Symbols are no private writings, but that they are books, approved and received, which, in the name of the church, serve to explain her doctrine and religion; just as in page 507, after an enumeration of the chief subjects of the Book of Concord,the Augsburg Confession, the Apology, the Articles of Smalcald, and the two Catechisms of Luther,—they are denominated "public and approved writings which, together with the old, acknowledged Symbols, contribute to their enlargement and extension." Now here the general custom is manifest,-the Confession of Faith is distinguished by the term Symbol, a shorter expression than "Form of Confession," with the expression Symbolic Writings or Book, rather than a full explanation, establishment, and decision of the system of doctrine in the church.

2. Symbols have arisen simultaneously with the church. The Lord, indeed, has not established his church upon Symbols, but upon his own Word. But the church leans her confessions upon these, as evidences how she understands and explains the Divine word. From the iniquity of man it could not fail, that contradictory opinions should arise, and proceed from external controversy to internal disquietude, because the church, in her temporal condition, had false Christians and hypocrites in her midst; she was soon obliged, therefore, to establish Symbols for the purpose of giving evidence of her faith, of refuting false accusations, and of rejecting pernicious errors, and in accommodation to the progress of time, to institute new Symbols, without rejecting the old, not for the purpose of establishing new doctrines, but for the purpose of acknowledging anew the old Symbols, those truths derived from the Fathers, and of providing them with new defences against rising errors. This origin of the Symbols of the church will fully manifest itself from what follows. A simple form of baptism extended at the same time with the church in the Apostolic Symbol to a confession of baptism; from this, by no less a step, to a form more comprehensive,-the Nicene, and then, as the necessities of the times increased the articles of belief, to the Athanasian, more fully defined and more securely fortified. From that time the church found no external occasion for a new vindication of her faith, a circumstance which contributed, however, still more to the diminution of her internal harmony. But when she wished to purify herself again of these evils, she discovered that human innovations in the church were the real sources of her difficulties (1); and recovering herself from these, she began to purify and re-establish herself. She saw that it was her first and most important duty to acknowledge her faith and her doctrine publicly; where the principles of belief were to be amplified according to the demands of the time to extend more widely her principles of faith, which in every instance referred to the first Symbols, from which as they were taken, they entirely depended upon them; but part of the structure was referred for its authority to the word of God. Thus every Symbol took the impressions of the time, and of the historic circumstances out of which it grew, and each affords not only a general, but even a specific account of the reasons for its establishment.

3. But in the next place, let us determine the Design also of Symbols and Symbolic Writings. According to 1 Pet. 3, 15, every member of the church of mature age, whatever may be his condition, is bound to testify his faith, and to answer every man; so that this command of the Apostle may advance the church, as a community of the faithful, to a still higher sphere. And indeed every Christian has to fulfil this duty externally as well as internally. Externally the power of the Holy Ghost through the confessions of the church, chastizes the unbelief and the errors of the world; but internally the members of the church are instructed, secured, and advanced. This is rendered evident, by the Form of Concord itself, page 510, claiming a double design for church Symbols, "That they not only

(1) Augsburg Confession, Art. 26, &c.

