from the ,google ,print project47       
,a ,,sketch                             
,,of ,,the                              
,,life ,,and ,,labors                   
,,of                                    
,,george ,,whitefield4                  
,,by ,,the                              
,,rev4 ,j4 ,c4 ,,ryle1 ,b4,a41          
,author of ,a ,call to ,prayer1 ,living 
or ,dead1                       ,wheat  
and ,chaff1 ,the ,cross1 c4             
,,new-,,york3                           
,,anson ,d4 ,f4 ,,randolph1 #fhc        
,,broadway                              
#ahed4                                  
,,george ,,whitefield4   ,there are some
 men in the pages of history1 whose     
greatness no person of common sense     
thinks of disputing4 ,they tower above  
the herd of mankind1 like the ,pyramids1
 the ,parthenon1 and the ,colosseum1    
among buildings4 ,such men were ,luther 
and ,augustine1 ,gustavus ,adolphus and 
,george ,washington1 ,columbus and ,sir 
,isaac ,newton4 ,he who questions their 

greatness must be content to be thought 
very ignorant1 very prejudiced1 or very 
eccentric4 ,public opinion has come to a
 conclusion about them--they were great 
men4  ,but there are also great men     
whose reputation lies buried under a    
heap of contemporary ill-will and       
misrepresentation4 ,the world does not  
appreciate them1 because the world does 
not know their real worth4 ,their       
characters have come down to us through 
poisoned channels4 ,their portraits have
 been drawn by the ill-natured hand of  
enemies4 ,their faults have been        
exaggerated4 ,their excellences have    
been maliciously kept back and          
suppressed4 ,like the famous sculptures 
of ,nineveh1 they need the hand of some 
literary ,layard to clear away the      
rubbish that has accumulated round their
 names1 and show them to the world in   
their fair proportions4 ,such men were  
,vigilantius and ,wickliffe4 ,such men  
were ,oliver ,cromwell and many of the  
,puritans4 ,and such a man was ,george  

,whitefield4  ,there are few men whose  
characters have suffered so much from   
ignorance and misrepresentation of the  
truth as ,whitefield's4  ,that he was a 
famous ,methodist1 and ally of ,john    
,wesley1 in the last century2 that he   
was much run after by ignorant people1  
for his preaching2 that many thought him
 an enthusiast and fanatic2 all this is 
about as much as most ,englishmen know4 
,but that he was one of the principal   
champions of evangelical religion in the
 eighteenth century in our own country2 
that he was one of the most powerful and
 effective preachers that ever lived2   
that he was a man of extraordinary      
singleness of eye1 and devotedness to   
the interests of true religion2 that he 
was a regularly ordained clergyman of   
the ,church of ,england1 and would      
always have worked in the ,church1 if   
the ,church had not1 most unwisely1 shut
 him out2 all these are things1 of which
 few people seem aware4 ,and yet1 after 
calm examination of his life and        

writings1 ,i am satisfied this is the   
true account that ought to be given of  
,george ,whitefield4  ,my chief desire  
is to assist in forming a just estimate 
of ,whitefield's worth4 ,i wish to lend 
a helping hand towards raising his name 
from the undeservedly low place which is
 commonly assigned to it4 ,i wish to    
place him before your eyes as a noble   
specimen of what the grace of ,god can  
enable one man to do4 ,i want you to    
treasure up his name in your memories1  
as one of the brightest in that company 
of departed saints who were1 in their   
day1 patterns of good works1 and of whom
 the world was not worthy4  ,i propose1 
therefore1 without further preface1 to  
give you a hasty sketch of ,whitefield's
 times1 ,whitefield's life1             
,whitefield's religion1 ,whitefield's   
preaching1 and ,whitefield's actual work
 on earth4         99       99       99 
99       99  #a4 ,the story of          
,whitefield's times is one that should  
often be told4 ,without it1 no body is  

qualified to form an opinion either as  
to the man or his acts4 ,conduct that in
 one kind of times may seem rash1       
extravagant1 and indiscreet1 in another 
may be wise1 prudent1 and even          
absolutely necessary4 ,in forming your  
opinion of the comparative merits of    
,christian men1 never forget the old    
rule3 ,distinguish between times4 ,place
 yourself in each man's position4 ,do   
not judge what was a right course of    
action in other times1 by what seems a  
right course of action in your own4     
,now1 the times when ,whitefield lived  
were1 unquestionably1 the worst times   
that have ever been known in this       
country1 since the ,protestant          
,reformation4 ,there never was a greater
 mistake than to talk of the good old   
times4 ,the times of the eighteenth     
century1 at any rate1 were bad old      
times1 unmistakably4 ,whitefield was    
born in #agad4 ,he died in #aggj4 ,it is
 not saying too much to assert1 that    
this was precisely the darkest age that 

,england has passed through in the last 
three hundred years4 ,any thing more    
deplorable than the condition of the    
country1 as to religion1 morality1 and  
high principle1 from #agjj to about the 
era of the ,french ,revolution1 it is   
very difficult to conceive4  ,the state 
of religion in the ,established ,church 
can only be compared to that of a frozen
 or palsied carcass4 ,there were the    
time-honored formularies which the      
wisdom of the ,reformers had provided4  
,there were the services and lessons    
from ,scripture1 just in the same order 
as we have them now4 ,but1 as to        
preaching the gospel in the ,established
 ,church1 there was almost none4 ,the   
distinguishing doctrines of             
,christianity--the atonement1 the work  
and office of ,christ and the           
,spirit--were comparatively lost sight  
of4 ,the vast majority of sermons were  
miserable moral essays1 utterly devoid  
of any thing calculated to awaken1      
convert1 save1 or sanctify souls4 ,the  

curse of black ,bartholomew-day seemed  
to rest upon our ,church4 ,for at least 
a century after casting out two thousand
 of the best ministers in ,england1 our 
,establishment never prospered4  ,there 
were some learned and conscientious     
bishops at this era1 beyond question4   
,such men were ,secker1 and ,gibson1 and
 ,lowth1 and ,warburton1 and ,butler1   
and ,horne4 ,but even the best of them  
sadly misunderstood the requirements of 
the day they lived in4 ,they spent their
 strength in writing apologies for      
,christianity1 and contending against   
infidels4 ,they could not see that1     
without the direct preaching of the     
essential doctrines of ,christ's gospel1
 their labors were all in vain4 ,and1 as
 to the majority of the bishops1 they   
were potent for negative evil1 but      
impotent for positive good2 giants at   
stopping what they thought disorder1 but
 infants at devising any thing to       
promote real order2 mighty to repress   
over-zealous attempts at evangelization1

 but weak to put in action any remedy   
for the evils of the age2 eagle-eyed at 
detecting any unhappy wight who trod on 
the toes of a rubric or canon1 but blind
 as bats to the flood of indolence and  
false doctrine with which their dioceses
 were every where deluged4  ,that there 
were many well-read1 respectable and    
honorable men among the parochial clergy
 at this period1 it would be wrong to   
deny4 ,but few1 it is to be feared1 out 
of the whole number1 preached ,christ   
crucified in simplicity and sincerity4  
,many whose lives were decent and moral1
 were notoriously ,arians1 if not       
,socinians4 ,many were totally engrossed
 in secular pursuits2 they neither did  
good themselves1 nor liked any one else 
to do it for them4 ,they hunted2 they   
shot2 they drank2 they swore2 they      
fiddled2 they farmed2 they toasted      
,church and ,king1 and thought little or
 nothing about saving souls4 ,and as for
 the man who dared to preach the        
doctrine of the ,bible1 the ,articles1  

and the ,homilies1 he was sure to be set
 down as an enthusiast and fanatic4     
,the state of religion among the        
,dissenters was only a few degrees      
better than the state of the ,church4   
,the toleration which they enjoyed from 
,william the ,third's time was certainly
 productive of a very bad spiritual     
effect on them as a body4 ,as soon as   
they ceased to be persecuted1 they      
appear to have gone to sleep4 ,the      
,baptist and ,independent could still   
point to ,gill1 and ,guyse1 and         
,doddridge1 and ,watts1 and a few more  
like-minded men4 ,but the ,english      
,presbyterians were fast lapsing into   
,socinianism4 ,and as to the great      
majority of nonconformists1 it is vain  
to deny that they were very different   
men from ,baxter1 and ,flavel1 and      
,gurnall1 and ,traill4 ,a generation of 
preachers arose who were very orthodox1 
but painfully cold2 very conscientious1 
but very wanting in spirituality2 very  
constant in their objections to the     

