of the Bishop of London and his brethren, and of Church and State.
Whitefield never noticed the defence, though written by a _Gentleman
of Pembroke College, Oxford_. Another pamphlet, however, written by
a Church dignitary of some importance, received more attention. This
was “A Serious and Expostulatory Letter to the Reverend Mr. George
Whitefield, on occasion of his late Letter to the Bishop of London and
other Bishops; and in Vindication of the ‘Observations upon the Conduct
and Behaviour of a certain Sect usually distinguished by the Name of
Methodists,’ not long since published. By Thomas Church, A.M., Vicar
of Battersea, and Prebendary of St. Paul’s, London.[95] 1744.” (8vo.
60 pp.) Want of space prevents the insertion of lengthy extracts from
Mr. Church’s letter, but its scope may be guessed by the following
sentences:――
“Field-preaching is forbidden by the statute, as having a
tendency to sedition and tumults.” “Your extravagances have been
the scorn of the profane, and have strengthened the prejudices
of some against our religion itself.” “I never knew nor heard of
any one instance of a parish in England so carelessly attended
as the charge committed to you in Georgia, the only place, I
think, to which you have had any regular appointment. How unfit
are you, of all men, to upbraid the clergy with non-residence,
with being shepherds who leave their flocks, and let them perish
for lack of knowledge.”
Whitefield immediately replied to this, in an 8vo. pamphlet of 20
pages, bearing the following title:――“A Letter to the Rev. Mr. Thomas
Church, M.A., Vicar of Battersea, and Prebendary of St. Paul’s; in
Answer to his Serious and Expostulatory Letter to the Rev. Mr. George
Whitefield, on occasion of his late Letter to the Bishop of London, and
other Bishops. By George Whitefield, A.B., late of Pembroke College,
Oxford. London: printed by W. Strahan, for J. Robinson, at the Golden
Lion, in Ludgate Street, and sold at the Tabernacle, near Moor-Fields,
1744.” The letter is dated, “London, May 22, 1744,” and its
biographical sections must be briefly noticed.
Whitefield had often been taunted and even threatened for not using
the Liturgy in many of his public services. In reference to this, he
writes:――
“As for my irregularities in curtailing the Liturgy, or not
using the Common Prayer in the fields, I think it needless to
make any apology till I am called thereto in a judicial way by
my ecclesiastical superiors. They have laws and courts. In and
by those, ecclesiastics are to be judged; and I am ready to make
a proper defence, whenever it shall be required at my hands.”
Mr. Church and many others had retorted Whitefield’s attacks on
non-resident clergy, by telling him he had been guilty of non-residence
himself. To this Whitefield replied as follows:――
“I wish every non-resident minister in England could give as
good an account of his non-residence as I can give of my absence
from Savannah. To satisfy you, reverend sir, I will acquaint you
with the whole affair. When I first went abroad, I was appointed
to be minister of Frederica; but, upon my arrival in Georgia,
finding there was no minister at Savannah, and no place of
worship at Frederica, by the advice of the magistrates and
people, I continued at Savannah, teaching publicly, and from
house to house, and catechizing the children day by day, during
the whole time of my first continuance in Georgia; except about
a fortnight, in which I went to Frederica, to visit the people,
and to see about building a church, for which I had given £50
out of some money I had collected, and of which I have given a
public account. In about four months, I came back to England to
receive priest’s orders, and to collect money for building an
Orphan House. At the request of many, the honourable trustees
presented me to the living of Savannah. I accepted it, but
refused the stipend of £50 per annum, which they generously
offered me. Neither did I put them to any expense during my
stay in England, where I thought it my duty to abide till I had
collected a sufficient sum wherewith I might begin the Orphan
House, though I should have left England sooner, had I not been
prevented by the embargo. However, I was more easy, because I
knew the honourable trustees had sent over another minister, who
arrived soon after I left the colony.
“Upon my second arrival at Georgia, finding the care of the
Orphan House and the care of the parish too great a task for
me, I immediately wrote to the honourable trustees to provide
another minister. In the meanwhile, as most of my parishioners
were in debt, or ready to leave the colony for want of being
employed, and, as I believed erecting an Orphan House would
be the best thing I could do for them and their posterity, I
thought it my duty, from time to time, to answer the invitations
that were sent me to preach Christ Jesus in several parts of
America, and to raise further collections towards carrying
on the Orphan House. The Lord stirred up many to be ready to
distribute and willing to communicate on these occasions. I
always came home furnished with provisions and money, most of
which was expended among the people; and, by this means, the
northern part of the colony almost entirely subsisted for a
considerable time. This was asserted, not very long ago, before
the House of Commons.
