Zij is getrouwd met SAMUEL (PA 1734) WEIR.
Zij zijn getrouwd.
Kind(eren):
ANCESTOR OF PRESIDENT ULYSSES S. GRANT
11 Mar 1750 in New Britain Twp, Bucks, Pennsylvania 1
Note: Archibald Finley arrived in Philadelphia, PA 28 Sep 1734. In 1736, he moved to Bucks To., PA. J.V. Thompson Journals, vol. 13, p. 222-223: Albert Finley France of Annapolis, Md writes May 15, 1925 large envelope 6th page saying the Penna Archives & records he received from Bucks Co, show that Archibald Finley & his family landed at Phila, Pa Sept 28, 1734 along with his brother Michael Finley & his family & with these other Ulster Scots viz: Archibald & Henry Kelso, John Barclay (father of Martha Barclay) William Walker, married John Finley) (note that6 he does not spell it Barkley) William Walker & his three sons Richard, Robert & John, the Weirs, Wallaces, Barnhills, Griers & Darrochs & settled in the upper part of Warrington, Warwick & New Britain Tps, Bucks Co, Pa. This Archibald Finley, Archibald Kelso, Thos Kelso & Henry Kelso contracted with Geo Fitzwater abt 1736 for 500 A of land in New Britain Tp along the N.W. side of the present upper state Road. Geo Fitzwater died testate & by mutual agreement among the four above parties 151 A 53 P was allotted to Archibald Finley off the end toward the county line & which recently was the property of Elias Sellers. Archibald Finley built a house on this land & died in it Mch 11, 1749-50 before a deed was made & on Dec 11, 1750 the Exrs of Geo Fitzwater made deed to his widow Margaret Finley & his two eldest sons John & Henry Finley as Exrs of Archibald Finley decd. His will is dated Mch 11, 1749-50 states that he is very sick directs his wife & two sons above named be Exrs & that his estate be divided among his wife & children, Simon Butler & Isaac James are apptd trustees. Witnesses to will are Robert Labor, Henry Kelso & James Finley son of Michael.
George Whitefield preached at Neshaminy Presbyterian Church in 1739 to over 3,000.
George Whitefield preached at Neshaminy Presbyterian Church in 1739 to over 3,000.
The Righteousness of Christ, an Everlasting Righteousness
by G.W.
On reading these words, I cannot help addressing you in the language
of the angels to the poor shepherds, who kept watch over their flocks by
night, "Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy," such tidings, that
if we have ears to hear, if we have eyes to see, and if our hearts have
indeed experienced the grace of God, must cause us to cry out with the
Virgin Mary, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit doth rejoice in
God my Savior." The words which I have read to you, are part of one of the
most explicit revelations that was given of Jesus Christ, before he made
his public entrance into this our world. It has been observed by some, and
very properly too, that it is one mark of the divine goodness to his
creatures, that he is pleased to let light come in gradually upon the
natural world. If the sun from midnight darkness, was immediately to shine
forth in his full meridian blaze, his great splendor would be apt to dazzle
our eyes, and strike us blind again: but God is pleased to make light come
gradually in, and by that means we are prepared to receive it. And as God
is pleased to deal with the natural, so he has dealt with the moral, with
the spiritual world. The Lord Jesus Christ did not appear in his full glory
all at once, but as the sun rises gradually, so did the Lord Jesus, the Sun
of righteousness, rise gradually upon men, with healing under his wings.
Hence it was, that our first parents had nothing to fix their faith upon,
but that first promise, "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's
head." And in future ages, at sundry times, and after divers manners, God
was pleased to speak to our fathers by the prophets, before he spake to us
in these last days by his Son; and the prophets that were more peculiarly
dear to God, it should seem had more peculiar and extraordinary revelations
vouchsafed to them, concerning Jesus Christ.
It is plain from the accounts we have in Scripture, that the Prophet
Daniel was one of these; he is stiled by the angel, not only a "man that
was beloved," but a "man that was greatly beloved," or as it is in the
margin of your bibles, "he was a man of desires," of large and extensive
desires to promote the glory of God; he was a desirable man, a man that did
much good in his generation, and therefore his life was much to be desired
by those who loved God. The words which I have chosen for the subject of
our present meditation, contain part of a revelation made to this man. If
you look back to the beginning of this chapter, you will find how the good
man was employed, when God was pleased to give him this revelation; verse
2, "In the first year of Darius's reign, I Daniel understood by books the
number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the
prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of
Jerusalem." Daniel was a great man, and withal a good man; great as he was,
it seems he was not above reading his Bible; he made the Bible his constant
study; for it is the Bible we are to understand by what is here termed
books, and elsewhere, the scriptures of truth. He found, that the time for
God's people being delivered from the captivity, was now at hand. Well, one
would have thought, that therefore Daniel needed not to pray; but this,
instead of retarding, quickened him in his prayers: and therefore we are
told in the third verse, "I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by
prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth, and ashes." It is
beautifully expressed: "he set his face," as though he was resolved never
to let his eye go off God, till God was pleased to give him an answer; he
was resolved, Jacob-like, to wrestle with the Lord God, until God should be
pleased to give him the desired blessing. We are told in the fourth verse,
that "he prayed unto the Lord, and made confession," not only of his own
sins, but the sins of his people. And when ye retire hence to your houses,
before ye go to bed, I would recommend to you the reading of this prayer;
every word of it bespeaks his exceeding concern for the public good. It
would take me up too much time, was I to make such observations as indeed
the prayer deserved; to bring you sooner to the words of the text, let us
go forward to the twentieth verse, and there you will find the success that
Daniel met with, when praying. Says he, "And whiles I [was] speaking, and
praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and
presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of
my God; Yea, whiles I [was] speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom
I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly,
touched me about the time of the evening oblation. The manner in which
Daniel expressed himself, is very emphatical: "While I was speaking in
prayer;" implying, that God suffers us, when we draw near to him by faith
in prayer, to lay all our complaints before him; he suffers us to speak
unto, and talk with him, as a man talketh with his friend. Daniel at this
time too was making confession one part of his prayer; for we are never,
never in a better frame to receive answers from above, than when we are
humbling ourselves before the Lord. He was not only confessing his own
sins, but he was confessing the sins of his people; he was praying for
those, who perhaps seldom prayed for themselves; "while I was speaking in
prayer, the man Gabriel:" which word, by interpretation, signifies the
strength of God; a very proper name, says Bishop Hall, for that angel who
was to come and bring the news to the world, of the God of strength, the
Lord Jesus Christ. This angel is here represented as flying, and as flying
swiftly; to show us how willing, how unspeakably willing those blessed
spirits are, to bring good news to men. And it is upon this account, I
suppose, that we are taught by our Lord to pray, "that God's will may be
done by us on earth, as it is done in heaven," that we may imitate a little
of that alacrity and vigor, which angels employ, when they are sent on
errands for God.
