is forbidden and so on the other side where a Sin is forbidden there the contrary Duty is commanded Q. Why doth the Minister rehearse the Commandments Standing A. To shew his Authority here is God speaking by the Priest Q. Why do the People kncel all the time and beg mercy A. Because they have offended against all the Commandments therefore they kneel down as Criminals ought to do and earnestly beseech Pardon and that we may never commit the like again we pray that the Lord would incline our hearts to keep these Laws and so the Law may be a means of our Repentance and Reformation Q. Why do we pray for the King immediately after the Commandments A. Because he is Custos utriusque Tabulae the Defender of both Tables Q. Why is the Prayer for the King just before the daily Collect A. Because that when we have prayed for outward Prosperity to the Church the consequent of the King's Welfare we may in the Collect pray for inward Grace to make it compleatly happy Q. How long have the Collects been fixed to those very Sundays on which we now use them A. Above Twelve Hundred Years Q. Why is the Epistle read first A. As being the Word of the Servant appointed to personate the Law preceding the Gospel Q. Why doth the Gospel follow A. As being the Word of our great Master therefore when the Minister is about to read all the People stand up to express a more than ordinary reverence to it and to give Glory to God before it 's read and Thanks to God after Q. Why is that Creed which is rehearsed after the Gospel called the Nicene Creed A. Because it was for the most part framed at the great Council of Nice the same in substance with the Apostles Creed but doth more largely condemn all Heresies therefore is fitly enjoin'd to be recited before the Sacrament Q. Why are those Sentences used at the beginning of the Communion A. To stir us up more effectually to give bountifully Q. How is our Charity to be express'd A. Three Ways viz. by Giving Praying and Forgiving Q. Where have we Directions for each of these A. For Giving in the Sentences For Prayer in the Prayer for the Church Militant For Forgiving in the general Warning Q. How often ought we to receive A. It seems very probable from the Institution of this Sacrament that our Saviour design'd it should be part of God's Service in all the solemn Assemblies of Christians And we shew our Love by coming freely and frequently as often as we have an Opportunity for Publick Worship is very lame and imperfect without it Q. What is the Design of the Exhortations and of the Invitation before the Sacrament A. The former is to increase the Number and the latter to rectifie the Dispositions of the Communicants In the Invitation the Guests being prepared the Priest invites them to come near with Fear and Faith and that God may accept them he repeats those Graces with which they must be adorned viz. Repentance Charity and Holy Purposes shewing them what is the first Duty to be done viz. making an humble Confession upon their Knees Q. Why is this Confession here used A. Since Christ's Sufferings are here remembred we must own our Sins which were the Cause of them And since we hope for Pardon we ought with Shame and Sorrow first to own our Transgressions Q. Why is this Form of Absolution here used A. Lest our Guilt should terrifie us from coming to this Holy Table the Priest pronounceth Absolution in Christ's Name in the Form of a Prayer or Benediction which ought to be received with Faith and Gratitude Q. Why are those Sentences of Scripture used A. The Church hath chosen these Sentences to confirm the Faith and revive the Hope of poor Penitents and they are those very Promises on which the foregoing Absolution is grounded so that unless they doubt the Truth of God's Word they must believe these Promises of Mercy Q. Why are the Responses Prefaces and Trisagium here appointed to be used A. This Sacrament is a Feast of Joy and Thanksgiving and the Nature of the Eucharist requires some Acts of Praise and Gratitude 1. Here the Priest admonisheth us to Praise God in the Responses 2. And gives the Reason of it in the Prefaces 3. And joins with us in doing of it in the Trisagium which because the Word Holy is Thrice repeated was by the Greeks so called Q. Why are the Angels mentioned in this Hymn A. Because the Christian Church believed the Angels were present in Christian Assemblies therefore thought it sit that Men should join with them in this Heavenly Song over the Memorial of our Redemption Q. Why doth the Priest on great Festivals add other Prefaces A. They contain proper Reasons for our Thanksgiving on those special Occasions and the Decay of Devotion letting fall the Primitive and Apostolical Life of Weekly Communions and the People receiving but at the great Festivals the Church therefore added to the General Prefaces some special ones relating to the peculiar Mercy of that Feast on which they did communicate