Page:Swedenborg, Harbinger of the New Age of the Christian Church.djvu/289

 wherever a prayer is either thought or read, wherever a voice of thanksgiving is sent up to Him who is the Giver of all good, there is His church; and it is consequently here where I live sheltered from the world.'

"Both the faithful servants bowed their heads and said—'But this is not the way of the world.'

"'The way of the world, my friends?' replied Swedenborg, 'I suppose the way of the world is Christian, is it not?'

"'Yes, it is.'

"'In name it is, but not in spirit and in truth. Faith without works is a dead faith: a flower which does not live is nothing but lifeless dust; and faith which does not live in every action of man is a dead faith—it is no faith at all. Here, my friends, see what this Christian world really does. They call indeed upon Him, the only Son, in their times of need, but they forget both His teaching and His life. Like an obstinate child who despises warning, they rush into all manner of lusts, into pride and wickedness, which are like a thin, frail covering over an abyss; and over this yawning abyss they scoff at their Teacher,