The Bible must be the invention either of good men or angels, bad men or devils, or of God. However, it was not written by good men, because good men would not tell lies by saying 'Thus saith the Lord;' it was not written by bad men because they would not write about doing good duty, while condemning sin, and themselves to hell; thus, it must be written by divine inspiration
Interpretation
The quote suggests that the Bible's origin must be attributed to divinity, as it possesses qualities that neither good nor bad men would claim.
Charles Wesley's quote reflects on the nature of the Bible and its authorship, arguing that it cannot be the creation of morally good or evil individuals. Good men wouldn't deceive by claiming divine authority, while bad men wouldn't write about virtues while condemning sin. This line of reasoning leads to the conclusion that the Bible must be a result of divine inspiration, highlighting its significance in moral and spiritual discourse.
In practice
During a discussion on religious texts, one might quote Wesley to emphasize the idea of divine authorship.
Come to earth to taste our sadness, he whose glories knew no end;_x000D_ by his life he brings us gladness, our Redeemer, Shepherd, Friend._x000D_ Leaving riches without number, born within a cattle stall;_x000D_ this the everlasting wonder, Christ was born the Lord of all.
Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees, And looks to God alone; Laughs at impossibilities, And cries it shall be done.
O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise, the glories of my God and King, the triumphs of his grace!
And all things as they change proclaim _x000D_ The Lord eternally the same.
Expand Thy wings, celestial Dove, brood o'er our nature's night; on our disordered spirits move, and let there now be light.
Keep us little and unknown, prized and loved by God alone.
If thou suffer injustice, console thyself; the true unhappiness is in doing it.
Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together ... Speech is too often ... the act of quite stifling and suspending thought, so that there is none to conceal ... Speech is of Time, silence is of Eternity ... It is idle to think that, by means of words, any real communication can ever pass from one man to another.
The same is the case when you enter a womb, enter into a fresh body, and start the journey of desires. But if you die alert, in that alertness not only the body dies, all desires evaporate. Then there is no entering into a womb. Then entering a womb is such a painful process, it is so painful that consciously you cannot do it; only unconsciously you can do it.
Upon the solution of this problem, or upon sufficient proof of the impossibility of synthetical knowledge a priori, depends the existence or downfall of metaphysics.
If you are a great news organization, you can't have the best obtainable version of the truth if your vision and your scale is reduced to a fraction of its former self.
The Indwelling of Christ by faithis to have Jesus Christ continually in one’s eye, a habitual sight of Him. I call it so because a man actually does not always think of Christ; but as a man does not look up to the sun continually, yet he sees the light of it. So you should carry along and bear along in your eye the sight and knowledge of Christ, so that at least a presence of Him accompanies you, which faith makes.
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