79 – Doddridge’s Correspondence, vol. iv., p. 293.
80 – See _Primitive Methodist Magazine_, 1865, p. 602.
81 – The Rev. Risdon Darracott, one of Doddridge’s pupils,
mentioned in the foregoing letter, dated, December 12,
1743. He was an eminently devout and useful Dissenting
minister, at Wellington, Somersetshire, where he died,
at the early age of forty-two, in the year 1759.
82 – A young Dissenting minister at Taunton. Also mentioned in
Doddridge’s letter.
83 – The reader has already seen the fluttering which these
services created among the London Dissenters.
84 – Doubtless, the Rev. Mr. Bennet, perpetual curate of
Tresmere. (See C. Wesley’s Journal, vol. i., pp. 369, 376;
and J. Wesley’s Journal, vol. ii., p. 197).
85 – The Rev. James Hervey, author of “Meditations among the
Tombs,” etc., had been curate at Bideford for the last
three years, and had left the town only four months before
this visit by his friend Whitefield.
86 – One of the “public exhorters” or itinerant preachers in
Wales.
87 – _Primitive Methodist Magazine_, 1865, p. 661.
88 – At the very time when Whitefield was on his way to brave
the murderous rioters in Staffordshire, he was being
sanctimoniously attacked by “The Associate Presbytery” in
Stirling. On December 23, the members of that body met, to
renew “The Solemn League and Covenant, in a way and manner
agreeable to” their “_present_ situation and circumstances.”
A full account of their proceedings was published in 1744;
and, among the many sins of which they accuse themselves,
the following was one:――
“We desire to be humbled before the Lord, that some of us
were not timeously enough aware of Mr. George Whitefield,
a priest of the Church of England, and the danger of his
way, nor timeously enough employed in warning the Lord’s
people against the same; and that all of us have been
too remiss, in our endeavours to prevent the sad effects,
which have attended and followed upon his ministrations,
particularly in this land; that we have been too little
humbled for the entertainment which hath been given him;
that we have been too little affected before the Lord,
with the bold attack made upon the order and institutions
of the Lord’s house, by the _latitudinarian_ principles
which he hath propagated, and with the awful delusion
wherein he has been an instrument of the Lord’s wrath
unto this generation; that we have not been duly exercised
in searching into the grounds of the Lord’s controversy
this way; and in crying unto Him, that He would pity
His heritage, and rebuke the devourer, casting the false
prophet and the unclean spirit out of the land.” (Act of
the Associate Presbytery, etc., 1744.)
89 – Whitefield, probably guided by the pronunciation of the
word, writes “_Wedgbury_.”
90 – In another letter, Whitefield says: “It is near eleven
at night, and nature calls for rest. I have preached five
times this day (Tuesday, December 27), and, through Christ
strengthening me, I could preach five times more. I was
scarce ever so happy before. It is surprising how the Lord
Jesus has made way for me in these parts. I lose nothing
by being quiet, and leaving all to Him. The weather is
like spring.”
91 – “Life and Times of Howell Harris,” p. 134.
92 – Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii., p. 49.
93 – Wesley’s Works, vol. i., p. 427.
94 – Hutton’s Memoirs, pp. 157–167.
95 – Besides the pamphlets already noticed, another may be
mentioned: “A Fine Picture of Enthusiasm, chiefly drawn
by Dr. John Scott, formerly Rector of St. Giles’s in the
Fields. To which is added, An Application of the Subject
to the Modern Methodists, exposing the Principles and
Practices of all such. Dedicated to the Bishop of London.
1744.” (8vo. 40 pp.) The writer says, “Thousands are
flocking after those _enthusiasts_, Whitefield and Wesley,
and are being deluded into a _passionate_, _mechanical_
religion. Wesley attempted, for some time, at the opening
of his mission, to exorcise the devil out of a parcel
of _weak_, if not _worse_, women; whom he had taught
to go into _agitations_ and _screamings_ in the public
assemblies of his people.” The author acknowledges that
the Methodists “have got some of the _most melodious_
tunes that ever were composed for church-music; there
is _great harmony_ in their singing, and it is very
_enchanting_; but the hymns they sing are immediate
addresses to the _Son of God_, as the supreme object
of worship, and represent Him as much more friendly and
compassionate to the human world than God the Father ever
was. And, lest men should not be enough affected with the
_name_ and the _sufferings_ of Jesus, one of those _artful
teachers_ has ordered the _tickets_ for his people to be
impressed with the _crucifix_.”
