"Every Officer in the Division must be present at, at least, one

Officers' Meeting in each month; and where it is possible, in great

centres Meetings should be held once a week. The D.O. must be

careful that the Officers' Meetings do not involve a financial

burden on the Officers, and he must make such plans as will avoid

this, and submit the same to the P.C.

"It will sometimes be found convenient to pool the travelling

expenses, but this may easily work unfavourably to the smaller

Corps instead of in their favour, and in such cases the D.O. must

assist his F.O's with part of the travelling expenses incurred in

attending Officers' Meetings in all such cases where F.O's are

drawing the standard salary or less for their support. Should his

Funds be insufficient to meet the whole of the burden in such

cases, he must apply to the P.C. for assistance.

"The Officers' Meetings should always be held in a comfortable

room of a size proportionate to the number of Officers present. The

Officers should be seated directly before the leader.

"Only Field Officers shall be admitted. A D.O. who wishes to meet

his Local Officers with his F.O. may announce a Special Meeting for

that purpose at any time.

"There shall always be at the beginning of a Meeting some

considerable time spent in prayer for--

"The Officers present and the Division in general;

"The universal Army, its Officers and Soldiers, and especially for

any portion of it that may be suffering persecution or passing

through trial;

"For wisdom for those upon whom the direction of the Army lies;

"The supply of money and all else needed to carry on the War.

"The mightier baptisms of the Holy Ghost, and the Salvation of a

large number of souls.

"The D.O., or any other Officer present, shall have the

opportunity, if desired, of pouring out his soul in loving

exhortation to his comrades, but nothing in the nature of

discussion or the expression of opinions on any orders that may be

given must be permitted.

"The Officer being most used of God at the time should be asked to

urge his fellows to more holy living, greater self-denial, and

increased activity.

"There shall be the opportunity for the publication of any great

blessing that may have been obtained, or any remarkable work of

grace that may have been realised in the souls of the Officers

present, or in their Corps, or for the description of any other

wonderful work of God that may have been wrought during the week in

the Division. When at all possible, every Officer present should

pray aloud during the Meeting.

"There should occasionally be a time set apart for the confession

of unfaithfulness and for the open reconsecration to God and the

War on the part of any Officer.

"There should be a general rededication of all present to the War

at every Meeting.

"There must be a time set apart for the statement by the D.O. of

any event of general interest to the whole Army, or of any

remarkable occurrence in the Division, or any Meetings,

Demonstrations, or other services of importance that may be likely

soon to take place in the Division or elsewhere.

"There must be an opportunity after the Meeting, to transact

business. It is of the greatest importance that there should always

be time allowed for personal intercourse between the D.O. and the

Officers present. The D.O. should always announce at the

commencement of the Meeting that he will be glad to see any Officer

present, personally, at its close.

"It will be seen what an enormous power the D.O. possesses in this

Meeting for inspiring, directing, and controlling all the forces of

his Division; how every week he can spend the greater part of a

day, and as much more time as he likes, in making his Officers, who

have the leadership of The Army in that neighbourhood, think and

feel exactly as he does. How solemnly important, then, must it be

that the D.O. should think and feel just as our Lord Jesus Christ

would have him think and feel on such an occasion, and in the

presence of such an opportunity.

"It is most important that the D.O. should arrange beforehand, with

great care, such business as will have to be transacted. For

instance, he should have, among other things--

"A list of the matters requiring attention. He will save himself

much trouble and correspondence, much loss of time, and much

expense in travelling by seeing the Officers about matters that

concern their Corps, and themselves personally at the Meeting. If

he have no such list, it is probable he will forget some of the

most important questions of business he has on hand.

"He should have a list of the Officers he wants to see, together

with the business upon which it is necessary that he should confer

with them.

"Notes must always be taken by him of the results of these

interviews, according to rule. Especially should any engagements

the D.O. makes for himself be carefully recorded.

"The D.O. should make some personal spiritual preparation for the

Meeting. There must of necessity be many things of a perplexing and

trying character in connexion with the Officers whom he will have

to meet, and the condition of the Corps concerning which he will

have information. He ought, therefore, to make an opportunity

beforehand for special prayer for Divine guidance and strength, and

so enter the Meeting with his mind calm, and confident in the

assurance not only of the Divine favour in his own soul, but that

God will sustain and direct him in the Meeting and in all the

business that may subsequently come before him.

"The condition of heart and spirit in the D.O. at such times will

be instinctively felt by every Officer in the room before the

Meeting has been going on for a quarter of an hour, and this will

have far more influence--as has been remarked before--on his

Command than anything he may say or do. How important is it, then,

that he should be as Saul among the prophets--not only head and

shoulders above every one present as regards authority, but in the

possession of the wisdom and power of the Holy Ghost!"

Chapter XXVIII

The Spirit of The Army

As pointed out in the foregoing chapter, The General was always anxious

to make clear to all, and to avoid, the possibility of a continuance of

organisation and a routine of effort without the spirit in which the

work has been begun. We could not better describe that spirit than he

did in the following address to his Officers gathered around him in

London, in 1904.

He pictured to them the idea of Seven Spirits sent out from Heaven to

possess the soul of every Officer, and thus described the action of two

of them:--

"The Spirit of Life

"We begin with the good Spirit--the Spirit of Life. What did he

say? What were the words he brought to us from the Throne? Let me

repeat them: 'O Officers, Officers, I am one of the Seven Spirits

whom John saw. I travel up and down the earth on special errands of

mercy. I am come from Him that sitteth on the Throne, and reigneth

for ever and ever, to tell you that if you are going to succeed in

your life-and-death struggle for God and man, the first thing you

must possess, in all its full and rich maturity, is the Spirit of

Divine Life.'

"Now, before I go to the direct consideration of this message, let

me have a word or two about life itself

"Life, as you know, is the opposite principle to death. To be alive

is to possess an inward force capable of action without any outside

assistance. For instance: anything that has in it the principle by

which it is able to act in some way, independent of the will of any

other thing or creature outside of itself, may be said to be alive.

It has in it the principle of life.

"This principle of life is the mainspring and glory of God's

universe.

"We have it in different forms in this world. For instance: We have

material life. There is living and dead water, and there is living

and dead earth.

"Then there is vegetable life. In the fields, and woods, and

gardens, you have living trees, and flowers, and seeds.

"Then there is animal life. Only think of the variety, and

usefulness, and instinctive skill of unnumbered members of the

animal world.

"Then, rising higher in the scale of being, you have human life.

Every man, woman, and child posesses, as it were, a trinity of

existence; namely, physical life, mental life, and soul life; each

being a marvel in itself.

"Then, rising higher still, we have a life more important, and

bringing more glory to God than any of the other forms that I have

noticed, and that is _Spiritual Life_.

"On this Spiritual Life let me make one or two remarks.

"Spiritual Life is Divine in its origin. It is a creation of the

Holy Spirit. I need not dwell on this truth. Jesus Christ was at

great trouble to teach it. 'Marvel not,' He said, 'ye must be born

again. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is

born of the Spirit is spirit.' You have gone through this

experience yourselves. You must insist on it in your people.

Spiritual life proceeds from God. It can be obtained in no other

way.

"Spiritual Life not only proceeds from God, but partakes of the

nature of God.

"We see this principle, that the life imparted partakes of the

nature of the author of being that imparts it, illustrated around

us in every direction.

"The tree partakes of the nature of the tree from which it is

derived. The animal partakes of the nature of the creature that it

begets. The child partakes of the nature of its parents. So the

soul, born of God, will possess the nature of its Author. Its life

will be divine.

"This is a mystery. We cannot understand it, but the Apostle

distinctly affirms it when he says, the Son of God is a partaker of

the Divine nature.

"Spiritual Life, like all other life, carries with it the

particular powers belonging to its own nature.

"Every kind of life has its own particular powers--senses,

instincts, or whatever they may be called.

"Vegetable life has its powers, enabling it to draw nutrition out

of the ground.

"Fish life has power adapting it to an existence in the water.

"Animal life has powers or senses suitable to its sphere of

existence, such as seeing, hearing, tasting, and the like.

"Human life has faculties, emotions, loves and hatreds, suitable

to its manner of existence. And it has its own peculiar destiny. It

goes back to God, to be judged as to its conduct when its earthly

career terminates.

"And the Spiritual Life of which we are speaking has powers or

faculties necessary to the maintenance of its existence, and to the

discharge of the duties appropriate to the sphere in which it

moves. For instance: it has powers to draw from God the nourishment

it requires; it has powers to see or discern spiritual things; it

has powers to distinguish holy people; it has powers to love truth,

and to hate falsehood; it has powers to suffer and sacrifice for

the good of others. It has powers to know, and love, and glorify

its Maker.

"Those possessed of this Spiritual Life, like all other beings, act

according to their nature.

"For instance: the tree grows in the woods, and bears leaves and

fruit after its own nature. The bird flies in the air, builds its

nest, and sings its song after its own nature. The wild beasts roam

through the forest, and rage and devour according to their own

nature. If you are to make these or any other creatures act

differently, you must give them a different nature. By distorting

the tree, or training the animal, or clipping the wings of the

bird, you may make some trifling and temporary alteration in the

condition or conduct of these creatures; but when you have done

this, left to themselves, they will soon revert to their original

nature.

"By way of illustration. A menagerie recently paid a visit to a

northern town. Amongst the exhibits was a cage labelled 'The Happy

Family,' containing a lion, a tiger, a wolf, and a lamb. When the

keeper was asked confidentially how long a time these animals had

lived thus peacefully together, he answered, 'About ten months.

But,' said he, with a twinkle in his eye, 'the lamb has to be

renewed occasionally.'

"As with these forms of life, so with men and women and children.

The only way to secure conduct of a lasting character different

from its nature is by effecting a change in that nature. Make them

new creatures in Christ Jesus and you will have a Christlike life.

"The presence of the powers natural to Spiritual Life constitutes

the only true and sufficient evidence of its possession.

"The absence of these powers shows conclusively the absence of the

life. If a man does not love God and walk humbly with Him; if he

does not long after Holiness, love his comrades, and care for

souls, it will be satisfying evidence that he has gone back to the

old nature--that is, to spiritual death.

"All Spiritual Life is not only imparted by Jesus Christ, but

sustained by direct union with Him.

"'I am the Vine,' He says, 'ye are the branches; he that abideth in

Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without

Me ye can do nothing' (John xv. 6).

