Wesley Corpus

In the latter, nine are enumerated. And as to seven of these, none has yet seen good to call me in question;-miraculous wisdom, or knowledge, or faith, pro phecy, discernment of spirits, strange tongues, and the inter pretation of tongues. What becomes then of the assertion, that I lay “claim to almost every one of them in the most full and ample manner?” Do I lay claim to any one of them? To prove that I do, my own words are produced, extracted from an account of the occurrences of about sixteen years. I shall set them down naked and unadorned: 1. “May 13, 1740. The devil stirred up his servants to make all the noise they could.” 2. “May 3, 1741. I explained, to a vast mul titude of people, ‘What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” The devil’s children fought valiantly for their master, that his kingdom should not be destroyed. And many stones fell on my right hand and my left.” 3. “April 1, 1740. Some or other of the children of Belial had laboured to disturb us several nights before. Now all the street was filled with people, shout ing, cursing, swearing, and ready to swallow the ground with rage.” (Page 120.)4. “June 27, 1747. I found only one person among them who knew the love of God, before my brother came. No wonder the devil was so still; ‘for his goods were in peace.’” 5. “April 29, 1752. I preached at Durham to a quiet, stupid congregation.” (Page 121.) 6. “May 9, 1740. I was a little surprised at some who were buffeted of Satan in an un usual manner, by such a spirit of laughter as they could in nowise resist. I could scarce have believed the account they gave me, had I not known the same thing ten or eleven years ago, when both my brother and I were seized in the same man ner.” (If any man call this hysterics, I am not concerned: I think and let think.) 7. “May 21, 1740. In the evening such a spirit of laughter was among us, that many were much offended. But the attention of all was soon fixed on poor L S ,whom we all knew to be no dissembler.