Wesley Corpus

“And when he is come, he will reprove,” or convince, “the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: “Of sin, because they believe not on me; “Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; “Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. “I have yet many things to say unto you; but ye cannot bear them now: But when he shall come, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you into all truth; and he will show you things to come.” (xvi. 7-13.) There is only one sentence here which has not already been considered, “He will show you things to come.” And this, it is granted, relates to the gift of prophecy, one of the extraordinary operations of the Spirit. OF ftBASON AND RELIGION. 33 The general conclusion which your Lordship draws is expressed in these words: “Consequently, all pretensions to the Spirit, in the proper sense of the words of this promise, (that is, of these several texts of St. John,) are vain and insignificant, as they are claimed by modern enthusiasts.” And in the end of the same paragraph you add, “None but the ordinary operations of the Spirit are to be now expected, since those that are of a miraculous (or extraordinary) kind are not pretended to, even by modern enthusiasts.” My Lord, this is surprising. I read it over and over before I could credit my own eyes. I verily believe, this one clause, with unprejudiced persons, will be an answer to the whole book. You have been vehemently crying out all along against those enthusiastical pretenders; nay, the very design of your book, as you openly declare, was “to stop the growth of their enthusi asm; who have had the assurance” (as you positively affirm, page 6) “to claim to themselves the extraordinary operations of the Holy Spirit.” And here you as positively affirm that those extraordinary operations “are not pretended to ” by them at all ! 8.