"Nothing will make up for the lack of this life.

"This, indeed, applies to every kind of existence. You cannot find

a substitute for life in the vegetable kingdom. Try the trees in

the garden. Look at that dead apple-tree. As you see it there, it

is useless, ugly, fruitless. What will make up for the absence of

life? Will the digging, or the manuring of the ground around it do

this? No! That will be all in vain. If it is dead, there is only

one remedy, and that is to give it life--new life.

"Take the animal world. What can you do to make up for the lack of

life in a dog? I read the other day of a lady who had a pet dog.

She loved it to distraction. It died. Whatever could she do with it

to make up for its loss of life? Well, she might have preserved it,

stuffed it, jewelled its eyes, and painted its skin. But had she

done so, these things would have been a disappointing substitute.

So she buried it, and committed suicide in her grief, and was

buried by its side.

"Take the loss of human life. What is the use of a dead man? Go to

the death-chamber. Look at that corpse. The loved ones are

distracted. What can they do? They may dress it, adorn it, appeal

to it. But all that human skill and effort can conceive will be in

vain. All that the broken hearts can say or do must soon terminate,

as did Abraham's mourning for Sarah, when he said, 'Give me a piece

of land that I may bury my dead out of my sight.' Nothing can make

up for the lack of life.

"But this is specially true of the Spiritual Life of which we are

speaking. Take this in its application to a Corps. If you want an

active, generous, fighting, dare-devil Corps, able and willing to

drive Hell before it, that Corps must be possessed, and that fully,

by this spirit of life. Nothing else can effectively take its

place. No education, learning, Bible knowledge, theology, social

amusements, or anything of the kind will be a satisfactory

substitute. The Corps that seeks to put any of these things in the

place of life will find them a mockery, a delusion, and a snare;

will find them to be only the wraps and trappings of death itself.

"And if it is so in the Corps, it is so ten thousand times more in

the Officer who commands that Corps--in you!

"Spiritual Life is the essential root of every other qualification

required by a Salvation Army Officer.

"With it he will be of unspeakable interest.

"He will be a pleasure to himself. There is an unspeakable joy in

having healthy, exuberant life.

"He will be of interest to those about him. Who cares about dead

things? Dead flowers--throw them out. Dead animals--eat them. Dead

men--bury them. Dead and dying Officers--take them away. Give them

another Corps.

"If he is living he will be of interest to all about him. Men with

humble abilities, if full of this Spiritual Life, will be a charm

and a blessing wherever they go. Look at the lives and writings of

such humble men as Billy Bray, Carvosso, and Hodgson Casson. Their

memory is an ointment poured forth to-day after long years have

passed away.

"Without this life an Officer will be of no manner of use. No

matter how he may be educated or talented, without life is to be

without love; and to be without love, the Apostle tells us, is to

be only as 'a sounding brass.' But it is not that of which I want

to speak just now.

"Spiritual Life is essential to the preservation of life.

"The first thing life does for its possessor is to lead him to look

after its own protection. When the principle of life is strong, you

will have health and longevity. When it is weak, you have disease.

When it is extinct, you have decay and rottenness.

"Only vigorous Spiritual Life will enable a Salvation Army Officer

to effectually discharge the duties connected with his position.

"Life is favorable to activity. It is so with all life. Go into the

tropical forests, and see the exuberant growth of everything there.

Look at the foliage, the blossom, the fruit. Look at the reptiles

crawling at your feet, and take care they do not sting you. Look at

the birds chattering and fluttering on the trees, and they will

charm you. Look at the animals roving through the woods, and take

care they do not devour you.

"Contrast all this movement with the empty, barren, silent, Polar

regions, or the dreary, treeless sands of the African desert.

"Go and look at the overflowing, tirelss activity of the children.

Why are they never still? It is the life that is in them. Go to the

man at work. With what glee, and for what a trifling remuneration,

he sweats, and lifts and carries the ponderous weights. Go to the

soldier in the military war. How he shouts and sings as he marches

to deprivations, and wounds, and death.

"Even so with Spiritual Life. It never rests; it never tires; it

always sees something great to do, and is always ready to undertake

it. What is the explanation? How can we account for it? The answer

is, Life--abundant life.

"It is only by the possession of Life that The Salvation Army

Officer can spread this life.

"That is, reproduce himself, multiply himself, or his kind. This

reproduction or multiplication of itself is a characteristic of all

life.

"Take the vegetable kingdom. Every living plant has life-producing

seed, or some method of reproducing itself. The thistle: who can

count the number of plants that one thistle can produce in a year?

One hundred strawberry plants can be made in ten years to produce

more than a thousand million other strawberry plants!

"Take the animal kingdom. Here each living creature has this

reproductive power. They say that a pair of sparrows would in ten

years, if all their progeny could be preserved, produce as many

birds as there are people on the earth--that is, 1,500,000,000. 'Ye

are of more value than many sparrows.'

"Just so, this Spiritual Life is intended to spread itself through

the world.

"It is to this end it is given to you. God's command to Adam was,

'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.' How much more

does this command apply to you and to me! You are to be progenitors

of a world of men and women possessed of Spiritual Life; the

parents of a race of angels. How this is to be done is another

question. About that I shall have something to say as we go along.

For the moment, I am simply occupied with the fact that you have to

call this world of holy beings into existence by spreading this

life.

"Every Officer here is located in a world of death. Sometimes we

style it a dying world, and so it is on its human side, but on its

spiritual side it is past dying; it is dead. By that I do not mean

that the spiritual nature, that is the soul, ever ceases to be in

any man. That will never come to pass. Perhaps nothing once created

will ever cease to be. Anyway, man is immortal. The soul can never

die. Neither do I mean that there is no Spiritual Life.

"By spiritual death we mean that the soul is--Separated from God;

no union with Him. In a blind man the organ may be perfect, but not

connected.

"Inactive. No love for the things God loves. No hatred for the

things He hates. Dead to His interests, His kingdom; dead to Him.

"Corrupt, bad, devilish, etc. What a valley of dry bones the world

appears to the man whose eyes have been opened to see the truth of

things. Verily, verily, it is one great cemetery crowded with men,

women, and children dead in trespasses and sin. Look for a moment

at this graveyard, in which the men around you may be said to lie

with their hearts all dead and cold to Christ, and all that

concerns their Salvation. Look at it. The men and women and

children in your town are buried there. The men and women in your

city, in your street. Nay, the very people who come to your Hall to

hear you talk on a Sunday night are there. There they lie. Let us

read the inscriptions on some of their tombs:--

"_Here lies Tom Jones_

"He had a beautiful nature, and a young, virtuous wife, and some

beautiful children. All starved and wretched through their father's

selfish ways. He can't help himself. He says so. He has proved it.

He is dead in drunkenness.

"_Here lies Harry Please-Yourself_

"Mad on footballing, theatres, music-halls, dances, and the like.

Nothing else morning, noon, or night seems to interest him. There

he is, dead in pleasure.

"_Here lies James Haughtiness_

"Full of high notions about his abilities, or his knowledge, or his

family, or his house, or his fortune, or his business, or his dogs,

or something. There he is, dead in pride.

"_Here lies Jane Featherhead_

"Absorbed in her hats, and gowns, and ribbons, and companions, and

attainments. There she is, dead in vanity.

"_Here lies Miser Graspall_

"Taken up with his money--sovereigns, dollars, francs, kroner,

much or little. 'Let me have more and more' is his dream, and his

cry, and his aim, by night and day. There he is, dead in

covetousness.

"_Here lies Sceptical Doubtall_

"Hunting through the world of nature, and revolution, and

providence, and specially through the dirty world of his own dark

little heart, for arguments against God and Christ and Heaven.

There he is, dead in infidelity.

"_Here lies Jeremiah Make-Believe_

"With his Bible Class and Singing Choir, and Sunday religion, and

heartless indifference to the Salvation or damnation of the

perishing crowds at his door. There he is, dead in formality.

"_Here lies Surly Badblood_

"Packed full of suspicions and utter disregards for the happiness

and feelings of his wife, family, neighbours, or friends. There he

is, dead in bad tempers.

"_Here lies Dives Enjoy-Yourself_

"Look at his marble tomb, and golden coffin, and embroidered

shroud, and ermine robes. This is a man whose every earthly want is

supplied--Carriages, music, friends. There he is, dead in luxury.

"_Here lies Dick Never-Fear_

"His mouth is filled with laughter, and his heart with contempt

when you speak to him about his soul. He has no anxiety, not he.

He'll come off all right, never fear. Is not God merciful? And did

not Christ die? And did not his mother pray? Don't be alarmed, God

won't hurt him. There he is, dead in presumption,

"_Here lies Judas Renegade_

"His grave has a desolate look. The thorns and thistles grow over

it. The occupant has money and worldly friends, and many other

things, but altogether he gets no satisfaction out of them; he is

uneasy all the time. There he is, dead in apostacy.

"There are any number of other graves. It is interesting, although

painful, to wander amongst them. All, or nearly all, their

occupants are held down by a heavy weight of ignorance, a sense of

utter helplessness. And all are bound hand and foot with chains of

lust, or passion, or procrastination, of their own forging. In the

midst of these graves you live, and move, and have your being.

"What is your duty here? Oh, that you realised your true business

in this region of death! Having eyes, Oh! that you could see.

Having ears, Oh! that you could hear. Having hearts, Oh! that you

could feel. What are you going to do with this graveyard? Walk

about it in heartless unconcern, or with no higher feeling than

gratitude for having been made alive yourselves? Or will you

content yourselves with strolling through it, taxing its poor

occupants for your living while leaving them quietly in their tombs

as hopeless as you found them? Heaven forbid! Well, then, what do

you propose? What will you do?

"Look after their bodies, and feed and nourish them, making the

graveyard as comfortable a resting-place as you can? That is good,

so far as it goes, but that is not very far. Will that content you?

Decorate their graves with flowers and evergreens, and wreaths of

pleasant things? Will that content you? Amuse them with your music,

or the singing of your songs, or the letting off of your oratorical

fireworks among their rotting corpses? Will that content you?

Instruct them in doctrines, and rescues, and Salvations in which

they have no share? Will that content you? No! No! No! A thousand

times no! You won't be content with all that. God has sent you into

this dark valley for nothing less than to raise these doom-struck

creatures from the dead. That is your mission. To stop short of

this will be a disastrous and everlasting calamity.

