George Whitefield: A Biography, with special reference to his labors in America

In March, 1743, he went again into Gloucestershire, where the people appeared to be more eager to attend on his ministry than ever before. "Preaching," says he, "in Gloucestershire, is now like preaching at the Tabernacle in London." And in a letter, April 7, he says, "I preached, and took leave of the Gloucester people with mutual and great concern, on Sunday evening last. It was past one in the morning before I could lay my weary body down, At five I rose again, sick for want of rest; but I was enabled to get on horseback and ride to Mr. T – 's, where I preached to a large congregation, who came there at seven in the morning. At ten, I read prayers and preached, and afterwards administered the sacrament in Stonehouse church. Then I rode to Stroud, and preached to about twelve thousand in Mr. G – 's field; and about six in the evening, to a like number on Hampton common." Next morning he preached near Dursley to some thousands; at about seven o'clock he reached Bristol, and preached to a full congregation at Smith's hall; and on the following morning, after preaching, set out for Waterford, in South Wales, where he opened the association which he and his brethren had agreed upon, and was several days with them, settling the affairs of the societies. The work in Wales, during his absence, had very greatly extended itself, not a few of the clergy having become converted, as well as their people. He tells us, "The power of God at the sacrament, under the ministry of Mr. Rowland, was enough to make a person's heart burn within him. At seven in the morning have I seen perhaps ten thousand from different parts, in the midst of a sermon, crying, Gugunniaut—bendyth– [glory – blessed] – ready to leap for joy." He continued in Wales some weeks, preaching with great apparent success, and in the latter part of April returned to Gloucester, after having, in about three weeks, travelled about four hundred miles, spent three days in attending associations, and preached about forty times. Among the interesting events of this journey may be reckoned the fact, that when he was at Caermarthen the quarterly sessions were held. When he was about to preach, the magistrates sent him word, that if he would stay till the court rose, they would attend on the service. He acceded to their proposal, and they were present, with many thousands more, including several persons of high rank.

After a few weeks spent in London, preaching to vast congregations in Moorfields, and exulting in his accustomed success, collecting too for his beloved orphans, so as to be able to pay all his debts, and to make a remittance to Georgia, we again find him at Bristol, and in a few days afterwards at Exeter. Among the clergymen who met him there was Mr. Cennick. As this gentleman was preaching during this visit in the High-street of the city, he was eloquently discoursing on the doctrine of the atonement by the blood of Christ, when a profane butcher in the crowd exclaimed, "If you love blood, you shall presently have enough of it," and ran to obtain some to throw on him. A Mr. Saunders, who was employed in conveying persons from one place to another, though an entire stranger to religion, from a sense of justice, determined to defend the preacher; and when the butcher came with a pail nearly filled with blood, he quietly took it from him, and poured it over the man's own head. This Mr. Saunders afterwards became an eminent Christian. He was, till extreme old age, the body-coachman of George III., with whom he frequently held Christian conversation, and died happily in 1799, at the age of eighty-nine.

During this visit to Bristol, Whitefield's ministry was owned of God in the conversion of Thomas Olivers, a young profligate Welshman. It is said, he had so studied profanity and cursing, that he would exemplify the richness of the Welsh language by compounding twenty or thirty words into one long and horrid blasphemy. He had often sang profane songs about Whitefield, and was now induced by curiosity to go to hear him. Being too late on the first occasion, he went on the following evening nearly three hours before the time. The text was, "Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" Zech. 3:2. His heart became broken with a sense of his sins, and he was soon enabled to trust in the mercy of Christ. He became a zealous and successful minister of Christ among the followers of Mr. Wesley, and was the author of the well-known hymn,

"The God of Abram praise," etc

In August, Whitefield returned to London, but not to make a long stay there. "I thank you," he writes to a correspondent, "for your kind caution to spare myself; but evangelizing is certainly my province. Everywhere effectual doors are opened. So far from thinking of settling in London, I am more and more convinced that I should go from place to place." Accordingly, during the three last months of 1743, we find him in a large number of places in the central and western parts of England. At Birmingham, he writes, "I have preached five times this day, and weak as I am, through Christ strengthening me, I could preach five times more." At Kidderminster he met with a distinguished Christian merchant, a Mr. Williams, whose published "Memoirs" have been eminently useful. Whitefield writes, "I was kindly received by Mr. Williams. Many friends were at his house. I was greatly refreshed to find what a sweet savor of good Baxter's doctrine, works, and discipline remains to this day." Nor did he, amidst all his labors, feel his health much impaired. He observes, indeed, that he had taken a cold, but adds, "The Lord warms my heart."

