The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1895-07-25
TALMAGE's SERMON.
THE UNPARDONABLE SIN AGAINST
THE HOLY GHOST.
What 1t Is and the Possibility of
Committing 1t in This AEe-Sins
Which May Be PardOned, but
Which In Some Respects Are IRE
YOcNble.

New York, Special.-In his sermon
for to-day Rev. DR.. Talmage, who IS
still in the West on his annual summer
tour chose a subject which has been
a. fruitful theme of theological dispu-
tation for centuries past, viz: 1.-THE
objectionable Sim" The texts select
ed were: Cali manner Of sin and BIAS
phemy against the Holy Ghost shall
not be forgiven unto men. And Who
soever speaketh word against the
Son of man, it shall be forgiven him;
but whosoever speaketh against the
Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven
him, neither in this world. neither IN
the world to come" Matthew xii, 81,
3D.
"He found no place of repentance,
though he sought it carefully with
tears" Hebrews xii, II.
AS sometimes you gather the whole
family around the evening stand to
hear some book read, so now we gath
era great Christian family group-to
study this text; and now may one and
the same lamp cast it's glow on all the
circle!
You see from the first passage that
HOLY Ghost for which a man is never
pardoned, Once having committed it,
he is bound hand and foot for the dun
geons of despair. Sermons may be
preached to HIM, songs may be sung
to him, prayers may be offered in his
behalf; but all to no purpose. He IS a
captive for this world, and captive
for the world that is to come. Do you
suppose that there is any one here
who has committed that sin? All sins
are against the Holy Ghost; but my
text speaks of one especially. 1t is
very clear to my own MIND that the
sin against the Holy Ghost was the
ascribing of the works of the spirit to
the agency of the devil in the time of
the apostles Indeed, the Bible dis
tinctly tells us that. In other words,
if man had sight given to him, or If
another was raised from the dead,
and some one standing there should
say, ''This man got his sight by sa-
tanic power; the Holy Ghost did not
do this; Beelzebub accomplished It,;
or, This man raised from the dead
was raised by satanic influence the
man who said that dropped down I'M
der the curse of the text, and had
committed the fatal sin against the
Holy Ghost. 49,.
Now, 1 don't think it is possible in
this day to commit that sin. think
it was possible only in apostolic times.
But it is a very terrible thing ever to
say anything against the Holy Ghost,
and it is a marked fact that our race
has been maryelously kept back from
profanity You hear a man swear by
the name of the Eternal God, and by
the name of Jesus Christ, but you
never heard a man swear by the name
of the Holy Ghost. There are those
here to-day who fear they are guilty
of the objectionable sin. Have you
such anxiety? Then I have to tell you
positively that you have not commit
ted that sin, because the very anxiety
is the result of the movement of the
gracious Spirit, and your anxiety l:
proof positive, as certainly as any
thing that can be demonstrated IL
mathematics, that you have not com
mitted the sin that I have been speak
ing of. can look off upon this au
for all. It is not like when they pu
out with the lifeboats from the Loci
Earn for the Vile du Havre. The.
knew there was not room for all tn
passengers, but they were going to d
as we'll as they could. But to-day W
man the lifeboat of the Gospel, an
we cry out over the sea, Groom TO
alln Oh, that the Lord Jesus Chris
would, this hour, bring you all out o
the flood Of sin, and plant you on tn
deck of the glorious old Gospel craft
But while I have said 1 do not thin
it is possible for us to commit the pal
ticular sin spoken of in the first tex
have by reason of the second text
call your attention to the fact ths
there are sins which, though they ma
be pardoned, are in some respects i
revocable; and you can find no plae
for repentance, though you seek
carefully with tears. Esau had
birthright given him. In olden time
it meant not only temporal but spi
birthright and traded it off for som
US not be too severe upon him, f,
some of us have committed the san
folly. After he had made the trad
he wanted to get it back. Just
though you tomorrow morning shou
take all your notes and bonds al
government securities, and should
into a restaurant, and in fit of rec
lessness and hunger throw all tho
securities on the counter and ask f
a plate of food, making that exchang
This was the one Esau made. He so
his birthright for q mess of pottae
and he was very sorry about it afte
ward; but che found no place for I
pentance, though he sought it cal
fully with tears"
There is an impression in almo
every mans mind that somewhere
the future there will be chan
where he can correct all his mistake
Live as we may, if we only repent
time, God will forgive us, and tn
all will be as we'll as though we h;
never committed sin. My discour
shall come in collision with that tt
ory. I shall show you, my friends,
God will help me, that there is su
thing as unsuccessful repentan'
that there are things done wrong tn
always stay wrong, and for them y
seek some place OF repentance, a
seek it carefully, but never find it.
a3a Ro1nnpino to this class of irrevo