"What do you say? It cannot be done? That is false. God would never

have set you an impossible task. You cannot do it? That is false

again, for you have done it before again and again. There is not an

Officer here who has not called some souls from the dead. Not one.

How many thousands--how many tens of thousands, in the aggregate,

have the Officers present at this Congress raised from the graves

of iniquity? Who can tell?

"Go, and do it again. Go, and look at them. Go, and compassionate

them. Go, and represent Jesus Christ to them. Go, and prophesy to

them. Go, and believe for them. And then shall bone come to bone,

and there shall be a great noise, and a great Army shall stand up

to live, and fight, and die for the living God.

"THE SPIRIT OF PURITY

"And now we come to the consideration of the message of the second

Spirit. Let us recall his words: 'O Officers, Officers, the Great

Father has sent me to tell you that if you would be successful in

your campaign against wickedness, selfishness, and fiends, you must

yourselves be holy.'

"I come now to the task of showing, as far as I am able, what the

plan of life is which God has formed for a Salvation Army Officer.

"What must an Officer be and do who wants satisfactorily to fill up

the plan God has formed for him? Of course, there will in some

respects be certain striking differences in that plan. But in the

main there will be remarkable resemblances.

"The first thing that God asks is, that the Officer shall possess

the character He approves.

"You might say the character that He admires. The very essence of

that character is expressed in one word--_Holiness_.

"In the list of qualifications for effective leadership in this

warfare, The Salvation Army has ever placed Holiness in the first

rank. The Army has said, and says to-day, that no other qualities

or abilities can take its place. No learning, or knowledge, or

talking, or singing, or scheming, or any other gift will make up

for the absence of this. You must be good if you are to be a

successful Officer in The Salvation Army.

"Let us suppose that a comrade were to present himself before us

this morning, and say, 'I am a Salvationist. I want to be an

Officer amongst you, and I want to be an Officer after God's own

Heart; but I am ignorant of the qualifications needed.' If I were

to ask you what I should say to this brother, I know what your

answer would be. You would say, with one voice, 'Tell him that,

before all else, he must be a holy man.'

"Suppose, further, that I appeared before you myself for the first

time at this Congress, and were to say to you: 'My comrades, I have

come to be your Leader. What is the first, the foundation quality I

require for your leadership?' I know the answer you would give me.

You would say, 'O General, you must be a holy man.'

"If there were gathered before me, in some mighty building, the

choicest spirits now fighting in The Salvation Army the world

over--Commissioners and Staff Officers, Field Officers and Local

Officers, together with Soldiers of every grade and class; and

suppose, further, that standing out before that crowd, I was to

propose the question: 'In what position in our qualifications shall

I place the blessing of Holiness?' you know what the answer would

be. With a voice that would be heard among the multitudes in Heaven

the crowd would answer: 'Holiness must be in the first rank.'

"If this morning I had the privilege of ascending to the Celestial

City, and asking the assembled angels in that mighty temple where,

day and night, they worship the Great Jehovah: 'What position ought

Holiness to occupy in the qualifications needed by Salvation Army

Officers in their fight on earth?' you know that angels and

archangels, cherubim and seraphim, would join with the Seven

Spirits that are before the Throne with one united shout, loud

enough to make the ears of Gabriel tingle, and would answer, 'Place

it first.'

"If I could have the still greater privilege of kneeling before the

intercessory Throne of my dear, my precious, my glorified Saviour,

and of asking Him what position this truth should hold in the

hearts and efforts of Salvation Army Officers, you know that He

would answer: 'Blessed are the pure in heart.' Holiness comes

first.

"If, further still, borne on a burning seraph's wings I could rise

to the Heaven of Heavens, and, like its holy inhabitants, be

allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, where Jehovah especially

manifests His glory; and if, prostrate before that Throne, with all

reverence I should ask the question: 'What is the first and most

important qualification a Salvation Army Officer must possess in

order to do Your Blessed Will?' you have His answer already. You

know that He would reply: 'Be ye holy, for I am holy.'

"What, then, is that Holiness which constitutes the first

qualification of an Officer, and which is asked for by that Blessed

Spirit of Purity coming from the Throne of God?

"In replying to this question I cannot hope to do more than put you

in remembrance of what you must already know.

"I will, however, to begin with, take the broad ground that

Holiness, in the sense in which The Salvation Army uses the word,

means entire deliverance from sin. I shall explain myself as I go

along. But I begin with the assertion that holy souls are saved

from sin.

"You all know what sin is. And it is important that you should, and

that you should be able to define it at a moment's notice to

whomsoever may inquire. John says: 'All unrighteousness is sin,'

That is, everything that a man sees to be actually wrong, that to

him is sin. Whether the wrong be an outward act, or an inward

thought, or a secret purpose does not affect its character. If the

act, or thought, or purpose is wrong to that particular soul it is

sin. Whether the wrong be done in public and blazoned abroad before

the world as such, or whether it be committed in darkness and

secrecy, where no human eye can follow it, matters not; it is sin.

"To be holy, I say, is to be delivered from the commission of sin.

Is not that blessed?

"To be holy is to be delivered from the penalty of sin. 'The wages

of sin is death.' Holy men are fully and freely forgiven. One of

the evidences of the possession of Holiness is the full assurance

of that deliverance. Salvation from doubt as to this. Is not that

blessed?

"Holiness includes deliverance from the guilt of sin.

"Sin has a retributive power. At the moment of commission it

implants a sting in the conscience which, in the impenitent man,

lights a flame, which, without the application of the Precious

Blood, is never extinguished. In Holiness the sting is extracted,

and the fire is quenched. Is not that blessed?

"Holiness supposes deliverance from the defilement of sin.

"Sin pollutes the imagination, defiles the memory, and is a

filth-creating leaven, which, unless purged away, ultimately

corrupts and rots the whole being.

"In Holiness all the filth is cleansed away. The soul is washed in

the Blood of the Lamb. This is the reason for so much being said in

the Bible, and in the experience of entirely sanctified people,

about purity of heart. Is not that blessed?

"Holiness means complete deliverance from the bondage of sin.

"Every time a sin is committed, the inclination to do the same

again is encouraged, and those habits which belong to the evil

nature are strengthened until they assume the mastery of the soul,

and the soul comes more and more under the tyranny of evil.

"In conversion the chains that bind men to sin are broken, but the

tendency to evil still lingers behind. In Holiness the bondage is

not only entirely destroyed, and the soul completely delivered from

these evil tendencies, but is free to do the will of God, so far as

it is known, as really as it is done in Heaven. Is not that

blessed?

"Holiness supposes the deliverance of the soul from the rule and

reign of selfishness.

"The essence of sin is selfishness; that is, the unreasoning,

improper love of self. The essence of Holiness is benevolence. Holy

souls are mastered by love, filled with love. Is not that blessed?

"It will be seen, then, that the Officer who enjoys this experience

of Holiness will have received power from God to live a life

consciously separated from sin.

"A man cannot be living in a God-pleasing state if he is knowingly

living in sin, or consenting to it, which amounts to the same

thing. Let us look a little more closely at this.

"Holiness will mean a present separation from all that is openly or

secretly untrue.

"Any one pretending to be doing the will of God, while acting

untruthfully or deceitfully in his dealings with those around him,

is not only guilty of falsehood, but of hypocrisy.

"To be holy is to be sincere.

"Holiness means separation from all open and secret dishonesty.

This applies to everything like defrauding another of that which is

his just and lawful due.

"Holiness also means separation from all that is unjust.

"Doing unto others as you would that they should do to you, may be

truly described as one of the lovely flowers and fruits of Purity.

"Holiness means Salvation from all neglect of duty to God and man.

"All pretensions to Holiness are vain while the soul is living in

the conscious neglect of duty. A holy Officer will do his duty to

his Maker. He will love God with all his heart--such a heart as he

has, big or little. He will love and worship Him, and strive to

please Him in all that he does. A holy Officer will love his

neighbour as himself. The law of love will govern his dealings with

his family, comrades, neighbours--body and soul.

"That is a beautiful experience which I am describing, is it not,

my comrades? And you cannot be surprised that the Spirit of Purity

should bring you the message that it is God's plan of life for you.

"Upon it let me make a few further remarks.

"Holiness is a distinct definite state; a man can be in it or out

of it.

"Holiness is enjoyed partially or entirely by all converted people.

It can be enjoyed partially. No one would say that every converted

man was a holy man, and no one would say that every man who was not

perfectly holy was not converted. But I should say, and so would

you, that every truly converted man is the master of sin, although

he may not be entirely delivered from it.

"Then, again, Holiness is a continued growth in sincere souls. With

faith, watchfulness, prayer, and obedience, the power of sin

diminishes as the days pass along, and the strength of Holiness

increases.

"The line which separates a state of entire from a state of partial

Holiness may be approached very gradually, but there is a moment

when it is crossed.

"The approach of death is often all but imperceptible, but there is

a moment when the last breath is drawn. Just so there is a moment

when the body of sin is destroyed, however gradual the process may

have been by which that state has been reached. There is a moment

when the soul becomes entirely holy--entirely God's.

"By perseverance in the sanctified life spiritual manhood is

reached, and the soul is perfected in love; that is maturity.

"Let me illustrate the doctrine of Holiness, in its varied aspects,

by comparing its attainment to the ascent of a lofty mountain.

"Come with me. Yonder is the sacred mount, towering far above the

clouds and fogs of sin and selfishness. Around its base, stretching

into the distance, as far as eye can reach, lies a flat, dismal,

swampy country. The district is thickly populated by a people who,

while professing the enjoyment of religion, are swallowed up in

unreality about everything that appertains to Salvation. They talk,

and sing, and pray, and write, and read about it, but they are all

more or less in doubt whether they have any individual part or lot

in the matter. Sometimes they think they have a hope of Heaven, but

more frequently they are afraid that their very hopes are a

delusion.

"The land is haunted by troubling spirits continually coming and

going, that point to past misdoings and coming penalties. Such

venomous creatures as hatreds, revenges, lusts, and other evil

passions are rife in every direction; while the demons of doubt and

despair seem to come and go of their own free will, leading men and

women on the one hand to indifference, worldliness, and infidelity,

and on the other to darkness and despair. This wild, dismal

territory we will style 'The Land of Uncertainty.'

