But this I confesse unto thee, that after the way which they call heresie so worship I the God of my Fathers, beleeving all things that are written in the Law and the Prophets, and have hope towards God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead both of the just and unjust. - Acts xxiv. 14, 15.

For we cannot but speak the things that we have seen and heard. - Acts iv. 20.

If I have spoken evill, bear witnesse of the evill; but if well, why smitest thou me? - John xviii. 23.

Blessed are yee when men revile you, and say all manner of evil against you falsly for my sake. Rejoice, etc. - Matth. v.11, 12. & xix. 29.

I.

III.

That God has ¹ decreed in Himself from everlasting touching all things, effectually to work and dispose them ² according to the counsel of His own will, to the glory of His name; in which decree appears His wisdom, constancy, truth, and faithfulness; ³ Wisdom is that whereby He contrives all things; ⁴ Constancy is that whereby the decree of God remains always immutable; ⁵ Truth is that whereby He declares that alone which He has decreed, and though His sayings may seem to sound sometimes another thing, yet the sense of them does always agree with the decree; ⁶ Faithfulness is that whereby He effects that He has decreed, as He has decreed. And touching His creature man, ⁷ God had in Christ before the foundation of the world, according to the good pleasure of His will, foreordained some men to eternal life through Jesus Christ, to the praise and glory of His grace, ⁸ leaving the rest in their sin to their just condemnation, to the praise of His justice.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

In this written Word God has plainly revealed whatsoever He has thought needful for us to know, believe, and acknowledge, touching the nature and office of Christ, in whom all the promises are Yea and Amen to the praise of God.

IX.

Touching the Lord Jesus, of whom ¹ Moses and the Prophets wrote, and whom the Apostles preached, is the ² Son of God the Father, the brightness of His glory, the ingrave form of His being, God with Him and with His Holy Spirit, by whom He made the world, by whom He upholds and governs all the works He has made, who also ³ when the fullness of time was come was, was made man of a ⁴ woman, of the Tribe of ⁵ Judah, of the seed of Abraham and David, to wit, of Mary that blessed Virgin, by the Holy Spirit coming upon her, and the power of the most High overshadowing her, and was also in ⁶ all things like unto us, sin only excepted.

X.

Touching His office, ¹ Jesus Christ only is made the Mediator of the New Covenant, even the everlasting covenant of grace between God and man, to ² be perfectly and fully the Prophet, Priest and King of the Church of God for evermore.

XI.

Unto this office He was fore-ordained from everlasting, by the ¹ authority of the Father, and in respect of His manhood, from the womb called and separated, and ² anointed also most fully and abundantly with all gifts necessary, God having without measure poured the Spirit upon Him.

1) Prov. 8:23; Isa. 42:6; 49:1,5
2) Isa. 11:2-5; 61:1-3 with Luke 4:17, 22; John1:14,16; 3:34

XII.

In this call the Scripture hold forth two special things considerable; first, the call to the office; secondly the office its self. First, that ¹ none takes this honor but he that is called of God, as was Aaron, so also Christ, it being an action especially of God the Father, whereby a special covenant being made, He ordains His Son to this office: which Covenant is, that ² Christ should be made a sacrifice for sin, that He shall see His seed, and prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand; which calling therefore contains in it self ³ choosing, ⁴ for-ordaining, ⁵ sending. choosing respects the end, foreordaining the means, sending the execution it self, ⁶ all of mere grace, without any condition fore-seen wither in men, on in Christ Himself.

XIII.

So that this office to be Mediator, that is, to be Prophet, Priest, and King of the Church of God, is so proper to Christ, as neither in the whole, not in any part thereof, it can be transferred from Him to any other.

XIV.

This office it self to which Christ was called, is three fold, of ¹ a Prophet, of ² Priest, and of ³ King: this number and order of offices is showed; first by mens necessities grievously laboring ⁴ under ignorance, by reason whereof they stand in infinite necessity of the Prophetical office of Christ to relieve them. Secondly, ⁵ alienation from God, wherein they stand in need of the Priestly office to reconcile them. Thirdly, our ⁶ utter disability to return to Him, by which they stand in need of the power of Christ in His Kingly office to assist and govern them.

XV.

Touching the Prophesy of Christ, it is that whereby He has ¹ perfectly revealed the whole will of God out of the bosom of the Father, that is needful for His servants to know, believe, and obey; and therefore is called not only a Prophet and a ² Doctor, and the ³ Apostle of our profession, and the ⁴ Angel of the Covenant; but also the very ⁵ wisdom of God, and the ⁶ treasures of wisdom and understanding.

