diffipated, and may all in Sincerity make Religion their principal Study, and agree in their Choice of God for their Portion and preferring the Honour of Christ to their quickest Joys; how would the Meditation hereof ftifle our angry Paffions, and cool our unnatural Heats? Our being united in the Love and Service of our common Mafter, would reconcile the keenest Difputants, and blunt the Edge of Controverfy; we would be afhamed of our Uncharitablenefs and Impatience, and blush at the Treatment we give to those that may be Members of the fame Body whereof Chrift is the Head: Our Hearts would relent, and our Bowels would be moved, when we reflected on the Endearments of a heavenly Friendship, which, notwithstanding of our prefent little Differences, we may all be exalted to the eternal Enjoyment of: And fure, could there be any Shame in that happy Place, no doubt we would be then confounded at the Sight of many there, whom we treated as Enemies upon Earth, and purfued with bitter and incurable Refentments or Prejudices.

Did we thus improve the Harmony of the Proteftant Confeffions, we'd embrace one another with the warmeft Affections, and manage our Debates with Coolness and Moderation: And we are fure Controverfies fweetned with Temper and Charity, would be much readier to gain Converts, and bring us to an Uniformity; than the Way in which they are at prefent managed: An extenfive Charity, and a noble Freedom of Love that are unconfined by the little Diftinctions of Parties and Schemes, would unite good Men of all Denominations, and make Virtue and Piety every where efteem'd and loved ; and that Warmth and Zeal which are fo ufelefly or hurtfully fpent in our inteftine Feuds, would be employed in a vigorous Oppofition to our common Enemies, and joint Efforts against the prevailing Interest of Darknefs and Wickednefs.

Upon this Occafion it will not be improper alfo to obferve, That by comparing together the Doctrines of the Proteftant Churches, it will appear, that as to thefe Opinions in which we differ from our Neighbours in England, about Government and Worship, we have on our Side a better Claim to the Suffrages of all thofe Churches bejond Sea, who with us threw off the Romish Toke; and that thofe diftinguifhed by the Name of High Church, who have ftretched their Schemes about the abfolute Neceffity of Epifcopal Ordination, Baptifm and Communion, in fuch an extravagant Manner, muft together with us and their own Diffenters, unchurch almoft all the other Proteftants but themfelves; which plain Confequence will readily expofe their narrow Bigottry and Vanity to Contempt with all who have a Value for the Proteftant Cause; and we hope that the ranking with Heathens and Publicans fo many great and good Men, at once danning all the Heroick Martyrs of the Reformation, may fill even themfelves with Horror, beget in them fome Remorfe, and engage them to examine a little more coolly the Nature and Tendency of fo wild and uncharitable Principles.

As

As for us we pity their impotent Malice, and are content to run the common Fate of Proteftants; Their Thunders and Excommunications breed no Difturbance in our Confciences, fince we know they are fo contradictory to the Spirit and Genius of Christianity, and whatever Impreffions they may make here below upon blind and furious Minds, we are in no Fears of their impofing on our great Mafter, or becoming of Reputation in the Kingdom of Love and Charity.

Some other Things might be obferved, which will be as conve niently mentioned at the End of this Preface.

W

E come now to confider the Second general End for which Confeffions of Faith were framed, namely to fecure the Purity of the Christian Doctrine from the many contagious Herefies which in all Ages have infefted the Church; to diftinguish betwixt those who were infected by prevailing Error, and fuch as perfevered in the uncorrupted Faith of the Gospel, and fo to discover who in this Refpect fhould be admitted into the Communion of Saints, or might without Danger to Reli gion and Truth be ordained to, or continued in the facred Office of the Miniftry; for which Purposes Subscriptions were required to certain Articles, that were fuited to the Circumftances of the Church, and contradicted the principal Errors which prevailed in different Ages, and the Danger whereof was moft apprehended.

Creeds and Confeffions have been thus ufed as a Teft of Orthodoxy in all Ages and in all Places: Every Body who is in the leaft acquainted with Ecclefiaftical Affairs, knows the Sentiments and Practice of the ancient Church about this Matter; befides the fhorter Creeds, which were univerfally received; upon any Difference that arofe amongst the Fathers, Councils were fummoned, and Decifions were made, to which all were obliged to yield their Affent, who had a mind to continue in Communion with the Church, nor did they confine their Determinations to Matters of Importance, but doubtful Opinions which had no great Influence on either the Doctrines or Precepts of Chriftianity, were made the Subjects of fierce Contefts and pofitive Decifions.

