W. GREENE
(Baptist)

 

1. W. GREENE
(Baptist)

Blessed be God for a free and full salvation. It is a little over a year since God granted me

such a view of my heart, that I was brought to cry out, “Give me a baptism of the Holy Ghost, or I
can preach the Gospel no longer.”

Then came the fiercest struggle of my whole life. A terrible encounter with the unseen

powers of darkness followed. But, thanks be unto God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord
Jesus Christ, I as enabled to lay my soul and body, time, education, and hopes, my will, my all,
upon that Altar that sanctifieth the gift; and believe that the offering was accepted.

O! how — those past fifteen years of religious profession, and three years of ministerial life

seemed to be almost in vain. The blessed Jesus became mine in a fuller sense than I ever supposed
possible in this life. From that hour simple faith took hold of Him as a Saviour mighty to save,
even unto the uttermost. O, this is salvation, indeed! What a glorious growth in Christ I might have
had, if I had received this great salvation before. I shall never cease to praise God for this blessed
deliverance.

After I was enabled to trust Jesus as my complete Saviour, I was strongly tempted that I

had nothing more than I had enjoyed before, and that I ought not to speak of it as anything special.
So I prayed to God to give me an experience that I could not doubt, and that the enemy even might
not gainsay.

On the 8th of January, 1866, while I was conversing with the Presbyterian minister of our

place on simple faith, the Holy Ghost came upon me in mighty power. I could only utter His name,
by way of adoration, for a quarter of an hour (as my friend told me afterwards), though it did not
seem half so long; then I fell upon the floor powerless, though not entirely unconscious; and for
more than an hour I was so filled with an awful sense of the presence of the Holy Ghost, that I had
to pray almost continually that I might not shrink, but to be willing to receive all that God had in

 

store for me, though it should kill me. I could hardly bear to hear any thing, spoken but the name or
praises of the Third Person of the adorable Trinity.

Then came the precious Saviour and supped with me. I had never seen Him before as He

appeared then. His love melted me till I wept aloud. During His visitation, also, I was lost to
every thing else. Father and Holy Spirit were not thought of. Finally, came a consciousness of the
Father’s love. Never before did He seem so near, so full of infinite love. He became my heavenly
Parent. While adoring and viewing Him every other object vanished. We communed together.

So it was; first, the Spirit, whom I had so nearly ignored all my life, whose presence nearly

consumed me; then the Son, my all sufficient Saviour; and, lastly, the Father manifested Himself
unto me, as He does not unto the world. My greatest wonder is, that God should have granted so
much to me. How can I praise Him sufficiently! Persecution has waxed hot, and does yet; but I do
not care for that, so long as I find a sure retreat beneath the wing of the Almighty. I must not now
give granted unto me richly, from that time to this.

Source: “Pioneer Experiences” by Phoebe Palmer

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THE END

 

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HOW THEY ENTERED CANAAN
(A Collection of Holiness Experience Accounts)
Compiled by Duane V. Maxey

Vol. I — Named Accounts