In the beginning of March, 1744, he was compelled to attend the assizes at Gloucester. During the preceding summer, the enemies of the Methodists had been very violent, especially at Hampton, in that county. Forbearance in the case had ceased to be a virtue, and Mr. Whitefield was strongly urged to appeal to law, which in England in such cases is severe. At the preceding sessions the rioters had been convicted, but appealed to the assizes, a higher court. After a full hearing, a verdict was given in favor of Whitefield and his friends, and all the prisoners were found guilty. This exposed each to a fine of forty pounds, or six months' imprisonment; the rioters were greatly alarmed, public feeling on the subject was corrected, and the Methodists readily extended forgiveness to the unhappy offenders.

Whitefield was now invited by Mr. Smith, an American merchant then in England, in the name of thousands, to revisit this country, and took passage with that gentleman in a vessel sailing from Portsmouth. But the captain refused to take him, "for fear," as he said, "he would spoil the sailors." On this account Mr. Whitefield was compelled to go to Plymouth, another seaport, to accomplish his purpose. On his way, he preached at Exeter and other places, with delightful results. "But," he says, "the chief scene was at Plymouth and the Dock, [now called Devonport,] where I expected least success."

While he was at Plymouth, four well-dressed men came to the house of one of his particular friends, in a kind manner inquiring after him, and desiring to know where he lodged. Soon after, Mr. Whitefield received a letter informing him that the writer was a nephew of Mr. S – , an attorney in New York; that he had the pleasure of supping with Mr. Whitefield at his uncle's house, and requested his company to sup with him and a few friends at a tavern. Mr. Whitefield replied to him that he was not accustomed to sup abroad at such houses, but he should be glad of the gentleman's company to eat a morsel with him at his own lodging. The gentleman accordingly came and supped, but was observed frequently to look around him, and to be very absent. At length he took his leave, and returned to his companions in the tavern, and on being asked by them what he had done, he answered, that he had been treated with so much civility and kindness that he had not the heart to touch him. One of the company, a lieutenant of a man-of-war, laid a wager of ten guineas that he would do his business for him. His companions, however, had the precaution to take away his sword.

It was now about midnight, and Mr. Whitefield having that day preached to a large congregation, and visited the French prisoners, had retired to rest, when he was awoke and told that a well-dressed gentleman earnestly wished to speak with him. Supposing that it was some person under conviction of sin, many such having previously called upon him, he desired him to be brought to his room. The gentleman came, sat down by his bedside, congratulated him upon the success of his ministry, and expressed considerable regret that he had been prevented from hearing him. Soon after, however, he began to utter the most abusive language, and in a cruel and cowardly manner beat him in his bed. The landlady and her daughter, hearing the noise, rushed into the room and laid hold of the assailant; but disengaging himself from them, he renewed his attack on the unoffending preacher, who, supposing that he was about to be shot or stabbed, underwent all the feelings of a sudden and violent death. Soon after, a second person came into the house, and called from the bottom of the stairs, "Take courage, I am ready to help you." But by the repeated cries of murder the neighborhood had become so alarmed, that the villains were glad to make their escape. "The next morning," says Mr. Whitefield, "I was to expound at a private house, and then to set out for Biddeford. Some urged me to stay and prosecute, but being better employed, I went on my intended journey, was greatly blessed in preaching the everlasting gospel; and, upon my return, was well paid for what I had suffered, curiosity having led perhaps two thousand more than ordinary to see and hear a man that had like to have been murdered in his bed. And I trust, in the five weeks that I waited for the convoy, hundreds were awakened and turned unto the Lord."

As Whitefield was one day preaching in Plymouth, a Mr. Henry Tanner, who was at work as a ship-builder at a distance, heard his voice, and resolved, with five or six of his companions, to go and drive him from the place where he stood; and for this purpose they filled their pockets with stones. When, however, Mr. Tanner drew near, and heard Mr. Whitefield earnestly inviting sinners to Christ, he was filled with astonishment, his resolution failed him, and he went home with his mind deeply impressed. On the following evening, he again attended, and heard Mr. Whitefield on the sin of those who crucified the Redeemer. After he had forcibly illustrated their guilt, he appeared to look intently on Mr. Tanner, as he exclaimed, with great energy, "Thou art the man!" These words powerfully impressed Mr. Tanner; he felt his transgressions of the divine law to be awfully great, and in the agony of his soul he cried, "God be merciful to me a sinner!" The preacher then proceeded to proclaim the free and abundant grace of the Lord Jesus, which he commanded to be preached among the very people who had murdered him; a gleam of hope entered the heart of the penitent, and he surrendered himself to Christ. Mr. Tanner afterwards entered the ministry, and labored with great success, for many years, at Exeter.

