"My soul is knit to you. We both speak and think the same
things. Jesus manifests His glory daily in these parts. His
word is like fire. Last week I saw many struck down. Our Lord
is working upon little children. America, ere long, will be
famous for Christians. Surely the candlestick will shortly be
removed from England. Little did I think, when Mr. E---- J----
wrote, that I should preach in all the chief places of America;
but that is now done. Glory be to rich, free, sovereign grace!
Perhaps, about spring, I may embark for my native country. O
Wales, thou art dear to my soul! Expect another journal shortly;
but wait till we come to glory, fully to see and hear what God
has done for your affectionate brother,
"GEORGE WHITEFIELD."
It was a mournful thing that almost the only one to whom Whitefield
wrote complaining letters was his old friend Wesley. The following,
though published elsewhere, is too interesting to be omitted.
It was written on Sunday, the day after Whitefield's arrival at
Philadelphia.
"_November 9, 1740._
"DEAR AND HONOURED SIR,--I received yours, dated March 11, this
afternoon. O that we were of one mind! for I am yet persuaded
you greatly err. You have set a mark you will never arrive
at, till you come to glory. I think few enjoy such continued
manifestations of God's presence as I do, and have done for
some years; but I dare not pretend to say I shall be absolutely
perfect.[401] Oh, dear sir, many of God's children are grieved
at your principles. O that God may give you a sight of His free,
sovereign, electing love!
[401] Whitefield evidently misunderstood Wesley's doctrine of
Christian perfection. Wesley never contended for _absolute_
perfection.
"But no more of this. Why will you compel me to write thus? Why
will you dispute? I am willing to go with you to prison and to
death; but I am not willing to oppose you. My heart is now much
affected. Indeed, I love and honour you. Dear, dear sir, study
the covenant of grace, that you may be consistent with yourself.
I fancy I shall embark for England about spring; but am not
yet determined. God shews me His goodness plenteously every
day. I dwell in Christ, and Christ dwells in me. Glory be to
sovereign grace! I seem to have a new body, and the Lord Jesus
greatly enriches my soul. Oh! I am a poor sinner; but our Lord
frequently manifests Himself in such a manner, that it throws me
into an agony which my body is almost too weak to bear. Honoured
sir, adieu! Oh, build up, but do not lead into error, the souls
once committed to the charge of your affectionate, unworthy
brother and servant in the loving Jesus,
"GEORGE WHITEFIELD."
We return to Whitefield's Journals. The young evangelist spent a
successful and happy week among his friends in Philadelphia. He
writes:--
"Sunday, November 9. Preached in the morning, to several
thousands, in a house built since my last departure from
Philadelphia. It is a hundred feet long, and seventy feet broad.
It was never preached in before. The roof is not yet up; but the
people raised a convenient pulpit, and boarded the bottom."[402]
[402] This is the house mentioned by Franklin. (See p. 377.) In the
1756 edition of his Journals, Whitefield says, "The house is now,
by consent, become an academy as well as preaching place; and, when
I was last at Philadelphia, I heard several youths speak in it so
oratorically as would have delighted even a Cicero or a Demosthenes"
(p. 428).
During the ensuing week, he preached in this roofless building twice
every day, except one morning, when there was so much snow within
the walls, that he was obliged to avail himself of a Presbyterian
meeting-house. On Sunday, November 16, after his morning and evening
sermons, he collected £150 sterling for his orphans; and, in the
afternoon, baptized, in the unconsecrated edifice, five adult women.
During his sojourn, he met Mr. Brockden, Recorder of Deeds, an
infidel, upwards of sixty years old, who had been converted by his
preaching, and who told him that now, "such were his communications
from God, he thought he could die a martyr for the truth." Another
of Whitefield's converts was a Captain H----l, formerly, says
Whitefield, "almost a scandal and reproach to human nature. He used
to swear to ease his stomach, and used to go on board the transport
ships, and offer a guinea for every new oath" that the sailors had
invented. "Now," writes Whitefield, "he is zealous for the truth,
and shews forth his faith by his works."
There cannot be a doubt that Whitefield's preaching in Philadelphia
was not only immensely popular, but also greatly blessed. He tells
us, that, almost every day many were convinced of sin; and that
several Societies had been formed, "not only of men and women, but
of little boys and little girls."
On Monday, November 17, he bid adieu to his Philadelphian
friends, and started for Savannah. On the way, he preached, as
usual, to assembled thousands, at Gloucester, Greenwich, Piles
Grove, Cohansie, Salem, Newcastle, Whiteclay Creek, Fagg's Manor,
Nottingham, Bohemia, St. George's, Reedy Island, and Charleston. He
arrived at Savannah on Saturday, December 13. He had been absent
from his parishioners eighteen weeks, had travelled about a thousand
miles, preached nearly two hundred times, and collected, in goods
and money, upwards of £700 sterling for his Orphanage.
The following extracts from his letters will, it is hoped, interest
the reader.
One of the places at which he preached, on his way to Georgia, was
the Moravian settlement, called Salem; and here he seems to have met
Peter Bohler. Hence the following to James Hutton, the distinguished
Moravian in London:--
"BOHEMIA, MARYLAND, _November 24, 1740_.
"MY VERY DEAR BROTHER,--I rejoice to hear that you are
married.[403] I salute your wife and my sister in Christ. May
you love one another as Christ and His Church!
