"Oxon, July 18, 1734. I envy him his blessed condition. He,
unquestionably, is divinely blessed, whilst we are still left
behind to wrestle with unruly passions, and, by a continued
looking unto Jesus and running in our Christian race, to press
forward to that high prize of which he, dear youth, is now in
full fruition."
* * * * *
"Bristol, September 10, 1734. You tell me Mr. P. wants to know
my quality, state, condition, and circumstances. Alas! that any
one should enquire after such a wretch as I am. However, since
he has been so kind, pray tell him that, as for my quality, I
was a poor, mean drawer, but, by the distinguishing grace of
God, am now intended for the ministry; as for my estate, that I
am a servitor; and as to my condition and circumstances, that I
have not of my own anywhere to lay my head, but my friends, by
God's providence, minister daily to me; and, in return for such
unmerited, unspeakable blessings, I trust the same good Being
will give me grace to dedicate myself without reserve to His
service."
* * * * *
"Oxon, September 17, 1734. We must make a great progress in
religion, to be inured, by frequent prayer and meditation, to
the ecstatic contemplation of heavenly objects, before we can
arrive at true heavenly-mindedness; and perhaps, after all our
endeavours, whilst our souls are immersed in these fleshly
tabernacles, we shall make but very small advances in so
delightful and glorious an undertaking. But believe me, sir, you
cannot imagine how vastly serviceable the constant use of all
the means of religion will be in acquiring this blessed habit of
mind: such as an early rising in the morning, public and private
prayer, a due temperance in all things, and frequent meditation
on the infinite love and purity of that unparalleled pattern of
all perfection, our dear Redeemer. As for your mentioning the
degeneracy of the age as an objection against our making further
advances in any religious improvement, I cannot by any means
admit of it. The Scriptures are to be the only rules of action,
and the examples of our blessed Lord and His Apostles the grand
patterns whereby we are to form the conduct of our lives. It is
true, indeed, that instances of exalted piety are rarely to be
met with in the present age, and if we were to take an estimate
of religion from the lives of most of its professors, one would
think that Christianity was nothing but a dead letter. But then
it is not our religion, but ourselves that are to be blamed
for this. Would we live as the primitive Christians did, we
might, no doubt, have the same assistance vouchsafed us as they
had. God's grace is never restrained. And though we should not
arrive at those heights of heavenly-mindedness, for which some
of the primitive Christians were eminent, yet we should imitate
them as far as we can, and rely on the Divine goodness for
grants of such a supply of grace as He, in His good pleasure,
shall judge most convenient for us. Be pleased to send for Mr.
Law's 'Christian Perfection' for me against my coming into the
country, if printed in a small edition."
* * * * *
"Oxon, December 4, 1734. I am heartily glad that 'The Country
Parson'[29] has had so good an effect upon you. The 'Prayers' I
hope to send you next week. Only let me give you this caution,
not to depend upon any advice or book that is given you, but
solely on the grace of God attending it. The book which I have
sent to my brother, and would recommend to you and all my
Gloucester friends, will soon convince you how dangerous it is
to be a lukewarm Christian, and that there is nothing to be done
without breaking from the world, denying ourselves daily, taking
up our cross, and following Jesus Christ. These things may seem
a little terrible at first; but, believe me, mortification
itself, when once practised, is the greatest pleasure in the
world."
[29] A book entitled "The Country Parson's Advice to his
Parishioners."
* * * * *
"Oxon, February 20, 1735. I am surprised that you should
have desired that 'Collection of Prayers,'[30] and be wholly
unconcerned about them ever after. Indeed, they will be of no
service to you, unless you grant me this one postulatum: 'that
we must renounce ourselves.' What the meaning of this phrase
may be, the preface to the Prayers will best inform you. I did
not doubt of its meeting with but a cold reception, it being at
first view so very contrary to flesh and blood. For, perhaps,
you may think that this renouncing of ourselves must necessarily
lead us (as it certainly does) to acts of self-denial and
mortification; and that we probably may be saved without them.
And lest you should after all imagine that true religion
consists in anything besides an entire renewal of our nature
into the image of God, I have sent you a book entitled 'The Life
of God in the Soul of Man,' which will inform you what true
religion is, and by what means you may attain it; as, likewise,
how wretchedly most people err in their sentiments about it,
who suppose it to be nothing else but a mere model of outward
performances, without ever considering that all our corrupt
passions must be subdued, and a complex habit of virtues, such
as meekness, lowliness, faith, hope, and the love of God and of
man, be implanted in their room, before we can have the least
title to enter into the kingdom of God; our Divine Master having
expressly told us that 'unless we renounce ourselves, and take
up our cross daily, we cannot be His disciples.' I shall be glad
to hear whether you keep up morning prayers, and how often you
receive the Holy Communion, there being nothing which so much
be-dwarfs us in religion as starving our souls by keeping away
from the heavenly banquet."
[30] Probably, "A Collection of Forms of Prayer for every Day in
the Week," printed by Wesley in 1733,--his first publication,
and originally intended for his pupils in Lincoln College.
* * * * *
"Oxon, March 6, 1735. I find, by what I can gather from your
own and my brother's expressions, that my late letters have met
with but a cold reception, and that you seem desirous of hearing
no more of so seemingly ungrateful a subject as submitting our
wills to the will of God, which is all that is implied in the
phrase of _renouncing ourselves_. Alas, sir! what is there
that appears so monstrously terrible in a doctrine that is
the constant subject of our prayers, whenever we put up the
petition, 'Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven;' the
import of which seems to be this: 1. That we do everything
that God wills, and nothing but what He wills; 2. That we do
everything He wills, _only_ in the _manner_ He wills; 3. That
we do those things He wills, only _because_ He wills. This is
all I have been endeavouring to inculcate in my late letters.
Dear sir, be not dismayed. The difficulty lies only in our first
setting out. Be but vigorous at the first onset, and never
fear a conquest. The renewal of our nature is a work of great
importance. It is not to be done in a day; we have not only a
new house to build up, but an old one to pull down. The means
which are necessary to be used in order to attain this end, our
cursed adversary the devil would represent to us in the most
hideous forms imaginable; but, believe me, sir, there is really
more pleasure in these formidable duties of self-denial and
mortification, than in the highest indulgences of the greatest
epicure upon earth."
These are fair specimens of Whitefield's letters at this period of
his history. He and the other Oxford Methodists were profoundly
sincere and earnest; but they were legalists, trying to save
themselves, instead of seeking to be saved by Christ. Their aim
was to subdue their "corrupt passions," and to produce within
themselves the virtues of "meekness, lowliness, faith, hope, and the
love of God and man." The means used to accomplish this aim were
public and private worship, "acts of self-denial and mortification,"
and the practice of good works. There is not a word in Whitefield's
letters respecting justification by faith in the atoning sacrifice
of the Divine Redeemer; and not a word respecting the great fact
that it is the sole work of the Holy Spirit to subdue and destroy
the "corrupt passions" of the sinner, and to plant within him "the
mind which was in Christ Jesus." The men were morose ascetics rather
than happy Christians.
Henceforward, the tone of Whitefield's letters is different. The
_new birth_ becomes a constant topic. The man, hitherto so gloomy
and taciturn, is jubilant. His doleful and long-continued _miserere_
is exchanged for songs of praise and thanksgiving. Hence the
following, written immediately after his conversion:--
"Bristol, June 12, 1735. Were not your sighs on Sunday last some
infant strugglings after the _new birth_? Surely they were; and
I trust ere long the Holy Ghost will replenish your heart with
comfort and peace. Methinks I would willingly undergo the pangs,
so you might enjoy the pleasures, of the new birth; but this
must not be. All we can do is to sympathise with and pray for
each other."
* * * * *
"Bristol, September 5, 1735. I hope to feast with you at
Crypt[31] next Sunday. Amazing, that ever sinners should sit
with their Saviour! To what dignity has Christ exalted human
nature! If Mr. Pauncefort's petitions for me ran after this
manner, I should be thankful: 'That God would finish the good
which He has begun in me; that I may never seek nor be fond of
worldly preferment, but employ those talents it shall please
God to entrust me with, to His glory and the Church's good;
and likewise that the endeavours of my friends to revive true
religion in the world may meet with proper success."
[31] St. Mary de Crypt, Gloucester.
