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A64986 An explicatory catechism: or, An explanation of the assemblies shorter catechism Wherein those principles are enlarged upon especially, which obviate the great and growing errors of Popery; useful for those families that desire to hold fast the form of sound words. Vincent, Thomas, 1634-1678. 1675 (1675) Wing V434; ESTC R220763 119,453 302

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in the Prison to the Spirits but to the Spirits in Prison The difference betwixt these two expressions is very great He preached to them in the daies of Noah who were in Prison in the daies of the Apostles He Preached to them out of Prison that are now in Prison which is nothing to their purpose Object 3. Mat. 12. 32. Whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man it shall be forgiven him but whoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven him neither in this world neither in the world to come Hence they argue that some sins shall be forgiven in the world to come A. Not to be forgiven in this world nor in the world to come is as much as shall never be forgiven so Matthew explains himself Mat. 12. 31. And so Mark doth express it Mark 3. 29. Read the places O●ject 4. They urge Mat. 5. 25 26. read the place This Prison saith Bellarmine is Purgatory out of which after the Debt is paid the Debtor shall go forth A. 1. Some understand the place literally and if it be so understood it is altogether impertinent to the matter in hand 2. If the place be taken in a spiritual sense by the Prison must necessarily be understood Hell and not Purgatory whence the Debtor shall never come forth because no meer man by his suffering can in a finite time satisfie the infinite offended Justice of God 3. And that which may be an argument to them they interpret other Scriptures where they meet with the like phrases in the same sense we understand this very place see Mat. 1. 25. Gen. 8. 7. Deut. 34. 6. 1 Sam. 15. 35. and 2 Sam. 6. 23. So that in brief in the literal sense it is impertinent and in the spiritual sense it must needs be understood of Hell whence there is no Redemption Q. How many sorts of Prayers are there A. Three viz. Closet Family and Publick Q What do you mean by Closet-Prayer A. Entring into our Closet alone and praying unto our Father in secret Q. Why is Closet-Prayer necessary A. Because those that pray after the manner of Hypocrites to be seen of men have their reward But if we pray to the Father in secret our Father which seeth in secret shall reward us openly Q. And must we in our Closet-Prayers pray both for our selves and others A. Yes Q. When you say you are to pray for others what do you mean by it A. That we ought to pray for all in the Land of the living which is the only Land of hope yea though they be the greatest sinners and such Prisoners as are bound with the bands and setters of their sins they are Prisoners of hope if they have not sinned the sin unto death and we ought to pray for them Q. What do you mean by Family-Prayer A. Praying in and with our Families for our selves and others Q. Why ought we to pray in our Families A. Because God will pour out his fury upon the Families that call not on his Name as having on them the mark and brand of the accursed Heathens Ier. 10. 25. Q. What mean you by Publick-Prayer A. Praying in and with the publick Assemblies for our selves and others Q. Ought not publick prayer to be preferred above all Family-private-prayer A. Yes because every particular Believer hath special interest and power with God and doth prevail with him for all desireable blessings and a multitude of Believers assembled together in publick will have a greater interest and power with God in Prayer than a few met together in a private Family And therefore publick-prayer ought to be and will be preferred by all that regard their own interest above any Family-private-prayer whatsoever Q. Whom doth the Preface of the Lords Prayer teach us to pray unto A. To our Father who is in Heaven Q. And do we by this appellation express our reverence to him and our Faith in him that his Goodness Will and his Power can grant our requests for our selves and others A. Yes Q. But when mention is made of the Father do you exclude the Son or the Holy Ghost from being prayed unto A. No. Q How and in what order are we to direct our Prayers to the persons of the blessed Trinity And whether may we not single out any one of the Persons to whom we may direct more immediately such or such a Prayer A. The case hath so much difficulty in it that a short answer must not be exp●cted to so great questions as are couched in it yet we will endeavour to give an answer thereunto as briefly as we can in these following Conclusions Some of which will be of use to us as rules of direction to lead us into the sound knowledge of these and other mysteries of the Gospel 1. That in all parts of divine worship and so in this of Prayer the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshipped and respected Or That we ought so to think of God in Prayer as one in Essence yet three in Persons and so as three in Persons that he is but one in Essence 2. That we ought so to think in Prayer of some one Person in the Trinity as thereby to be led to the other two The Father being in the Son and the Son in the Father and the Holy Ghost in them both 3. That in order we are first to direct our Prayers to the blessed Father yet not as first or chief in honour and dignity above the other two but as first in order of subsisting according as the Scripture in two places where the order of the blessed Persons is set down the Father is first set down in order of witnessing 1 Ioh. 5. 7. and invocation and worship Mat. 28. 19. 4. In singling out any one Person in the blessed Trinity we are to pitch most usually on the Father as he to whom we direct our Prayers through the mediation of Christ and by the help of the Holy Ghost That is the Rule and method prescribed by Christ to ask the Father in his Name Ioh. 16. 23. and suitable is and hath been the usual practice of the Saints And yet in such directings of Prayers most what as to the Father in the general intention of their Spirits do the Saints mind and eye the other two Persons and include them as joyntly worshipped and therefore in their Prefaces of Prayer they do oftimes mention expresly that blessed God one in Essence yet three in Persons as he to whom they speak and in the close they subscribe glory to the blessed Father Son and Spirit three Persons yet one God c. 5. We may single out the Son of God the Lord Jesus Christ as he to whom we occasionally present some special request either by way of Apostrophe whilst we are directing our Prayers to the Father or in way of Ej●culation as did Stephen Acts 7. 59. Lord Iesus receive my Spirit And so