[403] In this same year 1740, Hutton went to Germany, where
the Brethren considered it necessary that he should marry, in
order that there might be a sister in London to attend to the
work of God among the females. Hutton bowed to this decision:
proposed to Louise Brandt, a native of French Switzerland; and
was married by Count Zinzendorf, at Marienborn, on July 3, 1740.
("Memoirs of James Hutton," p. 56.)
"I have lately conversed closely with Peter Bohler. Alas! we
differ widely in many respects; therefore, to avoid disputations
and jealousies on both sides, it is best to carry on the work
of God apart. The divisions among the Brethren[404] sometimes
grieve, but do not surprise me. How can it be otherwise, when
teachers do not think and speak the same things? O how do I
long for heaven! Surely, there will be no divisions, no strife
_there_, except who shall sing with most affection to the Lamb
that sitteth upon the throne. Dear James, there I hope to meet
thee; for the dear Jesus, I believe, has locked thee fast in His
almighty arms. Lean thou on His sacred bosom night and day. Keep
close to Him, and be, what I long to be, a little child. My dear
brother, I should be glad to wash any of the Brethren's feet.
Indeed, I am now willing to be the servant of all. The more the
Lord honours me, the more I feel my unworthiness. Help me, dear
James, to praise my Saviour. A glorious church is rising in
America. The Lord mightily reveals His arm. It would please you
to see His stately steps in the great congregation. I only want
fellow-labourers.
[404] The allusion here is doubtless to the contentions at that
time existing among the Moravians in London.
"I desire you to print nothing against your conscience; only do
not immediately censure everything that may not seem clear to
you. Our Lord may guide me into things which as yet you may not
see into. The day of judgment will discover all. Adieu!
"Ever, ever yours in our blessed Emmanuel,
"GEORGE WHITEFIELD."
Whitefield made himself one with all who loved his
Master--Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Moravians, Baptists,
Independents, and even Quakers. "Give none offence," wrote the great
Apostle, "neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the
Church of God. Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking
my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved" (1
Cor. x. 32, 33).
The last paragraph in Whitefield's letter refers to the fact that
Hutton had been Whitefield's publisher. Whitefield now, however,
had become such a decided Calvinist, that Hutton's conscience began
to trouble him for printing and circulating doctrines which he
disbelieved; and when Whitefield returned to England, a few months
afterwards, one of the distresses awaiting him was Hutton's absolute
refusal to publish any of his writings. He was losing the services
of James Hutton on the ground of a difference in religious opinion;
but, at the same time, he was securing the services of Benjamin
Franklin, the printer and publisher at Philadelphia, to whom
religious opinions were of no great consequence. The following was
addressed to Franklin two days after the letter sent to Hutton:--
"REEDY ISLAND, _November 26, 1740_.
"DEAR MR. FRANKLIN,--I thank you for your letter. You may print
my life,[405] as you desire. God willing, I shall correct my
two volumes of Sermons,[406] and send them the very first
opportunity. Pray write to me by every ship that goes shortly to
Charleston.
[405] Doubtless the "Short Account of God's Dealings with the
Rev. Mr. George Whitefield, from his Infancy to the Time of his
Entering into Holy Orders," first published by James Hutton, in
1740.
[406] "Sermons on Various Subjects, in two volumes, by George
Whitefield. Printed for James Hutton, London, 1739."
"I shall embark for England, God willing, about February. I
desire I may hear from you there also, as often as possible. I
have prefaced '_Jenks_' and 'Presumptuous Sinners Detected.' Mr.
Bradford has the latter, because he said he was to print it. You
may have it of him. The 'Ornaments of the Daughter of Sion'[407]
you may have hereafter.
[407] All these were tracts by other writers.
"Dear sir, adieu! I do not despair of your seeing the
reasonableness of Christianity. Apply to God; be willing to do
the Divine will, and you shall know it. Oh! the love of God to
your unworthy friend,
"GEORGE WHITEFIELD."
Whitefield's tour through the British provinces of America had been
a triumphal progress; but, after all, his happiness was not unmixed.
He had come under the animadversion of certain ministers and members
of the Presbyterian Church. He was full of anxiety concerning the
"_stillness_" and contentions of the London Moravians. And, of
course, the doctrinal differences between him and his old friend
Wesley occasioned great disquietude. The following is another of the
letters that passed between them:--
"BOHEMIA, MARYLAND, _November 24, 1740_.
"DEAR AND HONOURED SIR,--O that there may be harmony, and very
intimate union between us! Yet it cannot be, since you hold
_universal redemption_. But no more of this. Perhaps, in the
spring, we may see each other face to face. This evening, I
propose to embark for Georgia. Wonderful things our Lord brings
to pass, in these parts, every day. Here is a close opposition
from some of the Presbyterian clergy. The seed of the serpent
is the same in all, of whatever communion. I expect much more
opposition every hour. The devil rages in London. He begins
now to triumph indeed. The children of God are disunited among
themselves. The King of the Church shall yet over-rule all
things for good. My dear brother, for Christ's sake, avoid all
disputation. Do not oblige me to preach against you; I had
rather die. Be gentle towards the" (Moravians?) "They will get
great advantage over you if they discover any irregular warmth
in your temper. I cannot for my soul unite with them.
"Honoured sir, adieu.
"Yours eternally in Christ Jesus,
"GEORGE WHITEFIELD."
