WHITEFIELD'S SUCCESS AS A PREACHER IN ENGLAND--FIRST VISIT TO
AMERICA.
1736-1738.
Whitefield, though thus prepared for action, was not impatient,
but willing to wait till his duty was fully ascertained. On the
Wednesday after his first sermon he went to Oxford, where, he says,
"I was received with great joy by my religious friends. For about
a week I continued in my servitor's habit, and then took my degree
of Bachelor of Arts, after having been at the university three
years and three quarters, and going on towards the twenty-second
year of my age. My dear and honored friends, the Rev. Messrs. John
and Charles Wesley, being now embarked for Georgia, and one or
two others having taken orders, the interest of Methodism, as it
was then and is now termed, had visibly declined, and very few of
this reputedly mad way were left at the university. This somewhat
discouraged me at times, but the Lord Jesus supported my soul, and
made me easy by giving me a strong conviction that I was where he
would have me to be. My degree, I soon found, was of service to
me, as it gave me access to those I could not be seen with when in
an inferior station; and as opportunity offered, I was enabled to
converse with them about the things which belonged to the kingdom of
God. The subscriptions for the poor prisoners, which amounted to
about forty pounds per annum, were soon put into my hands; two or
three charity schools, maintained by the Methodists, were under my
more immediate inspection; which, with the time I spent in following
my studies, private retirement, and religious converse, sweetly
filled up the whole of my day, and kept me from that unaccountable
but too common complaint of having any time hang upon my hands."
The stay of Mr. Whitefield at Oxford, however, was very short. He
says, "By a series of unforeseen, unexpected, and unsought-for
providences, I was called in a short time from my beloved retirement
to take a journey to the metropolis of England. While I was an
under-graduate, among the religious friends, I was very intimate
with one Mr. B----n, a professed Methodist, who had lately taken
orders, and was curate at the Tower of London. With him, when
absent, I frequently corresponded, and when present took sweet
counsel, and walked to the house of God as friends. He mentioned
me to that late good and great man, Sir John Phillips; and being
called down for a while into Hampshire, he wrote to me to be of
good courage, and in the strength of God bade me hasten to town to
officiate in his absence, and to be refreshed with the sight and
conversation of many who loved me for Christ's sake, and had for a
long time desired to see me."
On his arrival in London, Whitefield delivered his first sermon
there in Bishopsgate church, on the afternoon of Lord's day, August
8. On entering the pulpit, his juvenile aspect excited a general
feeling of his unfitness for the station, but he had not proceeded
far in his sermon before it gave place to universal expressions of
wonder and pleasure. If however he was thus exposed to the danger
of vanity, as he says, "God sent me something to ballast it. For as
I passed along the streets, many came out of their shops, admiring
to see so young a person in a gown and cassock. One I remember in
particular, cried out, 'There's a boy parson;' which, as it served
to mortify my pride, put me also upon turning that apostolical
exhortation into prayer, 'Let no man despise thy youth.'" From
his first sermon to his departure, at the end of two months, his
popularity in London continued to increase, and the crowds were
so vast that it was necessary to place constables both inside and
outside of the churches to preserve the peace. He tells us himself,
"Here I continued for the space of two months, reading prayers twice
a week, catechizing and preaching once, visiting the soldiers in the
infirmary and barracks daily. I also read prayers every evening at
Wapping chapel, and preached at Ludgate prison every Tuesday. God
was pleased to give me favor in the eyes of the inhabitants of the
Tower; the chapel was crowded on Lord's days; religious friends from
divers parts of the town attended the word, and several young men
came on Lord's-day morning, under serious impressions, to hear me
discourse about the _new birth_, and the necessity of renouncing all
in affection in order to follow Jesus Christ."
The preaching of Mr. Whitefield now excited an unusual degree
of attention among persons of all ranks. In many of the city
churches he proclaimed the glad tidings of great joy to listening
multitudes, who were powerfully affected by the fire which was
displayed in the animated addresses of this man of God. Lord and
Lady Huntingdon constantly attended wherever he preached, and Lady
Anne Frankland became one of the first-fruits of his ministry among
the nobility of the metropolis. Her ladyship spent much of her
time with Lady Huntingdon, from whose society and conversation she
derived great comfort. She was a daughter of Richard, the first
Earl of Scarborough; was for many years lady of the bedchamber to
the Princess Anne, and to the Princesses Amelia and Caroline; and
finally became the second wife of Frederic Frankland, Esq., a member
of Parliament, from whose cruelty she endured much.
* * * * *
We have already said, that some time before this Messrs. John and
Charles Wesley had embarked for Georgia, and to their names we
might have added that of Mr. Ingham, also a member of the Methodist
fraternity at Oxford.
