or fpeaks Evil of me, who am more than an ordinary Perfon, a Prophet fent from God, difparaging either my Perfon, or my Preaching, yet even this fhall be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Miracles that I do, and faith they are done by the Power of the Devil, this is fo horrid a Blafphemy, that it fhall never be forgiven him either in this World or in the other.

If any one ask, upon what Account it is that the speaking against the Miracles of our Saviour, is of fo heinous and damning a Nature above all other Blafphemies; I answer, there is great Reafon for it; because the Miracles that our Saviour wrought were the principal Evidence that he gave, or could give, of his being fent from God: And confequently, the great Means for the converting the whole World to his Religion. And, therefore, to speak against them, and to attribute them to the Power of the Devil, muft needs be, as the most spiteful and malicious, fo alfo the most mifchievous Blafphemy in the World: Becaufe, it was the most effe&tual way to hinder People from believing on him, and confequently to defeat all Gods gracious Ends, of bringing Men to Salvation by the Gofpel, than which the Devil himself cannot do a worse Thing.

I pafs on to the third Difficulty in this Text, which is the Importance of that Phrase, neither in this World nor in the World to come. Our Saviour is not content to fay, in the

former

any

former Verfe, that the Blafphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven, but he adds in the latter Verfe, that it shall never be forgiven in this World, nor in the World to come. Which Expreffion fome of the Church of Rome would fuborn, for the proving their Doctrine of Purgatory; they would conclude, from hence, that a Man may in the other World make Satisfaction for his Sins, fo that they shall then be forgiven him, tho' they were not forgiven in this Life, but this is without Ground at all. All that our Saviour defigns to exprefs is this, that this Sin of the Blafphemy of the Holy Ghoft fhall be grievously punished, both in this World and in the other: And the Phrase, by which he expreffeth it, was very well known and familiar to thofe he spoke to; it was a common and received Doctrine among the Jews, that, for fome Sins, a Man was pardoned presently upon his Repentance, that other Sins were not pardoned, till the folemn Day of Expiation, which came once a Year: That other Sins, which were yet greater, were not to be expiated but by fome grie vous temporal Affliction. But all Sins (thofe that could not be pardoned thefe Ways,) were yet expiated by Death, fuppofing the Man was an Ifraelite; the Life of an Ifraelite was a fufficient Atonement for his Sin, and no Ifraelite, but fuch a one as renounced his Faith, could be punished in the other World. To this Opinion of theirs

(which is very common in their Books,) our Saviour in this Expreffion feems to have refpect, as if he had faid, Flatter not your felves with a Conceit, that you Ifraelites fhall have all your Sins purged either in this Life by your Sufferings, or at the farthest by your Death. No, I affure you, this Blafphemy and open Affront that you put upon the Spirit of God, is a Crime of fo high a Nature, that it fhall not be expiated either in this Life or at your Death; but thofe, that are guilty of it, fhall have a miferable Portion, both in this World and that which is to come. This feems to be the full Importance of this Expreffion.

But there is a greater Difficulty behind, which is that I am to speak to in the fourth Place, and that is, whether, from what is here faid concerning the Blafphemy against the Holy Ghoft, it may be concluded that that Sin is abfolutely unpardonable, to all Persons that are guilty of it.

I must confefs this is an Enquiry more curious, than neceffary, fince which way foever it be determined, it will not much concern any of us, who cannot be fuppofed to have finned the Sin against the Holy Ghoft, or to be ordinarily capable of fo doing: However, for the giving further Satisfaction to timorous and Hypocondriack Perfons, it will not be amifs, if we fay fomething to this Point: Leaving it, in the mean time, to eVol. III. R

very

very Perfon to receive or reject, as in his difcretion he fhall fee Cause.

It is the Opinion of several moft eminent and learned Divines, that our Saviours Words here are not to be taken in an abfolute, but in a comparative Senfe; that is to fay, that when he fays, All manner of Sin and Blafphemy fhall be forgiven unto Men, but the Blafphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto Men; His Meaning is no more, than that all other Sins and Blafphemies fhall fooner be forgiven, than this Blafphemy against the Holy Ghoft. For, fay they, if his Words be to be taken in an abfolute Senfe, without this Comparison, then the first part of his Propofition is not true: For it is certain, that all other Sins and Blafphemies fhall not actually be forgiven, to all Men: But some shall perish in their Sins and Blafphemies. They fay therefore, that our Saviour makes ufe of an Hebrew form of Speech, which is very frequently to be met with in the Scriptures, when the Difficulty of a Thing coming to pass is defigned to be expreffed by the Jewish Authors. Thus they will fay, fuch a Thing fhall come to pafs, but another Thing fhall not come to pafs; where it is not their defign, to affirm of the former Thing that it fhall really come to pafs, but only to exprefs the much greater Difficulty there is, that the latter Thing fhould ever come to pafs. An Inftance we have of this way of Expreffion, in the 5th Chap.

Chapter of St. Matth. where our Saviour fays, Heaven and Earth shall pass away, but my Words fhall never pass away. Now certainly his Meaning there is not, that Heaven and Earth should really pass away, but that they should fooner pafs away than his Words fhould: And fo indeed St. Luke expreffeth it. So that, according to this Interpretation of my Text (which I must confess I think the true one) it appears that our Saviour doth not here fpeak either of the pardonablenefs of fome Sins, or the unpardonableness of others: But only, comparatively, of the much greater Danger and Difficulty of obtaining Pardon for the Blafphemy against the Holy Ghost, than for any other Blafphemy.

1

But, if we are unwilling to take the Words in this comparative Senfe, and think they fhould rather be understood pofitively and absolutely, as they are expreffed, let us take them fo: So let the Sense of them be, that all other Calumnies and Blafphemies may be forgiven unto Men, but this particular Sin, the Blafphemy against the Holy Ghost shall never be forgiven unto Men. Yet I defire it may be observed, in the firft Place, that it will not follow from hence that there is any Sin that shall not be pardoned upon repentance. No ftill this will be a true Propofi tion, namely, that there is no Sin so great, but, if the Sinner do fincerely repent, he may hope for Mercy at Gods Hands. And,