on them. And for the further explication of these words and therein of the description of the state of these supposed apostates, we may consider the ensuing observations, which declare the sense of the words, or what is contained in them.

Obs. IX. There is a goodness and excellency in the word of God, able to attract and affect the minds of men, who yet never arrive at sincere obedience to it.

Obs. X. There is an especial goodness in the word of the promise concerning Jesus Christ, and the declaration of its accomplishment.

Lastly, It is added, duvaμsis te μsλλotos αivos, and the powers of the world to come.' Avvaus are, the mighty, great, miraculous operations and works of the Holy Ghost. What they were, and how they were wrought among these Hebrews, hath been declared in our Exposition of chap. ii. 4. whither I refer the reader: and they are known from the Acts of the apostles, where sundry instances of them are recorded. I have also proved on that chapter, that by the world to come,' our apostle in this epistle intends the days of the Messiah, that being the usual name of it in the church at that time, as the new world which God had promised to create. Wherefore these powers of the world to come, were the gifts whereby those igns, wonders and mighty works, were then wrought by the Holy Ghost, according as it was foretold by the prophets, that they should be so. See Joel ii. compared with Acts ii. These the persons spoken of, are supposed to have tasted, for the particle refers to yraμves foregoing. Either they had been wrought in and by themselves, or by others in their sight, whereby they had an experience of the glorious and powerful working of the Holy Ghost, in the confirmation of the gospel. Yea, I do judge, that they in their own persons were partakers of these powers in the gifts of tongues, and other miraculous operations, which was the highest aggravation possible of their apostasy, and that which peculiarly rendered their recovery impossible. For there is not in the Scripture an impossibility put on the recovery of any, but such as peculiarly sin against the Holy Ghost; and although that guilt may be contracted in other ways, yet in none so signally, as in this of rejecting that truth which was confirmed by his mighty operations in them that rejected it, which could not be done without an ascription of his divine power to the devil. Yet would I not fix on those extraordinary gifts exclusively to those that are ordinary. They also are of the powers of the world to come. So is every thing that belongs to the erection or preservation of the new world, or the kingdom of Christ. To the first setting up of a kingdom, great and mighty power is required; but being set up, the ordinary dispensation of power will preserve it; so is it in this matter. The extraordi

nary miraculous gifts of the Spirit were used in the erection of Christ's kingdom, but it is continued by ordinary gifts, which therefore also belong to the powers of the world to

come.

From the consideration of this description, in all the parts of it, we may understand what sort of persons it is, that is intended here by the apostle. And it appears, yea is evident,

1. That the persons here intended, are not true and sincere believers in the strict and proper sense of that name, at least they are not described here as such; so that from hence nothing can be concluded concerning them that are so, as to the possibility of their total and final apostasy. For, 1. There is in their full and large description no mention of faith or believing, either expressly, or in terms equivalent. And in no other place in the Scripture are such intended, but they are mentioned by what belongs essentially to their state. And, 2. There is not any thing ascribed to these persons, that is peculiar to them as such, or discriminative of them, as taken either from their especial relation to God in Christ, or any such property of their own, as is not communicable to others. For instance, they are not said to be called according to God's purpose; to be born again, not of the will of man, nor of the will of flesh, but of God; not to be justified, or sanctified, or united to Christ, or to be the sons of God by adoption; nor have they any other characteristical note of true believers ascribed to them. 3. They are in the following verses compared to the ground, on which the rain often falls, and beareth nothing but thorns and briars. But this is not so with true believers. For faith itself is an herb peculiar to the inclosed garden of Christ, and meet for him by whom we are dressed. 4. The apostle afterwards discoursing of true believers, doth in many particulars distinguish them from such as may be apostates, which is supposed of the persons here intended, as was before declared. For, 1. He ascribeth to them in general better things, and such as accompany salvation, ver. 9. 2. He ascribes a work and labour of love, as it is true faith alone which worketh by love, ver. 10. whereof he speaks not one word concerning these. 3. He asserts their preservation, 1. On the account of the righteousness and faithfulness of God, ver. 11. 2. Of the immutability of his counsel concerning them, ver. 17, 18. In all these, and sundry other instances, doth he put a difference between these apostates and true believers. And whereas the apostle intends to declare the aggravation of their sin, in falling away, by the principal privileges whereof they were made partakers, here is not one word

in name or thing of those which he expressly assigns to be the chief privileges of true believers, Rom. viii. 27—30.

2. Our next inquiry is more particularly, whom he doth intend? And, 1. They were such who not long before were converted from Judaism unto Christianity, upon the evidence of the truth of its doctrine, and the miraculous operations wherewith its dispensation was accompanied. 2. He intends not the common sort of them, but such as had obtained especial privi- · leges among them. For they had received extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost, as speaking with tongues or working miracles. And, 3. They had found in themselves and others, convincing evidences, that the kingdom of God and the Messiah, which they called the world to come, was come unto them, and had satisfaction in the glories of it. 4. Such persons as these, as they have a work of light on their minds, so, according to the efficacy of their convictions, may have such a change wrought upon their affections and in their conversation, as that they may be of great esteem among professors; and such these here intended might be. Now, it must needs be some horrible frame of spirit, some malicious enmity against the truth and holiness of Christ and the gospel, some violent love of sin and the world, that could turn off such persons as these from the faith, and blot out all that light and conviction of truth which they had received. But the least grace is a better security for heaven, than the greatest gifts and privileges whatever.