,established ,church1 but very careless 
about spreading vital ,christianity4  ,i
 deeply feel the difficulty of conveying
 a correct impression of the times when 
,whitefield lived4 ,i dislike           
over-statement as much as any one1 but  
,i am thoroughly persuaded it is not    
easy to make an over-statement on this  
branch of my subject4  ,these were the  
times when the highest personages in the
 realm lived openly in ways which were  
flatly contrary to the law of ,god1 and 
no man rebuked them4 ,no courts1 ,i     
suppose1 can be imagined more           
diametrically unlike than the courts of 
,george ,i4 and ,george ,,ii41 and the  
court of ,queen ,victoria4  ,these were 
the times when profligacy and irreligion
 were reputable and respectable things4 
,judging from the description we have of
 men and manners in those days1 a       
gentleman might have been defined as a  
creature who got drunk1 gambled1 swore1 
fought duels1 and broke the seventh     
commandment incessantly4 ,and for all   

this1 no one thought the worse of him4  
,these were the days when the men whom  
kings delighted to honor were           
,bolingbroke1 ,chesterfield1 ,walpole1  
and ,newcastle4 ,to be an infidel or a  
skeptic1 to obtain power by intrigue1   
and to retain power by the grossest and 
most notorious bribery1 were considered 
no disqualifications at this era4 ,such 
was the utter want of religion1         
morality1 and high principle in the     
land1 that men such as these were not   
only tolerated1 but praised4  ,these    
were the days when ,hume1 the historian1
 put forth his work1 became famous1 and 
got a pension4 ,he was notoriously an   
infidel4 ,these were the days when      
,sterne and ,swift wrote their clever1  
but most indecent productions4 ,both    
were clergymen1 and high in the ,church2
 but the public saw no harm4 ,these were
 the days when ,fielding and ,smollet   
were the popular authors1 and the       
literary taste of high and low was      
suited by ,roderick ,random1 ,peregrine 

,pickle1 ,joseph ,andrews1 and ,tom     
,jones4  ,these were the days when ,knox
 says1 in his history of ,christian     
,philosophy3 ,some of the most learned  
men--the most voluminous writers on     
theological subjects--were totally      
ignorant of ,christianity4 ,they were   
ingenious heathen philosophers1 assuming
 the name of ,christians1 and forcibly  
paganizing ,christianity1 for the sake  
of pleasing the world4 ,these were the  
days when ,archbishop ,drummond 7#agfj7 
could talk of intricate and senseless   
questions1 about the influence of the   
,spirit the power of grace1             
predestination1 imputed righteousness1  
justification without works1 and other  
opinions which have from the beginning  
perplexed and perverted1 debased1       
defiled1 and wounded ,christianity4     
,these were the days when ,bishop       
,warburton considered the teaching      
office of the ,holy ,ghost to be        
completed in the ,holy ,scriptures1 and 
that his sanctifying and comforting     

offices are chiefly confined to charity4
 ,such were the leading ministers4 ,what
 must the mass of teachers have been6   
,such were the priests of ,whitefield's 
time4 ,what must have been the people6  
,these were the days when there was an  
utter dearth of sound theological       
writing4 ,the doctrines of the          
,reformers were trampled under foot by  
men who sat in their chairs4 ,the bread 
of the ,church was eaten by men who     
flatly contradicted her ,articles4 ,the 
appetite of religious people was        
satisfied with ,tillotson's ,sermons1   
and the ,whole ,duty of ,man4 ,a pension
 of two hundred pounds a year was       
actually given to ,blair1 of ,edinburgh1
 for writing his most unchristian       
sermons4 ,ask any theological           
bookseller1 and he will tell you that1  
generally speaking1 no divinity is so   
worthless as that of the eighteenth     
century4  ,in fine1 these were the days 
when there was no ,society for promoting
 the increase of true religion1 but the 

,christian ,knowledge ,society1 and the 
,society for the ,propagation of the    
,gospel4 ,and even their work was       
comparatively trifling4 ,nothing was    
done for the ,jew4 ,nothing was done for
 the heathen4 ,nothing1 almost1 was done
 for the colonies4 ,nothing was done for
 the destitute parts of our own country4
 ,nothing was done for education4 ,the  
,church slept4 ,the dissenters slept4   
,the pulpit slept4 ,the religious press 
slept4 ,the gates were left wide open4  
,the walls were left unguarded4         
,infidelity stalked in4 ,the ,devil     
sowed tares broadcast1 and walked to and
 fro4 ,the gentry gloried in their      
shame1 and no man pointed out their     
wickedness4 ,the people sinned with a   
high hand1 and no man taught them       
better4 ,ignorance1 profligacy1         
irreligion1 and superstition1 were to be
 seen every where4 ,such were the times 
when ,whitefield was raised up4  ,i know
 that this is a dreadful picture4 ,i    
marvel ,god did not sweep away the      

,church altogether4 ,but ,i believe that
 the picture is not one whit too highly 
colored4 ,it is painful to expose such a
 state of things4 ,but1 for             
,whitefield's sake1 the truth ought to  
be known4 ,justice has not been done to 
him1 because the condition of the times 
he lived in is not considered4 ,the     
times he lived in were extraordinary    
times1 and required extraordinary means 
to be used4 ,and whatever quiet men1    
sitting by their fireside in our day1   
may say to the contrary1 ,i am satisfied
 that ,whitefield was just the man for  
his times4         99       99       99 
99       99  #b4 ,the story of          
,whitefield's life1 which forms the next
 part of our subject1 is one that is    
soon told4 ,the facts and incidents of  
that life are few and simple1 and ,i    
shall not dwell upon them at any length4
  ,whitefield was born in #agad4 ,like  
many other great men1 he was of very    
humble origin4 ,his father and mother   
kept the ,bell ,inn1 in the city of     

,gloucester4 ,whether there is such an  
inn now1 ,i do not know4 ,but1 judging  
from ,whitefield's account of his       
circumstances1 it must formerly have    
been a very small concern4              
,whitefield's early life seems to have  
been any thing but religious1 though he 
had occasional fits of devout feeling4  
,he speaks of himself as having been    
addicted to lying1 filthy talking1 and  
foolish jesting4 ,he confesses that he  
was a ,sabbath-breaker1 a theatre-goer1 
a card-player1 and a romance-reader4    
,all this went on till he was twelve or 
fifteen years old4  ,at the age of      
twelve he was placed at a grammar-school
 in ,gloucester4 ,little is known of his
 progress there1 excepting the curious  
fact that even then he was remarkable   
for his good elocution and memory1 and  
was selected to make speeches before the
 corporation1 at their annual           
visitations4  ,at the age of fifteen he 
appears to have become tired of ,latin  
and ,greek1 and to have given up all    

hopes of ever becoming more than a      
tradesman4 ,he ceased to take lessons in
 any thing but writing4 ,he began to    
assist his mother in the public-house   
that she kept4 ,at length1 he says1 ,i  
put on my blue apron1 washed mops1      
cleaned rooms1 and1 in one word1 became 
a professed common drawer for nigh a    
year and a half4  ,but ,god1 who        
ordereth all things in heaven and earth1
 and called ,david from keeping sheep to
 be a king1 had provided some better    
thing for ,whitefield than the office of
 a pot-boy4 ,family disagreements       
interfered with his prospects at the    
,bell ,inn4 ,an old schoolfellow stirred
 up again within him the desire of going
 to the ,university4 ,and at length1    
after several providential circumstances
 had smoothed the way1 he was launched1 
at the age of eighteen1 at ,oxford1 in a
 position at that time much more        
humbling than it is now1 as a servitor  
at ,pembroke ,college4  ,whitefield's   
,oxford career seems to have been the   

turning-point in his life4 ,according to
 his own journal1 he had not been       
without religious convictions for two or
 three years before he went to ,oxford4 
,from the time of his entering ,pembroke
 ,college1 these convictions rapidly    
ripened into decided ,christianity4 ,he 
became marked for his attendance on all 
means of grace within his reach4 ,he    
spent his leisure time in visiting the  
city prisons and doing good4 ,he formed 
an acquaintance with the famous ,john   
,wesley and his brother ,charles1 which 
gave a color to the whole of his        
subsequent life4 ,at one time he seems  
to have had a narrow escape from        
becoming a semi-papist1 an ascetic1 or a
 mystic4 ,from this he seems to have    
been delivered1 partly by the advice of 
wiser and more experienced ,christians1 
and partly by reading such books as     
,scougal's ,life of ,god in the ,soul of
 ,man1 ,law's ,serious ,call1 ,baxter's 
,call to the ,unconverted1 and          
,alleine's ,alarm to ,unconverted       

,sinners4 ,at length1 in #agcf1 at the  
early age of twenty-two1 he was ordained
 deacon by ,bishop ,benson1 of          
,gloucester1 and began to run that      
ministerial race in which he never drew 
breath till he was laid in the grave4   
,his first sermon was preached in ,st4  
,mary-le-,crypt1 ,gloucester4 ,it was   
said to have driven fifteen persons mad4
 ,bishop ,benson remarked1 that he only 
hoped the madness might continue4 ,he   
next accepted temporary duty at the     
,tower ,chapel1 ,london4 ,while engaged 
there1 he preached continually in many  
of the ,london churches1 and among      
others1 in the parish churches of       
,islington1 ,bishopsgate1 ,st4          
,dunstan's1 ,st4 ,margaret1             
,westminster1 and ,bow1 ,cheapside4     
,from the very beginning he attained a  
degree of popularity such as no         
preacher1 probably1 before or since1 has
 ever reached4 ,to say that the churches
 were crowded when he preached1 would be
 saying little4 ,they were literally    

crammed to suffocation4 ,an eye-witness 
said1 ,you might have walked on the     
people's heads4  ,from ,london he       
removed for a few months to ,dummer1 a  
little rural parish in ,hampshire1 near 
,basingstoke4 ,from ,dummer he sailed   
for the colony of ,georgia1 in ,north   
,america1 after visiting ,gloucester and
 ,bristol1 and preaching in crowded     
churches in each place4 ,the object of  
his voyage was to assist the ,wesleys in
 the care of an ,orphan ,house which    
they had established in ,georgia for the
 children of colonists who died there4  
,the management of this ,orphan ,house  
ultimately devolved entirely on         
,whitefield1 and entailed on him a world
 of responsibility and anxiety all his  
life long4 ,though well meant1 it seems 
to have been a design of very           
questionable wisdom4,a    ,a ,this      
,orphan ,house at ,savannah is now in a 
flourishing       condition1 and of     
great usefulness4  ,whitefield returned 
from ,georgia after about two years'    

absence1 partly to obtain priest's      
orders1 which were conferred on him by  
,bishop ,benson1 and partly on business 
connected with the ,orphan ,house4 ,and 
now we reach the era in his life when he
 was obliged1 by circumstances1 to take 
up a line of conduct as a minister which
 he probably at one time never          
contemplated1 but which was made        
absolutely necessary by the treatment he
 received4  ,it appears that1 on        
arriving in ,london after his first     
visit to ,georgia1 he found the         
countenances of many of the clergy no   
longer towards him as they were before4 
,they had taken fright at some          
expressions in his published letters1   
and some reports of his conduct in      
,america4 ,they were scandalized at his 
preaching the doctrine of regeneration  
in the way that he did1 as a thing which
 many of their parishioners needed4 ,the
 pulpits of many churches were flatly   
refused to him4 ,churchwardens1 who had 
no eyes for heresy and drunkenness1 were

 filled with virtuous indignation about 
what they called breaches of order4     
,bishops who could tolerate ,arianism   
and ,socinianism1 got into a state of   
excitement about a man who simply       
preached the gospel1 and put forth      
warnings against fanaticism and         
enthusiasm4 ,in short1 ,whitefield's    
field of usefulness within the ,church  
was rapidly narrowed on every side4     
,the step which seems to have decided   
,whitefield's course of action at this  
period of his life1 was his adoption of 
open-air preaching4 ,he had gone to     
,islington1 on a ,sunday in ,april1     
#agci1 to preach for the vicar1 his     
friend1 ,mr4 ,stonehouse4 ,in the midst 
of the prayers1 the churchwarden came to
 him1 and demanded his license for      
preaching in the ,london diocese4 ,this 
,whitefield1 of course1 had not got1 any
 more than any clergyman not regularly  
officiating in the diocese has at this  
day4 ,the upshot of the matter was1 that
 being forbidden to preach in the       

pulpit1 he went outside1 after the      
service1 and preached in the churchyard4
 ,from that day1 he regularly took up   
the practice of open-air preaching4     
,wherever there were large open fields  
around ,london2 wherever there were     
large bands of idle1 church-despising1  
,sabbath-breaking people gathered       
together--there went ,whitefield and    
lifted up his voice4 ,the gospel so     
proclaimed was listened to1 and greedily
 received by hundreds who had never     
dreamed of visiting a place of worship4 
,in ,moorfields1 in ,hackney ,fields1 in
 ,mary-le-bone ,fields1 in ,may ,fair1  
in ,smithfield1 on ,kennington ,common1 
on ,blackheath1 ,sunday after ,sunday1  
,whitefield preached to admiring masses4
 ,ten thousand1 fifteen thousand1 twenty
 thousand1 thirty thousand1 were        
computed sometimes to have heard him at 
once4 ,the cause of pure religion1      
beyond doubt1 was advanced4 ,souls were 
plucked from the hand of ,satan1 as     
brands from the burning4 ,but it was    

going much too fast for the ,church of  
those days4 ,the clergy1 with very few  
exceptions1 would have nothing to do    
with this strange preacher4 ,in short1  
the ministrations of ,whitefield in the 
pulpits of the ,establishment1 with an  
occasional exception1 from this time    
ceased4 ,he loved the ,church4 ,he      
gloried in her ,articles and            
,formularies4 ,he used her ,prayer ,book
 with delight4 ,but the ,church did not 
love him1 and so lost the use of his    
services4 ,the plain truth is1 the      
,church of ,england of that day was not 
ready for a man like ,whitefield4 ,the  
,church was too much asleep to          
understand him4  ,from this date to the 
day of his death1 a period of thirty-one
 years1 ,whitefield's life was one      
uniform employment4 ,from ,sunday       
morning to ,saturday night--from the    
#ast of ,january to the #cast of        
,december--excepting when laid aside by 
illness1 he was almost incessantly      
preaching4 ,there was hardly a          

considerable town in ,england1          
,scotland1 and ,wales1 that he did not  
visit4 ,when churches were opened to    
him1 he gladly preached in churches4    
,when chapels only were offered1 he     
cheerfully preached in chapels4 ,when   
church and chapel alike were closed1 he 
was ready and willing to preach in the  
open air4 ,for thirty-four years he     
labored in this way1 always proclaiming 
the same glorious gospel1 and always1 as
 far as a man's eye can judge1 with     
immense effect4 ,in one single          
,whitsuntide week1 after he had been    
preaching in ,moorfields1 he received   
one thousand letters from people under  
spiritual concern1 and admitted to the  
,lord's table three hundred and fifty   
persons4 ,in the thirty-four years of   
his ministry1 it is reckoned that he    
preached publicly eighteen thousand     
times4  ,his journeyings were           
prodigious1 when the roads and          
conveyances of his times are considered4
 ,fourteen times did he visit ,scotland4

 ,seven times did he cross the          
,atlantic1 backward and forward4 ,twice 
he went over to ,ireland4 ,as to        
,england and ,wales1 he traversed every 
county in them1 from the ,isle of ,wight
 to ,berwick-on-,tweed1 and from the    
,land's ,end to the ,north ,foreland4   
,his regular ministerial work in        
,london1 when he was not journeying1 was
 prodigious4 ,his weekly engagements at 
the ,tabernacle in ,tottenham-court     
,road1 which was built for him when the 
pulpits of the ,established ,church were
 closed1 were as follows3--,every       
,sunday morning he administered the     
,lord's ,supper to several hundred      
communicants1 at half-past six4 ,after  
this he read prayers1 and preached1 both
 morning and afternoon2 preached again  
in the evening at half-past five2 and   
concluded1 by addressing a large society
 of widows1 married people1 young men   
and spinsters1 all sitting separately in
 the area of the ,tabernacle1 with      
exhortations suitable to their          

respective stations4 ,on ,monday1       
,tuesday1 ,wednesday1 and ,thursday     
mornings1 he preached regularly at six4 
,on ,monday1 ,tuesday1 ,wednesday1      
,thursday1 and ,saturday evenings1 he   
delivered lectures4 ,this you will      
observe made thirteen sermons a week4   
,and all this time he was carrying on a 
correspondence with people in almost    
every part of the world4  ,that any     
human frame could so long endure the    
labor he went through1 does indeed seem 
wonderful4 ,that his life was not       
shortened by violence1 is no less       
wonderful4 ,once he was nearly stoned to
 death by a ,popish mob in ,dublin4     
,once he was nearly murdered in bed by  
an angry lieutenant of the navy at      
,plymouth4 ,once he narrowly escaped    
being stabbed by the sword of a rakish  
young gentleman in ,moorfields2 but he  
was immortal till his work was done4 ,he
 died at last at ,newburyport1 in ,north
 ,america1 from a fit of asthma1 at the 
age of fifty-six4 ,his last sermon was  

preached only twenty-four hours before  
his death4 ,it was an open-air discourse
 two hours long4 ,like ,bishop ,jewell1 
he almost died preaching4 ,he left no   
children4 ,he was once married1 and the 
marriage does not seem to have          
contributed much to his happiness4 ,but 
he left a name far better than that of  
sons and daughters4 ,never1 ,i believe1 
was there a man of whom it could be so  
truly said1 that he spent and was spent 
for ,god4         99       99       99  
99       99  #c4 ,the story of          
,whitefield's religion is the next part 
of the subject that ,i proposed to take 
up1 and unquestionably it is one of no  
little interest4  ,what sort of doctrine
 did this wonderful man preach8 an      
inquirer may reasonably ask4 ,what were 
the standards of faith to which he      
adhered under the ,bible8 ,what were the
 peculiar essentials of this religious  
teaching of his1 which was so           
universally spoken against in his day8  
,the answer to all these questions is   

short and simple4 ,whitefield was a     
real1 genuine son of the ,church of     
,england4 ,as such he was brought up in 
early youth4 ,as such he was educated at
 ,oxford4 ,as such he preached as long  
as he was allowed to preach within the  
,establishment4 ,as such he preached    
when he was outside4 ,references to the 
,prayer ,book1 ,articles1 and ,homilies1
 abound in all his writings and sermons4
 ,his constant reply to his numerous    
opponents was1 that ,,he at any rate was
 consistent with the formularies of his 
own ,church1 and that ,,they were not4  
,it is not at all too much to say1 that 
when practically cast out of the        
,establishment1 ,whitefield was an      
infinitely better churchman than ten    
thousand of the men who received the    
tithes of the ,church of ,england1 and  
remained comfortably behind4            
,whitefield no doubt was not a churchman
 of the stamp of ,archbishop ,laud and  
his school4 ,he was not the man to put a
 ,romish interpretation on our excellent

