ought to be able to recite the Words of the Creed to have a competent Knowledge of their meaning and of the influence each Article ought to have upon my Coversation I will therefore first rehearse the Words thereof and then give you such an Account of their Sense and Influence as I have been taught by you I Believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of Heaven and Earth And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried He descended into Hell The third day he rose again from the dead He ascended into Heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty From thence he shall come to judge both the quick and the dead I believe in the Holy Ghost the Holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints the Forgiveness of Sins the Resurrection of the Body and the Life everlasting Amen Having thus rehearsed the worâ— of the Creed my next Task is â— give a short plain Declaration â— what I believe in every Article ARTICLE I. I believe in God the Father Aâ—mighty Maker of Heaven anâ— Earth In this Article I have beeâ— taught to believe that there is God and that he is an Eternaâ— Spirit whose Being is of himself and not from any other and thaâ— from him all things have their Being And I further believe Thaâ— this God is but One because he is the Infinite Independent and Omnipotent Cause which can be but One. I believe also That this God is the Eternal Father of Christ and that for his sake he is also my Heavenly Father and that being Almighty he can do for me whatsoever he will I likewise believe That in Six days this God created all things of Nothing by his Word for his Glory and that he still preserveth all things by the same Word of his Power ARTICLE II. And in Iesus Christ his only Son our Lord. In this Second Article of the Creed I have been taught to believe in Jesus Christ and that he is the only Son of God and of the same Divine Essence with him That he is called Jesus because he is the only Saviour of Mankind and that he is called Christ or Messiah which signifies Anointed because he was anointed to the Three Offices of a Prophet Priest and King which Three under the Law were in an especial manner Anointed And I believe That all these Three met in Christ and that as a Prophet he doth instruct his Church outwardly by his Word and inwardly by his Spirit And I believe That as a Priest he made satisfaction unto God for the Sins of Mankind when he once offered up himself upon the Cross and that by the Sacrifice of himself he reconciled God and Man And further I believe That as a Priest he continually makes Intercession for me and all true Christians at the right Hand of his Father in Heaven and doth bless me in turning me from my Iniquities In like manner I believe That Jesus was not only Christ that is Anointed to be a Prophet and a Priest in the sense now declared but that he was also Anointed to be a King And that as such he doth govern and preserve his Church he erects and sets up his Throne in the Hearts of Believers He gives them Grace to subdue every rebellious Lust and habit of Sin that it reign not in them He conquers Satan and restrains his Power He overcomes Death and having received all Authority in Heaven and Earth he rules over all Men and all Creatures and that of his Kingdom there shall be no end So that to him belongs absolute Dominion over all and Obedience is due to him from all ARTICLE III. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary In this Article I profess to believe That when Christ was made of the Seed of David according to the Flesh he was made in all things like to my self excepting Sin For that could affect neither his Humane Soul nor Body because in both he was most Holy as being conceived only by the Operation of the Holy Ghost and born of a spotless Virgin For Christ that he might be our Kinsman and capable to redeem us by paying our Debts in the same Humane Nature in which they were contracted it was necessasary he should be the Seed of the Woman And that he might plainly appear to be that Seed of the Woman which was promised it was likewise necessary he should be born of a Virgin who was of the Lineage and House of David All which I believe from God's Word was accomplished in the Blessed Mother of Christ ARTICLE IV. Suffered under Pontius Pilate c. This is an Article that you have often told me I ought well to understand for it respects Christ's Death upon which the whole Hinge of my Salvation turns I find the History of it to be clearly and fully set forth by the Evangelists and as to the knowledge of it St. Paul valued it so highly that he desired to know nothing else but Jesus Christ crucified Now by my believing of the Crucifixion I confess that according to the Prophecies Christ suffered in his Humane Nature both in Soul and Body his Divine Nature being uncapable of suffering And that this hapned at the time when Pontius