Georgia, which was explored by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584, had been
colonized by debtors from Europe, by multitudes who had fled from
the grasp of persecution, and by others who were interested in
constructing a barrier against Spanish aggression. It originally had
trustees in England, concerned for its interests, including sons of
the nobility. The chief agent in executing the benevolent designs
in view was the truly excellent General Oglethorpe, who admirably
carried out the motto he gave to his companions in the work, "_Non
sibi sed aliis_"--"Not for themselves, but for others." The children
of poverty, taken from the overgrown agricultural population,
already a tax upon parish bounty at home, were to be transferred
in large numbers to the silk and indigo plantations which were
established on the savannahs and bottoms south and west of the
river, which thence derived its name from the peculiar conformation
of the adjoining plains. Combined with these leading purposes, it
was a cherished principle with the early patrons of this colony,
that it should become the centre for the diffusion of the gospel
among the natives; while charitable foundations were also laid for
the secular and religious education of all who would take advantage
of such provisions. The first Christians who left Europe to advance
the spiritual interests of Georgia were Moravians, and the next
were the Wesleys and Ingham. The records of the colony, as quoted
in White's Historical Collections of Georgia, show that, Sept. 14,
1735, Charles Wesley was appointed "Secretary for the Indian affairs
in Georgia," and that, Oct. 10, 1735, John Wesley was appointed
"missionary at Savannah."
Whitefield had left London, and was laboring among a poor and
illiterate people in Hampshire, when his attention was directly
drawn to Georgia. This was not, indeed, the first time his heart had
been interested in the matter. He writes, "When I had been about a
month in town, letters came from the Messrs. Wesley, and the Rev.
Mr. Ingham their fellow-laborer, an Israelite indeed, from Georgia.
Their accounts fired my soul, and made me long to go abroad for God
too. But having no outward call, and being as I then thought too
weak in body ever to undertake a voyage at sea, I endeavored to
lay aside all thoughts of going abroad. But my endeavors were all
in vain; for I felt at times such a strong attraction in my soul
towards Georgia, that I thought it almost irresistible. I strove
against it with all my power, begged again and again, with many
cries and tears, that the Lord would not suffer me to be deluded,
and at length opened my mind to several dear friends. All agreed
that laborers were wanted at home, that I had as yet no visible call
abroad, and that it was my duty not to be rash, but wait and see
what Providence might point out to me. To this I consented with my
whole heart."
The path of duty, however, soon opened before him. While fulfilling
his duties at Dummer, in Hampshire, preaching for the Rev. Mr.
Kinchin, who was now absent from home, to which labors we have
already referred, he received an invitation to a lucrative curacy in
London; but Georgia still rested like one of the prophetic "burdens"
on his mind. At this juncture he received a letter from his clerical
friend at the Tower, saying that Mr. Charles Wesley had arrived in
London. Very soon Mr. Wesley himself wrote to Whitefield, saying,
that he was come over to procure laborers, "but," added he, "I dare
not prevent God's nomination." "In a few days after this," writes
Mr. Whitefield, "came another letter from Mr. John Wesley, wherein
were these words: 'Only Mr. Delamotte is with me, till God shall
stir up the hearts of some of his servants, who putting their lives
in their hands, shall come over and help us, where the harvest is
so great, and the laborers so few. What if thou art the man, Mr.
Whitefield?' In another letter were these words: 'Do you ask me what
you shall have? Food to eat and raiment to put on, a house to lay
your head in--such as our Lord had not--and a crown of glory that
fadeth not away.' Upon reading this my heart leaped within me, and
as it were echoed to the call."
After having consulted his bishop, Dr. Benson, as also the
archbishop of Canterbury, and the trustees of Georgia including
General James Oglethorpe who was then in London, he went to Bristol,
Bath, and other places, to take leave of his personal friends. As
he could not refrain from preaching, so every sermon increased his
popularity. We give his account of his preaching at Bristol, as a
specimen of the reception he met with.
"It was wonderful to see how the people hung upon the rails of
the organ-loft, climbed upon the leads of the church, and made
the church itself so hot with their breath, that the steam would
fall from the pillars like drops of rain. Sometimes almost as many
would go away for want of room as came in, and it was with great
difficulty I got into the desk to read prayers or preach. Persons
of all ranks not only publicly attended my ministry, but gave me
private invitations to their houses. A private society or two were
erected. I preached and collected for the poor prisoners in Newgate
twice or thrice a week, and many made me large offers if I would not
go abroad."
Having mentioned General James Edward Oglethorpe, the first
governor, and indeed the founder of the colony of Georgia, and to
the end of Whitefield's life his cordial friend, a few additional
facts concerning him may here be stated. He was the son of Sir
Theophilus Oglethorpe, and was born in London, December 21, 1688.
At sixteen he was admitted a student at Oxford, but did not finish
his studies, as the military profession had more charms for him
than literary pursuits. He was first commissioned as an ensign.
After the death of Queen Anne, he entered into the service of Prince
Eugene. When he attained the age of twenty-four years, he entered
Parliament, for Haslemere, where he continued thirty-two years. In
November, 1732, Oglethorpe, with one hundred and sixteen settlers,
embarked for Georgia, and landed at Charleston, S. C., January 13,
1733. They shortly afterwards proceeded to Georgia, where Oglethorpe
laid out a town, and called it Savannah. He very happily secured
the good will of the Indians. In 1743, he left Georgia for England,
to answer charges brought against him by Lieutenant-colonel Cook.
A court martial declared the charges groundless and malicious, and
Cook was dismissed from the service. In 1744 he was appointed one of
the field-officers under field-marshal the Earl of Stair, to oppose
the expected invasion of France. He died in 1785. He was truly a
noble man.
