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xxxii. 4.) From which internal, essential, and infinite rectitude, goodness, and holiness, followeth an impossibility to declare or deliver that for truth which he knoweth not to be true. For if it be against that finite purity and integrity which are required of man, to lie, and therefore sinful, then must we conceive it absolutely inconsistent with that transcendent purity and infinite integrity which is essential unto God. Although therefore the power of God be infinite, though he can do every thing;" (Job xlii. 2.) yet we may safely say, without any prejudice to his omnipotence,* that he cannot speak that for truth which he knoweth to be otherwise.+ For the perfections of his will are as necessarily infinite as those of his understanding; neither can he be unholy or unjust, more than he can be ignorant or unwise. "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself." (2 Tim. ii. 13.) Which words of the apostle, though properly belonging to the promises of God, yet are as true in his respect of his assertions; neither should he more deny himself in violating his fidelity, than in contradicting his veracity. It is true, that "God willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation:" (Heb. vi. 17, 18.) but it is as true, that all this confirmation is only for our consolation; otherwise it is as impossible for God to lie, without an oath, as with one : for being he can "swear by no greater, he sweareth only by himself," (Heb. vi. 13.) and so the strength even of the oath of God relieth upon the veracity of God. Wherefore being God, as God, is of infinite rectitude, goodness, and holiness; being it is manifestly repugnant to his purity, and inconsistent with his integrity, to deliver any thing contrary to his knowledge; it clearly followeth, that he cannot deceive any man.

It is therefore most infallibly certain, that God being infinitely wise, cannot be deceived:‡ being infinitely good, cannot deceive :§ and upon these two immoveable pillars standeth the authority of the testimony of God. For since we cannot doubt of the witness of any one, but by questioning his ability, as one who may be ignorant of that which he affirmeth, and so deceived; or by excepting against his integrity, as one who may affirm that which he knoweth to be false, and so have a purpose to deceive us: where there is no place for either of these exceptions, there can be no doubt of the truth of the tes

timony. But where there is an intrinsical* repugnancy of being deceived in the understanding, and of deceiving in the will, as there certainly is in the understanding and will of God, there can be no place for either of those exceptions, and consequently there can be no doubt of the truth of that which God testifieth. And whosoever thinketh any thing comes from him, and assenteth not unto it, must necessarily deny him to be wise or holy: "He that believeth not God (saith the apostle), hath made him a liar." (1 John v. 10.) That truth then which is testified by God, hath a divine credibility: and an assent unto it, as so credible, is divine faith. In which the material object is the doctrine which God delivereth, the formal object is that credibility founded on the authority+ of the deliverer. And this I conceive the true nature of divine faith in general.

Now being the credibility of all which we believe is founded upon the testimony of God, we can never be sufficiently instructed in the notion of faith, till we first understand how this testimony is given to those truths which we now believe. To this end it will be necessary to give notice that the testimony of God is not given unto truths before questioned or debated; nor are they such things as are at first propounded and doubted of by man, and then resolved and confirmed by interposing the authority of God: but he is then said to witness when he doth propound, and his testimony is given by way of Revelation, which is nothing else but the delivery or speech of God unto his creatures. And therefore upon a diversity of delivery must follow a difference, though not of faith itself, yet of the means and manner of assent.

Wherefore it will be farther necessary to observe, that divine Revelation is of two kinds, either immediate, or mediate. An immediate Revelation is that by which God delivereth himself to man by himself, without the intervention of man. A mediate Revelation is the conveyance of the counsel of God unto man by man. By the first he spake unto the prophets; by the second in the prophets, and by them unto us. Being then there is this difference between the revealing of God unto the prophets and to others, being the faith both of prophets and others relieth wholly upon divine Revelation, the difference

• Auctoritas Dei consistit in intrinseca repugnantia deceptionis seu falsitatis, quam habet divinum judicium, et in intrinseca repugnantia actus voluntatis imperantis testimonium extrinsecum non consentiens judicio interno; quæ per terminos positivos actus intellectus infallibiliter veri, et actus voluntatis intrins ece et necessario recti, poterit explicari.' Francise. de Ovied. Tract. de Fide, Contr. ii. pune. 2.

'Divina est auctoritas, cui credimus: divina est doctrina, quam sequimur.' Leo,

Serm. 7. in Nativ.

Sicut duplex est auditus et locutio, scilicet exterior sive corporalis, et interior ac spiritualis; ita duplex est fides, una quæ oritur in cordibus fidelium per auditum exteriorem, cum scil. Deus per aliquos homines aliis credenda proponit; et ista est fides, quæ nobis sive communi statui fidelium convenit, ex eo quod adhæremus revelationibus Prophetis et Apostolis factis alia est quæ oritur in aliquibus per spiritualem locutionem, qua Deus aliquibus per internam inspirationem cre

xxxii. 4.) From which internal, essential, and infinite rectitude, goodness, and holiness, followeth an impossibility to declare or deliver that for truth which he knoweth not to be true. For if it be against that finite purity and integrity which are required of man, to lie, and therefore sinful, then must we conceive it absolutely inconsistent with that transcendent purity and infinite integrity which is essential unto God. Although therefore the power of God be infinite, though he "can do every thing;" (Job xlii. 2.) yet we may safely say, without any prejudice to his omnipotence, that he cannot speak that for truth which he knoweth to be otherwise.+ For the perfections of his will are as necessarily infinite as those of his understanding; neither can he be unholy or unjust, more than he can be ignorant or unwise. "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself." (2 Tim. ii. 13.) Which words of the apostle, though properly belonging to the promises of God, yet are as true in his respect of his assertions; neither should he more deny himself in violating his fidelity, than in contradicting his veracity. It is true, that God willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath ; that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation:" (Heb. vi. 17, 18.) but it is as true, that all this confirmation is only for our consolation; otherwise it is as impossible for God to lie, without an oath, as with one: for being he can swear by no greater, he sweareth only by himself," (Heb. vi. 13.) and so the strength even of the oath of God relieth upon the veracity of God. Wherefore being God, as God, is of infinite rectitude, goodness, and holiness; being it is manifestly repugnant to his purity, and inconsistent with his integrity, to deliver any thing contrary to his knowledge; it clearly followeth, that he cannot deceive any man.

