us and what have we more therein than when by Faith and Repentance we receive in our hearts Jesus Christ sanctified A. We recieve therein the external symbol and seal of our spiritual communion for to confirm our faith God useth to seal outwardly his Grace to us So after Abraham believed God and after it was counted unto him for righteousness he received the sign of Circumcision for a seal of the Righteousness of the Faith Rom. 4. So Cornelius was baptized after having received the Holy Ghost Act 10. All the Prophets give witness to Jesus Christ that through his name whosoever believes in him shall receive remission of sins Act. 10. but that hinders not of baptizing in the name of Jesus Christ in remission of sins because Baptism is the seal of that remission of sins Act. 2. Q. In the celebration of that Mystery must not one sacrifice Jesus really and properly A. No for he commanded us to eat his flesh and to drink his blood and not to offer him in sacrifice He through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God and by that sacrifice he acquired eternal Redemption for us and he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified Heb. 9.10 Q. But is he not still offered every day in the Mass by the hands of the Priests in an unbloody manner in propiciatory sacrifice for the remission of the sins of the quick and the dead A. Quite contrary St Paul saith that without shedding of blood is no remission that Jesus Christ offered not himself several times for then must he have suffered several times since the foundation of the world and that where is remisssion of sins there is no offering for sin Heb. 9.10 Q. Must Sacraments be adored A. No for Jesus Christ did not command it and the Apostles have not shewed us the example thereof Our Lord doth not say do you behold and adore but take and eat and the Apostles did take and did eat what was given them but did not adore it Q. Ought the Pastors to administer the Cup to the people A. Yes for our Lord Jesus Christ speaking to his Apostles which represented his Church said to them drink ye all of it for this is my blood of the new Testament which is shed for many for the remission of sins Matt. 26. and St Paul let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup Cor. 11. Q. How ought we to examine our selves A. We must enter our Consciences and examine our selves to know if we have Faith Repentance and Charity Q. What is Faith A It is a recourse of the sinful and penitent Soul to the mercy of God in Christ Jesus and a sure trust that for this glorious Saviour's sake he will forgive us our sins and will receive us into his heavenly Kingdom Q. What is Repentance A. It is a sensible grief to have offended our heavenly Father and a fervent desire for time to come to glorify him in all our actions our words and our thoughts Q. How many parts are there in true repentance A. Two for we must cease to do evil and learn to do well depart from evil and do good to abhor that which is evil cleave to that which is good Is 1. Ps 3.4 Rom 12. Q. What is Charity A. It is to love God with all our heart and our Neighbour as our selves Q. How do we shew that we love our Neighbour A In bearing with his faults and being sensible of his misery and helping him in time of need according to our abilitâ— Q What are those to hope for who persevere in Faith who apply themselves to true piety and who from day to day go forward in sanctification A. God shall bless them in this life and shall crown them in the other according to our Lord Jesus Christ's promise be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life Rev. 2. Amen End of the fourth and last part of the Catechism A Prayer for the faithful Children who desire to advance themselves in Piety MY Lord and my God! I give thee immortal praises and thanksgivings that it pleased thee to cause me to born in thy Church of faithful Parents by the means of whom I have been brought up in Piety and made to drink of the sincere milk of the word as others I was a Child of wrath but Lord thou hast taken pity on me and thou hast adopted me to make me thy Child and heir of thy kingdom O my God and my Father enable me to answer to so holy and so glorious a vocation engrave thine Image in my heart and form me to the obedience of thee teach me to do thy will since thou art my God and let thy good Spirit lead me in the way of righteousness give me the Ornaments of true humility and of Sanctification without which none shall see thy face O let not be useless the labour of those who work to instruct me open my eyes that I may behold the marvels of thy law and that with thy holy Angels I may take pleasure without ceasing to contemplate the mysteries of my Salvation give me an understanding to know thee and heart to love thee and affections to embrace thee Confirm my memory that I may never forget the Divine Instructions of thy word Give me grace to conform all my actions my words and my thoughts thereunto and let it not only be a light that casts forth beamâ— and shines in my understanding and that chaseâ— away the darkness of error and ignorance therefrom but let it be a sacred fire that purifies mâ— affections that inflames my heart with a divine love and with a holy zeal for thy glory That I do not rejoyce for a little while in that divine light but let me follow it all the time of this terrestrial Pilgrimage Let it lead me to thee Oâ— Father of Lights and let it introduce me into thy heavenly Canaan where I shall have no more need to learn because I shall perfectly know thee and shall see thee face to face Oâ— my God! give me all things thou knowest to be necessary for me forget the sins of my youth and impute not unto me my transgressions but wash me in the precious blood of my Saviour and Redeemer Jesus Christ who commanded me to pray to thee saying OUR Father which art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us ouâ— trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is thy kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever Amen Lord increase in me the precious faith that of thy pure grace thou hast given me let it appear by a good and holy life and that to the last day of my life I make a free
this Faith it is said that Simon the Magician believed Acts 8. Q. What is the Faith of Miracles A. It is an infallible assurance grounded upon some particular Revelation that God will shew his Omnipotency to work by us or in our favour some work beyond all the Forces of Nature It is of this Faith that the Apostle speaks in the first of the Corinthians cap. 13. Q. What is Temporal Faith A. It is that which receives the VVord o◠God with joy but presently forsakes the profession thereof because of the afflictions which attend it our Lord Jesus Christ speaks of it in St. Matthews Gospel cap. 13. Q. What is Justifying Faith A. It is that which embraces to Salvation Christ Crucified and assures us that if we are truly penitent of our faults God will be merciful unto us and will receive us in his heavenly Kingdom It is of this Faith St Pau◠speaks of in the 2d to Timothy cap. 11. 〈◊〉 know whom I have believed and am perswaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day Q. Of what Faith is it here spoken A. Of the Justifying Faith for it is not said I believe God or believe to God but I believe in God Q. What difference do you put between Believe God believe to God and believe in God A. Believe God is to believe that there is a God as St. James saith That the Devils believe there is a God and tremble Believe to God is to believe all what God saith is true Believe in God is to trust in him whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed Rom. 10. Q. What is God A. An Essence Eternal Infinite Incomprehensible Immortal Invisible Omnipotent all Good and all Just and all Merciful and all VVise and who created Heaven and Earth Q. How many Gods are there A. There is but one and there cannot be several Q. Why A. Because there cannot be several Infinites nor several Omnipotents for one cannot imagine any thing beyond Infinite And if there were several Omnipotents the omnipotency of the one would destroy the omnipotency of the other Q. But besides these Reasons that are clear and evident what doth the Scripture teach us on this subject A. It teaches us every where that there is but one only God specially Deut. 6. Hear O Israel the Lord our God is one Lord. And Eph. 4. Is one Lord one Father one Baptism one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in us all Q. How many ways doth God reveal himself A. Three First By his VVorks as is spoken thereof Rom. 1. The invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made even his eternal Power and Godhead Secondly By his VVord as the Apostles speaks of it Heb. 1. God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the Fathers by the Prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son Thirdly By his Spirit For things that eye hath not seen nor ear heard and that have not entred into the heart of man God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit 1 Cor. 2. Q How many Persons are that Divinity that we worship A. There are three The Father who i◠the source and first original of every thing 〈◊〉 The Son who is begotten of the Father before all Ages And the Holy Ghost who from all Eternity proceeds from the Fathe◠and the Son Q. Where do we learn that A. 'T is proved by several Reasons that there is but one only God who hath made all things and was made of none and who moves all things without moving himself but the Revelations alone teaches us that in that Unity of Essence there is a Trinity of Persons Q. In what passage of the Scripture is it spoken of A. In the 28th Chapter of our Lord Jesus Christ's Gospel according to St. Matthew Teach all Nations baptizing them in the Name of the Father of the Son and the Holy Ghost And in the 5th Chapter of the first Epistle of St. John There are three that bear Record in Heaven the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost and these three are one Q. Why do you give to God the quality of Father A. Because he did beget Jesus Christ of his proper Substance so that the Father and the Son are one John 10. Q. Have we any comfort that God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ A. Yes a very great one for from thence it follows that he is also our Father He hath predestinated us to be conformed to the Image of his Son that he may be the first born among many brethren Rom. 8. Q. Why do you say that God is Almighty A. Because he doth all he pleases in Heaven in Earth and in the Deep and that there is nothing able to resist his Will Q. In what did he shew his Omnipotency A. In making the light to shine from darkness and in creating Heaven and Earth Q How many sorts of Creations are there A. Two The one is properly said that God created something out of nothing as when he created the first matter whereof he formed all Corporal things The other that is so called by comparison when God doth something of a matter that hath no disposition to receive the form he imprinted thereto as when God created the first man of Dust and Eve of Adam's Rib. Q. By whom did God create the World A. It was by his Son that he made the Worlds and without him was not any thing made that was made Heb. 1. and John 1. Q. What do you mean by Heaven and Earth A. Not only that weighty mass which is the center of the world and the lightsome Globes which turn round about it but generally all Creatures Celestial and Terrestrial Q. What is to be considered in all these Creatures A. There are principally five things to be considered their multitude which is almost Infinite their diversity of Beauty their Admirable order their virtues and effects and above all there is not one of them that doth not tend to the end it pleased God to create it for Q. Did God create the Angels A. He created all things visible and invisible the Thrones the Dominions and Principalities Coll. 1. Wherefore the Angels are calle◠Sons of God in the first of Job Q. Did God create also the Devils A. He created their substance but he is no◠the Father of their Malice They are Apostat Angels that have not kept their first Estate a◠St Jude speaks of it Q. How did God create man A. He created him in his image and likeness he enlightened him with his Light and cloathed with Justice and Sanctity Q. Whence comes then the depravation an◠perverseness that is naturally in all the men in th◠world A. It comes from our first Parents who suffered themselves to be corrupted by Satan
