unto you hoâ— that they are prone unto all manner of sinâ— as well as the sinne of unbeliefe but noâ— you see a blessed change in them Therâ—â—fore the sinne of unbeliefe cannot be 〈◊〉 sinne against the holy Ghost as some ideâ—â— have affirmed I now will in a word or two shew yoâ— how that the Saints of God can fall into 〈◊〉 unpardonable sinnes though they may faâ—â— into many great sinnes as you heard Yet say for the comfort of all distressed consciences that are incumbred with false feare from false grounds whose feare becauâ—â— their sinnes appeare great in their apprehension and so from a false ground as said before Therefore from hence they conclude that they have sinned against the holy Ghost and that thus their sinnes are unpardonable Therefore for the helping oâ— such poore distressed consciences out of these false feares and to satisfie their consciences that they have committed this unpardonable sinne I addes these two reasons â—â—r their satisfaction The first Reason is this because all the â—â—ints of God are all borne of God Joh. 5. 18. That is they are Regeneraâ—â—d and thus made new creatures Joh. 3. 3 â—â—d so are saved Tit. 3. 5. and clensed Cor. 6. 11. by the Spirit of their God â—â—d so enter in with the Lord Jesus who is â—â—e doore Joh. 1. 10. and enter into the â—â—ait gate Luk. 13. 24. who is the Way the truth and the life Joh. 14. 6. You Saints that are full of false feares â—â—t me speake unto you I say that you cannot commit this unpardonable sinne beâ—â—use the Father gave his Sonne unto this â—â—ery end and purpose for to redeeme his â—â—ople from their sinnes Tit. 2. 14. I say â—ehovah hath for his owne names sake forâ—â—ven all your sinnes Isa. 43. 23 44 22. â—er 31. 22 32 31 33 33 6. And Heb. â— 12. Mich. 7. 18 19. Psal. 103. 13. Who 〈◊〉 a God like unto thee that will pardon the â—â—iquities of the remnant of his heritage and â—ill subdue them into the bottome of the Seas The second Reason is The Lord Jesus â—nd his Saints have all one onenesse â— Cor. 5. 7. They that be joyned unto the Lord Jesus they be one Spirit yea one â—â— union one in love one with the Lord Jesus and with all the three Persons in all the glorious Trinitie See to this purpose Ioh. 17. 23 25 26. I in them and they â—â— me I say God is aboundantly glorious unto beleevers yea to multiply pardon Isa. 55. 7. And for a farther Relation of Gods froâ— mercy in pardoning of those that turn unto him I note these severall places 〈◊〉 Scriptures for confirmation 2 Chron. 30 9â— 33 12 13. Gen. 18. 15. Exod. 6. 1 9 11 26 â— 7 20 6 34 7 8. Numb. 20. 8. Deut. 4. 30 31 5 10 17 18 28 1 15 v. 30 1 11 32 4 3 6 10. 2. Sam. 7 8 9 15 12 13 24 10 11 13 1 King 8. 23. Levit. 20. 5 10. Nehem. 9. 17. Psal. 21. 7 35 5 7 5 10 86 5 10 111 4. Psal. 145. Isa. 30. 18 54 8 9 10 55 3 7. Ier. 12. 15 16 18 8. Ezek. 18. 32 33 14 15 16. Hos. 2. 14 19 23. Ioel. 2. 13. Ion. 4. 2. Ier. 3. 2 12 14 Luk. 1. 50 58 72. Luk. 18. 4 6 36. Luk. 7. 47 23 34 43. Rom. 4. 7. 2 Cor. 1. 3. Ephesi 2. 4. 1 Tim. 1. 13 15 16 18. These places of Scripture doe set forth the freenesse of Gods love unto all beleevers Yea I say they doe shew the freenesse of Gods love in his shewing of mercy and in manifesting of it unto all beleevers who I say shall never come into condemnation because the Lord Jesus Christ hath cast out of them the sin of condemnation Rom. 8. 1. Thus you may see that all beleevers be happy and blessed Oh! the blessednesse of that man as it is in the originall Rom. 8. 32 â—9 vers. Who shall lay any thing unto the charge of Gods chosen It is God that justifieth Who shall condemne It is Christ which is dead yea rather which is risen from the dead who is also at the right hand of God and maketh request for us Who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall Tribulation or Anguish or Persecution or Famine or Nakednesse or Perill or Sword As it is written for thy sake are we killed all the day long we are accounted as sheepe for the slaughter In these words the sure state of the saints is set forth unto us to shew Gods Omnipotent will and purpose which never changes It is not the Divell nor any belonging unto him can alter Gods â—ove to his Saints or doe them any wrong Christ I say hath set them in a glorious libertie Gal. 5. 1. Ioh. 8. 38. Now I come to shew unto you what the sinne against the â—oly Ghost is The sinne against the holy Spirit iâ— when a man hath been inlightned with the heavenly truth Christ Jesus by the holy Spirit of the Father who is that Spirit of truth spoken of Ioh. 14. 26. Whose office is to seale us unto the day of redemption Ephesi 4. 