“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.