Wesley shrunk from disputation as much as Whitefield did. It is
true, he had published his sermon entitled "Free Grace;" but it
contained no mention of the name of his friend Whitefield. Wesley
was ready to wage war with error, but not with his brother "George."
The last letter which Whitefield had received from Wesley was the
following:--
"LONDON, _August 9, 1740_.
"MY DEAR BROTHER,--I thank you for yours, May the 24th.[408] The
case is quite plain. There are bigots both for predestination
and against it. God is sending a message to those on either
side. But neither will receive it, unless from one of his own
opinion. Therefore, for a time, you are suffered to be of one
opinion, and I of another. But when His time is come, God will
do what man cannot--namely, make us both of one mind. Then
persecution will flame out, and it will be seen whether we count
our lives dear unto ourselves, so that we may finish our course
with joy.
"I am, my dearest brother, ever yours,
"JOHN WESLEY."
[408] See p. 389.
Whitefield's reply to this was dated "Bethesda in Georgia, December
24, 1740;" but more of this anon.
On his arrival in Georgia, Whitefield found his family removed, from
his "hired house" in Savannah, to his newly erected Orphanage at
Bethesda. He writes:--
"At my return, I found my orphan household removed from Savannah
to Bethesda, and great improvements made during the time of
my absence. The great house will be finished, God willing, in
about two months. It would have been finished by this time, if
the Spaniards had not taken a schooner laden with bricks and
other provisions to a considerable value; but God, about the
same time, stirred up the heart of a planter in South Carolina,
lately converted at the Orphan House, to send my family some
rice and bread. At other times, when they have wanted food, the
Indians have brought plenty of venison. My family now consists
of above eighty persons. Next year my expenses will be much
contracted; but at present I am in debt about £500 sterling.
However, I know in whom I have believed--One who is able to pay
it. My public accounts will be published as soon as I arrive in
London, with a prospect of the Orphan House and other little
houses and gardens annexed unto it."
Whitefield's "public accounts" were printed with the following
title: "An Account of the Money received and disbursed for the
Orphan House in Georgia. By George Whitefield, A.B., late of
Pembroke College, Oxford. London, 1741." (8vo. 45 pp.) The following
is taken from his own published narrative:--
"When I left England, I proposed to take in only twenty
children; but, when I arrived in Georgia, I found, besides the
orphans, so many objects of charity among the poor people's
children, that I resolved in this, as well as in all other
respects, to imitate Professor Francke, and make a provision for
_their_ maintenance also.
"Two of the boys were put out apprentices just before I left
Savannah, one to a bricklayer, another to a carpenter; a third
is to be bound to the surgeon belonging to the Orphan House; one
weaves in a loom at home; two I put to a tailor, whom I brought
over; and the rest are now fitting themselves to be useful to
the commonwealth. Whoever among them appear to be sanctified,
and have a good natural capacity, I intend, under God, for the
ministry.
"None of the girls are put out as yet, but are taught such
things as may make them serviceable whenever they go abroad.
Two or three of them spin very well. Some of them knit, wash,
and clean the house, and get up the linen, and are taught
housewifery. All capable are taught to sew; and the little
girls, as well as the boys, are employed in picking cotton. I
think I have no less than three hundred and eighty-two yards of
cloth already in the house, and as much yarn spun as will make
the same quantity.
"I have now forty-nine children under my care; twenty-three
English, ten Scots, four Dutch, five French, and seven
Americans. Twenty-two of these are fatherless and motherless,
sixteen boys and six girls. Of the others, some are fatherless,
and some without mothers; all objects of charity, except three,
whose friends recompense the Orphan House for their maintenance.
One of the orphans is an infant. I pay four shillings a week
for nursing it. Since December last, we have had eighteen more
children who have been maintained occasionally, to assist their
parents, and been dismissed when they were wanted at home.
"Though the children are taught to labour for the meat that
perisheth, yet they are continually reminded, to seek _first_
the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then to depend
upon God's blessing on their honest endeavours for having
food and raiment added unto them. I intend, when the house is
finished, to have this precept of our Lord written over the
entrance at the great door.
"As my design in founding the Orphan House was to build up souls
for God, I endeavour to preach most of all to the children's
hearts. But that they may be able to give a reason of the hope
that is in them, I constantly instruct them out of the Church of
England's Articles, which I turn into catechetical questions. I
am often pleased to hear how judiciously some will answer the
questions put to them. The power of God has been frequently
visible among them. Many of the girls seem to be tender-hearted.
Several of the boys have been under strong convictions.
"We are now all removed to Bethesda. We live in the out-houses
at present; but, in less than two months, the great house
will be finished so as to receive the whole family. It is now
weather-boarded and shingled; and a piazza of ten feet wide is
built all around it, which will be wonderfully convenient in the
heat of summer. One part of the house would have been entirely
finished, had not the Spaniards lately taken from us a schooner
laden with ten thousand bricks, and a great deal of provision,
with one of our family. But, notwithstanding this and many other
hindrances, the work has been carried on with great success and
speed. There are no less than four framed houses, and a large
stable and cart-house, besides the great house. In that, there
will be sixteen commodious rooms, besides a large cellar of
sixty feet long and forty wide. Near twenty acres of land are
cleared round about it, and a large road made from Savannah to
the Orphan House, twelve miles in length--a thing not before
done since the province has been settled.
