"Preached with more power than ever, and assisted in
administering the sacrament to about two hundred communicants
in Bexley Church.[223] Dined, gave thanks, and sang hymns at
Mr. Delamotte's. Preached with great power, in the evening,
on Blackheath, to above twenty thousand people, and collected
£16 7s. for the orphans. After sermon, I went to the _Green
Man_, near the place where I preached, and continued till
midnight instant in prayer, praise, thanksgiving, and Christian
communion. I believe there were fifty or sixty of us in all; and
numbers stood by as spectators. Many of them watched unto prayer
and praise all night."
[223] The Rev. Henry Piers was a warm-hearted friend of Whitefield
and the Wesleys; and a more detailed account of him may be given
hereafter. At present, suffice it to say, that, nine days after this
service at Bexley Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury expressly
forbad Mr. Piers to allow either Whitefield or the Wesleys to
preach in his church again. Mr. Piers obeyed the _letter_ of this
injunction--that is, his _pulpit_ was closed against them; but not
his _reading desk_, nor his _communion place_.
This was a unique scene, in a public house, on the night of
Whitsunday; but Whitefield writes:--
"I think it every Christian's duty to be particularly careful
to glorify God in places where He is most dishonoured. Some can
sing the songs of the drunkard in public houses; others can
spend whole nights in chambering and wantonness; why should
Christians be ashamed to sing songs of the Lamb, and spend
nights in devotion?"
The sermon preached at Bexley was founded upon John vii. 37-39, and
soon after was published with the following title: "The Indwelling
of the Spirit, the Common Privilege of all Believers. A Sermon
preached at the Parish Church of Bexley, in Kent, on Whitsunday,
1739. By George Whitefield, A.B., of Pembroke College, Oxford.
London: printed for C. Whitefield, in the year 1739." (12mo. 26
pp.) Two or three extracts from it will help to convey an idea of
the style of Whitefield's preaching at this important period of his
history, and of his apparent severity towards the clergy of the
Established Church.
Having laid down the doctrine, that the indwelling of the "Holy
Spirit is the common privilege and portion of believers in all
ages," he proceeds:--
"I am astonished that any who call themselves members, much
more, that many who are preachers of the Church of England,
should dare so much as open their lips against this. And yet,
with grief I speak it, persons of the Established Church seem to
be more generally ignorant of it than any Dissenters whatsoever.
But, good God! my dear brethren, what have you been doing? How
often have your hearts given your lips the lie! How often have
you offered God the sacrifice of fools, and had your prayers
turned into sin, if you approve of, and use our excellent
Church Liturgy, and yet deny the Holy Spirit to be the portion
of all believers! Oh that I had no reason to speak it! but
many, who use our forms, talk and preach against the necessity
of receiving the Holy Ghost now, as well as formerly; and not
only so, but cry out against those who do insist upon it, as
_madmen_, _enthusiasts_, _schismatics_, and _underminers_ of the
Established Constitution.
"But you are the schismatics, you are the bane of the Church of
England, who are always crying out, '_the temple of the Lord,
the temple of the Lord_;' and yet starve the people out of our
communion, by feeding them only with the dry husks of dead
morality. We subscribe to our Articles, and make them serve for
a key to get into Church preferment, and then preach contrary to
these very Articles to which we have subscribed. Far be it from
me to charge all the clergy with this hateful hypocrisy. No,
blessed be God! there are some left among us who dare maintain
the doctrines of the Reformation, and preach the truth as it is
in Jesus. But the generality of the clergy are fallen from our
Articles, and do not speak agreeable to them, or to the form
of sound words, delivered in the Scriptures. Woe be unto such
blind leaders of the blind! How can you escape the damnation of
hell? Not all your learning (falsely so called), nor all your
preferments, can keep you from the just judgment of God. Yet a
little while, and we all shall appear before the tribunal of
Christ. There, there will I meet you. There Jesus Christ, that
great shepherd and bishop of souls, shall determine who are
the false prophets, who are the wolves in sheeps' clothing. But
I can no more. It is an unpleasing task to censure any order
of men, especially those who are in the ministry; nor would
anything excuse it but necessity; that necessity which extorted
from our Lord Himself so many woes against the scribes and
Pharisees, the letter-learned rulers and teachers of the Jewish
Church. And surely if I could bear to see people perish for lack
of knowledge, and yet be silent towards those who keep from them
the key of true knowledge, the very stones would cry out."
Whitefield brought upon himself great opprobrium by frequently
designating the carnal and unconverted man "a motley mixture of
brute and devil." One of the earliest uses of this strong expression
occurs in the sermon from which the foregoing extract has been
selected; and, as the following is a good specimen of the plain,
powerful language the young preacher used, no excuse is needed for
its insertion.