As the period approached when Whitefield was to leave England,
the people showed their esteem for him in almost every possible
way. They followed him so closely, and in such numbers, for holy
counsels, that he could scarcely command a moment for retirement.
They begged to receive from him religious books, and to have their
names written therein with his own hand, as memorials of him,
and very many followed him from place to place till his final
embarkation.
It was indeed a surprising fact, that a young man, scarcely more
than twenty-two years of age, and previously unknown to the world,
should be able to collect such immense congregations, and rouse
and command their attention; multitudes hanging upon and receiving
instructions from his lips. But God had endowed him with a singular
union of qualities, which most eminently fitted him for the work of
an evangelist. He was faithful to his trust, and his divine Master
abundantly blessed and honored him in the discharge of its momentous
duties.
We have now traced the amazing effects of Whitefield's _first_
sermons, and it may be interesting briefly to inquire into their
general character, and to ascertain what truths thus aroused the
public mind. Three of these sermons can, happily, be identified
with these "times of refreshing;" and they may be depended on,
as specimens of both the letter and the spirit of his preaching,
because they were printed from his own manuscripts: they are those
on "_Early Piety_," "_Regeneration_," and "_Intercession_." Whoever
will read the appeals in these sermons, realizing the circumstances
under which they were made, will scarcely wonder at the effect
produced by them. The topics of the second and third, and the tone
of all the three, are very different from the matter and manner of
sermonizing then known to the masses of the people. They do not
surprise _us_, because happily neither the topics nor the tone
of them are "strange things to our ears." Both, however, were
novelties in those days, even in London. When or where had an appeal
been made like this?
"I beseech you, in love and compassion, to come to Jesus. Indeed,
all I say is in love to your souls. And if I could be but an
instrument of bringing you to Jesus, I should not envy, but rejoice
in your happiness, however much you were exalted. If I was to
make up the _last_ of the train of the companions of the blessed
Jesus, it would rejoice me to see you above me in glory. I could
willingly go to prison or to death for you, so I could but bring
one soul from the devil's strong-holds, into the salvation which
is by Christ Jesus. Come then to Christ, every one that hears me
this night. Come, come, my guilty brethren; I beseech you, for your
immortal souls' sake, for Christ's sake, come to Christ. Methinks I
could speak till midnight unto you. Would you have me go and tell
my Master that you will not come, and that I have spent my strength
in vain? I cannot bear to carry such a message to him. I would not,
indeed, I would not be a swift witness against you at the great day
of account; but if you will refuse these gracious invitations, I
must do it."
In this spirit, not very prevalent even now, Whitefield began his
ministry. There is a fascination as well as fervor, or rather a
fascination arising from fervor, in some of his earliest as well as
his later discourses. How bold and beautiful is the peroration of
that on "_Intercession_." Referring to the holy impatience of "the
souls under the altar," for the coming of the kingdom of God, he
exclaims,
"And shall not we who are on earth be often exercised in this
divine employ with the glorious company of the spirits of just men
made perfect? Since our happiness is so much to consist in the
communion of saints in the church triumphant above, shall we not
frequently intercede for the church militant below, and earnestly
beg that we may be all one? To provoke you to this work and labor
of love, remember, that it is the never-ceasing employment of the
holy and highly exalted Jesus himself; so that he who is constantly
interceding for others, is doing that on earth which the eternal
Son of God is always doing in heaven. Imagine, therefore, when
you are lifting up holy hands for one another, that you see the
heavens opened, and the Son of God in all his glory, as the great
High-priest of your salvation, pleading for you the all-sufficient
merit of his sacrifice before the throne. Join your intercession
with his. The imagination will strengthen your faith, and excite a
holy earnestness in your prayers."
The nearer the time approached for his leaving the country, the more
affectionate the people grew towards him, and the more eagerly did
they attend on his ministry. Many thousands of ardent petitions were
presented to heaven on behalf of his person and his ministry; and
multitudes would stop him in the aisles of the churches, or follow
him with their tearful looks. Most of all was it difficult for him
to part from his friends at St. Dunstan's, where he administered the
sacrament, after spending the night before in prayer.
The man who had produced these extraordinary effects, says Dr.
Gillies, had many natural advantages. He was something above the
middle stature, well proportioned, though at that time slender, and
remarkable for native gracefulness of manner. His complexion was
very fair, his features regular, his eyes small and lively, of a
dark blue color: in recovering from the measles, he had contracted
a squint with one of them; but this peculiarity rather rendered the
expression of his countenance more rememberable, than in any degree
lessened the effect of its uncommon sweetness. His voice excelled
both in melody and compass, and its fine modulations were happily
accompanied by the grace of action which he possessed in an eminent
degree, and which is said to be the chief requisite of an orator.
An ignorant man described his eloquence oddly, but strikingly,
when he said that Mr. Whitefield preached like a lion. So strange
a comparison conveyed no unapt idea of the force, and vehemence,
and passion--of the authority which awed the hearers, and made them
tremble like Felix before the apostle. Believing himself to be the
messenger of God, commissioned to call sinners to repentance, he
spoke as one conscious of his high credentials, with authority and
power; yet in all his discourses there was a fervor and melting
charity, an earnestness of persuasion, an outpouring of redundant
love, partaking of the virtue of the faith from which it flowed,
insomuch that it seemed to enter the heart which it pierced, and to
heal it as with a balm.
