ause of the
faith which trusts on the mercy of God. Therefore we must fear because
of the works, but comfort ourselves because of the grace of God, as it
is written, Psalm cxlvii: "The Lord taketh pleasure in them that I fear
Him, in those that hope in His mercy." So we pray with perfect
confidence: "Our Father," and yet petition: "Forgive us our
trespasses"; we are children and yet sinners; are acceptable and yet do
not do enough; and all this is the work of faith, firmly grounded in
God's grace.

XVII. But if you ask, where the faith and the confidence can be found
and whence they come, this it is certainly most necessary to know.
First: Without doubt faith does not come from your works or merit, but
alone from Jesus Christ, and is freely promised and given; as St. Paul
writes, Romans v: "God commendeth His love to us as exceeding sweet and
kindly, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us"; as if
he said: "Ought not this give us a strong unconquerable confidence,
that before we prayed or cared for it, yes, while we still continually
walked in sins, Christ dies for our sin?" St. Paul concludes: "If while
we were yet sinners Christ died for us, how much more then, being
justified by His blood, shall we be saved from wrath through Him; and
if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His
Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by His life."

Lo! thus must thou form Christ within thyself and see how in Him God
holds before thee and offers thee His mercy without any previous merits
of thine own, and from such a view of His grace must thou draw faith
and confidence of the forgiveness of all thy sins. Faith, therefore,
does not begin with works, neither do they create it, but it must
spring up and flow from the blood, wounds and death of Christ. If thou
see in these that God is so kindly affectioned toward thee that He
gives even His Son for thee, then thy heart also must in its turn grow
sweet and kindly affectioned toward God, and so thy confidence must
grow out of pure good-will and love--God's love toward thee and thine
toward God. We never read that the Holy Spirit was given to any one
when he did works, but always when men have heard the Gospel of Christ
and the mercy of God. From this same Word and from no other source must
faith still come, even in our day and always. For Christ is the rock
out of which men suck oil and honey, as Moses says, Deuteronomy xxxii.

XVI