LIBRARY OP PRINCETON MAR 2 9 2005 THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/quakerismunmaskeOOalex .Q s/j $S " . QUAKERISM UNMASKED COMPRISING A GLANCE AT J. WILKINSON S FEB 7 1913 " QUAKERISM EXAMINED." BY AMICUS. " Professing to be wise, they changed the glory of the uncorruptible God, into the image of corruptible man." — Rom. i. 22, 23. " To guard the sincere enquirer after Truth, against the influence of the names of those worthy instruments, [the early Friends,'] in giving currency to sentiments they never held, is but an act of justice to their character, to the principles they held, and to those who stand in need of such information." — Elisha Bates. YORK: PRINTED AND SOLD BY WILLIAM ALEXANDER. SOLD ALSO BY HARVEY AND DARTON, AND E. FRY AND SON, LONDON. 1839. " Of self-perusal, Science rare, Few know the mighty gain ; Learn'd prelates, ^(/"-unread, may read Their Bibles o'er in vain. " Unlettered and un travelled men An Oracle might find, Would they consult their own Contents, The Delphos of the mind." Young's Resignation. " Paul declares that though the Mosaic Dispensation was glorious, that of Christ exceeds it in glory. But if Christ revealed Himself immedi- ately to the Jews, and to Christians only mediately by the letter of a book, it is plain the Apostle was mistaken ; for no one can deny it is far more glorious to see the Light of God's Countenance, and hear His voice, than merely to read something about them in a book." " O Lord ! If because we have this blessed picture of Thee, we must have no discovery of thy glorious Original, have compassion on us ; take back thy precious Book, and impart thy more precious SELF to us, as Thou didst to thy ancient people." — Fletcher on the Spiritual Manifestation. i PREFACE. In offering the following pages to the public eye, the author dis- tinctly states, that he onhj is accountable for what they contain ; for though it is conceived the views expressed in them, are in perfect harmony with the doctrines maintained by "the early Friends," and most surely believed by their successors in religious fellowship and communion ; yet the writer is solicitous to avoid committing the body in any respect, by the manner or the terms in which he has judged it eligible to express his sentiments ; and by which he indulges a hope that, in some instances, the Doctrines of Friends may be exhibited, either with rather more perspicuity, or in a more concentrated point of view ; than the style and times of " the early Friends," were adapted to setting forth their opinions. The author further conceives, that the very circumstance of this work being anonymous, completely exonerates the Society from any responsibility respecting it. As one portion of the title, "A Glance," distinctly imports, brevity was an original as well as desirable object ; and as regards the aim to which " A Glance " is directed, the appellation will probably be found appropriate, when it is considered that the work at which it glances, consists of five hundred duodecimo pages ; and invests " Quakerism," as J. W. has been pleased to term it, with a Mask consisting of more than a fourth part of five hundred passages, which the author of this "Glance" most decidedly ranks as misin- terpretations, consequent fallacious assumptions or deductions, or corresponding calumniations of the Doctrines not only held, but openly avowed, and fully set forth by " the early Friends." The authors whose writings, almost exclusively, are quoted as agreeing with the sentiments advanced in this Glance, are G. Fox iv PREFACE. and R. Barclay, respecting whose writings J. W. has taken the most occasion, however undesignedly, grossly to misrepresent the Principles of the Society of Friends. To have ranged amongst the cloud of witnesses, who might have been brought in evidence against him, would not have been consistent with " a Glance." And those two individuals were not only members, but ornaments of the Society ; " adorning the Doctrine of God our Saviour in all things ; " though, no doubt, in common with others, partaking of the infirmities of our nature. How much soever " the memo^ of the just is blessed," it has been the author's endeavour, in justifying the principles of the early Friends, to avoid ascribing anything to their " own power or holiness," under a full persuasion, that, as their souls were redeemed from trusting in anything short of Christ Jesus inwardly revealed, those among them who were the most enlightened and instructed, would, to the apostle's inquiry: "What hast thou, which thou hast not re- ceived," the most freely respond : " We are nothing, Christ is all ! " A like conviction must attend all their successors in religious profession, who are fully imbued with the principles held and promul- gated by " the early Friends ; " which J. W. says : "My whole soul abhors." In relation to the mistaken author of " Quakerism Examined," who has uttered this and many, many other similar sentiments, it is not the object of this " Glance " to inflict any needless wound upon his feelings ; for the individual who could be so utterly in error as deliberately to prepare, and at length put forth to the world, such a publication, is an object of pity and of Christian compassion. But with a disease so deeply seated as J. W. himself represents his to have been ; and as there is reason to fear it does still continue ; no remedies short of those of a penetrating and searching character, can be expected to reach the seat of his malady. Hopeless as the endeavour may seem to be, the desire predominates, to convince J. W.'s understanding of, at least, some of the multi- tudinous mistakes into which he has fallen ; united with a hope that this endeavour may possibly prove beneficial to some whom he and others have misled. In prosecuting these objects it will probably be obvious, that necessity is laid upon the author of this " Glance," respecting the very few of those errors which have been selected for notice, to endeavour PREFACE. V to exhibit them with perspicuity and faithfulness ; and to pourtray them in firm, though temperate — in unequivocal, though, it is hoped, not in unchristian language. Such has appeared to be the only course to be pursued, in attempt- ing to bring into view some of the distorted features of that caricature. if it be not too soft a name, which J. W. has dignified with the im- press of " Quakerism Examined." In quoting sentiments contained in that work, whilst consulting brevity, by avoiding an unnecessary length of quotation, the author of this "'Glance" has studiously endeavoured to quote sufficient ; so as not to give J. W's, sentiments unfairly ; unless giving part of a sarcasm where the whole might have showed more glowing colours than was needful for that particular occasion, can be so deemed ; and alike desirous has the author been, to avoid by any curtailment, the pre- senting of a different idea to that which the selection conveys, when embodied with its context. Since few, but very feiv compared with the aggregate number of J. W's. misinterpretations, and consequent unmerited aspersions are specified in this work, it may with strict propriety be considered merely as " a Glance" at " Quakerism Examined ;" though by incorporating ■with the remarks immediately bearing on those few ; some further observations, designed to illustrate the doctrines which J. "W's. remarks impugn, and by endeavouring a little to systematize the whole, 11 Quakerism Unmasked," has extended very far beyond the limits at first intended. To this extension the Chapter or two Sections on Baptism and the Lord's Supper, have materially contributed, neither of these being included in the original design. "With all its extensions the writer is perfectly aware, that such is the multiplicity of arguments that might be brought from Holy writ, in defence and support of the principles which he has endeavoured, however feebly yet faithfully to advocate, that in this respect the whole work can be deemed no more than 11 a Glance" — an imperfect sketch. That so long a period has been suffered to elapse since the date of J. W's. " Quakerism Examined," maybe attributed in great measure if not principally, to the circumstance that the original notes upon it. were made on a perusal prolonged by considerable intervals of sus- pended attention ; being commenced without the most di.-tant idea of publishing any remarks upon it. vi PREFACE. The author feels a hope and persuasion that the sentiments offered in this u Glance" will be found accordant with those contained in the Sacred Records ; and that its imperfections will mainly consist, either in a want of perspicuous delineation, or in a lack of introducing those passages which might have been more appropriately adduced to sup- port and illustrate " the Principles of Quakerism." If amidst the many and varied imperfections, any thing should be discovered, that tends to elicit what is truly good, the writer sincerely and earnestly desires, that this may be attributed solely, to the benign and condescending Goodness of Him from whom all good proceeds ; and whose gracious aid has very oft been implored. And should it seem that any true light is thrown upon the genuine import of the Sacred Records, through the medium of the following pages, the writer feels a deep conviction, that it must be considered only as the glimmering of a taper, compared with that effulgence of " the True Light" which will shine on those Records, after the opening of the seven seals ; when " The Lion of the Tribe of Juda, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the Book, and loose the seven seals thereof." CONTENTS Page. Preface Hi CHAPTER I. THE CHARACTER OF J. W.S STRICTURES . 13 Section I. — J. Wilkinson's Motives and Objects ... 14 II.— Hai Ebn Yokdan . . . . \ . 22 Containing Observations on J. WVs Strictures, before seeing the " History of Hai Eben Yokdan" 22 Postscript to Section II. Containing Observations after seeing the " History of Hai Ebn Yokdan" .... 39 And on " Theologia Ruris," or the Book of Nature 46 Conclusion of the First Chapter. Brief Remarks 69 CHAPTER II. Fruits of Love ... 63 Section I.— The Holy Scriptures .... 64 In relation to J. WVs Strictures ... 64 II. — Redemption by Christ 101 REDEMPTION CONTINUED. i - '^r r< r~, « fl» Word of God >' .... 120 fn rrfarenco to rvhat J, IF expresses by Moral Sense . . .138 viii CONTENTS. Page. Section TIL — Inward Light and Immediate Revelation . . 163 1. The Term Inward Light . . . .165 2. The Term Revelation 167 3. The Characters of Inward Light . . .168 First — It is not natural, nor any part of the natural man, &c. . 168 Second — If accepted, &c, it is saving in its effects . . . 175 Third — Its manifestations and operations exceedingly various . 182 Fourth — Whether admitted and followed, or disregarded, its manifestations are universal 19 ) 4. Mediate and Immediate Revelation . . 196 Mediate Revelation . . . . 1 96 Immediate Revelation . . . . .196 Special Immediate Revelation . . . 209 5. Holy Scriptures 217 As the most efficient and primary means of Mediate Revelation. Conclusion of Section III. Inward Light. Consisting chiefly of Extracts from R. Barclay and Elisha Bates 250 Section IV. — Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets . . 207 V.— On Perfection 295 CHAPTER III. Baptism and the Lord's Supper . 326 Section I.-~Baptism . . . . . . .331 Section II. — The Lord's Supper ...... 374 Conclusion of Chapter III. Baptism and the Lord's Supper 399 A GLANCE, ETC. CHAPTER L The Character of J. W.'s Strictures. The design of this chapter is to set forth, in general terms, the nature and drift of those strictures which the author of "Quakerism Examined," has dealt out against the "early Friends, ? and against what he represents to be, the principles held by them. In thus stating the import of J. W.'s animad- versions, it is not therefore, intended to make more than a few general observations upon them, leaving discussions of a doctrinal character to subsequent portions of this "Glance;" and allowing J. W.'s remarks to exhibit themselves in their own genuine colours. This is the express design of the first of the two sections into which this chapter is divided. Hence the quotations given in it are passed over with very little comment, especially as some of them will claim future attention. " Hai Ebn Yokdan" the subject of the second Section, involving matter of fact more than any doctrinal point, and therefore, not being likely to be referred to in the subsequent pages of this " Glance/' J. W.'s observations on that head are there discussed; and the subject wholly dismissed. B Section I. J. Wilkinson's motives and objects. In order to exhibit these faithfully, both are stated in the author's own words. In page 279, after offering a remark on sentiments uncon- genial with those of the " early Friends," J. W. sets forth the moving cause of his strictures thus : "This may seem like a harsh suggestion ; but I am sure, as far as I know my own heart, it is not offered in any other than the very spirit of Christian Love. 99 In page 464 J. W. says : " Far indeed is it from me to give offence to persons of any description ; but if we must run the risk of this, in cases where only the natural life is in peril, how much more are we warranted in running that risk, when eternal life is at stake ? 99 From these quotations we learn that, " as far as J. W. knows his own heart, 99 he is actuated by f the very spirit of Christian Love ; and is far indeed from wishing to give offence to any. " I give him credit for both suppositions ; but how far he really has " known his own heart, 99 I must leave the reader to judge in the sequel. The latter of the two quotations involves object as well as motive ; and the object, it must be confessed, accords with the motive, for it appears to be to deliver the Society of Friends from the peril of the loss of " eternal life,'* in which the profession of the principles of the " early Friends " is con- sidered to involve them. This idea seems fully borne out by a subsequent passage, page 466, in which J. W. says : " One great object I have had in view, in wading through this most painful examination of the principles of Friends is, to enforce on every one who is concerned, the necessity of abandoning the profession of error, and of holding the truth righteously. " SECT. 1. MOTIVES AND OBJECTS. 15 The reader may judge in the sequel, whether J. W., by effecting his desired change, would not turn the Society from Truth to Error. To effect his purpose, however, J. W. appears to have employed two principal means. The first means may be stated to be, by exhibiting in the most heinous and obnoxious points of view, the " Principles of Quakerism," or more correctly speaking, "the early Friends," and what he re- presents to be those principles. The following are a very few specimens out of the abundance which might be adduced. In page 53, J. W. says: " Here then is the dreadful error detected. " Page 69. " Never can I sufficiently deplore these dread- fully sophistical arguments ; because they are calculated to draw the minds of men away from the revealed Truth of God." In page 105, speaking of the " Inward Light," J. W. says, " The experienced Christian will immediately see, that the principle is altogether fa Ise ; and that all the extravagance exhibited by Friends in former times, and all the unscriptural notions in these days, may naturally be traced to the false assumption of inward and immediate revelation." Again, — " Remove the false assumption, and Quakerism would not occupy even so much room as the imposing and beautifully white efflorescence of the dry rot may be compressed into, when it is scraped away from the substance it has been devouring. " Page 316. " I had long, with anguish of spirit been con- vinced that Quakerism and Christianity are two things. " Without troubling the reader, on this first means, with more of those "dreadful errors "—those " dreadfully sophis- tical arguments "—those "fatal absurdities," (page 141,) which J. W. imagines he has discovered in the principles of Friends ; I freely own that Quakerism as truly professed and b 2 16 J. WILKINSON'S MOTIVES CHAP. I. really known in the heart, and J. W.'s ideas and representations of its principles, are " two things ; " and they appear to me to be as opposite to each other as light is to darkness. The second means to which, in combination with the former, J. W. appears chiefly to resort, is, not to win by cool and sound argument ; but to stifle inquiry by bold and extremely fallacious as- sumptions, and those not unfrequently of a direful character ; as if intended to create alarm respecting the principles of the " early Friends, " and to frighten the present generation of the Society into a belief that what he states must be correct. In J. W.'s letter to the monthly meeting, resigning his membership ; and which he introduces at the commencement of the present work, he sums up in page xxi, with stating of the Society as believers in inward and immediate revelation : Tens of thousands have, I fear, thus been lulled, until they have slept the sleep of death. w And this revival of the dread sentence is maintained by allusions to it in pages 238 and 239. In page 116, after stating his own views of Friends' writings respecting the Sacred Records, J. W. says : " It would seem that a material end of the early Friends' writings, was to make the Scriptures commit felo-de-se, " In page 287, after another of his own definitions of Friends' principles, J. W. says : " None need be surprised, if those who persist in supporting such a system, begin to see the effects of the voice which has gone forth, though they under- stand it not themselves, * Come out of her my people. ' " In page 238 J. W., alluding to an extract from R. Barclay's Apology, says : " Its effect on me, combined with much more which I drank in of Friends' writings, was this, — to make me reject the belief of the miraculous conception of our Lord Jesus Christ. " SECT. 1. AND OBJECTS. 17 If J. W. could imagine that he found this doctrine in Friends* writings, we cannot be surprised that such a mis- taken view of them, " combined with much more which he drank in, " from the fallacious source of his own miscon- structions of their writings, should lead him to add : " Know- ing, therefore, that to me they have been as the very smoke of the bottomless pit ; and that very many are within the in- fluence of the mephitic vapour which continues to be sent forth by them, I would, with all earnestness, utter the voice of warning against their fatal fumes ; that those who have with myself severely suffered by them, may be induced prayerfully to study the Holy Scriptures for themselves, and not longer be deluded, &C." In page 465, J. W. sums up thus : " It has been my endeavour to set before Friends honestly, fairly, and plainly, what I do most unequivocally believe and know by experience, to be the evils of their system ; for as I have myself been driven by it, as to the very mouth of the pit, I would use every argument to convince those of their immense danger, who are still giving themselves up to it. I must however repeat, that it is far from me to judge persons. M My whole soul abhors the principles of Quakerism. I be- lieve they come prom beneath ; and whither can they lead ? " But I will say again, it is my consolation most surely to believe, that many who make profession of them, are really not aware of their nature, and are satisfied to take the word of God for their rule, and to look in simplicity to their Saviour, without entering into the subject of the principles < t the Society ; which they are, perhaps, fearful to examine deeply, lest their minds should be perplexed. " These three quotations form, in the original, part of one paragraph ; and the only reason for dividing the quotation into three parts, is to afford the means of more brief arid distinct reference. b o 18 J WILKINSON'S MOTIVES CHAP. 1. The first division of this quotation contains a very serious charge against the whole system of Friends' principles ; founded, however, upon J, W.'s own utterly wrong ideas of that system, and, therefore, the charge is, as J. W. says, " what / most unequivocally believe. " Founded on J. W.'s own ideas, the charge appears to me just as rational for him to make, as it would be for a Jew, bewildered with the darkness and obscurity of the fourteenth century, to say in speaking of Christianity itself : "I know by experience the evils of the whole system of Christianity, for I have myself been driven by it to the very mouth of the bottomless pit ; and, therefore, I would use every argument to induce Christians to become Jews. " The latter part of the first division states : " I must, how- ever, repeat that I do not judge persons. m With the obvious exceptions of G. Fox, W. Penn, R. Barclay, and a very few others, whom J. W. specifies by name, as maintaining prin- ciples which have led " to sleep the sleep of death, M perhaps we may admit this ; but J. W. adopts a much more summary process than individual judgments, by consigning the "poor Quakers," by " tens of thousands " to the regions of woe ; and in passages which have been quoted, as in the last of the three divisions just introduced, and in other passages, J. W. assumes that those who being religiously disposed, and who, not aware of the nature of the principles they profess, are virtually for- saking them; or who having never deeply examined them, are satisfied without knowing what they are, may be in the way to life: thus deciding, on a broader scale than "judging persons', " who are goats and who are sheep. On the same broad scale that J. W. thus deals with the " poor Quakers " themselves, he also begins the second division of the present quotation respecting tbeir system, saying: — "My whole soul abhors the principles of Quakerism." Here is not the shadow of an exception ; and he immediately SECT. 1. AND OBJECTS. 