"None but those on the spot can tell the expense, as well as
inconveniency, that attends building in Georgia. Most of our
bricks cost forty shillings sterling per thousand, when landed
at the plantation. Common labourers, besides their provisions,
have twenty-five shillings sterling a month. We have often been
in difficulties; but the Lord has relieved us out of them. When
the schooner was lost, a person, lately converted, sent us
eleven barrels of rice, and five barrels of beef. And, in my
absence, when my family had little or no provisions, the Indians
brought in plenty of deer, till they were supplied with food
some other way. The contributions in Charleston, New England,
New York, and Pennsylvania have been extraordinary.
The Infirmary, which has likewise been supported by this
institution, has been of great service. The surgeon informs me,
that, if every one had been obliged to pay for their nursing
and medicine, it would have cost them £200 sterling. I have now
three or four sick. I keep a woman to attend them constantly.
"God has blessed our family with health. Only two have died
since my arrival; and those were two who came with me from
England,--the tailor, and one of the women.
"I have left behind me, as my assistants (who have no other
gratuity than food and raiment), two schoolmasters, and
their wives, who are schoolmistresses; one young man, as
superintendent and chief manager of the outward things; the
surgeon, and his wife; a shoemaker, and a spinster; besides
labourers and monthly-hired servants: I think, in all, I have
upwards of eighty. The Lord, I am persuaded, is able and willing
to provide for them.
"I think we have near two hundred hogs, and a hundred head of
cattle. I give a man £40 sterling per annum, to take care of
them. As yet, we have had no advantage from our stock, it being
a very dry season last summer; so that our cattle of all kinds
have scarce food to eat. But, in a year or two, we hope to have
a considerable quantity of fresh provisions for our family.
"As for manuring more land than the hired servants and great
boys can manage, I think it is impracticable without a few
negroes. It will in no wise answer the expense.
"I am now several hundreds of pounds in debt, on the
Orphan-house account. Some particular friends have been pleased
to assist me; and I doubt not but our Lord will enable me to
pay them, and also will raise up fresh subscriptions for the
maintenance of my large family.
"Great calumnies have been spread abroad concerning our
management of the children. People shoot out their bitter arrows
in America, as well as in England. One poor man was filled with
such resentment at the reports he had heard of our cruelty to
the children, that he came one day, out of South Carolina, to
take away two of his boys, which, out of compassion, I had taken
into the Orphan House; but when he came, and saw the manner
in which they were educated, he was so far from taking his
children away, that he desired to come and live at the Orphan
House himself. I speak not this by way of boasting, or to wipe
off reproach; for I know, let me do what I will, I shall never
please natural men.
"God only knows the concern that lies upon me on account of
this family, not only in respect to their bodily, but their
spiritual provision. I hope all who wish well to Zion will help
me with their prayers, as well as with their alms, that the
establishment may be rightly styled _Pietas Georgiensis_, and
that, like the _Pietas Hallensis_, it may become the joy of the
whole earth. Even so, Lord Jesus, Amen, and Amen.
"GEORGE WHITEFIELD.
"_Bethesda, December 23, 1740._"
On a small scale, comparatively, Whitefield was endeavouring to
imitate one of the most surprising institutions in Europe, the
orphanage of Professor Francke, at Halle, in Germany. The "plan
of elevation" of his "great house," as he calls it, is before us.
The building, with a high roof, and belfry at the top, and also a
colonnade all round about, consisted, first, of the large cellar
already mentioned, and also "Mr. Whitefield's kitchen." On the
ground floor, the entrance hall was a chapel; on the left was the
library, and behind it the "orphan's dining-room;" on the right,
"Mr. Whitefield's two parlours," with the staircase between them.
On the second and third floors were "Mr. Whitefield's study" and
"Mr. Whitefield's chamber;" the "manager's room;" two "bed-chambers"
for the boys; the same for the girls; and five other chambers for
general use. Behind the house was "Salt Water Creek," and at the
front were the "peach orchard" and the gardens. Extending right and
left, was the Orphan House estate, measuring five hundred acres, a
large portion of it covered with oaks, pines, and hickory trees;
a considerable portion consisting of swamps and marshes; and the
remainder marked "good rice land." Considering the scarcity of
labour, and the unfitness of Europeans for outdoor work in such a
climate, it is hardly surprising that Whitefield began to see it
would be "impracticable" to cultivate his land without the services
of "_a few negroes_."
Whitefield's "great house" was, in reality, an orphanage, an
infirmary, and a poor house all in one. Up to the present, it had
cost him £3,358 7s. 5-1/4d. Towards this amount, he had received,
in England and America, £2,530 2s. 9d.;[409] to which must be
added a large number of valuable gifts in kind, embracing horses,
hogs, sheep, geese, turkeys, and a cow; furniture, books, linen,
crockery, glass, bricks, nails, pewter spoons, and a cannon; rice,
butter, cheese, hams, sugar-loaves, coffee, tea, chocolate, pickles,
candles, beef, treacle, pease, and flour; and "a large folio
Turkey-leather Bible."
[409] See p. 349.