Well, here is not only mention made of the angel's flying swiftly, but
there is mention made of the time that he came; "He came and touched me,
about the time of the evening oblations," that is, about three o'clock in
the afternoon; at this time there was a sacrifice made to God, and this
sacrifice was in a peculiar manner a type of the Lord Jesus, who in the
evening of the world was to become a sacrifice for sinners. We are told in
the 22nd verse, what message this angel delivered, "He informed me, and
talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill
and understanding; at the beginning of thy supplication, the commandment
came forth, and I am come to show thee, for thou art greatly beloved,
therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision." This passage,
with such like passages of scripture, hath often comforted my soul, and may
comfort the hearts of all God's people. There are a great many of you,
perhaps, have prayed, and prayed again to God, and probably you do not find
any answer given you: you pray for an enlarged heart, you pray for comfort,
you pray for deliverance; God is pleased to withhold it for a while; then
the devil strikes in, and says, God has shut out your prayers, God will
never hear, God will never regard you, therefore pray no more. But, my dear
friends, this is a mistake; a thousand years are with God as one day; and
the Lord Jesus had bid us, "to pray always, and not faint." You may have
had your prayers heard, the very moment they went out of your lips, though
it may not please your God, (and it may not be proper for you) to let you
know that they are heard. "At the beginning of thy supplication, the
commandment went forth;" and this very angel some hundred years after, told
Zecharias, that his prayer was heard;" a prayer for what? A prayer for a
child: it could not be supposed that at the very time Zecharias was praying
for a child; but his prayer he had put up forty years before, God was
pleased to answer so long afterwards.
But to proceed with Gabriel's declaration, ver. 24, Seventy years are
determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finish
transgression, to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for
iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness." I do not intend to
trouble you about the critical exposition of these seventy weeks;
commentators are divided exceedingly upon this subject; some of them
explain them one way, and some another, and perhaps we shall never know
till the day of judgment, till the glorious day spoken of in the New
Testament, which are right. My intention is to dwell upon this particular
part of the angel's message, that some one person was to do something
unspeakable for God's people, even "to bring in an everlasting
righteousness."
If you want to know who was the person that was to do this, look to
the 26th verse, and you will find the person mentioned, the Lord Jesus
Christ: "after threescore and two weeks shall the Messiah be cut off, but
not for himself:" he is the person spoken of, he was "to put an end to sin,
to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
righteousness."
From these important words, I shall endeavor,
FIRST, To show you what we are to understand by the word,
"Righteousness."
SECONDLY, I shall endeavor to show you, upon what account it lay that
the righteousness mentioned in the text, is called an "everlasting
righteousness."
THIRDLY, I shall show, what we are to understand by "bringing it in."
And,
Then speak a word to saints and sinners. And while I am speaking to
your ears, may God, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, speak to your hearts!
FIRST, To explain what we are to understand by the word,
"righteousness." If I was to ask some people what we are to understand by
the word, righteousness; if the person was an Arminian, or an enemy to the
doctrine of free grace, he would answer me, it signifies what we commonly
call moral honesty, or doing justice between man and man. And, indeed, in
various passages of scripture, the word righteousness has no other meaning,
at least, it bears that meaning. I suppose, we are to understand it in this
sense, when we are told, that Paul, preaching before Felix, "reasoned of
temperance, of righteousness, and of a judgment to come." Felix had been a
very unrighteous and unjust man, and therefore, to convince him of his
wickedness, to alarm his conscience, to put him upon seeking help in the
Lord Jesus, Paul preached not only of temperance, (for Felix had been a
very intemperate man) but he preached to him of righteousness, of the
necessity of doing justice because he had been an unjust man; and he puts
before him the judgment to come, in order to make him fly to Jesus Christ
for deliverance from the bad consequences of that judgment; and there are
other places of scripture, where the word righteousness may be understood
in this sense.
