"The effects produced, in Philadelphia, by the preaching
of Mr. Whitefield were astonishing. Numbers of almost all
religious denominations and many who had no connection with
any denomination, were brought to enquire, with the utmost
earnestness, what they should do to be saved. Such was the
engagedness of multitudes to listen to spiritual instruction,
that there was public worship, regularly, twice a day, for
a year; and, on the Lord's-day, it was celebrated generally
thrice, and frequently four times. The city contained twenty-six
societies for social prayer and religious conference. So great
was the enthusiasm to hear Mr. Whitefield preach, that many from
Philadelphia followed him on foot to Chester, to Abington, to
Neshaminy, and some even to New Brunswick, in New Jersey, the
distance of sixty miles. In 1743, a church was formed by Mr.
Gilbert Tennent out of those who were denominated converts of
Mr. Whitefield. No less than a hundred and forty individuals
were received at first, after a strict examination, as members
of this newly constituted church. The admission of a large
number more was delayed, only because their spiritual state
had not yet attained such maturity as to afford satisfaction
to the officers of the church; but among those received on the
first examination was the eminent Christian whose story is here
recorded, and who was to be, for more than sixty years, one of
the church's brightest ornaments."[337]
[337] "Memoirs of Mrs. Hannah Hodge."
Whitefield was thus, under God, the means of creating a Presbyterian
church in Philadelphia. But more than this. A permanent building
was erected for the use of the Tennents and their associates; and
this building afterwards became the seat of the University of
Pennsylvania.[338] Here Whitefield preached whenever he visited the
city, and here his friends, the Tennents, together with Messrs.
Rowland, Blair, and Finley, ministered during his absence.[339]
[338] Concerning this same building, Franklin writes: "It being
found inconvenient to assemble in the open air, subject to its
inclemencies, the building of a house was proposed. Sufficient sums
were soon received to procure the ground and erect the building,
which was a hundred feet long, and seventy broad. Both house and
ground were vested in trustees, expressly for the use of _any
preacher of any religious persuasion_, who might desire to say
something to the people of Philadelphia. The design of the building
not being to accommodate any particular sect, but the inhabitants in
general, it follows, that even if the Mufti of Constantinople were
to send a missionary to preach Mahomedanism to us, he would find a
pulpit at his service." (Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.)
[339] Hodge's "History of the Presbyterian Church of the United
States."
One other important transaction occurred during this nine days'
visit to Philadelphia. Besides sustaining the Orphan House in
Georgia, Whitefield formed a project, 1. To erect a school for
negroes in Pennsylvania; and 2. To found a settlement, in the same
province, as a sort of refuge for such of his English converts as
might be persecuted for conscience' sake. On April 22, William
Seward wrote as follows: "Agreed with Mr. Allen[340] for five
thousand acres of land on the forks of the Delaware, at £2,200
sterling; the conveyance to be made to Mr. Whitefield, and after
that assigned to me, as security for my advancing the money."[341]
[340] William Allen, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, distinguished as
a friend to literature, and a patron of Benjamin West, the painter.
He died in England, in 1780.
[341] Seward's Journal, p. 20.
Immediately after this, William Seward set sail for England. Hence
the following letter,[342] addressed to "Mr. Blackwell, at Mr. James
Martin and Co.'s, bankers, in Lombard Street, London." The letter
has not before been published.
[342] Lent by Mr. G. Stampe, of Grimsby.
"WRITTEN AT SEA, _June 9, 1740_.
"(To be put in the post, on my landing at Dover or Deal.)
"DEAR MR. BLACKWELL,--I am sent over by Brother Whitefield,
on several affairs of consequence to the Church of Christ:
particularly to fetch Brother Hutchins to supply Brother
Whitefield's place at the Orphan House, while he comes to
England himself next spring; also to transact several matters
with the Trustees of Georgia; and to make collections for a
negro school in the province of Pennsylvania, where we have
bought 5,000 acres of very good land for that purpose, and for
settling such English friends upon as God shall incline to go
over next year, in a ship we shall buy, and to be commanded by
Captain Gladman, who comes with me.
"The land, by my desire, is conveyed to Brother Whitefield, but
mortgaged to me for £2,200, the purchase-money. I think it is
as good a security as the Bank of England,--perhaps better; but
you know we aim not at an earthly, but a heavenly inheritance.
Still, we must provide things honest in the sight of all men.
"I design to land at Dover or Deal, and to call at Blendon for
one night, or two at most; and, as I must raise money to answer
the bills of exchange I have drawn for the sum aforesaid, I
desire you, if you can conveniently, to sell for me £1,650 old
South Sea annuities, and £585 4s. 5d. South Sea stock. If not
convenient to you, desire Mr. Cole to do it; and (God willing)
I shall be in town two or three days afterwards to sign the
transfers. But, first of all, please to enquire if there be
any alteration made in these by my brother Benjamin, with whom
I left general letters of attorney. When you have done the
business, please to write me a penny-post letter, to Mr. John
Bray's, brazier, in Little Britain, where I am to lodge while in
town.
