LABORS IN NEW YORK AND THE MIDDLE AND SOUTHERN STATES.
1740, 1741.
Whitefield was now again on his way to New York, preaching at Rye
and King's Bridge on the road. At the latter place he was met by
several friends from the city, with whom he pleasantly talked, "and
found," he says, "an inexpressible satisfaction in my soul when I
arrived at the house of my very dear friend Mr. Noble. After supper
the Lord filled my heart, and gave me to wrestle with him for New
York inhabitants and my own dear friends." He was also cheered
by meeting Mr. Davenport from Long Island, whose labors as an
evangelist were then exciting much interest. Here too he met with a
violent pamphlet published against him. "Met also with two volumes
of sermons published in London as delivered by me, though I never
preached on most of the texts. But Satan must try all ways to bring
the work of God into contempt."
On the morning after his arrival, Whitefield preached in Mr.
Pemberton's meeting-house, and says concerning the service, "Never
saw the word of God fall with such weight in New York before. Two or
three cried out. Mr. Noble could scarce refrain himself. And look
where I would, many seemed deeply wounded. At night the word was
attended with great power. One cried out; and the Lord enabled me
at the latter end of my sermon to speak with authority. Alas, how
vain are the thoughts of men! As I came along yesterday, I found my
heart somewhat dejected, and told Mr. Noble I expected but little
moving in New York; but he bid me 'expect great things from God,'
and likewise told me of several who were, as he hoped, savingly
wrought upon by my ministry when I was there last."
On the following day he finished his answer to the pamphlet already
referred to, and says, "God enabled me to write it in the spirit of
meekness." He adds, "Preached twice as yesterday to very crowded
auditories, and neither time without power. In the evening exercise
some fainted, and the Lord seemed to show us more and more that a
time for favoring New York was near at hand. Oh, wherefore did I
doubt? Lord, increase my faith."
The following day, November 2, was the Sabbath. "Preached this
morning with freedom and some power, but was much dejected before
the evening sermon. For near half an hour before I left Mr. Noble's
house, I could only lie before the Lord, and say I was a poor
sinner, and wonder that Christ would be gracious to such a wretch.
As I went to meeting I grew weaker and weaker, and when I came into
the pulpit I could have chosen to be silent rather than speak. But
after I had begun, the Spirit of the Lord gave me freedom, till
at length it came down like a mighty rushing wind, and carried
all before it. Immediately the whole congregation was alarmed.
Shrieking, crying, weeping, and wailing were to be heard in every
corner; men's hearts failing them for fear, and many falling into
the arms of their friends. My soul was carried out till I could
scarcely speak any more. A sense of God's goodness overwhelmed me."
After narrating two or three pleasing incidents as to the effect
of his preaching even on the minds of children, and describing his
feelings on his return home, he gives an account of the wedding
of two young persons who were going as his assistants to Georgia.
"Never," he says, "did I see a more solemn wedding. Jesus Christ
was called, and he was present in a remarkable manner. After Mr.
Pemberton had married them, I prayed. But my soul, how was it
enabled to wrestle with and lay hold on God! I was in a very great
agony, and the Holy Ghost was so remarkably present, that most,
I believe, could say, 'Surely God is in this place.' After this,
divine manifestations flowed in so fast, that my frail tabernacle
was scarce able to sustain them. My dear friends sat round me on the
bedsides. I prayed for each of them alternately with strong cries,
and pierced by the eye of faith even within the veil. I continued in
this condition for about half an hour, astonished at my own vileness
and the excellency of Christ, then rose full of peace and love and
joy."
On Monday, the 3d, he preached both morning and afternoon to
increasing congregations, and says, "There was a great and gracious
melting both times, but no crying out. Nearly £110 currency were
collected for the orphans; and in the evening many came and took an
affectionate leave. About seven we took boat; reached Staten Island
about ten, greatly refreshed in my inner man. A dear Christian
friend received us gladly, and we solaced ourselves by singing and
praying. About midnight retired to sleep, still longing for that
time when I shall sleep no more."
On Tuesday he preached on Staten Island from a wagon, to three
or four hundred people. "The Lord came among them," and several
inquired after the way of salvation. Here he met Gilbert Tennent
and Mr. Cross. The former of these excellent ministers had recently
lost his wife, and though he was ardently attached to her, he calmly
preached her funeral sermon with the corpse lying before him.
