8. The House of Mercy 73
8
The House of MercyWhitefield had set out for Pennsylvania, the geographic center of the Colonies. He intended to build an Orphan House in Georgia, but he wanted, as preparation, to obtain a knowledge of America.
Reaching Philadelphia, he was immediately welcomed by the Presbyterian and Baptist pastors and by Thomas Penn, the one remaining member of the founding family. He preached each evening to tremendous crowds in the open air and stated, "They did not seem weary of standing, nor was I weary of speaking." It was evident that the popularity which had been his in England was to be his here also.
Whitefield soon manifested, however, his willingness to sacrifice popular acclaim for Scriptural truth. A prominent Presbyterian pastor, the Rev. William Tennent, paid him a visit. Claiming that a widespread departure from Biblical truth had long been evident in the Presbyterian body, Tennent had "earnestly contended for the faith" in denominational gatherings. But he had also founded a school, commonly known as the Log College, for the training of men for the ministry, and his own scholarship and personal fervor enabled him to equip them with thorough learning and a fiery zeal. Whitefield said,
He and his sons are secretly despised by the generality of the Synod, as Mr Erskine and his brethren are hated by the judicatories of Edinburgh, and as the Methodist preachers are by their brethren in England.1
The controversy on these matters was already dividing not only the Presbyterian but also the Baptist, Reformed, and Congregational bodies, and Whitefield now extended it into his own denomination, the Church of England. Concerning his Sunday afternoon meeting he said, "I was much carried out in bearing my testimony against the unchristian principles and practices of our clergy. Three of my reverent brethren were present.... I endeavoured to speak with meekness, as well as zeal."
Whitefield now commenced two important acquaintances. One was with Thomas Noble of New York, a man of considerable possessions who had written indicating his intention of assisting in the establishment of the Orphan House and asking Whitefield to visit him. The other was with William Tennent's son Gilbert, a zealous preacher who accompanied him on this journey.
After returning from New York, Whitefield conducted his ministry in the largest church in Philadelphia and then, finding it too small, resorted to the open air.
William Seward, knowing that a vessel would be highly serviceable to the Orphan House, purchased a sloop and named it The Savannah. The party Whitefield had brought from England then set sail for Georgia. But Whitefield, desiring to learn more about America, set out, accompanied by Seward and Whitefield's secretary John Syms, to make the journey by land.
As Whitefield expected, the journey afforded him valuable experience. He preached daily to crowds when in populated areas and to handfuls in wilderness places. The three men were nearly drowned while crossing the Potomac. Although accommodated at times in grand homes, they usually slept in cabins or on the ground. Whitefield expressed his delight in visiting William and Mary College and remarked that two of the professors had been his contemporaries at Oxford. He met numerous people and saw several plantations and noticed especially their dependence on the labor of slaves.
When Whitefield reached Savannah, he found a letter from Elizabeth Delamotte awaiting him. He had felt that he could not truly love God if he allowed himself to love a woman, and since leaving England he had told himself that he had put her out of his mind. But the letter reawakened his affection, and he was thrust into his inward strife again.
The trustees of Georgia had granted Whitefield five hundred acres of land, and he shortly began the construction of the Orphan House. Besides the large central structure, there were to be four smaller buildings. More land had to be cleared, a barn and a dock built, and a road cut throughout the ten miles from Savannah. He hired every available man in the Colony, and all this work looked to him for the energy to see that it was done and for the money to pay for it.
He called the Orphan House "Bethesda," a Biblical term meaning "A House of Mercy."
The need was so evident that Whitefield could not wait for construction to be completed. So he rented the largest house in Savannah and filled it with orphaned children. Not only did he provide them with a home, but they were likewise given schooling and training in obedience and Christian principles. The girls also learned weaving and sewing, and the boys were taught carpentry and farming.
While Bethesda was being built, Whitefield set out on what we may call his Spring Evangelistic Tour. He traveled first to Philadelphia aboard the sloop, taking with him a company of Moravians. These people had refused to bear arms in defending Georgia, and since they wished to remove to Pennsylvania and were poor, Whitefield gave them free passage.
