to write to an experienced veteran, before he goes hence and is
no more seen? I am sorry that my visit to York was short, yet
glad that our Lord gave me to see you once more ready to sing
your ‘Nunc dimittis,’ with steadiness and composure, if not with
joy unspeakable. Happy, thrice happy, reverend sir! You have
gone through that wilderness, which, if hoary hairs should be my
lot, awaits me, your younger son and servant. Well! this is my
comfort: I have the same Beloved to lean upon, as you have had.
The way, though narrow, is not long; the gate, though strait,
opens into life eternal. O that I might pass through it when
young! But, Father, not my will, but Thine be done!
“Honoured sir, be pleased to pray for me. I remember you and
your dear flock. May He, who kissed away the soul of His beloved
Moses, appoint a Joshua to succeed you, when He bids you come
up to the mount and die! I hope my cordial respects will find
acceptance with your dear yoke-fellow; and I beg leave to
subscribe myself, honoured sir, your most affectionate, though
unworthy, younger son and willing servant in Him who liveth for
ever,
“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”
Little more remains to be recorded respecting the year 1747. After
spending a few days in Maryland, Whitefield passed into Virginia, where
he “preached once, and would have preached oftener, but the small-pox
was spreading.” He then “posted” to Bath-Town, North Carolina. Writing
to a friend, he says:――
“I am hunting after poor lost sinners in these ungospelized
wilds. People are willing to hear, and I am willing to preach.
My body is weak, and a little riding fatigues me. I long to be
dissolved, and to be with Jesus, but cannot die. I would have
you still pray for me as a _dying_ man; but O pray that I may
not go off as a snuff. I would fain die blazing, not with human
glory, but, with the love of Jesus.”
After riding “on horseback through the woods a hundred and sixty
miles,” and preaching as he went, Whitefield, on October 18, arrived
at Wilmington, Cape Fear. He then proceeded to Charleston; and, on
October 26, set out for Georgia.[183] He closed the year, however, at
Charleston. Hence the following, addressed to John Edwards, one of his
preachers:――
“CHARLESTON, _December 28, 1747_.
“MY VERY DEAR BROTHER EDWARDS,――I have but just time to inform
you that I wait for answers, to my last letters, from dear
brother Harris and you, in order to be determined about my
coming to England. My affairs here are brought under foot.
If friends at home exert themselves, I may be freed from all
outward embarrassments. The Lord is yet with me. All is well at
Bethesda, and at my new plantation. My dear yoke-fellow is at
the Orphan House. We are always praying for you _all_. The Lord
be with you! That we may keep an eternal new year in the New
Jerusalem, is the hearty prayer of, my very dear man,
“Ever yours, whilst
“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”[184]
Early in the year 1748, Whitefield, instead of embarking for England,
set sail for Bermudas. The following letters, to Howell Harris, will
explain the reason:――
“CHARLESTON, _February 28, 1748_.
“By this time, I hoped to have been on my way to England; but,
having received no answers to the letters I sent you from New
York and elsewhere, and in consequence of other concurring
providences, I have been induced to believe it my duty to go to
Bermudas. My dear yoke-fellow will stay behind, in these parts;
and I purpose to return to her early in the fall. Meanwhile, I
expect to hear from you; and, if my way seems clear, I do not
despair of seeing you before Christmas next. Think not hard of
me, my dear man, for thus deferring to come to you.
“I hope I have now got very near a sufficiency for the future
support of Bethesda. If my friends in England will help me, I
hope my arrears will be paid, and my heart be freed from a load
which has lain on me for years. If not, the Friend of all will
help me. On Him, my eyes wait; and, in obedience to Him, I go
once more upon the mighty waters. My dear wife will have a trial
in my being absent so long.
“Yours most affectionately and eternally in Christ Jesus,
“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”[185]
“ON BOARD THE ‘ANN,’ (Captain Tucker,) _bound from
Charleston to Bermudas, March 6, 1748_.
“MY VERY DEAR, DEAR BROTHER,――Just as I was coming on board,
yours, dated October 16, was put into my hands. I have read it,
and now believe I shall see you sooner than I expected. I have
a great mind to come to you from New England. But what will
_Sarah_ say? I have left her behind me in the tent; and, should
I bring her to England, my two families, in America, must be
left without a head. Should I go without her, I fear, the trial
will be too hard for her; but, if the Lord calls, I can put both
her and myself into His all-bountiful hands.