How did the young preacher regulate his large family? Fortunately,
this is a question which can be answered. From a pamphlet, entitled
"The Manner of the Children's spending their Time at the Orphan
House in Georgia," it appears, that the children had to rise every
morning at five o'clock, and that their first employment was to
spend a quarter of an hour in private prayer. At six, all the
family assembled in the chapel where a psalm was sung, and the
second lesson for the morning expounded by Whitefield; or, if he
were absent, in lieu of the exposition, the manager read Burkitt's
or Matthew Henry's notes. At seven, Ken's morning hymn was sung,
and extempore prayer offered. Between seven and eight, the children
had their breakfast; and, at intervals, sang hymns. From eight to
ten, they were employed at carding, spinning, picking cotton or
wool, sewing, and knitting. Some had to clean the house, others
to fetch water, and others to cut wool. Certain of the boys were
"placed under tailors, shoemakers, carpenters," etc. At ten, all
went to school, some to reading, and some to writing. At noon, all
of them dined in the same room together; "and between that and two
o'clock, every one was employed in something useful, but _no time_
was allowed for _idleness or play_, which are _Satan's darling hours
to tempt children to all manner of wickedness_, as lying, cursing,
swearing, and uncleanness; so that," continues the writer, "though
we are about seventy in family, we hear no more noise than if it
was a private house." From two to four, the children were again at
school; and from four to six, at work. At six, they had supper, and
singing. At seven, all the family assembled in the chapel, where a
service was held similar to that at six in the morning. At eight,
Whitefield catechised the children. At nine, they had some slight
refreshment, and prepared for bed, each child, in private, again
praying for a quarter of an hour. On Sundays, there were four public
services, and "all the family dined on cold meat." There was "but
one purse in the house, none having any other wages than food and
raiment convenient for them."
The Orphan House now really became Whitefield's parish. To watch
over it, and to provide for its necessities, furnished him with as
much work as he felt at liberty to undertake. He writes:--
"1740. Monday, December 29. Enjoyed a very comfortable
Christmas at Bethesda. One woman, I trust, received Christ in a
glorious manner; and several others were brought under strong
convictions. Having appointed Mr. Barber,[410] who came with
me from Rhode Island, to take care of the spiritual, and Mr.
Habersham to superintend the outward affairs of the Orphan
House, and settled all things to my satisfaction; and being
called by Providence, on various accounts, to return to England,
I, last night, took a sorrowful and affectionate leave of my
family, and this day went to Savannah to take leave there. In
the evening, I preached at Savannah, and took my final leave of
the people, it being inconsistent with my other affairs to act
as their pastor any longer. Another minister is not yet come,
but is expected daily. I gave the trustees notice, in January
last, of my design to give up the parsonage. Blessed be God! I
am now more free to go whithersoever the Lord shall be pleased
to call me. I yet hope well of Georgia, though, at present, it
is in a very declining and piteous state. It will flourish,
I believe, when settled upon a religious foundation. Glory
be to God! I leave behind me some who love the Lord Jesus in
sincerity."[411]
[410] The following account of Mr. Barber is extracted from a pious,
but unfriendly, writer, and must be taken _cum grano salis_:--When
Whitefield came to America, Barber "esteemed him a wonderfully holy
man," and believed he would "be an eminent promoter of a glorious
revival of vital religion through the whole land." Barber, at
once, set to work, "and spent about a week in going from house to
house through all the parish of Oyster-Ponds, solemnly warning the
people, and exhorting them to repent, for the kingdom of heaven
was at hand. And this he did as one _extraordinarily instructed_
and _commissioned_ for that purpose." He then went through all the
parishes of Southold, where Mr. Davenport was pastor; and, "as he
counted his mission somewhat like that of our Lord's disciples,
who were sent before Him into every city, whither He Himself would
come, he _took no money with him_, neither _change of apparel_,
nor _shoes_, but was shod with _boots_; and, as he passed along,
he publicly declared that he "_had laid aside all study_ and
_forethought_ of what he should deliver in his _public speeches_ to
the people, and depended wholly on the _immediate direction of the
Holy Ghost_." He next proceeded to _Oldmans_, where "he abode some
months, and led an inactive and idle life, till he was grown very
_fat_ and _ragged_, alleging, in his justification, that he had
received _no direction from the Spirit to remove thence_, and must
remain there so long as _the cloud abode upon the tabernacle_." At
length, "he went to Rhode Island to see Mr. Whitefield, and joined
himself to him." ("Seasonable Thoughts on the State of Religion in
New England." By Charles Chauncy, D.D., 1743, pp. 183-189.)
[411] Immediately after Whitefield's death, in 1770, a "Short
Sketch" of his character was published by an old friend, still
resident in Savannah, to the following effect: "Until within a few
years past, Mr. Whitefield has been constantly loaded with debt
on account of his Orphan House, although he was at the same time
traduced as a cheat, who, under the specious pretence of promoting a
charitable institution, was amassing great wealth to himself. When
he was the stated minister of this parish, the then inhabitants
of Savannah, and Highgate, and Hampstead, together with the
Saltzburghers of Ebenezer, and the people of Darien and Frederica,
all partook of his bounty to a very large amount, while he almost
denied himself the necessaries of life. He constantly performed
Divine service publicly very early every morning, and at the close
of the day every evening, when he always expounded part of the first
or second lesson. Every Sunday, he administered the holy communion,
and had public service four times during the day. His congregations
were very numerous; for, though there were many Dissenters in the
parish, there were few absenters. He also made it his daily practice
to visit in rotation from house to house, without any regard to
religious denominations or party distinctions." (_Gospel Magazine_,
1771, pp. 77-80.) There is nothing new in this, and yet it is
valuable as the testimony of a gentleman who was one of Whitefield's
parishioners at Savannah, and who says he was well acquainted with
Whitefield's proceedings.