"In the centre of this unlovable and undesirable country the

mountain of which I want to speak lifts its lofty head. Call it

'Mount Pisgah' or 'Mount Beulah,' or, if you will, call it 'Mount

Purity'--I like that term the best. But whatever you name it, there

it is, rising up above the clouds and fogs of sin and selfishness,

and doubt and fear and condemnation that ever overhang the swampy

Land of Uncertainty, of which I have given you a glimpse.

"Look at it. There are some monster mountains in the natural world,

but they are mere molehills alongside this giant height. Look at it

again. Is it not an entrancing sight? Its lofty brow, crowned with

a halo of glorious light, reaches far upwards towards the gates of

endless day, those living on its summit having glorious glimpses of

the towers and palaces of the Celestial City. The atmosphere is

eminently promotive of vigorous health and lively spirits. But its

chief claim is the purity of heart, the constant faith, the loving

nature, and the consecrated, self-sacrificing devotion of those who

are privileged to dwell there. It must be a charming place. The

multitudes whose feet have ever been permitted to tread its blessed

heights think so.

"But while gazing on the entrancing sight, the question

spontaneously arises: 'How can I get there?' There is evidently no

mountain railway nor elevator on which, while reclining on pillows

of ease, and serenaded by music and song, you can be rapidly and

smoothly lifted up to the blessed summit. Those who reach that

heavenly height must climb what the Bible calls the 'Highway of

Holiness.' And they will usually find it a rugged, difficult

journey, often having to fight every inch of the way. But, once on

the celestial summit, the travellers will feel amply repaid for

every atom of trouble and toil involved in the ascent.

"The road to this glorious height passes through various plateaux

or stages which run all round the sides of the mountain, each

different from the other, and each higher than the one that

preceded it. Travellers to the summit have to pass through each of

these stages. Let me enumerate some of the chief among them.

"To begin with, there is the awakening stage, where the climbers

obtain their first fair view of this holy hill.

"It is here that the desire to make the ascent first breaks out.

This longing is often awakened by reading various guide-books or

Holiness advertisements, such as _The War Cry_, or _Perfect Love_,

which set forth the blessedness experienced by those who make the

heavenly ascent. Sometimes the desire to ascend the holy hill is

awakened by the pure light which every now and then shines from the

summit direct into the travellers' hearts. Or, it may be their

souls are set on fire with a holy longing to be emptied of sin and

filled with love by the burning testimonies of some of the people

who live up there, but who come down into the valley every now and

then to persuade their comrades to make the ascent. Anyway, it

almost always happens when those who read these guide-books and

listen to these testimonies begin to search their Bibles and cry to

God for guidance, that a spirit of hunger and thirst sets in which

gives them no rest until they themselves resolve to take the

journey up the side of this wonderful mountain.

"A little higher up, and you reach the starting stage.

"Here those who fully resolve upon seeking holiness of heart first

enter their names in the 'Travellers' Book.' On this plateau I

observe that there is a great deal of prayer. You can hear the

earnest petitions going up to Heaven, whichever way you turn. And,

much prayer as there is, you can hear much singing also. One of the

favourite songs commences:--

"O glorious hope of perfect love!

It lifts me up to things above,

It bears on eagles' wings;

It gives my ravished soul a taste,

And makes me for some moments feast

With Jesus' priests and kings.

"There is another favourite song which begins:--

"O joyful sound of Gospel grace!

Christ shall in me appear;

I, even I, shall see His face,

I shall be holy here.

"But, still ascending, we come to the wrestling stage.

"Here the travellers are met by numerous enemies, who are in dead

opposition to their ever reaching the summit.

"I observe that the enemies attack those travellers with doubts as

to the possibility of ever reaching the mountain's top, and with

scores of questions about apparently conflicting passages of

Scripture, and contradictory experiences of Christian people; and,

alas! with only too frequent success, for the whole plateau seems

to be strewn with the records of broken resolutions relating to the

renouncements of evil habits, tempting companions, and deluding

indulgences.

"And I observe that lying about are many unfulfilled consecrations

relating to friends, and money, and children, and time, and other

things; in fact, this stage seems to be a strange mixture of faith

and unbelief; so much so that it is difficult to believe that we

are on the slopes of Mount Purity at all.

"Here you will find posted on the sides of the rocks in all

directions placards bearing the words: 'The things I would do those

I do not, and the things I would not do those I do, and there is no

spiritual health in me.' And up and down you will also see

notice-boards warning would-be travellers not to climb any higher

for fear they should fall again.

"But, thank God, while many chicken-hearted souls lie down in

despair on this plateau, or retrace their steps to the dreary

regions below, others declare that there is no necessity for

failure. These push forward in the upward ascent, singing as they

go:--

"Though earth and hell the world gainsay,

The word of God can never fail;

The Lamb shall take my sins away,

'Tis certain, though impossible;

The thing impossible shall be,

All things are possible to me.

"So, persevering with our journey, higher up, very much higher up,

we come to the sin-mastering stage.

"This is a glorious plateau. All who enter it do so by the narrow

passage of repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus

Christ; receiving in their souls, as they pass the threshold, the

delightful assurance of full and free forgiveness through the Blood

of the Lamb.

"Here men and women walk with heads erect in holy confidence, and

hearts glad with living faith, and mouths full of joyous song, and

eyes steadily fixed on the holy light that streams from the summit

of the mount above them. That holy beacon guide is ever calling on

them to continue their journey, and ever directing them on the way.

"Those who have reached this stage have already made great and

encouraging progress; for God has made them conquerors over their

inward foes. The rule and reign of pride and malice, envy and lust,

covetousness and sensuality, and every other evil thing have come

to an end.

"They triumph on that account, but the conflict is not yet ended.

Sometimes the battling is very severe; but with patient, plodding

faith they persevere in the ascent, singing as they go:--

"Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees,

And looks to that alone;

Laughs at impossibilities,

And cries, 'It shall be done!'

"And now, close at hand, is the stage of deliverance, where the

triumph is begun.

"And now, ten thousand Hallelujahs! let it be known to all the

world around, that once on this plateau the separation from sin is

entire; the heart is fully cleansed from evil; the promise is

proved to be true, 'They that hunger and thirst after righteousness

shall be filled.'

"At a great Christian Conference the other day an eminent divine

said that The Salvation Army believed in a 'perfect sinner,' but

that he believed in a 'perfect Saviour.' This, I contend, was a

separation of what God has joined together and which never ought to

be put asunder. For, glory be to the Father, glory be to the Son,

and glory be to the Holy Ghost, The Salvation Army believes, with

its Lord, that a perfect Saviour can make a poor sinner into a

perfect saint. That is, He can enable him to fulfil His own

command, in which He says: 'Be ye therefore perfect, even as your

Father which is in Heaven is perfect.' (_Matthew_ v. 48.)

"But there is one plateau higher still which, like a tableland,

covers the entire summit of the mountain, and that the maturity

stage.

"Here the graces of the Spirit have been perfected experience, and

faith, and obedience, and the soul does the will of God as it is

done in Heaven, united in the eternal companionship of that lovely

being--the Spirit of Purity.

"What do you say to my holy mountain, my comrades?

"Are you living up there? Have you climbed as near to Heaven as

that represents? If not, I want to make a declaration which you

have often heard before, but which it will do you no harm to hear

again, namely, that it is the will of God that you should not only

reach the very summit, but that you should abide there.

"Do you ask why God wills that you should reach and abide on this

holy mountain?

"I reply it is the will of God that you and I, and every other

Officer in this blessed Army, should be holy for His own

satisfaction.

"God finds pleasure in holy men and holy women. We know what it is

to find pleasure in kindred companions. It is to like to be near

them. To want to live with them, or have them to live with us. It

is to be willing to travel any distance, or put ourselves to any

inconvenience to reach them. According to the Bible, that is just

how God feels towards His faithful people. He finds satisfaction in

their doings, and praying, and worship, and song. But when there is

unfaithfulness or sin of any kind this pleasure is sadly marred, if

not altogether destroyed. In such cases the pleasure is turned to

pain, the satisfaction to loathing, and the love to hatred.

"Hear what He says of Israel: 'In all their affliction He was

afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them; in His love

and in His pity He bare them, and carried them all the days of

old.' If for no other reason than the pleasure it will give to God,

don't you think every Officer should, with all his might, seek for

Holiness of heart and life?

"Another reason why God wants you to live on that blessed mountain

is the interest He feels in your welfare.

"He loves you. He has told you so again and again. He has proved

His love by His deeds. Love compels the being entertaining the

affection to seek the good of its object. He knows that sin is the

enemy of your peace, and must mean misery here and hereafter. For

this reason among others, He wants to deliver you from it.

"You will remember that by the lips of Peter God told the Jews that

He had raised up His Son Jesus, and sent Him to bless them by

turning every one of them away from his iniquities. That applies

to you, my comrades. You have heard it before; I tell it you again.

Holiness is the royal road to peace, contentment, and joy for you.

The love God bears you, therefore, makes Him ceaselessly long after

your Holiness of heart and life. Will you not let Him have His way?

Will you not do His Will?

"God wants every Officer to be holy, in order that through him He

may be able to pour His Holy Spirit upon the people to whom that

Officer ministers.

"The men and women around you are in the dark. Oh, how ignorant

they are of God and everlasting things! They cannot see the vile

nature of the evil, and the foul character of the fiends that tempt

and rule them. They do not see the black ruin that lies before

them. So on they go, the blind leading the blind, till over the

precipice they fall together. God wants their eyes to be opened.

The Spirit can do the work, and through you He wants to pour the

light.

"The men and women around you are weak. They cannot stand up

against their own perverted appetites, the charms of the world, or

the devices of the Devil. God wants to pour the Spirit of Power

upon this helpless crowd. But He wants holy people through whom He

can convey that strength. He works His miracles by clean people.

That is His rule.

"There is nothing in the work of the early Apostles more wonderful

than the miraculous manner in which they went about breathing the

Spirit of Life and Light and Power on the people. But they were

fully consecrated, Blood-and-Fire men and women.

"What do you say, my comrades? Will you be holy mediums? Do you not

answer, 'Thy will be done'?

"God wants you to be holy, in order that you may reveal Him to the

world by your example.

"Men do not believe in God--that is, the real God--the God of the

Bible; and they do not believe in Him, because they do not know

Him.