"O man! whosoever thou art that deniest the doctrine of original
sin, if thy conscience be not scared as with a hot iron, tell me
if thou dost not find thyself, by nature, to be a motley mixture
of brute and devil? I know these terms will stir up the whole
Pharisee in thy heart; but stop a little, and let us reason
together. Dost thou not find that, by nature, thou art prone to
pride? Otherwise, wherefore art thou now offended? Again, dost
not thou find in thyself the seeds of malice, revenge, and all
uncharitableness? And what are these but the very tempers of the
devil? Again, do we not all, by nature, suffer ourselves to be
led by our natural appetites, always looking downwards, never
looking upwards to that God, in whom we live, move, and have our
being? And what is this but the very nature of the beasts that
perish? Out of thy own heart, therefore, will I oblige thee to
confess, what an inspired apostle has long since told us, that
the whole world, by nature, lies in the wicked one, that is, the
devil; and that we are no better than those whom St. Jude calls
_brute beasts_; for we have tempers, by nature, that prove to
a demonstration that we are altogether earthly, sensual, and
devilish."
One more extract must suffice. It presents Whitefield in another
aspect,--pathetically and lovingly entreating sinners to be
reconciled to God:--
"When Joseph was called out of the prison-house to Pharaoh's
court, we are told, he stayed some time to prepare himself; but
do you come with all your prison clothes about you. Come, poor,
and miserable, and blind, and naked, as you are; and God will
receive you, with open arms, as He did the prodigal. O let there
be joy in heaven over some of you believing. Let me not go back
to my Master, and say, Lord, they will not believe my report.
Believe me, I am willing to go to prison or death for you; but
I am not willing to go to heaven without you. The love of Christ
constrains me to lift up my voice like a trumpet. My heart is
now full. Out of the abundance of the love which I have for your
precious and immortal souls, my mouth now speaketh. Why should
I despair of any? No, I can despair of no one, when I consider
Jesus Christ has had mercy on such a wretch as I am. However you
may think of yourselves, I know that, by nature, I am but half a
devil, and half a beast. The free grace of Christ prevented me.
He saw me in my blood; He passed by; and said unto me, '_Live!_'
And the same grace, which was sufficient for me, is sufficient
for you also. Come, then, my guilty brethren, come and believe
on the Lord who brought you with His precious blood. Look up by
faith, and see Him whom you have pierced. Behold Him bleeding,
panting, dying. Behold Him with arms stretched out ready to
receive you all."
Remembering that these are perfectly fair specimens of Whitefield's
preaching, it is difficult to account for his enormous popularity.
There is no genius, no poetry, no learning, no elaborate exposition,
no profundity of thought, no embellishment of language, no
anecdotes, no dramatic illustrations. There is much that is
familiar, a little that is coarse, and more of egotism than is
seemly in a young man of twenty-four. But, notwithstanding all this,
Whitefield's popularity was unequalled.
The visit to Blackheath and its neighbourhood--in all respects a
pleasant one--extended to nearly a fortnight, and Whitefield's
principal home was the house of Mr. Delamotte at Blendon. Of course,
he preached daily, sometimes in Mr. Piers's church at Bexley,
occasionally at Dulwich, often at Blackheath, and two or three
times to a few "gentlemen and ladies," in Mrs. S----'s house, at
Lewisham. On one occasion, after he had preached in Bexley Church,
he helped to administer the sacrament to nearly three hundred
communicants, most of whom had followed him from London. Again and
again, on Blackheath, his congregations consisted of twenty thousand
people. Here, on Thursday, June 14, John and Charles Wesley came to
see him. John Wesley had been preaching out of doors, at Bristol
and at Kingswood; but, up to the present, he had avoided such an
ecclesiastical irregularity in London. He writes:--
"June 14. I went with Mr. Whitefield to Blackheath, where were,
I believe, twelve or fourteen thousand people. He a little
surprised me, by desiring me to preach in his stead; which I
did (though nature recoiled) on my favourite subject, 'Jesus
Christ, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption.' I was greatly moved with
compassion for the rich that were there, to whom I made a
particular application. Some of them seemed to attend, while
others drove away their coaches from so uncouth a preacher."
Whitefield was delighted that Wesley had dared to copy his example,
not only in Bristol, but in London. "I went to bed," says he,
"rejoicing that a fresh inroad was made into Satan's territories, by
Mr. Wesley's following me in field-preaching as well in London as in
Bristol. The Lord give him ten thousand times more success than He
has given me!"
The step was taken. Three days afterwards, Wesley began his wondrous
outdoor ministry in Moorfields and at Kennington Common; and, a week
after that, urged by Whitefield, Charles Wesley "broke down the
bridge, became desperate," went forth in the name of Jesus Christ,
found near ten thousand helpless sinners waiting for the word, in
Moorfields, and preached to them from Matt. xi. 28. At night, on
Kennington Common, he "cried to multitudes upon multitudes, 'Repent
ye, and believe the gospel.'" "The Lord," says high-church Charles,
"was my strength, and my mouth, and my wisdom."
Thus did the three great Methodists become outdoor preachers.
Whitefield was not with his friends on either of the Sundays when
they commenced to preach in Moorfields and at Kennington. On the
first Sunday, June 17, he had a glorious day among his friends in
Kent. He began by preaching in Bexley Church. Then he assisted
in administering the Lord's supper. Next, he baptized an adult,
twenty-eight years of age. Then he dined with the Delamottes at
Blendon, "and took sweet counsel with many Christian friends." After
this, he "preached to above twenty thousand people at Blackheath;"
and, Sunday though it was, finished up by again having supper, and
holding a meeting at the Green Man public-house. He writes: "There
were nearly three hundred in the room. I continued in exhortation
and prayer till eleven o'clock, and then retired to bed, much
pleased to think that religion, which had long been skulking in
corners, and was almost laughed out of the world, should now begin
to appear abroad, and openly shew herself at noonday."
