As to the Holy Scriptures, they only confift of letters, words, and fentences, which, being void of life, cannot have a fufficient degree of efficacy and power, to enlighten the human mind unto falvation. The only advantage, which, in their opinion, refults from the perufal of them, is this, that "they excite "the mind" to hearken to the "internal word," and exhort it to go to the fchool of Chrift, who teaches effectually within." The Gospel is a certain "pow "er or nature within all men," not divine fentiments or truths, and the Bible must be confidered by us, as a mute master, who, by figns and figures, points out and discovers the living mafter, or "internal" effec tual guide: This, now, reader, without disguise, or at leaft, any intended mifreprefentation, is the very foul and life of Quakerism.

It opens, you must confefs, a large field to the imagination and fancy. With the fanguine, the first felf-approving thought will be termed "the teftimony "of the Spirit," or the kind and forgiving voice of the divine and "inward word." But Wo, Wo, Wo, to the felf-diffident and melancholy! Their "day of "Grace is over:" All is dark, totally dark, within them! They strive to acquire the injoined "stillness,” or abfence from thought; but, like their fhadow, it flies from them, whenever they attempt to embrace it. Being told that the Bible contains nothing for their relief, any farther than it points out that to them "within," which can alone be their comfort and fal tion, their perufing it, with this most dangerous prejudice upon their minds, will rather increafe their mifery than give them confolation.

. Yet, I acknowledge, there is fomething in this fcheme, generally foothing to the pride and vanity of the human heart. For it allows its votaries to talk much in the affecting ftrains of inward devotion; which people of all perfuafions will admit to be neceffary.

Here

Here the words "inward life," " power, « light, "heartfelt experience," "divine nature, Spirit," "ar"dent emotions," "irresistible impreffions," and all the foftening and affecting terms which engage the ignorant and devout, may be applied, with advantage. Befides, moft diftreffed finners will like to be told, that their heart, bad as it is, is "the temple of the "Holy Ghoft," and "the throne of divine Majefty.". Amidst the self debafing reflections which guilt had excited in their minds, this plan of the Quakers, if it be once received, will raise in them more important notions of the dignity of human nature, and produce a kind of felf love and veneration, which will effectually difpofe them to defpife all outward inftruction from the word of God.

Yet, however pleafing this fcheme may be to diftreffed men, if the New Teftament be divine, and has any plain meaning, it is most affuredly a very dangerous delufion; though it proposes a method of relief, with which most finners will be at firft delighted, because it puts them upon a wonderful work of mortification and restraint, and leads them to think most reverently of the "throne" of their hearts, or, the inward frame of their minds; yet, if it be contrary to or different from the mind and will of the Son of God, as it was taught by his infpired fervants, it will, in the iffue of things, be attended with a dreadful disappointment. We confefs it may be an effectual bar against outward Idolatry, but whether it does not fet up a most abominable Idol within, deserves well to be confidered.

When once a perfon has acquired, under the influence of this felf-approving plan, any tolerable fatiffaction and peace of mind, there is, I seriously think, juft reason to fear, that he becomes, like a convert of the Pharifees, "two-fold more the child of hell than,” Matt. xxiii. 15. he was before. His ears are fhut,

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and his heart hardened against the gracious declarations of the Gofpel, concerning an outward Chrift, who is now "at the right hand of God," and is the fame Saviour that was preached by the Apostles: yea, the goodnews of the New Teftament itself, is treated by him, as a dead letter and trifling report, which may be believed without receiving much comfort, or perverted and rejected without much hazard or lofs.

The profeffor, who is powerfully impreffed with the delufion I am fpeaking againft, will readily reject outward ordinances, though practifed by the New Teftament. Chriftians, numbers of years after the effufion of the Holy Ghoft, and by all Christians, of whatever fect, before the appearance of George Fox. Every flight of fancy, which is pleafing, will be reckoned by him the fublime difcovery of the Holy Ghoft; and inflated with an imaginary fuperiority, he will treat the Christians with folemn cenfure and pharifaical contempt, whofe hope, experience, and conduct, are founded upon the plain import of a written revelation.

