Chapter L: Tyerman (16)

"The clergy charge us with being over-righteous; but let them
take care lest they are not over-remiss. Let them examine their
own lives before they condemn others for enthusiasts. It is
manifest that their actions are unbecoming of Christians, and
more especially of ministers of the Church of England. They
make no scruple of frequenting taverns and public-houses. They
make no conscience of playing several hours at billiards,
bowls, and other unlawful games, which they esteem as innocent
diversions. Plurality of livings, and not the salvation of
your souls, is the aim, the chief aim, of many, very many,
of our present clergy. They have quite forsaken the good old
way, and brought up a new one which their fathers knew not.
They don't catechise. They don't visit from house to house.
They don't watch over their flocks, by examining their lives.
They keep up no constant religious conversation in families
under their care. No, my brethren, these things are neglected;
and if they were to be acted by any one, the person would be
esteemed as an enthusiast, and as righteous over-much. We
may justly cry to my letter-learned brethren, 'Physicians,
heal yourselves.' Don't flatter yourselves that a long gown,
and great preferment, authorise you to speak, write, or
preach against the doctrines of our Lord Jesus Christ. No, my
letter-learned, pleasure-seeking brethren, Jesus Christ, at the
day of judgment, will judge you, not as doctors and rulers, but
by the deeds done in the body, whether they be good, or whether
they be evil. At the great day, we shall all be upon a level.
No distinction there! No difference there! If they had preached
Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth, I would not have opened my
mouth against them; but when they exclaim, 'The temple of the
Lord! the temple of the Lord!' and are building up the temple
of the devil, if I were not to preach, the very stones would
cry out. They may thrust me out of their churches, but they
cannot thrust me from the Church of Christ. They are welcome to
say what they please of me. They may cast me out, and say all
manner of evil against me; yea, they may put me to death; but as
my day is, so my strength shall be. I have a gracious Master,
and into His hands I commit myself, and leave all my affairs to
His wise discretion." (Sermon on Jesus Christ the only Way of
Salvation.)[265]

[265] This sermon also was not included in Whitefield's collected
works, in 1772.

It would be easy to multiply extracts like these; but, to exhibit more fully the character of Whitefield's preaching, a few of another kind must be introduced.

_Self-Righteousness._--"How many are there who go to church,
and say their prayers, and receive the sacrament, and give alms
to the poor, and then think themselves good Christians, because
they have done so; and when we tell them that all this will not
do, they immediately cry out, we are preaching them to despair.
But, O good God! Thou knowest that I wish I could bring all men
off from this undoing delusion, that will but betray them into
everlasting misery. It is because I know such persons are more
odious, in the sight of God, than the vilest sinners, that makes
me so earnest in warning them of their guilt and danger; for
I have more hope of common swearers, drunkards, fornicators,
Sabbath-breakers, and harlots, and of deists and infidels,
than I have of such self-righteous Pharisees. It is against
these that almost all our Saviour's parables are levelled. If
you depend upon your own duties, you are but Pharisees and
hypocrites, for hypocrites may do all this as the Pharisees
did. There is no doubt that you are to do your duty; but, if
you depend upon your duties, you make a Saviour of them, and
deny the righteousness of our Lord Jesus Christ. You may go
in an easy, decent, and polite way of religion, and obtain a
reputation in the sight of men; but you are odious in the sight
of God, and incarnate devils within." (Sermon on the Necessity
of the Righteousness of Christ.)[266]

[266] This sermon was on the parable of the Pharisee and
Publican, but is altogether different from that, on the same
text, in Whitefield's collected works.

"O ye Pharisees, what fruits do ye bring forth? Why, you are
moral, polite creatures. You do your endeavours, and Jesus is
to make up the rest. You esteem yourselves fine, rational, and
polite beings, and think it is too unfashionable to pray. It
is not polite enough. Perhaps you have read some prayers, but
knew not how to pray from your hearts. No, by no means! That
was being righteous over-much! But if once, my brethren, you
were sensible of your being lost, damned creatures, and see
hell gaping ready to receive you, then, O then, you would cry
earnestly unto the Lord to receive you, to open the door of
mercy unto you. Your tones would then be changed. You would no
more flatter yourselves with your abilities and good wishes.
No: you would see how unable you were to save yourselves;
that there is no fitness, no free-will in you: no fitness but
for eternal damnation; and no free-will but that of doing
evil. Ye Pharisees, who are going about to establish your own
righteousness; who are too polite to follow the Lord Jesus
Christ in sincerity and truth; who are all for a little show,
a little outside work; who lead moral, civil, decent lives,
Christ will not know you at the great day, but will say unto
you, 'Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity, unto that place
of torment, prepared for the devil and his angels.' Good God!
and must these discreet, polite creatures, who never did any
one harm, but led such civil, decent lives, must they suffer
the vengeance of eternal fire? Cannot their righteous souls
be saved? Where then must the sinner and the ungodly appear?"
(Sermon on Christ the only Rest for the Weary.)