Thus, as early as June 12, 1735, Whitefield began to write
concerning "the pangs and the pleasures of the new birth." How was
it that he was not the means of leading the Wesley brothers into the
enjoyment of the same Divine blessing? A sufficient answer to this
is found in the fact that Whitefield was now absent from Oxford,
that four months afterwards Wesley and his brother set sail for
America, and that a long space of time elapsed before the three
friends were again united.
Whitefield needed rest. He had kept nine terms at Oxford, and had
not availed himself of a single vacation. Perhaps for want of money,
he had not left Oxford since the time he entered it. His health,
however, was now so seriously affected, that recreation became
imperative. Accordingly, about the end of the month of May, he, for
the first time, left the University, and returned to his friends
at Gloucester. One of his earliest letters, written during his
rustication, was addressed to his friend Wesley, and is too full
of interesting gossip to be omitted. It will also fitly close the
present chapter of Whitefield's history.
"GLOUCESTER, _June 11, 1735_.
"REV. SIR,--I should have taken the freedom of writing to you
ere now, had I imagined you were returned to Oxford, or had my
affairs been in any settled way; but really, sir, I have been so
tossed up and down by variety of company and temptations, that I
scarcely have had time to do anything.
"I suppose my dear friends have acquainted you with the occasion
of my leaving Oxford in so abrupt a manner; and Mr. Hutchin's
letter has sufficiently informed you how I was received at
Gloucester.
"I have been a week at Bristol, and if any poor soul deserved
your pious prayers, surely mine did; for it is impossible to
tell you the dangers to which I was there exposed. But when we
are weak, then are we strong. The Lord was my support, and I
escaped the hands of the enemy. I had no great opportunities
offered me at Bristol of promoting God's glory, any further than
by shewing a good example. For, alas! all my relations seem to
me in a sad tepid state; but I doubt not God will, one day or
another, open their hearts to receive the word of truth.
"My poor mother seems very desirous of withdrawing from the
world, and, I trust, will soon have the means put in her
way to do it. My brother, the innkeeper, has had variety of
misfortunes, but, I fear, they have not met with their intended
effect. However, I hope, if I can get him to use prayer, he will
soon grow better. The captain of the ship[32] seems to be in too
great a hurry to attend to religion; but he has a desire for
reading Mr. Law, which I hope will be sanctified to him.
[32] Whitefield's brother James.
"But though my relations are in this condition, I find my
other friends are not. They all vastly solicit me to pay them
visits, so that, in a short time, I trust we shall have a
Religious Society. I have gotten three clergymen at Gloucester;
all I hope capable of being worked upon. I was also sent for
by the gentleman's brother where I lodge, who is minister
of Stonehouse,[33] in a very pressing manner; and I trust
our meeting will be sanctified. My dear friend, who used to
correspond with me at Oxford,[34] seems now to perceive some
pangs of the new birth. His greatest struggle is to leave the
world. I believe he will soon get over it. We have the whole
house to ourselves. I find he has done what he could, and seems
desirous of doing more. He earnestly desires your prayers. Last
night, one Mr. Escott, a clergyman, came to see me, and we spent
the evening in religious conversation, and hope ere long to have
set nights for our meetings. Be pleased to advise me what I had
best recommend for our reading. I was thinking to take Burkitt
on the New Testament.
[33] The Rev. Sampson Harris, thirty-five years vicar of the
parish, and who died in 1763.
[34] Gabriel Harris.
"The Scriptures are now my sole study; but I am in great want
of your advice, sir, how to prosecute them, intending to read
them as practicably as possible. What do you think of Patrick
on the Proverbs? I trust God has opened a door for me, to be an
instrument of propagating the Gospel at Swansea, in Wales. The
particulars you shall hear hereafter. I want sadly some more
religious books, and a set of your 'Prayers.' Be so good, sir,
as to let me have them, with a letter, next coach.
"I have not time to write to my dear brethren as I would; but
if Mr. Broughton, Mr. Salmon, etc., would send me a line, they
cannot imagine what service they might do. If one of them would
enlarge a little on the vanity of worldly pleasures, who knows
how God may work by them? I have a great deal more to say, but
must refer it to another opportunity. Give me leave, sir, only
to send my due respects to all my brethren, and, with my earnest
petition for their importunate prayers, to subscribe myself,
"Rev. Sir, your very humble servant,
"GEORGE WHITEFIELD."[35]
[35] _Methodist Magazine_, 1798, p. 440.
_WHITEFIELD ORDAINED._