them In another place we shall speak of these two Witnesses when we shall shew when it was that these poor people were driven out of their Country and when and how it was that they were re-established by the Duke of Savoy their Soveraign Prince The Vaudois in the second Article of their faith hold the Holy Scripture for their rule of faith and so do teach that nothing is to be believed as an Article of Faith that they do not prove by clear proofs of Scripture and so in the tenth and eleventh Articles they reject all humane traditions as abominations and they acknowledge only two Sacraments viz. Baptism and the Eucharist In the thirteenth Article they give us a scantling of their doctrine where they say thus The Sacraments according to St. Augustine in his City of God is an invisible grace represented by a visible thing and they say there is aâ—… great deal of difference between the sign and the thing signified The first Sacrament is called Baptism viz. a washing or sprinkling of Water which must be administred in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Behold here also that which is found in the Book of Antichrist relating to Baptism This Book was made in the year 1120 as we have said before Those things which are not necessary in the administration of Baptism are exorcisms insufflations the sign of the Cross upon the Head and Breast of the Infant Salt which is put in the Childs mouth Spittle into the Ears and Nose the Crysmatical unction upon the Head and all such like things consecrated by the Bishops They likewise say it's unnecessary to put a lighted Torch in the Childs hand and after Baptism to put on it a white garment or to bless the Water or to dip it thrice or to have Godfathers and Godmothers All these things done in the administration of the Sacraments they say are not of the substance of Baptism and by consequence unnecessary Behold likewise here what they say of the Supper of our Lord in the same Book of Antichrist as Baptism which is taken visibly and visibly administred is as it were an enrolling one in the company of the Faithful and obliges them to follow Jesus Christ and observe his Commandments and to live up to the rules of the Gospel so likewise the Holy Supper and the Holy Communion of our Saviour the breaking of Bread and the giving of thanks is a visible Communion performed by the members of Jesus Christ For those that take and break the same bread are one body and are members one of another planted in him to whom they protest and promise to persevere in his service even to the end without leaving the Faith of the Gospel or the Union that they have all promised to God through and by Jesus Christ. And in the same Book of Antichrist The eating of the Sacramental Bread is the eating of the Body of Christ in figure only as often as you shall do this do it in remembrance of me for if it were not a Spiritual Eating Christ would be obliged to be eaten continually and he in truth eats Christ who believes in him and Christ says That to eat him is to dwell in him From whence it follows that the Vaudois did not believe Transubstantiation nor the Oral and Corporal Eating of the Body of Christ but that the signs in the Supper of our Lord remained as they were before in substance before they were employed to this holy use and that as often as they received these visible signs by their mouth they received by faith the vertue and efficacy of the Body of Jesus Christ broke upon the Cross signified by the breaking of Bread and of his Blood that was spilt signified and represented by the pouring of the Wine into the Cup and that by this action they celebrated the memory of the death of Christ and obeyed his Commandment Do this in remembrance of me Words that St. Paul explains in this manner As often as you shall eat of this Bread and drink of this Cup you declare and commemorate the death of the Lord till he come If the Vaudois have conserved the purity of the Christian Religion from the time of the Apostles till the beginning of the Eleventh Age as we have shewn by their Confession of Faith which they made at the beginning of that Age they have not kept it less pure from that time till our days as we shall prove by another Confession of Faith which they made in the year 1655. After the Massacre which all Christendom has heard spoken of with horror and detestation and of which we shall speak hereafter A short Confession of the Faith of the Churches of Piemont published with their Manifesto after the dreadful Massacres of the Year 1655. ARTICLES We believe first That there is but one only God who is a Spiritual Essence Eternal Infinite all Mercy all Wisdom all Justice in a word every way perfect and that in this Infinite and Pure Essence there are three Persons the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost II. That this God has manifested himself to men by his glorious works as well by his Creation as his continual