Articles that are contained in the Apostles Creed Which Creed is the Key to all other doctrinal points of Religion VI THe Patriarchs and Servants of God in old time were saved by the faith contained in this Creed every Article thereof being revealed unto them and to be sound dispersedly in the writings of Moses (a) and the Prophets For as there was but one (b) Church from the beginning of the World so there was but one (c) faith which is common to us and them and to all that shall come after us VII OF those twelve Articles some do concern God the Father as the first Article some concern God the Son as the six Articles immediately following and some do concern God the Holy Ghost as the eighth Article The four last do set forth the state of the Church both in this World and in the nexâ— VIII THe Article of Christ's descent into Hell may safely be understood and believed either of these two waies 1. That the soul of Christ descended locally among the Infernal Spirits not to suffer but to manifest the power of his Godhead which is the interpretation of the Fathers and divers eminent Writers * of later age 2. By descending into Hell no more is to be understood than that Christ descended into the state of the Dead and was there continued for the space of three daies which is more generally received of the later Writers IX TO believe the Holy Catholick Church is to believe that among all the Tribes (a) and Nations of the World God hath some chosen servants a peculiar people whom he hath taken (b) out for his name sanctified with his Spirit (c) called unto the state of grace (d) and ordained unto eternal Glory X. TO believe the Communion of Saints is to believe that the Saints and Servants of God are knit by an invisible tye of faith and love to Christ their head (a) and to each other by common participation and mutual communication of all good things both spiritual and temporal as if they were but one body and were acted by one soul and spirit (b) XI TO believe forgiveness of sins is to believe that God doth freely pardon sin to penitent (a) sinners thtough faith in Christ (b) without any other merit or satisfaction And that he hath given power to his Church (d) to declare and prâ—nounce this pardon in his name upon just and lawfull occasions XII THe Nicene Creed and the Creed of Athanasius are but Paraphrases and Explanations of the Apostles Creed upon occasion of Heresies that sprung up in the Church about those times touching the holy Trinâ—ty and the Incarnation of Christ But they contain nothing material or substantial that is not couched in the short symbol of the Apostles XIII THat little Hymn of glory called Gloria Patri c. is as it were a little Creed and an Abridgement of the Apostolical brought into the Church about the time that Arrianism prevailed for to be a badge to distinguish the Orthodox Believers from the Heterodox or mis-believers For by giving glory to God in this form they confessed the Trinity in Unity which the Arrians opposed A PRAYER BLessed be thy holy name O Lord for all the holy Scripture which thou hast given us for a light unto our feet (a) and a lantern unto our paths And particularly for that part of it which thy holy Apostles have delivered for a Summary of Faith and a Rule of right belief to teach us to know thee the onely true God and Jesus Christ (b) whom thou hast sent Lord strengthen and confirm this faith in us more and more that we being built upon the Rock (c) and the firm foundation of the Prophets (d) and Apostles may stand up stedfast unshaken and unmovable against all the temptations of Satan both against the strong blasts of persecution when any shall arise and against the breath of seducers which do daily lie in wait to deceive and to beguile unstable souls That so holding fast this (f) pledge which was once delivered unto the Saints we may at last obtain the end (g) of our faith even the salvation of our souls through him who is the Author (h) and finisher of our faith Jesus Christ the Righteous Vnto whom with the Father and the blessed Spirit all glory be rendred by all the Church as in the beginning so now and to all ages of the World Amen OF THE COMMANDMENTS I. THe second general Hâ—ad of Christian Religion are the Commandments which are the Breviate of the Law Moral and of all the practical duties of humane life It is the Rule of our obediencâ— the Tree (a) of knowledge of good and evil shewing what is good (b) and what is bad what is to be followed and (c) what to be eschewed II. OUr Saviour Christ did not abolish the Ten Commandments for it is a law founded in Nature (a) and natural equity and therefore is unmovable and unchangable It is the eternal Rule of Justice to all persons to the end of the World for the Gospel doth not exempt any persons from natural or moral obligations at any time III. CHrist freed us from the Ceremonial Law which was grown to be (a) unsupportable but not from the law of good manners (b) which was promulgated upon Mount Sinai He hath freed us also from the rigor and punctuality of this Law but not from the regiment of it And lastly he hath freed us from the curse (c) of this law or the curse annexed to the breach of it when he was himself made â— curse by suffering an accursed death for our sins (d) IV. THis Law called Moral is a holy (a) and perfect (b) Law having a spiritual (c) as well as a literal sense being made to regulate the whole man both outwardly in his members and inwardly for the thoughts and intentions of the heart (d) Christ did fullfill this Law by doing it not by filling up the vacuities of it for there was no defect or imperfection in it (e) V. GOd summed all moral duties in ten general Precepts or Ten (a) Words as Moses calls them Our Saviour Christ reduced these ten into two and St. Paul into one even Love Love (c) is the fullfilling of the Law and the end and complement (d) of it (b) that is Love towards God and Love towards our Neighbour this is the total sum of the Moral Law VI THough the Law be so nice and exact (a) in it self that we cannot perform it so fully as we ought or as it requires (b) nevertheless we may Gods grace assisting us perform it so far as to find a gracious acceptance with him through Christ (c) The doing the uttermost of what we can (d)
