ver give the fmalleft countenance to any of those abominations which were charged upon its profeffors. And this was the more neceffary, because thofe odious colours which had been put upon Christianity, appeared the more plaufible from the conduct of the Gnoftics, and the other monsters which infefted thofe times; who, though they fcarce retained one principle of our religion, and had formed the most impious and abfurd schemes of doctrine, which were in all refpects contradictory to it; yet they ufurped the name of Chriftians; and the Heathens, who knew little more of it but the name, confounded all together who bore it, and attributed to the whole the exceffes of de bauch and impurity which they faw thefe heretics abandon themfelves to. It was therefore of the laft confequence to the church, to diftinguifh be. twixt the Gnoftics and themfelves; and fhow, that their principles and practice had nothing common with those filthy brutish fects.

It was for this purpose, then, amongst others, that Creeds and Confeffions were at the beginning framed, which gave a fhort fummary of the principal articles of the Chriftian faith, and afforded every perfon the eafieft accefs to form fome notion of a Chriftian: and, it is hoped, in fo far they fprung, neither from luft of power and fpiritual pride, nor from a tyrannical dominion ufurped over the confciences of men, (which have been given out in this age as their only rife), but that their original was both juft and neceffary. It was for the fame purpose that Juftin Martyr, Tertullian, &c. publifhed their Apologies for Christianity; which in fo far were of the fame nature and tendency with Confeffions; though the condition of the church at that time made it im practicable to frame fuch large accounts of their faith by common confent,

At

At the Reformation from the apoftafy of the Antichriftian church, the Papifts ufed the fame engines to obfcure the light of the gofpel, and put a stop to its progrefs, as the Heathens had done formerly; the fame irreconcilable enmity to the glory of the Meffiah's kingdom equally animating them both, and infpiring them with rage and falfehood. As the Pagans dealt by the Chriftians, fo did they by the Reformers; abufed their perfons, and traduced the doctrines which they taught; and not content to affault them with argument and violence, they defamed them by noify calumnies and however unjust and abominable any imputation was, they never fcrupled to charge it upon them, if thereby they could either incite the wrath of thofe in power, or ftir up the furious zeal of the unthinking populace against them. Hence all the measures taken by our heroic forefathers, who threw off the Romish yoke, were represented as proceeding wholly from a contempt of all authority, and a difregard of the laws and orders, either of church or ftate, and from a fond inclination to novelty, and to a diffolute life, that fhould have nothing to curb its extravagancies. They were exclaimed againft as the perfons who turned the world upside down,

There was fo much care taken to spread these falfehoods, and the matter was of fo great importance, that it seems to have been the chief defign of the feveral Confeffions compofed by the Reformed churches to provide a remedy againft this evil; which they endeavoured to do, by publishing to the world a plain and genuine account of the doctrines which they maintained, and of the fprings whence the Reformation flowed, and of the purposes it aimed at, that it might appear they. were entirely different from the invidious representation their adverfaries made of them, and that

fuch

fuch were extremely impofed upon who credited their flanders.

For this end, as the prefaces to many of the Proteftant Confeffions inform us, they defigned thofe compofures, that the Emperor, and other princes under whom they lived, might difcover how little ground there was for perfecuting them as difturbers of the public peace, and enemies to magistracy; when, in the strongest manner, they taught its divine original, and its abfolute neceffity to the happiness, or even being, of any fociety; and though they expofed the tyranny of the Papacy, and ftrove to beget in their people fuch a value for the liberties of a Chriftian, as might make them abhor that unfufferable bondage which the Roman Pontiff had enflaved the world into, they at the fame time recommended obedience to thofe powers which are ordained of God, and embraced no principle that had the smallest tendency to licence and diforder.

They intended to fhow by their Confeffions, that when they difclaimed the authority of the Antichristian church, undervalued its cenfures, and stood unshaken by the thunders of the Vatican, they were not moved by a hatred to difcipline, a fpirit of fedition, nor a love of unreftrained pleasures; but by a juft regard to the honour of God, and the genuine defigns of ecclefiaftical government; and by a noble abhorrence of an ufurpation upon the dominion of Chrift in his own kingdom, and the liberties of his fubjects; and, in a word, that it might become evident, that the corruptions of Popery were grown to fuch an exorbitant height, and had fo univerfally polluted the doctrine and worship of that church, that the grounds of their feparation from that communion were of the utmost importance, and

laid them under an abfolute neceffity openly to renounce it.

One thing alfo was directly aimed at by our fathers, that the world might fee how different their doctrine was from the dreams and ravings of the Anabaptifts, and other monftrous heretics, who acted fo extravagant a part in Germany about the time of the Reformation.

eave fpoken at greater length upon this ed, which both the primitive Chriftians and the Reformed churches propofed in framing of their creeds, because it is of very confiderable importance with respect to the doctrine of our church, and one thing that, it is hoped, may be gained by a tolerable acquaintance with our Confeffion. Never was there a church whofe principles were more unjuftly mitreprefented, and loaded with calumnies more diftinguished for their blackness and their variety; and confequently this use of a Confeffion, whereby a genuine account may be given of what we maintain, is become of the greatest neceffity to us: for befides thofe flanders and reproaches which we fhare with all the Protestant churches from our common enemies, there are many peculiar circumftances with relation to the ftate of religious matters in Britain, which gave rife to divifions of feveral kinds, put an edge upon the fpirits of parties violently animated against one another, and occafioned the more calumnious mifreprefentations of perfons and doctrines.

Every body knows in what unhappy diftracted times the Weftminster Affembly met, and compofed that Confeffion of Faith, which hath fince been received and owned by the church of Scotland, as containing the pure and uncorrupted doctrine of Chriftianity. The flames of a civil war raged at that time through the whole nation, and there were few breafts which had not been heated

of them, as works both founded on reafon, and fupported by many advantageous confequences.

And fince creeds in general are not only of late years undervalued as mean and ufelefs, but exclaimed against as unjust, arbitrary, and inconfiftent in their frame and tendency with the liberty of mankind, and the noble freedom of the Christian faith, we shall endeavour to vindicate the prefent practice of the church of Scotland, and the ufe which the at least makes of her Confeflion; wipe off the afperfions which have been thrown on her by writers, who, how juftly foever valued on many accounts, yet appear not fo thoroughly acquainted with our conftitution, or perhaps not altogether impartial in their fentiments of it; and, laftly, we fhall anfwer fome of the moft plaufible objections which have been made against the using Confeffions as a means of preferving the Christian doctrine from impure mixtures, and of preventing the breaking in of herefies and diforder into the church. After all which, it will be easier to determine, if they ought to be accounted arbitrary impofitions, and deftructive engines of spiritual tyranny, and the luft of power, over the confciences of men; or if they be not rather very confiftent with all the privileges and freedoms of a man, or a Christian.

The feveral purposes which the churches defigned to promote by their Confeffions, may be reduced to thefe three.

1. Some of them were of a very general and extenfive defign; having a regard, not only to the whole body of Chriftians, but to all men, even their enemies, who had any knowledge of them.

2. Other uses of thefe Confeflions peculiarly refpected the minifters of the gofpel, who were obliged to declare their affent to the doctrines contained in them.

3. Con