It likewise signifies inward holiness, wrought in us by the blessed
Spirit of God. But, I believe, the word righteousness in my text signifies,
what, I trust most, I should be glad if I could say, all who attend this
night, will be glad to hear of: What is that? It is what all reformed
divines, that have clear heads and clean hearts, call an imputed
righteousness, or the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ to be imputed
to poor sinners upon their believing: and, if you ask me, what I mean by an
imputed righteousness, not to shoot over you heads, but rather, if God
shall be pleased to make me, to reach your hearts, I will tell you by the
word "righteousness," I understand all that Christ hat done, and all that
Christ hath suffered: or, to make use of the term generally made use of by
sound divines, "Christ's active, and Christ's passive obedience;" put those
two together, and they make up the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
My dear friends, thus stood the case between God and man: at first God made
man upright. Moses gives us a short, but never was so full a description of
the origin and nature of man given by any other but himself. "In the image
of God made he man, says the sacred historian, being inspired by the Spirit
of God. God said, and it was done; God commanded, and the world arose
before him; "Let there be light," and instantaneously behold light
appeared: but when that lovely, that divine, that blessed creature Man, the
Lord of the creation, God's vicegerent was to be made; God calls a council,
and says, "Let us make man after our own image." Now, this image is to be
understood, no doubt, in respect of man's soul; for God being no corporeal
substance, man could not be made after his image that way. Well, in this
condition God made man. Adam stood as our representative. Adam and Eve had
but one name originally, "God made man, and called their name Adam. God
left Adam to his own free will; he was pleased to enter into a covenant
with him, which, indeed, is an amazing instance of God's condescension. God
might have ordered man to do so and so, and not made him any promise of a
reward: but the great Creator was pleased to promise him, that if he
performed an unsinning obedience, if he abstained from eating a particular
tree, that he and his posterity should live forever; but if he broke that
command, in the day that he ate thereof, he and all his prosperity were to
die. Now, I verily believe, had you and I been there present, however some
people may object against God's severity, in imputing Adam's sin to us; yet
I believe, if you and I, and all the world had been present, we should have
heartily come into this agreement. Supposing God had called the whole
creation together, and had said, "Ye, my creatures, I have made here a man
after my own image, I have breathed into him the breath of life, I have
caused him to become a living soul, I have filled him with righteousness
and true holiness; he has not the least propensity to sin, only he is a
fallible and mutable creature; all that I desire of this man is, that he
abstain from yonder tree; I have given to him all the trees of the garden,
I have made him, and planted for him a garden with mine own right hand, I
desire he may abstain from plucking yonder fruit! Will ye stand or fall by
this m an, will ye let him be your representative, will ye be content that
his obedience or disobedience be imputed to you?" If we had been all there,
every one of us would have said, "Lord God, we will let him be our
representative;" the terms were so easy, the improbability of his falling
was so exceeding great; that I believe every one of us should have all put
our hand to the covenant. And supposing us alive, and that we had agreed to
that covenant, who is that man or woman that could find fault with God's
imputing Adam's sin to us. Well, my friends, God made man in this
condition; the devil envied his happiness; it is supposed by some, that man
was made to supply the places of the fallen angels. But the devil envied
man, and had leave to tempt him; Eve soon reached out her hand and plucked
of the forbidden fruit, and afterwards Adam transgressed also; and from
that very moment, to make use of Mr. Beston's words, "Man's name was
Ichabod," the glory of the Lord departed from him. Adam and Eve then fell;
you, and I, and all their posterity (whom they represented) fell in them.
Mankind had but one neck; and God might have served mankind, as Caligula
would have served Rome, according to his own words, "I wish it had but one
neck, and I would cut it off with one blow." God, if he pleased, might have
sent us all to hell. Here Calvin represents God's attributes as struggling
one with another; Justice saying to God, seeing Justice had framed the
sanction, "Is the law broken, damn the offender, and send him to hell." The
mercy of God, his darling attribute, cries out, "Spare him, spare him." The
wisdom of God contrives a way, that justice might be satisfied, and yet
mercy be triumphant still. How was that? The Lord Jesus interposes, the
days-man, the dear Redeemer! He saw God wielding his flaming sword, and his
hand taking hold of vengeance; the Lord Jesus Christ saw the sword ready to
be sheathed in the blood of the offender; when no eye could pity, when no
angel or archangel could rescue, just as God was, as it were, about to give
the fatal blow, just as the knife was put to the throat of the offender,
the Son of God, the eternal Logos, says, "Father, spare the sinner; let him
not die; Father, Father, O hold thy hand, withdraw thy sword, for I come to
do thy will; man has broken thy law, and violated thy covenant: I do not
deny but man deserves to be damned forever; but, Father, what Adam could
not do, it thou wilt prepare me a body, I in the fullness of time will go,
and die for him; he has broken thy law, but I will go and keep it, that thy
law may be honored; I will give a perfect unsinning obedience to all thy
commandments; and that thou mayst justify ungodly creatures, I will not
only go down and obey thy law, but I will go down and bleed; I will go do....
(THE CONCLUSION OF THE REV. WHITEFIELD'S SERMON) Again, The Lord Jesus Christ brought in this righteousness, as he
wrought it out for sinners upon the cross. Some Antinomians, for want of a
proper distinction, run into a grievous error, telling us, Because God
intended to justify by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, therefore man is
justified from all eternity: which is absurd: a person cannot be justified,
till he is actually existing; therefore, though man is justified, as it
lies in God's mind from all eternity, yet it was not actually brought in
till the Lord Jesus Christ pronounced those blessed words, "It is
finished;" the grand consummation! Then Jesus brought it in. A new and a
living way was to be opened to the Holy of Holies, for poor sinners, by the
blood of Christ. But I do not think that the expression, brought in, is to
be limited to this sense, though I suppose it is the primary one; it
implies not only Christ's bringing it into the world, as promulgating, and
having it written in the word of God, and as having wrought it out for
sinners in his life, and on the cross; but he brings it in, in a manner,
which, I pray God may take place this night; I mean, bringing it, by his
blessed Spirit, into poor believers hearts. All that Christ hath done, all
that Christ hat suffered, all Christ's active obedience, all Christ's
passive obedience, will do us no good, unless by the Spirit of God, it is
brought into our souls. As one expresses it, "An unapplied Christ is no
Christ at all." To hear of a Christ dying for sinners, will only increase
your damnation, will only sink you deeper into hell, unless we have ground
to say, by a work of grace wrought in our hearts, that the Lord Jesus hath
brought this home to us. Hence it is, that the Apostle, speaking of Christ,
says, "Who love me, and gave himself for me." O that dear, that great, that
little, but important word, me. Happy they, who can adopt the Apostle's
language! Happy they that can apply it to their own heart; and when they
hear that Christ has brought in an everlasting righteousness, can say,
Blessed be God, it is brought in by the blessed Spirit to my soul!
Are there any here that can go along with me on this doctrine? But why
do I ask this question, when preaching to numbers, who, I hope, have tasted
of the grace of God long ago? I do not know, I cannot distinguish you; you
are just like other people, as to your looks and habits; but if I do not,
and if your neighbors cannot know you, that great God, in whose presence
you are, knows you; He, before whose tribunal we are shortly to appear,
knows you. If Christ Jesus hath brought his everlasting righteousness into
your heart; if it is applied by the Spirit of God to your soul, what shall
I say to you? I will say as the Angel to John, "Come up hither," thou child
of God! Come up hither, thou son, thou daughter of Abraham! Come and join
with me, in calling upon angels and archangels, in calling upon the spirits
of just men made perfect, to help thee to praise that loving Redeemer, that
has brought in an everlasting righteousness. O was ever love like this!
When Abraham was about to offer up his son, God said, "Now I know that thou
lovest me, since thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me."
