have committed it or not and shown withall the great Likelihood That no Christian Reader has I now come to a few Inferences or Uses Inferences which I would leave not only upon the Understandings but upon the Memory And not only upon the Memory but upon the Heart and Affections the Life and Actions of Every Reader That the Great Sinner may not Despair of the Divine Mercy That the faithful Penitent may be encouraged to go on and with Comfort perfect his Repentances That no Man may Presume to continue in any Known Sin And That the Poor Humble Doubting but Devout Christian may be encouraged to go on with a Holy Joy in a Life of Faith and Devotion Piety and Charity Watchfulness and Care Probity and Sanctity Self-denial and Purity Love and Obedience a little longer till his short Day be over and all be well with him and he finds himself admitted ot the New Glories of a better World 1. Practical Inference From the Consideration of what has been said of the Sin against the Holy Ghost Here first Results Matter of Encouragement for the Faithful Penitent to go on very Comfortably but yet very Sincerely too in his Repentances Thou hast faln perhaps from thy Baptismal Innocence and Affronted and Disobey'd a Tender Father ungratefully and unkindly abus'd all the Endearments of a Compassionate Redeemer who was pleased to Die for you before you knew you needed him and have griev'd the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were seal'd to the Day of Redemption Eph. 4.30 That you have done This may be a sad and a dismal Truth But perhaps too you are extreamly Sensible that you have chosen amiss and Resolve to return and to choose Better and Wiser and with the Prodigal St. Luke 13. to arise and go to your Father and say Father I have sinned against Heaven and before Thee and am no more worthy to be call'd thy Son make me as one of thy Servants It may be you find it to be a great Truth what the Wise King tells you Prov. 3.17 That the ways of Religious Wisdom are ways of Pleasantness and all her Paths are Peace And it may be too you have sound what the Prophet says to be as great a Truth A Truth Isai 57. last There is no Peace to the Wicked And finding all this to be true by your own Experience you have been often thinking and are now Resolv'd to return to the Ways of God and a vertuous Course and to be Wise and Happy Why if this be so Speedy and Sincere and Persevering as that you find your self to be in Good earnest with God and your Soul here is then Matter of infinite Incouragement for you to go on with a holy Joy and a very Great Chearfulness That your Labour is not like to be in vain in as much as the Vnpardonable Sin has yet been none of yours The Arms of your Saviour that were once stretcht out upon the Cross to the very Posture of Imbracing are open to receive you too even you Only be sure of This That your Return and your Change be Present Permanent and Vniversal And then the very Blasphemer himself is not excepted He also if he thus go may cause Joy in Heaven among the Beatified Spirits of the Upper World You even you in particular Dear Christian that but lately were afraid you had committed the Vnpardonable Sin may Cause Joy too among the Blessed Inhabitants of these Lovely Regions And if you may oh how should This Thought encourage melt and endear your panting sighing languishing Heart into intire Resolutions of Doing so And indeed tell me truly Christian Is it not infinitely better to Cause Joy in Heaven among the Beatified Spirits of the upper Lovely Regions than Joy only to the Accursed Spirits of Darkness Methinks to a Wise Man it should be infinitely more desirable and chusable to have a good Report of him among the Beautiful Inhabitants of the Upper World than only among a few wicked and mistaken People Here. Methinks it should be much more chusable to Cause Joy to him you have Griev'd even the Holy Spirit of God than to Cause Joy to him who only Rejoices in Hopes of your being made a Partner with him in the Sorrows of Eternity And if you will presently resolve to be so Wise and Happy for if you will you may and these Blessed Spirits desire it and look for it as to Cause Joy among these Blessed and sweet and lovely and glorious Inhabitants the Joy will be your own The Peace and Joy will be your own first and last too Yours here and yours Hereafter You 'll find a present Joy and Peace in the Change