and our own Flefh, do conftantly affault us. Uphold thou us, and efta. blifh us by the Might of thy Spirit, that we may not yield in this fpiri. tual Combat, but may fo long ftrenuously refift them, until at length we x obtain a complete Victory.

128. Queft. How concludeft thou thy Prayer?

Anf. FOR THINE IS THE KING. Mat. 6. 13. DOM, THE POWER, AND THE GLORY, FOR EVER. That is we ask all these things of Thee, becaufe, fince Thou art both our King, and Almighty, Thou art both willing and able to y give them all unto us. And these things we there. fore ask, that out of them, all Glory may z redound, not unto us but unto thy holy Name. 129. Queft. What meaneth this par- ler. 33. 8. ticle AMEN.

y Rom. 20. 12.

1 Pet. 2. 9.

z Ioh. 14 13. Pfal. 115. I.

9.

Anf. AMEN fignifies, let it be done, or let it be truly accomplished. For my Prayer is much more cer tainly heard of God, than I feel in my Heart, that I unfeignedly * de- *2 Cor. 1. fire the fame.

F I

N I S.

20.

2 Tim. 4. 13.

The

Of

H,

We know Him by two Means. Firft by the Creation, Prefervation, and Government of the whole World; fince it is before our Eyes as a most beautiful Book, in which all the Creatures, both great and small, are as fo many Characters, leading us unto the Contemplation of the invifible things of God, viz. bis eternal Power and Godbead, as the Apostle Paul faith, Rom. 1. 20. Ail which things are fufficient to covince Mankind, and to leave bem without excufe. Secondly He makes Him. felf known unto us much more plainly and fully by his boly and divine Word, to wit, as far as it is necellary in this Life for his Glory and our Salvation.!

III.

We confefs that this Word of God was not fent nor delivered by the Will of Man, but boly Men of God Spoke as they were moved by abe Holy Ghoft, as the Apoftle Peter tell us. But God afterwards, from a special Care which He takes for us and our Salvation, comman

ded his Servants, the Prophets, and Apoftles, to commit thefe his Oracles to Writing. And He Himself wrote with his own Finger, the two Tables of the Law. Therefore we call fuch Writings, boly and divine Scriptures.

IV.

Whe comprehend the Holy Scriptures in the two Volums of the old and new Teftament, which are canonical Books, without all Contradiction. Thefe are fummed up in the Church of God after this Manner. The Books of the Old Teftament are the five Books of Mofes, viz. Genefis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deu teronomy; the Book of Foua, Judges, Rutb, two Books of Samuel, and two Books of the Kings, two Books of the Chronicles; the first Book of Ezra, Nebemiab, Eftber, Foo, the Pfalms of David, the three Books of Salomon, viz. the Proverbs, Ecclefiaftes, and the Song of Songs; the four greater Prophets, viz. Ifaiab Jeremiab, Ezekiel and Daniel; and the other twelve leffer Prophets, viz. Hofea, Joel, Amos, Obadiab, Fonab, Micab, Nabum, Habbakuk, Zephaniab, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi Thofe of the New Teftament are the four Evangelifts, viz. Mathew, Mark, Luke, Jobn; the Acts of the Apostles, the fourteen Epiftles of the Apostle Paul, viz. to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Epbefians, to the Philippians, to the Coloffians, two to the Theffalonians, two to Timothy, to Titus, to Philemon, to the Hebrews; the feven Epiftles of the other Apoftles, viz. the Epistle of Fames; rbe two Epiftles of Peter, the three Epifties

C 3

V.

All these Books and thefe only, we receive as holy and canonical, for the regulating, grounding, and confirming, of our Faith believing without any doubt all thefe Things which are contained in them, not fo much becaufe the Church doth receive and approve them for fuch; but more efpecially because the Holy Ghost bears Witnefs in our Hearts that they are come from God; fince they carry the Evidence of it along with them: for the very blind are able to perceive the fulfilling of thofe Matters, that are fore.told in them.

VI.

Whe diftinguifh thofe holy Books from the Apocryphal, viz. The third and fourtb Book of Ezdras, the Books of Tobie and Judith, the Books of Wisdom, Jefus Syrach, Baruch, the Appendix to the Book of Eftber, the Prayer of the bree young Men in the Furnace, the Hiftory of Sufanna, that of the Image of Bell and the Dragon, the Prayer of Manaffe, and likwife the wo Books of the Maccbabees. All which the Church may read, and take Inftruction out of them, in as much as they do agree with the Canonical Books. But they have by no Means fuch a Power and Efficacy, as to confirm by

of their Teftimonies, any Point of Faith or chriftian Religion; much lefs, to detract from the Authority of those other boly Books.

VII.

We believe that thefe boly Scriptures do fully contain the Will of God, and that every thing, which a Man ought to believe unto Salvation, is fufficiently taught in the fame. For fince the whole Manner of divine Worship which God requires of us, is writ down in them at large, it is unlawful, for any one though an Apostle, to teach otherwife than we are taught by the holy Scriptures; nay though it was an Angel from Heaven, as S. Paul faith. For fince it is forbidden to add unto, or take away any bing from the Word of God. it doth thereby evidently appear that the Doctrine of it is very

ought we to compare the Writings of any Men, tho never fo holy, unto thofe divine Scriptures; nor ought we to compare Cuftom or the great Multitude, or Antiquity, or Suc. ceffion of Times or Perfons, or Councels, Decrees or Statutes, with the Truth of God, for the Truth is above all. For all Men are naturally Liars, and more vain than Vanity itself. Therefore we reject with our very Heart every thing which doth not agree with this infallible Rule, as the Apoftles have taught us, faying. Try the Spirits whether they are of God. And, If there come any unto you, and bring not this Doctrine, receive bim not into your House.

According to this Truth and this Word of God, we believe in one only God, who is one fingle Effence, in which there are three Perfons really, truely, and eternally distinguifhed, according to their incommunicable Properties, viz. The FATHER, and the SON. and the HOLY GHOST. The FATHER is the Caufe, the Original, and the Beginning of all Things, botb vifible and invifible. The SON is the Word, the Wisdom, and the Image of the Father. The HOLY GHOST is the eternal Strength and Power proceeding from the Father and the Son. Nevertheless God is not, by this Diftinction, divided into three, fince the boly Scriptures teach us: That the FATHER, the SON, and the HOLY GHOST, each of them hath his Substance, diftinguished by their Pro perties; but in fuch Manner, that thefe three Perfons are but one only God. Hence then it is plain, that the Father is not the Son, and that the Son is not the Father, and that the Holy Ghoft is neither the Father, nor the Son. In the mean Time thefe Perfons thus diftinguished, are not divided nor confufed among themselves, nor mixed together. For the Father has not affumed the Flesh, neither hath the Holy Ghoft done it; but only the Son. The Father hath never been without his Son, or without his Holy Ghoft; for they are all three coeternal, and coeffential. There is no first nor laft here; fince they are all three ONE, as in Truth, and Power, fo in Goodness, and Mercy.

IX.