“And now, sir, judge you whether my non-residence was anything
like the non-residence of most of the English clergy. When I
was absent from my parishioners, I was not loitering or living
at ease, but preaching Christ Jesus, and begging for them and
theirs; and when I returned, it was not to fleece my flock, and
then go and spend it upon my lusts, or lay it up for a fortune
for myself and my relations. No: freely as I had received,
freely I gave. I choose a voluntary poverty. The love of God
and the good of souls is my only aim.”
All candid readers will admit that Whitefield’s simple statement is a
sufficient refutation of the plausible charge, so often brought against
him, concerning his non-residence in the only parish he ever had.
Before proceeding with Whitefield’s itinerary, it may be well to
complete the list of his publications during the year 1744. This shall
be done as briefly as possible.
1. “A Short Account of God’s Dealings with the Reverend Mr. George
Whitefield, A.B., from his Infancy to the Time of his entering into
Holy Orders. The Second Edition.” (12mo. 46 pp.) This was an exact
reprint of the edition published in 1740.
2. “A Brief Account of the Occasion, Process, and Issue of a late Trial
at the Assize held at Gloucester, March 3, 1744.” (8vo. 15 pp.) This
has been already noticed.
3. “The Experience of Mr. R. Cruttenden, as delivered to a Congregation
of Christ in Lime Street, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr.
Richardson. Prefaced and recommended by George Whitefield, A.B.” (8vo.
32 pp.) Cruttenden, after losing his fortune, by the bursting of the
South Sea bubble, had recently been converted, at the Tabernacle, under
the preaching of John Cennick.[96] Nothing in the pamphlet requires
notice, except, perhaps, the following well-deserved rap, which
Whitefield, in his preface, gives to Dissenting ministers, some of whom
were as bitterly opposed to the great preacher as were his clerical
brethren of the Church of England.
“Those serious, godly ministers among the Dissenters, who,
through prejudice or misinformation, oppose, or are shy of us,
as though some dangerous sect was sprung up, may, from this and
such-like instances, begin to reason with themselves, whether
we are not sent of God? and whether it is not high time to
acknowledge and adore God in His late sovereign way of working?
Here is an account of a learned and rational man, brought
to Jesus, and built up in Him, by what the world would call
illiterate preachers. This is not the first instance by hundreds.
No set of men could do such things, or meet with such success,
unless God was with them. It is not the first time that our
Saviour has perfected praise out of the mouths of babes, and
chosen the weak things of this world to confound the strong.”
4. There is only another publication to be noticed. Three years before,
Dr. Smalbroke, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, had delivered a charge,
to his clergy, against the Methodists; and now, in the year 1744, and
when a part of his diocese was disgraced by the riots at Wednesbury and
other places, he published it. Smalbroke was a somewhat distinguished
man; but withal whimsical, as, for instance, when, in his “Vindication
of the Miracles of Christ,” he made elaborate calculations concerning
the number of devils in the herd of swine at Gadarene. He was also
fond of strife, more than twenty of his publications being of a
controversial character. The pith of his anti-Methodistic charge was,
that, “the indwelling and inward witnessing of the Spirit in believers’
hearts, (if there were ever such things at all,) as also praying
and preaching by the Spirit, are all the _extraordinary_ gifts and
operations of the Holy Ghost, belonging only to the apostolical
and primitive times; and, that, consequently, all pretensions to
such favours, in these last days, are vain and _enthusiastical_.”
Whitefield’s reply was written on shipboard, during his voyage
to America, and was first printed at Boston, in New England. Its
long title was as follows: “Some Remarks upon a late Charge against
Enthusiasm, delivered by the Right Reverend Father in God, Richard,
Lord Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, to the Rev. the Clergy in the
several parts of the Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry, in a Triennial
Visitation of the same in 1741; and published, at their request, in
the present year 1744. In a Letter to the Rev. the Clergy of that
Diocese. By George Whitefield, A.B., late of Pembroke College, Oxon.”
(8vo. 35 pp.) Passing over the theological part of Whitefield’s
pamphlet, one extract from his concluding observations must suffice.