Thus was Whitefield occupied on the day when Wesley, for the first
time, preached in Moorfields and at Kennington Common. And what
about the ensuing Sunday, June 24, when Charles Wesley dared to copy
John's example? Whitefield shall tell his own story. He writes:--
"Sunday, June 24. Read prayers, and assisted in administering
the sacrament at Bexley Church. Many came from far, and expected
to hear me preach; but the diocesan had been pleased to insist
on the vicar's denying me the pulpit. Whether for just cause,
God shall judge at the last day. If we have done anything worthy
of the censures of the Church, why do not the Right Reverend
the Bishops call us to a public account? If not, why do they
not confess and own us? They say it is not regular, our going
out into the highways and hedges, and compelling poor sinners
to come in. We ought not _so_ to beseech them to be reconciled
to God. They desire to know by what authority we preach, and
ask, What sign shewest thou that thou doest these things? Alas!
what further sign would they require? We went not into the
fields till we were excluded the churches. And has not God set
His seal to our ministry in an extraordinary manner? Have not
many that were spiritually blind received their sight? Have not
the deaf heard? the lepers been cleansed? the dead been raised?
That these notable miracles have been wrought, not in our own
names, or by our own powers, but in the name and by the power
of Jesus Christ, cannot be denied--and yet they require a sign!
But verily there shall no other sign be given to this evil and
adulterous generation!
"Preached in the afternoon to about three hundred people, in
Justice Delamotte's yard; and, in the evening, on Blackheath, to
upwards of twenty thousand, on these words, 'And they cast him
out.' God grant we may learn, when we are reviled, not to revile
again! When we suffer, may we threaten not, but commit our souls
into the hands of Him that judgeth righteously! Lord, endue us
with the spirit of Thy first martyr, St. Stephen, that we may
pray most earnestly for our very murderers!"
The sermon just mentioned was probably the same as one which was
soon after published, with the following title:--"The Spirit,
Doctrines, and Lives of our Modern Clergy, not conformable to
the Spirit of Christ. A Sermon preached at Islington and Bexley.
By George Whitefield, A.B., of Pembroke College, Oxford. London:
printed for C. Whitefield, in the year 1739." (12mo. 33 pp.) The
text was, Luke iv. 29, "And they thrust him out of the city."
Rightly to understand Whitefield's position, a few extracts from
this notable sermon are necessary.
"My brethren, if we will live godly, we must suffer persecution.
We must no more expect to go to heaven without being persecuted,
than to be happy without being holy. If you lead godly lives,
all the sons of Belial, all the scribes and Pharisees, will
hate you, and have you in reproach. They will point at you, and
cry, 'See, yonder comes another troop of his followers! There
are more of his gang!' You are counted as a parcel of ignorant
people, poor rabble, who are deceived by a vain young upstart
babbler, by a madman, one who is running into enthusiastic
notions, and endeavours to lead all his followers into his mad
way of thinking. The Pharisees may wonder what I mean by talking
of persecution in a Christian country; but, if they had their
will, they would as willingly put our feet in the stocks, shut
us up in prison, and take away our lives, as they have thrust us
out of their synagogues. But let not that discourage you from
hearing the word of God; for Jesus Christ can meet us as well in
a field, as between church walls."
"If you were of the world--if you would conform to the ways,
manners, and customs of the world--if you would go to a play,
or ball, or masquerade, the world would then love you, because
you would be its own. But, because you despise their polite
entertainments, and go to hear a sermon in the field, and will
not run into the same excess of riot as others, they esteem
you as methodically mad, and fit only for Bedlam. If you would
frequent horse-racing, assemblies, and cock-fighting, then you
would be caressed and admired by our gay gentlemen; but your
despising these innocent diversions, (as the world calls them,)
makes them esteem you as a parcel of rabble, of no taste, who
are going to destroy yourselves by being over-righteous. If you
would join them in singing the song of the drunkard, they would
think you a good companion; but because you are for singing
hymns, and praising the Lord Jesus Christ, they think you
enthusiasts. Indeed, our polite gentry would like religion very
well, if it did but countenance an assembly, or allow them to
read novels, plays, and romances; if they might go a-visiting
on Sundays, or to a play or ball whenever they pleased. In
short, they would like to live a fashionable, polite life,
to take their full swing of pleasures, and go to heaven when
they die. But, if they were to be admitted to heaven without a
purification of heart and life, they would be unhappy there.
It would be a hell to them. Angels and all good men would be
esteemed enthusiasts and madmen. Heaven might be agreeable, if
there were the same polite entertainments there, as they seem
so much pleased with here; but there is never a horse-course or
cock-pit all over heaven."
