As for the unregenerate, they must pray and wait on him, for the first grace, and say, with Ephraim, _Turn thou me, and I shall be turned_, Jer. xxxi. 18. They must be earnest with him, that he would bestow upon them the grace of faith; which is styled, his gift; that he would remove every thing that is, at present, an obstacle, or hindrance to this grace, all the prejudices which corrupt nature has entertained against Christ, and the way of salvation by him; and that he would shine into their souls, to give them the knowledge of his glory in the face of Christ; reveal his arm, and incline them, by the internal working of his power, to receive the grace which is held forth in the gospel. These are duties incumbent on persons who are not called effectually, being destitute of regenerating grace. But, on the other hand, they who have ground to conclude that they have experienced this grace, though, at present, they apprehend that their faith is weak, and on the decline; they must be found waiting on God, in his own way; and be importunate with him in prayer for the revival of his work, that so they may recover their former experiences; they must bless him for the privileges they once enjoyed, and be humbled for their past backslidings, whereby they have provoked him to withdraw from them, and say with the church, _I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now_, Hos. ii. 7. and, as it says elsewhere, _Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously; so will we render the calves of our lips_, chap. xiv. 2. They must lament the dishonour that they have brought to God; and consider how, by this means, they have grieved the Holy Spirit, wounded their own consciences, and made work for a bitter repentance and humiliation before God. They must be sensible, that it is the same hand which wrought grace in them at first, that must now recover them from their fallen state, and, by exciting the principle of grace implanted, bring them into a lively frame; and when he has done this, they must still depend upon him to maintain this frame of spirit, as considering that as the beginning so the progress of grace, is owing to him who is the author and finisher of faith; who worketh in us that which is pleasing in his sight, and carries on his own work unto perfection. Footnote 49: