"God has been pleased graciously to visit me with a violent fever, which He so sweetened by Divine consolations, that I was enabled to rejoice and sing in the midst of it. I was, as I thought, on the brink of eternity. I had heaven within me. I thought of nothing in this world. I earnestly desired to be dissolved and go to Christ; but God was pleased to order it otherwise, and I am resigned, though I can scarce be reconciled, to come back again into this vale of misery. I had the heavenly Canaan in full view, and hoped I was going to take possession of it; but God saw I was not yet ripe for glory, and, therefore, in mercy spared me, that I may recover my spiritual strength before I go hence, and am no more seen."
One more fact respecting Whitefield's voyage to Savannah must be added. Though extremely weak, and still suffering from his recent fever, the young missionary was unwilling to leave the ship, where he had spent four happy months, without preaching a farewell sermon. His text (Psalm cvii. 30, 31) was most appropriate, and so also was his sermon, which was published by James Hutton, a few months afterwards. (8vo., 19 pp.) "God forbid," cried the ardent preacher, standing within the shade of the outspread sails of the ship Whitaker, lying at anchor at the mouth of Savannah river, on Sunday, May 7, 1738:—
"God forbid that any of those should ever suffer the vengeance of eternal fire, amongst whom I have for these four months been preaching the Gospel of Christ; and yet thus must it be, if you do not improve the Divine mercies; and, instead of your being my crown of rejoicing in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, I must appear as a swift witness against you.
"But, brethren, I am persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though I thus speak. Blessed be God! some marks of a partial reformation, at least, have been visible amongst all you that are soldiers. My weak, though sincere, endeavours to build you up in the knowledge and fear of God have not been altogether vain. Swearing, I hope, is in a great measure abated with you; and God, I trust, has blessed His late visitations by making them the means of awakening your consciences to a more solicitous enquiry about the things which belong to your everlasting peace. Consider, my good friends, you are now, as it were, entering on a new world, where you will be surrounded by multitudes of heathens; and, if you take not heed to 'have your conversation honest among them, and to walk worthy the holy vocation wherewith you are called,' you will act the hellish part of Herod's soldiers, and cause Christ's religion, as they did His person, to be had in derision of those who are round about you. I cannot say I have discharged my duty to you as I ought. No; I am sensible of many faults, for which I have not failed to humble myself in secret before God. As for your military affairs, I have nothing to do with them. Fear God, and you must honour the king. Nor am I better acquainted with the nature of that land which you are come to protect; only this I may venture to affirm in general, that you must necessarily expect, upon your arrival at a new colony, to meet with many difficulties. But your very profession teaches you to endure hardship. Be not, therefore, faint-hearted, but quit yourselves like men, and be strong.
"As I have spoken to you, I hope your wives also will suffer the word of exhortation. Your behaviour on shipboard, especially the first part of the voyage, I choose to throw a cloak over; for, to use the mildest term, it was not such as became the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. However, of late, blessed be God! you have taken more heed to your ways, and some of you have walked all the while as became women professing godliness. Let those accept my hearty thanks; and permit me to entreat you all in general, as you are all now married, to remember the solemn vow you made at your entrance into the marriage state; and see that you be subject to your own husbands, in every lawful thing. Beg of God to keep the door of your lips, that you offend not with your tongues; and walk in love, that your prayers be not hindered. You who have children, let it be your chief concern to breed them up in the nurture and monition of the Lord. And live all of you so holy and unblamable, that you may not so much as be suspected to be unchaste; and, as some of you have imitated Mary Magdalene in her sin, strive to imitate her also in her repentance."
After this manly address to the soldiers and their wives, Whitefield proceeded, in the same strain, to speak to the sailors; and then thus addressed the two captains, naval and military, who were present:—
"I am positive neither you sailors nor the soldiers have wanted, nor will want, any manner of encouragement to piety and holiness of living from those two persons who have here the government over you; for they have been such helps to me in my ministry, and have so readily concurred in everything for your good, that they may justly demand a public acknowledgment of thanks both from you and me.
"Permit me, then, my honoured friends, in the name of both your people, to return you hearty thanks for the care and tenderness you have expressed for the welfare of their better parts. As for the private favours you have shewn to myself, I hope so deep a sense of them is imprinted on my heart, that I shall plead them before God in prayer as long as I shall live. But I have still stronger obligations to intercede on your behalf; for God—for ever adored be His free grace in Christ Jesus!—has set His seal to my ministry in your hearts. Some pangs of the new birth I have observed to come upon you; and God forbid that I should sin against the Lord, by ceasing to pray that the good work begun in you may be carried on till the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
"And now, brethren, into God's hands I commend your spirits. Excuse my detaining you so long. Perhaps it is the last time I shall speak to you. My heart is full, and, out of the abundance of it, I could continue my discourse till midnight. But I must away to your new world. May God give you new hearts, and enable you to put in practice what you have heard from time to time to be your duty. Then God will so bless you, that you will 'build cities to dwell in;' then will you sow your lands and plant vineyards, which will 'yield you fruits of increase.' Then your 'oxen shall be strong to labour, there shall be no leading into captivity, and no complaining in your streets; then shall your sons grow up as the young plants, and your daughters be as the polished corners of the temple; then shall your garners be full and plenteous with all manner of store, and your sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in your streets.' In short, then shall the Lord be your God; and, as surely as He hath now brought us to His haven, so surely, after we have passed through the storms and tempests of this troublesome world, will He bring us to the haven of eternal rest, where we shall have nothing to do but to praise Him for ever for His goodness, and declare, in never-ceasing songs of praise, the wonders he has done for us, and all the other sons of men."
This was a noble finish of Whitefield's shipboard ministry. No wonder that the juvenile preacher was loved and followed.
Whitefield, thousands of miles from home, now stood on the shores of the immense continent of America—a continent extending from the north pole to the fifty-seventh degree of south latitude,—upwards of eight thousand miles in length—washed on the east by the great Atlantic Ocean, which divides it from Europe and Africa, and on the west by the Pacific, by which it is disjoined from Asia,—in reality, two vast continents, the one north, the other south, united by Mexico.
At the time of Whitefield's arrival, the whole of South America (excepting Brazil, which belonged to Portugal) and all that part of North America which forms the isthmus of Mexico, and the country extending as far as Florida, was possessed by Spain. English territory reached from Hudson's Bay, all along the eastern shore to the thirtieth degree of north latitude. The French had Canada, and claimed the country lying between there and the Spanish settlements to the west. A description of this enormous region of mountains, prairies, swamps, forests, lakes and rivers, with every variety of climate and production that the earth affords, cannot be here attempted.
Many immense tracts of country could scarcely be said to have any population whatever; and yet there was an almost countless number of Indian tribes, differing but little from each other in their usages and manners, and forming a striking picture of human antiquity. Most of them were tall and strong, their countenances fierce, and their skins brown, and not improved by the constant use of rude cosmetics. The only occupations of the men were war and hunting. Agriculture was left to the women. Most of their time, however, was spent in sleeping, loitering, jesting among their friends, and eating and drinking enormously. Some held the existence of a Supreme Being; but none knew how to worship Him. They abounded in superstitions, observed omens and dreams, pryed into futurity with the utmost eagerness, and greatly relied on diviners, augurs, and magicians, in all affairs that concerned them, whether of health, war, or hunting.