TH E S E C R ET

S P I R I T UA L PO W E R .

BY G E O . D . W ATS O N, D . D .

O O OO O N

TH E M C D O NA L D GI L L C O .

1 8 94 .
 C O NT E NT S

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C H A P TE R

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T he S
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e cr e t o S p i ri tu a l P o w e r
P A GE .

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II T h e S e cre t o S p i r i t u al P o wer

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III . T h e S e cre t o S p i r i tu a l P o wer ,

IV . T h e S e cre t o S p i r i t u a l P o w e r ,

V . T h e S ecre t o S p i r i t u a l P o w e r ,

VI . T h e S e cre t o S p i r i t u a l P o w e r ,

V II . L i qu i d a n d S ol i d F o o d ,

V III H i n dr a n ce s to F a i th

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F a i nt N o t

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A f i c t i on a n d G l o ry ,

A f i c t i o n a n d G l o ry

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T h e ' on e o E nti re C o n s e c r a ti o n m

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A XI I I . T h e E nt i r e t y o C on s ecr a ti o n ,

E x c a va ti o n B ef or e E d i c a ti o n
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T h e Na tur e o P e rfec t L ove

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T h e E e c t o P erf e c t L o ve
XV II . S u p er c i a l R e l i g i o us L i f e ,

XV III . E n vy ,

XI X . T h e L e a k a g e o L o ve ,

XX . T h e I nn er M a n ,

XX I S p i r i t u a l D is cr i m i n a t i on

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XX II . I n s t a n tan e o u s P ur i c a t i o n ,

XX III . H i n dr a n c es t o H o l i n es s ,

XX I V . T h e T hr e ef o ld E vi d e n c e i n G r a c e ,

XXV T h e T h r e e M a n i fes t a t i o n s o J e su s

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XXV I W a l k i n g i n L o ve

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XXV II . H e a ve n ly T r e a sur e ,

XXV III . M a k i n g F ri e n d s w i t h M a mm o n ,

XXI X . T h e F a i th o t h e S yr o P he n i c i an W o m a n
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XXX . T h e F a i t h o th e S y r o P h e n i c i a n W o m a n
o
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 C H AP T E R I .

TH E SE C R E T O F SPIR ITU A L PO W E R .

E A T de al has been said and wri tt en

GR
upon the subject of spiritual power and ,

perhaps I can add no t hing original upon the

subjec t but may help t o stir up some pure
,

minds by way of remembrance .

W hile a t t ending a holiness convention in

S t ar Hall Manches t er E ngland on e day there
, , , ,

opened up t o my mind a series of t houghts as .

t o t he secre t of God s power in man In the .

rs t place t he secre t of spiri tual power consists

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in t he union of t he Holy Ghost wi t h the puri

i

e d facul t ies a n d n a tu r a l energies of the human

soul and on the human side it consists in t he

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ut ter abandonmen t of the soul t o and a hear ty

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co operation wi th t he Holy Spirit I t is no t

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eloquence nor style nor personal magnetism

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n or psychology nor the na t ural e n ergy o

, the
human soul not even the energy o a puried
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soul T he soul may be puried and y e t as a

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m ere crea t ure the creature faculties and crea

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t ure powers do not ha v e the power of God in

2 TH E SE CRE T O F S P I R I T UA L P O WE R

soul savi n g in aggressive spiri tual work in

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, ,

bri nging sinners t o repe n t ance o r believers in t o ,

holiness I t is true tha t a human soul fre e

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from sin as a mere crea t ure has a marvelous

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power above o ther unsaved souls bu t as a cr ea

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t ure t hough it be holy ye t in i t self does no t

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possess that secret energy which can communi

cate convic t ion and lead to salva t ion S o that .
,

however holy a man is there mus t be j oined on ,

to him a divine current a superna tural energy ,

which is emphatically divine and of which he ,

is the vehicle a n d conduc tor .

This divine power is a secret unknown to the

world uncomprehended by t he m os t learned

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sinners misunderstood by carnal professors

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ut t erly beyo nd t he grasp of philosophers o r

scien t ists Let us n otice some Scri pt ure proofs

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Jesus had a pure soul ; from the very initial o

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His being He was perfectly free fro m the fallen

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na t ure of Adam and as a mere man He was
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s uperior in moral s treng t h to all the me n o the

world An d yet i t was n o t by His holy crea
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ture streng t h t hat He did t he works o His

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fa t her The power that Jesus used i n working

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miracles i n preaching serm ons in healing dis

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eases i h casting ou t demons in saving souls

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was no t t he power of His sinless soul but i t ,

was t he power owing from the bap tism of t he

Spiri t upon His pure humanity This is dis .
 TH E S E CR E T OF S PI R I TUAL P O WE R 8

t i nc tl ymarked in t he t wo periods of His life .

From His infa ncy to His bap tism in Jordan He

was en t irely ho ly bu t wrought no miracles bu t
, ,

when the Holy Ghos t descended o n H i m from ,

t ha t t ime o n He was t he An ointed O ne and

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worked under the perpe t ual unc tion tha t owed

t hro ugh Him from t he Holy Spirit So that in .

addi tion t o His holy creature facul t ies God -

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poured i n to Him the fullness of the Spiri t

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W e are told t ha t w hen Jesus had gotten

through with t he temp t ation of the wilderness ,

He returned t o Galilee in the power of the

Holy Ghost .This expression o returning in

the power of the Holy Ghost implies t ha t ,

there was added un t o Him a power which He

did no t possess as a mere pure man .

W e some t imes hear it said that holiness is

power and that all the power we need for the
,

work of God is heart purity bu t these remarks ,

are not en t irely correc t accord i n g t o the W ord

of God I t is true tha t hear t p u rity is power
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in the crea t ure sense of power bu t i t is not the

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power of the H oly Ghos t in t he Scripture sense

of i t Jesus i s our example an d we read tha t
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,

He received in addi t ion to His pure humanity

t he power o the Holy Ghos t and that it was ,

t hro u gh the e t ern al Spirit He of e red Himself

wi thout spot u n t o G o d and that it was ,

t hrough t he Holy Ghost He gave com mand

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TH E SE C RE T O F S P I RI T U A L P O W E R .

men t un t o the apostles A nd He so of t en .

a r ms The words I speak unt o y ou I S peak

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not o Myself that is t he words did n o t pro

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oecd from His m erel y pure huma n ity No w if .

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Jesus needed the Ho ly Ghos t uni t ed wi t h His

hol y creature na ture in order to gi v e H i m the -

peculiar secret of power in His mission and if ,

He is our example how much more do we need

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t ha t we shou l d have o u r sanctied hearts and

our men t al faculties in vital union with the
Holy Spirit that by that union we may d o the
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work o God S o tha t we cannot depend on

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the natural energies e v en o o u r sa v ed souls .

W e cannot depend on o urselves in any form

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n o r o n any creature o r number of creatures

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howe v er holy they may be .

Anoth er proof text is Jesus says Ye s hall , ,

recei v e the power o the Holy G h ost coming

upon y o u .The old version says Ye shall ,

receive power af t er that the Holy Ghost has

come upon y o u B u t it is more correct t o
.

take the marginal reading According to the .

thought in the ol d vers 1 on the power is a some

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thing w hich is detached fro m t he Holy Ghost ,

but according to the margin t he power i s ,

identied wi t h the Holy Ghos t and is spoken ,

o as a current or wave which gushes o ut from

the co nj unction o the Holy Spirit and the hu
man soul Just as the curren t o water in the
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 TH E S E CRE T OF S P IRI T U A L P O WE R .

wil d erness did no t g ush from the rock of i tself ,

n o r did it gush fro m the rod bu t when the rod ,

t ouched t he rock from the union of the rod

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and the rock t he stream poure d for th so the

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curren t of divin e power does n o t go for t h from

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t he Holy Ghos t apart from t he h uman soul nor ,

does i t proceed fro m the merely puried soul ,

bu t when the sanc tied soul and t he Holy

Ghost are united fro m t ha t ine a ble unio n
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there goes forth wha t is script urally called t he

power of G od Thus t he secret of power is in
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having the Holy Ghos t u n ite Himself to our

souls cleansing lling inspiring us su p plying
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us according t o each emergency wi t h super

natural ligh t energy wisdom courage tact and
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zeal to d o t he will and work of God This

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power is something t hat God puts wi thin the

so ul w hich the soul i tself does no t compre
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hend so that a person under its enduement

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does not break down wi t h discouragement does

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no t break d own under a tho usand things tha t

would break d o wn the h uma n soul if it we re

left by i t elf
s .

O ne o t he best illustrations o this secre t

power is a curren t of e l e c tri c i tv o which the
san ctied faculties o man form t he n ega t ive
pole a n d the Holy Ghost t he posi t ive If
, .

t hese are se p arated there is n o current but ,

united there goes forth a shock t o startle t he

6 TE E SE CRE T OF S P IRI T U A L P O WE R .

slumbering t o awaken sinners t o cause t h e

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hearers t o break do w n in peni t en t ial weeping ,

t o reveal to Chris t ian people as by a ash of

ligh tning the original impuri ty in t heir hear ts ,

and to move congrega t ions toward t he Saviour

wi t h earnes t cries for salvation The scarci ty
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of these celestial shocks is because professedly

Chris t ian workers tr u st to crea t ure streng th or ,

t o t he mere or thodoxy of t heir words Cursed .

is t he man tha t trus t e t h in ma n and especi ally

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cursed is he that truste t h in himself .

 C HA P T E R II .

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TH E SE C R E T O F SPIR ITU A L P O W E R .

NO T H E R condition essential t o the full

e n duement o spiri tual power is the

c r u c i x i on o sel in order t ha t we may be
uni t ed with t he Holy Ghos t God cannot ll
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us w ith His Spiri t illumina t e us e mpo w er us

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with courage and boldness and t hat intuitive

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and di vine insigh t and energy until we are

rst crucied W e must rst die before we
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live we mus t reach t he point o our ow n utter

inheren t foolishness in o rder to receive the
wisdom from above ; we m u s t reach t he c o n
s c i o u s n e ss of our own indescribable weakness

in order t o join on to God s power H is .

s t reng t h is made perfect at t he poin t where our

weakness is perfec t .

In the account in Genesis where G o d me t

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Jacob a t Peniel an d wrestled wi t h him Jacob s ,

prayer prevailed at the very poin t where he

was u t terly conquered TV e hear it said tha t
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Jacob wres tled wi t h t he angel but the W o1 d

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tells us , There wrestled a man with Jacob .

( 7)
8 TH E SE CRE T O F S P IRI T U A L P O WE R .

Le t us remember tha t this wres tli n g was not

wi th a convicted sinner for Jacob had en t ered ,

t he family of God t went y years before at

Bethel bu t i t was t he co nict be t ween the
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perfect will of God an d the or1 gi nal perversi ty

of Jacob s n ature A t rst Jacob t hought he

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was w restling wi th a mere ma n but he had no t ,

wrestled lo ng before he discovered that the

man was an a ngel and a li ttle l ater t his angel
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assumed the propor t ions o the Prince of t he

Angels a n d before the conict ended he found
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it was God Himself S o that wha t seemed a .

mere man a t t he beginning turned out i n the

en d to be the Jehovah E lohim the Lord ,

Almighty who was n o less a personage than

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the Lord Jesus .

How ofte n this is illustrated in our e x p e ri

ence God comes t o us in disguise an d seeks
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t o conquer u s a t unexpected points an d i n

unexpected ways wrestling with us in t he
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hu mble armor of some pet ty circumstance o r

person hiding His innite majes ty under such
,

lit tle cheap a pparel that we ne ver drea m it is

God t ill we are conquered and the mist falls
from o u r vision and like Jacob we ar e amazed
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t o nd ourselves face to face wi t h God .

The Lord wrestled wi th Jacob in order t o

perfec tly break down all the hidden resis tan ce
within him to the Holy Ghost all the late n t ,
 TH E SE CRE T O F S P I R I TUA L P O WE R . 9

resistance t o God s will an d love And when .

he found that the wrestling was hard and de

layed he touched the hollow of his thigh and

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pu t it out of join t .

Here is another suggestion for us Jacob .

was a s t rong man physically and a good walker ,

with his s t ro ngly bu ilt c o ns ti t uti o n an d as the \ ,

t high join t is t he locali ty of s tre ngth e s p e c iall y

in wrestling in long marching and in lifting or

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bearing heavy bur d ens the Lord broke him ,

d own a t the very point where he was s t rong ,

and in that very joint which he would likely

boast o or d epen d o n And when that poin t .

w as touched and he was crucied in the l a st

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reserve and main dependen ce of his energy s o

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that he had t o limp as a frail t hing then the ,

Holy Ghost o w ed i n and lled his being .

Thus his ut t er helplessness became the most

t t ing conditi o n o his union with the Holy
Spirit s o that he limped in his body bu t leaped
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in his soul Now the same thing takes place

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in us In order that we may receive the

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strength of G od the secret of power G od , ,

wrestles with us and the wrestling must go on

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until He breaks down in us all resista nce to His

will not only all open resistance or known an d
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conscious resis t ance bu t all the hidden and un ,

su spec te d resistance t hat lies in o u r bre or

fe e lings or faculties ; t ha t 's u btl e stubbornness
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10 TH E SE C R E T O F S P I R I T U AL P O WE R .

of nat ure which the delicate nature of God can

see and feel but which we do no t perceive
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And He mus t break us down at t he very point

where we are s t rongest where our energy is

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lodged be t hat in head or hand or hear t be

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t hat in our mind or manag ement or money be

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that in our education or prejudice o r d esires or

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af e ctions? in wha t ever poi n t of our being we
may fancy we are t he bes t in wha t ever locali ty ,

t here is stored up t he most o self there is ,

where the nger o God must pu t the knife ,

t here is where t he last resistance m u s t expire in

order t hat the Ho ly Spirit may uni t e us wi t h

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Himself and make us partakers with the Holy
Ghost .

Paul says I am crucied wi t h Christ

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nevertheless I li v e All through the W ord o
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God we nd that cruci x ion precedes deep

spiritual power No t on ly mus t God b reak
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d own the sins o a sinner in order to conver t

him but in those who are t ruly regenerated He
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must needs break do w n their wisdo m learning , ,

prudence their pet v iews their churchly train

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ing an d prej udice their narrow mindedness ,

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th eir knowledge the i r righteousness It takes

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t he Lord jus t about as long to break down a

Christian man s righteo usn ess as t o break down

a sinner s unrighteousness Do not understand .

me that G od e v er breaks do w n His ow n w is d om

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TH E SE CRE T OF S P I R I T UA L P O WE R . 11

or righ t eous ness or strength bu t He breaks ,

down t ha t form o wisdom righ t eousness and

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streng t h which sprou t s and grows out of human

na t ure W ha t ever origina t es in self in the
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creature na t ure m u st be crucied in order tha t

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t he creature may be wedded t o Chris t t hroug h

the Holy Ghos t and from t hat sacre d un i on
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derive other wisdom righteousness and streng th

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inni t ely superior t o that of any creature W e .

are t o le t go no t only our wicked selves bu t , ,

also our seemi n gly pious selves in order tha t

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we may take hold of God The self life at any

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point is like attaching a conduc tor t o a telegraph

wire which diverts t he electric message and
runs it into the ground I t is only the insulated
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W i re through which man can pour his i nt e ll i

gence through the electr ic current s o it is the ,

crucied and insulated soul through which G o d

can po u r His unmi x ed t ruth an d upon which ,

H e c an place the se c ret unction o holy powe r .

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C HA P T E R III .

TH E SE C R E T or SPIR ITU A L PO W E R .

NO T H E R secret spiri tual power lies in

o

the perpetual ignori ng of our creature

ability I do not say a perpetual denying o
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o u r ability Telling an untru t h never helps

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G od any whe t her it be agains t ourselves or

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a gainst Satan an d if we represent ourselves as

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being n othing in the absolute sense of that
w o rld it is n u Scriptural
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B u t I say that the secret o power lies in the

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c onstant ignoring o o u r creature ability as a

su c iency o success In the realm of creature

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hood o ur n atural ability is some thing but in

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the real m o di v ine grace w here spiritual ,

miracles are to be wrought we can be e i c i e nt ,

in the hands of God by a m ost perfect ignoring

o o u r suf ciency It is in this sense we nd
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all those S cripture e x pressions about being

d ust and ashes being a broken vessel
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the lame taking the prey a nd being less ,

than the l e ast being nothin g
, t akin g the ,

( 1 2)
 SP I R I T U A L

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TH E S E C RE T OF P O WE R .

answer . W ha t a world of meaning t here is

in t ha t expression ,B u t God ' And then

l e a ni ng back on the Holy Spirit in sel re n u n -

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c i a ti o n in u tt er abandon men t t o t he divi n e

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will God pu t i n t o his hear t a n d mind the

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in t erpre tation A n d so he gave th e i n te rp r e

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t a ti o n as God gave it to him He did no t.

kno w the in t erpre t a tion o it i n pri son b ut he ,

go t t he in t erpre t a tion right t here on the spo t ,

and God poured a s tre am o light and discern

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men t t h r ough that man because he had died t o

creature wisdom , a nd his W hole being was in
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such an a t ti t ude of dependence that G o d c o uld

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pro mpt him t o speak He was n o t a ba tt ery
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,

b ut t he wire that conveyed the current And .

when he nished the interpretation the king

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said The Spiri t o God 1 s i n Joseph
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That .

hea then king saw a divine light and power in

that poor prisoner which surpassed all the wise
men o E gypt .

There y o u have the secret power a power ,

t hat convin c ed a h eathen king a power tha t s o

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pierced t hrough his hea t hen nature and ca u sed

hi m to a d e p t t he plans of an e x con vict and

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t hereby immor t alize his n ame forever .

W e may al s o take the case o the apostles ,

when through them was healed t he la me man

a t the bea u tiful ga t e o the t emple T he people .

looked upon Peter and John as d e rnigods and ,

 TH E SE CRE T OF SP IRI T UA L P O WE R .

P e t er said W hy do you look upon us as if by

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our ho l iness we had made this man well it is

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by t he name of Jesus through fai th in His ,

Name this ma n has been made whole as you

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see .

All through the W ord o God t he secre t o ,

power is t o t rus t in the Lord with all o ur
hear t and t o lean no t t o our o w n unders t and
,

ing .

Ma r k it i s no t merely n o t t o depen d o n
our unders t andi ng bu t n o t even t o l ea n o r
,

i n cli n e towards it W e are s o apt to lean on

.

our experience as if wisdo m a nd unc tion were

accumula t e d forces s t ore d up in o u r faculties .

B ecause a man has been preaching several

years he is ap t to lean upon his ol d sermons
and old plans a nd beca use w e have been in
,

t he Lord s work for some t ime we are apt t o

,

lean upon o ur me th ods .

True t here is a sense in whic h we acquir e

,

wisdom and facili ty and uen cy The man .

w ho is constantly at work for God preaching , ,

exhor t ing and teaching does acquire e xperience , ,

and becomes S kil l ed i n t he exercise of his gifts ,

and I I I discr i m i na t ing t he tness of times and

thi ngs and even from t he c r eature standpoin t

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,

the skillf ul use of gif t s and doctrine amoun ts to

a good deal .

B ut I a m n o w t alking abou t th e secr e t of

di v ine power no t t he s ecret o creature power
,
.
16

f f TH E SE C R E T

The secret o di vi ne po w er is that wi t h all o ur

OF SP I R I T U A L P O WE R .

f ff
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learning and skill and e x perience we are never ,

t o bank on it never d ra w a check o n it o r suc

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c e ss bu t vie w it all about in the same way as

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the dust o ut o which G o d made man s body

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If we desire to be workers o r G o d and ke e p in ,

the po w er w e must w alk along this path o ig n or

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i ng cr e a tu re a b ility and depe nding every t ime ,

a s a t the beg i nning o r the gift o the Spirit

, .

f
O h if w e could only re c ollect oursel v es
, .

R e c ollect we are nothi ng that we are empty

.
,

a nd we a k ; r e collect o u r attitude toward G o d

a n d H i s work G o d gives us unction n o t a s a

.

r e servoir bu t a s a stream
, no t a s a o untain ,

bu t as a c urre nt ; n ot as a battery but as a

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trans missi on In a reservoir the water is

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d a mme d u p but in a channel the wat e r is in

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p e rpetual o w A nd s o fully sanctied souls

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a cti ng un d er the po wer o the Holy Ghost are ,

mo re lik e a t e legraph W ire along which the

lightning can ash at a ny time and n ot like a

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b at t ery o s tor ed up elec tricity Many a Chris

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t ian worker has los t t he powe r by u ni nte nti o n

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ally rega rdi ng himself as a reservoir .

W e are t o keep at the point o self n oth i ng -

ness a nd at the sa me t ime look t o G o d alon e

,

o r su ciency just as t ruly as w e take the sun

shine from t he sun to day an d d o n o t think o -

usi ng the s unshi ne o y e s terday .

 f
C HA P T E R I V .

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TH E SE C R E T O F SPIR ITU A L P O W E R .

NO T H E R secret di vine power consi s ts

o

i n us ing only the a ppropria t e t ruth which

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is req uisi t e or t he sal v ation o s ouls The .

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Holy Gh ost works through the truth and ,

whether H e convicts o r s in or regenerates or , ,

s a nc t ie s o r empowers o r imparts special c om

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fort or wisdom He uses that par t o doc trin e or

,

t ruth which is e specially adapted or t he pur

pose All truth is not saving truth e v e n al l
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,

Scripture truth is n ot saving t ruth All Scrip .

ture is gi v e n by inspiration a n d is pro table ,

but it is n ot necessarily all protable in the

fff
s a me direction T he Holy Ghost in s aving
.

people u s es the truth especia l ly designed t o

ff
t hat en d .

The t ruth o man s fal l human d epravi ty and ,

need the incarn ation o the S o n o G o d vicari

, ,

o u s atonemen t t he persona l i ty and agen cy of

,

the Holy Ghos t the resurrec t ion o the de ad

, ,

hea v en an d hell rewards and punishments

, ,

t hese are the s t aple soul sa v ing t ruths

, All o
- .

( 1 7)
18 TH E RE T oE SP I R I T U A L

SE C P O WE R .

t hese t ru ths are interwoven throughou t the

f
Scri ptures in history parable m i racle prophecy
, , , ,

co mmand promise exa mple and poetry in a

, ,

t ho usand shades and forms so that in almost ,

any chapter of the Bible t here are eno ugh o

f
t hese t ru ths t o furnish the Hol y Spirit material
for convic t ion and salva tion .

