J C Ryle - Christians Leaders

7/27/2019 J C Ryle - Christians Leaders

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The Christian leaders of the last century; or, England a hundred years

ago. By the Rev. J. C. Ryle ...

Ryle, J. C. (John Charles), 1816-1900.

London, T. Nelson and sons, 1869.

http://hdl.handle.net/2027/yale.39002085612811

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T L B R A R Y

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T A N L A D R S O F

TU R Y .

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L A D R S

U N D R E DY E A R S A G O .

L , B .A . ,

f o rd ' ,

" X P O S I TO R Y T H O U G H T , "& c.

ee, o f theformera . ge, andpreparethyself to thesearchof

vni. 8.

DS O N S ,PA T R N O S T R R O W;

; A N D N E W Y O R K .

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nthereader'shandsre uiresafew

planation. I shouldbe

sta easto itsnatureand

seriesofbiographicalpapers,contributedto

aluablemonthlyperiodicalduringthe

Myob ectindrawingupthesepapers

blicinacomprehensiveformthe

oftheleadingministersbywhose

oreviveC hristianityinE nglanda

adlongfeltthatthesegreat menwere

andtheirmeritinconse uencenotsuffi

thoughtthattheC hurchandthew orld

ngmorethantheyseemtok nowabout

esley , R omaine, R ow lands, Grim-

Toplady , Hervey , Wal er, andF letcher.

a itedan iously forsomeworthyaccount

eroes. A t lastI becamew earyof

a ethepeninmyownhand, anddo

sof aperiodical.Thesepapers,in

soffriends,arenow broughttogether

sbeensuccessful, I mustnow leave

y .

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terarymeritsthevolumecanlay no

writtenfrommonthto monthinthe

ngagements,underapressurewhich

hosewhowrite forperiodicals.To

beamodeloffinishedcomposition

layclaimtoa tolerabledegreeof

facts. I havebeencarefultoma e

couldnotfindsomeauthority.

erthat I amanenthusiastic

epicturesI haves etchedinthis

nestly . I amathoroughenthusiast

rmly that, e ceptingLutherandhis

ariesandourownmartyredR eformers,

hmensincethedays oftheapostles.

nnonewhohavepreachedso much

whohavelived suchlives,none

ageinC hrist'sservice,nonewho

he truth,nonewhohavedoneso

cannamebettermen, hek now smore

umewithan earnestprayerthatGod

use itforhis ownglory,andraise

ethosewhoareheredescribed. Sure ly ,

ateofE ngland, w emaywellsay , " Where

fieldandofR owlands,ofGrimshaw

, r ev i ve t h y wo r " J . C . R Y L .

e , A ugustio , 1868.

ghttosay thatthechie f substanceof the

d,"inthisvolume,wasoriginallyde

donin1852. I tnow appears

Theothertenbiographieswerepre

F amilyTreasury.

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nilf ttora lonbitionofnglanti

N I N G O F TH E E I GH T E N T H C E N TU R Y .

oryof theEighteenthC entury Po litica landF inancialPosit ion

teofR e ligionbothinC hurchesandC hapels Testimonies

ectsofB ishopsandC lergy Povertyof thePrintedTheo logy

dit ionof theC ountryastoE ducation, Mora ls, andPopularLitera

T imes" amereMyth 11

i c l f r i fl t ic w f t g te a s ft f bf l it b i n n gl a nb

O F T H E E I G H T E N TH C E N T U R Y .

andsincemiddleofEighteenthC enturyanundeniableF act

hangeafewisolatedandhumbleC lergymen Preaching

heyemployed TheMannerof theirP reaching TheSub

21

na I j t a J W t m a tr g .

eandParentage E ducatedatGloucesterGrammarS chool-

l e ge , O x f o rd S e a s o n of S p i ri t ua l C o n f li c t B o o s w h ic h

O rda inedbyB ishopB enson F irstSermon Preaches

Dummer, H ants GoestoA merica R eturnsinayear-

I se cludedf rommostLondonPulpits E x tentofhis

ars DiesatNew buryPort, A merica , in1770 I nterest

ath 3

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. Pa ge

hite f ie lddid TestimoniestohisdirectU sefulness I ndirect

uliarcharacterofhisPreaching Witnessesto hisrealpower

ysiso fhisseventy -f ivepublishedS ermons S implicity , Direct

,E arnestness,Pathos,A ction,V oice,andF luency,his

I nnerLife , Humility , LovetoC hrist, Laboriousness, Se lf -

,Cheerfulness,C atholicity S pecimenofhisPreaching..44

t s p t t ms t rp .

asonwhybetterk now nthanmanyofhisC ontemporaries B irth

isF atherandMother E ducatedatC harter-HouseandOx ford

istory Orda ined, 1725 LivesatOx forde ightY ears J o ins

a ilsforGeorgia, 1736 R eturnstoE ngland, 1738 C om

g C ontinuesWor ingforf ifty - threeYears Diesin1791

igence, andV ersatil ityo fMind A rminianism 64

.

P refacetoPublishedV olumeofS ermons E x tractsfromSer

U niversityofOx ford R ulesfortheGuidanceofhis

ohisP reachers LettertotheB ishopofLinco ln Genera l

Merits 88

t o of f a t oo r tf , a nb i t s i &t m ts t vs .

EducatedatC hrist 'sC o llege, C ambridge Orda ined, 1731

ndTodmorden DeathofhisWife Ministero f H a, w orth,

aw orth S ty leofhisMinistry His MannerofLife, Dil i

f Peace, Humility His MinisterialS uccess 106

rinY or shire, Lancashire , andC heshire TheNatureof this

dDefended PersecutionatC o lne TheA rchbishopofYor 's

isLovetotheA rticlesandHomilies HisLastI l lness, Dy ing

nera l I 20

I .

venantandSummaryofB e lie f LettertoC hrist iansinLondon

it ions I nf luence inhisParish H aw orthR acesStopped

seProfessors PeculiaritiesinhisC onductofDivine

ofR omaine, V eun, andNew ton 133

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ii

a nb I j i s J J U n t a t rp .

Pa ge

714 E ducatedatHoughton-le - pringandC hristC hurch,

erforLearningatOx ford Orda ined, 1736 C urateofLew -

LecturesatSt. B oto lph's1748, andSt. Dunstan's

Dunstan's MorningPreacheratSt. George 's, H anover

eshisP reachership, 1755 GreshamProfessorofA stronomy-

lave, Southw ar , andS t. B artho lomew theGreat

versityofOx ford GivesgreatOf fence 1 49

.

s, B lac f ria rs, 1764 Dif f icult iesinthew ayofhisA ppo intment

on U sefulnessatB lac f ria rs Peculiarit iesofA ddress

stI l lnessandDy ingS ay ing Death, 1795 PublicF uneral

3

b$ teplmistrp.

E ducatedatHereford, andneverataUniversity Orda ined,

geitho A nA lteredManin1738 Ex traordinaryE f fecto fhis

parochia landOut-doorPreaching LicenseWithdrawnby the

ntinuestoPreachinaC hapelatLlangeitho Died1790

180

.

g MuchofC hrist R ichnessofThought F e licityo fLan

ofPracticalandE x perimentalTeaching Manner,De

hristmasEvans'DescriptionofhisP reaching Testimonyof

SpecimensofR ow lands'S ermons I nnerLifeandPrivate

ty , P rayerfulness, Dil igence, Se lf -Denia l, C ourage, F ervour

dote 195

e an b f f a J f tt tn fs tr n.

tts, 1716 E ducatedatNottingham F a ilsto learntheB usiness

oC lareH all, C ambridge, 1734 ElectedF e llow ofC lare ,

aple ford, 1749 V icaro fEverton, 1755 B eginstoPreachthe

pen-airP reaching I t inerantandEx tra -parochia lMinistra

ica lEf fectonsomeHearers O pposit ionandPersecution

taph 2/ 6

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. Pa go

ccentricity N oQ uaintnessinhisOutlinesofSermons H is

ended S pecimenofhisQuaintThoughts His Humility ,

ss, Se lf -Denia l, Shrew dness, C ourage HisS ympathi ing

t r i t s J U l t i u ' st r p.

ey , 1724 HisA ncestors C uriousA necdotesofhisB oyhood

sSt. J ohn's, C ambridge, 1742 F e llow ofQueen's, 1749 C urate

0 C urateofC lapham, 1754 C hangeinhisR e ligiousV iew s

ntedw ithWhite fie ldandLadyHuntingdon Married, 1757

, 1759 254

.

uddersf ie ld E f fectofhisMinistry F ruitsfoundin1824 E x tra -

riendlyR elationw ithWhite fie ld H ealthF a ils WifeDies

forY e ll ing, 1771 DescriptionofY e ll ing S econdMarriage

tYe ll ing Dies, 1797 268

I .

ed HisLiteraryR emainsE x amined Ex traordinaryPow erasa

dnessof J udgmentaboutDoctrine WisdomandGoodS ense

ManagementofhisC hildren U nw orldlinessandC heer

hdK indlinessofSpirit TestimonyofC ow per, S imeon, and

2 8 5

anof ia f l intstrg.

4 E ducatedatE x eterC o llege, Ox ford O rda ined, 1737 C urateof

stveryignorantoftheGospel Mr.C onon'sI nfluence E ffect

osit ion S e lf -denia landH olyLife R emar ableEf fecton

ityMeetings Died, 1761 LiteraryR emains Preaching. . . 306

f fl r st o n j F a i ul , a nt i I j f e J K K n t st r s.

on, 1713 E ducatedatLincolnC o llege, Ox ford I ntimacyw ith

a ined, 1736 C urateofDummer, 1738; ofB idefbrd, 1740; and

3 E arlyR e ligiousH istory C orrespondencew ithWhite-

tatW estonF avell LiteraryR emainsA naly ed C orre

P rivateLife C harity S e lf -denial Died, 1758 Testi

nn, C ow per, C ecil, B ic ersteth, andDanie lWilson 328

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lmtstrp.

40 O rda ined, 1762 V icaro fB roadH embury , Devonshire , 1768

, 1775 Dit: s, 1778 C onversion, 1756 H isP reaching H is

ersia list H isH ymns 358

at al 2 , an b I j t 'a P li nf at ra .

