George-Whitefield-Field-Preacher

HENRY TANNER 223
him mad, they filled their pockets with stones to pelt him, and
arranged to throw him from his block. Their resolution, how-
ever, failed when they came to stand for a little while under the
charm of his eloquence ; and one of them—Henry Tanner,
a ship-builder—at least went home with a serious heart and
a resolution in it that he would come again the next night and
hear more. The next night the sermon was on the text
' Beginning at Jerusalem,' and contained, as it was sure to do
in the hands of a pictorial preacher, and one who sought the
recovery of ' Jerusalem sinners ' with the greatest devotion, a
description of the cruel murder of the Lord of life. It was
an admirable topic for admitting a close application of truth
to the conscience ; and when the last sad scenes in our Lord's
life had been portrayed, Whitefield said to his congregation :
1 You are reflecting on the cruelty of these inhuman butchers,
who imbrued their hands in innocent blood.' As he spoke
his eyes fell on the young ship-builder ; and then, while speaker
and hearer seemed to be only with each other in the con-
sciousness of each other's glance, he added :
' Thou art the
man.' The effect was great and manifest; and Whitefield,
with his own swift aptitude for fastening on any passing event,
and for preaching to one person in the midst of a multitude
without any one but that person knowing of it, went on to
speak words of tenderness and encouragement. A third time
did the young man come to hear, and this time to enter into
joy and peace in believing. By and by he in turn ventured to
preach the gospel, and his ministry of sixty-five years, mostly
exercised at Exeter, was one which could boast that hardly
one of its sermons had fallen uselessly to the ground. His
last end was according to an earnest and oft-repeated prayer,
and such as became a good servant of the Lord Jesus Christ
strength failed him in the pulpit, and he was carried thence
to die.