"REVEREND AND DEAR BROTHER,--On Tuesday, I received yours. I
thank you for your kind caution. My mistakes often humble me.
Never did Jesus send out a more weak and worthless wretch. I
have not freedom now to continue writing a journal, as usual. I
shall proceed, for the future, in a more compendious way."
Whitefield here makes a statement of great importance. From December
28, 1737, to March 11, 1741; he had written a copious journal of his
experiences, labours, and successes; and had published far more of
it than was expedient. Both friends and foes--in England, Scotland,
and America--had assailed him on this account, and not without
reason. Even he himself acknowledged the justice of these attacks,
when, in 1756, he published a new edition of his Journals, "revised,
corrected, and _abridged_." Unfortunately, in an evil hour, he
resolved to throw aside his diary. Yes, _unfortunately_; for it
cannot be denied, that, diaries, properly written, by remarkable
men, like Whitefield, are an incalculable boon. Who could have
adequately appreciated Wesley's character, labours, and success,
without his _Journals_? And, to some extent, the same may be said of
Whitefield. There is a difference, however. Whitefield's long and
numerous letters, unlike Wesley's, were autobiographical. His life
cannot be written without his letters; but with them such a work is
not impossible. From his return to England in 1741, he ceased to
write Journals; but, to the end of life, he never lost his passion
for writing about himself, in correspondence with his friends.
One of the Oxford Methodists, the Rev. William Chapman, was settled
as a clergyman in Bath; and, to him, Whitefield addressed the
following:--
"GLOUCESTER, _February 5, 1742_.
"MY DEAR FRIEND AND BROTHER,--Yesterday, I preached three times,
and visited a private Society in the evening. To-day, I was
enabled to preach three times, with great power. Here there is
such an awakening, as I never saw in these parts before. It is
pleasant to hear the people come and tell how God wrought upon
them by my unworthy ministry two years ago. The fruits of the
Spirit are now apparent in their lives. Letters from Scotland
bring blessed tidings, as also from Philadelphia. O the blessed
effects of field preaching! O that I were humble, and thankful!
Help me, my dear friend, to entreat the Redeemer to make me as
a little, a _very little child_. At the beginning of next week,
I hope to be in Bath; but cannot tell exactly the day. I thank
my friends for their kind intention to meet me; but I had rather
avoid it. The less parade the better. Let us stand still, and
see the salvation of God. He will not bless what doth not come
from Himself."
Whitefield seems to have spent about a fortnight in Bath and its
neighbourhood. He then set out for London, and, on the road, wrote
the following almost ecstatic letter to a distinguished lady with
whom he had become acquainted in Scotland. Lady Mary Hamilton
was sister to William, third Marquis of Lothian, the Countess of
Home, Lady Cranstown, and Lady Ross. Her ladyship's mother was
daughter of Archibald Campbell, the unfortunate Earl of Argyll,
who was beheaded in 1635. She had married Alexander Hamilton of
Ballincrieff, member of Parliament for the county of Linlithgow, and
Post-Master General of Scotland. Mr. Hamilton, as well as his wife,
was partial to Whitefield's preaching, and always received him at
his house with every mark of polite attention. For six-and-twenty
years, until her death, in 1768, Lady Mary was one of Whitefield's
correspondents.[506] His letter to this noble lady cannot fail to be
read with interest.
[506] "Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon," vol. i., p.
101.
"THALES, NEAR READING, _February 23, 1742_.
"HONOURED MADAM,--I am now upon the road to London. This
morning your acceptable letter came to hand. Though somewhat
wearied, I would fain answer it before I retire to rest.
"Blessed be God! who causes your ladyship to be never less
alone, than when alone. O Madam, what a Comforter is the Holy
Ghost! What sweet company is Jesus Christ! What a privilege is
it to have fellowship with the great Three-One! A world lying in
wickedness knows nothing of it. Everything yields comfort when
the Spirit breathes upon it.
"I am amazed that God should work by my hands; but Jesus is
love. He yet delights to honour me. I have lately seen the
Redeemer riding in His strength, and getting Himself the victory
in poor sinners' hearts. O that our Jesus may set the world in
a flame of love! Hasten that time, O blessed Jesus! O let Thy
kingdom come!