While on the sloop sailing towards Philadelphia, Whitefield made one of the most important decisions of his life. He wrote to Elizabeth Delamotte proposing marriage.
He had already replied to the letter he received from her at Savannah, telling her in his first paragraph, "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... ."2 But in his last paragraph he had revealed that he longed to be with her again in England.
Aboard the sloop he wrote to her parents asking their permission to propose marriage to their daughter and enclosing a second letter that he suggested, if satisfied, they give to her. In the letter for her he listed the sacrifices she could be called upon to make in marrying him and the trials she would endure, and then he stated,
If after seeking to God for direction . .. you can say, 'I can do all those things through Christ strengthening me,' what if you and I were joined together in the Lord, and you came with me at my return from England, to be an help meet to me in the management of the Orphan House... . I make no great profession to you. . . . The passionate expressions which carnal courtiers use, I think ought to be avoided by those that would marry in the Lord. .. . I trust I love you only for God. . . . With fear and much trembling I write, and shall patiently tarry my Lord's leisure, till he is pleased to incline you, dear Miss, to send an answer to,
Your affectionate brother, friend and servant in Christ. G.W.3
Upon reaching Philadelphia Whitefield sent these letters on their way, and he began the four months' wait necessary in those days for trans-Atlantic correspondence. His soul would be burdened with concern till he received an answer, a condition we must bear in mind as we consider his next months of activity. We may be tempted to smile at him as a lover, but his sincerity is evident in every line he wrote.
At Philadelphia Whitefield entered into an extraordinary friendship, one that continued throughout his life. It was with America's philosopher-statesman, Benjamin Franklin. Years later Franklin looked back and reported,
In 1739 there arrived among us the Rev Mr Whitefield. The multitude of all sects and denominations that attended his sermons was enormous, and it was a matter of speculation with me, who was one of their number, to observe the extraordinary influence of his oratory on his hearers.
It was wonderful to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants. From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion, it seemed as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk thro' the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families in every street.
He had a loud and clear voice, and articulated his words and sentences so perfectly, that he might be heard and understood at a great distance, especially as his audiences, however numerous, observed the most exact silence. He preached one evening from the top of the Court House steps, which are in the middle of Market street, and on the west side of Second-street, which crosses it at right angles. Both streets were filled with his hearers to a considerable distance. Being among the hindmost in Market-street, I had the curiosity to learn how far he could be heard, by retiring backwards down the street towards the river; and I found his voice distinct till I came near Front-street, when some noise in that street obscured it. Imagining then a semi-circle, of which my distance should be the radius, and that it were filled with auditors, to each of whom I allowed two square feet, I computed that he might well be heard by more than thirty thousand. ...4
Franklin has left a striking testimony regarding Whitefield's persuasive powers in pleading for the Orphan House. He says,
Mr Whitefield .. . made large collections, for his eloquence had a wonderful power over the hearts and purses of his hearers, of which I myself was an instance.
I did not disapprove of the design, but as Georgia was then destitute of workmen and materials, and it was proposed to send them from Philadelphia at great expense, I thought it would have been better to have built the house here and brought the children to it. . . .
I happened, soon after, to attend one of his sermons, in the course of which I perceived he intended to finish with a collection, and I silently resolved he should get nothing from me. I had in my pocket a handful of copper, three or four silver dollars and five pistoles in gold. As he proceeded I began to soften and concluded to give the coppers. Another stroke of his oratory made me ashamed of that, and I determined to give the silver; and he finished so admirably that I emptied my pocket wholly into the collector's dish, gold and all.
At this sermon there was also one of our club, who, being of my sentiments respecting the building in Georgia, and suspecting a collection might be intended had by precaution emptied his pockets before he came from home. Towards the conclusion of the discourse, however, he felt a strong desire to give, and applied to a neighbour who stood near him, to borrow some money for the purpose. The application was unfortunately made, to perhaps the only man in the company who had the firmness not to be affected by the preacher. His answer was, 'At any other time, Friend Hopkinson, I would lend thee freely; but not now, for thou seems to be out of thy right senses.'5
Franklin became Whitefield's chief American publisher, and he and various members of the Franklin family regarded Whitefield as a personal friend. We shall notice some of the letters that passed between these two men. It is a sad error that their relationship has not been accorded a place in the common concept of the life of each.
Being used to the milder English weather, Whitefield found the heat in America hard to bear. His first biographer, Dr. Gillies of Glasgow, says that during these weeks, "Sometimes he was almost dead with heat and fatigue. Thrice a day he was lifted upon his horse, unable to mount otherwise; then rode and preached, and came in and laid himself along two or three chairs." But no matter how weary he might be, to stand before a crowd and face the responsibility of declaring the gospel had a reviving effect upon him. For the hour—or perhaps two—of intense activity of mind and body he became incredibly strong, till the immense task was completed and he sank into exhaustion again.
This physical exhaustion was undoubtedly increased by two burdens on his mind. One was his concern as to the outcome of his proposal of marriage, and the other was the disharmony John Wesley was creating in England. At Philadelphia he received a letter from Wesley, and he replied,
The more I examine the writings of the most experienced men and the experiences of the most established Christians, the more I differ from your notion of not committing sin, and your denying the doctrines of election and final perseverance. . . .
I dread coming to England unless you are resolved to oppose these truths with less warmth than when I was there last. I dread your coming over to America; because the work of God is carried on here (and that in a most glorious manner) by doctrines quite opposite to those you hold. . . . God direct me what to do. Sometimes I think it best to stay here, where we all think and speak the same thing. The work goes on without divisions. . . .
I write not this, Honoured Sir, from heat of spirit, but out of love. From my soul I wish you abundant success. .. . I long to hear of your being made a spiritual father to thousands. . . . Do not be angry with, but pray for, Honoured Sir,
Your unworthy brother and servant in Christ, G.W.6
Knowing that men in general, in expressing their differences of opinion, may become harsh with one another, certain authors have assumed that Whitefield must have been uncivil towards Wesley. But the true nature of his spirit—peace-seeking and loving—is evident in this letter, as in all his letters to Wesley, and is fully expressed in Charles Wesley's Elegy on Whitefield.
Whitefield's inherent kindness is manifest also in an action he now undertook to assist the black men and women in America. Having witnessed the cruelty practiced on many slaves, he now wrote and published A Letter to the Inhabitants of Maryland, Virginia, and North and South Carolina Concerning Their Negroes. It read, in part,
Your dogs are caressed and fondled at your tables, but your slaves, who are frequently styled dogs or beasts, have not an equal privilege. They are scarce permitted to pick up the crumbs that fall from their masters' tables. Nay, some .. . have been, upon the most trifling provocation, cut with knives, and have had forks thrown into their flesh; not to mention what numbers have been given up to the inhuman usage of cruel taskmasters, who, by their unrelenting scourges, have ploughed upon their backs, and made long furrows, and at length brought them even to death itself. I hope there are few such monsters of barbarity suffered to subsist among you.
Is it not the highest ingratitude as well as cruelty, not to let your poor slaves enjoy some fruits of their labour? Whilst I have viewed your plantations cleared and cultivated, and have seen many spacious houses, and the owners of them faring sumptuously every day, my blood has almost run cold within me, when I have considered how many of your slaves have neither convenient food to eat, nor proper raiment to put on, notwithstanding most of the comforts you enjoy were solely owing to their indefatigable labours.... 'Go to, ye rich men, weep and howl, for your miseries shall come upon you!' Behold the provision of the poor negroes, which have reaped your fields, which is by you denied them, crieth, and the cries of them which have reaped have come into the ears of the Lord of Saboth!7
This letter, which sounded as though it were a declaration by an Old Testament prophet, received a speedy circulation. Whitefield gave it to Franklin to be published in pamphlet form, but it was also reprinted in newspapers in almost all the Colonies.
