Confessio Fidei Scoticana I (part 1 of 2)

The Scotch Confession of Faith. A.D. 1560.

[The English and Latin texts are an exact reprint from (Dunlop's) Collection of Confessions of Faith, Catechisms, Directories, Books of Discipline, etc., of Publick Authority in the Church of Scotland (Edinb. 1719, 1722, 2 vols.), Vol. II. pp. 13 sqq. The English original is given in the old spelling from a copy in Sir John Skene's edition of the Acts of Parliament, compared with many other editions. The Scripture passages are from Tyndale's and Coverdale's Version, then generally used among Protestants in England and Scotland. The Latin translation was made by Patrick Adamson, at the desire of the Kirk, and printed by Robert Lekprevik, Andreapoli, 1572. Another but less accurate Latin translation is found in the Syntagma Confessionum (1654), pp. 110 sqq., and in Niemeyer's Collectio, pp. 340 sqq. For a German translation, see Böckel's Bekenntniss-Schriften, pp. 646 sqq.]

THE CONFESSIO CONFESSION OF THE Faith and Doctrine FIDEI & DOCTRINÆ Belevit and professit be the Per Ecclesiam Reformatam Protestantis of Scotland, Regni SCOTIÆ professæ,

Exhibitit to the Estaitis of the same in Parliament, and be their publick Votis authorisit, as a Doctrine groundit upon the infallibil Worde of God, Aug. 1560. And afterwards stablished and publicklie confirmed be sundrie Acts of Parliaments, and of lawful General Assemblies.

Exihibitæ ordinibus Regni ejusdem in publicis Parliamenti, ut vocant, Comitiis, & eorum communi consensu approbatæ, uti certissimis fundamentis verbi Dei innixæ & consentaneæ, 1560; deinde in conventu ordinum, lege confirmatæ & stabilitæ, 1567. The Preface. Præfatio.

The Estaitis of Scotland with the Inhabitants of the same professand Christ Jesus his haly Evangel, to their natural Countrymen, and unto all uther realmes professand the same Lord Jesus with them, wish Grace, Mercie and Peace fra God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Spirit of richteous Judgement, for Salvatioun.

Ordines ac cives Regni Scotorum qui Christum profitentur, coeteris Scotis, regnis item et nationibus exteris eundem Christum Jesum profitentibus gratiam, misericordiam et pacem a Deo Patre Domini nostri Jesu Christi, una cum spiritu Justitiæ, ac recto Judicio.

Lang have we thristed, dear Brethren, to have notified to the Warld the Sum of that Doctrine quhilk we professe, and for the quhilk we have susteined Infamie and Danger: Bot sik hes bene the Rage of Sathan againis us, and againis Christ Jesus his eternal Veritie

Jampridem optabamus, Fratres charissimi, ut ejus quam profitemur, ac propter quam ignominiæ et periculis toties objecti fuimus doctrinæ ratio, si fieri posset, orbi terrarum clara existeret. Sed is fuit Sathanæ furor, non modo adversus nos sed adversus ipsum Jesum

latlie now againe born amangst us, that to this daie na Time hes been graunted unto us to cleir our Consciences, as maist gladlie we wald have done. For how we have been tossit heirtofoir, the maist part of Europe, as we suppose, dois understand. Christum, et æternam ejus nuper hie renatam veritatem, ut ad hunc usque diem non licuerit, id quod unice optabamus, nostram vobis, hisce de rebus dilucide explicare sententiam. Major enim, ut arbitramur, Europæ pars non ignorat quibus toto superiore anno fuerimus afflicti calamitatibus. But seing that of the infinit Gudnes of our God (quha never sufferis his afflickit utterlie to be confoundit) abone Expectation we have obteined sum Rest and Libertie, we culd not bot set furth this brefe and plaine Confessioun of sik Doctrine as is proponed unto us, and as we beleeve and professe; partlie for Satisfactioun of our Brethren quhaishartis, we nathing doubt, have been and zit ar woundit be the despichtful rayling of sik as zit have not learned to speke well: And partlie for stapping the mouthis of impudent blasphemers, quha bauldlie damne that quhilk they have nouther heard nor zit understude. Nunc autem cum immensa Dei bonitate (qui sæpe premi, nunquam penitus opprimi suos patitur), tranquillitatis, et libertatis non nihil illuxerit, non potuimus nobis temperare, quo minus hanc brevem, et dilucidam ederemus Confessionem ejus doctrinæ quæ nobis promulgata fuit, quamque nos et persuasam habemus et profitemur: partim ut medicaremur fratrum nostrorum animis, in quibus adhuc proculdubio inhærebant vestigia vulnerum, quæ ex eorum, qui nondum recte loqui didicerunt, scurrilibus acceperant convitiis: partim ut os obstrueremus quibusdam impudenter blasphemis, qui, quæ nec audierunt unquam, nec satis intellexerunt, ea confidenter damnare non erubescunt. Not that we judge that the cankred malice of sik is abill to be cured be this our simple confession; na, we knaw that the sweet savoure of the evangel is and sal be deathe unto the sonnes of perditioun. Bot we have chief respect to our weak and infirme brethren, to quham we wald communicate the bottom of our hartes, leist that they be troubiled or carried awaie be diversity of rumoris, quhilk Sathan spredis againist us to the defeating of this our maist godlie interprize: Protestand that gif onie man will note in this our confessioun onie Artickle or sentence repugnand to Gods halie word, that it wald pleis him of his gentleness and for Christian charities sake to admonish us of the same in writing; and we upon our honoures and fidelitie, be Gods grace do promise unto him satisfactioun fra the mouth of God, that is, fra his haly scriptures, or else reformation of that quhilk he sal prove to be amisse. For God we take to recorde in our consciences, that fra our heartis we abhorre Neque tamen id eo facimus, quod aliquando fore speremus, ut inveterata illa pestis hac nostra simplici et nuda confessione sanari possit; præsertim cum non ignoremus suavem evangelii odorem filiis perditionis letiferum futurum: sed quod fratrum infirmorum rationem habendam duceremus; cum quibus sententiam nostram, velut ex intimis animi penetralibus prolatam, communicandam esse putavimus; ne videlicet perturbarentur, aut etiam auferrentur variorum rumorum ventis, quos Sathan adversus nos excitarat, ut nostrum illud sanctum, ac pium eluderet consilium. Denunciamus igitur, omnesque adeo rogamus, si quis aut caput aliquod, aut etiam sententiam cum sancto Dei verbo pugnantem hic animadverterit, ut pro sua humanitate, proque eo amore, quo Christum, Christique gregem prosequitur, nos per literas admoneat: id qui fecerit, sancte ei repromittimus nos eidem aut ex ore Dei, hoc est, ex sacræ scripturæ oraculo satisfacturos; aut quod secus a nobis dictum

