THE LAMENTABLE STATE OF UNBELIEVERS.

SERMON XXXI.

SPIRITUAL DEATH AND ITS MISERY.

Wherefore he saith, Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Eph. v. 14.

THIS Scripture represents the miserable and lamentable state of the unregenerate, as being under the power of spiritual death, the cause and inlet of all other miseries. From hence, therefore, I shall make the first discovery of the wretched state of them that apply not Jesus Christ to their souls.

The design of the apostle in the context, is to press believers to a circumspect and holy life; to "walk as children of light." This exhortation is laid down, and pressed, from the tendency of holy principles to holy fruits and practice; from the efficacy of practical godliness on the consciences of the wicked, as it awes and convinces them; and from the coincidence of such a life with the great design of the Scriptures, which is to awaken men, by regeneration, out of that spiritual sleep or death into which sin has cast them; and this is the argument of the text: "Wherefore he saith, Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." Some think reference is made in these words to Isa. xxvi. 19, "Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust;" others to Isa. lx. 1, “Arise, shine, for thy light is come," etc. But most probably the words refer to neither particularly, but to the scope of the whole Scriptures, which were inspired and written with the great design to awaken and quicken souls out of the state of spiritual death.

In the words selected we may notice more particularly,

1. The miserable state of the unregenerate, represented under the images of sleep and death; both expressions intending the same thing, with some variety of illustration. The Christless and unregenerate world are in a deep sleep; a spirit of slumber and security is fallen upon them, though they lie immediately exposed to eternal wrath, ready to drop into hell every moment. A man fast asleep in a house on fire, and whilst the consuming flames are round about him, having his fancy sporting itself in some pleasant dream, is a very lively resemblance of the unregenerate soul. But he that sleeps has life in him, though his senses are bound, and the actions of life suspended. Lest, therefore, we should think it only so with the unregenerate, the expression is varied, and those that were said to be asleep, are affirmed to be dead: to inform us that it is not a simple suspension of the exercise, but a total privation of the principle of spiritual life, which is the misery of the unregenerate.

2. The duty of the unregenerate, which is, to awake out of sleep, and arise from the dead. This is their great concern; no duty in the world is of greater necessity and importance to them: "Strive to enter in at the strait gate," Luke xiii. 24. And the order of these duties is natural: first awake, then arise. Startling convictions make way for spiritual life. Till God awake us by convictions of our misery, we shall never be persuaded to arise and move towards Christ for remedy and safety.

3. But you will say, "If unregenerate men are dead, to what purpose is it to persuade them to rise and stand up? the exhortation supposes some power or ability in the unregenerate; else in vain are they commanded to arise." This difficulty is solved in the text. Though the duty is ours, the power is God's. God commands that in his word which only his grace can perform: "Christ shall give thee light." Popish commentators would build the tower of free-will upon this Scripture, by an argument drawn from the order in which these things are here expressed; which is but a very weak foundation to build upon, for it is usual in Scripture to put the effect before the cause, as in Isa. xxvi. 19, "Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust."

The plain DOCTRINE of the text is, That all Christless souls are under the power of spiritual death.

Multitudes of testimonies are given in Scripture to this truth: "You hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins," Eph. ii. 1, 5; "And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him," Col. ii. 13; with many other places. The method in which I shall discuss this point will be, to show in what sense Christless and unregenerate men are said to be dead; what the state of spiritual death is; and how it appears that all unregenerate men are in this sad state.

I. IN WHAT SENSE ARE CHRISTLESS AND UNREGENERATE MEN SAID TO BE DEAD?

To understand this, we must know that there is a threefold death. Natural death is the privation of the principle of natural life, or the separation of the soul from the body: "The body without the spirit is dead," Jas. ii. 26. Spiritual death is the privation of the principle of spiritual life, or the absence of the quickening Spirit of God in the soul; the soul is the life of the body, and Christ is the life of the soul; the absence of the soul is death to the body, and the absence of Christ is death to the soul. Eternal death is the separation both of body and soul from God, which is the misery of the damned. Christless and unregenerate men are not dead in the first sense; they are naturally alive, though they are dead while they live: nor are they dead in the last sense, eternally separated from God by an irrevocable sentence, as the damned are, but they are dead in the second sense; they are spiritually dead while they are naturally alive; and this spiritual death is the forerunner of eternal death.