B u t even Scrip t ure t ruth can be handled in

s uch a w ay as t o render i t o n o e e c t It can .

be so generalized o r made t o serve a merely po e t

,

l oa l or in t ellec t ual o r sen t imen t al p u rpose which

is nothing else than han d ling t he W ord of G o d

decei t full y
'

There are cer t a i n elemen t s that d o no t con

d u ct elec t ricity If you were t o make yo u r
.

t elegraph wire of gl a ss, you would never get a

message through it It is pre tty and nice an d

f
.

brillian t far handso mer t han iron but i t does

, ,

n o t con v ey ligh t n ing An d just s o t here are

.

cer t a i n truths in n a t u re philosophy history

f
, , ,

and a cer t ain way o sh aping e v en Scrip t u re

f
t ruth as to t urn it into a glass wire beau tiful , ,

brigh t crystal tru ths bu t along which t h e re

f
, ,

runs n o pier cing con vic t io n no a sh o h oly ,

light n o S i n consuming re It is true t hat

f
-
.
,

salva ti on i s wrought by an ac t o God but ,

tha t a c t ion o the Spiri t is always t hrough the

instrumen t ali ty of appr opria t e t ru th jus t as the ,

act o a so l dier in ba tt le 1 s throug h some

 TH E S E C RE T OF SP I R I T UA L P O WE R .

chosen weapon Man s fall and depra vi ty p r o
.

duces the n e e d of salva t ion the dea t h of Jesus ,

t he p r oc ur ing c a u s e of salva t io n t he W ord of

f
,

God the i n s tr u men t of s a lva t ion the Hol y ,

Ghos t t he ex e c uti ve ag e nt of salva tion e t erni ty ,

with i t s heaven or hell the moti ve s to salva tion ,

an d fai th the c ond i ti on o salva t ion These .

are t he columnar tru ths in the t e mple of re

demp tion Knock any of t hese col u mns away
.

and like ano ther blind Sampson sooner or

, ,

later t he whole fabric of revealed truth will be

f
per ver t ed and t umble down in inni t e ca l ami ty
upon yo u r soul .

There are many preachers an d religious

teachers w ho hold some o t hese t ru ths very
feebly or not a t all but such havoc they do

f
,

make Their work is very supercial and tran

.

s i to r
y t,
hey produ c e fana t icisms o r wild re or ,

else d ead cold formalism or else a ligh t headed

, ,
-

and vain sor t o religion There are many

religious teachers some of t hem brilliant preach
, ,

ing on mere m orality o n s oc i al i s m o n poli t ics

,

, ,

on ques t ions of labor and capital o n the ,

higher criticism on ra ilroad acciden t s o n

f
, ,

li t tle recen t even t s on anything and every thi n g

f
,

e x cept those great gia nt tru t hs that break down

the sou l enrage S a tan gladden heaven and
, , ,

disclose bo t h the secrets o the human hear t

and the destinies o eternity .
 SE SP I R I T U A L W ER

f
20 TH E C R E T OF P O .

The Holy Ghost will honor t hose who hon o r

Him and He will ho nor t hose truths which He
,

has chosen as t he conductors o His power .

O ur wisdo m consists in implicitly co n form

ing t o God s plan and putti ng ourselves righ t
,

in line W 1 th the chosen order of God .

A plain farmer o r lu mberman or co n verted

, ,

drunkard or plowboy w ho is u nskilled from

, ,

the crea tu re s t andpoint bu t who by en tire

f
, ,

abandonment t o G o d passes himself over into

,

the region of the superna t ural and in perfec t ,

h a n dles t he s u pernatural

f
S implici ty of S piri t ,

weapons o tru th will be in contact with the

,

innite battery of h oly power and slay gian t s ,

m 8 1 11 save and b u ild up so u ls an d transform a

,

co mmunity as a whole regiment o philo s oph e r s

could not do .
 ff
22 TH E SE C R E T O F S P I R I TUA L P O WE R .

p rise t o become g re a tl y a ttached t o th e e nt er

,

prise i tself and t o ha v e an overweening desire

f
,

for success But a close analys i s o the hear t

.

will often reveal t he fac t that the craving o r

success is because we are pu t ting ourselves in t o
t he a a ir and the Holy Ghos t w ho searc hes all

f
,

t hings nds ou t t he terrible secret th at after

,

all it is self that w ants success Now in order .

,

th at G o d may get all t he glory He mus t blis t er ,

t he fair face o seemi n g success make us die ,

t o ourselves in o u r work and then He can ,

accomplish resul t s grea ter than we dream .

Jesus does no t wan t us to get wedded tb His

work ins t ead of t o Him W e are s o frail even.

after we are sa n ctied an d altho u gh o ur de

,

pravity is purged away all o ur facul t ies are so

f
,

weak that G o d must keep o ur wings clipped or

,

we would y o v er the bounds A great ma ny .

do jump t he track The man that ne ver feels

.

f f
he has any thing t o boas t o in his work b u t ,

al w ays l ooks at the work as being no thing t o

his credi t is the on e who is al w ays at t he poin t
,

where he is w illing to be counted a failure in

the eyes o me n Read the record o grea t
.

fai t h enterprises such as under Luther o r W e s

f
, ,

ley or George Muller s O rphanage o r Dr
, ,
.

Cullis C onsump t ives H o me o r Bishop Taylor s

,

work in India and Africa an d see ho w t hou ,

sa n ds o t imes i n these men s li v es they had t o
 f
TH E SE C R E T OF SP I R I T U A L P O WE R . 23

consen t t o e t ernal failure in t he eyes no t only ,

of the world bu t in t he e y e s o philosophers

, ,

churches minis t ers and renowned ecclesias t ics

,
.

No te t heir soli t ary s truggles in prayer their ,

soli t ary m oun t ain peak convic t ions the lof ty

-
,

possibilities they s a w t ha t n o one else could see

f
.

See ho w they surpassed all the law makers in

t heir law o u tS t ri p p e d college profess ors in their
,

teaching eclipsed earthly ban k ers in their

,

hand ling o money how t hey pu t to shame the

,

idleness S hif tlessness and unbelief of t he ma

,

j ori t
y of nomi n al Christians arou n d t hem and ,

in order t o achie ve such grea t resul t s they had

f
,

constan tly t o lie i n the d us t t o bear cr it icism , ,

coldness an d con tempt from those from whom

t hey expected help A nd over and over agai n
.
,

in t heir hear ts had to say Amen t o per e c t
, ,

failure Let me give y o u a Scrip ture sa mple or

.

t wo E s ther was t old by Mordecai to d o a cer

.

tain d aring t hing t o save the Jews She said .

,

If I d o this i t may involve my dea th bu t ,

sent back word t ha t she w ould comply wi t h his

terms hazard her life
, and if I perish I ,

Tha t heart agreemen t to perish t o

f
perish ,

die and be buried in disgrace was the key tha t ,

unlocked the prison door t hat let a whole ,

nati O n out in t o liber ty There was the secre t

.

of power W hen the g reat mo n arch o Baby

.

l o n rebuked t he t hree Hebrews for no t worship

24 .
TH E SE C RE T OF SP I R I T U A L P O WE R .

ping his image they re sponded Be i t known

f
, ,

unto you t ha t we S hall n o t bo w d o wn to y our

image t he G od that we ser v e is able to delive r
,

us from t he ery furnace but if n o t we w ill , ,

f
n o t b o w do w n t o your image The s ecret o .

po wer lay in that expression but if n o t If .

f
w e l ive by faith and walk wi t h G o d there will ,

f
be many times in o u r lives when s imilar te sts
will confront us and similar furn aces blaze or

f
,

f f
o u r d e structio n and t o
g o t
,
h rough unscorche d ,

ff
we must carry that great b u t if n o t i n o u r
hearts The real value o any work we do o r
.

God can often be meas u red by the am ount o

,

ff
di cul t ies in the way o d oi ng it or else by the ,

e o rt Satan makes to destroy it afte r it is d one .

I n the book o Re v elatio n Satan stood t o ,

devour the man child as soo n as He was born .

This is true o every work o G o d If y ou .

recei v e a great blessi n g from the Holy Ghos t ,

Satan will soon try to destroy o r pervert i t If .

there be a glorious camp mee ting o r con v ention

f
o r re v ival S atan will nd human too l s often

f
, ,

t imes within the church to blast or check t he ,

gracio us work if possible In such seaso ns the

f
.
,

true servant o God must consent to the seem

ing failure o his labors and at the sa me time ,

o right o n w orking and com m it the work t o

g ,

t he a bsolut e care o G od .
 C H A P T E R VI .

fff
TH E SE C R E T OF SPI R ITU A L P O W E R .

H E conclu d ing though t in connec t ion with

the secret o powe r is w e must cons t an tly ,

recognize the presence o the Holy Spirit .

There is a marvelous secret o s t rength i n

recoll e c ting t he divine prese n ce in us and in
the work G o d calls us to Moses endured as

ff
.

seein g Him who was invisibl e My presence .

shall go with t hee and I will give thee rest
, .

The sa ints in the middle ages look ed upon

holiness as the prac t ice o th e divin e pres

ence E very time we g o in t o a mee t i n g or

f
.

S p eak to a soul o r pray o r sing or work o r God

f ff f
,

if then an d there we recognize the Holy S piri t

as in us an d with us it will n ot on ly be the
,

source o our inspiration but it will be the act ,

fai t h which G od hon ors w i t h success I do

f
o .

n o t say we are n o t t o pray o r t he p resence o

t he Holy Ghos t or or H i m t o fall upon us an d

,

t he W rd but t hat having prayed i n the n ame

, ,

o Jesus we a r e t o recognize the prayer as

,

a ns w ered . The Holy Ghost always a e com

( 25)
26 TH E SE C RE T OF S P I R I T UAL P O WE R .

panics His o w n W ord In every meeti ng for .

t he purpose of salva t ion o r spiri t ual ed ic a ti o n ,

the Ho ly Spirit 18 invariably o n hand David

said the Lord p r e ven te d him wi th His good n ess .

The word prevent or1 g1 nall y mean t t o run

before just as E lijah ran before Ahab when

,

there was goi ng t o be a plentiful rain so the

f
,

Holy Spiri t runs before us preceding every

copious work of grace Jesus says
W here .
,

t wo o r t hree are met t oge ther in My n a me ,

I am there in the mids t o t hem

No t He .
,

will be t here bu t He is there wai t ing t o mee t

f
, ,

them The Holy Spirit is in the church before

.

we get there in t he pulpi t w aiting for u s in

, ,

e v ery human soul before we speak to i t and the ,

secret o power is to though t fully t rustfully , , ,

unwaveringly recognize Him t h ere W hen .

Jacob w as conver ted at Be thel he said G od ,

is in t his place and I knew i t not Twenty .

years af t er when he had power t o pre v ail with

,

Go d he recognized t he Almighty in the form

f
,

of a man an d went forth with an endueme n t

,

w hich melted hi s hardened bro t her into tears .

The Holy Ghost always mo v es through appro

r i a t e conductors o which t here are only t w
p , o ;
namely a tr u th o r a p e r s ona l i ty He ne v e r
, .

works excep t t hrough s o me t r uth or s ome

person If we u s e the tr ut h according t o His
.

will and fully yield our per s on t o Him we a re

,
 TH E SE CR E T O F S P I R I T U AL P O WE R . 27

then t o recognize H im in the use of these t wo

agencies .

T he Spiri t and the bride say come The .

bri d e is God s spiri t ual church The Holy .

Ghos t says C ome and the Pen t ecos t al church

,

s ays Come bu t y o u no t ice t he Holy Spirit

,

ge ts His invita t ion in ahead of t he church .

A n d when you go to a S inner and s a y Come

t o G od t he Spirit has been there ahead of you
, ,

and is there t o sanc t ion your invita tion .

T he S pirit has gone t o every child of

humani ty I do n o t kno w just wha t the Spiri t
.

is doing but it is my p l ace t o recognize His

,

presence In every assembly where the pure

.

gospel is preached there is some suscep t ible ,

case So me sinner s usceptible to convic t ion

.
,

some belie v er t hat is a candidate for a deeper

e x perience W e never kno w who the cases are

f
. .

I t is frequen tly the very perso n s we leas t

e x pect b ut t he Spirit knows and I am t o
, ,

recognize Him as working on t he people This .

very recognitio n o His presence will inspire us

with energy and d e ni te n e s s .

Did you ever see a blind person in a room

wi t h nobody there and he fel t himself alone 9
Did vo u ever no tice t he coun t enance of such a
on e whe n he supposed himself alone and t hen ,

no t e the ins t an t an d wondrous change when he

recognized your presence ? The v ery r e c ogni
28 TH E SE CRE T OE S P I R I T U AL P O WE R .

tion of another presence tra ns g ure d his

features I k n ew an o l d blind lady who when
.
, ,

S itting alon e w e r e a very sad e x press i on b u t a t

f
, ,

t he sound of your footstep or a spoken word , ,

t he change in h e r e xpression was marvelous

f
.

The same thing is true in the S piritual realm .

To forget the presence o G o d to regard Him

,

as at a distance i s to detach oursel v es from the

,

s ourc e o po wer and our soul s droop B ut the

f
, .

f
moment we i n t elligen t ly and clearly appreh en d ,

G od i s he r e t he Spirit the Comforter i s in this

, ,

place He is ready and wil ling t o work through

,

me to the pulli ng down o strongholds what a ,

dif e rence it will make in our w ords prayers ,

and songs .

Th ere will be a freedom an un c tio n a glad

f
, ,

ness which nothing else can i nsp i re

,

Lo I .
,

f
am with y ou always I d o n o t care how poor.

f
o r inrm or we a k o u are the moment yo u r
y ,

s oul clearly apprehe n ds t he et e r nal verity o

ff

that fac t I am wi t h y ou always ther e w ill
, ,

be kept ope nin y o ur soul t he secret spring o a

power t hat is above all eloq uence or it makes

f
,

eloquence ; magnetism or it creates magne t ism ; ,

t he p o wer which alo n e is su cient for go s pel

purposes .

These are some o the items w hich have come

t o me in connection wi t h t his subject I t is .

passing w o nderful wha t u tt erly frail and we ak

 f
C H AP T E R VI I .

ff
L I ' U I D A ND S O L ID FO O D .

N the ft h chap t er o Hebre ws we ha v e a

f
signicant hin t as t o w hat constitutes S piri t
ual perfection i t is the dif e re nce be t ween feed
ing o n liquid and solid food or the di e ren ce

ff f
,

betwee n chewing and suc ki ng Fo r W hen . or

the t ime ye o ugh t to be t eachers ye have need ,

that o n e t each you agai n which be t he rs t

principles o the oracles o G o d and are becom e ,

such as have need o milk and n ot of stro n g

meat The term strong mea t could more

emp hatically be rendered solid food For .

every one that useth milk tha t is liq uid food ,

is inexperienced in the word of righteous

ness or he is a babe
, t ha t is has n o t ye t cut
,

his teeth B ut s trong mea t

.
solid food
belongeth to them that are perf e ct t o t hose who

f
,

by the habit Of perfection have their sense s

,

S piritual faculties e x ercised to di scern both

good and evil H eb 14. .

Instead o in t erpreting this Scripture so as

t o make Chris t ian b abyhood e x tend for t wenty
(30)
 L I ' UI D A I VO SO L I D FO OD . 31

years un t il we reach our full human stature

, ,

a n d t hereby loca t i n g Chris t ian erfection a lo n g

p
t ime after regenera t ion the real pivot of t he ,

t eaching is the difference between tee t h and no

t eeth an d drinking an d chewi n g food A babe
, .

who has n o t cu t i ts t ee th is n o t perfec t as a,

member of t he g e nu s homo because he h as no t ,

all the physical organs belonging to his species

un til he has tee th The expression in the four

.

te e n th verse abou t bei n g of fu l l age in the ,

ori g i nal s ignies perfec t ion an d h as n o referen ce

t o maturi t y or O l d age a t all b ut simply to t he

f
,

perfec t ion or entire ty of crea t urehood ha v ing

f
,

a l l the arts an d organs belonging to a complete

p
crea ture which a babe wi t h n o t ee t h does n o t
,

have S o i ns tead of t he ol d legal analogy o

.

putting complete salva t ion o in t o O l d age it

f
.

ough t to come accord i ng t o the s t ric t meaning

,

of this Scripture never later after the n e wbirt h

f
,

t han a set of teeth comes after t he rs t birth .

It is n ot perfec t ion of t ime bu t perfection o ,

n ature t hat is taught in t his passage The

,
.

di e rence between fee d ing o n liquid and solid

food is very per tinen t and can be recognized
,

among professed Christians in ma ny ways .

Solid and liquid tru t h The perfect believer .

feeds on solid t ru th That is t he whole t ru th

.
,

a s revealed in the Bible t he t ru t h unmixed wi t h

,

fables o r rationalis t ic perversions or Sweden ,

 f
32 TH E S E C RE T OF SP I R I T UA L P O WE R .

borgi a n dreams or eccles i astical tradi t ions a nd ,

'

no t dilu t ed wi th human creeds He can chew .

the whole wheat and eschew the chaf The .

baby Christian o n t he other hand m ust h ave

, ,

t he tru t h dilu t e d before he can swallow it i t ,

must come t o him in hi s particular church

f
b ottle labelled wi t h his particular church
,

authorities boiled up accordi ng to his par

,
,

ti c u l a r c atechism a n d in various ways mi x ed

,

and diluted w ith some form or cere mony or

mixture o uninspired though t t o render i t
palatable to him .

T he complete Chri s t ian is governed by solid

f
principle and n ot liquid policy It is h u mil i

f
.

ating to see h o w many baby Christians

ff f
e v en
gray headed babes a r e governed by soft e x ible
-
, ,

policy instead o a perfect unmi x ed p ri n C I p le .

fff f
Touch any question o revealed truth or any
application o truth to morals an d reforms suc h ,

as prohibition the Sabba t h tobacco the use o

, , ,

money t he S pread o holiness and notice the

, ,

ff f
lack o S pinal colum n o manly outspoken , ,

tru th W hen w e see the to n ing d own o God s
.
-

saving truth o professed scholars and the olog

ical t eachers the cr i ng i ng before weal t h and
,

o C e the co w ardice and t ime servi n g a tt itude

,
-

t oward all questions o di v ine m oment t he ,

adopt ion o hum a n standar d s and human p ol

i c i e s the drifti n g with majorities the accepting
, ,
O f L I ' UI D A ND SO L I D FO O D

sof t senti mentalism in doc t rine and disci

pline we ge t an evi d ence tha t multi t udes o
,

professed Christians have never cut their t eeth

.

f
33

and ha v e n ot enough bon e in t heir moral

f f
mecha nism to masticate the hard food which

ff
makes Christian heroes W e see the d i e re nc e

ff f
.

betwe en solid and liquid feeding in the matt er

f
o tithi n g and the u se o mone y The full .

Christian makes the givi ng o m on e y and t he

using o his worl dly goods or the glory o G o d

ff
,

jus t as much a part o his life as prayer o r fai th .

He n ever waits o r an ni v ersary sermo ns o r beg

gin g appeals or oyster suppers or a Chic ago
,

f
r e t o draw o u t o him a pitta n ce or the Lord ;
,

but ha v ing fed on t he solid tru t h that he i s

f

t hat G o d loveth a cheerful

f
n o t his o w n ,

g i ver, t hat he is t o

lay up treasur e in
heaven it becomes a part o his v ery Chris tian
,

bei ng to gi v e accordi ng t o his abili ty or the ,

spread o salvation T he liq u id food Christian

.

gives but scantily without settl ed convictio ns

f f
,

o r hearty j oyousness in t he ac t and e v en then

,

it is by spurts and spasms when he is made t o

,

weep u n de r some heartrendi ng appeal or whe n ,

i t is coaxed out o him by s ome teasi ng

peti tioner o r by some church frolic or fes t i val .

W hen all t he s o called money gi v ing o t he

- -

church is sif t ed o ut before the judgment seat ,

ho w li t tle of i t will be seen to have sprung from

 ff
34 TH E SE C R E T OF SP I R I T UA L P O W ER .

a pure generous joy ous gi ving of the heart

f
.
, ,

A n o ther d if e rence of the so l id and liquid feed

i ng is found i n t he ma t ter of comfort and c o n
solatio n in seaso ns o sorrow an d t rial The .

solid food Christian in hours o gre a t distress

and sorrow w l go t o t he pure W ord an d

,

close t hi mself with God an d by prayi ng in t he

ff
,

Spirit and reposi ng on the great a n d precious '

promises an d a s t eady lo o ki ng t o Jesus will ,

gather such comfort s u c h quietness of mind

, ,

such inter n al g irdi ngs o the heart as t he u n

f f
,

re n ewed mi n d has n o concep tion o The

f
.

liquid food C hristian will drop in t o murmu rings

f
and complainings run t o human o r ea r thly

f
,

S pr i ngs o r a dr aught o co mfor t an d failing to ,

nd it wi l l be t empted o Satan t o apply to t h e

,

quagmire o d re a ms or spiri t ual mediums o r

some other wretched device as a su bsti t ute or
tha t pure crys t al s tream which ows alone from
G o d and the Lamb .
 C H A P TE R V III .

f H I ND R A N C E S TO FA I T H .

f
O th o u o l i t tle fa i th wher e f ore d i d s t th o u d oub t ?
,

M att .

H E pivo t word in this question is where

f

fore Doub t should h ave a su cient
.

reason for i t Neither Peter n or any o ther has

.

be en able t o nd a satisfactory answer t o t his

all piercing wherefore o Jesus T he i mp l i
-
.

cation is God could allow u s t o doubt if we had

,

sufcient reason for i t The u nbelief of t he .

human hear t s t ar tled and a mazed Jesus a t e v ery

t urn I t was like the air on t he frozen polar

f
.

sea tha t pierced His sensitive nature o n every

,

si d e God ma d e man t o belie v e organized his

.
,

whole being o n tha t l ine l a u nched him o ut in ,

such a sea o re l ationships wi t h n a tu re a nd the

f
supernatural with his fellows wi t h the past
, ,

and future that he could no t e x ist could never

f
, ,

plant nor reap ne v er gi v e n or receive te stimony

, ,

in fact never do a nythi ng o import except by

, ,

t he e x ercise of a measure of faith D oub t is .

no ar t o o ur original consti t u t ion a nd can

p ,

( 35)
 TH E SE C RE T OF SP I R I TUA L

f
P o WE R .

f
ne ver be expl aine d e x ce pt on the basis o a
,

terrible calamity in ou r moral nature G od has .

n ever dece i ved human beings ne v er played fas t ,

and loose with t he hopes and fears o His crea

f

tures The greatest reaso n for Peter s doubt
.

was t he remaining carnality in his soul which ,

f
pr ompted an u n easy fear in such a sudden
emergency o danger But w hile carnality is .

ff
t he root of unbelief t here a re some other c on
,

sidera tio ns which will en able us to e x plai n it

f
.

I O ne hindra n ce to faith is tha t o looki ng

ff
.

a t o u r s u r r ou n d i ng s and n o t t o the x ed prom

,

i s e s o Jesus In the in cident Of the t e x t w e

.

h a v e an example o the power o o ur s urround

i n gs ver su s the power o the promis e o G od

f f
.

f
There were tw o thi ngs u p o n which Peter might
x his a t te n tion ; o ne was t he word co me

,

u ttered by the Saviour t he other was the,

waves o water P eter w as no t destitute o

f
.

fa ith or he asked the L ord t o bid him walk on

, ,

the se a He fel t an inward inclina t ion t o go

.

