suffered his blessed body to be nayled to the Crosse that hee might fasten upon it the handwriting of our sinnes and hath also taken upon himselfe the cursse due to us that hee might fill us with his blessing and hath humbled himselfe into the deepest pangs of Hell with soule and body on the tree of the Crosse where hee cryed out with a loud voyce My God my God Why hast thou forsaken mee that wee might bee received of God and never forsaken of him and finally confirmed with his death and bloodshedding the new and everlasting Covenant of grace and reconciliation when hee sayd It is finished And that wee might firmly believe that wee belong to this Covenant of grace the Lord Jesus Christ in his last Supper tooke Bread gave thankes brake it and gave it to his Disciples and sayd Take eate this is my Body which is given for you do this in remembrance of mee In like maner also after Supper hee tooke the Cup gave thankes and sayd Drinke yee all of this This Cup is the new Testament in my blood which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sinnes do this so often as yee drincke of it in remembrance of mee That is as often as yee eate of this Bread and drincke of this Cup yee shall thereby as by a certaine pledge and remembrance bee admonished and assured of this my hearty love and faithfulnesse towards you that whereas yee should have suffered eternall death I have given my body into the death of the Crosse and shed my blood for you and as certainely as you see this Bread broken before your eyes and this Cup given to you and yee with your mouth do eate and drincke the same to my remembrance so do I feed and refresh your hungry and thirsty soules with my body and blood to everlasting life Out of this Institution of the Supper of the Lord Jesus Christ wee do see that hee directs our faith and confidence to his perfect sacrifice which was once offered on the Crosse as to the onely ground and foundation of our soules that hee is become to our hungry and thirsty soules the true food to eternall life For by his death he hath taken away the cause of our everlasting death and miseries namely sinne and hath merited for us the quickening spirit that wee by the same which dwelleth in Christ as the head and in us as his members might have true Communion and fellowship and be made partakers of all his blessings to everlasting life and glory Besides that wee by the same spirit may also be united together into brotherly love as members of the same mystecall body as the Scripture saith One Bread is it so are wee one Body because wee are all made partakers of one Bread For as out of many graines being grinded one Bread is made and out of many Berries being prest together one drincke floweth so shall wee all who by a true Faith are ingrafted into Christ bee one body through brotherly love for Christ his sake who hath so exceedingly loved us and manifested the same one towards another not onely in words but also in workes and deeds Heereto assist us the Almighty Father of our Lord Jesus Christ through his Holy Spirit Amen And that wee may obtaine this let us humble our selves before God and in true Faith call upon him for his grace O Most mercifull God and Father wee beseech thee that in this ordinance in which wee celebrate the blessed memory of the most bitter death and passion of thy Son Jesus Christ thou wilt bee pleased to worke in our hearts through the Holy Ghost that wee may give our selves more and more with true confidence to thy Son Jesus Christ that so our broken and burdened hearts may bee fed and comforted through the power of the Holy Spirit with his body and blood yea with him true God and Man the onely Bread of Heaven and that henceforth wee may not live any longer in our sinnes but hee in us and wee in him and bee also really partakers of that new and everlasting Covenant of Grace no wayes doubting but that thou wilt bee our eternall and Gracious God not imputing our sinnes unto us but filling us with all good things for body and soule as thy beloved Children and Heyres Graunt also unto us thy grace that wee may take upon us our crosse cheerefully deny our selves confesse our Saviour and in all tribulations expect our Lord Jesus Christ out of Heaven where hee will make our mortall bodies conformable to his most glorious body and take us to himselfe to bee with him in all eternity Ans OUr Father which art in heaven 1. Hallowed be thy Name 2. Thy Kingdome come 3. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven 4. Give us this day our daily bread 5. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespasse against us 6. And lead us not into temptation But deliver us from evill For thine is the kingdome the power and the glorie for ever and ever Amen Strengthen us also by this Holy Sacrament in the Articles of our Christian Faith of which wee make Confession saying with heart and mouth I Beleeve in God the Father almightie maker of heaven and earth ij And in Jesus Christ his onely begotten Sonne our Lord. iij. Which was conceived by the Holy Ghost borne of the virgine Marie iv Suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried he descended into hel v. The third day he rose again from the dead vj. He ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father almightie vij From thence shall he come to judge the quick and the dead viij I beleeve in the Holy Ghost ix I beleeve an Holy Catholike church the Communion of Saints x. The forgivenes of sinnes xj The resurrection of the body xij And life everlasting Amen That wee may now bee fed with the true heavenly Bread the Lord Jesus Christ so let not our hearts cleave to the outward elements of Bread and Wine but let us lift up the same into Heaven where Christ our Advocate is sitting on the right hand of his heavenly Father whether also wee are directed by the Articles of our Christian faith nothing doubting but wee shall bee fed and refreshed with his Body and Blood by the power of the Spirit so certainly as wee receive this holy Bread and Wine to his remembrance In breaking and distributing of the Bread the Minister shall say The Bread which wee breake is the Communion of the body of Christ. And when hee gives the Cup The Cup of blessing wherewith wee blesse is the Communion of the Blood of Christ. During the Communion there shall eyther bee sung some Psalm or some Chapter read which may serve to the remembring of the Passion of Christ as Esa Chap. 53. Joh. 13. and 14. and 15. and 16. and 18. or the like After the Communion the Minister shall
he hath given the Magistrates the sword in their hands for a punishment of the wicked and a protection of the godly And their office is not onely to take heed unto and to watch over politick assaires but also to maintain the holy Ecclesiastical service for the hindring and exstirpating of all Idolatry and false worship for the throwing down of the Kingdom of Antichrist and the exalting that of Jesus Christ and to cause the Gospel to be preached everywhere that so God may be honoured and served of every one as he has commanded in his Word Moreover every one of what quality condition or State he is is bound to submitt him self to the Magistrates to pay taxes to give them all honour and due respect and to obey them in all things that are not contrary to the Word of God praying for them in their prayers that the Lord may guide them in all their wayes and that wee may live quietly and peaceably in all God liness and honesty And therefore wee reject the Anabaptists and other seditious people and in generall al those that do reject Magistrates and the higher powers and would subsert Justice introducing a communion of goods and confounding the decency which God hath instituted among men XXXVII Lastly wee believe according to the Word of God that when the time ordained of the Lord thô unknown to all Creatures shall be accomplished and the number of the elect compleated our Lord Jesus Christ will come down from heaven corporally and visibly as he is ascended with great Glory and Majesty for to declare him self a Judge both of the living and the dead appointing this ould world to bee burnt with fire and slames for its purification and then shall all men personally appear before this great Judge both Men Women and Children that ever have been from the beginning of the World unto the end being summoned by the voice of the Archangel and the sound of the divine Trumpet For all the dead shall be raised out of the grave and the Soules shall be joined and united with their own bodies in which formerly they have lived And as for those who then shall live they shall not dye as the others but be changed in a moment and from corruptible become incorruptible Then the Books of the Conscience will be opened and the dead shall be judged according to their deeds done in this World whether they be good or evil Nay men shall give an account of every idle word which they have spoken which hath bene accounted by the World but sport and pastime and then the hidden things and the Hypocrisy of men will be made manifest and discovered before every one And therefore the very remembrance of this Judgment is terrible and dreadfull to the evildoers and the wicked but very desirable and comfortable to the godly and Elect seing then their full deliverance shall bee accomplished and they shall there receive the fruits of their labour and troubles which they have undergone their innocency will appear to all and they shall see the terrible vengeance which God will execute against the wicked who have most cruelly persecuted oppressed and vexed them in this world They will be convicted by the testimony of their own consciences and shall be immortall but in such a manner that it shall be for to be tormented in the everlasting fire which is prepared for the Devil and his Angels On the contrary the Faithfull and Elected shall be crowned with glory and honour The Son of God will confess their names before God his Father and his chosen Angels