To an eye fixed on Jesus, how unspeakably little do all
sublunary things appear! My dear sir, let us be laudably
ambitious to get as rich as we can towards God. The bank of
heaven is a sure bank. I have drawn thousands of bills upon it,
and never had one sent back protested. God helping me, I purpose
lodging my little earthly all there. I hope my present poor
but valuable cargo will make some additions to my heavenly
inheritance.”
“LISBON, _March 21, 1754_.
“This leaves me an old inhabitant of Lisbon. A very reputable
merchant has received me into his house, and every day shews me
the ecclesiastical curiosities of the country. All is well on
board; and Lisbon air agrees with me extremely. I hope what I
see will help to qualify me better for preaching the everlasting
gospel. O pray for me; and add to my obligations by frequently
visiting my poor wife. Kindnesses shewn to her, during my
absence, will be double kindnesses.”
“LISBON, _March 26, 1754_.
“I have been here above a week. I have seen strange and
incredible things,――not more strange than instructive. Never did
civil and religious liberty appear to me in such a light as now.
What a spirit must Martin Luther and the first Reformers have
been endued with, who dared to appear as they did for God! Lord,
hasten the happy time, when others, excited by the same spirit,
shall perform like wonders! O happy England! O happy Methodists,
who are Methodists indeed! And all I account such, who, being
dead to sects and parties, aim at nothing else but a holy method
of living to and dying in the blessed Jesus.”
“LISBON, _March 29, 1754_.
“O my dear Tabernacle friends, what a goodly heritage has the
Lord vouchsafed you! Bless Him, O bless Him, from your inmost
souls, that you have been taught the way to Him, without the
help of fictitious saints! Thank Him, night and day, that to you
are committed the lively oracles of God! Adore Him continually
for giving you to hear the Word preached with power; and pity
and pray for those who are led blindfold by crafty and designing
men!”
“LISBON, _April 1, 1754_.
“On my arrival here, what engaged my attention most was the
number of crucifixes and little images of the Virgin Mary, and
of other real or reputed saints, which were placed in almost
every street, or fixed against the walls of the houses almost
at every turning. Lamps hung before them; the people bowed to
them as they passed along; and near some of them stood little
companies, singing with great earnestness.
“Soon after my arrival, I saw a company of priests and friars
bearing lighted wax tapers, and attended by various sorts of
people, some of whom had bags and baskets of victuals in their
hands. After these, followed a mixed multitude, singing, and
addressing the Virgin Mary. In this manner, they proceeded to
the prison, where all was deposited for the use of the poor
persons confined therein.
“At another time, I saw a procession of Carmelite friars,
parish priests, and brothers of the order, walking two by two,
in divers habits, holding a long lighted wax taper in their
right hands. Among them, was carried, upon eight or ten men’s
shoulders, a tall image of the Virgin Mary, in a kind of man’s
attire, with a fine white wig on her head, and much adorned with
jewels and glittering stones. At some distance from the Lady,
under a large canopy supported by six or eight persons, came a
priest, holding in his hand a noted relic. After him, followed
thousands of people, singing all the way. These processions,
from one convent to another, were made daily, for the purpose
of obtaining rain.
“In a large cathedral church, I saw a wooden image of our
blessed Lord, clothed with purple robes, and crowned with
thorns, and surrounded with wax tapers of prodigious size. He
was attended by many noblemen, and thousands of spectators of
all ranks and stations, who crowded from every quarter, and, in
their turns, were admitted to perform their devotions. This they
did by kneeling, and kissing the _Seigneur’s_ heel, by putting
their left and right eye to it, and then touching it with their
beads.”
“LISBON, _April 3, 1754_.
“On Friday, I saw a procession chiefly made up of waxen or
wooden images, carried on men’s shoulders through the streets,
and intended to represent the life and death of St. Francis,
the founder of one of their religious orders. They were brought
from the Franciscan convent, and were preceded by three persons
in scarlet habits, with baskets in their hands, in which they
received the alms of the spectators, for the benefit of the poor
prisoners. After these, came two little boys, in party-coloured
clothes, with wings fixed on their shoulders, in imitation of
little angels. Then appeared the figure of St. Francis, very
gay and beau-like, as he used to be before his conversion. In
the next, he was introduced under conviction, and consequently
stripped of his finery. Then was exhibited an image of our
blessed Lord, in a purple gown, with long black hair, and St.
Francis lying before Him, to receive His orders. Then came the
Virgin Mother, with Christ her son on her left hand, and St.
Francis making obeisance to them both. Here, if I remember
aright, he made his first appearance in his friar’s habit, with
his hair cut short, but not yet shaved in the crown of his head.
After a little space, followed a mitred cardinal gaudily attired,
and St. Francis almost prostrate before him, to be confirmed
in his office. Soon after this, he was metamorphosed into a
monk, his crown shorn, his habit black, and his loins girt with
a knotted cord. Here he prayed to our Saviour, hanging on a
cross, that the marks of the wounds in His hands, feet, and
side, might be impressed on him; and the prayer was granted, by
a representation of red waxen strings, reaching from those parts
of the image to the corresponding parts of St. Francis’s body.
In a little while, St. Francis was carried along, as holding
up a house which was falling. Then he was brought forth lying
in his grave, the briars and nettles under which he lay being
turned into fine and fragrant flowers. After this, he was borne
along upon a bier covered with a silver pall, and attended by
four friars lamenting over him. He then appeared, for the last
time, drawing tormented people out of purgatory with his knotted
cord, which the poor souls caught and held most eagerly. Then
came a gorgeous friar, under a splendid canopy, bearing in
his hand a piece of the holy cross. After him, followed two
more little winged boys; and then a long train of fat and
well-favoured Franciscans, with their _calceis fenestratis_,
as Erasmus calls them; and so the procession ended.
“One night, about ten o’clock, I saw a train of near two hundred
penitents, making a halt, and kneeling in the street, whilst
a friar, from a high cross, with a crucifix in his hand, was
preaching to them and the populace with great vehemence. Sermon
being ended, the penitents went forwards, and several companies
followed after, with their respective preaching friars at their
head, bearing crucifixes. These they pointed to and brandished
frequently, and the hearers as frequently beat their breasts
and clapped their cheeks. At proper pauses, they stopped and
prayed, and one of them, before the king’s palace, sounded the
word _penitentia_ through a speaking trumpet. The penitents
themselves were clothed and covered all over with white linen
vestments, only holes were made for their eyes to peep out at.
All were bare-footed, and all had long heavy chains fastened
to their ancles, which, when dragged along the street, made
a dismal rattling. Some carried great stones on their backs.
Others had in their hands dead men’s bones and skulls. Some bore
large crosses upon their shoulders; whilst others had their arms
extended, or carried swords with their points downwards. Most of
them whipped and lashed themselves, some with cords, and others
with flat bits of iron. Had my dear friend been there, he would
have joined me in saying, that the whole scene was horrible;
so horrible it was, that, being informed it was to be continued
till morning, I was glad to return whence I came about midnight.”
“LISBON, _April 12, 1754_.
“I have now seen the solemnities of a _Holy Thursday_, which
is a very high day in Lisbon, and particularly remarkable for
the grand illuminations of the churches, and the king’s washing
twelve poor men’s feet. I got admittance into the gallery where
the ceremony was performed. It was large, and hung with tapestry,
one piece of which represented the humble Jesus washing the feet
of His disciples. Before this, upon a small eminence, sat twelve
men in black. At the upper end, and in several other parts of
the gallery, were sideboards with large gold and silver basins
and ewers most curiously wrought; and near these a large table
covered with a variety of dishes, set off and garnished after
the Portuguese fashion. Public high mass being over, his majesty
came in attended with his nobles. The washing of feet being
ended, several of the young noblemen served up dishes to the
king’s brother and uncles. These again handed them to his
majesty, who gave, I think, twelve of them to each poor man.
The whole entertainment took up near two hours.
“After dinner, we went to see the churches. Many of them were
hung with purple damask trimmed with gold. In one of them was a
solid silver altar of several yards’ circumference, and near
twelve steps high; and in another a gold one, still more
magnificent, of about the same dimensions. Its basis was studded
with many precious stones, and near the top were placed silver
images, in representation of angels. Each step was filled with
large silver candlesticks, with lighted wax tapers in them. The
great altars of other churches were illuminated most profusely.