Whitefield also attempted to assist the slaves in a material way. In his Journal he wrote, "This day I bought five thousand acres of land on the forks of the Delaware, and ordered a large house to be built thereupon for the instruction of these poor creatures." He called the proposed institution by the Biblical name "Nazareth."
The party of Moravians that Whitefield had brought from Georgia was under the direction of Peter Bohler, the man who had been influential in the conversion of Charles and John Wesley. It was composed of only three other men, besides two women and two boys; but since they were homeless and in need of work, Whitefield offered to employ them in constructing the Nazareth house. After casting a lot they journeyed to the site, some forty miles from Philadelphia. Although completely in the wilderness and surrounded by hostile Indians, they began the building immediately.
As Whitefield traversed the Colonies, his relation with the blacks was warm and friendly. His preaching was always simplified so as to be understandable to these people who were almost entirely without schooling. Indeed, he often spoke directly to them while he was preaching. "Did you ever hear of the eunuch belonging to Queen Candace, a negro like yourselves?" he asked in a sermon on "The Lord Our Righteousness." "He believed. The Lord was his righteousness. Do you also believe, and you shall be saved."
Whitefield preached extensively throughout the Middle Colonies, and he saw not only a multitude of whites, but also many blacks converted. For instance, during his days in Philadelphia he reported, "Nearly fifty negroes came to my lodgings to give thanks for what God had done for their souls." And of his experience during a period of grave sickness he said, "The poor negroes crowded round the windows, and expressed a great concern for me. Their master had acquainted them that I was their friend."
But Nazareth failed to come to the fruition Whitefield had expected. He was never at Nazareth, and he left its affairs to a committee in Philadelphia. The building he had planned was an extensive one, three stories in height and constructed of massive stone. Bohler brought other men from Germantown, but after five months of labor he realized the roof could not be put on before Winter. He began a small log house alongside to provide a place for himself and his party and set out to find Whitefield and inform him of the change.
Since Bohler had but partly learned English and Whitefield spoke no German, they conversed in Latin. Whitefield had been informed by Wesley of "the Stillness Doctrine" and of the refusal of the Moravians to attend the Eucharist of the Church of England, and he agreed with Wesley's stand. Using the ancient language, he and Bohler discussed the matter, and he remarked, "... it is best to carry on the work of God apart. . . . God grant that we may keep up a cordial undissembled love towards one another, notwithstanding our different opinions."8
Whitefield maintained gracious relations with the Moravians, and the friendship was so warm that before long it was reported that he had become a Moravian himself. Yet, strange as it may seem, the statement has been published and widely believed that "he proved so heartless that he drove Bohler and his party, men, women and children, off his property in the midst of winter."
It proved impossible, however, for Whitefield to complete the construction of the Nazareth building. The Indians round about were openly hostile, and above all, the project was too large for Whitefield financially. The Moravians obtained the property and finished the building, and it stands today as a Moravian museum and as a home for their missionaries while on furlough.
But although Whitefield failed in his endeavor to assist the blacks, he succeeded in other regards. Most important was the effect of his preaching on the creation of the Negro Spiritual. The black man heard from Whitefield spiritual truths declared in a manner that, despite his uneducated condition, he could understand, and he returned to his toil soothing his soul in the truths he had learned. He repeated over and over some phrase he had gained from the lips of the preacher till the repetition became rhythmic and his natively musical soul linked it with melody. He sang it again and again, others heard and joined their voices, and the whole was repeated day after day till it became part and parcel of their lives. Thus was born the heartfelt singing of Scriptural truths by the black man—the Negro Spiritual.
In those days it was frequently asked, "Does the Negro have a soul?" and Whitefield gave the first widely-heard positive reply that the black man was basically no different from the white man. Nevertheless, we cannot but regret that he did not come to the conviction that slavery was utterly evil and demand in his powerful eloquence that "liberty and justice" be granted to all men, black as well as white.