30. And then not onely strive against that truth but also blaspheme that truth as the Jewes did saying He casteth out Devillâ— by Belzebub the Prince of the Devills And thus shall wittingly and willingly against the checks of his owne conscience persecute that truth in his members the Saints because he knows that it is the truth therefore he is of purpose resolved to oppose that sacred truth and to despise that sacred light wherwith he was inlightned also esteeming that sacred blood of Christ as nothing treading it under foot And thus out of a pernicious spirit most wickedly persecutes the truth in his members even the sons and daughters of truth because he knowes that they are the subjects of that sacred truth This is the sinne against the holy Ghost I say The persons that commit this sinne must be knowing persons and men of knowledge Such a one was Julian the Apostate ☞ who notwithstanding his certaine knowledge of Christ to be the Sonne of God yet against knowledge fell off and became a great persecutor of Christ They must be such as are acquainted with the Truth even the Lord Jesus being enlightened with the saving Light of the holy Spirit such were the Scribes and Judas and many other Reprobates which the Scripture speakes of in many places Judas sinned against his Knowledge and Conscience Cain also in like manner against Knowledge and Conscience his Conscience at that very time informing him that Elshaddai the strong and omnipotent God had respect unto the offering of righteous Abel and that his person was accepted according unto the rule of the Law perfect shall it be accepted Although Cain knew that God had a respect unto his brother Abel and to his offering yet notwithstanding hee did against his knowledge persecute his brother as S. Iohn sayth Abels
Latine tongue and expressed such heavenly expressions that no Reprobate could expresse the like heavenly expressions ☞ If you doe but looke into the book called The Relation of Francis Spyra therein you may see more fuller of him then my tongue shal expresse at this time my conscience bidding me keep within the compasse of Christian charitie judging him to be a glorified Saint in heaven using in I say the time of his distresse such unexpressable words which I in all the dayes of my life never heard nor read of could be in any dying or living Reprobate I doe also bring in S. Peter who with him denyed the truth forswore that he never knew him whom formerly he professed yea wittingly though not willingly he denyed the Lord Jesus who by his most precious blood bought him yet he for all that found and obtained pardon For it is said that the Lord Jesus after he had denyed him looked back upon him Then saith the Text Peter remembred the words of Christ who said unto him Before the cock crow twice thou shalt deny me thrice Then he remembred the words of Christ and went out and wept bitterly I say Christ told him that Satan had a desire for to winnow him as wheat was sifted But Christ told him that he had prayed him that his faith should not fayle Luk. 22. 31. intimating thereby that this fall of blessed Peter was but a permission of Satans temptation and tryall of his faith rather then eternall rejection to shew unto after-posterities that Satan may sometime by permission have power given him to batter the faith of the strongest Saint and to make him sometime lye downe in sorrow as the holy Ghost useth the phrase in Esaiah 50. 10 11. This Peter after his Conversion or after the manifestations of pardon he was more couragious then before And the reason why blessed Peter fell so grievously was as I conceive only to let him know that the strength he had was not his owne neither could he stand by that strength but onely in and by the strength of a stronger then himselfe was and afterward to make and to cause him to wait on the Lord that so he in the time of want might renew his strength as the holy Ghost doth use the phrase in Isaiah 40. 31 32. The sinne of unbeliefe which some maintaine to be the sinne against the holy Ghost is not this sinne If it had bin this sinne then had there some of Gods Worthies committed this sinne As for instance Moses although a beleever and faithfull in his place Heb. 3. 2. 5. yet in the very time of tryall was found unbeleeving Numb. 20. 11. And to shew that he was found unbeleeving the Lord told him that he should not bring the people into the Land of Canaan as the 12 vers. tells you Zachariah though a just man as the word testifieth Luk. 1. 