Christ on the water but wanted the

f f
o ut t o ,

a u thori ty o the Master s word like a plank
under his feet to authorize him in doing s o and

f
t hat s ublime i n w ard prompting which was

f
e v idently o G od ne v er broke down un t il his
,

e yes w er e di v er t ed to take in the danger o the

w a ve s . Here we ha v e the conic t in e ve ry li e ,

that be tween t he prompting o the inward

38 TH E SE C R ET OF SP I R I T U A L P O WE R .

f
E ach of us m ust come for himself t o a x ed ,

irreversible decision as t o which is real i ty the

, ,

w ave or t he w ord and fas t en ourselves t o u n

f
,

changeable t ru th .

II Ano t her hindranc e t o fai t h is tha t of

f
.

r ec e i vi n
g hon or o me n Jesus asks us
How .
,

can ye believe which receive honor one o

ano ther and seek no t the honor t hat cometh
,

from God only ? It is no t seeking honor o

f
me n bu t receiving i t ; t ha t is Opening o u r

f
, ,

hear t t o t he cordial recep t ion of human praise ,

or at t e ry or fame tha t u t terly con t rav e nes

, ,

t he repose o t he soul in G o d R e c e i vmg honor'

.

from men is a gre at vir t ue in the e y es o t he

worl d b u t t his is an ins t an ce in which thi n gs
,

highly esteemed a mong men are an abomination

t o t he L ord I t may n o t be seen by all a t the

f
.

rs t glance how receiving worl d ly honor can

,

preve nt t rue fai th in God b ut a li ttle reec t ion

f
,

will S how us tha t r e c e i vmg worldly hon or is an

insidious sub tle and malignant for m O i d ol
,

a t ry It has in it the elemen t of man fearing

f
-
.

as well as ma n w orship I t is a subtle way o

-
.

put t ing self in the place of God I t implies .

t hat our chief happiness comes from man which ,

is an ignoring of the t rue foun t ai n o joy a n d ,

t he hewing o ut of br oken cis t erns This defer .

en ce t o the crea t ure t his feari n g or cringi ng t o

,

man this love of place and dis tinc t ion for self
, ,
 f H I N DRA NC E S EA I TH

f
f
TO . 39

S e vers the soul rO m Chris t diverts i ts t rust t o

f f
,

come o ther object and destroys t rue fai t h .

I I I Ano t her hindrance to fai t h is the low s ta te

.

a i th i n thos e a r ou n d u s and especially t he u m

f
o ,

belief o t hose occupying high p l aces in the visible

f f
Church In the d ays o Jesus it was asked
.
,

Have a ny of t he rulers believed o n H i m?

The grea t mass o nominal Chris tian s are in such

f
an infantile s t ate o grac e as to lack the inde ,

e n d e n c e t o launch out bo l dly a n d alo n e and

p ,

t rus t G od radically an d bravely in spi t e o t he

ff
,

cold n ess a n d half hear t e d ness o those in relig

-

i o us au thori ty o ver them How Oft en it occurs

.

in every age tha t those w ho are set to guide the

,

a a irs o the Churc h an d i t s educa t ion a n d

f
,

econ om y have n o warm living fai th in G o d

, , ,

beyond a gross rationalistic fai th in their e c c l e s i

a s ti c a l s s t em w ho like Bo n apar t e put their f ri t h

f
y , , ,

on the side O the heavies t batt alions It is a .

historical fact that fai t h kindles fai th ferv ent

f
,

h oli n e s s i ns p ire s o the rs t o pursue i t Sain t s mul .

t ip ly in great re v1 val s o religion In the world .

f
of let t ers grea t au thors r i se i n clus t ers the
, ,

sam e t hi ng i s tru e o inven t ors and there h ave

f

,

been epochs in Church his t ory where sain t s rose

in co n s tel l a tions W e need t o be i n ci t ed by
.

those Of fai th but le t us b e ware o t on i ng down

,

our t rust to the level o the half believers a nd

doub t ers that swarm aro u nd us .

 ffff
40 TH E SE CRET OF SP I R I T UA L P O WE R .

I V Perhaps the greates t hin drance t o faith

.

is a l a ck o p e r sona l c ons e cr a ti on to G od W e .

are taugh t t his in the t welfth o Hebrews ,

where in orde r to look to Jesus as the begin

,

ner and perfecter o o ur a ith we are t o lay ,

aside every weight and t he easily beset ting s i n .

Just as long as there is d efect in o ur c o ns e c ra

f
tion there will be corresponding defec t s i n o u r
,

fai t h W e c a n t rust G od only t o the e x te nt

.

that we are given up to Him Your r isk in a .

bank is up to the limit o your deposit C o n .

secrati on puts us rig hU o n believing ground

f
.

Co n secra t ion is cu t ting the shore lines and ,

fai t h is launching ou t into the deep S O the .

real question is no t why shou l d I t rust all t o

, _

f
God b ut why should I doubt anything o Him ?
,

Have His promises e ver broken down has H e

ever disappoin t ed or d ecei v ed us ? True He ,

Of t en t ests o ur faith but at the last moment i n

, ,

the worst extremity H is t ra i n o in nit e mercy

,

and provision has arrived o n schedule t ime and

,

t he nal e in many a psalm of life has been ,

Blessed are all t hey tha t put their t rust in

Him .
 C HA P T E R IX .

f
F A I NT NO T .

H E R E is an e x perience Of soul e x actly like

t he fain ting o t he body W hen a person

f
.

faints t here is an utter l os s of st re ngth a e com

i d wi t h a real sickish feeling paleness and

f
p a n e ,

a clammy swea t cau si ng t he body t o get

li m
,

p beyond t he control o t he will and fall

f
, ,
'

away in an unconscious swoon There is a

ff
.

real fainting o the s oul which we are admon

i s he d aga i ns t in t he W ord
My s o n despise
, ,

fff
n o t t he chastening o the Lord n or faint when

thou ar t rebuked o Him
W e have this
.

t reasure in earthen vessels or wh i ch cause we

,

faint no t. Fain t yet pursuing
, .

S ome o the e elings which may lead the

f
Christian hear t to faint are the following
A feeling of loneliness o Soul as if we were ,

isolated fro m all o t her spiri ts a n d e specially

f
,

shu t O from the souls tha t are aroun d us W e .

seem to be a castaway O n some e t hereal and

desert is l an d with all in t elligible c ommu n i c a

,

ti on with other sou l s cut o W e sometimes

.

( 41 )
42 TH E SE CRE T OF SP I R I T U A L P O W ER .

think we would like to Open all our inner feel

f
ings to a fellow S pirit but if the opportuni ty
-
,

occurs to do S O an in v isible ye t powerf ul check

,

is laid upon us W e seem t o be more in fellow

f f
.

ship wi t h t he souls O far distan t ages than wi t h

-

those near by W e seem t o pace t he boundless

.

shore of ou r soli t ary island wai ting for any

f
,

sort o a cha nge to break upon o ur experien ce ,

until we feel like sinking down under she er

ff
sameness and mo n o t one o soul .

Another feeling is that o being caged in ,

hampered an d tied in an ine x tricable manner .

Providence seems to go O and leave us to the

hear tlessness o a thousand petty demo ns who
perva d e every little circumstance ; w ho seem ,

like the fabled L i lip u ti ans t o t ie our hands and

ff
,

feet while we sleep ; w ho sn ap all the t hreads

in our nancial looms who upset o u r ordi n ary
plans w ho turn a n ticipated joys into ashes ;
w ho bo ther us wi t h a host o mental perplexities

f
to o sub t le t o dene and t o o numerous t o coun t

f
.

There are t imes W hen a c urrent o such things

seems t o set in ; times when everything seems
to we ave itself in t o a network o crippli ng

ff
en v ironment an d any ef o r t t o extricate o ur
,

selves only bruises us At such times the

.

question is S hot into the mind

W hat s t he ,

use
A no the r e elin g is that O a stra nge press ure
 F AI N T N O T 3

.

and a heavy bearing d own in t he soul i t see ms

f f
,

we canno t ge t low enough to slip out from

under the weigh t ; the oor or ground is entirely
t oo high for us
, .

Ano ther e eling is that o paralysis The

f
.

facul ties seem benumbed a n d unable to exert

t hemselves Prayer is no t versa t ile and uen t
.
,

bu t is reduced t o a hear t groan or t he simple

f

cry o the woman in t he gospel Lord help , ,

me .

This iner tia of t he faculties is a c c o m
a ni e d with a sense of weariness in the soul ;
p
the Holy Spiri t recognizes t his s t ate o e x p e ri
ence and dis t inc tly men t ions t his hear t tired

ness ,
Lest ye be weary and faint in your
minds The Spirit has given us t hree rem e dies
t o prevent soul fain t ing-

O ne remedy is Co n sider Him w ho endured

,

lest ye be weary and faint W hen .

prayer is inert when e very pinion Of heart and

,

mind is bound we are t o quie t ly x o ur c on

,

f
sideration on Him w ho endured ; spread o ut
before the min d ho w He was cramped limited , ,

contradic t ed ; H i s inner feelings fettered an d

f
smitten in a thou s and inconcie vable ways ; ho w
t he normal yearn i ngs O H i s h ear t wer e denied
and snubbed ; how the whole of His ou t ward
environmen t was at such horrible disagreemen t
with the t ness o things in His so ul ; t o con
sider all t his and muc h more which will occ ur
,
44 TH E

f
SE CRE T OF SP I R I T UA L P O WE R .

f
f
to a medita t i v e soul w il l bring a sense o
,

fellowship with Him w hich is e x cellen t medicine

f f
for fain t ness o spirit .

Ano ther remedy is Despise not tho u the
,

chastening o t he Lord G o d arranges or

.
,

permits or o ur c hastening t o come t o us i n

,

such s t range and unlo c ked or ways i n suc h

'

-
,

mortifyi n g an d disagreeable circu mstances by

f
,

such u n d ign i e d and ou t l andish age ncies t ha t

we are ap t to desp i se the chasten i ng .

W e think we co uld take the scourg ing muc h

f
be tter i it were a p p li d wi th a more dignied
and beau t if ul whip O ur chastiseme nt ofte n
.

occurs by things in which w e see n o sembl ance

divinity The trials th e besetments the

f f
o .
, ,

perso n s the e v ents the gnarled a nd kn otty

, ,

annoyanc e s which G od em ploys to correc t o r

,

rebuke us seem often s o l o w and mean and ou t

,

harmony with t he tness o things that we

f
o

a re li abl e t o despise th e correc t ion No w if .

,

we can discover t he hand of G o d in all thes e

f
ugly things if we can see t he divin e presenc e
,

under all this network o unpleasan t ness it ,

will at once thro w a n e w light o n them and ,

f
t he recognition o His presenc e will keep u s
fro m fainting Despise n o t the chas t enin g Of
.

the Lord n o r faint whe n thou a r t rebuked by

Him .

A n o the n remedy or so ul fa i n tin is the mani -

g
 ff f
C H AP TER X .

ff
A F F L I C T I O N A ND GL O R Y .

4 OR ligh t a ic t ion which is but or a

our ,

momen t worke t h or us a far m ore

,

exceeding and e t ernal weight o glory

W hile we look n o t a t the thi n gs which a re

seen bu t a t the things whic h are n o t seen o r

,

the thi ngs which are seen are temporal ; b ut t he

ff

th i ngs w h ich are n et seen are etern al 2 C or . .

4 : 1 7, 1 8 .

The two pivo t words i n this S cripture are

f
working and lo oki ng The a ic t io n worketh

glory while the believer looke t h at the u n seen

f
, .

The term worketh co v ers the domain o

f

the Holy Spirit s O ce and the term looketh

f
,

covers the doma i n o the belie v er s acti v ity

f
.

T he truth taught in t he verses i s that o a

f
marvelous t ransmuta t ion o pain into pleasure ,

of hardship in t o happiness o tribulation in t o ,

transport It is an inconceivable wonder o

.

divine chemis t ry in which a i C ti o n t ime t he , ,

unbe l ieving soul and the Holy Spiri t ar e fac t or s .

E l sewhere P aul tells us t hat b e rec k one d the

( 6)
4
 f A FF L I C TI O N A N D C L OR Y . 47

ff
su e rings of t his present time n ot worthy to be

compared wi th the gl ory that shall be in us .

It w ere as if by t he ligh t of eterni ty he had

weighed and measured t he elemen ts o su e ring
and glory and reached a ma thema t ical conclu

f
sion Bu t t his could only be by t aking in t o

ff
.

his comprehensive gr asp the entire des t iny Of _

the Chris tian Had he conned his calcula

.

t ions t o a small sec tion o human existence the

f
,

result would have been far dif e ren t God sees .

all thi ngs even the smallest in the ligh t o

, ,

t heir t rue and eter nal rela t ions and it was in

tha t ligh t t hat Paul surveyed the in t erests o

mankind and especially those of t he Chris t ian ;
not wi th reference t o a brief period i n their
existence b ut swe p t with eagle eye the en t ire
,

annals Of t heir destiny This is the only light

.

in which w e can perceive the equali ty and

jus tice of God s ways or by which we can

f f
,

in t erpre t t he d ark and con t radic t o ry problems

of life

f
.

W e c a never see t he full harmony an d pro

f f
p or t ion o par t s i n any subject o Observa t ion
wi thou t taking i n t he whole and studying the ,
-

f
rela t io n o each pa rt to the whole W hen t his .

life is cu t O from the f ut ure every t hing in it ,

is u tterly une x plainable Y o u may s e l e c t a e w of

.

t he nes t no t es in S om e majes ti c a nthe m a n d if

'

t he a r e sounde d alo ne a nd apart rom the

y
48 TH E SE CRE T OF SP IRI TU A L P O WE R .

f
whole they wo u ld l ose a l l t heir melody a nd
,

charm E ach note alone as a mono t one is

.

unmusical bu t when they all glide toge ther in

,

round billows o music they roll a nd break wi th

ff
strange rap t ure upon o u r ea rs T he inequal .

ities of the ear th s surface t he elevations and ,

depressions if vie w ed only with r e ference t o

,

small sec t ions seem ou t o a ll propor tion bu t

, ,

co ul d we sta t io n ourselves at a s u cient dis

f
'

t ance from the ear t h and see its whole circum

ference pass in re vie w before us then every ; ,

l ec al inequality wo uld be s o related to t he

f
whole as to render t hem consti t uents o har

f
mony and perfection In like manner we d o .
,

n o t live lo n g enou g h t o ca t c h t he full an t he m

ff

o God s administrat ion His provide n ce s trik e s
.
,

a e w notes i n o u r e ars during o u r shor t live s ,

b u t fro m t hese we cannot gather

the full

f

diapaso n t h under roll t he comple t ion o which

fff
,

lls the ight of ages And the inequali t ies o .

hu man fort une

the good man s tears the
,

,

pangs o despised love t he law s delays t he , ,

insolence o o ce t he scorn which patient merit

f f
,

bears compose a moral lan d scape in life like
,

Alps and deserts o ut o all propor tion un til ,

h uman desti ny is s urveyed in i ts entire orbi t

wi t h its a r reaching c ircumference o i m
-

mor t ali ty .

T he S pirit ual c hem i s t ry sugges ted in t he tex t

 A F F L I C TI O N A N D GL O R Y . 49

is well worth analysis I t would seem tha t

'

f
every th ing depends on t he moral qualit y of the

f
soul and i ts a tti t ude t oward the unseen If the .

believer is holy if his na t ure is in harmony with

f
.

the Holy Spirit if he habitu ally loo k s to t he

,

things o eternity then whatever o s u e ring

,

enters i nto his life is transmuted b y the moral

h
i

ali t his ear t in t o the gold Of glory

f
q u o
y .

Jus t as the oak converts all chemistry i n t o oak

f
by the pecu l iar qua l ity Of its oak life so the ,

pure in heart he that lives the Christ life will

, ,

from the dark chemis t ry o this w orl d i ts

f
dis a ppointme n ts and su e ring turn all thi ngs

into glory and praise .

There are t h i e c con trasts in the te xt that ,

between a l ictio n and glory t hat be t w e en the

ff
,

t erms l ig ht and weigh t and tha t b et ween,

momentary and e t ernal ; an d between t hese

Opposi t es i s the soul Of the believer The rst .

Opposites a i e a ic tion and glory This refers .

t o that partic ular kind o glory which belongs

f
t o each individ u al Christian w hich St Paul .

else w he r e calls the glo ry t o be revealed in us ,

and which is n o t transferable to a nyone else .

Though there is such a contrast bet we en a ic

t io n and glory yet w hen y o u place a t rus t in g
, ,

obedient Christian soul betw e e n t hem suc h a ,

soul becomes a divine laboratory through whic h

t hi s working process goes o n and under t he ,
 f
50

f f TH E SE C RE T O F S P I RI TUA L P O WE R .

f
t ouch of the Almighty Spirit God c o o pe rat

f
o ,

ing with man s Obedience and love t he sourest ,

acid o a iction is t ransm u t ed into the swee t es t

f
fruit o glory There seems n o intimate rela
.

tion between prussic acid and a ripe peach but

f
,

if y o u i nterpose t he r oo ts an d trunk o a v it al

f
he althy pe a ch tree between the m, t hat deadliest

ff
o poison s in passing thro u gh the a rte r ies and
life o th e tree is transformed into on e Of the

f
most luscio us o fruits S O that it is n o t t he

f
.

a iction i n itself that c o ns t itu t es the glory but

f
,

it is t he a iction working itself through a

regenerated and puried soul o t herwise it woul d
,

remain a deadly poison o r the sorrow o
, the

world worke t h death ?
A iction can work o ut
.

f
glo ry in the soul by bringi ng it in t o most
t horoug h acqu i escence to the divine w ill and
purpose W hile i t can n o t purify the soul i t
.

can bri n g the soul into such Submission to the

d i vine will tha t th e whole purpose o God s
,

saving remedy c an pass unobstructed through

1,

t he heart .

W e go th r ough t ribulati on but moral whi t e

f
,

ness is by the blood Of t he Lamb W e are and .

,

t hroug h e t er ni ty m u st rem a in u nder t he ,

sovereig n wi ll and wisdom of God but tha t ,

au t hority over us wil l be a source o bo u n dless

fear and pain u n less we are in agreement wi t h
i t This alone will t us as subject s for such a
.
 f
A FF L I C T I oN A N D GL O R Y . 51

f
kingdom for th e issues and employments of
,

im mor tali ty This grea t lesson canno t be

.

learned a mid an unbroken ow o mild i n d ul

ge n ce If divine p rovidence should n ever cross

ff
.

t he path O o u r earthly happiness our faith an d ,

loyal ty W ould have no tes t we would no t come ,

in direct con t ac t wi t h d ivine au t hori ty It is .

a iction that makes the hand of God as i t were

, ,

t angible t o the soul i t is then t hat we t ouch

,
.

the s ceptre o t he Almigh ty .

Again afic t ion may w ork glory in the soul

f f
,

by enlarging i t s capacities The capacity o

f
.

s u e r i n and enjoym nt mus t be eq al and t hat

f
g e u

species of j oy w li ic h i c o me s o ut Of s n e ri ng i s

in t he nature o thi rigs doubled The glory o .

any bei n g is in pro portion t o the greatness o

f
i t s capabili t ies t o the volume and varie ty o
ex periences which i t can con t ain Therefore

f
.
,

wha tever enlarges o ur conformity to the cross

O Christ to His diversied self abnega tion t o
,
-
,

His pa t ien t suffering must increase possibili ties

f
,

f
of enjoymen t wi th Him In the a ictio n s

f
.

inciden t t o a true Christian arising from such

f f
mul t iplied and some t im e s opposite sources ,

t here is a strain u po n the mind a stress o long ,

ing a hot t ension o feeling a surgi ng o sensi

, ,

bi li t y a n upheaving o the under ocean o t he

,
-

soul which causes the waters of life t o s w ell

b ey o n d their former shores and impar t s t o it ,
52

f TH E SE CR E T O F S PI R I T U A L P O WE R .

f
f ff
such keenness of taste such relish o r the ,

highest a n d bes t as qualies i t t o more f ully

,

a ppreciate th e j o ys t ha t are divine .

Again a ic t ion works gl ory b y wide ning the

,

circle o kno wledge and e llo w ship W i th the

f
moral uni v erse by g l vmg us a similari ty and

f
x

acquaintance with the great a nd good o a l l

f
a ges . If our religious life should be an unin
t e rru p te d season o Summer days it would

f
f
,

debar us from knowing a large portio n o the

moral experiences o the world ; it would

f f f
e x clude us from the in ner an d sublime fello w
s hip o the martyrs an d the white robed c o m -

pany w ho ha ve gone up through great tribul atio n

f
.

A ictio n is the alphabet throug h which we

f
read large portions o re velation ; it is the c lew
by which we interpret t he shaded love o the

ff
oppressed the persecuted and her 0 1c o all

ff
,

t ime ; the sheepskin brigade o whom the world

was n ot wor thy it furnishes a passport t o the
internal solitudes o the man o sorrows and ,

unveils the my s te rl ou s a ng uish o the man o

f
Uz . Thus by extending the circle of fellow
,

ship with the great and good by sinking us ,

in t o deeper union with the divine will by t est ,

ing the principles o love and obedience by ,

curbing our im petuosity b y chas t ening o u r ,

j udgment by mel t ing t o a warmer te mpera t ure

,

the feelings of the heart by e nlarging t he ,

 C H AP T E R XI .

ff
A F F L I C T I O N A ND GL O R Y .

HE n e xt contras t is between the words

f

light and weight
W hen t he apos
.

tle c haracterized the a ic t ions o t he Chris tian

ff
as light it w as n o t because He looke d upon
,

the m with a stoi cal spirit or failed t o measure

,

ei ther t he i r 1 n te ns i ty o r dimension for like his

f
, ,

Master i n his li e he had accented nearly every

,

s yllable i n the v o lume of a iction But he .

pronounced the m light because from the sta n d

f f
,

point o inspired reason an d as r elated t o i m

m or t ali ty they are l i ght They are light b e

f
.
,

cause they spring from the lower and earthly

f
s ide o our e x is t ence The a ictions of a t rue
.

Chris t ian cannot spring fr om t he w ra th of G od ,

n or the dreadful forebodin s o judgment

g .

The n a t ure o these af ic t io n s is refer red t o

in t he words perple x ed but n o t in despair ,

persecu t ed b u t n o t destroyed cast down bu t not ,

forsaken they are loca t ed outside of t he

,

spiri t ual life ; t hey may arise from the m i n d or

the b od v from some th orn m the esh from
, ,

(54 )
 A

f f
FFL I C TI O N A ND GL O R Y . 55

f
ff f
o ur social env ironmen t s or from the s ta t e o
,

our ear thly for tunes If we t ake the ca t alogue

.
-

of all possi ble a ic t ion the loss of heal th the

, ,

pinch of pover ty t he to ngue o slander the

f
, ,

desolation o bereavemen t t he ec lipse o rea

f
,

son the dungeon o imprisonment t he red

, ,

t orch of persecu tion an d dea t h i t self they are ,

all o n the o ut er e ar thly side o the s oul They

, .

canno t pene t ra t e t he inner ci tadel o t he spirit ,

nor b reak the u n ion of a pe rfec tly loyal heart

f
wi t h i ts God B u t t he glory on the ot her hand
.

lls the u p per and m oral nature an d in heaven ,

f
will ll t he whole ou t ward life as well S o .

t ha t wh ile earthly a ic t ion can i n vade only a

ff
por t ion of ou r life and b ein g the glory that is ,

t o b e w rought ou t in us will envelope t he whole

being and leave n o space or pain or want

f
.

