Retrospective Glances--Georgia--The Orphan House--Whitefield
in London--His Ordination--The Clergy--Mr. Broughton--Countess
of Hertford--Breach with Wesley--Societies for the Reformation
of Manners--Methodist Societies--Tabernacle Commenced--Its
History--Welsh Preachers--Moorfields--Lay Preachers--Nobility
at the Tabernacle--Opposition of the Dissenters--Anecdote of
Dr. Watts and Lady Huntingdon--Moravians--Sir Thomas and Lady
Abney--Tabernacle Opened--Long-acre Chapel--The Hon. Hume
Campbell--Tottenham-court Chapel Opened--Ned Shuter--Foote, the
Player--The Minor--Lord Halifax--Duke of Grafton--Mr. Fax--Mr.
Pitt--Mr. Rowland Hill--Captain Joss--Mr. Matthew Wilks--Mr.
Knight--Mr. Hyatt--Mr. Whitefield’s Will--Dr. Ford--Mr. Berridge
and Lady Huntingdon.
It may be well, at this point of our history, to pause and take a
retrospective glance at the progress of Methodism. In 1736, Mr.
Whitefield preached his first sermon at Gloucester, and he continued
with zeal and energy unparalleled, and with extraordinary eloquence,
to preach the Gospel. After the Society broke up at Oxford, he came
to London, and, in spite of his boyish appearance, and the sneers
it excited, succeeded in fixing deep and serious attention, by his
first sermon preached at Bishopsgate Church. On his second visit to
London crowds of hearers climbed the leads and hung on the rails of
the churches, while multitudes were willing, but unable, to get near
enough to hear. These scenes were new to the Church of England, which
had not been troubled with the excessive popularity of its preachers
since the days of Baxter, Vincent, and the Puritans. The managers of
churches of which the coffers were exhausted applied to Mr. Whitefield,
who preached four times on each Lord’s day, and often nine times in
the week, administering the sacrament before day-break in the morning,
and thus rousing thousands to a state of solicitude for their eternal
happiness. He then went to Georgia, and on his return he was received
with coldness by the clergy, but with extreme enthusiasm by the people.
He came to England to receive priest’s orders and to collect for the
Orphan-house.[109] He preached where he could, but many of the pulpits
were now closed against him, as the apostle of a new sect; and the
Bishop of London (Dr. Edmond Gibson) thought it necessary to write
a pastoral letter, warning the people of his diocese against the
Methodists.[110] Nevertheless he accepted Mr. Whitefield’s title, and
gave him letters dimissory to the Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Seeker), who,
in return, gave him similar letters to the Bishop of Gloucester (Dr.
Benson), in virtue of which he was ordained at Oxford, in accordance
with his own previously recorded prayer to God, that the same excellent
prelate, at whose hands he had been ordained deacon, might make him a
priest. The good Bishop, in a letter to his pupil, Lord Huntingdon,
gives an account of Mr. Whitefield’s ordination, expressing his hope
that the act “will give some satisfaction to my Lady, and that she
will not have occasion to find fault with your Lordship’s old tutor.
Though mistaken on some points, I think him (Mr. Whitefield) a very
pious, well-meaning young man, with good abilities and great zeal. I
find his Grace of Canterbury thinks highly of him. I pray God grant
him great success in all his undertakings for the good of mankind, and
the revival of true religion and holiness among us in these degenerate
days; in which prayer I am sure your Lordship and my kind good Lady
Huntingdon will most heartily join.”
Mr. Whitefield returned from Oxford to London, and the opposition to
his preaching was increased by his expounding in societies and reading
and praying in private houses, for joining in which several of the
ministers threatened their parishioners with prosecution.[111]
The celebrated Countess of Hertford, afterwards Duchess of Somerset, in
a letter to the Countess of Pomfret, then on the continent, observes on
this part of our history--
“I do not know whether you have heard of our new sect, who call
themselves Methodists. There is one Whitefield at the head
of them, a young man under five-and-twenty, who has for some
months gone about preaching in the fields and market-places
in the country, and in London at May-fair and Moorfields, to
ten or twelve thousand people at a time. He went to Georgia
with General Oglethorpe, and returned to take priest’s orders,
which he did; and I believe, since that time, hardly a day has
passed that he has not preached, and generally twice. At first
he and some of his brethren seemed only to aim at restoring the
practice of the primitive Christians as to daily sacraments,
stated fasts, frequent prayers, relieving prisoners, visiting
the sick, and giving alms to the poor: but, upon sound ministers
refusing these men their pulpits, they have betaken themselves
to preaching in the fields; and they have such crowds of
followers that they have set in a flame all the clergy in the
kingdom, who represent them as hypocrites and enthusiasts. As
to the latter epithet, some passages in Mr. Whitefield’s latest
journals seem to countenance the accusation; but I think their
manner of living has not afforded any grounds to suspect them
of hypocrisy. The Bishop of London, however, has thought it
necessary to write a pastoral letter, to warn the people of his
diocese against being led away by them; though at the same time
he treats them personally with great tenderness and moderation.
I cannot say Dr. Trapp has done the same in a sermon which he
has published, entitled, ‘The great Folly and Danger of being
Righteous over-much’[112]--a doctrine which does not seem
absolutely necessary to be preached to the people of the present
age.”
Now came the breach between the great Methodist leaders. While Mr.
Wesley was preaching in favour of perfection, and against election,
Mr. Whitefield, whose Calvinistic doctrines were confirmed and
enlightened by the descendants of the Puritans in America, wrote his
letters against “The Whole Duty of Man,” and “Archbishop Tillotson.”
Mr. Charles Wesley, who was more kind and generous, less positive and
hostile to Calvinism than his brother, wept and prayed that the breach
might be prevented; but John Wesley seems to have parted with his old
companion with great coolness. Mr. Whitefield is said to have told
him, “You and I preach a different Gospel:” then they turned one to
the right hand, and the other to the left. Mr. Whitefield was only
once allowed to preach in the Foundry; and “at Bristol (he says) I was
forbidden to preach in the house I had founded.”