_Warnings._--"O the folly and madness of this sensual world! O
consider this, you who think it no crime to swear, whore, drink,
or scoff and jeer at the people of God,--consider how your
voices will then be changed, and how you will howl and lament
at your own madness and folly. He, who is now your merciful
Saviour, will then be your inexorable Judge. Now He is easy to
be entreated; then all your tears and prayers will be in vain.
Your wealth and grandeur will stand you in no stead. You can
carry nothing of these into the other world. What horror and
astonishment will then possess your souls! Then all your lies
and oaths, your scoffs and jeers at the people of God, all your
filthy and unclean thoughts and actions, will be brought at once
to your remembrance, and at once be charged upon your guilty
souls." (Sermon on a New Heart, the best New-Year's Gift.)

"Alas! our great men had much rather spend their money in a
play-house, at a ball, an assembly, or a masquerade, than in
relieving a poor distressed servant of Jesus Christ. They had
rather spend their estates on their hawks and hounds, on their
whores, and on their earthly, sensual, and devilish pleasures,
than in comforting, nourishing, or relieving one of their
distressed fellow-creatures. But what difference is there
between the king on the throne and the beggar on the dunghill,
when God demands their breath? There is no difference in the
grave. There will be none at the day of judgment. You will not
be excused because you have had a great estate, and a fine
house, and have lived in all the pleasures that earth could
afford you. You will be judged not according to the largeness
of your estate, but according to the use you have made of it."
(Sermon on the great Duty of Charity recommended.)

"Sinners! how fearful soever you may be of appearing before
this tribunal, you will be obliged to do it. Then you will
call for the rocks and mountains to fall upon you, to hide you
from the face of the Lord God. Then you will see Him whom your
sins have pierced. Then you will be called to answer for your
revilings and mockings against the people of God. Then it will
plainly appear who are the enthusiasts, and who the madmen. Then
we shall see who have been fools, and who were the fitter for
Bedlam." (Sermon on the Serpent's beguiling Eve.)

"Oh! brethren, it is a certain, but an awful truth, that your
souls will be thinking and immortal beings, even in spite of
themselves. They may indeed torment, but they cannot destroy
themselves. They can no more suspend their power of thought and
perception, than a mirror its property of reflecting rays that
fall upon its surface. Do you suspect the contrary? Make the
trial immediately. Command your minds to cease from thinking but
for one quarter of an hour. Can you succeed in that attempt? Or
rather, does not thought press in with a more sensible violence
on that resistance; just as an anxious desire to sleep makes
us so much the more wakeful? Thus will thought follow you
beyond the grave. Thus will it, as an unwelcome guest, force
itself upon you, when it can serve only to perplex and distress
you. It will for ever upbraid you, that notwithstanding the
kind expostulations of God and man, notwithstanding the keen
remonstrances of conscience, and the pleadings of the blood of
Christ, you have gone on in your folly, till heaven is lost, and
damnation incurred; and all for what? for a shadow and a dream!"
(Sermon on the Care of the Soul urged as the One Thing Needful.)

_Entreaties._--"You all, my brethren, must be born again. You
must feel yourselves lost and undone in yourselves, or there is
no salvation for you in the Lord Jesus Christ. Men may be angry
with me for telling you these things, and may come and carry me
to prison, or to death; but my inward satisfaction at having
been made instrumental of bringing any poor sinners home to
Jesus Christ, I esteem more than a balance for all that I can
suffer: If this is to be vile, I beg of God I may be yet more
vile. If this is to be mad, I pray God I may be yet more mad, in
my Master's cause. Let His own will be done in me, with me, by
me, and upon me, so I may not be brought as a witness against
you in the great day. As this is my last time of speaking to
you, in this place, I would invite you the more earnestly to
come to the Lord Jesus Christ. O do not lay the blame of your
perishing upon our doctrine. Do not lay the fault upon us; for
the Lord now sends His servants to call and invite you to Him;
and if you still refuse both Him and us, what must I say? I
must appear in judgment against you; and, oh! what shall I say?
The very thought, methinks, chills my blood." (Sermon on the
Necessity of the Righteousness of Christ.)

"I come to you, not with the enticing words of man's wisdom,
but with plainness of speech. Perhaps many may slight me for
this way of preaching; but I am not willing to go without you
to Christ. It is a love for your better part that constrains
me. O that I had ten thousand lives to give away, that I might
win you to Christ! Had I the tongue of an angel, that I might
speak so loud that the whole world could hear me, I would bid
the Christian world preach a common salvation, a common Saviour,
unto all who lay hold on Him by faith. Are you seeking where
to wash? I tell you not to go to the river Jordan, but to the
blood of Christ. You need not fear to go. Though He has given
His grace to thousands, He has still enough. Come, ye publicans;
come, ye harlots; come to Jesus Christ. O do not let me go
without my errand. Do not force me to say, 'Who has believed
my report?' I cannot bear the thought of it. I must lift up
my voice, like a trumpet, begging you to lay down your arms,
and to return home, that your loving Father may dress you in
His spotless robe. Come and see whether Christ will make ample
recompence for all, for more than all this world can give.
Consider, if you do not, your damnation is from yourselves. Must
I weep over you, as our Saviour did over Jerusalem? I beseech
you, by all that is good and dear to you, do not cast away your
souls for ever. O mind, in this your day, the things that belong
to your peace, before they are for ever hidden from your eyes.
Could I speak with the tongues of men or angels, with all the
rhetoric possible, I could never tell the worth of Christ. He is
a good Master; indeed He is. I wish all that hear me this day
would lay hold on Him, by faith, and take Him on His own terms.
Do not be angry with me for my love. How glad would I be to
bring some of you to God! Come! He calls you by His ministers.
Bring your sins with you, that He may make you saints. He will
sanctify all who believe on Him." (Sermon on Watching, the
peculiar Duty of a Christian.)

