and of a low, and mean, and fervile fpirit; the ufual temptation to it being fear of lofing fome advantage, or incurring fome danger. Hence was that saying, that it is the property of a flave to lie, but of a free man to speak truth: Now, whatever argues bafenefs or imperfection, our reafon tells us is infinitely to be feparated from the most perfect Being. God cannot be tempted with evil, the divine nature being all-fufficient, can have no temptation to be otherwife than good, and juft, and true, and faithful. Men are tempted to lie by advantage, and out of fear: but the divine nature hath the fecurity of its fulness and all-fufficiency, that it cannot hope for any increase, nor fear any impairment of its eftate. Men are unfaithful, and break their words, either becaufe they are rafh and inconfiderate in paffing of them, or forgetful in minding them, or inconftant in keeping of them, or impotent and unable to perform them: But none of these are incident to God; his infinite wifdom, and perfect knowledge, and clear forefight of all events, fecure him both from inconfideratenefs, and inconftancy, and forgetfulness; and his infinite power renders him able to perform what he hath fpoken, and to make good his word. And that thefe are the natural dictates and fuggeftions of our minds, appears clearly from the reafonings of the Heathen in this matter; who were deftitute of divine revelation. Plato, de repub. lib. 2. lays down this as a certain truth, "That lying and falfhood are imperfections, and odious to God and men ;" Τὸ μὲν ψεῦδ θ ε μόνον ὑπὸ θεῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπ ̓ ἀνε θρώπων μισείται. And afterwards he tells us, "That the divine nature is free from all temptations hereto, either from advantage or fear; ¿n åp' isìv * ἕνεκα αν θεὸς ψ δοιτο· πάντη ἄρα ἀψευδὲς τὸ Oov; and concludes, "therefore God is true, and "deals plainly with us, both in his words and "actions, and is neither changed himfelf, nor de"ceives us." Porphyry, in the life of Pythagoras, tells us, "That this was one of his precepts, Manisa σε δ' αληθεύειν, τῖτο γὰρ μόνον δύναται τὸς ἀνθρώ * πως ποιῶν θεῷ παραπλησίας.” And afterwards he

adds,

adds, "That truth is fo great a perfection, that if "God would render himfelf vifible to men, he "would choose light for his body, and truth for his foul."

Secondly, From fcripture. The fcripture doth very frequently attribute this to God, 2 Sam. vii. 28. And now, O Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true. Pfal. xxv. 10. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth. Pfal. xxxi. 5. Into thine hand I commit my fpirit; thou haft redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. Rev. iii. 7. These things faith be that is holy, he that is true. long, O Lord, holy and true? -XV. 3. Just and true are thy ways, thou King of faints.

vi. 10. How

xvi. 7. True and righteous are thy judgments. Hither we may refer thofe texts which fpeak of the plenty and abundance of God's truth: Exod. xxxiv. 6. Abundant in goodness and truth. Pfal. lxxxvi. 15. Plenteous in mercy and truth; and those which speak of the duration and eternity of it: Pfal. c. 5. And his truth endureth to all generations. cxvii. 2. And the truth of the Lord endureth for ever. cxlvi. 6. Who keepeth truth for ever.

As the fcripture doth attribute this perfection to God, fo it removes the contrary from him with the greatest abhorrence and deteftation: Numb. xxiii. 19. God is not a man, that he should lie, neither the fon of man, that he should repent: hath he faid, and fhall not he do it? or hath he spoken, and fhall be not make it good? They are Balaam's words, but God put them into his mouth. I Sam. XV. 29. The strength of Ifrael will not lie nor repent, for he is not a man that he should repent. Rom. iii. 4. Yea, let God be true, and every man a liar. Nay, the fcripture goes further; does not only remove lying and falfhood, and inconftancy from God, but speaks of these as things impoffible to the divine nature: Tit. i. 2. In hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie, promifed before the world began. Heb. vi. 18. That by two immutable things, in which it was impoffible for God to lie, we might have a strong confolation, who

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have

have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope fet before us.

And the fcripture doth not only in general attribute this perfection to God, but doth more particularly affure us of his fincerity, and truth and faithfulness. Of his fincerity, that he deals plainly with us, and fpeaks what he intends, that his words are the image of his thoughts, and a true reprefentation of his mind. God is very careful to remove this jealoufy out of the minds of men, who are apt to entertain unworthy thoughts of God, as if notwithstanding all that he hath declared, he had a fecret defign to ruin men; therefore he interpofeth his oath for our greater affurance, Ezek. xxxiii. 11. As I live, faith the Lord God, I have no pleafure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way, and live. When God fpeaks to us, he speaks his mind, and hath no defign to circumvent and poffefs us with error and delufion : If he offer life and happiness, we may believe he is real; and that if he did not intend to bestow it upon us, or if there were no fuch thing as a future glory, he would not have declared it to us: this was the temper of our Saviour, who was the exprefs image of the Father, full of grace and truth. John xiv. 2. In my Father's house are many manfions; if it were not fo, I would have told you.