19 pronounces this decisive sentence on all : " I believe them to come from beneath, and whither can they lead ? " One very prominent and distinguishing principle ever held by the Society of Friends, and, till of late years, by them almost exclusively, is that system of permanent and universal peace, and abstinence from all wars and fightings announ- ced in this language : " on Earth Peace, — goodwill toward men." Christian charity would induce the hope, that the " abhorrence " in which this principle, in common with the rest, is involved, should be numbered amongst J. W.'s over- sights, and that here, as well as in his remarks on the "dry rot" he, in the fervour of his zeal, had outrun his recollection, and had forgotten this principle altogether, and, therefore,, had it not in his eye. If he had, there appears to be no alternative but concluding, that the very profession of the highest Truths, by the " poor Quakers, " is quite sufficient for all such Truths to derive their origin "from beneath ; " since his unqualified decision involves the song of the angels, who, on the glorious event of the birth of the Saviour of the world, proclaimed "on Earth Peace, — goodwill toward men," joined by " a multitude of the heavenly host " ascribing " Glory to God in the highest. " Submitting this and other sweeping sentences of J. W.'s to the most favourable construction of the reader, as to the scope of them, I may just notice the purport of that now he- fore us : My whole soul abhors the principles of Quakerism ; I believe they come from beneath." Under this charge, the objects of it may take comfort from the words of Christ respecting the Jews : " If they have called the Master of the house Belzebub, how much more them of his household ;" for one of the principles which J. W. considers the most dreadful error, the grand bane of all., even " Inward Light" or "Immediate Revelation," concerning which he says page 105, whoever " will say anything to the contrary, is. 20 J. WILKINSON'S MOTIVES CHAP. I. as W. Penn and his contemporaries declared : 1 The root of the goodly tree of doctrines that have grown and branched out from it/ " And this principle of the "early Friends" involves a firm belief in the apostolic doctrine: "Know ye not your ownselves, how that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates?" a doctrine which our blessed Lord strongly inculcates in his discourse with his disciples just before he suffered, as related in John chs. 14, lo, and 16. Hence how can the Holy Jesus himself, to say the least, escape being virtually implicated in J. W.'fi sweeping abhorrence 0 Too many of us, it must be allowed, through departing from the principles of the Society in a greater or less degree, may fear our having a just claim to the blessed privilege of being of Christ's " household ;" but I trust all who truly and faith- fully adhere to this principle of Quakerism, (which none can do without obedience to their Lord,) may possibly meet with His final acceptance ; though J. W. consigns such by "tens of thousands to sleep the sleep of death." To my apprehension, the quotations which J. W. brings forward from " the early Friends," not unfrequently contain an antidote to the poison which J. W. extracts, or thinks he extracts from them. And I trust, in the course of the ensuing discussions of them, some readers will perceive, that J. W.'s "mephitic vapour," and other dire concomitants, have all had their origin, not in the principles of Friends, but in a confused and heterogeneous system, which J. W. has agglomerated out of his own misconceptions of those principles. In extenuation of his multifarious charges, denunciations, misrepresentations, &c, respecting the Society of Friends, J. W., page 463, pleads thus: "I certainly have not affected to speak doubtfully respecting things which are clearly revealed to us in Holy Scripture ; nor have I hesitated to pronounce with decision in cases where the truth is self-evi- dent. But although to some, perhaps this may seem like SECT. 1. AND OBJECTS. presumption, I trust it will by no means be generally so considered; because a Christian is called upon to express himself with decision concerning the great and leading doctrines of Christianity. " But, my friend, "is a Christian called upon," utterly to misinterpret and misrepresent the views of his fellow-members on those doctrines? Is he called upon to pronounce with decision, charges founded on those misrepresentations, and to assign his errors to his late fellow-professors, as being their principles P And in the course of doing so, is he " called upon " to arrogate to his own imperfect views, the assumption of being " the whole revealed will of God," page 336 ; and then to heap opprobium and fulminate anathemas, (such as have been already quoted from thy work,) against a Christian community ? The quotations which have been made, exhibit but a very small proportion of the passages in J. W.'s " Quakerism Ex- amined," in which he gives utterance to his " Christian Love," in language not at all more equivocal or more courteous, than in those which have been presented to the reader; a fact which the few future quotations that will be introduced may fully certify. References are now before me to considerably more than a hundred * suck passages, besides those which have been quoted, or that will be quoted in this " Glance. " As an individual, I have for a series of years, been an attentive observer of the effects produced by the principles professed by "the early Friends;" and, instead of perceiving * Since finishing this " Glance, " by an extension much beyond what was contemplated ; and after marking off the list, such passages as have been either quoted or particularized, very far more than the centiloquy here described remain unspecified. Indeed it has not unfrequently occurred, numerous as those references were, that on recurring to one of them, two, three, or more of a like character have been observed in the context, which had not been noted down. 22 J. W.'S MOTIVES &C. CHAP. 1. those "dreadful and fatal consequences, those fatal absur- dities," page 141, which J. W. attributes to them, I humbly trust and believe that the secessions which J. W. considers to have naturally arisen from an unsound profession, are clearly attributable to a departure from the Truth ; and we cannot be surprised, if in effecting such a departure, the deception has been occasioned by " Satan himself being transformed into an angel of Light." And I conceive it to be possible, that " intelligent minds, " and " experienced Christians, " without denying the sincerity of J. W.'s profession of kind- ness, may feel considerable hesitation in deciding that his " very spirit of Christian Love, " has been at all times tempered with that heavenly ingredient called " Charity ; " concerning which an eminent apostle thus writes : " Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not Charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. " Sect. II. Hai Ebn Yohdan. Even in "a Glance" at "Quakerism Examimed it may be proper before proceeding further, to notice the unfounded sarcasms and illogical deduclions of its author respecting Hai Ebn Yokdan. This subject partaking of the character of opinion on matter of fact, as much or more than of the nature of doctrine, does not appear to claim attention among the subsequent portions of this "Glance;" and, therefore, will be dismissed with the present discussion, as intimated in page 13. Notwithstanding the multitude of J. W.'s " hard speeches," {see page 21,) I cannot suppose that he has designedly stated this matter in terms calculated to mislead the reader ; but this acknowledgement compels me also to state an appre- hension, that either prejudice or "mephitic vapour," has spread so thick a veil over a good understanding, as to prevent J. W/s perception of the real import of his own remarks on this, and, perhaps it may likewise appear, on some other points. The mention of Hai Ebn Yokdan J. W. introduces, by giving a quotation in pages 79, 80, from Barclay's Apology, 7th edition, page 193, prop, v and vi, sect. 27, as follows : " Yea, there is a book translated out of the Arabic, which gives an account of one Hai Eben Yokdan, who, living in an island alone without converse of man, attained to such a profound knowledge of God, as to have immediate converse with Him, and to affirm that the best and most certain knowledge of God, is not that which is attained by premises premised and conclusions deduced, but that which is enjoyed by conjunction of the mind of man with the Supreme Intellect, after the mind is purified from its corruptions, and is 24 HAI EBN YOKDAN. CHAP. 1. separated from all bodily images, and is gathered into a profound stillness." This quotation contains all that R. B. says respecting Hai Ebn Yokdan. J. W., however, after giving it, imme- diately adds, page 80 : " That much stress is laid on this as a fact, in evidence of the truth of the argument that precedes it, may be gathered from the next section which begins thus : " "Seeing then it is by this inward gift, grace, and right, that both those that have the gospel preached unto them, come to have Jesus brought forth in them, and to have the saving and sanctified use of all outward helps and advantages; and also by this same Light that all may come to be saved ; and that God calls, invites, and strives with all in a day, and saveth many to whom He hath not seen meet to convey this outward knowledge, therefore, we having the experience of the inward and powerful work of this Light in our hearts, even Jesus revealed in us, cannot cease to proclaim the day of the Lord that is arisen in it, crying out with the woman of Samaria : ' Come and see one that hath told me all that ever I have done. Is not this the Christ ? ' That others may come and feel the same in themselves, and may know that that little, small thing that reproves them in their hearts, however they have despised and neglected it, is nothing less than the gospel preached in them ; Christ, the wisdom and power of God, being in and by that seed seeking to save their souls." Would any reader imagine from the manner in which this quotation from Barclay is introduced, referring to the argu- ment which precedes the notice of Hai Ebn Yokdan, that instead of one solitary argument, the previous sections are twenty-seven in number, each involving a variety of arguments or illustrations, and consisting together of more than eighty 8vo. pages ? Or would it be supposed that this twenty-eighth section, is the last and the summing up of all that precede, SECT. 2. HAI EBN YOKDAN. 25 instead of having any particular reference to Yokdan? More- over, J. W. fully owns he was long since informed that the notice of Yokdan, was omitted in later editions of Barclay; and on comparing the quotation which he gives with a later edition, in which all notice of Yokdan is omitted, I find that "this entire omission does not occasion the omission of a single word, nor any change in the sum of his arguments, which Barclay in this quotation deduces from his other abundant premises. What a proof, " that much stress is laid on this as a fact ! " in the twenty-eighth section. . This, however, is not the only demonstration of the incorrectness of J. W.'s assumption, respecting the quotation which he gives from the beginning of Section twenty-eight. In addition to the preceding general statement of the extent of the twenty-seven sections, and to the numerous arguments in twenty-six of them being chiefly founded on the Holy Scrip- tures, the twenty-seventh or immediately preceding section, is almost wholly employed in giving Testimonies to the Inward Light, from both Heathen and Christian writers, to show " that it is the Inward Work, and not the Outward History and Scripture that gives the true knowledge." — Apology, Sect. 27, page 191. R. Barclay then quotes from Plato, Pythagoras, Plotinus, Seneca, Cicero as cited by Lactantius, and Phocylides ; all tending to show : " They knew that the best knowledge of God and Divine mysteries, was by the inspiration of the Wisdom of God." Thus "They show the work of the Law written in their hearts. " — Apology, page 192. The Christian writers which R. B. has cited in this section, are Justin Martyr, Clemens Alexandrinus ; Augustin, and Ludovicus Vives ; all alluding to " the Divine Word in such as Socrates, " &c, — " the Light of so living is the gift of God, and proceeds from the Son that enlightenelh every man, "—that " GOD is the true LIGHT which enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world, &c. " c :>6 HAI EBN YOKDAN. CHAP. 1. Surely then we see ample ground for the observations which " begin the next section;" entirely casting out, as the later editions do, all notice of Yokdan. Ts it then either a correct or fair assumption that J. W. has made, in saying : ''Much stress is laid on this [account of Hai Ebn Yokdan] as a fact in evidence of the argument that precedes it ? " Besides I apprehend there cannot have elapsed less than thirty years, since J. W. was informed, as he says, (p. 82,) that the whole of this short notice of Yokdan "had been omitted in the later editions" of Barclay; and as this abstraction has occa- sioned no change * whatever in the succeeding paragraph, which J. W. quotes, it might have been supposed that the " thirty years" was an ample period for the "much stress" to have subsided entirely ; but it seems that prejudice is of a tenacious and abiding character, and that its fumes, like those of his "mephetic vapour," are of a phosphoric quality, igniting on exposure to the air. Having thus noticed J. W.'s quotation from R. B.'s twenty- eighth section, as a whole, let us now see how far this and his other assumptions are borne out, by taking the quo- tation in parts. Alluding to the notice of Yokdan, J. W., as before stated, says : " That much stress is laid on this as a fact, in evidence of the argument that precedes it, may be gathered from the next section which begins thus : 1. " Seeing then it is by this inward Gift, Grace, and Light, that both those that have the Gospel preached unto them, come to have Jesus brought forth in them, and to have the saving and sanctified use of all outward helps and advantages. 2. " And also by this same Light, that ALL may come to be saved. *The only alteration I can discover, is a grammatical correction of "has" for " is" — "the day of the Lord which has arisen," instead of "is arisen," but which can have no bearing on the omission. SECT. 2. HAI EBN YOKDAN. 29 3. And that God calls, invites, and strives with all in a day ; and saveth many to whom He hath not seen meet to convey this outward knowledge. " Having before given the quotation entire, thus much of it is now presented in portions for more easy reference, and more perspicuous demonstration. In the first portion which is the very beginning, from which "may be gathered" that " much stress is laid " on the account of Yokdan ; we find R. Barclay confines himself entirely to those who " have the gospel preached to them," and "have the saving and sanctified use of all outward helps and advantages." Now Yokdan, according to R. B.'s own statement, copied by J. W.„. had neither " the Gospel preached to " him ; nor the use of any, so far from "all outward helps and advantages." Hence so far from this portion of the quotation laying "much stress" on the brief narrative of Yokdan, can it possibly be brought to bear upon the point in the least degree ? And would not the attempt to make it bear, be totally illogical ? The second portion of quotation from Barclay runs thus: "And also by this same Light," (the Inward Gift, Grace, and Light mentioned in the preceding portion,) " that all may come to be saved." Can all apply to Yokdan, the account of whom is only one out of twelve testimony bearers, mentioned in the im- mediately preceding section, independently of all the argu- ments that Barclay had advanced from Scripture, in the twenty- six previous sections? Even in the twenty-seventh section, p. 193, R. B. quotes Justin Martyr as saying : " That all such as lived according to the Divine Word in them, which was in all men, were Christians ; such as Socrates, Hera- clilus, and others among the Greeks, &c." R. B. in the same section also quotes from Ludov. Yives these words : " The Gen- tiles not having a law, were a law unto themselves, and the Light of so living, is the Gift of God, and proceeds from c 2 28 HAI EBN YOKDAN. CHAP. 1, the Son, of whom it is written that he enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world. " Is it not then quite as probable, rather is it not clear, that R. B. must, in the word all, embrace all the Heathen or " Gentiles, who live according to the Divine Word in them ? " Hence I am unable to perceive that "much," or indeed any "stress" is laid on Yokdan in this second portion ; for as he was only one among the myriads of myriads of Gentiles, who we may charitably hope, have lived, and as Justin Martyr states, " do live ac- cording to the Divine Word in them, which was in all men f so, as not a word is said which applies to Yokdan in par- ticular, I cannot conceive that the " stress " which " is laid " on this portion of the quotation, exceeds that of the pro- portion of one in millions. The Third portion of the quotation from R. B. runs thus : "And that God calls, invites, and strives with ALL in a day; and saveth many to whom he hath not seen meet to convey this outward knowledge." These words, "saveth many," cannot possibly " lay much stress " on the isolated case of Hai Ebn Yokdan, but evidently refer to the whole scope, not only of the various and important testimonies adduced from both Christian and Heathen authors, in the immediately preceding or twenty-seventh section ; but also to the whole drift of the Scriptural arguments contained in the twenty-six previous sections. And J. W.'s " much stress is laid on this as a fact," may be duly estimated by this other "fact" that the entire omission of all notice of Hai Ebn Yokdan " in the later editions of the Apology," does not in any degree change the deduction which Barclay draws from the abundant premises contained in twenty-seven sections, to which this notice of Yokdan had been appended ; thus proving it to be an imperceptible weight in the scale. Such is the sum total of J. W.'s "much stress laid on this as a fact" by Barclay, and such the logical correctness of his deductions from the passage quoted ! SECT. 2. HAI EBN YOKDAN. 29 Let us now examine the ground which J. W. has for " much stress, M being laid on the remainder of his quotation from "the section which begins thus. " In immediate connexion with the three portions already noticed, Barclay says : " 4. "Therefore, we having the experience of the inward powerful work of this Light in our hearts, even Jesus revealed in us, cannot cease to proclaim the day of the Lord that is arisen in it ; crying out with the woman of Samaria : ' Come and see one that hath told me all that ever I have done. Is not this the Christ ? ' That others may come and feel the same in themselves ; and may know, that that little small thing that reproves them in their hearts, however they have despised and neglected it, is nothing less than the gospel preached in them : Christ, the wisdom and power of God, being in and by that seed, seeking to save their souls." This fourth portion of J. WVs quotation from R. Barclay, refers exclusively to the experience of the "early Friends" themselves, stating what they had known of the inward power and Light of Christ; in what way, therefore, can this "lay much stress * on the mention of Hai Ebn Yokdan ? At the concluding word " souls, " J. W. refers to the following note : " What confusion is here depicted — the conscience made into Christ, the Law, and the Gospel ! But when essential error is upheld as undoubted truth, no one can calculate upon the extent of the chaos that may be pro- duced by it." J. W. seems to have mistaken his own assertions for proofs, and to have imagined they must be infallible. " What confusion is here depicted" indeed ! but by whom ? R. Bar- clay does not, in any part of the quotation before us, use either of the words, " Law 99 or " Conscience ; " nor am I able to discover the least allusion to either. According to Dr. Johnson — "Conscience" is " the faculty by which we judge of the goodness or wickedness of ourselves, " — the natural faculty I suppose J. W. will admit, and, therefore, c 3 30 HAI EBN YOKDAN. CHAP. 1. not anything Divine or supernatural ; but Barclay is all through this quotation from him, speaking of something Divine, supremely Divine; even the Inward Light of Christ, which is " no part of the natural man, " nor in any degree at man's command. Yet this holy Inward Light may be and is the Divine Light of Conscience, (John, xiv, 16, 17, and xvi, 7, 8,) being as John sets forth from the declarations of our blessed Lord : " The Spirit of Truth/' who " reproves tlie world of sin." "Conscience" then I presume is allowed to be a part o f t the natural man ; and the apostle saith, " the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. " And is not the knowledge "of the goodness or wickedness of ourselves" in the sight of God, one of those very solemn and important " things of the Spirit of God ?" Hence according as the despised "principles of Quakerism" set forth, I conceive "Conscience" as a faculty of the natural man " must have the aid of Divine Light, to enable it to judge ; and is not both the faculty and the Light also, any more than a mirror is the light by which the natural eye can behold the natural body reflected in the mirror. So far was R. Barclay from alluding to Conscience, that in a previous part of the same proposition, and among the argu- ments which J. W. had read, R. B. in section sixteen, page 144, had expressly said : "It will manifestly appear by what is above said, that we understand not this Divine principle to be any part of man's nature," &c, " we make it a distinct, separate thing from man's soul, and all the faculties of it ; yet such is the malice of our adversaries, that they cease not sometimes to calumniate us, as if we preached up a natural li^ht, or the light of man's natural conscience. " To be consistent with himself, and with the principles he was advocating, R. B., therefore, could not possibly allude to SECT. 2. HA1 EBN YOKDAN. 31 " Conscience," or to the natural light of conscience; but to that " Inward Light of Christ, which alone can divine!;/ illumine and instruct man, and truly rectify and regulate the natural conscience; and which Light R. B. describes, not as being a natural light, but as being " Jesus revealed in us. " i. e. " Christ in you except ye be reprobates ; " as f that little small thing, that reproves them in their hearts; " or " the little leaven that would leaven the whole meal, " — and " that seed " by which our Lord describes the kingdom of Heaven ; which, in its beginning, he compares to " a grain of mustard seed — the least of all seeds." And yet all these Divine mani- festations, designated by that " little small thing,'' J. W. setting forth as Christ, the Law, and the Gospel," transmutes into " Conscience ! " May I not be allowed to apply to J. W. his own unfounded stricture on R. B. ? " What con- fusion is here depicted. — But when essential error is upheld as undoubted truth, no one can calculate upon the extent of the chaos that may be produced by it ! " As the "Inward Light" of Christ is the subject of a future section, we may leave it for the present, and pass on to J. W.'s Appendix on the subject of Hai Ebn Yokdan ; which, in page 469, J. W. thus resumes : " Within these few days I have had lent to me a publication, that I have long been desirous of meeting with, viz., *' The improvement of Human Reason, exhibited in the life of Hai Ebn Yokdan" &c, &c— "Newly translated from the original Arabic, by Simon Ockley, A.M., Vicar of Swavesew in Cambridgeshire. London printed, and Dublin reprinted by and for Sam. Fuller, at the Globe in Meath-Street. 1731." I agree with J. W. that, abstractedly viewed, u nothing can exceed the absurdity" of some parts he quotes from this publication ; but when we see what complete misrepresen- tations J. W. can exhibit, of his quotations from the writings 32 HAI EBN YOKDAN. CHAP. 1. of the '? early Friends, " though we place implicit reliance on his fidelity in quoting ; yet we cannot place the same reliance on his judgment in selecting what Barclay would have selected, had he seen the work; but it is evident R. B. never did see J. W.'s edition of it, for it was printed full forty years after Barclay's decease ; and being " Newly trans- lated, " was scarcely likely to be the same translation as Barclay refers to ; since the mention of the work by him was fifty-three years before J. W.'s edition was printed, viz., in 1678, if not rather earlier. * The subsequent part of the titlepage to Yokdan, after stating the work to have been " written in Arabic, above five hundred years ago, by Abu Jaafar Ebn Tophail : " says — " in which is demonstrated by what methods one may, by the mere Light of Nature, attain the knowledge of things natural and supernatural ; more particularly the knowledge of God, and the affairs of another life. " From this addition, (which is entirely discordant with R. B.'s views just exhibited,) as well as from the whole ten- our of the explication of the titlepage, I incline to the idea, that this edition may not be a translation, but an enlargement upon the Arabic account of Hai Ebn Yokdan, by an English deist. The style of the quotations from it given by J. W., appears so similar to those of the translator, or rather the fabricator, of the Book of Jasher, which is also represented as coming from the east, that I should almost suspect this pro- fessed translation of Yokdan, to be the product of a similar, if not of the same pen. The book of Jasher was printed at no very distant period from the year of J. W.'s edition of Yokdan, 1731 ; if my recollection is correct, in 1751 ; * but it is now about twenty years since, attracted by the title of "The Book of Jasher," mentioned Josh. x. 13, I was induced to peruse this infidel publication. * Having since met with this work, I find it was printed in 1751. SECT. 2. HAI EBN YOKDAN. 