is that Antichrist that Man of Sin and Son of Perdition that exalteth himself in the Church against Christ and all that is called God whom the Lord shall destroy with the brightness of his Coming V. As the Lord in his Care and Love towards his Church hath in his infinite Wise Providence exercised it with great variety in all Ages for the good of them that love him and his own Glory so according to his Promise we expect that in the latter Days Antichrist being destroyed the Jews called and the Adversaries of the Kingdom of his dear Son broken the Churches of Christ being inlarged and edified through a free and plentiful Communication of Light and Grace shall enjoy in this World a more quiet peaceable and glorious Condition than they have enjoyed CHAP. XXVII Of the Communion of Saints ALL Saints that are united to Jesus Christ their Head by his Spirit and Faith although they are not made thereby one Person with him have Fellowship in his Graces Sufferings Death Resurrection and Glory and being united to one another in Love they have Communion in each others Gifts and Graces and are obliged to the performance of such Duties publick and private as do conduce to their mutual good both in the inward and outward Man. II. All Saints are bound to maintain an holy Fellowship and Communion in the Worship of God and in performing such other Spiritual Services as tend to their mutual Edification as also in Relieving each other in outward things according to their several Abilities and Necessities which Communion though especially to be exercised by them in the Relations wherein they stand whether in Families or Churches yet as God offereth opportunity is to be extended unto all those who in every Place call upon the Name of the Lord Jesus CHAP. XXVIII Of the Sacraments SAcraments are holy Signs and Seals of the Covenant of Grace immediately instituted by Christ to represent him and his Benefits and to confirm our Interest in him and solemnly to engage us to the Service of God in Christ according to his Word II. There is in every Sacrament a spiritual Relation or sacramental Union between the sign and the thing signified whence it comes to pass that the Names and Effects of the one are attributed to the other III. The Grace which is exhibited In or by the Sacraments rightly used is not conferred by any Power in them neither doth the Efficacy of a Sacrament depend upon the Piety or Intention of him that doth Administer it but upon the Work of the Spirit and the Word of Institution which contains together with a Precept authorizing the Use thereof a Promise of Benefit to worthy Receivers IV. There be only two Sacranents ordained by Christ our Lord in the Gospel that is to say Baptism and the Lord's Supper neither of which may be dispensed by any but by a Minister of the Word lawfully called V. The Sacraments of the Old Testament in regard of the spiritual things thereby signified and exhibited were for substance the same with those of the New. CHAP. XXIX Of Baptism BAptism is a Sacrament of the New Testament ordained by Jesus Christ to be unto the Party baptized a sign and seal of the Covenant of Grace of his ingraffing into Christ of Regeneration of Remission of Sins and of his giving up unto God through Jesus Christ to walk in newness of Life which Ordinance is by Christ's own appointment to be continued in his Church until the end of the World. II. The outward Element to be used in this Ordinance is Water wherewith the Party is to be baptized in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost by a Minister of the Gospel lawfully called III. Dipping of the Person into the Water is not necessary but Baptism is rightly administred by pouring or sprinkling Water upon the Person IV. Not only those who do actually profess Faith in and Obedience unto Christ but also the Infants of one or both believing Parents are to be baptized and those only V. Although it be a great Sin to contemn or neglect this Ordinance yet Grace and Salvation are not so inseparably annexed unto it as that no Person can be regenerated or saved without it or that all that are baptized are undoubtedly regenerated VI. The Efficacy of Baptism is not tyed to that moment of time wherein it is administred yet notwithstanding by the right Use of this Ordinance the Grace promised is not only offered but really exhibited and conferred by the Holy Ghost to such whether of Age or Infants as that Grace belongeth unto according to the counsel of God's own Will in his appointed time VII Baptism is but once to be administred to any Person CHAP. XXX Of the Lord's Supper OUR Lord Jesus in the Night wherein he was betrayed instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood called the Lord's Supper to be observed in his Churches unto the end of the World for the perpetual Remembrance and shewing forth of the Sacrifice of himself in his Death the sealing of all Benefits thereof unto true Believers their Spiritual Nourishment and growth in him their further Ingagement in and to all Duties which they owe unto