And as the fcripture affures us of his fincerity, fo of his truth and faithfulness in the accomplishment of all his predictions, and performance of all his promifes. As for the truth of his predictions, and certain accomplishment of them, the fcripture frequently ufeth this proverbial fpeech, to affure us of the certainty of their accomplishment; Heaven and earth fhall pass away, but my words shall not pass away, Matth. xxiv. 35. For the faithfulnefs of God in his promifes, the fcripture makes frequent mention of it: Deut. vii. 9. Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy. Pfal. lxxxix. 33, 34. I will not Suffer my faithfulness to fail: My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

The

The fcripture doth record God's punctual and full performance of his promifes, particularly of that promife to Abraham, after four hundred years, to bring the children of Ifrael out of Egypt, and to give them the land of Canaan for an inheritance, Gen. xv. 13. the punctual accomplishment you have recorded, Exod. xii. 41. And it came to pass, at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selffame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt. See likewife Josh. xxi. 44, 45. and xxiii. 14. 1 Kings viii. 56. And upon this account it is, that God is fo frequently in fcripture ftiled the God that keepeth covenant, 1 Kings viii. 23. Nehem. i. 5. ix. 32. and

in feveral other places. And fo likewife of predicti ons of evil to come, God is true in fulfilling his word, 1 Sam. xv. 29. when the Prophet had threatened Saul to rent the kingdom from him, he adds, the strength of Ifrael will not lie, nor repent; for he is not a man that he should repent.

III. I come to remove fome objections that may be made against the truth and faithfulness of God. Firft, It is objected against the fincerity of God, and his plain dealing, that he is fometimes reprefented in fcripture, as infpiring Prophets with falfe meffages, 1 Kings xxii. 20, &c. Jer. iv. 10.

Ezek. xiv. 9.

XX. 7.

Anfw. As to three of these texts, it is a known Hebraifm to exprefs things in an imperative and active form, which are to be understood only permiffively. So where the devils befought Chrift, that he would Suffer them to enter into the herd of fwine, he faid unto them, Go, Matth. viii. 31. He did not command, but permit them. And fo John xiii. 27. where our Saviour fays to Judas, What thou doft, do quickly; we are not to understand, that he commanded him to betray him, though that feem to be expreffed in the form. So likewife here, where an evil spirit offered himself to be a lying fpirit in the mouth of the Prophet and God fays, Go forth, and do so; this only fignifies a permiffion, not a command. And fo Jer. iv. 10. where the Prophet complains that God

003

had

had greatly deceived the people, faying, they should have peace, when the word reached to the foul; we are to understand this no other ways, but that God permitted the falfe Prophets to deceive them, prophefying peace to them; as appears by the hiftory. Ezek. xiv. 9. I the Lord have deceived that Prophet, that is, permitted him to be deceived, and to deceive the people, as a juft judgment upon them for their infidelity, with refpect to his true Prophets. This he threatens at the 5th verfe; I will take the boufe of Ifrael in their own heart, because they are all eftranged from me through their idols; because they have chofen to themselves falfe gods, I will fuffer them to be deceived with falfe prophets And that this is the meaning, appears by the threatening added, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and I will deftroy him from the midst of my people. Now God will not punish that whereof he is the author.

That text, Jer. xx. 7. Thou haft deceived me, and I was deceived, fignifies no more, but that he had miftaken the promise of God to him, who, when he gave him his commiffion, told him he would be with him, by which he understood that no evil fhould come to him, and now he was become a derision, and the people mocked him; and in his paffion and weakness, he breaks forth into this expreffion, Thou haft deceived me, and I was deceived; whereas it was his own mistake of the meaning of God's promife, which was not that he fhould not meet with fcorn, and oppofition, and perfecution, but that they fhould not prevail against him, as you may fee at the latter end of the first chapter.

ap

Second Objection against the faithfulness of God, as to the performance of his promife. It is objected, That God did not give the children of Ifrael all the land which he promised to Abraham ; as will pear by comparing Gen. xviii. 19, 20. with Jafh. xiii, 1. &c. and Judg. ii, 20, 21. Gen. xv. 18. God promifed to give Abraham and his feed fuch a land, the bounds whereof he describes, Josh. xiii. 1. it is faid there, that there remained very much land yet unconquered, which they had not got the poffeffion of

And