We are not quite certain whether it was on this or a subsequent visit to Plymouth, that Whitefield had preached on the Sabbath for the Rev. Mr. Kinsman, and after breakfast on Monday morning, said to him, "Come, let us visit some of your poor people. It is not enough that we labor in the pulpit; we must endeavor to be useful out of it." On entering the dwellings of the afflicted poor, he administered to their temporal as well as their spiritual wants. Mr. Kinsman, knowing the low state of his finances, was surprised at his liberality, and suggested that he thought he had been too bountiful. Mr. Whitefield, with some degree of smartness, replied, "It is not enough, young man, to pray, and put on a serious face; true religion, and undefiled, is this, to visit the widow and the fatherless in their affliction, and to supply their wants. My stock, it is true, is nearly exhausted; but God, whom I serve, and whose saints we have assisted, will, I doubt not, soon give me a supply." His expectation was not disappointed. A stranger called on him the same evening, who said, "With great pleasure I have heard you preach; you are on a journey, as well as myself, and travelling is expensive. Do me the honor to accept of this;" handing him five guineas, or twenty-five dollars. Returning to the family, Mr. Whitefield, very pleasantly smiling, showed them the money, saying, "There, young man, God has very speedily repaid what I lent him this morning. Let this in future teach you not to withhold what it is in the power of your hand to give. The gentleman to whom I was called is a perfect stranger to me; his only business was to give me the sum you see." It was a singular fact, that this gentleman, though rich, was notorious for a penurious disposition.

During his stay in Plymouth, Whitefield's usefulness daily increased. The ferry-men, who obtained their living by carrying persons between Plymouth and Dock, refused to take money from his hearers, saying, "God forbid that we should sell his word!" The evangelist exclaimed, "Oh, the thousands that flock to the preaching of Christ's gospel!" In the midst of these scenes, the convoy arrived, and in delicate health he embarked for America.

CHAPTER IX.

WHITEFIELD'S SECOND VISIT TO NEW ENGLAND.

1744, 1745

Mr. Whitefield commenced his third voyage to America in August, 1744. His health while crossing the Atlantic became worse, rather than better, the voyage lasting eleven weeks. He had set out in company with about one hundred and fifty ships, attended by several men-of-war as convoys, which, however, they lost by storms separating them on the way. It was more than six weeks, owing generally to want of wind, before they reached any of the western islands. When the wind again sprung up, one of the vessels, which missed stays, drove upon the ship in which Whitefield was, striking her mainsail into the bowsprit. The alarm was very great, but no lives were lost. He had been singing a hymn on deck when the concussion took place; this fact, together with that of the concussion itself, was communicated to the convoy, and led to the use of much violent and wicked language. But the good man was not intimidated. He says, "I called my friends together, and broke out into these words in prayer: 'God of the sea, and God of the dry land, this is a night of rebuke and blasphemy. Show thyself, O God, and take us under thine own immediate protection. Be thou our convoy, and make a difference between those who fear thee, and those that fear thee not.'" A difference was soon made. Next day a heavy storm arose, which "battered and sent away our convoy, so that we saw him no more all the voyage." Whitefield at first did not at all regret the loss, but when two strange sails appeared in the distance, and preparation was made for action by mounting guns, slinging hammocks on the sides of the ships, and encircling the masts with chains, he being, as he says, "naturally a coward," found it formidable to have no convoy. The vessels, however, proved to be only a part of their own fleet. This was a pleasant discovery to them, especially to Whitefield. "The captain, on clearing the cabin, said, 'After all, this is the best fighting.' You may be sure I concurred, praying that all our conflicts with spiritual enemies might at last terminate in a thorough cleansing and an eternal purification of the defiled cabin of our hearts."

The tediousness of this voyage, in the feeble state of his health, seems to have tried Whitefield's patience; so that when he arrived in sight of the port of York, in the then territory of Maine, in order to land a few hours sooner he went on board a fishing smack then in the bay; but darkness coming on, she missed her course, and was tossed about all night. Unfortunately, too, she had no provisions, and he was so hungry that he says he "could have gnawed the very boards." Besides he was suffering from "nervous colic." He was greatly discouraged, until a man who was lying at his elbow in the cabin began to talk of "one Mr. Whitefield, for whose arrival the 'New Lights' in New England" were watching and praying. "This," he says, "made me take courage. I continued undiscovered; and in a few hours, in answer, I trust, to new-light prayers, we arrived safe." This was on October 19, 1744. He was quite ill when he landed; but was received by Dr. Sherburne, an eminent physician at York, who was once a Deist, but had been converted under Whitefield's ministry. This gentleman took him to his own house, and after a few days he began to recover.