far beyond whatever you found in the Ways of Wickedness and in the Paths of Unrighteousness You 'll find upon the Change a far Greater Pleasantness and Ease and Satisfaction in a Religious Course than ever you could find in a Debauch'd an Irregular and a Prophane Life Infinitely more Substantial and lasting Tranquility and Sedateness and Serenity of Mind more lightsomness and chearfulness of Heart in the one than ever you did in the other And besides your own Joys and Peace on Earth you 'll cause Joy among those Kind and Good and Blessed Spirits to whom you Hope to be admitted and with whom you Hope to pass away a Rapturous and a pleasurable Eternity And if you may cause these Joys to your self and them tell me Dear Christian why will you not why should not you be earnest to do so Considering the very Comfortable Hopes you have that the Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost has been none of your Sin And methinks Christian if you would but rationally compare and weigh things and see them as they truly are all the little uneasie Joys and vain Delights of a Sinful Course of any sort should appear very inconsiderable compar'd with the Joys Present and Future which you would bring to your self as well as to the upper Lovely Spirits by your Reformation For if there be no Peace to the wicked no true Joy and if there be Joy in Heaven at the Conversion of a Sinner and Joy to himself too on Earth Joys above and Joys below some Joys in Hand and some in Reversion some Present and some Future can there be a greater Madness than to deny your Self these True Joys for any Iniquity whatever in which there can be neither Peace nor Joy no long Peace or lasting Joy Why will you any longer permit your Self to be thus cheated and abused by the World or the Devil or your own corrupt Affections that would lead you to a Sin and then fain perswade you there is more Peace and Joy in it than in a Life of Purity and Vertue Probity and Sanctity when all this is False And we are assured 't is False both from the Voice of Scripture and the Information of Experience There is no Peace to the Wicked but the Ways of Vertue are Ways of Pleasantness
Difference between speaking barely against the Son of Man before he was manifested to be so by Miracles and by the Power of the Holy Ghost and the Speaking against him after he was manifested to be so by Miracles and by the Power of the Holy Ghost The one as I said might be a pardonable Ignorance But the other must be an inexcusable willful Blindness SECT III. The Blasphemy of the Pharisees Vnpardonable no longer than wilfully and Impenitently continued in BUT now consider Christian neither was the Blasphemy of the Pharisees an unpardonable Sin any longer than 't was wilfully and impenitently continued in This I prove from their very Case here who were guilty of this Sin None could deny our Lord more or oppose him more than his very Crucifiers yet even of them his very words are to God Father forgive them That is Deny them not the means of Forgiveness which is Repentance and deny them not Forgiveness if they shall Return and Repent And no doubt Christ was heard in all that he pray'd for So that even they that at first resisted and opposed Christ if afterwards they receiv'd and acknowledg'd him by the convincing Considerations of his Doctrine and his Miracles and with a sincere and humble Conformity of Heart and Life to his Faith and Doctrine laid hold on God's Mercy in Christ even to these Pardon and Remission is not deny'd by the Gospel Something of an Example of this we have in St. Peter in that shameful and wretched and dismal fall of his in denying our Saviour Here was no Ignorance for he knew him and own'd him to be the Messias or the Christ But yet being prevail'd upon by a sudden Fear He deny'd him and not only deny'd the Lord that bought him three Times but swore him away too St. Matt. 26.74 Here was a disowning and denying of him indeed and That too after he had been convinced that he was the Messias by the Power and Influence of the Holy Ghost and had upon That receiv'd him and acknowledg'd him and own'd him A Denial of them therefore against his own Light Knowledge and Conviction And what you 'll say was not this a Sin against the Holy Ghost To this I Answer Had he obstinately persisted in it wilfully continued in it and liv'd and dy'd in it it had been the Sin against the Holy