Chapter XVIII: Part 18

Remembering that Wesley and his Society were permitted, throughout the whole of these disgraceful proceedings, to conduct their services, in their neighbouring West Street chapel, in perfect quietude, it is difficult to account for the disturbances Whitefield had to encounter in Long Acre. Were the “infernal” noises, in the first instance, promoted by the adjoining theatres? Probably they were. Wesley’s preaching in West Street was regarded, by dramatical actors, with less alarm than Whitefield’s in Long Acre. They, probably, felt that, with the great dramatical preacher so near to them, they might soon have to utter a wailing cry, analogous to that of the old Ephesians, under circumstances somewhat similar: “Not only is this our craft in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence destroyed.” But, even admitting that the theatres began the noises, there cannot be a doubt that the vestries of the Church continued them. Bishop Pearce undeniably prohibited Whitefield’s preaching; and, considering his hatred of the Methodists, perhaps, it is not ungenerous to suppose that he secretly did more than this. As it respects the three threatening letters, it is probable that they emanated, neither from the theatre nor Church, but from popish politicians, who, during the “seven years’ war,” which was now in terrific progress, were full of angry excitement, and far more active than they often seemed to be. Whitefield had bitterly offended them by the publication of a “Short Address,” a copy of which he sent to Bishop Pearce on February 23;[387] and, as there can be little doubt that this small publication had to do with the riots and the threatening letters, a brief description of it may be useful.

The title was, “A Short Address to Persons of all Denominations, occasioned by the Alarm of an intended Invasion. By George Whitefield, Chaplain to the Right Honourable the Countess of Huntingdon. London, 1756.” (8vo. pp. 20.) The pamphlet had a large sale, not only in Great Britain, but in America. Even during this selfsame year of 1756, as many as six editions were issued at Boston in New England. Its publication was opportune. A Royal Proclamation had recently been published in the _London Gazette_, setting forth that the king commanded all officers and ministers, civil and military, within their respective counties, to cause the coasts of England to be carefully watched, and, in case of any hostile attempt to land upon them, to immediately order all horses, oxen, and cattle, which might be fit for draught or burden, and not actually employed in his Majesty’s service, and also, as far as practicable, all other cattle and provisions, to be removed at least twenty miles from the place where such a hostile attempt was made, so as to prevent them falling into the hands of the enemy. Besides this, “on the 6th of February, a public fast was observed, by all ranks of the people. The churches and meeting-houses were thronged; and there was, in appearance, an entire cessation from business throughout London and the suburbs, and all over the kingdom.”[388] From such facts the reader may imagine the state of the country, when Whitefield wrote his “Short Address.” The following are extracts from it:――

“An insulting, enraged, and perfidious enemy is now advancing
nearer and nearer to the British borders. Not content with
invading and ravaging our rightful sovereign King George’s
dominions in America, our popish adversaries have now the
ambition to attempt, at least to threaten, an invasion of
England itself; hoping, no doubt, thereby, not only to throw
us into confusion at home, but also to divert us from more
effectually defeating their malicious designs abroad. That such
a design is now actually on foot, the late Royal Proclamation
renders indisputable.”

Having referred to the recent public fast, Whitefield proceeds to say:――

“Artful insinuations have been industriously published, in order
to lay all the blame of this war upon us. But bold assertions
and solid proofs are two different things; for it is plain,
beyond all contradiction, that the French, fond of rivalling
us both at home and abroad, have unjustly invaded his Majesty’s
dominions in America; and have also, by the most vile artifices
and lies, been endeavouring to draw the six nations of Indians
from our interest. In short, almost all their proceedings, since
the late treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, have been little else than a
tacit declaration of war. But He that sitteth in heaven, we may
humbly hope, laughs them to scorn; and, as He once came down to
confound the language of those aspiring projectors, who would
fain have built a tower, the top of which should reach to heaven,
so, we trust, He will frustrate the devices of our adversary’s
most subtle politicians, and speak confusion to all their
projects; who, by aiming at universal monarchy, are attempting
to erect a more than second Babel.”

Whitefield goes on to shew that good Christians may be soldiers, and writes:――

“The British arms were never more formidable, than when our
soldiers went forth in the strength of the Lord; and, with a
Bible in one hand, and a sword in the other, cheerfully fought
under His banner, who has condescended to style Himself ‘a
man of war.’ What Bishop Saunderson says of study may be said
of fighting: ‘Fighting without prayer is atheism, and prayer
without fighting is presumption.’ I would be the more particular
on this point, because, through a _fatal scrupulosity_ against
bearing arms, even in a defensive war, his Majesty has been in
danger of losing the large province of Pennsylvania, the very
centre and garden of all North America. Such very scrupulous
persons, grasping at every degree of worldly power, and, by
all the arts of worldly policy, labouring to monopolize and
retain in their own hands all parts both of the legislative
and executive branches of civil government, certainly act a
most inconsistent part. Say what we will to the contrary, civil
magistracy and defensive war must stand or fall together. Both
are built upon the same basis; and there cannot be a single
argument urged to establish the one, which does not corroborate
and confirm the other.”

Whitefield then adverts to the recent earthquakes, at Lisbon and elsewhere, and proceeds to say:――

“Were even the like judgments to befal us, they would be
but small, in comparison of our hearing that a French army,
accompanied with a popish pretender, and thousands of Romish
priests, was suffered to invade England, and to blind, deceive,
and tyrannize over the souls and consciences of the people
belonging to this happy isle. How can any serious and judicious
person be so stupid to all principles of self-interest, and so
dead to all maxims of common sense, as to prefer a French to an
English government; or a popish pretender, born, and bred up in
all the arbritary and destructive principles of the court and
Church of Rome, to the present _Protestant succession_, settled
in the illustrious line of Hanover?”