of later age 2. Secondly by descending into Hell no more is to be understood than that Christ descended into the state of the Dead and was continued under the power of Death for the space of three daies which is more generally received of the later Writers What is meant by this article I believe the Holy Catholic Church To believe the Holy Catholic Church is to believe that among all the Tribes and Nations of the World God hath some chosen Servants and a peculiar people whom he hath tâ—ken out for his name sanctified with his Spirit called unto the state of grace and ordained unto eternal glory What do you understand in the same article by the Communion of Saints To believe the Communion of Saints is to believe that the Saints and Servants of God are knit by an invisible tye of faith and love to Christ their Head and unto each other by common participation and mutual communication of all good things both spiritual and temporal as if they were but one Body and were acted by one soul and the same spirit What do you understand by this article I believe the forgiveness of sins We believe that God doth freely pardon sin to penitent sinners through faith in Christ without any other merit or satisfaction and pronounce this pardon in his name upon just and lawfull occasions Are there not some other Creeds besides that of the Apostles Yea the Nicen Creed and that of Athanasius yet these are but Paraphrases and Explanations of the Apostolical Creed upon occasion of Heresies that sprung up in the Church in those times especially touching the Trinity and the Incarnation of Christ but they contain nothing material or substantial that is not couched in the short symbol of the Apostles What is the use of that little Hymn called Gloria patri It is as it were a little Creed and an Abbridgment of the Apostolical brought into the Church about the time that Arrianism prevailed for to be a badge to distinguish the Orthodox Believers from the Heterodox or mis-believers For by giving glory to God in this form they confessed the Trinity in Unity which the Arrians opposed OF THE COMMANDMENTS WHich is the second general part of Christian Religion The Commandments which are a Breviate of the Moral Law and of all the practical duties of humane life the Rule of our obedience the Tree of knowledge of good and evil shewing what is good and what is bad what is to be followed and what to be eschewed Did not Christ abolish these Commandments No for this is a Law founded in Nature and natural equity and therefore is unmovable and unchangable It is the eternal Rule of Justice to all persons to the end of World The Gospel doth not exempt any persons from natural and moral obligations at any time But it is said that we are not under the Law but under Grace therefore we are freed from the Law Indeed Christ hath wholly freed us from the Ritual or Ceremonial Law which was grown to be unsupportable but he hath not discharged us from the law of good mannerâ— promulgated on Mount Sinai yet he hath freed us in part from this Law freed us from the rigor and severity of it filed the teeth of it as it were he hath freed us from the curse annexed to the breach of it when he was made himself a curse by suffering an accursed death for our sins Was this Law a perfect Rule of obedience and such as needed no amendment Yea it was a holy and a perfect Law having a Spiritual as well as a literal sense being made to regulate the whole man both outwardly in his members and inwardly for the thoughts and intentions of the heart Christ did fullfil this Law by doing it not by filling up the vacuities of it for there was no defect or imperfection in it Are not the duties of man very numerous in this life Yea sâ—â—e but God in his wisdom hath summed them all up in Ten general precepts or Ten words as Moses calls them Our Saviour Christ reduced these 10. into two Mat. 22.40 and St. Paul into one Rom. 13 10. namely Love Love is the fullfilling of the Law the end and complement of it that is Love towards God and Love towards our neighbour This is the total sum of the Moral Law Is it possible for any to perform or fullfil this Law Though it be so nice and exact in it self that we cannot perform it so fully as we ought or as it requires nevertheless we may Gods grace assisting us perform it so far as to find a gracious acceptance with him through Christ The doing the uttermost of what we can and the bewailing of what we cannot do is all that the merciful God requires at our hands in this point What do the precepts of the first Table contain They do contain the duty of man towards God being given to direct him in the service of his Maker and in performing the internal