The Westminster Confession received

Finishing the Confession

Symington writes that the work was given to a committee, “consisting of Dr. Hoyle, Dr. Gouge, Messrs. Herle, Gataker, Tuckney, Reynolds, and Vine, with the Scots commissioners”. “The first thing was to agree upon the thirty-three titles or heads of chapters, and the subordinate sections under each. A particular department was then assigned to each member of committee, subject of course, when finished, to the review of the whole.”¹

Part of the Confession went up to the House of Commons first, in the autumn of 1646: the first nineteen chapters, according to Mitchell.²

On Friday 4 December 1646 the Assembly’s minutes record that “Report was made of the remaining part of the Confession of Faith by Dr. Burges”, with thanks to him “for his great pains in transcribing” it, and the resolution: “This shall be presented to both Houses by the whole Assembly.” The same day the Prolocutor told the House of Commons that the Assembly “had now finished the latter part of the Confession of Faith”, and “had reduced both parts likewise into one entire body”. Mitchell adds that it went to the Lords on 7 December. Hetherington gives 3 December.³

It was presented “under the title of ‘The humble advice of the Assembly of Divines and others, now by the authority of Parliament sitting at Westminster, concerning a Confession of Faith.’” Parliament asked for the Scripture proofs to be added, and on 29 April 1647 the Assembly “again produced the Confession of Faith, with full scriptural proofs annexed to all its propositions”.⁴

The Church of Scotland approves it

M’Crie calls the General Assembly that met in August 1647 “memorable in our history for having received the Westminster Confession of Faith”, and names Mr Robert Douglas as its moderator.⁵

The Act approving the Confession was passed at Edinburgh on 27 August 1647, in the Assembly’s twenty-third session. It recites that the Confession had been “sent from our Commissioners at London to the Commissioners of the Kirk met at Edinburgh in January last, and hath been in this Assembly twice publickly [publicly] read over, examined, and considered”, and that copies had been printed so that every member could put in “their doubts and objections, if they had any”.⁶

The Assembly found it “most agreeable to the word of God, and in nothing contrary to the received doctrine, worship, discipline, and government of this Kirk”, and “doth therefore, after mature deliberation, agree unto, and approve the said Confession, as to the truth of the matter; (judging it to be most orthodox, and grounded upon the word of God;) and also, as to the point of uniformity, agreeing for our part, that it be a common Confession of Faith for the three kingdoms.” It went on: “The Assembly doth also bless the Lord, and thankfully acknowledge his great mercy, in that so excellent a Confession of Faith is prepared, and thus far agreed upon in both kingdoms; which we look upon as a great strengthening of the true reformed religion against the common enemies thereof.”⁷

The explanation on chapter 31

The Act adds two explanations. First, that “the not mentioning in this Confession the several sorts of ecclesiastical officers and assemblies, shall be no prejudice to the truth of Christ in these particulars, to be expressed fully in the Directory of Government.”⁸

Second, it limited a part of chapter 31, on when the civil magistrate may call synods, to churches not yet settled: “That the Assembly understandeth some parts of the second article of the thirty-one chapter only of kirks [churches] not settled, or constituted in point of government”. In such churches a synod might be called by the magistrate, or ministers might meet synodically of themselves, “yet neither of these ought to be done in kirks constituted and settled”. There it is “always free to the Magistrate to advise with synods of Ministers and Ruling Elders, meeting upon delegation from their churches, either ordinarily, or, being indicted [summoned] by his authority, occasionally, and pro re nata [as occasion requires]”; and it is “also free to assemble together synodically … by the intrinsical [inherent] power received from Christ, as often as it is necessary for the good of the Church so to assemble, in case the Magistrate, to the detriment of the Church, withhold or deny his consent; the necessity of occasional assemblies being first remonstrate [set out] unto him by humble supplication”.⁹

Hetherington gives the reason as he saw it: the article “seemed, or might be interpreted to seem, to grant more power to the civil magistrate in the calling of synods than the Church of Scotland was prepared to admit.”¹⁰

Ratified by Parliament

On 7 February 1649 the Estates of the Scottish Parliament ratified “the said Catechisms, Confession of Faith, and Acts of Approbation of the same”, and ordained them “to be recorded, published, and practised.”¹¹

After the Revolution, the Act of 7 June 1690 “ratifying the Confession of Faith, and settling Presbyterian Church Government” established the Confession “now read in their presence, and voted and approven [approved] by them, as the public and avowed Confession of this Church”. M’Crie adds that the Act of 1647 “still remains in force in the Scottish Church, and is prefixed to all our copies of the Confession”.¹²