And now, Sir, I am somewhat prepared to hear what follows in your 48th page. “Nothing less than _inspirations_, _revelations_, _illuminations_, and all the extraordinary and immediate actions of all the persons in the _sacred Trinity_, will serve their turn. So that now every flash of zeal and devotion; every wild pretension, scheme, tenet, and over-bearing dictate; impulses, impressions, feelings, impetuous transports and raptures; intoxicating vapours, and fumes of imagination; phantoms of a crazy brain, &c. all are ascribed, with an amazing presumption, to the extraordinary interposition of heaven setting its seal to their mission.”
Judge you now, Sir, whether I am one of those, of whom you are pleased to speak thus, page 49. “In short, whatever they think, say, or do, is from GOD; and whatever opposeth, and stands in their way, is from the Devil.” No, Sir, my mistakes have been too many, and my blunders too frequent, to make me set up for infallibility. I came soon into the world; I have carried high sail, whilst running through a whole torrent of popularity and contempt; and, by this means, have sometimes been in danger of oversetting. But many and frequent as my mistakes have been, or may be, as I have no part to act, if I know any thing of my heart, but to promote GOD’s glory, and the good of souls, as soon as I am made sensible of them, they shall be publicly acknowledged and retracted.
At the same time, I should lie against reason, scripture, and above fourteen years experience, if I denied, that GOD has been pleased, from time to time, to vouchsafe me _comfortable assistance_ and _supports_; or that a great and glorious work (if the _conversion of souls_ may be termed so) has been begun, and is now carrying on in these, and several other parts of the world, by the instrumentality of those whom you stile enthusiastical Methodists.
Indeed, the ingenious author of the “Considerations upon the conversion and apostleship of St. _Paul_,” speaking of the enthusiasm that appears not only in the lives of some enthusiastical heretics, but even some of the methodists now, ventures to say, that “all the divine communications, illuminations, and extacies to which they have pretended, evidently sprung from much self-conceit, working together with the vapours of melancholy upon a warm imagination.” That the mentioning these divine communications so freely to the world, might be mixed with some degrees of unobserved vanity, or want of caution, may be probable. But roundly to assert, that all their communications were _only pretended_, and sprung from no other sources but self-conceit, vapours of melancholy, and a warm imagination, is I think unbecoming so _young a convert_ as that author, is a blemish to his performance, and a mistake which, I trust, he himself will be happily convinced of, when he comes to experience more of the power of that Redeemer’s resurrection, which the Apostle, of whose conversion he in the main so excellently treats, longed so much to know.
Without running such lengths in judging others, or needlessly fearing to be accounted enthusiasts or methodists ourselves; when writing in defence of christianity, I think we may rationally allow, that there may be much light and assistance given from GOD, though at the same time something of our own imaginations may possibly be blended with it.
This I take to be true with respect to the Methodists. That imagination has mixed itself with the work, cannot be denied; and is no more than what must necessarily be expected; for whoever saw fire without some smoke? but that the work itself is of GOD; and as good Bishop _Latimer_ said, when the papists laid a lighted faggot at Dr. _Ridley_’s feet, so we may venture to affirm, “a candle is lighted in _England_ (through the instrumentality of the Methodists,) which will not easily be put out.”