traversed the island from one\nend to the other, generally preaching twice a day. A few passages\nfrom his journal will best show the facts.\n\n\"The simplicity and plainness of the people, together with the\npleasant situation of the island, much delighted me. The Rev.\nMr. Holiday, minister of Spanish Point, received me in a most\naffectionate, Christian manner; and begged I would make his house\nmy home. In the evening, I expounded at the house of Mr. Savage, at\nPort Royal, which was very commodious; and which also he would have\nme make my home. I went with Mr. Savage in a boat to the town of\nSt. George, in order to pay our respects to the governor. All along\nwe had a most pleasant prospect of the other part of the island; a\nmore pleasant one I never saw. Mrs. Smith, of St. George, for whom\nI had a letter of recommendation from my dear old friend Mr. Smith,\nof Charlestown, received me into her house. About noon, with one of\nthe council and Mr. Savage, I waited upon the governor. He received\nus courteously, and invited us to dine with him and the council. We\naccepted the invitation, and all behaved with great civility and\nrespect. After the governor rose from the table, he desired, if I\nstayed in town on the Sunday, that I would dine with him at his own\nhouse.\n\n\"Sunday, March 20. Read prayers and preached twice this day, to\nwhat were esteemed here large auditories--in the morning at Spanish\nPoint church, and in the evening at Brackish Pond church, about two\nmiles distant from each other. In the afternoon I spoke with greater\nfreedom than in the morning, and I trust not altogether in vain. All\nwere attentive, some wept. I dined with Colonel Butterfield, one of\nthe council; and received several invitations to other gentlemen's\nhouses. May God bless and reward them, and incline them to open\ntheir hearts to receive the Lord Jesus.\n\n\"Wednesday, March 23. Dined with Captain Gibbs, and went from thence\nand expounded at the house of Captain F----le, at Hunbay, about\ntwo miles distant. The company here also was large, attentive,\nand affected. Our Lord gave me utterance. I expounded the first\npart of the eighth chapter of Jeremiah. After lecture, Mr. Riddle,\na counsellor, invited me to his house; as did Mr. Paul, an aged\nPresbyterian minister, to his pulpit; which I complied with upon\ncondition that the rumor was true, that the governor had served\nthe ministers with an injunction that I should not preach in the\nchurches.\n\n\"Sunday, March 27. Glory be to God! I hope this has been a\nprofitable Sabbath to many souls; it has been a pleasant one to\nmine. Both morning and afternoon I preached to a large auditory, for\nthe Bermudas, in Mr. Paul's meeting-house, which I suppose contains\nabout four hundred. Abundance of negroes, and many others, were\nin the porch, and about the house. The word seemed to be clothed\nwith a convincing power, and to make its way into the hearts of\nthe hearers. Between sermons, I was entertained very civilly in a\nneighboring house. Judge Bascom, and three more of the council,\ncame thither, and each gave me an invitation to his house. How does\nthe Lord make way for a poor stranger in a strange land. After the\nsecond sermon I dined with Mr. Paul; and in the evening expounded to\na very large company at Councillor Riddle's. My body was somewhat\nweak; but the Lord carried me through, and caused me to go to\nrest rejoicing. May I thus go to my grave, when my ceaseless and\nuninterrupted rest shall begin.\n\n\"Thursday, March 31. Dined on Tuesday at Colonel Corbusier's, and on\nWednesday at Colonel Gilbert's, both of the council; and found, by\nwhat I could hear, that some good had been done, and many prejudices\nremoved. Who shall hinder, if God will work? Went to an island this\nafternoon called Ireland, upon which live a few families; and to my\nsurprise, found a great many gentlemen, and other people, with my\nfriend Mr. Holiday, who came from different quarters to hear me.\nBefore I began preaching, I went round to see a most remarkable\ncave, which very much displayed the exquisite workmanship of Him,\nwho in 'his strength setteth fast the mountains, and is girded\nabout with power.' While I was in the cave, quite unexpectedly I\nturned and saw Councillor Riddle, who, with his son, came to hear\nme; and while we were in the boat, told me that he had been with\nthe governor, who declared he had no personal prejudice against\nme, and wondered I did not come to town and preach there, for it\nwas the desire of the people; and that any house in the town, the\ncourt-house not excepted, should be at my service. Thanks be to God\nfor so much favor. If his cause requires it, I shall have more.\nHe knows my heart; I value the favor of man no farther than as it\nmakes room for the gospel, and gives me a larger scope to promote\nthe glory of God. There being no capacious house upon the island,\nI preached for the first time here in the open air. All heard very\nattentively; and it was very pleasant, after sermon, to see so many\nboats full of people returning from the worship of God. I talked\nseriously to some in our own boat, and sung a psalm, in which they\nreadily joined.\n\n\"Sunday, April 3. Preached twice this day at Mr. Paul's\nmeeting-house, as on the last Sabbath, but with greater freedom\nand power, especially in the morning; and I think to as great,\nif not greater auditories. Dined with Colonel Harvy, another of\nthe council; visited a sick woman, where many came to hear; and\nexpounded afterwards to a great company, at Captain John Dorrel's,\nMrs. Dorrel's son, who with his wife courteously entertained me, and\ndesired me to make his house my home. So true is that promise of\nour Lord, that 'whosoever leaves father or mother, houses or lands,\nshall have in this life a hundred-fold with persecution, and in the\nworld to come, life everlasting.' Lord, I have experienced the one;\nin thy good time grant that I may experience the other also.\n\n\"Wednesday, April 6. Preached yesterday at the house of Mr. Anthony\nSmith, of Baylis Bay, with a considerable degree of warmth; and\nrode afterwards to St. George, the only town on the island. The\ngentlemen of the town had sent me an invitation by Judge Bascom;\nand he, with several others, came to visit me at my lodgings;\nand informed me that the governor desired to see me. About ten I\nwaited upon his excellency, who received me with great civility,\nand told me he had no objection against my person or my principles,\nhaving never yet heard me; and he knew nothing with respect to my\nconduct in moral life, that might prejudice him against me; but his\nintentions were to let none preach in the island, unless he had a\nwritten license to preach somewhere in America, or the West Indies;\nat the same time he acknowledged that it was but a matter of mere\nform. I informed his excellency that I had been regularly inducted\ninto the parish of Savannah; that I was ordained priest by letters\ndismissory from my lord of London, and was under no church censure\nfrom his lordship; and would always read the church prayers, if the\nclergy would give me the use of their churches. I added farther,\nthat a minister's pulpit was always looked upon as his freehold; and\nthat I knew one clergyman who had denied his own diocesan the use\nof his pulpit. But I told his excellency I was satisfied with the\nliberty he allowed me, and would not act contrary to his injunction.\nI then begged leave to be dismissed, as I was obliged to preach at\neleven o'clock. His excellency said he intended to do himself the\npleasure to hear me. At eleven, the church bell rung. The church\nBible, prayer-book, and cushion, were sent to the town-house. The\ngovernor, several of the council, the minister of the parish, and\nassembly-men, with a great number of the town's people, assembled in\ngreat order. I was very sick, through a cold I caught last night;\nbut read the church prayers. The first lesson was the fifteenth\nchapter of the first book of Samuel. I preached on those words,\n'Righteousness exalteth a nation.' Being weak and faint, and\nafflicted much with the headache, I did not do that justice to my\nsubject which I sometimes am enabled to do; but the Lord so helped\nme that, as I found afterwards, the governor and the other gentlemen\nexpressed their approbation, and acknowledged they did not expect to\nbe so well entertained. Not unto me, Lord, not unto me, but to thy\nfree grace be all the glory!\n\n\"After sermon, Dr. F----bs, and Mr. P----t, the collector, came\nto me, and desired me to favor them and the gentlemen of the town\nwith my company at dinner. I accepted the invitation. The governor,\nand the president, and Judge Bascom were there. All wondered at my\nspeaking so freely and fluently without notes. The governor asked\nwhether I used minutes. I answered, 'No.' He said it was a great\ngift. At table, his excellency introduced something of religion by\nasking me the meaning of the word HADES. Several other things were\nstarted about freewill, Adam's fall, predestination, etc., to all\nwhich God enabled me to answer so pertinently, and taught me to mix\nthe _utile_ and _dulce_ [useful and pleasant] so together, that all\nat table seemed highly pleased, shook me by the hand, and invited me\nto their respective houses. The governor, in particular, asked me to\ndine with him on the morrow; and Dr. F----, one of his particular\nintimates, invited me to drink tea in the afternoon. I thanked\nall, returned proper respects, and went to my lodgings with some\ndegree of thankfulness for the assistance vouchsafed me, and abased\nbefore God at the consideration of my unspeakable unworthiness. In\nthe afternoon, about five o'clock, I expounded the parable of the\nprodigal son to many people at a private house; and in the evening\nhad liberty to speak freely and closely to those who supped with\nme. O that this may be the beginning of good gospel times to the\ninhabitants of this town.\"\n\nWe might fill other pages from Whitefield's journal, but will only\ngive two more passages. The first will show him in connection with\nthe African race, in whose highest welfare he always took a special\ninterest.\n\n\"Saturday, May 7. In my conversation these two days with some of my\nfriends, I was diverted much in hearing several things that passed\namong the poor negroes, since I preached to them last Sunday. One of\nthe women, it seems, said that 'if the book I preached out of was\nthe best book that was ever bought at London, she was sure it had\nnever all that in it which I spoke to the negroes,' The old man who\nspoke out loud last Sunday, and said 'yes' when I asked them whether\nall the negroes would not go to heaven, being questioned by somebody\nwhy he spoke out so, answered, that 'the gentleman put the question\nonce or twice to them, and the other fools had not the manners to\nmake any answer; till at last I seemed to point at him, and he\nwas ashamed that nobody should answer me, and therefore he did.'\nAnother, wondering why I said negroes had black hearts, was answered\nby his black brother, 'Ah, thou fool, dost not thou understand it?\nHe means black with sin.' Two girls were overheard by their mistress\ntalking about religion, and they said 'they knew, if they did not\nrepent, they must be damned.' From all which I infer that these\nnegroes on the Bermudas are more awake than I supposed; that their\nconsciences are awake, and consequently prepared in a good measure\nfor hearing the gospel preached to them.\"\n\nWhitefield sums up the events which had occurred in connection with\nhimself on the Bermudas, the praise of which islands has also been\ncelebrated by the distinguished Bishop Berkeley, who resided there\nfor some time, and by Waller the poet.\n\n\"Sunday, May 22. Blessed be God, the little leaven thrown into the\nthree measures of meal begins to ferment and work almost every\nday for the week past. I have conversed with souls loaded with a\nsense of their sins, and as far as I can judge, really pricked to\nthe heart. I preached only three times, but to almost three times\nlarger auditories than usual. Indeed, the fields are white, ready\nto harvest. God has been pleased to bless private visits. Go where\nI will, upon the least notice, houses are crowded, and the poor\nsouls that follow are soon drenched in tears. This day I took, as\nit were, another farewell. As the ship did not sail, I preached\nat Somerset in the morning to a large congregation in the fields;\nand expounded in the evening at Mr. Harvy's house, around which\nstood many hundreds of people. But in the morning and evening how\ndid the poor souls weep. Abundance of prayers and blessings were\nput up for my safe passage to England, and speedy return to the\nBermudas again. May they enter into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.\nWith all humility and thankfulness of heart will I here, O Lord,\nset up my _Ebenezer_, for hitherto surely hast thou helped me.\nThanks be to the Lord for sending me hither. I have been received\nin a manner I dared not to expect, and have met with little, very\nlittle opposition indeed. The inhabitants seem to be plain and\nopen-hearted. They have loaded me with provisions for my sea-store;\nand in the several parishes, by a private voluntary contribution,\nhave raised me upwards of _one hundred pounds sterling_. This\nwill pay a little of Bethesda's debt, and enable me to make such\na remittance to my dear yoke-fellow, as may keep her from being\nembarrassed, or too much beholden in my absence. Blessed be God for\nbringing me out of my embarrassments by degrees. May the Lord reward\nall my benefactors a thousand-fold. I hear that what was given,\nwas given heartily, and people only lamented that they could do no\nmore.\"\n\nWhitefield now transmitted to Georgia what had been collected for\nthe orphan-house; but fearing a relapse, if he returned to the\nsouth during the hot season, which was near commencing, and pressed\nalso again to visit England, he took his passage in a brig, and in\ntwenty-eight days arrived at Deal.\n\nOn his voyage, he completed an abridgment, which he had previously\nbegun, of \"_Law's serious Call to a devout and holy Life_,\" which he\nendeavored to make more useful by excluding whatever is not truly\nevangelical, and illustrating the subject more fully, especially\nfrom the holy Scriptures. He also wrote letters to his friends, one\nof which strikingly illustrates his Christian humility. It bears\ndate June 24, 1748. \"Yesterday I made an end of revising all my\njournals. Alas, alas, in how many things I have judged and acted\nwrong. I have been too rash and hasty in giving characters both\nof places and persons. Being fond of Scripture language, I have\nused a style too apostolical, and at the same time I have been too\nbitter in my zeal. Wildfire has been mixed with it, and I find that\nI frequently wrote and spoke in my own spirit, when I thought I\nwas writing and speaking by the assistance of the Spirit of God. I\nhave, likewise, too much made inward impressions my rule of acting,\nand too soon and too explicitly published what had been better kept\nin longer, or told after my death. By these things I have hurt\nthe blessed cause I would defend, and also stirred up a needless\nopposition. This has humbled me much, and made me think of a saying\nof Mr. Henry, 'Joseph had more honesty than he had policy, or he\nnever would have told his dreams.' At the same time, I cannot but\npraise God, who fills me with so much of his holy fire, and carried\nme, a poor weak youth, through such a torrent, both of popularity\nand contempt, and set so many seals to my unworthy ministrations. I\nbless him for ripening my judgment a little more, for giving me to\nsee and confess, and I hope in some degree to correct and amend some\nof my former mistakes.\"\n\nIn the early part of this year, 1748, the \"Gentleman's Magazine\"\nhad announced Whitefield's death as having taken place in America.\nOne of his first letters on his arrival at Deal in that year, says,\n\"Words cannot express how joyful my friends were to see me once more\nin the land of the living, for I find the newspapers had buried me\never since April last. But it seems I am not to die, but live. O\nthat it may be to declare the works of the Lord.\"\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI.\n\nLABORS IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND--CHAPLAIN TO LADY HUNTINGDON.\n\n1748, 1749.\n\n\nOn the evening of July 6, 1748, Whitefield again found himself in\nLondon, after an absence of nearly four years. Here he was welcomed\nwith joy by many thousands. The large church of St. Bartholomew\nwas at once thrown open to him, where multitudes flocked to hear,\nand where on the first Sabbath he had a thousand communicants. But\nin his own more immediate circle many things were in an unhappy\ncondition. His congregation at the Tabernacle had been much\nscattered during his absence; Antinomianism had made sad havoc\namong the people; and one of this party threatened to rival him in\nMoorfields. Whitefield sent him word, \"The fields are no doubt as\nfree to you as to another. God send you a clear head and a _clean_\nheart. I intend preaching there on Sunday evening.\" He did so; and\nfound \"Moorfields as white to harvest as ever.\" Our evangelist\nwas again called to mourn the evils of poverty. He found himself\ncompelled to sell his household furniture, to pay, in part, the\ndebts of his orphan-house, which were yet far from being cancelled;\nhis aged mother, for whom he always retained the highest regard,\nalso needed his aid. These and other trials pressed him sorely; but\non the other hand, he felt happy in his work, and his congregation\nwere soon reunited, and happy in his labors.\n\nWe have seen that as early as 1738, Lady Huntingdon, with his\nlordship her husband, as frequently as they could, heard Whitefield\npreach; since that period his lordship had died, leaving her\nladyship a widow, in the thirty-ninth year of her age. At what\nperiod she became more openly and intimately Whitefield's friend\ndoes not appear; but when he landed at Deal from his third visit\nto America, she sent Howel Harris to bring him to her house at\nChelsea, where he preached to large circles of the gay world, who\nthronged this then fashionable watering-place. For the benefit of\nthis class of hearers, she soon after removed to London, at that\ntime some three miles distant from Chelsea, appointed Whitefield her\nchaplain, and during the winter of 1748 and '49, opened her splendid\nmansion in Park-street for the preaching of the gospel. \"Good Lady\nHuntingdon,\" he writes, \"has come to town, and I am to preach twice\na week at her house to the great and noble. O that some of them\nmight be effectually called to taste the riches of redeeming love.\"\nOn the first day appointed, Chesterfield and Bolingbroke, both of\nthem well-known for their gayety and infidelity, and a circle of the\nnobility, attended; and having heard him once, they desired to come\nagain. \"Lord Chesterfield thanked me,\" he says. \"Lord Bolingbroke\nwas moved, and asked me to come and see him the next morning. My\nhands have been full of work, and I have been among great company.\nAll accepted my sermons. Thus the world turns round. '_In all time\nof my wealth, good Lord, deliver me._'\"\n\nThe death-bed of Lord St. John Bolingbroke, whom we have already\nmentioned as one of his parlor-hearers, exhibited scenes unusual in\nthe circle where he moved. The Bible was read to him, and his cry\nwas, \"God be merciful to me a sinner.\" \"My Lord Bolingbroke,\" wrote\nLady Huntingdon to Whitefield, \"was much struck with his brother's\nlanguage in his last moments. O that his eyes might be opened by the\nilluminating influence of divine truth. He is a singularly awful\ncharacter; and I am fearfully alarmed, lest the gospel which he so\nheartily despises, yet affects to reverence, should prove the savor\nof death unto death to him. Some, I trust, are savingly awakened,\nwhile many are inquiring; thus the great Lord of the harvest hath\nput honor on your ministry, and hath given my heart an encouraging\ntoken of the utility of our feeble efforts.\"\n\nIt is related that the Rev. Mr. Church, a clergyman who died curate\nof Battersea, near London, one day called on Bolingbroke, who said\nto him, \"You have caught me reading John Calvin; he was indeed a man\nof great parts, profound sense, and vast learning; he handles the\ndoctrines of grace in a very masterly manner.\" \"Doctrines of grace,\"\nreplied the clergyman; \"the doctrines of grace have set all mankind\nby the ears.\" \"I am surprised to hear you say so,\" answered Lord\nBolingbroke, \"you who profess to believe and to preach Christianity.\nThose doctrines are certainly the doctrines of the Bible, and if I\nbelieve the Bible I must believe them. And let me seriously tell\nyou, that the greatest miracle in the world is the subsistence of\nChristianity, and its continued preservation, as a religion, when\nthe preaching of it is committed to the care of such unchristian\nmen as you.\"\n\nAt this period Whitefield renewed his acquaintance with the Rev.\nJames Hervey, who has not improperly been called the Melancthon\nof the second reformation in England. Among all the converts\nof our evangelist, no one was more distinguished for piety, or\nfor his fascination as a writer, than this admirable clergyman.\nHis writings, though too flowery in their style, were eminently\nsuitable, as Whitefield himself says, \"for the taste of the polite\nworld.\" Hervey wrote to Whitefield, \"Your journals and sermons, and\nespecially that sweet sermon on 'What think ye of Christ?' were a\nmeans of bringing me to the knowledge of the truth.\" Whitefield felt\nthe warmest attachment to Hervey in return, and when he introduced\nsome of his works into America, wrote, \"The author is my old friend;\na most heavenly-minded creature; one of the first Methodists, who\nis contented with a small _cure_, and gives all he has to the poor.\nWe correspond with, though we cannot see each other.\" Whitefield\nintimated in one of his journals his intention of sketching Hervey's\ncharacter, but this was one of the many intended things which\nwere never accomplished. Dr. Doddridge wrote a preface to one of\nhis works, which Warburton, as might be expected, called \"a weak\nrhapsody.\"\n\nUnder the auspices of Lady Huntingdon, a prayer-meeting was\nestablished for the women who, from the circles of rank and fashion,\nbecame the followers of the Lord. Among these were Lady Frances\nGardiner, Lady Mary Hamilton, daughter of the Marquis of Lothian,\nwho had attended the ministry of Whitefield in Scotland, Lady\nGertrude Hotham and Countess Delitz, sisters of Lady Chesterfield,\nLady Chesterfield herself, and Lady Fanny Shirley. \"Religion,\" says\nLady Huntingdon, when writing to Doddridge, \"was never so much the\nsubject of conversation as now. Some of the great ones hear with me\nthe gospel patiently, and thus much seed is sown by Mr. Whitefield's\npreaching. O that it may fall on good ground, and bring forth\nabundantly.\"\n\nSome one, we believe a bishop, complained to George II. of the\npopularity and success of Whitefield, and entreated his majesty in\nsome way or other to silence him. The monarch, thinking, no doubt,\nof the class described by the martyr Latimer, as \"unpreaching\nprelates,\" replied with jocose severity, \"I believe the best way\nwill be to make a bishop of him.\"\n\nBut if Whitefield was honored by some of the great, he received from\nothers unmingled hostility. Horace Walpole, the gay man, and the\ncorrupt courtier, thought it worth while to introduce the Methodist\npreacher into his \"Private Correspondence.\" The statement he makes\nof professed facts is altogether incredible, but shows unmistakably\nthe spirit of the writer. \"The apostle Whitefield is come to some\nshame. He went to Lady Huntingdon lately, and asked for forty pounds\nfor some distressed saint or other. She said she had not so much\nmoney in the house, but would give it him the first time she had. He\nwas very pressing, but in vain. At last he said, 'There's your watch\nand trinkets, you don't want such vanities; I will have that.'\nShe would have put him off; but he persisting, she said, 'Well, if\nyou must have it, you must.' About a fortnight afterwards, going\nto his house, and being carried into his wife's chamber, among the\nparaphernalia of the latter the countess found her own offering.\nThis has made a terrible schism; she tells the story herself. I had\nnot it from Saint Frances, [Lady Fanny Shirley,] but I hope it is\ntrue.\" Every thing goes to prove the sincerity of his hope, though\nfounded on falsehood.\n\nIt has generally happened that the most effective public speakers,\nwhether secular or sacred, have been accused by a fastidious class\nwith _vulgarisms_. So with Cicero, Burke, and Chatham; so with\nPatrick Henry and Daniel Webster; and to turn to eminent preachers,\nso with Luther, Latimer, and Whitefield. The reason was, that\nintent on the greatest good to the greatest number, they used what\nDr. Johnson, after Daniel Burgess, called \"market language.\" Dr.\nWilliam Bates, an accomplished and courtly non-conformist minister,\nin the seventeenth century, once complained in the presence of his\nfaithful but unpolished friend Daniel Burgess, that he found very\nlittle success in his work as a minister; when his aged brother\nsmartly replied, \"Thank your velvet mouth for that--too fine to\nspeak market language.\" Whitefield, very happily for thousands, had\nno squeamishness of this sort.\n\nSome ladies called one Saturday morning to pay a visit to Lady\nHuntingdon, and during the interview, her ladyship inquired of them\nif they had ever heard Mr. Whitefield preach. On being answered\nin the negative, she said, \"I wish you would hear him; he is to\npreach to-morrow evening.\" They promised her ladyship they would\ncertainly attend. They fulfilled their promise; and when they called\non her ladyship the next Monday morning, she anxiously inquired if\nthey had heard Mr. Whitefield on the previous evening, and how they\nliked him. The reply was, \"Oh, my lady, of all the preachers we\never heard, he is the most strange and unaccountable! Among other\npreposterous things, would your ladyship believe it, he declared\nthat Jesus Christ was so willing to receive sinners, that he did not\nobject to receive even the devil's _castaways_! Now, my lady, did\nyou ever hear of such a thing since you were born?\" Her ladyship, in\nreply, said, \"There is something, I acknowledge, a little singular\nin the invitation, and I do not recollect to have met with it\nbefore; but as Mr. Whitefield is below in the parlor, we will have\nhim up, and let him answer for himself.\"\n\nOn Mr. Whitefield's entering the drawing-room, Lady Huntingdon\nsaid, \"Sir, these ladies have been preferring a very heavy charge\nagainst you, and I thought it best that you should come up and\ndefend yourself. They say, that in your sermon last evening, in\nspeaking of the willingness of Jesus Christ to receive sinners, you\nsaid, that 'so ready was Christ to receive sinners who came to him,\nthat he was willing to receive even the devil's castaways.'\" Mr.\nWhitefield immediately replied, \"I certainly, my lady, must plead\nguilty to the charge; whether I did what was right, or otherwise,\nyour ladyship shall judge when you have heard a fact. Did your\nladyship notice, about half an hour ago, a very modest single rap\nat the door? It was given by a poor, miserable looking aged female,\nwho requested to speak with me. I desired that she might be shown\ninto the parlor, when she thus addressed me: 'I believe, sir, you\npreached last evening at such a chapel.' 'Yes, I did.' 'Ah, sir, I\nwas accidentally passing the door of that chapel, and hearing the\nvoice of some one preaching, I did what I have never been in the\nhabit of doing--I went in; and one of the first things I heard you\nsay, was, that Jesus Christ was so willing to receive sinners, that\nhe did not object to receive the devil's castaways. Do you think,\nsir, that Jesus Christ would receive me?' I answered her that there\nwas not a doubt of it, if she was but willing to go to him.\"\n\nIt is pleasant to add, that the impression conveyed in the singular\nlanguage of Mr. Whitefield ended in the conversion of the poor\nwoman to God. She gave satisfactory evidence that her great and\nnumerous sins had been forgiven through the atonement of the Lord\nJesus Christ. Was Mr. Whitefield to be censured for the use of this\nlanguage?\n\nIn September, 1748, Mr. Whitefield made his third visit to Scotland,\nwhere he met with a cordial welcome, and where his labors became\nincreasingly valued. Some of the clergy at Glasgow, Perth, and\nEdinburgh used their influence to exclude him from the pulpits, but\nthe majority voted in his favor; and a full examination vindicated\nhis character, and made his excellences more generally known. All\nthe ministers who were disposed to invite him to preach, were at\nliberty to do so, except in the presbytery of Edinburgh; here,\nhowever, he was accommodated by the magistrates with a church to\npreach in whenever he visited the city. In Scotland he now warmly\nadvocated the cause of the college in New Jersey: of the results of\nhis labors we shall hear more hereafter.\n\nOn his return to London, Whitefield resumed his preaching at\nLady Huntingdon's to \"the great ones,\" as he calls them. Thirty,\nand sometimes even sixty persons of rank attended, although the\nnewspapers gave false and degrading accounts of the reception he\nmet with in Scotland. He now availed himself of the influence he\npossessed, to forward his intended college, in addition to his\norphan-house, for which his plea was, \"If some such thing be not\ndone, I cannot see how the southern parts will be provided with\nministers; for all are afraid to go over.\" On this ground he\nappealed to the trustees of Georgia; reminding them that he had\nexpended five thousand pounds upon the orphan-house; begging them\nto relieve it, as a charitable institution, from all quit-rent\nand taxes; and especially to allow him the labor of blacks in\ncultivating the farm. \"White hands,\" he said, \"had left his tract of\nland uncultivated.\"\n\nIt will not be expected that Whitefield could stay long, even in the\ncourtly circles of London, where he met with so much acceptance. We\nvery soon find him among his old friends at Gloucester and Bristol.\nThe bishop of the latter see, he says, behaved very respectfully\nto him; he visited also his old tutor, now become one of the\nprebendaries, and met with the old kindness received at Oxford. \"I\ntold him, that my judgment, as I trust, was a little more ripened\nthan it was some years ago; and that as fast as I found out my\nfaults, I should be glad to acknowledge them. He said the offence of\nthe governors of the church would wear off as I grew _moderate_.\"\nThe evangelist did not tell the doctor how little he cared for such\nmoderation as the governors of the church in that day required;\nbut he wrote to Lady Huntingdon, on the subject of their favor, \"I\nam pretty easy about that. If I can but act an honest part, and be\nkept from _trimming_, I leave all consequences to Him who orders all\nthings well.\" During this journey, many new converts were won. One\nof these was a counsellor, who was so much affected, that his zeal\nin inviting others to hear Whitefield led his wife to suspect him of\nmadness.\n\nAn interesting fact connected with Gloucestershire, his native\ncounty, may be introduced in this place, though we are not sure\nthat it occurred during this journey. John Skinner of Houndscroft\nwas a strolling fiddler, going from fair to fair, supplying music\nto any party that would hire him. Having determined to interrupt\nMr. Whitefield while preaching, he obtained a standing on a ladder\nraised to a window near the pulpit. Here he remained a quiet, if not\nan attentive hearer, till the text was read, when he intended to\nbegin his annoying exercise on the violin. It pleased God, however,\nwhile he was putting his instrument in tune, to convey the word\npreached with irresistible power to his soul; his attention was\ndiverted from his original purpose, he heard the whole sermon, and\nbecame a new man.\n\nHappily Whitefield was blessed in bringing to Christ many who were\nmade eminently useful. Among others we might mention the late Rev.\nCornelius Winter, an eminent minister, who afterwards accompanied\nour evangelist in his last voyage to America, and who after his\ndeath conveyed his will to England, and sought ordination to return\nand labor in Georgia. Disappointed in this, he became an able and\nsuccessful minister in England; and also trained several young men\nfor the Christian ministry, including the late celebrated William\nJay of Bath. Whitefield had often been heard by Winter with great\npleasure, for he admired his eloquence; but for some time no good\neffects were apparent. One night, while playing at cards, an\namusement in which he much delighted, and though surrounded by a\nnumber of gay companions, the thought presented itself to Winter's\nmind that he might that evening hear his favorite preacher. He broke\noff from play in the midst of the game, which made his companions\nvery angry, as they suspected where he was going. He tells us that\nit was a night much to be remembered. He had reason to hope the\nscales of ignorance were then removed from his eyes, he had a sense\nof his misery as a sinner, and was led to earnest inquiry after the\nway of salvation. It is scarcely necessary to say, that he never\nagain played at cards.\n\nFrom the exhilarating scenes of Gloucestershire and Bristol, we\nmust accompany Whitefield into Cornwall, among the glens and dales\nof which, or on the seaside to a somewhat similar population and\nwith almost equal success, he spoke \"all the words of this life.\"\nThe robust and determined miners of the west of England, whose\nvery employment gives hardihood alike to their character and frame,\nat first received him in somewhat rough and unpolished style,\nbut were soon after melted and transformed by the grace which\nhad displayed its triumphs among their brethren at Kingswood.\n\"I am just returned,\" he writes on one occasion, \"from near the\nLand's End, where thousands and thousands heard the gospel gladly.\nEverywhere the word of God has run and been glorified. Every day I\nhave been travelling and preaching; and could I stay a month, it\nmight be spent to great advantage. At a place called Port Isaac,\nthe Redeemer's stately steps were indeed seen. At Camelford I\npreached with great quietness in the streets. At St. Ann's we had\na very powerful season; and yesterday at Redruth several thousands\nattended, and the word was quick and powerful.\" Again he writes,\n\"Immediately after writing my last, I preached to many thousands at\na place called Gwennap. The rain descended, but the grace of God\nseemed to fall like a gentle dew, sprinkling rain upon our souls. It\nwas indeed a fine spring shower. In the evening I rode to St. Ives,\nand preached to many who gladly attended to hear the word; a great\npower seemed to accompany it. On the Lord's day I preached twice to\ngreat auditories. On Monday I preached again at Redruth, at ten in\nthe morning, to nearly, as they were computed, ten thousand souls.\nArrows of conviction seemed to fly fast.\" Again, in a communication\nto the Countess of Huntingdon, he says, \"I have been very near\nthe Land's End, and everywhere souls have fled to hear the word\npreached, 'like doves to their windows.' The harvest is great, yea,\nvery great, but laborers are few. O that the Lord of the harvest\nwould thrust out more laborers.\" And yet again he says, \"Invitations\nare sent to me from Falmouth and several other places, but I cannot\nattend to them all at present. I want more tongues, more bodies,\nmore souls, for the Lord Jesus. Had I ten thousand, he should have\nthem all.\" Such was the noble spirit he displayed, and such were\nthe manner and fruits of his \"entering in among\" the, at that time,\nbenighted children of Cornwall. A great light shone upon them. They\ncame from the caverns of the earth to welcome its rising, and to\nlook upon its brightness. Thousands of them were indeed \"brought out\nof darkness into marvellous light,\" and turned by it from sin to\nholiness, and from Satan to God; and thousands are still rejoicing\nin its beams.\n\nOn his return to London, Whitefield found his assemblies at the\ncountess's \"brilliant indeed,\" and Lord Bolingbroke still one among\nthem. Of this talented nobleman our evangelist at this time indulged\na happy hope, which, alas, seems never to have been realized.\n\nIn February, 1749, Whitefield made an excursion to Exeter and\nPlymouth, where he was agreeably surprised to find a great\nalteration had taken place since his preceding visit, five years\nbefore. He loved to \"range,\" as he called it, \"after precious\nsouls,\" and happily for him and for others he found them. During\nthis and subsequent visits to Plymouth, he resided with the Rev.\nAndrew Kinsman, an excellent Congregational minister, of whom we\nhave already spoken. He was born in Devonshire in 1724, and was\ntherefore ten years younger than Whitefield. While peculiarly\namiable in his manners, and remarkable for his regard to his\nparents, he was unacquainted with the religion of the heart till\nhis seventeenth year, when he met with a volume of Mr. Whitefield's\nsermons, and one of those on the new birth alarmed him. His pious\nfriends were few, but his religious feelings were deeply moved,\nand God at length gave him \"the oil of joy for mourning, and the\ngarment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.\" Concerned for the\nhighest interests of his relatives, he one night, as the family were\nretiring to rest, broke out, with intense emotion, \"What, shall we\ngo to bed without prayer? How do we know but some of us may awake\nin hell before morning?\" This unexpected address struck the family\nwith solemn awe; and while they looked at each other with conscious\nshame, for the neglect of so clear a duty, he fell upon his knees\nand prayed with so much readiness and fervor that it excited their\nastonishment.\n\nAs might be expected, his concern for others did not stop here; he\nwas anxious that his neighbors might also find \"the unsearchable\nriches of Christ.\" He began, therefore, to read Whitefield's sermons\nto as many as would attend, supposing, with Melancthon, that what\nhad proved so great a blessing to himself, would not fail of similar\neffects on others, as soon as they were heard. After a short time,\nhe began himself to expound and preach, and was encouraged by many\nconversions under his ministry, including those of his father,\nmother, and three sisters. Not long after these events, Whitefield,\nin entering on one of his voyages to America, had been compelled\nto stay at Plymouth, where Kinsman first saw and heard him. By a\nseries of remarkable events, Mr. Kinsman was brought to settle\nas a minister at Plymouth, where the \"Tabernacle\" was erected on\nground given by himself, and the congregation were served by him and\nother ministers with abundant success. In the whole neighborhood an\nextraordinary blessing attended his labors, and his usefulness and\ndeliverances from danger were only second to those of Whitefield\nhimself. Nor was he less respected, nor his ministry attended with\nless success, at Bristol and London--cities to which he was invited\nby Whitefield; who used to call Bristol \"_Kinsman's America_,\"\nalluding to his own reception and success in the western world.\n\nOn one occasion, when Whitefield was about to sail for America,\nhe sent for Kinsman to London, and on his arrival dined with his\ndistinguished friend at the Tabernacle house. After dinner there\nwas a violent storm of thunder and lightning. As they stood at the\nwindow looking out on the raging elements, Mr. Kinsman, supposing a\nyoung clergyman who had dined with them, and who now stood by his\nside, to be a pious man, familiarly put his hand on his shoulder,\nand with great cheerfulness and energy repeated the lines of Dr.\nWatts:\n\n    \"The God who rules on high,\n     And thunders when he please;\n     Who rides upon the stormy sky,\n     And manages the seas--\n     _This awful God is ours_,\n     Our Father, and our love!\"\n\nThe words so appropriately introduced, and so emphatically spoken,\nmade a deep impression on the mind of the young clergyman, and gave\nrise to a conversation which, by the blessing of God, led to his\nconversion.\n\nAt the Tabernacle in London, the ministry of Mr. Kinsman was greatly\ndistinguished for its excellence and success, and he thought himself\nhighly honored in preaching the first sermon delivered from the\npulpit of the present Tabernacle. His musical voice, his lively and\npathetic address, and the richness of the evangelical truths he\nproclaimed, brought numbers of all classes of society to hear him.\nAmong them was Shuter, the comedian, to whom we shall again refer as\na hearer of Whitefield, and who years afterwards, in an interview\nwith Kinsman, drew a striking contrast between their professions,\nand bitterly lamented that he had not cordially embraced religion,\nwhen his conscience was impressed under the preaching of the great\nevangelist.\n\nBut we must not stay longer to speak of Kinsman; suffice it to say\nthat he founded, in addition to Plymouth, a new church three miles\nfrom thence, at a place now called Devonport, and labored with\nenergy and holy success till the sixty-ninth year of his age, when\nhe died in triumph, February 28, 1793. Of such a man it was truly\nsaid, that for Whitefield \"he retained the most filial affection to\nhis dying day; and frequently travelled with, and consulted him as a\nfather upon all his religious concerns.\"\n\nIn March Whitefield returned to London, where the feeble state of\nhis health made him feel weary even in his success. He says, \"I\nhave seen enough of popularity to be sick of it, and did not the\ninterest of my blessed Master require my appearing in public, the\nworld should hear but little of me henceforward.\" Yet his zeal\nabated not. \"I dread the thoughts of flagging in the latter stages\nof my road,\" is an expression often used in his letters to his\nfriends. He thought that preaching and travelling contributed to his\nhealth. In a letter to Hervey, he says, \"Fear not your weak body,\nwe are immortal till our work is done. Christ's laborers must live\nby miracle; if not, I must not live at all, for God only knows what\nI daily endure. My continual vomitings almost kill me, and yet the\npulpit is my cure; so that my friends begin to pity me less, and to\nleave off that ungrateful caution, 'Spare thyself.' I speak this to\nencourage you.\"\n\nAll this Whitefield meant. Hence in May we find him preaching at\nPortsmouth daily, for more than a week, to very large and attentive\nauditories; where was shown another remarkable instance of the power\nwhich attended his preaching, for many who a few days before were\nspeaking all manner of evil against him, were very desirous of his\nlonger stay to preach the gospel among them. From Bristol, June 24,\nhe writes, \"Yesterday God brought me here, after a circuit of about\neight hundred miles, and enabled me to preach to, I suppose, upwards\nof a hundred thousand souls. I have been in eight Welsh counties,\nand I think we have not had one dry meeting. The work in Wales is\nmuch upon the advance, and likely to increase daily.\"\n\nWhitefield returned to London to welcome his wife home from the\nBermuda Islands. From her he learned that there his character had\nbeen aspersed by one of the clergy; but while he grieved over the\nfact, he said, \"I am content to wait till the day of judgment for\nthe clearing up of my character; and after I am dead, I desire no\nother epitaph than this, 'Here lies George Whitefield. What sort of\na man he was, the great day will discover.'\"\n\nIn the midst of his sorrows, Whitefield was comforted by a visit\nfrom two German ministers, who had been laboring among the Jews with\napparently happy results. He found also several of the peeresses,\nand others of \"the great,\" cordially disposed to receive him; and\nshortly afterwards was visited by Mr. Grimshaw, a clergyman from\nYorkshire, for whom in September he went to preach. Thousands in the\nvillage of Haworth attended his preaching, even ten thousand at a\ntime, and a thousand communicants approached the table of the Lord.