r to man."

IX. Now this is the work of the First Commandment, which commands:
"Thou shalt have no other gods," which means: "Since I alone am God,
thou shalt place all thy confidence, trust and faith on Me alone, and
on no one else." For that is not to have a god, if you call him God
only with your lips, or worship him with the knees or bodily gestures;
but if you trust Him with the heart, and look to Him for all good,
grace and favor, whether in works or sufferings, in life or death, in
joy or sorrow; as the Lord Christ says to the heathen woman, John iv:
"I say unto thee, they that worship God must worship Him in spirit and
in truth." And this faith, faithfulness, confidence deep in the heart,
is the true fulfilling of the First Commandment; without this there is
no other work that is able to satisfy this Commandment. And as this
Commandment is the very first, highest and best, from which all the
others proceed, in which they exist, and by which they are directed and
measured, so also its work, that is, the faith or confidence in God's
favor at all times, is the very first, highest and best, from which all
others must proceed, exist, remain, be directed and measured. Compared
with this, other works are just as if the other Commandments were
without the First, and there were no God, Therefore St. Augustine well
says that the works of the First Commandment are faith, hope and love.
As I said above, such faith and confidence bring love and hope with
them. Nay, if we see it aright, love is the first, or comes at the same
instant with faith. For I could not trust God, if I did not think that
He wished to be favorable and to love me, which leads me, in turn, to
love Him and to trust Him heartily and to look to Him for all good
things.

X. Now you see for yourself that all those who do not at at all times
trust God and do not in all their works or sufferings, life and death,
trust in His favor, grace and good-will, but seek His favor in other
things or in themselves, do not keep this Commandment, and practise
real idolatry, even if they were to do the works of all the other
Commandments, and in addition had all the prayers, fasting, obedience,
patience, chastity, and innocence of all the saints combined. For the
chief work is not present, without which all the others are nothing but
mere sham, show and pretence, with nothing back of them; against which
Christ warns us, Matthew vii: "Beware of false prophets, which come to