Faithful

“ May we be faithful to ourselves, faithful to all the principles we have received, seeking one another's interests with all our heart, and God will pour out his Spirit upon us, and we will come off victorious in the end, which I ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. ”

“ Whereupon then can I hope, or wherein ought I to trust, save in the great mercy of God alone, and in the only hope of heavenly grace?
For whether I have either religious brethren, or faithful friends; whether holy books, or beautiful treatises, or sweet chants and hymns; all these help but little, and have but little savour, when grace forsaketh me, and I am left in mine own poverty. ”

“ Those who begin to waver in matters of Christian faith and practice are in danger of falling away. (3.) The motive or reason enforcing this duty: He is faithful that hath promised. God has made great and precious promises to believers, and he is a faithful God, true to his word; there is no falseness nor fickleness with him, and there should be none with us. His faithfulness should excite and encourage us to be faithful, and we must depend more upon his promises to us than upon our promises to him, and we must plead with him the promise of grace sufficient. ”

“ When I review my past life and see the way in which I have been led, I am so convinced of the faithfulness of God in answer to the prayers of faith, which I have been enabled in times of trial to offer to Him, that I find the temper of my mind is to constant praise: 'Bless the Lord, Oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits!' is ever recurring to me. ”

“ But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Heb. XI, 6. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Heb. X, 23. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised.
2 Tim. I, 13. Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. ”

“ '"Be to the best thou knowest ever true,"
Is all the creed.
Then be thy talisman of rosy hue,
Or fenced with thorns, that wearing, thou must bleed,
Or, gentle pledge of love's prophetic view,
The faithful steps it will securely lead. ”

“ That we may be more diligent and faithful in the observance of the laws of God than in the past; and that through faith and good works we may be able to see as God sees us, and be Latter-day Saints indeed and of a truth, is my prayer. ”

“ Faith must be living. We must shape our lives according to the will and teaching of God. Now faith teaches us that God has revealed His will to us by His commandments, so that what we have to do, if we wish to enter the kingdom of heaven, is to keep the commandments. Not every one who says: ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Not faith alone, nor a confession of faith by words only, can obtain an entrance there without a faithful observance of God’s commandments. The just man must practise good works, and show thereby that the grace, fear and love of God are in him. ”

“ III. Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run, and be glorified, as also with you; 2and that we may be delivered from perverse and evil men; for all have not the faith. 3But faithful is the Lord, who will establish you, and guard you from evil3. 4And we have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that ye both do, and will do, the things which we command you. ”

“ And with such a heart and mind are the scriptures to be read, and the examples and glorious effects of faith to be considered, that so we may receive strength and holy boldness, more nearly to unite ourselves with God, and to enjoy his infinite love and faithfulness in a more ample and abundant manner. ”

“ Then comes the strong assurance that God in His faithfulness would keep them from evil, together with the expression of his own personal confidence concerning them that they would be faithful to his counsels and commands. ”

“ Then Christian looked and said, It is my good friend Evangelist. Aye, and my good friend too, said Faithful, for ’twas he that set me on the way to the gate. Now was Evangelist come up unto them, and thus saluted them.
Evan. Peace be with you, dearly beloved; and peace be to your helpers.
Chr. Welcome, welcome, my good Evangelist: the sight of thy countenance brings to my remembrance thy ancient kindness and unwearied labors for my eternal good.
Faith. And a thousand times welcome, said good Faithful, thy company, O sweet Evangelist; how desirable is it to us poor pilgrims! ”

“ He may not understand [p221] how faithfulness to the leadings of the Spirit, in such measure as we have Him already, faithfulness to His faintest whisper in reference to ordinary conduct, is essential to all fuller experience of His power and work as the Spirit of holiness. ”

“ This is the glorious foundation, hope, and comfort of those whose hearts are under the influences of his Spirit, who are driven from every other refuge, and are enabled to believe to the present salvation of the Soul. This faith, which is the work of God on the hearts of his people, evidences their election of God, their complete redemption from the ruins of the fall, and that the work is genuine; it is the earnest God has given them, and all their present peace and joy is according to the strength or weakness of this grace. This makes Christ precious, the Word sweet, and the Saints dear. ”

“ Faithfulness is to the emotional life what consistency is to the life of the intellect—simply a confession of failures. ”

“ Secondly, That he is true to all the promises he has made in Christ; we venture our souls upon God's veracity, being satisfied that he is true; we are willing to deal with him upon trust, and to quit all in this world for a happiness in reversion and out of sight. By this we greatly honour God's faithfulness. Whom we give credit to we give honour to. ”

“ COLD in the earth—and the deep snow piled above thee,
Far, far removed, cold in the dreary grave!
Have I forgot, my only Love, to love thee,
Sever'd at last by Time's all-severing wave?
Now, when alone, do my thoughts no longer hover
Over the mountains, on that northern shore,
Resting their wings where heath and fern-leaves cover
Thy noble heart for ever, ever more?
Cold in the earth—and fifteen wild Decembers
From those brown hills have melted into spring:
Faithful, indeed, is the spirit that remembers
After such years of change and suffering! ”

“ Faith alone is that evidence, that conviction, that demonstration of things invisible, whereby the eyes of our understanding being opened, and divine light poured in upon them, we see the wondrous things of God’s law, the excellency and purity of it; the height and depth and length and breadth thereof, and of every commandment contained therein. It is by faith, that beholding the light of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ, we perceive, as in a glass, all that is in ourselves, yea, the inmost motions of our souls. ”

