CHRISTIAN LEADERS OF THE 18th CENTURY - ( CHAPTER 4 ) - { PT. 8 }


 { PT.  8 } - Their unbought and unbiased opinions appear to me to supply unanswerable proof that there must have been something very extraordinary about Whitefield's preaching. Still, though, the question remains to be answered: what was the secret of Whitefield's unrivaled popularity and effectiveness? I honestly admit that with the sparse materials we possess for forming our judgment, the question is a very difficult one to answer. The person who turns to the seventy-five sermons published under Whitefield's name will probably be very disappointed. You will not find in them any superior intellect or grasp of mind. You will not find in them any deep philosophy or very remarkable thoughts. It is only fair, however, to say that most of these sermons were taken down in shorthand be reporters and published without correction. These worthy men appear to have done their work very poorly and were evidently ignorant of punctuation, paragraphing, grammar, and the gospel. The consequence is that many passages in these seventy-five sermons are what Bishop Latimer would have called a mingle-mangle, and what we call in this day a complete mess. No wonder the poor Whitefield says, in one of his last letters, dated September 26, 1769, I wish you had advertised against the publication of my last sermon. 

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