CONFESSION · 1580 AD · REFORMED (SCOTTISH)

The Second Scotch Confession (The National Covenant)

WRITTEN

1580 AD

TRADITION

Reformed (Scottish)

SECTIONS

This document states its doctrine rather than quoting verses; its references are shown in the Berean Standard Bible.

Preamble

CONFESSIO FIDEI SCOTICANÆ II. The Second Scotch Confession, or the National Covenant A.D. 1580. The Confession of Faith of the Kirk of Scotland; OR THE NATIONAL COVENANT. We all, and every ane of us underwritten, protest, That after lang and dew examination of our awne consciences in matters of trew and false religion, we ar now throughlie resovit in the trewth be the Word and spreit of God: and theirfoir we believe with our heartis, confesse with our mouthis, subscrive with our handis, and constantlie affirme before God and the haill warld, That this only is the trew Christian Faith and Religion, pleasing God, and bringing salvation to man, quhilk is now, be the mercie of God, revealed to the warld be the preaching of the blessed Evangell; and is received, believed, and defendit by mony and sundrie notabil kirkis and realmes, but chiefly be the Kirke of Scotland, the Kings Majestie and three Estatis of this Realme, as Godis eternall trewth, and only ground of our salvation; us mair particularlie is expressed in the Confession of our Faith, stablished, and publickly confirmed by sundrie Actis of Parliaments, and now of a lang tyme hath been openlie professed by the Kings Majesty, and haill body of this Realme both in brugh and land. To the quhilk Confession and forme of Religion we willingly agree in our consciences in all pointis, as unto Godis undouted trewth and veritie, groundit only upon his written word. And theirfoir we abhorre and detest all contrare Religion and Doctrine; but chiefly all kynde of Papistrie in generall and particular headis, even as they ar now damned and confuted by the word of God and kirk of Scotland. But in special, we detest and refuse the usurped authoritie of that Romane Antichrist upon the scriptures of God, upon the Kirk, the civill Magistrate, and consciences of men: All his tyranous lawes made upon indifferent thingis againis our Christian libertie: His erroneous doctrine againis the sufficiencie of the written word, the perfection of the law, the office of Christ, and his blessed Evangell: His corrupted doctrine concerning originall sinne, our natural inhabilitie and rebellion to Godis Law, our justification by faith onlie, our imperfect sanctification and obedience to the law; the nature, number, and use of the holy sacraments: His fyve bastard sacraments; with all his ritis, ceremonies, and false doctrine, added to the ministration of the trew sacraments without the Word of God: His cruell judgement againis infants departing without the sacrament: His absolute necessitie of baptisme: His blasphemous opinion of transubstantiation, or reall presence of Christis body in the elements, and receiving of the same by the wicked, or bodies of men: His dispensations with solemnit aithis, perjuries, and degrees of marriage forbidden in the Word: His crueltie againis the innocent divorcit: His divilish messe: His blasphemous priesthead: His prophane sacrifice for the sinnis of the deade and the quicke: His canonization of men, calling upon angelis or sanctis depairted; worshipping of imagerie, reliques, and crocis; dedicating of kirkis, altares, dayes; vowes to creatures: His purgatory, prayers for the dead; praying or speaking in a strange language: His processions and blasphemous letany: His multitude of advocatis or mediatours with his manifold orders, and auricular confessions: His despered and uncertain Repentance: His general and doutsum Faith: His Satisfactionis of men for their sinnis: His justification by warkis, opus operatum, warkis of supererogation, merites, pardons, peregrinations, and stations: His holie water, baptising of bellis, conjuring of spreits, crocing, saining, anointing, conjuring, hallouing of Godis gude creatures, with the superstitious opinion joyned therewith: His warldlie monarchie and wicked hierarchie: His three solemnet vowes, with all his shavellings of sundrie sortis: His erroneous and bloodie Decreets made at Trente, with all the Subscryvars and approvers of that cruell and bloodie Band conjured againis the Kirk of God. And finallie, We detest all his vain allegories, ritis, signes, and traditions brought in the Kirk, without or againis the Word of God and doctrine of this trew reformed Kirk; to the quhilk we joyn our selves willinglie in Doctrine, Faith, Religion, Discipline, and use of the holy sacraments, as livelie members of the same, in Christ our head: Promising and swearing be the Great Name of the LORD our God, That we sall contenow in the obedience of the Doctrine and Discipline of this Kirk, and sall defend the same according to our vocation and power, all the dayes of our lyves; under the pains conteined in the law, and danger baith of bodie and saul in the day of Godis fearfull Judgment. And seing that monie ar stirred up be Sathan, and that Roman Antichrist, to promise, sweare, subscryve, and for a tyme use the holie sacraments in the Kirk deceitfullie, againis their awne conscience, minding heirby, first under the external cloke of Religion, to corrupt and subvert secretlie Godis trew Religion within the Kirk; and afterward, when tyme may serve, to become open enemies and persecuters of the same, under vain houpe of the Papis dispensation, devysed againis the Word of God, to his greater confusion, and their double condemnation in the day of the Lord Jesus: We theirfoir, willing to take away all suspicion of hypocrisie, and of sic double dealing with God and his Kirk, protest, and call the Searcher of all heartis for witness, that our mindis and heartis do fullilie agree with this our Confession, promeis, aith, and subscription: sa that we ar not movit with ony warldlie respect, but ar perswadit onlie in our conscience, through the knawledge and love of Godis trew Religion prented in our heartis be the Holie Spreit, as we sal answer to him in the day when the secreits of heartis sal be disclosed. And because we perceave that the quyetness and stabilitie of our Religion and Kirk doth depend upon the safety and good behaviour of the Kingis Majestie, as upon ane comfortable instrument, of Godis mercie granted to this countrey, for the meinteining of his Kirk and ministration of justice amongs us; We protest and promeis solemnetlie with our heartis, under the same aith, hand-wreit, and paines, that we sall defend his personne and authoritie with our geare, bodies, and lyves, in the defence of Christis Evangell, libertie of our countrey, ministration of justice, and punishment of iniquitie, againis all enemies, within this realme or without, as we desire Our God to be a strong and mercifull defendar to us in the day of our death, and coming of Our Lord JESUS CHRIST; To whom, with the Father and the Holie Spreit, be all honour and glorie eternallie. Amen.

THIS TEXT AND ITS SOURCES

  • Berean Standard Bible Public domain

The document's own wording is unchanged apart from the quoted verses described above. Its proof-text references were resolved against this site's own copy of the Berean Standard Bible; the references it does not carry would be shown as references with no verse words.

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