Finishing Dallimore’s two volume work on George Whitefield has been nothing short of heavenly inspiring. Though GW was far from perfect (one of his greatest sins was that he turned a blind eye to slavery), his life was one fixated on living for God’s glory and the advance of the Gospel. He also strongly believed a love for the Gospel would lead to works of beneficence for the poor. So he shared all that he had with those in need, the orphans in Georgia, the poor in England, and even the African slaves in the colonies.

But at the very outset of GW’s ministry, he was bound by this deep sense of sin and an unworthiness that hounded him to paralysis. It wasn’t until he read a small book called, The Life of God in the Soul of Man by Henry Scougal, did he understand the freedom found in the Gospel. Dallimore recounts (The Life of GW, Vol 1, 72-73):

The little work so directly contradicted all that he and his fellows believed about salvation that it alarmed him. He says that by it:

God showed me that I must be born again, or be damned! I learned that a man may go to church, say his prayers, receive the sacrament, and yet not be a Christian. How did my heart rise and shudder, like a poor man that is afraid to look into his account-books, lest he should find himself bankrupt.

‘Shall I burn this book? [The Life of God in the Soul of Man] Shall I throw it down? Or shall I search it?’ I did search it, and holding the book in my hand I thus addressed the God of heaven and earth: ‘Lord, if I am not a Christian, or if not a real one, for Jesus Christ’s sake show me what Christianity is, that I may not be damned at last!’

God soon showed me, for in reading a few lines further, the ‘true Christianity is a union of the soul with God, and Christ formed within us,’ a ray of divine light was instantaneously darted into my soul, and from that moment, and not till then, did I know I must become a new creature.

So, I decided to read this book (you can download it for free) and it has truly been a rousing blessing to my soul. The language is old English but if you can work through it, it’s like digging for precious jewels. It’s worth the time. Thus, you’ll be seeing some Scougal quotes from me coming soon. I am about one-third through the book (only about 16 pages) and it really has been a rich blessing. I hope you’ll give it a try as well. I figure, if it can show GW the way to grace, then it’s worth the read.