96 – Cruttenden was, first of all, a Dissenting minister;
but, as he did not believe the truths he preached, he
relinquished the pulpit, and betook himself to business.
This he pursued with considerable success, and, in process
of time, was chosen the Lord Mayor’s Common Hunt. After
the loss of his property, he principally subsisted upon
the profits of a place in the post office. He became a
member of the Miles Lane congregation, and died, happy in
God, in 1763. We shall hear of him again.
97 – _Primitive Methodist Magazine_, 1865, p. 662.
98 – Seymour’s “Memoirs of Whitefield,” p. 66.
99 – _Christian History_, 1744.
100 – _Evangelical Magazine_, 1805.
101 – A Sermon on Samson, a type of Christ. To which is added an
Exposition of Ephesians v. 22–33; prefaced and recommended
by the Rev. Mr. Whitefield. Sold by Mr. John Syms, in
Ironmonger Row, near St. Luke’s Church, Old Street; John
Lewis, printer, in Bartholomew Close, near West Smithfield;
or Mr. Wharton, at the Tabernacle.
102 – _Christian History_, 1744.
103 – Ibid.
104 – _Christian History_, vol. vi., p. 40, 1744.
105 – Though “printed and sold by J. Lewis, in Bartholomew
Close,” the _Christian History_ was really under the
control of Whitefield. In an advertisement appended to
No. 3, vol. vi., 1744, it is stated, that the publication
“contains a general account of the progress of the
gospel, under the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Whitefield,
his fellow-labourers, and assistants;” that, though
originally published in the folio size, “_Mr. Whitefield_
had _ordered_ it to be printed in a pocket volume, as
judging it less cumbersome;” and that it was “the Rev. Mr.
Whitefield’s desire to have the volumes made as public as
possible.”
It may be added, that, on Whitefield’s return from America,
in July, 1748, the _Christian History_ was discontinued.
The last letter in it is dated “June 23, 1748;” and on the
last page is the following:――“N.B. This is the last number
of the _Christian History_ that will be printed.”
106 – At this time, the only Methodists in Exeter were the
followers of Whitefield.
107 – Mr. Kennedy, Adams’s host.
108 – Mr. Kennedy went with Mr. S. (Kennedy’s Letter.)
109 – In Prince’s _Christian History_, vol. ii., p. 320, there
is a letter, written by “William Shurtleff,” minister at
Portsmouth, stating that Whitefield came to Portsmouth on
November 6. Shurtleff and the Rev. Jabez Fitch, another
Portsmouth minister, met him. Fitch asked him to preach
that evening in his meeting-house. Whitefield did so; and
was to have preached again next morning, but was taken ill.
Respecting Prince’s _Christian History_, it may be
stated here, once for all, that it was a periodical,
in two octavo volumes, of 416 pages each, entitled, “The
Christian History, containing Accounts of the Revival and
Propagation of Religion in Great Britain and America, for
the years 1743 and 1744. Boston: printed by S. Kneeland
and T. Green, for T. Prince.” No. 1 was issued on March 5,
1743; and No. 103, the last, on February 16, 1745. Many
of the correspondents seem to trace to Whitefield the
beginning of the revivals both in Scotland and New England.
110 – Sir William Pepperell, the son of a Cornish fisherman,
but bred a merchant. In 1727, he was chosen one of His
Majesty’s Council, and was annually re-elected until his
death in 1759. In 1745, he had the command of the troops
which invested and conquered Louisbourg. The king, in
reward of his services, conferred upon him the dignity of
a baronet of Great Britain, an honour never before, and
never since, conferred on a native of New England. Just
before his death, he was appointed lieutenant-general.