Whitefield next refers to popish persecutions of Protestants, and remarks:――

“After perusing this,” (a late declaration of ‘his Most
Christian Majesty’ Louis XV.,) “read, also, I beseech you, the
shocking accounts of the horrid butcheries and cruel murders
committed on the bodies of many of our fellow-subjects in
America, by the hands of _savage Indians_, instigated thereto
by more than _savage popish priests_.[389] And if this be
the beginning, what may we suppose the end will be, should a
_French_ power, or popish pretender, be permitted to subdue
either us or them? Speak, _Smithfield_, speak, and, by thy
dumb but persuasive oratory, declare to all who pass by and
over thee, how many _English_ Protestant martyrs thou hast seen
burnt to death in the reign of the cruel popish queen, to whom
the present pretender to the _British_ throne claims a distant
kindred! Speak, _Ireland_, speak, and tell how many thousands
and tens of thousands of innocent, unprovoking Protestants were
massacred, in cold blood, by the hands of cruel Papists, within
thy borders, about a century ago! Speak, _Paris_, speak, and
say, how many thousands of Protestants were once slaughtered, to
serve as a bloody dessert, to grace the solemnity of a marriage
feast! Speak, _Languedoc_, speak, and tell how many Protestant
ministers have been lately executed; how many more of their
hearers have been dragooned and sent to the galleys; and how
many hundreds are now lying in prisons, fast bound in misery
and iron, for no other crime than that unpardonable one in the
_Romish_ Church, hearing and preaching the pure gospel of the
meek and lowly Jesus!

“And think you, my countrymen, that _Rome_, glutted with
Protestant blood, will now rest satisfied, and say, ‘I have
enough’? No, on the contrary, having through the good hand
of God upon us, been kept so long fasting, we may reasonably
suppose, that, the popish priests are only grown more voracious,
and, like so many hungry and ravenous wolves pursuing harmless
and innocent flocks of sheep, will with double eagerness,
pursue after, seize upon, and devour their wished-for Protestant
prey; and, attended with their bloody red coats, these Gallic
instruments of reformation, who know they must either fight or
die, will necessarily breathe out nothing but threatening and
slaughter, and carry along with them desolation and destruction,
go where they will.”

This was strong language, but, under the circumstances, not too strong.[390] No wonder, however, that infuriated Papists sent the writer threatening letters. Whitefield expresses his confidence in God’s interposition, and in England’s “glorious fleet,” and “well-disciplined army;” and then finishes with the following peroration:――

“If we can but make God our friend, we need not fear what
_France_ and _Rome_ and _hell_ can do against us. All the
malicious efforts and designs of men and devils shall, so far
from obstructing, be made to subserve the enlargement of His
interests, who, in spite of all the strivings of the potsherds
of the earth, will hold the balance of _universal monarchy_ in
His own hands, and, at last, bring about the full establishment
of that blessed kingdom, whose law is truth, whose King is love,
and whose duration is eternity. _Fiat! fiat!_ Amen and amen!”

These are long quotations, but they help to shew the excited state of public feeling in 1756; and, perhaps, they may help the reader to understand the secrets of the disgraceful clangours, riots, and threatening letters already mentioned.

In his pamphlet, Whitefield refers to the persecution of Protestants in France. Much might be said respecting this; but suffice it to remark, that, on the general fast day, February 6th, Whitefield made a collection in his Tabernacle, eighty pounds of which he devoted to a fund which was being raised for the assistance of these poor persecuted people.[391] Remembering that, in 1756, money was probably of four times greater worth than it is at present, this collection of the poor Methodists was a noble one; but even this fell far short of the sum, which Whitefield, three months afterwards, obtained, within a week, towards the erection of his Tottenham Court Road chapel. Hence the following, addressed to the Countess of Huntingdon:――

“LONDON, _May 2, 1756_.

“EVER-HONOURED MADAM,――Various have been my exercises since
I wrote you last; but, I find, all things happen for the
furtherance of the gospel. I suppose your ladyship has seen
his Majesty’s promise of pardon to any who will discover the
letter-writer; and this brings you the further news of my
having taking a piece of ground, very commodious to build
on, not far from the Foundling Hospital. On Sunday, I opened
the subscription, and, through God’s blessing, it has already
amounted to near £600. If He is pleased to continue to smile
upon my poor endeavours, and to open the hearts of more of His
dear children to contribute, I hope, in a few months, to have
what has long been wanted,――a place for the gospel at the other
end of the town. This evening, God willing, I venture once more
to preach at Long Acre. The enemy boasts that I am frightened
away; but the triumph of the wicked is short. On Tuesday next,
I hope to set out for Wales.”

