Written in a book by Mr McCulloch,1 Minister of Cambuslang, on 29th April, 1713.
1. There is one living and true God, the infinitely most glorious of all beings.
2. Whatsoever the Most High God requires me to believe or perform for His glory and my happiness, is revealed in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
3. As there is one God, so there is in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
4. I was conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity, and ever since I was born I have been conceiving mischief and bringing forth vanity.
5. The Son of God became the Son of Man, that sons of men might be made the sons of God.
6. Jesus Christ lived to God and died for sin, that I might die to sin and live unto God.
7. Jesus Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, that I might rise from sin and come to Him.
8. My person is only justified through the merits of Jesus Christ imputed to me, and my nature is only sanctified by the Spirit of Jesus Christ implanted in me.
9. God entered into a covenant of works with the first Adam, and into a covenant of grace with the second Adam.
10. As God entered into a double covenant, so he hath confirmed His covenant of grace to us by a double seal – baptism and the Lord’s supper.
11. After a short separation, my soul and body shall be again united, to appear before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ, to be finally judged according to my works.
12. There are two other worlds besides this one in which I live – a world of misery for unbelieving sinners, and a world of glory for believing saints.
I am resolved, by the grace of God:
1. To walk by rule, and therefore, which is necessary, to resolve upon rules to walk by.
2. To make the Word of God the rule of all rules, I propose to myself.
3. As I cannot do or even think anything that is good without Divine grace, so I will not pretend to merit any favour from God by anything I am enabled to do to His glory hereafter.
4. To make Jesus Christ the pattern of my life here, so that He may be the portion of my soul hereafter.
5. To walk by faith and not by sight on earth, that I may live by sight and not by faith in heaven.
6. To be always looking upon God as always looking upon me.
7. To watch as much over the inward motions of my heart as the outward actions of my life.
8. To be as much afraid to let in vain thoughts as diligent to keep out sinful ones.
9. To be always exercising my thoughts on good objects, that the devil may not exercise them upon bad ones.
10. To review carefully my past life, and look frequently forward to death and eternity.
A copy of the above creed was kept for many years hanging in the study of the late Dr McCulloch of Dairsie, son of Mr McCulloch of Cambuslang. It shows well the deep earnestness and spirituality of mind in both of those distinguished servants of the Lord; and it may be well for ministers in our own day to ponder the secret of their strength and usefulness.
From the The Scottish Christian Herald, 1836
1. William McCulloch (1691-1771) was ordained as minister of Cambuslang Church of Scotland in 1731, and remained there all his life. The Dictionary of Scottish Church History and Theology states that although he lacked eloquence, a great religious awakening, known as the Cambuslang revival, occurred under his preaching in 1742. During the revival he preached five to six times a week, receiving assistance from neighbouring ministers and from the renowned George Whitefield. At the height of the revival as many as 30,000 people met together at one time.
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