The dead saint speaking to saints and sinners living in several treatisesThe dead saint speaking to saints and sinners living in severall treatises

1. The Death of Sin. ⟨p. 113⟩2. The Death of inward Trouble. 3. The Death of outward Trouble.

1. Faith raiseth up the soul from the Death of Sin. We are all of us — Dead (by nature) in trespasses and sins, Ephes. 2.1. Dead-Born. And as dead men, so we have no notion to spiritual things, no motion, no strength to any good; no sense, being insensible of the weight of sin, insensible of mercies and judgements: we have no desires after any thing good, no affection to them.

1. Faith raiseth up the soul from the Death of Sin. Wee are all of us — Dead (by nature) in trespasses and sins, Ephes. 2.1. Dead-Born. And as dead men, so wee have no notion to spiritual things, no motion, no strength to any good; no sense, being insensible of the weight of sin, insensible of mercies and judgements: wee have no desires after any thing good, no affection to them.

And a Death it is, not only Privative, A mere absence and privation of spiritual life; but a Positive Death, wherein there is an Introduction of a Positive vicious Habit. As in Natural Death, there is not only a Privation of Life, of the former form: but the Position of another form: there is another form left in the body. So in Spiritual Death, there is not only a mere Absence, a bare Privation of Life: But there is a Positive Evil, and Vicious Habit left in the soul. Hence, Heb. 9.14. The works of natural men are called — Dead works. There would be a contradiction in calling them Dead works, if unregenerate men were only deprived of spiritual life, and had not another positive evil form in them.