 ,formularies1 and to place ,church and 
sacraments before ,christ4 ,he was not a
 churchman of the stamp of ,tillotson   
and the school that followed him4 ,he   
did not lay aside justification by      
faith1 and the need of grace1 for       
semi-heathen disquisitions about        
morality and duty1 virtue and vice4 ,and
 he was quite right4 ,laud and his      
followers went infinitely beyond the    
doctrines of our ,church4 ,tillotson and
 his school fell infinitely below4  ,but
 if a churchman is a man who reads the  
,articles1 and ,liturgy1 and ,homilies1 
in the sense of the men who compiled    
them--if a churchman is a man who       
sympathizes with ,cranmer1 and ,latimer1
 and ,hooper1 and ,jewell--if a         
churchman is a man who honors doctrines 
and ordinances in the order and         
proportion that the ,thirty-nine        
,articles honor them--if this be the    
true definition of a churchman1 then    
,whitefield was the highest style of    
churchman--as true a churchman as ever  

breathed4 ,and as for ,whitefield's     
adversaries1 they were little better    
than shams and impostors4 ,they had     
place and power on their side1 but they 
scarcely deserve to be called churchmen 
at all4  ,perhaps no better test of     
,whitefield's religious opinions can be 
supplied1 than the list of authors in   
divinity which he wrote out for the use 
of a college connected with his ,orphan 
,house in ,georgia4 ,of churchmen1 this 
,list includes the names of ,archbishop 
,leighton1 ,bishop ,hall1 and ,burkitt2 
of ,puritans1 ,pool1 ,owen1 and ,bunyan2
 of ,dissenters1 ,matthew ,henry and    
,doddridge2 of ,scotch ,presbyterians1  
,wilson and ,boston4 ,all these are men 
whose praise is even now in all the     
churches4 ,these1 let us understand1    
were the kind of men with whom he was of
 one mind in doctrine4  ,as to the      
substance of ,whitefield's theological  
teaching1 the simplest account ,i can   
give of it is1 that it was purely       
evangelical4 ,there were four main      

things that he never lost sight of in   
his sermons4 ,these four were3 man's    
complete ruin by sin1 and consequent    
natural corruption of heart2 man's      
complete redemption by ,christ1 and     
complete justification before ,god by   
faith in ,christ2 man's need of         
regeneration by the ,spirit1 and entire 
renewal of heart and life2 and man's    
utter want of any title to be considered
 a living ,christian1 unless he is dead 
to sin and lives a holy life4           
,whitefield had no notion of flattering 
men1 and speaking smooth things to them1
 merely because they were baptized and  
called ,christians1 and sometimes came  
to church4 ,he only looked at one       
prominent feature in the thousands he   
saw around him2 and that was1 the       
general character of their lives4 ,he   
saw the lives of these multitudes were  
utterly contradictory to the ,bible1 and
 utterly at variance with the principles
 of the ,church to which they professed 
to belong4 ,he waited for nothing more4 

,he looked for no further evidence4 ,he 
judged of trees by their fruits4 ,he    
told these thousands at once that they  
were in danger of being lost for        
ever--that they were in the broad way   
that leads to destruction--that they    
were dead1 and must be made alive       
again--that they were lost1 and must be 
found4 ,he told them that if they loved 
life1 they must immediately repent--they
 must become new creatures--they must be
 converted1 they must be born again4    
,and ,i believe the apostles would have 
done just the same4  ,but ,whitefield   
was just as full and explicit in setting
 forth the way to heaven as he was in   
setting forth the way to hell4 ,when he 
saw that men's consciences were pricked 
and their fears aroused1 he would open  
the treasure-house of gospel mercy1 and 
spread forth before a congregation its  
unsearchable stores4 ,he would unfold to
 them the amazing love of ,god the      
,father to a fallen world--that love    
from which he gave his only-begotten    

,son1 and on account of which1 while we 
were yet sinners1 ,christ died for us4  
,he would show them the amazing love of 
,god the ,son in taking our nature on   
him1 and suffering for us1 the just for 
the unjust4 ,he would tell them of      
,jesus able to save to the uttermost all
 that would come to ,god by him--,jesus 
and his everlasting righteousness1 in   
which the vilest sinners might stand    
complete and perfect before the throne  
of ,god--,jesus and the blood of        
sprinkling1 which could wash the        
blackest sins away--,jesus1 the ,high   
,priest1 waiting to receive all who     
would come to him1 and not only mighty1 
but ready to save4 ,and all this        
glorious salvation1 he would tell men1  
was close to them4 ,it was not far above
 them1 like heaven4 ,it was not deep    
beneath them1 like hell4 ,it was near at
 hand4 ,it was within their reach4 ,he  
would urge them at once to accept it4   
,the man that felt his sins and desired 
deliverance had only to believe and be  

saved1 to ask and receive1 to wash and  
be clean4 ,and was he not right to say  
so8 ,i believe the apostles would have  
said much the same4  ,but while         
,whitefield addressed the careless and  
ungodly masses in this style1 he never  
failed to urge on those who made a high 
profession of religion their            
responsibility1 and to stir them up to  
walk worthy of their high calling4 ,he  
never tolerated men who talked well     
about religion1 but lived inconsistent  
lives4 ,such men1 no doubt1 there were  
about him1 but it is pretty certain they
 got no quarter from him4 ,on the       
contrary1 one of his biographers tells  
us that he was especially careful to    
impress on all the members of his       
congregation the absolute necessity of  
adorning the doctrine of ,god in all the
 relations of life4 ,masters and        
servants1 rich people and poor1 old and 
young1 married and single1 each and all 
were plainly exhorted to glorify ,god in
 their respective positions4 ,one day he

 would tell the young men of his        
congregation to beware of being like one
 he heard of1 whose uncle described him 
as such a jumble of religion and        
business1 that he was fit for neither4  
,another day he would hold up the       
example of a widow1 remarkable for her  
confidence in ,god4 ,another day he     
would say to them1 ,god convert you more
 and more every hour of the day2 ,god   
convert you from lying in bed in the    
morning2 ,god convert you from          
lukewarmness2 ,god convert you from     
conformity to the world6 ,another day he
 would warn young men against leaving   
their religion behind them as they rose 
in the world4 ,beware1 he would say1 of 
being golden apprentices1 silver        
journeymen1 and copper masters4 ,in     
short1 there never was a greater mistake
 than to suppose there was any thing    
,antinomian or licentious in            
,whitefield's teaching4 ,it was         
discriminating1 unquestionably4 ,sinners
 had their portion2 but saints had their

 portion too4 ,and what was this but    
walking in the very steps of the apostle
 ,paul8  ,the crowning excellence of    
,whitefield's teaching was1 that he just
 spoke of men1 things1 and doctrines1 in
 the way that the ,bible speaks of them1
 and the place that the ,bible assigns  
to them4 ,god1 ,christ1 and the         
,spirit--sin1 justification1 conversion1
 and sanctification--impenitent sinners 
the most miserable of people--believing 
saints the most privileged of           
people--the world a vain and empty      
thing--heaven the only rest for an      
immortal soul--the ,devil a tremendous  
and ever-watchful foe--holiness the only
 true happiness--hell a real and certain
 portion for the unconverted2 these were
 the kind of subjects which filled      
,whitefield's mind1 and formed the      
staple of his ministry4 ,to say that he 
undervalued the sacraments would be     
simply false4 ,his weekly communions at 
the ,tabernacle are an answer that      
speaks for itself4 ,but he never put the

 first things in ,christianity second1  
and the second first4 ,he never put     
doctrine below sacraments1 and          
sacraments above doctrine4 ,and who     
shall dare to blame him for this8 ,he   
only followed the proportion of the     
,bible4  ,it is only fair to add1 that  
,whitefield exemplified in his practice 
the religion that he preached4 ,he had  
faults1 unquestionably4 ,i have not come
 here to make him out a perfect being4  
,he often erred in judgment4 ,he was    
often hasty1 both with his tongue and   
with his pen4 ,he had no business to say
 that ,archbishop ,tillotson knew no    
more of religion than ,mahomet4 ,he was 
wrong to set down some people as the    
,lord's enemies1 and others as the      
,lord's friends1 so precipitately as he 
sometimes did4 ,he was to blame for     
styling many of the clergy              
letter-learned ,pharisees1 because they 
could not receive the doctrine of the   
new birth4 ,but still1 after all this   
has been said1 there can be no doubt    

