24 chapters
23 hour read
Selected Chapters
24 chapters
REV. L. TYERMAN,
REV. L. TYERMAN,
AUTHOR OF "THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE REV. SAMUEL WESLEY, M.A., RECTOR OF EPWORTH;" "THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE REV. JOHN WESLEY, M.A.;" AND "THE OXFORD METHODISTS." IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL I. London: HODDER AND STOUGHTON, 27, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C. ——— MDCCCLXXVI. Hazell Watson, and Viney, Printers, London and Aylesbury....
17 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
PREFACE.
PREFACE.
Every one who wishes to understand and rightly estimate the Methodist movement of the last century, must, not only read the lives of the two Wesleys, but also, make himself acquainted with the history of Whitefield, and the career of the Methodist contemporaries of the illustrious trio. John Wesley was Methodism's founder, and Charles its hymnologist. John Clayton became a man of mark among the High Church clergymen of the Episcopal Communion. James Hervey belonged to the Evangelical section of
5 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
1714 TO 1732.
1714 TO 1732.
George Whitefield was born in the Bell Inn, Gloucester, on the 16th day of December (O.S.), 1714. His genealogy, as given by his first biographer, Dr. Gillies, is brief, but not without interest:— "The Rev. Mr. Samuel Whitefield, great-grandfather of George, was born at Wantage, and was rector of North Ledyard, [1] in Wiltshire. He removed afterwards to Rockhampton, in Gloucestershire. He had five daughters—two of whom were married to clergymen, Mr. Perkins and Mr. Lovingham; and two sons—Samuel
35 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
1732 TO 1735.
1732 TO 1735.
Whitefield went to Oxford towards the end of the year 1732. Twelve years before this, Wesley had been admitted to Christ-Church College, and in the interval had been elected Fellow of Lincoln College, had taken his Master of Arts degree, and had been ordained deacon and also priest. Charles Wesley had been six years at Christ-Church, and was now Bachelor of Arts, and a College Tutor. Willam Morgan, one of the first of the Oxford Methodists, died a few weeks before Whitefield entered Pembroke Col
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
May 1735 to June 1736.
May 1735 to June 1736.
Whitefield left Pembroke College, Oxford, at the end of May, 1735, and returned to it in the month of March, 1736. The history of this long interval shall be given in his own words, from the Autobiography first published in 1740, and revised and re-issued in 1756. He writes: "As fast as I got strength after my sickness, my tutor, physician, and some others were still urging me to go into the country, hoping thereby to divert me, as they thought, from a too intense application to religion. [36] [
40 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
1736.
1736.
Sunday, June 20, 1736, was a grand day to Whitefield. In the imposing old cathedral, founded by Osric, "sub-regulus" of Ethelred, King of Mercia—an edifice in which Robert of Gloucester, author of the rhyming "Chronicle of England," had been a monk; and John Hooper, the immortal martyr, had been Gloucester's first Protestant prelate—stood a youth, who, five years before, had been a common tapster in an adjoining public-house. For three years and a half, by acting as a servitor, he had almost ent
31 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
1737.
1737.
Whitefield wished and expected to embark for Georgia without delay; but, by a series of unforeseen occurrences, he was detained in England during the whole of the year 1737. In some respects this was the most important period of his life. He had transferred the care of the prisoners at Oxford to Dean Kinchin. James Hervey had succeeded him in the curacy at Dummer. He had no parochial charge, and probably he wished for none. At the early age of twenty-two, he was an episcopally ordained evangelis
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
1738.
1738.
When Wesley embarked for Georgia, on October 14, 1735, he took with him five hundred and fifty copies of a treatise on the Lord's Supper, and a few other books, "the gift of several Christian friends, for the use of the settlers" in that colony. [112] When Whitefield embarked in 1738, he had a cargo sufficient to excite a smile, and the collection of which must have cost him considerable thought and labour. Besides the £1000 which he collected for the Charity Schools in London, he also begged, p
29 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
January to August, 1739.
January to August, 1739.
Whitefield began the new year as gloriously as he ended that which had just expired. He received the sacrament, preached twice, expounded twice, attended a Moravian love-feast in Fetter Lane, where he "spent the whole night in prayer, psalms, and thanksgivings;" and then pronounced "this to be the happiest New Year's Day he had ever seen." The love-feast at Fetter Lane was a memorable one. Besides about sixty Moravians, there were present not fewer than seven of the Oxford Methodists, namely, Jo
14 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
August 1739 to March 1741.
