Lives End 2 Thess. iii. 3 The Lord is faithful who shall stablish you and keep you from Evil. Eph. iv 30 Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you are sealed unto the day of Redemption Phil. 1.6 Being confident of this very thing That he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it untill the day of Jesus Christ. SECT IV. Q. BUt what if notwithstanding all your present Desires and Resolutions you should chance to fall away from your Duty and thereby put your self out of this state of Salvation â—s there no way left for you to recover your self and to return again to it A. Yes there is by a true Repentance for the Sins which I shall have Committed and an humble Confession of them to God with earnest Prayer for his Forgiveness through the Merits and Intercession of Jesus Christ our Blessed Saviour and Redeemer Q. What mean you by Repentance A. I mean such a Conversion of a Sinner to God whereby he is not only heartily Sorry for the Evil he has done and Resolved to forsake it but do's actually begin to renounce it and to fulfil his Duty according to his Ability with a steadfast purpose to continue God's faithful Servant unto his Life's End Q. What are the chief Acts required to such a Repentance A. To forsake Evil and to do Good To turn from those Sins which we repent of and to serve God by an Universal Obedience of him in whatsoever he has required of us Q. What is the first step towards a true Repentance A. To be thoroughly Convinced of the evil of our Ways and heartily Sorry for it Q. Is any kind of Sorrow to be look'd upon as a part of true Repentance A. No there is a Sorrow for Sin which proceeds not from any Love of God or Sense of our Duty to Him nor yet from any real Hatred of the Sins which we have committed but meerly from the fear of God's Judgment and of the Punishment which we may be likely to suffer for them This is that Sorrow which is commonly called Attrition and may be in the most Wicked Men without ever bringing them to any true Repentance for their Sins Q. What then is that Sorrow which leads to a true Repentance A. It is that Godly Sorrow which proceeds from a Sense of our Duty and of the Obligations we lie under to the performance of it When we are Sorry for our Sins upon the account of our having thereby offended God broken the Covenant of the Gospel and grieved the Holy Spirit which was given to us and are therefore resolved immediately to forsake our Sins and never to return any more to them Q. How is such a Sorrow to be wrought in a Sinner A. Only by the Grace of God and the serious Consideration of our Own Estate towards him the former to be attain'd by our constant Prayers for it the latter by accustoming our selves often to Examine our Souls and to try our Ways by the measures of that Obedience which the Gospel of Christ requires of us Q. Do's not God make use of many other ways to bring Men to such a Sorrow A. God has many ways whereby to bring Sinners to Repentance Sometimes he do's it by bringing some temporal Evils and Calamities upon them Sometimes by visiting them with Terrors and Disquiets of Mind Sometimes he calls upon them by the Outward Ministry of his Word and Sometimes by the Evils which befal Others especially those who were their Companions in their Sins But whatever the Occasions be which God is pleased to make use of to bring us to Repentance it is the Grace of the Holy Spirit and the serious Consideration of our own wretched Estate that begins the Work and produces in us that Godly Sorrow which finally ends in a true Repentance Q. What are the chief Motives with respect to us to engage us thus to Sorrow for our Sins A. The Threats of God denounced in the Holy Scriptures against Impenitent Sinners and the Promises there made of Pardon to all such as shall truly Repent and return to their Duty as they ought to do Q. What is the next thing required in order to a true Repentance A. Confession of Sin Not that God has any need of being informed by us of what we have done amiss but to the end we may thereby both raise in our selves a greater shame and sorrow for our Evil Doings and give the greater Glory to God by such a solemn humbling of our selves in Confession before him Q. Is such a Confession necessary to our Forgiveness A. So necessary that we have no promise of any Pardon without it Prov. xxviii 13 He that covereth his Sins shall not prosper but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have Mercy 1 Joh. i. 8 9. If we say that we have no Sin we deceive our selves and the Truth is not in us If we confess our Sins he is Faithful and Just to forgive us our Sins and to cleanse us from all Vnrighteousness Q. To whom is our Confession to be made A. Always to God and in some certain Cases to Man also Q. What are those Cases in which we ought to confess our Sins to Man as well as unto God A. They are especially these Three 1. Iâ— case we have Offended or Injured our Neighbour and upon that account need to obtain hiâ— Pardon as well as God's 2. If by any opeâ— and notorious Transgression we shall happeâ— to have either deserved or it may be to havâ— fallen under the Censures of the Church anâ— so Confession to the Church be necessary to restore us to the Peace of it Or 3. If we shalâ— have any private reason that may move us to acquaint any Person with our Sins for Advice for Prayer for Absolution or for any the like Advantage which cannot be had without it Q. What think you of that Confession commonly called by them Auricular-Confession which the Church of Rome requires as necessary to Forgiveness A. I look upon it as a great and dangerous Imposition that has no warrant from God is a great Rack and Snare to the Consciences of Good Men and may be apt to encourage most Others in their Sins Whilst by the Absolution which is so readily given them thereupon and the Efficacy of which is so highly magnified in that Church they are taught to entertain a much less Opinion both of the Heinousness and Danger of their Evil-doings than either the Scripture Warrants or their own Interest should prompt them to admit of Q. Is there not somewhat yet required beyond this in order to our Forgiveness A. Yes there is for to all this there must be super-added an Actual forsaking of those Sins which we Confess and that Absolute and without Reserve so that we must firmly resolve and as much as in us lies heartily endeavour never to return again any more to them Q. But
more comprehended in this Article with relation to God the Father A. This only That as God at the Beginning thus Created All things so having Created them he has ever since continued to Support and Preserve them Heb. i. 3 And that so particularly that there is not the least thing in the World to which his Providence does not extend it self Mat. vi 26.30 x. 29 30. Q. How do you profess to Believe all this of God A. Because though some part of it might have been discover'd by Natural Reason and accordingly was found out by the Wiser Heathens yet the full and perfect Knowledge of all this is due to Revelation And by the Accounts we have of these things in the Holy Scriptures we both more clearly Understand Them and are more firmly perswaded of the Truth of Them SECT VIII Q. WHAT does the Second Part of your Creed contain A. It contains a short Summary of all Such things as are Necessary to be known and believed by Us concerning our Lord and Saviour JESVS CHRIST Q. How is He here described to Us A. By his Person his Office his Relation to God and to Vs. And in Iesus Christ his only Son our Lord. Q. How is his Person set out in this Article to Us A. By the Name Which he went by whilst He was upon Earth JESVS Q. How came our Saviour to be called by that Name A. He was so called by the express Command of God deliver'd by an Angel first to the Blessed Virgin Luk. i. 31 and then to Joseph Mat. i. 21 Q. Is there any particular Significancy in that Name that should move God in such an Extraordinary manner to give it to Him A. There is For it denotes a Saviour and was given by God to our Blessed Lord to shew that He was to be the Saviour of the World and that No other was to be so Mat. i. 21 Thou shalt call his Name Jesus for He shall Save his People from their Sins Acts iv 12 Neither is there Salvation in any Other for there is none other Name under Heaven given among Men whereby we must be Saved Q. How was this Jesus to Save the World A. By delivering Us both from the Power and from the Punishment of our Sins and by putting us in a way of attaining unto Everlasting Salvation Tit. ii 11 c. Rom. vi 4 5 c. Q. What is the Title given to our Blessed Lord with respect to his Office Q. He is called CHRIST which is the same in Greek that MESSIAS is in Hebrew or Syriac And is as much as to say the Anointed Joh. i. 41 We have found the Messias which is being interpreted the Christ. Joh. iv 25 I know that Messias cometh which is called Christ. Q. Why had our Saviour this Title given to Him A. To shew that as by the Ceremony of Anointing heretofore God consecrated Those whom he called to some certain Offices so was this Jesus to be separated though not by a Visible Vnction yet by the Invisible Power and Grace of the Holy Spirit for all those Offices to which Men were Anointed by God's Command under the Law Act. x. 38 God Anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with Power Q. What were those Offices to which Men were consecrated by the Ceremony of Anointing under the Law A. They were chiefly Three to the Office of a Prophet a Priest and a King Q. Was our Saviour to be consecrated to All These A. He was and that by express Prophecies before his Coming into the World See Psal. xlv cx Deut. xviii 15 18 c. Isa. ix 6 lxi 1 Q. How did God Anoint him to these Offices A. The Holy Ghost came upon him and God by a Voice from Heaven declared him to be his Son and commanded all the World to Hear him Mat. iii. 16 17. And he Received the Spirit without Measure for the Discharge of all of Them Joh. iii. 34 Q. You say that God before Prophesy'd of such a Christ Did the Jews know that He had done so A. Yes and at that very time that Christ came into the World they Generally expected the coming of Him Mat. xi 2 Joh. iv 25 vii 31 Luke iii. 15 Q. How then