At length, having preached in a considerable number of the London
churches, collected about a thousand pounds for the charity
schools, and obtained upwards of three hundred pounds for the
poor in Georgia, Whitefield left London, December 28, 1737, in the
twenty-third of his age, and went in the strength of God, as a poor
pilgrim, on board the Whitaker.
Scarcely had he entered on his voyage from London, when he
discovered that but little comfort was to be expected in the ship
on which he had embarked. There was no place for retirement, no
disposition to receive him as an ambassador of Christ, and a decided
dislike even to the forms of religion. They moved but slowly to
the Downs, where they were detained for nearly a month, and where
Whitefield went on shore to visit Deal, an ancient town, one of the
Cinque-ports, so called, where "the common people," as in the case
of his great Master, "heard him gladly." With him, through his whole
ministry, it was of small importance whether he preached to the
rich or the poor; for he viewed the gospel as a message of mercy to
_sinners_, and wherever men were found, he was willing to persuade
them to be reconciled to God.
The account given by Mr. Whitefield of his visit to Deal, and of the
different treatment he received there from different persons, would
be almost as correct a description of his labors and reception in a
hundred other places. He spent his first evening very comfortably in
religious conversation and family prayer, at which a poor woman was
much affected. "Who knows," he says, "what a fire this little spark
may kindle?" Next evening, eight or nine poor people came to him at
the report of this poor woman; and when, after three or four days,
the ship in which he had embarked was driven back to Deal, many met
together to bewail their own sins and those of others. Soon the
landlady who owned the house where he lodged, sent to her tenants,
beseeching them not to let any more persons come in, for fear the
floor should break under them; and they actually put a prop under it.
The minister of Upper Deal, a mile or two from the town, now invited
Whitefield to preach in the church; it was much crowded, and many
went away for want of room. Some stood on the leads of the building
outside, and looked in at the top windows, and all around seemed
eager to hear the word. "May the Lord," says the good man, "make
them _doers_ of it. In the evening I was obliged to divide my
hearers into four companies, and was enabled to expound to them from
six till ten. Lord, keep me from being weary of, or in well-doing."
The excitement at Deal became very great, in consequence of the
conviction of the people that their own minister, the Rev. Dr.
Carter, did not preach the gospel. The good man, to disprove the
charge, published a volume of his sermons, which, however admired by
gay formalists, furnished but too much evidence of the justice of
the charge.
Just as he had left the church at Upper Deal, where he had been
preaching to a vast congregation, Mr. Whitefield, in consequence of
a sudden change of the wind, was summoned on board, and the Whitaker
sailed for Georgia. A very few hours afterwards, the vessel which
brought back John Wesley from that colony anchored in the Downs,
when he learned that the ships had passed each other, but neither
of these remarkable men then knew how dear a friend was on board
the other. When Wesley landed, he found it was still possible to
communicate with his friend, and Whitefield was surprised to receive
a letter from him, saying, "When I saw God by the wind which was
carrying you out brought me in, I asked counsel of God. His answer
you have enclosed." The enclosure was a slip of paper with the
words, "Let him return to London," which Wesley had obtained by lot,
to which he had had recourse. Whitefield prayed for direction, and
went on his voyage.
This first voyage of Whitefield to America was invested with scenes
of far more than common interest. Perhaps, since the apostle Paul's
memorable voyage to Rome, the ocean had never exhibited a more
remarkable spectacle than that furnished by this ship. He was but
a stripling in his twenty-third year, and a faint and hesitating
homage once on a Sabbath-day, from a few of the less obdurate
sinners among his hearers, would be all that such a clergyman
could expect from an assemblage of gentlemen, of soldiers with
their wives and families, and the ship's crew. Yet in the hands of
this remarkable youth all became pliant as a willow. He converted
the chief cabin into a cloister, the deck into a church, and the
steerage into a school-room. He so bore down all opposition by love,
reason, and Scripture, that we soon see him, at the request of the
captain and officers, with the hearty concurrence of the gentlemen
who were passengers, reading "full public prayers" to them twice a
day in the great cabin, and expounding every night after the evening
prayers, besides daily reading prayers, and preaching twice a day
on deck to the soldiers and sailors, and increasing the services
on Sundays. In addition to all this, he daily catechized a company
of young soldiers, and engaged in the same exercise with the women
apart by themselves.
Nor did even all this suffice to expend his zeal, for he commenced
a course of expositions on the creed and ten commandments; and so
convinced was he of the value of catechetical teaching, that on
February 3d he writes, "I began to-night to turn the observations
made on the lessons in the morning into catechetical questions, and
was pleased to hear some of the soldiers make very apt answers."
Nor were the children forgotten; the Hon. Mr. Habersham, a personal
friend who accompanied him, assumed their instruction as his
department of holy labor. Mr. Whitefield wrote of him, that he was
"pleased to see Mr. Habersham so active in teaching the children. He
has now many scholars--may God bless him."
Friendship for Whitefield had influenced Mr. Habersham to accompany
the young evangelist to Georgia. Mr. Habersham's friends, at
Beverly, in Yorkshire, where he was born in 1712, were greatly
opposed to his plans, but surely the hand of God directed them.
