In another letter, written two days afterwards, and dated “Wakefield, November 3, 1752,” he wrote:—
“I have been upwards of three weeks from Scotland, and scarce ever had more encouragement in preaching the everlasting gospel. At Newcastle, Sunderland, and several places in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire, thousands and thousands have daily attended on the word preached. I hear that arrows have stuck fast in many hearts. I am returning to Leeds; and, from thence, I shall go to York, and to several places in Lincolnshire, and am to preach at Sheffield next Lord’s-day. My return to London must be determined by the weather. It has been uncommonly favourable; and it is a pity to go into winter quarters, so long as work can be done in the fields. O that I had as many tongues as there are hairs upon my head! Jesus should have them all.”
On November 10th, Whitefield arrived in London, where he wrote:—
“My Sunday’s work” (at Sheffield), “sickness, the change of weather, and parting from friends, so enfeebled me, that I was in hopes, on the road, my imprisoned soul would have been set at liberty, and fled to the blissful regions.
“I found my poor wife an invalid. Our Lord can restore her, for He came to heal our sicknesses, and to bear our infirmities.”
Whitefield was resolved not to be the founder of a sect, and yet he had some difficulty in fulfilling his resolve. His hearers in Dublin had procured a meeting-house in Skinner Street, and had formed themselves into a public Society. John Edwards, in former years one of Whitefield’s assistants, had become their preacher; and his ministry was highly acceptable. A sort of circuit had been formed, and many were the perils which Edwards encountered. On one occasion, when returning from a village, where he had been preaching, the Ormond Boys seized him, and threatened to throw him into the Liffey. The Liberty Boys, residing on the other side of the river, being political opponents of the Ormond Boys, rushed to his assistance, rescued him, and carried him home in triumph. At another time, the White Boys beset a house into which he had entered, and threatened to burn it, if he were permitted to continue in it. He escaped by a window,being let down, like the apostle Paul, in a basket.[310] The Dublin Society informed Whitefield oftheir position and prospects; and Whitefield wrote to Edwards, their preacher, as follows:—
“London, November 11, 1752.
“My dear Friend,—Last night, the glorious Emmanuel brought me hither; and, this morning, I have been talking with Mr. Adams, and cannot help thinking, that you have run before the Lord, in forming yourselves into a public Society. Mr. Adams’s visit was designed to be transient, and I cannot promise you any settled help from hence. I am sincere, when I profess that I do not choose to set myself at the head of any party. When I came last to Ireland, my intention was to preach the gospel to all; and, if it should please the Lord to send me there again, I purpose to pursue the same plan. For I am a debtor to all, of all denominations, and have no design but to promote the common salvation of mankind. The love of Christ constrains me to this. Accept it as written from that principle.”
When “ranging for souls,” Whitefield had little time to attend to business; when he got into his winter quarters, he was obliged to recognise its claims. The following was addressed to one of the residents in his Orphan House:—
“London, November 21, 1752.