This is some research I had done about a year ago on George Whitefield. I came across it yesturday and thought it would be beneficial to share with the body of Christ.
Here is the structure of the quote arrangement:
- Quotes on Whitefield
- His Testimony
- Preaching
- Pleading with the Lost
- Prayers for the Lost
- Witnessing
- Open-Air Preaching
- The Law
- Conscience
- Sin
- Repentance
- Hell
- Self-Righteousness
- Jesus Christ
- The Atonement
- Conversion
- Sanctification
- God’s Grace
- The End of the Day of Grace
- Judgment Day
- Fear of Death
- Persecution
- Persecutors
- Warfare
- The Devil’s Children
- False Believers
- True Believers
- The New Birth
- Compassion
- Drunkenness
- Wholly Dedicated
- Christian Peace
- Christian Service
- World vs. Christ and the Church
- Eternity
- The Church
- Prayer
- The Audience of One
- Servant Hood
- Men
- Wisdom of the World
- Money
- Christian Unity
SOURCES
- 20 Centuries of Great Preaching; Volume 3 (Waco, TX: Word Books Publishing, 1974)
- George Whitefield; God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century, by Arnold A. Dallimore (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990)
- Sodom Had No Bible by Leonard Ravenhill; (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1984)
- Gaining Favor with God and Man by William Thayer; (San Antonio, TX: Mantle Ministries, 1989)
- The Journal of the Rev Charles Wesley, MA., Volume 2 (Grand Rapids, MI; Baker, 1980)
- John Greenleaf Whittier, “The Preacher,” Complete Poetical Works (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1882)
- The World’s Greatest Preachers, compiled by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2003
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library).
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.ii.html
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“It was wonderful to see to see the change soon made in the manners of our inhabitants; from being thoughtless or indifferent about religion; so that one could not walk through the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street.” Benjamin Franklin
- 20 Centuries of Great Preaching; Volume 3 (Waco, TX: Word Books Publishing, 1974) pp. 108-109.
“I happen 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 that he should get nothing from me. I had in my pocket a handful of copper money, three or four silver dollars, and five pistols 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 determined me to give the silver; and he finished so admirably, that I emptied my pocket wholly into the collector’s dish, gold and all.” Benjamin Franklin
- 20 Centuries of Great Preaching; Volume 3 (Waco TX: Word Books Publishing, 1974) p. 109.
“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 audience, however numerous, observed the most exact silence. He preached one evening from the middle of Market Street, and on the West Side of Second Street which crosses it at right angels. Both streets were filled with his hearers to a considerable distance. Being among the hindmost in Market Place, 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 then 30,000. This reconciled me to the newspaper accounts of his having preached to 25,000 people in the fields, and to the ancient histories of Generals haranguing whole armies, of which I had sometimes doubted.” Benjamin Franklin
- 20 Centuries of Great Preaching; Volume 3 (Waco, TX: Word Books Publishing, 1974) pp. 111-112.
“He…urged all ministers not to be satisfied with preaching on Sundays only, but to do so seven days a week; to preach in the open-air and not to be limited to their own parishes, but to go forth wherever lost souls were found and to proclaim the grace of God to them. Such actions, he assured them, would bring the opposition of authorities and the hatred of the world, but it would also witness the blessing of God.” Arnold A. Dallimore
- George Whitefield; God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century, by Arnold A. Dallimore (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990) p. 166.
“It was a brave day for England when Whitefield began field preaching.” C. H. Spurgeon
- George Whitefield; God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century, by Arnold A. Dallimore (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990) p. 40.
“What was the secret of Whitefield’s success? I think three things: he preached a pure gospel, he preached a powerful gospel, he preached a passionate gospel.” Leonard Ravenhill
- Sodom Had No Bible by Leonard Ravenhill; (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1984) p. 188.
“He seldom, if ever, got through a sermon without tears.” Cornelius Winter
- Sodom Had No Bible by Leonard Ravenhill; (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1984) p. 188.
“It seemed as though he never preached in vain.” John Newton
- Sodom Had No Bible by Leonard Ravenhill; (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1984) p. 189.
“Have we read or heard of any person who called so many thousands, so many myriads of sinners to repentance? Above all, have we read or heard of anyone who has been God’s blessed instrument to bring so many sinners from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God as Whitefield.” John Wesley
- Sodom Had No Bible by Leonard Ravenhill; (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1984) p. 189.
“Whitefield was a poor boy, and left his father early in life. To earn an honest penny for his widowed mother, he became bootblack in the University of Oxford. To the professors and students, he was an interesting boy. His whole appearance indicated that he did not mean to black boots for a living all his days. His eyes and ears were opened to learn. Whenever he could catch up a book to read or study, his soul seemed on fire. One day a student found him poring over a Latin grammar. The student asked him how he would like to pursue a course of the study in the institution. On receiving the reply that he could wish for nothing better, the student consented to become his teacher. That was the beginning of a marvelous career. Under the discipline of close application, industry, and perseverance, his intellectual faculties developed rapidly. Nothing was too hard for him: difficulties only increased his determination. Present attainments sharpened his appetite for the highest there was. So he worked, studied, conquered. He spurned mediocrity; the best he sought and found.” William Thayer
- Gaining Favor with God and Man by William Thayer; (San Antonio, TX: Mantle Ministries, 1989) p. 217.
Regarding Whitefield:
“He loved the world that hated him: the tear
That dropped upon his Bible was sincere;
Assailed by scandal and the tongue of strife,
His only answer was a blameless life,
And he that forged and he that threw the dart,
Had each a brother’s interest in his heart.” William Cowper
- William Cowper, “Hope,” Tylerman’s Whitefield, Volume 2, p 613
Regarding Whitefield:
“He now begins from every weight set free
To make full trial of his ministry;
Breaks forth on every side and runs and flies,
Like kindling flames that from the stubble rise;
Where’er the ministerial Spirit leads,
From house to house the heavenly fire he spreads,
Ranges through all the city-lanes and streets,
And seizes every prodigal he meets.” Charles Wesley
- George Whitefield; God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century, by Arnold A. Dallimore (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990) p. 22.
