count of God's inspiration or premotion, because God not only can, but doth cause all the untruths that are spoken or written in the world: therefore no faith in God's revelations hath any sure foundation, nor any formal object at all: And so all religion is dashed out at a stroke. To say that God causeth not the falsity of the word, nor the word as false, but the word which is false, might well be the justification of them that affirm God to be but the universal cause of the word or act in genere,' as a word or act; and that the specification is only from the sinner. But in them that say he is the particular cause of this word comparatively, rather than another, it is but a contradiction: 1. For there is no other cause of the falsity, which is a mere relation, but that which causeth the rule and the word or writing which is false, and so layeth the foundation. 2. It overthroweth all certainty of faith, if God speak to us by his instruments, those words that are false: The 'quod falsum,' as well as the 'qua falsum,' leaveth us no ground of certainty. The Dominicans therefore have but one task in which their hope is placed, to excuse their opinion from plain obliterating all divine belief and religion, and that is, to prove that there is so great a difference between inspiration and their physical predetermination, that God cannot by inspiration premove to an untruth, though by physical predetermination he may: This is their task, which I see not the least possibility that ever they should perform. If God premove, and predeterminate every will, and tongue, and pen, to every lie that is spoken or written, more potently and irresistibly than I move my pen in writing, it is past my power to understand what more he can do by inspiration, to interest him in the creature's act: or at least how the difference can be so great as that one of the ways he can predetermine all men to their falsities, and none the other way. But of this I have written a large disputation; yet think it not needless, even in a practical treatise to say thus much here.

5. The Truth of God much teach us to hate every motion to unbelief in ourselves and others: It is a heinous sin to give God the lie, though he speak to us but by his messengers. Every honest man, so far as he is honest, is to be believed; and is God less true? A graceless gallant will challenge you to the field for the dishonour, if you give him

the lie. If you deny God's veracity, you do not only equal him with the worst of men, but with the devil, who was a liar from the beginning. Yea, you may make him incapable of being the Governor of the World, or suppose him to govern it by deceits and lies. Abhor therefore the first motions of unbelief: it makes men somewhat worse than devils; for the devils know that God cannot lie, and therefore they believe and tremble. Unbelief of the truth of the word of God, is the curse of the soul; the enemy and bane of all grace and religion, so far as it prevaileth: Let it be the principal care and labour of your souls, to settle the foundation of your faith aright, and to discern the evidence of Divine authority in the holy Scriptures, and to extirpate the remnants of infidelity in your hearts.

6. Let the Truth and Faithfulness of God engage you to be true and faithful to him, and to each other. You have promised him to be his servants; be faithful in your promises: You are in covenant with him; break not your covenant. Many a particular promise of reformation you have made to God: Prove not false to him that is true to you.

Be as good as your word to all men that you have to do with. Abhor a lie, as the offspring of the devil, who is the father of it: Remember you serve a God of Truth: and that it is the rectitude and glory of his servants to be conformable to him. They say the Turks are offended at Christianity, because of the lies and falsehood of Christians. But sure they were but nominal Christians, and no true Christians that ever they found such: And it is pity that Christianity should be judged of through the world, by the lives of them that never were Christians but from the teeth outward, and the skin that was washed in baptism. They that will lie to God, and covenant to be his holy servants, when they hate his holy service, will lie to man, when their commodity requireth it. When they seem to repent, and honour him with their tongues; "They flatter him with their mouth, and lie to him with their tongues; for their heart is not right with him, neither are they steadfast in his covenant." (Psal. lxxviii. 34-37.) God saith, "Ye shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie one to another." (Lev. xix. 11.) "A righteous man hateth lying." (Prov. xiii. 5.) "The lying tongue is but for a moment, (Prov. xii. 19,)

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" for God hateth it, and it is an abomination to him." (Prov. xvi. 16, 17.) The lovers and makers of lies are shut out of the kingdom of Christ." (Rev. xxii. 15.)

But above all, false teachers that preach and prophesy lies, and deceive the rulers and people of the earth, are abominable to God: see Jer. xxvii. 10. 14-16; xiv. 14. 23. 25, 26. 32; Ezek. xiii. 9. 12; Isa. liv. 13. When Ahab was to be destroyed, a lying spirit in the mouth of his prophets deceived him. And "if a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked." (Prov. xxix. 2.)

7. Above all, false witness and perjury should be most odious to the servants of the God of Truth. "A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish." (Prov. xix. 9.) "When thou vowest a vow to God, defer not to pay it." (Eccles. v. 4, 5.) Saith David, "Thy vows are upon me, O God." (Psal. lvi. 12.) And unto thee shall the vow be performed." (Psal. lxv. 1.) Perjury is a sin that seldom escapeth vengeance, even in this

life.

The instances of Saul the first, and Zedekiah the last of the kings of Judah, before the desolation, are both very terrible. Saul's posterity must be hanged, to stay the famine that came upon the people for his breaking a vow that was made by Joshua, and not by him, though he did it in zeal for Israel. (2 Sam. xxi.) Zedekiah's case you may see, 2 Chron. xxvi; Ezek. xvii. He that sweareth, appealeth to God as the Searcher of Hearts and Avenger of Perjury. The perjured person chooseth the vengeance of God. He is unfit (till he repent) to be a member of any civil society. For he dissolveth the bond of all societies. He cannot well be supposed to make conscience of any sin or villany in the world, against God, his country, his king, his friend or neighbour, that makes no conscience of an oath. It is not easy to name a greater wickedness out of hell, than to approve of perjury by laws or doctrine. And whether the church of Rome do so or not, I only desire them to consider that have read the third canon of the Council at Lateran under pope Innocent the third, where an approved General Council decreeth, 'That the pope discharge vassals from their allegiance or fidelity to those temporal lords that exterminate not heretics (as they call them) out of their dominions.' What shall restrain men from killing kings, or any villany, if once the bond of oaths be nullified? But Scrip

ture saith, "Keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God." (Eccles. viii. 2.) No man defendeth perjury by name: But to say that men that swear to do that which God commandeth, or forbids not, are not bound to keep that oath; or that the pope may absolve men, or disoblige them that swore fidelity to temporal lords, when once the pope hath excommunicated them, doth seem to me of the same importance.

CHAP. XX.

19. The next attribute to be spoken of is, his Mercifulness, and his Longsuffering Patience, which we may set together. This is implied in his Goodness, and the relation of a Father before expressed. Mercy is God's goodness inclining him to prevent or remove his creature's misery. It is not only the miserable that are the objects of it, but also those that may be miserable; it being as truly mercy to keep us out of it foreseen, as to deliver us out of it when we were in it. Hence it is that he "taketh not pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that he may turn and live." And hence it is that he "afflicts not willingly, nor grieves the children of men." (Lam. iii. 33.) Not that his mercy engageth him to do all that he can do for the salvation of every sinner, or absolutely to prevent or heal his misery; but it is his attribute chiefly considered as Governor of the rational creature; and so his mercy is so great to all, that he will destroy none but for their wilful sin, and shut none among us out of heaven, but those that were guilty of contemning it. God doth not prevent the sinner with his judgment, but with his grace he often doth. He never punisheth before we are sinners, nor never decreed so to do, as all will grant. He punisheth none, where his foregoing commands and warnings have had their due effect for the prevention: and therefore because the precept is the first part of his law, and the threatening is but subservient to that, and the first intent of a governor is to procure obedience, and punishing is but upon supposition that he misseth of the first, therefore is God not to afflict willingly; because he doth it not ex voluntate antecedente,' but 'ex voluntate consequente,' that is (for so the distinction is sound) not as a lawgiver, and ruler by those laws considered before the violation; but only as a judge of the lawbreakers. But yet God's mercy is no security to the

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abusers of his mercy. But rather will sink them into deeper misery, as the aggravation of their sin: As God afflicts not willingly, and yet we feel that he afflicteth: so if he do not condemn you willingly, you shall find if you are impenitent, that he will condemn you.

If you say, God can be forced to do nothing against his will: I answer you, that it is not simply against his will; for then it should never come to pass: but it is against the principal act of his will, which floweth from him as a lawgiver, or ruler by laws, in which respect it may be said, that he had " rather that the wicked turn and live:" but yet if they will not turn, they shall not live. A merciful judge had rather the thief had saved his life by forbearing to steal; but yet he had not rather that thieves go unpunished than he should condemn them.

1. The mercy of God should lead sinners to repentance, and shame them from their sin, and lead them up to God in love.

2. Mercy should encourage sinners to repent, as well as engage them to it: for we have to do with a merciful God, that hath not shut up any among us in despair, nor forbid them to come in, but continueth to invite when we have oft refused, and will undoubtedly pardon and welcome all that do return.

3. Mercy being specially the portion of the saints, must keep them in thankfulness, love and comfort: and all mercies must be improved for their proper ends. When a merciful God is pleased to fill up his servants' lives with such great and various mercies as he doth, it should breed a continual sweetness upon their hearts, and cause them to study the most grateful retribution. He should breathe forth nothing but thankfulness, obedience and praise, who breathes nothing but mercies from God. As the food that men live upon, will be seen in their temperature, health and strength; so they that live continually upon mercies, should be wholly turned into love and thankfulness: it should become as it were their nature, temperature and constitution. O how unspeakable is the love of God, that provideth so sweet a life for his servants, even in their warfare and pilgrimage in this world! that mercy must be as it were the air that they breathe in, the food which they must live upon; and the remembrance, improvement and thankful mention of it, must be the business and employment of their lives! O with