Pilate was the Roman Governour of Judaea who being addicted to Cruelty and sinful compliance condemned Christ to be crucified And as Moses lifted up the Serpent on the Pole in the Wilderness so was Christ lifted up on the Cross and by a painful ignominious and accursed Death did expiate my sin and redeemed me from all vain Conversation and from the Curse of the Law and gave me an Entrance into Heaven All which unspeakable Benefits are justly to be ascribed to the Blood of Christ because it was of infinite value as being the Blood of that Person who was God as well as Man And as I believe Christ voluntarily laid down his Life and that his Soul was really separated from his Body so I likewise believe that as a dead Man he was buried after the manner of the Jewish Nation namely that he was bound in Grave-clothes with Spices and laid the Grave with an heavy Stone rolled to the mouth of the Sepulcher All which were certain Tokens of his Death as being the usual known Rites of a Jewish Funeral I also believe That Christ being dead his Soul and Body remain'd in a separate condition under the Power of Death and that his Soul was reunited to the Body before it did putrifie in the Grave But as to the various Opinions about his Descent into Hell I think them either too high or too unprofitable for my research And as you have taught me so I believe that Christ's Birth Death and Burial or being under the Dominion of Death were the Three Degrees of his Humiliation answerable to which were the Three Degrees of his
Exaltation namely Resurrection Ascension and Glorification in Heaven ARTICLE V. The third day he rose again from the dead Tho' being a Christian I need no Proof of Christ's rising from the Dead yet to confirm my belief of so eminent an Article God has given me the Testimony of Angels of the Men that guarded the Sepulcher the many Apparitions of Christ after he was risen the Effusion of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles the Miracles done by them in his Name So that I have just ground to believe and profess That the Body of Christ saw no Corruption as did the Bodies of the Patriarchs And because it was impossible he should be holden of the Power of Death I do believe that he did really rise again and that the very same Body and Soul of our Saviour which were separated by Death were by his own Divine Power reunited in his Resurrection And as to the time when he arose I have been taught and do believe That it was the Third day after his Death which hapned to be the First day of the Week Which Day we celebrate in memory of his Resurrection and which has immemorially been called The Lord's Day ARTICLE VI. He ascended into Heaven and sitteth c. I believe That Christ ascended by the same Power he rose And that this was no other Power than that of his own Divinity by which as an High-Priest of good things to come he once ascended visibly and locally into the Heaven of Heavens as the High-Priest once every Year entred into the Holy of Holies And the End of his Ascension was I believe to prepare a place for Believers and to receive them to it that where he is they might be also After Christ's Ascension into Heaven he took his Place at the Right-Hand of God Not that I think God who is a most absolute Spirit hath either Right or Left Hand but that this is spoken after the manner of Men who place those whom they will most honour upon their Right-hand And from Christ's being thus placed in Heaven I collect That he there took up his Abode in a State of Majesty and Power to shew that he was above all Creatures in Heaven and Earth and that he is exalted to be the King of Saints and Judge of Sinners the Prince of our Salvation and High-Priest of our Profession and that in him there was an Union of the Regal Power and Priestly Office when he sat down at the Right-hand of the Father Almighty So that by the former he is perfectly able to subdue all his Enemies and by the latter he doth ever intercede for and eternally save those that are his ARTICLE VII From thence he shall come to judge c. As I believe that Christ redeemed me by his death and passion and that by his Ascension he is become my Advocate and Intercessor with God so I believe that he shall come the second time from Heaven with great Glory to judge the World For besides the particular Judgment that passeth upon every Man immediately upon his Death when the departed Soul is set at God's Tribunal and examined of all its Thoughts Words and Actions I say besides this particular Judgment I believe their shall be a general Judgment when all shall be judged as well the Quick that shall be alive at that day as the Dead who shall then be raised up And that this last Judgment Christ himself as a Supream Judge shall pass the final Sentence and that the Saints as Assessors shall pass their Sentence of Approbation I believe too That I and all Men shall be