That it u not enoHgh to k.!ep up the ob{tr.vance of holy and rt· ligir;m d~ttiu, unleffe tht] come from a JP iritual life \\?ithLn. And thouart dead (faith Chrifl:) There may be adead Re– ligion, a dead form of piety ; fo that as the body ,without a foal, t·hough you fhould put glorious raiments on it, were ?-97 Ob[erv. only cadaver, a mecr csrkaffe; {o it is here) Though a man fllould have the tongue ofmen and Angels in holy duties, ytt if the heart be dead, and defiicuce of the life of grace, they• are not at all accounted of by God. As Chrifi himfelf isfai~ to be life, fo be giveth a fpiritu.al life to all his members, John6.H· In fo much that whatfceverduties, or holy' atli– ons come ·not from thisinwud life, t hey cannot be accepted of by God, no more then men can levc or imbrace their aead friends ; fo thac we are now upon the effcntials of god– line!fe; This is ehe -ro ~~pv in Religion ; whether thy duties, thy praying and hearing come from a fountl in of life within . thee; whe ther thou art a cifiern or a fpring; whether it may bef:t id of thee, as the Father did ofbis prodigal!, Thu our {on w.u dtad but u Jtlive, I was a dead manJ in all my du– ties, my Religion and piety was a dead Religion, my faith and repentance were dead, but now God bath made me aJi.ye ' to rightcoufneffe. · To fet this truth before you, confider Firfi, That the ScriI. ·pturedelighu to {et forth the flare of AI$ unregemrate man, de- ~od fers out ftitute of the converting grace of God, Hnder the expreffion of t e e.fia~e 'of d h b . d d r d d L unre~ eneracy eat , ·t ey arc JU ge 10 many ea men, Mat. 8.22. et unde~· the exthe dead !Jury the dead. Ephe[. 2,1. De~~d i~ tre[paj[es and ftnnes. preffi on of - 1 Tim.5 .6. She u dead while /he liveth. Now this pbrafe is death~ ·,. very comprehenfive, and is ufcd by the holy ghofi for many reafons: 6s 1. Dettth u a dr,priv~ttion of all /n{eand fetling; They can– not any more perform any vitall operarion. Should all the mountains in the world be laid on a dead man, or all the ex– quifice tormen~ that can be invented, applied eo his body, it will not make him give one groan 9rcry, h~ is dead and bath no feel ing : Thus it is with every m1n deClitute ·of Gods grace, he is not in the lull: manner fenm,le of his finoe, the danger and burden ofit. But though he rcade the Scripture, · Q.q hear I, Becau(a death is a deprivati_. on of fenfe and feeling.
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