It is therefore most infallibly certain, that God being infinitely wise, cannot be deceived: being infinitely good, cannot deceive:§ and upon these two immoveable pillars standeth the authority of the testimony of God. For since we cannot doubt of the witness of any one, but by questioning his ability, as one who may be ignorant of that which he affirmeth, and so deceived; or by excepting against his integrity, as one who may affirm that which he knoweth to be false, and so have a purpose to deceive us: where there is no place for either of these exceptions, there can be no doubt of the truth of the tes

timony. But where there is an intrinsical repugnancy of being deceived in the understanding, and of deceiving in the will, as there certainly is in the understanding and will of God, there can be no place for either of those exceptions, and consequently there can be no doubt of the truth of that which God testifieth. And whosoever thinketh any thing comes from him, and assenteth not unto it, must necessarily deny him to be wise or holy: "He that believeth not God (saith the apostle), hath made him a liar." (1 John v. 10.) That truth then which is testified by God, hath a divine credibility: and an assent unto it, as so credible, is divine faith. In which the material object is the doctrine which God delivereth, the formal object is that credibility founded on the authority+ of the deliverer. And this I conceive the true nature of divine faith in general.

Now being the credibility of all which we believe is founded upon the testimony of God, we can never be sufficiently instructed in the notion of faith, till we first understand how this testimony is given to those truths which we now believe. To this end it will be necessary to give notice that the testimony of God is not given unto truths before questioned or debated; nor are they such things as are at first propounded and doubted of by man, and then resolved and confirmed by interposing the authority of God: but he is then said to witness when he doth propound, and his testimony is given by way of Revelation, which is nothing else but the delivery or speech of God unto his creatures. And therefore upon a diversity of delivery must follow a difference, though not of faith itself, yet of the means and manner of assent.

Wherefore it will be farther necessary to observe, that divine Revelation is of two kinds, either immediate, or mediate. immediate Revelation is that by which God delivereth himself to man by himself, without the intervention of man. A mediate Revelation is the conveyance of the counsel of God unto man by man. By the first he spake unto the prophets; by the second in the prophets, and by them unto us. Being then there is this difference between the revealing of God unto the prophets and to others, being the faith both of prophets and others relieth wholly upon divine Revelation, the difference

of the manner of assent in these several kinds of believers will be very observable for the explanation of the nature of our faith.

Those then to whom God did immediately speak himself, or by an angel representing God, and so being in his stead, and bearing his name (of which I shall need here to make no distinction), those persons, I say, to whom God did so reveal himself, did, by virtue of the same Revelation, perceive, know, and assure themselves, that he who spake to them was God; so that at the same time they clearly understood both what was delivered, and by whom: otherwise we cannot imagine that Abraham would have slain his son, or have been commended for such a resolution, had he not been most assured that it was God who by an immediate Revelation of his will clearly commanded it. Thus "by faith Noah being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark, to the saving of his house :" (Heb. xi. 7.) which *warning of God was a clear Revelation of God's determination to drown the world, of his will to save him and his family, and of his command for that end to build an ark. And this Noah so received from God, as that he knew it to be an oracle of God, and was as well assured of the author as informed of the command. Thus the judgments hanging over Judah were revealed in the ears of Isaiah" by the Lord of hosts." (Isa. xxii. 14.) Thus "the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh :" (1 Sam. iii. 21.) at first indeed he knew him not; that is, when the Lord spake, he knew it not to be the voice of God: "Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord; neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him;" (1 Sam. iii. 7.) but after that he knew him and was assured that it was He who spake unto him, the Scripture teaching us that the tears of Samuel were revealed, and the word of God revealed, and God§ himself revealed to him. By all which we can understand no less, than that Samuel was so illuminated in his prophecies, that he fully understood the words or things themselves which were delivered, and as certainly knew that the deliverer was God: so Samuel the Seer, so the rest of those prophets believed those truths revealed to them by such a faith as was a firm assent unto an object credible upon the immediate testimony of God.

But those faithful people to whom the prophets spake, believed the same truth, and upon the testimony of the same God, delivered unto them not by God, but by those prophets, whose words they therefore assented unto as certain truths, because denda revelat, nullo hominis ministerio utens; sicut est fides Apostolorum et Prophetarum, qui ab ipso Deo per intrinsecam illuminationem sunt de credendis instructi.' Francisc. Ferrariensis in Thom. cont. Gent. c. 40.

* Πίστει χρηματισθεὶς, which word comes from the original xęáw, appropriated by the Greeks to an oracle, or answer given

by God : ὁ μὲν Θεὸς χρῇ, ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος μαντεύεται. Moschopulus, Ονομ. Αττικ. χράω.

λυψε τὸ ἀτίον Σαμουήλ, 1 Sam. ix. 15.

Kipio dread יהוה גלה את אזן שמואל ז

raiv i drone טרם יגלה אליו דבר יהוה ;

λυφθῆναι αὐτῷ ῥῆμα Κυρίου, 1 Sam. iii. 7.

V.

SNOW ΕΝ ΤΗ 15η ἀπεκαλύφθη Κύριος πρὸς Σαμουὴλ, 1 Sam. iii. 21.