Tennent had lately been preaching in New Jersey and Maryland, and
had a delightful account to give his friend of the progress of the
good work. Nor was the account given by Mr. Cross of less interest.
After sermon he rode to Newark, where he preached till dark, as he
thought with but little good effect. "However, at night the Lord
manifested forth his glory; for, coming down to family prayer where
I lodged, and perceiving many young men around me, my soul was, as
it were, melted down with concern for them. After singing, I gave
a word of exhortation; with what power none can fully express but
those that saw it. Oh, how did the word fall like a hammer and like
a fire. What a weeping was there!"
We must stay a moment to give a fact or two in reference to the
Rev. Aaron Burr, then quite a young man, who two or three years
before had been ordained at Newark, and whose ministry had been
attended with a delightful revival the year preceding Whitefield's
visit. During the period of this revival, the neighboring village
of Elizabethtown had been remarkable for its insensibility; even
Whitefield had preached there, "and not a single known conversion,"
says Dr. Stearns, "followed his ministrations." Afterwards the
pastor, the well-known Jonathan Dickinson, saw happy results from
very plain preaching. Newark caught a new flame from its neighboring
altar, and Mr. Burr, who had lately been to New England in quest
of health, had heard the devoted evangelist again and again,
and invited him to visit his flock, which he did about a month
afterwards with happy results. The account given by Mr. Burr of
Whitefield's preaching in New England was precisely what we should
expect from the man who was afterwards the first president of
Princeton college, and who, fourteen years after this, accompanied
his eloquent friend to New England, "and saw at Boston, morning
after morning, three or four thousand people hanging in breathless
silence on the lips of the preacher, and weeping silent tears."
The Rev. Stephen Dodd of East Haven, Conn., relates that an old
lady told him that when Mr. Whitefield came to preach in the old
meeting-house at Newark, she was twelve years old, and as he entered
the pulpit she looked at him with distrust, but before he got
through his prayers herself and all the congregation were melted
down, and the sermon filled the house with groans and tears. The
next time he came, the congregation was so large that the pulpit
window was taken out, and he preached through the opening to the
people in the burying-ground.
On Wednesday, the 5th, he went to Baskinridge, Mr. Cross' parish,
where he found Mr. Davenport, who, according to appointment, had
been preaching to about three thousand people. He writes, "As I went
along, I told a friend my soul wept for them, and I was persuaded
within myself that the Lord would that day make his power to be
known among them. In prayer, I perceived my soul drawn out, and a
stirring of affections among the people. I had not discoursed long
before the Holy Ghost displayed his power. In every part of the
congregation somebody or other began to cry out, and almost all
melted into tears. This abated for a few moments, till a little boy
about seven or eight years of age cried out exceeding piteously
indeed, and wept as though his little heart would break. Mr. Cross
having compassion on him, took him up into the wagon, which so
affected me, that I broke from my discourse, and told the people the
little boy should preach to them, and that God, since old professors
would not cry after Christ, had displayed his sovereignty, and out
of an infant's mouth was perfecting praise. God so blessed this,
that a universal concern fell on the congregation again. Fresh
persons dropped down here and there, and the cry increased more and
more."
In the evening, Gilbert Tennent preached excellently in Mr. Cross'
barn, two miles off. His subject was the necessity and benefit of
spiritual desertions, a remarkable subject, as has been said, at
such a time, in a barn, and at night. "A great commotion," says
Whitefield, "was soon observed among the hearers. I then gave a word
of exhortation. The Lord's presence attended it in a surprising
manner. One, in about six minutes, cried out, 'He is come, He is
come!' and could scarcely sustain the discovery that Jesus Christ
made of himself to his soul. Others were so earnest for a discovery
of the Lord to their souls, that their eager crying obliged me to
stop, and I prayed over them as I saw their agonies and distress
increase. At length my own soul was so full that I retired, and was
in a strong agony for some time, and wept before the Lord under a
deep sense of my own vileness, and the sovereignty and greatness of
God's everlasting love. Most of the people spent the remainder of
the night in prayer and praise. Two or three young ministers spoke
alternately, and others prayed as the Lord gave them utterance."
