1.A 06. LETTER VI
LETTER VI. The advice of Mr. Wesley Highly valuable Plain and home to the point He advises them, 1. To watch and pray; 9. To beware of enthusiasm; 3. Of Antinomialism. MY DEAR M : The following advices which
Mr. Wesley gave to those who professed the blessing of " perfect love" in his day, may be as applicable to such in our day, as they were to them. These advices are the more valuable from their being given by a man of deep experience in the things of God, who. no doubt, enjoyed the blessing himself, and whose sole object was, without fear or favour to any one for he regarded no man’s person, whether high or low, rich or poor, learned or ignorant, any further than his present and eternal interest was concerned to lead all in the way of truth and holiness, and that by addressing plain words directly to the understanding and heart, with out circumlocution, or any curious metaphysical reasoning, although any man of accurate know ledge, that reads him with attention, must at once perceive that he is reading a man who was a complete master of his subject, and that he understood the art of reasoning to perfection.
While, therefore, he makes no parade of logic, and seldom presents his argument in a logical form, he nevertheless clothes his thoughts with words of uncommon depth, and draws all his conclusions from established premises with that irresistible force which must carry conviction to every honest and enlightened mind. Avoiding curious and learned disquisitions on disputable points of doctrine, he takes his stand where every true minister should, and does, indeed, stand on the Scriptures of truth and thence derives all his arguments, and points them directly to the heart. But while the simplicity of truth is thus apparent in all the writings of Mr. Wesley, and more especially in those now under consideration, there is, at the same time, a peculiar tenderness of spirit, and mellowness of charity, and all the kindness of sympathizing love, manifestly pervading the whole. To the advice of such a man, such an author, to such a minister of the Lord Jesus, we cannot but listen with attention, and persuade ourselves to follow it so far as it seems to accord with sacred Scripture, with Christian experience, and enlightened reason.
" Q. What is the first advice* that you would give them?
" A. Watch and pray continually against pride. If God has cast it out, see that it enter no more : it is full as dangerous as desire. And you may slide back into it unawares; especially if you think there is no danger of it. Nay, but I ascribe all I have to God. So you may, and be proud nevertheless. For it is pride, not only to ascribe anything we have to ourselves, but to
* The advices which follow were published in a separate tract In the year 1762, under the title of " Cautions and Directions given to the Greatest Professors in the Methodist Societies," with the following motto :
" Set the false witnesses aside, Yet hold the truth forever fast."
It was evidently intended to guard the people against the mischievous extravagances of George Bell and his friends, a particular account of whom is given in Mr. Wesley’s Journal afx>ut that period think we have what we really have not. Mr. L , for instance, ascribed all the light he had to God, and so far he was humble; but then he thought he had more light than any man living; and this was palpable pride. So you ascribe all the knowledge you have to God; and in this respect you are humble. But if you think you have more than you really have; or if you think you are so taught of God, as no longer to need man’s teaching; pride lieth at the door. Yes, you have need to be taught, not only by Mr. Morgan, by one an other, by Mr. Maxfield, or me, but by the weakest preacher in London; yea, by all men. For God send- eth by whom he will send.
" Do not therefore say to any who would advise or reprove you, You are blind; you cannot teach me. Do not say, This is your wisdom, your carnal reason; but calmly weigh the thing before God.
" Always remember, much grace does not imply much light. These do not always go together As there may be much light where there is but little love, so there may be much love where there is little light. The heart has more heat than the eye; yet it cannot see. And God has wisely tempered the members of the body together, that none may say to another, I have no need of thee.
" To imagine none can teach you, but those who are themselves saved from sin, is a very great and dangerous mistake. Give not place to it for a moment; it would lead you into a thousand other mistakes, and that irrecoverably. No; dominion is not founded in grace, as the madmen of the last age talked. Obey and regard them that are over you in the Lord, and do not think you know better than them. Know their place and your own; always remembering, much love does not imply much light.
