The CONFESSION of the Faith and Doctrine believed and profeffed by the PROTESTANTS of Scotland, &c.

Matth. xxiv. 14. And this Gospel of the Kingdom fhall be preached through the World, for a Witness unto all Nations; and then fhall the End come.

Article I. Of God.

WE confefs and a cleave, whom only we muft

WE confefs and acknowledge one only God, to

ferve, whom only we must worship, and in whom only we must put our trust a, who is Eternal, Infinite, Unmeafurable, Incomprehenfible, Omnipotent, Invisible b; One in Substance, and yet in Three Perfons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft c; by whom we confess and believe all Things in Heaven and Earth, as well vifible as invisible, to have been created, to be retained in their Being, and to be ruled and guided by his infcrutable Providence, to fuch Ends as his eternal Wisdom, Goodnefs and Juftice hath appointed them, to the Ma-, nifeftation of his own Glory d.

Art.

a Deut. 6. 4. 1 Cor. 8, 6. Deut. 4. 35. Ifa. 44. 5, 6 b1 Tim. I. 17. 1 Kings 8 27. 2 Chron. 6. 18. Pfal. 139. 7, 8. Gen. 17. 1. 1 Tim. 6. 15, 16. Ex. 3.14, 15. Mat. 28. 19. 1 John 5. 7. d Gen. 1. 1. Heb. 11. 3. Acts 17. 28. Prov, 16, 4.

Art. II. Of the Creation of Man.

WE firft Father Adam, to

7E confefs and acknowledge this our God to have

The

his own Image and Similitude; to whom he gave Wif dom, Lordship, Juftice, Free-will and clear Knowledge of himself; fo that in the whole Nature of Man there could be noted no Imperfection e: From which Honour and Perfection, Man and Woman did both fall. Woman being deceived by the Serpent, and Man obeying the Voice of the Woman, both confpiring against the Sovereign Majefty of God, who in exprefs Words had before threatned Death, if they prefumed to eat of the forbidden Tree f.

c Gen. 1. 26, 27, 28, &c. Col. 3. 10. Eph. 4. 24. f Gen. 3. 6. & 2. 17.

B

Art. III. Of Original Sin.

Y which Tranfgreffion, commonly called original and he and his Pofterity of Nature become Enemies to God, Slaves to Satan, and Servants to Sin g; infomuch that Death Everlasting hath had and shall have Power and Dominion over all that have not been, are not, or fhall not be regenerated from above; which Regenera tion is wrought by the Power of the Holy Ghoft, working in the Hearts of the Elect of God an affured Faith in the Promife of God, revealed to us in his Word; by which Faith we apprehend Christ Jefus, with the Graces and Benefits promised in him b.

g Pfal. 51. 5. Rom. 5. 10. & 7. 5. 2 Tim. 2. 26. Eph. 2. 1, 2, 3. h Rom. 5. 14. 21. Rom. 6. 23. John 3. 5. Rom. 5. 1. Phil. 1. 29.

Art. IV. Of the Revelation of the Promife.

Or this we conftantly believe, that God, after the

bedience, did feek Adam again, call upon him, rebuke his Sin, convict him of the fame, and in the End made unto him a moft joyful Promife, to wit, That the Seed

of

of the Woman should break down the Serpent's Head,' that is, he should deftroy the Work of the Devil: Which Promife, as it was repeated, and made more clear from Time to Time, fo was it embraced with Joy, and most conftantly received of all the Faithful from Adam to Noe, from Noe to Abraham, from Abraham to David, and fo forth to the Incarnation of Chrift Jefus. All (we mean the faithful Fathers under the Law) did fee the joyful Day of Christ Jesus, and did rejoice i.

iGen. 3.9, 15. & 12. 3. & 15. 5, 6. 2Sam. 7. 14. If. 7. 14. & 9.6. Hag. 2. 7, 9. John 8. 56.

Art. V. Of the Continuance, Increase and Prefervatim of the Kirk.

WE molt conftaniny be, honoured, decored, and from

7E most conftantly believe, that God preferved, in

Death called to Life, his Kirk in all Ages, from Adam till the coming of Chrift Jefus in the Flelh k; For Abraham he called from his Father's Country, him he inftructed, his Seed he multiplied; the fame he marvelously preferved, and more marvelously delivered from the Bondage and Tyranny of Pharoah m; to them he gave his Laws, Conftitutions and Ceremonies; them he poffeffed in the Land of Canaan o; to them, after Judges P, and after Saul q, he gave David to be King r, to whom he made Promise that of the Fruit of his Loins, fhould one fit for ever upon his regal Seat ; to this fame People, from Time to Time, le fent Prophets to reduce them to the right Way of their Godt, from the which often Times they declined by Idolatry u. And albeit that, for their ftubborn Contempt of Justice, he was compelled to give them into the Hands of their Enemies , as before was threatened by the Mouth of Mofes y, infomuch that the holy City was deftroyed, the Temple burnt with Fire z, and the whole Land left defolate

k Ezek. 16.6.--14. Gen. 12, &c. m Ex. I, &c. n Exo. 20, &c. Josh. 1. 3. & 23. 4. p Judg. 1, &c. q I Sam. 10. r 1 Sam. 16. 13. 2 Sam. 7. 12. t 2 Kings 17. 13. % 2 Kings 17. 14, 15, &c. z 2 Kings 24. 3. 4. Deut. 28. 36, 48, &c. z 2 Kings 25.