came it to pass that They did not more readily Receive Him A. Because they had flatter'd themselves with the Expectation of a temporal Prince who should deliver them from their Enemies and Restore again the Kingdom unto Israel And therefore they could not bear the disappointment of Receiving such a Messias as our Saviour professed himself to be Luke xxiv 21 Act. i. 6 Q. What Security have we that this was indeed the Messias of whom Moses and the Prophets Spake A. The Greatest that can be Imagin'd a He came at the exact Time that the Messias was to Come a Gen. xlix 10 Malach. iii. 1 Dan. ix 25 26. He descended of the Tribe out of which the Messiah was to proceed Gen. xlix 9 10. Isa. xi 1 10. comp Mat. i. Luk. iii. He was born at the Place where the Messias was to be born Mich. v. 2 Mat. ii 1 He was conceived of a Virgin as the Messias was to be conceived Isa. vii 14 Mat. i. 25 Luk. i. 27 34. Besides all which he had such extraordinary Witness born to him as is not to be Gain-said God raised up a Singular Fore-runner to prepare the Way for him Being come into the World He Own'd him by a Voice from Heaven to be his Son Mat. iii. 17 He himself wrought such Miracles as no One ever did Joh. vii 31 He empower'd his Disciples to work the Same Miracles in his Name and for the Confirmation of his Authority Mat. x. 7 8. Mark xvi 17 18. Being put to Death at the Instigation of the Jews He was by God raised again the Third Day from the Dead and in the presence of his Disciples visibly taken up into Heaven where he now sitteth at the Right-hand of God Acts i. 3 9. Q. You said that Jesus was called Christ because he was to be consecrated by the Holy Ghost to the several Offices to which Men were Anointed under the Law Tell me therefore How does it appear that this Christ was a Prophet A. It is manifest that He exercised all the Parts of the Prophetick Office He foretold things to Come Jo. ii 19 Mat. xvii 22 23. xxiv 2 c. He declared God's Will to the World And he commission'd his Disciples to Go and Publish the same Doctrine of Salvation to all Mankind Mat. xxviii 19 20. Mar. xvi 15 Q. How do you believe Christ to have been a Priest seeing He was not descended of a Priestly Tribe or Family Heb. vii 14 A. As the Scriptures teach me to believe I believe him to have been a Priest not according to the Legal Institution but of another and more ancient Kind after the Order of Melchisedeck Psal. cx
to be truly Catholick Christians And also holds Communion with all such Churches as profess the same Faith and as far forth as they do so Q. What is your Opinion of the Church of Rome in this particular A. That she is both Schismatical and Heretical Schismatical in cutting off all Others from her Communion who will not profess her Errors and submit to her Vsurp'd Authority Heretical in professing such Doctrines as quite destroy the Foundations of Christianity and are inconsistent with that Truth which yet she pretends to maintain Q. In what Respect do you believe the Catholick Church to be Holy A. As both the * End of Christ in Gathering of it the * Rules he has given to it the * Promises he has made it * It s Sacraments * Ministry all its * Ordinances were design'd to make it Holy But especially as * All Those who are indeed the Faithful Members of it are actually Sanctify'd by the Grace of the Holy Spirit And so are truly though imperfectly Holy now and shall be made altogether Holy and without Spot hereafter Eph. 5.25 SECT XVII Q. WHat is the first Duty or Privilege belonging to those who are Members of Christ's Church A. The Communion of Saints Q. What do you mean by Saints A. Though the Word in our Language be more Restrain'd yet in that in which this Creed was composed it may indifferently denote either Holy Persons or Holy Things And this Article may very well be extended to both of Them Q. Whom do you mean by Holy Persons A. Though all Christians in General are so called in Scripture and we are Charitably to presume that All such are Holy Persons Yet by Saints we are most properly to understand such as answer the End of their Calling by a Lively Faith and a Holy Conversation in which Two the Gospel-Saintship seems to consist Q. With Whom and in what Things do you believe such Persons to have Communion A. I believe that all the true Members of Christ's Church have a Right of Fellowship or Communion with God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ as they are Received into Covenant by the One through the Death and Passion of the Other I believe that they have a Fellowship with the Holy Ghost by his Dwelling in Them and Sanctifying of Them I believe that they have Fellowship with the Holy Angels who both Minister unto them in their Exigencies and have a most tender affectionate Concern for Them I believe that they all have a Fellowship with One Another as * Members of the same mystical Body of Christ * Professors of the same Faith * Heirs of the same Promises * Guided by the same Spirit and * Governed by the same Laws And I believe that they ought as living Members * to have a Fellowship of Love and Charity also towards Each Other And Lastly I believe that they have a Right of Communicating in all the Ordinances of the Gospel In the Prayers of the Church in the Ministry of the Word and Sacraments and whatsoever else hath been ordain'd by Christ or establish'd in the Church for the common Good and Benefit of all the Members of it Q. Do you not by this Account of the present Article utterly shut out those from any part in it who yet are most commonly called Saints I mean Such as have departed this Life in the Fear of God and the Faith of Jesus Christ A. No by no means I believe them to partake in this Communion also as they are still living Members of Christ's Holy Catholick Church And therefore I believe that They have a Fellowship no less than We with God and Christ. That they are Sanctified by the same Spirit Are Visited by the Holy Angels Have some kind of Fellowship with One Another and with Vs also however separated by Death from Us. Q. Wherein do you suppose their Fellowship with Us to consist A. I look upon the Case to be much the same with Us as it is with Members of the same Civil Society upon Earth when they are in a foreign Country far distant from One Another * We are Members of the same Church * Vnited to the same Head * Sanctified by the same Spirit * Heirs of the same Promises * Shall in a little time be in the same Place and State and when the End of the World comes * we shall All be translated to the same Glory and Happiness in God's Heavenly Kingdom Q. To what Offices of Communion does this Belief oblige Us at present towards Each Other A. To the Members of Christ's Church still Living it obliges Us to Love and Charity to mutual Prayers for and Help of Each other in all such Things as may promote the Salvation of Us all How the Saints departed maintain Communion with Us We cannot tell Probable it is that they do in general pray for us as it is certain they wish well to Us. But for our selves who are yet here on Earth we must Bless God for the Grace he was pleased to bestow upon Them and by which they were delivered from the Sins and Temptations of this Evil World and enabled Faithfully to serve him unto the End We must set before Us their Examples and Imitate their Vertues We must account of them as Living Members of Christ's Body and be not only Ready but Desirous to Go to them whenever it shall please God to call for Us. We must take care decently to dispose of their Bodies and faithfully to fulfil as much as in Us lies what they have left in trust with Us to be done for Them after their departure Q. What think you of that Honour which is paid to Them in the Church of Rome A. It is not only Vain and without all Warrant from God's Word but is indeed Superstitious and Idolatrous To Pray to any Creature and He at a vast Distance from Vs In the House of God with all the Outward Marks of Adoration nay and oftentimes in the same Words and in the same Breath that We pray to God and that lastly with a Confidence that the Person so pray'd to can Hear our Prayers and Answer our Desires being evidently to Give to the Creature the Honour due to the Creator which cannot be done without the Peril of Idolatry SECT XVIII Q. WHat is the next Privilege which you believe does of Right belong to those who are the Members of Christ's Church A. The Forgiveness of Sins Q. What is Sin A. It is the Transgression of God's Law 1 Jo. iii. 4 Whether by our Omitting to do what that Required us to have done Or by Our doing any Thing contrary to its Commands Q. What mean you by the Law of God A. The Will of God howsoever made known to Us whether by the Light of our Own Consciences or by the Declarations of his Word especially that which is deliver'd to us in the Books of the New Testament Q. How does God
for which the Holy Spirit was given by Christ to his Church A. No His Operations are very many and can hardly be particularly Enumerated He not only Regenerates and Sanctifies Us Disposes us to our Duty and Fortifies Us against Temptation but moreover Directs us in Our Doubts Comforts us in our Afflictions Supports us in our Troubles Arms us against the Fear of Death Gives us Strength and Courage in Trials and Persecutions And in such Cases as he sees needful Seals our Souls with such an Inward Sense and Assurance of God's Favour as makes us firmly satisfied of our future Everlasting Salvation Rom. v. 5 viii 14 17. 