---

398

SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD

CHAPTER XXV.

THE DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED.

N the last chapter an account was given of the I great holiness revival, which rolled like, a mighty tidal wave over our entire country, the blessed results of which Nebraska has had her share.
     In the present chapter I desire to carefully examine this Bible and distinctive Methodist doctrine; and I hope to make it so simple and plain that the smallest child can understand it. If understood, none can reasonably object to it.
     It is really wonderful how much is said in the Bible on the subject of perfection. God said to Abraham: "I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect." (Gen. xvii, 1.) Moses said to the Israelites of old: "Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God." (Deut. xviii, 13.) "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and eschewed evil." (Job i, 1.) David says: "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace." (Psa. xxxvii, 37.)

---

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED.

399

     Christ says, in his beautiful and inimitable Sermon on the Mount: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matt. v, 48.) Paul said the Colossians: "Stand perfect and complete in all the will of God." (Col. iv, 12.) He constantly pointed believers to the beautiful heights of perfect love. He had a longing desire to lead them up to this high plain. The height of his ambition was to "present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." He said to the Corinthians: "Be perfect." (2 Cor. xiii, 11.) The "central idea of Christianity," says Bishop Peck, "is perfect love." It is the sun, around which all the satellites revolve, and moving around this great center they rejoice in its broad, warm, genial, and life-imparting smile.
     The design of the great scheme of human redemption was to bring man from a state of sin and pollution to a state of purity and happiness. "Christ gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." (Tit. ii, 14.) And the design of the gospel is not accomplished in us until we are raised to this high, holy, and happy state, where our peace flows like a river, and our righteousness is as the waves of the sea.
     In all ages there has been the most bitter opposition to the doctrine of holiness. There are

---

400

SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD

many reasons for this. Holiness, or Christian perfection, is the most unrelenting, untiring, uncompromising, and powerful enemy the empire of Satan has; hence he puts forth every effort within his power to make the doctrine distasteful to men, in order that he may break its influence and power, and thereby save his own kingdom from wreck and ruin. In referring to the doctrine of Christian perfection, Mr. Wesley says: "This is the word which God will always bless, and which the devil peculiarly hates; therefore he is constantly stirring up both his own children and the weak children of God against it."
     Another reason why so many object to the doctrine of holiness is because it is not rightly understood. There are multitudes in the Church who know but little about the doctrine of Christian perfection, as taught by John Wesley, the standard authors of our Church, and the Bible. If the doctrine were thoroughly examined, and thoroughly understood, I am confident the objections, to an extent at least, would give way.
     Many object to the doctrine because of the inconsistencies of those who have professed it. We must admit that many who have professed holiness have not lived up to their profession, and that the doctrine has suffered very materially from its inconsistent and unwise advocates. Their profession and their acts have not been in harmony

---

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED.

401

at all. I think, however, that a careful examination of the matter will convince any unprejudiced mind that the proportion of inconsistent professors of holiness is no greater than the proportion of inconsistent professors of justification. It must be admitted that many in all ages, who have professed only conversion, have not lived up to their profession, and the cause of religion has suffered greatly from such inconsistent professors. If, therefore, we discard the doctrine of Christian perfection because of the inconsistencies of many who have professed it, for the very same reason we must discard the doctrine of justification--in fact, for the very same reason we must discard all religion, and take our stand on the broad platform of infidelity. Are we ready to take this rash step?
     I do not pin, my faith to the actions of any man. No wise man, it seems, would do such a foolish thing as that. My faith rests on God's word alone. Let God be true, though every man may be a liar. To the law, therefore, and to the testimony. To the word of God, and not to the actions of men do we appeal. That Christian perfection is attainable, is proved to my mind beyond the shadow of a doubt by the many passages of Scripture quoted in the forepart of this chapter.
     While the term "perfection," and
     34

