In this manner Whitefield continued to preach very extensively over Scotland; and early in September he arrived at Glasgow. On the eleventh of that month he began his labors in the High Church-yard, and for five days in succession preached there twice a day—at an early hour in the morning, and again in the evening. The expectations of the people were high, not only in Glasgow, but all around, and crowds flocked to hear him preach. Morning after morning, and evening after evening, that vast church-yard, almost paved as it is with tombstones, was crowded with living worshippers, trembling under the word. But not satisfied with hearing, the pen of the ready writer was from day to day at work, and each sermon was printed by itself, and put immediately into circulation. His sermons were characterized by great simplicity, as if the language of the preacher merely expressed what he felt, and yet there was so much earnestness, and so much closeness of application, as to account for the effects they produced. He was in the pulpit very much what Baxter was in the press. He spoke as a man realizing all that he said, and laying open the feelings of his own heart in addressing the hearts of others.
Very few men better knew the human heart than Whitefield. He seemed to know all the thoughts and feelings of his hearers, and the best way in which to meet them. He once preached in Scotland from the text, "The door was shut." Matt. 25:10. A respectable lady who heard him sat near the door, a considerable distance from the pulpit, and observed two showy and trifling young men who appeared to turn the solemn appeals of the preacher into ridicule; she heard one of them say in a low tone to the other, "Well, what if the door be shut? another will open." In a very few minutes, to the great surprise of the lady, Mr. Whitefield said, "It is possible there may be some careless, trifling person here to-day, who may ward off the force of this impressive subject by lightly thinking, 'What matter if the door be shut? another will open.'" The two young men looked at each other as though they were paralyzed, as the preacher proceeded: "Yes, another door will open; and I will tell you what door it will be: it will be the door of the bottomless pit, the door of hell!—the door which conceals from the eyes of angels the horrors of damnation."
After Mr. Whitefield's return to England, at the close of October, among many letters which followed him, detailing the results of his labors, was one from Mr. M'Culloch, the excellent minister already referred to:
"As it is matter of joy and thankfulness to God, who sent you hither, and gave you so much countenance, and so remarkably crowned your labors with success here at Glasgow, so I doubt not but the following account of the many seals to your ministry in and about that city, will be very rejoicing to your heart, especially as the kingdom of our glorious Redeemer is so much advanced thereby, and as the everlasting happiness of souls is promoted. I am well informed by some ministers, and other judicious and experienced Christians, that there are to the amount of fifty persons already known, in and about Glasgow, who appear to be savingly converted, through the blessing and power of God on your ten sermons. And there are, besides these, several others apparently under conviction, but not reckoned, as being still doubtful. Several Christians also, of considerable standing, were much strengthened, revived, and comforted by what they heard. They were made to rejoice in hope of the glory of God, having attained to the full assurance of faith. Among those lately converted, there are several young people who were before openly wicked and flagitious, or at best but very negligent as to spiritual things; and yet they are now in the way of salvation. Some young converts are yet under doubts and fears, but a considerable number of them have attained to peace and joy in believing. Several of those who were lately wrought on in a gracious way, seem to outstrip Christians of considerable standing, in spiritual-mindedness, and in many other good qualifications; particularly in their zeal for the conversion of others, in their love to ordinances, and in their freedom from bigotry and party zeal. Those converted by your ministry have not been discovered at once, but only from time to time. A good many of them have been discovered only of late. Their convictions were at first less pungent, and through the discouragements they met with in the families where they resided, as well as from their own feelings, they endeavored for a time to conceal their state. These circumstances afford ground for hoping, that there are yet others who may afterwards become known. Besides such as have been awakened through the power of God accompanying your sermons, there have been others who have been since awakened, and who have been discovered in consequence of the change observable in their conduct. These, dear brother, are a few hints concerning some of the most remarkable things, as to the blessing which accompanied your labors at Glasgow."
At Edinburgh, when first visited by Whitefield, many persons of the highest rank constantly attended his ministry. Among them were the Marquis of Lothian, the Earl of Leven, Lord Ray, Lady Mary Hamilton, Lady Frances Gardiner, Lady Jane Nimms, and Lady Dirleton; and at some one of their houses he expounded almost every evening. Numbers of ministers and students crowded to hear him; and aged Christians told him they could set their seal to what he preached.
In connection with this first visit to Edinburgh, several incidents have been related which show the power that accompanied his preaching, and the skill with which he could seize upon passing circumstances, and apply them to the great purpose which he always had in view. A gentleman, on returning from one of his sermons, was met on his way home by an eminent minister whom he usually heard, and who expressed great surprise that he should go to hear such a man. The gentleman replied, "Sir, when I hear you, I am planting trees all the time; but during the whole of Mr. Whitefield's sermon, I could not find time to plant one." A similar instance is related of a ship-builder, who usually could "build a ship from stem to stern during the sermon; but under Mr. Whitefield, could not lay a single plank."
Another narrative has been thus given. An unhappy man who had forfeited his life to the offended laws of his country, was executed in that neighborhood. Mr. Whitefield mingled with the crowd collected on the occasion, and was much impressed with the decorum and solemnity which were observable in the awful scene. His appearance, however, drew the eyes of all upon him, and produced a variety of opinions as to the motives which led him to join the multitude.
The next day, being Sunday, he preached to a very large congregation in a field near the city; and in the course of his sermon, he adverted to the scenes of the preceding day. "I know," said he, "that many of you may find it difficult to reconcile my appearance yesterday with my clerical character. Many of you, I know, will say that my moments would have been better employed in praying for the unhappy man, than in attending him to the fatal tree; and that perhaps curiosity was the only cause that converted me into a spectator on that occasion; but those who ascribe that uncharitable motive to me, are under a mistake. I went as an observer of human nature, and to see the effect that such an occurrence would have on those who witnessed it. I watched the conduct of those who were present on that awful occasion, and I was highly pleased with their demeanor, which has given me a very favorable opinion of the Scottish nation. Your sympathy was visible on your countenances; particularly when the moment arrived that your unhappy fellow-creature was to close his eyes on this world for ever. Then you all, as if moved by one impulse, turned your heads aside, and wept. Those tears were precious, and will be held in remembrance. How different it was when the Saviour of mankind was extended on the cross! The Jews, instead of sympathizing in his sorrows, triumphed in them. They reviled him with bitter expressions, with words even more bitter than the gall and vinegar which they handed him to drink. Not one of all who witnessed his pains, turned his head aside, even in the last pang. Yes, my friends, there was one—that glorious luminary," pointing to the sun, "veiled his brightness, and travelled on his course in tenfold night."
On another occasion, near the same city, and probably in the field to which we have already referred, under the shade of a venerable tree, in a lovely meadow, a poor unhappy man, thinking to turn him into ridicule, placed himself on one of the overhanging boughs, immediately above the preacher's head, and with monkey-like dexterity mimicking his gestures, endeavored to raise a laugh in the audience. Guided by the looks of some of his hearers, Whitefield caught a glance of him, but without seeming to have noticed him, continued his discourse. With the skill of a wise orator, he reserved the incident for the proper place and time. While forcibly speaking on the power and sovereignty of divine grace, with increasing earnestness he spoke of the unlikely objects it had often chosen, and the unlooked for triumphs it had achieved. As he rose to the climax of his inspiring theme, and when in the full sweep of his eloquence, he suddenly paused, and turning round, and pointing slowly to the poor creature above him, he exclaimed, in a tone of deep and thrilling pathos, "Even he may yet be the subject of that free and resistless grace." It was a shaft from the Almighty. Winged by the divine Spirit, it struck the scoffer to the heart, and realized in his conversion the glorious truth it contained.