The Life of the Rev. George Whitefield

"It deserves the praise, not only of being the fullest biography of Wesley, but also of being eminently painstaking, veracious, and trustworthy."--The Edinburgh Review.

"Mr. Tyerman's volumes constitute by far the most exhaustive, as they are certainly the bulkiest, and from many points of view the most interesting, of the lives of Wesley. Mr. Tyerman's judgment is usually characterised by great clearness and good sense; his pen seems to be always governed by the desire to be fair and impartial, and for the first time our libraries receive a full and comprehensive memoir of the great religious teacher and ecclesiastical statesman."--The British Quarterly Review.

"The most copious account of the great evangelist's life and labours, and the noblest literary tribute to his memory, which has yet been offered to the world."--Methodist Recorder.

"The narratives of travel through England, Scotland, and Ireland, the records of evangelistic labour, the gradual building up of Wesleyanism as a system, form a history of great interest, and allure the reader on from chapter to chapter, with all the attraction of a romance. We cannot doubt that Mr. Tyerman's work, so rich and abundant in materials, will henceforth be regarded as the standard life of Wesley."--The Evangelical Magazine.

"We are thankful for a new and carefully revised edition of this very laborious, interesting, and important work, the value of which is great and obvious. The portraits as now rendered, are very striking and self-evidencing, and of real historical value."--Wesleyan Methodist Magazine.

"This is the most truthful, full, accurate, and painstaking of all the lives of Wesley."--The Methodist.

LONDON: HODDER & STOUGHTON, 27, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.

[Illustration: REV^D. GEORGE WHITEFIELD, B.A. AGED 24 Engraved by J Cochran]

THE LIFE

OF THE

REV. GEORGE WHITEFIELD,

B.A., OF PEMBROKE COLLEGE, OXFORD.

BY

REV. L. TYERMAN,

AUTHOR OF

"THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE REV. SAMUEL WESLEY, M.A., RECTOR OF EPWORTH;" "THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE REV. JOHN WESLEY, M.A.;" AND "THE OXFORD METHODISTS."

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL I.

London:

HODDER AND STOUGHTON,

27, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C.

MDCCCLXXVI.

Hazell Watson, and Viney, Printers, London and Aylesbury.

PREFACE.

Every one who wishes to understand and rightly estimate the Methodist movement of the last century, must, not only read the lives of the two Wesleys, but also, make himself acquainted with the history of Whitefield, and the career of the Methodist contemporaries of the illustrious trio.

John Wesley was Methodism's founder, and Charles its hymnologist. John Clayton became a man of mark among the High Church clergymen of the Episcopal Communion. James Hervey belonged to the Evangelical section of the Church of England, and, by his writings, influenced not a few of the country's aristocracy. Benjamin Ingham, by his preaching, left a deep impress on Yorkshire, and other parts of the North of England. John Gambold rendered inestimable service, in moderating and correcting the extravagances of the Moravian Brotherhood. Thomas Broughton gave an impetus to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, which is felt to the present day. Richard Hutchins, as Rector of Lincoln College, Oxford, helped to mould the character of students, who afterwards rose to great distinction. To each of these distinguished men, Providence assigned a sphere of unusual usefulness. They moved in different orbits, but all were made a blessing to the world.

George Whitefield was pre-eminently the outdoor preacher;--the most popular evangelist of the age;--a roving revivalist,--who, with unequalled eloquence and power, spent above thirty years in testifying to enormous crowds, in Great Britain and America, the gospel of the grace of God. Practically, he belonged to no denomination of Christians, but was the friend of all. His labours, popularity, and success were marvellous, perhaps unparalleled. All churches in England, Wales, Scotland, and the British settlements in America, were permanently benefited by his piety, his example, and the few great truths which he continually preached; whilst the Methodism organised by his friend Wesley--especially in the northern counties of the kingdom--was, by his itinerant services, promoted to a far greater extent than the Methodists have ever yet acknowledged.