Regarding Whitefield’s Revival:
“So the flood of emotion deep and strong
Troubled the land as it swept along,
But left a result of holier lives,
Tenderer mothers and worthier wives,
The husband and father whose children fled
And sad wife wept as his drunken tread
Frightened peace from his roof-tree’s shade,
And a rock of offense his hearthstone made,
In a strength that was not his own began
To rise from the brute’s to the plane of man.
Old friends embraced, long held apart,
By evil counsel and pride of heart,
And penitence saw through misty tears,
On the bow of hope on it’s cloud of fears,
The promise of Heaven’s eternal years,
The peace of God for the world’s annoy,
Beauty for ashes, and oil of joy.” John Greenleaf Whittier
- George Whitefield; God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century, by Arnold A. Dallimore (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990) pp. 93-94.
An Elegy of the Late Rev George Whitefield (#1):
“Though long by following multitudes admired,
No party for himself he ever desired;
His one desire to make the Saviour known,
To magnify the name of Christ alone:
If others strove who should the greatest be,
No lover of preeminence was he,
Nor envied those his Lord vouchsafed to bless,
But joyed in theirs as in his own success.” Charles Wesley
- George Whitefield; God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century, by Arnold A. Dallimore (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990) p. 164.
An Elegy of the Late Rev George Whitefield (#2):
“For friendship formed by nature and by grace
(His heart made up of truth and tenderness)
Stranger to guile, unknown to deceive,
In anger, malice or revenge to live,
He lived, himself on others to bestow
A ministerial spirit here below,
Beloved by all the lovers of the Lord,
By none but Satan’s synagogue abhorred.” Charles Wesley
- George Whitefield; God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century, by Arnold A. Dallimore (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990) p. 174.
An Elegy of the Late Rev George Whitefield (#3)
“Such for a length of years his glorious race
He ran, nor ever looked back, or slacked his pace,
Forgetting still the things already done,
And reaching forth to those not yet begun,
Eager he pressed to his high calling’s prize,
By violent faith resolved to scale the skies,
And apprehend his Lord in paradise.” Charles Wesley
- George Whitefield; God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century, by Arnold A. Dallimore (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990) p. 188.
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An Elegy of the Late Rev George Whitefield (#4)
“Lover of all mankind, his life he gave,
Christ to exalt, and precious souls to save:
Nor age nor sickness could abate his zeal
To feed the flock, and serve the Master’s will,
Though spent with pain, and toil that never ceased,
He laboured on, nor asked to be released:
Though daily waiting for the welcome word,
Longing to be dissolved and meet his Lord,
Yet still he strangely lived, by means unknown,
In deaths immortal ills his work was done,
And wished for Christ his latest breath to spend,
That life and labour might together end.” Charles Wesley
- The Journal of the Rev Charles Wesley, MA., Volume 2 (Grand Rapids, MI; Baker, 1980), pp. 418-431, lines 445-456.
Regarding Whitefield:
“Under the Church in Federal Street,
Under the tread of its Sabbath feet,
Walled about by its basement stones,
Lie the marvelous preacher’s bones.
Long shall the travelller strain his eye
From the railroad car as it passes by,
And the vanishing town behind him search
For the slender spire of the Whitefield Church,
And fell for one moment the ghosts of trade,
And fashion and folly and pleasure laid,
By the thought of that life of pure intent,
That voice of warning yet eloquent,
Of one of the errands of angels sent.
And if, where he laboured, the flood of sin,
Like a tide from the harbour bar sets in,
And over a life of times and sense,
The church spires lift their vain defense…
Still, as the gem in it’s civic crown,
Precious beyond the world’s renown,
His memory hallows that ancient town.” John Greenleaf Whittier\t
- John Greenleaf Whittier, “The Preacher,” Complete Poetical Works (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1882), p. 254.
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“After the end of the seventh week, after having undergone innumerable buffetings of Satan and many months inexpressible trials by night and day under the spirit of bondage, God was pleased at length to remove the heavy load, to enable me to lay hold on His dear Son by a living faith, and by giving me the spirit of adoption, to seal me, as I humbly hope, even to the day of everlasting redemption.”
- 20 Centuries of Great Preaching; Volume 3 (Waco, TX: Word Books Publishing, 1974) pp. 107-108.
“When I was sixteen years of age, I began to fast twice a week for thirty-six hours together, prayed many times a day, received the sacrament every Lord’s Day, fasted myself almost to death all the forty days of Lent, during which, I made it a point of duty never to go less than three times a day to public worship, besides seven times a day to my private prayers, yet I knew no more that I was to be born again in God, born a new creature in Christ Jesus, than if I was never born at all.
I had a mind to be upon the stage, but than I had a qualm of conscience; I used to ask people, “Pray can I be a player, and yet go to the sacrament and be a Christian?” “Oh,” say they, “such a one, who is a player, goes to the sacrament; though according to the law of the land, no player should receive the sacrament, unless they give proof that they repent; that was Archbishop Tilotson’s doctrine”; “well then, if that be the case.” Said I, “I will be a player,” and I thought to act my part for the devil as well as any body; but, blessed be God, he stopped me in my journey. I must bear testimony to my old friend, Mr. Charles Wesley; he put a book into my hands, called The Life of God in the Soul of Man, where by God showed me, that I must be born again or be damned. I know the place; it may be superstitious, perhaps, but whenever I go to Oxford, I cannot help running to that place where Jesus Christ first revealed himself to me, and gave me the new birth.”
- 20 Centuries of Great Preaching; Volume 3 (Waco, TX: Word Books Publishing, 1974) p. 115.