"I am sorry my paper is so crowded with business that I have
no room to enlarge upon the great things God has done for us
in Savannah, Charleston, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York,
and other places. The light of the glorious gospel of Jesus
Christ has shone into many hearts, as you may judge by our
collecting £210 sterling, for the Orphan House, at three sermons
in Charleston and Philadelphia. Help us to give thanks for the
abundant mercy and grace bestowed upon us since we saw you. The
Lord preserved us in travelling about 1400 miles by land, and
10,000 by water. Though in many perils, out of all the Lord
delivered us.
"My stay in England may be three months, between London,
Bristol, Gloucester, etc. Pray that I may have good success in
all things, that so I may quickly return to our dear friends
in Georgia. I have a letter for you from our dear brother
Whitefield.
"Your unworthy brother in Christ,
"WILLIAM SEWARD."
The whole of this benevolent design collapsed. William Seward landed
in England on the 19th of June; and, four months afterwards, was
killed by a brutal persecutor in the principality of Wales. This put
an end to the affair; and Pennsylvanian negroes and English refugees
were left to the care of Providence.
On April 23, Whitefield proceeded from Philadelphia to Neshaminy,
where he was warmly welcomed, and preached, in the yard of the
Presbyterian meeting-house, to above five thousand people. The
next day, he preached, first at Shippack, "a very wilderness part
of the country," but where two thousand hearers were assembled.
Here he met the celebrated Moravian, Peter Bohler, who preached in
Dutch, after he had finished. Riding ten miles farther, (forty from
Philadelphia,) he came to Henry Anti's plantation, and addressed
about three thousand. The evening was spent most pleasantly, the
Dutch praying and singing in _their_ language, and Whitefield
praying in _his_.
On April 25, he rode to Amwell, and preached to five thousand.
Here he was met by Gilbert Tennent, Mr. Rowland, Mr. Wales, and
Mr. Campbell, four godly Presbyterian ministers, who had given
the people three gospel sermons before his arrival. He and his
friends spent the evening in singing and praying in the fields. The
day following he reached New Brunswick, where his friend Gilbert
Tennent was minister. Sunday, April 27, was a notable day. He
writes:--
"I preached morning and evening," (at New Brunswick,) "to near
seven or eight thousand people; and God's power was so much
amongst us in the afternoon sermon, that the cries and groans
of the people would have drowned my voice. One woman was struck
down; and, at night, another woman came to me under strong
convictions. She cried out, 'I can see nothing but hell.'"
The afternoon sermon was preached by Gilbert Tennent, from the text,
"I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish them that are
settled on their lees." William Seward adds, that the collections,
morning and evening, were about £25 sterling.
During his brief sojourn at New Brunswick, Whitefield wrote a long
letter, referring, among other things, to the Pennsylvanian scheme
just mentioned. It was printed, with the following title: "A Letter
from the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield to a Friend in London. Dated
at New Brunswick, in New Jersey, April 27, 1740. Printed by W.
Strahan, 1740." (8vo. 8 pp.) Only a part of this letter is given in
Whitefield's collected works; and the following is a mere extract
from the original:--
"The Orphan-house affairs go forward beyond expectation. I
have upwards of forty children now in my house at Savannah,
near seventy persons in family, and upwards of a hundred to
provide for every day. As yet, we want for nothing. The great
Householder of mankind gives us all things richly to enjoy. I
had rather _live by faith, and depend on God_, for the support
of my great and increasing family, than have the largest
_visible fund_ in the universe. About five weeks ago, the
Charleston people contributed upwards of £70 sterling, towards
the support of my little ones. A glorious work was also begun
in the hearts of the inhabitants. Many negroes, likewise,
are in a fair way of being brought home to God. In my public
discourses, I have freely offered the Lord Jesus to them, if
they will believe on Him; and have actually taken up five
thousand acres of very good land, in order to erect a school
for the education and maintenance of all such negroes, whether
young or old, as shall be sent to me. Young ones I intend
to buy, and do not despair of seeing shortly a room full of
that _despised generation_, making melody with grace in their
heart unto the Lord. Here, also, my dear English friends, if
persecution should come upon them, may find a refuge from the
storm. The land is good, and will yield a great increase, and
all may here worship God in their own way. Many apply to me to
have _a lot_ amongst us, but I defer giving them a positive
answer till it shall please God to bring me back to England.
In the meanwhile, I have ordered a house to be built, and some
land to be cultivated. If any of my friends will be pleased to
contribute towards carrying on the school for the poor negroes,
the bearer of this, my dear brother Seward, will bring it with
him to Georgia.