The next morning Whitefield exhorted, sung, and prayed with the
people in the barn, and had some delightful conversation with
a lad of thirteen, a poor negro woman, and several others. In
company with several Christian friends, he then rode to the house
of Gilbert Tennent in New Brunswick. Here he found letters from
Savannah saying that great mortality existed in the neighborhood,
but that the family at the orphan-house continued in health, and
that a minister was about coming from England to take his church at
Savannah. "This last," says he, "much rejoiced me, being resolved
to give up the Savannah living as soon as I arrived in Georgia. A
parish and the orphan-house together are too much for me; besides,
God seems to show me it is my duty to evangelize, and not to fix
in any particular place." Here he was met by William Tennent also,
and after much conversation and prayer, it was settled that Gilbert
Tennent should go to Boston to carry on the work so happily begun
there. After preaching, exhortation, and prayer, Whitefield went
with Davenport to Trenton, and so on to Philadelphia. On their way,
they were twice remarkably preserved from drowning in creeks much
swollen by the rains; and late on a very dark Saturday night arrived
in the city, which had been already honored by his usefulness.
On the following day, he twice preached in the house which his
friends were now building for him, and in which Gilbert Tennent
labored for many years with great success. He says, "It is one
hundred feet long and seventy feet broad. A large gallery is to be
erected all around in it. Many footsteps of Providence have been
visible in beginning and carrying it on. Both in the morning and
evening God's glory filled the house, for there was great power in
the congregation. The roof is not yet up, but the people raised a
convenient pulpit and boarded the bottom. The joy of most of the
hearers when they saw me was inexpressible. Between services, I
received a packet of letters from England, dated in March last. May
the Lord heal, and bring good out of the divisions which at present
seem to be among the brethren there. God giving me freedom, and
many friends being in the room, I kneeled down and prayed with and
exhorted them all. But Oh, how did they melt under both; my soul was
much rejoiced to look round on them."
A fact in connection with the building of this church edifice
illustrates the practical philosophy of Dr. Franklin. Tennent waited
on him for aid in the erection of the house, which was cheerfully
afforded; the philosopher was asked by Tennent as to the best
method of raising the necessary funds, who instantly recommended him
to call at every house in the town to solicit help. He argued thus:
"Many are really desirous to give, and will be glad to see you;
others are inclined to be friendly, and will give if they are urged;
a third will be sure, if they are omitted, to say they would have
given had they been asked; and a fourth class will give you, rather
than have it said they refused." Tennent acted on the doctor's
counsel, and the funds were raised without difficulty.
Two instances of the happy influence of the truth in the conversion
of sinners, in connection with this visit, must be given from
Whitefield's own pen. The first related to a Mr. Brockden, a lawyer
eminent in his profession, and the recorder of deeds for the city.
For many years this gentleman had been distinguished for Deism.
Whitefield writes, "In his younger days he had some religious
impressions, but going into business, the cares of the world so
choked the good seed, that he not only forgot his God in some
degree, but at length began to doubt of and to dispute his very
being. In this state he continued many years, and has been very
zealous to propagate his deistical, I could almost say atheistical
principles among moral men; but he told me he never endeavored
to make proselytes of vicious, debauched people. When I came to
Philadelphia, this time twelvemonth, he told me he had not so much
as a curiosity to hear me. But a brother Deist, his choicest friend,
pressed him to come and hear me. To satisfy his curiosity, he at
length complied with the request. I preached at the court-house
stairs, upon the conference which the Lord had with Nicodemus. I had
not spoken much before the Lord struck his heart. 'For,' said he, 'I
saw your doctrine tended to make people good.' His family knew not
that he had been to hear me. After he came home, his wife, who had
been at sermon, came in also, and wished heartily that he had heard
me. He said nothing. After this, another of his family came in,
repeating the same wish; and, if I mistake not, after that another;
till at last, being unable to refrain any longer, with tears in his
eyes, he said, 'Why, I have been hearing him;' and then expressed
his approbation. Ever since he has followed on to know the Lord;
and I verily believe Jesus Christ has made himself manifest to his
soul. Though upwards of threescore years old, he is now, I believe,
born again of God. He is as a little child, and often, as he told
me, receives such communications from God, when he retires into the
woods, that he thinks he could die a martyr for the truth."