Providence and by his Word revealed at first by his Oracles in divers manners afterwards reduced by writing into Books which we call the Holy Scripture III. That these Holy Scriptures ought to be received as we receive them for Divine and Canonical viz. for the rule of our Faith and the direction of our Life as they are contained in the books of the old and new Testament and that in the old Testament there are only these books following to be received as of divine revelation and which God only approved of and consigned to the Church of the Jews viz. The five Books of Moses Joshua Judges Ruth the 1 and 2 of Samuel the 1 and 2 of Kings the 1 and 2 of Chronicles the 1 of Esdras Nehemiah Esther Job the Psalms the Proverbs of Solomon Ecclesiastes the Song of Songs the 4 greater Prophets and the 12 lesser The Books of the new Testament are The 4 Gospels the Acts of the Apostles the Epistles of St. Paul to the Romans 2 Epistles to the Corinthians 1 to the Galatians 1 to the Ephesians 1 to the Philippians 1 to the Colossians 2 to the Thessalonians 2 to Timothy 1 to to Timothy 1 to Titus 1 to Philemon 1 to the Hebrews 1 of St. James 1 of St. Peter 3 of St. John 1 of St. Jude the Apocalypse or the Revelations of St. John IV. That we acknowledge the Divinity of these sacred books not only by the Testimony of the Church but principally by the eternal and indubitable truth of the Doctrine contained in them and for the excellent and divine Majesty of them and by the operation of the holy Ghost which makes us receive with Reverence the Testimony which the Church gives on them which opens our Eyes to discover
confirm the authority of Ecclesiastical Doctrine The Apocryphal Books are as follow The third of Esdras the fourth of Esdras Tobie Judith Wisdome Ecclesiasticus Baruc with the Epistle of Jeremiah Esther from the tenth Chapter to the end the History of Susanna the History of the Dragon the first of Maccabees the second of Maccabees The Books of the New Testament The Gospel of St. Matthew of St. Mark St. Luke and St. John The Acts of the Apostles The Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans the first to the Corinthians the second to the Corinthians to the Galatians to the Ephesians to the Philippians to the Colossians the 1 to the Thessalonians the 2 to the Thessalonians the 1 to Timothy the 2 to Timothy to Titus to Philemon to the Hebrews the first Epistle of St. Peter the second Epistle of St. Peter the first Epistle of St. John the second Epistle of St. John the third Epistle of St. John the Epistle of St. Jude the Revelations of St. John IV. The foresaid Books teach this That there is one God Almighty all wisdom and goodness and who by his power has created all things who made Adam according to his own Image but by the malice of the Devil and the disobedience of Adam Sin entred into the World and that we are Sinners in Adam and by Adam V. That it was promised to the Fathers who received the Law that by the Law knowing their sins and their own defect of Iustice and their inability of keeping it that they should desire the coming of Christ to satisfie for their sins and to accomplish the Law in his own person VI. That Christ was born at the time ordained by the father viz. when all iniquity abounded and not for the good works of any for all were sinners VII That Christ is truth life justice peace our pastor advocate oblation sacrificer that he is dead for the salvation of all believers and that he rose for their justification VIII Likewise we firmly believe that there is no other advocate or mediator for us sinners to the Father but Iesus Christ and that the blessed Virgin was holy humble full of grace and the same we believe of all other Saints and that they expect in heaven the resurrection of the body at the dayf Iudgment IX Item We believe that after this life that there are but two places one for those that are saved which we call Paradice and another for those that ae damned which we call Hell totally renouncing the doctrine of Purgatory invented by Antichrist and his Ministers X. Item We have always believed that it was an abomination of which we ought not to speak in the presence of God and invented by men viz. the doctrine of Feasts and Vigils of Saints of Holy Water of abstinence from flesh and other meats upon certain days and above all the doctrine of the Mass. XI We have in abomination humane traditions as being Antichristian and of great prejudice to the liberty of the Spirit XII We believe that the Sacraments are the signs or visible forms of holy things believing that from time to time the faithful should make use of those holy signs or visible forms if they can but nevertheless we believe that the faithful may be saved if they never received the foresaid signs or visible forms when they could not have an opportunity of receiving them XIII We never knew of any other Sacraments than Baptism and the Supper of our Lord. XIV We owe honour to all superiour powers in paying them subjection obedience and tribute with alacrity It 's now 570 years since this confession of Faith was made by the Churches of Piemont at which time all other Churches were corrupted by the mixture of humane doctrine and Pagan Ceremonies the world at that time being overspread with an Aegyptian darkness and so the Authors of both Religions agree in calling that age the dark age This confession of Faith being drawn from the writings of the holy Apostles and in every respect conformable to their Doctrine it follows by a necessary consequence that the Religion of the Vaudois is the true and pure Religion of the Apostles and that they have always kept it pure from the first receiving of it till the beginning of the eleventh age and from thence till these times since they now profess the same Faith and teach the same Doctrine that was contained in that famous confession All other Churches both of the East and West being infected with divers Heresies Satan for to hinder the advancement of the Reign of Jesus Christ has from time to time stirred up false Teachers who have sown their cursed Seed in the field of our Lord and by their false Doctrine varnished over with a seeming Piety have corrupted the doctrine of the Gospel This is what our Saviour foretold saying to his Disciples that false Christs and false Prophets would arise and would do signs and wonders to deceive if it were possible the elect c. St. Peter 2 Ep. C. 2. 1 2 3. prophesied the same thing there has been false Prophets among the people as likewise there will be among you false Teachers who shall privately introduce Sects of perdition and shall deny the Lord who hath redeemed them bringing upon them sudden perdition and many shall follow them by which the ways of Truth shall be blasphemed But O the wonderful works of God! who has conserved by his wise Providence the purity of his Religion in the Valleys of Piemont from the time of the Apostles to our time by a singular effect of his Goodness towards these poor people of the Vallys and has hindered that Satan by his false Doctors and Teachers could not sow the Cockle of their poysonous Doctrine in the mystical field of his Church Notwithstanding all their crafty endeavours God in spight of the Devil and all his works has kept among these Mountains and Deserts the bright light of his Gospel and has never suffered the candle to be extinguished and the great wonders that God has done from time to time to keep his bright Lamp always shining clear to these happy countries makes it evident that this is the place which God Apoc. 12 has prepared to keep and defend his Church in against the furious Attaques of the infernal Dragon who gave his power and throne to the Beast to make war against the Saints and to vanquish them For this is the true Desart where the woman Apoc. 12. 6. cloathed with the Sun with the Moon under her feet crowned with twelve Stars made her retreat where God had prepared her a place where she might be nourished 1260 prophetical days which make 1260 years where God Almighty has kept her safe against all the storms raised by Satan without any effect till the year 1686 the term of the Prophecy of the eleventh Chapter of the Revelations was accomplished it was then that the Beast which rose out of the deeps vanquished them and killed
Pretorium which as every body knows was the Court of the Emperor and all other places of Rome This great Apostle having gained many Disciples in this famous City God made them instruments of planting the Christian Religion in Italy and in Piemont which is a part of Italy For the history of the Church tells us that those whom God had illuminated with his holy doctrine burnt with a desire of imparting the saving grace of which they did participate to others It it be true also that St. Paul performed his voyage into Spain as he designed Rom. 15. 24. he took Rome in his way it 's not to be doubted but that if he went by Land he passed through Piemont for it 's in the direct way from Rome to Spain And if he went by Sea it was not necessary that in going from Corinth to Spain he should pass by Italy but he was at Corinth when he writ he had a desire to go into Spain If he had passed through Piemont as in all appearance he did it 's certain he preached there for he preached every where where he came Since the Valleys of Piemont were enlightned with the bright Rays of the Gospel the Inhabitants of these Countries have conserved the purity of the Christian Religion without any mixture of humane traditions they never had any Images or Altars in their Churches they never invoked the Angels or Saints never believed in Purgatory they never acknowledged other mediator than Jesus Christ nor other merit than that of his Death One never heard them speak of the Mass of auricular Confession of Abstinence from certain sorts of meat of the Celibacy of Priests of the Doctrine of Transubstantiation they always held the H. Scriptures to be the perpetual rule of Faith and would never receive or believe any thing but what they taught and their Doctrine was always the same it is now This is proved clearly from the Acts that were preserved from the Flames that reduced their Churches and houses into Ashes among the which there is one writ in their vulgar tongue in the Year 1100. called the Lesson because it gives the rules of holy living and good works besides a Catechism of the same Year where in question and answer are taught the principal mysteries of the Christian Religion according to the word of God without any mixture of Traditions besides an explication of the Lords prayer in the Year 1120. and an explication of the Apostles Creed with several passages of the H. Scripture explaining ever article to which is joyned an explication of the ten Commandments in short a little book entituled A Treatise of Antichrist These three Acts were made in the Year 1120. the last of these Treatises shews that all those are Antichrists that teach Doctrines contrary to the word of God They confute the doctrine of Prayers for the dead Purgatory Auricular Confession Abstinence from Flesh and reject all traditions that are not in the word of God and are not conformable to it When these acts were made the Christian doctrine was not corrupted every where there were then many persons in France Germany and England who wrote against the errors which were by Rome and her Doctors introduced into the Church If the purity of the Christian Religion had not been conserved in tehse Valleys of Piemont from the time of the Apostles till the beginning of the Eleventh age in which these Acts were made how had it been possible for them to have made so many famous acts in which the purity of the Christian Religion is so clearly taught If they had before received the errors of Rome by whom and when were these errors purg'd out of the Churches of Piemont Who was the Reformer Where are the Acts that speak of this Reformation that they may be produced If there be none then there was never any reform and by a clear consequence the Christian Religion has remained from the time that the Vaudois received it such as is contained in those Acts till the time that these Acts were made In the ninth age about two hundred years before these acts were made lived Claudius of Turin Bishop of that City and the Valleys who writ sharply against the errors of the Church of Rome this Bishop condemned the Invocation of the Saints the worshipping of Images of Reliques and the Cross he maintained the doctrine of St. Augustine concerning grace and by consequence he rejected the merit of good works he taught that the Salvation of mankind doth wholly depend upon the merits and death of Christ he condemned likewise Pilgrimages made to Rome which the Monks brought into request His whole Diocess according to the writings of a learned man followed exactly his Doctrine the Sheep lovingly following the Shepherd The doctrine of Transubstantiation was not in his time received in France except in some few Bishopricks the greatest stream of writers did strongly oppose it they did receive the Communion under both kinds they did not adore the Sacrament they read the Holy Scriptures and taught it their children they made no direct Prayers to Saints as they have done since they attributed all to the grace and mercy of God The Christian Religion being pure in Piemont in the ninth age as it appears by the writings of Claudius of Turin there is no doubt to be made of its conserving it self so till the eleventh age in which those acts of which we have spoken were made So we cannot learn from any Historian that those Valleys were either before or after the time of this great Bishop reformed and we see clearly by indubitable acts that two hundred years after the same Religion was in those Valleys in its purity without the allay of humane Traditions and Ceremonies and the greatest enemies of the Vandois for all their boasting are not able to shew the contrary But above all the purity of their Religion appeared by that excellent profession of their Faith made in the year 1120 more than 50 years before Waldo of Lyons The Articles are as follow I. We believe and firmly hold all that is contained in the twelve Articles of the Symbol of the Apostles holding for Heresie all doctrine thut doth not agree with the foresaid Articles II. We believe in one God Father Son and Holy Ghost III. We hold for Holy and Canonical Scriptures the Books of the Holy Bible the five Books of Moses which are Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 of Kings 2 of Kings 1 of Cronicles 2 of Cronicles 1 Esdras Nehemiah Esther Job the Book of Psalms the Proverbs of Solomon Ecclesiastes the Song of Solomon Isaiah Jeremiah the Lamentations of Jeremiah Ezechiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonas Micah Nahum Habbakkuk Sophoniah Hagge Zachariah Malachiah After follow the Apocryphal Books which are not received by the Jews but we read them as Jerome says in his Preface to the Proverbs for the instruction of the people but not to
of the Prophecy It 's said in the same Prophecy that after these three days and an half the spirit of life coming from God shall enter into them and they shall live again and that great fear shall seize upon them that shall see them and that they shall hear a great voice from Heaven saying to them ascend hither and they shall ascend up to Heaven in a Cloud and their Enemies to their great confusion shall see them this was exactly fulfilled in respect of the Vaudois who after three years and an half were as it were revived again and freed from the miserable estate and condition into which they were reduced by the furious malice of their Enemies for the Prisoners were set at liberty the Banished were recalled home and all by order of their Prince re-established in their Country in a better condition than ever In the year 1686 the Duke of Savoy at the earnest entreaty of the Protestant Cantons freed out of Prison the greatest part of the Vaudois but it was only to send them into banishment in a strange Country but those whom he set at liberty the last Iune were sent home in peace and had greater priviledges and advantages given them than ever He promised to Cloath those that he set at liberty in the year 1686 which notwithstanding he did not but those that he freed after three years and an half he cloathed very well he excused himself to them was sorry for what had passed imputed the cause of all their suffering to the King of France The Duke of Savoy and his Predecessors these two hundred years past have applied themselves with all their power to dispeople these Valleys of Protestants as we have sufficiently related above But after the three years and an half there has been an extraordinary care taken to people them again with Protestants for the Duke has not only re-established the Vaudois as well Prisoners as Exiles but he has given free leave and encouragement to the Protestant Refugees of France to come and inhabit the Valleys The Duke of Savoy and his Councel made use of the wickedest methods imaginable to destroy the Protestant Religion in these Valleys but after the death of the Witnesses viz. after the three years and an half he did not only give free exercise of Religion in the Valleys but even in Turin it self the Capital City of his Dominions And this miraculous change happened almost in an instant to the great confusion of their Enemies who looked upon them as lost men This shews evidently that the re-establishment of the Vaudois was the work of Heaven and not of men for so the Prophecy says that the spirit of life shall enter into them and they shall live again The Author of the Fifth Empire Printed at the Hague by Meyndert Vytwert closes with our Opinion and discourses excellently to our purpose concerning the three years and an half of the death of the two Witnesses I hope it will not be troublesome to give them his own words out of the 13th Chapter of his Book The time says this excellent Author that the two Witnesses should remain in the state we have represent them in the precedent Chapter is limited to three days and an half after which they shall be revived These three days and an half are prophetical days as 1260 days are and every day must be taken for a year it 's not easie to determine whether the three years and an half after the death of the Witnesses should commence after that the Edict of Nants was cancelled and revoked and the Ministers of France condemned to perpetual banishment or when the Faithful of the Valleys of Piemont who from the time of the Apostles have maintained and concerted the truth among them were driven out of their Country after which the Author gives his sentiment in these words It 's probable that these three years and an half should commence when the Churches of Piemont were destroyed which were the visible conservers of the Truth that was always preached and professed among them and after three years and an half were most gloriously re-established for the Vaudois were not totally driven out of the Valleys till about the end of October 1686. Then those that were hid in the Caverns and Rocks and Woods coming out of their safe and hidden retreats after that the Army of France was retreated and that the Troops of Mondovy and other places of Piemont were returned into their own Country seized upon some advantagious Posts in the Valleys of Lucerne and St. Martin and made excursions upon their Enemies and forced them to furnish them with Provisions and all things necessary and their Enemies not being able to chace them out of those advantagious Posts granted them Letters of safe conduct to go into Switzerland Before the banishment of these we cannot say that the Vaudois were killed and dead for that they made their Enemies pay contribution Now they were established by order of their Prince in the beginning of Iune 1690. three years and an half after their total dissipation for this was only one month after the three years and an half that were past so the Prophecy speaks not of their re-establishment till this time be compleated and that which is to be considered more exactly is that in the month of May the Vaudois began to revive the spirit of God then entring into them for having this month received succours from the Allies as well of Men as Mony instead of their Enemies chasing them they chaced their Enemies out of their strong holds and so we see in them the Prophecy fulfilled of the 11th Chapter of the Revelation in the time set down by the Penman of that Holy Mysterious Book The Churches of Piemont being the root of the Protestant Churches they have been the first established the Churches of France Hungary and other places being but the branches shall be established in due time God will not stay to do his own work to the shame and confusion of his Enemies the thing will come to pass in the re-establishment of the Protestant Churches that hath been done in the re-establishment of the Churches of Israel those of Judah returned first out of Captivity though they were the last that were transported but God did not stay long to deliver the rest though at different times and on different occasions The same thing without doubt will come to pass in respect of the Christian Churches that groan under the captivity of Antichrist God will deliver them speedily he has already delivered the Mother and he will not long leave the Daughter behind he will finish what he has gloriously begun and not leave his work imperfect he will gather together the dispersed Churches and bring back to the Fold the Sheep that have gone astray then Israel and Judah shall dwell together in peace none shall be able to give them the least disturbance Since the Vaudois were re-established in the Valleys by order of their Prince they have chaced the French out of them have beaten the Marquess of Feuquiers and slain 1500 men of his Army among whom were two Colonels forty Captains and a great number of subalterne Officers They have sometimes defeated two hundred sometimes one hundred fifty Dragoons of the King of France taken several Conveys that were going to the Army commanded by Monsieur Catinat have made many excursions into the Delphinate and have carried away a good booty and several Prisoners one may say without any hyperbole that the Vaudois in one Campaign have endamaged the French more than all the Allies with their great Armies The great services that they have done the Duke of Savoy without doubt will oblige him to augment their priviledges and all the Allied Princes to make a firm and lasting treaty between the Duke and the Vaudois in case that peace be made between France and the Allies of which the Protestant Princes will be guarantee I have only extended the History of the Vaudois till the beginning of October 1690. If they perform any considerable action hereafter I will continue their History if God give me life and health to whom be all honour and glory world without end Amen FINIS
the rays of Celestial light which shone in these sacred Books which rectifies our Understanding to discern and rightly tast the divine things contained in them V. That God has made all things of nothing by his free will and by the infinite power of his word VI. That he guides and governs all things by his providence ordering all things that happen in the World without being the author or cause of Evil that the Creatures do so that he is wholly without blame and evil can in no manner be imputed to him VII That the Angels having been created pure and holy some of them fell into sin and irreparable perdition but others persevered by an effect of the Divine Goodness who assisted them and confirmed them in grace VIII That Man who was created Pure Holy after the Image of God deprived himself by his own fault of this happy state giving his assent to the captious discourse of the Devil IX That man has lost by his Transgression the Justice and Holiness he received incurring with the indignation of God death and captivity under the power of him who hath the Empire of Death viz. the Devil to that degree that his free will is become a Servant and Slave of Sin so that by nature all men as well Jews as Gentiles are the Children of wrath dead in their sins and by consequence uncapable of having any good motion towards their Salvation nor to frame a good thought without Grace all their imaginations and thoughts being always evil X. That all the posterity of Adam were made guilty by his disobedience infected with the same Corruption and fallen into the same Calamity even young Children from the Womb of their Mother from whence comes the name of Original Sin XI That