mandment. He will not give his glory to another, and therefore will never allow, that we should prefer our self-interest, or any thing else to it. But he has wisely and graciously ordered, that, in seeking his glory, we shall find our true interest; he bids not any serve him in vain. He is not, and will not be a debtor to us. We can add nothing to him. We may declare and show forth, we cannot increase his glory. Our services, when acceptably performed, do,through his blessing, profit ourselves; they cannot profit him.

III. We, therefore, condemn the following propositions. 1. That the fear of punishment and the hope of reward, are the chief motives of a true Christian's obedience. 2. That our self-interest, or happiness, is the chief or highest end of all virtuous and religious actions. These opinions are contrary to the Scriptures; which teach us, that we ought to serve God from love, as children do a father; not from fear, as slaves do a task-master; that loving him above all things, we should not be influenced in his services by selfish considerations; and that, whether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we do, we should do all to the glory of God.*

ARTICLE XVII. Of the work of the Holy Spirit.

I. We believe, that there is no inclination or motion towards any thing truly good, but an utter aversion to it, in fallen men, till the Holy Spirit begins a special and gracious work in them. The elect are, by nature, disobedient, as well as others, and as obstinate in their disobedience as any. The power which brings them to Christ, and subdues them to the obedience of faith, must be almighty, and irresistible in its operations. They, as others, say, We will not come: the Lord says, Ye shall come; and the exceeding greatness of divine power makes them yield. All that can be said, concerning the goodness of God, the blessedness of those who trust in him, and the misery of those who reject his counsel; though said in the most engaging, affecting, and persuasive manner possible, will be addressed to sinners in vain, unless the quickening Spirit awakes them to hear it.

II. Though the Spirit draws sinners by an irresistible power, yet not by violence. He overcomes their obstinacy in a most sweet and gracious manner. He opens the ears to hear his voice; he opens the eyes to see the exceeding riches of the grace of God, manifested in his kindness towards us

* 1 Cor. x. 31.

through Jesus Christ; he opens the heart to receive the truth in love. Thus the rebellious sinner becomes all willingness. He is overcome, or persuaded, by what may be called divine arguments. A divine light shines into his mind; and it has a transforming influence upon him: he is renewed in the whole man after the image of God. Seeing access to God through Jesus Christ, and being heartily pleased with God's everlasting covenant of mercy, he acquiesces in it as all his salvation, as comprehending all he desires.

III. This change, called in Scripture, a being born again, is different, not merely in the degrees of it, but in the very nature of it, from any change which may be effected by the common operations of the Spirit, on such as continue in unbelief. Believers are created again in Christ Jesus; others are not. They know Christ, however, imperfectly; others know him not. They love him; others hate him. They are the children of God; others are the children of the wicked one. They are made light in the Lord,others are darkness. They hate sin; others love it. They obey God; others are in rebellion against him. This change is not gradual, but instantaneous; all either have or have not passed from death to life; none are in a middle state. Those convictions which may go before conversion, cannot properly be called a preparation for it; as they are of the very same kind with the conviction which may be found in those who perish.

IV. The Spirit of God works by the word; therefore, the the spirit which leads men into opinions not taught in the word, and which does not teach them to consider the word as a light to their feet, as their guide, and their counsellor, and which moves them to despise and speak lightly of the word, is not the Holy Spirit of God, but the enemy of mankind, leading them captive at his pleasure.

V. We testify against those who teach, that there is a common grace given to them who are not saved, different only in degree, not in kind, from that grace given to the regenerate, by which they are enabled to believe, love, and obey God. This opinion evidently leads to deny that there is such a thing as distinguishing grace, or any favour bestowed on those who are saved, for which they ought to thank God as his peculiar gift to them. We also testify against the blashphemy of those, on the one hand, who, pretending to hold by the word, deny and ridicule the work of the Spirit, in opening, and applying it to the hearers of the gospel: and that of those, on the other hand, who, under pretence of

magnifying the work of the Spirit, despise and neglect the word, by which he works in renewing and calling sinners, and in preparing believers for the inheritance of the saints in light.

ARTICLE XVIII. Of the Perseverance of the Saints.

