Lord and Saviour should direct us so strictly to pray to God and him only to no other whom we cannot call by this title Our Father which art in heaven Religious prayer and Invocation is a Divine Honour it is proper to God who saith Psal 50.15 Call upon me in the day of trouble and we cannot give Gods glory to another without the guilt of Idolatry To pray unto Saints or Angels implies an adoring them as Omnipotent able to help us Omnipresent and Omniscient capable of hearing us wherever and whensoever we call upon them And can we he sure of either of these or are they possible where have we any precept or direction in all the Scriptures to make our Addresses and Supplications unto them or any example of any Saints that have done it before us or any promise of their hearing our prayers or helping our necessities or of our obtaining what we ask of them or by their Mediation And having none of these how can we pray to them in duty or in Faith But this we can do to God and to him only Our Father which is in Heaven For being Our Father he is gracious and of great kindness having Fatherly bowels ready and willing to hear and help us and being Our Father in Heaven He is Almighty the Great giver of all goodness and therefore able to hear and help us And therefore to him alone let us make our prayers and supplications saying with Holy David Psal 25.1 Vnto thee O Lord do I lift up my Soul Psal 121.1 2. I will lift up mine eyes to the hills from whence cometh my help My help cometh from the Lord who made Heaven and Earth Q. What is the meaning then of this Preface Our Father which art in Heaven A. It teaches me to call upon God as my Lord God Our Heavenly Father who is the Giver of all Goodness and so assures me that he both will and can hear and help me Catechist Your Catechism here gives you a very short but pithy explanation of this Title of the Great God as the Hearer of prayers Psal 65.2 Our Father which art in Heaven Therein every one calls upon God in such words as S. Thomas expresseth his faith in Joh. 20.28 My Lord and my God Thou in whom I have a special interest as my God Yet mark it not so mine but that he is also others Our heavenly Father For I am in Charity to look upon others as my Brethren having a filial relation also to God as well as my self Now as I said in that He is our Father This assures us that he is ready and willing to hear and help us as any Father will do for his children for so Christ argues Matth. 7.9 10. If a child ask bread of his father will he give him a stone or if he ask a fish will he give him a Scorpien Will he not give him all good things and things needful and profitable for him Hon much more will God as a Father give us all good things that we ask him For Psal 103.13 As a Father pitieth his children so doth the Lord them that fear him And then that he is Our Heavenly Father this assures us of his power and ability that he can help us For Psal 99.1 The Lord is great in Sion and he is high above all people Psal 97.1 The Lord reigneth let his Children rejoyce For nothing then can harm them without his leave and providence Psal 2.1 Even when the Heathen rage and the Kings of the Earth bandy together against the Lord and against his Anointed he that setteth in Heaven shall laugh them to scorn The Lord shall have them in Derision He that dwells in Heaven Pray how dwells the Lord there Surely not so there but that he is in all places Omnipresent Jer. 23.23 Am I God at hand and not afar of saith the Lord Do not I fill heaven and Earth saith the Lord But he is in Heaven because there is the Habitation of His throne of Majesty Psal 97.2 And there and from thence he more especially manifesteth his exceeding great power and glory So is he Our Father in heaven in that sence and as our Catechism adds by way of explanation He is therefore the Giver of all Goodness of all good things Jam. 1.17 Every good and every perfect gift comes from above even from the Father of lights with whom is no variableness neither shaddow of turning So much of the Preface now to the petitions Q. How many petitions are there in the Lords prayer A. Six Three with relation to Gods glory and three to our own benefit Q. Why are we taught to pray first for what respects Gods Glory before we pray for things relating to our own benefit A. To teach us that we ought to make Gods Glory the great end of our prayers as well as of all our Actions and in all cases to prefer it before all things whatsoever Catechist Gods glory is the great end of our Creation and of whatever God doth that the whole Earth may be full of his Glory Isaiah 6.3 Solomon saith Prov. 16.4 The Lord made all things for himself yea even the wicked for the day of evil that is to glorifie his justice in them Now what is Gods end in all his doings should be Our great end and aim in all our prayers and all our actions 1 Cor. 10.31 Whether ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do do all to the glory of God For the first Petition then Hallowed be thy name You may observe in the first place that your Catechism explains Hallowing Gods Name to be as much as worshipping him which we often also express by glorifying or honouring him and taking due notice thereof I ask you first Q. Are we able to Worship Honour or Glorifie God as we ought to do A. No. Q. How ought we to Worship or Honour or Glorify God A. Above all Beings in heart word and deed Catechist Do but remember the Apostle's expression to this purpose 1 Cor. 6.20 We must glorifie God with our Bodies and with our spirits which are his Now alas this we sinful corrupt degenerate mankind are in no wise able to do until he regenerate and renew us in the words of his Covenant his Covenant of Grace Ezek. 11.19 Put a new heart and a new spirit within us take from us the stony heart and give us an heart of flesh In a word till he put his Spirit his Spirit of Grace within us to cause us to walk in his Statutes and in his Judgments Q. What desirest thou therefore in this petition Hallowed be thy Name A. I desire God to send his Grace to me and to all people that we may worship him as we ought to do Q. Dost thou desire this or any other Blessing of God for thy self only A. No I desire it for all people and whatever Blessing I desire for my self in any petition in Christian Charity I pray the same