“I know by sad experience what it is to be lulled asleep with a false peace; long was I lulled asleep, long did I think myself a Christian, when I knew nothing of the Lord Jesus Christ. I went perhaps farther than many of you do; I used to fast twice a-week, I used to pray sometimes none times a-day, I used to receive the sacrament constantly every Lord's-day; and yet I knew nothing of Jesus Christ in my heart, I knew not that I must be a new creature — I knew nothing of inward religion in my soul.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon The Method of Grace http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.lx.html#lx-p0.2
“It is a poor sermon that gives no offense; that neither makes the hearer displeased with himself nor with the preacher.”
- http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/george_whitefield.html
“It is an undoubted truth that every doctrine that comes from God, leads to God; and that which doth not tend to promote holiness is not of God.”
- http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/george_whitefield.html
“Mere heathen morality, and not Jesus Christ, is preached in most of our churches.”
- http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/george_whitefield.html
“When I saw you from my study crowding to come in, when I saw you pushing forward, some to go up to the tabernacle, or into the vestry, some to fill the area, and others to stand at the door, I thought, “how shall I manage with myself tonight? Shall I endeavor to make these weep and cry? Shall I not earnestly address so many precious souls in a practical way, to bring them not to the preacher, but to the preacher’s master?” Knowing the terrors of the Lord, we would fain persuade all to flee from the wrath to come.”
- 20 Centuries of Great Preaching; Volume 3 (Waco, TX: Word Books Publishing, 1974) p. 114.
“God alone knows how deep a concern entering the ministry and preaching was to me. I have prayed a thousand times, till the sweat has dropped from my face like rain, that God…would not let me enter the Church till he called me and thrust me into his work.”
- George Whitefield; God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century, by Arnold A. Dallimore (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990) p. 23.
“Last Sunday…I preached my first sermon…Some few mocked, but most for the present seemed struck, and I have since heard that a complaint has been made to the Bishop that I drove fifteen mad the first sermon. The worthy Prelate…wishes that the madness might not be forgotten before next Sunday.”
- George Whitefield; God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century, by Arnold A. Dallimore (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990) p. 24.
“God strengthened me to speak, so as not only to be heard, but felt…”
- George Whitefield; God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century, by Arnold A. Dallimore (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990) p. 53.
“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.”
- George Whitefield; God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century, by Arnold A. Dallimore (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990) p. 67.
“O that I could do more for Him! O that I was a flame of pure and holy fire, and had a thousand lives to spend in the dear Redeemer’s Service…The sight of so many perishing souls affects me much, and makes me long to go if possible from pole to pole, to proclaim redeeming love.”
- George Whitefield; God’s Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century, by Arnold A. Dallimore (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990) p. 149.
“What a pity it is that modern preachers attend no more to the method those took who were first inspired by the Holy Ghost, in preaching Jesus Christ! The success they were honored with, gave a sanction to their manner of preaching, and the divine authority of their discourses, and energy of their elocution, one would think, should have more weight with those that are called to dispense the gospel, than all modern schemes whatever. If this was the case, ministers would then learn first to sow, and then to reap; they would endeavor to plough up the fallow ground, and thereby prepare the people for God’s raining down blessing upon them.”
- 20 Centuries of Great Preaching; Volume 3 (Waco, TX: Word Books Publishing, 1974) p. 137.
“the drunkards and Sabbath-breakers, cursers and swearers, say to us, you can never preach but you preach against us: as a good man once replied to a person, who complained against us ministers for this preaching; I will put you to a way, said he, that we shall never preach against you; how is that? Why, leave off cursing and swearing, &c. Then your consciences will be clear, and the minister will look over your heads: happy they that are convinced of it!”
- 20 Centuries of Great Preaching; Volume 3 (Waco, TX: Word Books Publishing, 1974) p. 139.
“Ministers that are unconverted, may talk and declaim of Christ, and prove from books that he is the Son of God; but they cannot preach with the demonstration of the Spirit and with power, unless they preach from experience, and have had a proof of his divinity, by a work of grace wrought upon their own souls.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: Saul’s Conversion http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xliii.html#xliii-p0.2
“It has been objected by some, who dissent from, nay, I may add, by others also, who actually are friends to the present ecclesiastical establishment, that the ministers of the Church of England preach themselves, and not Christ Jesus the Lord; that they entertain their people with lectures of mere morality, without declaring to them the glad tidings of salvation by Jesus Christ. How well grounded such an objection may be, is not my business to inquire: All I shall say at present to the point is, that whenever such a grand objection is urged against the whole body of the clergy in general, every honest minister of Jesus Christ should do his utmost to cut off all manner of occasion, from those who desire an occasion to take offense at us; that so by hearing us continually sounding forth the word of truth, and declaring with all boldness and assurance of faith, “that there is no other name given under heaven, whereby they can be saved, but that of Jesus Christ,”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: Of Justification by Christ http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xlviii.html#xlviii-p0.2
“If your souls were not immortal, and you in danger of losing them, I would not thus speak unto you; but the love of your souls constrains me to speak: methinks this would constrain me to speak unto you forever.”
- http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/george_whitefield.html
“You see, my brethren, my heart is full; I could almost say it is too big to speak, and yet too big to be silent, without dropping a word to you.”