The same sermon contains a violent philippic against the clergy
of the Established Church. Whitefield accuses them of thrusting
him out of their churches, and of depriving him "of the rights and
privileges which" he "ought to enjoy." This was petulance. He had
no _right_ to preach in other men's churches. The clergy might be
discourteous in closing their churches against a young man recently
appointed to the living of Savannah in Georgia; but it is difficult
to conceive how such an act deprived him of his "rights and
privileges." No doubt, many of the clergy were unconverted; their
lives worldly; and their sermons short, jejune, and often heterodox;
but Whitefield's preaching _at_ and _against_ them was not the best
way to make them better. He proceeds:--
"Is it becoming a minister of the Church of England to frequent
those places of polite entertainment, which are condemned by all
serious and good men? Is it not inconsistent with all goodness
for ministers to frequent play-houses, balls, masquerades? Would
it not better become them to visit the poor of their flock,
to pray with them, and to examine how it stands with God and
their souls? Would it not be more agreeable to the temper of
the blessed Jesus, to be going about doing good, than going
about setting evil examples? How frequent is it for the poor
and illiterate people to be drawn away more by example than by
precept? How frequent is it for them to say, 'Sure there can
be no crime in going to a play, or to an ale-house,--no crime
in gaming and drinking, when a minister of our own Church does
this.' This is the common talk of poor, ignorant people, who
are too willing to follow the examples of their teachers. The
examples of the generality of the clergy occasion many persons,
committed to their charge, to run to the devil's entertainments.
Good God! are these the men who are charging others with making
too great a noise about religion?"
Enough! It is a curious fact that the sermon, from which these
extracts are taken, is not included in Whitefield's collected works.
Perhaps it was wisely omitted. It would have done no honour to its
author, and been no benefit to its reader. Still it was preached,
printed, published, sold, and read in 1739, and was one of the
things which contributed to bring upon Whitefield and the Methodists
the rage of both the pulpit and the press of that period.
It has been already stated, that, on the same day that this sermon
was delivered on Blackheath, Whitefield also preached "to about
three hundred people in Justice Delamotte's yard." His text in
the "yard" was Hebrews iv. 9. The sermon, or rather incoherent
address, founded upon this scripture, was likewise published, with
the following title: "An Exhortation to the People of God not to
be discouraged in their way, by the Scoffs and Contempt of Wicked
Men. A Sermon preached in Mr. Delamotte's Yard, at Blendon Hall,
near Bexley. By George Whitefield, A.B., of Pembroke College,
Oxford. London: printed for C. Whitefield, in the year 1739."
(12mo. 12 pp.) The general tone of the "Exhortation" is the same as
that of the sermon on Blackheath. It was an unwise act to commit
such productions to the press; but, being published, they must be
noticed. Under the shadow of the magistrate's mansion, the excited
young orator exclaimed:--
"Here we are scoffed and derided; but be not discouraged. Though
we are here the scorn and offscouring of all things, we are
as a gazing-stock to men and angels. They put us out of their
synagogues, and look upon us as persons unfit for their company;
but in that rest, which is prepared for you, we shall be gazed
at for our glory, and they be shut out of the church of saints,
and separated from us, whether they will or no, unless the Lord
Jesus Christ, by His free, rich, and sovereign grace, brings
them unto Himself. The letter-learned scribes and Pharisees
of the day look on us as madmen and enthusiasts. They think
it strange that we run not with them into all excess of riot,
and speak evil of us because we will not go to the devil's
diversions with them. We cannot go along the street, but every
one is pointing out his finger with scorn, and crying, 'Here
comes another of his followers.' 'What! are you, too, become one
of his disciples?' Let none of these things move you. Though you
are thus treated here, you will have no discouraging company in
heaven. You will have no scoffer there. You will not be counted
enthusiasts, madmen, and rabble there. Undergo a few reproaches
here patiently. Do not revile them again. Let them say what they
please of me; the reproaches, and scorn, and contempt of this
world will no ways hurt me, but will turn upon their own heads.
Therefore, I beseech you, do not answer them again; but leave it
to the Lord, who knows what is best for you and me."
During his visit to the Delamotte family at Blendon Hall, Whitefield
had a run into Herts and Essex. His five days' evangelistic
tour was full of incidents. He went to Hertford at the earnest
request of many of the people there. The "Baptist teacher" of the
town sent his horse to London to bring him. He was visited by
Quakers. He "breakfasted, dined, prayed, and sung hymns with Mr.
S----, a Dissenting minister." He preached thrice, his respective
congregations numbering from three to five thousand people each.
By invitation, also, he "hasted to Broad-Oaks, about twenty miles
from Hertford." Here a family resided divided against itself. Some
of the family were converted, and were "most violently opposed and
persecuted," by others who were not. The clergyman had been employed
by the opponents to cure the religionists of their madness, and,
among other things, he had preached against them. Whitefield went
to strengthen and to comfort the new converts; and says, "I spent
the most heavenly night I have known for a long while. We found
the sweets of opposition, and rejoiced greatly in the prospect of
suffering for Christ's sake. I believe the saints of old had never
so much comfort as when they were obliged to shut the doors for fear
of the Jews, and to hide themselves in dens and caves of the earth."
While at Broad-Oaks, Whitefield was visited by William Delamotte,
son of the magistrate residing at Blendon Hall. William had become
a Moravian, and was now a student in Cambridge University. The
following account of him and of his family will be read with
interest. Whitefield writes:--
"To increase our satisfaction," at Broad-Oaks, "Mr. Delamotte,
a convert of Mr. Ingham's, came from Cambridge to meet us. He
is scandalously opposed at that University. The students make
him a proverb of reproach, and abuse him in the rudest manner.
