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fake of which fuch Rulers are established in the Society: Nor can, in any Juftice, a Man, though he thinks himself extremely quali fied to advance thefe Ends, intrude himfelf into a Society which thinks otherwife; this were evidently to fubject them to his Opinion, and to ufurp an arbitrary Power over them; no Candidate therefore for the Office, can reafonably complain of hard Treatment, though in order to his obtaining it, a juft Satisfaction be demanded as to his neceffary Qualifications; and the Society find themfelves, not him, Judges of thefe Qualifications.

It may be eafily fuppofed, that the principal Things which any Society will require in their publick Teachers, refpect his Practice and his Faith, his Practice, that it be fuitable to the Defigns of his Work, and fuch as may recommend that Religion, the Honour and Intereft whereof he is devoted to; and for this End they may ufe all proper Means to attain a juft Character of him, and fufficient Information of the Manner of his Life. As one great Design of a publick Minifter is to explain, illuftrate, and commend to the Confciences of his Hearers the Doctrine of Salvation; to vindicate it from the Cunning and Poifon of Herefie, and ftand for the Defence of the Gospel: It is plainly reasonable, that a Society which propofes thefe Ends by fubmitting to their Paftors, ought to have juft Security as to their Fitednefs to promote them; and therefore they may demand Satisfaction as to a Candidate's Knowledge, and natural or acquired Abilities, that they may be fure they make a wife Choice, and that the Man whofe Bufinefs it is to teach others, understand fufficiently the Subject himfelf: Nor is it lefs allowable for them, to be careful that he have not himfelf fucked in the Contagion of Error, and departed from that Faith which 'tis their Intention he should clear up and recommend to them; and to be affured that he embraces and adheres to the Doctrine according to Godliness. It were unwife to think, that any Perfon could be qualified to preach, and apply to the Purposes of the Chriftian Life, a Doctrine which he himfelf disbelieves; or could contribute to promote and improve Opinions, which he hath a Deteftation or a Difregard for: And it were as ridiculous to imagine, that any Society fhould, by entrusting fuch a Perfon, act in a direct Contradiction to the very Defign which they had placed directly before their Eye, in the Inftitution of the Office committed to him.

As every private Perfon hath a natural Right to judge for himfelf in Matters of Religion; and to pitch upon thofe Opinions, which after his beft Endeavours he fees worthy of his Choice, and moft agreeable to Reafon and Revelation, and in the further Knowledge and Improvement of which, he endeavours to be affifted by thofe who may be moft helpful to him: So any Number of fuch united into a Body, feem to have evidently the fame Privilege; and every Society muft have the Liberty to judge for themfelves what Faith they would have preached to them, and what Doctrines they defire to have placed in a clearer Light, and daily urged home upon their Confciences in their Strength and Purity, in order to their advancing in the Knowledge of the So

of God, and in the Ways of Truth and Holinefs. Nor can any other affume an Authority over them, either to oblige them to hear Doctrines which they disbelieve and difregard, or hinder them from being inftructed and animated in that Faith which their Confcience teaches them they ought to embrace, and from making Choice for their Paftors of fuch Perfons only who will do it: Since this were to claim a Power over others who have an equal Freedom of Thought, and to judge not only for himself but for his Neighbour. Each Perfon then, and every Society hath a Title founded in the Nature of Things to determine for themfelves what Doctrines and Articles of Faith they expect the Belief of, and Conformity to, from all their Paftors, as a neceffary Qualification of the Perfons whom the receives as her Minifters. For which Effect it must be allowable for the Rulers of that Society, to take all proper Measures whereby it may be difcovered, whether a Perfon is in this Refpect qualified for an Ecclefiaftical Office: And particularly by his own Profeffion of his Faith, and his Affurance that he believes and embraces thofe Doctrines of Christianity.

If in a degenerate and corrupt Age, the most plain and momentuous Truths are denied by thofe who pretend to own the Sciptures; and the most mifchievous Errors are propagated by fubtile and deceitful Difputers, who pervert the facred Writings to favour Opinions directly contradictory to them, profeffing to acknowledge the Letter, while they have departed from the Spirit and the Senfe of the Holy Oracles; and thereby a Declaration of one's Faith only in the precife Words of Scripture, thus wrefted and fubtilized, can noways diftinguish betwixt thofe who hold and teach the most oppofite Doctrines, or give any tolerable Satisfaction to the Society concerning their Faith. They may juftly demand of any who pretends to become their Paftor, that he express his Opinions in fuch Words as have leaft Ambiguity in them and are moft calculated, according to the Circumftances of Time and Place, to the Ends propofed hereby, namely, a well grounded Affurance of this Orthodoxy, (if the Ufe of fo frightful a Word may be pardoned) or which is the fame Thing, they may require an Affent to their publick Creeds and Confeffions, which are the Words the Society is fuppofed to judge the best adapted for affording them this Satisfaction.