Mr. Cennick, with others of the first labourers in the cause of
Methodism, having adopted Mr. Whitefield’s views, joined with him at
Bristol, and assisted him to build another place at Kingswood, near
that of which Mr. Wesley kept possession; so that a congregation was
established there on Calvinistic principles; and the colliers, who,
before Mr. Whitefield introduced the Gospel among them, were a race
of semi-barbarians, now worship God with constant delight and serious
attention, displaying to conviction the power of the Gospel on the
rudest of the human race.
“Calvin (says Beza, in his Life of that Reformer) is turned out
of Geneva, but behold a new Church rises!” These words animated
Mr. Whitefield; the clergy of the Establishment were now more
angry with him than ever, for avowing the sentiments of Calvin;
he therefore sought a substitute for the parochial pulpits; and
_societies_[113] were formed in Beech-lane, Crooked-lane,
Redcross-street, Southwark, the Minories, Wapping, Dowgate-hill,
Crutched-friars, and various parts of the metropolis. Many of the
Calvinistic Dissenters, who perceived in his preaching the savour
of their popular commentator, Matthew Henry, whose creed was the
catechism composed by the Westminster Assembly of Divines, stood
firmly by him in this time of trial; they procured a piece of ground
in Moorfields, and erected a temporary shed to screen the auditory
from cold and rain at their meetings early in the morning. This place
was called a Tabernacle, in allusion to the moveable tent constructed
by divine direction, for the devotions of the Israelites, while they
were travelling in the wilderness. It was opened in June, 1741,
but Mr. Whitefield did not like the site, because, being near the
Foundry, where Mr. Wesley was preaching, it had the appearance of one
altar set up against another. Great success, however, followed his
exertions here; and, having obtained the aid of Messrs. Cennick, Adams,
Jenkins, Smith, Stevens, Ingham, Reynolds, Edwards, Kelley, Middleton,
Seagrave, Humphries, Godwin, Howel Harris, and the Rev. Daniel
Rowlands, a beneficed clergyman, the congregations were kept up by
variety, increased by novelty, and powerfully affected by the “Welsh
fire” which was displayed in the animated addresses of these Cambrian
brethren. Mr. Whitefield was thus enabled to be present at many other
places where the Lord called, and new scenes of usefulness arose.
It was now that he made his grand assault on that “vanity fair,” which
on holidays had assembled in Moorfields all the booths and shows of
Smithfield on St. Bartholomew’s day. The idea of preaching to the mob
of idlers thus collected was by many considered wildly quixotic; but
we may quote his own words, to prove that his efforts were not in
vain. “Soon after, _three hundred and fifty_ awakened souls were
received into the society in one day; and numbers that seemed, as it
were, to have been bred up for Tyburn, were, at that time, plucked as
brands out of the burning.”
But not alone the lowly and the miserable; even the great and wealthy
were among the congregation at the Tabernacle.
In the winter of 1742, the Earl and Countess of Huntingdon were
constant in their attendance, and were often accompanied by his
Lordship’s sisters, the Ladies Hastings, and occasionally by Sarah,
Duchess of Marlborough, and Catherine, Duchess of Buckingham, two of
the most celebrated and remarkable women of their day; also by Lord
Lonsdale[114] and others.[115]
While the noble and the lowly heard with equal reverence the preaching
of the first Methodists, the leading Dissenters contemplated
their proceedings with feelings of disgust and suspicion. The Rev.
Risdon Darracott (minister of Wellington), and the Rev. Benjamin
Fawcett (minister of Kidderminster), as well as Mr. Doddridge, were
exceptions; but their reception of Mr. Whitefield, and their preaching
at the Tabernacle, exposed them to the censure of their metropolitan
brethren.[116] Even the amiable Dr. Watts was disposed, from the
reports made to him, to judge unkindly of his friend: “I am sorry (says
the Doctor) that since your departure I have had many questions asked
me about your preaching in the Tabernacle, and sinking the character
of a minister, and especially of a tutor, among the Dissenters, so
low thereby. I find many of our friends entertaining this idea: but
I can give no answer, as not knowing how much you have been engaged
there. I pray God to guard us from every temptation!” This amiable man,
however, took no part in the very warm censures of his Nonconformist
brethren; and very soon after became the intimate friend of Lady
Huntingdon and the great leaders of the Methodist body, for each
of whom he entertained the highest respect and esteem.[117] During
Mr. Whitefield’s absence in America, Mr. Harris chiefly conducted
the affairs of the Tabernacle. On some difference with the latter
gentleman, Mr. Cennick quitted the Connexion, and went over to the
Moravians--a circumstance which Lady Huntingdon vainly struggled to
prevent.
On Mr. Whitefield’s return from America he found his congregation much
scattered. “Matters (says he) were in great confusion by reason of
Mr. Cennick going over to the Moravians: but, blessed be God, we are
now easy at the Tabernacle, and the word falls with might and power.”
About the same period there were similar divisions in Dr. Doddridge’s
congregation, at Northampton, of which frequent mention is made in his
correspondence with Lady Huntingdon and Mr. Whitefield. The latter, in
his reply to the Doctor, thus very feelingly notices the conduct of the
brethren:--
“I thank you, dear Sir, for your solemn charge in respect to
my health. But what shall I say concerning your present trial?
Shall I wish you joy? Surely I may with great propriety,
since an inspired writer hath said, ‘Count it all joy when
you fall into divers temptations.’ But, at the same time, I
most earnestly sympathize with you, having had the same trial
from the same quarter long ago. The Moravians first divided my
family, then my parish at Georgia, and after that the societies
which, under God, I was an instrument of gathering. I suppose
not less than _four hundred_, through their practices, have
left the Tabernacle. All this I find but little enough to teach
me to cease from man, and to wean me from that great fondness
which spiritual fathers are apt to have for their spiritual
children. Thus blessed Paul was served--thus must all expect to
he treated who are of Paul’s spirit, and are honoured with any
degree of Paul’s success. Our Lord blessed you in your writings;
nay, your people’s treating you as they are now permitted to
do, perhaps, is one of the greatest blessings you ever received
from heaven. May patience have its perfect work, and may you be
enabled to sanctify the Lord God in your heart! I know of no
other way of dealing with the Moravians than to go on preaching
the truth as it is in Jesus, and rest upon that promise, ‘Every
plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be plucked
up.’ Doubtless there are many of God’s children in the Moravian
flock; but many of their principles and practices are decidedly
wrong, for which, I doubt not, our Lord will rebuke them in
his own time. I thank you for your sermon. It contains the
very life of preaching--I mean, sweet invitations to close with
Christ. I do not wonder you are dubbed a Methodist on account
of it. Last Sunday evening I preached to a most brilliant
assembly indeed. They expressed great approbation, and some, I
think, begin to feel. Good Lady Huntingdon is indeed a mother
in Israel. She is all in a flame for Jesus. You may guess, by a
word or two in this, that she hath shown me your last letter. I
suppose she will write to you soon.”