that1 in the main1 he was a holy1       
self-denying1 and consistent man4 ,even 
his worst enemies can say nothing to the
 contrary4  ,he was1 to the very end1 a 
man of eminent self-denial4 ,his style  
of living was most simple4 ,he refused  
money when it was pressed upon him1 and 
once to the amount of ,l#gjjj4 ,he      
amassed no fortune4 ,he founded no      
wealthy family4 ,the little money he    
left behind him at his death was        
entirely from the legacies of friends4  
,he was a man of remarkable             
disinterestedness and singleness of eye4
 ,he seemed to live for only two        
objects--the glory of ,god1 and the     
salvation of immortal souls4 ,he raised 
no party of followers who took his name4
 ,he established no system1 like        
,wesley1 of which his own writings      
should be cardinal elements4 ,a frequent
 expression of his is most              
characteristic of the man3 ,let the name
 of ,george ,whitefield perish1 so long 
as ,christ only is exalted4  ,last1 but 

not least1 he was a man of extraordinary
 catholicity and liberality in his      
religion4 ,he knew nothing of that      
narrow-minded policy which prompts a man
 to fancy that every thing must be      
barren outside his own camp1 and that   
his party has got a monopoly of truth   
and heaven4 ,he loved all who loved the 
,lord ,jesus ,christ in sincerity4 ,he  
measured all by the measure which the   
angels of ,god use--did they possess    
repentance towards ,god1 faith towards  
the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 holiness of   
conversation8 ,if they did1 they were as
 his brethren4 ,his soul was with such  
men1 by whatever name they were called4 
,minor differences were wood1 hay1 and  
stubble to him4 ,the marks of the ,lord 
,jesus were the only marks he cared for4
 ,this catholicity is the more          
remarkable1 when the spirit of the times
 he lived in is considered4 ,even the   
,erskines1 in ,scotland1 wanted him to  
preach for no other denomination but    
their own1 viz41 the ,secession ,church4

 ,he asked them1 why only for them2 and 
received the notable answer1 that they  
were the ,lord's people4 ,this was more 
than ,whitefield could stand4 ,he asked 
if there were no other ,lord's people   
but themselves4 ,he told them1 if all   
others were the ,devil's people1 they   
certainly had more need to be preached  
to4 ,and he wound up by informing them1 
that if the ,pope himself would lend him
 his pulpit1 he would gladly proclaim   
the righteousness of ,christ in it4 ,to 
this catholicity of spirit he adhered   
all his days4 ,and nothing could be a   
more weighty testimony against all      
narrowness of spirit among believers1   
than his request shortly before his     
death1 that when he did die1 ,john      
,wesley might be asked to preach his    
funeral sermon4 ,wesley and he had long 
ceased to see eye to eye on ,calvinistic
 points4 ,but as ,calvin said of        
,luther1 so ,whitefield was resolved to 
think of ,wesley4 ,he was determined to 
sink minor differences1 and to know him 

only as a good servant of ,jesus        
,christ4  ,such was ,george             
,whitefield's religion4 ,comment1 ,i    
hope1 is needless upon it4 ,time1 at any
 rate1 forbids me to dwell on it a      
moment longer4 ,but surely ,i think ,i  
have shown enough to justify me in      
expressing a wish that we had many      
living ministers in the ,church of      
,england like ,george ,whitefield4      
99       99       99       99       99  
#d4 ,the next part of the subject is one
 which ,i feel some difficulty in       
handling1--,i allude to ,whitefield's   
preaching4  ,i find that this point is  
one on which much difference of opinion 
prevails4 ,i find many are disposed to  
think that part of ,whitefield's success
 is attributable to the novelty of      
gospel doctrines at the time when he    
preached1 and part to the extraordinary 
gifts of voice and delivery with which  
he was endowed1 and that the matter and 
style of his sermons were in no wise    
remarkable4 ,from this opinion ,i am    

inclined to dissent altogether4 ,after  
calm examination1 ,i have come to the   
conclusion that ,whitefield was one of  
the most powerful and extraordinary     
preachers the world has ever seen4 ,my  
belief is1 that hitherto he has never   
been too highly estimated1 and that1 on 
the contrary1 he does not receive the   
credit he deserves4  ,one thing is      
abundantly clear and beyond dispute1 and
 that is1 that his sermons were         
wonderfully effective4 ,no preacher has 
ever succeeded in arresting the         
attention of such enormous crowds of    
people as those he addressed continually
 in the neighborhood of ,london4 ,no    
preacher has ever been so universally   
popular in every country he visited1    
,england1 ,scotland and ,america1 as he 
was4 ,no preacher has ever retained his 
hold on his hearers so entirely as he   
did for thirty-four years4 ,his         
popularity never waned4 ,it was as great
 at the end of his days as it was at the
 beginning4 ,this of itself is a great  

fact4 ,to command the ear of people for 
thirty-four long years1 and be preaching
 incessantly the whole time is something
 that the novelty of the gospel alone   
will not account for4 ,the theory that  
his preaching was popular1 because new1 
to my mind is utterly unsatisfactory4   
,another thing is no less indisputable  
about his preaching1 and that is1 that  
it produced a powerful effect on people 
in every rank of life4 ,he won the      
suffrages of high as well as low1 of    
rich as well as poor1 of learned as well
 as unlearned4 ,if his preaching had    
been popular with none but the          
uneducated masses1 we might have thought
 it possible there was little in it     
except a striking delivery and a loud   
voice4 ,but facts are1 unfortunately1   
against this theory too2 and1 under the 
pressure of these facts1 it will be     
found to break down4  ,it is a fact1    
that numbers of the nobility and gentry 
of ,whitefield's day were warm admirers 
of his preaching4 ,the ,marquis of      

,lothian1 the ,earl of ,leven1 the ,earl
 of ,buchan1 ,lord ,rae1 ,lord          
,dartmouth1 ,lord ,james ,a4 ,gordon1   
might be named1 among others1 besides   
,lady ,huntingdon and a host of ladies4 
,it is a fact1 that eminent statesmen1  
like ,bolingbroke and ,chesterfield1    
were frequently his delighted hearers4  
,even the artificial ,chesterfield was  
known to warm under ,whitefield's       
eloquence4 ,bolingbroke has placed on   
record his opinion1 and said1 ,he is the
 most extraordinary man in our times4   
,he has the most commanding eloquence ,i
 ever heard in any person4  ,it is a    
fact1 that cool-headed men1 like ,hume  
the historian1 and ,franklin the        
philosopher1 spoke in no measured terms 
of his preaching powers4 ,franklin has  
written a long account of the effect his
 sermons produced at ,philadelphia4     
,hume declared that it was worth going  
twenty miles to hear him4  ,now these   
are facts--simple1 historical1 and      
well-authenticated facts4 ,what shall we

 say to them8 ,i say that these facts   
are quite enough to prove that          
,whitefield's effectiveness was not     
owing entirely to delivery and voice1 as
 some men would have us believe4        
,bolingbroke and ,chesterfield1 and     
,hume and ,franklin1 were not such weak 
men as to allow their judgments to be   
biased by any mere external endowments4 
,they were no mean judges of eloquence4 
,they were1 probably1 among the best    
qualified critics of the day4 ,and ,i   
say confidently1 that their opinion can 
only be explained by the fact1 that     
,whitefield was indeed a most powerful  
and extraordinary preacher4  ,but still1
 after all1 the question remains to be  
answered1 ,what was the secret of       
,whitefield's unparalleled success as a 
preacher8 ,how are we to account for his
 sermons producing effects which no     
sermons1 before or after his time1 have 
ever yet done8 ,these are questions you 
have a right to ask4 ,but they are      
questions ,i find it very hard to       

answer4 ,that his sermons were not mere 
voice and rant1 ,i think we have pretty 
clearly proved4 ,that he was a man of   
commanding intellect and grasp of mind1 
no one has ever pretended to say4 ,how  
then are we to account for the          
effectiveness of his preaching8  ,the   
reader who turns for a solution of this 
question to the seventy-five sermons    
published under his name1 will probably 
be much disappointed4 ,he will not find 
in them many striking thoughts4 ,he will
 not discover in them any new           
exhibitions of gospel doctrine4 ,the    
plain truth is1 that by far the greater 
part of them were taken down in         
short-hand by reporters1 without        
,whitefield's knowledge1 and published  
without correction4 ,no intelligent     
reader1 ,i think1 can help discovering  
that these reporters were1 most         
unhappily1 ignorant alike of stopping   
and paragraphing1 of grammar and of     
gospel4 ,the consequence is1 that many  
passages in these sermons are what      