judged of all things done in the Body whether Good or Evil And that upon the pronouncing of the Sentence the truly penitent shall pass to an Estate of Eternal Happiness and finally the Impenitent to an Estate of Eternal Misery ARTICLE VIII I believe in the Holy Ghost Having briefly declared what my Faith is in God the Father and God the Son I am next to declare what I believe concerning God the Holy Ghost And first I believe That without Faith in the Holy Ghost I cannot believe in God the Father nor in his Son as my Lord. For no Man can call God Father but by the Holy Ghost nor can any Man say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost Whom I believe to be the Third Person in the Divine Being and therefore True God And that as he proceedeth from the Father and the Son which I believe he doth he is a Person distinct from both The Spirit in whom I believe is called Holy because in himself he is without all Pollution and sin and because he is the Author of all Holiness in me and all who truly believe in him So that all my Holiness is but a Ray or Effusion of the Holy Ghost which doth furnish my Heart with spiritual and saving Graces by the Work of Sanctification ARTICLE IX I believe the Holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints After this plain Account given by me of the Articles which concern the Blessed Trinity I will now give the like Account of those that follow which respect such only as truly believe in and obey and Worship the Trinity in Unity and who are here called the Church Which I plainly take to signifie all those whom Christ hath called out of the World to be his peculiar People Over whom he hath a Sovereign Authority in regard of which they willingly and chearfully pay him Homage and obey his Law and Ordinances For by Church I have been taught to understand the Corporation and General Family of all true Believers which Family truly deserves to be called Holy in respect of its Head which is Christ who is Holy in himself and whose Holiness is imputed to all sincere Believers And who through the Grace given to them do labour study and endeavour to be Holy And the Church in this familiar acception I believe is Universal as well as Holy and that there are in all the Quarters of the World those who by Baptism are admitted into it and so made Members of Christ's Mystical Body who are guided by his Spirit nourished by the Word and Sacrament and who are obedient to the Rule and Government of the Bishops and Pastors lawfully called to their Offices And of this Society of Believers which constitute the Church some are in a state of War continually fighting against their own and Christ's Enemies but yet in daily expectation of Triumph and a Crown And these are called the Church Militant which is on Earth And some are in a state of Peace for having fought the good Fight of Faith and finished their Warfare they are entred into their Master's Joy And these make the Church Triumphant which is crowned in Heaven Now these I hold are not two divers Churches but the same Church under a different State and Condition For I believe the Church to be essentially but one And as Christ's Mystical Body the Church
So that on the contrary I am enjoyned to keep my Body in Temperance Soberness and Chastity to preserve Modesty in Thought Behaviour and Apparel In the Eighth Commandment which concerns Man's Estate I am as I have been taught forbidden all defraudation or deceitful Stealth Oppression and violent Robbery Sacriledge or pillaging of God all Bribery and withholding other mens dues with all covetous desires And on the contrary I am bound by vertue of this Command to give to all their Dues to live in some lawful Calling and therein to be diligent to restore that which hath been stolen to give Alms to the Poor and to avoid the Company of all such as would entice me to break this Law The Ninth Commandment concerns Man's Good Name and forbids me to lye to raise or receive or to divulge any false or malicious Reports against my Neighbour It likewise forbids all groundless Suspicions together with suborning and encouraging of false Witnesses And on the other hand it enjoyns me to love and speak the Truth to preserve my own Reputation and when it is seasonable to vindicate my own Innocence and the Innocency of my Neighbour when I know either to be unjustly aspersed In the Last Commandment which especially respects Man's Desires I am forbidden to covet my Neighbours Goods of what nature or sort soever And I am required to regulate my Affections to restrain all sinful Desires to be content with my present Condition to learn and labour truly to get mine own living and to do my Duty in that state of life unto which it hath pleased God to call me And now having given this account of the Ten Commandments I leave it to your upright Consideration whether my knowledge of them be fufficient to qualifie