The faith which is required of us as a condition of salvation always includes confidence or reliance, as well as assent or persuasion. That faith by which “the elders obtained a good report,” was of this character; it united _assent_ to the truth of God’s revelations with a noble _confidence_ in his promise. “Our fathers trusted in thee, and were not confounded.” We have a farther illustration in our Lord’s address to his disciples upon the withering away of the fig tree: “Have faith in God.” He did not question whether they believed the existence of God, but exhorted them to confidence in his promises, when called by him to contend with mountainous difficulties: “Have faith in God; for verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe (trust) that these things which he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he saith.” It was in reference to his simple confidence in Christ’s power that our Lord so highly commended the centurion, and said, “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel,” Matt. viii, 10. And all the instances of faith in the persons miraculously healed by Christ, were also of this kind: their faith was belief in his claims, and also confidence in his goodness and power.

That faith in Christ which in the New Testament is connected with salvation, is clearly of this nature; that is, it combines assent with reliance, belief with trust. “Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name,” that is, in dependence upon my interest and merits, “he shall give it you.” Christ was preached both to Jews and Gentiles as the object of their trust, because he was preached as the only true sacrifice for sin; and they were required to renounce their dependence upon their own accustomed sacrifices, and to transfer that dependence to his death and mediation,--and “in his name shall the Gentiles trust.” He is said to be set forth as a propitiation, “through faith in his blood;” which faith can neither merely mean assent to the historical fact that his blood was shed by a violent death; nor mere assent to the general doctrine that his blood had an atoning quality; but as all expiatory offerings were _trusted in_ as the means of propitiation both among Jews and Gentiles, faith or trust was now to be exclusively rendered to the blood of Christ, as the divinely appointed sacrifice for sin, and the only refuge of the true penitent.

To the most unlettered Christian this then will be very obvious, that true and saving faith in Christ consists both of assent and trust; but this is not a blind and superstitious trust in the sacrifice of Christ, like that of the Heathens in their sacrifices; nor the presumptuous trust of wicked and impenitent men, who depend on Christ to save them in their sins; but such a trust as is exercised according to the authority and direction of the word of God; so that _to know_ the Gospel in its leading principles, and to have a cordial _belief_ in it, is necessary to that more specific act of faith which is called _reliance_, or in systematic language, _fiducial assent_. The Gospel, as the scheme of man’s salvation, declares that he is under the law; that this law of God has been violated by all; and that every man is under sentence of death. Serious consideration of our ways, confession of the fact, and sorrowful conviction of the evil and danger of sin, will, under the influence of divine grace, follow the cordial belief of the testimony of God; and we shall then turn to God with contrite hearts, and earnest prayers, and supplications for his mercy. This is called “repentance toward God;” and repentance being the first subject of evangelical preaching, and then the injunction to believe the Gospel, it is plain, that Christ is only _immediately_ held out, in this divine plan of our redemption, as the object of trust in order to forgiveness to persons in this state of penitence and under this sense of danger. The degree of sorrow for sin, and alarm upon this discovery of our danger as sinners, is no where fixed to a precise standard in Scripture; only it is supposed every where, that it is such as to lead men to inquire earnestly, “What shall I do to be saved?” and with earnest seriousness to use all the appointed means of grace, as those who feel that their salvation is at issue, that they are in a lost condition, and must be pardoned or perish. To all such persons, Christ, as the only atonement for sin, is exhibited as the object of their trust, with the promise of God, “that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” Nothing is required of such but this actual trust in, and personal apprehension or taking hold of, the merits of Christ’s death as a sacrifice for sin; and upon their thus believing they are justified, their “faith is counted for righteousness,” or, in other words, they are forgiven.

This appears to be the plain Scriptural representation of this doctrine; and we may infer from it, (1.) That the faith by which we are justified is not a mere assent to the doctrines of the Gospel, which leaves the heart unmoved and unaffected by a sense of the evil and danger of sin and the desire of salvation, although it supposes this assent; nor, (2.) Is it that more lively and cordial assent to, and belief in, the doctrine of the Gospel, touching our sinful and lost condition, which is wrought in the heart by the Spirit of God, and from which springeth repentance, although this must precede it; nor, (3.) Is it only the assent of the mind to the method by which God justifies the ungodly by faith in the sacrifice of his Son, although this is an element of it; but it is a hearty concurrence of the will and affections with this plan of salvation, which implies a renunciation of every other refuge, and an actual trust in the Saviour, and personal apprehension of his merits: such a belief of the Gospel by the power of the Spirit of God as leads us to come to Christ, to receive Christ, to trust in Christ, and to commit the keeping of our souls into his hands, in humble confidence of his ability and his willingness to save us.