Spiritual death is put in Scripture in opposition to a twofold spiritual life the life of justification, and the life of sanctification. Spiritual death in opposition to the life of justification, is nothing else but the guilt of sin bringing us under the sentence of death. Spiritual death in opposition to the life of sanctification, is the pollution or dominion of sin. In both these senses unregenerate men are dead; but it is the last which I am now to speak to, and therefore let us consider,

II. WHAT THIS SPIRITUAL DEATH IS, the absence of the quickening Spirit of Christ from the soul of man. That soul is dead to which the Spirit of Christ is not given in

the work of regeneration; and all its works are dead works, as they are called, Heb. ix. 14. For consider how it is with the damned: they live, they have sense and motion, and immortality; yet because they are eternally separated from God, their life deserves not the name of life, but is every where in Scripture called death. So the unregenerate are naturally alive; they cat and drink, they buy and sell, they talk and laugh, they rejoice in the world; and many of them spend their days in pleasure, and then go down to the grave. This is the life they live; but the Scripture calls it death rather than life, because, though they live, it is "without God in the world," Eph. ii. 12; it is a life alienated from the life of God, Eph. iv. 18. So that while they are naturally alive, they are in Scripture said to remain in death, 1 John iii. 14; and to be dead while they live, 1 Tim. v. 6. And there is great reason why a Christless, unregenerate state should be represented in Scripture under the notion of death; for there is nothing which more aptly represents this miserable state of the soul.

66

The dead discern nothing, and the natural man perceiveth not the things that are of God. The dead have no beauty or desirableness in them: Bury my dead," said Abraham, "out of my sight;" neither is there any spiritual loveliness in the unregenerate. True it is, some of them have qualities and excellencies which are engaging, but they are so many flowers adorning the dead. The dead are objects of lamentation: "Man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets," Eccles. xii. 5. But unregenerate and Christless souls are much more the objects of lamentation. How are all the people of God (especially those that are naturally related to them) concerned to mourn over them as Abraham did for Ishmael, "O that Ishmael might live before thee!" Gen. xvii. 18. Upon these and other accounts, the state of unregenerate man is represented to us under the idea of death.

III. HOW DOES IT APPEAR THAT UNREGENERATE MEN ARE THUS DEAD?

1. The causes of spiritual life have not wrought upon them.

The principal internal cause of spiritual life is the regenerating Spirit of Christ: "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death, Rom. viii, 2. It is the Spirit, as a regenerating

Spirit, that unites us with Christ, in whom all spiritual life originally is: "Verily I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself," John v. 25, 26. As all the members of the natural body receive animation, sense, and motion by their union with their head; so all believers, the members of Christ, receive spiritual life and animation by their union with Christ, their mystical Head, Eph. iv. 15, 16. Except we are united with him in the way of faith, we can have no life in us: "Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life," John v. 40. Now the Spirit of God has exerted no regenerating, quickening influences, nor begotten any saving faith in natural, unsanctified men. Whatever he hath done for them in natural or spiritual common gifts, he hath not quickened them with the life of Christ.

And as for the subordinate external means of life, the preaching of the gospel, which is the instrument of the Spirit in this glorious work, and is therefore called the word of life, Phil. ii. 16-this word has not been made a regenerating, quickening word to their souls. Possibly it has enlightened them and convinced them-has wrought upon their minds in the way of common illumination, and upon their consciences in the way of conviction; but not upon their hearts and wills by way of effectual conversion. To this day the Lord has not given them a heart opening itself, in the way of faith, to receive Jesus Christ.

2. The effects of spiritual life do not appear in them. For,

(1.) They have no sense of misery and danger. I mean, such as thoroughly awakens them to apply Christ, their remedy. That spiritual judgment lies upon them: "And he said, Go and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes," Isa. vi. 9, 10.

(2.) They have no spiritual motions towards Christ or spiritual things. No arguments can persuade them to move one step towards Christ in the way of faith: "Ye will not come to me," John v. 40. Were there a principle of spiritual life in their souls, they would move