33 Waving, however, all these ohjections entirely, let us pro- ceed on the supposition that J. W.'s edition of Yokdan is a faithful copy of the book to which Barclay alludes ; still it does not follow that Barclay had read the work ; indeed the manner in which he mentions it, is so different from his usual method, of quoting from his authority and pointing out the passage, that it justifies the idea that he gathered his in- formation through some intermediate channel. But waving this objection also ; in order to give J. W. every advantage, let us suppose that Barclay had seen and read some former copy of Yokdan, exactly similar to J. W.'s ; what then ? If Barclay considered this work as originally written in Arabic above five hundred years before, was there no ground for supposing it had some fact for its basis, though so repre- sented in the garb of fictious absurdity, as to throw over it an air of entire incredibility as a whole ; since in corroboration of the Mosaic accounts of the Creation, of the Deluge, and of the preservation of Noah in the ark, &c, the legends of heathen authors, and the fictious traditions of heathen nations have been adduced as evidence ; though no less mixed up with adjuncts utterly absurd and incredible? Witness the Chinese account of Fohi, (Noah,) and many like represen- tations of the creation, fall of man, &c. Can J. W. lay his hand on his heart, and, in the hour of cool reflection, say seriously and sincerely that he believes Barclay, by the way in which he mentions Yokdan, if he even saw such an account as J. W. exhibits, viewed it as any other than a legend of absurdity, having some facts for its basis, though so evidently disguised with fiction. If J. W. can so think of R. Barclay, or of any respectable theologian, I should fear he was defective in that " charity which thinketh no evil. " I would, therefore, willingly hope that the following re- marks, written, I suppose, within "those few days" in which 34 HAI EBN YOKDAN. CHAP. 1. J. W. says, "I have had lent to me a publication, that I have long been desirous of meeting with, " might be written during a moment of excitement, on obtaining the long-wished- for account of Hai Ebn Yokdan. Otherwise, what shall we think of a sensible man, after giving extracts of extreme absurdity, making an exclamation respecting such a writer as Barclay, and that with an air of triumph : "The source whence Barclay has drawn his grand confirmation of the truth of the doctrine of ' inward and immediate revelation, ' is now, therefore, plainly laid open ! " It is truly painful to the writer of this "Glance, " to have plainly to " lay open " the misrepresentations of one whom he has long valued and esteemed ; but he trusts that the demands of what he humbly, yet undoubtingly believes to be the cause of God and of Christ, will be allowed to be para- mount to every other consideration; he must, therefore, persevere. ^ "The source from whence Barclay has drawn his grand confirmation of the truth of the doctrine of inward and im- mediate revelation!" We may possibly see the source whence R. B. derived the account of Yokdan ; but did not J. W. forget his own high estimate of the Holy Scriptures, at the moment of making this exclamation ? Do not the arguments which Barclay derives from the Sacred Records, (argu- ments which J. W. owns to have read,) do not these argu- ments, in number, extent, and solidity, outweigh an hundred- fold the solitary case of Yokdan ? the mention of which, I trust it has been shown, instead of having " much stress laid H upon it by Barclay, proved in its total omission, to be only commensurate to the loss of a drop from a bucket. We find, however, in " Quakerism Examined, n page 82, ground for some charitable allowance to be made for the importance J. W. attaches to this brief narrative. J. W. there says : " When about sixteen years of age, I read much SECT. 2. HAI EBN YOKDAN. 35 of Barclay's Apology ; and I cannot but remember, with deep sorrow, the effect which this story had upon my mind ; for it seemed to me to be a complete confirmation of the arguments, (in the plural arguments,) in favour of immediate revelation; whereby my value for the Scriptures, which had about that time, owing to some serious impressions in the perusal of them, begun to increase, was, of course, proportionally lowered." After stating as " the unavoidable consequence of this, M his losing "sight of the real benefits of the coming of Christ;" and his not seeing " the necessity for an atoning sacrifice for sin, nor for the mediation of Christ ; " although " the Scrip- ture account was certainly to be believed ; " J. W. adds : " About ten years after this miserable establishment in the doctrine of immediate revelation, / was informed, that in the later editions of the Apology, the story of Yokd an had been omitted, because it was found that it had a fabulous origin. I am not likely to forget the effect this information had upon my mind, in breaking the spell under which I was bound by Barclay," &c. "Miserable establishment" indeed! That the intelligent mind of a young man, " about sixteen years of age, " who had " read much of Barclay's Apology, " and who had had the advantage of " about ten years " further experience ; should be so regardless of the SCRIPTURAL arguments on this point, and other authorities which the Apology contains, as to rest his faith "in favour of immediate revelation" so entirely on R. B.'s short notice of Yokdan, as to have his u complete confirmation " scattered to the wind, by the ab- straction of this one small particle of evidence, this grain of sand from the sea shore. "Miserable establishment" indeed! demonstrating, I con- ceive, by the effect of this loss, that J. W/s convictions were only like the good seed sown by the way side^ or that they reached only his head, and were never imprinted on his heart 36 HAI EBN YOKDAN. CHAP. 1. by that "Comforter which was to guide into all Truth." This latter appears to be further evidenced by the effects which the loss of his "complete confirmation " produced, "where- by, " he says, " my value for the Scriptures was, of course, proportionally lowered; " " and the unavoidable consequence of this was, to induce me very much to lose sight of the real benefit of the coming of Christ. For although I considered that the Scripture account was certainly to be believed, I could not see the necessity for an atoning sacrifice for sin, nor for the mediation of Christ ! " In these plain and clear declarations of J. W., we may see a great propensity to overlook the solid and substantial argu- ments deduced from the Book of Revelation, and to base his faith on some external object of sense, some exterior demon- stration ; rather than on the Divine, illuminating evidences granted to the soul, respecting those truths of the gospel which are revealed through the medium of Holy Writ. In those declarations of J. W.'s, we have a practical demon- stration of the causes and ground of secession from the principles of Quakerism," which induced J. W. and others to leave the society in this land, and many before to secede from it in Ireland and America. They either have not known the blessed privilege of a Redeemer and Saviour's love ; by that holy union and communion with the Father and with Him- self, through the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth ; which our Lord promised in his discourse with his disciples just before He suffered; see John, chaps. 14 — 16 ; or if such ever knew by experience, this blessed " Immediate Revelation " in their own hearts; they yet deny it to be "Christ in them the hope of glory. * Hence as the Jews formerly rejected Jesus when amongst them as " God manifest in the flesh ; " so those seceders in the present day reject and deny the Son of God, in his manifestation and immediate revelation in the heart; and from the severe strictures which have been quoted SECT. 2 HAI EBN YOKDAN. 37 from J. W. in this Glance, and from very many others which might be quoted, J. W. clearly adopts concerning those who so believe in the Son of God, the sentiment, and virtually the language of the Jewish council : "Have any of the Rulers .or of the Pharisees believed on Him ? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed. " Though this "principle of Quakerism," the gift, grace, and Inward Light of Christ, is wrested from its legitimate source; and by these seceders from the principle, is esteemed a natural light ; yet their error ^ho more arises from an error or defect in that blessed principle of Quakerism, which is immoveably founded on Scripture, and the words of our Lord himself; than in the days of the apostles it was, or now is, attributable to an error in the Epistles of Paul, that therein "are some things hard to be understood" by the natural man, the untaught of Jesus, " which they that are [thus] unlearned and unstable, wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures;" and this may be " unto their own destruction." Hence as neither birthright nor education in the society, can confer the blessed boon, though offered to every man, so it is not to be wondered at, that many who have been so privileged, as to be instructed in the "immediate revelation" of the Son of God, should forsake this Fountain of Living Water. And if J. W. was striving to comprehend this subject, by the powers of perception which pertain merely to "the natural man," J marvel not at the issue at which he states himself to have arrived, of being most deeply imbued with " mephitic vapour," (see section 1, page 17,) respecting whose " fatal fumes, " he adds in page 346, of " Quakerism Examined," " By which I myself have been well nigh made to sleep the sleep of death. " Once J. W. was so fully imbued with the " fatal fumes" of this " mephitic vapour" himself, then, as the deeply jaundiced eye sees every thing yellow, so it was very natural for him to D 38 HAI EBN YOKDAN. CHAP. 1. view as being alike circumstanced with himself, those who, from a sense of their own incapacity as men and creatures, believe the Divine aid of " immediate revelation, " or of " In- ward and Saving Light" to be essential; and that without this Light, even the very words of inspiration contained in the sacred volume, may be as unavailing as if in a sealed book. Such an apprehension acquired on the part of J. W., whilst under the influence of " mephitic vapour/' is rather a proof than otherwise of the principles of Friends, being in accordance with those commandments which, though "or- dained unto life, are yet found to be unto death." I certainly consider a mind so lamentably biassed, is a subject for the exercise of Christian charity, in the utterance of such revilings as those with which J. WVs work abounds. Even Paul though he was thus addressed in the heavenly vision : " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me yet could say before the tribunal of the high priest : " and whilst earnestly beholding the council : Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. " And though he "was a persecutor and injurious, yet he obtained mercy, because he did it ignorantly in unbelief. ** Unbelief of what ? of the inward and secret convictions of his own mind, as is plain by these further words addressed to him in the vision. " It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. " The pricks arising from the inward power of Divine Light, operated on his then enlightened conscience, enabling him to perceive the Divine Light of Christ in his heart, which he had resisted through the unbelief of " the natural man " in the Divinity of that power, which, had it been owned, would have enlightened him before. Hence then we may perceive to what lengths a well- disposed mind could be induced to go, in slandering and persecuting even the very chosen of God, through a blind zeal. But was Paul justified whilst in this state P SECT. 2. HAI EBN YOKDAN . 39 Whilst then those who are slandered and persecuted for Christ's sake, have cause to rejoice, even in the present day, and should watch against judging uncharitably of the motives of those who slander and persecute them; leaving judgment to Him who judgeth righteously; yet what is the proper concern of those who calumniate and persecute? Postscript to Section II. Soon after writing the remarks on Hai Ebn Yokdan, which then, by following J. WVs course of observation were placed, and considered as the conclusion of this " Glance, " a Friend very unexpectedly put into my hands an edition of the work bearing a Title, which is represented in the succeeding page as nearly as modern types admit. On the page preceding the Title were printed these words: — "Imprimatur, C. Alston, Jan. 27th, 1685.*? The difference between this date and that affixed to the Titlepage, is easily accounted for. At that time, the Old Style was in use, and the 27th of the month called January, would be within a few weeks of the close of the year 1685: by anticipation, the Title had the date of the approaching year, 1686 affixed to it; it being then and for many years after, customary for books to remain unpublished for some months, in order to allow lime for the ink to set before they would endure the process of beating, preparatory to their being bound. On opening this volume, I was struck with the appropriate- ness of the occurrence ; but not less impressed with observing a material difference between the style of the following Title- page, and the time of its publication, compared with what I recollected of J. W.'s copy, d 2 THE HISTORY OF Hai Eb'n Yockdan, AN Xtifetatv ^vintt; OR THE Self-Taught Philosopher. Written Originally in the Arabich Tongue, by Abi Jaafar Eb'n Tophail, a Philosopher by Profession, and a Mahometan by Religion. Wherein is demonstrated by what Steps and degrees, humane Reason, improved by diligent Ob- servation and Experience, may arrive to the know- ledge of natural things, and from thence to the discovery of Supernaturals; more especially of God, and the Concernments of the other World. Set forth not long ago in the Original Arabich, with the Latin Version by EDW. POCOCK, M.A., and Student of Christ Church, Oxon, 1671. And now Translated into English. LONDON: Printed for 5&trf)art> " This account leads to the original work which, to me, " ap- pears to have been written" — not as J. W. states, page 476, " for the express purpose of giving credit to Mahomet, " but, on the contrary, evidently designed to ofTer strong arguments against the gross iuduhjencies which that system admits. Hence, being a Mahomedan, though he would naturally be likely approvingly to refer to the Alcoran where his views accorded with it, as the only means of his work being ad- missible among his countrymen ; yet he more than once represents Hai Ebn Yokdan as making exceptions against the Alcoran, to which exceptions, Tophail, the author, puts no SECT. 2. HA1 EBN Y0KDAN. 43 specific reply into the mouth of Asal, with whom Hai Ebn Yokdan is represented as having learned to converse. And it is not a little remarkable that Tophail never introduces .Mahomet as an object of idolatry — never mentions his name — •nor, if I recollect right, only once makes allusion to him. What Tophail may do I know not, in a discourse which the translator of the copy before me, in his preface says he has omitted ; but in which Tophail — "Treats of the several Sects among the Mahometans, with the Heads of those Sects, and passeth a censure on their opinions." Hence we may suppose that such a discourse is not very favourable to J. W.'s " express purpose. " That I may not be misunderstood, I here distinctly state my apprehension, that the Original Arabic, though written with a good design, may be altogether the invention of Tophail, or grounded on but very little matter of fact. That he should employ in his " Epistle or Treatise " absurdities corresponding with some of those ascribed to Mahomet, is not at all surprising. They were not only adapted to give credit to his work amongst his countrymen and fellow-pro- fessors of Mahomedanism, for whose benefit alone Tophail appears to have written ; but without a pretty strong re- semblance to some of their received opinions or prejudices respecting Mahomet, and that religion which had exercised its baneful influence for five hundred years, Tophail's work would have been totally inadmissible amongst them ; and, consequently, those views which, it will be shown, he ventures to give of the superior enjoyments of the soul, over the volup- tuous doctrines of the Alcoran, would not have been dis- seminated amongst those devoted to Mahomedanism. This I conceive to be the true and only light in which the original Arabic ought to be viewed; and not for the "express purpose of giving credit to Mahomedanism, " nor as intended to enlighten the professors of the Christian name ; though we 14 HAI EBN YOKDAN. CHAP. 1. shall find in the sequel, that R. B. was not alone in thinking this history, if he ever saw it, was superior in some of its sentiments to the practices of projessed Christians ; and that, with all the absurdities with which the fable is replete, it con- tains also sentiments, which, considering who the author was, have no very remote bearing on the words of the apostle res- pecting the Gentiles ; who — " having not the law/' " show the work of the law written in their hearts." We see by the preceding extracts from Watkins, that two learned divines, one of them under the especial patronage of Archbishop Laud, had been concerned in publishing the Arabic copy, with the Latin translation. Another similar character, George Ash well, by the epistle dedicatory, addressed to Philip Lord Wenham, Baron of Kil- maynham and Vicount Tuam, appears to have been the trans- lator of the English copy, the titlepage of which has been presented to the reader. In the epistle dedicatory, the trans- lator says: " You were pleased not only to encourage me unto the work, but even to engage me to the undertaking." And according to Watkins, George Ashwell, a divine born in Lon- don 1612, educated at Oxford, published a work on the Apostolic, Athanasian, and Nicene creeds, 8vo., 1653, and some other pieces. He died in 1693, which being seven years or more after my edition of Hai Ebn Yokdan was published, I conclude that he was the translator of it in 1685. Simon Ockley, the translator of J. W.'s edition, is also mentioned by Watkins, as " a learned divine," and vicar of Swavesy in Cambridgeshire, and as author of several works, as professor of Arabic at Cambridge, and as publishing " The Life of Hai Ebn Yokdan ; written by Abu Jaafar Ebn Toph- ail, 8vo., 1708." Hence, as an Arabic scholar, we must understand a new translation, yet I do not consider the charge of deistical views is fixed upon S. Ockley ; because I think J. W.'s edition which was printed twenty-three, years later, SECT. 2. HAI EBN YOKDAN. 40 may be found not to correspond with that of 1708; and the style of J. W.'s quotations would not load me so far back. I would not, however, in the least insist on this point, res- pecting which facts may decide otherwise. • When compared with the edition of 1686, most of J. W.'s quotations appear to be rather paraphrases than trans- lations. The preface to the edition of 1686, is evidently the work of Geo. Ash well the translator, and not of E. Pococke, of whom he thus speaks in the first words of it: "We are told by our learned Professor of the Oriental Tongues in the University of Oxford, who caused this History to be set forth in the Original Arabic, and thence translated into Latin ; that the author hereof was Abi Jaafar Eb'n Tophail, an Arabian philosopher and a Mahometan; otherwise called Abubecher. As also that he was contemporary with Eb'n Roshd, usually called Averroes, and somewhat elder than he. Now this Averroes died, being very old, in the year of the Heira 595, which is co-incident with the year of our Lord 1198; so that by this computation this author flourished about five hundred years ago. He wrote this History in the form of an Epistle ; and so entitles it; for by this name the Arabians use to ca.l their shorter Treatises. That both the author and the book were of good credit, appears by the testi- mony, not only of the Arabians his countrymen but also of the Jews. The said Averroes calls him, 'The honourable Judge Abubecher Ben Tophail.' This History also of his was of old translated into Hebrew, and well accepted of by the Jews. For Moses Narbonensis, in his preface thereto, and comment thereupon, commends the author. So doth also Mardochoeus Comtino, another Jew, more than once." Thus says G. Ashwell ; and the impression made on my mind on first reading the titlepage, that this translator was not a deist, seems to be fully confirmed by the whole tenour of G. Ash well's preface; in which he shows that his design ixx 46 HAI EBN YOKDAN. CHAP. 1. translating this work was very similar to what I apprehend was the design of Tophail, to raise his countrymen from sen- sual indulgences and pursuits to those of a higher nature. The translation was printed "Jan. 27, 1685 — 6," just about the close of the voluptuous reign of Charles II ; a period per- haps of the highest excess of profligacy which this nation ever experienced ; and respecting which the translator employs these expressions. In his epistle dedicatory he speaks of " the men of this licentious generation, whereof some are too loose in their principles and others in their practices." In his pre- face he says respecting his English translation, — it " may, I hope, prove not altogether unnseful unto many in this idle, worldly, and voluptuous age;" and again, some pages further on, (the preface is not paged,) he speaks "of the ensuing History ; which possibly (being thus Englished) may do some good (as I even now said) in this profane and fa- natical, as well as lewd and luxurious age. " Whether the idea excited in my mind, on first reading the titlepage of the edition before me, is correct or not, viz., that the translator's meaning was to lead "from nature up to nature's God," I leave the reader to decide after perusing the following observations and quotations. After the conclusion of the original work, which is very decidedly marked , follows a distinct addition with this Title, given in the manner of an Addenda, being without date or printer's name; with the paging continued from the close of the original, viz., from pages 191 to 217. This half-title runs thus : "THEOLOGIA RURIS SIVE SCHOLA ET SCALA NATURE: OR THE BOOK OF NATURE, Leading us, by certain degrees, to the knowledge and worship of the God of Nature." SECT. 2. HAI EBN YOKDAN. 