The Rev. Mr. Moody, of York, the aged and excellent, but eccentric minister of whom we have already spoken, took the earliest suitable opportunity of calling on the great evangelist, and said very characteristically, "Sir, you are, first, welcome to America; secondly, to New England; thirdly, to all faithful ministers in New England; fourthly, to all the good people of New England; fifthly, to all the good people of York; and sixthly and lastly, to me, dear sir, less than the least of all." Prince's "Christian History" had announced his arrival, and that his intention was "to pass on to Georgia; and as he goes on, to meddle with no controversies, but only to preach up the parts of vital piety and the pure truths of the gospel, to all who are willing to hear them."

After giving Whitefield this hearty welcome, Moody urged him for a sermon. The preacher hesitated, on account of his illness, but "good old Mr. Moody" did not give him the benefit of his own favorite maxim, "When you know not what to do, you must not do you know not what." Whitefield preached, and immediately went to Portsmouth, where he preached the same evening, November 6, for Mr. Fitch, and was to have preached again the next morning, but was too ill, and deferred it till the afternoon. In the mean time, as he wrote, "My pains returned; but what gave me most concern was, that notice had been given of my being engaged to preach. I felt a divine life, distinct from my animal life, which made me, as it were, laugh at my pains, though every one thought I was taken with death. My dear York physician was then about to administer a medicine. I on a sudden cried out, 'Doctor, my pains are suspended; by the help of God, I will go and preach, and then come home and die.' With some difficulty I reached the pulpit. All looked quite surprised, as though they saw one risen from the dead. I indeed was as pale as death, and told them they must look upon me as a dying man, come to bear my dying testimony to the truths I had formerly preached to them. All seemed melted, and were drowned in tears. The cry after me, when I left the pulpit, was like the cry of sincere mourners when attending the funeral of a dear departed friend. Upon my coming home, I was laid upon a bed on the ground, near the fire, and I heard them say, 'He is gone.' But God was pleased to order it otherwise. I gradually recovered."

In another account he himself says, "In my own apprehension, and in all appearance to others, I was a dying man. I preached – the people heard me – as such. The invisible realities of another world lay open to my view. Expecting to launch into eternity, and to be with my Master before the morning, I spoke with peculiar energy. Such effects followed the word, I thought it was worth dying for a thousand times. Though wonderfully comforted within at my return home, I thought I was dying indeed… Soon after, a poor negro woman would see me. She came, sat down upon the ground, and looked earnestly in my face, and then said, 'Massa, you just go to heaven's gate, but Jesus Christ said, Get you down, get you down; you must not come here yet; but go first, and call some more poor negroes.' I prayed to the Lord, that if I was to live, this might be the event."

It was nearly three weeks before he was sufficiently recovered to proceed to Boston. The day before he left Portsmouth Mr. Shurtleff wrote, "The prejudices of most that set themselves against him before his coming, seem to be in a great measure abated, and in some, to be wholly removed; and there is no open opposition made to him. I have frequent opportunities of being with him, and there always appears in him such a concern for the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom and the good of souls, such a care to employ his whole time to these purposes, such sweetness of disposition, and so much of the temper of his great Lord and Master, that every time I see him, I find my heart further drawn out towards him."

"Prince's Christian History," of December 15, says, "The Rev. Mr. Whitefield was so far revived as to be able to take coach with his consort, and set out from Portsmouth to Boston, Nov. 24; whither he came in a very feeble state, the Monday evening after; since which he has been able to preach in several of our largest houses of public worship, particularly the Rev. Dr. Colman's, Dr. Sewall's, Mr. Webb's, and Mr. Gee's, to crowded assemblies of people, and to great and growing acceptance. At Dr. Colman's desire, and with the consent of the church, on the Lord's day after his arrival, he administered to them the holy communion. And last Lord's day he preached for the venerable Mr. Cheever, of Chelsea, and administered the holy supper there. The next day he preached for the Rev. Mr. Emerson, of Malden. Yesterday he set out to preach for some towns to the northward; proposes to return hither the next Wednesday evening, and after a few days to comply with the earnest invitations of several ministers to go and preach to their congregations, in the southern parts of the province.

"He comes with the same extraordinary spirit of meekness, sweetness, and universal benevolence as before. In opposition to the spirit of separation and bigotry, he is still for holding communion with all Protestant churches. In opposition to enthusiasm, he preaches a close adherence to the Scriptures, the necessity of trying all impressions by them, and of rejecting whatever is not agreeable to them, as delusions. In opposition to Antinomianism, he preaches up all kinds of relative and religious duties, though to be performed in the strength of Christ; and, in short, the doctrines of the church of England, and the first fathers of this country. As before, he first applies himself to the understandings of his hearers, and then to the affections; and the more he preaches, the more he convinces people of their mistakes about him, and increases their satisfaction."

