The Preeminence of Scripture in George Whitefield's Life

Whitefield’s spiritual devotion was established upon his immovable commitment to the Bible. Once he was converted, the Scripture immediately became his necessary food and fueled the fire in his soul for God. The more he immersed himself in the Bible, the deeper he grew in his dedication to know God and to advance His kingdom. The flame in his soul spread quickly, setting his newly regenerated life ablaze in a relatively short period of time. Within two years, the Word transformed him from a simple student at Oxford into a powerful pulpiteer.

Whitefield’s spiritual devotion was established upon his immovable commitment to the Bible

Biographer Arnold Dallimore described Whitefield’s early days as a believer, when the only visible light in town would be beaming from his second-story window as he ingested the truths of Holy Writ. Dallimore writes, “We can visualize him at five in the morning in his room over Harris’s bookstore. He is on his knees with his Bible, his Greek New Testament, and a volume of Matthew Henry spread before him.” With books open before his willing heart, Whitefield gazes back and forth from the English Bible to the Greek to Matthew Henry’s commentary, seeking to discern and digest Scripture’s divine truths.

Reflecting upon these early days in Christ, Whitefield recalled, “I began to read the Holy Scriptures upon my knees… . This proved meat indeed and drink indeed to my soul. I daily received fresh light and power from above.” As one who has gone without food devours meat, he described how the Scripture became his “soul’s delight.” Whitefield confessed how his daily devotion to the Scripture became like fire upon the altar of his soul, fueling his love for Christ.

After reading the text, young Whitefield prayed over “‘every line and every word’ in both the English and Greek, feasting his mind and his heart upon it till its essential meaning became a part of his very person.” Whitefield devoured the words and truths of Scripture like a feast spread before his hungry soul. Little did he realize at the time that God would use his newly kindled heart as a torch whose fire would engulf two continents. As the candle flame flickered in that second-story window, Whitefield was being prepared to be loosed upon the world with the good news of Jesus Christ. His private acquaintance with the Word is most clearly seen in the scriptural vocabulary of his preaching. He readily used biblical metaphors, drew biblical analogies, and illustrated biblical truths with other biblical passages. Cross-references in Scripture flowed freely from his lips as he prayed that the Holy Spirit would sear the truth upon souls in need of divine grace.

The Word of God became so all-consuming in Whitefield’s daily life that he confessed to having little time to read anything else: “I got more true knowledge from reading the Book of God in one month, than I could ever have acquired from all the writings of men.” He was deeply troubled by those who viewed the Scripture as an antiquated book of irrelevant writings. In a day when many evangelicals spent considerable time reading secular philosophy, rhetoric, and logic, Whitefield devoured the divine revelation. He grieved over the eclipse of Scripture in his generation, boldly asserting, “If we once get above our Bibles and cease making the written Word of God our sole rule both as to faith and practice, we shall soon lie open to all manner of delusion and be in great danger of making shipwreck of faith and a good conscience.” Whitefield resolved that nothing would displace the preeminence of Scripture in his life.

As Whitefield lived for Christ, the Word of God became the ruling authority over his life. It marked the trail upon which he constantly discovered beautiful vistas of redemption, sacrifice, love, and joy. The Scripture caused him to love God yet more. “Study to know Him more and more, for the more you know, the more you will love Him,” he said. Whitefield desired to become more like his Lord with every word he read, and he was forged and formed upon the anvil of Scripture. His great devotion to Scripture became God’s descending communion with him.

This excerpt is from Steven Lawson’s new title from Reformation Trust, The Evangelistic Zeal of George Whitefield.

George Whitefield in Three Sentences

J. I. Packer likes to say of himself “Packer by name, Packer by nature.” By this he means that he can pack a lot into one sentence. We all know this is true theologically, but it is less recognized in his biographical summaries. (See, for example, his punchy descriptions of Francis Schaeffer and Martyn Lloyd-Jones.)

Here is his summary of George Whitefield, whose 299th birthday is today:

The ‘Grand Itinerant’, as his contemporaries called him, was, more than anyone else, the trail-blazing pioneer and personal embodiment of the eighteenth-century revival of vital Christianity in the West, the revival that shaped English-speaking society on both sides of the Atlantic for over a hundred years and that fathered the evangelical missionary movement which for the past two centuries has been taking the gospel literally round the world. . . .

