Chapter XX: An Appeal and a Response 168 (2)

I will not ask whether you have any religion or not, because most of you are professors of religion, but I do ask, Has your religion got this element of 'sureness' in it? We must settle that point. You may say, 'If I am to be sure, I must have evidence'. Quite so. We will, therefore, glance together at several things about which you can either say, 'It is so', or 'It is not so', and thus arrive at a reasonable conclusion as to where you are. I will classify the evidence in this way:--

First, there is the testimony of one's own consciousness, or one's own spirit, as Paul puts it.

Second, there is the testimony of the Spirit of God--the Holy Ghost.

Third, there will be the results manifest to ourselves and to others; effects which testify just as reliably as the hanging fruit indicates the character and condition of any particular tree.

1. By the first class of evidence I do not mean a set of fanciful sensations, or frames of feeling, but such an exercise of our judgment, when we examine the facts before us, as will enable us to come to a sound and reasonable conclusion.

_The witness of one's own spirit_ is largely a matter of consciousness and faith, and it works like this: 'I am not only conscious of God's revealed claims upon me, and my own duty to Him; but, as far as I understand, I have put myself in line with what He wants me to be and do. For instance, I am told that whilst God will sanctify me I am able to sanctify myself. I therefore ask, "Have I so far co-operated with Him as to come out and separate myself from evil?" If I am right I can say, "Yes, I have"; and as a further evidence of my sincerity I seek to abstain from all appearance of evil.'

I am also commanded to present myself for practical and joyful service, and I am told that I must believe such a sacrifice is acceptable because whatever touches the Divine altar is holy. Now, I can be quite sure as to my compliance with these demands, and my willingness to live as a sanctified soul ought to live. I know whether or not in these things I have done my part; and, if I know that I have, I can then reasonably trust God or reckon on Him to do His part. That is what Paul calls 'a good conscience toward God', and there is no presumption in such a conclusion.

If we turn to John's Epistle we shall see how plainly he puts the truth about assurance. 'If', says the Apostle, 'our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things'; but 'if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God'. Without this conscious sincerity it is useless to pray for the blessing, for God cannot sanctify us whilst we are clinging to any known wrong or compounding with some doubtful habit or folly. If, on the other hand, we are conscious that we have no reserves, and accept by faith the cleansing Blood as the cure for our heart's plague, we may with all reasonableness say, 'I have the testimony of my own spirit'.

2. Let us look at the second class of evidence, namely, _the testimony of the Spirit of God_--the assurance of the Holy Ghost.

If we are to be quite certain about the important things in relation to the soul, we must have the expression of God's mind and approval. Nothing is made clearer in the Apostolic writings than the fact that it is our blessed privilege to have this Divine testimony. Paul not only tells us that 'the Spirit beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God', but speaks of the marvellous manifestations of God in saved souls in subsequent revelations: 'We have received the Spirit, which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.'

On first thought we might say, perhaps, that the gift would speak for itself. But the Lord goes beyond that by giving us not only the blessing itself, but also the Spirit to assure us that we have got the blessing. John is on the same line when he says repeatedly about those spiritual blessings, 'we know', 'we know that we know', and the secret of sureness is made clear, 'we know by the Spirit which He hath given unto us'.

When we speak of the witness of the Spirit, either to our conversion or our sanctification, we do not mean some audible voice or some miraculous demonstration, but an inwrought conviction as to the correctness of our words when, in all sincerity, and to the glory of God, we profess to have arrived at a certain point, or obtained a certain blessing. It is a conviction which removes doubt, and satisfies the soul on the question. The mode of this--the way in which the Holy Ghost does it--may be quite beyond our comprehension; but the fact is there, as far beyond dispute as with the assurance of the blind man, who said, 'This one thing I know, that whereas once I was blind, now I see'.

3. Then I also used the word _'results', as indicating a class of evidence_ without which all other professed experiences are but passing sentiments and sensations. In the character and life there must be results in the shape of those holy fruits of which I have so frequently spoken.

In a sense often described, and well understood, every child of God becomes at conversion the temple of the Holy Ghost; we are born of the Spirit; enlightened by the Spirit; our spiritual life is sustained by the Spirit. The fruits of the Spirit are therefore manifest in a greater or lesser degree, but the advantage to the entirely sanctified is that not only is the fruit-bearing power increased, but fruits of an opposite character are absent. In other words, the fully sanctified man is 'filled with the Spirit'. The fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, are abundant in him.

To illustrate my meaning, take one passage relating to that spiritual fruit described by the word _love_. 'We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.' Now, of course, that comes into operation at conversion; but in the fully sanctified this is love without admixture, pure love, without any feeling opposed to love. We can soon test ourselves. Think of love in the forgiveness of injury; the love which 'thinketh no evil', 'envieth not', the love which 'worketh no ill to his neighbour'. Where does grudge-bearing, backbiting, or uncharitableness come in? Pride, passion, self-assertion, and such things belong not to the results of sanctification; the opposites are found in those who bring forth 'fruits unto Holiness'.

