¶ This confescion was fyrste wrytten and set out by the mini sters of the churche and congre­gacion of Sweuerland / where all godlynes is receyued / and the worde hadde in moste reuerence / and from thence was sent vnto the Emperours maiestie / then holdynge a gryat counsell or parliamēt in the yeare of our lord God. M.v.C.xxxvii. in the moneth of February. Transla­ted out of laten by George Us­sher / a scotchman / who was burned in Scotland / the yeare of oure lorde M.v.C.xl.vi.

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THe canonycall or holy scryp­ture whiche is the worde of god taught and gyuen by the holy spryte, & puplyshed vnto the worlde by the pro­phetes and holy apostles, which also is the moost perfyte and auncient science and doctryne of wysoome / it alone con­tayneth consumatly all godlynes and all sorte and maner of facyon of lyfe.

The interpretacion or exposiciō of this holy wrytte ought and shuld be sought out of it selfe, so that it shulde be the owne interpretour, the rule of charite and faythe hauynge gouernaunce.

As to other thynges, of tradicions of men howe bewtifull & how moch receyued [Page] soeuer they be, what so euer tradicions withdraweth vs & stoppeth vs fro the scripture, of such do we answere the sayenges of the lord as of thynges hurt full and vnprofytable, they worshyppe me in vayne teachyng the doctrynes of man. Mathi. xv.

For the whiche sorte of interpretacy­on so farre as the holy fathers hathe not gone fro it, not onely do we receyue them as interpretours of the scripture but also we honour and worshyp them as chosen and beloued instrumentes of God

The pryncypal entent of al the scripture canonicall is to declare that God is beniuolent and frendly mynded to mankynde, and that he hathe declared [Page] that kyndnes in and throughe Iesu Chryste his onely sone, the which kynd nes is receyuyd by fayth, but this fayth is effectuous through charitie and ex­pressed in an innocent lyfe

Of God we byleue in this sorte, that he is almyghtie, beynge one in substāce and thre in persones, whiche euen as he hathe created by his worde, that is his sone, all thynges of nothynge, so by his spirite and prouydence gouerns he, preserue, & norysheth he, most truly, ryght­ously, and wysely all thynges.

Man whiche is the perfectest image of God in earthe, and also is the chefe dignite and honoure amonge all crea­tures visible, beynge made of soule and body, of the whiche twayne the body is [Page] mortall, the soule immortall, whan he was creat of god holy, by fallynge in vyce and synne throughe his owne fal, drew with hym in that same ruen & fal, & so subiected all mākynde to the same calamitie & wretchydnes that he fell in.

And so this pestiferous infection whiche men calleth originall, hathe in­fecte and ouerspred the whole kynde of man, so far that by no helpe (he beynge the sone of wrathe and vengaunge and enemye of god) coulde be healed by any meanes but by the helpe of god onely, for yf there be any good that remayneth in man after the fall, that same beynge ioyntelie made weaker and weaker by our vyce tournes to the worse, because the strengthe and power of euyll ouer­cometh it, and nother suffereth it vs to folowe reason nor yet to exersyse y ^e godlynes of our mynde.

Wherfore we attribute so free wyll to man as we whiche wyttynge & wyl­lynge to do good, fele experiēce of euyll, Also euyll trewly we maye do of oure owne wyll, but to enbrace and folowe good (except we be elluminat styred vp and mounted, by the grace of Chryst) we maye not, for god is he whiche worketh in vs, bothe to wyll, to performe, and to accomplyshe for his owne good wyll sake, and of god cōmeth our helth and saluacion, but of our selfe commeth perdicion.

And howbeit that through his fault man was subiecte vnto dampnacion, and also was runne vnder the iuste in­dingnacion of God to take vengaunce of hym, yet god the father neuer seaced [Page] to take a mercyfull cure ouer hym, the whiche thynge is manifest not onely of the fyrste prynces and the whole lawe, whiche as it is holy and good teaching vs the wyll of god, ryghtuousnes, and truthe, so worketh it wrath and storeth vp synne within vs, and slacketh it not, and that not through any faulte of it selfe but through oure vyce, but also clerely appereth it through Christ whi­che was ordayned and geuen for that purpose.

This Christ the very sone of God, & very God and very man also was made our brother, at the tyme appoynted he toke vpon hi whole man, made of soule and body, hauynge two natures vnpermyxte and one deuyne parsone, to the intent that he shulde restore vnto lyfe vs that were deed, and make vs aryse [Page] of God annexte with hym selfe, he also after that he had taken vpon him of the immaculate virgin by operacion of the holy goost fleshe, whiche was holy by­cause of the vnion of the godhed, which is and also was lyke to our fleshe in all thynges excepte in synfulnes, and that bycause it behoued y ^e sacrefice for synne to be cleane and inmaculate, gaue that same fleshe to death for to expell all our synne by that meanes, and he also to the entent that we shuld haue one full and perfecte hope and trust of our inmorta­litie hathe raysed vp agayne fro death to lyfe his owne fleshe, and hathe set it and placed it in heauen at the ryghte hande of his almyghty father.