, 1729 E ducatedatGenevaandLeut burg WishestobeaS o l

orinEngland, 1750 PrivateTutorinMr. Hil l 'sF amily,

ua intedw ithMethodists I nw ardC onf lict O rda ined, 1757

C orrespondencew ithC harlesWesleyandLadyHunt

.

eley S uperintendentofTreveccaC ollege,1768 R esigns

sidebyillhealth,1776 Goesto C lifton,N ewington,and

urnstoMadeley , 1781 Marries Dies, 1785 H iiP reaching

aracter TestimonyofWesleyandV enn 405

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U N D R E DY E A R S A G O .

a n b | f t o ra l C o n b it i or t o f ( i c n g la n b

N I N G O F TH E E I GH T E N T H C E N TU R Y .

storyof theE ighteenthC entury Po litica landF inancialPosit ionof

eofR e ligionbothinC hurchesandC hapels Testimoniesonthe

ishopsandC lergy Povertyof thePrintedTheo logy Wretched

tryastoEducation, Morals, andpopularLiterature The

ereMyth.

proposetohandle inthisvo lumeispartly

phical.I fanyreader

fictitioustale,orsomething

gination,I fearhewillbedisappointed.

yprov ince, andI haveno leisureforit

facts, andthesternrea lit iesof life ,

canspareforthepress.

wthmostreadersthesub ectI have

noapology.Themanwhofeelsno

biographyofhisowncountryis

worsephilosopher.

led.Truepatriotismwillma e

verythingthatconcernsE ngland.A

now somethingabouteveryonewho

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A N DF I N A N C I A L

nglishcharacter, f romtheV enerable

tow ell, f romA lf redtheGreatdow nto

aggedS chools.

is not.W hatisphilosophybut

mples1Tok now thestepsbyw hich

rpresentpositionis es-sentialtoaright

nationalprivilegesandour national

enwhomGodraisedup todohis

w illguideusinloo ingaboutfor

wndaysanddaysto come.

atthere isnoperiodofE nglishhistory

uctiveto aC hristianasthemiddle

periodofw hichwearefee lingthe

tisthe periodwithwhichour

andfatherswereimmediatelycon

otleast,fromwhichwemaydraw

own times.

escribetheactualcondition of

sago.A fewsimplefactswillsuffice

thatI amnotgoingtospea of

mighteasilytellhimthat,in thedays

e, theDu eofN ew castle , andthee lder

andwasverydifferentfromwhatitis

oratorstherewereamongus,no

mongthenationsof theearthwas

, andlow . Ourvo iceamongthe

farlessweightthanit hassince

ofourI ndianE mpirehadhardly

anpossessionswereapartof theworld

utnotcoloni ed. A t hometherew asa

whichstilllongedforthe restoration

45thePretenderandaHighlandarmy

dto invadeEngland, andgotasfaras

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E N G LA N D . 13

bbing,andmismanagementinhigh

purity thee ception. C iv iland

ounded.Thetestandcorporation

d.Tobe aDissenterwastobe

eebetterthan beingseditiousanda

ourished.B riberyamongallclasses

dprofuse.S uchwasE nglandpoliti

furthermore,thatI amnotgoing

nina financialandeconomicalpointof

,andlinenmanufactureshadhardly

ormousminera ltreasuresofcoaland

.W ehadnosteam-boats,noloco

ys,nogas,noelectrictelegraph,no

rming,nomacadami edroads,no

angements,andnopolicedeserving

shmanimagine,ifhecan,hiscountry

thatI have j ustmentioned, andhe

theeconomicalandfinancialcon

redyearsago.

hingstothepolit icaleconomistsandhis

terestingastheyare,nodoubt,they

ectthatI w anttodwellupon. I w ish

aministero fC hrist 'sgospe l. I t isthe

onofE nglandahundredyearsago

emyattention. Here isthepo intto

hereader'seye.

nareligiousand moralpointof

enturywassopainfullyunsatisfac

onveyanyade uate ideaof it . E ng

daywhohaveneverbeenledto

ct, canhavenoconceptionof thedar

mtheyear1700till abouttheeraof

n, Englandseemedbarrenofa llthatis

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F R E L G O N .

tateof thingscanhavearisenin a

rofessingProtestantismisalmostpast

ityseemedto lieasonedead,inso

said "sheisdead."Morality,how

pits,wasthoroughlytrampledunder

w asdar nessinhighplacesand

dar nessinthecourt, thecamp, the

dar nessincountry , anddar nessin

ngrichanddar nessamongpoor a

ndmora ldar ness adar nessthat

hechurchesweredoinga hundred

soongiven. TheC hurchofEng

s,withher admirablearticles,her

rparochialsystem,herS undayser

dclergy.The N onconformistbody

w onlibertyanditsf reepulpit. B ut

ybegivenofboth parties.They

ardlybe saidtohavelived.Theydid

asleep.Thecurse oftheU niformity

theC hurchofE ngland.Theblightof

rsecutionseemedtorestupon the

logy,withoutasingledistinctivedoc

dmorality,orbarrenorthodo y,formed

churchandchapel.S ermonsevery

nmiserablemoralessays,utterly

y toaw a en, convert, orsavesouls.

astagreedon onepoint,andthatwas

dtodo nothingforheartsandsouls.

ruthsforw hichHooperandLatimer

andB a terandscoresofPuritans

emedcleanforgottenandlaidon the

stateof thingsinchurchesandchapels,

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O P S E C K E R ' C H A R G . 15

arnthat thelandwasdelugedwith

heprinceofthis worldmadegood

isagentswereactiveandz ealousin

dofstrangeandblasphemousopinion.

ncedC hristianityaspriestcraft.

miraclesoftheB ibletobegrand

claredthemto beallegories.A rian

ereopenly taughtbyC lar andPriestly ,

mongtheintellectualpartofthe com

pacityofthe pulpittostemthepro

l,onesinglefact willgiveussome'

er,B lac stone,hadthecuriosity,'-

ge I I I . , togof romchurchtochurch:

ofnotein London.H esaysthathe

ursewhichhadmoreC hristianityin

cero,andthatitwouldhave beenim

r,fromwhat heheard,whetherthe

fC onfucius,ofMahomet,orofC hrist

nfulsub ectis, unhappily , only too

otso muchtodiscoverwitnesses,

stheperiodatwhich A rchbishop

fhischarges, " I nthisw ecannotbe

nd professeddisregardofreligion

tyofunhappycauses,the distin

ge.S ucharethedissolutenessand

higherpartoftheworld,and the

,andfearlessnessofcommittingcrimes

,ifthetorrentofi mpietystopnot,

hristianityisridiculedandrailed at

ndtheteachersofit withoutanyat

enB ishopB utler,inhisprefaceto

efo llow ingremar ablew ords: " I thas

rantedthatC hristianity isno longera

utthatit isnow atlengthdiscoveredtobe

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F B I S H O P

lyitis treatedasif,in thepresentage,

mongall personsofdiscernment,

tosetitupasaprincipa lsub ectfor

weresuchcomplaintsasthese con

Watts declaresthatinhis day"there

l religionintheheartsand livesof

eralmatterofmournfulobservation

e ofGodtoheart."Dr. Guyse,

onconformist,says,"Thereligion

darlingtopicofourage; andthere li

only forthesa eof that, andonlyso

ofnature,andisa bareimprove

ht. A llthatisdistinctive lyC hrist ian,

ist,everythingconcerninghimthathas

ninnaturallight, orthatgoesbeyond

dbanishedand despised."Testi

si lybemultipliedtenfo ld. B utI spare

bablyhasbeenadducedtoprovethat

mora landre ligiouscondit ionofEngland

hteenthcenturyaspainfullyunsatis

he languageofe aggeration.

o f thosedays? S omeof themw ere

rfulintellectandlearning,andofun

esto f them, li eS ee er, andB utler,

dH orn,seemedunabletodomore

nceofev ilswhichtheysaw butk new

ers, l i eLav ingtonandWarburton,

againstenthusiasmandfanaticism,

nglandbecomingtooreligious The

tosay thetruth,weremeremenof the

heirposition.The prevailing

dymaybeestimatedbythefact, that

sgaveballsandroutsat LambethPalace

terferedby letterandre uestedhimto

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I A L C L R G . 17-

that whentheoccupantsofthe

oubledbytherapid spreadofW hite-

velysuggestedinhigh q uartersthat

f luencew astoma ehimabishop.

clergyofthose days% Thevast

sun inw orldliness, andneitherk new

heirprofession.Theyneitherdid

edanyoneelseto doitforthem.They

med,theyswore,theydran ,they

eterminedtok noweverythinge cept

crucif ied. Whentheyassembleditw as

rchandK ing,"andtobuildone another

pre udice,ignorance,andformality.

rown homes,itwastodoas littleand

ble.A ndwhentheydidpreach,

pea ablyandindescribablybad,that

heyweregenerallypreachedtoempty

ologicalliteraturewasa hundredyearsago

epoorestandw ea estintheEnglish

whichweowesuchdivinityas

ofMan,"andthesermonsof Tillotson

nthisoccasionissocurious, thatI give it initsentirety , asI f ind

hill-arrangedboo ,"TheLifeandTimesof LadyH unting

ntlywritteninconse uenceofaninterviewwhichLady

ek ing. A crit ica lreaderw illrememberthatthek ingw aspro

eGermanthanthe E nglishlanguage.

I couldnotdelaygivingyouthe notificationofthegrief

breast wasaffectedatreceivingauthenticinformationthat

intoyour palace.A tthesametime,1 mustsignifytoyoumy

ect,whichholdtheselevitiesand vaindissipationsasutterlyine

passin aresidenceformanycenturiesdevotedtodivine studies,

thee tensivee erciseofcharityandbenevo lence; I add, ina

urpredecessorshaveled theirlivesinsuch sanctityashas

religiontheyprofessedandadorned.F romthedissatisfaction

veI beholdtheseimproprieties,nottospea inharsherterms,

nciples,I trustyouwillsuppressthemimmediately;so thatI

howany furthermar sofmydispleasure,orto interposeina

dta eyourgrace intohisa lm ightyprotection remain, my

sfriend,G.R .'

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N , MO R A L , A N D

atanyo ldboo se ller'sshop, andyouw ill

ounsaleableasthesermonspublished

rpart oflastcentury.

dthe lowerordersahundredyears

parto fparishes, andespecia lly inrura l

ationat all.N earlyallourrural

ince1800. S oe tremew asthe ignor

acherin S omersetshirewascharged

hswearing,becauseinpreachinghe

thatbe liewethnotsha llbedamned "

omersetshire , Yor shire furnisheda

harlesW esleybeforethemagistratesas

r,becausein publicprayerheas ed

hisbanishedones " Tocapa ll, the

ordactua llye pe lledsi studentsf rom

theyheldMethodistictenets,andtoo

de poundScripture inprivatehouses. "

wasremar edbysome,broughtan

otrouble ; buttopraye temporew asan

fahundredyearsago I tmaysuf

dultery,fornication,gambling,swear

ganddrun ennessw erehardly regardedas

fashionablepracticesofpeoplein

ety,andno onewasthoughttheworse

hebestevidenceofthispoint is

spictures.

teratureofahundredyearsago? I

o lingbro e, andGibbon, andH ume

plydyedwithscepticism.I spea

wasmostinvogue.Turnto

mollett, Sw if t, andSterne, andyouhave

softhesewritersis undeniable;

of theirwritingsisso glaringand

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O F TH E P R I O D. 19

-a-dayswouldli etoallowtheir

rdrawing-roomtable.

erydar andgloomyone. I w ish

owalittle morelightintoit.B ut

ndspeciallyfacts aboutliterature.

ndredyearsagoisto befoundinthe

on, J ohnson, andStee le . B utthe

thegeneralpublic,itmaybe feared,

nfact, I be lievethatJ ohnson

ore influenceonthereligionand

nthebroom oftherenownedMrs.

esof theA tlanticOcean.

ispartof mysub ecttoaconclu

storememberthatthegoodw or sw ith

miliardid note istonehundred

adnotyetattac edtheslavetrade.

rmedprisons. R a i eshadnotestab

ehadnoB ibleSocieties, noragged

opastoralaid societies,nomissions

f slumberwasovertheland.I n

ofview,E nglandwassoundasleep.

ng, asI draw thischaptertoaconclu

morethan fulforthetimesinw hich

rtooaptto loo attheev ilsw esee

w muchworsethingswereahundred

ath, formypart, andI bo ldlyavow it,

ofw hichsomedelighttospea . I

bleandamyth.I believethatour

mesthatEnglandhaseverseen. I do

k now w ehavemany thingstode

aw emightbeworse. I dosay thatw e

dyearsago.The generalstandard

undoubtedlyfarhigher.A tall

w a e. Weseeandfee levilstow hich,

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L DT M S " A M T H .

wereinsensible.W estruggletobe

desiretoamend.Thisis avastim

manyfaultswearenot soundasleep.

ir,activity,movement,progress,and

eare,we confessourbadness;wea

dgeourfailings;feebleasour efforts

itt leasw edoforC hrist, w edotry

an Godforthis Thingsmight

rowndayswiththemiddleof last

othan Godandta ecourage. E ng

nit wasahundredyearsago.

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i l C l r is ii am h t ea s nf ai bc b

O F T H E E I G H T E N TH C E N T U R Y .

andsincemiddleofEighteenthC enturyanundeniableF act A gents

afewisolatedandhumbleC lergymen Preachingthechief

yed TheMannerof theirP reaching TheSubstanceof the ir

eatchangeforthebetterhascomeoverE ng

earsisa factw hichI sup

sonwouldeverattemptto

ttemptto denythattherewasa

nthedaysofLuther,a LongParlia

mw ell, o raF renchrepublicattheend

as beenavastchangefor the

d moralitythecountryhasgone

ution. Peoplene itherthin , norta l ,

0. I t isagreatfact, w hichthechil

deny,howevertheymayattemptto

well trytopersuadeusthat high-water

ridgeareoneandthe samething.

sthisgreatchangeef fected? To

theimmenseimprovementinreligion

btedlyhascomeovertheland Who,

mentsthatGodemployedinbringing

eformationoftheeighteenthcentury

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N T O F E N G LA N D

wishtoe aminegenerallyinthe

esandbiographiesoftheprincipal

orfuturechapters.

ntrycanlaynoclaim tothecredit

notbecalled intobeingbypenal

Peoplewereneveryetmadereligious

t any rate, theParliamentsandad

ydidas littleforreligionandmoral

stedinEngland.

comef romtheC hurchofEngland,

thatvenerablecommunionwere

imes. Lef ttoherself , theC hurchof

havediedofdignity , andsun ather

changecomefromtheDissenters.C ontent

mphs,thatworthybodyofmen

roars. I ntheplenaryen oymentof

heyforgotthe greatvitalprinciples

eirownduties andresponsibilities.

rmersofthelast century? Towhom

d,forthe changewhichtoo place?

veranceforus,a hundredyears

s,mostofthemclergymenof the

hoseheartsGodtouchedaboutthesame

ecountry.Theywerenotwealthy

hadneithermoneyto buyad

cetocommandattentionandrespect.

byany C hurch,party,society,or

plymenwhomGodstirredup and

,withoutpreviousconcert,scheme,

intheo ldaposto licw ay , by

oftheirday.Theytaughtone setof

nthe sameway,withfire,reality,

convincedofwhattheytaught.They

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B L F A C T. 23

irit, alwaysloving,compassionate,

ping,butalwaysbold,unflinching,and

n.A ndtheytaughtthemonthe

ntheaggressive; notwaitingfor

ut goingafter,andsee ingsinners;

offeredtorepent,butassaultingthe

i emenstormingabreach,and

ongastheystuc tothe irsins.

llantevangelistsshoo E ngland

tfirstpeoplein highplaces

Themenofletters sneeredatthem

o es, andinventedsmartnamesfor

erdoorson them;theDissenters

them;theignorantmobpersecuted

tofthesefewevangelistswenton,and

t oftheland.Manywerearoused

aboutre ligion; manyw ereshamedout

estrainedandfrightenedattheirown

atheredtogetherandinducedtopro

on; manywereconverted;many

hemovementw eresecretlyprovo ed

ingbecamea strongtree;the

roadstream;thelittle spar became

candlewaslighted,ofwhichwe are

it.Thefeelingofall classesintheland

ygraduallyassumedatotallydifferent

is, underGod, w asef fectedbyafew

dventurers WhenGodta esaw or

t.W henGodisfor us,nonecan

chthespiritualreformersofthe

r operationswasofthesimplest

ermorenorless thantheoldapostolic

swordwhichS t.Paulwieldedwith

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U M N T E M PL 0Y E D.

eassaultedthestrongholdsof hea

dyearsago,wasthesameswordby

ies.Tosay,as somehavedone,

tionandschools,is totallyincorrect.

congregations,theycaredforthechil

edone,that theyneglectedthe

e.Thosewhoma ethatassertion

gnoranceofthe religioushistoryof

rsago. I tw ouldbeeasy tonamemen

ersofthelast centurywhosecom

onedbyhundreds,andwhohonoured

thanforty-nineoutoffiftyclergymen

doubtpreachingwastheirfavourite

tbac tofirstprinciples,andtoo

ld,withS t.Paul,thataminister's

cthegospel. "

re.I fthepulpitof aparishchurch

dlyavailedthemselvesofit. I fit

yweree uallyreadytopreachin a

isstothem. I nthef ie ldorby the

reenorina mar et-place,inlanesor

rrets,ona tuborona table,ona

,whereverhearerscouldbegathered,

elast centurywerereadytospea

hey wereinstantinseasonand

fisherman'swor ,andcompassedsea

dtheir F ather'sbusiness.N ow,all

nwewonderthatit producedagreat

eyrightlyconcludedthatthevery

medatin asermonisto beunder

atthousandsofable andwell-com

useless,becausetheyareabovethe

stroveto comedowntothelevel

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G TO T H E H E A R T . 25

whatthepoorcouldunderstand.

ashamedtocrucifytheirstyle,and

for learning.Toattainthisthey

dotesinabundance,and,li etheir

ssonsfromeveryob ectinnature.

imofA ugustine, "A woodenk eyis

enone,butifit canopenthedoor

ot,it isfarmoreuseful."Theyre

n whichLutherandLatimerused

ful.I nshort,theysawthetruth of

ormermeantwhenhesaid," N oone

thepeoplewhois notwillingto

eemschildishandvulgartosome."

uitenew ahundredyearsago.

nddirectly.Theycastasidethat

odeofdelivery,whichhadlong made

rdulness.Theyproclaimedthe

d thestoryoflifewith life.They

, li emenw howerethoroughlypersuaded

e, andthatitwasof theutmost

a linteresttohearit. Theyspo eli e

agefromGodtoyou,andmustdeliver

ntionwhile theydeliveredit.They

eling intotheirsermons,andsent

ced,atanyrate,that thepreacher

emwell.Theybelievedthatyou

artif youw ishtospea totheheart,

mista ablefaithandconviction

tobe faithandconvictionamong

epeat, w asathingthathadbecome

yearsago.C anwewonderthatit

dproducedan immenseeffect?

anceandsub ect-mattero f thepreach

onderfuleffecta hundredyearsago?

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A N C E A N D S U B J E C T -MA T T R

ers'commonsensebyonlysayingthat

vent,real,genial,brave,life-li e,"

aveitunderstoodthatit waseminently

tical,anddistinct.Thestrongholds

wouldneverhavebeencastdownby

ativeteaching.Thetrumpetswhich

erichoweretrumpetswhichgaveno

glishevangelistsoflastcenturywere

reed.B utwhatwasitthat they

e informationonthispo intmaynotbe

piritual reformersofthelastcentury

ciencyandsupremacyofH olyS cripture.

mutilated,wastheirsolerule offaith

edallits statementswithoutq ues

w nothingofanyparto fScripture

verallowedthatmanhasany

im,by whichS cripturestatements

ed,orreceived.Theyneverflinched

anbe noerrorinthe Word ofGod;

nderstandor reconcilesomepartof

nthe interpreterandnotinthete t.

eywereeminentlymenofoneboo .

contenttopintheir faith,andbyitto

grandcharacteristicoftheir

d,theyloved,theyreverencedtheB ible.

mersofthelastcenturytaughtcon

ofhumannature.Theyk newnothing

hristisin everyman,andthatall

within,whichtheyhaveonlytostir up

ed.Theyneverflatteredmenand

ytoldthemplainly thattheywere

iveagain ;thattheywereguilty,

s,andinimminentdangerof eternal

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C H I N G .2 7

o ica lasitmayseemtosome, their

gmengoodwasto showthemthat

theirprimaryargumentinpersuad

fortheirsoulswasto convincethem

at all.