- http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/g/george_whitefield.html
“O Christless sinners, I am distressed for you! The desires of my soul are enlarged. Oh, that this may be an accepted time! That the Lord may be your righteousness! For where would you flee, if death were to find you naked? Indeed, there is no hiding yourselves from His presence. The pitiful fig leaves of your own righteousness will not cover your nakedness when God calls you to stand before Him. Adam found them ineffectual, and so will you. Oh, think of death! Oh, think of judgment! In just a little while, time will be no more. Then what will become of you, if the Lord is not your righteousness? Do you think that Christ will spare you? No, He who formed you will have no mercy on you. If you are not of Christ, if Christ is not your righteousness, Christ Himself will pronounce you damned. And can you bear to think of being damned by Christ? Can you bear to hear the Lord Jesus say to you, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41)? Can you live, do you think, in everlasting burnings? Is your flesh brass, and your bones iron? What if they are? Hellfire, that fire prepared for the devil and his angels, will heat them through and through. And can you bear to depart from Christ? Oh, that heart-piercing thought! Ask those holy souls-who are at any time bewailing an absent God, who walk in darkness and see no light, though for only a few days or hours-ask them what it is like to lose the light and presence of Christ. See how they seek Him sorrowing, and go mourning after Him all the day long! And if it is so dreadful to lose the sensible presence of Christ only for a day, what must it be to be banished from Him for all eternity!”
- The World’s Greatest Preachers, compiled by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2003) p.80-81.
Pleading with young Prodigals:
“Come then, O young man who is playing the Prodigal (as I acted once myself) and wandering far away from your heavenly Father’s house. Come home, and leave your swine trough. Do not feed any longer on the husks of sensual delights. For the sake of Christ, arise and come home! Your heavenly Father now calls you. See yonder the best robe, even the righteousness of His dear Son, awaits you. See it, view it again and again. Consider at how dear a price it was purchased-even by the blood of God. Consider what great need you have. You are lost, undone, and damned forever without it. Come then, poor, guilty prodigals, come home.”
- The World’s Greatest Preachers, compiled by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2003) p.82.
Pleading with the Young Men and Women:
“But I must speak a word to you, young maidens, as well as young men. I see many of you adorned as to your bodies, but are your souls naked? Which of you can say, “The Lord is my righteousness”? Which of you ever desired to be dressed in this robe of invaluable price, without which you are no better than whited sepulchers in the sight of God? (See Matthew 23:27.) Young maidens do not forget any longer your chief and only ornament. Oh, seek for the Lord to be your righteousness, or otherwise burning will soon be upon you instead of beauty!”
- The World’s Greatest Preachers, compiled by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2003) p.83.
Pleading with the middle aged:
“And what will I say to those of you of middle age, you busy merchants, you cumbered Martha’s, who, with all your gains, have not yet gotten the Lord to be your righteousness? Alas, what profit will there be of all your labor under the sun if you do not secure this pearl of invaluable price? (See Matthew 13:46.) This one thing, so absolutely needful that it alone can stand in your place when all other things are taken from you. Therefore, do not anxiously labor any longer for the meat that perishes, but from now on seek the Lord to be your righteousness, a righteousness that will entitle you to life everlasting.”
- The World’s Greatest Preachers, compiled by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2003) p.83.
Pleading with the Elderly:
“I see also many hoary heads here, and perhaps the most of them cannot say, “The Lord is my righteousness.” O gray-headed sinner, I could weep over you! Your gray hairs, which ought to be your crown, and in which perhaps you glory, are now your shame. You do not know that the Lord is your righteousness. Oh, haste then, haste, aged sinners, and seek redeeming love! Alas, you have one foot already in the grave, your glass is just run out, your sun is just going down, and it will set and leave you in an eternal darkness unless the Lord is your righteousness! Flee then, oh flee for your lives! Do not be afraid. All things are possible with God. If you come, though it be at the eleventh hour, Christ Jesus will by no means cast you out. Seek then for the Lord to be your righteousness, and beseech Him to let you know how it is that a man may be born again when he is old!”
- The World’s Greatest Preachers, compiled by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 2003) pp.83-84.
“You are burning with the devil in your hearts; you are burning with foppery, with nonsense, with “the lust of the flesh,” with “the lust of the eye, and the pride of life”; and if you do not get out of this state as Lot said to his sons-in-law, e’r long you shall be burning in hell, and not consumed: the same angel of the covenant who spake to Moses out of the bush, he shall e’er long descend, surrounded with millions of heavenly hosts, and sentence you to everlasting burnings.
O you frighten me! Did you think I did not intend to frighten you? Would to God I might frighten you enough! I believe it will be no harm for you to be frightened out of hell, to be frightened out of an unconverted state: O go and tell your companions that the madman said, that wicked men are the firebrands of hell: God pluck you as brands out of that burning. Blessed be God, that there is yet a day of grace: Oh! That this might prove “the accepted time”; oh! That this might prove “the day of salvation.”
- 20 Centuries of Great Preaching; Volume 3 (Waco, TX: Word Books Publishing, 1974) p. 136.
“You must be converted, or be damned, and that is plain English, but not plainer than my Master made us of, “He that believeth not, shall be damned.” I did not speak that word strong enough that says, “He that believeth not shall be damned”; that is the language of our Lord; and it is said of one of the primitive preachers, that used to speak the word damned so that it struck all his auditory. We are afraid of speaking the word damned for fear of offending such and such a one; at the same time they despise the minister for not being honest to his master.”
- 20 Centuries of Great Preaching; Volume 3 (Waco, TX: Word Books Publishing, 1974) p. 143.
“If you are damned for want of conversion, remember you are not damned for want of warning. Thousands that have not the gospel preached to them, may say, Lord, we never heard what conversion is; but you are gospel-proof; and if there is any deeper place in hell than another, God will order a gospel despising Methodist to be put there. You will have dreadful torments; to whom so much is given, much will be required. How dreadful to have minister after minister, preacher after preacher, say, “Lord God, I preached, but they would not hear.” Think of this, professors, and God make you possessors!”
- 20 Centuries of Great Preaching; Volume 3 (Waco, TX: Word Books Publishing, 1974) p. 145.
“O I could preach myself dead; I could be glad to preach myself dead, if God would convert you!”
- 20 Centuries of Great Preaching; Volume 3 (Waco, TX: Word Books Publishing, 1974) p. 146.