Quest WHERE is our Lord Jesus Christ A. As God he is every where as he says himself in St. Matthew cap. 18. where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them and Chapt. 28. I am with you always even to the end of the World Q. And as Man where is he A. He left the World and is gone unto the Father and the Heavens must contain him until the time of Restitution of all things St John 16. and â—cts 3. Q. How did he ascend into Heaven A. He ascended visibly a Cloud received him out of the sight of the Apostles to whom two Angels said Ye men of Galilee Why stand ye gazing up into Heaven the same Jesus which is taken up from you into Heaven shall come in like manner as ye have seen him go into Heaven Acts. 1. Q. What doth the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ profit us A. First he ascended into Heaven to appear for us in the presence of God and to make intercession for us Heb. 7. And secondly he is gone to prepare a place for us John 14. Lastly his ascension into Heaven is a pledge and assurance of our own John 17. and Heb. 6. Of Jesus Christ sitting on the Right Hand of God Q. WHat signifies the word to be sitting A. It signifies sometimes to Reign as in the 20th of Prov. A King that sitteth in the Throne of Judgment scattereth away all evil with his Eyes and Revel 18. I sit a Queen and am no Widdow and shall see no sorrow Q. What signifies the right hand of God A. To speak properly God being a Spirit hath no right hand but by his right hand is understood his power and his vertue and it is said Psalms 44. our Fathers got not the Land in possession by their own Sword neither did their own Arm save them but thy right Hand and thy Arm and the light of thy Countenance because thou hadst a favour unto them Q What is then the sense of this article that Jesus Christ is sitting on the right hand of God A. St. Paul gives us the explanation thereof Eph. 1. when he saith that God raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this world but also in that which is to come and hath put all things under his Feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church which is his body The fulness of him that fill all in all and Phillip 2. he humbled himselâ— and became obedient unto Death even thâ— Death of the Cross wherefore God also hatâ— highly exalted him and given him a namâ— which is above every name That at the namâ— of Jesus every Knee shall bow â—f things in Heaven and things in Earth and things under thâ— Earth that every Tongue should confess thaâ— Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God thâ— Father Q. What fruits have we of Jesus Christ's sitting oâ— the right hand of God A. He being our Saviour and loving us witâ— an eternal love we are assured that he will usâ— his omnipotency to preserve us and to do uâ— good and to repress all the endeavours and thâ— violence of his Enemies and ours till he have laid them all under his feet and utterly destroy them Of the last Judgment Q. WHo are the Quick and the Dead whom Jesus Christ shall judge at the last day A. The Quick are those who shall then bâ— living on the Earth when Jesus Christ shalâ— come from Heaven and the Dead are thosâ— whose Souls shall have been separated froâ— their Bodies before that glorious coming Q. How must this be understood that Jesuâ— Christ shall come to judge the Quick and the Dead A. The meaning is That at the end of thâ— World Jesus Christ shall come with the Angelâ— of his power and that we shall all appear beforâ— his judgment Seat to receive in our Bodies according to what we shall have done whether it be good or bad 2 Cor. 5. Q. What difference shall be then between the good and the bad man A. Our Lord Jesus Christ shall set all the bad on his left hand and shall say to them Depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels but unto the Elect and Faithful who walk here in his fear and have exercised themselves in works of mercy he shall set them at his right hand and shall say to them Come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world Matt. 25. Of the third part of the Apostles Creed Q. WHy after having spoken of the Father and the Son do you make mention of the Holy Ghost A. Because it would be in vain and that the Father hath procured us Salvation and that the Son merited it for us if the Holy Ghost did not apply it unto us wherefore it is said that we are sealed with the spirit of promise Eph 1. Q. Why is it said I believe in the Holâ— Ghost A. To teach us to put our trust in him and to render him the same honours and the same adoration that we render the Father and the Son Q. Who is the Holy Ghost A. It is the third person of the most holy and most glorious Trinity who from all Eteâ—nity proceeds from the Father and the Son Q How do you prove that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father A. By the formal words of our Lord Jesus Christ in the 15th of St. John The Spirit of Truth which proceeds from the Father shall testifie of me Q. How do you prove that he proceeds from the Son A. Because 't is said in the 15th of the same Gospel I will send you the Comforter from the Father and in the 16th All things that the Father hath are mine and therefore said I that ye shall take of mine and shall shew it unto you from whence come that in Rom. 8. he is called the spirit of God and the spirit of Christ and that in Revel 22. he is represented by a River proceeding from the Throne of God and of the Lamb. Q. Is the Holy Ghost God A. Yes for to lye to the Holy Ghost is to lye to God Acts 5. And we are called the Temple of God because the Holy Ghost dwelleth in us 1 Cor. 3. Q. Why is the Spirit called holy A. It is not only because he is holy in himself for in that regard holiness belongs also to the Father and the Son but it is because he sanctifies us immediately and that he reforms in us the Image of God in Righteousness and Sanctity Q. Are the gifts of the Holy Ghost common to all men of the world or do they belong to the only Children of God A. There are some which he imparts indifferently as the Arts and Sciences and
Political and Military Vertues but there are others which are proper to the Elect and Faithful as the Inward Sanctification and the certainty of our Adoption for because we are Sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our Hearts bearing witness with our Spirit that we are the Children of God and whereby we cry Abba Father Gall 4. Rom. 8. Q. Hath the Holy Ghost no other particular office towards the Faithful A. He comforts them in their afflictions and fills their Souls with a Joy ineffable and glorious and with a peace of God which passeth all understanding wherefore he is called eminently the Comforter St John 14 Q. Hath every faithful man a Spirit in particular A. By no means for though every one hath his proper gift of God and that there be divers diversities of gifts there is the same Spirit 1 Cor. 12. So that as it is the same God who created us and the same Saviour that redeemed us it is also the same Spirit that sanctifies us and who is the earnest of our Inheritance Eph. 1.4 Of the fourth part of the Apostles Creed Quest WHy do you say I believe the Church and not I believe in the Church as you â—ave said I believe in God and in Jesus Christ â—nd in the Holy Ghost A. Because we do not put our trust in the Church but only believe there is a Church â—nd that we have the happiness to be of her â—ommunion Q. What is the Church A. The word Church in general signifies an assembly convoked by living voice insomuch â—hat Acts 19. a seditious Assembly is called a Church but in its most excellent signification it is taken for the company of those that God hath elected to life everlasting whose names before the foundation of the world he hath written in the Book of Life It is thus that the Apostle takes it Heb. 12. Ye are come to the Assembly and Church of the first-born the Names whereof are written in Heaven Q. How many parts are there in this Church A. There are three the Triumphant Church the Militant Church and the Elect which are not yet called or are not yet born Q. What do you mean by the Triumphant Church A. The assembly of all the Saints that God hath taken up in his glory and who triumph in Heaven with the Angels of Light Q. And what do you mean by the Militant Church A. The Company of the faithful who fight on Earth under the banner of our Lord Jesus Christ and who make open profession of his Truth Q. Of what Church is it spoken of in the Creed A. It is principally spoken of the Church of the Elect against whom the gates of Hell shalâ— not prevail Mat. 16. but in some manner iâ— may be understood of the Church Militant oâ— Earth wherein is found not only those that Goâ— hath sanctified by his Spirit but also Hypocrites Q. But how can we say that we believe in thaâ— Church since we do not see it A. We see indeed the men that compose theiâ— Assemblies and their Sacraments but we don'â— see neither their Faith nor their Charity noâ— their interiour Sanctifiation and it is thaâ— which makes them to be true Members of the Church there is but God alone who knows those who are his and who can discern them from Hypocrites 2 Tim. 2. Q. Ought that Church to be called Catholick or Vniversal A. Yes because it reaches to all sorts of People and it is in that it differs from the Church of the Jews which was composed of one Nation only Q. Hath the word Church no other signification in the Scripture A. Sometimes it is taken for the Pastors and the Readers of the Church as when our Lord Jesus Christ says Mat. 18. tell it unto the Church sometimes for the Faithful which are committed to them as in Acts the 20. where St Paul saith unto the Bishops of Ephesus Feed the Church whom God hath purchased with his own Blood and sometimes for particular Assemblies made up as well of those who teach as of those who are taught it is in that sense it is spoken of the Church of Corinth of the Galathian Churches and of the Church of the Thessalonians Q. Who is the head of the Vniversal Church A. It is our Lord Jesus Christ himself for God hath given him to be the head over all things to the Church which is his Body the fulness of him that filleth all in all Eph. 1. Q Did not Jesus Christ establish on earth any â—ody to be in his stead A. When he left the World he sent his Spirit to abide with us for ever John 14. But he gave no Commission to any man to be his Vicar Universal and there is none that can be it Q. But did he order no body to be the leader of his Church A. For the Spiritual conduct of his Church he did order neither King nor Monarch nor any body that governs in their own way contrarily he said to his Apostles The Kings of the Gentiles exercise Lordships over them and they that exercise Authority upon them are called Benefactors but it shall not be so but he that is greatest among you let him be as the younger and he that is chief as he that doth serve Luke 22. Q. But did he give none to be Ministers A. St Paul teaches us Ephesians 4. that he being ascended above all Heavens he gave some to be Apostles and some Prophets and some Evangelists and some Pastors and Teachers for the perfecting of the Saints for the work of the Ministry for the edifying the body of Christ till we all come into the Unity of the Faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect Man unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ Q. May particular Churches stile themselves Catholick or Vniversal Churches A. They may in some sort be called Catholicks because they make profession of the Christian Faith that ought to be spread throughout the Universe and that by reason of that profession they make part of the Catholick Church but there is not one of them that may usurp that name exclusively to the others for properly speaking universal and particular cannot become the same subject Q. Is there any one of their particular Churches which may pretend to domineer over the other A. By no means for they all alike and immediately depend on Jesus Christ the great Pastor and Bishop of our Souls Q. May one be saved out of the Church's Communion A. There is no Salvation out of the Universal Church but there is no particular Church out of which one may not be saved and there is such particular Church the Communion whereof must one renounce then to be saved Q. What difference is there between the particular Churches A. Some are pure and true in their Doctrine and others are impure and untrue Q. How can one know them A. In examining by the Word of God
