27 A PRACTICAL EXPOSITION OF THE CATECHISM OF THE Church of England. PART I Of the CREED. LECTURE V. I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth. Aving dispatch'd thofe Preliminary Questions, which were thought neceffary to lead us to the Principal Matters contained in this Catechifm, we are now come to the Body of it. And that (as I have said) is divided into four general Parts, treating, 1. Of the Creed. 2. Of the Commandments. 3. Of the Lord's Prayer. And, 4. Of the Sacraments. In the two firft of these we are taught what we are to believe and do, as they are fum'd up in the Creed and the Ten Commandments. And fince we can neither believe nor do any thing as we ought, without the Affiftance of Divine Grace, in the two latter we are taught the ufe of the Prayer and of the Sacraments, as the Means God has ordained for the conveyance of his Grace into our Souls, to enable us, not only to believe in him, but also to love and obey him in an acceptable manner. I. I fhall now enter upon the first of these, which (as you may remember) was the fecond thing promis'd for us at our Baptifm, viz. That we should believe all the Articles of the Chriftian Faith; the Sum of which is contained in that which is commonly called the Apoftle's Creed, which we are now to confider and explain. And firft as to the name of it, a Creed is the fame thing as a Belief, being deriv'd from the firft word of it in Latin, which is Credo, I believe; and here in our Catechifm we are bidden to rehearfe the Articles of our Belief. So that the Creed is a brief Summary of the chief Heads of the Chriftian Religion, which we are bound to believe as neceflary to Salvation. And it is moft commonly called the [Apostle's Creed, not only because it contains the Sum of that Doctrine which the Apostles taught and Preach'd, but as being compil'd, either by the Apostles, or Apoftolical Men, and confifting of Twelve Articles, according to the number of the Twelve Apostles. But that each of them compos'd thofe fingle Articles, which by fome are afcrib'd to their Names, is a meer groundless Conjecture. Since if it was compos'd by the Apoftles, no doubt but they are all joyn'd together, and were equally concern'd in all the parts of it. And there is a Tradition reported by Ruffi nus, St. Hierom and others, that after the Afcenfion of Chrift, Chrift, and Descent of the Holy Ghost upon the Apoftles, when the time came, that according to the Command of Chrift, they were to fcatter themselves abroad, and to go and teach all Nations, they agreed among themselves to draw up a Summary of Faith, or a Body of Dodrin, which they thould all be oblig'd to keep them. felves unto, leaft by Diftance and Separation one from another, there might arife fome Difference in the Subftance of their Preaching: And that this is that Sum of Abridgment which they all concluded upon, and from thence has been ever fince called the Apostle's Creed. Now the Creed may be divided into three general Parts, according to the Three Perfons in the Bleffed Trinity. 1. The firft Article is concerning God the Father, and the Creation of the World. 2. The next Six Articles are concerning God the Son, and what he did and fuffer'd for our Redemption. And, 3. The laft Five Articles are concerning God the Holy Ghoft, and his Sanctification of the Church in order to Glory. (1.) I fhall begin with the First Article, concerning God the Father, which will be fufficient for this time. And to avoid any curious Logical Divifion of the Words, I shall take them in order as they lie, thus [I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth.] Wherein we see first who is to believe, and then what is to be believed: And this runs through every Article. And here we are firft to take notice of the Perfon believing and profeffing this Belief [I believe.] That is, I, and not we; I, and not another; I, for for my felf; you, for your felf, and be for himself. In Prayer we are taught to fay [Our Father which art in Heaven,] and [Give us this day our daily Bread,] &c. Becaute we are to pray, not only for our felves, but for others; as we alfo reap the Benefit of other's Prayers with us and for us, prefent or abfent, as well as our own. But here it is otherwife. For as every one muft believe for himfelf and not ano Lect. V. another, fo none but himself can declare this Belief, because no one else can certainly know whether he believes or no. And therefore it concerns every one of us to be very careful that we fpeak true, and do not give our Hearts and Confciences the lie, in faying we believe what we do not; or at leaft in fpeaking rafhly, without confidering whether we really believe as we profess to do. Otherwife the frequent Repetition of the Creed is but a Mocking of God and Man, and a deluding our own Souls. In the next place, we are to confider what is here meant by [believing.] And that is not only an Affenting to the Truth of what God has reveal'd concerning himself in his Word, for this the very Devils may do as well as we, as St. James tells us, Ch. 2. 19. Thou believeft that there is one God, thou dost well (yet) the Devils alfo believe and tremble. But it implies the placing our Hope, and Truft, and Confidence in him; and therefore we are faid to believe [in] God the Father, and [in] Jefus Chrift, and [in] the Holy Ghoft. Or if you will, there is a different Affent required of us, with refpect to the different Objects of it. And fo with refpect to the Nature of God 'tis a Reverential Affent, with refpect to his Precepts 'tis an Obediential Affent, with refpect to his Threatnings 'tis an Awful Affent, and with refpect to his Promifes 'tis a Fiducial Affent that is requir'd of us. In fhort, we must not only believe, but our Faith must have an Influence upon our Hearts and Lives. For Faith without Works is dead, as the Apostle fpeaks in the next Verfe. That is, a bare Belief of the Gofpel (in oppofition to Jewish or Heathenifh Errors) without Gofpel Obedience, is but a dead Faith, and will not profit him that has it; being unable to convey any Spiritual Life, or to entitle us to Life Eternal. And therefore we are to fhew our Faith by our Works, v. 18. And to prove the Sincerity of our Belief of the Gofpel, and Refolution of Obedience, by the actual Performance of what is requir'd in it. The The nextWord to be confider'd is [GOD,] in which it is implied. 1. That there is a God, which is fo evident both from Scripture and Reafon, that none but a Fool will deny it, (Pfalm 14. 1.) 2. That there is but one God: And this is alfo evident from Scripture, Deut. 6. 4. Hear O Ifrael, the Lord thy God is one. And it may alfo be prov'd by Reafon, fince the very Notion of God implies a Being infinitely Perfect, and that can be but one. And the Nicene Creed is plain, I believe in one God. But, 3. What God is we are not able to comprehend. Simonides the Philofopher being ask'd, what God was? took a days time to confider of it, and after that requir'd another, and then another, and at laft was forc'd to give it over, finding himself ftill further and further off, the more he thought of it. God has no Genus, no difference (as the Logicians fpeak) and therefore cannot admit of any perfect Definition. All that we know of him is, That he is a Spirit, with fome of his Attributes, which will fall under Confideration by and by. Now this First Article is concerning God the [Father,] which Title is to be understood here with refpect to his Son Fefus Chrift, and not to us: And this leads us to the Confideration of the Pleffed Trinity. For tho' there be but one God, yet there are three Perfons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft; and these are all Co-equal and Co eternal. A proof of this we have in the Baptifm of Chrift: Wherein there was the Perfon of the Son Baptiz'd, the Perfon of the Father speaking from Heaven, and faying, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleafed, and the Perfon of the Holy Ghoft defcending like a Dove and lighting upon him, Mat. 3. Another we have in the Commiffion given to the Apofiles, to go and teach all Nations, Baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Mat. 28. And a third (to name no more) in that Apoftolical Benediction, 2 Cor. 13. laft. The Grace of our Lord |