And there he sytteth our victorious champiō, our gyder, our capitayne, and heed, also our hyghest bysshop in dede / synne, death, and hell, beynge victori­ously ouercome by hym, and defendeth oure cause and pleateth it perpetually vntyll he shall reforme and fascion vs [Page] to that lykenes to whiche we were cre­ate, and brynge vs to be partakers of eternall lyfe, and we loke for hym and beleueth that he shall come at the ende of all ages to be our trewe ryghtuous iust Iudge, and shall pronofice sentence agaynst all fleshe, whiche shalbe raysed vp before to that Iudgement / and that he shall exalte the godly a boue the heauens, but the vngodly shall he cōdēpne bothe body & soule to eternal distructiō.

And as he onely is oure mediatour, and entercessour, hoste and sacrifice, bysshop, lorde, and our kynge. Also do we acknowlage and confesse hym onely to be our attonement and raunsome, satis­faction, expiacion, or wysdome, our de­fence, and our onely deliuerer, refusyng vtterly all other meane of lyfe and sal­uacion, excepte thus by Chryst onely.

[Page] And therfore in the whole doctryne of the euangelystes anūnciat and shew to be the fyrste, and chefely to be incul­cated and taught that we are safe onely by the marcie of God, and merite of our sauiour Christ. And that men maye perceyue and vnderstande the better howe necessary is the mercie of god, and Christes merites for thē, theyr synnes shuld be clerely shewed to them by the lawe, and remission by Christes death.

And these so godly benifites with the very sanctificacion of the holy spirite, do we optayne by fayth, the very trewe gyfte of God, and not throughe any o­ther power or strength of oure selues or merytes.

Whiche faythe is one certayne and vndouted substance and aprehensyon of all thynges that we hope for to come of the kyndnes of god, and it cometh [Page] firste out of the selfe charitie, it worketh noble frutes of al vertues, yet not with standynge we atribute no thyng to the dedes, althoughe they be godly yet be they mennes workes and actes, but the helthe and saluacion that is optayned, we atribute to the grace of god onely, and truely this worshypynge a lone is the very trewe worshypynge of god, faythe I meane mooste pryngnaunt & plentifull of good workes without any confydence in the workes.

Also we holde and beleue that the churche, whiche is the congregacion & eleccion of all holy men, whiche also is the spouse of Christ whom he shall pre­sente without spot vnto his father wa­shynge it in his owne blode, is of suche lyuely stones aforesayd layde vpō this lyuely rocke on this maner.

The whiche churche howbeit, it be [Page] euydently knowne onely to the eyes of God, yet be certayne eternall ryghtes institute by Christ and be one publyke and lawful teachynge, teachynge of the worde of god, not onely is it spyed and knowen, but it is also so constituted by them that without the cerimonies there is no man reconed to be of it, excepte it be by a synguler preuilege of God

And for this cause we graunte the ministers of the church to be Cooperators of God as Paule calleth thē, by whome God geueth and ministreth both know ledge of our selfe, and remissiō of synne, and conuerteth men to hym selfe, ray­seth them vp, and comforteth thē, affrayeth them also, and iudgeth them / but so that the vertue and efficacie therof we ascrybe also to the Lorde, and the mini­stracion of the sacramentes. For it is manifest that this efficacie and powre [Page] is not bounde nor knytte to any crea­ture, but is dyspensed lyberally and fre ly who soeuer and when soeuer he shall please / for he that watereth is nothyng, nor yet is he that planteth any thynge, but he that geueth the encreasment, whiche is God.

The aucthorite to preache Goddes worde, and to feede the Lordes flocke, the whiche properly is the power of the keyes, prescribynge and cōmaundyng, all men bothe hye and lowe all lyke, shulde be holy and inuiolat, and shulde be cōmitted onely to them that are mete therfore / and chosen other by the elecci­on of God, or elles by a sure and aduy­sed eleccion of the churche, or by theyr wyll to whome the churches depute & apoynt that offyce of chosynge.

This ministracion and offyce shulde be graunted to no man but to hi whom the ministers of the churche, and they vnto whom the charge is gyuen by the churches, & foūd iudged to be of know­lage in the law of god, & of inocent lyfe, the whiche seynge it is the very elecciō of God, it is well and iustlye approued by the voyce of the churche, and the im­posicion of handes of the heedes of the preestes.