â— What Reason for the Vse of the Address or the Collect which â—â—ns thus We do not presume to come to this thy Table c A. The nearer we come to God the more Holy we ought to be and when we are just going to make so immediate Approaches our very Joy must be tempered with Humility and we must excuse our own Unworthiness Q. Why is the Prayer of Consecration used A. In Imitation of our Lord and Saviour and his Apostles all the Churches in the World have used such a Form We do not eat our common Food without first praying for a Blessing on it which Pious Custom is so universal that it is certainly a piece of natural Religion much more then are we obliged before we eat and drink this Bread and Wine which Christ designed to set forth the Mystery of his Death to consecrate and set it apart by a solemn Prayer Q. What Words are they which properly make the Consecration A. The Words of our Saviour's Institution pronounced by a lawful Priest Q. Why do the People join with the Priest in saying Amen A. In Testimony of their Faith that the Elements are become what Christ made and intended them to be that they have the Merits of his Sacrifice annexed to them by his own Institution Q. Why do the Communicants receive the Holy Symbols kneeling A. To express their Humility and the Sense they have of their own Unworthiness and that they may be in a posture of Prayer Q. Of how many Particulars do the Words consist which the Priest useth when he delivereth the Bread and Wine A. Three 1. Instruction declaring what it is viz. The Body of our Lord c. The Blood c. 2. Prayer desiring this Communication of them to us may preserve our Bodies and Souls unto everlasting Life 3. Direction what we are to do
removed by penitential Acknowledgments there is no Bar to God's Grace and Mercy such as would pray effectually have always begun with Confession Q. How many Parts doth the Confession consist of A. Four 1. An Introduction which sets God before us under two proper Titles viz. Almighty and most Merciful the First to show his Power and strike us with a holy Fear of his Anger the Second to manifest his Love and melt us with the Sense of his Mercy 2. It consists of an humble Confession concerning the Manner of our Sinning and of the Nature and the Effect of our Sins viz. We have erred by sudden lesser and unobserved Sins and sometimes strayed farther out of the Ways which God prescribes by willful gross and customary Transgressions so that we are become like lost Sheep helpless and exposed to many Dangers and of our selves are as well unable as unlikely to return to Jesus the good Shepherd of our Souls We have improved our Original Corruption which is here properly expressed by the Devices and Desires of our own hearts which we have followed not checking them but too often fulfilling them and then they produce Actual Sins which we confess under the general Phrase of our Offending against his holy Laws And that we may be more particular we reduce our Actual Sins to two sorts Sins of Omission and Commission And then the Effect of Sins is expressed by that Phrase There is no Health in us that is no means of Help or Salvation in us or we are full both of Spiritual and Bodily Infirmities so that there is no sound Part in us 3. It consists of an earnest Deprecation containing the Evils we would be delivered from viz. The Guilt of Sin the Punishment and the Power of it and the Ground on which we hope to prevail 4. The Confession consists of a devout Petition intimating to whom we pray and for what we pray and to what end Q. In what Words do we pray that the Guilt of Sin may be taken away A. In those Words Have mercy upon us miserable Offenders viz. Pity and pardon us by taking away the Guilt of our Sins Q. In what Words do we pray to be delivered from the Punishment of our Sins A. In those Words Spare thou them O Lord who confess Q. In what Words do we pray to be delivered from the Power of Sin A. In those Words Restore thou them that are penitent Q. What is the Ground on which we hope to prevail A. The Promises declared in his Gospel through Jesus Christ Q. To whom do we pray for Grace A. To God the Father through Jesus Christ Q. For what do we pray A. For Piety towards God Justice and Charity towards our Neighbours Sobriety and Temperance for our selves Q. To what end A. To the Glory of God's holy Name Q. Why do we say Amen A. To testifie our desire to have all these Petitions granted our faith in the Promises and our hope of Acceptance Q. Why is the Confession and our Prayers to be said kneeling A. That we may express the Humbleness of our Minds by the Posture of our Bodies which is the fittest for Penitents Of the Absolution Quest WHY is the Word Priest used by our Church in the Liturgy Answ The English Word by a Contraction of the Syllables has its Derivation from Presbyter and according to the Latin Word Sacerdos signifies him whose mere Charge and Function is about holy things and therefore seems to be a most proper Word when he 's in the Actual Administration of holy things Besides It is not a Jewish Name that is not peculiar to the Jewish Ministery but common to others and frequently used by the Primitive Christians and by which the Prophets foretold that the Ministers of the Gospel should be called and by which St. Paul calls them and by which our Saviour is in a multitude of places styl'd and named the High-Priest of our Profession and by which we are call'd Rev. 1. 