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of God, and hath been made partaker of the Holy Ghost, and hath has some sweet relish and foretaste of heaven, he comes to take a dislike and to hate the holy ways of God, and maliciously oppose and persecute them, in despite of the Spirit of grace, crucifying afresh the Son of God, and putting him to open shame.
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 to far enlighted 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 fall away, he so 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, then 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.