"He seeks to reveal Himself to men in various ways. He reveals

Himself through the marvels of the natural world; and many say they

can see God in the sun, and stars, and seas, and trees. He reveals

Himself by speaking to men in their own hearts, and many hear His

whisperings there. He reveals Himself in His own Book, and some

read and ascertain what is His mind there.

"But, alas! the great multitude are like children. They require to

see and hear God revealed before their very eyes in visible and

practical form before they will believe. And to reach these crowds,

God wants men and women to walk about the world so that those

around, believers and unbelievers alike, shall see the form and

hear the voice of the living God; people who shall be so like Him

in spirit, and life, and character as to make the crowds feel as

though the very shadow of God had crossed their path. Will you be a

shadow of God?

"God wants you to be holy, in order that you may know what His mind

is about the world, and about your work in it.

"He entertains certain opinions and feelings with respect to it. He

has His own plan for saving it. He wants to reveal to you what

those opinions and feelings are, and to do this so far as it will

be good for you and those about you. He wants you to know how you

can best fight devils, convict sinners, save souls, and bless the

world.

"You can have this wonderful knowledge. Paul had it. He said 'We,'

that is, I, 'have the mind of Christ.' God is no respecter of

persons. He is as willing to reveal His mind to you, so far as you

need it, as He was to reveal it to Paul.

"But to possess this knowledge you must be holy. Sin darkens the

understanding, and hinders the perception of truth. A grain of sand

in the eye will prevent you seeing the most beautiful landscape in

the universe, or the dearest friends you have. It is with the heart

that men see divine things, and an atom of sin will darken the

brightest vision that can come before you. With a pure heart you

can not only see God's truth, but God Himself. Oh, God wants to

reveal Himself to you. Will you let Him? But if He is to do so, you

must have a clean heart.

"It is God's will that you should be holy, because He wants you to

be men and women of courage.

"Courage is the most valuable quality in this War. There are few

gifts of greater importance. Only think what it has enabled the

Prophets, the Apostles, and the Salvation leaders of modern times

to accomplish! How it covered Moses, and Joshua, and David, and

Daniel, and Paul, and a crowd of others with glory, and enabled

them to conquer men, and devils, and difficulties of all kinds. I

shall have something more to say about this before I have done.

"Courage and Holiness are linked closely together. You cannot have

one without the other. Sin is the very essence of weakness. A

little selfishness, a little insincerity, a little of anything that

is evil means condemnation, and loss of courage, which means

cowardice and failure.

"'The wicked flee when no man pursueth.' Double-minded people are

uncertain, fickle, unreliable in all their ways. 'The righteous are

bold as a lion.' Remember Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego.

"God wants you to be holy, in order that He may do mighty works

through your instrumentality.

"I verily believe that His arm is held back from working wonders

through the agency of many Officers, because He sees that such

success would be their ruin. The spirit of Nebuchadnezzar is in

them. He cannot build Babylon, or London, or New York, or anything

else by their instrumentality, because He sees it would create the

spirit of vainglory and boasting, or of ambition; make them

dissatisfied with their position; or otherwise curse them and those

about them. Look at Saul. What a lesson his history has in it for

us all. 'When thou wast little in thine own sight wast thou not

made the head of the Tribes of Israel? and the Lord anointed thee

king over Israel.'

"Now, I may be asked whether some Officers do not fail to reach the

higher ranges of the experience I have here described, and the

reasons for this.

"To this question I reply that I am afraid that it is only too true

that some Officers are to be found who are willing to dwell in the

land of uncertainty and feebleness. They are the slaves of habits

they condemn in others. Their example is marred, their powers are

weakened for their work, and, instead of going onward and upward to

the victory they believe so gloriously possible, they are a

disappointment to themselves, to God, and to their leaders.

"If I am asked to name the reasons for their neglect of this

glorious privilege, I would say:--

"They have doubts about the possibility of living this life of

Holiness.

"They think there is some fatal necessity laid upon them to sin--at

least a little, or just now and then. They think that God cannot,

or that He will not, or that He has not arranged to save them

altogether from their inward evils. They know that the Bible says,

over and over again, in a thousand different ways, that the Blood

of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin; and they read God's promise

again and again, that He will pour out His Spirit upon them, to

save them from all their idols and filthiness; but they doubt

whether it is strictly true, or anyway, whether it applies to them.

And so, tossed to and fro by doubts about this holy experience, no

wonder that they do not seek to realise it in their own hearts.

"Other Officers are kept back from climbing this mountain by the

idea that the experience is not possible for them.

"They say, 'Oh, yes, it is good, it is beautiful. I wish I lived up

there. How delightful it must be to have peace flow like a river,

and righteousness abound as the waves of the sea, and to be filled

with the Spirit! But such a life is not for me.' They admit the

possibility of Holiness in those about them, and occasionally they

push it on their acceptance; but they fancy that there is something

about their own case that makes it impossible, or, at least,

overwhelmingly difficult, for them to attain it.

"They imagine that there is something in their nature that makes it

peculiarly difficult for them to be holy. Some peculiar twist in

their minds. Some disagreeable disposition. Some bad, awkward

temper. Some unbelieving tendency. Or, they are hindered by

something that they suppose to be specially unfavourable in their

circumstances--their family. Or, there is something in their

history that they think is opposed to their living pure lives--they

have failed in their past efforts, etc.

"Anyway, there is, they imagine, some insurmountable obstacle to

their walking with Christ in white, and, instead of striking out

for the summit of the Holy Mountain in desperate and determined

search, relying on God's word that all things are possible to him

that believeth, they give up, and settle down to the notion that

Holiness of heart and life is not for them.

"Then, other Officers do not reach this experience because they do

not seek it; that is, they do not seek it with all their hearts.

"They do not climb.

"They know that their Bible most emphatically asserts that those

who seek heavenly blessings shall find them. No passage is more

familiar to their minds or much more frequently on their lips, than

the one spoken by Jesus Christ: 'Seek, and ye shall find.' And they

condemn the poor sinner who lies rotting in the sins which will

carry him to Hell, because he won't put forth a little effort to

find deliverance. And yet, do not some Officers act very much after

the same fashion with respect to this blessing?

"In their efforts they are truly sincere, but they are not much

more forward for them. They say 'It is not for me,' and settle down

as they were.

"The reason for this is not that the promise is not to them. But it

is because they have not been thorough in their surrender; or

because they have been wanting in their belief; or because they do

not persevere; or because they have been mistaken in some past

experience:--

"Another reason why Officers do not find the blessing is the simple

fact that they will not pay the price.

"There is something they will not do; or there is something they

will do; or there is something they will not part with; there is

some doubtful thing that they will not give up. The sacrifice is

too great. They think they would not be happy, or some one else

would not be happy, or something would not be satisfactory; and so

they look and look at the mountain, and long and long, but that is

all. They would like to be there, but the price is too great.

"Another reason why Officers fail is neither more nor less than

their want of faith.

"This, with sincere souls, is by far the most common hindrance. I

have something to say about faith further on.

"And, doubtless, the reason that some Officers fail to reach the

upper levels of Mount Purity arises out of their mistaken views as

to the nature of this experience.

"You have so often heard me dwell on this view of the subject that

I despair of saying anything fresh that will help you. But, knowing

that I am on ground where truly sincere souls are often hindered, I

will make one or two remarks:--

"I have no doubt that many fail here by confounding temptation with

sin.

"They pray--they consecrate--they believe that they receive, and

they rejoice. But by and by, when bad thoughts are suggested to

their minds, they say to themselves, 'Oh, I can't be saved from

sin, or I would not have all those wicked thoughts and suggestions

streaming through my soul."

"They confound temptation with sin. Whatever they may say about it,

they do not see the difference existing between temptation and sin.

"Some Officers are hindered in the fight for Holiness by supposing

that purity will deliver them from serious depression, low spirits,

and the like.

"With many sincere souls I have no doubt that one of the most

serious hindrances in this strife is the confounding of Holiness

with happiness, and thinking that if they are holy they will be

happy all the time; whereas the Master Himself was a Man of

Sorrows, and lived, more or less, a life of grief.

"Then there comes the last reason I shall notice, and that is the

want of perseverance. There are some Officers who have been up the

mountain--part of the way, at any rate, if not to the top. But

through disobedience, or want of faith, they have no longer the

experience they once enjoyed.

"The condition. You say to sinners that they are never to give up.

I do, at least. So with those who are seeking Holiness. They must

persevere or they will never find it."

Chapter XXVIII

The General as a Writer

None of us have yet any idea how voluminous a writer The General was,

because so much of his writing was in the form of contributions to our

many publications, or of letters to Officers.

We can only insert here a few, specimens of what he wrote at various

dates, and remark that in private letters there was always the very same

flow of happy earnest life, the same high ideal as finds expression in

the following extracts. In his _Orders and Regulations for Field

Officers_ he says:--

"It must always be remembered by the Field Officer, and by every

one who is desirous of producing any great moral or spiritual

changes in men, that the example of the individual attempting this

task will be much more powerful than the doctrines they set forth,

or any particular methods they adopt for teaching those doctrines,

however impressive these may be.

"The correctness of this statement has been proved over and over

again in this Salvation War. Everywhere the people measure the

truth and importance of what the Field Officer says by their

estimate of his character. If he produces the impression in their

minds that he is a mere talker or performer, they may listen to his

message, and--if he has more than ordinary ability--treat him with

a degree of respect; but if this be all, he will be next to

powerless in effecting any great change in their hearts and lives.

On the other hand, where the life of the Field Officer convinces

his Soldiers that he is himself what he wants them to be, truly

devoted to God, it will be found that he will possess a marvellous

mastery over their hearts and characters. In other words, if he

makes his Soldiers feel that he is real and consecrated, he will be

able to lead them almost at will; they will follow him to the

death.

"The same shot, with the same charge of gunpowder, from a rifled

cannon, will produce ten times a greater effect than from one with

a smooth bore. The make of the gun gives the extra force to the

shot. Just in the same way the truth from the lips of a man whom

his hearers believe to be holy and true will strike with a

hundredfold more force than the same message will from another who

has not so commended himself. The character of the man gives the

extra force to the truth.

"The Field Officer, by virtue of his position, stands out before

his Soldiers more prominently than any other man. To them he is the

Ambassador and Representative of God. He is their Captain, their

Brother, and Friend. Their eyes are on him night and day. They

regard him as the pattern expressly set for them to copy, the

leader who at all times it is their bounden duty to follow.