“Stop, stop, O sinner! Turn ye, turn ye, O ye unconverted men, for the end of that way you are now walking in, however right it may seem in your blinded eyes, will be death, even eternal destruction both of body and soul. Make no longer tarrying, I say: at your peril I charge you, step not one step further on in your present walk. For how knowest thou, O man, but the next step thou takest may be into hell. Death may seize thee, judgment find thee, and then the great gulf will be fixed between thee and endless glory for ever and ever. O think of these things, all ye that are unwilling to walk with God. Lay them to heart. Shew yourselves men, and in the strength of Jesus say, Farewell, lust of the flesh, I will no more walk with thee! Farewell, lust of the eye, and pride of life! Farewell, carnal acquaintance and enemies of the cross, I will no more walk and be intimate with you! Welcome Jesus, welcome thy word, welcome thy ordinances, welcome thy Spirit, welcome thy people, I will henceforth walk with you.”
- 20 Centuries of Great Preaching; Volume 3 (Waco, TX: Word Books Publishing, 1974) p. 158.
“You, therefore, who have been swearers and cursers, you, who have been harlots and drunkards, you, who have been thieves and robbers, you, who have hitherto followed the sinful pleasures and diversions of life, let me beseech you, by the mercies of God in Christ Jesus, that you would no longer continue therein, but that you would forsake your evil ways, and turn unto the Lord, for he waiteth to be gracious unto you, he is ready, he is willing to pardon you of all your sins; but do not expect Christ to pardon you of sin, when you run into it, and will not abstain from complying with the temptations; but if you will be persuaded to abstain from evil and choose the good, to return unto the Lord, and repent of your wickedness, he hath promised he will abundantly pardon you, he will heal your back-slidings, and will love you freely. Resolve now this day to have done with your sins for ever; let your old ways and you be separated; you must resolve against it, for there can be no true repentance without a resolution to forsake it.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: A Penitent Heart, the Best New Year’s Gift.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xxxiv.html#xxxiv-p0.2
“I would speak, till I could speak no more, so I could but bring you to Christ.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: A Penitent Heart, the Best New Year’s Gift.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xxxiv.html#xxxiv-p0.2
“But, poor souls! many of you, perhaps, are not hungry. You do not feel yourselves halt, or maimed, or blind, and therefore you have no relish for this spiritual entertainment. Well, be not angry with me for calling you; be not offended if I weep over you, because you know not the day of your visitation. If I must appear in judgment as a swift witness against you, I must. But that thought chills my blood! I cannot bear it; I feel that I could lay down my life for you. But I am not willing to go without you. What say you, my dear friends? I would put the question to you once more, Will you taste of Christ's supper, or will you not? You shall all be welcome. There is milk at this feast for babes, as well as meat for strong men, and for persons of riper years. There is room and provision for high and low, rich and poor, one with another; and our Savior will thank you for coming. Amazing condescension! Astonishing love! The thought of it quite overcomes me. Help me, help me, O believers, to bless and praise him.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: The Gospel Supper.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xxxv.html#xxxv-p0.2
“O sinners, did you but know how highly God intends to exalt those who humble themselves, and believe in Jesus, surely you would humble yourselves, at least beg of God to humble you; for it is he that must strike the rock of your hearts, and cause floods of contrite tears to flow therefrom. O that God would give this sermon such a commission, as he once gave to the rod of Moses! I would strike you through and through with the rod of his word, until each of you was brought to cry out with the poor Publican, “God be merciful to me a sinner.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: The Pharisee and Publican.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xxxvi.html#xxxvi-p0.2
“Would weeping, would tears prevail on you, I could wish my head were waters, and my eyes fountains of tears, that I might weep out every argument, and melt you into love. Would any thing I could do or suffer, influence your hearts, I think I could bear to pluck out my eyes, or even to lay down my life for your sakes.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: The Marriage Of Cana. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xxxviii.html#xxxviii-p0.2
“I am willing to go to prison or death for you; but I am not willing to go to heaven without you. The love of Jesus Christ constrains me to lift up my voice like a trumpet. My heart is not fill; out of the abundance of the love which I have for your precious and immortal souls, my mouth now speaketh; and I could now not only continue my discourse until midnight, but I could speak until I could speak no more.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: The Indwelling of the Spirit, the Common Privilege of All Believer http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xl.html#xl-p0.2
“You will at death wish you had lived the life of the righteous, that you might have died his death. Be advised then; consider what is before you, Christ and the world, holiness and sin, life and death: choose now for yourselves; let your choice be made immediately, and let that choice be your dying choice.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: A Penitent Heart, the Best New Year’s Gift.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xxxiv.html#xxxiv-p0.2
“I will not let you go: I have wrestled with God for my hearers in private, and I must wrestle with you here in public.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: The Holy Spirit Convincing the World of Sin, Righteousness, and Judgment
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xlii.html#xlii-p0.2
“Poor Christless souls! Do you know what a condition you are in? Why, you are lying in the wicked one, the devil; he rules in you, he walks and dwells in you, unless you dwell in Christ, and the Comforter is come into your hearts. And will you contentedly lie in that wicked one that devil? What wages will he give you? Eternal death. O that you would come to Christ! The free gift of God through him is eternal life. He will accept of you even now, if you will believe in him.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: The Holy Spirit Convincing the World of Sin, Righteousness, and Judgment
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xlii.html#xlii-p0.2
“Come then, do not send me sorrowful away: do not let me have reason to cry out, O my leanness, my leanness! Do not let me go weeping into my closet, and say, “Lord, they will not believe my report; Lord, I have called them, and they will not answer; I am unto them as a very pleasant song, and as one that plays upon a pleasant instrument; but their hearts are running after the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.” Would you be willing that I should give such an account of you, or make such a prayer before God? And yet I must not only do so here, but appear in judgment against you hereafter, unless you will come to Christ. Once more therefore I entreat you to come.”