thuponthecross wastheonlysatisfaction

enC hristdied,hediedas oursub

rtheun ust. " This, infact, w asthecardi

rsermons.Theynevertaughtthe

rist 'sdeathw asonlyagreate ample

nit somethingfarhigher,greater,

in itthepaymentofman'smighty

hrist 'sperson; they re o icedin

yurgedmentowal a f terC hrist 's

sub ect, abovea llo thers, concerning

tedtodwellon, wastheatoningblood

onthecross.


fj ustificationbyfaith.Theytold

thingneedfulinorderto obtainan

forthe irsouls; thatbeforewebelieve,

interestinC hrist;andthat the

elive,andhavea plenarytitletoall

ficationbyvirtueofchurchmember

thoutbelievingortrusting werenotions

tenance.E verything,ifyouwill

oubelieve;nothing,if youdonot

marrowoftheirpreaching.


ssityofheartconversionanda new

pirit.Theyproclaimedeverywhereto

ressed,"Y emustbeborn again."

sm sonshiptoGodw hilew edothe

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A N C E A N D S U B J E C T -MA T T R

onshiptheyneveradmitted.The

reachedwasnodormant,torpid,

somethingthatcouldbe seen,dis

seffects.


nnectionbetweentruefaithandpersonal

edforamomentthatanychurch

rofessionwastheleastproofof aman

helivedanungodly lif e . A trueC hris

stalwaysbek nownbyhisfruits; and

manifestand unmista ableinall

fruits,nograce,"wasthe unvarying

thelast centurytaughtconstantly,

ytrue,God'seternalhatredagainstsin,

ners.Theyk newnothingofa" love

venwhereholy andunholyareall

n.Both aboutheavenandhellthey

ofspeech.Theynevershrun from

s,thecertaintyof God'sj udgment

enpersistedinimpenitenceand

erceasedtomagnifythe richesof

passion,andtoentreatallsinners to

foreitwastoolate.

thsw hichtheEnglishevangelistso f

lypreaching.Theseweretheprinci

erealwaysproclaiming,whetherin

rin churchorinthe openair,

ongpoor.Thesewerethe doctrines

glandupsidedown,madeploughmen

dirtyfaceswereseamedwithtears,

eersandphilosophers,stormedthe

puc edthousandsli ebrandsf romthe

aracterofthe age.C allthemsimple

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C H I N G .2 9

fyouwill.S ay,ifyouplease,that

ing,new,peculiaraboutthislist of

deniable,thatGodblessedthese

fE nglandahundredyearsago

illbecomesmantodespise.

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i 6 el b an b { n s gt im si rg .

eandParentage E ducatedatGloucesterGrammarS choo l E nters

ford S easonofS piritua lC onf lict B oo sw hichw eremade

nedbyB ishopB enson F irstSermon PreachesinLondon

nts GoestoA merica R eturnsinaY ear Preachesinthe

dedf rommostLondonPulpits E x tentofhisLaboursforthirty -one

uryPort, A merica , in1770 I nterestingcircumstancesofhisDeath.

enthatrev ivedre ligioninEnglanda

hat weretheirnames,thatwe

herew eretheyborn1How

hatarethe leadingfactsinthe irl ives?

departmentof labour? Totheseq uestions

swersin thepresentandfuturechapters.

esno interestinsuchin uiries. The

oystodohis wor intheworld

.Themanwhodid notcaretoloo

ewdownJ ericho,thehammerand

elampsandtrumpetsofGideon,the

ght fairlybesetdownas acold

trustthatallwhoread thisvolume

mthingabouttheE nglishevangelistso f the

mI willnameisthe well- nown

hnot thefirstin order,ifweloo

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D' B I R T H -PLA C E . 31

placehimf irst intheorderofmerit,

fallthespiritual heroesofahundred

n asW hitefieldwhatthetimes

esoforwardinthegreat wor of

houldthin I committedanactof

nynamebeforehis.

oucesterinthe year1714.That

whichwashisbirth-place,isconnected

whichought tobedearto every

yndal,oneofthe firstandablest

hB ible,wasaGloucestershireman.

estandbest ofourE nglishreformers,

er, andw asburnedatthesta efor

wofhis owncathedral,inQ ueen

tcenturyMilesSmith, B ishopof

first toprotestagainsttheR omani

howasthen DeanofGloucester.

rotestantfeelingsofarthat,whenLaud

bleinthecathedraltotheeast end,

me"altar-wise,"in1616,B ishop

dedthathe refusedtoenterthewalls

day til lh isdeath. P lacesli e

oubt,havearich entailedinheritance

whereH ooperpreachedand

ealousMilesS mithprotested,wasthe

reacherofthe gospelE nglandhas

smen, White f ie ldwasofhumble

obleconnectionstohelphim for

otherk epttheB ellI nnatGlouces

veprosperedinbusiness;at any

avebeen abletodoanythingfor

tinlife. Theinnitselfis stillstand

hebirth-place,notonlyof ourgreatest

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T TH E G R A MMA R S C H O O L .

lsoofaw ell- now nEnglishpre late .

pofE x eter.

cordingtohisown account,was

ugh,li emanyboys,hehadocca

enceandspasmodicfitsof devout

eneraltastesare theonlytruetest of

s.H econfessesthathewas" addicted

andfoo lishj esting, " andthathew as

atheatre-goer, acard-player, anda

s,hesays,wentontill hewasfifteen

nceatGloucesterprocuredhimthe

ationatthe F reeGrammarS choolof

day-scholaruntilhewasfifteen.

sprogressthere . He canhardly , how

e,orelse hewouldnothavebeen

rsityafterwardsattheageofeighteen.

owanac uaintancewithLatin,inthe

tations, w hichisse ldomac uired, ifnot

eonlyk now nfactabouthisschool

ateventhenhewasremar ablefor

mory,andwasselectedto recite

rporationofGloucesterattheirannual

chool.

itefieldappears tohaveleftschool,

nandGree foraseason. I na ll

raitenedcircumstancesmadeitabso

do somethingtoassistherin busi

ng.H ebegan,therefore,tohelp

f theB ellI nn. " A tlength, " he

apron,washedcups,cleanedrooms,

aprofessedcommondrawerfor nigh

er,didnot lastlong.H ismother's

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N C E A T O X F O R D. 33

otflourish,and shefinallyretiredfrom

ol-fellowrevivedinhis mindthe

rd, andhew entbac totheGrammar

studies.F riendswereraisedupwho

Pembro eC ollege, Ox ford, wherethe

ucesterhe ldtw oe hibit ions. A ndat

dentialcircumstanceshadsmoothed

fordasaservitoratPembro eattheage

O x fordwasthegreatturning-point

reeyearsbeforehew enttotheU ni

sthat hehadnotbeenwithoutreligious

etimeofhisenteringPembro eC ollege

nedintodecidedC hristianity.H e

nsofgracewithinhis reach.H e

sitingthecityprison,readingto the

good.Pie becameac uaintedwith

eyandhisbrotherC harles, anda little

ungmen, includingthew ell- now nauthor

, " J amesHervey . Thesew erethede

ame" Methodists"wasfirstapplied,

method"ofliving.A tonetimehe

vouredsuchboo sas"Thomasa

nu a 'sSpiritua lC ombat, " andtohavebeen

emi-papist,anascetic,oramystic,

religioninself-denial.H esaysin

schosethew orstsorto f food. I f asted

e lw asmean. I thoughtitunbecom

hairpowdered.I worewoollengloves,

shoes; andthoughI wasconvinced

t O x f o r d i n J u n e 1 8 65 , I w e nt t o P em b ro e C o l l e ge , a nd a s e d

theroomsw hichWhite f ie ldoccupiedw henhew asatOx ford.

atnothingwhateverwask nownaboutthem.Theroomswhich

occupiedatPembro earestil lpointedout. J ohnsonle f tOx ford

w entup.

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D B Y B I S H O P B E N S O N .

odidnotconsistinmeatanddrin , yet

nthesevoluntaryactsofself-denial,

greatpromotionofthe spirituallife."

sshew asgraduallyde livered, partlyby

periencedC hrist ians, andpartlyby

cougal's" LifeofGodintheHearto f

aU , " B a ter's" C a llto theU nconverted, "

nconvertedSinners, " andMatthew

ry. " " A bovea ll, " hesays, " mymind

andenlarged, I begantoreadtheHoly

nees, lay ingasidea llo therboo s, and

verylineandword.This proved

ndeedtomysoul. I da ily rece ived

rf romabove. I gotmoretruek now

oo o fGodinonemonththanI could

mallthewrit ingsofmen. " Oncetaught

ibertyof C hrist'sgospel,W hitefield

ticism,legalism,mysticism,orstrange

ction.Thee periencereceivedbybitter

tohim.The doctrinesoffreegrace,

too deeprootinhis heart,and

fhis boneandfleshofhis flesh.O f

fordmethodists,noneseemtohavegot

wsofC hrist'sgospelashedid, and

nglytothe end.

nty-twoWhitefieldwasadmittedto

ensonofGloucester, onTrinitySunday ,

asnotofhisownsee ing. Thebishop

L adyS elwynandothers,sentfor

stobuy boo s,andofferedtoordain

woyearsold,wheneverhewished.

metohimwhenhe wasfullofscruples

theministry . I tcutthek notand

fdecision. " I begantothin . "

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S E R M O N .35

outlongerI shouldf ightaga inst

ermonwaspreachedintheverytownwhere

hofS t.Mary-le-Crypt, Gloucester.

isthebestaccountthat canbegiven:

eaf ternoon, I preachedmyf irstsermon

y- le -C rypt, where I w asbapti ed, and

mentof theLord'sS upper.C uriosity,

rewa largecongregationtogether

htat firstalittleawedme. B ut

eartfeltsenseof thedivinepresence,

ableadvantageofhavingbeen

ingwhenaboyat school,andof

andpoorpeopleat theirprivatehouses

y thesemeansI w ask eptf rombeing

proceededI perceivedthefirek indled,

gandamidstacrowd ofthosewho

hdays, I trustI w asenabledtospea

pelauthority . Somefew moc ed, but

sentstruc ; andI havesinceheard

to thebishopthatI drovefifteen

Theworthyprelatewishedthatthe

rgottenbeforene tS unday. "

erhisordination,W hitefieldwentto

sdegreeasB acheloro fA rts. H ethen

nisteriallifebyunderta ingtempo

hapel,London,fortwomonths.W hile

dcontinuallyinmanyLondonchurches;

arish churchesofI slington,B ishops-

Margaret's, Westminster, andB ow ,

eryfirsthe obtainedadegreeofpopu

,beforeorsince,hasprobablyever

e -daysorS undays, w hereverhe

erecrowded,andanimmensesensa-

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T TO A M R I C A .

intruth is,thatareallyelo uent,

eachingthepuregospelwithmostun

manner,wasat thattimeanentire

gregationswereta enbysurprise

dfortwomonthsto Dummer,a

pshire , nearB asingsto e. Thisw asa

n,andhe seemedli eamanburied

people.B uthewassoonreconciled

dsthathe reapedmuchprofitby

romDummerheacceptedan

muchpressedonhim bytheW esleys,

rgia inN orthA merica , andassist in

ousew hichhadbeensetupnear

nofcolonists.A fterpreachingfora

hire,andespeciallyatB ristoland

forA merica inthe latterparto f1737,

ayear.The affairsofthisO rphan

ed, occupiedmuchofhisattention

tillhedied. Thoughwell-meant,it

gn ofveryq uestionablewisdom,and

tefieldaworldofan ietyandresponsi

s.

