Whitefield began the new year as gloriously as he ended that
which had just expired. He received the sacrament, preached
twice, expounded twice, attended a Moravian love-feast in Fetter
Lane, where he "spent the _whole_ night in prayer, psalms, and
thanksgivings;" and then pronounced "this to be the happiest New
Year's Day he had ever seen."
The love-feast at Fetter Lane was a memorable one. Besides about
sixty Moravians, there were present not fewer than seven of
the Oxford Methodists, namely, John and Charles Wesley, George
Whitefield, Westley Hall, Benjamin Ingham, Charles Kinchin, and
Richard Hutchins,--all of them ordained clergymen of the Church of
England. Wesley writes: "About three in the morning, as we were
continuing instant in prayer, the power of God came mightily upon
us, insomuch that many cried out for exceeding joy, and many fell
to the ground. As soon as we were recovered a little from that awe
and amazement at the presence of His majesty, we broke out with one
voice, 'We praise Thee, O God; we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord.'"
This Pentecost on New Year's Day could never be forgotten. It was a
glorious preparation for the herculean work on which Whitefield and
the Wesleys were about to enter. No wonder that the year thus begun
should be the most remarkable in Methodistic history.
Only four hours after this overwhelming visitation in Fetter Lane,
Whitefield was employed in another kind of work. He writes: "January
2. From seven in the morning till three in the afternoon, people
came, some telling me what God had done for their souls, and others
crying out, 'What shall we do to be saved?'"
Three days afterwards, the seven Oxford Methodists, just mentioned,
"held a Conference at Islington, concerning several things of great
importance." Whitefield says: "What we were in doubt about, after
prayer, we determined by lot, and everything else was carried on
with great love, meekness, and devotion. We continued in fasting and
prayer till three o'clock, and then parted with a full conviction
that God was going to do great things among us."
With the exception of the question whether Charles Wesley ought "to
settle at Oxford,"[152] the matters, which were discussed at this
the _first_ Methodist Conference, are utterly unknown; but that the
members of it were intensely earnest, and that their conviction
that something marvellous was about to happen was not the whim of
presumptuous fanatics, no one can seriously doubt.
[152] C. Wesley's Journal, vol. i., p. 139.
During this momentous week--the first in the year 1739--Whitefield
preached six times, and expounded twice or thrice every night.
On the first Sunday of the year, January 7, he preached twice,
expounded to three Societies, and spent the _whole_ night in prayer
and thanksgiving at Fetter Lane. The next day he writes:--
"Monday, January 8. Though I sat up all night, yet God carried
me through the work of the day with about an hour's sleep.
Expounded in the evening, and confuted a virulent opposer of
the doctrine of the new birth, and justification by faith only.
Spent the remainder of the evening with our Bands, which are
little combinations of six or more Christians meeting together
to compare their experiences."
From such extracts, the reader may learn, 1. That Whitefield's
labours were gigantic. 2. That he had now fully embraced the
doctrine of justification by faith only. 3. That he was in close
communion with the Religious Societies, and especially with the
Moravian brotherhood.
Though most of the London churches were closed against him, he
was enormously popular, and his preaching more powerful than
ever. On January 10, after his sermon at Great St. Helen's, £33
were collected towards erecting a church for the Saltzburghers
in Georgia; and he himself testifies, concerning his ministry in
general, "The Holy Ghost so powerfully worked upon my hearers,
pricking their hearts, and melting them into floods of tears, that a
spiritual man said, 'He never saw the like before.'"
The time had now arrived for Whitefield to be ordained a priest.
Soon after his arrival from Georgia, he wrote as follows, to his
friend Harris at Gloucester:--
"LONDON, _December 30, 1738_.
"I am appointed by the Trustees to be minister of Savannah. The
Bishop of London (Doctor Gibson) accepts the title, and has
given me letters demissory to any other bishop. I have waited
also on Doctor Secker, Bishop of Oxford, who acquaints me
that our worthy diocesan, good Bishop Benson, ordains for him
to-morrow fortnight at Oxford, and that he will give me letters
demissory to him. God be praised! I was praying night and day,
whilst on ship-board, that good Bishop Benson, who laid hands on
me as a deacon, might now make me a priest. And now my prayer is
answered."
In accordance with this arrangement, Whitefield, on January the
10th, set out for Oxford, where he spent the next four days. His
Journal of this brief interval is too racy to be omitted. He
writes:--
"Friday, January 12. Breakfasted with sixteen or seventeen
Christian brethren; expounded and read prayers at the Castle
to many devout souls. Afterwards, I waited on the Bishop of
Gloucester, who received me very kindly. Waited on the Master
of Pembroke; afterwards on the archdeacon. Went to public
worship at Pembroke. Supped, prayed, and sung psalms, with a
room full of brethren at Mr. F----'s;[153] then adjourned to
Corpus Christi College, where God assisted me to talk clearly of
the new birth, and justification by faith alone, with one that
opposed it.
[153] Doubtless Mr. Fox, late a prisoner in the city prison;
but now a vendor of "fowls, pigs, and cheese." (See "The Oxford
Methodists," pp. 364, 370.)
"Saturday, January 13. Received the holy sacrament at St.
Mary's; expounded at F----'s; went with the other candidates for
holy orders to subscribe to the Articles, and secretly prayed
that we all might have our names written in the book of life.
Drank tea with a well-disposed gentleman commoner, and had close
conversation with many others at Corpus Christi College.
Sunday, January 14. This, blessed be God, has been a day of fat
things. Rose in the morning, and prayed and sung psalms lustily,
and with a good courage; and afterwards was ordained priest
at Christ's Church. _Before_, I was a little dissipated, but,
_at_ imposition of hands, my mind was in an humble frame, and I
received grace in the holy sacrament. That I might begin to make
proof of my ministry, I preached and administered the sacrament
at the Castle; and preached in the afternoon at St. Alban's, to
a crowded congregation. The church was surrounded by gownsmen
of all degrees, who stood attentive at the windows during my
sermon. God enabled me to preach with the demonstration of the
Spirit, and with power, and quite took away my hoarseness, so
that I could lift up my voice like a trumpet. After sermon, I
joined in giving thanks to our good God for all the mercies He
had conferred upon me. Then I read prayers at Carfax; expounded
to a large and devout company at a private house; and spent the
remainder of the evening with thirteen more, where God gave me
great cheerfulness of spirit."
Whitefield was ordained a priest. It is more than possible, if he
had waited until the next Ember-days, he would never have been
ordained a priest at all. Bishop Benson, from the first, had been a
friend to him. Though he had publicly declared he would not ordain
any one a deacon under the age of three-and-twenty, he, without
solicitation, ordained Whitefield when he was only twenty-one years
and a half. He gave him five guineas to assist him in defraying the
expenses of taking his B.A. degree at Oxford, and twenty pounds
for the poor of Georgia. He ordained him a priest when, with few
exceptions, the clergy of the land were beginning to indulge in
clamorous complaints against him; and, three weeks after his
ordination, gave him another "liberal benefaction for Georgia."[154]
And yet, even "the _good bishop_," as Whitefield so often calls him,
was not absolutely contented with him. Hence the following extract
from a letter addressed to the Earl of Huntingdon. After giving an
account of Whitefield's ordination, the bishop proceeds to say:--
"I hope this will give some satisfaction to my lady, and that
she will not have occasion to find fault with your lordship's
old tutor. _Though mistaken on some points_, I think Mr.
Whitefield a very pious, well-meaning young man, with good
abilities and great zeal. I find his Grace of Canterbury[155]
thinks highly of him. I pray God to grant him great success in
all his undertakings for the good of mankind, and the revival of
true religion and holiness among us in these degenerate days; in
which prayer, I am sure, your lordship and my kind good Lady
Huntington will most heartily join."[156]
[154] Whitefield's Journal.
[155] Archbishop Potter.
[156] "Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon," vol. i., p. 196.
For a season, Whitefield's irregularities somewhat tried the
patience of Bishop Benson; and it is related that, in an excited
conversation with the Countess of Huntingdon, he "bitterly lamented"
that he had ordained his youthful protégé. The countess replied,
"Mark my words: when you come upon your dying bed, that will be one
of the few ordinations you will reflect upon with complacence." It
deserves remark, that Bishop Benson, on his dying bed, sent ten
guineas to Whitefield, as a token of his favour and approbation, and
begged to be remembered by him in his prayers.
This letter introduces a name which will occupy a prominent place
throughout the whole of Whitefield's remaining history. When and
where the Countess of Huntingdon first became acquainted with
Whitefield we are not informed; but it is evident that already she
was interested in the man, and desirous of his ordination. Her
well-informed biographer, in his "Life and Times of Selina, Countess
of Huntingdon," has crowded his pages with facts, racy, rich, and
important; but he sorely tries the patience of his readers by his
neglect of dates, and by his consequent chronological confusion.
He states, however, that, among the nobility, Lady Townshend, the
eccentric mother of George, the first Marquis Townshend, "was the
first who extolled the preaching of Whitefield, whom she alternately
liked and disliked."[157]
[157] "Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon," vol. i., p. 23.
Further, one of the earliest fruits of Whitefield's ministry among
the nobility in the metropolis was Lady Anne Frankland, daughter of
the Earl of Scarborough, and second wife of Frederick Frankland,
Esq., M.P. for Thirsk. For many years, Lady Anne held the situation
of Lady of the Bedchamber to the Princess Anne, and to the
Princesses Amelia and Caroline. By the influence of Lady Frankland,
her sisters, the Lady Barbara Leigh and the Lady Henrietta Lumley,
were induced to attend Whitefield's preaching, from which they
received much spiritual good. This so exasperated Mr. Frankland,
that he treated his wife with the utmost cruelty, declared she was
the object of his aversion, and threatened to murder her. The result
was, a separation followed, and, not long afterwards, Lady Frankland
died.[158]
[158] Ibid. p. 20.
The Earl of Huntingdon and his illustrious wife constantly attended
wherever Whitefield preached. Among others whom, at this early
period, the Countess of Huntingdon interested in Whitefield's
remarkable career, was Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, famed for her
beauty, dignity, sprightliness, wit, petulance, pride, and vanity,
and of whom it has been said that, by her influence in the Cabinet,
she swayed the destinies of Europe with as great effect as did her
husband, by his talents, in the field. The great duchess wrote as
follows:--
"My dear Lady Huntingdon is always so very good to me, that I
must accept your very obliging invitation to accompany you to
hear Mr. Whitefield. I do hope that I shall be all the better
for all your excellent advice. God knows we all need mending,
and none more than myself. I have lived to see great changes
in the world, have acted a conspicuous part myself, and now
hope, in my old days,[159] to obtain mercy from God, as I never
expect any at the hands of my fellow-creatures. The Duchess
of Ancaster, Lady Townshend, and Lady Cobham were exceedingly
pleased with many observations in Mr. Whitefield's sermon at St.
Sepulchre's Church, which has made me lament ever since that I
did not hear it, as it might have been the means of doing me
some good; _for good, alas! I do want_, but where among the
corrupt sons and daughters of Adam am I to find it?"[160]
[159] She died five years afterwards, in 1744.
[160] "Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon," vol. i., p. 25.
Another aristocratic lady, who, in these early days of Methodism,
attended the preaching of Whitefield and the Wesleys, was the proud
Duchess of Buckingham, a natural daughter of King James the Second,
whose first husband was the Earl of Anglesey (from whom she was
divorced), and her second, John Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham,
in whose house (now Buckingham Palace) she died, in 1742. This
quasi-royal duchess heard the Methodists, but disliked their
doctrines. Writing to the Countess of Huntingdon, she said:--
"I thank your ladyship for the information concerning the
Methodist preachers. Their doctrines are most repulsive, and
strongly tinctured with impertinence and disrespect towards
their superiors, in perpetually endeavouring to level all ranks,
and do away with all distinctions. It is monstrous to be told
that you have a heart as sinful as the common wretches that
crawl on the earth. This is highly offensive and insulting;
and I cannot but wonder that your ladyship should relish any
sentiments so much at variance with high rank and good breeding.
However, I shall be most happy to accept your kind offer of
accompanying me to hear your favourite preacher, and shall
wait your arrival. The Duchess of Queensbury insists on my
patronising her on this occasion; consequently, she will be an
_addition_ to our party."[161]
[161] "Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon," vol. i., p. 27.