The other instance was that of the captain of a ship, "as great a
reprobate," says Whitefield, "as ever I heard of." This man used to
go on board the transport ships, and offer a guinea for a new oath,
that he might have the honor of making it. "To the honor of God's
grace," says our evangelist, "let it be said, he is now, I believe,
a Christian; not only reformed, but renewed. The effectual stroke,
he told me, was given when I preached last spring at Pennepack. Ever
since he has been zealous for the truth; stood like a lamb when he
was beaten, and in danger of being murdered by some of my opposers,
and, in short, shows his faith by his works."
The stay of Mr. Whitefield in Philadelphia at this time was about
a week, during which he preached in the new house twice every day
to large and deeply interested congregations. He says, "It would
be almost endless to recount all the particular instances of God's
grace which I have seen this week past. Many that before were
only convicted, now plainly proved that they were converted, and
had a clear evidence of it within themselves. My chief business
was now to build up and to exhort them to continue in the grace
of God. Notwithstanding, many were convicted almost every day,
and came to me under the greatest distress and anguish of soul.
Several societies are now in the town, not only of men and women,
but of little boys and little girls. Being so engaged, I could
not visit them as I would, but I hope the Lord will raise up some
fellow-laborers, and that elders will be ordained in every place."
Perhaps no man was ever more free from sectarianism than George
Whitefield. It is true, that he was ordained a clergyman of the
church of England, and never manifested any degree of reluctance to
officiate within its walls; but it is equally true, that the vast
majority of his sermons were delivered in connection with other
bodies of Christians. When he was once preaching from the balcony
of the court-house, Market-street, Philadelphia, he delivered an
impressive apostrophe: "Father Abraham, who have you in heaven? any
Episcopalians?" "No." "Any Presbyterians?" "No." "Any Baptists?"
"No." "Have you any Methodists, Seceders, or Independents there?"
"No, no!" "Why, who have you there?" "We don't know those names
here. All who are here are Christians, believers in Christ--men
who have overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of his
testimony." "Oh, is that the case? then God help me, God help us
all, to forget party names, and to become Christians, in deed and
in truth." It might be well for the different bodies of Christians
to think of the propriety of following this example of the holy
man. The peculiarities of each Christian denomination may have
their importance, but they ought not to keep good men in a state of
separation, much less of alienation from each other.
On Monday, November 17, Whitefield left Philadelphia. He says, "Was
much melted at parting from my dear friends. Had it much impressed
upon my mind, that I should go to England, and undergo trials for
the truth's sake. These words, 'The Jews sought to stone thee,
and goest thou thither again?' with our Lord's answer, have been
for some time lying upon me; and while my friends were weeping
round me, St. Paul's words darted into my soul, 'What mean you to
weep and break my heart? I am willing not only to be bound, but
to die for the Lord Jesus.' After fervent prayer, I took my leave
of some, but being to preach at Gloucester in the West Jerseys,
others accompanied me in boats over the river. We sung as we sailed,
but my heart was low. I preached at Gloucester, but found myself
weighed down, and was not able to deliver my sermon with my usual
vigor. However, there was an affecting melting, and several, as
I heard afterwards, who had been in bondage before, at that time
received joy in the Holy Ghost. I rode on in company with several
to Greenwich, and preached to a few, with scarce any power. In
the evening we travelled on a few miles, but my body was more and
more out of order, and I thought God was preparing me for future
blessings. It is good to be humbled. I am never better than when I
am brought to lie at the foot of the cross. It is a certain sign
God intends that soul a greater crown. Lord, let me always feel
myself a poor sinner." On Tuesday he preached at Pilesgrove to
about two thousand people, but saw only a few affected. "At night,"
he says, "God was pleased so abundantly to refresh my soul as to
make me forget the weakness of my body; I prayed and exhorted
with great power in the family where I lodged." On Wednesday, at
Cohansey, where Gilbert Tennent had prepared the way for him, he
says, "Preached to some thousands both morning and afternoon. The
word gradually struck the hearers, till the whole congregation was
greatly moved, and two cried out in the bitterness of their souls
after a crucified Saviour, and were scarcely able to stand. My
soul was replenished as with new wine, and life and power flew all
around me." At Salem, on the 20th, he preached in the morning at the
court-house, and in the afternoon in the open air before the prison,
to about two thousand persons. "Both times God was with us." On
Friday, November 21, he got with some difficulty to Newcastle, where
he preached in the court-house, and "observed some few affected,
and some few scoffing." Here he was joined by Mr. Charles Tennent,
who had lately married a young lady awakened under Whitefield's
ministry. They went on to White Clay creek, "and God," says he, "was
pleased to appear for me in an extraordinary manner. There were many
thousands waiting to hear the word. I have not seen a more lovely
sight. I sang the twenty-third psalm, and these words gave my soul
unspeakable comfort:
"'In presence of my spiteful foes,
He does my table spread.'