6. and therefore may lawfully safely and without any just ground of Offence be used by Christians as a Name for the Ministers of the Gospel Q. Why must the Priest pronounce the Absolution standing A. Because it is an Act of Authority which is so to be done Q. Can Man forgive Sin A. God alone can exercise this Power in his own right but he may and hath committed it to others who do it in his Name and by his Authority in the Person of Christ Q. What Form of Absolution is this A. It is Declaratory which is no more than the solemn promulgation of a Pardon upon the Conditions of Faith and Obedience and it is for the Satisfaction of truly Penitent Sinners that our Church approves of applying the promises of Pardon in Scripture to the particular case of those Persons which is that we mean by Absolution But if the Church of Rome pretend they can Absolve whether God will or no we must leave God and them to dispute that Point Bishop Stillingfleet on Idol p. 159. Q. What other Forms of Absolution are there in the Liturgy A. Two One is Petitionary in the Communion Service the other is Judiciary in the Office for the Sick All these Forms in Sense and Vertue are the same being several Expressions of the same thing Q. Must the People say the Words of the Absolution after the Priest with an audible Voice A. No Because it is the Privilege and Property of his Office to pronounce it But our Hearts must be intent upon the Directions and our Souls must embrace the Comforts and we must seal all with Amen To testify how firmly we believe highly value and earnestly desire those Comforts The latter part is an Application directing us what to Ask and shewing us what are the Benefits of being Heard 2. Or in the Judgment of some Learned Persons it is Petitionary in which we must joyn Wherefore we beseech thee c. Of the Lord's Prayer Quest WHY is the Lord's Prayer united to all the Offices Answ To make up their Defects and to recommend them to our Heavenly Father who cannot deny us when we speak the same Words which his dear Son hath put into our Mouths this Prayer being the Foundation and Perfection of all Prayers Q. What did our Lord intend it for A. Not only for a Pattern to make other Prayers by but for a form to be used in so many Words for when he delivered it the second time he says expresly When you pray say S. Luke 11. 1. The delivery of the Lord's Prayer by St. Luke is not the same with that related by St. Matthew but another at another time and upon another occasion whence it follows That the Disciples when it was first uttered understood not that their Master intended it for a Form of Prayer to them but for a Pattern or Example only or it may be to instruct them in special in what manner to ask forgiveness of Sins for if they had thought
who come to the House of Prayer Q. Why is the Time generally in the Night A. The first Christians were forced so to Bury and later Ages imitated them only adding divers Lights to shew their Hope of the Party 's being gone to Light everlasting Q. Why do Friends follow the Corps to the Grave A. To mind them that they must shortly follow the deceased in the same Path of Death Q. Why doth the Priest meet at the Church gate in his Surplice A. To allay the Sorrow which naturally seizeth on us when we follow a dear Friend to the Grave the Priest meets us in white the Colour of Joy in imitation of the Angels who go out in white Garments to receive the Soul so doth he to receive the body of the faithful A. 2. This is the Attire which is appointed for the Minister in the Performance of all his Publick offices Q. Why are those Sentences said in the Way A. To excite the Company to Faith Patience and Thankfulness Q. Why is the Body brought into the Church A. To shew the Party died in the Communion thereof Q. What is the meaning of those words in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to Eternal Life A. This is not spoken of the Party deceased but of the belief of the Standers by of this Article themselves and therefore we say afterward who shall change our vile body and not of the Party deceased Q. Why are Prayers said at the Grave A. Since the sight of that Place and of the Corps now ready to be put into it is wont to make great Impressions on us the Church takes this occasion to fit us with Devotions at the Grave 2. To shew the peculiar hope of the Church of the Resurrection of the Dead In the manner of dumb Funerals what one thing is there whereby the World may perceive we are Christians there being in those dumb Shows nothing but what Heathens and Pagans do Of the Churching of Women Quest WHY is the Woman ordered to come to Church and offer up her publick Praises Answ The Birth of Man is little less than a Miracle and lest the Frequency should diminish our Sense of it the Woman who hath received this wonderful Mercy is ordered to come to Church and offer up her publick Praises Q. What Reason for this Command of the Church A. The Original is from the Law of Moses Levit. 