Continuation of Journal from Savannah to Arrival at Rhode Island, Journal · Entry 14
NEW-ENGLAND.
Newport in Rhode-Iſland.
Sunday, Sept. 14. Was ſick Part of the Paſſage, but found afterwards the Sea-Air, under God, much improv'd my Health, arrived at Newport in Rhode Iſland, juſt after the Beginning of Evening Service; we came purpoſely thither firſt with our Sloop: I think it the moſt pleaſant Entrance I ever yet ſaw, almoſt all the Morning the Wind was contrary; but I found a very ſtrong Inclination to pray, that we might arrive time enough to be preſent at publick Worſhip. Once I called the People, but ſomething prevented their coming, at laſt finding my Impreſſion increaſe upon me, I deſired their Attendance immediately: They came with a ſtrong Aſſurance we ſhould be heard. We pray'd the Lord, that he might turn the Wind that we might give him Thanks in the great Congregation, and alſo that he would ſend ſuch to us as he would have us to converſe with, and who might ſhew us a Lodging.—Tho' the Wind was a Head, when we begun, yet when we had done praying and came up out of the Cabbin it was quite fair; with a gentle Gale we ſailed moſt pleaſantly into the Harbour, got into publick Worſhip before they had finiſhed the Pſalms, and ſat as I thought undiſcovered.—After Service was over, a Gentleman aſked me whither my Name was not Whitefield, I told him yes; he then deſired me to go to his Houſe, and he would take Care to provide Lodgings and Neceſſaries for me, and my Friends. I went, ſilently admiring God's Goodneſs in anſwering my Prayers, ſo minutely. Several Gentlemen of the Town ſoon came to pay their Reſpects to me, among whom, was one Mr. Clap, an aged diſſenting Miniſter, but the moſt venerable Man I ever ſaw in my Life, he looked like a good old Puritan, and gave me an Idea of what Stamp thoſe Men were who firſt ſettled New-England. His Countenance was very heavenly,—he rejoiced much in Spirit at the Sight of me, and prayed moſt affectionately for a Bleſſing on my coming to Rhode-Iſland. In the Evening with him, and ſome more Friends, I waited on Mr. Honeyman, the Miniſter of the Church of England, and deſired the Uſe of his Pulpit, at firſt he ſeemed a little unwilling, being deſirous to know what extraordinary Call I had to preach on Week-Days, which he ſaid was diſorderly; I anſwered, St. Paul exhorted Timothy to be inſtant in Seaſon, and out of Seaſon; that if the Orders of the Church were rightly complied with, our Miniſters ſhould read publick Prayers twice every Day, and then it would not be diſorderly, at ſuch Times, to give the People a Sermon: As to an extraordinary Call, I told him I claimed none but that Injunction of the Apoſtle; As we have Opportunity, let us do Good unto all Men. He ſtill held out, and did not give any poſitive Anſwer, but at laſt, after he had withdrawn, and conſulted with the Gentlemen, he ſaid if my preaching would promote the Glory of God, and the good of Souls, I was welcome to his Church as often as I would, during my Stay in Town; we then agreed to make uſe of it, at Ten in the Morning, and Three in the Afternoon. After this I went and waited on the Governour, who ſeemed to be a very plain Man, and had a very plain Houſe, which much pleaſed me: By Profeſſion, I think he is a ſeventh Day Baptiſt; he is a Man of good Report as to his Conduct and dealing with the World. After a ſhort Viſit, I returned to take my Leave of Mr. Honeyman, and to fetch my Friends who were at his Houſe, waiting for me. We then went to the Houſe of Mr. Bowers, who firſt ſpake to me, when coming out of Church; the Houſe was ſoon filled with Company: I expounded and prayed with them for about an Hour, and then retired to a Lodging, the Lord in his good Providence had provided for me; the bleſſed Jeſus was pleaſed ſweetly to manifeſt himſelf to my Soul: A Conſideration of his diſtinguiſhing repeated Mercies quite melted me down, and I called upon all that was within me to praiſe his holy Name. O Lord, in the Night Seaſon, let me ariſe and give Thanks unto thee, and let my Talking be of thy Loving-kindneſs and tender Mercies all the Day long.