I heard a good woman quote a passage with an application of her own which is true in point of fact, even if not the precise meaning of the original writer. 'Great peace have they which love Thy law, and nothing shall offend them.' She meant, literally, that, however she might be pained by the words or actions of those about her, she would not be 'offended'. This is a pretty high class of result, for nothing is more common than the readiness to take offence. But this refusal to take offence is, with the other fruits, clear proof that the heart and life are sanctified. So I might work out this law of results. These samples will, however, indicate my line of teaching.

Now, coming back to my thought at the beginning--the necessity for 'Sureness' in regard to religion, and especially in the experience of Holiness--let me ask, Where are we found? Have the testings confirmed that certainty of heart, or have my words disturbed self-satisfaction? Do not be afraid of facing the direct issue. If you have the evidences referred to, then be sure to go about proclaiming what God has done. But if not, then this unsatisfied and unsatisfactory condition cannot be persisted in when the Fountain which cleanses is open for all, and when the Holy Spirit is here to apply the Blood, and to take full possession of every soul. Let this be the hour when you come to the altar round which the cleansing stream so freely flows.

VII

The Pathway of the Holy

'_ An highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness._' (Isaiah xxxv. 8.)

One would think that Isaiah was speaking of two separate roads, for his prophetic eye sees 'a highway and a way' along which the course of God's people runs.

Perhaps we may interpret the prophet's distinction as referring to the higher and lower paths along some of the roadways in the Holy City; but he makes it quite plain that the course of the truly godly may be correctly described as 'The way of Holiness'.

Nobody here would like to say there are two separate roads to Heaven, but as we note the lives and experiences of many Christian professors it really does appear that there are two levels on which they run their various religious courses--one the lower, the other the higher path; one lying oft in shadow, the other up in the open sunshine of Heaven; one largely a profession of faith and repeated religious observances, the other full of rich experiences and realizations of God's favour and spiritual gifts.

Some people appear to step up and down according to seasons and inclinations, when, for instance, Holiness Conventions and Higher Life Conferences are on or off--like the man we heard testifying, who thanked God that he had had no ins and outs, but admitted many ups and downs. We want to help you to walk in what Isaiah calls 'The way of Holiness', or in modern terms, the pathway of the holy.

There are _three things about a way_. There is a beginning; a finishing place; and the course between the two points.

This pathway of the holy may be said to have its beginning at the cleansing Fountain; it finishes, if it finishes at all, amid the glories of the Heavenly World; but between these two points lies the road which must be trodden, the journey which has to be made.

We often dwell upon that moment where the soul, by an act of submission and trust, enters upon the highway, or 'gets the blessing', as we say; but Holiness is, after all, a state, _a continuous experience_, a set course or way in life where the will of the Lord is supreme, and the full-hearted love of God is the great moving force. It is in that course and along that path that you and I ought to travel continually.

We like testimonies from any who are in the way, but we appreciate and are helped still more by the words of those who have walked on in patient faith and obedience for long periods. Reading lately the life of William Bramwell, I was encouraged by his testimony as to obtaining the blessing of Holiness and its enjoyment for many long years. But I was the more delighted to find his words supported by his acquaintances, who bore testimony that Bramwell adorned the doctrine so beautifully. Of himself this good man said, 'The Lord came suddenly to His temple, and I had an immediate evidence that this was the blessing; my soul was then all wonder, love, and praise. It is now twenty-six years ago--I have walked in that liberty ever since.' You see, he _went on_ in the way of Holiness because it had become his way of life.

One who was closely associated with this man said, 'I knew him intimately for twenty years. I lived in the same house with him in his seasons of relaxation as well as occupation, but never saw him in such a temper that I could reprove. His soul was like a spring, continually overflowing with the most amiable, benevolent emotion. In his last years, in particular, he was like a shock of corn fully ripe and fit for the heavenly garner, or like a beautiful tree whose vigorous and luxuriant branches were weighted with a diversity of the richest fruit.' Bramwell trod consistently the pathway of the holy, a worthy successor of Enoch, who 'walked with God', and was translated after receiving the testimony that his way pleased God.

I would like to refer to several features of this pathway of the holy which appeal strongly to me.

1. The way of Holiness is a _pathway of the purified_. The prophet intimates plainly that nothing unclean can pass that way. The hearts of men and women who are to walk there must be washed from their moral defilements. I heard of a good man who said, 'Many years ago the Lord took me out of the mire; some years after, He took the mire out of me'. I think you quite understand his meaning. Sin is a foul, slimy, miry thing, defiling whoever it touches. This must be purged away if you are to walk in the way of Holiness; and it can only be purged by the 'Blood of Jesus Christ which cleanseth us from all sin'.