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- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: The Holy Spirit Convincing the World of Sin, Righteousness, and Judgment
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xlii.html#xlii-p0.2
“How know you whether Jesus will call for you any more, before he calls you by death to judgment? Linger, O linger no longer. Fly, fly for your lives. Arise quickly, and…come to Jesus.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: The Resurrection of Lazarus http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xli.html#xli-p0.2
“Come, ye dead, Christless, unconverted sinners, come and see the place where they laid the body of the deceased Lazarus; behold him laid out, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes, locked up and stinking in a dark cave, with a great stone placed on the top of it! View him again and again; go nearer to him; be not afraid; smell him, ah! How he stinketh. Stop there now, pause a while; and whilst thou art gazing upon the corpse of Lazarus, give me leave to tell thee with great plainness, but greater love, that this dead, bound, entombed, stinking carcass, is but a faint representation of thy poor soul in its natural state: for, whether thou believest it or not, thy spirit which thou bearest about with thee, sepulchered in flesh and blood, is as literally dead to God, and as truly dead in trespasses and sins, as the body of Lazarus was in the cave. Was he bound hand and foot with grave-clothes? So art thou bound hand and foot with thy corruptions: and as a stone was laid on the sepulcher, so is there a stone of unbelief upon thy stupid heart. Perhaps thou hast lain in this state,, not only four days, but many years, stinking in God's nostrils. And; what is still more affecting, thou art as unable to raise thyself out of this loathsome, dead state, to a life of righteousness and true holiness, as ever Lazarus was to raise himself from the cave in which he lay so long. Thou mayest try the power of thy own boasted free-will, and the force and energy of moral persuasion and rational arguments (which, without all doubt, have their proper place in religion); but all thy efforts, exerted with never so much vigor, will prove quite fruitless and abortive, till that same Jesus, who said, “Take away the stone,” and cried, “Lazarus, come forth,” comes by his mighty power, removes the stone of unbelief, speaks life to thy dead soul, looses thee from the fetters of they sins and corruptions, and by the influences of his blessed Spirit, enables thee to arise, and to walk in the way of his holy commandments. And O that he would now rend the heavens, and come down amongst you! O that there may be a stirring among the dry bones this day! O that whilst I am speaking, and saying, “Dead sinners, come forth,” a power, an almighty power might accompany the word, and cause you to emerge into new life!”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: The Resurrection of Lazarus http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xli.html#xli-p0.2
“If the Lord should vouchsafe me such a mercy, and but one single soul in this great congregation, should arise and shake himself from the dust of his natural state; according to the present frame of my heart, I should not care if preaching this sermon here in the fields, was an occasion of hastening my death, as raising Lazarus hastened the death of my blessed Master. For methinks death, in some respects, is more tolerable, than to see poor sinners day by day lying sepulchered, dead and stinking in sin. O that you saw how loathsome you are in the sight of God, whilst you continue in your natural state! I believe you would not so contentedly hug your chains, and refuse to be set at liberty.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: The Resurrection of Lazarus http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xli.html#xli-p0.2
“O how could I weep over you, as our Lord wept over Jerusalem? For, alas! how distant must you be from God? What a prodigious work have you to finish, who, instead of praying day and night, seldom or never pray at all? And, instead of being born again of God, so as not to commit sin, are so deeply sunk into the nature of devils, as to make a mock at it? Or, instead of overcoming the world, so as not to follow or be led by it, are continually making provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof. And, instead of being endued with the god-like disposition of loving all men, even your enemies, have your hearts full of hatred, malice, and revenge, and deride those who are the sincere followers of the lowly Jesus. But think you, O sinners, that God will admit such polluted wretches into his sight? Or should he admit you, do you imagine you could take any pleasure in him? No; heaven itself would be no heaven to you; the devilish dispositions which are in your hearts, would render all the spiritual enjoyments of those blessed mansions, ineffectual to make you happy. To qualify you to be blissful partakers of that heavenly inheritance with the saints in light, there is a meetness required: to attain which, ought to be the chief business of your lives.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: Marks of Having Received the Holy Ghost http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xliv.html
“Where are the scoffers of these last days, who count the lives of Christians to be madness, and their end to be without honor? Unhappy men! you know not what you do. Were your eyes open, and had you senses to discern spiritual things, you would not speak all manner of evil against the children of God, but you would esteem them as the excellent ones of the earth, and envy their happiness: your souls would hunger and thirst after it: you also would become fools for Christ's sake. You boast of wisdom; so did the philosophers of Corinth: but your wisdom is the foolishness of folly in the sight of God. What will your wisdom avail you, if it does not make you wise unto salvation? Can you, with all your wisdom, propose a more consistent scheme to build you hopes of salvation on, than what has been now laid before you? Can you, with all the strength of natural reason, find out a better way of acceptance with God, than by the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ? Is it right to think your own works can in any measure deserve or procure it? If not, why will you not believe in him? Why will you not submit to his righteousness? Can you deny that you are fallen creatures? Do not you find that you are full of disorders, and that these disorders make you unhappy? Do not you find that you cannot change your own hearts? Have you not resolved many and many a time, and have not your corruptions yet dominion over you? Are you not bondslaves to your lusts, and led captive by the devil at his will? Why then will you not come to Christ for sanctification? Do you not desire to die the death of the righteous, and that your future state may be like theirs; I am persuaded you cannot bear the thoughts of being annihilated, much less of being miserable for ever. Whatever you may pretend, if you speak truth, you must confess, that conscience breaks in upon you in more sober intervals whether you will or not, and even constrains you to believe that hell is no painted fire. And why then will you not come to Christ? He alone can procure you everlasting redemption. Haste, haste away to him, poor beguiled sinners. You lack wisdom; ask it of Christ. Who knows but he may give it you? He is able: for he is the wisdom of the Father; he is that wisdom which was from everlasting. You have no righteousness; away, therefore, to Christ: 'He is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.' You are unholy: flee to the Lord Jesus: He is full of grace and truth; ;and of his fullness all may receive that believe in him. You are afraid to die; let this drive you to Christ: he has the keys of death and hell: in him is plenteous redemption; he alone can open the door which leads to everlasting life.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: Christ, the Believer's Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification and Redemption http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xlvi.html
“Whatever you may think, it is the most unreasonable thing in the world not to believe on Jesus Christ, whom God has sent. Why, why will you die? Why will you not come unto him, that you may have life? 'Ho! every one that thirsteth, come unto the waters of life, and drink freely: come, buy without money and without price.' Were these blessed privileges in the text to be purchased with money, you might say, we are poor, and cannot buy: or, were they to be conferred only on sinners of such a rank or degree, then you might say, how can such sinners as we, expect to be so highly favored? But they are to be freely given of God to the worst of sinners. 'To us', says the apostle, to me a persecutor, to you Corinthians, who were 'unclean, drunkards, covetous persons, idolaters.' Therefore, each poor sinner may say then, why not unto me?”