Monday, Sept. 15. Breakfaſted this Morning with old Mr. Clap, and was much edified by his Converſation: I could not but think, whilſt at his Table, that I was ſitting with one of the Patriarchs. He is full of Days, a Batchelor, and has been a Miniſter of a Congregation in Rhode-Iſland upwards of Forty Years. People of all Denominations I find reſpect him, he abounds in good Works, gives all away, and is wonderfully tender of little Children. Many of them of different Perſuaſions come to be inſtructed by him. Whenever he dies, I am perſuaded with good old Simeon, he will be enabled to ſay, Lord, now letteſt thou thy Servant depart in Peace. At ten in the Morning, and three in the Afternoon, according to Appointment, I read Prayers, and preach'd in the Church: Tis very commodious, and I believe will contain 3000 People; it was more then filled in the Afternoon; Perſons of all Denominations attended; God aſſiſted me much; I obſerved Numbers affected, and had great Reaſon to believe the Word of the Lord had been ſharper then a two-edged Sword in ſome of the Hearers Souls: After Evening-Service, I received the following Letter,
Newport, Rhode-Iſland, Sept. 15. 1740. Reverend Sir and beloved Brother,
ALtho' mine Eyes never ſaw your Face before this Day, yet my Heart and Soul have been united to you in Love by the Bond of the Spirit. I have longed, and expected to ſee you for many Months paſt: Bleſſed be God, mine Eyes have ſeen the joyful Day. I truſt thro' Grace, I have ſome Things to communicate to you, that will make your Heart glad: I ſhall omit writing any thing, and only hereby preſent my hearty Love, and let you know that I am waiting now at the Poſt of your Door for Admiſſion; tho' I am unworthy, my Lord is Worthy, in whoſe Name I truſt I come. I am your unworthy Brother,
Jonathan Barber.
On Reading it, I could not but think, this was one of thoſe young Miniſters whom God had lately made uſe of in ſuch a remarkable Manner at the Eaſt-End of Long-Iſland. I ſent for him, and found he was the Man. My Heart rejoiced. We walked out, and took ſweet Counſel together, and amongſt other Things, he told me that he came to Rhode-Iſland under a full Conviction, that he ſhould ſee me there, and had been waiting for me eight Days; for he ſaid theſe Words were mightily impreſſed upon his Heart, Is not Aaron the Levite thy Brother? I know that he can ſpeak well; and alſo behold he cometh forth to meet thee, and when he ſeeth thee, he will be glad in his Heart; and I will be with thy Mouth, and with his Mouth, and will teach you what ye ſhall do. What render'd this more remarkable was, I had no intention of ſailing into Rhode-Iſland 'till about three Days before I left Carolina; and alſo, I had a great Deſire to put in, if I could, at the Eaſt-End of Long-Iſland, to ſee this very Perſon, whom the great God now brought unto me. Lord accept our Thanks, ſanctify our Meeting, and teach us both what we ſhall do for thy own Name Sake.
After a long Conference, we took leave of each other for the Preſent, but agreed that we ſhould now be Companions in Travel, 'till the Lord ſhou'd make our Way more plain. In the Evening I went to venerable Mr. Clap's and exhorted, and prayed with a great Multitude who not only crowded into the Houſe but thronged every Way about it; the dear old Man rejoiced to ſee thoſe Things which he ſaw; and after my Exhortation was over, diſmiſſed me with his Bleſſing. Lord Jeſus, do thou ſay Amen to it, even ſo Lord Jeſus. Amen and Amen.
