Chapter 24

[221]Bishop Butler, the celebrated author of "The Analogy of Religion, natural and revealed, to the Constitution and Course of Nature." The bishop's "benefaction for Georgia" was five guineas.

[222]Charles Wesley, who seems to have been present, designates the congregation "an innumerable multitude."The Craftsman, of June 9, says, On Sunday night, Mr. Whitefield preached his farewell sermon at Kennington Common, and collected £34 5s. for the Orphan House in Georgia. The total sum collected by him for several charities is as follows:—For the Orphan House, £966; for the poor in general, £150; for erecting a church for the Saltzburghers, £77; total, £1193.

[223]The Rev. Henry Piers was a warm-hearted friend of Whitefield and the Wesleys; and a more detailed account of him may be given hereafter. At present, suffice it to say, that, nine days after this service at Bexley Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury expressly forbad Mr. Piers to allow either Whitefield or the Wesleys to preach in his church again. Mr. Piers obeyed theletterof this injunction—that is, hispulpitwas closed against them; but not hisreading desk, nor hiscommunion place.

[224]"Oxford Methodists," p. 85.

[225]For an elaborate account of the French Prophets, see Southey's Life of Wesley, chapter viii.

[226]This sermon afterwards was published, and entitled "Free Grace." It occasioned a breach in Whitefield's and Wesley's friendship, as will be seen in subsequent pages.

[227]Methodist Magazine, 1849, p. 165.

[228]Dr. Tucker rose to great eminence by his numerous publications, which, oddly enough, were principally on political and commercial subjects. He died in 1799, aged eighty-eight.

[229]Dr. Byrom's "Private Journal and Literary Remains," vol. ii., pp. 246, 249.

[230]It is, to say the least, surprising that the congregations at Cirencester and at Painswick should each number three thousand people. Even in 1801, the entire population of the former place was only 4130; and of the latter, 3150. Assuming Whitefield's figures to be correct, there must have been great gatherings of people from the surrounding neighbourhoods.

[231]Dr. Stebbing's sermon will be noticed hereafter.

[232]The Presbytery of the new Dissenting sect.

[233]"Life and Diary of Rev. Ralph Erskine."

[234]"Life and Diary of Rev. Ralph Erskine."

[235]Whitefield estimated hislast Sunday'scongregation at "about twenty thousand." It is only fair to say, that Whitefield's estimates might be too high. In theGentleman's Magazinefor August, 1739, there appeared a letter, signed "Thoninonca," stating that the writer was present when Whitefield preached in Moorfields on July 29, and that, before the audience was dismissed, he "made several marks where the outermost of them stood; and, the next morning, he found the distance of the farthest mark from the rostrum to be thirty-two yards, and that of the nearest to it twenty-eight." He then calculates "the space taken up by the standing congregation to be 2827 yards;" and adds, "in a square yard, nine persons may easily stand, and therefore 2827 square yards must contain 25,443 people." To this the editor appended a note: "Soldiers, in close order, stand but four in a square yard, at which rule, the circle will contain but 11,338."

[236]Let me here correct an error in the first and second editions of "The Life and Times of Wesley." It is there stated that Whitefield made only two collections for Kingswood School, namely, one at Bristol on July 13th, and the other at Moorfields on July 29th. To these, however, must be added the following. Collections, on July 22, at Moorfields, £24 17s., and at Kennington Common, £15 15s. 6d. And besides the one already mentioned as being made at Moorfields on July 29, another, on the same day at Kennington Common, amounting to £20, and another of nearly £15, at Blackheath, on August 12.

[237]Date, July 23.

[238]" July 24.

[239]" July 25.

[240]Date, July 31.

[241]" August 3.

[242]Whitefield's Journal.

[243]A note of explanation, however, is necessary here. The first edition of Whitefield's sermon on Genesis iii. 15, is widely different from his sermon on the same text, published in his collected works in 1772. In the former, the doctrines of election and of sinless perfection are not mentioned. In fact, there is scarcely any allusion to these doctrines in any of the sermons preached by Whitefield prior to his second visit to America.

[244]Whitefield's Journal, June 9, 1739.

[245]"Life of Sir Richard Hill," p. 171.

[246]C. Wesley's Journal, i., p. 159.

[247]Query: Did Warburton suggest to Bishop Lavington the idea of writing "The Enthusiasm of Methodists and Papists compared"? Lavington's work began to be published in 1749.

[248]Nichols' "Illustrations of Literature," vol. ii., pp. 96, 110.

[249]"Life and Times of Countess of Huntingdon," vol. i., p. 197.

[250]Rector of St. Aldates.

[251]Poor Whitefield's Journals were a sore perplexity. Under date "November 12, 1739," Wesley writes: "A young gentleman overtook me on the road from Wycombe to Oxford, and, after a while, asked me if I had seen Whitefield's Journals? I told him I had. 'And what do you think of them?' said he. 'Don't you think they are d—n'd cant, enthusiasm, from end to end? I think so.' I asked him, 'Why do you think so?' He replied, 'Why, he talks so much about joy and stuff, and inward feelings. As I hope to be saved, I cannot tell what to make of it.'"

[252]Another publication may be mentioned, namely, "An Abstract of the Life and Death of the Reverend, Learned, and Pious Mr. Thomas Halyburton, M.A., Professor of Divinity in the University of St. Andrews. With a Recommendatory Epistle by the Rev. George Whitefield, and a Preface by the Rev. John Wesley. 1739." 102 pp. Whitefield's "Epistle" is dated February 5, 1739. Speaking of Halyburton, he says, "I cannot but look upon his life as the most perfect copy of his blessed Master's that I have yet seen; and, as such, I recommend it to all my friends."

[253]No sermon already noticed is included in the list.

[254]This, in Whitefield's collected works, is entitled, "The Wise and Foolish Virgins."

[255]In Whitefield's collected works, the title of this sermon is "The Conversion of Zacchæus;" but there is a great difference between the two.

[256]These Prayers were six in number. Afterwards, thirteen more were published, including "A Prayer for a Rich Man;" "A Prayer for a Poor Negro;" "A Prayer for a Woman lately married to a believing Husband;" "A Prayer for a Man, convinced that it is his duty to marry, for Direction in the Choice of a Wife;" "A Prayer for a Woman desiring Direction of God, after an Offer of Marriage is made to her," etc. All the Prayers are very scriptural, and beautifully devout.

[257]The following sermons were not published till the year 1740, but all of them were preached in 1739.

[258]This, in the collected works, is entitled, "Abraham's Offering up his Son Isaac;" but, except in general outline, the resemblance between the two discourses is small.

[259]In the collected works, the title is, "Saul's Conversion." The two sermons are very different.

[260]Entitled, in the collected works, "The Seed of the Woman, and the Seed of the Serpent." The two are very different.

[261]"The title, in the collected works, is, "What think ye of Christ?" There is scarcely any resemblance between the two.

[262]Gospel Magazine, 1776, p. 443.

[263]Meaning "Vauxhall Spring Gardens."

[264]It is a curious fact that this sermon was not published in Whitefield's collected works, in 1772.

[265]This sermon also was not included in Whitefield's collected works, in 1772.

[266]This sermon was on the parable of the Pharisee and Publican, but is altogether different from that, on the same text, in Whitefield's collected works.

[267]Pointing, on Kennington Common, to the gallows, where three men were hanging in chains.

[268]C. Wesley's Journal, vol. i., p. 159.

[269]See "An Account of Money received and disbursed for the Orphan House in Georgia. By George Whitefield. 1741." Only eleven, however, had their expenses paid out of the public subscriptions. Whitefield and Seward paid the passage-money for themselves and four others.

[270]Kindly furnished by Mr. George Stampe, of Grimsby.