Now may each child of God say, "Now, O God, I know that thou hast loved me,
since thou hast not withheld thy Son, thy dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,
from dying for me." If thou hast got Christ brought into thy soul by faith,
O look forward, look towards a happy eternity; O look towards those
everlasting mansions, into which God will bring thee after death. My dear
friends, I could say much from this text to comfort God's people: But
I must address myself to you, poor souls, who cannot say, that this
righteousness has been brought home to your souls; but if it was never
brought home before, may God, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, bring it
home now! Are any of you depending upon a righteousness of your own? Do any
of you here, think to save yourselves by your own doings? I say to you, as
the Apostle said to one that offered money for a power to confer the gift
of the Holy Ghost, your righteousness shall perish with you. Poor miserable
creatures! What is there in your tears? What in your prayers? What in your
performances, to appease the wrath of an angry God? Away from the trees of
the garden; come, ye guilty wretches, come as poor, lost, undone, and
wretched creatures, and accept of a better righteousness than your own. As
I said before, so I tell you again, the righteousness of Jesus Christ is an
everlasting righteousness: it is wrought out for the very chief of sinners.
Ho, every one that thirsteth, let him come and drink of this water of life
freely. Are any of you wounded by sin? Do any of you feel you have no
righteousness of your own? Are any of you perishing for hunger? Are any of
you afraid ye will perish forever? Come, dear souls, in all your rags;
come, thou poor man; come, thou poor, distressed woman; you, who think God
will never forgive you, and that your sins are too great to be forgiven;
come, thou doubting creature, who art afraid thou wilt never get comfort;
arise, take comfort, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of life, the Lord of
glory, calls for thee: through his righteousness there is hope for the
chief of sinners, for the worst of creatures. What if thou hadst committed
all the sins in the world? What if thou hadst committed the sins of a
thousand, what if thou hadst committed the sins of a million of worlds?
Christ's righteousness will cover, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ will
cleanse, thee from the guilt of them all. O let not one poor soul stand at
a distance from the Savior. My dear friends, could my voice hold out, was
my strength equal to my will, I would wrestle with you; I would strive with
arguments, till you came and washed in this blood of the Lamb; till you
came and accepted of this everlasting righteousness. O come, come! Now,
since it is brought into the world by Christ, so in the name, in the
strength, and by the assistance of the great God, I bring it now to the
pulpit; I now offer this righteousness, this free, this imputed, this
everlasting righteousness to all poor sinners that will accept of it. For
God's sake accept it this night: you do not know but ye may die before
tomorrow. How do he know, but while I am speaking, a fit of the apoplexy
may seize, and death arrest you? O my dear friends, where can ye go? Where
will ye appear? How will ye stand before an angry God, without the
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ put upon your souls? Can ye stand in
your own rags? Will ye dare to appear before a heart-searching God, without
the apparel of your elder brother? If ye do, I know your doom: Christ will
frown you into hell: "Depart, depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,"
shall be your portion. Think, I pray you, therefore, on these things; go
home, go home, go home, pray over the text, and say, "Lord God, thou hast
brought an everlasting righteousness into the world by the Lord Jesus
Christ; by the blessed Spirit bring it into my heart!" then, die when ye
will, ye are safe; if it be tomorrow, ye shall be immediately translated
into the presence of the everlasting God: that will be sweet! Happy they
who have got this robe on; happy they that can say, "My God hath loved me,
and I shall be loved by him with an everlasting love!" That every one of
you may be able to say so, may God grant, for the sake of Jesus Christ, the
dear Redeemer; to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
FROM ERDMAM'S HANDBOOK TO CHRISTIANITY IN AMERICA:
NATHAN COLE GOES TO HEAR WHITEFIELD
October 23, 1740
Then on a Sudden, in the morning about eight or nine of the Clock there came a messenger and said Mr. Whitefield preached at_________ yesterday and is to preach at___________ this morning at _____ of the clock. I was in my field at Work, I dropt my tool that I had in my hand and ran home to my wife telling her to make ready quickly to go and hear Mr. Whitefield preach at ____________, then run to my pasture for my horse with all my might; fearing that I should be too late; having my horse I with my wife soon mounted the horse and went forward as fast as I thought the horse could bear, and when my horse got much out of breath I would get down and put my wife on the Saddle and bid her ride as fast as she could and not stop or Slack for me except I bad her and so I wold run until I was much out of breath; and then mount my horse again, and so I did several times to favour my horse; we improved every moment to get along as if we were fleeing for our lives; all the while fearing we should be too late to hear the Sermon, for we had twelve miles to ride double in little more than an hour and we went round by the upper housen parish.
And when we came within about half a mile or a mile of the Road that come down from _______ I saw before me a cloud of fog rising, I first thought it came from the great River, I heard a noise of Horses feet coming down the Road and this Cloud was a Cloud of dust made by the horses feet; it arose some Rods into the air over the tops of Hills and trees and when I came within some twenty rods of the Road, I could see men and horses Slipping along in the Cloud like shadow and as I drew near it seemed like a steady Stream of horses and their riders, scarcely a horse more than his length behind another, all of a lather and foam with sweat, their breath rolling out of their nostrils every jump; every horse seemed to go with all his might to carry his rider to hear news from heaven for the saving of souls, it made me tremble to see the sight, how the world was in a struggle; I found a vacancy between two horses to slip in mine and my wife sad law out Cloaths will be all spoiled see how they look, for they were so covered with dust, that they looked almost all of a (same) Colour - Coats, hats, shirts, and horses.
We went down in the stream but heard no man speak a word all the way for three miles but every one pressing forward in great haste and when we got to the old meetinghouse there was a great Multitude. It was said to be three or four thousand of people assembled together; we dismounted and shook of our Dust; and the ministers were then coming to the meetinghouse. I turned and looked towards the Great River and saw the ferry boats Running swift backward and forward bringing over loads of people and the oars rowed nimble and quick; everything men horses and boats seemed to be Struggling for life; the land banks over the river looked black with people and horses all along the twelve miles I saw no man at work to his field, but ALL seemed to be gone.