\nAt Leeds also he preached, at the invitation of Mr. Wesley's people,\nto ten thousand persons, and Mr. Charles Wesley himself introduced\nhim to the pulpit at Newcastle-upon-Tyne.\n\nIn the north of England the visits of Mr. Whitefield were always\nlooked for with intense interest. In one of his letters, he thus\ndescribes the state of things there in August, 1756: \"It is now a\nfortnight since I came to Leeds, in and about which I preached eight\ndays successively, three times almost every day, to thronged and\naffected auditories. On Sunday last at Bradford, in the morning,\nthe audience consisted of above ten thousand; at noon, and in\nthe evening, at Birstal, of nearly double that number. Though\nhoarse, I was able to speak so that they all heard.\" These hallowed\nservices were often spoken of by the late Rev. Dr. John Fawcett,\nfor more than half a century an eminent Baptist minister of that\nneighborhood, to whose soul they proved a rich blessing. After\nhaving heard Whitefield at Bradford in the morning, he followed\nhim to Birstal, where a platform was erected at the foot of a hill\nadjoining the town, whence Mr. Whitefield addressed an immense\nconcourse of people, not fewer, it was believed, than twenty\nthousand, who were ranged before him on the declivity in the form of\nan amphitheatre. \"I lay,\" says Fawcett, \"under the scaffold, and it\nappeared as if all his words were addressed to me, and as if he had\nknown my most secret thoughts from ten years of age. As long as life\nremains, I shall remember both the text and the sermon.\" Accustomed\nas he was to preach to large and promiscuous multitudes, when he\nlooked on this vast assemblage, and was about to mount the temporary\nstage, he expressed to his surrounding friends a considerable\nfeeling of timidity; but when he began to speak, an unusual\nsolemnity pervaded the assembly, and thousands, in the course of the\nsermon, as was often the fact, gave vent to their emotions by tears\nand groans. Fools who came to mock, began to pray, and to cry out,\n\"What must we do to be saved?\"\n\nMr. Shirley, in giving an account of this same service, tells us\nthat \"not only the field, but the woodlands about it, were covered\nwith crowds collected from different parts. An unusual solemnity\npervaded this vast multitude, and at the close of the service the\none hundredth psalm was sung, and concluded with Mr. Grimshaw's\nfavorite doxology,\n\n       \"'Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.'\n\nThe volume of sound produced by the united voices of thousands,\nwhile it re\u00ebchoed through the vale below, had such an effect as no\nlanguage can describe.\"\n\nMr. Grimshaw was a very remarkable clergyman connected with the\nchurch of England, though found fault with on account of his\nirregularity. He studied at Cambridge for the ministry before he\nwas acquainted with the reality of true religion. His conversion\nwas very striking; after which he became a remarkably faithful and\npungent preacher. He settled at Haworth, in Yorkshire, where Mr.\nWhitefield visited him.\n\nIn one of the services held by Mr. Whitefield in Yorkshire, a\ndeep solemnity was created by providential circumstances. He had\nmounted the temporary scaffold to address the thousands before him.\nCasting a look over the multitude, he elevated his hands, and in an\nenergetic manner implored the divine presence and blessing. With a\nsolemnity peculiarly his own, he then announced his text, \"It is\nappointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.\" Heb.\n11:27. After a short pause, as he was about to proceed, a wild,\nterrifying shriek issued from the centre of the congregation. A\nmomentary alarm and confusion ensued. Mr. Whitefield waited to\nascertain the cause, and requested the people to remain still. Mr.\nGrimshaw hurried to the spot, and in a few minutes was seen pressing\ntowards the place where Mr. Whitefield stood. \"Brother Whitefield,\"\nsaid he, manifesting in the strongest manner the intensity of his\nfeelings, and the ardor of his concern for the salvation of sinners,\n\"you stand among the dead and the dying. An immortal soul has been\ncalled into eternity; the destroying angel is passing over the\ncongregation; cry aloud, and spare not.\" The awful occurrence was\nspeedily announced to the congregation. After the lapse of a few\nmoments, Mr. Whitefield again announced his text. Again a loud and\npiercing shriek proceeded from the spot near where Lady Huntingdon\nand Lady Margaret Ingham were standing. A thrill of horror seemed\nto escape from the multitude when it was understood that a _second_\nperson had fallen a victim to the king of terrors. When the\nconsternation had somewhat subsided, Mr. Whitefield gave indications\nof proceeding with the service. The excited feelings of many were\nwound up to their highest point. All was hushed; not a sound was to\nbe heard; and a stillness like the awful silence of death spread\nover the assembly, as he proceeded in melting strains to warn the\ncareless, Christless sinner to \"flee from the wrath to come.\"\n\nAs winter was now approaching, Whitefield felt it important to\nreturn to the metropolis. During the tour he had made, he won to\nChrist not a few of those who afterwards laid the foundations of\nchurches now flourishing in the counties of Lancaster, York, and\nNorthumberland. He met, however, with so much \"rude treatment here\nand there, as sent him home praying, 'Lord, give me a pilgrim heart\nfor my pilgrim life.'\" He was now in \"winter quarters,\" but was\nneither idle nor useless. To use his own words, \"The glory of the\nLord filled the tabernacle, and the shout of a king was in the\ncamp,\" and that from week to week. \"Thousands, thousands crowded to\nhear.\" Every day also he heard of instances of conversion. One of\nthese pleased him greatly. It was that of a boatswain, who, before\nhearing him, knew no more about divine truth \"than the whistle he\nblew on board.\" He mentions also a boy eleven years of age, a woman\nof eighty, and a baker, who had been \"a Jerusalem sinner,\" all of\nwhom bowed before the cross, and placed their hopes of salvation on\nHim who died thereon.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII.\n\n     LABORS IN GREAT BRITAIN--FOURTH VISIT TO AMERICA--NEW TABERNACLE\n     IN LONDON, AND TABERNACLE AT BRISTOL.\n\n1750-1754.\n\n\nAt the beginning of the year 1750, Whitefield was still in London.\nAt this time his intended college at Bethesda occupied much of\nhis attention. He wrote to his friends in every quarter for help.\nHis usual appeal was, \"We propose having an academy or college at\nthe orphan-house. The house is large, and will hold a hundred. My\n_heart_, I trust, is larger, and will hold ten thousand.\" Though\nin London, his heart was in America. He says, \"Ranging seems my\nprovince; and methinks I hear a voice behind me saying, 'This is\nthe way, walk in it.' My heart echoes back, 'Lord, let thy presence\ngo with me, and then send me where thou pleasest.' In the midst of\nall, America, _dear_ America, is not forgotten. I begin to count the\ndays, and to say to the months, 'Fly fast away, that I may spread\nthe gospel-net once more in dear America.'\"\n\nBe it here mentioned, that amid the busy scenes of his life, and\nwhile surrounded with the flatteries of the great and noble,\nWhitefield did not forget the duties he owed to his mother. A person\nwhom he had employed to obtain some comforts for her, had neglected\nthe duty, so that the now aged matron might have felt a week's\nanxiety. He wrote to her, \"I should never forgive myself, was I, by\nnegligence or any wrong conduct, to give you a moment's needless\npain. Alas, how little have I done for you. Christ's care for his\nmother excites me to wish I could do any thing for you. If you\nwould have any thing more brought, pray write, honored mother.\n* * * Tomorrow it will be _thirty-five_ years since you brought\nunworthy me into the world. O that my head were waters, and mine\neyes fountains of tears, that I might bewail my barrenness and\nunfruitfulness in the church of God.\"\n\nWhile he was now fully engaged in preaching, and was surrounded\nwith flatteries, he did not forget his duty to conflict with sin.\nHe writes, \"I find a love of power sometimes intoxicates even God's\ndear children. It is much easier for me to obey than govern. This\nmakes me fly from that which, at our first setting out, we are apt\nto court. I cannot well buy humility at too dear a rate.\"\n\nDr. Philip Doddridge, as every reader knows, was one of the most\npious and accomplished preachers and writers of the Non-conformists\nof England in his day. Nor was his _missionary_ zeal small in its\ndegree. Though he died as early as 1751, he had said, \"I am now\nintent on having something done among the dissenters, in a more\npublic manner, for propagating the gospel abroad, which lies near\nmy heart. I wish to live to see this design brought into execution,\nat least into some forwardness, and then I should die the more\ncheerfully.\" It was indeed the passion of his life to promote\nthe interests of evangelical truth, and save the souls of men.\nAnd though, as his recent eulogist, the Rev. John Stoughton, has\nsaid, condemned by some, and suspected by others for so doing, he\ntook a deep and sympathetic interest in the evangelical labors of\nWhitefield. It seems strange in our day to think of Whitefield\nbeing regarded as an enthusiast by orthodox dissenters. Yet there\nwere those who did thus regard him. Bradbury poured on him streams\nof wit; Barker regarded his sermons as low and coarse; and another\nin writing calls him \"honest, crazy, confident Mr. Whitefield.\"\nBut Doddridge regarded him as far otherwise, and spoke of him as\n\"a flaming servant of Christ.\" He prayed on one occasion at the\nTabernacle, but Dr. Watts was much grieved by it; and when, on\nWhitefield's visiting Northampton, Doddridge gave him the use of\nhis pulpit, the managers of the college of which he was president\nremonstrated with him for so doing.\n\nThe visit of Whitefield to Doddridge was in February, 1750, where\nhe met with the Rev. Dr. Sir James Stonehouse, and the Rev. Messrs.\nHartley and Hervey. The latter eminent clergyman thus writes: \"I\nhave lately seen that most excellent minister of the ever-blessed\nJesus, Mr. Whitefield. I dined, supped, and spent the evening with\nhim at Northampton, in company with Dr. Doddridge, and two pious,\ningenious clergymen of the church of England, both of them known to\nthe learned world by their valuable writings. And surely I never\nspent a more delightful evening, or saw one that seemed to make\nnearer approaches to the felicity of heaven. A gentleman of great\nworth and rank in the town invited us to his house, and gave us\nan elegant treat; but how mean was his provision, how coarse his\ndelicacies, compared with the fruit of my friend's lips: they\ndropped as honey from the honey-comb, and were a well of life.\nSurely people do not know that amiable and exemplary man, or else,\nI cannot but think, instead of depreciating, they would applaud\nand love him. For my part, I never beheld so fair a copy of our\nLord, such a living image of the Saviour, such exalted delight in\nGod, such enlarged benevolence to man, such a steady faith in the\ndivine promises, and such a fervent zeal for the divine glory; and\nall this without the least moroseness of humor, or extravagance of\nbehavior, sweetened with the most engaging cheerfulness of temper,\nand regulated by all the sobriety of reason and wisdom of Scripture;\ninsomuch that I cannot forbear applying the wise man's encomium of\nan illustrious woman to this eminent minister of the everlasting\ngospel: 'Many sons have done virtuously, but thou excellest them\nall.'\"\n\nIn the month of March, 1750, a general alarm had been awakened\nby earthquakes in London, and fears were excited by pretended\nprophecies of still greater devastation. These signal judgments\nof Jehovah were preceded by great profligacy of manners, and its\nfruitful parent, licentiousness of principle. Dr. Horne, afterwards\ndean of Canterbury and bishop of Bristol, in a sermon preached at\nthe time, says, \"As to faith, is not the doctrine of the Trinity,\nand that of the divinity of our Lord and Saviour--without which\nour redemption is absolutely void, and we are yet in our sins,\nlying under the intolerable burden of the wrath of God--blasphemed\nand ridiculed openly in conversation and in print? And as to\nrighteousness of life, are not the people of this land dead in\ntrespasses and sins? Idleness, drunkenness, luxury, extravagance,\nand debauchery; for these things cometh the wrath of God, and\ndisordered nature proclaims the impending distress and perplexity of\nnations. And Oh, may we of this nation never read a handwriting upon\nthe wall of heaven, in illuminated capitals of the Almighty, MENE,\nMENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN--God hath numbered the kingdom, and finished\nit. Thou art weighed in the balances of heaven, and found wanting\nthe merits of a rejected Redeemer, and therefore the kingdom is\ndivided and given away.\"\n\nThe shocks felt in London in February and March of this year, were\nfar more violent than any remembered for a long series of years. The\nearth moved throughout the whole cities of London and Westminster.\nIt was a strong and jarring motion, attended with a rumbling noise\nlike that of thunder. Multitudes of persons of every class fled\nfrom these cities with the utmost haste, and others repaired to the\nfields and open places in the neighborhood. Towerhill, Moorfields,\nand Hyde Park were crowded with men, women, and children, who\nremained a whole night under the most fearful apprehensions. Places\nof worship were filled with persons in the utmost state of alarm.\nEspecially was this the case with those attached to Methodist\ncongregations, where multitudes came all night, knocking at the\ndoors, and for God's sake begging admittance. As convulsions of\nnature are usually regarded by enthusiasts and fanatics as the\nsure harbinger of its dissolution, a soldier \"had a revelation,\"\nthat a great part of London and Westminster would be destroyed\nby an earthquake on a certain night, between the hours of twelve\nand one o'clock. Believing his assertion, thousands fled from the\ncity for fear of being suddenly overwhelmed, and repaired to the\nfields, where they continued all night, in momentary expectation of\nseeing the prophecy fulfilled; while thousands of others ran about\nthe streets in the most wild and frantic state of consternation,\napparently quite certain that the day of judgment was about to\ncommence. The whole scene was truly awful.\n\nUnder these circumstances, the ministers of Christ preached almost\nincessantly, and many were awakened to a sense of their awful\ncondition before God, and to rest their hopes of eternal salvation\non the Rock of ages. Mr. Whitefield, animated with that burning\ncharity which shone so conspicuously in him, ventured out at\nmidnight to Hyde Park, where he proclaimed to the affrighted and\nastonished multitudes that there is a Saviour, Christ the Lord. The\ndarkness of the night, and the awful apprehensions of an approaching\nearthquake, added much to the solemnity of the scene. The sermon\nwas truly sublime, and to the ungodly sinner, the self-righteous\npharisee, and the artful hypocrite, strikingly terrific. With\na pathos which showed the fervor of his soul, and with a grand\nmajestic voice that commanded attention, he took occasion from the\ncircumstances of the assembly, to call their attention to that\nmost important event in which every one will be interested, the\nfinal consummation of all things, the universal wreck of nature,\nthe dissolution of earth, and the eternal sentence of every son\nand daughter of Adam. The whole scene was one of a most memorable\ncharacter. Mr. Charles Wesley, Mr. Romaine, and others preached in a\nsimilar manner, and with like happy results.\n\nAt this period, Whitefield and his female friends especially,\nwere the subjects of royal attention at the court of George the\nSecond. It is said that on one occasion Lady Chesterfield appeared\nin a dress \"with a brown ground and silver flowers,\" of foreign\nmanufacture. The king, smiling significantly, said to her aloud, \"I\nknow who chose that gown for you--Mr. Whitefield; I hear you have\nattended on him for a year and a half.\" Her ladyship acknowledged\nshe had done so, and professed her approbation of his character and\nministry; and afterwards deeply regretted that she had not said more\nwhen she had so good an opportunity. Whitefield had occasion to wait\non the secretary of state, in company with Dr. Gifford, a Baptist\npastor in London, to ask relief for some persecuted Christians in\nIreland, and was assured that \"no hurt was designed by the state to\nthe Methodists.\" He also renewed his friendship with the Messrs.\nWesley, and several times exchanged pulpits with them. He writes, \"I\nhave now preached thrice in Mr. Wesley's chapel, and God was with us\nof a truth.\"\n\nAgain was our evangelist tired of London, and again had he grown\nsick for want of field-preaching. Accordingly he set out for Bristol\nand other parts of the west of England; and although rain and hail\npelted him in his field-pulpits, he preached \"about twenty times\nin eight or nine days.\" As soon as he found himself in his own\nelement, he saw every thing in his old lights. He says, \"Every\nthing I meet with seems to carry this voice with it: 'Go thou and\npreach the gospel; be a pilgrim on earth; have no party, or certain\ndwelling-place.' My heart echoes back, 'Lord Jesus, help me to do\nor suffer thy will. When thou seest me in danger of _nestling_, in\npity, in tender pity put a thorn in my nest, to prevent me from it.'\"\n\nFrom Bristol, Whitefield went to Taunton, where he met with the Rev.\nRichard Pearsall, an eminent and excellent Presbyterian minister, of\nwhom he speaks very highly; and from thence, on his way to Plymouth,\nhe stayed at Wellington, to preach for the Rev. Risdon Darracott,\nwho has ever since been distinguished as \"the star in the west.\" Mr.\nDarracott was the son of a dissenting minister in Dorsetshire, where\nhe was born in 1717, when Whitefield was three years old. He studied\nfor the ministry under the Rev. Dr. Doddridge, at Northampton,\nand entered on his ministerial course in Cornwall in 1738, which\nsituation he was most reluctantly compelled to leave two years\nafterwards from violent hemorrhage of the lungs. Under this alarming\nvisitation he spent about six months with his friends in Devonshire,\nwhere his fervent-minded father had preached till his death at the\nage of forty. While here, he had a call to succeed a venerable\nminister at Wellington, who had recently deceased. He found the\ncongregation small, and the number of communicants but twenty-eight.\nHis ministry soon drew a large congregation, many of whom had never\nbefore made a profession of religion, and were first attracted\ninto the town from the neighboring villages out of mere curiosity\nto hear him. The house of worship was soon insufficient to contain\nhis hearers; and even when it was enlarged, many were frequently\ncompelled to stand out of doors, unable to obtain an entrance. The\nRev. Benjamin Fawcett, who preached his funeral sermon, said, \"I\nnever knew any congregation which appeared to have so many instances\nof abiding religious impressions;\" and added, \"I have good reason to\nbelieve that his ministry was owned to the effectual conversion of\nmany hundreds of souls.\"\n\nThe night before the death of this excellent man, which took place\nin his forty-second year, he exclaimed, \"Oh, what a good God have I,\nin and through Jesus Christ. I would praise him, but my lips cannot.\nEternity will be too short to speak his praises.\" The physician\ncoming in, he said to him, \"Oh, what a mercy is it to be interested\nin the atoning blood of Jesus. I come to the Lord as a vile sinner,\ntrusting in the merits and precious blood of my dear Redeemer. O\ngrace, grace, free grace!\" His last words were, \"I am going from\nweeping friends to congratulating angels, and rejoicing saints in\nglory. He is coming. Oh, speed thy chariot wheels; why are they so\nlong in coming? I long to be gone!\" He left in his church more than\ntwo hundred communicants.\n\nWhitefield and Darracott were congenial spirits, and Darracott, like\nhis friend, had suffered much reproach in the cause of his Master;\nhe was what Whitefield called him, \"a flaming and successful\npreacher of the gospel.\" He had just at this time lost three lovely\nchildren. \"Two of them,\" says Whitefield, \"had died on the Saturday\nevening before the sacrament; but weeping did not prevent sowing.\nHe preached the next day, and administered as usual. Our Lord\nstrengthened him; and for his three natural, gave him above _thirty_\nspiritual children; and he is likely to have many more. He has\nventured his little all for Christ; and last week a saint died who\nleft him and his heirs two hundred pounds in land. Did ever any one\ntrust in God, and was forsaken?\" This interview with Darracott, and\nwith good old Mr. Pearsall, who had been a preacher of righteousness\nbefore Whitefield was born, had an inspiring influence upon him. He\nsays, \"I _began_ to take the field again at his dwelling for the\nspring! I begin to _begin_ to spend and be spent for Him who shed\nhis own dear heart's blood for me. He makes _ranging_ exceedingly\npleasant.\"\n\nSoon after this, Whitefield went again into Yorkshire. At Rotherham\nhe says, \"Satan rallied his forces. The crier was employed to give\nnotice of a bear-baiting. You may guess who was the bear! However,\nI preached twice. The drum was heard, and several watermen attended\nwith great staves. The constable was struck, and two of the mobbers\napprehended, but rescued afterwards.\" Sheffield and Leeds he found\nto be a new and warmer climate. Lancashire, however, was still but\ncold to him. All was quiet at Manchester, and he \"humbly hoped some\nhad enlisted,\" but no great impression was then made. At Bolton, a\ndrunkard stood up behind him to preach; and the wife of the man who\nlent him the field, twice attempted to stab the workman who put up\nthe stand for him. This roused him, and he bore down all opposition\nby a torrent of eloquence, which quite exhausted him. In the night,\nhowever, some rude fellows got into the barn and stables where his\nchaise and horses had been put, and cut them very shamefully. This\nconduct he called, \"Satan showing his teeth.\"\n\nTo narrate the particulars of this journey would be little more\nthan a repetition of scenes of insult and of success with which the\nreader has already become familiar. At Ulverston he says, \"Satan\nmade some small resistance. A clergyman, who looked more like a\n_butcher_ than a minister, came with two others, and charged a\nconstable with me; but I never saw a poor creature sent off with\nsuch disgrace.\"\n\nOne of the most remarkable conversions recorded in the history of\nthe church occurred during this journey by the ministry of Mr.\nWhitefield. The full particulars are recorded in the Life of the\nCountess of Huntingdon, and can only be briefly mentioned here.\n\nIn the early period of Whitefield's ministry, many of the taverns\nbecame places where his doctrines and zeal were talked of and\nridiculed. A Mr. Thorpe, and several other young men in Yorkshire,\nundertook at one of these parties to mimic the preaching of Mr.\nWhitefield. The proposition met with applause; one after another\nstood on a table to perform his part, and it devolved on Mr. Thorpe\nto close this irreverent scene. Much elated, and confident of\nsuccess, he exclaimed, as he ascended the table, \"I shall beat you\nall.\" Who would have supposed that the mercy of God was now about to\nbe extended to this transgressor of his law? The Bible was handed to\nhim; and by the guidance of unerring Providence, it opened at Luke\n13:3: \"Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.\" The moment\nhe read the text his mind was impressed in a most extraordinary\nmanner; he saw clearly the nature and importance of the subject;\nand as he afterwards said, if he ever preached with the assistance\nof the Holy Spirit, it was at that time. His address produced a\nfeeling of depression in his auditors; and when he had finished,\nhe instantly retired to weep over his sins. He soon after became\nassociated with the people of God, and died a successful minister of\nChrist, at Masborough, in Yorkshire, in 1776, about six years after\nthe death of Mr. Whitefield. He was the father of the distinguished\nRev. William Thorpe, of Bristol.\n\nPassing on to Edinburgh, Whitefield was, as usual, received with the\nmost unfeigned tenderness and joy, preaching to great multitudes\nof attentive and serious people, whose earnest desire to hear him\nmade him exert himself beyond his strength. He says, \"By preaching\nalways twice, once thrice, and once four times in a day, I am quite\nweakened; but I hope to recruit again. Christ's presence makes me\nsmile at pain.\" He returned to London, having preached about one\nhundred times, it was believed to not less than one hundred thousand\npeople.\n\nAmong the occasional hearers of Whitefield when in Scotland, was\nthe celebrated infidel historian, David Hume. An intimate friend\nhaving asked him what he thought of Mr. Whitefield's preaching, he\nreplied, \"He is, sir, the most ingenious preacher I ever heard; it\nis worth while to go twenty miles to hear him.\" He then repeated\nthe following passage, which occurred towards the close of the\ndiscourse he had been hearing. \"After a solemn pause, Mr. Whitefield\nthus addressed his numerous audience: 'The attendant angel is just\nabout to leave the threshold, and ascend to heaven. And shall he\nascend, and not bear with him the news of one sinner, among all\nthis multitude, reclaimed from the error of his ways?' To give\nthe greater effect to this exclamation, he stamped with his foot,\nlifted up his eyes and hands to heaven, and with gushing tears cried\naloud, 'Stop, Gabriel! stop, Gabriel! stop, ere you enter the sacred\nportals, and yet carry with you the news of one sinner converted to\nGod.' He then, in the most simple but energetic language, described\nwhat he called a Saviour's dying love to sinful man, so that almost\nthe whole assembly melted into tears. This address was accompanied\nwith such animated, yet natural action, that it surpassed any thing\nI ever saw or heard in any other preacher.\"\n\nIn the summer of 1751, Whitefield paid a second visit to Ireland,\nand was most hospitably received in Dublin by a respectable and\nopulent gentleman named Lunell, who had been brought to Christ by\nthe first Methodist itinerant preacher in that city. During this\nexcursion, Whitefield preached about eighty sermons, fourteen\nof them in Dublin, and seven in Limerick. His hearers in Dublin\norganized themselves into a public society, which does not seem\nto have met his approbation. He says, \"This morning I have been\ntalking with dear Mr. Adams, and can not help thinking that you\nhave run before the Lord, in forming yourselves into a public\nsociety as you have done. I am sincere when I profess that I do\nnot choose to set myself at the head of any party. When I came to\nIreland, my intention was to preach the gospel to all; and if it\nshould ever please the Lord of all lords to send me thither again,\nI purpose to pursue the same plan. For I am a debtor to all of\nevery denomination, and have no design, if I know any thing of this\ndesperately wicked and deceitful heart, but to promote the common\nsalvation of mankind. The love of Christ constrains me to this.\"\n\nDuring this visit, Whitefield a few times ventured out of the city\nto Oxmantown-green, then a large open place, situated near the\nroyal barracks, where the Ormond and Liberty boys, two factions\namong the lowest class of the people, generally assembled on the\nSabbath to fight with each other. The congregations at first were\nvery numerous, and deeply affected, nor did any disturbance occur.\nThus encouraged, the preacher ventured again, and gave notice of\nhis intention to resume his labors. He went through the barracks,\nthe door of which opened into the green, and pitched his tent near\nthe barrack walls, not doubting of the protection, or at least of\nthe interposition of the officers and soldiers, if there should be\noccasion for it. The multitude in attendance was indeed vast. After\nsinging and prayer, Whitefield preached without molestation, except\nthat now and then a few stones and clods of dirt were thrown at\nhim. It being war-time, he took occasion to exhort his hearers,\nas was his usual practice, not only to fear God, but to honor the\nking; and prayed for the success of the king of Prussia. When the\nservice was over, he thought to return home by the way he came,\nbut, to his great surprise, a passage through the barracks was\ndenied; and he was compelled to pass from one end of the green to\nthe other, through thousands of Roman-catholics. He was unattended;\nfor a soldier and four preachers who came with him had fled from\nthe scene of danger, and he was seriously attacked by the mob.\nThey threw vollies of stones upon him from all quarters, and he\nreeled backwards and forwards till he was almost breathless and\ncovered with blood. At length, with great difficulty he staggered\nto the door of a minister's house near the green, which was kindly\nopened to him. For a while he continued speechless, and panting for\nbreath; but his weeping friends having given him a cordial, and\nwashed his wounds, a coach was procured, in which, amidst the oaths,\nimprecations, and threatenings of the rabble, he got safe home,\nand united in a hymn of thanksgiving with his friends. In a letter\nwritten to a friend soon after this event, he says, \"I received many\nblows and wounds; one was particularly large, and near my temple: I\nthought of Stephen, and was in hopes, like him, to go off in this\nbloody triumph to the immediate presence of my Master.\"\n\nUnpromising, however, as things were in Ireland, the labors of\nWhitefield, followed as they were by those of the Wesleys, became\nthe foundation of a number of Christian societies that proved vast\nblessings to Ireland; and some of them grew into large churches,\nwhich continue to flourish till this day.\n\nThe society to which reference has been made, which assembled\nin Skinner's alley, secured ministerial aid from the late Rev.\nJohn Edwards, who was one of Whitefield's converts, and among\nthe earliest preachers at the Tabernacle in London; and who also\nitinerated over nearly the whole of England, Scotland, and Ireland.\nThe period was one of great persecution, and this good man had\nseveral remarkable preservations from death. At one time, while he\nresided in Dublin, he was returning from preaching at a village,\nwhen he was seized by a party of rude fellows, who declared they\nwould throw him over the bridge into the Liffey. This was observed\nby an opposite political party, residing on the other side of the\nriver, who encountered his assailants, and rescued him out of their\nhands, saying he lived on their side the river, and none should hurt\nhim. At another time, having preached out of doors, a furious mob\nof the _White-boys_, a political party so called, beset the house\nin which he was, and threatened to burn it to the ground, unless he\nwas driven out of it. His anxious friends could see but one way for\nhis escape, which was through a window that opened into a garden\nbelonging to a justice of the peace, who was himself a violent\npersecutor of the Methodists. Through this window Mr. Edwards was,\nlike the apostle Paul, let down in a basket. Here he stood some\ntime in great consternation, fearing the family might observe him,\nand charge him with breaking into the garden for improper purposes,\nand so both religion and himself would be injured. At length he\nventured to knock at the door, and asked for the magistrate, to\nwhom he ingenuously stated the facts, and who most generously\nprotected and extended to him the hospitalities of his house for two\ndays.\n\nOne fact more must be told of this excellent man. He resolved to\nvisit a town to which had removed a number of soldiers who had\nreceived benefit from his ministry. He was met, however, by some of\nthese pious men, who told him that the inhabitants were determined\nto take his life. Edwards was not to be dissuaded from his purpose;\nand on his arrival he immediately preached in the street, and\nseveral distinguished persons, including the mayor of the town, came\nto hear him, and by their influence prevented disturbance. After\nthe service, the mayor invited him to breakfast with several of\nthe principal inhabitants, and told him they were very glad he was\ncome--that the people were extremely dissolute in their manners, and\nthe clergy, both Protestants and Catholics, exceedingly remiss in\ntheir duty, and they hoped the Methodists would succeed in reforming\nthe town. These gentlemen subscribed to the support of stated\npreaching, and extensive and lasting good was done.\n\nAmid Whitefield's innumerable engagements and declining health,\nBethesda and his beloved America could not be forgotten. While\nhe was at Glasgow during this summer of 1751, he was greatly\ndelighted to hear that Mr. Dinwiddie, brother-in-law to the Rev. Mr.\nM'Culloch, of Cambuslang, was appointed governor of Virginia. The\ngospel had been much opposed there, and he thought the appointment\nnow made would greatly tend to check persecution.\n\nWhitefield, as it appears to us, now very suddenly determined on\nanother voyage to America. He arrived in London from Edinburgh in\nthe early part of August, with improved health, the country air\nhaving healed his hemorrhage. He took a hasty leave of his friends,\nand set sail for Georgia, in the Antelope, Captain M'Lellan, taking\nseveral orphans with him. He arrived at Savannah Oct. 27, and had\nthe happiness of finding the orphan-house in a prosperous condition.\nHere, however, he did not stay long; as in November we hear of\nhim in his usual labors, and with his usual ardor engaged in his\nconstant work of preaching. Having formerly suffered much from the\nclimate of America in the summer, he determined again to embark for\nLondon, which he did in April. We can scarcely trace his object in\nthis journey to and from America, except in some designs of the\ngovernment to place Georgia on a new footing.\n\nIn June, 1752, Mr. Whitefield was found in the society of the\nCountess of Huntingdon at Bath, where he continued about three\nweeks, preaching every evening to great numbers of the nobility.\nHere he became acquainted with Mrs. Grinfield, a lady who attended\non the person of Queen Caroline. \"One of C\u00e6sar's household,\"\nhe writes, \"hath been lately awakened, through her ladyship's\ninstrumentality, and I hope others will meet with the like\nblessing.\" He afterwards visited her at the palace of St. James,\nand says, \"The court, I believe, rings of her, and if she stands, I\ntrust she will make a glorious martyr for her blessed Lord.\"\n\nThe Moravians, or United Brethren, were at one period on terms of\nvery cordial friendship with the Messrs. Wesley and Whitefield. At\nthe time of which we are writing, a series of strange absurdities,\nresembling the adoration of saints and other superstitions of\npopery, developed themselves among members of that body, at the head\nof which then stood Count Zinzendorf, to whom Whitefield wrote an\nurgent remonstrance on the subject. An open separation took place,\nand Mrs. Grinfield, the Rev. John Cennick, and some others, adhered\nto the count, while Whitefield and Lady Huntingdon endeavored to\nbring him back to what they believed the simplicity of the gospel.\nLady Huntingdon, speaking of her final interview with him, says,\n\"Our conference was long, and as the count honored me with his\ncompany for a few days, was resumed at intervals, always closing\nwith a solemn scriptural prayer to our great and glorious Head,\nfor the illuminating influences of his Spirit to guide us into all\ntruth. We parted with the utmost cordiality.\"\n\n\"Dear Mr. Whitefield's letter,\" says Lady Huntingdon, \"has much\ngrieved the count. But his remonstrance is faithful, and the awful\nexposures he has reluctantly been forced to make, may be productive\nof the highest good in opening the eyes of many to the miserable\ndelusions under which they lie.\"\n\nA correspondence, indeed we may say friendship, had for years\nexisted between Whitefield and the eminent philosopher Dr. Benjamin\nFranklin. The following, from a letter of Whitefield, August 17,\n1752, shows his fidelity to the eminent citizen and statesman:\n\"I find you grow more and more famous in the learned world. As\nyou have made a pretty considerable progress in the mysteries\nof electricity, I would now humbly recommend to your diligent,\nunprejudiced pursuit and study, the mystery of the new birth. It\nis a most important, interesting study, and when mastered, will\nrichly answer and repay you for all your pains. One, at whose bar\nwe are shortly to appear, hath solemnly declared that, without it,\nwe cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. You will excuse this\nfreedom. I must have _aliquid Christi_--something of Christ, in\nall my letters.\" This honest letter ought to have delighted the\nphilosopher in his closet, even more than the eulogium he heard\nwhile standing behind the bar of the House of Lords, when Earl\nChatham said of him, \"Franklin is one whom Europe holds in high\nestimation for his knowledge and wisdom; one who is an honor, not to\nthe English nation only, but to human nature.\"\n\nIn the course of the summer of 1752, and the following one,\nWhitefield visited Scotland twice, and preached much also throughout\nEngland and Wales. As usual, he greatly rejoiced in the presence\nand service of God, and never appears to have been more happy than\nin this period of his life. \"Since I left Newcastle,\" he writes, \"I\nhave scarcely known sometimes whether I have been in heaven or on\nearth. Thousands and thousands flock twice or thrice a day to hear\nthe word of life. God favors us with weather, and I would fain make\nhay while the sun shines. Oh that I had as many tongues as there are\nhairs in my head. The ever-loving, ever-lovely Jesus should have\nthem all. Fain would I die preaching.\"\n\nAbout this period also, Mr. Hervey and he were employed in revising\neach other's manuscripts; the former was then preparing his \"Theron\nand Aspasio,\" a work which, though florid in its style, has been\neminently useful in conducting many of its readers to a saving\nknowledge of the doctrines of the gospel. Of his friend's writings\nMr. Whitefield says, \"For me to play the critic on them, would be\nlike holding up a candle to the sun. However, I will just mark a\nfew places, as you desire. I foretell their fate; nothing but your\nscenery can screen you. Self will never bear to die, though slain\nin so genteel a manner, without showing some resentment against its\nartful murderer.... I thank you a thousand times for the trouble you\nhave been at in revising my poor compositions, which I am afraid you\nhave not treated with a becoming severity. How many pardons shall I\nask for mangling, and, I fear, murdering your 'Theron and Aspasio?'\nIf you think my two sermons will do for the public, pray return them\nimmediately. I have nothing to comfort me but this, that the Lord\nchooses the weak things of this world to confound the strong, and\nthings that are not, to bring to naught things that are. I write for\nthe poor; you for the polite and noble. God will assuredly own and\nbless what you write.\"\n\nWhitefield was now also very busy in erecting his second London\nTabernacle, which he dedicated, June 10, 1753. We have, for the sake\nof completing the narrative of its first building, already given in\nour third chapter a statement of the second tabernacle, to which the\nreader is referred.\n\nBoth the judgment and inclination of Mr. Whitefield concurred to\ninduce him to persevere in his itinerant course, correctly judging\nthat in this way he best employed his peculiar talents. After\npreaching, therefore, with his usual fervor and success for a short\ntime in his newly erected Tabernacle, he again set out towards\nScotland, where he spent some days at Edinburgh and Glasgow, and\npreached generally twice, sometimes three times a day, and once five\ntimes. He says, \"Attention sat upon all faces, and friends came\nround like bees, importuning me to stay another week.\" This he found\ntoo much for his strength, but still went forward, often expressing\nhis desire to serve his divine Master to the utmost limit of his\npower, and his hopes to be with him soon in heaven. During this\njourney, including his return to London, where he arrived the latter\nend of September, he travelled about twelve hundred miles, and\npreached one hundred and eighty times, to many thousands of hearers.\n\nAs converts increased in Bristol and its neighborhood, Mr.\nWhitefield felt compelled to erect there also a \"tabernacle.\" Lady\nHuntingdon was one of the earliest contributors to this important\nobject, and through her influence Lord Chesterfield gave twenty\npounds to it. He had no taste for religion, but he well understood\noratory, and in his letter to Lady Huntingdon covering his\nremittance, he said, \"Mr. Whitefield's eloquence is unrivalled, his\nzeal inexhaustible.\" The Earl of Bath sent fifty pounds, saying,\n\"Mocked and reviled as Mr. Whitefield is by all ranks of society,\nstill, I contend that the day will come when England will be just,\nand own his greatness as a reformer, and his goodness as a minister\nof the most high God.\"\n\nThe Tabernacle at Bristol was dedicated November 25, 1753, with a\nsermon from Whitefield. Its history is one of deep interest. Its\nearly ministers were worthy of any age, but remarkably fitted for\nthat in which their lot was cast; men of pith and power, undismayed\nat dangers, braving all kinds of difficulty and toil, and prepared\nequally for labor and sufferings in the cause of their great Master.\nNor have later ministers dishonored their predecessors; the cause\nstill flourishes, and the hallowed house has been the birthplace of\nmany eminent Christians. What Whitefield then said of this house\nmight often be said of it now: \"It is large, but not half large\nenough; for if the place could contain them, nearly as many would\nattend as in London.\" He always delighted in his visits to this\nplace, and laid here a foundation for vast benefits, even to the\npresent day. On one of his visits to preach here, he began a series\nof sermons on the evening before the commencement of the fair. His\ntext was, \"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and\nhe that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come buy wine and\nmilk without money, and without price.\" Isa. 55:1. The congregation\nwas large, and thus he began: \"My dear hearers, I fear that many of\nyou are come to attend Bristol fair. So am I. You do not mean to\nshow your goods until to-morrow; but I shall exhibit mine to-night.\nYou are afraid purchasers will not come up to your price; but I am\nafraid my buyers will not come down to mine; for mine,\" striking his\nhand on the Bible, \"are 'without money, and without price.'\"\n\nAfter the dedication of this Bristol Tabernacle, Whitefield preached\nin the open air in various parts of Somersetshire, at seven o'clock\nat night. \"My hands and body,\" says he, \"were pierced with cold; but\nwhat are outward things, when the soul is warmed with the love of\nGod? The stars shone with exceeding brightness; by an eye of faith\nI saw Him who 'calleth them all by their names.' My soul was filled\nwith a holy ambition, and I longed to be one of those who 'shall\nshine as the stars for ever and ever.'\"\n\nAt this time he had a fine opportunity to show his Christian\nattachment to his old friends. Mr. John Wesley had, by a series\nof extraordinary labors, brought his life into great danger, and\nWhitefield, hearing of this while at Bristol, wrote a sympathizing\nletter to his brother Charles, in which he prays for the descending\ngarment of Elijah to rest on the surviving Elisha, and encloses\nan ardent and solemn farewell to the invalid, who was supposed\nto be dying. He says, \"The news and prospect of your approaching\ndissolution have quite weighed me down. I pity myself and the\nchurch, but not you. A radiant throne awaits you, and ere long you\nwill enter into your Master's joy. Yonder he stands with a massy\ncrown, ready to put it on your head, amidst an admiring throng of\nsaints and angels. But I, poor I, that have been waiting for my\ndissolution these nineteen years, must be left behind to grovel here\nbelow. Well, this is my comfort, it cannot be long ere the chariots\nwill be sent even for worthless me. If prayers can detain you, even\nyou, reverend and very dear sir, shall not leave us yet. But if the\ndecree is gone forth that you must now sleep in Jesus, may he kiss\nyour soul away, and give you to die in the embraces of triumphant\nlove. If in the land of the living, I hope to pay my best respects\nto you next week. If not, reverend and dear sir, farewell.\" He had\nsoon the satisfaction of witnessing the recovery of his friend, who\nwas to survive him more than twenty years.\n\nWe have already intimated that Whitefield used his influence in\nScotland in favor of the New Jersey college, located at Princeton.\nIn accordance with his advice, the friends of the college in this\ncountry sent over the Rev. Samuel Davies, afterwards president of\nthe college, and the Rev. Gilbert Tennent, to promote its interests\nin the British islands. A few extracts from the manuscript diary of\nDavies, with the use of which we have been favored for this volume,\nwill show the readiness of Whitefield to labor, or to \"be nothing,\"\nso that the cause of Christ might be advanced. The deputation\narrived in England in the closing month of 1753, and thus writes\nDavies:\n\n\"Wednesday, December 26. Mr. Whitefield having sent us an invitation\nlast night to make his house our home during our stay here, we\nwere perplexed what to do, lest we should blast the success of our\nmission among the dissenters, who are generally disaffected to him.\nWe at length concluded, with the advice of our friends and his, that\na public intercourse with him would be imprudent, in our present\nsituation, and visited him privately this evening; and the kind\nreception he gave us revived dear Mr. Tennent. He spoke in the most\nencouraging manner as to the success of our mission. And in all\nhis conversation discovered so much zeal and candor, that I could\nnot but admire the man as the wonder of the age. When we returned,\nMr. Tennent's heart was all on fire, and after we had gone to bed,\nhe suggested that we should watch and pray; and we rose and prayed\ntogether till about three o'clock in the morning.\n\n\"Jan. 1. Went in the evening to hear Mr. Whitefield in the\nTabernacle, a large, spacious building. The assembly was very\nnumerous, though not equal to what is common. He preached on the\nparable of the barren fig-tree; and though the discourse was\nincoherent, yet it seemed to me better calculated to do good to\nmankind than all the accurate, languid discourses I ever heard.\nAfter sermon I enjoyed his pleasing conversation at his house.\"\n\nIt would seem that Messrs. Davies and Tennent had their trials, as\nwell as their encouragements. Writing Jan. 14, Mr. Davies says,\n\"Spent an hour with Mr. Whitefield. He thinks we have not taken\nthe best method in endeavoring to keep in with all parties, but\nshould 'come out boldly,' as he expressed it, which would secure the\naffections of the pious people, from whom we might expect the most\ngenerous contributions.\" On the evening after this, they dined with\nWhitefield at the house of a common friend, and he rejoiced in the\nabundant success they afterwards met with from nearly all parties.\n\n\"Jan. 25. Dined with Mr. Bradbury, who has been in the ministry\nabout fifty-seven years. He read us some letters which passed\nbetween Mr. Whitefield and him, _anno_ 1741; occasioned by Mr.\nWhitefield's reproving him in a letter for singing a song in a\ntavern, in a large company, in praise of old English beef. The old\ngentleman sung it to us, and we found it was partly composed by\nhimself, in the high-flying days of Queen Anne. He is a man of a\nsingular turn, which would be offensive to the greatest number of\nserious people; but for my part I could say,\n\n    'I knew 'twas his peculiar whim,\n     Nor took it ill, as't came from him.'\"\n\nIn March, 1754, Whitefield, in company with twenty-two poor\ndestitute children, sailed the fifth time for America.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIII.\n\n     FIFTH VISIT TO AMERICA--RENEWED LABORS IN GREAT\n     BRITAIN--TOTTENHAM-COURT-ROAD CHAPEL.\n\n1754-1763.\n\nOn this voyage to America, Whitefield sailed for South Carolina by\nway of Lisbon. His health demanded repose; he thought that seeing\nPopery as it is when unrestrained by public opinion, might be of use\nto him in his future labors; and moreover, he had with him a number\nof orphans whom he wished comfortably to settle at Bethesda before\nhe visited the northern provinces. It would be pleasant, if our\nlimits would allow it, to furnish the letters he wrote from Lisbon\nduring nearly four weeks, but a few sentences must suffice: \"This\nleaves me an inhabitant of Lisbon. We have now been here almost\na week, and I suppose shall stay a fortnight longer. A reputable\nmerchant has received me into his house, and every day shows me the\necclesiastical curiosities of the country. O, my dear friend, bless\nthe Lord of all lords, for causing your lot to be cast in such a\nfair ground as England, and giving you such a goodly heritage. It\nis impossible to be sufficiently thankful for civil and religious\nliberty, for simplicity of worship, and powerful preaching of the\nword of God. O for simplicity of manners, and a correspondent\nbehavior. The air agrees with my poor constitution extremely well.\nThrough divine assistance; I hope what I see will also improve\nmy better part, and help to qualify me better for preaching the\neverlasting gospel.\"\n\nIn another letter he writes, \"Never did civil and religious liberty\nappear to me in so amiable a light as now. What a spirit must Martin\nLuther and the first reformers be endued with, that dared to appear\nas they did for God. Lord, hasten that blessed time when others,\nexcited by the same spirit, shall perform like wonders. Oh, happy\nEngland! Oh, happy Methodists, who are Methodists indeed! And all I\naccount such, who, being dead to sects and parties, aim at nothing\nelse but as holy a method of living to, and dying in the blessed\nJesus.\"\n\nHe was heartily glad to get away from Popish processions and\nsuperstitious rites, and again to visit his \"dear America.\"\n\nOur evangelist arrived with his orphans at Beaufort, in South\nCarolina, May 27, 1754, greatly improved in health, with a heart\nburning with love and zeal for his Lord and Master. He says, with\nhis usual energy, \"Oh that I may at length learn to begin to live.\nI am ashamed of my sloth and lukewarmness, and long to be on the\nstretch for God.\" His family now consisted, \"black and white,\" of\none hundred and six members, all dependent on his personal efforts\nand influence. He regarded his charge as a stewardship for God, and\ncollected accordingly, nothing doubting. It was now summer, and\nbesides the oppressive heat, \"great thunders, violent lightnings,\nand heavy rains\" frequently beat upon him as he journeyed from\nplace to place. His health improved, and his spirits rose as he\nadvanced on his journey. At Charleston, and elsewhere, his labors\nwere received with the same degree of acceptance as formerly, and\nhe was much encouraged by the conversion of a clergyman, a faithful\nsuccessor to Mr. Smith of the city just named, and the first student\nsent forth from Bethesda.\n\nHe arrived at New York, by water, July 27, and divided his labors\nbetween that city and Philadelphia almost entirely for nearly two\nmonths. In the latter city, he tells us, he was seized with violent\n_cholera morbus_, and brought to the gates of death. To use his own\nwords, he \"had all his cables out, ready to cast anchor within the\nport of eternity;\" but he was soon \"at sea again,\" although only\nable to preach once a day for some time. \"Everywhere,\" he says, \"a\ndivine power accompanied the word, prejudices were removed, and a\nmore effectual door opened than ever for preaching the gospel.\" When\nhe looked at \"the glorious range for hunting in the American woods,\"\nhe was at a loss on which hand to turn.... \"Affection, intense\naffection cries aloud, Away to New England, _dear_ New England,\nimmediately. Providence, and the circumstances of the southern\nprovinces, point directly to Virginia.\"\n\nWhile thus undecided, he visited his old friend Governor Belcher,\nthen governor of New Jersey, and residing at Elizabeth town. He\nfound the good old man ripening for heaven, willing to depart and to\nbe with Christ. At this time the commencement of New Jersey college\nwas held, and as a mark of their respect, the president and trustees\nconferred on him the honorary degree of master of arts. The meeting\nof the synod immediately followed, respecting which body he says,\n\"I was much refreshed with the company of the whole synod; such a\nnumber of simple-hearted, united ministers I never saw before. I\npreached to them several times, and the great Master of assemblies\nwas in the midst of us.\"\n\nInfluenced by what he saw and heard in New Jersey, Whitefield\ndetermined to go to New England, and to return from thence by\nVirginia to Georgia, and made his arrangements accordingly; it would\ncomprise a circuit of more than two thousand miles, but he said,\n\"The Redeemer's strength will be more than sufficient.\"\n\nIt has been thought that it was during this visit of Whitefield\nto New Jersey, and probably at the table of Governor Belcher,\nthat he dined in company with a number of ministers, and held the\noften-reported conversation with \"Father Tennent.\" After dinner,\nMr. Whitefield adverted to the difficulties attending the Christian\nministry; lamented that all their zeal availed but little; said that\nhe was weary with the burden of the day; and declared his great\ncomfort in the thought, that in a short time his work would be done,\nwhen he should depart and be with Christ. He then appealed to the\nministers, if it was not their great comfort that they should soon\ngo to rest. They generally assented, except Mr. Tennent, who sat\nnext to Mr. Whitefield in silence, and by his countenance indicated\nbut little pleasure in the conversation.\n\nSeeing this, Mr. Whitefield, gently tapping him on the knee, said,\n\"Well, brother Tennent, you are the oldest man among us; do you not\nrejoice to think that your time is so near at hand, when you will\nbe called home?\" Mr. Tennent bluntly answered, \"I have no wish about\nit.\" Mr. Whitefield pressed him again. Mr. Tennent again answered,\n\"No, sir, it is no pleasure to me at all; and if you knew your\nduty, it would be none to you. I have nothing to do with death; my\nbusiness is to live as long as I can, as well as I can, until He\nshall think proper to call me home.\" Mr. Whitefield still urged for\nan explicit answer to his question, in case the time of death were\nleft to his own choice. Mr. Tennent replied, \"I have no choice about\nit; I am God's servant, and have engaged to do his business as long\nas he pleases to continue me therein. But now, brother, let me ask\nyou a question. What do you think I should say, if I was to send my\nservant into the field to plough; and if at noon I should go to the\nfield, and find him lounging under a tree, and complaining, 'Master,\nthe sun is very hot, and the ploughing hard; I am weary of the work\nyou have appointed me, and am overdone with the heat and burden of\nthe day. Do, master, let me return home, and be discharged from this\nhard service?' What should I say? Why, that he was a lazy fellow,\nand that it was his business to do the work that I had appointed\nhim, until I should think fit to call him home.\"\n\nAccompanied by President Burr, Whitefield set out, October 1, for\nBoston, and arrived there on the 9th. Here he stayed a week, and\nsaw there, morning after morning, three or four thousand people\nhanging in breathless silence on his lips, and weeping silent tears.\nWhitefield himself calls it \"a lovely scene,\" and says he \"never\nsaw a more effectual door opened for the gospel. Sinners have been\nawakened, saints quickened, and enemies made at peace with me.\nGrace, grace! Surely my coming here was of God. Convictions _do_\nfasten, and many souls are comforted.\" Such were the crowds at the\nearly sermons, that in order to reach the pulpit, he had to get\nin at the windows of the churches. In a letter to the Countess of\nHuntingdon, he wrote, \"In Boston, the tide ran full as high as ever\nyour ladyship knew it at Edinburgh, or in any part of Scotland.\"\n\nWhile at Boston, Whitefield heard with much pleasure of the\nappointment of his friend Habersham as secretary to the new governor\nof Georgia, and wrote to him, \"I wish you joy of your new honor.\nMay the King of kings enable you to discharge your trust as becomes\na good patriot, subject, and Christian. You have now a call, I\nthink, to retire from business, and to give up your time to the\npublic.\" Our evangelist travelled north as far as Portsmouth, in\nNew Hampshire, generally preaching two or three times a day, till\nNovember 7, when he took his farewell at Boston, at four o'clock in\nthe morning. Speaking of this journey, he says, \"What have I seen?\nDagon falling everywhere before the ark; enemies silenced, or made\nto own the finger of God; and the friends of Jesus triumphing in\nhis glorious conquests. A hundredth part cannot be told. We had\nscarcely one dry meeting.\" When he arrived in the neighborhood of\nPortsmouth, the northern boundary of his journey, he was overwhelmed\nwith humility as well as joy, by the large cavalcade which came out\nto meet and welcome him. He says of them, \"They were too many;\" and\nof this northern journey, \"It seems to me the most important one I\nwas ever engaged in.\"\n\nOf no portion of Whitefield's life are we so ignorant as of the\njourney he now made from New England to the South. Journal, letters,\nhistorians, and newspapers alike fail us. Gillies tells us only that\nfrom Boston he \"proceeded to Rhode Island, and went onward through\nMaryland and Virginia, with a prospect so pleasing, that he lamented\nhe had not come sooner. The whole country seemed eager to hear the\ngospel, many coming forty or fifty miles, and a spirit of conviction\nand consolation appeared in every congregation. Prejudices seemed\nto have fled; churches were opened to him; high and low, rich and\npoor, now seemed to think favorably of his ministrations; and\nmany acknowledged what God had done for their souls through his\npreaching, when he was there before.\" It scarcely appears probable\nthat he went from Rhode Island to Maryland by water; but if he\ndid not, he must have passed through New York, New Jersey, and\nPhiladelphia, and we feel somewhat of surprise that no records of\nthe journey appear to have been preserved.\n\nDr. Franklin relates a very characteristic anecdote of Mr.\nWhitefield, which probably occurred in Philadelphia or its\nneighborhood at a period not later than this. \"The eloquent orator\"\nwas preaching in an open field, when a drummer was present, who\nwas determined to interrupt the preacher, and rudely beat his drum\nin a violent manner, in order to drown his voice. Whitefield spoke\nvery loud, but could not make so much noise as the instrument.\nHe therefore called out to the drummer, \"Friend, you and I serve\nthe two greatest masters existing, but in different callings. You\nbeat up for volunteers for King George, I for the Lord Jesus: in\nGod's name, then, let us not interrupt each other; the world is\nwide enough for both, and we may get recruits in abundance.\" This\nspeech had such an effect on the drummer, that he went away in great\ngood-humor, and left the preacher in full possession of the field.\n\nVirginia, alike from the success of his former labors there, and\nfrom the general characteristics of the people, must have presented\na scene of intense interest to Whitefield at this time. Everywhere\ngreat preparations were made for his coming, and large congregations\nassembled to hear him. It is said, that on one occasion, as he was\nspeaking on the banks of one of the rivers of this noble province,\nand spoke of the strength of human depravity, and the insufficiency\nof the means of grace to convert the sinner without the influence\nof the Holy Spirit: \"Sinners,\" said he, \"think not that I expect to\nconvert a single soul of you by any thing that I can say, without\nthe assistance of Him who is 'mighty to save.' Go and stand by that\nriver, as it moves on its strong and deep current to the ocean, and\nbid it stop, and see if it will obey you. Just as soon should I\nexpect to stop that river by a word, as by my preaching to stop that\ncurrent of sin which is carrying you to perdition. Father in heaven,\nsee! they are hurried on towards hell; save them, or they perish!\"\nThe impression which this address produced on his hearers was so\nstrong, that they were ready to respond with trembling, \"Save,\nLord; we perish!\"\n\nWhitefield must have been highly gratified on reaching Charleston,\nin attending the ordination of the young minister there, his first\nstudent from Bethesda, of whom we have already spoken as succeeding\nMr. Smith; and not less would he rejoice that one of the actors\nat the Charleston theatre had been \"snatched as a brand from the\nburning.\"\n\nThough we have not the exact date of his arrival at Savannah, we\nknow that he remained there but a very short time. His health\nagain declined, his former vomitings returned with violence, and\nhis animal spirits failed with his strength. In February, 1755, we\nagain find him at Charleston; and in the latter end of March, he\nembarked for England, arriving, after a comparatively short voyage,\nat Newhaven, in Sussex, May the eighth.\n\nTwo strong impressions were made on the mind of Whitefield as he now\nlooked on his native land. The first was that of grief on account of\nits condition. Nothing less than war with France was daily expected,\nfor the French threatened to invade Britain, and were constantly\nmaking encroachments on her American colonies. \"At this time,\" he\nsays, \"next to Jesus Christ, my king and my country were upon my\nheart, I hope I shall always think it my duty, next to inviting\nsinners to the blessed Jesus, to exhort my hearers to resist the\nfirst approaches of popish tyranny and arbitrary power. O that we\nmay be enabled to watch and pray against all the opposition of\nantichrist in our own hearts; for, after all, there lies the most\ndangerous man of sin.\" His second feeling was one of holy joy; for\nduring his absence the preaching of the gospel had been abundantly\nsuccessful. He writes, \"Glory be to the great Head of the church!\nThe poor despised Methodists are as lively as ever; and in several\nchurches the gospel is now preached with power. Many in Oxford are\nawakened to the knowledge of the truth; and I have heard almost\nevery week of some fresh minister or another, who seems 'determined\nto know nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified.'\"\n\nAt the Tabernacle in London, as might be expected, Whitefield\nenjoyed what he terms \"golden seasons;\" but by this time not a few\nof the London clergy had begun to preach Christ with holy fidelity;\nand as this was the principal thing he desired, he says his \"call to\ngo abroad was still more clear.\" Indeed, so little did he now esteem\nLondon as a sphere of labor, and so much did he regard places by the\namount of their destitution, that he wished at once to return to\nAmerica, without ranging through England or Scotland. Hence he says,\n\"Methinks I could set out for America to-morrow, though I have not\nyet entered upon my country range.\"\n\nBut if he loved America most, England loved herself more, and he\nwas drawn again into Gloucestershire and Bristol. He went also, at\nthe request of Lady Huntingdon, to dedicate the new Tabernacle at\nNorwich, to which we have already referred. At this last place,\nhe says, August 30, 1755, \"Notwithstanding offences have come,\nthere has been a glorious work begun, and is now carrying on. The\npolite and great seem to hear with much attention; and I scarcely\never preached a week together with greater freedom.\" For a long\nperiod the work of God abundantly prospered in connection with this\n\"Tabernacle.\" Two years after its dedication, the Hon. and Rev.\nWalter Shirley preached some time in it, and had eight hundred\ncommunicants in fellowship, and he said of them, \"Their experience,\nlives, and conversation are so excellent, that there is nothing like\nit in the whole kingdom.\"\n\nOn Whitefield's return to London, there were those who urgently\nentreated him to engage in a new controversy with the Messrs.\nWesley, some of whose followers had been jealous of his success at\nNorwich. He declined, with his common remark, \"I have no time for\ncontroversy,\" and reserved what he had to say till he could see them\n\"face to face,\" simply writing to assure them that he had no party\ndesigns on foot.\n\nVery soon after this, he set out for his northern circuit; and\nwonderfully indeed did the Lord grant him success. One thing,\nhowever, on this journey grieved him. His friends at Leeds, without\nhis knowledge, had built a large church edifice. He saw at once,\nthat this circumstance would create an \"awful separation among\nthe societies\" formed by the Messrs. Wesley and his own friends;\nand lost no time in writing to those ministers, that they might\nendeavor to prevent a breach. Both the plan and the spirit of this\nundertaking so grieved him, that he exclaimed, \"Oh this self-love,\nthis self-will, is the _devil of devils_.\" This he wrote to Lady\nHuntingdon, a proof that party was not their object; and it is\npleasant to add, that Whitefield's fears were groundless. Leeds,\neven then, contained population sufficient to fill both houses,\nand the whole movement \"fell out rather to the furtherance of the\ngospel.\" During two months he preached twice, and some days three\ntimes, to greater numbers than ever before, inviting them to Christ,\nand \"exhorting them to pray for King George, and the dear friends\nin America.\" He heard at this time, that the American ladies were\nmaking the soldiers' coats; and he immediately wrote to urge his own\nfemale friends in the new world to be \"some of the most active in\nthis labor of love.\"\n\nThough Mr. Whitefield stood very high in the esteem of that class\nof ministers who embraced his views of evangelical truth, and who\napproved the plans he pursued for the evangelization of the world,\nthey never considered him perfect, nor were some of them backward,\nwhen they deemed it needful, to reprove him. In a sermon he once\npreached in Haworth church, Yorkshire, of which his friend Grimshaw\nwas the minister, having spoken severely of those professors of the\ngospel who, by their loose and evil conduct, caused the ways of\ntruth to be evil spoken of, he intimated his hope, that it was not\nnecessary to enlarge much on that topic to the congregation before\nhim, who had so long enjoyed the labors of an able and faithful\npreacher; and he was willing to believe that their profiting\nappeared to all men. This latter expression roused Mr. Grimshaw's\nspirit, and notwithstanding his great regard for the preacher, he\nstood up and interrupted him, saying, with a loud voice, \"O sir,\nfor God's sake, do not speak so; I pray you, do not flatter. I fear\nthe greater part of them are going to hell with their eyes open.\"\n\nNotwithstanding the astonishing labors of Whitefield on this\ntour, he returned to London apparently in full flesh, and was\ncongratulated by his friends on his improved appearance. Alas, all\nthis, as he well knew, was disease, which indeed very soon became\napparent. He was seized with inflammatory sore throat, that was\nfollowed by quinsy, assuming an almost fatal aspect. One physician\nprescribed silence and warmth, and the preacher \"promised to be\nvery obedient,\" but a few days afterwards, another recommended a\nperpetual blister: this proposal roused him, and he determined to\ntry his own remedy--perpetual preaching. The remedy itself was\npainful, but he said, \"When this grand catholicon fails, it is\nall over with me.\" At this time the sad news of the earthquake at\nLisbon arrived in London; he was unable to preach on the subject,\nbut when told of it he said, \"Blessed be God, I am ready; I know\nthat my Redeemer liveth. Oh that all in Portugal had known this!\nThen an earthquake would only be a _rumbling_ chariot to carry the\nsoul to God. Poor Lisbon, how soon are thy riches and superstitious\npageantry swallowed up!\"\n\nIn the winter of 1755-6, he was applied to to preach in the vicinity\nof the two great theatres, which he began to do in Long Acre chapel.\nDisturbances took place, and the Bishop of London interposed to stop\nhim. In the end he erected Tottenham Court-road chapel, as already\ndetailed in our third chapter.\n\nMr. Whitefield's ministry in London at this time was still\nsuccessful. Thousands hung on his lips with delight, not a few of\nwhom were won to the service of Christ. He tells us, among many\nsimilar facts, of the conversion of a Mr. Crane, who was afterwards\nappointed steward of the orphan-house in Georgia. This gentleman\nhad one evening determined to visit the theatre, and set out\nfor Drury-lane; that house being crowded, he resolved to go to\nCovent-garden; that also being so full that he could not obtain\nadmittance, he changed his plan, and resolved on being entertained\nwith one of Whitefield's sermons, and hastened to Tottenham\nCourt-road chapel. It pleased God to impress the word on his heart,\nand he became an eminent Christian. So truly is the prediction\nverified, \"I am found of them who sought me not.\"\n\nDuring this year he published \"A Short Address to Persons of all\nDenominations, occasioned by an Alarm of an intended Invasion.\"\nWe have examined it, and not without pleasure. It is a faithful\nexposure of Popery and its bitter fruits.\n\nIt is a charge often preferred against the faithful ministers of\nChrist, by those whose consciences testify to their own guilt,\nthat they are _personal_ in their remarks, and mean to censure\nparticular individuals. It is certain that this was often done by\nMr. Whitefield, and sometimes with very happy effect. He once drew,\nfrom the conduct of his female servant, the picture of a Christian\nfailing in his duty, which painfully distressed her, till he gave\nher an assurance of his entire forgiveness.\n\nNor was this the only time when his hearers were compelled to\nfeel, \"he means _me_.\" The celebrated comedian, Shuter, had a great\npersonal regard for Mr. Whitefield, and not unfrequently attended\nhis ministry. At one period of his popularity he was acting in\na drama under the character of _Ramble_. During the run of the\nperformance, he attended service at Tottenham Court chapel, and was\nseated in a pew exactly opposite the pulpit. Mr. Whitefield on that\noccasion gave full vent to his feelings, and in his own energetic\nmanner invited sinners to the Saviour. While doing this, fixing his\neye full on Shuter, he added, \"And thou, poor _Ramble_, who hast\nlong rambled from him, come also. Oh, end your rambling by coming\nto Jesus.\" Shuter was exceedingly struck, and going afterwards to\nWhitefield, he said, \"I thought I should have fainted; how could you\nserve me so?\"\n\nIn the early part of 1756, Whitefield was engaged in London,\npreaching and collecting for the poor not only at Bethesda, but\nalso for the French Protestants. At the Tabernacle, a man came up\nto him in the pulpit, threatening his life, and handing him three\nanonymous letters denouncing sudden and certain death, unless he\nceased to preach and to pursue the offenders by law. One of these\nletters Whitefield sent to the government, who at once offered a\nreward, and his majesty's pardon, to any one who would discover\nthe writer. While this fact gratified, it also embarrassed him. He\nwrote to Lady Huntingdon, \"My greatest distress is to act so as to\navoid rashness on the one hand, and timidity on the other.\" For his\nown sake, he would not have cared about the matter; but looking at\nit as connected with the cause of civil and religious freedom, he\nwisely allowed the law to take its course at the hazard of his own\nlife by assassination. Agreeably with the advice of the government,\nhe carried the whole affair into the court of the King's Bench; this\nalarmed the offenders, and the annoyance ceased.\n\nWe next find him at Bristol, but not to rest, though the labors\nand anxieties of the winter and spring had nearly worn out his\nstrength and spirits. Here he preached as usual, and then returned\nto London. During this journey he preached in several places\nin Gloucestershire, his native county, and in Bradford, Frome,\nWarminster, and Portsmouth, spending about three months in the tour.\n\nIn the county which gave Whitefield birth, is still to be seen\na chair on which he often sat, and on which may be yet read the\nfollowing lines:\n\n    \"If love of souls should e'er be wanting here,\n     Remember me, for I am Whitefield's chair;\n     I bore his weight, was witness to his fears,\n     His earnest prayers, his interesting tears.\n     His holy soul was fired with love divine:\n     If thine be such, sit down and call me _thine_.\"\n\nA very few weeks passed, and we find him in Kent. In a letter\nwritten July 27, after his visit to that county, he says, \"The\ngospel flourishes in London. I am just returned from preaching at\nSheerness, Chatham, and in the camp.\" On the next day he set off\ntowards Scotland. On August 14, he writes from Sunderland, \"How\nswiftly doth my precious time pass away! It is now a fortnight since\nI came to Leeds, in and about which I preached eight days, thrice\nalmost every day, to thronged and affected auditories. On Sunday\nlast at Bradford, in the morning, the auditory consisted of about\nten thousand; at noon and in the evening, at Birstal, to nearly\ndouble the number. Though hoarse, I was helped to speak so that all\nheard. Next morning I took a sorrowful leave of Leeds, preached at\nDoncaster at noon, and at York the same night. On Wednesday, at\nWarstall, about fifty miles off; on Thursday, twice at Yarm; and\nlast night and this morning, here.\" Wherever he labored, he heard\nof the good effects of his preaching in those places last year, and\nwas constantly finding \"many trophies of redeeming love.\" Such was\nthe effect of the two sermons he preached at Birstal, that \"several\nhundreds rode eight miles with him in the evening, singing and\npraising God.\"\n\nIn a day or two after this, we find him at Edinburgh and Glasgow,\npreaching, as usual, to vast crowds, and with his accustomed\nsuccess. At the former places especially, even politicians gave him\na cordial welcome, and thronged to hear him, while the newspapers\napplauded him for his spirit-stirring exposures of \"Popish\ntyranny and arbitrary power.\" He preached twice every day in the\nOrphan-hospital park, and blended with almost every sermon rousing\nappeals to the Protestantism, courage, and loyalty of the Scotch.\nAt the close of one of his sermons he pleaded the cause of the poor\nHighlanders, and collected at its close about three hundred dollars.\n\nOn his way back to London, Whitefield held a peculiarly solemn\nand refreshing meeting with his friends at Leeds; and after it,\nhe braced his nerves by a tour of _mountain preaching_ in company\nwith his friend Grimshaw. But it was now late in October, and\nas he found \"these cold countries bringing on his last year's\ndisorder,\" and having, as he significantly says, \"grown very\nprudent,\" he returned to London, and dedicated Tottenham Court-road\nchurch edifice. Another errand also had taken him to that city.\nThe new governor of Georgia had sent for him, to consult with him\nbefore sailing to that colony. Whitefield met him, and was so much\ndelighted with him, that he wrote off to Bethesda to prepare them\nfor a _state_ visit. He says, \"Waited upon his excellency, and gave\nhim, and all whom he pleases to bring, an invitation to Bethesda.\nDear Mrs. C---- will make proper provision.\" He went even farther,\nand proposed that the governor, if possible, should be received at\nBethesda with military honors.\n\nThe success of his new house of worship in Tottenham Court-road\nshowed the necessity and propriety of its erection on that spot.\nSeveral persons of distinction came, and engaged permanent seats;\nand the place was often so crowded, that hundreds were unable to\nobtain admission. It was now usual with him to preach about fifteen\ntimes every week, which, with a weak appetite, want of rest, and\nmuch care upon his mind, greatly enfeebled him. He writes, \"But the\njoy of the Lord is my strength; and my greatest grief is, that I can\ndo no more for Him who hath done and suffered so much for me.\"\n\nIn the following year, 1757, Whitefield planned another journey to\nScotland, at the time the general assembly of the church was held.\nBefore leaving London, he had placed the affairs of his projected\ncollege in the hands of Lord Halifax, and he now seems to have\nhoped that this journey to Scotland would have promoted that object,\nas well as others. It is said, that about a hundred ministers at a\ntime attended his sermons, thirty of whom invited him to a public\nentertainment. Lord Cathcart, his majesty's commissioner to the\nassembly, also invited him to his own table. Whitefield says that he\npreached \"just fifty times\" on this visit, which extended to about a\nmonth.\n\nFrom Scotland he went, in June, as we have seen, to Ireland, and\nenjoyed, in the midst of no small persecution, much preaching, and\nmuch success. On his return to London, he found that the governor\nof Georgia had visited Bethesda, and promised to communicate\nhis sentiments to Lord Halifax, \"concerning its being enlarged\ninto a college;\" but the pressure of public affairs hindered his\napplication to the government. Bad news arrived from America, \"about\nthe fleet,\" and therefore Whitefield kept a fast-day at his houses\nof worship.\n\nThe health of our evangelist now sadly failed. He was brought to\nlive on the \"short allowance of preaching but once a day, and thrice\non the Sunday;\" very \"short allowance\" for _him_. Once, however, he\nbroke through the restraint, and preached three times on the success\nof the king of Prussia; which, he says, \"somewhat _recovered_\" him,\nafter he had been for a week at the gates of the grave. He was not\nable this winter to attempt what he considered great things; but\nTottenham Court was his _Bethel_, as he called it. This house was\nthen surrounded by a beautiful piece of ground, and he formed the\nplan of building on it an almshouse for \"twelve godly widows,\"\nas a \"standing monument that the Methodists were not against good\nworks.\" This charity he soon carried into effect. His thoughts,\nhowever, were not confined to home. Although broken down in health\nand spirits, by weakness and want of rest, he watched the affairs of\nPrussia with intense interest, and assured the German Protestants,\nthrough Professor Francke, that \"we looked on their distresses as\nour own.\"\n\nIn the spring of 1758, he laid the foundation-stone of his\nalmshouse, and in June of the same year began to select its inmates.\nPointing to these houses, some years afterwards, he said to a\ngentleman who was visiting him, \"Those are my redoubts. The prayers\nof the poor women who reside in them, protect me in my house.\"\nHaving arranged for the supply of his London pulpits, Whitefield\nwent into the west of England, and proceeded from thence into Wales.\nBut his health was so feeble, that he could not bear to drive, nor\neven ride in a one-horse chaise. The roads were rough, and riding\nshook him nearly to pieces. \"Every thing,\" he says, \"wearies this\nshattered bark now.\" A friend purchased for him a close chaise,\nadvancing the money until he could conveniently repay it. He\ndeeply felt this kindness, because by no other means could he have\nitinerated. \"I would not,\" he says, \"lay out a single farthing but\nfor my blessed Master; but it is inconceivable what I have undergone\nthese three weeks. _I never was so before._ O for a _hearse_ to\ncarry my weary carcass to the wished for grave.\" During all this\ntour he was unable to sit up in company even once; yet he often\npreached to ten or fifteen thousand people, and made their \"tears\nflow like water from the rock.\" His views of himself at this time\nwere more than usually humble. He said to Lady Huntingdon, \"Oh, I\nam sick--sick in body, but infinitely more so in mind, to see so\nmuch dross in my soul. Blessed be God, there is One who will sit as\na refiner's fire, to purify the sons of Levi. I write out of the\nburning bush. Christ is there; Christ is there!\"\n\nAmong the many illustrations of Scripture which Whitefield often\nintroduced into his sermons, one is truly worthy of record.\nPreaching from the words, \"Wherefore, glorify ye the Lord in the\nfires,\" Isa. 24:15, he says, \"When I was, some years ago, at\nShields, I went into a glass-house, and standing very attentively,\nI saw several masses of burning glass of various forms. The workman\ntook one piece of glass, and put it into one furnace, then he put\nit into a second, and then into a third. I asked him, 'Why do you\nput that into so many fires?' He answered me, 'Oh, sir, the first\nwas not hot enough, nor the second, and therefore we put it into the\nthird, and that will make it transparent.' 'Oh,' thought I, 'does\nthis man put this glass into one furnace after another, that it\nmay be rendered perfect? Oh, my God, put me into one furnace after\nanother, that my soul may be transparent, that I may see God as he\nis.'\"\n\nIn the month of July, Whitefield again set out for Scotland,\npreaching on his way in many pulpits, including \"Bishop Bunyan's,\"\nas he used to call him, at Bedford, Berridge's at Everton, and\nDoddridge's at Northampton. Four Episcopal clergymen lent him their\npulpits. His health received, for some time, little benefit, so that\nhe sometimes feared he must return. But he adds, \"Through divine\nstrength, I hope to go forward; and shall strive, as much as in me\nlies, to die in this glorious work.\" He preached and collected in\nScotland with his accustomed energy and success, and returned to\nLondon with his health somewhat renovated. This year he lost by\ndeath some of his earliest and warmest friends, including Hervey in\nEngland, and Presidents Burr and Edwards, and Governor Belcher, in\nAmerica. Such removals gave him also \"a desire to depart,\" but his\nwork on earth was not yet done.\n\nThree principal facts connected with our evangelist may be said to\nmark the year 1759. One was, that he had the satisfaction to clear\noff all his debts for the orphan-house. \"Bethesda's God,\" he writes,\n\"lives for ever, and is faithful and all-sufficient.\" He longed\nagain to visit America, but several difficulties intervened for the\npresent.\n\nA second event which marked the year, was another journey to\nScotland. He complains in his letters, that though his congregations\nat Edinburgh and Glasgow were never more numerous and attentive,\nyet, with respect to the power of religion, it was a dead time in\nScotland, in comparison with London and several other parts of\nEngland. His presence in Scotland, however, at this time was very\nimportant, especially in collecting for his orphan-house and the\nHighland Society for the support of children. Many Scottish soldiers\nwere now in America, which greatly increased the interest felt in\nevery thing relating to it.\n\nIn this year, 1759, Mr. Whitefield also for the first time\nvisited Brighthelmstone, now called Brighton, a very fashionable\nwatering-place, where George IV. afterwards, while regent, built a\ntawdry tasteless palace. The preacher's first sermon was delivered\nunder a tree in a field behind the White Lion inn. Among his\ncongregation on that day was a young man named Tuppen, about\neighteen years of age. He had been educated by a pious mother in\nthe strict observance of the external parts of religion, but was\nentirely destitute of its power. He attended not so much from\ncuriosity, as from the intention to insult and interrupt the\npreacher. He tells us, \"I had therefore provided myself with stones\nin my pocket, if opportunity offered, to pelt the preacher; but\nI had not heard long, before the stone was taken out of my heart\nof flesh; and then the other stones, with shame and weeping, were\ndropped one by one out upon the ground.\" The words, \"Turn ye, turn\nye,\" became the means of turning him from sin to God. Mr. Tuppen\nbecame an excellent Christian minister, and labored as a pastor for\nsome years in Portsmouth. He then removed to the city of Bath, where\nhe originated a congregation, and built a house for public worship.\nHe was succeeded in this important sphere by the late distinguished\nWilliam Jay, who labored there for about sixty-four years.\n\nSuch was the prosperity attendant on the efforts of Messrs.\nWhitefield, Madan, Romaine, Berridge, Venn, and Fletcher, at\nBrighton, that Lady Huntingdon felt it her duty to erect a church\nedifice there, and being unable to do it in any other way, sold her\njewels to the amount of nearly three thousand five hundred dollars.\nThe cause still flourishes there, and very many have been turned to\nrighteousness.\n\nWhile Whitefield's ministry at the Tabernacle was at its height of\npopularity, Foote, a comedian of eminent talent for mimicry, who\nwas frequently in difficulties on account of his love of ridicule,\nby which indeed his life was shortened, employed his wit to bring\nthe distinguished preacher into contempt. One of his biographers\nsays, that \"very pressing embarrassments in his affairs compelled\nhim to bring out his comedy of '_The Minor_,' in 1760, to ridicule\nMethodism, which, though successful, gave great offence, and was at\nlast suppressed.\" Of this miserable piece of buffoonery, it may be\nenough to say, that Foote, and the agents employed at the Tabernacle\nand Tottenham Court-road chapel to collect materials from Whitefield\nfor the accomplishment of their object, were so disgracefully\nignorant of the inspired writings, as not to know that what they\ntook for Mr. Whitefield's peculiar language was that of the word of\nGod.\n\nLady Huntingdon interposed in the matter, first with the Lord\nChamberlain, by whose license alone any play could then be performed\nin London, and then with Mr. Garrick, the latter of whom assured her\nthat he would use his influence to exclude it, and added, that had\nhe been aware of the offence it was adapted to give, it should never\nhave appeared with his concurrence. The representation of this piece\nof mummery, as might have been expected, considerably increased\nWhitefield's popularity, and brought thousands of new persons to\nhear the gospel: thus Providence gave him the victory over his\nopposers.\n\nTo report the sicknesses, the labors, and the successes of\nWhitefield from this time to that of his sixth embarkation for\nAmerica, would be little more than a repetition of the past. Suffice\nit to say, that in England, and in Scotland, he labored amid much\nill-health, and surrounded with many dangers; but at length, having\nfound an Episcopal clergyman, the Rev. John Berridge, a man of\nsomewhat eccentric manners, but of great learning, of eminent piety,\nand of burning zeal, who was willing to labor for a time in London,\nWhitefield set sail in the ship Fanny, Captain Archibald Galbraith,\nbound from Greenock to Virginia, June 1, 1763, and arrived at\nRappahannock, after a tedious, but otherwise pleasant voyage of\nabout twelve weeks, in the last week of August.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XIV.\n\nSIXTH VISIT AND LABORS IN AMERICA--RENEWED LABORS IN GREAT BRITAIN.\n\n1763-1767.\n\n\nWhitefield was now for the sixth time in America. He was twelve\nweeks on the voyage; but though tedious, it had done him good. \"I\nenjoyed,\" he says, \"that quietness which I have in vain sought after\nfor some years on shore.