and external worship that is due unto him â—or he that made both soul and body expects the service of both and to be glorifiâ—d in both What do the precepts of the second Table concern They do concern and contain the duty of man towards his Neighbour obliging him to love him as himself and that as his fellow-creature hewn out of the same rock made by the same hand and bearing the same â—â—amp image and super scription with him evâ—n the image of him that made both the one and the other The Commandments are but few in number and short in words have they not sâ—me farther latitude in sense than in words Yea surely and there are certain Rules to shew what latitude they bear that is how far they may be amplified and extended as First where any virtue is commanded all virtues of the same kinde are under that name commanded and where any vice is forbidden all vices of that kind or race are forbidden likewise What other Rules have you to measure the latitude of these Commandments Take these two more where any virtue is commanded there the opposite vice is forbidden and where any vice is forbidden there the opposite virtue is commanded by the Rule of Contraries As where stealing is forbidden there honest labour industry and frugality is commanded that men need not be forced to steal What is the other Rule Where any duty is commanded there all lawfull meanâ— conducing to that duty are tacitly commanded And where any vice is forbidden there all the means and occasions as also the allurements and provocations that do any way tend or induce thereunto are likewise forbidden OF THE LORDS PRAYER WHat is the use of prayer Since there is no man in the world so full and self-sufficient but doth want something and must seek out of himself for a supply of that want Nature dictates and suggests that prayer and supplication is an effectual means to obtain this supply and that humble address must
of Baptism There is no danger in the bare want of it where it may not be had but in the neglect or contempt of it where it may be had this is a soul-endangering sin and imports a contempt of the Author and a rejecting of the counsel of God Gods anger was highly inceâ—sed against Moses for not Circumcising his child in due time according to the command Are young children capable of Baptism Yea the children of believing Parents are as the children of the Israelites being but eight daies old were of Circumcision And where but one of the Parents is a believer the children are admitted unto those favouâ—â— and privileges of the Church that do belong unto that Parent as a believer Wherefore was the Lord Supper instituted It was instituted by Christ not onely for a memorial of his own death but also for a means of applying his merits to the partakers for the increasing of love and amity among the faithfull and for the improving and strengthening of their faith and love towards God by these outward tokens and pledges of his love to them What is necessary for the due receiving of the Lords Supper It is expedient that a man examine himself but not so necessary that he should examine others whether they be worthy or unworthy for no man is partaker of another mans sins except he be accessâ—ry thereunto either by counsel or consent or approbation or some such way Is it expedient that a man be a frequent partaker of the Lords Supper Yea for often approaching to the Lords Table in due mannâ—r besides other benefits conduceth much to the advancement of piety and a holy life for thereby we are called to a re-inforcing of our watch to descend to that most usefull duty of self-examination or searching our own bosoms to purge out the old leaven and all impurity that is there contracted and lastly to a renewing of our vows and promises made in baptism of serving God with more circumspection and vigilance Are these Sacraments to continue for some certain time onely or for ever They are not temporary â—iâ—es but standing appointments in the Kingdom of Christ and of perpetual use in his Church until his second coming None can arrive at such perfection in this life at to be above Ordinances or not to stand in need of them for the uses before mentioned for which purposes all sober and humble Christians have alwaies founâ— them usefull and efficacious Who are lawfull Administrators and Dispensers of the Sacraments Onely such as are lawfully called to Ecclesiasticall Ministeries are lawfull Administrators of the Sacraments They are the Keepers of the Seals and are entrusted to apply and dispense them to such persons as desire them and are meetly qualified for them and none other FINIS A review of the precedent Aphorisms Wherein some of the most material points and passages that have been most liable to mistakes in these times are farther illustrated and verified 1. OF Fundamentals 2. Of the Authors and authority of the Creed 3. Of the fullness and sufficiency of it 4. Of the Patriarchs Creed 5. Of believing the Catholic Church 6. Of the Nicen and Athanasian Creeds 7. Gloria patri a short Creed 1. OF the obligation of the Moral Law under the Gospel 2. Of the perfection of the Moral at the first enacting of it 3. How this Law is possible to be performed 1. OF mens ignorance in the duty of prayer 2. That the Lords Prayer is a prayer 3. It is the Rule and Law of all prayers 4. Surpâ—sseth all other Compositions 5. Of set forms of Prayer 6. The Lords Prayer may not be laid aside 1. SAcraments why instituted 2. Their virtue and efficacy from the Author 3. They are Seals as well as Signs 4. Absolutely necessary where they may be had 5. Infant-Baptism more antient than Christ and his Apostles 6. Where the Sacraments may not be had desire supplies the defect APHOR. 