Part 148

Sorry am I to send you word, that a writer of this unhappy stamp now lies upon my table: a writer, who, although he entitles his book, “The Offices and Operations of the Holy Ghost vindicated from the Insults of Infidelity and Abuses of Fanaticism,” yet, in his great zeal against the latter, and to the no small encouragement of the former, as far as perverted reason and disguised sophistry could carry him, hath, in effect, robbed the church of CHRIST of its promised Comforter; and thereby left us, upon whom the ends of the world are come, without any supernatural influence or divine operations whatsoever. Often have I heard you observe, that there never was an age in which the stewards of the mysteries of CHRIST were more loudly called upon to vindicate the offices and operations of the Holy Spirit, than this wherein we live. And, for my own part, I cannot help thinking, that the most accomplished and duly qualified person in the universe, could he write or speak so extensively, that the whole world might hear or read him, could not possibly express his love to mankind in general, and to the church of GOD, purchased with his own blood, in particular, in a more necessary, commendable, and useful way, than by declaring, upon the house-top, that the Holy Ghost, like its almighty Purchaser, is the same to-day as he was yesterday; that he is now, as well as formerly, in the use of all instituted means, appointed to convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and judgment; to lead them into all truth, by spiritually opening their understandings, that they may understand the scriptures; and to renew a clean heart and right spirit within them here, in order that they may be thereby prepared for the full enjoyment of a triune, and ever-blessed GOD hereafter. This you will judge, my dear friend, is what any one might have reasonably expected to have met with, in a book bearing such a promising title. But alas, how was I disappointed! And how will you be equally surprised, when I tell you, that upon perusing the book itself, I found that the author, instead of vindicating or asserting, rather denies and ridicules the standing and unalterable operations of the Holy Ghost. For, having ingeniously taken a great deal of learned pains against the insinuations of Doctor _Middleton_, to prove that there once was a Holy Ghost; and that he did once actually descend upon the Apostles, on the day of Pentecost; and further, that he did once inspire the sacred writers to settle the canon of scripture; he then, in order to tear up superstition, and what he calls fanaticism, by the roots, takes infinitely greater pains (as well he might, being a most arduous task indeed) to shew, that what true believers, in all ages, have always looked upon to be the _standing_ and _ordinary operations_ of the Spirit, “Such as manifest themselves in grace and knowledge, and which administer aid in spiritual distresses, are to be accounted and called _miraculous_, as much as those which extended outwards, in the gift of healing, and the relief of other corporeal infirmities.” And these “miraculous powers (he adds) being now, upon the perfect establishment of christianity, _totally withdrawn_, it consequently must be superstitious and fanatical to look for, or pretend to be possessed of, any of those operations which manifest themselves in grace and knowledge, and which administer aid in spiritual distresses.” Pages 75, 82, 83, octavo edition. Strange assertions these, you will say, for a vindicator of the offices and operations of the Holy Ghost, against the insults of infidelity, and the abuses of fanaticism! Alas! what could a _Middleton_ say more? Nay, I could almost add, where hath he expressly said so much? But if it be superstition to look for, if it be fanaticism to seek after, and not rest till we are actually and experimentally possessed of, the supernatural influences of the Blessed Spirit, manifesting themselves in grace and divine knowledge, and affording aid in spiritual distresses, then may you and I, my dear friend, become more and more superstitious and fanatical every day! For I am persuaded, that without such divine manifestations as exceed the powers of humanity, were we to be signed with the sign of the cross in baptism, a thousand times over, we could never successfully fight under CHRIST’s banner against sin, the world, and the devil, and consequently not so much as truly commence, much less continue to be, his faithful servants and soldiers even to the end of our lives.