of the church, were rejected as not canonical by another. Add to this, that none of the originals are extant. And of the copies, some have suffered by transcription, others by translation, and others by wilful mutilation to support human notions of religion; so that there are various readings of the same passage, and various views of the same thing. "Now, what," says Barclay, “would become of Christians, if they had not received that Spirit, and those spiritual senses, by which they know how to discover the true from the false? It is the privilege of Christ's sheep, indeed, that they hear his voice, and refuse that of the stranger; which privilege being taken away, we are left a prey to all manner of wolves." The Scriptures, therefore, in consequence of the state in which they have come down to us, cannot, the Quakers say, be considered to be a guide as entirely perfect as the internal testimony of their great Author the Spirit of God. But though the Quakers have thought it right, in submitting their religious creed to the world on this subject, to be so guarded in the wording of it as to make the distinction described, described, they are far from undervaluing the Scriptures on that account. They believe, on the other hand, whatever mutilations they may have suffered, they contain sufficient to guide men in belief and practice; and that all internal emotions which are contrary to the declaration of these are wholly inadmissible. Moreover," says Barclay, "because the Scriptures are commonly acknowledged by all to have been written by the dictates of the Holy Spirit, and that the errors, which may be supposed by the injury of time to have slipt in, are not such but that there is a sufficiently clear testimony left to all the essentials of the Christian faith, we do look upon them as the only fit outward judge of controversies among Christians, and that whatsoever doctrine is contrary to their testimony may therefore justly be rejected as false.' The Quakers believe also, that as God gave a portion of his Spirit to man to assist him inwardly, so he gave the Holy Scriptures to assist him outwardly, in his spiritual concerns. Hence the latter, coming by inspiration, are the most precious of all the books that ever were written, and the best outward outward guide: and hence the things contained in them ought to be read, and, as far as possible, fulfilled. They believe, with the apostle Paul, that the Scriptures are highly useful; so that "through patience and comfort of them they may have hope; and also that they are profitable for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness." That in the same manner as land highly prepared and dressed by the husbandman becomes fit for the reception and for the promotion of the growth of the seed that is to be placed in it, so the Scriptures turn the attention of man towards God, and by means of the exhortations, reproofs, promises, and threatenings, contained in them, prepare the mind for the reception and growth of the seed of the Holy Spirit. They believe, again, that the same Scriptures show more of the particulars of God's will with respect to man, and of the scheme of the Gospel-dispensation, than any ordinary portion of his Spirit, as usually given to man, would have enabled him to discover. They discover that the “* * Rom. vi. 23. wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ;" that "*Jesus Christ was set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;" that "he tasted death for every man ;" that he was "delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification;" that § he is set down at the right-hand of the throne of God;" " || and ever liveth to make intercession for us ;" and that he is the substance of all the types and figures under the Levitical priesthood¶, being the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. They believe, again, that in consequence of these various revelations, as contained in the Scriptures, they have inestimable advantages over the Heathen nations, or over those where the Gospel-sun has never yet shone; and that as their advantages are greater, so more will be required of them, or their condemnation will be greater, if they fail *Rom. iii. 25. + Heb. ii. 9. Rom. iv. 25. Heb. vii. 25. ¶ Rom. x. 4. to to attend to those things which are clearly revealed. They maintain, again, that their discipline is founded on the rules of the Gospel; and that in consequence of giving an interpretation different from that of many others to some of the expressions of Jesus Christ, by which they conceive they make his kingdom more pure and heavenly, they undergo persecution from the world; so that they confirm their attachment to the Scriptures by the best of all credible testimonies-the seal of their own sufferings. CHAP |