Ghost But in St. Peter's Case there are always three Things very Considerable First 'T was by a sudden Fear a sudden Surprize of That Passion that he fell Secondly The Quickness and Bitterness of his Repentance His Master look'd about upon him and He considered what he had done and recall'd himself and went out and wept Bitterly Thirdly What was most considerable The truth of his Repentance appear'd by the Truth and Perseverance of his Reformation For no Fears could afterward any more prevail upon him For he had the Courage to die for him whom he had before deny'd These were three Things that were infinitely Considerable And here Dear Christian give me leave to stop a little to bring them home to your own Case even yours in particular Perhaps with St. Peter thou hast faln and faln too Knowingly and Wittingly against Knowledge Light and Conviction If so Consider what he did and go do thou likewise and like him do it Quickly Sincerely and Perseveringly and you shall not fail of Mercy Perhaps a sudden Fear or a sudden Passion or a sudden Surprize has betray'd thee to a Sin Nay perhaps 'thas not only been sudden but deliberate with open Eyes and a full Consent of the Will However do thou as he did Return to thy offended Saviour with Penitential Sorrows By Faith lay hold on God's Mercies in him Shew him the Truth of thy Repentance by the Sincerity of thy Reformation Crown 〈◊〉 Perfect thy Repentance by 〈◊〉 to obtain the Contrary Virtue 〈◊〉 Living in it But withall do it 〈◊〉 as he did and persevere sincereâ—â— too and doubt not of the Mercies of Eternity He did it Quickly He did not stay till his Death-bed fill'd him with variety of Distractions Pains and Agonies and unfitted him for it He did not stay till the worst of his days those which lay upon his hands and were good for Nothing He did not keep those for God which he knew not what to do with himself but He did it Quickly He did it Sincerely next As appeared by the Shower of Penitential Tears which could not have dropt so soon had he not been in good Earnest with his dearest Lord and had they not proceeded from a heart swollen equally with Grief and Love And Last of all he did it Perseveringly And in this Respect go and do thou likewise Shew him thy Love in the sincere Permanency of thy Reformation as he did who having thrice following deny'd him did in a little time after say to him thrice following these Affectionate words and made them good too Lord thou knowest that I love thee St. Joh. 21.15 16 17. Hast thou faln Why oh why wilt thou for any Hopes or Expectations Any Fears or Desires any Delights or Advantanges continue a day longer in thy Sin Do but look yonder in a holy Meditation to that Lovely Futurity which so many wise Men have been content to live and content to die for and then see if you can be the Person that can think fit to venture so much for so little Look in a quick and a piercing Thought Look yonder to what eye has not seen nor ear heard nor the Heart of man conceiv'd and think then whether a wise Man should be able to find it in his Heart to venture all this for some unsatisfactory and dishonourable Iniquity Once more do but raise your Meditations Dear Christian to the lovely Regions of beatified Spirits Regions which cost thy Saviour an Agony and a Bloody Sweat a Crucifixion and Death it's self to purchace you the Hopeful Possibility of them and then see in That Thought if you can alway be content they should cost you Nothing Nothing of Penitential Sorrows Nothing of the Pains of Subduing a Temptation Nothing of the Self-denial of being without the Pleasures of a Sin Nothing of the Diligence and Watchfulness and Care of a Reformed State Come then O come my Soul say Seeing our Case is yet Hopeful at least not Desperate let us from this moment be content that one short Life should cost us as much as 〈…〉 to till all be over and ended 〈◊〉 we are consign'd to our Nâ—w 〈◊〉 unknown and eternal State and Condition SECT IV. How any Person may assuredly know whether he has been Guilty of the Sin against the Holy Ghost HAving seen what the Sin against the Holy Ghost is That is what it was in the Pharisees I shall Presently shew what it is in them who have been baptized and have been Believers But before I come to That I will stop a little to shew how any Person may assuredly Judge whether he have committed
