does it for their chastisement, to correct them for their iniquities; and this indeed is the most ordinary caufe why the Spirit of the Lord is fufpended and withdrawn.

I have not time to enumerate many of these fins which provoke the Lord to withdraw his Spirit. I Thall only mention two or three. 1. Not hearkening to the motions of his Spirit, is one great reason why the Lord withdraws his Spirit, as you fee in the spouse, Cant. v. There Chrift comes, and moves and calls for entrance; the fpouse she does not hearken to the motion; I have put off my coat, how fball I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them? Whereupon he immediately withdraws and leaves her, as ye may read at your own leisure. 2. Lukewarmnefs and formality in the discharge of duty is another cause of it, as we fee in the church of Laodicea, it made him to fpue that church out of his mouth. And then, 3. Proftituting the gifts and graces of the Spirit unto carnal, felfish and base ends, to procure a name, or make a fhew in the world: This is another reafon of it. 4. Sinning against light, trampling upon the belly of conscience, as David no doubt did in the matter of Uriah and Bathsheba, whereby he provoked the Lord fo far to leave him, that he cries out, Pfal. li. Caft me not out of thy fight, and take not thy Holy Spirit away from me. 5. Barrenness and unfruitfulness under the means of grace, Ifai. v. The clouds are commanded to give no rain upon the barren vineyard. And then 6. and lastly, Their not liftening carefully to the voice of God in ordinances and providences; this is another cause of it, Pfal. lxxxi. 11, 12. My people would not hearken unto my voice, therefore I gave them up to their own hearts lufts, and they walked af

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ter their counfels. And thus ye have fome of the caufes of this fpiritual deadness. I come to

The third thing, which was to give you some of the symptoms of it; and would to God they were not too vifible, rife and common in the day, and upon the generation wherein we live. I fhall name a few of them to you. 1. Want of appetite after the bread and water of life, is a fymptom of fpiritual death. You know that man cannot be in a healthful condition that loaths his food, or has loft his appetite after it. Alas! is not the manna of heaven, that God is raining about our tent-doors generally loathed? The great truths of God, which fome of the faints have found to be sweeter than honey from the honey-comb, have not that favour and relish with us that they ought to have? Are not fabbaths, facraments, fermons, faft-days and feaftdays a burden to many among us; fo that if they would but fpeak out the language of their hearts, they would be ready to join iffue with these, Mal. i. 13. What a weariness is this? Whereas the foul that is in a lively condition, is ready to fay of the word, It is better to me than thousands of gold and filver; I efteem it more than my necessary food. And of ordinances, I love the habitation of thy boufe, and the place where thy honour dwelleth; and Pfal. lxxxiv. 10. One day in thy courts is better than a thousand. 2. That a man have fomething of an appetite, yet if he do not grow or look like his food, it looks fomething dangerous and death-like. The thriving Chriftian is a growing Chriftian. They that be planted in the houfe of the Lord, fhall flourish in the courts of our God. The righteous fhall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands fhall be fronger and fronger. But alas! is it not quite otherwife

with the most part? Many are growing backward instead of forward, as it is faid of Jerufalem, Lam. i. 8. She figheth and goeth backward. May we not cry out of our leannefs, our leannefs, notwithstanding of all the fattening means and ordinances that we enjoy. 3. Ye know, when death takes a dealing with a perfon, it makes his beauty to fade. When with rebukes thou doft correct man for iniquity, thou makeft his beauty to eonfume away like a moth; pale death foon alters the ruddy countenance. Perhaps the day has been, O believer, when the beauty of holiness adorned every step of thy converfation; thy light did fo fhine before men, that they feeing thy good works, could not but glorify thy heavenly Father; but now alas the beauty of thy converfation is fullied and ftained, by lying among the pots of fin; this says, that fpiritual death is dealing with thy foul. 4. Death not only waftes the beauty, but the strength alfo, Ecclef. xii. 3. The keepers of the boufe do tremble, and the ftrong men do bow, upon the approaches of the king of terrors. Now fee, if your wonted strength and ability to perform duty, or to refift temptations, be not abated. Perhaps the day has been, when thou could have faid, with Paul, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do, for thro' Chrift ftrengthening me I can do all things? But now, thou art ready to faint at the very thoughts of duty. The day, perhaps, has been, when, tho' Satan, that cunning archer, did fhoot fore at thee, yet thy bow did abide in its ftrength, and the arms of thy hands were made ftrong by the mighty God of Jacob; thou waft in cafe to beat back the fiery darts of Satan, and to stand thy ground against the corruptions and defections of the day; but now, like a dead fish, thou art carried down the ftream:

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Doth not this proclaim thy foul to be under a fad decay? 5: Death waftes the natural heat and warmness of the body; there is a kind of chilness and coldness that feizes a man when death takes a dealing with him; fo it is a fign of a fpiritual decay and deadness, when wonted zeal for God and his glory, and the concerns of his church and his kingdom, is abated. Perhaps, the day has been, when, with David, the zeal of God's houfe did in a manner eat you up, and you preferred Jerufalem to your chief joy; but now, you are almoft come the length of Gallio's temper, to care for none of thefe things; indifferent, whether the work of God in the land fink or fwim. Laodicea's diftemper is too prevalent among us at this day; we are neither cold nor hot in the things of God, and therefore have reafon to fear, left we be fpewed out of God's mouth. The day has been, when your fpirits were lifted up in prayer, in hearing, in communicating, you were fervent in fpirit, ferving the Lord; you could rejoice to work righteoufnefs, and fay, in fome meafure with David, I will go unto the altar of God, to God, my exceeding joy; but now, all this holy. warmth is gone in a great meafure, you are become formal and careless in the concerns of God's glory. 6. A dead man, you, know, cannot move, but only as he is moved from without, in regard he wants a principle of motion within; fo it is a fign of fpiritual death, even in believers, when external motives and confiderations have a greater influence upon them in the duties of religion, than an internal principle of faith and love. When the believer is himself, the love of Chrift constrains him in every duty; this is the one thing he defires, that he may behold the beauty of the Lord, and enquire in his

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temple; but when any selfish or external motive fets him to work, it is a fign of fpiritual death. Other things might be added; but I haften to speak to

The Second thing propofed in the method, and that was, to speak a little unto these breathings and influences of the Spirit of God, which are abfolutely neceffary for the revival of the Lord's people under deadnefs. Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these flain, that they may live. And here I would, 1. Clear the nature of these influences in a word or two. 2. Speak unto the variety of these influences, four winds. 3. To the manner of their operation upon the elect, they are faid to breathe upon the flain. 4. Speak a little unto the neceffity of thefe breathings. 5. To the several special feasons of the Spitit's reviving influences.

I fear your time will cut me fhort before I have done; but, I fhall run through these particulars as quickly as poffible.

The first thing is to clear the nature of these breathings or influences, and what I have to offer upon this head, you may take in these few propofitions.

Firft then ye fhould know, that the influences and gifts of the Spirit of God are of two forts, either common or faving: As for the common influences of the Spirit, which are sometimes bestowed upon the wicked and reprobate world, I am not to speak of these at this time; all I fhall fay about them, is to tell you, that they are given in common to the children of men, for edifying of the (myftical) body of Chrift, until it arrive at the meafure of the ftature of the fulness of Christ, as you read, Eph, iv. and therefore, they are commonly called by divines dona miniftrantia, or miniftring gifts; al

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