He presided over the Orphan-house till 1744, when he entered into
a commercial partnership. He occupied several important stations,
till he became president of the colony in 1769. The proceedings
connected with the revolutionary war more than once placed him in
great difficulties; he did not live to see its happy results, for in
1775 the state of his health compelled him to visit the north, in
hope of its renovation. The change, however, was of no benefit, and
he died at New Brunswick, New Jersey, August 28, 1775. The "Gazette"
of the day said of him, "In the first stations of the province he
conducted himself with ability, honor, and integrity, which gained
him the love and esteem of his fellow-citizens; nor was he less
distinguished in private life by a conscientious discharge of the
social duties, as a tender and affectionate parent, a sincere and
warm friend, and a kind and indulgent master. Mr. Habersham was
married by the Rev. Mr. Whitefield to Mary Bolton at Bethesda, on
the 26th of December, 1740, by whom he had ten children, three of
whom, sons, survived him, and were zealous in the cause of American
liberty."
In harmony with the solemn duties which Mr. Whitefield had assumed,
he watched over the conduct of all around him. He tells us that the
ship's cook was awfully addicted to drinking, and when reproved for
this and other sins, he boasted that he would be wicked till within
two years of his death, and would then reform. Alas, he died on the
voyage, after an illness of six hours, brought on by drinking.
One day on this voyage, finding on Captain Whiting's pillow "The
Independent Whig," Whitefield exchanged it for a book entitled "The
Self-Deceiver." The next morning, the captain came smiling and
inquired who made the exchange. Mr. Whitefield confessed the fact,
and begged his acceptance of the book, which he said he had read,
and liked very well. From thenceforward a visible alteration took
place in the conduct of the captain.
On their arrival at Gibraltar, where they had to continue some time,
Mr. Whitefield found that Major Sinclair, without solicitation, had
provided a lodging for him, and the governor and military invited
him to their table. Being apprehensive that at a public military
table he might be more than hospitably treated, to prevent any
thing disagreeable, he reminded his excellency that, at the court
of Ahasuerus, "none did compel." The governor took the hint, and
pleasantly replied, "No compulsion of any kind shall be used at my
table;" and every thing was conducted with the greatest propriety.
Here he often preached, and was heard by many, including all in high
offices. Unusual indeed were the scenes, both with respect to the
place and the people. The adjacent promontories, and the vastness of
the rock of Gibraltar, aided in the enlargement of the ideas of the
preacher as to Him, who "in his strength setteth fast the mountains,
and is girded about with power." And the place being a sort of
public rendezvous of all nations, he thought, he says, "he saw the
world in epitome."
The success of Whitefield's ministry at Gibraltar was truly
remarkable. He quaintly says of it, "Samson's riddle was fulfilled
there: 'out of the strong came forth sweetness.' Who more unlikely
to be wrought upon than soldiers? And yet, among any set of people,
I have not been where God has made his power more known. Many that
were quite blind, have received their sight; many that had fallen
back, have repented and turned to the Lord again; many that were
ashamed to own Christ openly, have waxed bold; and many saints have
had their hearts filled with joy unspeakable, and full of glory."
Among other religions societies to which Whitefield was introduced
at Gibraltar, he one day attended the Jewish synagogue, and was
agreeably surprised when one of the rulers handed him into the chief
seat. The rabbi had the day before heard him preach against profane
swearing, and now thanked him for his sermon. He remained in the
synagogue during the whole service, engaged, he says, "in secret
prayer that the veil might be taken from the heart of the Jews, and
they grafted again into their own olive-tree."
Several facts occurred on the way to Savannah after their
embarkation from Gibraltar, which are too interesting to pass
without notice. On one occasion Captain Mackay, after Whitefield
had preached against drunkenness, urged the men to attend to the
things which had been spoken; telling them that he was a notorious
swearer until he did so; and beseeching them for Christ's sake to
give up their sins. On another occasion, while marrying a couple on
deck, Whitefield suddenly shut the prayer-book in the midst of the
ceremony, because the bridegroom had behaved with levity; and not
until the laughter was turned into weeping, would he proceed. At the
close of the service he gave the bride a Bible. When a shark was
caught, with five pilot-fish clinging to its fins, he said, "Go to
the pilot-fish, thou that forsakest a friend in adversity; consider
his ways, and be abashed." When a dolphin was caught, the change
of its hues from lovely to livid, reminded him to say, "Just so is
man; he flourishes for a little while, but when death cometh, how
quickly his beauty is gone! A Christian may learn instruction from
every thing he meets with." While he was preaching on the death
of Christ darkness came on, and he said, "It puts me in mind of
that darkness which overwhelmed the world when the God of nature
suffered."
In the latter part of the voyage, fever laid prostrate all in the
ship except four persons, and at length it seized Whitefield, and
confined him to his bed for a week. The attack, though short, must
have been severe; for besides other remedies, he was bled three
times. During his illness, the captain gave up his own bed to
him, and Mr. Habersham watched him day and night; but that which
gratified him most was, that the sick between decks, whom he had
endangered his life to console, prayed for him with great fervor. He
recovered, and repaid the kindness of all. At length, on May 5, they
came in sight of Savannah river, and sent off for a pilot; and such
was the joy of all, when they came to anchor at Tybee island, that
he could not help exclaiming, "How infinitely more joyful will the
children of God be, when, having passed through the waves of this
troublesome world, they arrive at the haven of everlasting rest!"