When I saw Mr. Whitefield come upon the Scaffold he lookt almost angelic; a young slim, slender youth before some thousands of people with a bold undaunted Countenance, and my hearing how God was with him every where as he came along it solemnized my mind; and put me into a trembling fear before he began to preach; for he looked as if hew was cloathed with authority from the Great God; and a sweet solemnity sat upon his brow. An my hearing him preach, gave me a heart wound; by Gods blessing; my old foundation was broken up, and I saw that my righteousness would not save me; then I was convinced of the doctrine of Election: and went right to quarreling with God about it; because that all I could do would not save me; and he decreed from Eternity who should be saved and who not.
ON A FEW OCCASIONS WHITEFIELD STAYED AT THE HOME OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. FRANKLIN WROTE:
He used, indeed, sometimes to pray for my conversion but never had the satisfaction of believing that his prayers were heard. Ous was a mere civil friendship, sincere on both sides, and lasted to his death.
He had a loud and clear voice, and articulated his words and sentences so perfectly that he might be heard and understook at a great distance, especially as his auditories, however numerous, observed the most exact silence....One could not helped being pleased with the discourse, a pleasure of much the same kind with that received from an excellent piece of music.
.........My answer was
George Whitefield preached at Neshaminy Presbyterian Church in 1739 to over 3,000.
George Whitefield preached at Neshaminy Presbyterian Church in 1739 to over 3,000.
The Righteousness of Christ, an Everlasting Righteousness
by G.W.
On reading these words, I cannot help addressing you in the language
of the angels to the poor shepherds, who kept watch over their flocks by
night, "Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy," such tidings, that
if we have ears to hear, if we have eyes to see, and if our hearts have
indeed experienced the grace of God, must cause us to cry out with the
Virgin Mary, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit doth rejoice in
God my Savior." The words which I have read to you, are part of one of the
most explicit revelations that was given of Jesus Christ, before he made
his public entrance into this our world. It has been observed by some, and
very properly too, that it is one mark of the divine goodness to his
creatures, that he is pleased to let light come in gradually upon the
natural world. If the sun from midnight darkness, was immediately to shine
forth in his full meridian blaze, his great splendor would be apt to dazzle
our eyes, and strike us blind again: but God is pleased to make light come
gradually in, and by that means we are prepared to receive it. And as God
is pleased to deal with the natural, so he has dealt with the moral, with
the spiritual world. The Lord Jesus Christ did not appear in his full glory
all at once, but as the sun rises gradually, so did the Lord Jesus, the Sun
of righteousness, rise gradually upon men, with healing under his wings.
Hence it was, that our first parents had nothing to fix their faith upon,
but that first promise, "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's
head." And in future ages, at sundry times, and after divers manners, God
was pleased to speak to our fathers by the prophets, before he spake to us
in these last days by his Son; and the prophets that were more peculiarly
dear to God, it should seem had more peculiar and extraordinary revelations
vouchsafed to them, concerning Jesus Christ.
It is plain from the accounts we have in Scripture, that the Prophet
Daniel was one of these; he is stiled by the angel, not only a "man that
was beloved," but a "man that was greatly beloved," or as it is in the
margin of your bibles, "he was a man of desires," of large and extensive
desires to promote the glory of God; he was a desirable man, a man that did
much good in his generation, and therefore his life was much to be desired
by those who loved God. The words which I have chosen for the subject of
our present meditation, contain part of a revelation made to this man. If
you look back to the beginning of this chapter, you will find how the good
man was employed, when God was pleased to give him this revelation; verse
2, "In the first year of Darius's reign, I Daniel understood by books the
number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the
prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of
Jerusalem." Daniel was a great man, and withal a good man; great as he was,
it seems he was not above reading his Bible; he made the Bible his constant
study; for it is the Bible we are to understand by what is here termed
books, and elsewhere, the scriptures of truth. He found, that the time for
God's people being delivered from the captivity, was now at hand. Well, one
would have thought, that therefore Daniel needed not to pray; but this,
instead of retarding, quickened him in his prayers: and therefore we are
told in the third verse, "I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by
prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth, and ashes." It is
beautifully expressed: "he set his face," as though he was resolved never
to let his eye go off God, till God was pleased to give him an answer; he
was resolved, Jacob-like, to wrestle with the Lord God, until God should be
pleased to give him the desired blessing. We are told in the fourth verse,
that "he prayed unto the Lord, and made confession," not only of his own
sins, but the sins of his people. And when ye retire hence to your houses,
before ye go to bed, I would recommend to you the reading of this prayer;
every word of it bespeaks his exceeding concern for the public good. It
would take me up too much time, was I to make such observations as indeed
the prayer deserved; to bring you sooner to the words of the text, let us
go forward to the twentieth verse, and there you will find the success that
Daniel met with, when praying. Says he, "And whiles I [was] speaking, and
praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and
presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of
my God; Yea, whiles I [was] speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom
I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly,
touched me about the time of the evening oblation. The manner in which
Daniel expressed himself, is very emphatical: "While I was speaking in
prayer;" implying, that God suffers us, when we draw near to him by faith
in prayer, to lay all our complaints before him; he suffers us to speak
unto, and talk with him, as a man talketh with his friend. Daniel at this
time too was making confession one part of his prayer; for we are never,
never in a better frame to receive answers from above, than when we are
humbling ourselves before the Lord. He was not only confessing his own
sins, but he was confessing the sins of his people; he was praying for
those, who perhaps seldom prayed for themselves; "while I was speaking in
prayer, the man Gabriel:" which word, by interpretation, signifies the
strength of God; a very proper name, says Bishop Hall, for that angel who
was to come and bring the news to the world, of the God of strength, the
Lord Jesus Christ. This angel is here represented as flying, and as flying
swiftly; to show us how willing, how unspeakably willing those blessed
spirits are, to bring good news to men. And it is upon this account, I
suppose, that we are taught by our Lord to pray, "that God's will may be
done by us on earth, as it is done in heaven," that we may imitate a little
of that alacrity and vigor, which angels employ, when they are sent on
errands for God.
