“Those who have reached this stage have already made great and encouraging progress; for God has made them conquerors over their inward foes.  The rule and reign of pride and malice, envy and lust, covetousness and sensuality, and every other evil thing have come to an end.

     “They triumph on that account, but the conflict is not yet ended. 
     Sometimes the battling is very severe; but with patient, plodding
     faith they persevere in the ascent, singing as they go:—­

        “Faith, mighty faith, the promise sees,
          And looks to that alone;
        Laughs at impossibilities,
          And cries, ‘It shall be done!’

     “And now, close at hand, is the stage of deliverance, where the
     triumph is begun.

“And now, ten thousand Hallelujahs! let it be known to all the world around, that once on this plateau the separation from sin is entire; the heart is fully cleansed from evil; the promise is proved to be true, ’They that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled.’

“At a great Christian Conference the other day an eminent divine said that The Salvation Army believed in a ‘perfect sinner,’ but that he believed in a ‘perfect Saviour.’  This, I contend, was a separation of what God has joined together and which never ought to be put asunder.  For, glory be to the Father, glory be to the Son, and glory be to the Holy Ghost, The Salvation Army believes, with its Lord, that a perfect Saviour can make a poor sinner into a perfect saint.  That is, He can enable him to fulfil His own command, in which He says:  ’Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect.’ (Matthew v. 48.)

     “But there is one plateau higher still which, like a tableland,
     covers the entire summit of the mountain, and that the maturity
     stage.

“Here the graces of the Spirit have been perfected experience, and faith, and obedience, and the soul does the will of God as it is done in Heaven, united in the eternal companionship of that lovely being—­the Spirit of Purity.

     “What do you say to my holy mountain, my comrades?

“Are you living up there?  Have you climbed as near to Heaven as that represents?  If not, I want to make a declaration which you have often heard before, but which it will do you no harm to hear again, namely, that it is the will of God that you should not only reach the very summit, but that you should abide there.

     “Do you ask why God wills that you should reach and abide on this
     holy mountain?

     “I reply it is the will of God that you and I, and every other
     Officer in this blessed Army, should be holy for His own
     satisfaction.