6. yet he was found unbeleeving vers. 20. and to shew unto all posteritie this that it was a sinne God did inflict a temporall judgement upon his body Also blessed Thomas although a beleever yet he was found unbeleeving Joh. 20. 25. And to confirme that which I have spoken reade to the 26. vers. In which vers the Lord Jesus stoops unto the act of Thomas his unbeliefe and and confirming his faith with his willingnesse to cure his unbeliefe I will but give you one instance more to confirme what I have hitherto spoken concerning this sinne of unbeliefe which is also supposed of some to be the sinne against the holy Ghost I will bring in these places which they unskilfully name to prove this sinne of unbeliefe to be the sinne against the holy Ghost I say the Disciples of Christ were in the maine poynt of Faith found unbeleeving questioning the truth which Christ did formerly and at that time discover unto them Mark 9. 10. Luk. 24. 21. And to shew that it was a sinne not to beleeve he gently reproves their unbeleeving spirits v. 25. 26. and afterwards labours by the expposition of those Prophets which had before prophesied of him was now since his resurection manifested to be a cleare truth which they before beleeved not vers. 27. And thus I have proved ☜ that the sinne of unbeliefe which some maintaine to be the sinne against the holy Ghost is not this sinne I come now to handle their proofes which they produce for their consequences Ioh. 8. 24. If you beleeve not that I am he yee shall dye in your sinnes Upon these words I thus paraphrase The Lord Jesus convinces the Jewes of their unbeliefe because that they beleeved not that he was the Christ And the reason of their unbeliefe was because they beleeved not that it was he that was to come even the Messias but they looked on him with a carnall eye being I say more carnall then spirituall looking onely for a King whose Kingdome and Reigne shall be altogether temporall And so I say dreaming to Reigne with him in this world they looked that he should have established and restored that their Kingdome But then they seeing the personall presence of Christ so contemptible as the Prophet Jeremiah saith and also the Prophet Isaiah His presence shall be by us not desirable or contemptible When we see him he shall have neither forme nor beauty Therefore these Jewes when they saw Christ with their naturall eyes onely they did not beleeve that he was he which was to com And in the 18. vers. There the Lord Jesus tells the Jewes That he was one that did beare witnesse of himselfe and that the Father did also beare witnesse of him And in the 19. vers. They had a â—esire that he would shew them his Faâ—her Whereupon he tells them That if â—hey had knowne the Father they would also have known him And from hence did 〈◊〉 second cause of their unbeliefe arise And â—ur Saviour Christ tells them plainly That â—f they did not beleeve he was that Christ â—hey should dye in their sinnes Another place is the 1 of Judges 5 vers. How that the Lord having saved the people out of the Land of Aegypt afterwards destroyed them that beleeved not Also Mark 16. 16. He that beleeveth not shall be damned Joh. 3. 18. He that beleeveth not is condemned already because he beleveth not in the Name of the onely begotten Sonne of God Unto this place I doe thus reply That our Lord Jesus doth not absolutely speake of an eternall condemnation if it were spoken of an eternall estate of condemnation then must the Elect themselves be in that estate for their is no difference Rom. 3. 23. The Elect themselves before they be in the estate of faith are first in the estate of unbeleeving 2 Cor. 6. 11. Such were some of you but now ye are washed but yee are sanctified but yee are justified in tâ—â— Name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spâ—â—â— of our God In these words you may see the condâ—tion of beleevers set forth
such a soule as this pardoned I can in no wise yeeld and so goe against Justice Justice according unto truth must be a subject unto me because I am the very Spirit of Truth it selfe and have a proper relation and dependancy upon the other two Persons in the most sacred and glorious Trinitie And therefore I say Justice must yeeld unto me as well as to you You know that soule that sinneth that soule shall dye But this soule hath sinned therefore this soule shall dye And because thy Divine Wisedome did never appoynt thy willed act wisely to set thy love and mercy on worke to contrive a way for such wilfull sinners that so their guilt might have beene washed off Therefore as they are in guilt even so let their guilt remaine to all eternitie This sinner hath out-lived grace