Selected quad for the lemma: truth_n
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A58583
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Act ratifying the confession of faith and settling Presbyterian church-government Edinburgh, the seventh day of June, 1690.
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Scotland.
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1690
(1690)
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Wing S1157; ESTC R34034
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26,464
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30
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of the Records of Parliament by me TH. BURNET Cls. Reg. Follovvs the foresaid Confession of Faith CHAP. I. Of the Holy Sripture ALthough the Light of Nature and the Works of Creation and Providence do so far manifest the Goodness Wisdom and Power of God as to leave men inexcusable yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and of his will which is necessary unto Salvation Therefore it pleased the Lord at sundry times and in divers manners to reveal himself and to declare that his will unto his Church and afterward for the better preserving and propagating of the Truth and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the Church against the corruptions of the flesh and the malice of Satan and of the world to commit the same wholly unto writing which maketh the holy Scripture to be most necessary those former ways of Gods revealing his Will unto his people being now ceased II. Under the name of holy Scripture or the Word of God written are now contained all the Books of the Old and New Testament which are these Of the Old Testament GEnesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth I. Samuel II. Samuel I. Kings II. Kings I. Chronicles II. Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes The Song of Songs Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Abadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Of the New Testament The Gospels according to MAtthew Mark Luke John The Acts of the Apostles Paul's Epistles to the Romans I Corinthians II Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians I Thessalonians II Thessalonians I To Timothy II To Timothy To Titus To Philemon The Epistle to the Hebrews The Epistle of James The first and second Epistles of Peter The first second and third Epistles of John The Epistle of Jude The Revelation of John All which are given by inspiration of God to be the Rule of Faith and Life III. The Books commonly called Apocrypha not being of Divine Inspiration are no part of the Canon of the Scripture and therefore are of no authority in the Church of God nor to be any otherwise approved or made use of than other humane Writings IV. The Authority of the holy Scripture for which it ought to be believed and obeyed dependeth not upon the testimony of any man or Church but wholly upon God who is Truth it self the Author thereof and therefore it is to be received because it is the Word of God V. We may be moved and induced by the Testimony of the Church to an high and reverend esteem of the holy Scripture and the heavenliness of the Matter the efficacy of the Doctrine the Majesty of the Stile the consent of all the parts the scope of the whole which is to give all glory to God the full discovery it makes of the only way of mans Salvation the many other incomparable Excellencies and the intire perfection thereof are Arguments whereby it doth abundantly evidence it self to be the Word of God yet notwithstanding our full perswasion and assurance of the infallible truth and Divine authority thereof is from the inward work of the holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts VI. The whole Counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own Glory mans Salvation Faith and Life is either expresly set down in Scripture or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture unto which nothing at any time is to be added whether by new Revelations of the Spirit or Traditions of men nevertheless we acknowledge the inward Illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word and that there are some circumstances concerning the Worship of God and Government of the Church common to humane Actions and Societies which are to be ordered by the Light of Nature and Christian Prudence according to the general Rules of the Word which are alwayes to be observed VII All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themseles nor alike clear unto all yet those things which are necessary to be known believed and observed for Salvation are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other that not only the learned but the unlearned in a due use of the ordinary means may attain to a sufficient understanding of them VIII The Old Testament in Hebrew which was the native language of the people of God of old and the New Testament in Greek which at the time of the writing of it was most generally known to the Nations being immediatly inspired by God and by his singular care and providence kept pure in all ages are therefore Authentical so as in all controversies of Religion the Church is finally to appeal unto them But because these Original Tongues are not known to all the people of God who have right unto and interest in the Scriptures and are commanded in the fear of God to read and search them therefore they are to be Translated into the vulgar Language of every Nation unto which they come that the Word of God dwelling plentifully in all they may worship him in an acceptable manner and through patience and comfort of the Scriptures may have hope IX The infallible Rule of Interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture it self and therefore when there is a Question about the true and full sense of any Scripture which is not manifold but one it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly X. The Supream Judge by which all Controversies of Religion are to be determined and all Decrees of Councils Opinions of Ancient Writers Doctrines of men and privat Spirits are to be examined and in whose sentence we are to rest can be no other but the holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture CHAP. II. Of God and the Holy Trinity THere is but one only living and true God who is infinite in Being and Perfection a most pure Spirit invisible without body parts or passions Immutable Immense Eternal Incomprehensible Almighty most wise most holy most free most absolute working all things according to the Counsel of his own immutable and most righteous Will for his own glory most loving gracious merciful long suffering abundant in Goodness and Truth forgiving Iniquity Transgression and Sin the rewarder of them that diligently seek him and withal most just and terrible in his Judgments hating all sin and who will by no means clear the guilty II. God hath all Life Glory Goodness Blessedness in and of himself and is alone in and unto himself All-sufficient not standing in need of any Creatures which he hath made nor deriving any glory from them but only 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 Soveraign Dominion over them to do by them for them or upon
Satan and of the World the prevalency of corruption remaining in them and the neglect of the means of their preservation fall into grievous sins and for a time continue therein whereby they incur God's displeasure and grieve his Holy Spirit come to be deprived of some measure of their graces and comforts have their hearts hardned and their consciences wounded hurt and scandalize others and bring temporal judgements upon themselves CHAP. XVIII Of the assurance of Grace and Salvation ALthough Hypocrites and other unregenerat men may vainly deceive themselves with false hopes and carnal presumptions of being in the favour of God and estate of Salvation which hope of theirs shall perish yet such as truly believe in the Lord Jesus and love him in sincerity endeavouring to walk in all good Conscience before him may in this life be certainly assured that they are in the state of Grace and may rejoyce in the hope of the glory of God which hope shall never make them ashamed II. This certainty is not a bare conjectural and probable perswasion grounded upon a fallible hope but an infallible assurance of faith founded upon the divine truth of the promises of Salvation the inward evidence of those graces unto which these promises are made the testimony of the Spirit of Adoption witnessing with our Spirits that we are the Children of God Which Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance whereby we are sealed to the day of Redemption III. This infallible assurance doth not so belong to the essence of Faith but that a true Believer may wait long and conflict with many difficulties before the be partaker of it yet being enable by the Spirit to know the things which are freely given of him God he may without extraordinary revelation in the right use of ordinary means attain thereunto And therefore it is the duty of every one to give all diligence to make his Calling and Election sure that thereby his heart may be enlarge in peace and joy in the holy Ghost in love and thankfulness to God and in strength and chearfuless in the duties of obedience the proper fruits of this assurance so far is it from inclining men to loosness IV. True Believers may have the assurance of their Salvation divers ways shaken diminished and intermitted as by negligence in preserving of it by falling into some special sin which woundeth the Conscience and grieveth the Spirit by some sudden or vehement temptation by God's with-drawing the light of his countenance and suffering even such as fear him to walk in darkness and to have no light yet are they never utterly destitute of that seed of God and life of Faith that love of Christ and the Brethren that sincerity of heart and conscience of duty out of which by the operation of the Spirit this assurance may in due time be revived and by the which in the mean time they are supported from utter despair CHAP. XIX Of the Law of God GOD gave to Adam a Law as a Covenant of Works by which he bound him and all his Posterity to personal entire exact and perpetual obedience promised life upon the fulfilling and threatned death upon the breach of it and endued him with power and ability to keep it II. This Law after his fall continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness and as such was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai in Ten Commandments and written in two Tables the four first Commandments containing our duty towards God and the other six our duty to man III. Beside this Law commonly called Moral God was pleased to give the people of Israel as a Church under age Ceremonial Laws containing several typical Ordinances partly of Worship prefiguring Christ his graces actions sufferings and benefits and partly holding forth divers instructions of Moral Duties All which Ceremonial Laws are now abrogated under the New Testament IV. To them also as a body politick he gave sundry Judicial Laws which expired together with 〈◊〉 state of that people not obliging any other now further than the general equity thereof may require V. The Moral Law doth for ever bind all as well justified persons as others to the obedience thereof and that not only in regard of the matter contained in it but also in respect of the Authority of God the Creator who gave it Neither doth Christ in the Gospell any way dissolve but much strengthen this obligation VI. Although true Believers be not under the Law as a Covenant of Works to be thereby justified or condemned yet it is of great use to them as well as to others in that as a rule of Life informing them of the will of God and their duty it directs and binds them to walk accordingly discovering also the sinful pollutions of their nature hearts and lives so as examining themselves thereby they may come to further conviction of humiliation for and hatred against sin together with a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ and the perfection of his obedience It is likewise of use to the regenerate to restrain their curruptions in that it forbids sin and the threatnings of it serve to shew what even their sins deserve and what afflictions in this life they may expect for them although freed from the curse thereof threatned in the Law The promises of it in like manner shew them God's approbation of obedience and what blessings they may expect upon the performance thereof although not as due to them by the Law as a Covenant of works So as a mans doing good and refraining from evil because the Law encourageth to the one and deterreth from the other is no evidence of his being under the Law and not under Grace VII Neither are the fore-mentioned Uses of the Law contrary to the grace of the Gospel but do sweetly comply with it the Spirit of Christ subduing and enabling the will of man to do that freely and cheerfully which the will of God revealed in the Law requireth to be done CHAP. XX. Of Christians 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 curse of the Moral Law and in their being delivered from this present evil World bondage to Satan and Dominion of sin from the evil of afflictions the 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 our of slavish fear but a child-like love and willing mind All which were common also to Believers under the Law But under the New Testament the Liberty of Christians is further enlarged in their freedom from the yoke of the Ceremonial Law to which the Jewish Church was subjected and in greater boldness of access to the Throne of Grace and in fuller communication of the free Spirit of God than Believers under the Law did ordinary partake of II. God