Though still weak, he preached a farewell sermon to his "red-coated
and blue-jacketed parishioners," as he called his military and naval
congregation. It was heard with floods of tears.
Upon this voyage, says Dr. Gillies, he made these reflections many
years after: "Even at this distance of time, the remembrance of the
happy hours I enjoyed in religious exercises on deck, is refreshing
to my soul; and although nature sometimes relented at being taken
from my friends, and I was little accustomed to the inconveniences
of a sea-life, yet, a consciousness that I had the glory of God
and the good of souls in view, afforded me, from time to time,
unspeakable satisfaction."
Whitefield was cordially welcomed at Savannah by Delamotte and
other friends of the Wesleys: the magistrates also offered to wait
upon him to pay their respects; but this he declined, and waited
upon them. They agreed to build him a tabernacle and a house at
Frederica, and to accept his services at Savannah as long as he
pleased. He was soon, however, again laid aside by the return of his
fever, now accompanied with ague. This attack in a few days brought
him so low, and made so great an alteration in his person, that he
says, "Had my friends seen me at that hour, they might have learned
not to have any man's person in admiration, and not to think more
highly of me than they ought to think."
The first thing which Whitefield did after his recovery was to
visit _Tomo-Chici_, the Indian king, then on his death-bed. This
was the micoe, or king, whom Oglethorpe had taken to England, in
1734, and introduced to king George the Second. He was accompanied
by his wife and son, and seven other Indians of the Creek nation.
His eloquent speech to the king and queen was so well received at
court, that he was loaded with presents, and when he had again to
embark, was sent in one of the royal carriages to Gravesend. "He now
lay," says Whitefield, "on a blanket, thin and meagre; little else
but skin and bones. Senanki, his wife, sat by, fanning him with
Indian feathers. There was no one could talk English, so I could
only shake hands with him and leave him. A few days afterwards,
Mr. Whitefield again went to visit Tomo-Chici, and found that
his nephew, Tooanoowee, could speak English. Whitefield says, "I
desired him to ask his uncle, whether he thought he should die;
who answered, 'I cannot tell.' I then asked where he thought he
should go after death. He replied, 'To heaven.' But alas, how can
a drunkard enter there? I then exhorted Tooanoowee, who is a tall,
proper youth, not to get drunk; telling him that he understood
English, and therefore would be punished the more if he did not live
better. I then asked him whether he believed in a heaven. He said,
'Yes.' I then asked whether he believed in a hell, and described it
by pointing to the fire. He replied, 'No.' From whence we may easily
gather, how natural it is to all mankind to believe there is a place
of happiness, because they wish it to be so; and on the contrary,
how averse they are to believe in a place of torment, because they
wish it may not be so. But God is just and true; and as surely as
the righteous shall go away into everlasting happiness, so the
impenitently wicked shall go into everlasting punishment."
The records of Georgia say, under date of December 21, 1737,
"Ordered, that a license be made out for the Rev. Mr. George
Whitefield to perform ecclesiastical offices in Georgia, as a deacon
in the church of England."
Before Whitefield had any thoughts of going abroad, Charles Wesley
talked to him of an orphan-house in Georgia, which he and General
Oglethorpe had contemplated. When he arrived in Savannah, and had
sufficiently recovered from his illness to examine the state of
the colony, the condition of the children deeply affected him; and
he set his heart on founding the projected institution as soon
as he should be able to collect the needful funds. In the mean
time he opened schools in the villages of Highgate and Hampstead,
and one also, for girls, in Savannah. He afterwards visited the
Saltzburgher's orphan-school at Ebenezer; and if any thing had been
wanted to settle his own determination, or to inflame his zeal, he
found it there. The Saltzburghers were exiles for conscience' sake,
and were eminent for piety and industry. Their ministers, the Rev.
Messrs. Grenaw and Boltzius, were eminently evangelical, and their
asylum, which they had been enabled to found by British benevolence,
for widows and orphans, was flourishing. Whitefield was so delighted
with the order and harmony of Ebenezer, that he gave a share of
his own "poor's store" to Boltzius, for his orphans. Then came the
scene which entirely completed his purpose: Boltzius "called all the
children before him; catechized and exhorted them to give God thanks
for his good providence towards them; then prayed with them, and
made them pray after him; then sung a psalm. Afterwards, the little
lambs came and shook me by the hand, one by one, and so we parted."
Whitefield was now pledged to this cause for life.
Most of our readers probably know that the conductors of "The
Gentleman's Magazine," a work which has now been regularly
published in London for much more than a century, have never been
favorable to evangelical truth, or its ministers; it is therefore
the more gratifying to copy from that work for November, 1737, the
following lines: it will be seen that they were published more than
a month before Mr. Whitefield's departure to the American colonies.
"TO THE REV. MR. WHITEFIELD, ON HIS DESIGN FOR GEORGIA.
"How great, how just thy zeal, adventurous youth,
To spread in heathen climes the light of truth!
