nd confidence toward God. From this Sows the second good
work, to praise God's Name, to confess His grace, to give all
honor to Him alone. Then follows the third, to worship by
praying, hearing God's Word, thinking of and considering God's
benefits, and in addition chastising one's self, and keeping the
body under.

But when the evil spirit perceives such faith, such honoring of
God and such worship, he rages and stirs up persecution, attacks
body, goods, honor and life, brings upon us sickness, poverty,
shame and death, which God so permits and ordains. See, here
begins the second work, or the second rest of the Third
Commandment; by this faith is very greatly tried, even as gold in
the fire. [Ecclus. 2:5] For it is a great thing to retain a sure
confidence in God, although He sends us death, shame, sickness,
poverty; [1 Pet. 4:12] and in this cruel form of wrath to regard
Him as our all-gracious Father, as must be done in this work of
the Third Commandment. Here suffering contains faith, that it
must call upon God's Name and praise it in such suffering, and so
it comes through the Third Commandment into the Second again; and
through that very calling on the Name of God and praise, faith
grows, and becomes conscious of itself, and so strengthens
itself, through the two works of the Third and of the Second
Commandment. Thus faith goes out into the works and through the
works comes to itself again; just as the sun goes forth into its
setting and comes again unto its rising. [Ps. 19:6] For this
reason the Scriptures associate the day with peaceful living in
works, the night with passive living in adversity, and faith
lives and works, goes out and comes in, in both, as Christ says,
John ix. [John 9:4]

[Sidenote: The Parallel with the Lord's Prayer]

XXV. This order of good works we pray in the Lord's Prayer. The
first is this, that we say: "Our Father, Who art in heaven";
these are the words of the first work of faith, which, according
to the First Commandment, does not doubt that it has a gracious
Father in heaven. The second: "Hallowed be Thy Name," in which
faith asks that God's Name, praise and honor be glorified, and
calls upon it in every need, as the Second Commandment says. The
third: "Thy kingdom come," in which we pray for the true Sabbath
and rest, peaceful cessation of our works, that God's work alone
be done in us, and so God rule in us as in His own kingdom, as He
says, Luke xvii, "Behold, God's kingdo