"Come, come unto Him. If your souls were not immortal, and you
in danger of losing them, I would not thus speak unto you; but
the love of your souls constrains me to speak. Methinks, this
would constrain me to speak unto you for ever. Come, all ye
drunkards, swearers, Sabbath-breakers, adulterers, fornicators!
Come, all ye scoffers, harlots, thieves, and murderers; and
Jesus Christ will save you. He will give you rest, if you are
weary of your sins." (Sermon on Christ the only Rest for the
Weary.)

"O fly, fly unto the Lord Jesus Christ. I invite you all to
accept of Him. I offer Jesus Christ to the greatest profligate
on earth. Surely, there are none can say, I preach damnation
now. They cannot say I am sending you to hell now. No, my
brethren, I preach salvation to all of you, who will come and
accept the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh! I know not how to leave you,
without some hopes of your coming to Him." (Sermon on Polite and
Fashionable Diversions.)

"The devil shews men the bait, but hides the hook. He promises
great wages; but his wages are really death here, and eternal
damnation hereafter. If you want to know more what wages the
devil gives his servants, you need not stir from the place
where you now are. Look yonder,[267] and there you will see
how he pays them. He seeks your souls to destroy them; but,
my brethren, fear him not. Though he is your enemy, he is a
chained one. He can go no farther than he is permitted. He could
not hurt a herd of swine, till he had leave of Jesus Christ."
(Sermon on the Danger of Man resulting from Sin.)

[267] Pointing, on Kennington Common, to the gallows, where three
men were hanging in chains.

These are long extracts, at the end of an inconveniently long chapter; but, it must be borne in mind, that, the fame of Whitefield chiefly rests on his character as a preacher; and that there are only thirty-five of his published sermons which belong to dates subsequent to the year 1739; and that even more than half of these were taken from his lips, in shorthand, and printed without his revision or consent.

It is scarcely necessary to enlarge upon the foregoing extracts. The reader can form his own opinions of Whitefield's oratory, courage, tenderness, earnestness, and fidelity. He can also judge of the young preacher's imprudence, perhaps rudeness, in using language so violent concerning the clergy of the Established Church. One fact, however, must be noted. These sermons, as _originally published_, contain scarcely any allusion whatever to Calvinian tenets. Whitefield, no doubt, became a Calvinist; but this change in his theology did not occur, until he was about to embark, the second time, for Georgia. Indeed, though, in the seventeen sermons which remain unnoticed, and which were written and revised by Whitefield himself, there are passages embodying the doctrines of election and final perseverance; also passages on imputed righteousness and sinless perfection, propounding views not in harmony with those of his friend Wesley; yet such passages, comparatively speaking, are few in number, and are totally exempt from bitterness. It is also right to add, that, Whitefield's Calvinism never interfered with his warmhearted declarations concerning the _universality_ of redeeming love, and the willingness of Christ to save _all_ who come to Him. Doubtless there was some degree of inconsistency in this; but it only shews that the man's heart was larger than his creed.

Excepting two or three, there is nothing in the remaining seventeen sermons just mentioned which requires further notice. They are, however, in most respects, his ablest and his best. There is less incoherency of thought and language. There is an entire absence of attacks on the clergy of the Church of England. The style is more polished; the sentences more finished. There is more biblical and anecdotal illustration. And there is a greater depth of religious feeling and experience.

Excellent, however, as _these_ sermons are, they necessarily fail to convey a full idea of Whitefield's marvellous preaching power. His words could be printed, but not his intonations, action, tears, smiles, solemnity, and pathos. Whitefield was born an orator. His oratory was the gift of his Creator. He could not be natural without using it. To have laid it aside would have been affectation. His oratory, however, is a thing not to be seen in his published sermons, but to be imagined. There was eloquence in his very attitudes, in the accents of his voice, in his gestures, in the features of his face, and in the motions of his hands. These things could not be printed. To say nothing of his almost unequalled voice, his versatility was wonderful. At will, he could be a Boanerges, or a Barnabas. One moment, he would thunder on Mount Sinai; the next, would whisper mercy on Mount Calvary. At all times, he was inexpressibly earnest, and his hearers felt he believed the truths he uttered. A writer, in the _New York Observer_, eloquently observes:--