Georgiaatthelatterpart ofthe

priest's orders,whichwereconferred

ishopB enson, andpartlyonbusiness

anH ouse. H esoon, how ever, dis

asno longerwhatitwasbeforehe

oftheclergywerenolonger

ardedhimwithsuspicionas an

heywereespeciallyscandali edby

of regenerationorthenewbirth,as

edpersonsgreatlyneeded The

he hadaccessrapidlydiminished.

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E A C H I N G .37

dnoeyesfordrun ennessandimpurity.

gnationaboutwhattheycalled

hopswhocouldtolerateA rianism,

,werefilledwithindignationata man

onementofC hristandthew or o f the

todenouncehimopenly . I nshort,

Whitefield's fieldofusefulnesswithin

dnarrowedrapidlyoneveryside.

uncturegaveaturnto thewhole

inistrywashisadoptionofthesystem

eeingthatthousandseverywherewould

spenttheir S undaysinidlenessor

chedbysermonswithinwalls,he

olyaggression,togooutafterthem

dges,"onhisMaster'sprinciple, and

H isfirstattempttodo thiswas

gsw oodnearB ristol, inF ebruary1739.

nedayw enttoHannamMount, and

topreachtoabouta hundredcolliers

gsoon becamek nown.The

ncreased,tillthe congregation

nds.H isownaccountofthe be

colliers,whohadneverbeen ina

plyaffecting: "H aving,"hewrites

nessoftheirowntorenounce,they

esusw how asaf riendtopublicans, and

ousbutsinnersto repentance.The

gaffectedwas thesightofthe white

s,whichplentifullyfell downtheir

cameoutof theircoa l-pits. Hundredsof

nderdeepconviction,which,asthe

edinasoundand thoroughconver

eto all,thoughnumberschosetc

rthan thefingerofGod.A sthe

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TO P R E A C H .

ftenoccasionedmanyinwardconflicts.

tythousandpeoplewerebeforeme,I had

na wordtosayeitherto Godor

rtota llydeserted, andf re uently ( forto

a instGod w assoassistedthatI k new

hatourLordmeantbysaying, 'Outof

flivingwater.'Theopenfirmament

thead acentfields,withthesightof

es,someonhorsebac ,andsomein

affectedandintears,was almosttoo

rcameme."

hitefieldbeganthepracticeofopen-

A pril27,1739.Thecircumstances

dwerecurious.H ehadgoneto

thev icar, hisf riendMr. Stonehouse.

erthechurchwardenscametohimand

reachingin thedioceseofLondon.

dnotgotthis licenseanymorethan

lyofficiatinginthediocese hasat

ematterwas,thatbeingforbidden

reachin thepulpit,hewentoutside

ice,andpreachedinthechurchyard.

aspleased sotoassistmein preaching,

ctthehearers,that I believewecould

oprison.Let nottheadversaries

lfouto f the irsynagogues. No; they

ebecamea constantfieldTpreacher,

eseasonoftheyearmadeit possible.

unday,A pril29,herecords: "

ne ceedinggreatmultitude.B eing

g'spreaching,I refreshedmyselfin

eep,andatfivewentand preached

on,abouttwomilesfromLondon,when

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F I E L D-PR E A C H E R . 39

ndpeopleweresupposedtobepre

evertherewerelargeopenspaces

herewerelargebandsofidle, god

gpeoplegatheredtogether, inHac ney

ie lds, MayF a ir, S mithfie ld, B lac heath,

tonC ommon,therewentWhitefield

hrist. Thegospelsoprocla imed

yreceivedby hundredswhonever

ceofworship.Thecauseofpure

dsoulswerepluc edfromthehand

romtheburning. B utitw asgo ingmuch

fthosedays.Theclergy,with afew

refusedentirelytocountenancethis

truespirit ofthedogin themanger,

fterthe semi-heathenmassesofpopu

edanyoneelsetodothewor for

was,thattheministrationsofW hite-

hurchofE nglandf romthistime

elovedtheC hurchinwhichhe had

n herA rticles;he usedherPrayer-

uttheC hurchdidnotlovehim, andso

.Theplaintruth is,thattheC hurch

wasnotready foramanli eWhite f ie ld.

hasleepto understandhim,andwas

uldnotk eepstil landletthedev ila lone.

historyfromthisperiodtothe day

ntire lyofonecomple ion. Oneyear

; andtoattemptto fo llow himwouldbe

rthesameground.F rom1739tothe

periodofthirty-oneyears,hislife was

.He waseminentlyamanofonething.

berthatall thishappenedahundredyearsago,whenLondonwas

ce.Mostoftheopen placeswhereW hitefieldpreachedarenow

enningtonOvalandB lac heathaloneremainopenatthisday

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H I S LA B O U R S .

er'sbusiness.F romS undaymorn

, f romtheisto f J anuary tothe31sto f

henlaidasidebyillness, hewasalmost

hrist,andgoingabouttheworld en

come toC hristandbesaved.

rabletownin E ngland,S cotland,or

sitasanevangelist.W henchurches

dly preachedinchurches:when

ned,hecheerfullypreachedin

andchapelsa li ew ereclosed, or

s hearers,hewasreadyandwilling

orthirty-oneyearshelabouredin

ngthesamegloriousgospel,and

yecanj udge, w ithimmenseeffect. I n

ee ,afterpreachinginMoorfields,he

tersfrompeopleunderspiritualcon

ord's tablethreehundredandfifty

ouryearsofhisministry it isrec oned

ighteenthousandtimes.

prodigious,whentheroadsandcon

nsidered.H ewasfamiliarwith

ndperilsinthe seas,"ifeverman

evisitedS cotlandfourteentimes,and

ableorusefulthanhe wasinthat

ecrossedtheA tlanticseventimes,

nmiserableslowsailingships,and

housandsinB oston, New Y or , and

erto I re landtw ice, andonone

eredbyanignorantPopishmob in

andWales, hetraversedeverycounty

fWighttoB erw ic -on-Tw eed, andf rom

orthF ore land.

or inLondonforthew interseason,

necessarilysuspended,wassomething

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41

engagementsattheTabernaclein

d,whichwasbuiltforhim whenthe

dC hurchwereclosed,comprisedthe

verySundaymorningheadministeredthe

hundredcommunicantsathalf-past

dprayers, andpreachedbothmorning

eachedagaininthe eveningat

edbyaddressingalarge societyof

oungmenandspinsters,allsitting

e Tabernacle,withe hortationssuit

tions.O nMonday,Tuesday,Wed

rnings,hepreachedregularlyatsi .

ednesday,Thursday,andS aturday

tures.This,itwillbe observed,

w ee A nda llthist imehew ascar

ndencewithpeopleinalmostevery

ldsolong endurethelaboursthat

doesindeedseemwonderful.That

yviolence,towhich hewasfre uently

derful. B uthew asimmorta lt i l lh is

edatlastverysuddenlyatN ew bury

c, onSunday , Septemberthe29th, 1770,

yageof f if ty-si . H ew asonce

ames,ofA bergavenny,whodied

udgef romthelittlementionmade

emarriagedoesnot seemtohave

ppiness.H eleftnochildren,but

hanthatofsonsand daughters.N ever

f whomitcouldbeso trulysaidthat

C hristthanGeorgeW hitefield.

rticularsofthis greatevangelist's

sing, thatI sha llma enoe cusefor

sanendinstri ingharmonyw iththe

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N G C I R C U M T A N C E S

dlived formorethanthirtyyears,

heverylast.H eliterallyalmostdied

ath,"hehadoftensaid," issudden

ot, I cannothe lpw ishingthatI may

r.Tomeitwouldbe worsethan

andtoseefriends weepingabout

ofhisheartgranted. Hew ascut

spasmodicfitof asthma,almost

thathewasill.

urday the29thofS eptember, theday

dsetoutonhorsebac fromPorts

hire,inordertofulfilan engagementto

tonSunday . Onthew ay , unfortunate ly,

edtopreachat aplacecalledE x eter,

he hadnottheheartto refuse.A

hepreachedthathe loo edmoreuneasy

m, " Sir, youaremorefittogotobed

hitefieldreplied :"True,sir ;"

clasped hishandstogether,and

J esus, I amw eary inthyw or , but

havenotyetf inishedmycourse, letme

ncemorein thefields,sealthytruth,

ethenwentandpreachedto a

hef ie ldsf romthete t2C or. x ii i . 5,

ohours.I twashislast sermon,and

wholecareer.

enthefo llow ingstri ingaccountof

e f ie ld'slif e : " H erosef romhisseat,

earancealonewasapowerfulsermon.

the palenessofhiscountenance,the

eavenlyspar inadecayedbodyfor

nteresting;thespirit waswilling,

nthissituationheremainedseveral

. H ethensa id: ' I w il lw aitforthe

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T H .43

,forhe will,I amcertain,assistme

isname. 'H ethendeliveredperhaps

Thelatterpartcontainedthefollow

gotoarestprepared: mysunhasgiven

sabouttoset no, torisetothe

.I haveoutlivedmanyonearth,but

eaven.Manyshall outlivemeon

odyisnomore,butthere oh,thought

e inaw orldw heretime, age, sic ness, and

ybody fails, butmyspirite pands.

iveforevertopreachC hrist. B utI

ief comparativelybrief hasbeen

st labourswhichI seebeforeme

utif I leavenow , w hilesofew care

eGodofpeacewill surelyvisityou."

er,W hitefielddinedwithafriend,

wburyPort,thoughgreatlyfatigued.

ed early,andretiredtobed.Tradi

up-stairs,withalightedcandlein his

heinclinationtoturnround atthe

a tothefriendswhowereassembled

ethef irek indledw ithinhim, and

hecandlewhich heheldinhis hand

tothesoc et. Heretiredtohis

morealive.A violentfitofspasmodic

af terhegotintobed, andbeforesi

ningthegreatpreacherw asdead. I fever

ge,W hitefieldwasthatman.W hen

hingtodobutto die.Where he

avaultbeneaththepulpitof the

gedto preach.H issepulchreis

ndnothingma esthe little tow n

s thefactthatit containsthebones

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I T F I E L D' M S S I O N .

atsinthe lifeo f theprinceofE nglish

earsago.H ispersonalcharacter,

fulness,andsomeaccount ofhisstyleof

sw hichI mustreserveforanotherchapter.

