THE SPECIAL HOLINESS MEETING.

The experience of holiness, like that of justification, can only be obtained by a special exercise of mind directed to that object. This special and pointed exercise of soul by which holiness is actually attained, in the very nature of things, renders the special holiness meeting a perpetual necessity.

1. Who has ever known any one to actually receive heart purity, except by a special effort to that end. I admit that many enter the experience in their closets, but in all such cases it is by a special effort of prayer and faith to that end; even then it is almost universally the case that they received their awakening and momentum on the subject under a definite holiness sermon or testimony, or in a special holiness meeting. Take away all the special efforts for the promotion of holiness from the last fifteen years, and where would the great uplift of the holiness movement have been? In nonentity. Mr. Wesley observed that nothing was ever accomplished in the direct and present salvation of souls by merely going through the regular Church service. True, I have known some persons to be converted and several believers to be sanctified while I have been preaching to them, but I was pointedly addressing a special set of hearers, and urging a definite salvation then and there by present faith alone. A thousand sermons delivered only in a regular way and presenting holiness as a general doctrine would not lead as many into the personal experience as one special holiness sermon followed by a special altar service would do. And this is being proved every day, and has been proved for ages. Do not thousands of our preachers stoutly affirm that they preach holiness, and that all their meetings are holiness meetings, and yet can they point to a solitary soul that can actually witness to obtaining the experience in their meetings? And, on the other hand, there is seldom a clear, specific sermon on holiness followed by an altar service of seeking, that does not result in one or more clear sanctifications. A religious meeting is known by its fruit.

2. The special meeting for promoting holiness is a necessity to conserve the true idea and kindle the experience. Taking the country through, there are but few places where sanctification is clearly preached. In the special meeting, kindred spirits that long for God can meet and give definite attention to one subject, free from debate and antagonism; they can read the Scriptures bearing on the theme, read and spread special literature, definitely seek and positively declare the experience.

3. Even when the preacher clearly presents the subject of purity, and when the theme mingles less or more in all the services, the special holiness meeting is still needed. The trite saying of making all our meetings holiness meetings, is nothing but a dry platitude of the adversary, both empty and false. While all our meetings should be holy, yet they are not, and can not be -holiness meetings. The Sunday- school, the temperance meeting, our financial and official meetings and missionary prayer-meetings and many others should indeed be all holy, but any one knows that in the very nature of things they are not meetings for specific instruction and the attainment of holiness. A holy meeting and a holiness meeting are very different things. A holy meeting is any sort of meeting, religious or secular, that is in harmony with the law of God; but a holiness meeting is where the doctrine of holiness is clearly taught, the experience specially sought and witnessed to. A wed ding or a funeral or a house-moving may all be holy — performed in harmony with every law of God; but who would call them holiness meetings? There are details of instruction and experience and an urging of believers to its immediate attainment, which a sensible, sanctified pastor will find utterly impracticable to put into all his services, and he will see the need of having a special service for the thorough understanding and promotion of sanctification. That trite expression, "Let all our meetings be holiness meetings," is simply a tricky speech of Satan, with just enough truth in it to blind the minds of many. If Satan can dupe us into the notion that all our meetings are for holiness, and destroy the feature of specialty, he knows that he has checked or stopped the spread of personal sanctification. It is just this feature of specialty alone which has spread holiness so in recent years; it is just exactly this feature of specialty in literature, preaching and meetings, by which alone it will be spread in the future; it is just this thing of specialty that Satan, sinners and carnal church-members so hate, and it is this touch stone of specialty that devoted Christians so love and that God so signally owns with His outpouring Spirit. If you mean to kill the work of holiness, then stop the special methods and generalize it; that will do it.