In the declining Ages of the Church, when a thick Darkness overfpread the World, and all the Freedoms of a Chriftian, and the Liberties of a Man were trampled under the Feet of a tyrannical Domination which univerfally prevailed, this Ufe of Confeffions was among other Things miferably perverted, and prostituted to ferve the worst and cruelleft Defigns; Popes and Councils poffeffed themfelves of the facred Authority of the Scriptures, and claimed a blind and undifputed Submiffion to their infallible Decrees; and Fire and Sword were the neceffary Arguments to fupport Opinions, which difdained to fubmit to a fair Examination.

At the Reformation, when our heroick Fathers made fo glorious a Stand for their Chriftian Liberty, and threw off the shameful Toke

which had been wreathed by Rome about the Neck of the World tho they received the holy Scriptures as the only Rule of their Faith, and detefted any pretended Infallibility which could be claimed by Popes and Councils, and an abfolute Submiffion to their Decifions: Yet they did not altogether reject Creeds and Confeffions, but rectifying the great Abufes of them,ftill continued them as a Means of preferving the Purity of Chriftian Doctrine, and preventing the fpreading of Herely.

Hence all the Proteftant Churches obliged at leaft their Ministers, to difclaim thofe Errors which then obtained, and were in greatest Hazard of being propagated, and to own thofe momentuous Truths which any Hereticks endeavoured to overturn; and for that End to fubfcribe the publick Confeffions, that were calculated to the different Circumftances of the feveral Churches: They hereby alfo inten ded to maintain an Uniformity and Harmony in the publick Adminiftrations of the Church, which is of fo great Confequence to its Peace and Happiness, and to fecure it against thofe Animofities and Diforders, which muft naturally flow from the Paftors of any Place teaching the People different and contradictory Opinions.

Agreeably hereto the Duke of Wirtemberg expreffes himself in the Preface to the Wirtemberg Confeffion, Magna hominum pernicie fit, fi aut fons unde omnes bibunt, veneno inficiatur, aut publica moneta adulteretur: Multa autem majore fit pernicie fi cœleftis Doctrina, qua falus "univerfa Ecclefia pendet, vanitate & impietate corrumpatur; conftituimus " igitur hoc noftra confeffionis Scriptum, quod paucis fummum Doctrina continet, proponere, ut fontem vera falutaris Doctrina purum atque integrum in "Ecclefiis noftra Regionis confervaremus, & monetam qua nobis imaginem "cæleftis Patris refert a corruptione (quod in nobis est) tueremur. This End of Confeffions is in like Manner accounted for by the Polonias Churches, Qui dictus confenfus nofter (fay they) hactenus a nobis nom " modo eft fideliter fervatus, fed etiam deinceps in aliquot generalibus Synodis renovatus & confirmatus, Illis qui litium fcintillas excitare videbantur ingenue correctis, ac intra limites pacis reductis, atque ita vinculo concor"dia & amoris fraterni arctius aftricto." And after mentioning fome other Defigns of their Confeffion, they add what follows. Ac fi qui forte etiam inter nos reperirentur Philanti, qui communem tranquillitatem turbare niterentur, fcandalaque, excitarent & patientia fratrumz abutentes, commoniti non fe cohiberent: effe contra eos in promptu juftum Ecclefiaftica Difciplina rigorem, ut coerceantur, & contumaces ex Ecclefia communioneque noftra, authoritate Canonum Synodicorum excludantur. For this End alfo the Articles of the Church of England are faid to be comPofed, For the avoiding of the Diverfities of Opinions, and for the ftablishing of Confent touching true Religion. And it fhall appear more particularly afterwards how far and in what Manner, the Confeffion of the Church of Scotland is made fubfervient to this End.

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UT with how conflant and general foever a Confent, the an Affent to the feveral Articles of Faith eftablished by them; this Ufe of Confeffions hath had many Adverfaries, and is exclaimed againft

againft and oppofed by a Variety of Parties, who tho' they agree in a common Difefteem and Averfion to Creeds, may be moved herein by very different Springs, and purfue different Ends

In general the warmeft Oppofition, and the loudeft Clamours againit Confeffions, have been raifed by those who being the leffer and weaker Part of the Society, had not the framing of them, nor were able to adapt the publick Standard to their own favourite Schemes and Notions: Such were angry at Confeffions, not fo much because of their Abfurdity or Inconveniencies, but becaufe they were not theirs ; and a a Change of this little Circumftance would have foon diffipated all the frightful Images of Tyranny and Ignorance and Impofition, whereby they had rendred Compofitions of this Nature fo extremely terrible, and at once reconciled them to Liberty and Religion and Learning.

