120 History of Methodism 



and constitutions ecclesiastical in that part made, provided, and 

 pronmlged, not to have used the same according to the lawful proofs 

 before us in that part judicially had and made. We therefore pro- 

 nounce, decree, and declare that the said George Whitefield, for his 

 excesses and faults, ought, duly and canonically, and according to 

 the exigence of the law in that part of the premises, to be corrected 

 and punished, and also to be suspended from his office ; and, ac- 

 cordingly, by these presents, we do suspend him, the said George 

 Whitefield; and for being so suspended we also pronounce, decree, 

 and declare him to be denounced, declared, and published openly 

 and publicly in the face of the Church. 



This extraordinary document did not in the slight- 

 est degree affect the popularity and usefulness of Mr. 

 Whitefield. With growing favor among the people, 

 he continued to preach from year to year in South 

 Carolina and Georgia, freely exchanging pulpits with 

 Dissenters of every sect and denomination, and was 

 welcomed by all as a true messenger of the gospel of 

 peace. On his last visit to Charleston, he spent the 

 month of February, 1770, preaching every day to over- 

 flowing congregations; and, going soon after on his 

 usual northern trip, closed his labors with his life, at 

 Newburyport, Massachusetts, September 30, 1770. 

 His last sermon was preached the day before, from 2 

 Cor. xiii. 5: "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in 

 the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your 

 own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye 

 be reprobates ? " "I go, I go," said the dying preacher, 

 "to rest prepared. My sun has arisen, and, by aid 

 from heaven, given light to many; 'tis now about to 

 set for — no, it cannot be! — 'tis to rise to the zenith of 

 immortal glory. I have outlived many on earth, but 

 they cannot outlive me in heaven. Many shall live 

 when this body is no more; but then — O thought di- 

 vine! — I shall be in a world where time, age, pain, and 