"The Lord Jesus assisted me in preaching. The melting soon began,
and the power increased more and more, till the greatest part of the
congregation was exceedingly moved. Several cried out in different
parts, and others were to be seen wringing their hands and weeping
bitterly. The stir was ten times greater than when I was here
last." At Fagg's Manor, on Saturday afternoon, he preached "to many
thousands, and God was pleased mightily to own his word. There was
a wondrous powerful moving, but it did not rise to such a degree as
when I preached here last spring. I was taken ill after preaching."
After still farther labors, he retired to rest, and he says, "The
Lord gave me sweet sleep, and in the morning I arose with my natural
strength much renewed." This was the Sabbath, and he preached at
Nottingham "to a large congregation, who seemed in no wise to regard
the rain, so they might be watered with the dew of God's blessing."
On the following afternoon, at Bohemia, in Maryland, he says,
"Preached to about two thousand, and have not seen a more solid
melting, I think, since my arrival. Some scoffers stood on the
outside, but the Holy Spirit enabled me to lay the terrors of
the Lord before them, and they grew more serious. My soul much
rejoiced in the Lord to see salvation brought to Maryland." On
Tuesday, November 25, "came to Reedy Island, and had the wonderful
presence of God in the assembly in the afternoon. Several of my
dear Philadelphia friends came to take their last farewell." On
Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, he preached again. "The Lord was
with us every time. I was greatly delighted to see the captains of
the ships, and their respective crews, come constantly to hear the
word of God on shore, and join with us in religious exercises on
board."
On December 1, when they sailed from Reedy Island to Charleston,
he wrote in his journal, "But before I go on, stop, O my soul, and
look back a little on the great things the Lord hath done for thee
during this excursion. I think it is now the seventy-fifth day since
I arrived at Rhode Island. My body was then weak, but the Lord has
much renewed its strength. I have been enabled to preach, I think,
one hundred and seventy-five times in public, besides exhorting very
frequently in private. I have travelled upwards of eight hundred
miles, and gotten upwards of £700 sterling in goods, provisions,
and money for my poor orphans. Never did God vouchsafe me such
great assistances. Never did I perform my journeys with so little
fatigue, or see such a continuance of the divine presence in the
congregations to whom I have preached. All things concur to convince
me that America is to be my chief scene for action."
In about eight days, he arrived at Charleston, where he found there
had recently been a large fire, and to improve the sad event he
preached a sermon, and passed on to his own home, where he found
all well, and where he made arrangements for his voyage to England,
leaving on the 29th of December. On that day he narrowly escaped
death. A laborer was walking behind him with a gun under his arm,
which went off unawares; happily its muzzle was towards the ground,
"otherwise," says Whitefield, "I and one of my friends, in all
probability, should have been killed; for we were directly before,
and not above a yard or two distant from it. How ought we to live
in such a state as we would not fear to die in; for in the midst
of life we are in death!" In the evening he preached his farewell
sermon as pastor of Savannah.
On Mr. Whitefield's arrival at Charleston, in company with two
gentlemen named Bryan, who had been called to suffer persecution
for Christ's sake, he had the happiness of meeting his brother, the
captain of a vessel from England, who gave him much interesting
intelligence of the Christians in that country. Commencing with the
Sabbath, he preached twice every day, in addition to expounding the
Scriptures almost every evening, and expresses his gratitude for
divine assistance. But though he had much to rejoice in, he had
also more than one source of sorrow. Some professors of religion,
of whom he had hoped well, had fallen away, and not a few of his
enemies were even more enraged than formerly. Hugh Bryan had written
a letter, in which, among other matters, "it was hinted that the
clergy break their canons." At the request of Jonathan Bryan,
Whitefield had corrected it for the press, and it was published
while he was now in the city. Hugh Bryan was apprehended, and on
his examination, being asked, frankly confessed that Whitefield had
corrected and made some alterations in it. Writing on January 10,
he says, "This evening a constable came to me with the following
warrant:
"'South Carolina SS. By B---- W----, etc. 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 premises.