No doubt, Georgia was in a "piteous state." The Spaniards of Florida
were harassing the province; and Oglethorpe was doing his utmost
to resist and punish them. To some extent, he had succeeded, but
certain malcontents, in Savannah, were as busy as the Spaniards in
endeavouring to ruin the colony. These men, under the leadership of
a Doctor Tailfer, formed themselves into a club, which met at the
house of one Jenkins, where they concocted the vilest machinations
against Oglethorpe. Their object was to reduce the colony into such
weakness and insignificance as to compel the trustees to gratify
their desires for slaves and spirituous liquors, so that they might
indulge to the extent of their wishes in idleness and dissipation.
Tailfer and Williamson--the successful rival of John Wesley--hoped,
by their agitation, to obtain a monopoly of the trade in negroes;
and, because they were disappointed in their expectation, resorted
to the most malicious and revengeful acts. To disturb the quiet
of Savannah, they instituted races _within_ the town, from the
gate of the Public Garden to the middle of Johnson's Square. They
hired the most miserable hacks, and, by drink, obtained riders to
contribute to their mischievous diversion;--the members of Tailfer's
club being the principal betting men. Besides this, they published
scurrilous pamphlets, one of which was sarcastically dedicated "To
his Excellency James Oglethorpe." The writer, in his address to
Oglethorpe, sneeringly remarks:--
"You have protected us from ourselves, by keeping all earthly
comforts from us. You have afforded us the opportunity of
arriving at the integrity of primitive times, by entailing a
more than primitive poverty upon us. The valuable virtue of
humanity is secured to us by your care to prevent our procuring,
or so much as seeing, any negroes (the only creatures proper
to improve the soil), lest our simplicity might mistake the
poor Africans for greater slaves than ourselves. And, that we
might fully receive the benefit of those wholesome austerities,
you have denied us the use of spirituous liquors, which might
at least divert our minds from the contemplation of our happy
circumstances."
From an early period, Tailfer had been turbulent, and his daily
employment had been to misrepresent the public measures, disperse
scandal, and incite discontent. At length, a short time before
Whitefield left, Tailfer's club was dissolved; and the doctor and
his crew migrated to Charleston.[412] "The fear of the Spaniards,"
says Stephens, "was what drove them away."
[412] "Memoir of General James Oglethorpe, pp. 265-276."
This account conveys an unfavourable idea of the state of
Whitefield's parish--a parish, however, to which he had devoted
but little service. Three years had elapsed since Whitefield had
first embarked for Savannah. Ever since, he had been the nominal
incumbent; and yet, during this whole period, he had spent only
twenty-nine weeks and two days in the province of Georgia; Savannah,
Frederica, Bethesda, and other places all included. Perhaps, if
the parson had been more with his people, the demagogues, Tailfer,
Williamson, and their gang, might have been less mischievous than
they were. At all events, the tie between Whitefield and Savannah
had been so slender, that there could be no great wrench when the
young incumbent relinquished his living.
Whitefield left Savannah on New Year's Day, 1741; and arrived
at Charleston on Sunday, January 4. Here he spent nearly the
next fortnight. He preached twice every day, besides expounding
in the evenings; and, as usual when at Charleston, he got into
trouble. A Mr. Hugh Bryan[413] had written a letter, "in which it
was hinted that the clergy break their canons." At the writer's
request, Whitefield revised the letter for the press. The letter
was published. Immediately Mr. Bryan was arrested; and, on being
questioned, confessed that Whitefield corrected the letter, and made
alterations in it. Upon this, on Saturday, January 11, a constable
came to Whitefield with a warrant addressed "To all and singular
the Constables of Charleston," to the following effect:--
"Whereas I have received information upon oath, that George
Whitefield, clerk, hath made and composed a false, malicious,
scandalous, and infamous libel against the clergy of this
province, in contempt of His Majesty and his laws, and against
the King's peace;
"These are, therefore, in His Majesty's name, to charge and
command you and each of you forthwith to apprehend the said
George Whitefield, and to bring him before me to answer the
premisses. Hereof fail not, at your peril. And for your so
doing, this shall be your and each of your sufficient warrant.
"Given under my hand and seal this 10th day of January, in the
fourteenth year of his Majesty's reign, Anno Domini, 1741.
"B---- W----."
[413] Not long after this, Hugh Bryan imagined himself to be a
prophet, and sent twenty closely written sheets, filled with his
predictions, to the Speaker of the South Carolina House of Assembly.
It was, also, rumoured that he was encamped in the wilderness, and
was gathering together all sorts of people--especially negroes;
and that he had procured firearms, for some secret and dangerous
purpose. Warrants were issued for his apprehension; but, before
they could be served, he discovered his delusion, confessed his
errors, and begged for pardon. The man was not traitorous, but mad.
In order to ascertain whether the "invisible spirit," with whom he
imagined he had held converse, was an angel or the devil, he nearly
drowned himself. A long account of the whole affair was ordered
to be printed by the House of Assembly, on March 3, 1742; and was
published in the Boston _Postboy_, of May 3, 1742.
On receiving such a formidably-worded document, Whitefield appeared
before the magisterial magnates, confessed that he had corrected Mr.
Bryan's letter for the press, and gave security to appear, by his
attorney, at the next general quarter sessions, "under the penalty
of £100 proclamation money."