Every Day's Experience shows how natural it is for the greatest Part of Mankind to grumble at Meafures of which they have not the Direction, and to reprefent the Determination of any Society as unjuft and arbitrary, when the Reins of Government are not in their own Hands; nor is it improbable but this is the fecret Spring which hath in all Ages given Vigor to the Contempt and Hatred thowed to Articles of Faith: Thofe who were outvoted in Councils became eafily impreffed with Prejudices against all their Actings, and foon entertained unfavourable Notions of the Authority which they claimed; and whenever an established Confeffion contradicted their particular Opinions, it awakened their Refentment and fowred their Temper, and they looked upon fuch a Confeffion as their decla red Enemy; and were therefore naturally led not only to vilify and expofe it, but to give the moft hateful and defpicable Ideas of all Creeds and Confeffions, that thereby they might effectually blunt the Edge of a Weapon which they faw turned against them; and as Vanity, Pride and Ambition, thefe ftrong felfish Paffions, thus intermixed themfelves with the Queftion, and animated their Quarrel with Confeffions of Faith, it will be eafily conceived how warm and zealous the Oppofition to them would become: And tho' we are far from thinking that this fhould be applied to all thofe who differ from us in their Sentiments concerning the Articles of Faith, yet we are afraid that what a great Man faid upon another Occafion concerning Reafon, may be applied to the prefent Purpose, That feldom any are against Confeffions but when Confessions are against them.

Befides what we have now obferved, there are many whose Opinions in other Matters influence their Notions concerning Confeflions, and determine them to treat Works of this Nature as ufelefs if not hurtful Compofures: Such as thofe who maintain, That the Disbelief of any particular Doctrines is no great Hindrance to the eternal Happiness of a Perfon, provided he live up to his Knowledge and act agreeably to his Sentiments; and who ftretch their Charity fo far, as to think that Men of all the Parties of Christianity, or even of any of the different Religions which prevail in the World, may have an almoft equal Claim to the Fa

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vour of God, and be faved according to the different Methods of Religion which they embrace; all which Perfons muft naturally defpife Confeffions of Faith, the very Being whereof is founded upon the abfolute Neceffity or vaft Importance of the Belief of fome Articles, in order to a Perfon's being admitted to the Communion of the Church, or at least received as a publick Teacher in it.

And as the Doctrine of Religion is of finall Moment with them, all the Means of preferving its Purity, and any Ties whereby Men can be bound to maintain it, muft appear infignificant and arbitrary; nor will they be at Pains to keep a Guard upon that, the lofing of which they imagine of fo fmall Confequence; and therefore the Socinians and others, whofe Charity in Matters of Speculation is fo widely extenfive, look with an unfavourable Eye upon Creeds, and become naturally Enemies to them: Nor do we believe it will be found an ill grounded Obfervation, That in Proportion to a Perfon's Zeal for the Doctrines of Chriftianity, and his Opinion of the Neceffity and Excellency of divine Truths, his Efteem of Confeffions will rife or fall,

As the Arminians don't seem to think an Agreement in Doctrine of fo great Moment to a Chriftian Society, nor are fo fenfibly affected with Matters of Belief only, they alfo are no great Friends to Confeffions, but generally favour a Latitude in things of that Nature. Befides which, the Condemnation of their Opinions by the Synod of Dort,and the hard Treatment which they thought they then met with, fretted their Minds, and augmented their Prejudices againft Creeds of every Kind, and the Councils which framed them; and therefore we find, that not only the learned Epifcopius, but the Body of the Remonftrants in the Preface to their Confeffion, tho' they allow them to be fometimes ufeful upon other Accounts, inveigh bitterly against them as a Teft of Orthodoxy, and a Boundary within the Limits of which the Paftors of the Church fhould be confined in their Adminiftrations.

Confeffions of Faith are alfo no lefs eagerly oppofed,by thofe who ate Enemies to all Government of the Church independent upon or diftinct from that of the State; and would either entirely abolish that Order which is diftinguished by the Name of Clergy, or at most allow them nothing but what is derived from the Civil Magiftrate, and would give the fame Rife and Nature to their Office with any other part of the Conftitution of the Commonwealth: Such Libertincs bear a natural Grudge at Confeffions,in common with every thing that is in any refpe&t Ecclefiaftical, and pour the fame Contempt upon them which they do on the Miniftry it felf, and all the Inftitutions of the Church. Befides that it may be justly fufpected that the moft zealous Advocates of this Party are really Deifts, diftinguished with a thin Mask of Chriftianity; and therefore no wonder that they ftrive by all the Arts they are Mafters of, to run down any Method of preferving in their Purity the Doctrines of our holy Religion, and preventing the fpreading of Divifion and Herefie: The most celebrated Performance of this kind, feems to be the