promote a pure and salutary doctrine, but subject all who teach a different doctrine, to their due chastisement;" and afterwards again this double design in a single Symbol is referred to, page 465 and page 504. But one of these designs without the other cannot appear in every instance; the purity of Faith cannot be proved and secured, without at the same time referring to erroneous opinions, by which the human mind is always misled, if a man believe that he possesses in his own bosom the light and the fountain of confession, or attempt to explain the word of God according to his own conceptions. For, indeed, the Symbols would accomplish their principal design, "The proof and the explanation of faith,”—page 466 of the Book of Concord, page 647 of the Catalogue of Testimonies,-if they would serve none the less thereby for the preservation of faith, and transmit it pure and unadulterated down to posterity. (Augs. Conf. page 29: "This is about the substance of the doctrine,' &c.) But purity of faith without doctrine cannot subsist; the church then must naturally reject all science from her Symbols, and make it her first important duty, to continue true and upright in her doctrine. The primary duty of self-preservation requires this. For if a society consist of individuals, who, betrayed by an unwarrantable fondness for human learning, and resting their whole authority upon the exercise of it, would permit themselves to study, in compliance with popular opinion, the learned disputations also prevailing in the church, that society would be yielding its whole might, in laboring for its own destruction. A necessary solicitude for the salvation of her adherents must therefore preserve the church from this. She must, however, be convinced, that she may preserve the pure doctrines of the word of God, by her acknowledged and established Symbols. Without this conviction she cannot maintain them a moment. But by virtue of this conviction, she need not suffer any thing publicly to be studied in her midst, injurious to her religious tenets, rendering them dubious, and attacking and subverting the very foundation of her faith, when she will see the salvation of her members endangered. This, however, we shall more fully expose hereafter.

4. From their Design, naturally result the Necessity of Symbols and symbolic writings drawn up in form, and their relation to the holy Scriptures. The church has sufficiently justified herself in this, in the preface to the Book of Concord, where she not only testifies, page 8, "that it was never her design, by this formula of reconciliation, to molest and endanger the pious, who are already suffering tyranny and persecution," but she also declares, page 9: "For it seemed most indispensably necessary, that a pious exposition and arrangement of all those controverted points, deduced from the word of God, should appear in the midst of so many rising errors in our times as well as so many offences, contentions and eternal broils, in order that according to its principles, the pure doctrine might be distinguished and separated from the false.

"This design will moreover effect this result, that turbulent and contentious men will not be free in proportion to their inclination, to excite controversies inseparable from offence, nor, as they do not suffer themselves to be attached to any formula of purer doctrine, to propose and propagate enormous errors.

"For from these opinions it will at last follow, that the purer doctrine will be obscured and lost, and nothing be transmitted to posterity but opinions and academical restrictions.

"To this may be added what we know to be due from us in this way to our subjects, in consequence of the duty which God has enjoined upon us, that we carefully regard what may relate to purposes of this life and of that which is to come, and labor to provide with great zeal, as far indeed as it can be done, what may contribute to the extension of the name and glory of God, to the propagation of his word, from which alone salvation may be expected, to the peace and tranquillity

of churches and schools, and to the general composure and consolation of agitated minds."

The necessity of Symbols is not so much absolute and unconditional, as it is subject to conditional circumstances. The revealed word of God alone is absolutely necessary for the preservation of the church, and for the salvation of souls. This is the only rule and principle (Book of Concord, page 465) according to which all knowledge and all doctrine at the same time must be regulated and decided. All other writings, whether ancient or modern, whatever be their reputation, must not be compared at all to the holy Scriptures, but they must all yield at once to the word of God, and never be received in any other light than as evidences. (Book of Concord, page 466.) And who may say that no condition of the church can be thought of, in which it may enjoy a happy perpetuity, not indeed without evidences and confessions, but without symbolic writings in the sense in which we use the term? But one circumstance renders it indispensable that Symbols be provided, not for the internal, but for the external prosperity of the church, not for her existence, but for her position in reference to time. They are always necessary, and their preservation is enjoined upon us by the fact, that the church can never remain unassailed in the possession of divine truth (1 Cor. 11, 18; Gal. 1, 6; 1 Tim. 4, 1), but she must be continually on her guard, that no erroneous doctrine under the guise of truth be introduced. For the teachers of error refer also to the Scripture, and seek their arguments out of it, ir. order to justify their opinions; and hence it becomes necessary for the church to prove the system of pure doctrine from the Scripture, to expose that which is no system indeed, and will never produce any, sustaining herself firm and upright in the public confession of her faith. This she must do, in order to exhibit the conformity of her peculiar doctrines with the Scriptures, to direct her members to a correct interpretation of the word of God, and to provide them a shelter against erroneous opinions.