“ This mental felicity—this "weight of glory," cannot be enjoyed, but by the exercise of a living faith in Christ. Such a faith begets a sincere obedience in our life and conversation. It is a faith "that works by love, purifies the heart and overcomes the world." The great apostle to the Gentiles exclaims—"the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." We therefore "walk by faith, not by sight." ”

“ Show me, as my soul can bear, The depth of inbred sin; All the unbelief declare, The pride that lurks within. But when he heareth thy prayer, and unveils thy heart; when he shows thee throughly what spirit thou art of; then beware that thy faith fail thee not, that thou suffer not thy shield to be torn from thee. ”

“ Faith, elevating you above yourself and all earthly things, leads you to regions to which the most distinguished genius, joined to the most profound and persevering study, can never approach. Faith makes you in a certain way the sister of angels and of men,—of men who have been the most remarkable on earth for their excellent qualities of head and heart. Faith associates you with the glorious choirs of heaven, and, when truly lively and active, will bring you unalloyed felicity and ineffable joy. ”

“ Let us plead for faith alone,
faith which by our works is shown;
God it is who justifies,
only faith the grace applies.
Active faith that lives within,
conquers hell and death and sin,
hallows whom it first made whole,
forms the Savior in the soul. ”

“ As we have been blessed and preserved in the past, so it will ever be with us, if we will only be true to ourselves and walk in the ways of truth and righteousness. Has not our experience been sufficient in the past to give us confidence in the future? Has not our faith been increased by the multiplicity of blessings and favors which we have received at the hands of our heavenly Father? Inasmuch as we have asked in faith for blessings, and have had our prayers answered upon our heads, have we not faith and confidence to approach our heavenly Father again and again to supplicate for blessings? ”

“ And lastly we have for this life, both by nature and grace, the comprehensive virtue of Faith, "in which all our virtues come to us" and which has in its own nature three elements: understanding, belief, and trust. With Faith, which belongs perhaps chiefly to Reason,—Faith is "nought else but a right understanding, with true belief and sure trust, of our Being: that we are in God, and God in us, Whom we see not," "A light by nature coming from our endless Day, that is our Father, God" (liv., lxxxiii.) ”

“ Let not this be your case, but, listening with an humble and docile heart to the teachings of faith, reason and experience, learn to know the world and its dangers while your age and condition still shield you from its seductions. Of all the means by which divine Providence enlightens our minds here below, divine faith, as you are aware, is the purest, the brightest and the most reliable,—not only because it comes from God, but because it is presented to us by an authority which He has established, and which, by His special assistance, He preserves from all error. ”

“ Faith is a grace that one expression supposes and another expressly requires: Knowing this, that the trial of your faith, v. 3; and then in v. 6, Let him ask in faith. There must be a sound believing of the great truths of Christianity, and a resolute cleaving to them, in times of trial. That faith which is spoken of here as tried by afflictions consists in a belief of the power, and word, and promise of God, and in fidelity and constancy to the Lord Jesus. ”

“ Faith is a sure trust which a man hath in God, that his sins are forgiven. Or if you are not, whether you hear our church or no, at least hear the scriptures. Hear believing Job, declaring his faith, I know that my Redeemer liveth. ”

“ Receive me with this holy offering of your precious Body, which I offer to you to-day in the presence of angels, assisting though unseen, that it [pg 168] may be for my welfare and for the welfare of all yourpeople.
The voice of the beloved: "God does not deceive you; he is deceived who trusts too much to himself. God walks with the simple, reveals Himself to the humble, gives understanding to the feeble, opens His meaning to pure minds, and hides His grace from the inquisitive and proud. Human reason is weak and may be deceived, but true faith cannot be deceived. ”

“ The faith I want is a sure trust and confidence in God, that through the merits of Christ my sins are forgiven and I reconciled to the favour of God. Believe and thou shalt be saved! He that believeth is passed from death to life. ”

“ Let us, I say, join and knit all these together with the chearful exercise of faith and trust in God. Let us excite one another, with comfortable words, to cast ♦off all fear of man. Wheresoever God hath wrought a good will, let us take heed of damping it in any of the least members of Christ; but let us cherish it by the word of the gospel, and by the rules of true Christian discretion, keep it within such bounds, as may bring it to a fuller and more substantial maturity. ”

“ May that love ever dwell richly in you by faith! May it constrain you to seek the wandering souls of men with the fervent desire to spend and be spent for his glory! May the unction of the Holy Spirit attend the word spoken by you with power, and convey deep conviction to the hearts of your hearers! May many of them experience the Divine change of being made new creatures in Christ!
“Sir, be fervent in prayer with God for the conviction and conversion of sinners. His power is great, and who can withstand it? ”

“ Note, Wherever there is a true faith, it will work: it will have an influence upon heart and life; it will put us upon working for God and for our own salvation. We have comfort in our own faith and the faith of others when we perceive the work of faith. Show me thy faith by thy works, Jam. ii. 18. (2.) Their love and labour of love. Love is one of the cardinal graces; it is of great use to us in this life and will remain and be perfected in the life to come. ”

“ Grant that, according to the riches of thy glory, I may be strengthened with might by thy Spirit in the inner man: dwell in my heart by faith, that 'rooted and grounded in love, I may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, and be filled with all the fulness of God.' Give unto thy redeemed servant the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. ”

“ Paul, “Thou standest by faith.” [56] And this is exactly what is taught us in this passage. In verse 1, we are taught that it is by faith that we are justified; and then, in verse 2, we learn that it is by faith that we have access into this grace wherein we stand. From first to last, therefore, it is a matter of faith. The whole secret of our standing, and of the joy that follows from it, is found in that one word “trust.” Trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your finished p. ”