658. The Truth of God. vat " tance, without any impeachment of the honour of his Truth, or Knowledge, " or Power, either defer, orabate, or remit the Punifhment. And that the Pre- rlitaians of Judgments are to be underftood with this Condition, appears clearly from that known Text, ter. IS. j, 8. I come now to the laft thing I propofed, to make fomeUfe of this Do rive: Fir. l, If God be a Godof Truth, then this gives us affurance that he doth not deceive us, that the Faculties which he hath given us are not falle, but When they have clear perceptions of Things, they do, not err and miflake. Were it not for the veracity of God, we might, for any thing we know, be under a con- flant Delufion ; and no Man could demonfirate the contrary, but that this is our make and temper, and the very frame of our Underflandings, to be then moll of all deceived, when we thinkour felves to be moll certain ; I fay no Man could be affured of the contrary, but from hence, becaufe veracity and truth is a Divine Perfetlion ; and therefore God cannot be the Author of Error and Delufion. Therefore we may be afiàred, that the frame of our Underfland- ings is not a Cheat. but that our Facultiet are true, and unlefs it be our own fault, we need not be deceived in things that are neceffary to our Happinefs. Secondly, If God be a Godof Truth, then there is Reafon why we fhould be- lieve and aflent to whatever we are fatisfied is revealed to us by God. A Divine Revelation is a fufficient ground for the moft firm affent ; for this very thing, that any thing is revealed by God, is the higheft Evidence, and ought to give us the moft firm affurance of the truth of it. Hence it is that the Word of God is call'd the Wordof truth, yea and truth it felf, John a 7. 57. Thy Word is truth. Therefore whoever entertains the Scriptures as the Word of God, and is fatis; fyed of the Divine Authority of them, ought in Reafon to believe every thing contained in them, yea tho' there be tome things of which no reáfonable ac+ count can be given, and which our Reafon and Underfianding cannot give us particular fatisfac%on in ; yet becaufewe are fatisfyed that they are revealed by Godwho cannot lie, whole Knowledge is infallible, and whole Word is true, we ought upon thishigher and fuperior Reafon to yield a firm affent to the truth of. them : if we donot, we difhonour this Perfection of God, and rob him of this effentialproperty, his Veracity. r John 5.. ro. He that believeth on the Sox,ofGod, bath the witnefr in himfelf : he that believeth not God, bath made him a liar, be canfe he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. As on the other hand, if we do believe what God hath revealed, we glorifie this Perfection of his, and let our Peal to his Veracity. So 'tis laid of Abraham, Rom. 4. zo. That he was fining in faith, giving glory to God. And St. pohn the Baptrft, fpeaking concern- ing our Saviour, faith, Sohn 3.33. He that bath received his teflimony, bath fee to his feat, that Godis true. Thirdly, If God be a GodofTruth, and faithful in performing his Promife, then here is a firm Foundation for our Hope and Trutt. If God have made any Pro- mile, we may fecurely rely upon it, that it !hall be made good ; we may hold fall our hope without wavering, becaufe he is faithful who bath fromifed, Heb. to. 23. Hence it is that the Bleflings of God's Covenant are call d faremercies, Ifa. 55.3 We attribute much to the Word of a faithful Friend, and look upon the Pro-; mite of an honett Man as very good fecurity; but Men may fail us whet, we re- ly upon them : but God is true, tho' all Men /hould prove Lyars. Men are fickle and mutable; but the Nature of God is fixed, he cannot fail tho.fe that truft in him. When God bath made any Promife to us, we may plead it with him, and urge himwith his faithfulnefs. So we find Daviddid, z Sam. 7. z5, &c. Only we fhould be careful to perform the Condition which is required on our part, Heb. 4. r. we fhould take heed left a Promifebeing left us, any one lhouldcome fhort of it, by not performing the Condition ; for that doth releafe and difcharge him of thePromife, and he is faithful, tho' he Both not perform what he pro- mifed, becaufe he did not promife but upon Condition ; and this feems to be th& meaning of thofe Words, z Tim. z. r 3. If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful,' he cannot deny himfelf. He Paid before, that if we perform the Conditions re- quired
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