And first, _You give us one_ (these are your words) _of a private revelation, which you seem to pay great credit to_. You partly relate this, and then remark, _What enthusiasm is here? To represent the conjectures of a woman, whose brain appears to have been too much heated, as if they had been owing to a particular and miraculous spirit of prophecy?_――――Descant, Sir, as you please on this _enthusiasm_; on the credit I paid to this private revelation; and my _representing the conjectures_ of this brain-sick woman, as owing to the miraculous _power of the Spirit of_ God. And when you have done I will desire you to read that passage once more, where you will find my express words are (introducing this account) “_Sunday, 11._ ¹I met with a surprizing instance, of the _power of the devil_.” Such was the _credit_ I paid to this revelation! All which I ascribe to _the Spirit of_ God _is_, the enabling her to strive against the _power of the devil_, and at length restoring peace to her soul.
¹ Journal, page 66.
8. As a second instance of enthusiasm, you cite those words, “¹I expounded out of the fulness which was given me.” The whole sentence is, “Out of the fulness that was given me, I expounded those words of St. _Paul_ (indeed of every true believer) _To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain_.” I mean, I had than a _fuller_, deeper sense of that great truth, than I _ordinarily_ have. And I still think it right, to ascribe this, not to myself, but to the _giver of every good and perfect gift_.
¹ Page 65.
You relate what follows as a third ¹_very extraordinary instance of enthusiasm_. “Tuesday, ²February 17. I left _London_. In the afternoon I reached _Oxford_, and leaving my horse there (for he was tired, and the horse-road exceeding bad, and my business admitted of no delay) set out on foot for _Stanton-harcourt_. The night overtook me in about an hour, accompanied with heavy rain. Being wet and weary, and not well knowing my way, I could not help saying in my heart, (tho’ ashamed of my want of resignation to God’s will) O that thou would’st _stay the bottles of heaven_! Or at least, give me light or an honest guide! Or some help, in the manner thou knowest; presently the rain ceased: the moon broke out, and a friendly man overtook me, who set me on his own horse, and walked by my side, till we came to Mr. _Gambold_’s door.”
¹ Remarks, page 65.
² Journal, pages 69, 70.
Here you remark, _If you would not have us look on this as miraculous, there is nothing in it worthy of being related_.――――It may be so; let it pass then as a trifle not worth relating: but still it is no proof of enthusiasm. For I _would not have you look on it as miraculous_. I do not myself look upon it as such; but as a signal instance of God’s _particular providence_ over all those who call upon him.
9. ¹_In the same spirit of enthusiasm_ (you go on, citing this as a fourth instance) _You describe heaven as executing judgments, immediate punishments, on those who oppose you. You say “Mr. Molther was taken ill this day. I believe it was the hand of God that was upon him”_――――I do. But I do not say, as a _judgment from_ God, for opposing me. That _you_ say for me. _Again, you tell us of “one who was exceeding angry, at those who pretended to be in fits; and was just going to kick one of them out of the way, when she dropt down herself and was in violent agonies for an hour.”――――And you say you left her――――under a deep sense of the_ just judgment _of_ God.――――So she termed it, and so I believe it was. But observe. Not for _opposing me.――――Again, you mention ‘as an ♦awful providence, the case of a poor wretch, who was last week cursing and blaspheming, and had boasted to many, that he would come again on Sunday, and no man should stop his mouth then_ (His mouth was stopped before, in the midst of the most horrid blasphemies, by asking him, “If he was stronger than God?”) _But on Friday_, God _laid his hand upon him, and on Sunday he was buried_.’――――I do look on this, as a manifest judgment of God, on a hardened sinner, for his complicated wickedness.――――²_Again, “one being just going to beat his wife, (which he frequently did)_ God _smote him in a moment: so that his hand dropped, and he fell down upon the ground, having no more strength than a new-born child.”_――――And can you, Sir, _consider this, as one of the common dispensations of providence_? Have you known a parallel one in your life? But it was never cited by me, as it is by you, as _an immediate punishment_ on a man for _opposing me_. You have no authority from any sentence or word of mine, for putting such a construction upon it: no more than you have for that strange intimation (how remote both from justice and charity!) That _I ♠paralleled these cases, with those of_ Ananias and Sapphira, _or of_ Elymas _the sorcerer_!
¹ Remarks, page 66.
♦ “aweful” replaced with “awful”
² Page 67.
♠ “paralled” replaced with “paralleled”