"I have heard from my dear orphans to-day. They have been
reduced to straits; but the Lord has stirred up a wealthy friend
or two to assist them. I find there has been a fresh awakening
among them. I am informed that twelve negroes, belonging to
a planter lately converted at the Orphan House, are savingly
brought home to Jesus Christ.
"I am glad to hear that the work goes on in Scotland. The Lord,
I trust, will ripen your soul apace for glory. He has various
ways of perfecting His saints. Methinks, I see your ladyship
sitting in your chair, and ravished with the Redeemer's beauty.
Sometimes you are, as it were, washing His feet with your tears;
at other times, sitting by faith at His feet, and hearing or
reading His word. Sometimes your heart is too big to speak; then
again, out of the abundance of your heart, your mouth poureth
forth hallelujahs. Sometimes you are lost in wonder; and at all
times longing to be dissolved, and to be with Christ. This, I
trust, is the life your ladyship lives. This is life indeed.
They who live otherwise are dead whilst they live. They call for
our compassion and prayers; for who has made the difference?
Distinguishing grace! O the unsearchable riches of Christ! I
could speak of Him for ever. The Lord be with your spirit, and
abundantly bless both you, Mr. Hamilton, and your child!"
On arriving in London, Whitefield wrote to his friend Mr. Noble, of
New York, as follows:--
"LONDON, _February 26, 1742_.
"MY VERY DEAR BROTHER,--Before yours came to hand, the Lord had
given me an enlarged heart, and unfeigned love and freedom, to
converse with all His dear children, of whatever denomination.
I talk freely with the Messrs. Wesley, though we widely differ
in a certain point. Most talk of a catholic spirit; but it is
only till they have brought people into the pale of their own
church. This is downright sectarianism, not catholicism. How can
I act consistently, unless I receive and love all the children
of God, whom I believe to be such, of whatever denomination they
may be? Why should we dispute when there is no probability of
convincing? I am persuaded, the more the love of God is shed
abroad in our hearts, the more all narrowness of spirit will
subside and give way. Besides, so far as we are narrow-spirited,
we are uneasy. Prejudices, jealousies, and suspicions make the
soul miserable. But enough of this. My dear brother Noble is
of my mind; only let me give you one caution. Take heed that
your getting acquainted with any new set of Christians does not
lead you insensibly to despise others of your old acquaintance.
Watch, and deal very tenderly with all; otherwise you will grow
reserved and artful, and will lose a simple, open, guileless
spirit, before you are aware."
To the same effect is the following letter to the Rev. William
Chapman, of Bath:--
"LONDON, _March 4, 1742_.
"MY DEAR FRIEND AND BROTHER,--I hope you are not offended,
because you did not see me in Bath again. The glorious Emmanuel
pointed out my way hither. Since I came, He has been wonderfully
kind to me, and to His people. I am much assisted daily, in
preaching to poor sinners the unsearchable riches of Christ.
Life and power fly all around, and the Redeemer is getting
Himself the victory daily in many hearts. O that my dear Mr.
Chapman may be made a flaming fire, and a spiritual father to
thousands!
"I despair of a greater union among the churches, till a greater
measure of the Spirit be poured from on high. Hence, therefore,
I am resolved simply to preach the gospel of Christ, and leave
others to quarrel by and with themselves. To contend, where
there is no probability of convincing, only feeds and adds fuel
to an unhallowed fire. Love, forbearance, long-suffering, and
frequent prayer to the Lord Jesus, is the best way to put it
out. O love--true, simple, Christian, undissembled love--whither
art thou fled?"
The treatment he received from the Church of England, and from
Presbyterians in Scotland, and his differences with the Wesleys,
were not the only things that troubled Whitefield. His evangelistic
friends in Wales were not perfectly harmonious; and there can hardly
be a doubt that this was one of the incidents which led him to write
as he did in the foregoing letters. Whitefield hated disputations;
and yet, even some of his dearest friends were sometimes in danger
of being divided by their religious contests. Hence the following
extract from a letter, written by Howell Harris to Whitefield's
wife:--
"LANWORTHADD, _March 24, 1742_.
"Our Society of ministers and exhorters go on sweetly. We had
some disputes the last time we met; but we never parted with
such broken hearts and wet cheeks. The Lord pities us, and
will set us free from those strong corruptions, that set us
together by the ears, and divide us, and cool our love to each
other."[507]
[507] The _Weekly History_, June, 5, 1742.