Furthermore ; the a ic t ions o the Chris t ian

are ligh t because t hey are always blen d ed with
so many opposi t e and allevia t ing elements

ff
.

The par t icle s o anguish do no t come so close

t oge t her as t o form a soli d but are mi x ed and
,

f
diluted wi th much that soo thes and medicates .

S o much o ar t is exerted t o a lleviate o ur ills

f
-

so m any s t ream s o sympathy are p o ured in t o

f
even t he darkest w at ers of life and the princi ,

ple o hope will ever ligh t its lamp in t he dark

es t passa ges tha t wha t ever combina t ion o ills
,

w e su e r t hey are not absolutely unmi xed

,
.
 56

N ff in
TH E

co trast
SE CRE T OF

with t hese a
SP IR I T U A L P O

ic t io s wh i ch
WE R .

f
ow , n n a r e

neu t ral ized the glory will be unml x e d and

f
,

undiluted with any op posite W e say o a

f
.

f
sponge that it is ligh t because i ts particle s ar e

f
s o widely separa t ed as t o admit o much air and

f f
water In contrast with the sponge a block o
.
,

pure g old o the same size woul d be v ery

weighty The a iction s o the Christian a re

f
.

like t he nature o the s ponge which will admit

f
,

opposite ele ments while the glory will be like

f f
,

the na t ure of solid go ld the particles o n u

f f
,

mixed bliss the atoms o light and love will

, ,

b e s o compressed into every part o o ur bei n g

a n d e v ery moment o o u r dura tion a s t o o rm

fff
the nature o a solid It wi l l be a glory o
.

such magni t ude and s plendor that o ur present

senses and faculties could n o t e ndure a w e igh t

f f
,

o glory like tha t o the o r char d b ending un d er

its load o rip en ed fruit .

The t hird contrast is between momentary

and eternal t he a iction i s momentary t he

f f f
,

gl ory is eterna l Life itself i s only a mome nt

.

to e t erni ty ; ye t it is o nl y a small portio n o

,

t he average Christia n l i fe that is su bjected t o

f
a ic t ion If o u r life extend e d to a n tediluvian
.

lo ngevi ty an d t he whole o i t was a scen e o

,

afiction still it would d w

, indle t o a twinkling
moment in the mighty roll o i n numerable
ages And when we turn o u r c on t empl a tion
.
 f f A FF L I C T I O N A ND

from the brevity of a ic t ion t o the unending

na ture o t he glory we nd our facul t ies over
,

whelmed by th e majes ty of e t erni ty Here t he

GL O R Y .

.
7

feeblest and mos t towering imagina tions are

f
on a level for they bo t h equally fail t o compre
,

hend i t W e ca n no t even approxima t e i t for

.

f
when we have in fan cy born e ours elves for
, ,

ward o n the s t ream of ages thro u gh millions o

f
years it s t ill s t re tches away as vas t as ever t he

f
, ,

o n e so l itary shoreless
, fa thomless e t erni ty I t
,
.

is t his inn i t e dispari ty be t ween t he dura tion o

presen t a ic tion and fu t ure glory which makes
i t so mar velous t o us Is i t no t a stroke o
.

innite wisdom t o so adjust t he moral forces in

a Chr i stian soul as to cause such endless resul t s
to o w f rom such a momen tary season of s n e r

f
ing ? E very reec t i ve mind mus t be star t led

f
a t t he dispropor tion w hich there is be t ween t he

ff
brief season of proba t ion and t he everlas t ing
results o it W e wonder tha t such a shor t

space o toil can be followed by such a leng t h

f ff
o repose that the li ttleness of t he eld can
,

v ie l d such an e x t ended harves t and t ha t a few ,

momen t s o a ic t ion can work ou t such ever

f
lasting glory .

I the glory spoken o in t he t ex t was a o

quired as wages for work done t here would ,

have t o be some due propor t i o n o time be t ween

t he work and t he wa es and i t o t e n ha ens
g , pp
 A F FL I C T I O N A ND GL O R 51 .

f
un der the dominio n of t he Holy Spiri t will ,

lend a gravi ty t o the moral ch ara ct er cause i t

f
,

to approach nearer to Chri st and se t in re volu

f
,

t ion a n e w order o thoug hts and feelings ,

w hich wil l dil a t e an d str e tch through t he end

less cycles o i m mortality Bu t le t us remem
.

ber t ha t a ic t ion can work o ut t hese glorious

results only while 1 11 the a tt itude of perfec t
, ,

heart loyal ty to J esus we hab i t ually look at the

f
,

thi ngs which are n ot seen W hen we weep i t

.
,

is by looking t hrough o ur t ears to tha t hand

which will w ipe all t ears f ro m o ur eyes t hat
they will be t urned in t o pearls o j oy .
58

f
f f
TH E SE CRE T OF

in this world t hat the period o labor is more

ex t ended than the period of rewar d for t hou
SP IRI T UA L P O WE R

,
.

f f
sands o men will struggle for half a cen t ury
for t he brief reward of ve or t en years i n some
p l e n d i d ofce The economy.o innite mercy
is jus t the opposi t e O ur afic t ions t hen d o not

f
.
, ,

partake of t he na t ure o t o il wi th glory or its

wages but t hey are under the Operat ion of the

, ,

Holy Ghos t in t he natu re of a cause working

,

within us the las ting e e c t of glory W hile .

t here is no proportion be t ween a momen t s work

f
and an eterni ty of w ages t here is some propor ,

t ion be t ween a momentary cause and an ever

f
las t ing e e c t Should God create a single
.

mountain a n d attach it t o the surface o o u r

globe i t would be a very light and trivial bur
,

den for the world t o carry like the addi tion o ,

a tiny fea ther to a soaring eagle which it could

f
,

n o t perceive And ye t the addi t ion of that

.

mountain wo uld mos t cer t ainly increase the

f
bulk and gravi ty of o u r planet i t would likely ,

cause it to verge nearer t he sun it w ould e e c t

f
t he speed of its revolu t ion i t would gradual l y

f
,

change t he motions o our solar system and in ,

the long lapse of years it would send a gradual

change of mo t ion t hrough the innumerable orbs
o creation In like manner an a ic t ion which
.
,

is light in i t s na t ure and momen t ary in its dura

tion , res t in g on an obedien t t rustin g soul , ,
 CHAP T E R X II .

f
TH E ' O NE O F E NT I R E C O NS E C R A T I O N .

NT I R E cons e cration is misunders t ood b y

many w ho place it at one o t w o extremes

f
.

Some pu t i t dow n w ith r epentance and mak e it

f
an element i n repentance or taking place at the
,

same time O thers place it up with s an c tic a

.

t ion and iden t ify it wi t h the work o c l e a nsmg .

The true zone o entire consecration lies b e

f
tween t hese t w o e x tremes E ntire consecra t ion

f
.

viewed S cripturally and experimen t ally comes

ff
after repentance and can be performed only by
a li ving subject o grace a nd on the other ha n d
,

it precedes the work o puricatio n an d p re ,

pare s the way or t hat experience Let us .

no t ice where in co n secratio n di e rs from re

f
Repen t ance has reference t

f
p e n t a n c
. e o o u r

relation t o s 1 n and punishment ; entire co use

f
cration has r efere n ce t o our relation to the will
an d service o G o d Repentance is the renun
.

c i a ti o n o all o ur sins e vil as s o c iati o ns ungodly

, ,

alliances unholy pursui t s and business

,
.

E ntire consecratio n 1 s j ust t he op posite o

( )
6 0
 f
62 TH E SE C R E T OF SPIRI T UA L P O WE R .

sense of S c rl p t ur al consecration until they a re ,

pardoned and resto red to heavenly citizenship .

So t h e Scrip t ures speak o offering ourselves

ff
a liv 1 ng sacrice and of yielding oursel v es

,

un t o God as t hose which are alive from t he

dead . The same thought is illustra t ed by
o mm t he army A soldier in joining the

f
j g .

army v1 rt ual l y o e rs himself up to die he is a ,

living sacrice o n t he altar o hi s country bu t ,

it is only an unconde mned ci t ize n w ho can thus

o e r himself

f
No forei gner o r unna turalized person can join
'

t he army Ci t izenship must precede soldier

f ff
.

ship Such is true in grace we must rst be

.
,

adop t e d and become citizens l n the kingdom o

grace before we can en t er the true soldier
co v enant an d o e r oursel v e s up to die for the
,

King I t takes a good deal o gr a ce in the

.

heart to carry us through the act o entire

aba n donment t o G od E ntire consecration i n

v ol v es such a dying o u t of self such a de t ailed ,

yielding t o the Lord tha t no cold fo r mal , ,

C hristian n o backslider in heart can d o i t

f f
.
,

O nly the subject o t rue saving grace can g o

through w ith it S o we see entire consecratio n
.

is beyond repentance and in many things ,

~

, ,

qui t e di e ren t from it .

Now le t us notice the di e rence be t wee n

,

con s ecrati on a nd puric at ion Consecr ation i s .

 TH E ' O NE OF E N TIRE C O NS E C R A TI ON . 63

o ur work purica t ion is the Lord s work
,
.

W h e n we want our watches cleaned and oile d

we t ake t hem t o a jeweler and leave the m with ,

m
him he cleanses them an d rec tie s their
,

achinery O ur hear t s are our wa t ches we

.
,

f
commi t them unlimi t edly to Jesus ; He by His ,

Spirit cleanses the m and r e c ti e s their move

men t s Many persons are prejudiced agains t

.

the word s a n c ti c ati o n and habitually use t he ,

word consecration as a synonym o s a n c ti c a

tion This is putting the word to o high T h ere
. .

is a subtle reason for this t he u ns a n c tie d mind ,

ins t incti v ely magnies the human side .

Y o u will notice that all perso n s w ho are no t

f
deeply spiritual will w ithout knowing it ignore , ,

or minify the supernatural in re li gion ; t heir

eye is not on God half as much as it is o n self ,

consequently t hey dwell almost e x clusively o n

f
t he human side o religion upon t he s t r u ggles , ,

t he trying the doing of the crea t ure And

, .

because consecration is the act of t he creature

i t is magnied as the climax o religion ;

f
whereas i n reality it is but making s traigh t
, ,

paths for our feet l e ve li ng the mountains ,
e
'

,

ga thering out t he stones preparing t he way ,

o t he Lord Openi n g up the avenue for the
,

sa n c t ifying Spirit to en t er m In saying tha t .

en t ire consecra tion 1 s t he act of t he creature i t ,

is u nderstood that we can only do it through

 ff
TH E SE CRE T OF S P I R I TUA L P O WE R .

the help of the Holy Ghos t for every step in

f
,

grace f rom repen tance onward is ta ken t hrough,

t he assis tan ce of t he Spiri t o God C o n s e c r a.

t ion begins m t he S piri t of a d option and i t i s ,

c o mple t ed j us t before t he divine act o p u ri i

catio n .
 CHAPT E R X III .

f
TH E E NT I R E T Y IN C O NS E C R A T I O N .

LL believers a r e in a measure consecra t ed

, ,

t o God jus t as al l believers are in a

, ,

measure sanc tied

,
The spirit o consecration
.

is a p ar t of the n e w life impar t ed to the soul

in regenera t ion ; bu t in order t o receive the
f ull bap t ism of the Spiri t the principle of con
,

secration mus t be carried to completeness Jus t .

as long as consecra tion is defective on any

m t or in an degree the experience of c om
p o , y ,

l e t e cleansing and lling cannot be received '

p
The fullness of salvation is conditioned o n
perfect t rus t in Jesus as a present Saviour and ,

on the o t her hand t hi s perfec t t ruth is condi

t i o n e d on the perfec t yielding of se l f up to
G od. Hence if there is an y defect or shortage
,

in consecra t ion it most surely blocks the way

,

t o the entran ce in t o full salva t ion E very .

be l iever is consecrated bu t no t all in equal de

,

grees Some conver t ed people who are no t

.
,

fully sanctied are much more yielding t o God

,

t han o t hers are and ha v e only a few more steps

,

(65 )
66 TH E SE CR E T OF SP IR I T U A L P O WE R .

to t ake order to reach t he s t a t e of en tir e

in
a bando n men t whereas o thers are so sligh tly
,

y iel d ed a s t o be a
, long way from i t Again .
,

a l l believers are no t equally yielded 0 11 t he same

poin t s . Some will more r eadily yield o n cer

t ain points than others There are always o n e

ff
.

O r t w o poin t s which are t he las t to be yielded ,

an d upon which the self life has a death

f
s t ruggle ; bu t t hese points of dea th s t ru ggle are

f
very dif e ren t wi t h di e ren t sou l s .

The three great lines of consecra t ion are to ,

be anything th e Lord wa n t s us t o be ; to do

ff
any thing the Lord wa n ts us to d o ; t o suf e r
anything the Lord wan t s us to sa e r These .

e mbrace the su bjec tive the active a n d t he pas

,

S 1 ve forms o our exis t en ce an d t o co n sent to ,

all these three t hings willi ngly wi thout a res

, ,

e r vat i o n is the perfection o

, consecration As .

each soul passes t hrough these t hree things ,

there will come up a p an orama of possibili ties

and con t i ngenci e s according to each one s con
di t ion n at ure o r environmen t upon which the
, , ,

principle of loyal ty will be t es t ed Som e will .

f
nd t heir comple t e yielding the hardest o n the
willing t o 66 o t hers on the willing to d o and
, , ,

others o n the willi ng t o s u g r U nless c o ns e

,
.

cration reaches the poin t of en t irety the soul

'

,
v

will slip back and be c o ns e c r at in g i ts e l o ve r

and over again a thousan d t imes wi tho ut ,

g aining a dis t inc t s t ep of vic t ory or maki ng ,

any posi t ive progress W e hear a grea t deal .

abou t reconsecrating O urselves and making a

f
,

fresh consecra tion which is mere delusive t alk

, ,

and does no t ge t the soul where posi t ive results

are brough t t o pass W hen t he soul is per
.
;

e c tl
y yielded t o God on every poin t and for ,

all t ime and e t erni ty as well i t C an drive a ,

s t ake down an d hold i t s posi tion I t has t hen

,
.

o t t o t he end of making good resolutions i t is

g ,

t hen done wi t h going over the same ground of

giving up it has reached t he place of ancho rage
, ,

it can then t ruly say

f
,

T is d o n e th e g r e a t t r a n s a c t i o n s d o n e
,

,

a m my L o rd s a n d H e i s m i n e

I ,
.

A good illustra tion of en t ire consecra t ion is

tha t o t apping the car wheels Many a t ime .

as I have been t raveling o n a sleeping car I ,

have been awakened in the night by the ham

mer of t he wheel t es t er At some principal .

s t a tion where the engines are exchanged a man

,

will pass along the train wi t h a aming torch

in one hand and a ham mer in the other ;
,

wi t h the ligh t he rs t exa mines t he wheels and

axles under t he cars then wi t h t he hammer

f
,

g ives a sharp rap on t he wheels If there is a .

si n gle crack ever so small in a wheel i t will

, ,

b e indica t ed by t he defec t ive ring T ha t crack .

i n a single wheel will s t op th e progress o t ha t

68

f TH E S E CRE T OF SP IRI T UA L P O WE R .

f
coach i t mus t be sen t t o the shop o r repairs
,

and when e very wheel gives a cle ar ring i t can

f
be sen t o n i t s jour n ey a t express S peed So i n

f
.

seasons o revival a t camp mee t ings or c o n ve n

,

t ions or wi t h many a so ul i n re t ired life God

f
, ,

comes to examine the i nn er wheels o o u r

ff
m or tal bei n g W i th the t orch o His Spiri t H e
.

searches u ndernea th and the reces s es of o ur

, .

hear ts t he axle t ree o ou r will t he wheels

, ,

o o u r motives an d propensities an d wi t h the ,

ham mer o His W ord H e taps on every wheel

f
.

If t here b e a defect in o u r consecra t ion it will ,

be indica t ed by a crack in some wheel w hic h

will fail to ring o u t clearly Thy will be done

f f
.

This will sto p t he progress o the soul t he grea t ,

mas t er mechanic W i ll order us in t o the r ep air

shop of grace and when every wheel in us r e
,

s o n d s a rma t i vely t o t he s t roke o

p His W ord
we are then se nt o n our jour n ey t o the celestial

fff
0

Some may a s k Ho w can I know when my

cons ecration is en t ire ? The bes t answer is ,

You will know i t There i s a t remendous
.

inner sense o givi n g up o le tt i n g go o ge t , ,

t ing through wi t h your t rying of cu tting t he

f f
,

l as t shore line .

There is a n in ward f eeling t ha t you have

rolled yourself over o n the Lor d an d ins t ead ,

o t rying t o give up you nd yoursel l ooking

,
 ff
CHAP T E R X I V

E XC A V A T I O N BE FO R E E DI E I O A T I O N .

H E grea t prerequisi t e o perfe ct love i s the

f f
t horo u gh emp tying of the heart o every
principle an d disposition con t rary t o lo y e N0 .

on e can love G o d with all the hea rt while ,

original sin remains o r t he car n al mind resides

,

i n the heart and it is eviden t that if a pa rt o

,

t h e heart o r moral nature is t aken up with evil

f
,

th e e ntire heart cannot a t the same t 1 me be i n

f f
, ,

conformi ty t o God s will .

This seems a very s i mple and self eviden t -

proposition yet i t is s o di cult t o convin ce the

,

most o professing Christians o t his tr u t h when

f
i t co mes to ac t ual experience I ha ve observed
.

t he following things to be true

1
. That a grea t many will agree t o the
doc t rine o loving God wi t h a ll the hear t and ,

many profess t o be doing i t who are u tt erly

averse to the doc t rine of heart puri ty and ,

repudiate t he idea of being sanc t i ed If such

,
.

persons unders t ood the true Scrip t ural meaning

of loving G o d wi t h all the heart t hey would
 E XO A VA TI ON B E F ORE E DIFI C A

TI O N . 71

kno w that such language implied t he t horough

p uri ca t ion of t he hear t fro m t he carnal mind .

T here is so m uch loos e a n d disjoin t ed religious

thinkin g abroad in the church that hardly one ,

in a hundred see ms t o have any deni t e Scrip t

ural view of ac t ual and original sin of regener ,

a ti O n ,
o r heart puri ty and kindred subjec t s
, .

The whole of Bible doc trines s e ems t hrown

t oge ther in a sor t of a theological hash and it ,

is commo n t o hear people announcing and deny

f
ing the same tru th in the sa me brea t h afrming ,

tha t t hey wan t t o be whole hear t ed Chris t ians

ff
-

( which really means holiness hearted ) and

-
in
t he nex t breath denying t he very condi t ion o
purication by which whole heartedness is -

reached If a glass o water contains on e grain

.

of sand i t cannot be lled wi t h water o r t o be

f
, ,

lled wi t h w a t er i t mus t con t ain no o t her

f
subs t ance .

2. I have observed t ha t some teach the

r e c e 1 vm of the full bap t ism o the Spiri t while
g ,

a t t h e same time s trongly d e ny m t he des t ru

f
r , g o

t ion o inward sin . Bu t according to t he W ord

f
,

of God the t w o thi ngs are u tterly con trary to

,

each o ther and I have never in all my travels

,

found or heard o a person a ct ual l y r e c e rvmg

t he bap tism o t he Spiri t under such t eaching .

3. That t he dep t h an d perpe t ui ty of religious

experience is in proportion t o the dep t h of hea rt
72 TH E S E CR E T OF SP IR I T UA L P O WE R .

f
e x cava tion The higher the edice the deepe r
.
,

an d broader mus t the founda tion b e i This .

rinciple 1 s t rue everywhere in a ure mind

f
p n t ,

and morals If the great work o heart sancti

.

c at i o n were a mere blessing whic h s o many

f
,

think it to be i t would n o t require su c h a deep

f f
,

f o unda t ion Many think the work o holiness

.
,

like a traveler s tent which can be readily

,

pitched without a o und ati on whereas i t is a ,

grea t palace o inward life built to last through

f
t he ages and mus t needs have a foundation
,
h

broad and deep in the ve ry bed rock o o u r -

nature I have heard t hat when the great Corn

.

E xchange o Ne w York was built t he e x p e n d i

f
,

t ure upon the founda t ion was s o imme nse tha t

t he contractor reckoned the building about half

f f
done when the basement sto ry was nished .

The greates t part O the w ork of full salvation

f

is the diggi ng away t he hindran ce t o God s
grace o u t o o ur be i ng I t is v ery easy or

f
.

grace to ll a clean vessel .

4. To be lled with the positive graces o

the Spi rit is always a popu l ar though t amo n g
,

religious people ; bu t to be cruci i ed emp t ie d

f
, ,

clea nsed in order to be s o ll ed is e x ceedi n gly

f
u npopular If a reporter should go thro ugh
.

the Chris tian churches repor ting all the prayers

of e re d nearly all of t he would be prayers t o
,
m
be lled and rarely would there b e o n e o e red
for
E XC A VA T I O N B E F O R E

complete cleans i n g from inward sin Mr

W esley found tha t t he people readi ly a ccep t ed
i s preachi n g o n being lled wi t h fai t h resigna
E DI FI C A T I O N .

. .

h ,

t ion hope love gen tl eness good wo rks and

, , , ,

such ; b u t when he exp o unde d the necessi ty of

being en t irely cleansed fro m all s in in both
roo t and branch there was much ou t cry agains t

ff
,

his t eaching S o i t is n o w and so i t will ever

.
,

be O ld Adam the fallen na ture clings t ena

.
, ,

c i o us l
y for a lit t le space in o ur bei n g .

The s t ory is told o an o l d Scotch lady w ho ,

though t t ha t grievi ng over heart depravi ty

t he highest possible sta t e o grace and is

f
,

f

reported t o have sai d If you take away my ,

original sin you t ake away all my religion

,
.

As o dd and con t radic t ory as this may seem yet ,

mul t itudes o professing Chris t ians see m t o vie w

i t in t hat ligh t W hen we read the lives o

f
.

eminent saints w hose graces and toils an d

t riumphs made them the chandeliers in t he

f
f ff
visibl e church w ho seemed more like celes tial
,

visitants than t he plodding mor t als o o ur

world we cra v e t o be oode d with the warm
,

fervor o their hearts the b old heroism o their ,

f
t es t imony t he fer v ency and fai t h o their pray
,

ers and t he lustre o the m dying triumphs

. .

B u t are we willing t o pay the price t hey pai d ,

t o go through suc h c r u c i x i o n s t o endure the ,

s e lf d e n i als
-
the heart e mpty ings the a stings
, ,

74

f
TH E SE CRE T OF

f
SP IRI T UA L P O WE R

and wres tlings i n prayer which laid t he o u n d a

,

t ions o t heir lo v eliness and were the stepping

.

f
S t on e s t o t heir heavenly greatness ?
If we wan t Pentecos t al power we must pay
Pente c ostal price s T o be lled with convert

f
.

ing grace we must p ay the p rice o giving up a ll

o ur actual s ms . T o be ll ed with pure lo ve w e ,

mus t pay t he upper room price of giving U p ,

o u r wh ole being life and desti ny t o the will o

,

G od . The deeper we die the d eeper we li v e .

