George Whitefield: A Biography, with special reference to his labors in AmericaBelcher, Joseph
Religion
George Whitefield: A Biography, with special reference to his labors in America
Belcher, Joseph
Whitefield, George, 1714-1770
Both the judgment and inclination of Mr. Whitefield concurred to
induce him to persevere in his itinerant course, correctly judging
that in this way he best employed his peculiar talents. After
preaching, therefore, with his usual fervor and success for a short
time in his newly erected Tabernacle, he again set out towards
Scotland, where he spent some days at Edinburgh and Glasgow, and
preached generally twice, sometimes three times a day, and once five
times. He says, "Attention sat upon all faces, and friends came
round like bees, importuning me to stay another week." This he found
too much for his strength, but still went forward, often expressing
his desire to serve his divine Master to the utmost limit of his
power, and his hopes to be with him soon in heaven. During this
journey, including his return to London, where he arrived the latter
end of September, he travelled about twelve hundred miles, and
preached one hundred and eighty times, to many thousands of hearers.
As converts increased in Bristol and its neighborhood, Mr.
Whitefield felt compelled to erect there also a "tabernacle." Lady
Huntingdon was one of the earliest contributors to this important
object, and through her influence Lord Chesterfield gave twenty
pounds to it. He had no taste for religion, but he well understood
oratory, and in his letter to Lady Huntingdon covering his
remittance, he said, "Mr. Whitefield's eloquence is unrivalled, his
zeal inexhaustible." The Earl of Bath sent fifty pounds, saying,
"Mocked and reviled as Mr. Whitefield is by all ranks of society,
still, I contend that the day will come when England will be just,
and own his greatness as a reformer, and his goodness as a minister
of the most high God."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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