2 Cor. i. 22 Eph. i. 14 Gal. iv 6 Q. How long shall the Holy Ghost continue thus to Comfort Sanctify and Guide the Faithful A. As long as there shall any Faithful Remain in need of his Assistance Which because there will be to the End of the World therefore Christ has promised that He shall also till then continue to Conduct and Govern his Faithful Servants Jo. 14.16 Mat. xxviii 20 SECT XVI Q. WHat does the FOVRTH and Last Part of your Creed Relate to A. To the Church of Christ Its Duty and Privileges here and its future Hope of Glory and Immortality hereafter Q. What is the First Thing which you are taught to believe concerning Christ's Church A. That there is a Holy Catholick Church Q. What is that Church of which this Article speaks A. It is the Vniversal Church of Christ the General Assembly of All those who from the time of the first publishing of the Gospel to this Day have believed in Christ or shall hereafter profess his Faith to the End of the World Q. How can such a Church be the Object of our Faith A. Not as to that part of it which we see and communicate with but chiefly in these Two Respects First As we Believe by the Word of God that those who have Gone before Us in the true Faith of Christ and the Fear of his Holy Name though out of all Visible Communion at present with Us do yet Live to God and are still Members of Christ's Church though in a different State from Us and shall together with Us be gather'd into One Glorious Society at the last Day And Secondly As upon the same Grounds we do also farther believe that in all the Ages yet to come to the End of the World Christ shall continue to have a Church upon Earth So that no Power of Men or Malice of the Devil shall ever be able utterly to Root it out or to destroy it Q. How can a Society consisting of such different Members and those at so great a distance both in Time and Place from One Another yet all together make but One Church A. Because how different so ever the Members of this Church may otherwise seem to be yet they are all * United together under One Head the Lord Jesus * Are * Sanctified and Ruled by the same Holy Spirit * Endued with the same Love to God and towards One Another * Live by the same Laws * Profess the same Faith * Partake of the same Sacraments * Have the same Hope of Salvation set before them * Worship the same God by the same Advocate and Saviour Jesus Christ And as to what concerns all the true and lively Members of this Society * shall one Day be Gathered together into One actual Place and Portion in the Glorious Kingdom of God for Ever Q. Wherefore do you give this Church the Title of Catholick A. Upon several Accounts but chiefly these Two First To distinguish it from the Jewish Church which was confined to a certain People and was to continue but for a certain Time Whereas the Christian Church takes in all Mankind and is to last to the End of the World Psal. ii 8 Acts x. 34 35. Mat. xxviii 19 Mark xvi 15 Luk. xxiv 47 1 Cor. xii 13 And Secondly To shew that in this Creed which comprehends what is to be Believed by all Christians we profess not our Faith of any One determinate Church which may cease and fail such as the Church of England or Church of Rome but of the Catholick or Vniversal Church of Christ as that which shall never fail and to which alone the Promises of God belong Q. May not any One determinate Church be called the Catholick Church A. No it may not any more than London may be called England or England the Whole World The Catholick Church is the Vniversal Church and that neither Ours nor any other particular Church is nor whilst there are more such Christian Churches in the World can be But a Catholick Church a Particular Church may be called And such Ours is though that of Rome I doubt will hardly be able to make a Good Pretension to this Title any more than to the Other Q. Do you make a difference then between A Catholick Church and THE Catholick Church A. There is certainly a wide difference between them THE Catholick Church is as I before said The whole Church But A Catholick Church implies no more than a Sound part of it a Church in Communion with the Catholick Church of Christ in opposition to the Conventicles of Hereticks and Schismaticks Who whatsoever they may pretend are really no parts of the Catholick Church nor shall be consider'd by Christ as such Q. Whom do you account Hereticks and Schismaticks And how does it appear that they are not Parts of the Catholick Church A. The Catholick Church is that Church which professes the true Faith which Christ and his Apostles deliver'd to it and that if not free from All Errour whatsoever yet without any such Errours as destroy the Foundation of that Doctrine which was committed to its Custody Now a Heretick is One who not only Errs in some Matters of lesser moment but in Matters of such Consequence as subvert the very Foundation of Christianity But he who does this can never be a Member of that Church whose Doctrine he not only does not Receive but rejects And who by his Errours destroys that very Faith by which alone he can be intituled to the Character either of a true Disciple or a sound Member of Christ's Church Q. But why may not Schismaticks be accounted true Members of Christs Church A. Because none are Schismaticks but such as forsake and cut themselves off from the Communion of the Catholick Church Now it is a Contradiction that those should continue Members of the Catholick Church who by their Own voluntary departure from it have renounced the Communion of it Q. Do you look upon the Church of England to be a true part of the Catholick Church A. It certainly is Inasmuch as it professes the true Catholick Faith deliver'd in the Holy Scriptures and drawn up in the Creeds of the Church and by the most ancient Councils acknowledged to be sufficient to denominate those who profess'd according thereunto