cessary to believers, that they cannot attain to the kingdom of heaven without such good works, which God (it is most certain) "hath foreordained that we should walk in them;" and, in like manner, that we should shun every vice, and cultivate all the virtues that Christ hath taught us. XXII. We believe that although our works cannot in the strict sense of the word merit, yet that the Lord will reward them with eternal life; his promises being unchangeably constant. XXIII. We believe that we ought to regard those who have attained to eternal life as the reward of faith and good works, as worthy of praise and imitation; but that they ought not to be adored nor invoked by us, since to God alone should prayer be offered through Jesus Christ. ("Let us not adopt the worship of the dead as our religion, since, if they lived a devout life, they are not to be deemed such as seek those honours, but such as desire that we should worship him by whose illumination they rejoice that we are partakers, of their merit. They should be honoured therefore as objects of imitation, but not adored as objects of religious worship."-Augustine.) XXIV. We believe that God gathers together a church in the world for the salvation of men; and that this church has one leader and foundation, namely, Jesus Christ : XXV. That this church consists in the union of believers, who, "chosen of God before the foundation of the world," and "called with an holy calling," are united to follow God's word, and cherish a salutary religious fear, namely, such as is productive of holiness and a reformation of manners: XXVI. That this church cannot be destroyed, but is necessarily a perpetual church : XXVII. That in the church God not only teaches us by his word, but has moreover instituted sacraments, as means whereby we might be united to Christ, and might participate in the benefits which he has obtained for us.-We believe that under the New Testament dispensation there are only two sacraments common to all the members of the church, namely, baptism and the Lord's supper. XXVIII. We believe that God instituted the sacrament of baptism for a testimony of our adoption, and that we might be washed from our sins in the blood of Christ, and renewed unto holiness of life: XXIX. That he instituted the sacrament of the Lord's supper, in order to nourish our souls; that when with a true and lively faith, (through the incomprehensible power of the Holy Spirit), we eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, and are one with him, we may have spiritual and eternal life. XXX. We believe it to be necessary that the church should have learned pastors of blameless life, (bishops, priests, and deacons, as was usual in the primitive church), to preach the word of God, to administer the sacraments, and to watch over the flock of Christ according to rules of good and holy discipline, after the example of the primitive church. XXXI. We believe that God has appointed kings, princes, and magistrates, for the protection of the people, and that we should obey them, (agreeably to this precept, "Let every soul be subject to the higher powers, for there is no power but of God, &c. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath but also for conscience' sake,") in all things that agree with the word of God, who is "King of kings, and Lord of lords." XXXII. Lastly, we declare that we receive the Apostles' creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the ten Commandments, as rules of faith and conduct, from which we believe that we should not recede, even in the least degree. Such is the confession of our faith, which we the Waldensian pastors residing in Piedmont, oppose to the calumnies published against us, and printed in the London journals; and this our professed faith we have not received from Waldo of Lyons, nor from Luther, nor from Calvin, but we have inherited it from the earliest times from our forefathers, who had received it in like manner from their remote ancestors; as is evident from various confessions presented to our princes, the dukes of Savoy and princes of Piedmont; and from a work of the most reverend James Usher, formerly archbishop of Armagh and primate of all Ireland, which contains an historical explanation of the important question respecting the continued succession and condition of christian churches, especially those in the west, from the time of the apostles to the 17th century. In this faith we desire to live; and we desire still to persevere in it to the end; and to be ready to evince our attachment to it, even if required on that account to endure tortures and torments, the loss of our possessions, and death at the stake. Moreover, we declare that we cheerfully accede to the sound doctrine taught in the reformed churches of England, the Netherlands, Germany, Prussia, Switzerland, Poland, Hungary, &c. and we humbly intreat all those churches, and others settled in America, to regard our's, though few and destitute, as members of the mystical body of Christ. With regard to the style of this composition, which is not in every instance distinguished for classical purity, it is the less necessary to offer an apology on this score to our readers, since even Cicero allows that "Whatever is perspicuously expressed on a useful or important subject, should be considered as well expressed; to lavish embellishments on subjects of that nature being in fact a puerile attempt, since it is quite sufficient for a learned and intelligent man to state them in a clear and perspicuous manner." JOHN RODOLPHE PEYRAN, and Moderator of the Waldensian churches: (with the consent of all his brethren.) In the valleys of Piedmont, 20th Feb. 1819. |