He has been forbid coming into one college; and two or three
who associate with him have been threatened by their tutors
for keeping him company. And here I cannot but remark what
wonderful mercies God has shewn this Mr. Delamotte's family.
About three or four years ago, God was pleased to touch the
heart of his brother Charles, who, hearing that Mr. Wesley was
going to Georgia, (though his father would have settled him
in a very handsome way,) offered to go abroad with him as a
servant. His parents' consent was asked; but they, and almost
all their relations, opposed it strenuously. However, the young
man being resolute, and convinced that God called him, they
at length somewhat consented. He went abroad, lived with Mr.
Wesley, served under him as a son in the gospel, did much good,
and endured great hardships for the sake of Jesus Christ. Behold
how God rewarded him for leaving all. While he was absent, God
was pleased to make use of the ministry of Mr. Ingham and Mr.
Charles Wesley in converting his mother, two sisters, and this
young gentleman at Cambridge; who, I pray God, may stand as a
barrier against the profaneness, debauchery, lukewarmness, and
deism of that seat of learning, and prove both a Barnabas and
Boanerges in the Church of England."
Whitefield's prayerful anticipations respecting William Delamotte
were scarcely realized. Within four years after this, the young man
died.[224]
[224] "Oxford Methodists," p. 85.
Whitefield spent two happy nights at Broad-Oaks; and during the
day-time preached twice at Saffron-Walden, once at Thaxted, and once
at Bishop-Stortford. He returned to the Delamotte's at Blendon in
sufficient time to preach his famous sermon against the clergy on
June 24th.
In most, probably in all, of these journeys and open-air services,
Mr. William Seward was Whitefield's companion. The following extract
from a long letter written to the Rev. Thomas Seward, at Genoa, will
be welcome:--
"BLENDON, IN KENT, _June 16, 1739_.
"REVEREND AND DEAR BROTHER,--By God's providence, we are not yet
embarked for Georgia, so I have had the pleasure of receiving
your kind and well-meant answer. I knew my letter would surprise
you. I should have been surprised myself, had I been in your
circumstances. Before long, I hope we shall all be of one mind.
My brother Benjamin once opposed, as you do; but, blessed be
God, he is now become a fool for Christ's sake.
"On my own behalf, I cannot sufficiently praise God for
bringing me out of that darkness in which you left me, into His
marvellous light. I know you imagined me to be a true Christian
before you embarked, and so I thought myself. But I was almost a
stranger to the doctrines of the Spirit of God, of regeneration,
and of justification by faith only; nor do I remember to have
heard any of them preached or explained by our clergy. I prayed,
went to church, and gave alms; but why and wherefore I knew not.
I knew little or nothing of a _vital faith in Jesus Christ_.
I obeyed God and Christ in part, but not universally. I hated
sin, but had not dominion over it. You say, my dear brother,
that 'if a man who believes in Christ, and obeys God, is not a
Christian, what is Christianity?' But the question is, what this
_belief_ may be? Not a bare _historical_ assent to the truths
and facts recorded in the Scripture, (for this is _only the
faith of devils_,) but a _vital faith_ wrought in the heart by
the blessed Spirit of God, and productive of good works. This is
a _faith_ I never fully felt before Mr. Charles Wesley expounded
the seventh of Romans, and I cannot but always honour him as an
instrument in God's hand of shewing me the true way of salvation
by Jesus Christ. You may call this _Quakerism_, or what you
please; but I know it is the faith which Christ and His apostles
preached.
"You pray, my dear brother, that we may return to the Church
of England. We are not _dissenting_ from it; neither are
the Methodists, as the world, in derision, calls them. They
constantly preach up the articles, collects, homilies, and
liturgies of our own Church. But here lies the truth of the
matter. The doctrines of the _Reformation_ have lain a long
while dormant. The generality of our English clergy have sadly
fallen from them. God has raised up some to preach the truth as
it is in Jesus, and as held by our Church. He has set His seal
to their ministry. They have made abundantly more converts
than those zealous atheists you mentioned. The pleasure,
preferment-loving clergy envy their success, and, therefore,
are confederate against them. Perhaps you may think this
uncharitable; but I think I speak the truth in Christ.
"I am far from being bigotted to the Methodists, or to Mr.
Whitefield in particular, out of a blind zeal. I will follow him
no farther than he follows Christ. I believe him to be a sincere
good minister of Jesus Christ. You do not seem to think so. Who
wants charity, you or I? 'By their fruits ye shall know them,'
says our Lord. Do the other clergy bring forth such fruit?
You seem to reflect on me for going round the kingdom with
such a knight-errant as Whitefield. I wish you had used milder
terms. But, my dear brother, may I not justly turn the tables
upon yourself, and reflect on you for leaving your flock, and
travelling merely for profit, or little else? Perhaps you may
answer, you have committed your flock to the care of a curate.
But may I not reply to you, as St. Bernard did once on a like
occasion, 'Will your curate be damned for you?' Do not charge
others with being righteous over-much, before you can prove you
are righteous enough yourself. Return home, my dear brother;
watch diligently that flock committed to your care; catechize
and visit from house to house; live as Christ lived; teach as He
taught; leave off hunting after preferment, and cease to please
the polite world; and then I will think you a proper person to
judge whether the Methodists are enthusiasts or not.
