have nothing of spiritual life in them at all: Hence Eph. ii. 1. men in a state of nature are faid to be dead in trefpaffes and fins, that is, under the total reigning power of fin, in the gall of bitterness, and under the bond of iniquity, without God, without Christ, and therefore without hope. (2.) There is a partial death incident to believers, whom God hath raised out of the grave of an unrenewed ftate, and in whose souls he hath implanted a principle of fpiritual life; and this partial death, incident to believers, confifts in a manifeft decay of spiritual principles and habits, in the abating of their wonted life and vigour, and activity in the way and work of the Lord; their faith, their love, their hope, and other graces, are all in a fainting and languishing condition, they lie dormant in the foul, like the life of the tree that lies hid in its root without fruit or bloffoms during the winter-feafon: Such deadness as this, we find the Lord's people in fcripture frequently complaining of, particularly Ifai. lvi. 3. The Jon of the ftranger, that has joined himself to the Lord, and taken hold of his covenant, he is made to fpeak, faying, the Lord hath utterly separated me from his people: And the eunuch cries out, I am a dry tree, wherein there is no life or fap; it is this kind of fpiritual deadness, incident to believers, that I now principally fpeak of. The leaves of his profeffion may in a great measure be withered, the candle of his converfation may burn dimly, or with a very imperfect light: The flame of his affections, his zeal, love and defire, may, like that of a great fire, be reduced into a few coals and cinders: There may be a great intermiffion or formality in the difcharge of commanded duty; the mind, which once with delight and admiration could meditate upon God and Chrift, Chrift, and the covenant, and things that are above, may come to lofe its relifh of these things, and to dote upon the tranfitory fading vanities of a prefent world. The common gifts of the Spirit, thro' carnal eafe, and defect of employment, may be in a great measure blafted; and, which is worst of all, the faving graces and fruits of the spirit may come to be wofully impaired as to their former degrees and actings. But now this partial death of believers again, it is twofold, there is a deadnefs which is felt by God's people, and a deadness which is not felt; gray hairs are here and there upon them, fometimes, and they do not behold them. The Lord was departed from Samfon, and he wift not, Judg. xvi. 20. But then, there is a deadnefs which is felt, when God's people have a sense of their deadness, and are lamenting it: And it is an evidence of spiritual life, or of fome revival, when the Lord's people are beginning to cry out with the church, Pfal. lxxxv. 6. Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee? Why haft thou hardened our hearts from thy fear? Ifai. lxiii. 17. But The fecond thing, is to take notice of fome of the caufes of this fpiritual deadnefs; I fhall only name them, because your time would not allow me to enlarge. then, Abftinence or neglect of food, you know, will foon bring the body into a pining, languishing condition; fo, if the means of grace be not diligently improved, if we neglect by faith to apprehend and to improve Chrift, and to feed upon him, whose flesh is meat indeed, and whose blood is drink indeed, the fpiritual life of the foul will foon languish and wither: Hence is that faying of Chrift, John vi, 53. Except ye eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, ye have no life in you. you. 2d, Surfeiting the foul with fenfual pleafure; is another great cause of spiritual death, Hof, iv. 11. Whoredom, and wine, and new wine, take away the heart: They fuck out the very life of the foul. What is the reason why many prefeffors of religion have loft their wonted vigour in the way of the Lord, and are in fuch a languishing condition as to their foul matters? the plain reafon of it is this, they are glutting themselves with the pleasures of fenfe. If Samfon do but fleep in Dalilah's lap, fhe will betray him into the hand of the Philistines, and cut the locks wherein his ftrength lies; and when he goes out to shake himself, as at other times, he will find his ftrength gone away from him. 3d, Inactivity, and floth in falvation and regeneration work, is another cause of spiritual deadness. Phyficians obferve, that as too violent exercife, fo too much rest, or a fedentary way of living, is prejudicial to the health of the body. This holds alfo in fpirituals, if we do not exercise ourselves unto godlinefs, and endeavour to abound in the work of the Lord, the fpiritual life will foon languish and dwindle away; and therefore, let us not be flothful in business, but fervent in fpirit, ferving the Lord; and whatever our hand findeth to do, let us do it with all our might. And beware of refting upon empty wishes and defires in fpiritual matters, for the defire of the flothful kills him, because his hands refufe to labour. 4th, The contagion of ill example, of a carnal world, and irreligious relations, has a fatal influence this way: Ye know 'tis exceeding dangerous for these who have the feed of all diseases in them, to frequent the company of these who are infected with the plague or peftilence. A Jofeph," if he stay long in the Egyptian court, will learn to fwear fwear by the life of Pharaoh: It is true indeed, as fire fometimes burns with the greater vehemence, and cafts the greater heat the colder the air be, fo the zeal and life of God's people is fometimes rather quickened by beholding the wickedness of these among whom their lot is caft, as Paul among the Athenians; but if we shall adventure to caft ourfelves into the society of the wicked, without a special call and warrant from providence, it will be next to an impoffibility to keep ourselves free of the contagion; for, can a man carry fire in his bofom, and his cloaths not be burnt; can a man walk upon bot coals, and his feet not be burnt. Evil communications corrupt good manners. 5th, Some deadly wound in the foul, not carefully noticed, may be the cause of fpiritual death. You know a man may die, not only by a draught of poifon, or the like, but alfo by the cut of a fword. While we are in the wildernefs, we live in the very midft of our fpiritual flying thick about us; he is always feeking to bruife the believer's heel, going about feeking to devour; and not only fo, but our own lufts alfo do war against the foul, fo that we cannot mifs to be wounded thereby: And if the filth and guilt of thefe wounds be not carefully washed away by the blood and fpirit of the Lord Jefus Chrift, they cannot mifs exceedingly to impair the fpiritual life and health; therefore David, after he had been wounded by murder and adultery, is fo earneft that God would wash and cleanse his wounds, and purge him with hyffop, that fo the joy of his falvation might be restored: But then, 6th, A holy God has fometimes a righteous and holy hand in this fpiritual death, that the Lord's peopleare liable unto, by withdrawing and VOL. II. E enemies; the fiery darts of Satan aur fuf fufpending the influences of his fpirit from thems for as the plant and herb of the field-withers and lanquishes when the rain of heaven is with-held fo, when the influences of the Holy Ghost are fufpended, the very fap of the foul, and its fpiritual life goes away; and the Lord with-holds the influences of his Spirit for many reafons: As, (1.) He does it fometimes in a way of awful and adorable fovereignty, to fhew that he is not a debtor unto any of his creatures. However, because the Spirit's influences are seldom withdrawn in a way of fovereignty, 'tis our part to fearch and try if conscience do not condemn us, as having a finful and culpable hand in it ourselves. (2.) Sometimes he does it to humble his people, and to prevent their pride, which makes him to behold them afar off. If we were always under the lively gales and influences of the Spirit, we would be ready to mistake ourselves, and in danger, with Paul, of being lifted up above measure, when he was wrapt up into the third heaven. Upon this account, fome of the faints have faid, that they have got more good fometimes by their desertion than by their enlargement. (3.) He does it to make them prize Chrift, and fee their continual need of fresh fupplies out of his fulness. He lets our cifterns run dry, that we may come anew, and lay our empty veffels under the flowings of the bleffed fountain of life, that out of his fulness we may receive, and grace for grace. (4.) He does it fometimes for the trial of his people, to fee if they will follow him into the wilderness, in a land that is not fown, as well as when he is feeding them with fenfible communications of his grace and spirit, to fee if they will live on him by faith, when they cannot live by fight or fenfe. (5.) Sometimes he does |