Well, here is not only mention made of the angel's flying swiftly, but
there is mention made of the time that he came; "He came and touched me,
about the time of the evening oblations," that is, about three o'clock in
the afternoon; at this time there was a sacrifice made to God, and this
sacrifice was in a peculiar manner a type of the Lord Jesus, who in the
evening of the world was to become a sacrifice for sinners. We are told in
the 22nd verse, what message this angel delivered, "He informed me, and
talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill
and understanding; at the beginning of thy supplication, the commandment
came forth, and I am come to show thee, for thou art greatly beloved,
therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision." This passage,
with such like passages of scripture, hath often comforted my soul, and may
comfort the hearts of all God's people. There are a great many of you,
perhaps, have prayed, and prayed again to God, and probably you do not find
any answer given you: you pray for an enlarged heart, you pray for comfort,
you pray for deliverance; God is pleased to withhold it for a while; then
the devil strikes in, and says, God has shut out your prayers, God will
never hear, God will never regard you, therefore pray no more. But, my dear
friends, this is a mistake; a thousand years are with God as one day; and
the Lord Jesus had bid us, "to pray always, and not faint." You may have
had your prayers heard, the very moment they went out of your lips, though
it may not please your God, (and it may not be proper for you) to let you
know that they are heard. "At the beginning of thy supplication, the
commandment went forth;" and this very angel some hundred years after, told
Zecharias, that his prayer was heard;" a prayer for what? A prayer for a
child: it could not be supposed that at the very time Zecharias was praying
for a child; but his prayer he had put up forty years before, God was
pleased to answer so long afterwards.
But to proceed with Gabriel's declaration, ver. 24, Seventy years are
determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finish
transgression, to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for
iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness." I do not intend to
trouble you about the critical exposition of these seventy weeks;
commentators are divided exceedingly upon this subject; some of them
explain them one way, and some another, and perhaps we shall never know
till the day of judgment, till the glorious day spoken of in the New
Testament, which are right. My intention is to dwell upon this particular
part of the angel's message, that some one person was to do something
unspeakable for God's people, even "to bring in an everlasting
righteousness."
If you want to know who was the person that was to do this, look to
the 26th verse, and you will find the person mentioned, the Lord Jesus
Christ: "after threescore and two weeks shall the Messiah be cut off, but
not for himself:" he is the person spoken of, he was "to put an end to sin,
to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
righteousness."
From these important words, I shall endeavor,
FIRST, To show you what we are to understand by the word,
"Righteousness."
SECONDLY, I shall endeavor to show you, upon what account it lay that
the righteousness mentioned in the text, is called an "everlasting
righteousness."
THIRDLY, I shall show, what we are to understand by "bringing it in."
And,
Then speak a word to saints and sinners. And while I am speaking to
your ears, may God, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, speak to your hearts!
FIRST, To explain what we are to understand by the word,
"righteousness." If I was to ask some people what we are to understand by
the word, righteousness; if the person was an Arminian, or an enemy to the
doctrine of free grace, he would answer me, it signifies what we commonly
call moral honesty, or doing justice between man and man. And, indeed, in
various passages of scripture, the word righteousness has no other meaning,
at least, it bears that meaning. I suppose, we are to understand it in this
sense, when we are told, that Paul, preaching before Felix, "reasoned of
temperance, of righteousness, and of a judgment to come." Felix had been a
very unrighteous and unjust man, and therefore, to convince him of his
wickedness, to alarm his conscience, to put him upon seeking help in the
Lord Jesus, Paul preached not only of temperance, (for Felix had been a
very intemperate man) but he preached to him of righteousness, of the
necessity of doing justice because he had been an unjust man; and he puts
before him the judgment to come, in order to make him fly to Jesus Christ
for deliverance from the bad consequences of that judgment; and there are
other places of scripture, where the word righteousness may be understood
in this sense.
It likewise signifies inward holiness, wrought in us by the blessed
Spirit of God. But, I believe, the word righteousness in my text signifies,
what, I trust most, I should be glad if I could say, all who attend this
night, will be glad to hear of: What is that? It is what all reformed
divines, that have clear heads and clean hearts, call an imputed
righteousness, or the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ to be imputed
to poor sinners upon their believing: and, if you ask me, what I mean by an
imputed righteousness, not to shoot over you heads, but rather, if God
shall be pleased to make me, to reach your hearts, I will tell you by the
word "righteousness," I understand all that Christ hat done, and all that
Christ hath suffered: or, to make use of the term generally made use of by
sound divines, "Christ's active, and Christ's passive obedience;" put those
two together, and they make up the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
My dear friends, thus stood the case between God and man: at first God made
man upright. Moses gives us a short, but never was so full a description of
the origin and nature of man given by any other but himself. "In the image
of God made he man, says the sacred historian, being inspired by the Spirit
of God. God said, and it was done; God commanded, and the world arose
before him; "Let there be light," and instantaneously behold light
appeared: but when that lovely, that divine, that blessed creature Man, the
Lord of the creation, God's vicegerent was to be made; God calls a council,
and says, "Let us make man after our own image." Now, this image is to be
understood, no doubt, in respect of man's soul; for God being no corporeal
substance, man could not be made after his image that way. Well, in this
condition God made man. Adam stood as our representative. Adam and Eve had
but one name originally, "God made man, and called their name Adam. God
left Adam to his own free will; he was pleased to enter into a covenant
with him, which, indeed, is an amazing instance of God's condescension. God
might have ordered man to do so and so, and not made him any promise of a
reward: but the great Creator was pleased to promise him, that if he
performed an unsinning obedience, if he abstained from eating a particular
tree, that he and his posterity should live forever; but if he broke that
command, in the day that he ate thereof, he and all his prosperity were to
die. Now, I verily believe, had you and I been there present, however some
people may object against God's severity, in imputing Adam's sin to us; yet
I believe, if you and I, and all the world had been present, we should have
heartily come into this agreement. Supposing God had called the whole
creation together, and had said, "Ye, my creatures, I have made here a man
after my own image, I have breathed into him the breath of life, I have
caused him to become a living soul, I have filled him with righteousness
and true holiness; he has not the least propensity to sin, only he is a
fallible and mutable creature; all that I desire of this man is, that he
abstain from yonder tree; I have given to him all the trees of the garden,
I have made him, and planted for him a garden with mine own right hand, I
desire he may abstain from plucking yonder fruit! Will ye stand or fall by
this m an, will ye let him be your representative, will ye be content that
his obedience or disobedience be imputed to you?" If we had been all there,
every one of us would have said, "Lord God, we will let him be our
representative;" the terms were so easy, the improbability of his falling
was so exceeding great; that I believe every one of us should have all put
our hand to the covenant. And supposing us alive, and that we had agreed to
that covenant, who is that man or woman that could find fault with God's
imputing Adam's sin to us. Well, my friends, God made man in this
condition; the devil envied his happiness; it is supposed by some, that man
was made to supply the places of the fallen angels. But the devil envied
man, and had leave to tempt him; Eve soon reached out her hand and plucked
of the forbidden fruit, and afterwards Adam transgressed also; and from
that very moment, to make use of Mr. Beston's words, "Man's name was
Ichabod," the glory of the Lord departed from him. Adam and Eve then fell;
you, and I, and all their posterity (whom they represented) fell in them.