Shortly after Mr. Whitefield’s return to England, matters assumed a
different appearance at the Tabernacle, and he now began to think
of erecting a more spacious edifice, which his enlarged soul and
mighty powers of elocution filled for many years after. In the summer
of 1751, Mr. Whitefield being at Lady Huntingdon’s residence at
Ashby-de-la-Zouch, in Leicestershire, the building of the Tabernacle
was first discussed, in presence of Mr. Hervey, Mr. Hartley, Dr.
Doddridge, and Dr. Stonhouse. _The design seems to have originated
with her Ladyship_, who was exceedingly zealous in the cause, and
who had already given largely towards the Tabernacle at Kingswood--
“I am much interested (says her Ladyship) about the intended
building, and trust it will be for the glory of our common Lord,
and the increase of his kingdom among men. O that very many
precious souls may be there awakened, renewed, pardoned, and
consecrated to God! Mr. Hervey, Mr. Hartley, Dr. Doddridge, and
Dr. Stonhouse are most cordial in their approval and promise
of support. May the hearts of the people of God be opened to
contribute for this most desirable object! If our eye be single,
and his glory and the salvation of souls our only end in view
all will be well. To him I commit this cause, and my poor
prayers shall be daily offered for a blessing to rest upon it.”
How unspeakably great and precious hath been the answer to these
prayers!
In the winter of 1752 the subject was again renewed at Lady Frances
Shirley’s residence in South Audley-street, in the month of November;
and in compliance with the urgent entreaties of her Ladyship and Lady
Huntingdon, Mr. Whitefield now began strenuously to exert himself in
making collections. “It would have pleased your Ladyship (says he)
to have seen how willingly the people gave last Lord’s-day. At seven
in the morning we collected fifty pounds, in the evening one hundred
and twenty-six. Blessed be God, we have now near nine hundred pounds
in hand.” Still he was determined not to commence building without a
sufficient sum to proceed with; therefore the foundation-stone of the
Tabernacle was not laid till the 1st of March, 1753. In a letter to
Mr. Charles Wesley, there is an interesting account of this event:--
“On Tuesday morning the first brick of our new Tabernacle was
laid with awful solemnity. I preached from Exodus the twentieth,
and the latter part of the twenty-fourth verse: ‘In all places
where I record my name, I will come in to thee and bless thee.’
Afterwards we sung, and prayed for God’s blessing in all places
where his glorious name is recorded. The wall is now about a
yard high. The building is to be eighty feet square. It is on
the old spot. We have purchased the house, and, if we finish
what we have begun, shall be rent free for forty-six years. We
have about eleven hundred pounds now in hand.”
As the new Tabernacle was intended to be much larger than the temporary
one already mentioned, the shell of it was constructed round the other,
in order that the congregation might be accommodated with a place to
meet in while that part was erecting. It was opened for the preaching
of the everlasting Gospel on Sunday, June 10, 1753, on which occasion
Mr. Whitefield preached, in the morning, from 1 Kings viii. 11: “And
it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this
prayer,” &c.; and in the evening, from 1 Chron. xxix. 9, “Then the
people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly,” &c. The Tabernacle,
though capable, with its surrounding galleries, of containing about
four thousand persons, was crowded almost to suffocation in every part:
and there, as in every other place, the Lord made manifest, by this
apostolic man and his zealous colleagues, the savour of his grace.
Not long after the opening of the Tabernacle in Moorfields, application
was made to Mr. Whitefield to preach twice a week, in Long-acre
Chapel, then in the possession of the Rev. John Barnard,[118] who had
officiated in it for some time, as a Protestant Dissenting minister.
The chapel was licensed, and Mr. Whitefield had permission to use the
Liturgy, if he thought proper. Looking upon this as a providential call
from Him, who in the days of his flesh taught all who were willing to
hear, on a mount, in a ship, or by the sea-side, and who, after his
ascension, commanded his ministers, by his apostle, to be “instant
in season and out of season,” Mr. Whitefield readily complied, and
preached there for the first time, December 23, 1755.
The assemblies at the residences of Lady Huntingdon, Lady Frances
Shirley, and Lady Gertrude Hotham, were composed chiefly of persons
in the upper ranks of life, who were very importunate to have, nearer
home, the blessings of the Gospel, and hoped it would prove a mercy
to their neighbours; but a conspiracy was formed to remove him from
Long-acre. Some soldiers and others, provided with a copper furnace,
bells, drums, clappers, &c, made it their business to raise the
loudest din they possibly could, from the moment he began preaching
to the end of his sermon. Persons were encouraged to riot at the
chapel door during the time of divine service, and insult and abuse
him and the congregation after it was over. The chapel windows were
repeatedly broken by large stones, which severely wounded many of
the congregation. In consequence of these unwarrantable proceedings,
Mr. Whitefield wrote to Dr. Zachariah Pearce,[119] Bishop of Bangor,
then Dean of Westminster, and applied to a neighbouring magistrate
for protection, which being immediately afforded, Mr. Whitefield thus
addressed him:--
“Gratitude (says he) constrains me to send you a few lines of
thanks for the care and zeal you have expressed in suppressing
the late disorders at Long-acre Chapel. A better acknowledgment
will, I trust, wait you at His bar, by whom kings reign and
princes decree justice, and who hath instituted magistracy to
be a terror to evil-doers, and a praise to them that do well. I
hear that some unhappy men have incurred the penalty inflicted
by our salutary laws. As peace, not revenge, is the thing
aimed at, I should rejoice if this could be procured without
the delinquents suffering any further punishment. Perhaps what
hath been done already may be sufficient to deter others from
any further illegal proceedings, and that will be satisfaction
enough.”
