The Westminster Standards

In 1643, the English House of Commons adopted an ordinance calling for the “settling of the government and liturgy of the Church of England (in a manner) most agreeable to God’s Holy Word and most apt to procure the peace of the church at home and nearer abroad.” After the ordinance passed the House of Lords, an assembly to accomplish this work convened in Westminster Abbey.

The Parliament nominated one hundred fifty-one persons to the assembly. Thirty were members of Parliament; the others were “learned, godly, and judicious divines.” Five Scottish clergymen were in attendance and had the right of discussion but not vote. Churches in Holland, Belgium, France, Switzerland, and the American colonies were invited to send delegates, though none came. The assembly held 1,163 sessions, finally concluding in 1649.

The Westminster Assembly conducted its work in a crisis atmosphere. Internal conflicts had nearly torn apart both England and the English church. Political and religious problems were inseparable. Who should rule the church? Who should rule the state? What power should the king have? What power Parliament, local councils, and assemblies? The Anglican party stood for royal rule in England with the sovereign also head of the church’s government. The Presbyterian party sought to vest authority in elected representatives of the people, both in Parliament and in church presbyteries. An emerging third party, soon led by Oliver Cromwell, wanted local autonomy for churches and limited powers for both king and Parliament.

Even before the assembly met, civil war broke out between the contending parties. But the assembly went to work and eventually completed
the “Form of Presbyterian Church Government,” a “Directory of Public Worship,” “The Confession of Faith,” “The Larger Catechism,” and
“The Shorter Catechism.” Each document was approved by the English Parliament, which asked the assembly to add scriptural proofs.
Cromwell’s ascendancy precipitated the end of the assembly. In 1648, Pride’s Purge forcibly excluded Presbyterian members from Parliament. With the execution of King Charles I in 1649, English Puritanism split into “Presbyterians,” who protested the regicide, and “Independents,” who supported it and aligned themselves with Cromwell.

In 1647, the Scottish General Assembly adopted the Westminster Standards for use in the kirk, replacing the Scots Confession of 1560 and the Heidelberg Catechism. The standards came to New England with the Puritans (Independents) and to the Middle Atlantic states with the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. In 1729, the standards were adopted as the confessional position of the newly organized Presbyterian synod in the colonies and have played a formative role in American Presbyterianism ever since. The Westminster Standards represent the fruits of a Protestant scholasticism that refined and systematized the teachings of the Reformation. The standards lift up the truth and authority of the Scriptures, as immediately inspired in Hebrew and Greek, kept pure in all ages, and known through the internal witness of the Holy Spirit. Divine sovereignty and double predestination are also emphasized. In appealing to Scripture to formulate a covenant theology, the standards had important implications for political thought and practice, reminding both ruler and people of their duties to God and to each other.

The Westminster Larger Catechism
Westminster Larger Catechism Questions 1-97
Westminster Larger Catechism Questions 98-196