,latimer would call a mingle-mangle1 or 
what we should call in this day a       
complete mess4  ,nevertheless1 ,i am    
bold to say1 that with all their faults1
 ,whitefield's printed sermons will     
repay a candid perusal4 ,let the reader 
only remember what ,i have just said1   
that most of them are miserably         
reported1 paragraphed and stopped1 and  
make allowance accordingly4 ,let him    
remember also1 that ,english for        
speaking and ,english for reading are   
two different languages2 and that       
sermons which preach well1 always read  
ill4 ,remember these two things1 ,i say1
 and ,i do believe you will find very   
much to admire in some of ,whitefield's 
sermons4 ,for myself1 ,i can only say1  
,i believe ,i have learned much from    
them1 and1 however great a heresy       
against taste it may appear1 ,i should  
be ungrateful if ,i did not praise them4
  ,and now let me try to point out to   
you what seem to me to have been the    
characteristic features of ,whitefield's

 sermons4 ,i may be wrong1 but they     
appear to me to present just such a     
combination of excellences as is most   
likely to make an effective preacher4   
,first and foremost1 you must remember1 
,whitefield preached a singularly pure  
gospel4 ,few men ever gave their hearers
 so much wheat and so little chaff4 ,he 
did not get into his pulpit to talk     
about his party1 his cause1 his         
interest1 or his office4 ,he was        
perpetually telling you about your sins1
 your heart1 and ,jesus ,christ1 in the 
way that the ,bible speaks of them4 ,oh6
 the righteousness of ,jesus ,christ6 he
 would frequently say3 ,i must be       
excused if ,i mention it in almost all  
my sermons4 ,this1 you may be sure1 is  
the corner-stone of all preaching that  
,god honors4 ,it must be preeminently a 
manifestation of truth4  ,for another   
thing1 ,whitefield's preaching was      
singularly lucid and simple4 ,you might 
not like his doctrine1 perhaps2 but at  
any rate you could not fail to          

understand what he meant4 ,his style was
 easy1 plain1 and conversational4 ,he   
seemed to abhor long and involved       
sentences4 ,he always saw his mark1 and 
went direct at it4 ,he seldom or never  
troubled his hearers with long arguments
 and intricate reasonings4 ,simple      
,bible statements1 pertinent anecdotes1 
and apt illustrations1 were the more    
common weapons that he used4 ,the       
consequence was1 that his hearers always
 understood him4 ,he never shot above   
their heads4 ,never did man seem to     
enter so thoroughly into the wisdom of  
,archbishop ,usher's saying1 ,to make   
easy things seem hard is easy1 but to   
make hard things easy is the office of a
 great preacher4  ,for another thing1   
,whitefield was a singularly bold and   
direct preacher4 ,he never used that    
indefinite expression1 we1 which seems  
so peculiar to ,english pulpit oratory1 
and which leaves a hearer's mind in a   
state of misty confusion as to the      
preacher's meaning4 ,he met men face to 

face1 like one who had a message from   
,god to them--like an ambassador with   
tidings from heaven2 ,i have come here  
to speak to you about your soul4 ,he    
never minced matters1 and beat about the
 bush in attacking prevailing sins4 ,his
 great object seemed to be to discover  
the dangers his hearers were most liable
 to1 and then fire right at their       
hearts4 ,the result was1 that hundreds  
of his hearers used always to think that
 the sermons were specially addressed to
 themselves4 ,he was not content1 like  
many1 with sticking on a tailpiece of   
application at the end of a long        
discourse4 ,a constant vein of          
application run through all his sermons4
 ,this is for you3 this is for you3 and 
this is for you4 ,his hearers were never
 let alone4 ,nothing1 however1 was more 
striking than his direct appeals to all 
classes of his congregation1 as he drew 
towards a conclusion4 ,with all the     
fault of his printed sermons1 the       
conclusions of some of them are1 to my  

mind1 the most stirring and             
heart-searching addresses to souls that 
are to be found in the ,english         
language4  ,another striking feature in 
,whitefield's preaching was his         
thundering earnestness4 ,one poor1      
uneducated man said of him that he      
preached like a lion4 ,never1 perhaps1  
did any preacher so thoroughly succeed  
in showing people that he1 at least1    
believed all he was saying1 and that his
 whole heart1 and soul1 and strength1   
were bent on making them believe it too4
 ,no man could say that his sermons were
 like the morning and evening gun at    
,portsmouth1 a formal discharge1 fired  
off as a matter of course1 that disturbs
 no body4 ,they were all life4 ,they    
were all fire4 ,there was no getting    
away from under them4 ,sleep was next to
 impossible4 ,you must listen1 whether  
you liked it or not4 ,there was a holy  
violence about him4 ,your attention was 
taken by storm4 ,you were fairly carried
 off your legs by his energy1 before you

 had time to consider what you would do4
 ,an ,american gentleman once went to   
hear him1 for the first time1 in        
consequence of the report he heard of   
his preaching powers4 ,the day was      
rainy1 the congregation comparatively   
thin1 and the beginning of the sermon   
rather heavy4 ,our ,american friend     
began to say to himself1 ,this man is no
 great wonder1 after all4 ,he looked    
round1 and saw the congregation as      
little interested as himself4 ,one old  
man1 in front of the pulpit1 had fallen 
asleep4 ,but all at once ,whitefield    
stopped short4 ,his countenance changed4
 ,and then he suddenly broke forth in an
 altered tone3 ,if ,i had come to speak 
to you in my own name1 you might well   
rest your elbows on your knees1 and your
 heads on your hands1 and sleep2 and    
once in a while look up and say1 ,what  
is this babbler talking of8 ,but ,i have
 not come to you in my own name4 ,no6 ,i
 have come to you in the name of the    
,lord of ,hosts1 7here he brought down  

his hand and foot with a force that made
 the building ring17 and ,i must and    
will be heard4 ,the congregation        
started4 ,the old man woke up at once4  
,ay1 ay6 cried ,whitefield1 fixing his  
eyes on him1 ,i have waked you up1 have 
,i8 ,i meant to do it4 ,i am not come   
here to preach to stocks and stones3 ,i 
have come to you in the name of the     
,lord ,god of ,hosts1 and ,i must and   
will have an audience4 ,the hearers were
 stripped of their apathy at once4      
,every word of the sermon was attended  
to4 ,and the ,american gentleman never  
forgot it4  ,another striking feature in
 ,whitefield's preaching was his        
singular power of description4 ,the     
,arabians have a proverb which says1 ,he
 is the best orator who can turn men's  
ears into eyes4 ,if ever there was a    
speaker who succeeded in doing this1 it 
was ,whitefield4 ,he drew such vivid    
pictures of the things he was dwelling  
upon1 that his hearers could believe    
they actually saw them all with their   

own eyes1 and heard them with their own 
ears4 ,on one occasion1 says one of his 
biographers1 ,lord ,chesterfield was    
among his hearers4 ,the preacher1 in    
describing the miserable condition of a 
poor1 benighted sinner1 illustrated the 
subject by describing a blind beggar4   
,the night was dark2 the road dangerous 
and full of snares4 ,the poor sightless 
mendicant is deserted by his dog near   
the edge of a precipice1 and has nothing
 to grope his way with but his staff4   
,but ,whitefield so warmed with his     
subject1 and unfolded it with such      
graphic power1 that the whole auditory  
was kept in breathless silence over the 
movements of the poor old man2 and1 at  
length1 when the beggar was about to    
take that fatal step which would have   
hurled him down the precipice to certain
 destruction1 ,lord ,chesterfield       
actually made a rush forward to save    
him1 exclaiming aloud1 ,he is gone6 he  
is gone6 ,the noble lord had been so    
entirely carried away by the preacher1  

that he forgot the whole was a picture4 
,one more feature in ,whitefield's      
preaching deserves especial notice1 and 
that is1 the immense amount of pathos   
and feeling which it always contained4  
,it was no uncommon thing with him to   
weep profusely in the pulpit4 ,cornelius
 ,winter goes so far as to say that he  
hardly ever knew him get through a      
sermon without tears4 ,there seems to   
have been nothing whatever of           
affectation in this4 ,he felt intensely 
for the souls before him1 and his       
feeling found a vent in tears4 ,of all  
the ingredients of his preaching1       
nothing1 ,i suspect1 was so powerful as 
this4 ,it awakened sympathies1 and      
touched secret springs in men1 which no 
amount of intellect could have moved4   
,it melted down the prejudices which    
many had conceived against him4 ,they   
could not hate the man who wept so much 
over their souls4 ,they were often so   
affected as to shed floods of tears     
themselves4 ,i came to hear you1 said   

one man1 intending to break your head2  
but your sermon got the better of me--it
 broke my heart4 ,once become satisfied 
that a man loves you1 and you will      
listen gladly to any thing he has got to
 say4 ,and this was just one grand      
secret of ,whitefield's success4  ,and  
now ,i will only ask you to add to this 
feeble sketch1 that ,whitefield's action
 was perfect--so perfect that ,garrick1 
the famous actor1 gave it unqualified   
praise--that his voice was as wonderful 
as his action--so powerful1 that he     
could make thirty thousand people hear  
him at once2 so musical and             
well-attuned1 that men said he could    
raise tears by his pronunciation of the 
word ,mesopotamia3 that his fluency and 
command of extemporaneous language were 
of the highest order1 prompting him     
always to use the right word and to put 
it in the right place4 ,add1 ,i say1    
these gifts to those already mentioned1 
and then judge for yourselves whether   
there is not sufficient1 and more than  