---

402

SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD

"entire sanctification" each has a shade of meaning peculiar to itself, these terms are all used in the Scriptures interchangeably.
     What is Christian perfection? To answer this question satisfactorily it will be necessary to treat the subject negatively--to show what it is not; and in showing what it is not, we may be able, perhaps, before we get through, to show what it is. Touching this doctrine, the ideas of many are vague and very much confused.
     1. It is not absolute perfection. The highest, the brightest, the sweetest, the loveliest angel that ranges the fields of light and glory is not absolutely perfect. Absolute perfection belongs alone to God. God is absolutely perfect in degree; Christians are perfect in kind only.
     2. It is not angelic perfection. Angels are a higher order of intelligences than men. Angels never make mistakes, never err, never commit blunders. Their love burns with an intensity, and their services are performed with a precision that are not possible for mortals. They have none of the infirmities of fallen human nature. While the sad effects of the fall cling to these bodies of ours, we do not claim that it is possible for us to be as perfect as the angels in heaven. But when this corruptible shall put on incorruption; when this mortal shall put on immortality; when these bodies, sown in dishonor and

---

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED.

403

weakness, shall be raised in power and glory, then we shall be perfect as the angels.
     3. It is not the perfection Adam had before the fall. Before man fell, all his faculties and powers were perfect. His intellectual, physical, and moral powers were all complete. Sin has marred and dwarfed all these powers. With the intellect marred and dwarfed by sin, with all the physical powers impaired by evil, it is not possible, since these are the medium through which the soul now operates, to be as perfect as if these powers had never suffered from sin. So it is not claimed, nor does the Bible promise the perfection Adam had before the fall. We must be content, therefore, with the perfection taught us in God's Word.. And God's Word does not promise to us absolute perfection, nor angelic perfection, nor Adamic perfection, but Christian perfection.
     4. It is not a perfection of the head. Nowhere in all the range of God's Word is there a single promise that God will make us perfect in judgment. The only perfection promised in the Bible is the perfection of love. Mr. Wesley says: "Another ground of these and a thousand mistakes is the not considering deeply that love is the highest gift of God. There is nothing higher in religion--there is, in effect, nothing else." Christian perfection is the loving God with all the heart, and all the soul, and all the mind, and

---

404

SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD

all the strength. This is the highest spiritual mountain-peak that can be gained here on the earth.
     5. Christian perfection does not imply a faultless life. We are commanded to be blameless, but not faultless. A simple incident will illustrate this: A mother gave to her little girl a handkerchief to hem. She gave the child a needle, thread, and thimble, and gave her directions how the work should be done. The child followed the mother's directions as near as she possibly could. She did her very best to do just as the mother told her. When the work was finished she took it to her mother. The mother examined it. Some of the stitches were long and some of them were short; some places the hem was wide, and at other places it was narrow, and at other places it was badly puckered. The work was not faultless, but the child was blameless. She had gone according to the mother's directions as near as possible, and had done the very best she could. The mother gave the child a smile of approval and a kiss of affection. With all the divine grace it is possible for us to have, we shall not be faultless, but we may be blameless. If we go according to God's directions just as near as we possibly can, though our acts may be very far from being faultless, we shall have the divine smile of approval and the infinite kiss of affection from

---

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED.

405

our loving Heavenly Father. We shall be liable to make mistakes, commit errors, and make blunders as long as we live in a body marred and dwarfed by sin. An error in judgment may lead to an error in act. God goes back of the act to the motive that prompted the act. It is the intent that makes the crime. A man may be a murderer without ever having taken the life of a fellow being. He may have desired to do so; and that constitutes the crime. On the other hand, he may have actually taken the life of a man, and still not be a murderer. He may have accidentally taken the life of his fellow-being.. Hence Christ says: "Judge not, that ye be not judged." The Bible nowhere promises us a perfection that will free us from mistakes. While Christian perfection does not admit of any sin, inward or outward, properly so called, it does admit of a consciousness of infirmities and shortcomings. The purest persons that walk the earth are conscious of mistakes, shortcomings, and great weaknesses. These they often deplore in the deepest humility. These innocent mistakes and infirmities all need the blood of atonement, and we rejoice and praise God that the blood of atonement covers them all, and more than meets every demand. Christian perfection admits of many, infirmities, but not one sin.
     6. It is not freedom from temptation. If you