Mankind had but one neck; and God might have served mankind, as Caligula
would have served Rome, according to his own words, "I wish it had but one
neck, and I would cut it off with one blow." God, if he pleased, might have
sent us all to hell. Here Calvin represents God's attributes as struggling
one with another; Justice saying to God, seeing Justice had framed the
sanction, "Is the law broken, damn the offender, and send him to hell." The
mercy of God, his darling attribute, cries out, "Spare him, spare him." The
wisdom of God contrives a way, that justice might be satisfied, and yet
mercy be triumphant still. How was that? The Lord Jesus interposes, the
days-man, the dear Redeemer! He saw God wielding his flaming sword, and his
hand taking hold of vengeance; the Lord Jesus Christ saw the sword ready to
be sheathed in the blood of the offender; when no eye could pity, when no
angel or archangel could rescue, just as God was, as it were, about to give
the fatal blow, just as the knife was put to the throat of the offender,
the Son of God, the eternal Logos, says, "Father, spare the sinner; let him
not die; Father, Father, O hold thy hand, withdraw thy sword, for I come to
do thy will; man has broken thy law, and violated thy covenant: I do not
deny but man deserves to be damned forever; but, Father, what Adam could
not do, it thou wilt prepare me a body, I in the fullness of time will go,
and die for him; he has broken thy law, but I will go and keep it, that thy
law may be honored; I will give a perfect unsinning obedience to all thy
commandments; and that thou mayst justify ungodly creatures, I will not
only go down and obey thy law, but I will go down and bleed; I will go do....
(THE CONCLUSION OF THE REV. WHITEFIELD'S SERMON) Again, The Lord Jesus Christ brought in this righteousness, as he
wrought it out for sinners upon the cross. Some Antinomians, for want of a
proper distinction, run into a grievous error, telling us, Because God
intended to justify by the righteousness of Jesus Christ, therefore man is
justified from all eternity: which is absurd: a person cannot be justified,
till he is actually existing; therefore, though man is justified, as it
lies in God's mind from all eternity, yet it was not actually brought in
till the Lord Jesus Christ pronounced those blessed words, "It is
finished;" the grand consummation! Then Jesus brought it in. A new and a
living way was to be opened to the Holy of Holies, for poor sinners, by the
blood of Christ. But I do not think that the expression, brought in, is to
be limited to this sense, though I suppose it is the primary one; it
implies not only Christ's bringing it into the world, as promulgating, and
having it written in the word of God, and as having wrought it out for
sinners in his life, and on the cross; but he brings it in, in a manner,
which, I pray God may take place this night; I mean, bringing it, by his
blessed Spirit, into poor believers hearts. All that Christ hath done, all
that Christ hat suffered, all Christ's active obedience, all Christ's
passive obedience, will do us no good, unless by the Spirit of God, it is
brought into our souls. As one expresses it, "An unapplied Christ is no
Christ at all." To hear of a Christ dying for sinners, will only increase
your damnation, will only sink you deeper into hell, unless we have ground
to say, by a work of grace wrought in our hearts, that the Lord Jesus hath
brought this home to us. Hence it is, that the Apostle, speaking of Christ,
says, "Who love me, and gave himself for me." O that dear, that great, that
little, but important word, me. Happy they, who can adopt the Apostle's
language! Happy they that can apply it to their own heart; and when they
hear that Christ has brought in an everlasting righteousness, can say,
Blessed be God, it is brought in by the blessed Spirit to my soul!
Are there any here that can go along with me on this doctrine? But why
do I ask this question, when preaching to numbers, who, I hope, have tasted
of the grace of God long ago? I do not know, I cannot distinguish you; you
are just like other people, as to your looks and habits; but if I do not,
and if your neighbors cannot know you, that great God, in whose presence
you are, knows you; He, before whose tribunal we are shortly to appear,
knows you. If Christ Jesus hath brought his everlasting righteousness into
your heart; if it is applied by the Spirit of God to your soul, what shall
I say to you? I will say as the Angel to John, "Come up hither," thou child
of God! Come up hither, thou son, thou daughter of Abraham! Come and join
with me, in calling upon angels and archangels, in calling upon the spirits
of just men made perfect, to help thee to praise that loving Redeemer, that
has brought in an everlasting righteousness. O was ever love like this!
When Abraham was about to offer up his son, God said, "Now I know that thou
lovest me, since thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me."
Now may each child of God say, "Now, O God, I know that thou hast loved me,
since thou hast not withheld thy Son, thy dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,
from dying for me." If thou hast got Christ brought into thy soul by faith,
O look forward, look towards a happy eternity; O look towards those
everlasting mansions, into which God will bring thee after death. My dear
friends, I could say much from this text to comfort God's people: But
I must address myself to you, poor souls, who cannot say, that this
righteousness has been brought home to your souls; but if it was never
brought home before, may God, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, bring it
home now! Are any of you depending upon a righteousness of your own? Do any
of you here, think to save yourselves by your own doings? I say to you, as
the Apostle said to one that offered money for a power to confer the gift
of the Holy Ghost, your righteousness shall perish with you. Poor miserable
creatures! What is there in your tears? What in your prayers? What in your
performances, to appease the wrath of an angry God? Away from the trees of
the garden; come, ye guilty wretches, come as poor, lost, undone, and
wretched creatures, and accept of a better righteousness than your own. As
I said before, so I tell you again, the righteousness of Jesus Christ is an
everlasting righteousness: it is wrought out for the very chief of sinners.
