petites, and Paffions of his Mind, than in the cuftomary Gratification of thofe Appetites and Paffions in his Actions.

And, Fourthly, That they are moftly Matters of Omiffion of his Duty, and not so much express'd in Instances forbidden by God's Laws.

And, Laftly, That of what Nature soever they be, tho' he has not actually fubdu'd them, and got the Victory over them, yet he gains Ground upon them, and doth not fo frequently repeat them; and when he doth, it is in fmaller Inftances, and upon greater Temptations, and with lefs Interruptions of his religious Course :

Ifay, whofoever can fatisfy himself, that the Sins he is moft frequently guilty of in the Course of his Life, are of this Nature, and fall under thefe Circumftances; fuch a Perfon needs not in the leaft doubt, but that, for all them, he is in the State of Repentance, and shall find Mercy with his Heavenly Fa

ther.

God Almighty grant to us all true Repentance, and his Holy Spirit, that the reft of our Life bereafter may be pure and holy, fo that at the last we may come to his Eternal Foy, through Jefus Chrift our Lord: To whom, &c.

SER

SERMON IX.

185

HEB. X. 26, 27.

For if we fin wilfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the Truth, there remaineth no more facrifice for Sins, but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment, and fiery Indignation, which shall devour the Adverfaries.

H

AVING already spoken to feveral Points, which, thro' their being not well understood, have 23 much encreased, if not caused, the Affliction of a great many good Chriftians, fuch as are troubled in Mind upon a religious Account; I fhall now proceed to another Head of Things, which is often the occafion of much Trouble and Perplexity to thofe Perfons, who are under the Power of this fort of Melancholy.

And that is, their misunderstanding two or three Texts of Scripture which speak of a a fort of Sins, for which there feems to be no Repentance allowed, and which fhall never be forgiven to the Man that is guilty of

them;

2

them; which Sins yet, they are often miserably afraid, that they themselves have committed.

Thefe Sins are, First, the wilful Sin, fpoken of by St. Paul in the Words I have now read unto you, for which he fays there remains no more Satisfaction, but a fearful expectation of Judgment and fiery Indignati

on.

Secondly, The Sin unto Death, spoken of by St. John, as to which he seems to say we ought not fo much as to pray for the Perfon that is guilty of it.

And Thirdly, The Sin against the Holy Ghoft, fpoken of by our Saviour; which he faith, fhall never be forgiven in this World, nor in the World to come. Of these three

Texts therefore, and the Sins therein spoken of, I fhall now give an Account. And I begin with the Firft of them, to which I fhall confine my felf, at this time.

It is no Wonder that this Text is fo apt to fright weak Perfons; for indeed it feems to declare fo feverely against all forts of Men, that either are, or have been, wilful Sinners after Baptifin, (as God knows the greatest part of Chriftian Profeffors have been) as to leave little Hopes of the Forgiveness and Favour of God Almighty, even after their best Repentance.

But I doubt not to give fuch an Account of this Text, as will fatisfy the most scrupulous Perfon in this Matter. And, in or

der

der thereunto, I shall enquire into these four Things.

First of all, in general, what it is to fin wilfully, or what is the Notion of a wilful Sin.

Secondly, Whether the Apoftle in this Text speaks of all wilful Sins whatsoever, or only of fome one particular kind of wilful Sins. Thirdly, What that particular kind of wilful Sin is.

And Fourthly, In what Senfe he affirms that there remains no more Satisfaction for fuch Sin, but a fearful expectation of Judg

ment.

An Account of thefe four Things is all, that can be thought needful, for the clearing this Text.

And First of all, I begin with the general Notion of wilful Sin.

We all of us know that Sins are commonly diftinguished by Divines into three Sorts; Sins of Ignorance, Sins of Infirmity, and Sins of Wilfulness. The Ground of this Di Iftinction is laid in the Soul of Man, in which are three diftinct prime Faculties, or Powers from which all our Actions flow, that is to fay, the Understanding, the Will, and the fenfual Appetite or Affections. Now when we do any finful Action, that Faculty of thefe three gives denomination to the Sin, from whofe Fault or Irregularity or Disorder the Action doth chiefly proceed; I fay, doth chiefly proceed; for it cannot be denied that,

in

every Sin a Man commits, all the three Faculties do in fome degree or other concur to it. Take the Explication of this in the Words of that accurate Cafuift Bishop Sanderfon.

If the Understanding be most in fault, not apprehending its Duty, or not apprehending it aright; the Sin fo committed, tho' poffibly it might have in it fomewhat both of infirmity and wilfulness withal, yet it is properly a Sin of Ignorance. And fuch was St. Paul's perfecuting the Church, it was his want of Understanding, it was the erroneoufness of his Judgment that mainly mislead him, and not any Malice in his Will, or Corruption in his Affections, upon which Account he himself calls this Action of his a Sin of Ignorance. But, Secondly, if the main Fault be in the Affections, thro' fome fudden Paffion and perturbance of Mind, either blinding or corrupting or out-running the Judgment, (as for inftance Fear, Anger, Defire, or the like) the Sin arifing from hence, tho' perhaps joined with fome Ignorance and Wilfulness withal, yet is properly a Sin of infirmity. And fuch was Peters denying of our Saviour: In which Action his Understanding was not in fault, for he knew very well both whom he denied, and he knew likewife that he ought not to have denied him. Nor was the Fault fo much in his Will as to make it properly a wilful Sin; for he did not deny our Saviour out of Malice or Defign;