[271]Arminian Magazine, 1778, p. 179.

[272]This letter was evidently written to some one at Savannah; probably the clergyman. The reference is to the war then raging in Georgia between Spain and England.

[273]To shew the malignant feeling of the public press against Whitefield, and the falsehoods used to injure him, the following is extracted fromRead's Weekly Journal, of October 20, 1739:—"Edinburgh, October 9. It is said that the Rev. Mr. Whitefield, whose savoury Journals used to be quoted with applause by our Scot seceders, has of late addressed himself to one of these champions, in a letter which contains his opinions of their principles; and, in the strongest terms, condemns them as the authors of a detestable schism, endeavours to persuade them to return to their duty, and to leave off their divisive courses. This letter has given great offence; and Mr. Whitefield, from being a reformer, a saint, and a shining light, is degenerated, in their discourses, into one whose heart is corrupted, who will not lift up a testimony against the corruptions of the Church: in short, as one (oh horrid!) who will not rebel against an authority which he swore to maintain."

[274]Paul Orchard, Esq., of Stoke Abbey, Devonshire, one of Hervey's kindest friends. The extract immediately preceding this is from the letter to Mr. Orchard.

[275]It may be added here, that, in a foot-note in the edition of his Journals published in 1756, Whitefield states: "Joseph Periam married one of the Orphan-house mistresses. After a few years, both died; and I have now two of their sons in the Orphan House, who are very promising boys."

[276]The same letter, in the same year, was printed in London, "by W. Strahan, and sold at Mr. James Hutton's," (8vo. 28 pp.,) with the additional statement on the title-page, that it was "published for the benefit of the school lately erected among the colliers in Kingswood, near Bristol." This edition had also the following characteristic motto prefixed, taken from the works of St. Hilary:—"One thing I forewarn you of—beware of Antichrist; for it is evil to be taken, as you are, with the love of stone walls; it is evil to have a veneration for the church of God, as you have, in houses and edifices; it is evil to cry, as you do, Peace, peace, under these: for is there any doubt to be made, whether Antichrist will fix his seat in these? To me, mountains, and forests, and fens, and prisons, and pits, are the safer places; for in these it was that the prophets—either waiting for, or being actually overwhelmed with, the Spirit of God—prophesied, or spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

"One thing I forewarn you of—beware of Antichrist; for it is evil to be taken, as you are, with the love of stone walls; it is evil to have a veneration for the church of God, as you have, in houses and edifices; it is evil to cry, as you do, Peace, peace, under these: for is there any doubt to be made, whether Antichrist will fix his seat in these? To me, mountains, and forests, and fens, and prisons, and pits, are the safer places; for in these it was that the prophets—either waiting for, or being actually overwhelmed with, the Spirit of God—prophesied, or spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

[277]"European Settlements in America." Sixth edition, 1777.

[278]Twenty-two years afterwards, it was about 250,000, half of whom were Germans, Swedes, or Dutch. ("European Settlements." Sixth edition. 1777.)

[279]Bancroft's "History of the United States."

[280]"European Settlements."

[281]Gillies' "Historical Collections," vol. ii., p. 150.

[282]Evangelical Magazine, 1807, p. 249.

[283]Hodge's "History of the Presbyterian Church in the United States."

[284]Evangelical Magazine, 1807, p. 249.

[285]Hodge's "History of the Presbyterian Church in the United States."

[286]Hodge's "History of the Presbyterian Church in the United States."

[287]Evangelical Magazine, 1807, p. 292.

[288]Belcher's "Biography of Whitefield," p. 117.

[289]Hodge's "History of the Presbyterian Church in the United States."

[290]Hodge's "History of the Presbyterian Church in the United States."

[291]Philip's "Life and Times of Whitefield" and Hodge's "History of the Presbyterian Church in the United States."

[292]It was in compliance with Mr. Noble's request that Whitefield visited New York.