To fhew the reader, what a taste there was for this myftical kind of religion, in the laft age, and what a different effect the "god within" of feveral noted enthufiafts had upon their principles and conduct, I will give him a fhort account of two or three of them:

"Michael de Molinos," in his " Spiritual Guide," Ch. 1. taught, that, "the foul was the centre habi"tation and kingdom of God, which he will inhabit

and difcover himself in, when it is pacified;" that "the way to pacify it, is for a perfon to enter into "himself, by means of internal recollection, and in ❝ order to obtain internal recollection, there must be "three kinds of filence acquired, a filence of words, "of defires, and of thoughts."

But it does not appear, that the author's foul was ever fo pacified, as for God to difcover to him the

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impropriety of holding communion with the corrupt church of Rome: Nor was he influenced, by "the "Deity within" him, to die as a martyr for his prin ciples rather than recant them; for, in confequence of the cruel artifice and influence of the Jefuits, he was forced publickly to renounce them as errors. It was computed that he had millions of followers, which is not at all furprizing, when we confider how well his book was calculated to engage, foften, and enrapture, the ignorant and devout mind.

With fome improvement of the priest's plan, follows the celebrated virgin, "Madam Bourignon" *, She imagined, that "religion confifted in a certain in"ward impulfe and fenfation of mind, which arose "from communion with the Deity, and not in know"ledge and practice:" Yet, her inward impulfes, and fuppofed heavenly fenfations, thut up her heart, and thofe of her followers, against the moving calls of the neceffitous poor, and befides this, induced her to write against the Quakers, for neglecting baptifm and the Lord's fupper. She, however, was fully perfuaded, that he was, in an extraordinary manner, infpired by the Deity; and one of her learned followers was of the fame opinion, for he affirmed of his fpiritual mother, that "he no more doubted of her being infpired of God, than he did of his own existence."

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In the fame century "John Labbadie" distinguished himself, by founding a new fect. The tranflator of Mofheim's ecclefiaftical history informs us, in a note, that fome of his principal opinions were, that "the holy fcripture was not fufficient to lead men to "falvation, without certain particular illuminations "and revelations from the Holy Ghoft;" that "in

See her Lux Mundi.

The English tranflator of her Lux Mundi, tells us, p 13. that he wrote against the Quakers, upon thefe two points particularly, of the respect due to Paftor, and the Sacr. ments.

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reading

"reading the Scriptures, we ought to give lefs atten ❝tion to the literal fenfe of the words, than to the "inward fuggeftion of the Spirit, and that the faithful "ought to have all things in common:" "Thefe fen"timents," he tells us, "were collected from the "writings of Labbadie."

Mollerus, as quoted by the tranflator, reports, that Barclay, and Keith, were fent by their brethren to Amsterdam, to examine his doctrine, and if they ap❤ proved it, to receive him into communion: They offered to admit him, but he refused to join them, Penn, it is faid by the fame author, made a fecond attempt, to gain over the Labbadifts to the Quakers, but with no better fuccefs.

Paffing over many others, we next turn our thoughts to "George Fox," who, in the fame age, comes forward to the world, boldly affirming, "he was, in "an extraordinary manner, commiffioned by God, to "publish his fingular notions to mankind;" at the fame time, treating with pharifaical contempt, the religious profeffors of his day, deeming them all under "dreadful ignorance and darkness."

His fpirit being more uncivil and less courtly than that which influenced moft other enthufiafts, he pretended to have received a meffage from Heaven, to "drop all the common forms of falutation, and to "affect a mode of fpeech, different from that which

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was used by the generality of mankind; and a con"formity to it, was made a neceffary mark of difciple"fhip, in his followers." The particular fentiments which he taught concerning other fubjects of religion, we have elsewhere mentioned, fo that we need not repeat them here,

Upon the whole, we fee, all these pretended reformers and heads of fects agreeing in this, that they were to Le governed by the immediate influence of the Deity" within them," or by the motion or inward fug

geftion