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- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: Christ, the Believer's Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification and Redemption http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xlvi.html
“And as for you who … proclaim your sin like Sodom, and willfully and daringly live a without God in the world; I ask you, how can you think to escape, if you persist in neglecting such a great salvation. Verily, I should utterly despair of your ever attaining the blessed privilege of being temples of the living God, did I not hear of thousands, who through the grace of God have been translated from a like state of darkness into his marvelous light. Such, says the apostle Paul, writing to these very Corinthians who were now God's living temples, (drunkards, whoremongers, adulterers, and such like) “such were some of you. But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” O that the same blessed Spirit may this day vouchsafe to come and pluck you also as brands out of the burning! Behold, I warn you to flee from the wrath to come. Go home, and meditate on these things; and think whether it is not infinitely better, even here, to be temples of the living God, than to be bondslaves to every brutish lust, and to be led captive by the devil at his will. The Lord Jesus can, and if you fly to him for refuge, he will set your souls at liberty. He hath led captivity captive, he hath ascended up on high, on purpose to receive this gift of the blessed Spirit of God for men, “even for the rebellious,” that he might dwell in your hearts by faith here, and thereby prepare you to dwell with Him and all the heavenly host in his kingdom hereafter.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: Christians, Temples of the Living God http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.lii.html#lii-p0.2
“You had ten thousand times better be ignorant of all the polite diversions of the age, than to be ignorant of the spirit of Christ's being within you, and that it must be, before you are new creatures, and are in Christ; and if you have not an interest in Christ, you are lost, your damnation is hastening on. “He that believeth shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned.”
If you stand out against Christ, you are fighting against yourselves. O come unto him, do not stay to bring good works with you, for they will be of no service; all your works will never carry you to heaven, they will never pardon one sin, nor give you the least comfort in a dying hour; if you have nothing more than your own works to recommend you to God, they will not prevent your sinking in that eternal abyss, where there is no bottom.
But come unto Christ, and he will give you that righteousness which will stand you in good account at the great day of the Lord, when he shall come to take notice of them that love him, and of those who have the wedding garment on.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: Christ the Only Preservative Against a Reprobate Spirit http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.liii.html#liii-p0.2
“Therefore, my brethren, I beseech you, in the bowels of love and compassion, that you would come unto Jesus: Do not go away scoffing, offended, or blaspheming. Indeed, all I say is in love to your souls; and if I could be but an instrument of bringing you to Jesus Christ, if you were to be never so much exalted, I should not envy, but rejoice in your happiness: If I was to make up the last of the train of the companions of the blessed Jesus, it would rejoice me to see you above me in glory. I do not speak out of a false humility, a pretended sanctity; no, God is my judge, I speak the truth in Christ, I lie not, I would willingly go to prison, or to death for you, so I could but bring one soul from the devil's strong holds, into the salvation which is by Christ Jesus.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: Christ the Only Preservative Against a Reprobate Spirit http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.liii.html#liii-p0.2
“I offer Jesus Christ, pardon, and salvation to all you, who will accept thereof. Come, O ye drunkards, lay aside your cups, drink no more to excess; come and drink of the water which Christ will give you, and then you will thirst no more: come, O ye thieves; let him that has stolen, steal no more, but fly unto Christ and he will receive you. Come unto him, O ye harlots; lay aside your lusts and turn unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon you, he will cleanse you of all your sins, and wash you in his blood. Come, all ye liars; come, all ye Pharisees; come, all ye fornicators, adulterers, swearers, and blasphemers, come to Christ, and he will take away all your filth, he will cleanse you from your pollution, and your sins shall be done away. Come, come, my guilty brethren; I beseech you for Christ's sake, and for your immortal soul's sake, to come unto Christ: Do not let me knock at the door of your hearts in vain, but open and let the King of Glory in, and he will dwell with you, he will come and sup with you this night; this hour, this moment he is ready to receive you, therefore come unto him.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: Christ the Only Preservative Against a Reprobate Spirit http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.liii.html#liii-p0.2
“Do not consult with flesh and blood, let not the world hinder you from coming to the Lord of life: What are a few transitory pleasures of this life worth? They are not worth your having, but Jesus Christ is a pearl of great price, he is worth the laying out all you have, to buy.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: Christ the Only Preservative Against a Reprobate Spirit http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.liii.html#liii-p0.2
“Methinks I could speak till midnight unto you, my brethren; I am full of love towards you; let me beseech you to fly to Christ for succor: “Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation;” therefore delay not, but strive to enter in at the strait gate; do not go the broad way of the polite world, but choose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season: You will have a reward afterwards, that will make amends for all the taunts, jeers, and calamities you may undergo here.
