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or churches, or are deemed fo now, intirely agree in principle and practice, upon the fubjects of church rates, tithes, and the Militia bill? Do those who are reckoned the most faithful and ftrenuous, deny them to have the Spirit, or declare them to be no Quakers, and separate from them accordingly, at their church meetings, who directly, or indirectly, by their fubstitutes, pay, according to the demands of the acts of parliament concerning thefe articles, without giving the collectors the trouble of diftraining?

Did the Quakers agree, at one of their meetings in London, to approve and countenance, as a body, Mr. Purver's tranflation of the Bible? Were there not fome for it, and fome against it? Were not most of the latter opinion?

But, to fay no more upon this head, we only defire any reader to hear feveral preachers, in different places and times, and to converfe freely with various members of their focieties, and he will be convinced, as I have been, that they have a diverfity of opinions in religion on fome doctrines or practices.

It may be added, if this "internal, immediate reve❝lation" be neceffary to every man's falvation, as Meff. Barclay and Phipps reprefent, they can furely, by fome means and arguments or other, demonftrate to us, that we have or may have it. We are not confcious of it: We pretend not to it: We prefume not to have any religious knowledge, but that which we have received by means of an external revelation,

* Mr. Penn, in his preface to Fox's journal, has these words, P. 54. "For being quickened by it," (the life and light of Chrift within)" in our inward man, we could easily difcern the dif"ference of things, and feel what was right, and what was wrong, " and what was fit, and what was not, both in reference to religion and civil concerns." And he declares afterwards, that this infallible direction was the ground of the first Quaker-faints fellowThip. I here mention this, to juftify the propriety of our asking thofe questions, which we have introduced in the paragraph preseeding.

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and in the proper ufe and improvement of what is thus revealed: We expect the Spirit, to whom we daily pray, in no other way to inlighten and fave us.

We further infift, that, if the Quakers notion be true, they ought to produce fome inftances of perfons being taught the knowledge of the incarnation, miracles, fufferings, and refurrection, of Jefus, the Son of God, who never obtained any information about it from books or men.

Moreover, it must be observed, that if the Quakers were able, by facts, a unity among themfelves, prophecy, miracles, or any other means, to convince us, that we and all others certainly have or may have this "internal, immediate revelation," we will, at once, adopt the creed of "the author of Chriftianity not founded on argument," which is as follows, Edit. 3rd. P. 60, 61. “I believe, that the New Testament is a "fyftem of empty notions, of mere manufcript au"thorities and paper revelations, that every copy "and reprefentation of the firft original, detracts in "a great degree from its divine authority-that it "muft neceffarily be the work of man, and therefore "not proper to be the foundation of our faith-that "it is a dead letter, a low hiftorical report and dry "unaffecting theory, not addreffed to the principle "of intelligence God has given us, and never inten"ded to be the only rule of faith and conduct— "that faith is not a belief on evidence, but a myf"tical fenfation, or an inexplicable effort of the "will-P. 112. that God faves not men by the "knowledge of New Teftament truth, but by a "conftant and particular revelation, imparted fe66 parately and fupernaturally to every individual"that the Spirit thus irradiates our fouls, at once, "with a thorough conviction, and performs more, "by one fecret whifper, than it ever does, by a "thoufand preachments of truths revealed in the "Bible-that this is the grand principle of faith

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and falvation, the general uniting principle, and "a ftanding miracle, in every man's breaft-there"fore a written revelation is abfolutely useless and "of no manner of account" *.

It may be fubmitted now to the impartial judgment of every reader, whether the forementioned oppofer of the Old and New Teftament revelation, could ever have written that artful and fophiftical libel upon the religion of Jefus, if he had not read Barclay's Apo- › logy, or the performances of other enthusiasts.

May I not alfo venture to appeal to the sense and experience of every man of honour, honefty, and understanding, among the Quakers, and demand of them, whether they can produce any one religious truth, which they have received by "immediate, internal "revelation" alone? Let them, if they can, tell us, of the vifion, trance, or revelation to their fenfes, immediately from heaven, or immediate fuggeftion to their mind-fitting-walking-fleeping or waking, by which was discovered to them, fome truth of religion, which they had not read or heard of before, or elfe deduced by their reasoning powers from ideas already received, in this common and ordinary way of information. We are not afraid of being convinced by well attefted facts.

