Com. 3 is the commending, or crying-up or own or others parts, pains, wit, &c. for attaining, effecting, and bringing to pafs of fomewhat, to the prejudice of divine providence; fo thofe of Zidon did to Herod, Acts 12. 22. And thus often men make mediators and faviours, as it were, of themselves, and of other men.

2dly, This blafphemy may either be immediately and directly against God himfelf, or any of the Perfons of the bleffed Godhead; or mediately and indirectly against him, when it is against his ordinances of the word, prayer, facraments, &c. by vilifying them in expreffions; or againft his people, or the work of his Spirit in them: He is indirectly blafphemed in them, when they, or it, are mocked; as when Paul's much learning in the gospel is called madnefs, or when real and ferious religion, repentance, or holiness, are called conceitedness, pride, precifeness, fancy, &c.

3dly, Blafphemy may be confidered, either at it is deliberate and purpofed, as in the Pharifees: Or, 2. As it is out of infirmity, rafhnefs and unwatchfulness over expreffions: Or, 3. Out of ignorance, as Paul was a blafphemer before his converfion, 1 Tim. 1. 15.

4thly, It may be confidered, 1. As against the Father. 2. As against the Son, 3. As against the Holy Ghoft. All are fpoken of, Matth. 12. and Mark 3.

1. Blafphemy against the Father is that which striketh either against the Godhead fimply, or any of the attributes which are due to God; and fo 'tis against all the Perfons in common, or against the Trinity of Perfons, when it is denied; and fo that relation of Father in the Godhead is blafphemed.

2. Blafphemy against the Son is, when either his Godhead in the eternity of it is denied, as it was by the Photinians and Arians; or when the diftinction of his natures, in their refpective true properties retained by each nature, is denied ; or when he is denied in his offices, as if he did not fatisfy divine juftice for the fins of the elect as a Prieft, which is done by the Socinians; or, as if he had not a kingdom or authority; or when other mediators, or other fatisfactions to juftice, are fet up and put in his room; or when another head and husband to the church, prince or Pope; or another word than what is written are made and obtruded upon her, and the like, whereof there are many in Popery, in

which refpect Antichrift is said to have many names of blaf phemy, Rev. 13.

3. Blafphemy againft the Spirit may be confidered, either as it is against the third Perfon of the Godhead, and so it is against the Trinity; and was that error peculiar to Macedonius, or the veμaтoμaxo, or pugnantes contra Spiritum, that is, fighters against the Spirit; or it may be confidered as it looketh efpecially to the operation or work of that Spirit in a man's felf, and fo it is that peculiar blafphemy spoken of, Matth. 12. 32. which, when all other blafphemies are declared to be pardonable, is faid never to be pardoned. This is the highest degree of blafphemy, which may be fo, 1. In that it is not at any time fallen into by a believer or an elect., 2. That it is not often fallen into even by others that are reprobates. 3. That it is hardly known to the perfon himself that is guilty of it, but much lefs to others. 4. That it is never repented of, and (we think) doth never affect, because it is never pardoned; all other fins are pardonable, and many are actually pardoned.

any

(1.) This fin then is not every fin, tho' all fins grieve the Spirit, Eph. 4. 27. Nor, (2.) Is it any fin of infirmity, or of ignorance, even fuch as Paul's was: Nor, (3.) Is it fin (even tho' against knowledge) committed against the fecond table of the law, fuch as David fell into, and may be pardoned: Nor, (4.) Is it every fin that is against Christ and clear light; for Peter denied him, but it was of infirmity, Matth. 20. 70.

But this fin is, I. In the main of the gofpel, and as to its faving work. 2. It is not only againft light, but against the Spirit's prefent teftifying of it, or bearing witness to it, and after foregoing convictions yielded unto in fome measure, and fticking or lying on as weighty, and making the confcience to challenge, as may be gathered from Heb. 6. 3. It is not in one particular fin or act, but in a total and refolute oppofing of the truth, whereof men are convinced, feeking to bear it down in others, and to extirpate it out of the world, as the Pharifees did, Matth. 12. who not only reje&ted Christ as to themselves, but oppofed him in all others, and fought utterly to undo the truth; This is the Heir, come let us kill him, fay they. 4. This oppofition flows from ma-. lice against the truth, hatred of it, and from accounting it a thing unworthy to be in the world; not out of fear and in

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firmity.

Com. 3? firmity, or from miftake, but out of envy and defpite at it for itself: On this account the Lord objecteth it to the Phavifees, John 15. 24. But now they have both feen and hated Me and my Father, and Matth. 21. 5. It is univerfal against every thing of the Spirit, and obftinately conftant, without any relenting grief or fear, except only left it attain not to its end: The fear of that tormenteth it; but its malice and hatred groweth, as it is marred or obstructed, being deliberately begun and profecutel. 6. It has in it a special contempt of, and disdain at,those special means and works of the Spirit, whereby a finner is reclaimed, as convictions, repentance, renewing again to it, &c. Thus Heb. 10. 10. it doth defpite to the Spirit, and to Jefus Chrift, as to any application; it contemptuously reječteth him and his fatisfaction, and any glance of the Spirit that beareth that in: fimple contempt, through ignorance and infirmity, is againft the Son; but this, which is thus qualified, is against the Spirit, and is never to be pardoned: the firft is against the object Chrift, but the fecond is. against him who is, or him as born in on finners by the Spirit, and as contemned by them after their being under thefe convictions, and acknowledging of them. This irremiffableness is not fimply that the fin fhall not be pardoned, for fo many fins are to the reprobates; nor yet fimply because it endeth in final impenitency (tho' that be with it too) fince many fins are followed by that alfo: but we conceive it to be in these ;

1. That feeing this fin (which can be faid of no other fin) doth wilfully and out of defpite reject Chrift, there can be no other facrifice gotten to expiate it, Heb. 10. 26. There remaineth no more facrifice for it: and tho' the perfon after the firft commiffion of it may be kept a while in the land of the living, yet the nature of that fin being to grow in malice, and to reject that remedy,there being no other,and thus being ftill wilfully and maliciously rejected, availeth them not; fo their fin is never pardoned.