" The not observing this has led some into many mistakes, and into the appearance, at least, of pride. O beware of the appearance, and the thing! Let there be in you that lowly mind which was in Christ Jesus. And be ye likewise clothed with humility. Let it not only fill, but cover you all over. Let modesty and self- liffidence appear in all your words and actions. Let all you speak and do show that you arc little, and base, and mean, and vile in your own eyes.
" As one instance of this, be always ready to own any fault you have been in. If you have at any time thought, spoke, or acted wrong, be not backward to acknowledge it. Never dream that this will hurt the cause of God; no, it will further it. Be therefore open and frank, when you are taxed with anything; do not seek either to evade or disguise it; but let it appear just as it is, and you will thereby not hinder, but adorn the Gospel.
Q. What is the second advice which you would give them?
"A. Beware of that daughter of pride, enthusiasm. O keep at the utmost distance from it! Give no place to a heated imagination. Do not hastily ascribe things to God. Do not easily suppose dreams, voices, impressions, visions, or revelations to be from God. They may be from him. They may be from nature. They may be from the devil. Therefore, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they be of God. Try all things by the written word, and let all bow down before it. You are in danger of enthusiasm every hour, if you depart ever so little from Scripture; yea, or from the plain, literal meaning of any text, taken in connexion with the context. And so you are, if you despise or lightly esteem reason, knowledge, or human learning; every one of which is an excellent gift of God, and may serve the noblest purposes.
" I advise you never to use the words, wisdom, reason, or knowledge, by way of reproach. On the contrary, pray that you yourself may abound in them more and more. If you mean worldly wisdom, useless know ledge, false reasoning, say so; and throw away the chaff , but not the wheat.
" One general inlet to enthusiasm is, expecting the end without the means : the expecting knowledge, for instance, without searching the Scriptures, and consulting the children of God; the expecting spiritual strength without constant prayer, and steady watchfulness; the expecting any blessing without hearing the word of God at every opportunity.
" Some have been ignorant of this device of Satan. They have left off searching the Scriptures. They said, God writes all the Scriptures on my heart. There fore, I have no need to read it. Others thought they had not so much need of hearing, and so grew slack in attending the morning preaching. O take warning, you who are concerned herein! You have listened to the voice of a stranger. Fly back to Christ, and keep in the good old way, which was once delivered to the saints; the way that even a heathen bore testimony of: That the Christians rose early every day to sing hymns to Christ as God.
" The very desire of; growing in grace may some times be an inlet of enthusiasm. As it continually leads us to seek new grace, it may lead us unawares to seek something else new. besides new degrees of love to God and man. So it has led some to seek and fancy they had received gifts of a new kind, after a new heart, as, (1.) The loving God with all our mind: (2.) With all our soul: (3.) With all our strength: (4.) Oneness with God: (5.) Oneness with Christ: (6.) Having our life hid with Christ in God: (7.) Being dead with Christ: (8.) Rising with him: (9.) The sitting with him in heavenly places : (10.) The being taken up into his throne : ( 1 1.) The being in the New Jerusalem : (12.) The seeing the tabernacle of God come down among men. (13.) The being dead to all works: (14.) The not being liable to death, pain, or grief, or temptation.
" One ground of many of these mistakes is, the taking even- fresh, strong application of any of these scriptures to the heart, to be a gift of a new kind; not knowing that several of these scriptures are not fulfilled yet; that most of the others are fulfilled when we are justified; the rest, the moment we are sanctified. It remains only to experience them in higher degrees. This is all we have to expect.
" Another ground of these and a thousand mistakes, is, the not considering deeply, that love is the highest gift of God; humble, gentle, patient love; that all visions, revelations, manifestations, whatever, are little things compared to love; and that all the gifts above mentioned are either the same with, or infinitely inferior to it.
