A Schort and general confession of the true Christian Faith and Religion, according to Goddis Word, and Acts of our Parliamentis: Subscryvit be the kings Majesty, his houshold, his Nobility, and hail Estaitis of this Realm, to the glory of GOD, and good exampill of all men. At Edinburgh the 20. day of januarie, 1580. And 14. zeir of his reign.  
WE all, and every one of us, underwritten, protest, that after long and due examinatioun of our own consciencis in matters of true and false Religioun, are now throuchlie resolved in the truth be the Spreit and Word of God: AND THERFOIR we belief with our heartis, confess with our mouthiss, & subscryve with our handis, and constantly affirmis before God, and the hail world, that this is only the true Christian Faith, and Religioun, pleising God, and bringing salvation to man, quhilk is now be the mercy of God revealed to the world be the preiching of the blissit evangel, and is received, believed, & defended be money and sundry notabill Kirkis and Realms, bot chiefly be the Kirk of Scotland, the kings Majesty, and three Estatis of this Realm, as Goddis eternal truth and only ground of our salvation, as mair particularly is expressed in the con●… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Faith, established and public confirmed be sundry acts of Parliamentis, and now of a long time hes been openly professed be the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and hail body of this Realm, baith in burgh and land. TO the quhilk confession, and form of Religioun we willingly aggrie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●●…cis in all pointiss, as unto Goddis undoubted truth and verity, grounded only upon his written word. And therfoir we abhor and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●…arious Religioun and Doctrine, bot chiefly all kind of Papistry in general, and particular headis, even as they are now damned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Word of God, and Kirk of Scotland. Bot in special we detest and refuse the usurped authority of that Roman Antichrist 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●●…tures of God, upon the Kirk, the Civil Magistrates, and consciencis of men, all his tyrannous Lawis made upon indifferent thing 〈◊〉 Christian liberty: his erroneous Doctrine againis the sufficiency of the written Word, the perfection of the Law, the Office of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ●…lissit evangel, his corrupted Doctrine concerning original sin, our natural inability, and rebellion to Goddis Law: his blas 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 our justificatioun be Faith only, our imperfect sanctificatioun, and obedience to the Law, the nature, number, and use of the holy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 We detest his five bastard Sacramentis, with all his Rites, Ceremonies, and false Doctrine, added to the ministration of the true 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without the Word of God, his cruel judgement aganis Infantis departing without the Sacrament, his absolute necessity of Baptism 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 opinion of transsubstantiatioun or real presence of Christis body in the Elementis, and receiving of the same be the wicked, or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his dispensatiounis with solemned aithiss, perjuries, & degreiss of Marriage forbidden in the Word, his cruelty aganis the innocent 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 abhor his devilish Mes, his blasphemous Preistheid, his profane Sacrifice for the sins of the died and the quick, his Ca●… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 men, Purgatory, prayer for the died, praying or speiking in a strange language, his Processiounis, and blasphemous Litany, his multi●●●…●…tis or Mediatouris, with his manifald ordouris, & auricular confession, his desperate and uncertain Repentance, his general & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his satisfaction of men for their sins, his justification be warkis, his Opus operatum, warkis of Supererogatioun, meritis, pardons, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, & stationis. We detest his profane holy water, Baptizing of Bellis, conjuring of Spritis, crossing, saying, anointing, conjuring, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Goddis good creaturis, with the superstitious opinion joined therewith, his worldly Monarchy and wicked Hierarchy, his three 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is, with all his shavelings of sundry sortis, his erroneous and bloody Decreis made at Trent, with all the subscryvers and approvers of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 bloody band, conjured aganis the Kirk of God. And finally we detest all his vain Allegories, Rites, signis and traditiounis brought 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without, or aganis the Word of God, and Doctrine of this reformed Kirk. To the quhilk we join ourselves willingly, in Doctrine, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Discipline, & use of the holy Sacramentis, as lively members of the same in Christ our head: Promising, and sweiring Be the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 OF THE LORD OUR GOD, that we shall continue in the obedience of the Doctrine & Discipline of this Kirk, & shall defend the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to our vocation & power, all the days of our lifes, under the pains contained in the Law, & danger baith of body & soul in ye 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 fearful judgement. And seeing that money are stcirit up be Satan, and that Roman Antichrist, to promeiss, sweir, subscryve, and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the holy Sacramentis in the Kirk deceitfully aganis their own conscience, minding heirby first under the external cloak of Reli●●●●…●●…pt and subvert secretly Goddis true Religioun within the Kirk: and efterward, quhen time may serve, to becum open enemies & 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the same, under vain hope of Popish dispensatioun, devised against the Word of God, to his greiter confusion, & their dowbill 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the day of the Lord jesus. We thairfo it willing to take away all suspicion of Hypocrisy, & of sic double dealing with God & his Kirk, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the searcher of all heartis for witness, that our minds & hear is do fully agree with this our Confession, promeis, aith, & subscription 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 moved for any worldly respect, bot are perswadit only in our consciencis through the knowledge and love of Goddis true Religi●●… 〈◊〉 in our heartis be thy holy Spreit, as we shall answer to him in the day quhen the secreitis of all heartis shall be disclosed. And for●●… 〈◊〉 outward professioun of Religioun and subscription thereof, is not sufficient, except that our conversation and behaviour be ag●●●… unto: Thairsoir we and everilk one of us prom sis faithfully to behave ourselves as true professouris of this Gospel in everilk respect 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in public, nor in private, directly nor indirectly, we shall impugn the verity thereof be word or write: Bot shall be all meinis man●…●…nd the same, baith in reasoning and otherwise, sa far as God will give us grace. And also we promeis that we and ouris quhome 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and, shall diligently observe and keip all the godly exercises of the samen Religioun, as namely the heiring of the Word, and par●●●… 〈◊〉 the holy Sacramentis. And because we perceive, that the quietness, and stability of our Religioun and Kirk dois depend upon the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 behaviour of the kings Majesty, as upon a comfortable Instrument of Goddis mercy, granted to this Country, for the main●… 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Kirk, and ministration of justice amangis us. We protest, and promeiss with our heartis, under the same aith, handwryte, & pains 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 defend his person and Authority, with our geir, bodies, and lifes, in the defence of Christis evangel, liberty of our Country, mini●●…●●…stice and punishment of all iniquity against all enemies within this Realm, or without: as we desire our God to be a strange & mer●●…●●…er to us in the day of our death, and coming of our Lord jesus Christ: To quhome with the Father and the holy Spreit, be all prais, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 glory, eternally.   

imprinted at Edinburgh be Henry Charteris. M.D.XCVI. Cum Privilegio Regali.