After preaching a few weeks at the chapel, he was prohibited from
again officiating there by an order from the Bishop of Bangor. But Mr.
Whitefield was not a man to be suspended from the free declaration
of the Gospel by the veto of any intolerant or persecuting superior.
He complained less of the veto than of the interruption which was
now got up by members of the Bishop’s own vestry; of this he spoke
energetically, as the following letter will show:--
“I beg the favour of your Lordship so far to interpose as to
desire the persons belonging to your vestry to desist from such
irregular proceedings. For my own irregularity in preaching
I am ready at any time to answer; and was I myself the only
sufferer, I should be entirely unconcerned, whatever personal
ill-treatment I might meet with in the way of my duty. If no
more noise be made on their part, I assure your Lordship no
further resentment shall be made on mine. But if they persist,
I have the authority of an apostle, on a like occasion, to
appeal unto Cæsar. And thanks be to God, we have a Cæsar to
appeal to, whose laws will not suffer any of his loyal subjects
to be used in such an inhuman manner. I have only one favour
to beg of your Lordship, that you would send (as they are your
Lordship’s parishioners) to the above gentlemen, and desire them
henceforward to desist from such unchristian, such riotous and
dangerous proceedings. Whether as a chaplain to a most worthy
Peeress, a Presbyter of the Church of England, and a steady,
disinterested friend to our present happy constitution, I have
not a right to ask such a favour, I leave to your Lordship’s
mature deliberation. You will allow I have a right to do myself
justice, and therefore I hope you will not be offended if I lay
a plain and fair narration of the whole affair, together with
what hath passed between your Lordship and myself, before the
world.”
As the uproar was still continued, and the facts were so flagrant, he
determined to prosecute the offenders by law. This being understood,
his life was threatened; when, judging that others were concerned as
well as himself, and that it was an affair that had reference to the
welfare of the civil government, he, by the advice of Lady Huntingdon,
consulted the Hon. Hume Campbell.[120] Alluding to these disagreeable
circumstances, in a letter to Lady Huntingdon, he says:--
“My greatest distress is, how to act, so as to avoid rashness
on the one hand, and timidity on the other. I have been
introduced to the Earl of Holdernesse,[121] who received me very
courteously, and seemed to make no objection against issuing a
reward for the discovery of the letter-writer.[122] Mr. Hume
Campbell advises me, by all means, to put all concerned into the
Court of King’s Bench. I see no other way for me to act, than
either resolutely to persist in preaching and prosecuting, or
entirely to desist from preaching, which I think would bring
intolerable guilt upon my soul, and give the adversary cause to
blaspheme. Alas! alas! what a condition would this land be in
were the Protestant interest not to prevail! Glad should I be
to die by the hands of an assassin if Popery is to get footing
here. I shall then be taken away from the evil to come.”
One effect of this persecution was to induce Mr. Whitefield to erect
a permanent and suitable place of worship at the westend of London.
The first account of his intention is contained in a letter to Lady
Huntingdon, dated May 2, 1756--
“I find that all things happen for the furtherance of the
Gospel. I suppose your Ladyship hath seen his Majesty’s promise
of a pardon to any that will discover the letter-writer: and
this brings your Ladyship the further news of my having taken a
piece of ground, very commodious to build on, not far from the
Foundling Hospital. On Sunday I opened the subscription, and,
through God’s blessing, it hath already amounted to near six
hundred pounds. If he is pleased to continue to smile upon my
poor endeavours, and to open the hearts of some more of his dear
children to contribute, I hope in a few months to have what hath
long been wanted--a place for the Gospel at the other end of the
town. This morning, God willing, I venture once more to preach
at Long-acre.[123] The enemy boasts that I am frightened away;
but the triumph of the wicked is short. Our people, Mr. Hume
Campbell, Mr. Madan,[124] &c, are for bringing the rioters to
the King’s Bench; and, perhaps, upon the whole, it may be best.”
The foundation-stone of Tottenham-court Chapel was laid with great
solemnity in the beginning of June, 1756, on which occasion Mr.
Whitefield was supported by three celebrated Dissenting ministers,
who stood by him--Dr. Benjamin Grosvenor, Dr. Thomas Gibbons, and
Dr. Andrew Gifford, assistant librarian at the British Museum.
Their countenance at this period, and on this occasion, and their
occasionally preaching at the Tabernacle for him, are proofs of
liberality which redound much to their honour. It is, perhaps, not
generally known that it was Mr. Whitefield’s intention to place this
chapel under _Lady Huntingdon’s protection_:--
“We have consulted the Commons (says he) about putting it under
your Ladyship’s protection. This is the answer:--‘No nobleman
can license a chapel, or in any manner have one, _but in
his dwelling-house_. The chapel must be private--that is,
not with doors to the street, for any person to resort to at
pleasure, for then it becomes public. A chapel cannot be built
and used as such, without the consent of the parson of the
parish; and when it is done with his consent, no minister can
preach therein without license of the bishop of the diocese.’
There seems, then, to be but one way--to license it as our other
houses are; and thanks be to Jesus for that liberty which we
have!”
Through the liberal contributions of Lady Huntingdon and other persons
of rank, the chapel advanced rapidly, and on the 7th of November,
1756, it was opened for divine worship, according to the forms of the
Church of England. On this occasion Mr. Whitefield preached from 1
Chronicles iii. 11. The chapel became an object of intense interest and
curiosity.[125]
“A neighbouring doctor (says Mr. Whitefield) calls the place
WHITEFIELD’S SOUL-TRAP. I pray the Friend of sinners to
make it a soul-trap indeed to many wandering creatures.” In a
subsequent letter he adds, “At Long-acre, indeed, the word ran;
and at Tottenham-court Chapel we have had some glorious earnests
of future blessings. My constant work now is, preaching about
FIFTEEN TIMES a-week. Conviction and conversion go on
here. God hath met us at our new building. Last Sunday there was
a wonderful stirring amongst the dry bones; some great people
came, and begged they might have a constant seat.”