This was on Saturday; and, as shewing that much of Whitefield's
pulpit eloquence was impromptu, it may be added, that, next morning,
he preached "upon Herod's sending the wise men to find out Christ,
under a pretence that he intended to come and _worship_ Him, when
in reality he intended to _kill_ Him." From this, Whitefield
"endeavoured to shew how dreadful it was to persecute under a
pretence of _religion_."
In the afternoon, the young preacher's text was more pointed still:
"They proclaimed a fast; and set Naboth on high among the people,
and there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him;
and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth,
in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and
the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned
him with stones, that he died" (1 Kings xxi. 12, 13). "My hearers,"
writes Whitefield, "as well as myself, made the application. It
was pretty close. I especially directed my discourse to men of
authority, and shewed them the heinous sin of abusing the power
which God hath put into their hands."
Whitefield was as much beloved by the populace of Charleston as he
was hated by its "authorities and powers." He writes:--
"January 16, Friday. Preached twice every day this week, and
expounded in the evening as usual. Congregations much increased
since Saturday night last; and I never received such generous
tokens of love from any people as from some in Charleston.
They so loaded me with sea-stores, that I sent many of them to
Savannah. Having now all things finished according to my mind, I
preached my farewell sermon last night, and spoke at the burial
of a Quaker woman, at the desire of her surviving friends. I
this day went on board the _Minerva_, Captain Meredith, in which
I took passage for myself and some others to England."
Whitefield arrived in England on the 11th of March following; but,
before attending him in his voyage, some other matters must be
noticed.
Nearly a year and a half had elapsed since his embarkation for
America. His time had been occupied to the utmost; and marvellous
had been the results of his evangelistic labours. The same may be
said of his friends, John and Charles Wesley. Charles had been in
Whitefield's native county, preaching, in the fields, to assembled
thousands. In Bristol and Kingswood, enormous crowds had attended
his ministry, and great numbers had been converted. Often did he
meet with persons who had been convinced of sin by Whitefield's
preaching; and sincerely he rejoiced on account of his friend's
success. He had visited the native place of William Seward, and
had been treated by some of the Seward family with the greatest
incivility. In London he had preached, not only in the Foundery,
but, on Kennington Common, and in other places where Whitefield had
been wont to lift up his trumpet voice. He had had to fight the
Moravians, or rather their errors; and had been honestly assisted
by Benjamin Ingham and Howell Harris; but of "Rabbi Hutton," as
he calls Whitefield's publisher, he says: "Poor James was all
tergiversation. O how unlike himself! The honest, plain, undesigning
Jacob is now turned a subtle, close, ambiguous Loyola."
John Wesley had converted the old Foundery, in London, into a
Methodist meeting-house. He and Philip Henry Molther had had a
passage at arms. Many of the Moravians considered him an apostate;
but others followed him from Fetter Lane to the now ecclesiastical
Foundery, where, on July 23, 1740, he formed them into the first
Methodist Society in London. In Bristol and Kingswood, he had
witnessed strange things, amply narrated in his "Journals," and
in his "Life and Times." The interval which had elapsed since
Whitefield embarked for America, had been a time of warfare and of
trial; but it had also been a time of triumph. Wesley had laid the
foundation of the great Methodist communities now existing; but what
of Whitefield?
"It is a remarkable fact, that, considering the sparseness of
the American population, the crowds attending Whitefield's
preaching were, perhaps, unparalleled in the history of the
Church of Christ. There is also another important fact which
it would be obstinacy to call in question, namely, that among
the Presbyterians, Independents, and Baptists of America,
Whitefield's ministry had been immensely useful; and, further,
that, from the outside multitudes, he had gathered not a few
into the fold of Christ. But, notwithstanding his marvellous
popularity and success, Whitefield formed no societies of his
own in America. He was not there, as the founder of a sect.
God seems to have sent him, not to plant new churches; but, by
preaching the gospel, to revive old ones. For the former, he had
no tact; for the latter, his qualifications were extraordinary.
He formed no churches of his own; and yet his Herculean labours
were far from being lost. The labours of no one man, save those
of Wesley alone, (and even those only indirectly,) have exerted
so mighty an influence upon the religious interests and destiny
of America, as those of George Whitefield."
Dr. Abel Stevens, whose knowledge of American Church history is,
perhaps, unequalled, observes:--
"The Congregational Churches of New England, the Presbyterians
and Baptists of the Middle States, and the mixed colonies of
the South, owe their later religious life and energy mostly to
the impulse given by Whitefield's powerful ministrations. The
'great awakening' under Edwards had not only subsided before
Whitefield's arrival, but had reacted. Whitefield restored
it; and the New England Churches received under his labours
an inspiration of zeal and energy which has never died out.
He extended the revival from the Congregational Churches
of the Eastern to the Presbyterian Churches of the Middle
States. In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, where Frelinghuysen,
Blair, Rowland, and the two Tennents had been labouring with
evangelical zeal, he was received as a prophet from God; and
it was then that the Presbyterian Church took that attitude
of evangelical power and aggression which has ever since
characterised it. Whitefield's preaching, and especially the
reading of his printed sermons in Virginia, led to the founding
of the Presbyterian Church in that State, whence it has extended
to the South and South-west. The stock, from which the Baptists
of Virginia and those in all the south and south-west have
sprung, was also Whitefieldian. And, though Whitefield did not
organise the results of his labours, he prepared the way for
Wesley's itinerants. When he descended into his American grave,
they were already on his track. They came not only to labour,
but to organise their labours; to reproduce, amid the peculiar
moral necessities of the new world, both the spirit and method
of the great movement as it had been organised by Wesley in the
old."[414]
[414] "History of Methodist Episcopal Church."