.

hite f ie lddid TestimoniestohisdirectU sefulness I ndirectgood

aracterofhisPreaching Witnesses tohisrealpoweras a

fhisseventy-fivepublishedS ermons S implicity,Directness,

rnestness,Pathos,A ction,V oice,andF luency,hisleading

nerLife , Humility , LovetoC hrist, Laboriousness, S e lf -denia l, Disin

ss,C atholicity S pecimenofhisPreaching.

j udgment,wassoentirelychief

lishR eformersofthelastcenturv,that

ogy foro f feringsomefurtherinformationabout

odhe did,thepeculiarcharacter

echaracterof theman,areallpoints

n.Theyarepoints,I mayadd,about

untofmisconception.

psisunavoidable,andoughtnot

sfor formingacorrectopinion

efieldare necessarilyveryscanty.

themill ion, ofw orld-w idefame, li e

ress."H eheadednocrusadeagainst

thanationathisbac , andprinceson

her. H efoundednore ligiousdeno

faithonhis writingsandcarefully

ndw ords, l i e J ohnWesley . There

yansinthepresentday,butthere are

Thegreatevangelistoflastcentury

n,wholivedfor onethingonly,and

st. I fhedidthat, hecaredfornothing

amanarelargeand fullinheaven,

uttheyarefew andscantyuponearth.

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T US E F U L N E S S .45

dethis,thatthe manyineveryage

eWhite f ie ldbutfanaticismandenthu

hingli e" z ea l" inre ligion. They

rnsthe worldupsidedown,andde

ays,andwill notletthedevilalone.

wouldtellus thattheministryof

dtemporarye citement,thathispreach

nt,andthathis characterhadnothing

mired.I tmaybefearedthat

gotheywouldhavesaidmuch the

ooddidW hitefielddo? "isonewhich

asthesitation.I believethatthedirect

ortalsoulswasenormous.I will

eitisincalculable.C rediblewitnesses

andA merica , haveplacedonrecordthe ir

meansof convertingthousandsof

epreached,werenotmerelypleased,

utpositivelyturnedfromsin,and made

"N umberingthepeople,"I donot

ectionablepractice.Godalone

n thewheatfromthetares.Many,

ouse citement,aresetdownascon

etedata ll. B utI w ishmyreadersto

stimateofW hitefield'susefulnessis

n. I as themtomar w ellw hat

sthoughtof thevalueofhislabours.

now nA mericanphilosopher, wasaco ld

aQ ua erbyprofession,andnot

anestimateofanyminister'sw or .

at"it waswonderfultoseethechange

gin themannersoftheinhabitants

ingthoughtlessorindifferentabout

theworldweregrowingreligious."

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E S T O H I S W O R T H .

ayberemar ed, w asthe leadingprinter

adelphia;andhisreadinessto print

dj ournalsshow shisj udgmentof the

mericanmind.

Macculloch,wereS cotchministers

nownnorthoftheTweed,andthe two

yran highastheologicalwriters.

ytestifiedthatW hitefieldwasmadean

nsegoodinS cotland.Willison in

onouredhim withsurprisingsuccess

sandpersuasions."

uddersf ieldandYell ing, w asaman

ell asofgreatgrace.H isopinion

ss,e tent,success,anddisinterested

ngivehimdistinctionamongthe

earewarrantedto affirmthatscarce

r. White f ield. " A ga inhesays: " He

linhisvastlabours.The sealsofhis

ampersuaded,weremorethan

numberbefi ed.Thisiscertain,

wasonlyfromhis usefulness;forheno

sa preacher,thanGodcommanded

nguponhisword."

hrew dman, asw ellasaneminent

istestimonyis: "Thatwhichfinished

rasashininglight, andisnowhis

thesingularsuccesswhichthe Lordwas

ningsouls.I tseemedasifhe never

thereis hardlyaplaceinall the

slabourswheresomemaynot yet

yac now ledgehimasthe irspiritual

idnotagreewith Whitefieldon severaltheo

mportance.B utwhenhepreached

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C T U S E F U LN E S S . 47

: "H avewereadorheardof any

thousands,somanymyriadsof

bovea ll, havewereadorheardof

blessedinstrumentofbringingso

nesstolight,andfrom thepowerof

oniesundoubtedlyare,thereisone

llyuntouched.Thatpointis the

thatW hitefielddid.Greatasthe

were,I believefirmlythatthein

eater.H isministrywasmade

oneverperhapseither sawor

ntheeighteenthcenturywhore

uths whichproducedtheProtestant

tantassertionofthedoctrinestaught

peatedreferencetotheA rticlesand

yofthe bestE nglishtheologians,

ndrousedthemtoe aminethe irown

truthwask now n, I be lieve itw ould

ogressoftheE vangelicalbodyinthe

eivedamightyimpulsefromGeorge

ottheonly indirectgoodthatWhite f ie lddidin

hefirst toshowtherightwayto

delsandscepticsonC hrist ianity . He

owerfulweaponagainstsuch men

asoninganddry criticaldis uisition,

spel livingthewholegospel and

el.I twasnotthe writingsofLeland,

oc , andWaterland, andLeslie , that

nfidelityonehalf somuchasthe

ndhiscompanions.Theywerethe

mpionsof C hristianity.I nfidelsare

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R O F H I S PR E A C H I N G .

abstractreasoning.Thesurest argu

speltruthand gospellife.

ery f irstE nglishmanw hoseemsto

odwhatDr.C halmersaptlycalled

ewasthefirst toseethatC hrist's

offishermen.Theymustnotwait

,butmustgoaftersouls,and "compel

dnotsittamelybyhisf ireside, l i e

ningoverthew ic ednessof the land.

hedev il inhishighplaces. He

ednessfaceto face, andgave- themno

sand cornersaftersinners.H e

vicewherevertheycould befound.

tasystemofactionw hich, uptohis

velyun nowninthiscountry,buta

enced,hasneverceasedtobeem

tday.C itymissions,townmissions,

pen-airpreachings,homemissions,

reachings,areallevidencesthatthe

stem" isnowthoroughlyrecogni ed

understandbetterhow togotow or

dyearsago.B utletus neverforget

menceoperationsofthisk indwas

etusgivehim thecredithedeserves.

hitefield'spreachingisthe sub ect

meconsideration.Mennaturallywish

cretofhis unparalleledsuccess.The

dwith considerabledifficulty,anditis

correctj udgmentaboutit.The

ple,thathewasa merecommon

mar ablefornothingbutgreat

ndaloudvoice,will notbeara

Dr.J ohnsonwasfoolishenoughto

ndmade animpression,butnever

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F H I S P R E A C H I N G .49

a mounteban does;andthathe

oing betterthanothers,butby

utJ ohnsonw asanythingbutin

l aboutministersandreligion.

o ldw ater. I t iscontradictory toun

cherinE nglandhaseversucceeded

f suchcrowdsasW hitefieldcon

London.N opreacherhaseverbeen

erycountrythat hevisited,inE ng

merica . Nopreacherhaseverretainedhis

relyashedidfor thirty-fouryears.

ned. I tw asasgreatattheendofhis

ing.W hereverhepreached,men

hopsandemploymentstogatherround

whoheardforeternity.This ofitself

ndtheearof" themasses"fora

to bepreachingincessantlythewhole

commonpower.

hitefield'spreachingproduceda

inevery ran o f l if e . Hew onthe

s low,ofrichaswell aspoor,of

d.I fhispreachinghadbeen

neducatedand thepoor,wemight

atthere waslittleinit butdeclama

rfromthis beingthecase,heseems

numbersof thenobilityandgentry.

heE arlofLeven,theE arlofB uchan,

uth, LordJ amesA . Gordon, mightbe

stadmirers,besideLadyH untingdon

tcrit icsandliterarymen, li eLord

dC hesterfie ld, weref re uentlyhisde

ecoldartificialC hesterfieldwas

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S H E D S E R MO N S .

hite f ie ld'se lo uence. B o lingbro e

traordinarymaninourtimes. Hehas

uenceI everheardinanyperson."

perspo e innomeasuredtermsofhis

ethehistoriandeclaredthatit was

ohearhim.

canneverbee pla inedaw ay . They

rythatW hitefield'spreachingwas

n. B o lingbro e, C hesterf ield, Hume,

tmentobeeasilydece ived. Theywere

uence. Theyw ereprobablyamongthe

eir day.Theirunboughtandun

meto supplyunanswerableproof

somethingverye traordinaryabout

utstill,afterall, theq uestionremains

asthesecretof Whitefield'sunrivalled

ss? A ndI f ran lyadmitthat, w ith

ssessforformingour j udgment,the

onetoansw er.

seventy-fivesermonspublished

willprobablybemuchdisappointed.

mmandingintellectorgraspof mind.

eepphilosophy, andnoverystri ing

however,tosay,thatbyfarthe greater

eta endowninshorthandby

ithoutcorrection.Theseworthy

heirwor veryindifferently,and

eofstoppingandparagraphing,of

econse uenceis,thatmanypas

esermonsarewhatB ishopLatimer

gle-mangle,"andwhatweshouldcall

ess."N owonderthatpoorW hite-

tletters,datedS eptember26,1769,

sedagainstthepublicationof mylast

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E C H A R A C T R I S T C S .51

atimasI de liveredit. I tsomeplaces

lseconcord, andevennonsense. I n

ectionare destroyedbyin udicious,

andthewholeisentirelyunfitfor the

ayboldlythat,withall theirfaults,

monswillwellrepayacandid perusal.