“I am now going, on a fresh embassage, to Bermudas, after having
had a profitable winter in these southern parts. Congregations
in Charleston have been greater than ever; and Jesus has helped
me to deliver my soul. Had I ten thousand lives, He should have
them all. Excuse this scribble; I am just come on board.
“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”[186]
As every one knows, the Bermudas are a cluster of small islands, in
the Atlantic Ocean, nearly four hundred in number, but, for the greater
part, diminutive and barren. They were discovered by Juan Bermudas, a
Spaniard, about the year 1522; but were not inhabited till 1609, when
Sir George Somers was cast away upon them, and established a small
settlement. The length of the colony is less than thirty miles, and the
population, even at the present day, is not more than ten thousand, one
half of whom are black and coloured persons. The soil of the inhabited
islands (about five in number) is exceedingly fertile; vegetation is
rapid; spring may be said to be perpetual; and fields and forests are
clad with unfading verdure. In these clustered islets Whitefield landed
on March 15; and here he spent eleven weeks, generally preaching once,
and often twice, a day. In England, it was reported that he was dead.
The _Gentleman’s Magazine_, for the month of May, in its “List of
Deaths,” had the following:――
“April.――Rev. Mr. Whitefield, the famous itinerant preacher, and
founder of the Methodists in Georgia.”
Fortunately, the rumour had afterwards to be corrected.
Whitefield met with the greatest courtesy and kindness in Bermudas.
The Rev. Mr. Holiday, clergyman of Spanish-Point, received him in
the most affectionate manner, and begged him to become his guest.
The governor and the council invited him to dine with them. The Rev.
Mr. Paul, an aged Presbyterian minister, offered him his pulpit.
Colonels Butterfield, Corbusiers, and Gilbert, Captain Dorrel, and
Judge Bascombe, gave him hospitable entertainments. He preached in the
churches, in the Presbyterian meeting-house, in mansions, in cottages,
and in the open air. Colonel Gilbert lent him his horse during his stay;
and the gentlemen of the islands subscribed more than £100 sterling for
his Orphan House. Some of the negroes were offended at him, because he
reproved “their cursing, thieving, and lying,” and said, “their hearts
were as black as their faces;” but, as a rule, they flocked to hear him,
and were powerfully affected by his discourses.
Gillies gives extracts from the Journal which Whitefield wrote in
Bermudas,――extracts filling fifteen printed pages; but the substance of
the whole is contained in the following letter, addressed to a minister
at Boston:――
“BERMUDAS, _May 17, 1748_.
“REV. AND DEAR SIR,――Nine weeks ago, I arrived here from
Charleston. We had a safe and pleasant passage. We were nine
days on board; and I do not remember hearing one single oath,
from land to land.
“Mr. Holiday, a clergyman of the Church of England, received me
with open heart and arms. The first Lord’s-day, after my arrival,
I read prayers and preached in two of his parish churches; and
the longer I stayed, the more kindly he behaved to me. The two
other Church clergy chose to keep at a distance; but Mr. Paul,
an aged Presbyterian minister, was very free to let me have
the use of his meeting-house, and, as it was pretty large and
in a central part of the island, I preached in it for eight
Lord’s-days successively.
“His excellency, the governor, was pleased to come and hear
me, when I preached in town, with most of the council and the
principal gentlemen in the island. He treated me with great
respect, and invited me more than once to dine with him. I
have preached nearly seventy times; on the week-days chiefly
in private houses, but sometimes in the open air, to larger
assemblies, they tell me, than were ever seen upon the island
before. The word has frequently been attended with Divine power,
and many have been brought under convictions. I have spent nine
happy weeks among them, and was never so little opposed, during
so long a stay in any place. In a few days, I hope to embark, in
the brig _Betsy_, (Captain Eastern,) for England.”[187]
Respecting his farewell sermon, Whitefield wrote:――
“After the service, many came weeping bitterly around me.