Excepting the legal proceedings taken against him at Charleston,
Mr. Garden's letters, and the not ill-tempered animadversions of
the "Querists" in Philadelphia, Whitefield had encountered no
opposition in America worth mentioning; but, in England, he was
still "an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword," to his enemies.
Among the numerous pamphlets and other publications, in which he was
more or less criticised and abused, the following may be mentioned.
His unwise letter against Archbishop Tillotson gave birth to "The
Sentiments of Archbishops Tillotson and Sharp on Regeneration; and
of Bishop Moor, etc., on Justification by Faith only. Recommended
to the perusal of the more serious and considerate Followers of
Mr. Whitefield. With a Preface, wherein is represented the evil
tendencies of his Principles and Conduct, both to Civil Society and
the Christian Religion. By a Friend of True Religion." (8vo. 47 pp.)
The sting of this pamphlet is in its preface, of fourteen pages;
which begins by stating, that, the social duties of man cannot "be
reconciled with such daily fasting, praying, frequent preaching, and
strict austerities of life as our _modern religious_, the sanctified
Mr. Whitefield and his proselytes, seem to practise themselves and
recommend to others. As God thought proper to appoint but one day
in seven to be dedicated to His own more immediate service, how
presumptuous is it for any one to alter the rule and order of God,
by taking from their labour the industrious two or three hours in
a day (perhaps more) to attend on prayer and preaching! It would
be well if this _modern religious_, this person of great sanctity
and more peculiar holiness, would seriously consider how much his
diurnal aerial preaching, and _new method_ of recommending practical
religion, tend to injure public society and private families; to
destroy trade and commerce; to occasion riot and drunkenness,
lewdness and extravagance, by interrupting the hand of the diligent
and industrious; and, instead of promoting true religion, sincere
and unaffected piety, by recommending severe austerities, scrupulous
niceties, and erroneous notions, to drive some to despair, and to
deter others from embracing the religion of our blessed Saviour."
After quoting from Whitefield's autobiography, the writer proceeds
to say, "What a mixture is here of enthusiasm and presumptuous
self-arrogance! What strange doctrine does this babbler teach!
What an encouragement does he give to Deists to persevere in
their infidelity, and to reject that gospel of Christ, which this
wonderfully illuminated, this _would-be-thought_ divinely inspired
teacher, pretends to recommend! His arrogancy and monstrous
presumption appear in aspersing the memory of our immortal
Tillotson; but Tillotson's name will be venerable to all, for
piety, good sense, and learning, and will remain so to the latest
posterity, when this _upstart_ will be buried in oblivion, or will
be only remembered as a vain and arrogant person." The author
concludes with choice aspersions like the following:--"Pragmatical
teacher;" "puerile declaimer, intoxicated with spiritual pride;"
"ostentatious and vain-glorious;" and "so full of his own sagacity
as to be past conviction."
Whitefield's letter against Archbishop Tillotson was only one of his
imprudent productions. His "Letter to a Friend in London, shewing
the fundamental Error of a Book, entitled 'The Whole Duty of Man,'"
occasioned the publication of the following:--"A modest and serious
Defence of the Author of 'The Whole Duty of Man,' from the False
Charges and gross Misrepresentations of Mr. Whitefield and the
Methodists his Adherents. By a Presbyter of the Church of England.
London, 1740." (8vo. 44 pp.)
Want of space renders it impossible to enter into the theological
discussion. Suffice it to say, that "Presbyter" writes with great
ability; but occasionally there is a passage which is uncharitable
and unjust. The following is the concluding paragraph:--
"Our Saviour tells us, that every tree is known by its fruit;
and what are the fruits of the Spirit? Not vain and confident
boasting; not rash, uncharitable censures, damning all that do
not feel what they feel; not gathering tumultuous assemblies,
to the disturbance of the public peace, or the prejudice of
families; not denying man the use of God's creatures, which He
hath appointed to be received with thanksgiving; not setting
at nought all rule and authority, nor intruding into other
men's labours; not encouraging abstinence, prayer, or any
other religious exercises, to the neglect of the duties of our
station. Not these, nor any such disorderly doings, however
coloured with a specious show of piety, are the fruits of the
Spirit; but love, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness,
meekness. God is not the author of confusion, but of peace and
of a sound mind; and, whenever you observe contrary effects in
those who pretend to more than common gifts, you may be very
certain, that, whatever spirit else they are led by, they are
not led by the Spirit of God."
Whitefield's Letters against Tillotson and "The Whole Duty of
Man" called forth another pamphlet, of sixteen pages, entitled,
"A curious Letter, from a Gentleman to Mr. Whitefield, wherein he
proves that Mr. Whitefield knows much less of Christianity than
either Archbishop Tillotson or the Author of 'The Whole Duty of
Man:' With Remarks by Aquila Smyth, Layman of the Church of England."
Mr. Smyth is too abusive to be respected. He says Whitefield had
written and published his two letters, "in the gall of bitterness,
in the spirit of pride, malice, and envy; and had depreciated the
most valuable works of other men on purpose to aggrandise himself,
and gain credit and reputation to his own weak, nay, impudent, nay,
wicked performances."