all teares shall be wiped away from their eyes Their cause which now is condemned by many Judges and Magistrates as heretical and ungodly will beeknown to be the cause of the Son of God. And for a gracious reward the Lord will cause them to enjoy such a glory as the heart of men never should be able to imagine Therefore wee expect that great day with a great longing that so wee may fully enjoy the promises of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. FORME For the administration of the Sacrament of Baptisme to Infants THE Doctrine of Baptisme consisteth of these three points First That wee with our Children are conceived and borne in sinne and are therefore children of wrath insomuch that wee cannot enter into the Kingdome of Heaven except wee bee borne againe This is signified unto us by sprinkling the childe with water whereby the uncleannesse of our soules is set forth unto us and wee are admonished to loath our selves and to be humbled before God and to seeke our cleansing and salvation out of our selves Secondly Baptisme doth signifie and seale unto us the washing away of our sinnes through Jesus Christ therefore are wee baptized in the name of the Father the Sonne and the Holy Ghost God the Father doth witnesse and seale unto us that hee hath entred into an everlasting Covenant of grace with us that hee hath adopted us to bee his children and heyrs and will provide for us all manner of good and keepe from us all evill or turne it into good When wee are baptized in the name of the Son the Lord Jesus Christ doth seale unto us that he washeth us in his blood from all our sinnes incorporating us into the fellowship of his death and resurrection that wee are freed from our sinnes and accounted just before God. In like manner when wee are baptized in the name of the Holy Ghost the holy Spirit of God doth assure us by this Sacrament that hee will dwell with us and sanctifie us to bee members of Christ applying unto us what wee have in Christ namely the washing away of our sinnes the daily reneuwing of our soules till wee bee presented at last among the rest of the Elect without spot to partake of everlasting life Thirdly Whereas in all Covenants there are contained two parts therefore are wee by God through Baptisme admonished of and obliged unto new obedience namely that wee cleave to this One God Father Son and Holy Ghost that wee trust in him and love him with all our heart with all our soules and all our minde that wee forsake the world crucifie our ould nature and walke in a new and holy life And if through weakenesse somtimes wee fall into sinne wee must not despaire of Gods mercy nor continue in sinne considering that Baptisme is a signe and seale of our everlasting Covenant with God. And although our children understand not these things yet may they not therefore bee excluded from Baptisme for as they are without their knowledge partakers of the condemnation through Adam so are they againe received to mercy in Christ as God speakes to Abraham the Father of all the Faithful and consequently to us and our children Genes 17. saying I will establish my Covenant betweene mee and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting Covenant to bee thy God to thy seed after thee This also
lawfully called of the Church and consequently of God himselfe to this holy office Secondly Whether you hold the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to bee the onely Word of God and perfect Doctrine to salvation and whether you reject all opinions which are repugnant to the same Thirdly Whether you promise to discharge your office faithfully according to the same Doctrine and to adorne your Doctrine with a godly life submitting your selfe to the admonition of the Church if you should come to miscarry eyther in Doctrine or life according to the received order of the Churches Heereupon hee shall answer yea from my heart Then shall the Minister who demandeth these questions of him or an other if there bee more then one lay his hands upon him and say thus NOTA. This Ceremony shall not bee used in the Confirmation of those who have beene in the Ministery before God our heavenly Father who hath called you to this holy Office enlighten you by his holy Spirit strengthen you by his grace and so governe you in your Ministery that you may walke therein fruitfully as you ought to the gloly of his Name and enlargement of the Kingdome of his Sonne Jesus Christ Amen Afterwards shall the Minister from the Pulpit admonish the Minister Confirmed and the whole Church in following manner Take heed therefore beloved Brother and fellowservant in Christ unto your selfe and to the whole flocke over which the holy Ghost hath made you Overseer to feed the Church of God which hee hath purchased with his owne blood Love the Lord Christ and feede his sheepe taking oversight thereof not by constraint but willingly not for silthy lucres sake but with a willing minde not as being Lord over the people of God