berty, as never to take a second trip to Horeb. Let
any one fimple foul, in his firft love, or in the sweet-
eft liberty, attend a legal orator, a man of much
Scripture, parts, abilities, and fiery zeal, but one
month, he fhall find himself zealoufly affected; and
foon after, a falfe confidence fhall fpring up, and
ftand in the wifdom of man; a fiery zeal fhall influ-
ence him, to work in his own ftrength he goes;
pride and felf-fufficiency follow upon it; the Spirit
is grieved, and ceases to operate as a Comforter;
narrowness of heart enfues, and fenfible bondage
follows-although, all this time, the poor foul may
be ignorant, and never once fufpect the person that
communicated his legal fetters to him. The Law
genders to bondage, and we are prone to lean that
way; and the effects of it are a ftraitened fpirit, and
a gloomy countenance, flaming jealoufy, and inward
anger and hatred at the happiness of those who abide
in the fimplicity of Chrift, humble at his feet, and
in comfortable union with him. A young Chriftian,
juft crawled out of the fell, will not credit this; for
fometimes fuch are wifer than the antient. The fool-
ish Galatians were wifer in this point than Paul the
aged. But, before he has been twenty years in the
fchool of Chrift, it is ten to one but he agrees
with me.

Furthermore, that my Reader may not be blindfolded, confufed, and mifled, by every person who in a pulpit pronounces the word Sanctification, I will endeavour to drop a few hints upon it.

When

When God appointed the feventh day to be a day of reft for his creatures, and appropriated it to his fervice, it was called fantifying of it: And God blessed the feventh day, and fanctified it, Gen. ii. 3.

God's taking of the first-born of Ifrael to himself, both of man and beaft, when he flew the first-born of Egypt; and afterwards taking the Levites into his fervice, instead of all the first-born of Ifrael; is called fanctifying them: "For all the first-born of the chil"dren of Ifrael are mine, both man and beast.—On "the day that I fmote the first-born in the land of Egypt, I fanctified them for myfelf; and I have "taken the Levites for all the first-born of the chil"dren of Ifrael." Numb. viii. 17, 18.

The day of reft above-mentioned prefigured the Gofpe! day, in which the believer refts from impious rebellion and war with his Maker, from legal labour for life, and from the intolerable burden of fin; as well as an eternal rest from the indwelling of fin in heaven: as it is written, "Come unto me all ye that labour, "and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.— "We that believe do enter into reft." And, with tespect to the heavenly glory, Paul fays, "There "remains a rest to the people of God."

The firft-born of beast being fan&ified, was intended to point out the grand Sacrifice of Chrift, who is the firft-born of every creature, that in all things he might have the pre-eminence. The first-born of Ifrael typified God's Elect, called the first-born, whose names are written in heaven. Thefe being exchanged

for

for the Levites, was to fhew that, in the days of Chrift, every believer, Jew or Gentile, fhould be a prieft, or a Levite, (Ifa. lxvi. 21.) yea, the whole Church a royal priesthood, (1 Pet. ii. 9.) made kings and priests to God, (Rev. i. 6.) to offer up fpiritual facrifices, 1 Pet. ii. 5.

Again, fanctifying, under the Law, confifted in abstaining from wives, washing the flesh, washing the cleaths, and having a facrifice offered for fins: which facrifice pointed to the Sacrifice of Chrift; and the washing pointed out Regeneration, that believers in Chrift's days fhould be faved "by the washing of "regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghoft." Washing the cloaths typified the clean linen garments of praife, of humility, and of imputed righteousness, in which the believer should approach a Mercy-feat, and minister to God in private, in his family, and at the house of God. Abstaining from wives, was to fhew, that the lawful embraces of a wife would be kept in their proper place; and that the should be loved with a moderate, and not with an inordinate affection, when the foul is espoused to Chrift; and this to be given up, wife and all, when the worship, fervice, or caufe of God, required it: "He that lov"eth wife, or children, better than me, is not worthy "of me;" and he that said, "I have married a wife, "and therefore I cannot come," was excluded the Supper.

Sanctification, as it refpects us, is, in the highest fenfe, God's act of predeftinating us to the adoption

of

of fons by Jefus Chrift, his chufing us in him, appointing our redemption by him, and our meetness for glory by the Spirit through him all which was compleat in God's fecret purpose, and as fure to be done as he willed it to be done; on which account we are faid to be "fanctified by God the Father, [in "his purpose] preferved in Jefus Chrift, [in whom "we were chofen] and called," by God, to the fellowship of Chrift, as our Covenant Head; as it is written, To them that are fan&tified by God the Father, preferved in Chrift Jefus, and called, Jude, 1.

Such were the fowls, four-footed beafts, and creeping things, in Peter's fheet; which he refused to kill and eat, calling them things common and unclean; till the voice told him, What God hath cleanfed, that call thou not common.

Again, Sanctification is by the death of Chrift, who by his death blotted out the penal fum of our fins, magnified the Law, and appeafed the offended Majefty of Heaven: in whofe death God viewed the whole mystical body of Chrift redeemed and cleansed in their Head; who is one with the Elect; who, by his one offering, bath for ever perfected them that are This was according to the predeterminate counsel, purpose, and will, of God; by the which will we are fanctified, through the offering of the body of Jefus Christ once for all, Heb. x. 10.

fanctified, Heb. x. 14.

Once more. Sanctification is by the Holy Ghost; who fubdues the will, renews the mind, enlightens the understanding, and fheds abroad the love of God in

the

the heart: That the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being fanctified by the Holy Ghoft, Rom. xv. 16. All this is willed and determined by the secret counsel of God; as it is written, And this is the WILL of God, even your SANCTIFICATION. I Theff. iv. 3.

Laftly, That fuch an highly-favoured foul fhould live, walk, and act, becoming an object of God's choice, the purchase of a Saviour's blood, and as a living temple of the Holy Ghoft, redeemed from among men, fet apart by the Spirit, and ordained for heaven, is called walking in Sanctification: That every man should know how to poffefs his veffel in SANCTIFICATION and honour, 1 Theff. iv. 4.

I

This appears to me to be, in short, a fcriptural account of Sanctification, and fo far I understand it.` But, as to the San&tification that most men preach up in our days, I know no more what they mean by it, than they do who preach it.

Laftly, Thou wilt find, Reader, the Introduction to this Sermon to be new, not mentioned when it was preached; but I was rather obligated to this by fome few texts that have been handled against me. The Method likewife differs from the Difcourfe when deThat livered, but the Subftance is nearly the fame. thou mayest read without prejudice, and profit by reading, is the defire of,

Thine to command,

In the LORD JESUS CHRIST,

WM. HUNTINGTON,