Whitefield was invited to Boston by the Rev. Dr. Colman, was warmly welcomed by almost all the Bostonians, except a famous doctor of divinity, who met him in the streets, and said, "I am sorry to see you here;" and to which Whitefield quietly remarked, "So is the devil."[364]
On September 19, Whitefield commenced his preaching work in the capital of New England. He writes:—
"Friday, September 19. I was visited by several gentlemen and ministers, and went to the governor's with Mr. Willard,[365] the secretary of the province, a man fearing God, and with whom I have corresponded, though before unknown in person. The governor received me with the utmost respect, and desired to see me as often as I could. At eleven, I went to public worship at the Church of England, and afterwards went home with the commissary. He treated me very courteously; and, it being the day whereon the clergy of the Established Church met, I had an opportunity of conversing with five of them. In the afternoon I preached to about four thousand in Dr. Colman's meeting-house; and afterwards exhorted and prayed with many who came to my lodgings.
"Saturday, September 20. Preached in the morning, to about six thousand hearers, in the Rev. Dr. Sewall's[366] meeting-house; and afterwards, on the common, to about eight thousand; and again, at night, to a thronged company at my lodgings.
"Sunday, September 21. Went in the morning, and heard Dr. Colman preach. Dined with his colleague, the Rev. Mr. Cooper.[367] Preached in the afternoon at Mr. Foxcroft's[368] meeting. Immediately after, on the common, to about fifteen thousand; and again, at my lodgings, to a greater company than before.
"Monday, September 22. Preached this morning, at the Rev. Mr. Webb's[369] meeting-house, to six thousand hearers in the house, besides great numbers standing about the doors. In the afternoon I went to preach at the Rev. Mr. Checkley's[370] meeting-house; but God was pleased to humble us by a very awful providence. The meeting-house being filled, on a sudden all the people were in an uproar, and so unaccountably surprised, that some threw themselves out of the windows, others threw themselves out of the gallery, and others trampled upon one another; so that five were actually killed, and others dangerously wounded. I happened to come in the midst of the uproar, and saw two or three lying on the ground in a pitiable condition. I gave notice I would immediately preach upon the common. The weather was wet, but many thousands followed in the field.
"Tuesday, September 23. Went this morning, with Dr. Colman and the Secretary, to Roxbury, to see the Rev. Mr. Walter,[371] a good old Puritan. He and his predecessor, the Rev. Mr. Eliot, commonly called the 'Apostle of the Indians,' have been pastors of that congregation a hundred and six years. About eleven, I preached in the Rev. Mr. Gee's[372] meeting-house, and also in the afternoon, to thronged congregations.
"Wednesday, September 24. Preached at Cambridge, the chief college[373] in New England for training the sons of the prophets. It has one president, four tutors, and about a hundred students. The college is scarce as big as one of our least colleges at Oxford; and, as far as I could gather from some who knew the state of it, not far superior to our universities in piety. Discipline is at a low ebb. Bad books are become fashionable among the tutors and students. Tillotson and Clark are read, instead of Sheppard, Stoddard, and such-like evangelical writers; and, therefore, I chose to preach from these words,—'We are not as many, who corrupt the word of God;' and God gave me great freedom and boldness of speech. A great number of neighbouring ministers attended, as indeed they do at all other times. The president of the college and minister of the parish treated me very civilly. In the afternoon, I preached again, in the court. I believe there were about seven thousand hearers. The Holy Spirit melted many hearts.[374]
"Thursday, September 25. Preached the weekly lecture at Mr. Foxcroft's meeting-house. After public worship, I went, at his Excellency's invitation, and dined with him. Most of the ministers of the town were invited with me. Before dinner, the governor sent for me into his chamber. He wept, wished me good luck in the name of the Lord, and recommended himself, ministers, and people to my prayers.[375] Immediately after dinner, I prayed for them all; and then crossed the ferry, and preached at Charlestown, lying on the north side of Boston. The meeting-house was very capacious, and quite filled.
"Friday, September 26. Preached in the morning at Roxbury to many thousands of people. Dined at Judge Dudley's. In the afternoon, preached from a scaffold erected without the Rev. Mr. Byles's[376] meeting-house, to a congregation nearly double of that in the morning.
"Saturday, September 27. In the morning, preached at the Rev. Mr. Welstead's meeting-house; in the afternoon, on the common, to about 15,000 people. Oh, how did the word run! I could scarce abstain from crying out, 'This is no other than the house of God and the gate of heaven.'
"Sunday, September 28. Preached, in the morning, at good Dr. Sewall's meeting-house, to a very crowded auditory, and, £555 currency were collected for the Orphan House. In the afternoon, I preached at Dr. Colman's; and here £470 were collected. In both places, all things were carried on with great decency and order. After sermon, I had the honour of a private visit from the governor. I then went and preached to a great number of negroes, on the conversion of the Ethiopian; and, at my return, gave a word of exhortation to a crowd of people, who were waiting at my lodgings. I went to bed greatly refreshed with divine consolations."
Whitefield had now spent ten days in Boston and its immediate neighbourhood. The next seven days were employed in visiting several important towns at a greater distance; after which, the popular evangelist returned to the capital of the province. Before following him in his itinerancy, selections from letters, written at this period, will be useful. The following was addressed to him by Charles Wesley:—
Bristol, September 1, 1740.
