There are _three things about a way_. There is a beginning; a finishing
place; and the course between the two points.
This pathway of the holy may be said to have its beginning at the
cleansing Fountain; it finishes, if it finishes at all, amid the
glories of the Heavenly World; but between these two points lies the
road which must be trodden, the journey which has to be made.
We often dwell upon that moment where the soul, by an act of submission
and trust, enters upon the highway, or 'gets the blessing', as we say;
but Holiness is, after all, a state, _a continuous experience_, a set
course or way in life where the will of the Lord is supreme, and the
full-hearted love of God is the great moving force. It is in that
course and along that path that you and I ought to travel continually.
We like testimonies from any who are in the way, but we appreciate
and are helped still more by the words of those who have walked on
in patient faith and obedience for long periods. Reading lately the
life of William Bramwell, I was encouraged by his testimony as to
obtaining the blessing of Holiness and its enjoyment for many long
years. But I was the more delighted to find his words supported by his
acquaintances, who bore testimony that Bramwell adorned the doctrine so
beautifully. Of himself this good man said, 'The Lord came suddenly to
His temple, and I had an immediate evidence that this was the blessing;
my soul was then all wonder, love, and praise. It is now twenty-six
years ago--I have walked in that liberty ever since.' You see, he _went
on_ in the way of Holiness because it had become his way of life.
One who was closely associated with this man said, 'I knew him
intimately for twenty years. I lived in the same house with him in his
seasons of relaxation as well as occupation, but never saw him in such
a temper that I could reprove. His soul was like a spring, continually
overflowing with the most amiable, benevolent emotion. In his last
years, in particular, he was like a shock of corn fully ripe and fit
for the heavenly garner, or like a beautiful tree whose vigorous and
luxuriant branches were weighted with a diversity of the richest
fruit.' Bramwell trod consistently the pathway of the holy, a worthy
successor of Enoch, who 'walked with God', and was translated after
receiving the testimony that his way pleased God.
I would like to refer to several features of this pathway of the holy
which appeal strongly to me.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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