T he lo w e r We e x ca v ate the higher we b uild .

 f f
C HAPT E R XV

f
TH E NA T U R E O F P E R FE C T L O VE .

misapprehension o the nature o perfect

H E

f
love is t he basis o all the misunderstand

f
in gs and false n otio n s respecti n g it There .

n e ver has been a book writ t en o r a sermon ,

preached against the experience o Christian

,

f f f
perfection that did not have or its s t ar t ing
,

point an erroneous and nu Scrip tural view as to -

No o ne has yet been found t o

ff
what it was .

e ither an t agonize o r disbelieve the obtainability

perfect lo v e who had a correct v iew o i t

f
o ,
.

W e ha v e to say over agai n a thousand time s ,

it is perfection o quality and n o t the

per e ction o quantity o r ripeness Concern i ng

f
.

the n ature o perfect lo v e we may notice

f
1
. It is a perfection that applies t o the
heart , th at is to t he moral religious d e p art
, ,

ment o man s being

Man is a t ripartite
.

creature o body soul and spirit The body

, .

will n e v er reach its perfecti o n tha t is e x e mp

,

tion fro m all deformity d is e as e p ain d e ath

, ,
~

, ,

until it is r e s urr e c te d and glo rie d T he soul .

,
76 TH E SE CR E T OE SP IRI T UA L P O WE R .

is properly speaking the mind e mb ra c

f
w hich , , ,

ing the sensibili t ies and intellec t ual facul t ies

and ap p e te n me s will n e v er b e pe rfect that 1 8

ff f
, , ,

de l ivered from all d is p r0 p 0 1 t1 on of faculties ,

from all mista k es o j udg men t and defec ti v e

apprehension un t il i t ent e rs t he celestial sta t e

f
,

o being B u t the heart whic h is the t rue

.
,

S piri t ual part o man is tha t zon e o his b e l ng

f
,

i n which character re s 1 d e s The heart embraces .

the conscience the a e ctions and the will

f
, .

T he conscience t o feel right and wrong the

f
,

a e ctions to ha t e or love t he ri gh t o r the wro ng

f
,

and the will to choose the rig ht o r the w rong .

All o these things en t er into the composition

f
responsible moral character where v er it is

f
o

ff f f
found All through the W ord o G od t he
.
,

:
heart is t he real man i t is c alled the inner
,

man it is the spri ng out o whic h ow t he

,

issues o life it is the tree t hat bears t he
,

fruit o action it is the center and citadel o

ff
,

chara cter It is in this regio n o man wher e

.

the great work o S alvation takes p l ace convi o ,

tion regeneration s a n c ti c ati on an d the mani

, ,

e s t a ti o n o di v ine things The heart u ses the .

ff
mind and the body as its instruments ; hence
G o d says Give Me thy heart k n o w mg tha t
,

,

if H e can ge t full p o ss e s s 1 o n there He can ,

t hrou gh the moral n a t ure govern the whole ,

man H o w eas y it is or all the powers o i n t el

.
78 TH E S E CR E T

f OF SP IRI T UA L P O WE R .

f
when the love o G o d lls the puried hear t i t ,

is in a sta t e of simplici t y There is humili t y .

without pride mixed wi th it ; love t oward God

f
a n d man wi t hou t any form o ha tre d ; there 1 s
,

submission witho ut any subtle rebellion ; there

i s fai t h or t rust withou t any scepticism o r
doubt ; t here is grace witho u t the ad m ixtu re o
depravi ty S ome o n e may ask does God p ut
.
,

mixed grace i nt o a human heart ? No n e v er ,

.

B ut His grace which 1 s 1 mp arte d in regenera

,

t i On is choked and i mpeded by o u r original de

,

p r aV 1 t
y . S o i t is not d 1 v1 n e grace that n eeds t o ,

be claried bu t we ourselves o ur he arts need ,

f

t o be e ntirely cle ansed s o that God s gr a ce can

f
e x ist in us in an unmi x ed claried condition .

I was once riding w ith a friend in a weste rn

city on a bright S eptember day He wished

.
,

me to explain the nature o per e ct lo v e I

f
.

s aid, Do y o u see t hat sunshine ? Is not this
a perfect day ? W hat h inders the sunshine from

being perfect ? He s a1 d It would be pe rfec t ,

b ut or the sm ok e and dus t from the city '

E x actly , I said bu t there is no dus t and
,

smoke i n the sun b ut tha t arises from the ci ty

,

a n d they ge t mi x e d but not amalgamated ,

The .

sunshine re mai ns s u nshine an d the smoke re

mains smoke b u t they e x ist i n t he same atmos

,

p h e re. N o w if a heavy
, rain should clean se

the air from all im purity and the n t he bi igh t

 TH E NA T U R E O F P E R F E C T L O VE . 9

sun should shine ou t y o u would ha v e the s un

,

shine lling the air wi t hout dust o r smoke a nd

t ha t would be pe rfect sunshine Now I said .
, ,

W hen you were co n verted God put His love

in t o your heart bu t have you not had much
,

dus t and smoke in your experience ? Oh

f
,

B ut where did t he dust and

f

yes ' he said .

smoke come from He answered Not from ,

God bu t from my o w n hear t
,
Now I sai d
.
, ,

i you should have a Pentecostal thunder

storm t o wash the dust and smoke o ut o yo u r /

na t ure then t he same love tha t you recei v ed in

,

regeneration could exis t in a simple and u n

mixed s ta t e wi t hin y o u S o tha t s a nc tic atio n
.

does n o t impart to us any new graces but r e ,

=

moves from us the an tagonism t o the graces ,

and thus all t he graces impar t ed i n regenera

, ,

tion can abide in a q u iet peaceful condition

, .

God c a n make our hear t s His quiet resting

f f
place when all t he opposi t es to His will h ave
,

been re moved jus t as Chris t ian families can

,

peacefully inhabi t an d cul t iva t e t he fertile

plains o the W es t wh en all t he savages have
,

been en tirely remo v ed to adistant part o the

ear t h .
 f
CHAP T E R XV I .

TH E E FFE C T S OF P E R FE C T L O VE .

E R H APS the most effectual way o induc

ing Chr is t ians to seek perfect love is t o ,

s ho w the great bene ts res ulting fr o m t he e x e

f
p
r ie n c e . This is what Mr W esley t ermed preach
.

ing perfectio n by pro mise which he regarded as

f
,

the most successful way of t eaching i t Some

f
.

may ask W ha t is the di e rence be t ween the

,

e e c t s of love previous t o and af t er f ull sanc, ,

t i c a ti o n ? The e e cts are t he same in ki nd ,

bu t di e rent in degree ; Previous to the full

b aptism of lo v e t he Christian graces are
,
?

checked more or less by remaining carnality .

There is a conscious li mi ta t ion impediment , ,

embarrassmen t timidity shrinking s l uggishness

f f
, , ,

and other for ms of hindrance which pre v ent the ,

full free o u to wing effects whic h would natur

, ,

f
ally spring from unmixed love Chris t ian per .

ec ti o n does not purify t he graces but puries

'

t he soul soil in which the graces gro w I t is

-
.

n o t another kind o religion but the same kind ,

we had b e o re wi th the i nte rnal h indranc es

,
 TH E E F FE C TS O F P E R FE CT L O VE . 81

f
removed the same corn with t he weeds ex
,

t rac t ed the same re with t he smoke consumed ;

,

i t is a conver t ed life made easy W e can easil y .

see the e e cts of perfec t love if we apply i t t o

Chris t ian du t ies The believer has n o more
.

duties resting on him aft er his full purication

f
than before but ther e is a marvelous difference
,

in t he promp tness ease liberty and regularity

, ,

with which t he duties are performed J us ti .

catio n binds on us the same law o life tha t

s a n c tic at i o n does W e see t his illustra t ed in
.

Scrip t ure All t he du ties an d laws given t o t he

ff
.

children of Israel were while they were 1 n t he

wilderness and ye t over and over again it is
, ,

said t hus and thus shall ye do when you come

,

i nto t he land O promise showing us that i t ,

was en tering the land of prom i se which Wa s to

rend e r the keeping o those laws practicabl e
and easy The same truth is repeated in the
.

New Testament Jesus imposed on his disci

.

ples ev ery precept and duty before their full

salva t ion o n the day of Pentecos t bu t taugh t ,

them t ha t in order to the sure performance t o

all His commands they were to wait un t il

f
,

they were endued wi t h power from on hig

The sam e tru t h 1 s repea te d in our experience .

After we are converted we feel upon o u r S pirits

,

t he pressure o many calls and obligations A .

ne w wo rl d and a ne w life is open before us c on ,

 f f
82 TH E S E CR E T OF SP I RI T UA L P O WE R .

of pr i vilege and duty oft en come t o us

v i c ti o n s ,

and we feel the need o an inward liber ty and

f
unc t ion and a bol d prom p t movemen t t o th eir
, ,

performance This is What the full baptism o

.

lo v e Supplies It lu bricates all ou r m oral ma

.

chinery it oils the s e c re t w he e l s o action s o

,

th at we speak or pray o r wri t e o r decide or

, , , ,

gi v e or forgive with an a lacrity rmness and

, , ,

consc ious j oy we never did before

f
.

Justication says
Search t he S c rl p ture s
, ,

but perfec t lo ve says j Thy W ord is s w ee t er ,

than honey and the honeyco mb The rst

f
.

Forsake no t the assembli ng o your

f
says ,

ff

sel v es together the second says I was glad
, ,

wh e n they said unto me let us g o into the

house o the L ord ? It ofte n happens tha t the
o v ero w o perfect love renders the ordinary

f
duties o life a pure d elight as looking through

f f
,

the camera up O n some ordinary scenery t rans

fo rms i t into a vista o beauty W e are no t t o .

hunt s o much or new an d ex traordinary d uties

as we are or that pure f ul lness o lo v e which

ff
adds a new zest to every old o n e .

A n o t her em phatic result of perfect love is

t he wonderful deliveran ce i t imparts from the

fe ar o man I t puts us where we can love

.

e ve rybody but cringe to nobody fear n obody

, , .

W e are n o t afr aid o t he criticisms o r threa t ,

c h ings o r the big majorities o our fel lows

,

.
 TH E E F FE CTS OF P E R FE C T L O VE . 83

f
W ha t an inni t e boon such an e xperience is i n
this time serving man fearing world ' How
-
,
-

many Christians there are who for lack of pe r

f
, ,

e c t love fail t o S peak o u t o r vote or ac t or

, , , , .

ta ke t he stand which their silent convictions

call t he m t o The Holy Spirit has well said

f f f
f
.

that t he fear o man bringeth a snare

Se v .

eral ins t ances have occurred un der my obser v a

tion , where ministers were timid about preach
i ng ull s alvation for fear o o e ndi n g promi

f
m
v

nen t hearers ; when t hose same pro inent

f
hearers were thirs t ing or heart purity and ,

welcomed a full gospel with d elight .

The fullness o love will also remove ou r

fear o God s providence S o many Christians .

f

are distressed for fear God s providence will

f
fail t hem O ne is always afraid he will go to

f
.

f
t he poorhouse Ano t her i s afraid t o give his
.

t i t hes to God lest he should never get t hem

back . Another is afra i d o sudden death .

Another is afraid o certain forms o disease

f f
Another is afra i d o so m
.

e imaginary calamity
t o his family ; U n til trus t i n God is complete

f
,

some imaginary lion puts the hear t into a u t ter

f
o d ismay P erfect lo v e claries the vision to
.

discern the completeness o God s S pecial provi
dence I t makes the form o the four t h mov
.

ing amid the ery ordeals o life a positive

reality It is n ot a S p irit of rashness but an
.
,
84 TH E S E

ff
CR E T OF SP IRI T UA L

obedient doing o our b est and then res ting all

,

results on t he bosom o God s car e It is not

claiming tha t He will always do as we ask or
P O WE R

.
.

plan b u t it is a swee t repose i n His w isdom and

,

love tha t He will do the be s t for us Perfect

lo v e destroys t he fear of d eath It en a
.

bles the
.

Soul t o see death in the t rue S c r ip t ui al light ,

and n o t o n ly fs o but to see through death in

,

suc h a way t ha t h eaven is a reality Lo v e c on .

quers all things e v en death

, .
 f
86 TH E S E CR E T oF SP I RI T UA L P 0 WE R

resembles s up e rc i ali ty in religion is fa t al a nd

ff
ruinous in the extreme And yet i n this work

f
.

personal sal v ation where we need the utmost

f
o ,

thoroughness an d reality is where the great ,

majority are at t ering their s ouls tha t a shallow

ff
f
and ordi n ary work is su cien t Instead o .

seeking how well we c a n be prepa re d or e te r

n it y ho w h o ly c a n I be h o w m u ch o
, , t he lo v e
o God c an I possess and manifest the secre t ,

whis per o many hearts is H o w little may I ,

lean o n or safety? U nt old thousands ha v e

healed thei r hurt slightly saying peace peace , , , ,

whe n there was n o peac e ( Jer We .

sometimes hear the If I ca n just

f

barely get into heaven I s hall be satised ,
.

f
But such an ex pressio n re v eals some t hing ter
ribl s a d in the hear t I t how s unbe l ief in the
y . s

promises ; it shows a lack o earnestness an d

f
thoroughness in other words it manifes t s the
, ,

f
presence o the carnal mind All such half .

f
hearted e x pression s from the mou t h S p I l I l g ,

from a half heartedness within O ne cause or

f f
-
.

s o much s u p e r c i a l i ty i n religio n comes from

regarding the mere ex t ernal actions o life more

t han t he inward state o the heart In the

f
.

W o rd o G o d we nd that all conduc t and ?

ac t ion is t raced back to the s t ate o the hear t ,

and re duced t o i t s tr ue charac t er E very ac t is .

meas u red by the charac t er o t he fountain far

more than
S U PE

the
RF ICIA L

ou t ward appearance o the act

T rue rel igion has as vehicles s u ch t hings as
d octrines t he church the ministry ordi n ances
,
,

,
R E L I GI O U S

,
L I FE

,
f
. 87

du tie s vo ws but all these pu t together d o n o t

, ,

make religion t ha t is somethi ng t hat is a life a

f
, ,

warm real conscious life in the so ul t i s behin d

'

, ,

ac tion and produces i t ; it is superior t o duty ,

for i t imposes duty and larger t han ordi , ,

nances o r i t creates them

fff
.
,

Human bei ngs look only a t the e x tern al .

They are disposed to t hink t hat there is n o sin

except i n t he ou t ward ac t overlooking the fact

f
,

o the body o sin in the soul ; they also look
upon goodness merely in the o u t wa rd ac t c o n ,

sis t ing o certain church duties a n d n ot in the

consci ous thorough loving o G o d and lo v ing o ur
,

neighbor This is why t here are s o many Ca t h

f
.

oli c s
, high churchmen ecclesiastical zealo t s , ,

formalis t s and moralists in the world w ho ha v e

n o salvation .

A n other reason or supercial religion is in

n o t v iewing i t in its spiri tual and immor t al

f
nature but looking at i t as a t emporal and
,

f
ear thly advan t age Faili ng t o look at salva t ion
.
-

in its grea t S piritual and eternal n a t ure p ro ,

duces an innite am ount o vacillation and

in co n stancy in p urs uing it It is t rue that the .

life o Christ in the h eart has its 1 n c al c u1abl e ,

a d v an t ages in this life There is no t a single

88 TH E SE CRE T OF SP IRI T U A L P O WE R .

good t hing or blessing or advantage connected

wi t h the body the intellec t t he domes t ic life

f
, , ,

f
civil government business com merce educa

f
, , ,

t ion science discovery or any form of earthly

, , ,

well bei ng which is n o t p uried elevated

f f
-
, , ,

streng thened and adorned by the life o Christ

in t he soul These are legi t imate e e cts o

salvation bu t Chris t did n o t insti t ute His

,

religion or t he purpose o prod ucing these

temporal advan t ages The t rue sphere of .

religion is in the S piri t u al na t ure and its true en d

is eternal well being Time is t o o S hor t and .

earth is too narrow for the religion of Jesus t o

f
fully reveal i t self It scatters innumerable .

blessings in i t s ight t hrough t ime bu t its true ,

des t iny is eternal communion with God ; and to

f
j udge o it by a few temporal a n d physical -

t hings is t o utterly misunders t and i t .

So many half hear t ed seekers after God -

,

e x pec t religion to bring t hem ease comfor t

f
, ,

weal th fri ends honor o ce o r some o ther

, , ,

emo lumen t from a temporal standpoint ; and if

i t fails they peevishly doubt i ts t rue power .

This i s why s o e w minis t ers and Christian

people can en t er full s an c ti c a ti o n they cannot
relinquish the preferment the friendships the , ,

temporal advan t ages which they suppose belo n g ,

to religio n Could they see t he salvation of

.

G o d in its purely spiritual and eter nal nature ,

 S UP E RF ICIA L R E L I GI O U S

they wo uld gladly count all things loss

exce llency .
L I FE .

f
or
89

its

f
A miniature rainbo w may be found in a dew
d rop but wha t is t hat co mpared t o t he full
,

sized owery arch that spans t he heav ens ? In

like manner religion will show its benets in
,

t he dew drop blessi ngs o time bu t t o see a n d

f
,

enjoy i t in i ts highes t state i t must be seen in

t he magnicent form of e t ernity .

I t 1 s a S ingular fac t that t h e more we l ook

in t o the dep ths o e t erni ty the more we will be
,

led to look into the depths of ourselves .

 f f
CHA P T E R XV III .

f
E NV Y .

NE o the most dangerous forms o inward

de pra vity is envy It is a for m o sin
'

which t he world looks upon with great leniency

f
,

which fa shionable people i n socie ty look u pon

f
f
as half a V 1 rtu e and which man y professing
,

f
Christians regard as a very ordinary d efect .

Bu t according to the W ord o G o d it 1 s the ,

seed be d o unlimited misery a n d crime E nvy

-
.

as an evil a e ction in t he heart has t wo par ts

f f f
t o it consisting o hatred to others beca u
, se of
,

their superiority in excellence station or a d

,

v an t age and at the same time a certain degree

, ,

o v e x atious anger because o the inferiori ty o

i ts possessor E nvy ac t s as a terrible cancer in
.

the hear t ; it destroys t he soul s o wn happiness ;
it prevents i t s owner from l oving his neighbor
from enjoying the prosperi ty of o t hers ; i t pre

f
v en t s him from enjoying his o w n blessing ; i t
puts sourness into e v ery blessing ; throws
gloom into t he sunshine ; and t urns the so u l
ul t ima t ely in t o an engine o malice It is i n
.

t his sense t he Bible decl are s tha t E n vy slayeth
 ff
E N VY . 91

the S illy one and that envy is the rottenness

,

o the bones E nvy is manifested agains t
.

t hose o superior amiabili ty as was t he case

f f
,

f f
against Joseph by his brethren It is said tha t

Joseph s brethren e n V 1 e d him and through
envy sold him
They recognized in hi
. a m
lo v eliness o disposition a loftiness o aim a
, ,

puri ty o motive a winsomeness o character

,

which captivate d the father s heart and S 1 g n al ,

i z e d hi m s o far above t he mselves that t hey

hated him for his very ex cellences called him

f
,

nicknames caricatured his mos t unselsh ex

f
,

pressions Had their hear ts been thorou hly

f
g
.

pure so as to r e joice with them that d o r e

f
,

joice the very reasons or their en vy would
,

have been reasons o r t heir love and app re c ia

t ion
. Ano t her instance o en vy is tha t against
the success o Moses as a great leader and c om

f
man d e r W e are told t hat they en v ied Mose s
.

also within t he camp .

And this mean spirit was n ot from the -

lowest ra nks o the people but amo ng the ,

high church o fcials a n d his o wn near relatives .

Their envy could n o t brook any superior His

.

f
extr aordinary abilities ; his consta nt access to
G o d ; his quick and far seeing insight ; his -

divi n ely inspired sway o v er the people was a

constant torture to those w ho en v ied him This .

example o en vy has been r e peat e d thous an ds

92 TH E SE CRE T O F S P I R I T UA L P O WE R .

f
of t imes n o t only among sinners but in t he
, ,

highest ecclesiastical circles There is a cer t ain .

battle scarred missionary f rom the Dark Con ti

-

f
ne nt and when he appears among great bodies

f
,

of Chris t ians a ut ter o exci temen t p asses o v er

,

f
t he assembly a nd the multitudes instinctively ,

ri se t o welcome him But this very man be

f
.
,

cause o his u nsels h triumphs or Jesus is ,

envied by some w ho a re v e x ed at him be ca u se

f
o the v ery t hi n gs t ha t make hi m good and great

ff
and beloved Daniel w as envied because o his
.

superior talen t Paul w as e n v ied by the Jews .

beca use o his success in making converts .

Jesus was e nv ied by t he S cribes a nd P harise e s

f
because o His mighty spiritual power o v er the ,

e
p p O l e If anyone
. doub t s t he s tatement th a t
en vy is t he secret spring o crime le t him l o ck
\

f
,

a t the W or d o G o d and his t ory The Bible

f
.

inquires W ho is able t o stand before en vy

,

ff
As if like a great forest re it burned down
, ,

e v erything befor e it Paul speaks o certai n .

persons as bei ng full o en vy and murder .

Notice how the Spirit puts murd e r as the fruit

spro uting from the seed o e nvy Again he .
,

says W hereof cometh e nvy strife r aili ngs
,

, , .

And again W here e n v ying is there is c o n u

, ,

sion and every e v il work Again Paul wrote .

t o the Corin t hians saying I fe ar lest the re b e ,

en vyings wraths ,
.
 f
C HAP T E R XI X .

f
TH E L E A KA GE O F L O VE .

ff f f
O VE is t he v ery substance and marrow o
moral perfection Fai t h is the conditio n

f
.

forgi v eness and cleansing ; and the r emo v i ng

f
o

o actual a nd indwelling s i n is the conditi o n o

the fullness o love Many seek only or p artial

f
-
.

holiness ; they seek it merely as a cure or some

besetting sin ; others seek i t as a boon or some
sorro w ; others seek it in a mere negative form

f f
cleansing but t he true i dea is t hat the

f f
o ,

whole being shall be made c o mplete in God s

lo v e
.

f
There is a danger o th e leakage o lo v e ou t
t he hear t that many are n o t aware o L ove

f f
o .

I s like a am e o r a v olatile uid it is n o t like a

a rigid xed substance I t is e v e r in a ne

, .
,

f
subtle motion and needs constant e eding A
,
.

piece o wood is solid and s t ationary in its for m ,

remaining the same year af t er year ; but the soft

u 1 ve ri n ame is v ery di e ren t S o you m a
q g .
y
have the clear specic doc trine o s anc ti c ation
,

x ed as an uncha ngin g tr uth in y o ur mind and ,

(94)
 TH E L E A KA GE O F L O VE .

f
ye t t he quivering ame of lo v e in your heart is
ano ther t hing ; a n d perso ns w ho were once

f
t ruly sanc t ied may go o n holding the well
d e ne d doctrine and tes timony o holiness ,

while unconsciously t he f ragrance and warmth

f
, ,

of holy love have leaked o ut o the h ear t I t

is muc h easier to r e t ain cer tain t ruths x ed in

t he reason than to re t ain a x e d ne ss in t he

ff
,

a e ctions O ur emotions glide away i mp e rc e p

.

ti bl y ; o u r a e c ti o ns leak o u t of the s oul n u

a w ar e s. I t requires m u ch diligen ce and the
a dding o hear t fuel to keep a lowly , l o vmg
ame in the soul .

