“Not even a word or look Do I approve or own, But by the model of thy book, Thy sacred book alone.”
_Instead of judging of his spiritual estate by the improvement of his heart, he rests only on extacies_――――Neither is this my case. I rest not on them at all. Nor did I ever experience any. I do judge of my spiritual estate by the improvement of my heart and the tenor of my life conjointly. _He is very liable to err_――――So indeed I am. I find it every day more and more. But I do not yet find, that this is owing to my want of _considering things coolly and carefully_. Perhaps you do not know many persons (excuse my simplicity in speaking it) who more carefully consider every step they take. Yet I know I am not cool or careful enough. ♦May God supply this and all my wants! _He is very difficult to be convinced, by reason and argument, as he acts upon a supposed principle superior to it, the direction of God’s Spirit._――――I am very difficult to be convinced, by dry blows or hard names; (both of which I have not wanted:) but not, by reason and argument. At least that difficulty cannot spring from the cause you mention. For I claim no other direction of God’s Spirit, than is common to all believers. _Whoever opposes him is charged with ♠resisting the Spirit._――――What! whoever opposes _me, John Wesley_? Do I charge every such person with rejecting the Spirit? No more than I charge him with robbing on the highway. I cite you yourself, to confute your own words. For do I charge _you_ with rejecting the Spirit? _His own dreams must be regarded as oracles._――――Whose? I desire neither my dreams nor my waking thoughts, may be regarded at all, unless just so far as they agree with the oracles of God. _Whatever he does is to be accounted the works of God._――――You strike quite wide of _me_ still. I never said so of what I do. I never thought so. Yet I trust what I do is pleasing to God. _Hence he talks in the stile of_ inspired _persons_. ――――No otherwise inspired, than you are, if you love God. _And applies scripture phrases to himself, without attending to their original meaning, or once considering the difference of times and circumstances._ I am not conscious of any thing like this. I apply no scripture phrase either to myself or any other, without carefully considering both ♣the _original_ meaning, and the _secondary_ sense, wherein (allowing for different times and circumstances) it may be applied to ordinary Christians.
♦ “My” replaced with “May” per Errata
♠ “rejecting” replaced with “resisting” per Errata
♣ “their” replaced with “the” per Errata
6. So much for the bulk of your charge. But it concerns me likewise, to gather up the fragments of it. You say, ¹_We desire no more, than to try your sentiments and proceedings, by the written word_. Agreed. Begin when and where you please. _We find there good works as strongly insisted on as faith._――――I do as strongly insist on them as on faith. But each in its own order. _We find all railing, &c. condemned therein._――――True; and so you may in all I write or preach. _We are assured, that the doing what God commands, is the sure way of knowing, that we have received his Spirit._――――We have doubtless received it, if we love God (as he commands) with all our heart, mind, soul and strength: _And not by any sensible impulses or feelings whatsoever. ――――Any sensible impulses whatsoever?_ Do you then exclude _all sensible impulses_? Do you reject _inward feelings_ toto genere? Then you reject both the _love_ of God and of our neighbour. For if these cannot be _inwardly felt_, nothing can. You reject all _joy_ in the Holy Ghost. For if we cannot be sensible of this, it is no joy at all. You reject the peace of God, which if it be not felt in the inmost soul, is a dream, a notion, an empty name. You therefore reject the whole _inward kingdom of_ God, that is, in effect, the whole gospel of Jesus Christ.
¹ Remarks, page 63.
You have therefore yourself abundantly shewn (what I do not _insinuate_, but proclaim on the house-top) that I am charged with _enthusiasm_, for _asserting the power_ (as well as the form) _of godliness_.
7. You go on ¹_The character of the Enthusiast above drawn, will fit, I believe, all such of the Methodists as can be thought sincere_.――――I believe not. I have tried it on one, and it fitted him, just as _Saul_’s armour did _David_. However, _a few instances_ of enthusiasm, you undertake to shew _in this very journal_.
¹ Remarks, page 63.