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NOTE S.

(1) 2 Sam. xii. 13. David faid unto Nathan, I have finned against the Lord. And Nathan faid unto David, The Lord alfo hath put away thy fin; thou fhalt not die. Matt. xxvi. 75. Peter remembered the words of Jefus, which faid unto him, Before the cock crow, thou fhalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly [and Peter certainly was pardoned.] (2) Jer. iii. 22. Return, ye backfliding children, and I will heal your backflidings. Hofea xiv. 4. I will heal their backfliding, I will love them freely. 1 John ii. 1. My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye fin not: and if any man fin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jefus Chrift the righteous.

THE

XIII. Of the Church.

HE vifible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in which the pure word of God is preached, and the facraments duly administered according to Chrift's ordinance, in all thofe things that of neceffity are requifite to the fame.

NOTE S.

Matt. xviii. 20. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Rom. xvi. 5. Greet: the church, which is in their house. 1 Cor. xvi. 19. The churches of Afia falute you. 1 Cor. xi. 18. When je come together in the. church, &c.

XIV. Of Purgatory.

HE Romifh doctrine concerning purgatory, pardon, worshipping, and adoration, as well of images as of reliques, and alfo invocation of faints, is a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no war→ rant of fcripture, but repugnant to the word of God.

NOTE S.

(1) Exod. xx. 4, 5. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the

earth: thou shalt not bor down thyself to them, &c. Matt. iv. Fo. Jefus faid unto him,-It is written, Thou fhalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only fhalt thou ferve. Col. ii. 18. Let no man beguile you of your reward, in a voluntary humility, and worshipping of angels, &c. 1 Tim. ii. 5. There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Chrift Jefus. Rev. xix. 10. I[john] fell at his feet to worship him; and he faid unto me, See thou do it not; I am thy fellow-fervant, and of thy brethren that have the teftimony of Jefus. Worship God. Rev. xxii. 8, 9. I fell down to worship before 'the feet of the angel which fhewed me these things. Then faith he unto me, See tbou do it not, for I am thy fellow-fervant, and of thy brethren,. the prophets, and of them which keep the fayings of this book. Worship God. (2) Luke xvi. 26. Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulph fixed, so that they which would pafs from hence to you, cannot : neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. John viii. 21. Then faid Jefus again unto them, go my way, and ye shall seek me, and fhall die in your fins. Whither I go, ye cannot come. (3) Mark. ii. 5, &c. When Jefus faw their faith, he faid unto the fick of the palfy, Son, thy fins be forgiven thee. But there were certain of the fcribes fitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man. thus fpeak blafphemies? zuho can forgive fins but God only? And immediately, when Jefus perceived in his fpirit, that they fo reafoned within themselves [he did not deny the juftnefs of their reafoning, in afcribing to God only the power of forgiving fins, but] he faid unto them, Why reafon ye these things in your. hearts? Whether is it easier to fay to the fick of the palfy, Thy fins be forgiven thee; or to fay, Arife, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man [he does not add, and the pope and his pries] hath power on earth to forgive fins, He faith to the fick of the palfy, I fay unto thee, arife and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine houfe. And immediately he arofe, &c. See alfo Matt. ix. 2, &c. and Luke v. 18, &c..

XV. Of Speaking in the Congregation in fuck a Tongue as the People understand."

T is a thing plainly repugnant to the word of God, and the custom of the primitive church, to have public prayer in the church, or to minifter the facraments, in a tongue not understood by the people.

NOTE S.

I Cor. xiv. 11. If I know not the meaning of the voice, I fhall be unto him that fpeaketh, a barbarian; and he that speaketh fhal be a barbarian unto me. Ver. 14. If I pray in an unknown's tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruit ful. Ver. 16. When thou shalt blefs with the fpirit, how fhall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned, fay Amen at the giving of thanks, feeing he underftandeth not what thou fayeft. Ver. 19. In the church I had rather speak five words with my underftanding, that by my voice I might teach others alfo, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue. See the whole chapter

XVI. Of the Sacraments.

ACRAMENTS ordained of Chrift, are not only badges or tokens of chriftian men's profeffion: but rather they are certain figns of grace, and God's good will towards us, by the which he doth work invifibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also ftrengthen and confirm our faith in him.

There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord, in the Goípel; that is to fay, Baptifm and the Supper of the Lord.

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Thofe five commonly called Sacraments; that is to fay, Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and extreme Unction, are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel, being fuch as have partly grown out of “ the corrupt following of the Apoftles; and partly are ftates of life allowed in the Scriptures, but yet have not the like nature of Baptifm and the Lord's Supper, because they have not any vifible fign or ceremony or-dained of God.

The Sacraments were not ordained of Chrift to begazed upon, or to be carried about; but that we fhould duly use them. And in fuch only as worthily receive the fame, they have a wholefome effect or operation: but they that receive them unworthily, purchase. to themfelves condemnation, as St. Paul faith.

NOTE S.

Rom.

(1) Matt. xxviii. 19. Mark xvi. 16. He that believeth and is baptized, fhall be faved. Acts ii. 38. Peter faid unto them, Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jefus Chrift, for the remiffion of fins. viii. 12. When they believed Philip preaching,- -they were baptized, both men and women. Ver. 16. As yet he [the Holy Ghoft] was fallen on none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jefus. xvi. 15. When the [Lydia] was baptized, and her household, &c. xix. 5. They were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jefus. xxii. 16. And now why tarrieft thou? Arise, and be baptized, &c. vi. 3, 4. Know ye not that fo many of us as were baptized into Jefus Chrift, were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptifm into death: that like as Christ was raifed up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. I Cor. i. 16. I baptized also the boufebold of Stephanus. I Pet. iii. 21. The like figure whereunto even baptifm doth alfo now fave us; not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good confcience towards God, by the refurrection of Jefus Chrift. (2) Luke xxii. 19.. He [Jefus] took bread and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, faying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. I Cor. xi. 24-26. When he had given thanks, he brake it, and faid, Take, eat; this is my body which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the fame manner alfo he took the cup, when he had fupped, faying, This cup is the new teftament in my blood; this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do fhew the Lord's death, till he come. Chap. x. 16. The cup of bleffing, which we blefs, is it not the communion of the blood of Chrift; the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Chrift? (3) chap. xi. 27. Whofoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, fhall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. See alfo the 29th verfe.

In respect to the five additional facraments, which the church of Rome has been pleased to adopt, there is not the leaft imaginable authority from the word of God to confider them as fuch. They want the effential requifites of a facrament; and have been impofed on a confiderable part of mankind by a moft corrupt priesthood, whofe only aim was to enrich and aggrandize themselves.

And from the fame corrupt fountain fprung the gaudy, fuperftitious custom of carrying about the Hoft, that the poor blinded multitude might gaze at it, and worship it, to the degradation of human nature, as well as the dishonor of God.

XVII. Of Baptifm.

APTISM is not only a fign of profeffion, and mark of difference, whereby christians are diftinguished from others that are not baptized; but it is alfo a fign of regeneration, or the new birth. The baptifm of young children is to be retained in the

-church.

NOTE S.

Matt. iii. 11. I [John the Baptift] indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but he that cometh after me,-fball baptize you with the Holy Ghoft, and with fire. John iii. 5. Jefus anfwered, Verily, verily, fay unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Mark x. 13-16. They brought young children to him [Chrift] that he should touch them, and his difciples rebuked thofe that brought them; but when Jefus faw it, he was much displeased, and faid unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of fuch is the kingdom of God.-- And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.

The preceding fcripture evidently demonftrates, that the little children were entitled to all the privileges of the kingdom of glory, and, of neceffary confequence, to all the privileges of the kingdom. of grace. They muft, therefore, be entitled to the benefit of that ordinance, which initiates the members of Chrift's kingdom into his church below.. See alfo the texts, concerning baptifm, on the preceding article, particularly thofe which refpect the baptizing of whole households or families.

XVIII. Of the Lord's Supper.

THE

HE Supper of the Lord is not only a fign of the love that chriftians ought to have among themselves one to another, but rather is a facrament of our redemption by Chrift's death: infomuch, that to fuch as rightly, worthily, and with faith receive the fame, the bread which we break is a partaking of the body of Chrift; and likewife the cup of blefling is a partaking of the blood of Chrift.

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