the Devotions they profess for the Sheep of our Lord Jesus Christ hear his Voice and follow him but they hear not the Voice of Strangers contrarily they fly from him John 10. and those honour God in vain who teach for Doctrine the Commandment of Man Matthew 15. Q. Do you believe that the Church wherein you have been educated and bred up to be a true and pure Church A. Yes by the grace of God for the word of God is preached therein in all purity the Sacraments are administered in it according to the Institutions of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Divine Service established therein in the same simplicity as it was in the Apostles time Q. Why is the Church called â—oly A. Because God hath separated it from the rest of the World and hath consecrated it to his Service and because Jesus Christ gave himself for us that he might Sanctifie and present it to himself a glorious Church not having Spot or Wrinkle or any such thing Ephes 5. Q. What is the sanctity of the Church A. The Sanctity of the Triumphant Church is perfect and accomplished but that of the Militant Church hath many Faults and Imperfections wherefore she is taught to say every day to God forgive us our Trespasses Q. How is it then that she is called Holy A. Because it gives and applies it self to sanctity that hath the beginning of it that it arrives to perfection and that one day it shall obtain it in the Kingdom of Heaven Of the Conmunion of Saints Quest IS it lawful to Trust in the Merit and in the satisfaction of Saints A. By no means for every one shall bear his own burthen Gal. 6. It belongs to Jesus Christ alone to bear our Iniquities and satisfie for us to the Justice of God 1 Pet. 2. There is no other name under Heaven given amongst men whereby we must be saved Acts 4. Q. Of what Saints do you believe the Communion A. Of the Saints Triumphant in Heaven of the Faithful fighting on Earth and of the one with the other Q. In what consists the Communion of the Faithful on earth A. In that they have all the same God for Father the same Jesus Christ for a Saviour and the same Spirit for Comforter they obey the same Gospel and participate of the same Sacraments they have the same Faith and the same Hope they long for the same Inheritance and do communicate to one another the goods which God imparted them they feel the afflictions of one another and work together for their mutual Salvation Q In what consists the Communion of the glorified Saints A. In that they enjoy the same glory and felicity that they contemplate the fear of the same God and agree together to celebrate his praises Q. In what consists the Communion of the Militant Church with the Triumphant A. In that we have all the same God and the same Saviour that we are all moved by the same Spirit and inflamed with the same Charity and that we have the same desire to see Jesus Christ upon his Throne and the whole Church carried up in Body and Soul in the fulness of Glory which is prepared her from the foundation of the World Of the Remission of Sins Quest WHat signifies the article of Remission of sins A. We believe that God of his free Will for Jesus Christs sake forgave all poor repenting sinners their offences Q. Is there none but God that forgives sins A. There is none but God alone that forgives them with Authority and with absolute power Matt. 2. Q. And how is it that Pastors forgive sins A. As Ministers and Ambassadors of Jesus Christ Of the Resurrection of the Body Quest WHat do you mean by the Resurrection of the Body A. That in the last day God will command the Earth the Sea and the Sepulchre to deliver up the dead and then the just and the unjust shall rise again from the dead the one in Resurrection of Life and the other in Resurrection of Condemnation Rev. 20. Dan. 12. and John 5. Q. Do you believe that this same flesh which shall have been eaten up by the worms and reduced into dust may and shall rise again A. Yes for nothing is impossible to God and he is true in his promises wherefore we may say with Job I know that my Redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth and though after my skin worms devour this Body yet in my flesh shall I see God and my Eye shall behold him Job 19. Q. How shall our Bodies rise again A. They shall invest in corruption immortality light and glory 1 Cor. 15. And shall be rendred conform unto the glorious body of our Saviour according to the Apostles saying Phil. 3. we look for the Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ from Heaven who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorio us body Q. What shall become of those who at the Resurrection day shall be living on earth A. They shall be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last Trump and we shall be caught up together in the Clouds to meet the Lord in the Air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Cor. 15. 1 Thess 4. Of Life Everlasting Quest WHAT is the life everlasting that you believe A It is the spiritual and heavenly life which we shall for ever live in Paradice with Jesus Christ and his Triumphing Angels Q. How many different degrees hath that Life A. Three one in this life what it pleases God to give us the first fruit of his Spirit and the foretaste of the delight of Paradice The â—econd when our Soul leaves this Corporal Taâ—ernacle to put on the eternal dwelling which is â—n Heaven and the third after the Resurrection when in bodâ— and in soul we shall enjoy the good things which the eye did not see that ear did not hear and that entred not into the heart of Man Q What are the principal benefits we shall enjoy â—n that glorious life A. To know God perfectly and to contemâ—late him face to face to love him intirely â—nd to love nothing but in him and for the â—ove of him to have an accomplished sanctity â—ee from all defects to enjoy permanent joy â—hich may be felt through all the faculties of â—or souls and bodies and lastly to be rendred â—ike unto God himself for when we shall see â—im as he is we shall be like him 1 John 3. The End of the First Part. Of good WORKS PART II Quest BY what means do we hope to be saved A. Through the death and passioâ— of our Lord Jesus Christ Q. Since Jesus Christ redeemed us by his deaâ— and passion is it necessary to do good Works A. Yes for that he hath redeemed us from the hands of our Enemies it is to the end that we may serve him without fear in holineâ— and righteousness all the
no means for our Lord Jesus Chrisâ— in dying tore the veil of Jewish Ceremonies and as speaks the Apostle thereof Coll. 2. hâ— that blotted out the hand writing of Ordinanceâ— that was against us which was contrary to us and took it out of the way nailing it to his cross Q. Are we subject unto the moral Law A. We are not subject to the Curses it thunders against those who do not perfectly accomplish what it commands and we owe it not a servile obedience for Jesus Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law being made a curse for us Gall. 3. but we owe it a filial obedience and because it is the rule of all justice and uprightness we must all our life time apply our selves to do every thing it prescribes us Q. Where do we find the Moral Law which is the rule and eternal pattern of our life A. In the Decalogue that is called by excellence the Commandments of God Q. VVhat signifies the word Decalogue A. That is to say Ten words because the Law of God is contained in Ten Commandments Q. VVho is it that God gave this Law to A. He gave it to the people of Israel by the ministry of Moses but it concerns all men in the world for that is the same Law that God had ingrafted in their hearts when he created them in his Image and after his likeness Q. VVhen was it that God gave it A. About two thousand years more or less after the creation of the world fifty days after the children of Israel came out from Egypt Q. VVhere did he give it A. On Mount Sinai Q. In what manner did he give it A. With marks of his omnipotency in the midst of Thunder and Lightning the Mountain being all on fire and quaking Q. VVhy is it that God gave that Law with so much glory and majesty A. To the end that one may know that Moses is not the author thereof but God himself and that he hath arms ready to revenge the contempt and disobedience of it Q. How many parts are in that Law A. God himself wrote it upon two Tables one whereof contains four Commandments and the other six Q. What does the first Table treat of A. Of things immediately concerning the worship of God Q. And what contains the second Table A. Of our duty towards our Neighbour Of the ten Commandments Of the Preface Q. IS there nothing foregoing the Commandments of God A. There is the Preface contained in these words I am * The Lord in French there is the Eternal the Lord thâ— God which have brought thee out of the Land of Egypt out of the House of Bondage Q. What is to be considered in that Preface A. Three reasons which God makes use of to cause his people to hear him with Respect the first is taken from his Essence it self he is the Lord The second is taken from his Covenant he is their God and the third is taken from his benefits he hath brought them from the Land of Egypt out of the House of Bondage Q. But does that belong to us since we are not Jews and that we have not been Bondsmen in Egypt A. We are not Jews according to the flesh but in regard to the spirit and we are the Israel of God and all those who have the Faith of Abraham are Children of Abraham Gall. 3. and to that we have been delivered from the Tyranny of the spiritual Pharaoh who is the Devil and from the slavery of sin of death and of hell Of the first Commandment Q. SAY the first Commandement A. Thou shalt have no other Gods * I have been obliged to follow the expression of the 20th Chap. of Exodus and not that of the service of the Church by reason of a following Question and of his Answer before me Q. Since there is no other God but the great living God who created Heaven and Earth how must these words be understood thou shalt have no other Gods before me A. There is but one only God and in effect and according to the truth there can be no more but according to the foolish opinion of men and their extravagant imagination there may be an infinity of Gods It is what the Apostle teaches us in 1 Cor. 8. for though there be that are called Gods whether in Heaven or in Earth as there be Gods many but to us there is but one God the Father of whom are all things and we in him and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we by him Q. What is it then that God forbids us in this Commandment A. He forbids us to worship any one but him and to put trust in man Matth. 4. and Jer. 17. Q. Why doth he say before me A. To teach us that this sin is so much more abominable that it is committed in his presence and to make us fear his just wrath and vengeance Q. But since when God forbids a thing he commands that which is opposite thereunto what is it that God commands here A. That we put our trust in him alone that we love him in the highest desire that we call upon him with holy fervency that we fear him above all Kings and that all our pleasure be to do his will Of the second Commandment Quest SAY the second Commandment A. Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Image nor the likeness of any thing that is in Heaven above or in the Earth beneath or in the Waters under the Earth thou shalt not bow to them nor worship them for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God and visit the sins of the Fathers upon the Children to the third and fourth generation of them that hate me and shew mercy unto thousands in them that love me and keep my Commandments Q. Is not this one and the same Commandment with the proceeding A. No. For in the precedent God teaches us who it is whom we ought to adore and worship and in that he teaches us how we ought to adore and worship him Q. Those of the Church of Rome blame us that we teach you to say Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Image and hold that it must be said Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Idol what do you say to that A. I say that they are very ill grounded and that they contradict themselves for in the French Bible of Lovaine in the 5th Chap. of Deut. there is thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Representation or any Representation graven and Image graven it is the same thing furthermore in the old Edition of the same Bible in the 20 of Exod. and the 5. of Deut. you 'll find these words Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Image in some new * A Manual of Prayer of the Church of Rome Heures Printed at Paris with approbation and priviledge you 'll find this You shall not make to your self