sufficient1 in our hands1 to account for
 his power as a preacher4  ,for my part1
 ,i say1 unhesitatingly1 that ,i believe
 no living preacher ever possessed such 
a combination of excellences as         
,whitefield4 ,some1 no doubt1 have      
surpassed him in some of his gifts2     
others1 perhaps1 have been his equals in
 others4 ,but1 for a combination of pure
 doctrine1 simple and lucid style1      
boldness and directness1 earnestness and
 fervor1 descriptiveness and            
picture-drawing1 pathos and             
feeling--united with a perfect voice1   
perfect delivery1 and perfect command of
 words1 ,whitefield1 ,i repeat1 stands  
alone4 ,no man1 dead or alive1 ,i       
believe1 ever came alongside of him4    
,and ,i believe you will always find1   
that just in proportion as preachers    
have approached that curious combination
 of excellences which ,whitefield       
possessed1 just in that very proportion 
have they attained what ,clarendon      
defines true eloquence to be1 viz41 a   

strange power of making themselves      
believed4         99       99       99  
99       99  #e4 ,and now1 there only   
remains one more point connected with   
,whitefield to which ,i wish to advert4 
,i fear that ,i shall have exhausted    
your attention already4 ,but the point  
is one of such importance1 that it      
cannot be passed over in silence4 ,the  
point ,i mean is1 the actual amount of  
real good that ,whitefield did4  ,you   
will1 ,i hope1 understand me1 when ,i   
say1 that the materials for forming an  
opinion on this point in a history like 
his1 must necessarily be scanty4 ,he    
founded no denomination among whom his  
name was embalmed1 and his every act    
recorded1 as did ,john ,wesley4 ,he     
headed no mighty movement against a     
,church which openly professed false    
doctrines1 as ,luther did against ,rome4
 ,he wrote no books which were to be the
 religious classics of the million1 like
 ,john ,bunyan4 ,he was a simple1       
guileless man1 who lived for one thing  

only1 and that was to preach ,christ4   
,if he succeeded in doing that          
effectually1 he cared for nothing else4 
,he did nothing to preserve the memory  
of his usefulness4 ,he left his work    
with the ,lord4  ,of course1 there are  
many people who can see in ,whitefield  
nothing but a fanatic and enthusiast1   
,there is a generation that loathes     
every thing like zeal in religion4      
,there are never wanting men of a       
cautious1 cold-blooded1 ,erasmus-like   
temper1 who pass through the world doing
 no good1 because they are so dreadfully
 afraid of doing harm4 ,i do not expect 
such men to admire ,whitefield1 or allow
 he did any good4 ,i fear1 if they had  
lived eighteen hundred years ago1 they  
would have had no sympathy with ,st4    
,paul4  ,again1 there are other people  
who count schism a far greater crime    
than either heresy or false doctrine4   
,there is a generation of men who under 
no circumstances will worship ,god out  
of their own parish3 and as to          

separation from the ,church1 they seem  
to think that nothing whatever can      
justify it4 ,i do not1 of course1 expect
 such men to admire ,whitefield or his  
work4 ,his principle evidently was1 that
 it was far better for men to be        
uncanonically saved than canonically    
damned4  ,whether by any other line of  
action ,whitefield could have remained  
in the ,church1 and retained his        
usefulness1 is a question which1 at this
 distance of time1 we are very          
incompetent to answer4 ,that he erred in
 temper and judgment in his dealings    
with the bishops and clergy1 in many    
instances1 ,i have no doubt4 ,that he   
raised up fresh bodies of separatists   
from the ,church of ,england1 and made  
breaches which probably will never be   
repaired1 ,i have no doubt also4 ,but   
still it must never be forgotten1 that  
the state of the ,church was bad enough 
to provoke a holy indignation4 ,the old 
principle is most true1 that he is the  
schismatic who causes the separation1   

and not he who separates4 ,if           
,whitefield did harm1 the harm ought to 
be laid on the ,church which compelled  
him to act as he did1 quite as much as  
on him4 ,and when we come to strike the 
balance1 ,i believe the harm he may have
 done is outweighed by the good a       
thousand-fold4  ,the truth1 ,i believe1 
is1 that the direct good ,whitefield did
 to immortal souls was enormous4 ,i will
 go farther4 ,i believe it is           
incalculable4 ,in ,scotland1 in         
,england1 in ,america1 credible         
witnesses have recorded their testimony 
that he was the means of converting     
thousands of souls4  ,franklin1 the     
philosopher1 was a cold1 calculating    
man1 and not likely to speak too highly 
of any minister's work4 ,yet even he    
confessed that it was wonderful to see  
the change soon made by his preaching in
 the manners of the inhabitants of      
,philadelphia4 ,from being thoughtless  
or indifferent about religion1 it seemed
 as if all the world were growing       

religious4  ,maclaurin and ,willison    
were ,scotch ministers1 whose names are 
well-known to theological readers1 and  
stand deservedly high4 ,both of them    
have testified that ,whitefield did an  
amazing work in ,scotland4 ,willison1 in
 particular1 says3 ,that ,god honored   
him with surprising success among       
sinners of all ranks and persuasions4   
,old ,venn1 in our own ,church1 was a   
man of strong common sense1 as well as  
great grace4 ,his opinion was1 that if  
the greatness1 extent1 success1 and     
disinterestedness of a man's labors can 
give him distinction among the children 
of ,christ1 then we are warranted to    
affirm1 that scarce any one has equalled
 ,mr4 ,whitefield4 ,again1 he says1 ,it 
is a well-known fact1 that the          
conversion of men's souls has been the  
fruit of a single sermon from his lips1 
so eminently was he made a fisher of    
men4 ,and again1 ,though we are allowed 
to sorrow that we shall never see or    
hear him again1 we must still rejoice   

that millions have heard him so long1 so
 often1 and to such good effect2 and    
that out of this mass of people1        
multitudes are gone before him to hail  
his entrance into the world of glory4   
,john ,newton was a shrewd man1 as well 
as an eminent minister of the gospel4   
,his testimony is1 ,i am not backward to
 say1 that ,i have not read or heard of 
any person1 since the apostles' days1 of
 whom it may more emphatically he said1 
he was a burning and a shining light1   
than the late ,mr4 ,whitefield1 whether 
we consider the warmth of his zeal1 the 
greatness of his ministerial talents1 or
 the extensive usefulness with which the
 ,lord honored him4  ,these are not     
solitary testimonies4 ,i might add many 
more if time permitted4 ,romaine did not
 agree with him in many things1 yet what
 does he say of him8 ,we have none left 
to succeed him2 none1 of his gifts2     
none1 any thing like him in usefulness4 
,toplady was a tremendously high        
,calvinist1 and not disposed to         

overestimate the number of saved souls4 
,yet he says1 ,whitefield's ministry was
 attended with spiritual benefit to tens
 of thousands2 and he styles him the    
apostle of the ,british empire1 and the 
prince of preachers4 ,hervey was a      
quiet1 literary man1 whose health seldom
 allowed him to quit the retirement of  
,weston ,favell4 ,but he says of        
,whitefield1 ,i never beheld so fair a  
copy of our ,lord1 such a living image  
of the ,saviour4 ,i cannot forbear      
applying the wise man's encomiums of an 
illustrious woman to this eminent       
minister of the everlasting gospel3     
',many sons have done virtuously1 but   
thou excellest them all4'  ,but if the  
amount of direct good that ,whitefield  
did in the world was great1 who shall   
tell us the amount of good that he did  
indirectly8 ,i believe it never can be  
reckoned up4 ,i suspect it will never be
 fully known until the last day4        
,whitefield was among the first who     
stirred up a zeal for the pure gospel   

among the clergy and laity of our own   
,church4 ,his constant assertion of pure
 ,reformation principles--his repeated  
references to the ,articles1 ,prayer    
,book1 and ,homilies--his never-answered
 challenges to his opponents to confute 
him out of the ,formularies of their own
 communion--all this must have produced 
an effect1 and set many thinking4 ,i    
have no doubt whatever1 that many a     
faithful minister1 who became a shining 
light in those days within the ,church  
of ,england1 first lighted his candle at
 the lamp of a man outside4             
,whitefield1 again1 was among the first 
to show the right way to meet infidels  
and skeptics4 ,he saw clearly that the  
most powerful weapon against such men is
 not metaphysical reasoning and critical
 disquisition2 but preaching the whole  
gospel1 living the whole gospel1 and    
spreading the whole gospel4 ,it was not 
the writings of ,leland1 and the younger
 ,sherlock1 and ,waterland1 and ,leslie1
 that rolled back the flood of          

infidelity one half so much as the      
preaching of ,whitefield1 and ,wesley1  
and ,fletcher1 and ,romaine1 and        
,berridge1 and ,venn4 ,had it not been  
for them1 ,i firmly believe we might    
have had a counterpart of the ,french   
,revolution in our own land4 ,they were 
the men who were the true champions of  
,christianity4 ,infidels are seldom     
shaken by mere abstract reasoning4 ,the 
surest arguments against them are gospel
 truth and gospel life4  ,to crown all1 
,whitefield was the very first who seems
 thoroughly to have understood what     
,chalmers has called the aggressive     
system4 ,he did not wait for souls to   
come to him1 but he went after souls4   
,he did not sit tamely by his fireside1 
mourning over the wickedness of the     
land4 ,he went forth to beard the ,devil
 in his high places4 ,he attacked sin   
and wickedness face to face1 and gave   
them no peace4 ,he dived into holes and 
corners after sinners4 ,he hunted up    
ignorance and vice1 wherever it could be