"How important it is, therefore, that every Officer should be

careful to perfect his character to the utmost in order that he may

be useful to the fullest extent.

"The Field Officer must lead his Soldiers on to the full

realisation of the baptism of the Holy Ghost; he must make them

Blood and Fire. The work of the Spirit is to fill the soul with

burning zeal for the Salvation of the world. Christ's work must be

finished. He has left that task to His people; it can only be

continued and carried on to completion by His Spirit working in the

hearts and through the lives of His people. The Holy Ghost was

promised for this end. This is what His people have, therefore, a

right to expect, and without it they are powerless for the War.

"In order that his Soldiers may be effective, the Field Officer

must not only act for the purification of his Soldiers, but to have

them filled with the Spirit of Christ, in order that they may be

competent for the mighty work they have to accomplish.

"This will make them wise. They will understand how to fight, what

to say, what to sing, how to pray, and how to talk to the

consciences and hearts of men. The Spirit of God will lead them

into right methods of action, will show them how to make

opportunities, and how to put these opportunities to the best use,

when they are made.

"The Holy Spirit will give them perseverance, keeping them going on

in the face of difficulty.

"The Holy Spirit will give them power, making them not only

willing to endure the Cross, but to glory in it.

"The Holy Spirit will give them the fire of love, the seraphic

spirit, the live coal from off the altar, making them both burn and

shine. With this they will come to Knee-Drill, to the Open-Air, to

face mocking crowds, and to endure the scorn, and hatred, and

persecution of men; not merely from a sense of duty, dragging

themselves to it, because it is the will of God; or for the good of

The Army; or as an example to their comrades; or even for the

Salvation of souls; but because they love it, and cannot stay away.

"This baptism will be a fire in their bones, which must have vent.

It will be a spirit that must have a voice. It will be a love, a

burning love in the heart, which all the waters that earth and Hell

can pour upon it, cannot quench a love with which no other love can

compare. It will be the Saviour again loving a dying world through

His people. It will be Christ indeed come again in the flesh.

"The Soldiers must be baptised with fire. It will give them the

Soldier's spirit; and, with that, all a Soldier needs in the way of

drill, and duty, and sacrifice will inevitably follow."

In his _Letter to his Officers on his Eightieth Birthday_, he wrote:--

"On the coming 10th of April, in many lands and in many ways, the

Officers, Soldiers, and Friends of The Salvation Army will be

celebrating my Eightieth Birthday.

"The occasion is one which inspires in me many deep emotions; and,

next to the gratitude I feel to Almighty God for the unmeasured

blessings He has been pleased to vouchsafe to me, I find the desire

to write and tell you, my dear Officers, something of the love and

sympathy ever welling up in my heart towards you.

"The times and friends of long ago are sometimes said to have been

brighter or better than those of to-day. This may have been the

experience of some. It has not been mine. It is true that in the

early years of my Salvation Warfare there were battlings and

victories of deep interest and value, but no conflicts or triumphs

in those far-back times exceeded, or indeed equalled, in value and

interest the conflicts and triumphs of my later days.

"It is true that from the beginning I have been associated with

many remarkable men and women--men and women whose ability,

affection, and devotion to God have been of the greatest service to

me. But with, perhaps, one or two exceptions, I have had no

co-workers who have excelled, or even equalled, in ability, in

affection or devotion, the Comrades who at the present hour are

struggling with me all over the world for the highest well-being of

their fellows, and for the advancement of the Kingdom of our Lord

Jesus Christ.

"Sixty-five years ago I chose the Salvation of men and the

extension of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ as the supreme object for

which I would live and labour.

"Although that choice was made in my early youth, in much ignorance

of the world, and of the religious needs of those about me, still,

it was not arrived at without much thought and some information;

and that purpose is still, and will be to the end, the object which

has shaped and mastered the thoughts, ambitions, and activities of

my whole life.

"From the hour of my first Prayer Meetings in one of the cottage

homes of my native town, down to the present moment, that object

has been the governing principle of my life. The adornments and

flowers and music and other pleasant things connected with

religious service have all been secondary to efficiency in the

search for that object and success in attaining it.

"My hourly usage with regard to every effort I put forth has been

to ask myself: What does this action contemplate? What will it

achieve? Can it be improved upon? I believe I can say that every

conversation and prayer and song and address and Meeting I have had

a hand in have been valued in proportion to their ability to

promote the realisation of that great purpose.

"No greater mistake can be made with respect to The Salvation Army

than to suppose that it is not a school for thought. Perhaps more

theories have been produced and more schemes invented by us for

gaining the highest ends of the Christian faith (bearing in mind

our age and the extent of our work) than by any other religious

movement in existence. Indeed, as I have often said in public, when

we have so many thousands of hearts inflamed with the love of

Christ for sinning, suffering, and dying men, and possessed with a

passionate desire for their rescue, you must have the constant

evolution of new plans and contrivances for that purpose.

"But, while thus inventive, The Army does not content itself with

hopes and theories merely; it seeks to put every fresh idea to the

test of practical application, waiting for the issue, before it

regards it of permanent value. At least, that has been my own

usage, and the practical character of my mind and work has come to

be generally allowed.

"While, then, I glory in the fact that our religion is Divine in

origin and manifestation, I equally maintain the necessity for

human skill, human energy, and human enterprise, in the efforts put

forth to establish and extend it; and, accordingly, I have only

adopted any efforts so far as they have proved themselves effective

in the school of experience.

"So with this confidence in my convictions I proceed once more to

push them upon your attention."

In the _Orders and Regulations for Soldiers_, perhaps the concisest

description of earnest living ever written, he says:--

"The Salvation Soldier must have been converted or changed by the

power of the Holy Spirit from the old, worldly, selfish, sinful

nature, to the new, holy, heavenly, Divine nature; and not only

must he thus have received a new heart, but he must have the Holy

Spirit living in that heart, possessing it, and working through it,

to will and to do the good pleasure of God.

"This is the first and main condition of Soldiership. It is

understood that every Soldier has come into the possession of this

true Religion by passing through that change which is usually

described in The Army as being 'saved.' There is nothing more

common throughout our ranks than! the expression, 'I am glad I am

saved!'

"As it is impossible for a Salvation Soldier to perform the duties

hereafter set forth with satisfaction to himself, and profit to

others, unless this change has been experienced, it will be well to

describe it rather particularly, so that every Soldier who reads

these Regulations will be able to satisfy himself whether he has

really undergone this change.

"If on reading this description, any Soldier should have reason to

believe that he has not experienced this change, and is still in

his sins, or that he has been unfaithful since he did realise it,

and is, therefore, a backslider, the first business of such an one

will be to go to God and seek Salvation; otherwise it will be

impossible for him to be a good Soldier.

"Salvation implies the devotion of the whole life to the

accomplishment of the purpose for which Christ lived and suffered

and died. It means that the Soldier becomes His disciple.

"Enlisting in His Army, the Soldier receives not only power to walk

in His commandments for himself, but to subdue other men to the

Lord.

"His new nature now continually cries out, 'What wilt Thou have me

to do?' and carries him forth with the feet of cheerful obedience

in the service of his new Master, to weep and suffer, and, if

necessary, to die, to bring others into the enjoyment of the

Salvation which he himself has found. He lives the same kind of

life and is actuated by the same purposes as God Himself."

In _Religion for Every Day_ he writes:--

"I am always talking to you about what we call religious duties,

such as praying and singing, making efforts to save your own soul

and the souls of the people about you. In these letters I propose

speaking of the things that men call secular, and which many people

reckon have nothing to do with Religion. But I want to show you, if

I can, that the Salvationist's conduct ought, in every particular,

to be religious; every meal he partakes of should be a sacrament;

and every thought and deed a service done to God. In doing this you

will see that I shall have to deal with many quite commonplace

subjects; and, in talking about them, I shall try to be as simple

and as practical as I possibly can.

"The first topic to which I shall call your attention is your daily

employment, and by that I mean the method by which you earn your

livelihood. Or, supposing that, having some independent means of

support, you are not compelled to labour for your daily bread, then

I shall point out that special form of work, the doing of which

Providence has plainly made to be your duty. Because it is

difficult to conceive of any Salvationist who has not some regular

employment, for which he holds himself responsible to God

"Work is a good thing, my comrades. To be unemployed is generally

counted an evil--any way, it is so in the case of a poor man; but

it seems to me that the obligation to be engaged in some

honourable and useful kind of labour is as truly devolved upon the

rich as upon the poor, perhaps more so. Work is necessary to the

well-being of men and women of every class, everywhere. To be

voluntarily idle, in any rank or condition of life, is to be a

curse to others and to be accursed yourself.

"You would utterly condemn me if you thought that I engaged in my

work in The Army merely to make a good show, or for some personal

profit, and did not care about what God thought of the matter. My

comrades, there are not two different standards of work--one for

you and one for me. You must, therefore, be under the same

obligation to do your work in the house or in the mine or in the

warehouse, or wherever the Providence of God has placed you" to

please your Heavenly Master, as I am on the platform, in the

council chamber, or wherever my duty may call me.

"But here another question arises. Do you accept Jesus Christ as

your Master in the affairs of your daily life? If not, of course,

this part of my argument will be thrown away; but if you do, then

it will be the most powerful of all.

"At the commencement of His ministry, Jesus Christ announced that

He was about to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on the earth. By

the Kingdom of Heaven He meant a Kingdom consisting of heavenly

government, heavenly laws, heavenly obedience, heavenly power,

heavenly love, heavenly joy. These, taken together, constitute the

chief characteristics of this Kingdom, and instead of being

confined, as it had been hitherto, to a handful of people in

Jerusalem and Judea, it was to cover the whole earth.

"Now the subjects of that Kingdom must accept Jesus Christ as their

Master and Lord. No one can either come into that Kingdom or remain

in it without compliance with this law. You cannot be a son without

being a servant.

"But you have written yourselves down as His servants, and said you

will 'no longer live unto yourselves,' nor to please the world, but

to do the will of Him who has redeemed you; that is, to please Him.

Now the Master's province, everybody knows, is, not only to choose

the work of His servants, but to get it done, if possible, to His

satisfaction.

