George Whitefield

“ Blessed be God for leading you into the knowledge of the mystery of gospel holiness.—Holiness, not built on Moses, or the sandy bottom of our own faithfulness, but on Jesus, that rock of ages, whose faithfulness makes us faithful, and a reliance on whole compleat and all-sufficient righteousness, doings, and sufferings, carries the believer on (without thinking of a reward) to do and suffer, what a legal heart will shrink and boggle at. May this mind be in you and me, and all that love our dear Lord Jesus in sincerity! When the Son of Man makes them thus free, then will they be free indeed. ”

“ Gravesend Bethels, I trust, will not easily be forgotten. I am sure you do not forget to pray for a very worthless worm: a worm, and no man! And yet, (O amazing love!) Jesus, a never-failing, ever-loving, altogether-lovely Jesus, careth for and comforts him on every side. Hitherto it seems like my first voyage. Grace! grace! What hath God wrought? With all thy mercies, glorious Emmanuel, deny not the mercy of a thankful heart! Had I more humility, I should be more thankful to God and man. But I once more bid you and yours farewel. ”

“ Perhaps, after my return from Glasgow, I may be here a fortnight. My poor tabernacle is so far restored, as to mount the gospel throne once a day. Perhaps the sea air may brace me up a little more: but after all, it is only like the glimmering of a candle before it goes out. Death will light it up in a better world. Work on, my dear son, work on. The night cometh when no man can work. O that I had done more for the blessed Jesus! O that I could think more of what he hath done for me! Never mind being counted singular. O that you may be more and more vile every day! ”

“ So many called out of one family, is a peculiar mercy. Blessed are the eyes that see the things which you see, and the ears that hear the things you hear. Grace, mercy, and peace be multiplied upon you all! Who knows but we may see each other on this side eternity? I am wishing every day for wings to fly to my dear America once more; but at present the way seems to be hedged up. A fresh work is breaking out here, and the Redeemer seems to be manifesting his glory in many souls. ”

“ Glad should I be to die by the hands of an assassin, if popery is to get footing here. I shall then be taken away from the evil to come. I hope that your Ladyship, and the good Ladies with you, will have hearts given you to pray for me, that, whether by life or by death, Jesus may be glorified. Thanks be to God, to me to live is Christ, and to die will be my gain. He knows, that with simplicity and godly sincerity, I have endeavoured to promote in my feeble way his honour and glory. ”

“ I need not inform you, dear Sir, that our Lord hath chosen the weak things of this world to confound the strong; and things that are not, to bring to nought the things that are. If it was not so, what should such a poor, weak, helpless wretch as I am do? In Jesus, and in him alone, is all my strength and support found. Still he continues to uphold me, and crown my feeble labours with success. In Wales, Gloucestershire, and Bristol, we have lately felt his power; and in our new Tabernacle at London, he hath also manifested forth his glory. O for a good gale in the North! ”

“ Whatever becomes of ill and hell-deserving me, may you increase with all the increase of God! Most cordial love awaits Mr. C――, Mr. B――, Mr. D――, Mr. I――, or as many of them as are in town. May all be helped, to give one and the same mighty gospel all-powerful blast, till Jericho’s towering walls fall down before them. Outward troubles, I am persuaded, await us. But in Jesus we shall have peace. To his never-failing mercy I commend you and yours, and all your near and dear connections. Brethren, pray for us; I know you do. The Redeemer, in answer to your prayers, deals bountifully with us. ”

“ Honesty I find always to be the best policy. They who honour Jesus, he will honour. Even in this world, if we confess him, his truth, and his people, we shall receive an hundred-fold. To lose all in this respect, is to find all. But whither am I going? Excuse, my very dear Sir, the overflowings of a heart, that loves you dearly for the glorious Redeemer’s sake. I am here preaching his cross, and expect to stay over Sunday. Next week I have thoughts of being at Bath and Westbury. I lead a pilgrim life. You will pray that I may have a pilgrim heart. ”

“ O that it may prove a Bethel, a house of God, a gate of heaven! I believe it will.—As the awakening continues, I have some hopes that we are not to be given up. Alas! alas! We are testing and contesting, while the nation is bleeding to death. We are condemning this and that; but sin, the great mischief-maker, lies unmolested, or rather encouraged by every contending party. Well, the Lord reigns;—and therefore blessed be the God of our salvation.—I hope your honoured sister, and her noble Lord, are well. I sometimes wish that his Lordship was at the helm, but infinite wisdom knows what is best. ”

