And lighten with celestial fire:
Thou the anointing Spirit art,
Who dost thy seven-fold gifts impart.
Thy blessed unction from above,
Is comfort, life, and power of love;
Enable with perpetual light,
The dulness of our blinded sight.
What says his Lordship when pronouncing the blessing? “The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God.” But what says his Lordship when retired to his study? “All supernatural influence, manifesting itself in grace and knowledge, is miraculous, and therefore to cease under a perfect establishment.”—What says?—But I check myself; for the time would fail me, was I to urge all those quotations that might be produced out of the articles, homilies, and public offices, to confront and invalidate the whole tenor and foundation of his Lordship’s performance. But how it is consistent with that wisdom which is from above, (and by which his Lordship attempts to arraign, try, and condemn the Reverend Mr. John Wesley) to subscribe to, and make use of public offices, in the church, and then as publicly deny and contradict them in the press, I leave to his Lordship’s more calm and deliberate consideration. Sure I am, if weighed in the same balance, his Lordship would be found equally wanting, at least. Indeed, during the whole trial, I could scarcely refrain breaking out into the language of the eunuch of Queen Candace, to Philip the evangelist, “Speaketh the prophet this of himself, or of some other man?” I hope, my dear friend, you know me better than to suspect I thus retort upon his Lordship, in order to throw dust in your eyes to prevent your seeing what his Lordship may justly except against, in the conduct of the Methodists in general, or in the journals of the Reverend Mr. John Wesley in particular. Whatever that indefatigable labourer may think of his, you know I have long since publicly acknowledged, that there were, and doubtless, though now sent forth in a more correct attire, there are yet, many exceptionable passages in my journals. And I hope it will be one of the constant employments of my declining years, to humble myself daily before the Most High God, for the innumerable mixtures of corruption which have blended themselves with my feeble, but, I trust, sincere endeavours, whether from the press or pulpit, to promote the Redeemer’s glory, and the eternal welfare of precious and immortal souls. And, I assure you, that if his Lordship had contented himself with pointing out, or even ridiculing any such blemishes or imprudencies, or yet still more important mistakes, in my own, or any of the Methodists conduct or performances, I should have stood intirely silent. But when I observed his Lordship, through almost his whole book, not only wantonly throwing about the arrows and firebrands of scurrility, buffoonery, and personal abuse, but, at the same time, on account of some unguarded expressions and indiscretions of a particular set of honest, though fallible, men, taking occasion to wound, vilify, and totally deny the all-powerful, standing operations of the Blessed Spirit, by which alone, his Lordship or any other man living can be sanctified and sealed to the day of eternal redemption, I must own that I was constrained to vent myself to you, as a dear, and intimate friend, in the manner I have done. Make what use of it you please; perhaps hereafter I may trouble you with some further remarks.
At present, you know I am on the road to Scotland, in order to embark for America. And therefore I would now only observe to you further, that the unguarded unwary method made use of by his Lordship to stop, will rather serve to increase and establish, what he is pleased to term a sect of fanatics. The more judicious Bishop Burnet, (as I heard an acute advocate once observe,) in the general assembly of the Church of Scotland, prescribed a much better (and indeed the only effectual and truly apostolic) way to stop the progress of the puritan ministers, when complained against by some of the clergy, for breaking into and preaching in their parochial charges; “Out-live, out-labour, out-preach them,” said his Lordship. And that the Reverend Mr. John Wesley himself (that famed leader of the Methodists) and every Methodist preacher in England may be thus outed and intirely annihilated, is, and shall be, the hearty prayer of one, who, though less than the least of them all, begs leave to subscribe himself, in great haste, but greater love and esteem,
Yours most affectionately,
In a never-failing Emmanuel,