"He has appointed me my work. He has arranged that I should direct

the movements of this great Army, preach Salvation, write Letters

for you to read, save as many sinners as I can, and strive to get

my Soldiers safely landed on the Celestial Shore. Before all else,

I must do this Work, as nearly as I can, to satisfy my Lord--and

nothing short of the best work I can produce will accomplish that.

"And as with me so with you. He has chosen your work, if you have

put your life into His hands, just as truly as He has chosen mine,

although it may be of a different kind. I am writing this letter in

the train. I am a poor writer at best. When I was a child my

schoolmaster neglected to teach me to hold my pen properly. In this

respect he did not do good work, and I have had to suffer for it

ever since. Still, I am doing my work as well as I can, in order

that it may profit you and please my Lord.

"In settling how much work he will do, a man must have due regard

to the claims of his own health. If he rushes at his work without

due discretion, and does more than his strength will reasonably

allow, he will probably break down, and so prevent his working

altogether, or for a season, at least. Whereas, if he exhausts no

more energy than he can recover by sleep and food and rest, at the

time he can go steadily forward, and by doing so, accomplish a

great deal more, in the long run, than he would by temporary

extravagant exertion. When speaking on this subject, I sometimes

say that I use my body as I should use a horse, if I had one--that

is, I should not seek to get the most labour out of him for a week,

regardless of the future, but I should feed and manage him with a

view to getting the most I could get out of him all the year round.

That is, doubtless, the way a man should use his body, and to do

this he should take as much time for his food and daily rest as is

necessary to replace the energies he has used up by his work.

"In the leisure taken for this purpose, it will be necessary to

have specified hours, as otherwise, those who are without principle

will take advantage of the weak, and anything like system will be

impossible.

"Then, again, when the proper performance of a particular task

depends upon the united labour of a number of individuals, who have

agreed to work in co-operation, it will be necessary, in the

interests of the whole, that each should conform to the regulations

laid down, always supposing that such rules are in harmony with

truth and righteousness.

"The wishes and interests of employers have also to be taken into

consideration. But, in every case, the principle is equally

obligatory upon all.

"These duties will demand, and must have devoted to them, a

measure of the time at our control. What that amount of time shall

be, must be determined by the relative importance of those duties.

For instance:--

"There is the work a man can do for his earthly employers, over and

above the amount that is considered to be a strict and just return

for his wages. Here, again, he must be guided by Jesus Christ's

rule, and to do unto his master as he would that his master should

do unto him.

"There is the work that he ought to do for his family, apart and

beyond the bare earnings of their daily bread. This is work which

no one else can do so well, and which, if it be neglected by him,

will probably not be done at all.

"There is the effort that every workman should put forth for his

own personal improvement. For instance, a youth of seventeen works,

we will say, ten hours a day for his employer, who would very much

like him to put in another hour at the same task, and would be

willing to pay him extra for doing so. This, we will suppose, the

youth could do without any injurious effect to his health. But

then, by reading his Bible, or cultivating his mind, he might

qualify himself to become an Officer, or to fill some other

important position, in either case fitting himself for a field of

greater usefulness, in the future, than the one he already

occupies. Under such circumstances, it must be the duty of that

youth to take that hour for his own improvement, rather than to use

it to enrich his master or increase his earnings.

"Then, every Soldier of Jesus Christ must duly consider and obey

the claims of the Salvation War. That is, he must strive to take

his fair share in that conflict. Whether he is his own master,

having the direct control of his time, or whether he works for an

employer, who only allows him many hours for leisure, he must

conscientiously devote much of that time as he can to saving his

fellow-men, settling this question, he must use his common sense,

and claim the promised direction of the Holy Spirit. God will guide

him.

"What I protest against here is the notion, born of indolence and

selfishness, which affirms that we should do little, rather than as

much, work as is consistent with the maintenance of health, and

with the claims arising out of the relations in which we stand to

those about us.

[Illustration: {Handwriting}

Soldiers. God and a sinning suffering world cal you to rise up and meet

your great opportunity. Do it and do it with your might.

For the present I must say farewell; but always think of ****

Your affectionate General

Williams S. Booth

Cape Town,

_October 12, 1908_

AN AUTOGRAPH MESSAGE FROM THE GENERAL]

"However, circumstances will transpire, during the earthly career

of every one of us, calling for self-sacrificing work that must be

performed, regardless of consequences to health or any other

interest.

"Supposing, by way of illustration, a ship has sprung a leak,

through which the water is rushing rapidly in, endangering the

lives of both the passengers and crew. Under such conditions, would

not every man on board be justified in working night and day to

prevent the threatened calamity? Nay, further, would not the laws

of humanity call upon every one concerned to do so at the risk of

crippling themselves, or even sacrificing life itself, in order to

gain the greater good of saving the vessel from destruction, and

rescuing a number of their fellows from a watery grave?

"My contention then, is, that whether in the shop or on the ship,

in the parlour or in the kitchen, in the factory or in the field,

on the Salvation platform or in the coal mine, whether Officers or

Soldiers, we are all alike, as servants of God, under the

obligation to do all we possibly can in the service of men; and to

do it with the holy motive of pleasing our Heavenly Master.

"Here let me review my warrant for requiring from you the kind of

loving labour that I advocate.

"The Bible enjoins it. We have already quoted Paul's words to the

Ephesians, in which he says that our work is to be done, 'Not with

eye-service as men-pleasers, but as the servants of Christ, doing

the will of God from the heart; with goodwill doing service, as to

the Lord, and not to men.' That is all I ask for.

"It is enjoined by the doctrine of brotherly love. I cannot

understand how any one can suppose, for a moment, that he is living

a life acceptable to God unless he is striving, with all his might,

to fulfil the Divine command, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as

thyself.' Your master, or whoever has a claim upon your service,

must be included in the term 'neighbour'; and to comply with the

command of the Saviour, you must work for that master, or mistress,

as the case may be, from the voluntary principle of love rather

than the earthly and selfish principle of gain.

"Is not the disinterested method I am urging upon you in keeping

with the loftiest ideals the world possesses with respect to work?

About whom does it write its poetry? Whom does it laud to the

heavens in the pulpit, on the platform, and in the Press? Whose

names does it describe the highest in its Temples of Fame, or hand

down to posterity as examples for rich and poor, old and young

alike, to follow? Is it the man who makes his own ease and

enrichment his only aim in life, and who toils and spins for

nothing higher than his own gratification? Nothing of the kind. It

is the generous, self-sacrificing, disinterested being who uses

himself up for the benefit of his fellows.

"Nay, at whom does that same world ceaselessly sneer, and whom does

it most pitilessly despise? Is it not the mean and narrow spirit

whose conduct is governed by selfish greed and sensual indulgences?

Whatever may be its practice, in this respect, the sentiment of the

world is in the right direction. It asks for benevolence evidenced

by unselfish labour, and admires it when it finds it.

"A paragraph went the round of the newspaper world, a little time

back, describing how an American millionaire had decided to spend

the rest of his days on a Leper Island in the Pacific Ocean, in

order to labour for the amelioration of the miseries of its

unfortunate inhabitants. Wonder and admiration everywhere greeted

the announcement.

"Shall we go back on all this spirit of self-sacrifice? Shall this

kind of thing die out, or only have an existence in poetry books,

platform quotations, or anecdote collections? Shall we change over

to the 'pound-of-flesh' principle, and hire out the work of our

hands, the thoughts of our minds, and the burning passions of our

souls, for the largest amount of filthy lucre, and the greatest

measure of earthly comfort, that we can obtain for them; so

justifying the lying libel on humanity, long since spoken, and

still often sneeringly quoted, that every man has his price? Or

shall we say that love--the love of God and man--is the highest and

divinest motive of labour--a motive possible not only to the sons

and daughters of genius, but accessible to the plainest, humblest

man or woman who suffers and toils on the lowest round of the

ladder of life.

"I argue in favour of this doctrine on the ground of its

profitableness to the worker. My readers will probably have asked

long before this, How far do these propositions harmonise with the

interests of the servant? Ought he not to take his own well-being

into account? Certainly. He must have just as true a regard for his

own welfare and the welfare of those dependent upon him, as he has

for that of others. The command, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as

thyself,' can only be rightly interpreted by another, like unto

it, which reads: 'Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you do

ye even so to them.' Therefore, he must ask, that others should do

unto him as he would do unto them, supposing they occupied changed

positions. This must mean that, while righteously concerned for the

interests of others, he must be reasonably concerned for his own.

"But here a little difficulty comes into our argument, arising out

of the play of the higher motives of affection. What does love care

for gain in its calculations of service? The husband who loves his

wife as Christ loved the Church, does not stop to consider the

claims of duty, or the advantages following its discharge in

toiling for her welfare. He will be willing to die for her, as

Christ died for the Church.

"He does not say, 'I will toil for my delicate wife, and deny

myself pleasant things, in order to obtain for her the necessaries

and comforts she requires, because she would do the same for me, if

I were in her place and she in mine.' Nothing of the kind! The wife

I spoke of, who told me the other day that she had not had her

clothes off for seventeen days and nights in nursing her husband

did not make it appear that she thought she was doing anything

extraordinary, or that she rendered this service to her companion

in life because she felt sure that had he been the wife and she the

husband, he would have gladly done the same for her.

"Had the newspapers thought that the American millionaire was going

to the Leper Island, with his gold, to make something out of it for

himself and family, or to make a name in the world, instead of his

being greeted with a chorus of admiration, there would have been a

universal chorus of execration at his selfishness. It was because

they believed that he was going to make the sacrifice of his own

gain, if not of his own self, for the benefit of the poor

sufferers, that they praised him.

"Supposing, however, that we come down to the low level of

self-interest, we insist then, that those who work from the motive

of love, rather than the motive of gain, will not necessarily be

sufferers in consequence, so far as this world goes. But it may be

asked, 'Will not unprincipled masters or mistresses be likely to

take advantage of this docile and unselfish spirit?' Perhaps, nay,

doubtless, in many cases, they will. The Salvation Army has been

taken advantage of all through its past history, and so have all

the true saints of God, because they have submitted to wrong, and

have not fought the injustice and false representations and

persecutions inflicted upon them from the beginning. It will

possibly be so to the end, but that does not affect the principle

for which I argue, which is, that we _must_ do good work, and as

much of it as we can, regardless of what the world may give us in

return.

