if he, that is guilty of the Blafphemy against the Holy Ghoft, do not or fhall not find Mercy, it is purely because he doth not, or cannot, repent of it. That is to fay, when a Man is come to fuch a high degree of Malice,and Impudence, and Obftinacy in finning, that he dares affront the Holy Ghost, by afcribing his Works to the Devil, it is juft in God to deny that Perfon that Grace which is neceffary to his Repentance, and so to his Pardon; and to leave him irremediably in the Condition he hath brought himself into. It is, upon this Suppofition of this only, that the Sin against the Holy Ghoft is unpardonable. But this is the Cafe of many other Sinners, befides thofe that have committed this Sin. Many Perfons may have finned fo long, and fo obftinately, that God may have totally forfaken them, before they die, and then it is certain of these Perfons, that their Sins fhall never be forgiven, because they shall never repent.

So that this unpardonableness of the Sin against the Holy Ghoft is no Bar, in the leaft, to our exhorting and encouraging all forts of Perfons to Repentance, even the greatest Sinners. Nor any Bar to their Hopes of Pardon,if they do repent; no more than the Guilt of any other grievous Sin is. We may,for all that, fafely promife Pardon to all true Penitents, for all Sins whatfoever without Exception, and, in the fame Degree, we can perfuade them to repent, in the fame Degree,

we

we may hope of them. Athanafius his Words do fitly come in, upon this Occafion. "God "did not, faith he, fay to him that blaf"phemes and repents, it fhall not be forgi

ven, but to him that Blafphemes and re- See Queft. "mains in his Blafphemy. For there is no ad Antioc. "Sin that God will not pardon to them, 72. p. 285. "that worthily repent.

But Secondly, I add this farther, that this Saying of our Saviours, taking it in its rigorous Senfe, doth not exclude all thofe, that Sin against the Holy Ghost, from all poffibility of Repentance, and therefore confequently from all poffibility of obtaining Pardon. For there are feveral degrees of Blafphemy against the Holy Ghoft. This Blafphemy in fome Perfons, may be aggravated with more Knowledge and Wilfulness and Malice, than in others; and these others, that Sin with lefs Knowledge, and lefs Malice, and less Wilfulness, are more capable Objects of God's Grace and Mercy and Forgiveness. And, befides, it is enough for the verifying these kind of Threatnings, that they shall generally, and for the most Part, be inflicted: Tho' not always, and in all CaEfes, and on all Perfons. Those very Perfons, that our Saviour here chargeth with the Sin against the Holy Ghoft, and that afterwards Crucified him, yet thofe very Perfons our Saviour prays for, that their Sin might be forgiven, and thofe very Perfons St. Peter afterwards preacheth to, and calleth

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upon them, to wash away their Sin by Baptifin and Repentance. This is an Argument, that the Cafe of all them was not desperate, but that fome of them might repent and be forgiven. And one of the Fathers doubts not to fay (I think it is St. Ambrofe) that fome of those three Thousand, that were converted by St. Peter's firft Sermon, were of thefe Pharifees that had been guilty of the Blafphemy of the Holy Ghoft (See Mr. H. F. 22.)

There is nothing more pofitively threatned, in the New Teftament, than actual Damnation to the unworthy receivers of the Lords Supper, among the Corinthians. He that eateth and drinketh unworthily, faith St. Paul, eateth and drinketh Damnation to himSelf. Now, let us take Damnation here in what Senfe we will, it will be very hard to fay, that all thofe that did then eat or drink unworthily, or have done fo at any time fince, did or fhall actually incur that Punishment. God Almighty, like all other Lawgivers, when he makes Laws and annexes Punishments to them, to deter from the Tranfgreffion of them, doth not thereby fo tye up his own Hands, but that he hath still the Power of granting Repentance, and upon that Pardon, as he fees caufe: And, in the midst of his Judgment, his Mercy will find a Place, if the Sinner, by a monftrous degree of Obftinacy, hath not made himself uncapable of it.

But

But enough upon this Head. Having thus given an Account (or at least endeavoured it) of all the Difficulties in the Text, that that remains is in the fifth and laft Place to enquire, whether Chriftians at this Day can be guilty of this Blafphemy against the Holy Ghost: And what thofe Sins are that do most nearly approach to it.

This Enquiry is the more needful, becaufe feveral Perfons, under the Power of Melancholy, are apt to fancy that they are guilty of this unpardonable Sin, tho', as it may appear from what has been faid, without any Reafon at all. I fhall briefly comprife what I have to fay, upon this Head, in thefe following Particulars.

First of all, if we take the Blafphemy against the Holy Ghoft precifely as our Saviour here discourseth of it, it is impoffible that any Man now living fhould be guilty of it; because no Man can be in thofe Circumftances, that they were, whom he here charges it upon; they were Eye-witnesses of his Miracles, and fo had the greatest Evidence that was poffible of the Truth of them, and yet attributed them to Sorcery and Witchcraft. But now none, but those that lived at that Time, were capable of blafpheming in this manner. Secondly, It is impoffible for one, that profeffeth Christianity, fo long as he profeffeth it, to be guilty of the Blafphemy against the Holy Ghoft here spoken of. I do not fpeak, as to the Circumstances

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(for as to those I juft now fpoke) but as to the kind of the Blafphemy, he cannot be guilty of that kind of Blafphemy. For who foever profeffeth Christianity, let him be never fo wicked other ways, yet he pretends to believe that it is the true Religion, and that Chrift was a true Prophet. And, if he pretends or profeffes to believe fo, he cannot at the fame time give out, that Chrift was an Impofter, and wrought his Miracles by the Power of the Devil, which, as I have fhewed, is the only Blafphemy against the Holy Ghoft mentioned in the Gospel.

Thirdly, If there be any Man among us, that is convinced of the Truth of the Matter of Fact concerning our Saviours History, that believes there was fuch a Perfon as Jefus, that he preached fuch a Doctrine, led fuch a Life, wrought fuch Miracles, as he is recorded to have done, and yet, contrary to his own Conviction, faith that this Jefus did thefe extraordinary Works by the Power of the Devil, fuch a Man hath blafphemed the Holy Ghoft in the fame Kind, tho' not with the fame Circumftances, that the Pharifees did. Further, if any one do afcribe the mighty Works, that were done by the Apoftles, and the other first Chriftians, by vertue of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon them, which were as great and as convincing as the Miracles our Saviour himself wrought, I fay, if any one do afcribe thofe to the Devil, being convinced of the Truth of the Matter