I. We believe, that the Lord will never leave nor forsake any of his saints, so as they shall totally or finally fall from that blessed state into which he brought them in the day of their conversion. He puts his fear in their hearts, and he will serve it there. They are received into his family, to abide in preit for ever. They are heirs of an inheritance not only incorruptible in itself, but reserved in heaven for them; and who are kept by the power of God through faith unto that salvation ready to be revealed in the last time; when they shall enter on the full possession of this inheritance ted to Christ, members of his spiritual body, and shall never They are unibe separated from it; he will present it entire to God, saying, Behold I, and the children whom God has given me; and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. The Father who gave them to Christ is greater than all; and none is able to pluck them out of his Father's hand. Their Redeemer, who is also God mighty to save, declares, they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of his hand.* The love of God did not fix on them, on account of any good thing in them. And it will not be taken from them because of any evil in them. Lord will, indeed, visit their transgressions with the rod; and The their iniquities with stripes. But he will not punish them as a judge executing the sentence of the law on criminals: he will as a father correct them only for their profit.

II. This doctrine belongs to those consolations of God which are neither few nor small. mouth of his saints, has this note in it, The mercy of the Lord The song, put in the endureth for ever and each of them may say, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever. That this doctrine tends to make saints negligent in the study of holiness, and even to encourage them in wickedness, is one of the reproaches devised and spread by the enemy of all truth and righteousThe faith of the Lord's unchangeable love, expressed towards us by bringing us into his everlasting covenant, is a most powerful motive to the study of holiness. It is when believers, failing in the exercise of faith, forget this love, that they fall into sin.

ness.

* John x. 28.

III. We do, therefore, testify against those who deny the perseverance of the saints, as guilty of wresting the Scripture. In it we read of some who once appeared to be saints, manifesting themselves to be what they always were, enemies to God, and still in the gall of bitterness, and bond of inquity. We read of some saints who fell into very grievous sins, yet the Lord did not utterly take his Holy Spirit from them, nor suffer their faith to fail; but we never read of any who once were, and afterwards ceased to be saints. They are all in the hand of their gracious Lord who has promised that he will preserve them from all evil; that he will preserve their soul, and that he will preserve them for ever. If he did not keep them, none of them would persevere in the way to heaven.

ARTICLE XIX. Of the Imperfection of the Saints in this Life.

I. We acknowledge, that all the saints are imperfect in this life. So much sin cleaves to their best services, that no one action any of them ever did could be approved, if tried by the pure and holy law of God. A body of death presses them down to the dust. Of this they are most deeply sensible, when the Lord makes the light of his countenance shine most brightly on their souls. It is then each of them cries, with exceeding earnestness, O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death ?* And it is then, that, thanking God, who giveth them the victory, they press, with the greatest ardour, towards the mark of the prize of their high calling.

II. We do, therefore, condemn the pride and blasphemy of them who say they are perfect,and are not, but are liars. While they say, they have no sin, they deceive themselves, and the truth is not in them. By their presumptuous boasting, we may know that they are not of God; and that they know neither the holiness of his law, nor the corruption of their own hearts. They carry a mark of their antichristian extraction on their forehead, and are self-deceivers. Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved; God hath sent them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie†

ARTICLE XX. Of the Eternity of Punishments. We believe what the Lord hath most expressly declared, 2 Thess, ii. 10, 11.

*Rom. vii. 24, 25.

that the wicked shall be punished with everlasting destruction.* They can make no proper satisfaction by their sufferings, for the offences they have committed against the infinitely holy Creator and Lord of the universe. Besides their wickedness, continuing in full strength, they are, under their sufferings, sinning still more. Behold, now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation! They will be miserably deceived, who expect another such time, another such day of salvation, on the other side of death. As the tree falleth so it

must lie. Those who die in their sins will remain under the curse for ever. They shall be cast out into outer darkness. No ray of hope will alleviate their torments: their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched. We do, therefore, testify against the opinion of those who have formerly taught, and of those who now teach, that the wicked will, at length, be redeemed from the torments of hell-as plainly contrary to the word of God, and extremely pernicious to the souls of

men.

PART THIRD.

Concerning the Order of the Church of Christ

ARTICLE I. Of Separation from Corrupt Churches.

I. We believe it to be not only lawful, but expedient, to separate from a church which is not merely corrupt, but obstinate in apostacy; and especially from a church which is daily proceeding from one degree of it to another. We are commanded to withdraw from every brother that walketh disorderly; if, from every brother, certainly from a church or society of brethren who walk so. That there may be a walking disorderly with respect to our profession, is plain from the charge which Paul brought against Peter, and those other Jews who dissembled with him, about the necessity of adhering to the ceremonial law. Observing their dissimulà† 2 Cor. vi. 2. 2 Thess. iii. 6.

2 Thess. i. 9.