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
Several events of special interest occurred during this visit to
Philadelphia. Tennent had to tell a series of delightful facts
as to the usefulness of Whitefield's former labors. He began to
deliberate on a plan for a negro school in Pennsylvania, as he did
afterwards also in Virginia, but unexpected difficulties intervened,
and both in the end were abandoned. Mr. Jones, the Baptist minister
of the city, told Whitefield of the change produced by his former
preaching on the minds of two ministers; one of whom stated to his
congregation that he had hitherto been deceiving both himself and
them, and added, that he could not preach to them at present, but
requested them to unite in prayer with him; and the other resigned
his charge, to itinerate among the unenlightened villages of New
Jersey and elsewhere. Another fact was, that an Indian trader became
so impressed with the preaching of Whitefield, that he had given up
his business, and was gone to teach the Indians with whom he used to
trade. Nor had his usefulness stopped here: he heard of a drinking
club, which had attached to it a negro boy remarkable for his powers
of mimicry. This boy was directed by the gentlemen who composed the
club to exercise his powers on Mr. Whitefield: he did so, but very
reluctantly; at length he stood up and said, "I speak the truth in
Christ, I lie not; unless you repent, you will all be damned." This
unexpected speech had such an effect as to break up the club, which
met no more.
We add a few paragraphs from Seward's journal, who soon after
sailed for England to promote the interests of Georgia, and who
died in the parent country. They date from the 24th to the 26th of
April. "Came to Christopher Wigner's plantation in Skippack, where
many Dutch people are settled, and where the famous Mr. Spalemburg
lately resided. It was surprising to see such a multitude of people
gathered together in such a wilderness country, thirty miles distant
from Philadelphia. Mr. Whitefield was exceedingly carried out,
in his sermon, to press poor sinners to come to Christ by faith,
and claim all their privileges; namely, not only righteousness
and peace, but joy in the Holy Ghost; and after he had done, our
dear friend Peter Bohler preached in Dutch, to those who could not
understand Mr. Whitefield in English."
"Before Mr. Whitefield left Philadelphia, he was desired to visit
one who was under a deep sense of sin, from hearing him preach. In
praying with this person, he was so carried beyond himself, that
the whole company, about twenty, seemed to be filled with the Holy
Ghost, and magnified the God of heaven."
"Arose at three o'clock, and though Mr. Whitefield was very weak
in body, yet the Lord enabled him to ride nearly fifty miles, and
to preach to about five thousand people at Amwell, with the same
power as usual. Mr. Gilbert Tennent, Mr. Rowland, Mr. Wales, and Mr.
Campbell, four godly ministers, met us here."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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