any Idol or graven Image in fine the Latin Bible which was declared Canonical in the Councel of Trent bears formally thou shalt not make any sculptory work Q. Have we great Interest that it be said thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Image or else thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Idol A. We have no other interest in it than that of the Truth for let it be Image or Idol it is no matter since the Law of God adds nor the likeness of any thing that is in Heaven above or in the Earth beneath or in the Water under the Earth and the Images of the Church of Rome are the likeness of the things that are in Heaven and in Earth and consequently they are forbidden by the Law of God Q. But doth God forbid generally all sorts of Images A. There are two sorts of Images some are made to represent the Creator and the others to be the Effigies of the Creatures these to Represent the Creator are absolutely forbidden Q. What proof have you thereof A. It is impossible to have a clearer one or more convincing than that of the 4. Chapt. of Deut. Take you therefore good heed unto your selves for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire Lest you corrupt your self and make you a graven Image the similitude of any figure the likeness of Male or Female and in Isaiah the 40. To whom then will you liken God or what likeness will ye compare unto him wherefore God puts amongst the greatest sins of the Antient Heathens that of having changed the glory of the Incorruptible God into an Image made like to Corruptible Man and to Birds and four-footed Beasts and creeping things Rom 1. Q. What do you say of the Imagâ—s which are made to represent the Creatures A. The Images of the Creatures are of two uses the one Political and Civil and the other Sacred and Religious The civil use of Images is not forbidden and there may be some to serve for Ornament and for Memorial but God will not have them be employed for his worship and in regard of that he saith Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Image c. Q But did not God command Moses to make gold Cherubims and to set them on the mercy seat A. He who makes the Law is above the Law God doth not say I who am your Lord and your God will never make any graven Image but he saith thou shalt not make to thy self that is to say of thine head and of thine Invention besides those Cherubims were only symbolical figures of the vertue and offices of Angels and were not exposed to the peoples view so that there was no danger of Idolatry thereby Q. Did not Moses make a Brazen Serpent which he did set up in the Wilderness Numb 21. A. Yes but he did not make it of himself God expresly commanded it he did not set up that Serpent to be worshipped but only to be seen and when afterward the Children of Israel committed Idolatry and burnt Incense unto it the King Ezechias did break it in pieces and said it was but a piece of brass 2 Kings 18. Q But if we did meet with those who have veneration for Images should we do ill if to have peace with them we did accommodate our selves to their Worship A. Yes most assuredly for God doth not only forbid to make Images to employ them to his Worship but in case that there be some made he forbids us to prostrate our selves before them â—nd to worship them Q. Those of the Church of Rome do they sin against this Divine Ordinance A. Yes most visibly for they set in their Temples all sorts of Images they put them upon their Altars and render them the honour which God forbids they pull off their Hats to them they bow to them they kiss them and kneel before them that is directly against the formal words of this Law thou shalt not bow down to them besides they dress them up they crown them with Flowers they light Candles to them they burn Incense to them they carry them upon their Shoulders in processions and they go unto them in Pilgrimages all which is against what is said thou shalt not worship them Q. Why is that God calls himself jealous A. To speak properly it is not that God has the passion of jealousy which troubles men but by that he will reach us first that he loves us ardently secondly that he cannot bear a comparison nor his Glory to be given to another thirdly that he will punish rigorously all Idolaters Q Why is it that in the threatning of his punishments he mentions but three or four Generations but that he stretches his promise of Graces and Mercy unto thousands A. To shew us that he is more inclined to be merciful than to exercise vengeance so that the saying of St. James may be applied to him that Mercy rejoyceth over Judgment Jer. 2. Q But doth God punish all the Children of the wicked A. If the Children of the wicked follow the way of their Father God will punish them twofold because of the criminal life of their predecessors but if they repent and live in the fear of God the sins of their Fathers shall not be imputed to them for the Father shall not bear the iniquity of the Son and the Son shall not bear the iniquity of the Father but the Soul of him that sineth is that which shall dye Ezek. 18. Q. And doth God pour down his Graces upon all the Children of the faithful A. Yes upon all those who imitate the Piety of their Fathers nay have a twofold blessing of all sorts of blessings but as to those who turn aside from it and who give themselves to do evil they bring upon them the wrath of God and his just vengeance Q. Can you tell what is the design of this second Commandment and what God demands of us therein A. The same which our Lord Jesus Chirst teaches us in John 4. that the Father will have true worshippers who worship him in spirit and truth God is a Spirit and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit and in Truth Of the third Commandment Q. SAY the third Commandment A. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain Q. What do you mean by the name of God A. By the name of God I mean God himself and his holy word as also all the names which describes his essence or his qualities and generally all other things concerning his worship Q. What is it to take the name of God in vain A. It is to abuse it in things of no worth to speak thereof without respect to use it in blaspheming or in vain or rash swearing Q. Is swearing taking the name
of God in vain A. Not always but only when we swear without just occasion Q. Is it ther lawful to swear A. Yes when we are lawfully called to it for so God himself teaches us and we have the example of Jesus Christ our Lord and of his Blessed Apostles Q. By whose name must we swear A. By Gods name according to what he himself teaches us Deut. 6. Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God and serve him and shall swear by his name Q. Is it not lawful to swear by the Creatures as those of the Church of Rome who swear by the Saints by the word of the Cross and by Relicks A. No for that is putting the Creatures instead of the Creator as if they knew our heart and the truth of our Words and as if it belong d to them to take vengeance of our lies Q. How do you prove that it is not lawful to swear by any Creature A. By the formal words of God himself Jer. 5. How shall I pardon thee for this their Children have forsaken me and sworn by them that are not Gods Q For what is it lawful to swear A. For things grave and serious and which concern the glory of God and the edification of our Neighbour Q. When it it necessary to swear A. When it is commanded us by the Magistrate or when it is requisit to set peace and concord between our Neighbours according to that saying of the Apostles Heb. 6. That an oath for confirmation is an end to all strife Q Is it not lawful in swearing to use equivocation or mental reservation A. By no means for God hates the double of Heart and false Lips and for all Lyers is set apart the Lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death Rev. 21. Q. What signifies these words that God will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain A. The meaning is that he will rigorously punish him in this world by exemplary chastisements and in that which is to come by eternal punishments Q. But since there is a general threatning against all the transgressors of Gods Law why is there a particular one here A. It is to teach us how much God hath in horror the prophanation of his holy name and that he punishes none more rigorously than thâ— prophaners and blasphemers Q. What is then the design of this Commandment A. It is to direct our Tongue in the service of God and to teach us never to speak of God of his Justice of his Mercy of his Wisdom and of the effects of his Omnipotency without our heart be struck to the quick with the respect we owe to so high and so glorious a Divinity Of the fourth Commandment Q. SAy the fourth Commandment A. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day six days shalt thou labour and do all that thou hast to do but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God in it thou shalt do no manner of work thou and thy Son and thy Daughter thy Man-servant and thy Maid-servant thy Cattle and the Stranger that is within thy Gates for in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth the Sea and all that in them is and rested the seventh day wherefore the Lord blessed the seventh day and hallowed it Q. Why is it that God makes use of this way of speaking remember thou A. It is to teach us that this Commandment is of great importance and that there is nothing more ordinary to man than to forget what God commands him Of the Law Quest OF what day is it here spoken A. Of the seventh day of the week that we call Saturday Q. Why is it that God calls it a day of rest A. Because in that day he would that every one shou'd leave the work of his ordinary caling to attend his worship Q. How do we keep holy the Sabbath day A. In calling upon the name of God in readling and meditating upon his word in being present with Devotion in the assembly of Saints and in exercising the works of charity and beneficence Q. Is the Commandment of keeping holy the Sabbath day Political Ceremonial or Moral A. There is in it something Political something Ceremonial and something Moral Q. What is Political therein A. Gods commanding Masters to let their Man Servant and their Maid Servant to rest that day and even their Beasts Q. What is Ceremonial therein A. First the precise keeping holy the seventh day of the week Secondly the strict observation of not doing any corporal work that day Thirdly that this corporal rest is the figure and Image of the spiritual rest of our Souls and of the Celestial rest wherein we shall for ever rest from all our labours Q. What is Moral in it A That there may be a certain day consecrated for the publick worship of the Divinity Q. Doth this Commandment belong to Christians A. Yes in what it is Moral there must be then Pastors and an holy order established in the Church and that the faithful meet together to glorifie God with one accord to hear the preaching of his Word to participate of his Sacraments and to do Works of Mercy and therefore we are forbidden to forsake our mutual assemblies Heb. 10. Q. What day is now appointed for those publick exercises of Devotion and Piety A. It is the first day of the week that we call Sunday or the Lords day Q. Why was the day of rest changed from Saturday to Sunday A. To distinguish the Christians from the Jews and principally it is because in that day our Lord Jesus Christ rose again from the dead and ended the work of our Redemption Q. Who made that alteration A. The blessed Apostles of the Lord Jesus or rather the holy Ghost who inspired them Q. Where is it spoken of the abolishing of the Sabbath A. In the second Chapter of St. Paul's Epistles to the Colos Let no man judge in Meat or in Drink or in respect of a holy day or of the Sabbath day Q. Where is mention made of Sunday A. In the 20th Chapt. of the Book of Acts in the 16. of the first Epistle to the Corinth it is spoken of the first day of the week in which the faithful meet to participate of the exercises of Piety and twice that day Jesus Christ appeared to his Disciples after his Resurrection as it is written in his Gospel according to St John c. 20. Q. But even the word Sunday is it found in Scripture A. It is found in Rev. c. 1. where St John saith I was in the Spirit * So it is in the French Version on Sunday Q. Why is it that God gives himself for an example here A. To render the Commandments more venerable and to oblige us to obey thereunto so much more religiously Q. Will God be imitated in all things A. No but in those only wherein he gives himself for an example for there are things which he
