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Christ, ceus qui sont unis à luy those who are united to him by a par une vive Foy, doivent s'adon- living faith ought to apply, and do ner, et s'adonnent en effet, à bonnes really apply themselves, unto good works.

œuvres.

XXI. Que les bonnes œuvres XXI. That good works are so sont si necessaires aus fideles, necessary to the faithful that qu'ils ne peuvent parvenir au they can not attain the kingdom Royaume des Cieux sans les of heaven without the same, seefaire, estant vray que Dieu les a ing that God hath prepared them preparées afin que nous y chemi- that we should walk therein; and noins, qu'ainsi nous devons fuir therefore we ought to flee from les vices, et nous adonner aux vice, and apply ourselves to Chrisvertus Chrêtiennes, employant les tian virtues, making use of fasting, jûnes et tous autres moyens, qui and all other means which may peuvent nous servir à une chose conduce to so holy a thing. si sainte.

XXII. Que bien que nos œuvres

XXII. That, although our good

ne puissent pas meriter, nôtre works can not merit any thing, yet Seigneur ne laissera pas de les the Lord will reward or recompense recompenser de la Vie Eternelle, them with eternal life, through the par une continuation miseri- merciful continuation of his grace, cordieuse de sa grace, et en vertu and by virtue of the unchangeable de la constance immuable des pro- constancy of his promises made messes qu'il nous en fait.

unto us.

XXIII. Que ceux qui possedent XXIII. That those who are alla Vie Eternelle en suite de leur ready in the possession of eternal Foy, et de leurs bonnes œuvres, life in consequence of their faith doivent estre confiderés comme and good works ought to be conSaints, et glorifiés, loués pour sidered as saints and glorified perleurs vertus, imités en toutes les sons, and to be praised for their belles actions de leur vie, mais virtue and imitated in all good non adorés, ni invoqués, puis actions of their life, but neither qu'on ne doit prier qu'un seul worshiped nor invoked, for God Dieu par Jesus Christ.

XXIV. Que Dieu s'est recueilli

only is to be prayed unto, and that through Jesus Christ.

XXIV. That God has chosen

une Église dans le monde, pour le | one Church in the world for the salut des hommes, quelle n'a qu'un salvation of men, and that this seul Chef, et fondament, qui est Church has one only head and Jesus Christ. foundation, which is Jesus Christ. XXV. Que cette Église est la XXV. That this Church is the compagnie des fideles, qui ayans company of the faithful, who, havesté éleus de Dieu, devant la ing been elected by God before fondation du monde, et appellés the foundation of the world, and par une sainte vocation, s'unissent called with a holy calling, unite pour suivre la Parole de Dieu, themselves to follow the Word croyans ce qu'il nous y enseigne, of God, believing whatsoever he teaches them therein, and living in his fear.

et vivans en sa crainte.

XXVI. Que cette Église ne peut defaillir, ou estre aneantie, mais qu'elle doit estre perpetuelle.

XXVII. Que tous s'y doivent ranger, et se tenir dans sa com

munion.

XXVI. That this Church can not fail, nor be annihilated, but must endure forever [and that all the elect are upheld and preserved by the power of God in such sort that they all persevere in the faith unto the end, and remain united in the holy Church, as so many living members thereof].'

XXVII. That all men ought to join with that Church, and to continue in the communion thereof.

XXVIII. Que Dieu ne nous y XXVIII. That God does not instruit pas seulement par sa Pa- only instruct us by his Word, but role, mais que de plus il a institué has also ordained certain sacrades Sacremens pour les joindre à ments to be joined with it, as cette Parole, comme des moyens means to unite us to Jesus Christ, pour nous unir à Jesus Christ, and to make us partakers of his et pour communiquer à ses bene- benefits; and that there are only fices, et qu'il n'y en a que deux two of them belonging in comcommuns à tous les membres de mon to all the members of the

1 The words in brackets are not represented in the French text of Leger, and are taken from Henderson and Hazlitt.

7. Que les bonnes œuvres ne sont pas necessaires au salut.

8. Que nous rejettons absolument la Confession des pechés, et la Penitence.

9. Qu'il faut rejetter les Jûnes, et autres mortifications de la chair, pour vivre dans la dissolution.

10. Que châcun peut expliquer l'Ecriture Sainte comme il luy plait, et selon les inspirations de son esprit particulier.

11. Que l'Église peut de tout defaillir, et

estre anneantie.

12. Que le Baptéme n'est d'aucune necessité. 13. Que dans le Sacrement de l'Eucharistie, nous n'avons aucune reelle communion avec Jesus Christ, mais seulement en figure.

14. Qu'on n'est pas obligé d'obeir aux Magistrats, Rois, Princes, etc.

15. Parce que nous n'invoquons pas la Sainte Vierge, et les hommes déja glorifiés, on nous accuse de les mépriser, au lieu que nous les publions bienheureus, dignes, et de loüange, et d'imitation, et tenons sur tout la Sainte Vierge Bienheureuse entre toutes les Fem

mes.

Or tous ces Chefs qui nous sont ainsi malicieusement imputés, bien loin de les croire ou enseigner parmi nous, que nous les tenons pour heretiques et damnables, et denonçons de tout

nôtre cœur anatheme contre quiconque les voudroit soutenir.

6. That good works are not necessary to salvation;

7. That we entirely reject confession of sins and repentance;

8. That fasting and other mortifications of the flesh must be rejected, in order to lead a dissolute life;

9. That any one may explain the Holy Scripture as he pleases, and according to the fanciful suggestions of his own mind;

10. That the Church can entirely fail and be destroyed;

11. That baptism is not necessary;

12. That in the sacrament of the eucharist we have no communion with Christ in fact, but in a figure only;

13. That obedience is not due to magistrates, kings, princes, etc.;

14. That we despise, because we do not invoke, the most holy Virgin and glorified saints; while in fact we pronounce them blessed and worthy both of praise and imitation, and hold above all the holy Virgin Mary to be blessed amongst women.'