2. The way of Holiness is _a pathway of light and learning_. It is a way of advancing knowledge. There is a point where the path commences, when one knows for the first time that the Blood cleanses, and the Holy Spirit sheds abroad the love of God in the heart; but each succeeding step brings fuller light, and things unknown are revealed.

Familiar intercourse with God brings deeper realizations and knowledge of Divine and spiritual things, so that yours does indeed become the path of the just 'which shineth more and more unto the perfect day'. As a result, your own heart is enlarged, your spiritual capacities increased, and, growing in grace, you advance in knowledge and favour with God. Those who walk this pathway are they to whom the Lord whispers His secrets, and whose souls He fills with heavenly delights. Oh, that we could induce you to step up from the lower to this higher and better pathway!

Let me give you a note from the personal experience of another of God's saints who walked the higher way, one who habitually lived on that level, and who expressed himself thus: 'Let me say that my spiritual life is no longer like a leaky suction pump, half the time dry, and affording scanty water only by desperate tugging of the handle, but it is like an artesian well of water springing up unto everlasting life. The Scriptures are sweeter than honey. Prayer and praise are a delight, and it is like Paradise regained; the glory of Christ has become the all-absorbing passion of my soul.'

The sanctified life is not only a lengthening of the spiritual experience, but a growth or advance in the knowledge of Divine realities.

3. Then, further, the way of Holiness is _a path of duty_, not a pathway of ease and indulgence. We can never leave this practical thought out, whatever our topic may be, for Holiness and hard work are inseparable. The eyes being open to see the need, the hand is ever ready to take up its task; and the labour of love being the sweetest of all occupations, work for God and souls becomes a delight.

He who is too holy to work for others will soon step to the lower path. The willing soul will ever be crying, 'Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?' and the answer will come, 'Do this, do that, come here, go there'.

The way of Holiness is not free from temptation and suffering; but, thank God, it can be _the way of victory and safety_.

Even the ordinary workaday life is full of circumstances which try and tempt and test you. The more you struggle towards living in God's way the more the Devil will attack you. The path which the holy Saviour trod was the way of the cross, and they who follow Him must share the cross-bearing. The ultimate crown is for the overcomer, and not for the untempted one.

_Christ leads us through no darker rooms
Than He went through before;
He who into God's Kingdom comes
Must enter by this door._

There is no crown without a previous cross; but with trials and temptations comes the way of escape and victory, 'these light afflictions ... work out an exceeding weight of glory'. The Book says, 'All who will live godly ... shall suffer persecution'. And this will be specially so with those who openly profess and live on the lines of a Full Salvation.

Here is a page from the personal experience of one who was determined to walk the King's highway:--

'Perfect love', he says, 'will not go long untested. For a time I was not called to suffer distinctly for Christ from that hostile spirit which nailed Him to the cross. The lion, however, was not dead, but asleep, and presently he awoke and glared at me. My soul was calm as a summer's evening. When it pleased the Blessed Master that I should suffer reproach and vilification for my testimony, then it was that the river of joy which flows from the Throne flowed through my heart as never before. It was a new experience--a quintessence of joy. The shouts of burning martyrs were no longer a mystery. I stagger no more at the account of the saints who took joyfully the spoiling of their goods. My soul is bathed in an ocean of balm and ineffable joy.'

4. But I spoke also of _the safety_ of the way of Holiness. I must speak of that more fully another time, but what I mean is this: So long as you have the remains of sin in your heart you are exposed to a double danger--the enemy without and the responding traitor within. One reason why religion is so unsatisfactory to some people is that they persist in walking on the low level where doubts often spoil their worship and the allurements of the world pull very hard, and its siren song makes discord in their hallelujahs. It is, of course, possible to backslide from any level; but, believe me, the prospect of stability is infinitely greater if you get a clean heart, and determine to walk in the pathway of the holy.

In closing, let me quote a short prayer. David cried: 'Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts: see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting'. If, in sincerity and simplicity of intention to follow Christ fully, you offer that prayer, God will not only lead you along the way, but to the Home of the holy.

There are, however, two little notes which you should compare in this connexion. One refers to the passage now before us, 'The way of Holiness'. It is said, 'The unclean shall not pass over it'. The other refers to Heaven, and says, 'There shall in no wise enter any thing that defileth or maketh a lie'. By connecting these two you see that you need to be not only led along the heavenly way, but to be made fit for the heavenly courts; and David's prayer, sincerely offered, brings that fitness--that purity of heart which sees God and delights in the completion of His holy will.

VIII

Circumstances and Consequences

'_And fears shall be in the way._' (Ecclesiastes xii. 5.)

The man who wrote these words was specially emphasizing the importance of settling one's relationships to the great Creator before the coming of days when infirmities increase, and decay of natural powers sets in. The practical outcome of that thought is, that postponement only adds to one's difficulties when the battle really has to be fought.

