The Preface.

The Estates of Scotland with the inhabitants of the same professing the Holy Evangel of Christ Jesus, to their natural countrymen, and to all other realms and nations, professing the same Lord Jesus with them, wish grace, peace, and mercy from God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Spirit of righteous judgment, for salutation.

Long have we thirsted, dear brethren, to have notified unto the world the sum of that doctrine which we profess, and for the which we have sustained infamy and danger. But such has been the rage of Satan against us, and against the eternal verity of Christ Jesus lately born amongst us, that to this day no time has been granted unto us to clear our consciences, as most gladly we would have done; for how we have been tossed for a whole year past, the most part of Europe, as we suppose, does understand. But seeing that, of the infinite goodness, above expectation, of our God, who never suffers His afflicted to be utterly confounded, we have obtained some rest and liberty, we could not but set forth this brief and plain confession of such doctrine as is proponed unto us, and as we believe and profess. We do so, partly for satisfaction of our brethren, whose hearts we doubt not have been and yet are wounded by the despiteful railing of such as yet have not learned to speak well, and partly for stopping of the mouths of impudent blasphemers, who boldly condemn that342 which they have neither heard nor yet understand. Not that we judge that the cankered malice of such is able to be cured by this simple Confession. No, we know that the sweet savour of the Evangel is, and shall be, death to the sons of perdition. But we have chief respect to our weak and infirm brethren, to whom we would communicate the bottom of our hearts, lest that they be troubled or carried away by the diversity of rumours which Satan spreads abroad against us, to the defecting of this our most godly enterprise. If any man will note in this our Confession any article or sentence repugnant to God's holy Word, and it please him of his gentleness and for Christian charity's sake to admonish us of the same in writing, we of our honour and fidelity do promise unto him satisfaction from the mouth of God, that is, from His holy Scriptures, or else reformation of that which he shall prove to be amiss. We take God to record in our consciences, that from our hearts we abhor all sects of heresy, and all teachers of erroneous doctrine; and that with all humility we embrace the purity of Christ's Evangel, which is the only food of our souls; and therefore so precious unto us, that we are determined to suffer the extremity of worldly danger, rather than that we will suffer ourselves to be defrauded of the same. For we are most certainly persuaded that whosoever denies Christ Jesus, or is ashamed of Him, in presence of men, shall be denied before the Father, and before His holy angels. And therefore, by the assistance of the mighty Spirit of our Lord Jesus, we firmly promise to abide to the end in the Confession of this our Faith.