The site of Whitefield’s new chapel was surrounded by fields and gardens. On the north side of it, there were but two houses. The next after them, half a mile further, was the “Adam and Eve” public-house; and thence, to Hampstead, there were only the inns of “Mother Red Cap” and “Black Cap.”[392] The chapel, when first erected, was seventy feet square within the walls. Two years after it was opened, twelve almshouses and a minister’s house[393] were added. About a year after that, the chapel was found to be too small, and it was enlarged to its present dimensions of a hundred and twenty-seven feet long, and seventy feet broad, with a dome a hundred and fourteen feet in height. Beneath it were vaults for the burial of the dead; and in which Whitefield intended that himself and his friends, John and Charles Wesley, should be interred. “I have prepared a vault in this chapel,” Whitefield used to say to his somewhat bigotted congregation, “where I intend to be buried, and Messrs. John and Charles Wesley shall also be buried there. We will all lie together. You will not let them enter your chapel while they are alive. They can do you no harm when they are dead.”[394] The lease of the ground was granted, to Whitefield, by General George Fitzroy, and, on its expiration in 1828, the freehold was purchased for £14,000. The foundation-stone of the chapel was laid in the beginning of June, 1756, when Whitefield preached from the words, “They sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.” (Ezra iii. 11.)[395] Among others present on the occasion, were the Rev. Thomas Gibbons, one of the Tutors of the Dissenting Academy at Mile End; Dr. Andrew ♦Gifford, Assistant Librarian of the British Museum; and the celebrated Rev. Benjamin Grosvenor, D.D., for many years the pastor of the Presbyterian congregation in Crosby Square, and who, after preaching in London for half a century, had recently retired into private life. The chapel was opened for divine worship on November 7, 1756, when Whitefield selected, as his text, the words, “Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. iii. 11).[396]

Tottenham Court Road chapel has a history well worthy of being written. From this venerable sanctuary sprang separate congregations in Shepherd’s Market, Kentish Town, Paddington, Tonbridge chapel, Robert Street, Crown Street, and Craven chapel.[397] Much also might be said of the distinguished preachers who, in olden days, occupied its pulpit: Dr. Peckwell, De Courcy, Berridge, Walter Shirley, Piercy, chaplain to General Washington, Rowland Hill, Torial Joss, West, Kinsman, Beck, Medley, Edward Parsons, Matthew Wilks, Joel Knight, John Hyatt, and many others; but want of space prevents the insertion of further details. Whitefield’s Tabernacle in Moorfields has been demolished, and a Gothic church erected on its site.[398] Whitefield’s Tottenham Court Road chapel is now his only erection in the great metropolis; and long may it stand as a grand old monument, in memory of the man who founded it! Thousands have been converted within its walls, and never was it more greatly needed than at the present day.

No sooner had Whitefield raised £600 towards the erection of his intended chapel, than away he went to the west of England, where he spent about a month. He preached at Bristol, Bath, Westbury, Gloucester, Bradford, Frome, Warminster, Portsmouth, and other places. One letter, written during this preaching tour, must be inserted.

The Rev. Thomas Haweis, D.D., was now a student at Christ Church College, Oxford. He had been educated at the Grammar School, Truro, and had been converted under the preaching of the Rev. Samuel Walker, whose ministry, in that town, during the last few years, had been the means of turning a large number of people “from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God.” Young Haweis had formed a Society at Oxford,[399] analogous to the “Holy Club” of the Wesleys and their friends, more than a quarter of a century previous to this. He and a few of his fellow-collegians, all animated by the same views and feelings, met together, in his room, at stated times, for the purpose of reading the Greek Testament, and of conversing on religious subjects. Mr. Walker, the Methodist clergyman of Truro, in a letter, dated “April, 1757,” wrote, “Tom Haweis is at Christ Church, and doing service among a few of the young gentlemen there. He tells me, he is remarked as a dangerous fellow; and adds, that Romaine has been again in the university pulpit, where he preached imputed righteousness, but, it is said, will be allowed to preach no more there.”[400] In another letter, written a few months afterwards, Walker remarked, “Tom Haweis has good speed at Oxford. There are pretty many already coming to him in private, and he hopes very well of a few of them.”[401] Haweis, in fact, had founded a second Society of “Oxford Methodists,” a Society which grew into such importance, and became so obnoxious to the heads of houses, as to lead, in 1768, to the expulsion of six students, belonging to Edmund Hall, “for holding Methodistical tenets, and taking upon them to pray, read, and expound the Scriptures in private houses.”[402]

As yet, Whitefield had never met with Haweis, but he had heard of him, and, while at Bristol, he addressed to him the following letter:――

“BRISTOL, _May 20, 1756_.

“MY VERY DEAR SIR,――For so I must address you, having had you
in a peculiar manner upon my heart, ever since I read a letter
that came from you some months ago. It bespoke the language of
a heart devoted to Jesus. Glory be to God! that there are some
young champions coming forth. Methinks, I could now sing my
_nunc dimittis_ with triumphant joy. Though I decrease, may you
increase! O that you may be kept from conferring with flesh and
blood! O that you may be owned and blessed of God! I believe
you will, and never more so than when you are reviled and
despised by man. It is a fatal mistake to think we must keep
our characters in order to do good. This is called _prudence_;
in most, I fear, it is _trimming_. Honesty I find always to be
the best policy. Them who honour Jesus, He will honour. Even
in this world, if we confess Him, His truth, and His people, we
shall receive a hundredfold. But whither am I going? Excuse the
overflowings of a heart that loves you dearly for the glorious
Redeemer’s sake. I am here preaching His cross. Next week, I
have thoughts of being at Bath and Westbury. I lead a pilgrim
life. Ere long, I hope my heavenly Father will take me home. I
am ambitious; I want to sit upon a throne. Jesus has purchased a
throne and heaven for me. That you may have an exalted place at
His right hand, is the prayer of, etc.,

“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”

On his return to London, Whitefield took advice respecting the trust deed to be drawn up for his new chapel, and wrote to the Countess of Huntingdon as follows:――

“LONDON, _June 4, 1756_.

“EVER-HONOURED MADAM,――At Bristol, the Redeemer caused us to
triumph, and likewise in Gloucestershire, and at Bradford, Frome,
Warminster, and Portsmouth, where I have been the last three
weeks. I am now come to London, for about ten days, to keep
Pentecost. I trust it will be a Pentecost to many souls at Long
Acre.

