Of Kate Lee General Bramwell Booth writes, 'She was one of those
conquering souls who seldom look like a conqueror. She presented an
extraordinary contrast. She was weak, and yet she was strong. She was
poor, and yet she was one of the richest. She was intensely human, with
many of the most marked limitations which belong to the human, and yet
she was in an extraordinary degree spiritual, yes, even divine.'
These contrasts were clear to all and puzzling to many. Not a few people
both in and outside the ranks of The Army have asked the question,
'Wherein lay the secret of Kate Lee's success?' One person, accustomed
only to surface views, gave answer, 'It is that she always aims to win
trophies.'
Let any one determine to gain distinction for himself by lifting from the
mire of sin souls robbed by the devil of hope and will power, and even
desire for deliverance; let them essay to bring back from the far country
wanderers sunk to the level of the brute; let them attempt to break bands
of habit forged by the devil, or to deliver the prey from the terrible
one. He will discover the impossibility of his enterprise if not his
folly.
Desire to win spiritual battles in order to gain personal reputation is
age-old. From the day that Simon the sorcerer offered Peter money in
exchange for miracle-working power, the exercise of which would have
placed him upon a pedestal above his fellows, the rebuke has rung out,
'Thy heart is not right in the sight of God.'
Shortly before Jesus left His little band of disciples, with the charge
to preach the Gospel to every creature, He spoke with them on the subject
of spiritual fruitfulness. He assured them that, 'Herein is My Father
glorified, that ye bear much fruit,' and in one sentence He made clear
the secret of spiritual success. He said, 'He that abideth in Me, and I
in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without Me ye can do
nothing.'
The failure of the Church of Christ to extend His Kingdom upon earth by
great sweeping victories, lies in the imperfect apprehension or the
neglect of this declaration. Tens of thousands of professing Christians
do not abide in Christ; consequently, He cannot satisfy their soul. The
cares and pleasures of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, occupy
them as they do the ungodly; for their pleasures they turn to the world.
A smaller section have faith in Christ, and realize the joys of
Salvation, and comfort of His presence, but they do not yield themselves
to Him for service. A smaller section dedicate themselves to His service,
but rush to work for God without receiving directions from Him, with the
result that much effort is wasted. If every consecrated soul would pay
heed to Christ's direction, how gloriously would His Kingdom extend! Not
that the battle would ever become an easy one. The powers of evil against
which we fight are second only in strength to those of righteousness and
light. In conflict between these powers there will always be the
sacrifices of war to reckon upon, the spade work, the tunnelling, the
weariness; surprises of the enemy, rushed advances, sick and wounded to
care for, and captured territory to be occupied, organized, and governed,
before the final victory.
Kate Lee was one of the company that dwell in God. It is difficult to
write of her secret soul life; for, keeping no journal she made no record
of the dealings between her soul and her Beloved; no fights and victories
over the powers of evil, no story of following the heavenly vision, nor
does her very scrappy correspondence contain out-pourings of spiritual
experience. Her life was a lovely epistle of week-day holiness for all to
read, but it was the outward sign of an inward experience. Locked in a
private box, a "Covenant" was found after her death which is as a key to
the inner sanctuary in which her life was lived with Christ in God. It
reads as follows:--
COVENANT
_Solemnly entered into, January, 1897; Renewed, January, 1918_
TO MY PRECIOUS LORD AND MASTER
In the first moments of this year I present myself to Thee in the
deepest humiliation of soul, sensible of my utter unworthiness. I
desire nothing in the world so much as to be Thine, and with the
utmost solemnity, surrender myself fully unto Thee.
I declare Thee, O Lord, this day, to be my God, and myself to be
Thine own child. Hear, O Thou God of Heaven, and record it in Thy
Book of Remembrance, that I am Thine, only Thine.
From this first day of January do I solemnly renounce all that has
had dominion over me, and every sin, and every lust, and in Thy
name, set myself in eternal opposition to the powers of hell.
The whole frame of my nature, all the faculties of my mind, all the
members of my body would I present to Thee this day, as a living
sacrifice.
I consecrate myself to Thee; all my worldly possessions; and I pray
Thee to give me the strength and courage to exert for Thy glory all
the influence I may have over others. Receive and wash me. Forgive
all past failings, clothe me with Thy perfect righteousness, and
sanctify me throughout by the power of Thy Spirit.
Help me that I may never withdraw in any point from this renewal of
my consecration and covenant.
Help me to live in the spirit of real consecration and crucifixion;
and should I fail in carrying out this covenant in all points as I
ought, then, dear Lord, forgive and lead me to perfection.
In Thy strength I promise to be true till death. Until then, keep,
guide, and direct me.
Remember, dear Lord, this covenant when I am about to pass away;
and should I then be incapable of recollecting it, look with pity
on Thy dying child. Put strength and confidence into my departing
spirit, and receive it to the embrace of Thy everlasting love.
For Jesus Christ's sake.
May this petition be granted.
(Signed) KATE LEE.
_Renewed, January 1st, 1920_
Another valuable document traces for us Kate Lee's seeking after
sanctification. After having lived in the enjoyment of this blessing for
nearly thirty years, she was asked by the editor of 'The Officer' to
write her experience. The following article appeared in that magazine
three years ago:--
Soon after I was converted I realized a great need in my heart. I
had turned my back on the old life, and my face was toward God. I
had started to travel the upward way. For the first few weeks I
went with a rush, the joy of the new life within buoyed me up. I
felt as though I was walking on air. I did not feel any strain of
the upward tread. But soon I began to feel the tension of the
daily struggle, the weary march. There were obstacles in that way
that impeded my progress. My circumstances were against me, and
the influences surrounding me had a tendency to draw me from
Christ.
I began to stumble and fall. The tempter was soon at my side
suggesting, 'You're not converted; it's all a delusion; you
would not feel as you do; you would not fail as you have done,
if you were really a child of God. Give it up, it's no use trying,'
he argued. And, worst of all, I knew sin still existed in my
heart. How often passion had broken my peace. How many times
bitterness and evil had manifested itself in my nature. Was I
mistaken? Had I ever been converted? Was it all a delusion?
Just then God in His love and pity came to my heart; gave me a
revelation. He not only showed me myself and my sin, but showed
me my need. I needed something, and as I sat in a holiness
meeting I realized that need was sanctification. For months the
word sanctification was to me a heavy burden; a torture. I could
not really grasp its meaning. I read and re-read the theory of
sanctification, going from one authority on the subject to
another, only to turn away still more puzzled. I then set myself
to seek publicly and was several times found at the holiness
table, pleading for the blessing that I failed to understand.
Again and again I came to the altar, and, as far as I
understood, laid my all there. But as soon as the test came,
without realizing that I did it, I took from off the altar the
sin I had laid there, or the gifts that I had surrendered to
God.
This is where I failed many times, and during my officership I have
found scores of other souls who have failed on this very point.
They come sincerely to the altar, definitely laying their gift
there, a living sacrifice; but when the knife is felt, the
realization of the dying comes upon them as they feel the hurt and
understand fully what it means, they shrink and draw back. Abram's
experience, related in Genesis xv., has been a great help to me. He
had to wait for the fire. He prayed all day, even until eventide,
and then the birds of prey came down; but he stood by the sacrifice
and drove them off. Then the fire came and consumed the sacrifice.
That was just the point to which I had to get. I had laid my all on
the altar, but then I had to wait for the fire. Meanwhile, the birds
of doubt, fear, and discouragement came flying around. I had to get
up again and again to drive them off, and hold on to God.
Fresh light came; a new path opened up. The laying of self on the
altar meant following God fully and showing my colours everywhere.
Could I do it? It was hard to die to self, and say, 'Yes, Lord.'
But as I said it, I felt I was accepted, and afterwards, when I
carried out that vow, joy flooded my soul and I realized that the
Spirit of the Lord was upon me. The desire to sin was removed, and
my heart yearned to be kept pure and clean.
I have found the need of great watchfulness, and have needed much
prayer to keep my soul in touch with God and on fire for precious
souls. Although I realized, after I was sanctified, that I was over
sin and no longer under the power of sin, and that I was cleansed
from the desire to sin, yet in his subtlety the devil has come again
and again and striven to bring me down.
Sometimes he has come as an angel of light, so that I have been led
to the very verge of sin, tempted to indulge in what seemed at the
moment harmless, perhaps because others, who professed as much as I
did, indulged in it too. Tempted to shrink from the sacrifice that a
separated life must mean; tempted to give way to the flesh, one's
natural desires and inclinations, I have even allowed the devil to
take me to the edge of a great spiritual precipice, but God, in His
mercy, has flashed His wonderful light upon my path in time to show
me where I was, and what would be the outcome if I yielded to the
temptation. Oh, how it caused me to pray and seek strength which
enabled me to overcome!
Prayer has been my source of help, when burdens have pressed so
heavily upon me that they threatened to crush my spirit; when
disappointments, misrepresentations almost overwhelmed me, prayer
has brought strength and comfort, a courage that could face a
world of bitterness and scorn. I have proved that prayer will
enable me to retain the substance of holiness. Prayer enables me
to retain a passion for souls; keep it burning in hours of
disappointment and failure, indifference and hardness, when men
and devils rise in power against me.
One must tread the path of holiness carefully, with a watchful eye
and ear always open to His voice, and a spirit ever ready to obey.
But it is a wonderful way, a way of purity, where the soul can see
God, even in the struggles of life. A way of joy; the deepest of
joys. The realization of His smile enables me to live independent
of all the joys of the world and to rejoice in the hour of sorrow.
A way of power; when the channel is clear He works through it and
accomplishes His will.
A personal experience of Full Salvation was the secret of Kate Lee's
success.
This life was not spasmodic. She did not pass in and out of the holy
place, or step on and off the highway of holiness. She dwelt there. That
does not imply that never during those thirty years was she overcome by
Satan. Once, into a deep sorrow was poured the bitterness of gall through
the wickedness of another. The enemy came in like a flood, threatening to
overwhelm and root up many precious things, but the Spirit of the Lord
was there to lift up a standard against him. 'If ye forgive not your
enemies, neither will your Father forgive you,' was the word that came to
her heart. She closed her lips, hushed her sobs, crept to the feet of her
Lord, where are ever the print of cruel nails, to remind His children of
His sufferings and His forgiveness.
'I was wrong,' she said, 'very wrong. I must forgive, I _do_
forgive'; and to the close of her life she lavished love upon one who had
sore wounded her. 'If we sin we have an Advocate.' She laid her case in
His hands, and left it there.
The officers who served as lieutenants with Kate Lee give us glimpses of
the life she lived in the privacy of her quarters. We may stand at the
door of the sanctuary where she met with God and learn a little. Says one
of her lieutenants, 'It seemed to me that she prayed without ceasing. Her
life was one continual looking to God. She prayed upon rising. We prayed
together after breakfast; later, she went to her room for an hour's
private prayer and study; for special undertakings or emergencies she had
special seasons of waiting upon God.'
How much there was to pray for. Her own soul and that of her lieutenant,
that they might be kept in touch with God. Her corps, every department of
it; the local officers, the band, the songsters, the home league; the
soldiers and converts; the town, with its sin and indifference to the
claims of Christ, the finance. Then, hers was not a small soul. She loved
the whole wonderful Salvation Army of which she was a unit, and her
leaders and comrades in all lands were remembered at the Throne of God.
It was a great strength to her to feel that she lived in the atmosphere
of prayer. When in the midst of a specially heavy battle for souls, she
would write to comrades she knew had power in prayer and beg them
specially to help her to fight through to victory.
Very real were the powers of darkness and evil against which this frail
little woman set herself; sometimes they pressed her sore. She felt
something of the sorrows and travail of soul of her Saviour, of whom it
is written, 'And being in an agony, He prayed.' At times she suffered
from depressions so heavy that they prostrated her. The lieutenant says,
'At these times, all I could do was to let her feel that I was carrying
on, whilst she sought her chief remedy, prayer. By and by, she would come
from her room, strengthened and peaceful, ready again for the fight.'