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 tenth day of January, in the fourteenth year of
His Majesty's Reign, Anno Domini one thousand seven hundred and
forty [one.]
"'B---- W----.'"
Whitefield gave security to appear by his attorney at the next
quarter sessions, under penalty of one hundred pounds proclamation
money. "Blessed be God," he says in his journal, "for this
further honor. My soul rejoices in it. I think this may be called
persecution. I think it is for righteousness' sake." The next
morning he preached on Herod sending the wise men to find out
Christ, professing a desire to worship him, but intending to kill
him; _persecution under pretence of religion_, being his theme.
The afternoon sermon was on the murder of Naboth, from which he
discoursed on _the abuse of power by men in authority_. He says,
"My hearers, as well as myself, made the application. It was pretty
close." No doubt it was. In the evening he expounded the narrative
of Orpah and Ruth, and exhorted his hearers to follow the Lord Jesus
Christ, though his cause be never so much persecuted and spoken
against.
On the following Thursday, he received several highly gratifying
letters from his friends at Boston. Mr. Secretary Willard said
to him, "Divers young men in this town, who are candidates for
the ministry, have been brought under deep convictions by your
preaching, and are carried off from the foundation of their false
hopes to rest only upon Christ for salvation."
The Rev. Mr. Cooper wrote, "I can inform you that there are many
abiding proofs that you did not run in vain, and labor in vain
among us in this place. I can only say now in general, some have
been awakened who were before quite secure, and I hope a good work
begun in them. Others, who had been under religious impressions,
are now more earnestly pressing into the kingdom of heaven, and
many of the children of God are stirred up to give diligence for
the full assurance of faith. There is a greater flocking to all the
lectures in the town, and the people show such a disposition to the
new Tuesday evening lecture, that our large capacious house cannot
receive all that come. I am sure your visit to us has made a large
addition to the prayers that are going up for you in one place and
another, and I hope also unto the jewels that are to make up your
crown in the day of the Lord."
In addition to these statements, Mr. Welch, a pious merchant,
wrote, "I fear I am tedious, but I cannot break off till I just
mention, to the glory of the grace of God, and for your comfort
and encouragement, the success your ministry of late has had among
us. Impressions made seem to be abiding on the minds of many. The
doctrines of grace seem to be more the topic of conversation than
ever I knew them. Nay, religious conversation seems to be almost
_fashionable_, and almost every one seems disposed to hear or speak
of the things of God. Multitudes flock to the evening lecture,
though it has sometimes been the worst of weather. Ministers seem to
preach with more life, and the great auditories seem to hear with
solemn attention, and I hope our Lord Jesus is getting to himself
the victory over the hearts of many sinners."
These, and other letters of a similar character, filled the heart
of Whitefield with grateful pleasure; and he went on preaching and
enjoying the society of his friends till Friday, January 16. He
says, "I never received such generous tokens of love, I think, from
any people before, as from some in Charleston. They so loaded me
with sea-stores, that I sent many of them to Savannah." He now went
on board, and was fully engaged in preparations for the voyage,
which however was not entered on till the 24th. On that day the
_Minerva_ sailed over Charleston bar, and after a generally pleasant
voyage, they landed at Falmouth, March 11. "This," says he, "was a
profitable voyage to my soul, because of my having had many sweet
opportunities for reading, meditation, and prayer."
The impartiality of history requires us, however reluctantly, here
to notice the separation which to some extent now took place between
Whitefield, and his old friends Messrs. John and Charles Wesley.