The administration of the Lord's supper by a priest of the church of England in the Congregational church in Brattle-street, Boston, gave great offence. Some said, the consent of the church was neither given nor asked, and Dr. Colman was blamed for introducing Whitefield by his own authority; to which Dr. Colman replied, that, as it was customary for pastors to invite the assistance of other ministers on such occasions, he thought it unnecessary to call for a vote of the church; that he plainly intimated his intention in his prayer after sermon, and then, on coming to the table, said, "The Rev. Mr. Whitefield being providentially with us, I have asked him to administer the ordinance;" and that by the countenances of the people it seemed to be universally agreeable to them, which he supposed to be all the consent which the case required.

Since Mr. Whitefield's former visit to New England, a considerable change had taken place in not a few of the ministers and churches. In 1740, he had inveighed strongly against many of the ministers, some of them even by name, as, in his opinion, unconverted; and after his departure, some preachers, who professed themselves to be his followers, had created great confusion by carrying these charges much farther than he would have approved. His second visit was therefore anticipated by many with anxiety, lest it might cause a new outbreak of enthusiasm and disorder. The General Association of Connecticut, in June, 1745, advised that he be not invited to preach in any of the churches. When he visited New Haven, he found himself shut out of the pulpit of the First church by its minister Mr. Noyes. A great crowd, however, assembled to hear him, from the neighboring towns, as well as from New Haven, and he preached from a platform erected in the street, before Mr. Pierpont's house on the Green, to a congregation which neither of the meeting-houses could have contained.

From Professor Kingsley's "Sketch of the History of Yale College," we learn that "President Clap issued a declaration, signed by himself and three tutors, that is, Samuel Whittlesey, afterwards minister of the First church in New Haven, Thomas Darling, for many years chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas for the county of New Haven, and John Whiting, in which some of the proceedings of Mr. Whitefield were condemned. In consequence of the religious fervor which had been excited, a much greater diversity of theological opinions prevailed in Connecticut than at any previous period. Violent controversies arose, churches were divided, and the government, by interfering to prevent these evils, increased rather than checked them. The college became an object of jealousy; and the declaration of the rector and tutors, respecting the preaching of Whitefield, offended some, without effectually conciliating others."

The opposition to Mr. Whitefield of which we have spoken, was by no means all that he met with. Even before the Association in Connecticut had taken action, several similar bodies in Massachusetts had acted in a similar manner. The corporation of Harvard college published a testimony against him, while that of Yale represented that he intended to root out all the standing ministers in our land, and to introduce foreigners in their stead. The good man, notwithstanding all this opposition, and much more, went on laboring for the salvation of souls, and God still honored him with success.

While the impartiality to which we hold ourselves bound demanded the statement just made, and while we are compelled to admit the existence of evils attendant on these revivals, we also record some of the facts connected with a convention of ministers, who assembled in Boston in pursuance of a previous notice in the Boston Gazette of May 30, 1743. We copy the original invitation.

"It is desired and proposed by a number of ministers, both in town and country, that such of their brethren as are persuaded that there has been of late a happy revival of religion through an extraordinary divine influence, in many parts of this land, and are concerned for the honor and progress of this remarkable work of God, may have an interview at Boston, the day after the approaching commencement, to consider whether they are not called to give an open, conjunct testimony to an event so surprising and gracious; as well as against those errors in doctrine, and disorders in practice, which through the permitted agency of Satan have attended it, and in any measure blemished its glory and hindered its advancement; and also to consult as to the most likely method to be taken to guard people against such delusions and mistakes as in such a season they are in danger of falling into, and that this blessed work may continue and flourish among us." Those who could not be present were invited to send written attestations.

In accordance with this proposal, the convention met in Boston on Thursday, July 7. The Rev. Dr. Sewall of Boston officiated as Moderator, and the Rev. Messrs. Prince of Boston, and Hobby of Reading, as Scribes. Ninety persons thus assembled, and letters were read from twenty-eight who were absent. A committee was appointed, consisting of the Rev. Dr. Sewall, the Rev. Messrs. Wigglesworth, Prince, Adams, Cooper, Nathanael Rogers, Leonard, and Hobby, to prepare a report. On the next morning this committee presented a document, which, after full discussion, was signed by all present; and the meeting was dissolved.