47 The author of this piece is not described; but as no mention is made of it in the preface, I conceive it very probably was attached to the Latin translation by E. Pococke ; and from the very great difference between the style of it, •and the style either of the preface or original work, I should conjecture that E. Pococke himself or his father, who lived some years after the time this translation was published ; might be the translator, as well as the author, of this " Theo- logia Runs;" for it would be very extraordinary indeed, if this is a part of the original Arabic work. The following extracts are taken from this " Theologia Ruris, " in page 196. After an apostrophe to Him who is the origin and end of nature, to make all its pleasures, ad- vantageous and saving to himself, the author resumes his ob- servations on " the Book of Nature, " in the course of which, in page 198, he says of man : "Thou beholdest this ample furniture of nature, the variety of utensils and ornaments in this house of the world, which is the palace and temple of the great God ; and thou judgest that it is all thine, because it serves to thy use. Be it so. But then consider too, whose thyself art; and learn what thou owest unto Him, by what thou has received from Him." Again, page 200. " Neither doth Nature lead thee towards God, by a far-fetched and winding compass, but in a short and straight line. The sun waits upon the rain and dew ; the rain and dew upon the grass; the grass serves the cattle; and the cattle serve thee ; and if thou serve God then thou makest good the highest link in that golden chain, whereby heaven is joined unto earth." Again, page 205, after stating that it is not sufficient for man to view his flocks and his herds, in order to contemplate the profits he may derive from them, the author adds : " It is far more worthy of thee, and proper for thee, thus to reckon and reason with thyself : ' All these I am richly supplied with, 48 HAI EBN YOKDAN. CHAP. 1. by the liberal hand of God ; and they all perform that use and service for my advantage, which they owe not to me. Shall I then either deny or neglect that service which is due unto my God, who hath so freely and undeservedly bestowed them all upon me ? Shall I cause that chain of God's works whereby they are so orderly linked to Him, the Maker and Sovereign Disposer of all, to be broken off through my default ? Shall I who am a debtor to God for all these, repay nothing to Him ? — But what shall I return unto God? — My duties and services reach not Him ; neither can anything properly be repayed to Him, who is the owner of all things. But though thou canst give back nothing to Him by way of repaiment ; yet thou maist humbly and dutifully receive his gifts, return hearty and constant thanks to Him for the receipt ; use them soberly and chear fully, and so approve thyself a meet re- ceiver, a candid accepter, and a prudent manager of the Divine Bounty." Here we have the author's sense of our dependance on God for the things of this life ; let us now see the sentiments con- tained in this " Theologia Ruris" on the way in which the things of this life lead to that to come. Page 216, the author savs : " To conclude, if we mind heaven whilst we live here upon earth, this earth will seem to conduct us unto heaven, through the merits and mediation of the SON OF GOD ; who was made the ' Son of Man;' and came thence on pur- pose, into this lower world, to convey us up thither." From what has been stated in this postscript, the reader may see that R. Barclay, however he derived his information respecting the History of Hai Ebn Yokdan, was not alone in attaching " good credit," at least to the design of the work ; and that he had companions amongst Arabians, Jews, and those who are esteemed learned Christian divines. As to J. W.'s allusion to the short notice of Yokdan by R. B., " that such absurdity was current in the Society for a century;" I SECT. 2. HAI EBN YOKDAN. 49 have no recollection of hearing the incident noticed but once in the course of a pretty long life ; and then as not having any weight in the scale, for this plain reason ; such a narra- tive was not in the least wanting to establish Barclay's irre- fragable arguments, which rested on the authority of Scripture, the touchstone and test which R. B. and the " early Friends " ever maintained to be the only criterion by which to form our judgment of doctrine ; though, as the Scrip- tures and perpetually recurring facts abundantly testify, man requires a Divine illumination to enable him to decide aright; even as — " no man can say that Jesus is the Lord ; but by the Holy Ghost." Could J. W. even demonstrate, (assertion is not proof,) that what Barclay says of Yokdan is an absurd inference to be drawn from Tophail's icork, yet T think it is evident the ab- surdity would rest only with R. B. ; and that as the Society bad no knowledge of the work itself, the absurdity of allu- ding to it could not apply to them as a body ; and therefore, J. W.'s charge against them could relate only to their igno- rance respecting the work, in which J. W. himself was equally involved ; and as he states page 82, even continued in igno- rance respecting it, after some of the Society had removed the notice of Hai Ebn Yokdan. That this brief notice should be allowed to remain in a work which was not considered to need revision, was a matter of course, until some doubt arose as to its originating in fact. And as already stated in this Glance," the omission of this single paragraph, takes no more from the force of R. B.'s ar- guments, than a drop from a bucket, or than a particle of sand from the sea shore. To revert to the " express purpose" of Tophail, I conceive the statements of facts already made in this postscript, may at least warrant the assumption that none of the respectable indi- viduals mentioned, whether Arabians, or Jews, or Christians, E 50 HAI EBN YOKDAN. CHAP. 1. in reference to the Arabic and Latin edition, or to the English translation of 1686, took such a view of the author's design as J. W. assigns to it. But it is not necessary to rest this idea on assumption, the translator into English, of the edition before me, in his preface, after describing the effect of Hai Ebn Yokdan's system to be, to set before us the whole book of nature, — "the rules of morality which he set to himself, and whereby he governed his whole life, ,} says : "But the utmost height and perfection of his learning, whereunto all the rest tended as so many steps or degrees, consisted in that ' Natural Theology ' which he arrived to, from the serious and attentive consideration of God's works, and more particu- larly of himself; from whence he concluded that God was the supereminent, the sole, and independent Being; of infinite greatness and goodness, wisdom and power, majesty and glory ; whose all-seeing eye, and over-ruling hand of Provi- dence, extend themselves to all his creatures ; who is also most just and righteous in all his dealings with and towards mankind." — " Whereupon he discourseth of the resurrection and the last judgment, with the felicities and miseries that attend men after the judgment is past, answerably to the condition and quality of their lives which they led here on earth." — Compare those felicities with the sensual and lascivious plea- sures of a Mahomedan paradise ! ! After stating the distinction of the two classes in their re- wards, &c, the translator adds : " This is the summ and main design of the ensuing History ; which possibly (being thus Englished) may do some good, (as I even now said,) in this profane and fanatical, as well as lewd and luxurious age." The quotations hitherto given from the copy before me, have tended principally to show the sentiments of others res- pecting Tophail's History. It now remains, as briefly as possible, to discuss the merits of the work, under its vail of absurdity. And as it would be scarcely possible to give a SECT. 2. II A I EBN YOKDAN. 51 fair representation of Tophail's sentiments from his own method of expressing them, without presenting quotations which would extend very much beyond the limits of a F 3 66 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. CHAP. 2. forth, offers these remarks on what he quotes from G. Fox, in page 92, viz. — " If this mean any thing at all, it surely means that all men have in them that Spirit which gave forth the Scriptures; and that if they believe they have it, and will turn to it, they may learn immediately from the Spirit all that can be pound in the Scripture, which is needful for them to know; and indeed, that 'if they would know God, or Christ, or the Scriptures aright,' they must thus learn from the Spirit, al- ready in them ; which would teach them all needful things, independently of the Scripture." Such is J. W.'s interpretation, according to his judgment and abilities, or in other words, in the wisdom of " the natural man." Now let us endeavour to set forth what was the true meaning and import of those words of G. Fox, which he, as- cribing all to Christ, we may trust humbly believed to be taught him, by what the Apostle, speaking after the manner of men, calls " the foolishness of God." Let us for a moment waive the point whether G. F.'s open- ing was in the " Light of Christ " or it was not, and con- fine ourselves to the abstract question : Is it scriptural to believe such a revelation possible P or perhaps we may rather state the question thus : Can it possibly be expected in the present day ? I answer in the words of our Lord : " I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever." "The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach* you all things; and bring all things to your re- membrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." Here are two totally distinct positions, — instructing, — and bringing to remembrance that which had been taught. Hence I conceive the abstract question may be deemed to be fully answered in the affirmative, not only according to Scripture ; but in unison SECT. 1 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 67 with the highest authority with which the Scriptures are invested. In order to form a just estimate of the words quoted by J. W. from G. Fox; we must take a brief view of the narra- tive which J. W. had before him, and which forms the context of the words he has quoted from G. Fox. By this narrative we learn that G. F., previously to arriving at the experience which he there describes, had known something of that bap- tism of Christ, of which our blessed Lord told his disciples they should indeed partake; but of which many professors of the Christian name, are lamentably ignorant ; whilst others who may feel at times something of it, either do not know, or will not own it, to be a portion of that baptism, which their blessed Lord endured to the utmost; and in which he told his followers they should participate. — (Matt, xx, 23.) The "early Friends," as well as their successors in religious profession, have always assuredly believed, that G. Fox was an instrument chosen of God, and raised up by His holy aid, to revive afresh, in some degree, that spirituality of the Chris- tian religion, which by the degeneracy of a lapsed and bewil- dered church had been almost lost, and buried in the rubbish of superstition ; and which though seen in some good degree, by the reformers from that state of desolation and darkness, was still so obscured by the retention of human rites and ordi- nances, that G. Fox could not find, amongst the professors of his day with whom he was acquainted, " any man " who could direct him to " the Light of Christ in his own heart/' Since our Lord himself said : " I have a baptism to be bap- tized with ; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished and since His followers, as he told the two sons of Zebedee : u Shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptised withal, shall ye be baptized ;" does it not follow, that all his rightly commissioned servant? have to undergo a portion of this baptism, commensurate with 68 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. CHAP. 2. the work in which they are to be employed ; what marvel then that, in order to be weaned from the exteriors of religion, and to bring him to that humble and childlike dependance on the Redeemer and Saviour, in the feeling whereof he could adopt the language of the Apostle to the Colossians : "'Christ is all,' and in all," that G. Fox should bave baptisms of a peculiar character to undergo and endure ? But seeing all men are not appointed to such a service as appears to have been called for at the hands of G. Fox, that of reviving the almost lost Scripture doctrine of " Christ being from the be- ginning the Life and Light of men ;" (See John i. 1 — 9 ;) so it was no marvel that this portion of Scripture knowledge was revealed to him, in the manner in which he states it to have been made known. What this manner was we have now to review. G. Fox's first words are : " The Lord God opened to me by his invisible power, how every man was enlightened by the Divine Light of Christ." This is a plain and explicit ac- knowledgment; and when we consider the apprehended office of G. Fox, a very consistent avowal of his dependance on that Divine aid and light which our Lord promised when He said of the "Comforter," "He shall teach you all things;" and who, T feel no hesitation in believing, did teach this one thing to G. Fox, by " the invisible power of God." By " teaching all things," we may perhaps safely understand, all things essential to our respective situations and circumstances. To G. Fox's circumstances, as a reviver of the Scripture doctrine of the "Universal Light of Christ," there appears something peculiarly appropriate in its being thus taught to G. Fox as he subsequently further describes. Whilst I believe that G. Fox, by the invisible power, and condescending goodness of the Lord, was favoured in this particular instance, and under the peculiar circumstances of his mission, to experience a degree of the fulfilment of that SECT. 1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 69 promise concerning the Comforter the Spirit of Truth : " He shall guide you into all truth ;" and which guidance, under peculiar circumstances, may be the experience in like manner of other favoured instruments; yet concerning the accustomed course of the Divine economy we are, I conceive, as a general mode of Divine instruction in the truths of the Gospel, to know the application of the other character attached to the promise just cited respecting the Comforter : u He shall bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever / have said unto you ;" as the same are recorded in the Scriptures of Truth. And I find nothing in G. F.'s words which do not fully ac- cord with this explication ; for G. F. does not say that the Lord God, by his invisible power, opens to ALL how every man was enlightened, &c. He simply states the manner in which was communicated to himself, the conviction and per- suasion, that f every man is enlightened by the Divine Light of Christ." The clear distinction between these two totally different ideas, is kept up through the whole quotation. G. F.'s next words are : "I saw it shine through all;" that is, I under- stand, through all obstructing or obscuring mediums; and thus this member or sentence applies to himself only, that which the next applies to mankind at large ; viz. : u and that they that believed in it, [so as to obey it also,] came out of condemnation to the Light of Life ; and became the children of it: but they that hated it, and did not believe in it, were condemned by it; though they made a profession of Christ." And may it not be said that such as hate the Light of Christ, "love darkness rather than light?" "What then are we to understand by J. W.'s own words: "My whole soul abhors the principles of Quakerism," of which his whole work testifies that their Scripture doctrine of the "Inward Light of Christ" is pre-eminently " abhored ! " 70 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. CHAP. 2. G. Fox very consistently proceeds : " This T saw in the pure openings of the Light, without the help of any man ; neither did I then know where to find it in the Scriptures ; though afterwards, searching the Scriptures, I found it." Here, again, G. F. speaks only of his own peculiar case and circumstances ; and short as this sentence is, it presents three important points of consideration ; and first : " This I saw in the pure openings of Light, without the help of any man." G. Fox lived in a time when the precious doctrine of the Divine influence, speaking generally, was at a very low ebb. He appears to have had no idea of its essential and vital im- portance himself, nor to have met with any one amongst those whom he consulted, who knew or could tell him anything of its divine virtue. Hence, admitting that he was to be raised up as a preacher, and promulgator of this Scripture Doctrine, was it not an almost inevitable preparation, that he should undergo those mental trials and baptisms which he describes ; and that he should also receive the opening be narrates, before going forth to encounter the prejudices of mankind ; who, though emerging from the darkness of popery, were yet, in a great measure, under the influence of many of its obscuring dogmas, and even were, too generally, receding from that portion of Light which had dawned on the early reformers. I make this statement in a feeling of that charity towards all, which arises from the conviction that all are in danger of this retrocession from first principles; and that as this cloud supervened the general protestant church ; so a corresponding dimness and obscurity has supervened too many in our small section of it ; who have been professing, but not possessing the " abhored principles of Quakerism." And I conceive that such defections, arising from individuals who may not sufficiently adhere to the "Light of Christ in their own hearts," will, from time to time, occasion the necessity of SECT. 1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 71 those turnings and overturnings in the spiritual world, which are described in Revelations, under the simile of earthquakes, and other occurrences of an exterior or natural character; and which must be expected in the course of the church's pro- gress out of the wilderness. Far, very far is it from me to judge those who do not see as I or as we see, if an individual may speak on behalf of those who are rightly imbued with the "Principles of Quakerism for not only do I conceive, that we who have had the privilege of being taught after the manner of our forefathers in religious profession, have nothing to plume ourselves upon ; no cause whatever to take complacency to ourselves; but that it is possible for a very heathen who is sincerely faithful to the best he knows, to find more acceptance in the sight of Him who searches all hearts, than any of us, who having enjoyed this privilege, and having been enabled to see its consistency with the gospel ; yet are wwfaithful to the greater measure of "Light" afforded. I also conceive it possible from not being imbued with this Light, (for profession and outward instruction are not possession,) that individuals may consci- entiously and with very sincere hearts leave us, and return to a system of ordinances ; though in so doing they are like the church again taking backward steps, and retrograding to the wilderness; and this has been so fully the experience of some, as after no small fight of affliction, to induce them not only to return to us again ; but to become advocates of that faith, which, by their secession, they once seemed desirous to destroy. As G. Fox had sought in vain amongst professors of re- ligion of his acquaintance, for some one to guide him and teach the way of righteousness and peace, to a deeply-tried and exercised mind ; and as he had read his Bible much ; yet it had not pleased Divine Wisdom to instruct him through the medium of that blessed volume ; may we not, therefore, 72 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. CHAP. 2. venture the idea, that in order to impress more fully upon his understanding-, the precious doctrine which he afterwards believed himself called upon to preach to the nations, the Lord was pleased by His " invisible power " to unfold this mystery, through the pure openings of His Divine "Light?" This brings us to the second consideration : "Neither did I then know where to find it in the Scriptures." By this I understand, when the clear knowledge of this all-important truth was opened to his understanding, that then, and not till then, he apprehended it would be found in the Bible ; though he "knew not where to find it" in that Divine Treasury. And this conducts us to the third and last portion of the sentence. "Though afterwards searching the Scriptures I found it." What a Testimony is here to the desire of George Fox, not to test the Scriptures by what was opened or revealed in him and to him ; but to test the revelation made to him by the Scriptures : a fact that speaks louder than any mere verbal testimonies, to his estimation of their intrinsic value ; but perhaps it does not speak more forcibly to this point than the remainder of the quotation on which J. W., in the strength of his natural powers, pronounced his critique. The remainder of J. YVVs quotation from G. Fox, is couched in these words : " For I saw in that Light and Spirit which was before the Scriptures were given forth ; and which led the holy men of God to give them forth, that alt must come to that Spirit, if they would know God or Christ, or the Scriptures aright, which they that gave them forth were led AND GUIDED BY." As a whole, here is a testimony of J. W.'s own selecting, from the writings of a man whom he accuses of undervaluing the Scriptures. A testimony in which G. F. asserts his full belief that he saw mi the Light of Christ, that "the. Scrip 1 tures were given forth by holy men of God, as they were led by that Light and Spirit." Even if J. W. should think that SECT. 1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 73 G. F. was mistaken in his idea of seeing- this " in the Light of Christ," What higher estimate of the Scriptures could G. F. express, than this belief ! Let us now look at this testimony in its several parts. "I saw in that Light and Spirit which was before the Scriptures were given forth." What Light was this? What is said in the Scriptures which the "poor, the dreadfully deluded" Qua- kers are accused of undervaluing. In those sacred writings, we find that "in the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with God, and the WORD was GOD. The SAME was in the beginning with God. AH things were made by Him ; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In HIM was LIFE, and the LIFE was the LIGHT of men." Perhaps even J. W. himself will not deny that the Life and Light here described existed before the Scriptures; I shall, therefore, leave that point and take up G. F.'s words : " I saw in that Light." Jt is very clear by the whole drift of the entire quotation J. W. has selected, that the words " that Light" refer to the "light of Christ," in other words to the LIFE which not only was in him, the WORD, " in the beginning," but also, " in the beginning," was "the LIGHT of MEN." Our Lord declared, " I am come that they might have LIFE, and that they might have it more abundantly ;" and what is this LIFE, but that of which, "in the beginning," it is said "the life was the light of men." Now this I con- ceive is demonstrated to have been an " Inward Light " for it convicted our first parents, and occasioned them to hide themselves " among the trees of the garden, when they heard the voice of the Lord God ;" thus performing "in the be- ginning, " one of the very offices which our Lord and Saviour assigns to the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth : " He shall reprove the world of sin." Let us then just see the conse- quences of denying that "Light of life." G 74 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. CHAP. 2. Our Lord says : "I am come that they might have Life, and that they might have it more abundantly." But those who deny and disclaim this Life and Light in this gospel day, unless they deny altogether that men ever had it, say in effect — " men had this ' Life and Light in the beginning,' but since Christ came in the flesh, so far are mankind from having it more abundantly in this gospel day, they are NOT now to HAVE IT AT ALL. The last member of the quotation from G. Fox, resumes the Universality of the Light of Christ ; and stands thus: " all must come to that Spirit, if they would know God or Christ, or the Scriptures aright, which they that gave them forth, were led and guided by." Here is no exception. All must come to that Spirit, &c. Hence we have, in these words, a full testimony to that other Scripture : " the world by wisdom knows not God ; " and also an acknowledgement of our dependance on the guidance of the Comforter who was to " abide for ever,'" and who was