Go which way you would, nothing was to be seen but illuminations
within, and hurry without; for all persons, princes and crowned
heads themselves not excepted, are obliged on this day to visit
seven churches or altars, in imitation of our Lord’s being
hurried from one tribunal to another, before He was condemned to
be hung upon the cross.”
“LISBON, _April 13, 1754_.
“On Good Friday, I witnessed, in a large church belonging to
the convent of St. De Beato, the crucifixion of the Son of God.
Upon a high scaffold, hung in the front with black bays, and
behind with purple silk damask laced with gold, was exhibited
an image of the Lord Jesus at full length, crowned with thorns,
and nailed on a cross between two figures of like dimensions,
representing the two thieves. At a little distance, on the right
hand, was placed an image of the Virgin Mary, in plain long
ruffles, and a kind of widow’s weeds, her veil of purple silk,
and a wire glory round her head. At the foot of the cross, lay,
in a mournful, pensive posture, a living man, dressed in woman’s
clothes, who personated Mary Magdalen. Not far off, stood a
young man, in imitation of the beloved disciple. He was dressed
in a loose green silk vesture and bob-wig. Near the front of
the stage, stood two sentinels in buffs, with formidable caps
and long beards. Directly in the front, stood another, yet more
formidable, with a large target in his hand. From behind the
purple hangings, came out about twenty little purple-vested
winged boys, each bearing a lighted wax taper, and wearing a
crimson and gold cap. At their entrance upon the stage, they
bowed to the spectators, and then kneeled, first to the image on
the cross, and then to that of the Virgin Mary. At a few yards’
distance, stood a black friar, in a pulpit hung with mourning.
When he had preached about a quarter of an hour, a confused
noise was heard near the great front door. Four long-bearded
men entered, two carrying a ladder on their shoulders, and two
bearing large gilt dishes, full of linen, spices, etc. Upon
their attempting to mount the scaffold, the sentinels presented
the points of their javelins to their breasts. Upon this, a
letter from Pilate was produced; and the sentinels withdrew
their javelins. The four men then ascended the stage, and
retired to the back of it. All the while, the black friar
continued declaiming; Magdalen wrung her hands; and John stood
gazing on the crucified. The ladders were erected and ascended.
The superscription and crown of thorns were taken off. White
rollers were put round the arms of the image. The nails, which
fastened the hands and feet, were knocked out. The orator lifted
up his voice, and almost all the hearers beat their breasts
and smote their cheeks. The body was gently let down; Magdalen
received the feet into her wide-spread handkerchief; and John
seized the upper part of it in his clasping arms, and, with
his fellow-mourners, helped to bear it away. Great preparations
were made for its interment. It was wrapped in linen and spices;
and, being laid upon a bier richly hung, was carried round the
churchyard in grand procession. The image of the Virgin Mary
was chief mourner, and John and Magdalen, with a whole troop
of friars bearing wax tapers, followed after. In about fifteen
minutes, the corpse was brought back, and deposited in an open
sepulchre. John and Magdalen attended the obsequies; but the
image of the Virgin Mary was placed upon the front of the stage,
in order to be kissed, adored, and worshipped by the people.
Thus ended this Good Friday’s tragic-comical, superstitious,
idolatrous farce. I cannot stay to see what they call their
_Hallelujah_ and grand devotions on Easter-day. That scene is
denied me. The wind is fair, and I must away.”
Thus terminated Whitefield’s visit to the city of Lisbon, a city
containing 36,000 houses, 350,000 inhabitants, a cathedral, forty
parish churches, as many monasteries, and a royal palace; and yet
a city which, a year and a half afterwards, by an earthquake, which
shook almost the whole of Europe, was reduced to a heap of ruins, and
in which, in six minutes, not fewer than 60,000 persons met with an
untimely death. The terrific judgment was not unmerited. No act of
the Supreme Ruler is capricious. Some of the sights which Whitefield
witnessed were hateful, hideous caricatures of the greatest and most
solemn truths and facts ever made known to human beings. They were
theatrical idolatries, which no system, except Paganism and Popery,
would dare to practise. Popery in Lisbon was unchecked, and,
therefore, undisguised. In England and America, it chiefly existed in
lurking-places. The thing, as it really is, Whitefield had never seen
till he went to the Portuguese metropolis. Favourable circumstances
are always needful for its full development. The system is essentially
_semper idem_; and if the sights seen by Whitefield are not _at
present_ seen in England, the reason is, not because the Popish
hierarchy deem them wrong, but, because such profanities are
impracticable.