In a foot-note he states, “The Methodists in Staffordshire were mobbed
last Shrove-Tuesday, and plundered of their substance to the amount
of £700.” To these persecuted inhabitants of the diocese of Lichfield,
Whitefield says:――
“You have lately been enabled joyfully to bear the spoiling of
your goods. Think it not strange, if you should hereafter be
called to resist unto blood. Fear not the faces of men, neither
be afraid of their revilings. The more you are afflicted, the
more you shall multiply and grow. Persecution is your privilege;
it is a badge of your discipleship; it is every Christian’s lot,
in some degree or other. Only be careful to give no just cause
of offence. Be studious to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit
in your lives. Call no man master, but Christ. Follow others
only as they are followers of Him. Be fond of no name but that
of _Christian_. Beware of making parties, and of calling down
fire from heaven to consume your adversaries. Labour to shine
in common life, by a conscientious discharge of all relative
duties; and study to adorn the gospel of our Lord in all things.
If you are good Christians, you will fear God, and, for His sake,
honour the king. Be thankful for the many blessings you enjoy
under the government of his present majesty, King George; and
continue to pray to Him, by whom kings reign, and princes decree
justice, to keep a popish pretender from ever sitting on the
English throne.”
We now return to Whitefield’s itinerancy. There is but little evidence
to shew how he spent the interval between March 15th and June 26th.
John Cennick, in his diary, says: “On the 3rd of April, at my special
desire, the first association of our ministers and preachers, which
had been kept in Wilts, took place in my house at Tytherton. There
were present the following preachers: Mr. Whitefield, Howell Harris,
John Cennick, Joseph Humphreys, and Thomas Adams; and the following
exhorters: William Humphreys, Isaac Cottle, Thomas Lewis, and Thomas
Beswick.”[97]
Part of the fifteen weeks was spent in London, part in Bristol, and
part in Wilts. He was also awaiting an opportunity to embark for
Georgia; and, with Mr. Smith, a merchant, actually took a passage
in a ship about to sail from Portsmouth. At the last moment, however,
the captain refused to take him; upon which he set out for Plymouth,
preaching at Wellington, Exeter, Bideford, and Kingsbridge on the
way.[98] At Plymouth, he was made the subject of a brutal attack, which
might have ended seriously. Hence the following letters:――
“PLYMOUTH, _June 26, 1744_.
“MY DEAR FRIEND,――You see by this where I am. Doubtless, you
will wonder at the quick transition from Portsmouth to Plymouth.
When I wrote last, I intended going to the former; but, just
before I took leave of the dear Tabernacle people, a message was
sent to me, that the captain, in whose ship I was to sail from
thence, would not take me, for fear of my spoiling his sailors.
Upon this, hearing of a ship that was going under convoy from
Plymouth, I hastened hither, and have taken a passage in the
_Wilmington_, Captain Dalby, bound to Piscataway, in New England.
“My first reception here was a little unpromising. A report
being spread that I was come, a great number of people assembled
upon the _Hoe_ (a large green for walks and diversions), and
somebody brought out a bear and a drum; but I did not come till
the following evening, when, under pretence of a hue-and-cry,
several broke into the room where I lodged at the inn, and
disturbed me very much.
“I then betook myself to private lodgings, and being gone to
rest, after preaching to a large congregation, and visiting
the French prisoners, the good woman of the house came and
told me, that a well-dressed gentleman desired to speak with
me. Imagining that he was some Nicodemite, I desired he might
be brought up. He came and sat down by my bedside, told me he
was a lieutenant of a man of war, congratulated me on the success
of my ministry, and expressed himself much concerned for being
detained from hearing me. He then asked me if I knew him? I
answered, No. He replied, his name was Cadogan. I rejoined,
that I had seen one Mr. Cadogan, who was formerly an officer
in Georgia, about a fortnight ago, at Bristol. Upon this,
he immediately rose up, uttering the most abusive language,
calling me _dog_, _rogue_, _villain_, etc., and beat me most
unmercifully with his gold-headed cane. As you know, I have not
much natural courage; and, being apprehensive that he intended
to shoot or stab me, I underwent all the fears of a sudden
violent death. My hostess and her daughter, hearing me cry
‘Murder,’ rushed into the room, and seized him by the collar;
but he immediately disengaged himself from them, and repeated
his blows upon me. The cry of murder was repeated, and he made
towards the chamber door, from whence the good woman pushed
him downstairs. A second man now cried out, ‘Take courage, I
am ready to help you;’ and, accordingly, whilst the other was
escaping, he rushed upstairs, and finding one of the women
coming down, took her by the heels, and threw her upon the
floor, by which her back was almost broken. By this time the
neighbourhood was alarmed; but, being unwilling to add to the
commotion, I desired the doors might be shut, and so betook
myself to rest.”