Abundance of prayers were put up for my safe passage to England,
and speedy return to Bermudas. Thanks be to the Lord for
sending me hither! I have been received in a manner I dared not
expect, and have met with little, very little, opposition. The
inhabitants seem to be plain and open-hearted. They have also
been open-handed; for they have loaded me with provisions for my
voyage, and, by a private voluntary contribution, have raised me
upwards of £100 sterling. This will pay a little of Bethesda’s
debt, and enable me to make such a remittance to my dear
yoke-fellow, as may keep her from being embarrassed in my
absence.”[188]
This was Whitefield’s only visit to Bermudas. He wrote: “An entrance is
now made into the islands. The Lord, who has begun, can and will carry
on His own work.” It was long before Whitefield’s hope was realized.
Fifty-one years afterwards, Wesley’s Methodist Conference sent to
the islands the Rev. John Stephenson. The white population hated the
missionary, because he was the friend of the enslaved blacks; and,
before long, he was apprehended, tried, condemned, and sentenced to six
months’ imprisonment, besides having to pay a fine of £50, and all the
expenses of his trial. At the end of his imprisonment, Mr. Stephenson
was expelled the colony, and the Methodist mission was abandoned. Eight
years afterwards, it was resumed by the Rev. Joshua Marsden; in due
time, it had the honour of giving to Methodism the well-known Rev.
Edward Frazer; and, in this year, 1876, it has three missionaries, and
between four and five hundred church members.
On the 2nd of June, Whitefield embarked for England, the wife of
the governor of Bermudas being one of his fellow passengers. When
approaching the end of his voyage, he wrote, as follows, to a friend:――
“ON BOARD THE ‘BETSY,’ _June 24, 1748_.
“REV. AND VERY DEAR SIR,――Though we are about two hundred
leagues from land, yet, lest hurry of business should prevent
me when we get ashore, I think proper to write you a few lines
whilst I am on board.
“We sailed from Bermudas twenty-one days ago, and have lived,
as to the conveniences of eating and drinking, like people from
the continent, rather than from one of the islands; so bountiful
were our friends, whom we left behind us. Hitherto, we have met
with no storms or contrary winds. The first day we came out, we
were chased; and, yesterday, a large French vessel shot thrice
at us, and bore down upon us. We gave up all for lost; and I
was dressing to receive our expected visitors; when our captain
cried, ‘The danger is over;’ and the Frenchman turned about and
left us. He was quite near, and we were almost defenceless. Now
we are so near the Channel, we expect such alarms daily.
“The captain is exceedingly civil, and I have my passage free;
but all I have been able to do, in respect to religious duties,
is to read the Church prayers once every evening, and twice on
Sundays. I have not preached yet. This may spare my lungs, but
it grieves my heart. I long to be ashore, if it were for no
other reason.
“Besides, I can do little in respect to writing. You may guess
how it is, when I tell you we have four gentlewomen in the cabin.
However, they have been very civil, and I believe my being on
board has been serviceable. I have finished my abridgment of Mr.
Law’s ‘Serious Call,’ which I have endeavoured to _gospelize_.
Yesterday, I made an end of revising all my Journals. I purpose
to have a new edition before I see America.
“Alas, alas! In how many things have I judged and acted wrong!
I have been too rash and hasty in giving characters, both of
places and persons. Being fond of Scripture language, I have
often used a style too apostolical; and, at the same time, I
have been too bitter in my zeal. Wild-fire has been mixed with
it: and I frequently wrote and spoke in my own spirit, when
I thought I was writing and speaking by the assistance of the
Spirit of God. I have, likewise, too much made impressions my
rule of acting; and have published too soon, and too explicitly,
what had been better told after my death. By these things, I
have hurt the blessed cause I would defend, and have stirred
up needless opposition. This has much humbled me, since I have
been on board, and has made me think of a saying of Mr. Henry’s,
‘Joseph had more _honesty_ than he had _policy_, or he would
never have told his dreams.’
“At the same time, I cannot but bless and praise that good and
gracious God, who filled me with so much of His holy fire, and
carried me, a poor weak youth, through such a torrent both of
popularity and contempt, and set so many seals to my unworthy
ministrations. I bless Him for ripening my judgment a little
more, and for giving me to see and confess, and, I hope, in some
degree, to correct and amend, some of my mistakes. If I have
time before we land, I think to write a short account of what
has happened for these seven years last past; and, when I get
on shore, I purpose to revise and correct the first part of my
Life.”