---

406

SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD

expect to be saved from temptation in this life, you are expecting something you will never realize. The servant is not greater than his Lord. If it were possible for us to reach a point where we could not be tempted, we should be greater than our Lord was. "He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin." It is no sin to be tempted. The sin lies in our yielding to the temptation. Mr. Dow says: "We can not prevent the buzzards flying over our heads, but we can keep them from making nests in our hair."
     Here on earth is the battle-field; here we are waging a warfare. Can there be war without conflict? Can there be conflict without enemies? Of all persons on the earth, those who are the most holy are the most exposed to temptation. Those who are the most holy are placed in the front of the battle. God has chosen them as his vanguard. They are the ones who make assaults upon the enemy. If they are in the front, and lead in the charge, they are, more than any others, exposed to the fiery missiles of the foe. At the pure Satan will hurl his sharpest arrows. Against them he will level his heaviest artillery One holy person cast down is better for the empire of Satan than a whole regiment of ordinary Christians. One who is now in heaven once said: "As certain as night follows day, so

---

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED.

407

certain will the black angel persecution follow holiness." A man who had recently come into the experience of perfect love, under the ministrations of Rev. Mr. Caughey, the great evangelist, went to him and said: "I do n't understand this. I never had such severe temptations in my life as I have had since I received this blessing." "O," said Mr. Caughey, "that is not at all strange. It takes ten devils to watch you now, here it took only one when you were in a weak and sickly state." The less religion Christians have, the less trouble they have with Satan. Satan is satisfied with weak, worldly minded Christians, and seldom troubles them. If we have no severe temptations we may well suspect the genuineness of our religion. A man once said: "I am opposed to revivals on principle." Another one said: "I am opposed to this doctrine of holiness." Are not such men sound asleep? The devil can do almost anything with a man when he gets him fast asleep. A man once dreamed he was traveling, and came to a little church, and on the cupola of that church was a devil fast asleep. He went on a little further and he came to a log cabin, and it was surrounded by devils, all wide awake. He was surprised, and asked for an explanation. One of the little imps said: "I will tell you. The fact is, that whole Church back there is asleep,

---

408

SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD

and one devil can take care of all the members and sleep at the same time; but here in this cabin are two holy, wide-awake persons, a man and woman, and they have more influence and power than that whole Church." The greater the effort put forth on the part of the Christian to live near God and save souls, the greater will be the effort on the part of Satan to hedge up his way and thwart all his commendable plans. Every step we take from here to the throne of God will be hotly contested by the devil.
     Then God will have a tried people. Job said: When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." (Job xxiii, 10.) David said: "Thou, O God, hast proved us; thou hast tried us, as silver is tried." (Psa. lxvi, 10.) Solomon says: "The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but the Lord trieth the hearts." (Prov. xvii, 3.) God said of his ancient people: "I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." (Isa. xlviii, 10.) "I will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried; they shall call on my name, and I will hear them." (Zech. xiii, 9.) James says: "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life." (James i, 12.) He does not say blessed is the man that has temptation, but blessed is the man that endures, that stands firm, is loyal to God during the fiery temptation.

---

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED.

409

That man will at last receive a crown, before the beauty and splendor of which the crowns of the kings and emperors of earth will pale and sink into utter insignificance.
     It is said that Napoleon once ordered a coat of mail. When the artisan completed it, he delivered it to the emperor. The emperor ordered him to put it on himself. Then Napoleon drew his large navy revolver and fired shot after shot at the man in the armor. It stood the severe test, and the artisan received from Napoleon a large reward. So if we stand the severe tests that will be applied to us here, great will be our reward hereafter.
     God's method with his children here is found in Daniel, twelfth chapter and tenth verse: "Many shall be purified, and made white and tried." That is God's method. Purified, made white, then tried. Many are purified, but when the tests are applied give way.
     "A few mornings ago, said a lady, "I placed. a clean, white platter in the stove-baker, to warm it. By accident the door was closed, and the dish became very hot. When I removed it a scum of grease had covered nearly the whole surface. The heat had brought it out. I was surprised to see so much filth on what had appeared a perfectly clean, white platter. I wondered if such a scum of sin would come to the surface if I should
     35

