have nothing of spiritual life in them at all: Hence Eph. ii. 1. men in a state of nature are said to be dead in trefpasses 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 Chrift, and therefore without hope. (2.) There is a partial death incident to believers, whom God hath raised out of the grave of an unrenewed state, and in whose souls he hath implanted a principle of spiritual life; and this partial death, incident to believers, consists in a manifest 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 blossoms during the winter-season: Such deadness as this, we find the Lord's people in scripture frequently complaining of, particularly Ifai. lvi. 3. The Jon of the stranger, that has joined himself to the Lord, and taken hold of his covenant, he is made to speak, faying, the Lord hath utterly feparated 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 speak of. The leaves of his profession may in a great measure be withered, the candle of his conversation 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 discharge of commanded duty; the mind, which once with delight and admiration could meditate upon God and Chrift,

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Christ, and the covenant, and things that are above, may come to lose its relish of these things, and to dote upon the tranfitory fading vanities of a present world. The common gifts of the Spirit, thro' carnal ease, and defect of employment, may be in a great measure blasted; and, which is worst of all, the saving 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 deadness which is felt by God's people, and a deadness which is not felt; gray hairs are here and there upon them, sometimes, and they do not behold them. The Lord was departed from Samfon, and he wist not, Judg. xvi. 20. But then, there is a deadness 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 hast thou hardened our hearts from thy fear? Ifai. Ixiii. 17. But

The second thing, is to take notice of some of the causes of this spiritual deadness; I shall only name them, because your time would not allow me to enlarge. It then, Abstinence or neglect of food, you know, will foon bring the body into a pining, languishing condition; so, if the means of grace be not diligently improved, if we neglect by faith to apprehend and to improve Christ, and to feed upon him, whose flesh is meat indeed, and whose blood is drink indeed, the spiritual life of the foul will foon languish and wither: Hence is that saying 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. 2d, Surfeiting the foul with sensual pleasure, 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 prefessors of religion have lost their wonted vigour in the way of the Lord, and are in such a languishing condition as tơ their foul matters? the plain reason of it is this, they are glutting themselves with the pleasures of sense. If Samfon do but fleep in Dalilah's lap, she will betray him into the hand of the Philistines, and cut the locks wherein his strength lies; and when he goes out to shake himself, as at other times, he will find his strength gone away from him. 3d, Inactivity, and floth in salvation and regeneration work, is another cause of spiritual deadness. Phyficians observe, that as too violent exercise, so too much rest, or a fedentary way of living, is prejudicial to the health of the body. This holds alfo in spirituals, if we do not exercise ourselves unto godliness, and endeavour to abound in the work of the Lord, the spiritual 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 resting upon empty wishes and defires in spiritual matters, for the defiré of the flothful kills bim, because his hands refuse 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 pestilence. A Jofeph, if he stay long in the Egyptian court, will learn to

swear 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 sometimes rather quickened by beholding the wickedness of these among whom their lot is cast, as Paul among the Athenians; but if we shall adventure to cast 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 bosom, and his cloaths not be burnt; can a man walk upon hot 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 spiritual death. You know a man may die, not only by a draught of poison, or the like, but also by the cut of a sword. While we are in the wilderness, we live in the very midst of our spiritual enemies; the fiery darts of Satan are flying thick about us; he is always feeking to bruise the believer's heel, going about seeking to devour; and not only so, but our own lusts also do war against the foul, so that we cannot miss to be wounded thereby : And if the filth and guilt of these wounds be not carefully washed away by the blood and spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, they cannot miss exceedingly to impair the spiritual life and health; therefore David, after he had been wounded by murder and adultery, is so earnest that God would wash and cleanfe his wounds, and purge him with hyssop, that so the joy of his falvation might be restored: But then, 6th, A holy God has sometimes a righteous and holy hand in this spiritual death, that the Lord's peopleare liable unto, by withdrawing and fuf

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suspending the influences of his spirit from thems for as the plant and herb of the field withers and lanquishes when the rain of heaven is with-held; so, when the influences of the Holy Ghost are fufpended, the very sap of the foul, and its spiritual life goes away; and the Lord with-holds the influences of his Spirit for many reasons: As, (1.) He does it sometimes in a way of awful and adorable sovereignty, to shew that he is not a debtor unto any of his creatures. However, because the Spirit's influences are seldom withdrawn in a way of sovereignty, 'tis our part to search and try if confcience 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 thern 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, some of the faints have faid, that they have got more good sometimes by their defertion than by their enlargement. (3.) He does it to make them prize Christ, and see their continual need of fresh supplies out of his fulness. He lets our cisterns run dry, that we may come anew, and lay our empty vessels under the flowings of the blessed fountain of life, that out of his fulness we may receive, and grace for grace. (4.) He does it sometimes for the trial of his people, to see if they will follow him into the wilderness, in a land that is not fown, as well as when he is feeding them with sensible communications of his grace and spirit, to fee if they will live on him by faith, when they cannot live by fight or sense. (5.) Sometimes he does