was the completion of the evidence of the divine authority of Christ and his religion; and they who rejected these last means of conviction, could have no other opportunity of being brought to faith in Christ, the only appointed condition of pardon and forgiveness. The greater heinousness of the sin of these men would consist in their rejecting a greater body of testimony; for they are supposed to be acquainted with the resurrection of our Saviour from the dead; with his ascension into heaven; with the miraculous descent of the Holy Ghost, and with the supernatural powers which it communicated; circumstances, all of which were enforced by the Apostles when they preached the Gospel; but none of which could be known to those who refused to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah during his actual ministry, Though this was a great sin, it was not an unpardonable one; it might be atoned for by subsequent belief, by yielding to subsequent testimony. But, on the other hand, they who finally rejected the accumulated and complete evidence of Jesus being the Messiah, as exhibited by the inspired Apostles, precluded themselves from the possibility of conviction, because no farther testimony would be afforded them; and consequently, there being no means of repentance, they would be incapable of forgiveness and redemption.

Thus it appears that the sin against the Holy Ghost consisted in finally rejecting the Gospel, as preached by the Apostles, who confirmed the truth of the doctrine which they taught "by signs and wonders, and divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost (e)." And it was unpardonable because this was the consummation of the proofs afforded to the men of that generation of the divine mission of Christ. This sin was manifestly distinct from all other sins; it indicated an invincible obstinacy of mind, an impious and unalterable determination to refuse the offered mercy of God.

As a farther illustration of this subject, I will transcribe Dr. Doddridge's paraphrase of the above passages in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark: "I therefore give you the most solemn and compassionate warning of your danger, for you are on the brink of the most dreadful precipice. That malignity of heart which leads you to ascribe these works of mine to a confederacy with Satan, may incline you to pass the same impious sentence on the greatest and fullest confirmation which is to be given to my Gospel, by the effusion of the Spirit on my followers; and therefore to prevent, if possible, such guilt and ruin, verily I say unto you, that all other sins shall be forgiven to the children of men, and

(e) Heb. c. 2. v. 4.

even

even all the other blasphemies with which they shall blaspheme, but the blasphemy against the Spirit of God, in this most Glorious dispensation of it, shall not be forgiven to those impious and incorrigible men, who shall dare to impute to diabolical operation those glorious works of divine power and goodness. And I add, that whosoever speaks a contemptuous and impious word, even against the Son of man himself, while here on earth, in this obscure form, he may possibly be brought to repentance for it, and so it shall be forgiven him; and consequently even your case, bad as it is, is not entirely hopeless; but whosoever shall maliciously speak any thing of this nature against the Holy Spirit, when the grand dispensation of it shall open in those miraculous gifts and operations that will be attended with the most evident demonstrations of his mighty power, it shall never be forgiven him at all, either in this world or in that which is to come; but he is obnoxious to eternal damnation, and must irrecoverably sink into it; nor will all the grace of the Gospel, in its fullest display, afford a remedy for so aggravated a crime, or furnish him with means for his conviction and recovery."

We now proceed to explain the article itself. St. Paul tells us, that "the wages of sin is death (ƒ):" and therefore, though all sins are by

(f) Rom. c. 6. v. 23.

no

no means equal, every sin may be considered as deadly in its nature. In this article a more heinous sort of sin seems to be understood, implying a known and deliberate transgression of the laws of God, and not merely a sin of ignorance or infirmity. But even in that sense, NOT EVERY

DEADLY SIN WILLINGLY COMMITTED AFTER BAPTISM IS SIN AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST, as

fully appears from what has been just now said concerning that particular sin; and there seems to be no ground in Scripture for considering any degree or species of sin as at this time necessarily unpardonable, or beyond the efficacy of sincere repentance. When St. John says, that "there is a sin unto death (g)," it is supposed that he means the sin against the Holy Ghost, which, if our interpretation be right, was confined to the time of the Apostles, and which is the only sin to which forgiveness is denied in the New Testament. "The doors," says Clement of Alexandria, "are open to every one, who in truth, and with his whole heart, returns to God; and the Father most willingly receives a son, who truly repents." This is the general tenor of Scripture, in which all men are invited to repentance without any discrimination or exception. And we are told, even under the Mosaic dispensation,

(g) 1 John, c. 5. v. 16.

that

that "though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool (h)." And the exhortations to amendment and reformation contained in the Epistles, are all addressed to persons who had been already baptized, and who had been guilty of faults or sins subsequent to their baptism.

WHEREFORE THE GRANT OF REPENTANCE IS NOT TO BE DENIED TO SUCH AS FALL INTO SIN AFTER BAPTISM. It was observed in the beginning of this article, that there have been at different periods of the Christian church, several sects, which denied the efficacy of repentance; but I am not aware that there is now any sect, at least in this country, which maintains that doctrine.

Although the Holy Ghost purifies our minds, and assists and co-operates with us in the performance of our duty, yet he does not entirely take away the corruption and infirmity of our nature, nor does he destroy our free-agency; and consequently, AFTER WE HAVE RECEIVED THE HOLY GHOST, WE MAY DEPART FROM GRACE GIVEN (i), AND FALL INTO SIN.

(h) Isa. c. 1. v. 18.

But as we

may

(i) The Puritans, in the beginning of the reign of king James the First, were sensible that this doctrine of the defectibility of grace, was inconsistent with