Whitefield sighed for union; and, by keeping apart from controversy,
and simply testifying the gospel of the grace of God, he did
his utmost to make professing Christians a loving brotherhood.
Sometimes, the prospect of this began to brighten; and, at all
times, he had reason to exult on account of new conversions. The
following extracts from letters, that he wrote in the month of
April, will be welcome:--
"LONDON, _April 6, 1742_.
"O what a blessing it is to be redeemed from a vain
conversation! O that every poor sinner felt it! Then would the
children of God agree in one, and divisions would be at an end.
Blessed be our Lord! there is a greater prospect of union than
ever. It is what my soul longs after, and labours for. It is a
great pity that poor pilgrims should fall out in their way to
heaven; but this will be, till we get more of the Divine Spirit.
"I believe there is such a work begun, as neither we nor
our fathers have heard of. The beginnings are amazing; how
unspeakably glorious will the end be! In New England, the
Lord takes poor sinners by hundreds, I may say by thousands.
In Scotland, the fruits of my poor labours are abiding and
apparent. In Wales, the word of the Lord runs and is glorified;
as also in many places in England. In London, our Saviour is
doing great things daily. We scarce know what it is to have a
meeting without tears. Our Lord always meets with us. I sleep
and eat but little, and am constantly employed from morning
till midnight; and, yet, I walk and am not weary, I run and am
not faint. O free grace! It fires my soul, and makes me long
to do something more for Jesus. It is true, indeed, I want to
go home; but here are so many souls ready to perish for lack
of knowledge, that I am willing to tarry below, as long as my
Master has work for me to do."
To John Cennick, now evangelizing in Whitefield's native county, he
wrote as follows:--
"LONDON, _April 8, 1742_.
"I rejoice to hear that the Lord is with you, and that He was
pleased to bless my poor labours in Gloucestershire. I would
have you to dispute as little as possible. Awakened souls should
be told to look continually to the Lord Jesus. Our Lord is with
us much in London. I preach twice daily. Our Society grows."
Whitefield longed for union; Wesley, for the present, seems to have
been indifferent concerning it, and was also beset with those
who wished to make him think that Whitefield was not sincere. The
following is a significant entry in Wesley's Journal:--
"1742. April 23. I spent an agreeable hour with Mr. Whitefield.
I believe he is sincere in all he says concerning his earnest
desire of joining hand in hand with all that love the Lord Jesus
Christ. But, if (as some would persuade me) he is not, the loss
is all on his own side. I am just as I was. I go on my way,
whether he goes with me, or stays behind."[508]
[508] Wesley's foolish friends fortunately failed in their efforts
to keep Whitefield and himself apart. Within three weeks after this,
Wesley writes again: "1742, May 12. I waited on the Archbishop of
Canterbury, with Mr. Whitefield, and again on Friday; as also on the
Bishop of London. I trust, if we should be called to appear before
princes, we should not be ashamed." (Wesley's Journal.)
Whitefield had now spent nearly two months of wintry weather in
the metropolis, and, of course, his ministry had been mainly
confined to his wooden meeting-house, in the neighbourhood of
Moorfields. At length, the sun was again shining, the birds were
singing, and the breezes balmy. It was time for Whitefield to resume
his "field-pulpit," and to use the bright blue heavens as his
sounding-board. During the Easter holidays, commencing on Easter
Monday, April 19, Whitefield preached six or seven sermons in his
old open-air cathedral, Moorfields;[509] and, writing to a friend
in Philadelphia, remarked, "We have had a glorious _Easter_, or
rather a _Pentecost_." The scenes witnessed on these three memorable
days--Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday--are described by himself in
two letters, written three weeks afterwards. The letters are here
thrown into one continuous narrative.
[509] Whitefield's Works, vol. i., p. 383.
"LONDON, _May 11, 1742_.
"With this, I send you a few of the many notes I have received
from persons who were convinced, converted, or comforted in
Moorfields, during the late holidays. For many weeks, I found my
heart much pressed to preach there at this season, when Satan's
children keep their annual rendezvous.
"I must inform you, that Moorfields is a large, spacious place,
given, as I have been told, by one Madam Moore, for all sorts of
people to divert themselves in. For many years past, from one
end to the other, booths of all kinds have been erected, for
mountebanks, players, puppet-shows, and such-like.
