CHRI ST'S alarm yee (.hall have then ; afùredly a dead heart will afford not a fyllable of true comfort then. S. Fifthly, we can never blefíe God with a dead heart; a dead heart is not able to affirme upon any good ground that God is his, or that the Promife is his ; or that Chrif} is his ; the foule know es Quiff is a quickening fpirir, and they that have him, are quickened up by him, the promifè is a pro - mile of life, and they cannot be dead that are the pof effors of it, we cannot bleffe God either for love ór mercy or grace, or any thing elfe : when we would bielle God for any of thelè things, the deadneffe of heart, it will be obje6ted to us ; O, J am to dead, that how can I hope that thelè things belong unto me? Let my fettle live, ased it Pull praife thee,Plal.1 r 9.175. When the foule is alive towards God, then it can praife God ; then it know es all the good it hath,it hath it in mercy ; doubt- ing and deadneffe doe ever gee together, or it's a great marvell. And indeed what is deadneffe of heart towards Chriff, and all his holy Gofpell, but a lecret doubting whether it have any part in it or no ; as when a poore man tees a rich treafure, it does but dead him the more, becaufe lie fees no intereft he bath in it; if he could fee he had an interefl in it, this would quicken up his heart, and put it out of it's dumps. And is cot this now a miferable condition when a man cannot praif God? If he pray, it is but in a forty manner, no life, no heart at all. But for bleffing and prait ng of God, that he cannot doe at all, except hee be in a fooles paradilè; and dreame of a fallé gift. This is a dreadfull condition, When we are hindred from that which God mofa delighteth in ; what is there that more delighteth God, then to blefe him and praife him ? The Lord laves we never honour him otberwifè, who fo oferetb me praife, he gloriletb me,Pfal.to.a ;. Now we can 6. never offer God praife, except our heart live. Sixthly, Religion is a very irkfome thing unto us, as long as we are dead - hearted ; what is it that takes away the Brie - youfneffe of it, but a lively heart ? When the heart is dead it mutt needs be very tedious ; very tedious to be thinking of God, to be meditating of death or the world to come ; to be
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