And will not the presence of Christ be a sufficient reward for all you have suffered for his name's sake? Why will you not accept of the Lord of glory? Do not say you have not heard of Christ, for he is now offered to you, and you will not accept of him; do not blame my master, he is willing to save you, if you will but lay hold on him by faith; and if you do not, your blood will be required of your own heads.
But I hope that you will not let the blood of Jesus be shed in vain, and that you will not let my preaching be of no signification. Would you have me go and tell my master, you will not come, and that I have spent my strength in vain; I cannot bear to carry so unpleasing a message unto him, I would not, indeed, I would not be a swift witness against any of you at the great day of accounts; but if you will refuse these gracious invitations, and not accept of them, I must do it: and will it not move your tender hearts to see your friends taken up into heaven, and you yourselves thrust down into hell? But I hope better things of most of you, even that you will turn unto the Lord of love, the Jesus who died for you, that in the day when he shall come to take his people to the mansions of everlasting rest, you may hear his voice, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, enter into the kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the world.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: Christ the Only Preservative Against a Reprobate Spirit http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.liii.html#liii-p0.2
“Give me leave to ask you, in the presence of God, whether you know the time, and if you do not know exactly the time, do you know there was a time, when God wrote bitter things against you, when the arrows of the Almighty were within you? Was ever the remembrance of your sins grievous to you? Was the burden of your sins intolerable to your thoughts? Did you ever see that God's wrath might justly fall upon you, on account of your actual transgressions against God? Were you ever in all your life sorry for your sins? Could you ever say, My sins are gone over my head as a burden too heavy for me to bear? Did you ever experience any such thing as this? Did ever any such thing as this pass between God and your soul? If not, for Jesus Christ's sake, do not call yourselves Christians; you may speak peace to your hearts, but there is no peace. May the Lord awaken you, may the Lord convert you, may the Lord give you peace”.
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon The Method of Grace http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.lx.html#lx-p0.2
“My business this morning, the first day of the week, is to tell you that Christ is willing to be reconciled to you. Will any of you be reconciled to Jesus Christ? Then, he will forgive you all your sins, he will blot out all your transgressions. But if you will go on and rebel against Christ, and stab him daily — if you will go on and abuse Jesus Christ, the wrath of God you must expect will fall upon you. God will not be mocked; that which a man soweth, that shall he also reap. And if you will not be at peace with God, God will not be at peace with you. Who can stand before God when he is angry? It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon The Method of Grace http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.lx.html#lx-p0.2
“Show them, O Father, wherein they have offended thee; make them to see their own vileness, and that they are lost and undone without true repentance; and O give them that repentance, we beseech of thee, that they may turn from sin unto thee the living and true God. These things, and whatever else thou seest needful for us, we entreat that thou wouldst bestow upon us, on account of what the dear Jesus Christ has done and suffered; to whom, with Thyself, and holy Spirit, three persons, and one God, be ascribed, as is most due, all power, glory, might, majesty, and dominion, now, henceforth, and for evermore. Amen.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: A Penitent Heart, the Best New Year’s Gift.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xxxiv.html#xxxiv-p0.2
“Whatsoever opportunity you have, do it vigorously, do it speedily, do not defer it. If thou seest one hurrying on to destruction, use the utmost of thy endeavor to stop him in his course; show him the need he has of repentance, and that without it he is lost for ever; do not regard his despising of you; still go on to show him his danger: and if thy friends mock and despise, do not let that discourage you; hold on, hold out to the end, so you shall have a crown which is immutable, and that fadeth not away.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: A Penitent Heart, the Best New Year’s Gift.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xxxiv.html#xxxiv-p0.2
“Tell me, ye that have been made to taste that the Lord is gracious, will you not recommend this feast to all? Are you not; whilst I am speaking, ready to cry out, Come all ye that are without, come ye, obey the call, for we have sat under the Redeemer's shadow with great delight, and his fruit has been pleasant to our taste. Whilst I am speaking, does not the fire kindle, do not your hearts burn with a desire that others may come and be blessed too? If you are Christians indeed, I know you will be thus minded, and the language of your hearts will be, Lord, whilst he is calling, let thy Spirit compel them to come in.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: The Gospel Supper.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xxxv.html#xxxv-p0.2
“We should, my dear brethren, use all means and opportunities for the salvation of our own souls, and of the souls of others. We may have a great deal of charity and concern for the bodies of our fellow-creatures, when we have no thought, or concern, for their immortal souls: But O how sad is it, to have thought for a mortal, but not for the immortal part; to have charity for the body of our fellow-creatures, while we have no concern for their immortal souls; it may be, we help them to ruin them, but have no concern in the saving of them.
You may love to spend a merry evening, to go to a play, or a horse- race, with them; but on the other hand, you cannot bear the thoughts of going to a sermon, or a religious society, with them; no, you would sing the songs of the drunkard, but you will not sing hymns, with them; this is not polite enough, this is unbecoming a gentleman of taste, unfashionable, and only practiced among a parcel of enthusiasts and madmen.
Thus, you will be so uncharitable as to join hand in hand with those who are hastening to their own damnation, while you will not be so charitable as to assist them in being brought from darkness t light, and from the power of Satan unto God. But this, this, my dear brethren, is the greatest charity, as can be, to save a soul from death:this is of far greater advantage, than relieving the body of a fellow-creature: for the most miserable object as could be, death would deliver it from all. But death, to those who are not born again, would be so far from being a release from all misery, that it would be an inlet to all torment, and that to all eternity. Therefore, we should assist, as much as possible, to keep a soul from falling into the hands of Satan: for he is the grand enemy of souls. How should this excite you to watch over your own and others souls? For unless you are earnest with God, Satan will be too hard for you. Surely, it is the greatest charity to watch over one another's words and actions, that we may forewarn each other when danger is nigh, or when the enemy of souls approaches.”
- Whitefield’s Sermons (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library). Sermon: The Great Duty of Charity Recommended
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/whitefield/sermons.xlix.html#xlix-p0.2