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*The reader may fee what a likeness there is between Mr. Barclay's fentiments, and the above creed, if he'll look at Prop 11. Page 26."The fum then of what is faid amoun s to this: That "where the true inward knowledge of God is, through the revela"tion of his Spirit, there is all; neither is there an abfolute neceffity of any other. But where the beft, higheft, and most pro"found knowledge is, without this, there is nothing, as to the obtaining the great end of falvation" This paragraph may taken in a very good meaning, I acknowledge, but as Barclay intends it, it fets afide, we apprehend, the abfolute neceffity of the knowledge and belief of that Gofpel, defcribed in the New Tellament, which, we shall hereafter fhew, is very different from that of Barclay's. Befides this, it expreffes, according to the general fense of the apology, the infufficiency of the knowledge of what the Apoftles and Evangelifts have written, without a particular," and immediate revelation" to every individual.

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If every man was infpired, we further add, with the knowledge of religion, in a way of " immediate, "internal revelation," it could not poffibly have happened, that most of mankind, in all ages, fhould have been involved in darkness and error, and have fallen into grofs ignorance of true religion, and into the most abfurd fuperftitions and idolatries. That it was poffible for every man thus to be infpired, no one. can doubt; but that it has ever taken place, no unprejudiced perfon can believe, without difcrediting all the authentic hiftories we have of mankind.

Infallible," immediate revelation," God can, and we doubt not, has given to mankind, but we do infift, it must either be given to every particular indi vidual, or to fome perfon or perfons, to be by them communicated to mankind, with proper teftimonials in his name. Which of thefe has taken place in the world, must be determined by facts: That the former has not taken place, I know by my own experience, and the teftimony of vaft numbers of my fellow creatures,

For these reasons then, and others which may be produced, let fuch moft feriously confider, what they are following, who imagine to themselves, that they are under the direction of the "immediate revelation" of the Holy Ghoft. Let them be as laborious as they may, in forming out of the Scriptures, by manifeft perverfions, their fyftem, and polish it, all they can, it will prove a false mirror to them, in the things of God. They may fee their own image in it, and ido lize that, as the Divinity within them, but if, they are mistaken, with all their peculiarity of speech, formality of behaviour, and feverity of manners, they are dreadfully expofing their own fouls, to the indignation of the Almighty, when attributing to the immediate fuggeftion of the Spirit of God, what is only the conceit of their own felf-inspired imaginations,

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CHAP. VI.

1. The Light within, and its operations confidered, with fome animadverfions on Mr. Phipps's obfervations. 2. The Quaker's Gospel examined. 3. The Apofiles Gofpel flated from their own writings, and shown to be different from Barclay's, and his defender's.

1.THE Light-within confidered, with fome remarks on Mr. Phipps's obfervations.

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"The Light of Chrift within, as God's gift for "man's falvation," is called by Mr. Penn, in his pres face to George Fox's journal, P. 18. " their funda"mental principle, which is as the corner ftone of "their fabric; and to fpeak eminently and properly," fays he, "their characteristic or main diftinguishing "point or principle."

It is thus defcribed by Barclay:" But we under❝ftand a spiritual, heavenly, and invifible principle, " in which God, as Father, Son, and Spirit, dwells; "a measure of which divine, and glorious life, is in "all men, as a feed, which of its own nature draws,

invites, and inclines to God; and this fome call, "the vehiculum Dei, or the fpiritual body of Chrift, "the flesh and blood of Chrift, which came down "from heaven, of which all the faints do feed, and " are thereby nourished unto eternal life." Apol. Sect. 13. P. 138. And further on he writes, Sect. 14. "We understand not this feed, light, or grace, to ba ❝ an accident, as moft men ignorantly do, but a real "spiritual substance, which the foul of man is capable "to feel and apprehend."

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He calls it also, P. 194. "That little fmall thing "that reproves men in their hearts," and afferts like, wife," that it is not any part of man's nature, but

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