This strange adventure is explained in another letter, written to the
same friend, a few days afterwards.
“PLYMOUTH, _July 4, 1744_.
“Since my last, I have had some information about the late odd
adventure. It seems that four gentlemen came to the house of one
of my particular friends, and desired to know where I lodged,
that they might pay their respects to me. My friend directed
them; and, soon afterwards, I received a letter, informing me
that the writer of it was a nephew of Mr. S――――, an eminent
attorney at New York; that he had had the pleasure of supping
with me at his uncle’s house; and that he desired my company
to sup with him and a few more friends at a tavern. I sent him
word that it was not customary for me to sup out at taverns,
but I should be glad of his company, out of respect to his uncle,
to eat a morsel with him at my lodgings. He came; we supped. I
observed that he frequently looked around him, and seemed very
absent; but, having no suspicion, I continued in conversation
with him and my other friends till we parted. I now find
that this man was to have been the assassin; and that, being
interrogated by his companions as to what he had done, he
answered, that being used so civilly, he had not the heart to
touch me.
“Upon this, as I am informed, the person who assaulted me, laid
a wager of ten guineas that he would do my business for me. Some
say, that they took his sword from him, which I suppose they did,
for I only saw and felt the weight of his cane.
“The next morning, I was to expound at a private house, and then
to set out for Bideford. Some urged me to stay and prosecute;
but, being better employed, I went on my intended journey; was
greatly blessed in preaching the everlasting gospel; and, upon
my return, was well paid for what I had suffered; for curiosity
led perhaps two thousand more than ordinary to see and hear
a man who had like to have been murdered in his bed. Thus all
things tend to the furtherance of the gospel.
“‘Thus Satan thwarts, and men object,
And yet the thing they thwart effect.’
“Leaving you to add a hallelujah, I subscribe myself,
“Ever, ever yours,
“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”
Whitefield seriously believed that this atrocious outrage was a
deliberate attempt to murder him; the probability is, that it was
a cruel freak, similar to many others for which naval stations have
frequently been infamous.
Whitefield spent more than six weeks at Plymouth, and in the immediate
neighbourhood. His detention, occasioned by waiting for the convoy,
was not without good results. Hence the following extracts from
letters written during this interval. To John Syms, Whitefield wrote
as follows:――
“PLYMOUTH, _July 21, 1744_.
“MY DEAR MAN,――I expected a line from you to-day; but, I suppose,
you think we are gone. This day came in a privateer, who saw the
Brest squadron, which has pursued two of our men of war; so that,
had we sailed, we should in all probability have been carried
into France. We are now to go under the convoy of the grand
fleet.
“I have been greatly refreshed this evening in preaching the
blood of Jesus. The congregations grow every day. Last night,
many from the dock guarded me home, being apprehensive there was
a design against me. Without my knowledge, they insulted a man
who intended to hurt me. I am sorry for it. My health is better.
Whether we sail or not, expect to hear again from, dear, dear
Johnny, ever, ever yours whilst
“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”[99]
“PLYMOUTH, _July 26, 1744_.
“Could you think it? I have been preaching a confirmation sermon.
Do you ask me where? In a Quaker’s field. As I saw thousands
flocked to the church to have the bishop’s hands imposed upon
them, I thought it not improper to let them have a word of
exhortation suitable to the occasion. I have also made an
elopement to Kingsbridge, where, a few days ago, I preached to
many thousands. It was a most solemn occasion. The hearts of the
auditory seemed to be bowed as the heart of one man.”
In other letters to his “dear man,” John Syms, he writes:――
“PLYMOUTH, _July 27, 1744_.
“Matters go on better and better here. I begin to think myself
in London. We have our regular morning meetings. We are looking
out for a place proper for a Society, and to expound in. People
come daily to me, especially from the dock, under convictions.
Some, I believe, have really closed with Christ; and here are
several aged persons perfectly made young again. We are just now
entered upon our singing hours.
“Fresh news from Kingsbridge of souls being awakened; but I am
kept close prisoner on account of the convoy. Brother Cennick
must come into these parts soon.”
