wants you to be Pure, and is waiting now to give you the Blessing? The fire of
welcome to wash away your inward iniquities, in the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness, as any other son or daughter of Adam. Oh, He Will be delighted for you to step into the blessed stream at once:
"Will you, will you now enter in? Will you, will you wash and be clean?"
7. If you are a Holy Man or Woman you will help forward the War, and spread the glory of Christ's Name far more effectively than you will if you are not fully saved. Holy people are the great need of the world. I am sure they are one of the great wants of The Army.
8. Do you not feel in your heart, while I am talking to you, that the Holy Spirit wants you to be Pure, and is waiting now to give you the Blessing? The fire of desire for your Sanctification is burning strongly in my heart while I write this Letter. Does not your desire also rise up for this? I believe it does. Well, wait no longer! All things are now ready! Is not a holy yearning springing up within you? Go down this moment before God, and sing:
"Oh, that the Fire from Heaven might fall,
And all my sins consume! Come, Holy Ghost, for Thee I call,
Spirit of Burning, come! "Refining Fire, go through my heart,
Illuminate my soul; Scatter Thy life through every part,
And sanctify the whole."
Yours affectionately,
William Booth "More hard than marble is my heart,
And foul with sins of deepest stain;
But Thou the mighty Saviour art, Nor flowed Thy cleansing Blood in vain;
Ah, soften, melt this rock, and may Thy Blood wash all these stains away!
"O grant that nothing in my soul May dwell, but Thy pure love alone;
O may Thy love possess me whole, My joy, my treasure, and my crown! Strange flames far from my heart remove;
My every act, word, thought, be love."
Chapter 7 PURITY, GOD'S GIFT
II Corinthians 4:7 -- But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
My Dear Comrades, --
I now come to one of the most important parts of this very interesting subject. "How can a Pure Heart be obtained?" I think I hear you say, "It is good, very precious, very desirable; oh, how I wish the treasure was mine! But how can I get it?"
Now, here I think it will be profitable for us to have a look back over the road we have traveled together while considering this blessed experience. And first of all, you will remember that I tried to show you what Holiness was. I begged you not to set it too high, as continued rapture or an every-hour hallelujah feeling. Then, I cautioned you against setting it too low -- that is, regarding it as being consistent with anything like the commission of actual sin. Then I showed you how valuable the Blessing would be to you, because it meant peace and usefulness, and the continued smile of God. Then I went on to explain that it was a possible experience, maintaining that, no matter whether rich or poor, young or old, married or single, God could cleanse you from all filthiness of the flesh and of the spirit, and enable you to be perfect in Holiness before Him all the days of your life. I come now to answer what I hope is the cry of many hearts, "How can I find this Pearl of Great Price?"
Now you ask -- "What must I do to be Pure?" and in reply I say that there is certainly something to be done, and something that you will have to do yourselves. To understand what that something is, you must keep well before your minds the fact that there are two forces or powers that have to unite in the Purification of the Heart.
The first is the Divine -- that is, God.
The second is the human -- that is, man, which means yourself.
God and man are partners in the transaction. This is nothing new; it is the same in the affairs of your every-day fife. You use the natural abilities God has given you to buy and sell, and plow and plant: and, as the result, God gives you food and raiment. This was the case when you were converted; you repented and believed, and God saved your soul. It will be the same when you are sanctified. The great work of cleansing your heart, and keeping it clean, will be performed by God