and the day of redemption is past and all hopes of mercy is now expired Shall therefore such a soule find mercy who hath thus wilfully opposed me and turned from me Shall he I say find pardon He that hath often sent me away sad shall such a soule as this find mercy This soule I say that hath more then once or twice sent me away sad whensoever I came to execute my Office This vild wretch that hath made flight of me and of those Sacred Dictates which I discovered unto him at such a time and at such a time Surely as I am God equall with you this soule that hath thus and thus sinned ' he shall never find mercy If he find mercy if he be washed in thy Sonnes blood from this his guilt then where is the unitie in us The glorious Trinitie and the most glorious conformitie in our unitie If that this Soules sinnes be pardoned where then is the firmnesse of our Decree If this soules sinnes be pardoned then is our unitie in Trinitie and conformity in unitie overthrowne and the word of truth is falsifyed which shewed unto the world what onenesse there was with us before these worlds were created What shall all our onenesse be dis-joyned for this soules sake Upon this supposed speech the other two Persons give in as it were their consent against the soule then standing at the Barre of Iustice and God speaking to that guiltie soule in this manner As a Iudge doth unto a Malefactor being cast by the the Iury that goeth upon life and death The Iudge telling the Malefactor that he can doe no lesse then the Iury of life and death hath done And therefore I must and doe pronounce sentence of death against thee according unto the Iuries Verdict it being according to righteous judgement I say God in like manner speakes unto the guiltie soule saying as it were in this manner I have pleaded hard in thy behalfe and we cannot prevaile in a full consent for thy personall recovery because we cannot attaine unto the third Persons consent The Sentence of death is passed upon thee according unto the Sentence of a Divine Law and according unto our everlasting Decree written and established in our Divine Law and sealed by all our unanimous consents Upon this one Sentence we hold all in Onenesse we cannot dis-joynt our unitie in Trinitie and unitie in a glorious conformity The Law of the third Person is also the Law of the first Person and the Law of the first Person is also the Law of the second Person and so a generall stabilitie in a blessed and glorious Trinitie And thus the Law of the three glorious Persons is in one Seame like unto the Lawes of the Medes and Persians which altereth not Now because I would not have the Consciences of men troubled because I have shewed you the sad condition of the soule that hath the guilt of sinne upon it I will I say speake a word in due season unto those distressed Consciences and I will a little enlarge my selfe although in regard of the weaknesse of body I am almost spent My beloved friends I speake unto all of you but especially unto beleevers I say there is abundance of mercie in God for you I say it lyeth hid and treasured up in the bowels of Divine goodnesse and thus to be revealed in due time unto you in the Lord Jesus when God his Father breakes out in the sweet influences of his Love in the object of his Love who is the Lord Jesus The breathings out of the manifestation of the Lord Jesus shall be the breathings out of thy Graces and of thy Solaces and the in-comming of the Lord Jesus shall give light unto all those manifestations of thy soules pardons which thou haddest ever since that thou wert estated in Christ which for a long time hath layne hid in the Hive of thy unbeleefe and hath beene the originall cause of making you to call in question your estate in Christ and your interest in the Lord Jesus and that object upon whom your ever-being dependeth There is I say this one thing which is the onely cause which makes many a distressed Conscience to call in question his soules interest in Christ because hee findes in his owne apprehension a world of soules-deadnesse and weaknesse in his growth of grace I say unto thee whosoever thou art that standest to heare me this day that thou in thy soules distresse art altogether unfit to bee thine owne judge in the want of thy soules comfort thou wilt be ready to say that which thou wilt be againe ready to unsay in thy injoyment of true comfort as David did Psal. 116. 