all sectis of heresie and all teachers of erronious doctrine: and that with all humilitie we imbrace the purity of Christs Gospell, quhilk is the onelie fude of our sauls, and therefoir sa precious unto us, that we ar determined to suffer the extremest of wardlie daunger, rather than that we will suffer our selves to be defraudit of the sam. For heirof we ar maist certainlie perswadit, that quhasumever denieis Christ Jesus, or is aschamit of him in the presence of men, sal be denyit befoir the Father, and befoir his haly Angels. And therefoir be the assistance of the michtie Spirit of the same our Lord Jesus Christ, we firmelie purpose to abide to the end in the confessioun of this our faith, as be Artickles followis. demonstraverit, emendaturos. Deum enim nostrorum consiliorum conscium attestamur, quod ab omni prava hæresi, atque adeo erroneæ assertionis authoribus animo abhorremus; quod cum summa humilitate evangelii Christi puritatem amplectimur, qui unicus est nostrorum animorum cibus, atque ideo eo usque carus, ut decreverimus omnia quæ possunt humanitus evenire potius experiri, quam ut nos eo cibo fraudari patiamur. Persuasissimum enim id habemus, quod quemcunque Christi puduerit, aut qui eum coram hominibus negaverit, hunc ille coram Patre, sanctisque ejus angelis negabit. Atque ideo ejusdem Domini nostri omnipotentis Jesu Christi præsenti ope freti, in animo habemus in hujus nostræ fidei, cujus capita sequuntur, confessione perseverare. Art. I. Art. I. OF GOD. DE DEO. We confesse and acknawledge ane onelie God, to whom only we must cleave, whom onelie we must serve, whom onelie we must worship, and in whom onelie we must put our trust.⁶²³ Who is Eternall, Infinit, Unmeasurable, Incomprehensible, Omnipotent, Invisible:⁶²⁴ ane in substance, and zit distinct in thre personnis, the Father, the Sone, and the holie Gost.⁶²⁵ Be whom we confesse and beleve all thingis in hevin and eirth, aswel Visible as Invisible, to have been created, to be reteined in their being, and to Confitemur atque agnoscimus unicum Deum, cui uni adhærere, uni servire, quem unum colere debeamus, in quo uno collocemus omnem spent salutis. Eundem etiam credimus æternum, infinitum, immensum, incomprehensibilem, omnipotentem, invisibilem; essentia quidem unum, in tres autem distinctum personas, Patrem, Filium, ac Spiritum sanctum. Per hunc Deum asseveramus atque etiam credimus quæcunque visibilia aut invisibilia cælo terraque continentur creata esse, constare, et inscrutabili

be ruled and guyded be his inscrutable Providence, to sik end, as his Eternall Wisdome, Gudnes, and Justice hes appoynted them, to the manifestatioun of his awin glorie.⁶²⁶ ejus providentia regi et gubernari: omniaque eo referri, quo ejus æternæ sapientiæ, bonitati et justitiæ visum est; nempe ad gloriæ majestatisque ipsius illustrationem. Art. II. Art. II. OF THE CREATIOUN OF MAN. DE CREATIONE HOMINIS. We confesse and acknawledge this our God to have created man, to wit, our first father Adam, to his awin image and similitude, to whome he gave wisdome, lordship, justice, free-wil, and cleir knawledge of himselfe, sa that in the haill nature of man there culd be noted no imperfectioun.⁶²⁷ Fra quhilk honour and perfectioun, man and woman did bothe fal: the woman being deceived be the Serpent, and man obeying the voyce of the woman, both conspyring against the Soveraigne Majestie of God, who in expressed words had before threatned deith, gif they presumed to eit of the forbidden tre.⁶²⁸ Credimus item et confitemur ab hoc nostro Deo, hominem, id est, humani generis primum parentem Adamum, ad imaginem et similitudinem ipsius fuisse creatum, Item ah eodem sapientia, imperio, justitia, libertate arbitrii, et perspicua ipsius cognitione donatum: adeo ut in universa hominis natura nil animadverti posset, quod non omni ex parte foret absolutum. Ab hac autem dignitate, et naturæ perfectione vir mulierque exciderunt; vir a muliere, mulier a serpente decepta: vir mulieris voci obtemperans, uterque conjuratione inita adversus Dei majestatem, qui aperte antea mortem iis comminatus fuerat, si de arbore ve tita gustassent. Art. III. Art. III. OF ORIGINAL SINNE. DE PECCATO ORIGINALI. Be quhilk transgressioun, commonlie called Original sinne, wes Hoc imperii contemptione, quod originale peccatum vulgo dici solet,

the Image of God utterlie defaced in man, and he and his posteritie of nature become enimies to God, slaves to Sathan, and servandis unto sin.⁶²⁹ In samekle that deith everlasting hes had, and sall have power and dominioun over all that have not been, ar not, or sal not be regenerate from above: quhilk regeneratioun is wrocht be the power of the holie Gost, working in the hartes of the elect of God, ane assured faith in the promise of God, reveiled to us in his word, be quhilk faith we apprehend Christ Jesus, with the graces and benefites promised in him.⁶³⁰ imago Dei in homine penitus obliterata fuit: eaque contemptio, ipsum hominem totamque ejus posteritatem ita Deo inimicam, Sathanæ mancipium, et peccato reddidit obnoxiam, ut sempiterna mors dominata fuerit, atque adeo in posterum dominatura sit in omnes, qui non fuerint, sunt, aut erunt divinitus regenerati. Hæc autem regeneratio est actio Spiritus sancti, qui in corda eorum quos Deus elegit, constantem inserit fidem de promissis, quæ Deus verbo suo nobis revelavit: qua fide Jesum Christum, omnemque gratiam et beneficentiam in Christo nobis promissam apprehendimus. Art. IV. Art. IV. OF THE REVELATIOUN OF THE PROMISE. DE REVELATIONE PROMISSORUM. For this we constantlie beleeve, that God, after the feirfull and horrible defectioun of man fra his obedience, did seek Adam againe, call upon him, rebuke his sinne, convict him of the same, and in the end made unto him ane most joyful promise, to wit, That the seed of the woman suld break down the serpents head, that is, he suld destroy the works of the Devill. Quhilk promise, as it was repeated, and made mair cleare from time to time; so was it imbraced with joy, Constanter enim credimus, quod post formidabilem illam atque horrendam hominis ab obedientia Dei defectionem, rursus Deus Adamum requisierit, vocaverit nominatim, accusaverit, convicerit: denique promissione illa gaudii plena eum sic consolans promisit, Futurum ut semen mulieris caput serpentis contereret, hoc est, universa diaboli opera destrueret ac everteret. Hæc promissio, ut aliis atque aliis temporibus sæpe repetita fuit, ac dilucidius explicata, ita cum summa

and maist constantlie received of al the faithfull, from Adam to Noe, from Noe to Abraham, from Abraham to David, and so furth to the incarnatioun of Christ Jesus, all (we meane the faithfull Fathers under the Law) did see the joyfull daie of Christ Jesus, and did rejoyce.⁶³¹ lætitia recepta, et constanter credita est ab omnibus fidelibus, ab Adamo ad Noam, a Noa ad Abrahamum, ab Abrahamo ad Davidem, ac reliquis deinceps patribus, qui vixerunt sub lege fideles usque ad incarnationem Christi. Hi inquam omnes jucundissimos Jesu Christi dies viderunt, et gavisi sunt. Art. V. Art. V. OF THE CONTINUANCE, INCREASE, AND PRESERVATIOUN OF THE KIRK. DE PERPETUA SUCCESSIONE, INCREMENTO ET CONSERVATIONE ECCLESIÆ. We maist constantly beleeve, that God preserved, instructed, multiplied, honoured, decored, and from death called to life, his Kirk in all ages fra Adam, till the cumming of Christ Jesus in the flesh.⁶³² For Abraham he called from his Fathers cuntry, him he instructed, his seede he multiplied;⁶³³ the same he marveilouslie preserved, and mair marveilouslie delivered from the bondage and tyrannie of Pharaoh;⁶³⁴ to them he gave his lawes, constitutions and ceremonies;⁶³⁵ them he possessed in the land of Canaan;⁶³⁶ to them after Judges,⁶³⁷ and after Saul,⁶³⁸ he gave David to be king,⁶³⁹ to whome hee made promise, that of the fruite of his loynes suld ane Illud quoque constanter persuasum habemus, quod Deus cunctis deinceps ætatibus, ab Adamo ad Jesu Christi adventum in carnem, ecclesiam suam conservaverit, erudierit, multiplicaverit, honore affecerit, decoraverit, et a morte ad vitam evocaverit. Evocavit enim Abrahamum e patria, ac majorum suorum sedibus: eum erudiit, semen ejus multiplicavit, multiplicatum mirabiliter conservavit; mirabilius etiam e servitute ac tyrannide Pharaonis exemit. His (posteros Abrahami intelligimus) leges suas, instituta, et ceremonias dedit. Hos ad possidendam terram Canaan introduxit. His judices, his Saulem, his Davidem regem dedit: cui