“ What a blessing this to worthless, ill and hell-deserving me! What a mercy, to meet with such a friend in the latter stages of our road! Surely he is altogether lovely. Having loved his own, he loves them to the end; witness his yet continuing to own the feeble labours of an almost worn out pilgrim. Every day the thirst for hearing the word increases, and the better sort come home to hear more of it. I must now go soon to New-England. Cold weather and a warm heart suit my tottering tabernacle best. The ship is going. God bless you and yours! ”

“ Every day and every hour must we be passing from death to life. Mortification and vivification make up the whole of the divine work in the new-born soul. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly; have compassion on this barren fig-tree, and if it is to be spared another year, so dig and dung round it, that it may bring forth much fruit unto God! But shall I conceal the goodness of my long-suffering Master? No: I dare not;—for in spite of my unworthiness, he still continues to smile upon my poor ministrations, and gives me to see his stately steps in the great congregations. ”

“ London, March 14, 1761.
My dear Sir,
I HEAR that your little daughter is gone to heaven: a fine flower soon cropped. I thought she was too fine to continue long in this bad soil. She is now transplanted to an infinitely better. O that I may have patience to wait till my wish’d-for change do come! Every day almost we hear of persons dying in triumph. The awakening is rather greater than ever. Satan’s artillery hath done but little execution.
Thoughts are vain against the Lord,
All subserves his standing word;
Wheels encircling wheels must run,
Each in course to bring it on.
Hallelujah! ”

“ No briars or thorns there. All glory be to Him who hath prepared such a rest for the purchase of his blood. Amen. Hallelujah! You will be glad to hear, that both here and at Bristol, souls are under real awakenings. Though I preach in much weakness, an infinitely condescending Jesus vouchsafes to come down in glorious gales of his blessed Spirit. This is all in all. But these are only streams. Ere long we shall drink at the fountain head. Do you not long to leap your seventy years? Blessed be God, we are nearer and nearer. Fly, fly, O time! welcome, welcome long wished for eternity! ”

“ London, December 29, 1768.
My very dear Tommy,
MANY thanks for your kind sympathetic congratulatory letter. Mr. Wright is gone, or rather lies yet in the Downs. He is gone to build for Him, who shed his precious heart’s-blood for ill and hell-deserving me. Whether the unworthy Founder lives or dies, Bethesda affair, I trust, will now be compleated. Strange, that I am now living! Fifty-four years old last Tuesday. God be merciful to me a sinner! a sinner! a sinner! Less than the least of all, must be my motto still. As such, continue to pray for me. ”

“ Such a practice is beneath the dignity of a free-born child of God.—His spirit breathes another kind of language, and teaches us to be all eye within. O that your heart may be filled with that wisdom which is from above, which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be intreated, without partiality, without hypocrisy, and full of faith, self-denial, zeal, disinterestedness, and good works! That Jesus, whom I believe you love, is able, dear Madam, to fill you with this wisdom. ”

“ But the prayers of God’s people have brought me back. Lord Jesus, let it be for thy glory and the welfare of precious and immortal souls! Thou hast been digging and dunging round me. O that the barren fig-tree may at length begin to bring forth some fruit! O, my dear man, how ought ministers to work before the night of sickness and death comes, when no man can work! Lord Jesus, quicken my tardy pace, according to the multitude of thy tender mercies! You will not cease to pray for me, who am indeed less than the least of all. ”

“ To be a martyr, a living witness for Jesus, amidst the tip-top allurements of high life—by this we prove the strength of Jesus to be ours indeed. May the Lord of all Lords help you, honoured Madam, to hold on and hold out. My prayer to him for you is, “That your progress may be made known to all men, and that you may increase with all the increase of God.” Glory be to free grace, I find the happiness of the divine life an increasing happiness indeed.—Lately our common Lord hath taken his people into the banqueting house, and caused their cup of consolation to run over. ”

“ Alas! how little do we know of ourselves, till we are tried, and how hard doth the old man die! Well! blessed be God, die he shall. Jesus hath given him his deadly blow, and at the best he only lives a dying life. Thanks be to God for such a Saviour! O for a thousand tongues to shew forth his praise! Lord Jesus, cloath me with humility, that I may every day know more and more the honour conferred upon me in being made a poor pilgrim for thee! Keep me travelling, keep me working, or at least beginning to begin to work for thee till I die! ”

“ Through his divine goodness I got safe into Gloucestershire, where I opened the summer campaign last Sunday. Ever since Tuesday evening, I have been preaching here twice daily. Multitudes fly like doves to the windows. Abiding impressions seem to be made.—This is the Lord’s doing: to Him be all the glory! On next Monday, God willing, I set out for Wales. I know you will follow me with your prayers. I am sure mine always attend you and yours: I love such old steady friends. It is Christ-like, not to be given to change.—Blessed be God for an unchangeable Jesus! ”