These are deep and weighty words. But many hold fast the words, and are utterly ignorant of their meaning. Is not this an exceeding common case? Are not you conscious, abundance of your friends have done so? With whom the being _taught of God_ and _led by his Spirit_, are mere words of course, that mean just nothing. And their crude and indigested accounts, of the things they did not understand, have raised that deep prejudice against these great truths, which we find in the generality of men. Do some of you ask, “But dost thou acknowledge _the inward principle_?” I do, my friends: and I would to God every one of you acknowledged it as much. I say, all religion is either _empty shew_, or _perfection by inspiration_; in other words, The obedient love of God, by the supernatural knowledge of God: yea, all that which _is not of faith is sin_; all which does not spring from this loving knowledge of God; which knowledge cannot begin, or subsist one moment, without _immediate inspiration_: not only all public worship, and all private prayer, but every thought, in common life, and word and work. What think you of this? Do you not stagger? Dare you carry _the inward principle_ so far? Do you acknowledge it to be the very truth? But alas! what is the acknowledging it? Dost thou experience this principle in thyself: What saith thy heart? Does God dwell therein? And doth it now eccho to the voice of God? Hast thou the _continual inspiration_ of his Spirit, filling thy heart with his love, as with a well of water, springing up into everlasting life? * 9. Art thou acquainted with the _leading of his Spirit_, not by notion only, but by living experience? I fear very many of you talk of this, who do not so much as know what it means. How does the Spirit of God _lead_ his children, to this, or that particular action? Do you imagine, it is by _blind impulse_ only? By _moving_ you to do it, you know not why? Not so. He leads us by our _eye_, at least as much as by the _hand_; and by _light_ as well as by _heat_. He _shews_ us the way wherein we should go, as well as _incites_ us to walk therein. For example. Here is a man ready to perish with hunger. How am _I led by the Spirit_ to relieve him? First, by his _convincing_ me, it is the will of God I should, and secondly by his filling my heart with _love_ toward him. Both this _light_ and this _heat_ are the gift of God; are wrought in me by the same Spirit: who _leads_ me, by this _conviction_ as well as _love_, to go and feed that man. This is the plain, rational account of the _ordinary_ leading of the Spirit. But how far from that which some have given!