"Excuse me, my dear brother, this seeming severity. Love for
God, love for you, constrains me to use this freedom. Yet a
little while, and I embark for Georgia. I have settled my
worldly affairs, and have taken care of my dear child. God has
begun a good work in our house. I believe He will carry it on.
He has given me my brother Benjamin, and will He not give me my
brother Thomas also? I am, your affectionate, though weak and
unworthy brother in Christ,
"WILLIAM SEWARD."
It has been already stated that, on the 14th of June, Wesley
was with Whitefield on Blackheath, and preached to Whitefield's
congregation. Four days afterwards, Wesley returned to Bristol, and,
a week later, Whitefield addressed to him the following important
letter. The two friends on some points differed in their opinions.
Whitefield disapproved of the "convulsions" of Wesley's converts
in Bristol. And again, though no Calvinism can be found in any of
the sermons which Whitefield as yet had published, it is evident,
from the subjoined epistle, that already he was inclined to the
predestinarian creed.
"LONDON, _June 25, 1739_.
"HONOURED SIR,--I cannot think it right in you to give so much
encouragement to those convulsions which people have been thrown
into under your ministry. Were I to do so, how many would cry
out every night! I think it is tempting God to require such
signs. That there is something of God in it, I doubt not. But
the devil, I believe, does interpose. I think it will encourage
the French Prophets,[225] take people from the written word, and
make them depend on visions, convulsions, etc., more than on the
promises and precepts of the gospel.
[225] For an elaborate account of the French Prophets, see
Southey's Life of Wesley, chapter viii.
"Honoured sir, how could you tell that some who came to you
'were in a good measure sanctified?' What fruits could be
produced in one night's time? 'By their fruits,' says our Lord,
'shall ye know them.'
"I hear, honoured sir, that you are about to print a sermon
against predestination.[226] It shocks me to think of it. What
will be the consequences but controversy? If people ask my
opinion, what shall I do? I have a critical part to act. God
enable me to behave aright! Silence on both sides will be best.
It is noised abroad already that there is a division between you
and me, and my heart within me is grieved. Providence to-morrow
calls me to Gloucester. If you will be pleased to come next
week to London, I think, God willing, to stay a few days at
Bristol. Your brother Charles goes to Oxon. I believe we shall
be excommunicated soon. May the Lord enable us to stand fast in
the faith, and stir up your heart to watch over the soul of,
honoured sir, your dutiful son and servant,
"GEORGE WHITEFIELD."[227]
[226] This sermon afterwards was published, and entitled "Free
Grace." It occasioned a breach in Whitefield's and Wesley's
friendship, as will be seen in subsequent pages.
[227] _Methodist Magazine_, 1849, p. 165.
Wesley did not come to London; but, as will soon be seen, Whitefield
went to Bristol. Meanwhile, the young Georgian clergyman was one of
the most notorious men in England. Even the _Gentleman's Magazine_,
in its number for the month of June, inserted a laudatory poem "on
Mr. Whitefield's preaching," in which Whitefield's sermons are
contrasted with the sermons of the Arians, and wonder is expressed
that the people should object to Whitefield's doctrines. With
indignant feeling the versifier writes:--
"No words for such a preacher are too bad;
Enthusiast, babbler, and a fool run mad!"
The _Weekly Miscellany_ hardly allowed a week to pass without
fulminating its wrath against the open-air preacher. In the month of
May, the Rev. Josiah Tucker,[228] a young man of eight-and-twenty,
curate of All Saints', Bristol, but afterwards a doctor of divinity,
and Dean of Gloucester, proposed three "queries" to Whitefield. In
the month of June, an anonymous friend deigned to answer them. This
increased the young curate's angry indignation, and he immediately
replied, accusing Whitefield of propagating "blasphemous and
enthusiastic notions which struck at the root of all religion, and
made it the jest of those who sat in the seat of the scornful." He
also related, rightly or wrongly, that "Whitefield, by his friends,
prevented the printing of his" (Tucker's) "queries in the _Bristol
Journal_;" and, instead of replying to them, wrote a letter telling
the querist "very lordly and laconically, 'My motto is, Answer him
not a word.'" Mr. Tucker continues, "He has, likewise, pronounced
sentence against me, 'That while I remain in this way of thinking,
he absolutely despairs of meeting me in heaven;' and says he can
produce two cobblers in Bristol who know more of true Christianity
than all the clergy in the city put together."
[228] Dr. Tucker rose to great eminence by his numerous
publications, which, oddly enough, were principally on political and
commercial subjects. He died in 1799, aged eighty-eight.
Whitefield had dared to preach at Charlton, in close proximity to
Greenwich, and this aroused Dr. Skerret, who published a corrective
sermon, for the safety of his flock, with the following title: "The
Nature and Proper Evidence of Regeneration; or, the New and Second
Birth: considered in a Sermon preached in the Parish Churches of
East Greenwich, in the County of Kent, upon Whitsunday, and St.
Peter the Poor, London, on Trinity-Sunday, 1739. By Ralph Skerret,
D.D., Chaplain to the Right Honourable Henry Earl of Grantham.