committed to you but as one who is made a patterne to the flocke bee an example to the faithfull in Word in Doctrine in love in faith in purity Hold on in reading admonishing instructing neglect not the gift which is given unto you bee diligent that your progresse may bee made manifest in all Take heed to the Doctrine and bee constant therein beare patiently all sufferings and oppression as a good Souldier of Jesus Christ If you doe these things you shal save your selfe and those that heare you and when the chiefe Shepheard shall appeare you shall receive the incorruptible crowne of glory And yee beloved Christians receive this your Minister in the Lord with all joy and respect consider that God through him speakes to you receive his word which hee according to the Scripture shall declare unto you not as the worde of man but as it is the Worde of God let the feet of those who preach you the glad tidings of peace bee welcome unto you bee obedient to those who are set over you in the Lord for they watch for your soules as those who must give an account there of that they may doe it with joy and not with sighes for this is not profitable to you if you doe these things it shall come to passe that the peace of God shall enter into your houses and that receiving this man in the name of a Prophet yee shall receive the reward of a Prophet and through his word believing in Christ shall inherit eternall life through Christ Yet seeing no man is of himselfe sit for these things let us call upon the name of God. MErcifull Father wee blesse thee that thou hast beene pleased out of lost man kynde to gather a Church to everlasting life through the Ministery of man and that thou hast so graciously provided a faithfull Minister for this Church in this place Wee beseech thee tot fit him more and more with thy Spirit to the Ministery to which thou hast called him enlighten his minde to understand the holy Scriptures give him utterance to publish the mysteries of the Gospell with an undaunted Spirit furnish him with Wisedome to rule aright the people over whom thou hast set him and to keepe them in Christian peace that so thy Church may under his ministery encrease in number and vertue give him courage in all difficulties and troubles which he may meet with in his Ministery that hee being strenghthened ihrough the comforts of thy Spirit remaining stedfastly to the end may be received with all thy faithfull servants into his Masters joy Graunt also to this people that they may carry themselves a right towards this their Minister acknowledging him sent of thee receiving his doctrine with all reverence and submitting themselves to his exhortations that so believing through his word they may bee made pattakers of everlasting life Heare us gracious Father for thy deare Sonne his sake who hath taught us to pray after this manner Our Father c. FORME For the Confirmation of Elders and Deacons when they are confirmed at the same time and if Elders and Deacons bee confirmed a part then shall this Forme bee usud according to occasions BEloved Christians you know that wee now at severall times have propounded uto you the names of our fellow Brethren heere present who are called to the Office of Elders and Deaconship to this Church to know whether there bee any that hath any thing against them why they should not bee Confirmed in their Offices seeing that no body is come before us who hath brought any lawfull exception against them therefore wee are to goe on at this present with the Confirmation of the same for this end yee N N who are to bee confirmed hearken first to ashort Declaration concerning the institution and the Offices of Elders and Deacons Concerning the Elders it is to bee observed that the name of Elders which name is taken out of the Old Testament and signifieth a person who is placed in an honourable Office of Government over others is given to two sorts of Persons which serve in the Church of Christ For the Apostle saith The Elders who rule well are worthy of double honour specially those who labour in the Word and Doctrine out of which it is manifest that in the Apostolicall Church there have beene two sorts of Elders where of the first have laboured in the Word and Doctrine and the others not the former were the Ministers of the Word the Pastours who preach the Gospel administer the Sacraments but the others who did not labour in the Word yet serving the Church had aspeciall charge namely that they tooke oversight of the Church and with the Minister of the Worde did rule the same For after the Apostle Paul had spoken Rom. 12. of the Ministery of the Word as also of the Office of the Deacons hee speakes of this Office afterwards saying Hee that ruleth let him doe it with all diligence and so in an other place 1 Cor. 12. Among other Offices which God hath ordained in his Church hee reckens Government in so much that this sorte of Ministers is given as a helpe and assistance to the others who preach the Gospell as in the