11. You know that there may be in the midst of Winter aboundance of Bees in the Hive although unto the eye of our sense and reason there be but two or three playing about the Hives mouth Even so I say although there but a few graces in thy soule now in the time of this thy affliction I say this time of thy affliction hath not lessened any of thy former graces which thou formerly didst enjoy I say it hath but covered over those thy graces in thy sense and feeling Thy graces be all still where they were in thy first installment into the state of grace Wee have a Proverb That the Spring brings forth all those Herbs and Plants which lay dead all the Winter before Even so I say unto thee That the Spring which is the Morning of the in-comming of the Lord Jesus shall receive all those bosome-discourses which lay dead in thy soule In the time of thy ascension the Sonne of Righteousnesse shall arise and shine upon thee by the blessed force and glorious power of God the Father and so cause the Spirit of God to cast into thy soule a glorious discovery of the interest of thy well-being It is not thy want of grace that is the cause of thy soules complaints but it is the onely want of thy discoverie of them that is the cause of thy soules grievance There 's but a curtaine as it were drawne betweene thee and thy injoyments of all thy graces all thy graces are within that curtaine as the Priests of the old Law were sometimes within the holy place When this curtaine is once drawne then will all thy injoyments appear then shalt thou be swallowed up in the very life of discovery I confesse Sometimes the life of discoverie may bee dis-joynted from the life of injoyment for a small time The Saints have an absence in the midst of their injoyment Yet blessed bee that Divine absence which afterwards wins us unto a Divine enjoyment of him who for a time was pleased to absent himselfe I say here is the comfort of beleevers that a temporall absence is not an eternall withdrawment Blessed bee God who though hee doth sometimes withdraw the sence and feeling of a Divine presence in their enjoyment yet in the want of that enjoyment the Saints enjoy a Divine enjoyment of the Lord Jesus Although the Lord Jesus in thy sense and feeling bee with-drawne from thee yet note this one Consequence It is impossible that hee should ever with-draw himselfe from thee Thou dost enjoy the same presence now which thou didst enjoy ever since thy very first estatement in the state of grace Yesterday thou didst injoy the Lord Jesus and so thou shalt enioy him in like manner for ever Yea with an eternall most glorious unspeakable inioyment So much for this time FINIS Mat. 5. 35. Ezek. 43. â— 8. Luk. 1. 20. Numb. 2. 12. Mat. 26. 70 72 74 75. Isa. 55. 3. Psa. 32. 15 1 King 15 5. The Reas. 1 King 11 9. Quest Answ What the sin against the holy Ghost is Rom. 7. 24 Why it is called the sin against the holy Ghost
he would never faile David Those whom Jehovah sweares to shall never want protection I say though this holy man sinned so grievously yet he found and obtained pardon and was accounted of God a perfect man yea even in that very time of seeing saving in the matter of Vriah 1 King 15. 5. All sinnes committed against great gifts and graces are not this sinne against the holy Ghost If it had beene this sinne then had Solomon also committed this sin against the holy Ghost for he sinned against the graces and estate of a Saint-seeing spirit who was angry with him 1 King 11. 9. God appeared unto him three several times and did discover himselfe unto him in an aboundant manner as you may see in 2 Chro. 1. 7 11 12. 1 King 3. 5 12. 1 King 9. 3. chap. 11. 9. I say Solomon sinned in a high nature against the largest requests that ever man had granted unto him yea he sinned against all those graces which Elshaddai the strong Omnipotent God infused into him He angred the Lord yea he did evill in the sight of the Lord 1 King 11. 6. He is said To walke contrary unto the good wayes of David his Father and as Solomon angred the Lord even so the Lord was angry also with him vers. 9. who had then appeared unto him twice He was a man endued with more knowledge then ever any meer creature was endued with yea he dived into the nature and use of Plants yea into the very Hysop that sprung upon the wall I am perswaded if that the writings of Solomon had not beene lost in the Capitvity which he had written upon the nature and use of Plants and Herbs then our Physitians would have beene next under God able to have cured all manner of diseases whatsoever except Hereditary diseases If God did furnish him with so much humane knowledge and skill in naturall things then much more did God indue him with all heavenly graces I say Jehovah the strong Omnipotent God gave unto him aboundantly all wisedome and graces at his request 2 Chro. 1. 