hatthey werenotcarefullyprepared

ermonsofMelv il leorB radley, but

graphed,andstopped,andhemust

eforehis mind.Moreover,hemust

ompositionforspea ingtohearers,

nforprivatereading, arealmostli e

othatsermonswhich"preach "well

say,rememberthesetwothings,

, andI ammuchmista enifhedoesnot

nyofW hitefield'ssermons.F ormy

ysay thatI thin theyaregreatlyunder

t whatappeartohavebeenthedistinc

hitefield'spreaching.

eldpreachedasingularlypuregospel.

rgavetheirhearerssomuch wheatand

tgetuptota l abouthisparty, his

ffice.H ewasperpetuallytellingyou

at, J esusC hrist, theHolyGhost, the

ce,faith,andholiness,inthe waythat

emightysub ects. " Oh, therighteous

" hew ouldof tensay ; " I mustbee cused

ll mysermons."Preachingofthis

atGoddelightstohonour. I tmustbe

ationoftruth.

tefield'spreachingwassingularlylucid

sw hatevertheymightthin o fhis

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O F D S C R I PT O N .

understandwhathe meant.H is

sy,plain,andconversational.H eseemed

dsentences. Hea lw ayssaw hismar ,

eseldomtroubledhishearerswith

ricatereasoning.S impleB iblestate

dpertinentanecdotes,werethemore

used.Theconse uencewasthathis

dhim.H enevershotabovetheir

grand elementofapreacher'ssuc

a llmeanstobeunderstood. I tw as

hopUsher, " Toma eeasy thingsseem

; buttoma ehardthingseasy isthe

er. "

tefieldwasasingularlyboldand direct

thatindefinitee pression"we,"

nglishpulpitoratory,andwhich

din astateofmistyconfusion.H e

eonew hohadamessagef romGod

heretospea toyouaboutyoursoul. "

f hishearersusedoftento thin that

meantforthemselves.H ewasnot

ingonameagretail-pieceof appli

discourse.O nthecontrary,acon

nthrough allhissermons."This is

."H ishearerswereneverletalone.

tre inWhite f ield'spreachingw ashis

on.TheA rabianshaveaproverb

st oratorwhocanturnmen'sears

emstohavehadapeculiar facultyof

edhissub ectsothoroughly thatit

beforeyoureyes. Heusedtodraw

hingshewashandling,thathis

actuallysawandheard them."O n

his biographers,"LordC hesterfield

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S T N E S S . 53

egreatpreacher,in describingthe

nconvertedsinner,illustratedthe

blindbeggar. Thenightw asdar , and

oormendicantwasdesertedbyhis

cipice,andhadnothingto aidhimin

aff.Whitefield sowarmedwithhis

with suchgraphicpower,thatthewhole

athlesssilence,asif itsawthemove

n;andatl ength,whenthebeggar

talstep whichwouldhavehurledhim

in destruction,LordC hesterfield

rdto savehim,e claimingaloud,

ne 'Thenoble lordhadbeenso

epreacher,thathe forgotthewhole

eristicofW hitefield'spreachingwas

ss.O nepooruneducatedmansaidof

ea lion. " Hesucceededinshowing

ievedallhewassaying,andthat his

andstrength,werebent onma ing

sermonsw erenotli e themorning

outh,ak indofformaldischarge,

rse,thatdisturbsnobody.Theywere

nogettingawayfromthem.S leep

oumustlistenw hetheryouli edit

olenceabouthimwhichfirmly

storm. Y ouw erefairly carriedof fyour

ou hadtimetoconsiderwhatyou

sure, wasonesecretofhis success.

hatwearein earnestourselves,ifwe

fferencebetweenonepreacher

muchinthethingssaid, asinthe

aid.

fhisbiographersthatanA merican

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S A N D F E E L N G.

earhim,for thefirsttime,inconse

heardofhispreachingpowers.The

ationcomparativelythin,andthe

therheavy.O urA mericanfriend

Thismanisno greatwonderafter

andsaw thecongregationaslitt le

neoldman,infront ofthepulpit,had

nceWhite f ie ldstoppedshort. His

ndthenhesuddenlybro eforthin

hadcometospea toyouinmyow n

yourelbowson yourk nees,andyour

dsleep; andonce inaw hile loo up,

bblerta l ingof B utI havenot

ame. No I havecometoyouin

osts" ( herehebroughtdownhis

ethatmadethebuildingring , " and

d."Thecongregationstarted.The

ce. " A y , ay " criedWhite f ield, f i ing

ve w a e d y ou u p , ha v e I ? I m e an t t o

retopreachtostoc sandstones: I

ameoftheLord GodofH osts,and

naudience."Thehearerswerestripped

verywordofthesermonafterthis

tion,andtheA mericangentleman

hitefield'spreachingdeservesspecial

menseamountofpathosandfeeling

twasnouncommonthingwith

e pulpit.C orneliusWinter, who

hislatter j ourneys,wentsofarasto

newhimgetthrougha sermonwithout

ohavebeennothingof affectation

orthe soulsbeforehim,andhis

ears. O falltheingredientsof his

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D'A S A N O R A T O R . 55

,I suspect,weresopowerfulasthis.

nsandtouchedsecretspringsinmen,

inganddemonstrationcouldhave

ownthepre udicesw hichmanyhad

eycouldnothatethe manwho

uls. "I cametohearyou,"said

etfullo f stones, intendingtobrea

ongotthebettero fme, andbro e

esatisfiedthatamanloves you,and

ythinghehastosay.

adertoaddtothisana lysiso fWhite-

nbynaturehe possessedseveralof

mantobe anorator.H isactionwas

atevenGarric , thefamousactor, gave it

vo icew asasw onderfulashisaction

a ethirtythousandpeoplehear

usicalandwelltonedthat somesaid

pronunciationoftheword" Meso

thepulpitwasso curiouslygraceful

said thatnoonecouldhear himfor

ttingthathes uinted.H isfluency

atelanguagewereofthehighest

ystousethe rightwordandtoput

, I repeat, thesegif tstothethings

enconsiderwhetherthereis-hot

ccountforhispowerand popularity

avenohesitationinsay ingthatI be lieve

everpossessedsucha combinationof

sasWhite f ie ld. S ome, nodoubt, have

s gifts;others,perhaps,have

utfora well-balancedcombination

thatapreachercan possess,united

anner,delivery,action,andcom-

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T C H A R A C T R .

ld,I repeatmyopinion,standsalone.

e lieve, deadora live, hasevere ua lledhim.

a llalw aysf indthat, j ustinproportionas

edthatcuriouscombinationofrare

ssessed,j ustinthatvery proportion

larendondefinestrueelo uenceto

fma ingthemselvesbelieved."

character ofthisgreatspiritual

reabranchofmysub ectonw hichI

th.I nfact,thereis nonecessityfor

ngularlytransparentman.There

uiringapo logyore planation. His

swerebothclearandplain asnoon-day.

tmyselfwithsimplypointingout the

haracter,sofar astheycanbe

ndthe accountsofhiscontempo

s etchofhimtoaconclusion.

ndunfe ignedhumility . Noonecan

lettersofhis, publishedbyDr.

his.A gainandagain,inthe very

w ef indhimspea ingofhimselfand

tterms. " Godbemercifultomea

ptembern,1753,"andgiveme,for

, anhumble , than ful, andresigned

hanthev ilest, andstandama edat

tchasI am. " " Letnoneofmy

mber27,1753,"cryto sucha

profitableworm,Spare thyself.R ather

w ithanA w a e, thousleeper, and

hy God."Languageli ethis,no

andaffectationtotheworld; butthe

derwillseein ittheheartfelte perience

tisthe languageofmenli e

rd, andM'C heyne. I t isthesamemind

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C E A N DS E L -D N I A L .57

postlePaul.Thosethathavemost

sthehumblestmen.

glovetoourLordJ esusC hrist.

veeveryname"standsoutinces

dence.Li efragrantointment,it

mmunications.Pieseemsnever

gaboutJ esus."MyMaster,"as

everlong outofhismind.Plis love,

sblood,hisrighteousness,hisreadi

patienceandtenderdealingwith

ppeareverfreshbeforehis eyes.I n

s acuriousli enessbetweenhim

hdiv ine, SamuelR utherford.

rieddiligenceandlaboriousnessabout

twouldbedifficult,perhaps,toname

heC hurchesw howor edsohardfor

yspenthimselfin hisservice.H enry

onforhim, preachedatB ath, borethe

W hatasignand wonderwasthisman

hislabours O necannotbutstand

ame could,forthespaceofnear thirty

n,sustaintheweightofthem; for

anframe,inyouthespecially,aslong-

dv io lentstra iningof the lungs? Who

urew ouldthin itpossiblethataperson

nhoodcouldspea inasinglewee ,

generalfortyhours,andinverymany

thattothousands; andafterthislabour,

t,couldbe offeringupprayersand

andspiritualsongs,ashis manner

chhe wasinvited? Thetruthis,

e traordinaryservantofGoddidas

mostof thosew hoe ertthemselvesare

year."