August 1739 to March 1741.
Marvellous were the scenes which Whitefield had witnessed during the last few months. If ministerial success were a proof that the man thus honoured ought to remain where he is, Whitefield ought to have remained in England. He had, however, formally accepted the distant living of Savannah. The Trustees of Georgia had cheerfully acceded to all his wishes. He had collected considerable sums of money for the erection of his contemplated Orphanage. He had promised the people of Savannah that he woul
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
March to July, 1741.
March to July, 1741.
Whitefield embarked at Charleston on the 16th of January, 1741, and landed at Falmouth on March 11. His time on board was principally occupied in composing sermons, and in writing letters, chiefly to the friends whom he had left behind him. A few extracts will be useful. To the Rev. Mr. Cooper, at Boston, he wrote:— "Last Saturday" (January 10) "I was taken up, for being concerned in correcting the enclosed printed letter, written by Mr. Hugh Bryan. [415] I am bound over to appear next sessions,
18 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
August to November, 1741.
August to November, 1741.
At the very time when Wesley was founding Methodism in Bristol and in London, certain charges were brought, by the Commissioners of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, against the following ministers of that community: namely, Ebenezer Erskine, of Stirling; William Wilson, of Perth; Alexander Moncrieff, of Abernethy; James Fisher, of Kinclaven; Ralph Erskine, of Dunfermline; Thomas Mair, of Orwell; Thomas Nairn, of Abbots-hall; and James Thompson, of Burntisland. Ebenezer Erskine was
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
November 1741 to June 1742.
November 1741 to June 1742.
Whitefield left Edinburgh on October 29, 1741, and rode on Earl Leven's horse, three hundred miles, to Abergavenny in Wales, for the purpose of marrying Mrs. James, a widow lady, who, up to this period of his history, is never even mentioned in any of Whitefield's letters. The marriage ceremony was performed at St. Martin's Chapel, near Caerphilly, in the parish of Eglws Ilan. The following is a copy of the register, in the handwriting of the Rev. John Smith, the then vicar of Eglws Ilan:— GEORG
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
The Life of the Rev. George Whitefield
The Life of the Rev. George Whitefield
Transcriber’s Notes The cover image was provided by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain. Punctuation has been standardized. Most abbreviations have been expanded in tool-tips for screen-readers and may be seen by hovering the mouse over the abbreviation. The text may show quotations within quotations, all set off by similar quote marks. The inner quotations have been changed to alternate quote marks for improved readability. This book was written in a period when many words had no
11 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
SECOND VISIT TO SCOTLAND. June to October, 1742.
SECOND VISIT TO SCOTLAND. June to October, 1742.
Kilsyth, a small town, about twelve miles from Glasgow, was another place graciously visited by God’s good Spirit. Its minister, the Rev. James Robe, began a series of sermons on the new birth, as early as the year 1740; but nothing remarkable occurred until May, 1742, the month when Whitefield set out on his second visit to Scotland. At the beginning of the month, “societies for prayer were erected in the parish;” and, almost immediately, great numbers began to cry aloud for mercy. On May 16, a
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
IN ENGLAND AND WALES. November 1742 to August 1744.
IN ENGLAND AND WALES. November 1742 to August 1744.
Whitefield spent nearly four months in London. His congregations, of course, were very large, and, in another respect, were remarkable. His friend Wesley was pre-eminently and almost exclusively the poor man’s preacher. It was otherwise with Whitefield. During the winter of 1742, the Earl and Countess of Huntingdon were constant in their attendance upon his ministry, and were often accompanied by his lordship’s sisters, the Ladies Hastings. Occasionally, Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and Cather
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THIRD VISIT TO AMERICA. August 1744 to June 1748.
THIRD VISIT TO AMERICA. August 1744 to June 1748.
“With some difficulty, I reached the pulpit. All looked quite surprised. I was as pale as death, and told them they must look upon me as a dying man; and that I came to bear my dying testimony to the truths I had formerly preached amongst them, and to the invisible realities of another world. I continued an hour in my discourse, and nature was almost exhausted; but, O what life, what power, spread all around! All seemed to be melted, and were in tears. Upon my coming home, I was laid on a bed, u
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
THREE YEARS IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. July 1, 1748, to August 29, 1751.
