_ stood and, consequently, misrepresented, I set out to explain it more
13. We published a second volume of hymns in the spring of 1741. Because the doctrine of Christian perfection was still misunder_ stood and, consequently, misrepresented, I set out to explain it more clearly. This was done in the hymnal's preface as follows:
This great gift of God, the salvation of our souls, is nothing more or less than the image of God stamped afresh upon our hearts. It is a renewal of believers. The spirit of their mind is conformed to the mind of Christ. God has laid "the axe at the root of the tree, . .
. purifying their hearts by "All the thoughts . . .": This is a reference to the "Collect for Purity" from the weekly eucharist liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer: faith."' All the thoughts of their hearts have been cleansed by the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit.
Their hope is that they will see God as God is. It is in this hope that they purify themselves as God is pure. They strive to be holy, as God is holy. They live this out in the way they conduct themselves in the world. It is through the living out of this life, to which God has called them, that they grow and mature in faith and love. In this way they will someday become the people God created them to be. They live day to day, going "on from strength to strength,"? "seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, . .
. being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another" by "the Lord, the Spirit."° "Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid:
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy = Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen."
"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom"* "from the law of sin and death."* Even though one such as I may tell them the good news, this freedom is too much to be believed by people who are blinded by the world. For Jesus has set those who are "born of God" free® from pride, that great root of sin and bitterness. They feel that all their "competence is from God."' God alone is in all their thoughts and Ever fainting with desire, "is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work
For thee, O Christ, I call!
Thee I restlessly require, for his good pleasure."* They feel that when they speak, the Spirit of their Father speaks in them; and the work of their hands is guided by the hands of the Father who is in them.'
God is everything to them. They are nothing in God's sight.
They are freed from self-will. This means they desire nothing but the holy and perfect will of God. They do not seek comI want my God, my All.
Jesus, dear redeeming Lord, I want thy coming from above:
Help me, Saviour, speak the word, ~ And perfect me in love. fort in poverty, ease in pain," life, death, or any creature.
Rather, they are continually crying in their inmost soul, Collection, #344, stanza 1 "Father ..., your will be done.""
They are freed from evil thoughts, so that they cannot for a moment enter into them. Previously when an evil thought came in, they looked up and it vanished away. But now it does not come in, because there is no room for this in a soul that is full of God.
They are free from wanderings in prayer. When they urgently pour out their hearts before God, they think of nothing that is past, or absent, or to come." Their thoughts are focused upon God alone. In times past, their thoughts wandered from one thing to another like smoke. But now that smoke does not rise at all.
They have no fear or doubt regarding either their general condition or any particular action.' The anointing from the Holy One" teaches them every hour what they shall do, and what they shall speak.'* They trust in the Holy Spirit's teaching and obey, having no need to question it.'
They are in one sense freed from temptations. They are not troubled by the infinite temptations that fly about every day." Their souls are even and calm at all times. Their hearts
Wilt thou suffer me to go Lamenting all my days? are faithful and unmovable. Their peace, flowing like a river,
Shall I never, never know "surpasses all understanding,"'* and they "rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy."'' For they "are sealed by the Thy sanctifying grace?
Wilt thou not the light afford, The darkness from my soul remove?
Spirit for the day of redemption,"" having the witness in themselves that "there is laid up for" them a "crown of righteousness, which the Lord will give" them "in that day.""'
Help me, Saviour, speak the word, And perfect me in love.
Now, this is not to condemn those who are not renewed in love as described above. On the contrary, whoever has a Collection, #344, stanza 2 sure confidence in God and believes that their sins are forgiven through the work of Christ is a child of God. If God abides in them, they inherit all the promises of God. If their faith is weak or is being "tested with fire"" so that their souls "suffer various trials,"* they should not in any way discard their trust or deny the faith they have received.
We do not dare to affirm, as some have, that all this salvation is given at once. Indeed, there is both an instantaneous and a gradual work of God in God's children. We know there is no shortage of witnesses who have received, in righteousness: right living or conduct according to the law, will, and Spirit of God. Because of origian instant, either a clear sense of forgiveness of sins or the abiding witness of the Holy Spirit. But we do not know of a single instance, in any place, of someone receiving at the same time remission of sins, the abiding witness of the Spirit, and a new and clean heart. nal sin all human righteousness is suspect. No amount of good works will ever make a person righteous in God's eyes. Only Christ, through his work on the cross, attributes rightIndeed, we cannot tell how God may work. But the general way in which God does work is this: The Spirit of God works on those who trust in their own righteousness and wealth, believing that they are self-sufficient. God's Word convinces them that they are poor and naked. Everything they have done is brought to their memory. It is laid before them so that they may see the wrath of God hanging over eousness to humans. In other words, any righteousness attributed to humans actually belongs to Christ.
However, as humans grow in holiness of heart and life, Christ's their heads. This helps them see that they deserve the damnarighteousness becomes more tion of hell. In their distress they cry out to the Lord. God shows them that their sins have been taken away, and God opens the kingdom of heaven in their hearts, "righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."** Sorrow and pain flee and more their own.