"_He_ comes to fetch a fellow-labourer to supply my place
during my absence. If he succeeds, you may expect to see me the
beginning of next year; if not, I shall continue in America. I
daily receive most importunate invitations to preach in all the
countries round about. God is pleased to give a great blessing
to my _printed sermons_. They are now in the hands of thousands
in these parts.
"You will not be surprised that there are many adversaries; but,
alas! what are they? _Covetous, proud boasters, self-willed
blasphemers, having a form of godliness, but denying the power
thereof._ If I pleased such men, I should not be a servant of
Jesus Christ. What most of all grieves them is my two letters
against Archbishop Tillotson. The first you have already read;
the second I now send you. I abhor controversy and disputation;
but _my Master's_ glory now calls me to be more explicit than
I have been yet. Blessed be His name! many who were before
_blinded_ by that great man, now see; and one of my Savannah
parishioners, once a great favourer of the Archbishop, being
lately _awakened_, sent me seventeen volumes of the Archbishop's
sermons, to be disposed of as I pleased.
"The clergy, I find, are most offended at me. The Commissary
of Philadelphia has denied me the pulpit; and, last Sunday,
preached up an _historical faith_, and _justification by works_.
The bigotted, _self-righteous Quakers_ now also begin to spit
out a little of the venom of the serpent. They cannot bear the
doctrine of _original sin_ and _imputed righteousness_ as the
cause of our acceptance with God. One of their head teachers
called original sin original nonsense. I have not yet met with
much opposition from the _Dissenters_; but, when I come to tell
many of them, _ministers_ as well as _people_, that they _hold
the truth in unrighteousness_--that they talk and preach of
_justifying faith_, but never truly _felt_ it in their hearts,
as I am persuaded numbers of them have not,--then they, no
doubt, will _shoot out their arrows, even bitter words_. But
I am not to have respect to persons or parties. The more I am
opposed, the more joy I feel."
All must lament that Whitefield felt it a duty to be such a
religious Ishmaelite; but, at the same time, all must admire the
man's benevolence, faith, and courage, in sustaining a family of a
hundred persons, by voluntary contributions, which he confidently
expected, but was powerless to command. It was not braggardism,
when Whitefield said, he had rather depend on God for the support
of his orphan family than on large endowments quite sufficient and
absolutely given for such an object. Whitefield was reverently
treading in the footsteps of Professor Francke, and was the
predecessor of George Muller, and of other praying and trustful
philanthropists of the present day. His scheme for founding a
negro-school, and a refuge for his persecuted English friends, also
displays his large-heartedness; and, though the scheme was not
executed, this was not because it was utopian, but because William
Seward, a few months afterwards, fell a martyr to his Christian
zeal and fidelity. Seward had determined to give up himself and his
fortune "to assist Whitefield in his generous undertaking;"[343]
but the Divine Ruler ordered it to be otherwise. Whitefield says he
had directed a school for the negroes to be built, and "some of the
five thousand acres of land to be cultivated." This order seems to
have been given to Peter Bohler, whom he had met at Skippack three
days before; and who, with his Moravian pilgrim band, left their
settlement near Savannah, and immediately set out for the forks of
Delaware, travelling through forests where the white man had never
trod, and imperiling their lives from savage Indians, but all the
way singing the fine hymns of their native land to the God of all
grace for the continued tokens of His care and blessing. On May 30,
Bohler and his friends assembled under the shadow of a broad black
oak: for the first time, the solitudes of the vast forest echoed
with sweet songs of praise; workmen wielded the axe; carpenters used
the saw; and Bohler conducted daily worship, and encouraged everyone
by his counsels and example. The work proceeded with great rapidity;
but, at length, an order was received from Whitefield, requiring
Bohler and his brethren to abandon the undertaking; and Bishop
Nitschmann requested Bohler's return to Europe, where his services
were urgently demanded. On January 29, 1741, Bohler obeyed his
bishop's summons; but, before long; Whitefield offered the sale of
the land to the Brethren; and, in 1743, the purchase was completed,
and the Moravian settlement of Nazareth established.[344]
[343] Seward's Journal, p. 52.
[344] "Memorials of Peter Bohler," by Lockwood, pp. 97--99; and
Holmes's "History of the Church of the United Brethren," vol. i., p.
369.
Whitefield, having written the long letter from which the foregoing
extract is taken, had now to separate from his devoted friend,
William Seward. The latter writes:--
"1740. April 28. Had a most affectionate parting with our dear
brother Whitefield, and our other brethren. We fell upon each
other's necks and embraced each other, and wished for that happy
time when we shall part no more; but we must first finish the work
given us to do, and then we may with comfort say, 'Father, into Thy
hands I commend my spirit.'"[345]
[345] Seward's Journal.