Amongst those difficulties the sacred writer places that natural foreboding, physical shrinking and hesitation which paralyse men when, after lives spent in sin and selfish indulgence, they desire to make their peace with God; for, says he, 'They shall be afraid of that which is high, and _fears shall be in the way_'. The imaginary obstacles which arise in people's minds, seeming to make holy living impossible, are varied in character, but I see that many are influenced by fears and feelings concerning things which I class under the headings of 'Circumstances and Consequences'.

How often, when giving earnest advice, one gets the response, 'My circumstances are against me', 'Placed as I am, it cannot be', or 'The consequences are too serious', 'The price of the blessing is too high'. Even with persons who have no doubt as to the possibility of a clean heart and sanctification of life, these thoughts operate; and we find the fear of circumstances hindering one, and the fear of consequences influencing another, so that they are held back from definitely seeking the blessing. True, in many instances, the idea is a delusion, a snare of the Devil, by which souls are kept out of God's Full Salvation; but, there is the fact--'fears are in the way'.

Fear is like a great magnifying-glass; or one of those mirrors which give a distorted image of things reflected in them. This effect is often produced in persons both as regards their own circumstances and the consequences of following the leadings of God's Spirit.

You may remember how Bunyan, in his 'Pilgrim's Progress', represents Christian desiring to enter the House Beautiful, but suddenly he espied two lions in the way, and was almost frightened out of his purpose until some one told him that, if he went boldly on, and kept in the middle of the path, he need not fear, seeing the lions were securely chained. What an illustration of the quaking fears which hinder definite action in regard to spiritual blessings!

1. A few words as to _circumstances_ may be helpful to some one. Let me, however, first make one thing clear. With some people circumstances exist which are insurmountable barriers; there are positions in the world which could not be held by a fully sanctified person any more than fire can be carried in a man's bosom and he not be burned; situations involving the practice of evil or resulting in gain through the unjust sufferings of others. Such positions must be given up, if men wish to enjoy God's sanctifying power. I am not, however, dealing now with such positions or the circumstances connected with them; I am referring to circumstances or conditions of life which are lawful in themselves and in the light of the Word of God, but which may present difficulties and involve serious trial to those determined to live purely and serve God faithfully.

The fear in some instances is that if they obtain the blessing the strain of temptation would be such as to render a fall probable. 'I could not _keep_ the blessing if I got it'; 'If I could change my position, or surroundings, or connexions, then I would take the necessary steps'. These are words we frequently hear. A married man or woman says, 'Ah! if only I were single, then I could live a life of full consecration'. With equal seriousness the single person says, 'Ah! if only I were married, then the life of purity and Holiness would be possible to me'. The mother, fearful about the strain which the care of the children brings, often speaks in the same way. So it is with business relationships and many other matters in which the circumstances are presented as things making Holiness an impossibility.

When I was a young man in business I yearned for a position in which I could be separate from all worldly entanglements, so that I could obtain and enjoy the blessing. But, do you know, since I have been a Salvation Army Officer, I have often been tempted to think that the sanctified life is easier in the circumstances of commercial life, and that if I was so placed the spiritual things would be more appreciated, and I should be able to live nearer to God. You see, it is the same old temptation, 'My circumstances, my conditions of life, my work, my home', and the fear of these things often becomes a snare.

That is a pathetic picture which the Psalmist gives us of these poor Jews by the waters of Babylon, who, when urged to sing the songs of Zion, answered, 'How shall we sing the Lord's songs in a strange land?' Is not that the feeling which bursts from many lips and many more hearts, 'How can you expect _me_, in _my_ circumstances, to get sanctified and live a holy life?'

But is not that just the point where the triumph of faith comes in? It is there that we see the value of those exceeding great and precious promises by which you are to become a partaker of the Divine nature, and on which your faith is to build. 'As thy days, so shall thy strength be'; 'My God shall supply all your need'; and that includes your need in cleansing, your need in keeping, and your need in blessing adapted to your circumstances. Remember, the Lord is the Master of circumstances, and you must put yours into His hands, and trust Him not only to sanctify you wholly, but to preserve you blameless unto the end. You must trust God to make you equal to your circumstances.

2. But there is that second class of anxious persons to whom I referred: those who are held back by _the fear of consequences_.

Oh, what crowds of enlightened souls might be walking triumphantly along the King's highway, who are yet tramping on amidst doubts and fears and frequent condemnation, all because they dread the pressure of God's claims upon them, and fear the consequences of making a whole-hearted surrender to Him.

There is another point of view about which I must speak a word in passing. When looking at the consequences of fully yielding to God's claims, and perhaps trembling and hesitating, do you ever think of the results of holding back what you know God wants? Do not forget that there are some consequences of saying 'No' to the Lord. When a child knows his father's wish, but, in answer to a reasonable request, says, 'No', you call it disobedience. Is it not a still more serious thing to be disobedient in the presence of more than a father's love? You must count the cost of that, when resisting the light and influence of God's Spirit.