O ccas i onally you vill n d a person w ho has

bee n san c t ied s till holding t he pr ofession and
, ,

grasping the clear doctrine but w ho has from , ,

v arious c auses allowed the warm lo v ing spiri t

f
, ,

t o leak o u t ; and he 1 s restive impa t ien t and

f
, ,

hars h under neglect persecution and op posi t ion

f f
, .

Thos e t hings which are the s weetest are sus

c e ti b l e o being t urned into the most sour
p ;
and perfec t love los i ng 1 ts e l in the fermen t a
,

t ion o spirit and turning into sour is one o

f
,

t he harshest bi tt erest t hings on earth

,
.

A S there is a physical law by w hich swee t q C e s

-

can be kept from ferme nting int o s our s o t here ,

is a S piri t ual law t o keep pure lo v e r om losi n g

its lo v e po wer and t urning I n t o moral vinegar
, .

W he n a s oul is thoroug hl y san c tied it is ,

 f f
96 TH E SE CRE T O F S P I R I T UA L P O WE R .

f f
w ondrously illumina t ed It sees the church .
,

t he obligations o t he ministry the dutie s o

f
,

religion and huma n character under an in te n

, ,

s i ty o light and solemnity o con v ic t ion ,

f
almos t indescribable ; and it will act and judge

f
and speak accor d ing to this intensity o v ision .

O t her belie v ers whose hearts are still partial ly

,

f
v eiled by the carn al reaso n can have n o c on ,

the intense light o the fully

f
c e p ti o n o

sanctied H ence tha t which see ms harmless

f
m
.
,

to the partially blin d may be

f
onstrous and
,

o e n s 1 ve to the fully i l l umma te d .

N o w I t will t ake an immense amo unt o lo v e

'
t o keep the gentleness and charity o t he he art

fff
up equal to the sharp discern men t o the mind .

Mr W esley often o bserved that great ligh t

.

upon religious matters without great lo v e was , ,

d a ngerous .

f
I t he ow o lo v e in the heart is not kept

f
up to the measure o co n viction the n the ,

sharply den ed convic t io n s will a ssume a harsh

and unkind edge that will cut c on trary to the
mind o Jesus W e must keep the a e c tio ns
.

u re a nd w arm a n d te n der at any c os t

p , , , .
 f
98 TH E SE CRE T OF SP IR I T U A L P O WE R .

t e xt a t all and
was put in by the translators
,
.

beca u se o th e o l d n otion tha t n obo d y could be

'

a perfec t Chris t ian excep t by long grow t h and

old age whereas t he reference is t o a being

,

h aving all i ts s e n s e s clear s t rong comp l ete , , ,

wi t hout any reference t o whether he be ol d or

yo u ng A young believer as well as an old o n e

f
.
, ,

may be s o alive t o G o d an d have all his spiri t

,

u al s e n s e s s o cleansed and lled with t he Spir it

as t o be able t o discern spiritual thi ngs and by

f
,

the exercise o the sanctied so u l se n ses detec t ,

rea d ily a n d i n t ui tive l y t he fac t s in the moral

,

ff
a n d spiritual realm whether t hey be good o r
,

e vil .The soul o the S inner has all t he senses ,

bu t t hey are locked in t he dark sleep of sin ,

an d he c an n o more see o r hear o r feel t he

f
-

thi n gs o G o d and the heavenly world than an ,

u nborn man can perceive t he S igh t s and so un d s

a n d magnitu d es o t he ma t erial world

f
.

In order o r the soul t o have the u s e of i ts

spiri t ual senses i t mus t be born i n to a spiri t u a l

f
,

world its Whole being an d facul t ies regenera t ed

,

by the Holy Ghos t In this age o l oose .

t heology an d t he paring dow n o the s u p e r n a t

ural in religion the grea t mi r a c l e o the n e w
,

fai t h n eeds t o be emphasized wi th the inni t e

mus t which Jes u s a t tached to i t W hen the
.

soul is rst conver t ed i t is in reali ty ; a S piritual ,

infa nt in t roduced into a spiri t ual world and

, ,
under the dominion
TH E I NNE R

kinships and apprehe nsions that are spiritual

And al though i t has all the se n ses and the
f
laws lo v es lo ngings
MA N

,
,
.

,
99

graces be l ongi ng t o the spiritual king d om

numerically ye t t hey are weak limited and
m
, , ,

ofte n re n dered dul l and inoperative by re ain

ing carnali ty This is what t he apostle declares

f
.

f
concern ing the Hebrew conver t s when he says ,

tha t they were dull of hearing an d could no t

t ake strong meat and were ine x perienced in the

f
,

word o righteousness when at the time t hey

,

He a rms the

f
ought t o ha v e been teachers .

sa me concerning the co nv erted Corinthians

f
.

The vigor and perfection o the bodily senses

f
( unless wounded by an outward force ) depend

f f
o n the purity and vigor o t he blood ; s o t he
p ower and acuteness o the s piritual senses
depe n d on the puri ty o the heart an d the full

f ff
ness o the Holy Spi rit A lit t le infant can see
.
,

bu t he cannot discern shades o color o r dis ,

t ance ; he can hear but he cannot locate sounds ;

,

while the senses o touch taste an d smell are ,

feeble These f a c t s are true o the spiritual

.

f
ba be ; he cannot detect the S hades o m oral
qua l i ty he cannot measure accurately moral

f
,

dis t ances he is slow to detec t evil that hides

,

i tself behind apparent good ; he does n ot readily

d iscrim i n ate t he agency o Satan n o r has he an ,

a cute ear for the v oice o God The infancy of .

1 00 TH

f f E S E C RE T OF S PIRI TUA L P O WE R .

f f
a Christian does no t depend upon years o r ,

t here are t housands o sad cases where old

Christians blunder along wi th e x ceedingly du l l

f
app r ehension o spiri t ual things The inner .

S piritual man is in a k i n
n m governed by t he
Holy Ghos t an d n ot the slow laws o materi al

f
,

ism There are analogies between the di e ren t

f
.

ki n gdoms but i t is absurd t o make these com

,

f
parisons go o n all fours A man u n der the .

reign o animal life will reach his m aturity one

hundred times quicker t han the big trees o
C alifornia reach t heirs a n d why should n ot the
,

in n er spiritual man under the direct a gency o

,

t he Holy Ghost reach his moral m aturity a

,

hundred times quicker t han the outward physi

cal man ?
There are t hree great facts t o S piritual life .
First divine life imparted to t he soul Second
, .

l y the life puried from all internal hin drances

,
.

Third the life elaborated and utilized in actual

,

service .

First t he corn must be plan t ed Second

ff
, . ,

it must be puried from wee d s an d grass and ,

thirdly u t ilize d in t o our and food W e have

,
.

gold rst in the quar tz then puried and tur n ed

,

in t o bullion then minted in t o co in or se rV 1 c e

, .

In regeneration t he go l d of Chris tian life is

imparted In s an c ti c ati o n the i nty quartz o
.

original depravi ty i s remo ved t hen under t he ,

 f
C HA P T E R XXI .

SP I R I TU A L D I S C R I MI NA T I O N .

ff
T is a fundamental law in the co nstitu tion o
the soul that spiritual un derstanding and
,

d i scrimination i s direc t ly connec t ed with the

condi tio n o the heart Corruption in the .

heart inevitably produces disorder and darkness

in the mind ; and purity o heart claries t he
in t e llect and imparts t o i t strong and a cute
percep t io ns This truth is abundantly referred

f
.

t o i n the Scriptures T o t he upright there

ff
.

ariseth light in the darknes s The pure in .

hear t see G od
I will cure t hem an d wi ll
.
,

reve a l t he abundance o peace and truth .

There are scores o similar sta t emen t s in which

knowle d ge r evelatio n vision follo w as a con
, , ,

sequen ce upon the purica t ion o the hear t .

So many attempt t o reverse this order and have

f
the understa n ding rst and t he e x perie n ce af t er

f

wards but God s uncha ngeable rule 1 S a work of
,

grace i n the heart rst and the unders t an di ng

,

o i t after wa rds It is a lway s grow t h i n grace

.

rst a nd t hen knowle dge O ne o the marvel

, .
 f f
f
S P I RI TUAL DI S C R I MI N A T I O N . 1 08

f
ous e f ec t s of full s an c tic ati on is the clearness

ff

and acu t eness i t impar ts t o the ve se n ses o the

inner man To ins t ance a few samples o dis
.

cri mina t ion un d er the full baptism o the Spirit

ff
1
. The di f erence between thi ngs and bei ngs .

T o such a soul the perso n s o the t ri n i t y good ,

a nge ls and evil spiri t s are n o t merged in a

, ,

t a ngled maze o indeni t e thi n gs bu t t hey

are perceived by the understanding wi t h the
same clearness they are S poken o in the Scrip
t ures ; and on the other hand t he inanimate
, ,

forces of n ature are n o t i d o lized and enthroned

ff
as beings I t is a n otorious fact tha t half
.

ill uminated Christians and u nregenerate church ,

members have a t endency t o reduce spiri tu al

,

perso nal ities to the order o mere things and ,

have o n t he o t her han d a t endency t o e x alt a

f
, ,

mere law of n a t ure in t o doing the work o the

,

S aviour T ln s 1 s done when growth which is a

.
,

l a w of nature is supposed t o clea n se the heart

, ,

w hich is th e e x clusive work o a pe rsonal

Sa viour The fully puried so u l t hough he
.
,

be unlearne d will never make such a blunder

,

i n his moral perceptions T o such an o n e ho w .

real is the promise Thine eye sh all see the
,

Ki n g 1 11 His beauty t hey shall behold the land ,

tha t is very far which promise has d irect ,

reference t o t he spiri t ual percep tions in this life ,

for the p receding verses describe conditions and

1 04 TH E SE CR E T OF S P I R I T UA L P O WE R .

f
f
e x periences which can only be i n this world .

I t d i s c ri mi nat e s betwee n te mp t a t ion and

f
2
'

f
sin Such a soul may n o t always be a ble t o
.

ff
dene accurately the di e rence betw een the t w o ,

i t may n o t ha ve the gift o pu t ting into language

the clear c u t v erities o t hein n er man but the re
-
,

f
1 s an inward sense o feeling by which it nds
o ut the d i f erence betwee n a s u ggestion t o c o m

f f
mi t s 1 n a nd the co n sent o the heart to d o it .

I t n ds out by a S ilent inward teacher the ,

di e r e nce between e vil thoughts and thoughts

f
'
x

that evil thoughts are Such as origin ate

f
o evil

in the heart or are willingly enter tained there ,

but tha t a t hough t o evil is a s uggestion to the

m ind whic h c an b e r e p e ll e d T he on e is o the
p
.

nature o a burgla r whil e the other is a n ,

admitte d lo d ger in the t enemen t .

3 . The puried spiritual sense s discrimi nate

f
betw e en things learned and things reveale d .

W e learn thi n gs gradually bu t the Holy Spiri t ,

reveals t ru t h to o ur hearts insta ntaneously .

The consciousness of adop t ion i s re v ealed n o t

ff
,

f f
learn ed and so the certain ty o hear t purity is
,

revealed an d not learne d W e learn thro u gh o ur .

outer senses and in connec t ion wi th thes e the

,

use o ou r mental facul t ies ; thus we lear n dis

t ance magni t ude o
, , color number how to
, , ,

t race cause and e e ct and t he relation o thi ng s

, .

But when spiritual t hings are re v ealed t o us ,

1 06

ants o ff
TH E

E
SE CRE T

-
O F S P I R I T UA L

sau and Ishmael b ut the i r e ne mi e s in

Canaan were o a foreign race In like manner
,

when believers are i n t heir wildern ess experien ce

.
P O WE R

f
their S piri tual conict has t o do mainly with t he '

carnal ele men t s s t ill remain ing in them but o n ,

enteri ng the higher Canaan l ife their w elfare 1 s ,

more immediately with evil S piri ts and the ,

direct a s saults o the personal Sa t an This is

ff
.

the teac hing of S t Paul where he say s

. We
wrestle no t agains t esh and blood bu t agains t
'

principalities agains t powers against t he rule rs

, ,

o the darknes s o this worl d agains t W 1 c k e d ,

S pirits in heavenly places Margin ) It is of
(

f
. .

im mense a d va n t age to the soul t o recognize i t s

foes and t o discriminate bet ween t hem an d the
,

innocent frail t ies and i n r mi ti es which are

f
,

inseparable fro m o ur ear thly stage o existence .

This is what Paul m eans by saying thos e who

are perfec t have their senses e x ercised to dis

cern good and evil The activi ty an d vigor o

.

o u r S piri t ual se n ses depend 0 11 o ur union with '

Jesus through the Holy Spiri t W ha t would .

t he eye be wor t h unless it were uni t ed wi t h

the light ? W ha t would the ear be worth unless
i t could act in union w ith sound In like ?

manner wha t a re all the marve l o us s e n s e s of t he

soul worth un til brought und er the Operati on of
t he Holy Gho st who alone can purify them
, ,

brin g the m i n to full normal action and c au s e ,

 S P I R I TUA L D I S C R I MI N A T I O N

them t o recognize a n d enjoy a whole world

d i v ine a n d hea v enly t hings ?
. 1 07

o f
 C HA P T E R XX II .

I NS T A N T A NE O U S P U R I FI C A T I O N .

BS US put forth His hand and t ouched

f
him saying I will be thou clean And

f f
, , , .

immedia t ely his leprosy was cle ansed M a tt

f f
. .

f
The miracles of Jesus are photographs o the
operations o His grace Som e o them ar e

f
.

types o pardon o t h ers o cleansing and other s

f
, ,

o glorication The miracle specied i n the

.

'

te x t i n a peculiar manner sets forth he ar t

purication Leprosy is no where a type o
.

actual s i n b ut always emblematic o original

,

ff
d epra v ity Its perfect likeness to the carnal
.

mind can be s een in the following items : It is

hereditary and n ot so much contagious : again

f
,

it does n o t manifest itself so much i n i nfancy

as in later years ; aga i n the o s pring o leprous
,

parents will inevitably ha v e the malady ; agai n ,

t here is n o known Cure or it in the world but it

has been cured by m
,

iraculous mercy aga m 1 11 ,

e v ery instance where it has been cured i t w as ,

wrought i nstantaneously In al l thes e i tems i t

.

( 1 08 )
 f
1 10 TH E SE CRE T OF S P I R I T UA L P O WE R .

t houghts ith Him

. Wo n e day is as a t hou
,

s and years W e may be gradually a pproaching
.

a telegraph o ce and gradually writ ing out our

dispa t ch bu t whe n the condi t ions are all me t
,

the electrical m essage goes ins t an t a n eously In .

like manner t he gradual a pproaches to hear t

,

p urity must n o t be confo u nded wi th t he ins tan

ta n e o u s cleans i ng of t he Holy Spiri t .

2 . W e mus t n o t confound heart clea n sing

wit h the process of natural law Here is W here

f f
.

many blunder s u p p o s mg that salva t ion is the

f
t
,

out working of some l a w Salva t ion ei ther in

-
.

pardon or heart cleansing is never a process of

l a w but always a w ork o God an act o the
, ,

di vine will t he result o an Almighty voli t ion

, ,

that vo lition which i s i nnitely above l a w In .

nature G o d works by a n established order

f
through agents and sub agents which we call

f
-

law And in providence He u ses manifold

.

means a nd age n t s but in sa v i ng a soul He goes

,

f
above an d b eyond t he l a w s o nature or the ~

instru men t s o providence and w orks direc tly ,

o n the subj ect ; forgiving the sins of the peni

t ent and cleansing the he art of the perfec tly

,

consecrated by the action o His innite will ;

s e ak m fro m His inni t e self direc t ly t o the
p g

hear t Go in peace t hy s ins are forgiven or

, , ,

I will be t hou clean
,
E verywhere in t he.

Scr ip tures we nd salva t ion d ec la r e d to b e t he

 I NS T A N T A NE O U S P U R I FI C A TI O N . 1 11

direc t work of God and ne v er of any law o r ,

agent Thus we read I will circumcise thy
.
,

heart I will sprinkle clean wa t er upo n thee
, ,

'

I will purge away t hy dross My Fa ther ,

cleanse t h i t
U n t o Him t ha t lo ved us and

f
,

washed us in fac t there is n o t a verse in the
, ,

Bible where salva t ion is delega t ed of any a ngel ,

or sa i nt o r Church or c e r e mo ny o r law or pro

, , , ,

cess but always pro ceeding as an ac t o God

, .

Me n are so fond of magnifying na ture and l a w

t ha t even in sermons an d t heological wri t i ngs

f
,

in a thousan d subtle ways God has been de ,

throned and some imaginary law or process or

,

development has been pu t in His place as per

,

formi n g the work o salvation ; in every such

ins t ance salva t ion from s m 1 s made gradual ,

whereas the action of the divine will is al ways

ins t antaneo u s W e nd no ins t ance in S crip
.

t ure where a d 1 v1 n e act is spoken of as gradual .

3
. All the S cripture emblems indica t e tha t
heart s a n c ti c a ti on is ins t antaneous o r occupies
a very brief p e r1 o d I t is spoken of as a crea t io n
. .

Create i n me a clean heart Creation is .

ins t an taneous
He spa k e and i t was done
. .

I t is spoken of as pouring ou t wa t er as wash ,

ing as circumcision as purifying gold as

, , ,

pu t ting o n clean robes a s crucixion o r making ,

dead E ven the lo ngest ill u s t ra tion used in

.

Scri pt ure d oes n o t include more than four o r

1 12 TH E SE CRE T OF SP IRI T U A L P O WE R .

v e hours ; and most of them represen t a work

t hat t akes place i n a momen t B u t the Old .

notion that pre v ails everywhere that heart ,

f
cleansing i s a slow process e x tending through ,

mon ths a nd years is n o t ev en hinted in t he

f
,

S c rl p tur e s

f
.

ff
. The act of hear t cleansing must n o t be
con o unded with growth in grace Growth and .

purication belong to t w o dis t inct realms of

a c ti o n All growth belo ngs t o t he realm o
nature and under t he re gimen o law ; but

fff
puricatio n i s a di v ine act The growth o the . ,

Christian previous t o s a nc ti cati on doe s n ot

purify his hear t an d o n the o ther ha nd af t er
, ,

his heart is thoroughly clea n sed the soil of his ,

f
nature is but prepared or con t inuous rapid and

f
,

unlimited growth in all the graces o the Spirit

f fff
.

In all the S cripture i nstances and e mblems o

grow th , i t is nowhere identied with the divine

f
ac t o heart cleansing The growth o a s talk
.

corn is o ne thing but its purity o r eedo m

f
o ,

from disease is quite another All the stal e .

i llustrations and pla t itude s a bout t he grow t h o

t he o a k and the broadening o the ri v er and

f
, ,

t he accumulation o muscle i n the b la cksmi t h s

f
arm and similar m etaphors a re n ot t o the poin t
, ,

of heart cleansing P uricatio n has r eference

.

t o the p uri ty and heal t h o the o ak and n o t to

its s i ze to the tra nspare n cy o the ri ver a nd
,
1 14 TH E SE C RE T OF SP IRI T U A L P O WE R .

Those who hold to grad ual s an c ti c ati o n d o

n o t bear testimony t o i t s experien ce but those ,

Wh o have found the experience uniformly

declare i n harmony wi t h the Scripture that

immediately their leprosy departed from

them .
 C HAP T E R XXI I I .

H I ND R A NC E S TO H O L I NE S S .

f
C L I NE S S is the most esse ntial thing in
the u n iverse t o a m oral creature Holi .

ness is not an ac t io n bu t a s t ate of being which

,

lies behind t he ac t ion Holiness is a s t ate o

.

puri ty of simplicity of unmix edness with

, ,

foreign elements All sin is a foreign elemen t

.

t o pure simpl e human nature It is t o the

,
.

moral na t ure what a fever is t o t he blood If

f
.

u
puri ty tha t is nmixedness is essential t o
,

having good wa ter good air good bread good

, , ,

heal th good soil for growth of crops it is i n n

, ,

f
i t e l y more essential t o the soul Holiness o .

hear t is more essen t ial t o t he well being and -

des t iny of the soul than knowledge or power , ,

or grea t t ale n t s A holy n ature will wonder

.

fully uti l ize a small amoun t o knowledge ,

power o r wealth ; bu t O n t h e other han d the

, , ,

principle of sin 1 n the soul will per v er t and

squander a vast amoun t of learning or riches ,

or oppor t uni ty W hatever hinders t he obtain

.

ment of comple t e moral purity blocks the trai n ,

( 1 1 5)
116 TH E

f f S E C R E T O F S P I R I TUAL

strangl es t he life and for e its the t rue end o

P O WE R .

f
,

f
o u r being .

Perhaps t he rst grea t hindra n ce to holiness

is a failure t o apprehend its necessity S O .

many locate all goodness in the acti v i t ies o life ,

f
and fail to discern the true state o bei ng S o .

many think there is n o sin e x cept i n the act and

f
,

f
n o t seeing that al l inherent darkness perversity , ,

crookedness or impurity embedded in the n ature

itse lf is Of the quality o sin d o n o t realize
,

the n ecessity o bei ng puried in t he v ery sub

f
stance o the inner nature

f
.

It i s comparati v el y easy t o lead Christian

f
p e ople t o appropriat e Jesus as a s an c tie r whe n
they once fully realize the absolute need o clea ns
ing He n ce on e o the most successful methods
.

of pre achi ng ho l iness 1 s to analyz e the hear t to ,

d elineate the features o the native inner m an ,

to show his c haracteristics his pedigree his

, ,

beha v ior his moral complexion n ot only as he

, ,

acts in the si nner but also as he acts in a

f
restrai ned an d subtl e way i n the believer If .

such a por t rayal is made in a wise and scr i ptural

man n er every honest an d truly co nverted soul
,

w ill see more o r less his n eed o a deeper work

of grace and at the same time his conscience
, , ,

m
and j udgment will side with t he truth though ,

the c arnal elements in hi may rebel

Another hindrance to a t taining heart puri ty
 f
11 8 TH E SE C RE T OF SP IRI T U A L P O WE R .

fff
that inward sin is only t o be repressed no t a nd

purged o u t of our being The persistent hold .

i ng of any o n e o these unscriptural views will

e e ctually preve n t t he soul from e n tering into
that res t o heart o which Canaan is a type .

There is a notion aoat among the churches

that people can believe most anythi n g respect

f
ing salvation that they can hold several views
,

about grace o r n o deni t e view a t all and ye t

f
, ,

in some way blunder into deep religious e Xp e

ri e n c e . But the Holy Ghost never works along
lines o error I t is t ru e thousands are sa ved
.
,

and fully cleansed w ho d o not un derstan d t he

theology of it bu t they do always apprehend
,

the cardinal a cts in the case .