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L N E S S O F H I S N A T U R E .

nofeminentse lf-denia l. Hissty leof

ew asremar abletoaproverbfor

drin ing. A llthroughlifehew asan

urforgettingupw asfouro 'cloc ,

;ande uallypunctualwashein

A manofprayerfulhabits,hefre

htsinreadingand devotion.C ornelius

the sameroom,saysthathewould

nightfor thispurpose.H ecared

tasahelptothecauseofC hrist, and

ponhimfor hisownuse,onceto the

massednofortune,andfoundedno

moneyheleftbehindhim athis

helegaciesof friends.ThePope's

r,"This Germanbeastdoesnotlove

uallyappliedtoW hitefield.

abledisinterestednessandsinglenessof

only fortw oob ects thegloryofGod

Of secondaryandcovertob ects

e ra isednopartyof fo llowersw ho

ablishednodenominationalsystem,of

uldbe cardinalelements.A favour

ostcharacteristicofthe man:"Let the

ldperish, so longasC hrist ise a lted. "

ularlyhappyandcheerfulspirit . No

r doubtthatheen oyedhisreligion.

aysthroughouthisministry slan

yothers,misrepresentedbyfalse

wherebytheignorantclergyofhis

controversy hiselasticitynever

entlyare o icingC hrist ian, w hose

endedhisMaster'sservice.A vene

, a f terhisdeath, w henspea ingof the

piritwonherheart toGod,usedthese

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T A N D C A TH O L C I T . 59

Mr. White fie ldw assocheerfulthatit

hristian."

samanofe traordinarycharity,

hisr eligion.H ek newnothingof

gwhichma essomemenfancythat

outsidetheirowncamps,and that

ompletemonopolyoftruthand

o lovedtheLordJ esusC hrist insin

ythemeasurewhich theangels

srepentancetowardsGod,faithtowards

, andholinessofconversation1" I f they

hren.H issoulwaswith suchmen,

erecalled.Minordifferenceswere

him. Themar sof theLord

r shecaredfor. Thiscatho licity is

henthespirito f thetimeshelivedinis

rs ines, inScotland, w antedhimto

minationbutthe irown v i . , the

as edthem, " Whyonly forthem "

nswerthat" theyweretheLord's

anW hitefieldcouldstand.H e

otherLord'speoplebut themselves;"

swerethedevil'speople,they cer

preachedto;"andhewoundup by

e Popehimselfwouldlendhimhis

claimtherighteousnessofC hristin

piritheadheredallhis days.I f

esentedhim,heforgavethem;andit

w ithhim, hestill lovedthem. Nothing

stimonyagainstnarrow-mindedness

shortlybeforehisdeath,that,whenhe

shouldbeas edtopreachhisfunera l

adlongceasedto agreeaboutC al

field,to theverylast,wasdetermined

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T F A U L T .

s,andtoregard Wesleyas C alvindid

ervantof J esusC hrist. " Onanother

essorofreligionas edhim"whether

J ohnWesley inheaven " " No,

swer; " I f earnot. P iew illbesonear

atsuchadistance,that weshall

y thatthesub ectof thischapterwas

eallGod'ssaints,he wasanimper

tmeserredinj udgment. Heof ten

utProvidence,andmistoo hisown

gs.H ewasfre uentlyhastyboth

n.H ehadnobusinessto saythat

newnomoreofthegospel thanMa

set downsomepeopleastheLord's

Lord's friendssoprecipitatelyand

sdid.H ewastoblamefor denounc

letter-learnedPharisees,"because

octrine ofthenewbirth.B utstill,

,therecanbe nodoubtthatinthe

holy,self-denying,andconsistent

aracter,"saysanA mericanwriter,

sun detectedw ithoutmuchdif f iculty

bserverw hota espa insto loo for

urposeslostinonegeneral andgenial

would itbeforthe C hurchesofour

emmoreministersli e thegreat

hundredyearsago

hatthosew how ishtok now more

owelltoperusethe sevenvolumesof

ations,whichDr. Gillieseditedin

a enif theyarenotagreeablysurprised

smatterof astonishmentthat,

fthe nineteenthcentury,nopub-

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R O M S E R M O N .6 1

completereprint ofthewor sof

mtheconclusionofasermonpreachedby

tonC ommon,maybeinterestingtosome

givethemsome faintideaofthe

tw asasermononthete t, " What

( M a tt . x x i i . 42 .

artisenlargedtow ardsyou. I trust

hiddenbut powerfulpresenceofC hrist,

toyou. I ndeedit issw eet it ise

lltheharmI wishyouwhowithout

thatyoufe ltthe li e . B e lieveme,

mysoulto returntoanaturalstate

glychangestateswithyoufor alittle

ow w hatit istohaveC hristdw elling

onotturnyourbac s. Donotlet

enotafraidof convictions.Do

octrinebecausepreachedwithoutthe

the daysofhisflesh,preachedon

eld; andI ampersuadedmanyhave

here . Indeed, w espea w hatwe

re ectthek ingdomofGodagainst

sto receiveourwitness.

letyougo. Staya litt le , andletus

erlightlyyoumayesteemyoursouls,

setanunspea ablevalueonthem. He

smostprecious blood.I beseech

s,beyereconciledto God.I hopeyou

n theB eloved.B ehold,hecalleth

s,andfollowsyouwithhis mercy,

rvantsintothehighwaysandhedges

atsuchanhour ofsuchaday,in

youwerealltold whatyououghtto

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O F H I S P R E A C H I N G.

usC hrist. I f younow perish, itwil lnotbe

ge. I amf reef romthebloodofyoua ll.

ebeenpreachingdamnationtoyou. Y ou

elega lpreachers, beenre uiringyou

tstraw. I havenotbiddenyoutoma e

cometoGod.I haveofferedyou

sas youcandesire.I haveoffered

m,C hrist'swholerighteousness,C hrist's

ternalredemption,ifyouwillbut

yyoucannotbelieve,you sayright;

otherblessing,isthegift ofGod.B ut

hok nowsbuthemayhavemercy

inmore lov ingthoughtsofC hrist?

havemercyonothersandnotonyou?

DidnotJ esusC hristcomeintothe

echiefo f sinners, I answerthatw illbe

tion.I ndeeditwillnot,if youlay

eadtheE vangelists, andseehow

disciples, whohadfledfromand

brethren sayshe. H edidnotsay,

'Go, tellmybrethrenandPeter.'

a id, 'Go, te llmybrethreningenera l,

a tI amrisen. Oh, comforthispoor

amreconciledtohim. B idhim

orthoughwithoathsandcurses

havediedforhissins: I haverisen

on: I f ree ly forgivehimall. " Thusslow

ndness,wasourall-mercifulH ighPriest.

ehaschangedhisnatureandforgetspoor

edtotherighthandofGod? N o; he

day,andforever;and sitteththere

onforus.

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F H I S PR E A C H I N G .63

;come,yepublicans; come,ye

comeandbelieveonJ esusC hrist.

spiseyouandcast youout,yethe

ouup. Ohama ing, ohinfinitelycon

youhewillnotbe ashamedtocallhis

scapeifyou neglectsuchaglorious

t wouldthedamnedspiritsnowin the

istw assof ree lyof feredtothem? A nd

ureyesintorments? Doesanyone

edaresayhedoesnot deservedamna

, andothersta enaw aybydeath? W hat

od'sfreegrace, andasignof his

etGod'sgoodnessleadustorepentance.

nheavenoversomeofyourepenting "

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nb b is U t t nr si r ) .

sonw hybetterk now nthanmanyofhisC ontemporaries B irth-place

erandMother E ducatedatC harter-HouseandOx ford E arly

rda ined, 1725 LivesatOx forde ightY ears J o instheMethodist

rgia , 1736 R eturnstoE ngland, 173 C ommencesF ie ld-preach

ingforf ifty - threeYears Diesin1791 S inglenessofEye, Dil i

ofMind A rminianism.

sto fEnglishR eformersof the last

proposetoconsider,is aman

thefamousJ ohnWesley .

angelistisperhapsbetterk nown

w-labourersahundredyearsago.

countedfor.H elivedtothe ripe

orsi ty-fiveyearshewascontinually

c, anddoinghisMaster'swor in

efoundedanewreligiousdenomina

eryday foritsnumbers,laboriousness,

yproudof itsgreatfounder. Hislif ehas

yhisfriendsand followers,hiswor s

receptsandma imsreverentially

ed, l i e J oseph'sbones. I nfact, if

beenpractically canonised,ithas

tw ouldbestrangeindeedifhisname

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Y ' B I R T H .65

cannotpretendtogivemorethana

spaceofafevvpages.The leading

spentlife,andtheleadingfeaturesof

all thatI canpossiblycompressinto

Thosewhowantmoremustloo

esleyw asbornonthe17thof J une1703, atE pw orth,

whichparishhis fatherwasrector.

milyofatleast thirteenchildren,com

daughters.O fthedaughters,those

rlyfoolishandunhappymarriages.

amuel, w asforsomeyearsusherof

ndanintimatefriendofthefamousB ishop

edhead-masterofTivertonS chool.

ounderoftheMethodistcommunion;

wasalmostthroughoutlifeJ ohn'scom

r.

wasamanof considerablelearningand

sawriter,he wasalwaysbringingout

rin verse,butnothing,unhappily

severacceptabletothe readingpublic,

present day.A sapolitician,he

roftheR evolutionwhichbroughtinto

range; anditw asonthisaccountthat

himtotheC row nliv ingofE pw orth.

msto havebeenadiligentpastorand

alschoolofA rchbishopTillotson.

rldlyaffairs,heappearstohavebeen

hrectorofaliving nowvaluedat

waysinpecuniarydifficulties,wasonce

esleybyMethodisthandsarethoseof Whitehead,Moore,

'sw ell- now nlifeofWesley isnotafa irboo , andtheunfavour

roughoutis painfullymanifest.Thebest,mostimpartial,and

esleyisonepublishedbyS eeleyin1856,byananonymous

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L Y ' PA R E N T .

llylefthiswidowandchildren almost

tothisthathew asnotongoodterms

poorashe was,insistedongoingup

endthe veryunprofitablemeetings

hsatatime,the readerwillprobably

toomany, hew asamanofmore

rnessthangoodsense.

esleywasevidentlyawomanofe tra

hewasthedaughterofDr. A nnes-

oreadersofPuritantheologyas oneof

MorningE x ercises, ande ectedf rom

, in1662. F romhimsheseemstohave

nseandstrongdecidedj udgment

aracter.Totheinfluenceof his

de ample, J ohnWesley , doubtless,

is peculiarhabitsofmindandq uali

ntofthe wayinwhichsheeducatedall her

terstohersonJ ohn, isenoughto

monwoman,andthat hersonswere

mmonmen. Shesays, " Noneof them

eyearso ld, e ceptKe iah, inw hose

andshewasmoreyears inlearningthan

months.Thewayofteachingwas

dbeganto learn,thehousewasset

appointedthem,andachargegiven

the roomfromninetotwelve,or

eour schoolhours.O nedaywas

olearn itsletters,andeachof them

llitsle tters, greatandsmall, e cept

ereadayandahalfbeforetheyk new

thenthoughtthemverydull; but

htthemsowasbecausethe restlearned

rS amuel,whowasthefirstchild I

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' M E T N G . 67

habetina fewhours.H ewasfive

ebruary ; thene tdayhebeganto

newtheletters,beganatthe first

astaughttospell thefirstverse,then

he couldreaditoff-handwithout

hesecond, &c, t il lhetoo tenverses

uic lydid. Easterfe ll low thatyear,

uldreadac hapterverywell,forhe

ucha prodigiousmemorythatI

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