Heaven upon earth in the serene tranquillity and calm composure, in the sweet peace…

ROM. 9. 1. I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my Conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost.

The Lord our God is the true God, a God of truth, even truth it self, the first great original and eternal truth, who by the most absolute ⟨p. 148⟩perfection of his incomprehensibly blessed Nature is infinitely removed, as from all possibility of being […] or imposed on by a lie himself, so from all possibility of deceiving or lying to others; and to say (as some daring men of late have done) that God may deceive, if he will, is not only of harsh sound in Christian ears, but to be exploded and execrated; as insinuating, that the glorious Majesty of God might, if he would, and so pleased, cease to be the God of truth, or a true God; Which considering the identification of the Divine Nature and Attributes, is as much as to say, that he might, if he would▪ cease to be God; As the strength of Israel cannot lie▪ neither is he a man that he should lie; so he loveth truth in the inward parts; and commandeth men to speak truth every one to his neighbour, and peremptorily, prohibiteth all lying, not only all pernicious lying on design to hurt▪ but also all officious lying, to bring about some good to, or to divert some notable evil from themselves or others; and lying in sport to make others merry, and all •emerarious rash lying through customary looseness and […], called (it seems) in the Scripture, the way of lying; And the more that men abhor lying, and love to speak the truth, they are in so f•r the […] like God, and the more unlike the Devil, who abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him, and who when be speaks a li•, speaks it of his own (it's […] and solely his own and none of Gods) for he is a liar, and the father of it: We would therefore watchfully guard against all lying under whatsoever pretext, and look well that we always speak truth, especially when we interpose Conscience, and yet more especially when we appeal to God as witness of the truth of what we say or affirm; According to the practice o the Apostle here, who (being one that exercised himself, to have a conscience void of offence toward God and men) no doubt made conscience always to speak truth, more especially, when he had used any more than ordinary solemn proteation, or attestation, as he doth in these words;