1) John 1:18; 12:49-50; 15; 17:8; Deut. 18:15
2) Mat. 23:10
3) Heb. 3:1
4) Mal. 3:1
5) 1 Cor. 1:24
6) Col. 2:3

XVIII.

This Priesthood was not legal, or temporary, but according to the order ¹ of Melchisecdec; ² not by a carnal commandment, but by the power of endless life; ³ not by an order that is weak and lame, but stable and perfect, not for a ⁴ time, but for ever, admitting no successor, but perpetual and proper to Christ, and of Him that ever lives. Christ Himself was the Priest, Sacrifice and Alter: He was ⁵ Priest, according to both natures, He was a sacrifice most properly according to His human nature: ⁶ where in Scripture it is wont to be attributed to His body, to His blood; yet the chief force whereby this sacrifice was made effectual, did depend upon His ⁷ divine nature, namely, that the Son of God did offer Himself for us: He was the alter properly according to His divine nature, it belonging to the ⁸ Alter to sacrifice that which is offered upon it, and so it ought to be of greater dignity then the Sacrifice itself.

1) Heb. 7:17
2) Heb. 7:16
3) Heb. 7:18-21
4) Heb. 7:24-25
5) Heb. 5:6
6) Heb. 10:10; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Col. 1:20-21; Isa. 53: 10; Mat. 20:28
7) Acts 20:28; Rom. 8:3
8) Heb. 9:14; 13:10, 12, 15; Mat. 23:17; John 17:19

XIX.

Touching His Kingdom, ¹ Christ being risen from the dead, ascended into Heaven, sat on the right hand of God the Father, having all power in Heaven and earth, given unto Him, He does spiritually govern His Church, exercising His power ² over all angels and men, good and bad, to the preservation and salvation of the elect, to the over-ruling and destruction of His enemies, which are reprobates, ³ communicating and applying the benefits, virtue, and fruit of His Prophecy and Priesthood to His elect, namely, to the subduing and taking away of their sins, to their justification and adoption of Sons, regeneration, sanctification, preservation and strengthening in all their conflicts against Satan, the World, the Flesh, and the temptations of them, continually dwelling in, governing and keeping their hearts in faith and filial fear by His Spirit, which having ⁴ given it, He never takes it away from them, but by it still begets and nourishes in them faith, repentance, love, joy, hope, and all heavenly light in the soul unto immortality, notwithstanding through our own unbelief, and the temptations of Satan, the sensible sight of this light and love be clouded and overwhelmed for the time. ⁵ And on the contrary, ruling in the world over His enemies, Satan, and all the vessels of wrath, limiting, using, restraining them by His mighty power, as seems good in His divine wisdom and justice to the execution of His determinate counsel, delivering them up to a reprobate mind, to be kept through their own deserts, in darkness and sensuality unto judgment.

XX.

This Kingdom shall be then fully perfected when He shall the second time come in glory to reign among His saints, and to be admired of all them which do believe, when He shall put down all rule and authority under His feet, that the glory of the Father my be full and perfectly manifested in His Son, and the glory of the Father and the Son in all His members.

XXI.

That Christ Jesus by His death did bring fourth salvation and reconciliation only for the ¹ elect, which were those which ² God the Father gave Him; and that the Gospel which is to be preached to all men as the ground of faith, is, that ³ Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the ever blessed God, filled with the perfection of all heavenly and spiritual excellencies, and that salvation is only and alone to be had through the believing in His name.

XXII.

That faith is the ¹ gift of God wrought in the hearts of the elect by the Spirit of God, whereby they come to see, know, and believe the truth of the ² Scriptures, and not only so, but the excellency of them above all other writing and things in the world, as they hold forth the glory of God in His attributes, the excellency of Christ in His nature and offices, and the power of the fullness of the Spirit in His workings and operations; and thereupon are enabled to cast the weight of their souls upon this truth thus believed.

XXIII.

Those that have this precious faith wrought in them by the Spirit, can never finally nor totally fall away; and though many storms and floods do arise and beat against them, yet they shall never be able to take them off that foundation and rock which by faith they are fastened upon, but shall be kept by the power of God to salvation, where they shall enjoy their purchased possession, they being formerly engraven upon the palms of God's hands.

XXIV.

That faith is ordinarily ¹ begot by the preaching of the Gospel, or word of Christ, without respect to ² any power or capacity in the creature, but it is wholly ³ passive, being dead in sins and trespasses, does believe, and is converted by no less power, ⁴ then that which raised Christ from the dead.

