and kept from much company,” but still begging “not to be brought into
action too soon.” He wrote, “The poor old shattered bark has not been
in dock one week for a long while.”
A fortnight afterwards, he arrived in London, and wrote as
follows, probably to one of his old assistants, John Edwards, now
Congregationalist minister in Leeds:――
“London, August 3, 1765. I am very weak in body, but gratitude
constrains me to send you a few lines of love unfeigned,
for your labours during my absence abroad. I rejoice to hear
they were blessed. Our friends tell me that the sound of your
Master’s feet was heard behind you. To Him, and Him alone, be
all the glory! Thanks be to God! we do not go a warfare at our
own charges. The Captain of our Salvation will conquer for, and
in us. Let us but acknowledge Him in all our ways, and He will
direct and prosper all our paths. Our enemies shall be at peace
with us. The very ravens――birds of prey――shall be obliged to
come and feed us. O for an increase of faith! I hope you have
refreshing times from the presence of the Lord, among your
own flock. O to end life well! Methinks, I have now but one
more river to pass over,――Jordan; and we know who can carry
us over, without being ankle deep. Yet a little while, and all
true labourers shall enter into the joy of their Lord. Amen!
Hallelujah!”
Despite his wish that Messrs. Keen and Hardy would continue to manage
his London chapels, Whitefield was obliged to obtain supplies for them
himself. To Mr. Andrew Kinsman, whom he was accustomed to address as
his “dear Timothy,” he wrote:――
“London, September 20, 1765. Pray, when are we to have the
honour of a visit from you? I believe more than three weeks
are elapsed since you came to Bristol. Mr. Adams[523] is to
be your colleague here. I purpose for both of you to preach at
the” (Tottenham Court Road) “chapel as well as at the Tabernacle.
Write an immediate answer, fixing your time of coming; and
you must not think of returning soon. I have been better in
health for a week past than I have been for these four years.
My wife,[524] last night, returned well, from Bury. She indulges
this morning, being weary; but, I take it for granted, that, you
and I rise at five. Mr. Adams’s room will be large enough for you
to breathe in. I shall never breathe as I would, till I breathe
in heaven.”
Mr. Kinsman, in reply, evidently proposed that, if he came to supply
in London, Whitefield should supply in Bristol. Apart from his health,
Whitefield had no liking for this proposal. His labours at Bristol
had not been so successful and happy as in other places. Hence the
following extract from a second letter to Mr. Kinsman:――
“LONDON, _September 28, 1765_.
“Nothing is wanting at Bristol, London, and elsewhere, but
labourers full of the first old Methodistical spirit; but where
to get them is the question. Those, who are thus minded, are
almost worn out. I would gladly fly to Bristol if I could; but
I see it is best to be here for some time. Besides, things have
always been at such a low ebb, when I have been at Bristol, and
matters carried on with so little spirit, that I have generally
come away mourning. If a few, such as Mr. Collet,[525] would
exert themselves steadily and perseveringly, and if proper
preachers were sent, something might be done to purpose; but,
as neither of these things is likely to happen, my expectations
are not much raised. However, the residue of the Spirit is in
the Redeemer’s hands. Fain would I have you up at London for some
time, at this season. Mr. D――r expects to see you in a clerical
habit about Christmas. He asked me if I would get him a scarf?
I answered, that, you must have one first. You may guess how
he smiled. However, I really intend you shall preach in the”
(Tottenham Court Road) “chapel. I want you also to read the
letters, and give me leave to comment upon them, as my breath
will allow.”
Without unduly commenting on Whitefield’s letter, there are five
facts in it, which must be apparent to every careful reader;――three of
them interesting, and two of great importance. 1. Tottenham Court Road
chapel was considered to occupy a higher position, than the Tabernacle
in Moorfields. 2. Meetings for reading letters were still held
among Whitefield’s followers. 3. Bristol was not one of Whitefield’s
favourite preaching places. 4. _In Whitefield’s opinion, Methodist
preachers were already deteriorated._ 5. _That, without right preachers
and a working Church, spiritual progress is next to impossible._
On October 1, Whitefield set out for Bath. For twenty-five years, the
Countess of Huntingdon had been accustomed to visit that fashionable
city. Wherever she went, she took her religion with her, for her
religion was a part of herself. Her position, in many respects, was
new and peculiar. She seemed to be a combination of Puritan, Churchman,
Dissenter, and Reformer. Her chief characteristic, however, was
heartfelt and practical religion. Her lighted “candle” was never “put
under a bushel.” On all suitable occasions, she was ready to speak of
the sins and errors of her early life, and to tell of her conversion
to God, and to insist that the same change is necessary in all. At
Bath, she had conversed on religious subjects, with many of the most
distinguished personages of the time. Whitefield, Charles Wesley,
and others, had conducted religious services in her lodgings, and the
services had been attended by considerable numbers of the aristocracy,
who would have declined to enter an ordinary Methodist meeting-house.