sit for ever upon his regall seat.⁶⁴⁰ To this same people from time to time he sent prophets, to reduce them to the right way of their God:⁶⁴¹ from the quhilk oftentimes they declined be idolatry.⁶⁴² And albeit that for their stubborne contempt of Justice, he was compelled to give them in the hands of their enimies,⁶⁴³ as befoir was threatned be the mouth of Moses,⁶⁴⁴ in sa meikle that the haly cittie was destroyed, the temple burnt with fire,⁶⁴⁵ and the haill land left desolate the space of lxx years:⁶⁴⁶ zit of mercy did he reduce them againe to Jerusalem, where the cittie and temple were reedified, and they against all temptations and assaultes of Sathan did abide, till the Messias come, according to the promise.⁶⁴⁷ promisit e fructu lumborum ejus futurum, qui perpetuo super regium ejus thronum sederet. Ad hanc ipsam gentem diversis subinde temporibus misit prophetas, qui eam in viam Dei sui reducerent: a qua sæpe ad idolorum cultus deflexerant. Et quanquam ob protervum justitiæ contemptum sæpe eos potestati inimicorum permiserat (quemadmodum antea per Mosen comminatus erat) adeo ut sancta civitas eversa fuerit, templum incensum, ac universa eorum regio per spatium septuaginta annorum in vastam redacta solitudinem: nihilominus misericordia adductus, eos Hierosolymam reduxit; ac civitate instaurata, templo restituto, juxta promissionem eis factam, adversus omnes artes atque oppugnationes Satanæ adventum ibi Messiæ expectaverunt. Art. VI. Art. VI. OF THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST JESUS. DE INCARNATIONE JESU CHRISTI. Quhen the fulnes of time came, God sent his Sonne, his eternall Wisdome, the substance of his awin glory in this warld, quha tuke the nature of man-head of the substance of woman, to wit, of a virgine, and that be operatioun of the holie Ghost: and so was borne the just Cum plenitudo temporis venisset, Deus Filium suum, æternam suam sapientiam, et gloriæ suæ substantiam misit in hunc mundum. Isque Filius, co-operante Spiritu Sancto, humanam assumpsit naturam ex feminæ, ejusdemque virginis, substantia. Atque ita editum

seede of David, the Angell of the great counsell of God, the very Messias promised, whome we confesse and acknawledge Emmanuel, very God and very man, two perfit natures united, and joyned in one persoun.⁶⁴⁸ Be quhilk our Confessioun we condemne the damnable and pestilent heresies of Arius, Marcion, Eutyches, Nestorius, and sik uthers, as either did denie the eternitie of his God-head, or the veritie of his humaine nature, or confounded them, or zit devided them. est justum illud semen Davidis, Angelus ille magni consilii. Idem verus fuit Christus in lege promissus; quem nos agnoscimus et confitemur Emmanuel, verum Deum, verum hominem, unamque, quæ ex duabus perfectis naturis constet, personam. Hoc itaque nostra confessione damnamus perniciosam et pestilentem Arii, Marchionis, Eutychis, Nestorii, et aliorum id genus hominum, hæresim, qui aut æternitatem divinitatis ejus negant, aut humanæ naturæ veritatem; aut utramque in eo naturam confundunt, aut separant. Art. VII. Art. VII. WHY IT BEHOOVED THE MEDIATOR TO BE VERY GOD AND VERY MAN. CUR OPORTEAT MEDIATOREM ET PACIFICATOREM VERUM ESSE DEUM ET VERUM HOMINEM. We acknawledge and confesse, that this maist wonderous conjunction betwixt the God-head and the man-head in Christ Jesus, did proceed from the eternall and immutable decree of God, from quhilk al our salvatioun springs and depends.⁶⁴⁹ Agnoscimus item et fatemur, hanc maxime admirabilem divinitatis cum humanitate conjunctionem, ab æterno et immutabili Dei decreto profectam: unde omnis nostra solus emanat ac pendet. Art. VIII. Art. VIII. OF ELECTION. DE ELECTIONE. For that same eternall God and Father, who of meere grace elected Idem enim sempiternus Deus, ac Pater, qui ex mera sua gratia

us in Christ Jesus his Sonne, befoir the foundatioun of the warld was laide,⁶⁵⁰ appointed him to be our Head,⁶⁵¹ our Brother,⁶⁵² our Pastor, and great Bischop of our sauls.⁶⁵³ Bot because that the enimitie betwixt the justice of God and our sins was sik, that na flesh be it selfe culd or might have attained unto God:⁶⁵⁴ It behooved that the Sonne of God suld descend unto us, and tak himselfe a bodie of our bodie, flesh of our flesh, and bone of our bones, and so become the Mediator betwixt God and man,⁶⁵⁵ giving power to so many as beleeve in him, to be the sonnes of God;⁶⁵⁶ as himselfe dois witnesse, I passe up to my Father, and unto zour Father, to my God, and unto zour God.⁶⁵⁷ Be quhilk maist holie fraternitie, quhatsaever wee have tynt in Adam, is restored unto us agayne.⁶⁵⁸ And for this cause, ar we not affrayed to cal God our Father,⁶⁵⁹ not sa meikle because he hes created us, quhilk we have common with the reprobate;⁶⁶⁰ as for that, that he hes given to us his onely Sonue, to be our brother,⁶⁶¹ and given unto us grac e, to acknawledge and imbrace him for our onlie nos in Christo Jesu Filio suo elegit, antequam mundi jacta essent fundamenta, eum nobis caput, fratrem, pastorem, ac magnum animorum nostrorum pontificem designavit. Sed quia tam aversa, atque inimica peccatis nostris erat Dei justitia, ut nulla per se caro ad Deum pervenire posset, Deum Filium oportuit ad nos descendere, et corpus e nostro corpore, carnem e carne, os ex ossibus assumere, atque ita idoneum mediatorem et pacificatorem inter Deum et hominem fieri; qui potestatem daret iis qui in eum crederent, ut filii Dei fierent, quemadmodum ipse testificatur, Vado ad Patrem meum, et Patrem vestrum, Deum meum, et Deum vestrum: ac per hanc sanctissimam fraternitatem, quicquid in Adamo amiseramus, iterum nobis est restitutum; ideoque Deum patrem nostrum appellare non dubitamus, non tam quod ab eo creati sumus id enim nobis cum reprobis est commune, quam quod indulserit, ut unicus ejus Filius frater nobis fieret; idque nobis gratificatus est, ut hunc unum interpretem et pacificatorem, ut est