doth not command us to imitate as the effects of his Omnipotency but hoâ— will have us imitate his vertues and his perfections that we learn of him that he is meek that we be merciful as he is merciful and that we be holy as he is holy Lastly he will that we imitate his labour and his rest Q. Why was God six days in making Heaven and Earth A He could create them in a moment but he was six days about it that we may meditate distinctly and in order upon the works of the Creation and that we may learn to do nothing with precipitation and confusion Q. What is the rest of God A. It is not that God had need to recover his strength for he acts always without pain and without weariness but the meaning is that the seventh day he left off working in the Creation of the Universe Q. How did God sanctifie that day A. In dedicating and consecrating it to his worship and himself contemplating the admirable beauties of the works of his hands Q What do you say of those who spend their lives in doing nothing A. What St Paul saith 2. Thess cap. 3. he that will not work neither shall he eat he that will not imitate God in his work shall have no share in his rest Q. What do you think of the Church of Rome 's Holy-days A. That it is a yoke which our Lord Jesus Christ hath not imposed and that they are directly against the permission that God gives us here to work six days in the week and against what the Apostle saith let no man judge you n meat or in drink or in respect of an Holyiday Colos 2. Q. What will become of those who instead oâ— keeping the Lord's day holy and of consecrating iâ— to the service of God spend it in games in debaucheries and insolences A. God will punish them as profane and breakers of his Sabbath Q. And what ought we to hope for those who observe religiously the day of rest and who as the Prophet speaks of it calls the Sabbath their delight Isaiah 5.8 A. They shall go from Sabbath to Sabbath till they go to prostrate themselves before the face of God and enter into eternal joy and rest prepared for them from the foundation of the world Isa 66. Of the fifth Commandment Q. WHAT do you mean by the Father and the Mother that God commands us to honour A. Not only those who have begotten and brought us into the World but also our Kings and Princes our Governours and our Magistrates our Guardians our Pastors our Masters our Tutors and generally all our Superiors Q. How must they be honoured A. We ought not only to have for them a singular esteem but also show our respect to them by our words our gestures and our actions to love them cordially fear to offend them obeâ— their commands and if they be in want to â—elieve them with all our power Q. But mâ—st that honour be paid to all superiours without any exception A. Yeâ— â—o â—ll not only to the good and gentle but also to the froward 1 Pet. 2. we must be subject not only for fâ—ar of wrath but also for conscience sake Rom 13. Q. Must they be obeâ—ed in all things A. Yes in every thing wherein God is not offended as the Apostle St Paul teacheth us in Ephes the 6. and Colos the 3d. Children obey your Parents in all things in the Lord for this is right Q. But if our superiours command us things against the Law of God against the rules of his worship as to embrace a false Religion or to commit some act of Idolatry to murder or steal and other like things in this case must we obey them A. By no means but in imitation of the Apostles of the Lord Jesus we must answer them in all humility whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God judge ye we ought to obey God rather than man Act. 4.5 Q. But if in not obeying them we are persecuted A. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 5. Q. Why is it that God adds that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee A. Because Parents bear his Image in a particular manner God will that we honour them above every body in the World and to incite us to that duty he makes us that promise Q. What signifies may be long when God saith that thy days may be long in the land A. The meaning is not that our days shall be longer than they are to be for they are determined God hath prescribed our limits and we shall not go beyond Job 14 But the meaning is that we shall prosper and that we shall live long on the Earth as St Paul shews it Ephes 16. Q Of what land doth God speak heâ—e A. It is especially of the land of Canaan that God gave the Children of Israel in heritage Q. Doth this promise of living long on the â—arth concern particularly the Jews or doth it belong in general to all the Faithful A. It concerns particularly the Jews because the land of Canaan was the figure of the heavenly inheritance and that a long and happy life in that land was the Image of the Eternal felicity we shall enjoy in Paradice but it belongs also to all the faithful for the Earth is the Lords and the fulness thereof and every where the hoary head is a Crown of glory if it be found in the way of righteousness 1 Cor. 10. Prov. 16. Q. Doth God give long life to all the Children that honour their Parents A. There are several to whom God accomplishes this promise literally and that he blesses with his most precious blessings but there are also Children most obedient to their Parents and in which one may see the seeds of a great Piety the daâ—s whereof God shortens Q How is it that God accomplishes his promise to the Children that â—e taketh so soon out of the World A. All temporal promises ought to be understood conditionally as much as God judgeth it expedient for his glory and our salvation God in taking those Children out of the World receiveth them into his glory for Jesus Christ teacheth us that the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them Matth. 19. Of the sixth Commandment Q. WHAT doth God forbid in the sixth Commandment A. Not only deliberate Murder but all means of shedding blood as beating striking quarrelling abusing our Neighbour he forbids also hatreds and animosities for whosoever hateth his Brother is a Murderer 1 John 3. Q. The Prince and the Magistrate who causes Criminals to be put to death ought he to be put in the rank of Murderers A. By no means for he bears not the Sword in vain he is the Minister of God a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doth Evil. Rom. 13. Q Those who bear Arms
Sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 2. Q. Are there no other Mediators between God and Man than Jesus Christ A. There is one only God and one only Mediator between God and Men the Man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all 1 Tim. 2. wherefore St. John telleth us in tâ— second of his first Epistle My little children these things write I unto you that ye sin not but iâ— any man sin we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world And that glorious Saviour saith himself John 14. I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh unto the Father but by me Q. But is it not too great a boldness for we poor sinners to apply our selves to our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ to present to him our requests and our supplications A. No for it is not audaciousness for a Subject to go to his King when the King himself calls him much less for a Child to go to his Father or to his elder Brother who opens his Arms to him and commands him to come near And Jesus Christ calls us himself and commands us to go directly to him come ye unto me saith he all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest Mat. 11. Q. Must one pray to God with heart and inward affections A. Yes for God is Spirit and will that we worship him in spirit and truth John 4. Wherefore he rejects those who draw nearer to him with their mouth and honour him with their lips whilst their heart is from him Matth. 15. Q. Ought we to have an assurance in praying God that our supplications shall be agreeable to him A. If any of you want wisdom let him ask of God that gives to all men liberally and upbraideth not and it shall be given him but let him ask in Faith nothing wavering Jam. 1. let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and grace to help in time of need Heb. 4. Q. Is it sufficiant to pray to God in our hearts A. Besides mental Prayers the sighings and the groanings that the holy Ghost formeth in our hearts there are times and occasions wherein it is necessary to pray with our tongue to edify our Neighbour to excite our selves and to influence our zeal to which add that the tongue was particularly formed to glorifie God Q. Is it no matter what tongue one prays to God in A. No provided it be understood by him who prayeth and of those who pray with him otherwise it is praying without zeal without judgment and without edification as St Paul expresly teacheth it in the 1 Cor. 14. Q. Why do you not call upon the Saints A. Because God hath not commanded it And that he hath not promised to hear those who shall call upon them or who shall come to him by their intercession and that in all the word of God there 's not any example thereof Contrarily St Paul saith Rom. 10. how shall they call on him in whom they have not believed and we do not believe but in God the Father Son and Holy Ghost and consequently we ought not to call upon any other but God Q. Have the Saints some knowledge of our particular wants A. The dead know nothing of what is done on Earth their love and their hatred perished long ago neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the Sunâ— Eccles 9. Q. Do they know our hearts to be able to discâ—â— the prayers of the true and faithful from those oâ— the hâ—pocrites A. God alone knows the heart of all the Children of men 1 King 8. Q Must we worship Angels and call upon them in our troubles A. No For St Paul expresly forbiddeth it Coll. 2. let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worship of Angels intruding into those things which he hath not seen vainly puft up by his fleshly mind Q. When Angels appear to men will they be worshipt and adored by them A. Contrarily when St Joâ— fell at the Angels feet to worship him â—â—e Angel said to him see thou do it not 〈◊〉 thy fellow Servant and of thy brethren â—hat have the testimony of Jesus worship God Rev. 19.22 Q. Have we any model and form of a perfect Prayer A. Yes the Lord s Prayer Q. Why do you call it so A. Because our Lord Jesus Christ dictated it himself from his own sacred mouth as it is written in St Luke c. 11. his Disciples said unto him Lord teach us to pray and he answered them when ye pray say Our Father which art in Heaven c. Q. Is it not lawful to make other Prayers A. It is lawful to make Prayers in other terms as it appears by those that are shewed every where in Scripture but we ought not to make any which as to the things we beg of God be not wholly conform to that model of perfection Q. How many parts are there in the Lords Prayer A. Three principal the Preface the Body of thâ— Petitions and the Conclusion Q. How many Petitions are there A. Six three which concern immediately the glory of God and three for our particular use The Preface Q. WHy at the very beginning of this Prayer do you call God your Father A. First it is as it were to move him with pity and compassion for there is nothing more tender than Fatherly affection Secondly it is to incite us to put our trust in his bounty and to call upoâ— him with a true and lively Faith Q. How is it that God is our Father A In that he adopted us in Jesus Christ and that he hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for us Eph. 1. 1 Pet. 1. Q. Why is it that you say our Father and not my Father A. It is not that each of the faithful in particular may not say my Father and with Saint Thomas my Lord and my God but our Lord would teach us to put on the bowels of charity and to pray not only for us but also for our Brethren Q. Why do you add which art in Heaven A. To the end that with the filial liberty we may join the respect which is due to so glorious a Divinity and that we may rely on his power and that in praying we may raise our minds above all things which are earthly and perishable Q. How many Heavens are there A. According to holy Writ there are three First the Air and all the great space between the Earth and the globe of the Moon Thus it is spoken of the Fowls of the air Gen. 1. The second includes all the