1. Of the four fundamentals of Religion MOst men do divide this Sovereign Science of Theology into four parts Dr. Nowel in his Catechism calls those four by the names of Faith Obedience Invocation and Sacraments which amounts to the same with this division which we here follow for faith is summed up in the Creed obedience in the Decalogue Invocation in the Lords Prayer and the Sacraments make the fourth part Mr. Perkins calls these four Hâ—â—ds the grounds and Catholic principles of the Catechism and Dr. Dâ—avenam that â—d Jewel of Salisbury calls them the Fundamentals of Christian religion By Fundamentals he understands such things as are absolutely necessary to salvation and as such to be embraced of all men when they are sufficiently proposed unto them And such are saith he not onely mysteries of faith comprized in thâ—Creed but also the dictates of the Divine Law contain'd in the Decalogue which he calls Symbolum Agendorum as the other is Symbolum Credendorum A Speculative knowledg of Divine Mâ—stâ—ries will not carry us one step forward towards heaven without the practical knowledge of Divine Mandates and it is no less damnable to erâ— in moral principles than in speculative that is it is as great a Heresie dogmatically to impâ—gn one of the Commandments as one of the Articles of the Creed For he that affirms that God is not to be worshipped or that Parents are not to be honoured or teacheth that theft and murther are no sins is an absolute Heretick for every practical dictate of the moral law is a fundamental truth and ought as firmly to be believed as any article of the Creed for it is implicitly contained in it There are some general verities and propositions also in the doctrine of prayer and Sacraments which are no less fundamental than the other and which to dâ—ny or oppose would be both impious and heretical Those Churches that are built upon these fundamentals and do firmly retain them have that which may suffice them to salvation they have a foundation sufficient to bear that super-structure which they are intended for even mans eternal salvation And if men indeavour to live according to these principles thâ—y are to be deemed members of Gods Church and such to whom all Christians should give the right hand of fellowship and not sâ—parate from though they might be guilty of sundry failings otherwise This is the substance of some chapters of that pious mans Irenicon or exhortation to peace directed to the Proâ—estant Churches of Germany which are divided into Lutherans and Calvinists APHOR. 2. Of the Authors and authority of the Apostles Creed MAgno certè verterum consensu c. surely by a general vote suffrage of the antient Fathers this Creed is ascribed unto the Apostles saith Mr. Calvin ab ultimâ memoriâ Sacro-sanctae inter pios omnes authoritatis â—uit as he goes on and it was esteemed of sacred authority among all Gods servants from the first spring of Christianity Ireneus one of the
onely badges of Christian profession but also sure witnesses and effectual signs of grace agreeable to the Belgic confession Sacramenta non sunt vana vacua signa ad nos decipiendos instiâ—uta c. For where they are administred and received in the due form and manner we acknowledge that they really give what they promise and are what they signifie on Gods part they give an investiture and possession of the heavenly promises as firmly as a Bishop is invested in his Office per baculum annulum as St. Bernard makes the simile Serm de Caena Dom. The unworthy Receiveâ— indeed doth frustrate and defeat the good that is intended by them and presented in them makes divorce between the sign and thing signified eats the Bakers bread not the bread that came down from heaven Sacramentum non rem Sacramenti If this Romish fansie of the opus operatum were current I marvel why the Sacraments of the old Testament did not confer grace as well as those of the new which they deny making that the main difference between them whereas the truth is they differed onely in the outward symbols not in the inward sense and substance nor yet in the effects for their Sacraments had the same materiam substratam the same invisible grace presented in them though the visible signs were not the same and the worthy partakers did feed on Christ as lushiously and savourly then as others do now they did eat the same spiritual meat and drink the same spirituall drink which was Christ as St. Paul doth expressely teach 1 Cor. 10.3 4. APHOR. 3. They are Seals as well as Signs THe Gospel is the Grand Charter of mans Salvation and the Sacraments are as it were seals appendant thereunto they are not onely signs of some grace exhibited but also seals to ratifie and confirm the promises contained in the Instrument before mentioned As seals are put to civil Contracts and Indentures for a full and final ratification of them This comparison is used by most Writers of the Reformation but it is so foolish in Bellarmine's conceit that nothing can be more and which ought with all diligence saith he to be beaten down Sacramenta dici sigilla vel signacula nusquam legimus nisi in Evangelio secundum Lutherum is the Cardinals witty sarcasm in the forecited Treatise that the Sacraments are called seals saith he we read no where but in the new Gospel according to St. Lather But he might have read it in an old Epistle according to St. Paul who calls Circumcision {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} the seal of the righteousness which is by faith that is a seal whereby it was ratified and made sure unto Abraham that he was justified or made righteous before God through faith in Christ Nay the Cardinal himself to prove the Septenary number of the Sacraments doth fetch an argument from the book with seven seals Rev. 5.1 which was the new Covenant with seven Sacraments appendant thereto as he interprets the place if that Text will be of force to evince the Sacraments to be seven in number it will also evince them to be seals for use APHOR. 