"We read Whitefield's printed sermons, and they disappoint
us. Of all men in the world, he was the last who should
have published his sermons. So much did he owe to physical
temperament, to the volume and varied intonations of his
voice, to the irrepressible fires of a soul all alive to the
grand and overpowering visions of divine truth, to a sort of
inspiration kindled by the sight of thousands whose eyes were
ready to weep and whose hearts were ready to break the moment
his clarion voice rang out on their expectant ears--so much did
he owe to these circumstances, that his eloquence cannot be
appreciated by any account of it which can be given verbally, or
be delineated on paper. Vain is it, therefore, to look into his
printed sermons to find his power. His power as a pulpit orator,
also, cannot be separated from his pious emotions, nor from
his religious views. Had he embraced a theory of religion less
emotional, more after the pattern of rationalists or ritualists,
his eloquence would have been lost to the world. Never would his
soul have taken fire, nor his lips glowed with the burning coal
of enthusiastic passion. But he believed in man's ruin by sin,
in the certain interminable woe that awaited the impenitent;
in the mercy of God through Jesus Christ, and the free offer
of salvation through faith in the cross. Such were his views,
and, under these convictions, he looked upon his audiences.
He saw but one hope set before them, and with his whole soul
moved and melted by the love of Christ on the one hand, and
the love of souls on the other, he pressed every hearer, with
all the energy of a dying man speaking to dying men, to accept
the great salvation. Nor do we think that the pulpit can reach
its appropriate power, nor for any length of time retain it,
unless these grand cardinal doctrines of grace are the inspiring
themes."

These remarks are as just as they are eloquent; but it is now time to follow Whitefield in his transatlantic wanderings.

_SECOND VISIT TO AMERICA._

AUGUST 1739 TO MARCH 1741.

Marvellous were the scenes which Whitefield had witnessed during the last few months. If ministerial success were a proof that the man thus honoured ought to remain where he is, Whitefield ought to have remained in England. He had, however, formally accepted the distant living of Savannah. The Trustees of Georgia had cheerfully acceded to all his wishes. He had collected considerable sums of money for the erection of his contemplated Orphanage. He had promised the people of Savannah that he would return to them. People on both sides the Atlantic expected this. On the other hand, and despite the ribald persecutions to which he had been subjected, he had strong inducements to stay at home. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, during the last half-year, had been converted by his ministry, and needed pastoral attention. The crowds that flocked to hear him had not at all diminished, but were as great as ever. Multitudes wished to keep him. To fill his place was extremely difficult, perhaps impossible. But solemn promises had been made; and, in accordance with these, public, as well as private, arrangements had taken place; all rendering a return to Georgia an imperative necessity. No doubt, Whitefield was anxious that the great work, which had been begun in London and elsewhere, should be conserved, and be carried on; and he seems to have requested Charles Wesley to act as his successor. At all events, Charles wrote as follows:--

_"August 10, 1739._

DEAR GEORGE,--I forgot to mention the most material occurrence
at Plaistow; namely, that a clergyman was there convinced of
sin. He stood under me, and appeared, throughout my discourse,
under the strongest perturbation of mind. In our return, we
were much delighted with an old spiritual Quaker, who is clear
in justification by faith only. At Marylebone, a footman was
convinced of more than sin; and now waits with confidence for
all the power of faith. Friend Keen seems to have experience,
and is right in the foundation.

"I cannot preach out on the week-days, for the expense of coach;
nor accept of dear Mr. Seward's offer; to which I should be less
backward, would he take my advice. But while he is so lavish of
his Lord's goods, I cannot consent that this ruin should, in any
degree, _seem_ to be under my hand.

"I am continually tempted to leave off preaching, and hide
myself like J. Hutchins. I should then be freer from temptation,
and at leisure to attend to my own improvement. God continues
to work _by_ me, but not _in_ me, that I can perceive. Do not
reckon upon me, my brother, in the work God is doing: for I
cannot expect He should long employ one who is ever longing and
murmuring to be discharged. I rejoice in your success, and pray
for its increase a thousand-fold."[268]

[268] C. Wesley's Journal, vol. i., p. 159.

Four days after the date of this letter, Whitefield embarked for America. His party consisted of seventeen persons, including Mr. Seward and himself.[269] One of these was Joseph Periam, whom Whitefield had rescued from a madhouse. Another was Mr. Gladman, a captain, whose ship, during Whitefield's first visit to America, had been thrown upon a sandbank, near the Gulf of Florida, where he and his crew had to exist, as they best could, for thirty days, when they launched a raft; and, after floating about a hundred and forty leagues, came to Tybee Island, near Savannah. Whitefield shewed the captain kindness. They returned to England in the same ship. The man was converted. Many situations were offered him; but he declined them all, gave himself to the work of God, and was now one of Whitefield's companions to Georgia.

[269] See "An Account of Money received and disbursed for the Orphan
House in Georgia. By George Whitefield. 1741." Only eleven, however,
had their expenses paid out of the public subscriptions. Whitefield
and Seward paid the passage-money for themselves and four others.

The voyage was of eleven weeks' continuance; but was not marked by any notable occurrence. Whitefield had public prayers twice a day. On Sundays, he preached and administered the sacrament. Sometimes, he and his friends held a love-feast; and, on several occasions, he allowed a Quaker to preach in his cabin. Often he suffered deep depression, and was profoundly humbled by revelations of his sinfulness in the sight of God. A large portion of his time was spent in writing letters, so that, when he landed, he had more than sixty ready for the post.