Nay Inheritors thereof even of his Kingdom of Grace in this life and shall in due time be fully possessed of that Glory in the Life to come All which is made good by several great Texts 1 Pet. 1.3 He hath begotten us again to a lively hope even of an inheritance incorruptible undefiled and which fadeth not away reserved in Heaven for us Tit. 3.5 7. According to his mercy he saved us by the Laver and washing of Regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost That being justified by his Grace we should be made heirs of eternal Life Rom. 8.16 17. The Spirit beareth witness that we are the children of God and if children then heirs Heirs with God joynt heirs with Christ if we suffer with him we shall also reign with him Q. How doth the new Covenant The Covenant of Grace made with Adam after his fall differ from the old Covenant the Covenant of works made with Adam before his fall A. The old Covenant of Works did not promise Forgiveness of Sins nor accepted of Repentance but required perfect Unsinning Obedience But this new Covenant of Grace doth promise forgiveness of sins upon repentance and only requires sincere Obedience Catechist The tenour of the old Covenant was Do this and live requiring such an Obedience as not to sin But that of the new covenant is If thou believe with all thy heart Thou shalt be saved accepting of sincere though imperfect Obedience Such then is Gods part of the Covenant What Ours is you must learn by the third question in the Church Catechism Q. What did your Godfathers and Godmothers then for you A. They did promise and vow three things in my name c. Questions and Answers explaining this follow Q. Are these great Benefits of the new Covenant which is sealed in Baptism conferred upon all that are Baptized A. Yes but not absolutely but upon condition they perform their part of the Covenant Q. What is our part of the Covenant A. Repentance Faith and Obedience Catechist I pray you good children learn this great Lesson and always bear it in mind That you can make no claim to any promise of God in his covenant unless you be faithful in performing the condition of Gods promises For the Covenant and promises of God are mutual and it cannot be imagined that God can be bound and we free and at liberty to live as we list And then mark how this explication of our part of the Covenant agrees with what the latter end of your Catechism teaches you to be the Grace signified by Baptism for our Baptismal Covenant engageth us to a death unto sin as we therein promise to renounce the devil the world and the flesh by Repentance and unto a life unto Righteousness as we therein promise constancy in the true faith and answerable obedience to Gods Holy will in our conversations I ask you then Q. How doth your Catechism express these Repentance Faith and Obedience A. Renouncing the Devil and all his works the pomps and vanities of this wicked world and all the finful lusts of the flesh Believing all the Articles of the Christian Faith and Keeping Gods Holy Will and Commandments and walking in the same all the days of my life Q. What is meant by renouncing the Devil A. Renouncing all familiarity and making Contracts with the Devil whereof Witches Conjurers and such as resort to them for help are guilty and all doing homage or worship to the Devil as do all Idolaters Catechist That there is such a sin as Witchcraft is plain in that Gods law forbids and condemns it Edod 21.18 Deut. 18.10 Thou shalt not suffer a Witch to live and all know it was Sauls sin that he went for councel to the Witch at Ender And were there no such sin as some in this age too boldly affirm how comes St. Paul to reckon it amongst the works of the flesh Gal. 5.20 And that all Idolaters do really worship the Devil is manifest by what the same Apostle saith 1 Cor. 10.20 I say the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to Devils and not to God Q. What is meant by renouncing the works of the Devil and what are these works A. All sins are works of the Devil especially pride lying discord murder envy and malice now in Baptism we engage to resist all the Devils Temptations to any sin whatsoever and especially these and to watch against them Catechist This brand the Scriptures fix upon those sins especially for by pride as the Apostle hints 1 Tim. 3.6 the Devil fell into condemnation For Murder John 8.44 â—e is a Murderer from the begining For Lying the same Text tells you When the Devil speaks a lye he speaks it of himself for he is a lyar and the father of lyes And how much all envy is from him is evident as by what St. James saith chap. 3.14 15. If ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts such wâ—sâ—om is earthly sensual Devilish so by this being one of his odious Titles the envyous man And so is all Malice from him and all hatred being a degree and fountain of Murder For 1 John 1.15 He that hateth his brother is a marderer and whosoever I add tempts and enticeth another to sin acts the Devils part who is the Tempter and doth his work for Him for that is another of his odious Titles Math. 4.3 and in a word for this cause must we avoid all sin because all sins are works of the Devil For so spake our Saviour to the wicked Jews John 8.44 ye are of your Father the Devil because his works you do It is good for you children to mind these and the like plain texts in Scripture and to treasure them up in your hearts This then is one part and a great part of our Baptismal engagement even in all things as St. James exhorts chap. 4.5 to resist the Devil and to maintain continual war against him Q. What is meant by renouncing the world A. We engage in Baptism to resist all Temptations arising from the men and thingâ— of the world Riches pleasures or honoursâ— Q. What is meant by renouncing the pompâ— and vanities of this wicked world A. We promise in Baptism not to set ouâ— hearts on any thing in this world nor to follow its sinful ways customs or fashionsâ— and to avoid all wicked Company Catechist All this worlds Temptations are either from the Men or things thereof as the former of these Answers teaches you And as for the men thereof iâ— we would avoid and resist all Temptations from them The most general direction that can be given is this That we take heed of all evil company and I believe there is hardly any better or more useful lesson can be instilled into young and tender minds than this For thousands are undone by falling into bad and loose company and what considering person is there who laments not this to see how many of good natures and excellent
is a sin and one sin cannot excuse another but aggravates it when it is willful and here it must needs be so because the reason of mens not preparing themselves for the Lords Supper is most commonly because they have a desire to live on in their sins and therefore they have no mind to come to the Lords Supper because it will bind them to leave their sins and put them upon holy purposes and resolutions of new life which they do not think to do Now I pray you read and consider the Ministers Exhortation to the Communion in the Office for it and at present I shall only put you in remembrance of that terrible doom that was passed upon them who excused themselves and refused to come to the Kings feast when they were invited to it Luk. 14.24 The Lord said I say unto you none of those which are bidden shall tast of my Supper Q. What then is the unquestioned Duty of all Christians A. To set upon the Preparing for the Lords Supper whenever they are invited to it to Receive it reverently and devoutly and to be afterwards careful of performing their holy Vows and good resolutions made therein Catechist This evidently follows from all that hath been said and it shews you the duties you are to perform before and at and after your Receiving this Sacrament And now all the Questions and Answers that follow here are for this end to explain those great duties of Repentance New Obedience Faith Thankfulness and Charity to the meanest capacity which since all men know them to be generally required in all good books that treat of this Sacrament and who can say but they are injoyned us in Gods Word in our whole Conversations How much more requisite then are they in us when we are to make our most solemn addresses to Gods Altar I shall only therefore desire my Youth to give some fair account of these duties and spare my further pains and time in quoting particular Texts of Scripture for them referring all both elder and younger to their good books for a more particular instruction concerning them especially that incomparable Book The Whole Duty of man Q. What is that Repentance and New Obedience whereof all must examine themselves in Preparing themselves for the Lords Supper A. A man must compare his heart and life with every Commandment and bewail and confess unto God all the sins he finds himself guilty of and stedfastly resolve to forsake them and ever after to endeavour a new that is an holy life Q. What is that lively Faith required in Gods mercy through Christ A. Knowing his own Misery by sin a man must both understand and believe the sufficiency of Christs Death to Satisfie Gods justice for sin and Gods willingness to pardon sin for Christs sake upon Covenant terms to all Believers Q. What is the Thankfulness required A. A serious considering of Christs wonderful Love in dying to purchase such great benefits and an affectionate Commemorating this with the most hearty Thanksgivings Q. What is that Charity whereof a man must examine himself A. Being sorry for all injuries done to others and ready to make satisfaction to his power a man must be ready to be reconciled to those that have injured him and heartily forgive them and chearfully give them that are in need as he is able Q. What think ye then of the ignorant that do not at all nnderstand the meaning of this Sacrament and of all Vnbelievers or the Vnthankful or malicious persons or them that are out of Charity A. I think they will have no comfort of this Holy Feast of Charity and being unfit for it can have no hope to receive the Pardon or Grace promised in the Covenant and Sealed in this Sacrament FINIS