folate the Space of Seventy Years a; yet of Mercy did he reduce them again to Jerufalem, where the City and Temple were re-edified, and they against all Temptati ons and Affaults of Satan, did abide till the Meffias came, according to the Promife h.

a Dan. 9. 2. b Jer. 30. Ezra 1, &c. Hag. 1. 14. 2. 7, 8, 9. Zech. 3. 8.

Art. IV. Of the Incarnation of Ghrift Fefus.

W

Hen the fulness of Time came, God fent his Son, his eternal Wisdom, the Subftance of his own Glory into this World, who took the Nature of Manhead, of the Subftance of Woman, to wit, of a Virgin, and that by Operation of the Holy Ghoft, and fo was born the juft Seed of David, the Angel of the great Coun fel of God, the very Meffias promifed, whom we Confels and Acknowledge Immanuel, very God, and very Man, Two perfect Natures, united and joined in one Perfon : By which our Confeffion, we condemn the damnable and peftilent Herefies of Arius, Marcion, En tyches, Neftorius, and fuch others, as either did deny the Eternity of his God-head, or the Verity of his Humani Nature, or confounded them, or yet divided them.

c Gal. 4. 4. Luke 1. 13. Mat. 1. 18 & 2. 1. Rom. 1. 3. Mat. 1. 23. John 1. 45. 1 Tim. 2. 5.

Art. VII. Why it behoved the Mediator to be very God, and very Man.

WE acknowledge and confefs, that this moft wor

drous Conjunction between the God-head and the Man-head in Chrift Jefus, did proceed from the eter nal and immutable Decree of God, from which all our Salvation fprings and depends d.

d Eph. 1. 3, 4, 5, 6.

Art. VIII. Of Election.

Or that fame eternal God and Father, who of mere Grace elected us in Christ Jefus his Son, be fore the Foundation of the World was laid e, appoin

e Eph. 1. 11. Mat. 25. 34

ted

ted him to be our Head f, our Brotherg, our Paftor, and great Bishop of our Souls h; but becaufe that the Enmity between the Juftice of God, and our Sins, was fuch, that no Flesh by itself could, or might have attained unto God; it behoved, that the Son of God should defcend unto us, and take to himself a Body of our Body, Flesh of our Flesh, and Bone of our Bones, and fo become the Mediator between God and Man k; giving Power to fo many as believe in him, to be the Sons of God, as himself doth witness, I pafs up to my Father and unto your Father, to my God and to your God m :' By which most holy Fraternity, whatfoever we have loft in Adam, is reftored unto us again ; and for thisCause, · are we not afraid to call God our Father o; Not fo much because he hath created us, which we have common with the Reprobates p, as for that he hath given to us his only Son to be our Brother q, and given unto us Grace to acknowledge and embrace him for our only Mediator, as before is faid. It behoved further the Meffias and Redeemer to be very God and very Man, because he was to underly the Punishment due for our Tranfgreffions; and to prefent himself in the Prefence of his Father's Judgment, as in our Perfon, to fuffer for our Tranfgreffion and Inobediencer, by Death to overcome him that was the Author of Death: But because the only God-head could not fuffer Death, neither yet could the only Man-head overcome the fame, he joined both together in one Perfon, that the Imbecility of the one should fuffer, and be subject to Death (which we had deferved) and the infinite and invincible Power of the other, to wit, of the God-head, fhould triumph, and purchafe to us Life, Liberty, and perpetual Victory ; and fo we confess, and moft undoubtedly believe. Art.

I

f Eph. 1. 22, 23. g Heb. 2. 7, 8, 11, 12. Pfal. 22.22. Heb 13. 20. 1 Pet. 2. 25. & 5. 4. i Pfal. 130 3 & 143. 2. k 1 Tim. 2. 5. John 1. 12. m Johu 20 17. » Rom. 5. 17, 18, 19. o Rom. 8, 15. Gal. 4. 5, 6 p Acts 17.26 9 Heb. 2. 11, 12. r 1 Pet. 3. 18. Ifa. 53. 8 Acts 2. 24. f 1 John 1. 2. Acts 20. 28. 16. John 3. 16.

1 Tim. 3.