him and to be a Bond and Pledge of their Communion with him and with each other II. In this Sacrament Christ is not offered up to his Father nor any real Sacrifice made at all for Remission of Sin of the quick or dead but only a Memorial of that one offering up of himself by himself upon the Cross once for all and a Spiritual Oblation of all possible Praise unto God for the same so that the Popish Sacrifice of the Mass as they call it is most abominable injurious to Christ's own only Sacrifice the alone Propitiation for all the Sins of the Elect. III. The Lord Jesus hath in this Ordinance appointed his Ministers to pray and bless the Elements of Bread and Wine and thereby to set them apart from a common to an holy Use and to take and break the Break to take the Cup and they Communicating also themselves to give both to the Communicants but to none who are not then present in the Congregation IV. Private Masses or receiving the Sacrament by a Priest or any other alone as likewise the denial of the Cup to the People worshipping the Elements the lifting them up or carrying them about for Adoration and the reserving them for any pretended religious Use are all contrary to the nature of this Sacrament and to the Institution of Christ V. The outward Elements in this Sacrament duely set apart to the Uses ordained by Christ have such Relation to him Crucified as that truely yet Sacramentally only they are sometimes called by the name of the things they represent to wit the Body and Blood of Christ albeit in Substance and Nature they still remain truly and only Bread and Wine as they were before VI. That Doctrine which maintains a Change
made nor deriving any glory from them but onely manifesting his own glory in by unto and upon them He is the alone Fountain of all Being of whom through whom and to whom are all things and hath most Sovereign Dominion over them to do by them for them or upon them whatsoever himself pleaseth In his sight all things are open and manifest his Knowledge is infinite infallible and independent upon the Creature so as nothing is to him contingent or uncertain He is most Holy in all his Counsels in all his Works and in all his Commands To him is due from Angels and Men and every other Creature whatsoever Worship Service or Obedience as Creatures they owe unto the Creator and whatever he is further pleased to require of them III. In the Unity of the God-head there be three Persons of one Substance Power and Eternity God the Father God the Son and God the Holy Ghost The Father is of none neither begotten nor proceeding The Son is eternally begotten of the Father The Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son. Which Doctrine of the Trinity is the foundation of all our Communion with God and comfortable Dependence upon him CHAP. III. Of God's eternal Decree GOD from all eternity did by the most wise and holy Counsel of his own Will freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass Yet so as thereby neither is God the Author of Sin nor is violence offered to the will of the Creatures nor is the liberty or contingency of second Causes taken away but rather established II. Although God knows whatsoever may or can come to pass upon all supposed Conditions yet hath he not decreed any thing because he foresaw it as future or as that which would come to pass upon such Conditions III. By the Decree of God for the manifestation of his Glory some Men and Angels are predestinated unto everlasting Life and others fore-ordained to everlasting Death IV. These Angels and Men thus predestinated and fore-ordained are particularly and unchangeably designed and their number is so certain and definite that it cannot be either increased or diminished V. Those of Mankind that are predestinated unto Life God before the foundation of the World was laid according to his eternal and immutable Purpose and the secret counsel and good pleasure of his Will hath chosen in Christ unto everlasting Glory out of his meer free Grace and Love without any fore-sight of Faith or good Works or Perseverance in either of them or any other thing in the Creature as Conditions or Causes moving him thereunto and all to the praise of his glorious Grace VI. As God hath appointed the Elect unto Glory so hath he by the eternal and most free purpose of his Will fore-ordained all the means thereunto Wherefore they who are elected being fall'n in Adam are redeemed by Christ are effectually called unto Faith in Christ by his Spirit working in due season are justified adopted sanctified and kept by his Power through Faith unto Salvation Neither are any other redeemed by Christ or effectually called justified adopted sanctified and saved but the Elect onely VII The rest of Mankind God was pleased according to the unsearchable Counsel of his own Will whereby he extendeth or withholdeth Mercy as he pleaseth for the glory of his Sovereign Power over his Creatures to pass by and to ordain them to dishonour and wrath for their Sin to the praise of his glorious Justice VIII The