London, 1739." (8vo, 36 pp.) In his preface, Dr. Skerret accuses
Whitefield and his friends as "restless deceivers of the people;"
as "subtle and designing men;" and says "they break in upon
all relative duties, and the benefits of social life, by daily
assembling themselves in troops, upon hills and the neighbouring
commons, under a vain pretence of serving God more acceptably. But
all such service is contrary to common decency, unanimity, and good
order, and is a contempt of the established places of worship in
their own parishes."
The celebrated Dr. Byrom met Whitefield in London, at the end of
June; and, in a letter to his wife, observed:--
"While we were at Cousin W. Chad's last night, the so much
talked of Mr. Whitefield came in. He stayed about a quarter of
an hour and then took coach to Gloucestershire. I am surprised
at the progress which he has made, to which the weakness of his
printing adversaries does not a little contribute. He had lords,
dukes, etc., to hear him at Blackheath, who gave guineas and
half-guineas for his Orphan House. He does surprising things,
and has a great number of followers, both curious and real.
This field-preaching, they say, is got into France, as well as
Germany, England, Scotland, Wales, etc. People are more and more
alarmed at the wonder of it, but none offer to stop it, that I
hear of."[229]
[229] Dr. Byrom's "Private Journal and Literary Remains," vol. ii.,
pp. 246, 249.
Scraps like these are useful as helping to exhibit young
Whitefield's notoriety. He must now be tracked to the west of
England.
One of the kindest and most faithful friends of Whitefield and the
Wesleys was Mr. Ebenezer Blackwell, a banker in Lombard Street,
London. Mr. Blackwell had already joined the Methodists; and
Whitefield, on arriving at Cirencester, wrote to him the following
characteristic letter, now for the first time published:--
"CIRENCESTER, _June 27, 1739_.
"DEAR MR. BLACKWELL,--Last night, God brought us hither in
safety. I have now a few moments' leisure. How can I employ
them better than in writing you? I almost envy you, because,
when I left you, you were sick. Glorious lessons, dear sir, may
you learn from such a visitation. It may remind you of the much
greater sickness and disorder of your soul, and give you an
excellent opportunity of retiring in order to prepare yourself
for the buffetings of a ridiculing world. Ere I return, I expect
to hear you are stigmatized, not only in Lombard Street, but, in
all the places round about. For Christ's servants have always
been the world's fools. And, if you will live godly in Christ
Jesus, you, even you, must suffer persecution. But you know
in whom you have believed. He is able and willing to deliver
you. Go on, therefore, my dear friend, in the strength of
Christ. Make mention of His righteousness only. Give Him your
heart--your whole heart. Cleave to Him by faith in His blood;
and then you may bid men and devils defiance. Oh! Mr. Blackwell,
I would not have you a Demas for the world. But away with all
such thoughts. I cannot bear them. Dearest Mr. Blackwell, I am
ever yours in our Lord Jesus Christ,
"GEORGE WHITEFIELD.
"P.S.--My most hearty love to Brother Sparks, Horn, etc."
This, probably, was the first Methodist letter received by the
Lombard-street banker.
Whitefield's proceedings, during the next few days, are sketched in
the following extracts from his Journal:--
"Wednesday, June 27. I waited on the minister of Cirencester,
and asked him for the use of his pulpit; but he refused it,
because I had not my letters of orders. Went to public worship
at eleven; and preached to about three thousand people, in
a field near the town, at twelve. Was afterwards visited by
several gracious souls of the Baptist congregation, who brought
me five guineas for the Orphan House. About seven in the
evening, I reached Gloucester, and visited the Society, and
expounded for an hour to more people than the room would contain.
"Thursday, June 28. Preached in the morning to about a thousand
people in my brother's field. Went to public prayers at the
cathedral. Waited upon the bishop, who received me very civilly.
Visited some sick persons in the afternoon. Preached at night to
upwards of three thousand.
"Friday, June 29. Preached in my brother's field in the morning
to a large and very affected congregation. Went to the cathedral
service. Visited some religious friends; and preached to above
three thousand souls in the street at Painswick.[230] All was
hushed and silent. The Divine Presence was amongst us.
[230] It is, to say the least, surprising that the congregations
at Cirencester and at Painswick should each number three
thousand people. Even in 1801, the entire population of the
former place was only 4130; and of the latter, 3150. Assuming
Whitefield's figures to be correct, there must have been great
gatherings of people from the surrounding neighbourhoods.
"Saturday, June 30. Preached in the morning, in the
bowling-green at Stroud, to near two thousand people; and in
the evening, at Gloucester, to a larger and more affected
congregation than ever.
Thus ended another eventful month. On Sunday, July 1, Whitefield
preached not fewer than four times. First, in his brother's field at
Gloucester, at seven o'clock in the morning; and next at Randwick,
a village about seven miles from Gloucester, where he was allowed
to preach, both forenoon and afternoon, in the parish church. "The
church," says he, "was quite full, and about two thousand were in
the churchyard, who, by taking down the window behind the pulpit,
had the conveniency of hearing. Many wept sorely." At the conclusion
of the afternoon service, he hastened to Hampton Common, where,
he writes, "To my great surprise, I found no fewer than twenty
thousand, on horseback and foot, ready to hear me. I spoke with
greater freedom than I had done all the day before. About twelve at
night, I reached Gloucester, much fresher than when I left it in the
morning."