Mediatour, as before is said. It behooved farther the Messias and Redemer to be very God and very man, because he was to underlie the punischment due for our transgressiouns, and to present himselfe in the presence of his Fathers Judgment, as in our persone, to suffer for our transgression and inobedience,⁶⁶² be death to overcome him that was author of death. Bot because the onelie God-head culd not suffer death,⁶⁶³ neither zit culd the onlie man-head overcome the samin, he joyned both togither in one persone, that the imbecillitie of the ane, suld suffer and be subject to death, quhilk we had deserved: And the infinit and invincible power of the uther, to wit, of the God-head, suld triumph and purchesse to us life, libertie, and perpetuall victory:⁶⁶⁴ And so we confesse, and maist undoubtedly beleeve. superius memoratum, agnosceremus et amplecteremur. Præterea necesse erat, ut qui verus Messias et redemptor esset futurus, idem verus homo et verus esset Deus: quippe qui poenas esset pensurus, quas nostro delicto commeriti eramus; et ante tribunal patris sese repræsentaturus esset, ut in poena luenda pro nostro delicto et inobedientia, nostram sustineret personam, ac morte sua mortis autorem superaret. Et quia nec sola divinitas pati, nec sola humanitas vincere mortem poterat, utramque in unam coaptavit personam: ut alterius infirmitas morti, quam commerueramus esset obnoxia; alterius, id est divinitatis, invicta et immensa vis, de morte triumpharet, nobisque vitam, libertatem, ac perpetuam pareret victoriam. Atque sic confitemur, maximeque indubitanter credimus. Art. IX. Art. IX. OF CHRIST'S DEATH, PASSION, AND BURIAL. DE MORTE PASSIONE, ET SEPULTURA CHRISTI. That our Lord Jesus offered himselfe a voluntary Sacrifice unto his Father for us,⁶⁶⁵ that he suffered contradiction of sinners, that he was wounded and plagued for our transgressiouns,⁶⁶⁶ that hee being the Item asseveramus, et pro certo persuasum habemus quod Dominus noster Jesus Christus Patri sese victimam ultro pro nobis obtulerit: quod a peccatoribus contumeliis sit vexatus, quod pro nostris

cleane innocent Lambe of God,⁶⁶⁷ was damned in the presence of an earthlie Judge,⁶⁶⁸ that we suld be absolved befoir the tribunal seat of our God.⁶⁶⁹ That hee suffered not onlie the cruell death of the Crosse, quhilk was accursed be the sentence of God;⁶⁷⁰ bot also that he suffered for a season the wrath of his Father,⁶⁷¹ quhilk sinners had deserved. Bot zit we avow that he remained the only welbeloved and blessed Sonne of his Father, even in the middest of his anguish and torment, quhilk hee suffered in bodie and saule, to mak the full satisfaction for the sinnes of the people.⁶⁷² After the quhilk we confesse and avow, that there remaines na uther Sacrifice for sinne,⁶⁷³ quhilk gif ony affirme, we nathing dout to avow, that they ar blasphemous against Christs death, and the everlasting purgatioun and satisfactioun purchased to us be the same. peccatis vulnera passus, quod cum purus et innocens Dei agnus esset, ad tribunal terreni judicis fuerit damnatus, ut nos ante tribunal Dei nostri absolveremur: quod non modo mortem incruce atrocem, et Dei ore execratam subierit; sed, quam peccatores meruerunt, iram patris ad tempus tulerit. Nihilo tamen minus asseveramus, quod in medio etiam dolore et cruciatu, quos animo pariter et corpore pertulit (ut peccata hominum plene lueret), semper unice charus et benedictus patri filius esse perseveravit, Deinde fatemur atque etiam affirmamus, nullum post illud pro peccato restare sacrificium. Si qui autem contra affirment, nihil dubitamus eos blasphemos adversus Christi mortem, et æternam ejus purgationem, ac satisfactionem, per quam sua morte patrem nobis placavit, asserere. Art. X. Art. X. OF THE RESURRECTION. DE RESURRECTIONE. We undoubtedly beleeve, that in sa mekle as it wes impossible, that the dolours of death sulde reteine in bondage the Author of life,⁶⁷⁴ that our Lord Jesus crucified, dead and Pro certo etiam credimus, quod quatenus fieri non poterat, ut mortis dolores perpetuam haberent potestatem adversus autorem vitæ, Dominus Jesus, qui cruci affixus,

buryed, quha descended into hell, did ryse agayne for our Justificatioun,⁶⁷⁵ and destroying of him quha wes the Author of death, brocht life againe to us, that wer subject to death, and to the bondage of the same.⁶⁷⁶ We knaw that his Resurrectioun wes confirmed be the testimonie of his verie Enemies,⁶⁷⁷ be the resurrectioun of the dead, quhais Sepultures did oppen, and they did ryse, and appeared to mony, within the Cittie of Jerusalem.⁶⁷⁸ It wes also confirmed be the testimonie of his Angels,⁶⁷⁹ and be the senses and judgements of his Apostles, and of uthers, quha had conversatioun, and did eate and dnnk with him, after his Resurrection.⁶⁸⁰ mortuus et sepultus fuerat, quique ad inferos descenderat, iterum surrexit, ut nos justificaret: et autore mortis (cui æque ac morti eramus obnoxii) devicto, vitam nobis restituit. Scimus etiam resurrectionem ejus fuisse confirmatam acerbissimorum ipsius inimicorum testimoniis; item resurrectione mortuorum, qui apertis sepulchris revixerunt, ac in urbe Hierosolyma compluribus se videndos exhiberunt: Confirmata est etiam testimoniis angelorum, item apostolorum, qui eum viderunt et contrectarunt; aliorum item complurium, qui post resurrectionem, consuetudine ejus usi familiariter, cum eo ederunt et biberunt. Art. XI. Art. XI. OF THE ASCENSION. DE ASCENSIONE. We nathing doubt, bot the self same bodie, quhilk was borne of the Virgine, was crucified, dead, and buried, and quhilk did rise againe, did ascend into the heavens, for the accomplishment of all thinges:⁶⁸¹ Quhere in our names, and for our comfort, he hes received all power in heaven and eirth,⁶⁸² quhere he sittes at the richt hand of the Father, inaugurate in his kingdome, Neque dubitamus quin idem corpus, quod ex virgine natum, cruci affixum, mortuum, et resuscitatum fuerat, in coelum ascendent, ut omnia impleret nostro nomine, et ad nostri consolationem accepit omnium potestatem in coelo et in terra; et regno suscepto sedet ad dextram patris, patronus et unicus intercessor pro nobis. Atque hanc gloriam, honorem et prærogativam

Advocate and onlie Mediator for us.⁶⁸³ Quhilk glorie, honour, and prerogative, he alone amonges the brethren sal posses, till that all his Enimies be made his futestule,⁶⁸⁴ as that we undoubtedlie beleeve they sall be in the finall Judgment: To the Execution whereof we certainelie beleve, that the same our Lord Jesus sall visiblie returne, as that hee was sene to ascend.⁶⁸⁵ And then we firmely beleve, that the time of refreshing and restitutioun of all things sall cum,⁶⁸⁶ in samekle that thir, that fra the beginning have suffered violence, injurie, and wrang, for richteousnes sake, sal inherit that blessed immortalitie promised fra the beginning.⁶⁸⁷ ille unus e fratribus tenebit, donec ponat inimicos suos scabellum pedum suorum. Ibique credimus usque ad ultimum judicium, futurum; ad quod exercendum, credimus constanter eundem Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum visibilem, et qualis erat cum ascenderat, venturum: ac tum omnia instauratum et redintegratum iri, usque adeo, ut qui tolerarant [passi sunt] vim, contumelias, injurias, justitiæ ergo [propter justitiam], beatæ illius quæ ab initio promissa est immortalitatis fient heredes. Bot contrariwise the stubburne, inobedient, cruell oppressours, filthie personis, idolaters, and all such sortes of unfaithfull, sal be cast in the dungeoun of utter darkenesse, where their worme sall not die, nether zit their fyre sall bee extinguished.⁶⁸⁸ The remembrance of quhilk day, and of the Judgement to be executed in the same, is not onelie to us ane brydle, whereby our carnal lustes are refrained, bot alswa sik inestimable comfort, that nether may the threatning of worldly Contra protervi, inobedientes, crudeles, violenti, impuri, idololatræ, ac cætera impiorum genera conjicientur in carcerem tenebrarum exteriorum, ubi nec vermis eorum morietur, nec ignis extinguetur: cujus judicii exercendi dies, ejusque memoria non solum nobis pro fræno est ad voluptates carnis coercendas, sed inestimabilis etiam animi confirmatio, quæ nos ita corroboret, ut neque minis principum terrenorum, neque mortis hujus momentaneæ admoto metu, nec

Princes, nether zit the feare of temporal death and present danger, move us to renounce and forsake that blessed societie, quhilk we the members have with our Head and onelie Mediator Christ Jesus:⁶⁸⁹ Whom we confesse and avow to be the Messias promised, the onlie Head of his Kirk, our just Lawgiver, our onlie hie Priest, Advocate, and Mediator.⁶⁹⁰ In quhilk honoures and offices, gif man or Angell presume to intruse themself, we utterlie detest and abhorre them, as blasphemous to our Soveraigne and supreme Governour Christ Jesus. præsentia ulla periculi commoveamur, ut beatam illam dirimamus societatem quæ nobis, utpote membris, conflata est cum capite nostro, et unico intercessore Jesu Christo. Quem nos profitemur et asseveramus esse Messiam in lege promissum, unicum ecclesiæ suæ caput, justum nostrum legislatorem, unicum nobis summum pontificem, patronum, et pacificatorem. Ejus hos honores, atque hæc munera si quis hominum aut angelorum arroganter et superbe sibi attribuat, eum nos aspernamur, et detestamur velut blasphemum adversus supremum nostrum rectorem Jesum Christum. Art. XII. Art. XII. OF FAITH IN THE HOLY GOSTE. DE FIDE IN SPIRITUM SANCTUM. This our Faith and the assurance of the same, proceeds not fra flesh and blude, that is to say, fra na natural poweris within us, bot is the inspiration of the holy Gost:⁶⁹¹ Whome we confesse God equall with the Father and with his Sonne,⁶⁹² quha sanctifyis us, and bringis us in al veritie be his awin operation, without whome we sulde remaine for ever enimies to God, and ignorant of his Sonne Christ Jesus; for Hæc nostra fides, ejusque certitudo, non a carne et sanguine proficiscitur, hoc est, a nulla quæ in nobis est vi et potentia naturali, sed ab inspiratione et instinctu Sancti Spiritus, quem nos item Deum confitemur æqualem Patri et Filio: qui nos sanctificat, qui omnem in nobis veritatem operatur, sine quo perpetuo maneremus inimici Deo, et Jesum Christum Filium ejus ignoraremus. Natura

of nature we are so dead, so blind, and so perverse, that nether can we feill when we ar pricked, see the licht when it shines, nor assent to the will of God when it is reveiled, unles the Spirit of the Lord Jesus quicken that quhilk is dead, remove the darknesse from our myndes, and bowe our stubburne hearts to the obedience of his blessed will.⁶⁹³ And so as we confesse, that God the Father created us, when we were not,⁶⁹⁴ as his Sonne our Lord Jesus redeemed us, when wee were enimies to him;⁶⁹⁵ so also do we confesse that the holy Gost doth sanctifie and regenerat us, without all respect of ony merite proceeding from us, be it before, or be it after our Regeneration⁶⁹⁶ To speak this ane thing zit in mair plaine words: As we willingly spoyle our selves of all honour and gloir of our awin Creation and Redemption,⁶⁹⁷ so do we also of our Regeneration and Sanctification, for of our selves we ar not sufficient to think one gude thocht, bot he quha hes begun the wark in us, is onlie he that continewis us in the same,⁶⁹⁸ to the praise and glorie of his undeserved grace.⁶⁹⁹ enim ita sumus mortui, obcæcati, depravati, ut neque stimulis confessi quicquam sentiamus, neque lumen oblatum videamus, neque cum voluntas Dei revelata est nobis, ei assentiamur; nisi Dei Spiritus, et mortuos ad vitam revocet, et a mentis nostræ oculis tenebras discutiat, et contumaces flectat animos, ut sanctæ ipsius voluntati pareamus. Et quemadmodum confitemur a Deo patre nos creatos, cum antea nihil essemus, ab Jesu Christo redemptos, cum inimici essemus; similiter fatemur nos a Spiritu Sancto renatos, et sanctificatos esse, nulla ratione habita meritorum nostrorum, sive quæ regenerationem præcesserint, sive quæ sequantur. Atque ut hanc rem paulo explicatius dicamus, quemadmodum non inviti nosmetipsos omni creationis et redemptionis nostræ gloria spoliamus; ita regenerationis et sanctificationis nostræ ne minimam quidem partem nobis nostrisque meritis arrogamus: nam naturæ nostræ sponte, ne ad cogitandum quidem quicquam boni sumus idonci; sed is qui bene operari in nobis coepit, idem solus etiam opus continuat ad gloriam et laudem nominis sui; quippe qui sua munera nobis gratis impartitur, non meritis vendit.

Art. XIII. Art. XIII. OF THE CAUSE OF GUDE WARKIS. DE CAUSA BONORUM OPERUM. Sa that the cause of gude warkis, we confesse to be not our free wil, bot the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, who dwelling in our hearts be trewe faith, bringis furth sik warkis, as God hes prepared for us to walke in. For this wee maist boldelie affirme, that blasphemy it is to say, that Christ abydes in the heartes of sik, as in whome there is no spirite of sanctification.⁷⁰⁰ And therefore we feir not to affirme, that murtherers, oppressers, cruell persecuters, adulterers, huremongers, filthy persouns, Idolaters, drunkards, thieves, and al workers of iniquity, have nether trew faith, nether ony portion of the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, so long as obstinatlie they continew in their wickednes. For how soone that ever the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, quhilk Gods elect children receive be trew faith, taks possession in the heart of ony man, so soone dois he regenerate and renew the same man. So that he beginnis to hait that quhilk before he loved, and begins to love that quhilk befoir he hated; and fra thine cummis that continuall battell, quhilk is betwixt the flesh and the Spirit in Gods children, till the flesh and Itaque bonorum in nobis operum causam esse asserimus, non arbitrii nostri libertatem, sed Spiritum Domini nostri Jesu Christi, qui in cordibus nostris per veram habitat fidem, eaque dedit opera bona, quæ a Deo præparata sunt, ut in eis ambularemus. Quamobrem blasphemum esse dictu constanter asseveramus, in cordibus eorum in quibus Spiritus sanctificationis non est, Christum inhabitare. Idcirco etiam non veremur affirmare in homicidis, in violentis, in his qui veritatem per vim opprimere contendunt, in adulteris, in fornicatoribus, aut alioqui impuris, in idololatris, in ebriosis, in latronibus, alterive cuivis flagitio aut sceleri deditis, neque veram inesse fidem, neque ullam Spiritus Domini Jesu scintillam, quamdiu in sua nequitia obstinate perseverant. Quia cum primum Spiritus Domini nostri Jesu Christi (quem electi Dei filii per fidem accipiunt) hominis cujuspiam cor possidet, eum continuo hominem regenerat, ac renovat, adeo ut quæ antea oderat, amare incipiat, quæ antea amaverat, odisse. Hinc autem in filiis Dei perpetuum illud bellum Spiritus adversus carnem proficiscitur; dum

natural man, according to the awin corruption, lustes for things pleisand and delectable unto the self, and grudges in adversity, is lyfted up in prosperity, and at every moment is prone and reddie to offend the majestie of God.⁷⁰¹ Bot the spirite of God, quhilk gives witnessing to our spirite, that we are the sonnes of God,⁷⁰² makis us to resist filthie plesures, and to groane in Gods presence, for deliverance fra this bondage of corruption;⁷⁰³ and finally to triumph over sin, that it reygne not in our mortal bodyis.⁷⁰⁴ This battell hes not the carnal men, being destitute of Gods Spirite, bot dois followe and obey sinne with greedines, and without repentance, even as the Devill, and their corrupt lustes do prick them.⁷⁰⁵ Bot the sonnes of God, as before wes said, dois fecht against sinne; dois sob and murne, when they perceive themselves tempted in iniquitie; and gif they fal, they rise againe with earnest and unfained repentance:⁷⁰⁶ And thir thingis they do not be their awin power, bot be the power of the Lord Jesus, without whom they were able to do nothing.⁷⁰⁷ caro ac homo animalis suæ corruptioni consentiens, suæ naturæ consentaneas appetit voluptates, rebus adversis contrahitur, secundis attollitur, ac singulis momentis pronus ad offensionem divinæ majestatis inclinat. At quod inhonestis voluptatibus obsistimus, quod ante Deum ingemiscentes ab hac servitute corruptionis liberari flagitemus, denique quod ita de peccato triumphemus, ut in hoc mortali corpore regnum non obtineat, id a Spiritu Dei est, qui spiritui nostro testificatur quod filii Dei sumus. Homines autem carni obnoxii, qui Spiritu Dei carent, hoc etiam bello carent; vitiositati suæ obsequuntur; et quo Satan, et prava libido impellit, eo avide sine ulla poenitentia ruunt. Filii vero Dei, ut ante dictum est, adversus peccatum pugnant, suspirant, et ingemiscunt, quoties vitiorum illecebris sese titillari ac sollicitari sentiunt: et si quando cadunt, per veram et minime dissimulatam poenitentiam resurgunt; ac ne id quidem faciunt suis viribus, sed Christi Jesu Domini nostri, sine quo nihil omnino possent.

Art. XIV. Art.XIV. WHAT WARKIS ARE REPUTIT GUDE BEFOIR GOD. QUÆ OPERA APUD DEUM HABENTUR BONA. We confesse and acknawledge, that God hes given to man his holy Law, in quhilk not only ar forbidden all sik warkes as displeis and offend his godly Majestie, but alswa ar commanded al sik as pleis him, and as he hes promised to rewaird.⁷⁰⁸ And thir warkes be of twa sortes. The ane are done to the honour of God, the uther to the profite of our Nichtbouris; and both have the reveiled will of God for their assurance. To have ane God, to worschip and honour him, to call upon him in all our troubles, reverence his holy name, to heare his word, to beleve the same, to communicate with his holy Sacraments,⁷⁰⁹ are the warkes of the first Tabill. To honour Father, Mother, Princes, Rulers, and superiour powers; to love them, to support them, zea to obey their charges (not repugning to the commaundment of God), to save the lives of innocents, to represse tyrannie, to defend the oppressed, to keepe our bodies cleane and halie, to live in sobernes and temperance, to deall justlie with all men both in word and deed; and finally, to represse all appetite of our Nichtbouris hurt,⁷¹⁰ Fatemur item et pro certo tenemus, quod sanctissimas Deus leges homini dederit, quæ non modo vetent opera omnia quæ divinam ejus offendunt majestatem; sed ea jubeant quibus gaudet, quæque se remuneraturum pollicetur. Eorum autem operum duo sunt genera; altera ad Dei referuntur honorem, altera ad proximi utilitatem: utraque fidem et authoritatem assumunt ex voluntate Dei nobis revelata. Deum venerari, honore prosequi, eum in omni labore et molestia invocare, sanctum nomen ejus revereri, verbum audire, audito parere, communione sacramentorum ejus uti; hæc sunt quæ priore tabula præcipiuntur opera. At patrem, matrem, reges, magistratus, omnesque qui jus et potestatem in nos habent, honore afficere; eos amare, iis opitulari, dictis, factis audientes esse, quoties cum Dei præceptis non pugnant; vitæ bonorum adesse, tyrannidem opprimere, ab infirmioribus vim improborum defendere, corpus nostrum sanctum ac purum servare, sobrieque et temperanter vivere, in omnibus dictis factisque jure æquabili cum omnibus uti, et omnem proximi

are the gude warkes of the secund Tabill, quhilk are maist pleising and acceptabill unto God, as thir warkes that are commanded be himselfe. The contrary quhairof is sinne maist odious, quhilk alwayes displeisis him, and provokes him to anger: As not to call upon him alone, when we have need; not to hear his word with reverence, to contemne and despise it; to have or worschip idols, to maintene and defend Idolatrie; lichtlie to esteeme the reverend name of God; to prophane, abuse, or contemne the Sacraments of Christ Jesus; to disobey or resist ony that God hes placed in authoritie (quhil they passe not over the bounds of their office);⁷¹¹ to murther, or to consent thereto, to beare hatred, or to let innocent blude bee sched, gif wee may withstand it.⁷¹² And finally, the transgression of ony uther commandement in the first or secund Tabill, we confesse and affirme to be sinne,⁷¹³ by the quhilk Gods anger and displesure is kindled against the proud unthankfull warld. So that gude warkes we affirme to be thir onlie, that are done in faith,⁷¹⁴ and at Gods commandment,⁷¹⁵ quha in his Lawe hes expressed what the offendendi libidinem cohibere: hæc sunt opera posterioris tabula, Deo imprimis grata ac accepta, utpote ab ipso imperata. Horum autem contraria in vitiorum genere sunt, Deo invisa, ingrata, eamque ad iram incitantia; quale est, non eum solum invocare cum res postulat; nolle verbum ejus reverenter audire, aut etiam aspernari ac parvi pendere; idola aut venerari aut apud se habere; cultum idolorum fovere ac tueri; nomen Dei venerabile parvi facere; prophanare, abuti, aut contemnere sacramenta a Domino instituta; non parere, ac etiam resistere iis quibus authoritas data est divinitus, præsertim quamdiu intra juris et muneris sui terminos sese continent; cædem facere, aut quo fiat coire et consentire; odium conceptum continere; pati ut innoxius fundatur sanguis cum impedire possis: ac breviter, quicquid adversus præcepta prioris aut posterioris tabulæ committitur, id peccatum esse asseveramus, ac tale peccatum quod iram, odiumque Dei adversus hominum ingratitudinem accendat. Itaque juxta nostram sententiam, ea opera bona sunt, quæ ex fide proficiscuntur, ac fiunt juxta præcepta

