I might here add, my dear friend, some other specimens of our Author’s manner of explaining scripture, by his fine human reason: for instance, ‘Keeping ourselves unspotted from the world, he says, page 157, signifies only our using the means of grace.’ And again, when the Apostle informs us, _Ephesians_ v. 9. “that the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth,” he tells us, that “truth refers to christian doctrine, goodness to christian practice, and by righteousness is meant, the conduct of the whole to particulars, and consists in that equal gentleness of government, where church-authority is made to coincide with the private rights of conscience; and this refers to christian discipline¹;” with several such like instances, which even the most unwary reader, without much study or application, may meet with, scattered up and down this Author’s performance; but this would be too great a digression. Indeed I should not have dwelt so long even upon this extraordinary interpretation of the thirteenth chapter of the first epistle to the _Corinthians_, had not the writer himself called it, _this decisive passage_, and given it as his opinion, page 76, “That this is the only express declaration recorded in scripture, to prove, that all supernatural knowledge or divine influence was to cease, when christianity was perfectly established, or the world arrived at a perfect christian state.” But every day’s experience, nay this Author’s very book, proving beyond a doubt, that christianity is not as yet thus perfectly established; we may yet, according to his own principles, expect divine manifestations of grace and knowledge, and spiritual aids under spiritual distresses, without justly incurring the imputation either of superstition or fanaticism.
¹ How much more pertinent is Mr. _Clark_’s interpretation? According to him, “Goodness is an inclination to do good to others, truth is freedom from hypocrisy and dissimulation, righteousness is just dealing.” _Ephesians_ v. 9.
But to proceed. However profound and unintelligible our Author’s comments may be, yet, when he comes to shew the reasonableness and fitness of an abatement or total withdrawing of divine influence in these last days, (but woe to the christian world if he succeeds in his unhallowed attempt!) he speaks intelligibly enough. “On the Spirit’s first descent upon the Apostles, he found their minds rude and uninformed, strangers to all celestial knowledge, prejudiced in favour of a carnal law, and utterly averse to the dictates of the everlasting gospel. The minds of these he illuminated, and, by degrees, led into all truths necessary for the professors of the faith to know, or for the propagators of it to teach.”――True.――“Secondly, the nature and genius of the gospel were so averse to all the religious institutions of the world, that the whole strength of human prejudices was set in opposition to it. To overcome the obstinacy and violence of those prejudices, nothing less than the power of the Holy One was sufficient.”――Good.――“And, thirdly and lastly, There was a time when the powers of this world were combined together for its destruction. At such a period, nothing but superior aid from above, could support humanity in sustaining so great a conflict as that which the holy martyrs encountered with joy and rapture, the horrors of death and torment.”――Excellent.――But what follows?――According to our Author,
_Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis._