Wesley Corpus

“To what purpose could any further inspiration serve?” Answer yourself: “To enlighten the understanding, and to rectify the will.” Else, be the Scriptures ever so complete, they will not save your soul. How, then, can you imagine it is unnecessary; and that “the supposed need of it is injurious to the written word?” And when you say yourself, “The Spirit is to teach us all things, and to guide us into all truth;” judge you, whether this is “to explain, or to supply, the written word.” “O, He does this by the written word.” True; but also “by his holy inspiration.” So the compilers of our Liturgy speak; who, therefore, according to you, are guilty of “wicked presumption, with which Satan filled their hearts, to lie of the Holy Ghost.” 18. These, also, are the men upon whom you fall in the fol lowing warm words:--“The power of enthusiasm over an heated imagination may be very great. But it must be under the ferment of that old, sour leaven, hypocrisy, to rise to that daring height.” I think not: I think they were neither hypo crites nor enthusiasts, though they teach me to pray for, and consequently to expect, (unless I am an hypocrite indeed,) “God’s holy inspiration,” both in order to “think the things that be good,” and also “perfectly to love him, and worthily to magnify his holy name.” 19. You go on: “They boast that their heart is clean, and their spirit right within them.” Sir, did you ever read Morn ing Prayer on the tenth day of the month? You then said, “Make me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” Did you mean what you said? If you did not, you was guilty of the grossest hypocrisy. If you did, when did you expect God would answer that prayer? when your body was in the grave? Too late 1 Unless we have clean hearts before we die, it had been good we had never been born. 20. “But they boast they are pure from sin, harmless, and undefiled.” So, in a sound sense, is every true believer. “Nay, they boast that their bodies are a living sacrifice, holy, accept able to God.” Sir, is not yours? Are not your soul and body such a sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God?