Their mutual attachment in early life we have already seen, as also
Whitefield's anxiety in Georgia to defend Mr. John Wesley's conduct
against those who opposed him. Impartial observers, however, after
a while began to remark, that on some doctrinal points, especially
on that of predestination, a difference was springing up. On his
passage to England, February 1, 1741, Whitefield thus wrote to
Mr. Charles Wesley: "My dear, dear brethren, why did you throw
out the bone of contention? Why did you print that sermon against
predestination? Why did you in particular, my dear brother Charles,
affix your hymn, and join in putting out your late hymn-book? How
can you say you will not dispute with me about election, and yet
print such hymns? and your brother sent his sermon against election,
to Mr. Garden and others in America. Do not you think, my dear
brethren, I must be as much concerned for truth, or what I think
truth, as you? God is my judge, I always was, and hope I always
shall be desirous that you may be preferred before me. But I must
preach the gospel of Christ, and that I cannot _now_ do, without
speaking of election." He then tells Mr. Charles Wesley, that in
Christmas-week he had written an answer to his brother's sermon,
"which," says he, "is now printing at Charleston; another copy I
have sent to Boston, and another I now bring with me, to print in
London. If it occasion a strangeness between us, it shall not be my
fault. There is nothing in my answer exciting to it, that I know of.
O, my dear brethren, my heart almost bleeds within me. Methinks I
could be willing to tarry here on the waters for ever, rather than
come to England to oppose you."
Dr. Whitehead, in his "Life of John Wesley," has very wisely
said, "Controversy almost always injures the Christian temper,
much more than it promotes the interests of speculative truth. On
this question a separation took place between Mr. Wesley and Mr.
Whitefield, so far as to have different places of worship; and some
warm and tart expressions dropped from each. But their good opinion
of each other's integrity and usefulness, founded on long and
intimate acquaintance, could not be injured by such a difference of
sentiment; and their mutual affection was only obscured by a cloud
for a season."
The friendship between Mr. Whitefield and the Messrs. Wesley was
very much increased and perpetuated by the wife of Mr. Charles
Wesley. This very extraordinary lady, whose original name was
Gwinne, was equally distinguished for her beauty, talents, and
piety. She had a very cordial regard for Mr. Whitefield, who as
cordially reciprocated it. She was married when the controversy
among these eminent men was at its height, and stipulated that
she should always be allowed to hear the preaching of Whitefield
and his friends. In her latter years especially, and she lived
till ninety-six, she expressed her pleasure in the belief that
she promoted the continuance of that endearing intercourse which
subsisted between Whitefield and her husband. She softened all
parties, and was on all occasions a blessed peacemaker.
One fact relating to this eminently excellent woman may be
mentioned. She was nearly twenty years younger than her husband, and
four years after her marriage, and at the age of twenty-six, she
was seized with small-pox, of which at that time her eldest child
died. She lay twenty-two days in imminent danger of death, and when
she recovered she was so much altered in features that no one could
recognize her; but never did woman before lose her beauty with so
little regret. She used sportively to say, that the change in her
appearance "afforded great satisfaction to her dear husband, who
was glad to see her look so much older, and better suited to be his
companion."
On Whitefield's arrival at Falmouth, he immediately set off in a
post-chaise to London, in order to preach on the following Sabbath.
But he now found occasion for all the patience he had acquired. He
had, he says, "written two well-meant, though ill-judged letters
against England's two great favorites, '_The Whole Duty of Man_,'
and Archbishop Tillotson, who, I said, knew no more about religion
than Mohammed. The Moravians had made inroads on our societies;"
besides which, the controversy with the Messrs. Wesley injured him.
His congregations on the Sabbath were still large, but on week-days
he had not more than two or three hundred hearers. He says, "Instead
of having thousands to attend me, scarcely one of my spiritual
children come to see me from morning to night. Once, on Kennington
Common, I had not above a hundred to hear me."
Even this was not all. He says, "One that got some hundreds of
pounds by my sermons, refused to print for me any more. And others
wrote to me, that God would destroy me in a fortnight, and that my
fall was as great as Peter's." Still other sorrows attended him.
He writes, "I was much embarrassed in my outward circumstances. A
thousand pounds I owed for the orphan-house. Two hundred and fifty
pounds drawn on Mr. Seward, [who was now dead,] were returned upon
me. I was also threatened to be arrested for two hundred pounds
more." Besides all this, he had "a family of one hundred persons
to be maintained, four thousand miles off, in the dearest part of
his majesty's dominions." He now began to preach in Moorfields on
week-days, under one of the trees; where he saw numbers of his
spiritual children running by him without looking at him, and some
of them putting their fingers in their ears, that they might not
hear one word he said. "A like scene," he says, "opened at Bristol,
where I was denied preaching in the house I had founded." It was the
Kingswood school-house, built for the children of the colliers.
