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How To Be Sought.

"'But what is that faith whereby we are sanctified, saved from sin, and
perfected in love?' It is a divine evidence and conviction, first, that
God hath promised it in the holy Scripture. Till we are thoroughly
satisfied of this, there is no moving one step farther. And one would
imagine there needed not one word more to satisfy a reasonable man of this
than the ancient promise, 'Then will I circumcise thy heart, and the heart
of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind.' How clearly does this express the being
perfected in love!--how strongly imply the being saved from all sin! For as
long as love takes up the whole heart, what room is there for sin therein?

"It is a divine evidence and conviction, secondly, that what God hath
promised he is able to perform. Admitting, therefore, that 'with men it is
impossible' 'to bring a clean thing out of an unclean,' to purify the
heart from all sin, and to fill it with all holiness,--yet this creates no
difficulty in the case, seeing 'with God all things are possible.' And
surely no one ever imagined it was possible to any power less than that of
the Almighty! But if God speaks, it shall be done. God saith, 'Let there
be light; and there [is] light.'

"It is, thirdly, a divine evidence and conviction that he is able and
willing to do it now. And why not? Is not a moment to him the same as a
thousand years? He cannot want more time to accomplish whatever is his
will. And he cannot want to stay for any more _worthiness_ or _fitness_ in
the persons he is pleased to honor. We may, therefore, boldly say, at any
point of time, 'Now is the day of salvation!' 'To-day, if ye will hear his
voice, harden not your hearts.' 'Behold, all things are now ready; come
unto the marriage.'

"To this confidence that God is both able and willing to sanctify us now,
there needs to be added one thing more--a divine evidence and conviction
that he doeth it. In that hour it is done: God says to the inmost soul,
'According to thy faith be it unto thee.' Then the soul is pure from every
spot of sin; it is clean 'from all unrighteousness.' The believer then
experiences the deep meaning of those solemn words, 'If we walk in the
light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.'

" 'But does God work this great work in the soul gradually, or
in