to " teach us all things ; " and though it be not consistent with the wisdom and will of God to teach many in this day, so independently of Scripture as G. Fox says he was on par- ticular points and occasions ; the absence in any of such teaching does not invalidate the testimony of Christ: " No man cometh unto the Father but by me : " which, I conceive, is equivalent to "all, if they would know God, or Christ, or the Scripture aright, must come to that Spirit, which they that gave forth the Scriptures were led and guided by." For without coming to " that Spirit," they cannot be rightly instructed, even concerning those things which holy men of God have written ; because they are intended to lead us to God ; to whom we can come only through Christ, and His Light. Let us now look a little at the different parts of J. W.'s own remarks on his quotation from G. Fox's Journal. J. W. SECT. 1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 75 begins: "If this mean anything at all, it surely means that all men have in them that Spirit which gave forth the Scriptures." I trust it has been shown that G. Fox's words have some meaning; and I conceive the true and correct meaning has been offered. If by the words, "that all men have in them that Spirit which gave forth the Scriptures," J. W. means to intimate that G. Fox intended to say: "All men have in them that Spirit " in an equal portion or degree with those holy men, who were led thereby to give forth the Scriptures, then I conceive he has no foundation whatever for the remark; for G. Fox simply says : "All must come to that Spirit;" by which I can understand no more than that without some undefined portion of that Spirit to influence their hearts, they cannot " know God, or Christ, or the Scriptures aright." To assign such a portion to all, as those were entrusted with who gave forth the Scriptures, would be to destroy the innuite variety of gifts or gradation of gifts, which, in the perpetually varying states of mankind must exist, in order to harmonize with the Divine Economy, as laid down in the Holy Scriptures* The next portion of J. W.'s remarks says : " And that if they believe they have it, and will turn to it, they may learn immediately from the Spirit, all that can be found in the Scriptures, which is needful for them to know." If J. W. means by this, no more than the apostle said when speaking of "the Gentiles which knew not the law, but were a law unto themselves," through "the Law written in their hearts;" then I grant it may be so understood, concerning those who have not the Holy Scriptures to instruct them. But if J. W. means his own remark to apply to those who have the blessed privilege of access to the sacred volume; then I conceive he is again without the least foundation from G. F.'s remarks. G. Fox's words convey to me a directly opposite meaning to such an interpretation of them. G. F. had just stated : g 2 76 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. CHAP. 2. " The Lord God opened to me by his invisible power, how every man was enlightened by the Divine Light of Christ;" — how they that believed in it came out of condemnation to " the Light of Life ; " and how also he had tented this Divine opening by "searching the Scriptures, and finding" the same doctrine therein ; and then he adds : w For I saw in that Light and Spirit which was before the Scriptures were given forth, and which led holy men of God to give them forth ; that all must come to that Spirit, if they would know God, or Christ, or the Scriptures aright. " I cannot conceive how " ALL that can be found in the Scriptures, which it is needful for them to know," who have access to this fountain of instruction, is, by these words of G. Fox, in the least degree represented, or even implied as being taught immediately by and from the Spirit. G. Fox alludes here only to one thing, and states the fact that he himself had searched the Scriptures, to prove and to test the revelation of that one. I am also unable to perceive that G. Fox holds out im- mediate instruction from the Spirit in " all that can be found in the Scriptures, which is needful for them to know," who possess the blessed boon of Holy Writ. G. Fox's words are : " All must come to that Spirit if they would know the Scriptures aright." Then the Scriptures so far from being set aside, are the very medium of instruction spoken of. And I cannot comprehend how "that Spirit" should teach any man to know the scriptures aright; without his having the Scrip- tures to be taught from ; and it is alike inconceivable to me how any one who has the Scriptures and reads or hears them ; and seeks to "that Spirit" to be instructed aright in what they sag, can do so " independently of the Scriptures ; " for all the knowledge so derived is by and through the Scrip- tures ; though their true import must be unfolded by the Spirit. SECT. I. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 77 This remark, however, bears on the last clause of J. W/s critique, which runs thus : " And indeed, that if they [all men] would know God, or Christ, or the Scriptures aright, they must thus learn from the Spirit already in them ; which would teach them all needful things independently of the Scriptures*" How could they "know the Scriptures" " inde- pendently of the Scriptures ! Must they not have the Scrip- tures before they could know/Am; whatever knowledge it might p[ease God to afford without them ? On examining the quotation from G. F.. instead of its inculcating independence of the Scripture, we see in every portion of it, the Scriptures are essential to the true appli- cation of G. Fox's words ; and that his remarks also offer a practical demonstration of the high estimation in which he held the Sacred Records. By trusting to and in the Divine "Light of Christ, " " that Light and Spirit which led holy men of God, to give them (the Scriptures] forth;" and by which also the prophets and apostles were inspired : we may also perceive that G. Fox built upon that " Foundation of the apostles and prophets" of which Paul says : " Other Foundation can no man lay than is laid, which is Jesus Christ;" who, therefore, must be *' The Foundation of the apostles and prophets ; Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;" for if any other was the " corner stone, " it is clear Christ could not be the whole "Foundation." G. Fox, concerning himself and those who united with him, doubtless could say to those unto whom he preached, as the apostle to the Gentiles said, notwithstanding his " abun- dance of revelation : " We also are men of like passions wil/i you ; " and had not G. F. been instructed by partaking of that portion allotted him, of the baptism of which Christ told the two sons of Zebedee they should partake, it is very probable that he would not have been qualified to add g 3 78 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. CHAP. 2. concerning those unscriptural rites or practices, which the reformed church still retains from idolatrous Rome : " We preach unto you, that ye should turn from these vanities, unto the living God." Though I conceive J. W. is convicted of fallacy of idea out of his own mouth, by the very words he has quoted from G. Fox, as the basis of his erroneous observations ; yet it may not be unsuitable to present the reader with another quotation or two from the writings of the accused, to show his continued esti- mate of the Holy Scriptures in after life. In George Fox's Doctrinals, page 53 to 63, we And a piece entitled, " A Visitation to all who have long had the Scriptures," &c, the greater part of which he employs to point out the benefits arising from the Scriptures, rightly used; and he therein more than forty times repeats these words, — " Life of the Law ;" and from the various ways in which he employs these words, and other expressions of a similar import, he evidently embraces " the letter M of the Old Testament as well as of the New ; thus bearing a strong testimony to his value for the whole of the Sacred Volume ; and showing, not only that whilst any trust merely to the " natural man" for instruction from them, the Scriptures, as were the Apostles themselves, may be " the savour of death unto death f but showing also that, through " that Spirit " by which holy men gave them forth, the Scriptures may also be " the savour of Life unto Life." If this be virtually destroying the authority of the Scrip- tures ;" G. F. has the countenance of Paul in so doing ; and perhaps of Peter also ; who says of Paul's Epistles : " In which are some things hard to be understood ; which they that are unlearned and unstable, icrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto their own destruction." And ac- cording to my apprehension, by this wresting to their own destruction, the Scriptures, which " were ordained unto life," became " the savour of death unto death ;" even as through SECT. 1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. n Christ and " the Spirit of Christ," the Holy Scriptures, to the humble and obedient mind, become " the savour of Life unto Life " making wise unto salvation through faith ;" " and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." In G. Fox's Doctrinals, page 78, he quotes the same pas- sage from Peter, who was himself unlearned in the letter ; but learned in Christ; and G. F. then adds : "Such as were un- learned, wrest the Scriptures and the Epistles being w/ilearned. The Scribes, Pharisees, great Rabbies, and Doctors knew not the Scriptures, being not learned of Christ ; He who was the Life of the Prophets, and the end of the Law : whom Peter was learned in, knew, and preached ; [but] whom they knew not. So here the imlearned who were in the Life, confounded all the learned [who were] out of the Life; and learned of Him by whom the world was made." In page 742 of the Doctrinals, G. Fox evinces his high estimation of the Holy Scriptures, as the medium of instruc- tion through the aid of the Holy Spirit; and his solicitude for the universal spread of the Sacred Volume. He says " Was not the Law, and the Old Covenant and Testament, given forth to the Jews in their mother tongue, from God and his prophets, and to be read amongst them in all their syna- gogues, and in their temple, and in their own tongue and language P "And therefore are not the Scriptures of the New Testa- ment and New Covenant to be translated, and to be read, spoken, and interpreted in every man's language and mother tongue." This reading in the Temple accorded with that Dispensation; but consistently with the spirituality of Gospel worship, as pointed out by our Lord to the woman of Samaria, the Society of Friends have ever considered this reading and instruction to be distinct from the solemn duty of worshiping " God in Spirit and in Truth;" further than the Spirit of Truth may, in our religious meetings, bring the Scriptures of Truth to 80 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. CHAP. 2. " remembrance ;" and engage any on such occasions, through the Divine aid of the Eternal Word, to minister from the Scriptures. By those testimonies we see G. Fox's scriptural estimate of the Holy Scriptures, and his firm belief in their Divine origin; whilst he maintains that other scriptural doctrine also, of the necessity of Divine influence savingly to profit by them ; and testifies most fully likewise, to the Godhead of his Redeemer, "by whom the world was made." Though Divine wisdom and goodness may, and T believe does, see meet at times to reveal some of the truths of the Gospel, without an immediate reference to the Sacred Records of them ; yet it has never pleased God, that we know of, to raise up a Christian Church, without the aid and help of the outward manifestation of Christ personally revealed, or through the medium of the Holy Scriptures ; hence as Bar- clay in his Apology, Prop. III. § H. p. 71, says, and as J. W. himself, in page 75, quotes from him: "The Scriptures are necessary to the Church of Christ." And in every point of view, there is a wide difference between those partial revela- tions and the knowledge of all the truths of the Gospel, which were revealed through the wonderful love and mercy of God, in the miraculous manifestation of " the Word made flesh, and dwelling amongst us ;" which are necessary to perfect- ing the Church of Christ : a very essential difference be- tween the knowledge of this marvellous event, and of its infi- nite importance to mankind ; and such a knowledge as the great Apostle to the Gentiles declared to be imparted to the Gentiles, through the 94 law written in their hearts ;" and by obedience whereunto.. he clearly sets forth their acceptance in the sight of God. J. W. sets forth in much higher colours, than those in the quotation just commented upon, what he imagines to be the SECT. 1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 81 the heterodoxy of the " early Friends," respecting the Holy Scriptures; and from such passages, the following are selected. In treating expressly on the subject of the Scriptures not being " held in proper estimation by the Society of Friends," J. W. says, page 47: "It is necessary now, however, more particularly to examine the root of this fatal error:' In the same page J. W. refers to R. Barclay's Apology — " be- cause in his work are to be found embodied, in a systematic manner, the principles which Friends, from the earliest times, have held up to the world as ' The true Christian Divinity.' What sort of Divinity it really is, will be seen by the follow- ing proposition." viz. Prop. 2, Sect. IV. p. 26. J. VV. then announces the following quotations, viz. — " I would however," [says Barclay,] " not be understood as if I excluded those other means of knowledge from any use or service to man ; it is far from me so to judge ; as, concern- ing the Scriptures, in the next proposition will more plainly appear. — The question is not what may be profitable or help- ful, but what is absolutely necessary. — Many things may contribute to further a work, which yet are not the main thing which makes the work go on." "The sum, then, of what is said amounts to this; that where the true inward knowledge of God is, through the reve- lation of His Spirit, there is all ; neither is there an absolute necessity of any other. But where the best, highest, and most profound knowledge is without this, there is nothing, as to the obtaining the great end of salvation. This truth is very effec^ tually confirmed by the first part of the proposition itself, which in few words comprehendeth divers unquestionable arguments, which I shall in brief subsume : "I. First. That there is no knowledge of the Father but by the Son. " II. Secondly. That there is no knowledge of the Son but by the Spirit. 82 THEHeOLY SCRIPTURES. CHAP. 2. " III. Thirdly. That by the Spirit God hath always reveal- ed Himself to his children. " IV. Fourthly. That these revelations were the formal ob- jects of the saints' faith. " V. And Lastly. That the same continue to be the objects of the saints faith to this day." Here ends the quotation from Barclay ; J. W. then adds this remark of his own : " We find then that the Scriptures are spoken of as not absolutely necessary, but only as " what may be profitable or helpful;" and that where the true inward knowledge of God is, through the revelation of His Spirit, there is all ; neither is their an absolute necessity of any other.' And this is represented as the sum of what had been said before." The present object is to adhere, as much as possible, to the single charge of heterodoxy respecting the Holy Scriptures ; I therefore waive, in this place, quoting any further from J. W.'s remarks. It is evident from Barclay's own words in stating his pro- position, that he considers the Holy Scriptures secondary to nothing, except to that Fountain of Divine Excellency from whence they proceed ; for he says, page 67: " Because they give a true and faithful testimony of the first Foundation, they are and may be esteemed a secondary rule, subordinate to the Spirit, from which they have all their excellency and certainty." And can the mercy and goodness of God in giving a portion of the same Spirit to every man to profit withal, so change the " Divine nature" as to set the Scriptures above that Spirit, by which holy men of God were moved to give them forth ; or can this mercy make the Holy Spirit secondary to the Scriptures, which have proceeded from "that Spirit!" I apprehend it is clear that the Scriptures are neither prior, coeval, nor superior to the Holy Ghost; and, therefore, the highest assignable place which can be given to SECT. 1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 83 them is the next, that is, allowing them to be secondary to M that [Holy] Spirit, by which holy men of God were led to give them forth." Hence I conceive the immediately suc- ce'eding part of Barclay's proposition is substantiated ; and is in full Scriptural accordance with — " man, by wisdom, knows not God," and " the natural man cannot know the things of the Spirit of God," nor doth he even " receive them " when set before him: "For," as Barclay says, " as by the inward testimony of the Spirit, we do alone truly know them; so they testify that the Spirit is that guide by which the saints are led into all Truth ; therefore, according to the Scripture, the Spirit is the first and principal Leader. A man may very possibly, by his natural powers, attain to a sound form of words respecting the things of God ; as he may also adopt the words, " Jesus is Lord ;" but without he feels the quickening power of the Holy Ghost, he can do neither the one nor the other from the feeling of his own experience. And, therefore, the Spirit not only was essential to the leading of holy men of God to write the Scriptures, but is essential also to give to any man a true knowledge of their real import and importance." Hence, as J. W. has just quoted from Barclay : "Where the true inward knowledge of God is, there is all, neither is there an absolute necessity of any other. But where the best, highest, and most pro- found knowledge [of the natural man merely] is, without this, [influence of the Spirit,] there is nothing as to obtaining the great ends of salvation." The truth of this doctrine is proved in one short Scripture declaration : "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." It may be observed that J. W. says: "The Scriptures are spoken of as not absolutely necessary, but only as what may be profitable or helpful." Here are two positions : 1st. "The Scriptures are not absolutely necessary ;" and so far correct; but J. W. does not explain how or to whom this position S4 THK HOLY SCRIPTURES. CHAP. 2. applies. R. Barclay was not, in this proposition, treating on the Holy Scriptures; they are there introduced in treating on the subject of the proposition then under consideration, which was that of " Immediate Revelation :" and in the very word which J. W. has quoted, R. B. states that his meaning " in the next proposition concerning the Scriptures shall more plainly appear." But before he comes to treat on the Scrip- tures specifically, R. B., page 34, instances the case of Noah, who having not the Scriptures : " * By faith being warned of God, of those things not seen as yet, prepared an ark to the sav- ing of his house; by which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith: What was here [says Barclay] the object of Noah's faith, but God speaking unto him P He had not the writings or prophesyings of any going before, nor yet the concurrence of any church or peo- ple to strengthen him ; and yet his faith in the Word, by which he contradicted the whole world, saved him and his house. 1 ' R. Barclay goes on to instance Abraham ; and he might also have instanced Enoch, Melchizedeck, Isaac, Jacob, and all other righteous patriarchs before Moses; none of whom had the Scriptures; indeed J. W. himself, page 70, further quotes from Barclay, p. 26, thus : "Nor dare any affirm that none come to the knowledge of God and salvation, by the in- ward revelation of the Spirit, without these other outward means, unless they be also so bold as to exclude Abel, Seth, Noah, Abraham, Job, and all the holy patriarchs, from true knowledge and salvation." To which J. W. immediately sub- joins: " Now what sound Christian would for a moment be inclined to exclude Abel, &c. from true knowledge and sal- vation ?" Thus then we see, that the Scriptures not being absolutely necessary to salvation, is first stated as one of the " Principles ol Quakerism," and denounced as heterodox, — as "the root SECT. I. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. So of the fatal error ;" but when the same sentiment emanates from the talismanick pen of an opponent of that doctrine, it becomes then the proper belief of every "sound Christian" that "Abel, Seth, Noah, Abraham, Job, and all the holy pa- triarchs," obtained "true knowledge and salvation" though they had not the Scriptures; and, consequently, the abstract position is to be believed: — "That the Scriptures are not absolutely necessary to salvation. " The second position which J. W.'s remark contains, is, that the Scriptures are spoken of " only as what may be profitable or helpful." Where does J. W. find the word " only," or any word or expression of similar import in his quotations from Barclay ? so far from such a limitation, R. B., as already stated, refers to "the next proposition concerning the Scriptures," in which his meaning "shall more plainly appear;" and the head or Thesis of "the proposition" referred to, begins thus : " From these Revelations of the Spirit of God to the Saints, have proceeded the Scriptures of Truth." — Apology, propo- sition III, page 67. The first section of this proposition begins thus : " The for- mer part of this proposition, though it needs no apology for itself, yet it is a good apology for us; and will help to sweep away that, among many other calumnies, wherewith we are often loaded, as if we were vilifiers and deniers of the Scriptures; for in that which we affirm of them, it doth appear at what a high rate we value them; accounting them, without all deceit and equivocation, the most excellent writings in the world. " In the immediately succeeding section, as J. W. quotes, page 75, R. B., page 71, says : " We do acknowledge the Scrip- tures to be a very heavenly and Divine writiDg, the use of them to be very comfortable and necessary to the church of christ." Is this saying the Scriptures are only what may be profitable or helpful ? H 86 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. CHAP. 2. The reader may observe how exactly these quotations ac- cord with the closing remarks on G. Fox's testimony to the Scriptures and Divine Influence. And here we see also that Barclay is so far a " sound Christian," that he " would not for a moment be inclined to exclude Abel, Seth, Noah, from true knowledge and salvation," though they had not the Scriptures; and hence that "the Scriptures were not absolutely necessary." So far is Barclay from describing them only as what may be profitable or helpful, that according to J. W.'s own quoting, page 75, R. B. asserts " the use of them to be NECESSARY to the Church of Christ. " Here the plain meaning of Barclay, as I apprehend, evi- dently is, that to the, professing Church of Christ the Scrip- tures are essential for building them up in the most holy faith; whilst to uphold their absolute necessity to all the world; to those from whom a lapsed and fallen church has for ages withheld them ; would be to contradict the assertions of the apostle Paul, respecting the Gentiles who " have not the law," but " show the work of the law written in their hearts." But whilst the Scriptures are so very essential to convey to us the knowledge and way of salvation by Jesus Christ, the Son and Sent of the Father, as " God manifest in the flesh ;" and very many other highly important Truths, which are essential to the Church of Christ; yet if we believe the Scriptures themselves, they are not the only essential to salvation, or even to right knowledge ; for as the apostle declares, "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; " and among these " things of the Spirit of God," R. Barclay, as just quoted, most decidedly ranks the Holy Scriptures; and unless any will deny the Scriptures this claim, the merely possessing them cannot confer sal- vation, because " the natural man receiveth them not ; neither can he know them ;" and why cannot "the natural man know them?" "Because they are spiritually discerned ; " or as SECT. 1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. >7 the apostle says just previously : " The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." Hence then is not the Spirit of God, by which holy men of old were led to give forth the Scriptures, "that Spirit" whose influence is essential to understand them ? Let us see J. W.'s own opinion on this head. After some remarks on the Principles of Friends, which partake largely of his own ideas respecting them, J. W. says, page 445 : "But those who, by the power and abiding presence of the Holy Spirit, receive and retain the great leading doctrines of Holy Scripture, may be compared to such as have taken hold of the right end of a clue, which, as they draw, almost insensibly supplies them. Thus to them that have, shall more be given ; and they shall have abundance. And the Scripture, which to the mind in its dark and inimical state, only seems like a tangled web, becomes more and more clear to the prayerful and attentive mind, which, often without effort, perceives fresh beauties and excellencies open out, in a manner that would seem almost like a fresh revelation ; but which is only the effect of that clearness of mind, for the reception of sacred truths, which the Holy Spirit gives when He takes the things of Christ, and shows them unto us." Here we have another instance of the talismanick virtue of an opponent's pen, which can transmute into Christian doc- trine, that which, in the writings of the " early Friends" is "fatal error." But let me ask, — Of what use is "a prayerful and attentive mind " for the instruction of the Holy Spirit, to those who deny the sensible evidence of this Divine Influence? Can such a petition be " the prayer of Faith ? " If it is, I conceive it must be answered as J. W., page 455, states the Divine Influence was extended to the ravens that fed Elijah, and to the lions whose mouths were shut against devouring Daniel; that is, unconsciously to those who are influenced, from whence that influence proceeds. h 2 88 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. CHAP. 2. Here I apprehend we are brought to the "root of the error," which has for so many ages deprived the professing Church of Christ, generally speaking, of " the true knowledge of God," by and through Jesus Christ inwardly revealed. " Search," or " Ye search the Scriptures" said Christ; " for in them ye think ye have eternal life ; and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come unto me that ye might have life." This could not be coming to our Lord personally, for they were then present with Him. But they did not come unto or acknowledge His Divine power, and suffer it to work on their hearts ; but trusted in the mere letter of the Scriptures, the outward knowledge after which they searched. It may be observed, that in the few words just quoted from J. W., the term " fatal n is omitted. Far be it from me to condemn those who are more or less falling into this error, where the heart is sincere. Hence, however important and lamentable the mistake, I am not disposed to follow J. W/s example respecting the errors which he wrongfully imputes to the Society of Friends; and will not call it "fatal" ; be- cause I believe " the time of this ignorance/' in upright minds, "God winketh at." But has not enough been said to lead a serious professor of the Christian name to ponder these things ? They may search the Scriptures, and so far do well; but if they trust to their own natural powers, uninfluenced by the Spirit of Christ ; are they likely to comprehend those " things of God" which are only " spiritually discerned ;" and are not the promises of Christ respecting the indwelling of the Com- forter in man, and the abiding of the Father and the Son with those who love Him, and keep his commandments, amongst " the things of the Spirit of God ?" Things of which the knowledge of the letter only can give no adequate idea. As the notice in this "Glance" is confined chiefly to the two individuals from whom J. W. the most frequently thinks he adduces "fatal or deadly error, " we may now turn to another of J. W.'s quotations respecting the Scriptures, which SECT. 1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 69 has been hinted at before. J. W.'s quotation is from R. Barclay, and tubs thus, Prop. Ill, § 2, page 71, viz. : "Though, then, we do acknowledge the Scriptures to be a very heavenly and Divine writing, the use of them to be very com- fortable and necessary to the Church of Christ; and that we also admire and give praise to the Lord, for his wonderful providence in preserving these writings so pure and uncor- rupted as we have them, through so long a night of apostacy ; to be a testimony of his Truth against the wickedness and abominations, even of those whom he made instrumental in preserving them ; so that they have kept them to be a witness against themselves ; yet we may not call them the principal fountain of all truth and knowledge, nor yet theirs* adequate rule of faith and manners ; because the principal fountain of truth must be Truth itself ; i. e., that whose certainty and authority depends not upon another. " When we doubt of the streams of any river or flood, we recur to the fountain itself ; and having found it, there we desist : we can go no farther, because there it springs out of the bowels of the earth, which are inscrutable. Even so, the writings and sayings of all men we must bring to the Word of God, I mean the Eternal W r ord, and if they agree hereunto, we stand there. For this Word always pioceedeth, and doth eternally proceed from God, in and by which the unsearchable wisdom of God and unsearchable counsel and will conceived in the heart, of [or from] God, is revealed unto us. That then the Scripture is not the principal ground of faith and knowledge, as it appears by what is above spoken, so it is proved in the latter part of the proposition ; which being reduced to an argument, runs thus : " That whereof the certainty and authority depends upon another, and which is received as truth because of its pr< - ceeding from another, is not to be accounted the principal ground and origin of all truth and knowledge. h 3 90 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. CHAP. 2, " But the Scriptures* authority and certainty depend upon the Spirit by which they were dictated ; and the reason why they were received as truth is, because they proceeded from the Spirit. u Therefore they are not the principal ground of Truth." So far R. B. is quoted. Then J. W. adds : " The argument is summed up in the following words:" when he thus again quotes Barclay : " If by the Spirit we can only come to the knowledge of God : if by the Spirit we are to be led into all Truth, and so be taught of all things, then the Spirit and not the Scriptures, is the foundation and ground of all Truth and knowledge, and the primary rule of faith and manners." After this further quotation from Barclay, J. W. thus renews the charge contained in his letter resigning his membership in the Society of Friends. This charge he thus introduces, p. 77 : "I cannot persuade myself that a single intelligent and unprejudiced Christian, could attentively read the foregoing extract, without perceiving that," (now J. W. quotes from his own letter,) " whilst it professes to uphold the Scriptures as heavenly and Divine writings, it virtually destroys their authority, by setting above them the Spirit, which is sup- posed to be in the heart of every man, whereby even the Scriptures themselves may be tested." Here J. W. ends the quotation from his own letter ; the rest of J. W.'s paragraph, see u Quakerism Examined," p. xix., runs thus : " Now it appears to me that there never was a more fertile source of error broach- ed in this fallen world ; and where such a principle is held, it only requires some particular excitement, to make it produc- tive of the worst imaginable fruits." Perhaps it may be possible to show to some one "single intelligent, unprejudiced Christian," that such a construction as J. W. puts upon the quotations he has just given from Barclay, is the creature of J. W.'s own fallacious imagination. SECT. 1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 91 His remarks upon this and the foregoing quotations from Fox and Barclay, may be considered as fair specimens of J. W.'s art of reasoning, and may prevent the necessity of troubling the reader with many more. I however repeat distinctly that I never considered J. W. to be deficient in the "art of reason- ing " on natural things; far otherwise; but in the " things of the Spirit of God," more especially than in others, prejudice may blind the eyes of the wise ; or there may be a more to be lamented cause, in that " particular excitement — that me- phitic vapour," whose fumes J. W. represents as having so powerfully assailed himself ; and which, so far from ceasing to exert their baneful influence, seem still to occasion " some particular excitement," in his own mind ; the vapour arising not from " the Principles of Quakerism," as he supposes, but from his own fallacious ideas of those principles; in which fallacy, he is more a subject for the exercise of charity, than of severe rebuke. Considering the great diversity of opinions which exist, even amongst " intelligent, unprejudiced Christians," I can- not suppose that J. W. reasons very soundly when he enlists all, not excepting a "single" one from being of his opinion. And let us see what this infallible opinion is : "Whilst it [the foregoing extract from Barclay] professes to uphold the Scrip- tures as heavenly and divine writings, it virtually destroys their authority." Does this destruction arise from the following clause which immediately succeeds — "Divine writings," — "the me of them to be very comfortable and necessary to the Church of Christ ! Is it sound reasoning to say, as J. W. in effect does say, that this declaration of the use of the Scriptures being necessary, " virtually destroys their authority " ? Does Barclay destroy their authority by adding — " We also admire and give praise to the Lord, for his wonderful provi- dence in preserving these writings so pure and uncorrupted, through so long a night of apostacy " ? 92 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES CHAP 2. We need not, however, pursue these inquiries, for J. W. himself furnishes what he imagines to be the reason, and tells us plainly that Barclay " virtually destroys their authority by setting above them the Spirit." I know of no Spirit thus placed, but " the Holy Spirit," " the Spirit of Truth," " the Holy Ghost," "that Spirit by which holy men of God were led to give the Scriptures forth and (I speak with reverence) is it sound reason, any more than sound Christianity, to set the Scriptures above the Holy Spirit; or to make them equal with God, from whom they derive all their excellency and certainty ? Is the decree of a monarch higher than the monarch whose power gave virtue to that decree ! or is the monarch secondary to his own decree ; and his decree entitled to priority before him, or superiority above him P Yet just such, I conceive, is the error of those who exalt the Scriptures above the Holy Spirit from whom they proceeded; and clearly this and this only is the Spirit to which Barclay refers ; for another part of J. W.'s own quotation from him says : '* The Scriptures' au- thority and certainty depend upon the Spir:? by which they were dictated." But J. W. makes an addition after " the Spirit," in repeat- ing the quotation from Barclay on the Scriptures, and says : He " virtually destroys their authority, by setting above them the Spirit which is supposed to be in the heart of every man, whereby even the Scriptures themselves may be tested." If by this addition J. W. means to scoff, as he does elsewhere, at the principle of the "Inward Light" and Spirit which the " early Friends " believed to be extended to every man ; and which belief he compares to following an "Ignis Fatuus," then I conceive we must arrive at one of these conclusions: — First, that J. W. means something totally different to " (hat Spirit " by which holy men were led to give forth the Scrip- tures ; or secondly ; that he not only " speaks a word against," but derides, " the Holy Ghost." SECT. 1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 93 If he means something totally different to the " Spirit from which the Scriptures proceededV , then surely the application of his strictures to what he quotes from Barclay, is " Like the baseless fabric of th' air vision.'' Or if he means the same Holy Spirit whose authority stamps " the Scriptures with all their excellency and certainty," does he mean to scoff at even the least degree of that blessed influ- ence, however small it may be, which is extended to every man; and does he once more mean to deride those who believe it to be holy ? Our Lord himself not only compared " the Kingdom of Heaven to a grain of mustard seed, the least of all seeds;" but also declares : " The Kingdom of God is within you ;" and how will J. W. explain these mysterious truths, but by a refer- ence to "the Holy Spirit" ? Is there however any question that the lowliness of the manifestation of the seed of the kingdom of heaven, presents to our view the grand cause why this precious and celestial gift of our Heavenly Father, has for ages and generations, been so overlooked or disregarded ; and why the believers in its Divine efficacy have been so despised; especially by those who were, or have considered themselves to be, wise and learned in the letter; but have had little or no true living faith in the Spirit ? Is the Holy Spirit changed, or is His Divine character as the Sent of the Father and of Christ, (see John xiv. 16, 17, 26, and xv. 26,) changed by the revelation of the knowledge of the gracious extension of this same influence to all mankind ? Whilst discussing whether " the Scriptures are held in pro- per estimation by the Society of Friends," J. W. says, p. 55 : " And is not the very name of 'the Word * given to the Son of God, because that /row the creation of man He has condes- cended to be the Communicator of the Divine counsel to such 94 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. CHAP. 2. persons, and in such modes, as in His infinite wisdom, He has seen meet to select and to adopt." Does J. W. mean by this " selection " to exclude the great bulk of the human race from any revelation of Christ, "from the creation of man " ? Does he mean to limit the " condes- cension of the Son of God as the Communicator of the Divine counsel to such persons " as were eminently and especially " selected" and signalized by such revelations? And thus leave all the world besides in ignorance of that " Life which " "in the beginning," was the Light of men, through this Eternal WORD or Logos? (John i. 1.) Could such an extremely limited revelation of " the Son of God " — the " Word that was made flesh and dwelled among us " be the import of that solemn introduction : " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God ; and the Word was God," &c. "In Him was Life, and the Life was the LIGHT of men." "The true LIGHT which lighteth every man that cometh into the world ! " This Eternal Word undoubtedly communicates Himself through words spoken or written under His Divine Influence ; as through the words of Holy Writ : and it is highly pro- bable that these words will endure whilst the world endures; and the solemn Truths they convey " live and abide for ever;" but this I conceive can only be by and through the power of that Eternal " Word of God which is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword," &c. If Christ did not visit as this operative Word; how "did all our Fathers drink of that same spiritual drink," when They all " drank of that spiritual rock that followed them ; " since " that rock was CHRIST ? " Was not this by " the Spirit of Christ ?" And to what did the Most High refer when he said of the antediluvian world s " My Spirit shall not always strive with man, seeing he is flesh ;" as if Jehovah had said: " Man is mortal; and he may resist My Spirit till he becomes reprobate," SECT. 1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 95 What but the Holy Spirit appeared on the day of Pentecost as "cloven tongues like as of fire, and sat upon each of the apos- tles ; and they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." To what but that same Divine Influence, which is also called "the Spirit of Christ," did the apostle allude, when he made that striking appeal to the Corinthians : n Prove your bwnselves ; know ye not your ownselves, how that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates." To what did our blessed Redeemer and Lord allude when He said of the promised Comforter : " He will reprove the world of sin ; " but to the same Holy Spirit, by which He represented that highest measure of Divine Influence im- parted to man, when He said : " If a man love Me he will keep my words, and my Father will love him ; and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him ? " To what but the Holy Spirit did the Saviour of the world allude, when He said of Himself as the Son of man : — " God giveth not the SPIRIT by measure unto Him." Hence is it not obvious, that the Spirit, who in various manifestations has been revealed to man, has been the same Holy Spirit in all ages of the world ; in all the ramifications, and under all the diversifications and degrees in which "the Spirit " has visited the sons of men ; yea, from that which is compared to " the little small thing," " a grain of mustard seed," even unto " the Spirit without measure," in our blessed Lord and Saviour; which is equivalent to what is elsewhere described as — " all the fullness of the Godhead dwelling- bodily " in the man Christ Jesus " ? And hence that the Spirit, abstractedly, must be superior to the Letter ; how small soever the degree of manifestation as " the mustard seed" may be, when compared with that measure of the Spirit which is called in Scripture, "the Word of the Lord." We now come to the last member of J. W.'s stricture on his quotation from Barclay ; and to represent it fairly, the 96 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. CHAP. 2. part immediately preceding it must be repeated : J. W. says : " Whilst it professes to uphold the Scriptures as heavenly and divine writings, it virtually destroys their authority, by setting above them the Spirit which is supposed to be in the heart of every man ; — whereby even the Scriptures themselves may be TESTED.'' These last few words only are now to be considered ; for T trust it has been shown clearly, that the abstract proposition is sound and scriptural, that the gracious extension of the Holy Spirit to mankind universally, does not alter or change its supreme character of being the Spirit of God. In this Section, pages 72 and 75, it has been shown, that J. W.'s quotation from G. Fox, to which J. W. applies a similar charge on testing the Scriptures, conveys a directly opposite meaning to what J. W. represents ; — for so far was G. F. from stating such a sentiment, that in the very ivords which J. W. quotes, G. Fox, not virtually, but actually states, as already shown, that after he had received the opening, as he believed, from the Spirit of Truth in his own heart, he tested that very opening by searching the Scriptures; and he found they declared the same thing. On testing the Scriptures J. W. appears to me, as on other points, to confound two things which are totally distinct one from the other. On this occasion, one of the things is — The necessity of the Spirit's influence in order for any to compre- hend and rightly to understand what has been written by " holy men of God, as they were moved by the Holy Ghost ;" and availingly to open to mankind the glorious truths of the Gospel of Christ, as set forth in the sacred records ; or to as- sure the mind of the Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures which were so written : in other words, to enable " the natural man to receive and know the things of the Spirit of God." The other point which J. W. confounds with the former, is the belief of the " early Friends" that "the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal." Out of SECT. 1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 97 these two positions J. W. appears to form a third, — That since it is only by the aid of this manifestation that any man can rightly understand the Holy Scriptures, or come to a right judgment respecting the truths therein revealed ; that therefore every man is qualified to test or sit in judgment whether to accept or reject those Truths. The former of those two positions now distinguished, I trust may have been already shown to be sound Scripture doctrine; if not the latter also. I must however disclaim the third, as one of J. W.'s concoctions. Similar mistakes in confounding things whose characters are essentially distinct, appear to be the foundation of many at least, if not of all J. W.'s charges against the Principles of Friends. Is there not a material difference between being enabled to understand, and being authorized to judge ? A right and true sense of incapacity to comprehend Holy Writ, is very far from leading the mind to sit in judgment whether to accept or reject its Sacred Truths. The more any one is enlightened to comprehend Truths which once appeared mysterious, the more is the mind prepared to believe in those Truths which still are not comprehended. Babes in Christ are not men ; nor children " strong men." In page 68, 7th edition, proposition III, the very proposi- tion on which J. W. grounds this calumny on Barclay, R. B. treating on the Scriptures, as he himself says " more plainly'* than in the preceding proposition, after stating the Holy Scriptures to be, " without all equivocation and deceit, the most excellent writings in the world ; to which not only no other writings are to be preferred, but in divers respects not comparable," R. B. adds : " For as we freely acknowledge that their authority does not depend upon the approbation of canons of any church or assembly ; so neither can we subject them to the fallen, corrupt, and defiled reason of man." In order to show that the early Friends were not alone in conceiving the authority of the Scriptures is built on the 98 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. CHAP. 2. evidences which that Spirit affords, " by which holy men of God were led to give them forth," R. B. p. 69, 70, quotes Calvin, the French Churches, and the Churches of Holland. " And lastly, the divines, so called, at Westminster," as say- ing in these words, chap. I. sect. 5. " Nevertheless our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth thereof [the Scriptures] is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit, bearing witness by and with the word in our hearts." Hence all those churches, and these " divines," and, bles- sed be God ! many others, are fully involved in that precious sense, and feeling, and belief, concerning which, when found in the " poor Quakers," J. W., referring to the same propo- sition in the same section, says in his letter, p. xix : " It appears to me that there never was a more fertile source of error broached in this fallen world." In section V. of the same proposition, after treating on the errors of translators, &c, R. B., p. 