=10.= So too concerning the existence, authority, and attributes of God, the testimonies of many holy men in ancient and modern times,--prophets whose credibility is established by the fulfillment of their predictions,--have come to us in united declaration of the solemn truths, and nature furnishes corroborative testimony on every side. To reject without disproving such evidence is to ignore the most approved methods of investigation and research known to man. The development of faith from evidence is illustrated in the scenes of a certain memorable Pentecost celebration, on which occasion thousands of Jews, imbued with a preconceived prejudice that Jesus was an impostor, heard the apostles' testimonies, and witnessed the attendant signs: three thousand of them were convinced of the truth and became followers of the Son of God, their prejudice giving place to belief, and their belief developing into faith with its accompanying works.[279] The foundation of faith in God then is a sincere belief in or knowledge of Him, as sustained by evidence and testimony, tested and proved by earnest, prayerful search. [279] See Acts ii. =11. Faith a Principle of Power.=--In its widest sense, faith,--the assurance of things for which we hope, and the evidence of things not discernible through our senses,--is the motive principle that impels men to resolve and to act. Without its exercise, we would make no exertion the results of which are future: without faith that he may gather in the autumn, man would not plant in the spring; neither would he essay to build, did he not have confidence that he would finish the structure and enjoy its use; had the student no faith in the possibility of successfully following his studies, he would not enter upon his courses. Faith thus becomes to us the foundation of hope, from which spring all our aspirations, ambitions, and confidences for the future. Remove man's faith in the possibility of any desired success, and you rob him of the incentive to strive. He would not stretch forth his hand to seize did he not believe in the possibility of securing that for which he reaches. This principle becomes therefore the impelling force by which men struggle for excellence, oftentimes enduring vicissitudes and suffering that they may achieve their purposes. Faith is the secret of ambition, the soul of heroism, the motive power of all effort.