"With a heart bleeding with compassion for so many thousands
led captive by the devil at his will, on Easter Monday,[510]
at six o'clock in the morning, attended by a large congregation
of praying people, I ventured to lift up a standard amongst
them, in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Perhaps, there were
about ten thousand waiting, not for me, but for Satan's
instruments to amuse them. I was glad to find that, for once,
I had, as it were, got the start of the devil. I mounted my
field-pulpit,[511] and almost all flocked immediately around it.
I preached on these words, 'As Moses lifted up the serpent in
the wilderness,' etc. They gazed, they listened, they wept. All
was hushed and solemn; and I believe many felt themselves stung
with deep conviction of their past sins.
[510] Most of Whitefield's biographers say _Whit-Monday_; but
this is a mistake. In 1742, Easter Sunday fell on April 18th;
and Whit-Sunday, on June 6th, nearly a month after the date of
this letter.
[511] Whitefield's "field-pulpit" was in existence, at the
Tabernacle, Moorfields, as recently as 1839. (See "Services
at the Centenary of Whitefield's Apostolic Labours, 1839," p.
22.) It so happens, however, that, in this very year 1876,
another pulpit, or perhaps the same, is on view in the great
Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia. The following is taken
from the London _Watchman and Wesleyan Advertiser_, of June 14,
1876: "The portable pulpit of George Whitefield, which belongs
to the American Tract Society, is on view at the Centennial
Exhibition. It is made of pine wood, and is so contrived that it
can be easily taken apart and put together. The great preacher
delivered more than two thousand sermons from this pulpit in the
fields of England, Wales, and America; and he once remarked that
the gospel had been preached from it to more than ten millions
of people."
"Being thus encouraged, I ventured out again at noon: but what
a scene! The fields, the whole fields, seemed, in a bad sense
of the word, all white, ready, not for the Redeemer's, but,
for Beelzebub's harvest. All his agents were in full motion,
drummers, trumpeters, merry-andrews, masters of puppet-shows,
exhibitors of wild beasts, etc., etc.,--all busy in entertaining
their respective auditories. I suppose, there could not be less
than twenty or thirty thousand people.
"My pulpit was fixed on the opposite side, and immediately,
to their great mortification, they found the number of their
attendants sadly lessened. Judging that, like St. Paul, I
should now be called, as it were, to fight with beasts at
Ephesus, I preached from these words: 'Great is Diana of the
Ephesians.' You may easily guess, that there was some noise
among the craftsmen, and that I was honoured with having stones,
dirt, rotten eggs, and pieces of dead cats thrown at me,
whilst engaged in calling them from their favourite, but lying
vanities. My soul was indeed among lions; but far the greater
part of my congregation seemed to be turned into lambs.
"This encouraged me to give notice, that I would preach again at
six o'clock in the evening. I came, I saw, but what? Thousands
and thousands more than before, still more deeply engaged in
their unhappy diversions; but, among them, some thousands
waiting as earnestly to hear the gospel. This was what Satan
could not brook. One of his choicest servants was exhibiting,
trumpeting on a large stage; but, as soon as the people saw
me, in my black robes, and my pulpit, I think, all of them, to
a man, left him and ran to me. For a while, I was enabled to
lift up my voice as a trumpet. God's people kept praying; and
the enemy's agents made a kind of roaring at some distance from
us. At length, they approached nearer, and the merry-andrew
(who complained that they had taken many pounds less that day
on account of my preaching) got upon a man's shoulders, and,
advancing near the pulpit, attempted, several times, to strike
me with a long, heavy, whip; but always, with the violence of
his motion, tumbled down. Soon afterwards, they got a recruiting
sergeant, with his drum, etc., to pass through the congregation.
I gave the word of command, and ordered that way might be made
for the king's officer. The ranks opened, while all marched
quietly through, and then closed again. Finding those efforts to
fail, a large body, on the opposite side of the field, assembled
together, and, having got a large pole for their standard,
advanced towards us with steady and formidable steps, till they
came very near the skirts of our congregation. I saw, gave
warning, and prayed to the Captain of our salvation for support
and deliverance. He heard and answered; for, just as they
approached us, with looks full of resentment, they quarrelled
among themselves, threw down their pole, and went their way,
leaving, however, many of their company behind. I think, I
continued in praying, preaching, and singing (for the noise, at
times, was too great to preach), about three hours.