111 – Gillies’ “Memoirs of Whitefield.”
112 – _Christian History_, No. 3, vol. vi.
113 – A nick-name given to Whitefield’s converts and admirers in
America, and analogous to that of “Methodists” in England.
114 – Nichols’ “Illustrations of Literature,” vol. iv., p. 303.
No wonder that, soon after the receipt of this letter, the
Rev. Zachary Grey, D.D., wrote and published a pamphlet,
with the following title:――“A serious Address to Lay
Methodists, to beware of the false Pretences of their
Teachers. With an Appendix containing an Account of the
fatal and bloody effects of Enthusiasm in the case of
the Family of the Dutartres, in South Carolina. 1745.”
(8vo. 29 pp.) Dr. Grey tells his readers, as Dr. Cutler,
his correspondent, would have done, that “the Methodist
preachers are wandering lights, gadding about with canting
assurances, and leading people into bogs of delusion.”
In justice to Whitefield, it must be added that he had no
connection whatever with the family of the Dutartres. The
family consisted of father, mother, four sons, and four
daughters. In the highest degree, they were all fanatics.
They withdrew from all society, believing that they alone
had the true knowledge of God, and were taught by Him by
signs and impulses. They refused to perform militia and
highway duty, and threw off all obedience to the civil
magistrates. These facts, coupled with adultery on the
part of one member of the family, led Justice Simmons to
issue a writ for Judith Dutartre. In executing the writ,
Simmons was killed by a shot which the Dutartres fired
at him and his men. Six of the fanatics were carried
prisoners to Charleston, and five of them were sentenced
to be hanged for murder. Three were executed, and two,
on confessing their error, were pardoned. (“The Great
Awakening,” by Tracy, p. 79.)
115 – It was unfair to attribute this to Whitefield. In
“An Account of the Revival of Religion in Boston, in
1740–1–2–3. By Thomas Prince, one of the Pastors of the
Old South Church,” the following testimony is given by the
Rev. Dr. Colman:――“I do not remember any crying out, or
falling down, or fainting, either under Mr. Whitefield’s
or Mr. Tennent’s ministry, all the while they were at
Boston, though many were in great concern of soul.”
(p. 13.)
116 – “A large majority in the Presbyterian Church, and many,
if not most, of the Congregationalists, in New England,
held that the ministrations of unconverted men, if neither
heretical in doctrine nor scandalous for immorality, were
valid, and their labours useful.” (The Great Awakening,
by Tracy, p. 66.) Gilbert Tennent was one of the first
to publicly attack this monstrous error, in his famous
Nottingham sermon, on “The Danger of an Unconverted
Ministry.” For years afterwards, the error was furiously
maintained.
117 – Gillies’ “Life of Whitefield.”
118 – “Some,” says Mr. Hobby, “object to Mr. Whitefield,
because in England he is a _Churchman_, in Scotland
a _Kirkman_――here he is a _Dissenter_, and there an
_Anabaptist_――that is, he has communion with _all_ these
churches, and therefore ought to have communion with
_none_.”
119 – The Rev. Samuel Cooke was ordained in 1739, and died in
1783, aged seventy-four.
120 – In a pamphlet, published in 1745, and entitled, “The
Question whether it be right to turn Methodist considered,”
the Methodists are divided into four sections; namely,
“_Moravians, Inghamites, Westleyites, and Whitefieldians_.”
121 – _Methodist Magazine_, 1855, p. 1111.
122 – A river, near Portsmouth.
123 – Probably, the Rev. Thomas Prince, co-pastor with the Rev.
Dr. Sewall, of the Old South Church, Boston. He died in
1758, leaving behind him a large collection of public and
private papers relating to the civil and religious history
of New England. During the siege of Boston, the Old South
Meeting House was used for a riding school, nearly all the
timber of the pews and galleries being used for warming
it, and a large portion of Prince’s manuscripts, and
invaluable pamphlets employed in kindling the fires.