“Blessed be God! a new building is now in progress at Tottenham
Court Road. We have consulted the Commons about putting it under
your ladyship’s protection. This is the answer: ‘No nobleman
can license a chapel; a chapel cannot be built and used as such,
without the consent of the parson of the parish; and, when it
is done with his consent, no minister can preach therein without
license of the Bishop of the diocese.’ There seems then to be
but one way,――to license it as our other houses are: and thanks
be to Jesus for that liberty, which we have.”

From this it is evident that Whitefield wished his new erection to be a chapel in connection with the Established Church; and, that, because of the difficulties mentioned, he was driven to avail himself of the Act of Toleration, and license it as a Dissenting meeting-house.

Whitefield had another trouble of a different kind. William Law, one of the oracles of the Oxford Methodists, had become a Behmenite; and Wesley had recently published a large pamphlet, with the title, “A Letter to the Rev. Mr. Law, occasioned by some of his late writings.” (8vo. 102 pp.) This production has never been entirely reprinted, an extract only being given in Wesley’s collected works. Its language in some places was unusually, perhaps undeservedly, severe. At all events, Law was deeply offended; and, what was more amusing, Whitefield was implicated, by its being rumoured that he was a party to the publication of Wesley’s letter. The following, to Lady Huntingdon, refers to this:――

“LONDON, _June 10, 1756_.

“EVER-HONOURED MADAM,――I have just come from bed, where I have
been sweating for a cold and colic. From your ladyship’s kind
and condescending letter, I see your ladyship is touched in
a very tender point. Generous minds are always thus affected,
when a friend is abused. I find more and more, that our own
mother’s children will be permitted to be angry with us. The
contradiction of saints is more trying than that of sinners.
I do not deny, that I might say, ‘Some of Mr. Law’s principles,
in my opinion, are wrong;’ but that I ever put Mr. Wesley upon
writing, or had any active hand in his pamphlet, is utterly
false. I think it is a most ungentlemanlike, injudicious,
unchristian piece. However, Mr. Law knows too much of the Divine
life, not to see some call even in this cross; and I hope your
ladyship will not suffer it to burden your mind any longer.

“My present work in London seems to be over, and, on Monday
or Tuesday next, I hope to set out for Bristol, and then come,
through Leicestershire, on my way to Scotland. This, I hope,
will be a three months’ circuit. The prospect in London is very
promising. Every day we hear of fresh conquests.”

Whitefield did not set out to Bristol until June 22; and, instead of proceeding thence to Scotland, he returned to London on July 9. The following letters belong to this period.

Whitefield had a large family in America; but, because of the war, he could not visit it. He wrote to his housekeeper there as follows:――

“LONDON, _June 21, 1756_.

“Nothing in your last letter concerns me, except your having the
least suspicion that I was not pleased with your conduct, or was
not satisfied with your being at Bethesda. I know of no person
in the world that I would prefer to you. I think myself happy
in having such a mother for the poor children, and am persuaded
God will bless you more and more. I care not how much the family
is lessened. As it is a time of war, this may be done with great
propriety; and the plantation will have time to grow. Never
fear; Jesus will stand by a disinterested cause. I have aimed
at nothing, in founding Bethesda, but His glory and the good
of my country. Let Lots choose the plain; God will be Abraham’s
shield and exceeding great reward. All is well that ends well.
To-morrow, I set out upon a long range.”

The next letter is curious and full of interest. Benjamin Franklin, who, in later years, through unhappy embroilments, became an enemy of England, and took an active part in bringing about the American revolution, was, at present, one of the most loyal subjects of King George the Second. Only a year before, when the expedition of General Braddock, to dispossess the French of some of their encroachments, was in preparation, a difficulty arose for want of waggons, and Franklin, at the risk of ruining his own fortunes, supplied not fewer than a hundred and fifty. After this, he was instrumental in passing a militia bill, and was appointed colonel of the Philadelphia regiment of twelve hundred men, which command he held until the troops were disbanded by order of the English government. In the midst of these exciting occurrences, Franklin wrote to Whitefield, as follows:――

“NEW YORK, _July 2, 1756_.

“DEAR SIR,――I received your favour of the 24th of February with
great pleasure, as it informed me of your welfare, and expressed
your continued regard for me. I thank you for the pamphlet
you enclosed to me.[403] As we had just observed a provincial
fast on the same occasion, I thought it very seasonable to
be published in Pennsylvania; and accordingly reprinted it
immediately.

“You mention your frequent wish that you were a chaplain to
the American army. I sometimes wish that you and I were jointly
employed by the Crown to settle a colony on the Ohio. I imagine
that we could do it effectually, and without putting the nation
to much expense; but, I fear, we shall never be called upon
for such a service. What a glorious thing it would be to settle
in that fine country a large, strong body of religious and
industrious people! What a security to the other colonies,
and advantage to Britain, by increasing her people, territory,
strength, and commerce! Might it not greatly facilitate the
introduction of pure religion among the heathen, if we could,
by such a colony, shew them a better sample of Christians than
they commonly see in our Indian traders?――the most vicious and
abandoned wretches of our nation! Life, like a dramatic piece,
should not only be conducted with regularity, but, methinks, it
should finish handsomely. Being now in the last act, I begin to
cast about for something fit to end with. Or, if mine be more
properly compared to an epigram, as some of its lines are but
barely tolerable, I am very desirous of concluding with a bright
point. In such an enterprise, I could spend the remainder of
life with pleasure: and I firmly believe God would bless us with
success, if we undertook it with a sincere regard to His honour,
the service of our gracious king, and (which is the same thing)
the public good.