But we must think of another argument which loudly pleads the necessity of Symbols. This argument must naturally have relation to the minister of the church. Whoever feels a holy solicitude to discharge the indispensable duties of his ministry, must surely experience a secret joy on reflecting, that the church has committed to him, the normal rules of instruction, according to which he can regulate the performance of his duties. He is bound in all respects, and in preference to every thing else, to observe the precepts of the word of God, as to what he should preach. He must not be so presumptuous as to suppose that his own character will be ample authority, and, therefore, that he is under no necessity of becoming versed in the Scriptures. For, on the one hand, he must always be conscious of his own fallibility, and consequently, that he has great reason to distrust his own penetration; while on the other hand, he must know, that he labors in the service of the church, through which the Lord has given him a charge, "to enlarge the household of God"-that he is not a lord over the faith of his followers, but "a fellow-laborer and a servant." Consequently he can then only discharge the functions of his office with inward joy, when he possesses a commission from the church, together with her determinate and acknowledged system of doctrines, from which he can be assured, that his own peculiar views of the doctrines of the holy Scripture, will be found to coincide with the Confession of the church. Hence it will always follow, that he will find himself in the right then only, when he can assume, in his discourses, with good reason, the authority of the church, instead of the dubious sanction of his office. For just as we can render the Symbols of the church efficient, only because their doctrines conform with those in the word of God, so the minister can succeed in the exercise of his office, only so long and so far as the congregation put confidence in him, because they perceive that he himself relies on the Confession of the church, just as his church, on

the other hand, needs him in return as a shield against every unreasonable demand, to preserve her purity of doctrine amidst the fluctuations of opinion, which have found some conformity with his doctrines.

5. After this it still remains for us to determine how we are to estimate the Authority of church Symbols. There is an intimate relation between their authority and their necessity. We might well permit this to speak for itself, while we, however, may refer to the discussion in section 4, in reference to their relation to the holy Scriptures, merely adding the following remark. At page 504, the Augsburg Confession is called "A pure Christian Symbol," by which, we may be enabled to distinguish the upright Christian of the present day, according to the word of God; and at page 507, "A complete, enduring Symbol." General public writings, which always have been held in the churches and schools as the sum and substance of all doctrine-in mode and in manner"-as doctor Luther himself has completed a necessary and Christian reformation, and has expressly pointed out this distinction, that the word of God alone should ever remain, the only guide and rule in all doctrine, to which no human writings should be regarded as equal, and should be held in subserviency to it.

This authority which Symbols of the church assume for themselves, results from no unconditional excellence, but depends entirely on conditional circumstances. It rests upon the authority of the word of God, and upon their conformity with the Scriptures. It by no means pretends to elevate itself above the holy Scriptures, or to remove them from their supreme control; but in all simplicity it arranges itself under the Scriptures, looks up to them for every supply, as the glass does to the fountain from which it is filled. Independent of, or in opposition to, the word of God, it is nothing. But this only the church desires, that the conformity of her Symbols of doctrine with the purity of Scripture, be acknowledged by those, who wish to be connected with her, and to share the advantages of her society.

Not that she would by the force of Symbols, impair the freedom of faith and conscience among her members, but she wishes to guard that freedom in the proper manner. For she forces no one to subscribe to her doctrines, against his own internal convictions, and she can never have a considerate adherent, who is unable to make her Confession his own. With this view, however, the church cannot construct her Symbols on so broad a basis, that in consequence of the definitions of her belief being as little confined by limits as possible, there might be full 100m and playground for every one; but she must speak out with precision, what she believes, and what she does not believe; what doctrine she adopts as founded upon the word of God, and what doctrine she rejects, from the same authority. Were she to act otherwise, she would make herself the rendezvous of all heretics, and be guilty of her own destruction, (Book of Concord, page 510.)

