er exhausted and never reaches an end.

Chapter XXI. God's Truth and Faithfulness

1. In the Hebrew language truth and faithfulness are both derived from the
same root; _aman_, "firmness," is the root idea of _emeth_, "truth," and
_emunah_, "faithfulness." Man feels insecurity and uncertainty among the
varying impressions and emotions which affect his will; therefore he turns
to the immovable Rock of life, calls on Him as the Guardian and Witness of
truth, and feels confident that He will vindicate every promise made in
His sight. He is the God by whom men swear--_Elohe amen_;(379) nay, who
swears by Himself, saying, "As true as that I live."(380) He is the
supreme Power of life, "the God of faithfulness, in whom there is no
iniquity."(381) The heavens testify to His faithfulness; He is the
trustworthy God, whose essence is truth.(382)

2. Here, too, as with other attributes, the development of the idea may be
traced step by step. At first it refers to the God of the covenant with
Israel, who made a covenant with the fathers and keeps it with the
thousandth generation of their descendants. He shows His mercy to those
who love Him and keep His commandments. The idea of God's faithfulness to
His covenant is thus extended gradually from the people to the cosmos, and
the heavens are called upon to witness to the faithfulness of God
throughout the realm of life. Thus in both the Psalms and the liturgy God
is praised as the One who is faithful in His word as in His work.(383)

3. From this conception of faithfulness arose two other ideas which
exerted a powerful influence upon the whole spiritual and intellectual
life of the Jew. The God of faithfulness created a people of faithfulness
as His own, and Israel's God of truth awakened in the nation a passion for
truth unrivaled by any other religious or philosophical system. Like a
silver stream running through a valley, the conviction runs through the
sacred writings and the liturgy that the promise made of yore to the
fathers will be fulfilled to the children. As each past deliverance from
distress was considered a verification of the divine faithfulness, so each
hope for the future was based upon the same attribute. "He keepeth His
faith also to those who sleep in the dust." These words of the second of
the Eighteen Benedictions clearly indicate that even the belief in the
hereafter rested upon the same fundamental belief.

On the other hand, the same conception form