2. That the perfon guilty of this fin cannot be renewed by repentance, the heart of him fuppreffing that work malicicufly. This impoffibility is not from the inefficacy of grace, but from the order which God hath laid down in the working of repentance, and in the pardoning of the penitent; fo that, as he will pardon none but repenting believers, fo he will work repentance in none but in those who yield, thro grace, to his Spirit's work.

3. That

3. That God in juftice hath fentenced that fin with impenitency and unpardonableness, making that one fin thus capital and unpardonable,thereby to fcar the more from thwarting with the Spirit: He has denied ever to give them that are guilty of it, repentance; and hath faid, that he will plague them with fpiritual impenitency unto the end.

5thly, Blafphemy may be confidered as it is, 1. Doctrinal, or maintained by fome men in their tenets; fuch were those of the old hereticks, fuch are thofe of the Pelagians, Papifts, and Arminians, as to the nature of providence, and the work of grace upon hearts: Or, 2. As it is in expreffions deliberately brought forth: Or, 3. In oaths, as when men swear by the wounds, blood,foul, &c. of our blessed Lord; which, as they are horrible to hear, fo is it reproachful to his majefty, that these should be fo abufed: Or, 4. In deeds, writing, painting, acting, reprefenting any thing derogatory to him; which are also charged with blafphemy, in abufing God's name to fuch ends. 5. It may be in a high degree, when men act fuch a blafphemy, or confequently when they punifh it not; when we do not rent our clothes (as it were) at the hearing and feeing fuch things, in teftimony of our forrow and deteftation (which was the fin of the princes, Fer. 36. 24, 25. who, tho' they were fomewhat difpleafed, yet they had not zeal vigorous againft that wicked deed of the king:) when we have not fuitable hatred against fuch and such blafphemous doctrines, Rev. 2. 6. much more if we extenuate them, defend them, or plead for them: Or, 6. It may be either as we are guilty of it by our own deeds, or when we make ourselves guilty of the blafphemy of others, as having finfully occafioned it to them, tempted them to it, and laid fuch and such a stumbling-block before them, as is faid of David, 2 Sam. 12. 14. and of the Jews, Rom. 2. 24. That they caufed others to blafpheme the name of God because of them. Thus chriftians, especially thofe who have a profeffion beyond ordinary, and particularly wives and fervants, by their mifcarriages, become guilty of the blafphemy of others againft godliness, and fuch and fuch duties of religion; because they give occafion to it, tho' that make it not a whit the lefs fault to them that blafpheme. See that caften up to his people, Ezek. 36. 20, 21. O how tender fhould profeffors be in this matter! left ungodly men get occafion to speak ill, who ly at the wait to catch all advantages to fortify them

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felves

Com. 3. felves in their natural prejudice at godlinefs, and draw their conclufions from mifcarriages, not fo much against the particular perfons mifcarrying, as against the way of God, and the whole generation of the godly.

There are thefe things efpecially that make others blafpheme, 1. Some grofs out-breaking, as David's adultery. 2. Pride, paffion and contention amongft godly men, when they walk as men, I Cor. 3. 4. and contentioufly, I Cor. 6. 3. Covetoufnefs and earthly mindedness. 4. Manifeft unfinglenefs, and felf-defigns, driven under a cloke of religion, which maketh them call all that are religious, cheats. 5. Sinful fhunning and fhifting off fuffering. 6. Undutifulness of inferiors in the several duties of their relations to fuperiors, as of wives to their husbands, of fervants to mafters, of fubjects to magiftrates, 1 Pet. 2. 15. Tit. 2. 4, 5, 10. 7. Following of errors by profeffors, 2 Pet. 2. 2.

6thly, Blafphemy may be confidered either as it is here in the way by men living, or as it is by them in the place of torment; who keeping ftill, no doubt, their former wicked nature and corruption, and not confidering God as he is in himself, but as they feel him in the feverity of his juftice punishing them, cannot have good thoughts of him, but will fret at his power and justice, which they cannot get free of; tho' it is like, after their fentence is paft, this is to be confidered as a part of their curfed eftate, and doth increase meritorioufly their judgment, as blafphemy in the way did. Thefe ways of breaking this command,fpoken unto,are more grofs and extraordinary; we should now fpeak a word to such as are more common in our practice,and thefe are of two forts.

The firft is more grofs, when the name of God, or any thing bearing the name of God, as his ordinances, word, facraments, prayer, &c. are profaned, out of duty. This is done, 1. When these are mocked or fcorned, which is a high degree of profaning his name. 2. When the fcripqure-phrafes, expreffions or terms are baffled (to speak fo) to our finful fcoffing, jeibing and geiring of others, tho we do not directly mock or jeir at the fcripture itself. 3. When in ordinary difcourfe and unneceffarily God's name is used, tho' we intend not fwearing, neither think that we do fwear. 4. When ordinarily, upon fuch and fuch occafions, the Lord's name is used in irreverend and unwarrantable exclamations; as, O Lord, O God, what is this, or that? c.