A69028:104
The rule of faith, or, An exposition of the Apostles Creed so handled as…
The rule of faith, or, An exposition of the Apostles Creed so handled as it affordeth both milk for babes, and strong meat for such as are at full age / by ... Nicholas Bifield ; ... now published ... by his son, Adoniram Bifield.The rule of faith, or, An exposition of the Apostles Creed so handled as it affordeth both milke for babes, and strong meat for such as are at full age / by ... Nicholas Bifield ; ... now published ... by his sonne, Adoniram Bifield.
London: printed by G.M. for Philemon Stephens and Christopher Meredith, 1626
THE CREED. › Article 1 › I Believe.THE CREEDE. › Article 1 › I Beleeue.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
2. We must believe them personally; each one must have his own faith: 'Tis not enough to join our selves to such men as do believe them, but every one must get him a faith of his own: The Just must live by his own saith, Hab. 2. 5. and therefore we say I believe, not they believe, or we believe: We say, our Father when we pray, because we may pray one for another; but we say not we believe, because we cannot believe one for another.
2. We must beleeue them personally; each one must haue his owne faith: 'Tis not inough to ioyne our selues to such men as doe beleeue them, but euery one must get him a faith of his owne: The Iust must liue by his owne saith, Hab. 2. 5. and therefore we say I beleeue, not they beleeue, or we beleeue: We say, our Father when we pray, because we may pray one for another; but we say not we beleeue, because we cannot beleeue one for another.
3. We must believe, explicitly, not implicitly: It was one principle in the Kingdom of Antichrist to the intent that ⟨p. 20⟩the people might be kept in blindness, to teach them, that it was enough for them to believe, as the Church believed, without inquiring into particulars: and therefore they tell a tale to this end, how the devil tempting a man, and urging him to tell how he believed, the man answered, as the Church believed; and the devil asking him how the Church believed, he answered as I do, and hereupon the devil ran away and was vanquished. And it m•y well be, the devil durst ask him no more questions, for fear least he should get out of his Snare, now that by these answers, he had made it manifest he was fast in: for he that takes not in the doctrine of faith particularly, takes it not in at all: for as the Child may starve though you set before it a whole loaf of bread or other provision, if you cut it not for him, bit by bit, so is it with us in believing: To set the body of faith before us, and not teach us how, after it is divided, to take any part, is to starve our souls. To be short then, we must look to it, that we understand and believe these Articles not in the whole lump only, but in the parts; not by trusting to other mens judgements, but distinctly taking notice of each doctrine of faith our selves.