Christe verely hym selfe is the very trewe heed of his churche and congre­gacion, and the onely pastor and heerd, and he also geueth presydētes, heedes, and teachers, to the entent that in the externall administracion they shulde vse the power of the churche well and [Page] lawfully, wherfore we knowe not them that are heedes & pastors in name one­ly, nor yet the Romenishe heedes.

The chefe and pryncypall offyce of this ministracion is to preache repen­taunce and remission of synne through Iesu Christe, to praye continually for the people, to geue diligence wholy to holy stodyes and to the worde of God, and resyst and pursue the deuyll alway with the word of god, as w ^t the sworde of the spirite, and that with a deadly ha tered, and by all meanes to chasten him awaye, to defende the holy citezens of Christe.

And by all meanes compell and re­proue the fautie and vicious, and to exclude from the churche them that ste­reth to farre, and that by a godly con­sente and agrement of them whiche are chosen of y ^e ministers and magistrates [Page] for correccyon, or to ponyshe them by a­ny other waye conuenient and profytable meanes, so longe vntyll they come to a mendement, and so be safe, for this is the returnynge of the churche agay­ne, for one suche Citezen of Chryst yf he acknowlage and confesse his erroure with conuerted mynde and lyfe, for all this doctryne seketh and wylleth that we requyre wyllynge and helthefull correccion, exhilarite, or comforte all godly by a newe studdy of godlynes.

There is twayne whiche are named in the church of God sacramētes, Bap­tyme and howslynge, these be tokens of secrete thynges, that is of godly and spirituall thynges, of whiche thynges they take the name, are not of naked syngnes, but they are of sygnes and be cites together, for in baptisme the wa­ter [Page] is the sygne, but the thynge and ve­rytie is regeneracyon and adopcion, in the people of God. In the howslynge & thankes gyuynge the bread and the wyne are synes, but the thynge and ve­ritie is the communion of the body of our lorde, helthe and saluacion founde and remyssyon of synnes, the which are receyuyd by faythe euen as the sygnes and tokens are receyued by the bodely mouth.

Wherfore we affyrme the sacramen­tes not onely to be badges and tokens of christiā societie, but to be also synes of the grace of God, by the whiche the ministers worketh withe God, to the ende y ^t the promyse bryngeth the worke to passe, but so as is aforesayde of the ministracion of the worde, that all the same powre be ascribed to the lorde.

We affyrme Baptym to be by the institucion [Page] of the lorde, the lauer of rege­neracion, the whiche regeneracion the lorde exhibiteth to his chosen by a visi­ble sygne by the ministraciō of the con­gregaciō as is a foresayde, in the which holy lauer we wasshe oure infantes for this cause, because it is wyckednes to reiecte and cast out of the felowshyp & company of the people of God the that are borne of vs whiche are the people of God, excepte them that are expressely cōmaunded to be reiected by the voyce of God, and for this cause chefely, by­cause we shulde not presume vngodly of theyr election.

But the misticall supper is in the whiche the lorde offereth his body and his blode, that is his owne selfe verely to his owne, for this entent he myghte lyue more and more in them and they in hym / not so that the body and blode of [Page] the lorde are cōmuned naturally to the bread and wyne, or closed in them as in one place, or put in them by any carnal or meruelous presence, but bycause the body and blode of oure lorde are recey­uyd verely of one faythful soule, and be cause the bread and the wyne by the in­stituciō of the lorde, are tokens be whi­cha the very communion or participa­cyon of the lordes body and blode are exhibited of the lorde him selfe through the mynistracion of the churche, not to be a meat corruptible of the belly, but to be a noryshemente and meat of eternal lyfe

And this holy meat do we vse ofte for this cause, for when through the monicion and rememberaunce of it, we be­holde withe the eye of our fayth, the de­ath and blode of hym that was crucifi­ed, and remember oure saluacyon and helthe, not with out a taste of heauenly lyfe, and very trewe felynge of eternall lyfe / when we do this we are wonder­fully [Page] refresshed throughe this spiritual lyuynge and eternall foode.

And that with an vnspeakeable swetnes we exulte and reioyce with a myrth vnexpressable in wordes, for the salua­cion that is founde, and we all & whole are effused with all our power and strē gth, vtterly in doynge of thankes for so wonderful a benefyte of Christ toward vs

Therfore it is greatly without oure deseruynges that some aleges and say­eth of vs that we attrybute lyttell to the holy sacramētes, for they are holy thyn ges and honorable, bycause they are in stitute and ordayned by our hye preest Christ, and receyued exhibiting the thi­ges that they syngnifie in theyr owne maner as is aforesayd, beynge wytnes to the thinge that is done in dede, representynge so hye and harde thynges, & bryngeth by wonderfull corespondence and lykenes of similitude a lyght and a clerenes to the mynysters that they [Page] syngnifie, so wholy is our beleue and estimacion of the sacramentes, but verely appropriattynge the vertue of quic­kenynge and sanctifienge to hym onely whiche is lyfe, to whom be all honoure and prayse for euer Amen.