Go, loved of heaven, with every grace refined,
Inform, enrapture each dark Indian's mind;
Grateful, as when to realms long hid from day,
The cheerful dawn foreshows the solar ray.
How great thy charity, whose large embrace
Intends the eternal weal of all thy race;
Prompts thee the rage of waves and winds to scorn,
To effect the work for which thy soul was born.
What multitudes, whom Pagan dreams deceive,
Shall, when they hear thy heavenly voice, believe!
On Georgia's shore thy Wesley shall attend,
To hail the wished arrival of his friend;
With joy the promised harvest he surveys,
And to his Lord for faithful laborers prays;
Though crowded temples here would plead thy stay,
Yet haste, blest prophet, on thy destined way.
Be gentle, winds, and breathe an easy breeze,
Be clear, ye skies, and smooth, ye flowing seas!
From heaven, ye guardian angels, swift descend,
Delighted his blest mission to attend;
Which shall from Satan's power whole nations free,
While half the world to Jesus bow the knee.
Long as Savannah, peaceful stream, shall glide,
Your worth renowned shall be extended wide;
Children as yet unborn shall bless your lore,
Who thus to save them left your native shore;
The apostles thus, with ardent zeal inspired,
To gain _all nations_ for their Lord desired.
They measured seas, a life laborious knew,
And numerous converts to their Master drew;
Whose hallelujahs, on the ethereal plains,
Rise scarce beneath the bright seraphic strains.
"GLOUCESTER, Nov. 1, 1737."
After spending a few weeks at Savannah, laboring as much as his
health would permit, Whitefield went to Frederica, where he was
gladly received; the people "having had a famine of the word for a
long season." They had no sanctuary, and therefore he had to preach
under a tree, or in Mr. Habersham's house. This visit, although
short, endeared him to all the people; and he had the satisfaction
before he left, to see them "sawing timber for a commodious place
of worship, until a church could be built." His return, however,
to Savannah was hastened by a somewhat painful event. One of his
friends was lost in the woods, and missing from Tuesday till Friday.
The great guns had been fired to direct the wanderer, but in vain;
and some of the people had searched for him day and night, without
success. This report was sent to Whitefield, and it hurried him away
from Frederica. He had the pleasure, however, on his arrival at
Savannah, to find his "lost sheep."
During the stay of Whitefield in Georgia, the weather was intensely
hot, sometimes almost burning his feet through his shoes. Seeing
others do it, he determined to accustom himself to hardship by
lying constantly on the floor; which by use he found to be so far
from being uncomfortable, that afterwards it became so to lie on a
bed. Nor was he more ready to deny himself than he was assiduous
to do good; preaching often, catechizing the young, visiting the
sick, and exhorting from house to house. Entirely independent and
unrestrained, he knew no fear in the discharge of what he regarded
as his duty. Knowing that some men of influence, to whom his voice
could not be addressed from the pulpit, were living in open defiance
of morality and shame, he went into the court and made an address to
the grand jury, urging them to present all such offenders without
partiality or fear, since the miserable state of the colony was
doubtless owing to divine displeasure against their sins.
Reflection on the character, labors, and success of his
predecessors, stimulated his zeal and encouraged his hope. It could
not be denied that John Wesley had been misrepresented and unkindly
treated, both in Savannah and Frederica, and Whitefield therefore
rejoiced to bear honorable testimony of him and his colleagues.
He says, "Surely I must labor most heartily, since I come after
such worthy men. The good Mr. John Wesley has done in America is
inexpressible. His name is very precious among the people, and he
has laid such a foundation, that I hope neither men nor devils will
be able to shake it. O that I may follow him as he has followed
Christ."
Mr. Whitefield having as yet only received deacon's orders, and
wishing to be ordained priest, for the more complete performance
of his duty as a minister of the church of England, it became
necessary for him to return to Europe for that purpose; and being
also desirous of making collections for his Orphan-house, he left
Mr. Habersham at Savannah, and went to Charleston, S. C., on his way
to England.
At Charleston he became acquainted with the Rev. Alexander Garden,
the ecclesiastical commissary of the Bishop of London, who with
apparent cordiality twice invited him into his pulpit, and assured
him that he would defend him with his life and property, should the
same arbitrary proceedings ever be commenced against him which Mr.
Wesley had met with in Georgia. Dr. Deems, in his recently published
volume, "The Annals of Southern Methodism," tells us, when speaking
of his first sermon, "The people at first despised his youth, but
his engaging address soon gained their general esteem, and Mr.
Garden thanked him most cordially." In an after-period, however,
when Mr. Garden more fully understood the evangelical character of
Mr. Whitefield's preaching, he frequently took occasion to point
out what he called the pernicious tendency of his doctrines, and
irregular manner of life. He represented him as a religious quack,
who had an excellent way of setting off and rendering palatable his
poisonous tenets. On one occasion Garden, to keep his flock from
going after this strange pastor, preached from the text, "These that
have turned the world upside down are come hither also." Whitefield,
however, was not to be silenced in this way, and returned the
compliment by preaching from the words, "Alexander the coppersmith
did me much evil; the Lord reward him according to his works."
