John Wesley, writing in his Journal in November 1759, commented on ‘spiritual manifestations’ he observed during his meetings:
‘the danger was to regard extraordinary circumstances too much, such as outcries, convulsions, visions, trances; as if these were essential to inward work, so that it could not go on without them. Perhaps the danger is, to regard them too little; to condemn them altogether; to imagine they had nothing of God in them. And were a hindrance to His work.
Whereas the truth is
- God suddenly and strongly convinced many that they were lost sinners; the natural consequence whereof were sudden outcries and strong bodily convulsions;
- to strengthen and encourage them that believed, and to make his work more apparent, He favoured several of them with divine dreams, other with trances and visions;
- in some of these instances, after a time, nature mixed with grace;
- Satan likewise mimicked this work of God in order to discredit the whole work; and yet it is not wise to give up this part any more than to give up the whole.
At first, it was, doubtless, wholly from God. It is partly so at this day; and He will enable us to discern how far, in every case, the work is pure and where it mixes or degenerates.’