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of clear inferences thence. 5. And of the truth of all the certain Holy Scriptures, which are evidently the Word of God. 6. And particularly therein of the plain historical parts. 7. And of all which is the main design and scope of the text in any book or chapter. 8. And of all that which is purposely and often repeated, and not only obscurely once spoken on the by. 9. Therefore we may be certain of all that is necessary to salvation: of every article in the Creed; of every petition in the Lord's-prayer, and every necessary common duty: we may be certain of the truth and sense of all the covenant of grace concerning the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, his relation to us, and our relation and duty to him, and of the benefits of the covenant, of the necessity and nature of faith, repentance, hope, love, obedience, patience, &c. It is tedious to recite all; in a word, all that is of common necessity, and all (how small soever) which is plainly revealed and expressed. 10. And you may be certain of the fulfilling of much of this holy word already by sufficient history and experience.

CHAP. VII.

Inference 1. The true Reason and Usefulness of the Christian Simplicity, in differencing the Covenant, and Principles of Religion, from the rest of the Holy Scriptures.

IT hath ever been the use of the church of God, to catechise men before they were baptized; and therein to teach them the true meaning of the Baptismal Covenant, by opening to them the Creed, the Lord's-prayer, and the Decalogue: and when they understood this covenant they were admitted (upon consent) by baptism into the church, and accounted Christians and members of Christ, without staying to teach them any other part of the Bible, no not so much as the sacrament of the Lord's-supper. (Though indeed the opening of baptism was the opening of the life of that; because it is the same covenant which is solemnized in both.)

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i As Antonine saith, (in greater darkness) 1. 2. s. 5. opãs πãs öλiya sσTÍV, &c. Vide quam pauca sint, quæ siquis tenuerit, prosperam ac divinam propemodum vitam degere detur: siquidem et dii ipsi nihil amplius exigent ab eo, qui ista observaverit.

By doing thus, the church notoriously declared that they took not all the Scripture to be equally necessary to be understood; but that the Covenant of Grace, and the Catechism explaining it, is the Gospel itself, that is, the essence of it, and of the Christian religion, and that all the rest of the Scriptures contain but partly the integrals, and partly the accidents of that religion. He is the wisest man that knoweth most and best; and every man should know as much of the Scriptures as he can. But if you knew all the rest, without this (the covenant of grace, and its explication) it would not make you Christians, or save you. But if you know this truly, without all the rest, it will.

The whole Scripture is of great use and benefit to the church. It is like the body of a man; which hath its head, and heart, and stomach, &c.; and hath also fingers, and toes, and flesh; yea nails and hair. And yet the brain and heart itself fare the better for the rest, and would not be so well seated separate from them: though a man be a man that loseth even a leg or arm. So is it here. But it is the covenant that is our Christianity, and the duly baptized are Christians, whatever else they do not understand. These are the things that all must know, and daily live upon.

The Creed is but the exposition of the three articles of the Baptismal Covenant. I believe in God, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.' Though the Jews that had been bred up to a preparing knowledge, were quickly baptized by the apostles upon their conversion, (Acts ii,) yet no man can imagine, that either the apostles, or other ministers, did use to admit the ignorant Gentiles into the covenant of God, without opening the meaning of it to them; or baptize them as Christians, without teaching them what Christianity is. Therefore reason, and the whole church's subsequent custom assure us, that the apostles used to expound the three great articles to their catechumens; and thence it is called the Apostles' Creed.

Marcus, bishop of Ephesus, told them in the Florentine Council, (as you may see Sgyropilus,) That we have none of the Apostles' Creed,' and Vossius de Symbolis, besides many others, hath many arguments to prove, that this so called was not formally made by the apostles. Bishop Usher hath opened the changes that have been in it. Sandford and Parker have largely de descensu,' shewed

how it came in as an exposition of the baptismal articles. Others stiffly maintain that the apostles made it; but the case seemeth plain. The apostles used to call the baptized to the profession of the same articles, (which Paul hath in 1 Cor. xv. 1-3, &c.) and varied not the matter. All this was but more particularly to profess faith in God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Two or three further expository articles are put into the Creed since: otherwise it is the same which the apostles used; not in the very syllables or forms of words, but in the same sense; and the words indeed being left free, but seldom much altered, because of the danger of altering the matter. Of all the most ancient writers, not one repeateth the Creed in the same words that we have it; nor any two of them, in the same with one another. Irenæus once, Tertullian twice hath it; all in various words, but the same sense. That of Marcellus in Epiphanius, cometh nearest ours called the Apostles', and is almost it. Afterward, in Ruffinus and others, we have more of it. Yet no doubt but the Western Churches, at least, used it with little variation still. The Nicene Creed is called by some ancients the Apostles' Creed too: and both were so; for both are the same in sense and substance: for it is not the very words that are truly fathered on the apostles.