"We then retired to the Tabernacle. My pocket was full of notes
from persons brought under concern. I read, them, amidst the
praises and spiritual acclamations of thousands, who joined with
the holy angels in rejoicing that so many sinners were snatched,
in such an unlikely place and manner, out of the very jaws of
the devil. This was the beginning of the Tabernacle Society.
Three hundred and fifty awakened souls were received in one day;
and, I believe, the number of notes exceeded a thousand.
"The battle, that was begun on Monday, was not quite over till
Wednesday evening, though the scene of action was a little
changed.
"Being strongly invited, and a pulpit being prepared for me
by an honest Quaker, a coal merchant, I ventured, on Tuesday
evening, to preach in Marylebone Fields, a place almost as much
frequented by boxers, gamesters, and such-like, as Moorfields.
A vast congregation was assembled, and, as soon as I got into
the field-pulpit, their countenances bespoke the enmity of their
hearts against the preacher. I opened with these words: 'I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God
unto salvation to every one that believeth.' I preached in great
jeopardy; for the pulpit being high, and the supports not well
fixed in the ground, it tottered every time I moved, and numbers
of enemies strove to push my friends against the supports, in
order to throw me down. But the Redeemer stayed my soul upon
Himself, and I was not much moved, except with compassion for
those to whom I was delivering my Master's message.
"Satan, however, did not like thus to be attacked in his
strongholds, and I narrowly escaped with my life; for, as I was
passing from the pulpit to the coach, I felt my hat and wig
to be almost off. I turned about, and observed a sword just
touching my temples. A young rake, as I afterwards found, was
determined to stab me, but a gentleman, seeing the sword thrust
near me, struck it up with his cane, and so the destined victim
providentially escaped. Such an attempt excited abhorrence. The
enraged multitude seized the man, and had it not been for one
of my friends, who received him into his house, he must have
undergone a severe discipline.
"The next day, I renewed my attack in Moorfields; and, after
the mob found that pelting, noise, and threatenings would not
do, one of the merry-andrews got up into a tree, very near the
pulpit, and shamefully exposed his nakedness before all the
people. Such a beastly action quite abashed the serious part of
my auditory; but hundreds, of another stamp, instead of rising
up to pull down the unhappy wretch, expressed their approbation
by repeated laughs. I must own, at first it gave me a shock. I
thought Satan had now almost undone himself; but, recovering my
spirits, I appealed to all, since now they had such a spectacle
before them, whether I had wronged human nature, in saying,
after pious Bishop Hall, 'that man, when left to himself,
is half a devil and half a beast;' or, as the great Mr. Law
expressed himself, 'a motley mixture of the beast and devil.'
"Silence and attention being thus gained, I concluded with a
warm exhortation; and closed our festival enterprises by reading
fresh notes that were put up, and by praising and blessing
God, amidst thousands at the Tabernacle, for what He had done
for precious souls, and on account of the deliverances He had
wrought out for me and His people.
"I cannot help adding, that, several little boys and girls were
fond of sitting round me on the pulpit, while I preached, and
handing to me the people's notes. Though they were often struck
with the eggs, dirt, etc., thrown at me, they never once gave
way; but, on the contrary, every time I was struck, turned up
their little weeping eyes, and seemed to wish they could receive
the blows for me."
This is a simple and strange story. Seldom do the annals of the
Christian Church present a more remarkable example of the power
of gospel truth. Here were assembled thousands, "the devil's
castaways," as Whitefield would have called them,--the very scum of
London's teeming population, many of them clad in rags, and almost
all of them labelled with the marks of vice and wretchedness; and,
yet, even in such a congregation, hundreds become penitent, and
begin to call upon God for mercy. Even the wildest mob only need
"the truth as it is in Jesus" simply and faithfully proclaimed,
for there is always in that glorious truth a something which meets
the yearnings of the most degraded soul. Whitefield's Easter-tide
services, in the midst of the Moorfields mobs, were not unworthy of
the name he gave them--"_a glorious Pentecost_."[512]
[512] Whitefield's Works, vol. i., p. 383.
