Page:A Beacon to the Society of Friends.djvu/117

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SER. VI.
THE AUTHORITY OF THE APOSTLES.
113

thought of his heart might be forgiven him; but did he caution him in doing this, to be much on his guard against creaturely exertion?

"He told them that they must be still."—Upon what occasion did the Lord Jesus tell his disciples, "that they must be still?" He often told them to believe, and to pray; but we recollect no one instance, in which he recommended the mystical quiet, which in these extracts is represented as of vital importance.

See under Ser. II. Ex. 7; Ser. V. Ex. 2; Ser. VII. Ex. 1 and 2; Ser. x. Ex. 1.

"They could do nothing but merely to wait."—It is a great fallacy to represent, that, unaided by the Holy Spirit, we have the ability, even to wait upon God, in the sense in which David uses the expression, "My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from him."




EXTRACT II.

The authority of the Apostles. Spirit given to every rational creature.

"Oh! that we might look to ourselves, and examine ourselves rightly, under the influence of the Holy Spirit. For I hope we all believe the Apostle's testimony—not by any means because he has said it, but because we feel an evidence of it in ourselves. For there is a portion of the Spirit given to every rational creature under heaven, to profit withal, and it will do the work for us if we will only unite with it." p. 142.

"Not by any means because he has said it."—Is not the testimony of the Apostles really the testimony of