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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	apostle_n	sin_n	word_n	4,593	5	4.4164	3	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A69196	Foure sermons viz. 1. The blessednesse of peace-makers. 2. The aduancement of Gods children. Preached before the King. 3. The sinne against the holy Ghost. Preached at Pauls Crosse. 4. The Christian petitioner. Preached at Oxford on the Act Sunday. By Iohn Denison Doctor of Diuinity, and one of his Maiesties Chaplaynes.	Denison, John, d. 1629.; Denison, John, d. 1629. Beati pacifici.; Denison, John, d. 1629. Sinne against the holy ghost plainly described.; Denison, John, d. 1629. Christian petitioner. Shewing how we must sue for reward and remission.	1620 (1620)	STC 6587; ESTC S120377	95,129	308

9.9 To thee O Lord God belongeth mercy and forgiuenesse saith Daniel True it is but when a man hath made himselfe vncapable of mercy the cogitation thereof is rather a corrosiue then any comfort at all Are not those who charge Christ with an vnclean spirit worthy to be possest with the spirit of slumber If they despight the spirit of grace doe they not deserue to be depriued of the spirit of grace If they treade vnderfoote of a base estimation the Sonne of God and the blood of the Testament is it not a iust recompence that Sathan should trample them vnder his feete in the place of torments If the Lord giue ouer men to a Reprobate sense for abusing only the meere gifts of x Rom. 1.28 nature how much more may they expect to haue their eyes blinded and their hearts y Ioh. 12.40 hardned who maliciously resist the works of grace z Chrys op imperf in Mat. Hom. 37. And then as the tacklings being taken from the ship and the same left to the mercy of the Seas is cast vpon rockes dashed in peeces or drowned in the sands so the soule of man being stripped of the tacklings of grace must needes suffer shipwracke and perish in the gulfe of eternall perdition This miserie is by no meanes to be auoided for as Chrysostome saith a Cum à Deo deserimur Diabolo tradimur Chrys in Ioh. Hom. 67. when men are forsaken of God they are deliuered to the Diuell not for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saued in the day of the Lord as the Corinthian b 1. Cor. 5.5 was But to be vexed in soule here and to be tormented in soule and body hereafter as Saul c 1. Sam. 16. was And then what followes our Sauiour shewes in the persons of the blasphemous Pharisees d Luk. 11.25 When the vncleane spirit hauing beene cast out returneth he brings with him seauen spirits worse then himselfe which doe enter and dwell there and taking vp their habitation doe shut fast the doore of the heart so that albeit the spirit of God doe knocke againe and againe e Reuel 3.20 yet can it finde no entrance and that causeth such a lamentable effect The latter end of that man is worse then the beginning Thus the heart being hardned becomes impenitent and so the impenitent sinner becomes vnpardonable for where there is no grace for Repentance there is no place for pardon According to the Apostles words Rom. 2. f Rom. 2.5 Thou after thy hardnesse and heart that cannot repent treasurest vp vnto thy selfe wrath against the day of wrath The stinging of an Aspe is incurable and such is this wound and sting of Sathan for it growes cankerous 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 like the sinne of Hymeneus and g 2 Tim. 2.17 Philetus Yea it becomes that which the Surgeons call 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 euen such an eating vlcerous sore as doth totally mortifie the part affected so that all the plasters that art or nature can deuise will not helpe it This saith Hierome is that kinde of leprosie which cannot be cured And so much for the opening of the wound The second part The searching of the WOVND HEre now beloued I could be contented to take my station and to stay my hand from searching this wound any further But because there is some controuersie concerning the same amongst the spirituall Physitians to whom the cure or care thereof doth belong I hold it expedient either in reconciling or confuting the differences of opinions to relieue those who may be subiect to doubting and to satisfie if it be possible euen those which are possest with the spirit of contradiction by manifesting that as I haue laid the foundation of my positiue doctrine vpon the vnmoueable rocke of the holy Scriptures so I haue the consent of the learned of all sorts who doe build with mee vpon the same foundation so that onely singularity shall haue occasion to dissent There are about this matter but two points controuerted the one is touching the description the other the remission of this sinne Concerning the first some make finall impenitency to be the sinne against the holy Ghost but those that so doe are confuted by themselues for they hold the sinne against the holy Ghost to be pardonable so that consequently if finall impenitency be the sinne against the holy Ghost finall impenitency should be pardonable which absurdity euery sensible man must needes be ashamed of But Bellarmine himselfe h Bellam. de poenitent lib. 2. cap. 16. hath diuers arguments for the confutation of this errour which I will briefely repeate 1. The sinne against the holy Ghost is properly blasphemie but finall impenitency is not blasphemie therefore finall impenitency is not the sinne against the holy Ghost 2. Finall impenitency is not committed till death but the sinne against the holy Ghost is committed before death therefore finall impenitency is not the sinne against the holy Ghost The minor proposition is euident for our Sauiour charged the Pharisees with this sinne who were then liuing and for any thing we know liued long after Further Paul speaking of this sinne in the sixt to the Hebrewes saith it is impossible that they which haue committed the same should be renewed by repentance In which words the Apostle speaketh of those that are aliue else should he affirme that the dead cannot be renewed by repentance which speech were idle and much vnbeseeming so great an Apostle Againe whereas Saint Iohn saith there is a sin vnto death I say not that thou shouldst pray for it 1 Ioh. 5.16 he speaks of liuing men And whereas some thinke he speakes of the dead the Text is directly against them For he saith he that knoweth his brother to sinne a sinne not vnto death c. in which words hee admitteth that a man may see and know when the sinne is committed and therefore he speaketh not of finall impenitencie which cannot be knowne till after a mans death and hardly then also Moreouer if hee spake of the sinnes of those that are dead hee should not say He that knowes his brother to sinne but he that knowes his brother to haue sinned Thus Bellarmine hauing confuted that opinion concerning finall impenitency and affirmed truely Circumstantia quaedam quae in omni peccato reperiri potest that the same is but circumstantia quaedam a certaine circumstance which may be found in euery particular sinne he defineth the sinne against the holy Ghost in the same manner as I haue handled it calling it a malicious opposition against the manifest and knowne truth Athanasius Chrysostome Basil Hilarie Ambrose Hierome Anselme Richardus de S. Vict. Theophylact. Beda Pacianus which definition he confirmeth by the common consent of ancient writers k Communi consensu veterum Bellarm ibid. to whose reasons and authorities were they not very pithy and pregnant I might annexe sundry

expresly before that they will not d Iere. 7.27 Ezek. 2.4.5 repent and yet he sent to them that so they might be without excuse Secondly as the Euangelists doe plainely teach the impossibility of pardon for this sinne So doth Saint Paul in this Epistle vse many and waighty Arguments to confirme the same which I will briefly contract into one He that cannot possibly be renewed by Repentance Heb. 6.4.6 He that falls quite away Heb. 10.26.29 He that cannot haue any benefit by Christs sacrifice He that dies without mercy He that must certainly look for a fearefull iudgement Cannot be pardoned saued But hee that sinnes against the holy Ghost cannot be renewed by Repentance He fals quite away hee cannot haue any benefit by Christs sacrifice he dies without mercy hee must certainely looke for a fearefull iudgment and violent fire therefore hee that sinnes against the holy Ghost cannot be pardoned and saued To these places Bellarmine and the Rhemists doe answere that whereas the Apostle saith hee cannot be renewed by Repentance and there remaines no more sacrifice for sinne he is thus to be vnderstood hee cannot haue the benefit of a second Baptisme To whom I answere First Bellarmine and the Rhemists do without all warrant or reason confound Baptisme and Repentance and the sacrifice of Christ And if Baptisme and Repentance bee confounded why should not also the other doctrines mentioned with the same So that Repentance Faith Baptisme the resurrection and the last iudgement shall be all one But let these men who are so violent without any arguments and so confident vpon onely the bare words of two or three of the Fathers expounding this place let them consider what others of the ancient Fathers haue written and what euen these haue affirmed concerning this sinne in other places The ingenuitie of Arias Montanus e Arius Monta. in Heb. 6. a learned Papist is much to be commended who saith most truely that it is an extreame racking of the word Repentance when it is here without cause transferred to another sence Againe if it were granted that the Apostle in the sixt to the Hebrewes denieth a second Baptisme when he speakes of Repentance because they are mentioned together in the same place and haue some affinity and correspondence yet how doth it follow that in this Chapter he should haue relation to Baptisme When as the same is neither directly mentioned nor by any necessary consequent implied or intimated Lastly suppose the Apostles words were so to be taken as that he should therein denie second Baptisme to the sinner doth not the same imply a deniall of pardon For why should he deny them a second Baptisme but to teach them that the meanes and instrumentall causes of Repentance and reconciliation being denied the effect cannot be granted But the truth is as euery single eye may perceiue that the Apostle hath in those places vtterly excluded those that sinne against the holy Ghost both from the meanes and fruit of repentance Thirdly Saint Iohn f 1 Iohn 5.16 speaking of this sinne cals it a sinne vnto death meaning such a sinne as yeelds death without remedy or recouery as the phrase being an Hebraisme doth necessarily import and Chrysostome doth truely expound g Chrys in psal 49 Vt in lege quaedam fuêre immedicabilia c. it Yea Alphonsus Salmeron h Alph. Salmer in 1. Ep. Ioh. dispu 32. one of the Fathers and founders of the Iesuites cals it a sinne to death quia suapte natura tendit ad mortem animae because it doth naturally tend to the death of the soule Againe the Apostle forbids vs to pray for such a sinner Now if prayer which should be the meanes to worke Repentance in men and to procure remission for them at the hands of God may not be afforded them is there any hope that such should be pardoned To this Bellarmine answers that the Apostle doth not directly forbid vs to pray for such but onely doth not incourage or perswade vs because the suite is very hard to be obtained And to him I reply that first the desperatenesse of the disease being to death may imply a reason of denying the medicine of prayer to obtaine life 1 Iohn 5. Secondly the coherence of the words with the words precedent doe euict them to be a direct prohibition For whereas before hee had taught Vers 14. that if we aske any thing according to Gods will we shall be heard he presently addeth these words as a Caueat that wee pray not for him that sinneth vnto death because that such a prayer is not according to Gods will Thirdly if Saint Iohn had noted onely a difficultie not an impossibilitie of obtaining our desires should he not haue perswaded vs to be the more earnest and importunate in prayer rather then to haue discouraged vs When our Sauiour saith i Mat. 7.14 that the way is narrow and the gate is strait that leadeth vnto life would you not make him absurd in saying I say not that you shall enter that way or indiscreet in discouraging men by denying them hope of entrance Doth he not better in perswading vs striue therefore earnestly to enter into that straight k Luk. 13.24 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 gate and so if the matter had beene subiect to difficultie and not to impossibilitie doubtlesse Saint Iohn would haue exhorted vs euen to striue mightily l 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 15.20 by prayers to God for the remission of that sinne as Saint Paul speakes Rom. 15.30 Lastly that it is a direct prohibition diuers both ancient Fathers and Papists also doe directly auouch As m Tertul de pudic cap. 19. Tertullian n Aug. ser Domini in Monte. lib 1. Augustine o Hier. cited by P. Lumberd Hierome p Sixtus Quintus orat habit in consistor de morte Henr 3 Sixtus Quintus q F●rus in 1. Ioh. 5. Ferus r Didac de la vega in Psal 6. poenitent Con. 5. and diuers others Didacus de la Vega and diuers others Yea Catharinus ſ Catharin in 1. Epist Ioh. cap. 5. in my iudgement hath written very iudiciously concerning both this place and the point in hand Some saith he haue made this place obscure supposing that to be absurd which indeede hath no absurditie in it meaning that prayer should be denyed to some kinde of sinners But this comes to passe by reason of a certaine old and vulgar opinion namely that no such outragious or diuilish sinne could be found which of it selfe was inexpiable Thus hauing proued by the authoritie of sacred Scriptures that this sinne is irremissible and answered such obiections as haue bin made against my proofe I might also confirme the same by many testimonies of the ancient t Tertul de pudicitia cap. 2. Cyprian lib. 3. Iustin ad Quirin cap. 28. Chry. in psa 49. Hieron Ep. 22. ad Marcel Aug.