spheres of the Planets and of the Stars and it is in that Heaven that God hath placed the Tabernacle of the Sun as it is said Ps 19. The third is the heavenly Paradice where St. Paul saith he was caught up and heard unspeakable words 2 Cor. 12. of this third heaven it is here spoken Q Is God contained in that Heaven A. The heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him The heaven is his Throne and the Earth is his Footstool 1 King 8. Isaiah 8.66 Q. Why do you say then that God is in Heaven A. Because it is there where he makes manifest his Glory in a particular manner and where the triumphant Saints and the Angels of Light praise and worship him without ceasing There thousand thousands minister to him and ten thousand times ten thousand stand continually before him Dan. 7. Of the first Petition Q. IN how many ways is the name of God taken A. In three principally first for his fame as it said Ps 8. O Lord our God how excellent is thy name in all the Earth Secondly for the names God makes himself known by as the Prophet Jeremiah saâ—s cap. 28. the name whereby he shall be called is the Lord our Righteousness Thirdly for God himself as it is said Joel 2. whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved Q. In how many ways is the word hallow taken A. In three first for rendring a thing holy that was not so before thus the Holy Ghost sanctifies us and makes us new Creatures Secondly for dedicating and consecrating for an holy use Thus Moses sanctified Aaron and his Sons and all the Utensils of the Tabernacle Lastly for acknowledging and making manifest the sanctity of a thing which in itself is holy And thus it must be taken here Q. What signifies then that the name of God be hallowed A. That God be acknowledged adored and glorified every where in the world Of the second Petition Q. HOw many sorts of Reigns or Kingdoms are there A Three the reign of Nature the reign of Grace and the reign of Glory Q. What do you mean by the reign of Nature A. That which God exercises generally over all creatures and of this reign it is spoken Psalms 93. the Lord reigneth he is cloathed with Majesty Q What do you mean by the reign of Grace A. That which Jesus Christ exercises on Earth by his Spirit in his Church and in the heart of his Elect. Our Lord speaks of it St. Luke 17. the Kingdom of God comes not with observation neither shall they say lo here or lo there for behold the Kingdom of God is with you Q. And what is the reign of glory A. It is the glorious felicity which waits for us in heaven where we shall reign with Jesus Christ for ever and ever Rev. 22. and it is in that respect that he will say to us in the last day come ye blessed of my Father inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the World Mat. 25. Q What difference is there between the reign of grace and that of glory A. They do not differ in kind but only in degree for grace is glory begun and glory is grace compleated wherefore the one and the other is called the Kingdom of God Q. What reign is spoken of in this petition Thy Kingdom come A. It is not of the reign of nature but of the reign of grace and of that of glory Q. â—ow is that A. It is that we pray to God that he will lead all thoughts prisoners to his subjection and that he will hasten the vengeance of his Enemies â—nd the glorious deliverance and magnificent triumph of his Children according as the bride cries out Rev. 22. Come Lord Jesus come Of the third Petition Q. HATH God more than one will A. Properly speaking God being an Act most pure and most simple there can be â—n him but one only will but to make himâ—elf be understood by us and to suit himself to â—ur infirmities he speaks to us of two sorts of â—ills Q. Which be they A. The one is his eternal Councel touching â—hings that he is pleased to do or permit of the which the Apostle speaks Eph. 1. he preâ—estinated us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will The other is the Declaration what he will have us do wherefore the same Apostle speaks Thes 4. This is the will of God even your Sanctification that ye should abstain from Fornication Q. Of which of these two wills must this Petition be understood thy will be done A. Of both Q. How A. It is that we pray God to make us to be subject to the conduct of his providence in such manner that whatsoever befals us we may say as the faithful â—cts 21 the will of the Lord be done and on the other side that he will give us Grace to obey his holy commands and with David to say to him with all my heart Ps 143. teach me to do thâ— will for thou art my God Q What signifies what is added in Earth as iâ— is in Heaven A. That we may submit to all that God doth and that we may apply our selves to do all whaâ— he commands us with the same humility the same zeal and the same promptness as the Angels in heaven who admire all his works and who fly to the execution of all his Commandments Q May we hope for such perfection here A. Not absolutely but at least we ought to aspire to it and to apply our selves therein â—iâ— we come to Heaven where there shall be nâ— defect in our obedience and where we shall seâ— God face to face 1 Cor 13. Of the fourth Petition Q. WHat do you mean by the bread which you beg of God A. I mean all things necessary for the sustenance and maintenance of this temporal life and it is the ordinary stile of holy Scripture Q. Why is it that God comprehends all sorts of sustenance under the name of bread A. To teach us to be content with what is necessary without begging of him what is delightful or to use them soberly and with thanksgiving if through his liberality he gives them us Q. What do you mean by our bread A. That which is necessary for us which is our own and that we do eat in the sweat of our brows Q. Since it is ours why do we beg it of God A. Because all our labour is useless without the blessing of God who enriches or impoverishes when it pleases him Q. Why do we beg bread of God but for one day A. To teach us to rely on his providence and on his paternal care and to oblige us to call upon him every day Q. But doth God forbid us all sort of care A. He forbids not the care of an holy forecast Contrarily he sends us to the School of Ants Proverbs 6. Go to the Ant
from his pure grace and liberality and tâ— render him all the praises and thanksgivings that we are capable of Q. Is it enough to glorifie God with our heart and our tongue A. We must also glorifie him by our Works and put our selves in mind of what the Apostle saith ye are bought with a price therefore glorifie God in your body and in your spirit which are Gods 1 Cor. 6. Of God's Word Q. BY what means did God declare to us what he hath done for our Salvation and what he will us have do for his glory A. By his holy and divine word Q. Where do we find that word of God A. In the holy Scripture of the Old and New Testament Q. From whence do you know that it is Gods word A. We learn it by the record that all the Christians bear unto it and we are fully perswaded thereof by the Divine wisdom which shines therein and by the effects it produces in our hearts Q. What are its principal effects A. It enlightens us it sanctifies us it comforts us it nourishes us in hope of everlasting life and even gives us the first fruits thereof Q. Is it the rule of our Faith A. Yes in such a manner that it is not lawful for us any ways to turn aside from it God sends us to the Law and the Testimony and our Lord-Jesus Christ saith they have Moses and the Prophets let them hear them Deut. 4. Isa 8. and Luke 16. Q. But can the holy Scripture instruct us in all things that are necessary for our Salvation A. Yes if we believe the Apostle St Paul who assures us that it is able to make us wise to Salvation through Faith which is in Christ Jesus and that it is profitable for Doctrine for Reproof for Correction for Instruction in Righteousness that the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all good works 2 Tim. 3 Q. Is it lawful for the faithful common people to read the holy Scripture A. It is not only lawful for them but our Lord Jesus Christ expresly commands it them in St John 5. Search the Scriptures or do you sound and do you examine the Scriptures The Apostles did not direct their Epistles only to Pastors but also to the Flocks 1 Thes 5. St Paul gives charge by the Lord that his Epistle be read unto all the holy Brethren and in Rev. 1. it is said blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecâ— Q. Is the word of God clear A. Yes for it is compared to a Lamp and a Candle and is called the light that enlightens the eyes Ps 119. 2 Pet. 1. Ps 19. Q. Are there not in Scripture some difficult things hard to be understood which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest unto their own destruction A. Yes as saith St Peter in his second Epistle cap. 3. But the things that are necessary to Salvation are therein clear and easy to be understood Q. From whence comes it then that there are so many persons which are learned that do not understand them A. St Paul answers to that 2 Cor. 4. If our Gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost the minds of whom the God of this world hath blinded that is of them which believe not lest the light of this glorious Gospel of Christ who is the Image of God should shine unto them and our Lord Jesus Christ in his Gospel Matt. 11. I thank thee O Father Lord of Heaven and Earth because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hath revealed them unto Babes even to Fathers for so it seemed good in thy sight Q. How ought the holy Scripture to be interpreted A. According to the analogy of Faith and by the Scripture it self as did the Levites Neh. 8. Q. Must one believe nothing essential to Religion that is not containâ—â— in holy Scripture or that cannot be drawn from it by evident and necessary consequence A. No for St Paul teaches us that tho himself or an Angel from Heaven should preach to us * In the French 't is beyond what we have preached yo any other Gospel he should be accursed Gall. 1. Of the Sacraments Q. IS there nothing besides the word of God that may serve for the confirmation of our Faith A. There are the Sacraments Q. What is a Sacrament A. It is a visible sign of Gods Grace in Jesus Christ and a seal of his Covenant Q. How many conditions are required to make a true and lawful Sacrament A. Seven for first it must be of Gods institution secondly that there be a material and visible sign thirdly that it represent to us a spiritual and invisible grace fourthly that there be some proportion and analogy between the sign and the thing signified fifthly that it be a seal of Gods Covenant in Jesus Christ sixthly that it belong to all the faithful seventhly in respect of the Sacraments of the Christian Church they must last to the end of the World Of the Sacraments of the old Covenant Q. HOw many sorts of Sacraments have there been in the Church of the old Testament A. Two sorts some ordinary and some extraordinary Q. Which were the extraordinary Sacraments A. The passing thro the Red-Sea the Cloud the Manna the Waters of the Rock and like things Q. And which were the ordinary A. The Circumcision and the Passover Of the Circumcision Q. WHy is it that God caused the Children of Israel to be Circumcised A. It was to teach them that they were defiled from their first origine but that he would wash and sanctifie them through Jesus Christ Wherefore St Paul calls Circumcision the seal of the Righteousness of the Faith Rom. 4. Q. Did God require from the Israelites only the external Circumcision and the cutting off the foreskin A. He required also the interiour Circumcision and the cutting off of Skin as he saith Jer. 4 Ye men of Judah and Jerusalem circumcise your selves to the Lord and take away the foreskins of your heart Of the Sacraments Q. WHich of those two Circumcisions was most pleasing to God A The interiour Circumcision as the Apostle teaches us Rom. 2. he is not a Jew which is one outwardly neither is that Circumcision which is outward in the flesh but he is a Jew which is one inwardly and Circumcision is that of the heart in the Spirit and not in the Letter whose praise is not of Men but of God Q. The Jews little Children who died before they were Circumcised were they bereaved of Salvation A No for they did belong to Gods Covenant in vertue of the promise God made Abraham I will be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee Gen 17. Wherefore David said Ps 22. I was cast upon thee from the Womb â—hou art my God from my Mothers Belly And â—ne of his Sons being dead the 7th day from â—is birth and consequently before he was
A. Two one which is External and Corporal that is made in dipping in water or in pouring water on the head the other Interiour and Spiritual that is made by the virtue and operation of the holy Ghost Q. What Baptism saves us A. It is not that whereby the uncleanness of the flesh is cleansed but the answer of a good Conscience towards God by the Resurrection of Jesus Christ 1 Pet. 3. Q. Is not the Baptism of water necessary A. It is necessary to practice it it in the Christian Church since Jesus Christ did institute it the faithful who have not received it yet ought not to lose the opportunity thereof and they ought to take care it be administred to their Children but if the means thereof is taken away from them Gods grace depends not on terrestrial Elements and it is not the privation but the contempt and profanation of the Sacraments that renders us condemnable before God Q. And what do you think of Children who die without Baptism through the faults and neglect of their Parents A. Their Parents ought to beg Gods forgiveness for their fault and neglect but for all that the Salvation of those poor children must not be called in question for as the Father doth not bear the iniquity of the Son the Son also doth not bear the iniquity of his Father Ezek. 18. Q. How must then be understood what our Lord Jesus Christ saith John 3. except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God A. Jesus Christ doth not speak in that place of material and corporal water but of a Celestial and Divine water to be born of the Spirit it is to be regenerated by a Spirit who washes and cleanses as water doth in the same sense that it is said Matt. 3. that Jesus Christ Baptizes â—s with the holy Ghost and with fire that is to say with the holy Ghost who purifies like fire Q. But if some body would obstinately apply this passage to the Baptism of water who is it that is condemned A. It is not the poor little Children who have no knowledge at all of this mystery but the persons who being come to years of discretion reject Baptism by contempt or unbelief those of the Church of Rome themselves who without reason perswade themselves John 6. it is spoken of the Lord's Supper will not that these words be applied to Children if any one eateth not my flesh and drinks not my blood he shall not have everlasting life and not any one of us would apply to them the saying of St Paul That if any would not work neither should he eat 2 Thess 3. Of the Lords Supper Q. WHat is the Lords Supper A. It is the Sacrament of our spiritaal nourishment and the symbol of our union to our Lord Jesus Christ Q. Where do we read the institution of the Lords Supper A. In Mat. 26. Mark 14. Luke 22. and in 1 Cor 11. Q. Why did Jesus Christ institute it A. To be the memorial of his death as he says it himself do this in in remembrance of me which St Paul explains in saying as often as you shall eat this bread and drink this cup ye do shew forth the Lords death till he comes Q. Doth there happen any change to the Bread and Wine A. These do not change as to their substance no more than the water of Baptism doth but only as to their use Q. How do you know that after the consecration it is still bread and wine A. The senses witness it reason confirms it and the word of God is express thereupon for our Lord calls that fruit of the Vine which we drink in the Lords Supper Matt. 26. and St. Paul several times calls bread what the Pastors do break and the faithful eat therein 1 Cor. 10.11 Q. Why is this Bread and Wine called the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ A. Because they are signs and memorials thereof and that there is an excellent conformity between the Bread and the Wine and the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ Q. Why is that Bread broken and the Wine poured out A. To represent to us the body of Jesus Christ which was broken for us and this blood which was shed in remission of sins Q. Why is this bread given us to eat and this wine to drink A. To assure us that as the bread and the wine nourish our Bodies in this temporal life the body and blood of Jesus Christ nourish our Souls in hope of everlasting life for his flesh is meat indeed and is blood is drink indeed Q. Have ye read in holy scripture some like manners of speaking that without transubstantiation the sign takes the name of the thing signified A. There is nothing more common and above all when 't is matter of Sacraments thus Circumcision is called the Covenant Gen. 17. the Paschal Lamb is called Passover Exod. 12. The Rock is called Christ 1 Cor. 10. and our Lord who said of the bread this is my body which is broken for you said also of the cup this cup is the new Covenant in my blood and the cup remains a cup and properly speaking doth not become a Covenant Q. Do we receive in the Lords supper only the signs of the body and blood of Jesus Christ A. If we come thither with necessary dispositions and preparations we also receive therein the thing signified and we have therein a real communion with Jesus Christ for the cup of blessing which we bless is the communion of the blood of Christ and the bread which we break is the communion of the body of Christ 1 Cor. 10. Q. How do we eat Jesus Christ in the Lords supper A. In the same manner that we do put him on in Baptism Gall. 3. for when Jesus Christ speaks of eating his flesh and of drinking his blood it is a figurative way of speaking and as he saith himself his words are spirit and life the flesh profiteth nothing it is the Spirit that quickneth John 6. Q. Since Jesus Christ is in heaven at the right hand of God his Father and that he shall not come from thence but to judge the quick and the dead how is that you who are on earth can have a true and real communion with him A. By faith who really embraces him unto Salvation for he that comes to him shall never hunger and he that believeth on him shall never thirst John 6. and thro the efficacy of his Spirit who really uniteth us to him for we have been made to drink into one spirit to be one body with him 1 Cor. 12. Q. May not this Communion be made without the use of the Sacraments A. Yes for Jesus Christ had not yet instituted the Lords Supper when he saith John 6. he that eats my flesh and drinks my blood dwelleth in me and I in him Q Of what use then is the Lords Supper to
confession thereof as I will now do before thee saying with thy Church I Believe in God the Father Almighty maker of heaven and earth and Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord who was conceived by the holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried he descended into Hell the third day he rose again from the dead he ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the Right hand of God the Father Almighty from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead I believe in the holy Ghost the holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints the forâ—â—veness of Sins the Resurrection of the body and the life everlasting Amen Lord who didst write thy Law on tables of Stone be pleased to engrave it in my heart with the finger of thy Spirit and give me grace to conform the course of my life thereunto The ten Commandmets of Gods Law Preface I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the Land of Egypt out of the house of bondage The first Table I. THou shalt have none other God but me II. Thou shalt not make to thy self any graven Image nor the likeness of any thing that is heaven above or in the earth beneath or in the water under the earth thou shalt not bow down to them nor worship them for I the Lord thy God am a Jealous God and visit the sins of the Father upon the Children â—â—to the third and fourth generation of them that hate me and shew mercy unto thousands in them that love me and keep my Commandments III. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain IV. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day Six days shalt thou labour and do all that thou hast to do but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God in it thou shalt do no manner of work thou and thy Son and thy Daughter thy Man Servant and thy Maid Servant thy Cattle and the Stranger that is within thy Gates for in six days the Lord made Heaven and Earth the Sea and all that in them is and rested the seventh day wherefore the Lord blessed the Seventh day and hallowed it V. Honour thy Father and thy Mother that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee VI. Thou shalt do no Murther VII Thou shalt not commit Adultery VIII Thou shalt not Steal IX Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy Neighbour X. Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours House thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours Wife nor his Servant nor his Maid nor his Ox nor his Ass nor any thing that is his The Summary of all the Law Matt. 22. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy Soul and with all thy Mind This is the first and great Commandment and the second is like unto it thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self on these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets Psalm 143. V. 8. Lord cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning for in thee do I trust cause me to know the way wherein I should walk for I lift up my Soul unto thee 9. Deliver me O Lord from my Enemies I fly unto thee to hide me 10. Teach me to do thy will for thou art my God let thy good Spirit lead me into the land of uprightness 1 John 5.21 Little Children keep your selves from Idols Amen Epitome of the Catechism for the Little Children First Section First Question Q. WHY do you name your self a Christian A. Because through the grace of God I believe in Jesus Christ and I profess his truth Q. 2. Who is Jesus Christ A. He is the only Son of God Q. 3. Is he God or Man A. He is true God aâ—d true Man Q. 4. Why was it needful that he should be God and Man A. It was needful for him to be Man to die and God to overcome death Q. 5. How many Gods are there A. There is but one and it is he who made Heaven and Earth Q. 6. How many persons are there in that only Essence A. Three the Father the Son and the holy Ghost and these three are one Q. 7. How is it that this great God makes himself known A. By his works his word and his spirit Section 2. Q 1. WHat must one know in the Christian Religion A. Three things principally what we are of our nature what God makes us to be by his grace and what we ought to render him for all his benefits Q. 2. What were you of your nature A. I was a poor sinful Creature and Child of wrath as others Q. 3. And what did you deserve 〈◊〉 Eternal death and condemnation 〈◊〉 4. What hath God done for you A. He redeemed me from my Sins and adopted me for his Child Q 5. How did he redeem you A. Through the death and passion of his own Son our Lord Jesus Christ Q. 6. And by what means did he adopt you A. By his spirit who with assurance makes me cry Abba Father Q. 7. What is the mark of that adoption A. Regeneration and holiness of Life Section 3. Q. 1. WHat could oblige God to deliver you out of your misery and to give you the freedom of his Children A. Nothing but his great Mercy and his incomparable Charity Q. 2. What is it he promises you for his Sons sake and in the communion of his spirit A. He promises me his grace and protection here on Earth and the glory of his Paradice and his eternal felicity in Heaven Q. 3. And what do you owe to God for so many benefits as he bestowed on you and for so much glory that he prepares for you A. I owe my self to him with all the power of my body and soul Q. 4. But what doth he principally desire of you A. Love and Obedience Q. 5. How ought you to love God A. Above all things Q. 6. And how must you love your Neighâ—our A. As my self Q. 7. What Obedience doth God demand of you A. A filial Obedience Section 4. Q. 1. WHat is it principally that God will have us exercise our selves in during the the course of this life A. In good Works Q. 2. Which are the good Works A. Those that God commands Q. 3. And which are the evil ones A. Those that God forbids Q. 4. Is it necessary to do good Works A. Yes for God commands it and it is the way to Heaven Q. 5. Are the good Works that we do during this life so perfect that there is no fault in them A. No for if we say that there is no sin in us we lye wherefore we pray to God every day that he will forgive us our sins Q. 6. From whence comes all the good there is in our Works A. From the grace of God Q.