Whitefield was about a month in Lisbon, without preaching a single
sermon. Why? To have attempted preaching would have ensured his
immediate expulsion or imprisonment. His heart yearned over the
deluded inhabitants, but he was powerless to afford them help. On
hearing of the just judgment of 1755, he wrote, “O that all who were
lately destroyed in Portugal had known the Divine Redeemer! Then the
earthquake would have been only a rumbling chariot to carry them to God.
Poor Lisbon! How soon are all thy riches and superstitious pageantry
swallowed up!”
Whitefield, for once in his life, was gagged and silent; but his time
was not unprofitably spent. He was learning lessons which could not
be learned in England or America, and which, he hoped, would make him
a better man and a better preacher, to the end of life. He became a
stauncher Protestant, and felt more than ever how invaluable were the
privileges enjoyed by the inhabitants of Great Britain. “Every day,”
said he, “I have seen or heard something that has a tendency to make me
thankful for the glorious Reformation. O that our people were equally
reformed in their lives, as they are in their doctrines and manner of
worship! But alas! alas! O for another Luther! O for that wished-for
season, when everything that is antichristian shall be totally
destroyed by the breath of the Redeemer’s mouth, and the brightness of
His appearing!” “O with what a power from on high must those glorious
reformers have been endued, who dared first openly to oppose and
to stem such a torrent of superstition and spiritual tyranny! And
what gratitude we owe to those who, under God, were instrumental
in saving England from a return of such spiritual slavery, and such
blind obedience to the papal power! To have had a papist for our king;
a papist, if not born, yet, from his infancy, nursed up at Rome; a
papist, one of whose sons is advanced to the ecclesiastical dignity
of a cardinal, and both of whom are under the strongest obligations to
support the interests of that Church, whose superstitions and political
principles they have imbibed from their earliest days! Blessed be God,
the snare is broken, and we are delivered. O for Protestant practices
to be added to Protestant principles! O for an acknowledgment to the
ever-blessed God for our repeated deliverances!” “The present is a
silent, but, I hope, an instructive period of my life. Surely England,
and English privileges, civil and religious, will be dearer to me than
ever. The preachers here have also taught me something; their action
is graceful. _Vividi oculi――vividae manus,――omnia vivida._ Surely our
English preachers would do well to be a little more fervent in their
address. They have truth on their side. Why should superstition and
falsehood run away with all that is pathetic and affecting?”
Whitefield set sail, for America, on Saturday, April 13th, and, after
a pleasant passage of six weeks’ duration, landed, in South Carolina,
on May 26th. With his “orphan-charge,” he, at once, proceeded to
Bethesda, in Georgia. After a short stay at his Orphanage, he returned
to Charleston, where, on July 12, he wrote, “The Bethesda family
now consists of above a hundred. He, who fed the multitude in the
wilderness, can and will feed the orphans in Georgia.” Eight days
afterwards, when “on board the _Deborah_” bound for New York, he
wrote:――
“I found and left my orphan family comfortably settled in
Georgia. The colony, as well as Bethesda, is now in a thriving
state. I have now a hundred and six black and white persons to
provide for. The God whom I desire to serve will enable me to
do it. I stayed about six weeks in Carolina and Georgia. My poor
labours have met with the usual acceptance; and I have reason to
hope a clergyman has been brought under very serious impressions.
My health has been wonderfully preserved. My wonted vomitings
have left me; and though I ride whole nights, and have been
frequently exposed to great thunders, violent lightnings, and
heavy rains, yet I am rather better than usual.”
On July 26th, Whitefield landed at New York, where he continued about
a week. He wrote:――
“NEW YORK, _July 28, 1754_.
