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

by Joseph Belcher

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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