George Whitefield

“ It is a blessed, and careful thing, to be a true Christian. The first step to it is a broken heart, a heart melted down with a sense of sin, and flying to Jesus Christ for righteousness, sanctification and eternal redemption. Thousands indeed place christianity in good desires, and the having good desires; but this and much more a person may have, and yet miscarry at last. Pure and undefiled religion consists in a lively faith in Jesus Christ, as the only mediator between God and man. A faith that changes and renews the whole soul, takes it entirely off the world, and fixes it wholly upon God. ”

“ O the life of Jesus! How little of it is to be seen in those that call themselves his followers. Humility, meekness, love, peace, joy, goodness, faith, and the other blessed fruits of the Spirit, whither are they fled? I fear most take up with the shadow, instead of the substance. God forbid that I, or dear Mr. B――, should be of that unhappy number. Dear Sir, there is an unspeakable fulness, unsearchable riches in Christ. Out of him we are to receive grace for grace. Every grace that was in the Redeemer, is to be transcribed and copied into our hearts. ”

“ He that believeth on Jesus, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. They that believe enter into rest. O glorious redemption! O glorious liberty of the children of God! Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed; they, who having not seen, yet have loved Jesus, and do rejoice with joy unspeakable, even with joy that is full of glory. Blessed be God, that you feel more of this than you did a twelvemonth ago. In a year’s time, you will be ashamed to think what a dwarf you are now. A believer is to pass from glory to glory. ”

“ My heart is now much affected: indeed I love and honour you. Dear, dear Sir, study the covenant of grace, that you may be consistent with yourself: hasten O Lord, the blessed time! I fancy I shall embark for England about Spring; but am not yet determined. God shews me his goodness plenteously every day. I dwell in Christ, and Christ in me: glory be to sovereign grace. I seem to have a new body, and the Lord Jesus greatly enriches my soul. O I am a poor sinner! but our Lord frequently manifests himself in such a manner, that it throws me into an agony which my body is almost too weak to bear. ”

“ GLAD was I last night to receive a letter from your hands. I love your simple honest heart, and earnestly pray the dear Redeemer to give you a true, lasting, abiding rest in himself. Blessed be his name, I think I can say, through free grace, that I am in a measure entered into it, and know what it is by happy experience, to pass from glory to glory every day. My dear brother, I am opposed on every side; the archers shoot sore at me that I may fall, but the Lord is my helper. He causes my bow to abide in strength, and makes me more than conqueror through his love. ”

“ Believe me, Sir, it is nothing but this flesh of ours, those cursed seeds of the proud apostate, which lie lurking in us, that make us to think ourselves worthy of the very air we breathe. When our eyes are opened by the influences of divine grace, we then shall begin to think of ourselves as we ought to think, even, that God is all, and we are less than nothing. Well, you may cry, O happy temper, could I but learn of Christ to be meek and lowly in heart, I should certainly find rest to my soul. May God, for his dear Son’s sake, give it to you, to me, and to all our dear friends! ”

“ O how sweet is it to be melted down with a sense of redeeming love! It is this must strike the rock, and break the bars of unbelief asunder. O! to be kept always low at the feet of Jesus! It is right, my brother, always to insist on poverty of spirit, and emptying the creature of self. I heartily join with you in your petition for yourself and unworthy me. I know what a dreadful thing it is, to carry much sail without proper ballast, and to rejoice in a false liberty. Joy floating upon the surface of an unmortified heart, is but of short continuance. ”

“ Indeed I thank you from my very heart: for I feel myself unworthy of your notice. Every day I love and honour you more and more; and when you come to judgment, God will shew you how many tears I have shed in secret for you and my dear sister. O let them not be in vain! Honoured Mother, fly to Jesus.—Behold, with open arms, yonder he stands, ready to embrace you, if you feel your misery, and are willing to come to him to find rest. May the great God, who only can govern the wills and affections of sinful men, make you willing in the day of his power! ”

“ Oh, dear honoured Sir, I wish you as much success as your own heart can wish. Was you here, I would weep over you with tears of love, and tell you what great things God hath done for my soul, since we parted last. Indeed and indeed, I often and heartily pray for your success in the gospel: May your inward strength and outward sphere increase day by day! May God use you as a choice and singular instrument of promoting his glory on earth, and may I see you crowned with an eternal and exceeding weight of glory in the world to come! ”

“ Oh the free-grace of Christ Jesus our Lord! My dear Brother, let us continue instant in season and out of season.—Let us continually preach up free-grace, though we die for it; we cannot lose our lives in a better cause. As I am enabled, I remember you at the throne of grace; in general I sigh out my prayers.—But the spirit, I trust, makes intercession for me with groanings that cannot be uttered.
I have not had much enlargement in preaching, since I have been here; but my heart is often weighed down, and torn to pieces with a sense of my desperately wicked and deceitful heart. ”