4. Absolutely necessary where they may be had THe Divine Precept hath layed the highest obligation that may be upon us of using the Sacraments and that with reverence and religion saith Dr. Ames If the Sacraments be wanting unto us through our own default it involves us in guilt saith Augustin neither can that man pretend to a sincere conversion or love to God that contemns any Sacrament of his institution * Faith will not avail any man who receives not the Lords Lords Sacraments when he may saith St. Bernard If this be a duty commanded why may we not slight any other and all other duties as well as this What reasonable hopes hath any man that God will save him by some other means or without means when he hath declared that by these means in conjunction with some others he intends to save Ames calls Baptism one of the ordinary means of Salvation ex istâ hypothesi upon that account he affirms it to be absolutely necessary to Salvation where it is to be had * Except a man be born of water and the Spirit saith Christ he cannot enter into the Kingdom of heaven From hence the antient Fathers did infer the necessity of Baptism But some later Writers have ratified this water into spirit and interpret the words tropically except a man be born of water that is of the Spirit for water is here but an emblem of the Spirit say they as fire is elsewhere Mat. 3.11 But to these I shall oppose the sense and censure of the learned Hooker you shall have his own expressions for they cannot be mended I hold it an infallible rule in the Exposition of Scripture that where a literal construction will stand the farthest from the Letter is commonly the worst there is nothing more dangerous than this licentious and deluding are which changeth the meaning of words as Alchimy doth or would do Metals maketh any thing what it listeth and in the end bringeth all truth to nothing The general consent of antiquity concurres in the literal interpretation and must the received construction be now disguised with a toy of novelty We may by such Expositions attain in the end perhaps to be thought witty but with ill advice so he Non possum quin simplicissimam Theologiam hoc est quae minimè recedit a litera caeteris ut commodiorem praeferam APHOR. 5. Infant-Baptism more antient than the Apostles TO secure the interest of children in this Sacrament who ex praerogativâ sâ—minis as Tert speakes are entitled thereto enough hath been spoken of late years by our English Writers to the conviction of all gain-sayers more particularly by the excellent Dr. Hammond in his Quaerâ—s When we find the practice of baptizing Infants in the Christian Church to be so antient as the very next age to the Apostles and so universal that it was received through all parts of the world where Christ had a Church I cannot see how it could have any other original than from the Apostles who founded the Churches through the World St. Augustine speaking of this usage or custom saith That the Church of God ever had it ever held it and received it Hanc praxin Ecclesia Catholica ubique diffusa tenet Home de Adamo Eva from the Religion of former ages and Calvin saith That the antientest Writers that we have of our Religion do without any scruple refer the original of this practice to the Apostles Nullus Scriptor tam vetustus qui non ejus originem ad Apostolorum tempora pro certo referat But this practice did not begin with or by the Apostles neither for they did but continue what was before in use in the Jewish Church who
PRAYER BLessed Lord thou hast been gracious unto thy people and wonderfull in all thy doings towards the children of men Thou hast been pleased since thou hast created us for thy self to guide our steps unto thee and to set us in the paths that lead unto everlasting life By teaching us to believe (a) rightly in thee to walk (b) uprightly before thee and in all our Addresses (c) to speak advisedly and discreetly unto thee And thou hast been farther pleased to afford thy servants suitable and convenient helps for the performance of those Duties thou hast enjoyned them even thy holy Sacraments which thou hast ordained to nourish and strengthen our saith in thee to enflame our love towards thee and to embolden our addresses unto thee by assuring and sealing (d) unto us all the gracious promises that thou hast made unto thy Church in thy beloved Son Lord teach us to use these helps and means discreetly reverently and thankfully as thine own holy institutions Continue them still unto us and let thy holy Spirit be ever present with them that they may be instrumental and effectual to those ends and purposes for which thou hast ordained them Lord hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place and