To meet the case of such, her ladyship, years ago, had built chapels
of her own at Brighton, and at Bristol; and now she erected a third at
Bath; and, soon afterwards, built a fourth at Tunbridge Wells,――all of
them places of fashionable resort.
The chapel at Bath being completed, the Countess summoned six clergymen
of the Church of England to the opening, namely, Whitefield, Romaine,
Venn, Madan, Shirley,[526] and Townsend.[527] On October 6, Whitefield
and Townsend preached, and an immense crowd attended, including a
large number of the nobility, who had been specially invited by her
ladyship.[528] Whitefield mentions this event in the following letter
addressed to Mr. Keen:――
“BATH, _October 7, 1765_.
“The Chapel is extremely plain, and yet equally grand. A most
beautiful original![529] All was conducted with great solemnity.
Though a very wet day, the place was very full; and assuredly
the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls, by His presence,
consecrated and made it holy ground. I preached in the morning,
and Mr. Townsend in the evening. I am to preach to-morrow night,
and have hopes of setting off on Wednesday morning.”
Whitefield, probably, spent the remainder of the year in London. Wesley
breakfasted with him on October 28, and spoke of him as “an old, old
man, fairly worn out in his Master’s service, though he has hardly seen
fifty years.”[530] No doubt, he preached as often as he could. He was
also occupied with his project for converting his Orphan House into a
college. In a letter to Mr. Dixon, his manager, he wrote:――
“LONDON, _October 26, 1765_.
“Bethesda matters are likely to come to a speedy and happy issue.
We talk of my coming over again. It is not impossible, if my
health admits. At present, blessed be God! I am better than I
was last year. The word runs and is glorified in London.”
This was written only two days before he and Wesley breakfasted
together. Evidently, he scarcely considered his case so serious as
Wesley did. Hopefulness, throughout life, was one of his prominent
characteristics. This was true at present, both in reference to his
health and to the affairs of Bethesda. He was pushing the proposal for
a college as much as possible; but the accomplishment of his wish was
more remote than he expected. He had sent a memorial to the king, in
which he embodied nearly the whole of his memorial to the Governor and
Council of Georgia. That to the king concluded thus:――
“Upon the arrival of your memorialist, he was informed that this
address, ‘of the General Assembly to the Governor of Georgia,’
was remitted to, and laid before the Lords Commissioners for
Trade and Plantations; and, having received repeated advices
that numbers both in Georgia and South Carolina are waiting
with impatience to have their sons initiated in academical
exercises, your memorialist therefore prays that a charter,
upon the plan of New Jersey College, may be granted; upon which
your memorialist is ready to give up his present trust, and make
a free gift of all lands, negroes, goods, and chattels, which
he now stands possessed of in the Province of Georgia, for the
present founding, and towards the future support of a college,
to be called by the name of Bethesda College, in the Province
of Georgia.”
At this stage of the business, Bethesda must be left until the
beginning of the year 1767.
One of the first of Whitefield’s good deeds, in 1766, was to heal a
breach. Four years before, Wesley’s Society in London had been thrown
into great confusion, by a large number of its members using the most
fanatical expressions in reference to the doctrine of Christian
Perfection. Thomas Maxfield, generally reputed (though incorrectly)
to have been the first layman, whom Wesley authorised to preach, and
George Bell, a corporal in the Life Guards, and who, for a season,
seemed to be insane, became the chief agitators. The result was a
great scandal, a reduction of Wesley’s metropolitan Society from 2,800
members to 2,200, and a Society debt of more than £600. After many
strange vicissitudes, Bell was brought back to a better state of
feeling, and Whitefield was the means of it. Wesley writes:――
“January 3, 1766. Mr. Bell called upon me, now calm, and in his
right mind. God has repressed his furious, bitter zeal, by means
of Mr. Whitefield.”