First to preach the transforming message of the new birth, first to take it into the open air and declare the world his parish, first to publish journals celebrating God’s work in and through him, and first to set up societies for the nurturing of those who came to faith under his ministry, Whitefield proclaimed Christ tirelessly throughout Britain and colonial America, drawing huge crowds, winning thousands of souls, impacting myriads more, and gaining celebrity status. . .

Wesley’s influence as a renewer of popular religion is sometimes credited with saving England from an upheaval like the French revolution; if there is substance in such reasoning, Whitefield should receive greater credit, for his ministry ranged wider and his pulpit power was greater.

(This quote is from Packer’s introduction to Henry Scougal’s The Life of God in the Soul of Man.)

Keep your eye out next year for Thomas Kidd’s biography of Whitefield, to be published by Yale University Press in time for the 300th anniversary of his birth. I expect it to be the definitive treatment of the man and his time.

Copyright © 2013 by the author listed above. Used by permission.

Notes from Lukmanova’s Lecture on George MacDonald – #1

Last month Olga Lukmanova from Russia did a talk at L’Abri called “George MacDonald – the fairy-tale canon and the art of myth-making”. Here is the first part of my notes on this talk (they are organized topically rather than sequentially, though they follow the approximate order of her talk).

Her Meeting with George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905)

In 1996, she first heard of MacDonald through C.S. Lewis’ “The Great Divorce”Olga was intrigued, basically what Lewis said about his perception of MacDonald was the way she viewed LewisA week later she went to her library and found that, low and behold, they had a shelf with George MacDonald books(Turns out they were simplified edition of his work)In her personal life she was depressed and burned out, seeking joy. She found new vigor in reading MacDonald’s worksHer love for George MacDonald’s work began

Her Passion for MacDonald

She read everything by him at the library, came to L’Abri and read moreThankfully everything by MacDonald is in public domain and available onlineShe talked to her friends about him, and they asked why she doesn’t translate them into RussianSo far, 5 of his major works are translated and she is working on his fairy talesEventually she began pursuing a degree doing studies on George MacDonald’s fairy tales and has been doing that for 1 year

Intro to George MacDonald – Early Life

(he sort of looks like he could be a Russian author)Born in Northern Scotland (his work presents stunning views of Scotland)Lost his mother at 8 years oldFamily was in the bleaching businessHe spent most of his childhood on a farm which is reflected in his writingsLewis noted how MacDonald’s life is very much characterized by a nearly perfect relationship with his father, which translated into his entire view of the world–the Fatherhood of God lays at the heart of itWhen he was 15 years old, his father remarried and his father’s new wife became like a mother, George had a lot of respect for her

School/Early Adult Life

George was interested in natural philosophy (ie. science) and wanted to go to Germany to study, but his father didn’t have the money for that so he fell back on theology/philosophyHe went to HighburyOne winter he had to go to a library up north to catalog a library. A house with a library appears through almost all his novels.Up north, he was introduced to the German romantics, especially Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (aka “Novalis”)One of MacDonald’s first publications was translating the work of Novalis, and he would continue to work on that the rest of his life

His Family And Personal Characteristics

MacDonald married Louisa Powell at the age of 27 and they had 11 kidsTheir family used to travel around England and stage the Pilgrim’s progress, acting it out.Lewis stated that his chief weakness was his Scottish love of finery, though he was poor, he loved good food and good clothes.He was incredibly generousHe maintained a friendly, magnetic  home that was the center of whatever community he was inOne of his best friends was Lewis Caroll, and his kids were the first to hear Alice in its original presentation in 1863

Post Graduation Life

After graduation, he began preaching in Sussex, and continued there for 3 yearsPart of the congregation loved his preaching, the deacons and others began questioning his orthodoxyHe preached a broad, welcoming, inclusive GodHe said that animals might go to heavenAround Christmas he published the spiritual songs of “Novalis”, the German realist, which smacked of German biblical criticismThey didn’t dismiss him but cut his salary (at which time he had one child), he said “we’ll live on less”They made more salary cuts, and then he left. He never again was a formal ministerGoing forward, he never had permanent employment again, but earned money through his books, itinerant preaching, and teaching science and literature lectures at a ladies college. He also had a pension and his friends helped him out.

A Life of Sorrow

TuberculosisBefore he reached 65,  he lost 4 of his 11 kids to tuberculosisHe also lost two brothers to tuberculosisHe also had weak lungs and tuberculosisHe went through sickness, disease, and povertyWhen he wrote about affliction being the “shadow of God’s wings”, he would know about afflictionHe lived to 81

to be continued…