remains small hope of receiuing comfort by Christs eternall sacrifice but rather extreame terrour in the expectation of his dreadfull sentence small probability of being cleansed in his precious blood but rather a sore possibility of being deuoured by a violent fire Peccata sunt animae vulnera sins are the soules wounds according to the sacred Scriptures and the ancient Fathers phrase of speech And as the wounds of the body doe differ some being dangerous some more mortall some altogether incurable so fares it with the wounds of the soule some are cured more easily as the Maid was raised from death by Christ Mark 9. Some with lesse facilitie like the Widdowes Sonne Luk. 7. Some yet with greater difficultie like Lazarus Iohn 11. The cure will cost many a groane and many a sigh some are altogether vncurable the sinne cleauing to the sinner like the Leprosie of Gehazi for h 2 Kin. 5.27 euer Loe such a wound and such a sinne we haue in hand at this present euen the sinne against the holy Ghost For the subiect of this Scripture is a deadly wound euen a wound and death a wound going before and death following after it The wound is expressed in these words For if we sinne willingly after we haue receiued the knowledge of the truth The death and danger in these words There remaines no more sacrifice for sinne but a fearefull looking for of iudgement and a violent fire which shall deuoure the aduersaries Behold here is the most hainous sinne of all sinnes and the most grieuous iudgement of all iudgements here is a fearefull transgression and a dolefull affliction in the one behold the tower of Babel in the other the valley of Benhinnom in the one the extreamest degree of iniquitie in the other the vttermost measure of miserie in the one a sinners execrable condition in this life in the other his lamentable confusion in the life to come But now I purpose God willing onely to speak of the wound In the handling whereof I intend to take these courses 1. I will open it 2. I will search it 3. I will binde it vp againe by Application In the opening of the wound I finde it in the generall to be an Apostasie from the Gospell For it is a forsaking the communion we haue among our selues So saith the Apostle ver 25. And in the particular view thereof I note foure bad humours which feede it for mali humores sunt praui mores as Bernard h Bern. super Cant. ser 36. saith Vers 26 The first is an aduised sinfulnesse After we haue receiued the knowledge of the truth The second a resolute wilfulnesse If we sinne willingly Vers 29 The third is obstinate malice For here is an aduersary that despights the spirit of grace The fourth is a generall corruption of Religion For it is a treading vnderfoote the Sonne of God and counting the blood of the Testament as an vnholy thing and both these points are expressed in the 29. Verse So that in a word I finde and consequently doe define this sinne to be A Witting Willing Malicious Totall Apostasie First for the matter of this sinne It is an Apostasie either from the publike profession or priuate acknowledgement of the Gospell For the manner of it It must be witting and not of ignorance It must be willing and not of co-action It must be malicious and not of infirmitie It will be totall and not some particular impietie In the handling of which points let mee say to you in i Chris var. loc in Mat. hom 9. Chrysostomes words Excutite pigritiam non est res leuis quam audituri estis rouse vp your spirits and raise vp your attention the matter you are to heare is of no small moment The first part The opening of the WOVND The first bad Humour VVHen almightie God had laid the foundation of the world his first worke was fiat lux let there be light and this light being dispersed and confused he afterwards placed in the Globe of the Sunne which he made vehiculum lucis So in the creation of man 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a modell of that greater world hee placed the light of vnderstanding in the firmament of his Soule to guide him in the way of holinesse and to bring him to the place of eternall happinesse But Sathan whose kingdome is the kingdome of darkenesse in enuie towards man and malice to God obscured that light with the clowdes of errour that so hee might lead wretched sinners blinde-fold to hell like the Syrians into the midst of k 2. Reg. 6.20 Samaria Yet God in mercy beholding this miserie into which man was cast gathering together as it were the scattered beames of knowledge doth by the spirit of illumination vnite them in the Globe of the vnderstanding and where hee affords this fauour the abuse thereof is very dangerous This is that knowledge of the truth which is here spoken of for it is cognitio accepta non acquisita knowledge receiued from the illuminating spirit of God not acquired or obtained by the light or industry of nature They who offend in this kinde must be such as Saint Paul speakes of you were once darkenes but now you are light in the l Lord. So that Turkes and infidels who neuer yet receiued the knowledge of the truth cannot commit this sinne Neither is this to be taken for some superficiall conceite swimming in the braine onely but such a knowledge as taking some place in the heart hath affected the same with a certaine comfort and delight therein and bringeth with it a glimpse of that glory which is reuealed in that truth and shall be receiued in the kingdome of heauen And therefore the Apostle attributes to those who commit this sinne not onely that they be lightned but that they haue tasted of the heauenly gift and beene made pertakers of the holy-Ghost and haue tasted of the good word of God and the powers of the world to m Heb. 6.4 come Now when a man shall finde the taste of Gods word sweeter then the honie and the n Psal 19.10 honie-combe as it was to Dauid and shall afterward distaste and happily detest it as the Israelites did o Numb 11.6 Manna When he shall reioyce in the meditation of eternall life and yet reiect the consolation thereof like the yong man who ranne to our blessed Sauiour kneeled to him and cryed out good master what shall I doe that I may possesse eternall life yet went away like a p Mark 10.17 flincher When hee shall haue relished and euen beene rauished with the comfortable taste of the powers of the world to come like Balaam who passionately wished O let me die the death of the righteous and let my latter end be like q Num. 23.10 his Yet shall like a gracelesse man abandon the meanes and banish the care and cogitation thereof what probability nay what possibility is there that hee