83, states his position thus : " If it be then asked me, whether I intend thereby to render the Scriptures altogether uncertain and useless ? " I answer — Not at all ! The proposition itself declares what esteem I have for them ; and provided that to the Spirit from whence they came, be but granted that place the Scrip- tures themselves give it, I do freely concede to the Scriptures the second place, even whatsoever they say of themselves, which the Apostle Paul chiefly mentions in two places : ' Whatso- ever things were written aforetime, were written for our learn- ing ; that we, through patience, and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope.' ' The Holy Scriptures are able to make wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture given by inspiration of God, is profitable for cor- rection, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work.' " Page 86, R. B. adds : " Moreover because they [the Scrip- tures] are commonly acknowledged by all, to have been SECT. 1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 99 written by the dictates of the Holy Spirit; and that the errors which may be supposed by the injury of time to have sjipt in, are not such but that there is a sufficient clear Testi- mony left to all the Essentials of the Christian Faith, wr. do look upon them as the ONLY fit outward judge of Con- troversey among 1 Christians; and that whatsoever doctrine is contrary unto their Testimony may therefore justly be rejected as false. And for our parts, we are very willing that all our doctrines and practises be tried by them ; which we never refused, nor ever shall, in all controversies with our adver- saries, as the judge and test. We, shall also be very willing to admit it as a positive certain maxim, That whatsoever any do, pretending to the Spirit, which is contrary to the Scriptures, be accounted and reckoned a DELUSION of the Devil." Strange as it may appear, the things here quoted are what J. W. " has read," and known! Instead of allowing to every man the liberty of judging the Scriptures by that measure of the Spirit of Christ which the apostles said to the Corinthians, is M Jesus Christ in you except ye be reprobates," does not the foregoing quotation from Barclay bring every revelation or supposed revelation to the test of Holy Scripture." What higher value or authority would J. W. himself stamp upon them, than this plenary acknowledgement that they have proceeded from " the Spirit of God, as holy men of God were led to give them forth V* As the unfounded charge of undervaluing the Holy Scrip- tures, is levelled against the whole Society, it may be proper to give one extract, out of a long series that might be adduced, showing from the early rise of the Society to the present time, the peculiar care which, as a Christian community the Society of Friends, in their most Collective capacity, have extended to their members respecting the Sacred Records. It is taken from the Yearly Meeting's Printed Epistle of 1732: "We I 2 100 THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. CHAP. 2. tenderly and earnestly advise and exhort all parents and masters of families, that they exert themselves in the wisdom of God, and in the strength of his love, to instruct their children and families, in the doctrines and precepts of the Christian religion contained in the Holy Scriptures ; and that they excite them to the diligent reading of those Sacred Writings, which plainly set forth the miraculous conception birth, holy life, wonderful ivorks, blessed example, meritorious death, and glorious resurrection, ascension, and MEDIA- TION of our LORD and SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST; and to educate their children in the belief of those important truths; as well as in the belief of the Inward Manifestation and operation of the Spirit of God on their own minds; that they may reap the benefit and advantage thereof, for their own peace and erlasting happiness." Here " those important Truths" relative to our Lord and Saviour, are not only recommended ; but strongly enforced, as conducive to everlasting happiness. Only four years before, in the printed Epistle, the Holy Scriptures were recommended to " frequent reading and meditation," as the means of con- veying and preserving to us an account of the things most surely to be believed concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in the flesh : and the fulfilling of the prophecies relating thereto."" Whilst sensible of the infirmities and the frailty of our nature, may not the writer be allowed, on behalf of such of his fellow professors, as are truly embued with the principles of " the early Friends," reverently to indulge a hope, that, according to their measures, such of the present generation, may be enabled, in deep humility and under conviction of their own impotence, to adopt the language of the apostle : " We are not as many who corrupt the Word of God ; but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God, speak we in Christ/ Sect. II. Redemption by Christ. ' 9 There is none other name under heaven iriven amongst men, whereby we most be saved- "—Acts iv. 12. The head of J. W/s chapter IV runs thus : " Is the sacrifice of Christ held »n proper estimation by the Society of Friends?" In this chapter, page 170, J. W. says: "We find in the description which William Penn gives of the early Friends, that they professed to give their ' Testimony 9 to a principle in man, which they held up as the only blessed means of Sal- vation, instead of the preaching of the gospel, or making any reference to the scriptural doctrine of the offering of the body of Christ once for all.— Heb. x, 10." Before giving from William Penn the paragraph, which J. W. thus represents, it may be stated, that the above quo- tation is copied exactly from J. W., not only as regards the words of it, but the characters in which the} 7 are printed ; and I confess that I have read this position, and the para- graph from W. Penn which J. W. subjoins as an illustration of that position, more than once before I could believe he intended one to relate to the other; but this confounding of things which are essentially distinct, appears often to be the foundation of J. Wi'fi perversions of the Principles of Friends. J. W. is treating on " the sacrifice of Christ," and the quo- tation he introduces from W. Penn, treats only on the re- generating power of Christ revealed in the heart ; and will J. W. venture to assert that it is by " the outward offering of Christ once for all," that any man is "born of the Spirit;" without which our Lord declared a man " cannot see the king- dom of God 0 " Or is it either fair to infer, or logical to deduce, that holding up the necessity of the quickening virtue and power of Christ inwardly revealed, convicts W. Penn of denying Christ outwardly manifested, as the "ransom for all i 3 102 REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. CHAP. 2. J. WVs quotation from W. Penn is as follows : " And as their testimony was to the principle of God in man, the pre- cious Pearl and leaven of the Kingdom, as the only blessed means appointed of God to quicken, convince, and sanctify man ; so they opened to them what it was in itself, and what it was given to them for. How they might know it from their own spirit, and that of the subtle appearance of the evil one; and what it would do for all those whose minds should be turned off from the vanity of the world, and its lifeless ways and teachers, and adhere to His blessed \ight in themselves, which discovers and condemns sin in all its appearances ' y and shows how to overcome it, if minded and obeyed in its holy manifestations and convictions ; giving power to such to avoid and resist those things that do not please God ; and to grow strong in love, faith, and good works. That so man, whom sin hath made as a wilderness, overrun with briars and thorns, might become as the garden of the Lord, cultivated by His Divine power, and replenished with the most beautiful plants of God's own right hand planting, to His eternal praise. " By the very words of the early part of this quotation, which J. W. himself has printed in italics, it is most obvious that the " principle of God in man, " and " the precious pearl and leaven of the kingdom/' are, by W. Penn, con- sidered as one and the same thing; which is the basis of all the following remarks that he makes, and which he confirms towards the close by referring the culture of this " seed, " which is also the seed of the kingdom, to " the Lord's Divine POWER." To avoid being misunderstood, I would distinctly premise as my own belief, and what I have no doubt was the belief of the early Friends, that I not only acknowledge the pro- pitiatory character of the outward offering and " sacrifice of Christ;" but in the most unlimited sense of the term uni- versality, that Christ " died for ALL. 99 SECT. 2. REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 103 Bat I must distinctly state my apprehension that this sacrifice, "the propitiation for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD " — and the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, a.re two quite distinct things, though they co-operate to the same end, the salvation of the soul ; the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit, being essential to carrying out the benefit of the outward " sacrifice of Christ" to its completion. This is a very awful theme, but when a spirit of confusion and of consequent error so pervades any, as in addition to heaping calumnies of the deepest dye on his fellow Christians, it occasions him also far to exceed this, and even to ridicule * what others solemnly believe to be the manifestations of the Holy Spirit himself; surely the most minute discrimination between those two Divine and" awful distinctions of the one only source of salvation, is then authorized, not only in a feeble endeavour to "justify the ways of God to man/' but if possible to correct the error of judgment in the mistaken writer. Under these solemn impressions, I ask : — I. Is the "sacrifice of Christ," or is "the precious pearl and leaven of the kingdom," "appointed of God to quicken, convince, and sanctify man, " and effect the great work of regeneration ? II. Does "the outward offering of Christ" nullify this work of the Spirit, without which "a man cannot enter or see the kingdom of God ? or is not the office of that offering and sacrifice quite distinct from this inward work ; since it is : " If we walk in the Light as God is hi the Light," that " the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin ? " III. Does " the sacrifice of Christ," cultivate the heart, " so that man whom sin hath made as a wilderness, overrun with * In page 154, J. W. quotes these words from G. Fox : " Take heed to the light within you, which is the light of Christ," and yet J. W. says, in page 368 : " They have thus as they suppose, a light within them, but it has, in very many instances, proved itself to be an ignis fatccs. " 104 REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. CHAP. 2. briars and thorns, might become as the garden of the Lord ? " Or is it by " His blessed Light in themselves," by " Hit Divine power " within, that the hearts of men are u re- plenished with the most beautiful plants of God's own right hand planting, to His eternal praise ? " IV. Though by his precious blood " the Lamb of God '* can " take away the sin of the world ; " yet does " the out- ward offering of Christ" effect this, without the conjoined influence of the "quickening" power of the Holy Spirit, by which alone a man can "be born again," and without which "'he cannot see the kingdom of God ? " V. Are there not then most obviously two distinct offices for the Redeemer of men to perform, the one without us, and the other within us; each equally most essentially component of the adorable system of human redemption ? It may be that this clear discrimination may be more fully substantiated by looking at the. decided distinction which the Scripture makes between the " Spirit not by measure " — " the fulness of the Godhead," and that manhood in which this " fulness dwelled bodily." I. Did the Holy Spirit in "all the fulness of the God- head," endure the agony in Gethsemane ? II. Was it to this " fulness of the Godhead," to whom " an angel appeared, strengthening Him," whilst enduring this agony ? Or was it to " the man CHRIST JESUS ? " III. Could it be "the fulness of the Godhead ? " or was it "the man Christ Jesus," who, under the extreme feel- ings of our nature, and in the acme of baptism for a sinful world, exclaimed on the cross : " Eloi, Eloi, lama sabach- thani ! My God, my God ! why hast Thou forsaken me ! " IV. To finish these solemn inquiries : — Could it possibly be " all the FULNESS of the GODHEAD ? " Or was it the holy manhood of Jesus our Lord, who uttered the lan- guage : " It is finished, — bowed his head " — and DIED 1 SECT. 2. REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. lOo So complete, however, was the union of " ALL the fulness of the GODHEAD" with -the man CHRIST JESUS, that we have very abundant testimonies in the Sacred Records, of a similar import to these words of Peter to the Jews: "God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified both LORD and CHRIST!" Since we can, through this incomprehensible union, with strict propriety, apply to our Lord and Saviour, either the Godhead or the Manhood ; so in like manner are we war- ranted by Scripture, to ascribe with equal propriety, though not in an exclusive sense, our salvation and redemption to the outward offering of Christ, or to the inward revelation of His name and power: "The mystery which had been hid from ages and from generations;" but which through this stupen-^ dous whole, "now is made manifest " to be " CHRIST ik you the hope of glory : w hom we preach. " The distinction which is to be observed, I. Pennington appears to allude to when he says : " We cannot call the veil Christ. In applying the term Christ to " God manifest in the flesh," we necessarily include the veil as being that preparation for the Godhead in which "all His fulness dwelled bodily." We may also apply the term " Christ" to the Godhead independently of " the veil"; as the apostle does in stating that '" all our Fathers" "drank of that Spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ;" for cer- tainly there was no manifestation of" the veil," or " prepared body," to Israel in the wilderness. But though in applying the term Christ to " God manifest in the flesh" we embrace the whole Christ ; as relates both to " the fulness of the Godhead" and " to the man Christ Jesus," yet we cannot so embrace the whole Christ in applying this term to the veil independently of the Godhead which dwelled therein ; and I trust it has been shown that such a distinction must some- times be observed, or it must follow that the Godhead died ; 106 REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. CHAP. 2. an idea totally at variance with the fact as declared by our Lord himself, concerning the life of that veil : " I have power to lay it down ; and / have power to take it again. " To the veil in this exclusive sense, and considered inde- pendently of the Godhead, as will presently appear from passages quoted from him, I. P. applies the words : " we can- not call the veil Christ i. e. we cannot call the veil only the whole Christ, in that sense in which " Christ" embraces "all the fulness of the Godhead." Whilst viewing these things with awful reverence; may it not be added : — However clear may be and must be observed the distinction between "all the fulness of the Godhead," and " the veil, that is to say His flesh," concerning which our holy Redeemer himself is represented as saying: "A body tyist Thou prepared me;" yet we cannot separate or disjoin the efficacy of so intimate a union which God himself hath ordained and made, and clearly set forth. Equally unscriptural I conceive it to be to confound "the precious blood of Christ," with " the mystery hid from ages and from generations," or to ascribe exclusively to either, the adorable and stupendous work of human redemption, which God hath inseparably united ; and this union, through "the Word made flesh and dwelling amongst us," was revealed as being effected by and through the same Eternal Word, the Creator of "all things;" concerning whom it is said that " in the beginning" — "In Him was Life, and the Life was the LIGHT of men ;" though not " in other ages," nor till the outward manifestation of the Son of God, was " this mys- tery made known to the sons of men," as it has been thereby " revealed unto the holy apostles and prophets, by the Spirit;" and through them made known to us : not only " that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs;" but that " the riches of the glory of this mystery" made known " among the Gentiles, is CHRIST IN YOU the HOPE of GLORY. SECT. 2. REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 1C7 Here we are again brought to the same conclusion and re- sult : " IF we walk in the LIGHT, as God is in the Light, we have fellowship one with another; and the BLOOD of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin :" for who can walk in the Light without having the Light ? or who can give that " Life which is the LIGHT of men," but He who is " the true Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world ;" in whatever portion or degree that Light may be afforded. May we not therefore say of that " little leaven," that "grain of mustard seed," "the principle of God in man, the precious pearl of the kingdom in other words, the Influ- ence of the Holy Spirit, — Christ IN you — that it is the only blessed means appointed of God to quicken, convince, and sanctify man ;" and thus complete that redemption purchased through the One Offering ? Is there not however, a very essential difference between " the only blessed means of quickening," and J. W.'s charge against the early Friends of " the only blessed means of sal- vation," and that too instead of the outward offering ? for here we see the outward offering absolutely constitutes one division of the only means of salvation by Christ , though the " out- ward offering" cannot effect the quickening regenerating pro- cess of the Holy Spirit. Where then is the propriety of the remarks which J. W. offers, immediately after his quotation from W. Penn, in these words : "It is in vain to say, that in the succeeding and other paragraphs, the Lord Jesus is spoken of as opening their way, &c, &c. ; because it is perfectly plain that all is attri- buted to the principle of God in man, &c, as the only blessed means to quicken, convince and sanctify man." P. 171. I trust enough has been said to show " it is perfectly plain that all is " not " attributed to the principle of God in man," by Wm. Penn. And is the faith and belief in this Divine principle— this "Light of Christ," — this " precious pearl" 108 REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. CHAP. 2. and " leaven of the kingdom as inwardly revealed," so super- latively diabolical as to justify J. W. in consigning us by " tens of thousands, to sleep the sleep of death ? It may however be "in vain to say" to minds so com- pletely bewildered as J. W.'s appears to be, "that in the succeeding and other paragraphs, the Lord Jesus is spoken of as " opening their way ; " because J. W. does not perceive that He is so spoken of, in the very words which he has quoted from W. Penn. Of whom but "the Lord Jesus," does W. Penn speak in relation lo those who "adhere to His blessed Light in themselves, which discovers and condemns sin in all its appearances ; and shows how to overcome it, if minded and obeyed in its holy manifestations and convic- tions ; giving power to such to avoid and resist those things that do not please God, and to grow strong in love, faith, and good works.'' All this ability is ascribed to " His blessed Light," and if by His Light they have this power; then by Him is the power given. J. W. proceeds : " The offices, therefore, both of the Son of God, and of the Holy Spirit, are indiscriminately attributed to this "Inward Light" or "Principle." P. 171. I conclude J. W. will freely allow that one of "the offices of the Son of Gfid " — was the offering of Himself " as a Lamb without blemish and without spot;" and surely no construc- tion of the words J. W. has quoted from W. Penn, can justify the idea that this sacrifice is there ascribed to the " Inward Light" or " Principle." If the discrimination which has just been stated is in ac- cordance with the doctrines of the " early Friends," then I think it also " is perfectly plain " that this charge of J. W.'s has no foundation, but in his own misapprehensions. To evince that the discrimination just offered under a so- lemn belief of its awful reality, was also the view of the early Friends, I shall, in the first place, again endeavour, out SECT. 2. REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 109 of his oicn mouth, to convict J. W. of charging them wrong- fully, in bis stating the testimony of Friends to be — " a prin- ciple in man, which they hold up as the only means of sal- vation, instead of making any reference to the Scripture doctrine of the offering of the body of Christ once for all." Scarcely might the ink be more than dry with which J. W. had written this charge, before he quoted another passage, as the ground or foundation of another charge, that of mysticism ; apparently designed as confirmatory of the former. Let us now see how far this quotation establishes either of these charges. The present quotation is in page 175, and is taken from Isaac Pennington, and without the addition of the notes pointing out the Scripture Passages referred to, forms part of one paragraph. J. W.'s quotation is this: "Our knowledge is in a principle, wherein we receive our capacity of knowing ; and wherein the Father (from whom the principle came) teacheth us. And this is His way of teaching us; by making us one with the thing He teacheth. Thus we learn Christ by being born of Him,* by putting Him f on. Thus we know His righteousness, His life, His wisdom, His power, by- receiving a portion of them which giveth us ability to discern and acknowledge the fulness. And in this we receive the understanding of the Scriptures, and know the seed of the u-oman, (which bruiseth the serpent's head,) by receiving the seed, by feeling its growth in us, and its power over the enemy. Then we know the thing; likewise we know the woman that brings forth this seed after the Spirit, which is the Jerusalem above ; and we know also, and singly acknowledge the bringing forth of it outwardly after the flesh. " This seed we know to be the seed of Abraham ; the seed of David after the flesh ; and the seed of God after the power of the endless life ; and we are taught of God to give * See John i. 11—13. f See Gal. iii. 27. K 110 REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. CHAP. 2. due honour to each : to the seed of God in the first place; to the seed of David in the second place." The quotation is continued nearly as much longer, but I think this may suffice to show it does not merit the charge of "the most hopeless mysticism" which immediately follows; for I trust " some intelligent, unprejudiced mind," some " ex- perienced Christian" may perceive the accordance of this passage with the declarations of our Lord recorded in Holy Writ, concerning the "grain of mustard seed," "the least of all seeds, " and yet " the seed of the kingdom " of heaven ; as they may also perceive its agreement with " the mystery hid from ages and from generations;" and, therefore, how- ever mysterious to "the natural man," this is no "mysticism " But on the other hand, J. W.'s former charges, instead of being supported, are flatly contradicted by it: for surely, although "the seed of God after the power of the endless life," as here