\" Owing to the violence of his asthma, he\nhad set sail \"with but little hopes of farther public usefulness;\"\nbut after being six weeks at sea, he wrote to a friend, \"Who knows\nbut our latter end may _yet_ increase? If not in public usefulness,\nLord Jesus, let it be in heart-holiness. I know who says Amen. I\nadd, Amen and amen.\"\n\nOn his arrival in Virginia, Whitefield was surrounded by many\nChristian friends, the fruits of his former labors in that colony,\nbut whom he had not hitherto known. It was with great difficulty,\nhowever, that he preached to them; for though his general health\nwas better, his breathing was very bad. The months of September,\nOctober, and November, he spent in Philadelphia. He says, \"Here are\nsome young bright witnesses rising up in the church. Perhaps I have\nalready conversed with forty _new creature_ ministers of various\ndenominations. Sixteen popular students, I am credibly informed,\nwere converted in New Jersey college last year. What an open door if\nI had strength! Last Tuesday we had a remarkable season among the\nLutherans; children and grown people were much impressed.\" Ill as he\nwas, he preached twice a week, and with his usual success.\n\nHe intensely desired at this time to visit Georgia, but was\nabsolutely prohibited by his physicians, till he had recovered his\nstrength. In the end of November, therefore, he passed over into New\nJersey, visiting the college, and Elizabethtown. He tells us that\nat the college he had \"four sweet seasons.\" His spirits rose at the\nsight of the young soldiers who were to fight when he had fallen. It\nwas now winter, and \"cold weather and a warm heart\" put him in good\nspirits, so that he was able to preach three times a week.\n\nA young man, a member of the college, hearing that Whitefield was\nto preach in the neighborhood, and being more than a little anxious\nto ascertain whether he really deserved all the celebrity he\nenjoyed, went to hear him. The day was very rainy, and the audience\nwas small; the preacher, accustomed to address thousands, did not\nfeel his powers called forth as at other times. After having heard\nabout one-third part of the sermon, the young man said to himself,\n\"The man is not so great a wonder after all--quite commonplace and\nsuperficial--nothing but show, and not a great deal of that;\" and\nlooking round upon the audience, he saw that they appeared about as\nuninterested as usual, and that old father ----, who sat directly\nin front of the pulpit, and who always went to sleep after hearing\nthe text and plan of the sermon, was enjoying his accustomed nap.\nAbout this time, Whitefield stopped. His face went rapidly through\nmany changes, till it looked more like a rising thunder-cloud than\nany thing else; and beginning very deliberately, he said, \"If I had\ncome to speak to you in my own name, you might rest your elbows upon\nyour knees, and your heads upon your hands, and sleep; and once in a\nwhile look up and say, 'What does the babbler talk of?' But I have\nnot come to you in my own name. No; I have come to you in the name\nof the Lord God of hosts, and\"--here he brought down his hand and\nfoot at once, so as to make the whole house ring--\"and I must, and\nwill be heard.\" Every one in the house started, and old father ----\namong the rest. \"Aye, aye,\" continued the preacher, looking at him,\n\"I have waked you up, have I? I meant to do it. I am not come here\nto preach to stocks and stones; I have come to you in the name of\nthe Lord God of hosts, and I must, and I will have an audience.\" The\ncongregation was fully aroused, and the remaining part of the sermon\nproduced a considerable effect.\n\nFrom New Jersey, Whitefield passed on to New York, where he says,\n\"Such a flocking of all ranks I never saw before at New York....\nPrejudices have most strangely subsided. The better sort flock as\neagerly as the common people, and are fond of coming for private\ngospel conversation. Congregations continue very large, and I trust\nsaving impressions are made upon many.\" Such also was his influence\nas a philanthropist, that though prejudices ran high against the\nIndians, on account of a threatened insurrection in the south, he\ncollected about six hundred dollars for Dr. Wheelock's Indian school\nat Lebanon, Conn., which he soon after visited with much pleasure.\n\nAn extract of a letter from New York, dated Jan. 23, 1754, which\nappeared in the Boston Gazette, may show the esteem in which he was\nheld: \"The Rev. George Whitefield has spent seven weeks with us,\npreaching twice a week, with more general approbation than ever; and\nhas been treated with great respect by many of the gentlemen and\nmerchants of this place. During his stay he preached two charity\nsermons, the one on the occasion of the annual collection for the\npoor, in which double the sum was collected that ever was upon the\nlike occasion; the other was for the benefit of Mr. Wheelock's\nIndian school at Lebanon, for which he collected, notwithstanding\nthe present prejudices of many people against the Indians, the sum\nof one hundred and twenty pounds. In his last sermon, he took a very\naffectionate leave of the people of this city, who expressed great\nconcern at his departure. May God restore this great and good man,\nin whom the gentleman, the Christian, and accomplished orator shine\nforth with such peculiar lustre, to a perfect state of health, and\ncontinue him long a blessing to the world and the church of Christ.\"\n\nLeaving New York, he visited and preached, as far as his strength\nwould allow, at Easthampton Bridge, Hampton, and Southhold, on\nLong Island; at Shelter Island, and at New London, Norwich, and\nProvidence.\n\nWhitefield arrived at Boston in the end of February, 1764, and was\nwelcomed by multitudes with cordial affection; and again he saw \"the\nRedeemer's stately steps in the great congregation.\" Boston at that\ntime was visited with small-pox, and Whitefield therefore devoted\nmuch of his labor to the adjacent towns. Writing from Concord, he\nsays, \"How would you have been delighted to have seen Mr. Wheelock's\nIndians. Such a promising nursery of future missionaries, I believe,\nwas never seen in New England before. Pray encourage it with all\nyour might.\" About two months after his arrival in Boston, his\nillness returned, but did not long prevent him from preaching, and\nthe people still flocked in crowds to hear him. He left Boston for\nthe south; but messengers were sent to entreat his return, and\nespecially urged him to renew his six o'clock morning lecture. He\ndid return, but was now unable to preach at the early hour they\ndesired; he appeared, however, in the pulpit for some time on\nthree occasions in the week, and such was the number of converts\ndiscovered, that after he had left it was proposed to send him a\nbook filled with their names, as desiring his return.\n\nWe ought to have said, that according to the Boston Gazette,\nabout the time of the arrival of Whitefield, \"at a meeting of the\nfreeholders and other inhabitants of the town of Boston, it was\nunanimously voted that the thanks of the town be given to the Rev.\nGeorge Whitefield, for his charitable care and pains in collecting\na considerable sum of money in Great Britain for the distressed\nsufferers by the great fire in Boston, 1760. A respectable committee\nwas appointed to wait on Mr. Whitefield, to inform him of the vote,\nand present him with a copy thereof.\"\n\nNotwithstanding the earnest entreaties of his friends, he left\nBoston in the early part of June. On the first of that month he\nwrote, \"Friends have even constrained me to stay here, for fear of\nrunning into the summer's heat. Hitherto I find the benefit of it.\nWhatever it is owing to, through mercy, I am much better in health\nthan I was this time twelve months, and can preach thrice a week to\nvery large auditories without hurt; and every day I hear of some\nbrought under concern. This is all of grace.\"\n\nSorrowfully parting from his friends at Boston, Whitefield left them\nfor New York by way of New Haven. Here he preached to the students,\nand had taken his leave of them; but such was the impression he had\nmade on their minds, that they requested the president to go after\nhim, to entreat for another \"quarter of an hour's exhortation.\" He\ncomplied with the request, and the effect was what he called \"the\n_crown_ of the expedition.\" He continued at New York till the end of\nAugust. While there he writes, \"At present my health is better than\nusual, and as yet I have felt no inconvenience from the summer's\nheat. I have preached twice lately in the fields, and we sat under\nthe blessed Redeemer's shadow with great delight. My late excursions\nupon Long Island, I trust, have been blessed. It would surprise you\nto see above one hundred carriages at every sermon in the new world.\"\n\nOn his way to Philadelphia, in September, Whitefield preached at the\nNew Jersey college commencement; for which, and for the influence\nhe had exerted in favor of the institution, the trustees sent him\na vote of thanks. His reception at the college was all he could\ndesire. The governor and the ex-governor of the state, with many\nother gentlemen, attended, and every other mark of respect was shown\nhim. At Philadelphia, he describes the effect of his labors as\n\"great indeed,\" and as usual, he was compelled to exclaim, \"Grace,\ngrace!\"\n\nLeaving Pennsylvania, he went on through Virginia; here he tells\nus, in places as \"unlikely as _Rome_ itself,\" he found societies of\nChristians, formed and led on by a wealthy planter of that colony;\nthey met him in a body, wishing publicly to identify themselves with\nhim. \"Surely the _Londoners_,\" he writes, \"who are fed to the full,\nwill not envy the poor souls in these parts. I almost determine to\ncome back in the spring\" from Georgia to them.\n\nOn one occasion, while he was preaching in this colony, a Mr. Allen,\nafterwards a member of the eminent Mr. Davies' church at Hanover,\nand who, with his family, \"addicted himself to the ministry of the\nsaints,\" fell on the ground at full length, suddenly, as if shot\nthrough the heart, and lay for the remainder of the evening as one\nwho was dead. His descendants are now very numerous, and many of\nthem are among the most zealous Christians in that state.\n\nFrom Virginia, Whitefield proceeded to South Carolina, and, Nov.\n22, wrote, \"At Newbern, last Sunday, good impressions were made. I\nhave met with what they call 'New Lights' in almost every place,\nand have the names of several of their preachers.\" Having preached\nat Charleston, he passed on to Bethesda, and had the happiness to\nfind the whole colony in a prosperous condition. Here he spent the\nwinter, and writes, \"Peace and plenty reign at Bethesda. All things\ngo on successfully. God hath given me great favor in the sight of\nthe governor, council, and assembly. A memorial was presented for\nan additional grant of lands, consisting of two thousand acres. It\nwas immediately complied with. Both houses addressed the governor\non behalf of the intended college. A warm answer was given; and I\nam now putting every thing in repair, and getting every thing ready\nfor that purpose. Every heart seems to leap for joy at the prospect\nof its future usefulness to this and the neighboring colonies. He\nwho holdeth the stars in his right hand will direct, in due time,\nwhether I shall directly embark for England, or take one tour more\nto the northward. I am in delightful winter quarters for once. His\nexcellency dined with me yesterday, and expressed his satisfaction\nin the warmest terms. Who knows how many youths may be trained up\nfor the service of the ever-loving and altogether lovely Jesus. Thus\nfar, however, we may set up our Ebenezer. Hitherto the bush hath\nbeen burning, but is not consumed.\" To this statement he adds, \"Mr.\nWright hath done much in a little time; but he hath worked night and\nday, and not stirred a mile for many weeks. Thanks be to God, all\noutward things are settled on this side the water. The auditing the\naccounts, and laying the foundation for a college, hath silenced\nenemies and comforted friends. The finishing of this affair confirms\nmy call to England at this time.\"\n\nBut the intense anxiety of multitudes to hear his preaching,\nprevented Whitefield from leaving America for several months longer.\nHe had, indeed, as early as the middle of February, determined not\nto visit New England till his return from Europe; but arriving at\nCharleston, he was compelled to devote to labors there the whole\nmonth of March, and then set out for Philadelphia, preaching at many\nplaces on his way. He says, \"All the way from Charleston to this\nplace the cry is, 'For Christ's sake, stay and preach to us.' Oh for\na thousand lives to spend for Jesus.\"\n\nThe heat of the weather made it indispensable for his health that\nhe should go to sea, and July 5th he once more arrived in England,\non his last return voyage from America. He says, \"We have had but\na twenty-eight days' passage. The transition has been so sudden,\nthat I can scarcely believe that I am in England. I hope, ere long,\nto have a more sudden transition into a better country.\" When he\narrived in his native land, he was ill of a nervous fever, which\nleft him extremely weak in body, and unable to exert himself as\nformerly. Yet, still intent on his work, he did what he could, in\nexpectation of soon entering into his eternal rest. \"Oh, to end life\nwell!\" he writes; \"methinks I have now but one river to pass over.\nAnd we know of One who can carry us over without being ankle deep.\"\n\nOn Whitefield's arrival in England, he found that his excellent\nfriend the Countess of Huntingdon was erecting a large and beautiful\nchurch edifice in the fashionable city of Bath, and to that place he\nat once repaired. There he found several of his clerical brethren\npreaching in the private chapel at Bretby Hall, belonging to the\nEarl of Chesterfield, who had placed it for the time being at the\ndisposal of Lady Huntingdon. On Whitefield's arrival, this place was\nof necessity exchanged for the Park, where the concourse of people\nwas as vast as ever.\n\nOctober 6, he preached the dedicatory sermon of Lady Huntingdon's\nchurch at Bath, to an immense crowd. To his friend Robert Keen,\nEsq., one of the managers of his London houses, he wrote, \"Could\nyou have come, and have been present at the opening of the chapel,\nyou would have been much pleased. The building is extremely plain,\nand yet equally grand. A most beautiful original! All was conducted\nwith great solemnity. Though a wet day, the place was very full, and\nassuredly the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls consecrated and\nmade it holy ground by his presence.\"\n\nHe made but a short stay at Bath, and returned to London, still\nfeeble and tottering, but still compelled to labor. He had an\ninterview with his old friend John Wesley, who says of him, \"He\nseemed to be an old man, being fairly worn out in his Master's\nservice, though he has hardly seen fifty years; and yet it pleases\nGod that I, who am now in my sixty-third year, find no disorder,\nno weakness, no decay, no difference from what I was at five and\ntwenty, only that I have fewer teeth, and more gray hairs.\" Writing\nto a friend at Sheerness, in Kent, Jan. 18, 1766, Whitefield says,\n\"I am sorry to acquaint you that it is not in my power to comply\nwith your request, for want of more assistance. I am confined in\ntown with the care of two important posts, when I am only fit to be\nput into some garrison among invalids.\" By some means, however, he\nobtained a release, for in March we find him at Bath and Bristol.\nWriting, March 17, he says, \"The uncertainty of my motions has made\nme slow in writing; and a desire to be a while free from London\ncares, has made me indifferent about frequent hearing from thence.\nLast Friday evening, and twice yesterday, I preached at Bath, to\nvery thronged and brilliant auditories.\"\n\nWhitefield's interest in America was not lessened by his absence\nfrom it. He ardently loved it, and wished for the return of its\npeace and prosperity. He hoped, with many others, that the repeal\nof the Stamp Act would lead to this result; hence, we find in his\nLetter-book this entry: \"March 16, 1766, Stamp Act repealed. _Gloria\nDeo._\"\n\nAmong the remarkable men of his day was Samson Occam. He was\ndescended, on his mother's side, from Uncas, chief of the Mohegans.\nHe was born in 1723, of parents who led a wandering life, depending\non hunting and fishing for subsistence. None cultivated their\nlands, all dwelt in wigwams, and Samson was one of the very first\nof the tribe who learned to read. About the year 1740, at the age\nof seventeen, he was converted by the labors of Whitefield, Gilbert\nTennent, and their companions. In a year or two he had learned to\nread his Bible with ease, and to his great advantage. He was a\npupil at the school originally founded by Dr. Wheelock, at Lebanon,\nConn., for the benefit exclusively of Indians, four years, and\nwas then a teacher for eleven years. In 1759, he was ordained by\nthe Suffolk Presbytery, and became an eminently zealous preacher\nto the scattered Mohegans. In 1766, in company with the Rev. Mr.\nWhitaker of Norwich, he went to England to advocate the cause of\nDr. Wheelock's Indian school, which school was afterwards merged in\nDartmouth college, of which Mr. Wheelock was also founder and first\npresident. Occum preached in the churches of Whitefield and Lady\nHuntingdon, as well as in some others of different denominations. We\nremember half a century ago hearing an old lady at Kidderminster,\nthe town of Richard Baxter, describe a scene which occurred in\nFawcett's church in that town. Occum had preached, and a handsome\ncollection had been taken for his object; with tears of gratitude\nand joy the good man thanked them, and in tones which neither the\nweeping nor the mimetic talent of the old lady would allow her fully\nto imitate, assured them that the blessing of many ready to perish\nwould come upon them. The place was a Bochim, and nothing could\nprevent the people from having the plates again carried round, that\nthey might add to the liberal contributions they had already made.\n\nOccum preached in Great Britain from three to four hundred sermons;\nand as no North American Indian had ever preached in England before,\npublic curiosity was great, and his pecuniary success considerable.\nHe brought to this country, with his companion, as the produce of\ntheir labors, more than forty-five thousand dollars. In 1772 he\npublished an interesting sermon which he preached to an Indian at\nhis execution. An excellent portrait of him was published in England.\n\nDr. Timothy Dwight writes, \"I heard Mr. Occum twice. His\ndiscourses, though not proofs of superior talents, were decent;\nand his utterance in some degree eloquent. His character at one\ntime labored under some imputations; yet there is good reason to\nbelieve that most, if not all of them were unfounded; and there is\nsatisfactory evidence that he was a man of piety.\" An account of the\nMontauk Indians, written by Occum, is preserved in the \"Historical\nCollections.\" He died at New Stockbridge, N. Y., July, 1792. It has\nbeen said that the first Sunday-school in these United States was\nfounded in the house of his sister, a few months after his death.\n\nOccum was somewhat of a wit, and could well apply his talent in his\nconflict with the enemies of divine truth. He once ended a long\ncontroversial conversation with a Universalist, by saying, \"Well,\nwell, remember, if you are correct, I am safe; if you are not\ncorrect, I am safe. I have two strings to my bow; you have but one.\"\n\nIn June, 1766, we again find Whitefield in the neighborhood of\nBristol, whence he writes, \"As my feverish heat continues, and the\nweather is too wet to travel, I have complied with the advice of\nfriends, and have commenced a Hot-wells water drinker twice a day.\nHowever, twice this week, at six o'clock in the morning, I have\nbeen enabled to call thirsty souls to come and 'drink of the water\nof life freely.' Tomorrow evening, God willing, the call is to be\nrepeated, and again on Sunday.\" On his return to London, he writes,\nunder date of September 25, \"Many in this metropolis seem to be on\nthe wing for God; the shout of a king is yet heard in the Methodist\ncamp. Had I wings, I would gladly fly from pole to pole; but they\nare clipped by thirty years' feeble labors. Twice or thrice a week\nI am permitted to ascend my gospel throne. The love of Christ, I am\npersuaded, will constrain you to pray that the last glimmering of\nan expiring taper may be blessed to the guiding of many, wandering\nsouls to the Lamb of God.\"\n\nThe good providence of God now gave Whitefield a colleague in the\nministry at the Tabernacle and Tottenham Court-road chapel, the Rev.\nTorial Joss. This gentleman had spent many years as captain at sea;\nconverted by divine grace, and filled with holy zeal, he devoted\nhis popular talents to the welfare of his fellow-men, preaching\nboth on sea and land. In a remarkable manner, Mr. Whitefield became\nacquainted with him, and, without his knowledge, published that he\nwould preach in his houses of worship, which, though with extreme\nreluctance, Joss did. These services were often renewed, and\nWhitefield gave him no rest till he abandoned the sea, and devoted\nhimself to the ministry. Everywhere he was popular, and everywhere\nuseful. He continued minister of the two places in London--spending\nfour or five months in each year travelling and preaching--for\ntwenty-seven years after the death of his friend, and then departed\nfrom earth, in 1797, in holy triumph, in the 66th year of his age.\n\nOne of the most extraordinary men in modern times was the late Rev.\nRowland Hill, who erected Surrey chapel, London, and continued to\npreach in it till his death, in his eighty-ninth year, in 1833. He\nwas eminently dignified in person, possessed extraordinary zeal,\nand was honored by his great Master with probably more success in\nthe direct work of saving souls than any other minister of his day.\nHe was a man of considerable rank, his father being a gentleman of\ntitle, one of his brothers a member of Parliament for many years,\nrepresenting his native county, and the late eminent statesman\nand soldier Lord Hill was his nephew. Mr. Hill himself in early\nlife became a Christian, and was educated for the ministry in the\nestablished church, but violated its rules, and preached wherever he\ncould; for many years he was greatly persecuted by his own family,\nsome of whom, however, in the end sustained the yoke of Christ.\nWhen Rowland began his somewhat erratic career, the opposition from\nhis father was so great, that he was reduced sometimes to extreme\npoverty; and he was exactly the man to be encouraged by such men\nas Whitefield and Berridge. We give a few extracts from letters\naddressed to him by Whitefield, which certainly show no small\ndegree of ardor, though we cannot see in them what Hill's clerical\nbiographer, Mr. Sidney, professed to find, \"an aspiration after the\nhonors, when he had no prospect of the sufferings of martyrdom.\" The\nfact was, that Mr. Sidney was offended with Whitefield, as he was\nwith his venerable uncle, Mr. Hill, for having deviated from the\nrigid laws of the establishment. It is only needful to introduce\nthe first letter by saying that it was dated, London, December 27,\n1766, and was sent in answer to one in which Mr. Hill had asked his\ncounsel.\n\n\"About thirty-four years ago, the master of Pembroke college,\nwhere I was educated, took me to task for visiting the sick and\ngoing to the prisons. In my haste I said, 'Sir, if it displeaseth\nyou I will go no more.' My heart smote me immediately; I repented,\nand went again; he heard of it--threatened--but for fear he should\nbe looked on as a persecutor, let me alone. The hearts of all\nare in the Redeemer's hands. I would not have you give way; no,\nnot for a moment. The storm is too great to hold long. Visiting\nthe sick and imprisoned, and instructing the ignorant, are the\nvery vitals of true and undefiled religion. If threatened, denied\ndegree, or expelled _for this_, it will be the best degree you can\ntake--a glorious preparative for, and a blessed presage of future\nusefulness. I have seen the dreadful consequences of giving way and\nlooking back. How many by this wretched cowardice, and fear of the\ncross, have been turned into pillars, not of useful, but of useless\nsalt. Now is your time to prove the strength of Jesus yours. If\nopposition did not so much abound, your consolations would not so\nabound. Blind as he is, Satan sees some great good coming on. We\nnever prospered so much at Oxford as when we were hissed at and\nreproached as we walked along the streets, as being counted the\ndung and offscouring of all things. That is a poor building which\na little stinking breath of Satan's vassals can throw down. Your\nhouse, I trust, is better founded. Is it not built upon a rock? Is\nnot that rock the blessed Jesus? The gates of hell, therefore, shall\nnot be able to prevail against it. Go on, therefore, my dear man, go\non. Old Berridge, I believe, would give you the same advice; you are\nhonored in sharing his reproach and name. God be praised that you\nare enabled to bless when others blaspheme. God bless and direct and\nsupport you. He will, he will. Good Lady Huntingdon is in town; she\nwill rejoice to hear that you are under the cross. You will not want\nher prayers, or the poor prayers of, my dear honest young friend,\nyours, in an all-conquering Jesus.\"\n\nThe opposition Mr. Hill met with from his parents increased, and\nthe threat of his degree being withheld, was, on the part of\nthe university authorities, more determined; still, however, he\npersevered in his preaching and his visits, in violation of the\nlaws of discipline. In June, 1767, Mr. Whitefield wrote him: \"I\nwish you joy of the late high dignity conferred upon you--higher\nthan if you were made the greatest professor in the university of\nCambridge. The honorable degrees you intend giving to your promising\ncandidates, [allowing some of his fellow-students to preach in the\nvarious places which he had visited,] I trust will excite a holy\nambition, and a holy emulation; let me know who is first honored. As\nI have been admitted to the degree of doctor for near these thirty\nyears, I assure you I like my field preferment, my airy pluralities,\nexceedingly well. For these three weeks last past I have been\nbeating up for fresh recruits in Gloucestershire and South Wales.\nThousands and thousands attended, and good Lady Huntingdon was\npresent at one of our reviews. Her ladyship's aid-de-camp preached\nin Brecknock-street, and Captain Scott, that glorious field-officer,\nlately fixed up his standard upon dear Mr. Fletcher's horseblock\nat Madeley. Being invited thither, I have a great inclination to\nlift up the Redeemer's ensign next week in the same place; with\nwhat success, you and your dearly beloved candidates for good\nold methodistical contempt shall know hereafter. God willing, I\nintend fighting my way up to town. Soon after my arrival there,\nI hope thousands and thousands of volleys of prayers, energetic,\neffectual, fervent, heaven-besieging, heaven-opening, heaven-taking\nprayers, shall be poured forth for you all. Oh, my dearly beloved\nand longed-for in the Lord, my bowels yearn towards you. Fear not\nto go without the camp; keep open the correspondence between the\ntwo universities. Remember the praying legions--they were never\nknown to yield. God bless those that are gone to their respective\n_cures_--I say not _livings_, a term of too modern date. Christ is\nour life; Christ is the Levite's inheritance, and Christ will be the\ntrue disinterested Levite's lot and portion and all. Greet your dear\nyoung companions whom I saw; they are welcome to write when they\nplease. God be your physician under your bodily malady. A thorn, a\nthorn! but Christ's grace will be sufficient for you. To his tender,\nnever-failing mercy I commit you.\"\n\nA few weeks after this, Mr. Hill was much depressed in spirits,\npartly from bodily illness, partly because he was about to leave\nCambridge and its surrounding villages, where he had latterly so\nfrequently preached, but chiefly from the fact that he was going\nhome, where he would again meet the frowns of his honored parents,\nfor what they deemed his overrighteousness. In the midst of all\nthis, however, he knew that he would meet at Hawkstone, his father's\nresidence, the cordial welcome of his sister and elder brother,\nRichard Hill, afterwards a baronet. This gentleman had lately become\na village preacher and a visitor of prisons, like his brother. Under\nthese circumstances he was addressed by Whitefield, in his own\npeculiar and energetic style: \"What said our Lord to Martha? 'Did I\nnot say unto thee, If thou wouldest believe, thou shouldst see the\nglory of God?' Blessed, for ever blessed be the God and Father of\nour Lord Jesus Christ, for what he hath done for your dear brother.\nA preaching, prison-preaching, field-preaching _esquire_, strikes\nmore than all the black gowns and lawn sleeves in the world. And\nif I am not mistaken, the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls will\nlet the world, and his own children too, know that he will not be\nprescribed to in respect to men, or garbs, or places; much less will\nhe be confined to any order or set of men under heaven. I wish you\nboth much, very much prosperity. You will have it--_you will have\nit_. This is the way, walk ye in it. Both Tabernacle and [Tottenham\nCourt-road] chapel pulpits shall be open to a captain or an esquire\nsent of God. The good news from Oxford is encouraging. Say what they\nwill, preaching should be one part of the education of a student in\ndivinity. I pray for you night and day.\"\n\nOn the arrival of Mr. Hill at his father's beautiful seat, it was\nhis happiness to find that his brother Brian, afterwards useful as\na clergyman, was added to the number of believers in Christ; he\nlearned also, that one of his college friends had been threatened\nto have an exhibition, or yearly gift towards his university\nexpenses, withdrawn, unless he renounced his evangelical doctrines\nand practices. The reader will now understand Mr. Whitefield's\nletter: \"I have been sadly hindered from answering your last letter,\ndelivered to me by your brother. I gave it him to read, and we had,\nI trust, a profitable conference. God be praised if another of your\nbrothers is gained. What grace is this! Four or five out of one\nfamily--it is scarcely to be paralleled. Who knows but the root,\nas well as the branches, may be taken by and by? Abba, Father, all\nthings are possible with thee! Steadiness and perseverance in the\nchildren will be one of the best means, under God, of convincing the\nparents. This present opposition I think cannot last very long; if\nit does, to obey God rather than man, when forbidden to do what is\nundoubted duty, is the invariable rule. Our dear Penty [afterwards\nthe Rev. Thomas Pentycross] is under the cross at Cambridge. But\n\n    \"'Satan thwarts, and men object,\n      Yet the thing they thwart effect.'\n\nI should be glad if any one's exhibition was taken from him for\nvisiting the sick, etc. It would vastly tend to the furtherance of\nthe gospel; but Satan sees too far, I imagine, to play such a game\nnow. Let him do his work; he is only a mastiff chained. Continue to\ninform me how he barks, and how far he is permitted to go in your\nparts; and God's people shall be more stirred up to pray for you\nall.\"\n\nThe close of Mr. Hill's life was truly interesting and instructive.\nAs has been intimated, he preached with scarcely diminished power\nuntil within a few weeks of his death. During the last two or three\nyears of his life he very frequently repeated the following lines of\nan old poet:\n\n              \"And when I'm to die,\n               Receive me, I'll cry,\n    For Jesus has loved me, I cannot tell why;\n               But this I can find,\n               We two are so joined,\n    That he'll not be in glory, and leave me behind.\"\n\n\"The last time he occupied my pulpit,\" writes his neighbor, the Rev.\nGeorge Clayton, \"when he preached excellently for an hour, in behalf\nof a charitable institution, he retired to the vestry after service\nunder feelings of great and manifest exhaustion. Here he remained\nuntil every individual except the pew-openers, his servant, and\nmyself had left the place. At length he seemed with some reluctance\nto summon energy enough to take his departure, intimating that it\nwas in all probability the last time he should preach in Walworth.\nHis servant went before to open the carriage-door, the pew-openers\nremaining in the vestry. I offered my arm, which he declined, and\nthen followed him as he passed down the aisle of the chapel. The\nlights were nearly extinguished, the silence was profound, nothing\nindeed was heard but the slow majestic tread of his own footsteps,\nwhen, in an undertone, he thus soliloquized:\n\n                 \"'And when I'm to die,' etc.\n\nTo my heart this was a scene of unequalled solemnity, nor can I ever\nrecur to it without a revival of that hallowed, sacred, shuddering\nsympathy which it originally awakened.\"\n\nWhen the good old saint lay literally dying, and when apparently\nunconscious, a friend put his mouth close to his ear, and repeated\nslowly his favorite lines:\n\n                  \"And when I'm to die,\" etc.\n\nThe light came back to his fast-fading eye, a smile overspread his\nface, and his lips moved in the ineffectual attempt to articulate\nthe words. This was the last sign of consciousness which he gave.\n\nWe could almost wish that every disciple of Christ would commit\nthese lines, quaint as they are, to memory, and weave them into\nthe web of his Christian experience. Confidence in Christ, and\nundeviating adherence to him, can alone enable us to triumph in life\nand death.\n\nIn November, 1766, Whitefield again visited Bath and Bristol, and\nthen passed on to Gloucestershire and Oxford. Never did so many\nof the nobility attend his ministry as he now saw at Bath, and\nthe results of his whole journey were such as to fill him with\nthe most devout gratitude. He saw too the number of his clerical\nfriends largely increasing, and especially rejoiced in the fact\nthat the excellent Fletcher, of Madeley, preached in his pulpits in\nLondon. He writes of this event, \"Dear Mr. Fletcher has become a\n_scandalous_ Tottenham Court preacher.... Were we more scandalous,\nmore good would be done.... Still, 'the shout of a king is yet\nheard' in the Methodist camp.\"\n\nIn January, 1767, Whitefield wrote a recommendatory preface to\nthe works of John Bunyan, whom he pleasantly designated, \"Bishop\nBunyan;\" and as soon as the weather would permit, we find him\nat Norwich, and then at Rodborough, Woodstock, Gloucester, and\nHaverfordwest, from which last place he wrote, \"Thousands and\nthousands attend by eight in the morning. Life and light seem to\nfly all around.\" On a second visit to Gloucester on this tour, he\nwrote, \"Blessed be God, I have got on this side the Welsh mountains.\nBlessed be God, I have been on the other side. What a scene last\nSunday! What a cry for more of the bread of life! But I was quite\nworn down.\"\n\nIn September following, he again visited the north of England,\nwriting from day to day in high spirits. September 28, he says,\n\"My body feels much fatigued in travelling; comforts in the soul\noverbalance;\" and from Leeds, October 3, he writes, \"Field and\nstreet preaching have rather bettered than hurt my bodily health.\"\n\nWhitefield now returned to London, to sustain a heavy\ndisappointment. The negotiations relative to the college at Bethesda\nwere this winter brought to an issue. A memorial addressed to his\nMajesty was put into the hands of the clerk of the Privy Council,\nsetting forth the great utility of a college in that place to the\nsouthern provinces; and praying that a charter might be granted upon\nthe plan of the college in New Jersey. This memorial was transmitted\nby the clerk of the Privy Council to the lord president, and by his\nlordship referred to the Archbishop of Canterbury, to whom also a\ndraft of an intended charter was presented by the Earl of Dartmouth.\nA correspondence followed all this between the archbishop and\nWhitefield; the consequence of which was, that his grace gave the\ndraft of the college to the lord president, who promised he would\nconsider of it; and gave it as his opinion that \"the head of the\ncollege ought to be a member of the church of England; that this was\na qualification not to be dispensed with; and also, that the public\nprayers should not be extempore ones, but the liturgy of the church,\nor some other settled and established form.\" Whitefield replied\nthat these restrictions he could by no means agree to, because the\ngreatest part of the contributions for the orphan-house came from\nProtestant dissenters; and because he had constantly declared that\nthe intended college should be founded upon a broad foundation, and\nno other.\n\n\"This,\" said he, \"I judged I was sufficiently warranted to do,\nfrom the known, long-established, mild, and uncoercive genius of\nthe British government; also from your grace's moderation towards\nProtestant dissenters; from the unconquerable attachment of the\nAmericans to toleration principles, as well as from the avowed\nhabitual feelings of my own heart. This being the case, and as\nyour grace, by your silence, seems to be like-minded with the lord\npresident; and as your grace's and his lordship's influence will\nundoubtedly extend itself to others, I would beg leave, after\nreturning all due acknowledgments, to inform your grace that I\nintend troubling your grace and his lordship no more about this so\nlong depending concern. As it hath pleased the great Head of the\nchurch in some degree to renew my bodily strength, I propose now\nto renew my feeble efforts, and to turn the charity into a more\ngenerous, and consequently into a more useful channel. I have no\nambition to be looked upon as the founder of a college; but I would\nfain act the part of an honest man, a disinterested minister of\nJesus Christ, and a true, catholic, moderate presbyter of the church\nof England.\"\n\nThus ended Whitefield's labors to establish a college at Bethesda.\nBerridge, and not a few others of his friends rather rejoiced in his\ndisappointment, as they thought there was some fear, uncontrolled as\nthe institution might hereafter be by men of established principles\nof piety, that an unconverted ministry might be increased by its\nmeans.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XV.\n\n     HIS LAST LABORS IN GREAT BRITAIN--COLLEGE AT TREVECCA--EARL OF\n     BUCHAN--TUNBRIDGE WELLS.\n\n1767-1769.\n\n\nWhitefield had abandoned the idea of a charter for a college at\npresent, but he was yet ardently desirous of a public academy being\nadded to his orphan-house, similar to what existed at Philadelphia\nbefore a college charter was granted. He thought that if this\ncould be done, a better day might arrive, when a charter on broad\nprinciples might be obtained. He developed his whole plan in a\nletter to Governor Wright. Feeling too the uncertainty of life, he\nwrote to his friend Mr. Keen, \"None but God knows what a concern is\nupon me now, in respect of Bethesda. As another voyage, perhaps, may\nbe the issue and the result of all at last, I would beg you and my\ndear Mr. H---- to let me have all my papers and letters, that I may\nrevise and dispose of them in a proper manner. This can do no hurt,\ncome life or come death.\"\n\nOctober 28th, 1767, Whitefield preached at the London Tabernacle\nbefore the society for promoting religious knowledge among the poor,\nusually called, The Book Society. This society had been organized\nseventeen years before this period, and included in it such men as\nWatts, Doddridge, and Gifford. He gave way to all the zeal of his\nheart while he discussed the petition, \"Thy kingdom come.\" Luke\n11:2. The congregation was immense, many had to go away unable\nto obtain admittance. It was believed that a larger number of\ndissenting ministers were present than ever before heard a sermon\nfrom an Episcopal minister, and the collection reached more than\nfive hundred dollars, or above four times the usual amount, besides\neighty new annual subscribers. After the service, he dined with a\nvery large party, including the ministers, where harmony reigned,\nand much respect was shown him.\n\nIt may be readily supposed, that with advancing years and increasing\nexperience, some changes might have taken place both in the style\nand manner of Whitefield's preaching. The Rev. Cornelius Winter, who\nhad become somewhat closely associated with him, says, \"He dealt\nmore in the explanatory and doctrinal mode on the Sabbath morning\nthan at any other time, and sometimes made a little, but by no means\nan improper show of learning. His afternoon sermon was more general\nand exhortatory. In the evening, he drew his bow at a venture;\nvindicated the doctrines of grace, fenced them with articles and\nhomilies, referred to the martyr's seal, and exemplified the power\nof divine grace by quotations from the venerable Foxe. Sinners were\nthen closely plied, numbers of whom, from curiosity, coming to\nhear for a minute or two, were often compelled to hear the whole\nsermon. How many in the judgment-day will rise to prove that they\nheard to the salvation of the soul. Upon the members of society,\nthe practice of Christianity was then usually inculcated, not\nwithout some pertinent anecdote of a character worthy to be held\nup for an example, and in whose conduct the hints recommended were\nexemplified. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays,\nhe preached at six in the morning; and never, perhaps, did he\npreach greater sermons than at this hour.\" This, with the frequent\nadministration of the Lord's supper to hundreds of communicants, was\nhis usual plan for several years; but now he became more colloquial\nin his style, with but little action; he gave pertinent expositions\nof the Scriptures, with striking remarks, all comprehended within an\nhour. Winter adds, \"The peculiar talents he possessed, subservient\nto great usefulness, can be but faintly conceived from his sermons\nin print; though, as formerly, God has made the reading of them\nuseful, and I have no doubt that in future they will have their use.\"\n\nBut even yet our evangelist had to engage in war. The opposition\nof the universities in Oxford and Cambridge to the principles and\npractices introduced by Whitefield, Wesley, and their companions,\ngrew and strengthened, till an event occurred at Oxford singularly\nremarkable in its history for opposition to evangelical religion,\nwhich for many years continued to excite very extraordinary\ninterest. The London \"St. James' Chronicle,\" of Thursday, March 17,\n1763, contained the following \"extract of a letter from Oxford:\"\n\"On Friday last, six students, belonging to Edmund Hall, were\nexpelled the university, after a hearing of several hours before\nMr. Vice-Chancellor and some of the heads of houses, for holding\nmethodistical tenets, and taking upon them to pray, read, and\nexpound the Scriptures, and singing hymns in a private house.\nThe ---- of the ---- [The Principal of the Edmund Hall, Rev. Dr.\nDixon] defended their doctrines from the Thirty-nine Articles of\nthe established church, and spoke in the highest terms of the piety\nand exemplariness of their lives; but his motion was overruled,\nand sentence pronounced against them. Dr. ----, [Dixon,] one of\nthe heads of houses present, observed, that as these six gentlemen\nwere expelled for having too much religion, it would be very proper\nto inquire into the conduct of some who had too little; and Mr.\n---- [Dr. Nowell] was heard to tell their chief accuser, that the\nuniversity was much obliged to him for his good work.\"\n\nTo detail the events which followed this extraordinary act, and to\ndescribe the excitement thus created, form no part of the design of\nour volume. We have referred to the fact because Mr. Whitefield and\nhis friend Sir Richard Hill took part in the controversy. Referring\nto Dr. Nowell's assertion to Mr. Higson, their \"chief accuser,\" and\nwho was also their tutor, that the university was obliged to him,\nWhitefield says to the Vice-Chancellor, \"What thanks, reverend sir,\nhe may meet with from the whole university I know not; but one thing\nI know, namely, that he will receive no thanks for that day's work\nfrom the innumerable company of angels, the general assembly of the\nfirst-born which are written in heaven, or from God the Judge of\nall, in that day when Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant shall\ncome in his own glory, in the glory of the Father and his holy\nangels, and gather his elect from all the four corners of the world.\n\n\"It is true, indeed, one article of impeachment was, that 'some of\nthem were of _trades_ before they entered into the university.'\nBut what evil or crime worthy of expulsion can there be in that?\nTo be called from any, though the meanest mechanical employment,\nto the study of the liberal arts, where a natural genius hath been\ngiven, was never yet looked upon as a reproach to, or diminution of\nany great and public character whatsoever. Profane history affords\nus a variety of examples of the greatest heroes, who have been\nfetched even from the plough to command armies, and who performed\nthe greatest exploits for their country's good. And if we examine\n_sacred_ history, we shall find that even David, after he was\nanointed king, looked back with sweet complacency to the rock from\nwhence he was hewn, and is not ashamed to leave it upon record, that\nGod took him away from the sheepfolds, as he was following the ewes\ngreat with young; and, as though he loved to repeat it, he took\nhim, he says, 'that he might feed Jacob his people, and Israel his\ninheritance.'\n\n\"But why speak I of David, when Jesus of Nazareth, David's Lord and\nDavid's King, had for his reputed father a carpenter? and in all\nprobability, as it was a common proverb among the Jews, that 'he\nwho did not teach his son a trade, taught him to be a thief,' he\nworked at the trade of a carpenter himself. For this, indeed, he was\nreproached and maligned: 'Is not this,' said they, 'the carpenter's\nson?' Nay, 'Is not this the carpenter?' But who were these\nmaligners? The greatest enemies to the power of godliness which\nthe world ever saw, the scribes and Pharisees, that 'generation of\nvipers,' as John the Baptist calls them, who, upon every occasion,\nwere spitting out their venom, and shooting their arrows, even\nbitter words, against that Son of man, even that Son of God who,\nto display his sovereignty, and confound the wisdom of the worldly\nwise, chose poor fishermen to be his apostles; and whose chief of\nthe apostles, though brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, both before\nand after his call to the apostleship, labored with his own hands,\nand worked at the trade of a tent-maker.\"\n\nIt is pleasant to know that the young men thus expelled became\nuseful in the church of Christ. One of them, indeed, Erasmus\nMiddleton, who had been sustained at Oxford by Mr. Fuller, a\ndissenter and banker in London, was ordained in Ireland by the\nbishop of Down, and having married a lady of the ducal family of\nGordon, in Scotland, was curate successively to the Rev. Messrs.\nRomaine and Cadogan in London, and finally rector of Turvey, in\nBedfordshire, where he was the immediate predecessor of the sainted\nLegh Richmond.\n\nMany delightful evidences yet exist that as Whitefield drew nearer\nthe end of his career on earth, his holy zeal increased, rather\nthan lessened. We have lying before us three of his letters, not\nincluded either in the collection of his printed correspondence, or\nin the lives which have been published. The first was addressed to a\ngentleman at Wisbeach, and appears to have been written from London.\nIt is dated Sept. 25, 1766.\n\n\"DEAR SIR--As your letter breathes the spirit of a sincere\nfollower of the Lamb of God, I am sorry that it hath lain by\nso long unanswered; but bodily weakness, and a multiplicity of\ncorrespondents, both from abroad and at home, must be pleaded\nas excuses. 'Blessed be God, our salvation is nearer than when\nwe believed.' It should seem that you have now served three\napprenticeships in Christ's school, and yet I suppose the language\nof your heart is, 'I love my Master, and will not go from him;' and\nOh, what a mercy, that whom Jesus loves, he loves to the end! Do you\nnot begin to long to see him more than ever? Do you not groan in\nthis tabernacle, being burdened? Courage, courage; he that cometh\nwill come, and will not tarry. Oh that patience may have its perfect\nwork! Many in this metropolis seem to be on the wing for God; the\nshout of a king is yet heard in the Methodist camp. Had I wings, I\nwould gladly fly from pole to pole; but they are clipped by thirty\nyears' feeble labors. Twice or thrice a week I am permitted to\nascend my gospel throne. The love of Christ, I am persuaded, will\nconstrain you to pray that the last glimmering of an expiring taper\nmay be blessed to the guiding of many wandering souls to the Lamb of\nGod.\"\n\nThe second letter was written from the same city, February 12, in\nthe following year, and was addressed to Captain Scott, a military\nofficer then \"quartered at Leicester.\" This gentleman, in early\nlife, had been much devoted to the gayeties of fashionable society;\nlong after he had entered the army, he was converted to God, under\nthe ministry of the Rev. W. Romaine; and a few weeks before Mr.\nWhitefield addressed to him this letter, he had begun to preach the\ngrand message of reconciliation. He afterwards left the army, was\nordained as a Congregational minister, and labored for many years in\nalmost innumerable places in city and country, with abundant success.\n\n\"What, not answer so modest a request, namely, to snatch a few\nmoments to send dear Captain Scott a few lines? God forbid. I must\nagain welcome him into the field of battle. I must again entreat\nhim to keep his rank as captain, and not suffer any persuasions to\ninfluence him to descend to the low degree of a common soldier. If\nGod will choose a red-coat preacher, who shall say unto him, 'What\ndoest thou?'\n\n    \"Prevent thy foes, nor wait their charge;\n     But call the lingering battle on;\n     But strongly grasp thy seven-fold targe,\n     And bear the world and Satan down.\n\n    \"Strong in the Lord's almighty power,\n     And armed in panoply divine,\n     Firm mayest thou stand in danger's hour,\n     And prove the strength of Jesus thine.\n\n    \"The helmet of salvation take,\n     The Lord the Spirit's conquering sword;\n     Speak from the word, in lightning speak;\n     Cry out, and thunder from the Lord.\n\n    \"Through friends and foes pursue thy way,\n     Be mindful of a dying God;\n     Finish thy course, and win the day,\n     Though called to seal the truth with blood.\n\n\"Gladly would I come, and in my poor way endeavor to strengthen your\nhands; but alas, I am fit for nothing, but, as an invalid, to be\nput into some garrison, and now and then put my hand to some old\ngun. Blessed be the Captain of our salvation for drafting out some\nyoung champions to reconnoitre and attack the enemy. You will beat\nthe march in every letter, and bid the common soldiers not halt, but\ngo forwards. Good Lady Huntingdon wishes you much prosperity. Pray\nwrite to her at Brighthelmstone, [now Brighton,] Sussex. She will\nmost gladly answer you; and I assure you, her Ladyship's letters\nare always weighty. Hoping one day or another to see your face in\nthe flesh, and more than hoping to see you crowned with glory in\nthe kingdom of heaven, I must hasten to subscribe myself, my dear\ncaptain, yours in our all-glorious Captain-general,\n\n  \"G. WHITEFIELD.\"\n\nThe last letter we shall introduce in this connection was addressed\nby Whitefield to the Honorable and Rev. Walter Shirley, of Ireland,\na near relative of the Countess of Huntingdon, who breathed, as a\nminister of Christ, much of the spirit of his great Master. It was\ndated, Bath, Dec. 8, 1767:\n\n\"REV. AND VERY DEAR SIR--How glad was I to hear by the London\nShunamite, [Mrs. Herritage,] that you and your lady were well;\nthat God had given you a son; that you reflected on your preaching\nat Tottenham Court chapel with pleasure; that you had gotten a\ncurate; and, to complete all, that you intended to visit England\nnext spring. This news rejoiced me before I left town, and was most\ngrateful to our good Lady Huntingdon, whom I have the honor of\nwaiting upon at this time in Bath. She hath been sick, nigh unto\ndeath, but through mercy is now somewhat recovered, though as\nyet unable to write much. This her ladyship much regrets on your\naccount; and therefore enjoins me to inform you, that your letter\ndid not reach her hands till many weeks after the proper time; that\never since she has been visited with lingering sickness, but begs\nyou will not linger in coming over to our Macedonia to help us. The\nthought of it seems to refresh her heaven-born soul. Blessed be God,\nher ladyship still takes the lead.\n\n\"She is now doing honor to the remains of the Earl of Buchan, who\nsweetly slept in Jesus last week. All hath been awful, and more\nthan awful. On Saturday evening, before the corpse was taken from\nBuchan house, a word of exhortation was given, and a hymn sung\nin the room where the corpse lay. The young Earl stood with his\nhands on the head of the coffin, the Countess Dowager of Buchan\non his right hand, Lady Ann Agnes, and Lady Isabella Erskine on\nhis left, and their brother the Hon. Thomas Erskine next to their\nmother, with Miss O----, Miss W----, Miss G----; on one side\nall the domestics, with a few friends on the other. The word of\nexhortation was received with great solemnity, and most wept under\nthe parting prayer. At ten, the corpse was removed to good Lady\nHuntingdon's chapel, where it was deposited within a place railed in\nfor that purpose, covered with black baize, and the usual funeral\nconcomitants, except escutcheons.\n\n\"On Sunday morning, all attended in mourning at early sacrament.\nThey were seated by themselves, at the feet of the corpse, and with\ntheir head servants, received first, and a particular address was\nmade to them. Immediately after receiving, these verses were sung\nfor them:\n\n    \"'Our lives, our blood, we here present,\n      If for thy truth they may be spent:\n      Fulfil thy glorious counsel, Lord;\n      Thy will be done, thy name adored.\n\n    \"'Give them thy strength, O God of power,\n      Then let men rave or devils roar,\n      Thy faithful witnesses they'll be;\n      'Tis fixed, they can do all through thee!'\n\n\"Then they received this blessing: 'The Lord bless you, and keep\nyou; the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you; the\nLord cause his face to shine upon you, and give you peace;' and so\nreturned to their places.\n\n\"Sacrament ended, and a blessed sacrament it was, the noble mourners\nreturned to the good Countess of Huntingdon's house, which was lent\nthem for the day. At eleven, public worship began. The bereaved\nrelatives sat in order within, and the domestics round the outside\nof the rail. The chapel was more than crowded. Near three hundred\ntickets, signed by the present earl, were given out to the nobility\nand gentry, to be admitted. All was hushed and solemn. Proper hymns\nwere sung, and I preached on the words, 'Blessed are the dead that\ndie in the Lord.' Attention sat on every countenance, and deep\nand almost universal impressions were made. The like scene, and\nif possible more solemn, was exhibited in the evening, and I was\nenabled to preach a second time, and a like power attended the word\nas in the morning. Ever since, there hath been public service and\npreaching twice a day. This is to be continued till Friday morning,\nthen all is to be removed to Bristol, in order to be shipped off to\nScotland. The inscription on the coffin runs thus: 'His life was\nhonorable--his death blessed--he sought earnestly peace with God--he\nfound it, with unspeakable joy, alone in the merits of Jesus Christ,\nwitnessed by the Holy Spirit to his soul--he yet speaketh. Go and do\nlikewise.'\n\n\"I have often wished for you here. Congregations are very large,\nattentive, and deeply impressed. Great numbers of all ranks crowd\nto see and hear; and I trust many will also feel. Surely the death\nof this noble earl, thus improved, will prove the life of many.\nHe behaved like the patriarch Jacob, when by faith, leaning upon\nhis staff, he blessed his children. The earl added, 'Yea, and they\nshall be blessed.' He laid his hands on, and blessed his children,\nassuring them of his personal interest in Jesus. He had great\nforetastes of heaven. 'Had I strength of body,' cried he, 'I would\nnot be ashamed, before men and angels, to tell what the Lord Jesus\nhath done for my soul. Come, Holy Ghost--come, Holy Ghost; happy,\nhappy, happy!' and then sweetly slept in Jesus. All surviving\nrelatives still feel the influence. They sit round the corpse,\nattended by their domestics and supporters, twice a day. Good Lady\nS---- gets fresh spirits. The present noble earl, I believe, hath\ngot the blessing indeed, and seems, upon the best evidence, to\ndetermine to know nothing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified. He\nhath behaved in the most delicate manner to the Countess, and other\nnoble survivors.\"\n\nThe summer of 1768 brought to Whitefield a series of changes.\nFor the last time he now visited Edinburgh, where he found his\ncongregations as large, and his Christian friends as affectionate\nas ever. Soon after his return to London, Mrs. Whitefield was\nseized with inflammatory fever, and died, as we have already seen,\non the 9th of August. His own health too was more than declining.\nHe writes, \"I have been in hopes of my own departure. Through hard\nwriting, and frequent preaching, I have burst a vein. The flux is\nin a great measure stopped; but rest and quietness are strictly\nenjoined.\"\n\n\"Rest and quietness!\" With Whitefield such things were impossible as\nlong as he could move or speak. His fire must burn till its whole\nmaterial was expended; his heart overflowed, and he must labor till\nhis body sank under exhaustion. No persecution could appall him, no\nsickness could long keep him from his beloved engagements. He would\npreach till he died, being fully assured that his \"labor was not in\nvain in the Lord.\"\n\nNeither Whitefield nor any of his friends could ever be the\nadvocates of an unlearned ministry. Many of the men engaged under\nhis direction, and preaching in what was already called \"Lady\nHuntingdon's connection,\" needed, as they well knew, a better\neducation than they possessed. Hence her ladyship obtained a lease\nof an old structure, supposed to have been part of an ancient\ncastle erected in the reign of Henry the Second. The date over the\nentrance, now almost effaced, is 1176. It was called Trevecca House,\nwas situated in the parish of Talgarth, in South Wales, and was for\nsome time the residence of Howel Harris. This building was opened\nas a college for religious and literary instruction, and the chapel\ndedicated to the preaching of the everlasting gospel, Aug. 24, 1768,\nthe anniversary of the Bartholomew act, and of the birth of her\nladyship. Mr. Whitefield preached from Exod. 24:24: \"In all places\nwhere I record my name, I will come unto thee and bless thee;\"\nand on the following Sabbath he addressed a congregation of some\nthousands, who assembled in the court before the college. His text\non that occasion was, \"Other foundation can no man lay than that is\nlaid, which is Jesus Christ.\" When speaking of the dedication of the\ncollege, Mr. Whitefield says, \"What we have seen and felt at the\ncollege is unspeakable.\"\n\nAfter her ladyship's death the institution was removed to Cheshunt,\nabout thirteen miles north of London, where it still flourishes\nunder the presidency of the Rev. Dr. W. H. Stowell.\n\nIn the early part of 1769, Mr. Whitefield was for some weeks\nseriously ill, but towards the close of March, he was able to\nwrite, \"Through infinite mercy I have been able to preach four\ndays successively.\" During his illness he received many offers of\nassistance from his brethren in the ministry, but from none more\ncordially than from the Honorable and Rev. Mr. Shirley. Writing to\nhim, April 1, Whitefield says:\n\n\"How much am I obliged to you for your two kind letters, and more\nespecially for the repeated offers of your ministerial assistance.\nThey will be most gratefully accepted, and, I humbly hope, be\nremarkably succeeded by Him who hath promised to be with us always,\neven unto the end of the world. Blessed be His name, we have been\nfavored with most delightful passover feasts. The shout of the\nKing of kings is still heard in the midst of our Methodist camps;\nand the shout of, Grace, grace! resounds from many quarters. Our\nalmighty Jesus knows how to build his temple in troublous times. His\nwork prospers in the hands of the elect countess, who is gone to\nBath, much recovered from her late indisposition. Worthy Lady Fanny\nShirley proposes soon to follow, in order to reside there. Some more\ncoronets, I hear, are likely to be laid at the Redeemer's feet. They\nglitter gloriously when set in and surrounded by a _crown of thorns_.\n\n    \"'Subjects of the Lord, be bold;\n      esus will his kingdom hold;\n      Wheels encircling wheels must run,\n      Each in course to bring it on.'\"\n\nThat the friendship of Dr. Franklin towards Mr. Whitefield was\nsincere, cannot be doubted; there is, however, somewhat painful\nin the thought, that even in this connection Franklin could not\nconceal his scepticism. In 1769 both these eminent men were in\nLondon, and every one knows that the state of our country was very\ntrying. Franklin thus wrote to Whitefield: \"I am under continued\napprehensions that we may have bad news from America. The sending\nsoldiers to Boston always appeared to me a dangerous step; they\ncould do no good, they might occasion mischief. When I consider\nthe warm resentment of a people who think themselves injured and\noppressed, and the common insolence of the soldiery, who are taught\nto consider that people as in rebellion, I cannot but fear the\nconsequences of bringing them together. It seems like setting up\na smith's forge in a magazine of gunpowder. I _see_ with you that\nour affairs are not well managed by our rulers here below; I wish I\ncould _believe_ with you, that they are well attended to by those\nabove: I rather suspect, from certain circumstances, that though\nthe general government of the universe is well administered, our\nparticular little affairs are perhaps below notice, and left to take\nthe chance of human prudence or imprudence, as either may happen to\nbe uppermost. It is, however, an uncomfortable thought, and I leave\nit.\"\n\nIt would have been strange indeed if Whitefield had allowed a\nletter closing in this manner to pass without a remark; hence we\nare prepared to find that, in his own handwriting, at the foot\nof the autograph letter, he wrote, \"_Uncomfortable_ indeed! and,\nblessed be God, _unscriptural_; for we are fully assured that 'the\nLord reigneth,' and are directed to cast _all_ our own care on him,\nbecause he careth for us.\" Could Dr. Franklin have seen the splendid\nresults of that management which he thought indicated the absence of\na particular providence--could he have beheld the vast Republic, the\nabode of liberty, commerce, literature, and religion, which in less\nthan a century has grown out of the insurgent colonies--he would\nsurely have exclaimed, in the language of the prophet, \"Verily there\nis a God in the earth!\"\n\nIn July, Whitefield was called by Lady Huntingdon to visit Tunbridge\nWells, a popular watering place in Kent, some twenty or thirty miles\nfrom London, to dedicate a new and beautiful house to the service\nof God. The congregation was far too large to be accommodated within\nthe walls; he therefore preached out of doors from a mount in the\ncourt before the house. His text was, \"This is none other but the\nhouse of God, and this is the gate of heaven.\" Gen. 28:17. This\nsermon is said to have been one of his most eloquent and thrilling\nefforts; the lofty energy of his tones, the utter forgetfulness\nof himself in the all-absorbing interest of his subject, the very\nimpersonation of the truths which he uttered as he stretched forth\nhis hand, \"Look yonder; what is that I see? It is my agonizing Lord!\nHark, hark! do you not hear? O earth, earth, earth, hear the word\nof the Lord!\" thrilled the vast congregation, riveting the eye,\npiercing the conscience, and holding strong men breathless before\nthe resistless might of his inspired eloquence. After the service\nhe delivered an exhortation, and on the next day again preached and\nadministered the Lord's supper.\n\nHe now began to prepare for his _seventh_, and as it proved, his\n_last_ voyage to America, especially to visit his beloved orphans\nand friends in Georgia. The only thing which seems to have grieved\nhim, was the pain of parting for a time from his London friends.\nThis was nothing new, but his feelings were even less reconciled to\nthe event than formerly. \"Oh,\" he says, \"these partings! without\na divine support they would be intolerable. Talk not of taking\n_personal_ leave; you know my _make_. Paul could stand a whipping,\nbut not a weeping farewell.\"\n\nThe text of his last sermon was John 10:27, 28: \"My sheep hear my\nvoice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them\neternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man\npluck them out of my hand.\" The sermon was printed, and that very\nincorrectly; but a few sentences will show that it was strikingly\ncharacteristic: \"These words, it will be recollected, were uttered\nby Christ at the feast of dedication. This festival was of bare\nhuman invention, and yet I do not find that our Lord preached\nagainst it. And I believe that when we see things as we ought, we\nshall not entertain our auditories about rites and ceremonies,\nbut about the grand thing. It is the glory of Methodists, that\nwhile they have been preaching forty years, there has not been,\nthat I know of, one single pamphlet published by them about the\nnon-essentials of religion.... The Lord divides the world into\nsheep and goats. O sinners, you are come to hear a poor creature\ntake his last farewell; but I want you to forget the creature and\nhis preaching. I want to lead you further than the Tabernacle--even\nto mount Calvary, to see with what expense of blood Jesus Christ\npurchased 'his own.' Now, before I go any further, will you be so\ngood, before the world gets into your hearts, to inquire whether\nyou belong to Christ or not. Surely the world did not get into\nyour hearts before you rose from your beds. Many of you were up\nsooner than usual. [The sermon was preached at seven o'clock in the\nmorning.] I hope the world does not get into your hearts before\nnine. Man, woman, sinner, put thy hand upon thy heart, and say,\nDidst thou ever hear Christ's voice so as to follow him?... I once\nheard Dr. Marryatt, who was not ashamed of 'market language,' say\nat Pinner's Hall, 'God has a great dog to fetch his sheep back\nwhen they wander.' He sends the devil after them, to bark at them;\nbut instead of barking them further off, he barks them back to the\nfold.... 'None shall pluck them out of my hand.' This implies that\nthere is always somebody plucking at Christ's sheep. The lust of the\nflesh is plucking; the pride of life is plucking; and the devil is\ncontinually plucking at them; 'but nothing shall pluck them out of\nmy hand;' I have bought them, and am gone to heaven to 'prepare a\nplace for them.'\"\n\nOf this sermon, as taken in shorthand and printed, Whitefield\nreceived a copy while at Deal, and was much dissatisfied with it. He\nsays, \"This morning I received a surreptitious copy of my Tabernacle\nfarewell sermon, taken, as the shorthand writer professes,\nverbatim as I spoke it. But surely he is mistaken. The whole is so\ninjudiciously paragraphed, and so wretchedly unconnected, that I\nowe no thanks to the misguided, though it may be well-meant zeal of\nthe writer and publisher, be they who they will.\" Had Whitefield\nknown that the lad of seventeen who had thus taken down his sermon,\nwould hereafter become a devoted and useful minister of Christ, the\nsecretary of the London Missionary Society, the originator of the\nLondon Religious Tract Society, and for many years the editor of the\nLondon Evangelical Magazine, and the author of \"Village Sermons,\"\nwhich have circulated by hundreds of thousands of volumes in both\nhemispheres, how would his heart have warmed towards him. Let us\ncopy from the journal of George Burder, as given in his life by his\nson, the Rev. Dr. H. F. Burder, a short passage:\n\n\"August, 1769. About this time I heard Mr. Whitefield preach\nseveral sermons, particularly his two last in London; that at\nTottenham Court chapel on Sabbath morning, and that at the\nTabernacle on Wednesday morning at seven o'clock. I remember a\nthought which passed my mind, I think, as I was going to hear his\nlast sermon--'Which would I rather be, Garrick or Whitefield?' I\nthought each, in point of oratory, admirable in his way. I doubt not\nconscience told me which was best. I wrote Mr. Whitefield's sermons\nin shorthand, though standing in a crowd. The latter I copied out,\nand by the request of a friend it was printed in about a week. I\nremember sitting up part of a night to write it out, and at the same\ntime I observed the comet which then appeared. The sermon was very\nincorrect, and Mr. Whitefield being detained at Deal before he left\nEngland, saw it, and complained of it.\"\n\nBefore we entirely separate from the Tabernacle, we wish to record\nsome other interesting facts associated with it, especially relating\nto Thomas Wilson, Esq., for many years the treasurer of Hoxton,\nafterwards Highbury, college, who gave the ground on which the\nlatter building stands, devoted his fortune to the extension of the\ncause of Christ, and in addition to many other noble acts, erected\nfive large houses of worship in the British metropolis, capable of\nseating eight thousand persons. The father of this gentleman was for\nmany years a devoted deacon of a Congregational church, but entered\ninto full sympathy with the labors of Whitefield, attending the\nTabernacle on Lord's-day evenings. \"To this circumstance, perhaps,\nmay be traced much of his own zeal for the glory of God, and no\ninconsiderable portion of that public spirit which afterwards\ndistinguished his son Thomas, who well remembered being carried\nin his nurse's arms, in company with his parents, to the scene of\nWhitefield's ministry, and listening with such interest as one so\nyoung was likely to feel, to a preacher of surpassing eloquence\nand power.\" The Rev. Dr. Morison, one of his biographers, adds:\n\"Thus did he imbibe in early life a strong prepossession for\nanimated public address, which he never lost in after-years, and\nwhich he never failed to urge upon all youthful candidates for the\nsacred office. As might have been expected, the Tabernacle became\nhis Sabbath home, where he was wont to listen to men of fervent\neloquence, and of purely evangelical sentiment. He entered, while\nvery young, into communion with the church in that place, and\nafforded a pleasing example of early and consistent dedication to\nthe service of Christ.\"\n\nHaving finished the service of the Tabernacle which we just now\ndescribed, Whitefield went immediately to Gravesend, twenty miles\nfrom London, to set sail, embarking in the Friendship, Captain\nBall, for Charleston. His companions on the voyage were Messrs.\nWinter and Smith, both of them young ministers of lively zeal; and\nthe former especially, was distinguished in after-life by great\nsuccess in his labors for Christ and his church. Whitefield wrote,\n\"I am comfortable on every side--a civil captain and passengers;\nall willing to attend on divine worship, and to hear of religious\nthings.\"\n\nBut delay was the lot of our evangelist and his friends. They\narrived in the Downs, and had to stay there about a month waiting\nfor a fair wind. While here, he was delighted with a most unexpected\nvisit from Dr. Gibbons of London, and the Rev. Mr. Bradbury of\nRamsgate, who had met at Deal to ordain a young minister. He says,\n\"Wednesday, Sept. 13, I went on shore, and attended an ordination\nsolemnity at the dissenting meeting. Several ministers officiated.\nSeveral important questions were asked and answered before, and\na solemn charge given after imposition of hands. But the prayer\nput up in the very act of laying on of hands, by Dr. Gibbons, was\nso affecting, and the looks and behavior of those that joined so\nserious and solemn, that I hardly know when I was more struck under\nany one's ministration. The ordination being over, at the desire\nof the ministers and other gentlemen, I went and dined with them:\nour conversation was edifying; and being informed that many were\ndesirous to hear me preach, I willingly complied; and I trust some\nseed was sown the same evening at Deal, which, by God's heavenly\nblessing, will spring up to life eternal. The people of Deal seemed\nvery civil, and some came to me who had not forgotten my preaching\nto them, and their deceased friends and parents, thirty-two years\nago.\"\n\nWhitefield tells a somewhat amusing anecdote of Dr. Gibbons, on one\nof his visits on board. The worthy doctor was unused to the sea,\nand became sea-sick, so that he was obliged to lie down for some\ntime in the state-cabin. \"There,\" says our evangelist, \"he learned\nmore experimentally to pray for those who do business in the great\nwaters.\" While yet in the Downs, Whitefield preached not only on\nboard, but at Ramsgate and elsewhere. On September 25, in company\nwith many other ships, they sailed, but soon were again compelled\nto cast anchor over against New Romney and Dungenness. At length,\nhowever, they cleared the channel, and after a long and dangerous\nvoyage arrived safe at Charleston, S. C. Happily, Whitefield's\nhealth had become greatly renovated, so that he felt better than\nafter any voyage he had made for many years. In his memorandum he\nwrote:\n\n\"November, 1769. For the last week we were beating about our port,\nwithin sight of it, and continued for two days in Five-fathom hole,\njust over the bar. A dangerous situation, as the wind blew hard, and\nour ship, like a young Christian, for want of more ballast, would\nnot obey the helm. But through infinite mercy, on November 30, a\npilot-boat came and took us safe ashore to Charleston, having been\non board almost thirteen weeks. Friends received me most cordially.\nPraise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his mercies. Oh, to\nbegin to be a Christian and minister of Jesus!\" On the very day of\nhis landing, Whitefield preached at Charleston, and learned from his\nfriend Mr. Wright that all was well at Bethesda.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVI.\n\nSEVENTH VISIT AND LABORS IN AMERICA--DEATH.\n\n1769, 1770.\n\n\nWhitefield now lost no time in proceeding to his beloved Bethesda,\nwhich at present wore a very inviting aspect. Writing, January 11,\n1770, he says, \"Every thing exceeds my most sanguine expectations.\nI am almost tempted to say, 'It is good for me to be here;' but all\nmust give way to gospel ranging--divine employ!\n\n    \"'For this, let men revile my name,\n      I'll shun no cross, I'll fear no shame;\n      All hail, reproach!'\"\n\nIn another letter he says, \"The increase of this colony is almost\nincredible. Two wings are added to the orphan-house, for the\naccommodation of students; of which Governor Wright laid the\nfoundation, March 25, 1769.\"\n\nAn official paper of the Georgia legislature will show the esteem in\nwhich Whitefield was held by that body.\n\n\"Commons House of Assembly, Monday, Jan. 29, 1770. Mr. Speaker\nreported, that he, with the house, having waited on the Rev. Mr.\nWhitefield, in consequence of his invitation, at the orphan-house\nacademy, heard him preach a very suitable and pious sermon on the\noccasion; and with great pleasure observed the promising appearance\nof improvement towards the good purposes intended, and the decency\nand propriety of behavior of the several residents there; and\nwere sensibly affected, when they saw the happy success which has\nattended Whitefield's indefatigable zeal for promoting the welfare\nof the province in general, and the orphan-house in particular.\nOrdered, that this report be printed in the Gazette.\n\n  \"JOHN SIMPSON, Clerk.\"\n\nIn pursuance of this vote, we find in the Georgia Gazette as\nfollows: \"Savannah, January 31, 1770. Last Sunday, his Excellency\nthe Governor, Council, and Assembly, having been invited by the\nRev. Mr. Whitefield, attended divine service in the chapel of the\norphan-house academy, where prayers were read by the Rev. Mr.\nEllington, and a very suitable sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr.\nWhitefield, from Zechariah 4:10, 'For who hath despised the day\nof small things?' to the great satisfaction of the auditory; in\nwhich he took occasion to mention the many discouragements he met\nwith, well known to many there, in carrying on the institution for\nupwards of thirty years past, and the present promising prospect of\nits future and more extensive usefulness. After divine service, the\ncompany were very politely entertained with a handsome and plentiful\ndinner; and were greatly pleased to see the useful improvements\nmade in the house, the two additional wings of apartments for\nstudents, one hundred and fifty feet each in length, and other\nlesser buildings, in so much forwardness; and the whole executed\nwith taste, and in so masterly a manner; and being sensible of\nthe truly generous and disinterested benefactions derived to the\nprovince through his means, they expressed their gratitude in the\nmost respectful terms.\"\n\nOn February 10, we find a letter written at Charleston by Whitefield\nto his friend Mr. Robert Keen of London:\n\n\"Through infinite mercy, this leaves me enjoying a greater share of\nbodily health than I have known for many years. I am now enabled\nto preach almost every day, and my poor feeble labors seem not to\nbe in vain in the Lord. Blessed be God, all things are in great\nforwardness at Bethesda. I have conversed with the governor in the\nmost explicit manner, more than once, concerning an act of Assembly\nfor the establishment of the intended orphan-house college. He most\nreadily consents. I have shown him a draft, which he much approves\nof, and all will be finished at my return from the northward; in the\nmeanwhile the building will be carried on. As two ministers from New\nJersey and Rhode Island have been soliciting benefactions for their\nrespective colleges, no application of that nature can be made here;\nbut the Lord will provide.... Since my being in Charleston, I have\nshown the draft to some persons of great eminence and influence.\nThey highly approve of it, and willingly consent to be some of the\nwardens. Nearly twenty are to be of Georgia, and about six of this\nplace; one of Philadelphia, one of New York, one of Boston, three of\nEdinburgh, two of Glasgow, and six of London. Those of Georgia and\nSouth Carolina are to be qualified; the others to be only honorary\ncorresponding wardens.\"\n\nTwo days afterwards he again writes to the same friend, \"In a few\nmonths, I hope all will be completed. But what may these few months\nproduce? Lord Jesus, prepare us for whatsoever thou hast prepared\nfor us, and give peace in our time, for thine infinite mercy's sake.\nYou must expect another draft soon. God be praised for that saying,\n'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' You would be pleased\nto see with what attention the people hear the word preached. I have\nbeen in Charleston near a fortnight--am to preach at a neighboring\ncountry parish church next Sunday, and hope to see Georgia the week\nfollowing. Perhaps I may sail from thence to the northward, and\nperhaps embark from thence. Lord Jesus, direct my goings in thy way.\nI am blessed with bodily health, and am enabled to go on my way\nrejoicing. Grace, grace!\"\n\nOn returning to Bethesda, his heart seems to have been full of the\norphan-house and the college. For the direction of the latter, he\nprepared a series of rules, and especially provided for the reading\nof the old Puritan and Non-conformist writers of the seventeenth and\neighteenth centuries. Every letter he wrote contained references\nto the improved state of his health, and the increased number of\npreaching engagements which he was now able to fulfil. His spirits\nseem to have been better, and his exultations in the divine kindness\nmore ardent than ever, while his correspondence indicates much\nheavenly-mindedness, and lively desires for the highest happiness of\nhis friends.\n\nAs Whitefield had now been in the south more than five months, we\nare not surprised to find that applications poured in from every\npart of the north, entreating him to revisit the scenes of other\nyears. He left Bethesda and its affairs in the hands of persons\nworthy of his confidence, of whom he said, \"Such a set of helpers I\nnever met with.\"\n\nAfter some hesitation as to where he should first go, he set out\nfor Philadelphia, where he arrived on the 6th of May. Writing three\ndays afterwards, he says, \"The evening following, I was enabled to\npreach to a large auditory, and have to repeat the delightful task\nthis evening. Pulpits, hearts, and affections, seem to be as open\nand enlarged to me as ever.\" On the 24th he again wrote, \"A wide\nand effectual door, I trust, has been opened in this city. People\nof all ranks flock as much as ever. Impressions are made on many,\nand I trust they will abide. To all the Episcopal churches, as\nwell as most of the other places of worship, I have free access.\nNotwithstanding I preach twice on the Lord's day, and three or four\ntimes a week besides, yet I am rather better than I have been for\nmany years. This is the Lord's doing.\" On June 14, he says, \"This\nleaves me just returned from a one hundred and fifty miles' circuit,\nin which, blessed be God, I have been enabled to preach every day.\nSo many new as well as old doors are open, and so many invitations\nsent from various quarters, that I know not which way to turn\nmyself.\"\n\nOf his last visit to New Jersey, Bishop White of Philadelphia, then\na young man of twenty-three, says, \"When he was on his way from\nPhiladelphia to Boston, late in the summer, he had been prevailed on\nto promise to cross from Bristol to Burlington, and to preach there.\nI happened to be in the latter place, and staying in the house of a\nrelative, when it was announced that Mr. Whitefield was at a tavern\non the other side of the river. He was expected to be escorted by\nmy relative. I went with him; and we returned in a boat with Mr.\nWhitefield and his company. He preached to the assembled citizens in\nfront of the court-house, and afterwards dined at the house of my\nrelative. During dinner, he was almost the only speaker, as was said\nto be common; all present being disposed to listen.\"\n\nA few days after this visit, we find him at New York, writing, June\n30, \"I have been here just a week. Have been enabled to preach\nfour times; and am to repeat the delightful task this evening.\nCongregations are larger than ever. Blessed be God, I have been\nstrengthened to itinerate and preach daily for some time. Next\nweek I purpose to go to Albany; from thence, perhaps to the Oneida\nIndians. There is to be a very large Indian congress; Mr. Kirkland\naccompanies me. He is a truly Christian minister and missionary.\nEvery thing possible should be done to strengthen his hands and his\nheart. Perhaps I may not see Georgia till Christmas. As yet, I keep\nto my intended plan, in respect to my returning. Lord Jesus, direct\nmy goings in thy way. The heat begins now to be a little intense;\nbut through mercy I am enabled to bear up bravely. What a God do we\nserve!\"\n\nOn the twenty-ninth of July, he again writes from the same city, and\nit is the _last entry_ in his memorandum: \"Since my last, and during\nthis month, I have been above a five hundred miles' circuit; and\nhave been enabled to preach and travel through the heat every day.\nThe congregations have been very large, attentive, and affected;\nparticularly at Albany, Schenectady, Great Barrington, Norfolk,\nSalisbury, Sharon, Smithfield, Poughkeepsie, Fishkill, New Rumbart,\nNew Windsor, and Peck's Hill. Last night I returned hither, and\nhope to set out for Boston in two or three days. O what a new scene\nof usefulness is opening in various parts of this world! All fresh\nwork where I have been. The divine influence has been as at first.\nInvitations crowd upon me both from ministers and people, from many,\nmany quarters. A very peculiar providence led me very lately to a\nplace where a horse-stealer was executed. Thousands attended. The\npoor criminal had sent me several letters, hearing I was in the\ncountry. The sheriff allowed him to come and hear a sermon under\nan adjacent tree. Solemn, solemn! After being by himself about an\nhour, I walked half a mile with him to the gallows. His heart had\nbeen softened before my first visit. He seemed full of solid, divine\nconsolation. An instructive walk! I went up with him into the cart.\nHe gave a short exhortation. I then stood upon the coffin--added,\nI trust, a word in season--prayed--gave the blessing, and took\nmy leave. Effectual good, I hope, was done to the hearers and\nspectators. Grace, grace!\"\n\nOur local histories seem to delight to honor Whitefield by the\nintroduction of his name whenever they have an opportunity.\nIn a notice of Sharon, in \"Barber's Historical Collections of\nConnecticut,\" the writer says, \"In the latter part of July, 1770,\nthe Rev. George Whitefield passed through this town on a preaching\ntour. There was considerable opposition to his being admitted into\nthe meeting-house, and arrangements had been made to hold the\nservice in an orchard still standing near the meeting-house, in case\nhe should be refused. Mr. Smith, [the Rev. Cotton Mather Smith, a\ndescendant of Cotton Mather,] invited him into the pulpit, though\nstrongly opposed by a considerable number of influential men. An\nimmense congregation from this and the neighboring towns filled the\nmeeting-house to overflowing. His text was, 'Marvel not that I said\nunto you, Ye must be born again.' He proceeded to discourse on the\ndoctrine of the new birth with astonishing power and eloquence,\nand the congregation were much moved by the power of the truth\nand Spirit of God. The concluding words of his discourse were a\nquotation, with a little variation, from the close of the fourth\nchapter of Solomon's Song. 'Awake, O north wind, and come, thou\nsouth; blow upon _this_ garden, that the spices thereof may flow\nout. Let my Beloved come into _this_ garden, and eat his pleasant\nfruits.' Many of the inhabitants of Sharon followed him for several\nsuccessive days, to hear the word of life from this devoted minister\nof the cross.\"\n\nWe think it must have been in this journey that Whitefield's\nministry was blessed to the conversion of a young man who has left\nhis mark on the age. Benjamin Randall was born in New Castle,\nNew Hampshire, in 1749. In his twenty-second year he was brought\nunder the ministry of Whitefield, by which means he became deeply\nconvinced of sin, and was soon after converted to God. In 1776,\nhe united with a Calvinistic Baptist church; but before long\nbegan to preach what he accounted more correct doctrines in his\nnative town, and was honored of God to effect a very powerful and\nextensive revival. He is considered the founder of the denomination\nof Freewill Baptists, which now comprises from eleven to twelve\nhundred churches, more than a thousand pastors and licentiates, and\nupwards of fifty thousand communicants. Mr. Randall was a man of\nstrong mental powers, and though he had not a classical education,\nhe was a good English scholar, aspired after general and religious\nknowledge, had fine discriminating talent, and was remarkable for\nthe perseverance with which he pursued whatever he undertook. Above\nall, like his spiritual father, he possessed what a living preacher\nhas well called, \"a passion for souls.\"\n\nFrom New York Whitefield proceeded to Boston, and short extracts\nfrom two of his letters, and those _the last_ he wrote, will show\nhis position and his feelings:\n\nSeptember 17, he says to Mr. Wright, at Bethesda, \"Fain would\nI come by Captain Souder, from Philadelphia; but people are so\nimportunate for my stay in these parts, that I fear it will be\nimpracticable. 'My God will supply all my need according to the\nriches of his grace in Christ Jesus.' Two or three evenings ago, I\nwas taken in the night with a violent flux, attended with retching\nand shivering, so that I was obliged to return from Newbury; but\nthrough infinite mercy I am restored, and to-morrow morning hope\nto begin again. Never was the word received with greater eagerness\nthan now. All opposition seems, as it were, for a while to cease. I\nfind God's time is the best. The season is critical as to outward\ncircumstances; but when forts are given up, the Lord Jesus can\nappoint salvation for walls and for bulwarks; he has promised to be\na wall of fire round about his people. This comforts me concerning\nBethesda, though we should have a Spanish war. You will be pleased\nto hear, I never was carried through the summer's heat so well.\"\n\nAnd finally, to his dear friend Mr. Keen of London, he wrote from\nPortsmouth, New Hampshire, September 23, just one week before his\ndeath, \"By this time I thought to be moving southward. But never\nwas greater importunity used to detain me longer in these northern\nparts. Poor New England is much to be pitied; Boston people most of\nall. How grossly misrepresented! What a mercy that our Christian\ncharter cannot be dissolved! Blessed be God for an unchangeable\nJesus! You will see, by the many invitations, what a door is opened\nfor preaching the everlasting gospel. I was so ill on Friday that I\ncould not preach, though thousands were waiting to hear. Well, the\nday of release will shortly come, but it does not seem yet; for by\nriding sixty miles I am better, and hope to preach here to-morrow.\nI trust my blessed Master will accept these poor efforts to serve\nhim. O for a warm heart! O to stand fast in the faith, to acquit\nourselves like men, and be strong! May this be the happy experience\nof you and yours. I suppose your letters are gone for me in the\nAnderson to Georgia. If spared so long, I expect to see them about\nChristmas. Still pray and praise. I am so poorly, and so engaged\nwhen able to preach, that this must apologize for not writing to\nmore friends: it is quite impracticable.\"\n\nWhitefield's hope to \"preach here to-morrow\" was fully realized. In\nthe \"Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser,\" we find a letter\nfrom Portsmouth, dated Sept. 28, 1770, which says, \"Last Sunday\nmorning came to town from Boston, the Rev. George Whitefield, and\nin the afternoon he preached at the Rev. Dr. Haven's meeting-house;\nMonday morning he preached again at the same place, to a very large\nand crowded audience. Tuesday morning a most numerous assembly met\nat the Rev. Dr. Langdon's meeting-house, which it is said will hold\nnearly six thousand people, and was well filled, even the aisles.\nEvening he preached at the Rev. Mr. John Rodgers' meeting-house in\nKittery, and yesterday at the Rev. Mr. Lyman's in York, to which\nplace a number of ladies and gentlemen from town accompanied him.\nThis morning [Friday] he will preach at the Rev. Dr. Langdon's\nmeeting-house in this town.\"\n\nWe are now approaching the closing scene, and are invited to hear\nWhitefield's last sermon. On his way to Newburyport, where he had\nengaged to preach on Sunday morning, September 30, he was entreated\nto preach at Exeter. This had been the scene of some of his former\ntriumphs. He was once preaching here, when a man was present who had\nloaded his pocket with stones to throw at the preacher. He heard\nhis prayer with patience, but as soon as he had read his text, the\nman took a stone out of his pocket and held it in his hand, waiting\nfor an opportunity to throw it. But God sent a word to his heart,\nand the stone dropped from his hand. After the sermon, the poor\nfellow went to Mr. Whitefield, and said, \"Sir, I came here to-day\nwith the intention of breaking your head, but God has given me a\nbroken heart.\" This man was converted to God, and lived an ornament\nto the gospel.\n\nAs though it had been felt by the public that this might be our\npreacher's last sermon, inconvenient as Saturday noon must be for\nthe assembling of a congregation for worship, such a multitude was\ncollected that no house could contain them, and Whitefield, for\nnearly two hours, discoursed to an attentive crowd in the open air.\nOf this last sermon at Exeter, a gentleman who was present has given\na deeply interesting and affecting account. The relator was then in\nhis eighty-sixth year, but he retained a strong remembrance of the\nmost trivial incidents connected with that extraordinary man. He\nsays:\n\n\"It was usual for Mr. Whitefield to be attended by Mr. Smith,\nwho preached when he was unable on account of sudden attacks of\nasthma. At the time referred to, after Mr. Smith had delivered a\nshort discourse, Mr. Whitefield seemed desirous of speaking; but\nfrom the weak state in which he then was, it was thought almost\nimpossible. He rose from the seat in the pulpit, and stood erect,\nand his appearance alone was a powerful sermon. The thinness of his\nvisage, the paleness of his countenance, the evident struggling of\nthe heavenly spark in a decayed body for utterance, were all deeply\ninteresting; the spirit was willing, but the flesh was dying. In\nthis situation he remained several minutes, unable to speak; he\nthen said, 'I will wait for the gracious assistance of God, for\nhe will, I am certain, assist me once more to speak in his name.'\nHe then delivered perhaps one of his best sermons, for the light\ngenerally burns most splendidly when about to expire. The subject\nwas a contrast of the present with the future; a part of this sermon\nI read to a popular and learned clergyman in New York, who could\nnot refrain from weeping when I repeated the following: 'I go, I go\nto rest prepared; my sun has arisen, and by aid from heaven, given\nlight to many; 't is now about to set for--no, it cannot be! 't is\nto rise to the zenith of immortal glory; I have outlived many on\nearth, but they cannot outlive me in heaven. Many shall live when\nthis body is no more, but then--Oh, thought divine!--I shall be in a\nworld where time, age, pain, and sorrow are unknown. My body fails,\nmy spirit expands; how willingly would I live for ever to preach\nChrist! but I die to be with him. How brief, comparatively brief,\nhas been my life, compared with the vast labors I see before me yet\nto be accomplished; but if I leave now, while so few care about\nheavenly things, the God of peace will surely visit you.' These,\nand many other things he said, which, though simple, were rendered\nimportant by circumstances; for death had let fly his arrow, and\nthe shaft was deeply enfixed when utterance was given to them: his\ncountenance, his tremulous voice, his debilitated frame, all gave\nconvincing evidence that the eye which saw him should shortly see\nhim no more for ever. When I visited the place where he is entombed,\nNewburyport, I could not help saying, 'The memory of the just is\nblessed,' Few are there like George Whitefield; however zealous,\nthey do not possess the masterly power, and those who do, too often\nturn it to a purpose that does not glorify God.\"\n\nWe have already spoken of the Rev. Daniel Rodgers, a descendant of\nthe martyr of that name, and pastor of the second congregational\nchurch at Exeter. It was this old friend of Whitefield who had\nimportuned him to preach at Exeter. The \"_Almanack Journal_\" of\nthis excellent man contains the following items of the activity of\nour \"eloquent orator\" in his closing days: \"September 10, 1770,\ndear Mr. Whitefield preached here, A. M., ten o'clock. 11th, Mr.\nWhitefield preached again in Mr. Parsons' meeting-house. 12th, I\nrode over to Rowley, Mr. Whitefield preached there. 14th, a storm\nof rain. 15th, the rain continues. Mr. Whitefield went to Boston,\nnot well. 25th, I heard dear Mr. Whitefield preach. 26th, he went to\nKittery, and preached for brother John; P. M. I rode to York. 27th,\nMr. Whitefield preached at York; P. M. we returned to Portsmouth.\n28th, Mr. Whitefield preached his farewell sermon; I returned home.\n29th, dear Mr. Whitefield preached for me the last sermon he ever\npreached.\"\n\nMr. Smith's account of the closing scene will not be considered too\nminute in its details. \"Before he commenced his journey of fifteen\nmiles from Portsmouth to Exeter, Mr. Clarkson, senior, observing\nhim more uneasy than usual, said to him, 'Sir, you are more fit to\ngo to bed than to preach.' Whitefield's reply was, 'True, sir;' but\nturning aside, he clasped his hands together, and looking up, said,\n'Lord Jesus, I am weary _in_ thy work, but not _of_ thy work. If I\nhave not yet finished my course, let me go and speak for thee once\nmore in the fields, seal thy truth, and come home and die.' His last\nsermon was from 2 Cor. 13:5, 'Examine yourselves, whether ye be in\nthe faith. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in\nyou, except ye be reprobates?' He dined at Captain Gillman's. After\ndinner, Mr. Whitefield and Mr. Parsons rode to Newbury. I did not\nget there till two hours after them. I found them at supper. I asked\nMr. Whitefield how he felt after his journey. He said he was tired,\ntherefore he supped early, and went to bed. He ate a very little\nsupper, talked but little, asked Mr. Parsons to discharge the table,\nand perform family duty, and then retired up stairs.\"\n\nThe Rev. Dr. Hallock tells us, that, in 1822, he visited Newburyport\nand the tomb of Whitefield. He was then told by persons whom he\nconsidered reliable, that when Whitefield was retiring to his\nchamber on this last evening of his life, many were so desirous to\nsee and hear him, that he stood on the stairs with a lamp in his\nhand, and there gave them a tender spiritual address.\n\nWe resume Mr. Smith's account: \"He said he would sit and read till I\ncame to him, which I did as soon as possible; and found him reading\nthe Bible, with Dr. Watts' Psalms lying open before him. He asked\nme for some water-gruel, and took about half his usual quantity; and\nkneeling down by his bedside, closed the evening with prayer. After\na little conversation, he went to rest, and slept till two in the\nmorning, when he awoke, and asked for a little cider; he drank about\na wine-glass full. I asked him how he felt, for he seemed to pant\nfor breath. He said to me, 'My asthma is coming on again; I must\nhave two or three days' rest. Two or three days' riding, without\npreaching, would set me up again.' Soon afterwards, he asked me to\nput the window up a little higher, though it was half up all night.\n'For,' said he, 'I cannot breathe; but I hope I shall be better by\nand by: a good pulpit sweat to-day may give me relief; I shall be\nbetter after preaching.' I said to him, 'I wish you would not preach\nso often.' He replied, 'I had rather wear out than rust out.' I then\ntold him, I was afraid he took cold in preaching yesterday. He said\nhe believed he had; and then sat up in bed, and prayed that God\nwould be pleased to bless his preaching where he had been, and also\nbless his preaching that day, that more souls might be brought to\nChrist. He prayed for direction whether he should winter in Boston,\nor hasten to the southward; and he prayed for a blessing on his\nBethesda college, and his dear family there, for the Tabernacle and\nChapel congregations, and all connections on the other side of the\nwater; and then he laid himself down to sleep again.\n\n\"This was near three o'clock. At a quarter past four he awoke,\nand said, 'My asthma, my asthma is coming on; I wish I had not\ngiven out word to preach at Haverhill on Monday; I don't think I\nshall be able; but I shall see what to-day will bring forth. If I\nam no better to-morrow, I will take two or three days' ride!' He\nthen desired me to warm him a little gruel; and in breaking the\nfire-wood, I waked Mr. Parsons, who thinking I knocked for him, rose\nand came in. He went to Mr. Whitefield's bedside, and asked him\nhow he felt. He answered, 'I am almost suffocated. I can scarcely\nbreathe, my asthma quite chokes me.' I was then not a little\nsurprised to hear how quickly, and with what difficulty he drew his\nbreath. He got out of bed, and went to the open window for air. This\nwas exactly at five o'clock. I went to him, and for about the space\nof five minutes saw no danger, only that he had a great difficulty\nin breathing, as I had often seen before. Soon afterwards, he turned\nhimself to me, and said, '_I am dying_.' I said, 'I hope not, sir.'\nHe ran to the other window, panting for breath, but could get no\nrelief. It was agreed that I should go for Dr. Sawyer; and on my\ncoming back, I saw death on his face; and he again said, '_I am\ndying_.' His eyes were fixed, his underlip drawing inward every time\nhe drew breath. I persuaded him to sit down in the chair, and have\nhis cloak on; he consented by a sign, but could not speak. I then\noffered him a glass of warm wine; he took half of it, but it seemed\nas if it would have stopped his breath entirely. He went towards\nthe window, and we offered him some warm wine, with lavender drops,\nwhich he refused.\n\n\"In a little time he brought up a considerable quantity of phlegm.\nI then began to have some small hopes. Mr. Parsons said he thought\nMr. Whitefield breathed more freely than he did, and would recover.\nI said, 'No, sir, he is certainly dying.' I was continually employed\nin taking the phlegm out of his mouth with a handkerchief, and\nbathing his temples with drops, rubbing his wrists, etc., to give\nhim relief, if possible, but all in vain; his hands and feet were\nas cold as clay. When the doctor came in, and saw him in the chair\nleaning upon my breast, he felt his pulse, and said, 'He is a dead\nman.' Mr. Parsons said, 'I do not believe it; you must do something,\ndoctor.' He said, 'I cannot; he is now near his last breath.' And\nso indeed it was; for he fetched but one gasp, and stretched out\nhis feet, and breathed no more. This was exactly at six o'clock. We\ncontinued rubbing his legs, hands, and feet, with warm cloths, and\nbathed him with spirits for some time, but all in vain. I then put\nhim into a warm bed, the doctor standing by, and often raised him\nupright, continued rubbing him and putting spirits to his nose for\nan hour, till all hopes were gone. The people came in crowds to see\nhim.\"\n\nWhitefield seems to have had somewhat of a presentiment that\nhis death would be unattended with any remarkable expression of\nspiritual enjoyment. In his last preceding visit to this country,\nhe had spent a day or two under the roof of the Rev. Dr. Finley,\nthen president of the college at Princeton, New Jersey. One day Dr.\nFinley said at the dinner-table, \"Mr. Whitefield, I hope it will be\nvery long before you will be called home; but when that event shall\narrive, I shall be glad to hear the noble testimony you will bear\nfor God.\" Whitefield replied, \"You would be disappointed, doctor; I\nshall die silent. It has pleased God to enable me to bear so many\ntestimonies for him during my life, that he will require none from\nme when I die. No, no. It is your dumb Christians, who have walked\nin fear and darkness, and thereby been unable to bear a testimony\nfor God during their lives, that he compels to speak out for him on\ntheir death-beds.\"\n\nWe resume Mr. Smith's narrative: \"The Rev. Mr. Parsons, at whose\nhouse my dear master died, sent for Captain Fetcomb, and Mr.\nBoadman, and others of his elders and deacons, and they took the\nwhole of the burial upon themselves, prepared the vault, and sent\nand invited the bearers. Many ministers of all persuasions came to\nthe house of the Rev. Mr. Parsons, where several of them gave a very\nparticular account of their first awakenings under his ministry\nseveral years ago, and also of many in their congregations that,\nto their knowledge, under God, owed their conversion to his coming\namong them, often referring to the blessed seasons they had enjoyed\nunder his preaching; and all said, that this last visit was attended\nwith more power than any other, and that all opposition fell\nbefore him. Then one and another would pity and pray for his dear\nTabernacle and Chapel congregations, and it was truly affecting to\nhear them bemoan America and England's loss. Thus they continued for\ntwo hours, conversing about his great usefulness, and praying that\nGod would scatter his gifts, and drop his mantle among them.\"\n\nDr. Gillies says, \"Early next morning, Mr. Sherburn of Portsmouth\nsent Mr. Clarkson and Dr. Haven with a message to Mr. Parsons,\ndesiring that Mr. Whitefield's remains might be buried in his own\nnew tomb, at his own expense; and in the evening several gentlemen\nfrom Boston came to Mr. Parsons, desiring the body might be carried\nthere. But as Mr. Whitefield had repeatedly desired to be buried\nbefore Mr. Parsons' pulpit, if he died at Newburyport, Mr. Parsons\nthought himself obliged to deny both these requests.\"\n\nMr. Parsons, in a note to his funeral sermon, says, \"At one o'clock\nall the bells in the town were tolled for half an hour, and all the\nvessels in the harbor gave their proper signals of mourning. At two\no'clock the bells tolled a second time. At three the bells called\nto attend the funeral. The Rev. Dr. Haven of Portsmouth, and the\nRev. Messrs. Rodgers of Exeter, Jewet and Chandler of Rowley, Moses\nParsons of Newbury, and Bass of Newburyport, were pall-bearers.\nMr. Parsons and his family, with many other respectable persons,\nfollowed the corpse in mourning.\"\n\n\"The procession,\" says Mr. Smith, \"was only one mile, and then the\ncorpse was carried into the Presbyterian church, and placed at the\nfoot of the pulpit, close to the vault; the Rev. Daniel Rodgers made\na very affecting prayer, and openly declared, that, under God, he\nowed his conversion to that dear man of God whose precious remains\nnow lay before them. Then he cried out, 'O my father, my father!'\nthen stopped and wept as though his heart would break; the people\nweeping all through the place. Then he recovered, and finished his\nprayer, and sat down and wept. Then one of the deacons gave out the\nhymn,\n\n  \"'Why do we mourn departing friends?'\n\nsome of the people weeping, some singing, and so on alternately.\nThe Rev. Mr. Jewet preached a funeral discourse; and made an\naffectionate address to his brethren, to lay to heart the death of\nthat useful man of God, begging that he and they might be upon their\nwatchtower, and endeavor to follow his blessed example. The corpse\nwas then put into the vault, and all concluded with a short prayer,\nand dismission of the people, who went weeping through the streets\nto their respective places of abode.\"\n\nThe Rev. Mr. Rodgers, from whose \"Almanack Journal\" we have quoted,\nrecords that the vast assembly at the funeral consisted of \"four,\nsince thought five thousand people,\" and adds, Oct. 7, \"I preached\nfrom those words in the first Philippians, 'Having a desire to\ndepart and be with Christ,' etc. I spoke extempore, somewhat\nlargely, of dear Mr. Whitefield's character.\"\n\nThe late venerable Mr. Bartlet of Newburyport, some years ago,\nerected a monument to the memory of Whitefield in the church beneath\nwhich his remains are interred. The cenotaph was executed by Mr.\nStruthers of Philadelphia, after a design of Strickland, and the\ninscription which follows was written by the late Rev. Dr. Ebenezer\nPorter, of the Theological seminary at Andover.\n\n\n  THIS CENOTAPH\n\n  is ERECTED, WITH AFFECTIONATE VENERATION,\n\n  To the Memory\n\n  OF\n\n  THE REV. GEORGE WHITEFIELD,\n\n  BORN AT GLOUCESTER, ENGLAND, DECEMBER 16, 1714;\n  EDUCATED AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY; ORDAINED 1736.\n  IN A MINISTRY OF THIRTY-FOUR YEARS,\n  HE CROSSED THE ATLANTIC THIRTEEN TIMES,\n  AND PREACHED MORE THAN EIGHTEEN THOUSAND SERMONS.\n  AS A SOLDIER OF THE CROSS, HUMBLE, DEVOUT, ARDENT,\n  HE PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD:\n  PREFERRING THE HONOR OF CHRIST TO HIS OWN INTEREST, REPOSE,\n  REPUTATION, AND LIFE.\n  AS A CHRISTIAN ORATOR, HIS DEEP PIETY, DISINTERESTED ZEAL,\n  AND VIVID IMAGINATION,\n  GAVE UNEXAMPLED ENERGY TO HIS LOOK, UTTERANCE, AND ACTION.\n  BOLD, FERVENT, PUNGENT, AND POPULAR IN HIS ELOQUENCE,\n  NO OTHER UNINSPIRED MAN EVER PREACHED TO SO LARGE ASSEMBLIES,\n  OR ENFORCED THE SIMPLE TRUTHS OF THE GOSPEL BY MOTIVES\n  SO PERSUASIVE AND AWFUL, AND WITH AN INFLUENCE SO POWERFUL,\n  ON THE HEARTS OF HIS HEARERS.\n  HE DIED OF ASTHMA, SEPTEMBER 30, 1770.\n  SUDDENLY EXCHANGING HIS LIFE OF UNPARALLELED LABORS\n  FOR HIS ETERNAL REST.\n\n[Illustration: OLD SOUTH CHURCH, BOSTON.]\n\n[Illustration: MONUMENT]\n\n[Illustration: OLD SOUTH, AT NEWBURYPORT]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVII.\n\nTESTIMONIES AND FACTS ILLUSTRATIVE OF WHITEFIELD'S CHARACTER.\n\n\n\"Last evening,\" says a letter from Boston, October 1, 1770, to the\n\"Pennsylvania Journal,\" \"we were informed by a melancholy messenger\nfrom Newburyport, that yesterday morning about six o'clock, at\nthat place, the renowned and Rev. George Whitefield, chaplain to\nthe Right Hon. the Countess of Huntingdon, etc., was, by a sudden\nmandate, summoned to the bosom of his Saviour. He had been preaching\nin divers parts of this province since his arrival from the\nsouthward, with his usual diligence and energy; was now from a tour\nto the province of New Hampshire on his return to this town, but\nbeing seized with a violent fit of the asthma, was in a short space\ntranslated from the labors of this life to the enjoyment of a better.\n\n\"Of this truly pious and very extraordinary personage, little can\nbe said but what every friend to vital Christianity who has sat\nunder his ministry will readily attest. In his public performances\nthroughout Europe and British America, he has, for a long course of\nyears, astonished the world as a prodigy of eloquence and devotion.\nWith what frequency and cheerfulness did he ascend the desk, the\nlanguage of his actions being ever, 'Wist ye not that I must be\nabout my Master's business?' With what divine pathos did he plead\nwith, and persuade by the most engaging incitements, the impenitent\nsinner to the practice of piety and virtue. Filled with the spirit\nof grace, he spoke from the heart; and with a fervency of zeal\nperhaps unequalled since the apostles, ornamented the celestial\nannunciations of the preacher with the graceful and most enticing\ncharms of rhetoric and oratory. From the pulpit he was unrivalled\nin the command of an ever-crowded and admiring auditory; nor was\nhe less entertaining and instructive in his private conversation\nand deportment. Happy in a remarkable ease of address, willing to\ncommunicate, studious to edify, and formed to amuse--such, in more\nretired life, was he whom we lament. And while a peculiar pleasantry\nenlivened and rendered his company agreeable, his conversation was\never marked with the greatest objects of his pursuit--virtue and\nreligion. It were to be wished that the good impressions of his\nministry may be long retained; and that the rising generation, like\ntheir pious ancestors, may catch a spark of that ethereal flame\nwhich burnt with such lustre in the sentiments and practice of this\nfaithful servant of the most high God.\"\n\nAnother contemporaneous article says, \"Dr. Cooper of Brattle-street,\ncalled an enthusiast by none, won early to serious religion by his\n[Whitefield's] instrumentality, delivered a sermon upon his death,\nin which he pronounced a strong eulogy in favor of his holy and\nsuccessful activity in the cause of vital and practical religion\nthrough the English dominions. Pews, aisles, and seats were so\ncrowded, and heads and shoulders were in such close phalanx, that it\nlooked as though a man might walk everywhere upon the upper surface\nof the assembly, without finding an opening for descending to the\nfloor.\"\n\nWhen the news of Mr. Whitefield's death reached Georgia, its\ninhabitants vied with each other in showing him the highest respect.\nAll the black cloth in the stores was bought up; the pulpit and\ndesk of the church, the branches, the organ-loft, and the pews of\nthe governor and council were covered with black. The governor and\ncouncil in deep mourning convened at the state-house, and went in\nprocession to church, where they were received by the organ playing\na funeral dirge. Two funeral sermons were there listened to by the\nauthorities. In the Legislature high eulogiums were pronounced\non the admirable preacher, and a sum of money was unanimously\nappropriated for removing his remains to Georgia, to be interred\nat his orphan-house; but the inhabitants of Newburyport strongly\nobjected, and the design was relinquished. Forty-five years later\nwhen a new county was formed in Georgia, it received the name of\nWhitefield in commemoration of his worth and useful services.\n\nIn a letter from Dr. Franklin to a gentleman in Georgia, he says,\n\"I cannot forbear expressing the pleasure it gives me to see\nan account of the respect paid to his memory by your assembly.\nI knew him intimately upwards of thirty years; his integrity,\ndisinterestedness, and indefatigable zeal in prosecuting every good\nwork, I have never seen equalled, I shall never see excelled.\"\n\nOf course it would be expected that the sermons at Savannah would\nbe of great interest. Such a discourse was delivered by the Rev.\nMr. Ellington, who very truly said, \"Whitefield's longing desires\nfor the salvation of immortal souls would not admit of his being\nconfined within the limits of any walls. How he has preached, with\nshowers of stones, and many other instruments of malice and revenge\nabout his ears, many of his surviving friends can witness. But\nhaving the salvation of sinners at heart, and a great desire to\nrescue them from the power of an eternal death, he resolved to spend\nand be spent for the service of precious and immortal souls; and\nspared no pains and refused no labor, so that he might administer\nto their real and eternal good. He died like a hero on the field\nof battle. Thousands in England, Scotland, and America have great\nreason to bless God for his ministrations.\"\n\nWho shall attempt to describe the feelings of the congregations\nat the Tabernacle and Tottenham Court chapels, when the news of\ntheir pastor's death first reached them? All were indeed clothed in\nmourning. By Whitefield's own previous appointment, the Rev. John\nWesley preached the funeral sermon at Tottenham Court-road chapel.\nThe preacher bore this testimony: \"In his public labors he has for\nmany years astonished the world with his eloquence and devotion.\nWith what divine pathos did he persuade the impenitent sinner to\nembrace the practice of early piety and virtue. Filled with the\nspirit of grace, he spoke from the heart with a fervency of zeal\nperhaps unequalled since the days of the apostles; and adorned\nthe truths he delivered with the most graceful charms of rhetoric\nand oratory. From the pulpit he was unrivalled in the command of\nan ever-crowded auditory. It was the love of God shed abroad in\nhis heart by the Holy Ghost which filled his soul with tender,\ndisinterested love to every child of man.... Mention has been\nalready made of his unparalleled zeal, his indefatigable activity,\nhis tender-heartedness to the afflicted, and charitableness towards\nthe poor. But should we not likewise mention his deep gratitude to\nall whom God had used as instruments of good to him? of whom he did\nnot cease to speak in the most respectful manner, even to his dying\nday. Should we not mention that he had a heart susceptible of the\nmost generous and the most tender friendship? I have frequently\nthought that this, of all others, was the distinguishing part of\nhis character. How few have we known of so kind a temper, of such\nlarge and flowing affections! Was it not principally by this that\nthe hearts of others were so strongly drawn and knit to him? Can\nany thing but love beget love? This shone in his very countenance,\nand continually breathed in all his words, whether in public or\nprivate. Was it not this which, quick and penetrating as lightning,\nflew from heart to heart; which gave that life to his sermons, his\nconversation, his letters? Ye are witnesses.\"\n\nThe Rev. John Newton preached a funeral sermon at Olney, where\nhe was then settled, from the highly appropriate text, \"He was a\nburning and a shining light,\" John 5:35, in which he thus speaks\nof Whitefield: \"Some ministers are burning and shining lights\nin a peculiar and eminent degree. Such a one, I doubt not, was\nthe servant of God whose death we now lament. I have had some\nopportunities of looking over the history of the church in past\nages; I am not backward to say, that I have not read or heard\nof any person, since the apostles' days, of whom it may be more\nemphatically said, 'He was a burning and a shining light,' than the\nlate Mr. Whitefield; whether we consider the warmth of his zeal, the\ngreatness of his ministerial talents, or the extensive usefulness\nwith which the Lord honored him. I do not mean to praise the man,\nbut the Lord who furnished him, and made him what he was. He was\nraised up to shine in a dark place. The state of religion when he\nfirst appeared in public, was very low in our established church.\nI speak the truth, though to some it may be an offensive truth.\nThe doctrines of grace were seldom heard from the pulpit, and the\nlife and power of godliness were little known. Many of the most\nspiritual among the dissenters, were mourning under a sense of a\ngreat spreading declension on their side. What a change has taken\nplace throughout the land within a little more than thirty years;\nthat is, since the time when the first set of despised ministers\ncame to Oxford! And how much of this change has been owing to God's\nblessing on Mr. Whitefield's labors, is well known to many who have\nlived through this period, and can hardly be denied by those who are\nleast willing to allow it.... His zeal was not like wildfire, but\ndirected by sound principles, and a sound judgment.... The Lord gave\nhim a manner of preaching which was peculiarly his own. He copied\nfrom none, and I never met with any one who could imitate him with\nsuccess.\"\n\nWith regret we tear ourselves away from Romaine and Toplady, from\nPemberton and Parsons, and from a multitude of others who bore\ntestimonies like those we have given, but which would exceed the\nlimits of our narrative.\n\nMr. Newton, after his removal to London, once breakfasting with\na company of noblemen and gentlemen, was asked if he knew Mr.\nWhitefield. He answered in the affirmative, and remarked, that as a\npreacher Mr. Whitefield far exceeded every other man of his time.\nMr. Newton added, \"I bless God that I lived in his time: many were\nthe winter mornings I rose at four o'clock to attend his Tabernacle\ndiscourses at five; and I have seen Moorfields as full of lanterns\nat these times, as I suppose the Hay market is full of flambeaux\non an opera night.\" As a proof of the power of Mr. Whitefield's\npreaching, Mr. Newton said, that a military officer at Glasgow, who\nhad heard him preach, laid a wager with another, that at a certain\ncharity sermon, though he went with prejudice, he would be compelled\nto give something. The other, to make sure that he would not, laid\naside all the money out of his pockets; but before he left the\nchurch, he was glad to borrow some, and lose his bet. Mr. Newton\nmentioned as another striking illustration of Mr. Whitefield's\npersuasive oratory, his collecting after one sermon \u00a3600, or about\n$3,000, for the inhabitants of an obscure village in Germany, that\nhad been burned down. After this sermon, Whitefield said, \"We shall\nsing a hymn, during which those who do not choose to give their\nmite on this awful occasion, may sneak off.\" Not one moved; he came\ndown from the pulpit, ordered all the doors to be shut but one, at\nwhich he held the plate himself, and collected the large sum we have\nnamed. Mr. Newton farther stated what he knew to be a fact, that at\nthe time of Whitefield's greatest persecution, when obliged to speak\nin the streets, in one week he received not fewer than a thousand\nletters from persons distressed in their consciences by the energy\nof his preaching.\n\nA gentleman of title in England was one day examining some works\nof the distinguished sculptor, John Bacon. Among them he observed\na bust of Mr. Whitefield, which led him to remark, \"After all that\nhas been said, this was truly a great man; he was the founder of a\nnew religion.\" Mr. Bacon replied, \"A new religion, sir?\" \"Yes,\" said\nthe baronet; \"what do you call it?\" \"Nothing,\" was the reply, \"but\nthe old religion revived with new energy, and treated as though the\npreacher meant what he said.\"\n\nSeveral interesting narratives have been given of visits to the tomb\nof Whitefield, which show the preciousness of his memory.\n\nIn 1834, the Rev. Andrew Reed, D. D., of London, and the late\nRev. James Matheson, D. D., of Durham, visited this country as a\ndeputation to its churches from the Congregational Union of England\nand Wales. In describing their visit to Newburyport, Dr. Reed says,\n\"We had a conference with the pastors here, and afterwards went\nto the church which is enriched with the remains of Whitefield.\nThe elders of the church were present in the porch to receive us.\nWe descended to the vault. There were three coffins before us.\nTwo pastors of the church lay on either side, and the remains of\nWhitefield in the centre. The cover was slipt aside, and they lay\nbeneath my eye. I had before stood in his pulpits; seen his books,\nhis rings, and chairs; but never before had I looked on part of his\nvery self. The skull, which is perfect, clean, and fair, I received,\nas is the custom, into my hand. I could say nothing; but thought\nand feeling were busy. On returning to the church, I proposed an\nexercise of worship. We collected over the grave of the eloquent,\nthe devoted, and seraphic man, and gave expression to the sentiments\nthat possessed us, by solemn psalmody and fervent prayer. It was not\nan ordinary service to any of us.\"\n\nIn the year 1835, a similar deputation visited this country from\nthe Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland. It consisted of\nthe late Rev. F. A. Cox, D. D., of London, and the Rev. James\nHoby, D. D., then of Birmingham. They also visited the tomb of our\nnever-to-be-forgotten evangelist. We give a few sentences from their\nreport: \"We made an excursion to Newburyport, thirty-nine miles from\nBoston, to see the tomb of Whitefield. On our arrival, we hastened\nto the depository of the precious remains of that eminent servant\nof God.... We descended with some difficulty into the subterraneous\nvault, which is immediately behind the pulpit, in a small chamber\nlike a vestry, external to the body of the church. Deep expectant\nemotions thrilled through our bosoms, while a kind of trap-door was\nopened, and we descended beneath the floor to another door, which\nstood perpendicularly, by which we entered, or rather crept, into\nthe awful and silent sepulchre. There were three coffins placed\nin parallel lines; two of them containing the mortal part of Mr.\nParsons and Mr. Prince, pastors of the church. We instinctively\ntook our seats, the one on the one coffin, the other on the other,\nwith the coffin of Whitefield between, over which, when the upper\npart of the lid was removed, to reveal the skeleton secrets of the\nnarrow prison-house, we bent in solemn stillness and awe. We gazed\non the fragments--we contemplated and handled the skull of that\ngreat preacher of righteousness--we thought of his devoted life,\nhis blessed death, his high and happy destiny; and whispered our\nadorations of the grace that formed him both for earth and heaven.\"\n\nThe following lines were written by the departed and amiable William\nB. Tappan, on visiting this spot in September, 1837.\n\n    \"And this was Whitefield!--this, the dust now blending\n     With kindred dust, that wrapt his soul of fire--\n     Which, from the mantle freed, is still ascending\n     Through regions of far glory, holier, higher.\n\n     Oh, as I gaze here with a solemn joy\n     And awful reverence, in which shares Decay,\n     Who, this fair frame reluctant to destroy,\n     Yields it not yet to doom which all obey--\n     How follows thought his flight, at Love's command,\n     From hemisphere in sin, to hemisphere,\n     Warning uncounted multitudes with tears--\n     Preaching the risen Christ on sea and land--\n     And now those angel journeyings above!\n     Souls, his companions, saved by such unwearied love!\"\n\nIn December, 1845, one of the London daily papers, \"The Sun,\"\ncontained a somewhat extended account of Whitefield in New England,\nand especially his death, funeral, and tomb, from which we\nborrow mementos that in both hemispheres may be interesting \"for\ngenerations to come.\"\n\n\"I was spending Sunday at Old Ipswich, in the latter part of last\nSeptember, when by accident I fell in with an old inhabitant of\nthe town who had heard Whitefield preach there. He was a sort of\npatriarch of the place, and as he sat on one of the stones which\nsurrounded the ancient orthodox meeting-house, his grey locks\nstreaming from beneath his queerly shaped hat, and attired in his\nprimly cut old-fashioned coat, he appeared no bad representative of\nthe departed Puritans who, in former days, had soberly and decently\nobeyed the call of the Sabbath bell, and worshipped in the same\ntemple whose steeple now casts its shadow athwart the green sward\nbeneath.... As the bell of Old Ipswich church swung out that bright\nSabbath morning, it was a pretty sight to see the village people\ncoming from different points to the decaying old church, which\nwas situated, as most country churches in New England are, on a\nhill-top. While I was enjoying the scene, the old man to whom I have\nalluded, and who was sitting on a stone, accosted me, and asked me\nif I was not a stranger 'in these parts.' On my informing him that I\nwas, he pointed out to me the 'lions' of the neighborhood, and wound\nup by asking, 'I suppose, sir, you've heard of Whitefield?'\n\n\"'Of Whitefield? to be sure I have.'\n\n\"'Well, I've seen Whitefield, George Whitefield stood on this very\nstone,' (dropping his stick feebly from his shaking hands,) 'and I\nheard him preach here.'\n\n\"'And do you remember any thing about him?' I asked.\n\n\"'Well, I guess I do. I was but a bit of a boy then; but here he\nstood on this stone, looking like a flying angel, and we call this\nWhitefield's pulpit to this day.... There was folks here from all\nparts to hear him; so he was obliged to preach outside, for the\nchurch wasn't half big enough for 'em, and no two ways about it.\nI've heard many parsons sin' that time, but none on 'em could come\nnigh him, any how they could fix it.'\n\n\"'Do you remember any thing of his sermons?' I inquired.\n\n\"'Oh, I was too young to notice aught, sir, but the preacher hisself\nand the crowds of people, but I know he had a very sweet voice;\nand as I said, when he spread his arms out, with a little Bible in\nhis hand, he looked like a flying angel. There never were so many\npeople, afore nor since, in Old Ipswich. I suppose, sir, you'll be\ngoing to see his bones? He was buried at Newburyport, and you can\nsee 'em if you like.'\n\n\"I made up my mind that I would see them, if possible. On the\nfollowing day, I went over to Newburyport by railroad, and proceeded\nfirst to the house in which Whitefield died. It was at the time the\nresidence of the Rev. Jonathan Parsons, the first regular pastor of\nthe Presbyterian Society in the town. It is a plain unpretending\nstructure, possessing no other claims to attention than its being\nthe spot where the last scene of Whitefield's career was enacted.\nI knocked, and asked of a lady who answered my summons, if I might\nbe allowed to see the room in which Mr. Whitefield died. She very\ncourteously showed me up a flight of stairs into a chamber, which,\nshe said, Mr. Whitefield used to sleep in. 'Here is the place he\ndied in,' said the lady, as she showed me a little entry just\noutside the door of the chamber, directly over the entrance to the\nhouse. 'He lay the night before he died,' said the lady, 'in that\nbed-chamber; and when he was struck with death, he ran out to this\nentry window for breath, and died while sitting in a chair opposite\nto it.'\n\n\"The Federal-street church, where Whitefield was buried, was but a\nshort distance from the house in which he died, and on my way to\nit I called on the sexton.... He preceded me through the aisle of\nthe church, and opening a little narrow door by the side of the\npulpit, we passed into a dim gloomy room behind it, and from thence\ndescending four or five steps, found ourselves in a brick vault\nwhich lay directly under the pulpit. It was two or three minutes\nbefore my eyes got accustomed to the gloom; but soon objects became\ndiscernible, and I saw three old coffins, two of them serving as\nsupporters to the third, which lay across them.... The sexton\ntrimmed his lamp, then lifted the lid of an old coffin, and holding\nthe flame close to it, said, 'Here, look in, ... THAT'S THE MAN.'\n\n\"Yes, there lay the man, or at least, all that remains of the once\nmighty preacher. A strange awe came over me at his words, '_That's\nthe man._' I took the skull in my hands, and examined it carefully.\nThe forehead was rather narrow than broad, and by no means high. I\nsoon put it back again to the coffin.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAmong the more prominent traits in the character of Whitefield,\nwe may designate his _indifference to his own honor and ease_, of\nwhich his narrative contains almost innumerable illustrations. In\nthe preparation of the deed of trust for his intended college, he\nentirely omitted his own name, that the proposed trustees might\naccept the office without suffering contempt for being connected\nwith him. It was not pretence which led him often to say, \"Let the\nname of George Whitefield perish, if God be glorified.\" On the\nsame principle of almost self-annihilation he acted in reference\nto the accumulation of money. He secured nothing for himself. It\ndoes not seem that what he left to his friends by his will was or\ncould be paid; what had been left him as legacies had been nearly\nall expended, and would have been entirely, had he lived to return\nto his beloved Bethesda. By his will he placed the institution in\nthe hands of Lady Huntingdon, who sent out ministers and other\npersons to conduct it. But soon after this, the buildings were burnt\ndown. After the fire, came the Revolutionary war, which tended to\nunsettle the tenure of property, and at the time of its close, the\nwhole plans, alike of the orphan-house and the college, were nearly\nunknown. The authorities of Savannah, in accordance with the high\nregard which they still entertained for Whitefield's memory, secured\nwhatever they could of the wreck, the proceeds of which they\ninvested in a school for the young, which yet flourishes.\n\nPerhaps no man was ever more thoroughly _fond of labor_. From a\nmemorandum in which Mr. Whitefield recorded the times and places\nof his ministerial labors, it appears that from the period of his\nordination to that of his death, which was thirty-four years,\nhe preached upwards of _eighteen thousand sermons_. It would be\ndifficult to imagine how many thousand miles he travelled. When he\nascertained that his physical powers began to fail, putting himself\non what he called \"short allowance,\" he preached _only once on every\nweek-day, and three times on the Sabbath_. In view of his various\njourneyings in the slow and inconvenient modes of travelling then\nin use, his thirteen voyages across the Atlantic, and all that he\naccomplished, it appears that few men ever performed so much labor\nwithin the same period.\n\nNearly every one who has attempted a description of Whitefield has\nsaid much of his _extraordinary voice_. It is known that Garrick was\nheard to say that he would give a hundred guineas if he could say\n\"Oh!\" as Whitefield did. The late Rev. Dr. Haweis, speaking of his\n\"wonderful voice,\" and of its sweetness and variety of tone, said he\nbelieved on a serene evening it might be distinctly heard for nearly\na mile. Others have given similar evidence.