“ Surely sovereign, rich, and free grace was never exalted more than in the mercy shewn to me, who am in truth the unworthiest of the sons of men.—Honoured Sir, it rejoices me to hear that there are so many at New England, who love the Lord Jesus in sincerity, and dare to shine as lights in the world amongst a crooked and perverse generation.—I wish they may be all Aquila’s and Priscilla’s to me, and teach me the way of God more perfectly; for I long to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. ”

“ Oh pray, dear Sir, that I may be thus minded, and then, God willing, in about a twelvemonth, I intend visiting the Bristol brethren once again. In the mean while, I hope the Lord will purge me, that I may bring forth more fruit, and work upon me mightily in the inner-man, for otherwise his blessings will prove curses to me. He has been pleased to dig and dung round me, during my retirement; he has shewn me something of the treachery of my own heart, and more and more convinced me that I am the chief of sinners. Oh that my heart may shew forth the eternity and sovereignty of his love! ”

“ My Jesus should have them all. Methinks I hear you say, “thus it is with me.” Hail then happy man! All generations shall call you blessed. Honoured Sir, my soul is full in the midst of many trials. O what a glorious redemption hath Jesus purchased for us! Indeed it is a plenteous redemption. By the power of his death we are enabled to tread sin, death, and satan under our feet. This is the present frame of my soul. O free grace! unsearchable riches! The brightness of it dazzles the eyes of my faith. Lord, I adore and worship in the temple of my heart! ”

“ I Cannot think of your favours, and yet forbear writing a letter of thanks. I cannot think of your parting tears, and not inform you, how sincerely I pray God to comfort and refresh your soul.—Oh Madam, your kindness to such a dead dog as I am, quite surprizes me. How much more ought you and I, and all mankind, to adore the unspeakable goodness of our heavenly Father, who has so loved the world, as to give his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Dear Madam, never rest till you have a lively faith in Christ Jesus. ”

“ Indeed, honoured Sir, I think mine is a glorious employ. I am not ashamed of my master, though my master may well be ashamed of me. I know no other reason, why Jesus has put me into the ministry, than because I am the chief of sinners, and therefore fittest to preach free grace to a world lying in the wicked one. Blessed be God, he gives much success, and for the generality answers your prayers, by giving me a thriving soul in a healthful body. But O my unfruitfulness! I am often ashamed that I can do no more for that Jesus who hath redeemed me by his own most precious blood. ”

“ The greater advances you make in the divine life, the more you will see what a dream you and the polite world have been in. And O the distinguishing grace of God to you! Methinks I hear you calling on angels and archangels to join in praising our common Lord. Well may you say, “You are not henceforth your own:” No, dear Miss, let Jesus have your whole heart. Let his blood, his wounds be continually before you. God forbid that you should now glory, save in the cross of Christ, by whom the world is crucified to you, and you unto the world. ”

“ I pray God, that his goodness may lead you to repentance, and that you may walk before the Lord in all well-pleasing, so long as you live. What sweet opportunities do you enjoy! How freely may you go into the woods, and pour out your heart before the dear Jesus. How early was Samuel acquainted with the Lord, and why should not you be acquainted with him? Unless you are, you can never be at peace. Come then, my dear lamb, and wander no longer; return to the shepherd and bishop of your soul. Behold, he shed his blood for you, and will carry you to heaven, rejoicing over you to all eternity. ”

“ I Think I may say of you, as the Samaritans did upon another occasion, I believe you to be a true lover of our dear Lord Jesus. Not merely because my brother told me so, but because I have it under his own hand. Your last kind letter has knit my heart most closely to you. I love those that thunder out the word. The christian world is in a deep sleep. Nothing but a loud voice can awaken them out of it. I pray God to strengthen you more and more, and cause you to triumph in every place. ”

“ THOUGH I have wrote now for some years to my dear brother, and have availed nothing, yet I cannot cease striving with him; who knows but at length the Almighty may remove the scales from his eyes, and enable him to see the want of a Redeemer. Indeed, my dear brother, you do not see it yet, because you do not feel it; your moral honesty and good nature deceives you. You think you are rich, and increased in goods, and do not consider that you are poor and miserable, blind and naked. You are self-righteous, and do not rely on the righteousness of the God-Man, Christ Jesus, for salvation. ”

“ I hope you will watch over your heart, and take care to keep up those convictions, which God once put into your soul. I am afraid of Mr. B. The world, the world I fear has got hold of him. Dear Captain M――, I trust, will not desert his Master.—I am sure he would die, rather than prove false to an earthly prince.—Oh let him not desert his dear Redeemer’s colours. Dear Sir, beg of God to root out of your heart a desire for that honour which cometh of man. Till dead to the world you will not be alive to God. Honour, falsely so called, has destroyed millions. ”