These are the persons concerning whom our apostle discourseth, and of whom it is supposed by him, that they may fall away, και παραπέσοντας. The especial nature of the sin here intended, is afterwards declared in two instances, or aggravating circumstances. This word expresseth the respect it had to the state and condition of the sinners themselves: they fall away," do that whereby they do so. I think we have well expressed the word, if they shall fall away.' Our old translations render it only, if they shall fall,' which expressed not the sense of the word, and was liable to a sense not at all intended. For he doth not say, if they shall fall into sin, this, or that, or any sin whatever that can be named, suppose the greatest sin imaginable, namely, the denial of Christ in the time of danger or persecution. This was that sin, as we intimated before, about. which so many contests were raised of old, and so many canons were multiplied about the ordering of them who had contracted the guilt thereof. But one example, well considered, had been a better guide for them, than all their own arbitrary rules and imaginations: when Peter fell into this sin, and yet was renewed again to repentance, and that speedily. Wherefore we may lay down this, in the first place, as to the sense of the words: There is no particular sin that any man may fall into occasion

ally, through the power of temptation, that can cast the sinner under this commination, so that it should be impossible to renew him to repentance. It must therefore, secondly, be a course of sin, or sinning, that is intended. But there are vari ous degrees herein also, yea there are divers kinds of such courses in sin. A man may so fall into a way of sin, as still to retain in his mind such a principle of light and conviction, that may be suitable to his recovery. To exclude such from all hopes of repentance, is expressly contrary to Ezek. xviii. 21. Isa. lv. 7. yea, and the whole sense of the Scripture. Wherefore men, after some conviction and reformation of life, may fall into corrupt and wicked courses, and make a long abode or continuance in them. Examples hereof we have every day amongst us, although, it may be, none to parallel that of Manasseh. Consider the nature of his education under his father Hezekiah, the greatness of his sins, the length of his continuance in them, with his following recovery, and he is a great instance in this case. Whilst there is in such persons any seed of light, or conviction of truth, which is capable of an excitation or revival, so as to put forth its power and efficacy in their souls, they cannot be looked on to be in the condition intended, though their case be dangerous.

3. Our apostle makes a distinction between a and KITT, Rom. xi. 11. between stumbling and falling, and would not allow that the unbelieving Jews of those days were come so far as πίπτων, that is, ' to fall absolutely. Λεγω εν μη επταισαν ένα πετα

pengvosto: "I say then, have they stumbled, that they should fall? God forbid ;" that is, absolutely and irrecoverably. So therefore doth that word signify in this place. And raganiTo increaseth the signification, either as to perverseness in the manner of the fall, or as to violence in the fall itself.

From what hath been discoursed, it will appear what falling away it is that the apostle here intendeth. And,

1. It is not a falling into this or that actual sin, be it of what nature it will, which may be, and yet not be, a falling away.

2. It is not a falling upon temptation or surprizal, for concerning such fallings, we have rules of another kind given us in sundry places, and those exemplified in especial instances; but it is that which is premeditated, of deliberation and choice.

3. It is not a falling by a relinquishment or renunciation of some, though very material principles of Christian religion, by error or seduction, as the Corinthians fell, in denying the resurrection of the dead, and the Galatians by denying justification by faith in Christ alone. Wherefore,

4. It must consist in a total renunciation of all the constituent principles and doctrines of Christianity, whence it is denominated. Such was the sin of them who relinquished the gos

pel to return unto Judaism, as it was then stated, in opposition unto it, and hatred of it. This it was, and not any kind of actual sins, that the apostle manifestly discourseth concerning.

5. For the completing of this falling away, according to the intention of the apostle, it is required that this renunciation be avowed and professed; as, when a man forsaketh the profession of the gospel, and falls into Judaism, or Mahometanism, or Gentilism, in persuasion and practice. For the apostle discour seth concerning faith and obedience as professed, and so therefore also of their contraries. And this avowal of a relinquishment of the gospel, hath many provoking aggravations attending it. And yet, whereas some men may in their hearts and minds utterly renounce the gospel, but upon some outward se cular considerations, either dare not or will not profess that inward renunciation, their falling away is complete and total in the sight of God; and all they do to cover their apostasy in an external compliance with Christian religion, is in the sight of God but a mocking of him, and the highest aggravation of

their sin.

This is the falling away intended by the apostle; a volunta ry resolved relinquishment of, and apostasy from the gospel, the faith, rule, and obedience thereof; which cannot be, without casting the highest reproach and contumely imaginable, upon the person of Christ himself, as is afterwards expressed.

Concerning these persons, and their thus falling away, two things are to be considered in the text. 1. What is affirmed of them. 2. The reason of that affirmation.

The first is, that it is impossible to renew them again to repentance. The thing intended is negative; to renew them again to repentance, this is denied of them: but the modifica tion of that negation, turns the proposition into an affirmation, "It is impossible so to do."

Αδύνατον γαρ. The import of the word is dubious; some think an absolute, and otliers a moral impossibility is intended thereby. This latter most fix upon, so that is a matter rare, difficult, and seldom to be expected, that is intended, and not that which is absolutely impossible. Considerable reasons and instances are produced for either interpretation. But we must look farther into the meaning of it.

First, All future events depend on God, who alone doth necessarily exist. Other things may be, or may not be, as they respect him or his will. And so things that are future, may be said to be impossible, or be so, either with respect unto the nature of God, or his decrees, or his moral rule, order and law. Things are impossible with respect unto the nature of God, either absolutely, as being inconsistent with his being and essential properties; so it is impossible, that God should lie: or, on