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with the language and metaphors of Scripture: But the comparison will not hold. For the Apologift evidently means, if any fenfe at all can be given to his expreffions, that the rational principle in man, is not the right organ or faculty, by which we know God, and apprehend spiritual things. It may be justly faid then, in his own words, that Mr. P. in what he ob ferves on this part of the fection, "idly fancies he is "fatirizing his opponent, whilft he is only ludicrously "trifling with his own manifeft perverfion."

Befides this, it must give pain to every impartial friend of Mr. P. when it is obferved, what a poor vain fubterfuge he has recourfe to, in order to make the Apologift either confiftent with himself or common fenfe: He expreffes himself thus; P. 23. " Barclay's "doctrine is, that the Holy Spirit communicates not ❝ a natural, faculty, but itself, to the faithful foul, ❝and becomes to it a new principle wherein, or as "an organ whereby, it is capacitated rightly to un"derstand religious truth."

Without asking Mr. P. how a perfon becomes "faithful," in order that he may have this "principle" or "organ," it is most certainly a very low and base reprefentation, which makes the almighty and infinitely wife Spirit, a mere organ of thought to his imperfect creatures. But did we allow him the propriety of this remark, and that it is a juft description of Barclay's fentiments, it is ftill difficult, if not impoffible, to reconcile it, with what we have before quoted from the Apology: For we demand of Mr. Phipps, Whether the Soul, by this divine principle or organ, which is the "Holy Spirit itself," difcerns truth, or not? If the does not, the can never be faid to understand it in any fenfe whatsoever: If fhe does, is it by any power, faculty, or exertion, that can be understood to be different from the rational principle in man? Suppofing then the be affifted, influenced, and taught, by the Spirit of God, it is the foul, by

her

her power or capacity of viewing and difcerning objects, which understands the truth; or, to ufe Mr. Barclay's expreffion, the foul, by her rational faculty, or principle, that. views, apprehends, and receives it; or otherwife the Spirit cannot be her organ of thought at all: For how can it be the organ of thought, "whereby the foul is rightly capacitated to "understand divine truth," if the never be hereby enabled to apprehend and understand it herself? The Spirit's understanding it within a perfon, will be of no advantage to the foul, unless the herfelf difcerns and believes it: For the Holy Ghoft, or "light "within," which are the fame thing, according to Meffrs. Barclay and Phipps, [Obfervations, P. 23]" is "not only diftinct, but of a different nature, from "the foul of man, and its faculties."

However, without enlarging any further here, the Obfervator himself fhall anfwer Mr. Barclay: For he afferts, P. 22. that "by heart-knowledge is meant, "that which is experimentally and deeply rooted in "the foul, or rational fpirit of man :" Mr. Barclay then, we apprehend, must be mistaken, if his de fender be right, when he afferts, that this experimental faving knowledge cannot be apprehended by the rational principle in man, because it is not the right

organ.

For where the difference is, between "rational Spi "rit," and "rational principle," or its being placed in the one, and yet not apprehended by the other, we will leave Mr. P. with his ufual dexterity, to make

out.

14

K

СНАР.

CHA P. V.

1. A conceffion of the Letter-Writer. 2. Meffrs. Barclay's and Phipps's notion of the term Revelation inaccurate and unufual. 3. The main queftion in debate fairly flated, and one of Mr. Barclay's arguments for the affirmative confuted. 4. His five Affertions under his Second propofition, examined, and fhown to be inconclufive. 5. His proofs from Scripture examined, and shown to be founded upon a mistake of the true fenfe of thofe paf fages he quotes. 6. Some of Mr. Phipps's beft additional remarks confidered. 7. The religious opinions and practices of fome of his Heathen brethren, whofe fayings he is fo fond of, produced. 8. An appeal to Scripture, reafon, and fact, against the Quakers notion of internal immediate revelation.