Doctrine of this high Mystery of Predestination is to be handled with special Prudence and Care that Men attending the will of God revealed in his Word and yielding Obedience thereunto may from the certainty of their effectual Vocation be assured of their eternal Election So shall this Doctrine afford matter of praise reverence and admiration of God and of Humility Diligence and abundant Consolation to all that sincerely obey the Gospel CHAP. IV. Of Creation IT pleased God the Father Son and Holy Ghost for the manifestation of the glory of his eternal Power Wisdom and Goodness in the beginning to create or make of nothing the World and all things therein whether visible or invisible in the space of six days and all very good II. After God had made all other Creatures he created Man Male and Female with reasonable and immortal Souls endued with Knowledge Righteousness and true Holiness after his own Image having the Law of God written in their Hearts and power to fulfil it and yet under a possibility of transgressing being left to the liberty of their own Will which was subject unto change Besides this Law written in their hearts they received a command not to Eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil which whilst they kept they were happy in their communion with God and had dominion over the Creatures CHAP. V. Of Providence GOD the great Creator of all things doth uphold direct dispose and govern all Creatures actions and things from the greatest even to the least by his most wise and holy Providence according unto his infallible fore-knowledge and the free and immutable counsel of his own Will to the praise of the glory of his Wisdom Power Justice Goodness and Mercy II. Although in relation to the fore-knowledge and decree of God the first Cause all things come to pass immutably and infallibly yet by the same Providence he ordereth them to fall out according to the nature of second Causes either necessarily freely or contingently III. God in his ordinary Providence maketh use of Means yet is free to work without above and against them at his pleasure IV. The Almighty Power unsearchable Wisdom and infinite Goodness of God so far manifest themselves in his Providence in that his determinate Counsel extendeth it self even to the first Fall and all other sins of Angels and Men and that not by a bare Permission which also he most wisely and powerfully boundeth and otherwise ordereth and governeth in a manifold Dispensation to his own most holy ends yet so as the sinfulness thereof proceedeth only from the Creature and not from God who being most holy and righteous neither is nor can be the author or approver of Sin. V. The most wise righteous and gracious God doth oftentimes leave for a season his own Children to manifold Temptations and the corruption of their own Hearts to chastise them for their former sins or to discover unto them the hidden strength of Corruption and deceitfulness of their Hearts that they may be humbled and to raise them to a more close and constant dependence for their support upon himself and to make them more watchful against all future occasions of sin and for sundry other just and holy ends VI. As for those wicked and ungodly Men whom God as a righteous Judge for former sins doth blind and harden from them he not only withholdeth his Grace whereby they might have been inlightned in their Understandings and wrought upon in their Hearts
unprofitable unto Life God was pleased to give unto the Elect the Promise of Christ The Seed of the Woman as the means of Calling them and begetting in them Faith and Repentance In this Promise the Gospel as to the substance of it was revealed and was therein Effectual for the Conversion and Salvation of Sinners II. This Promise of Christ and Salvation by him is revealed only in and by the Word of God neither do the Works of Creation or Providence with the Light of Nature make discovery of Christ or of Grace by him so much as in a general or obscure way much less that Men destitute of the Revelation of him by the Promise or Gospel should be enabled thereby to attain Saving Faith or Repentance III. The Revelation of the Gospel unto Sinners made in divers times and by sundry parts with the addition of Promises and Precepts for the Obedience required therein as to the Nations and Persons to whom it is granted is meerly of the Sovereign Will and good Pleasure of God not being annexed by virtue of any Promise to the due Improvement of Mens natural Abilities by virtue of common Light received without it which none ever did make or can so do And therefore in all Ages the Preaching of the Gospel hath been granted unto Persons and Nations as to the extent or straitning of it in great variety according to the counsel of the Will of God. IV. Although the Gospel be the only outward means of revealing Christ and Saving Grace and is as such abundantly sufficient thereunto yet that Men who are dead in Trespasses may be born again quickned or regenerated there is moreover necessary an effectual irresistable