Whitefield continued the services thus begun; and no wonder. The
following announcement was made in the _Weekly History_, of May 8,
1742:--
"This evening, about six o'clock, the Rev. Mr. Whitefield
purposes to preach at Charles Square, by Hoxton.[513] To-morrow,
about five p.m., at Kennington Common; and, on Tuesday next,
about six p.m., at St. Marylebone Fields. He preached, in
Moorfields, every day in the holiday week; some days twice, and
some thrice. The auditories were very large and attentive, and,
for the most times, very quiet. Many souls have been wrought
upon during the last week's preaching, and several of them of
the most abandoned sort. The Society, in London, is in great
order, and great grace is among its members. For some time
past, there have been about twenty souls each week added to it.
In about three weeks, Mr. Whitefield purposes setting out for
Scotland, with an intent to visit Ireland also. He has been in
London about two months, and has preached twice, and sometimes
thrice, every day."
[513] Charles Square, Hoxton, was a favourite preaching place of
the first Methodists. The following, taken from the _New Weekly
Miscellany_, pretends to describe one of these preaching scenes:
"When the teacher ascends the place appointed for him, he uses
all the gestures of a mountebank, or posture-master. His constant
hearers are frequently about two thousand,--all of them the scum of
the people, and consisting of near ten women to one man. Of the rest
of the people, some are coming only to look on, and satisfy their
curiosity; and others are going off as soon as their curiosity is
satisfied. Some are laughing, others swearing; some are selling gin,
and others ballads. Some take the opportunity of vending the printed
controversies between Mr. Whitefield and Mr. Wesley; others are
in a maze to see religion brought into such contempt and ridicule
by men in gowns. The houses of the gentlemen living in the Square
are filled with their acquaintances, from the city, as though they
had come to see bears or monkeys. One of the gentlemen said, he
would get a French horn, for his diversion during the time of these
preaching performances. The story took air, and near a hundred of
the gang stood before his house, as if they intended to assault it;
while the preacher, in his gown, looked at the gentleman, and said,
'You unbeliever! you are certainly damned!'"
Whitefield embarked for Scotland on May 26, and arrived in Edinburgh
on the 3rd of June. During his eight days' voyage, he employed
himself, as usual when on shipboard, in writing letters to his
friends.
One of these was the Rev. Mr. Meriton, a clergyman in the Isle of
Man, who, ten months before, had become acquainted with Wesley in
London,[514] and who seems to have spent the last years of his
life chiefly in accompanying the two Wesleys in their preaching
excursions, and in assisting them in the chapels they had built. He
died in 1753. To him Whitefield wrote as follows:--
"On board the _Mary and Ann_, bound to Scotland, _May 26, 1742_.
[514] Wesley's Works, vol. i., p. 302.
"REV. AND DEAR SIR,--I received your letter on Saturday last,
and felt great concern while perusing it. One thing especially
pleased me. I found that a report, I had lately heard concerning
you, was false; for I had been told, that the bishop, seeing
your zeal, had, at last, ordered the clergy to open the church
doors for you, and that now you had done with appearing openly
in the defence of the glorious gospel. Blessed be God! this
is not true; though I find both you and your people have been
greatly discouraged. I see no way of extricating yourself, but
by acting up to the dictates of your own conscience, and leaving
the consequences to the great Head and King of the Church. Up
then, and be doing; and the Lord will be with you. If you cannot
preach freely in the Isle of Man, go whithersoever the Lord
shall be pleased to lead you. Our commission is very extensive:
'Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature.' We want labourers much in England. If our ascended
Saviour has given you popular gifts, and freedom and authority
in speaking without notes, you need not fear. He will assist
you, and make you a blessing to many souls.
"Your being a minister of the Established Church will be an
advantage, and your age also will give you yet more authority;
but an unction from the Holy One is the best qualification. I
would, therefore, persuade you to ask God, again and again,
what He would have you to do. I am apt to think, He will not
restore to you the comforts of the Holy Ghost, until you give
up yourself simply to follow the dictates of His providence and
Spirit. Then, let men or devils say and do their worst. How can
we know God's power, unless we try it? Not that I would have
you, dear friend, do anything rashly. No: 'He that believeth
doth not make haste.'
