might not always to a tittle follow the same form of words, or exactly ask the same questions. As for example, the doctrines of the trinity, of Jesus of Nazareth's being Christ, or the Messias, of remission of sins through his name, and of the resurrection, were at the first preaching of the gospel sufficient, without a particular explication of the actions of the father, and the state of the son; as Philip only required the Eunuch to believe, that Jesus Christ was the son of God: and if at some seasons they might mention the humiliation and exaltation of Christ, and the several acts thereof, at other seasons they might omit them, and not constantly express the particulars in that order in which they are now found in the creed, till the appearance of contrary heresies gave them occasion so to do; so that when any article was added to the creed, it was not the introduction of a new point, but the vindicating and settling of an old one, and a constant perpetual profession and declaration of that truth, which before was only arbitrarily and uncertainly expressed, seeing every one, before those contrary errors arose, was supposed firmly to believe and own it. In which respect I may say of the creed as Vincentius Lirinensis doth of the canons and determina

tions of councils, that the design of the church thereby is," that what was before more simply, should now more diligently be believed; that what was more seldom, should now more frequently be preached; and that what was more unconcernedly, should for the future be more carefully worshipped."

By these two ways then, was the present creed framed; part thereof was transmitted down from the apostles, and the other part thereof was afterwards added by the governors of the church, to prevent heresies from corrupting her doctrine, and heretics from infecting her members: by the which of these two ways each particular article was inserted in the creed, I shall shew in the following part of this treatise, and shall not here anticipate or forestall it.

This being then the method whereby the creed was framed; although nothing that is contained therein, must be believed any farther than it agrees with the holy scriptures; yet the intended sense of the greatest part thereof, is not to be fetched from thence, but from the writings of the fathers, and from those heresies against whom it was designed ; . which expression may at the first hearing be perhaps, esteemed by some too hasty and in

considerate, but the nature of the thing well reflected on, makes it evident and beyond contradiction; and if the authority of others before me, will be more valued and better received, it will be no difficult task to produce several, who have affirmed the same thing; but at present, I shall content myself with the testimony of Monsieur Jurieu, a French divine now living, who writes in express terms, that for his part "he is persuaded that we must not seek the sense of the articles of the apostles creed in the scriptures, but in the intention of those who composed it."

This is that which I design to do, to search into the intended meaning of this compendium of faith, which hath been received in all ages with the greatest veneration and esteem: The respect and reverence that the ancients paid unto it, hath been in part already rela ted; and in these latter times, throughout several centuries of years, so great a deference hath been rendered thereunto, as that it hath not been only used at baptism, but in every public assembly it hath been usually, if not always read, as the standard and basis of the christian faith, unto which the whole congregation hath been wont to testify their unanimous assent, by saying, Amen.

It is true that the primitive christians affect

ing an unaccountable secresy for this and their other mysteries, as it hath been already shewn, did not in their assemblies publicly recite the creed, except at the times of baptism, which besides cases of necessity, were only at Easter and Whitsontide; from whence it comes to pass, that the constant repeating of the creed in the church was not introduced till a long time after our saviour's incarnation.

The repetition of the creed at every assem bly, was appointed in the Eastern church by Timothy, archbishop of Constantinople, in the reign of the emperor Anastasius, who after having governed the empire twenty-seven years, died Anno. 521. About which time, Petrus Gnapheus, bishop of Antioch, prescribed also" the perpetual recital of the creed at the public administration of divine service;" which before that time, as the historian observes," was only repeated on the day immediately preceding Good Friday, when the catechisms were more solemnly performed in order to the celebration of baptism, the Easter or the Easter-Eve ensuing :" which repetition on that day was first appointed by the council of Laodicea; the 46th canon whereof is that "those who are to be baptized, must learn the creed, and repeat it to the bishop or a presbyter the Thursday before Easter."

In the Western churches, at a synod of thirty-five bishops, held under Alaricus at Agatha or Agde, in the lower Languedoc, the ninth canon thereof ordains, that " on the Lord's day before Easter, the creed should be publicly preached in the church to the competentes or to those of the Catechumens, who being ripe for baptism, were speedily to be admitted thereunto :" but the general and constant reading thereof, seems not to have prevailed in the West, till almost five hundred and ninety years after Christ; when, in imitation of the Eastern churches, the third council of Toledo, by the "petition of K. Recared, ordered, that throughout all the churches both of Spain and Gallicia, the creed should be repeated with a loud voice every Lord's day, that so the true faith might be manifested and assented to, and the hearts of the people be ing purified by faith, they might be prepared to partake of the body and blood of Christ."

It must indeed be owned, that the creed appointed to be read in the church, both by Timothy, archbishop of Constantinople, and the third council of Toledo, was the Nicene or Constantinopolitan creed; which for that time, through some reasons pecaliar to that age, did in some measure eclipse the apostles ereed, although this latter did in a little time