Among Mr. Whitefield’s frequent hearers at the new chapel was
Shuter, the comedian, then in the height of his reputation as the
representative of _Ramble_. On one occasion he was seated in the
pew exactly opposite the pulpit, and while Mr. Whitefield, in his
energetic address, was inviting sinners to the Saviour, he fixed his
eye on Shuter, saying--“And thou, poor _Ramble_, who hast long
rambled from him, come thou also. O, end thy ramblings by coming to
Jesus!” Shuter was exceedingly struck, and afterwards, coming to Mr.
Whitefield, said, “I thought I should have fainted--how could you serve
me so?”
The Rev. Mr. Kinsman, another intimate friend of Shuter’s, tried
hard to wean him from his profession. Meeting one day in Portsmouth,
Mr. Kinsman said he had been preaching so often, and to such large
auditories, that Dr. Fothergill advised change of air to avert a
threatened illness. “And I (said Shuter) have been acting till ready
to die; but, oh, how different our conditions! Had _you_ fallen,
it would have been in the service of God; but in whose service have
_my_ powers been wasted? I dread to think of it. I certainly had a
call once, while studying my part in the park, and had Mr. Whitefield
received me at the Lord’s table I never should have gone back; but the
caresses of the great, who, when unhappy, want Shuter to make them
laugh, are too seducing. There is a good and moral play to-night, but
no sooner is it over than I come in with my farce of ‘_A dish of all
sorts_,’ and knock all the moral on the head.” Being seen with Mr.
Kinsman, his friends rated him as a Methodist. “A precious method is
mine (said Shuter): no, I wish I were; if any be right, they are.” The
attractions of his profession, however, nipped in the bud the flowers
of promise which his religious friend hoped to see blooming fully.
Shuter once visited Lady Huntingdon at Bath, when performing in that
city. Her Ladyship met him in the street, and, though personally
unknown to him, enquired after his health, and invited him to her
house. The only account of this interview which now remains is
contained in a short extract of a letter from her Ladyship to Lady
Fanny Shirley. Speaking of Shuter, she says:--
“I have had a visit from Shuter, the comedian, whom I saw in the
street, and asked to call on me. He was wonderfully astonished
when I announced my name. We had much conversation; but he
cannot give up his profession for another more reputable.
He spoke of Mr. Whitefield with great affection, and with
admiration of his talents. He promised to come some other time,
when he had more leisure for conversation. Poor fellow! I think
he is not far from the kingdom.”
Another actor,[126] equal in professional eminence to Shuter, but of
a very different moral character, was employed by Mr. Whitefield’s
enemies to mimic and burlesque him, in a manner the most profane and
ludicrous, on the stage of the Theatre Royal, Drury-lane. His success
at that theatre induced him to write, and bring out at the Haymarket
Theatre, his “Minor”--a ridiculous farce levelled at the Methodists. Of
this miserable piece of buffoonery it may be enough to say, that he,
and the agents employed at the Tabernacle and Tottenham-court Chapel
to procure materials, were so disgracefully ignorant of the inspired
writings, as not to know that what they took for Mr. Whitefield’s
peculiar language was that of the word of God!
A letter addressed to Mr. Garrick, written by the Rev. Martin Madan,
on the intended representation of this piece, had a most extensive
circulation, and Lady Huntingdon waited on the Lord Chamberlain,
to apply for the suppression of “The Minor.” Her request could not
immediately be granted; but his Lordship assured her that if he had had
any intimation of the evil tendency of “The Minor,” previous to its
being licensed, it never should have appeared. Lady Huntingdon next
sought an interview with Mr. Garrick, who treated her Ladyship with the
utmost deference and respect; and her remonstrances so far succeeded,
that Roscius promised to use his influence in excluding it for the
present, and added, that had he been aware of the offence it was
calculated to give, it should never have appeared with his concurrence.
The opposition manifested towards Mr. Whitefield at Long-acre Chapel,
and the representation of that wretched piece of mummery at the
theatres, so far from lessening the number of his congregation,
considerably increased his popularity, and brought thousands of new
persons to hear the Gospel, which was the very thing he aimed at; and
thus Providence gave him the victory. About this period he preached
frequently at the Tabernacle and Tottenham-court Chapel, in behalf
of the poor French Protestants in Prussia, who had suffered so much
from the cruelty of the Russians, when great numbers of the nobility
and many of the highest officers of the crown went to hear him. The
collections on these occasions amounted to upwards of _fifteen
hundred pounds_; and for this disinterested act of benevolence Mr.
Whitefield received the thanks of his Prussian Majesty.
Again, on the day appointed for a general fast, Mr. Whitefield preached
at Tottenham-court Chapel, from Joel ii. 15, and in the evening at
the Tabernacle, from Gen. vii. 1; after which collections, amounting
to upwards of _five hundred and sixty pounds_, were made for
the relief of the German Protestants and the sufferers by fire at
Boston, for which he received the unanimous thanks of the freeholders
and inhabitants of that town. On this occasion several persons of
consequence were present. “It would delight you (says Lady Huntingdon)
to have seen what crowds of the mighty and noble flocked to hear him.
The collection was for the relief of the poor German Protestants. I
invited several to come who probably would not attend his ministry
on other occasions. All appeared pleased and surprised.” Lady
Chesterfield, Lady Gertrude Hotham, and Lady Fanny Shirley, also took
large parties of the nobility with them. Lords Halifax and Holdernesse,
the personal friends of Lady Huntingdon, the latter at that moment
Secretary of State, but succeeded in that office a few weeks after by
Lord Bute, who was likewise present: the young Duke of Grafton, then
rising rapidly into public life, and Lady Harrington, his Grace’s aunt;
the Duchess[127] was prevented availing herself of Lady Huntingdon’s
invitation. The Duke, now chiefly remembered as having been the subject
of attack from the eloquent but rabid pen of the celebrated Junius,
whose “Letters” are said to have driven him from the helm, was soon
after in office as Secretary of State, and First Lord of the Treasury.