“ Your Lordship is in a dangerous situation. A fear of contempt, and a love for honour, falsely so called, render religion unfashionable amongst the rich and polite part of mankind. But the blood of Jesus is almighty, and makes the soul more than conqueror. Here is the fountain to which you and I must apply, to wash away all our sins. And is it yet open for all poor sinners? Come then, my Lord, and lay yourself at the feet of the blessed Jesus. He can, he will, if you believe on him, abundantly pardon you. But faith is the gift of God. ”

“ I beseech you by the mercies of God in Christ Jesus our Saviour, to keep up a close walk and communion with God. Nothing else can preserve you from idols; and you know when once the soul is off its watch, the devil makes sad ravages in it. There is nothing I dread more than having my heart drawn away by earthly objects.—When that time comes, it will be over with me indeed; I must then bid adieu to zeal and fervency of spirit, and in effect, bid the Lord Jesus to depart from me. For alas, what room can there be for God, when a rival hath taken possession of the heart? ”

“ It is out of the fulness of my heart. I hope you and I shall be happily surprized, in finding each other better than we expected. God forbid that we should live one hour without growing more like the blessed Lamb of God. I am too credibly informed, that some make it their business to prejudice my friends against me. Such wisdom cometh not from above. They are as the false apostles, of whom Saint Paul spoke, “They would exclude us, that you might affect them.” But glory be to free grace! I can repose myself in Jesus, and am happy in him. ”

“ I was enabled to see the freeness and riches of his grace, the infiniteness and eternity of his love, and my soul received comfort. Oh the excellency of the doctrine of election, and of the saints final perseverance, to those who are truly sealed by the spirit of promise! I am persuaded, till a man comes to believe and feel these important truths, he cannot come out of himself; but when convinced of these, and assured of the application of them to his own heart, he then walks by faith indeed, not in himself, but in the Son of God, who died and gave himself for him. ”

“ Eternity itself I hope will not diminish, but more and more increase that love, which I bear you from my heart. Your stature reminds me of little Zaccheus: he that called him, I am persuaded hath called you: Have you not heard him say to your soul, “I am your salvation?” If so, fear not, thou art a son of David. Let worldly affairs be ever so bad, he that has given you his own dear Son, will make you more than conqueror in all things. Still dare to own our dear Lord before men. It is no scandal for a follower of Jesus Christ to be poor. ”

“ The love of God, which I trust, through his free grace, is shed abroad in both our hearts, constrains me to love you in the bowels of Jesus Christ. I remember you in my unworthy prayers, and am persuaded I am not forgotten in your’s. No one more needs them, whether considered as a private christian, or a public minister; thousands are waiting for my halting; and I know so much of the corruption of my own heart, that was God to leave me to myself but one moment, I should with oaths and curses deny my master. As for my final perseverance, I bless God, I have not the least doubt thereof. ”

“ I love the man, and you in particular, though in all things he may not follow with me. I rejoice there is a revival of true religion in Scotland. The spirit of God is moving on the faces of thousands of souls in England. The word runs very swift, and satan falls like lightning from heaven. God hath sent me into the highways and hedges, to compel poor sinners to come in; many are left to water, what God hath been pleased to plant; I doubt not of his giving a great increase. But I am a child, I cannot speak, yet God will magnify his free grace. ”

“ I did not behave towards you, and other ministers of Christ, with that humility which became me. I freely confess my fault; I own myself to be but a novice. Your charity, dear Sir, will excite you to pray that I may not through pride fall into the condemnation of the devil. Dear Sir, shall I come out into the world again or not? Must I venture myself once more among fire-brands, arrows, and death? Methinks I hear you reply, “Yes, if you come forth in the strength of the Lord God, and make mention of his righteousness only.” It is my desire so to do. I would have Jesus all in all. ”

“ May God who knits the elect in one communion and fellowship, sanctify our friendship and correspondence to the stirring up each other to love and to good works!—It pleased me to find you breathe so catholic a spirit.—O that bigotry and party zeal were not so much as once named amongst us, as becometh saints! Since Christ is not divided in himself, why should christians be divided one amongst another? Bigotry, I am sure, can never be the fruit of that wisdom which cometh from above.—No, it is earthly, sensual, and devilish. ”

“ Congregations are every where large, and they have been very liberal to my poor orphans. O that I was humble, and thankful! I am the chief of sinners: I feel myself such. O the efficacy of Christ’s blood! It is omnipotent; it hath saved me. Dear Sir, my heart is melted down with the love of Jesus. He is a dear master. He hath suffered no evil to befal me, as you have already heard. I have not so much as hurt my foot against a stone. Help me to praise him. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive all honour and glory and riches and power and blessing! ”