One of these, now for the first time published, was addressed to Mr. Blackwell, the Lombard Street banker:--[270]

"ON BOARD THE 'ELIZABETH,' GOING TO THE DOWNS,

"_August 16, 1739._

"DEAR MR. BLACKWELL,--I must write you, though so lately parted
from you. I know the temptations which surround you. If I love
you, I must watch over your soul. Perhaps, ere now, your father
is launched into eternity. Yet a little while, you and I must
follow. Oh, let us live the life of the righteous, that our
future state may be like his. Nothing but a living faith in
Jesus Christ can support us in a dying hour. What would the
self-righteous Pharisees of this generation give for this pearl
of inestimable price when God takes away their souls? Oh, my
dear friend, it is worth being laughed at. It is worth ten
thousand worlds. You will not think much then of renouncing
one world for it. You have put your hand to the plough: I know
you will scorn to look back. Your carnal relatives will do
their utmost to make you ashamed of the cross of Christ; but be
not ashamed of it, for it is the power of God unto salvation.
Neither be ashamed of His disciples, though men of low degree,
and accounted fools for His sake. No, rather choose to suffer
affliction with His people; for, if we suffer, we shall also
reign with Him. Oh, let your delight be with the saints that
are in the earth, and with them that excel in virtue. You are
blessed with many such. I beseech you, by the mercies of God in
Christ Jesus our Lord, forsake not the assembling of yourselves
together. And, as in my presence, so in my absence, see that
you work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Let Jesus
Christ be the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of all
your thoughts, words, and actions. Suffer Him to work His whole
will in, by, and upon you. And fail not writing to, and praying
for,

"Ever, ever yours,
"GEORGE WHITEFIELD."

[270] Kindly furnished by Mr. George Stampe, of Grimsby.

Extracts from a few other letters, written during the voyage to America, may be useful. The first was addressed to Charles Wesley:--

"HONOURED AND DEAR SIR,--God has been pleased to send us a
comfortable passage. The Orphan House accounts come right within
£10.

I have great assurances given me that it will be a Pietas
Georgiensis, equally remarkable with the Pietas Hallensis. I
shall continue in Georgia above six months. If Mr. Hutchins
would come to supply my place, I would keep the parsonage of
Savannah. Otherwise, I will resign all but the Orphan House. I
have read Guise and Doddridge on the Evangelists, and written
to both. The former I think excellent; the latter, ingenious,
elaborate, but too superficial. Neal's 'Lives of the Puritans'
have been of use. I think they held the truth as it is in
Jesus. The Quakers have set us an example of patient, resolute
suffering, as the best means to weary our enemies. I want the
Lives of Luther and Calvin, to get some short account of the
history of the Reformation. At my return, I trust I shall speak
boldly, as I ought to speak. The account of my infant years was
written by the will of God. Pray, let it be published, without
any material diminution or addition. He who hideth his sins
shall not prosper. My Letter to the Religious Societies I give
to the schools at Bristol. The Lord prosper the work of your
hands upon you! I have written to the Bishop of Gloucester, and
have delivered my soul, by meekly telling him of his faults.
I long to hear how affairs go on in England. Are you yet the
Lord's prisoner? If they make any laws whatsoever, I trust
notwithstanding I shall preach with all boldness. Oh, dear sir,
pray publicly, as well as in private, for your unworthy, loving
servant,

"GEORGE WHITEFIELD."[271]

[271] _Arminian Magazine_, 1778, p. 179.

To other friends, Whitefield wrote:--

"Our ship is now going to the Downs. God strengthens me mightily
in the inner man. The sermon I have sent you is one of my
extempore sermons. My brother, the captain, has been with me
this last week. If he leaves off disputing, and will come to
Christ as a poor lost sinner, he will do well. The Bishop of
London has lately written against me. I trust God has assisted
me in writing an answer. It is now (August 14) in the press.
All the self-righteous are up in arms. My Master makes me more
than a conqueror through His love. Mr. Ingham has about forty
Societies in Yorkshire. Both the Mr. Wesleys go on well. Go
where you will, religion (either for or against it) is the talk.
Probably a suffering time will come. You will not be ashamed
of me, though I should be a prisoner. Soon after this reaches
Georgia, I hope to see you. My stay will be as short as possible
at Philadelphia. I must not delay coming to my dear, though
poor, charge. I expect to find Savannah almost desolate;[272]
but our extremity is God's opportunity. I believe it will lift
up its drooping head."

[272] This letter was evidently written to some one at Savannah;
probably the clergyman. The reference is to the war then raging
in Georgia between Spain and England.

"I thank God for His goodness to brother Howell Harris. The
storm is diverted for a while, but I expect it to break upon
my head one time or another. God has, for a while, prepared me
a place of refuge in the ship from whence I write this. I have
almost forgotten that I was in the world. My family on board
is quite settled, and we live and love like Christians. I am
now reading the 'Book of Martyrs.' They make me blush to think
how little I suffer for Christ's sake. They warm my heart, and
make me think the time long till I am called to resist even unto
blood. But I fear the treachery of this heart of mine."

"Since my retirement from the world, I have seen more and
more how full I am of corruption. Nothing could possibly
support my soul under the many agonies which oppress me, but a
consideration of the freeness, eternity, and unchangeableness of
God's love to me, the chief of sinners. In about a twelvemonth,
probably, I shall return again to my native country. Satan, no
doubt, will endeavour to stir up all his forces against me. By
the help of my God, I will once more come forth with my sling
and my stone. I shall wait with impatience to hear how the work
goes on in my absence. I trust God, by this time (Nov. 10),
has sent more labourers into His harvest. I verily believe the
right hand of the Lord will bring mighty things to pass. O how
do I long to see bigotry and party-zeal taken away, and all the
Lord's servants more knit together!"