To these celebrated personages may be added the names of two of the
greatest men of their day, Charles Fox and William Pitt, who, with Mr.
Orby Hunter, Lord Villiers, and Mr. Soame Jenyns, the admired author
of a treatise on the internal evidence of the Christian religion,
were to be found mingling with the crowd that thronged every part of
these edifices. Few places could boast of such a constellation of
transcendant genius and senatorial talent, such a brilliant assemblage
of wisdom, magnanimity, and oratorical powers, as was then to be found
within the walls of Tottenham-court Chapel and the Tabernacle. These
congregations were long attracted by the eloquence of Whitefield alone,
and he for many years was the sole minister of those chapels, which
have continued almost ever since to supply a portion of the life-blood
of vital Christianity to the metropolis. In 1766, indeed, he associated
with himself the late Captain Joss; before speaking of whom, however,
let us remind our readers of one of the most popular of the supplies at
these chapels, the late Rowland Hill, who, in the summer of 1772, by
his ministry in them, was the means of reviving the cause of Methodism.
The distinguished situation in which he was placed held him up more
than ever before public observation. His labours in the metropolis were
immense, and great and small bore testimony to the power with which he
spake. The displays of Gospel grace under the ministry of this faithful
labourer in the Lord’s vineyard were truly surprising; and his success
was, from the beginning, as great as the situation in which he stood
was peculiar and eminent.
“The popularity of Mr. Hill (says Lady Huntingdon, in a letter
written at this period), and the crowds that follow him wherever
he is called to preach, overwhelm me with astonishment, and
gratitude to the God of all grace, who hath endowed him with
such gifts. He boldly proclaims the doctrines of the cross, and
the word of the Lord runs and is glorified in the conversion of
multitudes. Dear Captain Joss told me above a hundred wakened
souls, the fruits of his preaching, have been received into the
Tabernacle Society--so eminently does the benediction of our
dear and precious Immanuel rest on the labours of his servant. I
have attended him at Blackheath and Kensington, where the Lord
blessed his testimony in a very remarkable manner. Thousands and
thousands attended, and the most awful and solemn impression
seemed to pervade the vast assemblies. Excepting my beloved
and lamented Mr. Whitefield, I never witnessed any person’s
preaching wherein there was such displays of the divine power
and glory as in Mr. Hill’s. May HE who hath raised
up this _second Whitefield_, with talents and zeal so
distinguished, make him eminent in his day and generation,
crown his message with success, and by his own Almighty
power, the copious effusions of his Spirit, and the effectual
manifestations of his grace to his soul, keep him faithful to
the end.”
Mr. Hill’s residence was at the Tabernacle House, in Moorfields, from
which he made preaching excursions in the neighbourhood of London, in
addition to his labours in the metropolis itself. The effects of his
addresses to the people on these occasions were extraordinary in the
extreme. One individual wrote him word, for his encouragement, that
the Lord had blessed the truth he had delivered to “hundreds”--nay, he
might safely say, “thousands;” and earnestly entreated him to return as
soon as possible, as “multitudes longed for the time when they should
hear him again.” “Many (he continues) I have visited on their sick bed,
blessing God for the time they heard you. Notes of thanks were put up
from whole families, stirred up to seek the Lord by your ministry.”
The style of Rowland Hill’s addresses to the people was, at this period
of life, extremely simple and forcible; they abounded with lucid views
of the doctrines of the Gospel, mingled with sudden bursts of vivid,
sublime, and sometimes singular illustrations. A specimen of this mode
of appealing to the people is to be found in a preface to a little
work, containing an address to those who had been converted by his
ministry in London. It is dated Tabernacle House, August 27, 1772. Soon
after, he proceeded to the degree of Master of Arts, at Cambridge,
and visited his excellent friend and patron, Mr. Berridge, vicar of
Everton, in the neighbourhood of the University. He again preached
to immense crowds at the Tabernacle and Tottenham-court Chapel after
which he retired, as the winter came on, to the seat of his family in
Shropshire. From his friend Captain Joss he received, whilst there,
accounts of his converts in London. “We have taken (he informs him)
above one hundred into society, concerning whom it may be said that you
were the happy instrument of opening their eyes. There are many more
with whom I have conversed, who, I sincerely trust, will be your crown
of rejoicing in the day of the Lord. Indeed, my dear brother, what the
Lord hath done by you in London cannot but afford you matter of joy and
humiliation.”
This was before Mr. Hill had obtained episcopal ordination. On the
6th of June, 1773, through the kind and unexpected interposition of
Providence, he was ordained by the Bishop of Bath and Wells, _without
any promise or condition whatever_, and preached his first sermon
for his dear and valued friend, Mr. Rouquet, at St. Werburgh’s,
Bristol, on the 8th of June, to a very large congregation. He then
retired to his curacy at Kingston, in Somersetshire, and after a few
months spent there, returned to London, to supply the Tabernacle and
Tottenham-court Chapel. The recollection of his early preaching in
these places was cherished by him to the end of his days, with a happy
retrospect of the ease with which he spoke, and the crowds who attended
his ministry. In the last sermon he ever preached, delivered on March
31, 1833, he said, “O! my dear brethren, I almost wish to be made young
again, if I could but see such days as when I first came and preached
at Tottenham-court Chapel, and was in the habit of preaching in the
streets and lanes for want of room. O! how I love to recollect what I
then felt.”
To return to Captain Joss. On him Mr. Whitefield prevailed to leave the
compass, the chart, and the ocean, for the service of the sanctuary.
A maritime employment is not generally very favourable to religious
improvement: but that God who “sitteth upon the floods can (as Mr.
Whitefield said of him and Captain Scott) bring a shark from the ocean
and a lion from the forest,” and “form them for himself, to show forth
his praise.” His sermons, in the former years of his residence in
London, were not only attended by large auditories, but with energy,
to the conversion of many souls; nor did God leave him without many
witnesses to the close of his ministerial labours. He generally
spent four or five months in the year out of London, for the purpose
of itinerating. In this period he regularly visited South Wales,
Gloucestershire, Bristol Tabernacle, and, occasionally, other parts of
the kingdom. In Pembrokeshire the Welsh followed him in multitudes;
and on the Lord’s-day would travel from one to twenty miles round
Haverfordwest to hear him. To not a few of them he became a spiritual
father; and, indeed, wherever he exercised his talents, though but a
few weeks, he left some seals of his ministry behind.
