tion, and
who sanctifies, and proves the earnest of the purchased possession, they
solemnly accept. And, accordingly, all that sovereign mercy has done for
them, or wrought in them, or will accomplish on their behalf, in that
they solemnly receive.

Thirdly. This is a solemn act of renouncing the claims of the devil, the
world, and the flesh, upon the heart and life. When Christ is received,
Satan is cast out; actually by Divine power, and resolutely by the
subjects of Divine grace. And the resolution to abandon Satan and his
cause enters into the covenant engagement. "O Lord our God, other lords
beside thee have had dominion over us; but by thee only will we make
mention of thy name."[87] "Take away all iniquity, and receive us
graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. Asshur shall not
save us; we will not ride upon horses; neither will we say any more to
the work of our hands, Ye are our gods." "Ephraim shall say, What have I
to do any more with idols?"[88] "What agreement hath the temple of God
with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I
will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people. Wherefore, come out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will
receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."[89] The injunction, "Be ye
separate," inculcates not merely the performance of the act of
separating from what is evil, but the exercise of Covenanting to
accomplish it. The corresponding command in prophecy is, "Be ye clean."
And the verb in the Hebrew is that rendered by the term _purge_ in the
passage, "I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you
into the bond of the covenant. And I will purge out from among you the
rebels, and them that transgress against me."[90] The Lord purged out
the heathen from among the Jews who returned to Jerusalem, and who,
under Nehemiah, entered into a covenant with God. These Jews themselves,
at God's command, and to the accomplishment of his purpose, separated
themselves from those heathens, not merely actually, but also by solemn
covenant. In like manner, the Nazarite separated himself from certain
things, not merely in reality, but likewise by vow. And since the
separation was one, though the terms in the sacred original denoting
that of the Nazarite and of the returned Jews wer