workes were good and Cains evill Sinne against Knowledge is this as when a man or woman is informed of divers Truths and by the judgement of their understanding give an approbation unto those Truths discovered unto them and yet notwithstanding will sinne this is called by me sinnes against Knowledge Sinne against Conscience is when a mans Conscience is enlightened with Knowledge concerning the acting this thing or that thing which is evill and yet is resolved to doe it this is called sinne against Conscience I say all that be damned sinne not against Knowledge openly discovered unto them as the Heathen who knew God no farther but onely by the instinct of Nature having the Law written in their hearts Rom. 2. 15. Which Law shall not leave them without excuse at the last day for they know so much of God as shall be a meanes for to condemne them their Consciences bearing witnesse against them and so leaving their Consciences void of all excuse telling them that there is a God before whose Judgement-Seat they must one day appeare I am perswaded that the Consciences of the Heathen cannot chuse but sometimes cast forth some light of terror unto them and so cause an amazement unto them although they as Heathen be without the knowledge of Conscience towards God and man I say sinnes committed wittingly and willingly are the originall cause of sorrow both in the Saints and Reprobates The sorrow of the Saints for sinne comes from an apprehension of Gods love in the Lord Jesus looking upon the love of God and his holinesse and then casting back his eye upon his owne sinfulnesse which produceth a mourning in them whereby from an apprehension of Gods abundant goodnesse towards him hee is inforced with blessed Paul to crie out saying O wretched man that I am O how unlike unto God am I in holinesse O that God would once lift up upon me the light of his countenance and smile graciously upon my soule in the face of the Lord Jesus O that God would but goe into my soule and discover Christ there unto me and goe out againe by the manifestation of his holy Spirit that so my soule may be acquainted with the Commings in of the Lord Jesus The sense of a Reprobate is onely from an apprehension of Gods wrath for sinne and so out of a slavish feare confesses hiâ— sinne because he sees the wrath of God appearing readie to be poured out upon him for those sinnes which he hath committed against God and so cryes out as being void of all hope of mercie like Cain Saul and Iudas concluding that their sinnes are unpardonable I say againe the persons that commit this sinne against the holy Ghost must be such persons as in some measure knew the maine fundamentall grounds of Religion and withall they must have some soule-taste of heaven yea of heavenly things as blessed Paul speaketh in Heb. 6. 4. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gifts and were made partakers of the holy Ghost and have tasted of the Word of God and the powers of the world to come if they fall away to renew them againe vnto repentance seeing they crucifie unto themselves the Sonne of God afresh and put him to open shame In these words you see that those that commit this sinne must be knowing persons they may have a taste seemingly of the holy Ghost I say the holy Ghost may seemingly discover Truths unto them yet they shall never taste of them savingly yet they shall taste of them so fully as to their thinking they shall be as it were elevated into heaven and ravished with a kind of sweetnesse so farre as that they shall conceit themselves to be in a heavenly condition Iudas tasted of the heavenly gifts seemingly and was endued with great light yea with such a measure of gifts that he was inabled by them to walke so warily that he was not found out to be an hypocrite untill he made a discovery of himselfe he had the same power given unto him as the rest of the Disciples had Mat. 10. 2 He had a legall faith but not a saving faith he possessed a common enjoyment from the holy Ghost in regard of gifts I say a common taste he enjoyed not such a taste as the Saints doe taste it is impossible for wicked men to enjoy that true inward taste and sweet saving enjoyment of the holy Ghost as the Saints doe Yet the common enjoyment of the Spirit of God they doe possesse which shall leave them without excuse Sometimes a wicked man may goe in some things beyond the Child of God and may find more comfort in the way of Ordinances then the true child of God doth for a time Yea he may also walke more warily then those who have more truer relation unto God even as the Scribes and Pharisees did who in hypocrisie lived more precisely then the true Children of God for that none could tax them of any thing but onely Christ who knew their hypocrisie and corruption of their hearts as also the vanitie of their Traditionall workes The Disciples of Christ knew not Iudas to be an hypocrite untill he discovered himselfe And as I said before the persons that commit this sinne against the holy Ghost must be knowing persons such as Iudas was and the Scribes and Pharisees I told you that the heathen could not commit this sinne against the holy Ghost nor can any infant commit this sinne although God may justly damne infants for the originall sinne of their first parents It followes now that I must according to my power shew unto you the Reason why this sinne against the holy Ghost is an unpardonable sinne It is called the sinne against the holy Ghost because he discovers and reveales truth And it is unpardonable so long as those do commit sinne against him who is called the third Person and is the representative power of the whole Deitie when they sinne against the holy Spirit they sin against the whole Trinitie as it is said They grieved the Spirit of God even him whose office is to seale the Saints unto the day of redemption Men I say by sinning against this Person confirme their guilt upon their owne soules To give you a bigger Reason then I have yet done why this sinne against the holy Ghost is unpardonable I say the full Reason is Because it is his place to reconcile or worke reconciliation betweene the other two Persons and the sinner which before were unreconciled By this meanes the sinner comes to stand before the other two Persons the Father and the Sonne and thus finds acceptance And on the contrary when this Person will not reconcile the sinner unto God the Father not he himselfe pleased to be reconciled unto the sinner I say it is then a very sad and heavy time with that soule It cannot be but that soule must remaine in a state of guilt and that