All must admire this ingenuous confession. Never was the Latin proverb
better illustrated than in the case of Whitefield: “Fas est ab hoste
doceri.” In both mild and savage language, Whitefield had often been
accused of such faults and errors; and now, when he has time to think,
he honestly confesses them.
Whitefield landed at Deal on June 30th, and six days afterwards arrived
in London.[189] One of his first acts, when he stepped ashore, was to
write the following hearty and loving letter “to the Rev. Mr. John or
Charles Wesley.”
“DEAL, _July, 1748_.
“Will you not be glad to hear that the God of the seas and of
the dry land has brought me to my native country once more? I
came last from the Bermudas, where the Friend of sinners was
pleased to own my poor labours abundantly. I hope, I come in the
spirit of love, desiring to study and pursue those things which
make for peace. This is the language of my heart:――
‘O let us find the ancient way,
Our wondering foes to move;
And force the heathen world to say,
See how these Christians love.’
“I purpose to be in London in a few days. Meanwhile, I salute
you and all the followers of the blessed Lamb of God most
heartily. Be pleased to pray for, and give thanks in behalf of,
reverend and dear brother, yours most affectionately in Christ,
“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”
Apart from his first visit to America, Whitefield had now spent about
four years and a half in itinerant preaching throughout England’s
transatlantic colonies. Except the religious movement, which began
at Northampton in 1734, and declined in 1736, the time spent in
Whitefield’s second and third visits to America covered the entire
period of what has been termed “the great awakening.” What were the
results of that remarkable work of God? In reference to the churches
of New England only, it has been carefully estimated that from thirty
to forty thousand persons were permanently added to their membership.
With these also must be joined a large number who, after a time, “fell
away;” and likewise the multitudes who were “melted” and made to weep
by Whitefield’s eloquence, but were not converted. Further, it must be
kept in mind, that, up to this period, the practice of admitting to the
communion all persons, though unconverted, who were neither heretical
nor scandalous, was general in the Presbyterian Church, and prevailed
extensively among the Congregational churches; the result being, that a
large proportion of the members of these churches, though orthodox and
moral, were unregenerated. Multitudes of these were now, for the first
time, made the subjects of a saving change. Indeed, in some cases, the
revival seems to have been almost wholly within the Church, and to have
resulted in the conversion of nearly all the members. These, at the
best, had been dead weights to their respective communities; but now
they became active and valuable workers.
Again: it is useless to deny that there were a large number of
unconverted ministers, especially in New England. Young men, without
even the appearance of piety, were received into the colleges to
prepare for the ministry. Graduates, if found to possess competent
knowledge, were ordained as a matter of course, quite irrespective of
their being born again. The result was, that in New England and in all
the colonies, an unconverted ministry, to a lamentable extent, was the
bane of the churches. “The great awakening,” however, reached not only
the pews, but the pulpits and the colleges of the Christian community.
In the vicinity of Boston only, there were not fewer than twenty
ministers who acknowledged Whitefield as the means of their conversion;
and in other parts of the country, there were proportionate numbers.
This was an incalculable gain. The great curse of the Church was turned
into an equally great blessing. Yea, more than this, the revival fully
and finally killed the doctrine that an unconverted ministry might be
tolerated; and, henceforth, parents felt that they were not doing a
worthy deed by consecrating their unregenerated sons to the office of
the Christian ministry, and sending them to colleges to be prepared
for it.[190]
Other immediate results of “the great awakening” might be mentioned,
but these are sufficient to evoke the grateful exclamation, “_What hath
God wrought!_”
_THREE YEARS IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND._
JULY 1, 1748, TO AUGUST 29, 1751.
TWO days after his arrival in London, Whitefield wrote to his
much-loved friend, the gentle James Hervey, who was now completing his
“Meditations”:――
“I am very pleased that you appear in print, and that such
encouragement is given to you to print again. My bodily health
is much impaired; but, through Divine assistance, I will go on
working for Jesus, till I can work no more.”
And again, eight days later:――
“Blessed be God, for causing you to write so as to suit the
taste of the polite world! O that they may be won over to admire
Him who is altogether lovely! But what shall I say to your
kind intended present? It is like my dear old friend. My health
somewhat improves. Oh, when shall we get within the veil? Thanks
be to God! it cannot be long. We are both sickly. Lord, give us
patience to wait till our blessed change comes! Our Lord makes
it exceedingly pleasant to me to preach His unsearchable riches.
