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SER M. have been fo in all ages; and whatever was rejected in any age, must always have been rejected: but we' plainly fee the contrary, from the inftance of this epiftle, concerning which the church of Rome (which pretends to be the great and faithful preferver of tradition) hath in feveral ages deliver'd feveral things. This is a peremptory inftance both of the fallibility of the Roman church, and of her oral tradition.

text.

Having obferved this by the way, which I could not well pafs by upon fo fair an occafion, I fhall betake myself to the explication of thefe words; towards which it will be no fmall advantage to confider the particular phrafes and expreffions in the "It is impoffible for thofe who were once 66 enlightned;" that is, were folemnly admitted into the church by baptifm, and embraced the profeffion of christianity. Nothing was more frequent among the ancients, than to call baptifm "prioμov, illumi"nation ;" and those who were baptized were called, "OwróμEvo, enlightned perfons," because of that divine illumination which was conveyed to the minds of men by the knowledge of chriftianity, the doctrine whereof they made profeffion of at their baptifm. And therefore Juftin Martyr tells us, "that by cal

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ling upon God the FATHER, and the name of 66 our LORD JESUS CHRIST, and the name of the "HOLY GHOST, OWTICÓμEV Ara, the enlight"ned perfon is wafhed;" and again more exprefly, « Καλεῖται δὲ τᾶτο λατρὸν φωτισμός, this laver (fpeak

ing of baptifm) is called illumination." And St. Cyprian gives us the reafon; because by virtue of baptifm in expiatum pectus ac purum defuper fe lumen infundit, "light is infufed from above into the puri

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"fied foul." And that this expreffion is fo to be SERM. understood here in the text, as alfo chap. x. 32. the Syriac and Ethiopic give us good ground to believe; for they render the text thus, "It is impof"fible for those who have been once baptized, and "have tafted of the heavenly gift." And at the xth chap. ver. 32. which we tranflate, "but call to "remembrance the former days, in which after ye

were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of "afflictions;" that is, call to mind the former days in which after by baptifm ye had publickly embraced the profeffion of chriftianity, ye were upon that account exposed to many grievous fufferings and perfecutions. So that I think there can be no great doubt, but, by" thofe that were once enlightned," the apoftle means thofe that were baptized.

To proceed then," for it is impoffible for those "who were once enlightned, and have tafted of the

heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the "HOLY GHOST;" thefe two expreffions feem to denote the spiritual benefits and graces of the HOLY GHOST Conferred upon chriftians by baptifm; particularly regeneration, which is the. proper work of the HOLY GHOST, and justification and remiffion of fins. So we find faith, whereby we are juftified, called the gift of GOD, Eph. ii. 8. "Faith is the gift " of GOD;" and our juftification is called a gift, and a free gift, five several times in one chapter, Rom. v. 15, 16, 17, 18. "But not as the offence, fo alfo is "the free gift; for if through the offence of one "many be dead, much more the grace of God,

and the gift by grace, which is by one man JESUS CHRIST, hath abounded unto many;" and what this free gift is, he tells us in the next words,

SER M viz. juftification, or remiffion of fins, ver. 16. "And not as it was by one that finned, fo is the

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gift; for the judgment was by one to condemna"tion; but the free gift is of many offences unto "juftification. For if by one man's offence, death

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reigned by one, much more they which receive "abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteouf"nefs, fhall reign in life by one JESUS CHRIST. "Therefore as by the offence of one, judgment 66 came upon all men to condemnation : even so by "the righteoufnefs of one, the free gift came upon "all men unto juftification of life." So that by "the heavenly gift," I understand remiffion of fins, and by being "made partakers of the HOLY "GHOST," the fanctifying power and efficacy of GOD'S SPIRIT.

"And have tasted the good word of God;" that is, entertained the gofpel, which is here called "the good word of GOD;" by reason of the gracious promises contained in it, particularly the promifes of eternal life and happiness.

"And the powers of the world to come," δυνάμεις τε μέλλοντα αιώνΘ, the powers of the gofpel age; that is, the miraculous powers of the HOLY GHOST which were bestowed upon men, in order to the propagation of the gofpel. And that this is the true meaning of this phrafe, will I think be very plain to any one who fhall but confider, that the word duvaμss is generally in fcripture ufed for miraculous powers and operations; and particularly to exprefs the miraculous gifts of the HOLY GHOST, which were beftowed upon the apostles and first chriftians; (I need not cite the particular texts for the proof of this, they are so many

and

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and fo well known;) and then if we confider farther, SERM. that the times of the gofpel, the days of the MESSIAS, are frequently called by the Jews feculum futurum," the age to come." And indeed this is the

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very phrase used by the LXX concerning our SAVIOUR, Ifa. ix 6. where he is called according to our translation, "the everlasting FATHER," but according to that of the LXX πατήρ μέλλοντα ar, the FATHER of the future age." And this very phrafe is used once more in this epistle to the Heb. chap. ii. 5. "For unto the angels hath he "not put in fubjection the world to come, whereof we now speak." He had faid before," that the "law was given by angels," ver. 2. "If the word spoken by angels was stedfast;" but the dispensation of the gospel, which he calls "the world to 66 come," or the future age, was not committed to them, this was adminiftred by the Son of GOD; "unto the angels hath he not put in fubjection "the world to come." And 'tis obfervable, that this phrafe is only used in this epiftle to the Hebrews, because the Jews very well understood the meaning of it, being that whereby they commonly expreft the times of the gospel according to that ancient tradition of the house of Elias, which d:ftributed the duration of the world into three aves, or ages; the age before the law, the age under the law, and the age of the MESSIAS, which they called the feculum futurum, or "the age to come;" and which is likewife in fcripture called, "the last days, or times, and the conclufion of the ages. Concerning which, it was particularly prophefied, that the HOLY GHOST fhould be poured forth upon men in miraculous gifts and powers. And to this

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P 4

very

SER M.very purpose the prophet Joel is cited by St. Peter,

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Acts ii. 16, 17. "This is that which was spoken by "the prophet Joel, And it fhall come to pass in the "laft days (faith GoD) I will pour out my Spi"RIT upon all flesh; and your fons and your daughters fhall prophefy," &c. From all which it is very evident, that by tasting of the powers of "the world to come," is meant being partakers of the miraculous gifts of the HOLY GHOST, which were poured forth in the gospel age, by the Jews commonly called "the world to come."

"If they shall fall away;" that is, if after all this they fhall apoftatize from this profeffion, out of love to this prefent world, or from the fear of perfecutions and fufferings.

"It is impoffible to renew them again to repen"tance;" that is, it is a thing very difficult, hardly to be hoped for, that fuch wilful and notorious apoftates fhould be reftored again by repentance. For the word adúvarov, which we tranflate "impoffi"ble," is not always to be taken in the ftricteft fenfe, for that which abfolutely cannot be; but many times for that which is so very difficult that it seems next to an impoffibility. So our SAVIOUR, that which in one place he calls "exceeding hard, viz. for a rich "man to enter into the kingdom of heaven," he afterwards calls " impoffible with men ;" and fo here I understand the apoftle, that thofe who apostatize from christianity, after baptifm and the benefits of it," 'tis exceeding hard to recover them "again to repentance : " this phrafe " πάλιν ανα σε καινίζειν εἰς μετάνοιαν, to renew them again to re"pentance," fome understand of reftoring them again to the peace and communion of the church,

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by