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ken of final apestacy both from the form and power of godliness, which is indeed a sin unto death; for the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews says, without any softening qualifications whatever, that it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift; and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again to repentance; and the reasons he assigns for it are, crucifying to themselves the Son of God afresh, and putting "him to an open shame." This cannot, however, belong to such as are just waking out of their sinful sleep, seeing they have not received these things to fall away from; and indeed who is or can be a competent judge of this awful transaction but God alone?

If by death the apostle means natural death, which is most likely to be his meaning, then by this sin we are to understand any provoking offence which the righteous Judge may see good to punish with an earlier death, because of some peculiarly aggravating circumstances attending it, of which there are many instances recorded in scripture, and not the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost; and therefore such offence may be pardoned, though the punishment may not be remitted.

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What is the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost? Many are tempted concerning this, as though they had been guilty of it by opposing the light and grace of that good and patient Spirit, when he would have led them from sin and error into all evangelical truth and holiness. That it is sinful to hate and neglect this light, and these offers of mercy, is not to be doubted, yet this is not what our Lord intended, since thousands upon thousands have done this by their own confession, and yet have obtained salvation by believing in the Lord Jesus. Nor is every sin against the Holy Ghost unpardonable, for in fact every sin that is committed is, as he is God, one with the Father and the Son, committed against him; and if every sin thus committed were unpardonable, no flesh could be saved; but this is contrary both to scripture

and experience, and therefore no one beginning to seek after God ought to entertain doubts and fears on that head. Observe it is not expressly called the sin against the Holy Ghost, though it is a sin, and a great one; but the blasphemy against him. Trifling as this distinction may seem in itself, had it been preserved much unprofitable reasoning would have been avoided; for though, as hath been remarked, all blasphemy is sin; yet as this particular crime exceeds that of all single acts of wickedness whatever, it should have its proper stigma, that such as are but little acquainted with Satan's devices may be upon their guard, and saved from those sorrows into which such an opinion might plunge them. This being considered, read what St. Mark says on this subject, chap. iii. 22: "And the Scribes said, he hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.”—Our Lord having shewn the inconsistency of such a declaration, adds, “Verily I say unto you, all sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme; but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation;" and then it is added, "Because they (the Scribes) said, HE HATH AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT." These words must be considered as fixing the true sense of the passage; and if so, this blasphemy may be considered as an envious and malicious indignity offered to the Lord Jesus, by persons with means of better information in their power, to lessen him in the esteem of others, by declaring that he held communion with the devil, and wrought his miracles not by Divine power, but by diabolical agency. This most odious crime our Lord considered as committed against the Holy Ghost: but surely that man who seeks to be saved through the Lord Jesus, has not been guilty of this abominable blasphemy, nor ever can while he regards him as the only Saviour of mankind. Let none, therefore, perplex and distress themselves concerning this matter, nor regard any of the temptations of this accursed spirit, let them be of whatever kind they may; but boldly resist them, after the example of our great Mas

ter, by appealing to Divine truth; and then, whether they are of a trifling, gloomy, unbelieving, unholy, desperate, discouraging, blasphemous, proud, revengeful kind, from -whatever quarter, or on whatever occasion they arise, we must oppose them, committing ourselves and our cause to God, and he will never suffer us to be confounded.

Who, then, that rightly considers these things, but what must see that there is no way to escape these snares without a full and deliberate choice of God and his blessed service? To parley, reason, and debate with Satan, is to ensnare ourselves. All, therefore, who purpose to lead a new life, and live to God, must fly, without looking behind them, to lay hold of the hope set before them, and with all their souls yield themselves up to the influence of the Holy Spirit, as their chief good; and nothing can prevent them from the enjoyment of the Divine favour. This is more especially necessary in those who have been religiously educated, who, not having the prejudices to conquer which others have, nor feeling that sense of shame which is so great a hindrance to many, have the greater need to burst through creeds, forms, and ceremonies, that they may be brought to a clear manifestation of the love of God to them in Christ Jesus.

CHAP. III.

REPENTANCE AND JUSTIFICATION.

Repentance and its Fruits-Justification and its Privileges.

THOSE Who have come to a resolution to take God for their portion, and to enter into his covenant, must comply with the terms of that covenant, which are repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ; without which they cannot be admitted into the family of heaven.

REPENTANCE AND ITS FRUITS.

I SHALL first speak of repentance, by which I mean genuine sorrow for our sins against God, by which we have dishonoured him; accompanied by a sincere desire to be reconciled to him in the way he has appointed. There may be sorrow which has the appearance of godly sorrow, which, instead of promoting our return to God, tends only to sadness, melancholy, and death; so Judas and Peter are said to have repented, but the repentance of the one was only the horror of an accusing conscience, which ended in despair; that of the other, bitter anguish of spirit for having sinned against, and grieved his Lord, but tended to life and salvation. In consequence of the mistakes which are made concerning these two kinds of sorrow, many foolishly charge insanity upon spiritual religion, though, strictly speaking, neither the one nor the other is religion, the true being only a preparation for it, and not religion itself; and on this account entertain, or pretend to entertain, fears and apprehensions of being overmuch religious, lest they should be found in worse circumstances than if they were even over-much wicked. Men may deceive themselves by entertaining such thoughts, and form to themselves something which they may call repentance, as true; and reject that which is true, as false, and even oppose and persecute such as hold it; that which, however, will not bear the touch-stone of scriptural truth, is a repentance to be repented of, and destructive to the soul. True repentance is the gift of Christ, who is exalted a Prince and a Saviour to give it to mankind: that is, it arises from his sin-convincing Spirit, who turns the stony heart to flesh, and enables it to mourn at the view of the crucified Redeemer, and for his sake to renounce its evils and live to God. This state of mind is required in all, as the only way to

partake of the blessings of the christian dispensation. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.-Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.-He commandeth all men every where to repent." And it is farther de

clared, that the goodness of God leadeth us to repentance, not being willing that any should perish; which clearly discovers how important obedience is to this divine commandment.

Such as are invited to repent, and do not, will not only be upbraided by the Lord Jesus for their negligence, Matt. xi. 20; but must also perish for their obstinacy, Luke xiii. 5; while, on the other hand, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth, Luke xv. 7 ; which shews both the value of our immortal souls, and the absolute necessity of thus coming to God. The fruits worthy of this are

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Reflection. Till this takes place in the mind, we make no progress in the ways of life. It is by carefully and impartially weighing the consequences of sin; the necessity of holinesss; the approach and duration of eternity; the advantages of religion in the hour of death, and the day of judgment; the glorious Majesty of God; our entire dependence upon him, and obligation to him; the end and emptiness of all worldly good, and our perverseness and folly in wandering from him, 1 Kings viii. 47. The due consideration of these subjects rouses the soul from its lethargy; and then it is that we begin to come to ourselves, properly to our right minds, Luke xv. 17; and like humbled Nebuchadnezzar, begin to lift up our eyes towards heaven, Dan. iv. 3; with some degree of confidence towards God.

Prayer. As soon as the soul begins sincerely to desire God and his grace it may then be considered as beginning to pray; and prayer offered in the name of our gracious Mediator is always prevalent with God. Prayer puts an end to the wanderings of the desires after vanity and unprofitable objects, and leads us to the pursuit of what is truly excellent and suitable for our immortal natures. It directs our way to him that is able to save and deliver us, and disposes the mind cordially to receive him, and his great salvation. It arms the soul against the various arts of its spiritual adversaries; causes it to turn a deaf ear to