“I thank you cordially for your generous benefactions to the
German schools. They go on pretty well; and will do better,
when Mr. Smith, who has at present the principal charge of them,
shall learn to mind party-writing and party-politics less, and
his proper business more; which, I hope, time will bring about.

“I thank you for your good wishes and prayers; and am, with
the greatest esteem and affection, dear sir, your most obedient
humble servant,

“BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

“My best respects to Mrs. Whitefield.”[404]

As is well known, this remarkable man wound up the drama of his eventful life, not by founding a new English colony on the Ohio, but by assisting to wrest the colonies which England already had, from English government, and by becoming the plenipotentiary of the rebellious provinces to the court of France!

After his return from Bristol, on July 9, Whitefield, with the exception of a run to Kent, employed nearly the next three weeks in London. Hence the following letters, the first to the Countess of Huntingdon, the second to his housekeeper at Bethesda:――

“LONDON, _July 17, 1756_.

“EVER-HONOURED MADAM,――Your kind letter found me just returned
from Bristol, and just setting out for Maidstone and Chatham,
where I have been to preach the gospel, and to visit a poor
murderer.[405] I hope my labours were not altogether vain in
the Lord. I am now preparing for my northern expedition. My
motions must be very quick, because I would hasten to Scotland
as fast as possible, to have more time at my return. Eternity!
Eternity! O how I do long for thee! But, alas, how often must
we be like pelicans in the wilderness, before we arrive there!
Solitariness prepares for the social life, and the social life
for solitariness again. Jesus alone is the centre of peace and
comfort in either situation. Springs fail; the Fountain never
can, nor will.”

“ISLINGTON, _July 27, 1756_.

“Pray lessen the family as much as possible. I wish I had none
in the house but proper _orphans_. The plantation would then
suffice for its support, and debts be paid; but we must buy
our experience. Troubles seem to beset us here; but we are
all secure in God. His gospel flourishes in London. I am just
returned from preaching it at Sheerness, Chatham, and in the
camp. This afternoon or to-morrow I set off for Scotland.”

Whitefield arrived at Leeds on Sunday evening, August 1. The account of his labours during the next fortnight is contained in the following letter:――

“SUNDERLAND, _August 14, 1756_.

“It is now a fortnight since I came to Leeds. On the Sunday
evening, a few hours after my arrival, many thousands were
gathered in the fields, to whom Jesus enabled me to speak with
some degree of power. The following week, I preached, in and
about Leeds, thrice almost every day, to thronged and affected
auditories. On Sunday last, at seven in the morning, the
congregation consisted of about ten thousand; at noon and in the
evening, at Birstal, of near double the number. Though hoarse,
the Redeemer helped me to speak, so that all heard. It was
a high day. In the evening, several hundred of us rode about
eight miles, singing and praising God. The next morning, I
took a sorrowful leave of Leeds, preached at Tadcaster[406] at
noon, and at York in the evening. God was with us. On Tuesday,
I preached twice at York. Delightful seasons. On Wednesday, at
Warstall, about fifty miles off; on Thursday, twice at Yarm; and
last night and this morning here. After spending my Sabbath here,
and visiting Shields,[407] Newcastle, and some adjacent places,
I purpose to go on to Scotland.”

The Sunday spent at Bradford and Birstal was a day never to be forgotten; and the singing cavalcade, at the end of it, has hardly ever been equalled. Among the thousands then assembled, was a boy, sixteen years of age, upon whom Whitefield’s sermons had a powerful and permanent effect. They led to his conversion; and the youth, then an apprentice, became the well-known Rev. John Fawcett, D.D., for fifty-four years, one of the most faithful preachers among the West Yorkshire mountains. After hearing Whitefield at Bradford, early in the morning, young Fawcett trudged ten or a dozen miles to Birstal, where Whitefield stood on a platform, at the foot of a hill near the town, and, on the slopes of the hill, had twenty thousand people grouped before him, “thousands of whom, during the delivery of his two sermons, vented their emotions by tears and groans. Fools who came to mock, began to pray.”[408]

One of the places “about Leeds,” at which Whitefield preached, was Haworth, where a scaffold was erected in the churchyard, and he took for his text, “Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of hope” (Zech. ix. 12). Here, again, there was a young Yorkshireman who never forgot that memorable season. Samuel Whitaker wrote: “I got among the crowd nearly under the scaffold, and it was the most affecting time I ever experienced. Mr. Whitefield spoke as if he had been privy to all my thoughts, words, and actions, from the tenth year of my age. The day following, I heard him at Leeds; and the day after that, at Bradford.” Twelve months subsequent to this, Samuel Whitaker became a member of Wesley’s Society; for many years was a class-leader and local-preacher at Keighley; and, exactly sixty years after first hearing Whitefield at Haworth, tranquilly expired, in the eighty-second year of his age.[409]

Whitefield has left no account of his labours in Scotland; but the following particulars, taken from the _Scots’ Magazine_ for 1756, will partly fill up the gap.

He arrived at Edinburgh, on Friday, August 20, where he remained for the next three weeks, and “preached every day, morning and evening, in the Orphan Hospital Park, to very numerous audiences” (p. 414).

On Friday, September 10, he went to Glasgow, where he preached the same evening, twice on Saturday, and four times on Sunday, September 12, to large congregations.

Six days afterwards, he returned to Edinburgh; and, as the new governor of Georgia desired to converse with him, before embarking for the colony, Whitefield started for England, on Wednesday, September 22.[410]

The _Scots’ Magazine_ proceeds to say: “Before Mr. Whitefield set out for Glasgow, the managers of the Orphan Hospital made him a present of fifty guineas to defray his travelling charges; but he returned ten guineas, saying that forty guineas were sufficient to defray the charges, and likewise to pay upwards of £14, which he had laid out here for coarse linen to be sent to his Orphan House in Georgia. For accommodating the audience, when he preached, the managers had erected seats in the park; and, though only a halfpenny each was asked from the hearers for their seats, the money thence arising, and the collections at the park gates, amounted to upwards of £188 sterling; so that the hospital has about £120 clear gain, over and above the expense of the seats, and the present made to Mr. Whitefield.”

The magazine relates further, that “scarcity at home” had induced a greater number of Highlanders than usual to come to Edinburgh for “harvest work.” The harvest, however, was not ready. They had nothing to live upon. “Contributions were set on foot, to give them two meals a day at the poorhouse; and, on the evening of September 21, after a sermon suitable to the occasion by Mr. Whitefield, a collection was made for them, in the Orphan Hospital Park, which amounted to £60 11s. 4d. sterling, of which half a guinea was given by Mr. Whitefield himself” (p. 465).

To these items of intelligence may be added the following from the _Edinburgh Courant_: “During his stay, Mr. Whitefield preached, morning and evening, in the Orphan Hospital Park, not excepting the evening of the day on which he arrived, or the morning of that on which he departed. As he was frequently very explicit in opening the miseries of popish tyranny and arbitrary power, and very warm in exhorting his hearers to loyalty and courage at home, and in stirring them up to pray for the success of his Majesty’s forces, we have reason to believe that his visit, at this juncture, has been particularly useful.”

In 1756, a considerable number of Wesley’s preachers and Societies were strongly inclined to declare themselves Dissenters. Charles Wesley was excessively annoyed; and, as soon as his brother’s annual conference was ended, he set out to entreat the Methodists “to continue steadfast in the communion of the Church of England.” Throughout life, Whitefield was a peace-maker, and, on his return from Scotland, he rendered service for which Charles Wesley was profoundly thankful. Under the date of Friday, October 8, Charles wrote:――

“Returning to Leeds, I met my brother Whitefield, and was much
refreshed by the account of his abundant labours. I waited on
him in our Room, and gladly sat under his word.”

Again: “Sunday, October 10. At Birstal, my congregation was less
by a thousand or two, through George Whitefield preaching to-day
at Haworth.”

“Monday, October 11. Hearing Mr. Whitefield and Mr. Grimshaw
were returning to our watch-night, I waited for them at their
lodgings, with zealous, humble, loving Mr. Crook. It rained so
hard, that Mr. Whitefield was agreeably surprised, at eight,
to find our House as full as it could cram. They forced me to
preach first; which I did from Zech. xiii.: ‘The third part I
will bring through the fire.’ My brother George seconded me in
the words of our Lord: ‘I say unto all, Watch.’ The prayers and
hymns were all attended with a solemn power. Few, if any, went
unawakened away.”

“Manchester, Monday, October 25. Here I rejoiced to hear of the
great good Mr. Whitefield has done in our Societies. He preached
as universally as my brother. He warned them everywhere against
apostacy; and strongly insisted on the necessity of holiness
_after_ justification, illustrating it with this comparison:
‘What good will the king’s pardon do a poor malefactor dying
of a fever? So, notwithstanding you have received forgiveness,
unless the disease of your nature be healed by holiness, ye
can never be saved.’ He beat down the separating spirit, highly
commended the prayers and services of our Church, charged our
people to meet their bands and classes constantly, and never to
leave the Methodists, or God would leave them. In a word, he did
his utmost to strengthen our hands, and deserves the thanks of
all the churches, for his abundant labour of love.”[411]

The author of “The Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon” states, that, in his itinerancy through Lancashire, Whitefield was accompanied by the Revs. Messrs. Grimshaw, Ingham, and Milner, and that, among other places, they visited Manchester, Stockport, and Chinley.[412] From an old manuscript ‘History of Methodism in Leigh,’ it appears, that Whitefield also visited Shackerley, where, at that time, a large number of Unitarians were located, the disciples of Dr. Taylor, the divinity tutor of the Unitarian Academy at Warrington. The writer relates, that, Whitefield preached on Shackerley Common, and that a man, a mile distant, leaning upon a gate, distinctly heard many of his sentences, was convinced of sin, and soon converted.

Whitefield’s own account of his labours in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire, is extremely meagre. On his return to London, from what he calls his “thousand miles’ northern circuit,”[413] he wrote to the Countess of Huntingdon, as follows:――

“LONDON, _October 27, 1756_.

“I wrote you a few lines, not long ago, from Leeds. Since then,
I have been in honest Mr. Grimshaw’s and Mr. Ingham’s rounds,
preaching upon the mountains to many thousands. One, who was
awakened three years ago, is gone to heaven, and desired to be
buried in the spot where she was converted. The sacrament at
Mr. Grimshaw’s was awful; and the watch-night at Leeds exceeding
solemn. I would have continued my circuit, but I found that
preaching so frequently in those cold districts was bringing on
my last year’s disorder. Being, therefore, grown very prudent,
I am come to open our new chapel in Tottenham Court Road. Lord,
what am I, that Thou shouldest suffer me to put a pin in Thy
tabernacle! Never did I know the fields more ready unto harvest,
than I have seen them in the north.”

Builders, in former days, were more expeditious than at present. Whitefield’s chapel was neither a small nor a flimsy structure, and yet, only half a year after its commencement, it was ready for being opened!

Whitefield was now in his “winter quarters,” where he remained for the next six months;――an unusually long period for him to spend in London. The following extracts from his letters will, it is hoped, interest the reader:――

“London, November 17, 1756. At Tottenham Court chapel, we have
had some glorious earnests of future blessings. My constant
work now is preaching about fifteen times a week. This, with a
weak appetite, want of rest, and much care lying upon my mind,
enfeebles me. But the joy of the Lord is my strength; and my
greatest grief is, that I can do no more for Him, who has done
and suffered so much for me.”

The Rev. Henry Venn was now one of the most active clergymen of the Church of England. Besides being curate of Clapham, he held three lectureships in the city. His _regular_ duties consisted of a full service at Clapham on the Sunday morning; a sermon, in the afternoon, at St. Alban’s, Wood Street; and another, in the evening, at St. Swithin’s, London-stone. On Tuesday morning, a sermon at St. Swithin’s; on Wednesday morning, at seven o’clock, at St. Antholin’s; and, on Thursday evening, at Clapham.[414] Whitefield had become acquainted with him, and wrote to Hervey, at Weston-Favel, as follows:――

“London, December 9, 1756. I hope that my dear friend prospers
both in soul and body. Conviction and conversion work goes on
here. Lord, keep us from tares! All is well at Clapham. I have
expounded there twice. God has met with us in our new building.”

To the Rev. Aaron Burr, the President of New Jersey College, for whom he had done his best to obtain a D.D. degree from the Edinburgh University, Whitefield wrote:――

“London, December 9, 1756. Night and day, our hands are lifted
up for dear America; but, I fear, we are to be brought into
far greater extremity, both at home and abroad, ere deliverance
comes. I am sorry you have not your degree. It is ready, if
testimonials were sent from those who know you. This not being
done, it looks as though the character given you on this side
the water was not justly founded. I wish you would write oftener.
How glad would I be to see America, but my way is hedged up.
The awakening both in town and country continues. More ministers
are coming out to preach the gospel. I am strengthened to preach
fourteen times a week, and I trust it is not in vain.”

“London, December 15, 1756. Last Sunday, in the new chapel,
there was a wonderful stirring among the dry bones. Some great
people came, and begged they might have a constant seat: an
earnest this, I believe, of more good things to come.”

“London, December 30, 1756. God is doing wonders in the new
chapel. Hundreds went away last Sunday morning, who could not
come in. On Christmas Day, and last Tuesday night (the first
time of burning candles), the power of the Lord was present,
both to wound and to heal. A neighbouring doctor has baptized
the place, calling it ‘Whitefield’s Soul-Trap.’ I pray that
it may be a _soul-trap_ indeed, to many wandering sinners.
Abundance of people round about, I hear, are much struck. O
for humility! O for gratitude! O for faith! Wherefore should I
doubt? Surely Jesus will carry me through, and help me to pay
the workmen.”

In such a spirit, Whitefield ended another year of his eventful life. He was now attracting to his meeting-house some of the “_great people_” of the western parts of the metropolis; and, yet, his preaching was as faithful as ever. Let the following serve as a specimen:――

“Woe unto you, who are at ease in Zion, and, instead of staying
to be tempted by the devil, by idleness, self-indulgence, and
making continual provision for the flesh even tempt the devil
to tempt you! Woe unto you, who, not content with sinning
yourselves, turn factors for hell, and make a trade of tempting
others to sin! Woe unto you, who either deny Divine revelation,
or never use it, but to serve a bad turn! Woe unto you, who
sell your consciences, and pawn your souls, for a little worldly
wealth or honour! Woe unto you, who climb up to high places, in
Church or State, by corruption, bribery, extortion, cringing,
flattery, or bowing down to, and soothing the vices of those
by whom you expect to rise! Woe unto you! for, whether you will
own the relation or not, you are of your father the devil; for
the works of your father you do. I tremble for you. How can you
escape the damnation of hell?”[415]

Such preaching was needed in the days of Whitefield, and it is equally needed now. For lack of it, thousands, even in churches and chapels, are dreaming elysian dreams, while in the utmost danger of perishing.

In more respects than one, the year 1756 was a year of turmoil; but the Methodists were not without their friends. One pamphlet, published during the year, undesignedly in Whitefield’s favour, had the following inordinately long title: “The Great Secret Disclosed; or an Infallible Salve for Opening the Eyes of all such as the God of this World has Blinded; by once applying which, the Person will be able to see the true cause why Religion decays amongst us, and why Methodism started up, and daily increases; and, with it, all that train of Vice and Immorality so common to be met with in every corner of the Nation; with an effectual method for bringing about a Reformation by destroying Methodism.” (8vo. 52 pp.)

The title shews that the pamphlet was not _intended_ to promote the interests of Methodism. Like Balaam, the writer purposed to curse his enemies, and, yet, he blessed them. Two extracts must suffice.

“It is generally reported that Mr. Whitefield has a hundred
thousand followers, most of whom, before his preaching, were the
vilest of mankind, but are now sober and religious persons, good
members of society, and good subjects of the king. It is also
said that Mr. Wesley’s preaching has had as good an effect on
the like numbers; most of whom have been brought to be members
of the Church of England; namely, to baptize their children,
and to receive the sacrament there: for, as he and his brother
preach only betimes in a morning and in the evening, and order
their followers to go, the other parts of the day, to their
respective places of worship; and, as most of them went to
no place of worship before, and as such always looked upon
themselves as Church people, they go, forenoon and afternoon,
to its services. Thus, instead of weakening the Church, by
taking members from it, the Methodists have strengthened it, by
adding thousands of members to it; for the Methodists, properly
speaking, are no Church, having no ordinances administered among
them.[416]

“Mr. Whitefield seems to have been the first whom the clergy of
a whole nation agreed to prevent preaching, without ever proving
that he had broken either the ecclesiastical, moral, or national
law. His chief crime was that he appeared to be in earnest both
in reading prayers and preaching.”