this Word it is because there is no light in them Isa. 8. 20. Q. Is the Scripture plain enough to be understood even by the simple A. Yes Psal. 19. 7. and 119. 130. Q. Is the Word of God a dead letter of it self A. No Heb. 4. 12. Joh. 6. 63. Q. But do the things recorded in the Word of God concern us all A. Yes Rom. 15. 1 5. Matth. 7. 24. Q. Is there any other Rule besides the holy Scriptures to direct us how we may glorifie God and enjoy him A. No. Q. How prove you that A. 1. Because God never gave any other Rev. 22. 18. For I testifie unto every man that heareth the words of the Prophecy of this Book if any man shall add unto these things God shall add unto him the Plagues that are written in this Book Q. What is the Form of speech here used to conclude this Book A. It is 1. A Symbolical and Prophetical Form of expressing the certainty and immutability of this Prophecie and secondly an expression of the Absoluteness and perfection of it is order to publick use that it should be the only Prophecie given to the Christian Church which should bring divine authority along with it sent with a Commission from Heaven and not only proceeding from a publick Spirit but sent out with a publick Charge Q. What is that publick Charge A. As for all those to whom this Prophecy shall come I adjure them all that they neither add nor diminish nor change a tittle of it upon pain of Gods bringing on them the Iudgements that are here denoun●ed against Gods greatest enemies and withal that they look upon it as the last Authoritative Proph●cie that is likely to come from Heaven to be a Rule of Faith to the Church Q. What other reason have you to prove that the holy Scriptures are the only Rule to direct us how we may glorifie God and enjoy him A. Because they are only able perfectly and without errour to direct us how we ought so to do Q. 3. What do the Scriptures principally teach A. The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God and what Duty God requires of man Explica Q. What are the principal Heads of the Doctrine of the holy Scriptures A. The Doctrines that the holy Scriptures teach may be ranked into two Heads Q. What is the first principal Doctrine taught therein A. What man is to believe concerning God Q What is it ●o belie●e A. To assent or give credit to truths upon Authority of another Q. What is the second A. What duty God requires of man Q. What is meant by the duty which God requireth of man A. That which is Gods due or that which we owe to God and are bound to do as we are his Creatures Subjects and Children Q D● the Scriptures teach us all matters of Faith or all that we are bound to believe A. Yes Q. And all matters of practice or whatsoever we are bound to do A. Yes Q. Is not a Christian then bound to believe any thing as a point of Faith but what is taught in the holy Scriptures A. No Q Nor bound to do any thing as necessary to Salvation but what is taught in them A. No Q. 4. What is God A. God is a Spirit infinite eternal and unchangeable in his Being Wisdom Power holiness justice goodness and Truth Explic. Q What are we to believe concerning God A. We are to believe concerning his Being and nature that he is a Substance and a Spirit or that he is a spiritual Substance Q. Why is God called a Spirit A. 1. Negatively because he hath no bodily Substance 2. Affirmatively and positively because he is a pure active life intelligence and will Q. Are not Angels and the Souls of men Spirits A. Yes Q. How then is God distinguished from Angels and the souls of men A. God is an infinite eternal and unchangeable Spirit Angels and the Souls of men are finite Spirits bu● of yesterday and changeable Q. But since Angels as well as the Souls of men are finite how are they to be distinguished A. Angels are pure Spirits and have no commerce or society with Bodies which the Souls of men have being in the most intimate conjunction with them And though in the separate state they do subsist and live without them yet because their happiness or misery is not compleat without them the souls of the Iust already made perfect in holiness will be carried out with strong inclinations unto and earnest expectation of re-union with their Bodies to be together made perfect in happiness in good measure pressed down and shaken together and running over And in the souls of the unjust there shall be a fearful expectation of reunion with their Bodies as of a certain approaching unavoidable and utterly undoing evil to fill up the measure of their misery suffering together the vengeance of eternal fire Or more briefly God Angels and the souls of men may be thus distinguished Angels are created Spirits compleat As Angels are created Spirits they are distinguished from God who is a Spirit uncreate or the Creator of all or the God of the Spirits of all flesh As Spirits compleat they are distinguished from the souls of men which in their compleat subsistence require Bodies which Angels do not and may therefore be called Persons or compleat subsistences Q. What else are we to believe concerning God A. We are to believe concerning his attributes that they are of two sorts 1. Incommunicable 2. Communicable Q. What and which are his Incommunicable attributes A. His Incommunicable attributes are such as are not partaken of by the Creatures or that cannot be communicated to them such are these his Infiniteness Eternity and Vnchangeableness Q. What is it to be Infinite A. To be without end bounds or limits Q. What is it to be Eternal A. To be without beginning or succession or end of time Q. What is it to be unchangeable A. To be alwaies the same without any alteration Q. What and which are the Communicable attributes of God A. His Communicable attributes are such as in a measure are partaken of by the creatures or may be communicated to them such are these his Wisdom Power Holiness Iustice Goodness and Truth Q. But are they in the same manner in the Creatures as in God A. No. Q. After what manner are they in the Creatures and how are they in God A. God is In●inite Eternal and unchangeable in them and the Creatures are not Q. May then Gods Incommunicable Attributes be applied to and spoken of the Communicable A. Yes they may Q. How is God said to be Infinite Eternal and Unchangeable A. 1. In his Wisdom Q. What is the Wisdom of God A. The Wisdom of God is his Essential property whereby by one simple and eternal Act he knoweth both himself and whatsoever is