---

410

SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD

be tried as by fire. What a state that must be, when no spot will appear, though a white heat is applied to bring out the defects!"
     7. Christian perfection is not regeneration. It is a state of grace above and beyond conversion. Paul said to the Christians at Corinth: "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat; for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet are ye now able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal?" (1 Cor. iii, 1, 2, 3.) "Having, therefore, these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Cor. vii, 1.)
     Christian perfection is the perfecting, the completing, of the work which was begun at conversion. To the Church at Rome, Paul said: "I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." (Rom. xii, 1.) And to the Christians at Thessalonica he said: "The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thess. v, 23.) Be it remem-

---

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED.

411

bered that the faith of these Thessalonian Christians had been spread abroad "in every place" throughout all "Macedonia and Achaia." They were noted everywhere for their faith and good works, and yet Paul prayed that they might be wholly sanctified. All the above exhortations were given to Christians, showing very clearly that the work of entire sanctification had not been accomplished in them. They were not made perfect in love; but their great privilege was clearly set before them, and they were earnestly exhorted to avail themselves of their high privilege.
     "But," says one, "is not God able to convert and wholly sanctify the soul at the same time?" Most assuredly he is. But it is not a question of God's ability at all, but of our faith. We are justified by faith. We are also sanctified by faith. Paul, in his discourse before Agrippa, says we are sanctified by faith." (Acts xxvi, 18.) Dr. Adam Clarke, in commenting on this verse, says we are taught; "not only the forgiveness of sins, but the purification of the heart."
     We get just what we believe for. "What things so ever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." (Mark xi, 24.) When faith is genuine it is always distinct, and is put forth for a particular object. A very common question with our Lord was: "Believe ye that I am able to do this?"

---

412

SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD

Blind Bartimeus cried out to the Savior, saying: "Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way." (Mark x, 51, 52.). He got just what he believed for--eyesight. The leper said to Jesus: "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean." This was his faith. Jesus . said: "I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed." (Matt. viii, 2, 3.) He received just what he believed for cleansing.
     A father went to the Savior with his son possessed with a dumb spirit. That father felt only as a father could feel under such circumstances. His own loved boy was under the complete power and control of the devil. How his heart must have bled with grief at every pore! Many a parent's heart bleeds to-day because a son is under the complete power of Satan. With the deepest anguish of heart the father cried out: "If thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe; all things are possible to him that believeth." The father exclaimed: "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. And the Spirit

---

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED.

413

came out of him." (Mark ix, 23-25.) He obtained just what he believed for--the deliverance of his son from the possession of a dumb devil.
     The Syrophenician woman believed for the deliverance of her daughter from the power of the "unclean spirit," and she received just what she believed for. The faith of all these persons was put forth for a distinct object, and they all received that for which they believed.
     The blind man believed for eyesight, and received it. The leper believed for cleansing, and received it. The father believed for the deliverance of his son from the possession of the dumb devil, and the son was saved. The, mother believed for the deliverance of her daughter from the unclean spirit, and the daughter was rescued from his toils, restored, and made pure. To-day, as eighteen hundred years ago, we get just what we believe for. If we believe for pardon, we get pardon. If we believe for perfect love, we get perfect love. If we believe for the anointing of the Holy Ghost to qualify us for work, we receive the anointing. If the penitent at the altar, seeking pardon, could believe for pardon and entire sanctification at the same time, I believe he would receive both. But I have never known one who, at that moment, could grasp all. Mr. H.. P. Smith, in his "Holiness Through Faith," relates the following: "While addressing a company in