thingis be that pleis him. And evill warkis we affirme not only thir that expressedly ar done against Gods commaundement:⁷¹⁶ bot thir alswa that in matteris of Religioun, and worschipping of God, hes na uther asaurance bot the inventioun and opinioun of man: quhilk God fra the beginning hes ever rejected, as be the Prophet Esay,⁷¹⁷ and be our Maister Christ Jesus we ar taught in thir words, In vaine do they worschip me, teaching the doctrines the precepts of men.⁷¹⁸ Dei, qui, lege lata, quid fieri vellet diserte cavit. Contra, ea opera dicimus mala, non modo quæ aperte cum verbo Dei pugnant; sed ea etiam quæ in rebus quæ ad pietatem ac Dei cultum spectant, nullum aliud habent firmamentum, nisi ab hominis opinione et commento; hujus enim generis opera Deus ab initio usque semper rejecit et adversatus est, uti ex Esaia propheta, et his Christi verbis edocti sumus, Frustra me colunt, docentes doctrinas et præcepta hominum. Art. XV. Art. XV. OF THE PERFECTIOUN OF THE LAW, AND THE IMPERFECTIOUN OF MAN. LEGEM ESSE NUMERIS OMNIBUS PERFECTAM, HOMINES AUTEM IMPERFECTOS. The Law of God we confesse and acknawledge maist just, maist equall, maist halie, and maist perfite, commaunding thir thingis, quhilk being wrocht in perfectioun, were abill to give life, and abill to bring man to eternall felicitie.⁷¹⁹ Bot our nature is sa corrupt, sa weake, and sa unperfite, that we ar never abill to fulfill the warkes of the Law in perfectioun.⁷²⁰ Zea, gif we say we have na sinne, evin after we ar regenerate, we deceive our selves, and the veritie of God is not in us.⁷²¹ Legem Dei maxime justam, æquabilem, et perfectam agnoscimus et fatemur, ea jubentem quæ, si perfecte pleneque præstarentur, vitam dare possent, et ad æternam nos perducere fælicitatem. Sed nostra natura adeo est corrupta et infirma, ut nunquam ad opera legis perfecte præstanda simus idonei; nam si peccatum nos habere etiam post regenerationem negemus, nosmetipsos decipimus, et veritas Dei non est in nobis. Propterea necesse erat, ut Christum, qui legis

And therfore, it behovis us to apprehend Christ Jesus with his justice and satisfaction, quha is the end and accomplishment of the Law, be quhome we ar set at this liberty, that the curse and malediction of God fall not upon us, albeit we fulfill not the same in al pointes.⁷²² For God the Father beholding us, in the body of his Sonne Christ Jesus, acceptis our imperfite obedience, as it were perfite,⁷²³ and covers our warks, quhilk ar defyled with mony spots,⁷²⁴ with the justice of his Sonne. We do not meane that we ar so set at liberty, that we awe na obedience to the Law (for that before wee have plainly confessed), bot this we affirme, that na man in eird (Christ Jesus onlie except) hes given, gives, or sall give in worke, that obedience to the Law, quhilk the Law requiris. Bot when we have done all things, we must falle down and unfeinedly confesse, that we are unprofitable servands.⁷²⁵ And therefore, quhosoever boastis themselves of the merits of their awin works, or put their trust in the works of Supererogation, boast themselves in that quhilk is nocht, and pnt their trust in damnable Idolatry. est finis et consummatio, cum sua justitia et satisfactione apprehenderemus; qui in libertatem nos asseruit, ne in execrationem ac maledictionem Dei incideremus, etiamsi opera in lege jussa non omni ex parte plene perfecteque faceremus: Deus enim Pater, in corpore Filii sui Jesu Christi nos intuens, imperfectam nostram obedientiam boni consulit, et pro perfecta habet; operibusque nostris, quæ multis maculis polluta sunt, Filii sui justitiam prætendit. Neque tamen ita nos emancipatos dicimus, ut nullam legi obedientiam debeamus, obedientiam enim deberi supra aperte sumus confessi: illud autem affirmamus, neminem unquam præter unum Christum ita legi paruisse, parere, aut pariturum esse, quemadmodum lex exigit: sed cum omnia fecerimus, procumbamus oportet, ac fateamur ingenue servos nos inutiles esse. Quapropter quicunque operum suorum merita ostentat, aut in operibus supererogationis ullam collocat fiduciam, is se sciat id jactari quod omnino nihil est, et spem salutis in idololatria exitiabili collocare.

Art. XVI. Art. XVI. OF THE KIRK. DE ECCLESIA. As we beleve in ane God, Father, Sonne, and haly Ghaist; sa do we maist constantly beleeve, that from the beginning there hes bene, and now is, and to the end of the warld sall be, ane Kirk, that is to say, ane company and multitude of men chosen of God, who richtly worship and imbrace him be trew faith in Christ Jesus,⁷²⁶ quha is the only head of the same Kirk, quhiik alswa is the bodie and spouse of Christ Jesus, quhilk Kirk is catholike, that is, universal, because it conteinis the Elect of all ages, of all realmes, nations, and tongues, be they of the Jewes, or be they of the Gentiles, quha have communion and societie with God the Father, and with his Son Christ Jesus, throw the sanctificatioun of his haly Spirit:⁷²⁷ and therefore it is called the communioun, not of prophane persounes, bot of Saincts, quha as citizenis of the heavenly Jerusalem,⁷²⁸ have the fruitioun of the maist inestimable benefites, to wit, of ane God, ane Lord Jesus, ane faith, and ane baptisme:⁷²⁹ Out of the quhilk Kirk, there is nouther lyfe, nor eternall felicitie. And therefore we utterly Quemadmodum credimus in unum Deum, Patrem, Filium, et Spiritum Sanctum; ita firmissime tenemus, quod ab usque rerum initio fuerit, nunc extet, ac futura sit usque ad mundi finem una ecclesia, id est, unus coetus et multitudo hominum a Deo electorum, qui recte ac pie Deum venerantur et amplectuntur per veram fidem in Jesum Christum, qui solus est caput ejus ecclesiæ, quæ et ipsa corpus est et sponsa Christi. Eademque est catholica, hoc est, universalis; quia omnium ætatum, nationum, gentium et linguarum electos continet, sive illi Judæi sint, seu gentes; iisque communio est et societas cum Deo Patre, cumque ejus Filio Jesu Christo per sanctificationem Sancti Spiritus: atque ideo non hominum prophanorum vocatur communio, sed sanctorum, qui etiam Hierosolymæ coelestis sunt cives, fruunturque bonis maxime inæstimabilibus, nempe uno Deo, uno Domino nostro Jesu, una fide, et uno baptismo. Extra hanc ecclesiam nulla est vita, nulla æterna fælicitas; idcirco plane ex diametro abhorremus ab eorum blasphemiis, qui asserunt, cujusvis

abhorre the blasphemie of them that affirme, that men quhilk live according to equitie and justice, sal be saved, quhat Religioun that ever they have professed. For as without Christ Jesus there is nouther life nor salvation;⁷³⁰ so sal there nane be participant therof, bot sik as the Father hes given unto his Sonne Christ Jesus, and they that in time cum unto him, avowe his doctrine, and beleeve into him,⁷³¹ we comprehend the children with the faithfull parentes.⁷³² This Kirk is invisible, knawen onelie to God, quha alane knawis whome he hes chosen;⁷³³ and comprehends as weill (as said is) the Elect that be departed, commonlie called the Kirk Triumphant, and they that zit live and fecht against sinne and Sathan as sall live hereafter.⁷³⁴ sectæ, aut religionis professores fore salvos, modo vitæ suæ actiones ad justitiæ et æquitatis normam conformaverint: nam uti absque Jesu Christo nulla est vita, nulla salus; ita salutis ejus nemo erit particeps, nisi quem Pater dederit Filio suo Jesu Christo, quique ad eum dum tempus habet, adveniet, ejus doctrinam profitebitur, et in eum credet; cum adultis autem parentibus, pueros etiam comprehendi intelligo. Hæc ecclesia invisibilis est, uni Deo cognita, qui solus novit quos elegerit. Hæc æque continet electos, qui jam decesserunt, quos vulgo ecclesiam triumphantem appellant, ac eos qui nunc vivunt, et adversus peccatum et Satanam præliantur eosque qui post nos futuri sunt. Art. XVII. Art. XVII. OF THE IMMORTALITIE OF THE SAULES. DE IMMORTALITATE ANIMARUM. The Elect departed are in peace and rest fra their labours:⁷³⁵ Not that they sleep, and come to a certaine oblivion, as some Phantastickes do affirtne; bot that they are delivered fra all feare and torment, and all temptatioun, to quhilk we and all Goddis Elect are subject Electi qui jam decesserunt, laboribus liberi, pace et tranquillitate fruuntur; non quod dormiant, aid oblivione sopiantur, ut fanatici quidam affirmant; sed quod ab omni metu, cruciatu, et tentatione sint exempti, quibus nos ac cæteri omnes electi Dei sumus obnoxii quamdiu