The Duchess of Queensbury, to whom allusion has just been made, was
the second daughter of the Earl of Clarendon, and was celebrated
for extraordinary beauty, humour, and vivacity, by Pope, Swift,
and other poets, particularly by Prior, in one of his well-known
ballads. For a time, she constantly attended the ministry of
Whitefield and his brother Methodists, and was specially partial to
the preaching of Charles Wesley and Benjamin Ingham.[162]
[162] Ibid. p. 28.
Other distinguished hearers might be mentioned. Lady Lisburne, for
example, was a frequent attendant on the preaching of the first
Methodists, and was roused, by their powerful ministry, to a lively
concern for eternal things. Also, Lady Hinchinbroke, grand-daughter
of the Duke of Montague, and mother of the celebrated John George
Montague, fourth Earl of Sandwich. This noble lady was deeply
affected by the sermons of Whitefield and Wesley, and wrote as
follows to the Countess of Huntingdon:--
"I am extremely sensible of the honour your ladyship has done
me by the book which you have sent. Indeed, I stand in need of
all your sympathy and all your unwearied exertions; for I feel
myself utterly helpless, miserable, and guilty in the sight of
heaven; and, were it not for the ray of hope which I have in
the atoning sacrifice of Christ, would be driven to despair and
ruin. Have you heard where Mr. Whitefield and Mr. Wesley are to
preach this week?"[163]
[163] Ibid. p. 31.
But, leaving his aristocratic hearers, it is time to return to
Whitefield himself. On the day after his ordination at Oxford,
he came back to London, where he spent the next three weeks. An
immense amount of work was thrust into this brief interval. He gave
Charles Wesley "so promising an account of Oxford," that Charles
felt "strongly inclined" to settle there, as he had been urged to
do at the recently held conference of Oxford Methodists.[164] He
transacted business with the Trustees of Georgia, who presented
him to the living of Savannah, and granted him five hundred acres
of land for his projected Orphan House. He was frequent in his
attendance at the Moravian meetings in Fetter Lane, "where," says
he, "we sometimes spent whole nights in prayer, and where I have
often seen the people overwhelmed with the Divine Presence, and
crying out, 'Will God indeed dwell with men upon earth?'" He spent
an "afternoon _in visiting some Dissenting brethren, who were
Christians indeed_,"--an act of courtesy which his friend Wesley
carefully avoided. He went even to Stoke Newington, to have an
interview with the arch-Dissenter of the day--the celebrated Dr.
Watts--who, though in great debility and suffering, was actively
employed in publishing a pamphlet on one of the most debateable
of topics, "Civil Power in Things Sacred."[165] During his three
weeks' stay in London, Whitefield preached more than twenty times,
and expounded almost fifty. He began to make collections for his
Orphan House in Georgia. He had a long conference with an opposing
clergyman, who objected to private Societies and extempore prayer,
grounding his objection on the authority of the Canons and the Act
of Uniformity. Whitefield replied that the Canons and the Act of
Uniformity referred to _public worship only_, whereas that of the
Societies was _not public worship_, but only "an imitation of the
primitive Christians, who continued daily with one accord in the
_temple_, and yet exhorted one another _from house to house_." He
had another conference, which lasted till after midnight, with
two Church of England clergymen, who were "strong opposers of the
doctrine of the new birth." Whitefield says, "God enabled me,
with great simplicity, to declare what He had done for my soul,
which made them look upon me as a madman." Besides his work in
London, Whitefield went to Bexley, where he preached, and spent two
delightful evenings with the Delamottes. He also went to Gravesend,
where he preached in the churches twice, and in private houses
expounded thrice; his journey there and back being performed by boat
on the river Thames--a six hours' sail in the depth of winter, begun
from London at three o'clock in the morning, and from Gravesend
at eleven o'clock at night. The churches in London that he was
allowed to occupy were: St. Helen's in Bishopsgate Street, where his
friend Broughton was minister; Christ Church, in Spitalfields; St.
Catherine's; Islington; Wapping; St. George's-in-the-East; and St.
Margaret's, Westminster.
[164] C. Wesley's Journal, vol. i., p. 140.
[165] Milner's Life of Watts, p. 610.
"I sleep but little, very little," said he, in a letter dated
January 27, 1739. "Had I a thousand hands, I could employ
them all. I scare know what it is to have an idle moment. I
thank you for blessing God on my behalf. I want a thousand
tongues to praise Him. He still works by me more and more.
