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when he in once enlightened by the Holy Ghost, and has had some foretaste of the joys of heaven and then, a last, utterly opposing this illuminating work of the spirit, wilfully and maliciously to fall away, and so to reject the spirit's renewing work; alas! then the Holy Ghost has done, it has nothing more then that he can work in him; for this wretched creature has utterly rejected him, his enlightening work, his convincing work, his sanctifying work; he has utterly rejected Christ's pardon, heaven and all! Now, this poor wretch is past all hopes of mercy, all hopes of pardon! Nay, for such a one we are forbidded to pray, as you see in the verse whereof thy text is a part. Now, Christ prayed for them that maliciously crucified him, Luke xxvii. 34. saying, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Alas! they knew not what they were doing; "For had they known it, they could not have crucified the Lord of glory," Cor. ii 8. But if they had known, and yet have crucified him, Christ would not have spent his breath to pray for them; for it would have been utterly in vain: For, when a man has committed this unpardonable sin, neither the saying in heaven nor earth can do him any good; for the text saith, "There is a sin {{reconstruct|unto death."

I shall conclude with a few words of application; and I will be as short as possible, lest this discourse should be too large for so small a book here is,