God withdrew out of this Corruption and Condemnation the Persons that he has chosen by his mercy in Jesus Christ his Son leaving others by an irreproachable justice of his Liberty XII That Jesus Christ being ordained of God in his eternal decree to be the only Saviour and the only head of his body which is his Church he has redeemed it with his own blood in the fulness of time and communicates to it all his benefits and favours by the Gospel XIII That therâ—… are two Natures in Jesus the divine and humane truly in one Person without Confusion without Division without Separation without Change each Nature keeping its distinct property and thaâ—… Jesus Christ is true God and man XIV That God has so loved the world that he has given his only Son for to save us by his most perfect Obedience particularly by that he suffered the cursed Death of the Cross and by the victories he gained over the Devil Sin and Death XV. That Jesus Christ having made an intire expiation of our Sins by a most perfect Sacrifice of himself upon the Cross it cannot nor ought not to be reiterated upon any pretence whatsoever XVI That Jesus Christ having fully reconciled us to God by his blood-shed upon the Cross it 's by his only merit and not by our works that we are absolved and justified before him XVII That we have an Union with Jesus Christ and Communion of his Benefits by Faith which are promised us by his holy Gospel XVIII That this Faith comes from the gratious and efficacious operations of the holy Ghost which illuminates our Souls and carries them to rely upon the mercy of God to be applyed by the Merits of Jesus Christ. XIX That Jesus Christ is our only and true Mediator not only as to Redemption but also as to Intercession and that by his Merits and Mediation we have access to the Father for to invoke him with a holy Confidence to be heard without any need of having recourse to any other Intercessor than him XX. That as God doth promise us regeneration in Jesus Christ those that are united to him by a lively Faith should apply themselves with all their heart to do good works XXI That good works are so necessary to the faithful that they cannot come to the Kingdom of Heaven without doing of them so we must walk in the ways of Justice and Righteousness sly all Vices and exercise our selves in all Christian Vertues imploying Fasting and all other means that may conduce to so holy an end XXII That though we cannot merit any thing by our good Works our Saviour will notwithstanding recompence them with eternal Life by a merciful Continuation of his Grace and in Vertue of an immoveable Constancy of his Grace and Promises XXIII That those that possess eternal Life for their Faith and good Works must be considered as Saints and glorified and praised for their Vertues intimated in all their excellent Actions But not adored or invoked for no Address of Prayer must be made to any but God alone through Jesus Christ. XXIV That God has gathered together a Church in this world for the Salvation of mankind but she has but one Head and Foundation which is Jesus Christ. XXV That this Church is the company of the Faithful who being elected by God before the Foundation of the world and called by a holy Vocation are united together for to follow the word of God believing that which he teaches and living in his Fear XXVI That this Church cannot fail or be quite destroyed but that it will always remain XXVII That every body must be a Member of that Church and keep in her Communion XXVIII That God doth not only instruct us by his word but that besides he has instituted Sacraments to be joyned to his word as the means to unite us to Christ and to communicate to us his Benefits and that there are but two common to all the Members of the Church under the new Testament viz. Baptism and the Supper of our Lord. XXIX That he has instituted the Sacrament of Baptism for a Testimony of our Adoption and that we are washed from our Sins in the Blood of Jesus Christ and renewed in Sanctity of Life XXX That he has instituted that of the Eucharist or of his Holy Supper for the nourishment of our Souls to the end that by a true and lively saith by the incomprehensible vertue of the Holy Ghost eating effectively his Flesh and drinking his Blood and uniting us most inseparably to Christ in him and by him we may have Eternal Life XXXI That it 's necessary that the Church have Pastors well instructed and of good life instituted by them that have the right to do it as well to Preach the Word of God as to administer the Sacraments and watch over the Flock of Christ following the rules of a good and holy Discipline conjointly with the Elders and Deacons according to the practice of the Ancient Church XXXII That God has established Kings and Magistrates for the government of his People and the People ought to be subject and obedient to them in vertue of the said Order not only for Anger but for Conscience in all