This is that qualifying condition to which the promise of God annexes justification; that without which justification would not take place; and in this sense it is that we are justified by faith; not by the merit of faith, but by faith instrumentally as this condition: for its connection with the benefit arises from the merits of Christ and the promise of God. If Christ had not merited, God had not promised; if God had not promised, justification had never followed upon this faith; so that the indissoluble connection of faith and justification is from God’s institution, whereby he hath bound himself to give the benefit upon performance of the condition. Yet there is an aptitude in this faith to be made a condition; for no other act can receive Christ as a Priest propitiating and pleading the propitiation and the promise of God for his sake to give the benefit. As receiving Christ and the gracious promise in this manner, it acknowledgeth man’s guilt, and so man renounceth all righteousness in himself, and honoureth God the Father, and Christ the Son, the only Redeemer. It glorifies God’s mercy and free grace in the highest degree. It acknowledges on earth, as it will be perpetually acknowledged in heaven, that the whole salvation of sinful man, from the beginning to the last degree thereof, whereof there shall be no end, is from God’s freest love, Christ’s merit and intercession, his own gracious promise, and the power of his own Holy Spirit.

Faith, in Scripture, sometimes is taken for the truth and faithfulness of God, Rom. iii, 3; and it is also taken for the persuasion of the mind as to the lawfulness of things indifferent, Rom. xiv, 22, 23; and it is likewise put for the doctrine of the Gospel, which is the object of faith, Acts xxiv, 24; Phil. i, 27; Jude 3; for the belief and profession of the Gospel, Rom. i, 8; and for fidelity in the performance of promises.

FAITHORNE, William (1656-1686), a mezzotinto engraver, son of the former, was born in 1656. He had the advantage of his father’s instructions, and devoting his attention chiefly to mezzotinto, at an early age gave promise of attaining great excellence, but became idle and dissipated, and it is said involved his father in money difficulties. Among persons of note whose portraits he engraved are Charles II., Mary princess of Orange, Queen Anne when princess of Denmark, and Charles XII. of Sweden. He died in 1686.

The best account of the Faithornes is that contained in Walpole’s Anecdotes of Painting. A life of Faithorne the elder is preserved in the British Museum among the papers of Mr Bayford, librarian to Lord Oxford, and an intimate friend of Faithorne.

FAIZAbAD, a division or commissionership of Oudh in British India, now under the jurisdiction of the lieutenant-governor of the North-Western Provinces. It lies in 26°-28° 30' N. lat. and 81° 5-83° 15' E. long., and comprises the three districts of FaizAbAd, GondA, and Bharaich. It is bounded on the N. by the independent state of NepAl, on the E. by Gorakhpur district, on the S. by Azimgarh and Sultanpur, and on the W. by BAra Banki, SitApur, and Kheri. Population, according to the census of 1868—Hindus, 3,028,502; Mahometans and others, 350,760; total, 3,379,262, of whom 1,747,411 were males and 1,631,851 females. Number of villages or townships, 8452. Area, 7671 square miles.