me for the Holy Communion The Obedience I owe to these Precepts is the next thing that importantly concerns me And here I openly confess that it is not in my power to obey God's Commandments without his special Grace but that if this be once shed in my heart it will enable me to obey them And when my Obedience is true faithful and sincere though mixed with much weakness imperfection and many sins yet if therein I live not wilfully impenitent I do unfeignedly believe God will accept and Crown it But I have been often taught that this special Grace of God cannot be obtained but by diligent Prayer Which you have told me is the Third General Branch of my Christianity and that it has for its Rule that Divine Form Christ composed and which from him is called The Lord's Prayer And this consists of a Preface six Petitions and a Conclusion Of each of which I will now give such an account as I have learned from you beginning with the Preface namely Our Father which art in Heaven Wherein I am taught to direct my Prayers to God as to a Father whom I ought to approach with holy Reverence and with humble Confidence that he will hear and grant what I pray for And to him only Prayers ought to be made because he only is every where present to receive them and every way able to grant what is prayed for The Six Petitions now follow whereof the Three first concern God's Glory and the Three last concern Man's Wants PETITION I. Hallowed be thy Name In this Petition I am taught to desire and chiefly to endeavour the glorification of God's Holy Name which Name in general signifies God himself and in particular all his Titles as Lord Jehovah c. next all his glorious Attributes or Excellencies together with every thing that has a peculiar relation unto him as his Word his House his Day c. So that in this Petition I pray That God would strike my heart with such an Heavenly awe that I may humbly reverence his great Name and carry such a respect to all things that relate unto him and his Worship as may manifest my honour to his great Majesty that my holy Profession be not blasphemed but glorified by my self and others PETITION II. Thy Kingdom come Divines tell me and I heartily believe That God has a Threefold Kingdom 1. A Kingdom of Power whereby he ruleth over all Creatures even his professed Enemies 2. A Kingdom of Grace whereby he ruleth in the hearts of his Children by his Word and Spirit 3. A Kingdom of Glory which is in Heaven And in a more eminent manner shall begin at the last Judgment when Christ as Man shall deliver up the Kingdom to God his Father When all the Saints shall be taken in to Reign with him And oâ— this Kingdom there shall be no end And in praying that God's Kingdom may come I desire that God would stablish his Throne and Rule for ever in my Heart And by the Power of his Grace subdue all those Rebellious Corruptions that exalt themselves against him That the Gospel may be settled where it is not received that all the Ends of the Earth may see the Salvation of Christ That he would hasten the coming of his Kingdom of Glory and so consummate and accomplish the Kingdom of Grace PETITION III. Thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven I have been constantly Catechized to believe That the Will of God is either secret or revealed and that I am to pay Obedience to them both patiently submitting to God's secret Will and chearfully performing as far as I am able his Revealed Will as it is set down in his Word And as the doing of God's Will and not my own is the matter of my Obedience so the manner of my Obedience is the Example of the Holy Angels in Heaven who execute the Commands of God with readiness speed faithfulness and constancy So that in praying Thy Will be done c. I desire God to enable me by his Grace chearfullâ— to suffer God's Will in all hiâ— Afflictions and readily to perform it in all his Commands And that God would give mâ— of that Heavenly Zeal to his Service wherewith the blessed Angels are inspired that I may obey his Will with the likâ— Warmth and Chearfulness and that following them in their Obedience while I am on Earth I may be joyned with them to sing Eternal Praises in Heaven PETITION IV. Give us this Day our daily bread This is the first of the Three Petitions that concerns Man's Wants in which I am taught to profess my dependance upon God for this present life and every thing that supports it For by Bread I have been taught â—o understand all outward Comâ—orts necessary for this life and â—hat I am to pray that by direct â—nd honest means I may enjoy â—o much of this Worlds good as â—s convenient and agreeable for my present Condition and just Occasions And by saying daily I intimate my Contentedness with present necessaries and my purpose to continue daily Prayer for them And by thus Praying I cast my Cares upon God and declare that only from his Fatherly hand I expect