urally look for a corresponding swiftness of flight and width of sweep, and feel that we shall not be surprised by any thing which follows. His unbosomings of himself disclose in his heart a 'secret place of thunder' and 'a fountain of tears,' from which we expect alternate bursts of terror and tenderness-bolts of Sinai and dew of Hermon-and we shall not be disappointed."* Whitefield's First Sermon. Whitefield's first sermon was on the "The Necessity and Benefits of Religious Society" from the text "Two are better than one." He says that the next morning after he was ordained, while waitin upon God in prayer to know what he would have him do, the words, "Speak out, Paul," came with great power to his soul. "Immediately," says he, "my heart was enlarged, and I preached on the Sunday following to a very crowded audience with as much freedom as though I had been a preacher for some years." No wonder, for he had sought strength from on high, and could say with Paul, "God has not given unto us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." His own description of the sermon in a letter to a friend is very graphic, and best tells the story. "MY DEAR FRIEND: Glory, glory, glory be ascribed to an almighty triune God! Last Sun*Philip's Life and Times of Whitefield, p. 45. day, in the afternoon, I preached my first sermon in the church of St. Mary De Crypt, where I was baptized, and also first received the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Curiosity, as you may easily guess, drew a large congregation together on the occasion. The sight at first a little awed me; but I was comforted by a heart-felt sense of the divine presence, and soon found the unspeakable advantage of having been accustomed to public speaking when a boy at school, and of exhorting and teaching the prisoners and poor people at their private houses while at the University. By these means I was kept from being daunted overmuch. As I proceeded I perceived the fire kindled, till at last, though so young, and amid a crowd of those who knew me in my infant, childish days, I trust I was enabled to speak with some degree of gospel authority. Some few mocked, but most, for the present, seemed struck; and I have since heard that a complaint had been made to the Bishop that I drove fifteen mad by the first sermon. The worthy prelate, as I am informed, wished that the madness might not be forgotten before next Sunday. Before then I hope my sermon upon 'He that is in Christ is a new creature' will be completed. Blessed be God! I now find freedom in writing. Glorious Jesus, 'Unloose my stammering tongue to tell Thy love immense, unsearchable !' Being thus engaged, I must hasten to subscribe myself, G. WHITEFIELD.' Whitefield's Sermon and the Clergyman. Whitefield, in speaking of his first sermon, says, "It was my intention to have had at least a hundred sermons with which to begin my ministry, but I had not a single one by me at the time, except one I had sent to a neighboring clergyman to convince him how unfit I was to take upon myself the important work of preaching. This sermon the clergyman retained a fortnight, and then returned with a guinea for the loan, telling me he had, by dividing it, preached it morning and evening to his congregation." Whitefield, the Wesleys, and Georgia. There can be no doubt but that the Wesleys were the means of George Whitefield first coming to America. Had it not been for them he might never have visited this country, nor ever have written his name all over the colonies. John and Charles Wesley were missionaries to Georgia, and, seeing the fields already white to harvest in the New World, invited and urged Whitefield to come over and thrust in the sickle. John Wesley wrote several letters to him, and in one of them he inquired, "Do you ask what you shall have? Food to eat, raiment to wear, a house to lay your head in such as your Lord had not, and a crown of glory that fadeth not away." On receiving the letter Whitefield says his heart leaped within him and echoed to the call. Nobly he responded to it. It made an era in his history, in that of the Church, and in that of America. The following extracts are from a poem addressed to Whitefield by Charles Wesley at the time: "Servant of God, the summons hear; Thy Master calls-arise, obey! The tokens of his will appear, His providence points out the way. "Through racks and fires pursue thy way; Finish thy course, and win the day; Look up, and seal the truth with blood!" He also, in a poetic epistle addressed to Whitefield many years afterward, says: "In a strange land I stood, And beckoned thee to cross the Atlantic flood; And, eager all Heaven's counsels to explore, Flew through the wat'ry world and grasped the shore." The Wesleys returned to England, Mr. Whitefield taking their place. He at this time says in his journal, "I must labor most heartily since come after such worthy predecessors. The good Mr. John Wesley has done in America is inexpressible. His name is very precious among the people, and he has laid a foundation that I hope neither men nor devils will ever be able to shake. O that I may follow him as he followed Christ!" Incidents Connected with Whitefield's First Voyage to America. The latter end of December, 1737, Whitefield embarked for Georgia on board the ship Whittecar, though the vessel did not sail till the end of January, 1738. ROUGH RECEPTION. There was a curious mixture on board of soldiers and sailors. The captains of both, with the surgeon and cadets, treated him for a time as if he were an impostor, and to mark their contempt for him, turned the vessel into a gambling-house during the whole of the first Sabbath. WHITEFIELD AND THE MILITARY CAPTAIN. The military captain was quite haughty and overbearing. Whitefield had a peculiar dread of him; but by kindness and attention to his "redcoat parishioners" he made a fine impression upon the officers as well as upon the men. Having been invited to take coffee with the captain in his cabin, he went, and took the opportunity of saying that he thought it "a little odd to |