The Confession of Faith OF The Kirke of SCOTLAND.
WEE All, and every one of Us underwritten, Protest; that after long and due Examination of our owne conscience, in matters of true & false Religion, are now throughly resolved of the Trueth, by the Word and Spirit of GOD, and therefore we believe with our hearts, confesse with our mouths, subscribe with our hands, and constantly affirme before God, and the whole World: that this onely is true Christian Faith and Religion, pleasing God and bringing Salvation to man, which now is by the mercie of God revealed to the world, by the preaching of the blessed Evangell, And received, believed, and defended, by many and sundry notable Kirkes and Realmes, but chieflie by the Kirk of Scotland, the Kings Majestie, and three estates of this Realme, as Gods eternall Trueth, and onely ground of our Salvation: as more particularlie is expressed in the Confessiō of our Faith, stablished, and publicklie confirmed by sundry Acts of Parliaments, and now of a long time hath beene openlie professed by the Kings Majestie, and whole [Page 4] body of this Realme both in Burgh and Land. To the which Confession and forme of Religion, wee willinglie agree in our consciences in all points, as unto Gods undoubted Trueth and Veritie, grounded onely upon his written Word. And therefore, wee abhorre and detest all contrarie Religion, and Doctrine: But chieflie, all kinde of Papisterie, in generall and particular heads, even as they are now damned and confuted by the Word of God, and Kirk of Scotland: but in speciall wee detest and refuse the usurped authoritie of that Roman Antichrist upon the Scriptures of God, upon the Kirk, the civill Magistrate, and consciences of men: All his tyranous lawes made upon indifferent things against our Christian libertie: His erroneous Doctrine, against the sufficiencie of the written Word, the perfection of the Law, the office of Christ, and his blessed Evangell: His corrupted Doctrine concerning original sinne, our naturall inabilitie & rebellion to Gods Law, our Iustification by Faith onely, our imperfect Sanctification and obedience to the Law, the nature, number and use of the Holy Sacraments; His five bastard Sacraments, with al his Ri [...]es, Ceremonies, and false Doctrine, added to the ministration of the true Sacraments without the Word of God: His cruell judgement against Infants departing without the Sacrament: his absolute necessitie of [Page 5] Baptisme: his blasphemous opinion of Transubstantiation, of reall presence of Christs body in the Elements, and receiving of the same by the wicked, or bodies of men: His dispensations with solemne Oathes, Perjuries, and degrees of Marriage forbidden in the Word: his crueltie against the innocent divorced: his divellish Masse: his blasphemous Priesthood: his profane Sacrifice for the sinnes of the dead: his Canonization of men, calling upon Angels or Saints departed, worshipping of Imagerie, Relicts, & Crosses, dedicating of Kirks, Altars, Dayes, Vowes to creatures; his Purgatorie, Prayers for the dead, praying, or speaking in a strange language, with his Processions and blasphemous Letanie, and multitude of Advocates or Mediators: his manifold Orders, Auricular Confession: his desperate and uncertaine Repentance; his generall and doubtsome Faith; his satisfactions of men for their sinnes: his Iustification by works, opus operatum, works of Supererogation, Merits, Pardons, Peregrinations, and Stations: his holy Water, baptising of Bells, conjuring of Spirits. crossing, saning, anointing, conjuring, hallowing of Gods good creatures, with the superstitious opinion, joyned therewieh: his wordlie Monarchie, and wicked Hierarchie: his three solemne vowes, with all his shavellings of sundrie sorts; his erreneous and bloudie decrees [Page 6] made at Trent, with all the subscribers and approvers of that cruell and bloudie Band, conjured against the Kirk of God: and finallie, wee detest all his vaine Allegories, Rites, Signes, and Traditions, brought in the Kirk, without, or against the Word of God, and Doctrine of this true reformed Kirk; to the which wee joyne our selves willinglie, in Doctrine, Faith, Religion, Discipline, and use of the Holy Sacraments as lively members of the same, in Christ our Head: promising, and swearing by the Great Name of the Lord our GOD, that wee shall continue in the obedience of the Doctrine and Discipline of this Kirk, and shall defend the same according to our Vocation and Power, all the dayes of our lives, under the paines contained in the Law, and danger both of Body and soule, in the day of Gods fearefull Iudgement: and seeing that many are stirred up by Sathan, and that Roman Antichrist, to promise, sweare, subscribe, and for a time use the holy Sacraments in the Kirk, deceitfullie, against their owne consciences, minding thereby, first, under the externall cloake of Religion, to corrupt and subvert secretlie Gods true Religion within the Kirk, and afterward, when time may serve, to become open enemies and persecutors of the same, under vaine hope of the Popes dispensation, devised against the Word of God, to his greater confusion, and [Page 7] their double condemnation in the day of the Lord LORD JESUS, Wee, therefore, willing to take away all suspition of hypocrisie, and of such double dealing with God and his Kirk, Protest, and call The Searcher of all hearts for witnesse, that Our mindes and hearts, doe fully agree with this our Consession, Promise, Oath and Subscription, so that Wee are not moved for any wordlie respect, but are perswaded onely in our Consciences, through the knowledge and love of Gods true Religion, printed in Our hearts, by the holy Spirit, as Wee shall answer to him in the day, when the secrets of all hearts shall bee disclosed. And because wee cannot looke for a blessing from God upon our proceedings; except with our Profession and Subscription wee joyne such a life and conversation, as beseemeth Christians, who haue renewed their Covenant with God, Wee, therefore, faithfullie promise, for our selves, our followers, and all others under us, both in publike, in our particular families and personall carriage, to endeavour to keepe our selves within the bounds of Christian libertie, and to be good examples to others of all Godlinesse, Sobernesse, and Righteousnesse, and of every duetie wee owe to God and Man, and that this our Union and Conjunction may bee observed without violation, VVee call the living God, the Searcher of our Hearts, [Page 8] to witnes, who knoweth this to bee our sincere Desire, and unfained Resolution, as wee shall answere to JESUS CHRIST, in the great day, and under the paine of Gods euerlasting wrath, and of infamie, and of losse of all honour and respect in this VVorld: Most humblie beseeching the LORD, to strengthen us by his holy Spirit for this end: and to blesse our desires and proceedings with a happie successe, that Religion and Righteousnes may flourish in the Land, to the glory of God, the honour of our King, and peace and comfort of us all. In witnes wherof we haue subscribed with our hands all the premisses.