Mr. Whitefield and the Rev. Toriel Joss were joint ministers, till the
death of the former, in 1770; soon after which event a Mr. Brooksbanks
was appointed assistant preacher. How long he continued is uncertain,
but most probably to the autumn of 1775, when the Rev. Matthew Wilks
was admitted a minister of the Tabernacle Connexion. This venerable and
respected man was called under the ministry of the Rev. William Piercy,
who at that period was curate of West Bromwich, in Staffordshire, and
afterwards chaplain to the Countess of Huntingdon. Early discovering
the intellectual powers and moral worth of Mr. Wilks, and anticipating
his becoming of extraordinary use to the Church of Christ, Mr. Piercy
not only manifested great personal attachment towards him, but insisted
upon his devoting himself to the work of the Christian ministry.
Quoting Mr. Wilks’s own words:--“To the Countess of Huntingdon’s
College, at Trevecca, I _must_ and _should_ go; and, though
against my inclination, I went, and closely pursued my studies.”
During the latter part of his college life, Mr. Keene, one of the
executors of Mr. Whitefield, and a manager of his London chapels, paid
Lady Huntingdon a visit in Wales, and heard Mr. Wilks preach part of a
Sabbath in the College Chapel. The result was an invitation to London
as a supply, and in the autumn of 1775 his appointment as minister of
the Tabernacle connexion took place, the Rev. Messrs. Berridge, Piercy,
and Joss taking parts in his ordination.
For more than _fifty years_ this venerable servant of Christ
proclaimed the Gospel of his Divine Master in the pulpits of the
Tabernacle and Tottenham-court Chapel, and during this very extended
period his ministry was attended by all the best proofs of a decided
popularity. The benediction of the Spirit of God rested upon his
labours of love, and numerous have been the Christian pastors who
attributed their conversion to him, as God’s honoured instrument, many
of whom have been introduced to their spheres of labour by his kind
and effective patronage. He was greatly honoured of God, in being the
father of several of the great schemes now in operation at home and
abroad for the salvation of souls. The “Evangelical Magazine” owes
its origin to the mutual efforts of the Rev. John Eyre and himself,
both educated at Trevecca, and introduced into public life under the
auspices of the Countess of Huntingdon. He was one of the fathers of
the London Missionary Society, and preached a sermon, previous to
its formation, at Tottenham-court Chapel, in the year 1795, from Ps.
xliii. 3--“O send out thy life and thy truth;” which was the means
of awakening a missionary spirit in the hearts of many who had the
privilege of hearing it. A sermon preached at its annual meeting, at
Surrey Chapel, in 1812, if not the most eloquent, was, beyond all
dispute, the most ingenious and effective ever preached in its behalf;
for from that sermon have arisen all the Auxiliary and Branch Societies
in England and America.
For some years previous to his decease the health of Mr. Joss was in
a declining state. This good man, whom Mr. Berridge used to style
“The Archdeacon of Tottenham,” was removed to his eternal rest April
17, 1797. In consequence of his inability to preach as frequently as
formerly, about eight years previous to his decease, Messrs. Keene
and West gave the Rev. Joel Abraham Knight a cordial and affectionate
invitation to settle in the Tabernacle connexion. He had been ordained
to the work of the ministry in Lady Huntingdon’s Connexion, at
Spa-fields Chapel, March 9, 1783, and was assistant there and master of
the charity-school for some years. This respected and useful servant
of Christ entered into the joy of his Lord, April 22, 1808. Some years
previous to his death, the Rev. John Hyatt, then of Frome, was invited
as a supply to the Tabernacle and Tottenham-court Chapel. His talents
arrested the attention of the congregations, and the declining health
of Mr. Knight induced the managers to consider Mr. Hyatt as a suitable
person to become a stated minister in the Connexion. This invitation
was given to him with unanimity, and accepted, on his part, with
cordiality. On this immense field he entered, and here for twenty
years he laboured, finishing his course January 30, 1826. His venerable
colleague, Mr. Wilks, survived him till January, 1829. His last audible
expressions were uttered when his friend Mr. Townsend informed him that
they had fulfilled his wish, and thought it would relieve his mind to
know that all was arranged with Mr. Campbell to succeed him: he lifted
up his hand, and exclaimed softly, “Thank God! God be praised!--that is
well!”
During Mr. Whitefield’s life-time the management of his chapels was
frequently committed to a few trusty friends. Amongst them we find
the names of Robert Cruttenden, Esq., Charles Hardy, Esq., Robert
Keene, Esq., and Mr. Beckman, a man of great integrity and worth, and
often mentioned in the letters of Mr. Whitefield and Mr. Berridge.
Whilst, absent in America, in 1764, the affairs of the Tabernacle and
Tottenham-court Chapel were in the hands of Messrs. Keene,[128] Hardy,
and Beckham. “Three such friends (says he) surely could not be picked
out for the London affairs.” Two years previous to his last voyage to
America he formed the determination of making a final arrangement of
his chapels, and all that he possessed in England. In a letter to Mr.
Keene, dated November 27, 1767, he says:--
“As another voyage, perhaps, may be the issue and result of all
at last, I would beg you and dear Mr. Hardy to let me have my
papers and letters, that I may revise and dispose of everything
in a proper manner. This can do no hurt, come life or come
death, or whether I stay at home or go abroad.”
In the order of Divine Providence there is a strange combination of
circumstances, by which what is appointed is brought to pass. In
the same year died Mr. Whitefield, the Rev. Howel Davies, rector of
Prengast, near Haverfordwest, the head of Calvinistic Methodism in
Pembrokeshire, and the Rev. Thomas Adams, minister of the Tabernacle at
Rodborough, the leader of the same cause in Gloucestershire and Wilts,
and Mr. Whitefield’s only surviving first fellow-labourer, to each of
whom he had bequeathed a small legacy. Though the Tabernacle at Bristol
was under Mr. Whitefield’s auspices, yet, strange to say, in his will
we do not find the least mention of it. The trustees in London offered
to befriend it, but would not accept it as a part of their charge. The
Honourable James Habersham was appointed executor for his affairs in
the province of Georgia, and Messrs. Hardy, West, and Keene for those
in England.