 found4 ,he showed that he thoroughly   
realized the nature of the ministerial  
office4 ,like a fisherman1 he did not   
wait for the fish to come to him4 ,like 
a fisherman1 he used every kind of means
 to catch souls4 ,men know a little more
 of this now than they did formerly4    
,city ,missions and ,district ,visiting 
,societies are evidences of clearer     
views4 ,but let us remember this was all
 comparatively new in ,whitefield's     
time1 and let us give him the credit he 
deserves4  ,in short1 ,i come to the    
conclusion that no man has ever done    
more good in his day and generation than
 the man who is the subject of this     
lecture4 ,he was a true hero1 and that  
in its highest and best sense4 ,he did a
 work that will stand the fire1 and     
glorify ,god1 when many other works are 
forgotten4 ,and for that work ,i believe
 that ,england owes a debt to his       
character which ,england has never yet  
paid4         99       99       99      
99       99  ,and now1 ,i hasten to a   

conclusion4 ,i have set before you1 to  
the best of my ability1 ,whitefield's   
time1 and life1 and religion1 and       
preaching1 and actual work4 ,i have not 
extenuated his faults1 to the best of my
 knowledge4 ,i have not exaggerated his 
good qualities1 so far as ,i am aware4  
,it only remains for me to point out to 
you two great practical lessons which   
the subject appears to me to teach4     
,learn then1 ,i beseech you1 for one    
lesson1 the amazing power that one      
single man possesses1 when he is        
determined to work for ,god1 and has got
 truth on his side4  ,here is a man who 
starts in life with every thing1 to all 
appearance1 against him4 ,he has neither
 family1 nor place1 nor money1 nor high 
connections on his side4 ,his views are 
flatly opposed to the customs and       
prejudices of his time4 ,he stands in   
direct opposition to the stream of      
public taste1 and the religion of the   
vast bulk of ministers around him4 ,he  
is as much isolated and alone1 to all   

appearance1 as ,martin ,luther opposing 
the ,pope1 as ,athanasius resisting the 
,arians1 as ,paul on ,mars' ,hill4 ,and 
yet this man stands his ground4 ,he     
arrests public attention4 ,he gathers   
crowds around him who receive his       
teaching4 ,he is made a blessing to tens
 of thousands4 ,he turns the world      
upside down4 ,how striking these facts  
are6  ,here is your encouragement1 if   
you stand alone4 ,you have no reason to 
be cast down and faint-hearted4 ,you are
 not weak1 though few1 if ,god is with  
you4 ,there is nothing too great to be  
done by a little company1 if only they  
have ,christ on their side4 ,away with  
the idea that numbers alone have power6 
,cast away the old vulgar error that    
majorities alone have strength4 ,get    
firm hold of the great truth that       
minorities always move the world4 ,think
 of the little flock that our ,lord left
 behind him1 and the one hundred and    
twenty names in that upper chamber in   
,jerusalem1 who went forth to assault   

the heathen world6 ,think of ,george    
,whitefield assailing boldly the        
ungodliness which deluged all around    
him1 and winning victory after victory6 
,think of all this4 ,cast fear away4    
,lay out your talents heartily and      
confidently for ,god4  ,here also is    
your example1 if you desire to do good  
to souls4 ,whether you become ministers 
or missionaries or teachers1 never      
forget you must fight with ,whitefield's
 weapons1 if you wish to have any       
portion of ,whitefield's success4 ,never
 forget what ,john ,wesley said was     
,whitefield's theology--,give ,god all  
the glory of whatever is good in man3   
set ,christ as high and man as low as   
possible1 in the business of salvation4 
,all merit is in the blood of ,christ1  
and all power is from the ,spirit of    
,christ4  ,think not for a moment that  
earnestness alone will insure success4  
,this is a huge delusion4 ,it will do   
nothing of the kind4 ,all the           
earnestness in the world will never     

enable a teacher of ,german theology to 
show you one ,tinnevelly1 or a teacher  
of semi-,popery one ,sierra ,leone4 ,oh1
 no6 it must be the simple1 pure1       
unadulterated gospel that you must carry
 with you1 if you are to do good4 ,you  
must sow as ,whitefield sowed1 or you   
will never reap as he reaped4  ,learn1  
in the last place1 what abundant reasons
 we have for thankfulness in the present
 condition of the ,church of ,england4  
,we are far too apt to look at the      
gloomy side of things around us1 and at 
that only4 ,we are all prone to dwell on
 the faults of our condition1 and to    
forget to bless ,god for our mercies4   
,there are many things we could wish    
otherwise in our beloved ,church1 beyond
 all question4 ,there are defects we    
could wish to see remedied1 and wounds  
we should gladly see healed4 ,but still1
 let us look behind us1 and compare the 
,church of our day with the ,church of  
,whitefield's times4 ,look on this      
picture1 and on that1 and ,i am sure1 if

 you do so honestly and fairly1 you will
 agree with me that we have reason to be
 thankful4  ,we have bishops on the     
bench now1 who love the simple truth as 
it is in ,jesus1 and are ready to help  
forward good works--bishops who are not 
ashamed to come forward in ,exeter      
,hall1 and lend their aid to the        
extension of ,christ's gospel--bishops  
who would have welcomed a man like      
,whitefield1 and found full occupation  
for his marvellous gifts4 ,let us thank 
,god for this4 ,it was not so a hundred 
years ago4  ,we have hundreds of        
clergymen in our parishes now1 who      
preach as full a gospel as ,whitefield  
did1 though they may not do it with the 
same power--clergymen who are not       
ashamed of the doctrine of regeneration1
 and do not pronounce a minister a      
heretic1 because he says to ungodly     
people1 ,ye must be born again4 ,let us 
thank ,god for this4 ,a man need not    
travel many miles now in order to find  
parishes where the gospel is preached4  

,when driven out of one parish church1  
he can find truth in another4 ,it was   
not so a hundred years ago4  ,we have   
thousands of laymen now1 who are fully  
alive to the duties and responsibilities
 of members of a ,protestant            
,church--laymen who rejoice in holding  
up the hands of evangelical ministers1  
and are righteously jealous for the     
maintenance and extension of evangelical
 truth4 ,let us thank ,god for this4 ,it
 was not so a hundred years ago4  ,we   
have societies and agencies for         
evangelizing every dark corner of the   
earth in connection with our ,church4   
,we have wide and effectual doors of    
usefulness for all who are willing to   
labor in the ,lord's vineyard4 ,the     
difficulty now is1 not so much to find  
openings for doing good1 as to find men4
 ,let us thank ,god for this4 ,it was   
not so a hundred years ago4  ,young men 
of the ,church of ,england1 ,i ask you  
to gather up these facts1 and treasure  
them in your memories4 ,they are facts4 

,they cannot be gainsaid4 ,treasure them
 up1 ,i repeat4 ,look back a century1   
and then look around you1 and then judge
 for yourselves whether you ought not to
 be thankful4  ,beware1 ,i beseech you1 
of that tribe of men who would fain     
persuade you to forsake the ,church of  
,england1 and separate from her         
communion4 ,there is a generation of    
murmurers and complainers in the present
 day1 who seem to revel in picking      
holes--a generation that seems to forget
 that fault-finding is the easiest task 
in all the world--a generation that has 
no eyes to see the healthy parts in our 
body ecclesiastic1 but has a wonderfully
 quick and morbid scent for detecting   
its sores--a generation that is mighty  
to scatter1 but impotent to build--a    
generation that would persuade churchmen
 to strain at gnats1 but finds no       
difficulty itself in swallowing         
camels--a generation that would have you
 pull the old house down1 but cannot    
offer you so much as a tent in its      

place3 of all such men1 ,i say solemnly 
and affectionately--of all such men1 ,i 
warn you to beware4 ,listen not to them4
 ,have no friendship with them4 ,avoid  
them4 ,turn from them4 ,pass away4  ,let
 us not leave the good old ship1 the    
,,church ,,of ,,england1 until we have  
some better reason than can at present  
be seen4 ,what though she be old and    
weather-beaten6 ,what though1 in some   
respects1 she may want repair6 ,what    
though some of the crew be not to be    
depended on6 ,still1 with all her       
faults1 the old ship is in far better   
trim than she was a century ago4 ,let us
 acknowledge her faults1 and hope they  
may yet be amended4 ,but still1 with all
 her faults1 let us stick by the ship6  
,when the ,thirty-nine ,articles of the 
,church of ,england are repealed1 and   
the ,prayer ,book and ,homilies so      
altered as to be unprotestantized--when 
regeneration and justification by faith 
are forbidden to be preached in her     
pulpits--when the ,queen1 ,lords and    

,commons1 and laity1 have assented to   
these changes--in short1 when the       
,gospel is driven out of the            
,establishment--then1 and not till then1
 it will be time for you and me to go   
out2 but1 till then1 ,i say1 ,,let ,,us 
,,stick ,,by ,,the ,,church6