Notwithstanding his hard day's work, Whitefield preached next
morning, in his "brother's field, to a larger audience than ever."
He then went off to Tewkesbury. As soon as he arrived, four
constables, sent by the bailiff of the town, came either to arrest
or frighten him. One of Whitefield's friends, a lawyer, requested
the constables to shew their warrant. The officious quaternion had
no warrant to exhibit, and hence the lawyer "sent them about their
business;" and Whitefield, notwithstanding their threats, preached
in a field to a congregation of two or three thousand people.
Next morning, the preacher waited upon the bailiff, and asked him
why he had sent the constables, with their staves, to arrest him.
The bailiff threw the responsibility of his foolish act upon the
town council; but added, that "a certain judge" had threatened to
apprehend Whitefield "as a vagrant," if he dared to preach near the
place where he resided. "The judge," said Whitefield, "is welcome to
do as he pleases; but no magistrate, I conceive, has power to stop
my preaching, even in the streets." "No, sir," replied the bailiff;
"and if you preach here to-morrow, you shall have the constables
to attend you." "After this," says Whitefield, "I took my leave,
telling him to be careful to appoint constables to attend at the
next horse-races, balls, and assemblies."
From Tewkesbury, Whitefield proceeded to Evesham. Here again the
magistrates threatened to apprehend him if he "preached within their
liberties." Accordingly, to prevent this, he preached thrice from a
wall near Benjamin Seward's house, his congregations consisting of
thousands.
On Wednesday, July 4, after breakfasting with a Quaker, Whitefield,
accompanied by about thirty of his friends, left Evesham for
Pershore, whither he had been invited by the incumbent, the
Rev. Mr. Parks. Having read prayers and preached in Mr. Parks's
church, Whitefield writes: "About five in the evening, I took an
affectionate leave of Evesham friends, and, in company with about
one hundred and twenty on horseback, went to Tewkesbury, and never
saw a town so much alarmed. The streets were crowded with people
from all parts. I rode immediately through the town, and preached to
about six thousand hearers in a field, but saw no constables either
to molest or attend on me. Immediately after sermon, I took horse,
and reached Gloucester near midnight."
This was a marvellous scene, in a quiet country town of between
three and four thousand inhabitants. Think of a cavalcade, numbering
more than a hundred persons, with a young clergyman at their head,
riding, on a fine evening in summer, from ten to twelve miles--from
Evesham to Tewkesbury--and all the way making the welkin ring with
the singing of "psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs." No wonder
that Tewkesbury was, if not "alarmed," yet excited; and no wonder
that the Christian equestrians drew after them a congregation of six
thousand people.
Whitefield had preached thrice, and had ridden between thirty and
forty miles, and had not reached Gloucester till nearly midnight;
but, notwithstanding this, he preached again at Gloucester next
morning, and then set out to join his friend Wesley at Bristol.
Arriving in the evening at Chafford Common, about eight miles from
Gloucester, he found a congregation of more than ten thousand people
awaiting him, and preached to them about two hours, "till it was
nearly dark."
On the following morning, July 6, he resumed his journey; and,
when approaching Bristol, was met by numbers of his friends. As he
entered, the bells of the city were set a-ringing. "I was received,"
says he, "as an angel of God; and, at seven in the evening, preached
at Baptist Mills to about six or seven thousand people."
Three months had elapsed since he left Bristol and Kingswood to
the care of Wesley; and in the interval strange scenes had been
witnessed. Wesley, the high-churchman, had followed Whitefield's
example, by regularly preaching in the open-air. Under his ministry,
large numbers had been convinced of sin. Many of them had been
thrown into violent convulsions, and not a few had found peace
with God. Wesley had been permitted to preach in Newgate, from
which Whitefield had virtually been expelled. He had commenced
building, in the Horse Fair, Bristol, the first Methodist meeting
house. He had conveyed the property to eleven trustees; but, at
Whitefield's remonstrance, and by mutual consent, the trust deed
had been destroyed, and the management of the building was now
entirely in Wesley's own hands. He had also begun to build the
school at Kingswood, for which, on March 29, Whitefield had made the
first collection; and the site of which, on April 2, Whitefield had
consecrated, by kneeling upon a loose stone, and praying "that the
gates of hell might not prevail against the colliers' design."
Of course, Wesley met Whitefield, and went with him to Baptist
Mills, where, says the former, "he preached concerning 'the Holy
Ghost, which all who believe are to receive;' not without a just,
though severe, censure of those who preach as if there were no Holy
Ghost." Wesley continues:--
"Saturday, July 7. I had an opportunity to talk with Mr.
Whitefield of those outward signs which had so often accompanied
the inward work of God. I found his objections were chiefly
grounded on gross misrepresentations of matter of fact. But the
next day, he had an opportunity of informing himself better; for
no sooner had he begun, in the application of his sermon, to
invite all sinners to believe in Christ, than four persons sunk
down close to him, almost in the same moment. One of them lay
without either sense or motion. A second trembled exceedingly.
A third had strong convulsions all over his body, but made no
noise, unless by groans. The fourth, equally convulsed, called
upon God with strong cries and tears. From this time, I trust,
we shall all suffer God to carry on His own work in the way that
pleaseth Him."