7. He had a great inlargement of graces yea grace I say as large as the waters in the Ocean Seas He had the largest stock of grace that ever any man had save the Lord Jesus who was God and Man in one Person If any man shall aske me the question whether ever any meer man shall attaine unto the like measure of gifts and graces as Solomon did I answer Solomon was a Type and figure of our Lord Jesus and therefore it was necessary that he should be endued with more gifts and graces then any other after him saving the Lord Christ whom he Typified that so he might in that age of the world represent the Substance of him of whom he was the shadow Solomon was a true figure of Christ as he was a subject of grace and not as he was a subject of foul sinnes I say that all these and such like Typicall representations of Christ are now since his comming in the flesh ceased he being the Substance of all those Types figures and shadowes But as the Ceremoniall Law was a figure of Christ in its Typicall observations as S. Paul speaketh Heb. 10. 1. Saying Now the Law is the shadow of good things to come Therefore although beleevers now doe not enjoy such a larg measure of grace as Solomon did yet they shall enjoy as true grace according to measure as ever he did I say no man shall ever enjoy such a large measure of common grace as he did yet there 's the same measured fulnesse as is by Christ measured out for his Saints without being figures as Solomon was though he most grievously sinned against so large a stock of grace as he possessed yet not withstanding he obtained pardon 2 Sam. 7. 15. Psal. 89. 24. 3 34. 2. Sam. 12. 24. according to this promise of Jehovah himselfe in these words My loving kindnesse will I never take away from him my truth also and my mercy shall be with him he shall cry unto me thou art my Father my God and the Rock of my Salvation My covenant wil I not breake nor alter the thing that is gone out of my mouth ☜ Although in truth these words of David doe most truly and properly allude unto Christ himselfe as the Substance with whom the everlasting covenant was made by the Father for the worke of Salvation in due time yet they are shadowed out unto us by the person of Solomon who was the shadow of the Substance Christ and whose very Name Solomon being Wisedome carries in it selfe the true portraiture of Christ the Substance who is the true Solomon the true Wisedome of the Father In these words is the purpose promise of Jehovah confirmed from his former resolution in the shewing and bestowing mercy on Solomon notwithstanding all his sinnes committed against Gods great love and mercy shewed unto him He sinned deepely and in a very high measure and did as it were out-live grace in regard of the life and sweet sense and being of grace Yet I say he enjoyed the former sense and sweet enjoyment of grace againe I might aboundantly confirme the truth of this poynt more fully but I have other matter to deliver Francis Spyra Though he denyed the truth of the Lord Jesus against his Knowledge and Conscience and against a secret Dictate and a sudden voice which forbad him not to doe that which he was resolved to doe I say a secret Dictate bad him take heed unto himselfe and to looke back unto his former estate and not to deliver up all into the hands of those that would bring both him and his into bondage and not to yeeld unto that Legate who told him that if he would forswear the truth of the Lord Jesus and yeeld to them in all poynts he and his should be maintained When this Francis Spyra was going about to subscribe unto their wicked assignment then even then he heard a secret Dictate which forbad him not to goe against that truth which he formerly had professed yet notwithstanding he did wilfully deny the truth of the Lord Jesus yet afterwards he had remorce of conscience and was deeply wounded in his soule and conscience Yea he afterward made Recantation and was deeply wounded and his conscience tormenting him he made a large Confession of his sinnes and the hainousnesse of them and withall acknowledging that there was aboundance of mercy in God if he could repent saying If I could but Repent then there would be mercy for me but I cannot Repent of my present state condition it being like the state of Cain Saul and Judas I confesse that if God should damne me he might be just in all his dealings with me When those which were about him bad him pray he told them that he could not pray yet afterward they got him to pray and it is reported of him that he prayed in the