"To faith is assigned, by the Scriptures of truth, a most dignified position: it has much, very much, to do in the whole spiritual history of the saint; and according as it prospers or declines does the soul prosper or decline in its vital interests. Without it, it is impossible to enjoy God, to obey God, to please God. It nurtures the comfort, quietude, and stability of the soul. By faith we stand; by faith we walk; by faith we live, labor, fight, and conquer. It is that by which we purify our hearts; it is the victory that overcomes the world, the shield by which we quench the fiery darts of the wicked. It gives boldness and success to our patient enduring. What is the word read, or heard, or remembered, unmixed with faith? A profitless thing. Faith, by receiving the word of God in its true import and for its true intent, converts it into precious nourishment for the soul; feeding by faith upon the manna of truth, the soul is made prosperous—it flourishes in beauty and in strength, in hope and in gladness."