124 – _Primitive Methodist Magazine_, 1865, p. 715–16.
125 – The Rev. Edward Morgan, in his “Life and Times of Howell
Harris,” gives several extracts from a manuscript volume,
called “A Conference Book――including a general account
of the affairs of the Tabernacle, before and after
the separation of John Cennick; and an account of the
Preachers, Labourers, and Trustees, in connexion with
Mr. Whitefield, from December 1743 to 1749.” One of these
extracts relates, that, an association was held in London,
in 1745, at which Cennick, Harris, Hamond, Adams, Pugh,
Godwin, Heatly, Thorn, Simns, and Salmon, were present.
Cennick stated, that, he thought himself called to join
the Moravians. He delivered up the care of the Tabernacle
to Harris. The Societies in Wiltshire were given to
Cennick, because they chose him as their leader. Two
or three of the preachers went with him. It was agreed
that Harris should remain at the Tabernacle till the
commencement of 1746; and that he should then be succeeded
by Herbert Jenkins.
126 – These were probably the following: “Twenty-three Sermons
on various Subjects: to which are added several Prayers.
By George Whitefield, A.B., late of Pembroke College,
Oxford. A new edition, revised and corrected by the author.
London: printed by W. Strahan. 1745.” (12mo. 388 pp.)
127 – _London Magazine_, 1745.
128 – Whitefield’s influence at Boston was enormous. Among
the anecdotes, extant, of his power as a preacher, the
following is a specimen. When preaching in Boston, on one
occasion, a violent storm of thunder and lightning came
on; and, in the midst of his sermon, the congregation
sat in almost breathless awe. Whitefield, observing the
consternation of the people, fell on his knees, and, with
characteristic pathos, repeated――
“Hark, _the Eternal_ rends the sky!
A mighty voice before Him goes,――
A voice of music to His friends,
But threat’ning thunder to His foes:
‘Come, children, to your Father’s arms;
Hide in the chambers of my grace,
Until the storm be overblown,
And my revenging fury cease.’”
The great preacher then rose up, and, addressing his awed
auditors, exclaimed, “Let us now devoutly sing the ‘Old
Hundred.’” The congregation started to their feet, and
burst into a song of praise too memorable to be forgotten.
(Belcher’s “Biography of Whitefield,” p. 469.)
129 – Brainerd was a native of Connecticut, and was now about
twenty-eight years of age. In 1739, he was admitted a
member of Yale College; but was expelled in 1742, because
he expressed his belief that one of the tutors had no
religion, and because he had been guilty of attending a
religious meeting prohibited by the collegiate authorities.
In 1743, he began his Christian labours among the Indians.
He lived in a wigwam, slept upon a bundle of straw, and
fed on boiled corn, hasty pudding, and samp. His success
was great. He died in the house of Jonathan Edwards,
October 9, 1747, aged twenty-nine.
130 – “Life of Howell Harris,” 1791, p. 176.
131 – “Further Account of God’s Dealings with Rev. G. Whitefield,”
1747, pp. 29 and 37.
132 – _London Magazine_, 1745, p. 603.
133 – Habersham had now left the Orphan House.
134 – _London Magazine_, 1745, p. 603.
135 – The war.
136 – Oglethorpe was now in England, and Major Horton was his
military deputy in Georgia.
137 – “Life of Howell Harris,” 1791, p. 175.
138 – Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 189.
139 – James Hutton’s Memoirs, p. 191.
140 – “Life of Howell Harris,” 1791, p. 63.
141 – “Life and Times of Howell Harris,” pp. 111–114.
142 – _Christian History_, 1747, p. 9.
143 – _Ibid._, p. 99.
144 – _Christian History_, 1747, p. 16.
145 – Ibid., p. 174.
146 – Ibid., p. 54.
147 – Ibid., p. 142.
148 – Ibid., p. 78.
149 – Ibid., p. 60.
150 – _Christian History_, 1747, p. 156.
151 – Belcher’s “Biography of Whitefield,” p. 286.
152 – _Christian History_, 1747, p. 11.
153 – In the same year, a second edition was printed in Boston
(8vo 22 pp.), and a third in London (8vo, 24 pp.).
It may be added, that, about the same time, a volume of
sermons was printed at Philadelphia, and entitled “Five
Sermons, on the following subjects, namely: 1. Christ
the Believer’s Husband. 2. The Gospel Supper. 3. Blind
Bartimeus. 4. Walking with God. 5. The Resurrection of
Lazarus. By George Whitefield. With a Preface by the Rev.
Mr. Gilbert Tennent.” Tennent’s Preface, of twelve pages,
is dated, “Philadelphia, May 30, 1746;” and is laudatory,
but honest and earnest.
154 – Pounded rice, or Indian corn.
155 – Indian corn ground with the husks, and fried.
156 – The shell of a fruit so called.
157 – Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii., pp. 83, 84.
158 – _Arminian Magazine_, 1778, p. 418.
159 – In 1618, a law was passed in Virginia, which enacted,
that, “Every person should go to the Established Church
on Sundays and holidays, or lie neck and heels that night,
and be a slave to the colony the following week! For the
second offence, he was to be a slave for a month; and,
for the third, a year and a day!” (History of Virginia. By
Rev. William Stith, President of William and Mary College,
Virginia, 1747. 8vo.)
160 – Mr. Davies was born in November, 1724. In his twenty-third
year, he was sent, by the Presbytery of Newcastle,
Pennsylvania, to Hanover, Virginia. He encountered many
obstacles, from the prejudice, bigotry, profaneness,
and immorality of the people; but his earnest and able
ministry triumphed over opposition, and produced great
results. In 1753, by the request of the trustees of New
Jersey College, he accompanied Gilbert Tennent to Great
Britain. He died February 4, 1761, at the early age of
thirty-six. His sermons, in three volumes, used to be
exceedingly popular.
161 – Gillies’ “Historical Collections,” vol. ii., p. 331.
162 – The Rev. Samuel Finley, D.D., was an exceedingly devout
and able man. Ordained in 1740, the first years of his
ministry were spent in itinerating with Whitefield,
Gilbert Tennent, and others, and in promoting the
remarkable revival of that period. For preaching to a
Presbyterian congregation in New Haven, he was arrested
by the civil authority, and carried out of the colony
as a vagrant. In 1744, he became minister at Nottingham,
Maryland, where he also opened an academy. On the death
of the Rev. Samuel Davies, he became his successor as
president of ♦Princeton College, in New Jersey. In his
last illness, on being asked how he felt, he answered, “I
am full of triumph; I triumph through Christ.” Being asked
again what he saw in eternity that made him wish to die,
he exclaimed, “I see the eternal goodness of God; I see
the fulness of the Mediator; I see the love of Jesus. Oh
to be dissolved, and to be with Him!” Dr. Finley died in
1766, at the age of fifty, and was buried by the side of
his friend Gilbert Tennent.
163 – Gillies’ “Historical Collections,” vol. ii., p. 333.
164 – _Christian History_, 1747, p. 26.
165 – _Christian History_, 1747, p. 29.
166 – Two months before this letter was written, the Countess
of Huntingdon, at the age of thirty-nine, became a widow.
Her husband, the Earl of Huntingdon, died on October 13th,
1746.
167 – “Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i., p. 88.
168 – See p. 158, vol. i.
169 – _Christian History_, 1747, p. 30.
170 – _Christian History_, 1747, p. 34.
171 – _Christian History_, 1747, p. 117.
172 – The large building erected in 1740. See page 377, vol. i.
173 – _Christian History_, 1747, p. 119.
174 – The wife of John Edwin, Esq., M.P., the grandson of Sir
Humphrey Edwin, Lord Mayor of London. The only daughter
and heir of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin became a Methodist, was
a particular friend of the eccentric Lady Townshend,
and married Charles Dalrymple, Esq. (“Life and Times of
Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i., p. 87.)
175 – _Christian History_, 1747, p. 121.
176 – Ibid., p. 83.
