The Westminster Confession of Faith:
Chapter 21
Chapter 21. Of Religious Worship and the
Sabbath Day.
1. The light of nature showeth that there is a God, who
hath lordship and sovereignty over all; is good, and doeth good unto
all; and is therefore to be feared, loved, praised, called upon, trusted
in, and served with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all
the might.a But the acceptable way of worshipping the true
God is instituted by himself, and so limited to his own revealed will,
that he may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices
of men, or the suggestions of Satan, under any visible representations
or any other way not prescribed in the Holy Scripture.b
a. Josh 24:14; Psa
18:3; 31:23; 62:8; 119:68; Jer 10:7; Mark 12:33; Acts 17:24; Rom 1:20;
10:12. • b. Exod 20:4-6; Deut 4:15-20; 12:32; Mat 4:9-10; 15:9;
Acts 17:25; Col 2:23.
2. Religious worship is to be given to God, the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost; and to him alone:a not to angels,
saints, or any other creature:b and since the fall, not
without a Mediator; nor in the mediation of any other but of Christ
alone.c
a. Mat 4:10 with
John 5:23 and 2 Cor 13:14. • b. Rom 1:25; Col 2:18; Rev
19:10. • c. John 14:6; Eph 2:18; Col 3:17; 1 Tim 2:5.
3. Prayer with thanksgiving, being one special part of
religious worship,a is by God required of all men;b
and that it may be accepted, it is to be made in the name of the Son,c
by the help of his Spirit,d according to his will,e
with understanding, reverence, humility, fervency, faith, love, and
perseverance;f and, if vocal, in a known tongue.g
a. Phil 4:6. •
b. Psa 65:2. • c. John 14:13-14; 1 Pet 2:5. • d. Rom
8:26. • e. 1 John 5:14. • f. Gen 18:27; Psa 47:7; Eccl
5:1-2; Mat 6:12, 14-15; Mark 11:24; Eph 6:18; Col 4:2; Heb 12:28; James
1:6-7; 5:16. • g. 1 Cor 14:14.
4. Prayer is to be made for things lawful,a
and for all sorts of men living, or that shall live hereafter;b
but not for the dead,c nor for those of whom it may be known
that they have sinned the sin unto death.d
a. 1 John 5:14. •
b. Ruth 4:12; 2 Sam 7:29; John 17:20; 1 Tim 2:1-2. • c. 2
Sam 12:21-23 with Luke 16:25-26; Rev 14:13. • d. 1 John
5:16.
5. The reading of the Scriptures with godly fear;a
the sound preaching;b and conscionable hearing of the Word,
in obedience unto God with understanding, faith, and reverence;c
singing of psalms with grace in the heart;d as, also, the due
administration and worthy receiving of the sacraments instituted by
Christ; are all parts of the ordinary religious worship of God:e
besides religious oaths,f vows,g solemn fastings,h
and thanksgivings upon several occasions;i which are, in
their several times and seasons, to be used in an holy and religious
manner.k
a. Acts 15:21; Rev
1:3. • b. 2 Tim 4:2. • c. Isa 66:2; Mat 13:19; Acts 10:33;
Heb 4:2; James 1:22. • d. Eph 5:19; Col 3:16; James 5:13. • e.
Mat 28:19; Acts 2:42; 1 Cor 11:23-29. • f. Deut 6:13 with
Neh 10:29. • g. Isa 19:21 with Eccl 5:4-5. • h. Est
4:16; Joel 2:12; Mat 9:15; 1 Cor 7:5. • i. Est 9:22; Psa 107
throughout. • k. Heb 12:28.
6. Neither prayer, nor any other part of religious
worship, is now, under the gospel, either tied unto, or made more
acceptable by any place in which it is performed, or towards which it is
directed:a but God is to be worshipped everywhereb
in spirit and truth;c as in private familiesd
daily,e and in secret each one by himself,f so
more solemnly in the public assemblies, which are not carelessly or
willfully to be neglected or forsaken, when God, by his Word or
providence, calleth thereunto.g
a. John 4:21. •
b. Mal 1:11; 1 Tim 2:8. • c. John 4:23-24. • d. Deut
6:6-7; 2 Sam 6:18, 20; Job 1:5; Jer 10:25; Acts 10:2; 1 Pet 3:7. • e.
Mat 6:11. • f. Mat 6:6; Eph 6:18. • g. Isa 56:6-7; Prov
1:20-21, 24; 8:34; Luke 4:16; Acts 2:42; 13:42; Heb 10:25.
7. As it is of the law of nature that, in general, a
due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in his
Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all men
in all ages, he hath particularly appointed one day in seven for a
Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him:a which, from the beginning
of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the
week; and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first
day of the week,b which in Scripture is called the Lord's
day,c and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the
Christian Sabbath.d
a. Exod 20:8,
10-11; Isa 56:2, 4, 6-7. • b. Gen 2:2-3; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 16:1-2.
• c. Rev 1:10. • d. Exod 20:8, 10 with Mat 5:17-18.
8. This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when
men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common
affairs beforehand, do not only observe an holy rest all the day from
their own works, words, and thoughts, about their worldly employments
and recreations;a but also are taken up the whole time in the
public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of
necessity and mercy.b
a. Exod 20:8;
16:23, 25-26, 29-30; 31:15-17; Isa 58:13; Neh 13:15-22. • b. Isa
58:13; Mat 12:1-13.
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