XXV.

That the tenders of the Gospel to the conversion of sinners, ¹ is absolutely free, no way requiring, as absolutely necessary, any qualifications, preparations, terrors of the Law, or preceding ministry of the Law, but only and alone the naked soul, as a ² sinner and ungodly to receive Christ, as Christ, as crucified, dead, and buried, and risen again, being made ³ a Prince and a Savior for such sinners.

XXVI.

That the same power that converts to faith in Christ, the same power carries on the ¹ soul still through all duties, temptations, conflicts, sufferings, and continually what ever a Christian is, he is by ² grace, and by a constant renewed ³ operation from God, without which he cannot perform any duty to God, or undergo any temptations from Satan, the world, or men.

XXVII.

That God the Father, and Son, and Spirit, is one with ¹ all believers, in their ² fullness, in ³ relations, ⁴ as head and members, ⁵ as house and inhabitants, as ⁶ husband and wife, one with Him, as ⁷ light and love, and one with  Him in His inheritance, and in all His ⁸ glory; and that all believers by virtue of this union and oneness with God, are the adopted sons of God, and heirs of Christ, co-heirs and joint heirs with Him of the inheritance of all the promises of this life, and that which is to come.

XXVIII.

That those which have union with Christ, are justified from all their sins, past, ¹ present, and to come, by the blood of Christ; which justification we conceive to be a gracious and free ² acquittance of a guilty, sinful creature, from all sin by God, through the satisfaction that Christ has made by His death; and this applied in the manifestation of it through faith.

XXIX.

That all believers are a holy and ¹ sanctified people, and that sanctification is a spiritual grace of the ² New Covenant, and effect of the ³ love of God, manifested to the soul, whereby the believer is in ⁴ truth and reality separated, both in soul and body, from all sin and dead works, through the ⁵ blood of the everlasting Covenant, whereby he also presents after a heavenly and evangelical perfection, in obedience to all the commands, ⁶ which Christ as Head and King in this New Covenant has prescribed to him.

XXX.

All believers through the knowledge of ¹ that justification of life given by the Father, and brought forth by the blood of Christ, have this as their great privilege of that New ² Covenant, peace with God, and reconciliation, whereby they that were afar off, were brought nigh by ³ that blood, and have (as the Scripture speaks) peace ⁴ passing all understanding, yes, joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by ⁵ whom we have received the Atonement.

XXXII.

That the only strength by which the saints are enabled to encounter with all opposition, and to overcome all afflictions, temptations, persecutions, and trails, is only by Jesus Christ, who is the Captain of their salvation, being made perfect through sufferings, who has engaged His strength to assist them in all their afflictions, and to uphold them under all their temptations, and to preserve them by His power to His everlasting Kingdom.

XXXIII.

XXXIV.

To this Church He has ¹ made His promises, and given the signs of His Covenant, presence, love, blessing, and protection: here are the fountains and springs of His heavenly grace continually flowing forth; ² thither ought all men to come, of all estates, that acknowledge Him to be their Prophet, Priest, and King, to be enrolled amongst His household servants, to under His heavenly conduct and government, to lead their lives in His walled sheepfold, and watered garden, to have communion here with the saints, that they may be made to be partakers of their inheritance in the Kingdom of God.

XXXV.

And all His servants are called thither, to present their bodies and souls, and to bring their gifts God has given them; so being come, they are here by Himself bestowed in their several order, peculiar place, due use, being fitly compact and knit together, according to the effectual working of every part, to the edification of itself in love.

XXXVII.

That the Ministers aforesaid, lawfully called by the Church, where they are to administer, ought to continue is their calling, according to God's ordinance, and carefully to feed the flock of Christ committed to them, nor for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind.

XXXVIII.

That the due maintenance of the officers aforesaid, should be the free and voluntary communication of the Church, that according to Christ's ordinance, they that preach the Gospel, should live on the Gospel and not by constraint to be compelled from the people by a forced law.

1 Cor. 9:7,14; Gal. 6:6; 1 Thes. 5:13; 1 Tim. 5:17-18; Phil. 4:15-16

XXXIX.

That Baptism is an ordinance of the New Testament, given by Christ, to be dispensed only upon persons professing faith, or that are Disciples, or taught, who upon a profession of faith, ought to be baptized (Added later: "...and after to partake of the Lord's Supper.")

XL.

XLI.

The persons designed by Christ, to dispense this ordinance, the Scriptures hold forth to a preaching Disciple, it being no where tied to a particular church, officer, or person extraordinarily sent, the commission enjoining the administration, being given to them under no other consideration, but as considered Disciples.