Multitudes flock to hear; and many seem to be quickened.”
The welcome given to Whitefield in the metropolis was marvellous. It is
true that the only church in which he was allowed to preach was that of
the Rev. Richard Thomas Bateman, who, only five years before, had been
one of Whitefield’s enemies; but there was the wooden tabernacle, and,
above all, his grand old open-air cathedral adjoining it. On Tuesday,
July 12, he wrote:――
“I have preached twice in St. Bartholomew’s Church, and helped
to administer the sacrament once. I believe, on Sunday last,
we had a thousand communicants. Moorfields are as white as ever
unto harvest, and multitudes flock to hear the word. The old
spirit of love and power seems to be revived amongst us.”
In another letter, written eight days later, he says:――
“It is too much for one man to be received as I have been by
thousands. The thoughts of it lay me low, but I cannot get low
enough. I would willingly sink into nothing before the blessed
Jesus, my All in all.”
Whitefield, however, was not exempt from anxieties. His Bethesda debt
was still a burden. Besides this, he wrote:――
“Satan has been sifting all our poor Societies. This is no more
than I expected. Antinomianism has made havoc here; but, I trust,
the worst is over. Our scattered troops begin to unite again,
and the shout of a king is amongst us.”
There can be no question, that Whitefield’s presence was greatly
needed by the Societies, of which he was moderator. Howell Harris was
one of the most devoted and laborious preachers that ever lived; but
his influence was not equal to that of Whitefield. In a letter, dated
March 3, 1748, he speaks of having travelled about a thousand miles,
in the depth of winter, since he left London on December 20th, and of
having preached two, three, or four times every day.[191] Still the
people were clamorous to have Whitefield back.
The Countess of Huntingdon, also, had lately been associated with the
Societies with which Whitefield was connected; and, within the last two
months, had been present at a series of memorable services in Wales.
In the month of May, her ladyship and her daughters, accompanied by
Lady Anne and Lady Frances Hastings, were met, in Bristol, by Howell
Harris, and the Revs. Griffith Jones, Daniel Rowlands, and Howell
Davies, three Methodist clergymen of the Church of England; and, as a
sort of evangelistic cavalcade, the whole set out for the neighbouring
principality. For fifteen days successively, two of the ministers, who
accompanied the Countess, preached in the Welsh towns and villages,
through which they passed. On their arrival at Trevecca, they were
joined by five other clergymen, also by several pious and laborious
Dissenting ministers, and a number of Whitefield’s preachers. Here they
had preaching four or five times every day, immense crowds flocking
together from all the adjacent country. The scenes witnessed by the
Countess and the ladies attending her, were, to them, new and startling.
Numbers of the people, convinced of their guilt and misery, gave
utterance to loud and bitter cries; whilst others, filled with “joy
unspeakable,” magnified the Lord, and rejoiced in God their Saviour. No
wonder, that, after this, the Countess of Huntingdon deeply sympathised
with these earnest clergymen and powerful preachers.
“On a review,” she writes, “of all I have seen and heard, during
the last few weeks, I am constrained to exclaim, ‘Bless the
Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!’
The sermons were, in general, lively and awakening, containing
the most solemn and awful truths, such as the utter ruin of
man by the fall, and his redemption and recovery by the Lord
Jesus Christ, the energetic declaration of which produced great
and visible effects in many. I enquired the meaning of the
outcry which sometimes spread through the congregation; and,
when informed that it arose from a deep conviction of sin,
working powerfully on the awakened conscience, I could not but
acknowledge, ‘This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous
in our eyes.’ Many, on these solemn occasions, there is reason
to believe, were brought out of nature’s deepest darkness into
the marvellous light of the all-glorious gospel of Christ. My
earnest prayer to God for them is, that they may continue in His
grace and love.”[192]
Accompanied by Howell Harris and Howell Davies, the Countess of
Huntingdon arrived in London on the 15th of June,[193] exactly three
weeks before Whitefield’s arrival there. Her ladyship, through Howell
Harris, invited Whitefield to her house at Chelsea, where he, at once,
began to preach to crowded and fashionable congregations.[194] This,
to Whitefield, was the beginning of a new career. Henceforth, Hervey
by his writings, and Whitefield by his preaching, began to mould the
character of not a few of the highest nobility in the land.