But Whitefield could not long be kept down. His friends built a
new house and opened a new school at Kingswood. Some "free-grace
dissenters," as Gillies calls them, procured the loan of a building
lot in London, on which, as we have already seen, they built the
Tabernacle. Here his congregations immediately increased, and he
addressed them with his usual power and success. Invitations soon
poured in from the country, and even from places where he had never
been. At a common near Braintree, in Essex, he had more than ten
thousand hearers, and at many other places congregations were large
and much affected. "Sweet," says he, "was the conversation which I
had with several ministers of Christ." Soon again did he triumph,
even in England.
Among the men who were now invited to aid, and who rendered
important assistance to Whitefield in his houses of worship in
London and Bristol, as well as in his itinerant labors, was Howel
Harris, a native of Wales, a gentleman, and a magistrate, to whom we
have already referred. His name in Wales is yet "a household word,"
and his labors form a part of the history of Welsh Calvinistic
Methodism. As soon as he had embraced the gospel for himself,
he became intensely solicitous respecting the condition of his
neighbors. The scenes of profligacy and vice which everywhere
presented themselves burdened his heart, and he became anxious to
be actively employed in removing evil and doing good. He determined
on taking orders in the church of England, and accordingly
entered St. Mary's Hall, in Oxford university; but shocked at the
dissolute habits of the collegians, and finding what were called
his methodistical views were in the way of his ordination, he
returned to Wales, and began to evangelize its towns and villages.
Wherever there was an opening, there he went, and preached Christ
to the people; and although defamed and persecuted, he manfully
prosecuted his work, and thousands were by his agency brought to
repentance. He and Mr. Whitefield were kindred spirits, moved by
the same impulses, and pursuing the same course. Mr. Whitefield
spoke of him as "'a burning and shining light,' a barrier against
profaneness and immorality, and an indefatigable promoter of the
true gospel of Jesus Christ. For these years he has preached almost
twice a day, for three or four hours together. He has been in seven
counties, and has made it his business to go to wakes and fairs to
turn people from their lying vanities. He has been made the subject
of numbers of sermons, has been threatened with public prosecutions,
and had constables sent to apprehend him. But God has blessed him
with inflexible courage; strength has been communicated to him from
above, and he still goes on from conquering to conquer. God has
greatly blessed his pious endeavors; many call, and own him as their
spiritual father, and would, I believe, lay down their lives for his
sake."
In the year 1759, when England was threatened with a French
invasion, Mr. Harris became a captain in the Brecknockshire militia,
and into whatever place in England the regiment was ordered, he
uniformly began to preach, and was the means of introducing the
gospel into many ignorant and depraved districts. Thus an unusual
act and an undesirable office were overruled to doing much good.
When the regiment was disbanded, he again regularly entered on his
ministerial duties with all his former zeal and activity. In a word,
he may justly be regarded the evangelist of Wales.
As an illustration of the spirit of the energetic ministers of
Christ in those days, we quote a fact or two from the life of
Rowland Hill; the more readily as Howel Harris is the principal
subject. In 1774, four years after the death of Whitefield, Mr.
Hill travelled through Wales, preaching three or four times every
day; many conversions took place, which greatly sustained him under
an attack of illness; and led to the remark in his "Journal," "My
body quite weak, but my soul was refreshed." "A like example,"
says Sidney, one of the biographers of Hill, "had been previously
before his eyes in the case of Howel Harris, one of Mr. Whitefield's
energetic followers, who was a man of extraordinary powers of body
and mind. Harris used to relate of himself, that being once on a
journey through Wales, he was subjected to great temptation to
desert his Master's cause, when he said, 'Satan, I'll match thee
for this;' and 'so I did,' he used to add; 'for I had not ridden
many miles before I came to a revel, where there was a show of
mountebanks, which I entered, and just as they were commencing, I
jumped into the midst of them and cried out, 'Let us pray,' which
so thunderstruck them that they listened to me quietly, while I
preached to them a most tremendous sermon, that frightened many
of them home.' Mr. Hill greatly delighted in this anecdote, and
often said that amidst somewhat similar scenes, he had been enabled
successfully to attack the kingdom of Satan."