"My dearest Brother and Fellow-labourer in the Gospel,—You will sing, rejoice, and give thanks for the Divine goodness toward me. God has lifted me up from the gates of death.[377] For this month past, He has visited me with a violent fever. There was no human probability of my surviving it; but I knew in myself that I should not die. I have not finished my course, and scarce begun it. The prayer of faith prevailed. Jesus touched my hand, and immediately the fever departed from me. I am now slowly recovering my strength, and can walk across my room; but I have no use of my hand or head yet. I wait on the Lord, and shall renew my strength.
"The great work goes forward, maugre all the opposition of earth and hell. The most violent opposers of all are our own brethren of Fetter Lane that were. We have gathered up between twenty and thirty from the wreck, and transplanted them to the Foundery. Innumerable have been the devices to scatter this little flock. They are indefatigable in bringing us off from our 'carnal ordinances,' and speak with such wisdom from beneath, that, if it were possible, they would deceive the very elect.
"You will expect some account of your own household. But what shall I say concerning them? I must either deceive or grieve you; but you have a right to the simple truth. Your mother continues dead in sin, yet well affected toward us. Your sister (God help her! God convert her!) is far, very far, from the kingdom of heaven. She has forsaken the word, and servants, and ministers of Christ, put herself out of the bands, and is the worst enemy they have. Her complaints, that the Methodists were burdensome to her, forced me, after paying for my board, to hasten to my lodging at the New Room. But this is a trifle; it is her own private behaviour and her carriage towards the Church of God, I totally condemn. Infinite pains have been taken with her to set her against my brother and me. I know not what to do with her or for her, and had long since given her up had she not been the sister of my friend.
"My brother has been most grossly abused; his behaviour (if I may be a witness) has been truly Christian. All the bitterness his opposers have shewn, and the woes and curses they have denounced against him, have never provoked him to a like return, or stirred his temper, or impaired his charity; much less are we cooled in our affection towards you, by all the idle stories we hear of your opposition to us. Well-meaning Mr. Seward has caused the world to triumph in our supposed dissensions, by his unseasonable journal. Your zealous, indiscreet friends, instead of concealing any little difference between us, have told it in Gath, and published it in Askelon; but I trust, by our first meeting, all will know that those things whereof they were informed concerning us are nothing, while we stand fast in one mind and in one spirit, striving together for the faith of the gospel. This is of the last importance to the cause we maintain, which suffered so much, as you well observe, by the dissensions of the first Reformers. Their divisions stopped the work of God then, and in the next age destroyed it. Oh, my friend, if you have the glory of God and the salvation of souls at heart, resolve, by the Divine grace, that nothing upon earth, nor under the earth, shall part us. God increase the horror He has given me of a separation! I had rather you saw me dead at your feet than openly opposing you. All the lovers of discord, I trust, shall be confounded; even those, of whatever denomination, who, through fondness for their own opinion, would destroy the work of God. Many, I know, desire nothing so much as to see George Whitefield and John Wesley at the head of different parties, as is plain from their truly devilish pains to effect it; but be assured, my dearest brother, our heart is as your heart. Oh, may we always thus continue to think and speak the same things! When God has taught us mutual forbearance, long-suffering, and love, who knows but He may bring us into an exact agreement in all things? In the meantime, I do not think the difference considerable. I shall never dispute with you touching election; and, if you know not yet to reconcile that doctrine with God's universal love, I will cry unto Him, 'Lord, what we know not, shew Thou us!' but never offend you by my different sentiment. My soul is set upon peace, and drawn after you by love stronger than death. You know not how dear you are to me; not dearer, I will be bold to say, to any of your natural or spiritual relations.
"Charles Wesley."[378]
The doctrinal differences between Whitefield and the Wesley brothers, and the possibility of their being separated, evidently caused the whole three to feel great anxiety. The following extracts from Whitefield's letters, coupled with Charles Wesley's letter, will sufficiently prove this:—
"Boston, September 23, 1740.
"Sinless perfection, I think, is unattainable in this life. Shew me a man that could ever justly say, 'I am perfect.' It is enough if we can say so when we bow down our heads and give up the ghost. Indwelling sin remains till death, even in the regenerate, as the article of the Church expresses it. There is no man that liveth and sinneth not in thought, word, and deed. However, to affirm such a thing as perfection, and to deny final perseverance, what an absurdity is this![379] To be incapable of sinning,[380] and capable of being finally damned, is a contradiction in terms. From such doctrine may I ever turn away! I hear many amongst you, who begun in the spirit, are now ending in the flesh. Christ hath freely justified them; that is, entitled them to all His merits; and yet they must do so-and-so to keep themselves in a justified state. Alas! this is sorry divinity! I have not so learned Christ—no; His gifts and callings are without repentance. Whom He loves, He loves to the end. Work I will, but not to keep myself in a justified state. My Lord hath secured that; but I will work to shew my gratitude for His putting me into a justified state."
The following was addressed to Howell Harris:—
"Boston, September 24, 1740.
"And is dear brother Howell Harris yet alive in body and soul? I rejoice in your success. I hope your conversation was blessed to dear Mr. Wesley. O that the Lord may batter down his free-will, and compel him to own His sovereignty and everlasting love! Some of Fetter Lane Society, I fear, are running into sad errors. My coming to England will try my fidelity to my Master. Nothing but His strength can enable me to bear all contradictions with meekness."
On September 25, Whitefield wrote a long letter to Wesley, in which he tried to shew that, what he calls the doctrine of sinless perfection is unscriptural; and concludes with a reference to the recent publication of Wesley's celebrated sermon, entitled "Free Grace," in which he exhibited and refuted the doctrine of predestination. Whitefield writes:—