Brighton. The wicked rush from place to place, And as amongst the graves they creep, About to shelter in oblivious sleep, 2, But christians in the final scene, A SACRAMENTAL HYMN. COME all who have receiv'd the grace, The grace on Calvary bought; 1 Messiah's victory gain'd, zobu mtoj On ready pinions fly; To celebrate we meet; We tread beneath our feet.' Our hopes, our hearts, our all we bring, Lord, help us this to do; Displaying to the scornful world' That we belong to you. *ཎྜཉྙཱནཾ༈, DELTA. THE Spiritual Magazine; OR, SAINTS' TREASURY. "There are Three that bear record in heaven; the FATHER, the WORD, and the HOLY GHOST; and these Three are One." "Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." NOVEMBER, 1834. ON SANCTIFICATION. 1 John v. 7. Jude 3. THE term "sanctify" generally implies setting apart persons or things for sacred use; thus, Jehovah sanctified or set apart the seventh day, as a day of rest for man and beast. So the tabernacle, altar, priests, and sacrifices were all set apart to the service of God, see Gen. ii. 3. and Exod. xxix. 44. In this sense Christ sanctified or set himself apart as a spotless victim to bear our sins. As this is the signification of the word sanctify, so it must be understood with reference to the heirs of grace, who, according to Jude's account, were "sanctified by God the Father, preserved in Christ Jesus, and called," Jude 1. Another of truth's able companions, has unflinchingly declared, that " God hath set apart him that is godly for himself," Ps. iv. 3. ; and we find that when the gospel was preached by the apostles, as many as were eternally sanctified, set apart, or ordained to eternal life (for those are synonymous terms) believed, Acts xiii. 48. Paul informs us, that "in a great house, there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but of wood and of earth, some to honour and some to dishonour. If a man, therefore, purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified and fit for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work," 2 Tim. ii. 20, 21. And in that ever-memorable chapter, the ninth of Romans, we read of "vessels of honour afore prepared unto glory," and of "vessels of wrath fitted for destruction." And what hast thou, vain man, to say to this? Ought not the potter to form his vessels as he pleases, and for such purposes as he thinks proper; and has not the infinitely wise Jehovah a right to do as he pleases with his creatures? be so daringly presumptuous as to quarrel with his wise decrees, but rather be still, and know that he is God, who is not, nor ever was, moved by any of his creatures, neither human nor angelic; but moving on the moveless ground of peerless sovereignty, he worketh all things VOL X.-No. 128.] 2 T Let no man after the counsel of his own will. And though foolish man, may charge him with injustice, my soul rejoices that "He cannot do but what is just, And must be righteous still." Or to use the words of the learned and pious Watts, in his 117th Hymn, Book I, Let it be well remembered, that all men are sinners against God, and while the grace of God shines with brilliant beams in the salvation of its own, his justice shines with equal clearness in the destruction of the non-elect; for all were created upright in Adam; therefore, when Jehovah set his own apart, it was in the pure mass, and in the same pure state he left the rest, without doing them any injury; but they fell, and as fallen sinners have wrought out many inventions; and by a long continued course in sin, seal their own destruction sure. No one will have to say at the last great day, that the righteous God is dealing with him contrary to the just demerit of his crimes; for I believe, that all those who quarrel with the sovereignty of God, and foolishly charge him with injustice, because it was his will to choose some and not others, will either before or at that day be constrained to acknowledge the truth of that sentiment adopted by Moses," that he (Jehovah) is a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he," Deut. xxxii. 4. O yes, they will "When the fiery deluge roll, Thro' heaven's wide arch from pole to pole." Another, and that a beautiful acceptation of the word sanctify, is, to wash or cleanse that which is polluted, and prepare it for its owner's use. The Lord's people are a corrupt and sinful people, from "the crown of the head to the sole of the foot there is no soundness, but wounds, bruises, and putrifying sores," Isa. i. 6. The human heart is as a cage of every unclean and hateful bird, deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, and out of it proceedeth every kind of evil, Jer. xvii. 9. Matt. xv. 19. The blessed Jesus shed his blood, that he might sanctify his people by washing this filthy dungeon clean. Therefore, saith the apostle, "Jesus, that he might sanctify his people with his own blood, went forth and suffered without the gate,' "Heb. xiii. 12. This glorious sanctifier, being God and man in one person; the blood which was shed by the human nature, is, by virtue of the union of that nature with the divine, the blood of God; and therefore, possesses an atoning virtue and cleansing efficacy, to redeem, to save, to pardon, to sanctify, and to deliver from all the terrific consequences of sin, see 1 John i. 7. This precious blood having been applied by the Holy Spirit to many sensible sinners, they have been led to rejoice in its sanctifying benefits. It is said of those, who are got beyond the reach of satanic art, that they have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb; and of the church on earth, that she is sanctified by the will of God, and the offering of the body of Jesus once for all his people, and for all their sins, Rev. vii. 14. Heb. x. 10. "The church above, and those below, By Christ are sanctified; Who bare their sins and all their woe, and Having just glanced at sanctification as an act of the Father's sovereignty, and the Son's sufferings, blood-shedding, and death, let us now survey the joint agency of the Holy Spirit, in this great glorious work. Dear reader, sanctification does not consist in the renovation of our nature, nor in suavity of manners. There may be a sanctified countenance, and a walk that appears blameless to all, but to Him who searches the heart, and yet be no internal sanctification. Witness the case of the pharisees of Judea, and Saul of Tarsus ; the former appeared beautiful to the eye, but within they were full of rottenness and all uncleanness. And as for Saul, though as touching the law he was blameless in his own eyes and in the eyes of others, yet all the while he was a bold blasphemer, and a malicious persecutor. Read his own account which he gave of himself after the Lord opened his eyes, (1 Tim. i. 13.), and I feel fully persuaded that you will before say, grace wrought its wonders in his soul, he was as destitute of sanctification as a stoic is of feeling. Equally destitute of the above-mentioned blessing, are all, while they remain in a state of nature. Various are the motives by which some persons are induced to assume an appearance of sanctity. The industrious tradesman, to increase the number of his customers or employers, will attend a place of worship; the gold-admiring miser has no objection to putting on a form of religion, if by that means he can intrude himself into the affections of some rich relative; the detestable debauchee will assume the appearance of a truly religious character, that he may draw away the affections of some religious female, and in some unguarded moment make an attempt upon her virtue. The most abominable crimes have been committed under an appearance of sanctity. Let the young in Zion beware that they form no connections with those in whom (notwithstanding their profession) they cannot behold the Redeemer's image, nor trace the footsteps of his sanctifying grace. These The designing hypocrite is another very dangerous character, whose aims in making a profession, are to deceive the hearts of the simple, and sometimes of the more discerning christian. gentlemen can put on a long face, make long prayers, attend a place of worship, carry their hymn-book and Bible, and talk about any thing but heart-work. In all this, there is no real sanctification; this is only the devil's garb, in which he dresses such persons, and by which he awfully deceives them. Oh that reader and writer may through grace escape this gilded piece of satanic craft. Nor does sanctification consist in the expulsion of sin from our nature; it is the implantation of gracious principles in the heart, the formation of Christ in the soul the hope of glory, the bestowment of spiritual life, deliverance from moral death, sacred renovation; it is a power that subdues our iniquities; yea, in a word, sirs, it is that which constitutes a sinner a saint, and fits him for heavenly bliss. See the following scriptures, Gal. ii. 20. Isa. iv. 4. Micah vii. 8. 2 Thess. ii. 13. Thus, the Holy Spirit, instead of new modelling the carnal mind, plants those graces in the soul which are distinct from nature, and as opposite to it as light is to darkness. Hence arises that warfare, which makes the christian groan being burdened, and often to fear that he is not sanctified. Let such fearful souls read the 7th chapter to the Romans, in connection with the 17th verse of the 5th chapter to the Galatians, and there they will find that Paul heaved heavier sighs, and fetched his groans from lower deeps than they ; and every one who knows the plague of the heart, will tell them that the old man is yet alive, and often too lively, that Mr. New Man and the old gentleman are so often falling out with each other, that scarcely a day passes without a skirmish; and you must know, that Mr. Öld Man is sometimes so strong, and Mr. New Man so weak, that victory appears to hang in a very doubtful scale. Anon, the new man of grace renews his mind, and recruits his strength at Zion's fountain, and with redoubled zeal makes another attempt; defeats his opponent, the old man of sin, and eventually drives him from the field. Now the believer triumphs, and raises his songs of victory high, "To him who doth his strength renew, And guides him all his journey through." As sanctification is purely a work of grace, those who are sanctified possess all the graces of the Spirit, viz. faith, hope, love, humility, holiness, zeal, and patience. Thus the sanctified are enriched, and in the strength of the great Author of these graces they believe in, trust, love, adore, and wait patiently for the coming of their glorious and crowned Lord. Is sanctification perfect or imperfect? It is perfect in Christ, in whom the church was set apart or sanctified before time begun, and in whom she is perfect, Col. i. 28. ii. 10, 11. In the creature there is much inperfection, (Job ix. 20. Phil. iii. 12.) Our sinful thoughts, wanderings of mind, heartlessness in the performance of religious duties, which is sometimes felt; our little love to Jesus, and too much attachment to the world; hardness of heart, which is often felt at the Lord's house, and even at his table, with many other painful facts, prove that we are very far from having arrived at a state of fleshly perfection, nor do we expect it while here, and those who do will never realize their expectation while in the body. When Paul says, "let us go on unto perfection," he means, let us hold on to the end of our journey, when grace will be consummated in everlasting glory. In the interim, this great work is gradually going on for though the new man is perfect, as to parts, when first formed in the soul, yet |