Wesley Corpus

You, as well as we, condemn “all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men; ” all those works of the devil which were recited above, and all those tempers from which they spring. You agree, that we are all to be taught of God, and to be “led by his Spirit; ” that the Spirit alone reveals all truth, and inspires all holiness; that by his inspiration men attain perfect love, the love which “purifies them as he is pure;” and that, through this knowledge and love of God, they have power to “do always such things as please him;” to worship God, a Spi rit, according to his own will, that is, “in spirit and in truth.” Hence you infer, thatformal worship is not acceptable to God, but that alone that springs from God in the heart. You infer also, that they who are led by him will use great “plainness of speech,” and great plainness of dress, seeking no “outward adorning,” but only “the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit.” I will look no farther now, than simply to inquire whether you are consistent with these principles. To begin with the latter: “He that is led by the Spirit will use great plainness of speech.” You would have said, “will use the plain language.” But that term leads you into a grand mistake. That term, the plain language, naturally leads you to think of one particular way of speaking; as if “plainness of speech” implied no more than the use of that particular form. Alas, my brethren know ye not, that yourancestors designed this only as a specimen of plain language? And is it possible that you should mistake the sample for the whole bale of cloth? Consult the light God has given you, and you must see that “plainness of speech” does not lie in a single point, but im plies an open, undisguised sincerity, a child-like simplicity in all we speak. I do not desire you to refrain from saying thou or thee. I would not spend ten words about it. But I desire you, when ever you speak at all, to speak the truth, and nothing but the truth. I desire your words may always be the picture of your heart. This is truly plain language. Either do not pretend to plain speech at all, or be uniformly plain. Are you so? I pray, consider.