true repentance A. It is God himself who converts us and begetteth in our hearts the hatred of vice and the love of virtue Q. 4. Which are the principal virtues of Christians A. Faith Hope and Charity Q. 5. Which of those Virtues is the greatest A. It is Charity Q. 6. VVhy A. Because it endures for ever Q. 7. My Child do you desire to live and to die in that true Piety A. I desire it with all my heart The Lord confirm you in his love and in his grace the Lord replenish you with the gifts of his holy Spirit and form you unto his Image the Lord cause you to grow in all sorts of Virtues and enable you for ever to persevere in his holy Covenant So be it Pray to God with all your heart to give you the grace thereof The Childs Prayer MY God and my heavenly father since it pleases thee to be praised by Childrens mouths bear with my faults and make thy strength perfect in my great weakness thou hast given me the grace of being born in thy Church and to suck Piety with Milk Give me grace to grow in the holy knowledge of thee and above all in thy fear and love let me bear fruits worthy of my birth and of the education thou hast honoured me with that therein thy holy name may be glorified that thy Church be edified thereby and that I be the joy and the comfort of those whom thou hast made use of to bring me into the World and to instruct me in thy word Let me during all the days of my life serve and adore thee in the company of thy Children till I go to glorifie thee in Heaven with the Saints and Angels who contemplate thy face Hear me O Lord since thou art my God and my Father and that I call upon thee in the name and through the infinite merit of Jesus Christ my Saviour who commanded me thus to pray Our Father which art in Heaven c. Lord my God thou hast put in my heart the seed of true faith increase and fortify it in me and grant that all the days of my life I make Confession thereof saying with thy Church I believe in God the father Almighty maker 〈◊〉 Heaven and Earth c. My God give me thy good Spirit and give me grace to fulfil thy Holy and Divine Commandments The tenor whereof follows I 〈◊〉 the Lord thy God c. Addition to the Catechism For Children more advanced in Age and in Knowledge Q. WHY do you profess Religion A. It is not only because I have had the happiness to be born educated and brought up in it but also because through the grace of God I know that it is the true Christian Religion that our Lord Jesus Christ brought from Heaven that his holy Apostles have preached and his happy Martyrs have signed with their blood Q. How do you know that A. I know it by the reading of holy Scripture for we believe nothing at all of what is necessary to Salvation that is not clearly and expresly found in that Scripture divinely inspired or cannot be drawn therefrom by evident and necessary consequences Q. Hath Christian Religion had or can it have need of Reformation A. Not in considering it such as 't is in it self for in that regard it is wholly divine Q. Why then is it called the Reformed Religion A. Properly speaking it is not the Religion but the Church which was Reformed that is to say that was purged from the errors and abuses that through Ignorance and Malice of men it had been defiled with Q. What signifie then these words Reformed Religion A. That it is true and pure Christianity such as is taught in the Gospel and which is separated from all human traditions and inventions For our Lord absolutely condemns them in matter of his worship in vain saith he do you worship me teaching for doctrines the Commandments of men Matt. 15. Q. Would you not enter into the communion of the Church of Rome if you did find your worldly advantages therein A. No for I do not believe I could save my self therein and it would profit me nothing if I should gain all the World and should lose my Soul Q. Why do you believe you could not save your self in the communion of the Church of Rome A. Because it adores the Sacrament and renders to a simple Creature the Honour and the Glory that belongs only to God It pretends to Sacrifice Jesus Christ in Propitiatory Sacrifice for the remission of the sins of the quick and of the dead although that great God and Saviour did not command it and that his Apostles have done nothing like it it bereaves the faithful of the blessed Cup that our Lord commanded us to drink in remembrance of him It teaches another Purgatory than the precious blood of that glorious Redeemer which cleanses us from all Sin and hath the Divine Service in a tongue that the People understand not against what the Apostles orders in the first to the Cor. c. 14. Q. Is there nothing else that hinders you from entring into the Roman Communion A. There are several other reasons which hinders me for ever to participate of its Communion for it adheres to and obeys the Pope who usurped an authority and power which belongs to God only It believes that we are saved through the merit and dignity of our works though the Gospel teaches quite contrary It invokes the Saints although in all the word of God there is neither Commandment or Example thereof It adores material Crosses and Relicks and renders to Angels a Religious worship against what is commanded to adore and worship God alone They bow to Images and worship them Religiously against what God expresly forbids in his Law It hath invented an infinite number of holy days that are dedicated and Consecrated unto Creatures instead of which God permits us to work six days of the week * Agnus Dei a thing amongst those of the Roman Church which they wear about their Necks and that he will not have us give his glory to another It condemns Ecclesiastical persons Marriage instead of what the Apostles teach that Marriage and the undefiled bed is honourable among all It commands at some certain times to abstain from meats that God permits provided one use them with sobriety and thanksgiving Finally it hath veneration for the Jubilees Indulgences Agnus Dei the holy Beads and Chaplets and numbers of other things which are vain and superstitious Q. But could not you save your self in believing in your heart what we believe and living however in the outward profession of the Church of Rome A. By no means for with the heart Man believeth unto Righteousness and with the mouth Confession is made unto Salvation Rom. 10. God will be glorified in our bodies and in our spirits because they belong to him and that he equally redeems them 1 Cor. 6. Our Lord will deny before God his Father and his Angels whomsoever shall deny him before men one must be cold or hot for the luke-warm he spues out of his mouth Rev. 3. Mat. 18. in fine it is an infalliable truth that all those shall not inherit the kingdom of Heaven who render to the Creatures the honour and glory that belongs but to the Creator 1 Cor. 6. Q. But do you not well see that in persevering in Religion you shall be hated and persecuted by the World A. Our Lord foretold it If the World hateth you saith he you know that it hated me before it hated you if ye were of the World the world would love his own but because ye are not of the World but I have chosen you out of the World wherefore the World hateth you John 15. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven Matt. 5. Q. Do you promise then before God and his holy Angels to live and die in that true and holy Religion whereof through the grace and mercy of God ye make profession A. I promise it with all my heart and I hope that God will give me the assistance of his Spirit with so much efficacy that all the Worlds promises and threatning shall never make me turn aside from so Christian and so necessary a Resolution EXHORTATION REmember that it is to God that you make this promise and that one day you must give him an account when you shall appear before his Throne My Child do not hearken to the Seducers who make traffick of Souls do not keep evil Companies who corrupt good manners do not follow ill Examples and though it should be an Angel from Heaven that should preach to you beyond what is in the Gospel let him be accursed Consecrate your self wholly unto the Service of him who gave himself for you and who redeemed you by his own blood Lastly pray to God with holy fervency that he encrease your Faith fortify your Hope inflame your Charity and your zeal for his Glory Pray to him to sanctify you through his Spirit to form you unto his Image and to give you grace constantly to persevere in his holy Covenant For he who to the end shall persevere shall be saved and shall possess and inherit the Kingdom prepared us from the foundation of the World Unto the King Eternal Immortal Invisible the only wise God be Honour and Glory for Ever and Ever Amen 1 Tim 1.17 FINIS