"I wonder not that your brother's love is grown cold. It is
hard for one in his station, unless he be thoroughly inured
to contempt, and will give God leave to act in His own way,
to withstand a whole body of lukewarm, prejudiced, envious,
malignant clergy. These have always been the greatest opposers
of true, vital religion. These were our Saviour's most bitter
enemies. These will be ours also, if we come forth in His
Spirit, and preach by His power. But, blessed be God! I can say,
by happy experience, our glorious Emmanuel will make us more
than conquerors over them all. He has continually fought my
battles for me, and, I am persuaded, will do so to the end."
Such was Whitefield's letter to this Methodist clergyman in the
Isle of Man. There can be little doubt, that it greatly contributed
towards securing for the Wesleys one of the most brave-hearted of
their clerical helpers, the Rev. John Meriton. A good deal might be
said concerning the last ten years of his life; but this is not the
place for it.
The following was (probably) written to John Bray, the London
Moravian, a former friend of the Wesleys and of Whitefield, and
who, at this particular time, was, like the Rev. John Meriton, in
doubt how to act.[515] The London Moravians were now in a state of
considerable agitation, and Bray, the brazier in Little Britain,
London, as well as Meriton, the clergyman, in the Isle of Man, seems
to have desired the benefit of his old friend's advice.
[515] See "Memoirs of James Hutton," pp. 109, 110.
"_May 27, 1742._
"MY DEAR BROTHER B.,--Your letter was sweet to my heart. I will
now endeavour to answer it.
"I need not tell you I love you. God has often borne witness to
our fellowship, by giving us His presence. What has happened of
late to disunite, will, in the end, I am persuaded, only promote
a closer union. I feel my heart more and more disposed to love
and honour all denominations of believers. In all societies of
Christians, under heaven, there must necessarily be persons of
a different standing in the school of Christ. Those who are
not solidly established in the love of God will fall too much
in love with the outward form of their particular church, be
it what it may; but as the love of God gets the ascendancy,
the more they will be like Him and His holy angels, and will,
consequently, rejoice when souls are brought to Jesus, whatever
instruments may be made use of for that purpose. I wish there
was more confidence among us all; but I see that none but the
Spirit of God can outwardly unite us, and, therefore, I have now
given it up into the Redeemer's hand. Only this I pray, that I
may be one of the first, and not the last, in bringing back the
King. If I have, at any time, set improper bounds to the Spirit
of God, I desire to be very low and broken-hearted for it. I am
sure it has not been done willingly."
In the same strain, Whitefield wrote to a minister at Leominster.
"_May 27, 1742._
"If the Lord give us a true catholic spirit, free from sectarian
zeal, we shall do well. I am sorry to hear that there is so much
narrowness among some of the brethren in Wales. Brother Harris
complains sadly of it. I hope you will be kept free, and not
fall into disputing about baptism, or other non-essentials; for,
I am persuaded, unless we all are content to preach Christ, and
to keep off from disputable things, wherein we differ, God will
not bless us long. If we act otherwise, however we may talk of
a catholic spirit, we shall only bring people over to our own
party, and there fetter them."
Another letter addressed to Howell, Harris, and to the same effect,
must suffice.
"_May 29, 1742._
"MY VERY DEAR BROTHER,--I am heartily sorry that such a narrow
spirit prevails in Wales. But what shall we say? The Redeemer's
love alone can unite and keep His flocks together. Disputing
with bigots and narrow-spirited people will not do. I intend,
henceforth, to say less to them, and pray more and more to our
Lord for them. Blessed be God! the partition wall is breaking
down daily in some of our old friends' hearts in London. I
exhort all to go where they can profit most. O, my brother, I
find that nothing but the wisdom from above can teach us how to
build up souls.
"In London, we have public Societies twice a week, and a general
meeting for reading letters once a month. Our Lord has been
much with us. We seem to move on now in gospel dignity, and are
terrible as an army with banners. The Easter holidays were high
days indeed. My wife does not forget her friends in Wales. I
expect great things in Scotland. Adieu! Forget not to pray for
your affectionate brother pilgrim,
"GEORGE WHITEFIELD."
It is evident, from these, and other letters, previously-inserted,
that Whitefield was a man of one business. He was an evangelist at
large. He discarded controversy. He made no attempt to reform or to
institute churches. His sole object was "to testify the gospel of
the grace of God," and to be useful in saving souls.
He arrived in Scotland on the 3rd of June, and here he spent the
next five months.