have mercy and pardon the sins of this most sinfull Nation Heal all our rents and breaches Thou whose name is the Repairer (e) of the breaches and tâ—e Restorer of the paths to dwell in let this ruin (f) be under thy hand and be thou a Healer Say unto this Nation as thou didst once to thy antient people (g) I will bring it health and cure and I will cure them and reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth Grant this for thy mercies sake and make haste to help O Lord God of our Salvaâ—ion How long O Lord at length repent And of our miseries relent Thine earely mercy shew That we may unknown comforts tast And for long daies of sorrow past As long of joy bestow The preceding Aphorisms resolved into Questions and Answers for the better fixing of them in the memory and a farther illustration of them to weaker understandings THis short Abstract is fram'd and contrived first Axiomatically by way of Theses Aphorisms or Axioms as Hippocrates summ'd up the Rules of his art in Aphorisms Piscator Junius and Grynaeus have delineated the Body of Theology in the like form In the second place These Theorems are handled Dramatically by inter-locutions or by Questions and Answers which was the antient way not onely of teaching Philosophy used by Socrates and Plato but also of planting the Christian Faith and propagating it over the world This Method and Oeconomy will much conduce not onely to illustrate the matter in hand and insinuate it to the understanding but will serve also to rivet it the faster in the minds of the learners that they may be as goâ—ds and nails fastned by the Masters of the Assemblies It is a command of Moses concerning the Law Thou shalt teach them diligently to thy Children Deut. 6.7 In the Hebrew it is Exacues thou shâ—lt sharpen these precepts and set a point on them that they may penetrate as men sharpen a stake to drive it into the ground or set an edge on a knife by often drawing it over the whetstone So it is needfull that such Rules should be often inculcated and repeated that they may pierce deeper and hold faster And lest I might seem to obtrude any thing Magisterially or like a Dictator on any mans belief I have pointed to the rock from whence they were hewn by subjoyning Scripture-citations to each of them I have also confirm'd them by the authority of some ancient and modern writers such as were the Heads of their Tribes and renowned men in their Generations The Protestants of France took just offence at the Sorbon Doctors when they published the Capital points of Christian Religion in 25. Propositions without any proofs of Scripture for any of them but obtruded naked Conclusions and Axioms tanquam pro imperio nullis rationibuâ— aut firmamentis adjectis But I hope I have prevented such objections by what is added to these Theorems OF THE CREED HOw many parts be there of Christian Religion There are four general parts thereof which are universally embraced of the whole Church of God through the World and do virtually contain the whole Body of Divinity namely the Creed the Commandments the Lords Prayer and the Sacraments What is the preeminence and excellency of man above other creatures As man was made after a different manner from all other creatures here below so he was made to a different end namely eternal happiness after this life For the attainment whereof God hath shewed him what to do prescribed the means thereunto conducing if he make a right use of them What are those means that God hath appointed unto man for obtaining eternal happiness They are chiefly these two first to believe rightly in God secondly to live uprightly before him that is according to his will revealed in his word Living and believing making up the whole duty of man What word do you mean The word wherein God declared his will is the Scripture which is the authentic Rule of faith and manners life and belief containing all points of necessary and saving Truthâ— to make the man of God perfect and to carry him on to his designed end of happiness and glory What are the chiefest points of faith and right belief The chief and fundamental points of faith and true belief and which are necessary to be received of all to whom they are propounded are summed up in these 12. points or articles which are contained in the Apostles Creed which Creed is the key to all other doctrinal points of Religion How did the Patriarchs and Servants of God of old time believe before this Creed was framed They believed as we do and were saved by the saith contained in this Creed every article thereof being revealed unto them and to be found dispersedly in the writings of Moses and the Prophets for as theâ—e was but one Church from the beginning of the world so there was but one Faith which is common to us and them and to all that shall come after us What do these 12. articles contain or concern Some do concern God the Father as the first article some God the Son as the six articles immediately following and some do concern God the Holy Ghost as the eighth article The four last do set forth the state of Gods Church both in this world and in the next What is meant by Christ's descending into Hell which is mentioned in the Creed That article or period may safely be understood either of these two waies 1. First that the soul of Christ descended locally among the infernal Spirits not to suffer but to manifest the power of his Godhead which is the interpretation of the Fathers and divers eminent Writers