g soul, by the pledge of its faith in Christ, becomes
free from all sin, fearless of death, safe from hell, and endowed with
the eternal righteousness, life, and salvation of its Husband Christ.
Thus He presents to Himself a glorious bride, without spot or wrinkle,
cleansing her with the washing of water by the word; that is, by faith
in the word of life, righteousness, and salvation. Thus He betrothes her
unto Himself "in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in judgment, and in
loving-kindness, and in mercies" (Hosea ii. 19, 20).

Who then can value highly enough these royal nuptials? Who can
comprehend the riches of the glory of this grace? Christ, that rich and
pious Husband, takes as a wife a needy and impious harlot, redeeming
her from all her evils and supplying her with all His good things. It
is impossible now that her sins should destroy her, since they have
been laid upon Christ and swallowed up in Him, and since she has in her
Husband Christ a righteousness which she may claim as her own, and which
she can set up with confidence against all her sins, against death and
hell, saying, "If I have sinned, my Christ, in whom I believe, has not
sinned; all mine is His, and all His is mine," as it is written, "My
beloved is mine, and I am His" (Cant. ii. 16). This is what Paul says:
"Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ," victory over sin and death, as he says, "The sting of death is
sin, and the strength of sin is the law" (1 Cor. xv. 56, 57).

From all this you will again understand why so much importance is
attributed to faith, so that it alone can fulfil the law and justify
without any works. For you see that the First Commandment, which says,
"Thou shalt worship one God only," is fulfilled by faith alone. If you
were nothing but good works from the soles of your feet to the crown of
your head, you would not be worshipping God, nor fulfilling the First
Commandment, since it is impossible to worship God without ascribing to
Him the glory of truth and of universal goodness, as it ought in truth
to be ascribed. Now this is not done by works, but only by faith of
heart. It is not by working, but by believing, that we glorify God, and
confess Him to be true. On this ground faith alone is the righteousness
of a Christian man, and the fulfilling of all the commandments. For to
him who fulfils the first the task of fulfilling all the rest is easy.

Works, since they are irrational t