"REVEREND AND DEAR SIR,--When with you last, I thought you
spoke too favourably of horse-races and such things. But what
diversion ought a Christian or a clergyman to know, or speak of,
but that of doing good? Many who are right in their principles,
are worse than I could wish in their practice. O for a revival
of true and undefiled religion in all sects whatsoever! I long
to see a catholic spirit overspread the world. May God vouchsafe
to make me an instrument in promoting it! Methinks, I care not
what I do or suffer, so that I may see my Lord's kingdom come
with power."

The following is taken from a letter to the Erskines and their confederates in Scotland:--

"Though I know none of you in person, yet, from the time I heard
of your faith and love towards our dear Lord Jesus, I have been
acquainted with you in spirit, and have constantly mentioned
you in my poor prayers. I find the good pleasure of the Lord
prospers in your hands; and I pray God to increase you more and
more. Scotland, like England, has been so much settled upon
its lees for some time, that I fear our late days may properly
be called the midnight of the Church. I cannot but think a
winnowing time will come after this ingathering of souls. O that
we may suffer only as Christians, and then the Spirit of Christ
and of glory will rest upon us. In patience possess your souls.
I will leave my cause to God. The eternal God will be your
perpetual refuge. He who employs will protect. As your day is,
so shall your strength be."[273]

[273] To shew the malignant feeling of the public press against
Whitefield, and the falsehoods used to injure him, the following
is extracted from _Read's Weekly Journal_, of October 20,
1739:--"Edinburgh, October 9. It is said that the Rev. Mr.
Whitefield, whose savoury Journals used to be quoted with applause
by our Scot seceders, has of late addressed himself to one of
these champions, in a letter which contains his opinions of their
principles; and, in the strongest terms, condemns them as the
authors of a detestable schism, endeavours to persuade them to
return to their duty, and to leave off their divisive courses. This
letter has given great offence; and Mr. Whitefield, from being a
reformer, a saint, and a shining light, is degenerated, in their
discourses, into one whose heart is corrupted, who will not lift up
a testimony against the corruptions of the Church: in short, as one
(oh horrid!) who will not rebel against an authority which he swore
to maintain."

Other friends were addressed as follows:--

"The innumerable temptations, that attend a popular life,
sometimes make me think it would be best for me to withdraw.
But then, I consider that He who delivered Daniel out of the
den of lions, and the three children out of the fiery furnace,
is able and willing to deliver me also out of the fiery furnace
of popularity and applause, and from the fury of those, who,
for preaching Christ and Him crucified, are my inveterate
enemies. In His strength, therefore, and at His command, when
His providence shall call, I will venture out again. As yet, my
trials have been nothing. Hereafter, a winnowing time may come;
and then we shall see who is on the Lord's side, and who dare to
confess Christ before men."

"REVEREND AND DEAR SIR,--The Christian world is in a deep
sleep. Nothing but a loud voice can awaken them out of it. It
would rejoice me to hear of your success in the Lord. In about
a twelvemonth, I purpose to return to England. I long to die
unto myself, and to be alive unto God. Methinks, I would always
be upon the wing; but, alas! I have a body of sin, which, at
times, makes me cry out, 'Who shall deliver me?' I thank God,
our Lord Jesus Christ will deliver. But I never expect entire
freedom till I bow down my head, and give up the ghost. Every
fresh employ, I find, brings with it fresh temptations. God
always humbles before He exalts me. Sometimes I speak and write
freely, at other times I am comparatively barren; one while on
the mount, another while overshadowed with a cloud; but, blessed
be God! at all times, at peace with Him, and assured that my
sins are forgiven. I want to leap my seventy years. I long to be
dissolved, and to be with Christ. But I must be made perfect by
sufferings. I expect no other preferment."

In a letter to Mr. Hutchins, one of the Oxford Methodists, Whitefield wrote:--

"And how does my dear Mr. Hutchins? Is he yet commenced a
field-preacher? I am persuaded my dear friend is under the
guidance of God's Spirit, and, therefore, am convinced he will
be directed for the best. Ere now, I trust, he has been upon
many a mount, stretching out his hands, and inviting all that
are weary and heavy-laden to come to Jesus Christ. In about a
twelvemonth, I think of returning to England. I should rejoice
if you would come and supply my place at Savannah. If not, I
must resign the parsonage, and take upon me only the care of the
orphans. I intend bringing up two or three, who are with me, for
the ministry: more, no doubt, will shortly be added to their
number. If you could come and teach them the languages, for an
hour or two in the day, we could serve both the Orphan House
and Parsonage together. Great things I trust will come out of
Georgia."

"I know so much of the corruption of my heart, that, were God
to leave me to myself but one moment, I should with oaths and
curses deny my Master. As for my final perseverance, I bless
God, I have not the least doubt thereof. The gifts and callings
of God are without repentance. Whom He loves, I am persuaded, He
loves to the end. But then, I fear lest, being puffed up with
abundance of success, I should provoke the Lord to let me fall
into some heinous sin, and thereby give His adversaries reason
to rejoice. A public life is attended with innumerable snares;
and a sense of my unworthiness and unfitness so weighs me down,
that I have often thought it would be best for me to retire.
But I know these are all suggestions of the enemy. Why should I
distrust Omnipotence? Having had a legion of devils cast out of
my heart by the power of Christ, why should I not tell what He
hath done for my soul, for the encouragement of others? By the
help of God, I will speak. The more Satan bids me hold my peace,
the more earnestly will I proclaim to believing saints, that
Jesus will have mercy on them. Oh! had I a thousand lives, my
dear Lord Jesus should have them all."

