practifed all fecret wickedness without restraint. To rectify these terrible dif orders, God was graciously pleased, in his own good time, to fend his Beloved Son into the world, to appear amongst us as a Man, vefted indeed with divine authority, to inftruct us fully in our duty, and to lead us to happiness by the performance of it; to give us, in his own example, a perfect pattern of all virtue, and at laft to facrifice his life itself and fuffer the most ignominious death, to obtain pardon and immortal life for those who should believe in him and keep his commandments. This was the glorious perfon fo long expected by men, especially by the Jews, under the name of the Meffiah, the Christ, or the Son of God. When Jefus of Nazareth appeared in the world he manifefted himself, by moft convincing proofs, especially by his Refurrection from the Dead, to be this Divine Perfon and his Apostles were fent all over the earth, endued

endued with most miraculous powers, to declare and prove to the world that this Jefus was the CHRIST whom they had fo long expected: and when Men were, by their preaching and miracles, convinced hereof, and profeffed their belief of this Doctrine, they were admitted into the Chriftian Religion, and baptized in the name of the one God and Father of all, of his Son Jefus Chrift, and of his Holy Spirit. And the Belief and Profeffion of this one Propofition, that Jefus of Naza reth is the Chrift, was all that was required by the Apostles from their Profelytes, whether Jews or Gentiles, in order to be thus admitted to the participation of the advantages revealed and purchased by our Bleffed Redeemer for this one Propofition included in it a Belief of the Wonders of his Life and Death. But in process of tine, when the particular accounts of these were published by the Evanglift, who had

certain

certain proofs of the facts which they relate, then an explicit declaration of a belief of these facts was required in order to be admitted to the privilege of Baptifm. And hence it was that almost every Bishop in the primitive Church drew up a Summary of thefe Doctrines. or facts which was to be used in admiting perfons to Baptifm in their refpective Diocefes, and these were called Greeds. And it is very remarkable that all thefe agree in the main, though there is unavoidably fome fmall difference in the expreffion. Thus far things were carried on in the Chriftian world with unanimity and concord, though a little interrupted by the abfurd Doctrines: of thofe vain People who called themfelves Gnoftics from their pretending to know much more than others. But they were of little importance and fhort.continuance; for they, by breaking into feveral parties, foon confounded one another and instead of raising themselves by this fuperior

i.

fuperior knowledge, which they boafted of, they fell into loweft contempt by the groffeft ignorance which they discovered, on every occafion. Indeed the learned Hiftorian of the Apostles' Creed thinks that many Articles of it were framed in oppofition to thefe abfurd People. But this is doing them too much honor. It is likewise oppofing the brightest Sunfhine to the blaze of a Candle. To what else can we liken the oppofing the plain matters of Fact, recorded of our Saviour in the Gofpels, to the fanciful Reveries of thefe ignorant Enthu fiafts! No That Creed feems to have been framed very early as a Summary of the Chriftian's Faith to distinguish them from the Jewish and Heathen world: as it might indeed afterwards diftinguish them from the follies and ravings of the Bafilidians, Valentinians, Marcionites. and other whimfical Sects of the Gnof ics.

BES IDE

BESIDE this Creed, which, for it's antiquity, is called the Apostles, there are several other Creeds recorded by the Ancients. We have a Creed in Irenæus, the Creed of Origen, the Creed of Turtullian, the Creed of Cyprian, the Creed of Gregory Thaumaturgus, the Creed of Lucian the Martyr, the Creed of the Apoftolic Conftitutions, the Creed of Jerufalem, the Creed of Cæfarea in Palestine, the Creed of Alexandria, the Creed of Antioch, the Nicene Creed as firft published by the Council of Nice, and the Nicene Creed as enlarged by the Council of Conftantinople.

From

all which I would obferve that they all profess a Belief in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft. But the first of them that mentions any thing like a Trinity in Unity, and an Unity in Trinity, is that of Lucian the Martyr, about the end of the third Century, when the Platonic Philofophy was very prevalent amongst Christians.