Our limits will not allow us to give the whole of the report to which we have referred, but a few sentences will show its general character:

"We, whose names are undersigned, think it our indispensable duty – without judging or censuring such of our brethren as cannot at present see things in the same light with us – in this open and conjunct manner to declare, to the glory of sovereign grace, our full persuasion, either from what we have seen ourselves, or received upon credible testimony, that there has been a happy and remarkable revival of religion in many parts of this land, through an uncommon divine influence, after a long time of decay and deadness, and a sensible and very awful withdrawal of the Holy Spirit from his sanctuary among us… The present work seems to be remarkable and extraordinary, on account of the numbers wrought upon. We never before saw so many brought under soul concern, and with great distress making the inquiry, 'What must we do to be saved?' And these persons were of all ages and character. With regard to the suddenness and quick progress of it, many persons and places were surprised with the gracious visit together, or near about the same time, and the heavenly influence diffused itself far and wide, like the light of the morning. Also [the work seems to be remarkable] in respect to the degree of operations, both in a way of terror, and in a way of consolation, attended in many with unusual bodily effects. Not that all who are accounted the subjects of the present work have had these extraordinary degrees of previous distress and subsequent joy. But many, and we suppose the greater number, have been wrought on in a more gentle and silent way, and without any other appearances than are common and usual at other times, when persons have been awakened to a solemn concern about salvation, and have been thought to have passed out of a state of nature into a state of grace. As to those whose inward concern has occasioned extraordinary outward distresses, the most of them, when we came to converse with them, were able to give what appeared to us a rational account of what so affected their minds… The instances were very few in which we had reason to think these affections were produced by visionary or sensible representations, or by any other images than such as the Scripture itself presents to us. Of those who were judged hopefully converted, and made a public profession of religion, there have been fewer instances of scandal and apostasy than might be expected… There appears to be more experimental godliness and lively Christianity than most of us can remember we have ever seen before… And now we desire to bow the knee in thanksgiving to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that our eyes have seen and our ears heard such things. And while these are our sentiments, we must necessarily be grieved at any accounts sent abroad representing this work as all enthusiasm, delusion, and disorder. Indeed, it is not to be denied, that in some places many irregularities and extravagances have been permitted to accompany it, which we would deeply bewail and lament before God, and look upon ourselves obliged, for the honor of the Holy Spirit, and of his operations on the souls of men, to bear a public and faithful testimony against; though at the same time it is to be acknowledged, with much thankfulness, that in other places where the work has greatly flourished, there have been few if any of those disorders and excesses. But who can wonder if, at such a time as this, Satan should intermingle himself to hinder and blemish a work so directly contrary to the interests of his own kingdom?.. Finally, we exhort the children of God to continue instant in prayer, that He, with whom is the residue of the Spirit, would grant us fresh, more plentiful, and extensive effusions, that so this wilderness, in all the parts of it, may become a fruitful field; that the present appearances may be an earnest of the glorious things promised in the latter days, when she shall shine with the glory of the Lord arisen upon her, so as to dazzle the eyes of beholders, confound and put to shame all her enemies, rejoice the hearts of her solicitous and now saddened friends, and have a strong influence and resplendency throughout the earth. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus; come quickly."

This paper was signed by eighteen ministers in the county of Suffolk, among whom were Colman, Sewall, Prince, Webb, Cooper, Foxcroft, Checkly, Gee, Eliot, and Moorhead of Boston; twelve in the county of Essex, nine in Middlesex, six in Worcester, ten in Plymouth, one in Barnstable, three in Bristol, three in York, five in New Hampshire, and one in Rhode Island. There were one hundred and fourteen in all who gave attestations, either by signing their names to the above document, or by sending written attestations. Ninety-six of the one hundred and fourteen took their first degree of Bachelor of Arts more than ten years previously; consequently before the revival commenced. Twenty-six took their first degrees above thirty years before. Attestations were received but from twelve ministers in Connecticut, as the proposal did not reach them in time.

We may add to this statement, as showing in some degree the extent of this revival, that while in 1729 the number of members in the Congregational and Presbyterian churches of this country may be estimated at thirty-three thousand, the number of communicants in 1745 could not be less than seventy-five thousand. "The special revivals of religion," says an able writer in the "American Quarterly Register," vol. 4, 1832, "were probably the means of adding from twenty thousand to thirty thousand members to the churches." The same writer adds, "The genuine fruits of holiness appeared, according to the acknowledgment of all parties, in multitudes of those who professed religion. They were Christians, who endured unto the end. This is the unanimous testimony of those men who were the best able to judge. Great numbers who were convinced of sin by Mr. Whitefield's preaching, gave ample evidence, living and dying, of sincere and fervent love to the commands of God. There is reason to believe that a preparation had been made for the descent of the Holy Spirit, many years before the revival commenced. The fasts and public reformations, the prayers and tears of good men, from 1700 to 1730, were not in vain."

