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
Whitefield's hope to "preach here to-morrow" was fully realized. In
the "Pennsylvania Journal and Weekly Advertiser," we find a letter
from Portsmouth, dated Sept. 28, 1770, which says, "Last Sunday
morning came to town from Boston, the Rev. George Whitefield, and
in the afternoon he preached at the Rev. Dr. Haven's meeting-house;
Monday morning he preached again at the same place, to a very large
and crowded audience. Tuesday morning a most numerous assembly met
at the Rev. Dr. Langdon's meeting-house, which it is said will hold
nearly six thousand people, and was well filled, even the aisles.
Evening he preached at the Rev. Mr. John Rodgers' meeting-house in
Kittery, and yesterday at the Rev. Mr. Lyman's in York, to which
place a number of ladies and gentlemen from town accompanied him.
This morning [Friday] he will preach at the Rev. Dr. Langdon's
meeting-house in this town."
We are now approaching the closing scene, and are invited to hear
Whitefield's last sermon. On his way to Newburyport, where he had
engaged to preach on Sunday morning, September 30, he was entreated
to preach at Exeter. This had been the scene of some of his former
triumphs. He was once preaching here, when a man was present who had
loaded his pocket with stones to throw at the preacher. He heard
his prayer with patience, but as soon as he had read his text, the
man took a stone out of his pocket and held it in his hand, waiting
for an opportunity to throw it. But God sent a word to his heart,
and the stone dropped from his hand. After the sermon, the poor
fellow went to Mr. Whitefield, and said, "Sir, I came here to-day
with the intention of breaking your head, but God has given me a
broken heart." This man was converted to God, and lived an ornament
to the gospel.
As though it had been felt by the public that this might be our
preacher's last sermon, inconvenient as Saturday noon must be for
the assembling of a congregation for worship, such a multitude was
collected that no house could contain them, and Whitefield, for
nearly two hours, discoursed to an attentive crowd in the open air.
Of this last sermon at Exeter, a gentleman who was present has given
a deeply interesting and affecting account. The relator was then in
his eighty-sixth year, but he retained a strong remembrance of the
most trivial incidents connected with that extraordinary man. He
says:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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