The author’s “effectual method” to destroy Methodism was: 1. That the clergy should “treat the Methodists as Church members, and not molest them in performing the duties of religion;” and, 2. They should “out-pray and preach them.”

Another pamphlet, of the same Balaam-like character, was published in 1756, with the title, “Methodism Displayed, and Enthusiasm Detected; intended as an Antidote against, and a Preservative from, the delusive Principles and unscriptural Doctrines of a Modern _Sett_ of seducing Preachers; and as a Defence of our Regular and Orthodox Clergy, from their unjust Reflections.” (8vo. 36 pp.)

This was an enigmatical production. After giving to the “_Modern Sett of seducing Preachers_” a number of hard names, the author writes as follows:――

“If for a steady adherence and firm attachment to the doctrines
of the Church of England I am accounted a _Methodist_, I am
content. May I live and die a Church of England _Methodist_!
A _Methodist_! Why, really it is a simple and inoffensive name,
and I do not see much reason to be ashamed of it. The world
does not usually fix this apellation upon persons of an openly
wicked and scandalously sinful life. A gaming, pleasure-taking,
playhouse-frequenting person, who lives in debauchery and excess
of drinking, is sure to escape the name of _Methodist_. Nor
has a minister that name given him, who, notwithstanding his
solemn declarations, subscriptions, and oaths to assent to and
to abide by the Articles of our Church, preaches contrary to
them,――denies the _fall of man_,――_original sin_,――contends for
justification by works, instead of by faith,――is an enemy to
the doctrine of imputed righteousness,――from whose sermons
you seldom hear the name of Jesus, or the agency and influence
of the Holy Spirit, unless utterly to deny, inveigh against,
and explode all spiritual _inspiration_ and inward feelings:
these and such-like preachers escape from the imputation of
_Methodism_. So, again, that decent, regular person, who, freed
from the _irksome care of souls_, comfortably lolls in his
chariot, thinks it is time for him to have done with praying and
preaching, and, therefore, has _left off trade_, and is content
with a bare £1000 per annum Church preferment; he, who loves
the Church, rails at your popular, mob-driving preachers, and
is sure they would not take half the pains they do, if views of
money-getting were not at the bottom,――this sort of gentleman
stands very clear of being deemed a Methodist.”

Another extract must be given. The picture it draws was not a caricature.

“Take knowledge of that _thing_. He is parson of St――――’s church.
Lest the people should be seduced and deceived by hearing the
doctrines of the Church of England preached, he denies these
true ministers[417] the pulpit, and says they are _Enthusiasts_;
and the people, as ignorant as himself, join the cry. An
enthusiast! What is that? Oh, ’tis the cant word of the day
for the many-headed monster, the bugbear of the times. ‘Ah,’
says a constant church-goer, ‘I heard one of those preachers
at our church. He preached such a sermon! It was almost an hour
long, and he said downright, that all unconverted people were
in a state of damnation, and would go to hell, if they did not
believe on the Lord Jesus! Truly, he set the parish in an uproar,
for we are not used to such sort of preaching. Thank God for a
good parson, say I; for the Sunday after our parson (God bless
him!) preached a sermon against such doctrine; and, though he
was no longer than a quarter of an hour, he made us all easy
again. He told us we were in no danger of going to hell, and
that there was no fear of our being damned, for we were all
good _Christians_, if we paid every one their own, and did as
we would be done by.’”

Whitefield began the year 1757 with mingled feelings. He rejoiced because of the prosperity of the work of God; he was distressed by political and Church contentions; and he was full of care respecting his distant Orphan House. Hence the following selections from his letters:――

“LONDON, _January 12, 1757_.

“A wide door seems to be opening at Tottenham Court chapel.
The word flies like lightning in it. O that it may prove a
Bethel――a house of God――a gate of heaven! I believe it will. As
the awakening continues, I have some hopes that we are not to be
given up. Alas! alas! we are _testing_ and _contesting_, while
the nation is bleeding to death. We are condemning this and that;
but sin, the great mischief-maker, lies unmolested, or rather
encouraged by every party.”

To his housekeeper at Bethesda, Whitefield wrote:――

“LONDON, _February 5, 1757_.

“Tottenham Court chapel is made a Bethel, and the awakening
increases every day. O that it were so in Georgia! Surely the
great Shepherd and Bishop of souls will bless you, for taking
care of the lambs in that distant wilderness. Mr. P.’s leaving
Bethesda sadly distresses me. I desire that all, who are capable,
may be put out, and the family reduced as low as possible, till
the war is over, and the institution out of debt. Lord, remember
me and all my various concerns! God bless and direct you in
every step! He will, He will. What is to become of us here, God
only knows. A year perhaps may determine. The best sign is, that
the awakening continues.”

Four years ago, Whitefield had published his pamphlet against Zinzendorf and the Moravians. Things since then had altered for the better. Hence the following:――

“LONDON, _February 17, 1757_.

“O to be an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile!
Simplicity and godly sincerity are all in all. A want of
this, I fear, has led the Count into all his mistakes. With
great regret, I speak or write of any people’s weaknesses;
but I thought Divine Providence called me to publish what you
mention. The Redeemer gave it His blessing. I do not find that
their fopperies are continued, and I hear also that they have
discharged many debts.”