But a very important question is this: Are the doctrines of the Scripture contained in the Symbols; is the Confession itself the true expression of divine, revealed Truth, or not? With this question they must stand or fall; and just as she herself desires an acknowledgment of her conformity with the Scriptures, so she must likewise give satisfaction to her opponents, setting aside all frivolous phrases about systems of Symbols, changes of Symbols, compunction of conscience, spiritual fetters, paper popery, &c., and requiring only a proof of their contradictions. "Our Symbols have been drawn from the venerable Apostolic Symbols, with care and precision,-especially the Epitome, the invaluable Form of Concord,-drawn indeed from the Scriptures themselves, founded as to their fundamental principles in immutable truth, and shall a mere error in opinion, then, be referred to and pointed out?" We have examined with all possible diligence for something of this kind, but we have found nothing, and we are emboldened to challenge any opponent, who charges our Symbols with being independent authorities of faith, wishing to exalt

themselves even above the holy Scriptures, to furnish only a single reference in proof of his charge. We assume for our Symbols no claim of divine inspiration, as they do not term themselves "divine writings," we claim no divine authority, but merely an ecclesiastical authority, and we give them no preference above other Christian writings, except as expressing the authority of the church. We vaunt ourselves not in the vain boast that there may not be found here and there some historical, literary, or other error in the formalities of expression, but this can never prove injurious to their authority, for that authority depends not upon these secondary, but upon far more important, considerations, and more especially upon those considerations which relate to a soul-saving faith;-" Our Symbolical Books are chargeable with no essential errors, and they continually agree with the doctrines of the holy Scriptures."

A further objection has been urged against the authority of church Symbols, that the free exercise of opinion, and consequently the church itself, or the efficiency of the Holy Ghost in the church, is limited by them, as by an infallible rule of doctrine. But who can be so ignorant as to mean, that the operative power of the Holy Ghost can be diminished or impaired by the feeble institutions of men? For it belongs to the Lord only to reveal a new path to salvation, and to erect his church on a foundation different from that upon which it has hitherto been standing; and who would then dare to warn him, and say, "So far shalt thou go and no farther?" But now, we are well assured that the foundation upon which the church stands, is impregnable and eternal; that we are living in the latter times, when we are not to expect a new revelation. (Eph. 2, 20; 1 Cor. 3, 10; Gal. 1, 8; Luke 16, 29; John 14, 6.) Indeed those who pronounce the authority of Symbols an obstacle to a free developement of doctrine, expect another revelation, not from the Spirit of God, but from their own spirit; for this they demand the liberty to frame a religion which may adapt itself to all the temporary fluctuations of their natural convictions. Not only the Symbols do they treat in this manner; still more do they act in opposition to the word of God. They do not wish to expand their own comprehension, and explain the divine manifestation of doctrine, but to set up a new, self-conceived doctrine in its stead; and thus it would come to pass, that, though they might be in the right, soon there would no more be found one undivided system of faith, but as many systems as there are individuals.

But in this way the church itself would soon cease to exist. She must therefore secure a necessary union by the establishment of Symbols. She does not depend, however, upon these, but upon the eternal power alone of the word of God. Hence delivering her Confession to the Diet at Augsburg, "An evidence of her faith and of her doctrines," she says, " And if any one should be found who has an objection to them, we are ready to give him further information, with reasons from holy Writ," page 511. In the Form' of Concord she confesses again, page 506: "We embrace also that original and unaltered Confession; and we do this, not because it was written by our theologians, but because it is drawn from the word of God, .... as the Symbol of our day;" likewise also in the preface, page 3: "As an evidence and expression of the faith of those who were living at the time, how they understood and explained the Scriptures, and how they refuted the doctrines opposed to them." And Luther himself says in reference to the Augsburg Confession: "We shall hold on to it, until the Lord shall give us a better one." The church then does wish to claim for her Symbols an immutable power; she yields whenever any one shall point out an obvious defect; she finds it merely a temporary expression of her faith; she reserves to herself expressly the privilege to improve them, to complete, or to extend, as occasional necessity may require. But she would not here be understood as speaking in reference to the doctrines they contain, or in reference to the principles, but merely of the form and phrase