Surely, you will not choose to be numbered among those who 'knew their Lord's will, but did it not'. In the Gospel story such were 'beaten with many stripes'; that means stripes of loss, stripes of pain, stripes of sorrow, perhaps even stripes of death. If we are to suffer, let it be the result of following Him, rather than the consequence of denying our Lord.

Now, I do not want to mislead anybody, for, of course, there are consequences of surrender and determination to live the holy life; but, unfortunately, these fearful ones look at the wrong side of the list. They think of the separateness from the world involved in a life of Holiness; they think of the cold shoulder which some, even Christian friends, would give them; they think of the toil after souls which the sanctified must maintain; of the money that they may have to give; of the partnership in Christ's sufferings, and other self-denying expressions of devotion to God and the Kingdom. 'Oh, I shall have to wear uniform!' or 'go to the Open-Air', or 'perhaps become an Army Officer', and, as an Officer, 'may have to leave my native land'. The enemy holds these and many similar things before the eyes of a convicted soul, very often magnifying the facts until the word difficulty is changed to impossibility, and, like the young ruler of the Gospel story, they 'go away sorrowful'.

A man came across London to be present at one of our Thursday Meetings. When spoken to by an Officer, he admitted the force of all that had been said, but he found an insurmountable difficulty in his business as a shopkeeper. He saw that the goods on his shelves and sold over the counter were mixed, including what he realized to be bad and damaging to many others. His heart was full of conviction and desire, but anxiety about his wife and family prevented him closing down, while his conscience prevented him selling a business which he knew had wrong and doubtful things connected with it. 'What is wrong for me', he said, 'would be wrong for another'; and so he could not pay the price, and, like the young ruler referred to, he has gone away sorrowful.

In the Meeting of the following week a man came to the table seeking the blessing, and he cried out aloud, 'O Lord, give me a clean heart! Take the malice out which I have had towards these two persons! O Lord, I will go straight to them, and confess, and ask them to forgive me!' Needless to add, the blessing came, and, rejoicing, he went off to his home, fifty miles out of London, to fulfil his word. The contrast between this and the man previously mentioned teaches its own lesson.

Now, it is quite right that seekers of Full Salvation should _look at the cost, and count it well_; but, Oh, that they would also think of the tremendous balance of joy and peace and blessing which more than makes up for what has to be borne or done or given up! Instead of dim twilight, or hazy doubts or forebodings, the sunshine of the Divine Presence makes all things bright and gladsome. Instead of depending for light and peace on 'suns' which 'go down' and 'moons' which 'withdraw' themselves, the fully sanctified man finds that God has become his 'everlasting light, and the days of his mourning are ended'. As I have said, there will be sacrifice, but there also will be satisfaction; and, as with the mother in regard to her new-born babe, the fully saved soul forgets the suffering and the sacrifice which has been made.

Sometimes we are tempted to look at sacrifice apart from love. I heard Mr. Bramwell Booth say in a Meeting, 'Sacrifice is the flower of love'; and you know full well that things which are otherwise impossible become comparatively easy to true love and faith. Men do not talk about sacrifices when they realize that they have received more--much more--than that which they gave up.

When I hear people dwelling on how much they have given up for God, I begin to wonder whether those self-denying ones have realized the joy and satisfaction which God wants to give to the fully consecrated heart. If they have, it is strange for them to talk of rushlight sacrifices whilst they are bathed in the sunlight of the Divine Presence.

Sometimes distressing consequences do follow surrender and faith, but are there not also glorious consequences in the form of joy in the seasons of sorrow, light and guidance in the hours of perplexity, Divine approval and communion when others misunderstand and shun us? Surely the knowledge of this leads me to cry, 'O my Lord, let me have the blessing with all its consequences!'

Oh, my friends, whilst counting the cost, look at both sides of God's gift, the crown as well as the cross; the delight as well as the denial; the heavenly sunshine as well as the earthly shadows; and the great, glorious, everlasting reward in eternity. When you have looked at all these things, make your choice; and, having chosen aright, 'hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown'.

IX

Bound to the Altar

'_Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar._' (Psalm cxviii. 27.)

Periodically in our Halls we have had what we call Altar Services. At such times, and more especially during the Self-Denial and Harvest Festival efforts, Soldiers, friends, and others who are interested in God's work are invited to come forward with gifts of money to lay upon the special table which, for that occasion, serves the purpose of an altar. Those who have been present at these Meetings will not need to be told that the 'gift' is irrevocable. The giver cannot honestly get it back--it has been deliberately parted with.

That is a very definite thing _done_, and it illustrates the central idea of the verse which I have read to you.

Some time ago I went with The General to Stockholm, where the Swedish Officers were gathered together for their annual Congress. At the close of the Councils I asked an Officer how he liked the Meetings, and what the result would be. He replied, 'Commissioner, it's just like this. It is as if The General during these days builded an altar, and to-night we all climbed upon that altar offering ourselves a sacrifice unto God, and the fire came down and sanctified the offering.'

_The true worship and service of God_--it need not be told--_involves sacrifice_. If any one here feels that religion is all a question of how much he can get out of God by saying so many prayers or offering so many donations, he has a totally wrong conception of what it is. I know that there are many who regard their vows to God very lightly. They seem to think they can get through their religion without much self-denial. Religion of that sort, however, is worth nothing either to those who possess it or to the Lord whom they profess to serve. Without self-sacrifice, without self-denial, religion comes to nothing, or, at any rate, amounts to very little.

I do not desire that you should imitate the senseless practices prevailing in some countries, where the people are allowed to build their hopes of Salvation upon penance and self-torture. And yet we are sometimes put to shame by the things we hear and see.

A short time ago I received a letter from a young Officer in India. After describing some pleasing scenes, he said, 'One sees some awful things out here. I saw a man the other day literally walking upon nails. It made me shiver. He imagined that by this he could save his soul. With what passion I wished that man could only understand that other nails were pierced in other feet for him! But you see how in earnest the people here are about their religion, and in all these things they are seeking for Salvation.'

There are not many who are prepared to do what that poor Indian devotee did. They are a long way off that. But unless they are prepared to include sacrifice in their religion, they are not on the lines either of their Lord's example or their Lord's words. The cross, the following, the denial of self, the Calvary path, cannot be excluded from the life of Christ's follower.

Whilst true service must always be a spiritual thing, do not imagine it is something merely 'in the mind'. I have heard it talked about in the same way as a doctor talked to a poor lad who had his thumb crushed in a machine.

'Don't shout, my poor boy', he said. 'Don't you know I feel it as truly as you do?'

'Perhaps so,' replied the boy; 'but you feels it in your mind, and I feels it in my thumb!'

Sacrifice is often talked about by some people who feel it perhaps as much as the doctor felt the crushed thumb, being largely a matter of sympathy, without the actual hurting.

This matter of sacrifice indicates a certain principle, a certain state of mind, which _expresses itself in two ways_. It is either a giving up of things which are against God's will, or the contribution of something which is valuable, to be surrendered or used in His service. Shall I not say that sacrifice represents the heart saying, on the one hand, 'I will come out, and be separate, and touch not the unclean thing'? and, on the other hand, 'What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?' Not only singing, 'Where He leads I will follow', 'Lord, I make a full surrender', but actually spending and being spent for Him.

I need not dwell at any great length upon the word 'altar'. I referred to the table in our Altar Services as the place of gifts. It is also the place of dedication, and the place of sacrifice. Thank God, it has been so to many, as well as the mercy-seat, where God has sealed the acceptance of the offering presented to Him.

How often have we been reminded of that altar of sacrifice in the shape of the accursed cross, where the Saviour made atonement for our sins! And it is in reality at that altar we bow when we sincerely sing--

_Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all!_

Not only 'demands' the sacrifice, but 'shall have my soul, my life, my all'.

_But what does the binding of the sacrifice to the altar mean?_ The phrase is very significant.

The horns were the corner posts, and sometimes the worshipper presenting a living creature would tether it with a cord to the altar's horn, so that the gift could be used either for sacrifice or service. In both cases the figure of speech seems to imply the possibility of the consecration being reversed by the withdrawal of the offering, or broken by its loss, the sacrifice slipping off or away from the altar, or being loosened by the person who had presented the offering.

The Psalmist therefore urges those to whom he is speaking to maintain their consecration, and to see to it that their sacrifice is not taken off the altar after being put on. These corner posts were not there for ornament, but for use, and the cords were intended to hold the sacrifice to the altar, so that it could not be snatched away.

Here is my Bible. If I turned away, and anybody were so minded, it would be easy to make off with it while my back was turned. But if I had some cord, and, by crossing it transversely from corner to corner, tied the Book to the table, that would make it secure. It was thus that the sacrifices were bound to the Jewish altar.

What I want to emphasize by this is, that those who come with gifts and dedications should bind themselves in terms of unalterable covenant. They should stand to their consecration when loss or pain or temptation come, as come they will in one form or another. It is just here where so many fail--they do not really maintain their sacrifice. That is to say, having made a consecration they do not stand to it. The offering has been made, but it has been taken back again; the vow has been registered, but not paid; the promise has been made, but not fulfilled; the consecration has been broken or reversed.

Take that wonderful scene in the life of Abraham. At the command of God he erected an altar, cut the sacrifice in pieces, and laid it there. Then Abraham waited for the coming of the fire. Before the fire came, or anything happened, the vultures, those unclean birds, were circling around his head, and around the altar, trying to defile the sacrifice or snatch it away or devour it. The story says that when the birds came down Abraham drove them away, and he stood to his covenant until the fire came. The vultures of temptation will circle around you. They will try to frighten you, and to remove the sacrifice wholly or partially, or to defile it in some way. Your business then is to drive them away, to bind and rebind the sacrifice to God's altar.

In the days of Queen Mary, a girl-martyr refused, when pressure was brought upon her, to deny her Lord and renounce her faith. She was condemned and taken to the seashore. There she was bound to a stake near the low tide line, and, as the incoming waters gathered round her feet, one of her persecutors rode out and offered to spare her life if she would renounce her faith and turn her back upon her Lord.

The waters rose to her waist, and he rode out again, and, when half unconscious, she was dragged out, and urged to recant. Refusing to do this, the girl was again bound to the stake.

When the waters reached her shoulders the offer was repeated. To one and all she replied something like this: 'No, I will not draw back! I will not deny my Lord!' And as the rising tide came in she bowed her head, and poured her soul out unto death rather than deny her Master. She bound her sacrifice to the altar, and died in the faith.

Some of those who hear my words are disappointed and sad at heart, for they have gone back on Jesus Christ; not perhaps to save their lives, but for a mere trifle. Why these neglected vows? Why these defiled sacrifices? Why these broken consecrations? If they were ever really put on the altar they were not, I am afraid, bound there. Impulse, sentiment, desire, intention may have induced the offering, but it was not bound with 'cords of submission, cords of determination'. Companionships, some secret indulgence, some selfish pleasure, some act of reversal, carried off the sacrifice.

Alas! how many have never seriously and sincerely approached the Divine altar to make the full surrender of themselves to God. The love of sin, the selfish gratifications which are so precious to them, have kept them back, though often convicted about their duty.

But the act of dedication is very simple, and can be made or renewed now. While we bow before God around the altar of consecration, bring yourselves and the sacrifice again and put it on that altar in an unchangeable covenant, and with a simple faith that will bring from God that holy fire which makes it possible to maintain it there for ever.

_A willing sacrifice at last
Myself to Thee I give;
The weary, painful strife is past--
I die that I may live._

_I yield Thee all my hallowed powers,
Thine only will I be,
Contented if I may but know
Thou giv'st Thyself to me._

X

'Why Should I?'

'_Thou saidst, What advantage will it be? What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin? I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee._' (Job xxxv. 3, 4.)

In reading these words I have no wish to enter into the controversy between Job and his friends as to the relationship of physical suffering to sin, but to emphasize a certain mental attitude which they indicate, and which often expresses itself in relation to other things.

The human mind is so constituted that men will not commit themselves to a course suggested by another unless it is proved to be worth their while. When we want to move people to do that which does not at the moment fit in with their desires, we have to urge motives upon their consideration. Very few actions are performed without there being some personal motive. It seems born in us to ask, 'Is it worth while? Why should I do, or go and accept what I do not want?' and so we hang back until some motive carries our judgment or feelings.

We find the same attitude in men's minds towards Salvation and those spiritual blessings and conditions of life in which the Lord wants men to live. The immediate gratification of the flesh, or love of selfish indulgence, lies in the opposite direction to the Altar of Consecration; so that when the call to surrender and Holiness comes, naturally, and at once, the cry springs up, 'Why should I? Where is the advantage? What profit shall I have?' It seems, therefore, absolutely necessary to find some personal motives by which to urge people to be saved, or seek a clean heart, and pursue those lines of sacred duty to which redeemed men should be consecrated.

Speaking from personal experience, I would say that whilst soul-saving is hard work, it appears equally difficult to persuade professors of religion to definitely seek deliverance from inward sin, and to attain those spiritual realizations which we speak of as 'Full Salvation' or 'The Blessing of Holiness'. As evidence of this difficulty, I may point to the state of soul and spiritual experience in which even some of you are now found: receiving light and instruction about Holiness, but continuing unsanctified; singing of the Cleansing Blood, but yet remaining uncleansed by it; praying, 'Baptize me with the Holy Ghost', and yet resisting His gracious leadings to the higher life of Holiness.

In one of my Meetings my subject was 'Out-and-Out Consecration'. I was attracted by a man who seemed intensely interested. I spoke with him afterwards, when he said, 'I was much pleased with your address--I entirely approve of the sentiments you expressed'. And yet I could not induce the man to give himself to God. Thus we have to seek for motives by which to move the hearts of people in this vital matter.

1. Let me again set before you those motives which should lead you to seek the blessing. I place first among them the fact which Paul stated thus, 'This is the will of God, even your sanctification'. I put this first because the highest motive stimulating the soul of the child of God should be _the knowledge of his Father's will_. One would think that to know God's will should be enough to provoke the determination to do it. To hear the Father's voice should stir the heart in responsive desire and effort.