About three hundred years ago, Mr. Ashwell having published a book for the necessity and honour of the Creed, I wrote in the postcript to my " Reformed Pastor," edit. 2nd, a corrective of some passages, in which he seemeth to say too much for it, or at least to depress the Scripture too much in comparison of it. But long experience now telleth me that I have more need to acquaint men with the reasons and necessity of the Creed; seeing I find a great part of ignorant religious people much to slight the use of it, and say it is not Scripture, but the work of man' especially taking offence at the harsh translation of that article, He descended into hell; which, from the beginning, it is likely was not in. It is the kernel of the Scripture, and it is that for which the rest of the Scripture is given us, even to afford us sufficient help to understand and consent to the covenant of grace; that our belief, our desires, and our practice may be conformed principally to these summaries. It is not

every child, or woman, that could have gathered the essential articles by themselves out of the whole Scripture, if it had not been done to their hands: nor that could have rightly methodised the rule of our desires, or gathered the just heads of natural duty; if Christ had not done the first in the Lord's-prayer, and God the second in the Decalogue. Object. But I believe these only, because the matter of the Creed, and the words also of the other two are in the Scripture, and not on any other authority.'

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Answ. If you speak of the authority of the author, which giveth them their truth, it is neither Scripture nor tradition; but God, for whose authority we must believe both Scripture and them.

But if you speak of the authority of the deliverers, and the evidence of the delivery; be it known to you, 1. That the Creed, Lord's-prayer, Decalogue, and the baptismal covenant, have been delivered down to the church from the apostles by a distinct tradition, besides the Scripture tradition even to all the Christians one by one, that were baptized, and admitted to the Lord's-table, and to every particular church. So that there was not a Christian or church, that was not even constituted by them.

2. Be it known to you, that the church was long in possession of them, before it had the Scriptures of the New Testament. It is supposed to be about eight years after Christ's ascension, before Matthew wrote the first book of the New Testament; and near the year of our Lord, one hundred, before the Revelation was written. And do you think that there were no Christians or churches all that while? Or that there was no baptism? Or no profession of the Christian faith in distinct articles? No knowledge of the Lord's-prayer and Commandments? No Gospel daily preached and practised? What did the church assemblies, think you, do all those years? No doubt, those that had inspiration, used it by extraordinary gifts. But that was not all those that had not, did preach the substance of the Christian religion, contained in these forms; and did pray, and praise God, and celebrate the Lord's-supper; provoking one another to love, and to good works.

3. Be it known to you, that these three summaries come to us with fuller evidence of certain tradition from God,

than the rest of the Holy Scriptures. Though they are equally true, they are not equally evident to us. And this I thus prove: 1. The body of the Scriptures were delivered but one way; but the Covenant, Creed, Lord's-prayer, and Decalogue, are delivered two ways. They are in the Scripture, and so have all the evidence of tradition which the Scriptures have: and they were, besides that, delivered to the memories of all Christians. If you say, that the Creed is not in the Scripture; or that the Scripture is not altered as it is I answer, 1. That it is in the Scripture, as to the matter signified in as plain words, even of the same signification. 2. There is no alteration made, but a small addition, which is no disparagement to it; because the ancient substance is still known, and the additions are not newmade things, but taken out of Scripture. And yet if any heretic should deny that God is wise and good, and just and merciful; it were no dishonour to the Creed, nor weakening of its certainty, to have these attributes yet added to it.

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2. These summaries, as is said, were far more ancient than the rest of the New Testament, as written and known, and used long before them.

3. These summaries being in every Christian's mind and memory, were faster held than the rest of the Scriptures: therefore parents could and did teach them more to their children. You never read that the catechisers of the people did teach them all the Bible, nor equally ask them, who Jared, or Mehaleel, or Lamech was, as they did who Christ was. Nor put every history into the Catechism, but only the historical articles of the Creed.

4. Therefore it was far easier to preserve the purity of these summaries, than of the whole body of the Scriptures; for that which is in every man's memory, cannot be altered without a multitude of reprovers: which makes the Greeks since Photius keep such a stir about 'Filioque' as to think that the Latins have changed religion, and deserved to be separated from, for changing that word. But no wonder that many hundred various readings are crept into the Bible, and whole verses and histories (as that of the adulterous woman,) are out in some, that are in others. For it is harder to keep such a volume incorrupt, than a few words. Though writing, as such, is a surer way than memory, and the whole Bible could never have been preserved by

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