Ho, every one that thirsteth, let him come and drink of this water of life
freely. Are any of you wounded by sin? Do any of you feel you have no
righteousness of your own? Are any of you perishing for hunger? Are any of
you afraid ye will perish forever? Come, dear souls, in all your rags;
come, thou poor man; come, thou poor, distressed woman; you, who think God
will never forgive you, and that your sins are too great to be forgiven;
come, thou doubting creature, who art afraid thou wilt never get comfort;
arise, take comfort, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of life, the Lord of
glory, calls for thee: through his righteousness there is hope for the
chief of sinners, for the worst of creatures. What if thou hadst committed
all the sins in the world? What if thou hadst committed the sins of a
thousand, what if thou hadst committed the sins of a million of worlds?
Christ's righteousness will cover, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ will
cleanse, thee from the guilt of them all. O let not one poor soul stand at
a distance from the Savior. My dear friends, could my voice hold out, was
my strength equal to my will, I would wrestle with you; I would strive with
arguments, till you came and washed in this blood of the Lamb; till you
came and accepted of this everlasting righteousness. O come, come! Now,
since it is brought into the world by Christ, so in the name, in the
strength, and by the assistance of the great God, I bring it now to the
pulpit; I now offer this righteousness, this free, this imputed, this
everlasting righteousness to all poor sinners that will accept of it. For
God's sake accept it this night: you do not know but ye may die before
tomorrow. How do he know, but while I am speaking, a fit of the apoplexy
may seize, and death arrest you? O my dear friends, where can ye go? Where
will ye appear? How will ye stand before an angry God, without the
righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ put upon your souls? Can ye stand in
your own rags? Will ye dare to appear before a heart-searching God, without
the apparel of your elder brother? If ye do, I know your doom: Christ will
frown you into hell: "Depart, depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,"
shall be your portion. Think, I pray you, therefore, on these things; go
home, go home, go home, pray over the text, and say, "Lord God, thou hast
brought an everlasting righteousness into the world by the Lord Jesus
Christ; by the blessed Spirit bring it into my heart!" then, die when ye
will, ye are safe; if it be tomorrow, ye shall be immediately translated
into the presence of the everlasting God: that will be sweet! Happy they
who have got this robe on; happy they that can say, "My God hath loved me,
and I shall be loved by him with an everlasting love!" That every one of
you may be able to say so, may God grant, for the sake of Jesus Christ, the
dear Redeemer; to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
FROM ERDMAM'S HANDBOOK TO CHRISTIANITY IN AMERICA:
NATHAN COLE GOES TO HEAR WHITEFIELD
October 23, 1740
Then on a Sudden, in the morning about eight or nine of the Clock there came a messenger and said Mr. Whitefield preached at_________ yesterday and is to preach at___________ this morning at _____ of the clock. I was in my field at Work, I dropt my tool that I had in my hand and ran home to my wife telling her to make ready quickly to go and hear Mr. Whitefield preach at ____________, then run to my pasture for my horse with all my might; fearing that I should be too late; having my horse I with my wife soon mounted the horse and went forward as fast as I thought the horse could bear, and when my horse got much out of breath I would get down and put my wife on the Saddle and bid her ride as fast as she could and not stop or Slack for me except I bad her and so I wold run until I was much out of breath; and then mount my horse again, and so I did several times to favour my horse; we improved every moment to get along as if we were fleeing for our lives; all the while fearing we should be too late to hear the Sermon, for we had twelve miles to ride double in little more than an hour and we went round by the upper housen parish.
And when we came within about half a mile or a mile of the Road that come down from _______ I saw before me a cloud of fog rising, I first thought it came from the great River, I heard a noise of Horses feet coming down the Road and this Cloud was a Cloud of dust made by the horses feet; it arose some Rods into the air over the tops of Hills and trees and when I came within some twenty rods of the Road, I could see men and horses Slipping along in the Cloud like shadow and as I drew near it seemed like a steady Stream of horses and their riders, scarcely a horse more than his length behind another, all of a lather and foam with sweat, their breath rolling out of their nostrils every jump; every horse seemed to go with all his might to carry his rider to hear news from heaven for the saving of souls, it made me tremble to see the sight, how the world was in a struggle; I found a vacancy between two horses to slip in mine and my wife sad law out Cloaths will be all spoiled see how they look, for they were so covered with dust, that they looked almost all of a (same) Colour - Coats, hats, shirts, and horses.
We went down in the stream but heard no man speak a word all the way for three miles but every one pressing forward in great haste and when we got to the old meetinghouse there was a great Multitude. It was said to be three or four thousand of people assembled together; we dismounted and shook of our Dust; and the ministers were then coming to the meetinghouse. I turned and looked towards the Great River and saw the ferry boats Running swift backward and forward bringing over loads of people and the oars rowed nimble and quick; everything men horses and boats seemed to be Struggling for life; the land banks over the river looked black with people and horses all along the twelve miles I saw no man at work to his field, but ALL seemed to be gone.
When I saw Mr. Whitefield come upon the Scaffold he lookt almost angelic; a young slim, slender youth before some thousands of people with a bold undaunted Countenance, and my hearing how God was with him every where as he came along it solemnized my mind; and put me into a trembling fear before he began to preach; for he looked as if hew was cloathed with authority from the Great God; and a sweet solemnity sat upon his brow. An my hearing him preach, gave me a heart wound; by Gods blessing; my old foundation was broken up, and I saw that my righteousness would not save me; then I was convinced of the doctrine of Election: and went right to quarreling with God about it; because that all I could do would not save me; and he decreed from Eternity who should be saved and who not.
ON A FEW OCCASIONS WHITEFIELD STAYED AT THE HOME OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. FRANKLIN WROTE:
He used, indeed, sometimes to pray for my conversion but never had the satisfaction of believing that his prayers were heard. Ous was a mere civil friendship, sincere on both sides, and lasted to his death.
He had a loud and clear voice, and articulated his words and sentences so perfectly that he might be heard and understook at a great distance, especially as his auditories, however numerous, observed the most exact silence....One could not helped being pleased with the discourse, a pleasure of much the same kind with that received from an excellent piece of music.
.........My answer was
Mary Alexander | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SAMUEL (PA 1734) WEIR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
De getoonde gegevens hebben geen bronnen.