12. which commands all Women after they had born a Child to come to the House of God within a certain number of days and with a Sacrifice to praise God for this great Mercy and although the Ceremonial Reason be ceased yet the Obligation to make a publick Acknowledgment of so eminent a Favour remains still and in all Ages Christian Mothers have observed this holy Rite Q. Why is the Church the Place appointed to do this in A. It must be done thus publickly 1. For God's Honour 2. To satisfy the Womans Duty who is bound to let God's Goodness be shewed forth that others may learn to trust in him 3. By this means many are brought to join in God's Praises for so publick a Mercy and therefore to do this in a private House is absurd and contrary to the main end of the Office Of the Commination Quest WHAT was the Reason and Occasion of composing this Office A. To supply the want of Primitive Discipline that every Man may judge himself since the Church now judgeth so few Offenders Q. Why are those Sentences of God's Cursing against impenitent Sinners read A. In Imitation of the Jews who were appointed by God yearly to observe this Office Q. Doth not he that says Amen wish a Curse to himself A. It is no Adverb of Wishing it signifies no more than an Assent to the truth of that to which it is added Q. What Vse may we make of this Office A. It may be useful to make us flee such Vices and repent of them which here are mentioned since we acknowledge the Curse and Vengeance of God doth deservedly follow such Sins and Sinners Q. What Days in the Week are set apart for Publick Worship throughout the World A. Sunday or the Lord's Day is observ'd by Christians Monday by the Grecians Tuesday by the Persians Wednesday by the Assyrians Thursday by the Egyptians Friday by the Turks Saturday by the Jews An Account of the Titles of all the Books of the Old and New Testament and why they are stil'd Canonical and the meaning of the Word Apocryphal which Title is given to those Books which are not Received into the Canon Of the Old Testament or Covenant THE Books in Holy Scripture are call'd Canonical because according to Rule and Order they have been received into the Canon that is into the Number of those Writings which are unquestionably acknowledged to be the Writings of the Prophets and Holy Men inspired in the Old Testament or Covenant And of the Apostles and Disciples of Christ in the New Testament or Covenant The Word in Greek which is translated Testament signifies both a Covenant and a Testament Both the Words in the Title of the Holy Bible may be used 1. That of Covenant as being most agreeable to the use of the Word in the Sacred Dialect and most agreeable to the Nature of the Gospel which is the Law of Faith 2. That Word of a Testament also wherein the Christian's Inheritance is sealed to him as to a Son and Heir of God's and wherein the Death of Christ as of a Testator is set down at large by way of Story and as it is applicable to our Benefit Of the Pentateuch THE Five first Books in the beginning of the Holy Bible viz. Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy were Penned by Moses and called the Pentateuch which word signifies a Volume of Five Books Of Genesis This First Book of Moses contains the History of the Creation of the World particularly of the Making of Man with which it begins and the Genealogy of the Patriarchs down to the Death of Joseph where it ends with relation whereunto it is very fitly called Genesis that Greek word very properly expressing the Original or first Formation of these things It comprehends an History of 2369 Years or thereabout in the Judgment of many Learned Writers Exodus This Book hath its Name from the Principal Subject of it viz. The Departure of the Children of Israel out of Egypt For so the Greek word signifies Going out or Departing from one place to another It contains an History of about 145 Years from the Death of Joseph to the Building of the Tabernacle for it treats of several things which went before their departure and which followed after it but they all Relate to that and depend upon it Leviticus Levi was the Third Son of Jacob from him his Posterity had the Name of Levites Aaron who with his Sons was called to the Priesthood was from him called a Levite and the Priesthood that was setled in that