The following seems to have been written to certain students at Oxford:--

"Look round, look round, my brethren, and, in imitation of your
common Lord, weep over the desolations of the University wherein
you live. Alas! how is that once faithful city become a harlot!
Have pity upon her, ye that are friends; and, whatever treatment
you may meet with from an ungrateful world, endeavour to rescue
some of her sons out of that blindness, ignorance, bigotry, and
formality, into which she is unhappily fallen. Arise, ye sons of
the prophets. Shine forth, ye who are appointed to be the lights
of the world. The rulers of this world will endeavour to put you
under bushels; but, if your light is of God's kindling, all the
devils in hell shall not be able to extinguish it. How will you
be apt to teach hereafter, unless you begin to teach now? All
God's people will wish you God speed. I am sure I do with all my
heart."

The next extract is from a letter addressed to the students of a Dissenting college--perhaps Dr. Doddridge's:--

"As God has been pleased to bless my ministry to your souls, I
think it my duty to watch over you for good. I heartily pray
that you may be burning and shining lights in the midst of a
crooked and perverse generation. Though you are not of the
Church of England, yet, if you are persuaded in your own minds
of the truth of the way wherein you walk, I leave it. Whether
_Conformists_ or _Nonconformists_, our main concern should be,
to be assured that we are called and taught of God; for none but
such are fit to minister in holy things. It rejoiced me much to
see such dawnings of grace in your souls; only I thought most of
you were bowed down too much with a servile fear of man: but,
as the love of the Creator increases, the fear of the creature
will decrease. Unless your hearts are free from worldly hopes
and worldly fears, you will never speak boldly, as you ought to
speak. The good old Puritans, I believe, never preached better
than when in danger of being taken to prison as soon as they
had finished their sermons; and, I am persuaded, unless you go
forth with the same temper, you will never preach with the same
demonstration of the Spirit, and of power. Study your hearts
as well as books. Ask yourselves, again and again, whether you
would preach for Christ, if you were sure to lay down your lives
for so doing. But enough of this. I love to hope well of you
all."

The following was addressed to Howell Harris, and shews that Whitefield was now a Calvinist. While Harris was preaching at Pontypool, in the month of June, an officious official came and read the Riot Act, though there was not the least likelihood of a riot taking place. Harris asked him if he was accustomed to read the Act at "cock-matches"? This increased the man's anger, and Harris was arrested, carried before a magistrate, and committed for trial, at Monmouth Assizes, in August following. Having procured bail for his appearance, he surrendered himself at the proper time; but no evidence whatever was produced against him, and, of course, he was dismissed.

"I congratulate you on your success at Monmouth. God has yet
further work for you to do, ere you are called before rulers
and governors, for His name's sake. In about a twelvemonth, I
hope to make a second use of your field-pulpits. Our principles
agree, as face answers to face in the water. Since I saw you,
God has been pleased to enlighten me more in that comfortable
doctrine of _election_, etc. At my return, I hope to be more
explicit than I have been. God forbid, my dear brother, that we
should shun to declare the whole counsel of God!"

The next extract also expresses the same sentiments:--

"What was there in you, and in me, that should move God to
choose us before others? Was there any fitness foreseen in us,
except a fitness for damnation? I believe not. No, God chose
us from eternity; He called us in time; and, I am persuaded,
will keep us from falling finally, till time shall be no more.
Consider the gospel in this view, and it appears a consistent
scheme."

In a letter to Hervey, Whitefield wrote:--

"The many happy hours I spent with you at Oxon, and the benefit
I have received from your instructions and example, are yet
fresh upon my memory. I long to have my dear friend come forth
and preach the truth as it is in Jesus. Not a righteousness
or inward holiness of our own, whereby we may make ourselves
meet, but the righteousness of another, even the Lord our
righteousness; upon the imputation and apprehending of which
by faith, we shall be made meet, by His Holy Spirit, to live
with, and to enjoy God. Let me advise dear Mr. Hervey to lay
aside all prejudice, and to read and pray over St. Paul's
Epistles to the Romans and Galatians; and then let him tell me
what he thinks of this doctrine. Most of your old friends are
now happily enlightened. God sets His seal to such preaching
in an extraordinary manner, and, I am persuaded, the gates of
hell shall never be able to prevail against it. O that dear Mr.
Hervey would also join with us! O that the Lord would open his
eyes to behold aright this part of the mystery of godliness! How
would it rejoice my heart! how would it comfort his own soul! I
have written to dear Mr. Orchard,[274] as well as to you, out of
the simplicity of my heart."

[274] Paul Orchard, Esq., of Stoke Abbey, Devonshire, one of
Hervey's kindest friends. The extract immediately preceding this is
from the letter to Mr. Orchard.

