DMLJ 02 Whitefield Sermons

SELECT SERMONS BY GEORGE WHITEFIELD

With an account of his life by J C Ryle

FOREWORD

It is a privilege to be asked to commend this volume, and to be associated in any way with two such names as George Whitefield and Bishop Ryle.
Nothing has been sadder in the story of the last fifty years in the church, nor more significant, than the way in which George Whitefield has been neglected, and especially as one considers the very considerable attention that has been given to his contemporary, John Wesley. That was certainly not the position two hundred years ago, and it should not be the case now.
Of all the men of the eighteenth century whom God raised up to do that marvellous work called

'the Evangelical Awakening', none was more remarkable than George Whitefield. Of few men can it be said that their preaching was 'apostolic' in character, but it certainly can be said of Whitefield. His whole career from beginning to His whole career from beginning to end was an amazing phenomenon and his Herculean labours both in Great Britain and America can only be explained by the power of the Holy Ghost.
But Whitefield was not only the greatest preacher and orator of the eighteenth century, he was also one of its most saintly characters, if not the saintliest of all. Certainly there was no more humble or lovable man amongst them. What can be more profitable, next to the Bible itself, than to read something of the life of such a man and to read his own words!
This volume provides an excellent introduction. The famous essay by Bishop Ryle is certainly the best short account of Whitefield that has ever been done, and it is good that it should be thus reprinted. At the same time this volume provides samples of the great preacher's sermons which serve to illustrate the points emphasized by the Bishop. It is a judicious and representative selection.
May God grant that, as we read of the man whom God made so mighty, and the things which he taught and preached, we may be led to long for and to pray for such a revival in our day and generation as God gave in His sovereign grace and mercy two hundred years ago.

February 1958
D M LLOYD-JONES
Westminster Chapel London