" It were well you should be thoroughly sensible of this, the heaven of heavens is love. There is nothing higher in religion; there is, in effect, nothing else; if you look for anything but more love, you are looking wide of the mark, you are getting out of the royal way. And when you arc asking others, Have you received this or that blessing? If you mean anything but more love, you mean wrong; you arc leading them out of the way, and putting them upon a false scent. Settle it then in vour heart, that from the moment God has saved you from all sin, you are to aim at nothing more, but more of that love described in the thirteenth of the Corinthians. You can go no higher than this, till you are carried into Abraham’s bosom.
" I say yet again, beware of enthusiasm. Such is the imagining you have the gift of prophesying, or of discerning of spirits, which I do not believe one of you has; no, nor ever had yet Beware of judging people to be either right or wrong by your own feelings. This is no Scriptural way of judging. O keep close to the law and to the testimony!
" Q. What is the third?
"A. Beware of Antinomiauism; making void the law, or any part of it, through faith. Enthusiasm naturally leads to this : indeed they can scarce be separated. This may steal upon you in a thousand forms, so that you cannot be too watchful against it. Take heed of everything, whether in principle or practice, which has any tendency thereto. Even that great truth, that Christ is the end of the law, may betray us into it, if we do not consider that he has adopted every point of the moral law, and grafted it into the law of love. Beware of thinking, Because I am filled with love, I need not have so much holiness. Because I pray always, therefore I need no set time for private prayer. Because I watch always, therefore I need no particular self- examination. Let us magnify the law, the whole written word, and make it honourable. Let this be our voice : J prize thy commandments above gold or precious stones. what love have I unto thy law! all the day long is my study in it. Beware of Antinomian books; particularly the works of Dr. Crisp and Mr. Saltmarsh. They contain many excellent things; and this makes them the more dangerous. O be warned in time! Do not play with fire. Do not put your hand on the hole of a cockatrice den. I entreat you, beware of bigotry. Let not your love or beneficence be confined to Methodists, so called, only; much less to that very small part of them who seem to be renewed in love; or to those who believe yours and their report. make not this your Shibboleth! Beware of stillness; ceasing in a wrong sense from your own works. To mention one instance out of many . You have received, says one, a great blessing. But you began to talk of it, and to do this and that; so you lost it. You should have been still.
Beware of self-indulgence; yea, and making a virtue of it, laughing at self-denial, and taking up the cross daily, at fasting or abstinence. Beware of censorious- ness; thinking or calling them that any ways oppose you, whether in judgment or practice, blind, dead, fallen, or enemies to the work. Once more, beware of Solifidianism; crying nothing but. Believe, believe! and condemning those as ignorant or legal who speak in a more Scriptural way. At certain seasons, indeed, it may be right to treat of nothing but repentance, or merely of faith, or altogether of holiness; but, in general, our call is to declare the whole counsel of God, and to prophesy according to the analogy of faith. The written word treats of the whole and every particular branch of righteousness, descending to its minutest branches; as to be sober, courteous, diligent, patient, to honour all men. So. likewise, the Holy Spirit works the same in oar hearts, not merely creating desires after holiness in general, but strongly inclining us to every particular grace, leading us to every individual part of whatsoever is lovely. And this with the greatest propriety : for as by works faith is made perfect, or the completing or destroying the work of faith, and enjoying the favour, or suffering the displeasure, of God, greatly depends on every single act of obedience or disobedience." As there are objections to this doctrine some what peculiar to our day, I shall, Providence permitting, devote a few pages to their consideration, and endeavour so to obviate them as to set the subject before the reader in such a clear light, that he may rightly understand it and feel its force upon his conscience. In the mean time, I most sincerely beg an interest in the prayers of God’s people, that my head, my heart, and my pen, may be guided into all truth; that the " words of my lips and the meditations of my heart " may be acceptable in the sight of God, and that I may be an humble instrument in shedding a ray of heavenly light upon this vitally important theme. I do sincerely praise God that this work of sanctification is reviving and advancing among us, and my prayer to God is, that it may continue to spread until its hallowing influences shall pervade the whole Church.