1. Conceffion of the Letter-Writer, with fome other remarks.

N the first edition of this chapter, it was apprehended, that Mr. Barclay's notion of "internal, immediate, objective revelation," was that which may be deemed purely metaphyfical: By which was meant, God's communicating ideas and fentiments to the foul, without their being cloathed with terms and expreffions that are analogous to the bodily fenfes, or without the mind's conceiving and operating in connexion with thefe. It cannot, however, be comprehended, how a person can have any ideas, on this fide the grave, either fleeping or waking, in a trance, or out of one, without fome expreffions, terms, or words, which are fuited to his prefent condition, as a being, compofed of mind and matter; and it must be very clear to every impartial obferver, that the mind not only expreffes itself, to others, through the bodily

fenfes,

fenfes, but forms and compares ideas, or exercises all its thoughts, according to its intimate connexion with this organized body. Hence it is concluded, that the revelations to the Patriarchs, Prophets, and Apoftles, though they might fome of them have been without the inftrumentality of any vifible or external means, were, notwithstanding, by what we may call inward voices, vifions, or fomething, by which a fcene was painted before the mind *, fo that it fhould conceive and understand, according to its most intimate connexion with a body, formed with fenfes or organs fuited to its present state. Therefore, though the fentiments, in any cafe, were revealed objectively to the mind, and not firft to the bodily fenfes, yet the apprehenfions and conceptions it immediately formed of them, were cloathed with the common terms of human language, and whilft it was employed about them, it used, by the imagination at least, the bodily fenfes.

It never was my intention to deny, that the Prophets and Apostles had an immediate revelation from God, nor can Mr. Phipps, it is believed, upon cool and impartial reflection, think it was, neither can he conclude, whilst he exercises any candor, unless it be from detached paffages, without confidering their connexion, that it was my purpose to deny internal vifions, or that God ever did, in any cafe, reveal himfelf to the fouls of his people, in former ages, without fome vifible appearance to the bodily eye, or a real found in the air which conveyed fentiments to the mind through the organ of hearing. It will appear,

P.

*An inftance of this we have in the Revelation of John.

That this was my meaning, appears from the queftions asked. 18. "Can we conceive of any fentiments diftinct from terms? Have we any ideas, fleeping or waking, but what are cloathed, "as they stand in our minds, with the common terms of human language? Does the foul ever think, in this itate, without "ufing, by the imagination at leaft, fome of the bodily fenfes ?"

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K. 2

under

under the next article, that the notion of revelation which Mr. Barclay has adopted, and his manner of defcribing it, implies in it, if there be any meaning in words, fomething more than, or different from, The difcovery or manifeftation of religious fentiments to the mind, by either internal vifions, dreams, or any objective immediate influence of the Spirit whatever, and confequently what I was oppofing was this, and not that great truth before-mentioned, which Mr. Phipps would, with much pleasure, have proved me have rejected. However, to convince him that I write not for victory, but rather for the fake of truth, and that I am not blind, at least, to all my infirmities, nor afhamed to acknowledge a few of them, I will admit, that fome of his exceptions to my ufe of the term "bodily fenfes" are juft, and that I did not apply this phrafe with accuracy, precifion, and proper explication: An acknowledgment, which I am fo far from thinking a difgrace, that, to make it, appears to me rather my duty and honour,

Mr. P. fets off, in his obfervations upon this chapter, with the following fentence: "I now come to "the principal point of our author's oppofition," But this is not allowed, as he afterwards reprefents the fubject, to be the principal point in difpute, neither does it determine the main queftion in debate'; for fhould it have been proved, that the Prophets and Apoftles had the fame kind of inspiration which we thought Mr. Barclay laid claim to, ftill it remains to be proved, that he and his followers were thus infpired,

2. The Quakers notion of Revelation confidered.

Let us next inquire further more particularly into the Quakers fenfe of "REVELATION," and whether Barclay's and his Defendant's notion of it be juft.

If Mr. Phipps and his opponent affix different ideas to the fame word, they must not only mistake

one

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