’I see more than ever that the religion which is pleasing to God consists in doing and enduring His will, rather than in good sentiments and feelings. The Lord help us to endure as seeing Him who is invisible.’—Mrs. Booth.

When our first General stood on that October evening by the grave of his beloved wife, and spoke to us with a breaking heart of our Army Mother, he unfolded to us the three great qualities which made her character so beautiful. First, and foremost, she was good; secondly, she was love; and, thirdly, she was a Warrior. Let us, following The General’s outline, look at these three leading qualities in her life. ‘First,’ he said, ’she was good. She was washed in the Blood of the Lamb. To the last moment her cry was “a sinner saved by grace.” She was a thorough hater of shams, hypocrisies, and make-believes. Her goodness was of a practical sort. “By their fruits ye shall know them” was a text she often quoted, and one by which she was always willing to be judged.’

It is of this ‘goodness of a practical sort’ that I want first to tell you, before we consider that soul goodness which made her life so holy.

Mrs. Booth could not imagine any goodness apart from industry. As we have already seen, she considered it a sin to waste precious time. Any one who was lazy she could not endure, and when one such offered for the work she wrote of him:–

’I do hope you will not throw a lot of money away in trying H–––, just for want of courage to tell him at once that he will not do, because I am sure that it will be thrown away. It is the nature of the man that is at fault, and not his circumstances. He is a drone, and nothing, no change of place or position, can ever make him into a bee. He never ought to have left his trade; he never would have done so if he had thought soul-saving was harder work!’

Extravagance and waste of every kind she abhorred, and had she not been so careful in planning and arranging, her time and money would again and again have run short. The sewing, mending, and housekeeping needed for a family of little children when means are scarce would have been burden enough for most mothers. But besides this came her own letter-writing, preparing for her Meetings, and also the hours she spent consulting and advising The General, whose voice, ‘Here, Kate,’ would call her from the nursery or kitchen to help him decide some important question.

Again, it was impossible to talk to Mrs. Booth, even for five minutes, without finding how true and sincere she was. To please no one would she keep back the truth, or appear different from her real self.

‘I believe,’ she writes, when quite a young woman, ’honesty to be the best policy, and I shall act upon it. Let me have truth, if it shakes the foundation of the earth.’

She was sincere and faithful in every part of her nature: faithful with her own soul and in dealing with the souls of others. Great or small, rich or poor, she made no difference, and never held back from reproving sin when it was needful.

‘I see more than ever,’ she said, ’the need of making righteous people true in their inward parts. Let us be more thorough than ever with souls under conviction. Let us not be afraid to wound too deeply. Thousands of professors have never been truly convinced of sin, much less truly converted. Sin to them is being found out!’

Though all through her life our Army Mother hungered and thirsted to know God better, and to serve Him more perfectly, yet it was not till some time after her marriage that she received the blessing of a clean heart.

Of the struggle and conflict which she went through, before the blessing of Holiness became hers, she shall tell you in her own words:–

’I had been earnestly seeking all the week to know Jesus as an all-sufficient Saviour dwelling in my heart, and thus cleansing it every moment of all sin; but on Thursday and Friday I laid aside almost everything else, and spent the chief part of the day in reading and prayer, and trying to believe for it. On Thursday afternoon at tea-time I was well-nigh discouraged, and felt my old visitant, irritability, and the Devil told me I should never get it, and so I might as well give it up at once. However, I know him of old as a liar and the father of lies, and pressed on, cast down, yet not destroyed.

’On Friday morning God gave me two precious passages. First, “Come unto Me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Oh, how sweet it sounded to my poor, weary, sin-stricken soul! I almost dared to believe that He did give me rest from inbred sin–the rest of perfect Holiness. But I staggered at the promise through unbelief, and therefore failed to enter in. The second passage consisted of those thrice-blessed words, “Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.” But again unbelief hindered me, although I felt as if getting gradually nearer.

’I struggled through the day until a little after six in the evening, when William joined me in prayer. We had a blessed season. While he was saying, “Lord, we open our hearts to receive Thee,” that word was spoken to my soul, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear My voice, and open unto Me, I will come in, and sup with him.” I felt sure He had long been knocking, and Oh, how I yearned to receive Him as a perfect Saviour! But Oh, the inveterate habit of unbelief! How wonderful that God should have borne so long with me! When we got up from our knees, I lay on the sofa, exhausted with the excitement and effort of the day. William said, “Don’t you lay all on the altar?” I replied, “I am sure I do!” Then he said, “And isn’t the altar holy?” I replied in the language of the Holy Ghost, “The altar is most holy, and whatsoever toucheth it is holy.” Then, said he, “Are you not holy?” I replied with my heart full of emotion and with some faith, “Oh, I think I am!” Immediately the word was given me to confirm my faith. “Now are ye clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” And I took hold–true, with a trembling hand, and not unmolested by the tempter, but I held fast the beginning of my confidence, and it grew stronger, and from that moment I have dared to reckon myself dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God through Jesus Christ my Lord.