We beleue and thynke the holy con­uencions and gatherynges shulde be holden on this maner and sorte, so that fyrst, chefely, and before all thynges the worde of God be preached to the people openlie in an open and publyke place, and that daylie, and the secrete and the obscure places of the scripture be ope­ned and declared by mete and competēt mē. And that by the holy supper of thā ­kes, called howselynge, the faithe of the godly be ofte exersysed, and that they shulde be contynually in prayer for all men, and for the necessities of all men.

But the rest of ceremonies, which as [Page] they are vnprofitable so are they innu­merable, as vescels, garmentes, waxe, lyghtes, alters, golde, syluer, in somoch as they serue to subuerte the trewe re­lygion of God, and chefely Idols and Images, that stande open to be wor­shyped, and geue offence and slaunder, and all suche prophane and vngodly thynges do we abādon reiecte and put awaye from the holy cōgregacion and conuencion.

We also abandon and reiecte from our holy conuencions all them that de­parteth frō the societie and fellowshyp of the holy churche, and bryngeth in straunge or vngodly sectes and opini­ons, with the whiche euyll the Anabap tistes are chefely infecte this tyme / the whiche we iudge shuld be constrayned and punished by the maiestrates and hye powers, yf they obstinatly do resyst [Page] and wyll not obeye the monission of the church, and that for the entent that they shulde not infecte & corrupte the flocke of God throughe theyr wycked euyll.

The thynges that are called, and in dede also are indifferent, howbeit a god ly mā may vse them frely and in euery place and at all tymes, yet not withstandynge he shulde vse them with know­lage and of charitie to the glory of God trewly, and the edificaciō of the churche and congregacion.

And seynge euery magistrate and hyghe powre is of God, his chefe and pryncipall office is (excepte he wolde rather vse tyranny) to defende the trewe worshipinge of God from all blasfemy, and to procure trewe religion, and as [Page] the prophete dothe teache of the voyce of God, to execute for his power, in whiche part a trewe and syncere preaching of the worde of God remayneth with a ryghte and diligent institucion of the discipline of citezens, and of the scooles iust correccion and nurture, with libe­ralitie towarde the mynystres of the churche, with a solicitat and thought­full charge of the poore, to the whiche ende all the rychesse of the churche is referred. This I saye hathe the fyrst and chefe place in the execucion of the magistrat.

Then after to iudge the people by equall and godly lawes, to excersyce & mayntayne iudgement and iustice, to defende the commune welthe, and pu­nysshe transgressours accordynge to theyr fauite, outher in goodes, theyr bodies, or theyr lyues, and when the ma­iestrate executeth these thynges he ho­noreth god as he shuld in his vocaciō, and we (howebeit we be free bothe in [Page] our boby and all oure goodes, and in the studies of oure mynde and thought also with a trewe saythe) knoweth that we shulde be subiecte in holynes to the maiestrate, and shulde kepe fydelitie & promes to hym so longe as his com­maundementes, statutes, and imperes euidently repungneth not with him for whose sake we honour and worshyp the maiestrates.

We Iudge mariage whiche was in­stytute of God for all men apte & mete therfore, whiche are not called from it by any other vocaciō, to repugne to ho­lynes of no ordre, the whiche mariage as the churche auctoriseth it, and cele­brates, and solempniseth it with orison and prayer. And therfore we reiecte and refuse this monckely chastite and all hole this slouthful and slouggishe sorte of lyfe of supersticious men, as abomi­nablye [Page] inuented and excogitat thynge, and abandon it as a thinge repugnant bothe to the comune weale and to the churche. And so confyrmeth and stablis­sheth it, so it belōgeth to the magistrate to se that it be worthely bothe begonne and worshypped, and not broken but for a iust cause.

It is not our mynde for to prescribe by this breefe chapters a certayne rule of the faythe to all churches and congre gacyons, for we knowe no other rule of faythe but the holy scripture / and ther­fore we are well contented with them that agreeth with these thynges, howe beit they vse an other maner of spea­kynge or confession dyfferent apartly to this of ours in wordes, for rather shulde the matter be consydered then the wordes.

[Page] And therfore we make it free for all men to vse theyr owne sorte of speaking as they shall perceyue moste profitable for theyr churches, and we shall vse the same libertie.

And yf any man wyll attempte to corrupte the trewe meanynge of this oure confession he shall heare bothe a confe­ssion and a defēce of the veritie & truth.

It was our pleasure to vse these wordes at this present tyme that we myght declare our opinion in our religiō and worshypenge of God.