There ar e j ma ny o ther hindrances such as ,

an unwillingness to ge t light On t he subject a ,

f
prejudice against the Scripture terms stumbli n g ,

over other people be i ng frightened at a s trav

f
,

fa n atic an unwillingness to give u p self at so me

,

point Bu t whatever the hindran ce may be i t

.
,

must give way be o re we can enter t he paradise

o G od If we as God s children w ill keep our
.

e y es on the mam fac t s in the case our need and ,

Christ s supply if we ha v e a teachable and
,

obedien t heart G o d wi ll nd many ways t o

,

break down barriers to send us help from u m ,

expec t ed quarters and m ake the seemingly i m

,

po s sible melt away t o an easy and simple thing .

 CHAP T E R XX I V

f f
TH E T H R E E FO L D E V I D E NC E IN GR A C E .

H E Apostle Peter i n calling ou r attention

,

t o t he certainties o experime n tal sal v a

f
o

t ion mentions three forms o r th re e d e g re e s o

f
,

certainty F or we ha v e not followed cun
nin l
gy de v ised fables when we
, made know n
unto y ou t he p ower and coming o o ur Lord
Jesus Christ but were eye wi t nesses o His
,
,

majesty Fo r he recei v ed from G od the Father

.
,

honor and glory when there came suc h a voice

,

t o Him from the e x cellent glory This is My

f
,

beloved Son in w hom I am well pleased And

, .

t his v oice which c ame from hea v en we heard ,

when w e were with Him in t he holy mount .

W e ha v e also a more sure word o prophecy ,

whereunto ye do well tha t ye t ake heed as ,

unto a light t hat shineth i na dark place u n til ,

th e day dawn and the d aystar ar ise in your -

he arts . 2 P et 1 : 1 6 1 9

. .

In analyzing these verses we see the c ontrast

be t ween fables and re v ealed religion Fables .

e x ist only in imagination based on tradition ,

( 1 1 9)
 f f
1 20 TH E SE CRE T OE S PI R I T U A L P O WE R .

f
but Chris tian salva tion e x is t s in e x perien c e ,

s pringing from di v ine revelation T he ne xt

f
.

item o analysis is that the certainties o this

sal v ation touch the whole threefold n ature o
man body soul an d S piri t It would be i nter
, , ,

esti ng t o e n umerate ho w frequently the ide a o

the t rini ty comes o u t i n religious life Three

f
.

things constitute rel igious life the doctrine

ff
-
,

t he e x perie n ce the outward practice The re

, .

a re three e l ements in d ivine guidanc e the

r e v ealed W ord the direc t conviction o the
,

Spirit an d t he indicatio ns o Providence

,
.

The three evide n ces me n tl o ne d I n thi s pas

f
sage by P eter are the tes timony o the s ens e s ,

the inspired W ord an d the direct assuranc e Of

,

the Spirit T he rst in order here is the testi

f
.

m ony o the senses W e were e y e witne sses

i
.

oi s majes t y a v oice from the e x c ellent

f
,

glory an d this v oic e we h eard Seeing and

ff
.
,

heari n g are t he primary so urces o a c quired

knowledge .

There are tw o hemispheres o kno wledge ;

f
rst the hemisphere o what we lear n through
,

o u r senses ; secondly the hemisphere o knowl

f
,

edge re v ealed int uiti v ely by the Spiri t In the .

order o n a t ure the k n owle d ge through the

senses comes rs t Many people think if they
.

coul d only see an d hear the historical facts o

the New Testament repeated they c ould re adily ,
 f
1 22 TH E SE CRE T OF S P I R I TUA L P O WE R

the cause which produces these sights and

f f f
sounds is far o o n the great deep ; an d that far

o u t on the sea beyond o ur sigh t t hese breake rs

, ,

were se t in motion In like manner far across

.
,

on the sea o time the l iving historical Jesus

f
, ,

who was v i s i ble a nd audible to the p eople o

f
tha t generation has by the perp etuity o His

f f
,

W ord a n d Spirit so wrought o n human souls

m
,

that the wa v es o grace He has se t i n o t ion

sti ll manifest themsel ves to o u r eyes and ears

f
.

The ne xt for m o evidence is that o the

inspired written W ord which the apostle de ,

clares is stronger tha n the testimony o the

f
sens es
W e a lso ha v e a more sure word o
.

prophecy whereunto ye d o well that y e take

,

heed as unto a ligh t that shineth in a dark

,

place The n atural man thinks t h a t the testi

f
.

mony o the senses is t he highest possible ; but ,

as in many other instances that which is t he ,

highest in na t ure is t he lowest in grace It is .

possible or o u r se n ses t o decei v e us and v ery ,

many instances might be cited to pro v e this ,

f
such as color blindness do uble o r triple v isio n

f
, ,

where p erso n s see objects multiplied ; also

where disease in the auditory ner v e reports
sounds to the brain which d o n o t occur i n the
v i brations I n the air The W ord o G od is .

absolutely free from such i mper e ctions .

I t is more sure than the se nses be c aus e s o ,

 TH E T H R E E F O L D E VI D E N C E IN GR A C E . 1 23

tt ed by inni t e wisdom t o the mental and

moral mechanism of t he soul tha t t he very ,

announceme n t of Scrip t ure t ru th to t he human

f
mind in any age of the world whether among
, ,

civilized or savage men will carry conviction to

,

t he heart NO human being has ever li ved

.

w hose soul would not respond to the t r ut h o

God s W or d unless it has rs t bee n tutored to
,

u nbelief or morally s t up e e d by satanic Opiates

, .

Yo u may s elect any congrega t ion from t he

f
millions of ear t h whether cultured o r barba
,

rous and a simple announcement to them in

,

t heir own language of t he ten commandments

, ,

t he sermon o n t he moun t an d the means o

f f
,

sal vation through Jesus if such congregation

f
,

had not bee n tam p ered W it h by false teaching ,

their unbiased hear ts and judgments would feel

the t ruthfulness o the W ord o G od Th e

f
.

W ord o God properly addressed to a human

hear t carries i t s own evi d en ce as really as a
,

lamp and nds a faculty in the soul that m u st

f
,

respond to it as really as t he organ o the eye

f
responds t o t he light Just as the Creator has

f
.

tt ed each bone to its appropriate socke t o r the

f
,

f f
waves of t he air t o the drum o the ear s o He ,

has tt ed the t r uth o S cripture to the re ason

and co nscience of man an d as the inner ac ul
t ies o t he soul are more authoritative t han the
s e nses o t he body so t he W or d o God is mor e
,
1 24

f TH E SE CRE T OE

sure o the inner man ( if he is i n harmo ny w ith

S P I R I T UA L P O WE R .

f f
i t) than the tes t imony of miracles t o the ou t
,

ward man .

The t hird and h ighest degree of evidence is

that o the Holy Spirit working directly on
interio r consciousness This form o evidence .

is in d ica t ed by the apos tle in the words U ntil

f
,

t he d ay dawn and the day s t ar arise in your

,
-
,

ff
hearts .The w o rds d awn and aris e are
both in the aorist tense a n d indicate t w o distinct

f
, ,

instantaneous e v ents The life o the Holy

f
m
.

Ghost in the soul is e pha t ically t he daylight

f
/

di v ine life in man B ut i nsp ira ti o n i s accu

f
o .

rate enough to indicate t he p r e p os t pentec o s t

life by the di e rence bet w een the light o d ay
,

and the full orbed manifes ta tion o the day star

- -
.

T he W ord o G o d shines in a dark place

ff f
,

or, more emphatically a lthy place until , ,

t he day dawn ; that is Scrip t ure truth shows u s ,

o ur sins and continues t o manifest the l thme s s

f
o the hear t until the Holy Spirit r egenerates
,

us an d s catters the gloom o guilt by an inward

attestation o God s favor W e sometimes hear .

it s aid that the moon shines as brigh t as d ay ;

f
a nd we also hear it said o some moral but
unregenerate persons that they are about as ,

good as Christians B ut t he re is a l most an

.

i nni t e di e rence between the o n e and the o ther .

A th ousand moons s hinin g at their f ull wo uld not

 f f
C HAPT E R XXV .

f
TH E TH R E E M A NI F E S T A T I O NS O F JE SU S .

N the third chapter o t he rst E pistle o John

w e have presen t ed to us t hree manifes t a
tio ns Of Jesus each o n e o whic h is dire c tly

fff
,

conn ected wi t h ou r sal va t ion an d glorication .

In verse three W hen He shall appear w e s hall

,

be lik e Him In v erse ve He was mani

f f
.
,

e s te d t o t ake away o u 1 si n s In verse eight
.
,

The S on o G o d was manifested that He migh t

des t roy the w 0 1 k s o t he de v il E ach s t ep i n

f f
.

t he elevation o man is directly connected wi t h

some re ve l a ti on or manifestation o the Lord
Jesus a s the direct cause It would be a n

f
.

in t eresting study s u c i ent for a v olume to

, ,

trace o u t i n histo ry a l l the mo ral upliftings o

t he race and n d the connec t ing link betwee n

f
,

such upliftings and some re velation o t he Lord

Jesus .

Let us n otice t hese three manifestations as

t h e y occur in t he history o experience .

.1 He was ma n ifes t ed t o take away o ur sins .

Here are several sugges t ions O ne is t he sins .

,
 TH E TH R E E M A NI F E S T A T I O NS O F JE S US . 1 27

are emphatically ours The law is broken by .

our wills our choice o ur consen t ; the evil

, ,

dispositions are indulged in by o ur hear ts ou r

facul ties and po w ers have been the instruments

of transgression They are n o t Satan s sins and
.
,

f
if they were necessitated they would be God s ,

Ano ther suggestion is the

f
a nd n ot ours .

divorcemen t of us ourselves from o ur si ns , , ,

which t o be Scripturally understood does n o t

f f
, ,

imply that the ac t o sin is a nnihilated or that ,

an event o sin can be n o n even t ed for wha t is -

,

done as an act can n ever be un d one bu t that ,

the guilt and o e nsiveness of o ur sinful ac ts are

f
remo v ed from us So tha t while the act o sin
.

f
does not cease to be an act yet the quality of ,

f
the act is taken away the color t he odor t he , , ,

mor a le is removed from the actor Another

, .

suggesti on is th a t this taking away o the

quali ty o ac t ion from the ac t o r is by t he mani
tes t ation o Jesus H e was manifested o n t he
.

f
cross his t orically to the world to bear t he dea t h ,

penalty attached t o committing sin b ut in ,

a d dition to tha t He must al so be manifested as

f
o u r personal Saviour a n d sin bearer by t he Holy -

Spirit t o the eye of faith Here is on e o the .

deepes t and mos t scien tic t ru ths in sal v atio n ,

namely t hat t he quality o sinful actions can

,

n ever be rem oved from the ac t or u ntil Jesus is

d 1 sc l ose d to that soul as i ts s in be ar er and w he n -

,
1 28 TH E S E CRE T O F S P I R I TUA L P O WE R .

f
such disclosure is made and the soul truly ,

apprehends Jesus by saving faith instantly all ,

t he m oral t urpitu d e of i t s t housands of sinful acts

f
vanishes away and while t he ac t remains as an
,

uncha nge a ble even t yet the essence o the act

,

is gone its color has been as it were bleac he d

, , ,

O ut . A beautiful ill ustration o this is gi v en in

t he S cripture where G o d says I ha v e blo tt ed ,

o u t thy transgression s as a thick cloud Ma ny

a t ime o n summer morni ngs you may n otice a

thick cloud in the s ky but when the sun

f
,

ascends the heave ns and is manifested in d irec t

,

heat upon the cloud it will rise to a higher

,

altitude and be dissipa t ed into viewless v apor

ff
,

s o t hat n o t elescope could nd a par t o it No w .

,

the atoms composing the cloud ha v e n ot been

annihilated but the form the color the specic
, , ,

gra v i ty the m o t ion t he quali ty o the cloud has

f
, ,

been so w rought o n by t he manifested heat o

t he s un as t o be taken away while the a t oms ,

f
still remain This scientic fac t is equally t rue
.

in t he j us tication o the soul O ur actual

f
.

sins form a cloud B ut the word s ms does

.

n o t ref er t o t he a c t itse l f b ut t o the moral ,

f
quality o the ac t so that when the bad m oral

f
,

q ua lity o o ur ac t ions are r e mo ve d i t is e mp hati ,

cally true that o ur sins a re taken away .

2 . He was manifested to destroy the work

o t he de vil In a great v arie ty o ways the
.
 f f
1 30 TH E SE CRE T O F S P I RI TUAL P O WE R .

i nd every subterfuge excep t the re me dy

mentioned here a special ma nifes tation o Jesus
,

as the direct cause o heart cleansing Bu t .

fff
what can i t mea n to d estroy the carnal mind ?
It w ill be easily unders t ood if we remember
t hat sin is n o t an entity t h at i t has n o su bstance
,

o r e x iste n ce apar t from a mo r al c r e a t u re tha t

it is o the na t u re o a pain o r a fever or a

m
f
, ,
.

d re am none o w hi c h c an e x is t apart fro some

,

living being Though tless persons some ti mes

.

ask W here does inbre d sin go when cleansed

f
,

a way ? The su cient answer is W here does

f f
a fe v er g o o n a headache go when the body is
, ,

restored to n ormal health ? Just as fever can

e x is t only in the derangement o the blood s o ,

t he carnal m1 u d e xists only by some fun da

mental dera ngement o the moral hear t w hich

f
,

is t o the soul wha t blood is to the body And .

when the earnest Christian struggli ng or

f
,

perfect heart rest apprehends Jesus as the only

,

a n d all su cie n t a n d presen t Clea n ser the Ho ly ,

f
Ghost will s o manifes t him a s a S a n c tie r tha t ,

t he leprosy o inward sin i nstan t ly vanishes a s

f
darkness whe n a light enters a roo m .

f
3 W hen He shall appear we shall be like
m
.

H i This i s the nal ma n if e s ta t io n o Jesu s

i n His capacity o Redeemer A ccording to t h e
.

Scripture redemption is n o t complete t ill t he

,
'

bo dy is rai sed r om t he de ad and soul and b o dy

 TH E TH RE E MA N I F E S T A TI O N S OF JE S US . 1 31

f f
gloried in the be a t ic presence of the Lord .

Though o ur sins are t aken away and t hough ,

the c ar n al mi n d is d es t royed t here are ye t a

ff
,

multitude o i nrmi ti e s limitations a ic tions

, , ,

which beset and load d o Wn more or less the

saintliest per s ons The pure in hear t are c on
.

sciou s o t hese hindrances an d yet at the same , ,

tim e c onscious that they are n et sin i n the

f
,

Scripture sense o tha t word There is a trans .

f f
c e n de nt work u t terly beyond o ur t hough t s
, ,

w hich is t o pass like seraphic ligh t ning over our

f
w hol e being a t the glorious appearing o our
S a viou r . W e may c onjecture a thousand bl iss
ul ch an ges such a S i ght will produce in us bu t ,

i t i s al l summed u p in the words o the Holy

Ghost : W e s hall b e lik e Him or w e shall see ,

H i m as H e is .
 C H A P T E R xxvr

W A L K I NG I N L O V E .

O VE is t he central a nimat ing force i n true

,

religion It is t o the m oral system what

f
.

t he sun is t o t he solar s ystem t he w armin g , ,

'

illuminating moving p ower to every part In

, .

the natural world every growing tree o w mg

f
,

stream breeze o wind oating cloud falling

, , ,

shower opening b ud t ossing wave is p roduced

, ,

by the force of t he S u n S o I n the spiritual

f
.

realm every fervent prayer act o charity , ,

resistance t o evil gen tle word courageous act is

, ,

a produc t of lo v e I t is to the soul what blood

.

is to t he body As the heal t h and vigor o t he

.

body depend 0 11 t he bloo d so the heal t h of t he ,

soul the vigor of its rig hteous n ess the bloo m

f
, ,

and color of i t s excellences depen d 0 11 the

quali ty a n d degree of lo v e that pervades t he
S piri t an d prompts i t s m ovemen t s T h e term .

w alk applies t o all t he movemen t s o the

S pir i t and life ; i t is t he ever om never ceas
g
-
g
-
,

i n g locomotion of t he moral a n d m e n t al nature .

W e wa l k in our words our desires our t empers

, , ,
 f
1 34 TH E S E C RE T OF S P I R I TUAL P O WE R .

salva t ion may be pre s ented in a ruinous w ay ,

and wi th love the doctrine o hell may be pre

sen t ed in s uch Script ural unctio n as to save souls .

Ap ply this walking in love to prayer Are not .

a great many p rayers worse tha n wasted because

u t tered i n a sharp c o n dem natory o r peevish and
,

ill spirit ? Have we n o t heard prayers which

f
sounded like judging others or reprima n ding

ff
o t hers o r addr e ssed t o some indi v idual in the
,

comp any more than t o G od ?

D o w e ever catch oursel v es utte r ing a pr ayer
for the gratica tio n o S elf or either o r the

f
,

comm endatio n or the condem n atio n o s om e o ne

present ? L e t r ememb e r that no p ray e rs

f
ascend t o he a v e n wi th prev ai l i ng e e c t e x cept i n
the sam e p rop ort i on as they ha v e the s pirit o
heaven i n th em Th at wh ic h com e s fro m
;

heaven will r eturn thith e r T his i s j ust as true

.

f f
of praye rs as o p e rs o ns It is the lov e forc e
.

in o ur prayers that make s them telli n g with G od

o r wi t h me n If W e p ray t hough tfully G od
.
,

11 giv e us a n inward light t o detect a ny devia

tion from the spiri t o lo v e It will O t en .

'

happen t hat we s hall nd ou rsel v es about to

f
f f
u t ter some word or petiti on w hich i s unwi s e or
e x presse s a wrong sentiment and before it ,

escapes our lips t he Spirit will l ead us to utter

something quite di e rent or else t o s o mo d ify
,

t he t o ne o o ur vo i ce and the manner o e x pres

 f
W A L KI N G I N L O VE . 35

f
sio n as t o pro d uce an e e c t jus t the opposite t o
wha t i t wo uld have been b u t for His gen tle t ouch
and ill umi na tion T 0 use either fla tt ery o r
.

r e c rI nn n a ti o n in o ur prayers may no t be equally

O e n s i v e t o me n bu t it is equally o e nsive to

f
,

God ; and in ei t her case poisons o u r pe t i t io ns

f
.

The t hough tfulness which is requisite in prayer

is no t t h a t of in t en s e in tellectua li ty bu t that ,

t ranquil kind o t h ough t fulness which watches

f
t he outgoings o our hear t t o see tha t they are

f
in harmony wi th the Scripture a n d pleasing to
God If this form of w a lking in love were
.

observed how many kin ds o prayers it would

f
,

weed ou t r om reli gious services and eve n from

f
,

some holiness conv entions and meetings Apply

f
.

t his wa l king in love t o o u r feelings toward and

Opinions o others W hat my heart feels toward .

another or what my opinion o him is implie s

, ,

t he activity o my moral na t ure and is a form

of walking P rejudice 1 s an O p i mon formed

f
.

beforehand or witho u t knowing the facts i n the

f
,

case and if my mind walks in love it will pre

, ,

ven t prejudice for lo v e forms its estimate o n

f
,

the basis of knowledge I n o ur views o other .

people o ther churches o t he rlocali ties o c ountry

f
, , ,

f
o ther races o ther forms of livi ng other kin d s
, ,

of meeti ngs other sorts o re vi v al than those

,

of o u r ow n if o ur ju d gments were formed un der

.

the guidan ce o love how t o l erant they would ,

be ho w free r om rash denunciati on

, .
 f
ff
1 36 TH E SE cR E T O F S P I R I T U A L P O WE R .

In tha t case our Opinion s w ould coincid e with

f
the W ord o G od Apply thi s walki ng in lo v e to
.

m atters o business which would n ot only im ply

.

th a t we tra nsacted ou r a f airs hon e s tly bu t that ,

f
the honesty and fair dealing wer e the outow
a loving heart which fro m its lo v ing nature

f
o , ,

p referred and d elighted in fair d ealing W e .

h e ar it said t ha t honesty is the best policy
, ,

but the person that is honest or that r e as bn i s ,

a t heart a thief
, o r the same grounds h e would
,

s teal , providing s t eali ng was the b e st policy .

ff
,

T o walk i n love in buyi n g an d s elling in bor

f
,

r o wing a n d lending i n b egging and 1 vm 1n

g, g ,

hiring and being hired i n bei ng maste rs or , 5

s e r v ants would consti t ute an i deal society and ,

i al l w ill n ot accept o this r u1e we c an e a c h

have the privilege o forming O ne that doe s i t ,

a nd if we shoul d be the only o n e it will b e t o

u s just the sam e as if all the world d id The . ,

Holy S pirit has chosen to feed us wit h s uch

v erses a s the fo l lowing : W e should b e with

o u t blame before Him in love Being rooted ,

and grounded in love F orbe ari ng o n e ano t he r
,

in lo v e ,
Speaking t he truth in lo ve T he ,

church edifying itself i n lo v e Being knit ,

E steem t he mhi ghly in lo v e

t ogether in lo v e , ,

W alk in lo v e He th at dwelleth i n lo v e
,

dwe l leth in G o d W hen we look back over

.
'

our lives and see the times and pla c es w here

,
 XXV II

f
C HA P T E R .

H E A V E NL Y TR E A SU R E .

f
?

U T lay up
yoursel v es treasures in
or

heaven where nei t her mo t h nor rus t

,

d ot h corrup t and where t hieves d o not break

,
:

t hrough n or steal ; o r where your treasure is

,

there will yo ur heart be also Mat t 6 : 20 21

, . .

Knowing in yourselves tha t ye have in

heaven a better and a n enduri ng subs t a n ce

f
.

Heb 1 0 : 34
. .

The ce n tral t r uth i n these verses is t he sta t e

me n t where the treasure is t here wi ll the
,

hear t be The author o the h u man hear t alone
.

kno ws all i t s boundless and mys t erious work

f f
ings He does no t s ay where t he heart is there
.

will the t reasure be but where t he treas ure is

,

t here will the heart be The hear t will follow .

its treasure as infallibly as t he mo ther will

follow her of s pring o r rivers ow t oward the
,

Let the treasure co n sist o anything be

sea.
,

locat ed in any clime o r be ever so worthless t o

,

others if it be real ly regarded as a t reasure

, ,

t hi t her will the heart y a nd ho v e r around it .

( )
1 38
 ff H E A VE N L Y TR E A S U R E . 1 39

f f
In sa ving and res t oring man t o the image o
God Jesus does no t pl a n to destroy a single law
,

or ins t inc t of the soul bu t t o purge ou t o i t

f
,

e v ery perversion o sin s o that wi t h all i ts

,

ins tinc t s puried and unimpaired it will act in

f
harmony w ith t he purpose of God O ne o t he

f ff
.

earliest and stronges t ins t incts o the heart is a

cer t ain denite attachment t o o ur possessions .

This a ttachm ent t o possessions is n ot the result

f
educa t ion or a thoughtful es t ima t e o values

f
o ,

bu t a powerful ins t inctive ac t ion o t he mind .