[293]The Rev. Ebenezer Pemberton, who, in 1727, became minister of the Presbyterian Church in New York. In 1754, he was installed minister of the New Brick Church, in Boston. To the end of life, he was one of Whitefield's faithful friends. He died in 1777, aged 72.

[294]Dr. Colman, in a letter to Dr. Watts, dated "Boston, January 16, 1740," says, "Mr. Whitefield arrived some months ago at Philadelphia, where, and through the Jerseys and at New York, he preached daily to incredible multitudes with great eloquence and zeal. America is like to do him much honour. He proposes to see Boston, in his return to Europe, about June next; and our town and country stand ready to receive him as an angel of God. Ministers and people, all but his own Church, speak of him with great esteem and love. He seems spirited from on high, in an extraordinary manner, assisted and prospered." (Milner's "Life and Times of Dr. Isaac Watts," p. 652.)

[295]The Rev. Jonathan Dickinson, for thirty-nine years minister of the first Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth Town, New Jersey, and also first president of New Jersey College. He likewise was a practising physician of considerable reputation. He was much celebrated as a preacher; and his publications were creditable to his head and heart. He died, universally lamented, in 1747, aged 59.

[296]One of these was the Rev. Theodore James Frelinghuysen, minister of the Reformed Dutch Church at Raritan, New Jersey. He was an able, evangelical, and eminently successful preacher. He died in 1754.

[297]Mr. Rowland was a remarkable man. He was a Presbyterian in doctrine and practice, but, on account of some irregularity in his being called to the ministry, the Presbytery refused to recognise him. He, accordingly, began to preach in barns and other unconsecrated places. In the spring of 1739, numbers of persons, in Lawrence, Hopewell, and Amwell, three contiguous towns in New Jersey, were powerfully affected by his preaching, and their convictions of sin were attended with great horror, trembling, and weeping. John Rowland was an irregular revivalist, exceedingly effective and useful. (Hodge's "History of the Presbyterian Church in the United States.")

[298]It was not without reason, that, thirty-eight years after this, Wesley said: "Mr. Whitefield, by conversing with the Dissenters, chiefly the Presbyterians in New England, contracted strong prejudices against the Established Church." (Wesley's Answer to Rowland Hill's "Imposture Detected," p. 4.)

[299]Glasgow Weekly History, No. 3.

[300]This was "a young gentleman, once a minister of the Church of England, but now secretary to Mr. Penn."

[301]Oldmixon, in his "British Empire in America," published in 1708, says, "German Town, a corporation of high and low Dutch. There are above 200 houses in it. Peach trees are planted all along before the doors, which, in the time of bloom, make a beautiful road for a mile together. The town is very pleasant and airy, being wonderfully cleared from trees."

[302]In thePennsylvania Gazette, a newspaper published by Franklin, appeared the following notice, November 15, 1739:—"The Rev. George Whitefield having given me copies of his Journals and Sermons, with leave to print the same, I propose to publish them with all expedition, if I find sufficient encouragement. The Sermons will make two volumes, and the Journals two more, which will be delivered to subscribers at two shillings for each volume, bound. Those, therefore, who are inclined to encourage this work are desired speedily to send in their names to me, that I may take measures accordingly."

[302]In thePennsylvania Gazette, a newspaper published by Franklin, appeared the following notice, November 15, 1739:—

"The Rev. George Whitefield having given me copies of his Journals and Sermons, with leave to print the same, I propose to publish them with all expedition, if I find sufficient encouragement. The Sermons will make two volumes, and the Journals two more, which will be delivered to subscribers at two shillings for each volume, bound. Those, therefore, who are inclined to encourage this work are desired speedily to send in their names to me, that I may take measures accordingly."

[303]This occurred in the spring of 1740.

[304]"Memoirs of Life and Writings of Benjamin Franklin," vol. i. 4to. London, 1818.

[305]Benjamin Franklin's newspaper, of this date, contains the following:—"On Thursday last, the Rev. Mr. Whitefield left this city" (Philadelphia), "and was accompanied to Chester by about one hundred and fifty horse, and preached there to about seven thousand people. On Friday, he preached twice at Wilmington, to about five thousand; on Saturday, at Newcastle, to about two thousand five hundred; and the same evening, at Christiana Bridge, to about three thousand; on Sunday, at Whiteclay Creek, he preached twice, resting about half an hour between the sermons, to about eight thousand, of whom three thousand, it is computed, came on horseback. It rained most of the time, and yet they stood in the open air."

[306]These references to hunger, and kitchen accommodation, may appear strange, but are sufficiently explained by the following extract from a letter which Whitefield wrote to Gilbert Tennent: "In these parts, Satan seems to lead people captive at his will. The distance of the plantations prevents people assembling together. Here are no great towns, as in other provinces, and the commonalty is made up of negroes and convicts; and if they pretend to serve God, their masters, Pharaoh-like, cry out, 'Ye are idle, ye are idle.'"

[307]A college was erected at Williamsburg as early as the year 1700, mostly at the charge of King William and Queen Mary, who gave £2000 towards it, also twenty thousand acres of land, and the duty of a penny a pound on all tobacco exported, from Virginia and Maryland, to the plantations. It was soon entirely destroyed by fire. (Oldmixon's "British Empire in America," vol. i., p. 301.)

[308]This account was written in 1746; but, through forgetfulness on Whitefield's part, it is not correct. On February 2, 1739, he preached in Islington Church, and made a collection amounting to £22 11s.; and, two days afterwards, he preached and made another collection, in the Church of St. George's in the East, which amounted to £18. ("Account of Money received and disbursed for the Orphan House in Georgia. By George Whitefield. London: 1741.")

[309]Altogether, Whitefield made three collections in Moorfields, making an aggregate sum of £112 14s.; and six on Kennington Common, amounting to £173 10s. 4d. (Ibid.)

[310]Whitefield's Works, vol. iii., p. 466.

[311]Whitefield's Works, vol. i., p. 141, and "Life and Diary of Rev. R. Erskine," p. 310.

[312]The Rev. Benjamin Colman, D.D., was born at Boston, New England, in 1673. At the age of twenty-two, he embarked for London, and was taken prisoner by a French privateer. On being released, he proceeded to England, where he became acquainted with Howe, Calamy, Burkitt, and other ministers of distinction. In 1699, he returned to Boston, and was appointed the first minister of the church in Brattle Street, where he continued to officiate until his death in 1747. He was neither a Presbyterian nor an Independent, but something between the two. His learning, talents, piety, and usefulness secured him universal respect; and he certainly was one of the most distinguished ministers in New England.

[313]Soon after this, Whitefield became a slave-owner.

[314]"Journal of Proceedings in Georgia," by William Stephens, Esq. Vol. ii. 1742.

[315]"Memoirs of James Hutton," p. 47.