Subscriptions for erecting an orphan house come in apace. On
Monday seven-night, God willing, I set out for Bristol, with Mr.
Seward. Mr. Howel Harris and I are correspondents, blessed be
God! May I follow him as he does Jesus Christ! How he outstrips
me!"
As Messrs. Seward and Harris will occupy a somewhat prominent
position in the ensuing pages, a brief account of them may be
acceptable.
William Seward, together with his brothers, Thomas, Benjamin, and
Henry, were natives of Badsey, a hamlet about two and a half miles
from Evesham, and were men of independent property. Thomas was a
clergyman of the Church of England, and will be mentioned hereafter.
Little is known respecting Benjamin, excepting that he spent some
years at Cambridge, was unimpeachable in his morals, was converted
in the spring of 1739,[166] and occasionally employed himself in
composing hymns. The following was appended to an 8vo. pamphlet,
published in the year of his conversion, and entitled "The Conduct
and Doctrine of the Rev. Mr. Whitefield vindicated." Though lacking
poetic merit, it is not without interest as exhibiting the spirit of
one of Whitefield's great admirers:--
"Come, blessed Jesus, quickly come,
And mark the bright celestial way;
Within my breast erect Thy throne,
Nor let me faint through long delay.
I'm weary of these earthly toys,
The world, and all its flattering charms;
My heart pants after purer joys,
And Christ alone my bosom warms.
With coldness and contempt, I view
These vain, these transitory scenes;
Since faith hath form'd my soul anew,
And wak'd me from Egyptian dreams.
Methinks a ray of heavenly light
Already darts upon my soul;
Methinks the promis'd land's in sight;
My heart's the needle, Christ the pole.
What though, for pageantry and state,
Others to earthly treasures trust,
And, aiming falsely to be great,
Like the vile serpents lick the dust:
My hope, my treasure, and my rest--
My all-sufficiency's above;
The kingdoms of the world possess'd
Are vain without my Saviour's love."
[166] Whitefield's Journal, Edit. 1756, p. 116.
Henry Seward, the eldest of the brothers, was married to a Baptist
wife, and was, as will be seen, a violent opposer of the Methodists.
William was drawn to seek after God and serve Him as early as
the year 1728. He laboured hard and successfully in reviving the
charity schools in London, particularly those in Langbourn Ward,
Castle Baynard Ward, Billingsgate Ward, Vintry Ward, in the parish
of St. George the Martyr, and in Hackney. For the school at the
last-mentioned place, he raised, by subscriptions and public
collections, an income of £150 per annum, and that notwithstanding
the "opposition of the minister, the churchwardens, and the
vestrymen of the parish."[167]
[167] Journal of a Voyage from Savannah to England. By William
Seward, Gent. 1740.
In the year 1738, he became acquainted with Charles Wesley and
the Methodists, and, in the month of November, found peace with
God through faith in Christ. Oddly enough, he was allowed to be
present at the Conference of Oxford Methodists, already mentioned,
on January 5, 1739.[168] A few weeks afterwards, he became
Whitefield's travelling companion; and went with him to America in
August, 1739.
[168] C. Wesley's Journal, vol. i., pp. 135 and 136.
William Seward returned to England, not to stay in it, but, 1. To
induce Mr. Hutchins, the Oxford Methodist, to take the management of
Whitefield's Orphan House in Georgia. 2. To convince the Trustees of
Georgia that three things were necessary to establish the Colony,
viz.: "an allowance of negroes, a free title to the lands, and an
independent magistracy." 3. To collect subscriptions for a negro
school in Pennsylvania. And, 4. To bring the money, lodged in the
hands of the trustees, for building the church at Savannah.
These were the public reasons why Mr. Seward returned to England;
but there were also private reasons. Mr. Seward had bought five
thousand acres of land on the forks of Delaware, for which he had
paid £2,200 sterling; and he hoped to beg this amount of money in
England, and then to give the land for the erection of a negro
school, and also a location for a number of "English friends,
where," to use Seward's words, "they might worship God in their own
way, without being thought _Enthusiasts_ for so doing." He also
intended to buy a ship in England for the purpose of conveying
the refugees to their foreign home. The place was to be a sort of
"Hernhuth" in America. Besides this, William Seward seems to have
been a widower with an only daughter, who was being educated by a
private governess. He was now desirous to remove his daughter to
Georgia, and to complete her education in Whitefield's Orphan House.