your Self And if so Then as I said you cannot chuse but with Tears of Hopes and Joys and Grief and Love Return to him quickly by Repentance and Persevere and Hold on in a New and a Better Obedience Seeing there is upon These Terms Hopes for Thee even Thee too To Examine a little further Hast thou been guilty of an Vtter Willful and Spiteful rejecting of the Gospel of Salvation by the Holy Jesus Hast thou been guilty of This notwithstanding that in thy Conscience thou wert convinced that Jesus is the Christ and that Faith and Holiness is the Way to be Saved Hast thou been guilty of an advised and absolute falling away from the Profession of the Faith of Christ so far that against former Knowledge and Conscience thou dost maliciously Oppose and Blaspheme the Holy Spirit of God in the Word and in the Ordinances of the Gospel Hast thou so far rejected resisted and utterly quenched all the Perswasions and Motions of the Spirit of God working formerly upon your Heart and Affections as out of hatred to Christ to Oppose and Deny and Disown him and his Doctrines Or so far as thus to Crucifie to your self afresh the Son of God and by disowning him to put him to open Shame Heb. 6.6 Treading under foot the Son of God and counting the Blood of the Covenant wherewith you were sanctified an unholy Thing or Thus done despite to the Spirit of Grace Then indeed hadst thou also totally and finally continued in this State and liv'd and dy'd in it hadst thou been Guilty of this Vnpardonable Sin Which Sin by the way is also called the Sin against the Holy Ghost and becomes Unpardonable because 't is against the Office of the Holy Ghost and against the Gracious Operations of the Holy Spirit whose Business and Office 't is to perswade us to receive Christ crucified and the Faith and Doctrine of the Gospel Well Though thou hast then been a Sinner and unkindly Grieved the Holy Spirit of Love yet thou hast been no Apostate That is Thou hast yet been Guilty of no Willing Malicious Total Falling off from Christ and the Faith and Doctrine of the Gospel tendred to thee by the Holy Ghost and against the Light and Convictions of That Sacred Spirit thou hast not yet denied him and by a willful Blindness oppos'd him too If things are thus with Thee Sinner as I verily believe they are Come be so far Comforted as chearfully but yet Quickly and Sincerely to return to thy offended God and Saviour and do not stay in the Confines of Desperation any longer than you Dwell in your Sin Nay for thy Consolation and Encouragement in thy Speedy Return to thy offended Father in the Faith and Name of Jesus I have This further to add concerning the Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost That the Sin it self is only upon this Account Vnpardonable because it hath a finally Impenitent Temper joyn'd with it For otherwise were it possible that such a Sinner should Repent by a Sincere and Persevering Repentance there would be no doubt of his Pardon Even the Blasphemer of the Holy Spirit himself Repenting Returning Believing Laying hold on the Mercies of God in the Lord Jesus and Coming in to his Faith and Love and Obedience shall have Mercy Here stop a little Dear Christian and be perswaded to Consider the great Cause you have to Resolve presently and intirely to cast off the Sin that does so easily beset you and to choose Wiser and Better and to Return to the Ways of your Master with Speed and Care and Consolation too Do it Quickly and Sincerely and I do assure you your Case is not yet Desperate Oh that This Consideration might melt thee once more into Tears of Grief and Love and Joy too Tears of Hope and Penitential Tears And how can it choose but do so That there should be Balm in Gilead for thee even Thee too And that for Thee there should be a Physician there Let this make it an evil and a Bitter Thing to thee as the Prophet speaks Jer. 2.19 That thou hast forsaken the Lord. Evil and Bitter let it appear to thee That thou hast held out in any Known Sin against so much Tenderness and Compassion Love and Pity Long-suffering and Forbearance which St. Paul says an Ingenuous Temper would have made another use of Rom. 2.4 Evil and Bitter let it appear to thee That thou hast held out in any Darling Vice so long against so many Gracious Calls and Invitations and Wooings of Thee to be Wise and Happy Evil and Bitter let it appear to thee That thou hast held out so long and taken little or no Notice of