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Now, a man having gone thus far, he comes, in the last place, to be an apostate; for thus to oppose wilfully and maliciously the known truth, is always joined with final and total apostacy: For he that is so far enlightened as to see the evil of sin, and the excellency of Christ and holiness, and hath been made partakers of the Holy Ghost, of his graces and comfort, and tasted of God's love and favour in Jesus Christ, and has some foretaste of the joys of the world to come; for such a one wilfully, spitefully, and maliciously to fail away, he set falls as never to rise more. It is true, the children of God fall, and that often, and rise again; but then they fall through weakness or infirmity, and not wilfully or maliciously; but these wicked wretches fall wilfully and maliciously, and so fall finally. Against such, the door of mercy is for ever shut! Concerning such, St. Peter said, "It had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after they had known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them: But it happened unto them according to the true proverb. The dog is returned to his vomit again, and the sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire," 2 Pet. ii. 21. 22. There is a dreadful place in Scripture against these kind of apostates that is, Heb. x 26. "For if we win wilfully, after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin, but a fearful looking for of judgement, and fiery indignation,"