On September 6, 1738, Whitefield embarked for London. The voyage was
perilous in the extreme. They were tossed about with bad weather,
in a ship out of repair, and in sad want of provisions. When they
were over about one-third of the Atlantic, a vessel from Jamaica
would have gladly received him, but he chose to share the lot of
his shipmates. They highly valued his services, and one of his
fellow-passengers, Captain Gladman, became, as the result of this
voyage, a truly pious man. The captain, in a subsequent period, at
his own earnest request, became the fellow-traveller of his teacher.
After a passage of about nine weeks, they made the port of Limerick,
in Ireland. "I wish," Whitefield says, "I could never forget what
I felt when water and provisions were brought us from the shore.
Mr. M'Mahon, a country gentleman, came from his seat at midnight
on purpose to relieve us, and most kindly invited me, though
unknown, to his house, to stay as long as I pleased." At Limerick
he was cordially received by that worthy prelate, Bishop Birscough,
who engaged him to preach at the cathedral. From thence he went
to Dublin, where he preached, and was hospitably entertained by
Archbishop Bolton, Bishop Rundel, and Dr. Delany.
Remaining but a short time in Ireland, he proceeded to London, where
he arrived December 8. Here he had the pleasure of conversing with
some of the Moravian brethren, whose faith and love refreshed his
spirit, though he did not entirely approve some of their views. He
soon discovered somewhat of a change of feeling towards him on the
part of many of the London clergy. Within two days, he found five
of the churches were closed against him. He called on the Archbishop
of Canterbury and the Bishop of London, who received him with cold
civility. The bishop asked him if his journals were not tinctured
with enthusiasm; and he replied, with his usual meekness and candor,
that they were written only for his own use, and that of his private
friends, and that they were published without his knowledge. So
anxious was he to avoid giving offence, that he took the earliest
opportunity to expunge from his journals whatever he discovered to
be erroneous, and whatever he had said without imperative necessity,
or which was likely to injure the character and feelings of any one.
The trustees of Georgia, at a meeting in London, received Whitefield
with great cordiality, and in compliance with the wishes of the
colonists, they presented him with the living of Savannah, the
salary of which he declined to receive; but he thankfully accepted
five hundred acres of land, on which he proposed to erect his
orphan-house.
On Sunday, January 14, 1739, being then in his twenty-fifth year,
Whitefield was ordained priest at Oxford, by his worthy friend
Bishop Benson. Having preached twice to very crowded congregations,
and administered the Lord's supper at the castle, he returned to
London the next day. As Dr. Benson once expressed regret that he
had ordained Mr. Whitefield, it may be proper here to explain the
circumstances. Shortly after the late Countess of Huntingdon first
became acquainted with the truth as it is in Jesus, Bishop Benson,
who had been lord Huntingdon's tutor, was sent for to remonstrate
with her ladyship, and to induce her to relinquish what were then
considered her erroneous views; but she pressed him so hard with
the Articles and Homilies of his own church, and so plainly and
faithfully urged upon him the awful responsibility of his station,
that for the moment his mind was hurt, and he rose up to depart,
lamenting that he had ever laid his hands upon George Whitefield, to
whom he imputed the change which had been wrought in her ladyship.
"My lord," said she, "mark my words; when you come upon your dying
bed, that will be one of the few ordinations you will reflect upon
with pleasure." It would seem that it was so; for, on his death-bed,
the Bishop sent ten guineas to Mr. Whitefield as a token of his
favor and approbation, and begged to be remembered by him in his
prayers.
The interval between his taking priests' orders, and embarking a
second time for Georgia, was employed by Whitefield, with his usual
energy and success, in preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
and in making collections for his Orphan-house. Having, before his
visit to America, collected large sums for the charity schools in
the metropolis, he naturally expected that the pulpits would not be
denied him now, in which to plead the interests of his own poor.
But he was scarcely yet aware that the tide of clerical opinion had
turned so extensively and strongly against him. The doctrines he had
preached, and the manner in which he had preached them, had produced
a sensation so strong, that he found himself excluded from most of
the churches in London. A few, however, were yet open to him for
his benevolent design. The Rev. Mr. Broughton conducted himself,
among others, very nobly. Having been urged to refuse his pulpit,
as some of his neighbors had done, he boldly replied, that "having
obtained the lectureship of St. Helen's by Whitefield's influence,
he should have the pulpit if he desired it." Mr. Whitefield
preached, but Mr. Broughton thus losing the lectureship, Whitefield
blamed himself for having done so. Whatever he might himself be
willing to suffer, he was not willing to inflict inconvenience on
others.
Only a few days before his being ordained as priest, Whitefield
offered his first public _extempore_ prayer, in a large meeting
in Red Cross-street, London. He mentions this fact in a note of
his diary as "the first time I ever prayed extempore before such a
number." He did not even then suppose that his preaching, as well
as his prayers in this manner, were to develop his mighty power.
The crowding of the churches now suggested the idea of preaching in
the open air. He says, "When I was informed that nearly a thousand
people stood out in the church-yard, and that hundreds returned
home, this put me first upon thinking of preaching without doors. I
mentioned it to some friends, who looked upon it as a _mad_ motion.
However, we kneeled down and prayed that nothing might be done
rashly. Hear and answer, O Lord, for thy name's sake."
We shall soon see how his extempore expositions and prayers were
fitting him for this new enterprise. He would have commenced in
London now, but he lacked a fair opportunity.