With reference to this, he wished to buy of the Trustees of Georgia
five hundred acres of land adjoining the Orphan House estate,
provided he could have a perfect title to leave it to the Orphan
House, if he thought desirable.
From this concise statement it will be seen that Mr. Seward had
abundance of business to transact in England; but besides all
this, there was a family quarrel exceedingly unpleasant. The
elder brother, Henry Seward, was wroth at his brothers becoming
Methodists. Three months before William's return to England,
Benjamin Seward was seriously ill. "His fever was called madness."
His letters were intercepted, and his servants set over him as
spies. Charles Wesley went to see him, but was not admitted to his
presence, and wrote:--"Henry Seward fell upon me without preface or
ceremony. I was the downfall of his brother, had picked his pocket,
ruined his family, come now to get more money, was a scoundrel,
rascal, and so forth, and deserved to have my gown stripped over
my ears. He concluded with threatening how he would beat me, if he
could but catch me on Bengeworth Common." On the day after this
angry interview, Charles Wesley attempted to preach. Henry Seward
came and said, "Four constables are ordered to apprehend you if you
come near my brother's wall," the place appointed for preaching; "so
come at your peril." Charles writes:--
"I walked towards the place. Mr. Henry met me with threats and
revilings. I began singing--
'Shall I, for fear of feeble man,
Thy Spirit's course in me restrain?'
He ran about raving like a madman, and quickly got some men
for his purpose, who laid hold on me. Henry cried, 'Take him
away, and duck him.' I broke out into singing with T. Maxfield,
and let them carry me whither they would. At the bridge in the
lane, they left me. There I stood out of the liberty of the
corporation, and gave out--
'Angel of God, whate'er betide,
Thy summons I obey!'"
Charles then proceeded to preach to a congregation of some hundreds,
from the words, "If God be for us, who can be against us?"
Eight days after this, Charles Wesley and Henry Seward had another
altercation. The country squire again lost his manners, and after
calling the poor Methodist preacher, "rogue, rascal, villain, and
pickpocket," actually wrung his nose. Charles departed, rejoicing
that he was counted worthy to suffer shame in the cause of
Christ.[169]
[169] C. Wesley's Journal.
Three months after this disreputable scene, William Seward arrived
in England, and most likely visited his brothers at Badsey. Be
that as it may, when William and Charles Wesley met at Bristol, in
the month of September following, William was evidently prejudiced
against his friend. Charles writes:--
"1740, September 23. Mr. W. Seward came, and was very cordial.
We prayed, rejoiced, and gave thanks. If I did not love him the
better for his opinion, I am sure it made me more industrious to
confirm my old love towards him. I carried him to our colliers.
He spoke a few words to them, which did not convince me of his
call to preach. In our return, he told me Mrs. Grevil and others
had urged him to claim the Room in the Horse-fair,[170] but
he abhorred their baseness. Next day, he told me he was in a
mist, the Baptists last night having laboured hard to make him
oppose me publicly. Before we parted, all was set right again;
but a few hours after, he came from the Baptists, and utterly
renounced both me and my brother, in bitter words of hatred,
which they had put into his mouth."[171]
[170] The first meeting-house Wesley built.
[171] C. Wesley's Journal.
William Seward's work was nearly ended. Immediately after this
painful interview in Bristol, he proceeded to Wales, where he joined
Howell Harris, and met with most brutal treatment. At Caerleon,
where he preached, he was "pelted with dung and dirt, eggs and
plumbstones." Some hard substance hit him on the eye, the result
of the blow being a total loss of sight. But even this was not the
worst. At Hay, a man struck him so severely on the head, that, a few
days afterwards, on October 22, 1740,[172] his life was ended at the
early age of thirty-eight. On hearing of his death, Wesley wrote:--
"1740, October 27. The surprising news of poor Mr. Seward's
death was confirmed. Surely God will maintain His own cause.
Righteous art Thou, O Lord!"
[172] In "The Life and Times of Wesley," William Seward is said to
have died in 1741. This is a mistake; the proper date is 1740.