Field-preaching, or preaching in the open air, "apian adopted by reformers in every age, in order to propagate more extensively and effectuallj' their peculiar sentiments among the great masses of the people. Christ and his apostles not only availed them- selves of the privileges which the synagogues afforded of making known the ' Gospel of the Kingdom' to those who assembled therein from Sabbath to Sabbath, thej- also proclaimed the doctrines and precepts of the new dispensation on the highwaj-s and hedges, on the sea- shore and on the barren glade, on the mountain's side and in the streets of the teeming city. "Wherever men were found, and under whatever circumstances thej' were placed, if their ears could be reached, there the voice of the first teachers of Christianity was heard, warning sinners of coming danger, and pointing out the only way of escape — the only medium of access unto God. So was it, too, with other reformers, whose labors our limits forbid our noticing, as we desire to add a few words on the field-preaching of Whitefield and AVesley. The practice was commenced by the former, and that without anj' misgivings as to the 'ir- regularit}'' of such a strange proceeding ; whereas the latter, though a man of more highly cultivated intel- lect, and who, on that account, ought to have risen su- perior to the prejudices of his order, was, with much reluctance, induced to follow in the course so heroical- ly opened up by the elocjuent Whitefield. But having once commenced, there was no drawing ])ack ; he had taken to the field, and no man's face or frown should cause him to retire. John Wesley was not a man of a weak and shrinking spirit, as his whole life testifies ; but he was a man who jiroved himself on all occasions to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Wlien Whitefield was refused the pulpits of the London and Bristol churchfs, and after he had lieen tlu'catencd by the chancellor of the diocese of the latter place with sus- pension and excommunication if he persisted in preach- ing in his diocese without a license, he resolved in his mind whether it might not be his duty to preach in the open air. Indeed, he had thought of this before he was refused permission to preach in the pulpits of the establishment, when lie saw that thousands who sought to hear him could not gain admittance into the church- es. He mentioned his thoughts to some friends, who
pronounced the idea to be a mad one ; but now, he be- lieved that in Bristol his dutj- in this respect was no longer doubtful. Moreover, many persons said to him, ' What need of going abroad.' Have we not Indians enough at home ? If you have a mind to convert In- dians, there are colliers enough at Kingswood.' To these, therefore, he determined to preach the message of reconciliation. The colliers at Kingswood were without any means of religious instruction ; they had no church in which to worship, no minister to teach them the duties of religion, or to pray with them • hence they were notorious for their brutality and wick- edness, and in times of excitement were a terror to all around them. On February 17, 173!), AVhitelield pro- ceeded to Rose Green, Kingswood (his first field-pulpit), where he preached to as nianj' as the novelty of the scene collected, which were about 200. ' The ice be- ing now broke' — to use his own observation on this first open-air sennon — he determined to persevere in the same course. Accordingly, he visited Kingswood frequently, and every time he went there the number of his hearers increased ; for, besides the colliers, thou- sands of all ranks flocked from Bristol and the neigh- borhood, and the congregation was sometimes com- puted at 20,000. With gladness and eagerness many of these despised outcasts, who had never been in a church in their lives, received the instruction of this eminent follower of him who '■ icent about doing good.' 'The first discovery,' says he, 'of their being aft'ected. was to see the white gutters made b}- their tears, which plentifully fell down their black cheeks, as ihey came
out of their coal-pits Sometimes, when 20,000
people were before me, I had not, in my own appre- hension, a word to say, either to God (in prayer) or to
them (by preaching) The open firmament
above me, the prospect of the adjacent fields, with the sight of thousands and thousands, some in coaches, some on horseback, and some on the trees, and at times all affected and drenclied in tears together, to which sometimes was added the solemnit}' of the approach- ing evening, was almost too much for, and quite over- came me.' Whitefield was then requested to preach in a bowling-green in the city, and he complied. Many of the audience sneered to see a stripling with a gown mount a table on unconsecrated ground ; for field-preaching, since common enough in England, was then unknown, and therefore obloquy was poured upon it. His engagements ."^o increased that he sought the help of jMr. Weslej'. Without delay Mr. Wesley pro- ceeded to Bristol, and on his arrival was invited to preach in the open air. ' I could scarce reconcile my- self at first,' says he, 'to this strange waj' of preach- ing in the fields, of which he (Whitefield) set me the example on the Sunday, having been all my life, till very lately, so tenacious of every point relating to de- cency and order that I should have thought the saving of souls a sin if it had not been done in a church.' However, on the following da}-, Mr. "Wesley preached from a little eminence in an open ground adjoining the citj' to about 3000 people. In the days of White- field and the Wesleys field-preaching was not unfre- quently attended with danger. Though they often met with a kind reception from the multitudes, yet at other times they experienced the rudest and most de- termined opposition, and often their lives were in im- minent peril from the violence of an ignorant, de- praved, and excited populace. In his Earnest Appeal, ^Ir. Wesley asks, ' AVho is there among you, brethren, that is willing (examine j-our own hearts) even to save souls from death at this price ? AVould not you let a thousand souls perish rather than you would be the instrument of rescuing them thus .' I do not speak luiw with regard to conscience, but to the inconven- iences that must accompan}' it. Can you sustain them if you would.' Can you bear the summer sun to beat upon your naked head? Can you suffer the wintry rain or wind, from whatever quarter it blows.' Are