’I did not feel much rapturous joy, but perfect peace, the sweet rest which Jesus promised to the heavy laden. I have understood the Apostle’s meaning when he says, “We who believe do enter into rest.” This is just descriptive of my state at present. Not that I am not tempted, but I am allowed to know the Devil when he approaches me, and I look to my Deliverer Jesus, and He still gives me rest. Two or three very trying things occurred on Saturday, which at another time would have excited impatience, but I was kept by the power of God through faith unto full Salvation.

’And now what shall I say? “Unto Him who has washed me in His own Blood be glory and dominion for ever and ever,” and all within me says “Amen!” Oh! I cannot describe, I have no words to set forth the sense I have of my own utter unworthiness. Satan has met me frequently with my peculiarly aggravated sins, and I have admitted it all. But then I have said, the Lord has not made my sanctification to depend in any measure on my own worthiness or unworthiness, but on the worthiness of my Saviour. He came to seek and to save “that which was lost.” “Where sin hath abounded, grace doth much more abound"’

How wonderfully in after years Mrs. Booth explained and led others into this same blessing, we know. Was not, then, the long struggle and agony on her own behalf worth it? Yes, indeed, and it will be so with you when you get this glorious blessing in your soul.

You will have noticed how in struggling for Holiness Mrs. Booth had to fight unbelief. This determination to trust God fully marked her out as strong in faith.

She had this marvellous faith because she obeyed and struggled to throw herself on the Lord; but faith was not natural to her any more than it is to you or me.

Often money was short, and she hardly knew how she would be able to feed and clothe her family: this was a sore trial of her faith. On one such occasion she wrote to her mother:–

’We have not at present received as much as our travelling expenses and house rent. I feel a good deal perplexed, and am sometimes tempted to mistrust the Lord. But I will not allow it. Our Father knows!’

Later on we get a sight of her own experience in one of her letters, when she said:–

’I am much tried just now by perplexities of every kind; uncertainty, from a human standpoint, hedges me in on every side. Satan says it is useless trying to steer straight through such a labyrinth; but I am determined to hold on to the promises, come what will. My God is the living God. He sees me, knows me, loves me, cares for me, wants to have me with Him in Glory, as much as He did Abraham, or Paul, or John. If this be true, what have I to fear?’

And again:–

’"Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldst believe, thou shouldst see the Salvation of God?” This is a precious word. It has kept my soul alive many a time when Satan has almost overthrown me. “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to thee. Never mind whether anybody else can or cannot. If others are too strong to let Me carry them, if thou art weak enough to throw up all self-effort, and trust Me with thy whole weight, I will carry thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.” I know this is the way. Hence the babes go in with the simple and the great sinners, while the reasoners, and the strong, and the proud, and the fearful are shut out.’

Again, to one who was cast down, and tempted to be discouraged because of his failings, she writes:–

’It is well to see them, for how can we take hold of Jesus to mend what we don’t see? It is best to know ourselves, but we Salvationists are in danger of erring on the other side. We look too much at ourselves apart from Him who is or would be our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Faith in Him as your keeper will do more in five minutes than years of conflict without it.’

Once, in another letter, she gives us a beautiful bit of her own soul’s experience on this subject:–

’I had such a view of His love and faithfulness on the journey from Wellingborough, that I thought I would never doubt again about anything. I had the carriage to myself, and such a precious season with the Lord, that the time seemed to fly. As the lightning gleamed around I felt ready to shout, “The chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.” Oh, how precious it is when we see as well as believe, but yet more blessed to believe and not see! Lord, work this determined, obstinate, blind, unquestioning, unanswering faith in me and my beloved friend, and let us two dare to trust Thee in the midst of our peculiar trials. As I looked at the waving fields, and grazing sheep, the flashing sky, a Voice said in my soul, “Of what oughtest thou to be afraid? Am I not God? Cannot I supply thy little, tiny needs?” My heart replied, “It is enough, Lord; I will trust Thee, forgive my unbelief."’

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