in this life,⁷³⁶ and therfore do beare the name of the Kirk Militant: As contrariwise, the reprobate and unfaithfull departed have anguish, torment, and paine, that cannot be expressed.⁷³⁷ Sa that nouther are the ane nor the uther in sik sleepe that they feele not joy or torment, as the Parable of Christ Jesus in the 16th of Luke,⁷³⁸ his words to the thiefe,⁷³⁹ and thir wordes of the saules crying under the Altar,⁷⁴⁰ O Lord, thou that art righteous and just, How lang sall thou not revenge our blude upon thir that dwellis in the Eird? dois testifie. hac vita fruimur, ideoque nomine ecclesiæ militantis censemur: contra vero, reprobi et infideles qui decesserunt, in iis molestiis et cruciatibus degunt, quæ verbis exprimi non possunt. Neque enim aut illi ita sunt sopiti, ut omni sensu, aut hi, ut sensu poenarum careant; ut indicat Jesu Christi parabola quæ Lucæ XVI. est, item ut illa testificantur animarum verba sub altari clamantium, O Domine, qui sanctus es et justus, quoad usque non judicas et vindicas sanguinem nostrum de iis qui habitant in terra? Art. XVIII. Art. XVIII.

OF THE NOTIS, BE THE QUHILK THE TREWE KIRK IS DECERNIT FRA THE FALSE, AND QUHA SALL BE JUDGE OF THE DOCTRINE.

QUIBUS INDICIIS VERA ECCLESIA DISTINGUATUR A FALSA, ET QUIS IN ECCLESIASTICÆ DOCTRINÆ CONTROVERSIIS SIT JUDEX. Because that Sathan from the beginning hes laboured to deck his pestilent Synagoge with the title of the Kirk of God, and hes inflamed the hertes of cruell murtherers to persecute, trouble, and molest the trewe Kirk and members thereof, as Cain did Abell,⁷⁴¹ Ismael Isaac,⁷⁴² Esau Jacob,⁷⁴³ and the haill Priesthead of the Jewes Christ Jesus himselfe, and his Apostles Quia Satan ab initio semper laboravit, ut pestilentem synagogam veræ Dei ecclesiæ titulo insigniret, animosque crudelium homicidarum accendit, ut veram ecclesiam ejusque membra premerent, turbarent, et infestarent (velut Cain Abel, Ismaal Isaac, Esau Jacob, totusque sacerdotum Judaicorum ordo, primum Christum ipsum, deinde Apostolos ejus capitali odio sunt persecuti)

after him.⁷⁴⁴ It is ane thing maist requisite, that the true Kirk be decerned fra the filthie Synagogues, be cleare and perfite notes, least we being deceived, receive and imbrace, to our awin condemnatioun, the ane for the uther. The notes, signes, and assured takens whereby the immaculate Spouse of Christ Jesus is knawen fra the horrible harlot, the Kirk malignant, we affirme, are nouther Antiquitie, Title usurpit, lineal Descence, Place appointed, nor multitude of men approving ane error. For Cain, in age and title, was preferred to Abel and Seth:⁷⁴⁵ Jerusalem had prerogative above all places of the eird,⁷⁴⁶ where alswa were the Priests lineally descended fra Aaron, and greater number followed the Scribes, Pharisies, and Priestes, then unfainedly beleeved and approved Christ Jesus and his doctrine:⁷⁴⁷ And zit, as we suppose, no man of sound judgment will grant, that ony of the forenamed were the Kirk of God. The notes therefore of the trew Kirk of God we beleeve, confesse, and avow to be, first, the trew preaching of the Worde of God, into the quhilk God hes revealed himselfe unto us, as the writings of the Prophets and imprimis necessarium videtur, veram ecclesiam ab impura synagoga certis et manifestis distinguere indiciis; ne in eum incidamus errorem, ut alteram pro altera cum nostro amplectamur exitio. Notas autem et indicia, quibus intemerata Christi sponsa ab impura illa et abominanda meretrice (ecclesiam impiorum intellige) discerni possit, asseveramus, neque ab antiquitatis prærogativa repetendas, nec usurpatis falso titulis, nec a successione perpetua episcoporum, nec a certi loci designatione, nec a multitudine hominum in eundem errorem consentientium. Cain enim ætate et primogeniture prærogativa Abel et Seth anteibat; item Hierosolyma, cætera totius orbis oppida; huc accedebat in sacerdotibus, ab Aarone usque, perpetua familiæ et successionis series; majorque erat eorum numerus qui scribas et Pharisæos sectabantur, quam qui Jesum Christum ejusque doctrinam ex animo probabant: neque tamen arbitramur quemquam, cui purum et solidum sit judicium, commissurum ut ulli ex iis quas modo commemoravi ecclesiis Dei nomen attribuat. Igitur, quam nos veram Dei ecclesiam credimus et fatemur ejus primum est indicium, vera Verbi

Apostles dois declair. Secundly, the right administration of the Sacraments of Christ Jesus, quhilk man be annexed unto the word and promise of God, to seale and confirme the same in our hearts.⁷⁴⁸ Last, Ecclesiastical discipline uprightlie ministred, as Goddis Worde prescribes, whereby vice is repressed, and vertew nurished.⁷⁴⁹ Wheresoever then thir former notes are seene, and of ony time continue (be the number never so fewe, about two or three), there, without all doubt, is the trew Kirk of Christ: Who, according unto his promise, is in the middis of them.⁷⁵⁰ Not that universall, of quhilk we have before spoken, bot particular, sik as wes in Corinthusf,⁷⁵¹ Galatia,⁷⁵² Ephesus,⁷⁵³ and uther places, in quhilk the rninistrie wes planted be Paull, and were of himselfe named the kirks of God. And sik kirks, we the inhabitantis of the Realme of Scotland, professoris of Christ Jesus, professis our selfis to have in our citties, townes, and places reformed, for the doctrine taucht in our Kirkis, conteined in the writen Worde of God, to wit, in the buiks of the Auld and New Testamentis, Divini prædicatio, per quod Verbum Deus ipse sese nobis revelavit, quemadmodum scripta Prophetarum et Apostolorum nobis indicant; proximum indicium est, legitima sacramentorum Jesu Christi administratio, quæ cum verbo et promissionibus divinis conjungi debent, ut ea in mentibus nostris obsignent et confirment. Postremum est, ecclesiasticæ disciplinæ severa, et ex Verbi Divini præscripto, observatio, per quam vitia reprimantur, et virtutes alantur. Ubicunque hæc indicia apparuerint, atque ad tempus perseveraverint, quantumvis exiguus fuerit numerus, procul dubio ibi est ecclesia Christi, qui, juxta suam promissionem, in medio eorum est. Non illam dicimus universalem ecclesiam, de qua superius facta est mentio, sed particularem; tales erant Corinthia, Gallo-græca, et Ephesina, aliæque complures, in quibus verbi ministerium a Paulo fuerat plantatum, quasque ipse Dei ecclesias vocat. Hujusmodi ecclesias, qui in regno Scotorum nomen Christi profitemur, in oppidis, vicis, aliisque locis in quibus veræ pietatis cultus est restitutus, nos habere asseveramus: