wilt thou canst make me clean." Jesus knew his inward faith, and put forth his hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed." (Matt. viii. 2, 3.) It is from a knowledge of what a true faith is, that the Apostle says, "The just shall live by faith" (Rom. i. 17), and, that by faith we are justified and saved.
Remember, O man! be it deeply impressed upon thy soul, that a true faith in God is that which is alive in thee, and which constantly works by love. Faith is a clear perception in the understanding of the truths of the Word, which yields a settled confidence in the perfect fulfilment of the Lord's promises, and a full dependence on Him for all things. Faith without the life of love and charity is dead.
Guard thy thoughts. O Christian man! against faith alone; it is blind and proud, lifting up its sightless eyeballs to heaven, while its possessor walks stumbling on earth. A true faith in God is that which works by love. Truth and faith are the same—they are one. In truth, love is concealed, and faith is the bosom in which charity dwells. If thou hast faith in God, thou hast a clear perception of truth, and thou hast love and desire to follow whither it leads. Faith without love and charity is not faith, but a dead persuasion, false and treacherous! It is the winter of the mind, when all heavenly affections and thoughts lie torpid and dead: while faith in which love dwells, is as the spring and summer of the soul, which, while it warms the heart, illuminates the path of our earthly pilgrimage, and gives firm and settled hopes of brighter prospects beyond the grave. We must all, sooner or later, take our flight from time into eternity. How