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Such a Society indeed of fallible Men are, no doubt, expofed to Miftakes; they may either believe what is really a Falfhood, or they may fancy a true Doctrine of more Importance than it is, and thereby be led to require a Qualification in all their Minifters, which it had been wifer and more for their Advantage they had not been fo folicitous about: But this does not at all alter the Matter, for as it is in the Cafe of a private Perfon, fuch a Society if it errs, errs only for it felf, and muft follow its own Light; and it were extremely unreafonable to imagine, that fo long as their Confcience dictates to them, that a Regard for God and their Soul obliges them to have fuch a Concern for the Truth, the Momen whereof is queftioned; they should leave their own Judgment

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and be influenced by the Fancy and Authority of another juft as fallible as themfelves.

As there is no Argument in Reafon, which determines the Bounds within which fuch a Soci ty fhould be confined, or fixes the Number that may juftly unite together for thofe Purposes; there feems to be nothing that fhould hinder any Number of lef fer religious Societies, to form themfelves into a larger Body defigned for promoting the fame Ends, and endued with the like Privi leges: And when the greater Part of a Nation enter into a Society of this Nature, there will arife what may be understood by a National Church, and the Articles of Faith received by them, and establi hed as a Teft of the Doctrinal Qualifications of their Pastors, will become a National Confeffion.

Thefe are a few of the plain and eafie Maxims of Nature, which are fufficient to juftifie the Church of Scotland, in the Measures the hath taken with regard to the Establishment and Obligation of her Confeffion.

Our Church was united together by the fame Faith and Hope; the Members of it embraced the Truths contained in her Confefion as the uncorrupted Doctrines of Salvation, they believed them moft agreeable to Divine Revelation, and the Genius of Chriftianity, and that they were admirably fuited to promote practical Religion in the Lives of Men, and had upon that Account the brighteft Characters of that Doctrine which is according to Godliness: In that Faith therefore our Church defired to be inftructed and enlivened, it was that he wanted to have taught her by the Ministers of the Gofpel; and the Dictates of her Confcience determined her to join in that Worship, and hearken to that Teaching which was founded upon and adapted to that Faith. So far as thefe Articles were departed from, fhe was perfwaded the Light of Truth was overclouded, and the Sacred Oracles perverted; and that Minifters in preaching, or People in hearing what was contrary thereto, in fo far miffed the End, or rather were placed in Oppofition to the very End which was propofed by the Inftitution of publick Teachers

This being the Cafe, fhe was perfwaded that she had an inherent Right founded as deep as Nature, to confine her Choice of Minifters to fuch as would preach thofe Doctrines; and that none had a Title to intrude into the Society against her Confent, or oblige her to counteract her own Judgment in order to gratifie theirs She faw that it was impoffible for any to give her this Satisfaction as to the Soundness of their Doctrine, without openly explaining themselves, in other Phrases than thofe precife ones which are to be found in the Holy Scriptures; and that therefore Canfeffions of Faith, plain and direct, were neceffary for this End, a Subfcription to which the thought upon that Account her Duty to require from all Minifters, and other Ecclefiaftical Perfons; in the Appointment whereof Authority of both Kinds civil and facred Acts of Parliament and Aembly concurred.

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An impartial Confideration of what hath been already remarked, may ferve to convince our Adverfaries that those very Maxims of Liberty which they glory in, and would appropriate to themselves, are firm enough Props to fupport all the Weight of that Authority which the Creeds of our Church pretend to. Though there needs nothing to vindicate them but the fundamental Principles of Society, and the natural Rights of rational Creatures: Yet it, no doubt, is a mighty Confirmation of the Ufe which our Church hath made of thefe Rights, in establishing her Confeffions; and yields a fenfible Pleasure, that it appears to us that the Commands of our Saviour, and the Train of the Cofpel Inftitutions approve our Conduct, and point out to us the Way we follow.