We had a little daughter who, before she went to Heaven, was the joy of our hearts and the light of our home. The child had a passion for cleanliness, and as the evening hour came on, she gave the maid no peace until she was washed and dressed in clean clothes. Then, running to her mother, she would ask, 'Mamma, am I clean, clean enough for father?' Soon after my return from business, the child would climb on my knee, put a little hand on each side of my face, to compel me to look at her, and then ask, 'Am I clean, papa, am I clean?' Nothing would delight that child more than for me to say, 'Yes, my darling, you are clean, even clean enough for father'.

Let us ask ourselves, 'What does the will of God count for with us? We know what He wants, and the claims of gratitude and sincere regard for His glory should influence our attitude, and lead us to say, 'Lo! I come to do Thy will, O my God!'

_He wills that I should holy be:
That Holiness I long to feel;
That full, Divine conformity
To all my Saviour's righteous will._

2. A second motive to Holiness may be found in _the urgent need of the people around us_. We all know something of God's plan for saving the world. It is, broadly speaking, on the line of using one man to save another. Co-operation on this line is rightly expected from all professing Christians.

Personally, I hold that professors of religion who are not moved by a concern for the souls of others, and a willingness to use all possible efforts to seek their Salvation, can hardly claim to be properly saved themselves. The need of saved men and women to act on these lines of consecrated effort is, indeed, very great, and the knowledge of this fact should urge us to the fullest consecration. But we need to see more clearly that unless we exhibit in our own characters and lives the true fruits of Holiness, we shall either fail in our own consecration, or our influence will be greatly reduced.

What do you think will be the effect of a man's words about the Christian's 'separateness', and about Christ being the satisfying portion of the human heart, if people see him seeking satisfaction with the multitude that go to do evil? How will the world be influenced by Christian talkers who sacrifice honour, truth, and perhaps honesty, in their daily associations? How often people's tongues are tied, when they ought to speak and act? They are half paralysed through a sense of their personal inconsistency.

Holiness is not only the inspiration to holy effort; it is a necessary qualification. The power of a holy life is the best evidence of what God can do. Platform and Meeting-Holiness, or glass-case sanctity, are feeble when compared with the exhibition of the blessing in daily association. Therefore, 'Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven'. These words indicate my meaning when I urge you to seek and maintain the blessing of Holiness in the interests of those around you. Holy lives are the most convincing sermons and testimonies. We often say 'Holiness is power'; and I am sure that you need all the power which can be obtained to influence the world around for God and Salvation.

3. Then, as a last motive to stimulate you in the pursuit of Holiness, I will name _self-interest_. That may seem rather a low-down motive, seeing that Holiness, which is perfect love, is the extreme opposite of that selfishness which is the essence or root of all sin. It seems like a paradox or contradiction to say that self-denial can harmonize with enjoyment; and yet it is true. A man does advance his highest interests and truest well-being when he submits to the sanctifying conditions of the Holy Ghost; for what the world counts loss, he finds to be gain.

I would point out that we find God Himself appealing to men just at that point of self-interest. What a chapter is that fifty-fifth of Isaiah, beginning, 'Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters', and so on, the second verse finishing, 'Eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness'. As much as to say, 'You will find it worth while to come into right relations with Me'.

There is no doubt that people are moved when they properly understand the fact which Paul set forth in the words: 'Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come'; 'Godliness with contentment is great gain'. And I want you to see that to have the blessing of Full Salvation will be worth your while, because it will meet the deep needs of your individual life.

If I am asked to define what you must be in order that your religious life may be happy and successful, I would state the case thus.

First, you need to be in right and happy relationship with God. There must be no enmity there; no clouds in that sky; no closed doors between you and your Heavenly Father. Salvation does nothing for you if it does not bring that.

Second, you need to be delivered from those inward evils which have darkened your mind, polluted your soul, and will be like roots of bitterness springing up to trouble you if they are not removed.

Third, you want power to live up to your own ideals; that is, up to the standards of life upon which your consecrated heart will be set. You do not want to be in the position of the man who exclaims, 'The good that I would I do not; but the evil which I would not, that I do'. You want power to live 'unspotted from the world', to walk in Divine fellowship, to triumph over temptation, and to have victory and success in your service. These are the things you must have to meet your deepest need, and they are all secured to you in the blessing of Holiness which we urge you to seek.

Believe me, nothing spoils a man's happiness so much as sin in the heart, and nothing helps in human happiness so much as a holy, sanctified condition. You see the supreme advantage when you remember the open fellowship possible to the fully sanctified; the perfect peace in which God keeps the man whose mind is stayed on Him; the perfect love which casteth out fear, and the joy unspeakable and full of glory realized by one filled with the Holy Ghost.

On the other hand, how much unhappiness and disappointment is caused by the remains of sin in the heart! Look, for instance, at ill-tempers and their effect. You may have found a certain amount of gratification in letting your temper display itself; you have 'spoken your mind', and so forth, and, perhaps, caused pain to somebody in so doing; but you know how unhappy and humiliated you have been upon reflection.