CXLV expository sermons upon the whole 17th chapter of the Gospel according to St.…

¹IN what sense the word of God is said to be truth, we have declared. Let us now come to the Properties of it. And

1. 1The excellent properties of the truth of Scripture.

1. It's the truth of God, a divine truth. In the Text it's called thy truth;

¹So that Divine Truth must needs transcend Humane or Natural Truths, as much as God is above man. In humane Authorities, we say, Thus saith Aristotle, Thus saith Plato, or thus say such Fathers and Councils, but in divine things, we must say, Thus saith the Lord; for because it's divine, or of God, it hath an immediate dominion and awe upon the conscience: So that whereas in humane Authorities and Philosophical Disputes, we may boldly argue against them, we may bring our videtur quod sic, and quod non, yet where truth comes to us as from God, there must be an immediate submission, though our reason and sense and all the world should contradict, yet we must say, here is a greater then a Pythagoras here, Deus dixit: Therefore observe, the Prophets they do often repeat this, Thus saith the Lord, because nothing could amaze and humble their hearers so much, as that God said it; and indeed when once it's received as Gods truth, then the heart doth readily obey, as 1 Thess. 2.13. you may there see wherein the truth preached doth work in it's due and proper manner, even when it's received, not as the word of man, but of God. Divine truth will have divine operations, but when received as mans truth, it hath but humane effects, such as Tullies Orations, or Demosthenes had upon their auditors, which is like the influence of the Moon, that doth not give true heat and life, but the word of God works like the Sun, not only in respect of penetrating light, reaching into all the inwards of the soul, but also vivifical heat. It makes men live a spiritual and heavenly life, whereas moral truths help only to an external honesty. It's true, that which Ambrose said, Omnis veritas est à Spiritu sancto, Every truth is of the holy Ghost, even natural and humane truths are. But as God is the author of nature, and yet of grace in a more special way: so the Spirit of God is the author of all truth; but in a more peculiar manner of Scripture truths: Therefore all Scripture is said to be given by inspiration,