From thefe facred Oracles we are convinced that a free Choice is the very Soul of Religion, and every Man muft follow the Dictates of his Confcience: That Chriftians fhould be united together by the ftricteft Ties of Harmony; and formed into the molt exalted and affectionate Society, defigned for the nobleft Purposes, and mutually attracted by the higheft Principles of Union, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptifm: That in this Divine Society there fhould be fome peculiarly devoted to the Service of God and Religion, the Paftors and Rulers of the Church, one Part of whofe Province is to hold forth the Doctrine of Chriftianity in its Light and Purity, and improve it with the greateft Efficacy towards the Advancement of Truth and Holiness: And that the Doctrines of Religion are far from being reprefented by the infpired Apostles as airy Speculations, which might be freely difputed away; nor do they leave it indifferent either to the Paftors or People what they fhould teach or hear; but the firft are plainly commanded to take beed to their Doctrine (a), in Doctrine to show Uncorruptedness, and to use Sound Speech that cannot be condemned (b), they are difcharged to teach any other Doctrine, or give heed to Fables and endless Genealogies (c), and all the People are exhorted to Stability in the Faith, and to be no more Children, toffed to and fro, and carried about with every Wind of Doctrine, by the Sleight of Men (d), and to mark them which canfe Divifions and Offences, contrary to the Doctrine which they have learned; and avoid them (e).

It will not perhaps feem a very difficult and intricate Observation, That no Man can obey thefe Rules, and how Uncorruptednefs of Doctrine in teaching others, who does not receive the Purity of Faith himfelf: And that a Chriftián Society would act a very unwife Part,did they commit the Teaching or Improvement of that Doctrine, to a Man who declined a naked Acknowledg ment of his own Opinion concerning it; and who ftrove to conceal his real Sentiments, under the Cover of fubtile Diftintions, or doubtful Phrafes of an obfcure or variable Significafion

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(a) 1 Tim. 4. 16. (b) Tit. 2, 7, 8. (c) 1 Tim, 1. 3, 4. (d) Eph. 4.14. (e) Rom. 16. 17

It may not be unfit to acquaint our Readers, That in the foregoing Reafoning, and the Improvement we would have made of the preceeding Maxims, we confider the Church purely as a Chriftian Society entred into for fpiritual Purposes: And we abftract from any Authority and Support the may acquire from the State,and from her Interefts and Concerns in fo far as they are blended with the Civil Government of a Kingdom, where the may be eftablished by Law: Becaufe Circumftances of a Political Nature are foreign to the effential Conftitution of this Divine Society, fhe may fubfift and flourish where her external Condition is entirely different, the fame Rules may be obferved then, and the fame Meafures taken with regard to the Purity of Doctrine; as we find was done during thefe Ages when Chriftianity was fhut out of the Court and the Temple, the Westminster Confeffion at this Time is applied to the fame Purpofes by the Diffenters of Ireland, for which it is legally established in the Church of Scotland.

THE Principles which have been laid down, and the Ufefulilluftrated and confirmed, after we have examined the moft plaufible Objections which the Adverfaries of Creeds load them with. To the Confideration of which we fhall now proceed,

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The firft and moft noify Argument whereby Endeavours are made to run down all Creeds, and expofe them to Contempt and Hatred, is, (a) That they are in their own Nature an arbitrary "and tyrannical Invafion upon the natural Rights of Mankind, whereby every Man hath a Title to judge for himfelf, and not to be impofed upon by the Determinations of others, whether "private Perfons or Councils and Churches, That therefore, for any to form Creeds, and make their own Sentiments and darling Opi"nions the Standard of Truth and Orthodoxy, is to ufurp an Authority over the Confciences of Men, founded upon the Maxims "of Popery, and directly contrary to the Spirit of the Reformation: "And the efore as it is an Attempt to be abhorred in every Body, "fo 'tis particularly inexcufable in Proteftants, who feparate from "the Church of Rome upon the Foot of private Judgment: And feems to argue, That tho they plead for a Liberty of diffenting from every Body elfe, yet they would fain keep others from exercifing their own Judgments, in following the Dictates of their own Minds, and that while they are engaged in a pretended "Defiance to implicite Faith: Befides 'tis alledged that 'tis contrary to our avowed Principle, That the Scriptures are the only Rule by "which we are to try all Opinio s, and determine all Controverfies; For a "Church at the fame Time to claim an Authority in Matters of Faith, "decide difputable Queftions, and ither abfolve or condemn Men according to their own Formula's, as well as the Scrip

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tures.

(a) Vide Occafional Paper, Vol. 2. N. 1. p. 8, 9, 15, 16.

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