---

414

SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD

one of the mission-houses in New York, I noticed a young woman much affected. I found after meeting she was an actress, who had been brought to the point of turning her back on all her past life; but she was unable to believe that such a sinner as she was could receive the grace that was set before her. To my explanation of the divine sacrifice for sinners, she only exclaimed: 'O yes, sir; I know that it is all true, but I can't believe that it is for me!' It seemed too great presumption for her to be that all her sins were blotted out, and she at once placed in the family of God. I left her in this condition of mind-longing for salvation, and yet too faithless to believe that it, was for her.
     "Upon parting with the actress, I was introduced to a refined, matronly, Christian woman, who, I understood, was giving her life to this gospel work among the abandoned. Her whole heart was in her work with an energy and simplicity that I have never seen surpassed. Her joy was to spend her years in the midst of this moral leprosy, raising the cross among the dying souls around her. But even while thus laboring for Christ, she felt most deeply her need of some privilege greatly beyond her present experience. So in earnest was she that she had just passed a sleepless night of sorrow and prayer for the full and satisfying revelation of Christ,

---

416

SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD

highest summit of Christian attainment, faith is the channel of God's blessing, while unbelief is the bar. "So much faith, so much deliverance; no more, no less! If we would live up to the gospel standard of holiness, we must believe up to the gospel standard of faith." Christian perfection is a soul made perfect in love. A soul made perfect in love is a soul perfectly pure. A soul perfectly pure is a soul cleansed from all sin, inbred or birth sin, and actual sin. If you desire that perfect cleansing, believe for it and you will have it.
     8. Christian perfection does not imply that we cannot fall.
     If "the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation," fell into sin, and are "reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day;" if Adam in paradise fell; if Solomon, the best and wisest man that ever lived, fell,--we need not expect that we shall become so holy that we can not fall. The very highest possible state of grace attainable in this life will not exempt us from danger. So it becomes necessary for us to say to the purest men and women that walk the earth:

"O watch, and fight, and pray;
     The battle ne'er give o'er;
Renew it boldly every day,
     And help divine implore.

---

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED.

417

Ne'er think the victory won,
     Nor lay thine armor down;
The work of faith will not be done
     Till thou obtain the crown."

9. Christian perfection is not maturity. Purity is one thing, and maturity is another. They are just as distinct as day and night. Many jumble the two together. Christian perfection is purity. Purity is freedom from sin, and is the result of God's extirpating power. Maturity is the result of growth, and takes time. Purity is a work wrought in the heart instantaneously by the power of God. Maturity, being the result of growth, is gradual, and may go on indefinitely.
     Some think if they are sanctified wholly, they can never grow any more, when in fact they are .just prepared to grow rapidly. Purity removes from the heart that which hinders growth. Inborn sin is a hindrance to growth, just as weeds in the field are a hindrance to the growth of the corn. Remove the weeds, and the corn will grow more rapidly. Remove all sin from the heart, and you will grow in grace more rapidly than ever. Let the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ be applied to the heart by the Holy Ghost, and you will receive an impetus that will send you on your heavenly way with a speed that you never dreamed of before.
     We are commanded to "grow in grace," but

---

418

SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD

not into grace. Grace must first be imparted before there can be growth. As in nature so in grace; first life, then growth. Pardon is by faith, and is instantaneous. God does not pardon gradually. When God pardons a soul, it is a perfect work. All actual sin is forgiven, and will be remembered against that soul no more forever; and that work is done in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye. After pardon, then we may grow. Entire sanctification is by faith, and is instantaneous, just as pardon is.
     A few years ago the wife of a distinguished minister was lying hopelessly ill. All was mist and uncertainty before her. She longed for the purity and peace promised in the holy Word, but her husband had always preached a gradual growth in grace, and completeness in Christ only at death, and she waited for that hour in dread uncertainty. "O that I could have complete deliverance from sin now, before that fearful hour!" she exclaimed. "Why not?" the Spirit suggested. She sent for her husband, and as he entered her sick chamber, she anxiously inquired: "Can Christ save me from all sin." "Yes; he is an almighty Savior, your Savior, able to save to the uttermost." "When can he save me? You have often said that he saves from all sin at the dying moment. If he is Almighty, do n't you

---

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED.

419

think he could save me a few minutes before death? It would take the sting of death away to know that I am saved." "Yes; I think he could." "Well, if he could save me a few minutes before death, do n't you believe it possible for him to save a few hours, or a day. before death?" The husband bowed his assent. "But," she said, with deep emotion and great earnestness, "I may live a week, or a month; do you think it possible for God to save a soul from all sin so long before death?" "Yes; all things are possible with God," he answered with deep emotion. "Then kneel right down here and pray for me. I want this full salvation now, and if I live a month, I will live to praise God."
     He knelt beside her bed, and offered a prayer such as he had never offered before, and while he prayed the cleansing blood that makes whiter than snow, was applied to her soul, and she was enabled to rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory. She lived a month afterwards to magnify the grace of God, and testify to that perfect love that casteth out fear. From the grave of his wife that husband went forth to preach Christ as a present Savior, able to save from all sin.
     A wholly sanctified soul is just as pure a moment after the cleansing blood is applied as the soul of the man who has been wholly sanctified

---

420

SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD

for twenty years. But the man who has been walking for twenty years under the cleansing blood, has an experience deeper, wider, richer, and far more extensive than the man who has just been fully saved. The difference is not in quality but in quantity. A drop of water may be just as pure as an ocean, but there is more in the ocean than in the drop. A soul cleansed of all sin is prepared to grow more, rapidly than ever.
     When crossing the Sierra Nevada Mountains in 1850, after traveling for some time, we reached a point where we supposed we saw the summit. A lofty mountain-peak rose in solitary grandeur before us. We said, and we rejoiced at the sight, "There is the summit." We started up the rough mountain-side, and after traveling for some three hours reached its summit. But to our surprise, and not a little disappointment, we saw rising far away above and beyond us another mountain-peak. We said: "Well, we thought this was the summit, but were very much mistaken. That's the summit away up there." We started, and after several hours of weary travel, we at length reached this mountain summit. But to our utter disappointment and astonishment we saw rising before us, higher up, and farther away, another mountain-peak. We made no more predictions. Again, after a short rest, we started, and after plodding through slush and snow for near a half

---

DISTINCTIVE DOCTRINE EXAMINED.

421

a day, reached this mountain summit. Then away above and beyond us rose another. Mountain-peak rose above mountain-peak, higher, and higher, and higher. And thus it is with the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ, if we live up to all the light God gives us.
     The Christian's pathway to the skies is an ascending pathway. Mountain-peak of joy and knowledge in divine things rises above mountain-peak, higher, and higher, and higher. Our experience may grow deeper, and wider, and richer, and grander. We go from a justified soul to a soul made perfect in love, from a soul made perfect in love to a soul glorified in body and spirit; then onward and upward, forever aid ever.
     10. Perfect love is not simply ecstasy. It is not simply a bubbling up of joy, overflowing the soul with rapturous delight. It is, however, always peace, always rest of soul, and sometimes the great tidal waves of joy roll over the heart, deluging the whole soul, and filling it with an unearthly rapture.
     It is not always liberty in prayer, or in testimony, or in preaching. So if we do not always have great ecstasy, or great liberty in prayer or testimony or preaching, we are not to conclude that we are not saved. Christian perfection is not ecstasy, but purity; and we obtain purity, not by feeling, but simple faith in Christ.

---

422

SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD

"O for a faith that will not shrink,
     Though pressed by every foe,
That will not tremble on the brink
     Of any earthly woe!

A faith that shines more bright and clear
     When tempests rage without
That when in danger knows no fear,
     In darkness feels no doubt!"

     Unconditional surrender of all to Christ, and unshaken faith in his ability and willingness to save to the uttermost now, this very moment, will bring to the heart the consciousness of this great salvation. May every reader of these pages have this sweet, rich, glowing, and abiding experience!

THE END.

---

© 2002 for the NEGenWeb Project by Pam Rietsch, Ted & Carole Miller.