[316]The commissary preached against Whitefield; and the Rev. Joseph Smith, Independent minister, on March 26, defended him in a sermon founded upon the text, "I said, I will answer also my part, I also will shew my opinion." First of all, Mr. Smith dwells on the doctrines which Whitefield everywhere preached; namely, original sin, justification by faith alone, and the new birth. He then proceeds to give his opinion of Whitefield himself. He says: "He is certainly a finished preacher, and a great master of pulpit oratory, while a noble negligence runs through his style. How is his tongue like the pen of a ready writer! With what a flow of words did he speak to us upon the great concerns of our souls! In what a flaming light did he set eternity before us! How did he move our passions with the constraining love of Christ! The awe, the silence, the attention which sat upon the face of so great an audience, was an argument how he could reign over all their powers. So charmed were the people with his manner of address, that they shut up their shops, forgot their secular business, and laid aside their schemes for the world; and the oftener he preached, the keener edge he seemed to put upon their desires of hearing him again. How bold and courageous did he look! He was no flatterer, would not suffer men to settle upon their lees, and did not prophesy smooth things. The politest, the most modish of our vices, the most fashionable of our entertainments, he struck at, regardless of every one's presence but His in whose name he spake. How rich has he been in all good works! What an eminent pattern of piety towards God! How holy and unblameable in all conversation and godliness! He affects no party, nor sets himself at the head of any. He is always careful to time his Sabbath discourses, so as not to interfere with the stated hours of worship in that Church of which he is a professed member and minister; because, as he told us, he would not tempt away hearers from their proper and respective pastors. He appears to me a man full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. Though his prayers in this pulpit were all extempore, yet how copious, how ardent, with what compass of thought! He prays in public with that spirit, variety, and fluency which could only be expected from a man who was no stranger to the sacred duty in private. For charity, as it consists in compassion and acts of beneficence, we have few men like-minded. Strolling and vagabond orphans, poor and helpless, without purse and without a friend, he seeks out, picks up, and adopts into his family. He is now building a house, and laying the best foundation for their support and religious instruction, without any visible fund; encouraged to go on in faith, from the shining example of the great professor in Germany, who began a like pious work with almost nothing, and raised it to such perfection as is the wonder of all who hear it."Such was the public testimony of the Independent minister at Charleston, delivered at the time when the clergyman of the Church of England was doing his utmost to bring young Whitefield into disrepute. His chapel, in which Whitefield preached, and where he collected upwards of £70 sterling for the Orphanage, was then called the "White Meetinghouse," and occupied the site of the present circular church. ("Methodism in Charleston," p. 20.)

Such was the public testimony of the Independent minister at Charleston, delivered at the time when the clergyman of the Church of England was doing his utmost to bring young Whitefield into disrepute. His chapel, in which Whitefield preached, and where he collected upwards of £70 sterling for the Orphanage, was then called the "White Meetinghouse," and occupied the site of the present circular church. ("Methodism in Charleston," p. 20.)

[317]Mr. Garden was born in Scotland in 1685, and came to Charleston about 1720. He was the commissary of the Bishop of London for the Carolinas, Georgia, and the Bahama Islands. He died in 1756.

[318]"Memoir of General Oglethorpe," p. 268.

[319]Mr. Stephens, in his "Proceedings in Georgia," 1742, says:—"1740, March 22. Mr. Whitefield returned from Charleston. The Carolina newpapers advertise that he has published two letters there; one shewing 'Archbishop Tillotson knew no more of Christianity than Mahomet,' and the other shewing the fundamental errors of a book entitled 'The Whole Duty of Man.' This confirmed my belief of what I had been told—that he made one of his orphans throw that book into the fire, with great detestation."

[320]A reply, by A. Croswell, to the first half of these letters, was published in 1741, with the following title: "An Answer to the Rev. Mr. Garden's first three Letters to the Rev. Mr. Whitefield. With an Appendix concerning Mr. Garden's Treatment of Mr. Whitefield. Boston, 1471." (16mo. 60 pp.) The "Answer" is purely theological; the "Appendix" will be referred to hereafter.

[321]Whitefield's letter on the "Whole Duty of Man" was published in theDaily Advertiserof July 2nd, 1740. It is an immensely long production, and really not worth quoting. He says he had looked over "the index and general titles" of the book, and could not find "the word Regeneration so much as once mentioned." The letter is chiefly theological; but Whitefield would have been better employed in preaching, than in writing this verbose epistle. It did no credit either to his head or heart, and was not inserted in his collected works in 1771.

[322]"Memoir of General Oglethorpe," p. 272.

[323]See vol. i., pp. 74, 78, 79, 101-113, etc.

[324]See his Journal.

[325]See Whitefield's Works, vol. i., p. 88.

[326]Ibid., p. 102.

[327]Seward's Journal, p. 4.

[328]Ibid., p. 5.

[329]Seward's Journal, p. 5.

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