FaizAbAd, a district of British India in Oudh, under the lieutenant-governor of the North-Western Provinces, in 26°-27° N. lat. and 81°-82° E. long., is bounded on the N. and E. by the Gogra river, on the S. by Azimgarh district, and on the W. by the Gumti river. The area, according to the latest estimate in 1877, is 1649 square miles, and the population 1,024,092 souls. FaizAbAd forms a very historical district, lying between the two great rivers of Oudh, and is interesting alike for its calamities and its ruins. AjodhyA, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Oudh, which plays so conspicuous a part in the Sanskrit epics, lies in its northern angle, close to the present city of FaizAbAd. In more modern times the district was the centre of the nawAb vizier’s influence, and contained his capital until the removal of his court to Lucknow in 1775. In 1857 it became the scene of the disaster described below. Since the mutiny, the district has settled down into a peaceful part of the British empire, with an increasing population. It is penetrated throughout its length from north to south by the Oudh and Rohilkhand railway, and does an important trade with the great cities of the north-west. The growth of its population has been the more marked, owing to the previous desertion and decay in the last century on the transfer of the nawAb’s court to Lucknow. The population, classified according to religion, is—Hindus, 922,360, Mahometans, 100,410, Christians, 1322, of whom 1267 represent the European soldiers; total, 1,024,092; the density of population averaging 621 per square mile. The five largest towns, containing upwards of 5000 inhabitants, are—FaizAbAd, population, 37,804; TAnda, 13,543; AjodhyA, 9949; JalAlpur, 6275; and Sajauli, 5614. The railway stations are the following :—MAlipur, Akbarpur, KAnurpur, GosAinganj, Tandauli, BelarghAt, Darsinagar, AjodhyA, FaizAbAd, and Sajauli. The estimated cultivated area in 1875 was 628,690 acres, of which rice was returned as occupying 162,562; wheat, 162,895; other food grains, 248,837; oil-seeds, 6888; sugar, 27,800; cotton, 492; opium, 4982; indigo, 6900; fibres, 202; tobacco, 3957; and vegetables, 3522. The total value of the trade of FaizAbAd in 1874-75 was exports <£425,115, and imports <£122,511, the chief articles of export being food grains, oil-seeds, country cloth, and silk, and cotton; and of imports, sugar, spices, European piece goods, &c. The revenue of the district in 1874-75 was £151,856, of which £133,243, or 85 per cent., was derived from the land-tax. The machinery for protecting person and property consisted of 15 magisterial and 15 civil and revenue courts. The regular police force consisted of 552 officers and men, maintained at a cost of £8363 out of the imperial revenue; a town and cantonment police numbering 237, and costing £1402 from local sources; and a village police numbering 2277 men, maintained by the villagers or landholders at a cost of £5524. The average daily number of prisoners in jail in 1875 was 791, or one to every 1294 of the populx-tion. The schools in the same year numbered 98, attended by 4461 pupils. Four charitable dispensaries afforded medical aid to 13,463 patients; and a poorhouse furnished assistance to 6752 paupers in the shape of food, clothing, and shelter.

FaizAbAd, the chief town and administrative headquarters of the district of the same name, situated on the right or south bank of the Gogra, in 26° 47' N. lat. and 82° 15' E. long. Adjacent to FaizAbAd on the E., and now forming a suburb of the town, is AjodhyA, the ancient capital of King Daswratha, the father of RAma, the hero of the RAmAyanA. 01 this ancient city, said to have covered an area of 48 kos, now hardly a trace remains. The modern Ajodhya contains several Jain and Hindu temples. The city of Faizabil was founded about 1730 by Sa’adat Ali KhAn the first nawAb vizier of Oudh, who made it his capital. The place rapidly grew in importance until 1775, when the court of Oudh was removed to Lucknow. It then rapidly decayed, all the leading merchants, bankers, &c., abandoning the place. In 1839, Butter estimated its population at 100,000 but fast diminishing, owing to the exactions and oppressions by the native officials of the nawAb’s Government. At the time of the census in 1869 FaizAbad contained only 37,804 inhabitants; but it is now again advancing in prosperity, and is rapidly becoming an emporium of trade. At the time of the annexation of Oudh in 1856 FaizAbAd was made, and still continues to be, a large military station. On the outbreak of the mutiny in 1857, the cantonment contained two regiments of infantry, a squadron of cavalry, and a light field battery of artillery —all natives. Owing to their threatening demeanour after the Meerut massacre, many of the European ladies and children were sheltered by one of the great landholders of Oudh, and others were sent forward to less disturbed parts of the country. The troops rose, as was anticipated, and although they at first permitted their officers to take boats and proceed towards Dinapur, a message was afterwards sent to a rebel force lower down the river to intercept the fugitives. Of four boats, one succeeded in reaching Dinapur safely, having passed the rebels unnoticed. Of the occupants of the other three boats, one person alone escaped. FaizabAd is now a station for European as well as for native troops.