One fact connected with the testimony against Whitefield, published by the faculty of Harvard college, we quote, as showing that then, as well as now, a difference of opinion existed as to written and extempore sermons. They thought his extempore manner of preaching "by no means proper," because extempore preachers are of necessity less instructive, the greater part of the sermon being commonly "the same kind of harangue which they have often used before, so that this is a most lazy manner" of preaching; and because it exposes the preacher to utter rash expressions, and even dangerous errors, as Whitefield, they thought, had done in several instances, probably from that cause. Assuredly he preferred extempore preaching to any other; yet he never pretended to preach without previous study. His sermons usually cost him as much previous labor as if they had been written; so that, in his case at least, it was not "a lazy way" of preaching. The errors which they said he had uttered, were a few hasty expressions, which he had retracted as soon as he had been reminded of them.

Itinerancy, which had also been objected against Whitefield as one of his crimes, he strenuously defended as scriptural and right; understanding an evangelist to be, what they said an itinerant was, "One that hath no particular charge of his own, but goes about from country to country, or from town to town in any country, and stands ready to preach to any congregation that shall call him to it." For the divine command, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature," he argued, "authorizes the ministers of Christ, even to the end of the world, to preach the gospel in every town and country, though not 'of their own head,' yet whenever and wherever Providence should open a door, even though it should be in a place 'where officers are already settled, and the gospel is fully and faithfully preached.' This, I humbly apprehend, is every gospel minister's indisputable privilege." He further asked, "Was not the Reformation begun and carried on by itinerant preaching?" He then quoted from "Baxter's Reformed Pastor," a plan which had been adopted in some parts of England, for circular lectures by settled ministers selected for the purpose, and with the consent of the pastors.

In reference to Harvard college, Whitefield lived long enough to take a Christian's revenge. In 1764, he solicited from his friends donations of books for their library, which had recently been destroyed by fire, and four years afterwards, while his old opponent President Holyoke was yet in office, the following minute was entered on their records: "At a meeting of the President and Fellows of Harvard college, August 22, 1768, the Rev. G. Whitefield having, in addition to his former kindness to Harvard college, lately presented to the library a new edition of his Journals, and having procured large benefactions from several benevolent and respectable gentlemen; voted, that the thanks of the corporation be given to the Rev. Mr. Whitefield, for these instances of candor and generosity."

It will be readily supposed, that notwithstanding all the opposition which Whitefield met, there were yet many thousands always ready to attend on his ministry. It was now the close of 1744, but the cold of winter did not prevent vast crowds assembling at early services long before daylight. Speaking of the opposition he met, "so that," says he, "for a while my situation was rendered uncomfortable," he adds, "But amidst all this smoke a blessed fire broke out. The awakened souls were as eager as ever to hear the word. Having heard that I expounded early in Scotland, they begged that I would do the same in Boston. I complied, and opened a lecture at six in the morning. I seldom preached to less than two thousand. It was delightful to see so many of both sexes neatly dressed flocking to hear the word, and returning home to family prayer and breakfast before the opposers were out of their beds."

The late Rev. Dr. Archibald Alexander tells us, that when he was at Boston, in 1800, he found in the Old South church a lingering relic of Whitefield's times, in a convert of his day, a lady between eighty and ninety years of age, who belonged to a prayer-meeting founded then, which had been kept up weekly until within a few years. Of this, she was the only surviving member.

The "Evening Post," which seems to have been on the side of those who opposed Whitefield, in its issue of March 11, 1745, says, "Prince, Webb, Foxcroft, and Gee, are the directors of Mr. Whitefield's public conduct, as he himself has lately declared at Newbury." He had other powerful friends among the clergy, and still more among the laity, who invited him by vote into some pulpits where the pastors were "shy" of him.

On the 7th of February, we find him at Ipswich, where he spent several days. Mr. Pickering, of the Second church, declined admitting him into his pulpit, and assigned his reasons in a letter, which was published. It contains the usual objections set forth in the various "testimonies," and is remarkable only for one convenient metaphor. The Bishop of London had published on "Lukewarmness and Enthusiasm." Whitefield had said in reply, "All ought to be thankful to that pilot who will teach them to steer a safe and middle course;" and Pickering wittily asks, "But what if the pilot should take the vane for the compass?"

Early in March we find him making an excursion into the east, as we hear of him both at Berwick and Portland, in the then territory of Maine. In the latter place, he not only made a powerful impression on the people, but on their minister. In the outset a strong feeling existed against his preaching in the pulpit of the First church. Mr. Smith, the pastor, says in his "Journal," "The parish are like to be in a flame on account of Mr. Whitefield's coming; the leading men violently opposing." Under the date of May 19, after Whitefield's departure, we find in the "Journal" a remarkable passage: "For several Sabbaths, and the lecture, I have been all in a blaze; never in such a flame, and what I would attend to is, that it was not only involuntary, but actually determined against. I went to meeting resolving to be calm and moderate, lest people should think it was wildness and affectation to ape Mr. Whitefield; but God, I see, makes use of me as he pleases, and I am only a machine in his hand."

