The reviler rebuked: or, A re-inforcement of the charge against the Quakers, (so called) for their contradictions to the Scriptures of God, and to their own scriblings,: which Richard Farnworth attempted to answer in his pretended Vindication of the Scriptures; but is farther discovered, with his fellow-contradictors and revilers, and their doctrine, to be anti-Scriptural, anti-Christian, and anti-spiritual. By John Stalham, a servant of the great bishop and shepherd of souls, appointed to watch his little flock at Terling in Essex.

Section 4.

THe Scriptures (say they) were given us by inspiration, and by inspiration are to be understood again. In this passage there is coucht another of their Self-contradictions, which R. F. neither approves nor condemns, but passeth it over un-toucht, un-answered. The Reader may please to peruse what was said for discovery of their clashing Princi∣ples, in my former piece: This I shall adde, The Spirit of God, who breathed forth the Scriptures, must give us the spiritual understanding of them, (if we have it at all) but this he doth in another way, then that whereby he inspired the Pen-men of the Scriptures. They were so inspired when they wrote the holy Canon of Scripture, as men rapt up with an extatical motion, 2 Pet. 1. 21. The word there translated [moved] signifies a forcible acting of the Spirit* 1.1 upon them; they were mightily born away by the impetus and impulsive power of the Spirit. The same word is used by Luke, Acts 2. 2. in the description of the visible pouring forth of the Spirit, by a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind; this rushing power of the Spirit invisibly act∣ed the holy Men of God, who wrote the Scriptures in a way immediate, when they had not a letter of Gods Book before them. But thus the Scriptures come not to us, nor the understanding of them: we have the Book and Canon written down, and by providence, printed, translated into our Mother tongue, and preached to us: Now then, they that profess they own the Scriptures, and they own the reading of them, and they own prayer for the understand∣ing of them, &c. and yet when it comes to the upshot, they dis-own and deny all actings of the Spirit upon them, by means of second causes, instruments, and ordinances, by which we are to get understanding, and by which he gives it forth; it plainly appears, that as the beasts that have no understanding, they kick down the good pail of milk before∣given

by frustration, and neglect of Gods gift of the Scri∣ptures, and exercises about them, thereby to come to the knowledge of them, under the conduct of the Spirit.

Notes

• * 1.1

  2 Pet. 1. 21. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.