for ever and it must be guilt of a deepe dye that cannot be washed and in respect of the majestie and honour of the Trinitie must not be washed off with the blood of the Lord Jesus because so decreed by Iehovah from all eternity I say unto all you that stand to heare me this day That it will prove a very sad time with you if that the Lord Jesus hath not by his blood washed off your guilt that doth as yet lye upon your soules sad will it be with you and black will be your day when God comes to avenge the black sinnes of guilt besides your other sinnes There is therefore but two wayes with you either to be purged from your guilt or else for ever to dye in your guilt of sin Sad will be your condition if ever God should say unto you now or at the last day What make you here among these whose guilt of sinne my hath Sonne by his most precious blood washed off What doe you here Depart I know you not my Sonne never dyed for you nor shed one drop of his blood to wash off your guilt If my Sonne had shed but one drop of his most precious blood for you then should you have beene at this time made partakers of it For my part I would never have detained that blessednesse from you that should have accrued unto you by it one drop of it being able to have washed off all your guilt But seeing it is not so therefore you have no part nor portion in the Sonne of my love Away therefore from me you Reprobates goe along with the rest of your fellowes the Reprobates into the lake that burneth with the flames of my eternall vengeance and there remaine for all eternitie Yea I will inable you to suffer eternall torments so long as I am which is God blessed for ever yea I will hold you up in torments so long as I remaine amongst my Saints in glory which is for evermore And as I doe delight to fill my Saints full of joy and glory unspeakable so will I in like manner delight to satisfie the justice of my eternall malediction upon you that those guiltie soules and consciences of yours unto all eternity may undergoe the portion of my wrath assigned them For I know your workes Isa. 6618. Hos. 7. 2. I remember all their wickednesse And so Hos. 9. 9. Therefore he hath remembreth their iniquities he will visit their sinnes Ezek. 9. 10. And as for me also mine eye shall not spare them neither will I have pittie but I will recompence their wayes upon their owne heads And so Ezek. 7. 9. Hos. 12 14. the 9 15. I say The sinne against the holy Ghost is unpardonable for this one Reason more which is more consonant then any which I have given you hitherto I say this sinne is an unpardonable sinne because the holy Sanctifying Spirit doth as it were preferre a Bill of Indictment against the sinner that hath sinned against him By the way give me leave to bring in a Supposition which shall never be brought to passe Suppose I say That God the Father should take a sinner that had committed the sinne against the holy Ghost and set him before the Barre of his justice and there should appeale unto his justice in the soules behalfe saying Justice I am come unto thee in this sinners behalfe what sayest thou unto me Art thou willing to be reconciled to this sinner he is a great sinner Justice gives in as it were his answer unto God the Father saying I am willing to be satisfied in this sinners behalfe be his sinnes never so great yea even the sinne against the holy Ghost Then God as it were goeth unto the Lord Jesus and tells him that he hath beene with Justice and Justice is willing to be reconciled in this sinners behalfe What sayest thou unto me Art thou willing to bind thy selfe over to satisfie my Divine Iustice in this soules behalfe Art thou willing to become a fountaine of blood to wash off the infinitenesse of this soules guilt that so this sinne against the holy Ghost which this soule hath committed might be forgiven and for ever pardoned I am sayth Christ as it were unto God his Father very willing to yeeld unto this concerning this soule that stands here at the Barre of Iustice for mercy Father if it be thy will to have this soules guilt washed off I am willing to give consent that so this soules guilt by my blood might be washed off that so this unpardonable sinne which this soule hath committed against thy holy Spirit might be forgiven and for ever pardoned that so he might not for ever dye in his guilt If this were so indeed as I have said then were there some possibilitie of mercie to that soule that stands thus at the barre of Justice But if the third person comes not in like manner with a proposition and so answers the supposition then I say is that which was onely supposed to be quite overthrowne for a supposition dependeth upon a proposition God goeth as it were unto the third Person and as it is onely supposed asketh him in like manner saying I have beene with Justice and I have beene with my Sonne and asked his consent and he is willing to satisfie me and my Justice and wee are all agreed and have given in our consents concerning this soule and in his behalfe wee want the consent of none but onely thy consent Art thou willing to seale unto this soules pardon if I wash off his guilt with the bloud of my Sonne wilt thou doe thy office and seale to him the assurance of his pardon If thus the sinners guilt be pardoned the holy Ghost then looking upon the guiltie soule appeales unto God the Father in this supposed manner saying What have you done here You gave in your consents to appease Justice Is there a pardon by bloud granted and doe you want nothing thereunto but onely the Seale to give assurance to that pardon I say you want nothing but my consent in this sinners behalfe If that you had but my consent equally unto yours then might this soules sinnes be pardoned though he hath sinned against me in such a high manner as he hath done I say it is not with my consent that this sinner should ever finde pardon for hee hath beene a very great sinner against me wittingly as also against those divine discoveries which I according unto my office did discover unto him against all which hee hath most wittingly and wilfully transgressed yea hee hath out of a pernitious spirit sinned against me and all those fore-named discoveries which I did infuse into him If that hee had not sinned against me out of malice and out of a set purpose it would never have grieved my holy Spirit so much as now it doth hee strove against that Light which I enlightened him with Shall I give in my consent to have the sinnes of
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