About the middle of March, we find our evangelist at Exeter, where he afterwards preached his last sermon. Here some of the more zealous members of the church had withdrawn, and formed a new church. Their conduct had been sanctioned by one council, and censured by another, two years before this time. Whitefield preached to them twice, though Mr. Odlin, the pastor of the church from which they had withdrawn, "solemnly warned and charged him against preaching in his parish." So says the "Evening Post," of March 25, which further calls the people to whom he preached, "Separatists."

In this spring of 1745, the first expedition for the capture from the French of the island of Cape Breton, near Nova Scotia, was set on foot. Colonel Pepperell, a warm personal friend of Whitefield, and the only native of New England who was created a Baronet of Great Britain, was then at Boston, constantly attending Whitefield's lectures. On the day before he accepted a commission to be general in that expedition, he asked his opinion of the matter, and was told, with the preacher's usual frankness, that he did not indeed think that the scheme proposed for taking Louisburgh would be very promising; and that the eyes of all would be upon him. If he did not succeed, the widows and orphans of the slain soldiers would be like lions robbed of their whelps; but if it pleased God to give him success, envy would endeavor to eclipse his glory: he had need, therefore, if he went, to go with a single eye; and then there was no doubt, if Providence really called him, he would find his strength equal to the difficulties with which he would have to contend.

About the same time, Mr. Sherburne, another of Whitefield's friends, being appointed one of the commissioners, told him he must favor the expedition, otherwise the pious people would be discouraged from enlisting; not only did he say this, but he insisted that the evangelist should give him a motto for his flag, for the encouragement of his soldiers. Whitefield refused to do this, as it would not be consistent with his character as a minister of the gospel of peace. But as Sherburne would take no denial, he gave him, Nil desperandum, Christo Duce– [Nothing to be despaired of, Christ being leader.] In these circumstances a large number of men enlisted.

The soldiers and their officers now went farther, and before their embarkation requested him to give them a sermon. He preached to them from the text, "And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him; and he became a captain over them." 1 Samuel 22:2. From this somewhat singular text, he discoursed on the manner in which distressed sinners came to Jesus Christ, the Son of David; and in his application, exhorted the soldiers to behave like the soldiers of David, and the officers to act like David's worthies; saying, that if they did so, there would be good news from Cape Breton. After this he preached to the general himself, who invited him to become one of his chaplains. Whitefield declined this, saying, that though he should esteem this an honor, yet, as he generally preached three times a day, to large congregations, he could do more service by stirring up the people to pray, thus strengthening the hearts and hands of the army. In this practice he persevered during the whole siege of Louisburgh. "I believe," said he, "if ever people went with a disinterested view, the New Englanders did then. Though many of them were raw and undisciplined, yet numbers were substantial persons, who left their farms and willingly ventured all for their country's good. An amazing series of providences appeared, and though some discouraging accounts were sent during the latter end of the siege, yet in about six weeks news came of the surrender of Louisburgh. Numbers flocked from all quarters to hear a thanksgiving sermon upon the occasion. And I trust the blessing bestowed upon the country through the thanksgivings of many, redounded to the glory of God."

Some time before this, the people of Boston had proposed to build for Whitefield "the largest place of worship ever seen in America," in which he should regularly preach; but, as usual, he feared this plan would abridge his liberty of itinerating: he thanked them for their offer, but decidedly declined to accept it. As his bodily strength increased, he began to move southward, and went through Rhode Island and Connecticut, preaching to thousands generally twice a day. He says, "Though there was much smoke, yet every day I had more and more convincing proof that a blessed gospel fire had been kindled in the hearts both of ministers and people."

About this time occurred a fact which delightfully shows how the enemies of this admirable man were often converted into friends. A colored trumpeter belonging to the English army resolved to interrupt him while delivering a sermon in the open air. For this purpose he went to the field, carrying his trumpet with him, intending to blow it with all his might about the middle of the sermon. He took his station in front of the minister, and at no great distance from him. The crowd became very great, and those who were towards the extremity pressed forward, that they might hear more distinctly, and caused such a pressure where the poor trumpeter stood, that he found it impossible at the time when he intended to blow his trumpet, to raise the arm which held it, by which means he was kept within the sound of the gospel as effectually as if he had been chained to the spot. In a short time his attention was powerfully arrested, and he became so deeply affected by the statements of the preacher, that he was seized with all the agonies of despair, and was carried to a house in the neighborhood. After the service, he was visited by Mr. Whitefield, who gave him suitable counsels, and from that time the trumpeter became a greatly altered man. So true is it in reference to the omnipotent and gracious Being,

"Hearts base as hell he can control,

And spread new powers throughout the whole."