Tueſday, Sept. 16. Perceived my ſelf a little low in the Morning, but was enabled to read Prayers, and preach with much Flame, Clearneſs and Power, to ſtill greater Auditories than Yeſterday; it being Aſſembly Time, the Gentlemen adjourned, in order to attend the Service; and ſeveral Invitations were given me to come to other adjacent Places. The People were exceedingly attentive, Tears trickled down their Cheeks and ſo far prevailed with me by their Importunity, that by the divine Permiſſion, I promiſed to call on them in my Return from Boſton. When I came home to my Lodgings, the Woman of the Houſe ſaluted me with Bleſſed art thou of the Lord. I looked round to ſee the Reaſon of ſuch a Salutation, and on the Couch there lay a young Woman; after a little Converſation, I found ſhe had had a gracious Diſcovery of the Lord Jeſus made to her Soul when I was ſpeaking theſe Words, Come ſee a Man that told me all Things that ever I did. She ſaid, ſhe had often grieved the Spirit of God, but now ſhe believed the Lord was calling her home effectually. The Word, added ſhe, came with ſuch Power, that I was obliged to go out of the Church, otherwiſe I muſt have diſturbed the Congregation. When I came from Home contrary to my Mother's Inclinations, I inſiſted, I knew not why, on ſtaying at Newport ſix Weeks. She would have me ſtay only a Month, but at laſt conſented for me to ſtay my own Time. To-morrow, ſays ſhe, is the laſt Day of the ſix Weeks, and Oh the Goodneſs of God in ſending you juſt now, before my Time was out; or Words to that Effect. Afterwards one or two more came under deep Convictions, crying out, in the Bitterneſs of their Souls, after the Lord Jeſus.—I prayed with each of them, and exhorted 'em not to reſt till they found reſt in Jeſus Chriſt: In the Evening I went, as I thought privately to a Friends Houſe, but the People were ſo eager after the Word that in a ſhort Time I believe more then 1000 were before the Door beſides thoſe that were within, and filled every Room in the Houſe, I therefore ſtood upon the Threſhold and ſpoke for near an Hour on theſe Words, Bleſſed are they that hunger and thirſt after Righteouſneſs for they ſhall be filled. Bleſſed be God it was a very ſolemn Meeting. Being Night, I could not ſee how the Hearers were affected, but the Lord aſſiſted me in ſpeaking. Glory be to his great Name. Before I retired to Bed, I went, and took my Leave of Mr. Honeyman, & had ſome cloſe Talk with him about the New-Birth. The Lord give him an experimental Knowledge of it; he was very Civil, and would have had me ſtaid with him longer, but being to go on a Journey, on the Morrow, after we had converſed about half an Hour, I took my Leave. At my Return to my Lodgings, good old Mr. Clap went with me into a Room, and gave me ſomething for my Orphans, and ſpoke many affectionate Things to me. Altho' very old yet he followed me from one End of the Town to the other, ſo that People ſaid I had made Mr. Clap young again. Oh what a Crown of Glory is the hoary Head when found in the Way of Righteouſneſs. He was exceeding deſirous of my coming to Rhode-Iſland again, which I promiſed to do by the divine Permiſſion. For Rhode-Iſland ſeems to be a Place where much Good may be done. They are a very plain People for the Generality; tho' I obſerved there were ſome fooliſh Virgins at Church, covered over with the Pride of Life; I find they are ſadly divided amongſt themſelves, as to outward Things. I think there are no leſs than four different Congregations of Baptiſts; two of the Independants, and one of the Quakers Perſuaſion. Dean Berkly's Name is had in much Reſpect. Amongſt them, the establiſhed Church is in good Order as to Externals: But many of the Head Members, I found ſoon were exceeding great Bigots; they ſeemed very fearful leaſt I ſhould preach in Mr. Clap's Meeting-Houſe, and gloried much in my bringing the good old Man to Church: Nor is there leſs Bigotry, as far as I could find among thoſe of other Communions, all I fear Place the Kingdom of God too much in Meats and Drinks, and have an ill Name abroad for running of Goods. One Day when I ſaid in my Sermon, What will become of you, who cheat the King of his Taxes? The whole Congregation ſeemed ſurprized, and look'd on one another as tho' they ſhould ſay we are guilty. Lord Jeſus give them to know thee, and the Power of thy Reſurrection, and teach them to render to Caeſar the Things that are Caeſar's and to God the Things that are God's.