Work of the Holy Ghost upon the whole Soul for the producing in them a new Spiritual Life without which no other means are sufficient for their Conversion unto God. CHAP. XXI Of Christian Liberty and Liberty of Conscience THE Liberty which Christ hath purchased for Believers under the Gospel consists in their freedom from the guilt of Sin the condemning wrath of God the rigor and curse of the Law and in their being delivered from this present evil World bondage to Satan and dominion of Sin from the evil of Afflictions the fear and sting of Death the victory of the Grave and everlasting Damnation as also in their free access to God and their yielding Obedience unto him not out of slavish fear but a Child-like love and willing mind All which were common also to Believers under the Law for the Substance of them but under the New Testament the liberty of Christians is further enlarged in their freedom from the yoak of the Ceremonial Law the whole Legal Administration of the Covenant of Grace to which the Jewish Church was subjected and in greater boldness of access to the Throne of Grace and in fuller Communications of the free Spirit of God than Believers under the Law did ordinarily partake of II. God alone is Lord of the Conscience and hath left it free from the Doctrines and Commandments of Men which are in any thing contrary to his Word or not contained in it so that to believe such Doctrines or to obey such Commands out of Conscience is to betray true Liberty of Conscience and the requiring of an Implicit Faith and an absolute and blind Obedience is to destroy Liberty of Conscience and Reason also III. They who upon pretence of Christian Liberty do practice any Sin or cherish any Lust as they do thereby pervert the main design of the Grace of the Gospel to their own Destruction so they wholly destroy the end of Christian Liberty which is that being delivered out of the Hands of our Enemies we might serve the Lord without fear in Holiness and Righteousness before him all the days of our Life CHAP. XXII Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day THE Light of Nature sheweth that there is a God who hath Lordship and Sovereignty over all is Just Good and doth good unto all and is therefore to be feared loved praised called upon trusted in and served with all the Heart and all the Soul and with all the Might but the acceptable way of Worshipping the True God is instituted by himself and so limited by his own revealed Will that he may not be Worshipped according to the Imaginations and Devices of Men or the Suggestions of Satan under any visible Representations or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture II. Religious Worship is to be given to God the Father Son and Holy Ghost and to him alone not to Angels Saints or any other Creatures and since the Fall not without a Mediator nor in the Mediation of any other but of Christ alone III. Prayer with Thanksgiving being one special part of natural Worship is by God required of all Men but that it may be accepted it is to be made in the Name of the Son by the help of his Spirit according to his Will with Understanding Reverence Humility Fervency Faith Love and Perseverance and when with others in a known Tongue IV. Prayer is to be made for things Lawful and for all sorts of Men living or that shall live hereafter but not for the dead nor for those of whom it may be known that they have sinned the Sin unto death V. The reading of the Scriptures Preaching and hearing the Word of God singing of Psalms as also the Administration of Baptism and the Lord's Supper are all parts of Religious Worship of God to be performed in Obedience unto God with Understanding Faith Reverence and Godly Fear Solemn Humiliations with Fastings and Thanksgiving upon special Occasions are in their several times and seasons to be used in a Holy and Religious manner VI. Neither Prayer nor any other part of Religious Worship is now under the Gospel either tied unto or made more acceptable by any place in which it is performed or towards which it is directed but God is to be Worshipped every where in Spirit and Truth as in private Families daily and in secret each one by himself so more solemnly in the publick Assemblies which are not carelesly nor wilfully to be neglected or forsaken when God by his Word or Providence calleth thereunto VII As it is of the Law of Nature that in general a proportion of time by God's Appointment be set apart for the Worship of God so by his Word in a positive moral and perpetual Commandment binding all Men in all Ages he hath particularly appointed one Day in seven for a Sabbath to be kept Holy unto him which from the beginning of the World to the Resurrection of Christ was the last Day of the Week and from the Resurrection of Christ was changed into the first Day of the Week which in Scripture is called the Lord's Day and is to be continued to the end of the World as the Christian Sabbath the Observation of the last Day of the Week being abolished VIII This Sabbath is then kept Holy unto