177 – The disputes respecting Kingswood School.
178 – Three months after this, Herbert Jenkins was preaching
in Scotland with such success, that, “at Glasgow, he
was complimented with the freedom of the city, and was
entertained by the magistrates, and likewise by the
Presbytery.” (_Scots’ Magazine_, 1747, p. 403.)
179 – _Christian History_, 1747, p. 128.
180 – _Christian History_, 1747, p. 128.
181 – _Christian History_, 1747, p. 146; and Whitefield’s Works,
vol. ii. p. 126.
182 – Whether designedly or not, Whitefield, in his political
sermon, pronounced eulogies on George the Second and his
Government, which they hardly merited.
183 – Whitefield’s Works, vol. ii., p. 141.
184 – _Christian History_, 1747, p. 178.
185 – Ibid., p. 209.
186 – _Christian History_, p. 211.
187 – _Christian History_, p. 225.
188 – Gillies’ “Memoirs of Whitefield.”
189 – _Gentleman’s Magazine_, 1748, p. 329.
190 – See Tracy’s “Great Awakening,” pp. 388–433.
191 – _Christian History_, p. 192.
192 – “Life and Times of the Countess of Huntingdon,” vol. i.,
p. 86.
193 – Ibid.
194 – Ibid., vol. ii., p. 375; and “Life and Times of Howell
Harris,” p. 117.
195 – “Life and Times of Howell Harris,” p. 115.
196 – Ibid.
197 – “Life and Times of Howell Harris,” 1791, p. 63.
198 – William Pulteney, Earl of Bath, a statesman of great
ability, who was born in 1682, and died in 1764. For some
years, he regularly attended Tottenham Court Road chapel.
In a letter to the Countess, written in 1749, he says:
“Mocked and reviled as Mr. Whitefield is by all ranks
of society, still I contend that the day will come when
England will be just, and own his greatness as a reformer,
and his goodness as a minister of the Most High God. I
earnestly beg your ladyship’s intercession on my behalf;
that, amidst the bustle, the cares and anxieties of
public life, I may have my mind roused only by the great
concerns of an eternal world, and fixed on those scenes of
immortality to which we are all quickly hastening.” (“Life
and Times of Countess of Huntingdon.”)
199 – The celebrated nobleman, of whom Dr. Johnson once remarked,
that, he was “a wit among lords, and a lord among wits.”
Born in 1694, and died in 1773. At the time referred to
in Whitefield’s letter, his lordship had recently resigned
the office of Chief Secretary of State; and, in a letter
to Lady Huntingdon, written nine months afterwards, he
said, “Mr. Whitefield’s eloquence is unrivalled――his zeal
inexhaustible; and not to admire both would argue a total
absence of taste, and an insensibility not to be coveted
by anybody. Your ladyship is a powerful auxiliary to the
Methodist Cabinet; and I confess, notwithstanding my own
private feelings and sentiments, I am infinitely pleased
at your zeal in so good a cause.” (Ibid.)
200 – In a letter to the Countess of Huntingdon, Lord
Bolingbroke said, “Mr. Whitefield is the most
extraordinary man in our times. He has the most commanding
eloquence I ever heard in any person; his abilities are
very considerable; his zeal unquenchable; and his piety
and excellence genuine――unquestionable. The bishops and
inferior orders of the clergy are very angry with him, and
endeavour to represent him as a hypocrite, an enthusiast;
but this is not astonishing――there is so little real
goodness or honesty among them. Your ladyship will be
somewhat amused at hearing that the King has represented
to his Grace of Canterbury, that Mr. Whitefield should
be advanced to the Bench, as the only means of putting
an end to his preaching. What a keen, what a biting
remark! but how just, and how well earned by those mitred
lords!” (“Sketches of the Life and Labours of Whitefield,”
published by “the Committee of the General Assembly of the
Free Church of Scotland, for the publication of the works
of Scottish Reformers and Divines,” p. 271.)
201 – Subsequent letters will shew that Dr. Doddridge complied
with Whitefield’s wish.