to every man on the globe and explaining to him elaborately the important fact that he had a light within "by attending to" the monitions of which he should learn all he wanted and acquire all he needed for this world and the next! And what is the condition of the nations through successive ages? ? Do not the moderns need to be told, as well as the ancients, of the existence, offices, properties, and relations, of this interior light: what is their condition then without apostolic monitors to help them? What is their condition, even on the Quaker scheme, without preaching? But I proceed. The apostle then evinces the horribly criminal condition of the whole heathen world. He says that the light of nature, teaching what they never learn, "that which may be known of God" from his works, condemns them as sinners and leaves them "without excuse." He says; "Professing themselves to be wise," i. e. to have an inward light of their own, "they became fools; and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things." Here are some of the rays of the inward light of the heathen nations; some of the precious fruits of heathenism! Quadrupeds, reptiles, vermin, did they and their very sages adore, instead of "the only wise God." They practised unnatural crime, he says; and that without remorse, being totally abandoned of the fear of God. He ends the picture with these words; "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave

them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; being filled with all unrighteousness," &c. to the end.

On the foregoing citation I remark, 1. It contains a moral estimate of the whole world, as distinguished from the Jews; these he subsequently characterizes in the next chapter: and then, in the third, asks the question, "Are we better than they?" are the Jews essentially and by nature any better than the Gentiles? "No; in no wise; for we have before proved, both Jews and Gentiles, that THEY ARE ALL UNDER SIN." 2. The picture, of their degraded and guilty condition, is given in the argument, on purpose to evince their need of having the gospel preached to them. This is obvious. 3. The apostle intimates that all the nations once had, but voluntarily forewent and forfeited, the knowledge of God. They were all descended from Noah. All his sons had the knowledge of the true God. But soon, hating, they corrupted and lost it. The children imitated and appropriated the iniquity of their fathers. Every generation deteriorated. "Their posterity approved their sayings." And what became of their knowledge? The little grew less. The streams of traditionary truth were more and more vitiated; and branching into all directions, at last presented the monstrous proportions of the common mythology, and the abominable usages of universal paganism. Thus it was true, historically, individually, philosophically, and universally, that "they did not like to retain God in their knowledge." I remark, 4. That there is not a word said about THE INWARD LIGHT; no

exception in favor of its influence; no crimination for working its extinction; no intimation that the apostle knew of its existence! 5. There is no EXCEPTION of individuals. Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, all the rare lights of pagan antiquity, had then shone upon the darkness: but, it was so unrelieved by their lustre, that the apostle lacked sight to see or charity to acknowledge or judgment to appreciate or inspiration to describe, the unhallowed and ungenial radiance. Whatever these sages were, the gospel, I find, makes little account of their lucubrations; and I wish that many christian writers, to say nothing of Friends, had shown the wisdom and the modesty toward God to leave them peaceably and submissively, where they are and where the scripture leaves them, in the hands of the Eternal. I have often remembered with pleasure an anecdote which I have somewhere read and now record. A party in a stage-coach were once entertained per force with the spontaneous eloquence of a consequential blood, who chose to harangue them on the foolery of the missionary cause. At last he came to the dreadful implication of the system, that the heathen actually need the gospel, and may perish in their sins if not brought to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Here he vociferated, railed, declaimed, as if noise must convince where nothing else could be commanded-till he seemed exhausted.

And tamer far for so much fury shown,
As is the course of rash and fiery men,
The rude companion smiled, as if transformed.

COWPER.

His fellow passengers bore it well, though some of them felt not a little bored with it. At length an old gentleman in the rear, who had sat mute and unobserved, interposed, as follows: May I ask you a question, sir? Certainly. You, sir, and we all are not heathen: and worse will it be for us if we are not christians. The question is this-Are you a true christian? have you personally a "good hope through grace " of everlasting life? The catechumen hesitated. Proceeded the catechistSuffer me then to assure you that, if you should ever be so happy as to arrive in heaven yourself, which I pray you may, you will find the heathen all there too-or, a perfectly satisfactory reason for their absence!

It is plain that Paul viewed the whole world as so wicked and lost, and the gospel as so solely competent through God to save, that therefore his inspired benevolence desired to bring them the outward light of the gospel, and preach to them "the unsearchable riches of Christ;" that so, through faith in the testimony and promise of God, they might be saved from sin and from the wrath to come. This view is not only devoid of the doctrine of Friends, but wholly adverse to it. Otherwise, why are not Friends actuated toward the heathen world as was Paul? Are they characterized in any way by the love of missions?

My next proof is contained in 1 Corinthians, chapter 10, verses 20 and 21. "But I say, that the things which the nations sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye

should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils; ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils." The anti-quaker phrases of "the cup of the Lord," and "the Lord's table," shall receive consideration in their place. It is worthy of note how Paul's charity disposes of the total mass of pagan worship in these verses! It is all offered to devils and not to God! He makes no exceptions, no qualifications, no apologies. How plain that either Paul was destitute of inspiration or that the nations (and I have substituted the word nations for gentiles, as a better translation of the original) are in league with the Devil and his legions and that their very worship breathes of hell! Now where is the inward light? But-not to press this question: admit that it exists—it is manifestly inefficacious. What good does it accomplish? who is purified or enlightened or saved by it? It might as well not be, since it leaves the very religion of its subjects in the service of the Devil! Yet, O ye immortal souls, to whom Friends preach, they preach not the gospel to you! They recommend you to the pagan darkness of the inward light, and turn you away from "the marvellous light" of "the glorious gospel of the blessed God!" Let those of you who have no souls or (what is worse) no consciences-practically none, continue the blind followers of the blind. Those whose eyes are open see " the ditch" into which ye will all soon fall together. And O ye "forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value. O that