And again, a month later:――
“January 31. Mr. Whitefield called upon me. He breathes nothing
but peace and love. Bigotry cannot stand before him, but hides
its head wherever he comes.”[531]
Another event occurred about the same time, but of a painful character.
In _Lloyd’s Evening Post_, for February 10, 1766, the following
announcement was made:――
“Lately died suddenly, at the Countess of Huntingdon’s, at Bath,
Mr. James Whitefield, formerly a merchant of Bristol, and
brother of the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield.”
At the commencement of the year, Whitefield was invited to Sheerness,
where there existed a Society of what might be considered his followers.
Some of Wesley’s preachers had visited the town. The simple-minded,
but somewhat bigoted people took alarm. They were angry at their
Calvinistic enclosure being approached by Arminian forces. Cornelius
Winter, then in Kent, heard of this, and went and preached to them,
from――“Gideon said unto him, O my lord, if the Lord be with us, why
then is all this befallen us? And where be all His miracles which our
fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us out of Egypt? but
now even the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of
the Midianites.”[532]
The people now wanted Whitefield to visit them, and his affecting and
admonitory answer was as follows:――
“LONDON, _January, 18, 1766_.
“DEARLY BELOVED,――Not want of love, but of leisure and health,
has occasioned you the trouble of writing a second letter. And
now I am sorry to acquaint you, that it is not in my power to
comply with your request. For want of more assistance, I am
confined in town, with the care of two important posts, when
I am only fit to be put into some garrison, among the invalids,
to stand by an old gun or two. However, my former ambition still
remains, and, through the help of your prayers, who knows but
I may yet be strengthened to annoy the enemy? If others are
blessed to do any execution, God forbid that I should hinder,
though in all things they follow not with us. Let the Lord send
by whom He will send. So that Christ is preached, and holiness
promoted, I rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.”
Whitefield was glad to get away from London. The care of his two
chapels was too much for him. He went to Bath and Bristol, and was
willing, if not wishful, to visit Wales. Hence the following to
Mr. Keen:――
“Bristol, March 17, 1766. A desire to be free from London cares
has made me indifferent about frequent hearing from thence. If
dear Mr. Howell Davies will continue to officiate, I have a mind
to visit Wales for him. Last Friday evening, and twice yesterday,
I preached at Bath, to thronged and brilliant audiences.[533]
I am told it was a high day. The glory of the Lord filled the
house. To-morrow, God willing, I return thither. Mr. Townsend
is too ill to officiate. If any urgent business requires, be
pleased to direct either to this place or Bath. Pray shew my
wife this. Cordial respects attend her, yourself, dear Mr. Hardy
and sisters, and Mr. Howell Davies. Many think old times are
coming round again.”
At this period, England was visited by a man who rose to great
notoriety. Samson Occum was a descendant of Uncas, the celebrated
chief of the Mohegans, and was born at Mohegan, about the year 1723.
His parents led a wandering life, dwelt in wigwams, and depended
chiefly upon hunting and fishing for subsistence. During the religious
excitement, at the time of Whitefield’s first visits to America, Occum
was converted, chiefly by the preaching of Whitefield and Gilbert
Tennent, and became desirous of acting as the teacher of his tribe.
In a year or two, he learned to read the Bible, and then went to the
Indian school of Mr. Wheelock, of Lebanon. Here he remained for four
years. During the next ten or eleven years, he taught a school among
the Indians, and also preached to them, in their own language. Many of
his hearers became Christians. He lived in a house covered with mats,
and changed his abode twice a year, to be near the planting ground in
the summer, and the woods in the winter. Amongst his various toils for
sustenance, he was expert with his fish-hook and his gun; he bound old
books for the people at East Hampton; and made wooden spoons, cedar
pails, piggins, and churns. In 1759, he was ordained by the Suffolk
Presbytery. During his late visit to America, Whitefield met with
Occum, took him along with him in his travels, and sometimes heard
him preach.[534] Now, in 1766, in company with the Rev. Mr. Whitaker,
Occum was sent to England, to obtain subscriptions towards the support
of Wheelock’s school.[535] He was the first Indian preacher who
had visited Great Britain. The chapels, in which he preached, were
thronged. Between February 16, 1766, and July 22, 1767, he delivered,
in various parts of the kingdom, above three hundred sermons. He and
Mr. Whitaker met with the most liberal patronage from Christians of
all denominations, and of all ranks in society. His majesty, King
George III., gave a subscription of £200, and the whole contributions,
in England and Scotland, amounted to £12,500.[536] After his return,
Occum sometimes resided at Mohegan, but was often employed in missionary
labours among distant Indians. In 1786, he removed to Brotherton, near
Utica, in the neighbourhood of the Stockbridge Indians, where he died
in 1792.[537] Upwards of three hundred Indians attended his funeral.
A portrait of him appeared in the _Evangelical Magazine_ for 1808.
Whitefield refers to him and his mission, in the following letter to
the Rev. Mr. Gillies, of Glasgow:――
“LONDON, _April 25, 1766_.
“REVEREND AND VERY DEAR SIR,――Not want of love, but of leisure
and better health, has prevented you hearing from me more
frequently. I find I cannot do as I have done; but, through
infinite mercy, I am enabled to ascend my gospel-throne three
or four times a week; and a glorious influence attends the word.
People have a hearing ear, but we want more preachers.
“The prospect of a large and effectual door opening among the
heathen is very promising. Mr. Occum, the Indian preacher, is
a settled humble Christian. The good and great, with a multitude
of lower degree, heard him preach last week at Tottenham Court
chapel, and felt much of the power and presence of our common
Lord. Mr. Romaine has preached, and collected £100; and, I
believe, seven or eight hundred pounds more are subscribed. Lord
Dartmouth espouses the cause most heartily, and His majesty has
become a contributor. The King of kings, and Lord of all lords,
will bless them for it.
“I trust you and all my other dear friends at Glasgow are so
grown as to become tall cedars in the spiritual Lebanon. I pray
for them, though I cannot write to them. I hope all is well at
Cambuslang. Blessed be God! all will be well in heaven. I will
not interrupt you. You want to say, _Amen! Hallelujah!_ I only
add, when upon the mount, put in a word for an old friend, who
retains his old name, ‘the chief of sinners, less than the least
of all saints’――but, for Jesus Christ’s sake,
“Reverend and very dear sir, your willing servant,
“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”
Shortly after this, Whitefield formed a friendship with Thomas
Powys, Esq., a gentleman in Shropshire, of large fortune and of high
connections, who, in conjunction with Sir Richard Hill, in that county,
became conspicuous for zeal in the cause of God and truth.[538] To
Mr. Powys, Whitefield wrote as follows:――
“Tottenham Court, May 15, 1766. Though at present almost in
a breathless state, by preaching last night, yet I hope to be
strengthened to give the holy sacrament at seven next Sunday
morning; and, if able, to preach afterwards at ten. If good
Mr. R―――― and lady will come, at near seven, to the Chapel
House, they shall be conducted to a proper place. I wish them
a Pentecost, not only on Whit-Sunday, but every day, every hour,
and every moment of their lives.”
In the month of June, Whitefield set out for Bath and Bristol. He
complained of the continuance of his “feverish heat,” and drank the
water of the Hot Wells twice a day; but managed, at six o’clock, in the
mornings, “to call thirsty souls to come and drink of the water of life
freely.”[539]
On his return to London, he and the Wesleys met several days in
succession, for the purpose of promoting a closer union between
themselves and the Countess of Huntingdon. Wesley had set out on one
of his gospel tours, but was summoned back to join in these important
conferences. He writes:――
“My brother and I conferred with Mr. Whitefield every day; and,
let the honourable men do what they please, we resolved, by
the grace of God, to go on, hand in hand, through honour and
dishonour.”[540]
One of their arrangements was, that the Wesleys should preach in the
chapels of the Countess of Huntingdon, as Whitefield, for many years,
had been accustomed to preach in theirs. Charles Wesley was delighted.
In a letter to his wife, he wrote:――
“London, August 21, 1766. Last night, my brother came. This
morning, we spent two blessed hours with George Whitefield. The
threefold cord, we trust, will never more be broken. On Tuesday
next, my brother is to preach in Lady Huntingdon’s Chapel at
Bath. That and all her chapels (not to say, as I might, herself
also) are now put into the hands of us three.”[541]
Some, however, were dissatisfied. In another letter to his “Dear Sally,”
written within three weeks afterwards, he remarks:――
“September 9, 1766. This morning, I spent in friendly,
close conference with George Whitefield, who is treated most
magnificently, by his own begotten children, for his love to
us.”[542]
On the other hand, the Countess of Huntingdon approved of the
arrangements made. In a letter to Wesley, she wrote:――
“September 14, 1766. I am most highly obliged by your kind offer
of serving the chapel at Bath during your stay at Bristol. _I
do trust that this union which is commenced_ will be for the
furtherance of our faith and mutual love to each other. It is
for the interest of the best of causes that we should all be
found, first, faithful to the Lord, and then to each other.
I find something wanting, and that is, a meeting now and then
agreed upon, that you, your brother, Mr. Whitefield, and I,
should, at times, regularly communicate our observations upon
the general state of the work. Light might follow, and would be
a kind of guide to me, as I am connected with many.”[543]
This “quadruple alliance,” as Charles Wesley called it, lasted till
Whitefield’s death. Then, as all readers of Methodist history are well
aware, there was, in more respects than one, a distressing rupture.
Whitefield continued his pulpit labours, as far as he was able; and
also wrote letters in abundance. Hence the following extracts from his
correspondence.
John Fawcett, afterwards Doctor of Divinity, and, for above half a
century, a laborious minister of Christ in Yorkshire, had recently
begun to preach, and, having been convinced of sin under Whitefield’s
ministry, he wrote to him, asking his advice. Part of the answer was
as follows:――
“London, September 1, 1766. I have been so often imposed upon
by letters from strangers, that it is high time to be a little
more cautious” [in answering them]. “Besides, bodily weakness
prevents my writing as formerly; but your letters seem to
evidence simplicity of heart. If truly called to the glorious
work of the ministry, of which I can be no judge at this
distance, I wish you much prosperity in the name of the Lord.
The language of my soul is, ‘Would to God that all the Lord’s
servants were prophets!’ A clear head, and an honest, upright,
disinterested, warm heart, with a good elocution, and a moderate
degree of learning, will carry you through all, and enable you
to do wonders. You will not fail to pray for a decayed, but,
thanks be to God! not a disbanded soldier. Whether I shall ever
visit Yorkshire again, is only known to Him, who holdeth the
stars in His right hand.”[544]
The next extract is from a letter addressed to a gentleman at
Wisbeach:――
“London, September 25, 1766. I am sorry your letter has been
so long unanswered; but bodily weakness, and a multiplicity of
correspondents, at home and abroad, must be pleaded as excuses.
The shout of a King is yet heard in the Methodist camp. Had
I wings, I would gladly fly from pole to pole; but they are
clipped by the feeble labours of thirty years. Twice or thrice
a week, I am permitted to ascend my gospel-throne. Pray that
the last glimmering of an expiring taper may be blessed to the
guiding of many wandering souls to the Lamb of God.”[545]
The next was written to Mr. Gustavus Gidley, an officer of Excise, who
was the principal founder of Wesley’s Society in Exeter, and the chief
promoter of Wesley’s first chapel in that city:――
“London, October 2, 1766. The love of Christ constrains me
to wish you joy. Of what? Of being made partaker of the grace
and cross of Christ. You will find that both are inseparably
connected. God be praised that you have an inclination to invite
others to partake of your joy in the Lord. Thus, your brother
Matthew the publican did. He made a feast. Jesus, that friend
of publicans and sinners, was there. With such He is now; and
with such, to all eternity, He will be surrounded in the kingdom
of glory. There you and I must strive which will shout loudest,
‘Grace, grace!’ And why should not this contest begin on earth?
It will, it must, if the kingdom of God be _within us_. Look
continually unto Jesus. That He may be the Alpha and Omega――the
beginning and end of all your thoughts, words, and deeds, is the
earnest prayer of, dear sir,
“Your brother sinner,
“GEORGE WHITEFIELD.”[546]