The Henson Journals

[215]

Sunday, July 16th, 1922.

Sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord" [^verse copied in Greek^] "But sanctify the Lord, that is to say the Christ" (Bigg) The ref: is to Isiah xxix.23 'But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my Name: yea they shall sanctify the Holy One of Israel, and shall stand in awe of the God of Israel'. Also to Isiah viii.12.13. 'Say ye not. A conspiracy, concerning all whereof this people shall say. A conspiracy neither fear ye their fear, nor in dread thereof. The Lord of hosts, him shall ye sanctify: & let him be your fear, & let him be your dread".

The Apostle makes Christ the equivalent of Jehovah. What Bigg calls "the Christological import of the words" is profoundly significant of the belief about our Saviour which was held in the Apostolic age. It is no doubt the case that Kúploς was used in lower senses among the Greeks, but there can be no doubt that the 1st Epistle of S. Peter is the work of a Jewish believer whose mind is so saturated with the Old Testament that he quotes its language incessantly: and for such a man thus simply to transfer to Christ what was spoken of Jehovah argues the completest belief in Christ's Deity. This reasoning is, I think, conclusive as to the belief of the Apostolic Church respecting Christ, but, of course, it proves nothing as to the soundness of that belief. Only it must necessarily be an important factor in the sum of considerations which shall answer that question.

[216]

Beware of an external, superficial, sanctifying of God, for He accepts it not: He will interpret that a profaning of Him and His name 'Be not deceived, God is not mocked'. He looks through all visages & appearances, in upon the heart; sees how it entertains Him, & stands affected to Him: whether it be possessed with reverence & love more than either thy tongue or carriage can express. And if it be not so, all thy seeming worship is but injury, & thy speaking of Him is but babbling, be thy discourse never so excellent; yea, the more thou hast seemed to sanctify God, while thy heart hath not been chief in the business, thou shalt not, by such service, have the less, but the fear & trouble in the day of trouble, when it comes upon thee. No estate is so far off from true consolation & so full of horrors, as that of the rotten–hearted hypocrite: his corrupt heart is sooner shaken to pieces than any other. If you could have heart piece in God, you must have this heart sanctifying of Him. It is the heart that is vexed & troubled with fears, the disease is there: & if the prescribed remedy reach not thither, it will do no good. But let your heart sanctify Him, & then He shall fortify & establish your hearts.

Leighton on 1. Peter iii.15

I celebrated the Holy Communion in the Chapel at 8 a.m. My guests communicated, & four of the household among whom was William, Ella, Fearne, Clayton & I made the number of communicants a dozen. I spent the morning in my study.

At 2.30 p.m. there was a confirmation for adults in the Chapel. There were about 30 candidates confirmed, of whom most were males. With the clergy and friends there was quite a fair congregation. Some choirboys and the organist from St Anne's led the singing.

I motored to Rookhope, and preached in the little parish church. A brass band played before the service in order to give me a welcome! There was a crowded congregation, and it was attentive enough, but I felt that my discourse failed to "grip" them, & I returned to the Castle mightily discontented with myself.

Rookhope is in the gift of the Lord Chancellor, and has an income of about £400 per annum. The population is about 600, mostly composed of workers in the lead–mine. The present Vicar is the Rev. A. W. Officer, who was ordained in 1907, and has held his present position since 1919. He is unmarried, and fails to get hold of the people, who appear to be mostly Dissenters. The problem which he presents is neither infrequent nor easily soluble: and it is the evident consequence of our patronage system. A young man brings influence to bear on a patron, and is appointed to a parish of which he knows nothing more than the amount of the endowment. Once established in the Vicarage, often incurring debt in the process, he discovers that he is wholly unsuitable, and soon he becomes completely unemployed, save for the formal services, since the people have "no use" for him.

---