The following refers to the painful mental exercises through which Whitefield passed during his voyage to America:--

"The Searcher of all hearts alone knows what agonies of soul
I have undergone since my retirement from the world. The
remembrance of my past sins has overwhelmed me, and caused
tears to be my meat day and night. Indeed, I have mourned as
one mourneth for a firstborn; but I looked to Him whom I have
pierced. I was enabled to see the freeness and riches of His
grace, the infiniteness and eternity of His love; and my soul
received comfort. O the excellency of the doctrine of election,
and of the saints' final perseverance, to those who are sealed
by the Spirit of promise! I am persuaded, till a man comes to
believe and feel these important truths, he cannot come out
of himself; but, when convinced of these, and assured of the
application of them to his own heart, he then walks by faith
indeed, not in himself, but in the Son of God, who died and gave
Himself for him."

The next extract is from a letter to the father of Joseph Periam, whose incarceration in a madhouse has been already mentioned:--

"Though unknown to you in person, yet, as you were pleased to
think me worthy of the care of your dear son, I think it my
duty to acquaint you of his welfare. I bless God that he came
with me. He is diligent and pious, and, I trust, will be a
comfort to you in your declining years. His mind seems settled
and composed; and, by reading and following the Bible, he is a
partaker of that peace which the world cannot give. His dear and
honoured father is much upon his heart. How would it rejoice him
to hear that you also were become a Christian indeed! Be not
offended, dear sir, at my expressing myself thus. Christianity
is more than a name and a bare outward profession. Morality of
itself will never carry us to heaven. No, Jesus Christ is the
way, the truth, and the life. There is no being happy without
a lively faith in Him, wrought in the heart by the blessed
Spirit of God. This faith transforms the whole man, delivers him
from the tyranny of his passions, and makes him entirely a new
creature. This is the reason why it is foolishness to the world.
Your son's case, in this respect, was not singular. As soon as
ever we commence Christians, we commence fools for Christ's
sake. Every truly religious man must be deemed a madman."[275]

[275] It may be added here, that, in a foot-note in the edition of
his Journals published in 1756, Whitefield states: "Joseph Periam
married one of the Orphan-house mistresses. After a few years, both
died; and I have now two of their sons in the Orphan House, who are
very promising boys."

In the month of June, 1739, in a letter to a friend, Wesley made use of the memorable declaration, which has been quoted times without number, "I look upon all the world as my parish." In the following extract, Whitefield employs the same expression, thus shewing that it was not peculiar to Wesley, but common among the Oxford Methodists:--

"The whole world is now my parish. Wheresoever my Master calls
me, I am ready to go and preach His everlasting gospel. My only
grief is that I cannot do more for Christ. I ought to love and
do much, having had so much forgiven. Oh pray, dear sir, that I
may never be weary in well-doing."

In the following paragraph Whitefield shews his intention in reference to the parish of Savannah:--

"I intend resigning the parsonage of Savannah. The Orphan
House I can take care of, supposing I should be kept at a
distance. Besides, when I have resigned the parish, I shall be
more at liberty to make a tour round America, if God should
ever call me to such a work. However, I determine nothing; I
wait on the Lord. I am persuaded He will shew me what is His
will. How earnestly do I desire to be dissolved, that I may
be with Christ! Sometimes, my weak body gives me hopes that I
shall not be long in the flesh; but then, the strength that is
communicated to me, and the consideration that I have but just
begun my testimony, fill me with fears, lest I should live to be
grey-headed. But I endeavour to resign myself wholly to God. If
He preserves me from falling into sin, and from dishonouring His
holy name, let Him do what seemeth Him good with me."

These extracts are "odds and ends;" but they are useful, as unfolding Whitefield's character and principles, his opinions and intentions, the state of his mind and heart, after his wondrous services in England, and during his voyage to America. Another letter, or rather pastoral epistle, written at this period, demands a more lengthened notice. It was published soon afterwards, with the following title: "A Letter from the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield, to the Religious Societies lately set on foot in several parts of England and Wales. Wrote on board the _Elizabeth_, Captain Stevenson, during the voyage to Philadelphia, 1739. Edinburgh: printed for James Beugo, Bookseller, in Dumferling, 1740."[276] (26 pp.) Whitefield had been closely associated with these Societies in London, Bristol, and elsewhere; he highly approved of them; and it was natural to expect that he would take a profound interest in their continued existence and prosperity. The reader must be content with short extracts from this long epistle.

[276] The same letter, in the same year, was printed in London, "by
W. Strahan, and sold at Mr. James Hutton's," (8vo. 28 pp.,) with
the additional statement on the title-page, that it was "published
for the benefit of the school lately erected among the colliers
in Kingswood, near Bristol." This edition had also the following
characteristic motto prefixed, taken from the works of St. Hilary:--

"One thing I forewarn you of--beware of Antichrist; for it is evil
to be taken, as you are, with the love of stone walls; it is evil
to have a veneration for the church of God, as you have, in houses
and edifices; it is evil to cry, as you do, Peace, peace, under
these: for is there any doubt to be made, whether Antichrist will
fix his seat in these? To me, mountains, and forests, and fens, and
prisons, and pits, are the safer places; for in these it was that
the prophets--either waiting for, or being actually overwhelmed
with, the Spirit of God--prophesied, or spake as they were moved by
the Holy Ghost."