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terms: "It is impossible for those, who

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were once enlightened, and have tasted "of the heavenly gift, and were made "partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have "tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they "shall fall away, to renew them again. "unto repentance; seeing they crucify to "themselves the Son of God afresh, and

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put him to an open shame." The sense of which words I apprehend to be this: it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, that is, who have come to a true knowledge of the Christian faith and the doctrine of the gospel; and have tasted of the heavenly gift, that is, who have been sensible of the sweet effects of those promises of grace which are made to repenting sinners under the gospel dispensation; and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, either of its inward effects upon their own minds, or of its outward agency in producing miraculous operations for the conversion of unbelievers; and lastly, who have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, that is, who have known

the

the gospel to be more excellent than the law, and have been acquainted with the powers and wonders of the first age of the church, which was to succeed the dispensation of Moses, and is therefore called

wv av, the world, or more properly, the age, to come. It is impossible, says the Apostle, that they, who have enjoyed all these privileges, if they fall away and apostatize, should ever be renewed again unto repentance.

The other passage of St. Paul is in the tenth chapter of the Epistle to the Ilebrews, where he says, "If we sin wilfully, "after that we have received the know66 ledge of the truth, there remaineth no 66 more sacrifice for sins, but a certain "fearful looking for of judgment and

fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." From which words we may clearly draw these two consequences: first, that they who, after they have embraced Christianity, and made a public profession of its doctrine, afterwards entirely renounce it by a total apostacy, with a deliberate mind, wilfully and

against

against the dictates of their conscience, are not to expect that a sin of so deep a dye will ever be pardoned; for it is unpardonable; and therefore the Apostle says, there remains only a certain fearful looking for of judgment: it is such as the High-priest of old was not allowed to expiate by sacrifice; and therefore he adds, "there remaineth no more sacrifice " for sins."

The second consequence deducible from the words of St. Paul is, that they, who, after they have known the gospel, and even at the very time they are making a profession of Christianity, fall into an universal corruption of manners, and give themselves to all kinds of wickedness, deliberately and with a full consent of their will, and without remorse, have no reason to hope for pardon; and that the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross, which is the only means by which they could obtain it, will be of no benefit to them, because they wilfully they wilfully reject and despise it.

I think

I think it necessary to take notice of one more passage, in the First Epistle of St. John, which seems to have a near affinity to those already quoted; it is this: "There is a sin unto death; I do not say "that he shall pray for it." What this sin unto death is, St. John hath not particularly mentioned. Some therefore have imagined, that he meant those crying sins of idolatry, murder, and adultery, which debarred obstinate and incorrigible offenders in them finally from the communion of the church, and were therefore called mortal sins, or sins unto death. But I rather incline to the opinion of the learned Beza, who imagines the sin unto death to mean a total apostacy from the Christian faith, joined perhaps with a malicious blaspheming against the Holy Ghost, as in the case of the Pharisees. And it is the more probable that St. John speaks of this, because we know that many of the Jews at that time were guilty of this very crime, by renouncing the faith they had once embraced, and relapsing into Judaism. However, in either sense, this passage will fall in with the proposition

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sition before laid down, that they are guilty of sin not to be forgiven, who are either obstinate apostates, or remain hardened, deliberate, and incorrigible offenders in great and crying sins.

From what has been said it appears, that there are three sorts of sin against the Holy Ghost; or, to speak more accurately, three different ways of committing the same sin; which, having all the same object, may not improperly be called, though in very different degrees, the sin against the Holy Ghost.

The first and principal one is, by maliciously opposing a religion, which is built upon the strongest and most convincing proof, and supported by such miracles as we cannot disprove, and therefore chuse rather to ascribe to the devil, than own the author of them to be sent from God, and embrace his doctrine; which was the sin of the Pharisees alluded to in the text, but cannot now be committed since the cessation of working miracles.

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