XLII.

Christ has likewise given power to His whole church to receive in and cast out, by way of Excommunication, any member; and this power is given to every particular congregation, and not one particular person, either member or officer, but the whole.

Acts 2:47; Rom. 16:2; Mat. 18:17; 1 Cor. 5:4; 2 Cor. 2:6-8

XLIII.

And every particular member of each Church how excellent, great, or learned soever, ought to be subject to this censor and judgment of Christ; and the church ought with great care and tenderness, with due advise to proceed against her members.

XLIV.

And as Christ for the ¹ keeping of this church in holy and orderly communion, places some special men over the church, who by their office are to govern, oversee, visit, watch; so likewise for the better keeping thereof in all places, by the members, He has given ² authority, and laid duty upon all, to watch over one another.

XLV.

That also such to whom God has given gifts, being tried in the church, may and ought by the appointment of the congregation, to prophesy, according to the proportion of faith, and so teach publicly the Word of God, for the edification, exhortation, and comfort of the Church.

XLVI.

Thus being rightly gathered, established, and still proceeding in Christian communion, and obedience of the Gospel of Christ, none ought to separate for faults and corruptions, which may, and as long as the church consists of men subject to failings, will fall out and arise amongst them, even in true constituted churches, until they have in due order sought redress thereof.

XLVIII.

That a civil magistrate is an ordinance of God set up by God for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well; and that all lawful things commanded by them, subjection ought to be given by us in the Lord: and that we are to make supplication and prayer for Kings, and all that are in authority, that under them we may live a peaceable and quiet life in all godliness and honesty.

XLIX.

The supreme Magistrate of this Kingdom we believe to be the King and Parliament freely chosen by the Kingdom, and that in all those civil laws which have been acted by them, or for the present is or shall by ordained, we are bound to yield subjection and obedience unto in the Lord, as conceiving our selves bound to defend both the persons of those chosen, and all civil laws made by them, with our persons, liberties, and estates, with all that is called ours, although we should suffer never so much from them in not actively submitting to some ecclesiastical laws, which might be conceived by them to be their duties to establish which we for the present could not see, nor our consciences could submit unto; yet are we bound to yield our persons to their pleasures.

L.

And if God should provide such a mercy for us, as to incline the magistrates hearts so far to tender our consciences, as that we might be protected by them from wrong, injury, oppression and molestation, which long we formerly have groaned under by the tyranny and oppression of the Prelatical Hierarchy, which God through mercy has made this present King and Parliament wonderful honorable; as an instrument is His hand, to throw down; and we thereby have had some breathing time, we shall, we hope, look at it as a mercy beyond our expectation, and conceive ourselves further engaged for ever to bless God for it.

LI.

But if God with hold the magistrates allowance and furtherance herein; ¹ yet we must not withstanding proceed together in Christian communion, not daring to give place to suspend our practice, but to walk in obedience to Christ in the profession and holding forth this faith before mentioned, even in the midst of all trails and afflictions, not accounting out goods, lands, wives, husbands, children, fathers, mothers, brethren, sisters, yea, and our own lives dear unto us, so we may finish our course with joy: remembering always we ought to ² obey God rather then men, and grounding upon the commandment, commission, and promise of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, who as He has power in heaven and earth, so also has promised, if we keep His commandments which He has given us, to be with us to the end of the world: and when we have finished our course, and kept the faith, to give us the crown of righteousness, which is laid up for all that love His appearing, and to whom we must give an account of all our actions, no man being able to discharge us of the same.

LII.

And likewise unto all men is to be given whatsoever is their due; tributes, customs, and all such lawful duties, ought willingly to be by us paid and performed, our lands, goods, and bodies, to submit to the magistrate in the Lord, and the magistrate every way to be acknowledged, reverenced, and obeyed, according to godliness; not because of wrath only but for conscience sake. And finally, all men so to be esteemed and regarded, as is due and appropriate for their place, age, estate, and condition.

LII [sic].

And thus we desire to give God that which is God's, and unto Ceasor that which is Ceasor's, and unto all men that which belongs unto them, endeavoring ourselves to have always a clear conscience void of offense towards God, and towards man. And if they take this that we have said, to be heresy, then do we with the Apostle freely confess, that after the way which they call heresy, worship we the God of our Fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets and Apostles, desiring from our souls to disclaim all heresies and opinions which are not after Christ, and to be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, as knowing our labor shall not be in vain in the Lord.