the Dying Words of a crucified Master but hast dis-regarded what he left thee in Charge when he went away Evil and Bitter it must needs appear to thee to have Held out so Long against the Calls and Invitations of Agonizing Love Speaking to thee meltingly and Saying If ye Love me keep my Commandments Come Dear Christian after such a Thought as This Try if thou can'st find it in thy Heart to Return to Affront him again as bad as ever by any Known Sin Try if in this Thought you can go on and still find it in your Heart to Affront him as much as ever by the voluntary Omission of any Known necessary Duty And then presently in a Holy Meditation look up to him with Reverential Love where he is now Preparing a Place for you if you will and say to him with an affectionate Humility Blessed Jesu Long hast thou staid for me and not given me up to a Reprobate Spirit but thou shalt stay no longer Thou hast long look'd for me and not given me up to a Spirit of Desperation but thou shalt look for me no longer I can hold out no longer I will hold out no longer against so much Love and Mercy So much Patience and Forbearance So much Long-suffering and Goodness I will I can hold out no longer Let the Sin promise what it will I will Hold out no longer against thee Let the Duty cost what it will I can hold out no longer against the endearing Calls and Intreaties of Bleeding Groaning Agonizing Dying Love No I cannot But seeing I have this Comfort that I have not Blasphemed thy Spirit or denied Thee and have so great Cause to Hope That I have not Committed the Vnpardonable Sin I am infinitely encouraged to come and to come joyfully to do Thy Will And I will come Quickly for I know the Night comes when none can work SECT VI. The first Practical Inference or Instance of Application from the Consideration of the Nature and Meaning of the Sin against the Holy Ghost Viz. That 't is Matter of great Encouragement for the Faithful Penitent to go on very Comfortably but yet very Sincerely in his Repentances HAving thus finish'd my Three first Heads of Discourse and shewn plainly what this Sin is and How we may assuredly know whether we
and all her Paths are Peace So says the Language of the Scripture And the Voice of Experience that says the same No Peace Nothing but Stings and Gnawings Shame and Dishonour Lashings and Rendings Inward Frettings and Uneasiness Discomposures and Disorders Heart-akings and Heaviness of Soul Fearfulness and Dissatisfactions of Mind Unquiet Days and Restless Nights attend a Sinful Course And for the Truth of all This I dare venture to appeal to the Sinner's own Experience And is This That which you like better than your own Inward Peace Is This That which you like better than you do to Cause Joy in Heaven by your Conversion from Sin to God and to Recover your own Peace and Joy again here and to make way for the extatick Joys of Futurity Come now Christian upon a View of both take which of the two you please Either the Stings and Gnawings The Shame and the Dishonour The Lashings and the Rendings The Inward Frettings and Vneasiness The Discomposures and Disorders The Heart-Akings and Heaviness of Soul The Fearfulness and Dissatisfactions of Mind The Vnquiet Days and Restless Nights of an Irreligious a Careless and a Prophane Course Or do This Cause Joy in Heaven as well as Joy and Peace to your Self by a Speedy Conversion from such an Uneasie Course to the Love and Obedience of your Saviour and the Ways of Holiness And blessed be God That the Choice is yet put to you and That you have not yet drawn upon your self the Guilt of the Vnpardonable Blasphemy 'T is true indeed you may if you please Christian Call the Stings and Gnawings the Shame and the Dishonours The Fearfulness and Dissatisfactions of Mind The Fretting and Uneasiness of a Sinful Course you may Call them Joys But yet oh that the Inconsiderate Sinner would but try the Difference The Difference I mean between the No-Peace of a Wicked and a Prophane Course and the unknown Peace and Delicacies of a Vertuous one All the Wisest and all the Best and all the Discreetest Men of the World that could see furthest into These Things have done so and they have quickly been convinced of the Truth of them And why will not you be That Happy Person Christian What should hinder you from being Wise for your Self and Wise for your Eternity Wise for your Truest and your Best