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AN

EXPOSITION

ON

THE CREED.

THE order prescribed to this exercise directs us to treat

upon, first, The Creed; fecondly, The Lord's Prayer; thirdly, The Decalogue; fourthly, The Sacraments; fifthly, The Power of the Keys.

of

The first comprehends the main principles of our religion, (I mean the Chriftian, as diftinguished from all other religions,) with especial respect to which our practice is also to be regulated. The fecond directs us in the principal duty of our religion, (and which procures grace and ability to perform the reft,) our devotion toward God, informing us concerning both the matter and manner thereof. The third is a compendious body, as it were, law, according to which we are bound to order our practice and converfation, both toward God and man; containing the chief of those perpetual and immutable laws of God, to which our obedience is indispensably due; and unto which all other rules of moral duty are well reducible. The next place is fitly allotted to those pofitive ordinances, or myftical rites, inftituted by God for the ornament and advantage of our religion; the which we are obliged with devotion and edification of ourfelves to observe, and therefore should understand the fignification and use of them. Laftly, because God hath ordered Christians (for mutual affiftance and edification) to live in fociety together, and accordingly hath appointed differences of

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office and degree among them, affigning to each suitable privileges and duties, it is requifite we confider this point alfo, that we may know how to behave ourselves towards each other, as duty requires, respectively according to our stations in the Church, or as members of that Chriftian fociety. Such, in brief, may be the reason of the method prescribed to these discourses, the which, God willing, we purpose to follow.

1. Concerning the Creed.

That, in the primitive churches, those who being of age (after previous inftruction, and fome trial of their converfation) were received into entire communion of the Church, and admitted to baptifm, were required to make open profeffion of their being perfuaded of the truth of Christianity, and their being refolved to live according thereto; and that this profeffion was made by way of answer to certain interrogatories propounded to them, is evident by frequent and obvious teftimonies of the most ancient ecclefiaftical writers; and St. Peter himself seems to allude to this custom, when he faith that baptism saves 1 Pet. iii. us, (conduces to our falvation,) as being repúτημa áɣadñs σvvadnσews, the ftipulation, freely and fincerely, bona fide, or with a good confcience, made by us, then when we folemnly did yield our confent and promise to what the Church, in God's behalf, did demand of us to believe and undertake. I conceive alfo, that the author of the Epiftle to the Hebrews doth allude to the fame practice when (chap. x. 22, 23.) he thus exhorts to perfeverance; Having had our hearts Sprinkled from an evil confcience, and our body washed with pure water; (that is, having received baptifm ;) let us hold faft the profeffion of our faith (that which we at our baptism did make) without wavering, (or declining from it;) for he that did promife is faithful: God will be true to his part, and perform what he then promised of mercy and grace to us. (Some refemblance of which practice we have in that paffage between Philip the deacon and the Ethiopian eunuch: where, after Philip Acts viii. had inftructed the eunuch, the eunuch first speaks; Be

hold water; what hinders me from being baptized? Philip anfwers, If thou believeft with all thy heart, it is lawful: the eunuch replies; I believe Jefus Chrift to be the Son of God: upon which fhort confeffion of his faith he is baptized.) Now that this profeffion, (take it either for the action, or the entire res gefta; or for the form, or for the matter thereof; to all which indifferently, by metonymical schemes of speech, the fame words are usually in fuch cafes applied,) that this profeffion, I fay, was very anciently (in the Roman especially, and fome other churches) called fymbolum, appears by those remarkable words of Cyprian (the most ancient perhaps wherein this word is found applied to this matter) in his feventy-fixth Epiftle ad Magnum, arguing against the validity of baptism administered by heretics and fchifmatics, (fuch as were the Novatians ;) Quod fi aliquis illud opponit, ut dicat, eandem Novatianum legem tenere, quam Catholica Ecclefia teneat, eodem fymbolo quo et nos baptizare, eundem nósse Deum patrem, eundem filium Chriftum, eundem Spiritum Sanctum, ac propter hoc ufurpare eam poteftatem baptizandi poffe, quod videatur in interrogatione baptismi a nobis non difcrepare, fciat quifquis hoc opponendum putat, primum non esse unam nobis et fchifmaticis fymboli legem, neque eandem interrogationem. Where those expreffions, Eodem fymbolo baptizare, and In interrogatione baptifmi non difcrepare ; as alfo, Una fymboli lex, and Eadem interrogatio, do seem to mean the fame thing: and in other later writers the fame manner of speaking doth sometimes occur; as when Hilary thus prays; Conferva hanc confcientiæ meæ vocem, 12. de Trin. ut quod in regenerationis meæ fymbolo, baptizatus in Patre, et Filio, et Spiritu S. profeffus fum, femper obtineam : where regenerationis fuæ fymbolum doth feem to import, that contestation of his faith, which he folemnly made at his baptifm. Now the reason why this profeffion was so called may seem to be, for that it was a folemn fignification of his embracing the doctrine and law of Chrift; even as Ariftotle calls words, σύμβολα τῶν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ παθημάτων, the fymbols or representations of the conceptions that are in the mind: this feems to be the moft fimple reason of

this term being so used: but if the fimplicity of this notion doth not fatisfy, there is another very agreeable to the nature of the thing, not wanting the countenance of some good authority. The word ouubáλλw doth in the best Plato, De- Greek writers not uncommonly fignify, to tranfact commofthenes, merce, to make contract, to agree about any bargain or

&c.

business; and the word ouμbóλaiov (thence derived) doth, according to most common ufe, denote any contract or covenant made between two parties: now, that the stipulation made between a perfon by baptifm initiated and received into Chriftianity, and God Almighty, (or the Church in his behalf,) may most appofitely be called a covenant or contract, none, I fuppofe, will doubt; wherein we confefs faith, and promife obedience; God vouchfafes prefent mercy, promises grace and future reward: and that the word rúμboxov fhould hence import thus much, we cannot much wonder, if we have obferved how commonly words are wont to borrow fignification from their kindred and neighbours and thus Chryfologus plainly Serm. 62. interprets the meaning of the word; Placitum, vel pactum, pag. 16. 2. faith he, quod lucri fpes venientis continet vel futuri, Sym

:

bolum nuncupari etiam contractu docemur humano; quod tamen fymbolum inter duos firmat femper geminata confcriptio-inter Deum vero et homines fymbolum fidei fola fide firmatur; and commonly (in his fermons upon this Creed) he styles it pactum fidei. Ruffinus indeed tells us, (and divers after him,) that the reason why this Creed was called fymbolum, or indicium, is, because it was devised as a mark to diftinguish the genuine teachers of the Christian doctrine from fuch falfe teachers, as did adulterate or corrupt it; or because it was a kind of military * token, (a badge, as it were, or a watch-word,) by which the true friends of Christianity might be discriminated and Maximus difcerned from the enemies thereof; Symbolum teffera eft et fignaculum, quo inter fideles perfidofque fecernitur. But if we confider the brevity and fimplicity of the ancient forms, unfuitable to fuch a defign, it may feem more probable, that it was intended, not fo much to separate Chriftians from each other, as to diftinguish them from all of

* Cogni

zance.

Taurinen

fis.

other religions; or more fimply, as we said, to be a mark, whereby the person converted to Christianity did fignify, that he did fincerely embrace it, confenting to the capital doctrines thereof, and engaging obedience to its laws. Indeed afterward (when it was commonly observed, that almoft any kind of heretics, without evident repugnance to their particular opinions, could conform to those short and general forms, to exclude, or prevent compliance with them) occafion was taken to enlarge the ancient forms, or to frame new ones, (more full and explicit,) to be used, as formerly, at baptifm. But (to leave farther confideration of the name, and to purfue what more concerns the thing) for the more ancient forms, wherein the forementioned profeffion was conceived, it feems that in several places and times they did fomewhat vary, receiving alteration and increase, according to the difcretion of those who did prefide in each Church; the principal however and more fubftantial parts (which had especial direction and authority from the words and practice of our Saviour and his Apostles) being every where and at all times retained; (thofe, namely, which concerned the Persons of the holy Trinity, and the great promises of the Gospel; remiffion of fins, to be miniftered here by the Church; and eternal life, to be conferred hereafter by God upon those who had constantly believed and obeyed the Gospel.) That in the more ancient times there was no one form, generally fixed and agreed upon, (to omit other arguments that perfuade it,) is hence probable, for that the most learned and generally knowing perfons of those times, when in their apologies against difbelievers for Chriftianity, or in their affertions of its genuine principles and doctrines against misbelievers, they by the nature and sequel of their discourse are engaged to fum up the principal doctrines of our religion, they do not yet (as reafon did require, and they could hardly have avoided doing, had there been any fuch conftantly and univerfally fettled or

a His additur indivifibilem et impaffibilem: fciendum quod duo illi fermones in Ecclefiæ Romanæ fymbolo non habentur, conftat autem apud nos additos hærefeos caufa Sabellii, &c. Ruff. in Sym.

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