The Authoritative Life of General William Booth, Founder of the Salvation ArmyRailton, George S. (George Scott)
History
The Authoritative Life of General William Booth, Founder of the Salvation Army
Railton, George S. (George Scott)
Booth, William, 1829-1912; Salvation Army
"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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account