“PLYMOUTH, _July 29, 1744_.
“Our Lord has been giving us blessings in drops; but now He is
sending them in showers. We have had a most precious meeting
this morning. Perhaps more good has been done by this one sermon,
than by all I have preached before. The wind is yet against us.
Our Lord detains me here for wise reasons. Some persons,
formerly prejudiced against me, have offered to give me a piece
of ground for a Society room. I believe one will be built soon.
Brother Cennick must stay in the west some time.”
“PLYMOUTH, _August 3, 1744_.
“Our convoy is come, and perhaps we may sail to-morrow. It is
delightful to be here. We come from the dock, in the evenings,
singing and praising God. Our parting there has been more awful
than words can express.
“I must tell you one thing more. There is a ferry over to
Plymouth; and the ferrymen are now so much my friends, that they
will take nothing of the multitude that come to hear me preach,
saying, ‘God forbid that we should sell the word of God!’”
Thus, at Plymouth, as in other places, did Whitefield triumph in Christ
Jesus. One of the conversions, which took place under his marvellous
ministry, is too notable to pass unnoticed. Henry Tanner, born at
Exeter, was now in the twenty-sixth year of his age, and was working,
at Plymouth, as a shipwright. One day, while at work, he heard, from
a considerable distance, the voice of Whitefield, who was preaching
in the open air; and, concluding that the man was mad, he and half a
dozen of his companions filled their pockets with stones, and set off
to knock the preacher down. Whitefield’s text was Acts xvii. 19, 20.
Tanner listened with astonishment; and, without using his stones, went
home, determined to hear him again next evening. The text, on this
occasion, was Luke xxiv. 47; and Tanner was in such an agony of soul,
that he was forced to cry, “God be merciful to me a sinner!” The next
night, while Whitefield was preaching on “Jacob’s Ladder,” Tanner found
peace with God. He, at once, joined the Society at Plymouth, which had
been formed by Whitefield, and suffered violent persecution from his
unconverted wife. To secure time for prayer and Christian usefulness,
he seldom allowed himself more than six hours in bed, and frequently
but four. Ten years after his conversion, he removed to Exeter, and
began to preach with great success. In 1769, the Tabernacle at Exeter
was built, mainly through his exertions, and he became its minister.
His labours, however, were not confined to Exeter. At the request of
Toplady, he used to preach at Broad Hembury; whilst Moreton, Hampstead,
Crediton, Topsham, and various other places, were favoured with his
services. On Sunday morning, March 24, 1805, when he had completed
the eighty-sixth year of his age, he was carried, in a chair, to his
pulpit, and tried to preach, but was so ill that he was obliged to
relinquish the attempt. A week afterwards he peacefully expired.[100]
While, however, God was raising up new labourers, by means of
Whitefield’s ministry, He was taking others to Himself. One of these
was the Rev. David Crossly, of Manchester, who, within a week of the
time when Whitefield embarked at Plymouth for America, wrote as follows
to Whitefield’s friend, Mr. Syms:――
“MANCHESTER, _August 3, 1744_.
“How glad I am to hear of Mr. Whitefield’s success in the
service of his God. O happy Mr. Whitefield! His unparalleled
labours, with answerable success, make his life a continued
miracle. For a month past, I have been nigh unto death. My life
is generally despaired of; and the Lord seems to be preparing
the way for it, _first_, by a flow of converts, above twenty
having been added to us during the last two months; and,
_secondly_, by raising up several with very useful gifts; so
that I am ready to say, ‘Lord, now let Thy servant depart in
peace! Let me, O Lord, come above to the palm-bearing company!
Fifty-five years have I been in the work, a poor weakling, yet
crowned, by Thy blessing, with success.’
“As to Mr. Whitefield’s Preface to my Sermon,[101] I give a
thousand thanks to him. It is his goodness, not my deserts,
that has placed his valuable name before any performance of
mine.”[102]
A month after the date of this letter, good old David Crossly was gone.
“I am ready for the Bridegroom,” he cried; “I know my Redeemer liveth;”
with the utterance of which he triumphantly expired.[103]
Another brave-hearted man must be mentioned. Thomas Beard was one of
Wesley’s preachers, but he was also warmly attached to Whitefield, and
wrote to him the following sweet and simple letter:――
“BERWICK-UPON-TWEED, _September 17, 1744_.