THREE YEARS IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. July 1, 1748, to August 29, 1751.
“I have preached twice in St. Bartholomew’s Church, and helped to administer the sacrament once. I believe, on Sunday last, we had a thousand communicants. Moorfields are as white as ever unto harvest, and multitudes flock to hear the word. The old spirit of love and power seems to be revived amongst us.” In another letter, written eight days later, he says:— “It is too much for one man to be received as I have been by thousands. The thoughts of it lay me low, but I cannot get low enough. I wou
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
FOURTH VISIT TO AMERICA, AND RETURN TO ENGLAND. September 1751 to March 1754.
FOURTH VISIT TO AMERICA, AND RETURN TO ENGLAND. September 1751 to March 1754.
In another, dated “Charleston, December 26th ,” he writes:— “What mercies, signal mercies, has the Lord Jesus conferred on you and me! What shall we render unto the Lord? Shall we not give Him our whole hearts? O let His love constrain us to a holy, universal, cheerful obedience to all His commands. I am now returning to the Orphan House, which I trust will be like the burning bush. My poor labours are accepted here. In the spring, I purpose going to the Bermudas. Jesus is very good to me. Help
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
FIFTH VISIT TO AMERICA. March 1754 to May 1755.
FIFTH VISIT TO AMERICA. March 1754 to May 1755.
“I have been here above a week. I have seen strange and incredible things,—not more strange than instructive. Never did civil and religious liberty appear to me in such a light as now. What a spirit must Martin Luther and the first Reformers have been endued with, who dared to appear as they did for God! Lord, hasten the happy time, when others, excited by the same spirit, shall perform like wonders! O happy England! O happy Methodists, who are Methodists indeed! And all I account such, who, bei
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
EIGHT YEARS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. 1755 TO 1763.
EIGHT YEARS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. 1755 TO 1763.
To say the least, there was a great amount of large-heartedness in this attempt to distinguish the college of a church with which Whitefield was not officially connected. After his arrival in England, Whitefield spent about six weeks in London, where his preaching was as popular as ever. Writing to the Countess of Huntingdon, on May 27th , he said:— “What a blessed week have we had! Sinners have come like a cloud, and fled like doves to the windows. What a happiness is it to be absorbed and swal
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
SIXTH VISIT TO AMERICA. June 4, 1763, to July 8, 1765.
SIXTH VISIT TO AMERICA. June 4, 1763, to July 8, 1765.
As soon as he left the ship, Whitefield set out for a cooler climate than that of Virginia. Hence the following:— “ Virginia , September 7, 1763 . “We are now on dry land. Christian friends, whom I never before heard of, were prepared to receive me; and I have preached four times. This leaves me on my way to Philadelphia, still visited with my old disorder. Well: He that cometh will come, and will not tarry. Blessed are all they who wait for Him.” “ Philadelphia , September 29, 1763 . “Ebenezer!
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
WHITEFIELD’S LAST FOUR YEARS IN GREAT BRITAIN. From July 7, 1765, to September 5, 1769.
WHITEFIELD’S LAST FOUR YEARS IN GREAT BRITAIN. From July 7, 1765, to September 5, 1769.
Despite his wish that Messrs. Keen and Hardy would continue to manage his London chapels, Whitefield was obliged to obtain supplies for them himself. To Mr. Andrew Kinsman, whom he was accustomed to address as his “dear Timothy,” he wrote:— “London, September 20, 1765. Pray, when are we to have the honour of a visit from you? I believe more than three weeks are elapsed since you came to Bristol. Mr. Adams 523 is to be your colleague here. I purpose for both of you to preach at the” (Tottenham C
2 hour read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter
SEVENTH VISIT TO AMERICA. September, 1769, to September, 1770.
SEVENTH VISIT TO AMERICA. September, 1769, to September, 1770.
To other friends Whitefield wrote:— “September 7, 1769. I am comforted on every side. Fine accommodations. A civil captain and passengers. All willing to attend on divine worship. Praise the Lord, O my soul! I am brave as to my bodily health. Grace! Grace!” “September 8, 1769. O these partings! Without Divine support, they would be intolerable. But with that, we can do even this and everything besides, which we are called to do or suffer. Everything turns out beyond expectation, as to bodily hea
39 minute read
Read Chapter
Read Chapter