Having by his will left both of his places of worship in London, his
houses, library, and all things appertaining thereto, to _two_
of his executors, in survivorship, Mr. West and Mr. Keene, they were
enabled, through the abundant goodness of God, to carry on the work
in the same manner as in Mr. Whitefield’s life-time, without the
least diminution either of the largeness of the congregations, or the
visible power of God attending the ministry of those faithful men
who laboured for them. Two persons could not have been more happily
associated than Mr. West and Mr. Keene. They were always regular and
exact in the discharge of the weighty duties that devolved upon them.
An uninterrupted harmony characterized all their public transactions.
It was now their study to conciliate the affections of the ministers,
to promote the glory of Jesus Christ, and the spiritual interests of
the congregations; and they had the happiness to see the pleasure of
the Lord prosper in their hands. The late Mr. Berridge, who had a very
high regard for them, when speaking of them, says:--
“Could I discover lucrative views in them, as much as I love the
Tabernacle (that old bee-hive which has filled many bee-hives
with her swarms), I would visit her no longer. But the more
I know of the trustees, the more I am confirmed in their
integrity, which they will give a proof of shortly, by adopting
Dr. Ford as a third trustee.”
This was in the year 1777. From this, as well as from other
circumstances, it would appear that the Doctor, being known as a
preacher and trustee in Lady Huntingdon’s Connexion, was associated
with Messrs. West and Keene in the Tabernacle trust. After the
mournful difference between her Ladyship and Mr. Wills, in 1788, some
propositions were made relative to a union between the two Connexions,
but of what nature, or to what extent, we have no information. Mr.
Berridge, the mutual friend of both, appears to have been a chief
instrument in negotiating this affair. Lady Huntingdon being in London,
in September, 1788, commissioned Mr. Berridge, then residing at the
Tabernacle House, to propose the intended plan, the fulfilment of which
she seems to have had much at heart. But the only document we have been
enabled to procure, which throws any light on the subject, is a short
letter from Mr. Berridge to her Ladyship. It is dated Tabernacle House,
September 25, 1778:--
“My Lady--My ears are so deaf, that I can hear nothing without
bawling, as Mr. Dupont[129] knows to his sorrow, which makes a
visit very troublesome to others and disagreeable to myself. On
this account I thought it more advisable to send you in a letter
what has been shouted into my ears by the trustees, than to
wait upon you in person, and the message I have to communicate
is this: ‘When Dr. Ford returns to London, a fortnight hence,
the trustees will consider of the proposal made to them by Mr.
Dupont and others.’
“I was grieved to hear of Mr. Wills’s departure; but our wise
Jesus can overrule this separation for his glory, as well as
that between Paul and Barnabas. I return this week to Everton.
May the Lord Jesus abide with you and go with me, and give us
both a triumphant exit at last. So prayeth your affectionate
servant,
“JOHN BERRIDGE.”
Mr. Keene died on the 30th of January, 1793. His name deserves to be
recorded in the annals of the Church, as an illustrious example of
holiness and zeal in the cause of God. Mr. West survived him till
the 30th of September, 1796. He was in the 70th year of his age. His
remains were interred under the communion-table, in a vault that
contained the remains of Mrs. Whitefield, Mrs. West, and Mr. Keene. It
is a singular circumstance, that Mrs. Whitefield, Mr. Keene, and Mrs.
West all died on the 30th day of the month, and Mr. Whitefield and Mr.
West on the 30th of September. Mr. West, by his last will, bequeathed
the management of the places to Samuel Foyster, Esq., and John Wilson,
Esq., both of whom are since dead. Mr. Foyster’s removal to another
world took place February 2, 1805. He was one of his Majesty’s justices
of the peace, and was a humble, pious, and peaceable Christian, and an
ornament to his religious profession.
The ministers who supplied immediately after Mr. Whitefield’s death
were Mr. Berridge, Mr. Green, Mr. Elliott, Mr. Piercy, Mr. Rowlands,
Mr. Shirley, Mr. De Courcy, Mr. Hill, Mr. Owen, Dr. Peckwell, Dr.
Illingworth, Mr. West--all clergymen; and Mr. Kinsman, Mr. Medley, Mr.
Edwards, Mr. Scott, Mr. Titus Knight, Mr. Heath, Mr. Winter, Mr. Beck,
Mr. Ashburner, Mr. Durant, and a long list of worthy clergymen and
Dissenting ministers from the country, who esteemed it their privilege
to preach to every large, serious, and attentive congregation, whose
hearts were filled with thankfulness, and at the same time engaged
in prayer for every such minister of Christ; and an unusual blessing
commonly attended both the sowers and reapers. It was the desire of the
managers to let the pulpits be open to every disinterested minister
that might occasionally visit London, of good moral character, sound in
the faith, of moderate Calvinistic principles, without distinction of
parties or denominations, whose talents were suitable to preach with
life and power to overflowing congregations.
Here let us pause, and lift our hearts in thankfulness to the great
Head of the Church, for the plenteous harvest of immortal souls that
hath been gathered to the true Shiloh in these highly-favoured chapels.
The benediction of the Spirit seems to have rested in a peculiar manner
on the labours of the ministers of Christ in these vast fields of
usefulness. They were men of renown in their day, who, through evil
report and good report, preached the everlasting Gospel, and were as
distinguished by the success which crowned their labours, as by the
zeal and ability with which they performed them. This noble army of
confessors are now before the throne. The great Captain of Salvation
hath called them to their eternal reward. May their surviving brethren
catch a glowing spark of the flame of zeal which animated these men of
God, imitate their excellencies, avoid their infirmities, and leave
behind them a memory as blessed, and a monument as enduring, in the
hearts of thousands converted by their ministrations! Such were the
men “whom the Lord delighted to honour.” Happy shall we be if counted
worthy to sit at their feet in Christ’s kingdom of eternal glory!