Interest Or If you will not have me ask you the Question yet do This Ask your self the Question in your next Retirements when you are alone and with-drawn from the World Why my Soul say Why shall not I be That Happy Person That shall Cause Joy in Heaven and Joy to my Self Joy Above and Joy Below Joys Present and Future Joys by my speedy Conversion from Sin to God from my bosom darling Sin My Sin Especially considering the Hopes we have of being yet Successful if we are Speedy Sincere and Persevering The Vnpardonable Blasphemy has been none of our Sin Oh come then let us presently Arise and go to our Father and return Quickly with the Prodigal And then for the little Time that we have yet left for Eternity we 'll Labour Chearfully to continue in our Father's House and Favour by the few Rules of Probity and Sanctity which our Ascended Saviour was pleased to leave with us when he went away Till our short Day be ended and the Curtain be drawn and we give way to the next Age and we be securely put away to Rest and then our Work is over SECT VII The Second Practical Inference or Instance of Application from the Consideration of the Nature and the Meaning of the Sin against the Holy Ghost is This It brings Matter of Reproof and Terrour to the Careless and the Prophane Person that goes on in any known Sin and takes no Care to Come in and Return to God By Repentance and to Labour for the Contrary Vertue and Live in it FRom what has been said of the Sin against the Holy Ghost it appears very likely Christian that thou hast not been Guilty of that Vnpardonable Blasphemy Thou hast not with the Pharisees Blasphem'd him in affirming That the Miracles which thy Saviour wrought by the Power of the Holy Ghost were done by the Devil Nor hast thou made use of this as an Argument to deny him to be the Christ Thou hast not yet been Guilty of a Known Malicious and Total Falling off from and Denying the Faith of Christ and the Doctrine of the Gospel Thou hast not yet been Guilty of an Vtter Willful Spiteful rejecting of the Faith and Doctrine of Christianity notwithstanding that thou wert convinc'd that Jesus is the Christ Thou can'st not Charge these Things upon thy Self and therefore there is Reason to believe thou hast not committed the Vnpardonable Sin So far indeed thy Case is Hopefull But alas Perhaps all this while thou livest in some known willful Sin Thou continuest impenitently in some one such Guilt takest no Care to get out of it to Return to thy God by Repentance and Reformation and to obtain the Contrary Virtue and Live in it If this be thy Case last mention'd what does it signifie That thou hast not been Guilty of the Sin against the Holy Ghost For our Saviour tells us Except ye Repent ye shall all likewise Perish Thou hast not been Guilty very probably of the Vnpardonable Blasphemy But alas that other known willful Sin continu'd in is so long as 't is continu'd in the Vnpardonable Sin And let This be Matter of Terrour and Reproof and just Cause of Trembling to the Careless and the Impenitent and the Habitual Sinner Suppose thou hast not been Guilty of the Vnpardonable Blasphemy Ay but what if thy Lord come and find any other Known Iniquity thy darling Bosom Vice especially unreform'd unrepented of unmortify'd continu'd in by Thee Can'st thou expect then to be found in his Favour If thou art found out of the Covenant of Grace that is continuing in some Known Disobedience to him impenitently thou hast then Reason so long as you so continue to expect as little Mercy as if thou hadst committed the Vnpardonable Sin And how should this Consideration drive thee to a Quick and a Persevering Repentance of that Known Sin be it what it will And if as St. Paul says the Forbearance and Goodness of God should lead thee to Repentance How should these Terrours of the Lord as the same Apostle calls them perswade Thee and prevail upon Thee to run to it and to choose wiser and better and to do it quickly Lest thy Lord come and find thee though not a Blasphemer of the Holy Ghost yet out of his Way and his Obedience Going on in some deliberate habitual Sin Should he Thus come and find Thee come either by Death or Judgment and find thee out of his Covenant of Grace and Consign thee to the Sorrows of Eternity what shall it avail thee to say thou hast not been Guilty of the Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost For could That