applied, refers most clearly to Christ in man — to "Jesus Christ in you except ye be reprobates; " yet "the seed of Abraham, the seed of David after the flesh " must as surely relate to "the man Christ Jesus; " and of these two manifestations of Christ, I. P. plainly and explicitly declares : " we are taught of God, to give due honour to EACH. " How then could J. W. attempt to bring forward such quotations as this and W. Penn's to prove his erroneous assertions, "that the early Friends hold up a principle in man as the only means of salvation ;" that "all is attributed to the principle of God in man ;" — and that the offices both of the Son of God, and of the Holy Spirit, are indiscriminately attributed to the " Inward Light" or "principle ;" "instead of making any reference to the offering of the body of Christ once for all !" J. W. in p. 187, brings a similar charge against W. Bayly quoting queries from W. B.'s works, p. 600 — 1 ; and in like manner as he does with W. Penn and I. Pennington, perverts SECT. 2. REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. Ill his meaning, which W. 13. himself explains, in the same or the following pages, in answer to what might be thus sug- gested on his own queries: "What benefit have you by the death and sufferings of Christ." &c. To which W. Bayly answers — " Much every way," and goes on to show the miraculous conception and the doctrines of Christ, — His being "offered up once for all," &c. And W. B. issues in conclusion by stating, (hose who preached Christ within, had " their fellowship with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ, and the blood of Christ did cleanse them." We may now turn to R. Barclay's Apology, which J. W. gays, p. 174, "has been held up in a court of justice; by a considerable body of Friends in America, as containing their creed;" and see how far this writer, in the name of the early Friends, will support those positions which J. W. advances. R. Barclay, Prop. V. and VI., § XV. p. 141, says : " We do not hereby intend any ways to lessen or derogate from the atonement and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, but, on the contrary, do magnify and exalt it." " We firmly believe it was necessary that Christ should come, that by his death and sufferings He might offer up Himself a sacrifice to God for our sins; who his ownself 'bare our sins in his own body on the tree;' so we believe that the remission of sins which any partake of, is only in and by vertue of that MOST SATISFACTORY SACRIFICE and NO OTHERWISE." Is all attributed to the Inward Principle in these quota- tions, or will J. W. persist in the assertions which he makes in the same page 171, that by William Penn, in his vindication of the Divine efficacy of the Inward Light, "the offices both of the Son of God and of the Holy Spirit are indiscriminately attributed to this 'Inward Light' or 'Principle,'" and that "The holy body broken for us; the precious blood shed for us, is virtually left out of the question /" K 2 112 REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. CHAP. 2. Is not "the remission of sins " by Christ's death and sufferings," by J. WVs own words just quoted, one of "the offices of the Son of God?" Is that indiscrimi- nately applied by either Penn, Pennington, Bayly, or Barclay, to the "Inward Light" or "Principle." Penn, in the quo- tation given by J. W., does not advert at all to the subject of the outward offering ; and, therefore, not having occasion to allude to it, J. W.'s^arge against him falls to the ground ; for as well might any one accuse J. W. of denying the atone- ment of Christ, when he recommends earnest and persevering prayer for the aid of the Holy Spirit ; because in those words he does not recognize the atonement of the " outward offering of Christ," which is distinct from the work of the Holy Spirit in man. Pennington, it has been shown, in the very quotation which J. W. adduces, has most clearly and distinctly said of Christ's outward sufferings or atonement, and His inward work in the heart: "We are taught of GOD to give due honour to EACH. " And Barclay, in my estimation, refutes in language as plain as can be written, J. "WVs assertions or positions "that all is attributed to the inward principle in man ; " and that " the holy body broken for us ; the precious blood shed for us, are virtually left out of the question." With such an open, clear, and full declaration as Barclay here makes, in a volume which J. W. read in early life — from which he frequently quotes, and, therefore, had at hand whilst writing: — with such evidence before his eyes, how can we account for J. W.'s assertion under discussion, but by supposing the fumes of his " mephitic vapour" still obscured his vision, and that these fumes have not arisen from the doctrines or principles of the " early Friends, " but from J. W/s utter misconceptions of them. These fumes seem to have veiled J. W.'s perception no less, when he offered as a " clear statement " of the principles SECT. 2. REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 113 of Friends, the following sentence of a Hicksite, p. 274 : "They [the Hicksites] believe in Christ as an atonement for sin, according to^Tfe~"Scripture ; but this they believe to be an inward one and not an outward one." Ts not this language diametrically opposite to the discriminating doctrine of "the early Friends" just laid down, as quoted by J. W. ; and which clearly defines the distinction between -what Christ effects in man, and what his death and sufferings, his most satisfactory sacrifice; effects without us : — that "the re- mission of sin which any partake of, is only in and by virtue of this most satisfactory sacrifice and NO OTHERWISE. In the quotation from W. Penn which has been discussed, I conceive it is " perfectly plain" he was treating only on what the " quickening " power of Christ effects in man, and, therefore, does not, in that place, introduce the or.tward offering ; whereas I. Pennington and W. Bayly in the very quotations just discussed, the former of which J. W. gives from I. P.'s writings, most decidedly bear testimony to both. R. Barclay also, thus further clearly distinguishes them : Prop. VII. § III. p. 204, "We consider then our Redemption in a twofold respect or state, both of which in their own nature are perfect, though in their application to us, the one is not and cannot be [so,] without respect to the other, " The first is, — The Redemption performed and accom- plished by Christ for us in his crucified body without us. The other is the redemption wrought by Christ in us ; which no less properly is called and accounted a Redemption than the former." Barclay goes on for several pages, carrying out and illus- trating this distinction, and the efficacy of each of these two- fold portions. The one I conceive to be " God manifest in the flesh," by which manifestation in due time, the ransom for all was testified. The other as clearly relates to "God manifest" by the spirit, which also was transcendently k 3 114 REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. CHAP. 2. "testified" of by our blessed Lord, whilst manifested in the " body prepared" of the Father. See John chaps. 14 — 16, These two essential but distinct portions of a grand whole, may perhaps be somewhat explained by reference to the con- stitution of man ; but before attempting to illustrate the glorious plan of human Redemption, by observations on the mortal and immortal parts of man, let me guard against any possible idea of instituting a comparison ; by distinctly stating that I do not compare the immortal spirit of man, with the Eternal Godhead or the Eternal Spirit : neither do I compare man's frail tabernacle with the " body prepared " of the Fa- ther, in which Christ Jesus, our Lord, Redeemer, and Saviour, was outwardly revealed to the world, as "God manifest in the flesh." Though I believe — " It behoved Him to be made in all things like unto his brethren," sin only excepted; yet the " prepared body " in which Christ was manifested, was most gloriously sanctified by the indwelling of " all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." And, if we may form our views on the testimony of Scripture, there seems no room to doubt, that this holy " prepared body," so u made in all things like unto his brethren" must have been miraculously sustained to endure "all the fulness of the Godhead bodily;" since even Moses, who, of all men, appears to have had the most intimate converse with God, was not permitted even to behold His Glory;" — "for" said Jehovah, on this very memorable occasion : " There shall no man see ME [my face] and live." I solemnly feel that I am treading on awful ground ; and my soul is deeply humbled within me whilst I write ; and, under these impressions, I now turn to the constitution of man. Daily experience affords incontrovertible demonstration that man is mortal ; so the Holy Scriptures furnish to the believing mind, incontrovertible evidence that Christ died ; — and that He died " the propitiation for the sins of the whole world." SECT. 2. REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 115 Would it not be extremely fallacious, because of the death of man daily, to found an argument to show that man died like the beasts that perish ? And would it not be extremely natural for any one in combating such an idea, to say and to p?ove that man was imnortal ? and if in doing so, the idea of man's mortality was but briefly if at all adverted to, and no very decided and express testimony was borne to the death of the body, would it be fair to infer from the absence of such testimony, that the writer did not believe in the mortality of man, proofs of which were daily occurring ? Here then we may see that the constitution of man consists of two parts, the mortal frame, and the immortal spirit ; and that these two parts form a wonderful "whole," which we call man; and respecting this whole we " indiscriminately " say, either " man is mortal," or, with equal propriety, " man is immortal." Though not expressed just in the same manner, yet I con- ceive it is precisely in accordance with the writings of our "early Friends," to state that the "two essential and distinct parts" which compose the grand whole of the glorious plan of Human Redemption, are as clearly distinguishable, and are to be no more confounded than the mortal part of man, is to be confounded with the spirit of man which is immortal. And those two essential and distinct portions of the plan of Human Redemption, the writings of the " early Friends " represent as the outward manifestation of Christ, in the " body prepared of the Father ; " and the inward reve- lation or manifestation of " Christ in you, the hope of glory »" most fully owning the complete union of both for man's salvation. These two perfectly distinct offices of our Holy Redeemer, are not to be confounded. The outward sacrifice was offered by Himself. The inward work He performs through the Spirit. They are scripturally distinct, though scriptural! y 116 REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. CHAP. 2. united to form one grand whole. Neither is it any confusion, but in full accordance with Scripture, to refer what is effected by the Spirit, to God or to Christ; since by the declarations of our Lord himself, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, is " the Sent both of the FATHER and of the SON." John xiv. 16, 17, 26. and xvi. 7. This distinction of what is done by the Supreme Godhead, and the unity also of the Godhead with the Spirit, are both forcibly displayed, in relation to the mediatorial office of our Lord : "There is one God, and one Mediator between God and man, the man CHRIST JESUS!" "The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought ; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us. And He that searcheth the heart, knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit; because He maketh intercession for the Saints, according to the will of GOD." The firm and unshaken belief of the early Friends in each portion of this stupendous whole, I trust has been proved. The ground on which the spiritual portion and power, has often been insisted on by the early Friends, without direct mention of the outward sacrifice and atonement, may be given in the words of R. Barclay : " I write not to Atheists, but Christians who already acknowledge. I judge it not my work to write books, to persuade men of that they already profess to believe." — Barclay's Works, fol. edit. p. 733. Many of the professors of the Name of Christ, in the time of the " early Friends," instead of wanting to be persuaded of the necessity of the outward sacrifice, seemed to be in no small danger, if they had not actually fallen into, the error of ascribing all to this one portion of the grand whole of human Redemption ; and of practically losing sight of the cleansing virtue of His baptism, whose fan is in his hand, thoroughly to cleanse the floor of the heart; thus discarding SECT. 2. REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 117 belief in the sensible and perceptible influences and enjoy- ment of the enlightening and enlivening rays of the Sun of Righteousness in their souls, as their instructor, guide, and comforter. •A few quotations may confirm those already given to show the views of the early Friends, as to the outward sacrifice as a " ransom for alii" G. Fox's "Doctrinals," p. 134, in the piece entitled, "The Pearl found in England ; " and intended chiefly to point out the spiritual essential ; yet says : " Come all hither ye scat- tered ones over the world," (here was no limitation to sect or place,) "the power of God in you feel, and then you feel Christ Jesus who hath enlightened every one that comes into the world ; then you will feel the Covenant which you have with God, which will blot out your sin and trans- gression : Then you will feel the BLOOD of Christ Jesus, which cleanseth from all SIN ; which the Light discovers, as you walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, and you will have fellowship with one another." Is not this fully in accordance with 1 John i. 6, 7. : "If we walk in the Light as God is in the Light, — the blood of Jesus Christ his Son, cleanseth us from all sin ?" In the next page G. F. says : "Christ Jesus He is the righteousness of God ; He is the new and living way — and the one way to the Father; and all the many ways are in the first Adam drove from God in the transgression. But Christ, the second Adam, is the Lord from Heaven. As death came by the one, Life came by the other ; — and as darkness came by the one, Light comes by the other ; who is the righteousness of God, the Truth, the Life." From the same volume, abundant other testimonies to the benefits of the outward Sacrifice, as well as of the Inward virtue and power of Christ Jesus as the only Saviour, might be adduced ; in one instance only, these testimonies run through forty folio pages. 118 REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. CHAP. 2. R. Barclay in his Theses to propositions V. and VI., p. 110 says : " As they have then falsely and erroneously taught, who have denied Christ to have DIED for all men ; so neither have they sufficiently taught the Truth, who affirming Him to have DIED for all, have added the absolute necessity of the outward knowledge thereof, in order to obtain its saving effect." In Section VII, p. 120, R. B. says : " There is not one Scripture which I know of, that affirmeth ■ Christ not to die for all ; ' there are divers that positively and expressly assert he did; as 1 Tim. \\. 1,3,4,6.: 'I exhort, therefore, that first of all supplications, prayers, intercession, and giving of thanks, be made for all men, &c. ; for this is good and accept- able in the sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the Truth ; who gave Himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time.' " In page 121 : "That which God willeth is not impossible; " But God willeth all men to be saved ; " Therefore it is not impossible." Is this denying the great benefit and blessing which R. B. had before stated, as the privilege of those who have the Holy Scriptures ? Is it anything more than vindicating God from the false imputation of having withheld from any that without which it is impossible for them to be saved ? In p. 123, R. B. says of the Universality of the Grace of God : ** This doctrine is abundantly confirmed by that of the- apostle 1 John ii. 1, 2.: 'And if any man sin we have an advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ the righteous. And He is the propitiation for our sins; and not ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." " Again, "The world here, say they, is the world of believers." — " Let them shew me, if they can, in all the Scripture, where the ' whole world ' is taken for believers only. I shall SECT. 2. REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 119 shew where it is many times taken for the quite contrary, as : ' The world knows me not. The world receives me not. Iam not of this world. 1 Besides these Scriptures, R. B. refers to about twenty more, and then adds : " the apostle in this very place, contra-distinguisheth the world from the saints, thus : 'And not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world. • " Again, in p. 124, R. B. says : " That ■ whole world* if it be of believers, must not be the world we live in. But we need no better interpreter for the apostle, than himself ; who uses the very same expression and phrase in the same epistle, chap. v. 19, saying : 'We know that we are of God ; and the whole world lieth in wickedness.'" R. B. then quotes Au- gustin, Chrysostom, Ambrose, and others of the early Chris- tians to the same effect. In p. 141, as already quoted in this section, R. B. says: " Nevertheless, as we firmly believe it was necessary that Christ should come, that by his death and sufferings He might offer up himself a sacrifice to God for our sins, * who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree so we believe that the remission of sins which any partake of, is only in and by virtue of that most satisfactory sacrifice, and NO OTHERWISE." The reader has now been presented with a few specimens out of the abundance which might be brought forward, of J. W.'s mode of deducing his own mistaken sentiments ; and without some, a correct idea could not be formed of J. W.'s fallacious assertions, P. 170: "The early Friends professed to give their 'Testimony ' to a principle in man, which they held up as the only blessed means of salvation, instead of the preaching of the Gospel, or making any reference to the scriptural doctrine of the offering of the body of Christ, once for all." 120 REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. CHAP. 2. I trust it has been proved, that " the early Friends " not only fully believed, and freely owned " Christ as a ransom for all," and as dying for " the sins of the whole world but as being also an Advocate for any that sin, and the "True Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." On the other hand, as J. W. utterly rejects the latter; and since Christ cannot, at any period from Abraham to the present day, have been universally a Light to all, except by His inward influence ; and as the doctrine of Inward Light, though so determinately scriptural in all ages, J. W. says " comes from beneath — as he also hesitates to allow the universality of the possible effectiveness of the outward offering, does not J. "VV.'s charge, p. 446, of " blotting out the Sun of Righte- ousness from the firmament," rebound from " the early Friends," as from a solid substance to which it cannot attach ? And does it not, so far at least as relates to " Christ in you the hope of glory," indubitably pertain, and firmly adhere to J. W. himself? Redemption Continued, In reference to the Term " The Word of God." Before we enter on this point, it may not be unsuitable to clear the way, by offering a few remarks on the term " Prin- ciple," as applied by the early Friends, to the power of that " Word and also to notice an assertion of J. W.'s respecting this Word, under its representation as a " Seed" Respecting the Seed of God in the heart, as set forth by R. Barclay, J. W. says, p. 55 : " Can the devil take away such a seed as Barclay describes, or can he take away the Lord Jesus ? It were blasphemous to suppose it." I conclude that J. W. will allow, that the Enemy of man is the author of sin, the moving cause by which any one arrives 8ECT. 2. REDEMPTION BY CHRIST. 121 at a state of reprobation ; the only state in which mankind, according to the apostle's doctrine, cannot know Jesus to be in them. As the devil is thus the moving cause of man's arriving at this dreadful state and condition, by inducing kim to disregard the Reprover of sin, whom Christ declared, "I will send unto you from the Father," does not the devil cause the withdrawing of Christ from the heart of man, and thus, in the words of our Lord himself: doth not " the wicked one come and catch away that which was sown in his heart, " by this Reprover for sin ? And if the wicked one so obtain possession of the heart of man, as to render him reprobate, and thus cause Jesus Christ no longer to make Himself known in that heart, is it " blasphemous to suppose that the devil, who " catcheth away the seed;" can take away such a seed as Bar- clay describes! " as does the Lord Jesus also. On the term principle applied to this seed, considered as the Original Cause ; which is one of Dr. Johnson's definitions of the word " Principle," this term may be considered as per- fectly sound when applied to the **■ Inward Light of Christ," or manifestation of " the Spirit of Truth " Reproving the world of sin, &c. ; and this Light of Christ or manifestation of the Spirit, being, as our Lord represents, in its beginning so small as to be compared not only to a seed, but to " the least of all seeds ; " has probably been the occasion of the " early Friends" designating it by the term " a principle." But, however sound this term is, it may also be liable to be understood as conveying a sense of inferiority to the power of God, when viewed in its first or gentlest influences. Hence I prefer characterizing this Divine Influence by some of its Scripture designations, as 14 leaven, seed, " &c, something which conveys the idea of being calculated or designed to spread and increase, or germinate and grow to maturity. Our Lord expressly says: "The seed is the Word of God," and " the Word of the kingdom ; " and " then cometh the L 122 REDEMPTION AND CHAP. 2. devil and taketh away the Word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved." (Luke viii. 11, 12.) Does Barclay say more of this precious " seed ! " Much stress has been laid by J. W. on hearing this Word, but I ask, and may do so even in the name of f* common sense," to which J. W. refers: Would it have comported with the correctness of Holy Writ, in all its beautiful figures, similies, and parables, to have represented the influence of the Word, otherwise than by the sense of hearing P and is there not a spiritual as well as an outward ear ? In like manner Moses speaks of the " Word very nigh, in the heart ; " and Paul, in evident allusion to the same passage, says : " The Word is nigh thee, even in thy heart : that is the Word of faith which we preach." If any think " the Word of the kingdom," or " the Word of God," as applied by our Saviour, refers to the Holy Scrip- tures, to what portion of them ? The New Testament at that time was none of it written ; and was " The Word of God which came unto John in the wilderness," the Old Testament, or was it a Divine, inspeaking power and influence, revealing unto John, the mind and will of God ? I conceive it will be allowed that the term " the Word " in Scripture is applied to the Eternal Logos, who, "in the beginning was with God and was God," and who in due time "was made flesh and dwelled among us," under "thev