\n\nThe late Sir George Beaumont, no mean authority on such a subject,\nthus familiarly speaks: \"Oh yes; I heard that young gentleman this\nmorning allude to 'roaring Whitefield,' and was amused at his\nmistake. It is a common one. Whitefield did not roar. I have been\nhis auditor more than once, and was delighted with him. Whitefield's\nvoice could be heard at an immense distance; but that was owing to\nits fulness, roundness, and clearness. It was a perfectly sound\nvoice. It is an odd description, but I can hit upon no better; there\nwas neither crack nor flaw. To describe him as a bellowing, roaring\nfield preacher, is to describe a mountebank, not Whitefield. He had\npowers of pathos of the highest order. The tender, soft, persuasive\ntones of his voice were melodious in the extreme. And when he\ndesired to win, or persuade, or plead, or soothe, the gush of\nfeeling which his voice conveyed at once surprised and overpowered\nyou.\"\n\nSpeaking on the authority of his tutor, the Rev. Cornelius Winter,\nthe late excellent Mr. Jay says that Whitefield's voice was\nincomparable: not only distinct and loud, but abounding with every\nkind of inflection, and perfectly under his power; so that he could\nrender every thing he expressed, however common or insignificant in\nitself, striking and affecting.\n\nThis distinguished man had a peculiar talent for making the\n_narration of facts tell in the pulpit_. Nothing occurred among\neven his own family connections, but he would make it contribute to\nthe edification of his auditors. One Lord's day morning, with his\nusual fervor he exhorted his hearers to give up the use of means for\nthe spiritual good of their relatives and friends only with their\nlives. He told them he had a brother, for whose spiritual welfare\nhe had very long used every possible means. He had warned him, and\nprayed for him, but all apparently to no purpose, till a few weeks\nprevious; when that brother, to his astonishment and joy, came to\nhis house, and with many tears declared that he had come up from\nthe country to testify to him the great change which divine grace\nhad wrought in his heart, and to acknowledge with gratitude his\nobligation to the man by whom God had wrought. Mr. Whitefield added,\nthat he had that morning received information, that on his brother's\nreturn to Gloucestershire, where he resided, he dropped down dead as\nhe was getting out of a stagecoach. \"Let us pray always,\" said he,\n\"for ourselves, and for those who are dear to us, and never faint.\"\n\nThis habit of making every occurrence bear on his ministry, Mr.\nWinter, who knew him more intimately, and has told us more of his\nprivate life and conduct than any other man, tells us was \"perfectly\nin character with Mr. Whitefield. He turned every thing into gold;\nhe improved every thing for good. Passing occurrences determined\nthe matter of his sermons, and, in some degree, the manner of his\naddress. Thus, if he had read on astronomy in the course of the\nweek, you would be sure to discover it. He knew how to convert\nthe centripetal motion of the planets to the disposition of the\nChristian towards Christ; and the fatal attraction of the world\nwas very properly represented by a reference to the centrifugal.\nIf he attended any extraordinary trial, he would avail himself of\nthe formality of the judge in pronouncing sentence. It would only\nbe by hearing him, and by beholding his attitude and tears, that a\nperson could well conceive the effect; for it was impossible but\nthat solemnity must surround him who, under God, became the means\nof making all solemn.\"\n\nHe sometimes made use of an incident of history in the reign of\nHenry VIII. The apprentices of London appeared before that monarch,\npleading his pardon for their insurrections, manifesting intense\nfeeling on the matter, and praying for \"mercy, mercy.\" \"Take them\naway, take them away,\" was the monarch's request, moved by the sight\nand the cries of these youths, \"I cannot bear it.\" The application,\nas will be readily supposed, was, that if an earthly monarch of\nHenry's character could be so moved, how prevalent must be the plea\nof the sinner in the ears of infinite Love.\n\nThe case of two Scotchmen in the convulsion of the state at the\ntime of Charles II. served him on more than one occasion. These\nmen, having to pass some of the troops, were thinking of their\ndanger, and meditating the best way of escape, when one of them\nproposed wearing a skullcap; but the other, thinking that would\nimply distrust of the providence of God, determined to proceed\nbareheaded. The last was the first laid hold of, and being asked,\n\"Are you for the covenant?\" replied, \"Yes;\" and being further asked,\n\"What covenant?\" answered, \"The covenant of grace;\" by which reply,\neluding farther inquiry, he was allowed to pass; but the other, not\nanswering satisfactorily, received a blow from the sabre, which\npenetrating through the cap, struck him dead. In the application,\nMr. Whitefield, warning against vain confidence, exclaimed, \"Beware\nof your skullcaps.\"\n\nAn American clergyman has told us that he once related to Whitefield\nan affecting occurrence, but did it with the ordinary brevity and\nfeeling of common conversation. Afterwards he heard Mr. Whitefield\npreach, and tell this same story with such nature, pathos, and\npower, that the clergyman found himself weeping like a child. It has\nbeen well said, that he spoke with the tones of the soul; and that\nhis gestures were impelled by the same spontaneous magical influence\nwhich made them, as well as his words, seem part of his soul.\nIndeed, he threw his soul into every thing he did and said.\n\nIt is said that Whitefield would sometimes rise in the sacred desk,\nand for a minute or two looking in silence around his vast audience,\nas if salvation or perdition teemed in every cast of his eye, would\nburst into tears, while the swift contagion, before he uttered a\nword, had reached every heart that could feel, and dimmed every eye\nthat could weep.[2]\n\n  [2] The New York Evangelist, in 1830, made the remark, that\n  \"Whitefield would have lost much of his oratorical influence on his\n  hearers, had his speaking eyes been covered with a pair of modern\n  spectacles.\"\n\nWhile his path to the sinner's heart was thus met with tears, he was\nnever without strength or aim. He struck everywhere. He swung his\nglittering weapon, \"the sword of the Spirit,\" in every direction,\nthe same whether he preached in the cushioned and carpeted pulpit to\nlords, ladies, and gentlemen, or encountered a mob of stage-players\nand merry-andrews in the open field. He insisted on instant,\nvisible, decisive action in his hearers. All was commotion where he\nmoved. The very earth would seem to be shaken with the thunder of\nhis eloquence; the heavens seemed, in the bold metaphor of Isaiah,\nto \"drop down from above, and the skies to pour down righteousness,\"\nwhen he set the trumpet of the gospel to his lips, and made the\nnotes of salvation or perdition ring in the ears of dying men. Such\nunwonted sounds startled the multitude into life, rousing energies\nthat were forthwith enlisted either for or against the mighty cause\nwhich he advocated, with the boldness and fervor of one who had\nreceived immediate commission from heaven. His sacred ambition was\ncontent with nothing short of the conquest of thousands.\n\nIt has been well said by a living American writer, that \"Whitefield\nwas, in sacred eloquence, what Handel was in sacred music. There\nwas an air, a soul, and a _movement_ in his oratory, which created\nindescribable emotion in his vast assemblies, and if Handel, with a\nthousand auxiliary voices and instruments, astonished the multitude\nin Westminster Abbey, even to raising them on their feet, by the\nperformance of his Messiah, Whitefield did greater wonders in his\nsingle person by _preaching_ the Messiah to the immense crowds in\nTottenham Court-road and Moorfields.\"\n\nThe same writer has said elsewhere, \"The influence of Whitefield and\nEdwards on theology and pulpit eloquence were immense. There was in\nthose two men indeed 'a diversity of gifts, but the same spirit,'\nThe intellect prevailed in Edwards, the impassioned in Whitefield.\nPure truth came forth from the mind of the one as nakedly\ndemonstrated as it ever was on the pages of Newton and Locke; for\nEdwards, when but a child, read Locke with enthusiasm. From the\nsoul of Whitefield it came forth arrayed in the gorgeous robes of\nhis own many-colored imagination, baptized in the tenderness of his\nown sympathetic spirit. At times, indeed, the thunders of Sinai\nseemed to shake the sacred desk, but the softer music of the harp\nof Zion was more congenial with his compassionate spirit, though he\nwas always bold for God, and braved danger in every form for the\nsalvation of sinners. It is not strange that American preachers\nvenerate, even to enthusiasm, the memory of such a man, and visit\nhis dust, enshrined as it is in the bosom of New England, with\nfeelings of indescribable interest. His labors were for us; his rest\nis with us; his example is before us. The first were indefatigable;\nthe second is peaceful; the last is glorious.\"\n\nThe Rev. Mr. Winter says, \"I hardly ever knew him to go through\na sermon without weeping more or less;\" and again, \"It was only\nby beholding his attitude and tears, that one could well conceive\nof the effect.\" No doubt there was a connection between the tears\nof Whitefield and his piety; but it must not be supposed that he\nwas always \"the weeping prophet;\" he could smile as well as weep.\nA venerable lady in New York, known to some yet living, speaking\nof the influence which first won her heart to God, said that \"Mr.\nWhitefield was so cheerful that it _tempted her to be a Christian_.\"\n\nEvery thing about this distinguished man excited attention. His\nvoice, accompanied by his look from crossed eyes, and proceeding\nfrom a man of his robust frame, produced wonderful effects. It\nis said that when once preaching in a graveyard, two young men\nconducted themselves improperly, when he fixed his eyes upon them,\nand with a voice resembling thunder, said, \"Come down, ye rebels.\"\nThey instantly fell, neither of them being inclined again to come\ninto contact with such a look, or to hear such a voice.\n\nHe was once preaching to a vast crowd of people in southern\nPennsylvania, which was at that time ignorant and uncivilized. He\nwas incessantly disturbed by their noise, and twice reproved them\nwith great severity. At length he was so overcome by their noisy and\nirreverent conduct, that he stopped short, dropped his head into his\nhands, burst into a flood of tears, and exclaimed, \"Oh, Lord God, I\nam ashamed that these people are provoking thy wrath, and I dare not\nreprove them a third time.\" Such was the effect of his conduct and\nfeeling, that his audience became perfectly quiet, and remained so\ntill the end of his discourse.\n\nWe have before us two narratives of his preaching during very heavy\nstorms. Dr. Campbell, a successor of Whitefield in the _Tabernacle_\nin London, and whose ministry has been marked by much of the power\nand success of his great predecessor, has given to the first of\nthese narratives the title of \"_Thunder and Eloquence_.\" Before\nhe commenced his sermon on this occasion, long darkening columns\ncrowded the bright sunny sky of the morning, and swept their dull\nshadows over the building, in fearful augury of the storm.\n\nHis text was, \"Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for many,\nI say unto you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able.\"\n\"See,\" said he, pointing to a shadow that was flitting across the\nfloor--\"see that emblem of human life. It passed for a moment, and\nconcealed the brightness of heaven from our view; but it is gone.\nAnd where will ye be, my hearers, when your lives have passed away\nlike that dark cloud? Oh, my dear friends, I see thousands sitting\nattentively, with their eyes fixed on the poor unworthy preacher.\nIn a few days, we shall all meet at the judgment-seat of Christ.\nWe shall form a part of that vast assembly that will gather before\nthe throne; and every eye will behold the Judge. With a voice whose\ncall you must abide and answer, he will inquire whether on earth you\nstrove to enter in at the strait gate; whether you were supremely\ndevoted to God; whether your hearts were absorbed in him. My blood\nruns cold when I think how many of you will then seek to enter in,\nand shall not be able. Oh, what plea can you make before the Judge\nof the whole earth? Can you say it has been your whole endeavor to\nmortify the flesh, with its affections and lusts--that your life has\nbeen one long effort to do the will of God? No; you must answer, 'I\nmade myself easy in the world by flattering myself that all would\nend well; but I have deceived my own soul, and am lost.'\n\n\"You, O false, and hollow Christian, of what avail will it be that\nyou have done many things--that you have read much in the sacred\nword--that you have made long prayers--that you have attended\nreligious duties, and that you have appeared holy in the eyes of\nmen? What will all this be, if, instead of loving Him supremely,\nyou have been supposing you should exalt yourself in heaven by acts\nreally polluted and unholy?\n\n\"And you, rich men, wherefore do you hoard your silver? Wherefore\ncount the price you have received for Him whom you every day crucify\nin your love of gain? Why--that when you are too poor to buy a\ndrop of cold water, your beloved son may be rolled to hell in his\nchariot, pillowed and cushioned around him.\"\n\nThe eye of the preacher gradually lighted up as he proceeded, till\ntowards the close it seemed to sparkle with celestial fire. With\nhis whole energy he exclaimed, \"O sinners, by all your hopes of\nhappiness, I beseech you to repent. Let not the wrath of God be\nawakened. Let not the fires of eternity be kindled against you. See\nthere!\" pointing to the lightning, which played on the corner of the\npulpit, \"it is a glance from the angry eye of Jehovah!\" Raising his\nfinger in a listening attitude, as the distant thunder grew louder\nand louder, and broke in one tremendous crash over the building, he\ncontinued, \"Hark! It was the voice of the Almighty as he passed by\nin his anger!\" As the sound died away, he covered his face with his\nhands, and knelt beside his pulpit, apparently lost in inward and\nintense prayer. The storm passed rapidly away, and the sun, beaming\nforth in his might, threw across the heavens a magnificent arch of\npeace. Rising, and pointing to the beautiful object, he exclaimed,\n\"Look upon the rainbow, and praise Him who made it. Very beautiful\nit is in the brightness thereof. It compasseth the heavens about\nwith glory; and the hands of the Most High have bended it!\"\n\nOn another occasion, as Mr. Whitefield was preaching in Boston, on\nthe wonders of creation, providence, and redemption, a violent\nstorm of thunder and lightning came on. In the midst of the sermon\nit attained to so alarming a height that the congregation sat in\nalmost breathless awe. The preacher closed his note-book, and\nstepping into one of the wings of the desk, fell on his knees, and\nwith much feeling and fine taste repeated:\n\n    \"Hark, THE ETERNAL rends the sky!\n     A mighty voice before him goes--\n     A voice of music to his friends,\n     But threatening thunder to his foes:\n    'Come, children, to your Father's arms;\n     Hide in the chambers of my grace,\n     Till the fierce storm be overblown,\n     And my revenging fury cease--'\n\n\"Let us devoutly sing to the praise and glory of God this hymn, Old\nHundred.\"\n\nThe whole congregation instantly rose, and poured forth the sacred\nsong, in which they were accompanied by the organ, in a style of\nsimple grandeur and heartfelt devotion that was probably never\nsurpassed. By the time the hymn was finished the storm was hushed.\nThe remainder of the services were well adapted to sustain the\nelevated feeling which had been produced; and the benediction with\nwhich the good man dismissed the flock was universally received with\nstreaming eyes, and hearts overflowing with tenderness and gratitude.\n\nAnother writer has thus described his appearance in the pulpit.\nThere was nothing in the appearance of this extraordinary man which\nwould lead you to suppose that a Felix would tremble before him.\nHe was something above the middle stature, well proportioned, and\nremarkable for a native gracefulness of manner. His complexion\nwas very fair, his features regular, and his dark blue eyes small\nand lively. In recovering from the measles he had contracted a\nsquint with one of them; but this peculiarity rather rendered the\nexpression of his countenance more remarkable, than in any degree\nlessened the effect of its uncommon sweetness. His voice excelled\nboth in melody and compass; and its fine modulations were happily\naccompanied by that grace of action which he possessed in an eminent\ndegree, and which has been said to be the chief requisite in an\norator. To see him when he first commenced, one would have thought\nhim any thing but enthusiastic and glowing; but as he proceeded,\nhis heart warmed with his subject, and his manner became impetuous\nand animated; till, forgetful of every thing around him, he seemed\nto kneel at the throne of Jehovah, and to beseech in agony for his\nfellow-beings.\n\nAfter he had finished his prayer, he knelt for a long time in\nprofound silence, and so powerful was the effect on the most\nheartless of his audience, that a stillness like that of the tomb\npervaded the whole house.\n\nMr. Tracy, in his narrative of \"the Great Awakening\" about 1740,\nhas admirably remarked, \"It is often said that Whitefield cannot\nhave been a very great man, because his printed sermons contain only\nplain, common thoughts, such as men of ordinary minds habitually\nuse. But what made those thoughts so common? They were not common\nwhen he began to utter them. In England especially, and to a\nconsiderable extent here also, they astonished his hearers by their\nstrangeness. What is more common than a voyage across the Atlantic?\nBut was Columbus, therefore, only an ordinary man? The case of\nCopernicus is more nearly parallel. He reasserted a truth which had\nbeen uttered, repudiated, and forgotten. That truth is now common,\neven among school-boys. But was he, therefore, only a child in\nintellect?\"\n\nThere are yet extant about eighty of the sermons by which Whitefield\nagitated nations, and the more remote influence of which is still\ndistinctly to be traced, in the popular divinity and national\ncharacter of Great Britain and of the United States. Of these\ncompositions, Sir James Stephen, an evangelical Episcopalian of\nLondon, wrote at some length in the \"Edinburgh Review,\" 1838, and\nwe shall make no apology for borrowing a portion of his remarks,\ncombining them with some of our own.\n\nIt is true, that these sermons have fallen into very general\nneglect; for to win permanent acceptance for a book, into which the\nprinciples of life were not infused by its author, is a miracle\nwhich not even the zeal of religious proselytes can accomplish. Yet,\ninferior as were his inventive to his mimetic powers, Whitefield is\nentitled, among theological writers, to a place which, if it cannot\nchallenge admiration, may at least excite and reward curiosity.\nMany, and those by far the worst of his discourses, bear the marks\nof careful preparation. Take at hazard a sermon of one of the\npreachers usually distinguished as evangelical, add a little to\nits length, and subtract a great deal from its point and polish,\nand you have one of his more elaborate common topics discussed in\na commonplace way; a respectable mediocrity of thought and style;\nendless variations on one or two cardinal truths--in short, the task\nof a clerical Saturday evening, executed with piety, good sense, and\nexceeding sedateness. But open one of that series of Whitefield's\nsermons which bears the stamp of having been conceived and uttered\nat the same moment, and imagine it recited to myriads of eager\nlisteners with every charm of voice and gesture, and the secret\nof his unrivalled fascination is at least partially disclosed. He\nplaces himself on terms of intimacy and unreserved confidence with\nyou, and makes it almost as difficult to decline the invitation\nto his familiar talk as if Montaigne himself had issued it. The\negotism is amusing, affectionate, and warm-hearted, with just that\nslight infusion of self-importance without which it would pass for\naffectation. In his art of rhetoric, personification holds the first\nplace; and the prosopopoeia is so managed as to quicken abstractions\ninto life, and to give them individuality and distinctness without\nthe exhibition of any of those spasmodic and distorted images which\nobey the incantations of vulgar exorcists. Every trace of study and\ncontrivance is obliterated by the hearty earnestness which pervades\neach successive period, and by the vernacular and homely idioms in\nwhich his meaning is conveyed.\n\nIt is in the grandeur and singleness of purpose that the charm of\nWhitefield's preaching seems to have consisted. You feel that you\nhave to do with a man who lived and spoke, and who would gladly\nhave died, to deter his hearers from the path of destruction, and\nto guide them to holiness and peace. His gossipping stories, and\ndramatic forms of speech, are never employed to hide the awful\nrealities on which he is intent. Conscience is not permitted to\nfind an intoxicating draught in even spiritual excitement, or an\nanodyne in glowing imagery. Guilt and its punishment, pardon and\nspotless purity, death and an eternal existence, stand out in bold\nrelief on every page. From these the eye of the teacher is never\nwithdrawn, and to these the attention of the hearer is riveted. All\nthat is poetic, grotesque, or rapturous is employed to deepen these\nimpressions, and is dismissed as soon as that purpose is answered.\nDeficient in learning, meagre in thought, and redundant in language\nas are these discourses, they yet fulfil the one great condition of\ngenuine eloquence. They propagate their own kindly warmth, and leave\ntheir stings behind them.\n\nThe enumeration of the sources of Whitefield's power is still\nessentially defective. Neither energy, nor eloquence, nor histrionic\ntalents, nor any artifices of style, nor the most genuine sincerity\nand self-devotedness, nor all these united, would have enabled him\nto mould the religious character of millions in his own and future\ngenerations. The secret lies deeper. It consisted in the theology\nhe taught--in its perfect simplicity and universal application.\n\"Would ministers,\" says he, \"preach for eternity, they would then\nact the part of true Christian orators; and not only calmly and\ncoolly inform the understanding, but by pathetic and persuasive\naddress, endeavor to move the affections and to warm the heart. To\nact otherwise, betrays a sad ignorance of human nature, and such\nan inexcusable ignorance and indifference in a preacher, as must\nconstrain the hearers to suspect, whether they will or not, that\nthe preacher, let him be whom he will, only deals in the false\ncommerce of unfelt truth.\" His eighteen thousand sermons were but\nso many variations on two key-notes: man is guilty, but may obtain\nforgiveness; he is immortal, and must ripen here for endless weal or\nwoe hereafter. Expanded into innumerable forms, and diversified by\ninfinite varieties of illustration, these two cardinal principles\nwere ever in his heart and on his tongue. Let who would invoke\npoetry to embellish the Christian system, or philosophy to explore\nits esoteric depths, from his lips it was delivered as an awful and\nurgent summons to repent, to believe, and to obey. To set to music\nthe orders issued to seamen in a storm, or to address them in the\nlanguage of Aristotle or Descartes, would have seemed to him not a\nwhit more preposterous than to divert his hearers from their danger\nand their refuge, their duties and their hopes, to any topics more\ntrivial or more abstruse. In fine, he was thoroughly and continually\nin earnest, and therefore possessed that tension of the soul which\nadmitted neither of lassitude nor relaxation, few and familiar\nas were the topics to which he was confined. His was, therefore,\nprecisely that state of mind in which alone eloquence, properly so\ncalled, can be engendered, and a moral and intellectual sovereignty\nwon.\n\nNor less important is it to remark, though we need not illustrate\nit at length, that much was effected by every one seeing that he\nalways forgot himself in his subject, and rested only on heaven for\nsuccess. He felt himself called to serve Christ, and gave himself\nto his task, to save sinners, and he cared for nothing else. No\none ever doubted his sincerity when he prayed, \"Help me, Friend of\nsinners, to be nothing, to say nothing, that thou mayest say and do\nevery thing, and be my all in all.\" If the same feelings were fully\nshown by the ministry at present, our messages would tell more on\nthe hearts of our hearers.\n\nWe need hardly remind the reader that Whitefield was remarkable for\n_a devotional spirit_. Probably no man ever lived nearer to God. Had\nhe been less prayerful, he would have been less powerful. It has\nbeen said that during a few of the last years of his life he read\nthe voluminous exposition of Matthew Henry, comprising six quarto\nvolumes, in a kneeling posture, pausing and praying that God would\nengraft upon his mind the instructions of that extraordinary man.\nWhen he came before his auditors, he looked like one who had been\nwith God. This it was which won for him the title of _seraphic_--he\nwas a human _seraph_, and burnt out in the blaze of his own fire.\nUsually for an hour or two before he went into the pulpit, he\nclaimed retirement. In this claim he was imperative, and would not\nbe interrupted in his seasons of hallowed intercourse with God.\n\nEngaged almost incessantly in preaching, or in preparation for it,\nit was impossible, however much he desired it, to pay many private\nvisits of a religious nature. We are told, however, that on one\noccasion, when a young minister, afterwards exceedingly popular and\nuseful, was once visiting him, he was sent for to visit a poor woman\nwho had been so dreadfully burnt that she could not survive many\nhours. He went immediately, and prayed with her. He had no sooner\nreturned, than she called out, \"Oh, where is Mr. Whitefield?\" Urged\nby her entreaty, her friends requested him to visit her a second\ntime. He complied, and again prayed with her. The poor afflicted\nwoman continued still to desire his presence. When her friends came\nfor him a third time, \"I begged of him,\" said the young clergyman,\n\"not to go; for he could scarcely expect to do any good. 'Your\nnerves are too weak, your feelings are too acute to endure such\nscenes.' I shall never forget his mild reproof: 'Leave me; my Master\ncan save to the uttermost, to the _very uttermost_.'\"\n\nIn conversation with his friends, Whitefield was as far removed as\npossible from duplicity and mere compliment. He invited from his\nfriends whatever of instruction and of reproof they considered him\nto need. And while he was always ready to receive reproof, he was,\nwhen called to the duty, ready to give it, and often in a way which\nhis friends did not expect. A censorious professor of religion,\nknowing the doctrinal differences between the two men, asked\nWhitefield if he thought they would see Mr. John Wesley in heaven.\nHis answer was truly admirable: \"No, sir, I fear not; for he will\nbe so near the throne, and we shall be at such a distance, we shall\nhardly get sight of him.\"\n\nIt is said, that when he was once travelling in company with a\nChristian man, they had occasion to stay for a night at a road-side\ntavern. After they had retired, they were greatly annoyed by a\ncompany of gamblers, who were in an adjoining room. Whitefield\ncould not rest, and told his friend that he would go into the room\nand reprove them for their conduct. The other remonstrated against\nhis doing so, but in vain. He went; and unhappily, his words fell\napparently powerless upon them. Returning, he laid down to sleep.\n\"What,\" asked his companion, \"did you gain by your trouble?\"\nWhitefield characteristically answered, \"A soft pillow.\"\n\nIn his intercourse with general society, Mr. Whitefield never forgot\nhis dignity as a servant of Jesus Christ. When he was in the zenith\nof his popularity, Lord Clare, who knew that his influence was\nconsiderable, applied to him by letter, requesting his influence\nat Bristol at the ensuing general election. To this request Mr.\nWhitefield replied, that in general elections he never interfered;\nbut he would earnestly exhort his lordship to use great diligence to\nmake his own particular \"calling and election sure.\"\n\nMr. Whitefield was greatly distinguished, even from early life, for\nneatness in his person, order in his apartments, and regular method\nin the management of all his affairs. He was accustomed to say that\na minister should be \"without a spot;\" and on one occasion remarked,\nthat he could not feel comfortable if he knew that his _gloves_\nwere out of their proper place. The advantages of such habits are\nnumerous. They save time, give a degree of comfort which can only\nbe known by experience, and add not a little to the dignity of the\nChristian minister.\n\nThe device upon Whitefield's seal, of which probably few impressions\nare now to be found, was truly characteristic. It was a winged heart\nsoaring above the globe, and its motto was, \"_Astra petamus_\"--Let\nus seek heaven.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XVIII.\n\nCHARACTER OF WHITEFIELD AS A PREACHER--CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATIONS.\n\n\nIn suggesting a few of the CHARACTERISTICS OF WHITEFIELD'S\nPREACHING, we are very greatly indebted to an excellent anonymous\nwriter in the London Evangelical Magazine for 1853. We consider as\namong the reasons of his success, and as worthy of our imitation,\n\nFirst, _the prominence given to the leading truths of salvation,\nand the constant exaltation of Christ in them_. There needs no\nminute inquiry, or great analytical care, to ascertain what was\nthe pervading theme of this popular minister: it was \"Christ,\nand him crucified,\" and the glorious truths that hover around\nthe cross, and derive from it their being and lustre. There was\nno other subject, in Whitefield's estimation, that was worthy of\npre\u00ebminence, and to unfold, elucidate, and apply it, was the great\ndesign of his labors. He saw in it such a wonderful adaptation to\nthe necessities and condition of fallen humanity, that he stood in\nthe midst of its wants and woes with all the confidence of a good\nphysician who had a sovereign and sufficient remedy to propose.\nHe knew that there was no case which it could not meet, no moral\ndisease from which it would not recover, no spiritual need which\nit would not supply; and therefore, however far gone men might\nbe from original righteousness, however hardened in sin, sunk in\niniquity, or however elevated by the delusions of a false morality\nand fancied self-righteousness, he propounded this as the only and\nall-sufficient antidote, at once to destroy and heal, to kill and\nto make alive. As to the spurious production of a rationalistic\ntheory on the one hand, or the prescriptions of ceremonial virtue\nand sacramental grace on the other, he knew them not. He saw at\nonce their hollowness and insufficiency, and would not mock the\nnecessities of our fallen nature, or aggravate the wounds which sin\nhad made by a proposal of them. His acquaintance with the human\nheart was deep, and his knowledge of the different modifications\nof the original disease was so great, that he despaired of relief\nfrom any expedients save that which infinite Wisdom had devised, and\nwhich \"the gospel of the grace of God\" revealed. Philosophy with\nall its discoveries, and reason with all its powers, the law with\nall its authority, and virtue with all its rewards, he knew could\nonly, like the priests and the Levites, have passed the patient by,\nand left him to despair, till a greater than they should arrive,\nand say, \"I will come and heal you.\" On that adorable Personage,\ntherefore, and the wonders of his skill and love, he delighted to\ndwell. Every sermon was full of Christ; every discourse was odorous\nof him. From whatever part of revealed truth he derived his text,\nand with whatever peculiar development of man's moral physiology he\nhad to do, there was something to suggest, to demonstrate the need,\nor the suitableness, or the all-sufficiency of the Saviour of the\nworld. To set him forth, in the glories of his wonderful person, the\nvariety of his offices, the perfection of his righteousness, the\ncompleteness of his atonement, and the plenitude of his grace, was\nhis perpetual aim. To these he gave continual prominence, at all\ntimes, and in every place. There was no reserve, no equivocation, no\npartial statement on such themes. It was a full, clear, consistent\ngospel. From his lips the gospel gave no \"uncertain sound.\" This\nmade him a welcome messenger of glad tidings to all. This gave him\na key to the hearts of many, who, as they stood around him, and\nwondered at him, like those five thousand whom the Redeemer fed\nwith \"five loaves and two small fishes,\" found all their appetites\nsuited, and all their necessities supplied. It was the magic power\nwhich arrested them; the centre of gravitation which attracted them;\nthe bread of life which fed them. \"As Moses lifted up the serpent\nin the wilderness,\" so now was the Son of man lifted up by the\nministry of this his devoted herald; and far as the camp extended,\nand wide as the circumference of poison and death was spread, the\nwounded looked thereon and lived. A restorative virtue issued from\nit. The hardest heart was softened. The most obstinate in rebellion\nwas overcome. The blindest saw. The moral lepers were cleansed.\nThe broken in heart were made whole, and the spiritually dead were\nraised to life. \"This was the Lord's doing, and it was marvellous in\ntheir eyes.\" They beheld the man. They heard him preach. They felt\nthe power. It was because He was exalted among them who had said,\n\"I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.\"\n\nSecondly, _the glow of feeling, the melting compassion, which\npervaded his own soul_. Oh, it is supremely delightful and deeply\naffecting to observe the tender affection and melting pathos with\nwhich Whitefield propounded and proclaimed the precious truths and\neverlasting verities of the gospel to his fellow-men. He stood\namong them as one of their race, one of their number, conscious of\nthe common misery into which all had fallen, and weeping over the\nmiseries and ruin in which by nature they were alike involved. As\nhe opened up the treasures of infinite mercy, and the riches of\nredeeming love to their view, he wept to think how long they had\nbeen unknown or despised by many, and with what base ingratitude\nthousands would probably still turn away from them. As one who\nsaw their immortal being in jeopardy, and their souls standing\non the verge of irretrievable ruin, he hastened, with joy in his\ncountenance and tenderness in his heart, to tell them of One who was\n\"mighty to save,\" and that \"now was the accepted time, and now the\nday of salvation.\" Not as one who had a cold lecture on ethics to\ndeliver, or a dissertation on philosophy to expound, or a problem\nin mathematics to solve, did he proceed to such a work; but as one\nwho felt the weight of his great commission, and knew the worth\nof never-dying souls. The evil of sin, the danger of impenitence,\nthe powers of the world to come, the glories of heaven, and the\nunutterable miseries of the regions of woe, were visibly present to\nhis own mind; and of these, \"out of the abundance of his heart,\" he\nspoke to others. He could not be calm, he could not be apathetic on\nsuch themes as these.\n\n        \"Passion was reason, transport temper, here.\"\n\nAnd with much of the melting tenderness of Him who wept over\nJerusalem, he spoke of these things to all that resorted to him.\nWhat moving words did he utter on Blackheath hill, in the Tabernacle\npulpit, and on Kingswood mount! His vivid eye beamed with the glow\nof tenderness, and his tears, as he spoke, oft-times moistened his\nlittle Bible or bedewed the ground. In his printed sermons, which\ndoubtless are but feeble specimens of his free and fervent manner,\nthere are strains of tender pathos and impassioned oratory, which it\nis almost impossible to read even now without being moved to share\nin his feelings and in the emotions which they must have enkindled\naround; and in the perusal of which we wonder not that, in all the\ncircumstances, the place in which he stood was a Bochim--a place of\nweeping. Oh, the melting power, the exquisite pathos, the tender\nexpostulation of this pre\u00ebminent man, and unrivalled preacher of the\ngospel of our salvation! We wish we could catch them now--that all\npreachers possessed them; that the rising ministry especially would\nemulate him in these things. Whitefield showed his intense feeling,\nnot from the mere power of ratiocination, or from the poetic\nmemento, or for the sake of producing effect by the tears that were\nunfelt, or which only flowed from the surface; but from the meltings\nof a tender heart, influenced by a Saviour's love, and overflowing\nwith the commiseration of a benign compassion for dying multitudes\naround. Doddridge's beautiful hymn,\n\n            \"Arise, my tenderest thoughts, arise,\"\n\none might almost think was written at Whitefield's side. The\ntenderness of John, and the \"weeping\" of Paul, were blended in him\nwith the boldness of Peter. The love that agonized in the garden of\nGethsemane, and bled on the cross of Calvary, was largely diffused\nthrough all his powers.\n\nThirdly, _the direct address of his ministry_. The characteristic\nmode of his preaching, and the style of his public ministrations,\nwas, to direct his appeal to the hearts and consciences of his\nhearers, and to \"preach _to_ the people all the words of this\nlife.\" It was not an harangue _before_ them. It was not an oration\nbeautifully prepared, read, or delivered in their hearing, and\npresented simply for their acceptance and admiration; but a\ndirect address, an affectionate appeal, a solemn and earnest\ncommunication of the message he had received from God to them. Oh,\nwe have sometimes thought, what a marked difference there ought\nto be between the ministrations of a servant of Christ to his\nfellow-immortals, on things of eternal importance in which they are\npersonally and deeply concerned, and the delivery of a lecture from\nthe philosopher's desk, or even of a dissertation on theology from\nthe professorial chair. So thought the apostles. So thought the\nprophets and public teachers of sacred mysteries of old. They had\nthe \"burden of the Lord\" to deliver, and it was _unto_ the people.\nThey had an embassy to execute, and it was by negotiating directly\nwith, and in the consciences of their hearers. Whitefield caught\ntheir spirit, proceeded in their way, and did such mighty execution,\nnot by the mere symmetrical illustration of divine truth, but by\nthe direct presentation of it to their minds. They had not to ask,\n\"For whom is all this intended?\" and, \"Is it designed for us?\" They\nfelt that it was. It came home to their consciences, and to their\nvery hearts. They could not transfer it to others, nor avoid the\napplication of it to themselves. Had the preacher called them by\nname, which in his skilful delineation of character, he sometimes\nvirtually did, they could not have been more certain that he\nintended it for them, and that it was at their peril to neglect or\npass it by. \"I have a message from God unto thee,\" he substantially\nsaid in every discourse he uttered, and the people were compelled\nto believe it. \"Go, and tell this people,\" said the divine voice\nto Isaiah, \"Ye hear indeed, but do not understand; ye see indeed,\nbut do not perceive.\" \"Therefore,\" said Peter, \"let all the house\nof Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, _whom\nye have crucified_, both Lord and Christ.\" \"Now then,\" said Paul,\n\"we are ambassadors for Christ; as though God did beseech _you_ by\nus, we pray _you_, in Christ's stead, _be ye_ reconciled to God.\"\nSuch was the tenor of the apostolic ministry. Such the secret of\nits mighty power and success. And such also was the characteristic\nof the faithful and seraphic Whitefield, by which he knocked at the\ndoor of many hearts, and those hearts were opened to him, to his\nmessage, and to his Lord. His plan was that of heavenly wisdom; his\nappeal was the same. \"Unto you, O men, I call, and my voice is to\nthe sons of men.\" In him were verified the poet's graphic lines:\n\n    \"There stands the messenger of truth; there stands\n    The legate of the skies: his theme divine,\n    His office sacred, his credentials clear.\n    By him the violated law speaks out\n    Its thunders; and by him, in strains as sweet\n    As angels use, the gospel whispers peace.\n    He stablishes the strong, restores the weak,\n    Reclaims the wanderer, binds the broken heart,\n    And sues the sinner to return to God.\"\n\nFourthly, _his habitual dependence on the Spirit of God, and his\nearnest aspirations for the manifestation of his power_. That he\nwas conscious of his own superior talents as an orator, and knew\nhow to employ them on sacred themes; that he skilfully wielded\nall the weapons of a well-studied eloquence to gain access to the\nhuman mind, and knew both how to alarm and how to persuade, and\ncould attempt both with as much success probably as any speaker,\neither of ancient or modern times; that he had a large and minute\nacquaintance with the powers and passions of the human soul, and\nknew well when and how to touch the hidden springs of its energies\nand actions; that he had a good amount of common and sacred learning\nat his command, and like that Apollos whom among the early teachers\nof Christianity he most resembled, was \"mighty in the Scriptures;\"\nand that he delighted to expatiate on the wonders and glories of\nredemption as a restorative scheme pre\u00ebminently adapted to interest\nand attract, to impress and rule our common nature--are facts open\nto all who inspect his writings and accompany him in his labors,\nand will be denied by none. But with all these, and amid all, in\nevery sermon he composed and delivered, and in his most impassioned\naddresses to his hearers, there is manifested an underlying and\nall-pervading dependence on the power and grace of the Spirit\nof God, which was in character, if not in degree, meek, humble,\ngenuine, entire, like that of the most eminent apostle or adoring\nsaint at the foot of the divine throne. With him it was not merely a\nsentiment, but a feeling; and that feeling constant and habitual, as\nit was in him who in the review of his labors said, \"I have planted,\nApollos watered, but God gave the increase.\" He knew that none but\nthe almighty Spirit could gain effectual access to the spirit of\nman; and that not even a Melancthon, a Luther, or a Whitefield,\ncould make old Adam yield, unless constrained by a superior power.\nHe seemed to stand in the valley of vision among the dry bones, as\nthe prophet did, and while he addressed them with something like a\nprophet's power, he had no expectation or hope of success until the\nwind of heaven came down and blew upon them. Therefore he prophesied\nto it as well as to them. \"Come from the four winds, O breath, and\nbreathe upon the slain, that they may live,\" was often the mighty\ncry of his soul, before preaching, while preaching, and after\npreaching. It seemed to be his joy, his only, his all-sustaining\nconfidence, that he lived under \"the dispensation of the Spirit,\"\nand wrought in a day, and preached upon a theme, in connection with\nwhich \"the ministration of the Spirit\" was to be \"glorious,\" by his\nwonderful works of conviction, conversion, and sanctification, among\nthe children of men. To that Spirit, as the glorifier of Christ, he\noften devoutly and earnestly appealed. Sometimes, in the midst of\nan unusual flow of tender and eloquent address to his hearers on\nhis favorite theme of the glories and grace of his divine Master,\nhe would pause in solemn silence, and lifting up his hands and his\nvoice to heaven, and carrying the hearts of his audience with him,\ninvoke aloud the descending and all-consuming fire. The present God\nwas acknowledged and felt. The word came \"in demonstration of the\nSpirit and of power.\" And while the habitual aim of his preaching\nwas to exalt \"Christ Jesus the Lord,\" and while he reasoned, and\nopened the Scriptures, and taught and alarmed or invited his\nhearers, in the most touching strains of urgent remonstrance and\ntender entreaty, to accept now \"the great salvation,\" the inward\nstate of his soul was that of entire reliance on the presence and\nco\u00f6peration of the Holy Spirit of God. To him were sent up his most\nintense aspirations. In all the records of his success, to that\nSpirit the honor is always ascribed. \"Not I, but the grace of God\nwhich was with me,\" is the grateful acknowledgment he makes in the\nreview of every field occupied and every triumph won. And thus it\nwas that the fabric of his ministry, and of all his ministrations,\nin the multitudinous labors which he directed against the kingdom\nof darkness and of Satan in his day, was like the mystic vision\nwhich Ezekiel saw, _instinct with life_. The spirit of the living\ncreatures was in the wheels. \"When this went, those went; when this\nstood, those stood; when this was lifted up from the earth, those\nwere lifted up.\" It was all life. A living preacher; a living theme;\na living power, giving life, and spreading it all around. Therefore\nit was that life followed in the region of death, and at his coming\nthe desert rejoiced, and the wilderness blossomed as the rose.\n\n    \"Dry bones were raised, and clothed afresh,\n     And hearts of stone were turned to flesh.\"\n\nBy preaching such as we have now attempted to describe, thousands\nand tens of thousands were gathered to Christ. \"An exceeding great\narmy\" stood up. Slumbering churches were awakened, religion was\nrevived, and \"righteousness and praise\" were caused to \"spring forth\nbefore all the nations.\" And as this apostolic man surveyed the\namazing scene, and glanced at the wide circumference of his labors,\nin the British Isles and in the New World, he might have exclaimed,\nas one before him had done, \"Now thanks be unto God, who always\ncauseth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of\nhis name by us in every place.\" \"Through mighty signs and wonders,\n_by the power of the Spirit of God_, from Jerusalem round about to\nIllyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.\" \"For I am\nnot ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God to\nsalvation; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.\" Who, in the\nremembrance of Whitefield and his times, will not long for their\nreturn, and exclaim, \"Awake, awake; put on strength, O arm of the\nLord; awake, as in the ancient days.\" \"O that thou wouldest rend\nthe heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might\nflow down at thy presence, as when the melting fire burneth, the\nfire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine\nadversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!\" Spirit\nof the living God, descend and replenish with thy power all our\nsouls, our ministry, our temples, our land.\n\nIn estimating the character of Whitefield, it should be observed\nthat _he dealt with his hearers, individually and collectively, as\nimmortal beings_. To use the language of Isaac Taylor, \"he held\nMAN as if in the abstract, or as if whatever is not common to all\nmen were forgotten. The most extreme diversities, intellectual and\nmoral, differences of rank, culture, national modes of thought, all\ngave way and ceased to be thought of; distinctions were swept from\nthe ground where he took his position. At the first opening of his\nlips, and as the rich harmony of his voice spread its undulations\nover the expanse of human faces, and at the instant when the sparkle\nof his bright eye caught every other eye, human nature, in a manner,\ndropped its individuality, and presented itself in its very elements\nto be moulded anew. Whitefield, although singularly gifted with a\nperception of the varieties of character, yet spoke as if he could\nknow nothing of the thousands before him but their immortality and\ntheir misery; and so it was that these thousands listened to him.\n\n\"No preacher whose history is on record, has trod so wide a field as\ndid Whitefield, or has retrod it so often, or has repeated himself\nso much, or has carried so far the experiment of exhausting himself,\nand of spending his popularity, if it could have been spent, but\nit never was spent. Within the compass of a few weeks he might\nhave been heard addressing the negroes of the Bermuda islands,\nadapting himself to their infantile understandings, and to their\ndebauched hearts; and then at Chelsea, with the aristocracy of rank\nand wit before him, approving himself to listeners such as the\nlords Bolingbroke and Chesterfield. Whitefield might as easily have\nproduced a Hamlet or a Paradise Lost, as have excogitated a sermon\nwhich, as a composition, a product of thought, would have tempted\nmen like these to hear him a second time; and as to his faculty and\ngraces as a speaker, his elocution and action, a second performance\nwould have contented them. But in fact Bolingbroke, and many of his\nclass, thought not the hour long, time after time, while, with much\nsameness of _material_ and of language, he spoke of eternity and of\nsalvation in Christ.... Floods of tears moistened cheeks rough and\nsmooth; and sighs, suppressed or loudly uttered, gave evidence that\nhuman nature is one and the same when it comes in presence of truths\nwhich bear upon the guilty and the immortal without distinction.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe Rev. Dr. James Hamilton of London has admirably delineated\nWhitefield, in a passage which must be admired by all who read\nit: \"Whitefield was the prince of English preachers. Many have\nsurpassed him as sermon-makers, but none have approached him\nas a pulpit orator. Many have outshone him in the clearness of\ntheir logic, the grandeur of their conceptions, and the sparkling\nbeauty of single sentences; but in the power of darting the gospel\ndirect into the conscience, he eclipsed them all. With a full and\nbeaming countenance, and the frank and easy port which the English\npeople love--for it is the symbol of honest purpose and friendly\nassurance--he combined a voice of rich compass, which could easily\nthrill over Moorfields in musical thunder, or whisper its terrible\nsecret in every private ear; and to this gainly aspect and tuneful\nvoice he added a most expressive and eloquent action. Improved by\nconscientious practice, and instinct with his earnest nature, this\nelocution was the acted sermon, and by its pantomimic portrait\nenabled the eye to anticipate each rapid utterance, and helped the\nmemory to treasure up the palatable ideas. None ever used so boldly,\nnor with more success, the highest styles of impersonation: as when\nhe described to his sailor-auditors a storm at sea, and compelled\nthem to shout, 'Take to the longboat, sir!' His 'hark, hark!' could\nconjure up Gethsemane with its faltering moon, and awake again the\ncry of horror-stricken innocence; and an apostrophe to Peter on\nthe holy mount would light up another Tabor, and drown it in glory\nfrom the opening heaven. His thoughts were possessions, and his\nfeelings were transformations; and he spoke because he felt, his\nhearers understood because they saw. They were not only enthusiastic\namateurs, like Garrick, who ran to weep and tremble at his bursts\nof passion, but even the colder critics of the Walpole school\nwere surprised into momentary sympathy and reluctant wonder. Lord\nChesterfield was listening in Lady Huntingdon's pew when Whitefield\nwas comparing the benighted sinner to a blind beggar on a dangerous\nroad. His little dog gets away from him when skirting the edge of\na precipice, and he is left to explore the path with his iron-shod\nstaff. On the very verge of the cliff this blind guide slips through\nhis fingers and skims away down the abyss. All unconscious, the\nowner stoops down to regain it, and stumbling forward--'Good God,\nhe is gone!' shouted Chesterfield, who had been watching with\nbreathless alarm the blind man's movements, and who jumped from his\nfeet to save the catastrophe.\n\n\"But the glory of Whitefield's preaching was his heart-kindled\nand heart-melting gospel. But for this, all his bold strokes and\nbrilliant surprises might have been no better than the rhetorical\ntriumphs of Kirwan and other pulpit dramatists. He was an orator,\nbut he only sought to be an evangelist. Like a volcano where gold\nand gems may be darted forth as well as common things, but where\ngold and molten granite flow all alike in fiery fusion, bright\nthoughts and splendid images might be projected from his pulpit,\nbut all were merged in the stream which bore along the gospel\nand himself in blended fervor. Indeed, so simple was his nature,\nthat glory to God and good will to man had filled it; there was\nroom for little more. Having no church to found, no family to\nenrich, and no memory to immortalize, he was simply the ambassador\nof God; and inspired with its genial piteous spirit--so full of\nheaven reconciled and humanity restored--he soon himself became a\nliving gospel. Radiant with its benignity, and trembling with its\ntenderness, by a sort of spiritual induction a vast audience would\nspeedily be brought into a frame of mind--the transfusing of his\nown; and the white furrows on their sooty faces told that Kingswood\ncolliers were weeping, or the quivering of an ostrich plume bespoke\nits elegant wearer's deep emotion. And coming to his pulpit direct\nfrom communion with his Master, and in the strength of accepted\nprayer, there was an elevation in his mien which often paralyzed\nhostility, and a self-possession which made him amid uproar and\nconfusion the more sublime. With an electric bolt he would bring the\njester in his fool's cap from his perch on the tree, or galvanize\nthe brickbat from the skulking miscreant's grasp, or sweep down in\ncrouching submission and shamefaced silence the whole of Bartholomew\nfair; while a revealing flash of sententious doctrine, of vivified\nScripture, would disclose to awe-struck hundreds the forgotten\nverities of another world, or the unsuspected arcana of their inner\nman. 'I came to break your head, but, through you, God has broken\nmy heart,' was a sort of confession with which he was familiar; and\nto see the deaf old gentlewoman who used to mutter imprecations\nat him as he passed along the streets, clambering up the pulpit\nstairs to catch his angelic words, was a sort of spectacle which the\ntriumphant gospel often witnessed in his day. And when it is known\nthat his voice could be heard by twenty thousand, and that ranging\nall the empire, as well as America, he would often preach thrice\non a working-day, and that he has received in one week as many as\na thousand letters from persons awakened by his sermons, if no\nestimate can be formed of the results of his ministry, some idea may\nbe suggested of its vast extent and singular effectiveness.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nVery admirably has a writer in the North British Review compared and\ncontrasted Whitefield and Wesley. He says, \"Few characters could be\nmore completely the converse, and in the church's exigencies, more\nhappily the supplement of one another, than were those of George\nWhitefield and John Wesley; and had their views been identical,\nand their labors all along coincident, their large services to the\ngospel might have repeated Paul and Barnabas. Whitefield was soul,\nand Wesley was system. Whitefield was a summer cloud which burst at\nmorning or noon a fragrant exhalation over an ample track, and took\nthe rest of the day to gather again; Wesley was the polished conduit\nin the midst of the garden, through which the living water glided\nin pearly brightness and perennial music, the same vivid stream\nfrom day to day. After a preaching paroxysm, Whitefield lay panting\non his couch, spent, breathless, and deathlike; after his morning\nsermon in the foundry, Wesley would mount his pony, and trot and\nchat, and gather simples, till he reached some country hamlet, where\nhe would bait his charger, and talk through a little sermon with the\nvillagers, and remount his pony and trot away again. In his a\u00ebrial\npoise, Whitefield's eagle eye drank lustre from the source of light,\nand loved to look down on men in assembled myriads; Wesley's falcon\nglance did not sweep so far, but it searched more keenly and marked\nmore minutely where it pierced. A master of assemblies, Whitefield\nwas no match for the isolated man. Seldom coping with the multitude,\nbut strong in astute sagacity and personal ascendency, Wesley could\nconquer any number one by one. All force and impetus, Whitefield\nwas the powder-blast in the quarry, and by one explosive sermon\nwould shake a district, and detach materials for other men's long\nwork--deft, neat, and painstaking, Wesley loved to split and trim\neach fragment into uniform plinths and polished stones. Or, taken\notherwise, Whitefield was the bargeman or the wagoner who brought\nthe timber of the house, and Wesley was the architect who set it up.\nWhitefield had no patience for ecclesiastical polity, no aptitude\nfor pastoral details--with a beaver-like propensity for building,\nWesley was always constructing societies, and with a king-like\ncraft of ruling, was most at home when presiding over a class or a\nconference. It was their infelicity that they did not always work\ntogether--it was the happiness of the age, and the furtherance of\nthe gospel, that they lived alongside of one another.\"\n\n\nCENTENNIAL COMMEMORATIONS.\n\nWhen a century had elapsed from the commencement of Whitefield's\npublic labors, it was deemed desirable by many in England to\nhold public services of a devotional and practical character, in\ncelebration of the event. Especially was it designed that such\ncelebrations should have a reference, as far as possible, to\nadvance open-air preaching. The first services of this character\nwere very properly held in the Tabernacle, London, on May 21, 1839,\nand well do we remember with what intense interest, in common with\nthousands, we attended them. Ministers and laymen of at least\nfour religious denominations assisted in them, and eloquently\ndiscoursed on subjects illustrating the grace of God in connection\nwith Whitefield, but still more intent were they on benefiting the\npresent and future generations of men. Dr. Campbell delivered a\nsermon on the character and labors of Apollos, illustrated by those\nof Whitefield; the late Dr. Cox discoursed on the genius and labors\nof Whitefield; the late Rev. John Blackburn described the past and\npresent state of religion in England; and the Rev. John Young, LL.\nD., urged the propriety, duty, and necessity of open-air preaching.\nIn addition to these sermons, several admirable speeches were made,\nand every thing was marked by a spirit of earnest devotion. A small\nvolume, containing the sermons and speeches, was printed, and put\ninto extensive circulation.\n\nAbout the same time, a number of ministers of the Congregational\norder met in a central town of Gloucestershire, when one of them\nsuggested, that \"as the present year was the centenary of the Rev.\nGeorge Whitefield's labors in reviving the apostolic practice of\nopen-air preaching, it might be desirable to commemorate them by a\nspecial religious open-air celebration. It was further remarked,\nthat Whitefield was a native of Gloucester; that as many ministers\npresent presided over churches instituted by his ministry; that\nas Stinchcombe hill, in the very centre of the county, presented\na most beautiful and eligible spot for a public meeting; and as\nupon its summit, a century ago, Whitefield himself had preached and\nshowed the glad tidings of the kingdom of God, it seemed a duty to\nimprove the opportunity it offered of addressing, on the gracious\npersuasives of the cross, a large concourse of persons, many of whom\nmight never hear the gospel, and of promoting in the county the\nrevival of evangelical religion, which God so highly honored his\ndevoted servant in commencing in our land.\"\n\nThe suggestion was most cordially received, arrangements were made,\nand, July 30, 1839, though the weather was unfavorable, the meeting\nwas attended by at least seven thousand persons. A large preaching\nstand was erected for the ministers, nearly one hundred of whom\nwere present. Sermons were preached by the Rev. Drs. Matheson and\nRoss, and by the Rev. Messrs. T. East, J. H. Hinton, and J. Sibree;\nand addresses were given, and the devotional exercises led by many\nothers. The services were solemnly impressive. The late Josiah\nConder, Esq., wrote two hymns especially for the occasion, which are\nwell worthy of preservation; we therefore transfer them to our pages.\n\nI.\n\n      How sweet from crowded throngs,\n      Zion, ascend thy songs,\n    With choral swells through echoing aisles!\n      Where brethren, brethren meet,\n      These songs rise doubly sweet,\n    From humbler rooms or loftier piles.\n\n      But here, not made with hands,\n      A nobler temple stands;\n    Here, 'mid thy works, O God, we bow,\n      Where all around, above,\n      Proclaims thy power and love;\n    Oh, tune our hearts to praise thee now.\n\n      We bless thy gracious care,\n      For many a house of prayer,\n    Where saints may meet with conscience free,\n      To keep thy simple rites,\n      In which thy church delights,\n    And unforbidden, wait on thee.\n\n      But now, beneath the sky,\n      We raise our songs on high,\n    To Him who gave all nature birth;\n      While the free air wafts round\n      To distant vales the sound--\n    Praise to the Lord of heaven and earth.\n\n      So to the mountain air\n      The Saviour breathed his prayer;\n    So 'mid green hills or deserts rude,\n      The poor he meekly taught,\n      And gracious wonders wrought,\n    Or fed the famished multitude.\n\n      So did apostles teach;\n      So did our Whitefield preach;\n    These hills have heard his fervent prayer:\n      Oh, let the saving word\n      Throughout our land be heard,\n    Free as the light, and open as the air.\n\n\nII.\n\n    Where is the voice of Whitefield now?\n      Where does his mantle rest?\n    Oh, for Elisha's from the plough,\n      With kindred zeal possessed!\n    Apostles of heroic mould,\n      With love seraphic fired,\n    Divinely called, like those of old\n      At Pentecost inspired!\n\n    Oh THOU, our Head, enthroned on high,\n      By whom thy members live,\n    Wilt thou not hear our fervent cry,\n      The holy unction give?\n    In all the plenitude of grace\n      Thy gifts of might bestow;\n    And by us, Lord, in every place,\n      Thy saving virtue show.\n\n    This Christian land with error teems,\n      The blind by blinder led;\n    The sophist weaves his Atheist schemes;\n      Wide has the poison spread.\n    Arise, O Lord, send forth thy word;\n      Thy faithful heralds call;\n    And while the gospel trump is heard,\n      Let Satan's bulwarks fall.\n\n    Free, pure, and vital as the light,\n      GOD'S message to our race;\n    Like genial gales the SPIRIT'S might,\n      Sovereign, mysterious grace.\n    Breathe forth, O wind, and to new birth\n      Quicken the bones of death;\n    Regenerate this withered earth;\n      Give to the dying breath.\n\nIt is pleasant to add to this account, that satisfactory evidences\nwere given that some, during these services, were brought to the\nsaving knowledge of \"the truth as in Jesus.\" And it may be mentioned\nas a singular circumstance, that an old man one hundred and three\nyears of age attended on this occasion, who had been carried in his\nmother's arms to this same spot to hear Whitefield preach just a\ncentury before.\n\nThe last centenary service to which we shall make reference, is the\none held at the _Bristol_ Tabernacle, November 25, 1853. The sermon\non _The Character of Whitefield_, by the Rev. John Angell James, was\nfrom the text, \"This one thing I do.\" Phil. 3:13. In it he said:\n\n\"We hear much in our days about the adaptation of the gospel to\nthe age. There is no word I more hate or love, dread or desire,\naccording to the sense in, or the purpose for which it is used,\nthan this word _adaptation_ as applied to preaching. Now, if by\nadaptation be meant, more philosophy, and less Christianity; more of\ncold abstract intellectualism, and less of popular, simple, earnest\nstatement of gospel truth; more profound discussion and artificial\nelaboration addressed to the learned few, and less of warm-hearted\nappeal to the multitude, may God preserve us from such adaptation,\nfor it is high-treason against truth and the salvation of souls. But\nif by this be meant a stronger intelligence, a chaster composition,\na sterner logic, a more powerful rhetoric, a more correct criticism,\nand a more varied illustration, but all employed to set forth the\ngospel as comprehending those two great words, _redemption and\nregeneration_, let us have it; we need it; and come in ever such\nabundance, it will be a blessing.\n\n\"Adaptation! the gospel is adaptation, from beginning to end, to\nevery age of time, and to all conditions of humanity. It is God's\nown adaptation. It is he who knows every ward of the lock of\nman's nature, who has constructed this admirable key; and all the\nmiserable tinkering of a vain and deceitful philosophy can make no\nbetter key, nor can all the attempts of a philosophizing theology\nmake this key better fit the wards of the lock.\n\n\"Adaptation! was not the gospel in all its purity and simplicity\nadapted to human nature as it existed in commercial, scholastic,\nphilosophical Corinth? And did not Paul think so when he determined\nto know nothing there, but 'Christ, and him crucified?' Was it not\nby this very gospel, which many are \"beginning to imagine is not\nsuited to an intellectual and philosophical age, that Christianity\nfought its first battles, and achieved its victories over the\nhosts of darkness? Against the axe, the stake, the sword of the\ngladiator, and the lions of the amphitheatre; against the ridicule\nof wits, the reasoning of sages, the interests, influence, and craft\nof the priesthood; against the prowess of armies, and the brute\npassions of the mob, Christianity, strong in its weakness, sublime\nin its simplicity, potent in its isolation, asking and receiving\nno protection from the sceptre of the monarch or the sword of the\nwarrior, went forth to do battle with the wisdom of Greece and the\nmythology of Rome. Everywhere it prevailed, and gathered its laurels\nfrom the snows of Scythia, the sands of Africa, the plains of India,\nand the green fields of Europe. With the gospel alone she overturned\nthe altars of impiety in her march. Power felt his arm wither at her\nglance. She silenced the lying oracles by the majesty of her voice,\nand extinguished the deceptive light of philosophy in the schools,\ntill at length she who went forth forlorn and weeping from Calvary\nto the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, ascended, upon the ruins of the\ntemples, the idols, and the altars she had demolished, to the throne\nof the C\u00e6sars, and with the diadem on her brow, and the purple on\nher shoulders, gave laws to the world from that very tribunal where\nshe had been dragged as a criminal and condemned as a malefactor.[3]\n\n  [3] See Dr. John M. Mason's Funeral Sermon for Mrs. Graham.\n\n\"Adaptation! is not justification by faith the very substance of the\ngospel, and was it not by this doctrine that Luther effected the\nenfranchisement of the human intellect, from the chains of slavery\nwhich had been forged in the Vatican; achieved the liberation of\nhalf Europe from the yoke of Rome, and gave an impulse to human\nthought and vital Christianity which has not yet spent itself, and\nnever will, till it issues in the jubilee of the nations and the\nglories of the millennium?\n\n\"Adaptation! did not Whitefield move this kingdom almost to its\ncentre, and equally so our then great transatlantic colony to\nits extremities, fascinating alike the colliers of Kingswood and\nthe citizens of the metropolis; and by this mighty theme enable\nmyriads to burst the chains of sin and Satan, and to walk abroad\ndisenthralled by the mighty power of redeeming grace?\n\n\"Adaptation! is not this gospel now proving its power in heathen\ncountries to raise the savage into civilized man, the civilized man\ninto the saint, and in this ascending scale of progression, the\nsaint into the seraph?\n\n\"And yet, with these proofs of the power of the gospel to adapt\nitself to every age of the world, and to every condition of\nhumanity, there are those who want something else to effect the\nregeneration of mankind. 'And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all\nmen unto me.' So said the Saviour of men. The cross is the great\nmoral magnet for all ages and all countries, to draw men from\nbarbarism to civilization, from sin to holiness, from misery to\nhappiness, and from earth to heaven; and it were as rational to say\nthe loadstone had lost its original power of polar attraction, and\nthe mariner's compass is an old, stale invention, and must now be\nreplaced with some new device, better adapted to the modern light\nof science, as to suppose that the doctrine of the cross had become\neffete, and must give way to some new phase of theological truth.\n\n\"I now consider the _manner_ in which Whitefield carried out his own\npurpose into action. '_One thing I do_:' and _how_ did he accomplish\nit?\n\n\"Never was the joyful sound sent over the world by a more\nmagnificent _voice_. All his biographers labor, as do the\nhistorians of Greece in describing the power of Demosthenes, to\nmake us understand his wondrous oratory. Perhaps, after all, that\nwhich gives us the most vivid idea of it is, not the _crowds_ it\nattracted, moved, and melted, but that it warmed the cold and\ncalculating Franklin, and fascinated the philosophical and sceptical\nHume. Heaven rarely ever gave, or gives to man the faculty of speech\nin such perfection. But what is particularly worthy of notice is,\nthat he trusted not to its native power, but increased that power\nby assiduous cultivation. His matchless elocution was not only an\nendowment, but an acquirement. If he preached a sermon twenty times,\nhe went on to the last improving his method of delivering it, both\nas to tones and action; not for theatrical display--no man was\never more free from this--but to carry out his 'one thing'--_the\nsalvation of souls_. He knew, and deeply and philosophically entered\ninto the meaning of that text, 'Faith cometh by hearing;' and he\nalso knew that attentive hearing comes by the power of speaking.\nWith such a theme as the gospel, with such an object as salvation,\nwith such an aim as eternity, and such a Master to serve as Christ,\nhe would not give utterance to such subjects, and for such purposes,\nin careless and slovenly speech. He studied to be the orator, that\nhe might thus pluck souls as brands from the burning. In this let us\nimitate him. Of all our faculties, that of speech is perhaps least\ncultivated, yet is most susceptible of cultivation, and pays best\nfor the pains bestowed upon it. My brethren, speech is the great\ninstrument of our ministerial labor. Our assault upon the rebel town\nof Mansoul is to be carried on, and our entrance to be effected,\nto use the language of Bunyan, at ear-gate. The tongue, rather\nthan the pen, is the weapon of most of us. For the love of souls,\nlet us endeavor to be good speakers. With the loftiest themes in\nthe universe for our subjects, do, do let us endeavor to speak of\nthem in some measure worthily. It is an instructive and astounding,\nand to us humiliating and disgraceful fact, that the stage-player,\nwhether in comedy or in tragedy, takes ten times more pains to\ngive effective utterance to his follies, vices, and passions, for\nthe amusement of his audience, than we do to eternal and momentous\ntruths for the salvation of ours. The stage seems the only arena\nwhere the power of oratory is much studied. Should this be?\n\n\"A few characteristics of Whitefield's manner deserve emphatic\nmention and particular attention, as connected with the execution\nof his one great purpose. The first I notice is _solemnity_. He\nnever, as did some of his followers, degraded the pulpit by making\nit the arena of low humor and wit; abounding in anecdote, and even\nin action, he was uniformly solemn. His deep devotional spirit\ncontributed largely to this, for his piety was the inward fire\nwhich supplied the ardor of his manner. He was eminently a man of\nprayer; and had he been less prayerful, he would also have been less\npowerful. He came into the pulpit from the closet, where he had been\ncommuning with God, and could no more trifle with merry humor at\nsuch a time than could Moses when he came down from the mount to the\npeople; or than the high-priest when he came out from the blazing\nsymbols of the divine presence between the cherubim in the holy of\nholies; or Isaiah when he saw the Lord of hosts, high and lifted up,\nwith his train filling the temple. Happily the age and taste for\npulpit buffoonery is gone, I hope never to return.\n\n  ''Tis pitiful to count a gain when you should woo a soul.'\n\nIt was the stamp and impress of eternity upon his preaching, that\ngave Whitefield such power. He spoke like a man that stood upon\nthe borders of the unseen world, alternately rapt in ecstasy as he\ngazed upon the felicities of heaven, and convulsed with terror as\nhe seemed to hear the howlings of the damned, and saw the smoke\nof their torment ascending from the pit for ever and ever. His\nmaxim was to preach, as Apelles painted, for eternity, and he\nsaid, if ministers preached for eternity, they would then act the\npart of true Christian orators. And tell me, my brethren, what are\nall the prettinesses, the beauties, or even sublimities of human\neloquence--what the similes, metaphors, and other garniture of\nrhetoric--what the philosophy and intellectualities which many in\nthis day are aiming at, to move and bow and conquer the human soul,\ncompared with 'the powers of the world to come?'\n\n\"But there was another characteristic of Whitefield's manner, and\nthat was its _tenderness_. Our Lord, as to his humanity, was a man\nof sorrows, and therefore of tears; so was Paul, so was Whitefield.\nPerhaps the latter somewhat too much so, at any rate far too much so\nfor any preacher but himself, and with him the fountain of his tears\nwas somewhat too full and flowing. But Oh, what an apology for this,\nand what a stroke of pathetic eloquence was that appeal when on one\noccasion he said, 'You blame me for weeping, but how can I help\nit, when you will not weep for yourselves, although your immortal\nsouls are on the verge of destruction, and for aught I know you are\nhearing your last sermon, and may never more have an opportunity\nto have Christ offered to you.' Man is an emotional as well as an\nintellectual creature, and sympathy is one of the powers of our\nphysical and mental economy. The passions are of an infectious\nnature, and men feel more in a crowd than in solitude. The adage of\nthe ancient elocutionist is still true, 'If you wish me to weep,\nweep yourself.' Whitefield's tears drew forth those of his audience,\nand his pathos softened their hearts for the impressions of the\ntruth. It is forgotten by many preachers that they may do much by\nthe heart, as well as by the head. We are not the teachers of logic,\nmathematics, metaphysics, or natural philosophy, which have nothing\nto do with the heart, but of religion, the very seat of which is\nthere; and _we_ address ourselves not only to the logical, but to\nthe \u00e6sthetical part of man's complex nature. By argument, I know\nwe must convince, but we must not stop in the judgment, but go on\nto reach the heart, and we ourselves must feel as well as reason.\n_Clear, but cold_, is too descriptive of much modern preaching. It\nis the frosty moonlight of a winter's night, not the warm sunshine\nof a summer's day. A cold preacher is likely to have cold hearers.\nCold! What, when the love of God, the death of Christ, the salvation\nof souls, the felicities of heaven, and the torments of hell are the\ntheme? Enthusiasm here is venial, compared with lukewarmness.\n\n\"Need I say that _earnestness_ was characteristic of Whitefield's\npreaching? Yes, that one word, perhaps, more than any other in our\nlanguage, is its epitome. An intense earnestness marked its whole\ncareer, and was carried to such a pitch as to subject him, as did\nthat of Paul, to the imputation of madness. The salvation of souls\nwas so entirely the one thing that engrossed his soul, his time,\nhis labors, that not a step deviated from it. Every moment, every\nday, was an approximation to it. His devotions, his recreations,\nif any such he had, his journeys, his voyages, his sermons, his\ncorrespondence, were all referred to this one end. His exertions\nnever relaxed for a moment, and he, with his great compeer Wesley,\nmade the trial so seldom made, what is the utmost effect which, in\nthe way of saving souls, may be granted to any one preacher of the\ngospel in any age or country.\n\n\"What may not be done, and is not done by earnestness? It gives\n_some_ success to any error, however absurd or enormous, and to any\nscheme of wickedness, however flagrant and atrocious. What is it\nthat has given such success to popery, to infidelity, to Mormonism?\n_Earnestness._ And shall the apostles and advocates of error be\nmore in earnest than the friends of truth? Whitefield often quoted\nBetterton the player, who affirmed that the stage would soon be\ndeserted if the actors spoke like the preachers. And what _would_\nempty the play-house, that is, dulness and coldness, _does_ often\nempty the meeting-house. 'Mr. Betterton's answer to a worthy\nprelate,' says Whitefield, 'is worthy of lasting regard.' When asked\nhow it is that the clergy, who speak of things _real_, affected\nthe people so little, and the players, who speak only of things\nimaginary, affected them so much, replied 'My lord, I can assign but\none reason--we players speak of things imaginary as though they were\nreal, and too many of the clergy speak of things real as though they\nwere imaginary.' It is not always so. Many a preacher, even in our\nown day, by the unaffected earnestness of his manner, carries away\nhis audience upon the tide of his own feeling. They hear what he\nsays, they see what he feels, his eye helps his tongue, the workings\nof his countenance disclose the feelings of his heart; his manner is\na lucid comment upon his matter, breaks down the limits which words\nimpose upon the communication of ideas, and gives them not only an\napprehension of the meaning, but a sense of the importance of his\nsubject, which unimpassioned language and manner could not have done.\n\n\"I name but one thing more as characteristic of this great man,\nand which it would be well for us to imitate, and that is, his\n_dauntless courage_. See him not only facing mobs, defying threats,\nand even lifting up his pulpit amid the wild uproar of a London\nfair, the boldest achievement that a speaker ever accomplished, but\nholding on his noble career unterrified, and working amid the storm\nof obloquy that came upon him from so many quarters. Who that has\never read, can ever forget Cowper's exquisite description of him?\n\n    \"'LEUCONOMUS--beneath well-sounding Greek\n      I show a name a poet must not speak--\n      Stood pilloried on infamy's high stage,\n      And bore the pelting storm of half an age,\n      The very butt of slander, and the blot\n      For every dart that malice ever shot.\n      The man that mentioned him at once dismissed\n      All mercy from his lips, and sneered and hissed.\n      His crimes were such as Sodom never knew,\n      And perjury stood up to swear all true;\n      His aim was mischief, and his zeal pretence,\n      His speech rebellion against common-sense:\n      A knave when tried on honesty's plain rule,\n      And when by that of reason, a mere fool.\n      The world's best comfort was, his doom was passed,\n      Die when he might, he must be damned at last.\n      Now truth, perform thine office, waft aside\n      The curtain drawn by prejudice and pride,\n      Reveal--the man is dead--to wondering eyes,\n      This more than monster, in his proper guise.\n      He loved the world that hated him; the tear\n      That dropped upon his Bible was sincere:\n      Assailed by scandal and the tongue of strife,\n      His only answer was--a blameless life;\n      And he that forged, and he that threw the dart,\n      Had each a brother's interest in his heart.\n      Paul's love of Christ, and steadiness unbribed,\n      Were copied close in him, and well transcribed.\n      He followed Paul--his zeal a kindred flame,\n      His apostolic charity the same.\n      Like him, crossed cheerfully tempestuous seas,\n      Forsaking country, kindred, friends, and ease.\n      Like him he labored, and like him, content\n      To bear it, suffered shame where'er he went.\n      Blush, calumny! and write upon his tomb,\n      If honest eulogy can spare the room,\n      Thy deep repentance of thy thousand lies,\n      Which, aimed at him, have pierced the offended skies;\n      And say, Blot out my sin, confessed, deplored,\n      Against thine image, in thy saint, O Lord.'\n\n\"What but a guilty cowardice is it, a false and pusillanimous shame,\nthat keeps us in these days from some novel and bolder method of\naggression upon the domain of darkness? Are we not wanting here in\nthat moral courage which would make us, when conscious of doing\nright, indifferent to the stare of the ignorant, and the wonder\nof the timid; to the shaft of ridicule, and the malignant censure\nof the cynic? How enslaved are we by the fetters of custom, or\nrestrained by the trammels of conventiality! How little are we\ndisposed to go out of the usual track, even in saving souls! Very\nfew are disposed to imitate the boldness, ingenuity, and novelty\nof that noble-hearted brother,[4] who hired a disengaged theatre\nin the city where he dwelt, and for four months preached there to\nlistening and well-behaved crowds, the gospel of salvation; and for\nhis reward had very many given to him, who are his joy now, and will\nbe his crown of rejoicing in the presence of Christ at his coming.\nWho can see Paul on Mars-Hill, addressing himself to the sages and\ntheir followers of all sects, and preaching to them a doctrine so\nrepugnant to the mythology of the temple and the philosophy of the\nschools, as Christ, the last judgment, and the resurrection of the\nbody, without being impressed with the moral courage of such an act?\nIt is this spiritual heroism that is wanted in our modern preaching,\nand indeed, which was no less needful when the Methodistic company\ncommenced their preaching.\n\n  [4] The Rev. Richard Knill of Chester, formerly a missionary in\n  India, and afterwards in Russia, since deceased.--B.\n\n\"Nor is it only in this unwillingness to go off from our own\nground for saving souls that our guilty cowardice is seen, but in\nthe disposition to shirk the more solemn and searching truths of\nrevelation. Are we not giving way too much to the fastidiousness of\nmodern taste and refinement, which is craving after smooth things;\nwhich desires the sentimental, the picturesque, the imaginative, but\nturns with disgust from the solemn, the alarming, the awakening? Are\nwe not too gentle and courteous to mention such a word as 'hell'\nto modern ears polite? Are we not too fearful to break in with the\nthunders of a violated law upon those who are at ease in Zion? I do\nnot ask for a gross, revolting method of describing the punishment\nof the wicked, as if the preacher delighted in harrowing up the\nfeelings of his audience. This is as disgusting as if, in order\nto keep men from crime, our judges and magistrates were ever and\nanon giving a minute detail of the process of an execution, and the\nconvulsive pangs of an expiring wretch suspended to the beam of the\ngibbet. We ask not for a harsh, scolding, and denunciating style of\npreaching; but we do want more of the unflinching boldness, and the\ndauntless courage, which, are necessary to fidelity, and absolutely\nessential to him who would win souls to Christ. It is too generally\nforgotten, that our Lord Jesus, who was incarnate love, was the most\nsolemn and awful of all preachers. He whose gentle spirit so often\nbreathed out itself in invitation, and whose compassion melted into\ntears, at other times robed himself in terror, and uttered the most\nalarming peals of divine indignation. What we need for our ministry\nis this mixture of tenderness and solemnity, which entered so deeply\ninto the ministry of Christ, and was so characteristic of his\nservant, whose labors we this day commemorate and commend.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nHear also the Rev. John Glanville, the present successor of\nWhitefield in the Tabernacle at Bristol: \"And such preaching _must\ncontinue_, if the world is to be saved. Nothing but this is suited\nto man's necessities; nothing else can meet man's miseries. The\nbattle must be fought with the old, well-tried, but not worn-out\nweapons. God has provided them, and we must use them. We require\nnothing else; the world has not outgrown the old gospel, so as to\nneed something new to soothe its sorrows and satisfy its wants.\n\n\"Not that ministers can now produce the effect Whitefield did. He\nwas a man standing alone. The charm and power of his preaching\nhave never been explained. It was all fire and flame, shooting\nout red-hot thunderbolts against the citadels of sin. It was an\nundivided soul, solemnly consecrated to one object--an entire life,\nzealously employed in one thing. As he preached, every feature\nspoke, the whole man became vocal, and the truth of God stood out\nin its full proportions and beauty, in the bright and broad daylight\nof heaven. So unreserved was his self-consecration, that every thing\nwas deemed impertinent which obtruded upon, or interfered with the\none great end of his existence. He lived in communion with God--more\nin heaven than on earth. He was much at the foot of the throne,\nand got his strength there; he prevailed with men, because he had\nprevailed with God. His whole soul was filled with life, and fired\nwith love, from being in habitual contact with the cross.\n\n\"And _we_ must pursue the same course, and try to do the same thing.\nWe have the power, and we must bring it forth and use it. God has\ngiven the machinery, and it is for us to set it in motion. The\nworld is perishing, and we must save it; it is dying, and we must\ngive it life. God from his eternal throne calls us--Christ from his\nbleeding cross speaks to us--voices from the abodes of sin, and the\nregions of despair, sound in our ears. And we all, as ministers and\nas members, must rise up in the vigor of piety and the fervor of\nprayer. We must rise up from the slumbers of selfishness, and tear\noff the fetters of the world, and act as those who believe in the\nexistence of an eternal heaven and an eternal hell, and that all\nsouls will be found in the one or in the other--as those who have a\ngreat work to do, and but a short and uncertain time to do it in.\nAwake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the\nancient days, in the generations of old.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTranscriber's note:\n\nMinor typographical errors have been corrected without note.\nIrregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as\nprinted.\n\nMissing page numbers are page numbers that were not shown in the\noriginal text.\n\nMismatched quotes are not fixed if it's not sufficiently clear where\nthe missing quote should be placed.\n\nThe cover for the eBook version of this book was created by the\ntranscriber and is placed in the public domain.","title":"George Whitefield: A Biography, with special reference to his labors in America","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":140518}