Among the rs t t houghts o childhood is this

idea o possessio n and when a t oy is placed in

an infan t s hand he at once has th e idea o
ownership and wi t h that though t spri ngs up an
,

a ttachmen t for t he t r easure manifes t ed by his

f
,

cries and loud e x pos t ulations o n h aving it t aken

from him His reason could n o t e x plain it bu t
.
,

he feels it as dis t inc tly as a millionaire I t 1 8 .

also the dic t a t e o reason it forms a mighty s t im

,

ulus t o indust ry and inven t ions it imparts an ,

en e rgy to society and promp ts t o econ omy ,

wisdo m and ca re C hrist r e cognized this prin

.

c i p l e t o be fundamental and right But seeing

f
.

'

t he principle per ver te d by sin and t he hear t ,

t horoughly engrossed w i t h c t i t ious tr easures

He comma nds that all His followers shall reliu
q u i sh al l passiona t e heart a ttachment or

t r eas ures w hich are imaginary and ha v e t he

'

,
1 40 TH E SE CRE T O F S P I R I T UA L P O WE R .

f
heart t horoughly set o n true riches ; and in
doing so proves Himself an innite Friend to the
soul This comm and t o t he n a t ural man seems
.

very hard bu t under the bap t ism o the Spirit

f
,

it ca n be fully obeyed W hen t he early Chris .

t ians lo s t their earthly estates by conscation ,

the apostle tells us They t o ok joyfully the
,

spoiling o their goods knowing tha t the y had ,

in heave n a bette r and an e n during substance

ff
: .

Let us no t ice some con t rasts betwee n e a rthly

and heavenly treasures .

l st E arthly treasure is only the i ns t rument

.

o pleasure while treasure in hea v en is the very

f
,

essence and subs t ance of p leasure itself There

f
.

i s a v ast di e rence bet w een the ins t rumen t

which secures a j oy and j oy itself jus t as the
mill which grinds the whea t is di e rent from

f
t h e bread All the riches o earth in w h ate v er
.
,

form they may exist can only ser ve as a means ,

f
t o an e n d and when riches are looked upon as

f
f ff
, (

a n e n d they pr o v e t o be apples o

m
, Sodom And .

e v e n as an instru en t wealth is of t en unavail ,

ing There are t imes when all the abundance

.

o gold cannot buy a drop o water or a mouth ,

f f
ful o bread or a v ert calami ty o ease a p ain ;

, ,

a n d w hil e as a n instrum e nt it is capable o

produci n g innumerable comfo rts and smoo t hing

o u r passage through life in ge n eral ye t the ,

riches t o te n wi tness its in e cienc y B ut .

1 42 TH E SE CRE T OE S P I R I TUA L P O WE R .

ff
laid up i n heave n will ll every capaci ty t hey
crea t e S uch riches exci t e the hear t wi thou t
.

lea ving t he leas t agi t a t ion u p on i t ; t he y k i ndl e

de s ires bu t al s o sa ti s y t hem ; t hey dra w t he
so u l o u t in longi n gs a n d t hir s tings o r mor e a n d

f
~

more bu t alw ays keep t he p o s s essor i n t ranquil

f
,

l it y . And t he consciousness t ha t such weal th is

u nchangeable and immor t al banishes all an xiety .

A small for t une wi th the absolu t e cer tainty O

i t s never being diminis h ed is far more s atis a c
t ory than grea t riches held 1 n uncer t ain ty S O .

heavenly riches do n o t con tra c t the soul or

d uly exci t e i t w hile accompanied by t he pri n
,

c i p l e of e t ernal security .

8d . E ar t hly weal t h used only for earthly

purposes can n ever enter into u nion wi t h the
Spiri t bu t must always re main ex t ernal to the
,

soul ; but when used for t he glory of God i t

passes as it were in t o a heave n ly sta t e i t
, , ,

becomes i d e n tied w i t h t he i mmor t al spirit and ,

inc orporated wi t h everlas t ing character I t is .

the apotheosis of weal th True t he gold i t self

.
,

rema ins material bu t bei n g used in the divine

,

will i t represen ts holy character accomp lishes ,

holy results an d is in a cer t ain sense glorie d

, , ,
.

I t is 1 11 this se n se th a t Jesus says M ak e t o ,

yours e lves frien d s of t he ma mmon of u n r ight

e o u s n e s s th a t when y e fail the y m ay r e c e i ve
,

you into e verlas t ing habi ta tion s L u k e 1 6: 9 . ,
 H E A VE N L Y T RE A S U R E . 1 43

Tha t is t ake earthly riches which when used

,

sinfully become t he idol mammon bu t when ,

used under the direc t ion of the Holy Ghos t in

doing go od t o the bodies and souls of mankind
'

we make im mor tal friendships for ourselves and ,

when we fail on ear th t hese friends we have

,

made whe ther among the hea then or a t home

, ,

and have been the means of s av1 ng t hem through ,

o ur mo n ey will welcom e us a t death in t o ever

,

l as t ing h abi t a t ions S O t ha t in a se n se the eagle

.

s t a mped on every do llar w e give t o God will be

tra nsformed in t o an a ngel t o welc ome us t o the
portals of bliss .

Riches when used only for t he presen t life

are l ik e t he clou d s t hat shine brightly during
t he brief day of o ur earthly exis t ence bu t when ,

t he sun of life is se t they t urn t o cold lumps

,

of darkness and fade in t o everl as t ing nigh t ;

but when u sed for t he glory of God t hey ,

resemble the vapors around t he sun which are ,

al w ays brigh t wi t h an in t ernal and intrinsic

ligh t.

4 th . E ar thly weal t h 1 s n o t really our own .

O ur possessio n of i t is more of a c t ion t han a

re ali ty ; i t belo n ged to o thers i t will soon ,

belong t o o t hers again W e borrow t he gar .

men ts of a n i mals t o clo t he ourselves we proudly ,

d eck our bodies wi t h silk which has already

ser v e d the S ilk worm for a s hroud and will soo n
-
,
 f
1 44 TH E SE CRE T OF S P I R I T UA L P O WE R .

serve us in the same capaci ty H o w empha t ic

f
.

the la nguage o the Holy Ghost W e brought

,

nothing into this world and i t is certain w e can

f
,

carry nothing o ut W e make o ur adven t in
.

nakedness and poverty we assume control o all ,

ear thly treasures for a brief period we claim ,

the ear th and the sea we co n t es t or t ri e s and

, ,

then p a ss o u t leaving all behind us e x cept that ,

character w hich w e have formed while passing

across t his narrow stage of bei n g B ut the t reas .

ure which we have laid up i n heave n 1 s in a high '

, ,

an d p ro p e r S e n s e T he industry that

f f
o ur o w n
, .

worked t he ac t of giv ing the lo v e that

, ,

promp t ed t he act t he prayer tha t accompanied

, ,

t he ac t are empha t ically our o wn This

ff
.
,

species o weal t h C a n never be transferred

t o ano t her it i s a kind o weal t h th a t was
n ever borrowed and will n ever be relinquished .

The increase o t his wealth does n o t impo v erish

another H o w sad to think that not only world
.

lings but va st numbers o professed Christians

,

are using this world in such a way as to lay up

n o goo d store for the time t o come

f f f
.

W e can lay u p treasu re in heaven by o b s e r v

i n g three things .

1 st .By gi ving the best w e can The bes t .

o t ime of t hought o he alth of inuence and

, , , ,

by giving t he best percentage we c an o our '

e arnin gs or o ur inco m e .
 f
C H AP T E R X XV I II .

MA K I N G F R I E ND S W ITH M A MMO N .

IN per v erts every legi t ima t e faculty o the x

so u l I t also poisons and perver t s every

.

species of e arthly t r easure and ac t ivity Just .

as divine grace can save a rid purify t he wors t of

human b eings so grace can through human
, ,

b eings l i f t money from being a curse into mak

f
,

ing for u s everlas t i n g frien dships in heaven .

Many persons I nquire What our Lord coul d

mean by commanding us t o m ake t o ourselves
friends o t he mammon of unrigh t eousness ;
t hat when we fail t hese friends may receive us
,

in t o everlasting habita tions Luke 1 6 : 9 . .

Sa t an and Jesus are bo t h bidding for the

use of o u r mo n e y Satan hol d s ou t t o us
/

ear thly pleasure fashion ne raimen t luxurious

, , ,

ease and t ra n sitory amusemen t s ; and m oney

,

used for such purposes and worse t han was t ed

,

on tobacco and sinful ind u lgences or miserly

,

hoarded will be turned in t o an i n ni te curse

,
:

E v ery dollar so was t ed t he eagle s t amped on t he

,

dollar will turn i n to a end whose talons will

,
 ff
f
MA KI N G F R I E N D S W I TH M A MM O N . 1 47

cla w the h e a r t in the fu tu re world Jes us .

o e rs u s the privilege of helping him save t he

world o r elievi n g t h e poor and needy of
, ,

i nves t i n g i n the s p read of holi n es s of pu tt ing ,

our means in t o salva t i o n agencies a n d every ,

dollar so used will be e t ernally s av e d i n heaven

and t he eagle s t amped on every such dol l ar will
be t urned in t o a bird of Parad ise and t h e ,

Goddess of L ib er ty will be a s an angel of lo ve '

to welcome us t o por t als of bliss

f
.

I t is thus tha t money represe n t s charac t er .

In i tself a gr o ss piece of ma terialis m ye t by ,

the use i t is put t o i t becomes the incarna tion

,

o moral quali ty I t is inves t ed wi t h t he a ttri

/
.

butes of ei ther sin or sain tl iness indus try or ,

idleness prayer or p r od igal i tv The liberal u s e

,
.

of money for t he Lord is o ne of t he grea t n eeds

of Christian training The selshness a n d
.

stingi ness of professed Chris tia n s is absolu t ely

appalling There are thousands and t housands
.

of men and women in the churches wi t h fro m ,

t wenty ve t o one hun dred t housand dollars

-
,

who do n ot give f ty dollars a year t o God .

There ar e even some rich preachers who are

no t orious beggars b ut w ho s e l d o m give a dollar
'

.
,

Is n o t such penuriousness jus t as great a crime

in the S igh t of God as wha t is com mon ly t ermed
gross immorali ty ? The m os t appalling thing
abou t s t inginess is that it seems s o respectable ;
,
1 48 TH E

f S E C R E T O F S PI R I T U A L

instea d o being loo k ed upon as a positi v e

disreputable sin i t is quietly winked a t as a
mere weakness
,
P O WE R .

f f
.

In order to make friends ou t of money i t ,

should be used as much a s possible for direc t

resul t s in soul saving It seems to me this is
.

always the t eaching o Jesus Instead Of .

endowing grea t establish men t s and piling up ,

millions in some i ns ti t ution to bless fa r o,

generations if more money could b e used in

,

the immediate work of carryi n g on revivals ,

conducti ng soul saving conven t ions Opening up

-
,

missions bo t h abroad an d for the non church

f
-

goers at ho m
,

e God would be more gloried

, .

How this t hought will impre ss us when we look

ff
,

a t the great ca thed rals in E urope in which ,

hundreds of million s o weal t h is en t ombed ,

which can never have a resurrection E normous .

piles o grandeur in which on ly a debased o r

very shallow form o re l igion is t a u gh t There .

is coming I n th e American churches the same

craze to en t omb grea t for t unes i n cold stone

f
,

where n e ither God nor man will get m ore than

a bare pi t t an ce ou t of i t for direc t soul sa ving .

I kno w many will dis agree with me but it is ,

j us t? t his popular drift of t h e mind which I a rm

is con t rary to Chris t Men tha t can be induced

.

t o put te n s of thousa n d s in t o some col d formal

monumen t would no t give a hun d red dollars to
,
1 50 TH E SE CRE T OF S P I R I TUA L P O WE R .

died . Wha t we give t o the Lord we s ave The .

o nl
y t r eas u re we can lay up i n heaven is wha t ,

we send on ahead of u s and th1 s 1 s t he t ho u gh t

f
sugges t ed by our Saviour He d oes no t r e p re
.

sen t u s as welcom ing our mo n ey t o heaven bu t ,

on t he o t her hand repres e n ts our money as

h avi n g gone on ahead o us and t ra n sformed ,

in t o immor tal fr iends s tanding a t the crysta l

,

port of ligh t t o welcome u s to everl asti n g

,

h a bi t a t ions . God help u s whe ther we are rich

o r poor ,
t o give wisely willingly regular ly

, , ,

gladly according to our se v eral ability

, .
 C H A P T E R XX IX .

TH E FAI T H O F TH E S Y R O P H E NI C I A N
-
W O MA N .

H E mos t wo n derf ul t ru ths and t houghts are

f
t hose w hich are wrough t ou t in living ex
p e ri e n c e
. No deni t ion of any t rai t of character
can a t all compare wi t h a subl im e exhibi t io n of
that trai t in li e I n the f t een t h chapter of
.

Ma tthew t here is recorded an ins t ance of

vic t orious fai t h which t hough so unlike in ou t
,
.

ward de t ail to common experien ce ye t the inner ,

se cret prin ciples involve d in i t en t er t he lives of

all Christians .

Then Jesus wen t t hence and departed in t o ,

the coasts of Tyre and Sidon And behold a .

woman of Canaan came ou t of the same coasts ,

and cried un t o Him saying Have mercy on m e

, , ,

O Lord th ou Son of Davi d my da u gh t er is

, ,

grievo u sly vexed wi th a devil Bu t He answered .

her no t a word An d His disciples came and

f
.

bes o ugh t Him sayi n g Sen d her away for she

, , ,

crie t h af t er us Bu t He answered an d said I

.
,

am n ot sen t bu t u n t o the los t sheep of the house

o Israel Then came she and worshiped Him
.
,

( 1 51 )
1 52 TH E SE CRE T O F S P I RI TUA L P O WE R .

f
saying Lord help me But He answered and
, .

said It is not meet t o t ake t he children s beard
,

and to cast it to dogs And she said Tru t h .

, ,

Lord yet the dogs eat o t he crumbs which fall

,

from the ir master s table T he n Jesus ans w ere d .
a

and said un t o her 0 woma n great is thy faith , , ,

be it unto thee eve n as thou wilt And her .

daughter was made whole from that very hour .

Matt 1 5 : 21 28

f
.
.

A thou g htful analysis of t his incident will

give us manV sugges t io n s concern ing the S piri t
ual l ife

ff
.

The rst thought is the comi ng to gether o

want and supply Jes u s went the woman
.
,
7,
came Jesus forekne w her need and he r seek
.

ing fa ith She had heard o Him and was

.

eager t o n d Him Here is an in stance o a .

seeking Savio u r and a seeki n g s oul Is i t n ot .

f
true as a rule that people get what they se e k ?
, ,

There is a tremendous meaning i n t he words

f
,

He that see k e th nd e th Ten thousand .

moide nts and evidences i n n a t ure history and ,

grace conrm i t From the ends o the ear th

f
.
,

from the depths o e t erni ty and space wa n t an d ,

supply come together P rayer is the expression

of want when the want is o verwhelming the
,

p rayer is prevaili n g T he S pi rit o Jesus m oves .

toward a grea t cryi ng wan t wi th m ore accurac y

than air mo v es toward a v acuum ,
1 54 TH E SE C RE T OE S P I R I T UA L P O WE R .

i ssue with us there seem s t o be so li tt le said

, .

Th ere i s s u c h an u tt er silence on the one poin t

'

so vi t al t o u s There seems no a n swer to the

.

one dom i nant question of o u r hear ts This .

unans w ered questio n is a grea t t es t of faith .

T 0 keep on prayi n g an d b eli e vmg t hough God

f f
,

calmly and u n an s w e r i ngly mov es on is where ,

th e fai t h of ma n v b reak do w n .

She apprehended a benevolent lov i ng nature ,

in Jesus i n spite O the apparen t i n dif e rence of

His conduc t Have we a similar apprehe n sion
.

of God ? If there be s o me thing up on which

t he writt en W ord gives n o special u t terance if ,

providence gives n o satisfac t ory answer does

f
f f
,

o u r fai t h p e ne t ra t e the ma n tle of silence and

appr ehend the n at ure of God , do we still believe

in H i m against all unpropi t ious seem i ng ?
This principle o d i vme sile n ce will form a
t est in e v ery li e and in mul t iplied ways and if
, ,

we want to know t he i nexpressible j oy o hear

f
ing His vo i c e a n d having Him sp eak t o us
some special and particular w ord t hat will
perfectly sa tisfy our personal n ee d our faith ,

must endure the tes t ing of H i s S i lence .

A f t er all t he very silence of Jesus is a sor t of

,

an unwri tt en word an unspoken t r ut h by , ,

which He t eaches us ho w t o pray and how t o

t rus t If o ur hearts go out af t er Him His very
.
,

sil ence will dr aw us on in m ore ur gen t pe t ition ,

 FA I T H O F TH E S y R O -P H E NI C I A N W O MA N , 1 55

for as lo ng as He is silen t He d oes not refuse or

repel Had He spoken t oo soon the fullness of
.

her pe ti tion would n o t have been u t tered and ,

so He held his voice back tha t the d epth and .

volume of her cry migh t be poured for th God .

wai ts t ha t we mav u tt er all t he fullness of our

hear t before Him tha t over and over in every
, ,

possible form and fea t ure our need may be

,

expressed . A n d th us oft en t imes His no t

answering u s a word becomes a magne t t o draw
us on t o a longer and loude r cry Bless e d are.

t hose who make the sile n ce of God no t a source

of discourage men t bu t t he basis of fai t h
, .
 f
CHAPT E R XXX '

TH E FA I T H OF TH E S YR O P H E N I C I A N
-
W O MA N .

FT E R her faith had withstood the test o

the divine silence

f
. 2 The nex t barrier her faith me t was the
coldness of the human hear t His disciples .

came and besought Him sayi ng Send her
, ,

away or she crieth aft er us W e are not t o .

understand fro m these w ords that the disciples

had a ny hate or ill will bu t t heir words indi
-
,

c ate d tha t her crying emba rrassed them that ,

t hey had bu t little sympathy and could no t

f
enter into her dis t ress or apprecia t e the fervor
of her prayer . Her fai t h pushed its way per
s i s te n tl
y over t heir ecclesiastical fastidiousness ,

t heir fals e t as t e o proprie ty Her conscious .

f
need was so despera t e it burs t i t s way through
every barrier of e ti que t te human Opinion false

f
, ,

modes ty w hi msical prudence human criticism

, , ,

and like a migh ty t orren t tore i t s way through

banks o hu man coldn es s ac ross the fences of
social Op i n i on across the nice gardens o

fas tidious feeling and did not s t op un til it

,

( 1 56 )
 f
1 58 TH E SE CRE T OF S P I R I TU AL P O WE R .

mountai n of eastern cas t e pu t across t he track

f
her fai th

f f
o .

f f
The Jews were then the high cas t e and she ,

b elonged no t even t o the high cas t e hea t hen ,

b ut to t he lower cas t e o Syrians Her fai t h .

h a d t o climb ove r t he di cul ty o an ill favored -

race o race dis t in ctions o mi xed here d i ty

f
, , ,

w i t h all the environments and unfor t una t e

p rej u dices belongin g to them .

Ins t ead of being discouraged and turned back

i n her prayer t hese very words O seeming r e p u l
,

s ion only intensied her yearning cry Then .

s h e came and worshiped Him saying Lord

f
, ,

help me

f
.

How many t housa n ds in all ages have been

t urne d back in t heir fai t h by t hese very t hings
i nvolved in t his principle o caste Some have .

t hough t t hey were not o the elect o t hers ,

h ave been discouraged by prejudices by low

f
,

a n d unfortuna t e birth or by s ome terri ble he

'

r e di t o r by poor and unpropitious environ

y ,

men t s True fait h i s born Of deep wan t

. If .

s ouls co uld only appreciate th e despera t enes s o

f
t heir dis ease their cry af t er a comple t e remedy
,

would bound over al l the distinc tions of race ,

c as t e predes t ination bir t h or tra i n i n g an d t urn

, , ,

e ve r y seeming repulsion into t he fuel o fervor

a n d make every seeming discouragemen t only

a cause of m ore earnes t p r ayer .

 f
FA I T H O F T H E S I R O -P H E NI C I A N W O MA N . 1 59

4 . The four th barrier h e r faith surmoun t ed

w a s t he mo r ti c a ti o n o being called a Gen t ile

f
.

d og . Jesus answered and said I t is no t mee t ,

t o t ake t he children s bread and to cast i t t o t he
dogs
I she had any pride any unbelief any fain t
, ,

ness of hear t in s eeking i t would have re trea t ed

f
,

in t o this las t di t ch of being called a dog She .

had in her t ha t t rue hear t me t al which Jesu s

had when He despised the cross and endured
t he s hame Ins t ead o being discourage d by
.

this epi the t of common degrada t ion her intense ,

s oul in t ui t ively found in it an argument for

t he answer of her pr ayer She Sa id Tru th

f
.
, ,

Lord yet the dogs eat of the cr umbs which

f f
,

fall fro m their master s t able

.

She woul d rather be a dog than to have her

f
d aughter possessed o a devil S uc h humili ty

f
.

o hear t never fails t o touch t he hear t o God .

W ha t a contras t to t housands w ho would

ra t her be poss es s ed with all sorts o demons
t han t o take t he place o r the epithe t o a dog ,

This woman would be co n t en t wi t h e v en a dog s

share .O n e crumb from the mas t er s t able

would satisfy her longing hear t The essence .

of her response unveiled boundless humility

and t he w illingness t o receive whatever G o d
would gi v e .

Thi s is the secret t o the answer to

prayer to lose all pride to receive meekly any
, ,
 ff
1 60 TH E SE C RE T O F S P I R I TUA L P O WE R .

epithet tha t God or men may apply t o us t o ,

:

f
s t op dictating terms to the Lord t o yield up ,

t he form or t he manner o blessing we shall

ff
receive t o rece i ve gl adly the will o G o d
,

whe ther it c omes to us in C rumbs or loaves .

This is t he spirit o V i ctorious pr ay er It .

was t he b ursting forth o suc h a faith tha t

harmon i zed with the very spirit o J e s us that p

s o pleased and hon o red God as to cause Jes us

t o say O woman grea t is thy faith : be i t unto

, ,

t hee e v e n as t hou wilt He gave her the .

key t o in e x haustibl e t reasures She c ould now

f
.

have her o w n will when t ha t will had p as s s d

over to G o d It was safe t o let h e r have her
.

W ay when that way was in the perfect agree

men t w ith t he spirit O Jesus .

In various forms and degr ees our fai t h m us t

f f
surmount corresponding barriers an d difcultie s

f ff
i n hers Blessed are they who like her t ur n
.
, ,

all apparent discouragements into encourage

ments w ho turn all rebu s into spurs o p ur
,

suit whose faith gathers s treng t h at e v ery

,

di culty from the silence o G od dow n to

,

t he mo r tic a ti o n o being classed with do gs .

f
Her daugh t er w a s m ade whole from tha t

f f
ur .

H spee d ily ho w be a utifully ho w perfec tl y

ow , ,

the power of G o d accom plishes results whe n

e v ery t hi n g in us is t aken the w ay o

out o

the sw e e p o His lo v e a nd power .