"But, I think, I have sufficiently shown, as I have gone along,

that this class of service is not without its earthly rewards, and

that every interest of human nature--selfish and otherwise

alike--testify to the probability of its proving profitable to

those who practise it.

"If, however, the reward does not come in the form of money, or

houses, or lands, there will be gain in that which is far more

valuable than money and houses and lands, and which money and

houses and lands cannot buy. There will be the gain in peace, in

satisfaction, and in joy in the Holy Ghost in this life, to say

nothing of the gain in the world to come. But, on this point, I

shall have more to say another time.

"I remember hearing a gentleman relate the following incident in a

large meeting: 'Some time back,' he said, 'I was passing through

the streets of Liverpool. It was a cold, raw, wintry day. The

streets were ankle-deep in an unpleasant mixture of mud and ice,

and battling through it all, the came along a little procession of

ragged, haggard, hungry looking boys. Splash, splash, on they went,

through freezing slush, at every step making the onlookers

shudddered as they stood by in their warm, comfortable coats and

furs." In the front rank was a little fellow, who was scarcely more

than a bag of bones, half-naked, barefooted, his whole frame

shivering every time he put his foot down on the melting snow.

"'All at once, a big boy came forward, and, stooping down, bade the

lad put his arms round his neck, and, lifting him up on his back,

took his perished feet one in each hand and jogged along with his

burden.

"'I was moved,' said the speaker, 'at the sight; and going up to

the boy, commended him for his kindness. In his Lancashire brogue

the lad replied, "Aye, aye, sir; two feet in the cold slush are

not so bad as four." After a while,' said the speaker, 'I offered

to carry the little chap myself" but the honest fellow shook his

head, and said, "Nay, nay,' Mister; I winna part with him. I can

carry him; and he's a-warming o' my back."'

"And so, if seeking the good of others may not bring as much

worldly gain as a selfish course of action, it does ensure that

joyful warmth of heart which all loving service brings, and which

is among the most valuable of all the treasures of earth or Heaven.

Every man who acts on this principle is adding to the general sum

of human happiness. What is the sum of celestial happiness, the

happiness of God, the happiness of the angels, the happiness of the

Blood-washed spirits who are safely landed there? In what does this

happiness chiefly consist?

"I reply, Not in the golden streets, the unfading flowers, the

marvellous music, nor all the other wonders of the Celestial Land

put together, but in Love. Love is the essence of the bliss of

Heaven, for 'Love is Heaven, and Heaven is Love.' This happiness we

can have below. It is not the love others bear to us that makes our

felicity, but the love we bear to them; and, thank God, we can as

truly love on earth as we can in Heaven.

"And then, as I have been saying all along, acting on this

principle constitutes true religion. As labour done from selfish,

fleshly motives is of the earth, and as the results which follow it

will perish with the earth, even so labour done to bless mankind

and to please God is Divine, and the results flowing out of it must

be everlasting honour and joy. Where this principle is carried into

effect, every part of human conduct becomes religious--nay, a

positive act of Divine worship, and an acceptable song of praise."

Important Events Connected With The General's Life And Work

1827. Jan. 17th Catherine Mumford--afterwards Mrs Booth--born at

Ashbourne, Derbyshire

Apr. 10th William Booth born at Nottingham.

1844. Conversion of Catherine Mumford and William Booth.

1852. Apr. 10th William Booth entered the Methodist Ministry.

1855. June 16th Marriage of William Booth and Catherine Mumford.

1856. March 8th Birth of William Bramwell (now General) Booth.

1859. Mrs. Booth's first pamphlet "Female Ministry" published.

1861. Commenced to travel as Revivalist.

1865. July 5th Commenced Mission Work in East of London.

First Headquarters opened in Whitechapel Road.

1868. Christian Mission commenced work in Scotland.

1870. Publication of "How to reach the Masses" by the Rev. W.

Booth.

1875. Publication of the first volume of music.

1878. First Deed Poll, signed legally, constituting The

Christian Mission.

" Xmas. The name of the Christian Mission altered to The

Salvation Army, and the Rev. William Booth assume the

title of General.

First Corps flag presented by Mrs. Booth.

"Practical Christianity" by Mrs. Booth published.

1879. Dec. 29th Publication of the first number of the "War Cry."

Formation of the first Salvation Army Band at Consett.

1880. Headquarters removed to Queen Victoria Street.

Opening of the work in the United States and Australia.

Opening of first Training College.

Publication of first "Orders and Regulations."

"Godliness," by Mrs. Booth, published.

1881. Work extended to France.

First number of the "Little Soldier" issued.

1882. Opening of the Congress Hall and International Training

College at Clapton.

Marriage of W. Bramwell Booth and Captain Florence

Soper.

Work extended to Switzerland, Canada, Sweden and India.

Publication of "Life and Death" by Mrs. Booth.

First Prison-Gate Home opened in London.

1883. Work extended to South Africa and New Zealand.

1884. "The Training of Children," by the General, published.

First Band Journal issued.

First Rescue Home opened.

1885. "All the World" first published.

Criminal Law Amendment Act passed.

Trial and acquittal of W. Bramwell Booth.

1886. Death of The Army's first French Martyr.

The General paid his first visit to France, the United

States and Canada.

First International Congress held in London.

Work extended to Germany.

"Musical Salvationist" published.

Self-Denial Week established.

First "Orders and Regulations for Field Officers"

published, and first "Orders and Regulations for Staff

Officers" published.

1887. Thousand British Corps established.

First Slum Settlement established.

Work extended to Holland, Denmark and Zululand.

First Crystal Palace Anniversary Demonstration.

Auxiliary League founded.

General paid his first visit to Denmark, Sweden and

Norway.

"Popular Christianity," by Mrs. Booth, published.

1888. First Food Depot opened at Limehouse.

Work extended to Norway, Argentine, Finland and Belgium.

" June 21st. Mrs. Booth gave her last public address.

1889. The Petition for the Sunday Closing of Public-houses,

with 436,500 signatures, presented to the House of

Commons by the General.

Publication of "The Deliverer."

General visited Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and France.

1890. 25th Anniversary of The Army celebrated at the Crystal

Palace.

Oct. 4th. Mrs. Booth's Death.

" " 13th. Funeral Service at Olympia--36,000 present.

" " 14th. Funeral at Abney Park.

Publication of "In Darkest England" by the General.

1891. Work extended to Italy and Uruguay.

General first visited South Africa, Australia, New

Zealand and India.

£1,000. 0. 0. subscribed for "Darkest England" Scheme.

General signed "Darkest England" Trust Deed.

Opening of Industrial and Land Colony at Hadleigh, Essex.

Publication of "Social Gazette."

1892. General visited Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.

Publication of "Life of Catherine Booth."

1892. Work extended to West Indies.

1893. General visited Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Holland and

Norway.

1894. International Congress, in connection with the General's

Jubilee, held in London.

General visited America and South European Countries.

Work extended to Java.

1895. General visited South Africa, Australia and various

European Countries.

Work extended to Japan and British Guiana.

Naval and Military League established.

1896. General visited Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark.

Preached to 12,000 in Kings Gardens, Copenhagen.

First Salvation Army Exhibition--Agricultural Hall,

London.

Work extended to Malta.

1897. General inspected work in European countries.

1898. General visited United States, Canada and European

countries.

"Orders and Regulations for Social Officers" published.

1899. Second Salvation Army Exhibition--Agricultural Hall.

Visited Australia, New Zealand, Ceylon and European

countries.

Officers sent to the front to work amongst both sides in

the South African War.

1900. General visited European countries.

1901. General visited European countries.

Opening of first Inebriates' Home at Hadleigh.

1902. General visited United States, Canada and European

countries.

Publication of "Religion for Everyday" by the General.

1903. General visited America, Canada and European countries.

Received by President Roosevelt.

1904. June 24th. The General received by His Majesty, King Edward the

Seventh, at Buckingham Palace.

" June 25th. International Congress opened by the General in London.

" July 23rd. General received by Her Majesty, Queen Alexandra, at

Buckingham Palace.

August. Commenced his Motor Campaign.

Work extended to Panama.

General visited various European countries.

1905. General visited Palestine, Australia and various

European countries.

First Emigration Ship sails from Liverpool for Canada

with 1,000 emigrants.

The General created Honorary D.C.L., Oxford.

General received Freedom Cities of London and

Nottingham.

1906 Establishment of Anti-Suicide Bureau.

General conducted lengthy Campaigns Continental

countries.

1907. General visited Japan, America, Canada etc.

General received by Kings of Denmark and Norway, and

Queen of Sweden, and Emperor of Japan.

1908. Work extended to Korea.

General visited South Africa.

1909. General visited Russia, Finland and other European

countries.

General received by Kings of Norway and Sweden.

General received by Prince and Princess of Wales, now

King and Queen of England.

General received by Queen Alexandra and the Dowager

Empress of Russia.

80th Birthday Celebration at Albert Hall, London.

Met with accident involving loss of sight of one eye.

1910. General visited various European countries.

1911. General visited Italy and other European countries.

General conducted International Social Council in

London attended by Officers from all over the world.

1912. General visited North European Staff Council in Norway.

" May 23rd. Operation on remaining eye, followed by complete loss

of sight.

" Aug. 20th. The General laid down his Sword.

Footnotes

A. The general tendency towards indifference quite as much as the better

impulses of our age have produced such a toning down of the teachings of

Calvin, both in and out of Switzerland, that it may be startling to some

to be reminded that, except the Lutheran and Methodist, every Church

still has in its list of Doctrines those of Election and Predestination.

If it were true that every human being was predestined, before birth,

either to a good or a bad life, there would, of course, be no meaning in

a Saviour or a Gospel; and we can understand the indignation of this

honest lad, when he was asked to undertake to teach such things. He

never learned how to reconcile the profession of a set of doctrines one

does not believe with any religion. The recollection of this incident

helped him in limiting to the utmost possible extent, the Doctrinal

Declarations of The Army. But whatever he asked any one to subscribe to

he expected them truly to believe and earnestly to teach.

1. Transcriber's note: In the original, the words "in the United States

and Denmark, yet it will only make" were repeated. The entire paragraph,

with original linebreaks preserved, read:

This may possibly seem specially and curiously unfair

in the United States and Denmark, yet it will only make

in the United States and Denmark, yet it will only make

the principle of this omission from The General's own

records and ours the more clear.

The repeated line has been removed since this is clearly a printer's

error.