“Here our Lord brought me two days ago; and, last night, I had
an opportunity of preaching on His dying, living, ascending, and
interceding love, to a large and attentive auditory. Next week,
I purpose going to Philadelphia, and then shall come here again,
in my way to Boston. Whether I shall then return to Bethesda,
or embark for England, is uncertain. I fear matters will not be
settled at the Orphan House, unless I go once more. I have put
some upon their trial, and shall want to see how they behave.
I owe for three of the negroes, who were lately bought, but hope
to be enabled to pay for them at my return from the north. My
God can and will supply all wants. His presence keeps me company,
I find it sweet to run about for Him. I find the door all along
the continent as open as ever, and the way seems clearing up
for the neighbouring islands. Had I a good private hand, I could
send you the account of my family; but perhaps I may deliver it
to you myself.”
Further brief extracts from his letters will enable the reader to track
Whitefield in his wanderings.
“New York, July 30. To-morrow, God willing, I preach at Newark;
on Wednesday, at New Brunswick; and hope to reach Trent Town
that night. Could you not meet me there? You must bring a chair:
I have no horse. O that the Lord Jesus may smile on my feeble
labours! I trust He has given us a blessing here. Yesterday, I
preached thrice: this morning I feel it. Welcome weariness for
Jesus!”
“Philadelphia, August 7th. Yesterday, I was taken with a
violent cholera morbus, and hoped, ere now, to have been where
the inhabitants shall no more say, ‘I am sick.’ But I am brought
back again. May it be to bring more precious souls to the
ever-blessed Jesus! This is all my desire. My poor labours
seem to be crowned here, as well as at New York. I received
the sacrament at church on Sunday; and have preached in the
Academy; but I find Mr. Tennent’s meeting-house abundantly more
commodious.”
“Philadelphia, August 15. My late sickness, though violent, has
not been unto death. With some difficulty, I can preach once a
day. Congregations increase rather than decrease. The time of my
departure is fixed for next Tuesday; and all the following days,
till Sunday, are to be employed between this and New Brunswick.
Whilst I live, Lord Jesus, grant I may not live in vain!”
“Philadelphia, August 17. Were you on this side the water,
you would find work enough. There is a glorious range in the
American woods. It is pleasant hunting for sinners. Thousands
flock daily to hear the word preached.”
“New York, September 2. Blessed be God, we have had good seasons
between Philadelphia and New York. In the New Jerusalem, yet
more glorious seasons await us. Some time this week, I expect to
sail for Rhode Island.”
It is impossible to determine where the next three weeks were spent;
but, after that, his journeys may be traced. The first of the following
extracts is taken from a letter addressed to the Countess of Huntingdon.
Whitefield appears to have visited New Jersey for the purpose of being
present at the opening of a new session of Governor Belcher’s New
Jersey College, the president and trustees of which, with almost
unseemly haste, began to exercise the powers conferred upon them by the
royal charter obtained from George the Second only six years before.
They created Whitefield an M.A.!――a dubious honour, which the B.A. of
Pembroke College, Oxford, for ten or twelve years afterwards, had good
taste enough not to use.[356]
“Elizabeth Town (New Jersey), September 30. I am now at Governor
Belcher’s, who sends your ladyship the most cordial respects.
His outward man decays, but his inward man seems to be renewed
day by day. I think he ripens for heaven apace. Last week was
the New Jersey commencement, at which the president and trustees
were pleased to present me with the degree of A.M. The synod
succeeded. Such a number of simple-hearted, united ministers,
I never saw before. I preached to them several times, and the
great Master of assemblies was in the midst of us. To-morrow, I
shall set out, with the worthy president,[357] for New England;
and expect to return back to the Orphan House through Virginia.
This will be about a two thousand mile circuit.”
In another letter, written on the same day, Whitefield says:――
“Just two months ago, I arrived at New York, from South
Carolina; and, ever since, have been endeavouring to labour for
the ever-loving, ever-lovely Jesus. Sinners have been awakened,
saints quickened, and enemies made to be at peace with me. In
general, I have been enabled to travel and preach twice a day.
Everywhere, the door has been opened wider than ever.”