All these articles maliciously imputed to us, far from believing or teaching them, we hold to be heretical and damnable, and we denounce from all our heart every one who would maintain them.

les veut communiquer pour nour-same unto us as the food of eter riture en vie eternelle, fais nous nal life, we humbly beseech thee to cette grace que de vraye sincerité grant us this grace that in true de cœur, et d'un zele ardant nous sincerity of heart and with an arrecevions de luy un si grand bene- dent zeal we may receive from him fice, c'est qu'en certaine Foy nous so great a benefit; that is, that we jouissions de son Corps et de son may be made partakers of his body Sang, voire de luy entierement,' and blood, or rather of his whole self, by a sure and certain faith? The words of the Liturgy are

etc.

Les termes de notre Liturgie sont: Premierement donc, croy- these: Let us then believe first ons à ces promesses, que Jesus of all the promises which Christ Christ qui est la verité même a (who is the infallible truth) has prononcées de sa bouche, assavoir pronounced with his own mouth, qu'il nous veut vrayement faire viz., that he will make us truly participans de son Corps et de son partakers of his body and blood, Sang, afin que nous le possedions entierement en telle sorte qu'il vive en nous, et nous en luy.'

Ceus de notre Catechisme public sont de même en la Section 53.

that so we may possess him entirely, in such a manner that he may live in us and we in him?

The words of our Catechism are the same, Nella Dominica 53.

XXXI. Qu'il est necessaire que XXXI. That it is necessary the Église aye des Pasteurs, jugés Church should have pastors known biens instruits, et de bonne vie, par by those who are employed for that ceux qui en ont le droit, tant pour purpose to be well instructed and prêcher la Parole de Dieu, que of a good life, as well to preach pour administrer les Sacremens, the Word of God as to administer et veiller sur le troupeau de Jesus the sacraments, and wait upon the Christ, suivant les regles d'une flock of Christ (according to the bonne et sainte Discipline, con- rules of a good and holy discipline), jointement avec les Anciens et together with elders and deacons, Diacres, selon la pratique de after the manner of the primitive l'Église ancienne. Church.

XXXII. Que Dieu a établi les XXXII. That God hath estabRois et les Magistrats, pour la lished kings and magistrates to conduite des peuples, et que les govern the people, and that the

itent with everlasting destruction,'

and to save the true believer with

an everlasting salvation.

NOTE. The remaining six sections of the Westminster Confession, which contain the knotty points of Calvinism, are entirely omitted. Instead of them an official explanation is attached, as follows:

'We think it better, under the head of Decrees, to write what we know to be incontrovertible from the plain Word of God, than to darken counsel by words without knowledge. We have elsewhere acknowledged the doctrine of predestination to be a high mystery. We are free to acknowledge that in our judgment it is easier to fix the limits which man should not transcend, on either hand, than to give an intelligent elucidation of the subject. We believe that both Calvinists and Arminians have egregiously erred on this point: the former by driving rational, accountable man into the asylum of fate; the latter by putting too much stress on man's works, and leaving too much out of view the grace that bringeth salvation, and thereby cherish[ing] those legal principles that are in every human heart. We think the intermediate plan on this subject is nearest the WHOLE truth; for surely, on the one hand, it must be acknowledged, the love of God, the merits of Christ, and the operation of the Holy Spirit are the moving, meritorious, and active causes of man's salvation; that God is a sovereign, having a right to work when, where, how, and on whom he pleases; that salvation, in its device, in its plan, and in its application, is of the Lord; and that without the unmerited agency and operation of the Spirit of God not one of Adam's race would or could ever come to the knowledge of the truth-for God is the author as well as the finisher of our faith. Therefore God, as a sovereign, may, if he pleases, elect a nation, as the Jews, to preserve his worship free from idolatry; many nations for a time, as Christendom, in which to spread his gospel; individuals, as Cyrus and others, to answer a particular purpose; Paul and others for apostles; Luther and Calvin to promote the Reformation. But as it respects the salvation of the soul, God as a sovereign can only elect or choose fallen man in Christ, who is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. But it appears to us incontestible, from God's Word, that God has reprobated none from eternity. That all mankind become legally reprobated by transgression is undeniable, and continue so until they embrace Christ. "Examine yourselves," etc. "Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" (2 Cor. xiii. 5). Now this can not mean eternal reprobates, or all who have not Christ in them would be such, the absurdity of which will at once appear to every common capacity. Reprobation is not what some have supposed it to be, viz., a sovereign determination of God to create millions of rational beings, and for his own glory damn them eternally in hell, without regard to moral rectitude or sin in the creature. This would tarnish the divine glory, and render the greatest, best, and most lovely of all Beings most odious in the view of all intelligences. When man sinned he was legally reprobated, but not damned: God offered, and does offer, the law-condemned sinner mercy in the gospel, he having from the foundation of the world so far chosen mankind in Christ as to justify that saying in 1 Tim. iv. 10, "Who is the Saviour of all men, especially of them that believe." This is a gracious act of God's sovereign electing love, as extensive as the legal condemnation, or reprobation, in which all mankind are by nature. But, in a particular and saving sense, none can be properly called God's elect till they be justified and united to Christ, the end of the law for righteousness (none are justified from eternity), as appears evident from the following passages of God's Word: "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? Who is he that condemneth?" (Rom. viii. 33, 34). Now it is certain [that] the unbeliever is chargeable and condemned. Again, "If it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect" (Matt. xxiv. 24). It is evident that a man must be enlightened in the knowledge

11 Thess. v. 9; v. 3; Mark xvi. 16.

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